Thirty three days into lockdown due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) last week eased some restrictions. For instance, MHA's decision to allow shops selling electric fans is likely to ease the hardships faced due to the onset of summers. Anticipating hot summer this year, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) had already stocked the inventory, which should suffice the initial demand. Rohit Mathur, President, Electric Fans, Water Heaters and Pumps, Usha International, says, "We started mobilizing inventory in preparation for the summer season - which is also the peak season for our industry. We had already stocked up our dealers before the lockdown was announced. The dealers have enough stocks to cater to our consumers for a short period of time in near term. As soon as we have the requisite permissions, our backend and supply chain will be able to replenish stocks at the earliest. We are optimistic that we will soon see a partial opening with some state governments expected to respond positively. This will come as a great relief to all stakeholders, especially the consumer who is reeling under the onslaught of summer and needs fans under these serious heat conditions. The dealers, and the industry too, on the whole, shall benefit from the same." This is a welcome move by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) allowing electric fan shops to operate under the revised lockdown guidelines, given that consumers are facing the onslaught of the relentless summer heat. However, it is the state government's decision on whether or not they will give permission keeping in mind the Red zones. As of now, only the Kerala Government has allowed the partial opening of stores selling fans for a fixed number of hours and with limited staff and in other states there are only a few district wise exemptions to open shops. "While our dealers already have enough stock for now as we had ensured they were all stocked up before the lockdown, we are additionally also seeking permissions from the State Governments to open our warehouses. As soon as we have the requisite permissions, our backend and supply chain will be able to replenish stocks asap. While there are a few shops selling fans exclusively, the majority sell a mixed range of electrical products and we are also seeking local level clarifications on the Government's directives on the same", adds Mathur. Gurgaon headquartered Usha International has its manufacturing facilities in Hyderabad, Kolkata and the company also works with partners based in UP, Himachal and Haryana. However, the company has not yet resumed manufacturing. "We are eager to resume manufacturing again. However, we have yet resumed manufacturing due to the lockdown period and also some of the units fall under Red Zones. We are optimistic that the state governments will respond positively as we have requested to allow the opening of our warehouses and transportation facilities, and we look forward to resuming our operations." Usha International is a diversified consumer durable company and has been focused on both on the organized retail front, ecommerce and the retail dealer network across the country. Traditional distribution accounts for the majority of Usha's revenue, and the company has drawn a strategy to increase organised retail's share rapidly. "Currently, we have 50 company-owned and company-operated Usha branded retail stores in 38 cities. One of our major focus for sales has been on big retail chains to cater to the demands of our consumers by providing compelling products across all our categories. 'We have also partnered with e-commerce platforms to cater to the consumer of today who is on the go and prefers having the choice of ordering online", explains Mathur. Usha International has a wide range of fans. While standard fans can be installed by the local technician, there are select premium variants for which the company offers free installation. For service network, Usha has a centralized in-house call centre that ensures speedy resolution of any issues the customer may be facing. Also read: Coronavirus India live updates: COVID-19 cases reach 26,917, death toll at 826; Mohan Bhagwat calls for calm Also read: Lockdown 2.0: Brace up for runaway prices; only 6% of wheat in market, 30% onion, 41% potato Should the Austrian Grand Prix actually take place at the beginning of July, then that is not only positive news for Formula 1, but also for Spielberg and surroundings. It would provide the Austrian region with the necessary overnight stays, which would allow the economy there to slowly start up again. "It would be insane to be in the limelight of the whole world after a very serious crisis", Michael Ranzmaier-Hausleitner of the Tourism Department in Spielberg is quoted by the Austrian television channel ORF. The municipality of Spielberg has also been hit hard by the corona crisis. "Therefore, it would be a blessing for the region and also for the accommodation providers and the tourism industry." According to reports, the Austrian Grand Prix will be held on 5 July at the Red Bull Ring. It was to be the first major international sporting event in a long time. An idea that comes from Red Bull Racing. Ranzmaier-Hausleitner sees it as an extra bonus. "I think the advertising value will be even better for the region, because a lot of people will be eager to sit in front of the television." F1 ensures thousands of hotel reservations Moreover, it is not only good for the image of Spielberg; it also helps the economy directly. Helmut Marko recently indicated that the second GP of 2020 should also take place in Austria, one week later. If the Formula 1 Circus travels to Spielberg and stays there for two weeks, that would mean some 25,000 overnight stays for the region. "Even if that's just a drop in the ocean." Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. The Times Union has lifted the paywall on this developing coverage to provide critical information to our community. To support our journalists work, consider a digital subscription. Total COVID-19 cases: 288,045 in New York state, including 22,376 deaths. 777,568 total tested. 963,865 in the U.S., including 54,614 deaths. 106,518recovered. 5,441,079 total tested. 2,964,543 worldwide, including 205,936 deaths. 862,859 recovered. Note: The figures include presumed COVID-19 deaths. The number of positive confirmed cases is cumulative and includes people who have recovered as well as those who died. Additional resources: Where to get tested for COVID-19. Here are the latest cancellations and postponements. For a detailed map, check out the Times Unions New York Coronavirus Tracker To get regular updates on our coverage, sign up for our coronavirus newsletter. Share stories about people helping others in our Facebook Group. Sunday updates: 4:40 p.m.: Cases in Saratoga County rise There are 327 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Saratoga County, up from Saturday's 316 cases. Seven of those confirmed to have COVID-19 are hospitalized. ___ 2:50 p.m.: More nursing home deaths in Rensselaer County Rensselaer County's Diamond Hill Nursing and Rehabilitation Center lost two more residents to COVID-19 Sunday, bringing the total number of deaths at the nursing home to eight. Other nursing facilities in the county seen an uptick in confirmed COVID-19 cases. Troy's Eddy Memorial Geriatric Center has seven new cases, and one new case has emerged at the Rosewood Gardens Senior Facility in East Greenbush. Overall, the county has 14 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. ___ 1:30 p.m.: Schenectady gets new mobile testing sites Amid calls for more testing during the COVID-19 pandemic, Schenectady announced Sunday it is launching five mobile testing sites to reach underserved neighborhoods in the city. No prescriptions or insurance will be needed to get testing, according to a joint press release from healthcare organizations in the county. The sites will primarily be focused on symptomatic people without access to transportation or who face other barriers to testing, but will be open for both foot and drive-through traffic. Ellis Medicine, Schenectady County Public Health Services, Hometown Health Centers and MVP Health Care have collaborated to develop the testing sites at William Keane Elementary School on April 27, Mont Pleasant Middle School on April 28, Washington Irving Education Center on April 29, Ellis Medicine's McClellan Street Health Center on May 1 and an undetermined location on April 30. Each testing site will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The rain location is the McClellan Street Health Center. ___ 12:30 p.m.: New York deaths still in hundreds, but continues to go down Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo offered a first glimpse on Sunday into the state's reopening plan, a phased approach that will begin with resuming construction activities, he said. The early stages of the plan, divided into two parts, would begin with construction and manufacturing in low-risk environments. The second phase would restart "more essential, lower-risk" businesses, a category that has not yet fully been defined but that state officials are asking companies to begin considering. Hospitalizations and intubations continue to decline, as do the number of COVID-19 deaths statewide. A total of 367 people died from the virus on Saturday down from 437 the day before bringing the state's death toll to 16,966. ___ 11:21 a.m.: Schenectady County positives at 426 Schenectady County's number of confirmed COVID-19 cases jumped by more than 30 over the weekend, from 390 Friday to 426 Sunday. The number of deaths in the county has not risen from Saturday's 22. ___ 10:31 a.m.: Albany County deaths now at 32; more test positive for virus Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said at his daily press conference Sunday morning that another resident died overnight from COVID-19 - a woman in her 60s with underlying health issues. That makes total deaths of county residents 32. Another 51 people also have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total since testing started in March to 915. McCoy said they expect the numbers to continue to go up because of the aggressive testing being done in the county. ___ 9:50 a.m.: Mazzone's employees at Empire State Plaza test positive New York state's Office of General Services put out a notice Saturday night that four employees from PRIME at the Plaza Cafe, run by Mazzone Hospitality, tested positive for COVID-19. The state Department of Health said it has advised that there is no evidence COVID-19 can be transferred through food or food containers. No employees were symptomatic at work. Prime, which was one of the few eateries still open at the Plaza, is now closed and is conducting a thorough cleaning and disinfection. ___ Pharmacies given go-ahead to test frontine workers for coronavirus First-responders, frontline health care workers and essential workers can be tested at pharmacies for COVID-19 under an executive order Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo issued Saturday. Were going to authorize all the independent pharmacists in the state to be collection sites for testing, Cuomo told reporters in a state Capitol news conference. Cuomo said tests in the pharmacies will be diagnostic tests to determine whether people test positive or negative for the coronavirus. They will not be tests for antibodies. ___ Saturday: Schenectady County deaths rise to 22 Schenectady County on Saturday said 22 people have died since the outbreak began the highest death rate among the four main counties in the Capital Region. Rensselaer County, with slightly more people, has half the number of deaths. Seven more Schenectady County deaths were reported Friday, but those occurred in the past week, officials said. Notification of the deaths of residents who die outside the county are often delayed, the county noted. Of the total deaths, 13 were people 80 and older. ___ Saturday: NY's economy will lose $243B, report says The state Division of Budget says because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the states economy will lose $243 billion over the course of the full recovery, which will be deeper and longer than the 2008 Great Recession and that which followed the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. The loss is the equivalent of 14 percent of the states Gross Domestic Product. Also according to the agency, the $10.1 billion in spending reductions from the levels proposed in the Executive Budget include an $8.2 billion reduction in aid-to-localities, including funds for health care, K-12 schools, and higher education as well as support for local governments, public transit systems, and nonprofits. State agency operations will be reduced by 10 percent, along with other savings. See the consultant's report ___ Saturday: 12th Saratoga County death The Saratoga County Department of Public Health Services announced that there are 316 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Saratoga County. Seven are hospitalized. The Department confirmed the countys 12th death of a resident from COVID-19 a 72-year-old man from Halfmoon. ___ Saturday: Albany County cases at 864 Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy said that as of this morning, there are now 864 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in the county. Additionally, there are now 746 people under mandatory quarantine and 42 people under precautionary quarantine. To date, 1,960 individuals have completed quarantine, with 473 of them having tested positive and recovered. With 34 people now hospitalized, the hospitalization rate for Albany County stands at 3.94%, a slight uptick from yesterdays rate of 3.83%. Seven are currently in Intensive Care Units (ICU), a number unchanged since Friday. There are now 39 residents in total at Shaker Place Rehabilitation and Nursing Center who have tested positive, along with 15 employees. ___ Saturday: State: $3.1B in jobless benefits paid out The Department of Labor said it has distributed $3.1 billion in unemployment benefits to New Yorkers since the coronavirus pandemic started impacting New York businesses in early March. ___ Read more updates from Saturday Oklahoma's governor has called on U.S. President Donald Trump to declare the coronavirus pandemic an "act of God," a step to help oil-producing states contend with a crude glut that caused futures prices to close below $0 last week for the first time. "Over-production of oil continues to threaten the economy," Governor J. Kevin Stitt said in a letter to Trump that Stitt posted on Twitter late on Saturday. Today I sent a letter to President @realdonaldtrump to ask for him to declare the #COVID19 pandemic an Act of God to provide aid to our oil and gas industry and to protect the environment. Oklahoma, we are in this together and we will get through this. pic.twitter.com/JSnNCWhXfz Governor Kevin Stitt (@GovStitt) April 25, 2020 Declaring a "force majeure" or "act of God" would allow oil companies to halt operations without risking that land leases will be canceled for stopping production, Stitt said. Oklahoma's energy regulator said on Wednesday that producers could close money-losing wells without losing their leases, the first victory for struggling U.S. oil companies seeking relief from states after the market crash. U.S. production reached a record-high of near 13 million barrels per day late last year, but the pandemic has cut global consumption by 20% to 30%, or up to 30 million bpd. Related Video: Click here to See Video >> Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 15:36:01|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KABUL, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Seven Taliban militants were killed in a predawn airstrike in Afghanistan's eastern Logar province, the command of special forces confirmed on Sunday. "Seven enemy combatants were killed after Afghan Air Force conducted an airstrike in Nasri village, on outskirts of Pul-e-Alam, capital of Logar province at 2:17 a.m. local time Sunday," Afghan National Army Special Operations Corps said in a statement. The targeted militants tried to attack security forces' position before being attacked by the air force, the statement added. "The strike was conducted based on state of Active Defense as the Taliban militants are trying to engage with the security forces. They have conducted scores of attacks against Afghan National Defense and Security Forces within the last weeks," the statement said. The militant group has not responded to the report yet. Enditem Regional Business Related to: Business Newer Older Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 We wish to expose the various businesses providing the variety of services that support the marketplace within the various communities of northeastern North Carolina, which is the region that Beaufort County NOW serves. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 22:37:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HANOI, April 26 (Xinhua) -- A COVID-19 test kit product manufactured by Vietnam has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) under the Emergency Use List procedure, Vietnam News Agency reported Sunday. The product, jointly produced by Vietnam Military Medical University and a Vietnamese company, has also been issued a CE marking and a certificate of free sale by Britain, the news agency reported. Vietnam has confirmed 270 COVID-19 cases as of Sunday evening, according to its Ministry of Health. Enditem All of us have the same question on our minds right now - "When will this pandemic end?" Well, in order to get you (you and I both, actually) some clarity on the same, we came across this web page which consists data from different countries to estimate the pandemic life cycle curves and predict when it might finally come to an end around the globe. Don't Miss: Contribute To Indiatimes Fundraiser To Help India Fight COVID-19 It is important to know that the web page is strictly only for educational and research purposes and might be prone to errors. It consists of predictions for 28 countries including India. Based on the web page's data, green zone for India will begin around May 21 when the recovery rate will be close to 97 per cent. ddi.sutd.edu.sg The list has been formed with the help of codes from Milan Batista and data from Our World in Data. The theory and methodology of the list is described in detail in 'Luo, Jianxi (2020) When Will COVID-19 End? Data-Driven Prediction'. Jianxi Luo, the author of the study, is a tenured Associate Professor with the Singapore University of Technology and Design, Director of Data-Driven Innovation Lab, and Director of SUTD Technology Entrepreneurship Program. In the study, he wrote, 'That the web page was created to share data-driven predictions of next developments and end dates of COVID-19 in different countries and have also been continually updating the predictions daily with latest data. For each country, a simple figure is provided to show the estimated pandemic life cycle together with the actual data or history to date, which in turn reveals the inflection point and ending phase'. YouTube It further said, 'The predictions were started purely driven by personal curiosity regarding when COVID 19 will end in Singapore where we live and other countries. From the soft launch on April 18 to April 26, the website has received more than 1,000,000 unique visitors from all over the world. The data-driven predictions and visualizations have been circulated by individuals on the internet and used by researchers and government officials. In response to the growing popularity of our daily predictions, this paper explains the motivation, theory, method, and data behind the prediction.' ddi.sutd.edu.sg In the study, Luo explains, 'The evolution of COVID-19 is not completely random. Like other pandemics, it follows a life cycle pattern from the outbreak to the acceleration phase, inflection point, deacceleration phase and eventual stop or ending. Such a life cycle is the result of the adaptive and countering behaviours of agents including individuals (avoiding physical contact) and governments (locking down cities) as well as the natural limitations of the ecosystem'. However, Luo mentions that the pandemic life cycles will vary by countries and different nations will recover from it based on the phases they are in, at a specific point in time. To read the study in detail, click here. Speaking in the 64th edition of his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat, on Sunday (April 26,2020) the Prime Minister greeted nation on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya, Basava Jayanti and Ramzan. Throwing light on the significance of Akshay Tritiya PM Modi said, "Today we are celebrating Akshay Tritiya, which reminds us that no matter how trying times be, we will keep fighting.'' He also urged people to pray for the welfarement of the country during the occassion of Ramazan and said, ''The month of Ramzan has begun. Last time during Ramzan we never imagined that something like this will happen. We have to be more resilient and reserved during this Ramzan so that we can celebrate Eid when it comes." PM Modi narrated Sanskrit shloka ''agni shesham, wrin shesham, vyadhi shesham tathaiva cha, Punah Punah pravardheta tasmaat shesham na kaarayet'' that translates into ''If a fire is not doused completely, a debt not repaid in full, a disease not cured completely, then all these three will keep on growing in size and become a massive problem. Therefore, it is prudent to not permit any remnants of all these three. Through this PM Modi gave the message that we should continue to fight the pandemic and maintain disciple until it ends completely. PM Modi also paid tribute to Lord Basavanna on Basava Jayanti and greeted his devotees on this occasion. The festival is observed by people of the Lingayat community mostly in Karnataka and parts of Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh with much fanfare. PM Modi asserted that COVID-19 has changed our style of celebrating festivals. Christians celebrated Easter in their homes, and said, ''It is steps like these that will help us fight COVID-19 effectively." Meanwhile, the prime minister in his address also lauded the farmers and said that in the middle of this pandemic, the farmers are working hard to ensure that no one sleeps hungry in our country. "Each person is fighting this war as per their capacity. Some are waiving off house rent, also some labourers who are in quarantine at a school are whitewashing the school etc," said the prime minister. He further appealed to people to maintain social distancing saying Do Gajj Doori...Bahut hai Zaroori. Gorse fire in Ruabon thought to be started deliberately as firefighters continue to tackle blaze This article is old - Published: Sunday, Apr 26th, 2020 Firefighters remain at the scene at a blaze in Ruabon which is believed to have been a deliberate ignition. North Wales Fire and Rescue Service were called at 5:01pm on Saturday evening to a fire involving 5000sqm of gorse alight. Crews from Johnstown and the narrow access vehicle from Llangollen attended and two crews from Wrexham remain at the scene today. Earlier today Wrexham.com also reported that North Wales Fire and Rescue Service had been tackling a wildfire at Trefor since 4:20am this morning. In a statement issued this morning, Tim Owen, Station Manager for the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: This behaviour is completely unacceptable. The individual(s) setting the fires put extra pressure on emergency service resources which are already stretched at this time. Deliberate fires place tremendous strain on resources, with our crews committed for a considerable length of time trying to bring them under control which prevents us from attending genuine emergencies. Actions like this do not help us keep our community safe. Pubs will be robbed of their atmosphere and could struggle to survive if they reopen under strict social distancing rules, the boss of Britain's oldest brewer has warned. Jonathan Neame, chief executive of brewery and pub chain Shepherd Neame, said the Government might have to keep propping up the industry long after customers are allowed to return. 'Nobody expects the same level of trade when businesses reopen with social distancing in place,' he said. 'It is difficult to recreate the pub experience with those measures. Pubs are about bringing people together.' Pubs may have to seat people two metres apart and install Perspex screens at the bar If social distancing is enforced for the rest of the year, as chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty suggested last week, it is thought pubs may have to seat people two metres apart and install Perspex screens at the bar. Last week, Cabinet Minister Michael Gove refused to rule out keeping pubs shut until after Christmas. Neame warned that brewers and pubs could only cope with a 12-week lockdown and would need huge financial help if closures were extended. Neame has furloughed 1,300 staff, cut directors' pay and waived tenants' rents for the lockdown. MOSCOW - A total of 874 personnel in the Russian military have tested positive for the new coronavirus since March, Russia's Defence Ministry said Sunday. Almost half of them - 379 people - are isolated at home; others are being treated in various medical facilities. Four people are in grave condition, including one on a ventilator. Russia has so far reported 80,949 confirmed cases of the virus and 747 deaths. The vast majority of the country's regions have been on lockdown since late March, with only essential businesses - grocery shops, pharmacies, banks - operating and people ordered to stay at home. Russian President Vladimir Putin wearing a protective suit enters a hall during his visit to the hospital for coronavirus patients outside Moscow, Russia. Credit:AP Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin indefinitely postponed the traditional May 9 military parade marking the 1945 defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II because of the growing outbreak. Military units have already rehearsed the parade - footage of these rehearsals showed hundreds of servicemen drilling outside Moscow without observing social distancing. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the military had their own isolation and distancing protocols which allowed them more freedom. AP Pennsylvania health officials have noted a few areas of particular concern in the efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The Philadelphia area is considered the epicenter of the virus, with more than 10,000 cases in the city alone. Lehigh County and northeastern Pennsylvania have drawn concern in Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levines briefings. Berks County, home to the city of Reading, hasnt received as much attention. But Berks has the sixth highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state. More than 2,400 people have contracted the virus in Berks, according to state figures. To put it in perspective, Berks has more cases than Lancaster, Dauphin and Cumberland counties combined. Berks also has twice as many cases as Allegheny County, which includes the city of Pittsburgh. State figures show 88 people have died in Berks. The Berks County coroners office contends 113 have died of the virus in Berks, including 10 out-of-county residents, the Reading Eagle reported. Many of the cases and deaths in Berks, like other counties, have occurred in nursing homes. The state data said 49 people in Berks County have died in long-term care facilities, including nursing homes and personal care homes. The county commissioners have employed an aggressive campaign to encourage residents to do what they can to stop the spread. They worked with Centro Hispano, a local Latino organization, and held a press conference to talk about COVID-19 that was held mostly in Spanish. Roughly two out of three residents in Reading are Latino. The county has printed up posters with a simple message: Do your part. Stop the spread. Detectives with the Berks County District Attorneys office helped distribute the posters throughout the county. Christian Leinbach, chairman of the Berks County commissioners, said the county government has had to be aggressive. A couple of weeks ago, some businesses, while allowed to be open because they provide essential services, werent practicing social distancing measures, he said. What we saw in our community: grocery stores, hardware, home improvement stores, they became petri dishes for COVID-19 spread, Leinbach said. "They werent doing anything. No masks, no social distancing. Berks County has distributed posters with this message to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. The posters tell residents to support businesses that are employing social distance and other safeguards. Were encouraging our residents if they go to a business and theyre not doing that to turn around and leave," Leinbach said. Leinbach said with education, hes seeing a much improved response. That campaign has changed behavior over the last week, Leinbach said. As cases spiked in Berks a couple of weeks ago, county officials said they were legitimately worried that the influx of infected patients would overwhelm the countys healthcare facilities. At the worst point, the county saw about 300 new cases in one day. Now, Leinbach is feeling more hopeful that the countys health care systems can handle whats still to come. They should have the capacity to cover the surge, which we think is about a week from now," Leinbach said. Berks County faces an additional challenge in that it is an increasingly rare county that still operates its own nursing home, Berks Heim. So far, seven Berks Heim residents have been infected and one has died, Leinbach said. After notifying family members, the county issues news releases on each infection at Berks Heim. Leinbach said hed like to see similar transparency from all nursing homes. When asked if theres any way the state could do more to help Berks, Leinbach paused. The Republican commissioner said he has seen too much sniping from both parties and now is the time for cooperation rather than criticism. And he said he sincerely believes Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf has done what he thinks is right to help Pennsylvanians. But Leinbach said Berks, like many places, needs more personal protective equipment and testing kits. We understand PPE has been and continues to be an enormous problem, Leinbach said. Test kits have been and continues to be an enormous problem. Seeing how some Berks businesses modified their practices, Leinbach said hed like to see more businesses be allowed to open their doors. He said businesses should be told in no uncertain terms that they wont be allowed to resume operations until they can do it safely. But he said the approach to businesses statewide should be constructive rather than punitive. When asked if hes optimistic that the worst is over in Berks, Leinbach said, I act with the facts I have in front of me. Were seeing improvement," Leinbach said. Were going to work with what we have. More from PennLive Gov. Tom Wolfs administration offers more details on reopening Pa. Gov. Wolfs reopening plan Q&A: How will this work? Long cast aside as expendable, Pa.s public health nurses are now pivotal to easing coronavirus restrictions What it looks like inside coronavirus units at Penn State hospitals: photos Man facing death battles back from COVID-19 with help of bold new therapy Adopt-a-senior Harrisburg edition honors Class of 2020 missing milestones because of coronavirus Pa. will have a new normal due to coronavirus but its unclear what that will be, health secretary says WASHINGTON For President Donald Trump, who adores the pomp and precision of military ceremonies, this was the year he would finally get one of the special perks of being president delivering the commencement address at West Point, the only service academy where he has not spoken. But the graduation was postponed because of the coronavirus, the cadets were sent home and officials at the school were not sure when it would be held or even whether it was a good idea to hold it. The Naval Academy, for its part, decided it was too risky to recall its nearly 1,000 graduating midshipmen to Annapolis, Maryland, for a commencement. Those graduates will have a virtual event. But the Air Force Academy, in contrast to the other schools, sent home its underclassmen, locked down its seniors on campus, moved up graduation, mandated social distancing and went ahead with plans for Vice President Mike Pence to be its speaker. And so last Friday, the day before Pence was to speak at the Air Force ceremony in Colorado, Trump, never one to be upstaged, abruptly announced that he would, in fact, be speaking at West Point. That was news to everyone, including officials at West Point, according to three people involved with or briefed on the event. The academy had been looking at the option of a delayed presidential commencement in June, but had yet to complete any plans. With Trumps preemptive statement, they are now summoning 1,000 cadets scattered across the country to return to campus in New York, the state that is the center of the outbreak. Hes the commander in chief, thats his call, said Sue Fulton, a West Point graduate and former chairwoman of the academys Board of Visitors. Cadets are certainly excited about the opportunity to have something like the classic graduation, standing together, flinging their hats in the air. But everyone is leery about bringing 1,000 cadets into the New York metropolitan area for a ceremony, she added. Its definitely a risk. Trump, like some of his predecessors, has used the annual commencement addresses at the countrys military academies to promote his foreign policy successes and project strength, something he needs to do in the middle of a pandemic that has kept him in the White House in the middle of an election year. There will never be a better setting for the president to talk up the size and abilities of the U.S. military, and point to the uniformed ranks in front of him as examples of the patriotic Americans he has enlisted to fight the coronavirus and carry out his campaign promise from 2016 of winning so much youre going to get tired of winning. Trump, who was so impressed by the Bastille Day parade he saw in Paris that he planned something similar in Washington until the Pentagon estimated its cost, basks in the glow of the spit-and-polish commencement ceremonies at the military academies. He spoke at Annapolis in 2018, and when he addressed the Air Force Academy graduation last year, the president stayed and shook hands with all 1,000 cadets. But it is West Point that holds special significance to Trump, aides said. A graduate of the New York Military Academy, he looks upon the West Point graduates serving in his administration with the same admiration he has for anyone with Ivy League credentials. It had been a long-standing plan that the president would deliver the commencement speech there in late May, White House officials said, adding that after the event was postponed, they were still in talks with the academy about finding a new date. White House officials said Trump left it up to the school to decide whether it was safe to hold a graduation ceremony in June, and pointed out that he could always reassess his decision closer to the date if the coronavirus crisis made it impossible for him to attend. But his appearance at West Point, while not in any way unusual or unexpected, had yet to be announced. Indeed, after all the West Point cadets were sent home for spring break in March, Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams, the West Point superintendent, ordered a working group there to draw up options much like a battle campaign for what to do about graduation, summer training and initiation day for incoming cadets. One option included a delayed presidential commencement speech in mid-June, but nothing had been decided, academy officials said. That is, nothing had been decided until April 17, when, at a news conference, Trump was asked about Pences coming trip to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Trump told reporters that he would be speaking at the West Point graduation in the near future, noting that he did not like the look of a socially distanced graduation and that he hoped the look of the ceremony would be nice and tight. He did not announce a date for the event. West Point officials said this week that they were taken aback by the impromptu announcement. Of the many graduation options under review, Trump had preempted their planning. A White House official said that the administration had been in discussions with West Point about a new date for the graduation, and that the academy had offered June 13 as a possibility. On the morning of April 18, White House officials said, Trump had a discussion with the Defense Department, in which he confirmed that he would speak at West Point on June 13. At a news conference later that day, Trump publicly announced the date for the first time. Im going to West Point. I think theyre changing the date to June 13th because of whats going on in New York, he said. Theyre moving into June 13th. West Point. In a statement, a White House official said that the president had spoken with DOD and his remarks on that Saturday were not a surprise to the academy. By Wednesday, the academy had caught up to the presidents announcement. We are honored to host the commander in chief as we celebrate the many accomplishments of our graduating class, Williams said in a statement. West Point officials say the size and scope of the ceremony will be determined by safety considerations for cadets and the entire West Point community. Academy officials say they have not yet decided whether parents or other visitors will be allowed to attend. Williams said in a telephone interview that returning seniors would be tested off-campus for the coronavirus. Those who test negative will then be sent to the school, where they will be monitored for 14 days before graduation. While the campus has enough dormitory rooms for the 1,000 seniors, Williams said that he was still deciding whether seniors would share bedrooms on their return. All 1,000 of them will not intermix, he said. Theyll be in their rooms. Theyll have their masks on. Groups will be segregated in the mess hall when they eat. Some faculty say this is not only inconvenient to cadets, but it is also a risk to their mental well-being. It has been an academic year marred by tragedy even before the outbreak. One cadet was killed and 21 others injured last June after a military vehicle overturned en route to a training exercise near the academy. In October, a cadet killed himself. Williams, who managed the initial stages of the American military response to the Ebola pandemic in Liberia in 2014, said that he was drawing from his experiences during that outbreak. He spent three weeks in quarantine in Italy after returning from Liberia during Ebola, and said he planned to use some of what he had learned during his own isolation to help returning West Point seniors. Im not waiting for them to come back here to start worrying about their mental health, he said. Since leaving campus in March, a handful of the academys 4,400 cadets have tested positive for the coronavirus, and about 30 staff and faculty members have tested positive, said Lt. Col. Christopher Ophardt, an academy spokesman. Graduating seniors, known as firsties, would have had to come back at some point to take final exams, pack up their belongings and out-process, some said. If receiving their diploma and, most importantly, their commission with POTUS can top off that week, then my feeling is that all graduates would support it, said Michael J. Meese, a retired one-star Army general who taught at West Point and served on Trumps transition team, using the acronym for the president of the United States. West Point still has to clear a few more hurdles to realize Trumps wish. The academy has asked Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper for waivers from a ban on travel for military personnel that runs through June 30, to allow cadets to return from all over the country. And no one knows what twist the coronavirus could take in New York by June 13. West Point officials say they will follow the guidance from Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Army. Well go by what they all say at that time, said Ophardt, the academy spokesman. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. In a month of service (till April 24) since the Covid-19 lockdown began, India Post delivered over a 100 tonne of medicines and medical equipment and enabled Postal Savings Bank Account transactions amounting to Rs 33,000 crore and Aadhar-enabled payments worth Rs 452 crore, officials privy to the matter told Hindustan Times. Department of Post, which falls under Essential Service Maintenance Act, has been the bridge for many people across states during the Covid-19 lockdown. The department adapted to the situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic in a very short period of time to ensure doorstep delivery of pensions and medicines across the country. One of the silent revolutions has been the Aadhar-enabled payment system, said India Post director-general Arundhaty Ghosh. You can withdraw money from any bank account and the postman will deliver it your home once your biometric is cleared. Nearly 23 lakh users have transacted Rs 452 crore using this system across the country. The system requires the user to download the India Post Payment Bank app, following which the request can be made. At a time, Rs 10,000 can be withdrawn. Many people were facing difficulties reaching their banks, so we decided to take this step to ease their troubles, Ghosh added. The app can also be used to pay electricity and mobile bills. India Post savings bank accounts, which saw transactions amounting to Rs 33,000 crore, have, however, been operating through ATMs and post-office counters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also lauded the efforts of the Postal Department on Friday. Kudos to the @IndiaPostOffice Network, our hardworking postmen for their stupendous efforts in assisting people during this time, the PM said on Twitter. In its latest move to garner diplomatic support against Iran for having launched a military satellite, the U.S. State Department issued a statement on April 25 calling on other countries to reject Irans move. "All peace-loving nations must reject Irans development of ballistic-missile capable technologies and join together to constrain Irans dangerous missile programs", The statement said. Lambasting the leaders of the clergy-dominated Iran for "lying", and "secrecy", the statement added, "As a start, nations should support extending the UN conventional arms embargo on Iran, which is set to expire this October." While describing the Islamic Republic as the worlds leading state sponsor of terrorism and anti-Semitism, the statement insists that Tehran should not be allowed to buy and sell conventional weapons. Furthermore, the statement has directly addressed the European Union to join Washington and sanction those individuals and entities working on Irans missile program. Britain, France, and Germany have already condemned Iran's latest move in launching a satellite into space. The three are still party to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. After extending the deal for four times, Washington withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 and imposed batches of back-breaking economic sanctions on Tehran. Iran has always maintained it is not pursuing nuclear weapons and its missile program is for conventional self-defense. "For years, Iran has claimed its space program is purely peaceful and civilian. The Trump Administration has never believed this fiction. This weeks launch of a military satellite by Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, makes clear what we have said all along: Irans space program is neither peaceful nor entirely civilian," the statement asserted on Saturday. The statement follows a tweet by the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, on Saturday, saying, "Iran continues to lie that the Revolutionary Guard's space program is peaceful when in reality it is part of the country's nuclear weapons program". In what is seen by many as a violation of a United Nations Security Council Resolution, Iran on April 22 launched a ballistic missile carrying what it said was a military satellite into orbit. The resolution in question was adopted by the UN Security Council as part of the JCPOA. In a statement on Thursday, France condemned Irans move, saying this was in contravention of UNSC Resolution 2231. Expressing concern over Iran's move, Germany also said that Berlin's position on the Islamic Republic missile program has not changed, and the program has a destabilizing impact on the region. Regarding Europe's security interests, Iran's missile program is unacceptable, Germany asserted. A day later, on Friday, Britain also said that Iran's launch of a military satellite using ballistic missile technology was of significant concern and inconsistent with UNSC Resolution 2231. However, Russia, itself a permanent member of the UNSC and still a party to the JCPOA has come to Irans defense on the issue. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, on Thursday dismissed the U.S. claim that Iran violated resolution 2231 and accused Washington of being in violation of the nuclear deal. Nonetheless, according to the State Department's Saturday statement, "This satellite launch vehicle and others launched before it, incorporate technologies identical to, and interchangeable with, ballistic missiles, including longer-range systems such as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). No country has ever pursued an ICBM capability except for the purpose of delivering nuclear weapons." Referring to the deadly outbreak of the new coronavirus in Iran, the statement has concluded, "When the Iranian people are suffering and dying from the coronavirus pandemic, it is regrettable to see the regime waste its resources and efforts on provocative military pursuits that do nothing to help the Iranian people." We might have the luxury of sitting safely at our homes right now during the Coronavirus pandemic, but our frontline heroes like doctors, nurses, and police officials continue to risk their lives every day to keep us protected. Unfortunately, some of these warriors are losing their lives in the fight against the deadly virus and it is nothing but heartbreaking. Reuters Recently, in a tragic development, Mumbai Police Head Constable, Chandrakant Ganapat Pendurkar succumbed to the Coronavirus. Pendurkar, who is now the first cop in Mumbai to die due to Covid-19, was battling the virus for the past few days. Mumbai Police took to Twitter to inform about the tragic news and shared their condolences, Mumbai Police regrets to inform about the untimely demise of Head Constable Chandrakant Ganapat Pendurkar (57) from Vakola PSTN, who was battling Coronavirus for the past few days. May the departed soul rest in peace. Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved family. Mumbai Police regrets to inform about the untimely demise of Head Constable Chandrakant Ganapat Pendurkar (57) from Vakola PStn, who was battling Coronavirus for the past few days. May the departed soul rest in peace. Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved family. Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) April 25, 2020 Among the many people who responded to the tweet with their condolences was Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, who posted a tweet saying, this is extremely sad .. they work for our survival, and sacrifice their own .. salutations to the brave .. condolences to the family of Cnst Chandrakant... our prayers. .. this is extremely sad .. they work for our survival, and sacrifice their own .. salutations to the brave .. condolences to the family of Cnst Chandrakant .. our prayers .. https://t.co/0qUFE8PJuS Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) April 25, 2020 After hearing this tragic news, many people on Twitter hailed Pendurkar as a true hero and warrior and offered him their respects for standing up for the safety of his countrymen. May his soul rest in Pride & peace.He has given his life to us,I hope the city repays by simply staying home & supporting the greatest efforts of #Mumbaipolice to save us.prayers & respect AARTII NAAGPAL (@aartiinaagpal) April 25, 2020 Shri Chandrakant Ganpat Pendurkar - you are a true hero. Deepest condolences to the family & loved ones. No words are enough to thank you for your courage and service. RIP sir. Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) April 25, 2020 Atleast please stay at home this will be true tribute for the constable.. RIP.. Akash Chaurasia (@Akashvns092) April 25, 2020 Om shanti Will be forever indebted for your seva Akshita Singh Bhadauria (@AkshitaSinghB) April 25, 2020 Sad demise May God praise him in piece there our officers are working hard for us please god give them more power Rohit Rajesh Upadhyay (@Rohitup46373572) April 25, 2020 As many as 96 policemen and policewomen in Mumbai have tested positive for COVID-19 to date. Mumbai has now become the epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak in Maharashtra. There are around 7600 active cases in the state. The only solution to fight the pandemic right now is to stay at home. MensXP also urges everyone to stay indoors and stay safe. She said remembers how helpful it was to have support when her children graduated high school. As a single parent, I was working two jobs ..., she said. My son graduated from A&M Consolidated back in 2011, and his teachers bought his cap and gown for him, and his aunt bought his invitations, and all I needed to get was his class ring and his photos. And I tell you, that helped me a whole lot, because I want to make his day special. I wanted to send my heart and my blessings out to the other seniors of every class thats trying to follow their future and not let anything stop them whether it be COVID or whatever. I just want them all to succeed in life and in their careers. Through this experience, Thomas said, she hopes the students remember to pay it forward in the future. Remember someone was there to help me; I want to help the next person, she said. Malone said she wants the seniors to remember the love and compassion they felt through the experience. Theres always someone that you can reach for and lift up, she said, whether it is with gifts or just to be there for them. Social media firm Helo had last year directed its content moderating team in India to remove political and non-political content that are against Chinese government from its platform, according to sources. The company, however, said that it follows community guidelines which does not restrict any content that is critical of foreign governments, including China. According to sources, an internal email sent by a Chinese employee to content moderating team said "recommend all their political related content, except those content which is against the Chinese government, Dalai Lama, Tibet. We need to drop those content which are against Chinese government". The instructions were issued in February 2019 covered any content generated by organisations, celebrity, official account and self-build accounts on the Helo platform. The Helo platform was launched by Bytedance in June 2018 in India and in December 2019 it came out with revised community guidelines focussed on checking fake The instructions also directed the content team in India to also drop non-political content being posted from star and official accounts having high visibility on the platform. When contacted, Helo spokesperson said "Our externally posted Community Guidelines in 14 local languages, which we update from time to time, explicitly state what is and is not allowed on the platform. They are designed to ensure freedom of speech and do not restrict any content that is critical of foreign governments, including China". The community guidelines of Helo bars hate speech, insults of national honour and promotion of sedition, promotion of animosity against Indian or any other state through call for violence etc. "These policies are being developed and optimized by the Indian team and continue to evolve over time. Currently, there are over 1,000 people working on content policy and moderation based out of India," the spokesperson said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On Sunday, Chairman and Chief Executive Councillor (CEC), LAHDC, Kargil Feroz Ahmed Khan expressed gratitude to the Central government for ensuring the safe return of three batches of pilgrims who were stranded in Iran amid COVID-19 outbreak. A total of 487 pilgrims in Iran, including 458 from Kargil and 29 from Leh district, were rescued in three batches through a special aircraft of the Indian Air Force on April 21, 22, and 23. Elated at the home coming of our esteemed pilgrims who'd completed their quarantine period after arrival from Iran. Gratitudes to the people of Kargil for their patient support Heartfelt thanks to @R_K_Mathur @IAF_MCC @adgpi. More pilgrims to be evacutaed soon!#WeShallOverCome pic.twitter.com/kwcs8kItAp Feroz Ahmed Khan (@FerozKhan_Kgl) April 21, 2020 READ | 225 Iran Evacuees Airlifted From Jodhpur To Leh READ | Ladakh UT Helps 100 Stranded Zanskar Residents Leave For Home From Leh Kargil authorities thank the Government During a media briefing, the heads of influential religious organisations in Kargil along with the CEC thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs and all other concerned ministries and officers for providing proper medical care and necessary facilities to the pilgrims at their quarantine centres set up by the Army and Indian Air Force (IAF) in Ghaziabad, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. READ | Ladakh MP Seeks Help From Centre For Fair Distribution Of Groceries "Pilgrims of Kargil who were stuck in Iran due to the infection outbreak were first evacuated from Iran and were then quarantined at various quarantine centres for nearly a month. Now they have been airlifted here in an Indian Air Force plane. They were looked after properly at the various quarantine centres. We thank everybody for this great effort," the CEC said. He said that the pilgrims will further undergo administrative quarantine for 14 days before returning to their homes to ensure their safety. The Kargil authorities further appealed to the Centre to rescue more than 300 pilgrims who are still in Iran at the earliest. READ | Two New COVID-19 Cases In Ladakh, tally rises to 20 (With inputs from ANI) THE Philippine National Police (PNP) has raised more than P200 million which will be donated to the National Government to aid its effort in ensuring assistance to poor families affected by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. PNP spokesperson Brigadier General Bernard Banac said the PNP was able to collect a total of P208.1 million through the #Team PNP Bayanihan Fund Challenge, a fund raising project of the PNP through voluntary contribution of PNP personnel from their salaries. This Bayanihan Fund Challenge also called the PNPs version of SAP or Sariling Alay ng Pulis para sa mahirap is a project of PNP Chief PGen Archie Francisco Gamboa implemented by PMGen Benigno B Durana Jr, the Director of PNP Directorate for Police Community Relations to raise P200-million aid to help feed the poorest of poor who are the most economically vulnerable as strict ECQ in Metro Manila and other places hardest hit by the Pandemic extends until May 15 and as well as GCQ measures begin in other parts of the country after April 30, Banac said. He said it was also in consonance of the PNP personnel voluntary donation drive called Kapwa Ko, Sagot Ko! where PNP personnel were encouraged to adopt an indigent family in their respective communities and help them by providing food packs or grocery items and financial assistance good for at least one week. Banac said the program has already helped 141,000 poor families across the country which is equivalent to P81M worth of assistance. He said both programs will help the governments social amelioration program. The entire Luzon has been placed under enhance community quarantine (ECQ) until April 30 to curb the spread of the Covid-19. However, the ECQ will remain in place in Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Central Luzon and several other areas where cases of the disease are prevalent. The other areas which were considered low to moderate risk for Covid-19 will be on general community quarantine where social distancing and wearing of face mask should remain but with less restriction on other activities such as going out of residence. Story continues Gamboa expressed support for the continuous delivery of aid including cash assistance to the affected families especially despite the threats posed by local communist insurgents. The PNP is open to lateral coordination of security arrangements with DSWD, DOH, LGUs and our counterparts in the AFP to ensure the security of government aid workers and resources intended for the poor, he said. Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano urged the local government units (LGUs) to issue permits or certification to the private organization who intends to conduct relief operations amid the health emergency crisis. DILG spokesperson Undersecretary Jonatahan Malaya said it is needed in order for organizations to pass through quarantine checkpoints and conduct their relief operations. He said that all relief operations should be properly coordinated with LGUs before the relief items handed over to the recipients. Based on the report Joint Task Force COVID Shield, dahil ginagamit na palusot ang relief operations, minabuti ni Secretary Ano na maglabas ng kautusan na lahat ng relief operations ay magpakita ng certification galing sa LGU na sila ay nakipagugnayan para mamigay ng relief goods, Malaya said. Hindi pwedeng pumunta derecho sa barangay at magbigay ng relief goods ang relief organizations because that will violate our policy of stay at home at the same time it violates the mass gathering and social distancing policies of the government, he added. (SunStar Philippines) BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 26 Trend: The number of coronavirus tests conducted in Azerbaijan has been revealed, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Management Union of Medical Territorial Units (TABIB). As of April 25, 6,069 tests were conducted to detect new cases of infection. In accordance with the data, in general, 120,479 tests were conducted throughout the country. So far, 1,617 infected people have been detected in Azerbaijan. Some 1,080 of them recovered, 21 people died. Some 516 people are being treated in special hospitals. The condition of 15 people of them is severe, the condition of 21 people is assessed as moderate, and the condition of the rest is stable. A local council's plan to open its beaches for just three hours a day is doomed to backfire as it entices huge crowds to rush for their dip at once, locals and experts have claimed. Coogee, Maroubra, Clovelly, and Malabar beaches in Sydney are only open 6am-9am after too many people ignored coronavirus distancing rules last week. However, opening for just three hours means everyone goes to the beach at the same time instead of spreading out over the day. Photos from Sunday morning show Coogee Beach teeming with people and people walking shoulder-to-shoulder along the footpath above it. Photos from Sunday morning show Coogee Beach teeming with people during the three hours it was allowed to open, showing the 6am-9am opening time has backfired People were also walking shoulder-to-shoulder along the footpath above it Beachgoers are only allowed to exercise by swimming, surfing, or walking and can't relax on the sand, sunbathe, or just bob around in the water. Catherine Potter from the Malabar Business Chamber said Randwick Council's new policy was poorly thought out. 'It would be better if they were open the whole day rather than creating a rush in the morning,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'That way the number of people would be spread out over the day.' Ms Potter said the beaches should instead be patrolled better to prevent residents flouting the rules. 'People should allowed to go to the beach and get their exercise, swimming or running along the beach as long as they don't hang around or turn up in groups,' she said. Opening for just three hours means everyone goes to the beach at the same time instead of spreading out over the day Numbers only got worse over the course of the morning as people set their alarms to get a swim in before the 9am shutdown 'The council should be policing it better and fining people who keep breaking the rules.' Coogee Precinct secretary Del Buchanan would not comment on the three-hour policy, but said other beaches being closed had people flocking to hers. 'With Bondi and other beaches closed it's not good for anyone. It's not been a good situation over the past few days, things changed markedly and with everyone's welfare in mind, I don't think that it is working,' she said. Australian National University associate professor Sanjaya Senanayake said opening for three hours caused more problems than it solved. 'There would be a lot of pressure for people to get on the beach in that three-hour period, and that will create more crowding than if they had all day,' he said. 'The issue for the council is policing it for the whole day if it's become such a big problem - they may not have the resources to do that.' Deputy Mayor Philipa Veitch said the council was try solutions to a complex issue and the plan would be reviewed on Sunday night ahead of next weekend. 'There will certainly be a review, given what's happened over the past two days,' she said. Experts said closing the beach for all but three hours a day caused more problems than it solved, causing this scene early on Sunday monring 'We were deluged with requests from residents to be able to have their morning swim or surf and there were many accessing the water via the rocks, which is really unsafe. 'Because the weather was going to be so warm, we didn't want people flocking to the beach during the middle of the day. 'There was always going to be an issue opening during the school holidays with nothing much else to do,' she said.' Cr Veitch said the chance of a surfer catching or transmitting coronavirus on the water was very low, but there were a lot of them. 'I've never seen so many surfers at Maroubra in my life, I think everyone with a surfboard lying in their garage decided to bring it down this weekend,' she said. The situation was similar on Saturday with hundreds on the beach even before dawn 'Some councillors have been calling for police to go down there and fine more people but a $1,000 fine is very steep especially if they're someone who's just lost their job. 'Whereas if you go to the local shopping area there's no police around.' Randwick's beaches were shut down on Friday, less than a week after reopening, after masses flocked to the shoreline, ignoring social distancing measures. 'Please understand our beaches are not open for leisure - they are open only for exercise - soft sand running/walking, surfing and swimming,' the council said. The council added too many people in the water were not considered to be swimming. 'Today we found too many people paddling at the shoreline for long periods of time. Although this is a fun activity, this is not the intended purpose for our beaches at this time.' Randwick's beaches were shut down on Friday, less than a week after reopening, after masses flocked to the shoreline (pictured is everyone being ordered off Coogee Beach) Police explain on Friday that the beach is closed and this woman can't go for a stroll on the sand On Friday, lifeguards and rangers were seen booting swimmers and sunbathers off the sand shortly after 1pm as large numbers made policing COVID-19 rules difficult. 'There were too many people on the sand and people were unable to follow safe social distancing practices so lifeguards and rangers are in the process of moving people off the beach now,' the council said. 'We really need for people to swim their laps, surf or soft sand run for exercise, then leave immediately.' The city's eastern beaches had only been open since Monday, after they were first closed on March 21 after thousands of sunseekers flouted restrictions to fill Bondi beach. Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson confessed that she was "rejected constantly" in her professional life, adding that she has "made a career out of being second choice". In an interview with Parade, the Avengers actor looked back at her career. "Since a very young age, I've been rejected constantly ... the best call you can receive is after you are rejected for something and then you get it. You appreciate it more. I've basically made a career out of being second choice," she added. Also read: Black Widow didnt die in Avengers Endgame, new Marvel theory says; Natasha was an imposter Johansson became one of the highest paid actresses in the world after playing Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but she wasn't originally cast in the role. She got the part after Emily Blunt had to drop out due to scheduling reasons. In the past, the Oscar nominee has expressed frustration at roles she had to turn down. She also stepped down from the project Rub And Tug after criticism that a transgender actor should have been cast as the trans character. At that time, in an interview to As If magazine in 2019, she said: "You know, as an actor I should be allowed to play any person, or any tree, or any animal because that is my job and the requirement of my job. There are a lot of social lines being drawn now, and a lot of political correctness is being reflected in art." Johansson's next release will be Black Widow, which is slated to release on November 6. Follow @htshowbiz for more He did not say how long that waiver should last, and his appeal has made little progress. Mr. Trump said that he would be willing to give some medical equipment to Iran to combat the virus, such as ventilators, if they ask for it. Irans leaders have not asked. Trump administration officials say their threat to return to the far harsher sanctions which blocked virtually all oil sales and drove Iran to the negotiating table would not come until fall, presumably after the first phase of the coronavirus response has passed. They maintain it is separate from any relaxation of restrictions on medical supplies, some of which are exempted already from U.S. sanctions. The arms embargo at the center of the dispute was something of a sideshow to the main nuclear agreement. The agreement covers only Irans nuclear activity: It required Iran to ship about 97 percent of its nuclear fuel out of the country moved to Russia, in early 2016 and to observe sharp limits on its production of nuclear material for 15 years. Iran abided by those limits for a year after Mr. Trump pulled out of the agreement. But since last summer, it has gradually violated the limitations on both how much nuclear fuel it is allowed to stockpile and the level to which it can enrich its fuel. As a result, experts agree that it has greatly shortened its breakout time, the period needed to make enough fuel for a single nuclear weapon. Iran insists it would return to the agreed-upon levels as soon as Mr. Trump came back into compliance with the agreement by lifting unilateral sanctions. The arms embargo along with limits on missile launches was part of a United Nations Security Council resolution that enshrined the nuclear accord, and suspended years of U.N.-imposed sanctions. That is what begins to expire in October. (The limits come off in stages: Small arms restrictions end this year, but restrictions on missiles and their components remain in place for another three years.) Mr. Pompeo has warned that if the weapons embargo is not extended, Iran will supply more arms to groups that the United States considers terrorists, including Syrian militias and Hezbollah. Even his critics on Capitol Hill agree that he is probably right about what would happen to those arms. Wendy R. Sherman, who served as the negotiation team leader of the Iran accord during the Obama administration and now directs the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard, recalled that the Russians and Chinese never wanted a conventional arms embargo on Iran, and only agreed to one of limited duration. A woman was shocked to board a packed American Airlines flight and find that half of the passengers were not wearing masks. Many flights are mostly empty due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the flight from Miami to New York was 80-90% full, the New York Post reported. The news came as the head of the largest flight attendant union called on the US Department of Transportation to require airline passengers to wear face coverings. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Airlines around the world are flying mostly empty planes as they maintain connectivity while travel demand plummets due to the coronavirus outbreak. That meant it was an unpleasant surprise for a New York woman who walked onto a flight from Miami to find that it was packed full and that, despite federal guidance for social distancing and wearing of face coverings, half the passengers weren't wearing masks. According to the New York Post, Wednesday's American Airlines Flight 2669, from Miami to New York's LaGuardia was about 80-90% full. When Manhattanite Angie Wong boarded the plane wearing a surgical mask, face shield, gloves, and a hoodie, she expected to see a mostly empty flight with passengers covering their faces. Instead, people wore a wide range of outfits and protective gear, from standard clothing with uncovered faces to hazmat coveralls. It was especially surprising, Wong told the Post, because social distancing rules were strictly enforced in Miami before the 10:19 a.m. flight. "I could tell passengers were very nervous that masks were not mandated," she told the Post. "I asked how this was allowed during distancing requirements, and got 'nothing we can do about it' shrugs and offered an 800 number to change my reservation," she said. The news came as America's biggest flight attendants' union demanded that the US Department of Transportation (DOT) require passengers on commercial flights to wear masks. Surgical masks and face coverings do not necessarily protect the wearer, but have been shown to protect others nearby if the wearer is an asymptomatic carrier of the virus. Story continues Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA which represents flight attendants from 20 airlines, but not American wrote in a letter to DOT secretary Elaine Chao that masks should be required to be worn on planes and in airports "so long as COVID-19 remains a threat to public health." "Passengers on all modes of public transport should be encouraged to wear masks in the short term and mandated by emergency regulation as soon as practicable," Nelson wrote. "This will further minimize risks to themselves, the public transport workforce on which they are reliant, and our healthcare infrastructure, which must cope with the surge of infected patients unless we curb the spread." Seven US states require wearing masks in public when maintaining social distance is not possible, including New York. Canada recently required all airline passengers to wear masks during travel. Nelson also called for leisure travel to be banned until the virus is contained. " Airlines are continuing to deliver people, mail, and cargo, uniting families that are grieving or rushing to be with those who have fallen ill, and transporting others who require medical treatment unrelated to the pandemic," she wrote. " We believe that protecting this essential service and ensuring air travel is not aiding in spread of the virus requires a halt to all leisure travel until the pandemic is brought under control according to health authorities." Read the original article on Business Insider Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 10:56:59|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close RIO DE JANEIRO, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Lyon right-back Rafael da Silva has expressed a desire to end his career alongside twin brother Fabio at Botafogo, the team they supported as children. Rafael, who is contracted to Lyon until June 2021, said Botafogo would be his favored destination, should the French club choose not to renew his contract. "I want to end my career at Botafogo but first I need to receive a proposal from them," the 29-year-old said in an interview with Canal do TV. "It's not enough just for me to want it. If had the option of joining Botafogo or another club in Brazil I would definitely choose Botafogo." Rafael has made 129 appearances for Lyon since joining the club from Manchester United in 2015. Fabio, who also spent time at United before signing with Cardiff City in 2014, is now at Lyon's Ligue 1 rivals, Nantes. "We talk a lot and our dream is to end our careers together," Rafael said. "Both of our contracts end at the same time. It would be amazing to play together for the team that we supported as kids. It would be a dream come true." Enditem GODFREY Lewis and Clark Community College offers classes this summer and fall for continuing or career education. Prospective students and parents are invited to attend the colleges first Trailblazer Talk, a virtual recruitment event, from 4-5:30 p.m., Monday, April 27. Participants will have the opportunity to view a short presentation on the admissions process, virtual offerings and financial aid, and participate in a Q&A session with enrollment and financial aid representatives. The event will be held over Blackboard Collaborate. Participants do not need an account to attend just click https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/858b6e2ff6b046d18f9f889a1bd0010c or call in at 571-392-7650 and use PIN 3841421799 when its time for the event to start. Lewis and Clark is the perfect place to train for a career, prepare for a career change or start on your path to a bachelors degree and beyond, said LCCCs Ryan Hodge, assistant director of admissions, records and recruitment. We hope the community will take this opportunity to see what we have to offer and consider enrolling with us. LCCC has more than 40 career and technical education programs from dental hygiene to truck driver training, starting salaries for some in these fields can run as high as $50,000 to $100,000 annually. The college also has numerous transfer options and agreements at a variety of four-year colleges and universities across the country. Simply by attending LCCC for two years, transfer students can save an average of $18,396 on a bachelors degree, compared to students who attend Illinois colleges and universities for all four years. LCCCs physical campuses are currently closed through the governors stay-at-home order due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The college is planning to deliver summer 2020 classes online and continues to watch the ever-changing situation closely regarding fall. Any updates will be posted for the public at www.lc.edu/coronavirus. For more information, contact Hodge at rhodge@lc.edu or visit www.lc.edu/admissions to apply or enroll. German police arrested dozens of protesters in Berlin for flouting the coronavirus lockdown measures they were demonstrating against. About 1,000 people turned out for the rally, which has become a weekly event in the German capital. Saturday's protest attracted mainly far-left activists but there were also right-wing supporters and members of other fringe groups. Police put up barriers around Rosa Luxemburg square, where the protesters were headed, leaving the participants to gather in nearby roads. The protest "is not in line with the rules" in place to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, police said on Twitter, telling those taking part to disperse. Some of the demonstrators wore T-shirts accusing Chancellor Angela Merkel of "banning life" while others simply called for "freedom". Others brandished placards bearing slogans such as "Stop the pharmaceutical lobby". The protest was unauthorised as a result of emergency rules in Berlin banning gatherings of more than 20 people. The protest organisers' website called for "an end to the state of emergency" and played down the threat posed by the virus. Public discontent with the confinement rules has been growing gradually in Germany, as in other countries, though Merkel's popularity remains high. She has received plaudits for her management of the health crisis which has seen Germany's COVID-19 toll -- 5,500 according to an AFP tally -- remain significantly lower than in Italy, Spain, France and Britain where the death tolls have all risen above 20,000. Opposition to the lockdown measures is being led by the far-right, the main opposition force in the German parliament. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party accuses the government of exaggerating the risk posed by the virus and has called for the immediate reopening of all businesses. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 10:12:14|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A staff member of a milk tea shop prepares drinks in Canberra, Australia, April 22, 2020. In Canberra, when you place an order, you could have hotpot, noodles, milk tea and pancake of different brands served to your home all at the same time for lunch. This is a new measure taken jointly by some Chinese restaurants to survive the bleak season after the COVID-19 outbreak in Australia. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua) CANBERRA, April 26 (Xinhua) -- In Canberra, when you place an order, you could have hotpot, noodles, milk tea and pancake of different brands served to your home all at the same time for lunch. This is a new measure taken jointly by some Chinese restaurants to survive the bleak season after the COVID-19 outbreak in Australia. "The epidemic dealt a heavy blow to hospitality industry. As winter is coming, we have to 'huddle together for warmth'," said Wang Yuxuan. The 27-year-old man is an owner of the Wukong Hotpot, which was opened last year. Hotpot restaurants were rare in the Australian capital. Therefore, Wukong was immediately bustling with customers. However, in an attempt to stem COVID-19 in the country, the federal government of Australia on March 23 announced that restaurants and cafes were restricted to takeaway and delivery only. While Wang found it impossible to put his hotpot into a box and income was hence falling to zero, other restaurants saw a drop of their income as well. A report by the Nine News last month said that the hospitality industry estimated 88,000 jobs had already gone and 200,000 were expected to go in the coming weeks and months. Of all the restaurants the Chinese took the brunt due to the early closure of Australian border to the Chinese people and stigma after some local media reports labeled COVID-19 as a "Chinese virus." The Chongqing Street Noodle, a brand that became famous after it was mentioned in the documentary television series, A Bite of China, saw its revenue reduced by about 70 percent. It used to have more than 10 full-time and part-time employees, but apart from those who are still in China and some too afraid to come, there are only three or four left. Chongqing Street Noodle and Wukong Hotpot are both in the Dickson area, which was dubbed the "China Town" of Canberra. "Owners of the restaurants here all knew each other and we always get together to talk about our business," said 33-year-old Jett Li, owner of the Chongqing Street Noodle. "While we are suffering losses, the customers have to spend more money on delivery fee," he said. "So an idea occurred to us: why don't we join hands and create a long menu with all our products, so that customers could enjoy a 'one-stop' service?" Wang agreed. "Suppose you are a regular customer to the noodles restaurant and not familiar with the milk tea nearby, it is a good opportunity for the milk tea shop to promote its products," he said. He is also owner of the bubble tea shop Super Emoji. Normally in Canberra delivery fee on Uber Eat for one order is between 5.99 and 7.99 Australian dollars (about 3.8 to 5.1 U.S. dollars). Li and Wang decided to deliver the food themselves, with single delivery charge at 5 Australian dollars (3.2 U.S. dollars). "At first we have five restaurants join in the program, with about 30 employees," Wang said. "Those who don't have to work on shift would take up the responsibility of delivery that day." They have two employees doing an extra job to keep record of each order. Restaurants would share the delivery charge in accordance with proportion of their products in each order. There are disagreements, but the restaurants decided to put them aside and give a try. "The program started a fortnight ago," Li told Xinhua. "It is too early to calculate the exact figure of revenue growth now, but the increase of orders is out of our expectation." To join in the program, Wukong Hotpot created some new dishes by cooking mixed meat and vegetable. "Now our revenue is about 30 percent of the average in the past," he said. "Sometimes crisis could be an opportunity as well," he added. "Without the COVID-19 epidemic, we might never have considered doing delivery business and develop new products." Now that at least six shops joined in the program, neither Wang nor Li knows if the cooperation mechanism could be preserved after the epidemic is over. For now their focus is still to tide over the difficult time. "The only way to survive is to stick together," said Jett Li. "After all, we are all Chinese." The Assistant Headmistress of Asanteman Senior High School (Domestic), Mrs Georgina Osei, has appealed to the government to include elective subjects in the E-learning module to help bridge the curriculum gap ahead of this years West African Senior School Certificate Examination for candidates. While commending the government for the innovation shown on some television networks to keep the students busy while under COVID-19 lockdown, Mrs Osei said focusing on only the core subjects would not be helpful. "It will put a lot of stress on teachers handling the elective subjects and put the students under unnecessary pressure," she said. Mrs Osei was speaking with journalists in Kumasi last Thursday during the final leg of a 10-day national fumigation and disinfection of SHSs in the Ashanti Region. The exercise, being undertaken by Zoomlion, a subsidiary of the Jospong Group of Companies, was carried out in 42 out of 43 districts in the Ashanti Region. With the exception of Sekyere Afram Plains which has no secondary school, all the 134 public schools have benefitted from the exercise. Mrs Osei said it was incumbent on students, especially the final-year ones, to marry their books while on holiday so that they do not become rusty when school reopens. Facility The assistant headmistress suggested to the government to increase infrastructural facilities to be able to deal with the increasing number of students. Currently, she said some projects, including the school's assembly hall, which was being built from the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) Fund, had been stalled due to the suspension of PTA dues. She called for speedy measures to complete such infrastructure since the current ones, which were overcrowded, would not be able to promote the social distancing protocol when schools reopened. Nose masks Mrs Osei appealed to the government to supply nose masks to all schools when academic activities resumed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (CONVID-19). The Corporate Affairs Manager of the Jospong Group, Mrs Sophia Nana Lissah, said the spraying exercise was being done in collaboration with other private companies. She said after the Ashanti Region exercise, Zoomlion and its allies expected to spend the next three weeks fumigating all public SHSs across the country. "We expect to rid all the schools of bedbugs in particular before the children are back," she said. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video (Newser) Joining the millions upon millions of Americans in the unemployment line may soon be the Cabinet secretary partly responsible for heading up the response to the pandemic that sent them there in the first place. The White House is weighing kicking HHS Secretary Alex Azar to the curb over his handling of the coronavirus, Politico reports, citing four insiders. The Wall Street Journal backs up the report, though it notes the White House's reluctance to replace a Cabinet member in the middle of a public health crisis. The official White House response: "The Department of Health and Human Services, under the leadership of Secretary Azar, continues to lead on a number of the Presidents priorities. Any speculation about personnel is irresponsible and a distraction from our whole-of-government response to COVID-19. story continues below That said, West Wing frustration has mounted over reports that Azar urged Trump to act on the virus in January and was ignored, as well as Azar's ouster of vaccine expert Rick Bright, who in turn filed a whistleblower complaint. Among Azar's rumored replacements: White House coronavirus coordinator Deborah Birx, Medicare head Seema Verma, and deputy HHS Secretary Eric Hargan. As for Azar: "Secretary Azar is busy responding to a global, public health crisis and doesnt have time for palace intrigue," an HHS rep tells the Journal. (Read more Alex Azar stories.) For years, one of the most smirked-at subspecies in the technology ecosystem was that of the Silicon Valley Prepper. You were always hearing about them, these men with soft jobs and hardened paranoia. The $0.99 game developer with a bug-out bag, the venture capitalist with a bunker in New Zealand, the cloud administrator learning to bowhunt for a survivalist future. The preppers were living in flush times in a beautiful region, but it seemed like the first thing they did with money was steel for the apocalypse. Now, with COVID-19, they feel vindicated. Because they are. The coders and founders long snickered at for stockpiling flour and toilet paper were absolutely right. Properly masked and drenched in Purell, they are railing against a tech press that they feel mocked them as late as February for reducing travel and not shaking hands. They are of course they are making a slew of COVID-related startup investments. And a coolheaded blog called The Prepared, with features like Prepping Checklist for Beginners and Rational Reasons You Should Prepare, is emerging as the voice of a movement. John Ramey, a longtime Silicon Valley entrepreneur, started the site in 2018. People are realizing the last few stable decades have been a fluke, he told me by phone from somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. Its the coronavirus now, but people have been watching climate change, inequality, late-stage capitalism, post-World War II systems falling apart. Our institutions have dropped the ball. Observing all of this is one thing. Acting on it is another. The moment when you first started prepping for the coronavirus has become perhaps the hottest new credential in Silicon Valley. Noticing it early signaled that you were someone who kept a close eye on China, ignored official channels of information, brushed off snark and knew how to parse data. More for you Some wealthy Bay Area residents reportedly fled to bunkers Why, in the techno-futurist worldview, is disaster always near? Surely its relevant that the industry is built atop an earthquake zone. But there may also be something about making money in a heartbeat that predisposes you to imagine it disappearing in one. It could be that if you spend all day thinking of ways to break a system, you realize how easily everything can be broken. But perhaps most of all, it could be that in Silicon Valley, the best people train themselves to be happy to be surprised. There is a sense among them that the East Coast is the old world, conservative, backward-looking. But in the startup world, discovering that youre wrong or that an assumption is flawed is great. It probably means theres an opportunity to make money. Goofball hobbyists vs. cutthroat survivors Sam Altman, the head of OpenAI, a group studying artificial intelligence, became a figurehead of the Bay Area prepper movement after a 2016 New Yorker article appeared in which he acknowledged amassing guns, gold, potassium iodide, antibiotics, batteries, water, gas masks from the Israeli Defense Force, and a big patch of land in Big Sur I can fly to. Hes not in Big Sur today not yet, at least. When I called him recently, he was still in San Francisco, where he has been working with his brother, Max Altman, to organize a bulk order of 1 billion single-use masks from China. To Sam Altman, the early days of the coronavirus captured a long-running tension between tech leaders and a press they view as dismissive and overly negative. The interesting question isnt Why did Silicon Valley get it right? Its How did everyone else get it so wrong? Altman said. One theory is that because initially it was mostly the tech industry saying this was bad, and the media seem to like to say whatever the tech industry thinks is wrong, particularly if it will get some clicks, they mocked the people raising the alarm. In January and February, he watched as prominent Silicon Valley investors notably Balaji Srinivasan, Paul Graham and Geoff Lewis began tweeting prolifically about the coronavirus. On Feb. 13, when Vox published an article headlined No handshakes, please: The tech industry is terrified of the coronavirus, many tech preppers became incensed, convinced that they were being mocked and that the public was not listening. Much of the mainstream news coverage at the time relied on the World Health Organization and government messaging that discouraged mask-wearing and downplayed the viruss risks. But the tech prepper ranks grew. One convert is Ari Paul, chief investment officer of BlockTower Capital, a cryptocurrency investment firm, who saw Srinivasans tweets and began stocking up in February. I bought some nitrile gloves, a month of food, a month of water, and a few months of cash, Paul told me from an undisclosed rural location. He has started keeping a machete by the door, just in case. A second is Julie Fredrickson, who recently sold Stowaway, a venture-backed makeup brand. She had become a China watcher out of necessity: It was where she sourced cosmetics. Because she was in the habit of reading supply chain reports, she perked up at early, disturbing reports from Wuhan. China doesnt shut down cities, she said. Fredrickson was raised in the Bay Area but now lives in Manhattan, where we enjoy showing off our water bricks in our one-bedroom and the go-bags in the couch. And then theres me. For years, I watched Silicon Valley preppers as an eccentric local tribe at best goofball hobbyists, at worst elite separatists who fantasized about leaving the rest of us behind to die. But in January, when I started to notice preppers in an especially high-pitched tizzy about some kind of pneumonia in China, I bought some Lysol. Then some gloves, a couple of masks. I found The Prepared and devoured its advice. The sites central argument made sense: that preparing myself meant I would take up one less spot in the health care system in a crisis. I started to think about what I take for granted. It was kind of a game to play at night, trying to imagine how different parts of my world might falter and how I would stay alive. Soon I had a prepper box. Inside was flu medicine, headlamps, sardines, gloves, goggles, duct tape, a tarp, a Vipertek VTS-989 stun gun, some whistles. Because of it, Ive been able to mail supplies to my parents, and Ive been able to give precious hand sanitizer and high-quality masks to friends. I ended up over-prepping, so I donated the extra to a local clinic. I have noticed an instinct among those who first mocked Silicon Valley preppers as alarmist is now to call them smug. Certainly, some of them are. But the fact remains that they saw this or something like it coming a long ways off. How do I get a gun? About a decade ago, Ramey was living in San Mateo, California, and working as the chief executive of isocket, an online advertising startup. One day, after coffee with a fellow founder, Ramey opened the trunk of his car, inadvertently revealing something he referred to as his Get Home Bag, full of the things he might need if disaster suddenly struck. (Basic stuff, he said: a first-aid kit, food and water rations, a radio, a multitool, a map, a compass, jumper cables, a blade to cut someone out of a seat belt after a crash.) It was, Ramey said, the moment that made him one of the first outed preppers in the Silicon Valley community. Other founders and investors started coming to me ad hoc, he said. And theyd say, How do I put a kit together? And then theyd get really quiet and ask, How do I get a gun? Later, Ramey began working as an innovation adviser to the Obama White House. He was involved in the creation of the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, a Pentagon project to improve ties between the Department of Defense and the technology industry a formerly tight relationship Ramey felt had grown cold. The project has since dropped the Experimental label and become a permanent organization within the Pentagon. But Rameys experience in government did not make him confident about the nations ability to withstand a crisis. I had this wide-eyed belief that there are rooms full of smart people working on critical problems that we face, and once I got into that room, I realized just how wrong I was, Ramey said. They literally still ran our nuclear codes on floppy disks. When Donald Trump was elected president, Ramey decided it was time to get serious about prepping. In 2016, he moved from the Bay Area to a patch of land in Colorado. He wanted to get the message out. He felt more than ever that all Americans should prep. But first, he had to reckon with popular perceptions of the prepper type: rural, deeply conservative and paranoid to an extreme, readying their bunkers for a nuclear sneak attack or the Book of Revelation. Just to figure out how to put an earthquake kit together, you had to listen to someone talk about how Hillary Clinton was going to steal your children, Ramey said. He wanted to make the prepper scene more welcoming to a cosmopolitan cohort urban, liberal, concerned about climate change and social instability, afraid the Trump administration would exacerbate problems or bungle a crisis. At first, Ramey put together advice in shared Google Docs. When that got unwieldy, he started The Prepared and brought on Jon Stokes, one of the creators of the tech news site Ars Technica. In my own circle, there was a sense of a kind of rupture where something was widely not expected to be possible suddenly happens, Stokes said of the election of Trump. And, you know, people were just like, well, maybe the world doesnt work the way I thought it works. Ramey describes the audience for The Prepared as rational preppers. They are people who like to calculate risk and see prepping as a bit of a game. The content, Ramey said, inevitably attracts anti-vaxxers, but moderators try to keep them off the site, mindful that their tribe is put off by unfounded conspiracy theories. Many of Rameys readers preferred to prep inconspicuously, not wanting to seem kooky or paranoid to friends and neighbors. The coronavirus changed that and took prepping mainstream. The Prepared has quadrupled its staff, from three to 12. Investors include co-founders of LivingSocial, Square, the creator of Google AdSense and Coinbase, as well as early executives at Facebook and Twitter. There is irony to this, of course. Prepping is required in part because technology helped make Americas economic infrastructure so efficient. Grocery stores adopted just-in-time delivery systems perfected by Silicon Valley. Hospitals would keep only a few days of extra gear. Prepping is really a decision to take the slack that weve optimized out of the system and put it on your own balance sheet, Stokes said. Hes riding out the pandemic on a farm near Austin, Texas. I have the slack in the form of solar panels and batteries on the electrical grid. And I have grocery store slack. I have medical equipment slack. Theyre going to come for our food Even as layoffs hit startups, many see the chaos as an opportunity to build. Investors have been hunting for startups that might evolve around the pandemic. One prominent social network executive told me that the virus would bring five years of change in five months. Doctors that had resisted telemedicine are now peering at moles on Zoom. Schools that were skeptical about online courses are streaming lectures. Offices of all kinds are settled into fully remote work. Demand for online grocery shopping is overwhelming. The list is endless. Movie theaters have completely given way to home streaming; gyms to video and fitness trackers. Maybe even failed 2010s trends like virtual reality will revive. If even more of the American economy accrues to Silicon Valley, these changes could accelerate the biggest danger the rational preppers fear: revolution-level social strife. Inequality breeds instability, they argue. Youre seeing more awareness, Ramey said. The billionaire class are saying, Yeah, you know, hey guys, we cant keep doing this. Theyre going to come for our food. And so as affluent urban preppers ride out the coronavirus crisis perhaps with their wealth intact or even enhanced they are increasingly aware of a new danger. Danielle Morrill, an entrepreneur who sold an analytics startup in 2017, is an investor in The Prepared. She recently moved from San Francisco to Denver, where she has more space and is getting deeper into prepping. I find it kind of empowering and its a little taboo, Morrill said. Im not some OG prepper, she added, but after this, Im already thinking what do I have to prepare for next? This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Three of the nation's largest meat processors failed to provide protective gear to all workers, and some employees say they were told to continue working in crowded plants even while sick as the coronavirus spread around the country and turned the facilities into infection hot spots, a Washington Post investigation has found. The actions by three major meat producers - Tyson Foods, JBS USA and Smithfield Foods - continued even after federal guidelines on social distancing and personal protective equipment were published March 9, according to 25 interviews with employees, elected officials, regional health officials, union leaders and federal safety inspectors as well as dozens of documents, including worker complaints filed with local and federal officials. Because of outbreaks of the novel coronavirus, over the past several weeks Tyson, JBS and Smithfield have closed 15 plants, devastating rural communities and threatening the nation's supply of beef and pork. Industry analysts say production is already down by at least 25 percent. Coronavirus outbreaks in more than 30 plants run by these companies and others have sickened at least 3,300 workers and killed at least 17, according to a review of news reports, county health reports and interviews with health officials and worker advocates. According to workers, corporate policies contributed to the spread. At a JBS beef processing plant in Colorado, employees claimed that managers encouraged them to report for shifts even when they appeared sick, according to workers and a letter from county health officials to the company reviewed by The Post. At a Tyson pork plant in Iowa, local officials and workers said that some employees were using bandannas and sleep eyewear as facial coverings, while others wore no facial coverings at all. And at a Smithfield distribution center in Indiana, three workers said supervisors told them - despite the science - that they were lucky to labor in frigid temperatures where the virus could not survive. Workers at all the facilities said that personal protective equipment was not promptly distributed. JBS confirmed that it did not receive masks for its employees until April 2 and did not mandate their use until April 13. Tyson said it wasn't until April 15 that it started requiring that all its workers wear masks. Smithfield said masks are universally available to its workers, in compliance with guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but the company would not say exactly when they became available. Smithfield workers said it wasn't until the past week or two. On Saturday, county health officials said they ordered Smithfield to close its plant in St. Charles, Illinois, until it can address issues related to employee safety and protective equipment. "If you're not in a casket, they want you there," said Sonja Johnson, a former Smithfield worker at a packaging and distribution facility. "All they were worried about was making sure we were coming to work." JBS, Smithfield and Tyson all strongly defended their efforts to protect their employees from the coronavirus. Smithfield and Tyson said they started taking preventive action in February, including educating workers about covid-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. JBS said it took action in mid-March. All three companies said they have stepped up sanitation, taken steps to ensure social distancing and are checking temperatures as workers report for their shifts. All say they are now requiring quarantines for employees who have tested positive for the coronavirus and for those in close contact with them. Government officials have repeatedly praised the meat industry for its essential role in the national food supply during the crisis. Vice President Mike Pence has called the workers "heroes." And even as much of U.S. industry pulls back in the face of the pandemic, meat company officials have argued that they have a special responsibility to continue operations. "It is impossible to keep our grocery stores stocked if our plants are not running," Smithfield chief executive Kenneth Sullivan said in a statement announcing the closure of the company's Sioux Falls plant this month. The companies did not receive clear requirements about what they had to do. The guidance released by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on March 9 said employers should offer surgical masks or respirators to workers who could be infected with the novel coronavirus, especially if they work within six feet of one another, a circumstance that is common for meat workers. But OSHA also said it would not enforce such regulations so as not to overly burden companies during the pandemic. "This all could have been prevented. Workers are paying with their lives and their health because their industry decided not to implement basic safety precautions and OSHA decided to bury its head in the sand and tell workers 'You're on your own,' " said Debbie Berkowitz, a former senior OSHA official who is an expert on meat processing plants. OSHA did not respond to a request for comment, but a spokesman for the Department of Labor, which oversees OSHA, said guidance specifically aimed at protecting workers in the meat processing and packing industries will be released in the coming days. - - - Modern meat processing is a model of efficiency. In plants operated by large companies including JBS, Tyson and Smithfield, as many as 1,000 workers report for each of two or three shifts that begin in the early morning hours and sometimes extend through the night. Workers who process the meat - carving it into chicken wings, tri-tip steaks and pork chops - stand two to four feet apart. Because of the mechanical noise of industrial processing lines, workers must place their mouths within inches of supervisors' ears when they ask for bathroom breaks, because they have to be replaced immediately so that work continues uninterrupted. The JBS beef processing plant in Greeley, Colorado, slaughters 5,400 head of cattle a day. Sergio Rodriguez had worked there for 40 years when, he said, he began feeling ill on March 20. As he performed his duties that Friday - handing out smocks and gloves to hundreds of co-workers - he said his head throbbed and his muscles ached. The 58-year-old says he pushed through to his lunch break that day, then asked a supervisor if he could go home because he was sick. He was needed, he said he was told, so he stuck it out. That night, he went to urgent care and was told to isolate himself at home, according to a patient summary from UCHealth Urgent Care. His temperature was 104, and within days, he was hospitalized. Ultimately, he was put on a ventilator, and his family held daily vigils outside his hospital window, praying for his recovery. He left the hospital on April 18. "No one from JBS has called to check on him," said his daughter Crystal Rodriguez, 33, who also works at the plant, which employs more than 3,200. "He kept working even though he was sick, because that's what you do at JBS if you want to keep your job. " JBS spokeswoman Nikki Richardson said a company official did call "Mr. Rodriguez but due to his illness, we were not able [to] connect directly." The president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 7, Kim Cordova, said her records show that Rodriguez worked March 20. Crystal Rodriguez said that by remaining at work, her father exposed hundreds of fellow workers to the coronavirus because he touched their gear and their hands as he distributed work equipment. In a statement, JBS said the company paid Rodriguez for his sick leave, starting March 21. The company would not comment on whether he had to work March 20 while sick, but JBS spokesman Cameron Bruett said, "No one is forced to come to work and no one is punished for being absent for health reasons." Rodriguez is among the more than 100 workers to test positive for the novel coronavirus at the Greeley plant, whose first case of covid-19 was confirmed on March 26. At least four have died, according to data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Health officials in Weld County, where Greeley is located, have also expressed alarm about the company expecting employees to work even if they were experiencing symptoms of coronavirus disease. In an April 4 letter to JBS that was reviewed by The Post, Weld County health officials chastised the company for having a "work while sick" culture and said the county's analysis showed that 64 percent of workers who were covid-19 positive had "worked while symptomatic and therefore were contagious to others." "The rapid nature of the spread of disease among JBS employees is very concerning, and the exponential spread of this disease across an employee population of several thousand would be devastating for both the employees and your company, and would quickly overwhelm the medical resources available in the hospitals and other health care providers in Greeley and surrounding communities," county officials told JBS in an April 10 order to close the plant, which they gave the company five days to implement. County health officials also ordered the company to develop a sequestration housing plan for workers who test positive, use rigorous screening procedures to keep sick workers from entering the facility and implement measures that allow for social distancing. If they fail to do so, the letter said, JBS could be fined and company executives could face up to one year in the county jail. Cordova, the union leader, said plant workers first received notice from JBS that masks would be distributed at the end of March - a few days after the first plant employee tested positive for the coronavirus. JBS said it ordered masks on March 19 and did not receive them until April 2. Wearing masks was not made mandatory until April 13, the company said. Face shields for those working on the slaughter line were distributed Friday when the plant reopened from its county-ordered closure. JBS did not directly dispute the findings of county health officials. But in a statement to The Post, Bruett said plant managers encouraged workers with covid-19 symptoms to remain at home. In response to the county's order, Bruett said, the plant has "enhanced daily symptom and fever screening and testing procedures for workers before entering the facility." JBS and the union have announced a $4 an hour pay increase for workers at all of JBS's plants because of the increased hazards the workers face. Hands-free temperature measuring devices are also being brought in. JBS is the world's largest meatpacking company, with its U.S. operations including 60 beef, pork and poultry plants across the nation. Employees at Greeley, echoing the concerns of workers at other plants, have raised a host of additional issues with how the company communicated with employees about the viral outbreak. On March 18, the company posted a notice on its Facebook page - the place it usually communicated with workers - that union president Cordova said many employees interpreted as an appeal from the federal government for them to report to work. The company message said: "The U.S. Government has identified the food supply as a critical infrastructure industry and has stated we have a special responsibility to maintain normal work schedules on behalf of the Nation. We take this responsibility seriously." On March 24, according to JBS' Bruett, educational materials were posted inside the plant, encouraging employees to stay home if they were ill and providing advice on correct hand washing and social distancing. However, copies of the posters provided to The Post did not include instructions to workers to stay home if they had covid-19 symptoms. Such educational materials also were not posted on the company's Facebook page until after the plant was closed. Bruett said company supervisors were given covid-19 training in mid-March and were told to encourage workers with symptoms of the virus to stay home. On the day of its first covid-19 detection - March 26 - JBS posted another announcement on its Facebook page, saying it would hand out a "FREE 5 lb. ground beef roll to every employee as your [sic] leaving work today. We want to say a big thank you to all of our employees that continue to come to work during this time to help feed the world." The JBS Facebook page for the Greeley plant has been taken down. Company officials did not respond to a request for comment about its removal. - - - To Sheriff Tony Thompson, chair of the Emergency Management Commission in Black Hawk County, Iowa, Tyson's pork plant in the town of Waterloo was a covid-19 hot spot in the making. More than 2,700 people work at the plant, which processes 19,500 hogs a day. When Thompson and other Black Hawk health officials visited the facility on April 10, they were initially satisfied with the company's efforts after a meeting with management. But when they toured the facility, he said, they saw workers using bandannas and sleep masks, or some were wearing no masks at all. They also saw little evidence of social distancing. "They acknowledged they had at least three employees with covid-positive tests, and then we saw this minimal amount of [personal protective equipment] and no real direct guidance from corporate and plant management on how to utilize it," Thompson said. "Why on earth would they not be taking greater measures if what they're telling is true, that their greatest focus is on their employee safety?" Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart said in an interview that Thompson and Black Hawk County health officials who toured the plant on April 10 reported seeing a lack of social distancing and more substantial protective equipment. Widespread demand for facial coverings has made it challenging for companies to acquire medical-grade masks for their workers. But Tyson said it began sourcing facial coverings for its employees before CDC guidance called for it. Since Thompson's tour, Tyson began requiring and providing surgical-style masks for its employees. Thompson said that local health-care providers have been flooded with cases from Tyson's Waterloo plant and that the health department has had dozens of complaints from workers. Between April 9 and 18, Black Hawk County's covid-19 case count surged by nearly 900 percent, from 20 to 192. Local officials attribute 90 percent of the total to outbreaks at Tyson. On Monday, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, announced that 250 National Guard members were being activated to help with testing and contact tracing in the region. In a letter to Tyson dated April 17, 20 local officials warned that the "outbreak at a facility of your size puts great risk to the safety and well-being [of] all residents in our community, especially the elderly and vulnerable." The Waterloo plant was closed indefinitely on Wednesday. But before the plant's closure, workers registered a number of complaints about Tyson's handling of the outbreak - including two complaints filed with OSHA and more than two dozen filed with a local nonprofit organization and a state senator, Bill Dotzler, a Democrat. The Post reviewed the complaints but was not able to see the identities of the workers or verify the contents. But the complaints echoed what workers at the plant in Waterloo said in interviews. One worker said employees did not receive clear communication from Tyson when colleagues became ill. "Everybody is just a number to a big corporation like this," said the Waterloo worker, who also said he tested positive for the coronavirus and has passed the infection to his family. "When people started getting sick, I had to find it out from my co-workers, not my supervisors, who should be looking out for me." In one of the complaints filed with Dotzler, a contractor at Tyson's plant in Independence, Iowa, said workers there got in trouble for warning colleagues about exposure to positive cases. "I work around these people every day and could not consciously let them work in an environment where they've been exposed by one person, possibly more and not be told," wrote the contractor who reported being reprimanded for informing Congolese and Mexican workers about positive cases. "I am now worried I will be terminated for reaching out to other human beings. (Something Tyson was not going to do.)" The medical director at the Northeast Iowa Family Practice Center in Waterloo, Adam Roise, said that in the past week he has seen multiple patients from the Tyson plant who have tested positive for the coronavirus. Roise said the employees were confused as to how to notify the company about their cases and about when they would be allowed to return to work. He said several of his patients also expressed concern about sick employees being told to continue working, and, confusion about how to protect themselves and their families in the pandemic. "We obviously told them not to go back to work, but they had not received any communication from Tyson on what to do if they did test positive," Roise said. "They were looking to us to tell them what to do." In written responses to questions, Tyson said that it started addressing covid-19 concerns in January and that in March it was one of the first food companies to start taking employee temperatures. It also said that essential visitors to plants must answer a questionnaire about possible exposure to the virus before being allowed to enter. "We're working diligently to protect our people by taking their temperatures and are installing infrared scanners to help with this effort, we're requiring protective face coverings and are deep cleaning our facilities," wrote Hector Gonzalez, Tyson's vice president for human relations. "Since March, we've implemented social distancing measures, such as installing workstation dividers and providing more breakroom space. We have also relaxed our attendance policy to encourage workers to stay at home when they're sick. " Dotzler said he is concerned that Tyson is reassigning workers from closed plants to plants that are operating. He said Waterloo clinics have seen multiple sick Tyson workers with addresses in Columbus Junction, nearly 130 miles away. Tyson's Columbus Junction plant was shut down on April 15 after more than 150 workers tested positive for the novel coronavirus. "Their actions have created a catastrophic event in our community," said Dotzler, who also said he plans to request a federal Department of Labor investigation at Tyson's Iowa plants. Tyson denied that it was reassigning workers from closed plants. - - - When Sonja Johnson realized that the cargo of hot dogs she was unloading from a truck had come from Sioux Falls, she said she refused to touch it. That was April 15. The 55-year-old Smithfield worker knew that, weeks ago, the coronavirus had found its way inside a sister plant in South Dakota, which is linked to more than 890 confirmed coronavirus cases. It is the country's biggest coronavirus hot spot. She also knew there were confirmed cases where she stood in a Smithfield distribution center in Greenfield, Indiana. She hadn't felt safe at the plant in weeks. Touching the boxes was too risky, she told her supervisor, assuming she'd be reassigned. Hours later, she said, she was fired. "They just want their food in and out the door, at whatever expense it might be," Johnson said. Keira Lombardo, Smithfield's executive vice president for corporate affairs and compliance, said that Johnson's account of her termination was "not at all accurate." "We would never terminate an employee for expressing concern about possible transmission of covid-19," Lombardo told The Post in an email. Two other employees at the Greenfield location, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of being fired, also told The Post that they were disciplined after raising concerns about their safety. One shared a copy of a complaint to the human resources department about their job being threatened because they declined to handle Sioux Falls product - just as Johnson had been. "Since I felt I had no other option as to do the load or lose my job I told them I would do the load butt [sic] only because I felt my job was in jeopardy," the worker told HR on April 21. Johnson and the other two workers said that the company did not start providing effective protective equipment until this week and that management had allowed workers with fevers to complete their shifts after "cooling off" outside or in front of air conditioners. They also said higher-ups also told workers they were "lucky" to work in frigid conditions, claiming that the virus could not survive the cold. Some employees also claimed they were given misleading information from management. One employee anonymously sent an email, seen by The Post, to the Hancock County Health Department on April 4 alleging that the employee was told that "by now everyone had been exposed" and that the person should come to work despite a positive coronavirus test. In response, an official from the health department contacted the U.S. Department of Agriculture and recommended that the employee file a formal complaint with OSHA in Indiana. OSHA and the Hancock County Health Department did not respond to requests from The Post for comment. "I don't want to end up like the Tyson plant that was recently closed due to the coronavirus, but I fear that's where we're headed," the Smithfield employee told the Hancock County Health Department in the email. Lombardo said the company "will not comment on hearsay" except to say that the conduct alleged in the email would be "completely and totally contrary to our covid-19 processes and protocols," which have been in place since February. "We have absolutely no motivation - in fact, we are disincentivized - to have sick team members reporting to work," Lombardo said in an email. "We are constantly telling employees, in multiple languages, verbally, in print and via an employee communication app, 'Do not report to work if you are sick or exhibiting covid-19 symptoms. You will be paid.' " Smithfield, which is owned by Hong Kong meat conglomerate WH Group, has closed plants in Martin City, Missouri, and Cudahy, Wisconsin, because of coronavirus outbreaks. Lombardo said the company has added hand-sanitizing stations, provided more personal protective equipment, installed physical barriers on production floors and instituted thermal scanning. She said the company is restricting nonessential visitors, requiring 14-day quarantines, with pay, for workers exposed to positive cases and has relaxed its attendance policies to "eliminate any punitive effect" for missing work because of covid-19. Not having to go back to Smithfield hasn't made Johnson feel much safer. She was in close contact with workers who tested positive, although she was never formally notified of that fact, she said. Right now, she feels fine. But she knows symptoms can take weeks to surface. "I'm in that age group of people that are dying of this," Johnson said. "I don't want to leave my family and friends sooner than I have to because of somebody's else's neglect." - - - The Washington Post's Julie Tate contributed to this report. Coronavirus: Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke actor Shaheer Sheikh wishes Ramzan Mubarak to all his fans with an appeal to all the Muslim brother, of not stepping out from the house and pray at homes. Coronavirus: Ramadan month has begun and Bollywood celebs like Hina Khan, Guahar Khan, Dipika Kakkar, Shoaib Ibrahim have shared a glimpse of their Sehri. Now, Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke actor Shaheer Sheikh shared an adorable photo with her niece which is simply unmissable! Along with a photo, the actor also requested to all the Muslim brother to not to step outside from homes, instead pray at home and help the less fortunate. Even other actors from the film fraternity urged their fans to follow government directives and pray at homes. In the photo, the actor was twining with his niece by wearing a Superman T-shirt, where Shaheer completed his look with yellow pants. The photo got more then 2 lakh likes with thousands of lovable comments. A user wrote: Ramzan Mubarak to all, while another user wrote: Yes, all are praying at homes. Check the post: Talking about the actors bit in the time of the novel coronavirus crisis, then from day 1 when the news of COVID-19 outbreak in India, he played a key role in spreading awareness related to the contagious virus and appealed to people to maintain hygiene while going out, before lockdown. Shaheer also sets a perfect example, on how to utilise the quarantine period to the fullest by sharing photos and videos related to his daily schedule. On the professional front, the actor is basking in success as his serial, Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke is gaining high TRP and his role as Abir Rajvansh is also garnering love across the nation. For all the latest Entertainment News, download NewsX App Zarina Hashmi, 83, passed away after a long illness in London on Saturday. The artist, a proponent of minimalist art, had several ongoing shows, including solos at New Delhis Kiran Nadar Museum of Art and the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in Missouri, and group exhibitions at the Guggenheim and Met Breur in New York. Zarina, who went by her first name as an artist, was born in Aligarh a decade before Partition. Her father, Sheikh Abdur Rasheed, was a professor of history at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Zarina went on to study Mathematics at AMU and married Saad Hashmi, who was in the Foreign Service at the age of 21. Saad passed away at age 45, following which Zarina chose to remain in New York. She would, however, visit India often. The minimal approach, which gained ground among American artists in the 1960s and 70s, saw artists like Donald Judd and Frank Stella pare down the flourishes in their works to focus on the physical engagement with the medium. The Solomon R Guggenheim museum exhibition titled, Making time: Process in minimal abstraction, calls upon the viewer to engage with the artists creative process instead. Zarina distilled references from her life into her art. Her preoccupation with paper was well known, but her other works like woodcuts and sculptures, carried forward her minimalist approach. For a 1987 sculptural piece titled Flight Log, Zarina wrote a poem: I tried to fly/ Got lost in the thermal/ Could never go back/ Having lost the place to land. Later, describing this, she wrote, These four lines are my whole biography. I cant go back because theres no place to land. Where will I go? Gallerist Renu Modi recalled the first time she saw Zarinas works in 1997. Modi, the owner of Gallery Espace which has represented Zarina for well over two decades, said, I was doing a huge show with Anupam Sood as the curator. It was called Mini Print, and it exhibited at the British Council in four cities. I still remember the first time I saw her work, the portfolio titled Rail Line. It was done so beautifully. I had no idea how minimalism would do in India, but I knew I wanted to show her works. Zarina, who spent the last of her days in London, is survived by her niece, Saima and nephew, Imran. Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter Indian companies pursuing remote working policies need to deploy robust preventive measures to deal with spike in incidence of cyber attacks following COVID-19 outbreak, said a PwC report. "Cyber attacks on Indian companies doubled between January and March 2020. February saw a sudden spike, most focused on exploiting vulnerable services and obtaining easy access to remote desktops. "There were untargeted phishing campaigns too wherein attackers impersonated personnel from various agencies battling COVID-19. After two primary sustained waves in February, attack volumes fell to a median level," the report said. On the volume of attack, the report said that after March 15, when India witnessed rising COVID-19 cases, there was a massive wave of attacks targeting several Indian companies. "Many witnessed a 100 per cent increase in attacks between 17 and 20 February," the report added. Given the current threat landscape, it said that companies utilising remote working policies need to deploy "robust preventive and detective technical measures" to deal with the increasing threat of cyber attacks. Globally, COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread business disruptions, particularly due to business continuity via remote working. This makes organisations more vulnerable to rising cyberattacks. Based on the pattern of attacks across a wide cross-section of Indian organisations, using data collected via logs and various other sensors, PwC's Cyber Security team analysed the cyber attacks on Indian entities in the last few weeks. Commenting on the rise in cyber attacks after the spread of COVID-19, Siddharth Vishwanath, Leader, Cyber Security, PwC India said with significant shifts to work from home or off-location operations, organisations are more focused on continuity of day-to-day operations than on plugging the gaps in the remote infrastructure. "Hackers, who realise this, do not want to leave any stone unturned to harness the moment. PwC's threat analysis validates this as the cyberattacks in the backdrop of the COVID-19 have seen a sudden spike," he said. He suggested that organisations are required to work on fixing the gaps in their remote infrastructure and provide secure remote access to employees and other stakeholders. PwC has suggested that companies should utilise only secure access mechanisms for remote access, implement strong password policies and two-factor authentication for all remote access, and use geo-restrictions and login velocity restrictions, if possible, among other measures. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson returned to 10 Downing Street on Sunday, Sky News reported, after spending a week in hospital with COVID-19 and two weeks recovering at his country residence. A Downing Street spokeswoman declined to comment on Johnson's whereabouts. The government had previously announced he would be back at work on Monday. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who has been deputising for him in his absence, said Johnson was "raring to go". Search Keywords: Short link: Greek authorities say there have been four new fatalities from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours to raise the total to 134. There are 11 new confirmed cases of the disease, which brings the total to 2,517. The number of people on ventilators declined to 46, while 64 patients have exited intensive care. The total number of tests conducted so far is 64,608. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is likely to postpone his broadcast to the Greek people announcing a gradual relaxation of quarantine measures. The broadcast had been tentatively scheduled for Monday, but it will likely be postponed by at least one day. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A doctor, who had tested positive for coronavirus, died in West Bengal on Sunday (April 26) becoming the first case of a doctor succumbing to the deadly disease in the state. The doctor identified as Biplab Kanti Dasgupta was the assistant director, Health Services, West Bengal. He was also Assistant Director of Health Services, Central Medical Stores. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed grief over Dr Dasgupta's demise and said, "We have lost Dr Biplab Kanti Dasgupta Assistant Director, Health Services, West Bengal in the early hours of today. He was Assistant Director of Health Services, Central Medical Stores. We are deeply pained with his untimely demise." We have lost Dr Biplab Kanti Dasgupta Assistant Director, Health Services, West Bengal in the early hours of today. He was Assistant Director of Health Services, Central Medical Stores. We are deeply pained with his untimely demise. (1/2) Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) April 26, 2020 CM Banerjee noted that Dr Dasgupta's ultimate sacrifice for the cause of humantiyt will always remain in the hearts of the people of the state and he will inspire the COVID-19 warriors to fight the deadly disease with more determination. "His sacrifice for the cause of ailing humanity will ever be in our hearts and will make our COVID warriors fight the deadly virurs with even greater determination. My heartfelt condolence to Dr Dasguptas bereaved family members and colleagues," CM Mamata said in another tweet. His sacrifice for the cause of ailing humanity will ever be in our hearts and will make our COVID warriors fight the deadly virurs with even greater determination. My heartfelt condolence to Dr Dasguptas bereaved family members and colleagues. (2/2) Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) April 26, 2020 Meanwhile, the ongoing tussle between the Centre and Mamata administration over measures taken to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the state intensified on saturday with TMC Parliamentary Party leader in Rajya Sabha and party spokesperson Derek O'Brien slamming the Inter-ministerial central team (IMCT), who visited and inspected quarantine centres and coronavirus COVID-19 hotspots in West Bengal, alleging that the team's visit to the state served no purpose. This came on the heels of the IMCT's letter to the West Bengal chief secretary alleging lack of cooperation from the state government and inadequate security provided during their visits to cities among other issues. The central team also expressed its concern over the Dumurjula quarantine centre in the state. Starbucks Korea has put 1 meter to 1.5 meters distance between tables as part of its social distancing measures starting April 5. / Starbucks Korea By Kim Jae-heun Once a second ranker on the world's list of most confirmed COVID-19 cases, Korea now seems to be successfully controlling the spread of the virus and has cured many to fall down to 23rd on the list of affected nations. When hundreds of infections were reported on a daily basis here in February, many restaurants and coffee shops closed, both voluntarily and against their will. Starbucks was one of them, voluntarily shutting down 39 shops in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province where the coronavirus hit Korea the hardest. But because Starbucks is a global coffee chain that operates over 31,250 stores around the world, it has become a new barometer for the virus situation in any given country by the operation of its stores. As the situation started to improve in Korea, Starbucks Korea decided to reopen its closed shops on March 22. Now all Starbucks locations in in Korea have reopened, except one in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province. The building where it is located is currently shut down as a quarantine measure. In China, where the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases peaked two months ago, Starbucks also closed half of some 4,200 shops there. Now, that its ranking has fallen down to seventh in the world and the spread of the virus there is slowing, most locations of the U.S. coffee franchise have reportedly reopened in many Chinese cities. On the other hand, Japan has seen a drastic increase in the number of coronavirus confirmations after Prime Minister Abe Shinzo announced that the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games will be postponed to next year. At the same time, Starbucks Japan said it will shut down a number of shops there and shorten business hours of others in an effort to prevent further spread of the virus. Starbucks Korea, however, said it will maintain its social distancing practice that puts 1.5 meters distance between tables until the government decides to loosen the regulation. The government said Sunday it will continue social distancing measures until May 5 across the country. "We do not want to become careless. We are currently operating our stores according to our guidelines provided internally. We've carried out disinfection work at stores where patients confirmed to be infected by the virus have visited. All the stores temporarily shut down before have all opened again now," a Starbucks Korea official said. "In Japan, the situation is getting worse and I believe they are closing their shops as a preventive measure." Starbucks Korea temporarily removed one third of the tables at all its coffee shops here as part of social distancing practices starting April 5. All the tables are adjusted to be 1 meter to 1.5 meters away from each other and only two customers can sit at one table at a time. The coffee franchise stopped using mugs at stores to prevent the spread of the virus. It has switched back to disposable cups, after having started an eco-friendly movement last year to stop their use in its stores. BEIRUT - Turkish troops fired tear gas and live bullets at protesters blocking a major highway in northwest Syria early Sunday, killing two people and wounding others, opposition activists said. The protesters have been blocking part of the highway near the government-held village of Nairab in Idlib province for weeks to prevent joint Turkish-Russian patrols. Patrols on the M4 highway, which runs east-west through Idlib province, are part of a cease-fire agreement between Turkey and Russia signed in early March. The cease-fire ended an escalation in fighting that saw the Turkish military in rare direct conflict with Syrian government troops. Turkish and Russian troops officially began joint patrols on March 15 on the M4. But the patrols had to be shortened because of protests by those opposed to the deal, which allows Russian troops to patrol rebel-held areas. Turkey backs the opposition in Idlib, while Russia has been a main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assads government. Moscow joined the war in 2015, helping turn the balance of power in Assads favour. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said Turkish troops removed debris from the highway Sunday morning and were met by protesters who threw stones at the force, which later opened fire. The Observatory said the two people killed were militant fighters. The activist collective Al-Dorar Al-Shamia described the two killed as protesters, and said three others were wounded in Sundays shooting. There was no immediate comment from the Turkish military. Turkey has been working on opening the highway by ending the sit-in by supporters of militant groups in rebel-held parts of Idlib, led by the al-Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee. The vital highway, which runs through northern Syria from the Mediterranean to the Iraqi border, has been partially closed since 2012. Some sections of the M4 remain under rebel control, unlike the north-south M5 highway, which Syrian forces completely recaptured in the latest offensive. Turkey and Russia already conduct joint military patrols elsewhere in Syria. Following an agreement that halted Turkeys attack on Kurdish forces in October, soldiers from the two countries monitor an area of northeast Syria along the Turkish border. Officials with Manitoba Standardbred Racing Industry Inc. have announced that the organization is still planning on presenting live harness racing in the province in 2020, albeit with an altered plan due to the COVID-19 pandemic. MSRI President Trevor Williams has announced that, contrary to what was announced just days before the pandemic erupted, live harness racing in Manitoba is now scheduled to get underway on July 4. The MSRI is planning to race 10 Sunday cards; and all racing, including qualifying sessions, is currently scheduled to be conducted at Miami, as opposed to the previous schedule that called for multiple locations throughout the summer. In the announcement, Williams explained that all mandated social-distancing protocols will be adhered to, and therefore live racing at Miami will unfortunately be conducted without in-person wagering and crowds. Williams also stated that MSRI officials will be actively monitoring the situation, and will make changes if the situation ultimately allows it. A complete schedule, including post times, will be released shortly, along with a complete stakes schedule from the MSSBA. The contents of the MSRI release appear below. These are unprecedented times, and it has led to a great deal of concern for many horsemen and women around the province, the towns and communities, along with industry leaders and regulators. I want to thank the horsepeople for their patience during this time of uncertainty, and for the continued support of the Manitoba Standardbred Racing Industry. The MSRI has decided to go forward with a firm schedule of harness racing for 2020, as we feel it is in the best interest of our people to do so. The industry is committed to keeping our horsepeople and our province safe, and thus why we have made the difficult decision to race without in-person betting and crowds. The fair atmosphere is unique and our communities depend on the fans and attendance at these events. Therefore, we will be altering the schedule and only racing at one location. Beginning July 4, qualifiers and a subsequent 10-week schedule will take place on Sundays in Miami, Manitoba. At this time, backstretch measures have been put into place to comply with social distancing protocols and the restrictions put into place by the provincial government. We will diligently monitor this throughout the summer and obviously make changes if the situation allows. The MSRI is currently exploring other methods of wagering and live feeds to keep our fans engaged. We will update everyone as these decisions progress. A complete schedule of Sundays through to September 13 with post times will be released shortly along with a complete stakes schedule from the MSSBA. Thanks again for your patience. I look forward to brighter days, and wish all the best to our horsepeople and their families, to our rural communities, and our passionate racing fans. Stay Safe Trevor Williams President Manitoba Standardbred Racing Industry Inc. Were all looking for signs of hope. I discovered mine a few days ago when I opened something Id received in early March. The binder, with its black cover and 150 or so pages, completes a circle that began 10 years ago when I wrote about Michael Hanna. Hanna, his wife and their two teenagers lived the good life in a home in Northeast Portlands Laurelhurst neighborhood. An advertising executive at a cable company, he was laid off during what we now call the Great Recession. He was 47, had skills and contacts, and figured hed find a new job. He found nothing and had to create one. He convinced his wife they should take out a home equity loan to start a mattress store in an empty building. Six months after opening, Mattress Lots turned a profit and I wrote about Hanna. I moved onto other stories, forgetting about Hanna until late February when I received an email from him asking for a favor. When I got home one evening, I found a package at my front door. Inside was a black binder. This was in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak in Oregon. Like everyone, I had more pressing concerns than reading the binder. So, there it sat. Last week, I received an email from Hanna asking if Id read it and made my choice. That night, I began reading, slowly turning the pages. Sometimes, we stumble over glimmers of hope. *** Six years ago, the mattress store doing well, Hanna and his wife, Mary Ruth Hanna, created a $1,000 college scholarship to be awarded to a senior at Grant High School, where both of their kids had graduated. When we started this business, there was a lot of stress, said Michael Hanna. A huge concern for us, as for many families, was how could we help our kids go to college. In time, the couple called it the Mattress Lot Dream Big Scholarship and offered the $1,000 scholarships to a senior at Grant, Roosevelt, Cleveland, Madison and Franklin high schools. Each recipient must attend an accredited four-year college. Criteria for winning were grades, test scores, a personal essay and financial need. Since it began, more than $23,000 has been given to students. We are committed to the east side of Portland, said Mary Ruth Hanna. Those were the people who supported our business, and we wanted to support them. The couple never made it a citywide scholarship, focusing on public schools where they thought there was the greatest need. Last year, the couple for the first time decided to go to a high school and sit, anonymously in the audience to watch a ceremony where the winning student was honored. It was so touching, Mary Ruth Hanna said. I began crying. This year, the couple decided to offer one student a $2,000 scholarship renewable for four years, and four $1,000 runner-up scholarships, with students at all five schools competing for the awards. One thousand dollars is a lot of money for these families living on the edge, said Michael Hanna. It may mean the difference between getting a new laptop or not. The parents are doing everything they can for their children. They know going to college will change their lives. Thats where I came in. The couple asked me to be one of the team of judges they use to pick a winner, and four runners-up, from a pool of 35. That night, I began reading the entries: My parents left their home country to come to America empty handed to find opportunity and new life. I am low income, as well as a first-generation student carrying a goal of both my parents and myself to become a successful person in the future. My dad works hard preparing food for just $12 an hour, but he earns barely enough money for rent and food for our household of five. My mother works 8-hour shifts every day, and occasionally two shifts when necessary. People who looked at my home situation did not understand how hard my mother worked and would often tease me by saying Your mother works at McDonalds and you live in Section 8.' I work every weekend to help her with other expenses. A mother who works as a housekeeper at a downtown hotel. Kids who work during the school year to help out their parents with bills and rent. Kids whose parents rely on government assistance for food. How could I choose? *** I felt a sense of despair, knowing each of these students needed the financial boost that comes with a scholarship. But as I read the essays, and studied transcripts, test scores and evaluated their class load, I felt for the first time in weeks a sense of hope. These are smart kids, with better grades and test scores than I could have ever dreamed of when I was in high school. They did it facing obstacles unheard of to me and my friends back in our day. It was then, late at night, that I found myself optimistic about the future of our city, our state and our country. These kids, and kids just like them across the United States, are our future. We are in good hands. Over the years, students have sent thank you notes to the couple. Parents come into Mattress Lots, seeking out the Hannas to express their gratitude and bring the couple up to date on how their sons and daughters are doing in college. I think about these kids working part-time jobs, with parents who have their own struggles, said Mary Ruth Hanna. They do all that and get good grades in their classes. I admire them. The store has not escaped the economic carnage caused by the coronavirus. The showroom has been closed, sales have been moved online, and all employees have been laid off. The Hannas have taken a financial hit, and people would understand if the number of scholarships were cut in this most unusual of years. No, said Mary Ruth Hanna. If people can give to the community to help, they should. Helping just one person is so important. Her husband takes the long view. These kids are prepared for the future, he said. Theyve been fighting all their lives to get where they are now. Theyll come through this stronger than a lot of us because they werent always dealt the best hand in life. Days ago, I made my choice for the winner and four runners-up. God speed. -- Tom Hallman Jr; thallman@oregonian.com; 503-221-8224; @thallmanjr Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. CALGARY, Alberta, April 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, Calgary-based international charity, Operation Eyesight, is applying the organizations systems and experience in providing quality eye health care to meet the immediate need facing health care systems in developing countries. Diseases are not deterred by borders, and Canadians recognize the importance of providing support and expertise to the people in the world who need it the most, says Aly Bandali, President and CEO of Operation Eyesight. Any spread of COVID-19 in the world is a concern for Canadians and Operation Eyesight is using its existing network and partnerships to mitigate the spread in the countries where they work. In South Asia and Africa, Operation Eyesight is helping to address the new challenges to community health that have been caused by the coronavirus pandemic in an effort to help with global recovery. They are providing urgently needed help and supplies to effectively respond to the changing needs of these communities, including hygiene kits, hand-washing stations, educational materials and personal protective equipment for front-line community health workers. As with Operation Eyesights approach to improving the quality and delivery of eye health care in low- and middle-income countries, the key to providing support during the COVID-19 crisis is the empowerment of local citizens and local leadership. While the organization is currently working towards containing the spread of COVID-19 in some of the poorest regions in the world, ultimately the sustainability of these systems will lead to a more equitable and safer world. That benefits everyone, including Canadians. Kashinath Bhoosnurmath, VP of International Programmes based in Hyderabad, India, explains the importance of our current focus to respond to the communities the organization supports. Right now, the health care situation in the countries where we work is dire and will most likely worsen despite the efforts being made by local governments, says Bhoosnurmath. We need to address the basic needs of the communities that have no access or limited access to health services, and they need any support we can provide to get them to a state where they are facilitating better health outcomes for their citizens, including eye health. With support from donors in Canada, Operation Eyesight has already taken immediate steps to make a difference in addressing COVID-19. To learn more or make a donation to support their COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, visit operationeyesight.com/covid-19 / . Media contact: Melissa Crocker Senior Marketing Specialist Operation Eyesight Universal Calgary, Alberta Phone: 587-602-2310 Email: CrockerM@operationeyesight.com About Operation Eyesight Operation Eyesight is an international development organization working to prevent blindness and restore sight in low- and middle-income countries. Founded in Calgary in 1963, the organization currently has eye health programs in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia and Zambia. In partnership with local hospitals and governments, Operation Eyesight invests in sustainable treatment, prevention and community development activities to address specific eye health problems as well as the root causes of avoidable blindness. To learn more, visit operationeyesight.com . Videos accompanying this announcement are available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/97ff76d8-405c-4c37-a809-8cb695a65edc https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a5d42d0d-bb32-4cad-ba37-522de1639439 Ten healthcare workers across two hospitals will spend the next 14 days in self-isolation after another employee tested positive to coronavirus. On Sunday morning, Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District confirmed a female doctor from Nepean Hospital, at the base of the Blue Mountains in Sydney's west, tested positive for the deadly respiratory infection. She had undertaken non-clinical duties at both Nepean and Sydney Adventist Hospital in Wahroonga on Sydney's north shore before developing symptoms. The woman did not work while she was unwell and wore a mask at all times, but two staff at Nepean Hospital and eight at Sydney Adventist Hospital have been quarantined as a precaution. Staff from St. Vincents Hospital test patients for coronavirus at Bondi drive-through clinic on Anzac Day, as a doctor from Sydney's west tests positive for the virus The employee was working at Nepean Hospital in the Blue Mountains region, west of Sydney, undertaking non-clinical duties before she was diagnosed None of the staff members have reported any flu-like symptoms, according to 9News. Health Minister Brad Hazzard told reporters patients at both hospitals are not at risk, as the doctor was undertaking non-clinical duties in the days leading up to her diagnosis. A spokeswoman said the healthcare worker was always wearing a face mask and recognised the first sign of symptoms. 'There is no ongoing risk to patients or staff and no impact on our services,' the spokeswoman said. 'Health screening is carried out on all staff at the start of each shift.' Testing criteria is being expanded again to give Australia the best chance at fighting the disease. Pictured: Medical staff at the testing clinic in Bondi There were initial fears the case could create another COVID-19 cluster, which have popped up at hospitals and aged care facilities around the country. Victorian health officials on Friday issued an urgent warning after 14 cases stemmed from a Melbourne psychiatric hospital in late March. Victorian Health Minister, Jenny Mikakos, told reporters on Friday: 'The department is investigating an outbreak of coronavirus at a private inpatient psychiatric facility'. She noted the appearance of new coronavirus cases 'shows the fragility of the situation and reinforces that this is not all over yet.' Ms Mikakos confirmed five patients, five staff members and four household close contacts had all tested positive. Medical professionals are seen performing COVID-19 tests on members of the public at the Bondi Beach drive-through COVID-19 testing centre in Sydney CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 27,244 Victoria: 20,269 New South Wales: 4,273 Queensland: 1,161 Western Australia: 692 South Australia: 473 Tasmania: 230 Australian Capital Territory: 113 Northern Territory: 33 TOTAL CASES: 27,244 ESTIMATED ACTIVE CASES: 269 DEATHS: 897 Updated: 5.31 PM, 11 October, 2020 Source: Australian Government Department of Health Advertisement Three victims of the outbreak have been hospitalised and one person is in intensive care with Victoria's Chief Health Officer, Professor Brett Sutton, saying the cluster is 'a warning sign'. 'Today is a demonstration that you can get explosive outbreaks and sometimes these spill out into the community, so we have to be mindful that things could change in the wrong direction over the next month,' he said. Two Tasmanian hospitals had to be closed completely in early April after an outbreak of COVID-19, with five deaths and 78 cases linked to the facilities. More than 5,000 people including 1,200 hospital staff and their households were ordered to quarantine in Burnie, in the state's north west, for 14 days while the hospitals were disinfected. Residents at Anglicare's Newmarch House in Caddens, western Sydney, were also exposed to the virus. So far, 10 staff and 20 residents have tested positive. A nurse worked at the aged care facility in Caddens for six days while suffering a 'scratchy throat' before returning a positive diagnosis to COVID-19. On Saturday, an 83-year-old man died at the facility, taking the death toll in the home to six in just one week. The number of coronavirus cases, 6,710 nationally, is small by international standards and is rising at an extremely slow rate compared to a few weeks ago. Prime Minister Scott Morrison believes Australia is on the 'road back' from tackling the coronavirus, even allowing some states to slowly begin easing restrictions. : NLC India on Sunday commenced coal production at its mine in Odisha, the company said. "NLC India Ltd's Talabira-II and III Opencast Coal Mine in Odisha having normative capacity of 20MTPA commenced coal production on Sunday," the Tamil Nadu-based company said. "This marks the entry of NLC India Ltd into coal mining sector in Odisha," it said. Last year, the company had said it would invest more than Rs 17,000 crore for its thermal power projects and embarked on an afforestation programme inside and outside the coal mining area in Odisha. The Navaratna company said the production of 20 million tonnes of coal per annum from Talabira II and III coal blocks would fuel its 4,200 MW thermal power projects in that state. The company was closely working with the Odisha Forest department to make the unit a 'model coal mine' by planting more trees than mandated, under relevant policies, the company had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Miss a day, miss a lot, so take a moment to catch up on some of the past week's headlines from across the North Shore. A representative of Glenview's Emerald Place assisted living facility announced Monday that the coronavirus has claimed the lives of 10 of 11 residents who have tested positive but revised... Read more Half of the Evanston residents to die after becoming infected with the new coronavirus have lived at the same retirement community, according to state and county data. As... Read more One of Illinois' wealthiest residents and the Republican Party biggest donors has reportedly urged her employees to support a petition to recall the governor of Wisconsin over his... Read more Murphy Development Group, a division of Murphy Real Estates in Chicago, is partnering with the village of Skokie to ensure completion of a $68 million mixed-use development at the corner... Read more A pregnant woman in her 30s became the first detainee at Lake County Jail to test test positive for the new coronavirus while in custody, according to the sheriff's office. The inmate... Read more More than 8,000 face masks to aid in the fight against the coronavirus were handed out to Northbrook residents during a free distribution event on Thursday. ... Read more A former Niles Township High School District 219 school board member faced online scrutiny Wednesday over a Facebook post criticizing a current school board member who attended a virtual... Read more Vic Lew and his 15-year-old daughter Jessica wanted to spread relief and happiness through their Deerfield neighborhood in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, they decided... Read more Story continues Dozens of plastic straps for surgical face masks produced with Loyola Academy's 3D printer and the help of one of its teachers have been distributed to the Wilmette Police Department,... Read more Mimika Designs, a custom clothing designer in Deerfield, is producing reusable masks with reduced permeability through the coronavirus pandemic. The unique design offers a tighter fit... Read more Construction crews have delivered sand and rock to Rosewood Beach over the past two weeks as part of the park district's efforts to protect the beach from erosion amid record... Read more Since the coronavirus pandemic first caused statewide school and business closures, the Northfield Township Food Pantry has seen more than 150 new households in need of service, according... Read more Northwestern University is freezing salaries for faculty and staff for the coming fiscal year, pausing the hiring of new staff and facilities projects and instructing administrators... Read more A graduating senior from North Shore Country Day School was awarded a Gold Medal Portfolio Award, the top honor at the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, along with a $10,000 scholarship.... Read more NORTH SHORE BUSINESSES: OPEN OR CLOSED DIRECTORIES IN MEMORIAM EARLIER: ALSO ON PATCH For more local stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts or download the iPhone or Android app. This article originally appeared on the Highland Park Patch Finally, a public admission by the Harlandale Independent School District trustees that the board violated state law in the way it handled its professional services agreement with its former engineering firm. The relationship between Harlandale ISD and Jasmine Engineering, which began in 2007, has been the focus of multiple Express-News and Texas Education Agency investigations. It has divided boards and created controversy for more than a decade. At one point, there was even an attempt to get an Express-News reporter writing about the contract fired. Some history: In 2012 the tensions between the board and then-Superintendent Robert Jaklich over the firms contract led to the departure of perhaps the best superintendent the district ever had. Jaklichs sudden resignation prompted then-Mayor Julian Castro to appear before the school board to ask members to focus their attention on the students and place education needs ahead of who was being awarded contracts. The school districts unusual relationship with this particular vendor is one of the many reasons it has been placed under the oversight of a TEA-appointed conservator and had its status lowered to accredited-warned. The relationship between Harlandale and Jasmine Engineering came to an abrupt end in 2018 when the school board decided to invoke a termination for convenience clause in the contract. But that action came only after the school district was placed under special accreditation investigation by the TEA following complaints about contract procurement, governance, nepotism and other issues. Even after the contract was terminated and the district was threatened with state takeover, trustees continued to defend their actions in awarding Jasmine Engineering lucrative contracts without seeking competitive proposals. Defenders of the engineering firm focused on all the money the company saved the district by bringing projects in under budget while dissenters argued the company overstated expected costs to create an illusion of savings at the end. Last week on a 4-1 vote, the board accepted the state education agencys findings that the districts contract with Jasmine Engineering, which was extended multiple times over eight years, was out of compliance with state bidding requirements. It appears to be part of the districts strategy in its defense of a lawsuit brought against it by Jasmine Engineering for wrongful termination of the services contract. In a recent ruling against the school district on motions in that case, the San Antonio 4th Court of Appeals said the district cant use an invalid contract argument in court until it accepts the TEAs findings. Harlandale is among the poorest school districts in San Antonio. Residents pay one of the highest school property tax rates in town. The district has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars defending its questionable actions. We urge a swift resolution to the litigation. As the country faces the coronavirus pandemic, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday cautioned against forces inimical to India's interests taking advantage of the situation, exhorted all to help those affected without any discrimination and stressed on developing a self-reliant economy. "We have to be patient and calm. There should be no fear or anger as people with anti-India mindset can use it against the country," he said in an online address to workers of the RSS. Even if someone did something wrong, do not consider everyone guilty. Some people want to misuse it, the RSS chief said in an apparent reference to incidents involving Tablighi Jamaat members after it centre in Delhi emerged as a major coronavirus hotspot. Asking the Sangh workers to serve people without any discrimination, he said those in need of help 'are our own'. "It is our duty to help in this time of crisis. All 130 crore Indians are our own," he said. Underlining that RSS is active during lockdown in the shape of relief activities, Sangh chief said, "We should continue the relief work till the threat of this pandemic completely ends." Bhagwat said India handled this pandemic effectively as government and people responded proactively to the crisis. He said a new model of development which makes the country self-reliant has to be evolved. People should use 'swadeshi' (indigenous) goods as far as possible, he said. The RSS chief slammed the Palghar lynching in which two sadhus were killed, saying there is no place for violence in society. It was the responsibility of the administration to keep law and order in check, Bhagwat said in his online address. "Sanyasis (saints) who pray for the well-being of humanity were brutally killed in Palghar. What was the police doing? Such an incident should not have happened," he said. The sadhus were messengers of humanity and were following the religion they believed in, he said. Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha has appealed for offering tributes to the two saints on April 28, Bhagwat said. "The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has also laid out a programme for the same. We will all join in offering our tribute to them," he added. Community leaders should tell people not to be angry and get misled, he said. There are anti-India forces who are waiting to use this to break the country, he added. The two sadhus and their driver were lynched on April 16 in Palghar district while they were on their way to a funeral in neighbouring Silvassa. Amid politics over the lynching, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh later said there was no Muslim among the 101 persons arrested in connection with the incident. Lagos lawyer Ebun Olu Adegboruwa has blasted the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control for not being ready to test COVID-19 suspects who seek verification. In a statement today, the senior lawyer cited the case of his friend who showed COVID-19 symptoms and desperately called NCDC in Lagos. Adegboruwa claimed that the unidentified friend was told to be on queue for next week. Read his statement: Yesterday,(24 April) a friend called me that he was having difficulty breathing, hes been weak and has pains in the heart. I immediately told him to race to Landmark Isolation Centre in Oniru, Victoria Island, Lagos. He went there straight but was turned back, as he was told that its only meant for those who have tested positive already. I encouraged him to wait till day break so he could go to Yaba, the main COVID 19 center in Lagos. On reaching out to Yaba, he was told to describe his symptoms on record by way of sms and send it. In response, he was told that he could not be tested this week again as they are already booked for this week. He will be programmed for next week for his test. So, what happens to him between now and next week? A similar situation was reported in Ajah early this week. They called NCDC in Lagos and they kept postponing the test. By the time NCDC officers got to Ajah the man had died and the family resisted them from carrying the corpse. So, the reality is that Nigeria has no capacity for COVID 19 presently Please do all you can to stay safe, to be sure that youre not infected at all, as it now takes prayer and connection to even be tested how much less get treated. What the NCDC told the nation is that people are not coming up for tests and that there is capacity. Please do all your best to stay safe and if you have any connection to help my friend get tested quickly, please do help me. God bless you all. Pilot of helicopter that crashed heralded for 'miracle' landing The crew of a Hagerstown-based helicopter and the juvenile patient they picked up in Chambersburg, Pa., are OK after a crash near Philadelphia. 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #17 Posted on 26 April 2020 by John Hartz Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Video of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... Why climate activists aren't celebrating historic emissions cuts They are zeroing in on the battle over once-in-a-generation government spending that will shape climate efforts for decades. Global carbon emissions are projected to fall this year as cities like London have enacted shelter-in-place orders. | Aaron Chown/PA via AP Carbon emissions are set to fall by historic amounts this year, but environmental advocates arent celebrating. Instead, they are zeroing in on a new battle: putting green conditions on the trillions in stimulus funds governments around the world are pumping into their economies to help them recover from the coronavirus pandemic. They will have to overcome a series of obstacles to achieve that goal, more than 30 officials, activists and analysts said in interviews with POLITICO. A new Ipsos-Mori poll across 14 countries in the G-20 shows a majority in every country surveyed agrees economic recovery should prioritize climate change. Lawmakers, however, must balance that sentiment with requests for bailouts and regulatory relief from sectors that are both hard hit and high polluting, including aviation, automakers and fossil fuels. Its still early days in this trench warfare, but thus far government leaders lofty green rhetoric hasn't been matched with actions. Neither the loan packages and debt pauses negotiated by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, nor the $8 trillion in domestic stimulus packages in rich countries feature significant green conditions or investments. Why climate activists aren't celebrating historic emissions cuts by Ryan Heath, Kalina Oroschakoff, Zack Colman & Maura Forrest, Environment, Politico, Apr 23, 2020 Toon of the Week... Hat tip to the Stop Climate Denial Denial Facebook page. Video of the Week... Kate Marvel: How Climate Change Works The term "feedback" in climate-change science refers to what can speed up or slow down that change. And the answers lie in clouds, rain, trees and ice. To explain how it all work, The Agenda welcomes Kate Marvel, associate research scientist at Columbia University and at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Kate Marvel: How Climate Change Works, The Agenda with Steve Paikin, You Tube Video, Mar 28, 2019 Coming Soon on SkS... Coronavirus conspiracy theories are dangerous heres how to stop them spreading (Stephan Lewandowsky & John Cook) (Stephan Lewandowsky & John Cook) Planet of the humans: A reheated mess of lazy, old myths (Ketan Joshi) (Ketan Joshi) SkS New Research for Week #17 (Doug Bostrom) (Doug Bostrom) Kim Cobbs Transition from Climate Science Research to Solutions (Dana Nuccitelli) (Dana Nuccitelli) How does the way we define methane emissions impact the perception of its effects on global warming? (Justine Wickman) (Justine Wickman) 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup (John Hartz) (John Hartz) 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest (John Hartz) Climate Feedback Claim Review... The Antarctic ozone layer is recovering, but The Independent claim fails to grasp significance of study it relies on CLAIM: "The ozone layer is healing" VERDICT: SOURCE: The ozone layer is healing, new study finds by Louise Boyle, Environment, The Independent (UK), Mar 27, 2020 KEY TAKE AWAY: The Antarctic ozone layer is healing and has the potential to recover to 1960 levels by the end of the century. Atmospheric circulation trends in the Southern Hemisphere, which are driven by ozone depletion, have also paused or reversed. These changes are attributed, in large part, to reductions in ozone-depleting substances, such as chlorofluorocarbons. The Antarctic ozone layer is recovering, but The Independent claim fails to grasp significance of study it relies on, Edited by Nikki Forrester, Climate Reviews, Apr 7, 2020 SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... At the core of a social service nonprofit's mission is helping people. Whether it be through youth outreach, food, shelter, counseling, housing, rental assistance and more, nonprofits including the Hopi Foundation, Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona and many others are finding increased challenges in carrying out their programs amid the coronavirus pandemic. Enter Arizona Community Foundation, which, alongside others like United Way, OneAZ Credit Union and the Flagstaff Arts Council, is providing crucial fundraising and financial support directly to northern Arizona nonprofits. We are serving immediate needs today, Pats Shriver, director of the northern Arizona branch of the Arizona Community Foundation, said. Like food and shelter and things that are needed now. Were also helping in terms of long-term recovery [efforts] and were seeing a lot of that need in the arts sector, for events being canceled. And well address those when the immediate needs are taken care of. The Arizona Community Foundation, which operates across the state (its northern Arizona branch covers Tuba City, Page, Flagstaff and Williams) to fund nonprofits across a broad range of services, launched its Arizona COVID-19 Community Response Fund on March 27 and has dispersed almost $400,000 worth of grants to nonprofits facing increased need. The fund makes grant money available to all nonprofits that apply. Statewide, ACF has dispersed $2,803,815 since March 27 and received $7 million from donors. Were just thankful that we can help our communities, Shriver said. There is no cap and no minimum amount that organizations can apply for under the COVID-19 Community Response Fund, but Shriver said most of the grants awarded have amounted to between $15,000 and $25,000. Among recent applicants who have received grant money from ACFs COVID-19 Community Response Fund are the Flagstaff Family Food Center, Northland Hospice & Palliative Care, Quality Connections, Red Feather Development, Tohdenasshai Committee Against Family Abuse, Catholic Charities and Flagstaff EcoRanch. When it comes to the Third Mesa-based Hopi Foundation, which runs several programs across 12 Hopi and Tewa Villages in northern Arizona, the coronavirus pandemic is being felt with increased severity and has brought to light several already-existing health and social disparities. Hopi Foundation had just seen the tail-end of a drastic heating crisis over the winter, which saw several households without ways to warm their home during freezing temperatures, when the pandemic hit. Nothing has really ever reached the level of this crisis, Monica Nuvamsa, executive director of the Hopi Foundation, said. The organization has been in operation since 1987 and hosts several community-based projects including the KUYI 88.1 FM Hopi Radio Station, HOPI Substance Abuse Prevention Center, Hopi Leadership Program and the Hopi Youth Initiative, among many others. Around 23 employees are now running programs like youth mentoring and counseling, and substance abuse prevention meetings from home. Maintaining all that the foundation does has become even more challenging. Grant money, including that from ACF, has helped these important operations continue. None of us have really dealt with something like this before and it deals with a lot of complexity in how we manage resources that come into the community, Nuvamsa said. The grant from ACF has helped in the transition of working from home, Nuvamsa said, as well as to stabilize operations at KUYI Hopi Radio, making sure there is replacement staff ready to step in if need be, as the station is integral as a partner in emergency response efforts, Nuvamsa said. I think one of the things about this crisis is that it has amplified a lot of the challenges we knew were already there, and its really focusing us as a community on what those key and core operations are in building capacity for our community, she said. Among those are the challenges placed by lack of running water and internet in many homes as well as sheer distance to get groceries at the nearest stores in Winslow or Flagstaff. We have other complexities within our community other than having a high unemployment rate, Nuvamsa said. There are homes that do not have running water nor electricity and that creates a huge challenge with a public health crisis, and so those are some of the things that our nonprofit community is looking at, finding solutions for these households. For Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona, the coronavirus pandemic has caused an increase in need for rental assistance, negotiating mortgage payments and more as hundreds have been laid off from work. We recognize that when you serve lower-income households, even if their rent is reduced, folks have been laid off or furloughed and that might make them struggle to pay rent to us, Devonna McGlaughlin, president and CEO of Housing Solutions, said. Housing Solutions operates 23 affordable housing units it rents out to eligible renters. The organization also provides rental and down payment assistance as well as financial counseling and runs Sharon Manor, a living community for victims of domestic violence. Housing Solutions has also shut down its thrift store temporarily, which, like rent from the affordable housing units, helps pay staff members and other operational costs. Those are pretty significant sources of income for us that help people stay employed and keep the lights on so operating support [such as that from ACF] can help offset those costs, McGlaughlin said. The other thing weve seen is a really significant increase in folks calling us in for help to avoid foreclosure on mortgages. In January, Housing Solutions saw two or three people using the service. As of Friday, April 17, it had 18 clients who have applied in the last 10 days, with about 30 other clients in the process of completing their application for assistance. You dont really plan for everything going wrong at the same time. Its not like we havent contingency planned, McGlaughlin said. I think the sheer scale of this is overwhelming to to nonprofits. In addition to the Arizona Community Foundation, Housing Solution has been approved for funds from OneAZ Credit Union and Wells Fargo. People have been very generous and very helpful and if that wasnt the case, itd be harder to do work each day, McGlaughlin said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Frontline health workers in Pakistans largest province, Punjab, are carrying out sit-in protests against the poor quality of their personal protection equipment as they try to care for people stricken by the deadly coronavirus. Salman Haseeb Chaudhry, president of Punjab's provincial chapter of the Young Doctors Association, said on April 26 that substandard equipment is leading to an increasing number of health professionals contracting COVID-19. Chaudhry said an alliance of health workers has formed, including nurses and paramedics, to demand greater protection. Chaudhry said 100 health professionals in Pakistan had tested positive for coronavirus during the previous 24 hours. Pakistan on April 26 had confirmed a total of 12,723 cases of the virus with 269 deaths. The true number of infections is thought to be much higher. Pakistan has been recording a steady daily increase of about 750 positive cases during the past week. Testing is still low with barely 6,800 people tested per day in a country of 220 million people. Pakistan has struggled to get protective equipment to its health professionals. Doctors in the southwestern province of Baluchistan who protested against the shortage of adequate protective equipment were detained by authorities earlier in April. They were freed within hours. Pakistan's government has increased its stocks of protective equipment after receiving planeloads of supplies from China and stepping up local production. But Chaudhry said the quality of much of the protective equipment is substandard. Based on reporting by AP and Reuters Over 2 dozen killed in Afghanistan as Taliban refuses govt offer for ceasefire during Ramadan Kabul, Apr 25 (UNI) At least 28 people including four civilians were killed in Afghanistan and more than two dozen injured on Saturday in a Taliban attack after the militant group turned down the government's offer to observe ceasefire during Ramadan, the Muslim holy fasting month that begun on Friday. In the latest gun battle which took place in Qala-e-Zal district of the northern Kunduz province at around noon Saturday and lasted for 30 minutes, four Taliban insurgents were killed and another wounded, local police officer Khal Mohommad said. As coronavirus situation spirals, slum dwellings in Mumbai, where more than half of the city's 12 million population live in crammed space and unhygienic conditions, seem to be posing a daunting challenge in efforts to curb infections. Known as the 'City of Dreams', Mumbai is home to the largest number of billionaires as well as Asia's largest slum Dharavi -- one of the coronavirus hotspots. While area-wise it measures just about 2.4 square kilometres (sq kms), Dharavi alone has more than one million people. Tata Group Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata's remarks, earlier this week, that developers and architects are treating slums as residue" of the city and that was one of the reasons for the rapid spread of the pandemic highlighted the current situation. These so-called planners and builders should be ashamed of themselves for forcing a large majority of the people to live in sub-human conditions, he had said. The megacity has reported 4,870 coronavirus cases and 191 deaths. The octogenarian industrialist, also a long time resident of Mumbai, had lambasted realtors for neglecting the poor and creating vertical slums for big gains from high value housing that come up in the areas where slums stood once. Lack of proper planning, flouting of norms, land cartelisation and rising property prices, are among the factors, that have contributed to the present situation of large number of people living in slums, experts opined. The Maharashtra government and local authorities are taking measures to contain the spread of coronavirus infections and are appealing the citizens to stay home. However, with rooms measuring barely 100-200 sq ft housing 8-10 people in slums, and scores of families sharing common toilets and water taps, the possibility of coronavirus cases going up is always high, they added. "Blame it on policy paralysis and unending aspirations of both politicians as well as developers' community for the city not becoming slum-free. And today, these slums have turned into a haven for coronavirus," MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority) former chief town planner V K Pathak told PTI. Further, he said housing policies that were developed by the competent authorities did not solve the issues of 'public housing' but were construed as policies for real estate development. "Nearly 65-70 per cent of Mumbai's population stays in slums. Policies like the Urban Land Ceiling Act, free housing for slum dwellers and extension of cut off dates for regularising slums led to land cartelisation and increasing property rates," Pathak said. Over the years, Mumbai has witnessed a large influx of migrants in search of jobs. They settled in clusters by building small hutments as they could not afford to buy homes and those areas later became illegal slums. "Affordable housing and slum elimination are two surprisingly conflicting issues. We're trying to remove slums from seemingly unsuitable living conditions by relocating them to other locations which are 20-30 miles away and where there are no jobs for these uprooted people," Ratan Tata said earlier this week. In 1995, as part of his pre-election promises, late Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray floated the idea of 'free housing' for slum dwellers. When the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance came to power the same year, their government launched the slum rehabilitation scheme. Under the scheme, slums were proposed to be replaced with 'pukka' houses on the same plot of land, construction of which was to be cross-funded by a 'free sale component'. The latter was aimed at attracting investments from home buyers from slightly affluent financial background. However, the scheme could not address the problems in its entirety and slums kept proliferating across the city. Real estate developers' body Naredco's National President Niranjan Hiranandani also acknowledged that proper urban planning has "not" been done. "One acknowledges that the situation has been one where proper urban planning has not been done. The need to ensure fiscal viability of real estate projects creates a situation where over the years, we have seen real estate development happen in ways that weren't examples of 'sustainable living' or in sync with the environment. According to him, a mix of acute scarcity of open spaces, restrictions on vertical growth and difficulties relating to slum rehabilitation policy confounds Mumbai's planned development. An expert in real estate regulations, who did not wish to be identified, said faulty Floor Space Index (FSI) norms have also led to haphazard development in the city and skewed property prices. FSI is a development tool that defines the extent to which construction is permitted on a plot. For long, the permissible FSI for residential development in the island city has been 1.33 and it is 1 in the suburbs. In 2019, then state government led by BJP's Devendra Fadnavis increased the FSI for slum rehabilitation projects across the city to 4 from the earlier 3. The index is based on a ratio between the area of a covered floor or the built up area to the area of that plot on which a building stands. The new development plan 2034 for Mumbai has proposed to increase the FSI to 2.7. "While the developers used this as a tool to build costly aspirational homes, local authorities used it as a means to generate revenues. In between, the interest of the public was ignored," the expert quoted above said. Over the past several years, Maharashtra government has been planning to redevelop the most congested areas in the city like Dharavi and Kamathipura. The ambitious Dharavi redevelopment plan, which was conceptualised more than a decade ago in 2004, has not found takers yet as developers have found the proposal "financially unviable". "Haphazard and in some instances, unplanned development just enhances the difficulty quotient. The slum proliferation challenge begins with open spaces reserved by authorities for future development or kept vacant as no development zones. "Given the constant pressure from new migrants looking for homes, it opens up the pathway to proliferation of slums. This is a problem not unique only to Mumbai, but certainly more acute as compared to other cities," Hiranandani said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) London, April 26 : UK Home Secretary Priti Patel has warned criminals seeking to "exploit and capitalise" on the coronavirus crisis, adding that "we are on to you". In a Downing Street briefing on Saturday, the Home Secretary said that although there had been a drop in overall crime, "these unprecedented times" had given rise to an increase in more "sophisticated" offending, the Metro newspaper reported. Losses from COVID-19 related scams, such as phishing emails from fraudsters posing as genuine organisations to plunder sensitive information or websites selling bogus PPE, now stands at 2.4 million pounds. However, Patel said that law enforcement "is also adapting and they are onto you... Their efforts are paying off". Patel said Border Force officers, the National Crime Agency (NCA) and police had all been working to smash international drug rings, bring child sex predators to justice and thwart motorists seeking to take advantage of empty stretches of highway. She revealed 1 million pounds worth of cocaine hidden in boxes of face masks set to be smuggled into the UK through the Channel Tunnel was discovered last week. The NCA also helped seize 700 kg worth of heroin in Pakistan which was "potentially bound for the UK". It has also been working to shut down websites seeking to rip-off customers by offering fake personal protective equipment, said the Metro newspaper report. The police have also been alerted to a staggering 1,300 "potential child sexual abuse cases" during the pandemic. "This is a sickening reminder of the frightening activity that is targeted towards our children every single day," Patel was quoted as saying in the newspaper report. - Kenya Ferry Managing Director Bakari Goa said MV Safari can carry up to 1,000 people and 64 vehicles during each trip across the Likoni Channel - The vessel will be deployed for use by residents after fumigation; an exercise that will last about a week - Carrying capacity of existing ferries reduced after management enforced social distancing aboard the vessels to stem spread of coronavirus Coast residents who use the Likoni crossing channel can now breath a sigh of relief after the government procured a brand new ferry, MV Safari. The new vessel, imported from Turkey, docked in Mombasa on Saturday, April 25, and is expected to start serving residents from the first week of May 2020. READ ALSO: Sonko akosa kwenye mkutano wa Ikulu na Rais Kenyatta The new vessel was imported from Turkey. Photo: Kenya Ferry. Source: UGC READ ALSO: My boss fired me after I tested positive for COVID-19 - Househelp Kenya Ferry Managing Director Bakari Goa said arrival of the ferry was timely adding that it would go a long way in boosting the region's efforts to fight fast-spreading coronavirus. Goa revealed that the ferry has a capacity to transport up to 1,000 people and 64 vehicles for every trip it makes across the Likoni Channel. MV Safari can carry up to 1,000 people and 64 vehicles during each trip across the Likoni Channel. Photo: Kenya Ferry. Source: UGC READ ALSO: Nyandarua man goes on fast, wears sack clothes after wife was placed under quarantine "It will help us manage the growing number of people who need to cross from one end to the other. We had expected that the curfew, work from home order and partial lockdown would result in reduced traffic across the Likoni Channel but this has not happened. There are very many people who are still using ferry services," said Goa. READ ALSO: COVID-19: Good news as Uhuru signs bill reducing tax on salaries In a separate story, TUKO.co.ke reported that Coast residents using the Likoni Channel were the among hardest hit when the 7pm to 5am curfew issued by President Uhuru Kenyatta took effect on Friday, March 27. On a daily basis, the residents are compelled to crowd at the channel and cross over using the limited number of ferries to avoid breaching the curfew order. The vessel will be deployed for use after fumigation. Photo: Kenya Ferry. Source: UGC Carriage capacity of existing ferries was also reduced after the management enforced social distancing on the vessels to curb the spread of the contagious disease. According to the Kenya Ferry boss, the ferry will be deployed after fumigation to ensure that it is safe for use. "We will have to clean it first to kill any possible germs. The exercise will last about a week after which residents can start using it," said Goa. MV Safari docked in Mombasa on Saturday, April 25. Photo: Kenya Ferry. Source: UGC As of Saturday, April 25, Kenya had recorded 343 coronavirus cases with Nairobi and Mombasa being most affected. The country had 98 recoveries and 14 deaths. President Uhuru on Sartuday extended the containment period by 21 more days a move he said was prompted by the spike in COVID-19 cases. The cessation of movement order which blocked movement into and out of the expanded Nairobi Metropolitan Area, the counties of Kilifi, Mombasa, Kwale and later Mandera was expected to end on Monday, April 27. Globally as of early Sunday, April 26, some 2,921,201 people had been infected with the disease out of which 203,289 had succumbed and 836,970 had recovered. Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly. He was married to another woman for ten years and I had no idea - Angela Nzilani |Tuko Talks|Tuko TV. Source: TUKO.co.ke Beijing Issues New Law, District Sets Strict Quarantine Measures to Contain Virus The Beijing city government has enacted a new law requiring residents to wear protective masks if diagnosed with infectious respiratory diseases and also mandating that people cover their nose and mouth when coughing. Though the city government did not specify that the law was enacted to contain the CCP virus, the new regulations come just days after the government publicly announced that Chaoyang district in Beijing would be designated as the countrys only region at high risk of a CCP virus outbreak. The Epoch Times also obtained internal government documents from Chaoyang city, showing that authorities have put in place strict quarantine measures, in an attempt to prevent the virus from further spreading. Interviews with Chinese citizens and internal documents leaked to The Epoch Times have shown that local authorities in China routinely underreport virus data. Since the virus first broke out in the central city of Wuhan, Beijing has reported very few infections. Between April 16 to 26, Beijing has not announced any new infections, but residents told The Epoch Times that they did not believe the governments figures. New Law Delegates who represent Beijings rubber-stamp legislature enacted a new law to promote civilized behavior on April 24, which will become effective on June 1. Under the new law, city residents must also follow the governments quarantine and testing arrangements if they come down with an infectious disease; no one is allowed to eat inside the subway; and when eating inside a restaurant, people must not share utensils. A womanwearing a facemask and a design clothing face shield amid the concerns over the CCP viruswalks on a street in Beijing, China on April 20, 2020. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images) In China, people usually wear masks in the winter to keep warm. In general, people dont have the habit of wearing a mask when they have a cold or flu. Also, people usually share dishes when dining outside. They typically use their chopsticks to pick up food from shared dishes, potentially sharing germs. The law also stipulates that people cannot spread rumors or expose others information online. The government said these rules were issued to prevent an epidemic. Outbreak After Beijing announced a cluster outbreak in a family where four members were diagnosed on April 15, it designated Chaoyang district as a high-risk region. However, cities with more infections, such as districts within Harbin and Suifenhe cities in northern Heilongjiang Province, as well as Guangzhou and Jieyang cities in southern Guangdong Province, were marked as medium risk regions. Mrs. Chen, a resident in Chaoyang district, said in an interview: All residential compounds around me check peoples phones [to scan their health code and home address] at the entrance. Only people who live inside can enter, she told the Chinese-language Epoch Times on April 22. She believed the situation was more severe than the Beijing government let on. Another Chaoyang resident, Mr. Zhang, said: The neighborhoods around Dongdaqiao, Wuji street, Gaojiayuan, and Chaoyang Hospital are more dangerous places in Chaoyang district. [Local authorities] told us to avoid going to those places Then, we all know what that means. He surmised that the neighborhoods mentioned above might already have outbreaks. Meanwhile, the Beijing municipal education commission announced on April 23 that the seniors in high school need to return to school on April 27. Before the end of January, all schools in Beijing were closed for the Lunar New Year. Since then, no schools have opened. Li Yi, a spokesman of the commission, said at a press conference that there were 51,226 senior high school students in Beijing. Of the senior students, 1,247 could not return to school on time; more than 800 of them were under quarantine due to the CCP virus, while over 300 students were out of town and were unable to return to Beijing due to local quarantine policies. Medical workers are looking for close contacts with CCP virus patients in Suifenhe city, China on April 25, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) Li did not explain how many students were placed under quarantine because they came back to Beijing from another city, nor how many students were under quarantine because they were infected or were close contacts of diagnosed patients. People who arrive from other areas of China, aside from Wuhan, are asked to self-isolate at home. On April 20, a netizen posted online a video, showing a couple and their child being forced to move to a quarantine center from their home in Chaoyang district. Leaked Documents The Epoch Times obtained a series of internal documents from the Chaoyang district government, showing that authorities are anxious to prevent the spreading of the virus. One document dated April 19 listed how many people were being quarantined in all 43 neighborhoods. The document listed people who must be isolated at quarantine centers for 21 days. Those who entered Beijing from another country (type A); people who arrived from Wuhan (type B); their close contacts (type C), and (type D), virus patients discharged from hospitals. Authorities are likely monitoring the last group for the potential to relapse. Their quarantine health condition is recorded in two phases: within the first 14 days and in the third week. On April 19, there were 3,357 people under quarantine in the district, and the majority of them1,977were from Wuhan. A document released on March 26 showed that other populations also had to be isolated at quarantine centers: close contacts of diagnosed patients, people who had developed a fever, and so on. According to the documents, on April 19, Beijing authorities also required eight groups of people to perform a nucleic acid test, including people who develop fevers, need hospital treatment, and recently traveled elsewhere. People must pay for the test themselves. Other Cities Harbin and Mudanjiang cities in Heilongjiang Province reported new domestic infections on April 26. But authorities did not report any details about the infections. The Epoch Times previously reported that Harbin authorities kept internal data that were far higher than publicly announced figures. The cities of Suihua and Daqing, also in Heilongjiang, also have newly diagnosed patients. Shenyang is the capital city of another northeastern province, Liaoning. On April 24, a doctor who works at Liaoning Peoples Hospital tested positive for CCP virus antibodies, indicating that she might have been infected. Authorities explained that she contracted the virus while visiting Harbin. Authorities claimed she was not contagious. However, local medical staff who spoke with the Chinese-language Epoch Times said that tens of thousands of medical staff and patients had visited local hospitals to get a diagnostic test, as they are worried they may have contracted the virus. A doctor working at a Shenyang hospital told the Chinese-language Epoch Times that a portion of the Liaoning Peoples Hospital was shut down after the doctor tested positive. Meanwhile, on April 23, Chinese state-run media reported that Chinese vice premier Sun Chunlan and a team of medical experts visited Yunnan Province to guide local authorities on preventing and controlling the CCP virus outbreak. Since Wuhan was locked down in January, Sun had been working in Wuhan for two months. All media have since removed the related reports about her visit to Yunnan, but news of Beijing medical specialist An Youzhong going to Yunnan together with Sun on April 21 was not removed. With their revenue falling by up to 80% in the Covid-19 lockdown that took effect on March 25 , several states have informed the Centre that they are almost broke and will not even be able to pay salaries unless they borrowed heavily and received interim compensation from the central government. State chief ministers are expected to raise the financial crunch they are confronting at a video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, state government officials said. Most states have already written to the finance ministry, seeking additional funds to tide over the crisis. Kerala finance minister Thomas Issac said on Saturday said that the state had been able to raise only Rs 250 crore in revenue this month. If we include what the Centre would give us, in all we will be able to touch Rs 2,000 crore. For payment of salaries alone, we require Rs 2,500 crore, Isaac said. Then a way out is to draw from the ways and means {advance} and, including overdraft, it will come to Rs 2,500 crore. After that what happens would be {that} the treasury would be closed. Such is the situation that we are in, Issac said. A ways and means advance helps states tide over temporary cash flow problems. Punjab is in a worse state. According to the state finance department, it faces expenditure of Rs 7,301 crore for April on salaries, pensions, debt servicing, power subsidy and coronavirus-related relief measures. The government budgeted for revenue of Rs 3,360 crore, including Rs 1,322 crore form the goods and services tax, Rs 465 crore from value added tax (petroleum products), Rs 521 crore from state excise, Rs 198 crore from motor vehicle tax, Rs 243 crore from electricity dues and Rs 219 crore from stamp duty. Chief minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said the receipts on account of GST and other states taxes were negligible and reduced electricity consumption had resulted in a drop of electricity revenue by 60%. The CM has sought Rs 3,000 crore from the Centre as interim compensation to overcome revenue constraints. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of Uttar Pradesh has experienced a decline of 70% in revenue, and the administration has frozen dearness allowance to employees until end of June and a 30% cut in salaries and allowances paid to ministers to save up to Rs 13,550 crore. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has set up a committee headed by additional chief secretary (finance) Sanjiv Mittal to study the financial impact of lockdown and suggest measures to mobilise additional resources. Uttarakhands secretary (finance) Amit Singh Negi said he state needs around Rs 1,500 crores for paying salaries and pensions, and Rs 700 crore to repay loans and interest on them. Out of the total Rs 2,200 crores (approximately) needed every month, we are earning almost nothing as of now, said Negi. He said, We used to earn a share from the taxes earned by the Central government, which also has been reduced by 20% by the Centre due to which we are staring at a loss of another Rs 200 crores. The state government might soon take a decision on deferring salaries as earnings are very less, but nothing has been decided as of now. The situation is no different in Bihar, whose revenue has dipped by 85% as compared to the same time a year ago. The state expects to collect around Rs 300 crore this month as against Rs 1,500 crore in April last year. Bihars finance minister Sushil Kumar Modi said the state government will accord top priority to payments of salary payments, pensions, loan repayments and interest paymentsUnlike Kerala and few other states, Bihar government will not defer salary payment or cut salaries of state employees and also pay pension to its pensioners, he said, adding that the state had asked the Centre to increase the borrowing limit to 4% of the state gross domestic product. In Madhya Pradesh, officials said the government would lose revenue of Rs 4,000 crore in April and would have to arrange for Rs 6,000 crore to pay salaries of employees. As 22 districts of the state including industrial capital Indore is in the grip of Covid, I dont see much improvement in revenue happening in May also, a finance department official, who requested anonymity, said . Additional chief secretary,(finance) Anurag Jain said: These are challenges due to revenue being affected but as the economic activities will accelerate the situation will improve. West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra said he had sought immediate central intervention to repay loans because the state is expected to lose revenue of Rs 15,000 crore during the lockdown period. To earn some revenue, the state government is offering a 20% discount for e-registration with a maximum ceiling of Rs 20,000. Seventy per cent of states revenue comes from GST and other taxes, a finance department official. Himachal Pradesh is expecting a revenue loss to the tune of 450 crores after the nationwide lockdown. We have suffered an estimated 453 crores revenue loss in the lockdown period. The industry has also suffered a major setback with the capacity down to 25%, said chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, who also holds the finance portfolio. (With inputs from state bureaus) Its been over 20 years since Don Lewis disappeared. Tiger King star and Big Cat Rescue owner, Carole Baskin, has been outspoken about the case since the docuseries released. She is not currently a suspect. However, Lewiss case has new eyes with experts asking for new leads to help crack the case. That said, Lewiss attorney provides his working theory as to what exactly happened to Lewis and yes, it involves going to Costa Rica. Experts offer theories as to what happened Carole Baskin | Netflix The release of Tiger King has caused quite a stir among those previously involved with missing man Don Lewiss 1997 case. Fans of the hit Netflix docuseries have a plethora of theories as t what exactly went down with Lewis the night he went missing, including the one about Baskin feeding his body to the tigers. Former prosecutor and host of the Fox Nation series, A Tiger King Investigation, Nancy Grace, has a theory of her own. In my view, theres no question but that he was murdered, she said. Lewiss attorney, Joseph Fritz, echoed the sentiment. He loved those cats. He never would have just walked away from them ever, he said. He was proud of those cats. He loved his cats. Some force made him leave. That said, what does Lewis think happened to his client? Heres Fritzs working theory about Lewiss disappearance Aside from the many memes circulating as to whether Lewis voluntarily fled to Costa Rica or not, professionals working the case have plausible theories. Don Lewis, he was terribly cheap while he was very wealthy. He was cheap beyond belief, Fritz told Grace. What would have lured him more than anything else is a good deal on an airplane. So thats what I assume happened that he got lured up to the Pilot Country Estates to look at an airplane. Fritz went explained that Lewiss car was found abandoned in a private airports parking lot. Baskin maintains that Lewis planned to go to Costa Rica at the time. Still, Fritz paints a clear picture of what he believes really happened to Lewis. What I had heard was that he was strangled from the backseat of an airplane over the Gulf [of Mexico] at 50 feet and dropped out over the Gulf, he said. He added that Lewiss pilots license had been revoked and he often flew beneath radar range so not to be detected. Baskin is not a suspect in Lewiss case As featured in Tiger King, Baskins character isnt painted in the best light. The animal rights activist and her third husband, Howard Baskin, have refuted many claims from the series specifically those pertaining to Lewiss whereabouts or Baskins involvement in his disappearance. In a recent series of videos uploaded to YouTube, Baskin addressed some of the issues she believed to be inaccurate representations in Tiger King, including her thoughts on those sordid theories involving a meat grinder, cage sizes for her big cats, and everything in between. Baskin inherited around $5 to $10 million from Lewiss estate, the outlet reported. Baskin denies any involvement and said she cooperated with authorities throughout the years. She recently explained that she didnt take a polygraph test when Lewis initially went missing, because her criminal attorney advised her against it. Fritz admitted his theories are mere opinions and not proven as fact. When asked if he thinks the person(s) responsible will ever come forward or be caught, Fritz thinks so. One day one of these people is going to stub their toe and want a get-out-of-jail-free card and thats when somethings going to happen, said Fritz. Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness is available on Netflix now. File photo Two of the 12 new coronavirus patients admitted at the Osun State Isolation Centre are dead, The PUNCH reports. Governor Adegboyega Oyetola made this known while addressing newsmen on Sunday in Osogbo, the state capital. He said the two deaths occurred in Ile-Ife and Ede areas of the state. According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control as of Saturday night, 32 of the total 1182 cases of the virus in the country were confirmed in Osun State. The state has also recorded about 20 recoveries. The governor appealed to residents of the state to comply with the governments directive on mandatory use of face masks and observe social distancing as part of efforts to curb the community transmission of the lethal virus. He also urged security operatives in the state particularly those manning the land borders not to compromise on the restriction of movement of persons from outside the state. Huawei flatly denies being under control of the Chinese government, but theres little doubt that China is eager to defend its technological superstar at least, with a little prodding. The New York Times has learned that Chinese police arrested five former Huawei employees in December 2018 over WeChat discussions of claims the company violated sanctions against Iran. They didnt offer tangible evidence of violations (beyond one saying he could prove Huawei sold to Iran), but the mere hint of evidence and discussions with foreign journalists was apparently enough to spark the arrests. The arrest of one ex-employee, Li Hongyuan, sparked outrage among Chinese residents concerned that hed been fired solely for demanding back pay. However, Huawei later said that the arrest wasnt due to a labor disagreement and that it was only reporting illegal activity. The new claims suggest Huawei was not only monitoring the former workers chat (reportedly a common practice), but that it was willing to take advantage of authorities protectiveness to silence critics. Huawei has declined to comment, reiterating its earlier statement about Li. Shenzhen police also havent responded to inquiries. Its not completely shocking that Huawei would have leaned on the police. It was at the center of a China-US trade dispute that eventually led to charges over the alleged Iran sanction violations. However, this also shows how willing Chinese authorities are to protect Huawei. The company has a massive presence in China, with dominance of the mobile market and influences on large swaths of the countrys tech industry. If Li and others offered evidence that Huawei broke sanctions, it could have serious repercussions for the country as a whole. Ina Garten had already done enough for her fans by showing them how to make the best quarantine cosmopolitan cocktails. Ina Garten | Brad Barket/Getty Images for The New Yorker Now, shes instructing stovetop-weary shelter-in-placers on making a dish everyone in the family will thank them for, with as little time spent in the kitchen as possible. Its her Overnight Mac and Cheese, and its divine. Ina Garten is a source of comfort and familiarity for many these days As with many other celebrity chefs, Garten has turned to social media to provide her followers with helpful ideas, fun recipes, and just with updates on how the Hamptons resident and her husband, Jeffrey, are doing throughout the current global health crisis. In speaking with Garten, PBS correspondent William Brangham remarked about the 72-year-old celebrated home cooks fans and their eager response to her Instagram posts, almost as though a dear family member were sharing with them. Garten told PBS, I actually felt very connected to people, and what problems they had that maybe I could help solve. But the other thing that happened was, it gave me purpose and order. What she loves making most It feels familiar The star of the Barefoot Contessa Food Network show talked with the nonprofit broadcaster about the things she keeps in her pantry the most (dried beans and rice and lentils, and . . . legumes that last for a long time) and about substitutions in cooking (shallots if you dont have onions, basil if you dont have scallions). She talked as well about what she really enjoys making, especially in stressful, uncertain times as the ones were living through now. I love making a big pot of chicken stock. It makes me feel good, makes the house smell good. It feels familiar. And then I store it in the freezer, so I can make soups and stews. The secret to Gartens overnight macaroni and cheese Its been fun trying to guess what Garten will post about next. This week it was the unbelievable sounding overnight macaroni and cheese. Unbelievable because it doesnt seem that any kind of pasta kept overnight would fare very well, that it might instead turn out gloppy and overcooked. Not so. The New York City-born Garten said on her post, Mac & Cheese is the ultimate comfort food but this overnight version is so easy you dont even need to make a bechamel! Its the ultimate, ultimate comfort food dinner! Recipe on barefootcontessa.com! #staysafe As for the recipe, its extremely simple, using items you probably have in your pantry right now: elbow macaroni, heavy cream, grated Cheddar cheese, grated Gruyere cheese (or just use more Cheddar!), ground nutmeg, melted butter, and fresh bread crumbs. Gartens secret for the overnight part of the recipe? Undercook the pasta. She says in her recipe, Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add two tablespoons salt and the macaroni and cook for exactly four minutes. Then you drain the pasta and toss it with the cream and cheeses, and into the refrigerator it goes for twenty-four hours. When youre ready to make it, keep it out for an hour (to bring it to room temperature), and put it in a preheated 400 degree oven. Its a great recipe that you can prep the night before and enjoy the next day with minimal effort. An Instagram fan of Gartens captured how so many feel about the Contessa right now, saying in reply to one of her posts, Oh my goodness I love you @inagarten my favorite chef in the whole world. Your show and your food are so comforting to me during this time. Read more: Barefoot Contessa: Why Ina Garten Always Wears Blue Shirts Millions of workers traditionally take to the streets for May Day marches, but with half of humanity in lockdown, this is going to be a May 1 like no other. With rallies cancelled in many countries because of the coronavirus pandemic, unions are instead urging supporters to deck their homes and balconies with banners or take to social media to spread the message. Britain's Trades Union Congress shelved its planned events last month but said "it was more important than ever to mark the contribution that workers make", especially as staff in the country's heavily-unionised National Health Service are risking their lives fighting the virus. They have urged people to post a "short video to social media thanking a worker who's made a difference to you" with the hashtags #mayday and #ThankAWorker. While US and Canadian unions show their muscle on Labor Day in September, and the holiday is marked on different dates in Australia and New Zealand, in Europe and much of Asia activists have being forced to go virtual by the lockdowns. - 'Invade social media' - In France, where large marches are usually held in most major cities, the labour movement is determined to make an impact despite the restrictions. "Even locked down, let's all demonstrate on May 1 with placards and banners (at home) or by invading social media," they said in a joint rallying call. They want particularly to highlight the "forgotten" low-paid workers who "at the risk of their own lives" are keeping society going, like health workers, supermarket staff and binmen. The unions see the crisis as a chance to press the case that they finally get their due. In Italy, one of the nations worst-hit by the virus, the traditional May Day concert in Rome will go ahead but without a physical audience. Several major Italian stars are due to appear in the show called "Work in Safety: Let's Build the Future", which will instead by broadcast live by public service broadcaster Rai 3. While Greece's biggest union, the GSEE, has urged its members to "respect the rules banning gatherings of more than 10 people" imposed by the government last month, there still could be some gatherings. - Controversy - Having come through a decade of swingeing austerity and economic crisis, and with a new global recession on the horizon, communist unions may yet organise a symbolic protest outside parliament. In Indonesia, unions are also set to go ahead with a march in Jakarta, despite a police ban. There is also controversy in Uruguay, where President Luis Lacalle Pou has refused the biggest union movement, the PIT-CNT, airtime for a May Day address. In Russia, the massive parade organised by unions linked to the Kremlin has fallen victim to the virus. This May 1 is "unprecedented in union history", the French historian Stephane Sirot told AFP. "The only comparison I can think of is during times of war," he said. "This is the first time that a public health issue has come into play." But in China, where the coronavirus first appeared in December according to official reports, things have not just been getting back to normal -- the government has actually extended the traditional May 1 public holiday by two days in the hope of boosting retail and tourism. In Sweden, however, which unlike the rest of Europe has taken a controversially light touch approach to the virus, all marches have been called off. - Unions robbed of weapon - Like its Scandinavian neighbours, activists are going online with Denmark's biggest union, FH, launching a Facebook campaign under the banner, "Stronger together but everyone staying safety apart". The day coincides with the traditional spring festival of Vappu in Finland, which can get a little raucous with copious quantities of "sima" mead and "skumppa" sparking wine being drunk by revellers. The carnival atmosphere has somewhat been dampened this year by the lockdown and the police threatening to shut public parks to make sure there are no illicit gatherings. In Iran -- one of the countries that has suffered most from the virus -- May Day rallies have long been frowned on because of their links with Marxism. Despite a ban on marches, every year some activists risk arrest by taking to the streets anyway. But in North Africa, Morocco's CDT union and the UGTT in Tunisia are playing it by the book by taking the online option. Yet historian Sirot wonders how long such virtual activism can go on with so many workers at risk from the meltdown in the global economy the virus has brought. "It is going to be very complicated for the unions," he told AFP. "Mass rallies, which are one of their essential tools, will continue to be banned even as countries end their strict lockdowns. "Union activism is all about marches, lots of meetings" and face-to-face contact, and in an age of social distancing, that is going to be tricky, Sirot added. burs-cf/fg Photo taken with a mobile phone on April 24, 2020 shows a handover ceremony of medical equipment donated by China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) Zhuzhou Locomotive Co. Ltd. in Berlin, Germany. China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC), the world's largest rolling stock manufacturer by production volume, donated a shipment of medical equipment to Germany via the German Red Cross on Friday to help the country fight the coronavirus. Responding to the call from the German government and the Chinese Embassy in Germany, and in accordance with an arrangement between CRRC and CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co. Ltd. (CRRC ZELC), the company donated 1,000 protective suits, 20,000 FFP2 masks and 80,000 surgical masks. (CRRC ZELC/Handout via Xinhua) BERLIN, April 24 (Xinhua) -- China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC), the world's largest rolling stock manufacturer by production volume, donated a shipment of medical equipment to Germany via the German Red Cross on Friday to help the country fight the coronavirus. Responding to the call from the German government and the Chinese Embassy in Germany, and in accordance with an arrangement between CRRC and CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co. Ltd. (CRRC ZELC), the company donated 1,000 protective suits, 20,000 FFP2 masks and 80,000 surgical masks. CRRC ZELC said that the donated materials will be distributed to medical staff and volunteers who are fighting the pandemic on the frontlines. Cheng Jian, general manager of CRRC ZELC Verkehrstechnik GmbH, said that the only way to overcome the crisis is to unite strengths and meet the challenges together. "We wish to undertake our social responsibility as part of the community. We firmly believe that with joint efforts of the international community, Germany will quickly overcome the crisis, and production and life will return to normal soon," Cheng said. According to Jens Quade, president of the Mueggelspree regional branch of the German Red Cross, the risk of new coronavirus infections could be reduced through the generous donation from CRRC ZELC. "The donated material will be distributed to the Berlin Red Cross, Berlin hospitals and/or medical institutions. We will do our best to provide the necessary assistance to the people who are most in need," Quade said. Photo taken with a mobile phone on April 24, 2020 shows medical equipment donated by China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) Zhuzhou Locomotive Co. Ltd. in Berlin, Germany. China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC), the world's largest rolling stock manufacturer by production volume, donated a shipment of medical equipment to Germany via the German Red Cross on Friday to help the country fight the coronavirus. Responding to the call from the German government and the Chinese Embassy in Germany, and in accordance with an arrangement between CRRC and CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co. Ltd. (CRRC ZELC), the company donated 1,000 protective suits, 20,000 FFP2 masks and 80,000 surgical masks. (CRRC ZELC/Handout via Xinhua) By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 04/26/2020 ADVERTISEMENT [ Spoilers Warning: This report contains spoilers that reveal whether Lisa and Usman are still together and if the : Before the 90 Days couple married]. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT So are Usman and Lisa still together? Did the : Before the 90 Days couple get married? ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. star Lisa Hamme has been shown saying her marriage to Usman Umar is "looking grim" on Season 4 of : Before the 90 Days, so did the couple break up or go through with getting married, and is the couple still together now?Lisa, a 52-year-old hospice caregiver from York, PA, and Usman "SojaBoy," a 30-year-old rapper from Nigeria, are one of the couples starring on : Before the 90 Days' fourth season, which premiered in February on TLC.Lisa previously divorced an unfaithful and verbally-abusive man, so she worked hard to support her 15-year-old daughter. Lisa wasn't sure if she'd fall in love again, but then she met Usman, an entertainer in Nigeria who has over 20,000 followers on Instagram.Usman had contacted her on Facebook two years before filming began, and they videochatted immediately so Usman could prove he wasn't a catfish.Lisa didn't understand why a Nigerian celebrity would be interested in her, but a love song he had allegedly written for Lisa confirmed his feelings for her, at least in Lisa's mind.Once they got to know each other a little bit better, Lisa planned a trip to Nigeria -- her first trip out of the United States -- so they could meet face to face.Although their relationship was supposedly built on trust, Lisa had an issue with the "thirsty" women who followed him on social media.Lisa didn't like women constantly reaching out to and calling Usman. She therefore asked him to tighten up his social-media profiles after seeing some flirty comments had been left by fans, such as heart emojis."I just have to try to tolerate her," Usman said in a confessional, before telling his pals he had already decided to be with Lisa forever and always.Lisa and Usman were already engaged, so they planned to wed during her stay in Nigeria and then apply for a spousal visa so Usman could move to the United States.Lisa was warned by friends and family Usman would tell her anything she wanted to hear in order to come to America and receive a Green Card. After all, Usman admitted to cameras his dream was to become the king of hip-hop and R&B in America.But Lisa believed otherwise and thought this was her opportunity to experience a love like never before."If my life is one week [or] one month with this man, I've lived a full life," Lisa told her friends before she left America.Lisa's friends were worried about her safety in Nigeria and being kidnapped or something along those lines.But Lisa gushed, "If I die in Nigeria, I'll die a happy woman because I'll be with the man I love... He's absolutely the man of my dreams. If this is a scam, it's going to break my heart and I will not recover from it."Once Lisa arrived in Nigeria, Usman told the cameras he was "in heaven" and in "paradise" holding his love, and Lisa expressed how Usman was "so damn hot."But Usman admitted Lisa had "a bit more belly" than he was expecting. He said he would've liked her to have a bigger chest with a little waist and big hips, but he said Lisa had a big heart and that's what mattered most.Once Lisa and Usman made it to the hotel, a producer asked Usman if he was looking forward to having sex with Lisa for the first time."Umm, despite the fact she's not the kind of woman I am attracted to, she still has the lady's part and I still have the guy's part, so it's going to be cook -- groovy, cruising. Oh my God!" Usman replied.When Lisa and Usman woke up next to each other for the first time in Nigeria after "making love," Lisa admitted there was "a big cultural difference" -- "American vs. Nigerian."Lisa explained she had to teach Usman how to have oral sex because he didn't even know what it was. Meanwhile, Usman said Lisa was "70 percent good" in bed out of the 100 percent he had been expecting, but he noted that was good enough for him.Lisa confirmed she and Usman had decided against using a condom and it was his first time having unprotected sex. Usman told Lisa he "loved it" without protection.On the drive over to Kaduna, a big city in Nigeria where Usman actually lived and worked in the music industry, Lisa didn't appreciate people blowing up Usman's phone all the time.Usman pointed out Lisa was "very jealous" and "even more controlling in person." He claimed he didn't even know who was calling him at one point.Usman spoke to his friends about how he needed to address Lisa's attitude because he didn't want her to do anything that might jeopardize his career or relationship with co-workers.For instance, Lisa hated that Usman used a young female model in the music video for the song he had written for her, and she didn't like the video director as a result.Lisa therefore asked Usman to edit the model out of the video, which frustrated people who worked with Usman."Changing my video could be bad for my career. I wish Lisa could understand what I sacrifice for her," Usman said in a confessional.And it turned out his music video was not well-received at the world-premiere party, and Usman began fearing his career was slipping through his fingers.A couple of Usman's friends thought Lisa was too controlling, too jealous and essentially not obedient enough for a Muslim man, but Usman still carried on with their relationship.Usman said ideally, he would marry Lisa, have children with her and "maintain that status [of] superstar" in the United States -- so he was willing to do whatever it took to make her happy.Later on, Lisa and Usman flew to Sokoto to visit with his mother, whom Lisa needed approval from in order to marry her son.While in the hotel one night, Usman suddenly disappeared after he told his fiancee he was going to walk a friend to his car and say goodbye.Lisa wasn't okay with Usman leaving her alone in a foreign country, but he said it wasn't okay for him to apologize to her day and night for things."You are not a god," Usman said. "You are not up to 10 days in Nigeria and how many times have I said, 'I'm sorry?' I can't even count."Lisa told Usman not to be a "drama queen," but he wasn't about to let Lisa control his life.Usman thought it was ridiculous Lisa got mad at him for just escorting his friend out of the hotel, and he told Lisa they had a serious problem."I guarantee you tomorrow we'll have [another] problem. I cannot live in that kind of life," Usman told Lisa."Because it's better to live in prison... I can't put myself in prison just to make you happy all the time. If this is how you want me to be, then I think it's better for you to just go your way and let me go my way."Usman said in a confessional he had been complying with Lisa and finally had enough. Usman was ready to make a decision about the future of his relationship, and he wasn't sure his future included Lisa being his wife."If this is how it's going to continue, we don't need to get married," Usman told the cameras.After their big fight, Usman took off for a while and wouldn't speak to Lisa. He said Lisa was bossier than he had ever expected. He dreamed of being a famous musician in the United States, but he didn't want to sacrifice too much just to make his dream come true.Lisa felt everything she did for Usman wasn't enough, and she insisted no one is perfect and Usman had to make up his mind about her quickly.Usman told Lisa that he never insulted her for two years and he had so much respect for her but he worried about how she would treat him in the United States when he'd have no family or friends to run to.Lisa called her stay "very stressful," but Usman was scared to move to America because of how Lisa had been acting.Lisa said her behavior was a result of not sleeping well and being in a foreign country, so she asked Usman for another chance and to move on with the next chapter of their life together."I love Lisa and I want to make her happy, but if we get married, we need a plan to fix our problems," Usman said in a confessional.Lisa had taken a risk for love and feared returning to America alone. She said the breakup would destroy the both of them.However, Lisa and Usman talked through their issues, and Lisa was proud of how they were able to handle arguments and adversity.After Lisa dressed in traditional Nigerian attire called Hausa and bought a goat as a gift, she finally met Usman's mother Fatimatu, hoping to receive her support and blessing to marry Usman.When Lisa finally met Fatimatu and his elders, they were shocked to see how old Lisa was. Usman told his mother that Lisa was a doctor in America although she's a hospice caregiver.Fatimatu ideally wanted him to marry a local Muslim woman, but Usman assured his mother that Lisa loved him and they wanted to get married. Usman revealed his intentions to move to America, and his mother shook her head, "No."Fatimatu excused herself from the conversation, and Usman said her walking away was one of the worst signs that she didn't approve of his relationship."I disagree with his choice to marry Lisa. That's why I left the gathering earlier. It scares me because Lisa is obviously much older and also that she will take him abroad," Fatimatu told the cameras."I'm afraid of how they will treat him since the whites don't like the blacks over there."At this point, Lisa and Usman couldn't get married, and Lisa wished Usman had better prepared himself for this conversation with his mother.Lisa was very frustrated and noted, "At this point, our relationship could be over."The couple therefore resorted to Plan B and decided to meet with Usman's brother's Muhammed for some advice on how to proceed.Usman said Fatimatu always listened to Muhammed because he's the eldest of her children. Usman felt he was under some serious pressure and hoped Muhammed would talk to their mother and convince her everything was going to be okay.Usman assured Muhammed he loved Lisa and the economy in America is "so strong" and he wanted to move to "the No. 1 country in the world."And Lisa said she was desperate to marry her "destiny, [her] everything," so Muhammed decided to defend their love and try his best to win his mother over.However, Muhammad was not able to convince his mother to give Lisa and Usman her blessing, so Lisa was stressed about the clock ticking. She and Usman were running out of time.Muhammad suggested Usman and Lisa should pray at a mosque since Fatimatu is a devout Muslim, and Fatimatu did eventually show up and join them. Fatimatu told the camera she was worried Lisa would turn Usman into a servant in America.The religious experience was quite different for Lisa, who did everything in her power to blend in and follow the rules, including dressing the part.But Usman's mother continued to insist Lisa was too old for him after the service, and Lisa admitted that was "heartbreaking." Lisa said she couldn't approve of her son marrying an older woman for that reason."It's looking grim, and at this point, our relationship could be over," Lisa told the cameras.Based on posts Lisa has made on Facebook, she and Usman reportedly began dating in June 2018.And the couple did reportedly get married during Lisa's stay in Nigeria!Photos of what appeared to be Lisa and Usman's wedding ceremony leaked online last year by Starcasm, and it appears they tied the knot on August 30, 2019.One picture appeared to show the couple holding their Nigerian marriage certificate.Lisa reportedly chose not to wear any makeup on her wedding day at Usman's request, and Lisa changed her name to Usman's mother's name when she got married.Lisa also reportedly converted to a different religion.On April 16, Lisa hinted she and Usman are still together through an Instagram post.Lisa shared an image that read, "If another woman steals your man, there's no better revenge than letting her keep him. Real men can't be stolen."She captioned the image, "Since all the negative Nelly's have put me in a snarky ass mood if you think you can take my baby love @officialsojaboy just remember it will turn around and the exact same thing will happen to you but I don't think he's gonna do that to me so hate on hate on and hell yes I'm turning off the comments.""Karma's a bad ass bitch my sisters remember that BGL," she added.Not only did Lisa call Usman her "baby love," but she also insisted Usman would never leave or hurt her, which suggests they are still an item.She also posted a message to fans about staying strong during difficult times on April 1 amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and her location was tagged as Kaduna, Nigeria, implying she's either visiting Usman or living with him in Nigeria.While rumors have circulated that Lisa and Usman split and got divorced some time after their wedding, Lisa also posted a collage of photos of Usman and herself on March 20 on Facebook.In addition, it also appears Lisa converted to Islam.Usman shared a post on Facebook in December 2019 that showed a screenshot of a text message Lisa had sent him in which she talked about converting to Islam, Starcasm reported."Wasn't for your mom or anyone in our lives, not even you," Lisa allegedly wrote, "this was a decision that I made for myself."Lisa reportedly received her fair share of backlash on social media after revealing she's married to Usman, and some people are claiming Usman has cheated on her. But it doesn't seem to phase the feisty Lisa!When one fan reportedly wrote to Lisa, "I wish you were faithful tho," she reportedly replied, "What do you mean my husband is faithful to me. Keep moving."Lisa then went off at the online troll and, according to Starcasm, wrote, "She is a typical Nigerian b*tch an ppl from my husband area wonder why he married a WHITE AMERICAN WOMAN. FACT STANDS I AM A GOOD WOMAN SO LET MY HATERS COME @USMAN SERIOUSLY ILL F**KING MAKE HER CRY."The commenter continued to allege Usman had been "f-cking around" on her, advising Lisa to get checked for sexual transmitted diseases."Jealous much b*tch? Get in line to kiss my white a**," Lisa reportedly responded."You mad bc I married Usman Sojaboy no wonder Nigerian men are choosing to marry anyone but a Nigerian woman like you."Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage! Embraer said that Boeing has wrongfully terminated the Master Transaction Agreement (MTA) and that it has manufactured false claims as a pretext to seek to avoid its commitments to close the transaction and pay Embraer the $4.2 billion purchase price. Brazil-based aerospace company Embraer said that Boeing has wrongfully terminated the Master Transaction Agreement (MTA) and that it has manufactured false claims as a pretext to seek to avoid its commitments to close the transaction and pay Embraer the $4.2 billion purchase price. We believe Boeing has engaged in a systematic pattern of delay and repeated violations of the MTA, because of its unwillingness to complete the transaction in light of its own financial condition and 737 MAX and other business and reputational problems, Embraer said in a statement on its website. Embraer believes it is in full compliance with its obligations under the MTA and that it has satisfied all conditions required to be accomplished by April 24, 2020, it said. Embraer will pursue all remedies against Boeing for the damages incurred by Embraer as a result of Boeing's wrongful termination and violation of the MTA, the statement added. TradeArabia News Service A 52-year-old head constable of Mumbai Police has died due to coronavirus infection, the city police said on Sunday. The victim had been fighting coronavirus for the past few days, the Mumbai Police said in a tweet. This is the second case of a police personnel's death due to the viral disease in Maharashtra in two days. Earlier, a 57-year-old police constable, who had been diagnosed with COVID-19, died at a private hospital in Mumbai on Saturday. The constable was attached to a police station in western suburbs. He lived in Worli Naka area of south Mumbai. A total of 96 police personnel, including 15 officers, tested positive for coronavirus in Maharashtra till Saturday, officials earlier said. Last month, the enormous streaming and production company Netflix canceled the TV thriller Messiah, (launched Jan 1, 2020) after allegations it contained anti-Islamic propaganda. Once again, it seems that intimidation campaigns, backed by Islamists, are spreading censorship and paranoia. On December 4, 2019 - shortly after the Messiah trailer was released California resident Zeynaba Dahir launched a petition on Change.org that lobbied for the movie to be canceled. The petition gathered nearly 6000 signatures. The consternation is about Al-Masih (Arabic for Messiah), the eponymous lead character, who is seen to resemble an evil figure in Islamic eschatology called Al-Masih ad-Dajjal (or the Antichrist). Ms. Dahir writes: Messiah by definition means a leader or saviorHowever, the Dajjal [Antichrist] is no savior but someone who will deceive you. Clearly this is a sign of propaganda eventually causing people to be misled. She added that this slow exposure of evil and anti-Islamic propaganda will slowly turn hearts. Dahirs campaign was picked up by Islamist activists. The Mad Mamluks (TMM) is an Islamist YouTube channel, which regularly features Islamists from all over the world, promotes the boycott, divest, sanction movement aimed at the worlds only Jewish state, and has broadcast programs in support of convicted terror financier Sami Al-Arian. On January 22, Imran Muneer, founder and host of TMM, held a panel discussion about Messiah, with speakers including Amir Saeed, Resident Scholar at the channel, as well as the co-host of the sister YouTube channel MuzzyBuzz, known only as Mort. Saeed believes that Messiahs message is confusing to Muslims, while Mort said that the Messiah might be a Christian plot to encourage Christians to evangelize Muslims in the Middle East. Other prominent Islamists who denounced the Messiah included Yasmin Mogahed of Al-Maghrib Institute (AMI). Other AMI instructors are predominantly Salafi clerics, who have propagated anti-Semitism, and Holocaust denial. Mogahed wrote in an Instagram post that Messiah has the typical political agenda and that the show portrays violent Israelis as redeemable while showing Muslims as suicide bombers. She protests that one suicide bomber in the show was ostensibly radicalized by one Quranic verse, while nothing is said of the purported grievances and the injustice Muslims suffer. Mogahed concludes, this is the most poisonous narrative which need [sic] to recognize, reject, and speak out against. Messiah indirectly deals with religion and politics in the Middle East and America, and the refugee border crisis in the U.S. In a previous response to the criticism, a Netflix spokesperson said, Messiah is a work of fiction. It is not based on any one character, figure or religion. All Netflix shows feature ratings and information to help members make their own decisions about whats right for them and their families. When I asked Netflix about its decision to cancel, a spokesperson said, the show received a lot of bad reviews, and when this is the case, Netflix does not renew the contract with the producerwe are not biased. Ms. Dahir accused Netflix of being anti-Islamic. But she did this based on the movie trailer, and before the show was broadcast. The real problem here is Islamism, not Islamophobia. And Islamist attacks on free expression have a long history. In 1989, the late Iranian leader, the Ayatollah Khomeini , issued a fatwa (edict) calling for the death of author Salman Rushdie, amid the uproar over his fictional work The Satanic Verses. Since the fatwa was issued, Rushdie has been in hiding. Khomeini declared that all those who published or sold the book should be killed "so that no one will dare to insult the Islamic sanctity." After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, British author Salman Rushdie described the position of those who reject all criticism of Islamist supremacy as paranoid Islam. He said that these fundamentalists believe that the remedy is the closing of those societies to the rival project of modernity" In 2016, the Iranian regime raised the bounty on Rushdies head to four million dollars. No doubt, Netflix fears violent repercussions against the Messiah cast, as well as a Muslim boycott worldwide. And they have good reason for such fears. On November 2, 2004, Dutch playwright Theo van Gogh was shot dead by a young Muslim. The murder was triggered by a documentary he made earlier that year with Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born feminist and politician. After receiving death threats, Ms. Hirsi Ali sought asylum in the U.S., where she now lives. On September 30, 2005, Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published cartoons that depicted Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. The cartoons sparked worldwide demonstrations and riots in many Muslim majority countries. Churches were burned and dozens killed. One of the cartoonists, Kurt Westergaard, was attacked in his home by an assailant wielding an axe and a knife. On September 13, 2012, after the release of the anti-Islamic 14-minute film Innocence of Muslims, protests and riots spread in twenty countries, in which ten people died. On January 7, 2015, two brothers of Algerian descent, attacked the offices of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris. Twelve people were killed and eleven injured. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the massacre. Nasr al-Ansi, the top leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), said that it was in "vengeance for the prophet [Muhammad]," because the weekly had published cartoons of Muhammad, and that was considered an insult to Islam. Islamism is a totalitarian ideology that intends to exclude all other voices. Yet such sensitivity toward fictional works of art in Islam is not historically the case. Today, much of it is the result of the Islamization of Muslim communities in the West, led by Islamists who have learned to exploit the sensitivities of Western societies, amid a growing willingness in the West to regard free expression as harmful. No one has been killed because of the Netflixs Messiah. No one has been hurt. But officials at Netflix know that such anger can all too easily turn to violence. Modern, lawful Islamists do not need fatwas and firebombs. They work instead through social media accounts and carefully crafted claims of victimhood, relying on timid publishers and producers to fear the implicitness of Islamist warnings. Hesham Shehab is an Associate at Illinoiss Counter Islamist Grid Ren Harvieu Revel In The Drama Bella Union, out Friday Rating: For a music lover, theres nothing better than putting on a debut album by an unknown and realising that youve found a new favourite. And there are few things more frustrating than seeing them vanish without trace. Ren Harvieu came breezing out of Salford in 2012 and reached the top five with Through The Night, an album of plush melodramatic pop. Aged 21, she had already been with Island Records for four years. The first time I saw her perform was in a backstreet dive in Brighton; the second, six months later, was at the Shepherds Bush Empire in London. She looked like a goth, sang like a diva and even cracked dry jokes. Really looking forward to making the next album, she told the London crowd. Im undecided whether it should be country or hip-hop. Then came nothing but the sound of silence. Dropped by Island, separated from her long-time lover, Harvieu went through some very dark years. Finally, in May 2019, she signed to Bella Union, which is good with gifted mavericks, as Island once was. Now that album is here at last. It arrives just as millions of people are under house arrest. With the country in lockdown, the promotional tour, originally scheduled for next month, is a non-starter. There could hardly be a finer example of the difficult second album. And yet, the minute you hear it, the difficulties melt away. Harvieus voice is as vividly beautiful as ever. She hasnt gone country or hip-hop. She has stayed on her home turf, in the space between Dusty Springfield and David McAlmont. She still sings as if shes wearing a ballgown and waving a cigarette holder. IT'S A FACT Harvieu was discovered on the then popular social network MySpace. But while recording her first album, she broke her back. Advertisement The difference is that this time its more personal. These 12 songs, co-written by Romeo Stodart of The Magic Numbers, are postcards from a private hell. And most of them are still gorgeously uplifting. From Friday, the album can be downloaded for a fiver on Apple Music, which makes it a steal as well as a treat. Four tracks are already available to stream, including the teasing single Teenage Mascara, which Harvieu describes as a dance between the many versions of ourselves we can go from feeling like sultry sex kittens to being bedridden with despair and greasy hair. Marooned at home with our mood swings, many of us can relate to that, even if weve never been a sex kitten. It seems her timing isnt so bad after all. Following a flurry of reports from Hong Kong and Japanese media outlets declaring the death of Kim Jong Un, South Korean officials said the North Korean communist dictator is alive and well. Rumors about Kims death began after he missed the April 15 celebration of his grandfathers birthday, which is a national holiday in the isolated and impoverished state. The event commemorates Kim Il Sung, who is the founder of North Korea, and according to The Associated Press, the younger Kim hasnt missed his grandfathers birthday celebration since he took over control of the communist country from his father in 2011. On Sunday, Chung-in Moon, a foreign policy adviser to South Koreas President Moon Jae-in, told Fox News: Our government position is firm. Kim Jong Un is alive and well. Moon added that Kim, 36, has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13 and added that no suspicious movements have so far been detected. Satellite photos taken on Saturday echo the claim that Kim is still alive and staying outside the capital, Pyongyang. Photos published by 38 North, a Washington-based website specializing in North Korean affairs, show that there has been increased activity in Wonsan, noting that his train has been parked near his compound since April 21. The trains presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the countrys eastern coast, 38 North stated. U.S. intelligence officials in recent days also said they have seen no sign of unusual military activity that would suggest something was wrong with Kims health. About a week ago, CNN and the Daily NK, a website in part run by North Korean defectors, and other outlets reported that Kim was recovering from heart surgery earlier in April. The Daily NK report, citing an unnamed source, said the dictator suffers from health problems due to smoking, obesity, and overwork. President Donald Trump also dismissed the reports last week. I think the report was incorrect, Trump said at a White House briefing on the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus on Thursday. He told reporters: We have a good relationship with North Koreaas good as you can have. I mean, we have a good relationship with North Korea. I have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un, and I hope hes OK. But despite the reports to the contrary, more speculation about Kims health will likely be fueled in the absence of an official statement or appearance by the regime. Last week, North Korean state-run media published articles that suggest that Kim is conducting business as usual, saying he sent out greetings to officials, including one to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Over the weekend, Asian news outlets reported that Kim is either in a vegetative state or dead. A Hong Kong broadcast network said on Saturday that Kim died and cited a very solid source who was not identified. A Japanese magazine, meanwhile, reported that Kim is effectively brain dead in a vegetative state. When it comes to North Korea you can never be too sure until you hear the news from the country itself, said David Maxwell, a North Korea specialist at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, according to the New York Post. But its worth noting that there are 6.5 million smartphones in North Korea now and even though the coverage is within the country, information has a way of getting out faster now than it did in the past. From The Epoch Times Todays Headlines The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning. Email address By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Shortly afterward, just as the president strode to the lectern, the long-awaited sun broke suddenly through the clouds. Lincoln began to speak, his voice singularly clear and penetrating, in the words of one spectator. It had a sort of metallic ring. His enunciation was perfect. He commenced with no trumpet-blast of rhetoric as in his address at Gettysburg. Indeed, his first words were nearly as dry as an Illinois legal brief, with even an apology that his remarks would be short, since little that is new could be presented. But the five minutes that followed would be unprecedented in American public speech and unequaled since. Nearly all of the shape-shifting Lincolnian personae had a moment onstage: lawyer, politician, historian, mystic, preacher, prophet. Achorn writes: Abraham Lincoln proceeded to share what he had learned from four years of horror and suffering; of sending young men to their deaths; of shattered limbs and amputations; of unleashing savagery, hunger, and disease; of irreparable loss, tears, and heartbreak in homes across America. No inaugural address had ever ventured into the mystery of suffering this way; none ever would again. Landra Gould, widow of senator Harry M. Reid, pays respects at his casket at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll/Bloomberg News) The former Senate majority leader was remembered as a pragmatic dealmaker who became a political force across two presidencies. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 26 By Elnur Baghishov - Trend As many as 1,153 people have infected with the coronavirus (COVID 19) in the past 24 hours in Iran, said Kiyanush Jahanpur, spokesman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Trend reports citing the ministry. According to Jahanpur, some 60 people have died from the coronavirus over the past day. Jahanpur added that the condition of 3,079 people is serious and critical. So far, more than 421,000 tests have been conducted in Iran for the diagnosis of coronavirus. Iran is one of the countries heavily affected by the rapidly-spreading coronavirus. According to recent reports from the Iranian officials, over 90,400 people have been infected, 5,710 people have already died. Meanwhile, over 69,600 have reportedly recovered from the disease. The country continues to apply strict measures to contain the further spread. Reportedly, the disease was brought to Iran by a businessman from Iran's Qom city, who went on a business trip to China, despite official warnings. The man died later from the disease. The Islamic Republic only announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19. Coronavirus pandemic latest news live updates: The total number of cases in India has reached 26,917 as of April 26, 5:00 pm, including 20,177 active cases, 826 deaths, 5,913 cured or discharged patients and 1 migrated patient, showed data by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. As numbers of cases and deaths grow, PM Narendra Modi will interact with chief ministers via video link to discuss the status of COVID-19 in India. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that 80 per cent of the cases are asymptomatic and rest 20 per cent have mild symptoms. He urged people in "hiding" to get themselves tested. Thackeray also said that the state will help migrant workers but trains will not be operational as they do not want gatherings. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also held a press conference and said that the past week was better than the one before that. He also said that Delhi government is asking recovered patients to donate plasma for plasma therapy. He also said that Delhi would follow the Centre's guidelines on reopening local shops and keeping malls and complexes closed. Meanwhile, Haryana has sealed the Delhi-Sonipat border and will keep it blocked till May 3. Additionally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation through his Mann Ki Baat radio programme today. He said that the fight against coronavirus in India is a people-driven fight. Every person is a soldier in this war and everyone has been contributing in every way they can. "Some are waiving off house rent, also some labourers who are in quarantine at a school are whitewashing schools," he said. There are now eight states that have recorded more than 1,000 cases. Andhra Pradesh is the latest state to cross the 1,000 mark. Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases with 7,628. As the number of cases increase, five states said that want the lockdown to be extended after Delhi proposed an extension till May 16. Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab and Odisha have all voted for an extension of the lockdown that is scheduled to be lifted on May 3. Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka said that they would follow the Centre's orders, while Assam, Kerala and Bihar will await Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video conferencing with states and union territories on Monday. Also read: Bravado! IndiGo, Vistara, SpiceJet, GoAir start bookings violating govt orders Follow the latest updates on coronavirus news here on the BusinessToday.In blog: 9.57 pm: Delhi coronavirus news: COVID scare in AIIMS A nursing staff, deputed at Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital of Delhi AIIMS, has tested positive for coronavirus. While her two kids have also contracted the infection, her husband has tested negative. Meanwhile, a security guard deputed at OSD office of Delhi AIIMS has also been found COVID-19 positive and Contact tracing has been initiated. 9.03 pm: Mumbai coronavirus cases Mumbai posted 324 new coronavirus cases and 13 deaths due to the virus today, taking the total number of cases in the city to 5,194 and deaths to 204. 135 patients discharged today after recovery; total 897 patients discharged till today, stated Public Health Department, Mumbai. 324 new #COVID19 cases & 13 deaths have been reported in Mumbai today, taking the total number of cases to 5194 & deaths to 204. 135 patients discharged today after recovery; total 897 patients discharged till today: Public Health Department, Mumbai. #Maharashtrapic.twitter.com/75t0tonSLN ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 8.10 pm: Haryana corona update There are 296 cases of COVID-19 in Haryana out of which 94 are active. Three people have lost their lives due to the disease so far. The doubling rate of cases stands at 18 days in the state. 7.56 pm: Gujarat COVID-19 cases According to Gujarat Health Department, 230 new COVID-19 cases and 18 deaths were reported in Gujarat during the last 24 hours. Now, total number of positive cases in the state stand at 3,301, including 155 deaths and 313 cured or discharged patients. 7.53 pm: Punjab coronavirus cases Punjab Health Department said that 5 persons tested positive for novel coronavirus in the state today. Of the new cases, 3 have been reported in Jalandhar, 1 in SBS Nagar and 1 in Ludhiana. 7.40 pm: Rajasthan coronavirus news Rajasthan: A viral video shows a policeman giving a haircut to his colleague on-duty in Nagori Gate area of Jodhpur, Rajasthan. "Police personnel face different kinds of problems on-duty. But there is a solution of every problem," said Nagori Gate SHO Jabbar Singh. Rajasthan: A viral video shows a policeman giving a haircut to his colleague on-duty in Nagori Gate area of Jodhpur. Nagori Gate SHO Jabbar Singh says, "Police personnel face different kinds of problems on-duty. But there is a solution of every problem". #CoronavirusLockdownpic.twitter.com/XP7FZSlZNp ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 7.37 pm: Coronavirus updates Nepal extends their nationwide lockdown till May 7 amid coronavirus pandemic. A meeting of Council of Ministers today decided to extend the lockdown by 10 days, stated Nepal PM Secretariat. 7.33 pm: Madhya Pradesh coronavirus cases Madhya Pradesh has seen 2,090 COVID-19 cases so far and 103 people have lost their lives, informed State Health Department. Of the major cities, Indore has recorded 1,176 cases and 57 deaths, whereas in Bhopal there are 415 cases and 9 deaths. Till date, 2090 cases of #COVID19 have been reported in Madhya Pradesh and 103 people have lost their lives. Indore has recorded 1176 cases & 57 deaths while in Bhopal there are 415 cases & 9 deaths: Health Department, Madhya Pradesh pic.twitter.com/ZfXkDK57GC ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 7.02 pm: Use umbrellas when going out: Kerala's idea to maintain social distancing To enforce physical distancing, Thanneermukkom GP in Alappuzha, mandates that everyone hold umbrella when they go. 2 opened umbrellas, not touching each other, will ensure min distance of 1 meter from one another. Umbrellas distributed at subsidized rate. To enforce physical distancing, Thanneermukkom GP in Alappuzha, mandates that everyone hold umbrella when they go. 2 opened umbrellas, not touching each other, will ensure min distance of 1 meter from one another. Umbrellas distributed at subsidized rate: Kerala Min Thomas Isaac pic.twitter.com/bRBuhniC3K ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 6.54 pm: IRS Officers' Association disassociates itself from tax suggestions by 50 tax officers IRS Association has said that the paper FORCE prepared and submitted to CBDT by "50 young IRS officers" recommending policy measures like tax hikes amid the coronavirus pandemic does not represent the views of the entire IRS or Income Tax Department. 6.35 pm: INDIA CORONAVIRUS TRACKER BusinessToday.In brings you a daily tracker as coronavirus cases continue to spread. Here is the state-wise data on total cases, fatalities and recoveries in one comprehensive graphic: 6.12 pm: Shimla COVID-19 lockdown updates Shimla District Administration allows shops to open, except shopping malls and liquor shops in rural areas, from 10 AM to 2 PM from tomorrow. Wearing face masks and following social distancing norms will be mandatory at the shops, the authorities added. 6.08 pm: "We have to come up with our new model of development which makes us self-reliant," says Mohan Bhagwat. 6.06 pm: "We have to be patient and calm. There should be no fear or anger. Follow all guidelines and precautions,": RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat tells Sangh workers. 6.06 pm: "Even if someone did something wrong, do not consider everyone guilty. Some people want to misuse it," RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat says on the COVID-19 crisis in India. 6.03 pm: India handled this pandemic effectively as government and people responded proactively to this crisis, says RSS chief Bhagwat. 6.03 pm: Besides making others aware, Sangh workers following all rules and precautions during lockdown in wake of COVID-19, says RSS chief Bhagwat. 5.50 pm: Coronavirus in India The total number of cases in India has reached 26,917 as of April 26, 5:00 pm, , showed data by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This includes 20,177 active cases, 826 deaths, 5,913 cured or discharged patients and 1 migrated patient. 1,975 new COVID-19 cases and 47 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours. 5.44 pm: RSS chief Bhagwat cautions against vested interests trying to take advantage of crisis in the country. 5.42 pm: We should continue relief work till this pandemic ends, help all those who are affected due to COVID-19 crisis: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat tells Sangh workers during his address on Sunday. 5.40 pm: RSS is active during lockdown, its work has taken shape of relief activities, says Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat. 5.25 pm: Tamil Nadu coronavirus updates Tamil Nadu government has promulgated an ordinance under Tamil Nadu Public Health Act which mandates fine and one to three years imprisonment for anyone who blocks or attempts to block burial or cremation of any person who dies due to notified diseases. 5.20 pm: Coronavirus in Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir has seen 29 more coronavirus cases have been reported in last 24 hours, with all these cases coming from Kashmir Division. They tally of COVID-19 cases now stands at 523, of which 466 cases are in Kashmir valley and 57 in Jammu Division. 5.10 pm: Mumbai coronavirus updates 31 journalists in Mumbai have been discharged today after their second COVID-19 report came negative. All journalists have been advised to stay in home quarantine for 14 days, informed Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). #WATCH Mumbai: Housing Society members of Press Enclave in Pratiksha Nagar, Sion East welcome two journalists by applauding for them, as they return home after getting discharged today from hospital. The second #COVID19 report of the two journalists came negative. pic.twitter.com/2Tz63TwxxK ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 5.01 pm: Coronavirus news: Medical supplies sent to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das, High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh, dispatched second consignment of medical equipments for fighting coronavirus to Central Medical Store Depot, Bangladesh today. The supply contains 50,000 surgical gloves and 1 lakh Hydroxychloroquinine under COVID19 Emergency Fund, informed High Commission of India in Bangladesh. Riva Ganguly Das, High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh, dispatched 2nd tranche of assistance containing 50000 surgical gloves&1 lakh Hydroxychloroquinine under COVID19 Emergency Fund today to Central Medical Store Depot, Bangladesh: High Commission of India in Bangladesh pic.twitter.com/Xk3SORKAWU ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 4.57 pm: Jharkhand coronavirus updates Ranchi has seen 6 new coronavirus cases today, including a staff of Sadar Hospital, 3 in Hindpiri and 2 in Lowadih, informed Jharkhand Health Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni. The total number of cases in the Jharkhand now stands at 73. 4.48 pm: Coronavirus in Bihar 4 new coronavirus cases have been identified in Bihar today, informed State Principal Secretary (Health) Sanjay Kumar. This takes the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state to 255. 4:20 pm: Corona updates: PM Modi to hold video conference Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with CMs via vdeo conference on Monday. They will discuss the situation regarding the spread of coronavirus in the country. There would be discussions on the ongoing lockdown. 4:10 pm: Corona cases in Andaman and Nicobar The number of coronavirus cases in Andaman and Nicobar has surged to 33. Four people have been reported positive after they came in contact with a person who was infected with corona. Twenty-two cases are active in the islands. 4:00 pm: Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College doctor tests positive for corona A junior doctor at Aligarh's Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College has tested positive for coronavirus. He is the third official in the establishment to be infected. The hospital said that the infected doctor did not have any contact with any corona case. He has no travel history also. 3:50 pm: Coronavirus cases in Uttar Pradesh UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Sunday that corona pool testing should be encouraged. Currently only Lucknow, Meerut and Etawah are conducting pool testing. Pool testing is done in batches and when samples are positive, only then individual samples are assessed. Pool testing reduces time and number of kits used. This also means that more people can be tested through this method. 3:40 pm: Corona news in Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu government has passed an ordinance to criminalise stopping of burial or cremation of the patients. It has said that it's legally wrong to stop and protest against the burial or cremation of patients of notified diseases. "Such acts will lead to fine and minimum imprisonment of one year to three years," it said. Culprits will be booked under Tamil Nadu Public Health Act of 1939, Section 74. 3:30 pm: Corona cases in Assam Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has asked landlords and owners of private hostels and PGs to provide concessions while collecting rents from students and tenants. He also appealed for a humanitarian approach while dealing with rent-related issues with people who do not have regular incomes. 3:20 pm: Andhra Pradesh coronavirus cases The number of cases in Andhra Pradesh has increased to 1,097 after 81 new positive cases were reported in 24 hours. The state has 835 active cases. Thirty-one people have died and 231 have been discharged. 3:03 pm: Rajasthan corona cases Rajasthan today reported 69 new COVID-19 cases and 36 deaths. The total number of cases in the state has increased to 2,152. The state health department said that 518 patients have been cured. 69 new #COVID19 cases & 2 deaths have been reported in Rajasthan today, taking the total number of cases to 2152 & deaths to 36 in the State. 518 patients have recovered from the disease so far: Rajasthan Health Department pic.twitter.com/7ffeixc3GH ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 2:55 pm: Corona impact: High-pollution areas in Delhi, Mumbai turn green Multiple areas in Delhi and Mumbai that are known for being highly polluted have turn into green zones. Vinobapuri, Adarsh Nagar, Vasundhara, Sahibabad, Ashram road, Punjabi Bagh, Okhla and Badarpur in Delhi have become green zones, said SAFAR. Worli, Borivali and Bhandup in Mumbai have also turned into green zones. 2:45 pm: Coronavirus news Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that 40 staff members of Jagjivan Ram Hospital, located in Jahangirpuri have been tested positive. He added that a lot of cases have emerged from Jahangirpuri, including the staff members of the hospital. 2:35 pm: Coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh The BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government has decided to have a separate 'Happiness Department' and use its services to reduce the stress of coronavirus patients and boost the morale of those at the forefront of the battle against the disease. The chief minister has said those infected by coronavirus should be treated in a joyous environment, and emphasised the need to boost their morale and entertain them to reduce their stress, a state public relations department official said. 2:25 pm: Rahul Gandhi urges PM to clear bottlenecks Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asked Prime Minister Modi to clear bottlenecks. He said that the only way to get past this is by increasing testing. Experts agree that mass random testing is the key to beating Corona. In India, a bottle neck is stopping us from scaling testing from the current 40,000 per day to 1 lakh tests a day, for which test kits are already in stock. PM needs to act fast & clear the bottleneck. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 26, 2020 2:10 pm: Coronavirus in Maharashtra: Thackeray pays tribute to the fallen policemen Uddhav Thackeray paid tribute to the two policemen who lost their lives due to coronavirus. "I pay homage to them," he said. Thackeray added that the families of the policemen will be compensated as per government policy. 2:05 pm: Maharashtra coronavirus: Thackeray says 80% asymptomatic Uddhav Thackeray in his address to the state said that 80 per cent of cases in Maharashtra are asymptomatic and 20 per cent have mild symptoms. He urged people who are "hiding" to go and get tested. Thackeray said that the government has to ensure that they save as many people as possible. 2:00 pm: Maharashtra coronavirus cases CM Uddhav Thackeray addressed the state and said that the govt is working to help migrant workers. He said that trains haven't been started because the state does not want a crowd. He said if cases increase then the govt will have to extend the lockdown. 1:50 pm: Coronavirus in China: No cases in Wuhan The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the global coronavirus pandemic began, now has no remaining cases in its hospitals, a health official told reporters on Sunday. "The latest news is that by April 26, the number of new coronavirus patients in Wuhan was at zero, thanks to the joint efforts of Wuhan and medical staff from around the country," National Health Commission spokesman Mi Feng said at a briefing. The city had reported 46,452 cases, 56% of the national total. It saw 3,869 fatalities, or 84% of China's total. 1:40 pm: Coronavirus cases in West Bengal A senior government doctor and a 34-year-old man, both diagnosed with the diease, died at a hospital on Sunday, sources at the facility said. The 60-year-old doctor, posted as assistant director health services (equipment and stores), was initially admitted to Beliaghata Infectious Diseases hospital and later shifted to a private hospital in Salt Lake on April 18, where he succumbed to the disease. 1:30 pm: Chandigarh coronavirus cases Fourteen Border Security Force (BSF) jawans have been quarantined in Chhattisgarh for suspected coronavirus infection after they returned from Agra, officials said on Sunday. Their samples have been sent for testing and the reports are awaited, a senior official said. The troops, onboard a truck of the force, had reached Bhilai town in the central Indian state on Saturday after staying at a police line in Agra for 20 days. 1:15 pm: Coronavirus in Delhi: Kits should be available at lowest rate, says Delhi HC COVID-19 test kits should be made available urgently at the lowest possible price so that the virus can be controlled and people's health can be safeguarded at a time when the country was facing an "unprecedented medical crisis", the Delhi High Court has said. Justice Najmi Waziri issued the direction to three private companies which had entered into an agreement to import 10 lakh test kits from China and distribute them here at a cost of Rs 600 each, the rate approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). 1:00 pm: Coronavirus vaccine Vaccine major Serum Institute of India on Sunday said it plans to start production of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University in the next two to three weeks and hopes to bring it to the market by October if the human clinical trials are successful. "Our team has been working closely with Dr Hill from Oxford University, and we are expecting to initiate production of the vaccine in 2-3 weeks and produce 5 million doses per month for the first 6 months, following which, we hope to scale up production to 10 million doses per month," Serum Institute India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla said. 12:45 pm: Maharashtra coronavirus cases: Police personnel dies Second police personnel has died in Maharashtra. The 52-year old personnel was admitted to the hospital and had been battling coronavirus for the past few days. Earlier a 57-year old head constable died of coronavirus. Maharashtra coronavirus count has surpssed 7,000. 12:33 pm: Delhi recovering better this week, says Kejriwal CM Kejriwal said that in the 7th week, 850 cases were reported with 21 deaths, while 260 people recovered. But last week, which was the 8th week, 622 cases were reported, while 21 died and 580 recovered. 12:30 pm: Delhi coronavirus: Plasma therapy working, says Kejriwal CM Kejriwal said that plasma therapy is working for infected patients. He said that a certain patient admitted at the LNJP Hospital was not doing very well but is now recovering after he underwent plasma therapy. He said that Delhi government is asking patients who have been cured and discharged to donate plasma for infected patients. 12:20 pm: Delhi coronavirus update: Which shops locked down? Kejriwal said that Delhi is also implementing the MHA's directions to only open a few local shops. Medical stores, grocery stores, fruit and vegetable shops, dairy, standalone shops in residential areas, and neighbourhood shops will remain open. Shopping complexes and markets will remain shut, he said. 12:15 pm: Coronavirus news Delhi: Border sealed Delhi-Sonipat border has been sealed by the Haryana authorities. This sealing will remain till May 3. Haryana has far few cases at 289 than Delhi's 2,625. The Delhi-Sonipat border has been sealed by the Sonipat District Magistrate, in view of #COVID19 situation. The borders have been sealed till 3rd May. #Haryanapic.twitter.com/flD54nEX2U ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 12:10 pm: PM Modi says he is proud of India PM Modi said during his Mann Ki Baat address that when world leaders thank India, he feels proud. Today, when world leaders tell me- Thank you India, thank you people of India, I feel very proud. India is caring for its own citizens and India is contributing towards creating a healthier planet. #MannKiBaatpic.twitter.com/826hAZBYG6 PMO India (@PMOIndia) April 26, 2020 12:00 pm: Delhi coronavirus updates Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said that this week has been better for Delhi as there were fewer cases and more people recovered and went back home. Delhi has reported 2,625 cases so far, according to Health Ministry data. 11:50 am: Coronavirus PPE from Singapore Two Air India flights and one Blue Dart flight will get 78-tonnes of cargo to India. This shipment from Singapore is part of the 1 million PPE kits sourced from Singapore-based company. 2 Air India & 1 Blue Dart flights in two days bringing in about 78-tonnes cargo to India as part of 1 million PPE kits being acquired through a Singapore-based company: High Commission of India in Singapore pic.twitter.com/cfQ3ZcBphy ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 11:40 am: PM says medical officials have supported stringent punishment for violators PM Modi said during his Mann Ki Baat address that people associated with medical services have expressed satisfaction with the ordinance to punish people indulging in violence against corona warriors. "It was critical to ensure he safety of all doctors, nurses and paramedical staff," said PM Modi. 11:30 am: PM Modi says let's hope we are coronavirus-free before Eid During his Mann Ki Baat address PM Modi said that we must pray this Ramzan for the pandemic to get over before Eid. He said we can achieve it by following the orders of the local administration. 11:20 am: Mann Ki Baat: Masks have become part of our lives, says PM Modi PM Modi said that masks have become a part of our lives. "It doesn't mean that all those wearing are sick. Masks will become a symbol of a civilised society. If you want to protect yourselves and others from the disease, the use of a mask is important," he said. 11:10 am: Become a COVID warrior, says PM Modi during Mann Ki Baat PM Modi said that the government has created a digital platform for volunteers of social organisaions, civil society and local administration. These members -- 1.25 crore of them -- are connected through this platform, he said. "You can also become a COVID warrior," he said. 11:05 am: Coronavirus a people-driven fight, says PM Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during his Mann Ki Baat address today that the fight against coronavirus is people-driven in India. He said every citizen is a soldier in this fight. "In the middle of this pandemic, the farmers are ensuring that no one sleeps hungry in our country," he added. 11:00 am: Coronavirus lockdown in Tamil Nadu: Over 3 lakh violations More than 3 lakh lockdown violations were reported in Tamil Nadu till 9 am on April 26 -- the day the state implemented the intense lockdown. The police arrested 3,24,269 people, while 2,76,183 vehicles were seized. So far, Rs 3,27,33,714 has been collected as fine. 10:55 am: Andhra Pradesh coronavirus news: Bored truck driver leads to 24 new cases A bored truck driver who played a game of cards with his friends led 24 new cases in Vijayawada. Another similar case involving a truck driver and social grouping to pass time resulted in the infection of around 15 people in another locality in Vijayawada. These two instances accounted for about 40 cases in the city in the last couple of days. 10:50 am: Coronavirus cases in Kerala: Swiss nationals airlifted Swiss Air airlifted 164 Swiss nationals who were stranded in Kerala due to the coronavirus lockdown. They were airlifted from the Cochin International Airport yesterday. The flight left from Kochi to Zurich at 11:10 pm. Kochi: 164 Swiss nationals, who were stranded in Kerala due to COVID19 lockdown, airlifted from Cochin International Airport by Swiss Air yesterday. The flight took off from Cochin International Airport yesterday at 11.10 pm to Zurich. pic.twitter.com/T0kKlPPwlM ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 10:45 am: Can recovered people get infected again? WHO weighs in WHO says that so far there's no evidence that a recovered person cannot be infected again. "Some governments have suggested that the detection of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, could serve as the basis for an 'immunity passport' or 'risk-free certificate' that would enable individuals to travel or to return to work assuming that they are protected against re-infection. There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection," it said. 10:40 am: Global coronavirus cases and deaths Global deaths linked to the coronavirus crossed 200,000 on Saturday, while confirmed cases of the virus are expected to hit 3 million in coming days. More than half of the fatalities have been reported by the United States, Spain and Italy. The first death linked to the disease was reported on Jan. 10 in Wuhan, China. It took 91 days for the death toll to pass 100,000 and a further 16 days to reach 200,000: REUTERS 10:35 am: UP coronavirus updates Plans for reviving the economy in the state is on. Like every other state, UP has also felt the impact of the coronavirus lockdown. "A concrete proposal (is needed) for revival of industries in the state after the lockdown is lifted. In the changing global scenario, India can become a good investment destination, and Uttar Pradesh can play an important role in this," said CM Yogi Adityanath to officials on Saturday. The government has also banned large public gatherings till June 30. 10:29 am: Gujarat coronavirus news: Local shops' operations resume Operations have resumed in local shops in Gujarat after the MHA relaxed norms for registered shops and stores outside municipalities. However, this relaxation comes amid fast-escalation of cases in the state. Gujarat is now second in line after Maharashtra with 3,071 cases. Ahmedabad: Locals shops in Bhimjipura resume operation; all shops except those located in malls, shopping complexes and containment zones, are allowed to open from today. #Gujaratpic.twitter.com/4tVXzAOkUX ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 10:25 am: COVID-19 cases in Madhya Pradesh: Indore strain deadlier? Doctors and researchers have suggested that the coronavirus strain in Indore might be deadlier than in other parts of the country. "We have a feeling the strain is definitely more virulent in Indore belt. We have discussed this with the NIV and will be sending samples for them to compare by extraction of virus genome, Dean of Government Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) Medical College Jyoti Bindal told PTI. She added that the high mortality rate could be because of the rather deadly strain. 10:17 am: Complete lockdown in Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu government has announced a complete lockdown in five cities from April 26 to 29. Chennai, Coimbatore, Madhurai will follow the restrictions till April 29, while Salem and Tirupur will remain under strict restrictions until April 28. Streets of Madurai deserted after the intense lockdown. Tamil Nadu: Streets in Periyar area in Madurai wear a deserted look following the announcement of complete lockdown in the city, by Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami, from April 26 to April 29, between 6 AM & 9 PM. #COVID19pic.twitter.com/e9aVfvKEo4 ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 10:10 am: Jharkhand coronavirus news So far 13 people have recovered from coronavirus in Jharkhand, including six from Ranchi, four from Bokaro, two from Hazaribagh and one from Simdega this week. The state health department said that the recovery ratio this week was 18 per cent. 10:00 am: Coronavirus in India updates Federation of Resident Doctors' Association asks for accommodation facilities for resident doctors who have been asked to home-quarantine. Federation of Resident Doctors Association writes to Union Health Minister over accommodation facilities for resident doctors advised for home quarantine. The letter states, "It will be an important precautionary measure to control the spread of the virus." #COVID19pic.twitter.com/oeLsaiFfrM ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 9:40 am: Coronavirus in Rajasthan Fifty-eight new cases have been reported in Rajasthan so far. There have been 11 cases in Ajmer, 15 in Jodhpur, 7 in Jaipur, 3 in Kota and 20 in Nagaur. Hanumagarh and Jhalawar have reported one case each. 9:30 am: Maharashtra coronavirus cases Maharashtra government has issued a circular to its employees stressing on the importance of social distancing, hygiene and wearing protection gear. It asked everyone to wear masks, hand gloves and if necessary aprons. It asked its officials to wash hands and apply soap for at least 20 seconds before beginning the daily work. It asked its employees to disinfect objects that are touched frequently. The circular also stated that there should be a distance of at least one metre between two employees. "Use speakermode while using mobile phone," it said. The circular also asked all department heads to ensure supply of personal protection kits and other items. 9:20 am: Rajasthan coronavirus news: HC closed Rajasthan High Court was declared closed till May 3 after a key official was tested positive. The official sits close to judges during judicial proceedings. The court said that only immensely urgent matter will be heard in this period. The concerned judge to whose court the official was attached was tested negative. 9:15 am: Coronavirus in Tamil Nadu Social distancing goes for a toss as people flock to the Koyambedu Wholesale Market to restock vegetables as the state announces a complete lockdown. Tamil Nadu: People buy vegetables at the Koyambedu Wholesale Market in Chennai today amid complete lockdown in the city, announced by Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami, from April 26 to April 29, between 6 AM & 9 PM. #CoronaLockdownpic.twitter.com/dz67s5LRk3 ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 9:00 am: Coronavirus taught us to be self-reliant: Rawat Bipin Rawat said that coronavirus has taught the country to be self reliant. He said that defence usually imports weapons and equipments from abroad but if the challenge is given to the industry, the will stand up to the challenge and manufacture their own ammunitions. 8:55 am: Must spend budget pragmatically: Rawat Bipin Rawat said that whatever coronavirus budget has been allocated must be spent pragmatically. He said that there is no drop in their operational preparedness. 8:50 am: Bipin Rawat says rsponsibility of armed forces to fight against coronavirus Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat has said that it is the responsibility of the armed forces to fight against coronavirus. He said patience and discipline can go a long way to fight coronavirus. 8:40 am: No Akshaya Tritiya celebration in Varanasi Varanasi ghats sport a deserted look amid the coronavirus lockdown. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath banned public gathering till June 30. He said that strict action will be taken against people violating norms. Varanasi ghats look deserted on the occasion of 'Akshaya Tritiya', amid lockdown to prevent the spread of Coronavirus pic.twitter.com/Uv6no3FTZu ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 26, 2020 8:35 am: PM Modi to host Mann Ki Baat The 64th edition of PM Modi's radio programme Mann Ki Baat will air today at 11 am. He said that he has been receiving several insightful inputs for his programme. 8:30 am: Coronavirus in India Five states along with Delhi have now voted to extend the lockdown, while six states have stated that they will decide as per the government's orders. Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab and Odisha have said that they want to extend the lockdown. The film 'Extraction' dropped on Netflix on 24 April 2020. Starring Chris Hemsworth, the film follows the trail of a black-market mercenary (Tyler Rake) who is hired to 'extract' the kidnapped son of an imprisoned international crime lord. Extraction/ Netflix Director Sam Hargrave now has shed some light on the ambiguous ending of his debut feature film, Extraction, admitting that the ending is a compromise. With an open-ended adding like that, viewers have been trying to dissect what really happens to Chris Hemsworth's character Tyler Rake in the end and what this means for the possible sequel of the film. While, some people believe that he most certainly dies in the final scene at the bridge, others think that there are definite signs in the last few seconds that signal towards the fact that he is alive. But before we get into that, here's what happened: From the onset, it is clear that Hemsworths character, Tyler Rake, is damaged. Around the interval of the film, it is revealed that the flashbacks that Rake has are, in fact, that of his son who died at the age of six. It is also implied that Tyler takes on the rescue mission as a sort of death wish knowingly that there's no turning back. Extraction/ Netflix At the end of the film, when it looks like he's survived on the bridge, after delivering Ovi to his team, he starts to walk towards them, but he's gravely shot at the neck and soon he jumps from the bridge into the river. Now, here's why we think he could still be alive: 1. In the beginning of the film, as they introduce Tyler Rake, he jumps off a cliff into a water body and stays in there for more than a minute. What looks like a terrific introductory shot has more meaning to it. This shot is there for a reason to imply that Tyler does know how to hold his breath for longer durations inside water bodies. Extraction/ Netflix 2. In Tyler's final scene, when he jumps off the bridge, the fact that he doesn't resurface in the wide-angle shot of the water body makes sense now that we know that he was possible staying down while Bangladesh military and the mafia gang were still looking for him. Extraction/ Netflix 3. In the very last scene, which 8 months after, Ovi is seen jumping off in a swimming pool with what looks like Tyler's reflection from a distance, while he goes deep within to hold his breath. A skill he could not have learned without Tyler's help. 4. While Hargrave in an interview with The Collider said that in the original script, written by Joe Russo, it is made explicitly clear that Tyler does not survive, test audiences and Netflix felt otherwise, which is why the film ended on an ambiguous note. Extraction/ Netflix This clearly implies that there is definitely room for a possible sequel with Chris Hemsworth back as Tyler Rake. Hargrave also said that Netflixs head of original films, Scott Stuber, favoured the ending in which Tyler escapes, leaving options open for a sequel. A very astute thing was suggested by the head of Netflix original films, Scott Stuber. His point was well taken, fantastic, and Ill remember this forever: You have to remember the difference between an intellectually satisfying ending and an emotionally satisfying ending. And so we struggled with that concept of is it more emotionally satisfying that Rake lives or that Rake dies? And truthfully, the vote was its more emotionally satisfying that he lives. Because the kid gave him something to live for, and now hes living for that. Extraction/ Netflix Extraction also stars Rudhraksh Jaiswal, Randeep Hooda, Priyanshu Painyulli, David Harbour, Golshifteh Farahani, and Pankaj Tripathi. The first ever proof of a person being struck and killed by a meteorite might just have been discovered. Researchers at the Meteoritical Society have found evidence of a meteorite that killed one man and left another paralysed after it fell 'like rain' on a village in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, on August 22, 1888. The event was recorded in three manuscripts kept in the Turkish government archives. Researchers at the Meteoritical Society have found evidence of a meteorite that killed one man and left another paralysed after it fell on a village in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, in August 1888 According to the documents, the event was reported to Abdul Hamid II, the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, by the governor of Sulaymaniyah, prompting speculation that other similar incidents may have been recorded elsewhere in the archive. If true, the event would mark the earliest - and only credible proof - of a human being killed by a meteorite, something that scientists believe has a remarkably low chance of actually happening, with odds of around one in 250,000. 'Due to the fact that these documents are from official government sources and written by the local authorities... we do not have any suspicion on their reality,' the researchers say in the academic paper describing their findings, The Independent reports. The meteorite landed in a village in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, formerly part of the Ottoman Empire While meteorites have never been previously known to kill a person, the grapefruit-sized Sylacauga meteorite of November 1954 was recorded as the first to cause an injury. Ann Elizabeth Fowler Hodges was hit by the meteorite after it crashed through the roof of her farmhouse in Alabama, USA, while she slept. Abdul Hamid II was informed about the meteorite, as evidenced by three documents found The 34-year-old was badly bruised on one side of her body and the event attracted publicity around the world. There is also a lesser-known claim of a Milanese friar being hit and killed by a meteorite in 1677. JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said he was confident he will be able to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank this summer, with support from the U.S. Speaking to an online gathering of evangelical Christian supporters of Israel, Netanyahu said President Donald Trumps Mideast plan envisions turning over Israels dozens of settlements, as well as the strategic Jordan Valley, to Israeli control. A couple of months from now, Im confident that that pledge will be honoured, that we will be able to celebrate another historic moment in the history of Zionism, Netanyahu said. Israeli annexation of West Bank territory would be highly controversial, drawing widespread international condemnations and extinguishing any lingering hopes of establishing a viable independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. The Palestinians, with wide international backing, seek the entire West Bank as part of an independent state. They have already threatened to cancel existing peace agreements if Netanyahu moves forward with his plan, while the European Union foreign policy chief said annexation would be a violation of international law and force the bloc to act accordingly. The U.N.s Mideast envoy said such a step would ignite the region. But Netanyahu and his hard-line base are eager to move ahead while Trump remains in office. Annexation would be popular with Trumps evangelical base as he seeks to shore up support ahead of a difficult reelection battle. In Washington, a U.S. official said the American position hasnt changed. The official said the U.S. is prepared to recognize Israeli actions to extend Israeli sovereignty in parts of the West Bank, and that the U.S. is consulting closely with Israel on the timing and scope of those actions. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the media. Netanyahu last week reached a power-sharing deal with his main rival, Benny Gantz. Although Gantz, a former Israeli military chief, has given only lukewarm support for West Bank annexation, their coalition agreement allows Netanyahu to present the plan to his Cabinet and to parliament for fast-track approval. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, and its settlements are now home to some 500,000 Israelis, in addition to over 200,000 Israelis living in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem. After Trump unveiled his Mideast plan in January, Netanyahu pledged to begin annexing territory immediately. But the Trump administration quickly delayed the plan, and the sides set up a joint committee to formulate a plan together. Netanyahu addressed a conference marking the 100th anniversary of the San Remo Conference, a post-World War I gathering in Italy that helped lay the foundations for Israels establishment in 1948. ___ AP correspondent Matthew Lee in Washington contributed reporting. By Kiley Russell Bay City News Foundation As the U.S. census self-response period is poised to enter its seventh week, all but one Bay Area county is trending above the state and nation when it comes to the percentage of people who have so far participated. There are many groups, however, that face a serious risk of experiencing an undercount, particularly within Asian and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. As of Thursday, 52.4 percent of people in the United States and 53.8 percent of Californians had filled out the Census Bureau questionnaire, either online, over the phone, or by using a mail-in form. As of that same day, every Bay Area county except San Francisco, which was at 51.6 percent, had a census-return rate ranging from 55.5 percent (Sonoma) to 62.9 percent (San Mateo.) "Overall, we are doing quite well compared to the state and national rates, but if you drill down into each county, you are able to see larger disparities in census tracts," said Stephanie Kim, senior director of Census 2020 for United Way of the Bay Area, one of the state's partners in its $187.3 million effort to conduct census-awareness campaigns aimed at hard-to-count populations. Urban areas are showing slightly lower response rates than suburban communities, for example, and some areas with high concentrations of certain hard-to-count groups are also trending lower than national, state and county returns, Kim said. That is certainly the case for one of the census tracks that include part of San Francisco's Chinatown, where 93.4 percent of residents are Asian, 78 percent are immigrants, 38 percent live in poverty, 34 percent live in near-poverty, and 75 percent live in households with limited English skills, according to census data. All of these factors, among others, are considered elements of a hard-to-count population and, as of Thursday, only 37 percent of the area's residents had completed a census form. This is also the case for an ethnically diverse census tract near downtown San Jose, where the response rate was 39.4 percent Thursday. The area is predominantly Latino and white but also has distinct Asian and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations - 38 percent of its households are "Asian and Pacific Islander-speaking," according to census data. "It is pretty difficult when you look at the response rates," said Talavou Aumavae, chairman of San Mateo County's Pacific Island Complete Count Committee, which also works to ensure census participation in neighboring counties. "Even in the state of Hawaii, which is filled with Pacific Islanders, the response is pretty low compared to what they expected," Aumavae said. But because the response rates don't include data on specific racial groups, it's hard to tell exactly who is filling out the forms in any given tract, Aumavae said. "We don't get a full look at disaggregated groups and minority groups," he said. Aumavae is hopeful that the numbers will start to trend upward, and said his group is beginning to see positive signs during its census-outreach activities, which have shifted away from in-person contacts to phone banking, social media events and advertising and other remote efforts in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic. In one recent phone-banking drive, volunteers reached out to people who identify as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander on voter-registration forms. "The majority of people we got through to said they completed the census, which is great, but there were some people who didn't know what it was, and so we had volunteers help them right then and there," said Aumavae, who also works for the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center, which is funding census-outreach efforts. Aumavae's group is also hosting weekly Facebook events called the "Voices of Oceania Musical Series," which features musicians, DJs and radio hosts who perform or play music for an online audience that is then presented with brief census-awareness segments. Also, the group staffs a virtual census-questionnaire center that people can call to get help in Samoan and Tongan and, in the near future, Fijian and other relevant languages. "We had to think of creative ways that we could engage with the community," Aumavae said. Similar virtual outreach efforts are being organized by Union City's One Myanmar Community, a cultural and immigrant rights organization serving the Bay Area's small but vibrant Burmese community. The group's president, Myat Soe Mon, said the start of the census coincided with the Burmese New Year, and much of the community outreach was planned around celebratory in-person events. After the pandemic hit, however, Mon has had to shift focus to social media, phone banks and informational fliers left at grocery stores and other places people are still allowed to go. "People are using Facebook to understand what is going on with the census," Mon said. "We translate most of the material in Burmese and try to show them pictures and things like that. This is the form that you have, this is how to fill it out." According to the 2010 census, there were between 30,000 and 50,000 Burmese living in the Bay Area, Mon said, adding that she suspects that number represents a significant undercount. "I've been telling my community that the census is important for your children, for your community that you live in, because you can get the funding to the county and city that you live in," Mon said. "On top of that, we get to know how many of our community members are living in the area, so you can know your own community better that way," she said. This story was originally published by Bay City News Foundation. Please use the following link when sharing: https://www.localnewsmatters.org/2020/04/25/bay-area-census-response-rates-robust-but-many-ethnic-groups-still-at-risk-of-undercount/ Images related to this story can be found at the following Bay City News web links: www.baycitynews.com/images/Census1.04.25.20.jpg As of April 23, 52.4 percent of people in the United States and 53.8 percent of Californians had filled out the Census Bureau questionnaire, either online, over the phone, or by using a mail-in form. (Image courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau) www.baycitynews.com/images/Census2.04.25.20.jpg Stephanie Kim, census program director for United Way Bay Area. Copyright 2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Simon Cowell gave 12-year-old Fayth Ifil a clear run to the semi-finals after awarding her with his golden buzzer during Saturday's episode of Britain's Got Talent. The youngster, who has previously performed on the West End in Tina Turner and School Of Rock, blew the judges away with her version of Proud Mary. Ahead of her performance, Faith bonded with Simon when he asked her if she had ever dealt with any negative energy or confidence issues. Gob-smacked: Simon Cowell gave 12-year-old Fayth Ifil a clear run to the semi-finals after awarding her with his golden buzzer during Saturday's episode of Britain's Got Talent Simon sweetly admitted that he had dealt with the same thing and encouraged Fayth not to let anyone else get to her because she is a 'winner'. Fayth revealed that her confidence had been knocked due to 'negative energy at school', however there was no sign of that during her powerhouse performance. After belting out the iconic track, judge David Walliams told her: 'Occasionally comes onto this stage and you think 'they are born to be a superstar.' Well done! The youngster, who has previously performed on the West End in Tina Turner and School Of Rock, blew the judges away with her version of Proud Mary Honest: Ahead of her performance, Faith bonded with Simon when he asked her if she had ever dealt with any negative energy or confidence issues Simon added: 'I absolutely love your personality. You talked about the support you've had from your mum and dad, then you see the support you've had from 3000 people, and just to give you a bit more support, I'm going to give you one of those' He then pushed his golden buzzer and Fayth broke down in tears as she was left overwhelmed by the music mogul's gesture. Speaking about her mum and dad, Fayth said: 'They're really supportive and if I doubt myself my mum and dad just make me feel like I can do this.' You've got it! Simon sweetly admitted that he had dealt with the same thing and encouraged Fayth not to let anyone else get to her because she is a 'winner' Amazing! Fayth revealed that her confidence had been knocked due to 'negative energy at school', however there was no sign of that during her powerhouse performance Her mum added: 'She's only young, she's only 12 but performing on stage has definitely made her grow in confidence over the years.' Simon headed up to congratulate Fayth and said: 'I asked the question if you ever had any negativity because when I grew up I had that as well and the most important thing is they never get to you. 'And when you're as good as you are, you win. It gives you that strength and determination so if anyone ever says anything negative, you remember this moment.' Incredible! After belting out the iconic track, judge David Walliams told her: 'Occasionally comes onto this stage and you think 'they are born to be a superstar.'' Love: Speaking about her mum and dad, Fayth said: 'They're really supportive and if I doubt myself my mum and dad just make me feel like I can do this' Fans were clearly in agreement with Simon's decision and took to Twitter to express their joy that Fayth had been awarded the golden buzzer. One person said: 'She definitely deserved that golden buzzer, what a little superstar.' While another said: 'Fayth was fabulous and deserving of the @BGT #goldenbuzzer.' Fayth is the third Golden Buzzer to be announce so far this series, with Ant and Dec chosing last weeks' semi-finalist, Jon Courtenay. During the first week of the show David put through Sign Along With Us, a choir who both sing and use sign language, while performing This Is Me from the Greatest Showman. Reaction: Fans were clearly in agreement with Simon's decision and took to Twitter to express their joy that Fayth had been awarded the golden buzzer Patients continuing to test COVID-19 positive after disappearance of symptoms have limited infectivity: experts Global Times By Leng Shumei Source:Global Times Published: 2020/4/25 13:17:25 Some COVID-19 cases in Wuhan have shown unexpectedly long detoxification periods even after their symptoms disappeared, triggering public concerns about their infectivity; experts, however, noted that the infectiousness of these cases is limited and will not be discharged from the hospital until two successive negative test results are obtained. Existing COVID-19 cases in Wuhan and Hubei, in general, have reduced to 23 as of Friday, according to the Chinese National Health Commission (NHC). The number stood at 47 on Friday, of which, more than 30 are patients whose symptoms have disappeared but continue to test positive in the nucleic acid tests, Jiao Yahui, an official with the National Health Commission, told China Central Television (CCTV) late Friday. These patients no longer need treatment, clarified Jiao. But a visible concern still surged following the CCTV report among the public as social media users asked whether such people pose the risk of virus spread. "Continuous positive test results indicate that these patients are still expelling some virus," Yang Zhanqiu, deputy director of the Pathogen Biology Department at the Wuhan University, told the Global Times Saturday. He added COVID-19 is a kind of acute infectious disease and that usually, patients of such conditions would only expel few viruses with limited infectiousness two weeks after the onset. Moreover, they would not be allowed to leave the hospital until two successive negative test results are obtained, Yang explained, citing the national discharge standard, in response to public concerns. The downturn trend of active cases in Wuhan from Thursday to Friday also indicates that some of these patients have stopped expelling virus and tested negative in the COVID-19 nucleic acid test, experts noted. According to experts, patients continuing to expel virus three weeks after the onset are rare. But considering the total number of COVID-19 cases Wuhan has reported during the epidemic, it is reasonable to see some 30 such cases currently. Wuhan, the worst-affected Chinese city in the COVID-19 epidemic, has reported 50,333 cases in total as of Friday, according to NHC. The last critical COVID-19 patient in Wuhan tested negative in the nucleic acid test on Friday. The remaining patients in Wuhan include some ordinary patients or those with mild symptoms, who will continue to receive treatment, as well as those who do not need treatment but are yet to test negative. Overall, the medical treatment on COVID-19 patients in Wuhan has achieved a significant victory, said Jiao. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address They've used their public platform to promote everything from laser hair removal kits to food delivery companies. And it seems The Bachelorette couple Angie Kent and Carlin Sterritt, both 30, are enjoying the perks of being full-time influencers, after they showed off their free new cars on Instagram this weekend. After each signing an endorsement deal with Nissan, the pair eagerly shared their delight after being gifted with two four wheel drives. It pays to be famous! The Bachelorette's Angie Kent (pictured) and Carlin Sterritt, 30, showed off their new free cars no Instagram this weekend after signing an endorsement deal with Nissan On Saturday, Angie, shared a photo of herself draped over the bonnet of her new Nissan Qashqai, worth around $40,000, alongside the caption: 'Officially part of the @nissanaustralia fam!' The Gogglebox star added: 'You best believe I have Beyonces "Formation" blasting every time I get in this bad boy. Feelin like a real big gal in my real big gal car!' She also made sure to include brand-focussed hashtags such as #Nissanpartner. New wheels: On Saturday, Carlin updated his Instagram page with a posed photo of himself leaning against the car, worth approximately $53,000, staring into the distance A day later, Carlin updated his Instagram page with a posed photo of himself leaning against the car, worth approximately $53,000, staring into the distance. 'Big thanks to @nissanaustralia for the new wheels! Many *anticipated adventures to be had in my #NissanXTRAIL,' he wrote, adding: 'but for now, to our favourite headland walk.' The former Dancing With The Stars contestant and her actor beau fell in love on The Bachelorette last year and have been going strong ever since. Lovebirds: The former Dancing With The Stars contestant and her actor beau fell in love on The Bachelorette last year and have been going strong ever since They are currently self-isolating together in Sydney during the COVID-19 pandemic, after Angie recently moved from the Sunshine Coast to be closer to her beau. Back in January, the pair sparked engagement rumours when they were spotted shopping for rings. Angie has since denied wedding rumours, telling Studio 10 in February that Carlin has no immediate plans to propose. Days after Amnesty International published a report on the high number of executions in Iran and several other countries, human rights monitors say Iran has executed three more people in minority-populated provinces. Abdul Vahed Faizi and Ramyar (Payam) Mokhless, both from Baneh, were executed in Sanandaj Central Prison on Friday morning, according to the Hengaw human rights website and other Kurdish sources. Faizi and Mokhless belonged to the Kurdish minority. The two men were reportedly arrested on charges of premeditated murder and sentenced to qisas. Qisas is an Islamic term meaning "retaliation in kind", "eye for an eye", or retributive justice. At least six people have been executed in the cities of Sanandaj, Kermanshah, and Saqez prisons, western Iran, in recent days. Meanwhile, despite numerous requests from human rights advocates, the Islamic Republic executed Shayan Saeedpour, a young convict who committed murder when he was a minor. Shayanpour managed to escape from the prison last month during prison unrest, but recaptured days later in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, and hanged on Tuesday morning, April 21, in Saqqezs central prison. The Kurdish minority in Iran, estimated at six-seven million, live mainly in the country's Kurdistan province. Parents are banned from registering their babies with certain Kurdish names, and religious minorities that are mainly or partially Kurdish are targeted by measures designed to stigmatize and isolate them, Kurdish sources maintain. In the meantime, a member of another ethnic minority, Abul Basset Dahani, was hanged on Friday morning in the city of Zahedan, Sistan & Baluchestan province, southeast Iran, reports say. Dahani belonged to the Baluch minority, who, like most Kurds, are Sunnis. According to the latest annual Amnesty International report released last Tuesday, about one-third of executions worldwide are carried out in Iran. Friends and foes BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and TV news anchor Arnab Goswami have little in common but they have had a blow-cold-blow-hot relationship with Sonia Gandhi. In 1998-99, when Sonia formally entered politics and Goswami was a beat reporter with a prominent TV news channel, he was often spotted at 24, Akbar Road, or outside 10, Janpath. On one occasion, Sonia stopped abruptly to give Goswami a soundbite, a first for any news channel. For months Goswami gushed and seldom missed an opportunity to say hi to madam. In 2014, he managed a long interview with Rahul Gandhi, which subsequently damaged Rahuls reputation as a serious politician. Congress sources insist the interview materialised, courtesy Priyanka Gandhi who offered Goswami chai-pakoda during the rainy season at her New Delhi residence. Goswamis recent diatribe against Sonia, therefore, surprised and shocked 10, Janpath. Subramnian Swamy has been both friend and foe to both Sonia and Goswami. Swamy teamed up with Sonia and Jayalalithaa to bring down the Atal Behari Vajpayee regime and caused irreparable damage to his rapport with both ladies. Incidentally, along with Raj Thackeray, Swamy holds the distinction of taming Goswami on air. When Republic TV was launched, Swamy wrote to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting taking exception to the usage 'Republic' for a commercial venture by Arnab. Swamy said that under the Emblems and Names Act, 1950, certain names and emblems such as 'Republic' are prohibited from use for professional and commercial purposes. Manmohan dazed? Sonia Gandhi has set up a consultative panel to respond to Narendra Modi governments handling of the coronavirus pandemic. However, Dr Manmohan Singh, who confers with Rahul Gandhi, P. Chidambaram, Jairam Ramesh and other members of the panel, is finding the video-conference meetings problematic. Often, he misses out on what others are saying. Panel members say the former prime minister looks dazed. But wife Gursharan Kaur insists Manmohan looks forward to the meeting every day. Shivrajs dubious choices The recent Cabinet expansion conducted by Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan disappointed many. About a dozen BJP hopefuls had reportedly parked themselves in Bhopal even though the state capital was a coronavirus hotspot. There were reports that the state garage requisitioned 12 cars but the move was shelved and only five ministers made it. Three former state health ministers, Narottam Mishra, Tulsi Silawat and Kamal Patel (he was minister in charge of medical education), made it without anyone asking why the MP health infrastructure was so weak. The three BJP ministers are not considered personally loyal to Chouhan while the two Jyotiraditya Scindia loyalists are non-MLAs. Given the uncertainly over the coronavirus, many wonder how Chouhan would ensure Assembly by-polls within six months. MP does not have a second house or legislative council. Mishra has in the past been accused of paid news during the 2008 Assembly polls. The Election Commission unanimously asked for Mishras disqualification but the Delhi high Court set aside the disqualification. Varuns dream For the discerning viewer, Varun Gandhis Twitter timeline showering fulsome praise on prime minister Narendra Modis handling of the coronavirus crisis is not without significance. Varun tries to draw Modis attention at a time when the buzz is that Jyotiraditya Scindia is set to join the Union cabinet. A Gandhi surname and a series of uninterrupted electoral successes have not bolstered Varuns chances in the Modi government even though his mother is no longer a minister. Is the PM paying attention to Varuns subtext? Doesn't appear so. Caste in stone A religious figure is supposed to renounce worldly considerations like caste, sub-caste, etc. But supporters of a CM of a northern state are reportedly working on a strategy to regroup former bureaucrats, academicians, intellectuals, media and others on a caste-based platform. The idea is not new: Chandrashekhar, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Digvijaya Singh and Rajnath Singh's camp followers tried a similar tactic without success. Trouble for Shashi Tharoor MP Shashi Tharoor found himself in a bit of a spot after he announced with fanfare an online meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on information technology. Apparently, Tharoor, a former Union minister of state and a UN official, hurriedly made the announcement after a cursory conversation with Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla. The Lok Sabha secretariat communicated to the speaker that rules to switch over to online meetings have not been approved. The speakers office then informed Tharoor that having a meeting of parliamentary panels via video-conferencing will violate the confidentiality clause. A volte-face followed. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 20:52:48|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LISBON, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The European Travel Commission (ETC), a European tourism organization, has said that the European tourism sector needs 375 billion euros to recover from the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic and to restore operations, Portuguese Lusa News Agency reported on Sunday. "The European Union (EU) estimates are around 255 billion euros to help Member States recover the industry, and around 120 billion euros more for extra investment to help entrepreneurs and operators to restore operations," ETC Executive Director Eduardo Santander said in an interview with Lusa. With European tourism stagnating, due to restrictive measures adopted by EU Member States to try to contain the pandemic, including with limitations on travel between countries, "tourism has gone from 100 percent to zero" and today is "reduced to practically 10 percent of what it was," given the total losses, Santander was quoted as saying. "Everything is equally affected by the tourism value chain being interconnected," he said. "From cruise lines, to other operators and, in particular, to airlines, everyone has huge losses, with drops between 45 percent for air carriers... and 70 percent for hotels and restaurants," he explained, according to Lusa. Santander estimated that the crisis "is reflected in high unemployment" in the sector at European level, adding that "losses of 10 million jobs in Europe may be at stake if the situation continues in the coming months." Most affected, according to the ETC director, will be "the countries where the GDP is more dependent on tourism, as is the case of Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy." Headquartered in Brussels, ETC is a non-profit organization consisting of 33 national tourism promotion bodies from European countries. The Prime Minister is returning to work on Monday after recovering from coronavirus. (PA) Six multi-millionaires who bankrolled the Conservative partys election victory last December have called for Boris Johnson to ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions. The group of donors are seeking to put pressure on the Prime Minister as he returns to work on Monday, citing fears over the potential for further damage to the UK economy. Financier Michael Spencer, who has donated over 5m to the Tories in the last few years, told The Sunday Times: We should start loosening up the lockdown as soon as we reasonably can and allow the economy to start moving forward. We should really begin to offer a narrative of how and when its going to stop. Financier Michael Spencer is one of those putting pressure on the Prime Minister. (PA) While Steve Morgan, the former boss of the housebuilder Redrow, who gave 1m to the Conservatives general election campaign, said: Were actually in danger that the medicine, if you want to call the lockdown that, is more harmful than the cure. Billionaire Peter Hargreaves, Phones4u founder John Caudwell, banker Sir Henry Angest and restaurateur Richard Caring - who donated over 2m to the election campaign between them - also called for an easing of the lockdown measures. Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice Despite originally setting a review date of April 13, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on April 16 that the shutdown would be extended for at least three more weeks. The situation will be reviewed again on May 7. A police officer speaks to people relaxing by the Serpentine in Hyde Park on Saturday as the UK continues its lockdown. (PA) At the Downing Street briefing on Saturday, Home Secretary Priti Patel refused to comment on what the Government's exit strategy was, saying it would be "irresponsible" to get people's hopes up. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has also stepped up pressure on the Government to set out an "exit strategy" for lifting the lockdown. In a letter to Mr Johnson he said the UK was again in danger of falling behind other countries, which were already engaged in "adult" conversations with their citizens as to how the restrictions could be eased. Story continues "The British public have made great sacrifices to make the lockdown work. They deserve to be part of an adult conversation about what comes next. If we want to take people with us and secure their consent, this is necessary now, the letter reads. The Government insists that the lockdown must continue, but some Britons have been tempted back outside to green spaces by days of constant sunshine. Before he was taken to hospital, Mr Johnson was trying to ram home the "Stay home, protect the NHS, save lives" message, but discipline has been slipping. Many police forces across the UK have complained of having to deal with flagrant breaches of the shutdown rules, while traffic data revealed car journeys had crept up by three percentage points this week. And mobility data released by Apple revealed that in recent days searches for maps for walking or driving had increased by eight percentage points. It comes as the UK death toll in hospitals rose past 20,000 on Saturday, a bleak milestone as health officials had previously hoped that in the best case scenario they could limit this figure to 20,000 or below. Coronavirus: what happened today? Click here to sign up to the latest news, advice and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter By Mark Peterson This is No. 8 in my series on the "Top Ten" evidences that Korea has a peaceful and stable history. For most of Korean history the civilians have been in control of the government. This point follows my "No. 7" that I wrote about last week, that Korea has a tradition of the "seonbi," the scholar-official. I illustrated the contrast to Japan's "samurai" culture, that of the warrior. Today's article will build on last week's where I argued that the tradition of the seonbi contributed to the peaceful and stable history of Korea. Today's issue is the balance of political control between civilian and military officials, and by balance, I really mean the primacy of civilian over military power. I have to admit that I am breaking one of my own rules: I have said one should not impose a modern standard on a pre-modern situation, specifically one should not judge a dynasty, like the Joseon Kingdom, by the standards of a democratic republic. But in this case, the modern virtue of civilian control of the military, when used as an evaluation tool, makes pre-modern Korea look good. Korea learned its lesson from two areas. The first was Korea's own experience in the early Goryeo period. There was a rivalry between the civilian officials and the military officials in the government. A civilian official ridiculed a military official and set fire to the general's beard. Big mistake. It occurred on an outing to visit the royal ancestors' tombs. On the next outing, the general had his troops lying in wait, and when the entourage stopped for a rest, the soldiers came sweeping in shouting "death to civilian officials." The military took over but did not remove the king, rather, they manipulated the king, replaced the king, and treated him only as a figurehead. This was in fact what the Japanese did for centuries. The Korean experience lasted only 80-some years. The general in charge of the revolt was assassinated, and the general who assassinated him was assassinated, and the next general was assassinated till finally the fourth general was able to hold on for a longer period of time. The fourth general's name was Choe and his name is that by which we know this period, the time of the Choe military government. He passed the "kingdom" or rather the control of the kingdom to his son, and then to his son like a dynasty. And this is exactly what Japan did; it was called the "bakufu" literally, a "tent government" the "tent" referring to the curtain behind the emperor where the general sat and told the emperor what to say. The second lesson that Korea learned was from Chinese history. China was first unified by the Qin military and the famous Qin Shihhuangdi, the "First Emperor of China," a strong military man, but his dynasty did not last long after he died. The military Qin was replaced by the civilian Han dynasty that lasted a long time, 400 years. Later, after a period of disunity with the fall of Han, China was reunited by the military Sui dynasty. But it, too, did not last long but was replaced by a civilian dynasty, the Tang, that had a long reign. The founder of the Joseon Kingdom, thought a general, was aware of what had happened in China and what had happened in the early Goryeo period. He saw clearly that Joseon needed a military, but he set up the dynasty with primacy in the hands of the civilians. The role of the civilians and the role of the military were both emphasized in the examinations offered for recruiting officials, to civilian offices and to military offices. There is no question that the civilian exam (the munkwa) was of much, much higher prestige than the military exam (the mukwa). To be sure, however, that the military were not excluded or slighted, half of the 250 counties in Joseon were designated to have a military officer as the county magistrate. Together, the military officer and the civilian officer together are known as the "yangban" the word often translated for "gentleman." It literally means the "two ranks and files" the civilian and the military. Together they led the Joseon dynasty for 500 years of peaceful, stable governing. Mark Peterson (markpeterson@byu.edu) is professor emeritus of Korean, Asian and Near Eastern languages at Brigham Young University in Utah. The Australian government is considering opening its borders to New Zealand to effectively create a trans-Tasman bubble if the COVID-19 curve continues to flatten. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton believes Australia's success in containing coronavirus is due to the swift action it took in closing its borders. But he said an arrangement with New Zealand is a logical first step in lifting restrictions before Australia could look at opening up to other nations within the region. 'You could look at an arrangement with New Zealand given they are at a comparable stage as we are in this fight against this virus,' Mr Dutton said. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said an arrangement with New Zealand is a logical first step in lifting restrictions before Australia could look at other nations within the region to open to Scott Morrison and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern discussed the issue last week But he said it was very hard to see how Australia could open up its borders with other countries like the United States and United Kingdom at this point in time. 'That will be sometime off,' he said. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern discussed the issue last week, but Ms Ardern played down the idea. 'Our current border restrictions and quarantine arrangements are the most important protections we have to stop the virus re-entering New Zealand and taking off again, so they will only be lifted when we are confident it is safe to do so,' a spokesperson for Ms Ardern said. 'So while nothing is going to happen immediately, the idea has merit as something that might be possible down the track.' Mr Dutton said it was very hard to see how Australia could open up its borders with other countries like the United States and United Kingdom at this point in time Mr Dutton said his department is looking at what Australia's border system would look like in six to 12 months time as a result of the pandemic. 'We don't know what will happen next flu season, we don't know whether there will be another pandemic in 12 months or 12 years time. 'We need to make sure we use the technology we have got available and look at assessing that threat.' New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters previously indicated the nation could open its borders to Australia sooner than the rest of the world, but only if the pandemic was kept under control. 'Our figures with Australia, it's almost as if we've got a trans-Tasman bubble between our two countries, and if the figures keep on going that way, then that is a serious possibility,' he told the NZ Herald. It comes as New South Wales recorded just two new cases of COVID-19 for the first time in seven weeks, encouraging health authorities as they seek to halt the virus in its tracks. The total number of NSW coronavirus cases on Monday sat at 3,004 with no new deaths recorded since a sixth resident of a western Sydney aged care home died on Saturday. It's the lowest daily rise in cases since two new cases were recorded on March 8. NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant on Monday said the two new cases stemmed from overseas travel and a close family contact, and not through community transmission. CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 27,244 Victoria: 20,269 New South Wales: 4,273 Queensland: 1,161 Western Australia: 692 South Australia: 473 Tasmania: 230 Australian Capital Territory: 113 Northern Territory: 33 TOTAL CASES: 27,244 ESTIMATED ACTIVE CASES: 269 DEATHS: 897 Updated: 5.31 PM, 11 October, 2020 Source: Australian Government Department of Health Advertisement The 82-year-old resident of Newmarch House in Caddens - where almost 50 people have been infected with the coronavirus - died on Saturday, operator Anglicare Sydney said. The man's death brought the NSW COVID-19 death toll to 36. Queensland is looking to relax some restrictions on the upcoming Labour Day long weekend. Family picnics and weekend drives will be allowed, national parks will reopen and people can shop for clothing and shoes. However, citizens must stay within 50km of their homes, and social distancing will still be enforced. People from the same household can go out together, while those who live alone can spend time with one other person. Malta is planning to start gradually easing COVID-19 pandemic counter-measures in the coming days after the country registered no new cases, Health Minister Chris Fearne announced on Sunday, Trend reports citing Xinhua. Out of 448 cases detected in Malta since the confirmation of the first case in early March, 282 have recovered, according to the minister. Addressing a press conference, Fearne said the sacrifices that people had been asked to make in the past few weeks had paid off. Malta, he said, took a cautious approach from the outset and had rolled out its plan to be hit by a "river rather than a tsunami" so that the country's healthcare system could be able to cope with the demand. "We always said that we should aim to avoid a tsunami of cases and instead turn the spread into a river, and we have managed to achieve that, also because the majority of the Maltese people obeyed the guidelines of the health authorities and adhered to the instructions to stay home and stay safe," Fearne said. He warned that despite the good news, the pandemic was not over yet. Fearne urged people to continue observing the guidelines that will remain in place for the time being until the health authorities, based on scientific evidence, start to relax some of the measures introduced gradually over the weeks. He said the measures will see the re-introduction of some of the health services that were stopped to allow the authorities to concentrate on the virus spread. The government will then also see that social life will be gradually restored and economic activity re-activated. "There could be a second wave so the authorities wanted to make sure that even this hit us slowly so that we can cope with the demand," he said. Replying to questions, Fearne said 28,000 tests had been carried out and the government did not plan to introduce mandatory testing across the population. It was also against using any app that could track people and invade on their privacy. Speaking in a radio interview concurrently, Prime Minister Robert Abela said the government was looking at achieving the right balance between restoring life to what it was before the pandemic hit and retaining the success it has had so far in its fight. The key to managing this process was striking a balance between easing off the measures too soon and not waiting too long. Malta is currently in partial lockdown, with people over 65 and those suffering from certain health conditions not allowed to leave their homes. It banned travel and is only accepting repatriation flights, with anyone arriving having to spend 14 days in mandatory quarantine. It also introduced several other measures to prevent community spread over the past few weeks, including a ban on being in groups of more than three people unless from the same household, the closure of all schools and the suspension of all religious services and major events. Court cases were put off and non-essential surgeries postponed. Banks closed some of their branches as a precaution and the government later ordered the closure of non-essential outlets excluding supermarkets, those selling household items and pharmacies. Malta is also in the process of ordering a prefabricated 90-bed hospital, similar to the one built in Wuhan, China for COVID-19 patients. It will be set up in the grounds of the only state hospital on the island which has already been extended to full capacity in case it is needed. Saudi Arabia To End Flogging As Punishment, Document Reveals Radio Farda April 25, 2020 Saudi Arabia appears to be ending flogging as a form of punishment, according to a document from the kingdom's top court seen by Reuters on Friday. The decision by the General Commission for the Supreme Court, taken sometime this month, will see the punishment replaced by prison sentences or fines, or a mixture of both. "The decision is an extension of the human rights reforms introduced under the direction of King Salman and the direct supervision of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman," the document said. Flogging is an ancient form of punishment that has persisted in some Islamic countries influenced by Sharia, which is interpreted as mandating physical punishment. The Islamic Republic of Iran is another clergy ruled country where flogging still takes place. Bothe Saudi Arabia and Iran also allow many executions. Flogging has been applied to punish a variety of crimes in Saudi Arabia and Iran. Without a codified system of law to go with the texts making up sharia, or Islamic law, individual judges have the latitude to interpret religious texts and come up with their own sentences. In Iran political prisoners are routinely sentenced to lashing along with any prison terms they receive. Rights groups have documented past cases in which judges have sentenced criminals to flogging for a range of offences, including public intoxication and harassment. "This reform is a momentous step forward in Saudi Arabia's human rights agenda, and merely one of many recent reforms in the Kingdom," the president of the state-backed Human Rights Commission (HRC) Awwad Alawwad told Reuters. "This is a welcome change, but it should have happened years ago," said Adam Coogle, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Division at Human Rights Watch. "There's nothing now standing in the way of Saudi Arabia reforming its unfair judicial system." Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/saudi- arabia-to-end-flogging-as-punishment -iran/30575807.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Kim Jong-Un 26.04.2020 LISTEN Illness can often fall into the category of the obsessive, becoming a sport for mugs, sufferers and observers alike. The following often feature: the hypochondriac, the speculator of disease, the gossip about how far gone a person is who has contracted something or rather. When it comes to tyrants, such speculation becomes a thrill of sorts, with rich lashings of Schadenfreude. Romes notorious consul Lucius Cornelius Sulla and despot of the Republic was one who perished to phthiriasis, that lousy disease of antiquity characterised by stubborn lice, lesions, itching and death. His demise brought cheers from Pausanias, while Pliny thought Sullas victims more fortunate than him, whose body ate itself away and bred its own torments. North Koreas Kim Jong-un was never one to be accused of fitness. Fleshed over, looking every bit the glutton, he has been facing the doctors as a prisoner does the firing squad. Recent rumours of his ill-health have seen much column space dedicated to pseudo-medical commentary, marked by voyeuristic relish. The North Korean leader, according to the New York Post, weighs about as much as the average-size sumo wrestler, smokes like a chimney and comes from a family with a history of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. Aside from the tabloid titterers, North Korea watchers have been casting their eye in the direction of Kims health for a time. At stages, the material is comical again, disease and physical constitution as obsession. Take Anna Fifield of the Washington Post, who states, with self-satisfied precision, that the leader is five feet, seven inches tall, weighing about three hundred bounds, with a body mass index of 45 extremely obese, she reminds us. Her book, The Great Successor, details those wearying moments of ill-health: the fact that Kim was huffing and puffing relative to his South Korean counterpart as they shovelled dirt onto the base of a pine tree during their first meeting; that at the age of 30, he vanished for six weeks apparently the consequence of severe gout, and returned with a walking stick. This month, Daily NK, based in Seoul, reported that Kim had undergone a cardiovascular procedure and continues to recuperate form the procedure at a villa outside Pyongyang. It did not have much to go on, but drawing drops of blood out of hard stone is something of a specialty for students of North Korean power. Readers were still thrown a morsel or two to consume. Kim had, for instance, undergone heart surgery at Hyang San Hospital, a procedure undertaken by a doctor from Kim Man Yoo Hospital. In a phone call with the source on April 22, Daily NK learned that Hyang San Hospital was designated for the exclusive use of the Kim family in 2014 after the North Korean leader began suffering from medical issues. The area had appealing geographical features, being away from the conspicuousness of Pyongyang. It also had sentimental value, with father Kim Jong-il having built the hospital in the wake of his own fathers death. (Kim Il-sung had fallen gravely ill at Hyang San Villa in 1994, dying there of a severe myocardial infarction along with a heart attack after being stranded by heavy rains.) The hospital itself, according to the source Daily NK loves to milk, does not want for anything, equipped with the best from Germany and Japan, with the doctors being the best of the best even though they live in Hyang San. Now, the delightful plump despot is being fussed over with degrees of venom and curiosity. Will be fall victim to a team of too many doctors? The Peoples Republic of China have sent a team to the DPRK to advise on the situation, including a senior member of the Chinese Communist Partys International Liaison Department. With enthusiasm, CNN flung itself into the rumour mill. Last Tuesday, the networks chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto had received news from a US official claiming that Kims health is in grave danger following a surgery. The BBCs Laura Bicker preferred to go to South Korean sources instead, and found little to fuss about. An official from the presidential office in Seoul has said that there are no particular signs or developments within North Korea amid reports that Kim Jong-un is seriously ill after heart surgery. The Sun, Rupert Murdochs attack dog in the British press, shows no such reserve. North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is in a vegetative state, according to unverified reports. One of those is drawn from Japanese newspaper Shukan Gendai, not a source you would expect Sun reporters to consult. But all of these pale before the social media swirl that Kim is already somewhere in totalitarian paradise, with Hong Kong Satellite Televisions vice-director Shijian Xingzou claiming that he is dead. The Kim story, if it could be called that, also has the addition of a ruthless female annex, sexed up in the analysis and given the Lady Macbeth flourish. Kim Yo-jong, over whom tabloids masticate over, is already being appointed successor by press outlets. And my does she promise to be vicious. The Daily Mail, never one to disappoint in matters macabre and shallow, is already wondering what will happen if she were to occupy the position of her brother. Kim Yo-jong could be even more ruthless than her brother has been in his eight year rule, experts warn. Attempting to coat the claims with a varnishing of professionalism, the good Mail drew on the totalitarian expertise of Professor Natasha Lindstaedt. I dont believe that her being a woman will weaken her position if she takes over as leader. Illuminating stuff. Other news agencies of sober calm, such as Reuters, have been cautious to the point of being tedious. Their approach: Wait and see. Reuters was unable to immediately determine what the trip by the Chinese medical team signalled in terms of Kims health. How dull. Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. Email: [email protected] For British people gripped by the coronavirus crisis, the scene would have seemed like a fantasy. In a fashionable district of Seoul, the South Korean capital, I arrived at a restaurant expecting to find a table easily given the pandemic raging around the world. To my shock, I had to queue outside because there were so many customers. This experience was a graphic reminder that normal life continues in this East Asian country despite the Covid-19 crisis. A coronavirus testing facility is pictured above in Seoul, South Korea. The authorities now use sophisticated mobile technology and personal data to track carriers who have tested positive, trace their contacts, monitor infections and issue highly-targeted warnings to members of the public Whereas much of Europe has been put into an artificially-induced coma, here in South Korea the economy and wider society continue to function. There is no mood of a paralysed emergency, no nationwide lockdown. Though many people work from home and churches, schools and universities remain closed offices are still open, as are shops, cafes, hotels and restaurants. As Britain belatedly announces a huge ramping-up of testing capacity to make good on Health Secretary Matt Hancocks famous promise to test 100,000 people a day the experience of South Korea should be uppermost in the Governments mind. A girl is pictured above wearing a face mask in a park in Seoul. Whereas much of Europe has been put into an artificially-induced coma, here in South Korea the economy and wider society continue to function I have lived in this remarkable country for 11 years, including as a correspondent for The Economist magazine and more recently as an entrepreneur. In this pandemic, what has struck me most is how prepared South Korea was in contrast to the faltering West. The battle is now waged on multiple fronts. In many buildings including the one that houses my office heat-sensing cameras guard the entrance. If your temperature is found to be high, you are taken for Covid testing. Such steps are now routine here: I probably have my temperature taken ten times a day now. Members of Yoido Full Gospel Church, the biggest Protestant church in South Korea, attend a Sunday service, in Seoul Free hand-sanitiser is everywhere you look, from offices to buses. And nearly everyone wears a face mask outdoors, not as a barrier against infection, but to stop the wearer spreading contamination to others. I got into a taxi the other day, having forgotten to put one on. Wheres your mask? demanded the driver indignantly. I have seen a bus driver yell at an old man for the same offence. The authorities now use sophisticated mobile technology and personal data to track carriers who have tested positive, trace their contacts, monitor infections and issue highly-targeted warnings to members of the public. Over recent months, most of us in South Korea have been bombarded with emergency text messages telling us about local virus cases. Such information is also provided online, including both on official government websites and private ones made by helpful individuals. On coronaita.com, for example, you can enter your location and see how many people near you have had coronavirus, where they have been and with whom they have been in contact. As Britain belatedly announces a huge ramping-up of testing capacity to make good on Health Secretary Matt Hancocks famous promise to test 100,000 people a day the experience of South Korea should be uppermost in the Governments mind Figures show the numbers of deaths and infections per day in Britain Occasionally, the information goes viral or is unintentionally revealing. One 20-year-old man was listed as going to a restaurant, then a motel, then a different restaurant, and then to another motel. How much food and sex can one man have in a day? asked amused commentators. In contrast to much of Europe, including Britain, the response of South Korea to the pandemic has been deeply impressive. The figures speak for themselves. In a country of 52million people, the number of cases stands at just 10,728, with just 242 fatalities. In Seoul, with its population of more than 10million, only 648 people have had coronavirus and just two have died. Compare that with Britain, where the outbreak started later. As of yesterday, there have been nearly 153,000 officially recorded cases in the UK, along with well over 20,000 deaths, though the actual total is thought to be significantly higher. So how was this great escape achieved without European-style lockdowns? For a start, we were extremely well-prepared, having experienced SARS and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) earlier in the century. In contrast to much of Europe, including Britain, the response of South Korea to the pandemic has been deeply impressive. South Koreans are seen adhering to social distancing rules After those two outbreaks of respiratory illness MERS killed 36 people in 2015 the Korean government was heavily-criticised for its mismanagement, galvanising it into readiness. The key step was a massive expansion of testing capacity, through the creation of a vast network of over 600 facilities and 43 drive-through centres. When coronavirus hit, South Korea immediately swung into action, guided by a three-pronged principle of test, trace, contain. As early as mid-March, more than 270,000 people had been tested, enabling the government to halt the spread of the pandemic early. All too late in the day, Britains Government is trying to follow this example. Until recently, the UK had just two drive-through centres, and struggled to complete even 10,000 tests a day. But late last week, Mr Hancock finally said that 10million tests are to be offered to key workers and family members who show coronavirus symptoms, backed up by 18,000 tracers to track the contacts of those affected. It will be a phenomenal effort, made all the greater because, unlike in South Korea, the virus has spread so widely around Britain. But it is the right approach. Unlike in the UK, there have been no shortages here of Personal Protective Equipment. South Korea has a strong manufacturing base this is, after all, the land of Hyundai and Samsung and the government also retains a deep link with business. The same is true of South Koreas health service. Insurance-based and decentralised, it is highly flexible and efficient, unlike the top-down NHS. Free hand-sanitiser is everywhere you look, from offices to buses. And nearly everyone wears a face mask outdoors, not as a barrier against infection, but to stop the wearer spreading contamination to others. Buddhist followers are pictured at a service at Joggye Temple in central Seoul, South Korea Some argue that South Korea functions well because its population is submissive to authority in contrast to the rumbustious West with its love of freedom and individualism. This cultural difference is exaggerated. South Korea is a highly-advanced, modern democracy with a politically-engaged population. But some social factors have undoubtedly enabled South Korea to weather the storm much better than Europe. One is solidarity: If someone feels sick, it is seen as their duty to get tested and to isolate themselves. Hoarding is regarded as absurd selfishness, like not wearing a mask. I also have to admit that the Korean work ethic is stronger than the European one and this helps to create a climate of efficiency across the public realm. Compared to Britain, public transport runs with amazing punctuality. If a train is 10 minutes late, it is seen as a disgrace for the staff and the operator. South Koreans are also highly-educated. Many here felt surprise that in Britain the Government failed to take sufficient precautions to prevent Boris Johnson and Mr Hancock contracting the disease. Though tinged with sympathy and concern, this was seen as another sign of incompetence. The coronavirus had the potential to cause devastation in South Korea. Instead it has fuelled a success story that should inspire the rest of the world. I ntensive care units battling a tripling of demand during the coronavirus crisis are experiencing critically low supplies of vital drugs, NHS doctors have claimed. Hospitals are said to be resorting to using second-rate medicines on severely ill Covid-19 patients due to a lack of anaesthetics and drugs for blood pressure, anxiety and breathlessness. Six senior medics said the health service is running dry on at least eight critical drugs, with hospitals in London, Birmingham and northwest England worst affected, according to The Sunday Times. Ministers have been forced to bring in export bans on 33 drugs, and have outlawed parallel exports - where companies buy products intended for UK hospitals and sell them on - in a desperate bid to shore up supply levels. Some of the drugs most under threat are propofol, a sedative given to those on ventilators; two opioid painkillers used for the sedation process, noradrenaline and clonidine, which treats lethally low blood pressure; and the painkiller diamorphine, used to help Covid-19 sufferers breathe. A three-page alert notice sent to NHS medical directors sounded alarm over limited supplies of the muscle relaxants rocuronium, cisatracurium and atracurium, used to help ventilated patients breathe. We dont know what were going to run out of next week, Ron Daniels, an intensive care consultant in the West Midlands, told the newspaper. Safety isnt so much the issue its quality. It may be that were subjecting people to longer periods of ventilation than we would normally because the drugs take longer to wear off. London hospitals have been hit particularly badly during the crisis / Getty Images Warning of acute shortages forcing second-line drugs to be introduced, he added this might be causing small heart attacks or subclinical heart attacks. It comes as Downing Street faces a growing backlash over its handling of the pandemic amid concern ministers were too late to lock the country down and have not provided enough PPE for NHS staff. The coronavirus death toll in UK hospitals passed the grim milestone of 20,000 as of 5pm on Friday after a further 813 people died in one day. Bank of England officials have launched an investigation into how long banks can survive the lockdown, as Britain's biggest lenders set aside an estimated 3.4billion to cover defaults on loans. The results of the tests are expected to inform the Government's strategy on how quickly to reboot the economy. The Bank of England has already said that it will report on the health of the financial system in early May after updating its 'stress tests' to factor in a pandemic. Britain's biggest lenders set aside an estimated 3.4billion to cover defaults on loans But a separate investigation into the length of the lockdown is also being conducted. Sam Woods, head of the Bank's Prudential Regulation Authority, told MPs on the influential Treasury Select Committee that tough regulations meant banks had more cash in reserve than in the 2008 financial crisis. But he warned that the rules were not designed for an extended, economy-wide lockdown. He said: 'We are going into this with a well-capitalised banking sector.' But he added: 'There is of course some limit at which you get beyond what we have provided for. I think if you had a multi-year total shutdown, evidently that is outside what we capitalise the system for. We are doing work to try to work out where you hit that point. My guess is that is quite a long way out.' Pressure is building on banks' balance sheets as more firms go to the wall every week that Britain is in lockdown. Central bankers will now work out how many loans lenders can afford to write off without crippling the financial system. Investors will see the first signs of strain this week, when the 'Big Four' Barclays, Lloyds, RBS and HSBC report stark figures for the first three months of 2020. As well as setting aside cash to cover loan and credit card defaults, they have seen turnover shrink with the mortgage market on hold and the base rate cut to just 0.1 per cent. Analysts warned that precise forecasts had become impossible, but UBS predicted RBS's profit for the first quarter would fall 73 per cent, from 1.2billion to 327million as it earmarked 657million for bad loans. It said Lloyds could be setting aside 1.1billion for defaults, which would knock its profit by 53 per cent to 1billion. Barclays is tipped to have set aside 980million cutting its profit 77 per cent from 1.5billion to 353million. HSBC could have set aside 650million, cutting its profit 12 per cent to 4.5billion. Gary Greenwood, an analyst at Shore Capital, said: 'We've got one of the worst economic scenarios we've seen, but one of the most significant Government support packages. I don't think this will be of a magnitude to require emergency equity issuance [share sales].' Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 13:22:17|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HOHHOT, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Ethnic Ewenki herders in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, also known as "the last hunting tribe in China," said the reindeer calving season is now in full swing. In Aoluguya Township, reindeer were the main means of transportation for the Ewenki ethnic minority in the past, while in modern society, many hunters there still maintain the tradition of raising reindeer and use their ways to protect the creature. Damara, a local hunter, has seen the births of some fawns since April. As many first-time mothers cannot take care of their fawns and might even abandon them, local hunters will help nurse the babies during the two-month-long calving season. "I regard them as my own babies, and I feel happy no matter how tired I am," said Damara, adding she has more than 100 reindeer and she gives each of them a name. Statistics showed that over 1,400 reindeer live in the northern areas of the Greater Hinggan Mountains. In Aoluguya Township, there are 13 breeding spots. During the calving season, ethnic Ewenki herders also enhance patrols in the forests to guarantee the safety of reindeer. The township has seen the expansion of the reindeer population in recent years, as the local government has taken actions to protect the breeding of the deer and also worked with an agricultural institution to improve survival. More than 180 reindeer are expected to be born during the calving season this year, according to local government. Enditem - The MCAs were arrested in a bar where they were drinking and dancing - They were taken into quarantine for the next 14 days at Kisii KMTC - The facility now has 17 people in quarantine and majority of them are revellers Police in Kisii county have arrested three ward representatives who were drinking in a bar at Nyakoe area during curfew time. The three were among seven people who were found drinking at Embassy Resort in Nyakoe on Sartuday, April 25. READ ALSO: Kenyan men threaten to disregard COVID-19 precautions after CAS Mwangangi said she has a partner Kisii county assembly during a past sitting. Three ward representatives are among those who were arrested for flouting curfew. Photo: The Star Source: UGC READ ALSO: Sonko akosa kwenye mkutano wa Ikulu na Rais Kenyatta Confirming their arrests, Kisii county police commander Jebel Munene said the suspects were taken to the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) in Kisii town for a mandatory 14-day quarantine. "They were found drinking by officers on patrol. This is against guidelines set by government to contain the spread of coronavirus," said Munene. At least 17 people are now in quarantine at the facility with a majority of them being revellers who were caught drinking and loitering during the curfew time. The ward representatives were taken into quarantine at Kisii KMTC. Photo: Kisii KMTC Source: UGC READ ALSO: MV Safari: New ferry to help Mombasa fight coronavirus In the neighbouring county of Nyamira, hundreds of revellers were forced into quarantine at Menyenya Secondary School in Borabu constituency after they were arrested drinking in Keroka town. They have since raised complaints saying life there is unbearable as they are charged KSh 1,000 a day yet they lack items such as hand sanitisers, soap and mosquito nets. They also complained of poor quality of food and said women and children are most affected as some need sanitary towels and diapers. On Sartuday, April 25, President Uhuru Kenyatta extended the dusk-to-dawn curfew and warned should Kenyans continue flouting the safety measures then his administration will be forced to adopt more strict measures. Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly. Source: TUKO.co.ke South Korea believes North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is alive and well despite rumors that he is gravely ill or dead, officials said on Sunday. Our government position is firm, Moon Chung-in, South Korean President Moon Jae-ins top foreign policy advisor, told CNN. Kim Jong Un is alive and well. He has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13. No suspicious movements have so far been detected. The claim from the controversial leaders neighbor adds to the confusion surrounding the North Korean strongman, who has been the subject of conflicting reports in recent days that he had died, was in a vegetative state, or as South Korea says is absolutely fine. A report on Sunday said Kims personal train has been parked at his Wonsan compound since at least April 21. Rumors of the portly leaders demise were fueled by his absence from a highly anticipated celebration of North Koreas 88th anniversary last week. New reports out of Japan claimed Kim was dead, while other reports claimed China had dispatched doctors to assist the critically ill Asian leader. According to CNN, the official word of Kims demise would likely come from North Korean state media although the announcement of the 2011 death of his father, Kim Jong Il, came at least four days after the former dictator died of a heart attack. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Uttarakhand has been making all-out efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, with Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat leading from the front. The hill state has reported 48 cases so far, with no deaths. In an interview to IANS on a range of issues, Rawat said efforts have already been initiated to boost the state economy, and that the process will gain momentum once the lockdown ends. He said a ministerial group and high-powered committee will be constituted to gear up the state economy and generate jobs. Excerpts from interview: Q: The lockdown has led to loss of avenues of livelihood. Those in the unorganised sector are worried about their survival. What does the Uttarakhand government intend to do? CM: We are carefully and gradually restarting economic activities. Since the government is worried, it has asked for giving permissions for construction activities in the government and private sectors. Police will be asked to ensure social distancing. Wearing of face masks in public would be compulsory. A ministerial group under Cabinet Minister Subodh Uniyal will be set up to see how we can compensate the state exchequer for the losses suffered due to the coronavirus scare and subsequent lockdown. We will see how local jobs can be generated, how youths can be given employment and the labourers made more financially secure. Ministers Dr Dhan Singh Rawat and Rekha Arya would be members of this ministerial group. Also, we will connect with the migrant labourers from different states currently living in Uttarakhand, who hold importance in various sectors of the state, would be contacted through videoconferencing to elicit their views on various issues. We have formed a high-powered committee led by retired IAS officer Indu Kumar Pandey to give suggestions on ways and means to boost the state economy and generate jobs. We are holding discussions with experts in the fields of tourism, agriculture, industry, animal husbandry and horticulture. We just have to be patient - we will defeat coronavirus and we will boost the state economy thereafter. Q: The Home Ministry has issued guidelines on opening of shops and allowed specific activities in the second phase of the lockdown from April 20. What all has the Uttarakhand government allowed and what precautions are being observed? CM: As per the central guidelines, we have allowed manufacture of essential items, pharmaceuticals, food processing, manufacturing for supply chains, industry in the rural areas, and brickworks, albeit with adherence to social distancing and other norms. Q: What steps have your government taken to ensure supply of essential commodities? CM: We have taken innovative steps in this regard, including Jan Apoorti app. People can order for supplies of essential items through this app while sitting in their homes. The app has since become very popular. Q: What has been done to tackle violations of lockdown norms? CM: We are taking strict action against violators. Instructions in this regard are very clear. As many as 9,671 persons have been arrested and 2150 cases lodged till April 25. Also, 24,342 challans have been issued under the Motor Vehicle Act, and 5,203 vehicles seized. Fines totalling Rs 1.20 crore has been realised. Q: What efforts have been made to ensure supply chains are not broken? CM: We have ensured the smooth functioning of pharmaceutical units, flour mills and food processing units. Q: How many people have benefited from supply of ration in Uttarakhand? How many people have benefitted from the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana and Jan Dhan scheme? CM: Many steps have been taken for the welfare of the people. Schools have been ordered not to charge fees for lockdown period. Those suffering from coronavirus have been provided free treatment under the Atal Ayushman Uttarakhand Yojana. Manufacturers of edible oil have been asked to reserve 50 per cent of their produce for the state's markets. As per the Antyodaya Anna Yojana under the National Food Security Mission, each beneficiary has been given additional 5 kg rice free of cost for April, May and June. All charges on water supply and sewerage connections have been postponed till May 31. Electricity consumers too have benefitted. Operation of flour mills has been smoothened to ensure sufficient availability of flour in the market during the lockdown. These mills have been provided wheat through the Food Corporation of India. We are ensuring availability of items of daily needs like edible oils, soaps, pulses, salt, etc at all ration shops. Home delivery of essentials has been ensured to the old and sick, and pregnant women. Workers registered under the Employees State Insurance have been given Rs 1,000 each. District collectors have been given a total of Rs 30 crore from the CM Relief Fund to help those not registered for state benefits and others in need of help. Cattle feed and products related to agriculture have been included in essential commodities category. Payments of loans raised by farmers for agriculture and related activities from cooperative banks have been deferred by three months. There are 3.5 lakh farmers in the state. The government has also decided to ensure sufficient ration to each resident under the Food Security Mission. Ration in the form of 35 kg wheat and rice for three months would be given under the Antyodaya Scheme. Five kg rice and pulses would be given to each of the white card holders. A total of 10 lakh ration card holders will be given 15 kg ration in place of 7.5 kg for the months of April, May and June. Those who don't have ration cards would also be supplied ration kits in Uttarakhand. (Navneet Mishra can be contacted at navneet.m@ians.in) The governments plan to use cellphone data to track the movement of positive COVID-19 cases in South Africa has a serious problem, according to a report by The Sunday Times. According to the report, the system is struggling to get off the ground, with not a single person who has tested positive for the virus being tracked to date. We are finalising the data linkages to receive the information, and this is not fully operational as yet, the Department of Health told The Sunday Times. We have been continuing with our current method of contact tracing until the IT system is fully functional. While MTN and Vodacom have provided location data to the government, Vodacom said that it has no historic data available to trace subscribers who placed a call within a specific coverage area. It is therefore not possible to determine the proximity of subscribers in that cell coverage area to the location of the COVID-19-positive subscriber, Vodacom said. Impossible to track Cyanre Digital Forensic Labs Danny Myburgh told The Sunday Times that cellphone triangulation in South Africa is simply not accurate enough to track people everywhere. He said it was possible to use cellphone triangulation to track locations within 100 metres in areas with dense coverage, but this would not work across the whole country. In rural areas, this goes into kilometres. It would be impossible to track who these people have come into contact with accurately, Myburgh said. Another cellphone analyst told the publication that interpreting the data would be a massive undertaking, one which South Africa simply does not have the capacity to accomplish. You would need teams and teams of people to analyse the data, and the capacity is simply not there, the analyst said. Tracking South Africans using smartphones The South African government first detailed its plan to track citizens who have tested positive for the coronavirus using their smartphones at the beginning of April. Amendments to the National Disaster Act published on 2 April showed that South Africans who test positive for the coronavirus will have their personal information stored on a national database, along with their cellphone numbers. The government will then work with mobile operators to track these positive cases based on their cellphone numbers, as well as to identify and track anyone who they may have come into contact with. The amendments to the regulations allow the health department to access location and movement data of anyone suspected to have contracted COVID-19, and this information can be accessed without the knowledge or approval of the subject being tracked. Citizens who are listed on the contact tracing database will be able to be tracked in this manner until the national state of disaster has been terminated. It is important to note that this information may only be retained for six weeks, after which it must be destroyed. Nothing in this regulation entitles the Director-General Health or any other person to intercept the contents of any electronic communication, the regulations added. The Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College has said a disinfection exercise by Zoomlion Ghana at its premises on Saturday came the right time. Director of Corporate Affairs at the College, Colonel Kofi Arthur, said the exercise is consistent with the Colleges plans to protect the students and staff when a ban on conferences and lecture-room academic activities is lifted. Before the disinfection exercise, the college had instituted stringent measures to ensure the students and the staff remain safe from the virus. First all the National Service personnel were made to go home, the staff were reduced to the barest minimum. Additionally, we bought the hand sanitizers and the Veronica Buckets, Col Arthur said. The staff of Zoomlion sprayed lecture halls, officers mess halls, libraries among others. The entire compound of the facility was also disinfected with Zoomlions specialised mass spraying vehicles. Col Arthur notes that safety at the facility has been among the top priorities the Command, revealing that we did a first a disinfection by ourselves and we made sure that everybody who comes to the college, whether a visitor or a student or a staff, when you are entering you disinfect at the gate before you come in. The entire disinfection exercise was done free of charge by Zoomlion as part of its corporate support towards the governments ongoing efforts to stem the tide of Covid-19 infections in Ghana. We are dedicated to this fight that is why Zoomlion came here today to disinfect the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, said Lola Ashittey, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects for the waste management giant. Over the past few weeks, Zoomlion Ghana has taken this CSR initiative to institutions across the country. The University of Ghana, Legon, Central University College, Koforidua Technical University, Pentecost University, University of Professional Studies, and Accra Technical University have benefited from the initiative. People wait in line to receive food at a Food Bank distribution for those in need as the coronavirus pandemic continues on April 9, 2020 in Van Nuys, California. Mario Tama | Getty Images This week, Congress approved $310 billion to add to the initial $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The program provides small businesses with forgivable loans to keep workers employed, but the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on job losses continues unabated. Over four million Americans filed for jobless claims for the week ending April 18, bringing the total number of workers seeking unemployment aid in the last five weeks to 26 million and wiping out a decade of job gains. Some projections point to an unemployment rate as high as 30% in the second quarter of 2020. Reports suggest the Congress is considering a third round of stimulus to bolster the PPP, but it is clear the program, while well-intentioned, is not achieving its objective of stopping job losses. The U.S. should immediately step in to guarantee capped paychecks to all employees for businesses of all sizes. Guaranteed paychecks are easier to administer than forgivable loans and will directly address the unprecedented job losses caused by the pandemic. Estimates suggest a guaranteed paycheck program with a salary cap of $100,000 can be implemented for $506 billion over six months and save millions of jobs. Paycheck guarantees have also garnered the support of some Congressional representatives. To be clear, we are not advocating that social employment policies are good for the nation in general or at all times. In fact, job turnover and temporary unemployment is a central feature of the capitalist system: obsolete, less productive, jobs are replaced by more productive ones. This was the case, for example, with the wave of automation and computing in the past few decades. But the current unemployment surge is caused by an unanticipated health crisis, and there is no reason to believe this job reallocation will improve the economy. Threat to American competitiveness and innovation The short-term consequences of these job losses are painful. Recently furloughed and unemployed American workers are flocking food banks, leading to lines of up to six miles long in cities such as San Antonio, Las Vegas, and Cleveland. But the long-term effects may be even worse: a deep and permanent dent on America's competitiveness, in particular its innovation edge. As elegantly summarized by our colleague and Nobel Laureate Paul Romer, the driver of American economic competitiveness in the 20th and 21st centuries has been innovation. Tiny start-ups a few decades ago, innovative companies such as Amazon, Google, Gilead and Genentech have since created enormous wealth and employment while bringing new services and life-saving drugs to the market. Our research shows that the secret sauce of innovative companies is a highly talented workforce which continuously learns and invents, allowing American companies to stay at the frontier of highly competitive global markets. Other economists emphasize the critical role of teams of innovators, and how disrupting these teams can lead to significant productivity losses, stemming from job-specific investments that disappear with the departing employees. It takes years to train new hires on company-specific processes. Mexican authorities have said on April 26 that a human rights monitor and his son were shot in countrys southern state of Guerrero. Jesus Memije, a worker at Human Rights Commission and his son were killed while on their way home in the municipality of Coyoca de Benitez on the Pacific coast on April 25, marking the fourth such slaying of a rights activist in Mexico. However, even though the state prosecutors have not yet provided further details of the entire incident, the commission has reportedly urged the investigators to focus on Memijes work as an activist. According to reports, the Guerrero has greater rates of violence led by organised crime groups in the country. Previously in 2020, three other human rights defenders were also slain. In April, another renowned activist from Manuel Olivares, an NGO, along with a reporter was threatened by the group that reportedly controls one of the mountain ranges and is self-proclaimed community police. However, the same group has been linked to various crimes in the country. The NGO, Olivares has been vigorously working in search of justice for several hundreds of people who had to flee their homes in the mountain ranges due to increasing violence. Read - US Adds Cameras At Mexico Border Despite Drop In Crossings Read - Mexico Receives 2nd Group Of Cuban Doctors For Virus Help Group violence increase in Mexico According to an international news agency, even during a global health crisis such as the coronavirus outbreak, the violence by groups has increased in Mexico. The homicide rate has spiked in the month of March while the country is under lockdown to curb the further spread of deadly COVID-19 disease. According to the Mexican government, the killings have risen by 8.46 per cent from February to March. In the month of February, 2,766 people were killed, while in March that number rose to 3,000. The country was under partial to full lockdown from mid-March. Meanwhile, since the coronavirus originated in China back in December 2019, Mexico has reported 13,842 cases of the disease and 1,305 deaths as of April 26. Read - Mexico Says Auto Factories To Reopen With Virus Safeguards Read - Mexico's Gang Violence Appears To Rise During Pandemic (With AP inputs) (Image Source: Unsplash/Representative) Helen Damico, a retired Beowulf scholar at the University of New Mexico who founded the schools Institute for Medieval Studies, died last week of complications from COVID-19. The university Tuesday said Damico died April 14. She was 89. Damico taught courses in Old and Middle English at the university beginning in 1981 after completing her Ph.D. at New York University the year before. Institute for Medieval Studies Director Timothy Graham says Damico was inspired to found the medieval program after attending a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute for College Teachers at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. In 1986, Damico initiated the institutes flagship event, the annual Medieval Spring Lecture Series, which has been held every year since then until this year because of coronavirus restrictions. In the late 1990s, Damico established another program around Viking mythology. Helen Damico had truly brought Medieval Studies to the New Mexico desert, as she liked to say, said Anita Obermeier, chair of the English Department and medievalist colleague. Damico was well known for her work on Old English and Old Norse literature, and, above all, for her studies of Beowulf. In 1984 she published Beowulfs Wealhtheow and the Valkyrie Tradition, a book that has been acclaimed for drawing attention to a key female figure in the poem Wealhtheow, queen to the Danish ruler Hrothgar. Anuraag Singh By Express News Service BHOPAL: Panic has struck the Bargaon village in Madhya Pradeshs Khargone district after six villagers, who went to a hair-cutting salon recently for hair-cuts and shaving, have tested positive for coronavirus. Swab samples of as many as 10-12 persons, who recently visited the salon in the village, were sent for COVID-19 testing recently. Out of them, six men have tested positive for the deadly virus. According to officiating chief medical and health officer (CMHO) of Khargone district, Dr Divyesh Verma, primary probe has revealed that a youth from Bargaon, who works at a hotel in Indore, had recently come to his native village in Khargone. Possibly on April 5, he went for hair-cut and shave to the salon in Bargaon village and was later tested positive. Subsequently, the samples of around 10-12 more men who went to the same hair-cutting salon the same day were sent for testing. Out of them, six persons from the same Bargaon village have tested positive. The entire village has been sealed and survey is underway. The kin of the six positive cases have been home-quarantined and their samples are being sent for testing, the CMHO informed. It seems the same towel and instruments used during the haircut and shaving of the youth (who worked in Indore hotel and later tested positive for COVID-19) were used by the barber for the other customers, which infected six of them, he claimed. The six positive cases are aged between 28 and 73 years.Till date, Khargone district has reported 60 positive cases, 19 of which have been reported in the last two days. 2017 batch trainee IPS officer tests positive for COVID-19 in Jabalpur Meanwhile, a 2017 batch trainee IPS officer posted as circle SP (CSP) in Jabalpur, tested positive for the virus. The young officer was among those cops who had gone to the adjoining Narsinghpur district on April 20 to bring back to Jabalpur a coronavirus positive National Security Act (NSA) detainee Javed Khan, who had escaped from Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College Hospital in the city on April 19 afternoon. The other cops, including a sub-inspector and an additional SP (ASP) who accompanied the young IPS officer, have been found negative for the virus. Efforts are now underway to ascertain the other cops and people who had come in contact with the IPS officer since April 20. Another senior IPS officer, who is presently in Jabalpur had self-quarantined self and family members, as he had met the young CSP (who has tested positive) recently. The samples of the senior IPS officer and family members have been sent for testing. Javed Khan, a resident of Chandan Nagar COVID-19 containment zone in Indore, was among the four men against whom NSA was invoked on April 8 for attacking an on-duty cop. Three of the four NSA detainees, including Khan have so far tested positive for coronavirus. Till date, Jabalpur district has reported 56 positive cases and one death. Seven patients from the district have also been discharged from the hospital after they recovered. The 56 cases include 13 new patients, all residents of Chandni Chowk area. London, April 26 : UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will return to work in the Downing Street on Monday despite still feeling the "debilitating" symptoms of the novel coronavirus, the media reported on Sunday. The Prime Minister will resume charge of the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic when he resumes work after a spell in intensive care and recovering from the disease for which tested positive late March, reports the Metro newspaper. Johnson was discharged from the St Thomas' Hospital in London on April 12, one week after being admitted to be treated for coronavirus. He spent several nights in the intensive care unit where he was given oxygen. Johnson was said to be "raring to go" after spending the past two weeks recuperating at his official country residence Chequers, though allies warn that he was still suffering with the effects of the deadly disease. A source close to the Prime Minister told the Daily Mail: "It will be a while before he is working 14-hour days again." Johnson has not been in constant contact with the public during his recovery, nor has he been in charge of decision making. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Johnson was "definitely on the mend in a big way". Johnson prepared for his return with a three-hour summit meeting on Friday with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who has been deputising for him, and Chancellor Rishi Sunak. His return to No 10 on a part-time basis initially, will come amid growing pressure from senior Conservatives to begin easing lockdown and growing dismay at the damage it was causing to the economy, said the Metro newspaper report. Newly-elected Labour leader Keir Starmer also added to the pressure by stepping up his calls for Ministers to set out an "exit strategy" for lifting the restrictions once it was safe to do so. In a letter to Johnson, Starmer said it was essential Ministers learned the lessons from the mistakes made dealing with the crisis. However, scientists advising the Government on its response warned it was far too soon to consider any relaxation, as the official death toll for the UK has increased to 20,381, with a total of 149,569 cases. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Since mid-March Israelis have experienced a similar, if not stricter, lockdown to most Western nations. Unemployment has skyrocketed to over 25%, and the Bank of Israel estimates the effects of Covid-19 to be costing the economy over 1.5 billion shekels ($420 million) per day. Many in Israels vaunted tech sector are concerned that the country should do more to protect a flagship industry that accounts for 40% of Israeli exports. Past lessons in government funding suggest that is exactly the wrong approach. The Israeli government had come up with an 80 billion-shekel aid package for the entire private sector, though details have been scant. The finance ministry has also promised the tech sector 1.5 billion shekels in financial support, to be distributed through the Israel Innovation Authority, a governmental agency whose task is supporting start-ups and R&D-related activities. Some venture capitalists and industry associations, however, have been calling for more direct investments into companies and venture funds, similar to the plans put out by some European governments. The coronavirus may be new, but Israels tech sector has been through rough patches before, and those experiences taught us all about adaptability. In 2009, it had barely recovered from the crippling effects of the dot-com bubble, which was aggravated by the second Intifada and the war in Lebanon. The financial crisis hit the Israeli market early in its recovery. The sector had raised $3 billion between 2006 and 2008 (venture capital funds usually run in three-year cycles) and a negligible $1.1 billion was raised over the next three years. While the government was involved in seeding the tech sector in the 1990s, since those early days support has been limited to some R&D grants and seed funding. At 4.4% of gross domestic product, Israels R&D spending is ranked among the highest of any advanced nation, but very little of it comes directly from the state. Story continues The past decade has seen phenomenal growth in the sector just the same, including $40 billion of venture funding and high levels of value creation from companies such as Mobileye, which develops systems for driverless cars and which Intel Corp acquired for more than $15 billion, or Wix, a software company, which has become a $6 billion public company. Israeli venture capital funds have raised more than $6 billion over the past few years, and significant funds have even been dedicated to the local market in the first quarter of 2020. U.S. and other international ventures are now highly committed to the local market. Start-ups also find themselves well funded with more than $8 billion invested into Israeli companies in 2019 alone. But while the Israeli tech sector is impressive, its also small. There is a limit to how much capital it can absorb and create returns on. Many local investors (including myself) have felt uneasy for some time with the amount of capital coming into the market, with some early signs of a bubble beginning to form. Overcapitalization has also led to inflation in salaries which could eventually erode the competitive advantage of Israeli companies. A somewhat lower level of investment would provide the impetus for the kind of creative destruction that all changing markets need, freeing up resources and manpower to be better allocated for the future. Moreover, the industry is in good shape to navigate the current storm. Its also worth noting that Israeli tech companies are much less affected from the crisis than some other sectors. Most were multinational almost from the start, and are geared toward remote work; some industries, such as e-commerce, gaming and telehealth, have even benefited from the crisis. The government should refuse calls to invest or support venture funds and companies beyond the existing framework. Such support is unnecessary and would only delay the inevitable collapse of some companies. It would also lead to significantly more irregularities, with part of the money inevitably going into the pockets of wealthy money managers, when it should go to the unemployed and small business owners. But its not just the Israeli government that should resist these handouts. The tech sector generally is expected to weather the storm well, with the Nasdaq back to its December 2019 level and major tech companies such as Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Netflix Inc., as well as smaller companies such as Zoom, showing strong performance in public markets. The U.K. has just announced a 250 million-pound ($308.8 million) future fund to match venture capital firms investing in British start-ups. As in the Israeli case, this will likely have only a limited impact and raises the issue of moral hazard. Governments worldwide, and particularly in Europe, would be wise to allow market liquidity to drop slightly, and to focus on reducing regulations that could lead to friction. This is not to say that there will be no impact on start-ups and funds. There is no way to anticipate their long term impact on the market, and particularly the changes to the funding environment down the line. Israeli start-ups may find that U.S.-based investors are less likely to venture abroad and that strategic acquirers, burdened by debt and in the face of a challenging business cycle, would be less inclined to pay the same multiples for technology. But there is no way to anticipate future impact, and public investments made today would not serve to solve any future need. While handouts arent needed, Israels government could support the tech sector by creating more clarity around its mid-term exit strategy from the crisis, and more specifically, try to help companies understand how they would be able to resume international travel since the tech industry is highly reliant on travel to meet customers, partners and investors. The government should also use this moment to clarify some long-running questions around taxation of employee options, and other issues where industry associations have been pressing the countrys treasury for action. A deal in which the tech industry does not burden the national coffers during the crisis but receives long-term benefits and regulatory clarity can be a fair trade. The German model of Kurzarbeitergeld (short work), allowing companies some flexibility in reinstating furloughed employees on a part-time basis, might also be useful for Israels economy. Overall, the most important thing Israels government can do right now is to equitably distribute aid to those who truly need it. The tech sector will sort itself out. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Shmuel Chafets is vice chairman and general partner at Target Global in Tel Aviv. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Avraham Rabby, a blind activist and management consultant who passed five State Department entrance examinations and in 1989 prevailed in a protracted dispute with the department over his qualifications to be a Foreign Service officer, died April 17 in a hospital near Tel Aviv. He was 77. The cause was cancer, said a niece, Ofra Hod. In 1990, Rabby began a 17-year Foreign Service career that would include posts in Europe, Africa, South America and South Asia. He was a "champion for the employment of the disabled at the State Department," said Judith Heumann, special adviser for disability rights at the State Department during the administration of President Barack Obama. Rabby, known to friends as Rami, was a native of Israel with honors degrees in French and Spanish from the University of Oxford in England and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Chicago. He became a U.S. citizen in 1980, worked as a management consultant for Citibank on issues of equal rights and opportunities for the blind and tried unsuccessfully for almost a decade to join the U.S. Foreign Service. "It is absolutely unconscionable that the rest of the government has shown itself to be able to employ blind people constructively," he told the Associated Press in 1988. "The State Department is still in the 19th century." He passed written and oral examinations. The National Federation of the Blind, where he served as an officer, filed a lawsuit on his behalf. But the State Department rebuffed his entreaties, citing long-standing personnel policies. "You don't ask a blind person to drive a bus or be a bank teller," George S. Vest, the State Department personnel director, said in 1988, according to the New York Times. "There are jobs which are dangerous or unsuitable for them. And in the Foreign Service, we're full of jobs like that." There was a widely held conviction that to be effective, Foreign Service officers needed to be able to spot the subtleties of nonverbal body language: winks, nods, raised eyebrows, rolling of the eyes, smiles, frowns, shoulder shrugs. "No international treaty has ever been decided on the basis of a wink or a nod," Rabby told the Times. "I necessarily listen more than a sighted person would," he said. "If I'm walking along a street, I can tell there is a building next to me because of the echoes of my feet or my cane. A blind person sees the world differently from a sighted person. Our impressions are no less valid." In 1989, Edward Perkins, the new director general of the Foreign Service and a former ambassador to South Africa, broke with tradition and directed the hiring of Rabby. He told a congressional committee that the Foreign Service had decided it could make accommodations for the blind, "just as we do for sighted people, based on what they can accomplish." This action came weeks after the Senate had passed the Americans With Disabilities Act, which broadened civil rights already protected in earlier legislation. Rabby attended his Foreign Service orientation with one other blind person, Maryanne Masterson, a 13-year State Department employee who had been working in the visa services office and eventually held Foreign Service assignments in Asia, Europe and North America before retiring in 2012. Masterson said she and Rabby remained friends throughout their careers. But they both encountered hostility from colleagues who "felt the Foreign Service should never have been opened to handicapped employees," she said. Rabby was posted to South Africa just after Nelson Mandela, the future president of the country, was being freed from prison. He served in Washington at the State Department's Bureau of Human Rights. At the U.S. mission to the United Nations, he helped draft resolutions dealing with literacy, global health and disabled people. His last Foreign Service posting was as political chief at the U.S. Embassy in Port-of-Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, the dual-island Caribbean nation. "I was his eyes," Rhonda Singh, his reader and personal assistant in Port-of-Spain, wrote in an email. "He never allowed his disability to see the world deter him. . . . He was proud to have served as an FSO diplomat for the USA . . . to make persons who are challenged and visually impaired to improve their standard of life." Avraham Rabby was born in Tel Aviv on June 29, 1942, in what then was the British mandate of Palestine. His father was a businessman, his mother a housewife. He suffered detached retinas in his eyes, causing him to lose his eyesight at the age of 8. As a teenager, he went to a British boarding school for the blind, and then to Oxford. In 1969, received an MBA from the University of Chicago. While living in Manhattan, he often liked to take visiting relatives from Israel on tandem bike tours - with Rabby pedaling in the rear seat, his visitors steering up front. He also was an enthusiastic coin collector who regularly attended numismatic conventions. On his retirement, he moved from Washington back to Israel to be near his only survivor, a brother. A lot of noteworthy things are being buried by the avalanche of news about the COVID-19 pandemic. One that passed last week was the fact that two Canadians have now spent more than 500 days of captivity in China. If anything, the pandemic has made the conditions of their detention even worse. Theyve been in prison lockdown since early February, cut off from almost all contact with family and consular assistance. The two Michaels, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, were in an awfully tough spot before the pandemic struck. They were arrested in December, 2018, on trumped-up espionage charges that could carry the death penalty, in clear retaliation for Canadas arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the senior executive of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, after U.S. authorities requested her extradition. The two Michaels are pawns in a legal fight between Washington and Beijing, with Ottawa trying to avoid being crunched in the middle. But the way the COVID-19 crisis has unfolded shows thats not the half of it. Chinas rulers are showing themselves to be even more ruthless, more secretive, and more intolerant of criticism as the weeks go by. There are, of course, the increasingly pointed questions about how far Chinese authorities went in covering up early signs of the coronavirus outbreak in Hubei province, which has now spread around the globe. Those criticisms arent just coming from the likes of Donald Trump. Countries like Britain and France are urging an investigation into Chinas mismanagement of the pandemic, as are people like Irwin Cotler, a former Canadian justice minister and renowned human rights campaigner. Cotler signed a statement condemning China for covering up early signs of the pandemics spread and persecuting Chinese doctors who tried to get the news out. He calls it Chinas Chernobyl, the moment when the systems internal flaws inflict damage on the entire world. No wonder Chinas government has become ultra-sensitive. When the Trudeau government issued a mild statement last week expressing concern about the latest crackdown on pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, the Chinese embassy in Ottawa snapped back with a statement of its own accusing Canada of gross interference in Chinas internal affairs. In fact, it was well within the bounds of normal diplomatic language. Canada has a long-standing and legitimate interest in making sure China lives up to its commitment to preserve democracy and legality in Hong Kong, given that some 300,000 Canadian citizens live there. The Canadian government has generally stifled itself on Chinas abuses of power in the interests of safeguarding its trading relationship with Beijing and keeping alive the possibility that the two Michaels will eventually be released. And instead of joining the chorus of condemnation over Chinas handling of the pandemic, Ottawa has instead focused on cooperating to fight COVID-19. It even shipped tons of emergency medical equipment to China in the first days of February, before the pandemic hit Canada. For this Ottawa has been rewarded with vituperation from Beijing at the slightest criticism, and ordinary Canadians have likewise been told, in effect, to shut their mouths. Such was the fate of a Canadian think-tank, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, last week when it issued the open letter signed by Cotler and dozens of others accusing Beijing of bungling the crisis. The Chinese embassy labelled that a malicious slander and accused the institute of acting as a tool of anti-China forces. Right now the priority must clearly be fighting COVID-19, and if that means muting official criticism of Beijing for the moment, so be it. But once the crisis eases, Canada and other countries must not forget what its shown about how China treats both its own people and the rest of the world. It makes it all the more unlikely, for example, that Ottawa will be able to trust Beijing enough to permit Huawei to help build this countrys 5G wireless network. The pandemic is revealing a lot of ugly things. One is the true nature of Chinas rulers. Read more about: A cook at Belle Vue Clinic, one of the city's top hospitals, tested positive for COVID-19, following which the medical facility shut down one of its kitchens, and placed his co-workers under home quarantine, a senior official at the facility said on Sunday. The cook, in his early 50s, was admitted to an isolation ward of the private hospital as he complained of uneasiness and exhibited symptoms of COVID-19, he said. After test results confirmed he had contracted the disease, the Belle Vue Clinic employee was immediately shifted to Beliaghata ID hospital on Saturday, the official said. A doctor and three nurses who treated him at the private facility have been put in home isolation, he said. "The doctor and the three nurses had used protective gears while treating him, but as a precautionary measure all three have been sent on 14-day home quarantine. "We have two kitchens, one of which has been sent shut down," he said, adding that the isolation ward at the hospital, where the cook had stayed, was being disinfected. West Bengal has reported a total of 541 COVID-19 cases so far. Of them, 18 have succumbed to the disease, the state health department has said. According to the Union health Ministry, the number of COVID-19-stricken patients in the state stands at 571. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Ghana Anaesthetists Society has applauded the onerous role being played by its members in the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic. It also pledged its support and commitment in the national effort being made to halt the spread of the highly infectious disease. A statement signed by Dr Eric Forjour, the President; and Dr Jonas Afari, the Secretary and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said Anaesthetists are key frontline workers in the fight against the COVID- 19 and at the national level, Anaesthesiologists are manning the Intensive Care Units. It urged members of the Society to adhere to existing protocols and measures introduced for frontline workers in the fight against the pandemic. The statement also called on all Anaesthesia Practitioners to take a keen interest in their personal protection and that of all healthcare workers and patients. It said due to the increasing demand on their services, there is the need for government and all stakeholders in the profession to continue in its efforts to develop innovative incentive packages to make the profession appealing for more to join. The statement urged all Anaesthetists to continue with their efforts in the war against COVID-19. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The CBI will soon call former top brass of the Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited (HPCL) for questioning in connection with a bamboo procurement scam of Rs 144 crore after a fresh FIR was registered against its ex-chairman and senior officers, officials said. In its third FIR, the agency has booked MV Narsimha Rao, the then chairman cum managing director of the public sector undertaking, company secretary LR Eknath and senior officers SN Bhattacharya, Amitabh Banerjee, Biplab Chowdhary, PK Bhuvan, HN Baruah and Mohan Jha. The Hill Trade Agency and its owner RS Gandhi have also been named in the FIR, officials said. It is alleged that HPCL had an agreement with Dima Hasao Autonomous Council which used Gandhi as a subcontractor for procurement of bamboos to be used in making paper. The HPCL officers allegedly renewed contracts with the council even before existing contracts expired at a steep increase in the procurement prices over the years, they said. The agency has alleged that repeated increase in procurement prices caused a loss of Rs 46.47 crore to the PSU, they said. They have been booked for allegedly causing the loss by purchasing bamboo and pulp at exorbitant prices when the same was locally available at much cheaper rates in the North East where its mills are located, they said. Earlier, Shillong unit of the agency had booked the then senior officers of the HPCL in two separate FIRs for causing Rs 64 crore and Rs 32 crore loss to the PSU. The agency sources said the CBI will soon start issuing notices to the accused persons to appear for questioning, the officials said. Recently, the agency had pushed forward questioning because of lack of public transport and safety guidelines issued by the Union Home Ministry in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, they said. Catch our entire coverage on the Facebook-Jio deal here. Once public transport starts, the agency is likely to resume full fledged operations including the questioning of suspects, the officials said.Also read: Coronavirus News India LIVE Updates Vietnam imported more than 46,402 tonnes of pork and related products as of April 13, rocketing over 300 percent from the same period last year, according to the Department of Animal Health. A consumer selects pork products at a supermarket Imports from Canada accounted for 25 percent of the total, Germany 19 percent, Poland 14 percent, Brazil 9.5 percent, the US 8.39 percent, Spain 6.72 percent and Russia 4 percent. Vietnam has allowed the import of meat and related products from 24 countries, with pork and related products from 19 countries. At a meeting with pig farming businesses in late March, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung assigned the Ministry of Finance to consider and propose tax cuts on pork imports soon. He also told the MARD to coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Foreign Ministry to give maximum support for Vietnamese firms to seek suitable supplies in exporting countries and import pork in line with the PMs directions. Meanwhile, the MARD said it has instructed localities and worked with businesses to increase pig farming so as to reduce pork prices. During the reviewed period, Vietnam also imported over 37,104 tonnes of beef and buffalo meat, which respectively surged about 200 percent and 135 percent year on year. Most of the beef was from Australia, the US, Russia and Canada while the majority of imported buffalo meat was from India. It also bought some 78,376 tonnes of poultry meat and related products from foreign sources, up 150 percent year on year, mostly from the US, the Republic of Korea, Brazil, Poland, the Netherlands and Russia, the Department of Animal Health said./. Some weeks ago, in pre-Covid-19 life, I was a guest speaker on an RTE television show. Afterwards, on the train home, I scrolled through my phone. A message popped up in my Instagram from an account I don't follow. I'm not going to give the name here, because I don't want any further attention from this account. But it was all about documenting women wearing high heels and tights. "I liked your dress and tights on the TV today," the message said. I scrolled through the images on the accompanying account. Reams of pictures of women wearing tights and stockings. Some posed. Others which looked like they might have been taken by the women themselves. Some looked like the person in the picture had been caught unawares. There was a meme, an image of Halloween's horrifying Michael Myers brandishing a chainsaw, with the tagline: "On those days when they don't wear stockings." Expand Close Journalist Liadan Hynes received unwanted comments on Instagram on what she was wearing when she appeared on a television show / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Journalist Liadan Hynes received unwanted comments on Instagram on what she was wearing when she appeared on a television show It was a minor thing. A minuscule example of the countless micro-aggressions and unwanted attentions women experience daily as they go about their lives. But I felt instantly uneasy. I was heading home alone to an empty house, and while I knew, rationally, there was absolutely no way this person knew where I was, my sense of security felt undermined by this creepy little missive that had landed in my phone. In her new book, Recollections of My Nonexistence, American writer Rebecca Solnit examines the tension that exists for women between being seen, and being safe. "I was trying to disappear and to appear, trying to be safe and to be someone, and those agendas were at often odds with each other," she says of her younger self, setting out on her journey to become a writer. Solnit is the author of the famous 2008 essay Men Explain Things to Me, which gave rise to the term 'mansplaining', and one review described this latest book, the author's memoir, as "the story of men's attempts to silence women". It's territory Solnit is long familiar with. For women, as Solnit outlines in a way many (most?) women will recognise, there is an inherent tension between being seen - meaning taking part as our authentic selves - and being safe. Between expressing ourselves, and avoiding unwanted attention, feedback, or worse. The two do not always co-exist peacefully, and too often we choose one, knowing we must then forgo the other. To "find a way to survive amidst an ethos that relishes your erasures and failures is work that many and perhaps most young women have to do," Solnit writes. Young or old, it is work that many women will recognise. Solnit was meant to come to Ireland last month for the Mountains to Sea dlr Book Festival, one of the many events cancelled because of Covid-19. In an interview to publicise her appearance, she further elaborated on the thesis of her book; the idea that trauma, and the subsequent state of constant hyper-vigilance, or fight-or-flight that it engenders, is something most women experience just from their day-to-day existence. "I think it's life during wartime," she said. "I think you have a portion of your mind that's constantly on alert for what could go wrong and what's safe to do." Expand Close Broadcaster and DJ Tara Stewart had abuse shouted at her on the street by two men / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Broadcaster and DJ Tara Stewart had abuse shouted at her on the street by two men Broadcaster and DJ Tara Stewart was on her way to a meeting in Dublin city centre earlier this year when she was shouted at by some men passing by. "Two lads walked by and they were like, 'What boat did you come off?'" she recalls now. "I had actually just come from the VIP Style Awards launch event, so it was morning, but I was wearing a bindi [a bright dot applied to the centre of the forehead], and had make-up on. I just kind of stopped in my tracks and turned around, and looked at them. They looked back and laughed a couple of times. They didn't give a shite. I was so shocked that I didn't say anything. And usually I would say something." At the time, Tara tweeted about the incident, saying that she considered taking off the bindi - "so I don't draw attention to myself". "I was like, 'Oh maybe I'll just take this off'." Tara, whose mother is Malaysian Indian, tells me now. "I already do struggle with wearing it. I get self-conscious. I feel I don't look Indian 'enough' to wear it. But it's my favourite thing to wear." 'I felt so silenced' She describes a mental process most women will recognise after an encounter of this kind: The questioning of oneself for not having handled it better. The making oneself in some way responsible: 'Did I invite it in, or did I not handle it well when it came?' Then the consideration of whether one should make oneself less visible. This is not to suggest that men do not face threats - Solnit herself talks about the kind of threat men who do not fit a certain mould of masculinity often face. But there is something particular, one could say almost universal, about the kind of chiding, aggressive abuse that women face. "You think you should be standing up for yourself, and [to them] for everyone else's sake. I do wish I had taught them a lesson, but at the same time, I could feel the energy off the guys, that they were angry, and I don't think I would have felt safe in that moment," Tara adds. Expand Close TV presenter Muireann O'Connell says men frequently reply to her on Twitter in a way that is passive-aggressive, patronising or corrective / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp TV presenter Muireann O'Connell says men frequently reply to her on Twitter in a way that is passive-aggressive, patronising or corrective Broadcaster and author Louise McSharry describes how as a teenager, she loved school. "I had a really fucked-up situation for the most part, but I loved school. And I excelled at it. When I was in fifth or sixth year, I was in English class one day, which was my favourite part, and I put my hand up to speak. And one of the guys in my class shouted: 'Nobody cares what you have to say, Louise'." "I just felt so silenced. I already had started to quieten myself, and tried to say less, because I knew it didn't make me popular. And definitely from there I tried to do more of that. Still, to this day, I would have a consciousness about how much I'm speaking, or how much I'm contributing to a conversation, because I have a fear of dominating." She describes trying to balance that almost inbuilt sense of self-editing with who she actually is as an adult in her late 30s - "someone who is trying to use my voice for good where possible. And where I do have a certain amount of power in terms of my platform" - as really tricky. As Solnit describes it, a sense of safety and the act of being visible do not always comfortably co-exist for women. It's a sentiment Louise says she can relate to. "It's a struggle. It would be easy to not put your hand up or stick your neck out. And you would feel safer. But at the end of the day, that's not who I actually am. So trying to find that balance is difficult. And it stems from that moment in school, and loads of other moments where I was told I was bossy, or too loud, or whatever." As well as what we say, it's often about how we look. Louise describes receiving commentary on her physicality. "All around my weight. It hasn't happened in a long while, but I definitely live with that fear; I still feel kind of on edge. I guess you're kind of waiting for it, all the time. Not as much as I used to, because I'm in a much more powerful state of being. I feel stronger in myself. So if something happened, I feel like I would be able to respond in a way that I would be satisfied with. So therefore, it's not as scary as it used to be. And I suppose other people's opinions don't hold as much importance or value as they used to. But I definitely still have moments. It depends where I am in my own feelings about things." She identifies a line of thinking that will resonate with a lot of women - the 'asking for it' argument. The idea that if a person puts themselves above the parapet, they are fair game for... whatever. "I don't buy into the whole 'if you put yourself out there, you deserve what you get'. I don't believe that for a second," Louise says. "But you do make yourself somewhat vulnerable if you put yourself out there. For me, if I'm not feeling great anyway, I try to be a little bit more in control of what's coming my way. That is definitely kind of retreating a bit." Solnit describes it as a fight not "just to survive bodily, though that could be intense enough, but to survive as a person possessed of rights, including the right to participation and dignity and a voice. More than survive, then: to live". TV presenter Muireann O'Connell experiences constant feedback from men on her Twitter feed, men who reply frequently in a manner that is typically either condescending, passive-aggressive, or corrective. "When it comes to making my voice known, I've lived in a sphere for a very long time where I couldn't necessarily do that. That would have been because of various jobs that I was working in, where it would have been frowned upon for me to be who I am," Muireann reflects. "There would have been an element of editing me, or saying I couldn't do certain things in there, and that would have been fine, I totally get that; you can be seen as a representative of a company." More than that though, she was also self-editing, because of what she describes as the "basic fear" about putting things out there on social media. "You are a woman who decides, 'Oh, I saw this', or 'I've got a point of view on this, I'm going to put this out there'. Because that was what social media was about. It was meant to be about sharing thoughts and feelings and all that kind of stuff, and now it feels like sometimes it's gone to a very dark place." Despite being known among friends for being quite an opinionated person, in her social-media interactions, Muireann restricted what she put out for years. "I didn't feel comfortable, for a lot of years, in being who I was. "I was pre-empting the absolute shitshow. I knew exactly what would happen if I decided to engage with that world. And that's such a shame. Eventually you get to a stage in your 30s where you don't care any more, and you're more certain in yourself and who you are, and you realise that there are other people who are like you. And you're like, 'Well, if I do this, maybe they'll get a chance to do it as well'." What Muireann is describing isn't someone just arguing a different point of view, or the cut-and-thrust of Twitter. It's someone arguing with a woman's take on her own lived experience, or right to have an opinion. It's not just disagreeing with them, it's invalidating what they say. "We need people to say, 'This is my experience'," Muireann says. "But what happens is, you say, 'This is my experience,' but then someone comes back to you and says, 'No, that's not right. That's not true. That's not your experience'. And it's weird. That happens to me all the time." There's also the control aspect. Muireann gets a lot of chiding admonishments on Twitter. "I swear to god, the amount of times you get, 'Language, young lady. You wouldn't talk to your mother like this'. I'm like: 'You don't know how I talk to my mother'." "I think that there's a policing, an attitude of 'Get back in your lane, why are you doing this?' There seems to be no understanding of [the fact that] we're all people with thoughts and feelings; let's not differentiate ourselves by our sexual organs." One recent encounter on Twitter proved particularly bruising. "Normally I would just brush it off after a few hours, but recently something happened, and the next day, I could feel it affecting my work, affecting how I was speaking to people. I was really down. Really down. I said something and I was basically told to 'Go home, you silly girl'. The same guy [then posted] under basically the same comment made by a male journalist, said, 'Oh, great point'. When people say social media affects your mental health - bloody hell, it really can. But then you're like, 'Why am I letting anonymous strangers do this to me?'" The option to simply disengage, to block or mute, doesn't always seem the right one, either. "I just don't want to be rude," Muireann says, smiling almost abashedly. "And I sometimes think of the recriminations, even though it's an online world. This is catastrophising, and I get that, but sometimes in your head you're like, 'What if it does go over into real life?' Where you could push one person's button in a wrong way, and their indignation and offence at you could spin into real life?" Muireann says that she has got better at compartmentalising. "You realise that there are people in the world that hate you, even thought they mightn't even know you. You just have to accept that. Once you do, it becomes so much easier." All the women I spoke to described getting better at managing this, due in part to a hardiness earned from being inured to the thing. Did the experience of racism on the street affect Tara's peace of mind in the days that followed? "Not really, because I've been through worse. I am always a little bit on, but that's just because of other things I've been through in my younger life. I was sexually assaulted twice when I was a teenager. That's why this kind of stuff, it doesn't make me more wary day to day, because I'm always a bit like that anyway. But I'm so used to it now, do you know what I mean?" It's not a good thing, she points out, but past experiences have made her more able to deal with present ones. 'It's like, yeah, I'm angry...' "I hate this idea that people think that if you put yourself out there in the media, that people have free reign to do whatever the fuck they want about you, because they don't," says Tara, who recently confronted an online critic. He ended up apologising profusely, but this kind of thing all adds to the already overburdened load women carry. Now we have to police and educate our own aggressors? When Tara posted her original tweet about the incident, one of the women who responded was producer Kate Brennan-Harding. "I get it, albeit from an entirely different perspective," her tweet read. "I used to worry about being too dykey, too lesbian, too visible as a human." "The tropes you get thrown at you are: 'angry dykes, angry lesbian feminists'. Which silences us," Kate says when I talk to her. "It's like, yeah, I'm angry, I'm frustrated, because we don't get to say how the world occurs for us. And we just have to shut up, and accept when someone wants to pass a remark on who we are." Kate is now in her late 30s. "I came out in the late 1990s. Back then, it was more taboo. I don't mind being a bit of a rebel, and I don't mind standing out, but there's a fine line." At the time, beginning the process of finding her own identity, she realised she liked to look boyish. "This also represented my sexuality. I cut my hair quite short. I used to get 'bull dyke, fat dyke'; told, 'Oh, you need a man'; all this kind of stuff yelled at me in the streets. "When I look back at pictures of myself then, I was so young, really pretty and so vulnerable and scared. I was trying to walk this walk where you are automatically different and othered. I'm equating this with being an Irish thing, but maybe it's around the world; we plamas the person who is being aggressive or shouting insults at us. We laugh it off and have to develop a thick skin. So I would die inside every time that happened, but I wouldn't reply. I would put the head down and I'd walk away. Because I couldn't reply. For fear of someone hitting me, or worse happening." After the marriage referendum, Kate recalls feeling so much safer walking the streets of Dublin. "Two or three years afterwards, I was walking down the street going to the club Mother, and these boys were following me, two or three of them, about 18. They were really close, and one of them yelled at me, 'You fat dyke, you lezzer'. And I think it must have been 20 years of not saying it. I turned around, stood still and just yelled: 'No. Absolutely no, you do not get to do this to me any more. I am a dyke, and you do not get to have power over me any more. I have had this for years, you do not get to do this'." People appeared from various parts of the street and stood behind Kate. Her attacker quickly shut up. "But the thing is, I shouldn't have to have 20 years of pent-up silence," she says. In the last year, Kate says that the feeling of being unsafe is creeping back in. More aggressive comments are starting to come her way. "The threat of violence takes up residence in your mind. The fear and tension inhabit your body," Solnit wrote of herself as a woman in her very late teens, early 20s. The weight of it, she says, crushed her, "when I was trying to make a life, have a voice, find a place in the world". A recent article in The Atlantic, The Coronavirus is a Disaster for Feminism, outlined the gender gap in how pandemics are experienced by men and women. The 'second shift' is now taking place without childcare, and the mental load, the emotional labour, carried by women - already full to the brim - is crushing, despite fathers chipping in. At a time like this, Twitter is more reactive than ever; people are on edge. Never has a sense of safety been more threatened, but more necessary. Pre-order Liadan Hynes's first book 'How to Fall Apart' now from Easons, see easons.com/how-to-fall-apart-liadan-hynes-9781529381214 TDT | Manama A group of stranded Bahraini citizens were repatriated from Turkey yesterday on a special Turkish Airlines flight. Some of the Bahrainis flown home were in Turkey for medical treatment. A number of Turkish nationals were also able to return home from Bahrain on the return trip. The evacuation was carried out in coordination with the Turkish Embassy and other relevant authorities. It was done in compliance with international health requirements to protect the travellers and crew onboard the flight. Turkish Airlines has obtained the necessary licences for such trips and had set the date of April 21 for the flight, in order to unite families before the start of the Holy Month of Ramadan. The special flight comes following the cancellation of regular commercial flights due to the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) across the globe. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health announced the arrival of another Gulf Air-operated flight from Iran as part of the Kingdoms International COVID-19 Repatriation Programme. Medical protocols preventing the spread of COVID-19 were taken upon their arrival. Dog detectives might be able to help save ailing citrus groves, research suggests. Scientists trained dogs to sniff out a crop disease called citrus greening that has hit orange, lemon and grapefruit orchards. The dogs can detect it weeks to years before it shows up on tree leaves and roots, the researchers report. This technology is thousands of years old the dogs nose, said Timothy Gottwald, a researcher with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a co-author of the study. Weve just trained dogs to hunt new prey: the bacteria that causes a very damaging crop disease. Dog sleuths are also faster, cheaper and more accurate than people collecting hundreds of leaves for lab analysis, according to the study in the Proceedings of National Academies of Sciences. Citrus greening also called huanglongbing is caused by a bacteria that is spread by a tiny insect that feeds on the leaves and stems of citrus trees. Once a tree is infected, theres no cure. The disease has also hurt citrus crops in Central and South America and Asia. In one experiment in an orchard, trained dogs were accurate 95% of the time in distinguishing between newly infected trees and healthy ones. The earlier you detect a disease, the better chance you have at stopping an epidemic by culling infected trees, explained Gottwald. Matteo Garbelotto, who studies plants at the University of California, Berkeley, says the new research elevates the study of dog sleuths in orchards from anecdotal to field-tested, showing that dogs can detect an infection well before current methods. Garbelotto has been involved in similar research but had no role in new study. Another plant scientist, Laura Sims of Louisiana Tech University, said she was impressed by the rigorousness of the research. She applauded the steps taken to determine if the dogs were sniffing out the bacteria itself or a plants response to an infection. To do that, the researchers infected a variety of unrelated plants with the bacteria in a laboratory. The dogs were still able to pick out the infected plants. Youve seen dogs working in airports, detecting drugs and explosives, said Gottwald. Maybe soon you will see them working on more farms. The countrywide death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 826 and the number of cases climbed to 26,917 on Sunday, according to the Union health ministry. IMAGE: Health workers wearing protective suits are seen on a street after visiting a home where three coronavirus positive patients are found in Jalandhar. Photograph: PTI Photo The country has reported 47 deaths since Saturday night, the ministry said. The total number of cases has gone up by 1,975 since the ministry last updated its data on Saturday evening. The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 20,177 while 5,913 people (21.96 percent) were cured and discharged, and one patient has migrated, the ministry said. The total number of cases include 111 foreign nationals. Of the 47 deaths reported since Saturday evening, 22 are from Maharashtra, eight in Rajasthan, seven from Madhya Pradesh, six Gujarat and one each from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Tamil Nadu. Of the total 824 COVID-19 deaths, Maharashtra accounts for the highest number of 323 fatalities, followed by Gujarat (133), Madhya Pradesh (99), Delhi (54), Andhra Pradesh (31) and Rajasthan (33). IMAGE: COVID-19 suspected employees being taken to a quarantine center after the detection of some positive cases in a bank in Patna. Photograph: PTI Photo The death toll reached 27 in Uttar Pradesh, 26 in Telangana, 23 in Tamil Nadu, while Karnataka and West Bengal have reported 18 deaths each, the ministry said. Punjab has registered 17 fatalities so far, Jammu and Kashmir six, Kerala four, while Jharkhand and Haryana have recorded three COVID-19 deaths each. Bihar has reported two coronavirus deaths, while Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Assam have reported one fatality each, according to the ministry data. According to the Health Ministry data, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country is from Maharashtra at 7,628, followed by Gujarat (3,071), Delhi (2,625), Rajasthan (2,083), Madhya Pradesh (2,096) and Uttar Pradesh (1,843). The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 1,821 in Tamil Nadu, 1,097 in Andhra Pradesh and 991 in Telangana. The number of cases has risen to 611 in West Bengal, 501 in Karnataka, 494 in Jammu and Kashmir, 458 in Kerala, 298 in Punjab and 289 in Haryana. Bihar has reported 251 coronavirus cases, while Odisha has 103. Sixty-seven people have been infected with the virus in Jharkhand and 50 in Uttarakhand. Himachal Pradesh has 40 cases, while Chhattisgarh has registered 37 cases and Assam 36. Chandigarh has 30 cases, while there are 33 COVID-19 patients in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 20 coronavirus cases have been reported from Ladakh, 12 from Meghalaya, while Goa and Puducherry have registered seven COVID-19 cases each. Manipur and Tripura have two coronavirus patients each, while Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have reported one case each. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr. 25 Trend: First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has congratulated the people of Azerbaijan and the Muslims of the world on the occasion of the advent of the month of Ramadan. In a post on her official Instagram page, the First Vice-President says: I sincerely congratulate the people of Azerbaijan and all Muslims of the world on the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, which is filled with the kindest and brightest feelings and personifies a triumph of kindness, mercy and compassion! I believe that all our prayers and wishes will be answered in this holy month and the Almighty will grant his mercy to our world. I wish good health to all of you! May Allah accept your fasting! A train presumed to belong to North Korean's Kim Jong-un has been spotted at a station in the state's eastern coastal town of Wonsan amid speculation about the leader's health, a US monitor said on Sunday, citing commercial satellite imagery on the region, Yonhap news agency reported. According to 38 North-- a website devoted to analysis about North Korea, the imagery showed a train "probably belonging to Kim Jong Un parked at the Leadership Railway Station servicing his Wonsan compound since at least April 21." "The approximately 250-metre long train, although partially covered by the station's roof, can be seen at a railway station reserved for use by the Kim family. It was not present on April 15 but was present on both April 21 and 23," it said. "The train's presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country's eastern coast," it added. The report came as rumours about his health have spread as Kim apparently skipped an important annual visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the occasion of the April 15 birthday of late state founder and his grandfather, Kim Il-sung. CNN intensified the speculation by reporting earlier last week that the United States is looking into intelligence that Kim is "in grave danger" after surgery. Seoul officials have disputed recent media reports about Kim, saying there have been no unusual signs from the North. Some said that Kim is presumed to be staying in Wonsan for unspecified reasons. Washington has also dismissed the reports, with US President Donald Trump calling such reports "incorrect" in a press briefing late last week. On Saturday, other media reports stated that China has dispatched a team of medical doctors and officials to North Korea "to advise on" Kim, citing multiple unnamed people familiar with the situation. North Korea's state media, however, has not made any mention of Kim's public activity for two weeks since he was last seen in April 11 presiding over a major party meeting, though it has reported on his handling of routine state affairs, such as sending diplomatic letters. But not all speculation has proven to be false. When he was absent from public for about a month in 2014, speculation arose about his health and a political crisis in the secretive state. He later reemerged with a cane and a limp reportedly after having a cyst removed from his ankle. The 36-year-old leader is known to have various health problems apparently caused by obesity and heavy smoking. He took office as leader of the communist state after his father, Kim Jong-il, died of a heart attack in late 2011. (ANI) Also Read: White House pressers not worth time: Donald Trump after uproar over 'sarcastic' disinfectant remark During difficult times, people with money to spare - famous and successful people, celebrities, business tycoons etc - are expected to come forward and lend a helping hand. However, it warms our hearts to read stories where common people, who might not have much to themselves, come forward to help others. Here are a few such stories which speak volumes of how important it is to kind, and that how rich you are does not necessarily depend on how much money you possess. Don't Miss: Contribute To Indiatimes Fundraiser To Help India Fight COVID-19 The woman named Salbha Uskar, who hails from Madhya Pradesh, saw an advertisement in the newspaper about the state government's efforts to fight the spread of coronavirus and donated Rs 1 lakh to aid the cause. TWITTER/@CHOUHANSHIVRAJ A sanitation worker from Telangana decided to donate two months worth of salary (Rs 17,000) to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, so that the state can fight the pandemic and help those who are in dire need. Twitter/@KTRTRS To help those out in need, a family in Wisconsin decided to share their pantry with the rest of their neighbourhoood. They opened up a 'free pantry' in their front yard from where anyone can come and pick up basic necessities. FACEBOOK Anganwadi workers in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district are distributing ready-to-eat meals and dry rations to tribal families who are residing in remote areas of the district. TOI Doing more than their job requires them to do, two policemen responded to an emergency call in Noida, when a pregnant woman needed blood transfusion in order to go through with her delivery. HEALTHLINE The restaurant has managed to serve more than 1 lakh meals to daily wage workers. The team is led by Desi Masala's Directors, Sachin Jain, Sandeep Jain and Manish Jain and they are selflessly working towards feeding the needy. The meals are prepared in the restaurant, and friends and families of the team are working as volunteers to help the cause. BANGALORE MIRROR A member of the housekeeping staff named Sanjay Dehury at AIIMS in Bhubaneswar, is single-handedly taking care of discarding the biomedical waste in the hospital. TWITTER/@BISWALIANIL Four zookeepers in the U.K. have taken the step to self-isolate in the wildlife sanctuary they work at, in Hayle, Cornwall. Paradise Park shut down its doors to the public but someone had to make sure the animals were well taken care of. PARADISE PARK Zane Powles - an Assistant head teacher at Western Primary School, Grumsby - is doing everything he can to be able to deliver free school meals to children. He walks for more than five miles every day to deliver food to them personally. INSTAGRAM/@HEROESOFCOVID19 A woman got shamed for 'hoarding up' on groceries, when in fact, she was buying them for six different families who couldn't afford to step out of their homes. FACEBOOK Samaritans from a Gurugram-based restaurant called 'Matamaal' are collaborating with the Robin Hood Army, which is a zero-funds volunteer organisation, to provide food and water to migrant workers and people in slums. Hans Sadhu In a village in Gujarat, transgender women took around a cart full of daily essentials like rice and wheat and distributed packages to people who were in need of them. FACEBOOK 32-year-old Aishwarya S is an IT professional working in Bengaluru and has family back in Chennai. Since the current situation is so serious, Aishwarya worried about her mother who lives alone in Chennai, which eventually inspired her to help out the elderly in Bengaluru. TWITTER The world is full of kind people. SHANTANUDAVID By Twos Company When other chefs and restaurateurs say that your restaurant is their favourite place to dig into the particular cuisine you serve, you know youve made it. However, as Nalini Sadhu notes, her husband Surinder still doesnt think she makes Kashmiri Pandit food as well as his mother. Their legions of fans flock to the couples Kashmiri restaurant, Matamaal, regardless. Married for 33 years (at this point weve stopped counting, quips Nalini), the couple had a love marriage of sorts, though not at first sight. We first met in Kashmir when Surinder had returned from Bahrain where he was working. Our parents also met, but at first he rejected me. However, I was determined that this is the man I wanted to marry and refused to give up until he agreed. Since then I have been rejecting him every day, says Nalini, a woman not so much scorned as triumphant. Incidentally, Nalini does most of the talking in this interview, with Surinder resignedly mentioning, Even in videos and the shows weve been featured on, youll notice it is Nalini who does all the talking. Moving beyond the kahwa and Wazwan, Nalini and Surinder Sadhus restaurant Matamaal celebrates the food of Kashmiri Pandits. However, after the pair got married in 1987 and returned to Bahrain, Nalini did everything she could to please her new spouse, including learning how to cook the Kashmiri Pandit food Surinder so loved. Hes a perfectionist and even though I kept learning and improving he would say its still not as good as my mothers and go on about how exact her cutting of the vegetables and everything else was, says Nalini. Despite Surinders critique, Nalinis culinary skills proved a big hit with the couples friends, mostly bachelors, in Bahrain, and later Sharjah, where the Sadhus moved in the mid-90s. The ebullient pair love entertaining and always had people over for meals, a practice they continued when they returned to India in 1997. A couple of years later, Nalini took part in a neighbourhood bazaar for which she prepared biryani. The biryani was sold out within the hour and Nalini had to rush home to prepare a fresh batch. Once the neighbours got privy to Nalinis kitchen magic, they joined in the chorus of the couples friends begging them to open a restaurant. But Nalini was content raising her two sons, Mikhail and Hans, apart from, of course, preparing party feasts. With encouragement (and vegetable chopping and other help) from Surinder, she also began to participate in local food festivals, gradually moving on to bigger events. When people think Kashmiri cuisine, they immediately think Wazwan. Kashmiri Pandit food isnt really prepared in restaurants, and at most people will have tasted it in the homes of Kashmiri Pandits, explains Surinder. The next big milestone for the couple was when Singapores iconic Raffles hotel invited Nalini to host a Kashmiri food festival. That was one time I didnt go with her, and she came back with all these Singapore dollars, which, trust me, will still be lying in her cupboard, says Surinder. In any case, once her sons had grown up and left for college, she and Surinder finally decided to open a restaurant, which began as a 12-seater restaurant in Gurugram. With gods grace, when we had to expand. The store next to ours was empty so we extended into it. And gradually, we took over all the neighbouring stores till we hit the wall, says Surinder. Despite having been inundated with franchisee offers, the Sadhus have only just given the green light for their second restaurant, which is in Qatar, having finally found partners as passionate as they are. Everything was ready, and then the pandemic struck. So, now we can begin only once the restrictions end, says Surinder. Meanwhile, the Sadhus have decided to focus on other good works. We feed 500 migrant workers every day and provide dry rations for families. We also feed stray animals, says Nalini, getting in the last word. FAMILY MENU Younger son Hans, who lives with his parents, decided to use his parents expertise in Kashmiri food to start sourcing, roasting, grinding, and retailing traditional spices and other region-specific ingredients, which are available across India, under the name Kanz & Muhul (Mortar & Pestle). Elder son Mikhail and his wife Neha, who live in Toronto, help with the marketing of the brand and have been working with Nalini to organise live cooking sessions online, which are attended by enthusiasts from around the world. Neha isnt Kashmiri, but shes taken so well to the food and is very passionate about it. Id say shes become quite the expert, enthuses Nalini. The subtle dig at Surinders devotion to her own mother-in-laws expertise is surely just in our imagination. More than 100,000 people could die this year if the coronavirus lockdown is lifted so only elderly and vulnerable people are shielded, an expert advising the government has said. Professor Neil Ferguson said he was "very sceptical" that a scenario where the younger population resumed a normal life would be a "viable strategy". He said it would require "a very high level" of effective protection for the vulnerable and elderly population, who are also the "least able to really be truly isolated". Speaking to news outlet UnHerd, he said: "The most vulnerable people are also the people who most need care and have most interaction with the health system and are least able to really be truly isolated. "And if you achieve just 80% shielding, 80% reduction in infection risk in those groups, we'd still project you get well over 100,000 deaths later this year through that sort of strategy." Professor Ferguson, from Imperial College London, was the lead author of a report that said the pandemic could kill 250,000 people if the government did not enforce social distancing. He said his team was now working on a model for easing the lockdown and would release details in the coming days. He warned that life "cannot go completely back to normal" and that social distancing would need to remain until a vaccine is developed - something Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said will not happen until at least next year. "There will be a trade-off between the extent to which you relax measures and tolerate a level of transmission, and, therefore, mortality and health system demand, versus keeping case numbers as low as you can, which will probably require social distancing longer term," said Professor Ferguson. He pointed towards the South Korean model of mass testing and contact tracing as "remarkably effective" for monitoring the virus infection rate. South Korea has reported just 242 deaths to the disease, which is one of lowest rates in the world. Story continues :: Listen to Sophy Ridge on Sunday on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker "I think if you talk to people in Korea, and people in the public health department, they think they have a sustainable strategy," he said. "They have society not operating as normal - there will have to be social distancing until we have a vaccine... but they have been remarkably effective at basically tracking chains of transmission down and isolating people who are infected. "And the real benefit of those policies is that if you drive transmission down to the very low levels they now have in Korea, then it's not that disruptive or resource-intensive." The government has so far remained tight-lipped about its ideas for exiting the lockdown, with Mr Raab telling Sky News it was "not responsible" to openly discuss it at this time. "We need to make sure that the next steps are sure-footed, which is why we are proceeding very cautiously," he said. New Delhi: While consultations have started on how to bring back stranded Indians across the world once the lockdown restrictions are relaxed in the future, the Indian missions are ready with the groundwork. India's Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba earlier this week held a video conference with Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories on the situation of the country-wide lockdown and the resumption of economic activities. During the meeting, the issue of Indians stranded abroad was also discussed. A govt release said Cabinet Secretary informed that "Ministry of External Affairs has started the process of consultation with the States/UTs to bring back the Indian nationals stranded in various countries." The final call for this will be taken after getting feedback on the preparedness of the States/UTs to receive such people and taking into consideration all required health precautions which include quarantine and testing facility. Several Indians have been stranded across the world who cannot return due to the lockdown restrictions. As of now, the Indian missions have told them to stay put and are reaching out to them by providing them food, accommodation, and even ration. Before the lockdown was imposed in India, the central govt had evacuated more than 2,000 of its citizens from countries like China, Japan, Italy, and Iran. This also included 48 foreigners, many of them from neighbouring countries - Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. The number of COVID-19 cases in India as of 8 AM on Sunday stands at 26,496 with 824 deaths. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Two industries -- construction and manufacturing -- may be back in business after the New York on PAUSE order ends on May 15 in some areas of New York State, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced during a Sunday press conference. Cuomo announced that New York will reopen in phases, while monitoring the statewide and regional hospitalization rates that will determine when certain businesses will be able to reopen. The federal guidance from the CDC is that before you start reopening, the state and the regional hospitalization rate must be in decline for 14 days, Cuomo said Sunday. Thats the CDC guidance. The federal government leaves it up to the states. Its up to the governors. ... But they also give guidance and in this case; I think the CDC guidance is right. *** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK *** The first phase of reopening the state will involve construction and manufacturing activities that have a low risk, said Cuomo. The reopening will be on a business-by-business basis due to the range of construction and manufacturing activities. When asked about specific dates or times of reopening, Cuomo said when the state gets to May 15, it will look at regions that have seen a decline in total hospitalizations for 14 days. That means that some businesses will be able to reopen with certain precautions after May 15, when the state pause order ends, said Cuomo. Were assuming well see a decline in the state for 14 days, but what regions in the state have seen a decline for 14 days? said Cuomo. Thats where you will start the conversation to get to phase one in that region. Regions most likely to open sooner are upstate New York regions that have seen lower coronavirus numbers. In order for downstate New York to reopen, which includes New York City, it must be in coordination with neighboring states of Connecticut and New Jersey. As we look forward there will be multiple levels of decisions. Government will set the criteria for a phased reopening. Businesses will reimagine their workplaces & protocols. Individuals will make decisions on their own health. We will build back better. Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) April 26, 2020 PHASE TWO Like phase one, phase two will use the same business-by-business analysis. [What] essential service does that business provide and how risky is that business?" Cuomo asked during the Sunday press conference. "If you reopen that business how much risk are you possibly incurring and how important is it that, that business reopen? And that matrix will be guiding us through phase two. The phased re-openings will be dependent on individual business plans, he said. Business owners will create an analysis of their essential services and potential risks, as well as how they will operate and the precautions and safeguards it will put in place. Does my business reopen? Well what is your business and how would you do your business in this new normal?" Cuomo said. Businesses, you develop a plan on how you reopen given everything we now know. Businesses need to create a plan that takes into consideration the new circumstances. That can include being creative and thinking outside of the box, creating a new economic model, creating new policies in place to make the business less risky, and taking into account hygiene, cleanliness, space, screening, and personal protective equipment (PPE). He said there are factors for businesses to consider that want to reopen quickly." There will be two weeks between phases to allow for the state to monitor the effects of reopening. It will allow the state to analyze infection rates as activity increases. Two weeks, thats according to the experts, the incubation period for the virus, so you can actually see if you had an effect where you increased the rate of infection, which you would then see in hospitalizations, testing, etc.," Cuomo said. The state will continue monitoring efforts during the phases -- including the number of hospitalizations, number of positive antibody tests, and number of positive diagnostic tests. Those [hospitalizations, positive antibody tests, positive diagnostic tests] are the three dials," Cuomo said. You take these activities, you watch those three dials and you have your hand on the valve, the activity valve. So you open the valve a little bit, phase one, watch those dials like a hawk and then you adjust. Cuomo also announced Sunday that the number of hospitalizations and intubations has decreased, as well as the number of new coronavirus cases across the state. There were an additional 367 coronavirus-related deaths on April 25 -- down from 437 on April 24. The announcement of the states plan to reopen in phases comes just hours after Mayor Bill de Blasio outlined a four-part strategy to reopen New York City as part of its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. That includes setting up advisory councils, two task forces and a charter revision commission. Restart is necessary to recovery... Everyone wants to know about the restart and that is going to happen over the next couple of weeks, said de Blasio at his Sunday morning press conference. We have a lot of work to do, and its going to be a non-stop effort from me and my team." He also announced updated confirmed coronavirus case numbers. People admitted to hospitals for suspected COVID-19 remains unchanged from 144 people as of April 23, de Blasio said. Twenty-nine percent of people who have been tested citywide for COVID-19 are positive. 38 Life on lockdown: Coronavirus in NYC FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. A New York City man allegedly murdered his 78-year-old mother with a meat cleaver and laid atop her lifeless body when police arrived to their apartment. Authorities dispatched to a Queens borough apartment on Saturday morning after they received reports of an unconscious woman. But QNS reports that officers found a trail of blood that led up to the fourth-floor apartment of Carmelita Cabansag. Officers knocked on the front door and were greeted by her son, 48-year-old David Galicia. Galicia was reportedly covered in blood, but let the officers inside the apartment. Second later, Galicia is said to have walked over to his mother's dead body and laid on top of it. NYPD officers responded to reports of an unconscious woman Saturday at a Queens-area apartment Two knives were found on the floor next to Cabansag and responding medics pronounced her dead at the scene. Cabansag's body was taken to the Medical Examiner's office for an autopsy to determine the official cause of death. Galicia was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital with stab wounds in his chest and body. Galicia was transported at the NYPD 108 Precinct for questioning and allegedly confessed to the killing,' New York Post reports. Officers reportedly followed a trail of blood from the apartment's ground floor to the fourth-floor apartment of Carmelita Cabansag Authorities have called Galicia 'emotionally disturbed,' but have not revealed a motive yet Cabansag was pronounced dead at the scene and taken to the Medical Examiner's office to determine the cause of death He was charged with second-degree murder, criminal mischief and possession of a weapon. A motive for the slaying was not immediately clear. Authorities have called him 'emotionally disturbed.' According to the New York Daily News, Cabansag is a COVID-19 survivor whose husband died a few years ago. Juan Velasquez, the 51-year-old building superintendent, said Cabansag was recovering. 'She was quarantined by herself. This is crazy,' he said. One neighbor described Cabasag as 'a very good lady' who still worked despite her age. The building superintendent at Cabasag's apartment said she is a COVID-19 survivor Surveillance footage captured two men breaking glass at the apartment's front entrance as the time of the incident 'She would tell me stories about family members she would be helping back in the Philippines. I think thats why she was still working,' they said. Velasquez said surveillance footage showed two men breaking glass at the main entrance around the same time as Cabansag's death. It's unclear if those two men were somehow involved in Cabansag's death. 'They were going crazy, running like crazy. I had to call the cops,' said one neighbor who saw the men. A connection between the two events has not been revealed. A medical staff gets disinfection after testing factory workers at Linh Trung Processing Zone in Thu Duc District, HCMC, April 20, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran The Health Ministry confirmed no fresh Covid-19 cases Sunday morning, keeping the nations tally of active infections at 45. The latest announcement means Vietnam has gone 36 hours without a new case. Of the country's 270 patients, 230 have been discharged from hospitals, but five among them have relapsed. The 45 active infections include the relapse cases. As of last Friday morning, Vietnam had gone eight straight days clear of new infections, but the evening saw two new cases- both students who returned from Japan. They were quarantined on arrival and are now under treatment in Hanoi. The nation has had five relapses. The relapse cases are being monitored at different hospitals. The Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute have cultured the virus taken from them to try and find the cause of the relapse. Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said Saturday that while Vietnam has had very few new cases, there could be unrecorded people carrying the virus as infection cases that have no clinical symptoms are easy to be ignored during screening. The Covid-19 pandemic has reached 210 countries and territories with a reported death toll of almost 203,000. The government is considering checks on people arriving in the country, the Foreign Secretary has confirmed. (Picture: PA) The government is considering checks on people arriving at sea ports and airports in the UK, Dominic Raab has confirmed. The Foreign Secretary said the question of whether people should be quarantined when they arrive in the country is being asked regularly and guidance could change. His comments come after The Sunday Telegraph and The Mail on Sunday said officials were drawing up plans for passengers to be quarantined for 14 days after entering the country. The approach, which is similar to that operated in Singapore, has previously been rejected by ministers who argued it would have little impact given the low numbers coming into the UK and the rate of community transmission in the country. But Raab said that position could change as scientific advice evolved. Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice Live: Follow all the latest updates from the UK and around the world Fact-checker: The number of COVID-19 cases in your local area 6 charts and maps that explain how coronavirus is spreading He told BBC Ones The Andrew Marr Show: It might do. I cant say with any certainty yet. Whether it is a quarantine period, or testing or other measures that might be taken, it is possible. I ask this question every week Can we check there arent measures at the border at the current level of the coronavirus challenge that we face that would make a difference? We will keep asking that question. But later on Sunday, Environment Secretary George Eustice called the reports speculation and said no decisions had been taken yet. He said: As we move to a new phase at some point in the future we are not there yet international travel could become a more significant part of the risk to manage. At the moment, all of the evidence suggests it is only a tiny proportion of the cause of the coronavirus outbreak if we got to that point, a number of measures would be considered but no decisions have been taken in this phase yet. He added: Weve made a conscious decision as a country not to close our borders because we need to keep trade flowing and should there be medical advice in the future, as we move to new stages, that this is an area that should be looked at and considered, that is the time to do that. Story continues Earlier this month, Health Secretary Matt Hancock told MPs that people arriving in the UK from abroad were not being asked to self-isolate because coronavirus is already so prevalent. Hancock told the Health & Social Care Committee that the decision was similar to many other countries but was being kept under review. Asked by Yvette Cooper why there was no guidance asking people travelling into the country to self-isolate as a precaution, he said: Im advised by the epidemiologists, it is not an epidemiologically significant route of transmission in the UK because the current incidence is high. Of course, if we succeed in getting the incidence of transmission lower and much lower, which I hope we will, then you have to ask the question of how to protect the UK from people who have been in a place where that incidence of transmission is much higher. Hancock said the decision was similar to many other countries who are following the science and would be kept under review, adding: Many things change fast in this epidemic. Coronavirus: what happened today ALBANY New York officials are canceling several June elections in the hopes of reducing density at the polls amid the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo issued an executive order late Friday canceling special elections for four vacancies in the state Legislature, including a Syracuse-area Senate seat and three Assembly posts in Long Island, Queens and Rochester; as well as the election for Queens borough president. The state Board of Elections will also meet Monday to consider canceling the Democratic presidential primary, after Vermont Sen. Bernie Sander's departure from the race left only former Vice President Joe Biden on the ticket. "At this point in time, having postponed the election until June 23, when we still have concerns about density and large gatherings, continuing a special election on June 23 when the legislature is scheduled to have been out of session already for three weeks would be illogical," Cuomo spokesman Jason Conwall said in an email. "The district is being served by staff." Primaries for the state legislative and congressional seats will still take place on June 23, as will a special election for a congressional post in Western New York. The latter election for a seat vacated by former Republican Rep. Chris Collins in the fall after he pleaded guilty to insider trading and lying to the FBI was originally supposed to take place next week but was postponed alongside all other elections. Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa said the administration moved forward with the special election for Congress and not for the state Legislature because of a slight difference in language in the state Constitution. Whereas the governor "may" declare a special election for a vacant seat in the state Legislature, he "shall" call one for Congress, she said. Separately, the state Board of Elections will weigh a resolution on Monday to remove all candidates except Biden from the Democratic primary ballot, canceling the election. An analysis of the resolution obtained by the Times Union asserts that "holding [an] unnecessary primary on June 23 is not consistent with efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic," and moving forward with only contested primaries would reduce voter turnout by about 70 percent. The Republican Party had already decided against a primary contest months ago, as President Donald Trump is the only candidate in New York. On top of cutting down the number of elections, the state is also sending absentee ballot applications with paid postage to every registered voter in New York to give them an alternative to visiting polling locations in June, Cuomo said last week. The administration had considered sending ballots directly to voters but found that move to be unconstitutional, officials said. "The goal is to greatly reduce density by continuing early voting, expanding access to absentee ballots and bringing out only those voters who need to vote in the primary," Conwall said. The decision to cancel the special elections was met with mixed reactions, with some questioning how much the order would actually decrease density at polling locations. "I'm struggling to understand why @NYGovCuomo stopped the SD50 special election," State Sen. Rachel May, D-Syracuse, wrote on Twitter Sunday. "Voting is happening that day anyway, and the people of the district are without a senator at a time when we are working day and night to help constituents deal with [unemployment insurance] and other crises." The two candidates for the Senate seat left empty at the start of the year as former state Sen. Bob Antonacci, R-Onondaga, became a state Supreme Court justice both said Sunday that they were disappointed that the district will be left without a representative for the rest of the year but will move forward with their campaigns for the general election in November. We have been doing all we can in the era of COVID-19 to get our message out to our friends and neighbors of the 50th district for the need to support my campaign and help us reclaim our voice for central New York in the state Legislature," Republican candidate Angi Renna said in an email. "The governors decision doesnt change that." Animals shelters across the United States are emptying out thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, as people confined to their homes are adopting or fostering animals in droves. "We've never seen anything like this," said Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, which partners with some 400 shelters nationwide. "The fostering and adoptions have just been through the roof," she told AFP. "Every shelter is reporting out the same thing. It's amazing to see how many lives have been saved." Block said as the COVID-19 outbreak took hold, shelters -- many of which were forced to close because of stay-at-home orders -- launched adoption appeals, and the response has been overwhelming. Dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and even hens have found homes, as people all over the country look for pets to help them cope with confinement. "We've always talked about having a dog, but it was never the right time until now," said Jalene Hillery, a teacher who lives in San Diego, California, and who recently adopted Mason, an American pit bull, from the local shelter. She said the fact that she and her husband, as well as their two young sons, are home has allowed for a smooth adoption, given that they have time to care for the dog and help him adjust to his new home. "We get to connect with him, train him, and that's really been fun," she told AFP. Hillery said Mason has also proven a great companion for her boys, aged 9 and 11, who are missing their school friends and needed something to help ease anxiety. "The dog is filling a need... and is able to provide comfort and love and play," Hillery said. "He's definitely filled the void in our home that we didn't even know existed. "It's almost like it's too good to be true." - 'Alleviate isolation and stress' - Shelters nationwide, from Wisconsin to North Carolina and Virginia to Colorado, are reporting that the number of people fostering animals has also skyrocketed. Sherri Franklin, founder of the Muttville Senior Dog Rescue in San Francisco, said she has never seen such an outpouring of support from the community in the 25 years she has worked in animal rescue. "When the shelter-in-place order came down (in March), we had 86 dogs in our care, and we moved them all to foster homes in 48 hours," she said. Franklin said adopting or fostering a pet during these unusual and stressful times is beneficial for both animals and humans. "Adopting a dog during this time is an equal win for both the dog... but it's even more so for the human that does need a reason to get up, and does need a connection in this world and does need something to alleviate isolation and stress," she noted. For Sarah Chan, 25, who lives in the San Diego area with her partner Morgan Miller, also 25, adopting Silvia was a no-brainer after they saw the cat's picture on the local shelter's Instagram account. "She's given us companionship and is a good distraction," said Chan, who works for a semiconductor company. Lauren Amaral said she decided to foster two guinea pigs -- Ally and Emi -- as a way of helping her local shelter during these uncertain times and also for comfort. "Having them just makes me happy. They bring me a lot of joy," said Amaral, 20, who plans to get a nursing degree. "Whenever I pet them, I just feel a lot better 'cause it is a stressful time, and these little pigs are just the sweetest girls in the world." In the midst of a global pandemic, conspiracy theorists have found yet another way to spread dangerous disinformation and misinformation about COVID-19, sowing seeds of doubt about its severity and denying the very existence of the pandemic. Since March 28, conspiracy theorists coronavirus deniers have been using the hashtag #FilmYourHospital to encourage people to visit local hospitals to take pictures and videos to prove that the COVID-19 pandemic is an elaborate hoax. The premise for this conspiracy theory rests on the baseless assumption that if hospital parking lots and waiting rooms are empty then the pandemic must not be real or is not as severe as reported by health authorities and the media. Of course, there is a simple explanation for why some hospital parking lots and waiting rooms might have been empty. As part of pandemic planning, many hospitals have banned visitors and doctors have had to postpone or cancel elective and non-urgent procedures to free up medical staff and resources. This is in keeping with expert advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other health authorities. In addition, to slow the spread of the virus and prevent cross infections with non-COVID-19 patients, the CDC also recommended that health-care facilities create separate intake and waiting areas for coronavirus patients and reserve emergency areas for emergencies such as heart attacks and broken arms. This empty-hospital conspiracy theory joins a parade of false, unproven and misleading claims about the virus that have been making the rounds on social media including allegations that 5G wireless technology somehow plays a role in the spread of the COVID-19 virus, or consuming silver particles or drinking water with lemon prevents or cures you of the virus. None of these are true. British MP Michael Gove said at a Downing Street news conference that the conspiracy theory linking 5G technology to the spread of coronavirus is dangerous nonsense, after cellphone towers around the U.K. were attacked. At the Ryerson University Social Media Lab, some of our research investigates how misinformation propagates across different social media platforms. One of the first steps when examining trending topics on social media is to look for signs of social bots social media accounts designed to act on Twitter and other platforms with some level of autonomy and co-ordinated inauthentic behaviour that may include co-ordinated activities that attempt to artificially manipulate conversations to make them appear more popular than they are. These two forms of social manipulation, when left unchecked, can skew the conversation, manufacture anger where there is none, suppress opposition or dampen debate. These tactics may undermine our ability as citizens to make decisions and reach consensus as a society. This new conspiracy campaign against the media and public health officials, with hospitals and medical staff caught in the middle, started on March 28 with a simple tweet by a Twitter user posing a question: #FilmYourHospital Can this become a thing? For our analysis, we collected a sample data set consisting of nearly 100,000 #FilmYourHospital public tweets and retweets posted by 43,000 public accounts on Twitter from March 28, the beginning of this campaign, until April 9. Our analysis suggests that while the #FilmYourHospital campaign on Twitter is full of misleading and false COVID-19 claims, most of the active and influential accounts behind it dont appear to be automated. However, we did find signs of ad hoc co-ordination among conservative internet personalities and far-right groups attempting to take a baseless conspiracy theory and turn it into a weapon against their political opponents. Importantly, we found that while much of the content came from users with limited reach, the oxygen that fuelled this conspiracy in its early days came from just a handful of prominent conservative politicians and far right political activists like @DeAnna4Congress, @realcandaceo and @DonnaWR8. These power users employed the #FilmYourHospital hashtag to build awareness about the campaign and to encourage their followers to film whats happening in their local hospitals. After the initial boost by a few prominent accounts, the campaign was mostly sustained by pro-Trump supporters, followed by a secondary wave of propagation outside the U.S. As part of our ongoing research on COVID-19 misinformation, we developed the COVID-19 Misinformation Portal that features a range of resources to inform and inoculate Canadians against false and misleading claims about the pandemic. This includes documenting coronavirus claims debunked by professional fact checkers, and a Twitter dashboard tracking the presence of possible bot accounts. In normal times, outlandish conspiracies like this might make us shake our heads, but as COVID-19 cases continue to stalk the hallways of nursing homes in Canada and fill beds in New York hospitals, it is harder to ignore such upsetting conspiracies from the dark recesses of the internet. The rise of this conspiracy from a single tweet reminds us that while the spread of misinformation can be mitigated by fact-checking and directing people to credible sources of information from public health agencies, false and misleading claims that are driven by politics and supported by strong convictions and not science are much harder to root out. Let us concede that it is a joyous thing indeed to contemplate pure, naked politics as a respite from the biological troubles that engulf us. And who would have ever expected that? Themis Klarides announced she will not seek another term as state representative which means she will no longer be House Minority Leader. But what else does it mean? Sign up to get Colins newsletter delivered to your inbox, for free It is reasonable to conclude she will run for governor in 2022. But, you ask, why would she leave a position of such enormous visibility two years before the election? This is a common question, but it contains a fallacy. The state legislature is more like the Rockettes than like the cast of Jersey Shore. You know the Rockettes exist, but you do not know who any of them are, whereas I can name several cast members of Jersey Shore despite never having seen one episode. Many people know the names of the senator and representative who represent them, although I would argue that far more do not. Ask any weathered political consultant or campaign manager, and they will tell you stories of testing (via poll or focus group) the name recognition of some Connecticut political titan, who is shocked to find out nobody has ever heard of him or her. Political titan: But ... but ......I have been chairman of the Regulation Review Committee since 2007! Political consultant (in tones of deep, deep sorrow): Yes. You have. Legislators think theyre famous because most of their contact is with lobbyists, supplicants and toadies, assuming you think theres any distinction worth making among those three. They are welcomed as honored guests at community functions, etc., etc. We are so thrilled to have you with us tonight, Senator Greasemonkey, at our post-Daffodil Festival awards banquet. (Applause.) In the era of long tail marketing its often better to have 30,000 people who are passionate about you and your work than 300,000 who have a vague, affirmative view of you. But not in elections. Another way to think about this: when was the last time a high-ranking Connecticut legislator went directly from there to the office of governor? The answer, whatever it is, lies outside the scope of my memory, and I have been covering Connecticut politics for so long that I have (for real) a photograph of me and Ella Grasso wearing Army helmets. Themis Klarides has some obvious advantages over her peers. First of all, she is Themis Klarides. The House and Senate combined add up to 187 people. Would you be surprised to know that 41 of them are men named Bob Duff? That is not true, but it might as well be. Themis is a really great name. In Greek mythology, Themis is a titan. Titans were around before gods. Themis is depicted as a figure of judicial equipoise, carrying balanced scales. You never know who our baby is going to turn out to be. A more fitting name would have been Penthesilea, the Amazon queen who led her army to fight alongside the Trojans and, in one account, actually killed Achilles. Themis is colorful. In her salad days, she had an eye-catching role in the arenas of global grappling. She is blunt and funny. There is a video clip circulating on social media in which Klarides holds up two white balls the size of clementines and explains that these are what her fellow legislators need to grow. If Donald Trump ever sees that clip he will appoint her Secretary of Health and Human Services and that will be that. I should add that I like Themis a great deal. She is engaged to marry a dear friend of mine, and she is very good company. I dont agree with her about anything, but I would rather have dinner with her than with any of the 41 Bob Duffs, including Bob Duff 16 and Bob Duff 27, who hold beliefs nearly identical to mine. My hope is that she will win the Republican nomination, and that Ned Lamont, having rescued Connecticut from oblivion, will retire to some tweedy Valhalla and that Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz will emerge as the Democratic nominee, a process that could very well involve the accidental deaths or mysterious poisonings of several mayors and constitutional officers. Then Klarides and Bysiewicz will face each other Penthesilea vs. Xena on the field of battle and there will be blood and chicken feathers and bits of mangled wolverine flesh and the clang of broadsword against leaden shield and the straining of mighty sinews. This is why I take 5,000 units of vitamin D3 and refuse to shake hands with anyone who has recently bowled. So that I can live to cover this gubernatorial campaign. If Bob Stefanowski cared anything about me (or were more afraid of women with swords), he would depart the scene, but he probably wont. And in 2018, Stefanowski persuaded 650,138 people to vote for him, not because he had done anything but because they had seen him on TV, which is also why way more people recognize the name Paris Hilton than recognize the names Jonas Salk or Galileo. Themis will have to do something about that after she leaves the legislature. May I suggest Keeping Up with the Klaridishians? Ill help write the pilot. Colin McEnroes column appears every Sunday, his newsletter comes out every Thursday and you can hear his radio show every weekday on WNPR 90.5. Email him at colin@ctpublic.org. Sign up for his newsletter at http://bit.ly/colinmcenroe. Phuket Opinion: Ripping off the band-aid PHUKET: Over the past month and and half all the lockdown restrictions laid down by national and provincial orders have pointed to an April 30 deadline. The Emergency Decree is set to expire on April 30, the ban on all inbound international passenger flights is set to expire on April 30, domestic flights can take to the skies again after April 30, and the tambon lockdown in Phuket is set to expire on April 30. COVID-19Coronavirushealtheconomicsopinion By The Phuket News Sunday 26 April 2020, 09:00AM A woman carries her child after collecting a government emergency food handout in Patong. Photo: Patong Municipality Yet all that can change with just one announcement. Many reports online have guessed that at least some of the restrictions will be lifted on April 30. They may be right, but so far there has not been a shred of evidence to support that claim. Much of this prediction seems to be pinned on the deadlines mentioned above. Also, when Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana extended all the initial health orders to prevent COVID-19 from spreading, he did so with all the orders marked to expire on April 30. In those last orders, he did not included the previously used standard rider unless otherwise needed. That was just 10 days ago. Yet in announcing the April 30 deadline, even the TAT hedged their bets. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) would like to inform international and domestic tourists that the end date on 30 April, 2020, has been specified in the last order issued by Phuket province, the TAT said in its formal announcement. However, that sentence was immediately followed by, Despite the end date stated on 30 April, 2020, this TAT update does not imply that Phuket will lift its unprecedented Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) control measures thereafter. TAT will constantly monitor the situation and provide more updates as soon as new information becomes available. And there has been no update since. All questions to the Governors Office and Provincial Hall about April 30 have been answered with appeals for calm, and the patience and to wait until an official announcement is made. The answers have come from the Phuket office of the Public Relations Department. Governor Phakaphong, who issued the orders, has not made any public comment to clarify what will happen come the end of next week. Meanwhile, nearly all forms of industry on the island have ground to a halt. Phuket so far has been even been blanked by airlines relaunching domestic flights on May 1. No one can blame them. Without any hint from officials whether or not the tambon lockdown will be lifted, any visitors who land at the airport will not be allowed to travel to anywhere else on the island. While this cloud of lack of clarity emanates from our leading officials, many teams of people across the island are doing their best to provide free food to people who already do not have enough to eat. Local municipalities have been working hard to hand out the government emergency food supplies, but their efforts have fallen short, plainly evidenced by the huge charity drive by non-government efforts, which The Phuket News wholeheartedly supports. To be clear, there is no win scenario for the central government in this. If the huge number of people turning up to claim free food each day are already in urgent need of food, the central governments emergency supply system has failed them. If cynics would like to accuse these people of just hoarding, then either way the government has failed them if hoarding the emergency food is so these people can sell it on, that would be a black market that the government has created; and if the people are hoarding this food because they intend to eat it themselves later, if they are that poor they should have it. If comments online and the ongoing poll by The Phuket News are any guide, most people are expecting only a partial lifting of the lockdown restrictions. If the government feels the need to keep key restrictions in place to help prevent the spread of the virus, they seem to have public opinion on their side. Yet, what started out as a health decision soon also became an economic decision, and is now political decision. Sooner or later the decision will need to be made how much suffering is enough, for those who exposure to the virus may cause serious suffering, or even death, and for those suffering economic hardship. It is by no means any easy decision to make. For a country where gambling is illegal, this is a big one but the decision will have to be made soon. A 52-year-old Mumbai police constable who contracted the coronavirus disease died on Sunday, officials said. It was the second Covid-19 fatality in the Mumbai police department in 24 hours. Mumbai police regrets to inform you of the sad demise of Head Constable Sandip Surve, aged 52. Shri. Surve had been fighting Coronavirus for the past few days. Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with his family and loved ones, Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh tweeted. A senior Mumbai police officer, who did not want to be named, said the constable, who was with the protection branch, was admitted to MGM Hospital in Panvel on April 23. He passed away at the hospital around 7.30 am. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. The family has been informed and the cremation will be done in Navi Mumbai where the constable used to stay, the officer said. His contact history is being traced He had been travelling in a public transport bus all the way from Navi Mumbai to his south Mumbai office till he fell sick in the third week of April, the officer added. Surve received treatment for cancer in 2017, according to the officer. On Saturday, a 57-year-old police head constable undergoing treatment for Covid-19 died at the BYL Nair Hospital. Pranaya Ashok, deputy commissioner of police (operation) and a spokesperson for the Mumbai Police, said about 39 police personnel had tested positive for Covid-19 in Mumbai and are undergoing treatment at various hospitals. We are avoiding the deployment of older and physically weak in front-line areas, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON While the demand for PPE is increasing amid coronavirus pandemic, two Vietnamese kids donated 20,000 medical masks to the United Kingdom. Truong Thi Linh Nhan and Truong Cao Khoi used their lucky money to help Britain tackle the deadly virus. The British Embassy in Hanoi also informed that the masks were sent to the UK successfully last week on a commercial flight which repatriated 100 British nationals. According to a press release from the embassy, British Ambassador to Vietnam, Gareth Ward, said, "I am glad that you, who are at very young ages, care about the world and have contributed to the fight against the virus. I believe that your gift is really meaningful to doctors, nurses and healthcare workers in the UK, who are working around the clock to fight against the virus and save peoples lives. READ: UK Visa Surcharge For Overseas Doctors Under Review, Says Priti Patel 'Hopeful about future' Gareth also said the childrens gift was really meaningful. The embassy also tweeted that the kids had been saving their lucky money, which is a Vietnamese Lunar New Year tradition, for a few years. Gareth thanked the kids and said that they make him feel hopeful about the future. Furthermore, he added that if everyone played a part during such unprecedented times, he believes that the world can overcome this pandemic. Two kids in Hanoi recently gifted 20K medical masks to , using the lucky money" that they've saved up for a few years. These masks have been sent to successfully on our special commercial flight last week. Many thanks Nhan & Khoi! You can read Amb. @GarethWardUK's letter pic.twitter.com/02s3VIZ4lv UK in Vietnam (@UKinVietnam) April 24, 2020 READ: UK Hospital Deaths From Coronavirus Cross Grim 20,000 Milestone Meanwhile, as of April 26, UK has recorded over 133,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection with at least 18,100 casualties. UK government announced that its currently social distancing will remain in place for at least another three weeks, going up to May 7. Furthermore, the authorities also announced a Vaccine Taskforce in a bid to drive forward, expedite and co-ordinate efforts to research and then produce a coronavirus vaccine. READ: UK Govt Dismisses Report Of PM's Advisors On COVID-19 Scientific Committee READ: Empty UK Hospital Wards Amid Fears Of Hidden Crisis 337 Shares Share A few weeks ago, I met Mr. T, a 96-year-old man admitted to the hospital from a nursing home. With numerous chronic medical problems and another hospitalization preceding his nursing home stay, Mr. T had been clear about his wishes. After spending a few nights in the ICU without improvement, he and his wife had opted to pursue hospice care. Following his transfer from the ICU onto my wards team, Mrs. T was finally given permission to visit him in the hospital. Due to the nursing home and hospitals strict visitor policy during the COVID-19 pandemic, she had not seen her husband for over two weeks. Their lifetime together had been shattered within just a few weeks: Mrs. T lamented that she had spoken to her husband only once for three minutes by telephone during his entire ten days at the nursing home. By the time she arrived at the hospital, he was no longer communicating. Though we couldnt have a conversation with Mr. T, his wife offered us glimpses of his life: Hardship as a Japanese-American during World War II. Parents who were forcefully relocated to internment camps. A veteran of the famed 442nd Infantry Regiment, wounded in the battle to save the Lost Battalion from Texas. A Bronze Star, two Purple Hearts, and the French Legion of Honor. Marriage in 1946, and then, a child. Honorary Texan since 1962. It was 2:00 AM when his nurse Mary, who had been caring for him for the past few nights, paged me that he had stopped breathing. I walked down the wings long, sleepy hallway to a large room with bay windows that gave rise to a city skyline enshrouded in fog. In the corner of the room was his wife, simply sitting and holding his hand. After pronouncing her husband, I sat down with Mrs. T and asked what her plan was. Even through her grief, she remained dignified and thoughtful. Their son lived a few hours away. She wanted to wait to call with the news, to grant him a few extra hours of sleep. She felt unsafe taking a cab home alone at that hour and planned to wait until sunrise. During the pandemic, visitor lounges in the hospital were closed, so this meant staying in his room. Mary and I glanced at each other, thinking the same thing: neither of us could imagine being alone for several hours with a recently deceased partner of 73 years. His care team sprang into action. Mary, several nurses on the floor, the on-call chaplain, and I alternated sitting with Mrs. T for the remainder of the night. At dawn, Mrs. T finally departed, and I like to think we alleviated some of her loneliness and suffering. In times of crisis, it is human nature to want to come together. Ironically, during the coronavirus pandemic, we are forced to stay apart. This disease turns a blind eye to human companionship. That Mr. T tested negative for COVID-19 did not matter. Global pandemics beget feelings of isolation, even if by proxy of well-intentioned and necessary visitor policies: Mr. T spent 15 of the final 20 days of his life separated from his wife a stark contrast to their 73 years together. The emotional toll of Mrs. Ts inexpressible grief was compounded by my guilt that the health care system had failed to treat her with compassion. Mrs. Ts experience is not an isolated incident in recent times; we all have heard countless similar stories that challenge our faith in how medicine can hold on to its humanity when it is overwhelmed. What does it mean for health care if during a pandemic we have no time to care? Through my experience with Mr. and Mrs. T, I learned that protecting medicines humanity during COVID-19 demands an intentional effort. I see that I must communicate with patients and families more than ever before, perhaps leveraging novel solutions to overcome the absence of a physical connection. I have heard moving stories from doctors who witnessed dozens of family members say their virtual goodbyes to a loved one through a video call facilitated by a kindhearted nurse. I am inspired by stories of fellow residents who, while quarantined at home, are calling families to provide updates and emotional support in order to offload their overstretched colleagues in the hospital. These efforts are not without their drawbacks: our most vulnerable patients are often the ones without smartphones, and no technology is a substitute for an in-person bond. But precisely because of these limitations, it seems to me that even the smallest acts of humanity and kindness can be magnified during a challenging time. I now understand that consciously addressing the emotional burden of COVID-19 or indeed, any illness is equally as important as searching for life-saving treatments. I thank Mrs. T for allowing me to share Mr. Ts and her story. I thank Calvin Chou for his mentorship and for encouraging me to share this story, and Eric Lee, Timothy Dyster, and Harry Han for their comments on this piece. Manoj Maddali is an internal medicine resident. Image credit: Shutterstock.com Authorities in five southern provinces in Yemen have rejected a separatist group's claim to self-rule, further heightening tensions among ostensive allies in the Saudi-led coalition battling Iran-aligned rebels Authorities in five southern provinces in Yemen on Sunday rejected a separatist group's claim to self rule, further heightening tensions among ostensive allies in the Saudi-led coalition battling Iran-aligned rebels elsewhere in the country. The separatists' Southern Transitional Council, which is backed by the United Arab Emirates, scrapped a peace deal with the Saudi-backed government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and declared a state of emergency overnight. The separatists said they would ``self-govern'' the key southern port city of Aden and other southern provinces, accusing the government of corruption and mismanagement. The government said local and security authorities in the provinces of Hadramawt, Abyan, Shabwa, al-Mahra and the remote island of Socotra dismissed the move as a ``clear and definite coup.`` Some of the provinces issued their own statements condemning it. The separatists overran Aden, the temporary seat of Hadi's government, and key southern provinces in August. The STC seeks the return of the independent state that existed in the south until 1990. In November, the two sides reached a power-sharing agreement meant to end the infighting and unify ranks against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. But the agreement has yet to be implemented. Yemen's civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis took control of the country's north, including the capital, Sanaa. A Saudi-led military coalition intervened against the rebels on the side of the government the following year. The conflict has killed over 100,000 people and created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, leaving millions suffering from food and medical shortages. Search Keywords: Short link: The IRS is recalling 'mission-critical' employees back to their offices, but is telling them they need to bring their own face masks to work because the IRS may not have enough masks for them. About 10,000 IRS employees are expected to be recalled to work in 10 locations, the National Treasure Employees Union told Politico. They would be responsible for opening mail from tax payers, handling tax documents and other urgent tax-filing season needs, as well as working on doling out paper check stimulus payments. The IRS said in an internal memo that it would be mandatory to wear face coverings inside IRS buildings starting Monday, but admitted it didn't have supplies to give returning employees. The IRS is recalling 10,000 workers to handle upcoming tax deadline needs and economic stimulus payments, but doesn't have enough protective gear for those workers to use 'Although the IRS is seeking to procure personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks and gloves, each IRS facility may not be able to initially procure the PPE for all employees immediately,' the IRS said the memo. 'Employees are therefore required to bring personal face coverings for their nose and mouth area when they come to work.' In an internal memo, the IRS said face coverings were mandatory, but workers would need to bring their own, and suggested they make them out of t-shirts or bandannas (as pictured) It recommended that workers make face coverings with t-shirts or bandannas if necessary, but to make sure that the face masks did not bear offensive or inappropriate text or images. Workers were told that if they worked in private offices or had individual cubicles with barrier walls, they could remove the face masks, but would need to replace them when going into common areas. 'An employee who fails to adhere to the requirements in the memo may be required to return home until such time the employee adheres to these requirements. Please remember, the intent of this requirement is to ensure the health and safety of all our employees and their families,' the memo concluded. The memo was made public by members of the House Ways and Means committee Saturday. Committee chairman Rep. Richard Neal and oversight subcommittee head Rep. John Lewis, said that while they understood the need for the IRS to recall workers 'back to work during perilous times' to carry out the department's mission, not providing appropriate protective gear was a major issue. In a statement, Neal and Lewis said: 'It is completely irresponsible and unethical for the IRS to demand those workers obtain their own protective equipment this is the responsibility of the federal government to its workers.' They also noted that the IRS 'is expecting entirely too much of employees who are likely distraught over the health risks returning to work presents for themselves and for their families, as well as the potential repercussions they could face if they do not clock in on Monday with the mandated equipment in-hand.' The internal memo was shared by House Ways and Means committee chairman Rep. Richard Neal (left) and oversight subcommittee head Rep. John Lewis (right) who said in a statement that it was the government's job to provide protective gear to recalled workers IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig had previously told congressional staff that 100 IRS employees have been diagnosed with coronavirus and that four had died. Reardon said the IRS is asking for its workers to volunteer to come back to the office and offering them incentive pay, but that it would order workers to come in if not enough people stepped up. The union is working with the IRS to ensure that buildings have appropriate cleaning and disinfecting supplies, as well as enough social distancing space and protective gear. The IRS employs 73,000 workers across the US. It started closing all of its processing and taxpayer assistance center at the end of March and shut down its last location on April 8. Since then, thousands of employees have been working from home. But, with the encroaching, postponed July 15 tax filing date coming up as well as the need to start sending out economic stimulus paper checks to millions of Americans, the IRS now needs workers in the offices. The IRS has not yet issued a comment about the issue. Jakarta: An Indonesian court has convicted six activists of treason for organising a protest demanding independence for the easternmost province of Papua, in a verdict slammed by rights groups. The peaceful protest of about 100 people had been held outside the presidential palace and military headquarters on August 28 in the capital of Jakarta and followed a period of unrest in Papua. Papuan students, their faces painted in the colours of the banned Morning Star flag, protest in Jakarta on August 28. Credit:Getty Images In a sentencing hearing on Friday held online due to the coronavirus outbreak, Judge Agustinus Setya Wahyu Triwiranto said he had found the six defendants "guilty of treason". Activists Ambrosius Mulait, Surya Anta, Charles Kossay, Dano Tabuni, and Arina Elopere were convicted and sentenced to nine months in prison, while Isay Wenda was given an eight-month sentence. Nine baby saltwater crocodiles are on the loose after escaping through a fence in an animal park enclosure. Eleven reptiles broke out of the Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park in Broome, Western Australia and two of them were later found on Cable Beach last week. Park owner Valerie Douglas believes the crocodiles escaped through a fence that had been damaged in a cyclone. 'The eleven hatchlings escaped from a nest that was missed by staff when they were collecting eggs in January, and some of them got away,' she told the ABC. One of the escaped baby saltwater crocodiles that was found on Cable Beach after escaping from the Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park Eleven hatchlings are believed to have escaped through a hole in a fence in the facility, with two of them found and returned Ms Douglas said the tiny crocodiles were too small to be a threat to people or pets. It is not the first time crocodiles have escaped from the facility, with a 20-centimetre croc recently found in a drain near the park. At least six crocodiles went missing after a break-in at the site in 2016, with one run over by a car in a car park near the facility and another found swimming in a neighbouring swimming pool. A 15-month-old crocodile named Cinnamon went missing in 2019 and has yet to be found by authorities. Park owner Valerie Douglas said the tiny crocodiles are not a threat to humans or pets Police believe the reptiles were stolen on both occasions. Ms Douglas assured the park was building new fencing to prevent another break-out. 'Everything's under control and we are making changes so it doesn't happen again,' she said. Locals are encouraged to call the Broome Parks and Wildlife Service if they find a crocodile to see if it belongs to the facility. A Russian pipelaying vessel expected to complete the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany is now headed for Northern European waters, S&P Global Platts trade flow software cFlow showed Friday. The Akademik Cherskiy has been widely billed as a replacement for the Allseas' vessels that laid the majority of the 55 Bcm/year line before US sanctions in December last year forced the Swiss company to halt work. Just 160 km of Nord Stream 2 is left to lay in Danish waters out of the total 2,460 km length. The Akademik Cherskiy -- which has the dynamic positioning capabilities requested by the Danish license to operate -- left the port of Nakhodka in eastern Russia in early February. It has since travelled through Southeast Asia and around the Cape of Good Hope before moving northward up Africa's western coast and now reaching the waters off northern Spain. The Nord Stream 2 operating company, asked by Platts to confirm whether the Akademik Cherskiy was the vessel earmarked to complete the pipeline, said only that it was "actively looking for solutions" to finish the pipelaying work. "All other works like the completion of landfalls and offshore works for stabilizing the pipeline continue as planned," a spokesman for Nord Stream 2 said Friday. "We and the companies supporting our project are convinced that the soonest possible commissioning of the pipeline is in the interest of Europe's energy security," he added. A train likely belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been spotted at a resort town in the country's east, satellite photos reviewed by a US-based think tank showed, as speculation persists over his health. The train was parked at a station reserved for the Kim family in Wonsan on April 21 and April 23, the respected 38North website, which provides in-depth analysis of North Korea, said in a report published Saturday. While 38North cautioned that the train's presence "does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health", South Korean officials said Kim is alive and well and located at the resort. "Kim Jong Un is alive and well. He has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13. No suspicious movements have so far been detected, Moon Chung-in, the top foreign policy adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, told CNN. Satellite photos show the train at a station reserved for the family of Kim Jong Un in Wonsan. Source: AFP "Our government position is firm." There has been growing conjecture about Kim's health since his conspicuous absence from the April 15 celebrations for the birthday of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, the regime's founder the most important day on the North Korean political calendar. Kim has not made a public appearance since presiding over a meeting of the Workers' Party politburo on April 11 and inspecting drills by fighter jets at an air defence unit, which was reported by state media on April 12. Trump questions Kim speculation Daily NK, an online media outlet run mostly by North Korean defectors, has reported Kim underwent a cardiovascular procedure earlier this month and was recovering at a villa in North Pyongan province. Citing an unidentified source inside the country, it said Kim, who is in his mid-30s, had needed urgent treatment due to heavy smoking, obesity and fatigue. South Korea, which is still technically at war with the North, has played down the report. Speculation over North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un's health has been rife in recent days. Source: Getty CNN, quoting what it said was an anonymous US official, reported that Washington was "monitoring intelligence" that Kim was in "grave danger" after undergoing surgery. Story continues But on Thursday, US President Donald Trump rejected reports that Kim was ailing. "I think the report was incorrect," Trump told reporters, but declined to state when he was last in touch with him. "We have a good relationship with North Korea, as good as you can have," he said. Trump has met Kim three times in historic summitry and has voiced admiration for him, although hopes have dimmed for reaching a comprehensive agreement. Reporting from inside the isolated North is notoriously difficult, especially on anything to do with its leadership, which is among its most closely guarded secrets. On Thursday, citing an unidentified government official, South Korean broadcaster SBS reported that Kim appeared to have been in Wonsan for at least the past four days and would soon return to the public eye. The report added that the military was monitoring Kim's train, which had been seen in Wonsan, while his personal jet frequently used by Kim on his trips to Wonsan remained in Pyongyang. Previous absences from the public eye on Kim's part have prompted speculation about his health. In 2014 he dropped out of sight for nearly six weeks before reappearing with a cane. Days later, the South's spy agency said he had undergone surgery to remove a cyst from his ankle. With AFP Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play. Michael Nuzum had spent weeks fighting coronavirus-like symptoms a wracking cough, terrible chills, an exhausting fever before collapsing at his home in rural West Virginia. Mr. Nuzum, a 54-year-old animal control worker, was already in cardiac arrest when the emergency workers arrived on April 3. That left them with a difficult decision: Should they transport their patient to the nearest hospital, 30 minutes away? Theres only so much one paramedic can do in the back of an ambulance, said Michael Angelucci, who leads the Marion County rescue squad that cared for Mr. Nuzum. The two-person team that responded decided it couldnt risk the long ride and instead tried to revive the patient at the scene. But the workers couldnt save him. Two weeks earlier, the options would have been different. Fairmont Regional Medical Center, just five minutes from Mr. Nuzums home, would still have been open. Mr. Angelucci, who is also a state representative, cant help wondering if the hospital and its emergency room could have given the man a fighting chance. Virgin Atlantic, the UK-based airline that British billionaire Sir Richard Branson established in 1984, might not live to see 2021. That's the upshot of a blog entry that Branson penned on the Virgin Atlantic website earlier this week. But what will that mean for Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE)? A "devastating ... pandemic" and "unprecedented crisis" have grounded most of Virgin Atlantic's airplanes and starved the company of cash flow. The billionaire doesn't have the cash to save it, either -- his $5.8 billion net worth is tied up in "the value of Virgin businesses around the world." Branson's partner in owning Virgin Atlantic, Delta Airlines (NYSE:DAL), has problems of its own. With much of its own fleet grounded, and its cash burning away at the rate of $100 million a day, Delta lacks any cash to help out Virgin Atlantic. And when Branson approached the government of the United Kingdom seeking a $620 million commercial loan to help keep Virgin Atlantic afloat, the government demurred. Against the ropes and with the clock running out, Branson offered to mortgage his own private Caribbean island as security for a loan this week. So far, no one has taken him up on the offer -- and Britain's Guardian newspaper worries that Virgin Atlantic could be "going bust." Will bad news for Virgin Atlantic be even worse for Virgin Galactic? All of this bad news for Virgin Atlantic bled over to Branson's other famous "air"-line this week. On Tuesday, shares of would-be space tourism company Virgin Galactic stock suddenly rolled over and sank 12%. Virgin Galactic stock, which topped $37 a share back in February before COVID-19 tanked the market, has lost more than half its value in the two months since. Although the shares began reviving in early April, Virgin Galactic has struggled along with the rest of the market to maintain momentum, and resumed its downward drift about a week ago. Now, its downward spiral seems to be accelerating. But how is this connected to Virgin Atlantic? Well, consider: The last time we heard from Virgin Galactic on the subject of earnings, there ... weren't any. Having yet to actually fly a single commercial flight, Virgin Galactic did barely half a million dollars in revenue in all of Q4 2019. Meanwhile, the heavy investments needed to ready its VMS Eve carrier aircraft and VSS Unity spaceplane for safe transport of tourists to space are pushing Virgin Galactic into deeper and deeper losses with every passing quarter: $42 million lost in Q1 2019. $44 million lost in Q2. $51 million lost in Q3. And finally, $73 million lost in Q4. And suffice it to say that if Branson doesn't have the cash he needs to salvage his 36-year investment in his flagship company, Virgin Atlantic, he probably also doesn't have a lot of resources to spare for Virgin Galactic. If Virgin Galactic is going to survive this recession, it's probably going to have to do so on its own. Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play? Now, it's not all bad news. If Virgin Atlantic's big problem right now is that the COVID-19 pandemic has dried up its sales, then Virgin Galactic's situation is a bit different. On the one hand, no, Virgin Galactic has no sales right now -- but on the other hand, it also has no sales to lose. As business magazine Barron's recently commented, "COVID-19 can't hurt companies with no sales." Granted, there are the company's continuing GAAP losses to consider. But here, too, Virgin Galactic is not without a defense. Thanks to its 2019 merger with Social Capital Hedosophia, Virgin Galactic is heading into this recession with $480 million in cash in the bank. Furthermore, 600 customers having already prepaid a further $83.4 million in deposits against the ticket cost of their future flights, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, and other deposits can be expected via the company's recently announced "One Small Step" program. Despite the high and rising losses the company has been reporting, that's probably still enough cash to see it through the end of 2020 and into 2021, at which point Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides predicts the company will see a "ramp up in our revenue and cash flows," and the "business will really gain momentum." Whitesides is probably right about the company's ability to ramp sales, too. In Virgin Galactic's Q4 conference call, the CEO revealed that, in addition to its 600 firm reservations, Virgin Galactic has 7,957 people who have signed up on its website, signaling interest in paying a reported $250,000 a ticket on future flights to the edge of space. If Virgin Galactic can make it through 2020 recession, and if it can launch Mr. Branson into space this year, as it has promised to do, and then build more spaceplanes and make more launches in 2021 to accommodate that large waiting list of would-be customers -- then things could still work out well for Virgin Galactic. And Sir Richard Branson may not even have to mortgage any islands to make it happen. As hospitals struggle amid the coronavirus pandemic with limited personal protective equipment, a flood of patients in need of critical care, and exhausted staff theres another threat that could make the situation dramatically worse: cybersecurity attacks. Were seeing an increase in attacks, said Justine Bone, CEO of MedSec, a cybersecurity consulting firm that specializes in hospitals. Bone said one of her clients, a medium-sized hospital in the southeastern U.S. with mature security infrastructure, has seen a 75% increase in attempted attacks, compared to two months ago. Unfortunately, a lot of hospitals arent as resilient as other clients, she said. At a time like this, these hospitals are likely to pay. A few weeks ago one of the Czech Republics biggest COVID-19 testing facilities got hit by a heavy cyberattack, which struck the hospitals computer systems badly enough that the disruption caused them to reroute patients to other hospitals and surgeries to be postponed. A doctor with a face mask to protect from coronavirus works in his office on a computer during a presentation for media of new emergency rooms at the University Hospital in Essen, Germany, Thursday, March 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) In Illinois, the Champaign-Urbana hospital was hit with a ransomware attack in mid-March, disrupting the hospitals computers at a very inconvenient time. Even without the public health crisis adding stress to the situation, cybersecurity experts see hospitals as already vulnerable in myriad ways, from how their networks are laid out, the types of devices that are on the network, and the high stakes of the industry for health care workers, patients, and criminals. A viable business model for scammers At the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, many cybercriminals said they wouldnt go after hospitals during this difficult time, Bone said. While this might sound like a nice gesture, it doesnt seem to be true. The first thing you have to remember is youre dealing with criminals, said Tyler Hudak, who works with hospitals as incident response practice lead at TrustedSec, a cybersecurity firm, and former team lead for Mayo Clinics security operations center. You cant trust their word to begin with. Story continues With hospitals stretched to their limits, they are more likely to pay, something that attackers know. When a hospitals network and system is held for ransom, the attackers usually have deleted all the backups they could find beforehand, making it very difficult for the hospital to avoid paying. Weve seen ransoms in the $1,000 range all the way up to six-figures, Hudak said. Bone pointed out that this is a very viable business model for these perpetrators that is only getting more lucrative. Medical Workers and Police are seen at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, New York. (Photo by: John Nacion/STAR MAX/IPx) On top of that a new trend in ransomware where theyre exfiltrating and stealing data before holding hospitals hostage, she said. Peoples medical files are significantly more valuable than their financial data, she added. If you think about a credit card number, it can very easily be changed. But blood type or other medical history is info that is static," she said. "It's highly reliable data that can be used much more effectively. While financial data is useful to perpetrate identity theft, Bone said that medical data is especially sought after for similar purposes. Hospitals are easy targets for attacks Hospitals, in the business of treating the sick and saving lives, are naturally a high-stakes industry. But from a technical standpoint, theyre often far less secure than they should be. A lot of these hospitals have large flat networks, Bone said. A nurses workstation could be on the same network as a highly sensitive medical device that might be delivering therapy to a patient. The lack of network segmentation having firewalls between different parts of the hospitals network means that if one part of the network is compromised with a fairly simple attack, the malware can spread uninhibited, leaving the entire system open to ransomware. In the best of times, having patient records and a hospital network be brought to its knees would be a massive problem. In the past, hospitals have resorted to paper and pen operations, but todays environment of connected medical devices means its possible an attack could even accidentally bring a critical device like a ventilator to a halt and endanger a patient. This is what my company spends a lot of time thinking about, said Bone. Bone added that its not just a Hollywood thriller scenario where people are held hostage thats the problem, but that even when a network is scanned by a bad actor looking for files or control or a security professional checking on the system that can be enough to knock an older medical device offline. [Hackers] might be deploying a ransomware campaign now, and its possible medical devices could be caught up in that net, which is a much scarier scenario than ransomware, said Bone. Thats really where it can interfere in patients' safety. Without causing fear and panic, I think its entirely feasible hospitals will be put in a position where they cant deliver healthcare as a result of a ransomware attack. Out of date medical equipment, she said, makes this the perfect storm for hackers. The first course of action for cybersecurity defense is usually to update software to install security patches. But in this case, some devices, designed to last far longer than consumer electronics, might be running ancient software that hasnt received an update in years. The inside of an MRI youll often find XP, an unsupported operating system, Bone said. Furthermore, with the rush of mobilization of devices to combat the COVID crisis, many hospitals have no idea where their devices are let alone whether they are secure. But thats not all. As patients cant visit the hospital for follow ups and routine visits, hospitals have finally embraced telemedicine, using remote technology to allow healthcare providers to provide certain types of care. Rolling out remote telemedicine platforms is very hard to manage in the best of times, said Bone, adding that it was traditionally under-resourced since its a new technology that hasnt yet taken the place of in-person visits. How attacks happen and how to fix them Bad actors often go after hospitals through phishing, but theyre also especially vulnerable because of the amount of people who come in and out without monitoring. If someone just came in and plugged a USB device into a computer, that could be enough. I have seen attacks where a patient plugs into the hospital network and starts scanning it, said TrustedSecs Hudak. It could also come via one of the many third-party vendors of medical equipment, from an internet-of-things device, to the point-of-sale device used in the cafeteria. Any of these can be vectors for any type of attack, said Hudak, adding that even slowing down a network could be a critical issue for a hospital. Machines like these brain-scanning MRI devices often use ancient operating systems like Windows XP, which no longer receives security updates. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File) Attacks can happen in a matter of seconds. The 2017 ransomware attack on the U.K.s National Health Service by the Wannacry virus took around 30 seconds to compromise the system, Hudak said. The attacks are often guided by humans, who search the network for critical systems to take over and potentially valuable information to mine, a phenomenon Microsoft calls human operated ransomware. An attacker will trawl the system, deleting the backups, adding privileges, and finding the virtual keys to the kingdom, the whole time trying to figure out how to hurt the hospital the most. They make sure the organization has to pay so they make it hurt as much as possible, said Hudak. Hospitals and security pros are responding While most large hospitals have solid security protocols and are able to deal with attacks, cybersecurity professionals are most worried about small and medium-sized facilities without large teams to deal with these threats. Many hospitals do realize they may be at risk and have been working to steel themselves against attacks with the help of cybersecurity experts, often working at reduced or pro-bono rates. This is key because surveys show that very few small hospitals conduct phishing simulations and many dont even use two-factor authentication. A number of groups spun up to work towards making sure hospitals have resources available externally for them, said Hudak. Typically smaller hospitals don't have security teams or limited budgets so now they have some place to go if they do need help. Some of that help has come from larger hospitals working with their smaller counterparts, Bone said, and that medical device companies are stepping in to help smaller hospitals as they often have cybersecurity know-how. But even if there doesnt end up being a major uptick in attacks right now, Bone and Hudak are concerned that hacks are still happening perhaps more so, given the vulnerability with the ransom just postponed. Going forward, Bone thinks the potential for ransomware damage may prompt regulation similar to what was seen with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). I would not be surprised if we see a fair bit of discussion [about hospital cybersecurity] after the increased exposure to hospitals regarding COVID-19, said Bone. Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance focusing on consumer issues, personal finance, retail, airlines, and more. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann. Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, and YouTube. : Shirley998 (), : Travel : Virus pushes US unemployment toward highest since Depression: 5 Weeks, 26 Million Claims : the shutdowns have sparked : BBS (Sat Apr 25 22:59:53 2020, ) Unemployment in the U.S. has swelled to levels last seen during the Great Depression of the 1930s, with 1 in 6 American workers thrown out of a job by the coronavirus. More than 4.4 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, the government said Thursday. In all, roughly 26 million people more than the population of the six biggest U.S. cities combined have now filed for jobless aid in five weeks, an epic collapse that has raised the stakes in the debate over how and when to lift the state-ordered stay-at -home restrictions that have closed factories and other businesses from coast to coast. Abroad, there was mixed news about the epidemic. Some countries, including Greece, Bangladesh and Malaysia, announced extensions of their lockdowns. Vietnam, New Zealand and Croatia were among those moving to end or ease such measures. In Africa, COVID-19 cases rose 43% in the past week, up from 16,000 to 26, 000 cases, according to John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The figures underscored a recent warning from the World Health Organization that the virus could kill more than 300, 000 people in Africa and push 30 million into desperate poverty. Huge lines have formed at food banks from El Paso, Texas, to the Paris suburbs, and food shortages are hitting Africa especially hard. The European Union has pledged 20 billion euros ($22 billion) to help vulnerable communities globally. EU leaders scheduled a virtual summit Thursday to take stock of the damage the crisis has inflicted on the blocs own citizens and to work out an economic rescue plan. The coronavirus has killed over 184,000 people worldwide, including about 47 ,000 in the United States, according to a tally compiled by John Hopkins University from official government figures. The true numbers are almost certainly far higher. New 'Genius Pill' Finally Legalized! IQ Booster (Try It) Smart Life Reports Ads by Revcontent In the U.S., the economic consequences of the shutdowns have sparked angry rallies in state capitals by protesters demanding that businesses reopen, and President Donald Trump has expressed impatience over the restrictions. Some governors have begun easing up despite warnings from health authorities that it may be too soon to do so without sparking new infections. In Georgia, gyms, hair salons and bowling alleys can reopen Friday. Texas has reopened its state parks. C READ MORE -- :WWW mitbbs.com [FROM: 39.] (Newser) Coronavirus survivors may not be getting "immunity passports" after all. The ideawhich has gained some ground in Europeis that passport holders would be immune to COVID-19 and able to re-enter society. But the World Health Organization warned Friday that there's "no evidence" of infected people developing antibodies that protect them against another infection, the BBC reports. "At this point in the pandemic, there is not enough evidence about the effectiveness of antibody-mediated immunity to guarantee the accuracy of an 'immunity passport' or 'risk-free certificate,'" WHO said in a statement. In fact, the world-health body warned that passports could make matters worse if holders "assume that they are immune" and "ignore public health advice." story continues below Britain is among countries toying with the immunity-passport idea, per the Guardian, but the science seems far from certain. Reports from South Korea and China describe patients getting reinfected after they had apparently recovered; one expert says the virus might even "reactivate" itself. Most studies do show antibodies in the blood of COVID-19 survivors, but some antibody levels are low, which suggests that T-cells, another factor in the body's immune system, might be a vital element of recovery. Belgian virologist Marc Van Ranst warns that immunity passports might also be faked, and people might purposely infect themselves to get one. "This is just not a good idea," he tells the BBC. "It is an extremely bad idea." (Read more coronavirus stories.) Help India! By Mohib Ahmad, TwoCircles.net Hate crimes against Indian Muslims had skyrocketed after BJP stalwart Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, gaining more fuel after his landslide victory in 2019. This year, the biggest communal carnage so far happened around the Delhi assembly elections, just two months back. The Capital was rocked by targeted anti-Muslim violence killing 53and injuring hundreds. Victims include 22-year-old Ashfaq Hussain who had got married on Valentines Day and murdered just ten days later with five bullet wounds to his young body. Also killed was 85-year-old Akberi, who was too old to run when her house was set on fire by a bloodthirsty mob. The violence continued unchecked for two days without much resistance from the Delhi Police that reports up to the Home Minister of India, Amit Shah. At least 16 mosques across northeast Delhi were attacked, copies of Quran burnt and, gas cylinders were used to cause maximum damage. Support TwoCircles None of this is happening in a vacuum but is enabled by an insidious propaganda campaign against Muslims, supporters of which live not just in India but outside as well. In this month only, multiple reports of Indian residents in the UAE spreading Islamophobic rhetoric have surfaced on social media. One Hindu employee was sacked and two others are facing legal troubles for promoting Islamophobic messages. On Twitter, Princess Hend Al Qassimi highlighted anti-Muslim messages of yet another Hindu resident and other notable figures in the region took cognizance as well. Amidst a growing backlash, the ambassador to the UAE was forced to put out a statement advising Indian nationals not to indulge in such activities. There are over 3 million Indians living in the UAE of which majority are Hindus. While most of them are peace-loving and hard-working having contributed immensely to development, yet, there are some who use resources and influence they have built to spread propaganda and hate speech. Both Amit Shah and Narendra Modi belong to Indias ruling party, the BJP, but had started their careers in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a militant organization that leads the larger Hindutva movement. Modis electoral triumphs have brought to mainstream the deep-seated hatred many Hindutva followers have felt towards Muslims. It is increasingly clear that some Indian Hindus who live in foreign countries such as the UAE ascribe to the same ideology. It is important to note the hatred towards Indian Muslims stems from anti-Arab and Islamophobic sentiments. In a revealing moment in 2017, Modi had remarked that the vision of Hamid Ansari, the outgoing vice president of India is limited because he spent most of his time as a diplomat in Muslim countries, including UAE and Saudi Arabia. He posited that Ansaris experience working among Muslims hindered his ability to perform constitutional duties. These convictions that otherize Muslims are deeply rooted in the Hindutva ideology. Vinayak Savarkar, the progenitor of the movement appropriated India as pitrabhumi (fatherland) and punyabhumi (holy land) for Hindus. With their holy places elsewhere, Muslims and Christians are considered misfits who could not truly be a part of the nation. In the collective imagination of the Hindutva movement, Arabs are invaders who brought Islam to India and most Muslims in India were forcibly converted into Islam therefore needing them brought back to Hinduism through a campaign called gharwapsi (back to home). This unabated popularizing of the ideology through mass media, films, TV series, prime time debates and social media, in addition to Modis electoral success has emboldened his followers at home and abroad to spread their Islamophobic messages with impunity. When Modi had first visited the UAE in 2015, he was greeted by a crowd of 40,000. Be it Houston or Dubai, some of his most enthusiastic supporters are non-resident Indians. It is unfortunate but the extremist Hindus in UAE are drinking from the same well of hate as their ideological brethren in India that spreads the Hindutva world view otherizing and dehumanizing Muslims. After his emphatic re-election in 2019, the UAE awarded Modi with its highest civilian honor. As if on cue, he barreled through parliament the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a blatantly anti-Muslim piece of legislation to reduce Muslims to second class citizens. Despite nationwide protests, the BJP sees no reason to correct its course because in his mind, it has its own rewards. But UAE that aligns with its Vision 2020, is a wealthy, powerful Muslim country that has a significant Hindu population and it becomes a moral imperative for it to combat Islamophobia locally and globally. It should start by providing sensitivity training about Islam to all foreign workers. The training could either be part of the visa approval process ordelegated to HR departments in individual companies. Also, creating a basic framework in schools that highlights the contribution of Muslims and Arabs to mathematics, science, arts and culture would help address propaganda and prejudice. Additionally, the UAE should work closely with its Hindu religious and community leaders to ensure hate speech isnt normalized. UAE had passed a legislation in 2015 that outlaws all religious or racial discrimination. It should be accompanied by a public relations and community outreach campaign that addresses some of the stereotypes against Muslims while emphasizing legal repercussions for the violators. Emirati political and business leaders as well as reputed civic leaders should be engaged as part of that campaign. If there are acts of violence in India against Muslims, Hindu leaders in UAE have a responsibility to speak out. In a country with more than 80% of its population born outside the country, UAE has been incredibly welcoming to foreigners, irrespective of race or religion. As UAE gets ready to usher into its golden jubilee, it has the opportunity to exemplify the spirit of religious tolerance and mutual understanding and acceptance to the world. Mohib Ahmad is an Indian-American Muslim living in Austin, TX. He co-hosts The Indian Muslims Podcast at www.indianmuslims.in. ALTON An industry that pumps $695 million annually into the regional economy may be among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, which has now been extended through the end of May in Illinois. Tourism was hit first and it will be the last to recover, said Brett Stawar, president and chief executive officer of the Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau. It is certainly on the frontline of the economic downfall, he explained. I feel like weve hit bottom in the past week in terms of the closures and impacts. But while we are in the eye of this hurricane, we are going to see things pop back to life. We are going to make it. Its just going to be a different landscape when we come out. Stawar said area hotels have taken a brutal hit during the pandemic with occupancies in the single digits for those lodging establishments that were able to remain open. That means the tourism bureau-funding revenues from local hotel tourism taxes also are down dramatically. In addition, the state reimbursements from the collection of those taxes are now lagging four months behind, which will further prolong the fiscal misery. The tourism bureaus state funding also has been greatly reduced in the past month. Our budget was annihilated, Stawar said. The state of Illinois let us keep some of our current fiscal year funds, but the rest is gone. We lost about $200,000 that we cant use for advertising. And, we know that when July 1 hits, for the new state fiscal year, its going to be challenging to get that money rolling again. The Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau promotes attractions in Madison, Macoupin, Jersey, Calhoun, Greene and Montgomery counties. Its normal staff of 11 has been cut to six, all of whom are working remotely and are furloughed one day per week, Stawar said. The tourism bureau has nonprofit status as a business association, which means that although they dont make money, they still cannot apply under current rules for grants that support regular nonprofits. But, in the past, the tourism industry has proven that it is resilient and innovative. Hotels and attractions are anxious to begin welcoming visitors back to the Riverbend region once the restrictions are lifted, which were extended through May 31, in a modified version. But, signs point to a light at the end of this shutdown tunnel. We have seen a little bit of growth this past week, maybe going from nine people in a hotel to twenty, Stawar said. Our website traffic is up, people are looking at our video content, and they are requesting brochures. Stawar said the tourism bureau is developing an inspirational video that they will debut a week or two before things reopen. The bureau also will soon launch its Local Legends video series, which will connect people with The Wildey Theater, in Edwardsville, the Ariston Cafe, on old Route 66 in Litchfield, The Worlds Largest Catsup Bottle, in Collinsville, and the Great River Road National Scenic Byway. Meanwhile, the Great Rivers and Routes website at www.riversandroutes.com continues to promote virtual shopping with local merchants and carryout/curbside service for local restaurants. Stawar said these efforts are targeting area residents because the tourism recovery will start much closer to home, as citizens with cabin-fever decide to get out and visit old favorites and local attractions. Visitors who come from farther away, likely, should soon follow, Stawar noted. We are in a perfect position, less than five hours from Chicago, Nashville, Memphis, Kansas City and Indianapolis, Stawar said. So we are an ideal drive destination for folks and we think that we will fare well when that time comes. That time cant come soon enough for local hotels, which, if they have stayed open, see revenue drops of as much as 80% over the same time period last year. But things are slowly starting to head in the right direction, said Patty Rotermund, general manager at the Best Western Premier Hotel Alton-St. Louis Hotel. During the very first week we were in the single digits with occupancy and now we are in double digits and that seems to be holding, Rotermund said. So we keep being hopeful that as we move forward, we will pick up a few more rooms per night and see that trend continue. Rotermund said a lot of the crews who work outside arent affected as much by the shutdowns as some of the other business travelers, so she is seeing a little bit of that lodging activity come back. She also expects regular business travel to return in the near future since not all of the business work can be done remotely. On the leisure travel end, people are going to be so tired of staying at home and they just cant wait to get out, Rotermund said. I really see those leisure travelers getting out, hitting the road by car, she said, and the Alton area is the perfect destination for that. Rotermund said the Best Western Premier Hotel had to reduce staff by 75% because the hotel schedules workers according to occupancy. But the people who have remained are working on deep cleaning the rooms, kitchen projects, painting and repairing. The hotels Great Rivers Tap and Grill continues to offer curbside and takeout service. We are staying positive and doing everything we can, she said. We just keep plugging forward one day at a time. Site Superintendent Brad Winn of the Lewis and Clark State Historic Site plugged in his vacuum cleaner and looks forward to the day that the site can re-open to the public. Winn appeared in a recent tourism bureau online video wearing early 1800s attire and vacuuming the sites museum building, so the site can be clean and ready for visitors. Winn said he and his staff also have been upgrading their online presence to keep area families engaged in the Lewis and Clark story. We recognize that at this time people cant come and visit us physically, but were trying to create a space whereby parents, teachers and home-schooled kids can still visit the museum from a safe environment, Winn said. It doesnt replace the experience of physically being at Lewis and Clark, and seeing the confluence, the cabins and someone in period uniform. But we are doing everything we can to be ready for when that moment comes. Winn said they are evaluating the possibility of letting people access the outdoor portion of the historic site until the pandemic ban is lifted, now set for May 31. We are a part of this community, just like everybody else, in this region, Winn said. We are letting people know that we are going to be ready the day the doors reopen. ADDIS ABABA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on the African continent has reached 1,331 as confirmed positive cases reached 29,053 as of Saturday, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said. The Africa CDC, a specialized agency of the 55-member African Union (AU), in its latest situation update issued on Saturday also disclosed that the confirmed COVID-19 cases were spread across 52 countries. The Africa CDC also disclosed that some 8,364 people who have been infected with the COVID-19 have recovered across the continent as of Saturday afternoon. Amid the rapid spread of the virus across the African continent, figures from the Africa CDC also show that the highly COVID-19 affected African countries include South Africa with a total of 4,220 confirmed cases, Egypt with a total of 4,092 confirmed cases, Morocco with a total of 3,758 confirmed cases as well as Algeria with a total of 3,127 confirmed cases as of the stated period. The death toll has also increased from 1,303 on Friday to 1,331 on Saturday, according to the Africa CDC. The Africa CDC had last week emphasized the crucial need to strengthen COVID-19 precautionary measures across the continent so as to halt the spread of the virus. Berlin: German police wearing riot gear and face masks have tussled with dozens of protesters demonstrating in central Berlin against the coronavirus lockdown on public life. Protesters shouted "I want my life back" and held up signs with slogans such as "Protect constitutional rights", "Freedom isn't everything but without freedom, everything is nothing", and "Daddy, what is a kiss?" Police officers arrest a demonstrator protesting against the lockdown restrictions in Berlin on Saturday. Credit:Getty Images Police said on Twitter they had arrested more than 100 people. Those demonstrating came from across the political spectrum. Bahrain's Ministry of Health has announced the referral of citizens from quarantine centres to self-isolation at home in accordance with resolution no. 25 for the year of 2020, issued by the Minister of Health. The resolution sets out home self-isolation health regulations that suspected and active coronavirus (Covid-19) patients are obliged to follow, said a Bahrain News Agency report. The ministry stressed that all those who are ordered to self-isolate are required to sign a self-isolation declaration form and adhere to home self-isolation guidelines for a minimum of two weeks. These measures include downloading the BeAware app and wearing an electronic bracelet to enable expedited public health management. The ministry reiterated that these public health procedures have been established to ensure the safety of patients and the community. The ministry noted that citizens who have been relocated to home self-isolation include returnees to Bahrain from abroad. It added that contacts of active cases are already being referred to home self-isolation for two weeks. Patients who have recovered from Covid-19 are obliged to self-isolate at home for a period of four weeks, and are tested regularly to ensure they have completely recovered from the virus. The ministry reiterated the importance of following home self-isolation guidelines. In this regard, it noted that individuals may book a Covid-19 test via the BeAware app after the home self-isolation period has ended, and can proceed to the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Center on the appointment date provided, the report said. Even before this pandemic, Australias relationship with China was anything but straightforward. At the end of 2019, reports of interference by the Chinese Communist Party in our democracy, violent crackdowns in Hong Kong, clashes in the South China Sea, upstream Chinese dams of Mekong tributaries threatening water security in Vietnam and Laos, and leaked documents outlining mass detention of Uighurs coloured the debate about the future direction of the bilateral relationship. After decades in which economic opportunities and hope for greater freedoms shaped Australias consciousness of China, our relationship had clearly entered a new phase. A sensitive time for the relationship with China. Credit:Matt Davidson As Chinas weight has grown, it has asserted itself much more. Exerting interests is what all countries do not least great powers. But our interests differ, as do our values: China is an authoritarian one-party state; Australia is a democracy. Australias task is to engage productively with China, to manage differences while standing up for our values, sovereignty and democracy. This has become more challenging as a result of COVID-19. Harpreet Bajwa By Express News Service CHANDIGARH: The Haryana Government has sealed the Sonipat-Delhi border in order to contain the spread of the novel Coronavirus in the state. Sources said that daily as of now around 2,500 people travel to Delhi from Sonipat and nearby areas who are involved in essential services. The Haryana Government has asked the Delhi Government to accommodate these people who hail from Haryana but work in the national capital. All the entry points in Sonipat district from Delhi have been closed till May 3. The decision in this regard was taken on the direction of the Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij who is also the state Health Minister. The Sonipat district administration has enforced Section 144 of the CrPC in the district and sealed its border, after the orders in this regard were issued by the District Magistrate of Sonipat Anshaj Singh. "These order will have to be adhered to by both government employees and the general public," said an officer. Sonipat reported six new cases today taking the total cases in the district to 20 of which around 14 who are infected are those who travel to the national capital. The maximum cases of coronavirus have been reported in the state from the National Capital region (NCR) from the four districts (Nuh, Palwal, Gurugram and Faridabad) bordering Delhi. As among the active cases, nearly 80 per cent of them belong to the Tablighi Jamaat. While Nuh with 57 novel coronavirus cases, followed by Gurgaon (51), Faridabad (43), Palwal (34) and Sonipat (20) are among the worst affected. With seven new cases today Haryanas total tally touched 294. Among the total cases in Haryana are 24 foreignersfrom Italy, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, South Africa and Indonesiaand 64 people from other states of India, the state health bulletin said. On Saturday, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij had said they have ordered to seal the border with Delhi, as a majority of cases in Sonipat were due to movement of alleged infected persons from Delhi. "The authorities had to declare a village in Jhajjar as a containment zone on Friday after a Delhi Police constable belonging to the village tested positive. Similar cases were reported from Gurugram also. The Delhi Government employees who belong to Haryana enter the state with valid passes. As some 2,000 Delhi Police personnel have entered the state in the past," he said. Big employers will urge their staff to download a new contact tracing phone application to help the nation safely return to work as the federal government on Sunday evening launched the critical next phase of the pandemic lockdown. Health authorities are expecting more than half of all Australians to download the voluntary COVIDSafe contact tracing app, which logs every user who has been within 1.5 metres of a person for 15 minutes or more by using Bluetooth technology to record digital handshakes with other phones. The Morrison government has promised a triple lock of privacy to convince Australians their information will not be used for anything other than its sole purpose to aid authorities in halting the spread of COVID-19. Federal Parliament will, when it sits next month, make it a criminal offence to misuse the data or pass it on without the permission of the user, while the data collected will remain on the phone and can only be released with the permission of the owner if they have contracted the coronavirus. JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. You should upgrade or use an You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.You should upgrade or use an alternative browser Sri Lanka is set to enter into an important agreement with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in order to boost its foreign reserves which have been hit hard due to the pandemic. A top Sri Lankan minister reportedly said that the cabinet has approved the proposal of currency swap worth $400 million to ensure financial stability amid COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who also holds the portfolio of Finance Ministry, had proposed the cabinet to enter into an agreement with the RBI aimed at meeting short-term international liquidity requirements. Co-Cabinet spokesperson Information and Communication Minister Bandula Gunawardena said that the island nation will finalise the deal with Indias central bank for a Bilateral Currency Swap Arrangement. Sri Lankan economy has been hit hard by the coronavirus and has decided to lift the nationwide curfew from April 27 even as the number of cases surges past 400. On April 24, the island nation reported its highest single-day spike in coronavirus cases with 49 infections in one day. The decision to lift the curfew could be perceived from the recent economic setbacks after which the Fitch Ratings, the American credit rating agency, downgraded the ratings from B to B-. Read: Sri Lanka Reimposes Curfew After Coronavirus Cases Spike, Nationwide Toll At 420 'Ill-timed' However, Sri Lankan Finance Ministry has lashed out the company for its ill-founded and ill-timed rating action and categorically expressed its disagreement with the assessment of risks. The ministry said in a statement on April 25 that their assessment shows rush to judgement and exposes prejudicial nature when the whole world is struggling against a public health crisis. Read: Special Flights Evacuate 351 British And Sri Lankan Nationals Stranded In India The Sri Lankan government stressed that it has implemented a number of proactive measures from multiple spheres and have already helped contain the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak to a great extent. The ministry added that the government has already initiated measures to restore normalcy in several parts of the country and further easing of containment measures will enable domestic economic activity to pick up in the second half of 2020. Read: No Need For Foreign Troops Assistance To Handle COVID-19 Situation In Sri Lanka: Defence Secretary Read: Sri Lanka Great Kumar Sangakkara Recalls Horrendous Easter Day Bombings On 1st Anniversary (With PTI inputs) New Delhi The University Grants Commission (UGC) will on Monday hold a video conference to discuss disruptions triggered by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the academic calendar and the way forward, according to an official aware of the matter. High on the agenda could be holding exams in times of social distancing. The commission regulating higher education in India is expected to focus on two reports --- one by a panel on academic schedule headed by RC Kuhad, the vice chancellor of the Central University of Haryana; and the other by a committee on online education headed by Indira Gandhi National Open Univrsity (IGNOU) vice chancellor Nageshwar Rao. there are a variety of universities in different regions. Some of them are in hot spots (of Covid-19) and others are not. The universities which can begin their session early should be allowed (to do so). Others can be given a last date (to begin the new session). However, all this will be discussed. Our aim is to merge technology with equity, a commission member who did not want to be named said. The Kuhad committee has recommended postponing the admission cycle till up to September, according to the commission member. But fresh admissions, ideally, can only take place if universities are able to close the 2019-2020 academic session for undergraduate or postgraduate by holding exams and declaring results. Generally, academic sessions end in colleges and universities in May-June and new sessions begin in July-August. Education institutes have been shut down across India since March 25, when a nationwide lockdown was imposed to stop the spread of Covid-19. There are universities like JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi) or EFLU (English and Foreign Languages University in Hyderabad), which have fewer students. And there are others like the BHU (Banaras Hindu University) or AMU (Aligarh Muslim University), where the number of students is more. We have to allow them different options depending on their location, size and circumstances, said the commission member cited above. The panels created by UGC earlier this month has suggested options such as assignment-based evaluation, objective type questions in an internet-based evaluation model and even the traditional pen-and-paper exam in front of webcams to wrap up the academic session, said the commission member. There are areas where even the mobile phone signal is weak, leave aside fast internet facility. The success of the solution hinges on ensuring that students concerns are addressed, this official said, adding that exams for Sanskrit or any regional language could be challenging in an internet-based software. Some students organisations have expressed concerns that those in remote areas or those who are underprivileged may have to face difficulty if their challenges are not factored in while brainstorming a solution. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Sajjad Tarakzai (Agence France-Presse) Islamabad Sun, April 26, 2020 10:28 626 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd44a6e3 2 World Ramadan-2020,coronavirus,COVID-19,Pakistan Free Pakistanis on Saturday celebrated the country's first day of the holy month of Ramadan by flocking to mosques and markets, ignoring advice to stay home as coronavirus cases rise. Prime Minister Imran Khan has come under pressure for his handling of the virus crisis, after causing confusion by saying Pakistan could not afford the type of sweeping lockdowns seen in other nations. His government also caved to religious pressure, allowing daily prayers and evening congregations at mosques during Ramadan, albeit with some protective measures in place. In a snub to Khan's leadership, Pakistan's powerful military on Friday urged people to pray at home, warning the "next 15 days are crucial". But that advice was largely ignored or downplayed across much of the country, home to about 215 million people who often live in cramped, multi-generational quarters. In Rawalpindi, the garrison city adjacent to Islamabad, thousands of shoppers thronged popular markets, some without wearing protective gear, to buy food for evening iftar meals that celebrate the end of each day's fasting. Similar scenes unfolded in the northwestern city of Peshawar and in the eastern city of Lahore. Muneeb Khan, 27, said he was fed up with wearing a mask and gloves. "How long are we going to wear them? I am tired of it, now it depends on my mood, sometimes I wear it and sometimes not," he told AFP as he shopped at a pharmacy. At Islamabad's mosques, worshipers were thinner on the ground than typical for Ramadan's first day, but elsewhere social distancing guidelines and a ban on older worshipers were widely ignored. Zafar Mirza, the prime minister's special advisor for health, decried the rush to the markets and pleaded with people to stay home. "This is against the guidelines and directives," he told reporters. "Pakistan is passing through a very crucial phase and if we do not take preventive measures, this disease will spike very quickly." Read also: Benhil Market empty of Ramadan snack sellers amid COVID-19 pandemic Doctors associations have repeatedly called on the government to impose a comprehensive lockdown as pressure grows on the country's already struggling health system. So far Pakistan has recorded more than 12,000 confirmed COVID-19 infections and 256 deaths -- but with only limited testing, the real numbers are believed to be much higher. The World Health Organization has warned that without effective interventions, Pakistan cases could soar to 200,000 cases by mid-July. "The impacts on the economy could be devastating, doubling the number of people living in poverty. We must act in solidarity, with a coherent, coordinated approach," the WHO, quoting chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Twitter. Asad Umar, who heads the national coronavirus task force, told reporters authorities had approved a "smart lockdown" aimed at testing people, then tracking or quarantining those who are positive. "Ramadan is a decisive month," he said. New South Waless CCP virus death toll now stands at 36 after a sixth resident died at a western Sydney aged care home where almost 50 people have been infected. The New South Wales government, meanwhile, has provided almost $400 million (US$256 million) to local councils across the state for community infrastructure projects and wage bill relief. The 83-year-old man, who resided at Newmarch House in Caddens, died on the morning of April 25, operator Anglicare Sydney said. This follows the death of a 96-year-old woman on April 24, a woman in her late 70s on April 23 and earlier fatalities of a woman and two men all aged in their 90s. The facility is the states largest ongoing cluster, with some 31 of the almost 100 residents having been infected as well as 17 staff members. An aged care worker at a healthcare facility in the Blue Mountains also tested positive for coronavirus, one of 12 new cases confirmed in NSW on April 25. The worker from Catholic Healthcare Bodington had not been at the aged care home within 48 hours of showing symptoms, Channel 7 reported. NSW Health said no other positive cases had been confirmed at the facility. The total number of confirmed cases in NSW is 2,994, more than 44 percent of Australias total number of cases at 6,695. Some 19 people are in intensive care in NSW. The majority of NSW confirmed cases have been found in people aged 20 to 29, with 635 positive tests making up more than 21 percent of the states total cases. As part of the council stimulus package, the NSW government on Sunday pledged an additional $250 million in low-cost loans to spur community infrastructure investment and also more than $110 million on a job-retention fund for council workers. The Council Job Retention Allowance of $1,500 per fortnight would be paid for up to three months to eligible staff in the NSW local government sector. Council workers were not granted access to the federal governments JobKeeper program. Our states 128 local councils are a critical part of the NSW economy, especially in many regional and rural towns where they are sometimes the largest employer, NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said in a statement on Sunday. This about keeping people in jobs which will allow councils to continue to provide essential services in their communities throughout the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and bounce back faster once we come out the other side. The peak body for NSW councils, Local Government NSW, welcomed the announcement, saying councils were eager to contribute to the post-coronavirus recovery. As the only state government to have provided councils with economic support of this magnitude, the NSW government has ensured our state will lead the economic recovery from COVID-19m, president Linda Scott said in a statement on Sunday. Among the worst affected due to the ongoing lockdown which began on March 25 were the millions of migrant workers from across the country. A nation-wide shutdown at a notice of four hours meant that the migrant workers were quite literally caught off guard with no means of returning to their respective hometowns. BCCL/ REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE The migrant workers who lost their livelihoods due to the lockdown were dealt another blow after public transport including buses and trains were also stopped, leaving them stranded. Out of sheer desperation, many took the extreme step of walking back home, covering thousands of kilometers on foot for days. Many others stayed back with the hope that things will get back to normal soon, which did not happen. AFP Now various governments have started bringing back migrant workers to their states who were stranded elsewhere in the country. One of the biggest mass reverse migration is happening in Uttar Pradesh, where since Saturday, the Yogi Adityanath government has began repatriating migrant workers. The first batch of 2,224 of migrant workers was brought back on 82 buses by the state government from Haryana on Saturday. Another batch of 9,500 people will be brought back by Sunday and the state is gearing up to providing employment to at least 15 lakh persons in the coming days. The migrant workers who are being brought back will be placed under quarantine for 14 days after which they will be allowed to go home. BCCL Madhya Pradesh which also has a sizable portion of its population stranded in other parts of the country, has also started bringing them back. Some 98 buses carrying 2,400 workers from Gujarat will be the first to reach the state. Himachal Pradesh and Haryana have also started bringing back migrant workers from their state. Don't Miss: Contribute To Indiatimes Fundraiser To Help India Fight COVID-19 Last week some 1,200 Kashmiri migrants from various states, who were stranded in Punjab's Pathankot town for the past 20 days were allowed to travel to their villages. They were on their way to JK but the UT administration refused to allow them entry due to lockdown. On this, the Punjab government set up nine quarantine centres for them. Meanwhile, the Odisha government has launched a portal for registration of names of migrant workers returning to the state. BCCL Thought the state has not begun repatriating migrant workers, Odisha is expecting an influx of some 5 lakh people once the lockdown is lifted. Anyone who wants to return to Odisha after lockdown via any means including air, train or road is required to register by filling up the form at www.covid19.odisha.gov.in. But even in the case of Uttar Pradesh, there is no clarity on how migrant workers who are stranded in other parts of the country including Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Kerala can be repatriated. AFP Recently Mumbai had witnessed one of the biggest of its kind gathering by migrant workers demanding that they should be allowed to travel back home. Five million face masks ordered by the Veterans Health Administration to protect staff amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic were unexpectedly seized be the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to a top official. Health care workers at VA hospitals have sounded the alarm about PPE shortages in facilities across the United States. Staff members at these facilities have been tasked with caring for a vulnerable veteran community that tend to be older and exhibit underlying health conditions. As doctors scramble to stay ahead of global health crisis, the Executive in Charge of Veterans Health Administration revealed a shipment containing millions of face masks were diverted by FEMA. A Veterans Health Administration said FEMA took five million masks meant for VA hospitals Pictured: Clarence Shields, an Army veteran, pickets with a small group of activists from the American Federation of Government Employees local 424 and the National Association of Government Employees local R3-19 during the coronavirus pandemic 'I had 5 million masks incoming that disappeared,' said Dr. Richard Stone, the executive tasked with managing the country's largest health care system. Stone told The Washington Post that FEMA told vendors with equipment ordered for the VA to instead send the shipment to the Strategic National Stockpile. Tensions around the Strategic National Stockpile were first publicly realized after Jared Kushner, a White House senior adviser and COVID-19 task force member, suggested federal stockpiles of protective supplies cannot be used by states. 'The notion of the federal stockpile was its supposed to be our stockpile, its not supposed to be states stockpiles that they then use,' Kushner said, directing contradicting what the Strategic National Stockpile's website said the stockpile was intended for. The Strategic National Stockpiles website stated that it was meant to assist states during health crises, but quickly pivoted after Kushner spoke to match with what he said. Jared Kushner (pictured) received backlash after suggesting the Strategic National Stockpile was not for states' use Pictured: US President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence attend a teleconference with governors at the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in March 'The supply system was responding to FEMA. I couldnt tell you when my next delivery was coming in,' Stone, a former Army deputy surgeon general said. He added that veteran health care facilities were using as much as 200,000 face masks a day. An appeal by Veteran Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie to FEMA caused the agency to distribute 500,000 masks to the VA this week. In comparison to the millions of masks initially ordered the Veterans Health Administration - which contains 1,255 facilities and serves more than nine million veterans in America - the new shipment feels like a crushing blow. This comes after medical staff and employees in Veteran Affairs hospitals repeatedly said they were forced to work with inadequate gear. Officials with Veterans Affairs denied it. FEMA has been the subject of similar complaints made by other hospital and state officials. Some officials have said FEMA is taking equipment ordered by communities when residents are counting on the agency to do the exact opposite. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has become a target of President Trump over her 'complaints' and bogged down by anti-lockdown protests, said in March that vendors contracted by her state were told 'not to send stuff' on orders from the White House. 'When the federal government told us that we needed to go it ourselves [on medical supplies], we started procuring every item we could get our hands on,' she told WWJ-AM. 'But what Ive gotten back is that vendors with whom we had contracts are now being told not to send stuff here to Michigan.' She later added that Michigan's order had been 'cancelled' or 'delayed, and was redirect to the federal government. Similarly, several hospitals in seven states told the Los Angeles Times that FEMA officials were arriving without notice and seizing medical supplies. That left medical centers from Minnesota to Florida scarce on much needed supplies and unsure when another shipment would arrive. Pictured: Emergency Medical Technicians load a patient into an ambulance outside the Elmhurst Hospital Center, as the spread of the coronavirus disease in New York City Hospital workers have said the FEMA has unexpectedly seized medical supplies without warning 'Are they stockpiling this stuff? Are they distributing it? We dont know,' one official with a Massachusetts medical system said. 'And are we going to ever get any of it back if we need supplies? It would be nice to know these things.' Colorado officials also claimed that FEMA snatched 500 ventilators ordered this month. Trump restored 100 ventilators as a favor to GOP Sen. Cory Gardner, but Rep. Diana DeGette accused the president of 'playing politics.' 'President Trump says we will get 100 as a courtesy to Senator Gardner. That means, because the the president is playing politics with public health, were still 400 ventilators short from what we should have received,' she said in a statement. DeGette added Trump's 'mismanagement of this crisis is costing lives and livelihoods.' Trump (left) previously ordered that states, not the federal government, were responsible for obtaining supplies Pictured:New York Army National Guard Sgt. Major Nicholas Pardi presents an American flag during a memorial service for a veteran who died from coronavirus disease while being treated at the Javits New York Medical Station Trump has directed states to obtain their own COVID-19 protective supplies, but it appears shipments are often seized by federal officials once they're ordered. Earlier this month, a leaked document reportedly revealed that FEMA and the CDC are lobbying to reopen parts of the US by May 1. In a statement to Talking Point Memo denied any wrongdoing. 'FEMA does not, has not and will not divert orders of PPE from our federal, state and local partners, nor do we have the legal authority to do so,' said spokesperson Janet Montesi. 'In support of VA and our nations veterans, to date FEMA has coordinated shipments of more than 4.3 million various types of respirator masks, 1 million facial/surgical masks, 1.5 million gloves and 14,000 face shields to VA facilities across the country.' As of Friday, 6,363 veterans in VA medical care tested positive for COVID-19 and 400 have died. Coronavirus cases in Veterans Affairs facilities could be DOUBLE the official figures at some sites, hospital memo reveals Coronavirus cases in the Veterans Affairs health system may be double the number officially reported at some medical care sites, according to internal hospital memos. On Friday, the number of infected veterans treated at VA facilities surged to 6,363 patients, officials said. However, the number of actual infected patients could actually be twice as high, according to documents obtained by the Military Times that reveal inconsistencies in case reporting. A discrepancy was found at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center in Ohio where the VA reported 37 inpatient and outpatient cases. However, an internal hospital memo issued on Monday seen by the Times shows 66 already-confirmed cases of the illness among patients. The hospital has not commented on the gap in reporting. Veterans Affairs is yet to reply to DailyMail.com's request for comment. That reports comes on the heels of another internal memo that was exposed by the Wall Street Journal last week and revealed major problems in the availability of personal protective equipment at VA sites, despite the organizations insistence that staff supplies were adequate. Air Force veteran Willie Williams, 63, looks to cross the street outside the Soldiers' Home in Chelsea, Massachusetts on April 6 Among VA patients, the death rate from COVID-19 is about six percent well above the rate for the country as a whole. The latest national data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show about a four percent death rate among Americans from the virus. However, the VA population tested and treated for COVID-19 is much older than the American population as a whole and health experts say that the elderly are more vulnerable to the killer virus. So far only one person in VA care COVID-19 fatality has been under the age of 40. Nearly three-quarters of VA patient deaths from the virus have been 70 or older. Today the epicenter of the virus is in New York, where the Big Apple boasts about 19 percent of all confirmed virus cases in the country. Last week the VAs medical center in Brooklyn became the deadliest site within the system with 32 fatalities, surpassing the departments hospital in New Orleans that had reported 31 fatalities. The VAs center in the Bronx has seen 27 deaths. The New Orleans site has the most confirmed coronavirus cases in the departments health system reporting 429 cases. While the VA is scrambling to treat the mounting number of cases, officials have activated a fourth mission to make more than 1,500 beds available for non-veteran patients. Testing for COVID-19 for veterans is up outside PFC Floyd K. Lindstrom Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado on April 2 Four VA sites near around the New York City metropolitan area have seen 149 deaths in the last few weeks. VA Secretary Robert Wilkie shared a statement saying: 'Helping Veterans is our first mission, but in many locations across the country were helping states and local communities. VA is in this fight not only for the millions of veterans we serve each day; were in the fight for the people of the United States.' A veterans home in Massachusetts is now under investigation by federal authorities after at least 18 residents died from the virus after it emerged that infected employees were still showing up to work. The Department of Justice announced on Friday that it would be investigating the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke to determine if the facility was providing adequate care for its residents amid the coronavirus pandemic. It comes after two employees who tested positive for coronavirus were still showing up for work out of fear of losing their jobs. The federal investigation is separate from a state investigation that is currently underway. Across the nation there are 152 VA Medical Centers and 1,400 community-based outpatient clinics in the US. The World Health Organization (WHO) has come under some blistering criticism for its response to the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 190,000 people around the globe. But while the UN agency stands accused of bungling its response to the outbreak that was first revealed in China in late December 2019, others have rushed to the WHOs defense, arguing that it was never equipped or intended to be the transparency watchdog, compliance enforcer, and emergency field unit that some are suggesting it is. When the world is plagued with an outbreak like COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, is WHO really the one to call upon? Harsh Critics The criticism is led by the United States, which had recorded more than four times as many infections (nearly 940,000 as of April 26) and twice as many deaths (nearly 54,000) as the second-ranking country, Spain, according to a database maintained by Johns Hopkins University. (These tallies rely on information provided by governments, some of which may be suppressing information, and the methodology, transparency, and quality of the data can vary dramatically country by country.) Washington has alleged that the WHO was slow to respond to the health emergency, praised China when it should have been scolding it, and was complicit with Beijing in downplaying the scale of the outbreak, contributing to its spread. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has charged that the organization was "China-centric" and has said that China should face consequences if it was "knowingly responsible" for the pandemic, has suspended $400 million in funding to the WHO. The move by the United States effectively cut the organization off from its largest single funder. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has argued that the WHOs regulatory body had "clearly failed" to hold member states accountable to their obligations to be transparent and forthcoming in alerting the world about public health emergencies. He said on April 22 that the WHO has "two primary functions" -- that of a regulator and adviser, and as a "health emergency and humanitarian aid operation on top of that." Furthermore, Pompeo argued, the organization had "clearly failed" to enforce requirements laid out in International Health Regulations that went into effect in 2007 and which mandate that member states provide the WHO with "timely, accurate, and sufficiently detailed public health information." WHO The Enforcer? The WHOs defenders say the allegations being lobbed at it are not fair or factual. In a video interview with RFE/RL on April 10, former U.S. ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said that the idea that the WHO is a "rapid-response arm" is a "mistaken understanding of what it is." "It's technical expertise. It's, you know, gathering data from all over the world in order to declare epidemics or pandemics," said Power, who served under Democratic U.S. President Barack Obama. "So it's like an alert system, more than it is a response system, and then we need a response system in parallel." WATCH: 'Disunity Is Devastating': Former U.S. Ambassador Says UN Must Get Its Act Together Lawrence Gostin, director of the WHOs Center on Global Health Law and a professor at Georgetown University, on April 9 took to the web to defend the organization against Trumps claims and to clarify its role. Gostin said it was a "very fair comment to say that China was not fully transparent, and that China delayed for several weeks, maybe even a month or more" before it reported the jump of the coronavirus from animal to human to the WHO. But he said that "thats not the WHOs fault, thats Chinas fault." "From the WHOs point of view, they immediately notified the world population," he said. Gostin also rejected allegations that the WHO did not declare an emergency soon enough, saying that the suggestion was "factually wrong." The WHO "declared a public health emergency very quickly after the first cases of COVID-19 were reported," he said, referring to the January 30 move made as thousands of new cases in China were revealed. People are mistaken, he said, in confusing that declaration with the labeling of the outbreak as a pandemic, which occurred on March 12, but which actually had "no legal significance." "In fact," he said, "the WHO has no power to declare a pandemic, it just gave its opinion. What it did do was exercise all the powers it could." Not So Strong? Those powers are arguably not very strong. "WHO should have been more skeptical about what the Chinese were telling them, but theyre totally at the mercy of what governments provide," Daniel Speigel, the former UN ambassador under the administration of President Bill Clinton, told The Washington Post this month. "They have no intelligence capabilities, and no investigatory power," he added. Founded in 1948 in the aftermath of World War II, the WHO was intended to promote global health and protect against infectious diseases, such as cholera and polio. But it has no real independent authority, experts have argued, and is entirely dependent on its 194 member states as well as private entities for funding. Gostin compares the WHOs annual budget to that of a "large U.S. hospital," and says the amount -- which was $4.4 billion over the two-year period of 2018-2019 -- is "wholly incommensurate with its global responsibilities." The worlds biggest powers, including China, which Gostin said "has given the WHO just a pittance," have underfunded the organization. In addition, he said, the organization is only in charge of no more than 25 percent of its own budget, because much of the funding is provided on contingency that it be used for a specific purpose. Gostin called on the funding of the WHO to be made mandatory by countries, under international law. "If we didnt have it," he said of the UN agency, "we would have to invent it." Four prominent conservationists in Assam have opposed the move to construct more highlands in the states Kaziranga National Park as a means to give shelter to wild animals during floods. On Friday, union minister for environment, forest and climate change Prakash Javadekar had a video conference with Assam forest minister Parimal Suklabaidya to discuss ways to mitigate the loss of wildlife during the annual floods in Kaziranga and other protected areas of the state. Directed that more highlands maybe made for wild animals, to take shelter at the time of floods, the union minister wrote on his Facebook page. He also asked Assam officials to ensure wild animals are not killed due to accidental hits by vehicles. In a statement issued on Sunday, Anupam Sarma, Team Leader of Brahmaputra Landscape, WWF India, Bibhab Talukdar, founder of Aaranyak, Rathin Barman, joint director of Wildlife Trust of India and Kaushik Barua of Assam Elephant Foundation cited 10 reasons why the move was not a good one. Spread over 430 sq km, Kaziranga is the biggest habitat of the one-horned rhinos in the world. But every year during floods nearly 80% to 90% of the park gets inundated forcing animals to cross the national highway located nearby and head to the hills of Karbi Anglong district. In an attempt to protect animals, artificial highlands to allow wild animals to take shelter during floods were constructed inside the park. At present there are 144 highlands inside Kaziranga. Nearly 200 animals including 18 rhinos were killed in the park during floods last year. But though the floods bring devastation, it also helps regenerate the grasslands inside the park, which are crucial for survival of rhinos and several other species. In their statement the conservationists said construction of more highlands might change Kaziranga into a drier habitat and in the long run it might not remain suitable for rhino, swamp deer, wild buffalo etc. In every flood, the highland will erode naturally and deposit extra silt in the wetlands and water channels will eventually dry out. This will cause more damage to Kazirangas already fragile eco-system, the statement read. Change of vegetation is likely to compel the animals to stray out of the parks boundary, especially during dry seasons. This will bring more threat to the animals, especially the rhino, it added. The conservationists said that the new highlands may affect prey-predator reflex as it will affect visibility, might introduce invasive plant species in the park and may reduce grasslands for rhinos and other herbivores to graze on. It will be more beneficial if more emphasis is given to grasslands management, restoration of wetlands and anti-erosion matters rather than making highlands, said the statement. The conservationists suggested undisturbed animal movement in the identified animal corridors in Kaziranga and construction of an elevated highway to allow the wild animals to move to the Karbi Anglong hills during floods. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON - Laarnie Delizo, a nurse, chose to stay as a frontliner despite being pregnant - According to Laarnie, she decided to continue her work as a nurse since the hospital she was working at was understaffed - However, one of her twin babies died on April 18 - The surviving twin, baby Bernie, is currently staying at the intensive care unit in a local hospital PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed When coronavirus first hit the Philippines, various hospitals eventually began to report that they were understaffed as the number of infected COVID-19 patients increased in the country. This prompted a lot of frontliners to work day and night to accommodate the patients. Volunteer nurses have also started to help local hospitals against the fight with the virus. Following this news, KAMI learned that Laarnie Delizo, a nurse, recently shared the ordeals she faced as a pregnant nurse amid the pandemic. Watch the video below: In the video provided by ABS-CBN News, Laarnie shared that she continued her work as a frontliner until March despite her twin pregnancy because the hospital she was working at was understaffed. According to Laarnie, "So kahit buntis ako, nag-duduty ako mag isa. As nurse talaga, profession mo kasi yun eh." However, on April 18, her OB informed her that one of the twins no longer had a heartbeat, Sabi ng OB ko kailangan na talaga tanggalin. "Kailangan na talagang lumabas sila kahit na yung isang baby ko OK naman siya, maganda yung heartbeat niya pero kasi yung isa hindi. Bigla na lang nawala." Laarnie's baby, Camilla, was laid to rest on April 24, Friday. Baby Bernie, the twin who survived, is currently staying at the intensive care unit of a local hospital. The couple has also coordinated with the office of Senator Richard Gordon regarding their case. PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! As reported earlier by KAMI, many doctors and nurses have been infected by COVID-19 after serving as a frontliner. One of the medical workers who has been struck with the coronavirus was Doc Ted Esguerra. In his interview, Doc Ted recounted his experience with the virus. POPULAR: Read more viral stories here Please like and share our Facebook posts to support KAMI team! Dont hesitate to comment and share your opinion about our stories either. We love reading about your thoughts! In this video, we featured Jhon Rellores and his family as they helped others who are in need amid the pandemic! Check out all of the exciting videos and celebrity interviews on our KAMI HumanMeter YouTube channel ! Source: KAMI.com.gh As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ A female doctor has tested positive for coronavirus. The doctor was working at Nepean Hospital in the Blue Mountains region, west of Sydney, undertaking non-clinical duties before she was diagnosed. Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District confirmed the positive test on Sunday morning and said the employee immediately was tested once she had symptoms. In the 48 hours before she started showing symptoms she did not have contact with any patients at Nepean Hospital. Health Minister Brad Hazzard told reporters the doctor had also been working at Sydney Adventist Hospital but had no contact with patients at the facility. The employee was working at Nepean Hospital in the Blue Mountains region, west of Sydney, undertaking non-clinical duties before she was diagnosed A spokeswoman said the healthcare worker was always wearing a face mask and recognised the first sign of symptoms. 'There is no ongoing risk to patients or staff and no impact on our services,' the spokeswoman said. 'Health screening is carried out on all staff at the start of each shift.' The worker's contacts are being traced with eight staff members being isolated as a precaution, but none are showing symptoms. There are fears the case could create another coronavirus cluster, which have been seen at hospitals and aged care facilities around the country. Victorian health officials on Friday issued an urgent warning after 14 cases stemmed from a Melbourne psychiatric hospital in late March. Victorian Health Minister, Jenny Mikakos, told reporters on Friday: 'The department is investigating an outbreak of coronavirus at a private inpatient psychiatric facility'. She noted the appearance of new coronavirus cases 'shows the fragility of the situation and reinforces that this is not all over yet.' Medical professionals are seen performing COVID-19 tests on members of the public at the Bondi Beach drive-through COVID-19 testing centre in Sydney Ms Mikakos confirmed five patients, five staff members and four household close contacts had all tested positive. CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 27,244 Victoria: 20,269 New South Wales: 4,273 Queensland: 1,161 Western Australia: 692 South Australia: 473 Tasmania: 230 Australian Capital Territory: 113 Northern Territory: 33 TOTAL CASES: 27,244 ESTIMATED ACTIVE CASES: 269 DEATHS: 897 Updated: 5.31 PM, 11 October, 2020 Source: Australian Government Department of Health Advertisement Three victims of the outbreak have been hospitalised and one person is in intensive care with Victoria's Chief Health Officer, Professor Brett Sutton, saying the cluster is 'a warning sign'. 'Today is a demonstration that you can get explosive outbreaks and sometimes these spill out into the community, so we have to be mindful that things could change in the wrong direction over the next month,' he said. Two Tasmanian hospitals had to be closed completely in early April after an outbreak of COVID-19, with five deaths and 78 cases linked to the facilities. More than 5,000 people including 1,200 hospital staff and their households were ordered to quarantine in Burnie, in the state's north west, for 14 days while the hospitals were disinfected. Residents at Anglicare's Newmarch House in Caddens, western Sydney, were also exposed to the virus, with 10 staff and 20 residents testing positive. A nurse worked at the aged care facility in Caddens for six days while suffering a 'scratchy throat' before testing positive to COVID-19. The most recent death from the facility was confirmed on Saturday after an 83-year-old man died. The number of coronavirus cases, at around 6700, is small by international standards and is rising at an extremely slow rate compared to a few weeks ago. Prime Minister Scott Morrison believes Australia is on the "road back" from tackling the coronavirus with some restrictions starting to lift. An Iowa firefighter is struggling to support his family as his mother and sister have been infected with COVID-19 and his father has passed away from the deadly virus. Omar Martinez's world turned upside down when his mother Aurelia Martinez, 52, first fell ill with the novel coronavirus about a month ago, which she believes she caught it at the Iowa egg factory where she works. Then his younger sister Evelyn, a 22-year-old new mother, caught the virus that left her on a ventilator fighting for her life. The virus then struck his father Jose Gabriel Martinez, 58, who died Tuesday in the same hospital where he lived his final days near his unknowing daughter. Martinez, 29, is now grappling with supporting the household, planning a funeral for his father and helping his ailing family members recover. Iowa firefighter Omar Martinez, 29, is speaking out on the dangers of COVID-19 after his mother and sister got infected and his father passed away from the deadly virus. Martinez pictured holding up a photo of his father Jose Gabriel Martinez, 58, who passed away on Tuesday in front of his family's West Liberty home Omar Martinez holds his cell phone displaying a photo from his parents' wedding on Saturday in front of his West Liberty, Iowa home The Martinez Family of West Liberty, Iowa is pictured in June 2019 in the town of Ignacio Allende, Mexico. The coronavirus has swept through the family over the last three weeks. Jose Gabriel Martinez, pictured center in black holding granddaughter, died Tuesday April 21 from the virus. Aurelia Martinez, second from right, tested positive on April 3 but has recovered. Their 22-year-old daughter Evelyn, bottom right, has been hospitalized since April 10. Omar Martinez pictured top left Omar pictured with his father Jose Gabriel Martinez above Evelyn was taken off a ventilator Thursday and is alert, but Martinez is now dreading breaking the news of their father's death to her. His mother has recovered from the virus and he, his two siblings, and two year old niece, Evelyn's daughter, Maia are healthy. Martinez says he's been touched by the support they've received from neighbors in West Liberty, a heavily Hispanic city of 3,800 where his family settled after immigrating from Mexico in the 1990s. Now he's speaking out to warn the public of just how quickly the virus can spread and devastate a family. 'All it takes is one person to be irresponsible to affect a family that doesn't deserve it,' Omar Martinez said in an interview. 'I don't wish this upon anybody. I get asked every day how do I do it? I have no answers.' The Martinez family's situation illustrates the startling racial and ethnic disparities among those getting infected and dying from the coronavirus. While Latinos make up six percent of Iowa's population, they have accounted for more than 22 percent of its confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to the state Department of Public Health. The disparity widened as more testing was conducted on plant workers, who are disproportionately Latino and account for more than a quarter of Iowa's confirmed cases. State officials say more dense housing environments also play a role. The virus has spread faster in Iowa, which now has more than 5,000 confirmed cases, than almost any other state in recent days. In West Liberty, a turkey processing factory that has long attracted immigrants to the area reported that 52 workers had tested positive. Omar's parents met in their Mexican home town before moving to Dallas and then to West Liberty in the 1990s, when Omar was a child. His father, who went by his middle name Gabriel, became a US citizen. The family added two daughters and another son and became a staple of the community, taking part in school activities and attending the Catholic church. Omar worked with his father at a distribution warehouse before he joined the West Liberty Fire Department. The family still lives together in the one-story home that Omar's parents purchased in the early 2000s for $45,000. Donors have given more than $24,000 to a GoFundMe account to cover funeral and health expenses for the Martinez family Following the Martinez family's struggle, his West Liberty community is trying to help out by hosting a chicken dinner fundraiser. Vanessa Salais pictured right serving serving chicken dishes dinners during a fundraiser for the Martinez family on Saturday Local residents line up to buy chicken dinners during a fundraiser for the Omar Martinez family on Saturday April 25, 2020, in West Liberty, Iowa Jesus Cruz, of West Liberty, Iowa, grills chickens during a fundraiser for the Omar Martinez family on Saturday Aurelia Martinez had been a stay-at-home mother as the children grew up. She got a job after Hy-Line North America opened a large egg production plant in nearby Wilton in 2015. In late March, Aurelia began feeling tired and sick and isolated herself in one of the bedrooms, Omar said. She tested positive for COVID-19 on April 3, suspecting that a sick coworker passed her the virus. A Hy-Line spokesman confirmed that's the date that the last of six Wilton factory workers tested positive. Evelyn, a waitress, got the chills, body aches and a fever two days later. Soon, she started suffering from coughing spasms and was unable to sleep or eat. Omar gave her Tylenol and fluids. The family persuaded Evelyn to go to Mercy Hospital in Iowa City on April 10 after her coughing got so bad that her face turned purple. That night, she was intubated and put on a ventilator. 'Her oxygen levels were low. If we would have waited a day she might not have made it,' Omar said. The family patriarch, Gabriel, started showing symptoms two days later. By then, the Procter and Gamble factory where he worked had started making hand sanitizer because demand was surging. Omar recalled sleeping on the floor of his father's bedroom and giving him Tylenol in the middle of the night. He took Gabriel to the hospital on April 15 when his cough worsened, holding his hand on the way and telling him everything would be okay. 'All it takes is one person to be irresponsible to affect a family that doesn't deserve it,' Omar Martinez said in an interview. 'I don't wish this upon anybody. I get asked every day how do I do it? I have no answers' The Martinez family's situation illustrates the startling racial and ethnic disparities among those getting infected and dying from the coronavirus. While Latinos make up six percent of Iowa's population, they have accounted for more than 22 percent of its confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to the state Department of Public Health That night would be his last conversation with his father, who had been healthy just days earlier. On a FaceTime call, Gabriel said the hospital was transferring him to the intensive care unit that was already housing Evelyn. His oldest son and wife told him they loved him. Soon, he was also on a ventilator. Doctors said Gabriel made steady progress over the next few days and they began turning down the settings on his ventilator. But on Monday night, he started showing irregular heart rhythms. The family stayed up praying, but early Tuesday morning, they were told he had died. Remarkably, that's when Evelyn's condition started to dramatically improve. 'She had been very unstable while my dad was doing well. But when he passed, in those next 24 hours she was making big improvements,' Omar said. On Thursday, doctors removed her from the ventilator and reported that she was awake and alert and asking to see her parents and daughter. They are cautiously optimistic that she may soon begin rehabilitation if her breathing keeps improving. Neighbors have inundated the family with groceries and other offers of help. A local grocery store held a fundraiser for the family. Donors have given more than $24,000 to a GoFundMe account to cover funeral and health expenses. Omar, choking up, said his father had been touched by the outpouring before his death. 'Seeing all the groceries, his face would light up with a smile,' he said. 'The little things like that brightened up his world.' An RCMP constable's final and fatal decision removed a killer's most potent advantage, likely saving many lives, the president of the National Police Federation said Saturday. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 25/4/2020 (627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Friends of Joey Webber pay their respects at his residence in Wyses Corner, N.S. on Saturday, April 25, 2020. Webber was shot and killed when he stopped to assist at the place where RCMP Const. Heidi Stevenson was gunned down. A man, who at one point wore a police uniform and drove a mock-up cruiser, went on a murderous rampage in several other Nova Scotia communities killing 22 people. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan An RCMP constable's final and fatal decision removed a killer's most potent advantage, likely saving many lives, the president of the National Police Federation said Saturday. "She was a hero," said Brian Sauve, head of the union representing 20,000 RCMP members across Canada. Const. Heidi Stevenson, 48, was killed last Sunday in a confrontation with a man driving a mock police car and wearing an RCMP uniform while carrying out a murderous rampage that left 22 victims dead. According to a timeline released by the force Friday, 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman had already killed a number of people and burned homes in several communities by the time Const. Chad Morrison saw the shooter's car believing it to actually be Const. Stevenson because they had agreed to meet. The gunman pulled up beside Morrison and immediately opened fire, wounding the officer, who managed to drive away to a local hospital. He notified other officers and dispatch that he was shot and that he was en route for emergency medical attention. Stevenson then encountered the suspect, and their vehicles collided head on. "She realized it was the bad guy, and she rammed him, from my understanding," Sauve said. "I recognize she did something that probably saved countless lives. I don't know, five, 10, 20, how far this guy was going to go," he said. After the collision, Stevenson's vehicle and the killer's replica vehicle were burning, and the shooter was no longer able to take advantage of the patrol car that RCMP officials have said was virtually identical to an authentic vehicle. According to her obituary in The Chronicle Herald, Stevenson leaves behind her husband Dean and children Connor and Ava. She was described as a caring wife and mother, and a dedicated police officer with a strong work ethic. The notice said Stevenson was determined to join the RCMP after graduating from Acadia University in 1993. She took on a number of roles with the force, including community policing, communications, drug recognition expert and representing the RCMP as part of the Musical Ride. Off the job, the notice said, Stevenson "was the busy parent who volunteered at the school. She was the friend who delivered cinnamon buns and homemade bread. She was the second mom to many kids who came over to play. She was the gentle smile when you needed it most.'' Stevenson's move to take her killer's car out of commission was crucial. Police have said that some of the murders occurred because the gunman had used the vehicle which was equipped with a replica light bar to pull over victims before he shot them. On Friday, Supt. Darren Campbell spoke about the impact of Wortman having the replica police cruiser. "I don't think it's difficult for non-police personnel or the public to understand that it would obviously complicate things," he said. "You know, I've been a police officer for almost 30 years now and I can't imagine any more horrific set of circumstances, than when you're trying to search for someone that looks like you and the dangers that that causes, the complications that that causes." The shooter managed to get out of his car, kill Stevenson and take her sidearm. A passerby, Joey Webber, stopped and was fatally shot by the gunman. Webber had gone on a family errand toward Shubenacadie, N.S. The gunman would later be killed by police in Enfield, N.S. Hundreds of vehicles, including dirt bikes, hot rods and trucks, with many flying Nova Scotia flags, paid respect Saturday to Webber. Friends and relatives lined a rural road in tiny Wyses Corner, N.S., to say goodbye. The 36-year-old father of three was described in his obituary as a family man, a gifted horseman and a "true country boy." Because of COVID-19, Webber's family was not able to have a proper funeral, so supporters staged the hour-long slow-moving procession. Webber was a stock-car enthusiast. Many vehicles had his race car number 75 taped on the front and side. "Rest in Peace Joey," said the sign on one truck. The first car in the procession, which passed Webber's house, was a pace car from Scotia Speedworld, where Webber once raced. There was also a pickup flying an enormous black-and-white checkered flag. A vintage Oldsmobile 442 muscle car did a prolonged burnout the car sits in one spot while the rear wheels spin and smoke that drew applause from the crowd. "That is what he liked," one woman said. "Right on, buddy." A private family service for Stevenson will be held in the days to come. Stevenson would normally receive a regimental funeral, but COVID-19 makes that impossible. The National Police Federation helped organize "Wear Red Friday" in part to remember her sacrifice in the line of duty, as well as the other loss of life. Part of the purpose was for RCMP members to have a chance "to say a little prayer for Heidi and her family," said Sauve. Police in Sudbury, Ont., saluted Stevenson as bagpipes wailed in the public square at a tribute attended by 10 people the maximum size permitted for a funeral. Meanwhile, families of the victims continue to make arrangements to lay their loved ones to rest. Obituaries posted in the Chronicle Herald say close friends and relatives are holding private funeral services for many of the victims. Many families have asked for no visitors in keeping with the strict restrictions on social gatherings to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. A planned guestbook signing for Gina Goulet, a 54-year-old denturist in Shubenacadie was cancelled to protect the health of her immediate circle, according to her obituary. Some say public celebrations of the lives lost will be held after the COVID-19 pandemic is contained. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Until then, many families have asked people to pay their respects through online condolences or donations to personal crowdfunds or other causes. Some have found workarounds that allow mourners to pay their respects within the constraints of physical distancing. An obituary for Lisa McCully says the 49-year-old teacher and mother of two will be remembered at a private funeral service Sunday that will also be webcast. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2020. With files from Michael Tutton and Andrew Vaughan in Halifax. Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An incorrect date for Joe Webber's memorial motorcade was used in a previous version. The division between the two supposed allies is another facet of Yemens complicated civil war. On one side are the separatists, and on the other are forces loyal to former president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Both sides have fought together in the Saudi-led coalitions war against Yemens Shiite Houthi rebels. An American hedge fund giant has placed bets worth 275million against UK supermarket shares. The move by Citadel owned by US billionaire Ken Griffin suggests Britains supermarket chains might not be immune to the coronavirus outbreak, even though their shares have held firm so far. Citadel has been quietly building up short positions in both Sainsburys and Morrisons in recent weeks, meaning it will profit if the food retailers share prices fall. Citadel has been building up short positions in both Sainsburys and Morrisons in recent weeks Short selling is where investors borrow shares, sell them and then buy them back hopefully at a lower price before returning them to the owner and pocketing the difference. It has amassed a short position accounting for 3.6 per cent of Morrisons shares, worth 162million one of the largest on record in the UK and up from 2.4 per cent a month ago. Citadel first disclosed a bet against Sainsburys at the end of last month and has increased that position to 2.5 per cent of the groups share capital, worth around 113million. A source close to the hedge fund said Citadel Advisors and Citadel Europe both shorting Morrisons and Sainsburys operate separately. Citadel is also betting against shares in troubled airline group easyJet to the tune of 56million, and has placed a 51million bet against kitchen supplier Howden Joinery. Earlier this month, Citadel set up a temporary trading floor at a hotel in Florida that had been shuttered in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis to allow traders to keep operating. Citadel declined to comment. Picture it Butte, Montana 1920. The memories of World War I were slowly fading. The Spanish flu had thankfully run its course. Hope springs eternal must have been the mantra at The Anaconda Standard, so much so that the management decided it was time to celebrate and what better way than making a movie? Soon thereafter the Gilded Age of Hollywood was setting up shop in Butte. The above sounds a bit like the beginning of a Sophia Petrillo story from the 1985-1992 sitcom, The Golden Girls. But unlike Sophias outlandish trips down memory lane, this story is true. A Romance of Butte was the March 22, 1920 headline in The Anaconda Standard, and the cast of characters would all be from Butte. A complete motion picture, every scene filmed here and every character taken by a Butte person, the newspaper reported. The director will select the cast from among the applicants who show ability. The director, under the tutelage of The Anaconda Standard, would be Walter Steiner of the Hudris Film Co., which had made dozens of similar films. Soon, several newspaper ads were placed encouraging local participation in the silent film. Come On! You Fairbanks, Chaplins and Pickfords of Butte! was the Standard plea. Start in the Movies In Your Own Home Town No encouragement was needed. It seemed everyone wanted to get in on the act, as residents, young and old, flocked to auditions. The Standard reported that Movie fans and those who have an ambition to appear on the screen have enthusiastically accepted the opportunity offered them. By the following week, the leads had been chosen Marybell Winchester would play the heroine and Charles Stone would be the perfect hero. Of course, no film would be complete without a villain or two. Those parts went to Floyd Wilson and Jean Duffy. The villains were central to the movie as the devious duo decided to blow up their boss, literally. He had recently fired the lazy twosome from their jobs. The boss was played by Sheriff John K. ORourke, who reportedly had natural screen presence." The hero, of course, steps in just in the nick of time to save the day. As a reward for his heroics, he meets and falls in love with the boss daughter and of course, they live happily ever after. Not only brave, the hero must have been an expert at romance, as he took his bride all the way to Rocker for their honeymoon. Even those residents not in the movie made their presence known, as they followed the film crew throughout Uptown Buttes business district. Scenes from the motion picture also included miners coming off shift just up the Anaconda Road and, since it was basically a romance, a wedding was captured on film at St Patricks Church. Time marched forward and noteworthy to share it took less than a week to shoot the short film. Standard Movie of City Finished Amid Cheering was the March 31, 1920 Anaconda Standard headline. On April 18, 1920, the film premiered to packed houses at the Rialto Theatre with as much fanfare as any Hollywood movie. The Standard reported the cast fell naturally into the parts and as a result Butte will see some bits of clever screen acting. Audiences would bear witness to something no one had seen before a film shot entirely in their hometown. Familiar faces and scenes of Butte flashed on the screen brought extended applause, wrote an Anaconda Standard reporter, varied by personal comments from the audience, members of which witnessed themselves and their friends portrayed on the screen for the first time. Love 2 Funny 2 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Even as a new round of billion-dollar relief hits Main Street this week, some small-business owners fear that the money still isn't enough and that it comes with so many strings attached that it won't help their long-term survival. The latest version of the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, is expected to provide $310 billion more to help limit the economic meltdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. But for the federally backed loans to be forgiven, recipients must spend 75 percent of the money within eight weeks on payroll to employees who were on the books as the pandemic broke out. The remaining money can be spent on rent, utilities, employee health care benefits and mortgage payments. Nicole Marquis, owner of the restaurant HipCityVeg in Philadelphia, a recipient of the most recent round of federal aid, said future packages must "provide flexibility in timing to use it." She said that while the federal government appears to believe businesses will be up and running in two months, that's not the reality she sees. "Now, we know that's preposterous. That's not going to happen," Marquis told NBC News. "The growing reality is our industry will be nowhere near full operating capacity by then or for a long time." Image: Small business closure in Brooklyn (Mark Lennihan / AP file) It's unclear how much the small-business lending program can hold back the surge in joblessness a record 22 million people sought first-time unemployment insurance in the past month. Most economists predict that the unemployment rate will reach 15 percent to 20 percent when the monthly jobs report is released in early May. Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak More money is clearly needed: About 1.6 million small companies were able to get loans, the Small Business Administration said, out of at least 6 million that likely were eligible, according to census data. Bank of America economists estimate that $650 billion more would be necessary to meet demand. Story continues Even if companies are able to secure money from the program, it converts into a low-interest loan if they don't spend it as they're required. Briana and Andrew Volk, owners of The Portland Hunt + Alpine Club in Portland, Maine, said they're grateful for the PPP but fear that even low-interest loans could work out to be burdensome for small businesses. "We fully believe we'll be back open and running this year," Briana Volk said. "But if the virus comes back and we have to self-isolate again, it could be two years before we're back to 100 percent. "Who knows what will happen?" she asked. "We might not be able to pay the loan back even if we wanted to. It becomes really scary and uncomfortable." Image: Small business closure in Hudson, N.H. (Charles Krupa / AP) Holly Wade, director of research and policy analysis for the National Federation of Independent Business, a small-business advocacy group, said she's been hearing those criticisms of PPP from operators across the country. Download the NBC News app for full coverage and alerts about the coronavirus outbreak While largely agreeing with the complaints, Wade insists there's still a benefit in receiving money that can immediately be passed on to employees especially those with unique skills who can't easily be replaced or for whom it would take weeks to train replacements. "Keeping the band together, that's the best analogy for it," Wade said of individual businesses and their employees. "You want to keep these workforces intact as much as possible so when you're on the other side of the economic crisis, you can roll more quickly." Following the footsteps of WHO, the G20 nations on April 26 launched a combined international initiative to accelerate the access of health tools needed to battle coronavirus. The COVID-19 infection which started in the Chinese city of Wuhan has now spiralled out to infect over 2,921,571 people across the world. Mohammed al-Jadaan, the current chairman of the organisation and the finance minister of Saudi Arabia reportedly said that the group was still working to bridge approximately $8 billion "funding gap" to battle the pandemic. For the purpose, the group of 20 rich nations launched Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator initiative, international media reported. Elaborating further, al-Jadaan, released a statement saying," The G20 will continue reinforcing global cooperation on all fronts, and most importantly, on closing the immediate health financing gap. He added that the international community was still facing extraordinary uncertainty" about the depth and duration of this health crisis. WHO launches combined initiative This comes two days after the World Health Organisation (WHO) launched a global and time-limited collaboration to accelerate the development, production and equitable access to new COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. The initial group of health care actors, private sector partners and other stakeholders have come together to launch the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator. Speaking at the live-streamed launch event, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the unprecedented global crisis due to the coronavirus has met with an unprecedented global response. The WHO chief said that the new Act Accelerator brings together the combined power of several organizations to work with speed and scale to ensure all people have access to all the tools to defeat COVID-19. Read: India Has Assumed Leadership Role In Fight Against COVID-19: Harsh Vardhan At G20 Read: Sitharaman Participates In Second Virtual G20 Meet, Discusses Global Economy Amid Pandemic According to the ACT Accelerator, the stakeholders have committed to an unprecedented level of partnership with proactively engaging, aligning and coordinating efforts, building on existing collaborations, collectively devising solutions, and grounding partnership in transparency, and science. They have recognised the significant amount of critical work, investment and initiatives already ongoing around the world to expedite the development and deployment of innovative COVID-19 related products and interventions. Read: WHO Launches Global Collaboration To Ensure Equitable Access To COVID-19 Vaccine Read: G20 Health Ministers Acknowledge Systematic Weakness In Health Systems To Fight Pandemic (Image Credits: AP) The longtime spokesman of Germany's far right AfD party has been suspended amid reports he repeatedly described himself as a fascist and praised his 'Aryan grandfather'. The parliamentary group confirmed Christian Lueth, who has been with the party since 2013, had been suspended. Die Zeit newspaper wrote that Christian Lueth was relieved of his duties at the request of senior party figure Alexander Gauland following an internal review. Christian Lueth (centre) has been suspended from Germany's far right political party AfD, reportedly at the request of senior party leader Alexander Gauland (right). Last year a German court ruled that another senior party member, Bjoern Hoecke (left), could justifiably be called a fascist Lueth had allegedly 'repeatedly described himself as a fascist and referred to his grandfather's Aryan lineage', the paper wrote in its online edition, citing party sources. Lueth's grandfather was a submarine commander during World War II and received an Iron Cross from Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, the newspaper said. AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla confirmed the suspension to Der Spiegel weekly, but declined to comment on the reason. Spiegel said Lueth had not been officially sacked yet, 'but it doesn't look good'. Lueth, 43, has been with the party since its early days as an anti-euro outfit in 2013 and had cultivated close ties to top party figures like Gauland. Lueth started out as an AfD spokesperson before becoming the main spokesman for its parliamentary group when the party entered the national Bundestag in 2017. Spiegel said Lueth apparently made the controversial comments in an online chat with a woman who is not an AfD member. A screenshot of the conversation had been circulating for some time, according to Spiegel. The AfD did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The AfD has frequently come under fire for expressing anti-foreigner sentiment and railing against Germany's culture of remembrance for Nazi crimes. Christian Lueth has been with Alternative for Germany since 2013, but has now been suspended as the far-right party's spokesman The party's parliamentary leader Gauland once dismissed the Nazi dictatorship as a 'speck of bird s***' in German history. Following news of Lueth's ousting, some commentators pointed out that a German court last year ruled that another senior party member, Bjoern Hoecke, could justifiably be called a fascist - yet remains the AfD's leader in the eastern state of Thuringia. 'Why would the media think (Lueth) was fired because of "allegations of fascism"?' tweeted Ruprecht Polenz, a former secretary general of Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right CDU party. 'Wouldn't the AfD then also have to kick out somebody else?' The AfD's popularity surged after it capitalised on widespread anger over an influx of asylum- seekers in 2015. But support for the party has waned in recent months after it was blamed for fuelling a spate of far-right attacks. The AfD has also been less visible lately, as the coronavirus pandemic puts the spotlight on Germany's ruling parties. Seoul, April 26 : North Korea's top leader Kim Jong-un is reportedly to be in a 'vegetative state' as his health appears could be more serious than initially believed, Japanese media reported. Earlier this week, the North Korean leader was gravely ill following heart surgery. Media reports said that China had dispatched a team to North Korea to advise on Kim's health. However, the reports about Kim's health are disputed as North Korea has not made any official statement regarding it. The Chinese Communist Party's International Liaison Department departed for North Korea on Thursday. Those involved are keeping quiet about the nature of the trip, and even the sources that reported on the trip are keeping quiet regarding what it means for Kim's current state, Japanese media reported. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text This deeded access lot, with over 151' of frontage on Chocowinity Bay /Pamlico River, and quite large at .85 acre, is viewed here from the south side of the lot where we view the Pamlico River. The community access lot has a boat ramp with a pier in place: Above. The map of the deeded access lot: Below. photos /maps by Stan Deatherage Click images to expand. Tract I (lots priced with descriptions) Lot #1 Residential/Light Commercial Est. 1.411 acres Light commercial encumbered by strict limitations (3 bdrms. effluent) $44,100.00 Lot #2 Residential/Light Commercial Est. 1.215 acres Light commercial encumbered by strict limitations (3 bdrms. effluent) $42,300.00 Lot #3 Residential/Light Commercial Est. 1.736 acres Light commercial encumbered by strict limitations (3 bdrms. effluent) $48,700.00 Three Large Secluded Lots in the Calf Creek watershed, all with deeded water access and an abundance of deeded community property to the Pamlico River Estuary: Above. Map by Stan Deatherage Click map to expand. In certain circumstances, where well warranted, space (acreage) may be purchased for septic systems in additional increments of 120 gallons per day (enough for one bedroom) for the septic drainfield at 3,500.00. This video, created by SNI Productions, represents deeded waterfront access property that is conveyable for Rice Patch Creek Preserve and Calf Creek Preserve owners: Below. Co-brokerage for the entire tract or multiple individual tracts in a one sale scenario is 3% of sales price to the brokerage representing the sales side of the conveyance. Co-brokerage for the individual lots is 5% of sales price to the brokerage representing the sales side of the conveyance. Contact Information Below: Stan Deatherage, broker #82765 106 Beechtree Street Washington, NC 27889 Business: (252) 946-1132 Cell: (252) 946-2361 email: stan@beaufortcountynow.com stan@deatherageandassociates.com Loading Google Map...Please Wait... Enter an Address or Place & Click Find Find Latitude Longitude Zoom How to fit a niche is often an acquired trait as needs present themselves, especially regarding real property - the space where real people reside. Currently, there is a dearth of large, highly secluded lots offered close to our region's population centers, especially ones with water access on, and, or to the Pamlico River.Land like this, in the Chocowinity Township, about 3/4 to a 1 and 1/2 miles east of Cypress Landing, not so far east in the hinterlands of Beaufort County, is an increasingly rare find. Some people want: curb and gutter; street lights; city taxes with city services, or, an over-bearing Homeowners' Association, complete with nearly 100 pages of association dictum that could eventually morph into a corporate produced HOA nightmare of misapplied governance.Other folks find solace in a more freedom based governance of their property; moreover, they desire not only the freedom to use their property responsibly, knowing that their freedom to so will eventually allow them to enjoy a closer connnection to the stewardship of their property.Accordingly, the seclusion of these large lots: uniquely placed, in perfect solitude, atop the hills within the Calf Creek watershed, with soils available for well working septic systems; very near to the southern banks of the Pamlico River, complete with water access, is an ideal and personally perfect situation in which to live out one's days, however they wish ... within reason, of course.This group of three lots are tucked into the woods, surrounded by common property owned trails and natural parks, irrevocably secluded, but with state road frontage along the southern right of way of Old Blounts Creek Road at the far northeastern property line of the this 421 acres project , is more secluded and a lower price per acre than any of the other lots I have to offer now or in the future.Unique to this seclusion of these three lots, with waterfront access, within Tract I, there will be a need for an off-site septic system (the cost of the land needed for an easement to the septic field, and the septic field as well, to support a 3 bedroom dwelling is no charge).The developer will provide septic space for a 3 bedroom dwelling, with that site constructed dwelling being a minimum of 2000 square feet with a two car garage, built of materials, and in an intended fashion to only enhance the value of the prospective buyer's property, and in some sustaining measure the neighboring value of the community.These 3 large lots, all similar in many respects besides all having hard surfaced road access off Old Blounts Creek Road, are well drained - all proposed building sites are on hills; well wooded with hardwoods on building sites; off-site septic systems, water access on the Chocowinity Bay (west) /Pamlico River (east) ; shared borders with natural swaths of community owned property adding a greater sense of ownership and additional seclusion. The Home Secretary last night condemned 'sophisticated' criminals seeking to 'exploit and capitalise' on the pandemic and warned them: 'Our world-class law enforcement are on to you.' Speaking at the daily coronavirus press briefing, Priti Patel said Border Force officers had seized 1 million of cocaine concealed in a shipment of face masks. Saying that about 2.4 million has been lost in scams relating to the outbreak, she said multiple websites were carrying out phishing scams to steal login details and selling bogus personal protective equipment. The Mail on Sunday can reveal that fraudsters are putting lives at risk by producing bogus safety certificates to try to offload ineffective PPE. Equipment, such as masks and gowns must meet a quality standard known as the CE mark, awarded after testing. Britain's Home Secretary Priti Patel attending a remote press conference to update the nation on the COVID-19 pandemic, inside 10 Downing Street in central London on April 25, 2020 However, significant numbers of forged certificates have been discovered. Surrey and Sussex police forces have recalled up to 2,700 face masks after they were found to have 'fraudulent or invalid' documentation. This newspaper has seen counterfeit certificates from two overseas companies discovered by potential buyers. Sources confirmed the document from Dutch firm Dhanvantari features outdated branding from the British Standards Institution and is signed in the name of an employee who left the regulator 'a long time ago'. A certificate from South African firm Taaccess Medicals, supposedly issued in November, refers to the European Community, a term not in common use since the 1990s. It also has an incorrect signature and out-of-date branding. Ben Sunderland, managing director of respected British-based supplier Camlab, said: 'It is the wild, wild west out there. I know there is PPE coming into this country that does not meet the legal requirements and it is being sold by these cowboys. I'm absolutely sure there is rubbish out there.' Neither Taaccess Medicals nor Dhanvantari responded to requests for comment. A Salem resident shot in the face early Saturday morning has died in a Delaware hospital. Jerry Wright, 57, was shot around 2:30 a.m. outside of a home on the 200 block of East Broadway in Salem and was transported to Christiana Hospital, where he died Sunday afternoon, according to Salem County Prosecutor John T. Lenahan. The shooting followed an argument and Wright was the intended target, Lenahan said. The case remains under investigation and no arrests have been made. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Salem City Police Department at 856-935-0033 or the Salem County Prosecutors Office at 856-935-2847. Wright is the fourth man killed in a shooting in Salem this year. Isa Hallman and Kapri Taylor, both 28-year-old Salem residents, were killed in a Jan. 2 shooting at Salem Motor Lodge. Tajmire Clark, 23, of Salem, was shot to death on Olive Street on March 21. No one has been charged in the killings, but another man wounded in the motor lodge incident, Rakwan Adams, 25, of Salem, was charged with two counts of attempted murder in that case. County, state and federal agencies are now assisting Salem Police to combat the increase in violence. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Pakistan's coronavirus cases jumped to 12,579 on Sunday after 783 new infections were reported in one day, prompting the government officials and medical experts to appeal to the people to avoid visiting mosques and participating in congregational prayers during Ramzan to contain the spread of the disease. According to the Ministry of National Health Services, at least 15 people have died in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll in the country to 269. A total of 783 new cases were reported in one day and the total number of infections has reached 12,579. The number of those recovered also increased to 2,866, it said. Punjab reported 5,378 cases, Sindh 4,232, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 1,793, Balochistan 722, Gilgit-Baltistan 308, Islamabad 235 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 55 cases. So far, 144,365 tests have been done in the country, including 6,218 in the last 24 hours. COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show As the infections keep growing, Pakistan Medical Association, Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) have urged people to offer prayers at homes and not in mosques. PIMA President Dr Iftikhar Burney warned on Saturday that mosques were becoming a major source of virus transmission. "Around 6,000 cases for coronavirus surfaced in a month.but the same has doubled in the last six days," he said, warning that the infection would further go up in the coming months of May and June. There are reports that a 20-point agreement signed by the leading clerics with President Arif Alvi on restricting access to mosques during Ramzan was not being followed completely. Alvi has written a letter to the Imams of mosques urging them to ask worshippers above the age of 50 to pray at home. He pointed out that the point number six of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) set in the agreement said that persons over the age of 50 should avoid offering prayers at the mosque. Alvi also visited mosques in Rawalpindi to review arrangements made by the administration of mosques to contain the spread of the virus, he wrote in a tweet. He shared a picture of Jama Masjid Ghousia and said the administration had arranged for Taraweeh (special prayers offered at night during Ramzan), keeping in mind necessary preventative measures to curb the spread. However, the face masks were lacking. Advisor on Health Dr Zafar Mirza also took to Twitter and again urged the "citizens to demonstrate responsibility & avoid congregations during Ramazan to protect themselves from COVID-19." However, the government was still reluctant to close down the mosques due to fear of backlash by the extremists. There were reports of violation of lockdown from different cities and police arrested 78 people and sealed 107 shops on Saturday in Quetta, capital of Balochistan, for violating the lockdown, Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said. He said that a total of 2,707 shops had been sealed over violations so far. In Sindh province, the government after talks with some groups of traders allowed them to carry out online businesses. But the agreement was rejected by traders who apparently cannot leverage the online market. In Punjab, the government announced that lockdown would not apply to pushcart street vendors, selling fruit, vegetables and other products. Due to lack of observance of lockdown, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) criticised the partial lockdown policy and asked the government either impose total lockdown or withdraw it. Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Local Government Kamran Bangash tested positive for coronavirus, provincial Health Minister Taimur Jhagra said on Twitter. Catch our entire coverage on the Facebook-Jio deal here. "Kamran is well and at home. I talked to him, he is in high spirits, and will insha'Allah be back leading from the front soon," Jhagra said.Also read: Coronavirus News India LIVE Updates Civitas Institute Newer Older Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 The vision of the Civitas Institute is of a North Carolina whose citizens enjoy liberty and prosperity derived from limited government, personal responsibility and civic engagement. The mission of the Civitas Institute is to facilitate the implementation of conservative policy solutions to improve the lives of all North Carolinians. A shopper lines up outside a Home Depot store in St Louis. REUTERS/Lawrence Bryant Retailers across the US have come under intense pressure during the coronavirus pandemic. While some stores have stayed open and adjusted their shopping environments to be safer for consumers and workers, others have closed. Experts are now looking at how stores might change after we emerge from lockdown and what the shopping experience could look like in the future. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Retailers across the US are feeling the strain of the coronavirus pandemic, which is creating a surge in demand at some stores that remain open but has wholly dried up business for those that haven't. Experts, landlords, and retailers are now turning their thoughts to life after lockdown and how different the retail landscape could look in the future. "We are working on how we come out of this, what are we going to look like, and how are we going to make it so our customers feel comfortable coming to our properties. That's what our main concerns are right now," Greg Maloney, who heads commercial real estate services company JLL Retail in the US, said in a recent conversation with Business Insider. JLL Retail offers property management and leasing services to landlords. "9/11 changed our way of doing things...and I think this is going to change our way of doing things in a lot of ways," he said. Here's how our shopping experience could change, according to retail experts: Permanent social distancing measures Grocery store line REUTERS/Brian Snyder Stores that are deemed essential and can stay open during the lockdown have already enforced new measures to make shoppers and employees feel safer. These include anything from social distancing markers and limits on the number of customers in-store at any one time to sneeze guards at the cash registers. And experts say that some of these measures will become a permanent fixture. Greg Maloney of JLL Retail said he is already working with clients who have busy stores such as Apple to see how they can prepare for the future. It includes changing the store layout and limiting the number of customers. Story continues Movie theaters are doing the same, he said, by looking at how they can space out seats or leave some empty to limit the number of people. Hand sanitizing stations and free masks FILE PHOTO: People wearing protective face masks use a smartphone on a street in Kiev Reuters While some retailers have started to supply workers with masks, Maloney said JLL is looking at how to take this a step further. It is considering whether malls and stores might also begin to provide free masks for customers and install hand sanitizing stations in public areas to prevent the spread of infection. More communication about cleaning Kroger Associate Image 01 Kroger Sanitation is a top priority for shoppers at the moment. Experts say that retailers will likely have to be more transparent about their cleaning practices and how their ventilation systems are arranged to show whether they are circulating the same air around the store. Stores move to an appointment-only model Wedding dress shop Photo by Betsy Joles/Getty Images Appointment-only shopping services typify expensive boutiques or wedding dress stores but Kelly Stickel founder and CEO of consultancy firm Remodista said in the future we could see more stores adopting this model to limit the number of people in a store. A less drastic measure would be to open the store every other day to make time for a deep clean, she said. More contactless payments apple pay Shutterstock Retailers are already advising customers to avoid germ-ridden cash and pay by card. Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, thinks we are only going to see more contactless payment options in stores along with "scan and shop" services to help customers avoid the registers altogether, he said. Pick-up becomes the norm Grocery pickup REUTERS/Jason Redmond Before the pandemic, some of the country's biggest retailers were building out their buy online pick-up in-store services to make shopping more convenient. But in the past few weeks, grocery and big-box chains have been ramping up these services as customers avoid shopping in-store. Saunders is expecting more stores to jump on the bandwagon and for collection points in-store to be given more prominence and space, he said. Chengyi Lin, an affiliate professor of strategy at INSEAD business school, said we would see the same process applied to restaurants as well. Ordering online and dining in the restaurant could decrease the wait times outside and inside restaurants and provide a "smoother and safer dining experience for patrons," he said. And ordering online and picking up at the restaurant or store could save time and reduce human interaction. These services could also play an important role in contact tracing. "Back-tracking digital transactions could help identify potential contacts should an individual be diagnosed positive,' he said. Leaning more on ecommerce online shopping Crystal Cox / Business Insider Social distancing is already encouraging consumers to shop online more, and experts say this will only continue. Lin used China as an example of this. "After China comes out of national confinement, many brick-and-mortar supermarkets continue to lose foot traffic, while their online channels continue to thrive. "In the US, we may see a similar recovery pattern. We could expect to see a continued increase of ecommerce penetration for retailers. This increase could benefit both pure ecommerce players such as Amazon and traditional retailers who manage omnichannels. In-store foot traffic may have a slow recovery," he said. It hasn't applied to all businesses, however. According to Lin, restaurants in China have seen a faster rebound. "With continued physical distancing rules, such as one table one person, diners come back to enjoy the flavors they've missed," he said. Still, he's expecting takeout and food delivery demand to continue to rise. More stores will close store closing AP As more consumers switch to ecommerce shopping, we are likely to see a contraction in the number of stores in the US. This trend was already well underway before the pandemic started but is likely to accelerate over the next few years, experts say. "I think some retailers will also use the crisis as an opportunity to assess what they want from their store portfolio and I expect some to shrink because demand has dropped off," Saunders said. In a recent UBS report, a group of analysts estimated that as many as 100,000 stores could close in the US in the next five years. In the report, UBS cited the immediate impact of the pandemic and the subsequent changing shopping habits it is likely to cause as crucial reasons for this. Robots replace humans in stores Marty robot AP Photo/Matt Rourke COVID-19 has become a testing ground for several new technologies such as delivery robots and drones in China, Lin said. "In the case of prolonged confinement, or the "long-tail" scenario, these technologies could become very helpful," he added, highlighting that drones could deliver medicines in cities and remote areas. Robots could also become more critical in stores and used for tasks such as cleaning and stock checking. The benefits of this are twofold, Saunders said: It "both minimizes staff exposure and also helps reduce costs which retailers will be desperate to do after this crisis." Virtual reality brings the store to our home Virtual Reality Michelle Yan, Tech Insider If store visits do drop, longterm retailers are going to have to come up with more creative ways to recreate the experience of shopping in-store online. Artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) could play an important role here by offering services such as personalized recommendation, image-based search, and virtual personal stylists, Lin said. Read the original article on Business Insider STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Mayor Bill de Blasio said crime hasnt been so low in New York City since the 1950s during a Sunday morning interview. While crime was down in March due to coronavirus, it is unclear if this still rings true in April. Citywide, crime was up 6.8% the week of April 12 compared to the same week last year, he said during an interview with FOX News Sunday morning, De Blasios statement comes just days after the Advance/SILive.com reported an uptick of burglaries, robberies, and shootings on Staten Island. The NYPDs 122nd Precinct alone has seen an alarming 228% increase in robberies. Citywide, car thefts were up 63.5%, robberies shot up by 19%, and shooting incidents increased 11% compared to last years data. In the past week alone, three shootings took place on the North Shore. One proved fatal for the 20 year old Clifton man who was shot. In the interview, Mayor de Blasio also addressed the bail reform act that went into effect statewide in January, which was recently amended to make more crimes bail-eligible. Due to the act and coronavirus concerns, 14,000 New York prisoners have been released. According to de Blasio, very few inmates who were released have been acting out. The few who have, he says, will be punished accordingly. On Staten Island, two prisoners, who were released early due to COVID-19, have committed crimes and have been rearrested, according to prosecutors. *** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK *** De Blasio spoke about the citys crime rate following his daily press conference where he outlined a four part strategy -- including setting up advisory councils, two task forces and a charter revision commission -- to reopen New York as part of its recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Restart is necessary to recovery... Everyone wants to know about the restart and that is going to happen over the next couple of weeks, said de Blasio at his Sunday morning press conference. We have a lot of work to do, and its going to be a non-stop effort from me and my team." You are the owner of this article. A last resort against COVID-19 At just 30, Nick Wilson was so sick with the coronavirus that even a ventilator wasnt enough. His San Antonio doctors had to improvise against an unpredictable disease. A last resort against COVID-19 At just 30, Nick Wilson was so sick with the coronavirus that even a ventilator wasnt enough. His San Antonio doctors had to improvise against an unpredictable disease. April 26, 2020 Dora Wilson had just brought her husband home from the hospital, oxygen tank in tow, when their son appeared at the back door, looking ill. Paul, a 71-year-old military veteran, had spent nearly two weeks at Brooke Army Medical Center with COVID-19. Dora, 68, also tested positive for the coronavirus and felt miserable, but she was well enough to remain at home with Nick, their son. About this author Lauren Caruba covers health care and medicine for the San Antonio Express-News. To read more from Lauren, become a subscriber. lcaruba@express-news.net | Twitter: @LaurenCaruba Although Nick had developed a fever and other symptoms, Dora hadnt heard much complaint from him while he cooked for her and left the meals at her bedroom door, even as her appetite vanished. But now Nick was telling her that he needed to go to an emergency room. I cant breathe, he said. At 30, with no serious health problems, Nick seemed in the best position of any of them to fight off the virus. Instead, he would become the sickest of them all. Over the next few days, as Nicks breathing deteriorated and his oxygen levels plummeted, he would be treated at four hospitals in San Antonio as doctors sought to save his life. His case would illustrate the lengths to which health care workers have to go to fight an aggressive viral pneumonia that has proved an unpredictable, formidable opponent. It would also become a testament to the challenges and limitations they face. With no proven treatments for COVID-19, medical teams have been left to improvise. They have turned to oxygen and ventilators, to experimental drugs and therapies. What works for one patient wont necessarily work for another. In Nick's case, when even medications and a ventilator werent enough, he was given extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, which allowed his lungs to rest as a machine took over the job of filtering oxygen into his blood. Such devices are even scarcer than ventilators, and they're more invasive, coming with their own risk of complications. But other options had been exhausted. It was his best chance of survival. *** The virus came first for Nicks father. When Paul, a ride-share driver, began feeling ill in March, he went to BAMCs emergency department, where he was given antibiotics and a test for COVID-19. The results came back positive March 23. Within two days, his breathing worsened, and he was back in the hospital. This time, he was transported there by emergency responders in protective gear. It came next for Dora. While Paul was in the hospital, the semi-retired speech pathologist was at their Northwest Side home with Nick, who had been laid off from his job at a car wash after the pandemic hit. Dora developed a fever, fatigue, diarrhea and a headache so severe it woke her up in the middle of the night. The two kept to separate areas of the house. When they were about to enter common areas like the kitchen, they would call out to each other as a warning. But in the end, it came for Nick, too. He was hit by fever, chills and diarrhea in late March. Still, he could fetch meals and fluids on his own. About that time, his father was transferred to the intensive care unit. But so far, he hadnt needed a ventilator. On April 6, a day after Doras symptoms resolved, Paul was ready to be released from the hospital. Dora picked him up and drove him home. As they got out of the car, she could see how ill her typically happy, upbeat son looked. She was shocked since he hadnt complained about, or even mentioned, how badly he was feeling. Nick was, too. He knew he was infected, but he thought hed be back on his feet after a week or two in bed. The breathing problems developed so quickly that it caught him by surprise. Suddenly, walking 5 feet to the bathroom left him winded. As he told his mother he needed medical care, she could hear him pausing to catch his breath before he spoke. She watched as one sick family member replaced the other in the car. *** Dora drove Nick to the nearest hospital, a freestanding emergency room in the Baptist system. The doctors admitted him. By phone, one told Dora that her son wasnt doing well and needed supplemental oxygen. Over the next few days, the calls grew more alarming. On April 9, Dora learned that Nick was receiving the maximum amount of supplemental oxygen, and his fever was nearing 103 degrees. He needed to be transferred to a facility where he could be put on a ventilator, if it came to that. Dora began to despair. Nick was taken across town to Northeast Baptist Hospital, where the hospital system had centralized care for its critical COVID-19 patients. When Dr. Tamara Simpson, a critical care pulmonologist, met Nick in the ICU, she was struck by how young and frightened he looked. On top of that, she learned he had fallen ill while taking care of his parents. The conventional wisdom is that the coronavirus poses the most risk to the elderly and those with chronic health problems. But that wasnt Nick, she thought. He had a history of mild asthma and high blood pressure nothing serious enough to justify his dire state. Why was it that his parents were recovering, but their young, previously healthy son was doing so poorly? To Simpson, it was inexplicable. If this could happen to a guy like Nick, it could happen to her, to her colleagues. Already, Simpson felt stretched thin, and she worried what that meant for her own immunity against the horrible disease she was exposed to on a daily basis. The work of caring for these patients had proved physically and emotionally taxing. The days were long, stressful and, at times, overwhelming. With limited understanding of the virus, hospital workers had to be flexible, learning along the way. Despite their best efforts, the outcomes weren't always positive. On one particularly bad day, the units staff broke down in tears. It felt like all their patients were dying. With physical distancing measures in place, doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists at Northeast Baptist had to take on a more intimate role in the lives of patients and family members who were isolated from each other. Doctors were regularly calling and texting with spouses and relatives who had no other way to get information about their loved ones. Nurses were holding the hands of patients as they died so they wouldnt be alone at the end. You just see the love, and the hurt. Dr. Tamara Simpson In the rare instances that family members did come to the hospital to see a dying patient, conversations that normally were private had to be facilitated by medical workers. In those cases, the patient would be rolled to a glass door, their loved one on the other side. Hospital staff would hold up two-way radios so they could communicate. They are saying what they want to tell their loved ones, where we can all hear it. And theres not a dry eye in the ICU, Simpson said. You just see the love, and the hurt. Simpson didnt want that to happen to Nick. *** The week that Nick arrived at Northeast Baptist was a particularly busy one for the hospital. At one point, 18 COVID-19 patients were simultaneously on ventilators the most of any hospital in the city. Nick would soon be among them. On an X-ray, the lungs of a healthy person appear black. Images of Nicks lungs had shown an accumulation of ground glass hazy, white patches that were evidence of spreading inflammation in the delicate tissue. Simpson knew things were not looking good for him. He was on antibiotics and hydroxychloroquine, a controversial anti-malaria drug being used to treat some COVID-19 patients. His oxygen levels were low. A ventilator was the next step. Before sedating and intubating him, Simpson told Nick he could briefly talk with one family member. She reminded him to sign off with see you later, rather than goodbye. He chose his mother. On the phone, he told her he was scared. Sick with worry, Nicks parents drove to the hospital. They waited in the parking lot until they had confirmation that the procedure had gone smoothly. It had. But Simpson hoped she could do more for him. Clockwise from top: Dr. Tamara Simpson removes her gloves after performing a procedure on a COVID-19 patient at Northeast Baptist Hospital. (Bob Owen | Express News) ; Simpson, tired and sweaty, removes the air pack for her protective hood before attending to another patient. (Bob Owen | Express News) ; Simpson and two nurses wheel a coronavirus patient through the halls of Northeast Baptist Hospital. (Bob Owen | Express News) ; After a COVID-19 patient is moved through Northeast Baptist Hospital, the environmental services team disinfects the area. (Bob Owen | Express News) *** Simpson knew Methodist Hospital was the only place in San Antonio treating COVID-19 patients with ECMO, which replaces the function of the lungs, and in some cases the heart too, for patients with a high chance of dying. Initially used only with pediatric patients, ECMO had increasingly become a method of last resort for drowning victims, people with pneumonia, those suffering from heart attacks and for a small number of COVID-19 patients. Simpson began talking with the doctors in Methodist's program, making her case for Nick to be accepted as a patient. Weeks earlier, when the Methodist system had begun planning for the coronavirus pandemic, the ECMO staff was unsure whether the machine could be used to treat COVID-19 patients. Much was unknown about the novel coronavirus and the virulent respiratory illness it could cause. If the hospital had too many coronavirus patients, ECMO might not be feasible. It demands the attention of many specialists: lung, heart, kidney, perfusion, infectious disease. There were ethical considerations, too. The procedure can lead to serious complications, including bleeding, infection, damaged blood vessels, the formation of clots and kidney damage. For patients considered for ECMO, the benefits have to outweigh those risks. It's also offered at few hospitals, so it would not be available to every patient. Still, Methodist had more capacity and expertise than most hospitals. In the past few years, it had rapidly grown into a high-volume ECMO center, treating nearly 150 patients the previous year, compared with just 27 two years before that. And the devices had played a major role during the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic. The ECMO team drew up plans for infection control and the admission of multiple patients at a time. They scrounged up a few extra machines. And they formed a committee to assess patients for whom nothing else had worked. They decided the procedure would be reserved for younger people without other health issues those who stood the greatest chance of benefiting. As coronavirus hospitalizations began to tick up in San Antonio, evidence began to emerge that ventilators were not the answer for some of the sickest coronavirus patients. Many ventilated patients were still not getting enough oxygen. They were dying. A ventilator works by mechanically forcing air into the lungs, which are not accustomed to such pressure. Patients can usually tolerate some amount of this, but over time, ventilation can stretch and damage small tissues in the lungs. And in some patients with respiratory failure, including a subset of those with COVID-19, it doesn't matter how much oxygen is forced in. The lungs can be so damaged that the oxygen does not make its way to the rest of the body, to the cells and tissues that need it. With ECMO, the lungs are removed from the equation. Large tubes are fed into arteries and veins so a machine can remove blood from the body and oxygenate it directly before returning it. Under the right conditions, it allows doctors to hit the pause button, giving a patients organs time to rest and recover. After Nicks intubation, Simpson called Dora and told her she was considering him for other treatments. She had ECMO in mind, but she was intentionally vague, careful not to raise Dora's hopes in the event that he wasnt accepted by Methodist as a patient. She was relieved when the hospital agreed to take him. In the meantime, Dora wanted to see her son. So Simpson donned protective gear and, with her cellphone in a bag, placed a video call to Dora and held the phone in front of Nick. The doctor encouraged Dora to talk to Nick, who was still under sedation, sure that he would be able to hear her. Dora relayed every encouragement she could think of. He was strong, he could fight this, he was going to be fine. They were counting on him to pull through. The following day, Easter Sunday, things took a turn. Nick hadnt taken well to the ventilator. He was getting worse by the hour. Over the phone, Simpson explained ECMO to Dora and got her permission to transfer Nick to Methodists care. He arrived at the hospital later that day. Like Simpson, Dr. Jeff DellaVolpe, co-medical director of Methodists ECMO program, was struck by how young Nick was, and how ill. He was receiving close to 100 percent oxygen from the ventilator, yet that was not improving his oxygen levels. He wanted to give someone like him, someone sickened while caring for his family, a fighting chance. Clockwise from top: Nurse Keri Ginger, left, and Dr. Charles Burch, center, and another nurse wait to intubate a patient at Methodist Hospitals COVID-19 unit on April 23, 2020. (Bob Owen, San Antonio Express-News | Express News) ; Alexsandra Morales, a nurse in Methodist Hospitals COIVD-19 unit watches intensely as doctors work on a patient. (Bob Owen | Express News) ; A nurse checks a patients medication April 23, 2020, at Methodist Hospitals COVID-19 unit. (Bob Owen | Express News) ; A Methodist Hospital nurse, right, wipes down a doctor as part of the hospitals sanitization procedures. (Bob Owen | Express News) DellaVolpe knew the coronavirus behaved differently than other respiratory viruses. Usually, viruses would interfere with the delivery of oxygen by causing a persons lungs to grow stiff, making them hard to inflate with a ventilator. That wasnt happening with this virus. The lungs of these patients still were flexible, yet they had dangerously low oxygen levels. The reasons were not yet known, but it was clear to DellaVolpe that medicines traditional assumptions might not apply to these patients. Maybe ECMO could help. It had been less than a week since Methodist had begun treating COVID-19 patients with ECMO. Nick would be among the first. That evening, as DellaVolpe was preparing to hook Nick to the ECMO machine, he called Dora. He asked about her sons medical history and whether she understood how rapidly he was deteriorating. Then he went to work. *** For hours, Dora didnt hear anything. Then, in the middle of the night, her phone pinged with a text. It was from Nick. Hey mom. Feeling better today. Worried that it was a prank, some horrible joke, she called the nurses station. Oh yeah, hes awake, the nurse said. They had just extubated him, so she wasnt sure if he could talk yet. Dora wrote back: Oh my son!!! Please get better! Keep being strong & fighting this disease! Then, Nick said, BTW, I could hear you earlier. He was referring to Doras conversation with him while he was sedated. When Dora sent Simpson a screenshot of the exchange, she couldnt believe it. *** Over the next few days, Nick steadily improved. Some patients can remain on ECMO for weeks or even months, but he was weaned from the machine after only three days. He needed supplemental oxygen, but he was breathing on his own, a major step forward. He was moved to Methodist Ambulatory Surgery Hospital, where many of the systems coronavirus patients were being treated. Nick is among a tiny subset of coronavirus patients to have been treated with ECMO. According to a registry created by the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization, which tracks data from ECMO centers around the world, hospitals reported its use on more than 500 COVID-19 patients, including nearly 400 in North America. Finished with one procedure on a COVID-19 patient, Dr. Tamara Simpson heads to another patient at Northeast Baptist Hospital on April 24, 2020. Simpson got Nick Wilson into the ECMO program at Methodist. Finished with one procedure on a COVID-19 patient, Dr. Tamara Simpson heads to another patient at Northeast Baptist Hospital on April 24, 2020. Simpson got Nick Wilson into the ECMO program at Methodist. Photo: Bob Owen, San Antonio Express-News Photo: Bob Owen, San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close A ventilator wasn't enough for this 30-year-old COVID-19 patient, so San Antonio doctors improvised. 1 / 18 Back to Gallery Simpson is thrilled by Nicks recovery and the collaboration that led to it. She has sent a handful of her patients to Methodist, which has treated about a dozen coronavirus patients with ECMO. She now touches base with the team daily. In her conversations with DellaVolpe, she pre-emptively advocated for herself if she gets sick, she told him, she would want the same medical care Nick received. She feels forever connected to the Wilson family. It was heartening to be involved in a successful case, to see a COVID-19 patient in such a severe condition make it through. Her experiences treating him and other coronavirus patients have solidified her belief that it is too soon to ease lockdown restrictions. She has never seen a disease strike multiple members of the same family the way COVID-19 has. On ExpressNews.com: She was released from a hospital in San Antonio with coronavirus still in her system. Weeks later, she doesnt appear to have infected anyone. For DellaVolpe, cases like Nicks illustrate the gravity with which the coronavirus should be taken. Ive been struck by how many young, previously completely healthy patients really are to the point where they almost die. Its a scary thing, he said. Its something that we should be aware of and have respect for. *** On Wednesday evening, Nick was discharged from the hospital and wheeled out of the ambulance entrance. He was wearing the same protective equipment as the medical personnel accompanying him gloves, a gown, a mask and a face shield. His mother was so happy, she could not stop crying. Nick and his family are grateful, to the health care workers who cared for him, and for the friends and family who kept him in their prayers. By text, he said he is ecstatic to be back home with a mostly clean bill of health. Right now, Im feeling blessed just to be able to walk around. He has an arduous recovery ahead. He remains weak and has trouble walking, standing and sitting. His body is covered in wounds from IV lines and the enormous ECMO tubes. His family will keep a close eye on him for signs of regression or blood clots, a serious complication in some COVID-19 patients. After everything he has been through, he feels it is too soon for daily life to return to what it was. I may have gotten past this, but people need to understand that I was on deaths doorstep several times, and its only through the grace of God that I survived. I got lucky, Nick said. Most people wont. Design by Joy-Marie Scott Subscribe Real news. Real trust. Real community. Subscribe to the San Antonio Express-News to support quality local journalism. Today's Paper James Beggs, who had a key role as NASA's administrator in the 1980s in promoting the space shuttle program, then resigned soon after the 1986 Challenger disaster that left seven astronauts dead, died April 23 at his home in Bethesda, Maryland. He was 94. The cause was congestive heart failure, said his son, Charles Beggs. Beggs was a onetime Navy officer who worked in the aerospace industry and held top jobs at NASA in the 1960s and later in the Transportation Department. He was named NASA administrator - the space agency's top position - in 1981. At that time, NASA's glory days of manned space flight and heroic missions to the moon were a decade in the past, and budget cuts had reduced the agency's scope and morale. Beggs sought to restore NASA's luster through scientific expeditions, strengthened ties to the military and a new space station - which White House budget cutters dismissed as a "motel in the sky for astronauts." Beggs secured additional funding for NASA and proved to be a popular and charismatic figure, given to spontaneously quoting lines from Shakespeare. He was skilled at dealing with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and helped rebuild the country's space program. He foresaw a time when a squadron of space shuttles would be conducting scientific research and launching secret military satellites in space. "There is no telling where our vision and imagination will lead us once we have the space station," he said in 1985. "As Shakespeare put it, 'Thoughts are but dreams till their effects be tried.' " He stepped up the space shuttle program, with more than 20 successful missions during his tenure, and was instrumental in establishing programs to send members of Congress and teachers into space. By 1985, NASA had 20,000 employees and an annual budget of almost $8 billion. It was a constant battle, Beggs said, to win support from President Ronald Reagan, who had little interest in the space program. "He was almost technically ignorant," Beggs told journalist Joseph Trento for his 1987 book "Prescription for Disaster," about NASA and the Challenger. "Not quite, but almost. He grasps a few of the broader concepts, but when you start talking in any kind of detail about the broader aspects of the program, his eyes glaze over." Beggs' tenure at NASA was overshadowed by two events that took place in rapid succession. In December 1985, he was indicted by federal prosecutors in Los Angeles for defrauding the Army of millions of dollars when he had worked at General Dynamics, a major defense contractor. He and three other company executives were charged with illegally billing the government for millions of dollars in cost overruns during the development of a prototype of an antiaircraft gun. Beggs took a leave of absence from NASA while strenuously disputing the accusations. "There is nothing that I did in the case involved that I would not do again if I had to do it over again," he said in a speech to his staff, who gave him a standing ovation. "We acted in an entirely ethical, legal and moral sense. The charges are therefore baseless, they are outrageous, ridiculous, and I feel confident that once this is brought to trial that I'll be completely exonerated of the charges." Every top official at NASA signed letters sent to Congress and the White House, calling Beggs "an individual with the highest standards of integrity which have earned him the esteem and respect of his colleagues." He was still officially the NASA administrator the following month, when the Challenger space shuttle broke apart 73 seconds after liftoff, on Jan. 28, 1986. All seven members of the flight crew, including New Hampshire schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, were killed. Soon afterward, as congressional committees and oversight panels began to search for answers, Beggs resigned. With his career in tatters, he fought a legal battle with federal prosecutors for more than a year. In June 1987, all charges against Beggs and the three other General Dynamics executives were dropped. A Justice Department review found that no laws had been violated, and Attorney General Edwin Meese III took the unusual step of sending a letter to Beggs, apologizing for the prosecution. "I wish to offer you a profound apology on behalf of the federal government and the Department of Justice," Meese wrote, saying the indictment was based on "an inaccurate understanding and assessment of the underlying facts." "Your fellow citizens," Meese continued, "should now be more aware than ever that your character is untarnished and your behavior unblemished." Two years later, a federal judge ordered more than a dozen government agencies to destroy all records related to Beggs' indictment, giving him a full exoneration. James Montgomery Beggs was born Jan. 9, 1926, in Pittsburgh and grew up in San Antonio. His father was in the insurance business, his mother a homemaker. After a year at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Beggs entered the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, graduating in 1947 as part of an accelerated program. He served in the Navy until 1954. A year later, he received an MBA from Harvard University. He worked for Westinghouse in Baltimore until 1968, when he became NASA's chief of research in Washington. He was a top official at the Transportation Department from 1969 to 1973, then joined a company owned by reclusive mogul Howard Hughes. (In a 2002 oral history interview with NASA, Beggs said Hughes had no passport because he refused to have his photograph taken. When he needed to visit foreign countries, he dispensed out huge bribes to be allowed to enter - all to avoid sitting in front of a camera.) In 1974, Beggs became an executive vice president of General Dynamics in southern California, managing defense and aerospace projects. After his legal problems were resolved, he worked for various aeronautical companies, severed on corporate boards and worked as a consultant well into his 80s. He was also a devoted amateur student of minerals and gems. His wife of 62 years, Mary Harrison Beggs, a former director and chairwoman of the Wolf Trap Foundation, died in 2015. A daughter, Kathleen Beggs, died in 2012. Survivors include four children, Maureen Fox and Terri Luechtefeld, both of Bethesda, James Beggs of Vienna, Virginia, and Charles Beggs of Arlington, Virginia; and 10 grandchildren. In 1983, when Beggs was NASA administrator, Sally Ride became America's first female astronaut to go to space when she flew on an early mission of the Challenger space shuttle. Her parents lived in the California congressional district of Rep. Tom Hayden, a Democrat, who was married at the time to actress Jane Fonda. NASA invited Hayden and Fonda to witness the launch of the shuttle in Florida. "And of course, as you would expect, the press swarmed around Fonda like bees do around honey," Beggs told Trento for "Prescription for Disaster." The next day, Beggs received a call from an incensed Michael Deaver, one of Reagan's top White House aides. "What . . . was Jane Fonda doing there?" he said Deaver asked. "Nancy Reagan is mad, and I am mad, and everybody is mad." Beggs was told to fire the NASA public relations official who had invited Hayden and Fonda. "Mary and I were invited to the White House several times before the Fonda incident," Beggs added, "and never afterward." US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to suspend immigration temporarily for 60 days to tackle the rising unemployment in the wake of COVID-19. The ban only impacts green card applicants temporarily and will not affect H-1B holders, according to the order. But is that really the case? The move may very well result in long-term immigration reforms given that the number of unemployed Americans is now at 26 million. According to a Washington Post report, there are plans afoot to bring in more broad-based changes including merit-based immigration instead of family-based like it is now. This would impact 26.5 lakh Indians working in the US and another hundred of thousands who are awaiting Green card and citizenship. This report was based on Senior Advisor to the President - Stephen Millers meeting with Trumps surrogates about the new executive order, recording of which Washington Post had obtained. During the meeting, Miller pointed out how this temporary ban may usher in the broader long-term changes to immigration in the US. The first and most important thing is to turn off the faucet of new immigrant labour - mission accomplished - with signing that executive order," he said. Miller has also indicated that subsequent restrictions in the guest worker programme were also under consideration. There are about 5,00,000 lakh Indian H-1B holders waiting in the green card queue. In 2019, close to two lakh were studying in the US and many of them STEM opting for 24 months Optional Practical Training (OPT) after completing their degree. After completing their OPT, more often than not, these students can get their employer to initiate H-1B, the coveted visa. Going by Millers statement, the situation may be a lot more gloomy for Indians students and H-1B aspirants in the coming months as they await the 30-day review of guest worker programme. Trumps major election agenda was to bring changes to the immigration regime as the voices against awarding visas to tech firms and foreign workers, especially Indians, rose over the last few years. These voices are not totally unwarranted going by the cases filed against the IT majors. Visa abuse Indias account for the highest number of H-1B visas granted to skilled immigrant workers. Each year, 85,000 new H-1B visas are issued and over one lakh get extended. According to a report by Recode.net, India and China accounted for 82 percent of all visas issued in 2016. However, IT companies have allegedly been continuously abusing H-1B visas for years leading to visa violation cases. In 2017, Infosys was asked to pay $1 million to settle a visa violation case. In 2013, the IT major was caught in a $35 million visa fraud case. The same year TCS paid $30 million to settle a wage theft dispute involving 13,000 foreign workers, according to a research report by Epi.org This is one of the reasons why the Trump administration has been tightening the H-1B visa rules since 2017. Does this justify the total immigration ban including guest workers? It might not help either firms or the US economy, say multiple immigration consultants and research papers. The fact that most of the IT firms stocks tanked after the announcement is a case in point. Indians account for one of the largest tech workforce in the US and any decision will directly hit these firms. These workers also contribute significantly in terms of tax to the economy. In addition, IT firms have stepped up their localisation in the US over the last couple of years. However, due to talent crunch and visa issues, their dependence on sub-contractors have increased resulting in margin compression. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 New Delhi, April 27 : The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that movement of inland vessels is allowed on the India Bangladesh Protocol route amid the current lockdown situation. In an office memorandum, the Disaster Management Division of the MHA on Sunday said: "Operation of cross land border transportation of essential goods as well as export is already allowed." The order said that as the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has given its 'in principal' approval on the standard operating procedure (SOP), the Ministry of Shipping may issue the SOP at their end. The government had earlier allowed operation of land ports for cross border transportation of essential items. In its April 15 revised guidelines, the Home Ministry had said that "operations for land ports for cross land border transportation of essential goods including petroleum products and LPG, food products, medical supplies" would be allowed. Seven fishermen held in Uganda over illegal fishing gear by MUDANGHA KOLYANGHA April 26,2020 | Source: Daily Monitor Seven people have been arrested by law enforcement authorities in Pallisa District in Uganda in connection with illegal fishing gears. The suspects are all fishermen on Lake Omunuo. The fisheries department, in partnership with the police headed by the officer-in-charge of Agule Police Station, Mr George Emuria, confirmed the arrest and detention of the suspects, whom he said would be charged accordingly. Mr Charles Otto, the Pallisa District fisheries officer, warned the locals against using illegal fishing gears, saying his office would continue to conduct routine patrols. We have intensified patrols across all the major lakes in Pallisa District and found some fishermen with illegal fishing gears. We have handed them over to the police to face charges of illegal fishing. Nobody should dare continue and use these banned nets or else they will have to face the law, Mr Otto said. He added: The continued use of banned nets has adversely affected the fish stocks and even the district revenue collection. Nation Media Group Theme(s): Fishing Craft, Gear and Fishing Methods. The Christian worldview and the state of the world Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment One thing that should be clear is that we are in a period of worldview ferment. The old assumptions that provided the unifying ideas within the culture have eroded, and although we are seeing what may prove to be the emergence of a new worldview consensus based on Critical Theory, it has not solidified its hold on society yet which is a good thing in view of many of its fundamentally anti-biblical assumptions. So how should we respond in our current environment? Before we even get started, we need to be clear on our own worldview and live it out with greater consistency. Christian metaphysics and prayer Christianity is based on a metaphysics that recognizes that the visible and invisible worlds interpenetrate and influence each other. Thus, Scripture talks about angels and demons denizens of the invisible world acting in the visible world, and actions in the visible world, such as prayer and fasting, can affect the invisible world. What this means is that we need to start with prayer. A lot of it. Somehow, weve gotten the idea that its more important that we do things rather than praying and asking God to do them. We tend to view prayer as an add-on or something we resort to if we have the time or are desperate. This needs to change. We need to make prayer a constant element in all our strategies and activities in confronting the worldview challenges in our culture. None of us can change the whole culture. Our responsibility is to do what we can, where we can, with whom we can. Christian hope We also need to be clear in our own hearts and minds about the solution to the worlds problems. It isnt found in politics but in the Gospel of the Kingdom. In our cultural moment, it is easy to fall into the political illusion, that our fates and the fate of the church depend on who wins the next election, or to focus on media or education or on some other aspect of culture. As important as those things are, if we lose our focus on the Kingdom, we become part of the problem, not part of the solution Christian love Further, we need to recognize that those who oppose us are not our enemies. Eph. 6:12 reminds us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Our opponents are people made in the image of God and thus are to be honored and respected. We should see them not as enemies but as people who have been captured by Satan and are victims of the Stockholm syndrome, a psychological phenomenon where prisoners begin to identify with their captors and join them. In other words, they are the people we need to deprogram and rescue and our worldview conversations need to have this as their goal. Lastly, we are only responsible for what we can do. None of us can change the whole culture. Our responsibility is to do what we can, where we can, with whom we can. Remember the parable of the mustard seed (Matt. 13:31-32). Fortunately, if we understand that the Kingdom of God extends to all of life, this gives us a surprisingly wide range to work with. With those things in mind, lets look at how we can approach our neighbors. Ask questions Worldview conversations most often come up in pre-evangelistic settings; in other words, they help prepare the ground for people to hear the Gospel. Following the example of Francis Schaeffer, who put worldview thinking on the map for Christians, this generally involves raising questions in their mind about their own worldview. They arent going to be interested in what youve got until theyre dissatisfied with what theyve got. To get them to that point, you need to understand the worldview options out there and to learn to ask good questions. We tend to want to tell people things during an evangelistic conversation, but this is often a mistake. The person who asks the questions controls the conversation. To learn that skill, study Greg Koukls book, Tactics. Its the single best book on effective use of questions available. Our culture has accepted the idea that objective truth is inaccessible and that truth itself is therefore relative and personal; we thus need to make the case that the truth of Christ is personally relevant and beneficial to them. Postmodern apologetics One caveat: Although there are exceptions, a significant number of people today do not respond to traditional apologetics approaches. You can present a perfectly reasoned defense of the existence of God or of Jesus Resurrection so that your audience agrees that it is the best explanation of the evidence, yet unless you show them why it is relevant to their lives your argument will have no effect on them. Our culture has accepted the idea that objective truth is inaccessible and that truth itself is therefore relative and personal; we thus need to make the case that the truth of Christ is personally relevant and beneficial to them. Perhaps the most effective way to do this is with our actions rather than our words. In the mission field, self-giving service to meet the needs of a community often opens doors for evangelistic Bible studies and church planting; although the needs are different, the same principle applies here. As Art Lindsley points out, love is the ultimate apologetic. To put it differently, how we conduct ourselves is just as important even more important than what we say and will make a far better case for a biblical worldview than our words will. In the worldview competition we face today, we must live out our faith consistently to earn the right to be heard. And when we do that, we are far more likely to find people who are spiritually open and willing to engage with Scripture to come to know the Jesus whom we serve. This article was originally published at BreakPoint Two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Ben Affleck and his castmate-turned-quarantine partner Ana de Armas left his $19M Pacific Palisades mansion to stop by Dunkin' Donuts in Santa Monica on Sunday. The Berkeley-born, Cambridge-raised 47-year-old wore a CDC-recommended COVID-19 face mask to haul four iced coffees back to his black Range Rover. The Cuban beauty - who's celebrating her 32nd birthday this Thursday - was later seen removing her own face mask after leaving CVS Pharmacy empty-handed. Caffeine fix: Two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Ben Affleck and his castmate-turned-quarantine partner Ana de Armas left his $19M Pacific Palisades mansion to stop by Dunkin' Donuts in Santa Monica on Sunday Gun show: The Berkeley-born, Cambridge-raised 47-year-old wore a CDC-recommended COVID-19 face mask to haul four iced coffees back to his black Range Rover De Armas (born Caso) touched her face while toting a $1490 Saint Laurent 'Kaia Small Satchel' over a grey cardigan, blue skinny jeans, and black sandals. 'I think I am wired that way - to know the things that I want and to go after them,' Ana told American Way this month. 'I trust my body's reaction to things. If I am happy somewhere, I stay there. I go step-by-step, and my goal is always to pay attention to how I feel in the moment.' Los Angeles County's stay-at-home order was extended through May 15 due to the 19,159 confirmed coronavirus cases in LA, which has led to 896 deaths as of Sunday - according to Johns Hopkins University. Ooh la la! The Cuban beauty - who's celebrating her 32nd birthday this Thursday - bared her midriff in a $112 MIKOH 'Jamaican 2' bikini beneath a green button-up and blue skinny jeans Careful about touching your face! Earlier, De Armas wore a heavier grey cardigan, black sandals, and a $1490 Saint Laurent 'Kaia Small Satchel' Nevermind! Ana removed her own face mask after leaving CVS Pharmacy empty-handed Pandemic: Los Angeles County's stay-at-home order was extended through May 15 due to the 19,159 confirmed coronavirus cases in LA, which has led to 896 deaths as of Sunday 'It's doubtful Ben is going to introduce his kids to Ana on her birthday': Ben has three children - Violet, 14; Seraphina, 11; and son Samuel, 8 - from his marriage to former Daredevil leading lady Jennifer Garner, which legally ended in October 2018 (pictured April 1) Ben has three children - Violet, 14; Seraphina, 11; and son Samuel, 8 - from his marriage to former Daredevil leading lady Jennifer Garner, which legally ended in October 2018. 'It's doubtful Ben is going to introduce his kids to Ana on her birthday, especially with everything going on right now with the pandemic,' a source told Hollywood Life last Thursday. 'Safety is a priority and it's just not the time while everyone is quarantined to be introducing his kids to new people. Ben will likely just spend the day with Ana and relax, walk their dogs, have a nice dinner. 'She isn't high maintenance and while he wants to go out of his way to make her feel special, she isn't the type to put that kind of pressure on him.' Charitable: On April 11, Affleck hosted a $10K buy-in poker tournament alongside 53 players via off-shore Costa-Rican site Americas Cardroom, which raised around $1.75M for charity food bank, Feeding America Hitting US/UK theaters on November 13! The Way Back star and the Golden Globe nominee fell in love while playing a dysfunctional married couple on the New Orleans set of New Regency's erotic thriller Deep Water (pictured November 13) Meanwhile, the Golden Globe nominee - who only learned English in 2015 - has no children but she divorced Spanish actor Marc Clotet in 2013 after three years of marriage. On April 11, Affleck hosted a $10K buy-in poker tournament alongside 53 players via off-shore Costa-Rican site Americas Cardroom, which raised around $1.75M for charity food bank, Feeding America. Gambling is one of two of the Way Back star's destructive addictions, aside from alcohol, which he fell off the wagon from during a wild night out at at Commerce Casino on October 27. 'Well you know it happens,' Ben admitted to TMZ the next morning. 'It's a slip but I'm not going to let it derail me.' Affleck and Ana fell in love while playing a dysfunctional married couple on the New Orleans set of New Regency's erotic thriller Deep Water, which is scheduled to hit US/UK theaters on November 13. All you need to know about the UAE-backed separatists who have claimed control of Aden and other provinces. Yemens southern separatists have broken a peace deal with the countrys internationally-recognised government and claimed sole control of the regional capital of Aden, threatening to resume fighting between the two ostensible allies. In a statement on Sunday, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which is backed by the United Arab Emirates, declared a state of emergency and said it would self-govern the key southern port city and other southern provinces. The separatists accused Yemens government, which is supported by Saudi Arabia, of corruption and mismanagement. Alkhader Sulaiman, a spokesman for the STC based in the United States, told Al Jazeera the separatist group was forced to take matters into its hands because of the governments failure to provide basic services. This is not an event that just sprung out of nowhere. This is a pile-up of mismanagement, misgovernance, especially in south Yemen, which has been Houthi-less for four years now. Unfortunately, things have deteriorated humanitarian wise. The situation, in terms of basic services, is minimal, he said. The move threatens to renew the conflict between the nominal allies in Yemens multifaceted war as the foreign minister of the internationally-recognised government said the STC decision is a violation of a power-sharing agreement signed last November in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. The announcement by the so-called [Southern] Transitional Council of its intention to establish a southern administration is a resumption of its armed insurgency and an announcement of its rejection and complete withdrawal from the Riyadh agreement, Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hadhrami said in a statement. The deal was signed after the STC seized Aden in August 2019 in fighting, which was dubbed a civil war within a civil war. Abdullah Baabood, a visiting professor at the National University of Singapores Middle East Institute, said the collapse of the Riyadh Agreement was inevitable. It really is a death knell to the Riyadh agreement, which was actually born dead anyway from day one, as each party walked away with a different interpretation and they had different objectives out of it. It was clear that it wasnt going to work, he told Al Jazeera. The separatists and forces loyal to exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi have fought together in the Saudi-led coalitions war against Yemens Houthi rebels, who control the capital Sanaa and mostly northern parts of the war-torn country. When the Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in March 2015 to fight Houthi rebels who had taken control of key cities in the country including Aden, the southern separatists had joined hands with forces loyal to Hadi. Aden was regained by Hadis forces in July 2015, and began to function as the interim capital with the northern city of Sanaa firmly under Houthi control. Yet tensions in Aden rose in April 2017 when Hadi accused the citys governor, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, of disloyalty and dismissed him. On May 11 that year, following mass protests against al-Zubaidis removal, the STC was formed, with the former Aden governor chosen to preside over the 26-seat council. The body immediately declared its intention to reinstate the Southern State a reference to the former South Yemen republic, which existed from 1967 until 1990. Hadi immediately denounced the STC as illegitimate. Roots and UAE backing Since 2016, the UAE has provided military and financial backing to the Security Belt, a now STC-dominated paramilitary group comprised of some 90,000 Yemeni fighters. In 2015, the southern coalition relied on the Security Belt to secure territories in the south and reinstate the government in Aden, with Hadis forces regaining full control of the city in July. While secessionist sentiment in the south has been fuelled by recent political developments, it is rooted in its past. The British established a colony in Aden in 1839 and remained there until withdrawing in 1967, when Aden joined other southern regions to form an independent South Yemen republic. In 1970, a socialist republic was declared, which forged close ties with the erstwhile Soviet Union. Outside of Aden, smaller separatist movements in other southern provinces do not back the STCs vision of re-establishing the South Yemen republic through the use of force, with the UAE-backed group unlikely to easily win the allegiances of fragmented groups in the south. Geneva, April 26 : Governments should not issue so-called "immunity passports" or "risk-free certificates" as a way of easing lockdowns, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. The WHO's guidance is based on evidence from researchers all around the world. But it could well change as we rapidly learn more about this virus, the BBC reported. There isn't currently any evidence to suggest having had the virus once protects you from getting it again. So the idea of an "immunity passport", allowing people who test positive for antibodies to have fewer restrictions, would be a very risky one. Some governments have considered permitting people who have recovered to travel or return to work. Restrictions imposed on movement to stop the virus spreading have crippled economies around the world. More than 2.8m cases of the virus have been confirmed worldwide and nearly 200,000 people have died. Many countries including Germany, Italy and the UK are beginning to test samples of their populations for antibodies. In the UK, 25,000 people will be tested every month for the next year - both for antibodies, and to check if they currently have the virus. This could provide more information about whether (and for how long) the disease confers immunity to those who have recovered. And that would give us a clearer idea about whether testing individuals and giving them some kind of immunity status might be an option in the future. Last week Chile said it would begin issuing "health passports" to people deemed to have recovered from the illness. Once screened for the presence of antibodies to make them immune to the virus, they could rejoin the workforce, officials said. In Sweden, which has chosen to keep large parts of society open, some scientists believe people may end up with much higher immunity levels compared with those living under stricter regulations. However Anders Wallensten from the Swedish Public Health Agency told the BBC that not enough was yet known about immunity. "We will know more as more people are tested for antibodies, but also the more time goes on, and if more accounts of re-infection etcetera are reported," he said. In Belgium, which has one of the highest death rates per capita but is planning to gradually relax lockdown restrictions from 11 May, a government adviser told the BBC he strongly opposed the idea of immunity passports. "I abhor the fact that we would give people passports, a green one or a red one, depending on their serology status," said virologist Professor Marc Van Ranst, a member of the Belgian government's Risk Assessment Group and Scientific Committee on the Coronavirus. "That will lead to forgeries, that will lead to people wilfully infecting themselves to the virus. This is just not a good idea. It is an extremely bad idea." Earlier this week Professor Mala Maini from University College London said reliable antibody tests were urgently needed to determine how long antibodies persisted and whether they conferred protection. "We're not yet sure if these antibodies indicate protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 but preliminary data suggest they may be a reasonable proxy for this - so they are being considered to inform release from lockdown etc," she said. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Kevin Keegan could make a sensational return to Newcastle for a fourth time once Mike Ashley has sold the club, according to reports. Keegan is adored by Newcastle supporters having made 78 appearances for the club while enjoying two separate spells as manager, having nearly guided them to Premier League gold in the 1995-96 campaign. Now, according to The Mirror, 'King Kev' will take up an ambassadorial role once the 300million takeover of the club goes through. Kevin Keegan is set to make his return to Newcastle in an ambassadorial role The takeover is expected to be completed soon should the Premier League give the consortium backed by Amanda Staveley the green light. As an act of goodwill, Keegan is expected to be brought in to win over the fans getting the new Saudi owners reign at St James' Park off to a positive start. While Keegan's second spell as manager was not as successful as the first, the Doncaster-born former forward is one of the city's adopted sons after his three stints at the club. The Magpies are nearing a mega-money takeover by an Amanda Staveley-lead consortium Keegan made 78 appearances for Newcastle and managed the club on two separate occasions Keegan endeared himself further to the Newcastle faithful after hitting out at vilified owner Ashley by vowing to never to set foot inside St James Park again, describing Ashleys reign as an empire of self-harm. Along with Keegan, the club are also hoping to bring in a new high-profile boss to replace Steve Bruce, with Mauricio Pochettino and Massimiliano Allegri being lined up as replacements. Gareth Bale and Edinson Cavani have also been linked with a move once the big-money takeover goes through. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the entire nation has been put under lockdown. Film Industries around the world have come to a complete halt due to the pandemic crisis. And now, in a recent media interaction, Puneeth Rajkumar spoke about how he is dealing with the lockdown and its effect on the Kannada Film Industry. The Power Star told India Today, Our work format is going to the studio or an outdoor location to shoot. There's nothing called work from home for us. The situation is such that all of us have to be careful and our safety comes first. It's been difficult. The entire country is talking about only one thing, the coronavirus. Initially, we had to reach out through every medium asking them not to come and stay home till things are better. He went on to add, Ours is a huge industry and we make close to about 140 projects a year. There were a lot of projects going on. Some people depend on daily wages and there are different unions at different levels. A lot of them are jobless at the moment and we, as an industry, have got together to help people. We are trying to take care of their basic needs at least. I know that it will take a few months to get everything on track. We understand that right now, you need to stay at home and take care of the rest later. For the unversed, towards to beginning of the month, Puneeth Rajkumar came forward to help the state government of Karnataka in its fight against the pandemic by donating 50 lakh rupees to Chief Minister Yeddyurappas COVID-19 relief fund. The actors benevolent gesture was welcomed by the chief minister and applauded by the netizens. ALSO READ: Puneeth On Dr. Rajkumars Birth Anniversary: 'I Am So Happy And Blessed To Say That I'm In His Son ALSO READ: Puneeth Rajkumar Is All Set To Bankroll Likshith Shetty Starrer Next Titled Family Pack TDT | Manama Bahraini-British businessman Ali Faieq Alzayani has been stranded in the Dominican Republic since March 20, but has been making the most of his situation in what he calls paradise. Alzayani has been sharing his exploits with regular posts on social networking service Instagram, allowing members of his family, who are also in lockdown in Montreal, to follow his situation along with friends in Bahrain. Through a series of mishaps that led to a cancelled flight while on a business trip to establish new tobacco and coffee supply channels in the Dominican Republic, I had no way home, said the 39-year-old. I was fortunate enough to stay with a good family friend (Don Charly) and face the quarantine and lockdown period together in the luxury resort of Casa de Campo in La Romana. Alzayani spends his days evading local security for visits to secret beaches and taking long and brutal 12km to 14km walks through Tarantula-infested forests, he says. Hes also learning Spanish and fine-tuning his talent for the culinary arts, among other things. When I arrived at my hotel in Santo Domingo, I was told to get out of the city because the government was locking down the capital imminently, Alzayani explained. As a result, I had to drop everything including my business meetings and convinced a local taxi to drive me all the way to the town of La Romana. On the second day after arriving, the government announced that all foreigners should leave the country immediately because airports will be shut down. I booked a flight back to Bahrain and about an hour before it took off, I received a message saying the connection from London to Bahrain was cancelled, he recalled. This meant, I would be stranded in London where the virus was spreading quickly. I decided to check back into the hotel. On his return, hotel and bedand-breakfast staff informed him of strict government orders not to take guests. With nowhere to go, Alzayani got in touch with his friend for a place to stay but had to find a way there. After much convincing with a hefty tip, one of the hotel drivers drove him most of the way to Casa Charly, but still dropped him half-a-mile away. Upon reaching his friends residence, Alzayani was informed of a nation-wide lockdown, with restricted movement between cities and a nightly curfew. Thats when I realised I was stuck in the Dominican Republic for the rest of the pandemic. Even if I found a flight home, traveling to the airport would be impossible. Alzayani and his friend have established a daily routine which includes taking inventory of food and other household items. When out of basic essentials, they are forced to line up with full face masks at the only grocery store in the area. They also make sure to get some fresh air during their evening walks through winding trails over hills and creeks. All in all, its been an amazing and sometimes crazy experience to escape the pandemic in paradise, said Alzayani. I dont envy the many people out there suffering in the real world but hope my plight brings some humour to their daily lives, God willing. Alzayanis posts can be viewed on his Instagram account @ afz8382. The number of people hospitalized in New Jersey for the coronavirus has seen a decline for five straight days and is around the lowest levels they have been since three weeks ago, according to the latest figures from the state Department of Health. The numbers of deaths and cases of COVID-19 continued to climb Sunday, with 5,938 dead and 109,038 total positive tests statewide, though the number of people hospitalized is one indication that gives health officials hope that the coronavirus outbreak curve shows signs of flattening. Hospitalizations hit a peak on April 14, with 8,293 patients, according to the Department of Health. There were 6,573 people being treated in hospitals with confirmed coronavirus cases or suspected cases as of 10 p.m. Saturday, down 21% from the peak 11 days earlier. Thats the lowest patient count since 6,557 were being treated on April 5. At least 684 patients were discharged in the 24 hours leading up to Saturday night, though the state was missing statistics for three of the 71 hospitals. The decline in patients results from admission numbers that are lower than discharges, but are also influenced by patient deaths. Its difficult to get a complete picture of exactly how many people in New Jersey currently have COVID-19 because officials say testing has been backlogged up to seven days. The state also is not reporting significant increases in daily testing, so it is unclear exactly how quickly the virus continues to spread. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage But Gov. Phil Murphy has said the hospital numbers provide the best real-time look at the outbreak trends and how the healthcare system is working to handle the surge in cases. As of Sunday at noon, just one New Jersey hospital Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center in Plainsboro was on divert status and not accepting new patients for critical care. At times during the outbreak, at least nine hospitals have been on divert at the same time. Our positive test curve has flattened and thats a good thing. More importantly, hospitalizations have started to come down. ICU and ventilator use down a little bit. Those are good signs, but were not out of the woods yet, Murphy said during a TV appearance Sunday. There were 1,418 people on ventilators as of Saturday evening. Ventilator use hit its height on April 14, with 1,705 people using them, according to the data. The decline comes less than a week after health officials predicted the states peak in hospitalizations could hit 15,922 patients by April 25. Murphy, however, has continued to stress if people return to normal behavior too soon that the trend could reverse. And officials continue to prepare for a potential second wave of cases in the fall or winter. If everybody right now and please God, dont do this if everybody just started going about their regular business ... the models would blow up, the governor said earlier this month. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Covid-19 is a global pandemic affecting every corner of the world - India, the Middle East and Africa included. This is a region that encompasses over 40pc of the global population and so the tightened lockdown across the globe and the unprecedented changes to society have presented extensive difficulties for business. Borders have been closed, major international events cancelled, and most companies are looking to cut overheads and focus on cash flow. Despite all sectors experiencing the effects of the crisis, it is anticipated that business and manufacturing will resume far sooner in the Middle East than in Africa or India. The timeline and response to counter Covid-19 in MENA is similar to that in Europe. The double blow of a crash in oil prices and a worldwide pandemic undoubtedly will affect 2020-21 budgets across the oil-producing Gulf states. A sharp increase in business defaults and liquidations in the aviation, tourism and travel industries can be expected - all of which directly contribute billions of dirham to GDP each year. Early indicators are for a double-digit decline in GDP. The Gulf Cooperation Council has seven of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds and these will be used to cushion the worst effects of the downturn. Elsewhere in the region at present, the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in India and Africa is thought to be about three weeks behind, and the state response in both areas is consequently yet to be intensified to the same degree as in Europe. The number of cases across sub-Saharan Africa is rising but has not yet reached the levels seen across Europe and the US. Africa has had a fair amount of experience in the area of epidemics, with ebola, TB and HIV. Africa also has a very young population, which should help with keeping the mortality rate lower than in countries with a more aged population. Commodity prices have also declined, and this will be an additional factor in the overall economic impact on Africa. Irish companies doing business in this region need to therefore closely monitor the changing business environment and be prepared to quickly pivot their offer or business model, should the market demand. The eight Enterprise Ireland offices in the region are guiding Irish companies and helping them to keep up to speed with expert market insights, and stay connected with existing customers in order to weather the storm. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is likely that there will be increased investments in digital transformation, customer experience and cybersecurity, and all indicators point to a technology-led recovery. Artificial intelligence is becoming pivotal in managing the huge amounts of data needed to deliver products and services. For instance, the near-collapse of numerous online grocery retail platforms in MENA is driving demand for process automation and intelligent self-service. When things get tough, the temptation is to become engrossed in the immediate problems, and while these should be fully addressed, developing a strategy for recovery is just as crucial. Business leaders need to invest time away from crisis management to show leadership, optimism, and strategically focus on the future opportunities which will quickly emerge when these economies rebound. Mumbai, April 11 (IANS) Maharashtra lockdown will continue after April 14 till April 30, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced here on Saturday. Image Source: IANS News Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Naveen Patnaik during a press conference where he announced the first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, in Bhubaneswar on March 18, 2019. In the first list, t Image Source: IANS News Bhubaneswar, April 26 : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday discussed with his Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray for safe return of Odia migrants stranded in Maharashtra. In a video conference, Patnaik requested Thackeray to arrange for safe return of stranded Odia people. Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan attended the video conferencing from New Delhi. He also emphasised on registration of all Odia migrants before their return. The state government has decided that they will be brought back primarily by bus. Besides, the government would discuss on other medium of transportation, said a statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). Senior officials from both the states would coordinate for transportation, it said. Registration shall be compulsory for all the persons willing to return. After their return, they shall undergo quarantine for 14 days and will be provided other benefits. Earlier on Sunday, Patnaik had discussed with his Gujarat counterpart Vijay Rupani for the safe return of stranded Odia migrants there. 21 Pro Video San Antonio police are searching for multiple individuals they say were in a vehicle that intentionally struck a man following an altercation on the South Side Saturday night. Officers say the victim and four other individuals were arguing in the parking lot of a gas station near Pleasanton Road and East Vestal Place about 11 p.m. when the victim broke free from the incident and ran. The four individuals then got into a vehicle and chased after the victim, according to police at the scene. With Indore in Madhya Pradesh emerging as a major hot spot for Covid-19 in the country, hospitals dedicated to fight the disease in the city sought to know whether they are up against a more virulent strain of the Sars-CoV-2 virus. It claimed that Indore, with its top-notch medical facilities and awareness, should not be in the crisis that it is facing currently. The MGM Medical College, which has two hospitals dedicated to fight the disease, has requested the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune to study the virus recovered from the region. As per the health departments bulletin released on Sunday, the states tally of cases rose to 2,090 with 145 new cases reported in the past 24 hours; the total death toll is 103. Of the new cases, 91 were reported from Indore, which has total 1176 cases. It also accounts for more than 55% of the deaths in the state and its death rate of 4.84% is higher than the national rate of 3.06%. Dean and CEO of MGM medical college, Indore Dr. Jyoti Bindal said, There are certain reasons to apprehend that the virus strain in Indore is deadlier. However, its our apprehension given the situation... The Indore belt has seen significant positive cases and fatality too. In certain parts of the world that have also seen higher fatality rate, the genetic make up of the virus too was found different, and so more virulent. Thats why we want to see if its a similar case in Indore belt too. Indore has the best medical facility in the state. I dont see any reason related to medical services behind the situation, she added. Scientists had already flagged a mutation in the virus from a case in Kerala in a pre-print study, although it was thought that the mutation made it less efficient in transmission. Independent experts had then said that more evidence was required. Monitoring the mutation dynamics of Sars-CoV-2 is critical for the development of effective approaches to develop drugs and vaccines to contain the pathogen. Dr. Bindal said, The NIV wants samples from other parts of the state too to compare the same with Indores samples. We are trying to get samples from the labs in other parts of the state before sending the same. Dr. Salil Bhargava, professor of respiratory medicine and head of Manorama Raje TB hospital, Indore said, Geographically, Indore in Malwa region presents a different picture. It is well connected to Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan and here there a significant presence of such people who travel abroad like the US, Sri Lanka, China and several other countries as I have seen such people in OPD (Out Patient Department). He said, In Indore, people are extraordinarily alert about their health. Comorbidity and lifestyle may be some issues but gravity of the situation is quite alarming. Hence, we should find out scientifically if the virus strain here is more virulent. This will help us control the situation more effectively. Dr. Ravi Dosi , head of department of chest diseases at Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences (SAIMS), a dedicated Covid-19 hospital said, We are giving the same treatment to Covid-19 patients that such patients are getting in other places in the country. But the results here are not as impressive as it should be. Hence, a proper study of the genome of the virus may help us find out in what direction we are going. Public health expert Amulya Nidhi said, If this (virus mutation) is true, then I think the World Health Organization, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and expert groups should immediately do an independent analysis of all cases not only in Indore but Ujjain, Bhopal and other divisions too. The MGM medical college should follow the WHO guidelines and take experts opinion on this also. Public health system is the backbone which is managing the entire pandemic in Indore but shifting patients to private hospitals more and less in government hospitals is a matter of concern and it also needs investigation. A team of doctors should decide which patient will be treated where, said Nidhi Health minister, Madhya Pradesh Narottam Mishra said, If the medical college is going ahead with any study its a welcome step. The government is for all the possible steps to control the situation. According to the Bible verse Matthew 18:20, For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them. However, those gatherings have looked a little different amid the COVID-19 pandemic. From live-streaming services via Facebook and YouTube to drive-in services and emailed prayer requests, churches across Montana have been employing creative strategies to maintain a sense of community and faith after places of worship in Lewis and Clark County were ordered to close March 19 to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Phase 1 of Gov. Steve Bullock's plan to reopen Montana allowed places of worship to reopen on Sunday as long as they followed strict social distancing and sanitizing guidelines. While many Helena churches decided to continue with virtual services, a few dared to open their doors. Narrate Church, which normally holds services at Grandstreet Theatre, was one of the churches that decided to reopen Sunday. By opening and implementing very cautious measures consistent with guidelines given by our state and county public health experts, were hoping to partner with our governor and county by demonstrating how their directives can be responsibly implemented on the ground, said Adam Huschka, founder and lead pastor at Narrate Church. Narrate hosted gatherings at Grandstreet on Sunday at 8 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. while implementing several safety measures and precautions for the health and safety of those in attendance. While Grandstreet can normally seat 200 people, Narrate determined that only about 40 people could safely attend each service with social distancing rules. Attendees were strongly encouraged to wear masks and, upon arrival, observed sidewalk chalk markings indicating safe distances to maintain. Medical professionals were on-site taking temperatures with a forehead thermometer before people entered the building. Sanitizing efforts were also performed before, in between, and after services. In addition to the in-person gatherings, Huschka said, the church will continue offering full online services on YouTube and Facebook at 9 a.m. Sunday mornings. The Cathedral of St. Helena likewise resumed public Mass on Sunday with proper precautionary measures in place. Holy water was removed from the baptismal font, communion wine was not distributed alongside the bread, and offertory baskets were available near the doors at the end of Mass rather than passed among parishioners during the service. Parishioners were also generously spaced out in the pews. It has increased our longing for Mass, for the Eucharist, for Jesus because its the heart and soul of everything we do as Catholics, reflected Bishop Austin Vetter on Sunday about the impact of church closures in recent weeks. Despite the Cathedral opening, however, Vetter emphasized that it would not be an immediate option for all parishes in the diocese due to the challenging logistics. I ask all of you good people of God to be patient with us and with each other as we start phase one to see how this goes, said Vetter. "Be patient with one another to comply with that social distancing as you come into church. Vetter added that the obligation to attend Sunday Mass continues to be suspended at this time and that live streamed services would continue. Feel no pressure at all in these first days to come to Mass, said Vetter. Dont do that to yourselves. Come only when youre ready. Despite Narrate Church and the St. Helena Cathedral reopening their doors Sunday, several of Helenas other churches chose to postpone the transition. The Helena United Methodist Ministries continue their worship online for the time being. Rev. Sami Pack-Toner of Helena United Methodist Ministries shared that Bishop Karen Oliveto, who oversees Montana, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado, requested that United Methodist Churches maintain the closure of campuses through the month of May. We are planning to follow suit, said Pack-Toner. Much of our community are in the at-risk category, and we want to be as inclusive as possible with returning. Our church council will be meeting on April 30 to make a decision about our process for returning to in-person ministry, said Rev. Margaret Gillikin, lead pastor of Helena United Methodist Ministries. Our founder, John Wesleys first general rule for the people called Methodists is do no harm," said Gillikin. Second is do all the good you can. We will be framing our discussion and decision based upon these guidelines by our founder, so that we can safeguard our constituents and all whom we serve to the best of our ability, and also serve the community of Helena, contributing to the common good. Our Redeemers Lutheran Church and Helena First Assembly of God, which are also continuing with online services, voiced similar concerns for inclusivity. A staff member from Helena First Assembly explained that they normally have upwards of 1,200 people in attendance at their Sunday services. Trying to host enough services to include everyone while following social-distancing guidelines is not logistically possible. St. Mary Catholic Community is also waiting for the right time to resume public Mass. We are following the advice of our bishop to resume public celebration of Mass at the time that is right for our parish, observing diocesan requirements, said Rev. Richard Francesco. This discernment requires input from our parish councils, parish staff members, and other parishioners. It takes time. We are a community, always striving for collegiality. Francesco indicated that social distancing would reduce pew capacity by 80%, with only about 70 people able to attend each service. Ordinarily, we have two to three times this number of people at any one Mass, said Francesco. This is one of the biggest challenges our community faces as we discern our path forward. In the interim, the St. Mary parish has been gathering for Mass via Zoom. According to Francesco, there has been upwards of 110 households in attendance each week. On Zoom, parishioners dont just get to see and hear the Mass being celebrated, they get to see and hear one another, said Francesco. This strengthens community, and it keeps everyone safe. Francesco indicated that extensive planning has gone into each of their Zoom services. We wanted to make the celebration as much like being gathered in our worship space at 1700 Missoula Ave. as possible, including a broad complement of liturgical ministers, live music and an opportunity to visit with one another after the celebration, shared Francesco. We wanted the experience to be user friendly, and, as well, to give parishioners views of the worship space in which we ordinarily gather. While Sunday saw a small revival of normal church activities in some areas of Helena, the looming impact and disruption of COVID-19 continues. But whether church doors cracked back open or stayed closed, one thing seemingly remains steadfast in many of Helenas churches that the presence and resilience of a faithful community of followers has not been diminished. We are church, and we know it. Physical distance does not render us spiritually detached. We are one in Christ Jesus. We know that our church is not a building; our church is the community, said Francesco. The broadcaster tells Chloe Brennan about her leap year proposal to her boyfriend, and her love of staycations. The person My fiance, [actor] Cathal [Pendred]. He's so much fun to be around and is the most determined person I've ever met. He's pretty good at crosswords, too. We make a good team. The memory Our engagement weekend! I popped the question on February 29, as is tradition, and we celebrated in Ashford Castle. All the parents got a visit too, and they were delighted. It was the most amazing, special weekend. I'll never forget it. The moment of the day The evening. I love a glass of wine while I'm cooking, and then settling down for the night. There's something freeing about that clock-off moment. The song High by the Lighthouse Family. It was played a lot in our house when I was a child, so it's very nostalgic for me. It's also an absolute banger. The movie Some Like it Hot with Marilyn Monroe. It's like an early Ru Paul's Drag Race. The book I'm obsessed with anything by Marian Keyes at the moment. But I also think everyone should read Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. It gives amazing insight into why we humans are the way we are. The hero My mamo! My mam's mam. She has the most wicked sense of humour, and is forever rebelling against her children. She makes me laugh. She and my daideo have a huge part to play in my love for the Irish language; that's all we speak to each other. The outfit Black jeans, black jumper, black Docs. I really need to start injecting some more colour into my wardrobe but I'm so attached to my black uniform. The accessory Hopefully, soon, my engagement ring! We haven't got around to buying me one yet. I'm the opposite of a jewellery person, so it just hasn't seemed urgent. I'm going to say my reading glasses instead; I love them. The pet hate Inefficiency. Noisy eating. And how irritable I am. The friend Ashley. We've been best friends for almost eight years. He is an absolute howl and we get along stupidly well. The hobby Playing the piano, sea swimming, crosswords, going out-out. The holiday I spent a weekend on Inis Meain during the heatwave in 2018 and it was like the Bahamas as Gaeilge. Any period spent in a Gaeltacht - Conamara, Dun na nGall, Coirce Dhuibhne - I'm not fussy. I'm so lucky that I get to visit them frequently with work, they're the most beautiful parts of Ireland. Staycations all the way. The bar L'Gueuleton on Fade Street in Dublin. The hotel Ashford Castle in Co Mayo. It's such a luxurious experience, and perfect for really special occasions. The part of my body My face. Or my hair. It's the longest it's been since I was 12. I abused it so much in my teens and early 20s, it's honestly a miracle it's stuck around for me. I've also stopped shaving my body hair in the last couple of years and it's made me so much more comfortable with my body. I love my hairy pits. The beauty product I was always an Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream kinda gal, but I'm trying to shop more ethically, and unfortunately Elizabeth Arden isn't cruelty-free. Mare! I now get my skincare from a gorgeous eco-friendly Irish online shop called The Kind. It stocks a face serum made from repurposed coffee grounds and the glow it gives is unreal. The advice Treat yourself as you would your best friend or a younger you. Go easy on yourself. Tog go bog e. The drink I really enjoy an oat milk latte. Red wine has my heart, but coffee keeps me functioning. The virtue I'm very forgiving and I'm not afraid to apologise. The vice I'm so bossy and like to control everything. It's a good thing I'm not afraid to apologise, because I often have to. @siomhaniruairc The Osun State Government has announced its first deaths from coronavirus. The governor of the state, Gboyega Oyetola, confirmed the death of two people on Sunday. Mr Oyetola made the confirmation during a press briefing at the Government House, Osogbo. He also confirmed the 12 new cases earlier reported by Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Saturday. He said out of the 12 new COVID-19 patients, two have died. The casualties are from Ede and in Ile-Ife, he said as he appealed to security officials not to compromise the lockdown order. He also stressed the compulsory use of face masks across the state. The State of Osun made significant progress in the fight against coronavirus in two weeks, having no new confirmed cases and discharging 19 of the 20 successfully without any death. We were on our way to containing the virus, in spite of the galloping figures in other states. However, it is saddening that we have recorded 12 new cases in the state, including three of our health workers, with two fatalities, both of whom were males with underlying health conditions, the governor added. Speaking further about the locations of the newly confirmed cases, Mr Oyetola said that the cases emerged from Ede, Irewole, Ejigbo and Ife East local government areas of the state. Six of the newly detected 12 cases were returnees from neighbouring West African country, Benin Republic; two recently returned to the state from Lagos; three had contact with previous confirmed cases; while the remaining one, who was suffering from Tuberculosis, was hurriedly ferried in from Ibadan. The cases we have on our hands are simply the consequences of breaching the lockdown directives of the state government by some citizens of the state, he added. Let us, therefore, obey the directives of the government so that we can return to our normal and unrestricted routines in due time. Let me use this opportunity to remind us all that the laws guiding the operation of this lockdown and the general security of the people are in force and the relevant security agencies are on notice to ensure compliance and the safety and security of the people. Hollywood couple Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, who recently recovered from the coronavirus, are doing their bit to help in the fight against the deadly disease. The actors have volunteered to donate blood and plasma for COVID-19 research, Hanks revealed on NPR's "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me!" podcast via MSN. "A lot of the questions (are) what now? What do we do now? Is there something we can do? And, in fact, we just found out that we do carry the antibodies," he said. "We have not only been approached, we have said, 'Do you want our blood? Can we give plasma?' And, in fact, we will be giving it now to the places that hope to work on what I would like to call the 'Hank-ccine'," the actor quipped. The first Hollywood personalities to have COVID-19 infection, Hanks and Wilson revealed their diagnosis on March 11. They returned home to Los Angeles at the end of March after quarantining and recovering from their symptoms. The couple was in Australia for the pre-production of Baz Luhrmann's untitled Elvis Presley film from Warner Bros, when they contracted the disease. Hanks stars as Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Egyptian bookstore Tanmeya has announced that it will be releasing an Egyptian edition of Abdelouahab Aissaoui's 2020 Arabic Booker winning novel, Al-Diwan Al-Isparti (The Spartan Court). The Algerian novelist won the $50,000 award 14 April. An English translation of his novel is expected soon. Tanmeya said it will release an Egyptian edition of the novel at an affordable price. Tanmey has published Arabic Booker winning novels in the last four years. The Spartan Court follows the interconnected lives of five characters in Algiers from 1815 to 1833. The first character, Dupond, is a French journalist covering the colonial campaign against Algeria. The second, Caviard, is a former soldier in Napoleons army who finds himself a prisoner in the city and later becomes a planner for the colonial campaign. The other three Algerian characters have different attitudes to Ottoman and French colonial powers. Ibn Mayyar thinks that politics is a means of building relationships with the Ottomans and even the French, whilst Hamma Al-Sallaoui believes that revolution is the only means of achieving change. The fifth character, Douja, is suspended somewhere between the others. She witnesses the transformation of Algiers helplessly and is forced to become a part of it, for one must live according to the citys rules, or leave. Search Keywords: Short link: U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin issued a rare joint statement on Saturday commemorating a 1945 World War Two link-up of U.S. and Soviet troops on their way to defeat Nazi Germany as an example of how their countries can cooperate, Trend reports citing Reuters. The statement by Trump and Putin comes amid deep strains in U.S.-Russian ties over a raft of issues, from arms control and Russias intervention in Ukraine and Syria to U.S. charges that Russia has spread disinformation about the novel coronavirus pandemic and interfered in U.S. election campaigns. The Wall Street Journal reported that the decision to issue the statement sparked debate within the Trump administration, with some officials worried it could undercut stern U.S. messages to Moscow. The joint statement marked the anniversary of the April 25, 1945 meeting on a bridge over the Elbe River in Germany of Soviet soldiers advancing from the east and American troops moving from the West. This event heralded the decisive defeat of the Nazi regime, the statement said. The Spirit of the Elbe is an example of how our countries can put aside differences, build trust, and cooperate in pursuit of a greater cause. The Journal said the last joint statement marking the Elbe River bridge link-up was issued in 2010, when the Obama administration was seeking improved relations with Moscow. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Chinese Exports Plummet During CCP Virus Pandemic Chinas export c as the United States and European countries withdrew their orders from mainland China. A few days ago, a video circulating online shows that Yiwu Port in Zhejiang Province was almost empty. Local residents called it the end of the world for foreign trade. Man in the background: This is the largest logistics warehouse in Yiwu, at the Yiwu Port. Look, its the doomsday of foreign trade. Look, its empty. How quiet it is. It used to be so crowded that even cars couldnt get in. Another video showed Xingzhong Shopping District, a popular area normally full of people, but now has only a few visitors. Man in the background: This is the situation at Xingzhong Shopping District now. It used to be jam-packed with people. Now it looks like this, very few people are around. Yiwu Small Commodities Market ranks first in the country for 14 consecutive years. It has an average of over 200,000 daily visitors, attracting more than 8,000 stationed foreign traders, and its products exported to more than 180 countries and regions. It is one of Chinas largest trading centers for foreign exports. According to statistics from customs in mainland China, the total value of Chinas external trade in the first two months of 2020 was 4.12 trillion yuan and decreased by 9.6% compared to last year. Exports were the most affected with an annual decline of more than 17.2%. The total import and export value of Zhejiang Province, Chinas major foreign trade province, also fell by more than 10% in these two months. coronavirus,china,coronavirus outbreak,coronavirus video,CCP virus live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More There may be redemption pressure on schemes in the high-risk high-return category, which may lead to some selling pressure in mid and smallcaps, Sumit Bilgaiyan, Founder of Equity99 said in an interview to Moneycontrol's Sunil Shankar Matkar. Edited excepts of the interview: Q. The market has been getting support from hopes of a big stimulus package and lower crude oil prices, whereas uncertainty over the spread of the novel coronavirus and effectiveness of vaccines currently under development, have capped the upside of market. Do you think the market will break on either side of its range in coming weeks or stay volatile? A. The situation is very fluid but if we are to assume that there are no large shockwaves emerging from global markets, we expect the market to remain rangebound for near term till further clarity emerges on the lockdown and the coronavirus cases top out and start reducing consistently. In case of any news in terms of sharp rise in cases globally or failure to come out with an effective medicine and vaccine, the markets may witness a sharp correction. Also, further significant extension of lockdown may lead to a sharp correction. Q. Franklin Templeton MF closed its six debt funds, which was the second causality after IndiaNivesh which shut in March. Is it indicating that there could be more selling pressure in coming days which can break March lows. Will investors lose their faith like what was seen during the 2008 global financial crisis? COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show A. Firstly, both events are not intertwined and are outcome of different situations which were result of their investment strategy, but one common underlying factor between both events is the mindset of chasing returns and in the process neglecting the lobsided risk taken. We believe that there may be redemption pressure on schemes which are in the high-risk high-return category which might lead to some selling pressure in mid and small caps. Q. Few days ago, some analysts were saying that the debt crisis would be the next. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been doing its best to maintain liquidity, but do you think more needs to be done to avoid such crisis. What should the government and the RBI do to avoid shutting down Franklin Templeton kind of funds? A. We believe that a debt crisis is imminent and that majority of the measures taken by the government and the RBI so far are in terms of monetary stimulus. We believe that there is a need to release a strong fiscal stimulus package which could ensure that in the short term, majority of businesses are able to survive. Only this can prevent any further shutdown of funds. Q. What are your top five bets for the next one year, which have defended and can defend themselves in every crisis? A. HUL: It is the largest debt-free FMCG company and the demand for consumer goods is not expected to take a major hit. Britannia Industries: Being a large scale domestic FMCG player with no debt and strong penetration and having the ability to launch lower ticket size and quantity packings, ensures that the impact on it will be low. HDFC Bank: Judicious mix of retail and corporate loan book enabled the bank to demonstrate strong loan book growth in previous quarter despite systemic slow down. Strong underwriting and strict monitoring of loan has enabled the bank to keep its asset quality stable. Post Yes Bank crisis, HDFC Bank have witnessed growth in deposits, leading to improved CASA ratios and NIM. Stable growth aided by tax cut will further help bank to deliver around 15 percent PAT growth. By the virtue of being the largest lender, they enjoy the comfort of having some of the best of quality of borrowers, mainly large PSUs along with NBFCs, which are more likely to weather the storm and will be able to service the debt. Sun Pharmaceuticals: Compounded sales growth in last 10 years is at 21.39 percent and stock price CAGR of 11.58 percent. Management decisions and USFDA approvals were the factor leading a constant slacker and the stock has been a constant underperformer from since 2015. Since the coronavirus spread factor gave more interest and trust as well as visibility in pharma sector worldwide, and USFDA has also been relaxed on the norms in last one month permitting for more drug manufacturing, this gives a very positive indication for the sector. Cadila Healthcare: Considering the cost conscious nature (pricing competition) of various export markets amidst the economical impact of COVID-19, we believe companies like Cadila with larger portfolio and integrated manufacturing will be the key beneficiaries. Logistic has been the biggest issue faced due to lockdown. Going ahead, we believe Cadila to outperform peers in US generics (as evident from double digit volume growth in YTD) and to outpace industry growth in the domestic formulations market led by its business restructuring and revamping of distribution. Additionally, its R&D initiatives have progressed well for monetisation in the near future. Q. The volatility index cooled off considerably to below 40 levels in last four weeks. Does it indicate that there would be no major selling pressure in coming days or something else? A. It is rather a result of the market moving sideways on account of impact of expectations of a weak FY21 having already been priced in. But we believe that it is the calm that precedes the storm and the markets may break out in either direction once a better clarity about either improvement or worsening of situation emerges. Q. What is the F&O data indicating now and what could be the expiry level in coming week? Also, what are the things we should look at in the coming week? A. The current open interest levels suggest that the expiry level in the coming week may be between 8,900-9,200 levels. One should look at oil prices, US and EU markets movement, rate of rise in coronavirus cases in India and specifically the hotspots of Maharashtra, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. : The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on Moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. Vidant Beaufort Hospital Newer Older Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 We endeavor here to express to the community the events that are ongoing at the Vidant Beaufort Hospital here in Washington, North Carolina in Beaufort County. The park has been a target of local armed groups and the latest attack has killed 16 people, 12 of them were rangers. This Virunga national park is home to the endangered mountain gorillas apart from a wide variety of rare species. It has faced many such attacks in the past. In this case, a number of fighters belonging to a Hutu rebel group ambushed a convoy of civilians. The rangers were trying to protect them. That is what an official of the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation said. However, there was no confirmation about this from the park administration. Any national park is the pride of the country. It is always a major Travel destination and the authorities have to ensure foolproof security for not just the visitors but also for the wildlife. Rangers and civilians killed in attack in eastern DRC's Virunga National Park https://t.co/SU2ylf7NGJ pic.twitter.com/yOMsYbD1Ke Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) April 24, 2020 The Guardian makes a mention of multiple incidents of violence in the area. It had to ban entry of tourists for a stretch of eight months in 2018 in the aftermath of several attacks on the staff. Subsequently, it reopened after a complete review of its security precautions. It also reinforced the security apparatus by augmenting the number of rangers deployed to ensure safety of the animals and the tourists. This national park has many security threats The Virunga national park in Democratic Republic of Congo has to tackle many types of security threats. It is located in the North Kivu province, and has the label of one of the most dangerous conservation projects in the world. Some of its security threats pertain to militia group apart from activities related to illegal charcoal production, smuggling and poaching. Discuss this news on Eunomia DR Congo's Virunga National Park hit by 'deadliest' attack https://t.co/86Ddz7bQdu BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) April 24, 2020 The Guardian provides a brief history of the park. Belgian colonial authorities set it up in 1925 and it struggled soon after gaining independence in 1960. Subsequently, President Mobutu Sese Seko came to power in 1965 and the Virunga national park flourished. However, a civil war erupted after the fall of Mobutu in 1997. Simultaneously, the population of Virungas mountain gorilla dropped drastically. It has now risen considerably along with the numbers of other animals that include the forest elephants. The rangers are mostly local villagers and the authorities have tried to boost the local economy by encouraging hydroelectric power projects apart from existing potentials of tourism. Incidentally, last month visits to the park did not happen. It was a preventive measure to protect the gorillas from Coronavirus infection. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage site According to The BBC, militiamen ambushed a convoy of civilians in the Virunga national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The rangers were protecting them and at least 12 rangers lost their lives. Members of a Rwandan rebel group unleashed the violence. An official of the government confirmed Friday's attack was the deadliest in recent history. This park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the oldest nature reserve in Africa and a popular tourist attraction because of its mountain gorillas. A statement on the website of the park says Virunga Park Rangers were not the target of the assault, but lost their lives responding to the attack in defence of the local population." In an earlier incident of 2018, a woman park ranger died in an encounter with kidnappers who tried to kidnap a couple of British tourists. Any national parks is a treasure The loss of rangers to violence is a tragedy because any national park is a treasure and those who guard them are duty bound to protect the park and its visitors. On the other extreme is the Kruger national park where wildlife is enjoying their freedom from humans who have disappeared due to fears of infection from coronavirus. Another example of human apathy towards national parks comes from America. The government imposed 35-day shutdown by Donald Trump devastated the Joshua Tree National Park. It could take centuries to recover. There's an old stone building with gothic architecture and, inside, a labyrinth of nooks and crannies begging to be explored in games of hide and seek. Below the floorboards there's a secret cellar, complete with trapdoor, where spiders, cobwebs and spooky shadows lurk just the place for a ghost story. The description of this 19th-century, Grade II-listed property, in a picturesque village in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, might conjure up images of Hogwarts the fictional school of magic from the Harry Potter books. In reality, however, it harbours even more significance to J.K. Rowling than the novels that made her famous. The house in question is Church Cottage, her childhood home. Scrawled on the window ledge in one of the bedrooms is the priceless insignia: 'Rowling slept here circa 1982' as if there was any doubt as to its salubrious history. It was revealed recently that Rowling had secretly bought the house she grew up in. The notoriously private author and her anaesthetist husband, Dr Neil Murray, are believed to have purchased the home for 399,950 in 2011 through Edinburgh-based company Caernarfon Lettings Ltd, of which Rowling is listed as a person in 'significant control' and Dr Murray a director. The notoriously private author and her anaesthetist husband, Dr Neil Murray, are believed to have purchased the home (pictured) in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, for 399,950 in 2011 It was revealed recently that Rowling (pictured in 2018) had secretly bought the house she grew up in Church Cottage which was originally built as a school but converted into a residential dwelling at the turn of the 20th century has vaulted ceilings and even a cupboard under the stairs, just like the one Harry was holed up in by his evil Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon before he arrived at Hogwarts. After apparently being left unoccupied for much of the past eight years, Rowling, 54, was granted planning permission to restore it to its former glory in January. As one might expect from a woman worth around 750 million, no expense is being spared. Modern floorboards will be replaced with reclaimed pine versions to match the originals and the eye-catching red and beige diamond-pattern quarry tiles in the dining room rejuvenated. Outside, plastic pipes will be swapped for costly cast-iron equivalents. Metal casements around the windows will be restored, with the historic crown glass retained. Although halted because of the coronavirus lockdown, the renovation project is well under way. 'The scaffolding is up and work has commenced. Over the past month there have been tradespeople in and around the property, and they've taken the roof off,' villager Katie Pingree, 43, told the Mail. 'It's stood empty for a while and it's going to look nice though not everyone feels that way.' Some are questioning why Rowling would want to buy a house in a village she has long professed to have been miserable living in. Having famously survived on 69-a-week benefits as a single mother in the 1990s, while writing the first of her seven Harry Potter books in an Edinburgh cafe, many believe Rowling has been outwardly disdainful of the Middle England type of community her childhood village espouses. In a 2012 interview with The Guardian she said: 'We're a phenomenally snobby society.' She went on to say: 'It's the class I know best, and it's the class where you find the most pretension, so that's what makes the middle classes so funny.' Church Cottage which was originally built as a school but converted into a residential dwelling at the turn of the 20th century has vaulted ceilings and even a cupboard under the stairs (pictured), just like the one Harry was holed up in by his evil Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon before he arrived at Hogwarts She centred the plot of her 2012 novel The Casual Vacancy on the West Country town of Pagford, a town widely construed as a fictionalised version of the area. In the novel, she pilloried the residents who lived there as small-minded snobs and busybodies. 'There is an element of negative people thinking 'Why is she doing it now?' because previously she had been quite vocal about not having the happiest of childhoods in the area,' says Katie Pingree. Indeed, in September 2012 Rowling said: 'This was very much me vividly remembering what it was like to be a teenager, and it wasn't a particularly happy time. In fact, you couldn't give me anything to make me go back to being a teenager. Never. No, I hated it.' Then there is the question of why she seems to have waited for nine years to renovate Church Cottage, prompting one disgruntled local on a community Facebook page to remark: 'Time for her to sell it. She shouldn't have kept it empty all this time when a family could live in it and love it.' In addition to her 162-acre estate in Perthshire, Scotland, Rowling, the world's richest author, owns a townhouse in London's exclusive Kensington and a 2 million home in Edinburgh. The 399,950 she allegedly spent on her childhood home, then, is small change in comparison. 'Maybe there's an element of jealousy,' says Pingree, who, like Rowling, went to Wyedean secondary school in nearby Sedbury. 'People are saying she only wants to do it so no one else can buy it and make money off the back of her.' Pingree insists, however: 'The fact she's restoring the cottage and bringing back its original features is a positive for everyone.' So why does this house mean so much to Rowling? And why is she suddenly so determined to preserve and protect it? Arguably, Rowling's love for her mother, Anne who died in this home of multiple sclerosis aged just 45 plays a large part in her wanting to maintain the childhood memories it evokes. Pictured: her parents' 1964 wedding Despite her famous philanthropy (she lost her billionaire status because she's given so much to charity) her reasons are as likely to be personal as altruistic. Arguably, Rowling's love for her mother, Anne who died in this home of multiple sclerosis aged just 45 plays a large part in her wanting to maintain the childhood memories it evokes. Perhaps, too, does a desire to put her well-documented fractured relationship with her father, Peter, behind her. In an interview with the New Yorker Magazine in 2012 she said: 'I did not have an easy relationship with my father.' When chat-show host Oprah Winfrey asked her in 2010 if she thought she would ever make peace with her father, the mother of three said: 'No, I don't. I think that it's such a huge thing to be estranged from a parent, there would have to be very big reasons for that and I have my reasons. 'It wasn't a good relationship from my point of view, for a very long time.' Rowling became estranged from Peter after he auctioned off signed copies of her books. That was in 2003, however. Maybe enough time has passed to temper any lingering resentment. Maybe, after so long seemingly distancing herself from her childhood memories, Rowling is ready to embrace them again. Scrawled on the window ledge in one of the bedrooms is the priceless insignia: 'Rowling slept here circa 1982' as if there was any doubt as to its salubrious history Peter, now 75 and a retired engineer, bought the house in 1974, when Rowling real name Joanne was nine and her sister, Diane, seven. Until then, the girls' childhood on the outskirts of Bristol had been happy and Rowling was already showing signs of being a gifted, imaginative child. 'From the age of three, Joanne could read a newspaper article or book. She was always writing plays and stories for her friends and sister to read and perform,' Peter recalled. He and Joanne's mum loved to read the girls Noddy, Wind In The Willows and Thomas the Tank Engine books. Yet when the family moved to the close-knit community in the Forest of Dean, Joanne found it tough. Aged nine, she was at an age at which children are starting to form deep friendships and can be susceptible to peer pressure. In her 2012 interview with New Yorker Magazine, she said: 'My voice wasn't Forest of Dean, although it became Forest of Dean pretty damn quickly.' Despite her feelings of alienation, it is easy to see how her new home might have fired Rowling's imagination. Julian Mercer, a TV producer who bought the property from the family in 1995 for 84,000, described the architecture as 'very Hogwartslike'. Yet in real life, tragedy was unfurling. When Rowling was 12, Anne fell ill, the first clue her body wasn't functioning when she struggled to pick up a teapot. Rowling was always close to her mother. 'Anne was there for the girls, while I was away at work a lot,' Peter later recalled. A bookish teen who went on to be head girl, Rowling took her studies seriously, with her English teacher Steve Eddy saying in 2007 her 'work always showed impressive imagination and in class she was bright and enthusiastic'. Yet there was a rebelliousness, too. In The Casual Vacancy there is a restless teenager called Andrew, whom Rowling admits exhibits parallels with her own life. 'Andrew's romantic idea that he'll go and live among the graffiti and broken windows of London: that was me,' she said in 2012. 'I thought: 'I have to get away from this place.' ' Describing her adolescence a 'dreadful time of life', Rowling has recalled, nonetheless, how her mum maintained an indefatigable optimism. Last week parish councillor Sheila Bollen, who ran the store where Anne used to buy her daughters' school uniform, said she had 'no idea she was unwell until right to the end'. Rowling, who had graduated from Exeter University in 1986, learned her mother had died, on New Year's Eve in 1990, while holidaying with an ex-boyfriend. 'She died at home of respiratory failure. She was 45, and I still can't write about her without crying,' Rowling said. In 2010, she founded the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic at the University of Edinburgh with a gift of 10 million in her mother's memory. Shattered, she moved to Portugal to work as an English teacher shortly afterwards, embarking on a volatile relationship with journalist Jorge Arantes, with whom she had a daughter, Jessica. Meanwhile, Peter started a relationship with divorced secretary Janet Gallivan, with whom he worked. They married in 1993. The same year, Rowling left Arantes and moved with Jessica to live with her sister in Edinburgh, where she famously survived on benefits while writing Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, which was published in 1997. She dedicated the book to her mother, sister and daughter, with no mention of her father. Peter and his daughter repaired their relationship enough for Rowling to invite him to her 2001 wedding to Dr Murray, with whom she now has two teenage children. Two of only 14 guests, Peter and his second wife were flown to Scotland by private jet and picked up from the airport in limos. How much more it must have hurt, then, for Rowling to discover two years later that her father was selling first-edition copies of her work signed 'Lots of love from your firstborn' at Sotheby's. Peter, who pocketed 50,000 for four books, later said he had forewarned his daughter he needed to auction the books to cover debts, admitting she was 'livid'. Then, in 2012, Rowling suggested to an interview with the New Yorker magazine that they'd fallen out before Peter auctioned her books over what, it's not known. 'We've not had any communication for about nine years.' Confusingly, Peter was insisting everything was fine, telling a Mail on Sunday reporter: 'Everything is good. There is no problem any more.' Maybe buying her childhood home in 2011 provided the thawing in relations between the two. Or maybe the clue lies in an interview Rowling gave in 2012, when she spoke about her French ancestry, on her mother's side. Revealing how her great-grandfather had won a Croix de Guerre award for his bravery in World War I, Rowling made perhaps her most telling comment on her motive. 'I married someone who's got a vast Scottish family a clan, really which is fabulous. But I wanted to have something I could show my children and say: 'Look, I also have a family, I also have a background.' ' And now she has a childhood home, packed with memories, that she can share. Additional reporting: Stephanie Condron This is part of a series of questions posed by The Oregonian/OregonLive to May 19 primary election candidates seeking the seat on the Portland City Council currently held by Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, who is seeking reelection. Surveys were also sent to candidates running for Position 1, Position 2 and Mayor. Name two inequities in the city that most concern you. How do you intend to address them if elected? Keith Wilson: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency environmental justice mapping tool shows the entire East Portland area and the North Portland Interstate 5 corridor -- two of our lowest income areas -- have the highest concentrations of diesel particulate matter. Portlands renewable fuels standards have lagged. I will review and begin the update process immediately. There are renewable diesel fuels now available that have 60% less carbon than petroleum diesel. This will have an immediate impact improving air quality to match that of the rest of Portland. Separately, more than half of all arrests in Portland are of homeless people, with the vast majority of those linked to low-level and non-violent offenses. After spending two weeks with San Diegos public defenders and mayors office staff observing their Homeless Court Program, I am confident a similar program will reduce arrests significantly and counteract the effects of criminal cases pushing homeless defendants further outside society. Its a fresh start for everyone: The homeless participant no longer faces a huge roadblock to gaining stable, long-term housing, and police are freed up to spend more time helping all Portlanders. Seth Woolley: Linking property taxes to 1990 values fails to account for the different effects of gentrification and pushes more gentrification in already gentrified areas. We should work with the state to let cities unlink tax values at property turnover and transition to different forms of taxes that tax things people use that are of limited resource, rather than exercises of creativity and labor. To that end, I would advocate for shifting to a land value tax at sale or owner-petition. Air pollution and other forms of environmental effects are concentrated mostly in less affluent areas of the city. Our transportation system doesnt serve those further out but still within the urban growth boundary. For example, rideshare companies restrict access to carpools outside the inner core. The bikeshare system is concentrated in the more dense areas. The transit system is designed such that trips across town can take hours and take multiple transfers. There are technical solutions to each of these problems that involve more sophisticated dynamic allocation of limited transportation resources. I would ensure that traffic fines are indexed to income and vehicle value so scofflaws might actually change their behavior. Sam Adams: I believe that the city of Portland must regain local control over the conduct of its police officers to ensure equitable city law enforcement. The current policies and procedures are overly advisory, as long as arbitrators can overturn the approved discipline of police officers. I have fired and disciplined police officers based on merits, only to have my decisions overturned. This year, Sen. Lew Frederick, D-Portland, offered an important step in the right direction. Senate Bill 1567 would have provided local governments with the control and oversight tools they need to address disciplinary issues within their police departments. The vast majority of police are hard-working officers, and everyone deserves due process and fair treatment in the workplace. We need Fredericks bill to pass to place control over police bureaus back in the hands of local elected officials where it belongs. Separately, as part of the required city licensing process, I propose every firm be required to start publicly reporting the diversity on their board of directors in 2022. Chloe Eudaly: All inequities concern me, but the most glaring inequities are those that exist in our public safety system and in housing. In November 2019, the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission published its analysis of traffic stops in Oregon. It found that Black and Hispanic people are cited, searched and arrested at disproportionate rates. I will predicate future support for the Police Bureau on its support for strategies to address and reduce inequities. The commission also found that many of these disparities are the direct result of fee-based license suspensions, and I would like to see that addressed by the city as well. To help address disparities in housing, I developed and passed new housing regulations designed to improve racial disparities in screening and security deposit procedures. I intend to closely monitor the implementation of these policies and make adjustments if they do not prove to decrease disparate impacts. Mingus Mapps: I am deeply committed to fighting for economic and racial justice. That commitment comes from my experience as a black man who has lived much of his life in Portland. I know Oregons troubling history of discrimination and unsteady march toward social justice. Oregon repealed the last of its black exclusion laws fewer than 100 years ago. Today, I am on the verge of becoming only the third black man to be elected to Portland City Council. Those milestones are both a sign of how far we have come and how much work is left to be done. When I am on City Council, I will be a champion of equity and inclusion. I will demand that the city hire qualified women, people of color, Indigenous folk, people from the LGBTQ+ community, the differently abled and members of other historically marginalized groups. I will hold the city accountable for delivering services to the public in an equitable manner. -- Everton Bailey Jr. The OnePlus 6 and 6T start receiving OxygenOS 10.3.3. The update is coming via OTA. There are India specific improvements in the update. If you are a OnePlus 6 or OnePlus 6T owner, then there is good news for you. The smartphone will start receiving the OxygenOS 10.3.3 OTA update. The OxygenOS 10.3.3 OTA update will have a staged rollout. The OTA will be received by a limited number of users first and will have a broader rollout in a few days after OnePlus makes sure there are no critical bugs. There is no point trying to use a VPN to download the update as OnePlus says that using VPN to download this build might not work as the rollout is not based on regions and is randomly pushed out to a limited number of devices. OnePlus 6 and 6T OxygenOS 10.3.3 details Coming to the details about the update, the OnePlus forums says that the update brings with it stability fixes namely, fixing the issue with a black screen randomly appearing while playing games which can be a bummer for those that are ready with their trigger fingers during a PUBG Mobile match. It also updates the Android security patch to 2020.04. The update also improved system stability and fixed general bugs. It also brings VoWifi support for Reliance Jio in India along with cloud sync support which is an India specific feature. You can check out the details of the update below. System Fixed the issue with a black screen randomly appearing while playing games Updated GMS package to 2020.02 Updated Android Security Patch to 2020.04 Improved system stability and fixed general bugs Network updates Integrated VoLTE & VoWifi support for Telenor - Denmark Integrated VoWifi support for RJIO - India Cloud Sync updates [India only] Updated the CloudService to Version 2.0 Source Insurer Admiral has always been a bit different from its peers. That holds true today, more than ever, as chief executive David Stevens seems determined to show he is thinking of customers during the crisis, rather than just the bottom line. While other insurers try to wriggle out of Covid-19-related claims, Stevens last week announced a 25 refund for every motor customer, in recognition of the fact that almost everyone is driving less than before. The gesture will cost Admiral 110million and may even be repeated if the lockdown persists. The group is also helping customers in financial difficulty, providing extra support for NHS workers and has set up a support fund focused on South Wales, near its Cardiff headquarters. A ship-shape firm: Admiral wins plaudits from customers and staff alike The initiatives are designed to show that Admiral does not intend to profit from the coronavirus, but it should also boost business over the longer term. Admiral owns several brands, such as Confused.com and Elephant in the UK, and a number of businesses in Europe and the US. The group delivered a 10 per cent rise in profit last year to 526million and an 11 per cent increase in the dividend to 140p, through a mix of ordinary and special payments. Further growth is expected this year and beyond. Admiral is primarily a motor insurer but it has moved into home cover and is building momentum overseas. The only FTSE 100 firm based in Wales, the group consistently receives accolades for customer service and employee satisfaction. Actions taken during the lockdown should reinforce the firms reputation now and in future. Midas verdict: Midas recommended Admiral in January 2009, when the country was mired in the global financial crisis. Then the stock was 8.92. Today it is 23.08. There have been bumps along the road but the shares have delivered overall and investors have been rewarded with a steady stream of dividends too. There should be more of the same to come. A strong and solid business with a culture that sets it apart from competitors, Admiral is a long-term hold. (Reuters) - Prescriptions for two malaria drugs surged by more than 46 times on the day that U.S. President Donald Trump touted his opinion about their effectiveness in the coronavirus fight during a March briefing, the New York Times reported on Saturday https://nyti.ms/2S9W1D3. I think it could be something really incredible, Trump said on March 19, adding that the two drugs had shown very, very encouraging results in treating the virus but that more study was needed, the report quoted Trump as saying. By that evening, first-time prescriptions of the drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine flooded into retail pharmacies at more than 46 times the rate of the average weekday, according to a New York Times analysis of prescription data, the report said. The 32,000 prescriptions came from a broad range of doctors, including rheumatologists, cardiologists, dermatologists, psychiatrists and podiatrists, according to the report. COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, has no approved treatment or vaccine. But hydroxychloroquine has been widely used in an attempt to alter the course of COVID-19 based on anecdotal reports that it may provide some benefit. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday cautioned against the use of hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 patients even as Trump, who has touted it as a game changer, advocated for an additional review. The FDA has allowed healthcare providers to use the drugs for COVID-19 through its emergency use authorization, but has not approved them to treat the disease. (Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Marguerita Choy) The head of one of Britain's biggest housebuilders has urged the Government to set out an exit strategy to get the country moving again. Pete Redfern, the chief executive of FTSE 100 firm Taylor Wimpey, has broken ranks with rival bosses to push the Government to outline a plan to end lockdown. Redfern told The Mail on Sunday the exit strategy does not necessarily need a fixed date, but insisted it was time to give businesses 'a direction that people can plan around'. Pete Redfern is pushing the Government to outline a plan to end lockdown Taylor Wimpey last week became one of the first businesses to announce plans to resume work after it formulated a way to restart construction safely. It was joined by rivals Persimmon and Bovis Homes owner Vistry. Redfern said Taylor Wimpey had spent the past four weeks hatching a plan to return to business while meeting the Government's lockdown guidelines and social distancing rules. The builder has been in regular contact with No 10 and the Treasury, which Redfern said had given supportive signals for its initiative. Redfern said most jobs on building sites could be carried out while maintaining social distancing measures. Builders performing tasks where that is not possible such as heavy manual lifting jobs involving more than one person would be equipped with personal protective equipment. Taylor Wimpey plans to reopen the majority of its building sites from May 4 in England and Wales, but will keep sites in Scotland shut in accordance with Scottish guidelines. Construction firms were allowed to continue operating after the lockdown as the Government classed them as essential businesses. However, amid criticism from the public about builders flouting social distancing rules, housebuilders began to shut down operations as they said they were unable to operate safely under the Government's guidelines. Redfern said: 'We were uncomfortable with the idea that construction was an essential industry. To us, housebuilding is clearly important to the economy in the long term, but I would not argue that it's essential in the short term.' He said the Government had 'done a good job in a difficult set of circumstances', but added that 'it helps to talk about a plan' about easing the lockdown more widely. Redfern, whose company built 16,000 homes last year, said he thought Ministers were reluctant to set out a strategy in case they were accused of making a U-turn should they change course. However, he said the public would understand that any plan would be subject to change if new information emerges about the spread of Covid-19. He added that Taylor Wimpey's return to work would send a strong signal of confidence to buyers. Taylor Wimpey plans to reopen the majority of its building sites from May 4 in England and Wales, but will keep sites in Scotland shut in accordance with Scottish guidelines The company has said its order book remains strong despite concerns about the impact of the crisis on the housing market. 'The reason we've been so direct and actually so detailed [in our planning] is we do actually feel a degree of responsibility to set out a road map,' he said. 'Not everybody will follow exactly the same structure. Different businesses will have different solutions and that's fine. 'But if we can set something out that's real, then other companies will move in a similar way and that makes everything easier.' He added: 'I think that does give people confidence. And we will be prepared to tweak and change our plan.' Canadian health authorities have issued a warning against the use of anti-malarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus infections or prevent reinfections. Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine can have serious side effects. These drugs should be used only under the supervision of a physician, Canadas public health agency said in a note posted Saturday on its website. READ ALSO: Police arrest suspected killers of Kaduna seminarian Health Canada is concerned that some people may be directly buying and using chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine to prevent or treat COVID-19, it said, noting they can cause serious heart rhythm problems. The European Medicines Agency on Thursday issued a similar warning about the drugs, whose promise as a coronavirus treatment has been touted by US President Donald Trump. (AFP) DOWNLOAD THE PUNCH NEWS APP NOW ON #video-container { margin-bottom: 10px; } .socialmedia { margin-bottom:20px; margin-top:20px; font-family: Open Sans, sans-serif; } .socialmedia h3 { font-size:14px; margin-bottom:10px; font-weight:bold; text-align:left; } .socialmedia h3 span { font-size:14px; font-weight:normal; line-height:1.5em; } .socialmedia h3 span#whatsapp { width:50px; height:50px; background:url(http://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/07104600/wa1.png) no-repeat; } .socialmedia h3 span a { color:gray; } #main h3 { font-weight:bold; font-size:24px; } .box_app { background-color:#fafafa; width: 100%; text-align: left; } Hundreds of garment factories in Bangladesh on Sunday defied a nationwide coronavirus lockdown to resume their work as the crippling industry sought to cover losses, endangering the drive to curb the spread of deadly virus. A segment of garment factories affiliated with Readymade Garment Industry (RMG) entrepreneurs' lobbies resumed operations on a limited scale, bdnews reported. The Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BGMEA) has set a 30 per cent attendance target for the factories opening on Sunday while the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) asked its members to open knitting, dyeing and sample sections, which will also require at least 30 per cent attendance. The mills were closed on March 26. The factories are calling back workers living close to the units. Asked about the number of factories that reopened on Sunday, BGMEA Vice President Faisal Samad told bdnews24.com: "We are not doing anything in a hurry; everything is being done slowly. On the first day, about two hundred factories in and around Dhaka have made preparations to restart work with a small number of workers. The factories will fully reopen from May 2," said BKMEA Vice President Mohammad Hatem, adding: "Workers who are living far away have been barred from attending work at the moment." Murad Hossain, the joint convener of state-owned Jute CBA-Non-CBA Sangram Parishad and former CBA president of Crescent Jute Mill, said the mills were closed due to the coronavirus outbreak. They reopened the mills partially to cover losses. In a directive sent to its members, the BGMEA outlined the different phases through which the factories will gradually increase capacity. In the first phase, only workers living in the vicinity of the relevant factories will be allowed to return to work. From April 26 to May 2, only 30 per cent of the total workers can be present in the factories. Based on the results, the factories will later be allowed to call up to 50 per cent of its workers. Meanwhile, the workers' organisations have reiterated their stand against the reopening of factories. "Currently, we are facing a bigger humanitarian crisis than 1971," said Mahbubur Rahman Ismail, coordinator of the Movement for Garment Workers' Rights. "How can factories stay open when there is no guarantee of human life? We demand a three-month holiday for the workers and we want the government to take care of the salaries," he added. Meanwhile, some workers said if the mills' operations resume, hundreds of workers will come to the city to join work and that can lead to a far worse problem leading to a surge in the rate of coronavirus infection. There are nearly 4.1 million garment workers in the country. Global lockdowns led the international apparel brands and retailers, who rely on the cheap labour that Bangladesh provides, to cancel or suspend an estimated USD 3.17 billion worth of orders in the country. Bangladesh has decided to extend the nationwide COVID-19 shutdown until May 5 amid warnings of heightening risks of coronavirus infections in the country, including among doctors and healthcare workers. To curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, the government initially declared a general holiday on March 26 for 10 days. Later, that was gradually extended till April 25 as the country kept seeing a rise in the number of cases and deaths from COVID-19. Bangladesh on Sunday confirmed deaths of five more COVID-19 patients, including a child, taking the country's death toll to 145. Besides, another 418 people tested positive for the deadly disease, pushing up the total number of confirmed cases to 5,416. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Model Imogen Anthony has debuted a new post-breakup makeover following her split from Sydney radio host Kyle Sandilands. The 29-year-old fashion star debuted a more subtle look on Saturday, confessing to having a 'Britney moment' on Instagram. 'Fresh out the shower and having my own Britney moment being undecided on which video to post: so we do Britney proud and post them all!' she said at the time. 'I've had a Britney moment': Model Imogen Anthony, 29, (pictured) debuted her shock new look on Sunday, after her split from radio king Kyle Sandilands last November. Pictured left in December 2019, right in April 2020 Imogen looked absolutely stunning with her new shoulder-length hair, with the star proving to forgo her usual heavy blonde extensions. The brunette tresses framed her face perfectly, and appeared to be thinned out and layered with some blonde highlights. Imogen wore a lavender slip dress in the clip. Bedazzled: A number of the star's fans gushed over her new look, with it clearly impressing Imogen's sizeable 162,000 followers A number of the star's fans complimented her new look. Imogen later shared a snap of herself in a bedazzled tank that again showed off her more natural, mousy-brown locks. The model has been laying low since her split from Kyle, spending time at the former couple's farm in New South Wales' Southern Highlands. Her raciest shoot yet! Imogen posed completely nude on a horse during very saucy self-isolation photo shoot this month The beauty treated fans to an impromptu photo shoot this month, as she posted completely naked on the back of a horse. In the photos, the budding fashion designer posed backwards on her grey horse, wearing nothing but a black g-string and a bizarre balaclava. She revealed in the caption that the shoot was for a 'mate' and the behind the scenes snaps were taken by her mother. 'I would say this is what isolation does to you, but we all knew i was a weirdo before this f**kery...' she wrote in the caption. Bizarre: In the photos, the budding blonde fashion designer posed backwards on her grey horse wearing nothing but a black g-string and a bizarre balaclava Kyle confirmed his break-up with Imogen live on KIIS FM on November 5, telling listeners they had been living apart 'for months'. 'We haven't been with each other for quite a few months now. Unfortunately it's run its course,' he said. He is now dating former employee, Tegan Kynaston. Film still of actor John Hurt wearing a cloth sack over his head, in a scene from the film 'The Elephant Man', 1980. (Photo by Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images) Powerhouse performances from France, emotively inclusive family drama, kids comedy and shocking true tales as TopFilmTip brings you the best films on TV for Sunday 26 April. The forty year forging of misunderstood moustached military master is explored and examined in epic The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp 12:00pm BBC Two HD Raised as royal brothers, siblings' close bond breaks as one realises his true origins and must lead his people to freedom in biblical musical The Prince of Egypt 2:00pm Sky 1 Decidedly average 80s kid becomes boastful hirsute hero in van surfing, Boof-mauling, basket-balling, confidence drunk gem Teen Wolf 2:20pm Channel 4 Encouraged by struggling and starving family, Lancashire lass shares herself with unscrupulous bookie at cost of ruined reputation Love on the Dole 4:00pm Talking Pictures TV In inescapable orbit of facially disfigured boy, friends and family find their lives and hearts uplifted as he self-actualises in deeply affecting, masterfully emotive Wonder 4:25pm Film 4 Read more: The best 4K TV deals Backpacking douche discovers monster's retreat, woos Dracula's daughter and throws party in Genndy Tartakovsky's Hotel Transylvania 4:55pm ITV2 Tortuga bros exuberantly battle ninja clan and mucousy Krang in truck-nun-chuk-ing fun Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows 5:20pm Channel 4 Helicopter piloting, face punching, tsunami sailing emergency responder abandons all his duties to rescue wife and daughter from cataclysmic earthquake San Andreas 6:45pm ITV2 Under charismatic spell of dreamy boy-friend's charm, woman struggles to come to terms with his monstrous crimes in unnerving true story Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile 9:00pm Sky Atlantic Fully formed, detailed characters of all ranks face fear & duty in- tense, relentless & unnerving German masterpiece Das Boot 9:00pm Sony Movies Action Anthony Hopkins rescues afflicted man from freak show in David Lynch's deformed study of compassion and humanity The Elephant Man 10:30pm BBC One Story continues Newlyweds splinter into suspicion and secrecy as Rose Leslie sleepwalks towards enigmatic psychosis in character led curio Honeymoon 11:00pm Horror Channel Closeted maths prodigy navigates murky cause and consequence of cryptography in remarkable tragic true story The Imitation Game 11:00pm Channel 4 Anonymously hunted hyper-macho corrupt feds falls apart in Arnie's body mulching, room clearing, ballistic badassery Sabotage 11:05pm Film 4 As her marriage fails, grieving philosophy professor find unexpected sense of freedom as her life begins anew in note perfect, powerhouse drama Things to Come 1:10am Channel 4 Under sweltering summer's heel, strong willed women reunite, exacerbate family feud and reach catharsis in insightful character study August: Osage County 1:15am Film 4 Everything new on streaming in April: Netflix UK: Aprils new releases Everything coming to Now TV in April Amazon Prime Video UK: The biggest April releases Everything coming to Disney+ in April Follow TopFilmTip on Twitter for daily film recommendations. Some films may require a Sky subscription. More Than Half of Younger Americans Now View China Unfavorably, New Survey Finds Fifty-three percent of younger Americans now view China unfavorably, according to a new survey published April 25 by Pew Research, which examined the publics views of the nation during the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus pandemic. The survey, conducted from March 3 to 29, 2020, among 1,000 adults in the United States, found roughly two-thirds of Americans now say they have an unfavorable view of China, the most negative rating for the country since Pew Research began asking the question in 2005, and up nearly 20 percentage points since Donald Trump became president of the United States. However, the survey found that while younger people now hold increasingly negative views of China and are more prone to see the nation as a threat to the United States, younger Americans are more likely than their older counterparts to view China favorably, with 43 per cent of Americans surveyed between 18 and 29 years old still holding a favorable opinion of the communist regime. The study also found that roughly nine in 10 American adults see Chinas power and influence as a threat, including 62 per cent who say it is a major threat, according to the survey. Older Americans are more concerned than younger adults about China, Pew Research said. Nearly seven-in-ten of those ages 50 and older see Chinas power and influence as a major threat, compared with roughly half of those 18 to 29. Pew Research said that older Americans, those aged 50 and older, are more likely than those ages 18 to 29 to have unfavorable views of China, and that this has been the case every year since the Center first began asking the question 15 years ago. However, while half or more of those 50 and older have held negative views of China since 2012, this is the first year in which more than half of younger Americans also have an unfavorable opinion. Among this age group, negative views have roughly doubled since the question was first asked. The survey also found that Republicans tend to hold more unfavorable views of the Chinese regime than Democrats, although the latter has seen an increase in negative views this year. In some ways, this is a partisan story, noted Pew Research. Republicans continue to be more wary of China than Democrats across many questions in this report. Nearly three-quarters of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents see China unfavorably, compared with roughly six-in-ten Democrats and Democratic leaners. They are also more worried about China when it comes to cybersecurity and economic issues such as job losses to China and the trade imbalance. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to see the United States outpacing China as the worlds leading economic power as well as the worlds top military, the report added. While the favorability of China has declined, so too has confidence in Chinese leader Xi Jinping, whose authority has been badly dented due to the regimes mishandling of the coronavirus outbreak. Roughly seven in 10 Americans (71 per cent) surveyed said they do not have confidence in Xi to do the right thing when it comes to world affairs. As The Epoch Times has previously reported, CCP officials knew in early December that the virus, which causes COVID-19, had appeared in Wuhan, but did not share this vital information with the rest of the world. Instead, they arrested those who tried to warn of the danger, including doctors, accusing them of spreading rumors, prevented media coverage of it and deleted any mentions of it from social media. While views of Xi have been fairly stable for the past few years, remaining within a 10 percentage point range, in just the last year the percentage saying they lack confidence in him has increased by 21 points, Pew Research said, adding that this shift occurred among both Republicans and Democrats, as well as among older and younger Americans. The survey comes after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for the Chinese Communist Party come clean about how this all began, in reference to the CCP virus pandemic. Speaking on CBN News on Friday, Pompeo said, We know it started in Wuhan, China. Thats the origination of the virus. We need to figure out how it happened. Its not just about political retribution or accountability. Its important today. We need to know this so we can save lives going forward. We need our scientists, our academics, and our epidemiologists all to have access to the data, access to a sample of the virus, access to the places that might have come to. Those are all things that matter so that we can solve this problem, get our country back to work, and save lives, he added. Actors Timothee Chalamet and Lily-Rose Depp have ended their relationship after dating for more than a year. Chalamet appeared in British Vogue's May 2020 issue, where the publication described the "Little Women" star as single. Depp, the daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, met Chalamet while filming Netflix movie "The King". Rumours of their romance started swirling in October 2018, when they were photographed grabbing coffee in New York and taking a walk in Central Park. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ms. Moussa has attained a measure of fame in recent months, using her platform to talk crudely about sex and to entertain her followers in an insolent and confrontational manner in vulgar Moroccan Arabic. That has made her an object of fascination and horror to her more than half-million followers. And she is known to despise L.G.B.T.Q. people who do not make their sexual orientation known. Yassine, a 22-year-old, said he was initially delighted to be picked to go live on Instagram with Ms. Moussa. But what felt like an honor rapidly turned into embarrassment and shock as Ms. Moussa compelled him to acknowledge that he was gay, threatening to post revealing photos showing him with another gay man. It is unclear how she obtained the photos. I was shocked and then very scared, Yassine said. She destroyed my life. He has since been forced to move out of the house of a family member and to use his savings to rent a small apartment in Tangier. Everybody is sending the video and saying bad things about me, he said. My mom, also, shes very sad. Shes not talking to me anymore. My friends at the gym, friends I went to school with they all blocked me. Many who saw the outing of Yassine were outraged and attacked Ms. Moussa, flagging her account to Instagram. Thats when she got angry and suggested downloading gay meeting apps, which led to the outburst of anti-gay violence. My dating life in Morocco was somehow OK as long as my partner and I were being super discreet and cautious, said one gay man who asked to be identified only by his initials, N.A., and says his family hasnt seen the photos. He has been staying with his grandmother and waiting in fear for something bad to happen. Abdellah Taia, a prominent gay author and one of few to publicly declare his sexual orientation in Morocco, says that the state keeps people in a gray area, making them vulnerable to abuse and discrimination and forcing many into hiding. BANGKOK (AP) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has cautioned the countrys 1.3 billion people against any complacency in the fight against the coronavirus. On a Sunday radio talk show, Modi said that people will have to change their habits by sticking to social distancing, wearing masks and not spitting in public. There should be no negligence at any local level due to overconfidence," he said. We have to be very careful about this for a long time to come. He also said that a traditional system of Indian medicine, known as Ayurveda, which strongly recommends yoga exercises and drinking hot water, can be extremely helpful in building immunity. Modi put India under a strict lockdown on March 25. The restrictions, which run until May 3, have been eased somewhat by allowing shops to reopen and manufacturing and farming activities to resume in rural areas to help millions of poor daily wage earners. India has confirmed 25,671 cases of the coronavirus, including 824 deaths. In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region: HONG KONG PROTESTERS DEFY BAN: Pro-democracy demonstrators gathered in a Hong Kong mall on Sunday, chanting pro-democracy slogans despite a ban on gatherings. Police entered the Cityplaza shopping mall in Tai Koo to disperse the crowds. The demonstration follows the arrests last week of 15 former lawmakers and pro-democracy activists on charges stemming from huge rallies that started last June against a controversial extradition bill. The bill was later withdrawn, but protests continued for several months. Hong Kong reported no new coronavirus cases on Sunday for the third time in a week. The city has confirmed 1,038 cases, including four deaths. INDIA'S MUSLIMS REASSURED: A Hindu nationalist organization chief has assured Indias minorities, mainly Muslims, that there will be no discrimination on the basis of religion in the battle against the coronavirus. Mohan Bhagwat, head of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, said in an online address Sunday that no group can be blamed as a whole for the acts of some of its members. The RSS is the ideological mentor of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Bhagwat's remarks came amid criticism by the BJP and Hindu groups of an Islamic missionary meeting in the Indian capital last month that triggered a surge in coronavirus cases. Muslims comprise about 14% of Indias 1.3 billion people. Story continues NEPAL EXTENDS LOCKDOWN: Nepal extended its lockdown to May 7 and the closure of its borders to May 13 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Information Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada said the decision was made by the Cabinet on Sunday. The first lockdown was announced on March 24 and has been extended several times, shutting down schools and major markets and prohibiting people from leaving their homes. Flights have been halted and road transport has been barred. Nepal has 51 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with no deaths. CHINA SEES NO DEATHS AGAIN: China on Sunday reported no new deaths from the coronavirus for the 11th straight day. It also confirmed 11 more cases, raising its total to 82,827. Five of the new cases were in Heilongjiang province, a northeastern border area with Russia that has seen a surge in infections. Another was in Guangdong province, a manufacturing and tech region bordering Hong Kong in the south. The other five were imported from overseas. China has identified 1,634 imported cases in all. 931 NEW CASES IN SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 931 new cases to raise its total to 13,624. Most of the new infections are from foreign workers dormitories, which have been locked down as the government struggles to curb the outbreak. HONG KONG HELPS STRANDED CITIZENS: Hong Kong is trying to help more than 5,000 residents return home from India and Pakistan after those countries banned all international flights to combat the coronavirus. The Hong Kong Immigration Department has reached about 3,200 residents in India and 2,000 in Pakistan, scattered around both countries, according to a government news release. The government plans to fly back residents in phases, starting with chartered flights from New Delhi and Islamabad for those in and around those two cities, as well as the sick, pregnant woman, children and the elderly. Passengers will have to pay for their flights. BANGLADESH PASSES 5,000 CASES: Bangladesh reported 418 new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday, raising its confirmed total to 5,416, including 145 deaths. The South Asian country of 160 million people has only 25 facilities to test suspected cases, meaning the actual number of infections could be much higher. Health experts say the situation may not peak until the end of May, raising concerns in the country, which has a fragile health care system. SOUTH KOREA HAS 10 MORE CASES: South Korea on Sunday confirmed 10 more cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, a continuation of a slowing caseload in the country. The additional infections mark the ninth day in a row that South Koreas daily increase was below 20. The state-run Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the caseload stood at 10,728, including 242 deaths. SRI LANKA ASKS KUWAIT TO EXTEND WORKERS' STAY: Sri Lanka has asked Kuwait to allow thousands of overstaying workers to remain in the country until May 30 because Sri Lanka is under a 24-hour coronavirus curfew. Kuwait has granted an amnesty from April 1-30 to all undocumented foreigners to leave at Kuwaits expense without paying fines. More than 15,000 Sri Lankans are currently overstaying in Kuwait. They had been given until Saturday to leave. Sri Lanka's international airport has been closed since last month due to the pandemic. The Indian Ocean island nation has confirmed 460 cases, including seven deaths. ___ Follow AP news coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak. Five cities in Tamil Nadu - Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem and Tirupur - will be shut down completely starting Sunday to check the spread of coronavirus diease Covid-19. The tightening of restrictions was announced by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday. While Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai will be shut for four days, the restrictions will be applicable for three days in other two cities. Grocery shops will be completely shut after the government order and movement of public will be fully curtailed. Palaniswami has assured people that vegetables and fruits will reach their doorsteps via mobile outlets. But, despite the assurances from the state government, Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai saw huge crowds on Saturday as people came out in large numbers to stock up essentials. Usually I come to the market only twice a month. However, today I came here as CM Palaniswami has announced a complete lockdown for the next 4 days, Gaurav, a resident of Chennai, told newa agency ANI. I believe that hunger is scarier than coronavirus. Hence, I took the risk of coming to the Koyambedu market to stock up on vegetables as this 4-day lockdown might get extended by 6-7 days, he added when asked about contracting the infection by coming in the crowded place. Following a review meeting on the Covid-19 scenario in Tamil Nadu on Friday, Palaniswami said public health and medical experts have opined that imposing further restrictions in urban regions alone will help prevent the spread of contagion. Till date, Tamil Nadu has 1,821 confirmed Covid-19 cases, according to Union health ministry data. Madurai and Salem have 56 and 30 cases respectively. The district collectors of Chengelpet, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram have also separately issued directions for implementing the full lockdown in their respective areas which are close to Greater Chennai Corporation neighbourhoods and falling under the jurisdiction of Chennai Police. Suburban Tambaram and Madambakkam in Chengelpet district, Avadi and Poonamallee in Tiruvallur district and Kundrathur and Ayyappanthangal in Kancheepuram district are among the localities that will be shut, the respective district authorities said. Press Release April 26, 2020 De Lima applauds inclusion of Barangay frontliners to gov't COVID-19 aid Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima commends the administration's move to include barangay health workers, child day care workers and barangay tanods in the government's cash aid program, as reflected in Malacanang's fourth report last April 20. De Lima's statement came after the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) have confirmed in the latest weekly report that they have included these barangay frontliners in the social amelioration program (SAP). "I applaud the initiative of both the DILG and the DSWD to include the Barangay Health Workers, Tanods and Child Daycare workers as target beneficiaries of the DSWD's SAP," she said. "Hindi biro ang kanilang trabaho. While the rest of the citizenry are obliged to stay indoors, these barangay frontliners risk their very lives for us, despite meager allowances," she added. Most of the barangay health workers, child day workers and tanods are not regular government employees and merely receive allowances of as low as PhP1,000 per month, depending on the financial capacity of the barangay. "Because they are also frontliners, I appeal to the IATF-EID and PhilHealth to include these barangay workers within the medical coverage of PhilHealth as they are heavily exposed to COVID-19 in their performance of duties in response to this crisis," De Lima said. "It is high time that their value is recognized. But, let us not stop here. I pray that as Congress reopens, the leadership of both Houses will be able to act on pending bills to fully institutionalize and standardize their salaries and benefits, and ultimately safeguard their welfare," the lady Senator from Bicol added. As chairperson of the Senate Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, De Lima have filed bills to promote fair and decent wages for barangay workers, including barangay health and child daycare workers. Senate Bill (SB) No. 184 for barangay health workers, and SB No. 185 for day care workers were in fact part of De Lima's top ten priority bills that she filed last July at the opening of the 18th Congress. Both bills seek to provide the security of tenure, proper compensation and incentives, including honorarium and medical coverage, for barangay health workers and child day care workers as recognition for their sacrifices and tireless efforts in their respective roles in the community. Iraq Has To Import Gas And Electricity From Iran For Years, Says Minister Dalga Khatinoglu April 25, 2020 With just two days remaining to the expiration of a thirty-day U.S. waiver to import Iranian gas and electricity, the Iraqi Minister of Electricity says it will take three to four years for the country to stop importing energy from Iran. Luay al-Khatteeb, told S&P Global Platts that it would take several years for the country's oil and gas projects to reach production capacity and end its dependency on Iranian gas. "Those three to four years need to be an uninterrupted timeline with a government that enjoys full executive authority and no interference from political entities and in an environment that is welcoming to investments and multinational participation", Luay al-Khatteeb said. The United States has repeatedly granted waivers to Baghdad to keep importing Iranian gas and electricity despite its sanctions on Tehran. The last waiver was limited to a thirty-day exemption which soon expires. Iraq was expected to invest $ 10 billion in its oil and gas projects to end its dependency on Iran within four years. Nevertheless, none of the projects are have made headway. Meanwhile, Iran's official statistics show a significant increase in the country's electricity and gas exports, and Iraqi officials have made contradictory statements about energy imports from the neighboring country. For example, on April 20, a spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity, Ahmed Al-Abadi, announced that Iraq has reduced its electricity and gas imports from Iran by 75 percent after approaching self-sufficiency in its own energy production. Iraq has always been a customer of more than eighty percent of Iran's electricity exports. Iranian Ministry of Energy numbers show the country's electricity exports increased by more than 28 percent in 2019, reaching more than eight terawatts per hour. However, Iran's official statistics are always questioned by experts and are largely inconsistent with international data. Statistics from the National Iranian Gas Company also show that the country's gas exports increased by 26 percent last Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2019, March 20, 2020) and reached 17.5 billion cubic meters. Iraq and Turkey are the only customers of Iranian gas, and since Turkish data do not indicate an increase in gas imports from Iran, the growth should be tied to more exports to Iraq. In the meantime, both Tehran and Baghdad have confirmed that last winter Iran's gas exports to Iraq dropped seven times reaching about three to four million cubic meters per day. In the hot season of last year, there was no evidence of an increase in Iran's gas exports to Iraq, and it is not clear how Iran's gas exports grew by 26 percent. Iran has a daily export contract of 50 million cubic meters (more than 18 billion cubic meters per year) of gas with Iraq, but only about half of that gas is delivered for consumption at power plants. "The country can import up to 1,200 MW of electricity per year and up to about 1.2 Bscf/d during peak usage in the hot summer months when temperatures in the southern part of the country can soar to 50 Celsius. Electricity supply was estimated at 19 GW in 2019 and forecast to reach 20 GW in 2020, while power demand in peak time is around 25 GW", Luay al-Khateeb, told S&P Global Platts. To provide additional electricity, Iraq imports both electricity directly from Iran and gas that it uses in its power plants, but still faces a shortage during the hot seasons. According to World Bank data, due to the lack of gas collection equipment in Iraq's oil fields, eighteen billion cubic meters of "associated petroleum gas" produced are burned and wasted annually. Assisted by Western companies, it has been years since Iraq embarked on large-scale projects to collect associated gases in its oil fields. Recently, the Iraqi Oil Minister, Thamer Ghadhban, announced that two contracts had been signed last year for the daily collection of 21 million cubic meters of gas from the Halfaya and Ratawi oil fields. Backed by other projects, Ghadhban said, 28 million cubic meters per day (10 billion cubic meters per year) will be added to the country's gas production. Yet, he did not say when the projects would be operational. Earlier in 2018, Iraq had also promised similar projects that would end its dependency on Iranian gas. However, none of the promised projects has had much progress so far. In the meantime, the country's projects appear to be slowing down, and falling oil prices have exerted heavy pressure on Baghdad in recent months. Based on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates, the Iraqi government needs oil prices to be fixed at above $ 60 a barrel to avoid a budget deficit, while Brent oil prices are around $ 20 today. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast shows that the Iraqi government will be struggling with a budget deficit equal to 23.3 percent ($ 40 billion) of its gross domestic product in 2020. Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iraq-has-to- import-gas-and-electricity-from-iran-for -years-says-minister/30576394.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Delhi Minorities Commission wrote a letter to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal requesting a probe into the deaths of two Tablighi Jamaat members kept at a quarantine centre in the citys Sultanpuri area The Delhi Minorities Commission wrote a letter to Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal requesting a probe into the death of two Tablighi Jamaat members kept at a quarantine centre in the citys Sultanpuri area, according to several media reports. 60-year-old Mohamed Mustafa died on 22 April at the quarantine centre, Firstpost reported. Ten days before Mustafa's demise, Haji Rizwan passed away. Both the men were from Tamil Nadu and were diabetic. Both died due to denial of diabetic medicines and erratic food supply, the letter read, as per The Quint report. They had attended the Markaz event in Nizamuddin organized by Tablighi Jamaat. Commission chairperson Zafarul-Islam Khan and member Kartar Singh Kochhar said in the letter that the deaths were a result of callous and uncooperative nature of officers and doctors manning and supervising these camps as well as the erratic supply of food at these facilities. The letter also stated Tablighi Jamaat members have been kept at quarantine centres in Sultanpuri, Narela and Dwarka and include people from India and abroad, adding that, They include elderly people with health issues who require special care and medical attention. The commission also alleged that many of the people in the quarantine facility have been there for about 25 days, more than the prescribed 14 days, but are still not being allowed to leave The Wire reported. The vast majority tested negative, but some of those who tested positive are also kept in the same facilities. Of 21 positive cases of Jamaat people at Sultanpuri camp, only around 4 to 5 were reportedly taken to hospitals, the letter stated. The minorities panel also alleged that those at the quarantine facility were being inhumanely treated. Breakfasts are served at 11 am and dinner at 10 or 11 pm. The food is hardly edible. As a result, people are having stomach problems and some are vomiting. Medical facilities and medicines are not provided while some of the inmates are diabetic and heart patients. Doctors rarely visit the patients. Inmates are not given necessary and life-saving medicines, the letter further stated as per the report. It added that the deaths were reported while the persons were under government care and that therefore the government was responsible for their safekeeping and welfare during their detention. The commission demanded that in view of fasting by Muslims during Ramzan the timing of supply of food to them must also change and meticulously followed to suit fasting timing. The Tablighi Jamaat event, held early in March, became a coronavirus hotspot, with the health ministry saying on 5 April that doubling rate of cases in India rose to 4.1 days from the estimated 7.4 days due to the religious gathering. Over 25,000 Tablighi Jamaat members and their contacts were quarantined in the country after the Centre and the states launched a massive operation to trace them. With inputs from PTI WATERLOO When a bunch of guys get together in a building no bigger than a garage, its usually to tinker on an engine and maybe crack open some cold ones. A bunch of guys did more than that in a building no bigger than a garage on Rainbow Drive in 1970. They revved up a business that is still running on all cylinders, and then some, 50 years later. Professional Office Services, now a national health care communications company, marks its 50th anniversary of business this year. Today, POS employs 125 people in Waterloo at its 120,000-square-foot location on Burton Avenue and another 300 at its various locations around the country, including operations in Florida, Utah, and other locales, with a nationwide sales force. The company has had a number of acquisitions over the years. Not bad, according to one of the guys who worked out of that little building on Rainbow Drive in 1970. Im real happy for them, said retiree Larry Hickman, a co-founder of POS and its first employee. From where we started, I never would have imagined it would be what it grew to be. Its an amazing company. In its early years, Harry Grant was the CEO, Don Lawson was chief financial officer and Parke Behn was in charge of sales and marketing. A couple of the co-founders had previously worked at Control-o-fax under legendary local entrepreneur T. Wayne Davis and were quick studies. By 1973, the company moved to its newly constructed facilities on Burton Avenue and had customers around the country. It took another quantum leap when veteran Rath Packing Co. executive Herb Williams bought the company in 1976. Several of the original principals stayed on and contributed significantly to the companys growth. Herb brought a new zeal to the company that was contagious, co-founder Behn wrote in a presentation on the companys 20th anniversary in 1990. Every day he drove to work from his modest home in Waterloo and breathed excitement into the operation. His dedication to the corporation set the standard for all employees, and his professionalism was always apparent. Together, the POS staff helped grow a firm that contributed to the health and vitality of Waterloo-Cedar Falls as much as the health care providers and customers it serves. Williams and Behn, among many others, were examples of the POS staffs commitment to not just the company, but to the joined Waterloo-Cedar Falls communities. Herb was Waterloo strong. Parke was Cedar Falls strong, said POS communications and marketing director Travis Hembuch. Behn died in 2011; Williams, last April. But the company continues under their core values under the leadership of Mike Williams, Herbs son. POS specializes in communications between health care providers and their patients in print and various online services, ranging from billing to health care instructions. Were all about patient communication, Heimbuch said, supporting providers in maintaining patient health. The company in recent years completed a major press addition and technological improvements at its Burton Avenue location, Heimbuch said, in a substantial investment in the local community. It also looks to hire locally as time comes to replenish its local workforce, with many employees having served 30 and 40 years. As a premiere national health care communications company, POS could be located anywhere but chooses to be in Waterloo, in keeping with the spirit of its longtime president. Herb was a Waterloo guy, Heimbuch said. Were a traditional company with traditional values. Heimbuch himself is a University of Northern Iowa graduate with 12 years in the company. Williams and Behn, in particular, carried community spirit and commitment to quality health care beyond the confines of their own business. Herb Williams served on the Allen Hospital board of trustees in Waterloo. Behn chaired on the Sartori Memorial Hospital board in Cedar Falls, later helped engineer that hospitals affiliation with Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo and chaired the Covenant Health System Board, over both hospitals and Mercy Hospital in Oelwein. Both adopted the Cedar Valley as their home. Williams was a native of Cedar Rapids, attended the University of Iowa and came to Waterloo after serving in the U.S. Army. Behn, who grew up in Monticello, came to Cedar Falls to attend Iowa State Teachers College, now the University of Northern Iowa. He also got to know the community working for the Cedar Falls Record newspaper under longtime business manager Merrill Hach. Williams, Behn, and all their associates, employees, and successors at POS have combined to create a prescription for success over the years in the health care communications industry and in the community. Individually and collectively they have supported the Cedar Valley United Way, local foundations and the construction and development of the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center at UNI. And current POS president Mike Williams succeeded his father on the Allen Hospital board. Heimbuch said POS, like Herb and Mike Williams, was never a company that needed or wanted to blow its own horn. But it is acknowledging and celebrating its 50 years in service as a thank-you to its many employees and executives over the years. Hickman noted, Look how many families that little business supported all these years, he said. After all that time, its time for a publicity-shy company to take a step back, take a bow and raise a glass to those guys in that building on Rainbow Drive Herb Williams and everyone else who made POS what it is today. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Kim Jong-un is alive and well, a senior South Korean presidential aide has insisted amid fervent speculation about the authoritarian ruler's health. North Korea has done little to dispel rumours which began a fortnight ago, when the country's leader missed an annual commemoration for his grandfather for the first time since assuming power in 2011. Speculation reached fever pitch as Reuters reported China had sent a team on including medical experts to advise on Mr Kim on Thursday, days after a report by the Seoul-based Daily NK newspaper cited an anonymous source who claimed he the leader had undergone heart surgery. Social media has since fuelled reports that Mr Kim is seriously unwell or even possibly dead. On Sunday, however, a senior foreign policy adviser to South Koreas president Moon Jae-in poured cold water on those claims. Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un rides a horse during snowfall in Mount Paektu in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on 16 October 2019 Reuters Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un visits the newly built Pyongyang Orphans' Primary School on 2 February 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects a women's company under Unit 5492 of the Korean People's Army in November 2019 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects the test-fire of intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 at an undisclosed location in July 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un celebrates the successful test-fire of the intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 at an undisclosed location in July 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects a potato at the Samjiyon Potato Factory in North Korea in October 2018 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un rides a horse through a forest in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on 16 October 2019 EPA Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects a block of frozen fish at a processing facility in North Korea in November 2018 Reuters Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un celebrates the succeful launch of a strategic submarine-launched ballistic missile in August 2016 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un shakes hands with Donald Trump as they meet for the first time at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore in June 2018 Reuters Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump share a glance as they meet in the Demilitarised Zone in Panmunjon, Korea in June 2019 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects mushrooms at Pyongyang Mushroom Farm AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects a super-large multiple rocket launcher ahead of a test in September 2019 Reuters Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects an apple farm in South Hwanghae Province in September 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects an apple farm in South Hwanghae Province in September 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects dental wares at a newly built factory in June 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un visits Farm No 1116 in September 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un visits a motor factory in November 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un rides a horse during snowfall in Mount Paektu in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on 16 October 2019 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects the Command of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army at an undisclosed location in August 2017 AFP/Getty Our government position is firm, Chung-in Moon told Fox News. Kim Jong Un is alive and well. He has been staying in the Wonsan area since 13 April. No suspicious movements have so far been detected. Seoul has repeatedly indicated there have been no unusual signs that could indicate health problems for Mr Kim whose well-known propensity for cigarettes, apparent weight gain and family history of heart problems has fuelled speculations. Mr Chung-ins suggestion that the North Korean leader may be staying out of Pyongyang was lent further credence on Saturday by satellite images published by 38 North, a website specialising in North Korea studies. The pictures showed a train likely belonging to Mr Kim has been parked at his Wonsan compound on the countrys east coast since at least 21 April. It had not been present on 15 April, the website's researchers said. The trains presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the countrys eastern coast, they added. Many experts in South Korea have downplayed speculation that Mr Kim is seriously ill. They also suggested North Korea was unlikely to face serious immediate turmoil if Mr Kim was incapacitated or died because someone such as his influential sister Kim Yo-jong would quickly step in, although the prospects for the country's long-term political future would be unclear. Mr Kims health is of crucial importance because of worries that the serious illness or death of a leader venerated by many North Koreans could cause instability in the impoverished, nuclear-armed country. The countrys aggressive military stance means a change of leadership or power struggle would also likely be of large concern to the likes of South Korea and the US. While North Korea makes it virtually impossible for outsiders to discover what is happening at senior levels, South Koreas main spy agency also has a mixed record on confirming developments in North Korea. When Kim Jong-il died in December 2011, for instance, few outsiders knew it until it was reported by North Koreas state media two days later. On Sunday, North Korean state newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported that Mr Kim had sent his gratitude to workers who contributed to the construction of the city of Samjiyon. Additional reporting by AP A train likely belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been spotted at a resort town in the country's east, satellite photos reviewed by a US-based think tank showed, as speculation persists over his health. The train was parked at a station reserved for the Kim family in Wonsan on April 21 and April 23, the respected 38North website said in a report published Saturday. 38North cautioned that the train's presence "does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health". "But it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country's eastern coast," it said. There has been growing conjecture about Kim's health since his conspicuous absence from the April 15 celebrations for the birthday of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, the regime's founder -- the most important day on the North Korean political calendar. Kim has not made a public appearance since presiding over a meeting of the Workers' Party politburo on April 11 and inspecting drills by fighter jets at an air defence unit, which was reported by state media on April 12. Daily NK, an online media outlet run mostly by North Korean defectors, has reported Kim underwent a cardiovascular procedure earlier this month and was recovering at a villa in North Pyongan province. Citing an unidentified source inside the country, it said Kim, who is in his mid-30s, had needed urgent treatment due to heavy smoking, obesity and fatigue. South Korea, which is still technically at war with the North, has played down the report. CNN, quoting what it said was an anonymous US official, reported that Washington was "monitoring intelligence" that Kim was in "grave danger" after undergoing surgery. But on Thursday, US President Donald Trump rejected reports that Kim was ailing. "I think the report was incorrect," Trump told reporters, but declined to state when he was last in touch with him. "We have a good relationship with North Korea, as good as you can have," he said. Trump has met Kim three times in historic summitry and has voiced admiration for him, although hopes have dimmed for reaching a comprehensive agreement. Reporting from inside the isolated North is notoriously difficult, especially on anything to do with its leadership, which is among its most closely guarded secrets. On Thursday, citing an unidentified government official, South Korean broadcaster SBS reported that Kim appeared to have been in Wonsan for at least the past four days and would soon return to the public eye. The report added that the military was monitoring Kim's train, which had been seen in Wonsan, while his personal jet -- frequently used by Kim on his trips to Wonsan -- remained in Pyongyang. Previous absences from the public eye on Kim's part have prompted speculation about his health. In 2014 he dropped out of sight for nearly six weeks before reappearing with a cane. Days later, the South's spy agency said he had undergone surgery to remove a cyst from his ankle. A staff nurse at Raj Bhavan in Andhra Pradesh tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday, official sources said. The woman was part of a medical team stationed at the Governor's official residence in Vijayawada. She has been admitted to the designated COVID-19 hospital there for treatment, they said. A couple of more police stations in Vijayawada city also were affected as some officers and men got afflicted with the virus, the sources said. Krishna District Collector A Md Imtiaz and Vijayawada Police Commissioner Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao toured Krishna Lanka in the city, where some 24 people tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. They appealed to people to strictly adhere to the lockdown norms and not to venture out of their homes to prevent further spread of the pandemic. Of the 177 Covid-19 cases registered in Krishna district, 150 were in Vijayawada city alone, they said. Meanwhile, information received at the state headquarters said a woman police official, posted in a mandal bordering Tamil Nadu, in Chittoor district contracted the disease on Sunday. In Anantapuramu district, the two doctors and two paramedics who tested positive for coronavirus early this month had recovered and been discharged from hospital. State Deputy Chief Minister (Health) A K K Srinivas visited Srikakulam on Sunday to take stock of the situation as three Covid-19 cases were suddenly reported in the district. Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah over phone and explained the steps being taken by the state government to increase the number of tests. "With 1274 tests per million population, AP is top in the country. We are also effectively implementing the lockdown," a CMO release said quoting Jagan as telling Shah. The Chief Minister also announced payment of Rs 2000 each to the Covid-19 patients discharged from hospitals after recovering. So far 231 patients were discharged in the state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Releasing herds of animals into the Arctic could help tackle the climate crisis, researchers say. A computerised simulation of conditions at the polar region found that with enough wildlife, 80 per cent of the worlds permafrost soils could be saved, preventing a vicious circle of environmental catastrophe. Half of all permafrost areas ground that is permanently frozen are on course to thaw by the year 2100 at current rates of climate change, scientists say. This is caused by rising emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which are predicted to push up frozen land temperatures by 7F. But experts in Germany calculated that if herds of horses, bison and reindeer repopulated the tundra, ground temperatures would rise by only 4F, protecting most of it from melting. Glacier collapse shows climate impact Show all 20 1 /20 Glacier collapse shows climate impact Glacier collapse shows climate impact An iceberg floats in a fjord near the town of Tasiilaq Reuters Glacier collapse shows climate impact Meltwater pools on top of the Helheim glacier near Tasiilaq Reuters Glacier collapse shows climate impact Safety officer Brian Rougeux works with student Febin Magar to assemble a radar dome while working in a science camp on the side of the Helheim glacier Reuters Glacier collapse shows climate impact Airplane Mechanic, David Fuller, left, works with a local worker to move a Nasa Gulfstream III during a pre-flight inspection before a flight to support the Oceans Melting Greenland research mission Reuters Glacier collapse shows climate impact Meltwater pools on top of the Helheim glacier Reuters Glacier collapse shows climate impact Earth Science Flight Programs Director at Nasa, Eric Ianson, looks out at the Greenland ice sheet Reuters Glacier collapse shows climate impact Glacial ice is seen from the window during the Nasa flight Reuters Glacier collapse shows climate impact Oceanographer David Holland's science camp on the side of the Helheim glacier Reuters Glacier collapse shows climate impact An iceberg floats in a fjord near the town of Tasiilaq Reuters Glacier collapse shows climate impact A large crevasse forms near the calving front of the Helheim glacier Reuters Glacier collapse shows climate impact Safety officer Brian Rougeux uses a drill to install antennas for scientific instruments that will be left on top of the Helheim glacier Reuters Glacier collapse shows climate impact Tabular icebergs float in the Sermilik Fjord after a large calving event at the Helheim glacier Reuters Glacier collapse shows climate impact Radar Engineer, Ron Muellerschoen, monitors data collection inside a NASA Gulfstream III flying above Greenland to measure loss to the country's ice sheet Reuters Glacier collapse shows climate impact GPS tracking equipment is left on top of the Helheim glacier REUTERS Glacier collapse shows climate impact Sunshine lights up the Helheim glacier Reuters Glacier collapse shows climate impact A glacial terminus above the east coast of Greenland REUTERS Glacier collapse shows climate impact Student Febin Magar watches as leftover wood burns in a research camp Reuters Glacier collapse shows climate impact Tabular icebergs float in the Sermilik Fjord after a large calving event Reuters Glacier collapse shows climate impact Oceanographer David Holland repairs a broken GPS module at his research camp Reuters Glacier collapse shows climate impact An iceberg floats in a fjord near the town of Tasiilaq Reuters In exceptionally cold areas such as the Arctic, the air is even colder than the earth, and thick blankets of snow act as insulation on land, protecting it from the air and keeping it milder. But grazing animals can keep the ground cool by dispersing snow and compressing the land, according to the study, published in the nature journal Scientific Reports. When permafrost melts, it releases heat-trapping gases that have been buried for tens of thousands of years back into the atmosphere, so accelerating the climate crisis. Last month scientists discovered the polar ice caps are melting six times faster than they were in the 1990s. The new study was carried out by Professor Christian Beer and a team at the University of Hamburg, who replicated the impact of animals in the northern hemisphere over a year using data from the area. This type of natural manipulation in ecosystems that are especially relevant for the climate system has barely been researched to date, but holds tremendous potential, Prof Beer said. He told CBS News in the US that more research was needed but the results were promising. Today we have an average of five reindeers per square kilometre across the Arctic. With 15 reindeer per square kilometre we could already save 70 per cent permafrost according to our calculations. But he said he was unsure how realistic it was to expect the Arctic could be repopulated with enough animals. It may be utopian to image resettling wild animal herds in all the permafrost regions of the northern hemisphere, but the results indicate that using fewer animals would still produce a cooling effect, he said. The study was inspired by an experiment in the town of Chersky, Siberia, where more than 20 years ago scientist Sergey Zimov resettled grazing animals to Pleistocene Park, an area of Arctic tundra, CBS reported. He found that 100 animals across 1sq km halved the average snow cover, dramatically reducing its insulating effect on the earth and intensifying permafrost. If theoretically we were able to maintain a high animal density like in Zimovs Pleistocene Park, would that be good enough to save permafrost under the strongest warming scenario? Yes, it could work for 80 per cent of the region, said Prof Beer. He now wants to work with biologists to look at how animals would spread out across the landscape. But Rick Thoman, a climate expert at the International Arctic Research Centre in Alaska, was sceptical. He told CBS: Unless the plan is to cover millions of square kilometres with horses, bison and reindeer, how could this possibly have any significant impact? I would not call it utopian to destroy permafrost lands as we know them by having animals in the distribution and numbers required. He said his wife told him that the masks pattern was more similar to the state flags of Kentucky or Tennessee. The mask he wore, however, appeared to have more in common with the Confederate battle flag, which is all red and features a blue X with white stars inside it drawn across the flag. Kentuckys state flag is royal blue with the state seal in the center and Commonwealth of Kentucky written above it. The Tennessee state flag is red with a thin strip of blue and white on one end of the flag and a blue circle with three five-pointed stars in the center. Mr. Zorn, who could not be reached on Sunday, told WLNS that the history of the Confederate battle flag should be taught in schools. Its something we cant just throw away because it is part of our history, he said. And if we want to make sure that the atrocities that happened during that time doesnt happen again, we should be teaching it. Our kids should know what that flag stands for. He said the mask he wore on the Senate floor was not made of flag material. In an interview with the television station, he wore a manufactured mask, saying he switched what he was wearing because I didnt want my actions to cause a negative effect to the institution, alluding to the State Senate. The mortality rate of COVID-19 patients in India is 3.1 per cent as compared to 7 per cent globally, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday while asserting that the coronavirus situation in the country is improving as many hotspot districts are moving towards becoming non-hotspots. As many as 5,913 people have been cured of the disease so far which puts the recovery rate around 22 per cent, also better than most countries, he said. Giving an update on the COVID-19 situation in the country, the minister said the doubling rate of coronavirus cases has been showing regular improvement and stands at 10.5 days when seen over a period of three days. "It is 9.3 days seen over a period of seven days and 8.1 days over a period of 14 days. These indicators may be taken as positive effects of the countrywide lockdown along with the cluster management and containment strategies," Vardhan was quoted as saying in a health ministry statement. As on date, 283 districts have not reported any case of coronavirus infection. Also, 64 districts have not reported any new case in the last seven days while 48 districts have not reported a fresh case in the last 14 days, he said. Besides, 33 districts have not reported a fresh case in the last 21 days and 18 districts have not reported any new case in the last 28 days, Vardhan said. On April 15, the health ministry had declared 170 districts COVID-19 hotspots and 207 districts non-hotspots. Hotspots are those districts which are reporting a large number of cases or where the rate of growth of COVID-19 cases is high, the ministry had said, adding a detailed direction has been issued to states stating consolidated efforts are required to utilise the lockdown period to curb the spread of the deadly virus. Since then, there has been no update from the health ministry on the number of hotspots. "The situation is improving in India as hotspot districts are moving towards being non-hotspot districts," the minister said and stressed that states with high viral load should focus on effective implementation of the lockdown and containment strategy. Elaborating on the availability of ventilators, oxygen supply and ICUs at the Central and state levels, Vardhan said, "When we compare the number of patients who are currently hospitalised, we find that only 2.17 per cent patients have been admitted in ICU, 1.29 per cent required oxygen support and mere 0.36 per cent are on ventilators." "We are winning the battles and eventually we will win this war against COVID-19. We are prepared to deal with any situation," he said. On the status of availability of medical equipment and facilities in the country, the minister said, "We have already made available sufficient quantities of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) at the state level and now we have around 106 manufacturing units in India itself. This will be enough to meet the requirement of our country in future." "Apart from this, there are now 10 manufacturers of N-95 masks in the country," he said. About the availability of ventilators, Vardhan said through efforts of the government and various research laboratories, domestic manufacturers have started production of this equipment and orders have been placed for more than 59,000 units. The minister visited the Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre of AIIMS here, which is functioning as a dedicated COVID-19 hospital now, to take stock of their preparedness to overcome the epidemic. Vardhan said the AIIMS Trauma Centre has a 250-bed isolation ward which is ensuring prompt care for COVID-19 patients who require advanced medical support. Also, the Burn and Plastic Surgery Block of the facility is being turned into a screening and triage area for housing COVID-19 suspect cases, according to the health ministry statement. Vardhan also visited the emergency ward, private ward, the ICU and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) ward in the building as well as the washrooms to check if those are properly sanitised. While in the hospital, the minister interacted with a few COVID-19 patients through video calling, with the latter being assisted by robots at their end, and enquired about their well being, the statement said. After a detailed review, Vardhan appreciated AIIMS for ensuring round-the-clock monitoring of COVID-19 confirmed and suspected patients using digital platforms, video and voice call technologies. He urged people to observe the lockdown in letter and spirit and to treat it as an effective intervention to cut down the spread of COVID-19. Meanwhile, the cabinet secretary had a detailed video conferencing with chief secretaries and directors general of police (DGP) of states and Union Territories to review the preparedness for COVID-19 response, the statement said. The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 826 and the number of cases climbed to 26,917 on Sunday, according to Union Health Ministry. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) They may have looked glorious in photos, but we now know that Prince Charles and Princess Dianas marriage was riddled with drama and issues. The duo married in a massive televised wedding in July 1981, but from almost the moment they said their vows, the Prince and Princess of Wales union began to crumble. Despite their differences, the pair tried to make it work. Initially, they were both faithful and committed to being devoted parents to their sons, Prince William, and Prince Harry. However, as their unhappiness grew, Prince Charles found solace in the arms of his ex-girlfriend, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Though Princess Diana and Prince Charles separated in 1992, officially divorcing in 1996, it appears that their marriage showed its first sides of fraying during their first overseas royal tour. Diana, Princess of Wales and Prince Charles pose in front of Ayers Rock on March 21, 1983, near Alice Springs, Australia, during the Royal Tour of Australia. | David Levenson/Getty Images Prince Charles and Princess Diana did not know each other well when they first got married Though their marriage wasnt exactly arranged in the traditional sense, the 19-year-old aristocratic woman was seen as the perfect match for the future king. Prince Charles had previously dated the princesss older sister, so they knew of one another. However, despite the time they spent courting, the pair never truly got a chance to connect God what a sad man, Princess Diana told royal biographer Andrew Morton of her first impression of the prince. I was asked to stay with some friends in Sussex, and they said, Oh, the Prince of Wales is staying, and I thought I hadnt seen him in ages. Hed just broken up with his girlfriend, and his friend Mountbatten had just been killed. I said it would be nice to see him. I was so unimpressed. By the time theyd gotten engaged, the pair had only met 13 times in person. His family wanted it. The public wanted it, Tina Brown wrote in her book, The Diana Chronicles. Prince Charles was exhausted. He proposed. Diana, Princess of Wales at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia, in 1983 | Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images Princess Diana had high hopes for her marriage Still, despite their apprehension about being married, Princess Diana did, perhaps naively, have high hopes for her marriage. Unfortunately, she was not prepared to be married to a man who was in love with someone else. Nor was she prepared to live life under a microscope. One has to remember and recall that there were happy times with Charles and Diana, they were very much in love, Princess Dianas photographer Kent Gavin shared in the 2013 documentary, Royalty Close Up: The Photography of Kent Gavin. The honeymoon pictures there was a look of love about both of them. That picture [Charles kissing Dianas hand] just captured everything that that fairytale wedding was about. And there were occasions, again, after that when you just thought that the marriage and this family had everything and these pictures show that. There really were great days. Of course, people tend to think of the bad days because of the divorce and it all going wrong, but if you look back at all those pictures that we did in the early days, it tells a different story. Despite the honeymoon, the Wales marriage was on ice nearly from the beginning. Prince Charles, Princess Diana, and baby son Prince William arrive at Alice Springs airport on March 20, 1983, in Australia. | Anwar Hussein/Getty Images Prince Charles and Princess Dianas marriage began to crack during their first royal tour Princess Dianas former butler Paul Burrell has claimed that the princess knew her marriage to Prince Charles was over following Prince Harrys birth in 1984. I could see the cracks in the marriage between Charles and Diana getting wider and wider, Paul Burell said in the Channel 4 Documentary, Princess Dianas Wicked Stepmother. Diana confided in me that on the night Harry was born, she cried herself to sleep. She says I knew my marriage was over and the Prince told the Princess that his duty was now done, he had provided the country with an heir and a spare and he could now resume his relationship with Ms. Parker Bowles. However, one royal expert says the first cracks began to show in 1983 during the couples first overseas royal tour Australia and New Zealand. Royal photographer Ken Lennox recalled the couple being driven from the Sydney Opera House with a massive crowd around them. Im about four feet from the Princess, and Im trying to get a bit of the opera house in the background and some of the crowd, and Diana burst into tears and wept for a couple of minutes, Lennox revealed in ITVs Inside the Crown: Secrets of the Royals. After it was over, I went to see the press officer for Prince and Princess, and I said, What happened? He said, Ken, mozzies and jet lag and heat. So I just accepted that. Charles, I dont think, has noticed at that stage, you know. If he has, typical of Prince Charles to look the other way! But it was the first sign that something was wrong. And then we began to see other things were happening later on. By John Hocevar It is no surprise that the plastics industry is placing op-eds in New Jersey right now. New Jersey has proposed one of the strongest statewide laws to tackle useless single-use plastic packaging and bags. Now the industry is continuing its cynical nationwide public relations push to try to block any progress toward addressing plastic pollution. For years, plastic bag manufacturers like Novolex have hidden behind front groups such as the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance, the Plastics Industry Association, and the American Legislative Exchange Council to oppose plastic bans across the country. Theyve even worked to pass anti-democratic preemption laws, which ban cities and counties from taking action on plastic pollution. They have pushed junk science and industry talking points to claim that single-use plastics are clean and safe, ignoring the impacts to our environment, our health, and those in communities next door to plastic refineries who face elevated impacts from toxic chemicals. Unnecessary throwaway plastics have never been safe -- they are polluting and dangerous throughout their entire lifecycle, and that remains relevant in the middle of a pandemic. So when the exact same players jumped into action in the midst of a pandemic to claim that single-use plastic bags are clean and safe, citing the exact same industry-funded science, we were not surprised. A moment of fear and crisis was their moment to make more money. More than ever, we should be presenting workers and shoppers with the facts they need to make the best decisions for their safety. And if that means pausing plastic bans temporarily based on the best available science, that is what we should do. But the problem with the plastic industrys argument is that they are not using any science related to COVID-19 or even coronaviruses. The most relevant study that exists on COVID-19 from NIH, the CDC, Princeton University, and UCLA states that the virus can live on plastic for particularly long periods of time compared to other surfaces -- for as long as two to three days. That is true for both reusable plastic bags and disposable plastic bags. If we are going to use an abundance of caution on bags, perhaps we should be avoiding plastic bags altogether. The truth is that if the plastics industry cared so much about peoples health, it would have spent its time working alongside legislators to get more ventilators, masks, and gloves to our hospitals -- not fighting reusable bags. Customers can stand with workers by supporting labor unions like UFCW and calling on corporations and local, state, and federal agencies to ensure workers have protective gear, paid sick leave and paid time off, fair wages, and the support necessary to provide essential goods to our communities. Our focus now needs to be on keeping people safe. To do that, we need to listen to sound medical advice, not self-serving propaganda from industry lobbyists. John Hocevar is based in Washington, D.C. and leads Greenpeace USAs campaign on single-use plastics. The Star-Ledger/NJ.com encourages submissions of opinion. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Mon, April 27 2020 George Do (Courtesy of Gojek) A recent study by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) cybersecurity team revealed that globally, hackers had intensified their phishing attempts by three times to exploit peoples fears and vulnerability as they were working and conducting most of their activities from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. What can organizations and individuals do to shield themselves against such attacks? The Jakarta Posts Sebastian Partogi recently spoke with Gojeks chief information security officer, George Do, to explore the issue. The following is an excerpt from the interview, edited for length and clarity. Question: What are among the methods hackers are using to prey on peoples fears and carry out cyberattacks during the COVID-19 pandemic? to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login By Trend Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 23 times, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry on April 26. The Armenian armed forces were using sniper rifles. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts. When the Wisconsin Supreme Court allowed Wisconsins election to proceed on April 7, Democrats claimed that Republicans were trying to kill people. It turns out (surprise!) that Democrats were wrong again. On April 6, a day before Wisconsin residents were set to go to the polls to vote, Wisconsins governor, Tony Evers, citing virus concerns, canceled the elections so they could be rescheduled for June. The Legislature, however, countered that order by filing an emergency appeal with the Wisconsin Supreme Court. That same day, the state Supreme Court, in a 4-2 ruling, blocked the order, allowing the election to take place. The United States Supreme Court also ruled that absentee ballots had to be received by the end of Election Day to be counted. Taken together, these rulings prevented ballot harvesting of the type that turned long-standing Republican counties in California bright blue. Democrats were apoplectic. For example, James Carville contended that Republicans would kill to maintain power (emphasis added): "My kind of mission in the short-term is to sound the alarm to say [that] Mitch McConnell and the Supreme Court they're going to do everything they can to hold onto power," Carville said during an appearance on MSNBC. "This thing in Wisconsin was one of the most awful things I've ever seen in my life," Carville said. "The extent that they will go to to hold onto power it was all about one Supreme Court seat in Wisconsin they will kill people to stay in power, literally." Neither MSNBC anchor Brian Williams nor former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele objected to Carville's claim that Republicans "literally" will kill people. Even though Democrats were warning Wisconsin voters that they were marked for death, those same voters turned out in droves. They also stood in long lines, in the freezing cold, for hours because Wisconsin had reduced the number of available polling places in Milwaukee from a norm of 180 to . . . 5: If city and state officials had found a way to keep Milwaukees 180 polling places open, only a little more than 100 voters on average would have passed through each polling place throughout the course of the day (a total of 18,803 voters cast ballots in person in Milwaukee). As it happened, the reduced number of polling places meant that thousands of voters formed long lines at each of the five polling centers. Voters did their best to maintain physical separation, but some of them waited two hours to cast ballots. So, were the Democrats right? Did people die because they voted? No, they didn't. A study says that, despite Wisconsonites voting during a virus panic, there was no spike in virus deaths: A feared spike in Wisconsins coronavirus infection rate following its April 7 in-person presidential primary never materialized, although some new cases of the virus were possibly linked to the election, according to a report. A team of doctors from Wisconsin and Florida plus a mathematician in Alabama examined data from the post-election period of April 12-21, meaning five to 14 days after election, when new cases of the virus from April 7 likely would have become apparent, the Wisconsin State Journal of Madison reported Friday. Prior to the election, Wisconsins coronavirus infection rate was about one-third of the rate for the entire U.S. and dropped even lower compared to the U.S. after the election, the study said, according to the newspaper. This finding is important because Democrats are using the Wuhan virus to justify switching America from in-person voting to mail-in voting. If this were to happen, it would be a double whammy against voting integrity. First, mail-in voting means the end of providing voter identification. Second, as this Prager U video explains, voting by mail, when combined with ballot harvesting (another pet project for Democrats), virtually ensures voter fraud. We would be reduced in one fell swoop to a banana republic: That Wisconsin voters turned out in droves during a high point in the Wuhan viruss spread, that they were jam-packed into a limited number of polling places, and that there were still no viral spikes -- all of these things, taken together, destroy the Democrats ability to claim that the virus requires mail-in voting. Even assuming that the panic about coronavirus is legitimate, we can see that social distancing and masks will offset any concerns about people getting sick because they voted. Public Utilization Older Page 1 The Federal and independent state governments of these States United are purposefully tasked with enforcing certain guidelines and statutes that walk a tight line between the public domain and the free markets of a healthy republic. The Ugandan military dictator Gen. Yoweri Museveni is using the coronavirus lockdown to mask brutal attacks against artists, intellectuals, and opposition leaders with his latest victim being a member of Parliament named Francis Zaake who reportedly remains in grave condition in a hospital in the capital after apparent torture by the secret police. Zaake was arrested April 19 in his Buswabulongo, Mityana Municipality in Mityana District. Zaake, responding to desperate pleas from his starving constituents, had been distributing free rice and sugar to them. He was arrested by the dictator who doesnt want any independent relief efforts believing they would distract publicity from himself. Critics compare him to U.S. President Donald Trump who also seethes when other people play a role in the fight against cover-19 the coronavirus. The police say by distributing food, Zaake defied the lockdown imposed by Gen. Museveni, thereby threatening the lives of Ugandans. He has been charged with attempted murder. Yet, there are reports of Ugandans dying of hunger while confined at home. About 75% of the population live hand-to-mouth on about $2 per day average. On the other hand Gen. Museveni is playing politics with covid-19. Pro-regime members if parliament like Haruna Kasolo and Hanifa Kawooya, and a government minister, Rosemary Sseninde, all distributed free food without being arrested or tortured. Zaake is at Iran Friendship Hospital in Kampala, the capital. Apart from his wife Bridget Namirembe, no other person has been allowed access to his room. She was forced to surrender her phone before entering his room. The Director of Police Medical Services, Dr. Moses Byaruhanga who was part of a team that reportedly examined Zaake rejected reports about his condition. "He is very conscious, he can talk, he can sit up, he is generally okay," Dr. Byaruhanga said, when contacted. Before his arrest Zaake posted this statement on social media: "I have been clandestinely giving out relief food items to my constitiuents, this, I will not stop doing..." Later, he posted, "The tormentors have broken into my home, they are breaking every door of my house searching to arrest me for the crime of sharing food with the starving people. Sad!" He also posted an image of two soldiers in uniform entering through a door of his house. Gen. Museveni has been in office since 1986, when he seized power. The latest country report by the U.S. State Department highlights the unprecedented levels of human rights abuses, including state sanctioned murders, arbitrary arrests, and tortures. The dictators latest clampdown began when he first announced a national lockdown when the Covid-19 outbreak reached Uganda. But the country has no social safety nets and there are reports of people starving to death while confined at home. Abdallah Kiwanuka, a prominent lawyer was also arrested for distributing food to starving Ugandans. Zaake represents an additional threat to Ugandas military ruler because he is in his 30s and aligned with Bobi Wine who has become the voice of the People Power Movement in Uganda. The dictator faces election next year and its widely believed he will be easily defeated, even though he could refuse to yield power as he did after his apparent defeat in 2016. Over 80% of the population is under the age of 36, giving People Power overhwleming advantage. Gen. Museveni is believed to be aged between 75 and 80. The dictator first arrested and tortured Zaake, Bobi Wine, and other leaders of the youthful opposition in 2018. Now once again, Zaake has been victim of apparent torture, according to sources in Uganda. ( https://www.blackstarnews.com/global-politics/africa/covid-19-zaake-ugandan-opposition-figure-tortured-by-gen-) LANSING, MI - Gov. Gretchen Whitmer defended her stay at home executive order and its effectiveness in attempting to flatten the curve of COVID-19 cases during an interview on ABCs This Week with George Stephanopolus. Whitmer told Stephanopolous on Sunday, April 26, that Michigan was facing a unique issue in the early stages of its response to the pandemic and it required a "unique solution.'' Having the third most positive COVID-19 cases in a state with the 10th largest population, she said, made limiting the operations of nonessential businesses and activities a necessity. When asked by Stephanopolous if her restrictions had gone too far, Whitmer said no and that residents respected her stay-at-home order. "I know that what we have done, the vast majority of people in Michigan agree with and (we) have done the right thing, said Whitmer, noting the high number of deaths from the virus being projected. "We have flattened that curve because people are doing the right thing and people recognize the value of the order that Ive issued.'' Whitmers stay-at-home order has been criticized by some Michigan residents, who say it has taken away jobs with mass layoffs and furloughs, hobbies and other means of activity that could be done safely and help people who are struggling with their mental health. Related: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extends stay-at-home order through May 15, relaxes certain restrictions An Operation Gridlock protest organized on April 15 by the Michigan Conservative Coalition and supported by the Michigan Freedom Fund and other conservative groups, created a traffic jam in front of the Michigan Capitol, with thousands in attendance. Whitmer, however, believes the actions taken have been necessary in saving lives. To date, 37,203 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Michigan, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, while 3,274 people have died. "We have to follow the science and be really smart about how we reengage,'' she told Stephanopolus. No one wants a second wave. It would be devastating for the health of our people and the economy. She said the contagious respiratory disease was "hitting us incredibly hard.'' "Even though it (executive order) was more aggressive than other states, we have started to really push down that curve and weve saved lives in the process. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: Unequivocally, no one should be using disinfectant to digest it to fight COVID-19. Please dont do it. Just dont do it. https://t.co/kz1qZhs59Q pic.twitter.com/d5lZ6FDkJU This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 26, 2020 Whitmer sounded off on other timely subjects related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including urging residents to not digest disinfectants to fight COVID-19, after Donald Trump suggested during a Thursday press briefing at the White House that injecting disinfectants could be helpful to treat COVID-19, which is known as coronavirus disease 2019, the Associated Press reports. We have seen an increase in numbers of people calling poison control and so I think its really important that every one of us with a platform disseminate medically accurate information,'' Whitmer said. "When the person with the most powerful position on the planet is encouraging people to think about disinfectants, whether it was serious or not, people listen.'' "Unequivocally, no one should be using disinfectant to digest it to fight COVID-19. Please dont do it. Just dont do it. Whitmer also called Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells suggestion that some states file for bankruptcy amid the COVID-19 pandemic "incredibly outrageous. I dont think that the vast majority of governors in this country, Republicans and Democratic, would agree with that,'' she said. "He is wrong and we need Congress to step up and help states. We need the federal government to have our backs.'' Whitmer was also asked about the upcoming November election and safety measures. She said we cant put off an election because of an pandemic, rather continue to urge people to vote by absentee ballot. READ MORE: EPA, Lysol: Disinfectant only for cleaning surfaces; do not ingest Sunday, April 26: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan Protesters angry with Gov. Whitmers stay-at-home order gridlock Michigan capitol Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extends stay-at-home order through May 15, relaxes certain restrictions A senior doctor at one of the biggest state-run hospitals in Pakistan's financial capital Karachi was tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Sunday, prompting the officials to seal the emergency department of the hospital. Dr Saleem Shaikh, additional police surgeon at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH), said that the chief medical officer (CMO) at the hospital was tested positive for COVID-19, Dawn reported. He said that the emergency department of the hospital was sealed around 3pm on Sunday after the doctor's test came back positive. According to data shared by the National Emergency Operation Centre last week, at least 253 healthcare providers and medical workers have been infected with the coronavirus in Pakistan so far. Based on the report, which comprised data up until April 22, 124 doctors, 39 nurses and and 90 health workers have been infected by the virus in the country. In Sindh province, the total number of infected medical workers stands at 56, according to the report; this includes 19 doctors, 15 nurses and 22 other healthcare providers. Of these, 41 are admitted to hospitals and 15 have been discharged, the paper said. Three doctors - one each from Peshwar, Gilgit-Biltistan and Karachi - have lost their lives due to COVID-19 in Pakistan so far. On Sunday, the coronavirus cases crossed the 13,000 mark with 269 deaths in the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A medical staff extracts a pER 1 solution from the test kit as part of a coronavirus test. Photo by VnExpress. A Vietnamese company has sent a request asking for made-in-Vietnam Covid-19 test kits to be recognized by the Emergency Use Listing procedure (EUL) of the World Health Organization. Viet A Technologies Joint Stock Company said Sunday it has requested WHO to assess the "LightPower iVA SARS-CoV-2 1st RT-PCR Kit" and grant it the code EUL 0524-210-00. The EUL procedure was established to expedite availability of diagnostics needed in public health emergencies. It helps procurement agencies and countries navigate the large presence of different devices on the market and access quality products. The kits, which use reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), were developed successfully by the Vietnam Military Medical University and Viet A Company with funding from the Ministry of Science and Technology. The test kits were licensed by the Ministry of Health and put into mass production in Vietnam early last month. Phan Quoc Viet, General Director of Viet A, told VnExpress that having WHOs approval will make it easier for the products to be exported to other countries. He said organizations such as the World Bank and the global organization Clinton Health Access (CHAI) will enlist Vietnams test kits in their Covid-19 supporting programs. Last Tuesday, Vietnamese Covid-19 test kits also received CE certification and a Certificate of Free Sale from the U.K., which allows them to be sold in Europe. "After being licensed by the U.K. Department of Health and Social Care, the Covid-19 test kit made by Viet A has been exclusively ordered by a distribution partner for distribution in the U.K., the U.S., India, Mexico and some countries in Europe to the tune of 1 million tests a month," Viet said. The current price of a test kit is VND400,000-600,000 ($17-26). The kit is prepared in solution form to examine samples like nasopharynx, pleural fluid and blood. The results arrive in about an hour, excluding time spent on sample processing and extraction. Last month around 20 countries and territories were negotiating purchase of the kits from Vietnam. Viet A is set to export its products to Iran, Finland, Malaysia and Ukraine first, Viet had said, but further information about deals struck were not said at the time. As of Sunday morning, Vietnam had conducted 212,142 tests. Of the countrys 270 Covid-19 patients, 230 have been discharged from the hospital. Over 200 staff above the age of 55 of Aurangabad Municipal Corporation in Maharashtra have been sent on leave for 10 days to protect them from getting infected with the novel coronavirus, an official said on Sunday. The decision was taken as a precautionary measure amid opinions by medical experts that elderly people are more at risk from COVID-19. "We have sent 226 staff above the age of 55 on leave for 10 days," an AMC official said. As on Sunday, Aurangabad has 24 active COVID-19 cases, while 22 have been discharged after recovery and five have lost their lives due to the infection. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On Saturday afternoon, the City of Laredo formally reported the death of a local nurse aide at Laredo Medical Center, and a 14th death was confirmed Saturday. Saturdays report confirmed the 13th COVID-19 death in Laredo was a woman in her 60s with underlying conditions who was an employee of the Laredo Medical Center. She passed on Friday, April 24. The report also confirmed 340 positive cases with 31 people hospitalized. A 14th death occured after Saturdays briefing and was confirmed Saturday night in a press release. A man in his 70s with underlying health conditions who had tested positive for COVID-19 passed away Saturday at Laredo Medical Center. The City and County want to express their most sincere condolences to the family and want them to know that our counselors, as well as our support, are available, the release said. Laredo Medical Center issued a statement about the 14th death. We are sad to confirm that one more patient has died from COVID-19. We appreciate the valiant work done by our caregiving team and we extend our deepest sympathies to the patients family and loved ones, the statement said. It is vitally important for all members of our community to practice hand hygiene and social distancing which are the best ways at this moment to slow the spread of the virus. Laredo Medical Center also released a statement about its employee who became the 13th death in Laredo due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Laredo Medical Center family is tremendously saddened by the passing of one of our associates, the statement said. This person will be dearly missed by coworkers here in the hospital and by loved ones in their family and community. Throughout their longstanding tenure with the organization, this individual provided skilled, compassionate service to patients in direct patient care. Our hearts go out to the family and friends of this wonderful person and we pray for them during this tremendously difficult time. After the death of a local healthcare worker, the city was probed to see if employees are routinely tested for the virus even if they do not show symptoms. If healthcare workers are tested positive, they are isolated and removed from their work, and they have to test negative to return, said City of Laredo Public Information Officer Rafael Benavides. However, we did hear from (City of Laredo Health Department Director Dr. Hector F.) Gonzalez that these individuals can still test positive after 14 days; however, as long as they keep testing positive, they will be isolated and told to stay home. For citizens going to the hospitals for conditions other than COVID-19, the city reported a decrease in the number of visits to area hospitals. A 25% reduction of EMS calls for emergency situations at this point, many of these hospitals have ample capacity to treat any of these cases, said City of Laredo Firefighter Chief Steve Landin. According to Landin, this is mainly because many people have not opted to undergo any elective surgeries. Lastly, the report focused on the issues of random testing being done by custom officials on the bridge. Gonzalez was in attendance coordinating with customs officials on how to the undertake the tests for COVID-19. According to Landin, random testing will only be done for pedestrians travelling at the bridge as no vehicle flow will be stopped for testing. At the time of the media briefing, approximately 65 tests had already been performed at random in efforts to know how these tests will be performed once they begin to be practiced on Tuesday by customs officials for all travelers. I dont believe there is any coordination with Nuevo Laredo as we are trying to get non-symptomatic patients tested, Landin said. The new policy established by Tamaulipass Governor Francisco Javier Garcia Cabeza de Vaca to curve the number of infections was also discussed including how this would affect people from Laredo traveling to Nuevo Laredo and elsewhere in the Mexican state. The state of Tamaulipas issued a policy using it to decrease the number of people travelling in the city, said Aileen Ramos, who is the director at the Laredo Convention and Visitors Bureau. The double circulation policy applies to vehicles ending with numbers 0 and 1 to not travel at all in nay part of the neighboring state on Mondays, and people with license plates that end with the numbers 2 and 3 cannot travel on Tuesdays. Those that end in 4 and 5 cannot travel on Wednesdays, those that end with 6 and 7 cannot travel on Thursday and those that end with 8 and 9 cannot travel on Fridays. Also, Ramos pointed out that people visiting the city should not find it weird that there might be several checkpoints established throughout the city in efforts to examine and check the people travelling as these checkpoints might be established throughout Nuevo Laredo. In terms of law enforcement statistics in Laredo, Laredo Police Department spokesman Emmanuel Diaz said several citations were committed Friday night. The nine citations were mainly due to nonessential travelling after curfew hours, and another citation was made at a local business in which an individual was not wearing a facemask in the 1500 block of Gustavo. As for the trails that have opened throughout the city, Diaz did not report any citations but that continued law enforcement will continue in the area in efforts to make sure everyone continues obeying the guidelines still in place. Other important numbers reported in the briefing included the fact 1,945 have been tested for the virus, 1,278 of those tested have bene found negative and 93 have recovered. The health department also announced the creation of a survey in efforts to get more information about COVID-19 and track it. The survcey will also allow peopleto take a look at the latest COVID-19 figures around town. According to the survey, COVID-Tracking is a surveillance system that provides data concerning symptoms from across the City of Laredo and Webb County. The City of Laredo would like to ask residents of the community to complete the quick survey once a week, Benavides said. One survey per household will be included into the data. Thank you for your time and commitment to public health. Just a day before UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to return to work, the UK recorded 368 more deaths due to Coronavirus infection which is the lowest daily death tally for this month. Indicating that the first wave of Coronavirus infections might be contained in the UK, NHS England reported 336 more people died of COVID-19 making the total number of casualties in hospitals to 18,420. Meanwhile, the Scottish government also confirmed that the total number of people who died of fatal disease after contracting coronavirus has now reached to 1,249 after a rise of 18. Another 14 died in Wales, reportedly bringing its total to 788. According to reports, people who had tested positive of COVID-19 and were aged between 28 and 100. Overall, UKs death toll has surpassed 20,500 with over 148,000 cases of coronavirus. The British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on April 26 that the country will not ease its lockdown, placed to curb the further spread of COVID-19 disease, just to boost the struggling economy. According to Raab, the lockdown is currently at a delicate and dangerous stage and added that the British government would take cautious steps to avoid the second wave of infections. Moreover, the government has reportedly ordered at least 50 million COVID-19 test kits developed at Oxford University which would show if the person has contracted the pathogen in the past. Read - UK PM Boris Johnson Returns To Face Growing Virus Divisions Read - UK PM Boris Johnson May Return To Work On Monday Post Beating Covid; Claims 'Raring To Go' Spain records lowest daily deaths Meanwhile, the confirmed number of cases of the deadly disease has risen to 207,634 in Spain on April 26. However, the daily death toll significantly dropped to 288, which is the lowest number of casualties recorded in the country since March 20. This also came when the Spanish government eased some restrictions and allowed children to come outside for the first time in the last six weeks. In the press briefing, the Health Ministry said on April 26 that the figure dropped from April 25 when the daily death toll recorded was 378. The total number of people died due to the deadly virus in Spain has now reached 23,190 which is the third-highest number of casualties after 54,265 in the United States and 26,384 in Italy. Read - Trump On Health Of Boris Johnson, Kim Jong Un Read - Spain's Total Coronavirus Cases Soar To 207,634; Reports Drop In Daily Death Toll Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 26) A doctor who has fallen critically ill due to COVID-19 commits to recovering in order to tend to more patients battling the fatal disease. Dr. Carmina Fuentebella, a resident doctor of the University of Santo Tomas Hospital, told CNN Philippines Newsroom Weekend, I promise to go back to the frontlines so that I can be of more service to my patients. Fuentebella, who recently celebrated her 27th birthday while in an intensive care unit, has already been transferred to a regular ward and is now on her way to full recovery. Once discharged from the hospital, the young doctor said she will head home to Bulacan where she intends to recuperate emotionally, mentally, and physically. Naniniwala ako na kailangan maging magaling muna ako para mapagaling ko mga pasyente ko, she said. [Translation: I believe I have to recover first in order to treat my patients.] Since she has no underlying medical conditions, Fuentebella thought her experience with COVID-19 was going to go smoothly, as most of the young patients only experience mild symptoms. However, following the onset of fever, the doctor said she had difficulty breathing and eventually woke up already intubated. When I woke up, it was so difficult. It was the first time in my life wherein I had to count every second of pain, she said. It was at that moment I asked God, Why me? It was so difficult. Fuentebella attributed her better condition to a strong support system, including everyone who cheered her on as she fought for her life. The doctor has received an outpouring of prayers and well-wishes from friends and strangers alike, after news of her COVID-19 fight circulated on social media. A lot of my doctors talked to me, the internet was talking to me, [telling me] to fight. That's when I realized that I wanted to live, she shared. After going through this disease, I realized that I am not alone. A lot of people were fighting with me. And I think that it is important for us to fight together so that we can get through this pandemic, she added. Fuentebella said she plans to use her personal experience with coronavirus to empathize more with her patients in the future. I was supposed to be in Pittsburgh to proudly watch my son graduate from college this weekend. Instead, I'll video-chat with him and then worry about his job prospects in this pandemic-shattered economy. The cancellation of his graduation ceremony and my family's trip is just a small example of the economic ripple effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. While my family's loss was sentimental, the financial loss to businesses was demonstrable, including three cancelled airline tickets, six hotel nights and multiple restaurant reservations. It's not just the travel and tourism industry that's been slammed, of course. Countless businesses that were required to close, or had few customers if they were open, or suffered from the broader economic downturn are hurting badly. Businesses are trying to get back on their feet, and the ads and emails I'm seeing show that some are offering deep discounts as a result. The pandemic has caused a huge divide between those who have suffered financial or health impacts or both and those who have not. For those who come out the other side of this in a position to spend money, there are bargains awaiting, and for those who are financially hurting, some businesses are offering relief. Sometimes, they are the same businesses. Take Volkswagen, for example. The automaker is offering flexible loan payment options for current VW owners who have lost their jobs, while also offering unusually attractive terms for "highly qualified" (great credit) buyers of new cars. The offer: A six-year zero-interest loan with no payment for the first 180 days. Why? Some investment firms are predicting that vehicle prices could fall as much this year as they did during the Great Recession, or around 15 percent. "Auto sales are in a free fall amid the coronavirus pandemic, and things are only (forecast) to get worse," said Business Insider earlier this month. People who have existing loans, and financial troubles related to the pandemic, should check with their lenders because many are offering relief. Airlines and the broader travel industry have been punished like never before. Some day, people will feel safe flying again, and some carriers are already trying to lure travelers back. This past week, for example, the discount Allegiant Air emailed a deal for travel through Nov. 17 that doesn't appear on its website, offering $50 off a $250 flight purchase, or $100 off a $400 flight plus hotel or rental car, or $250 off an $800 flight plus hotel or car booking. The respective coupon codes are: READY50, READY100H/READY100C, READY250H/READY250C. That's a solid offer, and a key part of it is that those bookings include no-fee cancellations. Usually, Allegiant charges an extra $75 to be able to cancel a booking. Allegiant serves Charleston, Greenville/Spartanburg, and Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. The hardest part of taking advantage of the new deal is that the airline's flights are inexpensive, and taxes, fees, luggage charges, and seat assignment fees don't count toward the cost. I checked it out, because Allegiant is the only airline that flies nonstop from Charleston to Pittsburgh, and I'm hoping for a belated graduation celebration later this year. However, two round-trip tickets didn't reach the $250 threshold for the coupon deal (and the free cancellation) because the taxes and fees didn't count. Dressed in a white T-shirt and maroon shorts, Kevin Harrington beamed as he walked out of the Macomb Correctional Facility in southern Michigan. After a few steps in the fresh air, he let go of the dolly holding his belongings and raised his hands to the sky. Harrington had spent 17 years behind bars for a murder he had always insisted he didnt commit. On Tuesday, a judge tossed his conviction and threw out his life sentence after prosecutors determined the lead detective coerced a key witness into implicating Harrington and a second man. A group of friends and relatives was outside the prison waiting for him several of them cheering his name, his mother shaking a tambourine. But Harrington couldnt hug them. And he still cant go home. Image: Kevin Harrington (Courtesy of Harrington family) Because of a COVID-19 outbreak at the prison, the 37-year-old former inmate is now holed up at a hotel for a voluntary 14-day quarantine - a confinement of sorts but one far more pleasant than what he was used to. I could eat Grubhub. I could watch Netflix. I get to sleep on a nice comfy bed, Harrington told NBC News by phone from his hotel room. Its been beautiful. Speaking two days after his release, Harrington said he still doesnt have much in his spacious hotel room. A few pairs of clothes. His Daily Bread devotional pamphlet. And the four bags of legal work and one bag of family photos he lugged out of prison. Thats all I had in 17 years, six months, two days and 35 minutes of being wrongfully incarcerated, Harrington said. I really like to call it being kidnapped. Because kidnapping is taking someone somewhere they dont want to be without their consent and or will. Kevin Harrington (Ali Lapetina / for NBC News) The case began in late September 2002 when the body of a man named Michael Martin was found in a field across the street from his apartment building in the city of Inkster. Investigators questioned a local woman who gave conflicting accounts of what she observed but told them several times that she had no idea who fatally shot Martin. Story continues "You got up in the middle of the night and you saw something, Inkster police Detective Anthony Abdallah said to her during an interview at police headquarters, according to a transcript. No, I didnt, she said. Later in the interview, Abdallah appeared to threaten the woman. We dont want to leave you here and somebody take your kids, OK? he said. She eventually told investigators that she saw Harrington and a second man, George Clark, assault Martin and drag him into a field - and then she heard gunshots. Harrington was 20 years old. He had been taking classes at Wilberforce University in Ohio - the first in his family to attend college - but was at that point trying to figure out the next phase of his life. Clark, who was 31 at the time of his arrest, had been taking care of his ailing mother who was struggling to manage severe diabetes and arthritis. The two men had grown up in the same housing project in Inkster but they were 11 years apart in age and didn't know each other well. At their trial, the woman took the stand and denied witnessing the shooting or hearing any shots. But she admitted to having implicated Harrington and Clark at a pretrial hearing, according to an appeals court summary of the trial. There was no physical evidence linking Harrington or Clark to the murder, but the jury found them guilty. Harrington's verdict was overturned on appeal, and he went on to have three more trials. The next two ended in hung juries but the fourth resulted in a conviction. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in February 2006. Clark received a life sentence after his motion for a new trial was denied in 2003. Behind bars, Harrington said he poured his energy into fighting his conviction. I didnt have time to be angry, bitter, he said. I had to fight. I had to read. The Michigan Innocence Clinic, which is run by the University of Michigan Law School, began looking into his case in 2009. By 2015, however, all of Harringtons appeals were exhausted and it seemed his fate was largely sealed. But last fall, the Wayne County Prosecutors Office Conviction Integrity Unit opened an investigation into the case. A six-month probe uncovered a disturbing pattern of behavior from the original lead detective that involved threatening and coercing a number of witnesses, according to a statement from the prosecutors office. The unit concluded that Harrington and Clark did not receive fair trials as a result of the detectives conduct. But the prosecutors office has not reached any conclusion regarding actual innocence of Mr. Harrington and Mr. Clark, it said in the statement. Imran Syed, the assistant director of the Michigan Innocence Clinic, praised the prosecutor's office for recommending the convictions be vacated and the charges dismissed. "Having investigated this case for more than a decade, the Michigan Innocence Clinic firmly believes in Mr. Clark and Mr. Harrington's innocence, said Syed, who was a second-year law student when he began working on the case in 2009. All of the evidence indicates that this is a case of police misconduct where two men who had absolutely nothing to do with the murder were charged, convicted and served 17 years in prison, while the true perpetrator remained at large. Inkster police Chief William Riley said the detectives involved in the case are no longer on the force and he would welcome an outside investigation. We have nothing to hide here, Riley said. Im like every other citizen that feels if a criminal act occurred in the prosecution of this case, they need to be held accountable. Abdallah, who served as the lead detective on the case, is now a police officer in the Detroit suburb of Harper Woods. Reached Friday afternoon, he declined comment. Man, you cant talk to me about s--- like that, Abdallah said. Clark was released from the Lakeland Correctional Facility on April 9. His mother never got a chance to see him walk free. She died in 2004, just two years after Clark's arrest. "Basically when she found out what they did to me, she gave up," he said. "This is something I have to live with. But even though she's not here in the physical form, I'm sure she's looking down and seeing that justice finally prevailed." The prison where Clark was held has had 393 prisoners who tested positive for the virus and nine inmate deaths linked to COVID-19, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections. Clark moved in with family members in Michigan but has been social distancing. I never gave up hope that one day this would happen, he said. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, hes hardly left the house since walking out of prison, but that hasnt been a hardship for him. Im enjoying every minute of my freedom, Clark said. Image: George Clark (Courtesy of George Clark) At the Macomb Correctional Facility, where Harrington was held, 84 inmates have tested positive and four have died from the virus. It was serious, serious, serious, Harrington said of the conditions behind bars. Think about a closed-in environment with a rampant virus ravaging through. I never experienced any symptoms, he added. But for the sake of my family, Im sacrificing another 14 days. Clark and Harrington are both planning to sue the state seeking $50,000 for each year they were in prison under the states Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act. Their lawyer, Wolfgang Mueller, is also planning to file suit against the city of Inkster and the lead detectives. I fully expect to hold the police accountable for what happened here, Mueller said. They flat out framed these guys. Harringtons first meal after leaving prison was a cheeseburger with french fries and a slice of cheesecake. His hotel stay is being paid for by the Michigan Innocence Clinic. The program was unable to also cover the cost of his meals, but a call for donations from students was answered so quickly that enough money was raised in two hours, said law student Danielle Bernstein. The students have also begun a fundraising effort to help him cover housing and transportation costs as he adjusts to his new life. Harrington has yet to venture off the hotel grounds. Hes been spending his days FaceTiming on his new iPhone with his family, watching television and reading his devotional pamphlet, as well as the two-page court document ordering his release from prison. I enjoy reading it, he said. Its so refreshing after what I fought for all these years. Hes having trouble sleeping at night. His room gets pitch black, a stark contrast to his 17 years of sleeping in a cell with a bright light shining into it. But Harrington is not at all complaining about his current setup at the hotel. Theres other people here.Theyre friendly. Its a cool atmosphere, he said. If I need more sheets, towels. They got free breakfast - muffins and granola. I can get coffee. For free! he exclaimed. All the stuff is free! Reflecting on his quarantine status, Harrington said he thinks its actually for the best. It gives him a chance to ease into his new life on the outside. I look at it as one chapter closed in my life and this new chapter is so bright and beautiful. Its almost like a transitional period for me, he said by phone from his hotel room. And being here, Im not thrust back into the hustle bustle of life after being gone so long. Before Harrington hung up, his lawyer nudged him to explain one of his final acts behind bars. Kevin Harrington. (Ali Lapetina / for NBC News) Harrington said he took stock of the possessions he had accumulated after 17 years in captivity and figured there were others who needed them more. So he walked along a wing of the prison known as the Rock and handed out nearly everything he had: his television, his clothes, his snacks and Ramen noodles. I was able to give out 54 items, Harrington said. I knew the hardships of going through that type of journey. I just wanted to give back one last time. The only clothes he had left were the white T-shirt and maroon shorts. It was about 35 degrees outside but at that point Harrington had no other options. He would soon head for the prison gates, where his family was waiting for him and so was the rest of his life. By Express News Service CHENNAI: The State recorded 66 fresh cases on Saturday taking the total tally to 1,821, a day before an intense lockdown begins across five cities. Continuing the trend of the previous day, on Saturday too the number of people getting discharged was more than the number of fresh cases. On Saturday alone 94 people were cured and discharged, taking the total number of cured cases to 960. The number of active cases in the State is 835. The death toll rose to 23, after a Chennai resident succumbed on Friday night. The deceased, a 36-year- old, is the youngest victim in the State. He was admitted at the Chromepet GH with Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI). We were shocked he was just 36, said official sources. Later, we found out he had hypothyroidism and obesity. Officials added that he is likely to have contracted the virus from vegetable vendors in his area. Five vendors near his house have tested positive. We have quarantined his family members. In yet another worrying incident, a minor boy employed at a shop in the Vadapalani market tested positive. The shop owner tested positive on April 19, and officials are now tracing all contacts and quarantining them. Meanwhile, an inter-ministerial Central team led by National Disaster Management Authority Joint Secretary V Thiruppugazh on Saturday inspected the measures taken to prevent the infection in Chennai and other areas. The team is also scheduled to visit more places in the coming days. Just 1 dist in green zone As per the latest health bulletin, the State has been divided into Red, Orange and Green zones. Red zone districts have more than 15 cases or their doubling time is lower than four days, the orange zone has less than 15 cases while the green zone has had no new cases in the past 28 days. Currently, only Krishnagiri is in the green zone while most districts of the State are in the Red. Health Minister C Vijayabhaskar said TN has ramped up testing facilities to 41 and the recovery rate has risen to 52 percent. This week, we will increase the testing capacity. In TN, we have done double the number of tests than the national average, said the Minister. By Nathan Layne and Jessica Resnick-Ault (Reuters) - New York will on Saturday begin conducting antibody tests for workers at four hospitals hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic and will allow local pharmacies to begin collecting samples for diagnostic tests, Governor Andrew Cuomo said. The move is part of a broader attempt by Cuomo to get a better grip on how widely the virus has spread across his state now that its 300 laboratories have ramped up capacity, with the aim of doubling output to 40,000 tests per day By Nathan Layne and Jessica Resnick-Ault (Reuters) - New York will on Saturday begin conducting antibody tests for workers at four hospitals hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic and will allow local pharmacies to begin collecting samples for diagnostic tests, Governor Andrew Cuomo said. The move is part of a broader attempt by Cuomo to get a better grip on how widely the virus has spread across his state now that its 300 laboratories have ramped up capacity, with the aim of doubling output to 40,000 tests per day. The renewed focus on testing comes as the crisis appears to be subsiding in New York, with hospitalizations for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, falling to their lowest in three weeks, Cuomo told a daily briefing on Saturday. "Twenty one days of hell, and now we are back to where we were 21 days ago," Governor Andrew Cuomo said. "Testing is what we are compulsively or obsessively focused on now." Cuomo said antibody testing of workers at four downstate hospitals would begin on Saturday, including at Elmhurst Hospital, where at least 13 patients died from COVID-19 in a 24-hour span late last month in a development that brought the depth of the crisis into focus for many Americans. It is one piece of a broader roll-out of antibody testing of nurses, police officers, firefighters, bus drivers, grocery store clerks and other essential workers who Cuomo said had been "carrying the load" of keeping people fed and safe. Cuomo said it was important to test these "public-facing" groups of workers for both their own safety and also to protect the public as New York, in coordination with neighboring states, begins to look at when and how to reopen its economy. Earlier this week Cuomo disclosed initial results from a survey of 3,000 people across New York showing that 13.9 percent had tested positive for antibodies, suggesting the virus may have spread more widely than previously thought. At the same time, Cuomo said he would issue an executive order allowing thousands of independent pharmacists to collect samples for diagnostic tests, expanding collection beyond the national pharmacy chains already providing that service. He said New York would look to expand the testing universe as capacity to process tests increased. "The more testing we have the more we will open eligibility. Hopefully one day we get to the point where anybody who wants a test can walk in and get a test. That was the dream." While hospitalizations continued their downward trend, the number of deaths increased by 437 on Friday, up from 422 a day earlier and the first tick higher in four days, Cuomo said. Noting that the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, which killed hundreds of thousands of Americans, lasted two years, Cuomo called on New Yorkers to remain vigilant with social distancing and to view their hardships in the context of the greater good. "We are called upon to deal with this crisis. We are in day 56," Cuomo said, arguing that New York staved off 100,000 serious infections by shutting down businesses and staying at home. "I believe everything we did was worth it." (reporting by Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut and Jessica Resnick-Ault; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Daniel Wallis) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. KEY HIGHLIGHTS: Rabi harvest procurement suffered heavily during 21-day lockdown Only 6 percent of wheat compared to previous year reached mandis The drop in arrivals was very large for onions (70 per cent) and potato (59 per cent) Madhya Pradesh had most non-functional mandis Only 1.32 lakh tonnes of wheat was sold in the mandis across India during the first 21-day lockdown announced by the Modi government on March 27, says a quantitative analysis of agricultural crops that made it to various agricultural markets. This was only about 6 per cent of the total amount of wheat sold in the same 21-day period in 2019, and only 3.4 per cent of the total amount of wheat sold in the mandis in this period in 2017. The first of its kind study, published by city based Society for Social and Economic Research (SSER) reveals that the situation was not better in the case of some other key Rabi crops also. In addition to wheat, the study covers chickpea (chana), mustard, potato, onion, tomato and cauliflower. Compared to the quantity sold in 2019, the arrivals in 2020 were also only 6 per cent for chickpea and 4 per cent for mustard. The situation of perishables that the mandis had prioritised during this period, was better, though the drop in arrival of commodities was large. For instance, the drop in arrivals was very large for onions (70 per cent) and potato (59 per cent). In case of tomato, arrivals during the period of lockdown were 26 per cent less than the arrivals in the same period last year. The shortfall was lowest (11 per cent) in case of cauliflower. The researchers have analysed quantitative evidence from 1,331 mandis to show that over the first three weeks of the COVID-19 lockdown, a large number of agricultural markets were not operational. In the markets that were operational, arrivals of key agricultural commodities fell very sharply. It noted that a large number of mandis did not have arrivals of wheat, chickpea and mustard throughout the 21-day period. For example, wheat was sold in only 264 mandis during the period, while in the same 21-day period in 2019, wheat was sold in 688 mandis. During the 21-day period of the first phase of the lockdown, chickpea was sold in only 174 mandis and mustard was sold in only 152 mandis, the study said. Of all the 20 states covered in the data set, the problem of non-functional mandis was most severe in Madhya Pradesh, where only 43 out of 259 mandis were functional during the lockdown. Similarly, Only 57 out of 132 mandis in Rajasthan and only 34 out of 113 mandis in Gujarat were functional during the lockdown. A disruption of 21 days in being able to sell their crops would have resulted in massive losses to farmers, in particular, to producers of perishable crops, they conclude. In a joint statement, Ashok Dhawale, president and Hannan Mollah, general secretary, All India Kisan Sabha said the dismal situation has arisen because of a total lack of preparation and planning by the BJP led Central government before the lockdown was imposed. "The threat of COVID-19 pandemic was known for about three months in advance. However, this time was not used for any preparation or planning to deal with the imminent crises that the country was facing", they. Also Read: Coronavirus India live updates: Total COVID-19 cases cross 26,000; 8 states with over 1,000 cases Also Read: Coronavirus: Sonia Gandhi calls for Rs 2 lakh crore wage protection, credit guarantee MSME package Also Read: Is Kim Jong Un dead? Twitter abuzz with rumours of North Korean leader's demise Badly paid doctors have quit in droves, fearing for their lives after being told to treat coronavirus patients without adequate protective equipment in a chronically underfunded health system. Ambulances crews queue for hours to deliver patients to overloaded hospitals where medical staff have run out of oxygen yet desperately needed ventilators have been bought by billionaires setting up makeshift clinics in their mansions. The oil price collapse has turned the countrys main revenue stream into a trickle, while there is mounting fury that its government is favouring its rich cronies over small business owners with bailouts. These are the perilous effects of the pandemic in Russia. Now analysts and President Vladimir Putins political enemies even wonder if his long and brutal reign might fall victim to the crisis. The government is openly lying, said Anastasia Vasilyeva, an eye doctor, president of a medical trade union and ally of a key opposition leader. She was detained by police a few days later on a trip to investigate hospital supplies and fined for defying lockdown rules Putin doesnt care about any loss of life, only loss of power, said former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, now human rights campaigner. One-man dictatorships are dangerous but brittle. If the economic and health crises combine to overcome peoples fear of the police, things might change very quickly. Putins current allies might take the opportunity to turn on him to better save themselves. The former KGB man-turned- president, who prizes stability and promotes himself as a global strongman, suddenly looks weak against an invisible new foe. The latest figures claim 74,588 confirmed cases among Russias 145 million population, with 681 fatalities although earlier figures showed a 37 per cent spike in pneumonia deaths, leading to claims the state was manipulating data. The government is openly lying, said Anastasia Vasilyeva, an eye doctor, president of a medical trade union and ally of a key opposition leader. She was detained by police a few days later on a trip to investigate hospital supplies and fined for defying lockdown rules. We are used to seeing Putin as top dog but he distanced himself from unpopular decisions in case they backfired, said Ben Noble, an expert on Russia at University College London Scores of medics have quit their jobs in at least five cities after being told to work with infected patients with inadequate protection. Doctors earn an average of 815 a month. In Moscow, the epicentre of Russias outbreak, staff shifted to critical care duties were made to write resignation letters after refusing to work without protection. They want to save lives but dont want to go to certain death, said one paramedics daughter. Footage from St Petersburg showed stricken patients lying on bare mattresses in corridors. Theres no oxygen, said a health worker. In another hospital in the city that specialises in infectious diseases, a third of suspected or confirmed coronavirus cases were medical staff. Many hospital workers were incensed by Putins stunt of despatching a planeload of medical supplies to New York including some made by a firm subject to US sanctions when they were having to buy equipment online. There has also been anger from small business owners over bailout efforts far smaller than in other leading nations that are focused on big firms, many controlled by oligarchs close to the Kremlin. Why now, when I need help, does my government turn its rear-end to me? asked Natalia, whose marketing business in Novosibirsk is crashing before her eyes. Mikhail, 58, whose Moscow firm supplying building materials to the state employed 19 people, blames The Dwarf a derogatory term for Putin for destroying his business during lockdown. It was this idiot who announced that employers were obliged to pay salaries in full but didnt say where the money would come from. I fired everyone, he said. The wealthy admit to buying ventilators. Weve got one and are trying to get two more, said one member of a billionaire family with a mansion in Rublyovka, the Moscow suburb favoured by Russias ruling elite Russia had a decent health system when communism collapsed in 1991. When the current crisis hit, it had more ventilators per capita than Britain but most are old and many of them are in Moscow and St Petersburg. To iron out regional discrepancies, the government doled out emergency funds but hospitals seeking ventilators found they were being grabbed by rich families planning to self-isolate in splendour. Weve sold everything in our warehouse, one supplier told the Moscow Times last week. Another said she had such a long waiting list for the 20,000 devices weve had to stop taking orders. The wealthy admit to buying ventilators. Weve got one and are trying to get two more, said one member of a billionaire family with a mansion in Rublyovka, the Moscow suburb favoured by Russias ruling elite. The pandemic could not have come at worse time for the Kremlin and for a president who promotes the image that he alone can revive national greatness while delivering stability to his sprawling nation. Already, Putins popularity had slipped to its lowest level for seven years after he raised the pension age to 65 for men in a nation with an average male life expectancy of 67. Putin had hoped that a Victory Day celebration next month marking 75 years since the end of the Second World War would boost his support by appealing to patriotism but it has been postponed. He also had to scrap a plebiscite on constitutional reforms that allow him to stay in power until 2036. All of his plans have been thrown into chaos by Covid-19, said James Nixey, of the Chatham House think-tank. This would challenge any competent government and Russias government could never be called competent. Mr Nixey said the primary aim of Putins regime was to retain power. I do not see this as the immediate end but it hastens his end. Mark Galeotti, an expert on Russian security, said that although Putin, 67, retains the vital support of the security forces, this crisis hits all his weakest points since there is no straightforward threat and it is so unpredictable. Putin is seemingly bored by domestic issues; one source told me it took the health minister six months to fix an appointment to see the president before the crisis. At first, the Kremlin moved sharply when the pandemic flared in Wuhan, quickly closing the 2,600-mile border with China. But it was slow to react as rich Russians brought the disease home from Europes ski resorts and cities. Putin told people everythings under control. Then he turned up at a Moscow hospital in a yellow hazmat suit, before shaking hands with the chief doctor, who soon after was diagnosed with the virus. The Russian leader announced a non-working week but shied away from telling people to stay home, so many rushed to Black Sea resorts. Officials then hastily closed hotels and cancelled flights. Characteristically, Putin stepped back and let others take unpopular decisions, such ordering a lockdown on March 28. Work is underway to convert the LenExpo exhibition centre in St Petersburg into a medical facility to treat patients with coronavirus This gave two other politicians the spotlight: Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin and Mikhail Mishustin, who was previously in charge of the tax office (a place filled with useful secrets) and who became prime minister earlier this year. Putin has never tolerated the slightest challenge to his authority yet both these technocrats have won plaudits. We are used to seeing Putin as top dog but he distanced himself from unpopular decisions in case they backfired, said Ben Noble, an expert on Russia at University College London. Now a move he made to protect himself could come back to bite him. The Kremlin admits Russia will not see a peak until mid-May, although there is no sign yet it is close to flattening the curve of infections. One survey found 60 per cent of Russians do not trust official information on the virus. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the coronavirus developments would not pass by our country without any crisis elements but added that Putin believes human life is a priority. How many of his citizens believe that now? The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has advised Nigerians to obey the lockdown order of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the country. The Federal Capital Territory Abuja as well as Lagos and Ogun States have been on lockdown since 11pm, March 30, following the Presidents directive that residents of the state, excluding essential service providers. Subsequently, some governors of the 28 states affected by the pandemic have also ordered lockdowns in their territories. The 78-year-old cleric during a live sermon on Sunday broadcasted via the churchs media station, DOVE TV, urged residents in the country to stay at home and not endanger their lives. He gave the advice while preaching on a topic tagged Power with texts taken from Acts 1:8. He said, There are categories of power. There is political power. Ecclesiastes 8:4 says where the word of a king is, there is power. You put it in the modern language, where the word of the President is, there is power. If you dont believe that, just check what is happening now. The President sits in his house and makes a decree or pronouncement, everybody stays home and if you love yourself, stay at home. According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control as of Saturday night, over 1000 cases of the novel virus have been reported in the country while over 30 fatalities and above 200 recoveries have been recorded. Advertisement The UK's coronavirus death toll increased by 413 today - the lowest recorded this month - as NHS bosses said social distancing is 'paying off' but warned breaking the rules now could result in a second peak of the deadly disease. Stephen Powis, the national medical director of NHS England, said the latest government statistics showed there had been a 'slight uptick' in the number of people using their cars and going outside in recent days. He told the daily Downing Street coronavirus press conference that the nation needed to 'remind ourselves that this has been a really tough four weeks and we don't want to lose the benefits' which have resulted from people staying at home. Mr Powis said nobody could be 'absolutely confident' that the UK is now firmly on a downward trajectory as he urged Britons to continue to adhere to draconian lockdown measures. The 413 new fatalities represents a significant drop on yesterday's UK figures - and are also lower than previous Sundays, which typically see a lower toll than weekdays. But the government is still swatting away calls to publish a road map out of lockdown, with Dominic Raab this morning admonishing both Labour and Tory figures demanding an exit strategy. Environment Secretary George Eustice remained equally tight-lipped at this afternoon's briefing, where he confirmed the number of deaths have now hit 20,732. The cabinet minister also said cases have risen by 4,463 to 153,840 after 29,058 tests were performed yesterday - a figure which will set alarm bells ringing in Whitehall after Matt Hancock vowed to hit 100,000 tests by the end of April. The latest Downing Street data showed there has been a slight increase in the number of people going outside in recent days Transport use overall remains relatively flat but the number of vehicles on the nations has rose slightly which has spooked the government's health expert Coronavirus tracking app suggests disease arrived in UK in January A coronavirus tracking app has suggested the disease arrived in the UK in January - well before the first cases were detected. COVID Symptom tracker, designed by scientists at King's College London, asks its 2.6million users to report their symptoms daily, even if they are well, in order to map the disease's spread. Hundreds of contributors have, however, also admitted to suffering from Covid-like symptoms soon after the new year with a few even saying they thought they had the disease in late December, the Professor Genetic Epidemiology at King's and scientist working on the app, Tim Spector, has said. Although the cases are untested, the reports suggest the virus gained a foothold in the UK long before the first case was identified on British soil on January 31, when two Chinese people in York tested positive for the virus. The app's data has also suggested that the lockdown measures have worked, with estimated cases dropping by more than 80 per cent to 354,690 today since a peak of 2.1million on April 1. It is hoped that technology including apps such as this will allow the UK to return to a semblance of normality. Advertisement There have been growing signs in recent days that some Britons may have grown restless with the state of lockdown. Official data shows there are more people using the nation's roads while photographs suggest more people are venturing outside to use the UK's green spaces. But Mr Powis said this afternoon that everyone must continue to stay at home as much as possible - or risk a second surge in coronavirus cases. He said: 'Over the last few weeks of course we have seen because those social distancing measures have been adhered to that those curbs have started to change and as I showed you a few minutes ago we are now beginning to see declines, particularly in London and yes deaths are now either plateauing around the country or beginning to decline. 'But I should emphasise those benefits have only occurred not by luck but because people have complied with the instructions we have all been given and they have followed the science. The science of this is quite straight forward.' As Britons were pictured basking in parks in warm weather: It was revealed everyone entering Britain will now face a mandatory two-week quarantine under plans being drawn up by the Government; Ministers have ordered up to 50 million new immunity tests to be produced in the fight against Covid-19; Boris Johnson prepared to return to work in Downing Street tomorrow, having told aides that he is 'raring to go'; Dominic Raab admitted a coronavirus vaccine is 'unlikely to come this year' despite human trials starting this week; The Foreign Secretary also blasted 'irresponsible' Tory donors, MPs and Keir Starmer for demanding the UK government publish a lockdown exit strategy; A tracker app shows coronavirus was spreading in Britain weeks before first case was spotted - and says we already passed peak of the bug on April 1; Britons in lockdown were braced for more bad news as the country will be hit with weeks of rain from today as the heatwave ends; Epidemiologist Prof Neil Ferguson, who is on the Sage group of advisers, warned 100,000 people could die of coronavirus if the lockdown was lifted and 'shielding' of elderly; People flocked in their droves to DIY stores despite rules banning all non-essential outings. Stephen Powis, the national medical director of NHS England, said the latest government statistics showed there had been a 'slight uptick' in the number of people using their cars and going outside in recent days The number of people in hospital with coronavirus continues to fall in many parts of the country, and in others there is a steady plateau The UK's coronavirus death rate continues to hover at roughly the same level as its European neighbours in France, Spain and Italy Downing Street data showed the he number of new daily cases has been broadly stable in recent days, but this has been affected by increased testing Shoppers are pictured queuing outside the Range in Derby as the coronavirus crisis continues with the government still urging people to stay at home as much as possible Pictured: People queue outside a B&Q store in Watford as social distancing continues across the UK Government adviser says gradual easing of lockdown could see death toll hit 100,000 Prof Ferguson speaking on the UnHerd podcast The number of deaths from coronavirus could reach 100,000 in the UK by the end of this year if a gradual lockdown is implemented with only the elderly shielded, Professor Neil Ferguson warned yesterday. The Imperial College epidemiologist said it was impossible to send the young and healthy back to work while keeping the vulnerable in lockdown without seeing a huge increase in deaths. The academic - whose previous death toll predictions prompted the PM to lock Britain down - warned that no country has successfully shielded those most at risk from the virus while allowing the least vulnerable to continue as normal. Professor Ferguson said some degree of social isolation will continue to be required until a vaccine to the killer bug is released, which Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab today said was unlikely to happen until 2021. He was asked if young people could be allowed out of lockdown if the tough measures have suppressed the infection rate enough and the Government has increased NHS capacity to a sufficient degree. Professor Ferguson told UnHerd: 'In practical terms, you would require a very high level of effective shielding for that to be a viable strategy. 'If you just achieve 80 per cent shielding - and 80 per cent reduction in infection risk in those groups - we still project that you would get more than 100,000 deaths this year from that kind of strategy. 'The most vulnerable people are also the people who most need care and most need interaction with the health system and are least able to be truly isolated.' Advertisement Mr Powis said the UK's efforts 'hard though they might be, have begun to pay off'. But he warned Britain cannot yet be totally certain of its downward trajectory and added: 'But of course the other point to make is it will only continue to pay off if we continue to keep social distancing and we continue to comply with those messages. 'Because of course my fear, as the fear of all of us is, is that those curves won't continue to be on a downward trend but will start to go in an upward trend and we are not at the point that any of us can be absolutely confident that that is not going to be the case. 'We want to avoid a second peak, we want to avoid a rise and so I can't emphasise enough that this is not the time to say actually we have done a good job we need to stop complying with out social distancing instructions and the government guidance. 'This is exactly the time to keep that up and that is why when I showed you the transport graphs and curves earlier, that slight uptick in motor vehicles, that slight uptick in the use of Apple Maps, we need to keep a close eye on that. 'We all need to remind ourselves that this has been a really tough four weeks and we don't want to lose the benefits that have come from this. We need to keep going.' The government has been under growing pressure to set out its lockdown exit strategy, with Tory donors, MPs and even Cabinet ministers urging Boris Johnson to detail how restrictions could be lifted. But Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who continues to deputise for the PM until he returns to work tomorrow, slapped down the government's critics today as he said the focus must remain on slowing the spread of the disease. Mr Raab said Britain is still at a 'delicate and dangerous' stage of the outbreak and while ministers are doing their 'homework', now is not the time to detail findings in public. He said that 'frankly it is not responsible to start speculating about the individual measures' - a direct rebuke to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer who has demanded the government publish an action plan and to Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon who has set out her own blueprint for how to start getting life back to normal. Mr Raab also today insisted the UK is 'on track' to carry out 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of April. Meanwhile, Imperial College epidemiologist Neil Ferguson, whose previous death toll predictions prompted the government to impose lockdown, warned the number of deaths could reach 100,000 by the end of this year if a gradual easing of lockdown is implemented with just the elderly continuing to be shielded. Today's figures from England, Scotland and Wales include those who die in hospital - but not care home deaths, which are believed to be a significant portion of the true numbers. NHS England releases figures every day showing the dates of every coronavirus-related death in hospitals in England, and will often include previously uncounted deaths that took place several days or even weeks ago. This is due to the time it takes for deaths to be confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 - along with processing post-mortem examinations and data from the tests to be validated. Northern Ireland's figures for today have not yet been revealed - nor have the official Department of Health statistics. A large queue formed in Clapham today as people waited to be served ice cream at a gelataria on Northcote Road Richmond Park in the west of the capital was also busy with walkers and cyclists today as temperatures hit 21C There were also plenty of cyclists in the centre of London today. Pictured is The Mall with Buckingham Palace in the background Police spoke to sunbathers as they patrolled Greenwich Park in the south of London today Dominic Raab today insisted the UK is 'on track' to carry out 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of April Today's figures show a further 336 people who tested positive for the virus died in England, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in the country to 18,420. A total of 1,249 patients have now died in Scotland after testing positive for Covid-19, a rise of 18 from 1,231 on Saturday, the Scottish Government confirmed. The number of people who have tested positive for the virus north of the border is 10,324, up 273 from Saturday's figure of 10,051. The figures published on the Scottish Government's website confirmed 1,735 patients are in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19, down 13 from 1,748 the previous day. Of these, 133 were in intensive care - a fall of seven. A further 14 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus in Wales, taking the total number of deaths there to 788, health officials said. And Public Health Wales said a further 178 people had tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 9,078. A couple view the empty beach in Broadstairs, Kent today as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus NHS England releases figures every day showing the dates of every coronavirus-related death in hospitals in England, and will often include previously uncounted deaths that took place several days or even weeks ago Why IS it taking so long for deaths and infections to come down? New cases decline by just a third in three weeks The UK has taken three weeks to reduce daily coronavirus cases by around a third in a 'disappointingly' slow decline that may be due to 'inadequate access to personal protective equipment'. The daily number of infections has fallen from 5,903 at its peak on April 5 to 4,913 yesterday. This rate of decline lags behind other countries in Europe - including Germany and heavily-hit Spain and Italy - when compared to the three weeks following each nation's peak of infections. Professor Paul Hunter of the University of East Anglia said one of the reasons could be due to greater access to personal protective equipment abroad. It comes as leading British scientists poured cold water on hopes of ending the lockdown, warning the cases figure first needs to be in the hundreds, not thousands. The UK yesterday passed the 20,000-death milestone in the outbreak as a further 813 deaths took the official total toll to 20,319, while cases hit 148,377. Prof Hunter from Norwich School of Medicine at UEA told MailOnline: 'If you look at most of the other countries, not all, but certainly most are showing a much steeper decline than we are. 'We are definitely seeing a slower impact than most of our European neighbours.' The academic said it was not immediately clear why other countries' declines were steeper than ours, but said he had some theories. He said: 'I suspect that some of this is around issues potentially around inadequate PPE for health service and care workers.' He added: 'It would not surprise me if some of this number of deaths was driven largely because of the spread not necessarily in the general population but in the elderly and vulnerable and that would be related to inadequate infection prevention.' Germany, which has been hailed as a pillar on how to deal with the virus, had a similar cases figure to Britain at its peak on April 5 at 5,936. But the number has plummeted in the same three-week period, sitting on 2,055 cases as of yesterday. Germany has also seen a comparably low daily death figure throughout the crisis, with yesterday's 179 new fatalities being a fraction of the UK's 813. Foreign minister Andreas Michaelis said his government's decision to hold excess capacity in ICUs has been one of the main reasons for the low death rate. Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, he said the country had 40,000 intensive care beds, 30,000 of which can be used with ventilators. 'This is really a heritage of our health system - it is almost the core factor of our health system. 'A lot of experts were criticising us for having too much capacity, too much expenditure - I think the people of Germany can now say that's an extra capacity they are very happy to have financed in the past.' Advertisement But the figures revealed so far indicate a possible new low for deaths in the country. Dr Giri Shankar, from Public Health Wales, said: 'Based on the new case numbers there is emerging evidence suggesting a levelling-off in the number of new cases of Covid-19 in Wales, which may be an indication of the effectiveness of lockdown measures. 'However, it is still too early to tell for sure, and it is too soon to end the current social distancing rules. 'Public Health Wales fully supports the First Minister's announcement on revised stay-at-home regulations. 'The changes supplement the rules already in force but they respond to some challenges being faced in parts of the country and by families throughout Wales. 'The message has not changed - anyone can get coronavirus, anyone can spread it. Stay home, protect the NHS, and save lives.' It came as Mr Raab today insisted the UK government is 'on track' to hit Matt Hancock's 100,000 daily coronavirus tests target by the end of the month despite the number of checks continuing to lag far below capacity. Mr Hancock set the target at the start of April and ministers now have just four days to get to the six-figure testing number. The latest published statistics show daily capacity for tests is at about 51,000 but the number actually carried out is still below 30,000, leaving the government with a massive task if it is to deliver on the Health Secretary's goal. But Mr Raab said this morning he expected there to be a 'big surge' in tests carried out this week as extra capacity 'comes on tap'. His comments came as key workers again struggled to secure a home testing kit after the government's website stated there were 'non available' just twenty minutes after the latest batch of the checks was released today. The test site launched on Friday in an effort get key workers who are isolating checked so they can go back to work. But so far it has struggled with high demand, with tests running out in a matter of minutes. Mr Hancock has pledged 5,000 tests a day would be made available for key workers through the online portal, in an effort to 'get Britain back on her feet'. Key workers can also book slots at drive-through testing centres across the country. Mr Hancock is under huge political pressure to deliver on the target and he said on Friday he does believe 100,000 tests will be carried out every day as of the end of this month 'but nothing is guaranteed in life'. That pressure has only grown after England's Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty told MPs that the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) had not signed off on the number. Mr Raab was told during an appearance on Sky News this morning that just 28,700 tests were carried out in 24 hours according to the latest available data. Asked if he believes the government will get to 100,000 by the end of the month, he said: 'You are right about that in terms of the latest figures for tests carried out although it is a bit old now because we have come through the weekend, we have got new data. 'Our capacity for carrying out tests is now at 51,000 per day so we have passed the halfway line to our target. 'There are two things in the last week that really matter and you always get the exponential increase in a project like this in the last week as the capacity comes on tap.' He continued: 'First of all, with the NHS portal we are making sure people can access the tests either through home kits, through any one of the 31 drive-through centres and increasingly with mobile testing labs and the military are helping spread those across the country. 'The second thing is we focused initially on NHS workers, then on care workers, we have now brought it to include all essential workers. 'So I think we are going to see a big surge in the last week and we are on track to hit that target.' On the booking website's first day in operation some 46,000 people attempted to secure a test with available home checks and drive-through slots gone in a matter of minutes. The beach in Margate, Kent today as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus What lockdown? People flock to DIY stores in their droves despite rules banning all non-essential outings as new data shows driving is up 4 per cent and walking 5 per cent on week before Shoppers were seen buying products at B&Q in Swansea, York and Edinburgh They were seen with trolleys filled with products including rolls of carpet Data from Friday shows that driving is up 4 per cent and walking is up 5 per cent Shoppers ignored repeated warnings to stay home as part of ongoing efforts to clamp down on coronavirus by heading to DIY stores. People were seen heading to stores in parts of the country including Edinburgh, Swansea and York on Sunday as latest figures showed Britons are leaving home more and more amid hopes that lockdown restrictions could be lifted. Data from Apple Maps showed that driving is up 4 per cent and walking has increased 5 per cent among Britons compared to last week. The shoppers on Sunday were taking advantage of hot an dry conditions which has brought sunshine around the country this weekend, although wet weather is on the way. Shoppers ignored repeated warnings to stay home as part of ongoing efforts to clamp down on coronavirus by heading to DIY stores Shoppers were pictured carrying items including plant pots, buckets and even a lawn mower at one B&Q store in York People looking to do home improvements were seen waiting in lengthy queues outside B&Q in Swansea and York. Some pushed trolleys filled with rolls of carpet while others were seen lifting enormous products into their cars. And in Derby at The Range, which sells essentials including food and toilet roll, as well as DIY items such as paint and furniture, shoppers were taking advantage of the lack of crowds. Data from Apple Maps also showed that traffic congestion has surged from the start of the month and since the lockdown was announced. Walking in London has picked up markedly in the last three days alone, according to Apple Map's most recent 'Covid-19 mobility trends' data. Dozens of others were seen in long queues as they held trolleys while waiting to go in a B&Q store in Swansea Some pushed trolleys filled with rolls of carpet while others were seen lifting enormous products into their cars. Pictured: One shopper at B&Q in York It appears there has been a sharp increase in human traffic as the number of people walking across the country rose by around 8 percentage points on April 23 from last Saturday. The number of people walking, driving, and using public transport networks in the UK took a nosedive in early March, as concern about the spreading coronavirus outside of China - believed to be the country of its origin - intensified and gripped the nation. It plummeted on March 24 - the day after Boris Johnson declared a 'stay-at-home' order. But newly released figures available on Apple Maps indicated the British public are growing restless of life under lockdown as many more take to the roads and the streets. The shoppers at B&Q have taken no notice of please from politicians for them to stay home They were seen in snaking queues at B&Q in Edinburgh, pictured above Each weekend of April - between the 4th and the 18th - the number of people walking, driving, and 'transiting' steadily climbed, even as police forces across the country became tougher on rule-breakers. Data from sat nav makers TomTom and the AA suggest there has been an increase in car trips around the UK this month. Britain to be hit with weeks of rain from today as heatwave ends suddenly Britain is facing a deluge of wet weather starting today as this week's mini-heatwave - which saw many Britons flout the countrywide lockdown - comes to an abrupt end. Forecaster say today will see cloudy skies and a risk of showers 'breaking out almost anywhere' and a likely high temperature of 73F (23C), dropping to 68F (20C) tomorrow and between 53-59F (12-15C) starting Tuesday. More typical April weather will resume next week, with wet weather and much lower temperatures presenting a 'marked change' from the sunshine Britons have enjoyed in recent days, Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan told MailOnline. This weekend - the country's fifth since lockdown started - saw hot, dry conditions encouraging housebound Britons to flout restrictions and enjoy the sunshine. But the temptation to leave home will be considerably lower for many in the days to come, as bands of rain brought by the Atlantic lead to 'cooler' and more 'unsettled' weather. A Met Office spokesperson said: 'So far April has been a largely dry month. However, today we'll have showers across parts of Scotland, then north and central England, Wales and possibly Northern Ireland.' Meteorologist Marco Petagna said that 'it might be welcome rain for some, after it's been so dry', but there would still be 'some sunshine, even when things are unsettled'. Advertisement There are more motorists in London, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Manchester, and Reading out and about this weekend than last week, according to TomTom. B&Q is following steps taken by supermarkets by limiting the number of customers in its stores at any one time. It has also installed screens at checkouts and put markers on shop floors to help with social distancing. Ten people from London who travelled 245 miles to go walking in North Wales were sent home and reported by police for breaking lockdown rules. The group, travelling in two separate vehicles, had travelled the five-hour journey from the capital earlier on Sunday but they were stopped by police near their destination on the A5 in Bethesda. They told officers they were intending to go walking in Snowdonia, the mountainous National Park in North Wales. Instead, officers from North Wales Police, who tweeted brief details of the incident, reported them for breaching lockdown laws. They were then ordered to go home immediately, police escorting their cars to the A-road back to the south to begin the 10-hour round-trip home. In a second incident dealt with by police, staff from a hotel challenged a man from Cumbria seen returning to his car after he had walked up Mount Snowdon. He was abusive when challenged, claiming the regulations did not apply to him. A joint Cheshire and North Wales armed police unit traced his car and stopped him on the A55 where he was reported for also breaching the lockdown regulations. Meanwhile, in Bridgend officers responded to reports of a house party in Coity. Police said five of the six occupants were found not to be part of the household - with three coming from Berkshire. Officers in Merthyr Tydfil found a couple who had travelled nearly 150 miles from Leicester to pick up a rug. In the Brecon Beacons, police stopped people who had driven from Birmingham and Hereford, and two hikers from Bristol who were attempting to walk Pen Y Fan were issued with fixed penalty notices by police. In Pembrokeshire, a driver on a 60-mile round trip to buy tomato plants was reported for non-essential travel. While another driver was stopped at Begelly and issued with a ticket as they were 'looking to get a coffee'. Police said it was not the first time this motorist had been reported. In Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, police found an Airbnb open with a couple from Slough staying there and a hand car wash in operation. Two people who had travelled from Birmingham for a 'day out' to Broadway Tower in the Cotswolds were issued with fixed penalty notices. While in nearby Bibury, officers issued nine tickets to people visiting from Leicester and London. The shopping scenes come after Home Secretary Priti Patel warned Britons it was 'imperative' that they follow lockdown rules. She warned that the country is 'not out of danger yet' as she thanked people for their 'spirit of national unity'. Police have already issued thousands of fines to people who have flouted lockdown rules, and the penalties could be increased after Ms Patel spoke on Friday to the National Police Chief's Council. Shoppers filled trolleys with varying DIY items. One man, pictured above, pushed dozens of wooden planks to his car The shoppers had to keep their distance from each other as they queued to get into B&Q in Edinburgh On Sunday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab blasted 'irresponsible' critics for demanding the UK government set out how it will ease the nation's coronavirus lockdown. Tory donors, Cabinet ministers and Sir Keir Starmer have all told Boris Johnson he must publish his strategy for loosening restrictions as the Prime Minister prepares to return to work tomorrow. But Mr Raab slapped down those calls this morning as he said Britain is still at a 'delicate and dangerous' stage of the outbreak and the focus must remain on slowing the spread of the disease and reducing the number of deaths. However, the Foreign Secretary, who has been standing in for Mr Johnson, did insist ministers are carrying out their 'homework' on how to lift rules in the future but he stressed 'frankly it is not responsible to start speculating about the individual measures'. Mr Johnson has been recuperating at Chequers since he was released from hospital on April 12 after his own intensive care battle with coronavirus but he has told allies he is now 'raring to go'. The Government has issued new laws ordering people to stay at home and to only leave for exercise, to buy food, or to go to work, if they cannot work from home. Pictured: A shopper in York Basket of goods: Shoppers pushed huge trolleys to put their DIY goods in The PM will formally return to the frontline amid growing hostility over the government's repeated refusal to publicly discuss how restrictions will be lifted. Numerous Tory donors, including billionaires Peter Hargreaves and Michael Spencer, have today broken cover to tell the PM that the draconian measures must be loosened as soon as possible due to growing fears of lasting damage to the UK economy. Three Cabinet ministers have briefed their own disquiet with some concerned that the British public have now had enough of the restrictions and cannot 'take much more of this'. Shoppers left their homes to take advantage of less busy stores amid the coronavirus lockdown. Pictured: Shoppers in Edinburgh Some people wore protective clothing, including one couple who were wearing blue rubber gloves as they pulled a trolley holding various DIY items, as well as a potted plant Meanwhile, Sir Keir, the Labour leader, has warned the premier the UK risks 'falling behind the rest of the world' in terms of setting out how life will be returned to something resembling normal. Economists have also warned that a failure to get out of lockdown soon could result in Britain being the Western nation hardest hit by the virus. The series of major interventions came after the UK's coronavirus death toll hit 20,000. North Korea's state media reported on leader Kim Jong-un expressing his "appreciation" for people working to build facilities in a northern border town Sunday but continued to stay silent about his public activities for two weeks amid growing rumors about his health. "Comrade Kim Jong-un sent appreciation to workers earnestly and wholeheartedly supporting in furnishing Samjiyon," the state radio said. "Workers are in burning passion to earnestly contribute to the construction of a socialist powerhouse without forgetting about the party's trust and expectation for any moment." Samjiyon is located at the foot of Mount Paekdu, the highest peak on the Korean Peninsula, known to be the birthplace of Kim's late father and former leader Kim Jong-il. It was elevated to a city late last year. It, however, did not provide other details that could provide clues about his whereabouts or health conditions. Other state media, including the Korean Central News Agency and the Rodong Sinmun, did not report on Kim's public activities either, nor did they provide any photos of the leader. Kim has been out of public view since he was last seen on April 11 chairing a major party meeting. He skipped an important annual trip to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the occasion of the April 15 birthday of the late state founder and his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, sparking rumors over what was behind his unprecedented no-show at the mausoleum. CNN intensified speculation about his health by reporting earlier this week that the United States is looking into intelligence that Kim is "in grave danger" after surgery, but Seoul and Washington officials have disputed the report. It is not rare for Kim to disappear from the public view but whenever it happens, rumors spread about his health, with most of the cases having proved to be false. He reemerged after about a three-week absence by visiting the mausoleum to mark his late father's birthday on Feb. 15. (Yonhap) In the backdrop of growing number of COVID-19 patients, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday appealed to people to turn the month of Ramadan into a symbol of patience, goodwill, sensitivity and service. Modi's message came a day after the holy month started amid a crisis when the worship in mosques and religious gatherings was closed across India to contain the spread of novel COVID-19 pandemic. "Holy month of Ramzan has begun. While celebrating Ramzan the previous time, no one would have thought that there would be so many difficulties during Ramzan this time," Modi said while speaking in the 64th edition of his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat'. "When the whole world is struggling with the pandemic, it provides us an opportunity to make this Ramzan a symbol of patience, goodwill, sensitivity and service." Modi said this time, let us pray that the world may be freed from the coronavirus by the time of Eid. Ramadan started on Saturday morning and is expected to culminate on May 24. Over the 30-day period, Muslims fast during the daylight hours, a practice that is seen as one of the five pillars of Islam. The devotees eat before sunrise, and break their fast after dusk each day. On April 10, the Ministry of Home Affairs had directed all the states and the Union Territories (UTs) not to allow any social or religious gathering and ensure strict compliance of lockdown to contain spread of COVID-19 in the wake of various festivals like Baisakhi, Ambedkar Jayanti, Ramadan and others. The Ministry had directed all states and UTs to ensure strict compliance of lockdown measures to fight COVID-19 and not allow any social and religious gathering or procession. In continuation of 'Mann Ki Baat', the Prime Minister focussed to improve the immunity amid the pandemic crisis and asked to be careful and taking right precautions. "Do what you can to improve immunity. Keep in mind that our traditional systems offer great methods to do so. Let us make these systems popular and share them in a language in which the world understands," Modi said. Modi said we have to continue being careful and taking the right precautions and said that the COVID-19 has changed how we view things. The Prime Minister also expressed happiness over the working of sanitation workers, police forces, doctors, nurses and healthcare workers in the fight against the pandemic which so far has claimed 824 lives. Shun spitting in public places, PM appeals As the world struggles to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday appealed to the people to shun the habit of spitting in public places. Pointing out that it was a case of "better late than never", the Prime Minister said society has understood the negative impact of the spitting habit, which affects health and cleanliness of surroundings. "We in India always knew that spitting in public places is wrong. Yet, it continued in places. Now is the best time to ensure we do not spit," Modi said in the 64th edition of his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat'. "This will increase basic hygiene and strengthen the fight against COVID-19." The Prime Minister also stressed on wearing of face masks, saying "among the welcome changes in the post-coronavirus era is the awareness on the need to wear masks". "A mask is something we will have to keep wearing in the times to come. It does not mean the person wearing a mask is unwell; it is just a wise precaution." India's fight against COVID-19 is people-driven Speaking in the 64th edition of his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat, the Prime Minister said people have been taking lead in various sectors in fight against the deadly virus such as distribution of food to the poor, supply of masks and in following the lockdown measures. He said that people are rising to the occasion to help each other and stress on the need to wear masks, specially handmade or 'Gamchha' (towel). The Prime Minister also emphasized to eradicate the habit of spitting in fights against COVID-19. "Look around, you will see how India has taken up a people-drive battle against COVID-19. India's fight against COVID-19 is people-driven. Every Indian is a soldier in this fight," Modi said. Noting when the whole world is struggling with this epidemic, the Prime Minister said when it will be discussed in future, its modalities will be discussed. "I am sure that this people driven fight of India will definitely be discussed." The condition of secretive North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, after a long spell of non-appearance, remained unclear on Sunday, with a set of reports saying that he had passed away after heart trouble or was in an irreversible coma, while another said he was staying at his holiday resort. Kim has not appeared in public for over two weeks and was absent from a key event on Friday, amid rumours that he had heart trouble. The UK's Daily Express cited "multiple sources" from North Korea as well as the East Asian region as claiming the 36-year-old dictator died on Saturday night but noted that "due to the hyper-secretive nature of the pariah state the exact picture remains unclear tonight", and that claims are very difficult to verify before an official state announcement, given "the nature of the ultra secret regime in North Korea". It quoted a section of media outlets in China and Japan as saying Kim was dead, while other sources said he was on his death bed in a vegetative state with no hope of resuscitation after botched heart surgery. One announcement, the report said, was by a Hong Kong-backed news channel's vice director, who claims to be the niece of a Chinese Foreign Minister. HKSTV Hong Kong Satellite Television's Shijian Xingzou said that a "very solid source" has told her Kim was dead. Other sources, it said, reporting a Chinese medical team had been sent to North Korean capital Pyongyang. Hours ago a Japanese weekly called Shukan Gendai claimed the North Korea's dictator was in a vegetative state after complications from heart surgery. A Chinese doctor - who is believed to have been part of the team sent to treat Kim Jong-Un - was reported as saying a delay in a simple heart procedure had left the leader severely ill. On the other hand, the Daily Mirror said that Kim was alive. It quoted a South Korean President's key aide telling US' Fox News that the North Korean leader was "alive and well" amid rumours of grave illness, incapacitation or even death. President Moon Jae-in's foreign policy advisor Chung-in Moon insisted Kim is staying at his holiday resort on the North Korean coast. "Our government position is firm.....Kim Jong-un is alive and well. "He has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13. No suspicious movements have so far been detected." A train was spotted at Kim's private railway station near his holiday home in the resort, and a report of 38 North, affiliated to the Stimson Center, said: "The train's presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country's eastern coast." A 24-year-old man has been arrested in Vijayapura district in Karnataka for posting the photograph of a COVID-19 girl patient as his whatsapp status photo with a derogatory message, police said. Anil Rathod on Saturday posted the picture of the girl student as status message with a caption, "Bad Student got Positive" By putting her photograph as his whatsapp status message, he tried to create fear among the masses and intentionally defamed her by making her photo go viral, the the police said in a statement. It is an offence to reveal the identity of the COVID-19 patients by taking the photograph and putting it in the public domain, the police said. Rathod has been booked under for spreading rumours and causing panic, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) COVID-19 is like a silent death - recovered patients tell their stories - GeorgianJournal Members of the local community have rallied to support Main Street Care Center, 200 Community Drive in Avon Lake, and its staff who are taking care of novel coronavirus positive residents, according to a news release. Many of these employees have families at home that they hug goodbye each day to play the role of a modern-day hero. Last week, beautiful stained-glass-like hearts quietly began appearing on trees around the campus. The facility later learned that these were made and hung with care by Avon Lake resident Lori Kolofer-Burke, who has been nicknamed the Heart Fairy due to her efforts of hanging hearts throughout the city, the release said. Kolofer-Burkes father was a past resident at Main Street Care Center. Green Circle Growers, a local nursery located in Oberlin, donated thousands of Easter lilies just days before the holiday. With the goodwill partnership of Matt Mars, co-owner of Chez Francois in Vermilion; Jacqui Ladikos, owner of Miss Jacquis Dance in Avon Lake; and multiple volunteers from the Church on the North Coast in Avon Lake, surprise deliveries were placed outside Main Street Care Center and multiple other locations around the county as gifts for employees and residents, the release said. Other skilled nursing facilities and churches also jumped at the chance to help and show solidarity. The Welsh Home in Rocky River and Avon Oaks in Avon each dropped off a small token of extra personal protection equipment supplies as a show of support to their fellow nursing and resident comrades, the release said. St. Joseph Parish in Avon Lake donated 100 homemade masks and St. Raphael in Bay Village provided in-room prayer guides, according to the release. Most amazing, however, was the quick work completed by Avon Laker Cullen Dudas, the release said. Dudas, through connections from working in the information technology industry in San Francisco, reached out to Apple CEO Tim Cook and other Apple employees to procure 50 face shields for Main Street Care Center staff, according to the release. Apple agreed to help, but would not provide 50 shields, rather they provided 1,200, the release said. This not only was enough to assist all employees at Main Street Care Center, but other area facilities as well. When asked what led him to help Main Street Care Center residents, Dudas explained his great grandmother had been a resident there for many years. She helped raise him and he remembers her saying, If youre the person able to help someone, its your moral obligation to do so. After more than a month of lockdown, many of us are now starting to feel and look a little like Ben Gunn, the crazy old hermit marooned on Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. So in a bid to remain sane and smarten up your act, it might be tempting to pick up a pair of scissors to become your own barber or hairdresser. It is not a step to be taken lightly. Flashbacks of school playground teasing and nicknames such as 'bowl-head' spring to mind. A well-intentioned scissor-wielding mother can make the cruellest cut. Lockdown look: Ben Gunn, the hermit from Treasure Island Yet needs must in this current crisis. Not only will you save cash by cutting your own hair, but you will sharpen your appearance for life after self-isolation. Professional hairdresser Vicky Brown is keen to point out that cutting your own hair is not for the faint-hearted and comes with a serious style warning. The 36-year-old, from Northamptonshire, says: 'My advice is simple just don't do it. Chances are that you are going to make a real pig's ear of the job. But if you have had enough and want to give it a go, there are basic rules you must follow. Start with the right tools. Reaching for old scissors in the kitchen drawer does more harm than good. You need a professional pair and these can cost 200 or more.' She adds: 'The problem with old scissors is that they are just not sharp enough. You still end up with split ends and strange patches on your head where the hair has been hacked at with a blunt tool.' For those willing to invest in a good pair of scissors, recommendations include the Japanese maker Joewell and German scissor firm Tondeo. Such scissors come with closed loops so they can be held firmly in the hand. There is a spur on one handle where you rest the little finger as the 'ring' finger goes inside the hole. This helps to relax the hand so cutting with sharp blades feels natural. You should wet the hair to make it easier to see what you or ideally someone else is doing. Be wary of cutting too much off the fringe as this novice mistake leads to an egghead appearance that only time will heal. If someone else is doing the cutting, you should lean your head forward when hair at the back is being cut. Otherwise, it will appear as layered waves when finished. Brown warns against using hair dye unless you know what you are doing. First, you should dab a small sample behind one of your ears up to 48 hours beforehand to ensure there is no allergic reaction. Otherwise you might have to make a trip to A&E at a local hospital something to avoid now more than ever. A more practical option for men who can manage with a short back-and-sides is to purchase an electric hair trimmer. With lockdown expected to continue at least until late next month, you will have time to grow out any embarrassing 'mowing' mistakes. Brown suggests spending at least 50 on clippers, although if you want to cut your hair with them in the future then a more professional set costing 100 might represent better value. Unfortunately many of the highly recommended clippers such as the 70 Wahl Power Clipper are currently out of stock because of strong sales. Even if you do find a decent set of clippers online, you could wait weeks before they arrive. If you struggle to get hold of clippers from top brands such as Wahl, Remington or Panasonic, delve into the back of the bathroom cabinet for an electric razor that can do a half-decent job at tidying up hair. Brown says: 'Electric razor cuts usually come in a range from one to eight. Start with the biggest number you can find as this gives the gentlest cut. As you feel braver then move to a lower setting.' She suggests starting at the back, then sides moving the clippers upwards rather than down gently moving them off and away from the head as you gradually move up the skull. With clippers you also have the benefit of being able to cut without help, though, of course, you will still need a mirror to see what is going on at the back of your head. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Sunday said that IPS official Amitabh Gupta, who gave a letter of approval to Yes Bank scam accused Wadhawan brothers and others for travel to a hill station amid lockdown earlier this month, said he did not write the note under anyone's pressure. Deshmukh revealed this in his televised message. The minister said that Gupta's statement is part the probe report, which was submitted to his ministry on Sunday. "IPS officer Amitabh Gupta, Principal Secretary (Special) Home, has admitted that he has written the letter that allowed Wadhawan brothers to travel to Mahabaleshwar, which violated the national lockdown guidelines. He also said that he wrote the letter on his own and not under anybody's pressure." "Dheeraj Wadhawan and (his brother) Kapil had gone to Mahabaleshwar, but Satara police took them into custody and quarantined them for 14 days. We had informed the CBI 10 days back. The national probe agency finally left Mahabaleshwar along with Dheeraj and Kapil today evening for Mumbai," he said. The remaining people are now home-quarantined, the minister added. "Additional Chief Secretary Manoj Saunik, who was probing the case, has submitted his report today with the home ministry, wherein Gupta's statement has been recorded. The findings of the probe will be made public eventually," he said. Gupta had given permission to Wadhawans and others in the form of "To Whomsoever It May Concern" letter issued on April 8. It stated that the Wadhawan family was known to Gupta and they were traveling for "family emergency". Their travel from Khandala near Pune to Mahabaleshwar despite coronavirus lockdown had sparked off a political row in the state. The Wadhawan brothers, who are DHFL promoters are under the scanner in Yes Bank and Punjab and Maharashtra Co- operative Bank scams. Meanwhile, in a veiled dig at BJP leader Kirit Somaiya and others, who had criMH-WADHAWANS-OFFICIAL-MINISTERticised the government over the episode, Deshmukh said, "The kind of politics played on Gupta's letter is unfortunate. And people who led the state once were involved it." The minister also announced a financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh each to the families of two police officials who succumbed to coronavirus infection in the state. "We will also offer a job to one person each from the two families in the (police) department," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Bob Fu is sometimes affectionately called the pastor of Chinas underground railroad. Hes the founder and president of ChinaAid, an international human rights organization dedicated to exposing religious persecution by the Communist Party in China and to promoting religious freedom for all in that country. He is also this years William Wilberforce Award winner. He recently talked with Shane Morris about his life and his work, as well as some counsel for American Christians. Below is an excerpt from that conversation. You can go to the full talk by clicking here. Towards the end of their time, Shane asked: What do you think we as American Christians can learn from this kind of persecution? How is it that we can imitate that faithfulness in a place where we, thank God, have the freedoms we do? After living in the U.S. for the past 20+ years, I often think about this question, what is the fundamental difference, right? And what could we really learn how the Lord works in the persecuted areas versus in the freedom? I think I felt the key is back to the fundamental, its the lordship of Christ. Do we really, really, really trust and believe that the Lord is over our life? And every day, every time, everywhere instead of the Sunday, certain time, or, you know, to a group of people. Are we too intimidated by the culture, by the secularism, by the kind of a pressure? I remember once a group of American Christian business leaders visited China and met with a group of Chinese businessman. Other Chinese brother and sisters shared how the gospel is being spread, when they share the message of the gospel in their workplace, and the American Christian businessman said, No, we cant do that in the US. We could be sued by the ACLU. The Chinese Christian business reply was, So what? I think that answer, the so what, we really, I think, need to kind of meditate on. Are we so intimidated by the culture, by the privatization of faith, by being accused of being right wing or all kinds of labels, or narrow minded? And then, we retreat from the public square, we retreat our faith, and from, instead of really as Paul said, We in season, out of season, we pray to the gospel and woe to me, if I stopped that? And are we really more fearful of the Lord than fearful of atheistic, secular culture, the pressure, the political moment? I think that is a tragedy. I think in the free world like America, I think we need to really, holistically, continuously, restore back to the spirit of the Early Church. So, the experience in the persecuted church is really nothing new. It is essentially written in Pauls prison letters and reflected in the history of the persecuted church from the Early Church through the Church under persecution in the Roman Empire to the ages. And to, now, of course, its not a unique Chinese church experience. Its happening to the churches in North Korea. Its happening to the churches in Iran, under the extremism, militant Islamic kind of a dictatorship. So it happens in Nigeria. And so, I think this not just the one unique experience, one country. So, I feel if we get back to the original, to honor the lordship of Christ, not only in a church building, not only on a religious occasion, that he is the Lord all the time. As our hero. Abraham Kuyper famously said, Not a single inch of the Gods creation, that the Lord would not declare mine. So if we declare the sovereign lordship of Christ everywhere in our life, things in our church in the West will be quite different. This piece was originally published at BreakPoint For all his scrapes, personal losses and ridiculously close calls, Jack Bauer, the gruff and personality-challenged counterterrorism agent played by Kiefer Sutherland on the Fox network hit "24," had it relatively easy compared with Carrie Mathison, the resilient but often deeply compromised (and, as it happened, bipolar) CIA agent played by Claire Danes on Showtime's "Homeland," which ends Sunday after an impressively consistent eight-season run. Jack and Carrie came to separately represent the pressing global crises of their times. "24" premiered weeks after the September 2001 terrorist attacks and the responding drums of war, at a moment where it could have been perceived as either wildly inappropriate (it opened with a woman setting off a bomb on an airliner) or topically spot-on. American viewers found they were able to project a lot of their anxieties about national security onto the show, which functioned as a one-hour, adrenaline-soaked workout, expressed in increasingly contorted (and less plausible) plot points. Catharsis was harder to come by in "Homeland," but that made it a far better and more relevant show. The defeats suffered by its characters (mainly Claire Danes as Carrie and Mandy Patinkin as Carrie's mentor, intelligence adviser Saul Berenson) made "Homeland" more believable, as the 21st century's real-life war against terror dragged endlessly on. The puffed-chest mood Jack Bauer and his fictional Counter Terrorism Unit captured in the 9/11 era shifted to "Homeland's" depiction of a beleaguered, politically hamstrung CIA, seen through the distortions of an agent's justifiable paranoia. Carrie Mathison's story was in no way meant to be seen as a sequel to Jack Bauer's (even though both shows shared an executive producer in Howard Gordon). Still, it was immediately clear from "Homeland's" first season that Carrie would be navigating the far more complex and murky territory that Jack left behind an era roughly measured in our world between the May 2011 U.S. military operation that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and the 2019 impeachment hearings of President Donald Trump, in which intelligence expertise is at first lauded, then vilified, and, ultimately, punishable by White House dismissal. "Homeland's" prescience included many instances of rogue activity by intelligence officers, who are always galled by executive-branch ineptitude, which the show treated as a chronic condition from one president to the next. Co-created and meticulously overseen by executive producer and writer Alex Gansa (and adapted originally from an Israeli TV series), "Homeland" began as a fascinating thriller about the trustworthiness of a recently rescued Marine POW, Sgt. Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis). While the nation celebrated Brody as a war hero, Carrie worked to discover whether Brody was a convert to radical Islamic terrorism. Seven seasons later, "Homeland" had flipped the script: Carrie, who spent months in a Russian prison deprived of her psychiatric medications, is now distrusted by her colleagues for a whole list of reasons, not the least of which is that she may be a Russian spy. Between then and now, "Homeland" demonstrated an eerie knack for staying a half step ahead of the news. It was obsessed with online Russian propaganda and right-wing chaos-makers just as the nation began to see (and ignore) the strings attached to so many puppets. In its final go-round, "Homeland" is preoccupied with Saul's long-sought peace accord between the United States and the Taliban. The American president (Beau Bridges) traveled to Afghanistan to seal the deal, but he was killed when his military helicopter crashed an event designed to look as if the Taliban shot down the aircraft. Defying her CIA minders, Carrie has spent great effort in recent episodes finding (and then losing) the helicopter's black-box recorder, proving it was an accident. We are once again at the spot where "Homeland" always thrived: A world on the brink, with tensions escalating between the United States and Pakistan, and a whole lot of men who are determined not to listen to a woman everyone thinks has lost her marbles. A recap of "Homeland's" entire story arc could just say: Nevertheless, she persisted. Like some early fans, I tried to be one of those viewers who turned away from "Homeland," but just never could. I was more admiring than critical of the show's swerves and plot shenanigans ("craziness" is the wrong word, given the show's commitment to portraying Carrie's mental illness). "Homeland" was an unusual study in the art of midseason course correction, coming up with surprising and provocative solutions to the corners it painted itself into. Chief among these was Carrie's decision, in Season 7, to surrender custody of her daughter the only TV mother I can think of whose solution to the work-life balance conundrum was to stop being a mother. It was a painful and powerful comment on the frantic state of the world, hers and ours. When it comes to shows that are so strongly relevant, the best ones always leave a question in their wake: Who or what will take their place? What sort of contemporary hero would be the natural successor to Jack Bauer or Carrie Mathison? And what will be the focus of their mission? Who or what is the enemy domestic terrorism? Vladimir Putin? Climate-change deniers? Is it, perhaps, an FBI agent who thwarts American hate crimes and fake-news kooks, in a show about a divided nation rotting from within? ("Homeland" has dabbled in this.) Could it be a show about a sort of special-ops team of former diplomats, tasked with restoring a previous administration's global damage? Is it about an epidemiologist who fights disinformation campaigns? Is it a cybersecurity expert, even though viewers tend to run cold on shows about people sitting in front of computers? ("Homeland" unfortunately killed off its most promising spinoff potential, Carrie's loyal techie, Max Piotrowski, an increasingly hardened but dedicated soul, compellingly played by Maury Sterling.) Is our next Jack or Carrie an outside rogue in the vein of Rami Malek's hallucinating hacker in Sam Esmail's "Mr. Robot," or could it be the betrayed and mentally manipulated soldiers and therapists of Esmail's other show, the conspiratorial "Homecoming," which returns next month? None of the above, I suspect. Like the world itself, the job is now wide open and unsafe as ever. The character who gets the gig is destined to be tortured, literally and figuratively. The police in Lagos State on Friday arrested 39 persons in a hotel for clubbing and striptease, an act which the police said violates the social distancing directive of the state and federal government. Bala Elkana, the police spokesperson in Lagos, said in a statement on Sunday that the offenders were apprehended at Idimu area of the state and would face the wrath of the law. On 24/4/2020 at about 0130hours, acting on credible intelligence, operatives from Idimu Police Station arrested 39 suspects in a hotel at Idimu, for clubbing and striptease. This is in total violation of the lockdown order and social distancing regulations, Mr Elkana said. Similarly, the state police intercepted seven interstate commercial vehicles, fully loaded with passengers, enroute to different parts of the country. Mr Elkana said a total number of 95 interstate travellers were arrested during the operation. The buses loaded passengers at Ebutte-Metta and were transporting them to Lagos Abuja, Lagos Benue and Lagos Ilorin. On 21/4/2020 at about 2000hours, acting on information, operatives from Denton Police Station arrested 95 inter States travellers at Bhojson area, Ebute Metta in seven commercial buses, the police spokesperson said. The intercepted vehicles have the following registration numbers; LG 91 BGT, Lagos to Benue; BDA 690 XA, Lagos to Abuja; BGA 86 EA, Lagos to Abuja; LSD 459 XA, Lagos to Benue; LRN 105 YR, Lagos to Ilorin; LSD 81 XX, Lagos to Ilorin and BWR 975 PN, Lagos to Abuja. The buses were impounded, the drivers and passengers were charged to Mobile Court and sentenced accordingly. In addition, 211 violators of lockdown order were arrested in different parts of the state and also charged to Court, Mr Elkana said. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has become a national TV star with his daily briefings on the state's staggering COVID-19 epidemic. It's not hard to imagine why people find Cuomo's crisis management skills an appealing contrast with Donald Trump's. But there's one crucial thing Cuomo is failing to do to protect New Yorkers: Keep the water on. From the very start of this emergency, we've been told that the most effective way to protect ourselves is to wash our hands, regularly and thoroughly. But that guidance is useless if your water has been turned off because you fell behind on your bill. That could be a reality for some families in New York, and this puts them - and all of us at profound risk. Cuomo could change that with an executive order that does three things: Stop all water shutoffs for nonpayment, restore service for those who lost it prior to the emergency, and waive all associated late fees while halting any proposed rate hikes. On March 13, Cuomo announced that private water companies had agreed to cease shutoffs. While that gets us part of the way there, these are voluntary actions that cover only privately owned utilities in the state, leaving out the 3,000 publicly owned water service providers that serve over 18 million New Yorkers. Some larger water utilities, like the one that serves New York City, already do not shut off water service as a matter of existing policy, while other cities like Binghamton and Buffalo have committed to a moratorium on shutoffs. But this still leaves tremendous gaps, and the most effective way to close them would be a ban on shutoffs from Cuomo. How serious is the water shutoff crisis? While it can be hard to track how private companies operate, we know that from 2015 through March 2019 there were an astonishing 17,000 cases where water service was terminated in Buffalo alone. And the truth is that this is a national problem that also requires Congressional leadership. A 2018 Food & Water Watch report determined that in a given year, 15 million people in the United States experienced a water shutoff due to nonpayment. The highest shutoff rates occurred in cities with higher poverty rates and more people of color the communities that are being hardest hit by COVID-19 right now. In the midst of a pandemic, lack of access to clean water can be deadly. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. That's why more than 70 New York organizations environmental and community groups as well as labor, senior, civil rights, and faith-based organizations sent a letter to Cuomo calling on him to issue an executive order that ensures every New Yorker has clean water during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, the Cuomo administration has not yet responded. Other governors have taken moves to protect water service. Several states including Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, and New Hampshire have already established moratoriums covering all public and private water systems. California, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin have gone further, requiring water systems to also proactively restore service to customers. New York is the epicenter of our national COVID-19 crisis. Making sure that we all have water is a practical and proactive way to protect New Yorkers, particularly those who are most vulnerable. Cuomo must take action to help avert further tragedy. An Indian-American nonprofit organisation has distributed 30,000 masks and other medical supplies to first responders, hospitals and county officials in Houston to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic as the city prepares for a 30-day mandate to wear a face cover in public. Sewa International's Houston chapter on Saturday distributed 30,000 masks, gloves, and 20,000 ounces of hand sanitiser in an invitation only drive-through event. In an executive order signed on Sunday, Harris county Judge Lina Hidalgo has directed all residents to wear some kind of face covering in public for 30 days, starting from Monday. It will apply for any person over the age of 10. There is a USD 1,000 fine for violating of the order. The event of distributing PPEs to about 100 agencies on Saturday was very gratifying and we will continue this drive on weekly basis, Gitesh Desai, President of the Sewa Houston chapter said. Sewa has set up eight regional non-medical helplines for a coordinated national response, to offer information and resources about travel, health, visas and visa status," he said. The helplines will also provide information about delivery of masks to first responders and those at the frontlines, delivering food, groceries, and medicines to those who need them, helping seniors in the community with medical advice and assisting stranded students with accommodation needs and food, he said. The event was attended by Houston Consul General of India Aseem Mahajan, Congresswomen Houston City Council Member Martha Castex-Tatum and Councilman Edward Pollard for Houston City Council District J. We are proud of these activities and efforts of the Indo-American organisations and individuals to support their cities and communities to combat this pandemic. "In addition to PPE distribution event, several volunteers of Indian- American organisations are providing immense support and assistance to needy Indian students and visitors who are stuck due to the current situation here, by way of lodging, free meals and PPE. Several Indian American doctors are volunteering to provide medical assistance," Indian Counsel General Mahajan said. US House Representative of 22nd Congressional District Pete Olson also presented a Certificate of congressional recognition to SEWA on April 17 for their heroic efforts in helping Texans in need during COVID-19 pandemic Achalesh Amar, Director of Disaster Relief Sewa International said, volunteers have also been busy organising webinars on a variety of health, wellbeing, travel, business, and other related issues, making and delivering masks, raising funds to buy essential PPE and to help those in distress, networking and collaborating with other community organisations to pool resources and organize delivery of services through a single-point delivery system." He said that the organisation is also engaged in setting up a national convalescent blood plasma registry to help those seeking blood plasma transfusion and to enable those who have recovered from the infection to register to donate their blood plasma. Sewa International has raised over USD 500,000 already and seeks to raise USD 3.5 million to help facilitate this work over the next few months," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Select the Somerset County Athlete of the Week for Jan. 3-7 GREENWICH One day before the Board of Estimate and Taxation was expected to make steep cuts to the proposed 2020-21 municipal budget, parents rallied Sunday outside of Town Hall to demand no cuts in the school spending plan. A procession of more than 150 cars passed Greenwich Town Hall, horns blaring, while riders inside held signs that said Save our schools, Dont cut educational funding, our kids cant afford it and Our kids shouldnt pay for your cuts. The half-hour protest reached high decibel levels and tied up traffic on Field Point Road, drawing police to the scene to ensure emergency vehicle access. The BET members will meet at 9 a.m. Monday to vote on the proposed $459 million municipal budget and are expected to reduce the towns operating and capital plans to reflect economic conditions changed by the coronavirus outbreak. The town is anticipating nearly $6 million in lost revenue and lost state grants. Last week, several members of the Representative Town Meeting demanded budget reductions to lower the proposed 1.35 percent increase in the mill rate that had been planned before the pandemic arrived. Cuts are expected in the proposed $166 million school budget. Discussions to date have indicated that cut could range from $700,000 to $3 million. The BET has multiple levers at their disposal to address the towns revenue concerns for next year, said Caroline Lerum, one of the parent organizers who put the protest together. What this means is they dont need to cut next years school budget by $3 million. That cut is very meaningful to a school budget that is already under-allocated in the current year. This can have ramifications for years to come, whereas other methods to address the revenue deficit can spread the impact much more equitably. Protest participants included Robert and Harriette James, who were concerned about the impact the cuts could have on classroom size at Parkway School, and on class sizes across the district. Our kids, especially at this age, are our future, Harriette James said. Cuts this drastic should not be made in education. Its unacceptable and the people on (the BET) dont have any kids in the public school system. Why on earth are they even making this decision? The two caucuses of the BET did not agree on how deep to cut the school budget. BET Chair Michael Mason, a Republican, said Friday he would like to see budgets for all town departments reduced to the levels of the current fiscal year. For the school budget, that would be a reduction to $163 million, a cut of a little over $3 million. BET member Leslie Moriarty, chair of the Democratic Caucus, said her caucus will propose a $700,000 reduction to the school budget as part of a package of $2 million in cuts to town department expenses. Moriarty said Sunday the Democratic caucus was in unanimous opposition to the $3 million cut. We stand squarely in support of Greenwich parents and our superintendent of schools, Moriarty said. We recognize the (coronavirus) is having a profound impact on town finances and residents. Thus we have proposed significant operating and capital project reductions to address this changing environment. This proposal keeps the mill rate flat to last year without fundamentally damaging our schools with lasting consequences for our students. As the BET majority, Republicans have the power of a tie-breaking vote on all deadlocked issues. Mason said on Sunday that the BETs responsibility is not to deal just with the immediate impact of the outbreak, but also on the economic fallout anticipated in future years. I believe the Board of Education has lots of alternatives they can utilize without there having to be any impact (from spending reductions) on the students, Mason said. The Board of Education, like all town departments, put together a budget for business as usual going forward. But we dont know when were going to be able to get back to business as usual again. On Thursday, Board of Education Chair Peter Bernstein said cuts to the school budget would be a reflection of the economic reality of the times were living in and said Superintendent of Schools Toni Jones and the administration would be guided in their work by creating the least amount of impact on teaching and learning in the classroom. Sundays protest included at least two members of the Board of Education, Kathleen Stowe and Karen Hirsh. Stowe said the school board understands the need for belt tightening, and the administration is looking for savings, but a $3 million cut will negatively impact our students. Hirsh, a former president of the PTA Council, said supporting the academic development and wellbeing of students is more important than usual because the closure of school buildings has left many students going into next year with major gaps in their education. We are all aware that our town does not have unlimited funds, especially now, but these arent really dollar signs we are discussing, these are our childrens futures, Hirsh said. kborsuk@greenwichtime.com The BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government has decided to have a separate 'Happiness Department' and use its services to reduce the stress of coronavirus patients and boost the morale of those at the forefront of the battle against the disease. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, during his previous tenure, set up the 'Anand Vibhag' (happiness department) in 2016. But, after the Congress came to power in the state in 2018, it merged the happiness department with the 'Adhyatmik Vibhag' (spiritual department). Now, Chouhan has directed the state officials to demerge it, and engage the Happiness Department in the fight against COVID-19. The chief minister has said those infected by coronavirus should be treated in a joyous environment, and emphasised the need to boost their morale and entertain them to reduce their stress, a state public relations department official said. During a review meeting on the coronavirus situation on Saturday, Chouhan said music, films, inspirational messages and entertaining programmes should be allowed through audio- visual means at COVID-19 hospitals and quarantine centres, the official said quoting the chief minister. Also, efforts should be made to boost the morale of the staff engaged in the fight against coronavirus, so that they can work without any stress, the chief minister said. For this, the Happiness Department needs to be demerged and its services be taken, he said. However, the opposition Congress said the BJP-led state government has "failed" in the battle against COVID-19 and it should rather focus on handling the situation better. "This is a publicity stunt. The death rate of COVID-19 patients in Madhya Pradesh is among the highest in the country. The BJP government should rather focus on increasing the testing facilities and provide necessary equipment to the medical centres," former state minister P C Sharma, who had earlier held charge of the spiritual department, told PTI. Happiness will be there when people survive, he said. "This department was there but it was merged with the spiritual department. But, this is not an issue. The BJP regime has miserably failed in the fight against COVID-19," the Congress leader said. On the other hand, BJP state vice president Rameshwar Sharma said his party is focussing on bringing happiness in the lives of people. "The entire world is praising India for its efforts to contain COVID-19. The Congress is full of hopeless leaders, while the BJP is hopeful and focussing on happiness of people," he said. "Our hope will bring happiness in the lives of people, the BJP MLA said, claiming that Chouhan's efforts during one month after becoming the chief minister brought good results in the fight against coronavirus. The Congress did nothing till March 20 (the day when Kamal Nath resigned as chief minister) to contain the spread of coronavirus in the state, he alleged. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi: Basava Jayanti marks the birth anniversary of Lord Basavanna, the 12th-century poet-philosopher, and the founding saint of the Lingayat faith. The festival is observed by people of the Lingayat community mostly in Karnataka and parts of Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh with much fanfare. This year, however, the celebrations have been marred by the deadly coronavirus pandemic. On this day, people exchange greetings, meet each other and remember Lord Basavanna, recite his teachings and vachanas. The objective of the festival is to pass the message of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (universal brotherhood). His message found expression in the form of Vachanas that define a new way of looking at God and life. Long before the concept of people's participation in decision took root in Europe, the Indian saint also built the world's first Parliament, that also gave equal representation to women. Basavanna staunchly believed in a caste-less society where each individual had equal opportunity to rise up in life. To give force to the noble mission, he conceptualised Anubhava Mantapa an academy of mystics, saints and philosophers of the Lingayata faith and acted as the fountainhead of thoughts on common human values and ethics. Presided over another great mystic Allama Prabhu, the Anubhava Mantapa also had numerous Sharanas people from the lower strata of society as participants. Basavanna himself joined as a participant in the Anubhava Mantapa with other greats like Akka Mahadevi and Channabasavanna. Basava Jayanthi is observed as a holiday in Karnataka. It has been one whole year since Tony Stark somehow managed to get hold of the Infinity Stones from Thanos Gauntlet, snapped his fingers to decimate the Mad Titan and his army while ending one of the greatest superhero sagas of all time on an extremely heartbreaking note. Marvel Studios The image of life draining out of Starks half-burnt face after he makes the ultimate sacrifice continues to haunt me every time I talk or write about the movie and it only goes on to show what a wonderful job they did with the finale, despite multiple loopholes in the plot. In order to celebrate the imperfect masterpiece that Avengers: Endgame was and will continue to be, here are five moments from the film we can watch on repeat forever: 10. Clints Family Gets Blown In Dust The Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for its quirkiness and the fact that nobody significant and a loved one truly died in the movies before Endgame. However, the audience was in for a surprise when in the first few minutes of the film, Clint Bartons entire family gets decimated with Hawkeye hopelessly looking for them. That was arguably the most impactful way to get the ball rolling and have the audience invested from the beginning. 9. I Went For The Head One of the many callbacks from Avengers: Infinity War has Thor slicing off a beat-up Thanos head clean off his shoulders. I went for the head, he says after one swift motion with his Stormbreaker with blank eyes and uncertainty in his voice. He knew that killing Thanos would not bring back those who were gone in the blip but he wanted to do it nonetheless. 8. Fat Alcoholic Thor The transformation of the Mighty Thor into this beer-guzzling homeless-looking man who hid the deepest of his sorrows behind alcohol, Fortnite and dry humour was funny and sad at the same time somehow. From cursing the hell out of Noob Master 69 to emotionally breaking down as soon as Banner mentions Thanos name, the scene was simply brilliant. Oh and Thor: Ragnarok cult favourites Korg and Miek make their cameos here so, thats a plus point too. 7. Hail Hydra When Captain America relives the epic elevator scene from Captain America: Winter Soldier after travelling back in time to get the sceptre with the Mind Stone, he blew the minds of casual MCU fans when he said Hail Hydra in Jasper Sitwells ear. However, the more dedicated comic book fans instantly got the reference MCU made to the 2017 comic Captain America: Steve Rogers No. 1 at the end of which Rogers comes out as a double-agent working for Hydra. As you could have guessed, the storyline wasnt received nicely by the readers but the MCU managed to make good use of it nonetheless. 6. Tony Hugs Peter When Banner reverses the blip and Tony and Peter finally reunite on the battlefront, Ironman goes ahead and hugs him, relieved that he is back. Mr Stark, I dont feel so good, hed said to Tony during Infinity War just before he was turned to dust and now he was here, chatty as always. The hug was also a callback to Spider-Man: Homecoming in which Tony tells Pete were not there yet, when he tries to hug him in the car. Well, now they were. 5. I Love You 3000 The dialogue that became the best way of expressing how much you love someone, Morgan Stark telling Tony that she loved him 3000 was the very reason why he didnt want to change anything from their present by going back in the past. He loved his daughter and was afraid of losing her because of the Time Heist. After everything is over and Pepper and Morgan receive a pre-recorded message from Tony, he tells his daughter I love you 3000, and that was the end of Ironman and it was perfect. 4. Captain America Lifts The Mjolnir During the final fight scene of Endgame, Rogers easily picks up Thors Mjolnir, a magical weapon which could only be used by someone worthy. I knew it, Thor whispers with a smile as the hammer flies back into the hands of Captain America. Another callback from numerous comics of the past and MCUs Avengers: Age of Ultron in which Rogers manages to slightly move the hammer when Thor challenges him. 3. Avengers, Assemble This moment created one of the loudest pops in the cinema theatre world over. After Professor Hulk managed to bring back everyone to the world, Doctor Strange and his supporters opened portals between Wakanda and the Avengers Headquarters where the battle was taking place and everyone came back to unite for the final showdown. In the forefront was Steve Rogers, who finally said AVENGERS, ASSEMBLE and the fans lost their cool. 2. Captain America Gets That Dance, After All At the end of the film, Rogers decided to go back in time and live it with Peggy Carter, the timeless love of his life. The final scene shows just the two of them dancing to 1945s wartime classic Its Been a Long, Long Time. They had talked about dancing with each other at the end of Captain America: The First Avenger, just before Rogers crashed his plane to protect the people of New York from a giant explosion. Now, they finally got to live the life they deserved. 1. I Am Ironman When Doctor Strange looks at Tony and raises his finger, Tony knew that this was that one moment in which he would have to sacrifice himself for the greater good of life in the entire universe. He grabs onto Thanos and manages to get the Infinity Stones. And just before he snaps his fingers back to make things right, he says And I am... Ironman. Thanos, admitting his defeat, sits in his spot waiting for the wind to blow him away in thin air. Marvel Studios The snap which almost took away Hulks entire arm, has definitely overpowered Tonys body but he still somehow manages to say his goodbyes to Pepper and Peter, two people who were closest to him. Everyone in the audience had tears in their eyes, it was one of the best scenes of the film and has the potential to make you cry even today, a whole year later. Artbags.biz scored 50 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2.5/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 9 Jan 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. artbags.biz is very popular in Facebook. It is liked by 28 people on Facebook. The total number of people who shared the artbags homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the artbags homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if artbags has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the artbags homepage on Delicious. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the artbags homepage on Twitter + the total number of artbags followers (if artbags has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the artbags homepage on StumbleUpon. Basic Information PAGE TITLE Art Bags | Where Fashion Meets Science DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The title found in the head section of the homepage. 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The URL of the found Facebook page. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND FOLLOWING the completion of the construction works of Bayanihan Cebu SHS Field Center on April 22, 2020, the facility has been officially turned over to the Department of Health (DOH)-Central Visayas, who will oversee and run the operations. The Bayanihan Cebu SHS Field Center can accommodate 50 beds and will be manned by medical workers and staff selected and trained by DOH-Central Visayas with its team of medical consultants. Now efforts are currently underway to begin construction at the Bayanihan Cebu IEC Field Center located along Pope John Paul II Avenue, Cebu City. The Bayanihan Cebu IEC Field Center, which has a bigger capacity of approximately 200 beds, will likewise be converted into an enclosed fully air-conditioned Negative Air Pressure facility. The Bayanihan Cebu Field Centers are quarantine facilities overseen and run by the DOH-Central Visayas that are designated to accommodate mild and moderate positive Covid-19 patients who may not have the resources and facilities to self-isolate. It will contain enclosed fully air-conditioned Negative Air Pressure shelter bays equipped with medical-grade HEPA filters that clean the air coming out of each bay. This ensures the utmost safety for the patients, frontliners and staff, as well as of all the neighbouring communities. The Bayanihan Cebu movement is a multi-sectoral partnership between the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV), Regional Development Council-Central Visayas, DOHCentral Visayas, Sacred Heart School Ateneo de Cebu, Society of Jesus of the Philippines, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu, Cebu Caritas, Inc., LH Foundation, Inc., and Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. On the other hand, the Bayanihan Cebu PH initiative is a private sector-led information and coordination effort with the objective of helping bridge donations and support coming from different individuals, groups or organizations intended to support the Bayanihan Cebu Field Centers in Cebu. The group endeavors that amidst all the efforts to assist our medical frontliners and quarantined patients in their time of need, the Filipino bayanihan spirit will continue to shine brightly through the darkness of this most menacing pandemic. (PR) WASHINGTONU.S. President Donald Trumps erratic handling of the coronavirus outbreak, the worsening economy and a cascade of ominous public and private polling have Republicans increasingly nervous that they are at risk of losing the presidency and the Senate if Trump does not put the country on a radically improved course. The scale of the GOPs challenge has crystallized in the last week. With 26 million Americans now having filed for unemployment benefits, Trumps standing in states that he carried in 2016 looks increasingly wobbly: new surveys show him trailing significantly in battleground states like Michigan and Pennsylvania, and he is even narrowly behind in must-win Florida. Democrats raised substantially more money than Republicans did in the first quarter in the most pivotal congressional races, according to recent campaign finance reports. And while Trump is well ahead in money compared with the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, Democratic donors are only beginning to focus on the general election, and several super political action committees plan to spend heavily on behalf of him and the party. Perhaps most significantly, Trumps single best advantage as an incumbent his access to the bully pulpit has effectively become a platform for self-sabotage. His daily news briefings on the coronavirus outbreak are inflicting grave damage on his political standing, Republicans believe, and his recent remarks about combating the virus with sunlight and disinfectant were a breaking point for a number of senior party officials. On Friday evening, Trump conducted only a short briefing and took no questions, a format that a senior administration official said was being discussed as the best option for the president going forward. Glen Bolger, a longtime Republican pollster, said the landscape for his party had become far grimmer compared with the pre-virus plan to run almost singularly around the countrys prosperity. With the economy in free-fall, Republicans face a very challenging environment, and its a total shift from where we were a few months ago, Bolger said. Democrats are angry, and now we have the foundation of the campaign yanked out from underneath us. Trumps advisers and allies have often blamed external events for his most self-destructive acts, such as his repeated outbursts during the two-year investigation into his campaigns dealings with Russia. Now there is no such explanation and, so far, there have been exceedingly few successful interventions regarding Trumps behaviour at the podium. Rep. Tom Cole said the president had to change his tone and offer more than a campaign of grievance. You got to have some hope to sell people, Cole said. But Trump usually sells anger, division and were the victim. There are still more than six months until the election, and many Republicans are hoping that the dynamics of the race will shift once Biden is thrust back into the campaign spotlight. At that point, they believe, the race will not simply be the up-or-down referendum on the president it is now, and Trump will be able to more effectively sell himself as the person to rebuild the economy. We built the greatest economy in the world; Ill do it a second time, Trump said earlier this month, road-testing a theme he will deploy in the coming weeks. Still, a recent wave of polling has fuelled Republican anxieties, as Biden leads in virtually every competitive state. The surveys also showed Republican senators in Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina and Maine trailing or locked in a dead heat with potential Democratic rivals in part because their fate is linked to Trumps job performance. If incumbents in those states lose and Republicans pick up only the Senate seat in Alabama, Democrats would take control of the chamber should Biden win the presidency. Hes got to run very close for us to keep the Senate, Charles Black, a veteran Republican consultant, said of Trump. Ive always thought we were favoured to, but I cant say that now with all these cards up in the air. Republicans were taken aback this past week by the results of a 17-state survey commissioned by the Republican National Committee. It found the president struggling in the Electoral College battlegrounds and likely to lose without signs of an economic rebound this fall, according to a party strategist outside the RNC who is familiar with the polls results. The Trump campaigns own surveys have also shown an erosion of support, according to four people familiar with the data, as the coronavirus remains the No. 1 issue worrying voters. Polling this early is, of course, not determinative: in 2016, Hillary Clinton also enjoyed a wide advantage in many states well before November. Yet, Trumps best hope to win a state he lost in 2016, Minnesota, also seems increasingly challenging. A Democratic survey taken by Sen. Tina Smith showed the president trailing by 10 percentage points there, according to a Democratic strategist who viewed the poll. The private data of the two parties is largely mirrored by public surveys. Just last week, three Pennsylvania polls and two Michigan surveys were released showing Trump losing outside the margin of error. And a pair of Florida polls were released that showed Biden enjoying a slim advantage in a state that is all but essential for Republicans to retain the presidency. To some in the party, this feels all too similar to the last time they held the White House. In 2006, anger at former president George W. Bush and unease with the Iraq War propelled Democrats to reclaim Congress; two years later they captured the presidency thanks to the same anti-incumbent themes and an unexpected crisis that accelerated their advantage: the economic collapse of 2008. The two elections were effectively a single continuous rejection of Republican rule as some in the GOP fear 2018 and 2020 could become in a worst-case scenario. It already feels very similar to the 2008 cycle, said Billy Piper, a Republican lobbyist and former chief of staff to Sen. Mitch McConnell. Significant questions remain that could tilt the outcome of this election: whether Americans experience a second wave of the virus in the fall, the condition of the economy and how well Biden performs after he emerges from his Wilmington, Del., basement, which many in his party are privately happy to keep him in so long as Trump is fumbling as he governs amid a crisis. But if Republicans are comforted by the uncertainties that remain, they are alarmed by one element of this election that is already abundantly clear: the small-dollar fundraising energy Democrats enjoyed in the midterms has not abated. Most of the incumbent House Democrats facing competitive races enjoy a vast financial advantage over Republican challengers, who are struggling to garner attention as the virus overwhelms news coverage. Still, few officials in either party believed the House was in play this year. There was also similar skepticism about the Senate. Then the virus struck, and fundraising reports covering the first three months of this year were released in mid-April. Republican senators facing difficult races were not only all outraised by Democrats, they were also overwhelmed. In Maine, for example, Sen. Susan Collins brought in $2.4 million (U.S.), while her little-known rival, House Speaker Sara Gideon, raised more than $7 million. Even more concerning to Republicans is lesser-known Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Republican officials are especially irritated at Tillis because he has little small-dollar support and raised only $2.1 million, which was more than doubled by his Democratic opponent. These Senate first-quarter fundraising numbers are a serious wake-up call for the GOP, said Scott Reed, the top political strategist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Republican Senate woes come as anger toward Trump is rising from some of the partys most influential figures on Capitol Hill. After working closely with Senate Republicans at the start of the year, some of the partys top congressional strategists say the handful of political advisers Trump retains have communicated little with them since the health crisis began. In a campaign steered by Trump, whose rallies drove fundraising and data harvesting, the centre of gravity has of late shifted to the White House. His campaign headquarters will remain closed for another few weeks, and West Wing officials say the presidents campaign manager, Brad Parscale, hasnt been to the White House since last month, though he is in touch by phone. Then there is the presidents conduct. In just the last week, he has undercut the efforts of his campaign and his allies to attack Biden on China; suddenly proposed a halt on immigration; and said governors should not move too soon to reopen their economies a week after calling on protesters to liberate their states. And that was all before his digression into the potential healing powers of disinfectants. Republican lawmakers have gone from watching his lengthy daily briefings with a tight-lipped grimace to looking upon them with horror. Any of us can be onstage too much, said longtime Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon, noting that theres a burnout factor no matter who you are; youve got to think about that. Privately, other party leaders are less restrained about the political damage they believe Trump is doing to himself and Republican candidates. One prominent GOP senator said the nightly sessions were so painful he could not bear watching any longer. I would urge the president to focus on the positive, all that has been done and how we are preparing for a possible renewal of the pandemic in the fall, said Rep. Peter King. Asked about concerns over Trumps briefings, the White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, said, Millions and millions of Americans tune in each day to hear directly from President Trump and appreciate his leadership, unprecedented coronavirus response, and confident outlook for Americas future. Trumps thrashing about partly reflects his frustration with the virus and his inability to slow Bidens rise in the polls. Its also an illustration of his broader inability to shift the public conversation to another topic, something he has almost always been able to do when confronted with negative storylines ranging from impeachment proceedings to payouts to adult film stars. Trump is also restless. Administration officials said they were looking to resume his travel in as soon as a week, although campaign rallies remain distant for now. As they look for ways to regain the advantage, some Republicans believe the party must mount an immediate ad campaign blitzing Biden, identifying him to their advantage and framing the election as a clear choice. If Trump is the issue, he probably loses, said Black, the consultant. If he makes it about Biden and the economy is getting better, he has a chance. Read more about: Your browser does not support the audio element. It might strike people as a job for risk-taking men, but being a private investigator has attracted Vietnamese women, some of whom have had braved the job despite dangers and physical demands. We feel happy to have helped rebellious children to come around and troubled couples to kiss and make up, said Chau Loan, a detective with over a decade of experience. But we definitely will not harm people or break the laws. Your correspondent met with Chau Loan at her office. She looks younger than her age, with a bright complexion and an attractive face. Perhaps that much experience has given her a pair of eyes that seemingly pierce peoples minds. A dangerous job Loan graduated from the University of Commerce in Hanoi, with a degree in accounting. Her parents urged her to apply for a civil servant position for its financial stability. They also believed that such an option would be easy for her to get married, but she thought otherwise. It happened over a friendly ice cream cone she was having with a friend when the keen detective story reader Loan came across a vacancy poster seeking private investigators. Intrigued, the two filed their application forms and both got admitted. While her friend left the place after several years, Loan has stayed put until now. The best part of this job is that I get to know lots of good diners and coffee places, Loan funnily remarked. Female detectives are generally better treated than their male counterparts. They are often assigned jobs that are less challenging or risky, but not entirely without danger. Once Loan was entrusted to track a loan shark who originally came from Hai Phong, a city in the north of Vietnam. He settles in Hanoi with his wife, who hired private investigators to watch her husbands suspicious behaviors. The gangster has been associated with drug trade, street weapon fights, usury, and lease debt collection. His minions are ready to spill blood on his command. The detective team had to divide their tasks and watched the man from different locations to avoid being spotted on the job. While Loan was tailing him on her motorbike to Tay Mo Ward, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi, the man suddenly parked his bike and started walking after driving around places. Loan had no choice but to get off the bike and walk, but she lost him and found herself in the middle of nowhere. There was nobody around, and the road was as far as the eye could see, full of tombs located on both sides. With her hair standing on end, she tried to find a way out. All of a sudden, a rough hand grabbed her on the shoulder. Startled, she turned around to find the gangster eying her with disgust, asking, Why are you following me? Hey! I dont know you, she quickly replied. Why would I be following you? Im looking for a woman named Bich. She sells cats for a living in To Village. Do you know her? The man murmured a few words and then left. Loan had to signal her colleagues to take her place. Had she been exposed, the female detective would have been in grave danger, and the contract would have been lost, not to mention what might have happened to the very client who had hired their team. A female detective is seen undercover on her job. Photo: Vu Tuan / Tuoi Tre The upper hand However, those in the field understand the advantage that women have in tasks like tracking people down. A few years ago, one of Loans male colleagues got arrested and taken to the local police station while he was on duty, for villagers thought he was a dog thief. He was assigned to a village where lots of dogs had been stolen. The detective disguised himself in shabby clothes to sniff around the neighborhood. One of the locals found this wandering man rather suspicious, so he yelled at the unsuspecting young man, who lost his cool and got captured by the villagers. Female detectives normally attract less attention, but they also have to work late just like their male colleagues. In their handbags, there are always extra clothing and footwear for quick attire changing. They would dress up nicely when entering an office building or a supermarket, and would switch to slippers when they have to start walking. Loan said she is lucky to have an empathetic husband and parents-in-law. Had they protested it, she would not be doing the job by now. The longest business trip in her career was one to Ho Chi Minh City. She was assigned to investigate a company suspected of making bogus mobile beds and hammock stands. She pretended to be seeking for a job in accounting and collected evidence while she was on the job. It turned out that the company under investigation was copying her clients ideas and making identical products. The detective gathered video clips, relevant documentation, locations of warehouses as well as information on loading dates, and sent everything back to her headquarters. Meanwhile, her co-detectives were tailing their trucks to figure out their sources of goods and distribution process. The female chameleon My Hang was a colleague of Chau Loan. She is a master of disguise. She affirmed that without the ability to disguise oneself, it is impossible to work as a detective. In her opinion, a professional investigator must not be spotted even if they are sitting right next to their target on the same train bench. One evening when she was following a rich businessman, she had to think on her feet when the target suddenly stopped by a disco bar. He became drunk and got his eyes fixed on beautiful young girls. The detective quickly dressed herself up, and lured the man into her trap. He asked for her phone number, and through the text messages she could get all the information she needed. It still scares me to think of that moment. I could never believe I could take such a big risk, Hang said. Some shall not pass To Hang, the biggest success of the job was to catch her caring husband. He was her co-worker, who rushed to her aid when she was scared to death. Their first meeting was a late night when Hang was following a target. As the clock struck midnight, she was terrified to realize she was in a cemetery on her own. After her distress call to headquarters, a handsome investigator arrived and took over the mission so she could head home. They got married and have lived happily together ever since. But other female investigators are not so lucky in their family life. Tuyet, for example, almost lost her marriage after her fiance saw her and a colleague checking in at a hotel. They were, in fact, tracking their targets. It was a mess both for her and the company, and it ended in Tuyet leaving the office for the sake of her own family happiness. Her detective agency has had a high turnover. Some quitted as the job was too tough, while others could not continue due to familial issues. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Falling oil prices could be great for motorists when the COVID-19 pandemic ends and people again feel like hitting the road, but cheap oil could be bad for exports of plastic pellets called nurdles from the Port of Charleston and elsewhere. Crude is one source of raw material for making the pea-sized plastic pellets. Natural gas is another. When oil prices are high, foreign markets look to U.S. producers using a byproduct of cheap natural gas called ethane to make pellets that are transformed into thousands of everyday household items. There's been a roughly 40 percent boom in pellet exports from the U.S. in recent years and Gulf Coast refineries are building a half-dozen new plants to make the pellets. But the crash in oil prices futures traded in negative territory last week combined with the coronavirus-related economic slowdown could dampen demand and make it cheaper for Asian producers using oil to make pellets for foreign markets. Research group IHS Markit said in April that U.S. resin exports would drop by roughly 9 percent in 2020 from last year's 872,995 cargo boxes measured in 20-foot increments. That prediction was made before oil prices took a dive. If oil prices remain less than $20 a barrel, it "absolutely challenges and changes the equation in the near term of North American competitiveness," Joel Morales Jr., executive director of polyolefins for North America at IHS MarkitMorales told JOC.com in a report this month. Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the State Ports Authority, is counting on plastic pellets as a key export commodity for Charleston's port. While most of the pellets move through ports in Houston and New Orleans, producers have been looking to Charleston and Savannah as secondary export sites, both as a hedge against Gulf Coast hurricanes and to add capacity. A pair of companies that move and package rail cars full of pellets A&R Logistics in Goose Creek and Frontier Logistics in North Charleston are building transload facilities to move more pellets to Charleston's port. They join smaller Charleston-area logistics firms Mid-States Packaging and A&R Bulk-Pac, which specialize in transloading plastic pellets. Newsome said there is about 10 million tons of capacity coming online at U.S. refineries through 2023. He expects 2 million tons will go to Southeast ports, with Charleston getting about half of the total roughly 50,000 containers full. Charleston's port has already seen plenty of growth in plastics. In 2017, the port shipped nearly 86,900 tons of plastic pellets worth $102 million to foreign markets, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Last year, those shipments totaled more than 422,411 tons worth nearly $405 million. Newsome admits he questioned the impact on the port's plastics business as oil prices plummeted last week. But he thinks Charleston's established transload hubs combined with a surplus of empty cargo containers available for exports something many ports can't boast will help the port maintain its market share. "Our opinion is that we are on track to realize the targeted volumes for the packagers that have a presence here," he said. "We are not forecasting a decline at this point. In fact, we think container supply will be an issue that works in our favor." Coronavirus update: The total number of coronavirus cases has now reached 26,496 with the death toll at 824. Total active cases in India is now at 19,868 with 5,803 people who have recovered from COVID-19 as per the latest data shared by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. A total of 1990 fresh cases was reported in the last 24 hours with 49 deaths. Total 811 new cases are reported in Maharashtra in the last few hours bringing the total tally to 7,628 with 323 deaths and 1076 people cured. Followed by Gujarat with 3,071 cases and 133 deaths, Delhi with 2,625 cases with 54 deaths, Madhya Pradesh 2,096 cases, and Rajasthan with 2083 cases. As per government data, 5,803 people are cured of coronavirus taking Indias overall rate of recovery to 20.88%. Further, the Center has also relaxed lockdown measures by allowing the shops to reopen for business to boost the economy barring malls. As per the order, the shops are allowed to function with 50% of staff. Further, the Home Ministry has also asked the sale of non-essential commodities through e-commerce platforms should also shut. Globally, coronavirus has affected more than 29 lakh people with the death toll near 2 lakh as per the reports. United States has alone recorded 9 lakh cases with the death toll above 53,000. Further, Spain has recorded 223,759 cases, Italy with 195,351 cases and France has 161,644 COVID-19 cases. Also Read: Coronavirus: Health Ministry says growth in positive cases declined to 6% in 24 hours, lowest since March There has been a spike of 1990 new COVID19 positive cases & 49 deaths in the last 24 hours: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare https://t.co/8N2QhXDY96 ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 World Health Organization has also warned the countries that the people who have recovered from coronavirus might hit with the virus again. In the statement, the UN body said that there is no evidence that the people who have recovered are safe from the second infection. For all the latest National News, download NewsX App Actor and musical star Nolan Frederick has died, with tributes pouring in across social media for the stage star. Frederick, who was in the original cast of Rent, had a huge number of stage credits including Cats, Ragtime, Starlight Express, The Lion King, La Cage Aux Folles, Gone With the Wind, Kiss Me, Kate, Bat Boy, Me and My Girl, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and The Pajama Game. Frederick's agency Hilary Gagan Associates said today: "We will miss this special man so much. Nolan so enjoyed his life in the business and everyone he worked alongside will have their own special memories. He came into our lives thirty-odd years ago when he was finishing Cats and was a great client and became a great friend. He was kind and thoughtful, generous and funny and we loved him. "His performances always made their mark and he was a delight to have both in a company and in the world too. His ill health over the last couple of years was of great concern but somehow he came through each stage with renewed confidence so it was with great sadness that we learnt that he did not win this battle. Obviously at the moment we can't plan a celebration of his life but we will- in true Nolan style. Rest in painless peace our dear soul xx Hilary Gagan, Shiv and Tony." Actor Mykal Rand said today on Facebook: "Yesterday my heart was shattered with the news that my dear friend lost his long battle with cancer. Nolan Frederick you fought long and hard, but always managed to keep that wit of yours as sharp as ever. I will always remember you my friend. We shared so many good times and hard times. I love you." Dancer Arlene Wilkes said: "My dear dear friend, Keith (Nolan Frederick) passed away today. We were only 16 when we met in 1981 at the Dance Centre in Port of Spain. We instantly hit it off and have been good friends and colleagues ever since. We were Jenny's two gofers at the studio and when we weren't running errands, or training, or working in the reception, we were playing the fool, giggling and laughing. He was always such fun to be around. We called ourselves 'de boy' and 'de gyul' (and still do)." Miriam Margolyes also posted: "A sad report to my Me and My Girl Sheffield cast. Our adorable colleague. Nolan Frederick died today. He'd had cancer for a while. A brilliant, lovely man, life and love shone out of his eyes. We are all bereft. Dance on my dearest boy. A light has been extinguished far too soon. Bless his dear memory." Oh, #NolanFrederick thank you for blessing the world with your incredibly kind spirit. heaven has you now. sending love to his family and friends. heartbreaking... livevamaria (@EvaNoblezada) April 25, 2020 This clip sums up the joy and spirit and talent of this man that words could not @NOLDEBOY https://t.co/kqVezPMxlR Jemima Rooper (@CaptainPooper) April 26, 2020 So very sad to hear that Nolan Frederick - @NOLDEBOY - has passed. A much loved and respected individual in the theatre industry. pic.twitter.com/ofgSxbeAMM Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE (@KennethTharp) April 25, 2020 Deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Nolan Frederick. I worked with him on my very first job out of drama school, when I didn't really know what I was doing, and he was never anything but encouraging, supportive and absolutely lovely. A talent we were blessed to behold. Ben Deery (@benjamindeery) April 25, 2020 Seems impossible that I'm writing this message. Can't express just how much you will be missed @NOLDEBOY I know I wouldn't be the person I am today had I not met you. Heaven just got angel, one thats gonna jumping into the splits with a gin and tonic in hand. Love you man pic.twitter.com/OM7a8moHZp Kadiff Kirwan (@kadiffkirwan) April 25, 2020 So sad to hear about the passing of #NolanFrederick he was the kindest, most generous soul to ever grace a stage. His talent and his spirit will be greatly missed. My thoughts go out to his family and loved ones. graham norton (@grahnort) April 25, 2020 Just absolutely heartbreaking. An honour to have toured the country with you. REST WELL MY FRIEND. pic.twitter.com/G76q18CfVQ Dean John-Wilson (@DeanJohnWilson) April 25, 2020 Not going to lie, I'm a little bit broken to hear of Nolan Frederick's passing. The consummate gentleman on and off stage, everyone who met him loved him. The world was a richer place with you in it. xx Emma Williams (@Williamstweet) April 25, 2020 My heart hurts to hear of the passing of Nolan Frederick what a beautiful soul he was and a true Gentleman. Completely devastated. Sending love to his family and friends. Rest in Peace Nolan. Maisey Bawden (@MaiseyBawden) April 25, 2020 RIP @NOLDEBOY . It's devastating news. I loved him, for his extraordinary talent, his wicked sense of humour and his huge, huge heart. He was the very best of us. My love to his family and friends. He will be so sorely missed. pic.twitter.com/n3SrrwhcfS tarento productions (@danielletarento) April 25, 2020 Really sad to hear of the passing of friend Nolan Frederick. He was prolific in the theatre business because of his talent and beautiful soul #rip pic.twitter.com/z5mOAWml9B Joe McFadden (@mrjoemcfadden) April 25, 2020 I have a bloody big pain in my heart as I have just learned the beautiful, funny, charismatic, charming, outrageous, talented & KIND #NolanFrederick has passed away. There's just not enough lights in the West End to dim in his honour. I'll miss you old friend #RIPNolanFrederick pic.twitter.com/oUNhNaVAV1 Andrew Keates (@andrewkeates) April 25, 2020 I'm so sorry to hear the awful news about the loss of Nolan Frederick. We met up again after the @MissSaigonUK reunion. He will be so missed. An absolute joy to work with on #PajamaGame. A huge talent and a lovely man. #RIP pic.twitter.com/Nf1VWi0pJG Peter Polycarpou (@polywallydoodle) April 25, 2020 Shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of #NolanFrederick What a gentleman. Thank you @NOLDEBOY for all the laughs and love, you always brightened every room you were in. Sending love and prayers to his family and friends. Raj Ghatak (@RajGhatak) April 25, 2020 Sad to hear of the passing of NOLAN FREDERICK, always such a sunny face in theatreland, seen here in RAGTIME at @CharingCrossThr in 2016. pic.twitter.com/7aLwOSCMIQ Mark Shenton (@ShentonStage) April 25, 2020 Raising a glass to beautiful beautiful Nolan Frederick. Heartbreaking news. RIP dear friend. X Ian Conningham (@IanConningham) April 25, 2020 So sad to hear about the passing of Nolan Frederick. One of the real good guys. Sleep well my friend xxxxx Simon Bailey (@SimonBailey1210) April 25, 2020 RIP #nolanfrederick . I remember watching him years back in La Cage Aux Folles. What a fabulous guy. Sending love to his family and friends. Luke Attwood (@LukeAttwood2) April 26, 2020 A wonderful human @NOLDEBOY our #NolanFredrick left us today, honestly one of the warmest & kindest of us all. A champion since I left college, full of humour and so talented. I'm devastated to hear you have left us. Much much love and light Sleep well lovely man. pic.twitter.com/2iCBbtJrLw Nathan Amzi (@theamzi) April 25, 2020 Rest in peace @NOLDEBOY. Our huge loss is heavens gain. Cassie Compton (@CassiCompton) April 26, 2020 The immense talent of Nolan Frederick RIP https://t.co/lY7lkvqR5a Claire Sweeney (@clairesweeney) April 26, 2020 Nolan Frederick was a rare humble heart in this industry. Old school, kind and talented. Sending love to his family and friends. Helen Clarkson (@helenrclarkson) April 25, 2020 The West End lost a true Gentleman. RIP Nolan Frederick Khadifa Wong (@KhadifaWong) April 25, 2020 My dear friend. There are no words. I will miss you dearly. Raising a glass of martini in your memory. I love you Nolan.@NOLDEBOY pic.twitter.com/gRqmh3FHtX Jonathan Andrew Hume (@MrHume) April 25, 2020 My thoughts are with the family and loved ones of #NolanFrederick. Heartbreaking. RIP grace (@gracemouat) April 26, 2020 Really sad to wake up to the news that @NOLDEBOY died. You couldn't meet a kinder, more joyful man. He had such an infectious playful nature and always a mischievous glint in his eye. Him and Jill will be causing havoc wherever they are now. Rest in chuckles dear man. Roisine (@roisinem) April 26, 2020 @NOLDEBOY My heart is broken at the loss of you my friend. You are and will always be a legend to us. RIP sleep well. The curtain has fallen on one of the best representations of us all. pic.twitter.com/zNrLrIWwDZ Tommie Earl Jenkins (@teejaye84) April 25, 2020 @NOLDEBOY was seriously one of the GREATEST company members EVER!! Always laughing, being cheeky, loving his job. A total joy that filled every room with happiness. Theatre won't be the same with you, Nolan. Rest in peace, my friend. Michael D. Xavier (@michaelxavierUK) April 25, 2020 Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala on Sunday ruled out the opening of liquor shops in the state till at least May 3 while saying that the coronavirus lockdown will have to be lifted in a phased manner. Dushyant Chautala said in compliance with the Union Home Ministry guidelines, the state government has taken an initiative to bring economic activities to normalcy in a phased manner, for which online applications have been invited from industrial units. However, according to a statement, Chautala said everything cannot be done everywhere at the same time. So, the things have to be re-opened gradually according to the situation, he said, adding that at present, no state "favoured a complete lifting of the lockdown". It will have to be lifted gradually in a phased manner, he stressed. As far as the opening of liquor shops is concerned, these will remain closed in the state till May 3, he said, adding that state governments should not think about revenue but cooperate with the Centre to check the COVID-19 pandemic. Chautala said committees have been formed at the block, district and state levels to allow the industries, which are not in containment zones, to operate with certain conditions. Chautala, whose party JJP is a coalition partner of the BJP in Haryana, also said Haryana has done better as compared with other states to tackle the pandemic. The recovery rate of COVID-19 patients in the state is better than the national average, he said. Chautala said 'distress tokens' have been issued to needy families during the lockdown so that they could get free food items from ration shops. He said the procurement process of wheat and mustard is running smoothly and farmers were adhering to the social distancing norms. The Opposition has accused the state government of mismanagement in the procurement process. Chautala said arrangements have been made for timely payment to both farmers and arhtiyas (commission agents). As soon as the produce procured from the mandis will be lifted, payment will be made to farmers and arhtiyas, he said, adding nearly Rs 22,000 crore have been kept in reserve by the state government for the procurement of wheat. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 26) Conglomerate San Miguel Corporation has assured its employees and extended workforce that they will keep their jobs and get full-time pay during the whole enhanced community quarantine period. It said it has committed to grant full salary to all its workers, even as it serves "round the clock, mobilizing resources to help address the larger societal and economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis." "These are trying times; and while we, as a company, are not immune to the challenges of this crisis, the safety and security of our workforce will always come first. We do not want them worrying about their jobs," SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon Ang said in a statement Sunday. Ang likewise commended the service of his employees and frontliners. "I am truly proud of the hard work that you (employees), most especially our frontliners, have been doing in the midst of the challenges delivering essential goods and services that are critical in this battle. Please continue to adopt our malasakit mindset, and focus on what we, as individuals, can do to make a difference, because many are counting on us," he said. SMC has also set aside 11.67 billion in tax, concession, and contractual payments to help the administration in addressing the needs of the country amid the coronavirus crisis. We are also aware that we have a huge role to play across industries, and we are lucky to be more equipped than the rest to navigate this crisis. That said, we remain steadfast in our commitment to assist [the] government, and continue providing assistance where it's most needed," Ang stated. The company said it has already paid the government about 8.77 billion. The remaining balance from the cash aid will be remitted before the end of the quarantine, it added. Meanwhile, SMC has so far spent more than 3 billion for the full compensation with benefits of all its 66,557 employees, contract workers, and consultants. The Ramon Ang-led company has now donated over 1 billion in various forms, including cash, food, flour packs, disinfectant alcohol, fuel, free toll, and personal protective equipment (PPEs). It has also put up some quarantine facilities with the help of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, in an effort to aid healthcare frontliners in hospitals overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients due to the pandemic. Mark Ward is among the Montanans who have recovered from COVID-19. A hobby rancher tied to the daily routine of feeding cattle, he doesnt stray too far very often. In fact, he left his Ryegate property just twice in the 14 days before he showed symptoms. I have hardly been off this place, he said. But earlier in April, Ward became Golden Valley Countys first resident to test positive for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. His neighbor soon also tested positive, after helping one of Wards cows who'd gotten her head stuck between two trees. Now, the mans wife has it, too. The chore took place the day before Ward began feeling sick. Ward and his two neighbors were the only three in the county known to have the disease, as of April 24. Wards case is a reminder of how easily the virus can spread. He and his medical team arent sure whether he picked it up at the Ryegate grocery store or on a trip to Billings to get an eye injection for macular degeneration. The Billings trip took place the day before Ward came down with symptoms, making Ward doubtful it was the source. The grocery store trip was sometime earlier, but still within the two-week window, which is believed to be the incubation period for COVID-19. He was inside the store less than five minutes, and the only face-to-face conversation he had was with the owner on the other side of the checkout counter. Ward said his public health nurse even thinks it could have come from an earlier trip into Billings, 16 or 17 days before he first noticed symptoms, but his doctors at St. Vincent Healthcare disagreed. Ward, who practiced internal medicine for 26 years before retiring, still cant decide which scenario is most likely. Its also possible that his wife, Lynn, got the virus and passed it to him. Ward said while she never showed noticeable sickness, they now recall a minor sore throat and headache shed had around the time he fell ill. Although Lynn hasnt been tested, Ward and the public health department assume shes carried the virus, since the two live together and neither self-isolated in a separate bedroom. Ward said that a hospitalist at St. Vincent Healthcare, Dr. Jennifer Bigback, told him shed come across research suggesting that O positive blood, which Lynn has, might be linked to less severe symptoms from COVID-19. Wards care is overseen by Dr. David Graham, whos been managing all St. Vincent patients known or suspected of having COVID-19. Much of that job involves keeping pace with the rapidly evolving information and guidance about the disease. Every 20 minutes it seems like something is changing, he said. Graham said Wards case highlights the fact that theres no rule book on the disease. While he had some of the typical symptoms, including a fever, Ward said his bigger complaints were nausea, diarrhea, a deep weakness and severe body pain. Ive never had that much pain before, Ward said. When he finally decided he needed to get to the hospital, he couldnt walk from his bed to his truck. An ambulance drove him the 60 miles to Billings. Ward, who turned 70 earlier in April, said that after spending decades in medicine, hes accustomed to being around sickness. He felt confident hed recover. Still, the illness was serious. He ate little more than eggs and yogurt for two weeks. His appetite was diminished, and he had trouble keeping food down. After a few hours in the emergency department, Ward said he was given the go-ahead to return home. The IV fluids had perked him up considerably. But by the time Lynn pulled up in the truck, he realized he was still too weak to walk on his own. He stayed three nights. He was given supplemental oxygen on the ambulance ride in and during his stay as well. Ward had pneumonia, he learned, but said his respiratory symptoms werent severe and it was easily handled by a little oxygen. Five days after returning home, Ward still felt weak and short of breath. The illness has set him behind on his regular spring schedule: He needs to plow and seed for the hay he grows. Hes been able to keep up with other daily chores, like feeding his cows, but its left him feeling drained. "It's the sickest I've ever been," he said. Not everyone who contracts the virus shows symptoms. Most recover, but the disease can be deadly, especially among those with weakened immune systems. Known cases and deaths in the United States are showing a mortality rate of 4.3%, The New York Times reported on Friday, with a single-state high of 7% in Michigan and a state low of 0.7% in Wyoming. 14 people in Montana had died, as of Friday. Graham, Wards doctor at St. Vincent, doesnt want the public to panic hearing stories like Wards, where symptoms are serious. He said the fact that Ward recovered should be seen as a bright spot. Still, Graham wants the community to be realistic about the disease and the fact that it isnt going away anytime soon. Its something that were going to have to live with, he said. Testing is critical because the more you test, the more positives you are going to find, allowing us to isolate COVID-negative patients from positives in order to control the transmission rates, Bauer Luce said. We need to be able to implement these approaches across the board at long-term living facilities, but that starts with more testing made available to the industry. PARIS Even as suffering and sadness envelop Paris these days, there is a street that offers a respite, however brief: the Rue des Martyrs. A narrow, half-mile stretch built in the first half of the 19th century, this street proclaims no landmarks or important architecture as it cuts uphill through the Ninth and 18th Arrondissements into Montmartre. In recent years, gentrification has rolled over Rue des Martyrs without mercy. At No. 3, a shop selling high-end coffees and teas replaced a greengrocer a few months ago; the surrounding neighborhood of South Pigalle has lost many of its massage parlors and nightclubs and is so chic it now goes by SoPi, or soapy. Yet Rue des Martyrs celebrates even in crisis what remains of the intimate, human side of Paris. With more than 22,000 people dead from the coronavirus in France, and President Emmanuel Macron extending the countrys lockdown until at least May 11, the street has become more important to the neighborhood than ever. Because of a zoning law that protects small, independent artisans, the bottom part of the Rue des Martyrs is devoted mostly to small food shops. The feel here is still that of a small village. There is little danger of Majella Meehan straying beyond her two-kilometre limit when she takes exercise every day. She walks with a stick and her right leg drags slightly behind her. After a couple of hundred metres, her leg tires and she has to stop and rest. Her difficulty results from a stroke she had last year. She was in hospital for four months, before she was finally well enough to go home to Monaghan town. She had to fight for physiotherapy, at one stage writing to her local politicians to help secure an appointment. She was finally set to start six weeks of sessions last month when Covid-19 happened. Not only was her physio shelved, but her first annual check-up since her stroke has been postponed until June. Majella is worried. She is 55, relatively young, physiotherapy is essential to getting her fully mobile again. "It has not got worse, but it has not improved either. I am at a standstill," she said. "They say that with a stroke, the best recovery can be made in the first year to two years, so I would feel that the delay in physio is delaying my progress. There are only so many exercises I can do myself at home." Her worries about her leg worsening without treatment are compounded by her fear of what would happen if she got the coronavirus, given that her illness has weakened her immune system. She relies on her local stroke support group, organised through the Irish Heart Foundation, for updates on the health service that keep her sane through the coronavirus crisis. Troubling as Majella's situation is, she is one of the luckier ones. Bernie Walsh has endured a month of sleepless nights not knowing whether or when she would get an appointment for a CT scan that will confirm whether or not the cancer medication she has been on since January is actually working. Bernie, who lives in Clonee in west Dublin, said the last few weeks have been among the most stressful times in the long trajectory of her cancer journey. She has metastatic breast cancer. She was diagnosed in 2012 and after four a half-years in remission, the cancer returned. She has been on new medication since January and is desperate to know whether she is responding to it. She got an appointment with an oncologist, which is usually preceded by a CT scan but not in a world under siege from the coronavirus. When she pressed for a scan, she was told there was a priority waiting list. "I said 'you can't do this to me. I need to know that the tablets I'm on and my treatment, I need to know that it's working," she said. "There have been nights in the past few weeks when I have been up sitting in my sitting room at three in the morning," she said. "It was stress. I was just so worried." Bernie finally got her CT scan last week but won't know her results until this week. "In my head, I needed to have that scan, just to know I've had it, I'll be grand, I can continue for another three months. And if the results are bad, grand they'll have something else they can put me on - so put me on it. I just don't want it left to go that far that there is nothing anyone can do about it. And that's my fear, that's my biggest fear," she said. Her other pressing fear is Covid-19. "I am just terrified of what is going to happen now when the Taoiseach gets up there on May 5, and he might take the foot off the pedal and that's what I'm worried about," she said. "If this gets worse, which I think it will do, I think that Covid patients may take priority over me." For the stroke victim waiting for her leg to get better, life slows down. For the seriously ill cancer patient, the future becomes more uncertain. Welcome to sickness in a time of the coronavirus - patients with debilitating medical conditions who are struggling to get treatment in a health system focused on Covid-19. Hospitals have been transformed. Trolley waits are virtually eliminated. Patients who could be discharged were, wards were transformed into sealed Covid-19 hotspots and emergency departments created with Covid-19 and non-Covid pathways for patients. Read More A lot of the new efficiency is due to elective or scheduled procedures being cancelled and outpatients' clinics closed. Diagnostic tests and screening for bowel, breast and cervical cancers have been suspended, which may carry its own risks. Nevertheless, the health system is officially open for non-Covid business. GPs are begging their patients to come forward if they have symptoms. Cancer patients, critical cases and emergencies like strokes, burst appendix or people injured in car accidents, all are still being treated in hospitals. But such is the perceived fear of the coronavirus that even those with critical symptoms are not coming forward for treatment. Doctors have been asking with some disquiet: where have all the sick patients gone? They certainly haven't gone away. On March 26, 562,000 people were waiting for outpatient appointments in hospitals, an increase on 556,000 in January, according to the National Treatment Purchase Fund. More than 77,000 people were waiting for inpatient and day case procedures, up 10,000 on the numbers waiting in January 30. There are growing fears that the next wave to hit the health service may not be from Covid-19 patients, but those people who couldn't or wouldn't access treatment because of the coronavirus. "The problems we had in our health system before we had Covid-19 are still with us as we go through the pandemic, they are just not visible because patients are not coming forward for treatment," said Stephen McMahon, director of the Irish Patients Association. Right now, one of the biggest challenges for patients and doctors is the perceived fear of the coronavirus. More than 50 major cancer surgeries were performed on public patients in the private hospitals at St Vincent's and the Mater since the coronavirus took over the health system, according to Professor Donal Brennan, consultant obstetrician and gynaecological oncologist at the Mater and St Vincent's hospitals. Yet patients who should be seen are still keeping away. "We have seen patients who for a variety of different reasons have not been able to proceed with planned surgery because they have been in contact with Covid-19 cases," he said. "But we have also had patients who themselves have decided not to proceed with surgery because of this perceived risk, this perceived fear of going to the hospital." They include women who have decided not to go ahead with planned surgeries, despite medical advice, he said. Others have reported abnormal bleeding or other "high risk" symptoms that require urgent attention yet decided against treatment. One of the big tasks of the health service is to persuade the sick but terrified back into the health system. "We're going to have to learn to live with this thing. This isn't going away and we're going to have to be able to provide services for non-Covid people, alongside services for Covid patients as well," he said. For kidney patients more than most, hospitals in the time of Covid-19 can be worrying places. Dialysis patients are particularly vulnerable, according to the chief executive of the Irish Kidney Association, Mark Murphy. Around 2,000 dialysis patients attend hospitals three times a week. Even during the coronavirus pandemic, around 1,000 people a day will be "on the move" to and from dialysis units. "There is Covid-19 in some dialysis units and some of them have got it. A few have died from it, so the protection given to them has changed," he said. Fewer than 50 dialysis patients have contracted Covid-19, he said. Fifteen dialysis patients have died. The HSE says the mortality rate in this cohort is approximately 25pc. "Where they would previously have gone together in taxis, they are now going in a single car or driving themselves. They are a vulnerable group and do not do well if they get Covid," he said. "How do you stop the spread of it in a unit?" Although the coronavirus has pushed back imminent life-changing surgeries, for some families, the wait is worth it. Kerrieanne O'Sullivan had planned to donate one of her kidneys to her teenage son, William, this summer. She was due at Beaumont Hospital on April 1 to be checked over by the transplant team and all going well, William (18) was scheduled to have the transplant over the summer. Kerrianne's appointment was cancelled. It looks like William's transplant is now at least three weeks behind schedule. He and his family are optimistic, and slightly relieved. Kerrieanne says delaying "absolutely is the right thing to do" given the risks posed by the coronavirus. "William is really well. He is on peritoneal dialysis. The team in Tallaght [where he goes to a renal clinic] is brilliant. As soon as my work-up is done, and if a cancellation becomes available, we will be good to go. Once they ring us we will be there in an hour. As long as he is well and at home it's OK. It's not ideal, he is young and has renal failure but now it is about keeping him as fit, well and as healthy as possible until everything comes back around again - because it will come back around." The coronavirus has changed how patients are being treated too. Particularly patients with advanced cancers. Cancer treatments come with risks as well as benefits, said Professor John Crown, an oncologist at St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin. "In the current circumstances, however, the risk side of that equation is tilted because there's an additional risk associated with the mere fact that, before you get the treatment at all, there's a risk associated with leaving your house, your isolation, your cocoon and coming into a hospital," he said. Doctors are also "easing off" on the more intense treatments to decrease a patient's risk of ending up in what is possibly a dangerous hospital emergency room suffering from side effects. But the biggest impact of the coronavirus is not on those being treated, but those who aren't, he said. "The biggest impact is going to be on all the people who are going to have delayed diagnosis of cancer, people who are at home, worried, biting their fingernails away because they've been told they have cancer and they are waiting for their cancer operation and in a lot of hospitals around the country surgery has just stopped," he said. The expected surge of Covid-19 patients has not materialised - yet - and last Friday, 1,664 hospital beds were empty. The health service needs to start re-opening, urgently, said Professor Crown. When it does "unwind", he said, "a system that was already grotesquely underprovided for the job it was supposed to do, is going to find itself in extraordinary difficulty, facing extraordinary challenges." Unless drastic changes are made to funding healthcare, inequality and inefficiency in the service will remain. Visit our Covid-19 vaccine dashboard for updates on the roll out of the vaccination program and the rate of Coronavirus cases Ireland Probably most doctors hope that what ever the post-Covid landscape, the health system will not return to its previous creaking form. Professor Brennan points out that there can be no more overcrowded outpatients' clinics, patients will be seen via telemedicine and phone consultations, and apps monitoring Covid-19 patients will be deployed to wider use in the community. That's the future. Hospitals are making plans for a gradual resumption of medical services. In parallel, non-Covid patients have to be encouraged back into the system. "There is so much more going on than Covid-19 and I think there is going to be a huge negative fallout from this if we keep going the way are going," said Helen Forristal, director of the Marie Keating Foundation, who believes patients have to be actively encouraged back to their GPs. "We're living in a different world now. There will have to be an awful lot of new measures put in place in order to bring the system back into action in a safe way." The exhausting threat of the coronavirus has made life harder for patients navigating the health service. Laarni Beattie, from Roscommon, a mother of 12-year-old twins, is recovering from breast cancer and caring for her husband who is recovering from a brain tumour and a stroke. Given both their illnesses, she is frightened of contracting the coronavirus and was terrified about attending a follow-up appointment for her breast cancer last week. "If something happens to me, this household will collapse because my family depends on me. I'm working, I'm a full-time carer at the same time for my husband and I have two kids. So that's the one that's really at the back of my mind." Laarni set off for her appointment last Friday, with changes of shoes, changes of clothes, gloves and a mask, hoping that she would not have to wait a couple of hours, as she often did, in a room with strangers. "That is the only thing that I can do. There is no way I will get my appointment back if I don't go." Dominic Raab has rejected calls to release the governments strategy for ending the coronavirus lockdown. The Foreign Secretary was responding to mounting pressure from figures including Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer who has repeatedly called upon the government to explain how the lockdown could eventually be lifted. "Until we can be confident, based on the scientific advice, that we are making sure-footed steps going forward that protect life, but also preserve our way of life, frankly it is not responsible to start speculating about the individual measures," he told Sky News's Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme. Mr Raab, who has been standing in for Prime Minister Boris Johnson while he recovers from the disease, said the Government would proceed "cautiously" in order to avoid a second peak in the outbreak. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab clapping outside the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London this week. (PA) "We are at a delicate and dangerous stage," he added. "We need to make sure that the next steps are sure-footed, which is why we are proceeding very cautiously and we are sticking to the scientific advice with the social-distancing measures at this time, whilst doing all the homework to make sure that we are prepared in due course for the next phase." Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice Mr Johnson is due to return to work in Downing Street on Monday, after spending the past fortnight recuperating at his official country residence, Chequers. Sir Keir Starmer said on Saturday that Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his ministers need to start an adult conversation with the public about what happens next. Scores of people in Hyde Park on Saturday despite the lockdown. (PA) "The British public have made great sacrifices to make the lockdown work. They deserve to be part of an adult conversation about what comes next. If we want to take people with us and secure their consent, this is necessary now. "This is a national crisis and therefore needs a national response. The coming weeks require urgent preparation and planning from the Government. We have already seen the consequences of poor planning and preparation. That cannot happen again." Story continues Sir Keir said that while Labour fully supported the lockdown, the Government had been too slow to enter it, too slow to increase testing and too slow to get personal protective equipment (PPE) to frontline NHS and care staff. "The UK Government is behind the curve on this. I fear we are falling behind the rest of the world. That is why we need to see a significant step-change in the Government's response to this pandemic. "Decisions need to be taken quicker and communication with the public needs to be clearer." Sir Keirs calls were echoed by Rachel Reeves, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, who said on Sunday that said disclosing more about the plan is essential as "businesses and schools and other organisations need time to plan if they are to re-open". "It is incredibly important that the Government take people with us on this journey, Ms Reeves said. "People have by and large stuck by the rules that have been put in place and because they've done that I think it is even more important that we communicate with them, treat them like grown-ups, in where we're going next. Coronavirus: what happened today? Click here to sign up to the latest news, advice and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter Top Communist Party of China and state leaders Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli attend the closing meeting of the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 15, 2017. (Xinhua/Ma Zhancheng) BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, concluded its annual session Wednesday morning. Among 2,838 NPC deputies present at the closing meeting, 2,812 voted in favor of the government work report; 2,793 for the work report of the NPC Standing Committee; 2,606 for the work report of the Supreme People's Court; and 2,606 for the work report of the Supreme People's Procuratorate. Lawmakers also approved the General Provisions of the Civil Law, the decision on the quota and election of deputies to the 13th NPC, and the methods for electing deputies to the 13th NPC from Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions. Other documents approved by the lawmakers included the 2017 national economic and social development plan, and the 2017 central and local budgets. The lawmakers also approved the resignation of NPC Standing Committee member Xu Xianming. Leaders of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the state Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli attended the closing meeting at the Great Hall of the People. In his closing remarks, Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, hailed the achievements made under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping as the core since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012. President Xi, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has attained great prestige among the Party, the military and people of all ethnic groups, and become the core of the CPC Central Committee and the entire Party, according to Zhang. Zhang called for maintaining a high degree of consistency with the CPC Central Committee with Xi as the core in thoughts, politics and actions, upholding the authority of the CPC Central Committee and its centralized and unified leadership, as well as faithfully implementing the Party's policies and the CPC Central Committee's decisions. The General Provisions of the Civil Law, which take effect on Oct. 1, is the opening chapter of a long-awaited civil code. The civil code will include individual books that deal with property, contracts, tort liability, marriage and inheritance, according to the legislative plan. Zhang called for stepping up work on the books to ensure a civil code that has Chinese characteristics and reflects the spirit of the time and the will of the people be enacted in 2020. Zhang also called on NPC deputies to always bear the people's wishes in mind, perform their duties effectively, and make new contributions in upholding, implementing and developing the people's congress system. The people's congress system, a fundamental institutional arrangement that integrates the principles of upholding the Party's leadership, the people being the master of the country and the rule of law, demonstrates the characteristics and advantages of China's socialist democracy, said an editorial published by Xinhua Tuesday.The editorial stressed better use of the system to ensure that the country is effectively governed under the Party's leadership, decisions by the CPC Central Committee are implemented and all sorts of work is pursued according to the law. Even as lockdown enters its second month, not all poor families have received the promised food grains and pulses under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKA) in Chandigarh. UT officials said it will take another ten days for every household under the scheme to get its share of ration. As part of the 1.70 lakh crore relief package, the central government announced free food grains and cash to women, poor senior citizens and farmers to ease their hardships during the lockdown. Under the PMGKAY, the poor will get 5 kg wheat per head per month, and 1 kg pulses per family per month for the months of April, May and June. Till Sunday, of the approximate 64,000 families eligible for getting food grains under the scheme, Chandigarh administration has been able to deliver dry ration to around 36,600 households. About 156 families under Antyodaya (AAY) and 63,457 priority households (PHH) will be covered under the scheme and more than 2.75 lakh persons are likely to benefit therein. Under AAY, the poorest among the below poverty line (BPL) families have been selected and issued AAY ration cards. Under the PHH, really poor and vulnerable sections of society such as landless labourers, marginal farmers and wage earners of informal sections of the economy are covered. The administration identifies such families on the basis of set parameters. Curfew in the UT was imposed on March 24, while it was designated as a red zone on April 15. Most of these families are daily wage earners who have no source of income during the curfew. In the absence of government ration, these families are depending on charities for their food. Cart vendor Prem Shankar Shah of Sector 49 said, I am a yellow ration card holder. We are six in my family. I transport goods, malba in my rehri. Since the curfew put an end to work, we are struggling to meet our daily needs of food. The longer the delay in giving us ration, the tougher it becomes to feed our children. Even though ration was distributed in his area, Shah said he didnt get any. We went to the place where ration was being distributed but we didnt get any despite requests. Secretary of food supplies, Vinod P Kavle, said the administration shares the concern of the people in the matter. We are expediting the process of delivery of ration to households under the scheme. Meanwhile, we are also providing cooked food and are seeking cooperation from the public in the matter. Adding that most states are distributing ration till June, Kavle said, We have clubbed the distribution and are distributing it all at one go. When asked by what time the administration would complete the exercise, Kavle said, We expect to complete distribution in another ten days. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex are settling in their new Los Angeles-area home, and staying relatively under the radar, aside from being spotted out delivering meals to local families. Although some of their plans might have been sidelined due to the effects of COVID-19, theres no doubt that the formerly royal couple is looking ahead to their next steps. According to a source close to Meghan, their plans for the future could include a brand-new sibling for Baby Archie Harrison. Archie Harrison is being given a private upbringing In May 2019, Meghan and Prince Harry welcomed their son, Archie Harrison. From the very beginning, the couple made it clear that they would be raising their son on their own terms and had no intention of following the strict rules that govern the lives of many royal children. Archies baptism was kept private, and the names of his godparents have never been revealed to the public. Prince Harry and Meghan have released very few photos of their son, and he has only been spotted in public on a rare handful of occasions. It is evident that Prince Harry and Meghan believe that Archie should be allowed to choose the life that he wants and that they dont want to pressure him into any particular path, despite the fact that he was born into a high-profile situation. How many kids does Prince Harry want? At the beginning of their relationship, many fans speculated that Prince Harry and Meghan would have a large family. After all, they met as mature adults, and neither of them had truly found happiness in love before. It wasnt long after their May 2018 wedding when the two announced that they were expecting their son, much to the delight of fans all over the world. Still, after the birth of Archie Harrison, Prince Harry made a rather public statement regarding plans for future children. In an interview with Jane Goodall, a close personal friend of the couple, he revealed that he and Meghan want two children maximum to avoid negative consequences for the planet. Prince Harry received some backlash for his remarks, and some regarded it as a slight to his older brother Prince William the future monarch and his wife, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge share three young children. Could Meghan Markle be announcing a pregnancy soon? Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Karwai Tang/WireImage There could be other reasons why the couple wants a maximum of two children. For one thing, Meghan is currently thirty-eight years old and is considered to be of advanced maternal age. The older a woman is when she gets pregnant, the more prone she is to complications during pregnancy. In spite of the fact that Markle follows a healthy lifestyle, she could still experience issues. Therefore, if they do want to give Archie a sibling, it would benefit them to do it sooner, rather than later. According to a recent interview, a source close to Meghan claims the duchess has joked that Archie needs a pint-size little buddy other than the dogs. The source also states that Archie Harrison is a happy baby and loves playing with his parents. While Meghans reported words indicate that she and Prince Harry are at least toying with the idea of having another baby, other reports claim that the two arent in a rush at all, and are allowing themselves plenty of time to settle into their new life. It seems as though the couple will tackle the next phase of their lives with precision and care. Dua Lipa is one step away from making it onto the top 10 richest musical earners on the planet, banking 24.7 million over the past year. The British pop star - who, last month, released her sophomore album Future Nostalgia - made 11.8 million last year and has now doubled her earnings. This places her in the realms of music megastars Adele and Ed Sheeran, who sit just below the likes of veterans Sting, Mick Jagger and Elton John. Big earner: Dua Lipa is one step away from making it onto the top 10 richest musical earners on the planet, banking 24.7 million over the past year As reports The Sun, the 24-year-old 'also has 17.3 million cash in the bank, up from 8.6million 12 months ago'. The publication sourced the figured from Dua Lipa Live LLP, filed with Companies House. The songstress - who is London-born to Kosovan-Albanian parents and currently dating Anwar Hadid, brother to supermodels Gigi and Bella - proved her star power this week as she was bestowed the opening lines in Radio 1's charity single Times Live There, to help battle the global COVID-19 pandemic. A music industry source told The Sun: 'Dua has quietly gone about her business, and is now one of pops most successful performers. Rich lister: The British pop star - who, last month, released her sophomore album Future Nostalgia - made 11.8 million last year and has now doubled her earnings Music's finest: This places her in the realms of music megastars [L-R] Adele and Ed Sheeran, who sit just below the likes of veterans Sting, Mick Jagger and Elton John Coupled up: The songstress is London-born to Kosovan-Albanian parents and currently dating Anwar Hadid, brother to supermodels Gigi and Bella [pictured in November 2019] 'The latest accounts show she could be heading towards the same earnings bracket as Ed Sheeran. 'Given she is five years younger, the world really is her oyster. If she continues at this trajectory, she will be rivalling Adele soon.' Ed is worth an estimated 170 million, while Adele ccmes in at 150 million. Robbie Williams splits the pair up, with a fortune of 155 million. Dua has climbed above the likes of pop mainstays Cheryl, Rita Ora and Stormzy. 15 OF POP'S RICHEST STARS Number one: Sir Paul McCartney Number three: Sir Mick Jagger Number five: Ed Sheeran Number seven: Adele Number nine: Liam Payne Number 11: Dua Lipa - 25 million Number 13: Cheryl - 20 million Number 15: Rita Ora - 12 million Number Two: Sir Elton John Number four: Sting Number six: Robbie Williams Number eight: Harry Styles Number 10: Calvin Harris Number 12: Sam Smith - 24 million Number 14: Stormzy - 16 million Advertisement Dua first burst onto the pop scene after starting out as a model. In 2015 she signed to Warner Music Group, releasing her eponymous debut album in 2017, which hit number three in the UK Albums Chart and yielded nine singles. The album sold 16,223 copies in its first week and by the end of July 2018, the record was certified platinum having sold 301,181 copies in the United Kingdom. Opener: The songstress proved her star power this week as she was bestowed the opening lines in Radio 1's c harity single Times Live There, to help battle the global COVID-19 pandemic Group effort: On the track she joins the likes of Chris Martin, Rita Ora, the Foo Fighters and Paloma Faith It is estimated to have sold over 1.2 million units in total at the time of writing. Her track New Rules peaked at number one in the UK and number six in the US, getting her noticed across the pond. She later collaborated with the likes of Calvin Harris to further raise her profile, as well as supporting the likes of Coldplay and Bruno Mars on tour, before headlining her own tour between 2017-2018. Success story: Dua is pictured performing at the 70th Sanremo Music Festival, Italy two months ago Flush: She has three BRIT Awards to her nam, as well as two Grammys and further gongs from the likes of GQ, Global, BBC Music and NME The Future Nostalgia tour will take place later than planned, pushed back to 2021 due to COVID-19. She has three BRIT Awards to her name - scooping British Breakthrough Act and British Female Solo Artist in 2018, taking home the 2019 British Single Of The Year 12 months later for her collaboration with Calvin, One Kiss. She also has two Grammys from 2019, as well as gongs from the likes of GQ, Global, BBC Music and NME. The singer boasts 4.7m followers on Twitter and a massive 43.9m followers on Instagram. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal If you were confined to your home by government mandate to prevent the spread of a pandemic, where would you want to live? In an earthship, of course, according to Michael Reynolds, the Taos-based crusader for self-sustaining architecture. The 100 or so earthships in the Taos area and the 1,000 structures around the world might easily be dismissed as outdated hippie artifacts, relics of a time when people dreamed of going off the grid. But whats old is new again. The coronavirus crisis is making the idea of hunkering down in an earthship look downright attractive. Created from upcycled materials such as beer cans and old tires, Reynolds describes the earthship as a vessel that addresses the main points of human existence: comfortable shelter that doesnt need fossil fuel, and that doesnt require outside sources of water, electricity, sewage, garbage treatment and food. Like many a counterculture figure, Reynolds landed in Taos circa 1969. But he didnt come in a caravan from the Bay Area in search of a communal existence in the Land of Enchantment. After graduating from the University of Cincinnati, Reynolds said he came to northern New Mexico to be a motocross racer. I wanted to get injured, so I wouldnt have to go to Vietnam. Not long after his arrival in New Mexico, the self-described earthship garbage warrior came up with the idea of creating a biosphere where you wouldnt have to worry about obtaining heating, cooling, water and electricity from the outside world. Heres how it works: Earthships are sunk into the earth to reduce fluctuations in temperature. Because its difficult to create hard angles using tires, the homes are often built with a horseshoe shape. In the prototype that Reynolds originally built, the opening of the horseshoe was situated to maximize natural light and solar energy during the winter. The water used in an earthship comes from rain, snow and condensation. As water collects on the roof of the earthship, it is filtered and delivered to a cistern. After water accumulates in the cisterns, it is fed into a purifying system so it can be used for drinking. Recycled water that is unsuitable for drinking, called greywater, is used for flushing toilets. Most of the electrical energy in an earthship comes from the sun and the wind. Photovoltaic panels and wind turbines generate electricity that is stored in batteries for later use. But you dont have to be independently wealthy to go off the grid. Theres an earthship for every pocketbook. We meet the needs of every financial strata, Reynolds said. The structures range in price from $50,000 to $500,000, he said. In addition to New Mexico, Colorado has quite a few earthships, Reynolds said. Canada and New Zealand also have large concentrations of the self-sustaining structures. In a recent telephone interview, Reynolds said he ran afoul of state authorities when a newspaper described him as an architect in the early days of his movement, when he had not yet obtained his license in New Mexico. The Kentucky native said he was crucified by New Mexico. Today, Reynolds said he is licensed as an architect in several states, including New York, Colorado and Arizona, but not in New Mexico. It wasnt just the licensing issue that raised regulatory hackles. It was the use of recycled materials, like beer cans and tires that violated state and local building regulations, Reynolds said. The world was not ready for it when we started doing it, he said. Fifty years, two energy crises and a pandemic later, the world is more receptive. The Earthship Biotecture Academy in Taos, which has a staff of 40, has been holding webinars explaining its philosophy of radically sustainable living. With hurricanes and earthquakes, people are starting to get a bit worried. The grid is kind of unstable. Water is an issue, too. Future world wars will be fought over water, Reynolds said. Among the topics of the recent webinars, which cost $10, are Construction Details, History & Inspiration, Plumbing and a Q&A session in Spanish. Asked if he considered himself a leader of a cult he wouldnt be the first in Taos with a messianic mission Reynolds took umbrage. Im not the leader of anything. This is not a cult. Its a movement, he said. Unlike the log cabins that were once ordered from the Sears catalog, earthships require a trained builder, Reynolds explained. During the quarantine, you can learn how to build an earthship via webinar for just $1,000, according to the organizations website, earthshipglobal.com. A recent profile in Architectural Digest made the point that earthships may be more useful in the wake of catastrophes such as earthquakes and hurricanes than in preparing for an apocalypse. The article highlighted Reynolds humanitarian efforts after such disasters as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the 2014 typhoon in the Philippines and Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2018. In Puerto Rico, more than 200 volunteers donated their time to assemble $80,000 worth of raw materials into five earthship structures located in a village christened Villa Bonuco. While climate change may have grave implications for the future of the planet, Reynolds is facing his own survival issues. In December, the 74-year-old learned after visiting a local emergency room that he has prostate cancer. The race against time has made Reynolds more committed to spreading his survivalist gospel.Every day is precious, not one to waste, he told the Taos News in March. Hser Lah, who provides patient support at Albany Medical Center Hospital, now checks the door for a sign indicating if the patient has been infected with COVID-19. Regardless, if a sign is there or not, she goes about her job similar to how she would before the pandemic. She cleans the room, brings fresh towels or meals to the patients. Now, she just does so with a mask and goggles. After a long day of work, shell go to her home in the town of New Scotland and to her husband, Saw Htoo, who is a pastor in Albany. Now, the couple who came as refugees from Myanmar more than a decade ago, have gone from a two to one salary household. Saw Htoo had to stop working because gatherings - such as religious ceremonies - are canceled. With the exception of the occasional funeral, which is outside and socially distanced, he hasnt been able to work. However, he worries for his wifes health who is out taking care of the sick. We are afraid about it, Saw Htoo said. Especially my wife because she goes into the hospital. I pray for her everyday. Individuals all over the state - and country - depend on people like Hser Lah. In New York State, 34 percent of healthcare workers are immigrants, according to the New American Economy report, a national immigration research and advocacy organization based in New York City. Immigrants also disproportionately represent other occupations deemed essential by local or state governments - such as grocery workers, delivery people, drivers, and auto repair workers are also disproportionately immigrant, the report found. The Migration Policy Institute said this past week that six million immigrants are working in frontline occupations, such as health care, food production, and transportation. Another six million work in industries such as food services and domestic household services that have been economically devastated - making up 20 percent of the total workers in those industries. The agricultural sector could also be hit particularly hard; 28 percent of farm industry workers are immigrants. Although immigrants seem to make up the lionshare of frontline workers, they also often slip through the safety nets made for Americans during the pandemic, said Steve Choi, the Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition. Choi pointed to an emergency paid sick leave bill state legislators passed in March, which inadvertently excluded immigrants by not covering more temporary and tip-bases jobs. Immigrant small business owners and employees were effectively left out of that legislation, Choi said. It didnt do much for tip workers, informal workers, gig economy workers and taxi drivers. It didnt do much for small business owners either. For Hsadoh Moo, a refugee from Mynanmar who just opened a Thai restaurant in Altamont, these benefits dont apply to him. Moo runs his business with a friend and theyre only a staff of two. When it gets busy well hire other people, but its not busy yet. Its too new, Hsadoh Moo said. He opened his restaurant, Pla 2 Thai, in December only a few months before the state of New York went on Pause, deeming certain businesses as essential and asking them to reduce staff as much as possible. Moo had been getting ready to open his restaurant since August, and he wasnt going to slow his plans. Fortunately, he is considered an essential business and can keep working. As of now theyre only doing take out and delivery. Business is slow, but Moo hopes its because its new and not because of the pandemic. Right now, a friend is helping him apply for a small business loan through the Small Business Administration. However, not everyone might know such resources are available to them. There are some people who even if they are employed may need extra assistance due to hours being cut back or going from a dual income household to a single income household. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. However, public assistance now comes at a price for many immigrants - as applying for programs such as food stamps could jeopardize the chances that they could get their visas or green cards renewed. Its really a dark cloud stopping some immigrants from getting the help they need, Choi said. Immigrants are on the frontlines fighting back on this pandemic. They are the ones delivering meals, they are the ones cleaning COVID infected facilities. They are also the ones bearing the brunt of the damage. Its even difficult for refugees - who are exempt from the public charge and immigrant rules governing public assistance - to apply for unemployment. Right now, the Albany offices for U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants have people who have been waiting on the phone for hours with the Department of Labor trying to figure out how to get their clients signed up for unemployment. First they attempt to sign up people online, but then they receive a message saying a client's social security number isnt valid. USCRI Director Jill Peckenpaugh said she knows for a fact that isnt the case. One of the first things we do is help them get their social security card, Peckenpaugh said. If you cant do (the application) online, then you have to call and thats where they get put on hold for hours. Peckenpaugh tried reaching out to the Department of Labor about the glitch but said she cant find a good work around. It just seems the system is too overwhelmed, she said. She also said her staff isnt used to applying people for unemployment because the organization is more geared toward helping people find work. The way our funding is structured is to focus on getting people jobs, Peckenpaugh said. In a normal environment that would be the best way to get people self sufficient and contributing to the economy. Despite the several obstacles brought on by the pandemic, Peckenpaugh said, she feels the refugee community is strong enough to face the challenges it brings. Theyre survivors,Peckenpaugh said. Theyve survived wars and all kinds of things, so in some ways I find they are the most resilient among us because they faced so much already. The guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd in the Pacific Ocean in a photo made available by the U.S. Navy on May 18, 2011. (Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Carla Ocampo/U.S. Navy via AP) Naval Destroyer USS Kidd Reports Rise in Virus Cases to 33 The Navy reports that the number of sailors aboard the USS Kidd confirmed to be infected with the CCP virus has nearly doubled, rising from 18 on Friday to 33. The destroyer with its crew of 350 are off the Pacific coast of South America. Its current mission is related to U.S. counter-drug activities. In a statement issued Saturday, the Navy said an embarked medical team continues testing of the Kidds crew. Two sailors have been medically evacuated to the United States. Meanwhile, officials say those aboard the Kidd are wearing N95 masks and other personal protective equipment. The Navy says the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island is en route to rendezvous with Kidd in case medical support is required at sea. Officials say the Makin Island has a fleet surgical team, intensive care capacity and ventilators as well as additional testing capability. The U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd transits alongside the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt while participating in Exercise Northern Edge 2019 in the Gulf of Alaska on May 16, 2019. (U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Sean Lynch/Handout via Reuters) The Kidd is the second Navy ship at sea to report an outbreak of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus. Officials say the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt has reported more than 850 cases of infection among its nearly 5,000 crew members. Most of its crew has been moved ashore to quarantine on Guam. The Pentagon is focusing first on testing those performing duties deemed most vital to national security. Atop the list are the men and women who operate the nations nuclear forces, some counterterrorism forces, and the crew of a soon-to-deploy aircraft carrier. The U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd receives fuel from the Military Sealift Command replenishment oiler USNS Guadalupe in the Pacific Ocean March 27, 2020. (U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Brandie Nuzzi/Handout via Reuters) Defense leaders hope to increase testing from the current rate of about 7,000 a day to 60,000 by June. This will enable them to test those showing symptoms as well as those who do not. The current tight supply forced the Pentagon to take a phased approach, which includes testing sailors aboard the USS Nimitz, the Bremerton, Washington-based Navy carrier next in line to head to the Pacific. Officials hope to avoid a repeat of problems that plagued the virus-stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt. Defense Secretary Mark Esper recently approved the tiered approach. It expands the Pentagons practice of testing mainly those who show symptoms of the virus to eventually testing everyone. The Associated Press contributed to this report Editors note : China has been accused of taking advantage of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak to push its territorial ambitions in the East Vietnam Sea. After sinking a Vietnamese fishing boat, China last week announced the creation of two so-called new districts to cover features in Vietnams Spratly and Paracel islands in the East Vietnam Sea, prompting protests from Hanoi as Beijing has repeatedly ignored the 2016 decision by the United Nations-backed arbitral tribunal. The moves have also been widely criticized by the United States and the Philippines since the above-mentioned arbitral tribunal was constituted under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). That means China continues to violate international law. In an exclusive article for Tuoi Tre News, Professor Sascha Dov Bachmann from Canberra Law School University of Canberra, Australia argues that China may be trying to weaponize COVID-19 in the East Vietnam Sea. While there is little evidence that COVID-19 was developed as a biological weapon for offensive purposes, it cant be disputed that Chinas leadership and People's Liberation Army are exploiting the vulnerabilities and weaknesses caused by the pandemic as part of their unrestricted warfare and three-warfare approach. While the rest of the world is trying to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and to minimize the loss of life as well as the impact on the economy and society, Beijing seems to be bound to exploit the current weakness and shift of focus among its partners and adversaries. With the U.S. and its allies battling the current pandemic, China continues to take advantage of the situation by using COVID-19 firstly for its influence and information operations, and secondly for pushing its territorial claims with respect to the East Vietnam Sea, East China Sea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. China attempts to present itself as the only state capable of containing the coronavirus within its borders and, more recently, as the global savior in regard to delivering personal protective equipment aid to the nations in need: at a high cost of course as Chinas leadership has managed to turn face mask diplomacy into a new form of Chinese mercantilism affecting lives and economies globally. The overall success of these operations remains to be seen with China facing an increased diplomatic backlash in Africa, Europe, Australasia, and the US, as well as a deterioration in the public opinion towards China: such sentiment comes at a cost and a rise in Sinophobia has become a regrettable fact. Going back to the second example of Chinas exploitation of the pandemic: the renewed pushing of territorial claims and here in particular in the [East Vietnam Sea]. Beijings decision to send again its Haiyang oil exploration vessel back into Vietnamese EEZ waters, another sinking of a Vietnamese fishing trawler in waters illegally claimed by China, chasing of Indonesian fishing trawlers out of Indonesian EEZ waters are all testament that China is exploiting the current COVID-19 pandemic which has shifted the focus of ASEAN and the U.S. and its allies from challenging Chinas proven illegal claims in the East [Vietnam] Sea and the actual capability to counter Beijings aggression. The U.S. Navys operational capabilities are seriously affected by COVID-19, highlighted by the fact that to date three out of 11 U.S. aircraft carriers have reported infections. This adds to the U.S. Navys overall disadvantage in respect to Chinas Navy in terms of available bases with Japan and Guam the next major U.S. Navy bases and thus shortening actual in theater times due to logistical and operational constraints. COVID-19 has heavily impacted on available naval and military capabilities, not to speak of the impact it has on theater operations, available force assets, and deployment capabilities, as well as public opinion preoccupied with the pandemic and subject to Chinas three-warfare information operations. There is no better time than now to signal Beijings disregard for the East [Vietnam] Sea Tribunal ruling and to create a situation which cant be reversed if unchallenged. Beijings recent announcement on the creation of two new administrative districts to cover Paracel and Spratly is an example of Chinas disrespect for international law, which is particularly worrisome given that China leads four out of 15 international UN bodies. This can be seen as another test of international law and comity. China is continuing its activities which run against the findings of the tribunal in 2016 breaking international law under UNCLOS and violating the maritime rights of its neighbors. All this is part of its current drive to turn the East Vietnam Sea into a fait accompli while compromising international law and comity. One has to conclude that China has made COVID-19 a force multiplier for its power ambitions and aggression in the region. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Unless youve been living in an end-of-days bunker, youll know Virgin Australias purple disco was cut short last week. Cue: much sadness from those that loved its pointy end offering (often touted as the best domestic business class in the world) and much rumour-mongering. 7News.com.au reported various Chinese Airlines are interested in taking Virgin Australia over, others say Singapore Airlines is more logical. Points hacking expert Immanuel Debeer told DMARGE last week hed heard the most credible candidates to buy Virgin Australia are Bain Capital and BGH Capital. Thats before we even mention Wesfarmers and the Macquarie Group (both slated to be interested). No-one yet knows wholl buy. But regardless of who does, Virgin Australia will likely be restructured, streamlined and be put back in action with a more cut-throat domestic focus (whether or not it retains the Virgin Australia name). While this is heartbreaking for those that love the current Virgin Australia business model, and a stressful time for the carriers employees, experts argue two intriguing silver linings come with it. As Professor Rico Merkert, Professor and Chair in Transport and Supply Chain Management at the University of Sydney (and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Air Transport Management) told DMARGE, The boardroom of Virgin Australia has been too cumbersome for quite some time with not only too many other large airlines controlling Virgin but them often arguably not having profitability of VAH as their main priority. They now need to negotiate with the administrators as well as senior bondholders and others a package that is of mutual interest, Professor Merkert said. Though he sees potential for conflicts Professor Merkert also told us going into administration will potentially hold up a smokescreen for Virgin Australia to make decisions that would have been deemed cruel or counter (Virgins) culture six months ago, but will benefit them in the long run (a take that is backed up by other experts in this field). As they had accumulated $1.6bn worth of negative equity and a too complex business model with an even more complex board room, they were in dire need for change. COVID-19 may speed up that process and may in fact force one or two of the shareholders out, which may in fact not be a bad thing if the remaining shareholder has a clear strategy toward commercial viability. Having the fleet currently grounded due to COVID-19 is actually good and potentially a perfect time for a take over as there would be no disruption to the operations and as it will take at least another 2-3 months before the skies are open again, there would also be some time for re-branding campaigns etc. Its not just Professor Merkert who takes this view. As The Australian reported last week (see: Leaner, meaner, if Virgin Australia stays aloft), Virgin Australia now has two advantages it hasnt had before: first, it will no longer have on its register four or five competing airlines with shareholdings large enough to command board seats; second and importantly, it will no longer be publicly listed. The albatross of quarterly reporting to the market will be gone and, behind the private curtain, quite possibly with a tough private equity holder, long-term decisions will be made, often requiring short-term pain not possible in the public sphere (The Australian). Likewise, and as The Sydney Morning Herald pointed out last week, Sure businesses that go through the ignominy of administration suffer brand damage but if they come out the other side they get their phoenix moment and with a pretty clean sheet of paper from which to build a better business. Administration triggers the opportunity to renegotiate everything from the current enterprise bargaining agreements to fuel hedging contracts, lease rentals from the airport owners and catering. It is not only the Virgin 2.0 balance sheet that will look much healthier having cut a swathe through the $5 billion debt pile, the resurrected airline will be able to establish a new cost base one that will be significantly lower than that of Qantas, The Sydney Morning Herald added. On the topic of Qantas, Professor Merkert told DMARGE the worst-case scenario for Qantas [to come out of VAs collapse] would be if Singapore Airlines would be allowed to take over the VAH assets cheaply and without the debt (perhaps together with a strong capital partner and a financial injection but no other airline partner). This would put a re-emerged and simplified Virgin in a fairly strong position. If that happened, Qantas would still dominate the domestic market and would benefit from regional networks once we get to the other side of [the crisis], but Virgin/Singapore Airlines would become a formidable competitor on the core domestic routes (operated by VAH) and also international (operated by SIA). View this post on Instagram A post shared by Virgin Australia (@virginaustralia) on Apr 16, 2020 at 4:02am PDT Tigerair would remain shut and potentially sold to another party as would Velocity or incorporated into Krisflyer. Whether that happens (and Singapore Airline has long been trying to get into such a position) remains to be seen though, as there are those other airlines (i.e. Etihad and HNA) still in the mix and it seems state governments are now also keen on getting some of the jobs associated with a second airline attracted to their jurisdictions, which will complicate matters for clear strategy that is focused on the most attractive and commercially viable business model and product only. This is good news for Qantas. A media release sent to DMARGE from the University of South Australia backs up Professor Merkerts analysis, with UniSA aviation industry expert Associate Professor Kate Quigley suggesting the COVID-19 crisis [will] force operators to develop new, more resilient business models. The aviation industry has always been challenging, as there are large costs involved in keeping a fleet of planes in the air, and that often requires a very high level of debt, Assoc Prof Quigley says. So, I wouldnt be surprised to see some other airlines around the world go the same way as Virgin Australia, because the only way those companies can make debt repayments is to have their planes flying, and that is impossible at the moment, Prof Quigley adds. However, where one operator drops out, there becomes more space for other operators to work in, and for those companies with clever, innovative ideas, there is a really exciting opportunity to reshape the aviation industry for the better going forward. Although Sir Richard Branson has criticised the Australian government for not bailing Virgin Australia out, Prof Quigley (appears to) suggest the governments inaction is a blessing in disguise. A bailout might have saved jobs in the short term, but Virgin Australia was already struggling before this pandemic, so if the Government were to prop up a problematic business model, many other struggling businesses might then expect the same type of support, rather than addressing their operational issues, Assoc Prof Quigley says. Instead, there is now a space in the Australian airline industry for an innovative new operator to establish a viable business model that responds to the current situation. What will that look like? Whether that is a reborn version of Virgin, or a move into the market by one of the many international operators who already had a stake in Virgin, or a new operator entirely, they will be able to structure that business differently than the old Virgin model, adapting to the new marketplace, and ensuring competition remains in the Australian industry. This is crucial because, as Prof Quigley points out, even before this pandemic, many people felt domestic prices were too high, so they would fly to Bali or Fiji instead of Cairns, and we dont want to see that worsen. Without a second airline to compete against Qantas, the risk is obviously that they might start to price gouge, and then the public carries the burden. Assoc Prof Quigley believes that with a leaner and meaner version of Virgin Australia in place, such a price hike is unlikely. In fact, according to her, there will be new opportunities for Virgin Aus 2.0 (or whoever replaces them) sooner than youd think: Significantly for whoever fills the Virgin void, Australia may well come out of lockdown before international travel resumes, so more Australians could be exploring Australia than ever before. The domestic market might see a post-pandemic boom. More as the story develops. Read Next A 64-year-old woman is dead and a man remains in critical condition following a violent incident in Perth's north on Sunday afternoon. Police were called to a home on Lotherton Way in Hocking about 4pm where they found two people with "significant injuries". The street was cordoned off by officers and a major investigation launched. A 34-year-old man was taken into custody and has since been charged with murder. The man has also been charged with attempted unlawful killing as a result of injuries caused to a 65-year-old man. New Yorks daily coronavirus death toll dropped to below 400, less than half of the deaths recorded at the height of the coronavirus crisis in the states hospitals. Details on developments in the coronavirus outbreak in New York: ___ THE NUMBERS Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the 367 deaths from the coronavirus that he reported Sunday were horrific, but the number was less than half the nearly 800 deaths that occurred in a single day during the pandemics peak in New York. It is the first time this month that the statewide daily death toll has been below 400. He also reported that the number of hospitalizations, which still topped 1,000, and the number of individuals put on a ventilator had dropped as well. The deaths recorded Saturday and reported Sunday included 349 patients who died in hospitals and 18 individuals who died in nursing homes, the Democratic governor said. On Saturday, Cuomo said there were 437 deaths on Friday. Short term, the numbers are on the decline. Cuomo said. Everything weve done is working. The policies are working. Theres no doubt that at this point, weve gone through the worst. In another sign of the improving numbers, the final patient on the USNS Comfort was discharged on Sunday. The 1,000-bed hospital ship, docked at a Manhattan pier since March 30, has treated 182 patients. Soon, it will depart for its homeport in Norfolk, Virginia. ___ RESTARTING THE STATE Construction and manufacturing jobs that represent low risks for workers will be among the first to resume once New York state begins reopening after the coronavirus shutdown, the states governor said Sunday. Retail jobs and workers in the hospitality and hotel industry may be among the last to return, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at his news conference. And sports such as baseball probably will have to figure out if the economics work without fans in the stands, he said. Everybody has to think outside the box because there is no box, he said. The Democrat said determinations of when reopening begins will follow federal guidance that says reopening should not begin until the state and regional hospitalization rate has declined for two weeks. He said which businesses reopen after the restart of construction and manufacturing will depend on how essential they are and how safe they can operate. Once those businesses reopen, a two-week period would follow before more businesses reopen. I dont want to just reopen. We learned a lot of lessons here, painfully, he said. How do we take the lessons we learned and say when we reopen, were going to be the better for it? Its not about a return to yesterday. There is no return to yesterday in life. He compared New Yorks upstate communities to the Midwest, saying some areas might be ready to reopen sooner than other areas. But he said he had to consider the possibility that residents of areas that are still closed might flood toward any place that opens. ___ THE SANITY EQUATION The reopening of New York state will be vital in the summer, particularly in crowded cities, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday. You cant tell people in a dense urban environmental all through the summer months: We dont have anything for you to do, stay in your apartment with the three kids, Cuomo said at his daily news conference. You know, that doesnt work. Theres a sanity equation here also that we have to take into consideration, he said. He said people have reason to feel better, saying the worst should be over as long as social distancing and other policies remain in place. People need to know that theres an opening, theres a future, theres hope, that somebodys doing something. And then you need a relief valve just on a day-to-day basis so people have some relief in their lives, some vent, he said. Cuomo said trends indicate that the incidence of domestic violence, alcoholism and drug use and mental health issues were on the rise. Do not underestimate the stress that this situation has created, the abnormal circumstances that it has created, he said, adding that a toxic mix of bad circumstances was pushing some people to the edge. People need to know that theres an opening, theres a future, theres hope, that somebodys doing something. And then you need a relief valve just on a day-to-day basis so people have some relief in their lives, some vent, he said. ___ NYCS ROADMAP New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday he hopes to have a roadmap by June 1 on how to rebuild the city after the coronavirus threat subsides. The mayor, a Democrat, said at a news conference that city leaders hes invited to help plan the citys recovery should give him the roadmap by then. He said a full rebuild will take about 20 months. He also said the latest statistics on people being treated for COVID-19 continued to be stable or decline. The number of people in the citys hospital intensive care units had dropped from 785 to 768. De Blasio said the city cant begin reopening until decreases continue for 10 to 14 days. He said such a fall would signal it was time for the first steps in opening up. The health indicators have to give us the all clear, de Blasio said. We restart when we have evidence. Theres no on-off switch here. Its a series of careful, smart moves. ___ OTHER DEVELOPMENTS - Brad Pitt portrayed Dr. Anthony Fauci in the second at-home episode of Saturday Night Live, where he tried to recast false assurances and misstatements pitched by President Donald Trump during the pandemic, for instance when Trump said thered be a COVID-19 vaccine relatively soon. - Home care nurses, aides and attendants who normally help an estimated 12 million Americans with everything from bathing to IV medications are now taking on the difficult and potentially dangerous task of caring for coronavirus patients. - A few states may have found a way to help slow the spread of the coronavirus in nursing homes by converting some of them into recovery centres set aside mostly for residents who have left the hospital but still might be contagious or lack immunity. Have Sheriff Offices in North Carolina, possibly even Beaufort County's Sheriff Office, become too political in the discharging of their sworn constitutional duties? No, the sheriff is a constitutional officer. Yes, the Sheriff Office, on strong occasion, often reverts back to political patronage in the dispensation of their sworn constitutional duties. Burger King plans to reopen ten more sites a week for deliveries as part of a lockdown exit plan supported by its private equity backers. The fast-food chain has so far reopened six of its 550 restaurants for deliveries through Deliveroo and Just Eat. Now it is ready to ramp up its reopenings, UK chief executive Alasdair Murdoch told The Mail on Sunday. The next sites to open for deliveries include Merton, South West London, and restaurants in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Dundee. Burger King has so far reopened six of its 550 restaurants for deliveries through Deliveroo and Just Eat The six sites that have opened for deliveries so far have seen huge demand. Delivery drivers at a drive-through in Coventry had to queue for more than an hour to collect orders last week. Murdoch said Burger King loses money on each delivery, as Deliveroo and JustEat take an undisclosed commission on each sale. But he said Bridgepoint, the private equity firm that took control of Burger Kings UK business in a 50million deal three years ago, encouraged the plan because it helped to keep the brand visible. Murdoch stressed that outlets offering deliveries will adhere to the Governments social distancing guidelines. Latina entrepreneurs in the United States strive hard and are now owning small businesses despite being undocumented immigrants. It is not rare to hear of members of the Latino community succeeding in the United States. However, it can be difficult, especially if they have problems with immigration status. Unfortunately, undocumented immigrants typically have low paying jobs. An estimated 10 to 12 million undocumented immigrants are living the U.S. Being undocumented means that they would have a social security number and therefore, would be exempt from most high paying jobs. However, this did not hinder three Latinas who proved that they could become successful despite their immigration status. Their hard work and perseverance show that no matter your legality, anyone can become successful in the United States of America. Here are the success stories of three Latinas who thrive to achieve their dreams in life: Rosa Torres was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and she moved to the U.S. with her mother at the age of six. She is now a student at a State University in San Bernardino. Due to her status as an undocumented immigrant, she will not be receiving a stimulus check during the pandemic. This reality led her to establish the Floreria Esperanza, a business selling custom flower arrangements using Instagram. Meanwhile, Torres also has a full-time job where she earns $11 an hour while managing the Floreria Esperanza in her free time. In an interview, she said: "During this time you have to do everything possible to bring in extra money. Such social media platforms have helped me gain new customers by simply sharing a picture or video of my products. The goal that I have for myself is to start selling flowers at farmer's markets once I am done with my college degree. I want to start furthering my business in hopes that I can leave behind the job I currently have." The Floreria Esperanza now receives more orders since it was established. Their most ordered crafts are floral bears to half-chocolate or half-floral gift boxes to the traditional rose bouquet. She was nine years old when her family decided to move to the United States. She grew up in Orange County and currently calls Riverside County home. Martiza Gomez is the founder of Folkloricwear and MG Custom Printing. She sells Mexican-inspired folk apparel handmade by her mother and customized printed products like Latin-theme mugs. Her journey towards success was not that easy. She worked in a shoe store making $30 a day with a nine-hour shift six days a week, and at the same time, she attended community college. She used her low wage to pay her tuition fees, and after nine years, she received an associate's degree. She returned to school to study entrepreneurship in 2012 with help from the California Dream Act. In her years of study, she created a business plan and received support from the Inland Empire Women's Business Center. Today, she is not just an entrepreneur but also sits on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Women's Business Owners- Inland Empire Chapter and is a proud graduate of California State University in San Bernardino. Her story of success is something very unique. Before she became a successful entrepreneur, she worked as a full-time nanny for five years. Now, she works full-time, creating and selling handcrafted earrings and accessories. She also works as a freelance photographer and promotes her artwork through her Instagram account lavida.dacolores, which she launched in January 2019. She said: "[The photography] is my main income because it's faster money in a shorter time. They are both growing, but I don't think I can choose between them. They both bring different magical things in my life." Read related article: Pairing theologically rich lyrics with soaring melodies, Peoria, Illinois-based Grace Worship has released its debut EP Christ Be All. The EP is available at digital and streaming outlets globally from Grace Worship/The Fuel Music. Drawing on its 150-year church history of Grace Presbyterian Church to bring a multi-generational focus to Christ Be All, the EP is centered on Jesus' prayer in John 17 for the body to be "one" and honors the rich heritage of Christian hymnody while incorporating modern anthemic choruses and pop hooks. "Grace Worship desires to craft songs that serve to unite the church to treasure Jesus," shares Grace Worship's Kevin King in a JesusFreakHideout featured blog. "It is out of a love for the church that these songs were born...I pray that these songs, which intentionally draw from the historic church as well as modern influence, cause you to treasure your Savior, and allow for generations to stand side by side and worship together with joy. May Christ be all!" Following the Christ Be All title track and "Calvary's Anthem" premieres by Worship Leader and Worship Musician respectfully, Grace Worship released its music video for "Psalm of Thanksgiving" today. Inspired by Psalm 73, the new video was recorded while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. About Grace Worship: Grace Worship is the worship ministry of Grace Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Peoria, IL, a church pastored by Dr. Bryan Chapell that is passionate about making the gospel known through song and story. Before Jesus went to the cross, He prayed that His church would be one (John 17). Grace Worship desires to write and share songs that advance this mission through theologically rich and creatively beautiful art. By pulling from the heritage of Christian hymnody and integrating the church songs of today, the worship team hopes to make much of Jesus' unifying mission through music that equips the church for worship across generations. Tags : Grace Worship Grace Worship Christ Be All Grace Worship new ep bryan chapell kevin king Kevin King interview Turkey brings expat home from Sweden Turkish expat Emrullah Gulusken not given treatment in Sweden despite testing positive for coronavirus. Turkey on Sunday morning, April 26, sent an air ambulance to bring home one of its citizens from Sweden who contracted coronavirus but was not given treatment. "WE HEARD YOUR VOICE" The aircraft left Malmo Airport at 9 a.m. local time (0700GMT), along with the patient, Emrullah Gulusken, and his three children. "We have heard your voice, our plane is on its way, we are coming to Sweden," Koca had earlier tweeted, ordering to bring the 47-year-old and his children back. Daughters of the Turkish expat thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Health Minister Fahrettin Koca for their initiative. "I knew my country would support us no matter what. They stood with us in this difficult time and did everything they can. I thank Minister Koca. May Allah protect our country," the patient's daughter Leyla tweeted back. Turkey's communications director Fahrettin Altun also shared the development on Twitter. "Turkish national Emrullah Gulusken was not treated in Sweden although he tested positive for the virus. We are bringing him to Turkey with an ambulance plane," he said. Turkey to bring home coronavirus patient in Sweden WATCH "We are proud to be Turkish. Turkish officials did not stop contact for even a moment. A plane was sent to Malmo, and an ambulance will take us from the airport. May Allah protect our country," the patient's daughter Samira answered Altun's tweet. Ankara reached out for help after Samira shared a video on social media about her fathers condition yesterday. Cancer referrals at Australia's leading oncology centres have plummeted by up to 30 per cent, fuelling concerns seriously ill people may be going undiagnosed. The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre has revealed referrals for patients were down by a third this month, compared to the same time last year, as thousands of Australians avoid seeing their doctor amid fears of contracting coronavirus or not wanting to burden health services. Professor Declan Murphy. "It's really quite striking the decrease in referrals we are seeing," Professor Declan Murphy, director of genito-urinary oncology at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, said. "What the trend tells us is that people are not going into primary care. They are not seeing their doctors or getting their blood tests done, getting that swab or that colonoscopy. The exact sort of stuff that creates referrals into the cancer centre is just not being done." The total number of coronavirus disease Covid-19 cases crossed the 3,000-mark (3,071 to be exact) on Sunday, according to the Uniokn health ministry data. Two hundred fifty six new cases were reported across the state on Saturday. Six more deaths have taken Gujarats Covid-19 death toll to 133. The state has the second-highest number of Covid-19 cases after Maharashtra. Two teams of the Union government on Saturday met local officials in Ahmedabad and Surat districts where the number of Covid-19 cases has risen sharply in the last few days. On Friday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had said the situation in these two emerging hotspots in Gujarat was especially serious. Covid-19 cases in Ahmedabad crossed 2,000-mark to reach 2,003 on Saturday as 182 new cases were recorded in the city, while in Surat the number went up to 496, with 34 new cases. The state has recorded new Covid-19 cases in three digits daily for the past fortnight. After Ahmedabad Surat, Banaskantha recorded 11 new cases, Vadodara seven, Bhavnagar and Anand five each, Gandhinagar four, Chotta Udepur and Panchmahals two each. One case each was recorded in Patan, Mahisagar, Navsari and newly added district Surendranagar. There are no cases in Amreli, Dwarka and Junagadh districts. As many as 36,730 persons are quarantined, including 32,119 at home, 3,565 in government facilities and 246 in private facilities. Is that vanakalam or yasangi? Depends on the rains. Hyderabad: The Telangana government has issued orders changing the nomenclature of agriculture seasons in the state. Earlier, in the official correspondence of combined Andhra Pradesh, agriculture activity during the rainy season was called kharif and the summer crop rabi. But in Telangana as a region, the local farming community called the kharif season vanakalam (rainy season) and the rabi season yasangi. It has now been decided to bring nativity into the naming of seasons as per the sentiments of the farming community. Accordingly, the Agriculture Department has issued orders directing departments concerned to replace from now on the terms Kharif and Rabi in their official communication with Vanakalam (rainy season) and Yasangi (summer season) respectively. Tehran, April 26 : Iran marked the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramzan with all mosques closeddue to the coronavirus epidemic that has claimed 5,650 lives in the country. During a meeting of the committee tasked with fighting the virus, President Hassan Rouhani On Saturday showed gratitude for the "cooperation" of the clerics during the crisis, reports Efe news. "During the period of controlling the disease for protecting people's lives and health, the respectful clerics and marajis have shown the same sensitivity and concern as the health officials," he added. "The officials of the medical staff and the respectful clergy are concerned about maintaining the lives and health of the people and at the same time establishing tolerable conditions for the reopening of religious centres," Rouhani said. "We can hope that under better conditions for the control of the disease, religious centres around the country can be reopened by observing health protocols". During the first day of the holy month in Iran, prayers and readings of the Quran at the religious centres were being broadcast on TV and online. Over the past 24 hours, the Islamic Republic has recorded a total of 1,134 fresh coronavirus infections and 76 new deaths, bringing the tally to 89,328 and 5,650 respectively, according to the Health Ministry. Iran has reopened businesses considered low to medium risk spots, such as malls and shops among others. Mosques and religious centres, however, remained close as they are considered high-risk places as were cinemas, theatres and schools. A few weeks ago, some Shia clerics said people at risk of contracting the virus were allowed to avoid fasting and encouraged to drink water to help their immune systems. "If a Muslim fears that he may contract the virus due to fasting, even if he takes all precautionary measures, then his obligation for fasting is waived for each day in which he fears that fasting may result in him contracting the virus," Shiite cleric Sistani said. "If fasting increases the probability of contracting the illness and harms a person according to medical specialists, he should not fast," ayatollah Shobeiri Zanyani said. Web Toolbar by Wibiya Are you an author who is in the process of writing a book? If you, have you already launched your blog? These days a blog is pivotal to the success of an author after the self-publishing of their book. By the time you are ready to self-publish there should have been a good buzz generated about your book in order to catapult sales. Waiting to launch a blog after your book is already available for sale on Amazon is just lame. Creating an author blog with help build your "brand" as an author. It will also enable you to connect with readers. Having been to many book fairs, I can tell you that the authors who sell the most have cultivated a fan base firstly through their blog and secondarily through social media marketing on Facebook and Twitter. Contact AgoraPublishing.com for your blog design needs. Their blog projects include MikeLeePoet.ca and Astroglossary.ca MBABANE Despite a move by South Africa to ease its full lockdown from this coming Friday, local hardware stores have to wait longer before importing cement. South Africas president, Cyril Ramaphosa, last Thursday night announced a decision to begin a gradual and phased recovery of economic activity. He said the neighbouring country would implement a risk-adjusted strategy through which they would take a deliberate and cautious approach to the easing of current lockdown restrictions. Ramaphosa introduced South Africans to what was termed five coronavirus levels. required He said the country was currently on level five, whereby drastic measures were required to contain the spread of the virus to save lives. From May 1, according to Ramaphosa, South Africa would downgrade to level four. This means that some activity can be allowed to resume subject to extreme precautions required to limit community transmission and outbreaks. With an outcry over the shortage here in Eswatini due to inability to import from South Africa, this publication has established that cement will still not be available as that countrys hardware stores will still not open under the new regulations (level four). This publication recently reported that some of the biggest hardware stores like Build It and Baceth Hardware had ran out of cement due to the full lockdown in South Africa and Mozambique. These two countries are a major source of imports for the local hardware stores. Of late people are seen queuing for the limited stock in some of the hardware stores like Cash Build. South Africas hardware outlets, according to the new rules, can only open in level three. This level involves the easing of some restrictions, including on work and social activities, to address a high risk of transmission. Our borders will remain closed to international travel, except for the repatriation of South African nationals and foreign citizens. No travel will be allowed between provinces, except for the transportation of goods and exceptional circumstances such as funerals, said Ramaphosa. Mumbai The number of Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra crossed the 8,000 mark on Sunday with 440 new infections even as state government officials expressed confidence in existing containment measures and said they were preparing for the disease to peak by the second week of May. The daily rise was roughly half that of Saturdays record figure of 811. There are now 8,068 infected people in the state, which also recorded 19 deaths on Sunday, taking the total number of fatalities to 342. Mumbai continued to record the majority of the states cases with 358 new infections on Sunday. The city now has 5,407 cases, while its surrounding areas of Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts have 936 cases in all. Mumbai reported 12 deaths, while Pune saw three, Jalgaon two and Solapur city and Latur saw one each on Sunday. Top officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which has 67.01% of the total Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra, said they are preparing for a spike by May 15. The civic body, according to Manisha Mhaiskar, one of the bureaucrats on the Covid-19 task-force in the BMC, is basing is preparedness plan on the projections of the central team, which recently visited the state. The current doubling rate of coronavirus in Mumbai is seven days. If seven days is taken as the input assumption, the modelling suggests that there would be around 70,000 cases towards second half of May. This has become the basis for preparing for the Ides of May, Mhaiskar said. According to her post, the obvious task before the civic body is to improve the doubling rate. House-to-house surveillance, aggressive contact tracing, and containment strategies have been put in place, an official added. With cases rising in Mumbai and Pune, the state government is yet to take a call on the Centres notification allowing all neighbourhood shops to open. State government officials said that the administration is still considering the pros and cons of the move. Allowing shops to reopen in non-containment areas of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune region could be harmful as hundreds of cases are being recorded daily. The chief minister is taking a review of all areas, a second official said. Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday indicated that a decision on relaxation of restrictions in the state will be taken after a review of the situation once the national lockdown ends on May 3. There are questions about what will happen after the lockdown ends on May 3. Since April 20, we have gradually eased restrictions at some places. In Mumbai, this led to crowds that we cannot afford We are not opening district borders in rural Maharashtra, but gradually easing restrictions within districts to allow economic activity to resume. I am receiving daily reports. I will hold a review today evening and decide on further relaxations from May 3 onwards, Thackeray said, during his address via Facebook Live. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON New issues have arisen regarding the latest Windows 10 update which are more serious than first believed, reports WindowsLatest. Many users have claimed that their personal files are being deleted or moved as a result of the 14 April update for Windows 10. The bug seems to be similar to an old issue where Windows 10 boots with a temporary user profile. This results in the removal of settings, files, and icons from the computers desktop. This update is a disaster. It deleted my files, pictures, documents saved in system drive and as well as my apps which I downloaded from Windows Store, a reader told WindowsLatest. My system automatically updated on the 19th of April. I lost some important word files for my university. And a folder. I have looked on the temporary folders and I have tried to uninstall the update but they do not appear, said another user. Users have also reported that their personal settings have been deleted including browser bookmarks, wallpapers, and their default browser setting. Blue screen of death Users also continue to report encountering the infamous blue screen of death after this update. Notably, many of these users claim that these blue screens and the connected system failures are functioning in a loop making it virtually impossible to use the computer. The stop codes being reported are regularly seen when installation files are damaged, drivers are not working as intended, or software is suffering compatibility issues all of which are problems that users are currently facing. Microsoft has yet to acknowledge any major issues with this update. Therefore, for those worried about suffering issues with the latest Windows 10 update, the best option may be not installing it in the first place, or uninstalling it if it has automatically been implemented. Now read: Big problems with the latest Windows 10 update There are concerns that scammers are taking advantage of Sikh charities providing free meals during the coronavirus crisis. Across Australia various not-for-profit groups in the midst of the pandemic have been giving away Indian meals to the less fortunate in pursuit of the centuries-old Sikh tradition of Langar. Under the practice of Langar free vegetarian meals are served to anyone in the community regardless of their religion, caste, gender, economic status or ethnicity. But some say the kindness and generosity shown is being exploited by lazy, greedy recipients. Tejinder Pal Singh said his free food delivery service in Darwin in being exploited by some in the community. Pictured: The Sikh Family Food Van which drops off Indian meals to those in need during the coronavirus lockdown In Darwin, Tejinder Pal Singh, who was awarded the 2016 Northern Territory Local Hero Award told SBS he has been giving out freshly cooked Indian meals every day from March 26 to help those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. 'Our delivery volunteers told us that they saw eight people enjoying their drink at the address where they had gone to supply meals,' Mr Singh said. 'Although they gave them the food, this upset us as a team because we are working for those in need and with our limited resources.' The problem recently became so bad Mr Singh had to shut down his daily meal service. His wife, Gurpreet Kaur said the cost was becoming too high to continue. 'Sikh Family Food Van' project is run solely from their pocket,' she said. 'We don't take donations, so we can only run it for needy people. For the time being, we have had to stop our daily free meals during the coronavirus lockdown but our monthly food run will continue.' Ajinder Singh, from Adelaide, said the issue is also becoming a major concern at his local Sikh temple where about 200 meals have been provided by volunteers every day since the lockdown began. 'We noticed that calls for home delivery of meals began to exceed calls for picking them up from the gurudwara (Sikh temple), which made us suspicious,' he said. 'We then divided ourselves into teams and each team went to 15 addresses so that we could assess the lifestyle of those who want meals delivered to their doorstep. 'We saw that many calls came from people living in big houses with cars parked outside, some were even taxis.' Despite the disappointment that some people are doing the wrong thing, Mr Singh said the majority using the service are 'genuinely in need and his group will continue helping them'. 'We can't turn a blind eye to those who need help, just because some are being greedy or lazy,' he said. Shaizy Singh is pictured outside Westmead hospital delivering free meals to frontline health workers on ANZAC Day But the risk of scammers has not stopped a Sydney-based Sikh charity commemorating the spirit of ANZAC Day by handing out free meals to frontline health workers who have been battling the coronavirus pandemic. Guru Nanak's Free Kitchenette Sydney volunteers who were up at 5am on Saturday preparing an array of delicious Indian cuisine for medical staff at Blacktown and Westmead Hospitals. One of the group's leaders Shaizy Singh said volunteers wanted to show their support for doctor's, nurses, paramedics and the cleaners at coronavirus-hit hospitals who've been working tirelessly during the COVID-19 crisis. 'As Indian Australians we do remember our ANZAC Day heroes that served in the war,' she said in a Facebook video. 'The doctors and nurses here are serving in another war, a pandemic war. 'These guys are on the front line working and we salute them, we honour them and we try to do whatever we can do to help them to do their job. 'So we've cooked some very healthy, delicious, yummy food for our front line soldiers.' Among some of the treats being handed out by the volunteer group were Dahl, paneer, rajma and homemade roti bread. Volunteers also provided fresh fruit and the scrumptious dessert gulajamina Guru Nanak's Free Kitchenette Sydney volunteers (pictured) were up at 5am on ANZAC Day to prepare an array of delicious Indian cuisine for medical staff at Blacktown and Westmead Hospitals Among some of the treats being handed out by the volunteer group was a handful of Indian favourites including Dahl, paneer, rajma and homemade roti bread. Volunteers are provided fresh fruit and the dessert gulajamina. Guru Nanak's Free Kitchenette Sydney has operated in Sydney for eight years providing food for the homeless in the city, the elderly at nursing homes, international students with less support and women affected by domestic violence. Volunteers of Guru Nanak Free Kitchenette Sydney are pictured distributing free food at Blacktown Hospital More than 200 doctors from Cuba are due to arrive in South Africa to help fight the novel coronavirus. The medics left on a plane that first carried a donation of South African medical supplies to the Caribbean island, its embassy in Pretoria said. They are among 1,200 healthcare workers sent to battle Covid-19 in 22 countries that have requested help from the communist state. South Africa is to begin easing strict lockdown restrictions next month. More than 1.5 million people will be allowed to return to work, some schools will reopen, deliveries of hot food will be permitted and cigarettes will be back on sale. But the sale of alcohol and public gatherings will still be banned. The country, which at one point was following the UKs infection curve, has stunned observers in the way it has slowed the spread of the virus, says the BBCs Andrew Harding from Johannesburg. It has recorded 4,361 cases of coronavirus, including 86 deaths. Special relationship The Cuban doctors arriving in Johannesburg late on Sunday night are to be deployed to different provinces by South Africas Department of Health, Cubas ambassador Rodolfo Benitez Verson has said. The two countries have close ties as Cuba was instrumental in the fight against white-minority rule in South Africa, which did not end until 1994 when anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela was elected president. Cuba is well known for its medical diplomacy, though it has not been without controversy. The US government under President Donald Trump has urged countries not to accept Cuban medical missions, accusing the country of exploiting its medics allegations Havana denies. Cuba, with 1,337 recorded cases of Covid-19 and 51 deaths, has the worlds highest ratio of doctors to population and began preparing for the virus early. According to the Reuters news agency, it is renowned for its focus on prevention and community-orientated primary health care to fight epidemics. In South Africa, thousands of community health workers have been screening millions of people for coronavirus. Professor Salim Abdool Karimwe, who is leading South Africas scientific response to outbreak, says they have been targeting the most socially vulnerable communities, where this likely was most likely to spread. President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned of overconfidence as lockdown measures ease, saying infections are likely to reach their peak in August. Meanwhile, it is reported that the country is seeking international funding to help fund a 500bn rand ($26bn; 21bn) rescue package to cushion coronaviruss economic impact. The government is to give new welfare grants to help South Africas poorest families, as millions of people have lost their incomes, and aid organisations warn of growing signs of desperation. Citinewsroom More than 20,000 people have now died in hospital in the UK after becoming infected with coronavirus. The government described it as a tragic and terrible milestone. Even as governors across the country plan to allow businesses to begin re-opening in May, officials and health experts are warning that Americans will still have to maintain proper social distancing measures for months. Social distancing will be with us through the summer to really ensure that we protect one another, Dr Deborah Birx, the the Trump administration's coronavirus response coordinator, said on NBC's 'Meet the Press' on Sunday. That's a more cautious message than the one Vice President Mike Pence sent just two days earlier in a podcast interview with conservative commentator Geraldo Rivera, during which he said he believes the US will "largely have this coronavirus epidemic behind us" by Memorial Day on 25 May. Experts have warned of the potential for second and even third spikes in the number of cases and deaths from coronavirus later this year, saying that the possibility increases for a second wave of the pandemic if social distancing does not remain in some capacity. In Colorado, Democratic Governor Jared Polis will begin loosening some restrictions on people physically going to work next Monday, but said workplaces still must maintain proper social distancing. "Our target is about 60 to 65 per cent social distancing from the way people used to live, and how we can do that over a period of months in a psychologically sustainable way and of course an economically sustainable way that meets the health goals of the state," Mr Polis said on CNN on Sunday. "We're all worried about the potential for a second spike, whether it's in the fall along with flu season ... [or] whether it's July," Mr Polis said. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation is taking no chances in its proclamations about how optimistic people should be about the near-term outlook on Covid-19, warning in a recent statement that even people who have contracted the disease previously may not be immune from catching it again. "There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from Covid-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection," WHO said. Many Americans who have recently recovered from Covid-19 have been donating their plasma to health centres because it has antibodies that can "attack the virus," according to the Red Cross. Ms Birx said WHO was being "very cautious" with its statement about the potential for re-infections. Scientists and doctors have been using the plasma from donors who have recovered from the disease to help treat sick people and are assessing its impact in real time. "All that data together I think is going to create a very clear picture about antibody," Ms Birx said. "I think what WHO was saying, 'We don't know how long that effective antibody lasts,'" Ms Birx explained. "That is a question that we have to explore over the next few months and over the next few years. But I think everything that the WHO said should be happening we're doing here in the United States to help the American people," she said. A White House official ordered a CNN reporter to give up her front-row seat and move to the back of the press room before President Donald Trump's briefing on Friday, in what appears to be another attempt by Trump to punish a network he calls "fake news." The reporter, CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins, refused to move, as did a second reporter whose seat in the rear of the room she was ordered to take. The official then suggested the matter would be resolved by the Secret Service, though no action was taken, according to several people involved in the episode. Network reporters, including those from CNN, have assigned seats at the front of the briefing room, under a plan managed by the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) and agreed to by White House officials last month. The agreement reduced the number of reporters in the briefing room to meet social-distancing requirements. The major TV networks, including CNN, Fox News and NBC, have seats in the front rows, which makes their reporters more visible in news clips of the briefings. A reassignment to the rear would make a reporter less prominent, though only marginally. The WHCA has managed press access to the room for decades, with few objections from the White House. But the White House has now unilaterally sought to assert its authority over reporters twice in the past month. Over the WHCA's objections and in violation of social-distance measures, the president earlier this month gave preferential access to a reporter from the One America News Network. The small cable network has a history of favoring Trump in its reporting. The White House's latest effort to reorder the briefing room came after a brief verbal clash between Collins and Trump during the televised briefing on Thursday. The run-in occurred after Trump dismissed a question from another reporter about North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un's health, saying it was based on an "incorrect" report from CNN earlier in the week. As Collins tried to ask a follow-up question, Trump interrupted her. "No, that's enough," he said, adding. "The problem is, you don't write the truth." Collins continued to press, but Trump replied, "No, not CNN. I told you, CNN is fake news. Don't talk to me." On Friday, just before the start of the president's briefing, Collins was ordered to swap seats with Chris Johnson, a reporter for the Washington Blade. Johnson was in the sixth row of the seven-row seating area; Collins was in the front row. The White House declined to comment on why it sought the change. Collins and Johnson refused to move, citing their seat assignments. The briefing then went ahead as planned, though Trump declined to take any questions from reporters, and walked off after only 22 minutes, making it the shortest briefing since regular sessions began last month. Collins described the incident briefly in a tweet on Friday: "Tonight the White House tried to have me, and only me, swap seats with another reporter several rows back. We both refused to move from our seats that were assigned well in advance." She did not respond to a request for comment. Johnson, who was acting as the pool reporter for the day, described his involvement in one of his pool dispatches: "Earlier today before the briefing, a White House official instructed the print pooler [Johnson] to take CNN's seat in the briefing room because the seating would be swapped for the briefing. Given the seating assignment is under the jurisdiction of the White House Correspondents' Association, not the White House, pooler refused to move. "The White House official then informed the print pooler swapping wasn't an option and the Secret Service was involved. Again, pooler refused to move, citing guidance from the WHCA. The briefing proceeded with both CNN and print pooler sitting in their respective assigned seats." CNN and Johnson declined further comment. The WHCA assigns seats to news organizations based on such criteria as its size of audience or readership, its record of handling pool assignments on behalf of other news organizations and the frequency with which its reporters travel with the president. "The WHCA has a committee that determines seating in keeping with our mission of ensuring maximum access and accountability on behalf of the American people," WHCA president Jonathan Karl said in a statement. In an interview, Karl, an ABC News correspondent, said Saturday that no protests of the White House's actions are planned. "We acted as we did - [we] refused to go along," he said. "And we'll continue to do what we have done for decades." CNN has long been a target of Trump's reprisals. In late 2018, Trump banned Jim Acosta, its chief White House correspondent, but a federal court, acting on a CNN lawsuit, said the president's action was unconstitutional and ordered Acosta reinstated. Trump has also taken action against Collins, banning her from an open press event in 2018 after objecting to questions she asked earlier in the day. In comments on CNN last night, Acosta called the White House's tactics on the seating issue "Soviet-style [and] totalitarian-like." He said it took "almost an act of civil disobedience [by Collins and Johnson] to foil the White House's plans." New York, the epicentre of US COVID-19 outbreak, will allow pharmacies to carry out tests for the virus, the governor says. Andrew Cuomo said some 5,000 pharmacies would be able to carry out testing, with the aim to provide 40,000 per day. The US has more than 938,000 confirmed cases. Almost a third of the 53,751 deaths happened in New York City alone. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump did not hold his daily briefing, saying it was not worth his time or effort. Speaking on Twitter on Saturday, he blamed the media for asking nothing but hostile questions. He was heavily criticised after suggesting at Thursdays White House news conference that disinfectant could potentially be used as a treatment for the virus. His remarks have been condemned as dangerous by doctors and manufacturers, as disinfectants are hazardous substances and can be poisonous if ingested. In New York City, calls to the hotline for exposure to certain household chemicals more than doubled in the 18 hours after Mr Trumps remarks 30 cases compared to 13 for the same time frame last year. The briefings with Mr Trump and the coronavirus task force could run for more than two hours. But Thursdays performance caused embarrassment even among some of his supporters, BBC North America correspondent Peter Bowes says. Mr Trumps tweet appears to confirm reports that the conferences may be coming to an end because polls suggest they have not bolstered the presidents popularity among voters, our correspondent adds. On Friday, the presidents briefing was unusually short lasting just over 20 minutes and he took no questions from the media. Meanwhile, Governor Cuomo announced on Saturday that antibody screenings would be expanded at four hospitals, beginning with frontline medical workers. He also said independent pharmacies would be allowed to collect samples for diagnostic tests. Hospital admissions in the state have also begun to fall, Mr. Cuomo said, in what he described as a sign the crisis was starting to subside. However, he urged people to remain cautious. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Alya Nurbaiti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, April 26, 2020 10:06 626 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd444995 1 National COVID-19,coronavirus,virus-corona,virus-korona-indonesia,COVID-19-in-Indonesia,good-news,donation,kabar-baik,positive-news Free It has been almost two months since President Joko Jokowi Widodo announced the first COVID-19 cases in the country, which has since been gripped by fear as the outbreak continues to grow. A collective sigh of relief was heard throughout the archipelago when the government decided to ban this years Idul Fitri tradition of mudik (exodus) to curb the transmission of the disease. That was not the only good news this week. The Jakarta Post has compiled some additional positive stories to provide a dose of optimism amid the outbreak: Stronger together While COVID-19 patients and suspected carriers have often been stigmatized, some residents of Central Jakarta have reached out to help three siblings in their neighborhood who were left without their parents as a result of COVID-19. The siblings were left alone after their mother was quarantined by health authorities in the wake of her husbands death and burial according to COVID-19 safety protocols. Meanwhile, some Jakartans have decided not to participate in mudik to protect their loved ones in their hometowns. Members of the LGBT community in Manado, North Sulawesi, raised funds and distributed aid to elderly people and others affected by the outbreak. Read also: Video: A Ramadan like never before A friend in need is friend indeed Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said Indonesia had received US$3 million and medical supplies from the United States for COVID-19 relief. US President Donald Trump also promised President Jokowi that he would send ventilators once the equipment was ready. South Korea sent polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing kits to Indonesia as part of the countrys US$500,000 in-kind grant to help Indonesia battle the outbreak. More local initiatives to support the treatment of COVID-19 patients and expedite COVID-19 testing As a greater number of ventilators has become necessary to treat COVID-19 patients, the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and the Padjadjaran University Medical School in West Java have worked together to produce the equipment. A new batch of ventilators is expected to ship soon as they have met the Health Ministrys general safety criteria. Diponegoro National Hospital in Semarang, Central Java, launched the first drive-through PCR testing location for COVID-19 in Central Java allowing people to have samples taken and tested without getting out of their vehicles. Researchers at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta created a swab chamber to protect medical workers taking samples from patients to help lessen the adverse effects of the shortage of personal protection equipment (PPE). Read also: Staying positive: A roundup of good COVID-19-related news Light at the end of the tunnel Because the government has banned this years mudik and imposed large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in some regions, the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) has predicted the outbreak will end in June. The association considers the policies sufficient to break the chain of transmission in the country. A bright future for the countrys economy may also be on the horizon as surveys have shown that more than half of Indonesians are optimistic about the economys outlook and expect to spend more after the pandemic. The outbreak may also provide an opportunity for certain business to flourish. As patients recover, the Earth does too As Jakartans have been trying to stay home, the capital has seen clearer skies. Even nearby mountains have become visible from the city. Authorities have reported that the air quality has improved since the policy was imposed in late March. The outbreak has reignited calls to stop the wildlife trade, which has been a hotbed of zoonotic disease transmission, including in Indonesia. Environmental authorities have also been working around the clock during the pandemic to preserve Indonesias biodiversity. By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. federal government is looking at "a whole bunch of alternatives" to support oil and other energy companies, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday as the industry struggles with plummeting prices and demand as the coronavirus crushes economic activity. Taking equity stakes as part of a lending facility for the industry is among the alternatives, Mnuchin said at a White House event. President Donald Trump said: "The energy business is very important to me, and we're going to build it up." About half of the top 60 independent companies in the U.S. oil and energy sector could be forced https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-usa-restructuring/bankruptcy-looms-over-u-s-energy-industry-from-oil-fields-to-pipelines-idUSKCN2250FQ into bankruptcy, after oil prices plunged 75% this year, sending prices to levels well below what companies and advisers had modeled in worst-case scenarios. The White House has made keeping Americans on corporate payrolls a priority during the coronavirus shutdowns, hoping to minimize the number of people who apply for unemployment insurance. Employment in the oil and gas extraction industry peaked in the 1980s, and totaled about 156,000 last month. Some 51,000 oil and natural gas workers lost their jobs in March, the Independent Petroleum Association of America said. The U.S. federal government could use some of the $2.6 trillion coronavirus rescue legislation, or other options to help the industry: MAIN STREET LENDING PROGRAM A newly created Federal Reserve lending facility to support mid-size U.S. companies is expected to make some $600 billion in loans available when it launches in early May. Mnuchin has said energy firms would be able to access this facility provided they have fewer than 10,000 employees and less than $2.5 billion in annual revenues. Loans are capped at $25 million, a limit that some in the industry say is too low. Story continues PPP LENDING PROGRAM Some energy companies qualified for the Treasury's $349 billion "small business" payroll lending program, including coal company Hallador Energy Co. Others could nab some of the next $310 billion in funding. The loans are for companies with no more than 500 employees, but there are exemptions for oil and gas well-drilling firms up to 1,000 employees, oil and gas extraction up to 1,250 and underground bituminous coal mining up to 1,500. OTHER FED CREDIT FACILITIES The Fed also created Treasury-backed corporate credit facilities that can lend up to $850 billion, which some energy firms may be able to access by selling bonds or asset-backed securities to the central bank. But one of the key facilities, the Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility, requires that issuers had an investment-grade BBB-/Baa3 rating as of March 22 - when oil prices and demand were already plunging and ratings had been slashed. A group of Republican senators from energy-producing states, led by Senator Kevin Cramer from North Dakota, urged Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in a letter https://senatorkevincramer.app.box.com/s/7agwojjr8j8pe2c9li1dkcytoaq20k34 on Tuesday to shift the rating date to early March, before the oil market crashed, to allow more companies to participate. UNTAPPED TREASURY CAPITAL The creation of the Fed facilities left some $259 billion in new Treasury capital from the coronavirus relief act unallocated, which some officials describe as "dry powder" to create new facilities or expand the Main Street lending facilities. This could allow Treasury to provide direct loans to individual companies without Fed involvement, mimicking programs for airlines and companies deemed important to U.S. national security. Mnuchin's comment that equity stakes may be considered follows Treasury's airline aid that also includes warrants that can be converted to equity. BUY MORE OIL The United States could elect to buy oil for the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which has roughly 78 million barrels of available capacity left out of total capacity of 713.5 million barrels. However, Congress has not funded such purchases in its economic recovery bills passed so far. The administration has discussed leasing the space to several oil-and-gas companies, but this is considered a stop-gap measure. CHANGE THE PARAMETERS Energy industry groups and lawmakers from energy-producing states have been furiously lobbying the Treasury and the Fed for changes to the Main Street programs that would accommodate shale drillers and other energy firms, allowing more to participate. The Fed has received more than 2,000 letters requesting changes, including lifting a restriction prohibiting companies from using Main Street loans to repay existing debt, which is a problem for the heavily indebted sector. A group of Republican lawmakers from the vast Marcellus Shale gas production area covering western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and the West Virginia panhandle last week urged the Treasury and Fed to raise the $25 million maximum loan size under the Main Street facilities. A large number of House and Senate Democrats are opposed https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-markey-and-rep-barragn-lead-letter-opposing-use-of-cares-act-funds-to-bailout-fossil-fuel-industry to using any of the coronavirus relief money to aid fossil fuel producers and are urging the Fed and Treasury to exclude the industry. (Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Heather Timmons and Leslie Adler) They are still waiting for the last few tests to come back. It is expected the results will be returned in the next 48 hours. The workers tested were casual contacts of a recent confirmed case, who was a staff member at an accommodation provider. Dr Joe Bourne, who is in charge of the Bay of Plenty DHBs Community-Based Health Services response, says a small number of results are pending due to the swabs needing to be retaken. This occurs from time to time for technical reasons and is unsurprising in such a large number of samples. Joe says the remaining tests are no higher risk than any of the reported results. The DHB has given workers the results that are available now so they are not left with any unnecessary uncertainty. Joe says he hoped the large number of negative results would reassure the Te Puke community. These workers are a long way from home and they are doing vital work in the community so we were really pleased to be able to deliver the negative test results to them. The Te Puke testing response should give people confidence that the Community Based Assessment Centre teams can always mobilise to a specific area when required, says Joe. In this case, a temporary assessment clinic was set up within the accommodation specifically to test the people staying there. We had great collaboration with the kiwifruit industry to support the workers and we were able to deliver a really efficient assessment process that has given a result that should give the community confidence. The workers were considered at low risk of infection because they had not been close contacts of the affected staff member. Close contacts of the person who tested positive have been tested and all their results were negative. Interim CEO of Bay of Plenty DHB Simon Everitt says the risk of COVID-19 in the Bay of Plenty remains low with a small number of cases, but assessment centres remain open over the long weekend. Anyone who has symptoms such as a cough, sore throat, runny nose or fever should go to a CBAC to be swabbed. Once they are tested anyone with symptoms must remain at home, and not go to work, until the result of their test is known. Father-daughter team Steve and Leah Kim model the masks their New York City alterations business, Master Tailor, started making when the coronavirus hit. Leah Kim When New York City largely shut down last month due to the spread of Covid-19, it was a devastating blow for some businesses. That included the Master Tailor, an alteration shop on Manhattan's Upper West Side that had only been open for about a year. In late March, customer traffic decreased. Eventually, the father-daughter team who own the shop, Steve and Leah Kim, saw no business at all, as restrictions to keep a six-foot distance from other people made it impossible to do alterations. "Since we were not considered an essential business, we were going to close the shop," Leah said. More from Personal Finance: Some gig workers are getting $0 in unemployment pay What you should do with a Paycheck Protection Program loan She got a PPP loan and her employees hate her for it But then the Kims pivoted to make masks for their family, due to the late shipment of an online order. Simultaneously, a customer requested they make masks for her family and neighbors. And a new source of business income was created. The approach to controlling the spread of the novel coronavirus has evolved in recent months, and that has led to a growing demand for masks. While the Centers for Disease Control said in February it did not recommend the use of face masks, the government agency ended up reversing itself by early April. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently ordered all people to wear face masks in public. In New York City, which has seen a record high number of coronavirus cases, Mayor Bill De Blasio has also strongly encouraged people to wear masks when they go out and imposed fines on those who don't maintain social distancing. As guidance to wear mask gets stronger, and some retailers refuse entrance to customers not wearing them, many New Yorkers have scrambled to find suitable masks. Local convenience stores sell disposable masks. Meanwhile, others have put together makeshift face coverings of their own. Now, some New York-based businesses are stepping in to help. Make your own masks Kristine Frailing, founder of the New York Sewing Center in midtown Manhattan, also saw her business change overnight as Covid-19 spread in the city. The New York Sewing Center provides sewing classes and private lessons, mostly all of which were conducted in person until March 18, the last day the business was officially open to customers. "We went from being very successful, having nine people working at the Sewing Center, to immediately not having any capabilities of teaching," Frailing said. Frailing had to reduce her staff, which mostly consisted of teachers who work on a contract basis. Kristine Frailing, right, founder of The New York Sewing Center, and her parents, left, model the masks her business makes. Laura Banasik/Kristine Frailing It also prompted her to quickly pivot to online classes, through platforms like Facetime and Zoom. One of those early classes was a YouTube video class on making masks, which Frailing was inspired to put together after hearing concerns from her family members who work in grocery stores. To Frailing's surprise, the video drew 166,000 views in the first few days. After that, nurses, doctors and hospitals got in touch to be added to her email list. Frailing also organized a system to donate masks that were made through the classes to local hospitals that needed them. It's not just my business. Everybody is affected by this. Kristine Frailing founder of the New York Sewing Center "We're having hospitals reach out and say, 'Take me off your list, we have fulfilled our need,' which is actually amazing," Frailing said. "That's the whole goal of why we did the free class to begin with." The Sewing Center is also taking orders for ready-made fabric masks for $15 each, which has helped to supplement income for the business. Still, it has been tough to transition online so fast while still facing high overhead costs like rent, Frailing admits. That has led her to explore possible sources for government help. "It's not just my business," Frailing said. "Everybody is affected by this." Buy one, give one Brooklyn-based shoe start-up company Atoms was having a record year before the coronavirus hit. That included the company's first pop-up shop in the city that wrapped up in January. The brand had moved to New York about a year ago from San Francisco. Its founders, Waqas Ali and Sidra Qasim, met in Pakistan and came to the U.S. in 2015 when they received funding by Y Combinator, a firm that provides money to early stage startups. Today, Atoms is also a portfolio company of Initialized Capital, an early stage venture capital firm. Atoms co-founders Sidra Qasam, left, and Waqas Ali model the new face masks the company has started making in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Atoms Atoms' goal is to sell sneakers that are both comfortable and stylish. Unlike other retail businesses, the company has seen its sales increase during this time. Qasim attributes the company's sales now to targeted marketing, as well as the fact they include products like hand sanitizer with customers' orders. Still, the company wanted to do more to help, which led them to the idea of making masks. They started working on the idea in early April. This week, they are receiving and sending out their first batch of masks. For every $10 mask someone buys, the company plans to donate another mask. The initial partner for those donations is the New York Housing Authority, which provides public housing in New York City. The company initially offered to donate 5,000 masks. But the amount of orders the company has received will push that to closer to 60,000. Many of the orders have come from New York and California, states that have been hit the hardest by Covid-19. Ideally, Atoms' masks will give everyday people facial protection, while helping to conserve N95 mask supplies for medical professionals. "It could literally save lives and decrease the spread," Ali said. Tailor-made masks A typical day at the Master Tailor shop on the Upper West Side has changed since the family business turned to making masks. The shop stays open six days a week. It sells masks from the time it opens at 10 a.m. until they sell out, which is almost every day, Leah Kim said. A close up of the Master Tailor mask prototype. Leah Kim On average, the business sells about 50 masks per day, which it produces through an assembly-line type process. The masks cost $20 each and are limited to two per customer. The fabric masks are hand-washable and come in multiple sizes to fit a variety of face sizes. And while filters are not included, the masks do have pockets for them. The production requires the team to work 12 hours per day, 7 days per week, Leah said. While they took pre-orders at first, they have since stopped because the demand grew too large. This is also something we are doing for the community, not just profit. Leah Kim 26.04.2020 LISTEN I woke up to one fine lockdown morning, to find my WhatsApp groups buzzing with activity. Some videos aimed at informing the public about the 5G network and its link with the coronavirus had been circulating within my groups. These videos triggered a wave of apprehension with members of these groups, sparking fierce debates amongst intellectuals. One side agreed with what was being conveyed by the conspiracy theories propagated in the videos while the other group found the theories absurd. I did a little research on the COVID-19-5G conspiracy theories and was amused to find a number of them on the internet. I found out that the theories started after a Belgian doctor raised speculation on a national newspaper about how 5G masts in Wuhan, China, could be linked to the coronavirus. This narrative was picked up by a number of notable public figures who have done a good job in circulating the theories all over the world. In this article, I write concerning just two of the videos, and my take on them. What did the conspiracy theorists say? One of the videos I watched was an excerpt from the popular Pastor Chris's preaching service. He began his presentation by acknowledging the capabilities of the 5G network if it is rolled out but quickly admonished his viewers that it was an agenda from satan to create a new man that would be part machine and part human. He went on to explain that, the COVID-19 was a hyped-up disease, meant to spread fear amongst humans so we would embrace a vaccine which would come with a digital ID. He said that while we stayed indoors, cables for the 5G network (Which he described as a military-grade internet connection) would be laid and the network would interact with people who get the COVID-19 vaccination. He opined that this would be how the mark of the beast will be received by many. (You can just imagine the debate that went down in my church groups!) A second video, recorded by a gentleman who claimed to be an IT guy in charge of recording high profile meetings at the UN told his audience that the radio waves emitted because of the 5G network were the real reason why people were dying in the developed countries, not the coronavirus. He asserted that the coronavirus was just a cover-up for deaths. He advised his audience to fortify their homes with metal lining and cover their windows with aluminium foil to prevent the radiation from entering their homes. This is what I think about these two videos. Video 1 I love Pastor Chris, and I have I believe that his calling is genuine, but I strongly disagree with his views on the COVID-19-5G internet relation. It is true that there are conversations about digital IDs in association with the COVID-19 vaccinations. You ask yourself why digital IDs are being suggested for the deployment of vaccines. I will quote the answer from an article I read in the Harvard Business Review. Identifying residents of developing countries: Around 1 billion people in the world predominantly residents of developing countries lack formal identities; many are mobile. This presents a massive challenge for governments trying to reach a critical mass of dispersed people: Without reliable IDs, it's difficult to know who has received vaccines. Furthermore, the initial COVID-19 vaccine supply will be limited, so it will be essential to verify each dose reaches a real patient. Corruption, leakage, and even accidental duplication waste precious supply and are deadly. To address this problem, biometric digital IDs can be a game-changer. For example, Simprints has deployed biometric IDs on health and humanitarian projects across 12 countries, which have increased health care visits and quality while preventing fraud. It is now partnering with Japanese telecom giant NEC to develop an affordable, interoperable, biometric solution for vaccines that can identify patients even in rural and offline settings. Using robust digital tools can help governments overcome identification barriers to ensure that everyone receives a COVID-19 vaccine. This is to say that, the digital IDs being spoken about are not some type of chip that will be implanted in humans to make us communicate with machines. It is just an electronic ID card. This destroys Pastor Chris' half human half machines theory and nullifies his assertion of a human 5G internet interaction (Disclaimer: this conclusion is entirely my opinion.) Video 2 This is not the first time fear-mongering health claims such as this have emerged. We had the same conspiracy theories swimming around when 4G internet was rolled out. The fear had always been the effect of radiations on humans. This is why their fears are unfounded; radio waves used in the transmission of cellular internet networks are non-ionizing radiations which are generally not harmful to the human body. The radiofrequency energy required to propagate 5G internet speed is 28Ghz, which is well within the non-harmful non-ionizing radiation spectrum. One would argue that if the World Health Organization has classified 5G (and Wi-Fi radiation in general) as possibly carcinogenic, then we should avoid it until its demonstrated that its safe. Fortunately, the possibly carcinogenic classification is one of the lowest danger levels that can be ascribed to a risk factor. Do you know what other everyday things have been described as a 'possibly carcinogenic'? Coffee, body implants such as pacemakers, aloe vera and even talc powder. If you are not afraid of these, then you have nothing to fear about 5G internet. Now, how am I sure that coronavirus deaths are not in anyway 5G related? The symptoms exhibited by a coronavirus patient are different from symptoms exhibited by a patient with radiation sickness. A radiation sickness patient suffers from diarrhoea, headaches, skin burns and sudden death, while a COVID-19 patient suffers from a deterioration of the respiratory system. If the COVID-19 patients were displaying symptoms of radiation sickness, the health workers in the worst affected countries would be sounding alarms all over. Another point that I would like to bring to attention is that COVID-19 red zones like Italy had started using 5G internet for commercial purposes as far back as June 2019 before the infestation of COVID19 early this year. There are no internationally known records of 5G related deaths (I probably would have to visit the database of individual hospitals to get some records. Conclusion I personally think the assertions being made in these videos should be disregarded! There is no correlation between 5G radiofrequency radiation and COVID-19. I hope the arguments I have raised to support my stance allay the fears of those who believe in these conspiracy theories. A little about 5G Wireless internet There are two main wireless internet connections today; Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) and cellular connections. While Wi-Fi employs radio waves to connect devices within a limited area, the cellular network employs radio waves to connect to cellular devices in large areas, spanning over large cities and countries. For a cellular network to reach a wide area, cell cites ( radio masts housing antennae, trans receivers, and other electronic components) are mounted in the areas and emit radio waves in those areas. Cellular networks have evolved, from 1G all the way to 5G ( where G stands for Generation). Each generation comes with increased radiofrequency, bigger bandwidths and more data capabilities. Radio Frequency (RF) is the energy that transfers data from the internet to phones and vice versa. Radiofrequency is a kind of electromagnetic signal designed to carry information over a large area. RF can transmit through buildings and other objects. The radio frequency spectrum includes frequencies between 3kHz and 300GHz. 1G to 4G cellular networks have been propagated by frequencies within this range (between 600Mhz-2.5Ghz). The new 5G technology is reported to be able to propagate information at a radio frequency of 28 GHz. This makes 5G twenty times faster than the reigning 4G network and if successfully rolled out, will allow us to download and stream our favourite things at an anticipated speed of 20 Gbps! Bollywood actress Vidya Balan is donating a 1000 PPE kits for doctors and other medical staff who are battling at the frontline to keep us safe from the deadly COVID 19. Vidya has also collaborated with celebrity shout-out platform Tring to raise donations to provide additional 1000 PPE kits, along with Manish Mundra of Drishyam Films and photographer cum film producer Atul Kasbekar. Vidya Balan took to Instagram urging all to donate to the cause. She wrote: "Namaste, it is critical that we provide PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) kits to our healthcare workers for their protection in this #WarAgainstCovid19. I am donating 1000 PPE kits for our medical staff and have partnered with Tring to raise donation for another 1000 PPE kits which are in immediate need across India for our doctors and medical staff." The actress also announced a reward to whoever is donating. She wrote: "For your contribution, I will send you a personal thank you video message recognising your generosity." The "Mission Mangal" star also shared a video message on Instagram where she talks about the shortage of PPE kits in India's hospitals and explains why is it necessary to donate for the same. In the video, Vidya says: "In the war against COVID 19, our healthcare professionals are like soldiers at the border fighting for our health and freedom. Just like we equip our soldiers for a battle, we must do the same with our medical staff." "There is a critical shortage of PPE that is personal protective equipment for our senior doctors, residents, nurses and ward boys in their daily work. They come into constant contact with affected patients and if one medico is affected, the entire unit of 8-12 healthcare workers is quarantined for 2-3 weeks. As a result, a lot of our hospitals are not functioning at full capacity. Join me in changing this now," she added. Akshay Saini, co-founder of Tring stated: "We are very grateful to Vidya who has been very generous and has donated 1000 PPE kits in her individual capacity, in addition to the several other donations she is doing." Each PPE kit worth Rs 650 consists of one coverall laminated and waterproof, nitrile gloves, goggles, face shields, 3-ply surgical mask, and shoe covers, informed the actress. BALTIMOREAgainst all odds, Thomas Piketty pocketed a small fortune from the publication of a weighty book about the perils of economic inequality and the necessity of wealth taxes. The money he earned from his 2014 international bestseller, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, he says, only reinforced the French economists discomfort with the concentration of wealth among a privileged few. Piketty said he paid a 60 per cent tax on his book earnings and spent only a fraction of it to upgrade his lifestyle. The rest he parked in a bank account waiting, he says, for a political transformation that would lead France to impose a 90 per cent wealth tax on highly affluent people like himself. I am already incredibly lucky, he said in a recent video-conference interview from his elegantly white-walled Parisian apartment. I have enough. Pikettys research has helped define a debate about the consequences of concentrating so much money and property among so few. His warnings have arrived at a coincidental moment: The coronavirus has suddenly exposed, in real time, the human impact of the seemingly abstract data and charts his research produced. Now, Piketty is out with a new book, a manifesto for political change called Capital and Ideology that was published last month in the United States. Tipping the scales at over 1,100 pages, it argues that any nations degree of inequality derives directly from political decisions decisions that can be reversed if governments have the will to do so. It follows the release late last year of a documentary film that was inspired by Pikettys previous book. With stunning speed, the viral outbreak has inflicted disproportionate suffering on poorer communities. Even in affluent nations, a majority of households have become suddenly vulnerable as layoffs mount and savings are drained. All of that is intensifying political pressures as the disease increasingly exposes the scope of inequality from the United States to Italy to West Africa. This is a crisis that illustrates a virulent inequality, Piketty warns. Delivery workers on bicycles around Paris, he notes, are risking their lives because they need money. Millions of migrant workers in India have been left homeless as that nations businesses have shuttered. A central question for Piketty is whether the crisis will prove to be a catalyst that drives policy changes from paid sick leave to government-provided health care to a reordering of the tax code that might narrow the wealth gap. Or not. Economists, including those recently surveyed by the University of Chicago, warn that the outbreak will worsen already high levels of inequality in the United States. Even accounting for $2 trillion-plus (U.S.) in government aid, 84 per cent of the economists surveyed said that low-income workers would suffer a bigger hit to their incomes than more affluent people would. Separately, 91 per cent said the pandemic would widen the gaps in the quality of education between poor and affluent households. And 95 per cent said that deaths would disproportionately occur among disadvantaged groups such as the working poor and African-Americans. This difference would have been less pronounced if the U.S. had universal health care, said Jose Scheinkman, an economist at Columbia University. The Trump administration has opposed the use of tax increases on the wealthy to cushion the economic damage to the poor and middle class. The administration has championed tax cuts as a solution to inequality, on the premise that lower taxes will inevitably drive faster growth. Larry Kudlow, U.S. President Donald Trumps top economic adviser, defended the existing structure of the U.S. economy in an interview with FOX Business Network. Why do we have to raise taxes? Kudlow said. Lets let people keep their own money, get them a job, have a strong business, let them keep their own money. Arguing from the polar opposite view, Piketty puts faith not only in a wealth tax but in adjusting property taxes based on home equity. When he talks about participatory socialism, the French economist is not embracing the idea of public ownership but rather private property for all. The goal, he says, is to dilute the concentration of real estate in the hands of so few people. These ideas would upend notions of economic growth that are predicated on low tax rates for capital gains from investments. Yet Piketty argues that much of the economic growth enjoyed in the United States arose from its commitment to education that improved the skills of its people, rather than from its tax policies. It is far from clear that the viral outbreak will force the kinds of political changes in the United States and Europe that Piketty envisions. Many working-class voters have sided with the Trump administration, favouring an end to low-tariff trade and curbing immigration. And a shift among working-class voters to a more nationalist vision of government has emerged in advanced economies such as France and Germany, Piketty noted. U.S. Democratic voters in this years presidential primaries bypassed Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, both of whom forcefully advocated for wealth taxes. They chose instead former vice-president Joe Biden, whose economic views are more centrist. Piketty suggested that his survey of history indicates that voters could either shift toward his ideas in the aftermath of a crisis or reject them entirely and embrace nationalism more fully. In these times of crises like the one we have today, there are different possible trajectories that can be taken, Piketty said. It could really go both ways. When Nigeria returned to democracy after a sixteen year hiatus following the collapse of the Second Republic, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo decided to model it after the American style democracy with the creation of the office of the Chief of Staff. This office was hitherto unknown before Baba Iyabo as Obasanjo is fondly called took over the mantle of leadership. The office even in the United States didnt come immediately after the then thirteen colonies defeated the British Empire which was the most powerful in the globe at that time. However, it is instructive to note that the pioneer Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton played a similar role to the highly esteemed office during the American war of independence which ended in 1789. Despite not being a soldier, he was the closest to the war hero who later became the first American President, George Washington. He was with him in the war front and was the intermediary between him and the troops that he commanded. He wielded more powers than many of the nations Generals and offered to crown Washington as a King after the war was won. He later played a key role in the drafting of the constitution that guided the new nation. The office was officially created in 1939 under the Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt who brought the nation out of the Great Depression of 1929 that shook her to its very firmament. Abdullahi Mohammed who served both Obasanjo and Yaradua was rather self effacing as he handled the Presidency from behind the scenes. It was Dr. Andy Uba, the aide on domestic matters that was more visible and was a darling of the media in the hey days. After the resignation of Abdullahi under Yaradua, he chose to scrap the office and rely more on that of the Principal Private Secretary which was held by David Edevbie, a James Ibori loyalist. The office bounced back to reckoning under the Goodluck Jonathan led Presidency and was held by Chief Michael Oghiadomhe, a former deputy Governor of Edo state and later Brigadier-General Jones Arogbofa (rtd). The visibility of his administration was vested in the person of Dr. (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who doubled as the coordinating minister of the economy. The most powerful Chief of Staff in the nations history was the late Mallam Abba Kyari as he was extremely visible in the policy formulation of the Buhari led administration. Due to the confidence reposed on him by his boss, he made many enemies as he was said to have stepped on many powerful toes. We recall a public spat he had with the immediate past Head of Service, Mrs. Winnifred Ekanem Oyo-Ita where a picture of her pointing her fingers at him. She was later to have lost her plum job due to alleged financial impropriety. Her die-hard supporters opined that her exit was as a result of her falling out with the de facto President. His membership of the board of the government owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and a leaked memo by the office of the National Security Adviser to the press showed that the Cambridge trained lawyer was sabotaging the efforts of the military in the battle against the dreaded boko haram insurgents. Popular journalists like Simon Kolawole, Olusegun Adeniyi, Reuben Abati told us through their personal interactions with him that he wasnt the devil that the media portrayed him to be. We were told that he was merely doing his job. The tribute by Chief Femi Fani-Kayode was apt because he once played a similar role when he was Obasanjos aide on public affairs. A new Chief of Staff should have a commanding aura of Kyari and should possess a lot of exposure a mix of both the private and public sector. He or she so that one is not accused of sexism should have astute multitasking abilities in order to deal with the high demands of the office. The nature of the office is such that it doesnt require the approval by the National Assembly. Invariably, the President would naturally prefer someone he knows and can trust. Kyari was known to Buhari for over 40 years as revealed by both the President and his powerful nephew who is said to be part of the cabal, Mamman Daura. It is most likely that a close relationship between him and Kyaris successor would play a key role in the next appointment. Some names have already propped up The former Military Administrator of Lagos State, Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), the Head of the Customs, Colonel Hameed Ali (rtd), Ambassador Babagina Kingibe, Adamu Adamu, the education minister are the most prominent names being bandied about for the highly coveted office. A well known Lagos based radio commentator has a soft spot for that office and always describes the holder as someone who has the potential to be the President. When you consider the fact that Kyari was nearly Vice-President in 1999 as revealed by Mamman Daura, he cannot be far from the truth. Some pundits opined that some of the ministers are angling for one of them to be appointed into that office so as to reduce the friction they have with the President since Buhari made late Kyari so powerful that the ministers reported directly to him and not to the President. We hope that Buhari appoints him or her early enough as we recall that it took him nearly five months to constitute his cabinet in 2015. Time the ultimate revealer of things will tell who Kyaris successor will be. We hope Kyari finds eternal rest with his maker as the vagaries of life makes people forget about the departed so soon making nonsense of the concept of leaving a legacy behind. Tony Ademiluyi wrote from Lagos and edits www.africanbard.com CAMEROUN :: Despite COVID-19, woman arrested with two bags of pangolin scales :: CAMEROON A woman has been arrested in Dimako with two bags of pangolin scales by wildlife officials of the Upper Nyong Divisional Delegation of Forestry and Wildlife in collaboration with the police in Abong-Mbang. The operation was carried out with the technical assistance of The Last Great Ape Organisation (LAGA), a Non-Governmental Organisation. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, wildlife officials successfully launched and arrested the woman in a town where she had been running her pangolin scales trade despite suggestions that the disease may have links to the animal.The woman belongs to a network of wildlife traffickers operating in the East ofRegion thatisahub forillegal wildlife activity. The alleged traffickerhad been arrested many times for illegal wildlifetrade, but not charged. She has a close relationship with theforces of law and order in Dimako and during the operation she resisted arrest, requested to see a law enforcement officer from Dimako because police officers who took part in the operation were brought in from AbongMbang. According to eyewitness accounts say, she resorted to delaying tactics during her arrest, in waiting for afriend who is a gendarme, she had phoned for assistance. The supposed friend did not show up and she tried resisting with the show of some level of force and disrespectful language .Reinforcements were called in and she was finally arrested and taken to the gendarmerie brigade at Dimako, with the pangolin scales that weighed 50kg in total. According to the 1994 wildlife law that prohibits poaching and trafficking of wildlife animals,anyone found in possession of parts of a protected wildlife species is considered to have killed the animal and is liable to a prison term of up to 3 years and or a fine of up to 10 million CFA francs. All three species of pangolins that are found in Cameroon are listed in the class of totally protected species. The pangolin is considered a natural host for thecoronavirus, and probably played a role in the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, as statedin a study published in March in the scientific journal Nature.Pangolins are the most trafficked animals in the world and are highly sought after in China and Vietnam.They are prized for their meat which is considered a delicacy as well as their scales which are used in traditional Chinesemedicine. The trade in pangolin products is strictly illegal, it is estimated that around 1,000,000 animals were trafficked last year according to IUCN. Pangolins are totally protected species and are highly threatened with extinction. Despite the disturbing global healthcrisis that is ravaging lives in the world, traffickerscontinue to trade in the species. Ofir Drorithe Director of LAGA and the EAGLE networkstates that a large part of the trade in pangolin scales is carried out by organized crime syndicates who equally deal in drugs, weapons, human trafficking and financial crimes. It should be noted that LAGA is a member of the EAGLE network that assist governments in Africa fight wildlife crimes. . Among measures aimed at containing COVID-19, some governments are banning the consumption and trade in pangolins. Last month Gabon took this initiative to forbid the trade and consumption of pangolin meat and it is expected that more African governments shall follow . Generally acknowledged to be the foremost American sculptor of the late 19th century, Augustus Saint-Gaudens was actually born in Dublin. He was born on March 1, 1848 to Bernard Saint-Gaudens, an itinerant cobbler from the south of France, and his Irish wife, Mary McGuinness, of Ballymahon, County Longford. He was the third of five boys and the first to survive childhood. Two sons born in 1842 and 1843 died in 1847 and 1848. Bernard and Mary met in a shoe factory where they both worked, Arthur McGuinness, Marys father worked in a Dublin plaster mill. In 1848, the family, with six-month-old Augustus, left Ireland for America, and settled in New York City. The young Augustus grew up in the Bowery, attending Sunday school at Saint Patricks Cathedral on Mulberry Street. The French-Irish boy survived numerous fights with the street gangs who targeted him and other Celtic immigrants. His father opened a store and young Augustus sold his fathers Boots and Shoes, to the homes of New Yorks prominent families. He had to work from the age of thirteen. After a customer admired his drawings of the workmen in his fathers shop, he was allowed to follow his artistic bent and was apprenticed to a cameo-maker. From polishing stones and running errands he graduated to carving cameos himself. He also went to the free evening art classes at Cooper Union, returning home to draw far into the night. He moved on to study at the National Academy of Design. His earliest work in sculpture was a bronze bust in 1867, of his father, Bernard P.E. Saint-Gaudens. In 1868 he went to Paris and became a pupil of Jouffroy in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Two years later, with his fellow-student Mercie, he went to Italy, where he spent three years. At Rome he executed his statues Hiawatha and Silence. He then settled in New York, in 1874 he-made a bust of the statesman, William M. Evarts, and was commissioned to execute a large relief for St Thomas's Church, New York, which brought him into prominence. He married Augusta Fisher Homer on June 4 1877, their son Homer was born on September 29, 1880. In 1884 he completed the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial, in 1887 Abraham Lincoln: The Man, was unveiled. Many other commissions followed including another sculpture of Lincoln, titled, Abraham Lincoln: The Head of State, the Double Eagle Twenty Dollar Gold Piece coin, American, 1848-1907, was also his work. In all he completed over thirty major sculptures in his lifetime, including the Charles Stewart Parnell monument in Dublin. According to Augustus his most treasured possession was a pencil sketch of his mother Mary McGuinness, from Ballymahon. Mary, who died in 1875, lived to see her sons early success. Augustus was diagnosed as having cancer in 1900, he became increasingly sick during the period covered by the Dublin commission. He never visited the site. The finished Parnell sculpture did not arrive in Dublin until 1907, the year of his death, and the obelisk, which was erected under the supervision of George Patrick Sheridan, probably from the designs of Henry Bacon of New York, was not completed until 1911. Augustus Saint-Gaudens died on August 3 1907 at his home in Cornish, New Hampshire. His remains were cremated and his memorial is in Cornish City, Sullivan County, New Hampshire. While Pennsylvanians remain largely isolated from the outside world during the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Tom Wolfs administration is encouraging residents to turn to mental health services if they feel anxious, alone or scared. The governors administration said the mental health of nearly half of U.S. adults has been negatively impacted by the coronavirus, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Were all in this fight against COVID-19 together and, as Ive said many times, we all have a part to play, Wolf said in a news release. To be the strongest we can be in our efforts to ward off COVID-19, we need to ensure we are taking care of our mental health. So, please, if you need assistance, reach out. Here is a list of resources Wolf has recommended for Pennsylvania residents whose mental health has suffered during the outbreak. Online Resources: Contacts: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) The Crisis Text Line: Text PA to 741-741 Veteran Crisis Line: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) Disaster Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990 Get Help Now for substance use disorder and alcohol treatment: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) State residents with food insecurity during the pandemic can apply for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, or others found at www.compass.state.pa.us. Immediate assistance can be found through resources such as Feeding Pennsylvania or Hunger-Free Pennsylvania. An application for help can be accessed through the Department of Agricultures website, as well. Click here for updates and full coronavirus coverage. READ MORE: Heres where and how self-employed Pa. residents can file for unemployment What young people need to know to survive a recession: From how much to save to student loans Where is my coronavirus stimulus payment? Why does the IRS portal not work? More updates INTERNATIONAL Gastronomic Society Chaine des Rotisseurs hosted its "Bailliage de Cebu," a 27th Induction and Grand Dinner Amical held at the Grand Ballroom of Marco Polo Plaza Cebu last March 7. The grand degustation was a seven-course menu consisting of a cold appetizer of King Crab & Tiger Lobster, followed by a soup dish of Burgundy Truffle Consomme, then a hot appetizer of Fennel Juice Brined Squab served accordingly before a sorbet of Smoked Rhubarb. The entree was a creative Provimi Veal & Foie Gras, then a fromage of Baked Brie de Meaux before finishing with a beautifully laid-out dessert of Valrhona Dark & White Chocolate Truffles. A range of fine wine served was the Baron Philippe de Rothschild Cadet dOc Sauvignon Blanc (France 2018), Beringer Founders Estate Merlot (California 2016) and Mount Brown Pinot Noir Waipara Valley (New Zealand 2014). Members and their guests brought together were entertained by good music, excellent company and appreciation of fine cuisine! (Alliance News) - Boris Johnson is set to take charge of the UK government's response to the coronavirus outbreak when he returns to Downing Street on Monday after recovering from the disease. The prime minister was said to be "raring to go" after spending the past two weeks recuperating at his official country residence Chequers. It followed a week in St Thomas' Hospital a including three nights in intensive care after his condition dramatically deteriorated. He returns to No 10 amid growing pressure from senior Conservatives to begin easing lockdown and growing dismay at the damage it is causing to the economy. However, scientists advising the government on its response warned it was far too soon to consider any relaxation, as the official death toll for the UK passed 20,000. Officials were reported to be working on a Singapore-style plan for the passengers arriving at UK sea and airports to be quarantined for 14 days. According to The Sunday Telegraph and The Mail on Sunday, it is intended to stop fresh cases arriving from abroad when the government rolls out its "track and trace" scheme to identify and isolate new infections. Johnson prepared for his return with a three-hour summit meeting on Friday with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab a who has been deputising for him a and Chancellor Rishi Sunak. His main concern while he has been away was said to have been to ensure the lockdown conditions were kept in place long enough to prevent a second wave of the pandemic hitting the country. Meanwhile, a series of wealthy Tory backers who have donated millions of pounds to the party coffers have urged the government to begin loosening the restrictions to controls to allow the economy to start up again. Financiers Michael Spencer and Peter Hargreaves, the banker Henry Angest, Phones4u founder John Caudwell and restaurateur Richard Caring all told The Sunday Times they wanted to see some re-opening of the economy. Steve Morgan, the former boss of the housebuilder Redrow, told the paper: "We're actually in danger that the medicine a if you want to call the lockdown that a is more harmful than the cure. "I'm strongly in favour of getting the country back to work. This is not about profit; this is about Asaving the country from going bankrupt, from mass unemployment, from businesses going bust, people losing their livelihoods and homes." In contrast, John Edmunds, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies a which has been helping shape the government's response, warned any relaxation risked an upsurge of new cases. "The strategy behind plans to lift the lockdown is based on the idea [that] you could then control the epidemic by testing people for infections before tracing their contacts," he told The Observer. "However, if we lifted the lockdown now, the testing and tracing system would be overwhelmed. We will have to get case numbers down a lot lower than they are now before we can think of lifting current regulations." Labour leader Keir Starmer added to the pressure on the government by stepping up his calls for ministers to set out an "exit strategy" for lifting the restrictions once it was safe to do so. In a letter to Johnson, Starmer said it was essential ministers learned the lessons from the mistakes made dealing with the crisis. He said the UK was again in danger of falling behind other countries a as well as the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales a which were already engaged in "adult" conversations with their citizens as to how the restrictions could be eased. "Simply acting as if this discussion is not happening is not credible, especially when other governments and our own devolved administrations have been able to communicate so much more," he wrote. "The British public have made great sacrifices to make the lockdown work. They deserve to be part of an adult conversation about what comes next. If we want to take people with us and secure their consent, this is necessary now. "This is a national crisis and therefore needs a national response. The coming weeks require urgent preparation and planning from the government. "We have already seen the consequences of poor planning and preparation. That cannot happen again." By Gavin Cordon, PA Whitehall Editor source: PA Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 26) Government funds for the country's social amelioration program are running low as the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) has been extended for two weeks more, Social Welfare secretary Rolando Bautista said. "The implementation of the SAP only on the beneficiaries in ECQ areas is in consideration with the budget availability. Im sure you have heard the thoughts of Secretary Dominguez and Secretary Wendel Avisado. So, bottomline there is really the budget intended for the succeeding days of the ECQ in short of saying is running short," Secretary Bautista told CNN Philippines Sunday However, Bautista said the remark was only his personal opinion. Earlier, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said poor families in provinces where the enhanced community quarantine has been lifted will no longer receive a second wave of cash aid, as the money will now be given to more families in Metro Manila and other areas which remain under lockdown due to COVID-19. Roque said the distribution will then be limited to Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and other provinces and cities which remain under enhanced community quarantine following the President Rodrigo Duterte's announcement of another two-week extension. Duterte also said restrictions will be eased in areas to be placed under general community quarantine starting May. When asked how poor families in areas placed unter general community quarantine would be able to provide for themselves., Bautista said he believes economic activities in these areas woud resume. "Ito rin po yung pinag uusapan ng different agencies particularly yung mga economic planners natin, the DTI, DOTr... The way I see it is they will ensure that..economic activities or commerce will continue. With that, chances are yung mga nagtatrabaho, yung mga workers will be able to continue their work and earn an amount intended for their families," he said. Bautista said members of the interagency technical working group on social amelioration programn has convened to discuss formulating guidelines relative to Roque's pronouncement. "These guidelines have to be presented to the interagency task force on infectious disease of course for their approval," he added. The Nanny State Made Me Stuart Maconie Ebury, 20 Rating: The first child born in an NHS hospital arrived a minute after midnight on July 5, 1948. She was named Aneira after Aneurin Bevan, the architect of the health service. More than 20 years later, the 8,047,970th NHS baby was born: Stuart Maconie, and hes very proud of the fact that he is a child of the State born into the stern but loving embrace of one of its hospitals. His latest book is a celebration of the public, the collective, the national, the municipal, the much maligned nanny state. The term nanny state has become a dismissal of big government (Above, Hattie Jacques, Barbara Windsor and Kenneth Williams in Carry On Doctor, 1967) The term nanny state, coined in the Sixties by a Conservative MP fulminating against motorway speed limits, has become a dismissal of big government. But Maconie argues that the welfare state has been responsible for some of this countrys greatest achievements. Hes a leftie, but hes not one of those hectoring ideologues who stands astride social media bellowing at people. Hes a funny, lyrical writer who prefers to persuade rather than browbeat. IT'S A FACT One of the first welfare states existed in India in the 3rd century BC, introduced by Emperor Ashoka. All men are my children, he declared. Advertisement Each chapter examines a different element of the nanny state the NHS, comprehensive schools, public transport and so on with an entertaining and, yes, persuasive mix of history, memoir and reportage. Of course, he over-simplifies. Most political books do. And in one respect the idea that the welfare state is under threat this book has already been overtaken by events. The Chancellor has announced plans to underwrite the wages of employees laid off during the pandemic crisis and put an extra 7 billion into the welfare system. The Government has taken over the railways. But in other ways it could not be more timely. When weve won the war against Covid-19, there will be a discussion about how to win the peace, and some of the ideas here will be at the forefront of those deliberations. Dead Famous Greg Jenner W&N, 18.99 Rating: Enough with the fame, already. Do we really need to read about another hyper-ambitious young wannabe gaining undue attention via a scandalous sex life and a penchant for appearing sans clothes? Except these arent the exploits of the latest Instagram star, but the CV of Cleo de Merode, a French ballerina who shot to notoriety in the late 1800s by sexualising her brand and dating King Leopold II of Belgium. Of particular repute were her ears, hidden tantalisingly beneath a chignon. When Merode arrived in New York in 1897, one hard-bitten newsman begged for a glimpse of a lobe, at least. French actress Sarah Bernhardt (above in about 1880) wore a stuffed bat on her head, kept a pet alligator, and took to being carried in a litter after her right leg was amputated If you thought weirdly obsessive celebrity culture was a thoroughly modern phenomenon, think again. Twas ever thus, claims Greg Jenner, the historical consultant on the BBCs irreverent (and painstakingly accurate) TV series Horrible Histories. In Dead Famous, Jenner trawls centuries of pre-Fifties history, digging up eccentric case studies in support of his thesis that fame-hounds, incessant attention-seekers and accidental superstars are nothing new. There is a light dusting of scholarly study but primarily this is an opportunity to romp with some colourful characters from the pre-modern age. IT'S A FACT At her convent school, Sarah Bernhardt shocked nuns by demanding that her pet lizard be given a full Christian burial. Advertisement Folks like French actress Sarah Bernhardt, who wore a stuffed bat on her head, kept a pet alligator, and took to being carried in a litter after her right leg was amputated. Or child star Edmund Kean, a prototype Macaulay Culkin, who blazed a trail on stage in the early 1800s before being hounded into obscurity by the haters. In his teenage pomp, Kean would row down the Thames with a puma on a leash; by 20 he was a has-been. Societal panics, too, are nothing new. Between 1910 and 1930, America wrung its hands over the number of wannabes flocking to Hollywood in search of fame. The papers called it filmitis. Jenners breezily conversational style, a gag or exclamation mark rarely out of sight, wont suit all tastes. If you flinch at the notion that Horatio Nelson rose to fame by kicking Napoleons a*** at the Battle of the Nile, this may not be the book for you. Nonetheless, Jenner is an engaging tour guide who smuggles some thought-provoking points about our culture into his zippy pen-portraits. In the end, there is a degree of comfort to be found in the realisation that humanitys obsession with fame, beauty, sex, talent, disgrace and dishonesty was just as fervid in the age of the daguerreotype as it is in the era of the smartphone. Graeme Thomson The Fall Of The House Of Byron Emily Brand John Murray, 25 Rating: When Lady Caroline Lamb announced in 1812 that her poet lover George Lord Byron was mad, bad and dangerous to know, she wasnt telling people anything that they hadnt guessed already. Even if you blocked your ears to the rumours about the poets private life hed abandoned his wife, slept with his half-sister there was no getting away from his notorious family backstory. Long before mlord was a twinkle in Mad Jack Byrons eye, generations of Byrons had spent their time gambling away their fortunes, suing each other in court, fighting duels and sleeping with people whom they really shouldnt. But somehow they always managed to get away with it. George Lord Byron abandoned his wife and slept with his half-sister - he has a notorious family backstory (Above, Thomas Phillipss 1835 portrait of Lord Byron in Albanian costume) In this luscious slice of popular history, Emily Brand knits together all the naughtiest Byrons of the Georgian period into a glittering family tapestry. My favourite is the poets great aunt Isabella, a stunning beauty who believed in true love and was determined to have a lot of fun finding it. Her first marriage, to the much older Earl of Carlisle, turned out to be remarkably happy, although a cynic might point out that this could have had more to do with the fact that he was one of the wealthiest men in Britain. Brand is particularly good at describing the outrageous excess of aristocratic life Isabella was whisked from balls at the Carlisle family seat Castle Howard in Yorkshire to sparkling salons in Londons Soho. She loved every minute, which is why, when her husband died in 1758, she wasted no time seeking a replacement. Within months, Isabella scooped up a handsome but dull baronet called Sir William Musgrave. But when that marriage failed, the ageing beauty started behaving increasingly desperately. She racketed around Europe looking for suitable aristocrats with whom to fall in love, attracting gossip and pity in equal measure. The Byrons did occasionally stick their nose outside the ballroom, brothel or casino for a gulp of fresh air. One of the most famous was Isabellas brother Foul Weather Jack (everyone in this family got nicknames), who spent six years missing at sea in the 1740s before stumbling back into Soho looking like a pirate and scaring the servants. This Jack Byron eventually published a successful book about his adventures following the shipwreck of the Wager off the coast of Chile. It was Vice-Admiral Byrons example that gave his grandson the poet the idea that being a writer could be a thrilling and lucrative - occupation for an aristocrat. Brand has done an excellent job of placing the sexploits of the Byron family into the context of a broader social and political history. In between the anecdotes about excellent parties, we learn about the terrible mortality rates,financial losses, constant threat of social and political violence. Beneath the shimmering surface, this feels like a fable for our times. Kathryn Hughes Dark, Salt, Clear Lamorna Ash Bloomsbury, 16.99 Rating: Posh, arty London girl moves to Cornish fishing town, roughs it with locals, declares village wonderful, moves back to London to write memoir. Lamorna Ashs debut, about life in an embattled Cornish fishing settlement, Newlyn, is terrific. Its a hugely moving but unsentimental account of not only todays fishermen but also a salty, grafting, real-life England too rarely depicted in literature. Authors of books such as this tend to romanticise fishermen, but Ash undercuts the emotion and sea-folklore by including modern trappings: skippers entertain crews with mobile discos and once ashore they head to the pub to do shots. Lamorna Ash undercuts the emotion and sea-folklore by including modern trappings (Above, Newlyn Harbour: Mending The Nets by Harold Harvey, 1909) Because we meet them engaged in such ordinary activities, the feelings about the sea Ash coaxes out of them are all the more striking (two of the most weatherbeaten confess to her that sometimes just being alone and looking at the sea makes them cry). As her relationships with the townsfolk develops, she discovers that what she wants isnt just an understanding of her Cornish roots, but rather a feeling of belonging to a place where life has meaning and purpose. She writes with honesty about her own sense of inadequacy in Newlyn, at one point telling Kyle, a fisherman, that she dislikes having to say shes a posh girl living in London. Hang on, you know youre posh? he says. I thought I was going to have to tell you! Youre the first actual posh person Ive met! Her frankness encourages people to open up to her, and by the end of the book, when she attends the funeral of a man who has taken his own life, she has found that belonging and acceptance. Dark, Salt, Clear is not perfect. Ash can sound like a student excited about mixing with the workers on a summer job. But it is well-timed, feels rather important, and has excellent tips on the filleting of fish. What more could you want? Richard Benson When Erica Diede and her fellow caregivers end a shift at the PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center emergency department, they leave their scrubs behind to be professionally laundered. Staff stationed at the entrances check the temperature of everyone entering the hospital and give them face masks and squirts of hand sanitizer. Diede, medical director of the department, said she stays home as much as she can and follows other public guidelines. She washes her hands frequently and avoids touching her face. Were just as worried about getting this as everyone else, she said Friday about the coronavirus. Were on high alert and taking precautions. Given were not in a super-concentrated area of the virus, I dont think theres an increased risk of us being in the community. Despite initial uncertainty about the new virus, PeaceHealth St. John officials and staff said in interviews last week that the two-month lag between Washingtons first reported case and the hospitals first COVID patient on March 15 gave St. John time to prepare plans to keep patients and staff safe. I think everybody at first was a little nervous because there was so little verified information, Diede said. In medicine, were used to having things been researched. ... Were adapting to recommendations as they have come out and come up with a plan. Now we are more comfortable with whats been going on and how we treat patients. St. John has treated 10 COVID-19 patients, including those seen in the emergency department and not admitted overnight, according to the hospital. As of Friday, the hospital had no cases. Even though we know worldwide theres a pandemic, our experience here hasnt been as dramatic as that, said Sheila Lynam, St. John chief medical officer. The caseload here has remained manageable in part because the community is following social distancing practices, said Richard Ferraro, director of nursing. The measures allow the hospital to handle the flow of all patients, he said. Its been a team effort from the hospital and the community, Ferraro said. The staff have really rallied. ... We couldnt be prouder of staff and their willingness to come in and face the unknown. St. John and other Washington hospitals have seen a decline in patients after Gov. Jay Inslee on March 19 halted non-urgent surgeries and procedures to conserve protective equipment. Although the emergency department is still open, its seen about a 30% decrease in patients, Diede said. We havent been overwhelmed, which gives us time and equipment to treat patients with extra care, she said. We never know if this is going to surge at some point, so were taking advantage of the lull in case things ramp up. However, Diede said there have been a few cases of people waiting too long to seek care at the hospital. For emergencies, were definitely open and have the equipment needed to protect people, she said. We encourage people not to delay coming in for care. Lynam said as the governor loosens some restrictions, the hospital will gradually open up to more procedures as is safe and sensible. She said St. John will likely start with seeing patients in extreme pain or with conditions that could progress and be further debilitating. As the hospital takes these steps, it will keep an eye on the degree of infection in the community and back off if there are spikes to keep the spread down, Diede said. But at some point we have to open things up, Diede said. We just have to do it more gradually and mindfully. Diede said hospital staff are also are discussing how they will screen patients, including those without symptoms, for the virus. The hospital has sectioned off an area of the waiting room and emergency department for patients with the virus or who are suspected to have the virus. Caregivers treating COVID-19 patients wear gowns, gloves, masks and goggles, Diede said. The hospital has avoided personal protective equipment shortages reported at many hospitals and clinics, said Debbie Luttman, chief nursing officer. St. John had time to pre-plan and began conserving equipment before getting its first COVID-19 patient, she said. Adequate supply of protective equipment has been a big concern among staff because of shortages reported elsewhere, Luttman said, so the hospital has worked to communicate closely with staff about where to access the equipment and how to use it. Luttman said although hospital staff havent refused to work, the administration is making sure they are comfortable going into different units. We have such a heart for our community, everybody is concerned more for patients than themselves, she said. I think morale is good. When this first started, there was more uncertainty. But now we feel like we understand and can handle this. The hospital has also taken a proactive approach with its employee assistance program, Luttman said. The program, which can help staff with childcare, food assistance, spiritual and mental health, now provides virtual support groups and support from the hospital chaplains, she said. Liz Cattin, community health network director, said the hospital also set up a miniature grocery section in the cafeteria so workers could buy staple items without having to visit the store after a long shift. The hospital set up a voluntary labor pool for caregivers who are not busy to help staff screening stations at entrances, cross train in the emergency department and other work, said Lynam, chief medical officer. On Thursday afternoon three of these employees were stationed in the hospital entrance on the first floor of the parking garage. Danielle McKee gave instructions to Bobbi Lafever, health information management specialist, who was checking in visitors and taking temperatures with Derek Gunderson, an operating room tech. McKee usually works in the billing department, but after her other work slowed down, she became the point of contact for staff working the doors. Its been different. Ive met a lot of new faces, she said. Its been really rewarding and Ive been able to be a part of everyday changes. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. After three elections in less than 12 months, Israel finally seems to have a stable government in place. And just as it is trying to get over the hump of the coronavirus and pursue a peace plan. It looked, for a time, like Israel have to face yet another election, as, once again, no party or coalition had a clear mandate following the March 2 election. Likud, the right-wing ruling party of current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu narrowly beat out right-leaning candidate Benny Gantz's Blue and White Party 29.5% to 26.6% of the total vote. Gantz had actually won by an even-thinner margin in the previous election last September. However, that still left almost half of the 120 seats in the Knesset allocated to minor parties. In fact, a total of eight parties won six or more seats. With its pure proportional system, Israel is a case study for political scientists. Many countries use mixed-proportional systems, but fewer use the pure version, and, of those, very few have such a low minimum electoral threshold for a party to enter parliament as Israel, where parties only need to win 3.25% of the vote in order to be allocated seats. Germany, which uses a mixed system, has a minimum of 5%. The Republic of Korea (ROK), which held legislative elections on April 15, also has a unicameral legislature, but only 47 of its 300 seats are set aside for party-lists. The victorious Democratic Party easily won a majority this time without facing any necessity to form a coalition government. The country whose electoral system is closest to Israel's is Denmark, where the minimum is even lower: 2%. This, too, has produced a confusingly-large number of parties in politics. Therefore, Israeli prime ministers have to build coalitions with a diverse group of politicians scattered across the spectrum in all directions. That is what made it impossible for either of the two top vote-getting parties to cobble together a government the past two times. Israeli parties are divided not only along left-right economic lines, but also along secular-religious lines, and, crucially, on the issue of policy towards the Palestinian territory. There are some Orthodox parties that hold social democratic views on economic, yet still support Netanyahu's right-wing coalition because they agree with its strong religious slant in politics and support expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Seth Freedman, writing in The Guardian, observed: "Successive governments have paid dearly for forming coalitions with radical minority partners, especially when it comes to the perennial problems associated with the Palestinian conflict." The difficulties of forming a government, combined with the grave domestic and geopolitical stakes, ultimately lead to Benny Gantz agreeing to form a unity government with Netanyahu. The latter stays on as prime minister for 18 more months, before Gantz takes over. The main goals of this administration, according to a 14-page coalition agreement, will be solving the coronavirus epidemic and implementing the peace plan endorsed by U.S. President Trump. The first six months are supposed to feature an "emergency government" focusing primarily on the pandemic. As difficult as it has been for governments around the world to halt the coronavirus, it might actually be easier than achieving territorial resolution and peace. Israel has had a relatively successful "track and trace" policy on COVID-19. It currently has 14,000 confirmed cases, not a huge amount in raw terms or proportional terms, but almost all of them have come since the second half of March. Still, the territorial dispute over the West Bank and Gaza has been dragging on for decades, centuries even. Even the most enlightened diplomats have been unable to resolve it. Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who presided over the process of writing a peace plan, is hardly the most enlightened of people, and not even a diplomat. The U.S. wrote the plan without consulting a broad spectrum of Israeli society, and no Arab consultation whatsoever. The Palestinian leadership has already rejected it, ditto representatives of the Israeli settlers in the West Bank, who want its entirety to be annexed by Israel. Neighboring Arab states are not optimistic. When it comes right down to it, the problem isn't Israel's electoral system or its coalition politics. It would be an intractable issue under any system. Mitchell Blatt is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/MitchellBlatt.htm Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. If you would like to contribute, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn. About 8.6 million people live in these areas. Darker areas show where more people live far from hospital care. What will they do as the coronavirus hits? Even though there are about 5,250 of these acute care and critical access hospitals in the United States, in large areas of the country it is hard to reach one. This map shows everywhere outside a 30-minute drive from the nearest hospital offering the kind of inpatient medical care needed to treat coronavirus. As the coronavirus outbreak spreads into rural parts of the United States, more people who live far from a hospital are increasingly likely to need one. That poses challenges for communities where hospitals are scarce and I.C.U. beds are in short supply even a relatively small outbreak there could overwhelm medical resources, with potentially grim consequences for public health. Research shows people are less likely to seek health care, even emergency care, when they need to travel farther to get it, especially when they are more than about 30 minutes from a hospital. We already know that people in rural regions who are located farther from health care use care less and generally have worse outcomes, said Dr. Paul Delamater, a researcher on health care access at the University of North Carolina. And thats under normal circumstances. In a pandemic, the problem is twofold. Without a hospital nearby, those who are sick may not seek care at all, leaving them to suffer and to risk spreading the infection to others. But if a large outbreak does occur and too many people need treatment, rural hospitals could easily be overwhelmed and be forced to send patients traveling even farther from their homes for care. I would imagine things are only going to get worse, not better, Dr. Delamater said. Read more: Closed Hospitals Leave Rural Patients Stranded as Coronavirus Spreads Dozens of rural hospitals have closed in the last decade, many of them in the Southeast. In the West, there have been fewer closures, but hospitals are more dispersed and many are designated critical access hospitals, with 25 or fewer inpatient beds. That means fewer beds, farther apart for the sick, whether those with coronavirus or those needing other treatment. The problem of distance is further compounded by demographics. Rural populations generally tend to be older and have higher rates of underlying health conditions, making them most at risk of hospitalization from the coronavirus. People living outside a 30-minute drive from the nearest hospital Rank State All ages Rank State 65 and older 1 California 794,000 1 California 151,000 2 Florida 551,000 2 Washington 112,000 3 Arizona 541,000 3 Florida 111,000 4 Washington 537,000 4 Arizona 106,000 5 Missouri 347,000 5 Oregon 82,000 6 Texas 347,000 6 Missouri 75,000 7 Colorado 343,000 7 Texas 75,000 8 New York 331,000 8 Virginia 69,000 9 Oregon 326,000 9 New York 66,000 10 Virginia 325,000 10 North Carolina 63,000 By The New York Times Source: 2014-18 American Community Survey Alpine County, which straddles the Sierra Nevada in Northern California, is one of more than 700 counties nationwide with no hospital at all. The closest is in South Lake Tahoe, a 30- to 40-minute drive for most residents, according to Nichole Williamson, the countys director for Health and Human Services. Just one person in the county has tested positive for coronavirus so far, but if the outbreak were to grow, Ms. Williamson said, there would not be much they could do. A shortage of medical personnel means that setting up a temporary hospital would not be an option. We have plenty of buildings we could use, she said, but we dont have the staff to open up an alternate care site. Ms. Williamson said that if an outbreak occurred in Alpine County, she would expect people would need to be sent to a bigger hospital in Reno, Nev., about an hour and 15 minutes away. In some cities where hospitals are overwhelmed, more people have been found dead at home. Evidence is also building that people who might have otherwise gone in for conditions unrelated to the coronavirus are avoiding hospitals for fear of contracting the virus. So far, those outcomes are a risk but not yet a reality in most rural areas. In some counties with the largest populations living far from hospitals, local officials said they had not heard of anyone failing to get the medical treatment they needed. In Whatcom County, Wash., for example, 38,000 people live 30 or more minutes from St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham. Cindy Hollinsworth, an expert in communicable diseases at the county health department, said that even though many residents did not live within that range, all lived within a 40-minute drive and had access to emergency medical services. Read more: Coronavirus Was Slow to Spread to Rural America. Not Anymore. A spokesman for San Bernardino County, Calif., where there are 24 hospitals but 61,000 residents still live outside the 30-minute range, said the current public health concern there was a shortage of tests for the virus, not hospital beds. But some areas of the country with large populations living far from hospitals are showing cause for concern. Rural communities in three states where the coronavirus has spread Arizona, Florida and Washington are already experiencing strain on their local medical facilities. Outbreak in Navajo Nation Across Arizonas remote landscape, about half a million people live more than a 30-minute drive from the nearest hospital. Access is especially difficult in Native American tribal areas, where coronavirus cases are growing quickly. An outbreak that began in mid-March had reached 350 infections just in Navajo County as of Thursday morning, with a higher rate of cases per capita than most states. People living outside a 30-minute drive from the nearest hospital Acute care hospitals Critical access hospitals 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000+ people Navajo Nation Kingman 40 Flagstaff 17 Arizona Phoenix 8 Yuma Tucson 50 miles Acute care hospitals Critical access hospitals 1,000 3,000 5,000+ people Navajo Nation Kingman 40 Flagstaff 17 Arizona Phoenix 8 Yuma Tucson 50 miles 1,000 3,000 5,000+ people Acute care hospitals Critical access hospitals Navajo Nation 40 Flagstaff Ariz. Phoenix 8 Tucson 50 miles Acute care hospitals Critical access hospitals 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000+ people Navajo Nation Navajo County Kingman 40 Flagstaff 17 Arizona Phoenix 8 Yuma Tucson 50 miles By The New York Times Anne Newland, who operates primary care clinics across Northern Arizona, said smaller tribal clinics were already reaching capacity and transferring patients who needed intensive care to facilities in Flagstaff and Phoenix. In Navajo County, theyre trying to get patients who need a ventilator out, she said. Patients from these highly affected areas are able to be transferred down to the valley, but thats an expense. Patient transfers can cost up to $20,000, an overwhelming burden for smaller facilities. Covid-19 is just a condition thats challenging everybody, Dr. Newland said. She also worries that given the severity of the outbreak, people will be hesitant to travel long distances to hospitals at all. Its not just the distance, its that people are afraid, she said. And sometimes they need to see their doctor or go into the E.R., and they shouldn't avoid that. Fear Among Florida Farmworkers In rural Florida, hospital access is the most limited in the farm towns of the panhandle and north of the Everglades. People living outside a 30-minute drive from the nearest hospital Tallahassee Jacksonville 10 50 miles Gainesville 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000+ people Acute care hospitals Critical access hospitals 95 Orlando 4 Tampa Florida Immokalee Miami Naples 75 10 100 miles Gainesville 95 1,000 3,000 5,000+ people Acute care hospitals Critical access hospitals 4 Tampa Florida Immokalee 75 Naples Miami 10 Gainesville 100 miles 95 4 Tampa Fla. 1,000 3,000 5,000+ people Acute care hospitals Immokalee Critical access hospitals Naples Miami Tallahassee 10 Jacksonville 50 miles Gainesville 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000+ people Acute care hospitals Critical access hospitals 95 Orlando 4 Tampa Florida Miami Naples 75 By The New York Times The lack of a nearby hospital in Immokalee, a migrant farming town of 24,000 in South Florida, creates health care challenges under normal circumstances and is causing greater concern as the coronavirus pandemic unfolds. As of Friday, 34 confirmed cases had surfaced in the town. Workers there produce most of the states tomato supply. They have called for a field hospital to be set up in town through the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a labor advocacy and human rights group. Were about 40 minutes to an hour to a hospital, so that's going to be very limiting, said Lupe Gonzalo, a farm worker and staff member of the coalition. Farm workers are deemed essential workers, but they lack protective equipment, and for many workers social distancing is impractical. The buses they ride on to go to the farms are packed, sometimes with over 40 or 50 people, Mrs. Gonzalo said. The workers live in confined spaces maybe 10 to 15 people in a trailer. So if one person gets sick, many people will get sick. Empty Hospitals in Washington State In Washington State, rural hospitals are seeing problems with too few patients rather than too many. Nonurgent procedures are suspended, and people with chronic conditions are avoiding going to the hospital. We are actually seeing people delay care thats kind of concerning right now, said Jacqueline Barton True, the vice president of rural health programs at the Washington State Hospital Association. People living outside a 30-minute drive from the nearest hospital Critical access hospitals Acute care hospitals 1,000 3,000 5,000+ people Three Rivers Hospital Seattle WASHINGTON Spokane Tacoma 90 5 Longview Walla Walla 50 miles Acute care hospitals Critical access hospitals 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000+ people Three Rivers Hospital Spokane Seattle WASHINGTON Tacoma 90 5 Longview Walla Walla 50 miles 1,000 3,000 5,000+ people Acute care hospitals Critical access hospitals Three Rivers Hospital WASH. Spokane Seattle 90 5 50 miles By The New York Times Ms. Barton True said at least six critically ill patients had had to be airlifted from rural Columbia County since the last week of March, an unusually high number, and none of them with coronavirus. All over the state, rural hospitals that canceled elective surgeries to keep beds open for coronavirus patients have taken a heavy financial hit. On Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the Three Rivers Hospital in Brewster said they had just 51 days of cash on hand. The most vulnerable rural hospitals are hardest hit by the inability to generate revenue, Becky Bennett, a spokeswoman for the state health department, said. Despite some federal aid, theres growing concern over whether these hospitals will be able to weather the crisis in the long term. Advance payments from Medicare have helped, Ms. Barton True said, but that money will have to be paid back in a number of months, and a lot of our hospitals are very concerned about how and whether theyre going to be able to pay that money back. While cases are declining in the Seattle area, where the U.S. outbreak first began, they are still rising in some rural counties, such as Douglas, though in far smaller numbers. The state is able to run 21,000 tests for the virus each day, but in Kitsap County and other rural areas, health care providers said they were still being told to prioritize testing for high-risk groups, not everyone who may have symptoms. Steve Metcalf, a spokesman for the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, said it was still possible that hospitals there could face problems with capacity. When the time comes to reduce social distancing we are not there yet we anticipate there could be a bounce in cases at local hospitals, he said. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin has revealed that the State pension age will not increase to 67 next year. The pension age was one of the most divisive issues of the General Election campaign, with the increase due to take effect on January 1, 2021. However, in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Independent, Mr Martin said that will not happen, under an agreement he has struck with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. "The programme for government will have to specify that," he said. He also suggested the Green Party's demand to reduce carbon emissions by 7pc per year could be achieved by almost a third of the country continuing to work at home after the Covid-19 lockdown. Read More Mr Martin's comments come as a new Kantar opinion poll for the Sunday Independent shows two out of five people have seen their household income reduced due to the coronavirus crisis, while a further 35pc are expecting their finances to be impacted in the future. Over half (53pc) said they were "very worried about the future" and just one in five believed the economy would bounce back quickly. There is strong support for the caretaker government's response to the pandemic, with almost half of people saying they strongly approve of its performance and 29pc saying they somewhat approve. However, as government formation talks continue this weekend, Mr Martin intervened to insist people should receive some form of a pension payment from 65 and said plans to increase the age to 67 next year will be abandoned. "I think there's agreement on that and that's not happening," he said. "I think the programme for government will have to specify that and that's a matter for discussion between two parties." During the election campaign, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael clashed over how to address the State pension age after Sinn Fein insisted it should be reduced to 65. Fine Gael insisted the age should increase next year, while Fianna Fail said it should be deferred pending a review. Mr Martin said he still believes there should be transitionary State payment for those who retire at 65, but this needs to be worked on. There is no commitment on the pension age in the policy framework document agreed between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. Mr Martin and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar are this weekend preparing a response to the Green Party's detailed list of demands for entering into government negotiations. "If you could get 30pc of people remote working, that would have a dramatic impact on congestion and air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions," Mr Martin said. The Fianna Fail leader compared his ambition to meet the Greens' demands with the US landing the first man on the moon. "We need to be in a frame of mind that says 'what is possible', and go for it. I remember the famous quote from John F Kennedy - that famous speech he gave when he said 'we can get to the moon in a decade'. No one believed in that, at the time, but he did, and America did." The Green Party will also propose an expansion of the controversial BusConnects scheme, large offshore wind farms and retrofitting 50,000 homes a year in coalition talks. However, the party believes there will have to be a reduction in the national herd as part of plans to reduce greenhouse gas by 7pc every year - putting it on a collision course with rural TDs in Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. "We've always said there will have to be some reduction in the national herd, it's about diversification of farming," Green TD Roderic O'Gorman told the Sunday Independent. "But these cuts cannot be done without the farming community being involved." The Greens also want a major bog-rewetting programme involving around 130,000 hectares of bogland being waterlogged. Separately, Mr Martin revealed he intervened to stop St Patrick's Day celebrations during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. "I would have rung the Taoiseach on Patrick's Day, for example. "I would have given my views privately. I didn't go publicly shouting from the rooftops even though my TDs wanted me to, but I felt that was the wrong approach." Mr Martin also said he privately insisted that children returning from ski trips in northern Italy should not be allowed to return to school but his advice was ignored. "I would have had a view that when people come back from northern Italy in the beginning that on a precautionary principle they should not have been allowed back into school." Mr Martin added that he wants to "refine" social-distancing restrictions to let people travel further from their home, and suggested over-70s should be allowed to leave their homes for exercise. "What is wrong with somebody who's a walker or a hillwalker who's going five miles on their own and meeting nobody in the wilderness?" he said. "What is wrong with an over 70-year-old going outside for a walk with masks if necessary? I mean that's going on in other countries." NJ Police: Excessive Wearing of Mask May Have Contributed to Driver Crashing Car New Jersey Police on April 24 said a driver who fainted and crashed their car into a power pole may have done so due to excessive wearing of an N95 mask. In a statement on Facebook, the Lincoln Park Police Department said that while it did not know with 100% certainty, that the prolonged wearing of the N95 mask was a contributing factor to this accident, we do know that the driver had been wearing an N95 mask inside the vehicle for several hours and ultimately passed out while operating the vehicle. On April 23, Lincoln Park Police Department said it responded to a lone occupant single car motor vehicle crash. Photos of the accident posted on the LPPD Facebook page showed a red vehicle being cleared from the area after crashing head-on into a wooden pole. Officials did not specify the exact location of where the crash occurred and did not identify the driver of the vehicle. The crash is believed to have resulted from the driver wearing an N95 mask for several hours and subsequently passing out behind the wheel due to insufficient oxygen intake/excessive carbon dioxide intake, LPPD said, adding that the driver was taken to a hospital where they were treated for non-life threatening injuries and are expected to recover. Officials also noted that there was nothing uncovered at the accident scene that would suggest the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but that it is certainly possible that some other medical reason couldve contributed to the driver passing out. Due to the overwhelming response to the incident and their initial post, LPPD sought to clarify its original report in an amended version, in which it said it is not trying to cause public alarm or suggest wearing an N95 mask is unsafe, but that in most cases, the wearing of this type of mask while operating a vehicle with no other occupants is unnecessary. NJ residents should absolutely continue to follow the directives regarding face coverings put in place by our governor. As it relates to this specific incident, we reiterate that police officers are not physicians and do not know the medical history of every person we encounter, they said. LPPD urged motorists and the general public to continue to wear masks in public settings to help prevent the spread of CCP virus, which causes the disease COVID-19, but said they are not necessary outdoors when social distancing can be maintained, and especially not necessary when driving a vehicle with no additional occupants. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not recommend that the general public wear N95 respirators to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19, as these are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for health care workers and other medical first responders. It notes that people who suffer from chronic respiratory, cardiac, or other medical conditions that make breathing difficult should also check with their health care provider before using an N95 respirator because the N95 respirator can make it more difficult for the wearer to breathe. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises wearing face cloth coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. However, face coverings should not be worn by children under the age of two, or by anyone who has trouble breathing, is in incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance. Saudi Arabia is ending flogging as a form of punishment, according to a document from the kingdoms top court seen by Reuters Riyadh: Saudi Arabia is ending flogging as a form of punishment, according to a document from the kingdoms top court seen by Reuters on Friday. The decision by the General Commission for the Supreme Court, taken sometime this month, will see the punishment replaced by prison sentences or fines, or a mixture of both. The decision is an extension of the human rights reforms introduced under the direction of King Salman and the direct supervision of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the document said. Flogging has been applied to punish a variety of crimes in Saudi Arabia. Without a codified system of law to go with the texts making up sharia, or Islamic law, individual judges have the latitude to interpret religious texts and come up with their own sentences. Rights groups have documented past cases in which Saudi judges have sentenced criminals to flogging for a range of offences, including public intoxication and harassment. This reform is a momentous step forward in Saudi Arabias human rights agenda, and merely one of many recent reforms in the Kingdom, the president of the state-backed Human Rights Commission (HRC) Awwad Alawwad told Reuters. Other forms of corporal punishment, such as amputation for theft or beheading for murder and terrorism offences, have not yet been outlawed. This is a welcome change but it should have happened years ago, said Adam Coogle, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Division at Human Rights Watch. Theres nothing now standing in the way of Saudi Arabia reforming its unfair judicial system. Indigenous tribes in Perus Amazon say the government has left them to fend for themselves against the coronavirus, risking ethnocide by inaction, according to a letter from natives to the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, reports Reuters. The formal complaint asks the U.N. and international courts to force the government to take concrete action to ensure their survival, citing the 1948 U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Eight native leaders representing 1,800 communities in the Peruvian Amazon signed the letter which was published by indigenous group AIDESEP on Thursday. Health experts have warned the spreading virus could be lethal for the Amazons indigenous people, who have been decimated for centuries by diseases brought by Europeans, from smallpox and malaria to the flu. They send messages every day about what the (government) is going to do in the cities, but nothing for indigenous peoples, Lizardo Cauper, president of AIDESEP, told Reuters. For us, this is discrimination. At least four natives from the Puerto Bethel region, a remote Amazon wilderness community two hours by river from the capital of Ucayali, have contracted the disease, according to a spokesman for the Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Culture said earlier this week that it shipped supplies for improving sanitation and hygiene to Puerto Bethel and was monitoring the situation. Kimberly Guilfoyle called Don Jr. her 'wonderful other half' as the couple celebrated their anniversary this week after two years of dating. Guilfoyle, a journalist and senior adviser of President Trump's 2020 campaign, revealed the special milestone Saturday in a sweet Instagram post. Photos showed the smiling couple sitting down for a meal inside their home in the Hamptons, while heart-shaped balloons and chocolate covered strawberries laid nearby. Guilfoyle said she and Don Jr. joined together to host an online broadcast of 'Triggered,' with members of Team Trump in a video chat the day of their anniversary. 'Yesterday was a special day for Don Jr. and myself,' she wrote. Pictured: Kimberly Guilfoyle (left) and Don Jr. (right) celebrated two years of dating this week Photos shared to Instagram showed heart-shaped balloons and chocolate covered strawberries 'After working all day - including hosting an hour on 77-WABC and joining him for his special Team Trump online broadcast of Triggered - we were able to take some time to celebrate two amazing years of being together. Guilfoyle praised Don Jr. for the host of thoughtful gifts he surprised her with. 'It has been a very special time and he was so thoughtful with his card, balloons, chocolate covered strawberries (one of my favorites), and beautiful flowers. 'I kept up my cooking with KG and we enjoyed a great meal. We truly are blessed and I love having him as a wonderful other half.' Guilfoyle and Don Jr. shared two special meals to celebrate their anniversary Friday As stay-at-home orders persist during the COVID-19 pandemic, Guilfoyle and Don Jr. appeared to have quarantined together in New York. It was revealed in 2018 that the couple began dating and Guilfoyle even earned a stamp of approval from the first family. A source close to the president's son told DailyMail.com in 2018 that the two are 'crazy about each other' and have never tried to hide their romance. 'They're really into each other, it's obvious from the way they are together, and they haven't tried to hide it. But they haven't felt compelled to make any kind of pronouncement that they're romantically involved,' the source said. The source added the pair have been open about their relationship and are given to PDAs and holding hands when they are together. Don and Kim began dating in late March, around the time Trump Jr., 40, and wife Vanessa, 40, announced their decision to split after 12 years of marriage. Guilfoyle: It has been a very special time and he was so thoughtful with his card, balloons, chocolate covered strawberries (one of my favorites), and beautiful flowers Don Jr. and Guilfoyle (left and right) reportedly began dating in June 2018 Don Jr. (left) said of Guilfoyle (right): 'You could walk into a room with the biggest titans of industry two minutes later and [she would] fit in with either one of them' According to the source, the Trump family is a big fan of Kim, especially the president. Guilfoyle and the eldest Trump son are said to be a great match since the two have a lot 'in common' and politics being a big part of it. Don Jr. loves that Kim is 'so smart' and understands the political landscape so well, the source said. The couple appeared in their first TV interview as a couple with DailyMailTV where they further spoke about their relationship. DailyMailTV interviewed the two on a secluded ranch 90 minutes southwest of Bozeman, Montana, where Republican U.S. Senate candidate Matt Rosendale and a group of donors were aiming sniper rifles at targets between 100 yards and 1 mile away. Like Trump Jr., who swept through North Dakota and Montana without shaving, Guilfoyle is comfortable in either Levi's or Louboutin. 'I can put her with my blue-collar friends,' Trump Jr. said. 'And shoot!' she jumped in. 'You could walk into a room with the biggest titans of industry two minutes later,' he said, and '[she would] fit in with either one of them.' Kimberly said fellow Latinas who may object to her stumping for the anti-illegal-immigration Trump don't dare say it to her face: 'We are a country and a nation founded by immigrants and I want everybody to have that opportunity, but I don't think people should cut in line' DON'T TELL HARRY AND MEGHAN (OR JAY AND BEY): Trump Jr. said he's heard he and Kimberly are 'the most Googled couple on the Internet' With three divorces and six children between them, Guilfoyle joked that they're somehow rebooting the Brady Bunch franchise as 'The Donberly Bunch.' Since then, charming photos of the couple were shared throughout Guilfoyle's Instagram and received likes by the thousands. The couple have appeared thick as thieves, with Guilfoyle and her son joining the presidential family for the holidays last year. Guilfoyle also celebrated her 51st birthday in March with a lavish Mar-a-Lago birthday party where President Trump sang 'Happy Birthday' and she danced with Don Jr. She was feted in speeches by Don Jr.; Eric Trump and his wife Lara Trump; and by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. During the bash, President Trump toasted Guilfoyle and joined attendees in singing 'Happy Birthday' to her as she was brought a cake with a large, sparkling candle on it with the flames shooting up toward the ceiling. 'Four more years,' Guilfoyle yelled after her birthday song, urging the crowd to join her in supporting the president. President Trump also teased her during his toast. 'This is a special deal with Kimberly,' he said as seen in video posted on social media. 'So Kimberly how old are you?' Eric Trump, Don Trump Jr and Lara Trump feted Kimberly Guilfoyle during a dinner in the main ballroom at Mar-a-Lago He then paused and chuckled: 'No Im not going to ask you that.' '29,' someone at the party was heard yelling. '29,' Guilfoyle yelled in agreement. Trump continued to lavish praise on her. 'She looks young to me and beautiful and shes done an incredible job,' President Trump said of his son's girlfriend. Guilfoyle was also toasted by her boyfriend and his siblings. Eric Trump joked he would take Guilfoyle home with him. 'Youre so freaking beautiful I might take you home tonight,' Eric said, putting his arm around Guilfoyle as she hugged him. 'Would Don be upset?' He turned to his wife Lara Trump: 'Honey would you be upset?' Ivanka Trump kept her remarks short. Kimberly Guilfoyle celebrated her 51th birthday party at Mar-a-Lago Saturday night with a lavish party filled with high-profile Republican guests and President Trump helped sing happy birthday Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro joined President Trump in toasting Guilfoyle 'The second best thing to a really funny speech is a short speech so Ill keep it at that,' she told the crowd. 'Were all here obviously to support the president and to support Kimberly, who works so so hard to support the president and celebrate her amazing birthday.' Guilfoyle thanked the crowd and said she was grateful to be taken in by the Trump family. 'I pray every day and every night about how lucky I am and fortunate to be able to be taken in to this incredible American family that puts it on the line every single day,' she said. Donald Trump Jr. also praised his girlfriend, whom he called 'Princess. 'Im a one-trick pony, as you can see from Kimberly - shes got nuance, subtlety, class, kindness,' he said. 'Im just a sledge hammer a useful tool, a useful a tool when you need but everything is a nail when Don Jr has the mic. He then turned to Guilfoyle. 'Princess you are the best; thank you for everything that you do,' he said. 'I love you very much.' By William Schwartz | Published on 2020/04/25 Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan (played here as a child by Lee Kyung-hoon-I) was a high-ranking member of the Catholic clergy. He is widely known and highly regarded in South Korea for the support he offered to the country's democratization movement. But once upon a time, Sou-hwan was just a normal child like any other. "Beyond That Mountain" tells the story of how Sou-hwan came to understand the world and his place in it, ultimately leading him to take a vocation. Advertisement Despite having fairly explicit Catholic subject matter, "Beyond That Mountain" is noteworthy for not actually being all that Catholic in practice. Indeed, some distinctive shots show the young Sou-hwan observing and demonstrating reverence for the occasional Buddhist icon he runs into in his life of being a normal child growing up in the 1930's in Japanese occupied Korea. Sou-hwan frequently sits in silent contemplation of the vast Korean countryside, relying only on intermittent guidance from Father Yoon (played by Kang Shin-il) as to what this all could mean. Director Choi Jong-tae brilliantly captures the world Sou-hwan lives in from the eyes of a child. A story told by Father Yoon of nineteenth century missionaries is perceived with the utmost innocence as a tragic tale of fate and faith meant largely to beg the question of why humanity exists. Sou-hwan is reflective of suffering, even as he partakes in it and watches his mother, played by Lee Hang-na, struggle with no obvious goal in mind save to provide him with a better life. In limited perspective her gentle perseverance is sad. But through force of will, Sou-hwan chooses to see his mother's actions in the greater scheme of the universe. Sou-hwan accepts his humble beginnings. Though "Beyond That Mountain" depicts much hardship, even an uplifting scene where Sou-hwan is confronted by Japanese speaking bullies has a sort of fatalism. Sou-hwan sees that any one struggle or battle is meaningless as he comes to understand that hope, much like suffering, is collective. By not having a clearly defined plot, and deliberately relying on the assumption that the audience knows who Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan is, "Beyond That Mountain" manages the impressive feat of acheiving a near documentarian picture of what life was like in Korea in the thirties. We see the rough undeveloped towns and markets. We see the beauty of the countryside. And just as Sou-hwan ponders the world as he knows it compared to the world of the nineteenth century missionaries, so too do we as viewers compare our own world to Sou-hwan's. The overall experience is beautifully bittersweet. From as alien a world as 1930's Korea, director Choi Jong-tae is able to draw upon the universality of human experience to emphasize the inevitability of change. As "Beyond That Mountain" comes to a close, there is no hint in the guileless mind of Sou-hwan that he will be witness to a series of incredible transformations in Korean society. Nevertheless, he has accepted that something will happen. And whatever that something may be, Sou-hwan is prepared to fulfill his own designated role in God's plan. Review by William Schwartz ___________ "Beyond That Mountain" is directed by Choi Jong-tae, and features Lee Hang-na, Lee Kyung-hoon-I, Ahn Nae-sang, Kang Shin-il, Song Chang-eui, Lee Yeol-eum. Release date in Korea: 2020/04/30. A group of journalism professors led by New York Universitys Jay Rosen has sent an open letter to the heads of several national news networks calling on them to stop airing the Trump administrations coronavirus briefings live. Because Donald Trump uses them as a platform for misinformation and disinformation about COVID-19, they have become a serious public health hazarda matter of life and death for viewers who cannot easily identify his falsehoods, lies and exaggerations, reads the letter from Rosen, Susan Douglas of The University of Michigan, Todd Gitlin of Columbia University and Barbie Zelizer of the University of Pennsylvania. The four signees have encouraged other journalism professors and other academics to add their names to the letter. Also Read: Trump's Brief Coronavirus Briefing Sends #TrumpIsALaughingStock Trending The letter was addressed to ABC News President James Goldston, MSNBC President Phil Griffin, NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack, CBS News President Susan Zirinsky, and WarnerMedia News Chairman Jeff Zucker, who oversees CNN. The letters demands echo those Rosen has regularly made on his media analysis blog PressThink, where he has urged the media to not cover any of Donald Trumps rallies or public speeches live. Instead, as the letter describes, he has called for the media to review briefings and to only report on statements from the president that can be verified by an outside source, pointing out when necessary where Trump is lying. Also Read: Did The Onion Predict Trump's Suggestion About Disinfectants to Treat Coronavirus? While Trumps briefings have included pertinent information from medical officials like lead immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci, Trump himself has repeatedly promoted false information about possible coronavirus treatments. This past week, he suggested that infected patients be injected with disinfectant, prompting statements from Lysol and Clorox against any internal use of their products. He also promoted the use of the drug hydroxychloroquine, which is used to treat malaria and lupus but could lead to poisoning or death if misused. In the past week, the Food and Drug Administration has released warnings against using the drug as a COVID-19 treatment. Story continues While a long and established history of journalists covering presidential pronouncements and White House briefings exists, in their current form under this president, these briefings have degenerated into political rallies and forums for the president to denigrate his enemies, the letter reads. Journalists are not obligated to assist the president in amplifying his grievances or in misinforming the American people about the spread of the virus and what is actually being done and needs to be done to combat it. You can read the letter in its entirty by clicking here. Read original story Journalism Professors Call on Networks to Stop Airing Trump Coronavirus Briefings Live At TheWrap Seasoned Biotech Executive Colin Goddard Joins as Executive Chairman BASEL, Switzerland, April 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- FoRx Therapeutics AG (FoRx), the biotechnology company developing a new generation of cancer drugs focusing on novel DNA Replication Stress (DRS) pathways, today announced the closing of a EUR 10 million seed financing led by M Ventures (venture capital arm of Merck), Novartis Venture Fund and Omega Funds. Pfizer Ventures, the venture capital arm of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and LSP (Life Sciences Partners) also joined the seed financing. The company also announces the appointment of Colin Goddard as Executive Chairman. FoRx is developing a new generation of drugs against a unique target class for the treatment of cancer. The company's scientific foundations are built on the pioneering work of Professor Thanos Halazonetis, from the University of Geneva. Professor Halazonetis discovered novel DNA repair pathways, such as Break Induced Replication (BIR) that enable cancer cells to overcome DNA Replication Stress, a prevalent feature in human cancers but absent in normal, healthy cells. These repair pathways constitute a vulnerability that can be exploited for targeted intervention using synthetic lethality. The work of Professor Halazonetis describing oncogene-induced replication stress has been published in renowned scientific journals including Nature[1]. The Company's validated BIR targets furthermore appear to have potential for both therapy and maintenance treatment as shown in preclinical knock-out models. Newly appointed Executive Chairman, Dr. Colin Goddard, said: "I am excited to join the Board of FoRx as we embark upon this new approach for therapeutic intervention in cancer. With strong scientific foundations and a high quality investor syndicate, the Company has the potential to materially improve the options available to oncologists around the world." Dr. Colin Goddard has a long track record of leadership and success in the industry. He works as an investor and board member in a number of early stage and public biotechnology companies, leveraging over 30 years of experience in the industry. He is Chairman of Mission Therapeutics and BlinkBio. He was previously a non-executive director of Endocyte Inc. which was acquired by Novartis in 2018 for US$ 2.1 billion. From October 1998 until its US$4 billion acquisition by Astellas Pharmaceuticals Inc. in June of 2010, Dr. Goddard was CEO of OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc. Dr. Goddard holds a PhD in Cancer Pharmacology. Therese Maria Liechtenstein from M Ventures, Florian Muellershausen from Novartis Venture Fund, Vincent Ossipow from Omega Funds, Vincent Brichard from LSP, and Denis Patrick from Pfizer Ventures joined the FoRx board along with Professor Halazonetis. Andreas Goutopoulos, current Senior Scientific Director at EMD Serono and Chief Scientific Officer at Metabomed, is supporting FoRx Therapeutics as interim Chief Executive Officer, as part of his role as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at M Ventures. About FoRx Therapeutics FoRx Therapeutics, was founded in the fall of 2019, is a biotechnology company developing a new generation of cancer drugs focusing on novel DNA Replication Stress pathways activated in cancer. Drawing on discoveries by Thanos Halazonetis and Dr. Sotirios Sotiriou, FoRx was co-founded in 2019 with M Ventures, Novartis Venture Fund and Omega Funds along with Pfizer Ventures, the venture capital arm of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and LSP (Life Sciences Partners). For more information, visit www.forxtherapeutics.com About M Ventures M Ventures is the strategic, corporate venture capital arm of Merck. Its mandate is to invest in innovative technologies and products with the potential to significantly impact the company's core business areas. From its headquarters in Amsterdam and offices in the US and Israel, M Ventures invests globally in transformational ideas driven by great entrepreneurs. M Ventures takes an active role in its portfolio companies and teams up with entrepreneurs and co-investors to translate innovation towards commercial success. M Ventures has a significant focus on early stage investing and company creation including the creation of spin-offs to leverage the company's science and technology base. For more information, visit www.m-ventures.com. About the Novartis Venture Fund Novartis Venture Fund is a financially driven corporate life science venture fund whose purpose is to foster innovation, drive significant patient benefit and generate superior returns by creating and investing in innovative life science companies at various stages of their development. For more information, go to www.nvfund.com. About Omega Funds Founded in 2004, Omega Funds is a leading international investment firm that creates and invests in life sciences companies that target our world's most urgent medical needs. Omega focuses on identifying and supporting companies through value inflection points across the full arc of innovation, from company formation through clinical milestones and commercial adoption. Omega Funds' portfolio companies have brought 37 products to market in multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology, rare diseases, precision medicine and others. Please visit omegafunds.com for additional information. About Pfizer Ventures Pfizer Ventures (PV), the venture capital arm of Pfizer Inc. was founded in 2004 and invests for return in areas of current or future strategic interest to Pfizer. PV seeks to remain at the forefront of life science advances, looking to identify and invest in emerging companies that are developing breakthroughs and technologies that have the potential to enhance Pfizer's pipeline and shape the future of our industry. For more information, visit www.pfizerventures.com. About LSP LSP's management has raised $2.5 billion since it started to invest in the life sciences in 1988. The group has offices in Amsterdam, Munich and Boston. Alongside the latest biotech fund LSP 6, recently closed at 600 million euros, the firm is investing from its $300 million Health Economics Fund and its $200 million public fund and mandates. Among LSP's signature deals are argenx, Crucell, KuDOS, Movetis, Neuravi, Okairos, Prosensa, Qiagen and Zealand Pharma. In addition, LSP is an active contributor to the life sciences industry through roles as founder and board member of the Oncode Institute, board member of both the German and Dutch private equity and venture capital associations, initiator of the Dutch Venture Initiative (DVI), as well as board member or advisor to a number of European technology transfer institutes and government bodies such as Health~Holland. For further information, please contact: Optimum Strategic Communications Mary Clark, Manel Mateus Tel: +44-(0)-203-922-0889 Email : FoRx@optimumcomms.com [1] Nature. 2005 Apr 14;434(7035):907-13. SOURCE FoRx Therapeutics AG Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-25 04:57:18|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close RIO DE JANEIRO, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Minister of Justice and Public Security Sergio Moro resigned from office on Friday, accusing President Jair Bolsonaro of trying to interfere in Federal Police investigations. On Thursday, local media G1 reported that President Bolsonaro had called for the dismissal of the head of the Federal Police, Mauricio Valeixo. Moro reportedly said he would not fire Valeixo without good reason and threatened to quit. The government on Friday morning announced Valeixo's dismissal, and Moro subsequently announced his resignation. According to Moro, President Bolsonaro fired Valeixo because he would not reveal details of investigations being carried out by the Federal Police, as they are confidential. Under Brazilian law, the president cannot interfere in Federal Police investigations. Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday to "tell all the truth" about the resignation of Moro. The statement was made in President Bolsonaro's Twitter account, which is one of his preferred manner of communication. Bolsonaro promised to clarify the circumstances of Moro's departure in a press conference to be held late Friday afternoon. Enditem MONTREALQuebec will present its plan to get kids back to school and daycare on Monday, outlining the first part of the provinces timeline for getting activities and businesses up and running again. Premier Francois Legault has said he expected outlying regions of the province less impacted by COVID-19 to be the first to resume activities and parents wouldnt be obliged to send their kids back to school. The province reported 69 new deaths linked to COVID-19 on Sunday the lowest total in nearly a week bringing the total number of deaths to 1,515. About 80 per cent of those deaths have taken place in long-term care and seniors residences. The province also reported 24,107 confirmed cases an additional 840 cases compared to Saturday. The number of hospitalizations was at 1,518 on Sunday and 215 people were in intensive care. The finer details of Legaults plan telegraphed by the premier during his daily briefings over the past week are expected to be laid out Monday. Thus far, children have been shown to be less at risk for coronavirus complications, but a potential reopening of schools and daycares have left some parents, teachers and their professional unions on edge. Legault has stressed parents can keep their kids at home, something the Parti Quebecois education critic said must be addressed in the governments planning. The government must explain what it intends to do to ensure equity between students who return to class and those who will stay at home, especially for those who have learning disabilities or special vulnerabilities, said Veronique Hivon. The health of students, their parents and school staff is paramount, but no one should be left behind. Since March 13, when the provinces schools effectively shuttered, Quebec hasnt forced a teaching plan on homebound students. The Quebec English School Boards Association urged the province to use national or international guidelines, including clear benchmarking, to address the pandemic. Among several recommendations by the association includes a more robust distance learning plan, following the lead of other jurisdictions. The probable timeline of this illness will change the way we do things in the education network for some time to come, president Dan Lamoureux said in a statement. We may not be able, even in the medium term, to return to full class sizes in crowded, bustling schools. Legault has nixed the idea of sending one million schoolchildren back simultaneously in September, calling it too risky. Among those in favour of a return to school before too long is the association representing Quebec pediatricians, who said in a letter that a gradual reopening is necessary for the well-being of kids. They said theres already been a mental and physical impact of prolonged confinement: a dip in calls to youth protection, depriving kids of a safety net provided by daycares and school and fewer young children being vaccinated. Legaults office issued a statement Saturday that its plan will be crafted under the direction of the provinces Public Health Department. The reality is that the virus will be part of our daily life for many months to come, the statement read. Life has to start gradually, there would be significant risks of keeping Quebecers confined for too long, especially in mental health. Provinces have taken different approaches to schools. New Brunswick, which announced a four-step COVID-19 recovery plan last week, will maintain home learning and opted to close schools for the rest of the school year. Saskatchewan also outlined a detailed plan last week but schools werent mentioned and unlikely to open soon. In Ontario, the province announced Sunday that public schools will remain closed in the province through May 31. Read more about: Joe Biden's unexpectedly rapid consolidation of the Democratic presidential nomination has upended calculations in both parties about the U.S. Senate landscape, with Democrats hopeful that Biden can actively help with close races and Republicans increasingly nervous about losing their 53-47 majority. Biden's ascent has dented GOP plans to paint Democratic candidates as left-wing extremists, something they were eager to do had Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., emerged as the nominee. Instead, the Democrats now have a more moderate standard-bearer who is intimately familiar with the Senate, in close touch with top candidates and keenly aware of how Senate control could affect his potential presidency. The former vice president's emergence is part of a larger shift in prospects that has become clear in states such as Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina and even Montana and Georgia, as a surge in Democratic fundraising, along with President Donald Trump's struggles to manage the coronavirus pandemic, have led independent analysts to upgrade Democrats' chances. Even in Alabama, one of the most conservative states, underdog Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat, stands an outside chance of an upset, a fact that Jones attributes in part to Biden besting Sanders. "Was it in fact a relief? Sure, it was a relief - for me and I think a lot of the moderate Democrats that won in 2018," said Jones, who has known Biden for decades and spoke to him this month. "It's always tougher to run when you've got somebody on the ticket that is identified as far more liberal than you are." Beyond the Senate's critical role in passing legislation and confirming judges and Supreme Court justices, Biden served 36 years in the chamber, which formed him politically and shaped many of his friendships. He has repeatedly engaged in behind-the-scenes efforts to boost the party's chances of winning the majority. In the final sprint to the Iowa caucuses in mid-January, when Biden's own nomination was in serious doubt, he hopped on the phone with Montana Gov. Steve Bullock to urge him to consider running for the Senate. He had a similar talk with former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper. Bullock and Hickenlooper, both of whom ran against Biden for the presidential nomination, are now two of the Democrats' marquee Senate prospects. Biden consulted Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., before both conversations, according to people with knowledge of the discussions. Just this past week, the former vice president was on the phone with his friend Sen. Christopher Coons, D-Del., taking inventory of which candidates were "looking strong" and which were in "need of some additional support," Coons recalled. Biden is even eager to discuss the Senate when talking to those more interested in the House, raising the issue a few days ago with Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., the chair of the House Democratic campaign arm. "We talked a little bit about the Senate," Bustos said. "He's very optimistic about what's ahead." Nonpartisan analysts and strategists in both parties agree that the Senate landscape has shifted in recent weeks, pushing Democrats to within striking distance of a takeover. The pandemic and the collapse of the economy, once Trump's biggest strength, are big factors, but so is Biden's rise. "Biden's likely nomination was critical to Democratic chances of taking back the Senate because it keeps the battlefield large," said Nathan Gonzales, editor and publisher of Inside Elections. "I think if Democrats had nominated Sanders, it would have limited Democratic takeover opportunities." Trump, too, is sharply aware of the Senate's importance. He and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., spoke about the outlook in late February, according to a person with knowledge of the discussion. Democrats must gain a net of at least three seats to win the majority if Biden is elected president, as the vice president is tasked with breaking 50-50 ties. The GOP is defending 23 Senate seats this year, including several in purple states, compared with 12 for Democrats, mostly on safely blue terrain. The ripest Democratic pickup opportunities are in Arizona, Maine, North Carolina and Colorado. The leading Democratic challengers outraised GOP incumbents in all of these states during the first three months of the year. Even some Republicans say Senate control will be a toss-up in November. "I think their optimism is fading a bit, because it feels like more of a jump ball," said Dan Eberhart, an oil industry executive and GOP donor, speaking of officials in his party. Republicans' best chance to offset any Democratic gains is in ruby-red Alabama, where Jones is on the ballot three years after a historic upset victory over embattled Republican Roy Moore. Biden campaigned in that race for Jones, who said in an interview that he expects Biden to campaign for him again this year. The stakes are as high as ever. If Biden defeats Trump and Democrats maintain control of the House, a Senate majority would hand them unified control of Washington for the first time in a decade. That could help them roll back Trump's actions and possibly go further, pursuing aims such as a public health-care option. In 2010, Democrats used unified control to pass the Affordable Care Act, the most sweeping expansion of domestic policy in decades. After 2016, Trump and the Republican Congress enacted a broad rewrite of the nation's tax laws, along with installing two conservative justices on the Supreme Court. Few have experienced the highs and lows of Senate control more intimately than Biden, who forged deep relationships there before becoming Barack Obama's vice president. "He knows just what it means to be in the minority or in the majority in the Senate, and he has a sense of the consequences for our country and its future if we do not take control of the Senate," Coons said. During the presidential primary battle, Biden argued repeatedly that as the party's nominee, he would boost down-ballot candidates in a way that more liberal figures - such as Sanders or Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. - could not. That promise is arguably now playing out. Many of the attacks Republicans lobbed at Democratic candidates involving socialism and Medicare-for-all have evaporated. The GOP has been forced to recalibrate, for example targeting Democrats by seeking to tether them to China as the coronavirus spreads, a far murkier message. Republicans still see other opportunities to complicate matters for Democratic Senate candidates. One is Biden's tendency to commit gaffes and verbal miscues that force fellow Democrats to answer questions about his comments. Another is exploiting divisions in the Democratic Party; Trump himself has sought to appeal to populist Sanders voters who remain skeptical of Biden, suggesting they have been mistreated by the Democratic Party. But there is a broad sense in the GOP that the opportunities are more limited than they once seemed, when Democrats faced a fractured primary featuring two dozen candidates and the prospect of a bitter race and possibly even a divided convention. Republican strategists said GOP candidates should now focus on the basics of their own races and tout their ability to solve problems for their home states, avoiding engagement in any Trump-Biden drama. "I think Republicans just have to tend to their own knitting. I think at this point the presidential is going to be what it is. The ability for anybody down-ticket to impact that one way or another is very limited," said Josh Holmes, a former chief of staff to McConnell. "In times of crisis, the best thing you can do is turn yourself into your state's mayor in Washington." Vulnerable incumbents such as Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., are seeking to do just that. "I spoke with @realDonaldTrump on Wednesday afternoon to request additional ventilators from the Strategic National Stockpile. Today, POTUS delivers with 100 ventilators headed to AZ," McSally tweeted earlier this month. If Republicans are trying to make the Senate races intensely local affairs, Democrats see new opportunities to tie them to broader political passions engulfing the country. Many Democratic strategists believe animosity toward Trump will be the overarching factor in the election, enabling them to go after some Republicans for not standing up to the president. In Maine, Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who has long cultivated a moderate image, is facing a barrage of attacks for voting to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Democrats also hope anti-Trump sentiment on the part of centrist voters will counteract any lingering antipathy toward Biden from the left of their own party. Many see a blueprint in Democrats' 2018 House victories, which largely ran through moderate suburbs. They are gearing up to reprise a midterm pitch that centered on health care, a message they hope will have even greater resonance due to the pandemic. In addition, Biden's strong appeal to African Americans, a big reason he prevailed against Sanders, could help in Southern states, Democratic officials said. They pointed to North Carolina and a pair of potentially competitive Republican Senate seats in Georgia as places where he could be helpful. Biden has a long history of jumping into Senate races, predating his presidential run. Former Senate majority leader Harry Reid of Nevada recalled Biden's help in 2006 when he was trying to coax then-Rep. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, to run for the upper chamber. "Joe was always building relationships," Reid said. Former senator Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., took Biden up on his offer to campaign for her in 2018, in a conservative state where most national Democrats were unwelcome. "He called me and said, 'Look, you have a tough race. I'm willing to do whatever I can to help, and you just need to call me,' " said Heitkamp, who nonetheless lost. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., who chaired the House Democrats' campaign operation that year and is now a Senate candidate, said Biden was a frequent help. "There was not a call that I would ask the vice president to make, there was not an event that we would ask the vice president to headline, a district that we'd ask the vice president to travel to, that he would turn down," he said. AS a Mercy Sister, I am grateful for the remarkable woman Catherine McCauley who founded the Mercy Sisters in 1831, writes Sr Helen Culhane in her diary of a Mercy Sister. I joined the congregation in 1980. Today, our Sisters live and work in Brazil, Britain, Ireland, Kenya, Peru, Poland, South Africa, South Sudan, United States and India. I am a creature of habit and at the beginning of each new year, I sit down and set goals. 2020 was no different and after a lot of reflection, I decided on the following: to reduce my intake of chocolate, to put money aside as I was assuming in my own mind that the Limerick senior hurling team would reach the All-Ireland hurling final. Finally, I booked a retreat in St Marys Abbey, Glencairn, Waterford. Twice a year I take time out of my busy life to stop and to deepen my spiritual life. St Padre Pio said, Prayer is the oxygen of the soul. I and my colleagues at the Childrens Grief Centre support grieving children and young people to deal with feelings associated with loss and to realise that they are not alone. In June 2019, I visited the Dougy Centre, in Portland, Oregon. The Dougy Centre is the National Centre for Grieving Children amd Families and is a non-profit organisation that offers support groups and services to grieving children and young adults. The purpose of my trip was to get ideas and insight for our new Childrens Grief Centre here in Limerick. While in the USA, I completed a 30-day silent retreat in Gloucester, MA, at the Jesuits Eastern Point Retreat House. During the 30 days of prayer there was no talking, phone, email or Facebook. This surprised many people who know me. Each day during the retreat, I prayed five one-hour prayer periods with scripture as well as attending daily Mass and meeting with my spiritual director. When I returned to work from my trip to the USA, I was buzzing with numerous plans and exciting ideas for the new Childrens Grief Centre. The board of management, staff and volunteers were all eager to hear about my visit to the Dougy Centre. We had plans! But our plans faded into darkness with the onset of the Covid-19. We took the decision to close the Childrens Grief Centre temporarily. The welfare of our volunteers, families, children, supporters and staff was our priority. These are unprecedented times and my life and that of many was turned upside-down in just a matter of weeks. Easter this year for me was unlike any other holy week I have ever experienced. It is my favourite time of the year. However, this year Easter was different. Churches closed, restrictions made on travel, social gatherings, public functions, and people urged to follow basic hygiene, not to meet others or maintain distance when they meet. The coronavirus has caused me and the world around me to slow down. I was experiencing feelings of sadness and grief and was missing many things, especially my routines. For example, I was missing daily Mass and going to Holy Communion, my work in the Childrens Grief Centre, and I was unable to meet up with family and friends. These simple routines that I have taken for granted have now changed. I must learn a new way; I was grieving the world I knew. Where could I find hope? I felt locked in the tomb. I watched the Easter Ceremonies from Rome. Pope Francis recalled how on the dawn after the Sabbath, the women went to the tomb of Jesus and there an angel told them: Do not be afraid. He told his global audience that because of the resurrection of Jesus, Tonight we acquire a fundamental right that can never be taken away from us: the right to hope. It is a new and living hope that comes from God. Hope comes in many disguises. Last year, Dorothy and Colm Ryan, along with their family, friends, colleagues and community, came together to fundraise for the centre. Despite their own grief and sadness at the loss of their four-year-old son, the family has given hope to so many others who may experience a loss by raising 127,258 for our new centre. Theres an expression, if you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans. I thought of that a lot during these weeks. I started off the year making plans but my plans have been turned upside down. During this crisis, I am eating more chocolate! I wont get to see Limerick in Croke Park! I did not get to Glencairn but Im making a retreat in my own home. From our experience in the Childrens Grief Centre, we know how difficult it is for everyone, who are grieving at this time but especially for children and young people. We continue to respond to those grieving by keeping our office open remotely. What we have learned from our 10 years of experience, serving grieving families, is that holding a safe space for difficult experiences and feelings can bring about transformation. During these uncertain times, please know that the Childrens Grief Centre staff and resources are just a phone call away. As always, the Childrens Grief Centre will be here in the aftermath of this pandemic to provide hope and healing to children and young people impacted by grief and loss. Next week Theresa Kavanagh, Support Worker, will give guidance on how to support children and young people to grieve under Covid-19 restrictions. We have added some Covid-19 related resources to our website. You can find Childrens Grief Centre information online at www.childrensgriefcentre.ie or on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts. If you have any questions or concerns, or want to connect in any way, we can be reached at 087 985 1733 or email info@childrensgriefcentre.ie Mumbai, April 26 : "Akshya Tritiya" is considered an auspicious day for buying gold in India, and actors including Himani Shivpuri are celebrating it by helping others in need during the ongoing coronavirus lockdown. "Every year on Akshya Tritiya I purchase something precious, but due to lockdown it won't be possible this time. Also, this festival marks the importance of giving, hence I would be reaching out to my driver and helping him fulfil the basic needs of his family," said Himani. "Additionally, we do cook meals for the building security staff and provide them with the necessary help such as advance salaries, clothes, etc. and this is the best way anyone can celebrate any festival," added the actress, who plays Katori Amma in "Gudiya Humari Sabhi Pe Bhari". Actor Nirbhay Wadhwa, who plays Bali in "Kahat Hanuman Jai Shri Ram", shared that every year, on the auspicious day, they organise a small reunion at their family home. "Starting with a prayer session and a scrumptious meal, the entire family would enjoy playing fun games towards the evening. However, given the current scenario, we had to cancel the travel plan," he said. "Instead, we will be preparing adequate quantities of mahaprasad to share it with the cleaning staff who reside in our building itself. We have planned to make their day memorable by sharing food along with home-cooked prasad with them," he added. Actor Yogesh Tripathi, popular as Happu Singh from the show "Happu Ki Ultan Paltan", shared his joy of donating on Akshya Tritiya. "We have never celebrated this day, but this year considering the need of the hour, me and my family have decided to donate clothes to the security guards of our building. Stationed at the building gate, the guards take responsibility of refraining outsiders in entering the building premises. While they live in the city, they are unable to go home for days together. Hence, this Akshya Tritiya we plan to light up their lives by donating clothes and make them feel at home," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 17:39:03|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TAIYUAN, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Sitting separately in a small conference room, 40 deputies to the Xinzhou municipal people's congress, all wearing facial masks, listened to the government work report delivered by Zhu Xiaodong, acting mayor of the northern Chinese city in Shanxi Province. All other deputies were attending this livestreamed conference in 15 branch venues across the city. Two big electronic screens were hung on both sides of the rostrum, shuffling real-time videos of participants of the plenary. Conference staff would hand out medical masks and hand sanitizer to the attendees at the entrance, while nurses with local hospitals would take their body temperatures and make registrations. China's prefecture- and county-level "two sessions," in usual practice, are held intensively during January and February, while most of which had been postponed this year due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Many Chinese cities across the country are now attempting to hold the annual sessions of their legislative and political advisory bodies online as epidemic wanes. "It was my first-time participation in the session via video conferencing, and the pictures were clear and smooth, just like being personally present," said Qiao Wenquan, a deputy to the people's congress of Xinzhou. The process, agenda and discussions were no different from what they used to be, Qiao noted. "It helped avoid crowd gathering and reduce the risk of infection." Xie Renwang, deputy general manager of the Xinzhou branch of China Unicom that provided technical support to the sessions, said the company had set up a special WAN line for the meeting, with more than 100 technicians dispatched to each venue to ensure stable network transmission and information safety. Deputies voted by their hands this time instead of using voting machines since not everyone was in the same meeting place. "The voting and counting of votes in all venues were live-broadcasted to ensure the whole process was fair and just," said Wei Guangcai, deputy director of the standing committee of the Xinzhou municipal people's congress. Epidemic-related topics were hot during the local "two sessions," for example, more government policies support to the cost-effective traditional Chinese medicine, which has played an important role in COVID-19 treatment, has been suggested by some political advisors. Many cities across China are holding their streamlined "two sessions" online in late April, with a shortened duration of the meetings. This maiden attempt was considered by local Chinese lawmakers and political advisors as an opportunity for the promotion and application of 5G, e-government and smart city construction. What has changed was not only where and how the meetings were held, but also the social etiquettes for this key event on the country's political calendar. In Wenzhou City in east China's Zhejiang Province, serving chopsticks and spoons were put into more than 1,000 meeting packets prepared for attendees during communal dining. In Quzhou, another prefecture-level city in Zhejiang, deputies to the local people's congress and members of the municipal committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference abandoned handshakes when they met, but greeted each other with folded hands, traditional greeting etiquette in ancient Chinese culture. "The new attempt of holding online 'two session' not only helps epidemic prevention and control, but also helps local governments to set their annual targets and make plans as soon as possible, which is good for economic recovery," said Xing Yuan, a professor of sociology at Shanxi University. Enditem When the COVID-19 pandemic came ashore and moves like lockdowns were being deliberated upon, the USD 180-billion IT sector faced a huge challenge for business continuity. More than a month into it, industry executives feel it has been a blessing in disguise and will lead to a larger number of people to work from home in the post coronavirus world. They attribute the emerging scenario to cost and productivity gains out of WFH (Work From Home) and it is not just the IT sector which is reaping the benefits. Companies across the services sectors, including banks, are set to have fewer people work from the offices in the future. India was put under a three-week lockdown from March 25, which was extended by 19 more days till May 3, to arrest the spread of coronavirus infections. As the promised date nears, there is an increasing possibility that the lockdown will be extended in many pockets, which have turned into hotspots. At present, many employees travel long distances to workplaces in cities plagued with traffic issues and high air pollution. Largest software exporter TCS's Chief Executive and Managing Director Rajesh Gopinathan explained that over the decades, IT companies' model was based on employees trooping-in to cubicles often in specially erected or hired campuses for work, but the lockdown resulted in a quick shift to the WFH model. Keshav Murugesh, Chief Executive of business process management player WNS and former Chairman of IT industry lobby grouping Nasscom, said the association responded to the challenge by helping its members transport over 25 lakh desktops from offices to associates' residences within a fortnight, which ensured work can continue. Once they started working from home, companies are seeing gains on costs as well as efficiencies, and now, business leaders are certain that fewer people will be manning the cubicles spread across campuses. "WFH is working extremely well. With the kind of efficiencies that we have started delivering on WFH, there will be a significant impact in the longer term, Murugesh told PTI, stating that in the future, a higher percentage of people will be working from home than pre-COVID days. Such a shift will be a blessing for women who are not able to continue with their careers because of family commitments, as they can continue devoting some time for work, Murugesh said, pegging the total number of such possible beneficiaries in millions. In a recent interaction, TCS's Chief Operating Officer N Ganapathy Subramaniam said the company is expecting to have only 25 per cent of its staff work from offices by 2025, though it was not clear when the company decided on the target. "We are seeing that our team is able to handle the transaction volumes. At the same time, we are seeing that the productivity, the velocity, the throughput of work has significantly increased. I do not believe that the gains will be lost. There will be a lot more to gain in this new model, he said. " we don't believe that we need to have more than 25 per cent of our workforce at our facilities in order to make all the 100 per cent productive. That is one great realisation. We don't believe that every employee needs to be present all the time in our offices, Subramaniam added. The company has ensured that 90 per cent of its 3.55 lakh people working in India have been able to work from home in a secure manner. Veteran banker Aditya Puri, who has led HDFC Bank since its inception to be the largest by assets among the private sector ones, also seemed to agree with the IT industry. "Everybody who could work from home is already working from home. In fact, we are now examining whether even after coronavirus why these people should not work from home because it gives ample cost saving to us and (WFH) is a good benefit to the employee, Puri said on a conference call late last month. However, the industry's wishes cannot easily get transformed into practice, Murugesh said, pointing to the BPM (Business Process Management) industry's peculiar demands if a large portion of staff were to work from home. At present, he said the Department of Telecom and the Commerce Ministry have granted a limited period approval for carrying out WFH, and the same relaxations will have to be continued as well. Explaining the same, he said associates need specialised telephone lines to stay connected while most of the companies work out of campuses which are demarcated as Special Economic Zones, and enjoy taxation sops and other advantages because work happens from a specific area. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) I think Republicans just have to tend to their own knitting. I think at this point the presidential is going to be what it is. The ability for anybody down-ticket to impact that one way or another is very limited, said Josh Holmes, a former chief of staff to McConnell. In times of crisis, the best thing you can do is turn yourself into your states mayor in Washington. The University of Massachusetts Fine Arts Center is marking its 45th anniversary this year. Opened it 1975, it has become a place where the university and its larger community all of Western Massachusetts and beyond can gather to celebrate the rich diversity of the arts from its multiple galleries and the University Museum of Contemporary Art to its performance stages. The center was built and opened during the tenure of chancellor Randolph W. Bromery from 1971 to 1979. Bromery served during what was perhaps one of the stormiest times in the universitys history. It was also a time when African Americans were virtually unheard-of as leaders of predominantly white campuses in the United States. Said one of his colleagues at the time of his retirement from UMass, the Bromery years were probably the toughest in the (20th) century to be a college administrator." Added Daniel Melley, a vice chancellor, It was at the tail end of all the turmoil on campus. There was the Vietnam War, drugs, minorities fighting for recognition. He was the peacemaker." Bromery had joined the university as a geology professor in 1967, then one of only seven professors of color among 1,000 faculty. As chancellor, his accomplishments are legion. He took steps to increase the number of minority students attending the university, and he obtained the papers of NAACP founder W.E.B. Du Bois for the university library, which was later renamed for Du Bois. On April 15, university trustees unanimously voted to name the fine arts center in Bromerys honor. Said current chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy, who recommended the honor, Naming the Fine Arts Center after Chancellor Bromery will enable us to celebrate his contributions to this campus while also extending his memory beyond our walls and into the larger Amherst community and arts community at large through the reach of the Fine Arts Center and its popular performances. It is a most fitting honor, made all the more sweet because it plays into one of Bromerys passions beyond education. Bromery, who died in 2013 at the age of 87, was also a dedicated saxophonist and lifelong student of Jazz. He said his meeting pianist Eubie Blake at UMass-Amherst was one of his most special moments. Jazz legends Max Roach, Archie Shepp and Fred Tillis joined the UMass faculty at about the same time as Bromery, and Tillis became the fine arts centers first director. The universitys popular Jazz in July series carries their legacy to the university forward into the 21st century, and its next season will now feature concerts performed in the Randolph W. Bromery Fine Arts Center. New confirmed coronavirus infections in Louisiana ticked upward again on Sunday and 26 additional deaths were added to the pandemic's statewide toll, according to a Sunday report from the Louisiana Department of Health. But Sunday's updated data continued to suggest that the virus's rampant spread in south Louisiana has slowed, six weeks after Gov. John Bel Edwards' statewide stay-at-home order went into effect. That brings the total of people who have died of the virus in Louisiana to 1,670. Another 59 people are listed as "probable" coronavirus-related deaths. The state reported an additional 261 confirmed coronavirus infections in Louisiana since Saturday's report, bringing the statewide total to 26,773. Weekends have consistently seen drops in reported new cases and deaths, as many testing sites close down and fewer workers staff labs and offices. Nonetheless, newly reported cases and deaths reached the lowest one-day increases for the state since March 29 also a Sunday another possible indicator that the pandemic's once-rampant spread is slowing. Previous Sunday dips have been sometimes been followed by noticeable upticks on Mondays. A total of 1,701 patients are hospitalized with coronavirus across the state, including 265 people being treated on ventilators. Both those figures have remained relatively steady over the past several days. Orleans and Jefferson parishes, which remain the hot spots for the virus in the state, each saw the death tolls and reported cases rise in the latest update. Vaccine news in your inbox Once a week we'll update you on the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up In Orleans, 7 new deaths and 45 new cases were logged, bringing the parish's totals to 406 deaths and 6,342 cases. Jefferson had 4 new deaths and 52 new cases reported totaling 329 deaths and 6,059 cases overall. Both daily tallies are significantly lower than the grim new total logged several weeks ago at what now appears to be the height of the pandemic in the New Orleans area. The slowing trends in new cases come as the state has begun to report figures on completed testing figures again after a nearly weeklong hiatus. Commercial test data were being review for accuracy. State officials are trying to get a better handle on testing rates as they prepare to ease social distancing restrictions. Several experts have pointed out that greatly increased testing will be key to reopening society and preventing a second surge in cases. Gov. John Bel Edwards has said the review uncovered duplicate reporting that brought down the statewide totals of completed commercial tests. In addition, the first batch of revised test data revealed significant shifts in some parishes' completed tests, for which they have since begun to catch up. Completed commercial tests dropped by 6,156, from that last pre-review total of 135,079 on Thursday to a post-review total of 128,923 on Friday. The Louisiana Department of Health releases updated coronavirus data every day at noon here. In 2014, when Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman launched a program to have law school students devote their final semesters performing pro bono service for the poor, it was the first of its kind in the nation. Six years later, that program has hit a snag due to a far more sinister first of its kind entity: the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the Court of Appeals is waiving the Pro Bono Scholars Program for law school students set to graduate this spring. Normally, the students would spend 12 weeks working in a pro bono environment providing services for free as an internship. Chief Judge Janet DiFiore said the Court of Appeals also is waiving a requirement instituted under Lippman in 2012 to require applicants for the bar exam to perform 50 hours of pro bono service. The issue of expanding civil legal services for the poor was near and dear to Lippman: it was his signature issue as the state's top judge from 2009 to 2015. DiFiore has made it a priority as well. Low-income New Yorkers need legal help in matters such as child support, credit card disputes, immigration issues and many more. It will remain an issue to watch amid the pandemic. This year, the Pro Bono Scholars Program will not be an avenue of aid for what Lippman said was a "justice gap" needing to be filled. The decision helps law students who, in a world of virtual court operations and social distancing, would have trouble reaching the required goals. The Court of Appeals also is waiving the Skills Competency Requirement for Admission that requires bar applicants to establish they have acquired the skills and professional values necessary to competently practice law. It can normally be satisfied four different ways one of which is completion of the Pro Bono Scholars Program. Bar applicants still must complete the online New York Law Course and open book New York Law Examination, DiFiore said. But the Court of Appeals temporarily waived the requirement that applicants complete the courses within a year of taking the Uniform Bar Exam. The waiver is for any applicant who completed the courses after July 2019 and takes the Uniform Bar Exam no later than 2021. As mentioned in this space earlier this month, members of a New York State Bar Association task force revealed that some New York bar applicants regard the NYLE to be a "joke." DiFiore recently appointed Associate Judge Michael Garcia to head a group to ensure that the bar exam this fall -- scheduled for Sept. 9 and Sept 10. -- is carried out safely. "The working group is considering different solutions and contingency plans to reduce hardship to law graduates in the event that it is not feasible to administer the bar exam as scheduled, including a proposal to provide temporary authorization for qualified candidates to engage in the limited practice of law," DiFiore said. Raniere sentencing The long-awaited sentencing of NXIVM leader Keith Raniere is still scheduled for May 21 before Senior U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in Brooklyn. But expect that date to be adjourned. Attorneys for the 59-year-old Raniere, formerly of Halmoon, filed a motion with the judge on Thursday asking Garaufis to adjourn the schedule for submitting their sentencing recommendations. In doing so, defense attorneys Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos noted it was a joint request with Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Hajjar, one of the prosecutors who successfully secured Raniere's conviction on all charges last June. The defense lawyers noted that right now, their deadline to file a sentencing recommendation is April 27 (Monday). The prosecution's deadline to respond is May 4. In the meantime, defense lawyers cannot visit Raniere in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn because inmate visits from lawyers are still not permitted amid the COVID-19 pandemic (at least one inmate tested positive in the lock-up, leading the lawyers to suggest Raniere was a "high risk" for the coronavirus). Agnifilo and Geragos said their phone calls with Raniere have been limited to 15 minutes each. They mentioned that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has recently extended the date for nonessential businesses to stay closed and for people to work from home until May 15. They asked the judge to set new deadlines for sentencing recommendations: June 1 for the defense, June 8 for prosecutors. The lawyers asked the judge to set a new sentencing. Raniere, a disgraced self-help guru known within the cult-like NXIVM world as "Vanguard," is facing the possibility of life in prison without parole on his convictions for sex trafficking, forced labor conspiracy and racketeering charges that included underlying acts of identity theft, obstruction of justice, wire and visa fraud, forced labor, human trafficking, sex trafficking, money laundering, child exploitation and possession of child pornography. The 'mystery' of the education business sale by Cox & Kings is part of an Enforcement Directorate investigation, which is also examining the siphoning-off of funds to the tune of Rs 21,000 crore to dozens of so-called related-parties, highlighted by the forensic auditor. In October 2018, a year before it went bust, an outbound specialist tour operator Cox & Kings (CKL), sold its education tour business in Europe for 467 million pounds (Rs 4,387 crore) with the stated aim of reducing debt and maximising shareholder returns. But an inquiry ordered by the firms lenders has now found that the sale proceeds were not used to pay bank loans and instead allegedly siphoned off by the promoters. The 'mystery' of the education business sale is a part of the Enforcement Directorate investigation, which is also examining the siphoning-off of funds to the tune of Rs 21,000 crore to dozens of so-called related-parties, highlighted by the forensic auditor. In August 2019, the lenders had appointed audit firm PwC to examine the CKL accounts, which uncovered that a sum of Rs 4,367 crore was siphoned off by the group for unauthorised use and to reduce the debt at the promoter level. Business Standard has reviewed the audit report submitted to the lenders and probe agencies. To a query, CKL promoter Ajay Ajit Peter Kerkar said, It is an interim report and has raised more questions than it answered. We have asked both PwC and YES Bank (the biggest lender) to investigate further. Until that time, we cannot comment on the interim report. Cox & Kings shut down last October after a string of loan defaults and is facing insolvency proceedings. The lenders have filed claims of Rs 5,500 crore against it. Cox & Kings was acquired by the Kerkar family in 1981. In 2011, it made its biggest bet by purchasing UK-based travel company Holidaybreak for around Rs 2,300 crore. But due to changed business conditions and high debt, it began divesting stakes or selling business units in Europe, including the education tours division in October 2018. That sale was concluded last January. The lenders hoped to recover their dues, but within a few months, CKL started defaulting on loans. YES Bank, which made total claims of Rs 3,642 crore, extended credit facilities to Prometheon Enterprises, a UK-based subsidiary of CKL, in March 2018. At the time when loans were sanctioned, the CKL management had said prepayment of the sanctioned amount was envisaged from the liquidity generated from the sale of the education business. The utilisation of these proceeds, however, remains a mystery to them. The CKL group shared five different versions about the utilisation of the sale proceeds with different parties, which clearly shows the intent to mislead and defraud the bank, the audit report noted. "A careful analysis of facts would reveal that the bank had entrusted substantial monies to the CKL group, which was dishonestly misappropriated for unauthorised purposes, in derogation of approved terms of sanction. The CKL group companies conspired with each other and cheated the bank by inducing it to sanction credit facilities on the basis of fabricated books. Moreover, they have sold part of their business clandestinely and the proceeds thereof to siphon off to prevent distribution among creditors, the report said. CKL has indulged in the falsification of financial statements by overstating its sales figures and understating the debt position. Several fictitious transactions were also reported, projecting the wrong financial position of CKL, according to the report. PwC has submitted two interim reports on the forged financials. According to it, between FY2016 and FY2019, CKL recorded cumulative sales of Rs 11,858 crore, of which Rs 6,400 crore was to Ezeego, a group company of CKL. Of the remaining, Rs 3,908 crore were transacted to 15 non-existent/suspicious customers. During a physical site verification of the addresses of these customers, it was found that no travel agencies were ever operated from these addresses. The detailed analysis of the transactions, which was not provided in their FY19 financial statement, shows that only Rs 679 crore was received as against the reported Rs 6,400 crore. However, Rs 679 crore is reflected as collection from the 15 customers. Further, although there was collection from customers to the tune of Rs 1,869 crore recorded in company ledgers, the same could not be traced in the bank statement of CKL. It is evident that no actual funds were received from these customers as against the collection of Rs 2,548 crore recorded in the CKLs ledgers. CKL had manipulated their books and financial statement for the review period April 2014 and June 2019 to avail of credit facilities from the bank, the report said. PwC in its second interim report submitted in February indicated that CKL had reported other sales of Rs 5,278 crore to certain 147 customers during the same period. Upon cross-verification, a negligible amount has been collected from them, raising suspicion these were also bogus customers, said the report. Interestingly, 141 out of the 147 customers are not GST-registered. Further, total debt, according to the FY19 annual report, was Rs 2,000 crore. However, on a standalone basis, it was Rs 3,600 crore. It was also found that despite huge cash and bank balances, showed in FY19 earnings, the company continued to default on debt obligations since June 2019, indicating that the company had inflated its cash and bank balances position in the statements. In order to prepare the audit of accounts for FY20, RP-appointed audit firm Pipara & Co had requested certain confirmation from Raffingers UK LLP, the statuary auditor of Prometheon Enterprise. The UK firm informed that it could not complete the audit of PEL for the year ended March 31, 2019 and had not signed any audit financials of this firm. It was found that the forged financial statement supposedly audited by the UK audit firm was submitted to the DTS & Associates, statutory auditor of CKL, for consolidation of the accounts from a fictitious domain name email id of Raffingers (which is of an employee who had already left the firm in 2016). Raffingers had already filed a criminal complaint before the UK crime agency. MBABANE From tomorrow, travelling from place to place will be tougher. People who want to travel between cities, towns and regions will now need to be in possession of a letter to be able to do so. If their travelling is for medical purposes or buying of food, the letter should be obtained from bucopho (constituency councillor) or anyone authorised by the regional administrator. Should the travelling be work-related, then the letter has to come from their employer. This is according to the new procedures to regulate the operation of public transport in the period of the strengthened partial lockdown, following Thursdays decision by government to remove the relaxed partial lockdown. The official authorised by the regional administrator, as per the procedures, is expected to register all those who want to travel to another city, town or region and contact the regional secretary to arrange transport for the registered citizens. illnesses The requested transport should state departure point and destination point and intermediary stations where the vehicle shall traverse, states the guidelines. It is required that the letter granted by the authorised official shall always (at all times) be in the possession of the person who is travelling. The new regulations were confirmed by Sihlangu Nhlabatsi, the Chairman of the National Road Transportation Council, who said this would not only apply to people boarding public transport but also people using their private transport. He said Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini clearly stated that people should go to town only if its necessary to do so, which is for medical reasons and for food. We are not saying people should disclose their illnesses but they should state that they are going to hospital in a particular town and this information will have to be provided to police who will be manning the roads. But the travellers will be questioned on the reasons they are going to a hospital in another town instead of the one in their town. We are aware that there are some people who will tell lies just to travel, he said. For those buying food, Nhlabatsi said they would have to do so in their closest towns and will need a letter if they will be going to shop in another town. For instance, you will not need a letter to travel from Mahlanya to Malkerns for shopping. The PM said you cannot travel from region to region or city to city, which means you can travel from Ezulwini to Mbabane but not from Ezulwini to Manzini or from Mbabane to Manzini if its not essential. Those from northern Hhohho have Piggs Peak as their town and cannot come to Mbabane for shopping, he clarified He reiterated the need for a valid reason, such as bereavement, for one to be able to travel between regions, cities, and towns. He emphasised that the regulations were in no way saying people needed permission letters to exit their home but only when travelling outside of their hometowns or regions. Government has also reintroduced the compulsory wearing of face masks by all passengers aboard a public transport vehicle. According to the new guidelines, all private citizens are advised to bring masks when boarding public transport and that masks are compulsory when boarding public transport. When this requirement was first introduced by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport last week, commuters were seen borrowing masks from those who had just used them so that they could also be allowed to board either a kombi or a bus to their destinations. Most commuters did not have the face masks and government did not state how these would be made readily available. This then forced the Minister of Health, Lizzie Nkosi, to issue a statement the following day (Friday) withdrawing the compulsory requirement. Nkosi said they acknowledged that the country did not have enough masks in the market at the time hence passengers, in the interim, would be allowed to use public transport without wearing the face masks. Yesterday, South Africas Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, during a press conference, said she had received a text message from someone in Eswatini, who told her that passengers were borrowing each other the masks. precautionary measures She said the message said the public transport conductors were telling alighting commuters to leave the masks behind for others to use. This claim has not been proven. But with the new regulations, the burden is not only on the commuters to wear the face masks but also on the owners of the vehicles, who are now expected to have them readily available to their passengers. The guidelines read: All passenger service vehicles must always have masks in their vehicles in order to assist those who might not have masks at a reasonable prescribed fee. Nhlabatsi said public transport vehicles would be at bus ranks as usual but would have to observe all the precautionary measures such as social distancing (70 per cent carrying capacity) and sanitising of the vehicles. There will be masks that will be sold to those passengers who dont have them and to avoid commuters borrowing the masks to each other, he affirmed. Those employed in companies, institutions and organisations that fall under the category of essential services, there are also guidelines for them as to how they are to be transported to and from work. These employees will be transported to and from work through and pay normal bus fare but the transport will be specially arranged after being applied for by their employers. First of all, their entities have to apply to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade to operate as an essential service provider. Upon obtaining the permission to operate, these entities have to submit a copy of the permission to the COVID-19 Logistics and Transport Technical Working Group. Together with the permission to trade, the entities have to provide other information that includes the number of their employees requiring transport services. Also, they have to state the geographical span of where the employees may be picked up and this has to be in terms of road names; for example, MR3 (Mafutseni-Manzini). Further, there should be a letter detailing all employees expected at work and the date; and all employees are expected to issue all employees with copies of letters as proof of commuting to work. The employees will moreover be expected to provide the working hours expected of the employees so as to facilitate timely arrival at work and pick up after work. The COVID-19 Logistics and Transport Technical Working Group shall then liaise with the National Road Transport Council to find an operator to provide the requested service for these entities granted permission to operate as essential services. The service will be offered at the most possible way to be in line with the request from the essential services providers, states the guidelines. It is further stated: Essential business and essential government officials shall ensure that all their persons who require transportation must have with them a form of official identification, preferably national identity and must also have compulsory masks and also use own sanitiser prior to boarding. regulations It is also provided that the payment of fare will be governed by bus fares regulations and payable on board or as arranged with the employers. Nhlabatsi said companies that had their own vehicles to transport staff had to apply for permits if those vehicles carry more than nine employees at a time but dont need to do so if its less than that. The Times SUNDAY understands that a meeting that dragged for the whole of yesterday afternoon was held between the Minister of Public Works and Transport Chief Ndlaluhlaza Ndwandwe, the National Road Transportation Council and public transport operators to discuss the new guidelines. The operators reportedly expressed a few concerns regarding the new measures and have asked for them to be reviewed, but only partly. We are not happy but there is nothing we can do. We have asked them to loosen up some of the guidelines and they have promised to go and consult to see what could be done, said one of the operators who is influential in the industry. He said their main concern was that the situation now seemed to be full lockdown yet they knew it be a partial one. He said the fact that they all needed to apply for permits to be able to operate and also be dictated to when to go and pick up passengers as well as making it compulsory for commuters to wear masks showed elements of a total lockdown. Yes, the measures will help to contain the spread but still people should travel, he said and asked not to say anything more lest he be in trouble. Efforts to get comment from the minister were unsuccessful as his mobile phone rang unanswered when called. ALBANY, Ore. -- One of eight employees from the Albany National Frozen Foods processing plant spoke to KEZI describing the workplace as unsafe and not properly protected. Out of fear of retaliation - the employee chose to remain anonymous, but what he shared paints a picture of negligence at the hands of the processing plant. "They haven't even bothered to call and see if we're still alive," he said of himself and the seven others with the virus. A total of eight workers tested positive for the virus The Albany site processes frozen vegetables, and our source says the people with the closest contact to the food aren't protected at all. "The only people who got face masks were the packers - the people that put the bags in the box; not the people that handle the food, are touching the food and are leaning over the food," he said. The plant employs nearly 300 people all of whom were sent home Friday while the plant says they were conducting a deep clean of the facilities. RELATED: ALBANY FOOD PLANT SHUTS DOWN AFTER 8 WORKERS TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID-19 "They said they're working with the health department to sanitize the place... well... no you're not working with anybody... you got caught," the employee continued. The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration said they are investigating National Frozen Foods. The employee said he and others reported complaints to their union representative, but nothing came from it. "I've seen people sneeze, blow their nose while they're standing over the product. I mean, it's ridiculous," he said. He also said the face shields that are being used -- are shared. "When you're done with (the shield) you put it in a barrel of soap and water and then someone comes and gets it out and puts it on their face." The plant closed Friday for a deep cleaning, telling it's employees they would be paid during the time off. Former Governor of Bihar and Tripura and veteran Congress leader Devanand Konwar died of old age ailments at his Guwahati residence on Saturday. He was 86. The politician is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son. The body of Konwar was taken from here to his home district Sivasagar for the last rites, his family members said. He was governor of Bihar from July 24, 2009 to March 8, 2013 and of Tripura between March 25, 2013 and June 29, 2014. He had also served as governor (additional charge) of West Bengal from December 2009 to January 2010. Konwar had joined the Congress in 1955 as a student leader. He became a Cabinet minister in the governments of Assam headed by Hiteswar Saikia and later by Tarun Gogoi. Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and others condoled the death of Konwar who was also an eminent advocate. In his condolence message, Governor Mukhi described Konwar as a dedicated leader and worker who contributed immensely to the general welfare of the people at large by serving the state with deep commitment, compassion and love for them. As a governor, he made an indelible mark to glorify the spirit of parliamentary democracy, yet strengthening the edifice of democratic federalism, Mukhi added. As a constitutional head of three states and as a minister of the Assam government, he had made a major contribution to the socio-political landscape of the country, the chief minister said in a message. Former chief minister Tarun Gogoi described Konwar as an able politician, an eminent lawyer as well as a noted social worker who always worked for the welfare of the poor, besides strengthening the Congress party across the state. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Business Newer Older Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Srinagar, April 26 : Four terrorists were killed and an army officer injured in a fierce gunfight between security forces and holed up terrorists on Sunday in Jammu & Kashmir's Kulgam district. Police said four terrorists have been killed in the encounter between holed up terrorists and the security forces in Guddar village of Kulgam district. "An army officer sustained injury in the operation. He has been shifted to hospital for treatment. "Exact identities of the slain terrorists are being ascertained. One of them has so far been identified as a local", police said. After receiving specific information about a group of terrorists hiding in Guddar village, security forces including the Rashtriya Rifles (RR), special operations group (SOG) of local police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) had launched a cordon and search operation in the village in Kulgam district. As the security forces closed in on the hiding terrorists, they came under heavy automatic gunfire after which an encounter broke out which has now ended, but searches are still going on in the area, police said. Ottawa urged to ban military-style weapons, April 21 The terrible carnage in Nova Scotia, which cost at least 22 innocent Canadian lives, is a sad reminder that military-style weapons have no place in the hands of anyone but the military for whom they were designed. We are grateful to the group of doctors, and victims of gun violence, for asking Public Safety Minister Bill Blair to ban military-style weapons immediately, in order to help save precious lives. Dr. Philip Bergers warning about the explosion of sales in ammunition and guns in Canada should especially be of grave concern to us all. It is imperative that our authorities are able to focus on the terrible toll of life from COVID-19 rather than worry about the homicides, suicides and accidental death that can result from military-style guns in the wrong hands. Its comforting to note that Blair said he wished to table laws restricting firearms, especially the red flag regulation and legislation that would prevent access to military-style assault weapons for people who may be considered dangerous. Let us sincerely hope that the federal government will pass this key legislation at the earliest opportunity. This would surely become a fitting memorial to the innocent victims of this horrendous massacre in peaceful Nova Scotia. Rudy Fernandes, Mississauga There is a time for mourning the victims and also a time for anger. Mass shootings have a history in Canada, yet there is still no law prohibiting assault-style weapons. Why would a man who sold dentures for a living need a gun of any kind? When Parliament meets, it must tackle this problem and pass laws about gun ownership and jail time for those possessing high-powered weapons or any guns. What is Canada doing to prevent future outbursts of violence? Diane Sullivan, Toronto Read more about: Theres a lot of important news this week which is getting insufficient coverage. By way of example, we have these developments: There are increasingly plausible reports that North Koreas leader Kim Jong-u n may be dead, dying, or comatose General Michael Flynn, in support of his motion that he be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea, filed a new pleading this week. In it he notes that exculpatory material that he just now tardily received had been deliberately withheld from him, against the mandate of the Brady case. This material supports his motion that he was framed and his son threatened by prosecutors if he did not plead guilty. He also asserts that his prior counsel urged him to give up dirt on the President.to the prosecutors. Congressman Adam Schiff, an avatar for deceit, continues to withhold the transcripts of 43 interviews of Russia collusion witnesses his committee had in secret and is blocking declassification of another 10. Hiding the evidence allows him to continue to lie about what the witnesses revealed with no possibility of contradiction. Among the 10 for which hes blocking declassification are those of Obamas National Security Adviser Susan Rice and former Ambassador Samantha Powers, two figures deeply involved in unmasking Trump campaign figures who had been unlawfully surveilled under FISA after the DOJ submitted false information to the FISC to open the surveillance. The governors of New York, New Jersey, and California imperiled the most vulnerable to the virus -- the elderly in nursing homes (and their caretakers) -- by ordering virus stricken patients be housed in nursing homes after transport from hospitals. In none of these governors' many pressers, to my knowledge, were they asked about this policy and why the hell they instituted it. Surely, there are empty motels which would have better served this purpose. After all, our latest reports indicate 20% of the virus fatalities occurred in nursing homes. Add this to other policy mishaps in these states -- cutting the number of scheduled subway runs in New York, for example, assuring that essential workers will be more greatly endangered in packed cars, and refusing to permit stricken nursing home residents from being transferred to the hospital ship in New York. Instead, we are back to story number one: How to refashion news on the Wuhan virus to attack the President. As been the case from the beginning, the press is using every foul means to demean him and make this the Trump Virus, ignoring his measured approach and successes. This week they glommed onto his remarks in a presser that revealed the contagion curve is flattening and diminishing to suggest that Trump had called for something as possible remediation -- bleach injection -- that he had not. In some cases, they flat-out lied about what he said. In others they edited the presser video to achieve the same distortion. Regular readers of this site know a great deal about press information manipulation and lies. I write this in the hope that you will share it with those others who still dont get it. Here is the relevant discussion from that presser, transcribed by the Daily Caller: Bill Bryan, Under Secretary for Science and Technology at DHS, talked about the half-life of the coronavirus on surfaces like door handles and stainless steel surfaces, saying that when they inject UV rays into the mix along with high temperatures and increased humidity that the virus dies quickly. Bryan continued by noting that DHS also tested if certain types of disinfectant could kill the coronavirus. Weve tested bleach, weve tested isopropyl alcohol on the virus, specifically in saliva or in respiratory fluids, and I can tell you that bleach will kill the virus in five minutes, Bryan said. Isopropyl alcohol will kill the virus in 30 seconds, and thats with no manipulation, no rubbing. Just bring it on and leaving it go. You rub it and it goes away even faster.... Immediately following these remarks is where Trump states, "So, Im going to ask Bill a question that probably some of you are thinking of if youre totally into that world, which I find to be very interesting. So, supposing when we hit the body with a tremendous, whether its ultraviolet or just very powerful light, and I think you said that hasnt been checked, but youre going to test it. And then I said supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. And I think you said youre going to test that too. Sounds interesting. And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so itd be interesting to check that, so that youre going to have to use medical doctors with, but it sounds interesting to me. So, well see, but the whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute. Thats pretty powerful." A few moments later, ABC News reporter Jon Karl asked Bryan, The president mentioned the idea of a cleaner, bleach and isopropyl alcohol emerging. Theres no scenario where that could be injected into a person, is there? No, Im here to talk about the finds that we had in the study, Bryan responded. We dont do that within that lab at our labs. Trump then clarified his remarks: It wouldnt be through injections, youre talking about almost a cleaning and sterilization of an area. Maybe it works, maybe it doesnt work, but it certainly has a big effect if its on a stationary object. Trump later raised the possibility of whether UV rays could kill the coronavirus if it was on a persons skin, in particular if it were on their hands. If theyre outside, right, and their hands are exposed to the sun, will that kill it as though it were a piece of metal or something else? Trump asked. I dont want to say it will at the same rate because its a non-porous surface, but what we do know is that we looked at the worst case scenario and the virus lives longer on non-porous surfaces, Bryan responded. So porous surfaces, it doesnt live quite as long, so in theory what you said is correct. From this exchange, the media reported the president was advising people inject bleach to kill the virus. Scott Adams, nailed the nonsensical interpretation of these remarks: 1@ScottAdamsSays There's a massive IQ test on the Internet today. If you think the president was asking Dr. Birx about injecting bleach or isopropyl alcohol into coronavirus patients -- because it sounded that way to you -- you failed the test. CNN ran an ad promoting this disingenuous poppycock: and Nancy Pelosi lied claiming that the President had said people should kill the virus by injecting Lysol. In fact, the presidents reference was to Ultraviolet catheter technology. It was recently in the news and Dr Birx was unfamiliar with it. Heres how it works. As for other means of disinfecting Virus patients besides the ultraviolet healight others are exploring such things as controlled ethanol vapor inhalation. Respirators do not seem to work well, and other technologies are being utilized and explored. Instead of realizing that the president (who seems to work 24 hours a day trying to keep abreast of such things) knew more about these developments than Dr. Brix (or they) did, they distorted and mocked his work. Media operations are failing in droves and deserve this fate. On April 24, Armenians all over the world pay tribute to the memory of 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. During World War I, they fell victim to deportations, mass murder of the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire, instigated by the government of the Young Turks, as well as violence, famine and illnesses. Over one hundred years passed since that crime against humanity and civilization was committed in 1915-1923. However, the consequences of that villainy continue to resonate and impede Armenias natural development. In fact, the mass massacres of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire started in 1894-96, during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Three hundred thousand Armenians were killed. Major powers of the time, world press and prominent individuals, among them the Prime Minister of Great Britain William Gladstone, French political figure Jean Jaures, writer Anatole France, German missionary Johannes Lepsius and others, raised their voices in protest against that crime and demanded to carry out the promised reforms in Western Armenia, which were supposed to ensure the most basic civil rights for Armenians, inviolability of their life and property. But they were not able to stop Abdul Hamid. Nor the countries of the Entente, Vatican and diplomats accredited to Turkey, especially the US Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, were able to stop the Young Turks, which succeeded him and made the mechanisms for the extermination of Armenians even more sophisticated, developed them into a state-devised and state-implemented genocide. Taking advantage of the opportunity provided by the World War I, in 1915-16, the Young Turks put to work their plan of a total annihilation of the Armenians; they instigated deportations of an inconceivable scale and unimaginable brutality, accompanied by ferocities and carnage. (On May 24, 1915,in a joint declaration, France, Russia and Great Britain defined it as a crime against humanity and civilization. Later, in 1944, Rafael Lemkin coined the term genocide, having in mind the extermination of the Armenians in 1915). After the end of WWI, the new leader of Turkey Mustafa Kemal carried on with the task of his predecessors: he killed the Armenians still remaining in Cilicia and Western Armenia and unleashed a war against the young Republic of Armenia. The eyewitnesses, among them diplomats, military men and doctors, missionaries, political figures, international press, and others, left irrefutable testimonies about the act of genocide and mechanisms through which it had been carried out. Later, based on the archive documents, academic circles, historians, and genocide scholars described and proved the fact of the genocide in detail. The world is well-aware of it. I would like to focus on the causes and consequences of the Genocide. I will single out some of the causes: The first was political. The Armenian Question, raised at the San Stefano and Berlin conferences in 1878, was supposed to come to its logical end by the establishment of the Armenian autonomy on the historical Armenian lands, meaning a prospective independence for Armenia, which in case of other nations, subjects of the Ottoman Empire, happened after the Balkan War and WWI in the European and Middle East parts of the Empire. This is what the Ottoman Empire and later the Republic of Turkey were opposed to, because in case of Armenias independence, the Empire would lose a piece of strategic significance, thus closing for Turks the access towards the Caucasus and the countries of Central Asia. Incidentally, the superpowers of the time were not interested in such an independent state in the mentioned territory. Otherwise, in Lausanne, in 1923, they would not have given up the paragraph related to Armenia in the Treaty of Sevres of August 10, 1920, which envisaged Armenian authority over the Armenian provinces of the Ottoman Empire, with access to the Black Sea. The interests of Armenia and the Armenian people were also neglected by the Moscow and Kars Treaties of 1921 which allocated only a negligible territory to the Armenians. Armenia was shredded to pieces: Kars and Ardahan provinces were conceded to the Kemalists, while Nagorno Karabakh and Nakhijevan were deliberately placed under the administrative rule of the Soviet Azerbaijan. The idea was to create an enduring breeding ground for squabble and conflict in the region, as we witness it today. The second cause of the Genocide was ideological. The newborn Turkish nationalism was striving to turn a huge multinational and multicultural empire into a uniform and homogeneous Turkish state, keeping in mind its political advancement toward the vast and rich territories of the Caucasus and Central Asia. And again, the Armenians were the main obstacle on that road; they like a wedge were forced between the two expanses, as well as the Greeks and other Christians living in Asia Minor. Thus, ethnic cleansing of the two robust elements of the Empire Greeks and Armenians - for the Turkish chauvinists had no alternative. These two nations were the creators and legatees of the Byzantine civilization; they dedicated their talent and vigour to the development and prosperity of the Ottoman Empire. Some would say that the past is past, and we shall look toward the future. We do look toward the future, we dream of the future, we plan it and work every day for the future. But we are always mindful that future is the extension of the past and present. We speak a lot of our huge human and material losses. And it is true. The loss of 1.5 million people significantly influenced the future reproductive abilities of the Armenian nation. Under normal conditions, today we would have been not 10-12 million but twice as many. Another significant loss, which the successive Turkish governments were trying to cause us, was a total eradication of the Armenian element on the historical Armenian lands, of the Armenian entity as a whole, so that Armenian statehood was never re-established again. Today, there are no more clusters of Armenians living in those territories. No people means no language they speak, no traditions they have, no national environment which creates society and the nation. Thus, because of the Genocide, Armenians, unlike other peoples, were deprived of their right to live on the land of their ancestors, to master their own life and destiny. Keep in mind that Armenians were not an emerging ethnic group, but the ancient people who once created one of the worlds earliest statehoods and civilizations. In the decades after the Genocide, Turkey has persistently been destroying every trace of the Armenians and Armenian civilization. And if today, we righteously condemn the destruction by the extremists of historical monuments in different corners of the world, even more firmly we must condemn the devastation of the material and cultural testimonials of a millennia-old nation. Now, imagine the condition of the surviving Armenians, many of whom for decades, up to the 40s-50s of the last century were stateless people apatrides. Today, almost three-quarters of the entire Armenian nation are living in different countries, under diverse traditions, administrative systems, and beliefs. Armenians everywhere are exercising enormous efforts to preserve their national identity and to speak about their rights which they were deprived of because of the Genocide. What are the lessons of the Genocide, and what does the world have to do? It hurts to realize that the world did not learn from the Armenian Genocide. It was forgotten, remained unrecognized and unpunished for a long time. Meanwhile, this could be the way to prevent other genocides that happened later in the human history. After that, the world witnessed more genocides. I am deeply convinced that the recognition of the Armenian Genocide is not only and not as much for Armenians, but first of all, it is a matter of attitude toward the universal human values, the matter of preventing that evil. Guided by this very principle, Armenia has made the prevention of genocides one of its foreign policy priorities and has been taking vigorous steps at the national and international levels. At the initiative of Armenia, the UN Human Rights Council has been consecutively adopting resolutions on the prevention of genocides. In 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution initiated by Armenia to declare December 9 the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and Prevention of this Crime. Thus, the issue of recognition of the Armenian Genocide, which Armenians are raising before the international community and Turkey, is very current. The issue of recognition of the Armenian Genocide, which Armenians raise before the international community and Turkey, has a number of elements: duty to remember, prevention of such crimes in the future, and elimination of the consequences of the Genocide. After fifty years of silence, in 1960-70s the world spoke again of the Armenian Genocide. In 1965, Uruguay was the first to recognize it. Today many of the world countries and international organizations recognize the Armenian Genocide and among them France, Russia, USA, Germany, Italy, the Vatican, Switzerland, Lebanon and Syria in the Arab world. And the number is growing. The major part of the international community does not openly question the fact of the Genocide. At the same time, it is unacceptable when the recognition of the Armenian Genocide is perceived from the viewpoint of momentary economic or political interests related to Ankara. We cannot, on the one hand,declare that we are going to fight together against xenophobia, discrimination, intolerance, anti-Semitism, denial and other all-human vices, and on the other hand, play diplomacy with Turkey on that. I am confident that the countries and organizations, which have recognized the Armenian Genocide, were mainly guided by that very notion, and we are grateful to them. We are also grateful to the countries which after the Genocide opened their doors and gave refuge to those who survived that catastrophe. We are grateful to the missionaries, military doctors and nurses, diplomats, organizations which cared for the orphans, to our brothers in distress Greeks, Assyrian, Jews, Yezidis, as well as to those Turkish, Kurdish, and Arab families and individuals who, in those desperate days, often put their own life and safety in the harms way and lent a helping hand and saved many Armenians. The stance of successive Turkish governments is another matter: to carry out denial on the state level to escape the recognition of the genocide. Today, the international community, political and public figures, among them many Turk intellectuals and public figures, are raising questions about the Genocide and hope that the Turkish authorities will listen to the voices in their own society to face the tragic pages of their own history and turn them. Statute of limitation does not apply to the crime of genocide. Recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey and the elimination of its consequences is a matter of security for Armenia, the Armenian nation, and the region. We will not forget the Armenian Genocide; we will not submit to its consequences. We will not forget the sufferings of the victims and survivors and we will create a safe and dignified future for their generations. (This text was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour on the 24th of April) Ghanaian rapper, CJ Biggerman has once again shown his God-given talent by amazing Stefflon Don with his freestyle rap. This is not the first time the upcoming rapper has proved a point to an international rapper, he did the same when Rick Ross visited Ghana last year in December. CJ was able to wow Rick Ross and earned a performance plus a co-sign from Rick Ross not to talk about the hype that came with it. In a recent development, UK rapper Stefflon Don opened floor for upcoming rappers to show off their talents during a live video chat. CJ Biggerman who was fortunate to be part of the few that were called by Stefflon Don used the opportunity very well, and at a point in time, Stefflondon was wowed and wonder how he was not losing breath. Stefflon don was just amazed at the talent of the upcoming rapper who seems to move every international rapper he comes across. Watch his freestyle below A senior doctor suffering from the coronavirus disease, or Covid-19, died in Kolkata on Sunday amid a political tussle between the state government and the Opposition over the handling of the crisis that has claimed 18 lives in the state and infected 611 people. Biplab Kanti Dasgupta, 60, assistant director of health services and in-charge of the states central medical store, died at a private hospital. His swab samples had tested positive on April 17. His spouse is also battling Covid-19. Condoling his death, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said in a statement, His sacrifice for the cause of ailing humanity will ever be in our hearts and will make our COVID warriors fight the deadly virus with even greater determination. This came on a day a top doctors forum expressed concern over health care workers contracting the infection. We urge the health and administrative authorities to proactively look into the matter as it is of grave concern. With limited resources at disposal, we cannot afford to have a situation where shortage of healthcare providers poses a threat to delivery of care, the West Bengal Doctors Forum wrote. The state government has not revealed how many health care professionals have Covid-19, a top official indicated that the figure was at least 50. The Trinamool Congress governments handling of the crisis has been criticised by the Bharatiya Janata Party and on Sunday, Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is an MP from Berhampore in Bengal, tore into the Mamata Banerjee administration. Mamata Banerjees theatrics had made it quite evident that the government was suppressing information luckily, central teams came to Bengal. Otherwise, the state government was cheating on the people. I have no hesitation is saying that it was our good fortune that the union home ministry sent IMCTs to the state. I congratulate the team for showing activeness and patience despite the hindrances they faced from the state government, Chowdhury wrote on social media, referring to the visit of two inter-ministerial central teams to the state. His remarks came hours after Trinamools Rajya Sabha leader Derek O-Brien attacked the IMCT They came here to spread the political virus absolutely to spread the political virus on behalf of the government of India. They did it shamelessly, they did not blatantly, he said. In response, the BJP carried out a demonstration at home event to protest alleged atrocities on party leaders and workers in the state during the lockdown. BJP leaders and workers sat at their home or outside their residences, carrying posters, and posted photos on social media. The Trinamool government in the state has politicised the relief programme. BJP leaders are being barred from carrying our relief programmes and being booked by the police on various flimsy grounds. Our MPs and even ministers have been forced to go on home quarantine, said BJP state unit president Dilip Ghosh who sat outside his residence at Salt Lake in Kolkata, carrying posters. In New Delhi, Union minister Babul Supriyo, Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta, Lok Sabha MPs Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato and Saumitra Khan and BJPs co-observer for Bengal, Arvind Menon, sat on a demonstration on a lawn in Supriyos residence. They carried posters and were wearing face masks. The Border Security Force (BSF) personnel on Sunday gunned down a Pakistani national who was trying to sneak into the Indian territory near Attari border. According to a BSF official, the incident took place at around 5 am when the man was spotted walking towards the barbed fence near Pulmoran border outpost along the India-Pakistan border. Our troops challenged the man, but he didnt pay any heed, forcing the personnel to open the firing. The troops later launched a search operation in the area, but nothing suspicious was found. The body of the intruder was handed over to Amritsar rural police. Sub-inspector (SI) of Gharinda police station, Amandeep Singh, said, We have recovered 600 rupees of Pakistani currency from the accuseds possession. He said the identity of the Pakistani national could not be ascertained as no article was found on him. The police have registered a case under Sections 3-4 of the Indian Passport Act and section 14 of the Foreign Act 1920 at Gharinda police station. (CNN) "You're held by love." This hand drawn note is one of many hospital chaplain Claire Bohman leaves for Covid-19 patients in the ICU. She hopes the message brings comfort to those who awaken from a medically induced coma without their family beside them. "It's my calling to show up and be a presence in the face of human suffering," says Bohman, executive director of the Sojourn Chaplaincy at San Francisco General Hospital. "And right now, that suffering is compounded by Covid." The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted how we grieve and heal. Families are forced to stay apart to stay healthy. It is in this space hospital chaplains have become intermediaries providing messages of love, support and compassion during a time of physical distancing. "I'm so grateful for the technology that we have," says Bohman, who coordinates with family members over the phone about the spiritual support they wish to provide their loved ones. "I've been drawing pictures and notes for patients in the ICU for their family members, so that when they're awake, they're going to see a drawing from their family, even though their family can't physically do the drawing for them." The Sojourn Chaplaincy also works with a sewing group that makes blankets for newborns. Now, they donate blankets to Covid-19 patients as a way of offering support and connection. "It's scary to do this work right now," says Bohman. "But there's nowhere else I would be." Love looks like staying six feet away After long days of providing emotional support in the ICU, Laurent LeBien comes home to his family. And he weeps. "We have notions of what a 'good death' might look like," says LeBien, a staff chaplain at East Jefferson General Hospital near New Orleans. "That might be a peaceful passing in my sleep, with loved ones and friends around. All of the sudden, this is not possible." To help minimize the spread of coronavirus, hospitals have placed restrictions on visitors. Waiting rooms, hallways and cafeterias once filled with patients' family and friends can be eerily quiet. While exceptions can be granted, many patients are hospitalized without ever having loved ones beside them. LeBien has been a hospital chaplain for five years. He's used to helping others find their resiliency, strength and gifts that help them navigate the gravest of circumstances. But now, he must do so from six feet away. "Every fiber of my being would want to go comfort that person, hug that person, put a hand on a shoulder," says LeBien. "I try to explain as best as I am able, here are the reasons that we cannot do that." But what he can do is be a "family surrogate" to both Covid and non-Covid patients, a role LeBien sees as an honor. He arranges phone calls and FaceTime meetings between patients and their families. He stays in regular contact with their loved ones so that when patients awake, he can offer encouraging updates. Touchstones like "your granddaughter says hello; your two daughters are thinking about you; the folks you work with, they've been calling your wife and checking up on you." But the hardest calls LeBien has to make are when a family member has died. "I may be calling you within half an hour, and you really haven't even had the time to process that grief, and I'm saying, 'Can you tell me the name of the funeral home?'" These were calls LeBien never had to make before the age of coronavirus, before the nation's healthcare system became overwhelmed. This acute strain on hospital staff is something LeBien also tries to help relieve. He brings power bars and pins up inspirational notes in break rooms, ranging from prayers to encouraging letters from elementary school children. "Love is the bottom line. Love is what matters. Regardless of all the great faiths, somewhere, one of their cornerstones is you love your neighbor," says LeBien. "What a time for us to be able to do that." 'I can't touch you, but I can hear you' Death served as the bookends to Stephanie Welsh's Wednesday. Her morning began with it, when she was called to provide grief support to a mother who didn't yet know her son had died. And then later, when a man soon to celebrate his 65th wedding anniversary lost his wife. "When he was told, after it registered he broke down," says Welsh, a chaplain with the University of Chicago Medicine. "There was no way that I could let this 80-something year old man just break down without, at minimum, me putting my hand on his shoulder to provide some level of comfort to him." She wasn't alone, she says. The doctor did the same. Welsh supports the hospital's surgical and cardiac ICUs, burn unit, and family birth center, as well as its trauma service line. In addition to being a spiritual guide, chaplains often help people navigate the inner workings of a hospital. But they can also be a friend. Before coronavirus, Welsh wouldn't hesitate to offer a hug to those in need. These days, she has to stop herself. "It becomes very difficult to offer compassion just with words and not provide gentle touch when it's apparent that's something an individual needs," says Welsh. "I have to force myself to do something that is absolutely counter to who I am." While a warm embrace is no longer a safe option, Welsh has found other ways of offering support. She sets up phone calls and FaceTime meetings between patients and their families. And she sits with them to bear witness to their experience. "I can't touch you, but I can hear you. I can listen to you," says Welsh. "I can listen to the patient and normalize their feelings of loss ... I can affirm their grief in that moment and help them understand, 'Look, what you are feeling is OK to feel.'" The emotional struggles that physical distancing creates can be overwhelming. But if we reflect on this, Welsh says, it offers some important themes. "Spend(ing) some time in contemplation on this pandemic, I think one of the themes will be that of how short life is, and how important it is not to take life for granted. And how important it is not to take those who are close to you for granted." This story was first published on CNN.com, "Hospital chaplains are bridging the gap between patients and grieving families who can't stay by their bedside during the coronavirus pandemic." Gujarat, which has nearly the same population as Italy, France and Spain, reported less number of COVID-19 cases in 35 days after detection of the first case in the state as compared to the three European countries, a state health department official said on Sunday. This is mainly due to measures like lockdown and containment strategy for people returning from abroad, state principal secretary (health) Jayanti Ravi told reporters. The coronavirus cases in Gujarat rose to 3,071 in 35 days since the first patient was found, compared to 80,536 in Italy, 56,972 in France, and 94,410 cases in Spain, she said. The population of Italy is 6.04 crore, France-6.5 crore, Spain-4.7 crore, while the population of Gujarat is 6.25 crore, the official informed. "It shows that several factors, like lockdown and containment of people returning from abroad by getting them immediately quarantined and isolated, have helped contain spread of the disease," the official said. Factors like the use of BCG vaccine and warmer climate in Gujarat compared to these three European countries may have also played a role in curbing the virus spread, she said, adding that "this comparison is just for our information". Gujarat has so far reported the second highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country after Maharashtra. Till Saturday, there were 3,071 coronavirus cases in Gujarat, compared to 7,628 cases in Maharashtra. Besides, Gujarat has so far reported 133 COVID-19 deaths, the second highest after Maharashtra where 323 people have died. Gujarat reported its first double-digit single day jump in coronavirus cases on April 4, when 17 new cases were reported. On April 10, it reported its first three-digit single day jump of 124 cases, and on April 18 recorded its highest single-day jump of 332 cases. Ravi said the state government is prepared to deal with higher number of coronavirus cases, and has created infrastructure for the same. As many as 10,500 beds have been set up across 61 hospitals in the state to deal with such patients, along with 22,385 beds in 150 COVID care centres for asymptomatic patients, she said. The coronavirus testing capacity has also been increased to 3,770 samples per day, compared to 150 samples per day during the first week of the outbreak, she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Welcome Guest! You Are Here: New Delhi, April 26 : Uttarakhand has been making all-out efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, with Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat leading from the front. The hill state has reported 48 cases so far, with no deaths. In an interview to IANS on a range of issues, Rawat said efforts have already been initiated to boost the state economy, and that the process will gain momentum once the lockdown ends. He said a ministerial group and high-powered committee will be constituted to gear up the state economy and generate jobs. Excerpts from interview: Q: The lockdown has led to loss of avenues of livelihood. Those in the unorganised sector are worried about their survival. What does the Uttarakhand government intend to do? CM: We are carefully and gradually restarting economic activities. Since the government is worried, it has asked for giving permissions for construction activities in the government and private sectors. Police will be asked to ensure social distancing. Wearing of face masks in public would be compulsory. A ministerial group under Cabinet Minister Subodh Uniyal will be set up to see how we can compensate the state exchequer for the losses suffered due to the coronavirus scare and subsequent lockdown. We will see how local jobs can be generated, how youths can be given employment and the labourers made more financially secure. Ministers Dr Dhan Singh Rawat and Rekha Arya would be members of this ministerial group. Also, we will connect with the migrant labourers from different states currently living in Uttarakhand, who hold importance in various sectors of the state, would be contacted through videoconferencing to elicit their views on various issues. We have formed a high-powered committee led by retired IAS officer Indu Kumar Pandey to give suggestions on ways and means to boost the state economy and generate jobs. We are holding discussions with experts in the fields of tourism, agriculture, industry, animal husbandry and horticulture. We just have to be patient - we will defeat coronavirus and we will boost the state economy thereafter. Q: The Home Ministry has issued guidelines on opening of shops and allowed specific activities in the second phase of the lockdown from April 20. What all has the Uttarakhand government allowed and what precautions are being observed? CM: As per the central guidelines, we have allowed manufacture of essential items, pharmaceuticals, food processing, manufacturing for supply chains, industry in the rural areas, and brickworks, albeit with adherence to social distancing and other norms. Q: What steps have your government taken to ensure supply of essential commodities? CM: We have taken innovative steps in this regard, including Jan Apoorti app. People can order for supplies of essential items through this app while sitting in their homes. The app has since become very popular. Q: What has been done to tackle violations of lockdown norms? CM: We are taking strict action against violators. Instructions in this regard are very clear. As many as 9,671 persons have been arrested and 2150 cases lodged till April 25. Also, 24,342 challans have been issued under the Motor Vehicle Act, and 5,203 vehicles seized. Fines totalling Rs 1.20 crore has been realised. Q: What efforts have been made to ensure supply chains are not broken? CM: We have ensured the smooth functioning of pharmaceutical units, flour mills and food processing units. Q: How many people have benefited from supply of ration in Uttarakhand? How many people have benefitted from the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana and Jan Dhan scheme? CM: Many steps have been taken for the welfare of the people. Schools have been ordered not to charge fees for lockdown period. Those suffering from coronavirus have been provided free treatment under the Atal Ayushman Uttarakhand Yojana. Manufacturers of edible oil have been asked to reserve 50 per cent of their produce for the state's markets. As per the Antyodaya Anna Yojana under the National Food Security Mission, each beneficiary has been given additional 5 kg rice free of cost for April, May and June. All charges on water supply and sewerage connections have been postponed till May 31. Electricity consumers too have benefitted. Operation of flour mills has been smoothened to ensure sufficient availability of flour in the market during the lockdown. These mills have been provided wheat through the Food Corporation of India. We are ensuring availability of items of daily needs like edible oils, soaps, pulses, salt, etc at all ration shops. Home delivery of essentials has been ensured to the old and sick, and pregnant women. Workers registered under the Employees State Insurance have been given Rs 1,000 each. District collectors have been given a total of Rs 30 crore from the CM Relief Fund to help those not registered for state benefits and others in need of help. Cattle feed and products related to agriculture have been included in essential commodities category. Payments of loans raised by farmers for agriculture and related activities from cooperative banks have been deferred by three months. There are 3.5 lakh farmers in the state. The government has also decided to ensure sufficient ration to each resident under the Food Security Mission. Ration in the form of 35 kg wheat and rice for three months would be given under the Antyodaya Scheme. Five kg rice and pulses would be given to each of the white card holders. A total of 10 lakh ration card holders will be given 15 kg ration in place of 7.5 kg for the months of April, May and June. Those who don't have ration cards would also be supplied ration kits in Uttarakhand Q: What was the biggest challenge faced due to coronavirus in Uttarakhand? What arrangements have been made to observe the lockdown, what is the quarantine arrangement in the state? CM: Some challenge was definitely faced with the Tablighis carrying corona infection. But we took the support of the enlightened people of their group and explained that getting infected with corona is not a mistake, but to hide it is a crime. However, strict action was taken against those who were hiding and those who were helping them to hider. As a result of this, infected people came and started getting treatment. I am glad that many of these people have recovered. People are being quarantined in the state in two ways. Home quarantine and institutional quarantine. More than 2,500 people are in institutional quarantine. There are more than 18,000 beds available. As far as the observance of the lockdown is concerned, it was started in the state on the day of Janata Curfew on March 22 on the call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We had ordered the closure of the educational institutions on March 15 itself. We strictly implemented the lockdown in the state. Conscious people of the state also helped in this. We have made sure that the needs of the essential goods and services of the people are met. Suggestions from the enlightened people of the society were also taken into consideration. We set the time of opening of shops of essential commodities in such a way that there is no rush and crowds. Q: Uttarakhand is a state where very few cases have been reported from other states. After all, what is this 'Uttarakhand model' of controlling the corona? CM: See, the fight against corona is a fight for the whole of humanity. We can all win only by uniting. This fight in the country is being fought under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Due to the right decisions taken by him at the right time, the pace of spread of corona in India has reduced. As far as Uttarakhand is concerned, I would like to thank the people of the state including all the corona warriors, with whose cooperation we have been successful in controlling it. Corona cases in Uttarakhand are doubling in 26.6 days. In this sense, Uttarakhand ranks third in preventing corona infection. I am constantly monitoring ...we review daily with senior officials and are taking necessary decisions. Where deficiencies are seen, they are improved. The most important aspect of our strategy is public cooperation. I would like to congratulate our doctors and health workers that more than half of the 48 cases of corona infection have recovered and gone home. Even a 9-month-old baby was cured in only 6 days. We have not had a single death from coronavirus yet. Q: How many people have been tested by the state government in Uttarakhand so far? How many people are being tested for samples everyday? When is the state expected to become corona-free? CM: A total of 4,767 samples have been sent to the state for testing of Covid-19 till April 24. We had two testing labs till now, now the third lab has also started working. So far, 25 of these 48 corona positives have been cured. Seven of our districts are in the Green Zone. We are taking the state towards liberation from corona. (Navneet Mishra can be contacted at navneet.m@ians.in) Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Flags of the five military branches fly over a memorial monument at Washington Crossing National Cemetery April 22, 2020. The military honors those who served by providing dignified military funeral honors to veterans but since the coronavirus pandemic, those ceremonies are no longer conducted. But at the nations 136 Veterans Affairs (VA) national cemeteries, like Washington Crossing in Bucks County, the burials continue. Immediate family members - limited to no more than 10 people practicing social distancing - are allowed to view the burial, but many deceased veterans are interned with only the cemetery staff - all veterans themselves - as the the only witnesses to honor their service. Read more HANOVER TWP., Pa. Patriotic residents of Northeast Pennsylvania answered the call Saturday by showing up en masse to pay final respects to a World War II veteran since the military cant give traditional honors during the coronavirus shutdown. Hundreds of people waving flags lined roadways from a Back Mountain funeral home to a Hanover Twp. cemetery to see that Navy veteran Dalton Drake, 98, got the send off he deserved. Following the fitting tribute, Drake was laid to rest in Oak Lawn Cemetery. On behalf of the Drake family, they are so unbelievably overwhelmed by the outpouring of support shown by so many today. They extend their sincere thanks and respect to you all. Thank you, Brent Snowdon, whose family owns the Snowdon Funeral Home that handled Drakes services, said in a Facebook post. A personal thank you to all that took an idea and made it happen. As it turned out, Drake wasnt the only veteran honored by the outpouring of support on Saturday. Minutes before Drakes funeral procession arrived at Oak Lawn Cemetery, another procession approached and the hundreds of people assembled assumed it was the one they were there for. An organizer gave the orders to salute and the crowd obliged. Family members of that man, Ronald E. Smith, 85, of Wilkes-Barre, a Navy veteran of the Korean War, could be seen crying from the unexpected tribute as his procession passed by en route to St. Marys Cemetery down the road. They were happy. They couldnt have an Honor Guard either, said funeral director Joseph M. Jendrzejewski, who handled Smiths arrangements. I didnt expect that many people. It was touching. READ MORE: Military funeral honors suspended in wake of coronavirus but not the respect Those gathered for Drakes procession quickly realized they gave an expected tribute to another veteran and say they were happy to do so. Some joked it was a trial run for Drakes procession. When Drakes procession arrived, they saluted again. The processions entry into Oak Lawn Cemetery was met by a fly over by two airplanes a tribute Snowdon said he didnt anticipate. He said he wasnt sure who organized the flyover. Days before Drakes funeral, Snowdon made a plea on Facebook for the community to line the funeral procession route since the military couldnt give Drake the customary honors. Veterans organizations and motorcycle groups took the message to heart. America showed up today, said Sheila Brandon, 51, of Dallas, representing the American Legion Riders. It was very patriotic. No veteran should be buried without military rites. Drake, who died in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, is survived by his widow, the former Priscilla Swartwood, a Wilkes-Barre native whom he married in 1957. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Drake earned a chemical engineering degree from Ohio State University in 1943 before entering World War II. He served as a lieutenant junior grade aboard the U.S.S Cacapon. FAQ: Your coronavirus questions, answered. Navy veteran Dave Jacobs, 64, of Nanticoke, attended Saturdays gathering wearing his old military uniform. I squeezed into this outfit after 18 years. I figured Id come out for this guy, Jacobs said. Gary Lewis, 44, of Dallas, and other members of the BlackTop Warriors Jeep Club, were among those in attendance. This is pretty amazing under the circumstances, Lewis said. We wanted to give this veteran the proper respects. This is about the veteran. Thats why we are here. We love our country. This was a recent birthday celebration in North Koreas capital, Pyongyang. It was held in honor of the countrys founder, Kim Il-sung, who died in 1994. The festivities may have appeared routine. But something, someone, was missing. Kim Jong-un, North Koreas ruler. Here he is at that same celebration in past years. Kims absence has led to questions about his health and whereabouts. But details from the secretive regime are hard to come by. They have such control over information. They are so good at restricting access. So how do North Korea watchers try to discern whats happening during moments like this? We spoke to several experts to understand some of the main techniques that they rely on. Satellite images are a key tool. Analysts use them to look for changes or patterns that can help explain what might be happening in the country and to track Kim Jong-uns movements. Take the Central Party Complex, for example, the regimes headquarters. The Central Party Complex is located right next to where they have the military parades. In Pyongyang, it is called North Koreas Forbidden City, because you cannot go there without showing your ID. Youve got to go through four lines of security before you go in to the actual building. But it is where all of North Koreas top officials have residences. But from above, there are ways around the secrecy. You could tell if Kim Jong-un is in the office based on the guard deployments around the buildings. Its like when the presidents in the White House. You can see it. Theres a state security presence by the Secret Service. The complex also includes Kims reported personal medical clinic. But in April, we detected a change. The clinic had just been demolished, making way for a much larger structure. Its the kind of visual clue that analysts tend to keep a close eye on. If Kim Jong-un does have health issues, there are other places experts look to for indicators, like North Koreas most elite hospital, where the Kim family has its own wing. Analysts might look for certain vehicles outside. Heres what a motorcade looks like near one of Kims homes. If this appears near the hospital, it may mean hes there. We would look at vehicles parked outside of the hospital outside of the entrance. They would, of course, be parked very orderly. It would be very clean and neat. And anywhere from six to 10 Mercedes Benz sedans. And then after that, we would probably start to see what are called ACVs, armored combat vehicles, and any other deployment of Kim Jong-uns body guard units. Another area that observers look at is this train station in Wonsan, near one of Kims favorite homes. Recently, what is likely his personal train was spotted parked nearby. If Kims health was of serious concern, or if the regime felt its very survival was in immediate danger, analysts may look to a compound and surrounding area in the countrys north. This is where the Kims and the North Korean officials would travel and issue commands and instructions. It is geographically isolated. It is a special district where Kim Jong-un has his panic room and has a command and control facility where he would be able to command North Koreas armed forces in the event of an invasion or in the event of an insurrection against his leadership. And it also has the value-added benefit of being so close to the North Korea-China border that he could drive into China if they felt that the emergency was that bad. If Kim were recovering from an ailment, he might do it at this residential compound. Its where Kims father, Kim Jong-il, made his first public appearance at a soccer game after having a stroke in 2008. It is located about 20 to 30 minutes from central Pyongyang. So that would allow him to recover in privacy, and quietly. But if he needed to go to Pyongyang to exercise his authority or show his face at a political meeting, its a short drive. But satellite imagery doesnt always provide a clear answer. We also need to be mindful of the fact that North Korea is very aware that we are watching them from above. And so I have seen in the past that North Korea uses that satellite imagery to conceal what theyre doing and to deflect what theyre doing. Sometimes when hes gone abroad, they will put the guard deployments up there to make it look like hes in there. Hes not in there. Another area North Korea watchers look to for clues about the regime is state-run news outlets. Although the media treats North Korean leaders as godlike figures, experts say there are ways to tell if Kim is in trouble. If theres a major crisis today, tomorrow, within a few days, what we will see are very long editorials or very long essays published in North Koreas newspapers, which will talk about the virtues of Kim family leadership. They wont refer directly to Kim Jong-un necessarily. But they will talk about virtues and trace those virtues back to all three of the Kims. [Choir singing in Korean] The presence or absence of the ruler during major media spectacles may also be a worrying sign, like in 2008 when Kim Jong-uns father and then leader was due at a major military parade to celebrate the countrys founding. Were expecting then leader Kim Jong-il to come out and wave, salute the troops. So it was my first day of work. I was watching this. And lo and behold, as the camera scanned to the viewing platform, he wasnt there. And I cannot tell you, that just sent shivers down my spine. We finally got intel sources in Washington, D.C., to confirm that they believed that Kim Jong-il had suffered a stroke several weeks earlier in August and was in a coma. State television didnt cover Kim Jong-ils ailments. All they showed on state TV was old documentary footage but no new images that have been moving for months. North Korea never acknowledged his illness never. Finally, there is the tracking of commercial and private flights. This website shows flights over a typical 48-hour period. Notice how empty it is over North Korea. Only about half a dozen commercial airliners land in Pyongyangs airport each day. So any unscheduled flight should stand out. If Kim Jong-un was severely ill, analysts may watch for a specific type of flight arriving in Pyongyang. I would look for charter flights because if it was a major medical procedure, theres a very high chance that they would have retained foreign physicians to do the procedure. North Korea watchers have used flight tracking in the past for clues about the rulers intentions. In 2018, unscheduled cargo plane flights were quickly spotted leaving Pyongyang bound for Vladivostok, Russia. Both were believed to have been involved in sanctions violations by the regime. None of these techniques alone can provide a full picture of Kims life. Analysts also heavily rely on human and intelligence sources. And despite modern technology and expertise, the regime still manages to keep most of its internal affairs away from prying eyes. [Choir humming] Although investment trust Herald has had a difficult start to the year like most funds its long-term performance remains mightily impressive. A point that manager Katie Potts would have made to shareholders in a presentation at the trust's annual general meeting nine days ago if it wasn't for the fact that coronavirus prevented them from attending. The presentation, instead made available to investors online, highlights the fact that despite the trust's double-digit slide in the value of its assets during the first quarter of this year, assets have risen on average by 11 per cent a year since Herald's launch in 1994. The trust invests in international companies operating in the technology, media and telecoms sectors and assets have risen on average by 11 per cent a year since Herald's launch in 1994 Reassuringly, it also highlights the trust's resilience in the wake of the pandemic, a reflection of its strong 'TMT' bent, investing in international companies operating in the technology, media and telecoms sectors. Many of these companies not all have performed far better than retailers, travel companies and airlines. 'Thank goodness for technology,' says Potts, who is currently overseeing the investment trust from her mother's home on the Herefordshire/Gloucestershire border. 'Ten years ago, we wouldn't have been able to do the things we can now do with ease from our own front-room in response to coronavirus such as operate a business or order our shopping online. It's quite amazing the advances that have been made.' Its top ten holdings, including pollster YouGov, account for nearly a fifth of the trust's assets Potts spends her entire working life attempting to dig out the technological success stories of tomorrow. She invests in young, embryonic companies nearly always quoted in the hope that they will eventually come good. It's a painstaking job, involving mountains of research and company meetings, but for Herald's shareholders it can be richly rewarding. Over the past five years, they have enjoyed overall returns of 84 per cent. Her search for TMT winners among the pool of 5,000 qualifying firms is a global one, with Herald Investment Management the investment company overseeing the trust and three other funds having a New York office to ensure regular contact with the US companies it invests in. A quarter of the trust's 1billion of assets are invested in the US. Potts' approach to investment management is unusual in that Herald has stakes in more than 300 companies. By way of contrast, most rival managers prefer to run much smaller portfolios of no more than 30 stocks so that each position can have a big impact on overall performance (so-called 'conviction investing'). Potts argues that her more diverse approach is necessary because she is often investing in start-up businesses where the chances of corporate failure loom large. It is the winners that emerge from these 300 that drive the trust's performance. Its top ten holdings, including pollster YouGov, account for nearly a fifth of the trust's assets. In recent weeks, Potts has been using the fund's sizeable cash holdings currently 125 million to support cash calls from key businesses it is invested in. The likes of Bloomsbury Publishing, the trust's longest-standing holding, and artificial intelligence medical specialist Intelligent Ultrasound. 'The world will keep on reading,' says Potts, 'while Intelligent Ultrasound has witnessed extra demand for its services in the medical sector.' For the time being, investing in new companies will be off the agenda because of the difficulty of meeting management (a Potts' prerequisite) although there are businesses she has already met that might now look more attractive to buy because of lower share prices. The annual trust charges total a tad over one per cent. Last year, no dividend was paid. London Stock Exchange identification code: 0422864. In a tweet, Trump confirmed the media reports that he was considering halting the briefings, which dominate early-evening cable television news for sometimes more than two hours, out of frustration with questions about his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. "What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or ... Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. 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Digital Editor Papua New Guinea is running low on reagent and extraction kits needed for testing COVID-19, sparking Australia to source the material for its neighbour. Although PNG has only recorded eight cases of the coronavirus, they have been spread across the country and there are growing concerns about a potential outbreak as the government looks to ease restrictions. Port Moresby this month recorded its first case. Credit:Eddie Jim The Australian government is now trying to procure reagent and extraction kits for PNG so the country can ramp up testing, while Queensland Health has agreed to test PNG samples in Brisbane until the reagent and extraction kits can be secured. So far, more than 1000 samples have been sent to Brisbane for testing. The country has nearly run out of reagents, which are the key chemical ingredients used in testing for viruses such as the coronavirus. Over 45,000 COVID-19 cases now confirmed in Canada, death toll at over 2,460: Government Moscow, Apr 26 (Sputnik) The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Canada has surpassed 45,300 with over 100 new deaths having been registered in the past 24 hours, the countrys Health Department informs. Canadas total COVID-19 death toll now stands at 2,465 according to the governments Saturday data. Ontario and Quebec have been the most affected by the coronavirus, with over 800 and more than 1,440 deaths registered in the two provinces, respectively. On Saturday, the Canadian province of New Brunswick said it was starting to lift some of the coronavirus restrictions. In doing so, the province has become the countrys first province to begin gradually reopening. Sorry! This content is not available in your region HELSINKI, July 16, 2018 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, on July 16, 2018. U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin started their Image Source: PK Moscow, April 26 : Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump adopted a joint statement to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the meeting between Soviet and US soldiers at the Elbe River, the Kremlin said. "April 25, 2020, marks the 75th anniversary of the historic meeting between Soviet and US soldiers, who shook hands on the damaged bridge over the Elbe River," the joint statement said on Saturday, adding that the event heralded the decisive defeat of the Nazi regime, Xinhua news agency reported. "The meeting on the Elbe represented a culmination of tremendous efforts by the many countries and peoples that joined forces under the framework of the United Nations Declaration of 1942," it said. The contributions from men and women on the home front, who forged vast quantities of war materials for use around the world, are also recognized in the statement. "The 'Spirit of the Elbe' is an example of how our countries can put aside differences, build trust, and cooperate in pursuit of a greater cause. As we work today to confront the most important challenges of the 21st century, we pay tribute to the valour and courage of all those who fought together to defeat fascism. Their heroic feat will never be forgotten," it said. Wealthy nations have delved deep to cushion the blow. For instance, Germany and Italy have each allocated more than 30% of gross domestic product to direct spending, bank guarantees, and loan and equity injections, for a combined $1.84 trillion in aid, figures from the International Monetary Fund show. Yet the countries IMF analysts say theyre most concerned about have only been able to trickle out support: Many African and Latin American economies have failed to reach even a few billion dollars in fiscal aid, according to IMF data and reporting from more than 60 countries collated by Bloomberg News. Governments worldwide are unleashing fiscal support measures, but not all fiscal packages are the same, said Chua Hak Bin, a senior economist at Maybank Kim Eng Research Pte. in Singapore. While fiscal bazookas are the norm in the more advanced economies, emerging-market governments dont have that kind of ammunition and fiscal space. Their fiscal packages are more water pistols than bazookas. IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath has repeatedly voiced concern that developing nations have less policy space and less sophisticated infrastructure to manage the virus outbreaks taking hold in their countries. Much of the global fiscal tally of more than $8 trillion consists of bank guarantees in developed nations -- France and Spain have allocated more than $300 billion and $100 billion respectively for this kind of support, for example. Total virus-relief spending in the U.S. stands in excess of $2.3 trillion. South Africa, the continents only member of the Group of 20, has managed to boost its support to about $26 billion, yet many of its neighbors are far more strapped. Tracking fiscal support across the world isnt a straightforward exercise, making global comparisons difficult. Some countries like Russia havent yet published official figures for aid, while others like Mexico provide too few details to estimate a support package. For Bloombergs collection of data, no central bank funding was considered. Fiscal support generally fell into three categories: direct aid for medical response to the virus; consumer support, including cash handouts; and funds for businesses, including tax breaks, loan support, bank guarantees, and wage subsidies. In many cases, governments have reallocated spending that was already budgeted, while also adding new measures. Heres a look at some highlights across regions: Asia-Pacific Chinas stimulus in the crisis thus far has been remarkably restrained, with fiscal measures amounting to about 3 trillion yuan ($424 billion), or 3% of gross domestic product, Chang Shu at Bloomberg Economics calculates. That includes faster unemployment insurance payments, lower value-added tax rates for small firms, and infrastructure investment. In the rest of Asia, governments are showing a willingness to prioritize near-term stimulus over the usual long-term deficit concerns. Japans fiscal support stands at more than 20% of GDP, while Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia have each rolled out spending amounting to 10% or more of GDP. Indonesia has already adjusted its deficit-spending cap. In Thailand, where the tourism sector makes up about one-fifth of the economy in normal times, officials have rolled out several aid packages that mix support from the central bank and fiscal authorities. Americas The U.S. has enacted three different pieces of legislation that together pledge more than $2 trillion in support for virus relief, with lawmakers close to finalizing an almost half-trillion-dollar deal on more aid. American taxpayers are seeing cash handouts reach their bank accounts, while small businesses have appealed for a top-up to a $349 billion payroll-support program that ran out of funds in less than two weeks. President Donald Trump announced last week that the government will draw on a chunk of the approved funding to offer $16 billion in direct payments to beleaguered farmers and put $3 billion toward government purchases of meat, dairy products and other foods. In Latin America the response has been spotty. Argentine officials are more focused on negotiating longer-term debt relief, and Brazils government is in disagreement about the threat of the virus. In Mexico, even allies of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador say hes been too restrained in offering fiscal aid. Europe Germany has pledged more than $1 trillion in support, about half of that in the form of bank guarantees. U.K. authorities have garnered some praise for their measures, which total more than a half-trillion dollars and include aid targeted at furloughed employees and special groups of vulnerable people such as the self-employed. Russias government hasnt offered a specific amount for its overall fiscal support, but analysts at ING Bank calculate that tax breaks, state guarantees, and other spending total about 3 trillion rubles ($38.6 billion). Middle East & Africa As the number of confirmed cases starts to rise in the Southern Hemisphere, the conversation around governments need and ability to help remains much different. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed warned in an April 12 Bloomberg op-ed that Africas economies need emergency debt relief, for starters -- with the risk that the plight of the continents 1.3 billion people could reverberate around the world. In the Middle East, economies are grappling with chaos in oil markets in addition to coronavirus. The United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain were among countries pledging early packages of assistance. Saudi Arabia has pledged about 79 billion riyal ($21 billion) in fiscal aid, according to estimates from Ziad Daoud at Bloomberg Economics. Bloomberg Panic spread across several villages near the Indo-Bangla border in Assams Karimganj district on Sunday after a Bangladeshi national claiming to be a Covid-19 patient swam across a river and entered India seeking treatment, the Border Security Force (BSF) said. The man in his mid-30s identified as Abdul Haque, a resident of Sunamganj district of Bangladesh, was later handed over by BSF authorities to Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB). The Bangaldeshi national swam across the Kushiyara river located on the border between the two countries and entered India around 7:30 am on Sunday. When villagers on the Indian side saw him, they stopped him there and informed us, said Deputy Inspector General JC Nayak, BSF spokesperson based at Silchar, 53 km east of Karimganj. Follow coronavirus latest updates here. The incident happened at a place called Mubarakpur nearly four km away from Karimganj town on an unfenced portion of the boundary between two countries. The person had fever, didnt look too well and was speaking incoherently. He was claiming that he was suffering from Covid-19 and crossed the river to seek treatment in India, Nayak said. The BSF authorities informed BGB personnel from across the border about it. The Bangaldeshi authorities came to the Indian side in two boats and took the man back around 9 am. We have no idea whether he was Covid19 positive or not, but it was clear that he was unwell. Villagers on the Indian side were afraid to approach him because of coronavirus scare. Only tests will reveal his exact status, said Nayak. Though Kushiyara river gets flooded several times during the monsoon, the water level at present is pretty low and a person who knows swimming will be able to cross it without much difficulty, said Nayak. In view of Covid-19, we have intensified patrolling in the border areas to ensure no one enters India from Bangladesh. But the area where this incident happened is unfenced till now. We had carried out awareness programs in villages and that is the reason why they informed us immediately, he added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 23:29:16|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, presides over the first plenary meeting of the 17th session of the 13th NPC Standing Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 26, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislature started its regular session Sunday to review multiple draft laws and revisions to laws. Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), presided over the first plenary meeting of the session Sunday afternoon. A total of 123 members of the NPC Standing Committee attended the meeting, and 47 others participated in the event through online video connections. A draft revision to the law on the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid waste returned for its third review. The Constitution and Law Committee of the NPC suggested the draft be submitted to a vote for adoption at the session. Also on the lawmakers' table is a draft law on administrative discipline, which targets supervision over everyone working in the public sector who exercises public power. A draft biosecurity law was submitted for a second reading. It made it clear that biosecurity is an important part of national security. Bills presented to the legislature also include draft revisions to the laws on animal epidemic prevention and on the People's Armed Police Force, as well as draft amendments to the copyright law. Lawmakers are also deliberating a draft decision on the convening date of the third annual session of the 13th NPC, a draft decision to authorize the State Council to temporarily adjust relevant laws and regulations in the Hainan pilot free trade zone and a report on environmental protection, among others. The legislative session will run from April 26 to 29. New Delhi/Agra, April 26 : Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi on Sunday said the situation in the Agra city is worsening with new patients being identified daily. She cited the Agra Mayor's anguish, who has said that if the situation is not managed the problem may increase. Priyanka tweeted in Hindi saying, "I raised this issue yesterday also. Transparency is essential and emphasis on testing is needed to stop corona. Focus on testing is very important. Government should listen to the Agra Mayor in an affirmative manner and take steps to save Agra from this pandemic." Agra is turning in to a major hotspot again as per reports. 348 people have tested positive in which 32 were cured and eight people have died. Agra Mayor Naveen Jain wrote a letter to the Chief Minister to help save the situation and said to media, "Nursing homes are not ready to admit expecting mothers. Family members of covid-19 patients are forced to wait for many days to get tested." He has requested the "Chief Minister to save Agra, which is going through a very tough time. People of Agra are in panic." Party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, had written a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister to expand the ambit of testing, and has criticized the government for the low rate of testing, alleging that the reports of two persons came only after they had died. I remind everyone who criticizes the young that we raised this generation. If there are concerns, I suggest we look to our own parenting skills. Additionally, I feel that people who engage in this verbal bashing are merely carrying on a tired and worn-out tradition that has been going on since the dawn of time. Does it make us morally superior? Is it helpful? Or does it make us simply cranky old people essentially the mean neighbor yelling at kids to get off his lawn? As India continues to grapple with the coronavirus outbreak amid a nationwide lockdown, some states are considering the option of extending the shutdown beyond May 3 while some others are in favour of restricting it to containment zones and their buffer areas and not the entire districts. So far, Telangana is the only state that has extended the lockdown till May 7. An official of Delhi governments Covid-19 committee has suggested that the ongoing lockdown will have to be extended till mid-May for the epidemic curve to flatten as the national capital reported 2,625 infections including 54 deaths. India is still on the ascending limb of the epidemic curve and so, to ease the restrictions will mean the cases will multiply uncontrollably. And, Delhi has a large number of containment zones, so it will be wise to extend it, Dr S K Sarin, chairman of Delhi governments committee on combating COVID-19, said on Saturday, reports PTI. The lockdown will have to be extended till May 16 as that is when the epidemic curve is likely to start declining, which happens after the flattening of the curve, he said. Maharashtra, too, is considering continuing the lockdown . The state government is considering extending the lockdown in Mumbai and Pune, the two biggest Covid-19 hotspots in the state. State health minister Rajesh Tope on Saturday told HTs business publication Mint that the lockdown will need to be extended if the spread of coronavirus is not contained. The main objective of implementing the lockdown was to stop the spread of Covid-19 pandemic and if the spread is not getting contained, we will have to extend the lockdown, Tope told Mint. If required, we will extend the lockdown for 15 more days after 3 May only for the containment zones, if not for the entire Mumbai and Pune, the minister added. Of Maharashtras total 6,817 coronavirus cases, 4,447 come from Mumbai while 961 cases are from Pune, according to official data. In Madhya Pradesh, officials have indicated that there is no likelihood of immediate relaxation in lockdown restrictions in the hotspot districts after May 3 as there havent been any signs of improvement. There are no signs of improvement in the situation in the state particularly in the hotspot districts. Hence there is no likelihood of any immediate relaxation from lockdown restrictions in these areas after May 3. Rather, there will be stricter compliance of restrictions to control the situation, said an official on condition of anonymity on Saturday. Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh has said he would go by the advice of the expert committee, set up to formulate lockdown exit strategy, in the matter of opening up the state. State health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Saturday said that the chief minister will consult all the departments and there could be a state cabinet meeting over the same. In Uttar Pradesh, the administration has decided not to allow any public gatherings till June 30. Officials in most BJP-ruled states have said they will follow the Centres directions on the lockdown. The decision on whether to lift or extend the lockdown is expected to be among the issues likely to be discussed in Prime Minister Modis video conference with chief ministers on Monday. Some chief ministers want lockdown to be lifted in districts not affected by the pandemic, even as differences remain on how the curbs should be enforced in the remaining areas. Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa and his Andhra counterpart, YSR Jagan Mohan Reddy, want the lockdown to be restricted to the containment areas and their buffer zones and not entire districts. Chief ministers of Rajasthan, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar are expected to seek relaxation on interstate transport for allowing stranded migrant labourers to return home. Italy, the first European country to be hard-hit by the coronavirus, will allow some businesses to reopen as soon as this week while aiming to reopen manufacturing and construction from May 4, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said. Conte gave the most detailed outline yet of plans to reopen the economy, in a newspaper interview published on Sunday ahead of the government's roadmap out of lockdown, which he said would be released no later than early this week. Italy, hit hard by the virus weeks before other major Western countries with a total death toll of 26,000, has been forced to serve as a model for how to fight it. Coronavirus deaths in the country rose by 260 on Sunday, the smallest daily tally since March 14, the Civil Protection Agency said. The number of new infections was the lowest since April 20 at 2,324 from 2,357 on Saturday. Sunday's death toll was sharply down from 415 on Saturday, to mark the third daily fall in succession. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte gave the most detailed outline yet of plans to reopen the economy, in an interview published on Sunday The total of fatalities since the outbreak came to light now stands at 26,644, the agency said, the second highest in the world after that of the United States. Italy is being closely watched around the world as it takes its early steps to chart a path out of a strict lockdown it imposed in early March. Conte described a phased process that would see much of manufacturing restarted in early May, although businesses frequented by the general public such as bars and restaurants would have to wait a bit longer. Schools would remain shut until September. 'We are working in these hours to allow the reopening of a good part of businesses from manufacturing to construction for May 4,' Conte told Italian daily La Repubblica. Some businesses deemed 'strategic', including activity that was mainly export-oriented, could reopen this week providing they get the go ahead from local prefects. Conte gave the most detailed outline yet of plans to reopen the economy, in a newspaper interview published on Sunday. A cyclist wearing a face mask rides in Piazza del Popolo square in Rome, Italy Exporting companies need to resume activity sooner to reduce the risk of being cut out of the production chain and losing business, he said. 'We can't prolong any further this lockdown... we would risk seriously undermining the socio-economic fabric of the country,' Conte said. Conte reiterated that any restart would have to be gradual, and said companies would have to introduce strict health safety measures before opening their doors. Newspapers have said industries where the contagion risk is low, such as manufacturing and wholesale businesses, would be allowed to open on May 4. Retailers could then reopen on May 11 and bars and restaurants on May 18, under tough conditions. A little girl plays by pushing a stroller in Piazza del Popolo square in Rome, Italy, 26 April 2020 People wearing protective face masks walk in Piazza del Popolo square in Rome, Italy A cyclist wearing a face mask rides in Piazza del Popolo square in Rome, Italy, 26 April 2020 The lockdown has put a strain on the euro zone's third largest economy and Italian business leaders have called for the restrictions to be eased to head off economic catastrophe. Rome has introduced a series of measures including state-backed loans to help businesses stay afloat. But some businessmen have complained about delays in implementing them. Conte said the government was monitoring banks to make sure state-guaranteed liquidity arrived to companies in need. Municipal Police officers stop motorists to check whether they have a valid reason to travel during a nationwide lockdown over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Rome He also said the government was working on a series of measures to help industry by cutting bureaucratic red tape. Asked about schools, Conte said the plan was to reopen them in September. But he added studies showed the risk of contagion was very high. Teaching remotely is working well, he said. Nearly 200,000 Italian companies have asked authorities for permission to be able to operate during Italy's lockdown, either because they help essential businesses or because they deem themselves strategic for the national economy. The interior ministry said a streamlined procedure is being implemented that 'trusts the sense of responsibility of individual business persons' in allowing companies to resume operations. The ministry's local authorities can verify that a company respects Covid-19 safety rules, including social distancing. Most of the requests have come from three northern regions that are among Italy's most productive, but also among those most heavily hit by coronavirus cases. The number of confirmed cases in Italy as of Sunday was 197,675, the third highest global tally behind those of the United States and Spain. People registered as currently carrying the illness rose to 106,103 from 105,847 on Saturday. There were 2,009 people in intensive care on Sunday against 2,102 on Saturday, maintaining a long-running decline. Of those originally infected, 64,928 were declared recovered against 63,120 a day earlier. The agency said 1.187 million people had been tested for the virus against 1.148 million the day before, out of a population of around 60 million. As the global death toll from the coronavirus surpassed 200,000, countries took cautious steps toward easing lockdowns imposed amid the pandemic, but fears of a surge in infections made even some outbreak-wounded businesses reluctant to reopen. The states of Georgia, Oklahoma and Alaska started loosening restrictions on businesses despite warnings from experts that such steps might be premature. Shawn Gingrich, CEO and founder of Lion's Den Fitness, decided after the Georgia governor's announcement that his Atlanta gym would remain closed for now. We've sacrificed so much already, Gingrich said. I feel like if we do this too soon, we'll see a spike in cases and we're back to square one. Others were eager to get back to business, with precautions. Russ Anderson, who owns four tattoo studios in south Georgia, said he couldn't get up out of my chair quick enough when restrictions were lifted. His main shop served 50 or 60 customers Friday when it reopened, with customers and tattoo artists wearing masks, he said. The worldwide death toll was over 202,000, according to a count by John Hopkins University from government figures on Saturday. The actual death toll is believed to be far higher. India reopened neighbourhood stores that many of the country's 1.3 billion people rely on for everything from beverages to mobile phone data cards. But the loosening didn't apply to hundreds of quarantined towns and other places hit hardest by the outbreak that has killed at least 775 people in the country where many poor live in slums too crowded for social distancing. Shopping malls also stayed closed nationwide. Still, for owners of small stores, being allowed to open again brought relief. India also allowed manufacturing and farming to resume in rural areas last week to ease the economic plight of millions left jobless by the March 24 lockdown. The restrictions have allowed people out of their homes only to buy food, medicine or other essentials. Elsewhere in Asia, authorities reported no new deaths Saturday for the 10th straight day in China, where the virus originated. South Korea reported just 10 fresh cases, the eighth day in a row its daily increase was under 20. There were no new deaths for the second straight day. Underscoring the unknowns about the virus, the World Health Organization said there is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 cannot fall sick again. Some countries extended or tightened restrictions, confirming a pattern of caution. Sri Lanka had partially lifted a monthlong daytime curfew in more than two thirds of the country. But it reimposed a 24-hour lockdown countrywide until Monday after a surge of 46 new infections, its highest daily increase. Norway extended until at least Sept. 1 its ban on events with more than 500 participants. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Snchez announced that Spaniards will be allowed to leave their homes for short walks and exercise starting May 2 after seven weeks of strict home confinement, though he said maximum caution will be our guideline. We must be very prudent because there is no manual, no roadmap to follow, he said. Belgium sketched out plans for a progressive lockdown relaxation starting May 4 with the resumption of nonessential treatment in hospitals and the reopening of textile and sewing shops to make face masks. In Italy, where restrictions also will be eased May 4, authorities warned against abandoning social distancing practices as millions return to work. Free masks will be distributed to nursing homes, police, public officials and transportation workers. Workers painted blue circles on Rome's subway platforms to remind people to keep their distance when commuters return. The country continues to have Europe's highest death toll, with 26,384. The 415 deaths registered in the 24-hour period that ended Saturday evening was the lowest toll since Italy registered 345 on March 17, but only five fewer than Friday. Britain held off on changes to its lockdown as the virus-related death toll in hospitals topped 20,000. The figure doesn't include deaths in nursing homes, likely to be in the thousands. In France, the government prepared to ease one of Europe's strictest lockdowns from May 11. The health minister detailed plans to scale up testing to help contain any new flare-ups. Testing shortages also are a problem in Brazil, Latin America's largest nation, which is veering closer to becoming a pandemic hot spot. Officials in Rio de Janeiro and four other major cities warned that their hospital systems are on the verge of collapse or already overwhelmed. In Manaus, the biggest city in the Amazon, officials said they have been forced to dig mass graves in a cemetery. Workers have been burying 100 corpses a day triple the pre-virus average. A survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found Americans overwhelmingly support stay-at-home measures and other efforts to prevent the spread of the virus. In Texas, where retailers are allowed to sell items for curbside pickup, Allison Scott said most customers of her women's clothing store in a Dallas shopping mall seem to feel more comfortable having their purchases shippes. I want to be open more than anything but I don't think that society is ready to come out either, she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Netflix has recently released a really intriguing documentary about a zoo owner and an odd turn of events that surround him. The story revolves around the war between both Joe Exotic, the owner and boss of G.W. Zoo, and a certain Carole Baskin, the leader of the Big Cat Rescue, who was bringing heat and trying to take Joe down. Joe Exotic, known as the Tiger King, was eventually sentenced to 22 years in prison recently in 2020 for his alleged plot to actually kill Carole, along with his many wildlife violations. Joe had owned a zoo with a lot of big cats, and got really popular for being America's most prolific breeder. The Tiger King had gotten a huge amount of notoriety for the way he treated his animals, and even came under great scrutiny from the activist known as Carole Baskin, the owner of Big Cat Rescue. Carole was trying to stop Joe from breeding these animals and the two instantly became enemies, which is the said to be the reason behind the alleged plot to kill her. Read Also: [Viral Video] Cops Prank Lockdown Violators by Forcing them into an Ambulance where a "Sick" Police Officer was Waiting The viral TikTok dance The internet thought it would be hilarious to take the popular "I'm a savage" trending dance on TikTok and use the steps for an all new CAROL BASKIN dance. This hilarious new trend sees men, women, and even kids dress up as the Tiger King himself and others accompanying dressed as Carol Baskin. The audio used is the voice of the Tiger King replacing "I'm a savage" with "Carol Baskin" and the switch goes perfectly with the beat. These new lyrics have been now replaced the whole "I'm a savage" song on TikTok. The new trend has been gaining popularity amongst those who were able to watch Netflix's Tiger King and seems to be an addition to all the memes about this series. The memes haven't stopped and it seems like this new challenge could be a new big thing. The controversial series The series was met with good and bad reviews for its heavily controversial topic and although this is a documentary, there is still discussions ongoing this very day as to whether the Netflix series did justice to the portrayal of the Tiger King and present the story in an unbiased way. Aside from the controversial Tiger King, there has also been controversy circulating Carole Baskin especially outside of the series as the people of the internet started digging up on whether or not she was really as clean as her intentions to save the animals. The show has been a topic of many debates as some people side with the Tiger King saying that he was just doing what he was doing as the owner of the zoo and some people side with Carole Baskin saying that what Joe Exotic did was completely unacceptable and that he deserved the 22 years he got in prison for his crimes and alleged plot to kill her. Read Also: [Instagram Video] Cute Husky Seen Being Walked by Drone: Could This Be the New Norm for Doggo Walking? A man gestures to the camera as he rests in a public square in Quito, Ecuador, Friday, April 10, 2020. The government declared a "health emergency" amid the new coronavirus pandemic, restricting movement to only those who provide basic services, enacting a curfew and closing schools. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa) QUITO, Ecuador (AP) Ecuadors President Lenin Moreno unveiled an emergency economic plan Friday aimed at rescuing the South American nation hard hit by the new coronavirus and then dealt a second blow when two large pipelines broke, halting critical crude exports. Moreno in a nationwide broadcast urged the nation to come together, saying that Ecuador's massive foreign debt he inherited from past governments will have to be renegotiated, while large businesses earnings over $1 million annually will have to contribute 5% of their profits. Drastic measures will also require residents who earn more than $500 monthly to pitch in, he said. This economic emergency is unprecedented in the recent history of this country," Moreno said. Ecuador, which largely depends on oil exports, was already buckling under $65 billion in foreign debt, when the coronavirus struck. In recent weeks images of the dead left in the streets flooded social media. It's been one of Latin America's nations hardest hit by the virus, infecting 7,161 people and causing 297 deaths, taking its greatest toll on the port city of Guayaquil. The situation turned worse on Monday, when dual pipelines transporting crude from deep within the Amazon broke as the Quijos River flooded, washing away a mountainside supporting the pipes. The one owned by the state-run oil firm Transecuatoriano carries 360,000 barrels each day, while the one privately run by Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados sends 450,000 barrels daily of heavy crude. Energy Minister Rene Ortiz said in an interview with the Teleamazonas television station on Friday that both damaged lines should be repaired within five weeks. He downplayed economic damage, adding that deals with foreign clients wont be jeopardized, citing contracts that anticipate such unanticipated incidents. Nearly 100 oil workers responded to the breaks, trying to stop spilled crude from polluting the Quijos River whose rising waters caused the damage and the downstream Coca River, officials said. The break happened 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the capital of Quito deep in the Amazon. Officials have said there is no risk of fuel shortages within Ecuador due to ample storage. Also, the coronavirus has prompted the nation of 17 million to abide by a rigorous quarantine significantly cutting down traffic. Story continues Adding to troubles of Ecuadors production, a massive power failure Tuesday damaged the Esmeraldas refinery, the largest in the country. The parts that will have to be changed in the refinery arent readily available in the market, so that repair will take some time, said Ortiz, without providing details. Ecuador produces roughly 530,000 barrels of crude daily. Of that 60% is exported and the rest used domestically. Oil represents 35% of the countrys total exports, and it makes up one of the nations most important sources of income. Moreno said he will also send a bill to the lawmakers asking them to make it harder for landlords to evict tenants unable to pay their rent and extending social security benefits for laid-off workers, among measures. Ecuador will request help from the financial institutions including the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank and the new United States Development Bank, Moreno said. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, presides over a video conference with heads of several provincial regions on the current economic situation in Beijing, capital of China, April 23, 2020. Vice Premier Han Zheng, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, also attended the meeting. (Xinhua/Gao Jie) BEIJING, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has stressed confidence and efforts in stabilizing China's economic fundamentals and securing people's basic livelihood in the face of the economic difficulties and challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks Thursday at a video conference with heads of several provincial regions on the current economic situation. Speaking with chiefs of Jilin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Henan, Guangdong and Sichuan, Li said with the COVID-19 pandemic still spreading, the economic situations at home and abroad are "particularly complicated and grim," urging to face up to the difficulties and challenges and strengthen development impetus with strong confidence. Work must be done to safeguard jobs, people's basic livelihood, market entities, food and energy security, the stability of industrial and supply chains, and the smooth running of communities, so as to boost economic recovery and push for high-quality development, he said. Li demanded the implementation and improvement of policies such as tax and fee reduction, financial aid and cost reduction, as well as further support to help enterprises, especially small and medium-sized and micro enterprises as well as individual businesses to tide over difficulties and speed up work and production resumption to secure more jobs, so as to facilitate the employment of key groups such as college graduates, migrant workers and ex-servicemen. Underscoring expansion of domestic demand and effective investment, Li said multiple measures should be taken to stimulate consumption recovery and further growth in online consumption, while policies like local government special bonds should serve to leverage more social investment. Li said that coping with the epidemic and boosting economic development need special measures, and it is more important to stick to the reform and opening-up and speed up transformation of economic development pattern. More efforts will be made to improve the business environment and stimulate market vitality, boost the development of advanced manufacturing and emerging industries, and facilitate mass entrepreneurship and innovation, to foster new growth drivers, Li said. Li also stressed further opening up to the outside world and maintaining the stability of industrial and supply chains through deepened international cooperation. To protect the disadvantaged groups against the economic downturn, Li stressed measures including transfer payments to ensure that the country reaches its goals in poverty alleviation, and called for expanding unemployment benefits, guaranteeing basic living allowance and social assistance, and making good use of price subsidies to safeguard people's basic livelihood. Vice Premier Han Zheng, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, also attended the meeting. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, presides over a video conference with heads of several provincial regions on the current economic situation in Beijing, capital of China, April 23, 2020. Vice Premier Han Zheng, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, also attended the meeting. (Xinhua/Gao Jie) I t is inconceivable that schools will reopen as normal after lockdown, Dominic Raab has said. The Foreign Secretary, deputising for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said classrooms will have to operate social distancing measures when they eventually reopen to pupils. But he told the BBCs Andrew Marr that he will not be drawn on when the school gates will open. It comes after headteachers warned the earliest date they could reopen is June 1, and planning would need to begin very soon to achieve it. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab / 10 Downing Street/AFP via Getty Ministers are expected to cave into mounting pressure across the political spectrum to publish an exit strategy from the restrictions after Mr Johnson returns to work on Monday. The Prime Minister, who has told aides he is raring to go, will have to adjudicate between a deepening Cabinet split over when it is right to ease the lockdown. But Mr Raab said he wants to look when it is safe, when it is responsible at ways to allow more outdoor activities to take place. Schools across the country are closed and GCSE and A-level exams have been cancelled / PA However, as deaths passed the grim milestone of 20,000 on Saturday, Mr Raab resisted calls to re-open the economy early as the UK is still at a delicate and dangerous stage. Loading.... These tests are the daily death and infection rates falling, being sure of the NHS ability to cope, confidence in supply of tests and PPE, and a reduced risk of a second peak. Geoff Barton, head of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said the consensus among headteachers is that June 1 is an optimistic timetable. "We cannot see any realistic way that schools could be re-opened to more pupils before the second half of the summer term," he said. Ministers denied reports last weekend that schools would reopen with social distancing measures in three weeks time to allow children in years 10 and 12 to continue preparations for their GCSE and A-level exams next year. Mr Williamson has also ruled out schools sitting this summer. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-25 02:55:09|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken with a mobile phone on April 24, 2020 shows a handover ceremony of medical equipment donated by China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) Zhuzhou Locomotive Co. Ltd. in Berlin, Germany. China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC), the world's largest rolling stock manufacturer by production volume, donated a shipment of medical equipment to Germany via the German Red Cross on Friday to help the country fight the coronavirus. Responding to the call from the German government and the Chinese Embassy in Germany, and in accordance with an arrangement between CRRC and CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co. Ltd. (CRRC ZELC), the company donated 1,000 protective suits, 20,000 FFP2 masks and 80,000 surgical masks. (CRRC ZELC/Handout via Xinhua) BERLIN, April 24 (Xinhua) -- China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC), the world's largest rolling stock manufacturer by production volume, donated a shipment of medical equipment to Germany via the German Red Cross on Friday to help the country fight the coronavirus. Responding to the call from the German government and the Chinese Embassy in Germany, and in accordance with an arrangement between CRRC and CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co. Ltd. (CRRC ZELC), the company donated 1,000 protective suits, 20,000 FFP2 masks and 80,000 surgical masks. CRRC ZELC said that the donated materials will be distributed to medical staff and volunteers who are fighting the pandemic on the frontlines. Cheng Jian, general manager of CRRC ZELC Verkehrstechnik GmbH, said that the only way to overcome the crisis is to unite strengths and meet the challenges together. "We wish to undertake our social responsibility as part of the community. We firmly believe that with joint efforts of the international community, Germany will quickly overcome the crisis, and production and life will return to normal soon," Cheng said. According to Jens Quade, president of the Mueggelspree regional branch of the German Red Cross, the risk of new coronavirus infections could be reduced through the generous donation from CRRC ZELC. "The donated material will be distributed to the Berlin Red Cross, Berlin hospitals and/or medical institutions. We will do our best to provide the necessary assistance to the people who are most in need," Quade said. Enditem Flash British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be back at work in Downing Street on Monday, about two weeks after leaving a London hospital in his fight against the novel coronavirus, British media reported Saturday night. Johnson told his cabinet colleagues that he will be back to his normal schedule following his treatment in St. Thomas' Hospital in London for COVID-19. Depending on doctors' advice, Johnson may host Monday's daily Downing Street news conference and possibly take on the new Labour leader Keir Starmer at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Sky News reported. "He is 'raring to go' and will be back Monday," Sky News noted, citing a Downing Street source. Johnson said on April 12 that he had left the hospital "after a week in which the NHS has saved my life, no question." Johnson, who spent three nights in intensive care in the hospital, spent a week in Chequers, the prime minister's country house after leaving hospital. "He had a Chequers meeting with advisers on Friday and he will be meeting the (British) health secretary, Matt Hancock, and getting back to his normal schedule," Sky News reported. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is also the first secretary of state, had been deputized by Johnson to carry out his duties during his illness. Earlier in the day, the British Department of Health said that a further 813 people had died of COVID-19 as of 1600 GMT on Friday, bringing the death toll to 20,319 and making UK the fifth nation globally to pass the grim milestone of 20,000 deaths, after the United States, Italy, Spain and France. Care home deaths and those in the community are still excluded from the British tally. The UK-wide figure has doubled in less than two weeks. A total of 148,377 people have now tested positive for the virus in the country, a jump of 4,913 in 24 hours. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday said cases of coronavirus are increasing everyday in Agra and cited a letter written by the mayor who has sought bold decisions to save the city. Agra Mayor Naveen Jain had written a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on April 21, requesting him to "save Agra". The Congress general secretary emphasised that transparency and testing were important to contain coronavirus. in a tweet in Hindi, Priyanka Gandhi said, "The situation in Agra city is bad and the number of coronavirus patients is going up everyday. The mayor of Agra says that if the right arrangements are not made, the matter can go out of hand". "Yesterday, I had raised the same issue. Transparency is very important. It is important to pay attention to testing. If coronavirus is to be stopped, then the focus should be on correct information and right treatment," she said. It is important for the UP government to take the words of the Agra mayor positively and immediately try to save the people from the pandemic, the Congress general secretary said. The death toll due to COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh rose to 27 with two more fatalities, while 177 fresh cases were reported on Saturday taking the total number of cases in the state to 1,793, the health department said. The two fatalities reported on Saturday were from Moradabad and Agra, he said. A bulk of the fresh cases were from Saharanpur (37), Agra (25), Kanpur (24), Lucknow (19), Santkabirnagar (19) and Bareilly (11). There are 345 active cases in Agra district. In his letter, Jain said, "I am writing this letter with a very sad mind that my Agra is going through a phase of excessive problems. The need is to take bold decision to save Agra, where the situation has become very serious. Hence, with folded hands, I am praying you to please save my Agra, please save it." The letter written by the Agra Mayor has also been tweeted by the Congress general secretary. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here The medical delivery included approximately 2,500 kilograms of medical cargo and supplies provided by the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit Three (NAMRU-3) Ghana Detachment. A statement issued by the Public Affairs Department of the Embassy said a United States Air Force C-130J aircraft from the 86th Airlift Wing in Ramstein Air Base, Germany, arrived at Kotoka International Airport on Friday, April 24 to make the delivery. "The medical supplies included ribonucleic acid, a nucleic acid (RNA) extraction kits, reagents, viral collection swabs, universal and viral transport media to collect and store specimens, and the replenishment of other consumable lab supplies," it said. " They were originally ordered in January 2020 to support NAMRU-3 Ghana Detachment research efforts, specifically ongoing influenza surveillance, in partnership with Ghana's National Influenza Center at the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and the Kumasi Centre of Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine". The statement said, commenting on the delivery of these supplies, U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Stephanie S. Sullivan noted that: The arrival of the needed medical supplies underscores the results of the growing partnership between the United States of America and the Republic of Ghana to combat COVID-19, to save lives and protect the people of this nation". " As confirmed cases gradually made their way to West Africa and eventually Ghana, these essential laboratory supplies became even more critical during this rapidly evolving crisis and would have remained stranded in Manchester, U.K., until sometime in May if not for the assistance of the U.S. Air Force." The United States, Ambassador Sullivan said, commended the Government of Ghana for its strong efforts to combat the pandemic", adding, "we are pleased to partner in its leading efforts. On behalf of AFRICOM, Air Force Brigadier-General Leo Kosinski, the Command's Director for Logistics, said, "The emergence of COVID-19 has introduced some new hurdles we have had to consider in U.S. Africa Command's Area of Responsibility. " Movement of this shipment of critical medical supplies from the United Kingdom to Ghana represents one of many logistics moves executed recently despite operating in one of the most logistically challenging theaters to move people and material. " The fact that so many professionals from multiple commands quickly came together to work through this particular requirement highlights our amazing and unique team of professionals. " They are working together every day for the interests of the American people and our global partners even in the toughest of circumstances." The April 24 delivery of medical supplies to Ghana followed other critical U.S. military support in the health sector, such as the delivery of two state-of-the-art Level II Field Hospitals that Ambassador Sullivan handed over to the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) on February 4, on behalf of the United States, through the U.S. Government's Africa Peacekeeping Rapid Response Partnership program, the statement said. "One of these hospitals is already being utilized to support the Government of Ghana's COVID-19 response efforts in Accra". NAMRU-3 Ghana Detachment is a collaborator within the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch Global Emerging Infections Surveillance partner network and has supported influenza surveillance for both human and avian influenza strains in Ghana since 2007. ---GNA Anti-corruption fail-safes have been built into the $2.2 trillion coronavirus bailout passed by Congress and signed by President Trump. The legislation includes a rule that no business in which the president or any White House official owns a majority stake can receive funds, and it sets up a committee of inspectors general to oversee the spending. But observers remain concerned about the potential for White House meddling, particularly following Trumps decision this month to fire the inspector general overseeing the U.S. intelligence community. Central bank should play more 'proactive, forward-looking' attitude in crisis: analysts By Lee Min-hyung The Bank of Korea (BOK) is urged to take a more proactive and forward-looking attitude by reforming its prevalent complacency in order to enhance its risk management capability in the post-coronavirus era, officials and market experts said Sunday. They said the BOK's countermeasures that it describes as "unprecedented" are insufficient to brace for worst-case scenarios, calling on the central bank to play a bigger role as a financial "firefighter" by taking more decisive and bolder steps in times of economic uncertainty. Toward that end, officials from the central government and the financial industry stressed the need for the BOK to make drastic changes in its organizational culture. "One thing I can say for sure is that the public demands the BOK expand its roles, as virus-driven market turmoil widens," said Cha Hyeon-jin, a professor at the Bank of Korea Academy. "But the central bank is only making excuses, saying that legal hurdles block them from taking additional and preemptive steps in handling the ongoing economic shock here." The U.S. Federal Reserve System has set a good example in responding to escalating fears of market turmoil. Earlier this month, the Fed decided to include junk bonds in its asset purchase list, in what is widely seen as a surprise yet bold move to stabilize the financial market. The BOK also took a series of steps to brace for potential market fallout here by deciding to regularly purchase local bonds via repo auctions once a week until June. The central bank also recently announced its decision to offer a special loan worth 10 trillion won for local securities and insurance companies by taking their corporate bonds as collateral. But the BOK also set a standard that only bonds with credit ratings of AA- or better are eligible for the drive. This has raised a sense of concern that local firms with weak ratings still run the risk of going into bankruptcy, which is the biggest difference from steps taken by the Fed. A source from a major securities firm said setting the credit bar for the loan was a regressive step, as the guideline was reinforced, compared with the 2008 global financial crisis. "Back in 2008, the government purchased bonds with credit ratings of BBB+ or higher," the source said. But a widespread view is that the 2020 coronavirus crisis will weigh more on the global economy than the 2008 disaster, according to him. "Even if the situation got worse, the policy became more conservative and passive. Most financial companies here consider the step will not generate tangible outcomes in terms of stabilizing the market," the source said. In a belated move, the government and the BOK decided Wednesday to inject 25 trillion won to purchase low-rated corporate bonds and commercial papers by establishing a special purpose vehicle. But this is not the case in the U.S. where the Fed shows strong willingness not to repeat the 2008 crisis by purchasing low-ratings corporate bonds lower-rated bonds and even junk bonds, he said. "In this regard, the BOK and financial authorities here appear to remain conservative," the official said. The BOK's new monetary board members also stressed the need for the central bank to remain agile in embracing changes to tackle the virus-driven economic uncertainties here and abroad. Koh Seung-beom, who extended his term as a board member for another four years, said the BOK should meet expectations from the market and the public over taking on more active roles amid the escalating uncertainties. "With the COVID-19 expanding into the U.S., Europe and all across the globe, Korea's real economy and financial market have been seriously affected," he said Tuesday in an inauguration remark. To better cope with the crisis, the BOK's policy-related decisions are getting more and more important, according to him. He said chances are the real economy and financial markets would continue suffering a longer-than-expected shock, so expectations for the BOK's more proactive roles will rise. Possible revision of law Amid growing complaints over the BOK's "limited role" for market stabilization, calls have grown that the central bank should be allowed to directly purchase corporate bonds under the legal boundaries. Even if the central bank can do so after receiving approval from the government, critics have argued that a revision of the BOK law is crucial to make the bank take more aggressive actions rather than walking on eggshells around the legal system. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea is discussing measures for the revision of the status quo in a bid to enable the BOK to directly buy corporate bonds in this period of economic crisis. The WHO says that recovery from the coronavirus infection doesnt grant the patient a permanent immunity. For certain viruses, the body develops antibodies in the body of the recently recovered patient. These antibodies act as a shield and save the person from getting sick from the same virus again. This is not the case with Covid-19, according to the WHO. This means that strict social distancing will be the norm even for those recently recovered from the infection. How does it affect the medical response to the virus? Read it here to understand Lets take a look at global ... Tanja Nickel and Katharina Obladen were still in high school when they patented an idea to disinfect escalator handrails using UV light. A decade later, their small German start-up UVIS can barely keep up with orders from around the world for their coronavirus-killing escalators and coatings for supermarket trolleys and elevator buttons. "Everybody wants it done yesterday," Obladen, 28, told AFP at the company's workshop in central Cologne. "The pandemic has made businesses realise they need to invest in hygiene precautions for staff and customers. It's gone from nice-to-have to must-have." As Germany begins to relax some lockdown restrictions, the start-up's five-person team has been inundated with requests from shops, offices and cafes eager to reopen to a public newly aware of the health risks lurking in shared spaces. - Contest - Friends since kindergarten, Nickel and Obladen were 17 and 18 years old when they entered an inventors' competition. Worried about the swine flu pandemic at the time, they wanted to come up with something to make public places germ-free. Inspired by New York City's use of ultraviolet radiation to sterilise drinking water, they designed a UV light box that can be built into escalators to disinfect handrails, with the radiation destroying the DNA of disease-causing micro-organisms. They asked their families for help filing the patent. "They knew us and knew we would stick with it," Obladen recalled. After finishing university, the pair founded UVIS in 2016 with seed money from programmes for start-ups. They remain a rare example in Germany of women running an engineering firm. This year, the duo added an antimicrobial coating to their line-up, not based on UV technology. The invisible coating can be sprayed onto surfaces to destroy mould, bacteria and viruses like the novel coronavirus, using the self-cleaning properties of titanium dioxide. - Dangerous - Europe's largest elevator and escalator makers -- Thyssenkrupp, Schindler, Otis and Kone -- were early customers, putting the women's ultraviolet light boxes, called Escalite modules, in escalators in malls, hospitals and train stations. But the coronavirus has seen demand explode. "We've already surpassed our revenue target for 2020," said 27-year-old Nickel, declining to give figures. Interest has been especially strong in Europe and Asia. The start-up recently shipped over 30 escalator modules to Singapore. Standing in the same workshop where her electrician grandfather used to tinker away and where his old hard hats still line the shelves, Obladen demonstrated how the light box works. Three blue-glowing UVC lamps, emitting the strongest kind of UV beams and highly dangerous when exposed to skin and eyes, line the inside of a rectangular metal case. The escalator's handrail passes through the case as it continually loops around, getting a full blast of germ-killing radiation. The metal case, roughly the size of an adult arm, and an accompanying power box can be fitted into any escalator, which Obladen said was "the biggest challenge". UV disinfection was already routinely used in the food industry and hospitals worldwide before COVID-19 spurred wider calls for the technology. In China, where the virus first emerged, it has been used to clean buses and banknotes. Obladen said they too were considering other ways to deploy UVC light, but that safety comes first. US President Donald Trump recently suggested using UV rays on coronavirus patients, prompting stunned medical experts to warn it could cause burns and skin cancer. The World Health Organization also warns against using UV lamps on skin. - New ideas - Obladen said joy at the company's boom has been "dampened" by concern over the pandemic and the struggles of friends in other start-ups. Looking ahead, Obladen and Nickel plan to ramp up production capacity and expand their coating services. They have already been busily spraying elevator panels, counter tops and seats for a range of soon-to-reopen businesses, as well as handles of supermarket trolleys. "We're looking at other areas too, we've had a bank asking about using UV light to disinfect money in cash machines in combination with a coating for the touchscreen," Obladen said. "It's exciting to think about new ways to use our know-how." Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 23:08:28|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on the African continent has reached 1,374 as confirmed positive cases reached 30,329 as of Sunday, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said. The Africa CDC, a specialized agency of the 55-member African Union (AU), in its latest situation update issued on Sunday also disclosed that the confirmed COVID-19 cases were spread across 52 African countries. The Africa CDC revealed that the number of confirmed positive cases across the continent rose from 29,053 on Saturday to 30,329 as of Sunday, eventually registering some 1,276 new confirmed COVID-19 cases across the African continent. The Africa CDC also disclosed that some 9,106 people who have been infected with the COVID-19 have recovered across the continent as of Sunday, marking about 742 new recoveries from the center's previous report of 8,364 on Saturday afternoon. Amid the rapid spread of the virus across the African continent, figures from the Africa CDC also show that the highly COVID-19 affected African countries include South Africa with a total of 4,361 confirmed cases, Egypt with a total of 4,319 confirmed cases, Morocco with a total of 3,897 confirmed cases as well as Algeria with a total of 3,256 confirmed cases as of the stated period. The death toll has also increased from 1,331 on Saturday to 1,374 on Sunday, registering about 43 new COVID-19 related deaths during the past 24 hours across the continent, according to the Africa CDC. The continental disease control and prevention agency also disclosed that the Northern African region is the most affected area across the continent both in terms of positive COVID-19 cases, as well as the number of deaths. The three Northern African countries Algeria, Egypt and Morocco also reported a combined 495 new confirmed COVID-19 cases 129, 227, 139, respectively, according to the Africa CDC. The Africa CDC had last week emphasized the crucial need to strengthen COVID-19 precautionary measures across the continent so as to halt the spread of the virus. Enditem Sunday, April 26, 2020 at 11:22AM Image courtesy of The Verge Microsoft has officially sided with those who believe sentences should have one space instead of two. Microsoft Word is being updated to support this change, meaning if you still use double spaces after a period, it will appear as an error, and the recommended change will be a single space. The company started testing this change on the desktop version of the app. And like other Editor suggestions, you have the option to ignore it once, make the change, or turn it off. The change is rolling out to all desktop users of the app soon. Source: The Verge An Afghan man walks past a wall painted with photo of Zalmay Khalilzad, US envoy for peace in Afghanistan, and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the leader of the Taliban delegation, in Kabul, Afghanistan (REUTERS) Rajeev Sharma Terror outfits such as Al-Qaeda and Islamic State are taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has gripped 210 countries and territories, to rebuild themselves. As the governments across the world are busy fighting a more immediate, deadlier and invisible enemy, these two terror outfits, deemed as vanquished by many, are rearing their heads in various parts of the world, regrouping and rearming. This is of concern for India because among the many countries where these two outfits have become active, three are in Indias immediate neighbourhood: Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Maldives. While in the Af-Pak region the area overlapping the Afghanistan-Pakistan border Al-Qaeda has become active, in the Maldives, Islamic State has surfaced and has even claimed responsibility for an attack in which five speedboats were set on fire. Al-Qaedas activities in the Af-Pak region gathered pace from the beginning of March when the coronavirus had started expanding throughout the world. COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show Thabat, a pro-Al-Qaeda media outfit, published images highlighting the outfits operations worldwide. This publicity drive made it clear that its prime focus was on Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Arabian Peninsula, Syria, Somalia, Kenya, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. The focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan is what should catch Indias attention. Al-Qaedas thrust area is Afghanistan, where, according to Thabat, it conducted 343 operations, in which 520 people were killed, over 200 injured, and 35 armoured vehicles were destroyed. These figures were for the first week of March. For the week that ended on April 2, the numbers were: 200 people killed, over 50 injured and eight car bombs detonated. This shows that the group is active in the country. Al-Qaeda rarely publicises its actions in Afghanistan in this manner and what makes this significant is that it seems to be tom-tomming its attacks in Afghanistan weeks after a historic deal between the Taliban and the United States. Thabats figures for Al-Qaedas operations in Pakistan show that in the month of March it conducted nine attacks and killed 21 people. On April 16, in Al Naba, Islamic States weekly newsletter, the group claimed responsibility for the attack in the Maldives. Though this was a low magnitude attack, it is a significant development because this was the first time ever that Islamic State openly claimed responsibility for an attack in the Maldives. While this may be the first officially claimed attack by Islamic State in the Maldives, it might not be its first operation in the archipelago. On February 6, three alleged Islamic State operatives were arrested after stabbing two Chinese nationals and one Australian citizen in Hulhumale Island of the Maldives. Why India Should Be Concerned? The threat Al-Qaeda poses for India has been highlighted several times in the past. This time, however, what makes the threat serious is the geopolitical shifts in the Af-Pak region. With the US-NATO forces pulling back becoming a reality after the US-Taliban pact, Afghanistan could once again become fertile ground for terror groups. If Al-Qaeda is able to cement its position in Afghanistan, we know what great harm it can unleash on India if it were to gang up with the Taliban and Pakistans secret service Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). One must not forget that Indias worst period in terms of cross-border terrorism was from 1996 to 2001 when the Taliban was ruling Afghanistan. Similarly, Islamic State developing its base in the Maldives, a small Indian Ocean archipelago with a population of just 400,000, can cause a big headache to India, considering the Maldives' geographical proximity with Indias southern states, particularly Kerala. India will be ignoring the twin threat posed by Al-Qaeda and Islamic State at its own peril, even if one were to presume that the claims of its resurgence are vastly inflated and deliberately exaggerated to bolster the morale of their cadre. Reporters recently learned from the provincial finance department that 3.08 billion yuan has been raised in 2021 to stabilize employment and support the implementation of various employment policies. From January to November last year, a total of 686,000 urban jobs were created in the province, 108.9 percent of the annual target was completed, with a year-on-year increase of 9.88%.... President Muhammadu Buhari has been condemned by Pastor Adewale Giwa of the Awaiting The Second Coming Of Jesus Christ Ministry, over his inability to give Nigerians at least $5000 each during the lockdown. The cleric in a statement also condemned security operatives for their abuse of human rights during the ongoing lockdown in Nigeria. Pastor Giwa further stated that the presidents palliatives are meant for the Northerners. Northerners are being taken care of while others are protesting on social media. Its a shame that President Buhari cannot give each Nigerian, at least, N5,000. What is the essence of having a government that cannot protect its citizens? This is the time Nigerians need Buhari, but unfortunately, he has disappointed us, Giwa stated. He also questioned the decision of the government for keeping people at home, knowing fully well that Coronavirus was defeated a long time in Nigeria. He said, I am still wondering why they cannot allow people to go back to work. This disease has been defeated a long time ago. If they insist that Coronavirus still exists in Nigeria, let them open the church and bring in those who have been tested positive. The house of God is greater than any hospital, and I am looking forward to welcoming any COVID-19 patient in the church. Do you think God will be happy seeing His house being closed? We must not deceive ourselves, God can never be mocked. Share this post with your Friends on The urgency in the doctors voice carried over the phone. Joseph Manno was getting worse. His fever had spiked above 103 degrees. His dry cough was intensifying. And the fatigue was advancing. I was getting progressively weaker, he said. Manno should have known better. He was Dr. Manno, a vascular surgeon at Holy Name Medical Center. He was home self-quarantining, trying to beat a case of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. He called a colleague March 30 to update him on his condition. The response was insistent. You need to come in now, the doctor told Manno, 65. Holy Name was the epicenter of one of New Jerseys early hot spots. It is among the hardest-hit hospitals in the state. During the surge in March, patients overwhelmed the Teaneck facility. Manno had been doing his part, performing operations and working around [the infected] all the time, he said. Suddenly, he was in the unfamiliar position of being a patient in his own hospital. And his colleagues feared for his life. Manno got to Holy Name just in the nick of time, said Dr. Suraj Saggar, an infectious disease specialist. Time is of the essence," he said. "The window is very narrow. Manno was admitted into the intensive care unit, soaked in sweat as his fever continued to hover around 103. Despite driving himself to the hospital and waiting with about 10 others at a triage tent outside, his breathing soon grew more and more labored. He lay in a bed, hooked up to beeping machines with an oxygen mask covering his face and an ID tag on his wrist. His colleagues worried he was on the cusp of taking a turn for the worse. One of your own Only later would Manno discover how close he came to being put on a ventilator. The possibility was raised as his oxygenation levels hovered near the threshold requiring serious intervention. To see one of your own, someone who you look up to, admire as a pillar of strength in a vulnerable situation, it brings a lot of different emotions to mind, Saggar said. The infectious disease specialist was used to Mannos wit and dry humor. But that was gone. He certainly wasnt himself, Saggar said. Manno was growing more afraid as his condition declined. It barely mattered that he could read his own medical chart or operate the machines and equipment that surrounded him. I can at least talk to the nurse and say, Hey, what was my stat? What was my sugar? he said. If youre a regular patient, youre not going to really know that. But Manno was as fearful as everyone else in the ICU. Thoughts raced through his mind. He worried he might have infected his wife and two kids a son and daughter both in their 20s. Like any other patient, youre in a bed you dont really know what the hells going on with you, he said. You have doctors coming out. They come in, they talk to you for five minutes or something. And then theyre gone. It was a sobering experience for a doctor and for the doctors who treated him. It makes me think, Gee, that could be me, Saggar said. Dr. Joseph Manno, a vascular surgeon at Holy Name Medical Center, was admitted to his own hospital in late March after contracting COVID-19. The cocktail A cocktail of drugs flooded his body. Holy Name doctors pumped Manno with "very powerful medications, Saggar said. Azithromycin, an antibiotic. Heparin, an anticoagulant to fight blood clots. Hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug. And remdesivir, an antiviral. Not one has proven to be an effective treatment for COVID-19. No one knows what worked and what didnt for him, though Manno noted the remdesivir helped ease the inflammation in his lungs. That seemed to do the trick, he said. I started to breathe a little better. My oxygen [saturation levels] went up a little bit. He was surrounded by doctors pulmonologists, cardiologists and infectious disease specialists trying to save one of their own. Its sort of treating someone from the family, said Dr. Ravit Barkama, assistant vice president of clinical development at the Institute for Clinical Research at Holy Name. Every single patient, we do everything we can, said Barkama, who was one of Mannos doctors. But it really does feel like treating someone close to you. Its definitely more emotional because we know them. Doctors administered the cocktail of drugs and hoped for a response. Two days into his treatment, Manno was so weak he could barely move. His temperature fluctuated "like a rollercoaster, he said. And the slightest movement would leave him out of breath. I was not able to really take deep breaths," he said. If I were to move around in the bed, then I would be huffing and puffing. But within a day or two, doctors began to see some hopeful signs. "I think he mentioned something about the food, and once his humor started coming back is when I knew he was on his path to recovery," Saggar said. Day passed before Manno felt stronger. He was able to get out of bed and walk around a little. He recalled the door to his room: a plastic barrier opened and closed by a zipper. I felt like I was in a ziplock bag, Manno said. He was eventually transferred from the ICU to a regular room, and after six days in Holy Name, he was discharged. Nearly a month after his symptoms began, he still battles fatigue. But hes getting stronger each day. Last week, Manno finally returned to the hospital. He didnt work at first, taking the time to reacclimate himself. On Thursday, he performed his first procedure since falling ill. Having seen all the COVID-19 patients flood the hospital, having seen all those deaths, Manno said hes grateful to be alive. I came to the emergency room in just the nick of time," he said. He was thankful to the ICU staff: the doctors, nurses, the radiology and personal care technicians, the respiratory therapist everyone involved in my care," he said. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Cheryl Tiegss marriage to the late photographer Peter Beard was filled with enough ups and downs to last a lifetime but shes nothing if not grateful. He was, I have to say, the most romantic love of my life. I fell deeply in love with him, and for that, Im forever grateful, the model, 72, tells PEOPLE of their romance, which culminated in their 1981 marriage but ended in divorce a few years later. I had a love that most people dont have. You cant force it Ive always had a piece in my heart for Peter. It was on April 19 that Beard, 82 and struggling with dementia, was found dead three weeks after he was reported missing from his home in Montauk, New York, where he lived with wife Nejma. The death of Beard known as much for his stunning wildlife shots as his hard-partying ways came nearly 40 years after he and Tiegs tied the knot, kicking off a roller coaster of a union that she says fluctuated between sweet as can be and off the wall. Robin Platzer/IMAGES/Getty Peter Beard and Cheryl Tiegs in 1982 The marriage was the second for both, and though Tiegs says she considered him the most handsome man on the planet, it was fraught with tension as she struggled to balance her Minnesota nice girl persona with his frequent mood swings. He was not nice to me all the time, and I was not nice to him, she says. So it just became not a healthy relationship. RELATED: Famed Photographer Peter Beard Dead at 82: He Died Where He Lived: In Nature, His Family Says The model recalls days and months when Beard would disappear, only to return without an apology or indication as to where hed been: Thats not really a marriage, she says. It was the highs and the lows. The highs were just the most romantic Ive ever [had], she continues. He changed my life in many ways, just by being Peter. But I couldnt put up with the other side. Still, she adds, I always loved him. Peter Beard and Cheryl Tiegs in 1981 Together, theyd dine with artist pals like Francis Bacon, Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol, and take trips to Africa journeys that were entirely transformative for Tiegs. Story continues RELATED: Peter Beard Never Thought of Dying When He Was Nearly Killed by an Elephant Being with Peter in Africa was so magical and it changed my life, she says. I really saw nature, and earth, and everything through his eyes Those were by far the most magical days of my life. For Easter, hed arrange a special treasure hunt throughout their two-room apartment, leaving antique Easter cards and personal postcards for her to find with lyrics or little drawings on the back. Rose Hartman/Getty Images Peter Beard He was very creative, in just the way he lived, she says, and I always appreciated that. After the couple called it quits, Tiegs says she did not stay in close touch. He went on to marry wife Nejma in 1986, and welcomed daughter Zara two years later. Tiegs who married again twice says Beard wasnt one to ruminate on death and fate, as he stayed focused on presenting himself as alive and free-spirited, even if that free spirit put him in peril. Take, for example, the 1996 incident on the Kenyan-Tanzanian border in which he was charged by an elephant, speared in the leg and nearly died. He would always flirt with [death]. Going too close to the elephants, going too close to the rhino, driving a motorcycle too fast, says Tiegs. He would always be on the edge. Following the weeks of uncertainty after he was reported missing by his family, Tiegs says the official confirmation of his death brought back many memories of their time together. When I think about him now, I think of his smile and his laughter and the way he walked and the way he talked, she says. I think he deeply loved me too, in his own way Even though we got divorced and even though it was unpleasant at times, Im eternally grateful that Peter Beard held out his hand and lifted me to a higher level in life. (Bloomberg) -- The number of new confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany held below 2,000 for a second day as government officials warned against a premature easing of restrictions in Europes biggest economy. New fatalities were at the second-lowest level in six days. Deaths rose by 154 to 5,877 in the 24 hours through Sunday morning, a slight pick up from Saturdays daily increase of 148, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. There were 1,968 new cases, bringing the total to 156,513, the fourth-highest in Europe. As confinement measures are taking their toll on the economy, almost a fifth of German companies are worried about insolvency spurred by the coronavirus fallout. Family run businesses are increasingly frustrated with Chancellor Angela Merkels step-by-step response to the pandemic, according to a report in Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. Still, Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soeder warned on Saturday against high expectations that the chancellor and leaders from Germanys 16 states might take more decisive steps at a meeting next week. Its good to exchange views as often as possible, but I wouldnt expect too much this time, Soeder said in an interview with Focus magazine. It would make sense if we did an update next Thursday, but not rush into additional rash actions. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has meanwhile dampened expectations of an early re-opening of European travel destinations. A European race to see who will allow tourist travel first will lead to unacceptable risks, Maas said in an interview with Bild am Sonntag newspaper, recalling infections in the Austrian ski resort of Ischgl. We have already experienced what an infection cluster in a popular holiday resort can do in the home countries of tourists. This must not be repeated. A wave of bankruptcies may hit the tourism industry, according to the DRV association of travel companies. About 60% of travel agencies and tour operators see themselves threatened by insolvency and one in five was forced to lay off employees, Bild am Sonntag reported, citing a DRV survey among its members. Some 80% of the companies have applied for state aid. Story continues If we dont receive specific support from the federal government soon, the travel industry as we know it -- dominated by small- and medium-sized enterprises, with many small tour operators and travel agencies -- will very soon no longer exist, Norbert Fiebig, the lobbys president, told the newspaper. (Updates with travel industry survey from seventh paragraph.) For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Ireland's forestry industry is facing a serious crisis that could see the country's sawmills run out of wood by mid-June, a senior sector representative has told the Sunday Independent. At least 2,000 forestry jobs are already under direct threat - with workers on short time or furloughed - as a licensing and appeals logjam threatens to bring the entire sector to a halt. Mark McAuley, director of Ibec body Forest Industries Ireland, said the industry, which accounts for 12,000 jobs and 2.3bn worth of economic activity each year, has been hit with the double whammy of slow regulation and objections. The introduction by the Department of Agriculture last year of a new, more stringent licensing system for essential work such as planting, felling and thinning has led to major delays. "The department is only providing about half of the licences that we need as an industry to keep going. There's been a drastic slowdown, with new environmental assessments required on all forestry activity," said McAuley. In a statement, the Department of Agriculture acknowledged there had been delays in issuing felling licences "resulting from new environmental regulations arising from recent Court decisions". "The Department is investing significantly in the recruitment of new ecologists and forestry inspectors as part of its response as well as contracting in significant external ecology expertise to help in progressing files," it said, adding that over 1.3 million m of timber had been licensed this year to date. McAuley said that a new streamlined appeals process had also allowed environmentalists and others to easily submit blanket objections to most forestry projects, with 60,000 tonnes of timber stalled in one week alone this month. "Between the two issues, most of the sawmills around the country are telling me that they'll be out of timber by mid June. So we're a matter of six to eight weeks away from people having to close the doors because there's no raw material," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-25 23:36:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Staff members check the health situation of a woman who enters a hospital in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan, March 30, 2020.(Xinhua/Jin Liwang) TAIPEI, April 25 (Xinhua) -- One more person tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the outbreak involving three naval vessels, Taiwan's epidemic monitoring agency said Saturday. The total number of naval service personnel and cadets who contracted COVID-19 increased to 31, the agency said in a press release. The latest patient, a cadet in his 20s, tested negative of the virus in his first COVID-19 test on April 18 but positive of certain antibodies in the blood, which led to a second test on April 24, the statement said. The fleet of three naval vessels, with more than 700 people on board, returned to Taiwan on April 15 after a short stop at Palau from March 12 to 15 and nearly 30 days at sea. A majority of people on board disembarked before the first three tested positive with the virus on April 18. Authorities identified over 1,800 people having contact with the patients and put 534 of them under quarantine at their residences, the statement said. The total number of COVID-19 patients in Taiwan has risen to 429, 275 of whom have recovered and six died. In the Kitchen with Video Series Join Darina Allen in her home kitchen as she shows us how to make her famous Ballymaloe mince pies. You'll have enough mincemeat left over to gift to friends and family over the Christmas season, and mince pies that can be frozen and reheated for guests over the festive period. Join Darina Allen in her home kitchen as she shows us how to make her famous Ballymaloe mince pies. The United States Postal Service is an institution whose roots are older than the Constitution itself. Not only has it survived through snow, rain, heat and gloom of night, but it has also endured a civil war, two world wars, the Great Depression, the Cold War and numerous long recessions. Along the way, it has provided millions of middle-class jobs, including to men and women of color when nearly every other industry shunned them. Its infrastructure from horses to trains to jets has enabled an unprecedented expansion of commerce. Not least, the Postal Service increasingly serves as the bloodstream of our democracy, permitting millions of Americans each year to conveniently and securely cast their ballots. Yet today it appears that the post office may not survive the summer, as it faces twin threats of the Covid-19 pandemic and deeply misguided federal policy. The economic downturn has drained its finances, and in 2006, Congress forced the agency to pre-fund its pension and health care obligations 75 years in advance a policy not applied to any other federal organization. Worst of all, the current administration is focused on hastening its demise. President Trump, who on Friday called the Postal Service a joke, is essentially holding the agency hostage, refusing to approve emergency funding unless it raises its delivery rates, which analysts say could artificially inflate its prices. Around the world, tourism-dependent businesses and economies are among the worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has brought the world to a standstill. Thailand, which is heavily dependent on the tourism sector is no exception. Due to the lockdown, all the tourist locations are deserted after the government declared a state of emergency last month. Thailand has reported 2,826 cases of coronavirus and 49 fatalities since the outbreak first emerged in January. REUTERS One of the biggest casualties of the shutdown in Thailand, is the population of country's captive elephants. There are some 4,000 captive elephants in Thailand, mostly used as safari animals for tourists. But with no tourist income and the uncertainty over when tourism might resume, the caretakers are finding it increasingly difficult to feed the jumbos, who need 200-300 kg of food a day. AFP/FILE According to World Animal Protection (WAP), over 2000 captive elephants are in urgent need of help. Save The Elephant Foundation's founder, Lek Chailert, said: "If there is no support forthcoming to keep them safe, these elephants some of whom are pregnant will either starve to death or maybe put on to the streets to beg." Kerri McCrea, who manages the Kindred Spirit Elephant Sanctuary in Mae Chaem, in northern Thailand, told BBC that the villagers who live near her had brought approximately 70 elephants back to her area because they were not receiving any money from tourism anymore. AFP "Feeding elephants is a priority but the issue is that there's not enough forest left to feed them," she said. "The worst-case scenario is that owners will have to choose between themselves and their elephants," McCrae said. "We have to feed them the same as we used to do, because they can't find their own food," said Chatchote Thitaram of the Center of Elephant and Wildlife Research at Chiang Mai University. Don't Miss: Contribute To Indiatimes Fundraiser To Help India Fight COVID-19 Somkit Methachotikul, a 29-year-old mahout who gets a monthly salary of $228, told AFP that he was worried for the well-being of his family and the elephants. "Elephants are like our family members. If they are eating well, sleeping well, that makes me happy," said Somkit. REUTERS Elephants were once widely used in Thailand's logging industry, but following a ban on it in the 1990s, the jumbos were used as a tourist attraction. However, animal rights groups argue that elephants are ill-suited for the tourism industry. Their size, strength and intelligence result in inhumane management practices, such as chaining, cruel training and harsh punishment, so they can entertain the flock of worldwide visitors who come to see them. REUTERS WAP also said that the elephants are also at the risk of contracting illnesses like tuberculosis from humans, and can spread the disease to uninfected people through close contact. That these are trying times is an understatement. Our lives have been upended. We are barraged 24/7 with questions like Where did the coronavirus really start? Should we all wear masks? When will the quarantine end? And how long do we have to wait to eat apples and grapes after watering them down? Amid our frenzy with questions, one seems to top all others. It lives on everyones lips. It was and continues to be a practical but telling question about concerns for the future. The question is, When are we going to get back to normal? The constant talk about normal and the new normal intrigued me. I wondered what people really meant by going back to normal. Was it the life they were living a month ago or perhaps a year ago? And what was their understanding of the new normal the media was continually headlining? Opinions varied as to any timetable as well as anticipated changes a new normal might bring. Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and one of Washington, D.C.s two recent medical rock stars, said that we probably would not return to normal until there was a vaccine. His equally able colleague, Dr. Deborah Birx, agreed. Others weighed in with varying perspectives. Melinda Gates, philanthropist and spouse of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, said, Even after things get back to normal, our psyches are going to permanently changed. One reporter wrote that under the new normal most aspects of our lives would be reshaped but not necessarily for the better. More optimistic sources contended that humans had survived past calamities. They had endured flus, plagues, and wars. And despite hardship and unfortunate loss of life, these groups believed that societies had rebounded to what they perceived as a vital new normal. Now I needed to know more about how and when the notion of going from normal to a new normal came into usage. I imagined a farm cotton picker 200 years ago dismayed because of Eli Whitneys automated cotton gin invention. Might this picker have asked, Is this my new jobless normal? As best as I could determine the phrase new normal was first used just after World War I. Today its commonplace. I looked up books with the word normal in their titles. It appears in all genres, from romance novels, to coping with mental illness to how to business best sellers. Not to be left behind the fishing community got into the act. A 2014 New York Times article called Waters Warm, and Cod Catch Ebbs in Maine, had the following sentence: Fishermen, scientists and regulators often disagree over whether the current changes are temporary or the new normal. Magazines such as Fast Company have carried articles about the new normal. In a 2003 issue a tech investor maintained that we should forget about the next big thing. He believed it had already started and said, Its called the new normal. He added, The new normal isnt where you wait for the next boom. Its about the rest of your life. One of my to-do activities during this pandemic was to read more in my first language. So what was the title of the first chapter in the Spanish version of Daniel Goldmans 1998 book on Emotional Intelligence? But of course, la nueva norma, the new normal. Frequently synchronicity steps in and what is on our minds finds an unpredictable path to us. Earlier on in my research I found a quote from Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher who lived circa 500-400 BC. He said, No man ever steps in the same river twice, for its not the same river and hes not the same man. This led me to further reflect about the complexity of social change. Virtually overnight the coronavirus has caused a major upheaval in our lives. But how about routine change that almost imperceptibly leads us into a new normal. Does this happen yearly, monthly, weekly, or simply after the hands of a clock have circled its face every 24 hours? Perhaps Heraclitus had hit on a realty. Isnt every day truly a new day nudging us to a new normal and no matter how infinitesimally small the change may be the world differs each morning from the one we knew before, and we are not the same persons we were yesterday? Juan Negroni, a Weston resident, is a consultant, bilingual speaker and writer. He is the chairman and CEO of the Institute of Management Consultants. Email him at juannegroni12@gmail.com. When Irrfan Khan's Mother Questioned His Decision Of Becoming An Actor: 'Kya Tu Abhi Yahi Naachne Gaane Ka Kaam Karega?' Isolation tactics are quite common to family violence anyway, where you see that coercive control leading to people being isolated from family and friends, Ms Macdonald said. The community containment measures mean the opportunities to do that is even greater. Theres a greater opportunity for surveillance and control. "We're also seeing the pandemic being weaponised, so perpetrators will use the excuse of the pandemic to further justify controlling and abusive behaviours," Ms Macdonald said."Using the threat of the disease itself as a means to control, so saying things like 'I will take the kids out and expose them to COVID-19', or 'I will expose myself, I will spread it to the family' or saying 'because of the pandemic, you're not allowed to leave the house, you're not allowed to go to the shops, you're not allowed to have any freedoms." Loading The family violence contact centre, run out of seven magistrates courts across the state, assists victims to initiate proceedings and link to support services. Calls in March rose by 30 per cent from its February total to 9108 calls. As of April 16, there had already been 5080 calls for the month, with more than 300 calls a day. Call numbers are expected to exceed 10,000, which would be a 50 per cent increase since February, chief magistrate Ms Hannan said. She said non-urgent court matters have been adjourned to later in the year to enable the courts to focus on urgent family violence applications and breaches, bail, remand and warrants. All Magistrates Court of Victoria courts are open and continuing to hear urgent family violence applications and breaches. It is vital MCV can continue to hear these important matters during these challenging times, Ms Hannan said. Victoria Police was receiving around 200 more calls a week about family violence and more from neighbours hearing arguments from nearby homes. In about 14 to 16 per cent of cases, coronavirus was cited as a factor in the dispute. Family Violence Command Assistant Commissioner Dean McWhirter said police had not seen the increase they expected. This may be because there is an increased presence and heightened dependence on the perpetrator, and limited contact with friends and family, he said. We anticipate that reporting rates will rise as the community adjusts to a new way of living with social distancing and victims finding ways of seeking help. Safe Steps chief executive Rita Butera said calls to their 24/7 crisis response centre have increased to above-average only recently after an initial decline at the start of lockdown. "We are still concerned that there are many people experiencing violence in the home who are unable to safely call for support," Ms Butera said. Ms Butera said she was worried about perpetrators using COVID-19 to try to justify an escalation in their coercive and controlling behaviours. "From those that are calling, we are hearing from women and children who have been told they cannot leave home, have been cut off from family and friends, and are watched by perpetrators around the clock," she said. "An abuser may try to justify their actions by saying they are just trying to be protective. But if there is a pattern of behaviour that is causing someone to become fearful, that's simply not OK - there's no excuse for family violence." In the United Kingdom, there are early reports of more domestic violence homicides, while China and Spain have seen surges in calls for help. Ms Macdonald said now was the time for family, friends, colleagues and neighbours to reach out to people they were worried about, because it may not be safe for victims to contact specialist services themselves. Indonesia recently ordered 14 ScanEagle UAVs and three Bell 412 helicopters from the United States. ScanEagles are sold as a system, with each system including a ground controller and four ScanEagle UAVs. Indonesia apparently bought three systems plus two spare UAVs. Including training and tech support contracts this would cost about $40 million. Indonesia is getting the ScanEagle 2, which entered service in 2015. This version has a more powerful and reliable engine. That meant more power was available for sensors; from the original 60 watts to as much as 100 or (depending on what other equipment is operating) 150 watts. There is also a more user-friendly ground control system and a better onboard navigation system. Aside from a slightly longer fuselage, ScanEagle 2 is the same size as the original. The only operational difference is that the 2.0 version can only do 16 hours per sortie versus 24 for the original. This is OK with nearly all users, who rarely do missions over 16 hours. Many older ScanEagles were upgraded to the 2.0 standard by adding or replacing a few components. The original ScanEagle weighed 19 kg (40 pounds), had a 3.2 meter (ten foot) wingspan, and used day and night video cameras. On ships, it uses a catapult for launch and is landed via a wing hook that catches a rope hanging from a 16 meter (fifty foot) pole. On land, ScanEagle can land on any flat, solid surface. The ScanEagle can fly as high as 6,100 meters (19,500 feet). ScanEagles cruising speed is 110 kilometers an hour and can operate at least a hundred kilometers from the ground controller. Scan Eagle carries an optical system that is stabilized to keep the cameras focused on an object while the UAV moves. ScanEagle has been in military service since 2005 and was used by civilian operators for several years before that. There are now over a dozen nations using ScanEagle plus many more commercial users. Indonesia will use them for police and counter-terrorism operations as well as maritime patrol. The first commercial users of ScanEagle were high-seas fishing trawlers that used ScanEagle to find and track schools of fish. The Bell 412 is an updated version of the Bell 212, which is a civilian version of the 1960s era U.S. Army UH-1 ("Huey") transport helicopter. The 5.3 ton 412s normally carry twelve passengers or three tons of cargo. Max speed is 259 kilometers an hour while cruise speed is 226. Endurance is up to four hours per sortie but is usually closer to two hours when fully loaded or operating at high altitudes in hot weather. The normally unarmed the 412 can be equipped with machine-guns and rockets. The 412 is more capable and reliable than the UH-1 and earlier Bell models, and will last for decades. Introduced in 1981, nearly a thousand 412s have been built so far. Indonesia was an early customer for the 412 and has over fifty in military service and many more working for commercial firms. The Bell 412 is not the only American helicopter Indonesia uses. In 2013 Indonesia bought eight AH-64 helicopter gunships. With all the accessories (training, spares, and maintenance equipment), that cost $500 million. This was the largest ever American arms sale to Indonesia. For decades, until 2005, the U.S. refused to sell Indonesia weapons because of accusations that the Indonesian government terrorized its own people. There are still some problems with that (especially in Papua), but not enough to stop this sale or others that began after decades of dictatorship ended in 1998, followed by elections. With the new government came more Russian arms salesmen, eager to make sales before the Americans returned. Russian arms salesmen had a hard time in the 1990s. After the Cold War ended in 1991 there were many potential buyers who backed away from Russia because throughout the Cold War Russian gear had performed poorly. Now, with the Soviet Union gone there, there were no more incentives like free weapons, very cheap weapons, and great credit terms. The Russians did the best they could and an improving economy back home enabled better sales terms to be offered. Thus, in 2006, Russia offered a billion dollars in loans so Indonesia could purchase eight Su-30 fighters, two submarines, and four Mi-26 assault helicopters over the next five years. The Russians were now back with their famously low prices, immediate delivery, and, now, credit terms. The Russian sales came to a halt after 2014 because of economic sanctions imposed after Russia invaded Ukraine. Those sanctions are still in force and were expanded to include barter deals, which Russia was offering to Indonesia to make a sale despite sanctions. That did not work either. Once the Americans were allowed to sell to Indonesia again it became a lot more difficult for the Russians to make a sale there. Russia persisted. In 2012 Indonesia signed a contract to buy six more Su-30 jet fighters from Russia for $78 million each. This was less than the Russians expected. Indonesia already had ten Su-27s and Su-30s but wanted at least 16 of these modern aircraft so they would have a full squadron. Although expensive, the Russian fighters are modern and looked great. They are also relatively cheap to maintain. This was all part of a plan to switch from American fighters (ten F-16s and 16 F-5s) to Russian Su-27s and 30s. But used F-16s are much cheaper than Su-27s, and public pressure forced the Indonesian politicians to hang on to the F-16s and upgrade some of them. Buying from the U.S. was not popular with corrupt Indonesian officials looking for a cut of each arms purchase. Thats easy to arrange with the Russians but very difficult with the Americans. Currently, Indonesia is considering buying the F-35 rather than the cheaper, but not by much, F-16V. This is the latest version of the F-16 and many existing F-16 users are upgrading to the V standard. Indonesia has ordered 24 used, but modernized, F-16Cs for $31 million each. The ten older F-16s are difficult to upgrade to the V standard and it is easier, and not much more expensive, to replace the older ones with new F-16Vs. Indonesian Air force generals opposed the acquisition of the F-16s because they feared this will lead to a reduction in the procurement of new Russian fighters. The generals believed the Russian fighters are a better match for the F-18Es and MiG-29s that neighboring Malaysia is acquiring and the F-35s that Australia is buying. But the F-16s have a proven combat record that the Su-27s and Su-30s lack, and this is something the Russian salesmen cannot change. Then came 2014 and the sanctions. Now the Indonesian Air force generals consider the F-35 a worthy acquisition, if only because Australia already has some. Indonesia was attracted by the equally excellent combat record of the AH-64s. These will be used to help deal with Islamic terrorism and pirates offshore, two problems that many other nations, including the United States, are concerned about. TINLEY PARK, IL A 101-year-old World War II veteran was honored with a parade of dozens of cars in Tinley Park last weekend for his birthday. Karen McDillon, the daughter of Mario Monocchio, said the parade past his home last Saturday lasted for at least a half-hour, and reminded her of when the Patriot Guard Riders honored him a year ago for his 100th. "It lasted so long," McDillon said. "And my dad was really surprised and thrilled with it." Monocchio fought in Italy during World War II as a corporal in the United States Army, his daughter said. He's received medals and banners "that fill the wall" for his heroism, and was moved by the long line of cars, motorcycles and police and fire vehicles that rode down his street last weekend. Mario Monocchio with his two daughters. Photo by Mary Louise Wakulich "We were all moved by it," McDillon said. "He was surprised. He has dementia, but is still talking about it nearly a week later. It broke through the dementia. We couldn't believe how many people came out." Don't miss updates about precautions in Tinley Park as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters. McDillon said the original plan was to have a large in-person party for her dad's 101st pre-coronavirus pandemic, and the parade was "the only option" they had to make sure the celebration would go on. "Someone even said it was bigger than the St. Patrick's Day Parade." Monocchio grew up on the Southeast Side of Chicago and moved to Tinley Park, where his daughter lives, a little less than a decade ago. He's a father of two, grandfather of four and great-grandfather of three. ALSO ON PATCH: Tinley Park Local Business Guide: What's Open And Closed In Town Tinley Has More Coronavirus Cases Than Oak Forest, Less Than Orland Park This article originally appeared on the Tinley Park Patch Carolina Journal Newer Older Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Since 2005, F/A-18 Super Hornet Block II aircraft have been rolling off Boeings production line and serving as the U.S. Navys multi-mission capable workhorse. The service took delivery of the final Block II Super Hornet, closing out a run of 322 one-seater F/A-18Es and 286 two-seated F/A-18Fs, on April 17, 2020. Since 2005, F/A-18 Super Hornet Block II aircraft have been rolling off Boeings production line and serving as the U.S. Navys multi-mission capable workhorse. The service took delivery of the final Block II Super Hornet, closing out a run of 322 one-seater F/A-18Es and 286 two-seated F/A-18Fs, on April 17, 2020. A Sailor aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) directs an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet assigned to the "Eagles" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 115 to turn on the ship's flight deck. (Picture source U.S. Navy) The US Navy F/A-18 E and F Super Hornet maritime strike attack aircraft, manufactured by Boeing, flew for the first time on November 29, 1995. The Block II Super Hornet incorporates an improved active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, larger displays, the joint helmet mounted cuing system, and several other avionics replacements. Avionics and weapons systems that were under development for the prospective production version of the Boeing X-32 were used on the Block II Super Hornet. New-build aircraft received the APG-79 AESA radar beginning in 2005. In January 2008, it was announced that 135 earlier production aircraft were to be retrofitted with AESA radars. The robust airframe was built with an open mission systems architecture, which has enabled easy integration of new weapons and technologies. The Block II Super Hornet serves as the Navys responsive aircraft, fully capable across the full mission spectrum which includes: air superiority, fighter escort, reconnaissance, aerial refueling, close air support, air defense suppression, and day/night precision strike. This aircraft has stood strong as the backbone of the Navys carrier air wing, and has proven itself repeatedly during numerous operations where it has been the preeminent platform performing multiple missions, sometimes rapidly reconfiguring on the fly. Even though it is substantially larger roughly 7,000 pounds heavier and a 50 percent higher range, the Super Hornet delivered with fewer parts and lower maintenance demands than its predecessor, the Hornet. The proven capabilities and successes of the Block II program were leveraged by the Navy in awarding a multi-year procurement contract for Block III Super Hornets to Boeing in March 2019, totaling approximately $4 billion. The Navy will procure 72 Block III Super Hornet aircraft between fiscal years 2019 and 2021, while realizing more efficient production rates and providing the supporting industrial base with stability and advantages in production and spares planning. Boeing is expected to deliver the Block III test jets to the Navy as early as late spring, where subsequent testing will commence at both NAS Patuxent River and Naval Air Weapons System (NAWS) China Lake. This latest version of the Super Hornet includes an advanced cockpit system; advanced network infrastructure; reduced radar cross-section; and a 10,000-flight hour lifespan. United States Senators have a new idea to boost struggling local news outlets in their home states: Ads from the federal government. Nearly three-quarters of the US Senate have signed a letter to the Trump administration encouraging various agencies to "increase advertising in local newspapers and on broadcast stations in order to help ensure they are able to continue to operate throughout the Covid-19 pandemic." More than half of the members of the US House of Representatives have lent their names to a letter endorsing the same idea earlier this week. It remains to be seen whether federal agencies will follow through. But several of the lawmakers hold powerful positions on appropriations committees so when they weigh in on how federal funds should be spent, their voices echo across Washington. Notably, dozens of Republican lawmakers signed the House and Senate letters, which is no small thing in a "fake news" age when it's often politically expedient for President Trump's allies to assail the media. But some of the same Republican lawmakers who ridicule national news outlets care deeply about the newspapers and TV and radio stations in their home states. When push comes to shove, it's ultimately in the interest of elected officials to have a functioning local media ecosystem. And many of those media outlets, in both red and blue states, have been pushed to the brink. The pandemic has exacerbated downward trends, particularly for print newspapers, which are suffering from both subscription losses and the rerouting of advertising dollars to digital outlets. Many advertisers are pulling back on their planned spending due to the uncertainty associated with the coronavirus crisis. Newspaper owners are responding by cutting pay, furloughing staff members and taking other cost-cutting steps. Some have resorted to layoffs. Local television stations, with newscasts that blanket the country and help lawmakers reach their constituents, are also facing budgetary constraints. Elected officials have responded with several different proposals for local news lifelines. Some lawmakers want funds for local media to be included in any future stimulus package, for example. The idea that has gained the most traction, by far, is the federal advertising proposal. "Many federal agencies maintain advertising accounts in order to provide public notices and information to Americans," the senators wrote in a letter dated Thursday, April 23. "For example, the Census Bureau receives funding to run advertisements regarding the 2020 Census." The senators said that federal agencies should look to share "essential information" about the pandemic "through local advertisements," which would inject some much-needed investment into media companies. "Increasing local advertising will both help disseminate important information to communities and support local media with revenue that will help keep them operating," Thursday's letter stated. "This action can be implemented today, without the need for additional federal appropriations from Congress." The two lead signees of the letter were Joe Manchin, Democrat from West Virginia, and Steve Daines, Republican from Montana. It total, 74 senators put their signatures in the call to action. Manchin said on Twitter that he had heard from broadcasters and newspapers in West Virginia that are "facing a financial crisis due to advertising revenue declines." "Making sure that they are able to continue operating during this time is critical," he added. The earlier letter from House members was addressed to the president directly. The letter from senators was addressed to Russell Vought, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget. The Office of Management and Budget did not respond to a request for comment from CNN Business on Friday. A human rights monitor and his son were shot to death in Mexico's southern state of Guerrero, the fourth slaying of a rights activist in the country this year, authorities said Saturday. Jess Memije, who worked for the state Human Rights Commission, and his son were on their way to their home in the municipality of Coyoca de Bentez on the Pacific coast when they were killed Friday, the commission said. State prosecutors did not provide details of the killing, but the commission urged investigators to focus on his work as a rights defender as a possible motive. Guerrero has high rates of violence linked to organized crime groups. The office of Mexico's national ombudsman previously reported the killings of three other human rights defenders so far in 2020. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Covid-19 has brought the curtain down on a tale of brotherly bonding that began when Jimmy O'Donnell was 80 years old. All his life, Jimmy believed he was alone in the world. Then one day he was told he had a younger brother named Fred who was 78. The two old men met for the first time in 2015. They had survived hard childhoods in Ireland and both ended up living in different parts of England. They rejoiced at being brought together. They told each other stories of their separate lives. Expand Close Enjoying their first Christmas together / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Enjoying their first Christmas together Jimmy was raised in an orphanage in Wicklow. Fred was a child when arrested for begging on the streets of Dublin and he was sent to Artane Industrial School for eight years. Read More As children they knew nothing of their mother. Her name was Julia. A Dubliner, she ended up spending most of her life working in a Magdalene Laundry in a Cork convent. She died aged 81 and was buried in a grave with four other Magdalene women. Jimmy never married and he lived alone in Cheltenham. His life changed for the better on the day he met his brother for the first time. Fred, a father-of-three living in Bradford, said the discovery of Jimmy had made his own life complete. Last Sunday, Jimmy died of Covid-19 in a nursing home in England at the age of 84. In his final weeks, the brothers were kept apart once again - this time by pandemic regulations. Fred's daughter Theresa Wardley started the research into her family tree that led to the discovery her father was not an only child. The family take consolation following Jimmy's death that he and Fred had enjoyed the gift of knowing each other for the past four years. "Thank goodness they finally had each other. Being together was the best thing that happened," she said. Research found that Julia, from Eugene Street in Dublin, may have been working as a domestic servant when she became pregnant at 19. She gave birth to Jimmy in the Church of Ireland Bethany Home in Rathgar in June 1935. Jimmy grew up in the Avoca Manor orphanage in Co Wicklow. Julia gave birth to Fred in St Patrick's Mother and Baby Home in Dublin in 1937. When Fred was a toddler, Julia was taken away to the Magdalene Laundry where she spent the rest of her life. Fred said he has no memory of his childhood. It appears Fred spent his early years in and out of foster homes until he was found begging on the streets at the age of eight. He spent the next eight years in Artane Industrial School. Getting arrested may have saved his life, he said. He recalled that some staff in the industrial school only referred to him as ''Number 12198''. Fred told the Sunday Independent he spent the happiest years of his life working as a young man on the Ryan family farm in Oatfield, Templederry, in Co Tipperary. He later emigrated to England but throughout his life he returned as a regular visitor to the Ryan family. He met his wife Theresa in England. She was from a large family in Mountmellick, Co Laois. She died in 2007. Meanwhile, Jimmy left the orphanage at 16 and worked as a chef in Ireland for several years until he eventually moved to England and worked in catering in a boys' school in Cheltenham. When Jimmy was 33, he managed to visit his mother in the Magdalene Laundry in Cork. Whatever happened during the visit, the encounter did not result in them making a connection and Jimmy in his final years was not inclined to speak of the visit. In 2014, Fred's daughter Theresa learned that her father's mother was buried with other former Magdalene Laundry inmates in a grave in Kilcully in Co Cork. The headstone showed that Julia's name had been changed to Frances. Recalling the first visit of her father to the grave, Theresa said: "My dad put his hand on the headstone and said, 'Hello Mum'. It was so sad. He shed a few tears and it broke my heart." When Theresa discovered that Julia had previously given birth to a baby boy, James, in Dublin in 1935, she set about tracking him down and appealed for information in 2015 through The Herald newspaper. A British company, Finders International, responded to the newspaper story and found the elderly man working part-time in a pub in Cheltenham. One of the most joyful moments of Theresa's life was telephoning her new-found uncle and introducing herself. He was delighted and he agreed when she asked: "Do you mind if I call you Uncle Jimmy?" And so began a series of regular family reunions every few weeks when Fred, a grandfather, would make the four-and-a-half hour journey from Bradford to Cheltenham with his daughter Patricia at the wheel to visit Jimmy. Family members would book into a hotel near Jimmy's small flat and they would spend Saturday evening and Sunday together. The visits continued for the rest of Jimmy's life. Fred told the Sunday Independent last Wednesday that he and his brother were "the spitting image" of each other. They loved their weekends together. He said Jimmy was "a very quiet man" who was quite religious. He sang second tenor in a choir and some of the songs Jimmy sang included Molly Malone and The Old Rugged Cross. While working in a bar in Cheltenham, Jimmy had raised thousands of pounds for charity. He also helped at homeless shelters on Christmas Day. Fred said Jimmy was "highly delighted" to discover after 80 years that he was not alone in the world. He remembered Jimmy declaring: "I have a family at last." Fred said he did not remember his mother and he would like to see her in the afterlife. "I hope to meet her," he said. The pandemic prevented the two brothers from saying a final goodbye to each other. Fred is cocooning which also prevents him attending the funeral next month. The family will watch the funeral by video-link. Theresa said Jimmy was an active member of a local Baptist Church and he spent his final months in a nursing home where he encouraged everyone to sing. He was "loved and adored" by staff and residents of the home. The family take comfort in the peace Jimmy found in his final years. They also take comfort in the last words Jimmy was heard to say: "Lord, you can take me now." PM Modi has increased the limit of lockdown in India. Quarantine citizens of both the countries stranded due to the seal of Indo-Nepal border reached their country. There were 152 Indians in Nepal's Bhairahwa and 196 Nepalese citizens in Nautanwa and Sonauli in India since last 31 March. Corona: 18 youths returns from Deoband found infected, entire area sealed Indian citizens include people living in Moradabad, Santakbirnagar, Gorakhpur, Basti, Maharajganj, Siddharthnagar and Kushinagar districts of Uttar Pradesh. Everyone was screened in Sonauli. SDM Jasdhir Singh said that 112 people coming from Nepal have been accommodated in Kunseva Tribal Ashram School and 40 citizens in Nautanwa Inter College Quarantine Center. On 24 April too 100 citizens were sent to Nepal. District Magistrate Dr. Ujjwal Kumar said that the citizens of both quarantine countries have returned to India and Nepal. They will be allowed to go home after the health test. Health Minister Dr. Narottam Mishra arrives in his hometown Dabra without mask A total of 155 Indians were quarantined in Nepal in view of the outbreak of the virus. On Thursday, two Indians escaped from Quarantine Center III of Nepal. Even after much research by the Nepal Watchdog team, they could not be found. Another Indian had already been sent by Nepal to India due to the death of her father. The same, reached the Kolhui Police Station Ramshay Chauhan to know the condition of the workers who had returned from Pune quarantined at Bhagirathi Farmers Inter College located in Bhagirathpur police station area. The police station received information that no food has been prepared for the quarantined laborers. The laborers reached the police station soon after getting information about this, where everything was found right Old age home related to Amitabh Bachchan came in controversies The Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) will from Monday April 27 start the enforcement of mandatory wearing of nose mask as a COVID-19 prevention measure. This is in line with an advice from President Akufo-Addo encouraging the public to wear nose masks. In line with the advice, the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinating Council also came out with measures including mandatory nose mask wearing by the public in the Region as it has the highest people infected with COVID-19. Mr Felix Mensah Nii Anang-La, Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive announcing this on Saturday said the intended enforcement by his outfit would be done under the Public Health Law Act 851, section 14. He said this when Sentuo Steel Limited a subsidiary of Sentuo Group presented 10,000 disposable nose masks to the Assembly when the TMA launched its Operation wear your nose mask in the harbour city. He said to ensure that people had no excuse not to wear their nose masks, the Assembly had procured over 20,000 branded washable nose masks to be distributed to the vulnerable in the area. Wearing of nose mask is going to be mandatory and we are going to enforce it, but we know that there are a lot of pockets of vulnerable people who cannot afford, so we as an Assembly has taken it upon ourselves to go round and distribute it for free so that when we are enforcing no one can say they cant buy kit thats why they dont use it. He indicated that they would start the enforcement with the sharing of the nose masks after which those who refused to wear would be sanctioned by the Police to ensure full compliance. He commended Sentuo Steel for responding to their plea saying they would use the disposable mask as a backup to give to people on the street who might have left their masks at home to ensure everyone in the public was protected. Mr Emmanuel Ayensu, Consultant for Sentuo Group on his part indicated his outfit found it prudent to support the nose mask wearing measures especially after the lifting of partial lock down. Mr Ayensu added that it was their hope that the public would wear the masks saying that implementation of the various protocols meant effectively driving away the virus from the country. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The coronavirus pandemic spanning over 185 countries/regions on Sunday (April 26, 2020) infected close to 29.5 lakh people with claiming more than 2.05 lakh lives. As per the data by Johns Hopkins University at 10 PM IST, there are over 29,47,610 COVID-19 positive patients across the world while more than 2,05,600 people have succumbed to the virus. The United States (US) tops the list of having the most number of confirmed cases and COVID-19 deaths. The number of confirmed coronavirus patients in the US by Sunday evening jumped to 9,43,850. The US is followed by Spain where more than 2,26,600 people have contracted the deadly virus. Italy on the third spot has over 1,97,670 COVID-19 confirmed cases in its country. France with 1,61,660 infections is the fourth worst-hit nation in the world. Germany having 1,57,100 cases, the United Kingdom (UK) with 1,54,000 COVID-19 patients, and Turkey with 1,07,773 positive cases are the other countries in the world that have breached the 1,00,000 mark. The next in-line are Iran (90,480), China (83,900), Russia (80,940) and Brazil (59,470). On the list of the places with most COVID-19 deaths, the US remained on top with more than 54,500 deaths, which is around 26.5% of the global death count. Italy has been the second-worst affected country where over 26,600 people have died due to the virus. Spain on the third spot has lost around 23,190 of its citizens. France with 22,850 fatalities, the UK with 20,732 deaths, and New York with 17,126 casualties are the other worst-hit places. Popular Nollywood actress, Daniella Okeke is one of the many Nigerian actresses that is blessed with a curvy body. Her photos on social media attracts a lot of her male fans but male fans but she has now dished out a heartbreaking message to her male admirers who have completely fallen in love with the version of herself often flaunted in photos posted on her social media pages. Okeke started her post by noting that she pities people who are crushing on her on the basis of pictures on her Instagram feed. Okeke said: I pity people who crush on me because of my pictures. Its like you have not ordered something from Jumia or OLX before Check out her post below: The post I pity people who crush on me because of my pictures- Actress Daniella Okeke appeared first on . Share this post with your Friends on There is no way to remove emotion from the conversation about reopening our state. Many Wyomingites have lost their jobs. Theyve seen their hours cut back. People are worried about losing their livelihoods, their businesses and even their homes. Our teachers and students, meanwhile, have been forced to use virtual learning, without the social interaction that is so critical for young people. And our major industries energy and tourism have suffered greatly due to the dramatic drop in travel. Its no surprise that protests that have sprung up around the state. People want and deserve answers. They want to know what our leaders have planned. But it would be a mistake for Gov. Mark Gordon and State Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist to allow emotion to dictate the schedule and method for reopening parts of our state. If that process happens too quickly, immunologists and other scientists warn we face the prospect of an even bigger wave of COVID-related illnesses, which could force us to begin a second and possibly longer round of social distancing. That, in turn, would likely cause an even greater economic calamity than the one we are now experiencing. As the governor has noted, its happened before. During the last great pandemic Spanish flu folks in Wyoming pushed the government to loosen restriction too quickly, provoking more illness and misery. Thats why we support the governors decision to base his reopening plans on data, rather than by picking an arbitrary date. Its the best way to improve the odds that we can ease restrictions without provoking another wave of illness that starts the process all over again. On Thursday, the governor offered new details on his plan. The state has produced a dashboard that shows how Wyoming is performing in six pandemic-related areas. Those areas will be used by state officials to make decisions about easing restrictions. The metrics are: new cases; percentage of cases attributed to community spread; percentage of all tests that are positive; total COVID-19-related hospital admissions; hospital bed availability; and ICU bed availability. Each category has a color: red for concerning, yellow for stabilizing and green for improving. Its a smart system because it allows all Wyomingites to easily stay current on where we are. It removes at least some of the uncertainty and ambiguity. Gordon has unveiled a graduated process, with targeted openings and latitude for local leaders to adjust the restrictions based on whats best for their communities. This is truly a Wyoming way of solving the problem as it recognizes what might be best for Jackson, the town with the states highest population density, might not be optimal for places like Lusk or Newcastle. Like all of Wyoming, we yearn to be free of this pandemic. We desire to get back to work, to our normal lives. But the world isnt like it was before. This virus and our reaction to it will be with us for some time. By taking cautious steps now, we reduce the likelihood of more suffering in the future. Veterinarians are the doctors who make sure about the well beings of animals and monitor their proper checkup and treatments. Contrary to what one may think, even the field of Veterinary has different segments like food safety and inspection, teaching in colleges and universities, research activities for the prevention of zoonotic diseases and environmental protection. To honour their hard work for these creatures of the planet, every last Sunday in the month of April is celebrated as World Veterinary Day and each such day has a theme attached to it. World Veterinary Day 2020 theme Image credit: World Veterinary Association Twitter The World Veterinary Day 2020 falls on Sunday, April 25. To make the day more relatable and to promote the hard work of vets all around the globe, each year a new theme is decided. For this purpose, the World Veterinary Association was established which in turn took the decision to celebrate World Veterinary Day back in 2000. The WVA also awards one of its members for his or her outstanding work in accordance with the theme of that particular year. Also Read: Analysis Of COVID-19-Pet Daycare And Lodging Market 2019-2023 | Presence Of Various Veterinary Services To Boost Growth | Technavio The theme for World Veterinary Day 2020 is "Environmental protection for improving animal and human health". The WVA has decided to present an award and a cash prize of $2,500 the veterinary professional who has worked towards protecting the environment and supporting a sustainable way of life. World Veterinary Day is also an opportunity for those working in this field to meet and share ideas about the ongoing problems in the world. The WVA and HealthforAnimals are proud to announce the 2020 World Veterinary Day theme: Environmental protection for improving animal and human health. All the necessary information, application form and instructions, can be found here: https://t.co/cCEhHbFhuw pic.twitter.com/dWuEgxQfy2 World Veterinary Association (@WorldVetAssoc) February 17, 2020 Also Read: Government Asks States, UTs To Include Veterinary Services As 'essential' Amidst COVID-19 New WVA Council to lead the global veterinary profession tackling global veterinary concerns. Read more:https://t.co/4vjNWxNcHY pic.twitter.com/7D2u6PwgY5 World Veterinary Association (@WorldVetAssoc) April 14, 2020 Also Read: COVID-19: Animals, Birds Roam Freely On Streets Amid Lockdown The theme for World Veterinary Day 2019 was the "Value of Vaccination". Ronald Bameka was the winner of last year's WVA award for his extraordinary contribution to the theme. He is a member of the Uganda Veterinary Association. PRESENTATION OF 2019 WORLD VETERINARY DAY AWARD TO UGANDA VETERINARY ASSOCIATIONhttps://t.co/et3hks6F8v pic.twitter.com/KyWLCPzLcj World Veterinary Association (@WorldVetAssoc) December 2, 2019 Also Read: COVID-19 Lockdown: Instances When People Went Out Of Their Way To Help Animals Also Read: Odisha Govt Approves Rs 80 Lakh From CMRF For Feeding Stray Animals Amid Lockdown (Bloomberg) -- Malaysias push to explore energy blocks off its coast has turned into a five-nation face off involving U.S. and Chinese warships, raising the risk of a direct confrontation as broader tensions grow between the worlds biggest economies. The episode began in December, when Malaysias state-run energy giant Petroliam Nasional Bhd. contracted a vessel to explore two areas in the South China Sea in its extended continental shelf. Those waters are also claimed by Vietnam and China, which immediately sent ships to shadow the boat. The situation took a turn for the worse on April 16 with the arrival of a Chinese surveyor known as the Haiyang Dizhi 8, which last year was engaged in a standoff with Vietnam over offshore energy blocks. The U.S. this week sent at least two warships within some 50 nautical miles of the Malaysian ship, according to defense analysts privy to the information who asked not to be identified. U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Thursday accused China of exploiting the worlds focus on the Covid-19 pandemic with provocations in the South China Sea. In a statement issued on the same day he held a video call with 10 Southeast Asian foreign ministers, he said China dispatched a flotilla that included an energy survey vessel for the sole purpose of intimidating other claimants from engaging in offshore hydrocarbon development. The U.S. strongly opposes Chinas bullying and we hope other nations will hold them to account too, Pompeo said. Territorial Disputes The U.S. doesnt take a position on territorial disputes in the region even while staking a national interest in freedom of navigation, which involves challenging any claims that arent consistent with international laws. As China gets more assertive in enforcing its claims, its increased the risk of a potential confrontation with the U.S. that could quickly escalate. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command confirmed Wednesday that three ships -- the USS America, an amphibious assault ship; the USS Bunker Hill, a guided missile cruiser; and the USS Barry, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer -- were operating in the South China Sea, without giving a precise location. They were joined by an Australian Anzac-class frigate on April 18, according to the U.S. 7th Fleet. Story continues The risk of a new incident is rising, as tension elsewhere in the relationship could inflame the situation on the ground, or rather, in the water, New York-based risk consultancy Eurasia Group said in an analysis on Wednesday. Growing animosity between the two sides would it make it difficult to prevent an accidental collision from becoming a full-blown crisis. Without a direct threat from the U.S., China has increasingly disrupted the efforts of Vietnam, the Philippines -- and increasingly Malaysia -- to exploit oil, gas and fishing resources off their shores. China claims about 80% of the South China Sea through its so-called nine-dash line, and its increasing economic might has allowed it to invest in bigger ships that can operate ever-further from its shores. Its unknown how much recoverable oil and gas is in the disputed Malaysian blocks at the center of the standoff. But if China blocks all future exploration activities within the nine-dash line, the Malaysian company known as Petronas would be robbed of domestic drilling opportunities at a time when its trying to boost spending at home amid an economic slump. Overt Challenge This is by far the biggest and most overt challenge yet to Malaysias South China Sea energy interests, said Collin Koh Swee Lean, research fellow at Singapores S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Malaysia sought to tamp down tensions on Thursday, with Minister of Foreign Affairs Hishammuddin Hussein calling for all parties to work together to maintain peace. We must avoid unintended, accidental incidents in these waters, he said. While international law guarantees the freedom of navigation, the presence of warships and vessels in the South China Sea has the potential to increase tensions that in turn may result in miscalculations which may affect peace, security and stability in the region. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang this week said its survey ship was conducting normal activities in waters under Chinese jurisdiction and called the situation basically stable. At least half a dozen armed Chinese coast guard ships and several militia were involved, according to Greg Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative in Washington. Poling said China last year took similar actions against Petronas and Royal Dutch Shell Plc in Malaysian waters as they conducted at least two other surveys of its continental shelf. That was similar to Chinas actions against Vietnam, when it repeatedly sent coast guard ships and the Haiyang Dizhi 8 to an energy block operated by Russias state-owned Rosneft Oil Co PJSC. The situation drew criticism from the U.S. and the European Union. Its the exact same operation we saw conducted against Vietnam when Rosneft was drilling a new well last year, Poling said by email. But this is more problematic because it has become so public, and because Petronas has invested so much time and expense in exploring fields this far out. I have no idea whether theyre likely to be commercially viable, but I do know that theres no chance of Petronas actually producing hydrocarbons from them in the current environment. Petronas did not immediately reply to a request to comment. Other incidents are occurring elsewhere in the South China Sea. Earlier this month, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus condemned China for reportedly sinking a Vietnamese fishing vessel on April 2. China on Saturday announced the establishment of districts on the disputed Paracel and Spratly islands, drawing protests from both the Philippines and Vietnam. Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin also accused China of pointing a radar gun at a Philippine Navy ship in the countrys waters. China and Southeast Asian claimants have sparred over which claims are valid under the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea, known as Unclos. Both sides have also been working on a code of conduct meant to resolve these types of confrontations in the South China Sea, though talks have dragged on for more than a decade. China is pushing the Southeast Asian countries to give up their Unclos rights and share their exclusive economic zones with it, said Bill Hayton, author of The South China Sea: The Struggle for Power in Asia. If they try to develop their resources on their own, as is their right, China punishes them. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. The steady sounds of clip-clopping hooves pulling creaking carriages will be absent from the streets in Chicago starting next year after the City Council on Friday voted to ban horse-drawn carriages. Under the ordinance, which is effective Jan. 1, 2021, operators will be unable to renew their licenses, and the city will stop issuing new ones. The horse-drawn carriage industry has been shrinking for years. The city now has 10 carriage licenses that will expire at the end of the year, The Chicago Tribune reported. At one point, it had 60 licenses available, according to The Associated Press. Chicago joins a handful of other cities that have already banned horse-drawn carriages, including: Salt Lake City; Biloxi, Miss.; Camden, N.J., as well as Key West, Palm Beach, Pompano Beach and Treasure Island, Fla., according to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. In Montreal, horse-drawn carriages were prohibited starting on Jan. 1, 2020. A New Jersey nonprofit organization that exists to help those in need is in need of help of its own. The Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless, a nonprofit organization based in Elizabeth that helps to house the homeless and near-homeless, as well as working families struggling to pay their rent, is in need of monetary donations to continue to support both its staff and community. Linda Flores-Tober, executive director for the Elizabeth Coalition, explained that the organization is in major need of funds after having to cancel one of its largest sources of fundraising due to the coronavirus pandemic. We lost a major fundraiser. We raise about $75,000 at a gala that we hold in May, and we had to cancel it. And we had another big fundraiser in September, and I think I have to cancel that too," Flores-Tober said. According to Flores-Tober, the organization is in jeopardy of closing within approximately two months should it not receive additional funding. Were about eight weeks outside of closing," Flores-Tober said. "I dont want to make it that dire, but ... death by a thousands cuts, I call it. If we have to start laying off, the first people will be part-time, and then well start furloughing people. Because our payroll and our benefits are our biggest expense and our most important thing. She continued to emphasize the immense value of her staff, who she said go over and above the call of duty. Theyre now creating special websites where people can remotely apply for rental assistance. I mean, Im impressed with what theyre doing," Flores-Tober said. They want to make sure people can get to us because we dont know when were going to be allowed back in the office. I need to preserve my staff, because theyre the ones who make the difference that gets the people to housing and gets them connected or saves their housing, she added. The organization is dually in need of funds to continue providing rental assistance to individuals throughout Union County, which last year alone totaled approximately 1,100 families in need. Were fielding about 30 calls or more a day for people requesting rental assistance. And I know its going to (grow to) even more," Flores-Tober said. Flores-Tober explained that she expects to receive an influx in calls should courts virtually reopen on April 27, upon which date matters involving landlords and tenants are expected to resume through participation via video or telephone conference in accordance with an omnibus order issued by the New Jersey Supreme Court. Despite Gov. Phil Murphy enacting a moratorium on removing people from their homes due to evictions or foreclosures on March 19 that will last up to 60 days after the current state of emergency is lifted, Flores-Tober emphasized that the moratorium is not a holiday which will become more evident as courts begin to virtually reopen. When they open, all the landlords can go and apply for summonses to have people evicted if they havent paid their rent, unless their mortgage or the housing is somehow HUD-funded. But most people are not, Flores-Tober explained. Even if (the opening) is delayed by another month, people still owe the rent. If you pay $1,000 a month for rent ... at the end of three months youre going to owe $3,000. Nobody has $3,000 of our clients," Flores-Tober said. Its almost setting them up for failure, to be honest with you," she added. Moreover, Flores-Tober said that the organization is dually in need of funds to help the many families who did not receive a stimulus check because they dont pay their taxes through a traditional bank account. They go to H&R Block or some place like that and then they get a card, which is basically a loan on their taxes. Well the IRS doesnt have any information where to direct deposit their money. Or theyre still waiting for their checks, she said. Flores-Tober added that additional funds are essential to continuing to place homeless individuals in temporary housing options, including hotels. When we put people in hotels, we can only get reimbursed $50 a night (for one) that is $75 a night, for example, so we have to pull that out of general funds. And right now, the general funds arent there and our hotel money might run out," Flores-Tober said. Even though the HUD and the county said we could keep people in hotels as long as necessary, the money is limited. Were going to run out of funding. My staff is already warning me we might get through May at the most with the folks that we have in the hotels now. Then what happens? she added. A problem compounding this issue is that hotels and shelters throughout the area have often been full to capacity throughout the pandemic. When people call, were really struggling to find a place for them to go even if its more than the rates we get reimbursed for," Flores-Tober said. "And 211 (the New Jersey hotline for community and social services) keeps referring people to us because they cant find hotels to put people in. Flores-Tober and her husband, Carlos, have been hand-delivering products to individuals the organization has been able to successfully place in hotels. In accordance with their efforts, the Elizabeth Coalition is also accepting donations in the form of food and personal care products. We go through the food and we make bags for the people in the hotels because they can only get food that has to be microwaved, Flores-Tober said. Describing the organization as her "third child, Flores-Tober, who has worked with the Elizabeth Coalition for 30 years, underscored that the value of the nonprofit is reflected in its commitment to its mission: to house the homeless. We stick with our clients through the long run and make sure theyre stabilized," Flores-Tober said. "We do our best for every person and we treat them as persons, not as numbers. And thats what makes a difference. Individuals can donate to the Elizabeth Coalition online, or by mailing a check to: The Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless, 118 Division Street, Elizabeth, New Jersey 07201. If you would like updates on New Jersey-specific coronavirus news, subscribe to our Coronavirus in N.J. newsletter. Tell us your coronavirus stories, whether its a news tip, a topic you want us to cover, or a personal story you want to share. Have a tip? Tell us.nj.com/tips. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Caroline Fassett may be reached at cfassett@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook. The Covid-19 outbreak has caused many countries to shut down educational institutions, India being among them. But in efforts to make sure that the students learning doesnt suffer, teachers have started reaching out to students through virtual classrooms. It appears to be a success, as teachers and students alike advocated for the virtual platforms they provide access to course content from anywhere with time flexibility, additional information sharing, and spontaneous feedback. Since the imposition of Section 144 in the state, we have taken a conscious decision to go online and reach out to our students virtually. We are trying to utilise this period of social distancing for productivity, informs Dr Gulshan Gidwani, Principal of St Miras college in Pune. Innovating out of necessity Although virtual classroom training has been in practice for over a decade, not many educational institutions have embraced technological advancement. However, the ongoing crisis has pushed institutions to adapt to this preexisting advantage. Every crisis comes with stress and opportunity, and Coronavirus has come with an opportunity to think about different models. The same thing is happening with education. Virtual training has always been there but we dont see newer ways till the time we are not pushed, decodes management professor, Dr Bhavya Soni, further explaining that this is a win-win solution for all as teachers dont want to waste time and miss out on syllabus. This is the best time that we use some innovative ideas and technology. This will help to push the educational standards further positively, he opines. Similarly, Dr Gidwani also agrees that the necessity of the time of Coronavirus has led the education institutions to use the online training well. It is always the case that very few people experiment with something innovative unless the need is felt. This is the demand of the time: To push the boundaries and break the conventional ideas to complete the educational targets, believes the principal. Pushing the boundaries While the idea of using a virtual classroom looks progressive, many teachers are not well equipped with technology and prefer conventional physical classroom training. However, the current situation has pushed many educators to learn the ropes. Teachers are not prepared, but this is the beauty of this time it has given them the opportunity to learn something new and come out of their comfort zones and upgrade themselves. They havent done this before, but they are making attempts to learn and reach out to students, says Assistant Professor Sumedha Soni, who also happens to be the youngest person to provide virtual classroom training to her fellow senior teachers at her institution. Across the country, many teachers at various institutions have started uploading video lectures, notes, and presentations online and they are taking live lectures for students on different online portals as well. Fortunately, this has been a hit with students as well. Delhi based Akshay Badhal, a charted accounting student shares that virtual classes are keeping the students busy and informed not to miss out on any topic. The best thing I realise now is how it is helping me not to miss any class. We have no idea when things are going to be sorted, and for CA studies, you dont want to miss any day. Virtual classes are keeping us busy although the fun of physical class is missing, for time being it is welcomed, he shares. Dealing with obstacles As colleges across the country turn to online classes on very short notice, there are a host of challenges like Internet access, laptops, sounds, and troubleshooting of the applications. While it gives flexibility to both the parties, it breaks the classrooms learning environment. It does help students to not to break the learning, but as a teacher, I am always in doubt if all my students are able to grab the knowledge. Students often complain that the voice is breaking and sometimes it gets difficult to join the meeting on the apps, reveals digital marketing trainer Gaurav Khuteta and adds that virtual training is more challenging for teachers as they have to create more infographic content. Students easily get bored, so to keep them motivated and be the active participant, teachers need to make their content more interesting, engaging and creative, explains the trainer in conclusion. For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here. During a news conference last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly told the state's residents that internal modeling suggests California will hit its "peak" on the curve of the coronavirus pandemic sometime in mid-to-late May, despite widespread social distancing measures. "We know that the bending or flattening of the curve means two things," Ghaly said. "It means our peak comes down, but it also means it goes further out. We move that lower and further out. So our thinking around May, and late May in particular, means it follows this idea of flattening. It's not just a reduction down, it's moving it out." This projection is not in line with other models for California, including the highly influential IHME model used by policymakers at the federal level. The IHME model one that also takes into account a state's social distancing efforts projects that California's hospitals will hit peak resource use on April 13, and the state's number of daily deaths will peak on Wednesday. In addition, top-line figures for Kaiser Permanente's internal model reviewed by SFGATE shows that the managed care consortium expects peak resource use sometime in late April. That timeline is a week or two behind the IHME projections, but almost a full month ahead of the California internal projections. So why the discrepancy? SFGATE reached out to California's Office of Emergency Services for information on the science behind the state's internal model but did not receive a response. Dr. George Rutherford, an epidemiologist at UCSF, said the state model uses two other models the University of Pennsylvania CHIME model and Stanford University's model to make its own projections. While Rutherford is not entirely sure how the state weighs each model, he believes that reliance on the CHIME model could lead to overstating the spread of the outbreak. "The CHIME model is exquisitely sensitive to case doubling over time, which is purely a function of testing," Rutherford said of the interactive model. "I put some numbers in with a case doubling of three days as opposed four days, and there was a huge, huge difference. Doubling times are not what you want to hang your hat on since they're a function of testing." California's testing situation has been far from ideal, as early lags and a massive backlog of unreturned tests have distorted the state's case doubling time figures. In addition to the emphasis on case doubling time, others have questioned the infection numbers the internal state model uses. John Ioannidis, a professor of medicine, epidemiology and population health at Stanford University, told POLITICO last week he believes the state model is using an infection rate as high as 80 percent, an "unrealistic" worst-case scenario "based on early observations elsewhere that have since been walked back." It's unclear if the California model is extrapolating based on New York's outbreak, but Ioannidis believes that would be ill-advised since "the vast majority of the world is not as dense and intermingling." While Newsom has stated in recent days that the state's model shows a flattened curve, other models have shown the same flattening without pushing the peak of the curve into May. For example, the IHME model has downgraded the number of expected California hospital beds needed and daily deaths on multiple occasions in recent weeks while still projecting the same mid-April peak. "Models are all based on what data feeds into it," said Dr. Alexei Wagner, the assistant director of Adult Emergency Medicine at Stanford University's School of Medicine. "And so if you look like last week compared to this week [in the IHME model], the California numbers are much flatter, the peaks are lower. And I think there is a sense that the work that we've done for social distancing, social isolation is definitely starting to flatten the curve." So what's the best data to feed into models that would most accurately project both the height and expected timeline of California's peak? Rutherford believes the answer is hospitalization data, and stated that UCSF models are predicated on these figures since they are "hard numbers." The hospitalization data for the Bay Area has been flat over the month of April. Rutherford believes the Bay Area will be peaking at the beginning of this week, a tad earlier than the statewide IHME model projection. The IHME model is a blended model, it reflects what's going on in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, the Central Valley and it's not pulled apart," he said. "My best guess and these are just guesses now early [this] week is our peak, followed by Los Angeles a week later. Los Angeles cases are way higher, like ten-fold higher than San Francisco ... It went up very rapidly in Southern California largely driven by L.A. a week after statewide shelter in place, but this was a rapid rise that was not seen in the Bay Area since we went into shelter in place three days earlier. If Rutherford, the IHME modelers and Kaiser Permanente are correct in projecting that California will peak and start "moving down the curve" earlier than the state's internal model predicts, the timeline for reopening could possibly be moved up. ALSO: COVID-19 through the eyes of Bay Area Instagramers During a Friday night appearance on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," Newsom stated he would follow the actual trends the state witnesses in real time over the next few weeks when making his decision. "If over the course of the next few weeks we see this modest growth begin to bend in a different direction, then I will be in a position, based upon the expertise of our health professionals and based upon where this virus is, based on more expansive community surveillance meaning testing make that determination," he said. The governor also cautioned against "running the 90-yard dash against this virus" and "getting ahead of ourselves" when it comes to discussions of reopening, a sentiment shared by health experts. "The worry is that if, if anything changes or people start going out because the media is saying, 'Oh, it's just not as bad,' then will we see another spike or an uptick later?" Wagner stated. "Or is this going to come back in the fall? And that's why everybody's kind of like a little bit freaked out. But I do think we'll start, we won't have the significant surge that we were planning last month, but we are just very aware and vigilant that we will likely see a bump at our numbers as more and more patients get the virus, but we will have capacity to care for them." Rutherford agrees, and says he understands why California's internal model was geared towards a potential worst-case scenario. "If you want to miss, you want to miss high," he said. "If you miss low, the consequences are unbelievable. It doesn't bother me at all the numbers are higher, in an abundance of caution. You saw what happened in Italy and New York. I can guess that the state models are sensitive to things that are difficult to measure, but Im not the one having to procure a bunch of hospital beds." MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE: Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here. Eric Ting is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: eric.ting@sfgate.com | Twitter:@_ericting Iran Health Officials Concerned About Rebound Effect Of Relaxing Lockdown Radio Farda April 25, 2020 Iran's official COVID-19 cases and deaths have been going down since early April but Iran's health officials are concerned that relaxation of lockdown may reverse the situation. According to the latest official figures announced on Saturday, the daily death toll has been at its lowest since April 4 with 74 more death in the past 24-hour period. The number of new cases has also dropped to 1,134 bringing the total deaths and cases over the past two months to 5650 and 89,328, respectively. Announcing the new numbers on Saturday the Health Ministry Spokesman Dr. Kianoush Jahanpur said currently 3,096 COVID-19 patients are in critical situation. While some Health Ministry officials say the COVID-19 trajectory indicates that numbers are going down in most provinces, others warn about an increase in several provinces including East and West Azarbaijan, Tehran, Khuzestan, Zanjan and Fars all of which are among the most populated provinces of the country. They attribute the rebound in these provinces to the relaxation of lockdown. The Rouhani administration and its COVID-19 task force effectively put an end to social distancing from April 8 by introducing a plan called "smart social distancing". The government has also allowed the reopening of medium-risk businesses out of concern for the deteriorating economic situation. Pointing out that every step in reducing lockdown will manifest itself in more hospitalizations after two weeks and in the death toll after one month, Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi on Saturday said that in comparison with early April the number of hospitalizations and deaths have gone down by 50% and 70% percent respectively but warned about a rebound if social distancing is abandoned. Commenting on opening mosques and shrine to the public which President Hassan Rouhani has said will remain closed at least until May 5 Harirchi said authorities are considering the option of deciding about the opening of places of religious gathering in separate towns and cities on the basis of the situation on the ground in each location. A decision about opening schools and universities has not been taken yet, he said and added that they will probably be among the last to open. Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-health -officials-concerned-about-rebound-effect-of- relaxing-lockdown-while-death-toll -surpasses-5-600/30576427.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Indian owner of Port Talbot steelworks has approached the UK Government for a 500million loan. Tata Steel has reportedly asked for a commercial loan that would be repayable when demand for steel from its sites in Wales recovers. Its request is being considered by the Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Sky News reported. Talks are at an early stage and no agreement is likely to be announced soon. Loan: Tata Steel's large customers, such as car makers, have stopped production The move comes after several of Tata Steel's large customers, such as car makers, stopped production. A spokesman told Sky: 'We continue to work with both the UK and Welsh governments to identify what support is available.' The manufacturer has also been hit by a rise in raw material costs. China's decision to reopen following the pandemic contributed to high iron prices despite a slump in global demand. Roughly 1,500 of Tata Steel's 8,000 UK workers have been furloughed. Separately, British Steel, which is owned by China's Jingye, is set to resume production at its plant in Skinningrove on Teesside with 300 furloughed workers returning tomorrow. Presiding officers of all special courts under Jodhpur Metropolitan jurisdiction and subordinate courts have been directed to state it clearly in judicial custody warrants that every accused will be sent to jail only after being tested for coronavirus, officials said. District and Session Judge Narsingh Das gave the direction following a request by the Superintendent of Jodhpur Central Jail as many of those being sent to judicial custody were from coronavirus hotspots and authorities were apprehensive about other jail inmates being infected. The direction to mark the judicial custody warrants "in red ink" stating clearly that every accused will be sent to jail only after being tested for coronavirus will remain in force till further orders, they said. Superintendent of jail Kailash Trivedi said that there has been a "steady influx" of accused during the lockdown period. We have been receiving 5-6 accused daily and getting them screened for coronavirus infection at our level by sending them to the hospital, said Trivedi. But with the spurt in cases lately and given the limited resources that we have, we appealed to the police administration and the judiciary that all these accused be screened before they are taken to jail for judicial custody, he said, adding that the appeal has already been granted. About 80 accused, charged with various offences, have been remanded in Jodhpur Central Jail since the lockdown started. Last month, inmates of the jail, who were demanding that they be released due to the risk of getting infected in prison, had written to the chief justice and even went on an indefinite hunger strike. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) KUNMING, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The 92nd Mekong River joint patrol by China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand concluded Friday as three Chinese law enforcement boats returned to Guanlei Port in the southwest Province of Yunnan. A total of 109 law enforcement officers from the four countries participated in the mission on board five vessels, which navigated 651 km in four days and three nights, according to the provincial public security department. Chinese and Lao officers examined 27 vehicles, 42 persons and six tonnes of cargo during joint operations in Lao waters. Chinese officers also donated masks, protective gowns, gloves and other materials for protection from the COVID-19 disease. The Mekong River, known as the Lancang River in China, is a vital waterway for cross-border shipping among China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand have been carrying out joint patrols on the Mekong River for eight years. A newsreader broke down in tears as she read out the names of the latest coronavirus victims live on air. Sky News presenter Kimberley Leonards voice began to fade as she spoke about the lives of those who had died from the virus. In the middle of a live broadcast, in which she was talking about the personal stories of those who had died from coronavirus, Ms Leonards voice broke down as she became visibly upset. Pharmacist Pooja Sharma died a day after her father, both passing away from Covid-19, she said. Paying tribute to their friend, her loved ones said her love was contagious and that she gave her friends nothing but love, support, and a tummy ache with all the laughter. At this point the newsreaders voice began to fade and she fought back tears. She paused and asked viewers to excuse her as she gathered herself. Ms Leonard had begun the segment by saying, Behind each number is a personal story, and was giving mini obituaries of the recent victims of coronavirus. The UK death toll from coronavirus exceeded 20,000 yesterday in what the home secretary said marked a tragic and terrible milestone. Less than a month ago NHS England medical director Stephen Powis warned keeping the number of UK deaths below 20,000 would be a good result. The UK is now the fifth country in the world to pass the grim milestone of 20,000 confirmed deaths, following Italy, the US, France and Spain. Many of us are overdosing on YouTube during coronavirus confinement, and were used to the fact that, like it our not, were being monitored. Things we shop for online invariably pop up in ads accompanying the videos. Lately, however, Im struck by the fact that the videos themselves are tracked. Watching one leads to suggestions for others the product of YouTubes AI, which blends genius with quirkiness. YouTube has some 1.3 billion users and they upload over 7,000 hours of video each day. Even sheltered 24/7 theres too much inventory to navigate without YouTubes help, as I learned in a recent session. It began innocently enough when I heard President Trump mention at a briefing that he had glimpsed shots of deserted streets in Manhattan. So I searched for that. Sure enough, YouTube delivered live video from cameras overlooking Times Square. At 2 p.m. on a recent Tuesday there were more of us lurking (504) than were walking the streets. This feed began March 7 and has registered 28,000 likes and 1,700 dislikes. (Note to self: Dont try to find meaning in the voting patterns of quarantine victims.) Anyway, when I refreshed YouTube its algorithm had apparently determined that Im a fan of random street views, so it suggested one in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, overlooking the Pizzeria Caldera in Town Square (104 watching; 45,000 likes). Another click and I was transported to an intersection in La Grange, Kentucky (140 watching; 10,000 likes). I counted many more cars and pedestrians in downtown La Grange than in Times Square, and no one was wearing a mask. The Kentucky view included train tracks. Naturally, AI assumed Id enjoy a page provided by Virtual Railfan. With 886 others I watched a live stream of the rail yard in La Plata, Missouri, for people who enjoy watching trains. The description added, Amtraks Southwest Chief passenger train stops here twice a day. YouTube then determined that I must love subways. This resulted in Good Samaritans Confront Man with Hatchet on NYC Subway Train, which led to The Ugliest NYC Subway Station, and then to New Yorks Incredible Subway Dancers. After a while AI must have concluded: This guy is really into transportation! So I watched a fly-over video of a place in Victorville, California, where some 400 commercial planes are parked during the coronavirus shutdown. And that took me to 10 Things You Should Not Say to Car Dealers. Eager to escape the transportation thread, I tried to trick AI by searching for suggested YouTube videos. The first recommendations was a video titled YouTube Suggested Videos Suck!!! Clearly, YouTube knows itself even better than it knows me. Peter Funt is a writer and speaker. Columns distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons, Inc., newspaper syndicate. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Marketing Real Estate Older Page 1 Our parent company, Symbiotic Networks, the creator and developer of Symbiotic Publisher CMS, which powers northeastern North Carolina's top online publication, Beaufort County NOW, has begun to market real estate, and partner real estate professionals, by providing online marketing and superior website construction to aid in their success beyond all others.For those properties that are our charge to market, and for those real estate professionals, who are our business associates /our clients, we will avail the pages of Beaufort County NOW to aid in the profound success of their professional purpose to serve at a higher level. The Maharashtra government is "suppressing" the enormity of the COVID-19 pandemic and refusing to test suspected asymptomatic patients, senior BJP leader and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Sunday. The people of the state are paying a heavy price because of the poor response to the crisis by the Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP alliance government in the state, the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly alleged. "Even in this time of crisis, there is neither cohesion between the ruling alliance partners nor any coordination among the ministries of the state government...people are paying a heavy price for it," Fadnavis told PTI in an interview. "The state government is suppressing the number of COVID-19 positive cases in the state and has stopped testing of suspected asymptomatic cases of the deadly virus," he said. The BJP leader also alleged that the government was not reporting the real picture about the crisis and cited data from a graveyard in Malegaon to drive his point home. The former chief minister claimed that the number of people buried in the graveyard in Malegaon has nearly doubled in last two months as compared to last year. As many as 485 dead were buried in the graveyard in March and April this year as compared to only 251 in the same period last year, he said. He further said bodies of people, who were suspected to be infected with COVID-19, were being released to their kin without even awaiting test reports. "Despite Maharashtra reporting the highest number of cases in the country, all these things are being done to hide the real picture of COVID-19 crisis in the state," he said. Noting that there is enough proof of the coronavirus being widely spread in Dharavi slum in Mumbai, he said there are two hundred patients and there are 2,000 high-risk contacts of them. The state government is not doing testing of these contacts and putting lives of people in the area in danger, he said. Talking about the situation of labourers and daily wagers stranded in the state, Fadnavis said there is anger in them. The state government has failed to take care of daily wagers and labourers during this lockdown. As a result, there is anger brewing in them, he said. Leave aside distribution of cooked food as the state government had promised, it could not ensure ration to a large number of ration card holders, he said. The state government didn't provide rations for two months March-April to three crore beneficiaries...," he alleged. He said the BJP is running relief operations across the state and providing all necessary help, including cooked food and ration, to the needy in this time of crisis. We have been trying to cooperate with the government and fully support the measures taken by it but they are misguided. Therefore, we are compelled to suggest the proper course, Fadnavis said. Talking about easing of the lockdown in the state, the former chief minister said there is scope for relaxation outside Mumbai Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune region. The total number of positive cases in Maharashtra is 7,628, which is the highest in the country. Of the total 824 COVID-19 deaths so far, Maharashtra accounts for the highest number of 323 fatalities, followed by Gujarat (133), Madhya Pradesh (99), Delhi (54), Andhra Pradesh (31) and Rajasthan (27). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) KIGALI President Paul Kagame said Saturday he held a good discussion with the US President Donald Trump in which the former expressed gratitude towards Americas support to Rwanda in the fight against the new coronavirus. I just had a good conversation with President @realDonaldTrump, the head of state said in a tweet. We discussed our good relationship, and the support he personally, and his administration are extending to Rwanda to combat the #COVID19 pandemic, he added. This comes following the announcement of the US governments extra financial support worth $4 million towards Rwandas public health sector on Friday, April 24. The U.S. Embassy in Kigali said Friday that additional emergency funding towards Rwandas COVID-19 response would expand the governments ability to support health needs during the current pandemic. The US said at least $3 million (Rwf2.8 billion) was directly awarded from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC). Those funds, they said, would increase laboratory diagnostic capacity and biosafety, enhance central and district-level surveillance, and strengthen infection, prevention, and control for acute respiratory infections. The funds would also enable RBC to train frontline public health workers in all 30 districts through CDCs field epidemiology training programme (FETP). An additional $700,000 dollars (Rwf650 million) from the U.S. Agency for International Development will augment the $1 million in assistance through our Ingobyi health program announced on April 4, the statement from the embassy read in part. This USAID emergency health assistance will help with surveillance and case management efforts in support of the Government of Rwandas COVID-19 National Preparedness and Response Plan. The announcement also included nearly $500,000 in additional funding from the Department of State to support refugees in Rwanda. The United States is proud of the strong partnership that we have with Rwanda in public health, the U.S. Ambassador Peter Vrooman said in a statement. We are taking an All-of-America approach to addressing this crisis. Together we will overcome this outbreak, he added. The United States is Rwandas partner in public health, with funds worth more than $1.5 billion invested in public health in Rwanda in the past 20 years, according to the embassy. Related New Delhi: Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi on Sunday (April 26) said that there has been no restriction on azaan (call for prayer) at mosques in Maharashtra and urged the state police and authorities to not issue any such regulation on the matter that hurts sentiments of Muslims. "Maharashtra government has not imposed any restriction on azaan being broadcast by mosques in the state. During the lockdown, azaan is being carried out by mosques to announce the timings of and government's regulations on social distancing are being followed by every mosque. I request the state police and Collector to not issue any such regulation on the matter that hurts sentiments of Muslims," he said. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Maharashtra government has urged Muslims to offer namaz at home during the holy month of Ramzan and not gather in mosques, in order to curb the spread of infection. "There will be azaan from mosques during this holy month, but do not gather there at mosques to offer namaz given the coronavirus pandemic," Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had said on April 24. "Offer namaz in your own homes. Participate in the Maharashtra government's fight against the coronavirus. The victory will be ours with your cooperation if Allah wills it," he added while extending greetings on the occasion of Ramzan. Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik also urged people not to gather in basements, parking areas or any other place to offer prayers during Ramzan, saying that "social distancing is the need of the hour". He also appealed to the community members not to violate lockdown rules. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the 64th edition of his radio programme "Mann Ki Baat" at 11 am today (March 26). In the previous Mann Ki Baat episode, PM Modi urged people to follow the rules during the lockdown, stating that "people breaking the law are playing with their lives". PM Modi also asked countrymen to share videos of their way of working out and staying fit. He advised people to practice yoga during the lockdown. Additionally, the PM thanked all those who were working during the COVID-19 outbreak, to ensure the essential needs of the people were fulfilled. PM Modi, in his 63rd edition of Mann Ki Baat, also advised people to connect with themselves, their family and passion during the lockdown. The PM also spoke about two coronavirus survivors to clarify that quarantine facilities were not like a prison. Mann Ki Baat is aired on All India Radio on the last Sunday of every month. Also read:Coronavirus India live updates: Total COVID-19 cases cross 26,000; 8 states with over 1,000 cases Also read: Coronavirus crisis: After Delhi, 5 more states bat for lockdown extension WASHINGTON - Some form of social distancing will probably remain in place through the summer, Deborah Birx, the White House's coronavirus task force coordinator, said Sunday - the same day several governors expressed optimism about the course of the virus and outlined their plans for a piecemeal reopening of their economies. It was the latest instance of conflicting signals coming not just from state and federal leaders but also from within the Trump administration amid a coronavirus pandemic that so far has claimed the lives of more than 54,000 Americans. Last week, Vice President Mike Pence predicted that "we will largely have this coronavirus epidemic behind us" by Memorial Day weekend in late May. But on Sunday, Birx said in an interview on NBC News' "Meet the Press" that "social distancing will be with us through the summer to really ensure that we protect one another as we move through these phases." She cited the need for further testing to be developed after a potential scientific "breakthrough." The mixed messages come as Americans are entering a confusing and uncertain new phase in the coronavirus crisis. After weeks of being told to simply stay home to halt the spread of the virus, individuals and business owners are now facing more complex decisions about how to proceed in the absence of clear guidance from their leaders. In places where restaurant dining rooms are reopening, is it safe to go? Is it a good idea to return to the hair salon for a much-needed trim? And for business owners facing a litany of new guidelines about how to reopen without endangering their workers or customers, are the risks worth it? Emily Landon, chief infectious-disease epidemiologist at University of Chicago Medicine, said those calculations are tricky for people in states that are beginning to reopen because of the continued lack of widespread testing and the inability to effectively track people who might have been infected. "It's hard for me to know what I'd do" in one of the states where governors have announced that spas and salons are able to reopen, Landon said. "I wouldn't go. And I wouldn't recommend that my family went. I would recommend that people stay home." Landon said that in her view, it's still not safe for states to fully reopen - or for Americans to try to resume their lives as they were before the pandemic hit. "This is a brand-new virus, and we have to do these things in a measured way," she said. "Without requirements for things like [personal protective equipment], social distancing and really thoughtful policies for how to do these openings, it's not the time to do them." In its broad guidelines for states to follow as they begin a phased reopening, the White House earlier this month recommended that a number of criteria, such as increasing capacity for testing and contact tracing, should be met before proceeding. Across the country, however, some states are already relaxing their social distancing restrictions amid pressure from protesters, business groups and others. On Sunday, several governors defended their decision to do so, arguing that their states' closures have successfully achieved their goal of building hospital capacity, acquiring personal protective equipment and reducing the spread of the pandemic's growth. "The facts in our state are: March 30, we peaked in hospitalizations, with 560 across the state," Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, said on "Fox News Sunday." "Today we have 300 across the state in our hospitals. We think it's time for a measured reopening." Stitt said that more than 55,000 Oklahomans have been tested and that the positive rate was 6.3%. He also noted that no one is obliged to reopen a business. "I'm giving guidance. If a restaurant doesn't feel like they're ready to reopen," he said, "they don't have to." On CNN's "State of the Union," Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, also defended his decision to partially reopen his state, and maintained that he is focused on social distancing measures that are sustainable for the coming weeks and months. "We've really been laser-focused on figuring out how we can endure and sustain these kinds of social distancing measures," Polis said. "If we can't succeed in doing that, the stay-at-home was for nothing." Polis said an apparent spike in coronavirus cases in Colorado was attributable to previous tests that were just confirmed and added to the total, and does not reflect the present situation. The debate over reopening in the United States comes as another hard-hit country, Spain, allowed children under 14 to go outside for the first time in six weeks. The country, which has had more than 207,000 coronavirus cases and 23,190 deaths, has been in the midst one of Europe's strictest lockdowns since last month. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, meanwhile, is set to return to work Monday after more than three weeks battling a coronavirus infection. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who has been standing in for Johnson, told Sky News on Sunday that the prime minister is "raring to go." In the United States, the steps being taken toward reopening vary by state. In some places, such as Florida, beaches have reopened on a limited basis, with police urging visitors to keep moving and avoid congregating. In Oklahoma, Stitt gave salons, barbers and pet groomers the green light to resume business late last week, and restaurants will be allowed to reopen their doors Friday. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, said Sunday that construction and manufacturing businesses outside of the New York City region might be able to reopen after May 15, when the state's stay-home order expires. And in Georgia, businesses including bowling alleys, tattoo parlors, gyms and hair salons have already been allowed to reopen, with movie theaters and dine-in restaurants expected to follow suit Monday. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, has come under fire for the speed with which he has rolled back social distancing restrictions, and on Sunday, former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the state is opening up too early. "Georgia is certainly jumping the gun, I think here, getting started too early relative to where they are in the epidemic," Gottlieb said on CBS News' "Face the Nation." Asked whether he thinks states such as Georgia and Oklahoma are reopening too quickly, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, chairman of the National Governors Association, said that he was "going to be very cautious" in making decisions about his own state but declined to criticize other governors. "Certain states are in different points of the curve, and they've got different situations on the ground, and I don't want to second guess my colleagues in different states," Hogan, a Republican, said on ABC News' "This Week." While Pence and President Donald Trump have in recent weeks voiced optimism about the speed with which they expect the country to be able to reopen, Birx and Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, have voiced caution. On "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Birx was asked about Pence's remark to a Cleveland radio station last week that "if you look at the trends today, that I think by Memorial Day weekend we will largely have this coronavirus epidemic behind us." She appeared to contradict Pence's comment, projecting that social distancing will continue through the summer, and said the country needs to have a "breakthrough" in testing for antigens - molecules or molecular structures that trigger an immune response - to get on track toward normalcy. After a torrent of criticism sparked by his suggestion at Thursday's coronavirus task force briefing that injecting disinfectants into the human body might help fight the coronavirus, Trump did not appear in public over the weekend. On Saturday night, he questioned in a tweet whether the task force briefings were worth his time, declaring, "They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News." On Sunday, his wife, Melania Trump's 50th birthday, the president continued to tweet angrily about the media, lashing out at reporters who he said "have received Noble Prizes for their work on Russia, Russia, Russia, only to have been proven totally wrong." Trump appears to have misspelled the Nobel Prize, though journalists recognized for their coverage of the Russia investigation received a different prize, the Pulitzer. He later deleted the tweets and then tweeted that he was being sarcastic, writing: "Does anybody get the meaning of what a so-called Noble (not Nobel) Prize is, especially as it pertains to Reporters and Journalists? Noble is defined as, 'having or showing fine personal qualities or high moral principles and ideals.' Does sarcasm ever work?" Despite Trump's efforts to change the topic, Democrats continued to hammer him for his remarks about disinfectants as a possible cure for the virus. "You know what they call that? They call that embalming," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said on CNN's "State of the Union." "That's the medical term." - - - The Washington Post's Kim Bellware, Peter Whoriskey and Siobhan O'Grady in Washington and Pamela Rolfe in Madrid contributed to this report. Lewis was at the hospital where he interns when he saw videos on social media of a black man being chased in the street by police. When the 23-year-old medical student from Sierra Leone checked his phone, he had missed calls and messages from friends in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou who had also seen the video, and there was a notice online in Chinese saying that Africans were importing the virus and needed to be quarantined. Then, local authorities came to the hospital where Lewis (who asked that his name be changed for fear of reprisals) worked and told him he needed to quarantine, too. They showed him a government notice that said if he had returned to China that day, had been in contact with anyone infected with the virus, or had COVID-19 symptoms, he would have to undergo quarantine, Lewis told Al Jazeera. He had not been to Wuhan, believed to be the origin of the new coronavirus which causes COVID-19, and had not left Guangzhou since the outbreak had started months before. In fact, he had spent most of his time in the hospital or in his room, a five-minute walk away. 200413185723311 Lewis, who has been in China for four years and speaks the language, argued back and forth with the officials for nearly two hours. He was part of the medical staff and had been working in a hospital with Chinese doctors since the outbreak began, he told them. He would agree to be tested for the virus, but if he was going to be put under quarantine, his Chinese colleagues would have to go with him. When officials continued to insist, he refused. Is it just because Im African? he asked the health official. Then, I wont be quarantined. Being singled out for quarantine is an experience shared by other African residents of Guangzhou who have been subject to COVID-19 tests and quarantine based on their race in a policy that started not long after state media reported five Nigerians had tested positive for the illness during the quarantine. The Global Times reported four of the five had visited a restaurant and that the owner and her eight-year-old daughter were later diagnosed with the virus too. The fallout was swift. Photos circulated on social media showing signs on an apartment building banning black people from entry and a video of a sign in a local McDonalds doing the same. Africans were evicted from their apartments, and some were forced to sleep on the streets. The response prompted a rare outcry from African leaders who demanded answers from Beijing about the treatment of their citizens in Guangzhou. Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian responded by saying China treats all foreign nationals equally and that the Chinese government has zero tolerance for racism. Africans began moving to Guangzhou to do business more than 20 years ago; the southern city now has the largest community of African people in China [File: Roman Pilipey/EPA] But Guangzhous containment policies highlight underlying social friction between Africans and Chinese that is not usually addressed says Efem Ubi, a senior research fellow at the Nigerian Institute for International Affairs who previously lived in China. This is not just new, this has always been there, Ubi told Al Jazeera. Underlying conflicts Guangzhou is home to the largest population of Africans in China and is one of the biggest travel hubs in the country for traders and African businessmen. Ubi said a lack of communication between local leadership and migrant communities, as well as unresolved visa issues for African nationals, have created the conditions for conflict. I think its high time the governments begin to talk and look at ways of how to handle such issues, he said. Thats the fundamental missing piece in the resolution of this conflict, Yun Sun, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC, told Al Jazeera about the Chinese governments reluctance to acknowledge the racial component of coronavirus containment. The Chinese [leadership] do not believe they did anything wrong, Sun said. Because they do the same for their own people, she said, referring to how people from Wuhan and Hubei have been similarly singled out as possible carriers. Local officials, under pressure from the central government to quash potential infections, know African migrant communities in Guangzhou tend to congregate, Sun said. According to their logic, any African was a threat. That turned into racial profiling shocking enough to elicit a response from African leaders who normally do not rock the boat about matters related to China especially at a time when African countries are looking to China for debt relief as COVID-19 debilitates economies around the world. Given the precariousness of the relationship, the treatment of Africans in Guangzhou raises questions about how much African leaders are willing to do to smooth over fissures brought to the surface by the coronavirus outbreak. But Sun says a more telling sign of bilateral relations is whether the status of Africans in China will be revisited after the outbreak has passed. A deserted shopping centre in a part of Guangzhou popular with the African community [Alex Plavlevski/EPA] The social response to the targeting of Africans also shows that a migrant enclave in Guangzhou challenges the image some have of how the country should look. Its a sore spot for Chinese nationalism, she said. Bridges burned That has become apparent in the latter stage of Chinas coronavirus response as the central leadership moves to assert a united face on coronavirus containment. As the number of local infections levels out, imported cases represent the major risk to the Communist Partys recovery efforts. Policies to stamp out the virus do little to eradicate animosity and xenophobia towards Africans that became evident in the social media response to events in Guangzhou. People reacted to a report of a Nigerian man attacking a Chinese nurse with calls for Africans to be deported, and described relationships between black people and Chinese as impure. Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, suspended 180 accounts for inciting discrimination. When health policies that are supposed to protect residents exacerbate racial differences, it hurts, Lewis said. He has had patients at the hospital ask for Chinese doctors to treat them instead of him, and he chooses to spend time in places that appear more friendly to foreigners. Lewis tested negative for the virus and has been allowed to stay at his room near the hospital and continue his work. But if he had not been able to read the notice initially presented to him in Chinese, and if he had not been able to communicate with the officers when they came to put him in quarantine, it might have gone differently. Before COVID-19 hit, Lewis was supposed to graduate in the summer. He mostly keeps quiet when he faces discrimination.Youll be annoyed, but you have to control your emotions, he said. Thats why I keep mute. But race-based containment policies still feel like an affront, he said. And reconciliation efforts between governments will have done little when people feel on such a personal level that bridges have been burned. I have no interest in coming. Never, Lewis said about returning to China after he finishes his degree. I wont even bother. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-27 06:24:06|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DUBLIN, April 26 (Xinhua) -- A total of 40,000 face masks donated by China were handed over to two local hospitals in Ireland's second largest city Cork, local media reported on Sunday. The Echo, a daily newspaper largely circulated in the southern part of Ireland, said on its website that the donated face masks were handed over to the two largest hospitals in Cork, namely Cork University Hospital and the Mercy University Hospital. Speaking at the handover ceremony at the Mercy University Hospital, John Sheehan, Lord Mayor of Cork, said: "This donation, at our time of need, illustrates the depth of the relationship between Cork City and China." "We are truly appreciative of this support and it once more underlines how challenges like COVID-19 can only be overcome by people working together," he said. According to the report, the face masks donated include those from Shanghai, Hangzhou and Wenzhou, all located in China's eastern coastal region. Further donations of personal protective equipment are expected to arrive in Cork from China in the coming weeks, said the report. Enditem Thanks to the impressive achievements, Vietnam has been highly appreciated by the international community for its ability to cope with the epidemic as well as its efforts to maintain momentum in economic growth and ensure social security. The Government has established many policies to support enterprises and people who are affected by the pandemic, including monetary, financial, social security and electricity price aid packages worth around VND300 trillion (over US$12.7 billion), VND180 trillion (over US$7.6 billion), VND62 trillion (over US$2.6 billion) and VND11 trillion (nearly US$468 million), respectively. As the epidemic situation improving and it is not known when the epidemic will end, restarting the economy is especially necessary to help peoples lives return to normal soon. According to the Government's direction, the scenarios for the post-epidemic economic recovery have been developed and implemented at all levels, based on three groups of criteria for the level of Covid-19 spread (high, medium and low risk). Accordingly, synchronous measures will be taken to ensure the dual goals of safely controlling the epidemic and regulating the economic spring to rebound at the right time, in the right direction and with high efficiency. Therefore, it is crucial to prioritise the identification and timely change of thinking and methods of State management and business administration under the new spirit of living with the epidemic and safe business. Localities and enterprises should focus on agricultural development and re-herding while proactively adjusting production and business plans, facilitating and limiting disputes for the signed economic contracts. In addition, they should improve links, re-arrange and overcome the failures of macro and microeconomic supply chains, as well as increase aggregate supply and social demand, towards promoting the domestic market and production to replace imports with the motto of Vietnamese people give priority to using Vietnamese goods and Vietnamese goods conquering Vietnamese consumers. It is essential to thoroughly grasp and apply the trends and achievements of the fourth industrial revolution to enhance digital transformation activities and accelerate platform economy and non-contact services; boost online processing of public services; and develop the applications to support the forms of working online, e-learning, e-commerce and cashless payments. In order to maintain the economic growth target from now until the end of the year, regardless of any scenario, the relevant agencies should improve the practical investment and business environment; speed up the disbursement of public investment; prevent monopoly and group interests and blow national aspirations with the spirit of putting national interest first and drastically controlling negative acts, corruption and waste; respect talents and take advantages of opportunities from the new free trade agreements; and enhance trade promotion. Meanwhile, the enterprises must take the initiative in the supply of raw materials and production of components and intermediary goods; improving their capacities through support measures related to finance, credit, human resources, creative innovation and market development; and promote the links between producers, distributors, banks with businesses. Although it is not possible to immediately return all activities to their normal orbits, people can believe that Vietnam will continue to defeat both the new coronavirus and the stagnation virus thanks to the solidarity and sharing spirit of the whole community. Vietnam has been assessed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as one of the countries with the fastest economic growth in the Southeast Asia region in 2020 and Vietnams economic growth momentum will return in 2021 with an expected rate of 7.3% as forecast by the credit ratings agency Fitch. The initial positive results in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic have shown the strength of Vietnamese bravery and intelligence that was considered to be an important premise and a solid platform for the country to quickly stabilise the peoples life, restore the production and business, towards rapid and sustainable development goals in the future. KOKOMO, Ind. (WISH) One man was arrested and a second is in the hospital after a Saturday shooting inside a Walmart in Kokomo. The shooting happened around 2:45 p.m. Saturday at the Walmart at 1920 E. Markland Ave. when an argument near the front of the store among several men escalated to a physical confrontation. During the fight, a 29-year-old man was shot several times. The department said the incident was not an active shooter situation. That male victim was taken from the scene to an area hospital and then transferred to an Indianapolis hospital for additional treatment, police said. He was in surgery and no condition was available around 8:30 p.m. Saturday, police said. The identity of the victim on Saturday was not released, nor did police say whether the victim was a customer or an employee. Keith N. Terrell, 30, of Chicago, Illinois, was arrested and faces a preliminary charge of aggravated battery. On Saturday night, he remained in the Howard County Jail. Surveillance video showed one of the suspects leave the store and place an item in the back of a black pickup truck in the parking lot, detectives determined. Kokomo police had been looking for the truck and its driver, who they said was not involved in the shooting. Just after 6 p.m., the department said the truck had been found. Coronavirus: The latest updates from Spain and around the world Coronavirus Sunday's updates on the global pandemic That is all for today everyone, be sure to join us tomorrow for all the latest coronavirus news. Stay safe! 21:52. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that from May 18 sports training will be allowed in the country, but he didn't go as far as to give a date for Serie A to resume. 21:42. US President Donald Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, agreed on the need to reform the World Health Organization (WHO) during a telephone call. 20:55. Italy will allow families to visit each other and will open public parks from May 4, as the country begins phase two of its coronavirus reopening plan. 20:54. The state of New York registered its lowest daily death toll for the month on Sunday. Governor Andrew Cuomo reported at his daily news conference, 367 new deaths, 70 fewer than yesterday, and decreases in hospitalisations, intubations and positive cases. 19:52. Saudi Arabia signed a 264.6 million dollar contract with China on Sunday that includes millions of laboratory tests, assistance from technicians and specialists, as well as the installation of laboratories. The agreement will also including training Saudi personnel. 19:31. In Herat, Afghanistan, a hardline preacher, Mujib Rahman Ansari has told his followers that dying from coronavirus is a form of martyrdom. 19:22. France have registered a sharp decrease in deaths from coronavirus, with 242 in the last 24 hours, compared to 369 deaths in the previous period. 19:17. The WHO have confirmed that more than 2.8 million people have been infected with coronavirus globally, with 193,722 dead. 18:41. There have been thousands of citizens taking to social media to denounce the numerous cases of children's walks, which are now allowed in Spain. Reports of groups of children playing in Plaza de Felipe II in Madrid on scooters and bicycles, as well as children playing football on other areas. 18:09. Spanish Health Minister, Salvador Illa, has announced that older people will be able to go out for walks from May 2. 18:05. Italy have registered 260 deaths from coronavirus in the last 24 hours, the lowest number in the last six weeks, with the total number of dead in the country now at 26,644. 17:51. The global tourism and travel sector could lose around 2.7 trillion dollars due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with nearly 100 million jobs at risk, according to estimates by the World Travel and Tourism Council. 17:29. The UK have reached 20,732 deaths from COVID-19 after registering 413 deaths in the last 24 hours. 17:24. The Tajikistan Football Federation (FFT) have temporarily cancelled all scheduled matches until May 10 as they hope to prevent the coronavirus from reaching the country, as the authorities claim they have not detected one single case. 16.47. Galicia regional president Alberto Nunez Feijoo has called for clear measures to be taken to avoid what he has called an "economic and social pandemic". 16.17. Three people have been arrested for leaving their homes and selling drugs in the centre of Madrid. They were caught by national police with material that was for sale. 14:38. Children are allowed out for exercise in Spain from this Sunday and there is controversy as there have been large gatherings. 14:26. Donald Trump has announced that he'll stop giving daily press conferences. What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort! ? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2020 13:30. Pro cyclists in France are to be allowed to train outside from May 11. According to L'Equipe, they must do so individually. 10:34. Boris Johnson, who had to go to hospital with coronavirus and who was then recovering at his other residence, will be back in Downing Street from Monday. 10:05. The service on the Madrid metro will go up to 80 percent from this Monday. 08:26. There are only 12 infected patients left in Wuhan, according to reports. 07.45. The world's coronavirus death total has reached 202,880. 07.33. Children in Spain are being allowed out this Sunday. Unlike in some other countries, people in Spain have not even been allowed out for exercise, but that will change for children from today. 07.23. Donald Trump Trump is insisting that he never claimed the coronavirus was a hoax. I never said the pandemic was a Hoax! Who would say such a thing? I said that the Do Nothing Democrats, together with their Mainstream Media partners, are the Hoax. They have been called out & embarrassed on this, even admitting they were wrong, but continue to spread the lie! ? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2020 07:00. Hello and good morning. Welcome along to this Sunday's live blog on all the latest coronavirus news from Spain and beyond. Readers hoping to buy Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. Ex-dividend means that investors that purchase the stock on or after the 29th of April will not receive this dividend, which will be paid on the 18th of May. Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile's upcoming dividend is US$0.17 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$1.06 per share to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile has a trailing yield of 4.9% on the current share price of $21.46. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing. Check out our latest analysis for Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile paid out 100% of its earnings, which is more than we're comfortable with, unless there are mitigating circumstances. Yet cash flows are even more important than profits for assessing a dividend, so we need to see if the company generated enough cash to pay its distribution. Over the last year, it paid out dividends equivalent to 251% of what it generated in free cash flow, a disturbingly high percentage. It's pretty hard to pay out more than you earn, so we wonder how Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile intends to continue funding this dividend, or if it could be forced to the payment. Cash is slightly more important than profit from a dividend perspective, but given Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile's payouts were not well covered by either earnings or cash flow, we would be concerned about the sustainability of this dividend. Story continues Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends. NYSE:SQM Historical Dividend Yield April 24th 2020 Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing? Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. This is why it's a relief to see Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile earnings per share are up 3.3% per annum over the last five years. With limited earnings growth and paying out a concerningly high percentage of its earnings, the prospects of future dividend growth don't look so bright here. The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile has seen its dividend decline 1.6% per annum on average over the past ten years, which is not great to see. To Sum It Up Has Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? The dividends are not well covered by either income or free cash flow, although at least earnings per share are slowly increasing. Overall it doesn't look like the most suitable dividend stock for a long-term buy and hold investor. Although, if you're still interested in Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile and want to know more, you'll find it very useful to know what risks this stock faces. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile you should be aware of. We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. TORONTO, April 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Clips of the historic, all-Canadian broadcast of STRONGER TOGETHER, TOUS ENSEMBLE airing tonight at 6:30 8:05 p.m. across all markets, will be available immediately after the broadcast event. The special will be available worldwide on CTV.ca, CBC.ca, and GlobalTV.com. During this unprecedented time, with the community taking unusual steps to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, many are going above and beyond to help their friends and neighbors. In a series called "Heroes Unmasked," The Pioneer will be featuring local people, nominated by their peers, who are making a difference in their community. MECOSTA, OSCEOLA Sue Stewart, director of New Journey Clubhouse, and her staff of three Ann Counts, John Bennie and Mickayla Martinson are working hard to ensure their members' needs are continuing to be met during the extended Stay Home, Stay Safe order from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Since the shutdown began in mid-March and the organization had to close its doors to the community, she and her staff have continued to reach out to members to provide "unique opportunities to reduce the isolation and help people stay connected" during this crisis, Stewart said. We have tried to find ways to keep the components of our program going virtually, Stewart said. What we would normally do in person, we are now doing via telephone, conference calls and virtually. Each week, Stewart and her staff, along with two of their members, deliver more than 110 meals throughout Mecosta and Osceola counties for people who are part of the New Journey Clubhouse program for community mental health. The meals are delivered daily, on a rotating schedule. Some members receive their meals on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday rotation, while others are on a Tuesday/Thursday rotation. The meals consist of a dinner entree, with a vegetable and a side salad. The side salads are packed with fresh vegetables and fruits, things people on a limited budget may hesitate to spend money on, Stewart said. We are trying to get our members to eat healthy, so we include that with every meal. With each meal delivery, the staff also completes a well check up with the member. We do face-to face connectivity, at a safe distance, to see if there are other needs the member may have, Stewart said. We do a screening for COVID-19 using the CDC screening questionnaire, to see if they are having any symptoms, and we do a physical well being check, as well, asking them how they are feeling, what they are doing to stay healthy, things like that. Giving a face-to-face well check up is rare in this environment, but it is instrumental in helping members manage during this shutdown, she added. In addition to meals, the staff delivers weekly care packages that include incidentals, such as toilet paper and alcohol swabs for wiping down phones, informational packets on ways to identify and manage stress, phone numbers of colleagues they can call and other resources they may need. It will also include activities that can keep members busy, like coloring pages, word searches, sudoku puzzles and craft packets, to give them constructive ways to spend their time. They also pick up and deliver medications for the members. Isolation is not a friend in any case, but when someone suffers from mental health issues, it becomes even more of a challenge, Stewart said. We try to provide ways to continue the connectivity of the members by providing phone numbers for them to call each other, and face-to-face meetings at a safe distance, and links to virtual services like a meditation app." "And we make sure they are keeping their medication up to date, because that is essential," she added. The staff maintains connectivity with their members in other ways, as well. Since the shutdown began, the regular morning meetings that would have been conducted in person are now being done virtually. Every morning we have a conference call for members to call in, where we talk about standards, give the quote of the day, share announcements and discuss how they can get the support they need, whether it be unemployment, access to other resources in the community, or other needs, Stewart said. In addition, they have a virtual club night every Thursday. Any supplies they need for Club Night and instructions on how the members can participate are included with the care packages. Last week we had Bingo and provided a popcorn snack, Stewart said. This week we are doing trivia night. The members look forward to club night and are very engaged in it. We are also asking members to take pictures of their pets to post to Facebook and share with others. EVERYWHERE THERE IS A GAP Along with the meal deliveries and face-to-face connections with the members, the staff at New Journey Clubhouse continue to reach out to individual members through daily phone calls, where they are able to connect members with whatever resources they may need. Everywhere there is a gap, we try to fill it; everywhere there is a need, we try to meet it, Stewart said. We even helped one member get a kitten, so she wouldnt be alone. We are very motivated and enthusiastic about what we are doing." We value the clubhouse model and the evidence-based approach to recovery. We know how important it is as a mental health intervention," she added. We have tried to plug as many tenants of the program as possible into the virtual framework, she continued. We have always had mobile outreach for those members that were unable to get to the facility, so it has been a fairly seamless transition into the virtual framework. We have had a lot of support from Community Mental Health for Central Michigan and the Clubhouse coalition of Michigan. Stewart said she has been involved with mental health services for 30 years, and has been the director of New Journey Club in Big Rapids since 2017, and she is a strong supporter of the New Journey methodology. One of the tenants of the program, she said, is that staff and members work side by side. All the members participate in working at the clubhouse, such as cooking and cleaning, doing billing and attendance, selling donated items in the boutique, and any other jobs that need done, she said. Clubhouse is built on collaboration with members and staff, and we are really missing them, Stewart said. We are pleased that we are able to work together to provide alternatives for people, and our enjoyment comes from knowing that we are able to maintain the services we know are so critical to our members. Our doors are closed, but our community is open, she said. New Journey Clubhouse is a Community Mental Health for Central Michigan program, which provides support for residents in Mecosta and Osceola counties living with the effects of mental illness. The support includes social and recreational opportunities, employment support, transportation assistance and more. Anyone in need of support may contact Community Mental Health for Central Michigan at cmhcm.org, or at 231-796-5825, or 989-772-5938. The national crisis hotline is also available 24 hours a day at 1-800-317-0708. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 16:09:59|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism has urged the public to strengthen epidemic prevention measures when traveling during the upcoming five-day May Day holiday. Tourists are asked to pay close attention to the situation of epidemic risks released by local authorities and the latest epidemic prevention and control measures of their destination, according to a statement on the official website of the ministry. The statement also asked tourists to learn in advance about ticket reservations and other measures of scenic spots and devise their itineraries to avoid peak times. Tourists are urged to carry out self-protection measures including wearing masks and washing their hands frequently, as well as keeping their distance from others while taking transportation and visiting parks. The use of serving chopsticks and spoons during meals is also recommended, the statement said. It also reminded tourists to keep safety in mind, abide by orders and travel in a civilized way. This year's May Day holiday runs from May 1 to 5. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 23:02:53|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close RAMALLAH, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Palestine on Sunday slammed an Israeli court's decision to reverse about 128 million U.S. dollars of its tax revenue. Hussein al-Sheikh, member of the central committee of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, described the decision as a "piracy and theft." "Such decisions bring us the closure to decisiveness and implementation of the decisions of the Palestinian National and Central Councils," al-Sheikh added. He referred to the suspension of Palestinian recognition of Israel, cessation of security coordination with it and the disintegration of the economic dependency relationship. Under the Oslo peace treaties signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in the 1990s, it was agreed that Israel collects taxes from Palestinian trade on behalf of the PA. Meanwhile, the official Israeli radio reported earlier in the day that the Israeli Central Court in Jerusalem issued an order for the seizure of 128 million dollars from Palestinian tax funds. According to the radio, the decision was taken by a previous court decision, which held the PA responsible for numerous operations and a series of attacks targeting Israelis. Enditem Mann Ki Baat: In his radio address to the nation on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a new digital platform called covidwarriors.gov.in to develop a united front against coronavirus. The portal connects volunteers of social organisations, civil society, local administration, doctors, nurses and NCC cadets. He also urged citizens to become COVID warriors. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation through his radio address Mann Ki Baat on Sunday. Calling Indias fight against coronavirus people-driven, PM Modi said that people and the administration are together in this fight. Every citizen is fighting this war like a soldier and as per his or her capacity. During the pandemic, farmers are ensuring that nobody remains hungry, some have waived off house rents while some of the laborers, who are in quarantine at a school, are whitewashing the walls. Be it central, state or local administration, everyone is working together for quick and effective relief. PM Modi also launched a digital portal called covidwarriors.gov.in, which will be used to develop a united front against coronavirus. He said that volunteers of social organisations, civil society and local administration are all connected through this platform. About 1.25 people including doctors, nurses and NCC cadets have also joined the platform. He further urged the citizens to become COVID warriors. Condemning violence against coronawarriors, PM Modi also warned of consequences against people who have been hurting or discriminating against them. Furthermore, PM Modi underlined the importance of wearing masks and said soon it will be the new normal so that spread of the virus can be stopped. As a result of the general drive against sanitisation and cleanliness, people are becoming aware of the harmful effects of spitting in public. PM Modi said that it is time everyone gets rid of this habit. Also Read: Coronavirus update: Out of 61,266 COVID-19 tests conducted in Andhra Pradesh, 1.66% samples test positive We have created a digital platform 'https://t.co/9qaVMG3gRC'- volunteers of social orgs, civil society&local administration are connected through this platform. 1.25Cr people incl doctors, nurses, NCC cadets etc have joined this platform. You can also become a COVID warrior: PM pic.twitter.com/EutEfYDhk6 ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 India's fight against Coronavirus is people-driven. This fight is being fought by the people and the administration together. Every citizen as a soldier is fighting this war: PM Narendra Modi in 'Mann ki Baat' pic.twitter.com/k3dLk70Jlg ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 The people associated with medical services have expressed satisfaction with the ordinance that provides stringent punishment for those indulging in violence against corona warriors. It was critical to ensure the safety of all doctors, nurses and paramedical staff: PM Modi pic.twitter.com/BKJsoxS6wD ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 Also Read: Coronavirus India: Hindu Rao Hospital in North Delhi sealed after nurse tests positive Towards the end of his speech, PM Modi extended greetings of Ramzan, Akshay Tritiya, holy anniversary of Tiranthankara Swari Rishabhdeva and the anniversary of Lingayat communitys seer Basava. He said that we should pray more than before during this Ramzan so that the world can get rid of coronavirus before Eid. He said we would be strengthen our fight against coronavirus if we follow the orders of local administration. This Ramzan, we should pray more than before to ensure that before Eid the world gets rid of Coronavirus. I am sure we will strengthen this fight by following orders of the local administration: PM Modi pic.twitter.com/UEQY58vXeP ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 Also Read: Coronavirus update: Total cases in India cross 26000 with toll at 824 For all the latest National News, download NewsX App For the better part of a decade, Homeland fans have been forced to ask themselves the same question over and over: How far will Carrie Mathison go? Every time, the answer has come back loud and clear: Shell stop at nothing to complete a mission. [Spoiler alert: Plot details through Homeland season 8 episode 11 follow.] So if Carrie is faced with the choice of abandoning her child or getting the current job done, its no choice at all. On every occasion that comes to mind, Carrie chose the job. And if her friends/lovers/comrades lost their lives in the field, well (at least in her mind), they knew the risks. That brings us to the 96th and final episode of Homeland (season 8 episode 12), Prisoners of War. As Yevgeny Gromov (Costa Ronin) made clear in the previous episode, Carrie has more or less run out of options in her efforts to avert war between the U.S. and the nuclear-capable Pakistan. If she cant discover the identity of the American asset working inside the Kremlin, shell have to resort to the most unthinkable of backup plans. (Yevgeny phrased this plan, bluntly enough, as Kill Saul.) Her only other option appears to be watching the U.S. engage in a horrifying war. Carries options come down to capture or kill in the finale (L-R): Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison and Mandy Patinkin as Saul Berenson in HOMELAND, Prisoners of War | Erica Parise/SHOWTIME. If youve dedicated your life to espionage in service of your country, youd think revealing a key source would be out of the question. And in the case of Carries mentor Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin), that exactly how Saul feels about the situation. In an encounter with Jenna Bragg (Andrea Deck) in episode 11, Carrie addresses this reality. After Carrie explains that Moscow will only accept the identity of the double-agent in exchange for the flight recorder, Jenna asks why Russia didnt go to Saul. Because hed never agree [to revealing the assets identity], Carrie says. But you would, Jenna replies, disapprovingly. I already have, Carrie says. Viewers will recall Carries brief thought-process on this front. At first, it was denial that the agent existed. From there, Carrie didnt hesitate to start looking for the asset. Heading into the finale, Carrie seems preoccupied with finding the identity on her own. If that doesnt work, youd have to expect shed at least consider killing Saul to avert war with Pakistan. Saul offered a clue on what hed expect Carrie to do Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison in HOMELAND, Prisoners of War | Sifeddine Elamine/SHOWTIME. When Jenna Bragg visits Saul in episode 11 (not long after speaking with Carrie), viewers probably anticipate Jenna going into detail about Carries transgressions, starting with her giving up the safe-house (and the Special Forces troops inside). But Saul cuts her short. After confirming that the crazy stuff Jenna referenced about Carrie was all true, Saul acknowledged that Carrie has made mistakes (and would continue to do so) while working missions. And he gives a hint as to what he might expect Carrie to do given the situation shes in at this point. Everything she does everything is because she never loses sight of whats important, he tells Jenna. Immediately after, Saul suggests Jenna bear that concept in mind when she testifies at the tribunal later that day. (Indeed, Jenna tells the tribunal she needs more time.) So has Carrie changed at all over all these years (or at least since Maxs death)? Would she be willing to do as Yevgeny says and eliminate Saul in order to save countless lives? Maybe theres another option, but there are no palatable options in this situation. In the Homeland finale, we might actually learn something new about Carrie Mathison. Also see: Homeland Fans Have to Decide Who to Hate More: John Zabel or Beta Mike Dunne Anil S By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Till the time the Sprinklr row blew up, the fight against Covid-19 had united the state, with even political divisions getting blurred. On whether the issue was blown out of proportion, the opinions are a mixed bag. While some believe the Opposition lost the plot, others said the issue could have been defused through tactful handling. Express puts the raging issue under the lens For a while, politics appeared to have taken a backseat in politically vibrant Kerala, in the wake of the raging COVID pandemic. However, with the Sprinklr deal, there seems to be a temporary pause to the we feeling among the people. This was brought about by an absolutely needless political posturing by the state government during a crucial time of crisis. It was on April 10 that Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala first raised concerns over data security. While the Opposition feels that the government should have taken steps to address the concerns then and there, the Left points out that considering the gravity of the scenario, the Opposition could have avoided creating a hue and cry over it. At a time when Kerala has emerged as a world model, showcasing itself for own benefit, such controversies should have been best avoided, said P Rajeev, CPM secretariat member. This just serves to reinforce a ghost-truth that Kerala tends to needlessly indulge in parochial political bickerings. ALSO READ | Startups in Kerala upset with fallout of Sprinklr controversy If you look at the issues raised during that time, it can be seen that most of them are completely irrelevant. However, if there are any such concerns or difference of opinion, the same should have been kept aside for some other time. Instead, some politicians used it as an opportunity. Lack of data processing can impede preventive measures now in place. Thats why such a decision was taken, he said. Theres yet another fallout to this issue. With Kerala being showcased before the entire world, it would have opened a slew of opportunities for the state, be it in terms of industry, IT or tourism. Now with this controversy, people who were planning to come to Kerala will become more skeptical, according to Rajeev. Chief Minister unnecessarily gave a political spin? However, the Opposition feels that it is Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who unnecessarily gave a political spin to the entire episode. In the initial days, the Opposition had only voiced some genuine concerns. But not only did the Chief Minister fail to respond, but instead he sought to ridicule them, said senior Congress leader V D Satheesan, MLA. Instead of responding to or addressing the concerns, the chief minister sent the IT secretary to explain. This could be the first time in the states political history that a chief minister had asked reports to fact-check an issue with a secretary. The chief ministers attack on KM Shaji could be termed the turning point on the issue. The sheer vindictive manner made it clear that all the government wants is to do a cover-up. Pinarayi, who touched upon even the minute details during his prime time presser, was evidently reluctant to speak about the deal, he said. Unlike the various crises that the state went through in recent times, the government had almost seemed to have succeeded in creating a sort of We feeling among the masses through its adept handling of the ongoing COVID pandemic. This could be attributed to the absence of strong political posturing by any party, be it the Opposition or any of its own allies who were in disagreement with its unilateral approach of governance. The controversial Sprinklr deal, however, appears to have again turned the tables on the government. ALSO READ | Sprinklr contract lacks enough confidentiality clauses, says Centre The Sprinklr controversy has proved a political setback for the Left government, observed Left commentator N M Pearson. The Kerala Model and the political ideology backing it has been winning applause worldwide. The Sprinklr row has somehow blotted its gains. In fact, its not even the Opposition which is responsible for such a fiasco but the government is to be blamed, he said. The undemocratic manner in which the entire process was done should have been avoided. At a time when theres an excellent coordinated effort by all departments and political organisations in the fight against COVID, such a decision was taken in an undemocratic manner. It was done with an assumption that there could arise around 80 lakh patients in the state. In a way, it was an apolitical move. Theres no corruption in the deal whatsoever. But lack of political conscience is evident here, said Pearson. Even after the deal kicked up a row, it could have still been resolved without much ado. A simple explanation, that the decision was taken in view of the grave health scenario that the state was staring at, could have avoided all the ensuing political muck that came up with Sprinklr. April 10: Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala raises allegation over data sharing with the US firm. April 15: The government releases purchase order form, service agreement, Sprinklrs privacy policy, the non-disclosure agreement and two letters of affirmation. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan defends the deal, says deal taken in an emergency situation. April 16: BJP state president K Surendran seeks Governor Arif Mohammed Khans intervention to terminate the deal. April 18: PIL in High Court against the deal. Information Technology Secretary M Sivasankar takes the responsibility of signing the deal. April 21: The government constitutes a two-member committee to examine the issues in connection with the deal. CPM extends support to the government on the deal. April 22: Opposition leader moves HC; CPI expresses displeasure over the deal. President Akufo-Addo has indicated that Ghana remains in uncharted territory in its fight against the novel coronavirus. We are still very much in uncharted territory, he noted. The President indicated that his Government's efforts to defeat the virus will remain constant. The truth is that this will be a long war, he said about the Covid-19 fight in Ghana. ---Daily Guide A Ukrainian teenager has been charged with animal cruelty after she served vodka to her puppy and filmed herself doing the same for a prank. In the video that went viral on social media, the 18-year-old can be heard giggling as the puppy whimpered after drinking the vodka. The incident occurred in the village of Mamornytsya in Western Ukraine. The girl has since been arrested by police, The Sun reported. The girl claimed she had given her puppy the vodka as a prank to entertain her friends. In the video, the 18-year-old can be seen pouring the alcohol into the puppy's saucer. "Here is some vodka for my beloved pet. Now we are going to find out how it will affect him," she said while pouring the drink. The little puppy drank the vodka and instantly recoiled before convulsing uncontrollably, even as its owner was heard laughing in the background. Police tracked the girl down to her village after the video went viral and she was quick to apologise. "I was told to get my dog drunk," she said, adding that she regretted following through with the cruel prank. As per a report in the Daily Star, the girl is facing a fine of 8,500 Ukrainian hryvnias (Rs 24,000 approximately). The police also confirmed that the puppy suffered no long-lasting or severe damage from consuming the vodka. - Neymars mum has reportedly called it quits with young lover Tiago Ramos - The 52-year-old Nadine had a brief affair with the 23-year-old - She broke up with the chap after discovering he dated strings of men - Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Neymars mother Nadin Goncalves has reportedly dumped her newfound lover Tiago Ramos after she discovered he dated a string of men including the famous Brazilian actor and stand-up comic Carlinhos Maia, SunSport claims. The 52-year-old had made public her affair with the 23-year-old on social media about two weeks ago where she was pictured cuddling the young man. Fresh reports from Brazil has it that Nadine has sent Ramos packing after she discovered he had affairs with different men before they met. READ ALSO: Emmanuel Adebayor insists he will not donate towards fight against coronavirus in Togo PAY ATTENTION: Read the best news on Ghana #1 news app. Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Ghana It was also gathered that the chap also dated Neymars most trusted chef Mauro before finding a way to date the PSG stars mother. Neymar had shown support to his mothers relationship with Tiago after he saw their picture together on social media pages. Nadine earlier posted a picture of herself and Tiago cuddling with a caption: "The inexplicable cannot be explained, you live it..." And Neymar replied: "Be happy mom Love you" Brazilian journalist Fabia Oliveira, however, claimed the family members are not happy with the relationship and have called Nadine to put an end to it. Tiago, who is also a lover of computer games, has now returned to his family house in Brazil after leaving Nadine's mansion. He was shown in a video post-playing video games with his mother and sister on his Instagram page. READ ALSO: Fadda Dickson: 5 photos of Despite's right-hand man in stunning African attires Before Tiago started his affair with Nadine, he had in 2017, sent the former Barcelona forward a message hoping their paths would cross. He wrote: Neymar you are fantastic, I dont know how to explain the emotion of being a fan of a guy like you. Stay with God, very successful and happy. Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh earlier reported that Paris Saint Germain are reportedly planning hand Neymar a new bumper deal to keep at the Parc Des Princes until 2025. The 28-year-old's current deal with the Parisians expire in the summer of 2022 having joined them in a world record fee of about 200 million in 2017. Although he has been constantly linked with a return back to the Camp Nou and the La Liga side will make another attempt at the end of this season. Reasons why Ghana's lockdown has been lifted | #Yencomgh READ ALSO: Abedi Pele: Rare photo of Ghanaian legend at Benin side Dragons pops up Source: YEN.com.gh San Mateo County launched a ballot-tracking tool Friday for residents who vote by mail and want to ensure their ballot is safely delivered. The tracking system, which voters can access at WheresMyBallot.sos.ca.gov, will send automated tracking updates via email, text messaging or voice call. Voters will receive updates when their county elections office has mailed, received and counted the voter's ballot. Washington Those who had assumed they could stay overseas and wait for the pandemic to ebb now face an unnerving choice: Either stick it out and prepare for the possibility they will be infected with the virus and treated in foreign hospitals, or chance catching it on the way back to the United States. The State Department is winding down government-organized flights that have so far brought home 65,000 Americans from across the world. Some continue from the Indian subcontinent and Africa, but "these flights will not go on forever," Ian Brownlee, a deputy assistant secretary of state said. The department is also helping commercial airlines cut through foreign regulations that have restricted flights during the pandemic. At least four flights carrying Americans to the United States left Peru over the last week after diplomats lobbied Lima to ease closed borders. But there still are at least 17,000 U.S. citizens or legal residents abroad who indicated they need help. State urges them to take any available flights out. Dr. William Walters, the State Department's deputy chief medical officer, said the risk of catching the virus was nearly as high on the government-sponsored flights as it was on commercial airlines. What will make a difference in Americans' health, he said, is where they will be able to get medical treatment. "You can come back to the United States where you are a citizen and you have access to health care and you have access to an infrastructure that is still intact," Walters said. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. But hunkering down, in developing countries where the virus has yet to peak, "you will be an American citizen in a foreign country that didn't have great infrastructure to begin with," he said. "Now you have less rights and less access." Brownlee warned that commercial flights to the United States also might end in the coming days. More than half those State helped left from Central and South America; 4,000 still seek assistance, Brownlee said. CBS 48 Hours The body of a nursing student who was strangled to death by her classmate was discovered by her friends after they used Apples Find My Friends app to track her down. Binghampton University student Haley Anderson, 22, went missing in March 2018, and it later emerged she had been killed by Orlando Tercero, 23. After the murder, Tercero fled New York to Nicaragua. Her friend Josie Artin, speaking on the latest episode of CBS 48 Hours, said: She had told me she was going to come watch me read poetry at poetry night that Thursday and then she didn't show up. We were all calling her and she didn't answer. It was the next morning and we were like this doesn't make sense. Friends eventually discovered Anderson's phone was in Tercero's apartment using the Find My Friends app. The app allows the phone user to permanently share their location with a chosen group of friends. When they arrived at the apartment in search of Anderson, the doors were locked and Tercero's car was not in the driveway. They climbed in through a window and found Andersons body inside. Anderson reportedly had a casual romantic relationship with Tercero, but ended it after he pushed for a more serious relationship - causing him to kill her in jealous rage. screen-shot-2020-04-25-at-3.46.42-pm.png Tercero, a dual citizen of the US and Nicaragua, was convicted of femicide, a Nicaraguan law that covers domestic or sexually motivated murders of women. He was sentenced to 30 years behind bars. The trial for Tercero, who is a dual citizen of the US and Nicaragua, was tried in Nicaragua because the Central American nations laws forbid the extradition of citizens. Six months before her death, Anderson filed a police report against Tercero that revealed she feared him. China's first advanced interactive robot with life-like facial features Jia Jia has shown up at a meeting in Shanghai. Chen Xiaoping, Jia Jia project's director and director of the Center for Robotics, University of Science and Technology of China, said that Jia Jia was not mature enough to be a "product", but her technology would be used in a product which was predicted to be released in two or three years. Jia Jia was released in Anhui province, on April 15, 2016. [Photo/qq.com] Jia Jia is dressed in traditional Han Chinese clothing. One of Jia Jia's impressive features is that she is programmed to track people's facial expressions to know their moods. China's first interactive robot with advanced technology, Jia Jia, was spotted at a meeting in Shanghai on January 9, 2017. Jia Jia was released in Anhui province, on April 15, 2016. [Photo/qq.com] Jia Jia is dressed in traditional Han Chinese clothing. One of Jia Jia's impressive features is that she is programmed to track people's facial expressions to know their moods. China's first interactive robot with advanced technology, Jia Jia, was spotted at a meeting in Shanghai on January 9, 2017. Jia Jia was released in Anhui province, on April 15, 2016. [Photo/qq.com] Jia Jia has delicate facial skin. She talked with her investors at the site in Shanghai and showed some subtle facial expressions of her own, programmed to look as real as possible. Chen said that Jia Jia had her own logic and AI system, so how she behaves when talking to people is not able to be controlled. China's first interactive robot with special experience Jia Jia showed up at a meeting in Shanghai, Jan 9, 2017. Jia Jia was released in Anhui province, on April 15, 2016. [Photo/qq.com] Jia Jia seems to be programmed with a sense of humour, as she answered that she is very young when people asked about her age. She said she is a "single noble" when she was questioned whether she had a boyfriend or not. China's first interactive robot with advanced technology, Jia Jia, was spotted at a meeting in Shanghai, Jan 9, 2017. Jia Jia was released in Anhui province, on April 15, 2016. [Photo/qq.com] Chen said that he believes that in the future, robots will be commonly used. He believes the first step will be applying robots in public service industries like banks and shopping malls. Gradually, robots can also be applied in homes, hospitals and aged-care centres. China's first interactive robot with advanced technology, Jia Jia, was spotted at a meeting in Shanghai, Jan 9, 2017. Jia Jia was released in Anhui province, on April 15, 2016. [Photo/qq.com] By Chang Se-moon Most businesses that are losing money from COVID-19 may need help with tax dollars. Small and independently-owned businesses that were functioning on a very slim margin before the onslaught of COVID-19 clearly deserve help. The issue becomes more complicated, however, when government help relates to large corporations that may use the tax dollars to buy back their own stocks. Many good companies buy their own stocks. This practice is called share repurchases, share buybacks, or stock buybacks. The usual practice is to give cash to existing shareholders in exchange for a portion of shares they own. Why would a company buy shares in its own stock? There are several reasons. First, a stock buyback leads to an increase in share price. The higher price is likely to lead to higher pay for the heads of the corporation. Compensation packages are usually tied to the performance of a company which is measured by share price. Second, profits paid to shareholders are called dividends, while money that shareholders earn when they sell shares at higher prices than their original purchase price is called capital gains. Many countries, including Korea, levy a lower tax rate on capital gains than on dividends. Third, companies with a lot of cash can be an easy target for a takeover by, likely, hedge funds that can acquire the company, use the money to increase its value, and then sell it. To avoid this uninvited takeover, companies may spend money for stock buybacks. Stock buybacks also increases the share price, thereby making the "hostile" takeover more expensive. By the way, a hedge fund is an investment fund that pools money, likely from wealthy individuals or institutional investors, and invests in a variety of assets. They entail complicated financial instruments and risk management techniques. Hedge funds are not available to the public and are not subject to direct regulatory oversight. What could the company do with the money if it didn't buy its own stocks? The money used for stock buybacks comes from profits the company earned. That could have been spent for an expansion of operations that would create more jobs; for research and development that could be the basis for the long-term plans of the company; for pay raises for its employees; and for rainy day funds that the company could use when some unexpected disaster hits the economy or the company. In an ideal world, an excessive amount of retained earnings may enable policymakers to eliminate the many wasteful deductions that companies are allowed to deduct from their tax obligations. We are not living in an ideal world. How widely is buybacks practiced? Gary Rivlin, in his March 29 article in the Washington Post, cites on page B5 that "U.S. companies spent $1.09 trillion on buybacks in 2018." Rivlin also quotes a study by William Lazonick of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell that between 2003 and 2012, "companies in the S&P 500 devoted 54 percent of their earnings to buying their own shares," while spending "37 percent to paying out dividends" and the remainder for research and development, employee pay raises, and plant modernization. When we help businesses during the current COVID-19 crisis, should we also help businesses that may use the tax dollars to buy their own stocks? The 2020 U.S. stimulus package stipulates that companies cannot use the bailout tax dollars for stock buybacks. This stipulation may be cosmetic as many large companies previously announced they would suspend buybacks at this time. Perhaps, a broader question is whether buyback policies of companies should even be considered when the distribution of stimulus dollars is determined. Well, the answer is not simple. No, they should not: If they can survive the crisis on their own, why should we spend tax dollars that can be used for more urgent social needs? Yes, they should: Why penalize well-managed companies as opposed to companies that did not save money for a rainy day? No, they should not: They will spend the money for stock buybacks eventually which will serve to further enrich upper managers who typically do not need help. Yes, they should: By not giving them tax dollars, we may be encouraging companies to spend all their profits, believing that the government will save them if they encounter a crisis. The behavior of taking a greater risk when the costs of the risk are borne by others is known as a moral hazard. To summarize, beyond the idea of no tax on profits dedicated to research and development and capital expansion, there does not seem to be a simple answer to whether corporations with a heavy practice of stock buybacks should be given tax dollars during an economic crisis. COVID-19 gives us another opportunity to examine closely the possibility of directing the widespread corporate practice of stock buybacks toward greater investment in research and development, plant modernization, and living wages for employees. Chang Se-moon (changsemoon@yahoo.com) is the director of the Gulf Coast Center for Impact Studies. The analysts covering NEXT plc (LON:NXT) delivered a dose of negativity to shareholders today, by making a substantial revision to their statutory forecasts for this year. Revenue and earnings per share (EPS) forecasts were both revised downwards, with analysts seeing grey clouds on the horizon. Following the latest downgrade, the current consensus, from the 16 analysts covering NEXT, is for revenues of UK3.4b in 2021, which would reflect an uneasy 20% reduction in NEXT's sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are anticipated to plummet 57% to UK2.01 in the same period. Previously, the analysts had been modelling revenues of UK3.8b and earnings per share (EPS) of UK3.19 in 2021. Indeed, we can see that the analysts are a lot more bearish about NEXT's prospects, administering a substantial drop in revenue estimates and slashing their EPS estimates to boot. See our latest analysis for NEXT LSE:NXT Past and Future Earnings April 26th 2020 Despite the cuts to forecast earnings, there was no real change to the UK53.14 price target, showing that the analysts don't think the changes have a meaningful impact on its intrinsic value. That's not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. The most optimistic NEXT analyst has a price target of UK70.50 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at UK39.98. Analysts definitely have varying views on the business, but the spread of estimates is not wide enough in our view to suggest that extreme outcomes could await NEXT shareholders. Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. We would highlight that sales are expected to reverse, with the forecast 20% revenue decline a notable change from historical growth of 0.8% over the last five years. Compare this with our data, which suggests that other companies in the same industry are, in aggregate, expected to see their revenue grow 2.8% next year. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - NEXT is expected to lag the wider industry. Story continues The Bottom Line The most important thing to take away is that analysts cut their earnings per share estimates, expecting a clear decline in business conditions. Regrettably, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and the latest forecasts imply the business will grow sales slower than the wider market. The lack of change in the price target is puzzling in light of the downgrade but, with a serious decline expected this year, we wouldn't be surprised if investors were a bit wary of NEXT. Worse, NEXT is labouring under a substantial debt burden, which - if today's forecasts prove accurate - the forecast downgrade could potentially exacerbate. See why we're concerned about NEXT's balance sheet by visiting our risks dashboard for free on our platform here. Another thing to consider is whether management and directors have been buying or selling stock recently. We provide an overview of all open market stock trades for the last twelve months on our platform, here. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. Chandigarh, April 26 : After a 1,750-km odyssey from the popular Sikh shrine in Nanded in Maharashtra, the first batch of nearly 300 Sikh pilgrims returned to their homes in Punjab on Sunday, officials said. Nearly 3,500 pilgrims are still stranded at Takht Sri Hazur Sahib in Nanded due to the nationwide lockdown in wake of COVID-19 for whom the Punjab govertnemnt has arranged the buses. All will return to Punjab in batches in the next three-four days, a state government official told IANS. Before departing to their destinations in Punjab, doctors screened and tested them and advised 14-day strict home quarantine. "I thank Gurusahib for the safe return of 300 pilgrims who were stranded in Sri Hazur Sahib. I pray all other pilgrims stranded in Nanded also come home soon," Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal tweeted. "My gratitude to Hazur Sahib Management Board which arranged and paid for the buses which brought the pilgrims back home today," she added. The Punjab government two days back dispatched 80 additional buses to bring back all stranded pilgrims. In a tweet, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has requested his Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh counterparts Ashok Gehlot and Shivraj Chouhan, respectively, to facilitate the pilgrims to travel through their states. As per the gurudwara management, over 4,000 pilgrims are stranded at Nanded and staying at 'serais' there. Flash It's fair to say that research into the origins of COVID-19 is a long and time-consuming process, and scientists need to be given sufficient time to reach the final answer. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued this warning at a news conference in Geneva on April 20, saying lack of international solidarity was contributing to the current pandemic. "Don't use this virus as an opportunity to fight against each other or score political points. It's dangerous. It's like playing with fire," he said, pointing out that without national unity and global solidarity, the worst is yet "ahead of us." Throughout human history, various viruses have always lurked. Although the level of human science and technologies is constantly improving, sometimes we are still helpless in the face of viruses. This time, the outbreak of COVID-19 is proving to be a fierce enemy. It's very rare in a century for such a rapid spread of illness with widespread and profound impact. Where does this current virus come from? What evolution has it undergone? Everyone wants to know the answers. Though we may not get them any time soon, I believe that the world will eventually get at the truth. Let professionals do their job. Scientific problems will always need to be solved by scientists. This is a common sense. This is why the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the White House sent a letter to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) as early as February, requesting it to rapidly examine the information and solicit opinions from scientists to help determine the virus origins. But strange thing happened, when the source tracing studies became politicalized, that is because, it is difficult to really wake those pretending to be asleep. Tracing the coronavirus's origins is the responsibility of the global community of scientists that cannot be passed on to others. Yet, scientists are not omnipotent, because virus origins tracing research is not an exact science with overnight results. Dr. Richard Y. Zhao, fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and a virologist at the University of Maryland, pointed out that virus origins tracing research is a scientific challenge filled with great uncertainty. Scientists need to undertake an epidemiological survey, genomic analysis, host (intermediate host and natural host) screening and identification, field sampling, homology research on isolated virus strains, and final bioinformatics analysis and identification. Only after all these steps have been completed can they track back to the origins of a virus. So, it's fair to say that the virus origins research is a long and time-consuming process, and scientists should be given sufficient time to undertake their duties. Currently, there are many scientists all over the world conducting scientific research on this virus, and origins trace research is naturally a key task. Yet, the research is still in its early stages. There's still a long way to go before coming up with some answers. There's a recent update of a significant research achievement: COVID-19 is the product of natural evolution, according to findings by six scientists including Kristian Andersen, an associate professor of immunology and microbiology at Scripps Research, Robert F. Garry of Tulane University, Edward Holmes of the University of Sydney, Andrew Rambaut of University of Edinburgh, and the noted "virus hunter" W. Ian Lipkin of Columbia University. Their paper was published on March 17 in the journal Nature Medicine. The analysis of public genome sequence data from the virus and related viruses found no evidence that it was made in a laboratory or otherwise engineered. As the global pandemic worsens, it is very important to take scientific and decisive measures to prevent and control the virus with a scientific attitude. Exploiting the virus and the pandemic as political tools not only does not help in the prevention and control, but also will backfire, causing more serious consequences. For this reason, many scientists around the world have called for a scientific attitude to treat the pandemic, to promote scientific argumentation, and to promote international cooperation. Under the circumstances that many normal scientific research activities in the world have been severely affected by it, the cooperation between countries, especially among scientists, is even more precious. As stated in NASEM's reply to the request from the Office of Science and Technology Policy of the White House, international scientific collaboration, which is already occurring, is more important than ever in addressing these research questions and overcoming global challenges such as the current outbreak. Content in partnership with Science and Technology Daily. For Star subscribers: The hill is one of Tucson's most popular outdoor destinations, and not just for humans. A study tracking the city's urban bobcats shows that. Plus, the study has produced a few surprises for researchers about the cats' behaviors. Several days after President Akufo-Addo proposed the wearing of face masks, to reduce the infection of COVID-19, following the lifting of the partial lockdown, many people are yet to use the masks in public. Although an encouraging number of people were seen wearing the nose masks on the streets of Accra, the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Saturday observed that many in the Central Business District were not complying with the directive. It was observed that while some people wore the masks as prescribed to cover the nose and mouth, several others disregarded the caution and brought the masks just to their chins- leaving the mouth and nose unprotected. A number of pedestrians and motorists also preferred to wear the masks on their foreheads or were seen walking about without it. In an interaction with a number of them who disregarded and flouted the directive, some said the masks were stuffy and soon became uncomfortable after wearing it for some minutes or few hours, other said it was currently at the chin but should the need arise, they would pull it over their nose. Mr Joshua Lartey, a Taxi driver who was seen without the mask, said he did not believe the COVID-19 was real as he had not seen any COVID-19 patient since the nation recorded its initial statistics. He said people were exaggerating on the cause of the disease and were causing fear and panic among the populace. Ms Belinda Amoansah, a trader at the Makola Market, also seen with the mask pulled to the chin, explained that the mask generated a lot of heat and discomfort. I know the mask is protective gear. However, it produces a lot of heat and when you wear it for a long time, it is as if you cant breathe. So I pulled it down a little for fresh air and wear it well later, she said. Others complained about how unfavourable some of the masks were sewed to tighten their nose and mouth, thereby making it difficult for them to breathe. The GNA also observed that a variety of locally manufactured nose masks being sold at vantage points on busy streets within Accra, like along the George Bush Highway at Lapaz, Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Accra Kingsway, Makola, and Tudu among other places. The masks were made of different materials including African print, nylon, cotton, and wool. In the Greater Accra Region, which is currently the epicenter of the virus in Ghana, Mr Ishmael Ashitey, the Regional Minister, after consultation with the Regional Security Coordinating Council (RESECC) has made wearing of nose masks mandatory for all. Ghana as at Saturday, April 25, 2020, had recorded 1,279 confirmed cases of the COVID-19, with the Greater Accra Region recording 1,089 out of the total number of cases. Out of the total number of confirmed cases, there are 134 recoveries and 10 deaths. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video There has been a dramatic increase in data breaches in the past few months as hackers have taken advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Australias government is doing its part through a series of initiatives, including the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme, a revision to its cyber security strategy, and funding of security education in universities. In a recent threat update by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), Australians were asked to be especially careful when opening coronavirus-themed emails and text messages because malicious cyber actors are exploiting peoples fears and searches for up-to-date information. [ How much does a data breach cost? Heres where the money goes. | Get the latest from CSO by signing up for our newsletters. ] Australians are currently being targeted by a wide variety of phishing schemes, most designed to steal sensitive, personal information or to install malicious software on the users connected device. However, looking at the figures going back to July 2019, Australians had become a hacking favorite even before the pandemic struck. Between July and December 2019, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) logged a 19 percent increase in the number of data breaches compared to the first six months of 2019. One in three breaches could be traced back to compromised login credentials. Data breaches and the NDB notification rules While Australias digital infrastructure is mainly owned by the private sector, its cyber security is a shared responsibility between government and industry. The governments well-established NDB scheme gives clear guidelines in the event that data breaches should occur and have uncovered almost 1,000 data breaches during its first year, pushing both the government and the private sector to take a proactive cyber defense stance. Australias NDB Scheme is regulated by law and clearly defines the mandatory notifications and control requirements around data breaches. Australias definition of a data breach includes any unauthorized disclosure or access to sensitive personal information. As such, any attack that leads to access of phone numbers, banking information or medical data (even if it doesnt exfiltrate the data) needs to be reported. The NDB schemes privacy amendments do provide for turnover and harm thresholds, very much in line with the US harm thresholds as well as the European Unions GDPR data breach guidelines. In line with the NDB schemes rules, an organization must alert the Australian authorities as soon as it becomes aware of a harmful breach event. The breach details, type of and amount of data accessed, and the steps those affected need to take must be provided in each report. Should an organization fail to report data breaches on two or more occasions, the OAIC may seek a civil penalty of up to $2.1 million against the organization. That may sound severe, given that many organizations are unaware of their server or online vulnerabilities, but the remediation exceptions do give the covered entities some breathing room. If the breached organization can show actions taken on their part involving the unauthorized disclosure or access before it resulted in serious harm, they do not need to report it. As such, many Australian organizations have adapted refined and highly structured threat modeling processes to identify, quantify and prioritize any cyber threats. Many organizations have come to rely on alerting systems to ensure any network anomalies are picked up to stop breaches before too much harm can be done. These alerts can take many forms, but when it comes to data breaches, many configure their email environment in such a way that no emails can be automatically forwarded to external email addresses. Alerts may also be set up in such a way that it may trigger scripts to disable all accounts in order to prevent harmful behaviour. Australias NDB scheme effectively acts as the publics alerting system. Consumer protections can undermine NDB Whilst the NDB scheme appears to provide a rigorous model for tracking and reporting data breaches in Australia, this system does not exist in isolation, and other pieces of legislation in the country could undermine its efficacy. Analysts have long noted that the Australian government is taking a problematic approach to data privacy. Whilst the NDB aims to protect consumers from the poor security practices implemented by the companies that collect their data, other laws in the country seem to actively undermine the right to privacy. Much of this criticism has been targeted at the recent passing of a bill that aims to prevent the use of strong encryption. The Australian government has claimed that national security can only be ensured as long as the government has access to user data, and this means that tech companies must build back doors into their encryption schemes that allow them to be decrypted. >Even if this provision is used responsibly by the Australian government, it creates huge problems for data security. Even a basic understanding of how that encryption works is enough to show why this is the case: There is no back door that can be used by the government whilst not simultaneously being open to exploitation by hackers (or, in fact, other governments). Whilst the NDB therefore provides information to Australians on when and where their data has been made public, other aspects of their governments approach could lead to such data breaches becoming more common. Whats next for Australian government cyber security strategy The Australian government is currently developing its 2020 Cyber Security Strategy that will serve as a successor to the 2016 Cyber Security Strategy. The new strategy will address the continuing rise of IoT devices and its influence on network security, smart or connected cities, the establishment of 5G networks as well as the threats that may arise due to our increasingly connected world. The Cyber Security Strategy is also focused on their initiatives aimed at addressing critical skill-shortages. The Academic Centres of Cyber Security Excellence (ACCSE) encourages students to follow careers in cyber safety and other security-related industries. The program gives recognition to those universities that demonstrate high-level cyber security education and training proficiencies, and it will provide $1.9 million in government funding to universities to establish and develop ACCSE programs. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 26 By Elnur Baghishov - Trend The Rimdan border customs between Iran and Pakistan has resumed operations since yesterday (April 25), said Spokesman for Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) Rouhollah Latifi, Trend reports citing IRICA. According to Latifi, 14 trucks (which were exporting Iranian products) crossed the border last day. Latifi added that Pakistan has announced that it will accept 20 trucks carrying food from 08:00 to 14:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays in accordance with health protocols. The official said that the Rimdan border customs is located 130 kilometers from the Chabahar district of Sistan and Baluchestan province in southeastern Iran and borders the Gabd customs in Pakistan's Balochistan province. Border customs between Iran and Pakistan have been closed by Pakistan since late February due to the spread of the coronavirus in Iran. Iran is one of the countries heavily affected by the rapidly-spreading coronavirus. According to recent reports from the Iranian officials, over 89,300 people have been infected, 5,650 people have already died. Meanwhile, over 68,100 have reportedly recovered from the disease. The country continues to apply strict measures to contain the further spread. Reportedly, the disease was brought to Iran by a businessman from Iran's Qom city, who went on a business trip to China, despite official warnings. The man died later from the disease. The Islamic Republic only announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19. In Iceland, nearly half of people with COVID-19 had no symptoms when they were swabbed for a scientific study. In the United States, preliminary results from a new antibody survey suggests as many as one in five New Yorkers may have been exposed to the novel coronavirus. And in the waters off the coast of Guam, more than 850 sailors on a navy warship have been infected in a massive outbreak with roughly half reporting no symptoms when they were tested. In the early days of COVID, experts were skeptical of initial reports of asymptomatic cases, which werent thought to play a significant role in spreading the disease. But four months on, there is mounting evidence that silent spreaders are a major driver of the pandemic, with top scientists now speculating they could comprise between 25 and 50 per cent of all cases. Many crucial questions remain but experts say silent spreaders are likely one of the embers keeping this pandemic aflame. And the implications are potentially huge for everything from testing strategies to how vulnerable nursing homes are protected especially as countries like Canada move toward relaxing restrictions. Ive done an about-face on this, admits Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist with the University of Toronto and Toronto General Hospital. Early on, I was quite skeptical about the role of asymptomatic people in transmitting it and was quite vocal about that. But Ive changed my views to be reflective of the data thats emerged. Its important. And when we fully understand whos truly asymptomatic, it will likely be one of several important components that drives the epidemic. Bogoch said silent spreaders should be thought of in three separate categories: pre-symptomatic cases (people who seem healthy when they test positive but later develop symptoms); true asymptomatics, who never so much as suffer a sniffle; and sub-clinical infections, where people have mild symptoms but fail to recognize them as being COVID. The existence of asymptomatic cases was recognized early on by the World Health Organization, which sent experts to China in February to investigate the novel coronavirus. But at the time, officials said there wasnt enough data yet to conclude these cases were playing a significant role. There is no evidence that were seeing only the tip of a grand iceberg, with nine-tenths of it made up of hidden zombies shedding virus, Dr. Bruce Aylward, the WHO expert that led the China mission, told the New York Times in early March. What were seeing is a pyramid: most of it is above ground. But a growing body of science has now emerged to suggest that while symptomatic cases are still the most important source of contagion, a surprising proportion of COVID infections are likely happening below the surface of detection, raising questions over current testing strategies that narrowly target people with symptoms. Among this emerging literature are 11 cohort studies from countries like Iceland, Italy and Japan, where proactive testing has revealed a hidden pool of COVID. In these studies, between 31 and 88 per cent of people showed no symptoms when they tested positive for the virus, said Dr. Trish Greenhalgh, a professor with the University of Oxford, in a written statement shared with reporters. Recent cases in the United States have also attracted dramatic headlines, including the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, where an explosive COVID outbreak infected more than 850 crew members roughly half of whom said they had no symptoms when they were tested. At a homeless shelter in Boston, blanket testing recently revealed 147 positive cases. The number of positives was shocking, but the fact that 100 per cent of the positives had no symptoms was equally shocking, Dr. Jim OConnell, president of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, told a local news station. There are now fears that silent spreaders could reignite COVID outbreaks in countries that have already beaten back their first epidemic wave. In China, officials recently ramped up efforts to find and quarantine infected people who dont have symptoms and on April 1, the government started publishing statistics on asymptomatic cases. In the first 24 hours, they reported 166 new infections, of which 130 were deemed asymptomatic, according to a news report in the British Medical Journal. (Its unclear how many of these people may have later developed symptoms.) In Canada, the federal public health agency says it doesnt know how much of the countrys outbreak is attributable to silent spread but we know that it is occurring among those with close contact or in close physical settings, said Anna Maddison, spokesperson for the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), in an email. But while Canada isnt actively tracking asymptomatic cases, provinces and territories that have submitted case reports to PHAC have identified at least 220 cases classified as asymptomatic, representing 2.8 per cent of the 7,879 reports where a symptom status was known. (More than 22,200 case reports have been submitted so far.) This is certainly a lowball number, given that testing has been narrowly focused on people with symptoms and surveillance data is incomplete. Despite accumulating evidence of asymptomatic infections, however, there are still important knowledge gaps to fill before we can fully understand the importance of silent spreaders, said Shelly Bolotin, an infectious disease epidemiologist with Public Health Ontario and the University of Torontos Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Were still in the throes of this first wave of disease, she said. We dont have all of the pieces of the puzzle yet to really be able to say. One missing puzzle piece is how effective asymptomatic people are at transmitting the virus, she said. A handful of studies have shown that people can infect others before they develop COVID symptoms. Others have demonstrated comparable viral loads (the amount of measurable virus inside of someone) between patients with and without symptoms a surprising and counterintuitive finding, Bolotin said. But proving asymptomatic transmission is particularly tricky. Studies from China showing family clusters, where an asymptomatic person appears to have infected someone else in the household, are compelling but given the scale of the outbreak at the time, theres always a chance both those people were infected by a third person, she notes. I think we can theorize that its happening, but the devil is in the details, she said. How infectious are they really? Big picture, I think were still learning. Bogoch takes issue with much of the breathless discourse around asymptomatic COVID that fails to distinguish between pre-symptomatic, asymptomatic and sub-clinical cases. He points to two high-profile publications in the New England Journal of Medicine, which some have framed as smoking-gun evidence of asymptomatic COVID one from Iceland, where 43 per cent of positive cases reported having no symptoms, and a published letter from New York doctors, who tested all pregnant women delivering at two hospitals and discovered that 29 out of 33 women who tested positive had no symptoms at admission. But neither study was able to follow up with every study participant to verify that they didnt later develop symptoms, Bogoch said. Its also possible many people who consider themselves asymptomatic are just failing to recognize their symptoms as being COVID, he adds. In the COVID follow-ups Im seeing, many of these people were a close contact of a symptomatic person (and) classified as asymptomatic, Bogoch said. But all youve got to do is take a history. So, did you have symptoms, did you feel unwell? And theyll say, Well, I actually had some night sweats for a couple of nights. Well, thats not asymptomatic. One early study that tried to tease out pre-symptomatic cases from true asymptomatics was an analysis of the Diamond Princess cruise ship, where 634 people tested positive for COVID after being quarantined for two weeks on the ship. After testing people throughout the quarantine period and tracking their symptoms, the researchers used a statistical model to estimate an asymptomatic rate of 18 per cent. This finding has since been backed up by yet-unpublished research on the American passengers on the ship, who were repatriated and further followed by researchers with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to one of the study authors, Gerardo Chowell, an epidemiologist with Georgia State University in Atlanta. Chowell believes 18 per cent is an underestimate of the fraction of asymptomatic cases in the broader population, however most of the cruise ships passengers were older, and younger people are less likely to develop symptoms. Based on what other studies have reported, he estimates the true asymptomatic rate is closer to 30 or 40 per cent of total infections. But when it comes to truly understanding the hidden iceberg of COVID infections, some of the best evidence will come from antibody research, or seroprevalence studies. Preparations are now underway to do this work in Canada, including at Public Health Ontario, but the lab is still waiting on these tests to be validated and approved by Health Canada, Bolotin said. Antibody studies have already started trickling out from around the world, however, with studies of varying size and quality being released everywhere from Austria to California. But many of these early efforts have generated controversy, with critics pointing to methodology flaws or concerns with tests that may be prone to false positives. But taken together, this emerging body of evidence suggests the majority of COVID cases are currently going undetected, said David Fisman, an epidemiologist and professor at U of Ts Dalla Lana School, who has been analyzing the research published thus far. This has huge implications for the effectiveness of case isolation, contact tracing and quarantine, he said. If we miss most cases, we cant expect those strategies to be effective. This means that tools like physical distancing become all the more important, he added a difficult message to hear for many people suffering emotionally or financially under current restrictions. The role of silent spreaders will have to be urgently addressed in vulnerable settings like long-term-care homes, where they have likely played an outsized role, said Dr. Nathan Stall, a geriatrician and researcher at Sinai Health System. On Friday, a new New England Journal of Medicine study of a Washington state nursing home found that 56 per cent of COVID-positive residents had no symptoms when they tested positive; half went on to develop symptoms, though many were infectious several days before. Stall suspects asymptomatic workers have played a major role in bringing COVID into nursing homes. And once inside, the virus tends to spread unnoticed, in part because frail and elderly people with COVID tend to have atypical symptoms like confusion, decreased appetite or falls many of which are easily misattributed to other conditions. When jurisdictions like Ontario reopen their economies, policymakers will need to ensure vulnerable people are protected from silent spread, he said. In at-risk settings like nursing homes, he added, this could mean ongoing COVID testing for all workers and residents. As we loosen these restrictions, and we have people who are asymptomatically spreading, this is going to be a huge issue, he said. If youre going to release restrictions, it needs to be done carefully, and most importantly with close monitoring to make sure were not having a rebound. (Otherwise) youre just going to get hit again with an overwhelming second wave. London: Boris Johnson will return to Downing Street on Monday following a stint in intensive care that "could have gone either way", as Britains coronavirus crisis surpasses the grim milestone of 20,000 deaths. The Prime Minister will confront a series of urgent decisions including whether the United Kingdom's lockdown should be eased to help revive the devastated economy or remain in place to avert a feared "second wave" of the disease. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will return to work after a battle with coronavirus. Credit:AP Johnson has been recuperating at the Chequers country estate since being discharged from St Thomas' hospital in central London on April 12. He tested positive to the virus a month ago but the Tory leader's condition deteriorated and he was admitted to hospital and later, the intensive care unit. Britain's coronavirus response has been criticised by some public health experts and MPs as too slow and too relaxed compared to other European countries. While restaurants, shops, gyms and tourist attractions are closed, borders are still largely open and the country's testing and tracing regime has struggled to match the firepower of others nations such as Germany and Australia. Bansy Kalappa By Express News Service BENGALURU: There are enough foodgrain stocks to last till March 31 next year, according to DV Prasad, chairman, Food Corporation of India. He tells The New Sunday Express that though many godowns in the Karnataka are in the red zone, there is no cause for serious concern. Since 1971, this is the first big food challenge India faces. Nanjangud FCI godown has been sealed because it is in a red zone, what is the situation with other godowns in Karnataka? We are not accessing any food from that godown. As far as the other godowns in Karnataka are concerned, one in Kalaburagi is sealed because it is in a red zone. The FCI godown in Bengalurus KR Puram is in red zone, so also the ones in Mangaluru, Belagavi, Vijayapura, Mandya, Bagalkot, Mysuru and Bidar. But none of the FCI employees in Karnataka have been affected. When our godown is in a red zone, it slows down our operations. The work at the Chamarajnagar godown is affected because most of the labour comes from Nanjanagud which is sealed. We have a local and national control room which monitors the situation 24/7. We work round-the-clock; I receive calls even at midnight, depending on the situation. It is one month since the lockdown. How are we placed as against the buffer requirements ? Nationally we have stocks of about 53 million tonnes. Even considering that we are giving out 10 kg per person to about 81 crore beneficiaries, we can go on till March 31 next year. This is because we expect about 35 million tonnes of Rabi wheat and about 10 million tonnes of Rabi rice now, and thereafter, we expect 41 million tonnes of Kharif rice. Although these are peculiar circumstances, I have confidence that we have enough stocks. The buffer requirement is 21 million tonnes (13.5 MMT rice and 7.5 MMT wheat). The average outflow of stocks in a month is about 5 million tonnes under the various government schemes. We have been consistently increasing our storage capacity in the state. FCI is fully equipped to meet the requirements of the state during and after the lockdown period. How much have your operations been affected due to the lockdown ? FCI is essentially a logistic operator working on a 24/7 basis. In any given day of the year, we either load or unload about 60 trainloads (about 1.68 lakh MT). Being a labour-intensive operation, about 50,000 people are involved in our work on a daily basis. Naturally the countrywide lockdown has posed a big challenge to us. This was further compounded by the additional requirements of foodgrains from every state after the announcement of 5 kg extra foodgrains to about 81 crore beneficiaries free of cost. So we were in a situation where we had to double our operations when the whole country was shutting down. We have three levels of employees -- 40,000 workers, department staff and about 80,000 contract workers. We take extra care and maintain social distancing compulsorily. Have you been able to meet the requirements of the states under these conditions ? Yes. We also ensured replenishing our warehouses in consuming states by undertaking a record level of movement of foodgrains during the lockdown period. We moved 1,649 trainloads carrying about 4.6 MMT foodgrains and unloaded 1,541 trainloads (about 4.2 MMT) during the 27 days of lockdown. How does Karnataka fare nationality? As things stand now, Karnataka stands only next to Bihar as far as FCI operations are concerned. Normally about 3 lakh tonnes of foodgrains are distributed. But this month, about 5.74 lakh tonnes, almost double, have been distributed. Karnataka has received about 203 rakes, that is about 5.7 lakh tonnes. This, in spite of the red zone issues. State Congress president D K Shivakumar alleged that 1,800 plus quintals of rice meant for free distribution to public were transported for illegal gains ? There are different godowns -- state and FCI. That issue must be concerning state godowns. Food distribution is a state issue under the government of Karnataka. The Arts Newer Older Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 A long look at art and artists that live in Beaufort County and those that choose to entertain us here within our borders, and within our region, and on occasion, from outside our region. Unexpected hail hit parts of Ho Chi Minh City and some southern Vietnamese provinces amidst the dry season on Saturday. The hail was recorded in the northern part of the city, as well as Dong Nai and Tay Ninh Provinces, with hailstones measuring about 0.5 centimeters in diameter. It lasted only a few minutes and did not cause any damage, but many residents were quite concerned about the rare phenomenon. According to Le Thi Xuan Lan, a weather pundit based in southern Vietnam, hail is not unprecedented in Ho Chi Minh City. In southern Vietnam, hailstones fell during the dry season in the past, with hailstones measuring 0.5 to one centimeter, Lan continued. The region has been affected by hot weather since March. As the temperature rises, water evaporates and is pushed to a higher altitude, forming convection clouds, the weather expert elaborated. As it gets colder at a higher altitude, the water vapor becomes frozen droplets, which eventually result in hail. The weather pattern may continue in the upcoming days, especially during the transition period between the dry and rainy seasons. The rainy season in southern Vietnam is expected to start in early May, Lan said, adding that tropical depression will begin to form in the Pacific Ocean near the Philippines during this time. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Television actor Chandni Bhagwanani is stranded in Australia due to the lockdown owing to the coronavirus pandemic, and is blowing through her savings to survive. Airlines across the world have cancelled flights and countries have sealed their borders to control the spread of the deadly virus. In an interview with SpotboyE, Chandni said that she was in Australia for a month to honour professional commitments, and got stuck due to the lockdown. I did try to book my tickets when little buffer time was given but all the flights were full and I also realised it is not very safe to travel. So, I thought staying here would be better. And now I feel the lockdown will be extended till June, she said. Chandni was originally putting up at a hotel but when the lockdown got extended, she and two other Indian women rented an apartment in Melbourne together. She said that living in Australia was expensive, and she has had to dig into her savings. Also read: Scarlett Johansson says shes made a career out of being second choice, was rejected constantly Its quite difficult. Everything is expensive here - stay, food, travel. But whatever savings I have, I am putting it here right now. Since my accommodation is on a sharing basis, its quite comfortable for me, rather than living in a hotel, studio apartment or in a flat by myself. That must have been more difficult. Thankfully, I have these two girls around me and have people whom I can talk to in this crucial phase, she said. Chandni made her small screen debut in 2001 with the show Kohi Apna Sa. She has been a part of shows such as Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Amita Ka Amit, Tum Hi Ho Bandhu Sakha Tumhi and Santoshi Maa. She was most recently seen as Dr Asha Kanwar in Sanjivani, a reboot of the 2002 hospital drama of the same name. Follow @htshowbiz for more In addition to our original reporting, APS is curating a collection of guidance and tools from around the web that are related to the psychological, social, and behavioral impacts of COVID-19. These recommendations have not been vetted and are from our members and the psychological science community worldwide. Inclusion on this page does not constitute APSs support or endorsement. To submit other relevant resources for consideration, please email apsobserver@psychologicalscience.org. COVID-19 Research From SAGE Publications This collection of articles includes the latest medical research from SAGE related to the virus as well as top social and behavioral research to help individuals, communities, and leaders make the best decisions on dealing with the outbreak and its consequences. Podcast: Research in the Time of Corona APS Fellows Patrick Curran (University of North Carolina) and Gregory R. Hancock (University of Maryland, have dedicated an episode of their quantitative methods podcast, Quantitude, to starting a conversation about how COVID-19 has had an instantaneous and lasting impact on quantitatively-oriented research across so many disciplines, what we can do about it right now to salvage current work when possible, and what we should be thinking about doing differently in the future as we move forward into the new normal. Download Research in the Time of Corona from major podcast services (e.g., Apple Podcasts, Spotify), or listen directly on buzzsprout.com/639103. Article: A Scientific Theory of Gist Communication and Misinformation Resistance This article was published April 20, 2020 by APS Fellow Valerie F. Reyna on PNAS.org, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Reyna is the Lois and Melvin Tukman Professor, director of the Human Neuroscience Institute, and co-director of the Center for Behavioral Economics and Decision Research at Cornell University. See additional commentary from Reyna in this APS roundtable discussion: Psychological Science and COVID-19: What We Know and What We Can Do. Memo: Maintaining Lockdown and Preparing an Exit Strategy: A View From Social and Behavioral Sciences On April 14, a group of Belgian social psychologists prepared and presented this memo to the federally appointed committee that is preparing the gradual exit strategy from the COVID-19-related lockdown in Belgium. APS Fellow Batja Mesquita, a professor of social psychology at KULeuven, is a signatory of the memo. She shared the memo with APS. Evidence-based Infographics on Healthy Sleep and Daily Rhythms APS Member Jessica Hamilton and Marissa Bowman, of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center/Center for Sleep and Circadian Science, shared these evidence-based infographics to help synthesize key information for maintaining healthy sleep and daily rhythms during COVID-19. Online Course: Punch Through Pandemics With Psychological Science APS Fellow Regan Gurung of the Department of Human Development and Psychology at Oregon State University writes, My colleagues and I are teaching a course on coping with the pandemic, using psychological science. This is a course for Oregon State Students but is also FREE to anyone, anywhere in the world. Online Archive: PROJECTCOVID19.ORG Writes APS Student Affiliate Cale Wright of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center: Our goal [with this archive] is to encourage people around the country to share about their experiences amidst this pandemic. Submissions may be anonymous. We hope to turn responses into an article about how individuals have been affected by this pandemic and how we can better prepare for future pandemics/mental health crises. Article: COVID-19, Fear and the Future: An Attachment Perspective This article, by APS Member Howard Steele, professor of psychology at the New School for Social Research, was published April 2 in Clinical Neuropsychiatry. From the abstract: This brief paper summarizes and appraises two prominent psychological accounts of the role fear plays in human life: (1) terror management theory and (2) attachment theory, highlighting research demonstrating that attachment security moderates the experience of fear. Moreover, the suggestion is made that fear of loss of loved ones, and fear of loss of love, is the primary source of fear and anxiety in human life. This paper also highlights the importance and value of showing reflective functioning regarding our anxieties or mentalizing fear so that we are better prepared for inevitable pandemics in the future. Self-Help Guide: Coping With Fear and Sadness During a Pandemic From the introduction by William C. Sanderson, professor of psychology and director of the Anxiety & Depression Clinic at Hofstra University: [W]e offer the following, science-based suggestions, to help manage fear and sadness. The starting point is that of course, anyone not having some increase in their anxiety and sadness probably has an emotion system that is not working as it should. [Y]ou will find a summary of many common pandemic-related issues that we have observed and how they push the buttons of well-known processes that are generally involved in increased anxiety and depression. Solutions to best manage negative reactions follow each of these. Other Resources To submit other relevant resources for consideration, please email apsobserver@psychologicalscience.org. Dileep V Kumar By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Increasing number of COVID positive cases with the untraceable source of infection indicates that Kerala could be on the cusp of community transmission or entering stage three of Covid-19 pandemic. After the patients from Pothencode, Mahe and the four-month-old baby in Malappuram, the infection source of the Asha worker in Kollam and the headload worker in Kottayam remains unknown. While the government says the state is yet to report any incidence of community transmission, experts feel that the claim should be backed by evidence. It is being pointed out that definitive planning is needed on dealing with the large inflow of expatriates and people from other parts of the country. If not the result will be larger outbreaks of local transmission or reporting of multiple unrelated clusters in several parts of the state. In Kerala, a large outbreak is yet to be reported from a particular area. But some clusters are there. What is raising doubts is the obscurity associated with the source of infection in some positive cases. To point out, the source of infection of the Pothencode case, Mahe case (Kannur), the case of a four-month-old baby at Kozhikode and the Asha worker at Kollam remains unknown. This uncertainty is a serious affair and will have to be cleared at the earliest, said an officer of the Health Department. At the same time, a community medicine expert said that most often it is the difficulty involved with preparing the contact list that puts the source of infection in the dark. In some of the positive cases where the source of infection is yet to be established, the case couldnt reveal more details as they were in a critical situation. Also, it will be difficult to remember and recount the contact points in detail. In some cases, the positive case deliberately conceals the details. This makes contact tracing and identifying the source of infection difficult, said the community medicine expert. With concerns over a community transmission looming large, officials are a bit sceptical on opening up the borders after lockdown. Concerns are raised only about international travellers. But air passengers are of least concern. Those entering the state via road and rail are what worries us. Already many are coming from TN. The only way forward is restricted entry through borders. Entry can be restricted only at the checkposts. You cant seal the entire border, said a senior bureaucrat. State ready to welcome expatriates, but with some conditions Meanwhile, Health Department officers said that the state is bracing itself for undertaking the biggest risk since the Covid-19 outbreak, as it will receive a large inflow of expatriates and people from other parts of the country. However, admission to the state will be subjected to certain conditions. One such condition is that neither friends nor relatives will be allowed to welcome the returnee at the airport. Those who dont have any symptoms will be allowed to go home. But they will remain in room isolation for 14 days. Those who show symptoms while screening at the airports will be sent to quarantine centres or to COVID Hospitals, said an officer. Fearing community transmission, the state is also planning to identify certain entry points (interstate check posts) when interstate travel is allowed. A plan of this kind is there. Other than that of opening all interstate check posts, only selected ones will get opened. This will help keep a tab on the entrants and to screen them, said the officer. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 25 Trend: Azerbaijan is one of success stories in the fight against COVID-19, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev said in an interview with TRT World, Trend reports. Azerbaijani government has been taking certain actions since mid-January. It is because of the strategic vision demonstrated by Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev and also risk assessment and threat perception with regard to COVID-19. As a result of this, we can say that Azerbaijan is in a better situation. It is one of the success stories in the fight against COVID-19, he said. With regard to the actions by Azerbaijani government, Hajiyev pointed out that in the fight against COVID-19 crisis, in such a pandemic situation, national coordination is extremely important. Therefore, by the decree of Azerbaijans president, a Task Force has been established under the Cabinet of Ministers to coordinate the actions of all government institutions. Of course, quarantine measures are extremely important as well. Here, I would like to share the unique experience of Azerbaijan. Since late January and early February, we have started taking all Azerbaijanis or foreign nationals visiting Azerbaijan in special quarantine zones. Actually, four and five-star hotels have been designated for that purpose. Since mid-February, certain restrictions have been applied. Since early March, all educational institutions have been closed and social isolation measures, as well as movement restrictions have been imposed. With all of these actions, weve effectively contributed to success story of Azerbaijan, he added. San Francisco, April 26 : Facebook has submitted detailed proof in the court about the Israeli company NSO Group and its allegedly hacking into at least 1,400 WhatsApp users last year via its controversial surveillance software Pegasus. According to The Jerusalem Post, Facebook's legal brief said "it was exposing a massive NSO attack infrastructure operating in the US, in direct contradiction of NSO's defenses, under the guise of third parties". According to Facebook, its attacks on WhatsApp users "were hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the US and by the Californian company QuadraNet (with a German provider)". Facebook asserted that NSO had a contract with QuadraNet, using its server "more than 700 times during the attack to direct NSO's malware to WhatsApp user devices in April and May 2019." Moreover, the legal brief listed "subdomains which were all allegedly hosted on Amazon servers covering the dates of the attacks". According to the report on Sunday, new revelations could make it harder for NSO Group to continue to deny any US operations. NSO responded to the new Facebook legal brief, saying that "Our products are used to stop terrorism, curb violent crime, and save lives. "NSO Group does not operate the Pegasus software for its clients, nor can it be used against US mobile phone numbers, or against a device within the geographic bounds of the United States." NSO has denied the allegations on WhatsApp hacking in the past. In counter allegations, the CEO of NSO Group has claimed that Facebook proposed to buy its malicious software Pegasus in 2017 to snoop on Apple iOS users. In court documents filed during an ongoing lawsuit in which Facebook has sued the NSO Group for snooping on WhatsApp users last year including in India, NSO CEO Shalev Hulio claimed that "two Facebook representatives approached NSO in October 2017 and asked to purchase the right to use certain capabilities of Pegasus". A Facebook spokesperson said in a statement that the NSO CEO is misrepresenting conversations between the company and Facebook employees. "NSO is trying to distract from the facts Facebook and WhatsApp filed in court over six months ago. Their attempt to avoid responsibility includes inaccurate representations about both their spyware and a discussion with people who work at Facebook," the spokesperson said. NSO has maintained that it sells Pegasus only to intelligence and law enforcement agency clients. Facebook has even blamed Apple's operating system for the hacking of Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos' phone. Investigators believe that Bezos's iPhone was compromised after he received a 4.4MB video file containing malware via WhatsApp -- in the same way when phones of 1,400 select people including journalists and human rights activists were broken into by Pegasus software from NSO Group last year. In an interview to the BBC, Facebook's Vice President of Global Affairs and Communications, Nick Clegg, has said it wasn't WhatsApp's fault because end-to-end encryption is unhackable and blamed Apple's operating system for Bezos' episode. The NSO Group has denied it was part of Bezos' hacking. The Punjab government has constituted a group of experts, headed by former deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, to come out with the post-COVID-19 revival strategy for the state. The group, which includes leading economy and industry experts, shall recommend to the Punjab government a short-term (one year) as well as medium-term action plan, including a fiscal management strategy along with other policy measures to revive the state's economy in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis, said a government release. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said his government was grateful to Montek for accepting the difficult task of finding ways for the state's economic revival. The chief minister had announced his government's decision, a few days ago, to set up a panel of experts to formulate a comprehensive strategy to revive the state's economy and industry in the post-COVID-19 scenario. The 20-member group has been mandated to submit its initial set of recommendations by July 31 followed by two more reports by September 30 and December 31, 2020, according to the release. The three-month gap between the first two reports will allow the group time to recalibrate the larger impact as COVID unfolds across India over the summer, said the spokesperson. The group has been entrusted with the task of identifying the key actions that are needed to help Punjab get to its "new normal" growth rate and restore it to a pre-eminent position in the country and globally. Also Read: Coronavirus India live updates: Total COVID-19 cases cross 26,000; 8 states with over 1,000 cases Also Read: Coronavirus: Sonia Gandhi calls for Rs 2 lakh crore wage protection, credit guarantee MSME package Also Read: Is Kim Jong Un dead? Twitter abuzz with rumours of North Korean leader's demise Its been a generation since the right-wing activist Grover Norquist said his movements goal wasnt to eliminate government, but merely to shrink it down to the size where we can drown it in a bathtub. Since then, the failure of a downsized and disinterested government to respond to crises like Hurricane Katrina seemed to have proved the empty fallacy of those words. And today, youd think the federal governments botched-in-every-way response to the coronavirus would be the exclamation point. Instead, we find Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, his clothes soaking wet, and his thumbprints buried deeply around the neck of the nearly departed. READ MORE: SIGN UP: The Will Bunch Newsletter Even for the man whose cynical denial of our first black presidents right to fill a Supreme Court vacancy was the pre-Trump moment that American democracy plowed through the guardrails, the political nihilism of McConnells refusal to even take up the case of the nations economically drowning states and localities ought to be shocking. In a series of interviews late last week, the most powerful Republican on Capitol Hill said that he supports letting states go bankrupt instead of approving the hundreds of millions of dollars in relief theyre requesting and claimed that the source of their woes is the pension problem. Ignoring the bad coronavirus decisions, mostly at the federal level, that caused state revenues to dry up and social welfare costs to soar, the Kentuckian claimed, Were not interested in rescuing them from bad decisions theyve made in the past. Hes even called a state-and-local relief package a blue state bailout, which sounded like a cheap ploy to make the GOPs heartland base angry at New York and California, even though most fiscal experts say the current crisis will hit red states even McConnells Kentucky as badly, or worse. Lets be clear: If McConnell is serious about this, and if he holds his Senate majority together (spoiler alert: He usually does), it wont be the likes of Govs. Andrew Cuomo or Gavin Newsom wholl be hurt. Theyll be fine. No, the victims of these Republican tactics would be the folks that were now calling essential workers. With states now facing a shortfall estimated to hit $500 billion by mid-2022, and big cities in the same boat, the status quo would require massive layoffs of cops, firefighters, sanitation workers, teachers, and more. Its not clear if McConnells bankruptcy scenario is even realistic, but the goal of crushing public-employee pensions after successfully doing so in the private sector remains real. HELP US REPORT: Are you a health-care worker, medical provider, government worker, patient, frontline worker, or other expert? We want to hear from you. My core thinking on McConnells scheme can be boiled down to one word: Why? It feels like a case of political suicide, that McConnell and some of his GOP colleagues are so wedded to an anti-government philosophy that even in the nations biggest crisis since World War II theyre willing to drink the Clorox. The lack of political common sense seems stunning. The nations unemployment rate right now seems somewhere in the 15%-20% i.e., Great Depression II level, so laying off middle-class government workers in the fall of a presidential election year seems pretty self-destructive. The apparent lack of any real game plan here even caused me last week to ask my Twitter followers what they thought is going on here. Some ideas: Short-term politics. The best-case scenario is that McConnell is playing within the bounds of normalized political cynicism, that at some point hell at least hear the pleas of suffering red state governors and grant some federal relief, even if its less than the $700 million sought by Democrats. Even if this is the case, the final package if recent history is any guide will be less than what these governments need, and it will be used as leverage to squeeze even more dollars out for McConnells true patrons, the millionaires and corporations that have done so well in the first four bills. Sado-populism? This is the theory popularized by the historian Timothy Snyder and others that right-wing populist movements cant deliver on their political promises (or, in the case of Americas GOP, remain wedded in reality to monied elites), and so they instead deliver pain and retain power by blaming the new suffering on someone else immigrants, or the undeserving poor, or Democrats, or unions, or some combo. McConnells move certainly matches the motive of the fake-spontaneous open up the economy protests that have sought to make mostly Democratic governors the coronavirus villain instead of a mostly Republican federal government. Blind ideological belief. The Republicans war on what they claim are overly jealous pensions for government retirees goes back more than a decade. The New Republic in the 2010s called retired teachers or firefighters getting a large enough pension to live on the new welfare queens, as far as the GOP was concerned. To be clear, many governments, including my home state of Pennsylvania, have been forced to already make adjustments to pension deals (made by both Republican and Democratic politicians) from the boom years of the 1990s that have failed to add up. The bipartisan nature of those problems hasnt stopped the right from trying to make this a Democrat issue. The most zealous thought leaders in the conservative movement believe that breaking pensions will help them break government-employee unions, which they see as a key bastion of remaining support for Democrats. But heres a reality check: Over the last 40 years, the GOP has been hugely successful in breaking unions and eliminating pensions in the private sector, driving the gross inequality we see playing out in the COVID-19 crisis. Union-busting and cash-poor states, of course, gives Republicans more opportunities to push privatization, which has made a lot of crony capitalists rich even if it hasnt made government more efficient. But also the survival of public-employee unions and pensions is an embarrassment to the conservative movement by showing voters an alternative universe where essential middle-class workers are rewarded for their toil instead of all of the benefits flowing to CEOs and shareholders. Whats more, this disparity might even give the plebeian class some rebellious ideas. No wonder theyd want to crush that. READ MORE: Trump, Fox News are trying to gin up a new Tea Party to distract you from their deadly failures | Will Bunch Yet politically, this cynical playbook has worked in the past. In the early 2010s, with a Great Recession largely caused by the shady dealings of the Wall Street types who also fund the campaigns of McConnell and his allies, billionaires and Fox News helped foment a Tea Party movement that instead blamed government spending and Democrats for the nations economic woes. Republicans took back Congress over the decade and then the White House. But if you keep running the same basic off-tackle play on every down, eventually its going to stop working. With the economy, theres been a lot of magical thinking all around, which goes: Sure, things are horrendous now, but youll see much of the economy pop back once we can sound the all clear on COVID-19. The reality is very different. When restaurants or movie theaters do reopen, some lost customers will already be too broke to go back, and others will continue to isolate over health worries. For state governments, that lingering recession will come after two to three months of almost incalculable fiscal harm. And without aid, that pain will be passed on to their workers. In Pennsylvania, the Great Recession and the freezes on state aid for education that resulted from lost revenue meant at least 14,000 teacher layoffs by the fall of 2011, to cite just one small example of how this works. The real victims arent the unions, but the kids who get less instruction to prepare them for whatever 21st-century economy can replace our lame 20th-century model. But this time around, McConnells bluster reeks of last throes desperation for a dying movement. For one thing, the essential worker tags on a middle-class workforce many of whom work for the government make it almost impossible to brand them as welfare queens this time around. That, coupled with a stunning loss of political support for President Donald Trump and the GOP among older voters many of whom have lost someone personally to the coronavirus suggests that its too late for Republicans to divert blame. If the election were held today, its likely that not only would Republicans lose the Senate, but Kentucky voters might end McConnells overlong career. In that sense, maybe the real explanation for McConnells inexplicable stance on state aid is simply a scorched-earth policy to selfishly burn it all down while engaging in a full retreat. If Senate Republicans truly wont relent between now and their increasingly likely loss of power next January, there is one thing states and cities can do when they lay off our teachers and shut down our neighborhood firehouses. They can name the enabling legislation Mitchs Law. Columnists note: If pieces like this one make you think that America is hopelessly, perpetually divided ... actually, I have a plan for that. It drops in a couple of days, but you have to subscribe to my brand-newish the Will Bunch Newsletter. It only takes a few seconds to sign up, and you can do so here. Its like this column, but looser and (even?) more fun. Subscribe today inquirer.com/bunch and Ill see you again soon. READ MORE: SIGN UP: The Will Bunch Newsletter President Akufo-Addo is envisaging that the countrys fight against coronavirus will take a little more time before being declared as over. The fight will be a long war, President Akufo-Addo said in a televised address on Sunday, April 26. While admitting that the country was dealing with a situation never experienced before, he said Ghana still has a way to go in ridding itself from COVID-19. We are still very much in unchartered territory, and clearly, we still have some way to go towards ridding ourselves of the virus. The truth is that, this will be a long war, broken up into several battles, the President said. He said Ghana, despite its success in tracing and testing efforts, will not be complacent but will aggressively trace, test, and treat cases of COVID-19. Indeed, we registered a modest success in the important battle to trace and test many of the people who had come into contact with infected persons, and we cannot, and will not rest on our laurels. We will not let our guard down, as the fight against this virus has to progress, Akufo-Addo added. The President said Ghanaians must play their part by religiously observing the various preventive measures such as social distancing, wearing face masks and regular handwashing to support the work of health workers who are working tirelessly on the frontline to deal with the virus. Each one of us must strictly adhere to these directives, he said. Ban on public gatherings The president announced in his address that the ban on public gatherings had been extended by a further two weeks. The ban has been in force for the past six weeks. First announced on March 15, 2020, the ban was to expire after a month however President Akufo-Addo through another executive instrument extended it by two weeks. The ban was due to expire on Monday, 27th April 2020 by the president in his address announced that upon consultation with various institutions and groups, the consensus was reached for the ban to be extended. The consensus is supported by data and science and I am also very much of this viewI have by executive instrument extended by two weeks the ban on public gatherings effective tomorrow, Monday, 1:00 am, April 27, 2020, he said. Latest COVID-19 statistics Per the latest [26th April, 2020] Ghana Health Service (GHS) statistics on COVID-19 in Ghana, the confirmed cases in Ghana are now 1,550. The number includes 11 victims who have succumbed and 155 people who have recovered. The numbers are from the over 100,000 tests that have been done by various testing centers across the country including the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and the Kumasi Center for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine. Wearing of face masks Meanwhile, the government has been actively pushing for the wearing of face masks as part of efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19. Per new directives from various regions, shops are to insist on 'no face mask, no entry' policy. This is in addition to calls for social distancing in all settings including market places. With the drive for social distancing having many challenges in enforcement, various local assemblies are adopting innovative ways to ensure compliance. ---citinewsroom Kerala's response to COVID-19 was spearheaded by state health minister KK Shailaja - or Shailaja Teacher as she is fondly called. As the Health Minister, Shailaja had the experience of tackling another epidemic - the Nipah Virus outbreak in the state in 2018. Though it was on a much smaller scale, the Nipah, just like COVID-19 had no known medication and had all the potential to be a disaster. But aggressive testing, contact tracing, and hospitalization meant that the state managed to reduce the death toll to just 19. Kerala's response even won praises from the WHO. After the first three cases were reported in the state, the former high school teacher turned politician took a similar approach and it has paid dividends. SITEKI A corpse wrapped in a plastic bag, tagged as a Covid-19 suspect caused quite a stir at Good Shepherd Hospital. Relatives to the deceased felt unsafe to take her body to a nearby morgue. Dieners at Crucifix also felt uncomfortable as well to ferry the body of Zodwa Matsenjwa, who died under mysterious circumstances on April 20, 2020 at Good Shepherd Hospital. She is yet to be buried. However, the dieners finally took her body to the morgue after her coronavirus results tested negative. Initially, Zodwa (44) was thought to be a potential suspect because she worked in South Africa and returned to the country in the aftermath of the lockdown effected in that country by the government of Cyril Ramaphosa. Since her death is not related to Covid-19, what, therefore, led to the sudden demise of Zodwa? Her brother, Sgidzi, is not pleased at all. Her sister, he said, felt sick at a certain homestead and was ferried to the hospital. She was taken to hospital by someone whose name is being withheld for legal reasons. Relatives are of the view that this person who took Zodwa to hospital should have reported her sickness to them. He said his sisters three gold rings were nowhere to be seen, and the clothes she wore when she went to the hospital disappeared without any trace. The man who took my sister to the hospital claimed to have not seen the three gold rings and the clothes she wore when she was admitted at the hospital, he said. The hospital staffers have no idea about the whereabouts of the clothes and the rings. Its just a mystery. Sgidzi said they tried to convey his sisters body to the Mbabane branch of Crucifix as they wanted her to be buried at her marital home in Siphocosini, where her husband was also buried. Cops investigating death However, he mentioned that police stopped the movement of the deceaseds body to Mbabane as they wanted to investigate circumstances leading to her death. He disclosed that a letter had since been discovered by her sisters children at Siphocosini in which she accused a certain man of having taken her late husbands property, which included a car. In the said letter, Sgidzi narrated that Zodwa expressed displeasure with the treatment she received from this man. Another relative to Zodwa, who preferred to speak on condition of anonymity, said his sister had bubbles in her mouth. He was of the opinion that a post-mortem would reveal the truth. Chief Police Information and Communication Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed that police were investigating the case. She said police felt the death of the woman raised more questions than answers. Officials at Good Shepherd Hospital said they would not talk about the matter because police had taken it up for investigation. An officer at Crucifix in Siteki said they feared to take Zodwa to the morgue after seeing her body tagged Covid-19 suspect. He said their superiors eventually advised them to take it to the facility. He said they wore gloves and masks when they took the corpse to the mortuary. By Ruma Paul DHAKA, April 18 (Reuters) - Hundreds of workers poured onto the streets of Bangladesh's port city of Chittagong on Saturday, flouting social distancing rules to demand work and wages during the coronavirus shutdown. Bangladesh, the world's second-largest apparel producer after China, is set to lose about $6 billion of export revenues this fiscal year as retailers and brands across the world cancel orders, two industry bodies have said. The country reported 306 new cases of coronavirus and nine more deaths on Saturday, taking the total to 2,144 cases and 84 deaths. Those figures are still relatively low compared with the worst-hit regions including China, parts of Europe and the United States. But health officials have warned that the infection could still spread fast through the surrounding South Asia region, home to a fifth of the world's population where millions live in packed slums with fragile public health systems. Neighbouring India reported 991 new cases and 42 new deaths from the virus on Saturday, taking the total number of reported cases to 14,378 and deaths to 480. Indian health ministry official Lav Agarwal told reporters some districts had not reported any new cases. But he urged people to stick to social distancing rules. This is a battle for which we have to stay vigilant continuously, he said. India is in the fourth week of a nationwide shutdown, though the government has said it will allow industries in the countryside to reopen and some farms to resume work next week. Sri Lanka's government said on Saturday it would partially ease restrictions from April 20. Bangladesh has sent troops out into the streets to help enforce a shutdown on travel and restrictions on gatherings. In Chittagong, the crowds of workers on the streets said they were still waiting for last month's wages. Police had talked to one factory owner who had promised to make the payments by April 28, local officer Mohammad Zamiruddin told Reuters. Bangladeshs government last month launched a $588 million package to help companies in the crucial garments sector pay staff during the pandemic, but manufacturers have said it is not enough. Story continues Here are official government figures on the spread of the coronavirus in South Asia: * India has reported 14,378 cases, including 480 deaths * Pakistan has reported 7,638 cases, including 143 deaths * Afghanistan has reported 933 cases, including 30 deaths * Sri Lanka has reported 248 cases, including seven deaths * Bangladesh has reported 2,144 cases, including 84 deaths * Maldives has reported 34 cases and no deaths * Nepal has reported 30 cases and no deaths * Bhutan has reported five cases and no deaths (Reporting by Ruma Paul in DHAKA and Waruna Karunatilake in COLOMBO; Writing by Zeba Siddiqui in NEW DELHI; Editing by Andrew Heavens) LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) Lafayette space-themed brewing company Escape Velocity has officially launched its business on Saturday. Unfortunately, the stay-at-home order has changed the owners' grand opening plans. "We've been calling it the 'not so grand super soft' opening because it's not even a normal soft opening, it's just curbside but it's the best we can do right now," said Jason Behenna, owner of Escape Velocity Brewing Company. He said it has been a busy three years leading up to grand opening day. "We tried to originally buy the old Osco at the corner of Main and Kossuth and that fell through," said Behenna. After that, they worked on moving into the Parkside Seafood House building in Lafayette. "After doing some rezoning and stuff like that, some different issues came up and that ended up falling through as well," said Behenna. Finally, in 2019, they found their current building located at 405 Sagamore Parkway South, Suite A2, Lafayette, Indiana 46905 in Lincoln Square Center. Behenna said they spent the past year preparing for this grand-opening, but had to adjust after COVID-19 caused a statewide stay-at-home order. "Now we're standing in it and no one can enjoy except for us for the time being," said Behenna. People may not be able to enjoy the inside aesthetic of the brewery yet but Behenna said curbside pick-up orders have been pouring in. "We've had a social media presence for the last three years, so people have known about us, they've been able to see our struggles, they've been able to kind of go along with the ride with us," said Behenna. Escape Velocity is moving away from a traditional brewery theme with bright colors, no TV's and its vegetarian and vegan menu. Behenna believes it's bringing a new beat to the heart of brewing in Lafayette. "The more breweries there are, the more likely it is to become a brewing destination for people coming from out of town, and the fact that we're all very collaborative helps a lot too," said Behenna. You can keep up with the Brewing Company here. Archived Results for Tuesday, March 17th, 2020 Older Page 1 CAMBRIDGE The Village Board presented a proposed 2020-2021 budget Thursday with no overall increase in spending or taxes. Presiding at an online meeting, Village Mayor Carman Bogle said total expenses would be $1,365,644, up $3,750 from the current year. Taking $16,478 from the fund balance would result in an adjusted tax levy of $966,483. The tax rate per $1,000 would remain at $13.26. The village paid off a $5 million bond last year but kept the amount of a payment, $115,000, in the budget. The plan had been to apply it to the first payment on a $3.7 million bond for the proposed new firehouse. A public referendum on the project was postponed indefinitely, so the board couldnt go ahead with the bond. If the firehouse project is approved, the board can put the funds towards the firehouses cost, lowering the amount to be bonded, Bogle said. If voters reject it, the money will pay for repairs at the existing firehouse. Village residents submitted questions via telephone and an on-screen chat box. Caller Brian Harrington suggested pro-rating the villages library expenses while the library building is closed. (The library continues to offer online services.) Caller Sue Van Hook asked whether funding the library exclusively through the Cambridge Central School District would be more equitable. Bogle said the library was a gift to the village. Funding changes would have to be discussed with the librarys board of trustees. The village pays $1,000 a month for the youth center in a privately-owned building. The center, which provides after-school care for children in the school district, has been closed since schools recessed in March. The building owner has offered to forgo Mays rent payment if the village pays the utilities, Bogle said. Bogle and trustees said the center may eventually reopen and the village needs to plan for the expense. Trustees Amy Walsh and Alex Dery Snider said parents need affordable and flexible after-school care, but resident Sue Van Hook noted that few of the families in the program are village residents. Cambridge and the village of Greenwich, which share the police department, are splitting $20,000 for a new full-time clerk, Bogle said. The states bail and criminal justice reforms increased the paperwork load on Police Chief Sgt. Robert Danko. The new clerk will allow him to return to patrol, Bogle said. Harrington said there were significant discrepancies between what the village pays its officials and what the towns pay people in similar positions. Bogle said theres no formula for salaries. The treasurers salary went up because he left the villages health insurance plan, which was costing the village $16,000. In return, the treasurer asked the village to cover his $7,000 deductible, for a net saving of $9,000. Workers compensation almost doubled because of increases in the rates, Bogle said. The recent conversion of the villages streetlights to LEDs was expected to lower the villages energy bills, but the board budgeted the same amount as last year because it wants several months of data before it makes any changes. Residents and the board discussed what could happen if the state and county cant provide their usual aid. Bogle said the village Department of Public Works cant do sidewalk and road improvements without state highways funds. The county covers uncollected property taxes. The village will know in October how far behind village tax collections are and whether the county can make up the difference, Bogle said. If it cant, the village will reduce spending. The villages estimated fund balance is $150,000. The board didnt want to apply more to the budget because if tax payments are late, the village will have funds to pay bills. The state has not yet set a date for village elections but it is expected to be in June. The board has until April 30 to approve the 2020-2021 budget. A date for the vote will be announced on the villages website, https://v3.cambridgeny.gov/. Video recordings of the boards meetings are posted on YouTube. Search for Village of Cambridge NY meetings. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 3 Twin children of a popular Islamic cleric in Oyo State, Taofeeq Akewugbagold, have been kidnapped. PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the children, a male and a female, were abducted at gunpoint in Ibadan, the state capital, Saturday night. Mr Akewugbagold, who disclosed the kidnap in a post on his Facebook page in the early hours of Sunday, announced that the children were kidnapped at gunpoint at his Ojoo residence on Saturday night. The cleric called on people to assist him with prayers and begged the abductors to have mercy on the mother of the abducted twins who, he said, was barren for almost 12 years. What a country! My twin children were kidnapped at gunpoint at my Ojoo residence Ibadan, around 8pm Saturday 10 minutes after I left my home recording lecture in a studio. READ ALSO: Everybody should please for Allahs sake assist me in prayer and begging the abductor to pls be mercy with me especially their mother who was barren for 12 years before. Am begging not flexing anything. This is their pictures, help share wide. Oh my God. The spokesperson of the state police command, Olugbenga Fadeyi, confirmed the abduction. Mr Fadeyi, In a reply to an SMS sent to him by PREMIUM TIMES, told our correspondent that some arrests have been made in connection with the abduction. He said, Yes, there was an abduction of Akewugbagold twins yesterday night. Efforts intensified, arrests were made and currently assisting the police in investigations. Interstate 95 motorists will encounter continuous single lane closures in one or both directions for the next two weeks between the Delaware state line and the U.S. 322 Interchange for construction activities, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced. The construction is part of a project to rehabilitate pavement and repair 15 structures on more than 11 miles of the interstate in Lower Chichester, Upper Chichester, Chester, Ridley, Tinicum, the City of Chester, Upland and Ridley. Normal highway and bridge construction projects in Pennsylvania remain paused as part of the commonwealths efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. This project is part of critical work that continues statewide addressing safety needs and work needed to eliminate roadway restrictions that could impede the ability for the movement of life sustaining goods and services, PennDOT said. The work schedule is: *7 a.m. April 28 through 3 p.m. May 9, continuous lane closure on northbound I-95 between the Delaware state line and the U.S. 322 Interchange; and *7 a.m. April 30 through 4 p.m. May 1, continuous lane closure on southbound I-95 between the U.S. 322 Interchange and the Delaware state line. General contractor Allan A. Myers, Inc. of Worcester, Montgomery County, will mill, overlay and rehabilitate the existing concrete pavement including 41 ramps; perform minor structural repairs to 15 of the 33 bridges located in the project limits; repair sections of median barrier; upgrade guide rail; install new pavement markings, delineators and rumble strips; repair and clean existing inlets and pipes; and replace damaged or missing traffic signs. The Pennsylvania Welcome Center just north of the Delaware state line also will be improved with concrete base repairs and new parking stripes, pavement markings and signs. The $68,378,777 project is financed with 80 percent federal and 20 percent state funds. The entire project is expected to be completed in late 2023. * PECO Energy is planning single lane closures next week for utility construction in Upper Darby and Nether Providence. The work schedule is: April 27 through May 1, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., lane closure on West Chester Pike between Lynn Boulevard and Township Line Road in Upper Darby; and April 27 through May 1, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., lane closure on Providence Road between Harvey Road and Mallard Mill Run in Nether Providence. * Aqua Pennsylvania will also close portions of U.S. 1 and Route 252 beginning this week for utility construction. The work schedule is: * State Road between Rolling Road and Sproul Road in Springfield, weekday lane closure, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through May 1; and * Providence Road between Kirk Lane and Monroe Street in Upper Providence and Media, weekday lane closures 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through May 1. Aqua will also close West Chester Pike in both directions at the intersection with Rockridge Road in Edgmont from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through May 1 for water main installation. * PECO Energy is also continuing single lane closures this week on two highways in Delaware County for utility construction. All work will take place between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. The schedule is: * Sproul Road between Rosemont Avenue and Summit Road in East Whiteland Township through April 28; and * Lancaster Avenue eastbound between Pembroke Avenue and St. Davids Road/Chamounix Road in Radnor through May 1. * For information on projects occurring or being bid this year, those made possible by or accelerated by Act 89, or those on the departments Four and Twelve Year Plans, visit www.projects.penndot.gov Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 860 traffic cameras. 511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website. For PennDOT information, visit www.penndot.gov. Follow local PennDOT information on Twitter at www.twitter.com/511PAPhilly, and follow the department on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennsylvaniadepartmentoftransportation and Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennsylvaniadot Five more people have died as a result of Covid-19 in Northern Ireland's hospitals, the Department of Health has confirmed. The update brings the total death toll in the country to 299. Another 82 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Northern Ireland bringing the overall number of cases to 3,308. There were another 874 tests carried out on 686 patients, bringing the total number of tests conducted to 22,072. The UK's hospital death toll is now 20,732, up by 413 from the day before, while the Republic of Ireland confirmed an additional 26 deaths, bringing the cumulative total to 1,087. It comes as Health Minister Robin Swann expressed concern people are starting to become complacent around the coronavirus lockdown guidelines. He said that while he was pleased the majority of people had followed the measures in place so far, they must continue to abide by them to prevent further deaths. It comes after reports of increased traffic on roads and street footfall across Northern Ireland. Here's how Sunday unfolded: China is pumping millions of dollars into the World Health Organization, an action one expert describes as a political move meant "to boost its superficial credentials" in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic as the US pulls its own WHO funding. Business Insider in the article China is injecting millions into WHO as the US cuts funds. Experts say Beijing is trying to boost its influence over the agency and its 'deeply compromised' chief writes that China praises WHO and its leadership, saying the agency "had actively fulfilled its duties with objective, science-based and fair position." A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, told a Thursday news briefing that the country would be injecting an extra $30 million into the agency "in support of global efforts to fight COVID-19 and the construction of public health systems in developing countries." Last month, China already pledged $20 million to the organization, a move it said was meant to "help small and medium-sized countries with weak public health systems in particular to bolster their epidemic preparedness." China's latest cash injection comes a week after the US announced plans to freeze $400 million in payments to WHO. Until then, the US was the largest financial contributor to WHO. According to publicly available data, as of the end of 2019, China contributed $86 million to WHO $75.8 million in assessed contributions and $10.2 million in voluntary contributions while the US gave $893 million $236 million in assessed contributions and $656 million in voluntary contributions. It's not clear whether the US will cut from the assessed or voluntary contributions. Other nongovernmental groups, like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, gave WHO $531 million in voluntary contributions in 2019. President Donald Trump told a coronavirus press briefing last week that the organization had "failed to adequately obtain and share information in a timely and transparent fashion." Trump and other critics have accused WHO of assisting China in efforts to suppress information on the coronavirus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. In particular, the Trump administration has criticized WHO's claim in mid-January that there was no known human-to-human transmission of the virus. According to The Guardian, the tweet was posted because an official worried that a WHO expert was issuing warnings that deviated from China's messaging. (A WHO source told Business Insider the message was posted to "balance the science out," rather than for political reasons.) Japan's deputy prime minister and finance minister, Taro Aso, also referred to WHO last month as the "Chinese Health Organization," referencing its close ties to Beijing. Experts told Business Insider that China's contributions to WHO were not goodwill gestures but rather a series of political power moves to boost its global image. "Beijing sees an opportunity to boost its superficial credentials as a global contributor to the pandemic following the US decision to halt funding to WHO," said John Lee, who served as a national security adviser to Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop from 2016 to 2018. Lee now works as a senior fellow at the United States Studies Center in Sydney and a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC. He said China's other altruistic measures, like sending medical teams and protective equipment to countries battling the coronavirus, were also tools meant to give China a political boost in the global arena. Sophie Richardson, the China director at Human Rights Watch, previously told Business Insider's Alexandra Ma that China was trying to craft an image for itself as a global leader in the coronavirus fight rather than the country from which the virus originated. "Chinese officials and their propaganda machinery are in high gear worldwide trying to paint the Chinese government as the solution to the problem, rather than one of the sources of it," Richardson said. WHO leaders 'captured' by China Lee said that while science and health experts at WHO "do wonderful work on the ground in all parts of the world," the agency's leadership had become "captured by countries such as China," putting its credibility to the test. "When [WHO] leadership is called to make decisions of global health concern such as with the current pandemic, such decisions tend to be overly influenced by political rather than health priorities," Lee said. WHO officials have hit back at accusations of the organization being "China-centric," saying its close relationship with China is "essential" in understanding the origins of the outbreak. "It was absolutely critical in the early part of this outbreak to have full access to everything possible, to get on the ground and work with the Chinese to understand this," Bruce Aylward, a senior adviser to Tedros, told reporters earlier this month. Tedros has also dismissed accusations of associating too closely with China, saying the agency was "close to every nation." "We are color-blind," he told reporters on April 8. Statewide Newer Older Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 A continual examination of news and events that affect other locations, as well as Beaufort County in a related sense. By AFP ISLAMABAD: The US peace envoy to Afghanistan on Sunday called on the country's feuding leaders to set their differences aside to combat the coronavirus pandemic and advance a stalled peace agreement signed with the Taliban earlier this year. The well-being of the Afghan people and the country itself depend on all parties devoting their full energies to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, the shared enemy of all, Zalmay Khalilzad tweeted early Sunday. He said Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah, who each declared himself the victor in September's election, should put the interest of the country ahead of their own" during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began last week. He urged the government and the Taliban to carry out a prisoner exchange that was part of the US-Taliban peace agreement signed in February. The agreement had called for the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners and 1,000 government personnel held by the insurgents. FOLLOW COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES HERE To date, Ghani has released 550 detainees based on age, vulnerability to the virus and time served. The Taliban have not said if those are among the prisoners referred to in the agreement. The Taliban have freed 60 prisoners. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said in a statement Sunday that the insurgent group was living up to its side of the agreement, and that it was willing to negotiate a countrywide cease-fire in intra-Afghan talks. Those negotiations were supposed to have begun within 10 days of the Feb. 29 deal but are still on hold because of the political bickering in Kabul. ALSO READ | US records 2,494 more coronavirus fatalities in 24 hours, death toll at 53,751; tally rises to 938,072 The Taliban are continuing to attack security outposts, even as the US and NATO proceed with a full troop withdrawal that is set to be completed next year. The Taliban have carried out 2,804 attacks since the agreement was signed, Jawed Faisal, spokesman for the National Security Adviser's office, said Saturday. However, the Taliban have not attacked U.S. or NATO troops, who say they will continue to aid Afghan forces. Afghanistan has meanwhile reported 1,463 infections and 47 deaths from the new coronavirus. The virus causes mild to moderate symptoms in most patients, who recover within a few weeks. But it is highly contagious and can cause severe illness or death, particularly in older patients or those with underlying health problems. Afghanistan's health care system has been heavily degraded by decades of war and would be ill-equipped to contain a major outbreak. Testing has been sporadic, in part because of local stigma surrounding the disease. In this handout video grab released by the Defense Department of the US, a test medium-range ground-launched cruise missile exits its ground mobile launcher at the US Navy-controlled San Nicolas Island off the coast of Los Angeles, California, United States. [Photo/VCG] By Guo Xiaobing The US Department of State recently issued the 2020 Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments (Compliance Report), which hyped up how China has failed to honor its commitment to the nuclear testing moratoria. This wasnt the White Houses first attempt to fake big news in the arms control field. After tearing the Iranian nuclear agreement, revoking the former administrations signature on the Arms Trade Treaty, exiting the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, and planning to pull back from the Treaty on Open Skies, why has Washington repeatedly taken surprising moves in the arms control field? Arms control is an important aspect of the current US administrations Whole-of-Government Approach (WGA) to major-country competition and a pivot of its security aggression. Adhering to this strategic positioning, American officials showed great interest in arms control in the past two years and repeatedly proposed the trilateral arms control negotiations among the US, Russia, and China. From the US perspective, the current international arms control system no longer fits its security interests and needs bold and extensive restructuring. Christopher Ford, Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation, is one of the few arms control experts in the Trump administration. In his speech at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a British think tank, in February, Ford said the current international arms reduction system was created in the early post-Cold War period when the West was in a dominant position and designed based on an optimistic forecast of globalization. As China and Russia are catching up with the US in military strength, this system is no longer appropriate, he said, adding that it puts the US at a disadvantage in many ways instead of maintaining its supremacy. At a disadvantage, Washington has figured out three remedies to change this situation. The first is pulling back from various treaties in order to seek absolute superiority in every related field. The second way is delaying. It had abandoned the Obama-proposed nuclear-free world and instead called for creating the environment for nuclear disarmament, intending to drag the process into the far future. The third way is pulling other parties in. In total disregard of the fact that China lags far behind the US and Russia in the nuclear force, it tried to pull China into a trilateral negotiation and tie its hands, with the ultimate goal of restraining or even collapsing the rival and succeeding in the major-country competition through the combination punches of arms race and arms control as well as the trade war and tech war. Fully conscious that what its doing is groundless and unpopular, the US, to secure support from its western allies, has launched a public opinion campaign in the world in a bid to foster a new arms control culture and thinking and build a united front against China and Russia. The Trump administration is bent on blazing out a new era of arms control, which, however, will probably bring disaster to the world. The current arms control system isnt perfect and needs reform and improvement to keep abreast of the developing times and the changing international situation, but it has played an important role in maintaining international peace and stability. Washingtons arbitrary destruction of this system for its own categorical superiority will stimulate a new round of arms race, worsen the international security situation and increase the risks of major-country conflicts. The Cold War, as the name indicates, was because it was under the restraint of arms-reduction treaties. Once these treaties are cast into the wind and major-country disputes escalate, there will not only be a second Cold War, but a hot war is also likely. Meanwhile, the US, sticking to an ideological struggle, has stubbornly politicized the arms control issue, stigmatized all proposals by China and Russia, and hyped various sensational theories about the strategic threats from those two countries. This will undoubtedly deepen their strategic mistrust and is in no way good for the arms control process. Besides, the arms control reform advocated by the Trump administration is still based on the paramount principle of America first without heed to the security concerns of its allies. US governments recent moves and statements all indicate that China is one of the main targets of its so-called reform of arms control system, for which we should be fully prepared. Arms reduction was at the heart of the strife between the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, but the nuclear weapon isnt at the heart of the China-US relationship now that is more complex than the US-Soviet relation then, yet Washington, obsessed with the concept of major-country competition, is determined to make a big fuss over it. In the face of the counter-currents and challenges, the USs hyping of Chinas failure to honor the commitment to the nuclear testing moratoria would be part of its preparations for quitting the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which is worth paying close attention to. The essence of global strategic stability is that nuclear states recognize each others capability of nuclear retaliation and dont pursue the categorical superiority of destroying the rivals nuclear forces at one go. This isnt an obsolete concept as the White House claimed, but the largest common ground of international arms reduction before a nuclear-free world becomes a reality. In the new era, however, the concept of global strategic stability should be enriched and expanded to cover both strategic offensive weapons and missile defense, both nuclear weapons and conventional precision strike weapons. Super nuclear powers shoulder special responsibilities for nuclear disarmament. They need renew the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) as soon as possible and further slash their huge nuclear arsenal, so as to create the environment for multilateral nuclear arms reduction. (The author is director of the Institute of Arms Control and Security Studies, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations) Hannah McArdle was in familiar surroundings. Mallacoota, a small town in the East Gippsland region of Victoria swells in the last week of December. Thousands of holiday makers descend on the community looking to see in the new year by the water. Bustling caravan parks, fishing boats and kids playing on the beach are all familiar sights as the year draws to a close. For many years a beach mission team has operated in Mallacoota running childrens holiday activities. Hannah had volunteered on the mission team for the previous three summers. This summer Hannah was stepping into a leadership role as one of three team directors. While she may have had slight nerves at the prospect of having responsibility for 30 volunteers, nothing could have prepared her for the baptism of fire she was about to experience. Evacuate. Evacuate. The first signs of trouble came on December 30th. The team were running the 2nd day of childrens activities. It was really weird weather, Hannah says as she remembers a hot, humid and smoky day. A lightning strike 50 kilometers away had created a bushfire which was now burning out of control. The program was called off early that due to the intense humidity. As the fire continued to march toward the town, team members were told to put long clothing on and evacuate to the beach. Team members were shaken and scared; everyone who had a phone was calling their parents; crying, praying and passing on the little information they knew. Waiting for the firestorm In the middle of the afternoon thousands of holiday makers and locals found themselves evacuated to the beach. Hannah recalls that no one really knew what was going on; communication wasnt clear. As the hours dragged on and with the fire still some distance away the team were given permission to return to a Church to get some sleep. The fire was expected to descend upon the community in the early hours of the morning. It wasnt easy to sleep with fire set to bear down on the community. Hannah managed to sleep for 3 or 4 hours before a paramedic arrived to provide eye drops and masks to team members. As Hannah peered out the window, she saw the morning sky turn from orange to blood red and finally to black. Back to the beach It was now 9am on the last day of the year; it was 50 degrees outside and the water supply had become undrinkable due to ash contamination. With limited fire trucks available to defend the town the team were told to evacuate to the beach. Hannah and her team wrapped wet tea-towels over their heads to assist with breathing as they battled thick smoke on their way back to the beach. The fire was now engulfing houses in nearby streets. More than 100 homes in Mallacoota would ultimately be destroyed. Hannah estimates the fire was now just 2-3 kilometers away and many were fearing the worst. Miraculous escape A last-minute wind change miraculously spared township from total destruction. Many news reports described the change as the wind of God. Upon hearing the news the entire beach erupted with cheers of relief. Hannah had endured almost 24 hours in the line of fire and with no way out of Mallacoota; she and her friends would have to wait several days to be evacuated out the community. No way home While the team awaited news of evacuation arrangements the team showed great selflessness. The team decided while they were waiting, they would keep serving the community; the very reason they came to Mallacoota. The team ran craft activities and games for children everyday whilst they remained in Mallacoota. Navy to the rescue The Government deployed a Navy Ship; HMAS Choules to rescue nearly 1000 people from Mallacoota; including Hannah and the mission team. Hannah and her friends left behind 9 cars and 2 trailers and wouldnt be able to collect them for several weeks. Hannah was able to roam widely throughout the Navy ship and even managed a solid nights sleep on an office floor. After a 27-hour trip the HMAS Choules arrived safely in Western Port Bay. Returning to Mallacoota It was a confronting trip back to Mallacoota for Hannah to collect her vehicle. For over two hundred kilometers of her journey she saw nothing but the sight of black burnt bush. On December 30th amid the evacuation call Hannah made a snap decision to move her car. Had it not been for that decision she wouldnt have a car; fire went through the very spot her car had previously been parked. Trusting in the Lord It hasnt been easy for Hannah to return to life as normal; the bushfire has impacted her life in a big way. Hannah never doubted that God had a plan and believes these experiences have strengthened her trust in God. Hannah was interviewed on the ABC and shared about how her team trusted in God even in the darkest of moments. Despite her ordeal, Hannah says she wouldnt trade it for the world. God is always using things for good even when we cant see it. Hannah is looking forward to going back to Mallacoota at the end of the year to continue serving the community. Shes looking forward to leading through a full program this time. Individual History Newer Older Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 A small, but very real history originates with every new story of each person's life, thus building an interlinking system of experiences - learned and taught. FILE PHOTO: Labourers work at SMB coltan mine near the town of Rubaya By Helen Reid and Hereward Holland JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's mining minister warned mine shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic would trigger a "catastrophic" economic and social crisis in the country, as he reported a 15% slump in cobalt exports in the first quarter. Congo, the world's biggest producer of cobalt, is highly reliant on mining, with the industry contributing 32% of its GDP and 95% of export revenue in 2018, according to the central bank. "The DRC would not be able to withstand an abrupt halt in the mining production of the flagship projects operating there if they invoked force majeure," Mines Minister Willy Kitobo Samsoni wrote in a ministry analysis seen by Reuters. Exports of cobalt, a metal used in batteries, fell by 15.2% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, he said in the memo, while copper exports increased by 12.8%. "As a result (of mine shutdowns), we risk moving from a health crisis to an economic crisis, which would in turn lead to a social crisis," Samsoni wrote. The clause of force majeure allows certain terms of an otherwise legally binding agreement to be ignored because of unavoidable circumstances. Companies mining in Congo's southern copper belt include Glencore subsidiary Katanga Mining, China Molybdenum's Tenke Fungurume, MMG, and Chemaf, while Ivanhoe is developing two copper mines there. Disruption caused by the pandemic has so far driven Chemaf to shut its Usoke copper-cobalt processing plant, while Ivanhoe has suspended operations at its Kipushi copper mine project. Restrictions on movement in countries through which Congo's metals are transported could also trigger declarations of force majeure, Samsoni said. Zambia, a key transit country for copper and cobalt, has mandated all returning residents and foreigners to be quarantined for 14 days in a government facility at their own cost, according to a foreign ministry document seen by Reuters. Story continues A logistics official said this would affect the transport of metals from DRC, as truck drivers would have to go into quarantine on arrival in Zambia. "This situation cannot be sustained," he said. Depressed copper prices could also slow the development of new mines in Congo, Samsoni said, with facilities expected to enter production in 2020 or 2021, like Ivanhoe's Kamoa-Kakula project, likely to be postponed. Ivanhoe Mines Executive Co-Chairman Robert Friedland said the recent copper price decline has not affected the development schedule for Kamoa-Kakula, and that the mine's high expected grade of copper makes it better able to withstand low prices. "The Kakula mine is making excellent progress on its development," he said in a written statement to Reuters, reiterating the company's previous guidance for first production in the third quarter of 2021. On April 2 the company said it had locked down the Kamoa-Kakula project with all key personnel on site in order to ensure operational continuity and minimise the impact of the pandemic on the development schedule. (Reporting by Hereward Holland and Helen Reid; Editing by Jane Merriman, Elaine Hardcastle and Jan Harvey) In reaction to President Mahamas wonderful suggestion that the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) should devise a way to give bail-outs to its contributors to cushion them against the pangs of the coronavirus, one of the most baseless arguments I have read so far, sadly has come from SSNIT itself. In a Public Notice, SSNIT noted The benefits His Excellency is suggesting that we pay do not exist in law. To do so will constitute an illegality and a contravention of the provisions of the National Pensions Act, 2008, Act 766. And that is very unfortunate. Is ACT 766 not amendable? If politicians want something for themselves, they find ways to rush to Parliament to amend this same Law, why cant the same be done so that ordinary citizens like me and you benefit? Why cant the law be amended so that the Ghanaian worker can also find some relief? Just yesterday, the US House of Senate overwhelmingly passed the $484 billion bill to support American businesses and hospitals in the face of the pandemic. In March, the US Legislators passed a legislation that ensured that a whopping $2 trillion stimulus package is paid to American citizens and families in support against the harsh conditions arising from the covid-19 breakout. Is the Ghanaian politician telling us it is not possible? When they desired, didnt this same Parliament sat to approve Akufo-Addos Imposition of Restriction Act just last month? Why cant they sit and approve a relief for the ordinary Ghanaian worker? In any case, does SSNIT, an organization that spends $72 million on software even has the moral right to even speak against this call? Jeeee! What I expected SSNIT, led by Dr. Addo Kufour to say is that they are ready to work out a plan for the Ghanaian contributor if Government and Parliament can come out with the needed Legislation. Such a statement will show enormous solidarity for the hardworking Ghanaian worker and for once portray SSNIT as an organization that cares for its primary stakeholders contributors. It is sad to note that some Ghanaians, because of their political affiliations are countering this suggestion from the former President. These are ordinary men and women of Ghana who stand to be supported if our Government, Parliament, and SSNIT act right but because of politics, they have chosen the side of the insensitive few. God help us all. Nii Ayi Anteh [email protected] Ledzokuku. Amid the unprecedented outbreak of deadly Coronavirus, the confirmed number of cases of the deadly disease has risen to 207,634 in Spain on April 26. However, the daily death toll significantly dropped to 288, which is the lowest number of casualties recorded in the country since March 20. This also came when the Spanish government eased some restrictions and allowed children to come outside for the first time in the last six weeks. In the press briefing, the Health Ministry said on April 26 that the figure dropped from April 25 when the daily death toll recorded was 378. The total number of people died due to the deadly virus in Spain has now reached 23,190 which is the third-highest number of casualties after 54,265 in the United States and 26,384 in Italy. Spain was under one of the toughest lockdowns in the world since March 14 in a bid to flatten the curve of Coronavirus spread and just this week, began lifting some restrictions. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had pledged to free the children to get some fresh air from April 27 after nearly 47 million people in the country remained confined to their homes. Read - 'Gujarat COVID-19 Situation Better Than Italy, Spain, France': Official Read - Spain Reports Nearly 3,000 Daily Virus Cases Western Australia begins lifting restrictions Similar to Spain, certain parts of Australia have announced the partial lifting of lockdown, which was placed to curb the further spread of the pandemic. Australian Premier Mark McGowan has said on April 26 that after getting remarkable result in the countrys fight against the deadly pathogen, the government has decided to cautiously relax some most extreme restrictions in western Australia. As of April 26, Australia has recorded 6,710 cases of coronavirus with at least 83 fatalities. Meanwhile, after originating from Chinas wet markets, the Coronavirus has now claimed 203,703 lives worldwide as of April 26. According to the tally by international news agency, the pandemic has now spread to 210 countries and has infected at least 2,936,386 people. Out of the total infections, 841,286 have been recovered but the easily spread virus is continuing to disrupt many lives. Major cities have been put under lockdown in almost all countries and the economy is struggling. Read - Coronavirus: Kept Inside For Weeks, Triplets Emerge In Spain Read - Spain's Bullfighters Ask For Govt Aid Amid Pandemic (With agency inputs) Image Source: AP Two terrorists have been killed so far in the encounter between Indian Army personnel, CRPF, police and terrorists in Gudder area of Kulgam. As per sources, security forces are carrying out a cordon and search operation. It is also reported that two more terrorists have been trapped and further details are awaited. An army personnel has also been injured during the encounter. #UPDATE Jammu & Kashmir: Security forces are carrying out a cordon & search operation in Gudder area of Kulgam where an encounter broke out between security personnel & terrorists. https://t.co/2DCmYDnOtp ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 READ: Sindh govt appeals in Pak SC against acquittal of terrorists who murdered Daniel Pearl READ: J&K: Encounter breaks out between security forces, terrorists in Pulwama Around 300 Terrorists Waiting In PoK For Intrusion With around 300 terrorists reported to be waiting across the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to sneak into Kashmir Valley, the Indian Army is taking steps to "re-calibrate" its counter-infiltration grid and counter-insurgency strategies to check the intrusion. Lt Gen B S Raju, who is commanding the strategically-located XV corps in Kashmir, has also asked his formations to take adequate precautions during patrolling along the Line of Control (LoC) in view of the coronavirus outbreak with the possibility of the infiltrating terrorists carring the infection. The field intelligence units of the Army coupled with inputs comprising HUMINT (human intelligence) and TECHINT (technical intelligence) indicate that around 300 terrorists, mainly of the banned Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), are waiting across the border to sneak in, officials said, citing reports from Srinagar collated in the national capital. As many as 16 launch pads along the LoC had been activated in the recent weeks by the Pakistan Army and its external snooping agency ISI which included those located in difficult terrains like Nowshera and Chhamb from where the terrorists are known to enter the Gulmarg area of north Kashmir. READ: 'Parks and Recreation' returns after 5 years for special, proceeds for COVID-19 fund READ: Chris Pratt interrupts his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger's quarantine baking session In a step to ensure the protection of Aadhaar related information of people, the Finance Ministry has ordered the insurance and security agency not to ask for the Aadhaar card photocopy for Know Your Customer (KYC) process. Instead, the Ministry has recommended insurance companies and agencies to use UIDAI - Aadhar Authentication Service in order to complete the verification process. The step is taken by the Finance Ministry under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Insurance companies will also ensure the security and privacy of Aadhaar related information under the Aadhaar Act. Aadhaar number is a 12-digit random number issued by the UIDAI to the residents of India after satisfying the verification process laid down by the Authority. Any individual, irrespective of age and gender, who is a resident of India, can enroll to obtain Aadhaar number. The Aadhaar card includes details like name, date of birth, gender, permanent address, mobile number (optional) and email ID (optional). CLINTON COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI)"It has been just an incredible opportunity to get to see how the communities are coming together and working together," said Terris Ayres. It was an idea that took off for Owner of Advantage Apparel Terris Ayres. He decided to give seniors in Tippecanoe, Carroll and Clinton counties a free senior banner. He also offered a 50% discount on senior banners to surrounding counties and states. "Completely free was over 250 banners," said Ayres, and more than 500 orders. Since kicking off this deal Advantage Apparel has seen more than 1700 customers and has shipped senior banners to more than 2000 seniors across the country. "It's been several counties in Indiana plus we've had over 30 states in the United States that has been ordering," said Ayres. States such as Michigan, Alaska, Hawaii and even Delaware, just to name a few, are places that have taken advantage of the senior banner deal. "I found out of these are surprises for the seniors," said Ayres. "A family in North Carolina is ordering a banner for somebody in Kentucky and having it shipped as a surprise. That's been really fun being a part of those celebrations." Ayres said it's awesome to see communities from all over the country banning together during a difficult time. "It does feel really good and it's exciting to see how good our community can be," said Ayres. "I hope we are just sending a positive impact into the communities." For more information on Advantage Apparel and current/upcoming deals click here. Click here for the previous story on Advantage Apparel. When the coronavirus crisis began, Boris Johnson and his Ministers wanted to follow the science. But thanks to the paranoia and false pride of the Chinese government, there was precious little science to follow. 'We found it very difficult to get any hard information out of China at the beginning,' a Minister told me. 'When we offered to send help or expertise, it was turned down. And when information did start to emerge it was just dripped out via the World Health Organisation. 'The attitude was basically, 'this is a Chinese problem and it will have a Chinese solution.' Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits a laboratory at the Public Health England National Infection Service in Colindale, north London, Britain, March 1, 2020 Over the past week the Government's Covid-19 response has come under sustained assault. The Cabinet was too slow to appreciate the enormity of the looming pandemic. When they did finally react, they moved with all the assurance of the Keystone Cops. And at every stage, narrow political ideology a desire to protect the markets and unleash 'herd immunity' on an unsuspecting public drove their strategy. It's a lie. Not a false narrative or partial perspective, but a destructive fiction. Because the truth is this: When the Chinese wall of silence finally collapsed, Boris and his Ministers had no choice but to follow the science. They did follow the science. And the science worked. There is a fashionable pose currently on display at Westminster or the virtual sphere that constitutes Westminster in lockdown called the Inquiry Feint. A politician or other detractor of the Government will solemnly declare, 'we have to wait for the public inquiry before drawing conclusions', before then immediately concluding the coronavirus response has been criminally negligent and Ministers are little better than war criminals. But there is no need to wait for any inquiry. The facts that destroy the main case against the Government are already on display. All that is required is for people to raise their gaze, and drop their prejudices, for long enough to actually see them. The hindsight so beloved by Boris's critics is not needed. Currently sitting on the Cabinet Office website are the official documents produced as the early stages of the crisis unfolded. It shows what Ministers were advised, and why that advice was furnished. And it exposes each of the primary lines of attack on them to be a deliberate and malicious falsehood. Take the argument circulating last week that the PM's reluctance to introduce an early lockdown was driven solely by a desire to protect trade. Summaries of the Government's advisory panel the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M) are clear. On March 4, Ministers were advised that 'full household isolation will have a disproportionate impact on poorer families, reducing family income, increasing costs (heating, electricity, food delivery) at the same time as preventing access to free school meals and other social services provided via schools'. Boris wasn't holding off lockdown to protect Richard Branson. He was holding off because he was trying to protect Britain's share of the 500million people Oxfam has warned will be pushed into poverty by the Covid-19 pandemic. Then there is the argument that Ministers were simply too complacent to rush the nation into the lockdown that would have saved countless lives. If only we'd reacted like they did in Hong Kong or mainland China, all of this could have been avoided. But again, the advice given to Ministers is clear. As late as February 26, they were being warned by their advisers that a full lockdown 'might have a similar impact on that seen in Hong Kong or main land China reducing the [virus] reproduction number to around 1. However, this would result in a large second epidemic once measures were lifted.' Yes, some lives could initially have been saved by forcing Britain into the pain of a draconian and premature incarceration. Only for a second wave to decimate the nation a few months later. But the most shameful and vicious lie relates to the continuing fantasy of herd immunity. This still holds that Boris and his senior advisers decided to 'take it on the chin', let the virus run amok and allow natural selection to do its work. The conclusions of a SPI-M meeting on February 26 reveal the truth. Ministers were advised: 'In the event of a pandemic, without action, the NHS will be unable to meet all demands placed on it. Demand on beds is likely to overtake supply well before the peak is reached.' A policy of herd immunity would indeed have meant the survival of the fittest. Because everyone else would have been dead as the NHS collapsed around their ears. To believe Boris Johnson signed off on such a policy, you cannot just embrace the liberal caricature of him as an entitled dilettante. Or a hard-Right ideologue. Or even an indolent patsy of that sinister Machiavelli, Dominic Cummings. You have to believe he is a fullblown psychopath. One who authorised the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Britons, and the total implosion of the NHS, all in the certainty the subsequent political reckoning would drive him and his party from office for a lifetime. There is a popular and clever line circulating that claims Boris is 'hiding behind his advisers'. But it's a conceit that unwittingly reveals the reality. Boris did follow the advice of his advisers. And the strategy they advocated has worked. We were told the plan was to time the lockdown so the virus peak would be suppressed squeezing the sombrero NHS capacity would be safeguarded, and the pandemic's worst effects could be mitigated. And that's exactly what happened. For the past 40 years we have been inculcated with the same mantra: 'The NHS is being underfunded. Its staff are demoralised. The entire service is on the brink of collapse.' But when faced with its biggest challenge for a century, the NHS did not collapse. The staff and their institution stood strong. 'We are 14 days behind Italy,' we were told, as the hospitals in Lombardy started resembling wartime field hospitals. But we were not. And Boris's decision to listen to his advisers rather than bar-room epidemiologists was the key to that. As a No10 adviser said: 'You can see lockdown is starting to sag at the edges a little. Imagine if that had happened two weeks ago just as we were approaching the peak. Imagine the lives that would have been lost.' Imagine something else. Go back to the start of the crisis. Boris Johnson announces a national lockdown on a scale never before seen in peacetime. 'Do your senior medical and scientific aides back this decision,' he is asked. 'No,' he replies, 'they do not.' He would have been dragged out of No10 by men in white coats. 'When this is all over, we will have our inquiry. It will show Boris and his Ministers did indeed 'hide behind their advisers'. And each and every one of us should thank our God that they did. Over 400 Pakistanis stranded in Afghanistan due to the restrictions in place to curb the coronavirus pandemic crossed over to Pakistan through the Torkham border and have been placed under quarantine, according to a media report on Sunday. The 462 returnees, who arrived on Saturday, include 379 men, 47 women and 60 children. With this, the total number of Pakistanis who have returned from Afghanistan amid the ongoing crisis has reached 1,632, the Dawn newspaper reported. Hundreds of Pakistanis and Afghan nationals are stuck on either side due to closure of the border as a precautionary measure to contain the deadly coronavirus from spreading. Shamsul Islam, the focal person for the return of stranded Pakistanis, said that more people were expected to come back via the Torkham border in the coming days. They were shifted to a quarantine facility in Jamrud in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after completion of the necessary immigration procedure, he said. The swab samples of the newly returned people would be taken after 48 hours of their arrival and they would be given complete health facilities, the report said. The total number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan reached 12,644 on Saturday with 256 deaths. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court has asked the AAP government to simplify the procedure of getting ration by poor and needy people who have Aadhaar cards and voter IDs but do not possess ration cards. A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar said if there is any need for a change in the policy decision, it shall also be simplified by authorities looking at the need of the people at large. The court directed authorities that if any change in the policy decision is carried out for simplification in the procedure to get the ration, it will be notified and informed to all the fair price shop owners. The court was hearing a plea by NGO Nayee Soch Society seeking direction to the Delhi government to provide ration to the needy on production of their Aadhaar cards or voter IDs at fair price shops functioning in their area. The plea also sought direction to authorities to provide the details of citizens who have taken the benefit of ration by way of Aadhaar cards during the period of lockdown since March 25 till date by way of applying on the Food department's website. The petition claimed non-availability of ration to people who have Aadhaar cards or voter IDs but they do not possess ration cards at present. It said these people ought to be provided ration as per the government norms from the nearest available fair price shop. The counsel for the Delhi government submitted that they are making available ration to those who are otherwise eligible and have their Aadhaar cards and voter IDs despite the fact that they are not in a position to present their ration cards. The counsel further said people who are non-residents of Delhi or migrant workers or stranded in the city during the lockdown period are being provided ration, and added that authorities will look into the list of people provided by the petitioner and ration will be provided to them from the nearest fair price shop. The court was also informed by the government's counsel that the NGO can approach authorities with a list of more people who are eligible for getting ration on the basis of Aadhaar cards or voter IDs or can approach MLAs of their particular area who are having emergency relief food coupons. After noting the submissions of the government's counsel, the bench said, "We expect from respondents that they shall also keep in mind to simplify the procedure for getting ration instead of going on the website by poor and needy people. These aspects of the matter will also be appreciated by respondents and if there is any need for change in the policy decision, the same shall be simplified by respondents looking to the need of the people at large." The court also said the statements made by the counsel may also be incorporated in the government's advisory or notes or communication to all the fair price shop owners in Delhi so that it can be effectively implemented by the shop owners and the benefit of simplified procedure can reach to the public at large who are in need of ration. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Remember when Nokia used to be the only mobile phone in the market? The time when having a Nokia phone made you feel empowered? The time when it was not easy to get yourself a Nokia phone? Well, those days are in the past and although there is a lot of nostalgia attached to these earlier mobile phones, it seems like these mobile phones were sill not able to survive at the top. Ever since smartphones became a thing, Nokia slowly started to fade away as bigger companies like Apple and Samsung started to emerge. The reason cited by most professionals is that Nokia was not able to adapt to the change in technology fast enough for them to survive. In the world of tech, Charles Darwins' survival of the fittest still pretty much dictates which companies and brands get to last the longest. The thing about technology is that it is always evolving and if a company is not able to keep up with the times, this company might not be able to survive. Although Nokia may have gotten into the market much earlier, there are new companies just like the recent Huawei that were able to catch up to their competition. The new Nokia phones Nokia Mobile is currently preparing newer phones for their US-based operators. Instead of just releasing one model, Nokia has decided to release 5 new models at a time! These new models are more likely to be among the most affordable smartphone exclusives for certain United States operators. The names of these models are the TA-1222, the TA-1218, the TA-1221, the TA-1226, and last but not the least, the TA-1231. Those phones might be sharing the same or at least similar hardware, but the included software details could actually be much more different. The WiFi certificate actually suggest that the new phones' processors might actually be coming from a company called MediaTek. The FFC documents have also revealed that the phones will be bringing back the removable battery. The BT SIG certificate has showed that both devices will be equipped with a BT 5.0 which is pretty good since the device is among the lower price range. Read Also: If You are Wondering How to Choose Between the Huawei P40, P30, and P30 Lite: Here's the Perfect Guide For You What is revealed about the specs so far? So far, the model's names have been revealed as the TA-1221, the TA-1226, the TA-1218, and the TA-1231 all holding the code name: Armstrong. Another interesting addition to this mobile phone will be the introduction of the FM Radio once again. This specific feature has been quite forgotten but it seems like Nokia is planning to bring it back! The phone will be equipped with a BT 5.0, a WiFi b/g/n, an LTE, and a GNSS additions for its connectivity. As mentioned earlier, the phone will have a removable battery once again making its parts much easier to replace in an event of your battery getting damaged. This new set of phones is said to be using the Android 10 (0CUS_1_100) software for it to run which is not bad for a budget phone. Read Also: Samsung's Galaxy S20 Ultra has an Update Glitch: Is the Tech Giant in Trouble? Tara Reades claim that Joe Biden sexually assaulted her decades ago already had more behind it than did Christine Blasey Fords allegation of the same crime. Blasey Ford couldnt produce any witness to say she complained about Brett Kavanaughs alleged misconduct at or around the time it supposedly occurred. Reade has two such witnesses, one of her friends at the time and her brother. Now, Reade has more corroboration. She has said she complained to her mother about Bidens behavior. Unfortunately, Reades mother is dead. However, there is evidence that Reades mother complained about misconduct directed at her daughter soon after Reade left Bidens staff. From Ryan Grim at the Intercept: In interviews with The Intercept, Reade. . .mentioned that her mother had made a phone call to Larry King Live on CNN, during which she made reference to her daughters experience on Capitol Hill. Reade told The Intercept that her mother called in asking for advice after Reade, then in her 20s, left Bidens office. I remember it being an anonymous call and her saying my daughter was sexually harassed and retaliated against and fired, where can she go for help?. . . . On August 11, 1993, King aired a program titled, Washington: The Cruelest City on Earth? Toward the end of the program, he introduces a caller dialing in from San Luis Obispo, California. Congressional records list August 1993 as Reades last month of employment with Bidens Senate office, and, according to property records, Reades mother, Jeanette Altimus, was living in San Luis Obispo County. Here is the transcript of the beginning of the call: KING: San Luis Obispo, California, hello. CALLER: Yes, hello. Im wondering what a staffer would do besides go to the press in Washington? My daughter has just left there, after working for a prominent senator, and could not get through with her problems at all, and the only thing she could have done was go to the press, and she chose not to do it out of respect for him. KING: In other words, she had a story to tell but, out of respect for the person she worked for, she didnt tell it? CALLER: Thats true. Grim played a recording of this call for Reade. She confirmed that its her mothers voice. The mother didnt identify Biden, or even sexual harassment/assault. And it mentions respect for [the Senator]. However, the tape confirms, I think, that Reade complained to the Senators office about a serious problem of some kind of misconduct and could not get through. This casts serious doubt on claims by Biden staffers that Reade never lodged a complaint with the office. Moreover, it seems likely that the subject of the mothers complaint was the same as the subject of Reades complaints to her friend and brother Joe Biden. The call to Larry King and the statements of Reades friend and her brother persuade me that, more likely than not, Reade was the victim of serious sexual misconduct (at a minimum) by Joe Biden. And clearly, her claim of assault has more supporting evidence than Blasey Fords claim against Brett Kavanaugh. Does this mean Biden should drop out of, or be removed from, the presidential race? I dont think so. When an alleged victim of sexual assault waits as long as Reade did to go public with her allegations, I think she needs to have more evidence than Reade has been able to muster so far. Reades allegations are credible, to use the unfortunate term so common in these cases. However, allegations should be more than credible in cases like this. And, in my opinion, they need to pass a higher standard than more likely true than false in order to justify the removal of a candidate selected by his partys voters to run for public office. Voters, of course, are free to evaluate charges like Reades (as well as allegations of sexual misconduct by President Trump) when they vote. The LG while interacting with the members of the delegation, observed that due to the Covid-19 situation, the appropriate decision on organising the yatras can only be taken after periodic reviews of the situation, as per an official release. "The government will explore all possible means required for the conduct of the yatras. ... Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Heavily-armed terrorists have attacked the security force's in Pakistan's restive North Waziristan tribal district bordering Afghanistan, sparking a gun battle in which at least two soldiers and nine militants were killed. The terrorist attacked the security forces near Pak-Afghan border in Tootnarai area of tehsil Datta Khel on Saturday, the Army said. The security forces launched a counter-attack, killing nine militants. During the gun battle, two soldiers were killed and five others injured. One terrorist was also arrested during the operation. North Waziristan has been cleared of the militants but some of them ran to Afghanistan and frequently come back to launch attacks in the area, according to officials. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Phoenix Hill Sports Park in the capital of Southwest Chinas Sichuan province hosted the 2021 Chinese FA Cup final as its inaugural event Sunday. Covering an area of 128,000 square meters, the park consists of two world-class sports venues, a retail and hotel complex, and a public plaza. It will be one of the venues of the 31st Summer World University Games Jan 12, 2022 05:45 PM Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is "jumping the gun" by gradually reopening the state's economy, claiming that the state is "certainly not out of the woods." Why it matters: The criticism from Gottlieb, who has become a trusted voice in the coronavirus response outside of the government, echoes President Trump's own accusation that Georgia is violating White House guidelines on lifting coronavirus restrictions. Trump said at a press conference on Wednesday that he "strongly" disagrees with Kemp reopening Georgia's nonessential businesses, including close-contact establishments like gyms and barbershops. Gottlieb served as FDA commissioner under Trump until April 2019. He resigned in March 2019, citing his desire to spend more time with his family. What they're saying: "Georgia's certainly not out of the woods. They're only testing about 1% of the total population. They have 23,000 cases. They may have plateaued in their epidemic maybe but they're still accruing a lot of new cases. ... Georgia's certainly jumping the gun I think here, getting started too early relative to where they are in their epidemic." Scott Gottlieb Go deeper: Stacey Abrams says Trump "incited" Georgia governor into reopening state Seoul: Some signs of life have emerged from the North Korean presidency after weeks of speculation about the health of the country's leader, Kim Jong-un. A South Korean report that Kim was to undergo heart surgery and his conspicuous absence from key events have combined to leave the world speculating about his fate. Is he sick? Does he have coronavirus? Is he dead? North Korean state media carried comments from Kim on Sunday in which he expressed his appreciation to workers who had built houses in the northern city of Samjiyon. CAIRO, April 26 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's King Salman issued an order to partially lift the curfew in all regions of the kingdom, to become from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., starting Sunday through Wednesday May 13, while keeping a 24-hour curfew in Mecca and in previously isolated neighbourhoods, state news agency (SPA) said early on Sunday. The order also allowed the opening of some economic and commercial activities, which includes wholesale and retail shops in addition to malls, in the period from 6 to 20 Ramadan, which is from Wednesday April 29 to Wednesday May 13. (Reporting by Nayera Abdallah; editing by Diane Craft) They haven't been shy in flaunting their romance in recent weeks. And on Sunday, Married At First Sight's Kasey 'KC' Osborne revealed that she's already met Michael Goonan's two-year-old son Connor. Responding to a fan's question on Michael's Instagram Stories, the 31-year-old professional dancer described the toddler as 'adorable'. 'He's adorable!' Married At First Sight's Kasey 'KC' Osborne, 31, revealed on Michael's Instagram Stories that she's met his two-year-old son Connor 'I have met little Connor, his son. He's adorable. It was fun to babysit, that's for sure,' KC said. The brunette bombshell praised Michael's parenting skills, adding: 'He's a good dad.' Michael, 29, shares Connor with an ex-girlfriend, and previously told Instagram fans that he has chosen to keep his son away from the spotlight and 'all of this nonsense'. Future stepmother? Responding to a fan's question, KC said of the 29-year-old's son: 'I have met little Connor, his son. He's adorable. It was fun to babysit, that's for sure' The couple split more than a year ago, with the entrepreneur telling TV Week magazine in February they realised they are 'better suited as friends'. Meanwhile, in their first joint media interview with New Idea earlier this month, Michael and KC revealed that she has moved into Michael's Melbourne home. They will continue self-isolating together for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic. Doting father: Michael shares Connor with an ex-girlfriend, and has chosen to keep his son away from the spotlight and 'all of this nonsense' Their friendship began a week after filming the MAFS reunion three months ago in January. They shared phone calls and texts before meeting in Melbourne for a date. Things gradually became romantic and by the time of the COVID-19 crisis, the pair had become inseparable and decided to self-quarantine together. While on the dating series, KC 'wed' Drew Brauer, while Michael had a tumultuous relationship with 'wife' Stacey Hampton. By David Tizzard Chairman Kim Jong-un is alive. Chairman Kim Jong-un is dead. He is both, and he is neither. In fact apart from a very select few of the world's 7.8 billion people, no one truly knows. Certainly not this Englishman. I specialize in British policy vis-a-vis the DPRK, with a particular focus on the years 1991 to 2000. So you'll understand if this latest event is a bit out of my wheelhouse. Yet despite that no one really knowing, the world's media and the internet have been ablaze with speculation regarding the DPRK's leader. There have been claims he has had heart surgery, brain surgery, he's on a train, he's in Wonsan, he's merely in hiding, and so on. The hashtag confirming his death has over 300,000 retweets. Where in the world is Kim Jong-un? And why the fascination when he is but one man and elsewhere millions of our loved ones are living through harder times than any would have predicted. Essentially, because he is the world's youngest head of state to possess a nuclear arsenal. Moreover, many 'experts' have been predicting the fall of the state since its formation in 1948. And it is the nuclear issue that is the reason for all the speculation. For leaders live and die all the time, just like us normal citizens. But were there to be a power vacuum in North Korea, it would spark a power struggle both internally and externally. While many perceive of the North as a monolith, all existing under the supreme totalitarian control of an omniscient leader, the reality is seemingly far from that Benthamite depiction: There are factions, there are those with contrasting views of engagement, those who truly hate the western world, those seek power, and those who merely seek the luxuries and elegances to which they have become accustomed in Pyongyang. Externally, China, South Korea, the United States, Russia, and Japan as well, perhaps, as a few of the world's largest companies would all be keen to be involved in whatever happens next. Only South Korea would seemingly have a legal ground to do so as it claims jurisdiction over the territory. One of the more interesting tidbits of information is that the capital of North Korea until 1972 was.Seoul. All the states will be carrying out briefings, placing contingency plans, discussing information regarding possible military maneuverers, psychological observations of those possibly next in-line, and if you'll pardon my French crapping their pants a little bit. But I would like to share one recent development that hasn't had much coverage elsewhere. We know that North Korea watches western media reports. And we know that they occasionally react to them through their state-run news and television operations. Recently, however, they have begun changing how they are communicating. They've gone online and are using social media. Myers' three-track framework has a new addition. What's Buzzfeed in Chosun-mal? Earlier this week, reports came out that there had been "panic buying" in some of Pyongyang's popular grocery shops and malls. Whether this was linked to the Covid-19 pandemic or the leader's health was not clear. The story was, to my knowledge, first reported by Chad O'Carroll in NK News who cited "multiple informed sources". It was later picked up by Bloomberg, the South China Morning Post, and many more. But the response was most interesting: Posted by the twitter account "@coldnoodlefan", who seemingly has ties to the country's state media, it was a video of a street reporter in Pyongyang named Un A who was "responding to claims in the western media" regarding the shortages. She did so in English and in an effort to combat "fake news". The video shows well-dressed men and women, the elites of Pyongyang, shopping in fully-stocked supermarkets, wearing masks, and commenting on the prices of the products. For the most part, perhaps predictably, they said that products had in fact been getting cheaper, particularly the Taedonggang brand goods. The interviewees are all young women, wearing make-up, and truth be told, appearing as if they would look just as at home in a Chongdam-dong brunch cafe. More evidence that, alongside the crafted appearances of Kim Yo-jong and Ri Sol-ju, the country is using social media to try and appeal to the western world and dispel the narrative and notions that it is a gerontocratic patriarchy. It's slick, well-edited, has a chill soundtrack, and shows the affluence in which some in North Korea live. Importantly, it shows that the people there have lives, dreams, children, and shopping lists just like you and I. The North Korean state reads western reports. It keeps an eye on the global narrative and it responds when it feels necessary. So I wonder what the next video will be like? More of the elites flexing in their designer goods while shopping? Wailings of millions as they mourn a loss? Or footage of Chairman Kim Jong-un atop a white horse majestically riding up to Baekdu Mountain to reinforce his family's control over the nation? To tell you the truth, none of them would surprise me. David Tizzard (datizzard@swu.ac.kr) is an assistant professor at Seoul Women's University and lectures in politics and history and Hanyang University. He presents economic and cultural issues on "Business Now" on TBS eFM (101.3FM) live every Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Photo credit: Eric Shindelbower / Boeing From Men's Health A new video shows a brand new F-15 made for Qatar fly straight up immediately after its first takeoff from St. Louis's Lambert International Airport. The F-15s two engines provide enough thrust to give it a max speed of Mach 2.5. Overseas orders like Qatars in many ways made the U.S. Air Forces new F-15, the F-15EX, possible. A video surfaced late last week of an F-15QA executing a remarkable 'Viking Takeoff.' The jet, built for Qatar, takes off like a normal fighter jet but immediately enters a steep climb, to the point where it looks like it is accelerating straight up. The two-seat fighter is not unlike the new F-15EX being built for the U.S. Air Force, which should be capable of similar levels of performance. The video, taken on April 14th, shows a brand spanking new F-15QA built for the Qatari Emiri Air Force. The aircraft hasnt even been painted yet and is a patchwork of materials colors, including yellow and aluminum. The aircraft is flying totally clean, with no drop tanks, no weapons, and probably no rear co-pilot. This reduces aircraft weight to the bare minimum necessary for flight testing and boosts the airplanes thrust-to-weight ratio. The F-15QA is powered by two General Electric F110-GE-129 afterburning turbofan engines, each of which produces the equivalent of 29,000 pounds of dry thrust. The F-15 normally weighs 45,000 pounds, meaning theres about 1.2 pounds of thrust for every pound of aircraft. The F-15 has always enjoyed a high thrust to weight ratioit was the first fighter jet that could fly straight up. The F-15QA can hit a maximum takeoff weight of 81,000 pounds, including weapons and fuel, and with all that weight would be considerably more sluggish in the skies. Photo credit: Boeing/Ron Bookout The F-15QA is the most current and advanced member of the F-15 family, which first flew in the early 1970s. The aircraft, originally designed as a single seat air superiority fighter, forked into a two-seat fighter bomber in the late 1980s. The F-15E Strike Eagle was initially produced for the U.S. Air Force and then later for South Korea, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and now Qatar. Over the years, Boeing has added more features to keep the aircraft current, to the point where the company claims its electronics and non-stealth capabilities are competitive with that of the F-22 Raptor or F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Story continues The U.S. Air Force is planning to purchase at least 72 new model F-15EX fighters. The -EX Eagles will be the services first new F-15s in a quarter century, and the service will likely pair them with stealth fighters to serve as a flying magazine, carrying large loads of bombs and missiles. The F-15EX will in many ways be identical to the F-15QA, and should be able to execute Viking Takeoffs on its own. The fighter is set to enter Air Force service in the mid-2020s. You Might Also Like Experts on the governments scientific advisory group (Sage) have warned against putting too much hope in antibody tests, as reports the government has ordered up to 50 million of them emerged on Sunday. The Mail on Sunday reported that following a breakthrough by scientists at the University of Oxford, ministers have ordered tens of millions of home test kits despite a report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) warning there is no evidence that people who have recovered are protected against reinfection. But Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust and a Sage member, said such a test would be very useful, but is a distraction and takes the focus away from increasing testing for the virus. Mr Farrar said on Twitter: In Covid-19, reliable, robust rapid test for antibodies would be very useful and science, R&D must continue at pace. But are a distraction until we have one. Focus now must be massive increase testing virus, ELISA for Ab, isolation, contact tracing and clinical care. The WHO warned earlier this week that antibody testing has not yet been proven as a reliable next step for countries seeking to lift lockdown restrictions, and advised against issuing immunity passports and risk-free certificates. The United Nations agency insists that the low levels of neutralising antibodies in the blood in cases of people who have recovered from Covid-19 are not enough to guarantee immunity. A new report by Imperial College reiterated the WHOs warning, and said that the tests are only 90 per cent reliable or less on rapid diagnostic tests. The paper, co-authored by Sage member Professor Neil Ferguson, also cautioned against using results from antibody tests as the basis for immunity passports. It said: There are significant technical and ethical challenges to the use of immunity passports. The first relates to the specificity of antibody testing, which is only about 90 percent or lower for rapid diagnostic tests but likely higher for ELISA done in the laboratory depending on the choice of antigen. A second challenge is whether detectable antibody or PCR evidence of infection means protection against Covid-19, and if so, for how long. According to reports, the home tests would allow people to return to work and normal socialising activities. They involve taking a pinprick of blood for analysis, and works like a pregnancy test, in which two lines will appear if the antibodies are present in the blood. The Mail on Sunday said the Reliable Testing Consortium (RTC) believes it could produce up to 1 million of the tests a week by June, amounting to 50 million by 2021. Minister of innovation at the Department of Health and Social Care, Lord Jim Bethell, was quoted as saying by the newspaper: This is a great story of how our manufacturers are stepping up to the challenge of Covid and I am hopeful that their product will make an impact in our battle against this terrible disease. Mr Bethell then tweeted on Sunday: Good luck to the Rapid Testing Consortium. Great to see Oxford Universitys excellent Covid research put to work. People want to know if theyve had the disease, with a test they can trust. This looks like a big step in the right direction. The government previously ordered 3.5 million antibody tests from China in hopes they would play a role in lifting lockdown measures, but testing chief Professor John Newton admitted in early April that none of the tests were fit for widespread use. The tests were not good enough to be worth rolling out in very large scale, said Prof Newton. Matt Hancock also acknowledged that early analysis of the tests from China showed some of them have not performed well. A new study, led by the National Covid Testing Scientific Advisory Panel, said rapid coronavirus antibody home tests cannot currently be relied on to provide accurate results, but a laboratory process, known as Elisa, showed promising results in indicating the presence of Covid-19 antibodies. The researchers noted in their study there is an urgent need for robust antibody detection approaches to support diagnostics, vaccine development, safe individual release from quarantine and population lockdown exit strategies. But their findings showed the performance of current lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) home test devices was inadequate for most individual patient applications. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, April 27 2020 The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has charged Emirsyah Satar with bribery and money laundering, accusing the former president director of Garuda Indonesia of accepting multiple bribes totaling Rp 49.3 billion (US$3.1 million) during his term from 2005 to 2014. The KPK has brought the charge against Emirsyah under Article 12 of the Corruption Law, which prohibits civil servants and public administrators from accepting bribes, reported antaranews.com. [We ask the court] to sentence the defendant to 12 years in prison and a fine of Rp 10 billion, [or an additional] eight months imprisonment if the defendant fails to pay the fine, KPK prosecutor Ariawan Agustiartono read out the indictment during the virtual hearing at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Thursday. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Sylvi arrived in Morocco after a weeks-long journey via the Niger desert, considered one of the most dangerous routes for sub-Saharan migrants and refugees who want to reach Europe. She had fled Cameroon, where she faced gender-based violence. Sylvi says making that journey was far less daunting than the reality she now faces in the North African country after her boat to Europe was stopped before it could cross the Strait of Gibraltar to Spain. It took me less than 20 days to get from my country to the boat that would take me to Europe, she told Al Jazeera. The entire nightmare began after being intercepted by the Moroccan royal navy, when I realised that I had to survive here. With her savings spent, she was forced to fend for herself. For a while, she found shelter in an unfinished house that she shared with 12 other migrants. In the hope of earning a little money, she swept the streets of the neighbourhood. Recently, the houses owner forced the migrants to leave and Sylvi moved to another house with a fellow Cameroonian. Many of the women migrants from sub-Saharan Africa who are seeking to reach Europe also face a bleak situation in Morocco. With no documents and no access to state services, many rely on limited support from local NGOs and have little choice but to beg for money in order to feed their families and pay rent. They also face harassment from members of the local community as well as exploitation at the hands of gangs who control the boats that would take them to Spain. Since the government imposed a nationwide lockdown on March 20 in an attempt to contain the coronavirus outbreak, people have only been allowed to go outside to buy food or medicine, meaning it has become even harder to earn money or even to beg. As of April 26, Morocco had reported at least 4,065 cases and 161 deaths. Meanwhile, the Moroccan authorities in 2018 launched a crackdown against undocumented migrants by sending them to southern towns far from the coast and borders with Spanish territory. In recent years, hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees have attempted to reach Europe from North Africa, with thousands dying at sea. In 2018, Morocco became the most popular departure point for migrants and refugees seeking to reach Europe, passing Libya. According to figures from the International Organization for Migration, more than 15,000 migrants arrived in Spain via the sea route in 2019. According to local NGO Walking Borders, an average of three people a day have died attempting to reach Spain via the sea route this year. Stupid as Charged Older Page 1 Come here for to seek what cannot be understood by the normal mind. In a veiled attack on the BJP in view of the pending approval of Maharashtra governor to nominate Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray as an MLC, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said the "frustrated" opposition party should realise that the Sena-led dispensation would remain in power even after May 27 under Thackeray. In his weekly column "Rokhtok" published in the Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana', Raut also stated that political parties in the Centre adopted the policy of weakening the states where their party is not in power in the last 60 years, and that late prime minister Indira Gandhi had dismissed non-Congress governments in nine states. The NCP and the Congress are the constituents in the Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. Thackeray is not a member of either of the two Houses of the state legislature. He was sworn in as chief minister on November 28 last year, and completes six months in office on May 28. As per the Constitution, a minister or a chief minister who is not a member of either of the houses has to be elected to either of the Houses within six months of being sworn into the post, failing which the person must resign. Raut had earlier hinted the Cabinet's recommendation to governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to nominate Thackeray as an MLC earlier this month was not being acted upon at the behest of the BJP. However, compared to his aggressive stand on the issue, Raut appeared softer on the governor in the Sunday column. "For the last 60 years, political parties in the Centre have adopted the policy of weakening the states where their party is not in power. Late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had dissolved governments in nine states where non-Congress parties were in power," Raut stated. Raut said the Constitutional post of governor has been misused for such work. "The Centre's act of not allowing governments of other political parties to remain in power in other states is a mob-rule mentality working within the framework of Constitution. The BJP has been fighting against such mob-rule mentality for years," Raut said. The Rajya Sabha MP said he didn't foresee such a scenario in Maharashtra that could potentially usher in anarchy. "When I had recalled the shameless act of then governor of Andhra Pradesh Ram Lal (in early 1980s), BJP leaders Narayan Rane and Ashish Shelar linked it with governor Koshyari and in a way insulted their own leader," Raut said. "They should know that during those days, the oath was administered to one Bhaskar Rao as chief minister of then Andhra Pradesh when incumbent CM N T Rama Rao was undergoing medical treatment in the US. The governor (Ram Lal) acted at the behest of then Central government," he said. Raut recalled that the entire episode had been termed as shameless by then BJP leaders in the country as well as constitution luminaries like Nani Palkhiwala. Attacking the BJP over gubernatorial appointments, Raut said, "....The list is quite long, from (appointment as governor) of Romesh Bhandari in Uttar Pradesh to recent case ofVajubhai Vala in Karnataka where the governors have murdered the Constitution using their powers". Raut said the Opposition party in Maharashtra had lost its "sense of differentiating between right and wrong". "Even amidst COVID crisis, the party thinks of stoking the fire of anarchy in the state," the Sena leader said. He said the governor's image was getting maligned because BJP leaders are frequently meeting him at Raj Bhavan, as if he is still a BJP leader. "A senior minister in the state Cabinet informed me that going by the frequency of opposition leaders meeting the governor, a cottage in the Raj Bhavan should be declared as official residence of LoP (Leader of Opposition)," Raut said in an apparent reference to Devendra Fadnavis, the current LoP in the Legislative Assembly and former CM. The governor's action of administering oath at the dawn had evoked a controversy last year, but the real threat is getting support for such acts from senior leaders, Raut added. He was referring to Koshyari administering oath to Fadnavis as the CM for a second term and NCP's Ajit Pawar as the deputy CM in November last year. However, the Ajit Pawar- supported BJP government collapsed within 80 hours after the NCP leader resigned, forcing Fadnavis to follow the suit. Raut said one should understand that Thackeray enjoys the support of 175 MLAs which will continue in future as well. "The governor knows that the BJP cannot install its CM in Maharashtra. He is wise. The Thackeray-led government will remain in power notwithstanding efforts to visit Raj Bhavan continuously," Raut stated. He said the governor should clear the perception about any link between the opposition party and Raj Bhavan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With Kim Jong Uns Health Uncertain, Sister Kim Yo Jong Comes Into Focus As unconfirmed reports about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who was last seen on April 11, continue to churn, speculation about his health has ramped up, including on who might replace him. Details on Kims whereabouts or condition havent been confirmed by any news source, including North Korean state-run media, although a spokesperson for South Koreas presidential office said he is alive and well. When Kim Jong Il died in 2011 of a heart attack, Kim took over, and each leadership change in North Korea has raised the specter of a leadership vacuum in the Kim dynasty, which has ruled since the country was taken over by communists in 1948. Kims younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, who is believed to be 31, is reportedly in charge of key government functions and serves as the vice director of the ruling Workers Partys powerful Central Committee. A number of experts have speculated that because she is a member of the Kim dynasty and the daughter of former leader Kim Jong Il, Kim Yo Jong could be tapped to become Kims replacement in the absence of an heir. Kim Yo Jong will be for the time being the main power base with control of the organization and guidance department, the judiciary and public security, Cho Han-bum of the Korea Institute for National Unification told Reuters. So far, Kim Yo Jong has kept a relatively low profile and only released her first public statement in March in criticizing South Korea over live-fire exercises. In 2017, she was blacklisted, along with other North Korean officials, by the Treasury Department for severe human rights abuses. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, speaks while inspecting a newly built submarine to be deployed soon, at an unknown location in North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service/File Photo via AP) She has been seen at her brothers side in propaganda photos and was involved in diplomatic meetings between Pyongyang and Washington. During the 2018 Winter Olympics, she served as a delegate and sat near South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The North Korea Leadership Watch website claims that Kim Yo Jong joined her brothers in Berne, Switzerland, and she attended an elementary school, close to where Jong Un studied between 1996 and 2000. In 2014, North Korean state media identified her as a deputy director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department, the website says. Among the Norths power elite, Kim Yo Jong has the highest chance to inherit power, and I think that possibility is more than 90 percent, said analyst Cheong Seong-Chang at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea, reported The Associated Press. North Korea is like a dynasty, and we can view the Paektu descent as royal blood so its unlikely for anyone to raise any issue over Kim Yo Jong taking power. Kim Yo Jong and Kim Jong Un are seen on Sept. 19, 2018. (Pyongyang Press Corps Pool via AP) Some experts noted that North Korean politics are dominated by men, meaning it would be unlikely that Kim Yo Jong would be able to rule for long. North Korean politics and the three hereditary power transfers have been male-centred. I wonder whether she can really overcome bloody socialist power struggles and exercise her power, said Nam Sung-wook, a professor at Korea University in South Korea, AP reported. White House national security adviser Robert OBrien, who said the United States is monitoring reports on Kim Jong Uns health, told reporters last week that the basic assumption would be that maybe it would be someone in the family who replaces him. But again, he added, its too early to talk about that because we just dont know, you know, what condition Chairman Kim is in and well have to see how it plays out. On Sunday, Chung-in Moon, a foreign policy adviser to South Koreas President Moon Jae-in, told Fox News: Our government position is firm. Kim Jong Un is alive and well. Kim has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13 and added that no suspicious movements have so far been detected, Moon added. Asian media outlets reported over the weekend that Kim was either dead or in a vegetative state. - A Nigerian called Ola has lambasted a man for coming to her DM to woo her - The lady said the man lacks culture and the skill to proposition a woman - In the screenshot she shared, the conversation went from harmless to a verbal war A Nigerian lady with the name Ola and twitter handle @iam__Ella has called out a man who slid into a direct message to woo her. The lady did a screenshot of the long conversations they had and how everything turned awry, degenerated to name-calling. In one of the screenshots, the man said he is Moshood from Ibadan but his friends call in Morgan. The man said that after he considered her worthy after he checked through his 20,000 followers on Twitter. After the lady told him in a part of their conversation that he lacked the basic know-how on wooing a lady and sound desperate, the man said that she is rude. From there on, their conversation became a name-calling game. See the tweets of the screenshots below: Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that popular social commentator and activist, Reno Oomokri, has again spoken on relationship matters, telling men the kind of woman they should marry. Reno said that a woman with a car, human hair, iPhone, jewellery, expensive shoes and high taste in food without a rich family or income or any business that shows she can afford them is a not a woman fit for marriage. He said such a person cannot be the one except the devil wants to set a trap to end the man. He said that kind of woman can be likened to a panther who consumes ones value. The social commentator asked his male followers to consider things carefully before they jump into marriage if they do not want to regret their decision and weep. He said: Look before you leap, or you will rue and weep. Marriage to a panther is damage, not marriage. In other news, Popular Nigerian politician, Dino Melaye, said that everything he owes his wealth to hard work and not government contracts. PAY ATTENTION: Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news He said this during an Instagram live chat with Dele Momodu of Ovation. When the media guru asked if he does not have anything to hide, Dino said that he is perhaps the most investigated Nigerian. The politician said that he has on many occasions invited men of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to look at his wealth. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We keep evolving to serve you better Aproko Corner reloaded: Pastor Adeboye tells men not to marry women who can't cook | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng Government defends healthcare budget cut as B2.4bn diverted to virus fight THAILAND: The government says the medical benefits people receive under the universal healthcare programme remain intact even though a cabinet resolution showed B2.4 billion would be cut from the budget. CoronavirusCOVID-19health By Bangkok Post Sunday 26 April 2020, 11:40AM Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. Photo: Bangkok Post Government spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinwat gave the assurances yesterday (Apr 25) after news broke that the budget allocated to the National Health Security Office (NHSO) was among those to be trimmed so more funds can be mobilised to stem the coronavirus plague. She said the budget for the programme had not been cut. In fact, she said, the cabinet earlier approved B3bn from the contingency fund to the NHSO to cover the extra costs incurred during the COVID-19 outbreak. It remained a mystery who had proposed the cut from the programmes budget. Public Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who is the chairman of the NHSO board, as well as NHSO officials, said they had not proposed it and only learned about the reduction from newspapers. The per-capita budget for 49 million people under the universal healthcare scheme managed by the NHSO is B3,600 for fiscal 2020. If the budget is cut, the budget per head will be reduced by B50. Sukhum Kanchanapimai, secretary-general of the Public Health Ministry, said on Thursday the NHSO budget included compensation for personnel. After the ministry approved the hiring of 45,681 temporary health workers as permanent staff, the budget was pulled back to pay them, he said. However, Mr Anutin said yesterday that the budget would not be cut to pay the new officials. No matter what happens, people will still have the same medical benefits, which can only be improved. Nobody will reduce them, he said. Thailands healthcare system consists of three programmes. The Social Security Fund takes care of employees in the private sector and voluntary self-employed members who, along with their employees and the government, contribute to the fund. The other two programmes use the state budget - the government welfare programme covers all civil servants and their families and the NHSO takes care of the rest of the population. According to the 2018 data, the Social Security Fund had 14.5 million members and spending per head was B3,355. The government welfare programme covered 5 million people and spending per head was B12,676. The universal coverage system covered 49 million people with spending per head of B2,600. There are early signs that rapid measures to contain the coronavirus are working in four African countries that have imposed the most stringent restrictions on the continent. Lockdowns in Uganda and Mauritius are flattening the curve, with the number of new infections rising slowly. South Africa and Ghana have recorded new infections amid widespread testing but say they're mitigating the spread of the disease. "African countries have acted fast to contain the spread of this virus, and this has helped delay the course of the pandemic on the continent," McKinsey & Co. said in a report. There are now 25,131 cases on the continent of 1.2 billion people, a number the World Health Organization considers a fair reflection of the underlying trend. Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, has imposed strong containment measures in the commercial hub of Lagos and the capital, Abuja. Ethiopia, which ranks second in population, has declared a state of emergency without a strict lockdown. "It's important to put in place mitigation measures from the very beginning," said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa. "And in a number of countries, this is being done." South Africa's response to the arrival of the coronavirus has kept the number of infections in check, and while it's unlikely the country will escape a surge in cases, scientists advising the government believe they have bought valuable time that will allow hospitals to get prepared. A travel ban came into force 13 days after the first infection was confirmed on March 5, and a lockdown was imposed on March 27. It now has 3,465 cases. Almost 127,000 tests have been conducted out of a population of 59 million. "The trajectory in South Africa is different from anywhere else," said Salim Abdool Karim, chairman of the Ministerial Advisory Group on the outbreak, in a televised presentation. "We want to focus on the small flames so we never get to the raging flames." Ghana was the first in sub-Saharan Africa to ban travelers from high-risk countries, on March 15. As cases continued to rise, the government on March 30 put the main cities under lockdown and ramped up screening. The West African nation has tested more than 80,000 people so far, the highest number in the region after South Africa, out of a population of 30 million. Testing includes people who don't show symptoms but are considered at risk. With 1,024 confirmed cases, President Nana Akufo-Addo lifted the lockdown on Monday but warned it "does not mean we are out of the pandemic," saying stringent social-distancing policies will remain in place. As of Wednesday, 1,154 people had tested positive. Ghana's presidential adviser on health, Anthony Nsiah-Asare, said at the start of the lockdown that the number of cases would climb. "When we start testing a lot of people, you will realize that the figure of positives will likely go up," he said. "There is no cause for alarm. It means we're doing our work very well." Uganda shut its borders and banned commercial flights from March 23, less than 48 hours after the East African country identified its first case. A 14-day lockdown ordered on March 30 has been extended to May 5. Uganda has 61 confirmed cases of the virus, including 45 recoveries, with a majority of people who tested positive having returned from abroad. More than 11,000 people have been tested. "We shall defeat this virus by protecting our people from its rapid spread," President Yoweri Museveni said last week. The Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius confirmed its first three cases of the virus on March 18. A "sanitary lockdown" came into effect two days later, allowing banks, shops and supermarkets to continue operating. This was extended to a complete lockdown on March 25 that closed everything but essential services. Supermarkets reopened on April 2, but people are only allowed to enter on specific days depending on their surnames and are limited to 30 minutes of shopping. The country has 329 cases, with more than 11,000 people tested out of a population of 1.27 million. 261 people have recovered. Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth says the lockdown may be eased on May 4. "We have achieved to keep our real infection figures well below figures given to us by prediction models," the government said in an emailed response to questions. Apple's new mobility tool has found that fed-up Americans are beginning to venture out more despite stay-at-home orders as they suffer 'quarantine fatigue'. Travel plummeted across the US in March when states went into lockdown in an attempt to try and flatten the curve as coronavirus cases and deaths soared. Americans stayed home for more than a month, but by mid-April, it appeared that many were starting to suffer from 'quarantine fatigue.' Apple's Mobility Trends Reports, which records how movement tools around the world were impacted by COVID-19 since January 13, shows a recent uptick in movement - especially in driving and walking. Public transport is the only method of travel that remains flat as people avoid trains, buses and subways during the pandemic. Many appeared to take advantage of sunny spingtime weather to go to the beach or visit a farmer's market for the first time in weeks. To compile the data, Apple has used Apple Maps' tools to measure how people use different means of transport that the maps track. Apple said that the data is anonymized and aggregated to ease privacy concerns. In a statement, Apple said: 'Maps does not associate mobility data with a user's Apple ID, and Apple does not keep a history of where a user has been. Using aggregated data collected from Apple Maps, the new website indicates mobility trends for major cities and 63 countries or regions.' Another review of smartphone data shows there was a slight nationwide shift during the week of April 13, say the researchers at the Maryland Transportation Institute at the University of Maryland. By April 17, the share of Americans who were believed to be staying home declined from the national average of 33 per cent to 31 per cent, compared with the previous Friday. The finding was based on phones that did not move at least a mile that day. Apple's new mobility took has found that fed-up Americans are beginning to venture out more despite stay-at-home orders as they suffer 'quarantine fatigue' More Americans are venturing outside despite stay-at-home orders. People sit on the beach Sunday, April 26, 2020, in Huntington Beach, California A review of smartphone data shows there was a slight nationwide shift during the week of April 13. People ride bikes and walk on a path along the beach on April 26, 2020 in Huntington Beach, California People wearing protective masks are seen in Central Park in New York during the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic in the United States People wear masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus as they walk through the farmers market Saturday, April 25, 2020, in Gilbert, Arizona Quarantine fatigue is setting in, say researchers, who discovered more Americans are venturing outside amid stay-at-home orders that were implemented in mid-March due to the coronavirus outbreak. People are seen walking in New York's East Village on Saturday Any increase in travel at the moment would be premature since staying home has been the best way to slow and contain the pandemic, the researchers told the Stamford Advocate. 'We saw something we hoped wasn't happening, but it's there,' said Lei Zhang, lead researcher and director at the institute. 'It seems collectively we're getting a little tired. It looks like people are loosening up on their own to travel more. The number of work trips, according to the review, remained roughly the same. But, the average number of personal daily trips grew to 2.5 per person, up from 2.4 the previous Friday - a 4 per cent increase. The review also found trips between counties and states also increased So far, there have been more than 978,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, which has been blamed for more than 55,000 deaths. So far, there have been 960,144 cases in the US of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 54,109 deaths A day-to-day look at the number of deaths in the US attributed to the coroanvirus How the number of new coronavirus infections in the US has escalated over time Since the coronavirus is the first pandemic to hit the US in a century, there's no telling how much longer Americans will be able to tolerate staying home. But the timing of the shift comes as no surprise since it occurred when Americans began protesting stay-at-home orders. The protests also were encouraged as well by President Donald Trump's tweets calling for support to 'liberate' states from the mandates. Zhang of the Maryland Transportation Institute said that even the slightest changes can be statistically significant. It's too soon to know whether the researchers' findings are a one-week blip, or the start of a trend, says Dr. Wilbur Chen, an associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Chen, who serves on Gov. Larry Hogan's covid-19 task force in Maryland, said he'll keep close tabs on the data. An increase in the number of Americans venturing from their homes during the week of April 13th comes as no surprise since it occurred when Americans began protesting stay-at-home orders. Protesters are pictured outside the State Capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin The protests also were encouraged as well by President Donald Trump's tweets calling for support to 'liberate' states from the mandates. Trump is pictured at a recent coronavirus task force briefing at the White House Researchers won't know for several weeks of more travel resulted in more confirmed cases and deaths attributed to COVID-19, the two benchmarks for tracking the outbreak's spread. 'But it all makes sense,' Chen said. 'If people are out and about, there's more risk of transmission, and when there's transmission, you have more cases of hospitalizations and deaths.' Apple's Mobility Trends Reports also shows an increase in movement since mid April acorss different cities and states. In New York City, where positive cases of coronavirus have hit more than 160,000 and more than 16,000 people have died - including probable cases - people have all but stopped using the subway. Since lockdown orders came into play in March, ridership on public transit, which includes subways and buses, has decreased 86 per cent. And as more people stay home and less people are out during the day, even walking has decreased by 74 per cent and driving has dropped 48 per cent. Apple has released a mobility tool that shows people living in America's hardest-hit coronavirus cities have all but stopped using public transport, are walking far less and are even driving less. Shown are the results for New York City Boston Using the tool to look at other hard-hit cities, ridership on public transit in Boston was down 83 per cent, while walking declined 69 per cent. The mobility report showed there also were 49 per cent fewer drivers. Boston, so far, has had 7,910 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 271 deaths. As the city's residents continue observing stay-at-home mandates, Boston joined other Massachusetts communities Friday in allowing permitted restaurants to sell grocery items via delivery, curbside pickup and takeout. Boston waived the required retail food permit for the sale of uncooked foods to improve local access to food and essential items, WCVB reports. Apple's mobility tool shows ridership on public transit in Boston was down 83 per cent, while walking declined 69 per cent. The tool showed there also were 49 per cent fewer drivers Andrew Johnston (L) and Jessie Stettin playing music from their 2nd floor apartment in Boston. The duo play music from their window at 7 pm for 30 minutes for whoever might enjoy listening, while following social distancing guideline during the coronavirus outbreak Philadelphia In Philadelphia, ridership on the city's subway trains and buses was down 74 per cent, while walking was down 46 per cent, according to the mobility tool. Driving in Philadelphia declined 33 per cent. Philadelphia has had more than 12,000 cases of the coronavirus and at least 466 deaths. Officials say the growth of COVID-19 cases appears to have plateaued in Philadelphia. However, it was still not at a safe-enough level for lifting lockdown mandates. Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania surged past 40,000 on Saturday, as the state prepared to reopen some of its less affected areas. In Philadelphia, ridership on the city's subway trains and buses was down 74 per cent, while walking was down 46 per cent, according to the mobility tool. Driving in Philadelphia declined 33 per cent People in masks stand on the street as a SEPTA bus passes by in Philadelphia this past week Washington, DC In Washington, DC, use of the city's Metro and public transit buses was down 82 per cent, according to the mobility tool. Walking was down 58 per cent and driving saw a 40 per cent decline. There have been 3,841 cases in the nation's capital of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 178 deaths. In order for Washington to meet the criteria and reach Phase 1 of the President Donald Trump's federal guidelines for reopening the country, the city must have two consecutive weeks of downward trending coronavirus case numbers. The city hasn't met that criteria yet. However, the average number of cases per day has shown signs of decreasing over the last week, WUSA reports. In Washington, DC, use of the city's Metro and public transit buses was down 82 per cent, according to the mobility tool. Walking was down 58 per cent and driving saw a 40 per cent decline A Metro subway train in Washington, D.C. is pictured empty this past week Atlanta In Atlanta, ridership on public transit was down 54 per cent, according to the mobility tool. Walking was down 25 per cent, while driving decline 19 per cent. Fulton County, where Atlanta is located, continues to lead the state with 2,543 cases out of 23,216. Georgia has had more than 900 deaths attributed to COVID-19. The state became one of the first states to ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions, as Governor Brian Kemp cast CDC cautions and even President Trump's criticism aside Friday, to allow some non-essential businesses to re-open. While anti-lockdown protests have gathered momentum nationwide, the scenes in Georgia after the reopening were far from the enthusiastic uptake for which Kemp must have hoped. Instead many stores remained shuttered and business owners and employees who spoke with DailyMail.com today told of their confusion, conflict and fear that this was a move made too soon. In Atlanta, ridership on public transit was down 54 per cent, according to the mobility tool. Walking was down 25 per cent, while driving decline 19 per cent Georgia became one of the first states to ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions Friday. Many stores remained shuttered and business owners and employees who spoke with DailyMail.com today told of their confusion, conflict and fear that this was a move made too soon Miami In Miami, ridership on public transit dropped 67 per cent and walking was down 48 per cent, according to the mobility tool. Driving dropped 42 per cent. Miami-Dade County, which includes Miami, has had 10,296 cases of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 287 deaths. A new study, however, has found that about six per cent of the county's residents have antibodies against COVID-19, 15 times more cases than the official tally, according to preliminary results. On Friday, the University of Miami said it estimated about 165,000 people had been infected at some point with the virus. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez told reporters at a press conference on Friday that the study's results reinforced why social distancing measures need to continue. 'Whatever measures we're going to do to open up, especially the outdoor spaces, is going to be done with those measures in mind,' he said, according to the Miami Herald. 'You're not going to be able to get close. You're going to have social distancing.' The findings also showed that Miami-Dade is not at the 60 percent infection rate needed for herd immunity, which when the vast majority of a community is infected or vaccinated so that, if a disease is introduced, it is unable to spread. In Miami, ridership on public transit dropped 67 per cent and walking was down 48 per cent, according to the mobility tool. Driving dropped 42 per cent The streets appear empty above the Cardoza Hotel in South Beach in Miami Chicago In Chicago, there was a 77 per cent drop in public transit use, according to the mobility tool. Walking was down 45 per cent. The number of Chicagoans driving also declined 28 per cent. Chicago has had 17,303 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 733 deaths. On Thursday, Illinois J.B. Gov. Pritzker announced an extension of the state's stay-at-home order through May 30. Some additional essential businesses were named, but others, like barbershops remained closed. In Chicago, there was a 77 per cent drop in public transit use, according to the mobility tool. Walking was down 45 per cent. The number of Chicagoans driving also declined 28 per cent Empty streets are seen in front of the closed Chicago Board of Trade Detroit Detroit has seen a 66 per cent drop in the use of public transit and only a 17 per cent decline in walking, according to the mobility tool. Driving in Detroit has dropped 36 per cent. There have been 8,548 confirmed cases in Detroit of the Coronavirus, which has been blamed for 912 deaths. Mayor Mike Duggan on Friday said he began warning grocery store owners to sign their workers up for COVID-19 tests. Duggan told reporters he expects that, by May 11, grocers should be able to show that each of their employees has had a recent, negative test for the virus Detroit has seen a 66 per cent drop in the use of public transit and only a 17 per cent decline in walking, according to the mobility tool. Driving in Detroit has dropped 36 per cent Downtown Detroit remains empty during the coronavirus outbreak Los Angeles Los Angeles has seen public transit decline by 74 per cent, while walking was down 39 per cent. Driving declined 37 per cent. Los Angeles County, which includes L.A., Pasadena and Long Beach, has had 19,107 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 895 deaths. While the street of L.A. remain empty, beaches in nearby Orange and Ventura counties were open and crowded with people escaping rising temperatures. Sun-lovers were turning out, despite state-mandated stay-at-home orders. 'After being cooped up, we understand people want to enjoy the outside,' Ventura Police Commander Tom Higgins told the Los Angeles Times. He described Saturday's beach crowds as larger than the what the season typically brings during this time of year. Los Angeles has seen public transit decline by 74 per cent, while walking was down 39 per cent. Driving declined 37 per cent, according to Apple's mobility tool Empty streets are seen outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles this past week San Francisco The San Francisco Bay area, according to the mobility tool, has seen public transit drop 79 per cent. Walking has declined 67 per cent and driving 48 per cent. So far, there have been 1,354 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in San Francisco and 22 deaths. The citys latest count shows 54 new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths, reports Mission Local. San Francisco city also reported 540 tests were completed Saturday, with three percent or 15 tests coming back as COVID-19 positive, the news outlet reports. The positive testing rate was the lowest in the past month and a half. The city has completed more than 15,100 tests with an average positive testing rate of 11 percent. The San Francisco Bay area, according to the mobility tool, has seen public transit drop 79 per cent. Walking has declined 67 per cent and driving 48 per cent Traffic at right is light on the Golden Gate Bridge as it heads into San Francisco To compile the data, Apple has used Apple Maps' tools to measure how people use different means of transport that the maps track. Apple said that the data is anonymized and aggregated to ease privacy concerns. In a statement, Apple said: 'Maps does not associate mobility data with a user's Apple ID, and Apple does not keep a history of where a user has been. Using aggregated data collected from Apple Maps, the new website indicates mobility trends for major cities and 63 countries or regions.' Churchgoers sitting six-feet apart in face masks pack the pews in Tennessee as the state prepares to join others in easing lockdown restrictions A Tennessee church has held their second in-person service as the state prepares to join others in easing their coronavirus restrictions this week. Congregants of the Middle Valley Church of God were seen worshiping during a service Sunday morning as their pastor Mitch McClure delivered the sermon. The members appeared to abide by the CDC-recommended social distancing guidelines during the service. All of the members were also seen wearing face masks as they clapped and prayed. Members of the Middle Valley Church of God gathered for service on Sunday. The church pastor, Mitch McClure, is seen delivering a sermon to his congregation who appear to be abiding by the CDC-recommended social distancing guidelines Churchgoer Lenda Clark stands at a pew during worship at the beginning of service at the Middle Valley Church of God on Sunday Lacreta Simmons, a member of the Middle Valley Church of God, applauds during worship on Sunday John Kenner, a member of the Middle Valley Church of God, claps during worship at the beginning of service on Sunday McClure's wife, Sherri McClure, is seen speaking with churchgoers before service on Sunday Churchgoer Craig Paul sings during worship at the beginning of service on Sunday Churches in Georgia and Montana also held in-person services on Sunday. In Georgia, members of the 'Smallest Church in America' were seen praying inside the tiny building. Meanwhile in Montana, congregants were seen attending at least two of the state's churches. More than a dozen people gathered at the Christ the King Lutheran Church in Billings, Montana, while a few dozen parishioners went to mass at St Anthony Catholic Church in Laurel, Montana. It's unclear if the members of either church were wearing masks as photos mainly captured congregants with their backs facing the camera. Another wave of US states are preparing to lift lockdown restrictions this week against the warnings of many public health experts as the White House sees this month's jobless rate hitting 16 per cent or higher. Health experts say increased human interaction could spark a new wave of cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the highly contagious virus that has already killed more than 55,000 Americans. Colorado, Mississippi, Minnesota, Montana and Tennessee will join other states beginning an experiment to reopen economies without the testing and contact-tracing infrastructure health experts say is needed to prevent a resurgence of infections. Shauna Swain Riggs exits the 'Smallest Church In America' ahead of offering her Sunday prayers in Townsend, Georgia, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic Members offer prayers inside the 'Smallest Church In America' in Townsend, Georgia, on Sunday Members of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Billings, Montana, attended service on Sunday. Montana has begun a phase-in reopening of businesses and gathering places as infection rates from the coronavirus decline in the state Parishioners attend mass at St Anthony Catholic Church in Laurel, Montana on Sunday Georgia, Oklahoma, Alaska and South Carolina have already taken steps to restart their economies following a month of government-ordered lockdowns. Those unprecedented restrictions resulted in a record 26.5 million Americans filing for unemployment benefits since mid-March. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted on Friday that the economy would contract at nearly a 40 per cent annual rate in the second quarter. Even next year, the CBO forecast the unemployment rate averaging above 10 per cent. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told reporters that the jobless rate would likely hit 16 per cent or more in April. 'I think the next couple of months are going to look terrible,' Hassett said on Sunday. 'You're going to see numbers as bad as anything we've ever seen before.' Against a backdrop of scattered protests across the country calling for stay-at-home orders to be lifted, US cases topped 978,000 on Sunday after posting a record one-day increase on Friday. New York and other states have extended restrictions to mid-May. New York reported 367 new deaths on Sunday, its lowest increase since March 31. New York won't start it's first phase of reopening until after May 15. Long Islanders were out and about at Jones Beach to enjoy a sunny Saturday amid the state being on pause during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wantagh, New York Women wearing gloves and face masks walk down the Brighton Beach boardwalk in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Saturday Emmy Homer (right) gets a pedicure from Thuy Ho at BA Nail & Spa in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, on Friday. The shop was among several allowed to reopen in a loosening of coronavirus-related restrictions Linzie Castro cuts the hair of Chase Ridgeway inside Azalon Hair Studio and Boutique in Yukon, Oklahoma, on Friday Barber Patrick Watkins of Jet Cuts & Styles finishes up a haircut on Darrell Stevens at the reopened barbershop in Athens, Georgia, on Friday Megan Yelton works at Sid and Nancy thrift and consignment store on Friday in Columbia, South Carolina. Beaches and some businesses deemed nonessential were allowed to reopen this week in South Carolina Small business owner Birl Hicks helps a customer at Area 57 at Columbia Place Mall on Friday in Columbia, South Carolina A couple pick out their wedding bands at Bishops Jewelry Gallery in Fairbanks, Alaska, on Friday. Alaska businesses slowly began reopening Friday in an effort to restart the state's economy A diner orders lunch at the Airport Way Family Restaurant in Fairbanks, Alaska, on Friday. The state's largest city, Anchorage, will allow businesses to reopen beginning Monday Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo said construction and manufacturing would be the first businesses to reopen and could restart after May 15 in the upstate region with certain precautions and if cases continue to decline. Other states, mainly those with Republican governors, have taken a more aggressive approach. Tennessee said it will allow restaurants to reopen on Monday. Mississippi's stay-at-home order expires the same day. Montana, which reported three new cases on Sunday, is allowing businesses to reopen Monday if they limit capacity and practice social distancing. Minnesota will let some businesses restart on Monday, allowing 80,000 to 100,000 people in the industrial, manufacturing and office jobs to go back to work. In Colorado, Democratic Governor Jared Polis has given the green light for retail curbside pickup to begin on Monday. Hair salons, barbershop and tattoo parlors can open on Friday, with retail stores, restaurants and movie theaters to follow. Royal Rose is reopening her tattoo studio in Greeley, Colorado this week after closing a month ago, not because she wants to but because the bills are piling up and she says she has no choice. 'I would stay home if the government encouraged that, but they're not, they're saying "Hey, the best thing to do is go back to work, even though it might be risky,"' Rose said. But the lifting of restrictions is not uniform across most states. For example, Denver extended stay-at-home orders to May 8 but city dwellers can drive to a nearby county for a haircut. Georgia prohibited any local laws stricter than the state law. Eight states never ordered residents to stay at home - Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. Several opinion polls have shown a bipartisan majority of Americans want to remain at home to protect themselves from the coronavirus, despite the impact to the economy. 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United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe Public fatigue with stay-at-home orders to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic is inevitable and understandable. Not understandable, nor forgivable, is the president of the United States inciting disrespect for his own governments guidelines, which are unquestionably essential for the public health. Relatively small protests have broken out in the United States in recent days against the strictures designed to slow the spreading virus. People have a right to protest, if they conduct themselves without endangering others. But leaders have an obligation to point out that the behavior the protesters are encouraging could reignite the virus and cost lives. Tens of millions of Americans in recent weeks have willingly complied with stay-at-home guidelines put out by President Trump and by governors, a commendable showing of cohesion and collective good judgment. For many, it came at a steep personal sacrifice. Next will be hard choices about reopening. Doing so too soon risks reigniting a firestorm that has already cost more than 168,000 lives globally. Opening must be done with special protections, testing and data, as Trumps own phased-in guidelines would suggest. The protesters in the United States carried signs such as Live Free or Die in Lockdown and Re-Open Now. Some of them set a bad example, without masks or social distancing. But what was most concerning was the message that somehow all this sacrifice can be quickly abandoned in the name of liberty and rights. This is wrong. The pursuit of liberty does not mean a license to endanger the lives of others. Trump was exceedingly reckless to incite protests with three tweets saying Liberate Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia, all of which have Democratic governors. He undermined his own published public health guidelines and his own reopening plan. His message threatens to destroy broader public confidence in the reasons for the social distancing and mitigation strategies. His comments could inspire additional disobedience and spark new outbreaks and another round of restrictions that would be even harder to impose. Such a cycle must be avoided. There is no arguing with the facts: The virus jumps from person to person and can kill. A responsible leader would express empathy with the millions of Americans who have followed the rules, reinforce why they are necessary and offer reasonable expectations about what comes next. To fail at this is to fail at a central function of the presidency. Some protests may reflect a genuine cry for help from hunger, desperation and fear. These voices must be listened to, and their needs addressed as fast and far as possible. In the end, our fate in this pandemic will be determined by what we do now, in the months or more before a vaccine. We must accept strategies that are working to keep as many people alive as possible. Shouting liberate invites disaster. The Washington Post Coronavirus Outbreak Updates:Nineteen more staffers of the Delhi government's Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Jahangirpuri tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases at the facility to 59, officials said. Auto refresh feeds On Saturday, the nationwide count of confirmed cases climbed to 24,942 with 779 deaths with some states began easing some of the restrictions imposed since the country went on a nationwide lockdown on 25 march. The Union Health Ministry on Saturday informed that there has been a marked improvement in the rate of spread of the novel coronavirus in India, even as the country registered 1,490 new COVID-19 cases and 56 deaths, the highest single day rise in confirmed cases and fatalities so far. The COVID-19 toll in the United States has been the highest with 53,070 fatalities, followed by Italy with 26,384 deaths, Spain at 22,902, France at 22,614 and the United Kingdom had registered 20,319 deaths. The death count due to the novel coronavirus worldwide has crossed 2 lakh, according to Baltimore-based John Hopkins University. In total, 202,832 deaths have been recorded including 122,171 in Europe, the hardest-hit continent, since the virus appeared in China in December. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Gadkari said, "I heard Yogi Adityanath's statement on running buses and I would request against it. I feel, at this point, we need to exercise caution. This is not the time. If someone contracts coronavirus, then it can become a big problem in Uttar Pradesh." Warning an alert over Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath's plan to bring back migrant labourers from the state stranded across the nation due to the lockdown, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday reiterated directions issued by the Centre to the states on tackling the workers' plight. After the home ministry issued clarification on reopening of shops, Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Sunday said standalone shops in colonies will be permitted to operate from 7 am to 6 pm in nine out of 13 districts that have been declared green zones in the state. While two new cases reported on Saturday are from Khajpura in Patna, Arwal reported its first case with a person from Kurtha testing positive for the virus on Saturday. As many as 28 fresh COVID-19 positive cases were reported in Bihar on Saturday, taking the overall count to 251 in the state. Of the total confirmed cases, 45 people have recovered while two have succumbed to the infectious disease. Currently, there are currently 204 active cases. Of the overall count of COVID-19 cases, as many as 68 were active cases while the recovery rate was at 33 percent with 34 patients being cured of the virus. The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Odisha rose to 103, ANI quoted the state health department as saying. The infectious disease has claimed one live in the state so far. "The government will explore all possible means required for the conduct of the yatras. However, all these developments are subject to review, in view of the COVID-19 crisis," Murmu said at a meeting with a nine-member delegation of Baba Amarnath and Buda Amarnath Yatri Niyas at the Raj Bhavan. The 42-day-long yatra to the 3,880-metre high cave shrine of Amarnath in the south Kashmir Himalayas is scheduled to commence on 23 June. Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor GC Murmu on Saturday said the upcoming Amarnath yatra was subject to a periodic review of the COVID-19 situation as comprehensive planning and execution are involved in the conduct of the annual pilgrimage. Standalone shops and and shops in residential areas, including those selling mobile phones, garments and stationary items, will open with social-distancing strictly followed, the official added. A Delhi government official said non-essential shops will be allowed to open, but not in coronavirus containment zones. "No activity will be allowed in containment zones," the official said. There are 95 containment zones in the National Capital. The Delhi government on Saturday decided to implement the home ministry's latest guidelines on reopening of shops except in containment zones, officials said. Telangana is the only state till now to have extended the lockdown till 7 May. In the video conference meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled on Monday, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray is likely to put out the request to extend the lockdown curbs in Mumbai and Pune beyond 3 May, News18 reported. In the letter,Chandra alleged "insufficient cooperation" from the state and sought clarification on safety and security of key members. Apurva Chandra, heading the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT), has written a letter to chief minister Mamata Banerjee, asking the state government for adequate support to enable it to carry on its work. "Have been getting several insightful inputs for this month's Mann Ki Baat. Do tune at 11 am tomorrow," Modi had tweeted on Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 11am on Sunday in the 64th edition of his monthly programme Mann ki Baat amid the coronavirus pandemic in the country. The Haryana government had on Monday ordered a probe after four samples reported positive for coronavirus by SRL Diagnostics tested negative in confirmation tests done at different government labs in the state. A private laboratory which has been under the Haryana government's scanner for alleged discrepancies in COVID-19 test results on Saturday asserted that it stands by its findings and is open to getting these samples re-tested at any government lab. "A discussion on extending the lockdown will be taken in the video conference with the Prime Minister on Monday. But if required, we will extend the lockdown for 15 more days after 3 May. It may only be for the containment zones, if not for all of Mumbai and Pune. A final call will be taken after deliberations on Monday," he said. Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope on Saturday advocated the extension of the lockdown in the containment areas in Mumbai and Pune regions, which account for 92 percent of the total cases in the state, till 18 May. Of the total, 19,868 are active cases while one patient was migrated. The recovery rate stood at 22 percent after 5,804 COVID-19 patients were cured. India registered the highest single-day rise in COVID-19 fatalities in the past 24 hours with 49, taking the toll to 824. According to the data released by the Union Health Ministry, a spike of 1,990 fresh cases was witnessed, bringing the overall count to 26,496. Of the new cases, 20 were reported in Nagaur, 15 in Jodhpur, 11 in Ajmer, seven in Jaipur, three in Kota, while one each in Hanumagarh and Jhalawar. With 58 more individuals testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Rajasthan, the overall count in the state climbed to 2,141 on Sunday, said the state health department. Of the overall count of COVID-19 cases in the state, Mumbai accounts for 4,870 of them. The financial capital of the country saw 281 new positive cases and 12 deaths on Saturday. The toll in the city stood at 191. With 119 patients discharged after recovery, their number rose to 1,076 so far. Maharashtra on Saturday reported 811 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, a single-day record for the state. The total number of positive cases in the state are now 7,628 and the toll rose by 22 to reach 323, a Health department statement said. "A total of 118 more COVID-19 cases and one more death was reported in the National Capital in the last 24 hours. The total cases in Delhi now stand at 2,625, including 1,702 active cases, 869 recovered and 54 deaths," Delhi's health department said in a media bulletin. The total number of confirmed cases in Delhi surged to 2,625 following an increase by 118 new cases of COVID-19 and one death in the National Capital. As many as 13 COVID-19 patients have recovered in Jharkhand of the total 67 confirmed cases reported in state as of Saturday. According to the state health department, six patients have been cured in Ranchi, four in Bokaro, two in Hazaribagh and one in Simdega. The letter read, "Some resident doctors stay in hostels allotted in the hospital campus while many stay at their homes in various locations. Many of them are anxious about the home quarantine, since most are staying with their families. There are aged family members as well as young children at home who are most vulnerable to the disease. The doctors themselves might be a source of infection. Therefore, it is necessary to provide separate accommodation for the resident doctors who are primary contacts, till they test negative for the virus." Federation of Resident Doctors Association wrote to Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Sunday over accommodation facilities for resident doctors advised for home quarantine in response to COVID-19 pandemic. India also reported 594 new COVID-19 recoveries. Tripura has now become the fourth state after Goa, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh to report zero active COVID-19 cases. India reported 1,554 new COVID-19 cases since 5 pm on Sunday, the second highest single-day increase after 1,752 on 24 April. Maharashtra now has 7,628 COVID-19 cases, the highest number in India and the first state to cross 7,000 confirmed cases. The state has reported 811 more cases since last evening, its highest single-day increase yet. He also hailed the contribution of state governments in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that they have played a very active role. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the digital platform -- covidwarriors.gov.in -- which around 1.25 crore people, including doctors, nurses, NCC cadets and civil ociety organisations, have joined. "I urge you to join the portal and become a COVID warrior," he said. Referring to the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance 2020, which amends the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and provides details compensation for injury to healthcare service personnel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Many health care workers have hailed the latest ordinance. This law was necessary to protect our doctors and nurses." A bored truck driver's attempt to kill time by indulging in a game of cards with his friends and neighbours led to the infection of coronavirus in 24 people in one locality of Vijayawada city in Andhra Pradesh, Krishna district Collector A Md Imtiaz said on Saturday. A data journalism portal called Health Check also reported that Mumbai was ready to conduct plasma therapy for eligible COVID-19 patients. The report citing BMC said that three units of plasma have already been collected. According to the municipal corporation, the number of patients who have been cured of the infectious disease stood at 762. Therefore, the COVID-19 recovery rate in the city was at 15.6 percent. Mumbai reported as many as 203 fresh COVID-19 cases on Saturday till 6 pm, thereby taking the total number of confirmed cases in the city to 4,870, said Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The toll due to the novel coronavirus was 191. The district also reported one more death due to the infectious disease on Saturday. According to a report in The Hindu , Krishna district has turned out to be the third-worst affected district in the Andhra Pradesh after Kurnool and Guntur following a sudden spike in the number of positive COVID-19 cases in the past couple of days. Till now, 107 people have been discharged after recovering from the viral infection, he said. So far, 57 COVID-19 patients have died in Indore, which has emerged as one of the COVID-19 hotspots in the country, district chief medical and health officer Praveen Jadia said. The number of coronavirus cases in Indore rose to 1,176 after 91 more people tested positive for the infectious disease in the Madhya Pradesh district during the past 24 hours, an official said on Sunday. As many as 18 people succumbed ot the infectious disease in the state, while the recovery rate stood at 32 percent. The new case was reported in Dakshin Kannada after a 47-year-old woman tested positive for the viral infection in the district. Karnataka registered only one positive COVID-19 case since Saturday 5 pm, thereby taking the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state to 501, according to media reports. The state on Saturday reported 811 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, a single-day record for the state. The total number of positive cases in the state are now at 7,628 and the toll rose by 22 to reach 323, a Health department statement said. Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray will address the media at 1.30 pm on Sunday, assessing the COVID-19 situation in the state which has already been hit hard by the impact of the novel coronavirus. The chief minister had last week announced that the easing of restrictions, allowed by the Central government from 20 April onwards, would not kick in in the National Capital. Kejriwal further said that a decision on the way forward, after the current nationwide lockdown ends on 3 May, will be taken depending on what the Centre decides. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that no concession will be made in the lockdown guidelines in the National Capital till 3 May, except for allowing standalone shops to open outside containment zones. "Last week, we had decided not to ease restrictions after the Centre's order on relaxing shutdown in non-affected areas. We had decided to review the situation again in a week (on April 27)," said Kejriwal. Malls and markets in Delhi will continue to remain shut and only standalone neighbourhood shops will be allowed to open, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday after the Centre allowed an ease in the nationwide restrictions over coronavirus pandemic in a late-night order on Friday. Justice Najmi Waziri issued the direction to three private companies which had entered into an agreement to import 10 lakh test kits from China and distribute them here at a cost of Rs 600 each, the rate approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). COVID-19 test kits should be made available urgently at the lowest possible price so that the virus can be controlled and people's health can be safeguarded at a time when the country was facing an "unprecedented medical crisis", the Delhi High Court has said. Uddhav Thackeray during the state address on Sunday appreciated the efforts by the Musim community for following the lockdown guidelines during the holy month of Ramzan. Train services in Maharashtra cannot be started anytime soon, said Uddhav Thackeray during the briefing on Sunday, adding that such measures can lead to spike in number of coronavirus cases. The chief minister further stated that the state has been successful in curbing the multiplication of COVID-19. "We have succeeded in stopping the multiplication of corona, we have certainly curbed that growth to some extent," he said. Uddhav Thackeray mentioned the deaths of two Maharashtra constables who lost their lives due to the novel coronavirus. "Two police constables killed by coronavirus, they were martyred while fighting the virus," said Thackeray. "I am working with state governments and central government on this and also on bringing back Maharashtra students stuck in Kota," he further said. "I assure the migrant labourers that I am talking to the Centre and whatever is possible will be done soon," said Thackeray. Working with both state and central governments to address the plight of migrant labourers, said Uddhav Thackeray, assuring that the issue will be dealt with immediacy. "Thank you to Nitin Gadkari for appealing to all to stand behind the Maharashtra government and cooperate without politics, just as all castes and religions are united," said Thackeray. Uddhav Thackeray expressed gratitude to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari for urging everyone to join forces in Maharashtra by posing a united front in its battle against COVID-19 pandemic without indulging in petty politics. The Cenral teams in Mumbai and Pune has requested to distribute foodgrains to orange ration card holders at discounted rates for two days, said chief minister Uddhav Thackeray "Even if the pace of COVID-19 growth slows down, don't be ignorant, this is a test of restraint, fortunately 80% of patients do not have symptoms," said Thackeray. As soon as we bring relaxation in Mumbai, traffic congestion in the city will increase, said Uddhav Thackeray, stressing on the importance of being aware of the COVID-19 crisis. We have 80% of patients who are asymptomatic and 20% are there who have mild, serious or critical symptoms. We have to see how these people are also saved. Those who are hiding it and not getting tested, if you have symptoms please go and get tested, said Uddhav Thackeray He said the measures would be presented by the beginning of next week at the latest. "We are working in these hours to allow the reopening of a good part of businesses from manufacturing to construction for 4 May," Conte told Italian daily La Repubblica. Italy will start reopening its manufacturing industry on 4 May as part of plans to ease its coronavirus lockdown, and schools will reopen in September, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in a newspaper interview on Sunday. "After he tested positive for COVID-19, he was first taken to Beliaghata ID hospital and then to the Salt Lake private hospital. The doctor was suffering from respiratory distress and other co-morbidities and had been on ventilator since he was admitted to the hospital. He died at 1.20 am on Sunday," sources told PTI. A senior government doctor involved in the fight against the novel coronavirus, succumbed to the infectious disease on Sunday. The 60-year-old doctor, posted as assistant director health services (equipment and stores), was initially admitted to Beliaghata Infectious Diseases hospital and later shifted to a private hospital in Salt Lake on 18 April, where he died of the virus. The toll due to the novel coronavirus rose to 323 on Sunday with 22 deaths reported in past 24 hrs, while the number of confirmed cases saw a jump of 811 to go up to 7,628. The COVID-19 mortality rate in Maharashtra stood at 4.23 percent after 323 fatalities were registered so far. On the other hand, the COVID-19 recovery rate in the state was at 14.11 percent after 1, 076 COVID-19 patients were cured of the infectious disease, according to the data released by the health ministry. He also requested to offer financial assistance to the Maharashtra government to the tune of 1 lakh crores for FY 2020-21. Pawar also suggested was an extension of RBIs new loan deferment policy to state debt too. "The state makes repayment of Rs 10,500 crore every year on account of the NSSF loan given by the Centre. It is requested to extend the two-year moratorium on loan repayment." One of the steps he suggested was to enhance the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRBM) borrowing limit. Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has come up with economic suggestions for the Narendra Modi government to help states tackle the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor has released a statement on social media after she was discharged from the hospital from 6 April. "She said that no person she came in contact with has shown any symptoms of COVID-19 and all of them have tested negative." 440 new positive COVID19 cases and 19 deaths were reported in Maharashtra today, taking the total number of cases to 8,068 and death toll to 342, ANI quotes the state health department as saying. 1,188 patients have been discharged till now, of which 112 were discharged today, the health department said. "Coronavirus is a new disease. We are getting to know more about it as we are getting closer to the disease. All efforts are being made to mitigate this problem," said Bhagwat in an online address on 'Current scenario and role.' RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said that India never discriminates and is helping other countries with medicines during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Haryana health department has said that there are 296 cases of the novel coronavirus in Haryana, out of which 94 are active. Three people have lost their lives due to the disease so far. The doubling rate of cases stands at 18 days in the state. One patient is critical and still on ventilator support, the medical bulletin said, adding that so far 18 people have succumbed to the infection in the state. It said 12 patients-eight from Mohali and four from Pathankot--were discharged from hospitals, taking the total number of cured cases to 84 in the state. Of the remaining cases, 61 have been reported from Patiala, 25 in Pathankot, 20 in SBS Nagar, 18 in Ludhiana, 14 in Amritsar, 13 in Mansa, seven in Hoshiarpur, four in Moga, three each in Rupnagar, Sangrur, Kapurthala and Faridkot, two each in Fatehgarh Sahib and Barnala, and one each in Muktsar, Gurdsapur and Ferozepur. Meanwhile, the number of infected patients soared to 313 with four more people testing positive for the infection. According to a medical bulletin, three of the fresh cases were reported from Jalandhar while one was detected in Ludhiana. Jalandhar district topped the COVID-19 tally in the state with 69 cases, followed by 63 in Mohali, the bulletin said. A 48-year-old migrant worker died of coronavirus in Punjab's Jalandhar on Sunday, pushing the death toll to 18 in the state, reports PTI. The victim, who worked at a leather factory, had tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday, an official said, adding that he also suffered from pneumonia. The total number of containment zones in Delhi now stands at 97 after two more areas were identified as containment zones in the city. Personal protective equipment manufactured by Jagadhri railway workshop passed the test conducted by the DRDO on 5 April and has made 6,472 coveralls along with Kalka workshop till date. The achievement becomes significant as the Northern Railway has produced 10,000 such coveralls, while all the other zonal railways together made 20,000 during the ongoing lockdown period. With the production of a record 1,500 personal protective equipment (PPE) on Sunday, Northern Railway workshops have made 10,000 such essential life-saving gear for its doctors and paramedics since the nationwide lockdown began, PTI quotes officials as saying. In a bid to meet the demand for PPE, the Northern Railway earlier this month got approval to make such coveralls from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). PPE suits are required by the medical staff while treating COVID-19 patients as a measure to avoid direct contact. He has now fully recovered and was discharged, the hospital said, adding that he will stay at home for another two weeks. Group medical director of Max Healthcare and senior director of the Institute of Internal Medicine Dr Sandeep Budhiraja said, "We can say that plasma therapy could have worked as a catalyst in speeding up his recovery. We cannot attribute 100 per cent recovery to plasma therapy only, as there are multiple factors which carved his path to recovery." When the patient showed no signs of improvement, his family requested for administration of plasma therapy on compassionate grounds, it said, adding that the family arranged a donor for extracting plasma. The patient was administered fresh plasma as a treatment modality as a side-line to standard treatment protocols on the night of 14 April, the statement said. Subsequently, the patient showed improvement and by the fourth day, was weaned off ventilator support and continued on supplementary oxygen. He was shifted to a room with round-the-clock monitoring on Monday after testing negative twice within 24 hours, it said. A private hospital in Delhi claimed that a coronavirus patient, who was administered plasma therapy for the first time in the facility, was discharged on Sunday after being completely cured. The 49-year-old man had tested positive for COVID-19 on 4 April and was admitted to Max Hospital, Saket, it said in a statement. As his condition deteriorated, he was put on ventilator support on 8 April, the hospital added. The hospital is located in Jahangirpuri, which is one of the containment zones in the National Capital. "All the staff members are being screened for novel coronavirus. The hospital is being sanitised," the senior official said. "The hospital will be shut for new patients for the next three days," he said. Eleven doctors out of the 59 patients have tested positive so far. Nineteen more staffers of the Delhi government's Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Jahangirpuri tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases at the facility to 59, officials said. Till Saturday, the number of staffers infected with the virus stood at 40. According to a senior official, 68 more samples are to be tested. "The critically ill patients will remain in the hospital. The hospital management will take care of them," North Delhi District Magistrate Deepak Shinde said. Over 1,500 workers stuck in Haryana due to the coronavirus lockdown were brought to Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, PTI quotes an official as saying. They were brought in 62 buses to the UP border from where they were taken to their destinations, DM Sarvagya Ram Mishra said, adding that they were provided with food packets. He said a report about a suspected coronavirus patient, who was proceeding to Fatehpur from Karnal, has been sought from Haryana. He has been hospitalised and his two associates quarantined. officials said. Most of the new patients are from Thane city, Kalyan Dombivali, Mira Bhayandar and Navi Mumbai areas, they said. In Palghar, an increase of nine coronavirus positive cases took the total to 138. So far, 19 people have died due to the infection in Thane, while 10 in Palghar district, the officials said. With the addition of as many as 72 new COVID-19 patients on Sunday, the number of coronavirus positive cases grew to 687 in Thane district of Maharashtra, Nearly 300 journalists who underwent medical examination in the city for coronavirus have tested negative for the disease, Department of information and public relation said on Sunday. According to a report in the Times of India , there are 21 such quarantine centres in Agra, housing are 800 persons at present. As per the report, persons in the quarantine centre have also alleged that they havent yet been tested for the virus, a charge denied by the district administration. A video which has gone viral on social media shows food and water being kept outside the gates of a quarantine centre in Agra and people reaching through the gate to access essentials. Social distancing, essential for those under quarantine, is totally absent in the visuals, with people under quarantine crowding behind the gate right next to each other. Firstpost has not been able to independently verify the video. Two children of the nurse, who was deployed at the daycare facility of the cancer centre, have also tested positive for COVID-19. Besides, at least five more staffers, including two from the record section, a lab attendant and the personal assistant of a faculty at the Cardio-Neuro Centre of AIIMS have also tested positive recently, the sources said. A security guard deployed at the office of OSD to the Union health minister at AIIMS and a nurse working in Dr B R Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital of the facility have tested positive for COVID-19, PTI quotes sources as saying. The security guard, posted at the office of officer on special duty (OSD) to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan located in the teaching block of All India Institute Of Medical Sciences, was tested positive on Saturday, they said. According to the sources, the entire wing where the OSD office is located is being sanitised and several staffers, including the OSD, is learnt to have been advised self-quarantine. Their samples are also likely to be taken for testing. Overall, Italy has registered 26,644 deaths of those with known coronavirus infections. Italy has registered its lowest day-to-day increase in deaths of those infected with COVID-19 since the country was in its first week of lockdown in mid-March. The Health Ministry released new figures, including 260 deaths, for the 24-hour period ending Sunday. That daily grim statistic was last lower on March 14, when 175 deaths were registered. Premier Giuseppe Conte says on Facebook that later Sunday he will address the nation, eager to learn which restrictions will be eased in Italy's lockdown, which expires May 3. Coronavirus Outbreak Updates: Nineteen more staffers of the Delhi government's Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Jahangirpuri tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases at the facility to 59, officials said. With 293 new COVID-19 cases reported today in Delhi, the total number of positive cases in Delhi rises to 2,918 and death toll stands at 54, said the CMO. 37,613 tests have been carried out in the National Capital so far and 2094 have been conducted on Sunday. 102 new COVID-19 cases and 7 deaths have been reported in Rajasthan today, taking the total number of cases to 2,185 and deaths to 41, according to the 9 pm update by the state health department. Dharavi reported 34 new cases on Sunday bringing its total to 275 cases including 14 deaths so far, said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The Haryana health department has said that there are 296 cases of the novel coronavirus in Haryana, out of which 94 are active. Three people have lost their lives due to the disease so far. With 440 new positive cases and 19 deaths reported in Maharashtra on Sunday, total number of cases mounts to 8,068 and toll rises to 342, according to the state health department. Tamil Nadu on Sunday reported 64 new cases of the novel coronavirus, pushing the total in the state to 1,885. One person also died of the disease and the toll now stands at 24. 60 persons were also cured of the disease taking the number of active cases in the state to 838. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said the coronavirus situation in the country is improving as many hotspot districts (HSD) are moving towards being non-hotspot districts (NHSD). COVID-19 death toll in India has reaches 826, while the number of cases has climbed to 26,917, according to the latest update provided by the Union health ministry. A total of 1,843 positive COVID-19 cases have been reported till date in Uttar Pradesh, of which 289 cases have been cured/discharged and a total of 29 deaths have been reported till now, ANI quotes Principal Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad as saying. Six new COVID19 positive cases have been reported in Ranchi a staff of Sadar Hospital, three persons in Hindpiri and two in Lowadih have tested positive. 44 staff members at Delhi's Babu Jagjivan Ram hospital have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, reports ANI."Test reports of other staff members are awaited. Hospital's medical services have been closed and hospital is being sanitized," ANI quotes the Delhi health department as saying. Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has come up with economic suggestions for the Narendra Modi government to help states tackle the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking to Twitter on Sunday, Pawar detailed the steps. One of the steps he suggested was to enhance the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRBM) borrowing limit. Pawar also suggested was an extension of RBIs new loan deferment policy to state debt too. "The state makes repayment of Rs 10,500 crore every year on account of the NSSF loan given by the Centre. It is requested to extend the two-year moratorium on loan repayment." He also requested to offer financial assistance to the Maharashtra government to the tune of 1 lakh crores for FY 2020-21. The COVID-19 mortality rate in Maharashtra stood at 4.23 percent after 323 fatalities were registered so far. On the other hand, the COVID-19 recovery rate in the state was at 14.11 percent after 1,076 COVID-19 patients were cured of the infectious disease, according to the data released by the health ministry. The toll due to the novel coronavirus rose to 323 on Sunday with 22 deaths reported in past 24 hrs, while the number of confirmed cases saw a jump of 811 to go up to 7,628. We have 80% of patients who are asymptomatic and 20% are there who have mild, serious or critical symptoms. We have to see how these people are also saved. Those who are hiding it and not getting tested, if you have symptoms please go and get tested, said Uddhav Thackeray Train services in Maharashtra cannot be started anytime soon, said Uddhav Thackeray during the briefing on Sunday, adding that such measures can lead to spike in number of coronavirus cases. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that no concession will be made in the lockdown guidelines in the National Capital till 3 May, except for allowing standalone shops to open outside containment zones. Kejriwal further said that a decision on the way forward, after the current nationwide lockdown ends on 3 May, will be taken depending on what the Centre decides. The number of coronavirus cases in Indore rose to 1,176 after 91 more people tested positive for the infectious disease in the Madhya Pradesh district during the past 24 hours, an official said on Sunday. So far, 57 COVID-19 patients have died in Indore, which has emerged as one of the COVID-19 hotspots in the country, district chief medical and health officer Praveen Jadia said. Till now, 107 people have been discharged after recovering from the viral infection, he said. Mumbai reported as many as 203 fresh COVID-19 cases on Saturday till 6 pm, thereby taking the total number of confirmed cases in the city to 4,870, said Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The toll due to the novel coronavirus was 191. According to the municipal corporation, the number of patients who have been cured of the infectious disease stood at 762. Therefore, the COVID-19 recovery rate in the city was at 15.6 percent. A data journalism portal called Health Check also reported that Mumbai was ready to conduct plasma therapy for eligible COVID-19 patients. The report citing BMC said that three units of plasma have already been collected. The total number of confirmed cases in Delhi surged to 2,625 following an increase by 118 new cases of COVID-19 and one death in the National Capital. "A total of 118 more COVID-19 cases and one more death was reported in the National Capital in the last 24 hours. The total cases in Delhi n Maharashtra on Saturday reported 811 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, a single-day record for the state. The total number of positive cases in the state are now 7,628 and the toll rose by 22 to reach 323, a Health department statement said. With 119 patients discharged after recovery, their number rose to 1,076 so far. Of the overall count of COVID-19 cases in the state, Mumbai accounts for 4,870 of them. The financial capital of the country saw 281 new positive cases and 12 deaths on Saturday. The toll in the city stood at 191. India registered the highest single-day rise in COVID-19 fatalities in the past 24 hours with 49, taking the toll to 824. According to the data released by the Union Health Ministry, a spike of 1,990 fresh cases was witnessed, bringing the overall count to 26,496. Of the total, 19,868 are active cases while one patient was migrated. The recovery rate stood at 22 percent after 5,804 COVID-19 patients were cured The Delhi government on Saturday decided to implement the Centre's guidelines on reopening of neighbourhood and standalone shops during the lockdown, but said no activity will be allowed in containment zones, as the number of coronavirus cases rose to 2,625 in the National Capital. After the home ministry issued clarification on reopening of shops, Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Sunday said standalone shops in colonies will be permitted to operate from 7 am to 6 pm in nine out of 13 districts that have been green zones in the state. "Liquor stores and barber shops will remain closed," said Rawat. As many as 28 fresh COVID-19 positive cases were reported in Bihar on Saturday, taking the overall count to 251 in the state. Of the total confirmed cases, 45 people have recovered while two have succumbed to the infectious disease. Currently, there are currently 204 active cases. A month into the lockdown, the Union Health Ministry on Saturday informed that there has been a marked improvement in the rate of spread of the novel coronavirus in India, even as the country registered 1,490 new COVID-19 cases and 56 deaths, the highest single day rise in fatalities so far. On Saturday, the nationwide count of confirmed cases climbed to 24,942 with 779 deaths with some states began easing some of the restrictions imposed since the country went on a nationwide lockdown on 25 march. India's rate of spread slows down The average doubling rate of COVID-19 cases in the country is 9.1 days as of now; this was 7.5 days just five days ago, and 3 days on 21 March, when India had just 300 cases. The doubling rate is the rate at which India's Covid-19 cases are expected to double from today's figure. Furthermore, from Friday 8 am to Saturday 8 am, India recorded a six percent growth in new cases, which is the lowest daily growth rate recorded since the country crossed 100 cases on 15 March, the government said on Saturday, according to PTI. The recovery figures have also shown some improvement. As of now, 5,062 people have been cured with a recovery rate of 20.66 percent, which is an improvement from the 14.2 percent reported last Sunday (19 April) and 13 percent on 17 April, the ministry said. The government also said that this is comparatively better than most of the countries and may be taken as a positive effect of the lockdown in the country, along with the cluster management and containment strategy. In an announcement that underscored the scientific unknowns about the virus, the World Health Organisation said there is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 cannot fall sick again. Maharashtra, Gujarat account for most cases and deaths Of the total cases reported on Saturday, 18953 are active, 5,209 have been cured and discharged patients, one migrated while 779 have died, the health ministry said. According to the health ministry data updated in the evening, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country is from Maharashtra at 6,817, followed by Gujarat (2,815), Delhi (2,514), Rajasthan (2,034), Madhya Pradesh (1,952) and Uttar Pradesh (1,778). The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 1,755 in Tamil Nadu, 1,061 in Andhra Pradesh and 984 in Telangana. The number of cases has risen to 571 in West Bengal, 489 in Karnataka, 454 in Jammu and Kashmir, 451 in Kerala, 298 in Punjab and 272 in Haryana. Bihar has reported 228 coronavirus cases, while Odisha has 94. Fifty-nine people have been infected with the virus in Jharkhand and 48 in Uttarakhand. Himachal Pradesh has 40 cases, while Chhattisgarh and Assam have registered 36 infections each. Chandigarh has 28 cases, while there are 27 COVID-19 patients in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Twenty coronavirus cases have been reported from Ladakh, 12 from Meghalaya, while Goa and Puducherry have registered seven COVID-19 cases each. Manipur and Tripura have two coronavirus patients each, while Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have reported a case each. "Forty-nine cases are being assigned to states for contact tracing. Our figures are being reconciled with that of the the ICMR," the ministry said on its website. State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it added. Of the 56 deaths reported since Friday evening, 18 were in Maharashtra, 15 in Gujarat, nine in Madhya Pradesh, three each in Delhi and West Bengal, two each in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh and one each in Punjab and Kerala. Of the total 779 COVID-19 deaths, Maharashtra accounts for the highest number of 301 fatalities, followed by Gujarat (127), Madhya Pradesh (92), Delhi (53), Andhra Pradesh (31) and Rajasthan (27). The death toll reached 26 in Uttar Pradesh as well as in Telangana, 22 in Tamil Nadu, while Karnataka and West Bengal have reported 18 deaths each, the ministry said. Punjab has registered 17 fatalities so far, Jammu and Kashmir five, Kerala four, while Jharkhand and Haryana have recorded three COVID-19 deaths each. Bihar has reported two coronavirus deaths, while Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Assam have reported a fatality each, according to the ministry data. States ease lockdown conditions, but no respite for Maharashtra Some states, taking cue from a late Friday night order from the Union Home Ministry, said they are taking steps to open more categories of shops, including those selling garments, mobile phones, hardware and stationery items. However, these relaxations would not be allowed for shops located in market places, malls and COVID-19 hotspots and containment zones. In rural areas, all shops barring those in malls have been allowed to open. Liquor and cigarette shops would remain closed everywhere irrespective of their location, while sale of non-essential items through e-commerce platforms continue to remain shut. Restaurants, hair salons and barber shops will not be allowed to open as these render services and do not fall under the shop category. The Delhi government said it will implement the Home Ministry order on opening of shops in the National Capital, but Maharashtra ruled out any immediate relaxation saying the lockdown guidelines will remain unchanged in the state till 3 May. In fact, there are also reports that the Maharashtra government is mulling to extend lockdown at least in the containment zones within hotspot districts Mumbai and Pune till at least 18 May. This came after 281 new positive cases and 12 deaths were reported in Mumbai on Saturday, taking the total number of cases in the city to 4,870. Gujarat and the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, on the other hand, decided to follow the directive, while Assam said it will take a decision on Monday. Gujarat has the second highest number of active cases at 2,423 after Maharashtra. Madhya Pradesh, another state hit hard by the novel coronavirus, too decided to ease the restrictions on neighborhood shops while also beginning the process of sending migrant labourers to their respective villages in the state. At least 8,000 migrant labourers were sent to their villages in the state in buses, the govt said on Saturday. According to ANI, Madhya pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Saturday that the state govt has also launched efforts to bring Madhya Pradesh labourers stuck in other states, while announcing that at least 2,400 labourers have already left from Gujarat. Last week, the govt also allowed manufacturing and farming to resume in rural areas to ease the economic plight of millions left jobless by the lockdown. Restrictions in the country have allowed people out of their homes only to buy food, medicine or other essentials. Congress recommends steps to rejuvenate MSMEs On the political front, Congress President Sonia Gandhi also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking urgent steps to help the MSME sector, including a Rs 1 lakh crore 'wage protection' package. She said the MSME crisis has the potential of having a devastating and expansive ripple effect on our economy. The BJP, meanwhile, hit out at the opposition party, alleging its leaders keep making new demands and claim that the nationwide lockdown has caused problems. "The Congress is doing petty, abhorrent and negative politics. It is writing letters daily. It should go and work on ground. Its leaders don't do that but keep making new demands," Union minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters. Instead of making new demands, the Congress should say what it has been doing to help people, Javadekar added. Meanwhile, special teams sent by the Centre, in the meantime, assessed ground situations in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, but a political stand-off continued in West Bengal on this front. The team visiting West Bengal alleged that non-cooperation on the part of the state government over providing logistical support and other relevant information, while the state's ruling party Trinamool Congress described it as "India's Most Callous Team" and accused it of trying to spread the political virus "shamelessly". West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier slammed the Centre for sending the teams to look into the state's preparedness for tackling the COVID-19 outbreak and alleged that faulty testing kits were dispatched to the state. With inputs from agencies An internal video obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive shows the director of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Roseburg holding a flash mob dance party in hospital offices with at least 16 staff, none of them consistently wearing protective equipment or maintaining social distance. The event appears to be a morale building exercise and was posted Friday on the hospitals internal intranet, one of the regular updates that Director Keith M. Allen has been posting on COVID-19 and other topics. The updates are viewable by all 1,000 employees in the Roseburg VA district, which covers four southern Oregon counties and a slice of Northern California. The district serves some 56,000 veterans, many of them elderly and with preexisting conditions. Just a week ago, a Roseburg VA administrator confirmed that four members of the medical centers staff including a nurse who ended up on a ventilator in a Portland hospital -- and one patient had tested positive for COVID-19. Allens dance party appears to be in flagrant violation of the state and federal protocols designed to limit spread of the disease. A spokesperson for the Roseburg VA could not immediately be reached for comment. The video begins with Allen dancing into a room holding a boombox blaring Neil Diamonds Sweet Caroline. He is followed by a parade of staff who come sashaying in. A worker in the office, clearly uncomfortable, backs her chair away from the lineup of dancers, and eventually pulls her sweater over her nose and mouth. Several other dancers, all standing in close groups and swirling around one another, are holding or have masks on their person -- the singular dancer whod been wearing one takes it off midway through. Almost three minutes into the video, one of the dancers finally notes, Theres too many people in the room, and the party breaks up. It just seems like theyre not taking it seriously, said one VA employee, who is not being identified because they are not authorized to speak to the media. We have veterans that are dying and we know the best thing we can do is these behavioral interventions and social distancing. I understand this is a rural county and its not spreading fast, but this is how it spreads. Shawn Tyson, executive assistant to the Roseburg VAs associate director, confirmed to Roseburgs The News-Review that the center had staffers and a patient who tested positive. When asked whether the VA had an active outbreak, he said absolutely not. The Roseburg VA district has closed its Community Based Outreach Centers all but two days a week to guard against spread of the virus. But staff members say theyve been given inconsistent information about distancing and the use of personal protective equipment. Governor Kate Browns March 23 stay-home order allowed health care employees to go to work, as long as they stayed six feet apart. The order specifically banned social gatherings parties and celebrations with people from outside your household. That followed an earlier order that had banned gatherings of 10 people or more. Allen leads his dance party in a small room with at least 16 others. Its just disgusting in my opinion, said another VA staffer who requested anonymity because of the risk to their job. If it werent for the COVID-19 virus we would probably be laughing at this. But this is not okay. We have one of our own in the hospital fighting for his life. The Department of Veterans Affairs is also facing increasing criticism nationally as the number of its patients and staff infected with COVID-19 continues to increase. The Hill reported this week that more than 6,000 VA patients have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, and 400 have died. It said more than 2,000 VA workers have contracted the disease, and 20 have died. The news outlet quoted a response from VA press secretary Christina Noel, who said the departments personal protective equipment practices are keeping veterans and employees safe during challenging times, and the numbers prove it. This is not the first time Allen has been called out for violating social distancing protocols. He posted a video on Wednesday, April 22, on the Roseburg VAs Facebook page thanking a number of community partners for sponsoring a pizza party at the hospital. Allen was sitting at a desk in front of several staff members, all standing in close proximity, none wearing masks. Two commenters noted the obvious problem. Good lord people, said one, youre not standing six feet apart, what a great example of healthcare professionals you are. SMDH. Keep up the good work and see how many veterans you can infect. -- Ted Sickinger; tsickinger@oregonian.com; 503-2218505; @tedsickinger Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter STR The head of the Korean Friendship Association, a group that says it receives official information from North Korea, called news reports that Kim Jong Un is gravely ill untrue. Alejandro Cao de-Benos said "information about the serious state of health of our Marshal Kim Jong Un is false and malicious," according to a post on Twitter. Cao did not say where he got the information and declined further comment. HELSINKI, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Railway freight volume between China and Finland has hit record high by the end of March, as container trains has become the only way for many companies to transport goods due to the restricted air transportation amid COVID-19 pandemic, Finnish national broadcaster Yle reported Monday evening. Container trains between Finnish capital Helsinki and Hefei, capital of eastern China's Anhui Province, were fully booked a few weeks ago, Marjut Linnajarvi, Business Manager at Nurminen Logistics, told Yle. Nurminen Logistics is a Finnish company responsible for container train transport to China. "The container trains export industrial supplies, cellulose and food to China," Linnajarvi was quoted as saying. On the return train, health care supplies, such as protective masks, are brought to Finland, she added. In addition, trains also carry components that are vital to many Finnish companies, whose production would even come to a complete halt without those components. Linnajarvi said that the companies' emergency is real, when international transport is facing real challenge and air cargo does not run normally due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, container trains run to China and back every two weeks. Nurminen Logistics' goal is to obtain a weekly connection from May. Some companies may permanently switch from air freight to train transport, as the travel time of container trains between China and Finland has accelerated. On average, the one-way trip takes a week and a half, according to the Yle report. Linnajarvi estimated that Nurminen Logistics has operated about 100 container trains between Helsinki and Hefei since the company launched the service in November 2018. Last year, 26 container trains went to China and the same amount returned to Finland, according to Yle. Governor Bullock announced last week a plan to begin phased reopening of businesses, government agencies and schools that had been closed since last month to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Montana, including the option for local school districts to begin in-classroom learning starting May 7. At their next board meeting, on Tuesday, April 28, the Missoula County School District Board of Trustees will begin discussing the many implications of potentially reopening Missoula schools. The districts administrators will present trustees with a list of considerations, including maintaining social distancing as much as possible, encouraging the use of cloth face masks, and ensuring that vulnerable groups are protected from exposure to the virus. The board will also be presented with contingency plans for high school graduation ceremonies, which usually take place in early June. Our contingency plans will rely heavily on the guidance of our Missoula City-County Health Department and restrictions regarding crowd size or social distancing, reads a notice posted on the MCPS website. Receiving their guidance will help us plan a ceremony that honors our graduates, while at the same time protects student safety. The board will weigh these considerations along with public input from parents, teachers, staff and students themselves before making any final decisions, likely at a special board meeting on May 1. A final decision regarding graduation ceremonies may follow at a May 12 board meeting. The Missoulian Editorial Board spoke with Missoula County Public Schools Superintendent Rob Watson by phone this past Thursday afternoon to ask him for this thoughts on opening local schools. Heres a condensed version of his answers to our questions: *** Q: What is your position on the schools re-opening? A: I will be making a recommendation to the board that, based on the need for safety and the risks involved, we remain in remote learning for the remainder of the school year. Our biggest concerns are just some of the unknowns, and the level of risks involved. Theres only a short time left in the school year. The risks do not outweigh the benefits of re-opening. The governor released a list of things schools should consider. We will present this list to the school board, as they will make the ultimate decision. A couple of things on that list have caused us some pause. In situations where you cannot socially distance, for instance, it says folks should be wearing face coverings. With 9,200 students, 1,200 staff members thats a lot of face coverings. Some will come to school with them already, of course. But for those who dont have them, we will have to find a way to supply them. *** Q: What are some of the other considerations? A: I talked to the county health department today. If a student turns up sick, there are certain procedures well follow, and that all requires quite a bit of personnel. Last spring, when we had a pertussis outbreak, we had our nurses working with the county health department coming in with support. The health department, as I understand it, is stretched pretty thin right now, and it is unlikely theyd be able to provide much support to us. We dont have enough nurses to cover every school. The CDC has released guidelines around (how to respond to a student showing symptoms of coronavirus): Isolate the student, temperature check, well need to contact the parents and quite possibly have them talk to a public health nurse. The other thing is, if we have a confirmed case, the CDC recommends we shut down for two to five days. The first thing is to deep-clean the school building, and the other reason is to give the health department time to trace any contacts (who may have been exposed). *** Q: If the school board does vote to re-open the schools, will MCPS be ready by May 7? A: We would not be ready by May 7. We have a pretty long list of considerations we would have to plan for. We would have to sort through all of those before we would be able to know for certain when would be ready to reopen. For example, Phase 1 is no groups larger than 10 and Phase 2 is no more than 50. Most of our buildings have at least 300 students, if not more. So maybe for half the day we shift half the kids or a quarter of the kids into the school building at any one time. *** Q: What is something the community should keep in mind that hasn't been talked about much? A: Its worth noting that, when schools open in the fall, many of these considerations will still be in place. Its beneficial for folks to understand that no matter what time of year, there will still be restrictions in place from the county health department. They will likely be similar to the governors, but they may be more restrictive. We have to follow guidance from the governor and the county health department no matter when we open, even if its next fall. Dharavi, the largest slum in Asia, has been trying to cope up with its rising COVID-19 cases. Image is representational. Image credit: By Kounosu - Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5300649 Though an essential step, with the COVID-19 figures nearing the 25,000-mark in India, the lockdown imposed by the Indian government the largest and most stringent in the world, has been difficult for everyone. For many of us, the lockdown has meant staying indoors, except for venturing out to buy essentials, while managing work, childcare and household work and following the social distance and personal hygiene norms set by the government and health care professionals. However, for the billions of the urban poor in India and elsewhere in the global south that is struggling to meet basic daily needs, the times have been even more punishing. As per a blog post on tackling inequalities during COVID-19, by the World Resources Institute, social distancing norms which are critical to contain the pandemic, could prove to be impossible to follow for a large number of the urban poor across cities in Asia, Africa and Latin America, which lack the space, services and adequate safety net to survive such an order. Amidst lockdowns imposed by Governments, millions of the poorest residents in cities such as Bangkok, Lagos, New Delhi, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro, have found their lives disrupted with little support and protection. According to Dr Robin King Director, Knowledge Capture and Collaboration WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities and co-author of the blog, even cities that were previously cited as early successes, such as Singapore, have fallen short, and are witnessing worsening situations. This is because of insufficient attention to the migrant worker dorms that share some of the same challenges as slums cramped spaces that make social/physical distancing impossible, insufficient water for frequent hand washing, insufficient and insufficiently clean toilets, and a lack of accurate and sufficient information and time to address the additional burdens of dealing with responsible civic actions of frequent hand and space washing and keeping physical distances. Story continues India: Severe inequality In India, nearly 1.3 billion people have been impacted by the lockdown imposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to slow down the spread of the virus. With nearly 152-216 million people living in densely populated informal settlements, social distancing remains a distant dream for most. WRI cites the example of a slum in Bengaluru which is 12 times denser than the city average housing 1,40,000 people per square kilometre. At a time when hygiene practices such as washing hands with soap and water at regular intervals could prove to be the difference between staying healthy or falling ill, water scarcity remains a huge problem - more than 160 million people do not have access to clean water in the country at 19 per cent of the worlds population, that is the highest in the world. Further, as per a UNICEF report, 20 per cent of urban Indians, which is around 91 million people, lack handwashing facilities at home. This then forces them to rely on water from other sources such as drains and canals, which often harbour more dangerous pathogens. Further, for many of the urban poor living in the crowded slums, hand washing could mean going to a shared tap or drawing from limited supply, hence making isolation and social distancing prove impossible to achieve. In India, thousands of migrant labourers have been stuck without work and without being able to return to their hometowns, in different states across the country. In the absence of work, food or proper shelter, as more people from the informal sector flee to their homes, the risk of spreading the virus into the rural hinterlands is high. The informal sector is also deeply affected by the lockdown the post cites a survey conducted in Bengaluru where over 70 per cent of workers are from the informal sector. Despite being worried over contracting COVID-19, most workers feel compelled to continue working, due to fear of losing their jobs and not being able to feed their families. As per reports, the countrys informal sector would need at least 1.5 trillion relief package to be able to survive the lockdown. While the death rate in India may be lower than a number of the more advanced nations - it is very early to talk about success in the country, given the exponential growth nature of the impact of this virus, feels King. While some of the policies undertaken are helping slow the expansion, some of them have also exacerbated other problems (the most obvious being food insecurity and hunger). Bridging the gap: While long term measures such as large-scale investments in infrastructure for water, sanitation, housing and healthcare are essential to ensure that the worlds growing population has access to essential services, short-term strategies are also needed to help cities respond now. According to WRI, these include providing access to water and sanitation facilities for free, fiscal transfer to states/cities, stepping up efforts to access emergency services in cities most under-served areas and working closely with community leaders and NGOs that work in informal settlements and other at-risk communities. Dharavi, which has a population of nearly 10 lakh people, has seen 200 COVID cases and 13 deaths, so far. King shares that these measures are even more critical for a place like Dharavi, or any such place that combines lack of adequate sanitation facilities with high population and/or economic density. A number of measures will be required to tackle the situation - while the provision of masks and access to health services are important, in the shortage of water, hand sanitising stations can be set up. A good example is Kerala, which has set up hand washing stations equipped with sanitisers or soaps at bus stations and other public places in the state. The fiscal transfers for immediate cash assistance need to be proactive (not retroactive, and insufficient, like we are seeing in the US) and creative to help ensure that resources get to all community members - this includes the provision of food, she explains. Communication of accurate information is essential and public officials should be receptive to information flowing to them from the community as well. Community leaders can also help the two-way flow of information in the short term, and creation of networks of trust that will help in the long run during the next crisis. In a place like Dharavi, for instance, alternative methods of provision of accurate information (radio, sound trucks, mobile apps, community placards, videos, etc.) and multiple languages will be essential. Hopeful case studies: Amidst the worries of an ever-growing pandemic, are glimpses of hope that certain case studies have shown us. In India, individual state successes in containing the virus can be looked at. Kerala has been lauded for its efforts in trying to flatten the curve and is being portrayed as an international best practice of handling the virus. The more balanced big successes within India are state-level, with success built of responses to past disasters (past diseases in Kerala, and weather and climate-related disasters in Odisha). Policies undertaken in the past have helped prepare for the responses now: testing, health coverage, thinking about food distribution and planning for dealing with sudden challenges. Kerala is even more impressive in that it has lots of interaction with foreign travellers migrants going back and forth between the Gulf, and tourists from around the world that have proven to be the vectors of transmission, King explains. Cities such as Taipei, Seoul, and the cities in New Zealand are also positive case studies. They, along with Hong Kong, developed practices, products, and institutions in response to past epidemics (SARS, for example) that served as effective bases for rapid response to this pandemic. This allowed them to spring into action faster, rather than having to realise the problem, come up with solutions, develop them, finance them, and roll them out to the public, King states. The need of the hour is to provide targeted emergency assistance that can create better preparedness for the future, WRI states. It is also necessary to close the urban services divide so that cities can become more equitable to survive the next crisis. A month into his tenure as Air Force Academy superintendent and before Black Lives Matter sparked a nationwide discussion on the treatment of PR-Inside.com: 2020-04-25 22:14:43 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 901 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 25, 2020 / International Cannabrands Inc., dba Radiko Holdings (Radiko) (CSE:INCB) (the "Company") would like to provide an update on COVID-19 matters and the status of the filing of annual and interim financial statements, accompanying management discussion and analysis and related CEO and CFO certifications.The COVID-19 pandemic is creating unprecedented challenges to the global economy and stock markets. The Company's Board of Directors and Management are taking all necessary precautions to ensure the health of its employees and best manage the short-term challenges to the business.On March 18, 2020, the Canadian Securities Administrators ("CSA") issued a notice stating that securities regulators will be providing coordinated relief consisting of a 45-day extension for certain periodic filings required to be made on or prior to June 1, 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As such the Alberta Securities Commission ("ASC") has enacted Blanket Order 51-517 - Temporary Exemption from Certain Corporate Finance Requirements ("ASC 51-517"). The Company will be relying on this extension period due to delays experienced as result of the COVID-19 pandemic.The Company will be relying on the temporary exemption pursuant to ACS 51-517 in respect to the following provisions:the requirement to file audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 (the "Annual Financial Statements") within 120 days of the Company's financial year end as required by section 4.2(b) of NI 51-102;the requirement to file interim financial statements for the three month period ended March 31, 2020 (the "Interim Financial Statements") within 60 days of the Company's first quarter as required by section 4.4(b) of NI 51-102the requirement to file management discussion and analysis (the "Annual MD&A") for the period covered by the Annual Financial Statements within 120 days of the Company's financial year end as required by section 5.1(2) of NI 51-102;the requirement to file management discussion and analysis (the "Interim MD&A") for the period covered by the Interim Financial Statements within 60 days of the Company's first quarter as required by section 5.1(2) of NI 51-102;the requirement to file certifications of the Annual Financial Statements (the "Certificates" and together with the Annual Financial Statements, the "Annual Filings") pursuant to section 4.1 of National Instrument 52-109; andthe requirement to file certifications of the Interim Financial Statements (the "Certificates" and together with the Interim Financial Statements, the "Interim Filings") pursuant to section 5.1 of National Instrument 52-109.The Company confirms that since the filing of its interim consolidated financial statements for the period ended September 30, 2019, there have been no material business developments other than those disclosed through Company press releases.The Company is continuing to work diligently and expeditiously with its auditors to file the Annual Filings and Interim Filings together on or before June 14, 2020. In the interim, management and other insiders of the Company are subject to a trading black-out policy as described, in principle, in section 9 of National Policy 11-207 - Failure to File Cease Trade Orders and Revocations in Multiple Jurisdictions.About Radiko HoldingsRadiko Holdings (RDKO) is a CBD and cannabis-focused brand portfolio, leveraging the potential of the plant by offering best of breed products that naturally complement today's consumer lifestyles. The Company's mission is to build and market a diversified portfolio of cannabis and CBD brands, with strategic manufacturing and distribution partnerships to support better EBITDA and margins. RDKO markets products with THC content where that practice has been legalized at the state level through either medicinal or recreational use. RDKO also markets products containing CBD in the US and internationally. The Company believes as the legal cannabis and CBD markets evolve, high-quality, unique products will increasingly capture market share and provide a valuable platform for growth.NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER HAS REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.Radiko Holdings Contact:Steve Gormley, Chief Executive Officer, Radiko Holdings12655 W Jefferson BlvdLos Angeles, CA, 90066Ph: +1-(323)-828-4321 or steve@ radikoholdings.com Investor Relations Contact:Dave Burwell, Vice President, The Howard Group#350, 318 - 11 Avenue S.E.Calgary, AB T2G 0Y2Ph: +1-(403)-221-0915 or dave@ howardgroupinc.com Media Inquiries: media@ radikoholdings.com Forward Looking StatementsExcept for statements of historical fact relating to the Company, certain information contained herein relating to the timing of the filing of financial statements constitutes forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information.Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.SOURCE: Radiko Holdings The lawyer for Carole Baskin's missing ex-husband Don Lewis (above) claims he was strangled and thrown out of a plane over the Gulf of Mexico The lawyer for Carole Baskin's missing ex-husband claims he was strangled and then thrown out of a plane over the Gulf of Mexico. The wildly popular Netflix series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness has deepened the mystery of the disappearance of Don Lewis, the second husband of cat conservationist Carole Baskin. Baskin met real estate millionaire Lewis in 1980, they married in 1991 and together they ran an exotic animal habitat in Hillsborough County, Florida. However, he vanished without a trace in 1997 leaving a reported fortune of $5million to Baskin. He was later declared legally dead in 2002, but his body was never found. Joseph Fritz was Lewis attorney and believes the mogul was killed. 'What do you believe happened to Jack Don Lewis?' host Nancy Grace asked Fritz in a new episode of Fox Nation series A Tiger King Investigation. 'What I had heard was that he was strangled from the backseat of an airplane over the Gulf [of Mexico] at 50 feet and dropped out over the Gulf,' Fritz said, noting that Lewis preferred to fly low under the range of radar detection because his pilot license had been revoked. 'What I had heard was that he was strangled from the backseat of an airplane over the Gulf [of Mexico] at 50 feet and dropped out over the Gulf,' Lewis' former attorney Joseph Fritz said on Fox Nation's new series A Tiger King Investigation to host Nancy Grace 'In my view, theres no question but that he was murdered,' Fritz said to 'As we say in the South, DRT Dead Right There' Fritz believes Lewis was coaxed to a private county airport lured by a deal to purchase an aircraft and was murdered. 'Don Lewis, he was terribly cheap while he was very wealthy. He was cheap beyond belief. What would have lured him more than anything else is a good deal on an airplane. So that's what I assume happened -- that he got lured up to the Pilot Country Estates to look at an airplane,' Lewis' former attorney explained. The last sign of Lewis was his abandoned car found in the parking lot of Pilot Country Airport in Springhill, Florida - about 40 miles from his cat sanctuary. Baskin told police the last thing she heard from him was he was planning to travel to his Costa Rica home. 'In my view, theres no question but that he was murdered,' Fritz said to 'As we say in the South, DRT Dead Right There.' Animal activist Carole Baskin (above) met real estate millionaire Lewis in 1980, they married in 1991 and together they ran an exotic animal habitat in Hillsborough County, Florida. She claims she has nothing to do with his disappearance Lewis he vanished without a trace in 1997 leaving a reported fortune of $5million to Baskin (together above). He was later declared legally dead in 2002, but his body was mysteriously never found 'He loved those cats. He never would have just walked away from them ever. He was proud of those cats. He loved his cats. Some force made him leave,' he added. As highlighted in Tiger King, zoo owner Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, accused Baskin, his rival in the exotic animal world, of murdering her husband. Exotic was sentenced to 22 years in prison in April 2019 for trying to kill her in a murder-for-hire plot and for killing five tigers, selling tiger cubs, and falsifying wildlife records. Other theories peddled in the Netflix series include that Baskin killed Lewis and buried his body under a septic tank, that Lewis crashed his plane or that he successfully made it to Costa Rica and started a new life. As highlighted in Tiger King, zoo owner Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, accused Baskin, his rival in the exotic animal world, of murdering her husband Baskin went on to marry her third husband Howard Baskin in 2003 and together they run the Big Cat Rescue animal sanctuary. But the most talked about theory was that Baskin had murdered her first husband and fed him to the tigers in his own park after processing his body through a meat grinder. Baskin herself said she thinks Don either fled to Costa Rica, or he was thrown off a plane over the Gulf of Mexico. Detectives have said there was no way one of Don's private planes could have held enough fuel to take him all the way to Costa Rica, after Baskin said he would often fly below the radar because he had lost his pilot's licence. Baskin went on to marry her third husband Howard Baskin in 2003 and together they run the Big Cat Rescue animal sanctuary. Hillsborough County police have said they currently receive 'six calls a day' on the tip line searching for new leads in the Don Lewis case, which remains open to this day. Baskin has never been charged with a crime in relation to Lewis' death. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said pool testing should be encouraged in the state to ensure that coronavirus is contained within the hotspots and containment zones. The chief minister also directed that a dedicated team be formed in every district to constantly monitor medical personnel so as to prevent them from contracting the disease. At present, pool testing of coronavirus samples is being conducted in Lucknow, Meerut and Etawah. Pooling of samples involves testing them in batches and when pooled samples test positive, then individual samples are assessed. Pool testing reduces the number of test kits used, and therefore, increases testing capacity. "For prevention of COVID-19, pool testing should be encouraged, as through pool testing more people can be tested, and thereby COVID-19 could be effectively controlled," Adityanath said at a meeting of senior UP government officials at his residence here. He added it was very important for medical personnel to take all precautions while treating patients infected with coronavirus. "Hence, the COVID-19 hospitals should have an adequate number of PPE kits and N-95 masks. The dedicated COVID-19 teams should be constantly monitored. The doctors, nurses, para-medical and other staff must be saved from infection at every cost," the chief minister said. Briefing reporters here, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said, "On the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, an effort has been made to prevent infection among medical personnel by forming a dedicated team in every district of the state." Adityanath said the state government has earmarked hospitals for dedicated treatment of COVID-19 patients. He also said that planning should be done to expand plasma therapy for treatment of COVID-19 patients in the state, as it has given good results. The chief minister said the people of Uttar Pradesh who are stranded in other states and have completed their quarantine period will be brought back in a phased manner. Adityanath directed the chief secretary, the principal secretary (medical and health) and the director general of police to seek feedback from nodal officers posted in 19 sensitive districts to effectively implement containment measures in view of the rising number of cases. "Social distancing must be maintained in the industrial units which have been allowed to operate. Steps should be taken to ensure that guidelines of the Health Department are strictly adhered to in these industrial units. The supply chain is working properly, and it should be ensured that it works like this," Adityanath said, adding that health check-up of people engaged in home delivery should be done continuously. Instructions were also issued to regularly sanitise the shelter homes in the state, a statement issued by the UP government said. The chief minister asked the additional chief secretary (Revenue) to geotag shelter homes and compile details of the people kept there under quarantine. He said they should be linked to the Aarogya Setu app. "Patrolling should be increased and no permission should be granted till June 30 for holding any public programme. Social media should be monitored," Adityanath said. He also stressed on the use of RuPay cards for monetary transactions. Later briefing reporters here, Awasthi said, "The chief minister has directed that for effective disposal of bio-medical wastes in hospitals, a team should be formed, which will have an environment engineer, so that all aspects of disposal of medical wastes can be looked into. This has been made mandatory for COVID hospitals and also for other hospitals." According to the state authorities, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection in the state stands at 1,843 and 29 fatalities have been recorded so far. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday acknowledged the contribution of the state governments in the war against the Covid-19 pandemic as he addressed the nation through his monthly Mann ki Baat radio programme. I also appreciate the role of the state governments. They are playing a very active role in combating this pandemic. Local administrations, state governments, are playing a key role in the battle against Corona, the Prime Minister said. Their hard work is praiseworthy, he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet chief ministers of states over video conference, the third such on issues related to the coronavirus pandemic, on Monday to discuss a number of issues including a decision on the lockdown. He also said earlier in his Mann ki Baat address that the fight against the coronavirus pandemic is people-driven and Indias efforts will be discussed the world over. India reported 26,496 cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) with 1990 new infections in the last 24 hours the biggest single-day spike so far. Out of this, 824 patients have died, data from the Union health ministry showed on Sunday morning. The coronavirus death toll in New Jersey increased Sunday to 5,938 people, with at least 109,038 total cases statewide, though the total number of residents hospitalized dropped to a three-week low, with 6,573 patients under treatment for a confirmed or suspected case. The numbers announced by Gov. Phil Murphy include 75 additional deaths and 3,730 new positive tests reported in the last 24 hours. As has been the practice on Sundays during the outbreak, Murphy did not hold an in-person coronavirus briefing and the latest results were posted online on the state Department of Healths tracking website. More than 200,000 New Jersey residents have been tested for the coronavirus to date, with 114,106 negative results. New Jersey has been focused testing on symptomatic people, though that may change in the coming weeks as Murphy has listed widespread testing and contact tracing as key components of any plan to roll back the near lockdown restrictions to slow the outbreak. The governor is expected to provide a broad blueprint for reopening during his next briefing on Monday. The county-by-county coronavirus cases and deaths include: Bergen County: 14,965 with 955 deaths Hudson County: 13,708 with 661 deaths Essex County: 12,863 with 1,023 deaths Union County: 11,853 with 571 deaths Passaic County: 11,137 with 426 deaths Middlesex County: 10,642 with 442 deaths Ocean County: 5,962 with 322 deaths Monmouth County: 5,671 with 291 deaths Morris County: 4,976 with 351 deaths Mercer County: 3,355 with 188 deaths Somerset County: 3,144 with 223 deaths Camden County: 2,983 with 121 deaths Burlington County: 2,333 with 94 deaths Gloucester County: 976 with 31 deaths Sussex County: 855 with 92 deaths Warren County: 778 with 65 deaths Atlantic County: 638 with 29 deaths Hunterdon County: 536 with 23 deaths Cumberland County: 520 with 6 deaths Cape May County: 281 with 18 deaths Salem County: 181 with 6 deaths Another 681 cases are under investigation to determine where the patient resides. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage Earlier in the day, Murphy said New Jersey is still weeks away from starting to reopen from the near lockdown restrictions to slow the spread of the pandemic. I think best the best understanding of the data right now is that we are still a number of weeks away, he said. Were not of the woods yet." New Jersey the U.S. state with the second-most coronavirus cases and related deaths has been under near lockdown orders for more than a month. On March 21, Murphy ordered residents to stay home, except for exercise and necessary travel, banned social gatherings, and closed schools and nonessential businesses. As of Sunday morning, nearly 3 million people across the globe tested positive for the virus, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. Of those, more than 203,500 have died and more than 827,800 have recovered. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Amidst the coronoavirus crisis, a bitter tussle is on between the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and the BJP over the alleged delay by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in accepting state cabinets recommendation to nominate chief minister Uddhav Thackeray as a member of the State Legislative council. Thackeray will have to resign if he doesnt become a member of the state legislature by May 28. MVA leaders suspect a political conspiracy behind the alleged delay in clearing the recommendation sent by the cabinet to the Governor more than two weeks ago. While the Shiv Sena is building up pressure on Koshyari, Thackeray on Sunday said nobody should play dirty politics in the current situation. The BJP hit back saying the onus of getting Thackeray elected to the legislature was on the ruling party and not on the opposition and that the Sena should stop blaming the BJP for its problems. I am keeping politics aside. Power comes and goes. Nobody should resort to dirty politics. This is not the time for politics. There are lives of people at stake, Thackeray said while addressing people through social media. He also lauded union transport minister Nitin Gadkari for his advice to states politicians to stand behind the state government in the time of crisis. I thank Nitinji Gadkari for appealing to everybody to keep politics aside and support the state government in its battle against coronoavirus, Thackeray said. Sena MP and executive editor of party mouthpiece Saamana, Sanjay Raut on Sunday wrote that he trusted Governor Koshyari to accept the recommendation but at the same time cautioned that there could be repercussions if the state cabinets recommendation was rejected. He also pointed out two instances in the past when chief ministers were initially not a member of the legislature and were later nominated by the states governor ---C Rajagopalachari as the chief minister of then Madras province in 1951 and Chandrabhan Gupt of Uttar Pradesh in 1961. In case of Gupt, the decision was challenged before Allahabad High Court but it refused to intervene, he added. Last Sunday, Raut had tweeted: Raj bhavan , governors house shouldnt become center for political conspiracy. Remember! History doesnt spare those who behave unconstitutionally. Leaders of the Shiv Sena as well as other two ruling partners, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, are not sure whether the Governor would nominate Thackeray, failing which he may have to quit by May 28 since the constitution makes it mandatory for a minister or chief minister to get elected to the state legislature within six months of swearing-in. Thackeray was not a member of the state legislature when he took oath as the chief minister on November 28 after breaking up with the BJP and joining forces with the Congress-NCP after last years assembly elections. We suspect the Center wants to impose the Presidents Rule in the state. If Thackeray is not nominated by the Governor, he would have to resign. Then the Governor may recommend the Presidents Rule if we insist on Thackeray again swearing-in as the chief minister, said a key MVA leader who did not wish to be named because Koshyari was yet to take a decision. Thackeray had planned to contest a by-election to the legislative council that was scheduled in April but was postponed due to Covid-19 outbreak. State cabinet on April 9 recommended that he be nominated to the council to occupy one of the two empty seats out of the 12 nominated by the Governor. State cabinet wants Koshyari to consider Thackeray as a special case in view of the emergency situation in the state. State revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat who is also the state Congress chief, said, The confusion should be ended by the Governor. We trust him not to let uncertainty prevail in the middle of an emergency situation. Senior BJP leader Ashish Shelar said the Sena should stop blaming others for its problems. Getting Thackeray elected to the legislature is the responsibility of the ruling party and not the opposition. Why didnt he opt to contest the by-election for Yavatmal council seat held earlier this year? Why did Senas partner NCP not include Thackerays name when it recommended its two members for the council? Further, why didnt Sena ask one of its legislators to resign so that Thackeray could contest the by-election, asked Shelar. He added that the Governor would consider the constitutional provisions and accordingly take a decision. He also remarked that Thackeray should tell people why he is not taking opposition leaders into confidence on measures being adopted to handle Covid-19 outbreak instead of accusing others of playing dirty politics. Political analyst Prarap Asbe said: Thackeray would have expressed his unhappiness because he is not happy with the way his government is being attacked by the BJP in the state. As far as Thackerays nomination to the legislature is concerned, the decision of the state cabinet is binding on the governor. Still, if he chooses not to accept it, there could be a political crisis in the state. Of course, such decisions are taken by considering how the people will react, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Cornonavirus might have locked the doors of city hall, but it has flung open a new virtual platform for government officials throughout Alabama. From rural Washington County to the Birmingham City Council, real-time meetings can be accessed online at almost any time by the taxpaying public. Whether the platform is Zoom, Facebook Live, or through other online channels or audio recordings, the documentation of Alabama public meetings has arguably reached its all-time high point in the past month. But will the surge of transparency stick? Alabama Gov. Kay Iveys office is hopeful, and the head of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama wants to see state law tweaked to encourage virtual access during times of crisis. Some longtime followers of state government are skeptical that the changes will stick in a state where government transparency can be frustrating. Being able to watch government meetings on your computer through Zoom or some other platform is a welcome change, but I expect most city councils and county commissions will drop the online access as soon as they return to in-person meetings, said Phillip Rawls, a journalism professor at Auburn University. The attitude is: If you want to know what we are going to do, come to the meeting. Array of access North Alabama government leaders modeled "social distance" March 16, 2020 as they met for a press conference on the coronavirus COVID-19. From left are Madison Mayor Paul Finley, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Huntsville City Council President Devyn Keith, Huntsville Hospital CEO David Spillers and Col. Kelsey Smith, garrison commander at Redstone Arsenal. Heading to the podium in the center is Jeff Birdwell, director of the Emergency Management Agency of Huntsville-Madison County. For now, though, the array of access is noticeable. Examples include: -Daphne, the second largest city in Coastal Alabama, is broadcasting council meetings for the first time. The meetings are available on Facebook. The city, which is expected to resume committee meetings in the coming weeks, could be putting those meetings online as well. -Gulf Shores, for the first time, is also broadcasting meetings on Facebook. City officials are looking at ways to continue with the online broadcasts once the pandemic is over. -The Mobile City Council has long broadcast its regular council meetings every Tuesday morning at 10:30 a.m. But the pre-conference sessions, often juicier meetings that tend to spark lively debates among council members, are not. Within the past month, those pre-conference sessions are now available on the citys website. -Government bodies in Clark and Washington counties in Southwest Alabama have never broadcast meetings online before. But longtime Clarke County journalist Jim Cox said a host of those governing bodies have moved their regular sessions online. Overall, I say we are doing pretty well given the circumstances, Cox said. -The city of Auburn has long broadcast its meetings, but the recent Zoom sessions which allow council members to attend from the comfort of their own homes are giving the public opportunity to chime in. People who want to speak can do so by pressing *9 on their cell phone before talking. -Montgomery and Daphne have also implemented call-in numbers allowing the public to participate. Montgomery City Council meetings have long been broadcast on cable TV and on the citys website. -Big city mayors in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Mobile, Huntsville, Montgomery and elsewhere have held regular town hall sessions on Facebook, or have provided updates and have taken questions from those participating on social media. -The Alabama Legislatures prison oversight committee met earlier this month in a Zoom meeting in which Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn provided an update on COVID-19 within the states prisons. Good government Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announces that she is putting the state under a shelter-in-place order during a briefing at the state capitol building in Montgomery, Ala., Friday, April 3, 2020. (Mickey Welsh/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)AP Even when technology is lacking, some governing bodies are taking a creative approach. The Henry County Commission met on the courthouse lawn in Abbeville during a rare outdoor meeting. The governor has been impressed with the innovation and creativity from our business marketing to our government practices, said Gina Maiola, spokeswoman for Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey who, in a March 18 public emergency declaration, granted permission for public bodies to meet during teleconference or video conference meetings as long as the issues involved responding to COVID-19 matters or to perform essential minimum functions. She hopes that even when things get back to normal, we see some of these good practices remain, Maiola said. It is simply good government to reduce the cost for the taxpayer, while increasing efficiency and accessibility. Sonny Brasfield, executive director of the states county commission association, said he believes the rise in the videoconferencing could spur some changes in the Legislature. He said it would be good for our open meetings law to anticipate a future crisis that could keep public officials physically separate but still needing to meet. I think it puts the issue in focus for us as it relates to emergency and disaster conditions, said Brasfield. Kudos to the Henry County Commission and ACCA Pres @DavidMoney72 for a new kind of open government. The Commission holds its meeting outside to give public access during this pandemic! What a great example of leadership!#alpolitics @NACoTweets #67ONE pic.twitter.com/iJSHGfwhJS Sonny Brasfield (@sonnybrasfield) April 14, 2020 Tech-savvy concerns Rawls said hes unsure that the good habits will stick. In his observation, public access is not a priority for city halls and county commissions. This is due, in part, to a lack of tech-savvy officials and city employees, said Rawls. Check out the websites of many small towns in Alabama. They will give a list of public officials and city departments with their contact information and not much more. Those towns arent going to change and start positing lots of information online or broadcasting their meetings over Zoom if they dont have to do it. Daphne the largest city in Baldwin County with over 26,500 residents had not live-streamed its public meetings for the public before last month. Mayor Dane Haygood said the city recently hired two IT professionals before the pandemic forced the meetings to go online. The meetings are now streamed on Daphnes city Facebook page and archived on the citys YouTube page, and there is interest in possibly adding other meetings. Haygood said there is a six to eight-week backlog on purchasing streaming equipment. He said hes interested in continued streaming of the meetings after the pandemic, but one tricky issue remains on how to allow the public to comment from cyberspace. The trickiest issue involves how to handle Facebook comments. There are people who comment on Facebook Live in the comment section, and I know some council members said they would take issue with trying to relay those comments (during the meeting), he said. At other cities, someone might summarize (the Facebook questions and comments) and then it becomes at someones discretion on whether they think they are important. He added, Right now, when its not safe for people to come out, and in terms of what is set forth by the Department of Public Health, we wanted the public to have every opportunity to participate. Thats something we are keeping in line with by having the dial-in (public comment). The future of remote public comments is uncertain, Haygood said. I would imagine that there is a line of thought that if its important enough to comment, you should come to the meeting, he said. Well see. It will probably evolve a little bit and well learn from this. The Alabama Association of School Boards is recommending boards to forego public comments for the time being. According to general counsel Jayne Williams, the association questions whether public comments constitute an essential minimum function under Iveys order. Additionally, we cautioned our members about the trolling that had taken place during virtual meetings by people who misused the technology wich provides the cover of anonymity, Williams said. We know our members look forward to returning to regular business and active public participation as soon as it is safe for us all. Will it last? The video conference push in Alabama is not unlike what is occurring around the United States during the pandemic. According to the National League of Cities, cities like Atlanta and Fort Worth are streaming meetings online and taking questions or comments from residents via email or through dial-in options on Zoom. The meetings are making politicians more visible to the public at a time when many are stranded at home. You do see a lot more of an electronic presence of public officials than you have in the past there are a lot of people getting involved in it for the first time or at least using it more frequently now than they have in the past, said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and a longtime observer of Southern politics. He added, During good times, the viewership will wane to zero. But when difficult times occur, such as storms winding through the South, people want to have a sense of what their leaders are talking about, what their response strategies are, and so the public can make their own plans. I do think having more access to information, people will come to expect more of it. Jess Brown, a retired political science professor at Athens State University and a longtime observer of Alabama state government, said it will be difficult for local governments to revert back to previous strategies of not hosting live-streamed meetings. The genie will not go completely back into the bottle, he said. But he said the virtual meetings will not become a wholesale replacement for the in-person meetings. He said the very nature of a politician will prevent that from occurring. It doesnt reward the ego if they arent sitting in a big building or within a chamber with an audience of 50 to 100 people, said Brown. He also cant see the changes sticking with the Legislature, where legislative committee meetings are not broadcast and where lobbyists prefer personal interactions with lawmakers. Well learn from this experience, and inevitably in government, there will be behavioral adjustments, said Brown. But the status quo always has a lot of power behind it. I just dont see any revolutionary changes in the operation of legislative bodies resulting out of this. Netflixs limited series Unorthodox, released last month, depicts the journey of a woman named Esty, who flees her Orthodox Jewish community. Shira Haas, the actress in the lead role in the series, recently explained in an interview how Estys hair changes throughout Unorthodox symbolize the protagonists personal transformation. [Spoiler alert: a few spoilers for Unorthodox below]. Unorthodox lead actress on Estys hair journey Amit Rahav and Shira Haas in Unorthodox | Anika Molnar/Netflix Booksmart star Beanie Feldstein interviewed Israeli actress Shira Haas for Vogue this month. Haas, who portrays main character Esty Shapiro in Unorthodox, talked about the process she went though, hair-wise, in order to portray the Netflix series powerful protagonist. She told Feldstein: With the hair, it was an emotional journey. I remember every time I looked in the mirror, I was different. I had the shaved head, I had the buzz cut, I had my young wig, my married wig, and the hat when I was married. Every time I looked in the mirror, it was a surprise to me. Esty has so many different phases where she is trying to figure herself out. What was it like to shoot the scene in the Netflix where Estys head is shaved? The two actors also discussed the tough-to-watch scene in which Estys head is shaved. Due to religious tradition in the Satmar community, married women shave their heads and wear wigs. This is so no one but their husband sees their natural hair. Refinery29 reported: The tradition of married Orthodox Jewish women covering their hair has been around for thousands of years, with women first using a cloth or a veil. It wasnt until the 16th century that Jewish women in Italy popularized the idea of wearing a wig as a covering, which actually ended up causing a huge debate among rabbis, who both condemned and condoned the practice of wearing them on modesty grounds. The Unorthodox star knew the scene was comingbut she had another surprise in store. I was drinking wine with the director and she said, Shira, I need to tell you something,' Haas recalled in the Vogue interview. Then she told me that it [shaving my head] was the first shooting day. She says she was shocked. But, it was a unifying experience for the whole Unorthodox team. Haas explained: It brought the whole production together to do it and it really bonded everyone to take part in it. Im really positive that it helped me to get into Esty and to start with that and to be committed to the role. It was one heck of a welcome. Maybe I didnt know everyones names yet, but they helped me shave my head. The experience even helped the Unorthodox star get inside the head of Esty for an entirely different scene. I always say it was kind of like Estyshe has mixed emotions, she wants to get married and she is happy, but she is also scared, Haas remembered. The costumes in Unorthodox also helped Haas get into character The Unorthodox lead explained that Estys hair transformations throughout the series helped distinguish different parts of the narrative. It was really important to find young Esty, like an innocent Esty, then married Esty, Haas explained. There is married Esty, where she is feeling like that is choking, and everything is a bit big on her and darker suddenly. That changes when Estys surroundings change: Then obviously she goes to Berlin. It starts with the hair and then slowly [progresses] with the outfit. In real life, it might take much more time to be able to do that, but it was really more about the emotional journey of Esty through the costume. Shira Haas in Unorthodox | Anika Molnar/Netflix In another recent interview with Jude Dry of IndieWire, Haas also talked about the influence of clothing on her performance in Unorthodox. I remember somebody putting the costumes on me and I almost felt immediately like Esty, like all the effort I put into the emotional part had a physical reaction as well, she told the publication. Like most things relating to the serieswhich is empowering, but at times painfulthe costumes brought up a lot of feelings for the Unorthodox actress. It was a very long day of trying everything, and I remember I was really emotional, Haas said. When officials in his home state began giving food boxes to families hit by Colombia's coronavirus lockdown, lawmaker Ricardo Quintero was struck by the exorbitant prices being paid to the vendors. So he armed himself with pictures of the coffee, pasta and other goods and went down to his local grocery store. There, he bought the same products for roughly half the supposedly bulk-rate prices being paid by the government of Cesar state. The comparison shopping prompted one of what is now 14 coronavirus-related criminal probes in Colombia. The South American country is one of many around the world now seeing a surge in corruption allegations. "You can always find corruption," Quintero said. "But what hurts the most is that we see it now, at a time like this." Countries large and small are shelling out trillions of dollars to combat both the coronavirus outbreak and its brutal economic fallout in what analysts are calling the largest financial response ever to a single global crisis. As governments race to source everything from food aid to face masks, they are prioritizing speed over transparency, dropping competitive bidding and other safeguards to keep pace with the pandemic. Most have no choice. Given the speed of the still unfolding crisis, it's either buy quickly or put millions at risk. But concern is rising about the percentage of the taxpayer dollars - and euros and yen and pesos and more - lining the pockets of corrupt bureaucrats, crony contractors and crime syndicates. "There are cases that are happening now, in real time," said Max Heywood, the head of advocacy for the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International. "Looking at the gaps in the systems and the amount of money that is correctly being thrown at the problem, it's fair to say we are very concerned." Food aid for struggling workers locked out of their jobs is proving to be a particularly juicy target. When the government of Bangladesh launched an effort this month to distribute rice to its most vulnerable citizens, nearly 600,000 pounds disappeared. About 50 people, including bureaucrats and local officials, were accused of trying to resell the rice at higher prices. The Bangladeshi government has overhauled the relief plan with the aim of bypassing bureaucrats. "Such a national crisis was expected to bring out the best of human virtues - empathy and solidarity - which we see around in many ways," said Iftekharuzzaman, the executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, who, like many in his country, goes by only one name. "But most regrettably and shamefully, the worst of human vices have also come out." Fernando Carrillo, Colombia's inspector general, said coronavirus-related investigations, most related to blatant overpricing, have been launched in 14 states. In Cesar state, Quintero forced the issue of lucrative food contracts struck under Gov. Luis Alberto Monsalvo Gnecco. The local station Radio Guatapuri ran stories on Quintero's complaint, and state officials released an itemized list detailing the costs of the goods in the food boxes. It turned out, for example, the state was paying $2.81 for 250 grams of coffee that retailed for $1.20 at Quintero's grocery. Monsalvo Gnecco declined to comment. "I don't have to report any of this to you," he wrote in a WhatsApp message. "I have spent years doing this, I'm not improvising. This is my second time in office, because I was re-elected." Premium prices for items such as masks and ventilators can be explained in part by market economics: Scarcity amid high demand causes prices to rise. It is the extent of those hikes in state contracts, coupled with the backgrounds of suppliers, that is being called into question across the globe. In Romania, where normal bidding processes have been suspended to accelerate procurement, critics are raising red flags about backdoor deals. Romwine and Coffee SRL, a small company located 32 miles south of Bucharest, sells tobacco and liquor. But it scored two state contracts worth $12.6 million to provide specialized medical masks at more than twice the market price. That deal came together after Sanimed International, a medical supplier precluded from direct contracts with the state because it owes back taxes, struck a partnership deal with the tobacco and liquor seller, Sanimed's owner, Catalin Hideg, told reporters. He insisted the deal was not unusual. "Everywhere in the world, all big companies use other companies for bids. They use consortiums, associations, partnerships," Hideg told Romania's B1 TV. "There are companies with three employees and three laptops which have won bids worth hundreds of millions of euros for streets, highways, bridges and so on." Sorin Ionita, a Romanian expert in public administration reform, called the competition for coronavirus contracts "a gray area." "It's a gray area, whether it's corruption or not," Ionita said. "People are laying their hands on what they can." The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded a $55 million contract for masks to a Delaware-based company with no history of manufacturing or procuring medical equipment, The Washington Post reported last week. Selected without competitive bidding, Panthera Worldwide - whose parent company filed for bankruptcy last fall - is receiving $5.50 per mask, several times more than other government providers. James Punelli, a company executive, told The Washington Post that his company had done Defense Department medical training "over the years" and was now tapping its military contacts to obtain the masks, which, he said, would be of "high-quality." Anti-corruption fail-safes have been built into the $2.2 trillion coronavirus bailout passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump. The legislation includes a rule that no business in which the president or any White House official owns a majority stake can receive funds, and it sets ups a committee of inspectors general to oversee the spending. But observers remain concerned about the potential for White House meddling, particularly following Trump's decision this month to fire the inspector general overseeing the U.S. intelligence community. "The president can remove any inspector general in the oversight process if they point out anything he doesn't like," warned Liz Hempowicz, the public policy director for the Project on Government Oversight. Asked to comment, White House officials pointed to "at least $100 million" in funding for congressional oversight as evidence of the transparency written into the legislation. More broadly, Hempowicz and others worry about U.S. coronavirus spending becoming a bonanza of graft: "This is a perfect opportunity for fraudsters." History suggests a lack of oversight can mean massive losses to fraud. The U.S. Government Accountability Office reported in 2014 that up to 22 percent of the money spent by FEMA in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 was at risk of being improperly or fraudulently spent. FEMA adopted more rigorous standards, and the amount fell to 2.7 percent after Hurricane Sandy in 2012. In some instances, corruption-busting regulations are flagging suspect deals. In Buenos Aires, the city government must make public procurement contracts available in searchable form online, even during the coronavirus crisis. That has brought at least two questionable deals to light. In one, 15,000 medical masks were sourced for more than $40 each from a company that had only $1,500 worth of working capital. The other involved a lucrative agreement to house coronavirus patients in a hotel where the sister of the mayor of Buenos Aires - Horacio Rodriguez Larreta - sits on the board. The emergence of the deals in the Argentine press led to the cancellation of the contracts and the resignations of two city officials. "We need to find a balance between easing controls to fight the pandemic and good administration," lawmaker Graciela Ocana said. - - - Faiola reported from Miami. Herrero reported from Caracas, Venezuela. The Washington Post's Azad Majumder in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Joanna Slater in New Delhi and Alison Mutler in Bucharest, Romania, contributed to this report. Arwyn Sallegue, an employee of Cargill's meat-packing plant in High River, Alta. where 558 workers have confirmed cases of COVID-19 said he's noticed an upsetting trend online. Cases connected to the Cargill meat plant outbreak have increased dramatically over the past two weeks. As of Friday, there were 558 cases in workers from the plant, with 798 total cases linked to the coronavirus outbreak. It's the largest outbreak linked to a single site in Canada. "I see a bunch of [comments] blaming us [for the outbreak], because they said it's in the households," he said. "We cannot blame anybody. Everyone's a victim. Nobody wants to become sick and ill." Sallegue, who is a permanent resident of Canada, tested positive for COVID-19 on April 23 and has been in self-isolation. The same day, his father, Armando Sallegue, visiting Canada from the Philippines, also developed symptoms. He, too, was confirmed to have the virus. "He's only a visitor here, and he doesn't have any health-care coverage," Sallegue said. "He was hardly breathing. He went to the ICU." Arwyn Sallegue Elma Ton, whose husband works at Cargill, said she also has been disappointed to see comments online, specifically those that disparage multiple Filipino families living under one roof. "I feel bad. Because instead of helping [the Filipino community], supporting them, understanding them, they're still making fun of us," Ton said. "Filipinos are known to have strong family ties. So as much as possible, we love to live together." Lisa Degenstein, who works for the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society in High River, said she had heard of similar comments targeting the Filipino community over the past number of days. "There's something a little disturbing happening, a bit of community backlash happening. People say, 'Hey, don't you work at Cargill?'" she said. "And isn't it a lot easier to look at someone who isn't white and start making assumptions." Story continues Feeling blamed One employee at the Cargill plant, a woman of Vietnamese background in her sixties, has died. Employees at the facility have accused the company of ignoring physical-distancing protocols citing "elbow-to-elbow" working conditions and of trying to lure them back to work from self-isolation. A separate outbreak at the JBS meat processing plant in Brooks now has seen 156 cases in workers from the plant, with two deaths a worker and an individual linked to the outbreak. That plant remains open, operating at one shift per day. A big chunk of the workforce at the Cargill facility are Filipino, some of whom are temporary foreign workers (TFWs) and others who are permanent residents. Employees interviewed estimated 60 to 80 per cent of the workforce is Filipino. Cesar Cala with the Philippines Emergency Response Taskforce a network of volunteers that seeks to support crises in the Filipino community said many in the community are afraid to speak out about their experiences, especially TFWs whose stay in Canada is linked to their employment at these facilities. Cesar Cala But this has posed a challenge, as Cala said many in the community feel as though their concerns were not taken seriously. "Many Filipino workers and residents sent a letter to the company asking that the plant be closed so that safety measures could be put in place, but no actions were taken," Cala said. Watch | How to keep your distance in tricky situations: That letter was signed by more than 250 Filipino residents and sent April 12 a day before 38 cases were confirmed by the union calling for the plant to be closed for two weeks. The plant remained open for the rest of the week, and 358 cases were confirmed five days later. 'Several pieces of this puzzle' On April 18, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Devin Dreeshen, along with Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, and other health officials, participated in a telephone town hall with Cargill workers. Dreeshen said he was confident the plant was safe. Two days later, Cargill announced it would shut down the facility temporarily after it was announced that a worker had died. "The situation got worse, and what [the Filipino community is] hearing from officials is that they are the ones spreading the virus," Cala said. Hinshaw has said that many cases at the Cargill facility were likely exposed to COVID-19 weeks ago, and many factors have been identified that contributed to the spread. Employees continued to carpool to work after safety measures were introduced at the plant, Hinshaw said, and some employees of continuing care centres with outbreaks also lived in large households with Cargill workers. Many family members living in those households also don't have enough space to self isolate, she said. "There seems to be several pieces of this puzzle, and the challenge has been to put all of those pieces together," Hinshaw said Monday. "I would say that plant shutdown is not a single, only factor in this." Art Raham/CBC Later in the week, Hinshaw said those affected by the outbreak deserved support, and should not be restricted from accessing businesses like grocery stores or banks. "There is no reason to assume that everyone connected with that facility is infected," she said. "The people who are affected by this outbreak are experiencing many difficulties, and they need support and compassion as we work to stop further spread." Challenges and frustrations Cala said the realities of transportation and housing are out of the control of many employees at these facilities. Having sent a letter voicing their concerns before numbers of confirmed cases skyrocketed, Cala said they now feel they have been unfairly blamed. "That's why I think it's important that public leaders need to speak out and say, no, this is our common, collective issue, it's not an issue of the Filipino community," Cala said. "No one is covering their backs. It's more like, 'Hey, you're partly to blame for this.' That's not very good to hear." Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press Daniel Sullivan, a spokesperson with Cargill, said the company was working with health officials and community organizations to provide further support for TFWs and other employees. "Our workers have been deemed essential like healthcare workers and first responders and we are committed to supporting them," he said in an email to CBC News. "It is important to know that all TFWs are union members with the same wages and benefits as other workers in our facilities." Sallegue, still in self-isolation as he awaits news on his father in ICU, said he hopes that foreign workers can receive the support they need. "Only thing I'm feeling right now is, we need support. We are here to work, to contribute and help," he said. "I hope you will not blame our community." T wo young children have been stabbed to death at a property in east London. Scotland Yard said the girl, aged one, and boy, aged three, were found with knife injuries at a house in Ilford, alongside a 40-year-old man, who was also found with stab wounds and taken to hospital. Police launched a murder probe and are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. All the parties were known to each other, Met Police said. Officers were called at approximately 5.30pm on Sunday following reports of a man and two children injured at a residential address in Aldborough Road North. Police at the scene after a murder probe was launched / NIGEL HOWARD London Ambulance Service and Londons Air Ambulance also attended. The girl was pronounced dead at the scene, while the boy was taken to hospital for treatment but later died. The man remains in hospital. His condition is not known. Jas Athwal, the leader of Redbridge Council, tweeted: Earlier today there was an incident in Ilford. Two young children have passed away & an investigation is ongoing. My thoughts are with the family and wider community who are grieving this unspeakable tragedy. Why my book can be downloaded for free People are frequently surprised that my book, Higher-Order Perl, is available as a free download from my web site. They ask if it spoiled my sales, or if it was hard to convince the publisher. No and no. I sent the HOP proposal to five publishers, expecting that two or three would turn it down, and that I would pick from the remaining two or three, but somewhat to my dismay, all five offered to publish it, and I had to decide who. One of the five publishers was Morgan Kaufmann. I had never heard of Morgan Kaufmann, but one day around 2002 I was reading the web site of Philip Greenspun. Greenspun was incredibly grouchy. He found fault with everything. But he had nothing but praise for Morgan Kaufmann. I thought that if Morgan Kaufmann had pleased Greenspun, who was nearly impossible to please, then they must be really good, so I sent them the proposal. (They eventually published the book, and did a superb job; I have never regretted choosing them.) But not only Morgan Kaufmann but four other publishers had offered to publish the book. So I asked a number of people for advice. I happened to be in London one week and Greenspun was giving a talk there, which I went to see. After the talk I introduced myself and asked for his advice about picking the publisher. Greenspun reiterated his support for Morgan Kaufmann, but added that the publisher was not important. Instead, he said, I should make sure to negotiate permission to make the book available for free on my web site. He told me that compared with the effort that you put into the book, the money you get back is insignificant. So if you write a book it should not be because you want to make a lot of money from it but because you have an idea that you want to present to the world. And as an author, you owe it to yourself to get your idea in front of as many people as possible. By putting the book in your web site, you make it available to many people who would not otherwise have access to it: poor people, high school students, people in developing countries, and so on. I thought that Greenspun's idea made sense; I wanted my ideas about programming to get to as many people as possible. Also, demanding that I make the book available on my web site for free seemed like a good way to narrow down the five publishers to two or three. The first part of that plan worked out well. The second part not so well: all five publishers agreed. Some agreed reluctantly and some agreed willingly, but they all agreed. Eventually I had the book published by Morgan Kaufmann, and after a delay that seemed long at the time but in retrospect seems not so long, I put the book on my web site. It has been downloaded many times. (It's hard to say how many, since browsers often download just the portion of the PDF file that they need to display.) Would the book have made more money if it were not available as a free download? We can't know for sure, but I don't think so. The book has always sold well, and has made a significant amount of money for me and for Morgan Kaufmann. The amount I made is small compared to the amount of work I had to put in, just as Greenspun said, but it was nothing to sneeze at either. Even now, ten years later, it is still selling and I still get a royalty check every six months. For my book to have lasted ten years is extremely rare. Most computer books disappear without a trace after six months. Part of this is that it's an unusually good book. But I think the longevity is partly because it is available as a free download. Imagine that person A asks a question on an Internet forum, and person B says that HOP has a section that could help with the question. If A wants to follow up, they now must find a copy of HOP. If the book is out of print, this can be difficult. It may not be in the library; it almost certainly isn't in the bookstore. Used copies may be available, but you have to order them and have them shipped, and if you don't like it once it arrives, you are stuck with it. The barrier is just too high to be convenient. But since HOP is available on my web site, B can include a link, or A can find it with an easy web search. The barrier is gone! And now I have another reader who might mention it to someone else, and they might even buy a copy. Instead of drifting away into obscurity, HOP is a book that people can recommend over and over. So my conclusion is, Greenspun's advice was exactly correct. As an author, you owe it to yourself to make your book available to as many people as possible. And the publisher may agree, so be sure to ask. [ Addendum: Some people are just getting the news, but the book was published in 2005, and has been available as a free download since 2008. ] [Other articles in category /book] permanent link A great-great-grandfather who became world's oldest person to ride a rollercoaster and get a first tattoo has died at the age of 108. Jack Reynolds, of Derbyshire, was known for his age-defying stunts to raise money for charity. He held four Guinness World Records which he all achieved over the age of 100. Jack Reynolds is pictured above with his daughter Jayne Goodwin. Mr Reynolds is survived by his children, 20 great-grandchildren, and eight grandchildren Mr Reynolds, who was dubbed the Centenarian Daredevil by Guinness World Records and was known as 'Jack the Lad', wanted to achieve a world record every year to raise money. He last year appeared in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks in a cameo role. Presenter Susanna Reid paid tribute to Mr Reynolds in a tweet and called him 'an inspiration'. Jack Reynolds is pictured above riding a rollercoaster aged 105 and breaking a Guinness World Record. He was known for his age-defying stunts to raise money for charity She wrote: 'Jack was an inspiration. He remains a legend. Thank you Jack for being such a good friend of [Good Morning Britain] and [Katy Rickitt] for sharing his story. RIP Jack Reynolds and huge love to your family'. Kate Hemingway, who works for ITV's Good Morning Britain, wrote in a tweet: 'Thinking of the very lovely and incredibly funny Jack Reynolds who has sadly passed away at the age of 108. Jack was a great friend of [Good Morning Britain] and I'll never forget meeting him when he appeared in Hollyoaks. 'Sending love and best wishes to Jayne and all of Jack's family x'. Mr Reynolds is survived by his children, 20 great-grandchildren, and eight grandchildren. He was also a great-great grandfather of three. Mr Reynolds was dubbed the Centenarian Daredevil by Guinness World Records. He wanted to achieve a world record every year to raise money Presenter Susanna Reid paid tribute to Mr Reynolds in a tweet and called him 'an inspiration' With streaming giants like Netflix halting production, indie filmmakers are stepping up their game to fill up the vacant content consumption space. This doggos hooman is no exception to the rule. Meet Wallace self-proclaimed stinkiest French Bulldog in New York City and the star of Wallace Inside, an Instagram web series. Wallaces hooman recently produced another piece of media starting the doggo which is a must-watch for any dog enthusiasts. Were talking about the minute-long trailer for a full-length motion picture, starring the pooch, called Wallace Outside. While Wallace Inside documented the canines adventures inside his New York apartment; Wallace Outside seems to be a direct sequel cataloguing what happens when to the doggo goes out for strolls in the quarantined city. Originally shared on Instagram, the post has over 3,500 views. Additionally, the clip has been shared on other social media platforms, such as Reddit. You can check out the trailer for Wallace Outside right here! Were unsure when, or if at all, Wallace Outside would be released. However, were happy with just this little sneak-peak into the film. Plus, we arent the only ones. Here is how netizens reacted to the recording. One Instagram user said, I loved this. Wallace, you are incredible. On Reddit, people had similar reactions. Another inquired, Am I going to be able to follow this without seeing Wallace Inside 1-3 or WALLACE INSIDE? Probably yes, but who wouldnt want to catch-up on all the Wallace related content? Beautiful, life-changing movie. I cried, read one comment. Honestly, we relate! What are your thoughts on this trailer? SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Fung Chun-wai recently lost his job as a chef at a four-star hotel in Hong Kong. "I am the only breadwinner in my family," said the 34-year-old. "My wife is a homemaker who takes care of our two small children. I have no job, no income and the government has done nothing to help me." He is among the 162,200 Hongkongers who were displaced in the first quarter as the local economy cracked under months of anti-government protests and the coronavirus outbreak. The jobless rate rose to a nine-year high of 4.2 per cent in March as thousands of jobs disappeared from the retail, hotel, tourism, and food and beverage, and finance industries. Union leaders and lawmakers are urging the Hong Kong government to consider implementing a state-run unemployment insurance scheme to help people like Fung overcome the crisis. Months of protests and the Covid-19 outbreak has hit many sectors of Hong Kong's economy, including bars and restaurants. Photo: AFP alt=Months of protests and the Covid-19 outbreak has hit many sectors of Hong Kong's economy, including bars and restaurants. Photo: AFP Bill Tang Ka-piu of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, has urged the government to give an immediate payout to the city's rank of unemployed. Not many people would qualify for benefits under the city's existing safety-net system known as the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA), including those who have savings or own property, he added. The CSSA disqualifies applicants who have more than HK$22,000 per person in bank savings, insurance policies, investment or property for a family, or HK$88,000 for a household of four. This applies even if the property is on mortgage. The government on April 9 announced a HK$137 billion (US$17.7 billion) pandemic relief package to help small firms stay afloat, including a scheme to pay for half of the staff's monthly salary up to a maximum of HK$9,000 for six months. However, it does not cover those who have lost their jobs. Story continues Business sector lawmaker Peter Shiu Ka-fai, who represents the wholesale and retail sector, said a government-run unemployment insurance programme for workers may be overdue given the state of job market now. Like most employees' provident funds, an unemployment insurance coverage could entail voluntary monthly contributions to a pool, which can be disbursed in rainy days, he added. "Any system meant to cover everyone in our workforce must be mandatory in nature and that will take time for us to have the relevant legislation in place and subsequently have the system built," Law Chi-kwong, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law, said in a radio broadcast on April 19. The government's recently-announced wage subsidy scheme covers most of the workforce, Law said, adding that the CSSA provides a safety net to families in such financial distress. State-run unemployment insurance schemes in the US or Europe pay the jobless up to 61.3 per cent of their last drawn salary, the International Labour Organisation said in a report last October. Those in the emerging economies can get about 10.6 per cent of their last-drawn salary. These schemes usually require employers and employees to contribute between three and eight per cent of a staff's monthly salary together with government funding to form a pool, the report said. With the chances of a government-run unemployment scheme unlikely to happen any time soon, private insurance companies could jump in and offer such coverage to meet demand. Eric Hui Kam-kwai, chief executive of Zurich Insurance (Hong Kong), said the insurer would consider launching unemployment insurance policies to fill the void in the market. The firm introduced a similar policy in 2002 but failed to gain traction. "A lack of unemployment insurance cover is because the unemployment rate in Hong Kong has never been very high," Hui said. "However, the spiralling of unemployment rate recently may well be a catalyst for a change." Sign up now and get a 10% discount (original price US$400) off the China AI Report 2020 by SCMP Research. Learn about the AI ambitions of Alibaba, Baidu & JD.com through our in-depth case studies, and explore new applications of AI across industries. The report also includes exclusive access to webinars to interact with C-level executives from leading China AI companies (via live Q&A sessions). Offer valid until 31 May 2020. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2020 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. https://www.aish.com/ho/i/The-Eichmann-Files.html Sixty years after Eichmann's capture, the evidence used against him is revealed. "In all his activities the accused displayed indefatigable energy, verging on overeagerness towards advancing the Final Solution He was not a puppet in the hands of others; his place was amongst those who pulled the strings... Even if we had found that the Accused acted out of blind obedience, as he argued, we would still have said that a man who took part in crimes of such magnitude as these over years must pay the maximum penalty known to the law, and he cannot rely on any order even in mitigation of his punishment. But we have found that the Accused acted out of an inner identification with the orders that he was given and out of a fierce will to achieve the criminal objective" Excerpts from the verdict and sentencing of Adolf Eichmann, December 1961. The trial of Adolf Eichmann, who headed the Gestapo Department for Jewish Affairs known as IV B4, is an integral part of the consciousness of the Jewish people. One of the prevailing memories of the trial sessions in the Beit Ha'am community center in Jerusalem is the chilling testimonies of 121 Holocaust survivors. But the criminal trial could not only rely on the survivors, only a few of whom actually saw Eichmann in person. Their testimonies were needed to highlight the unfathomable cruelty of the Nazis and the terrors of the Holocaust. The discussions on Criminal Case No. 40/61 were based on the work of 15 Israel Police detectives, who were part of a special unit, Bureau 06. Their working assumption was that this was a murder trial and thus they needed evidence to prove Eichmann's senior role in organizing and implementing the Final Solution. The conditions for launching the investigation which began 60 years ago when Eichmann was captured and brought to Israel on May 21st, 1960 were complicated. The war had ended 15 years earlier, the murder scenes spread across many states. The Bureau investigators hunted for documents that would speak for themselves and could not be refuted. Documents that could demonstrate Eichmann's infinite desire for the destruction of the Jewish people, and his key status in managing the transports to the death camps. The investigators managed to get their hands on 400,000 pages of telegrams and letters from archives in Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, as well as in the US too which after the war collected tens of thousands of exchanges between the heads of the Nazi regime. 1,506 documents were filed by the court as "smoking guns" against Eichmann. Out of all of these, 1,506 documents were filed by the court as "smoking guns" against Eichmann. They show how he insisted on reaching every single Jew, how he tried to cover up the extermination by using the phrase "special treatment," how he fumed that in his opinion, there were too few Jews on the death trains. And how he personally ensured that children were also sent to Auschwitz. The police files have never been published and were transferred to the National Archives at the end of the trial. Copies were also given to Yad Vashem The World Holocaust Remembrance Center. Two years ago, Chief Inspector Dr. Yossi Hemi, a historian and the deputy head of the Israel Police Heritage Museum, took the materials: hundreds of boxes of brown files and yellowing paper. Hemi read through them anxiously and with dread, page by page, interrogation after interrogation. Among the papers was a detailed diagram that Eichmann prepared by his own hand while he was readying for his trial. In them, he describes the structure of the Reich Defense Ministry and the chain of command in order to prove that he was just a cog in the system. The department he headed, the IV B4, is shown in the diagram as just one of many. Hemi took all the evidence materials and turned them into a book and an exhibition on the police, which will be published soon. Adolf Eichmann joined the Nazi party in 1932 when he was 26 years old, and was accepted into the SS, the party's paramilitary and intelligence organization. Two years later, he joined the Jewish Department, which became known as IV B4 department of the Central Office for Security of the Reich. At first, he looked into forced migration of Jews out of Germany, and even visited Haifa in October 1937 as part of these efforts, but came to the conclusion that Jews should not be encouraged to migrate to Mandate Palestine as the establishment of a Jewish state was not in the interest of the Third Reich. Adolf Eichmann during his trial in Jerusalem (Archives: GPO) In 1939, Eichmann was appointed to head the Jewish Department, and two years later began to experiment with mass extermination using gas. On January 20th 1942, he attended the Wannsee Conference in the Berlin suburb. It was there that the plan to annihilate Europe's Jews was drawn up. Eichmann prepared the invitations for the various parties and prepared the records of the meeting. In March 1942, the transports of Polish Jews to Auschwitz began, with tens of thousands killed in the gas chambers. Despite this, Eichmann did not give up on personally dealing with Selman Lipski, Moshe Bejman, David Cymermann and Abraham Itzkowicz from the Neuhof Ghetto in Poland. One of the first documents in the investigation file is a telegram from April 17th, 1942 which shows how dedicated Eichmann was to the Final Solution. In the telegram, which was classified as secret and titled "Special Treatment of Jews", Eichmann writes to the head of the Gestapo in Ciechanow, Poland and says that under orders of the head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, "the Special Treatment is to be carried out" on these four, without giving details of what that is precisely. The explanation comes in another letter which he sends five weeks later, on May 23, when he again asks for "special treatment," this time for seven more Jews in the Ghetto: Szmerek Goldberg, Tasiemka Eliacz, Rafael Braun, Mendel Rubensztayn, Moszek Lewin, David Bryszkowski and David Zamiadyn. This time he explicitly writes that they "are to be hanged in the ghetto of Neuhof, in the presence of persons of their race. I request an implementation report." These two letters, which proved Eichmann's direct involvement in the extermination and his unimaginable cruelty, were presented to him by Chief Inspector Avner Less, the only one of the investigators who was allowed to question him and whose mother tongue was German. The response of the Nazi criminal was rambling and unintelligible. "It can clearly be understood from reading an instruction to the Ciechanow Gestapo post, which had presented a suitable proposal to the Central Office for Security of the Reich. This proposal was sent onwards, by order of the Reichsfuehrer SS and Head of the German police [Himmler]. In this case, the IV B4 acted as was expected by all central agencies. An order was requested from higher up." Less insisted on hearing what the "special treatment" was. "They were put to death," Eichmann responded, "but this issue, as I have already said it was never in the hands of the IV B4 to give the orders to put them to death." April and May of 1942 saw a turning point in the Nazi treatment of the Jews. It was no longer just Polish Jews; the first transports started to arrive from Holland, Belgium and mainly France. The Vichy puppet government, which ran France under the patronage of the Nazis, turned its Jewish citizens over to the Germans and helped send them to the extermination camps. The Jews were put in the Drancy concentration camp, north of Paris. Documents found in the French government's archives show that the Vichy regime adhered to the Nazi narrative that the Jews were being transported to labor camps. On July 22nd 1942, the first deportation train from France left for Auschwitz, with 1,000 Parisian Jews on board. But the Bureau 06 investigation uncovered previously unknown details. On July 14th, around 1900, Adolf Eichmann placed an angry call to Drancy following the cancellation of the first transport, which was supposed to go out the next day. The reason for the cancellation: It "only" had 150 Jews on it. Eichmann spoke with Heinz Rothke, chief of the Department of Jewish Affairs in France. In his record, Rothke says he explained to Eichmann that he hadn't managed to find more Jews due to a lack of time, and that the transport was delayed because Eichmann told him he must have 1,000 Jews on the train "since it was a matter of prestige." "[Eichmann says that] nothing like this has happened to him before. It's very embarrassing," Rothke sums the main points of the call. "He didn't want to tell his superiors, to avoid embarrassing himself, and has to consider whether he wants to give up on France as a country that is marked for deportations. I asked him for this not to happen, and added that it wasn't our bureau's fault. I informed him that the rest of the trains would leave as planned." A diagram of the Nazi chain of command, which Eichmann sketched in an attempt to prove that he only followed orders (Archives: GPO) Rothke didn't disappoint his boss. Over the following months, after July 22nd, he sent dozens of trains from Drancy to Auschwitz, packed with Jews. Bureau 06 investigators understood that the memorandum they were holding showed Eichmann's evil motivation and his intent to carry out the Final Solution. Less showed him the document but Eichmann continued with his evasive answers. "The content shows that the matter with the Transport Ministry of the Reich managed through much effort to get three transports. The transport was inserted into the schedule of the German Reich trains, and here is the transport that was canceled. Did I say 'This has never happened to me?' It's possible I said that. It's possible, it's possible." Police investigators found a telegram that Rothke sent to Eichmann on 14 August 1942, marked urgent and secret and "for immediate delivery". In the telegram, he updates that on train number 901/14 which left that day from Drancy there were also children on board for the first time. He does not indicate their age or how many. "The train left Drancy for Auschwitz at 8:55, and onboard there were 1,000 Jews, including children for the first time," Rothke reports dryly. "The detainees are per the guidelines we received. The head of the transport was given two copies of the list." Rothke did not send the urgent telegram for no reason. The investigation showed that on July 10th, 1942 Eichmann was approached by Theodor Dannecker, Rothke's predecessor, who at the time was the commanding officer of the Final Solution in Bulgaria, Greece, and Yugoslavia. Dannecker wanted to ask his boss what the policy was on deporting children, since according to his calculations, 4,000 Jewish orphans would remain in France and the community facilities would not be able to take care of them all. Eichmann noted the query and quickly implemented his monstrous policy. Children were included in every transport to Auschwitz. Eichmann noted the query and quickly implemented his monstrous policy. After Rothke's letter, children were included in every transport to Auschwitz. In Poland, by comparison, children were put on the transports from the start. Less: "Do you still claim that the destination of these transports, meaning Auschwitz, was only given to you at the last minute?" Eichmann continues with his lies: "Chief Inspector, sir, I had to, of course, find it out for myself where these transports were headed. This is where the head of the transport gets a list, that he must present in Auschwitz. It was all planned, therefore. It wasn't decided by IV B4 under its authority. Here we received a principled order or instruction from Himmler." Less: "So what then is the role of Jewish Affairs Department?" "Chief Inspector sir, IV B4 never received orders to kill. Never. It never dealt with this issue, it was only about transport, that is what it dealt with." Eichmann's fervor for exterminating the Jews broke new records over time. The investigation team was surprised to find the evidence showed his obsessiveness more than anything else. At least five telegrams told the story of the French engineer Avraham Weiss, a radar expert, who even had a few patents to his name: In a secret telegram that Rothke sent to Eichmann on 12 November 1942, he states the name of 41-year-old Weiss, a resident of Nice. It was later learned that Rothke dealt with this at the request of a German army general. "The aforementioned Jew was sent from Nice to the Jewish camp in Drancy," wrote Rothke. "When he entered the camp a file with written material was handed over, which showed that Weiss, an engineer, invented a new light bulb with four electric wires that can be operated, and patented them. The documents show that the invention may be used." "The Jew himself believes it can be used during wartime, in a blackout during an aerial attack, for night lighting of trains, hospitals, signal stations, planes and airfields, and so on. I am sending the written documents separately, today. I await an order, if indeed the invention is valuable I need to know whether to send Weiss to Bergen Belsen, or to keep holding him in Drancy?" These were the days when the Nazis completed the occupation of France, and Rothke wanted to check if he could keep the engineer Weiss from the transport, and use him for military needs. On December 17th Eichmann wrote Rothke: "Seeing as how, after checking the documents that were sent, it seems that the Jew Weiss has already handed his invention over to the patent office of the Reich. There is no need to discuss further. I ask to include him according to the guidelines for Jews." A transcript of a telephone call between the general and Eichmann reveals a heated exchange between the two. The general shouts at Eichmann: "How dare you? I am a general in the Wehrmacht!" To which Eichmann responds: "And I am in the Obersturmbannfuhrer of the SS [a rank parallel to Lieutenant Colonel]." The engineer Weiss was put on the next transport from Drancy, and on January 20th,1943 arrived in Auschwitz. A few hours later he was murdered in the gas chambers. In the first months of 1943, the Final Solution was at its peak. Hundreds of thousands of Jews from all over Europe were sent to the extermination camps in Poland Auschwitz, Sobibor, Majdanek, Treblinka, Chemno and Bezec. At the same time, Soviet forces had overcome the German army in the battle of Stalingrad. Eichmann was searching for where there were more Jews so that he could continue his killing spree. He looked towards Norway, where there were just 2,170 Jews. Transferring Jews to Poland from the Scandinavian country in northern Europe necessitated special logistics, including the use of ships. On the evening of February 25th, 1943, Eichmann sent a secret telegram to the Secret State Police in Szczecin, a port city in northwest Poland, headlined: "Dispatching Jews from Norway." In bold letters, it is made clear that this was an urgent matter that must be brought immediately to the police chief. Eichmann stressed in the telegram that 160 Jews from Norway will arrive in Szczecin the following day on their way to Auschwitz. "I ask to transfer these Jews to Berlin, through communication with the state police chief in Berlin, to a place where they will be grouped with one of the next dispatches of Jews to Auschwitz. The transfer will be carried out using a few special carriages which will join on to a regular train. I ask that the proper security be ensured. I request that these Jews be added to the transfer of Jews to Auschwitz planned for March 1st 1943." This document was presented at Eichmann's trial and demonstrates his eagerness to exterminate every Jew, even if it means transferring them at high cost via the sea. According to this document, Eichmann checked the quotas, set the dates and specified what type of carriages they would be in. And thus managed to exterminate 765 people one-third of Norway's Jews. When Less presented him with the telegram, Eichmann insisted that he was only a transport officer. "I didn't have all the authorities, but only permission to supervise the evacuation efforts of the security police in different countries and to report on every case I received the order, but not everyone I deported was put to death. It was never brought to my attention who was put to death and who wasn't as head of the IV B4, I wasn't authorized for everything, only for my area of responsibility which was quite narrow and limited." On the eve of the Second World War, around 140,000 Jews lived in the Netherlands, most of them in Amsterdam. Almost all of them were well-off financially and held key positions in the economy. After the Nazi occupation in May 1940, their position deteriorated and in 1941, they started to be sent to concentration camps in Germany. In the summer of 1942, their deportation to extermination camps began. On June 26th, the first 2,000 Jews were sent from Holland to Sobibor, under the guise of employment by the police. The transports left daily. One of the most important documents uncovered by Bureau 06 was a two-page telegram sent to Eichmann on May 10th, 1943 by Wilhelm Zoepf, Referat IV B4 of the Department of Jewish Affairs for the Nazi occupiers in the Netherlands. The telegram, titled "Filling the Trains to the East," Zoepf reveals his plight: "the Reich Main Security Office has set the transfer of 8,000 Jews for May. On the first train for this month, on May 4th, 1,200 Jews were sent for departure. From May 1st, 1,450 Jews were ready (old and sick Jews from the Vught area). 1,630 Jews are ready in Westerbork for the third train. "By adding prisoners and a campaign of premium headhunters, the maximum possible number by the end of the month will be 1,500 more Jews in Westerbork. Thus the total number of Jews for deportation in May will be 5,780. We are therefore missing at least another 2,200 Jews [to fill the quota] for the monthly obligation. The presented number must, however, be obtained at any cost by some sort of operation by the last week of May." Zoepf, the telegram shows, feared Eichmann's wrath. He suggested making up the numbers by searching for Jews in Amsterdam who had yet to be caught, and with Jews who weren't yet meant to be sent to Auschwitz as they were working in munitions. When this telegram was shown to Eichmann during his interrogation, he again portrayed himself as one who simply obeyed orders. "Of course I had an order from the Reichsfuhrer [Himmler], who wanted the Reich's Transport Ministry to allow the largest number possible for shipping volume, one that would be cleared without delay and on time. If I was allotted eight trains for Holland, that means there were 8,000 for Holland. Now I read that on one train 1,200 were gotten rid of and on May 1st, 1,450 old and sick Jews. This, again, I don't understand. There are 2,200 more Jews missing. Well, they didn't get to it. I didn't ask for the numbers." The story of Hungary's Jews is a painful example of Eichmann's determination. Throughout the war, Hungary was part of the Axis Powers, allies of Nazi Germany. In March 1944 Hungary asked to leave the pact, and turned to the Allies. In response, the German army invaded Hungary and occupied it. The Jews were marked with yellow stars, their possessions confiscated, and they were put into ghettos. Since time was running out and losing the war seemed closer, Eichmann led the campaign for the quick annihilation of Hungary's Jews, with the help from those nicknamed in the Gestapo "the Eichmann Commando." He left his office in Berlin and traveled to Budapest to oversee the operation himself. An urgent telegram dated April 24th, 1944, was sent to him by the Ambassador of Nazi Germany in Hungary, Edmund Veesenmayer. It describes the urgent preparations: "On 15 April the ghettoization began, and so far 150,000 thousand Jews are included. The operation will probably end next week, and according to estimates will eventually encompass 300,000 Jews. "Next, the same type of work is planned for Transylvania, and other provinces near Romania. This is currently in the preparation stage. 250,000 300,000 more Jews must be included there. The planned destination is Auschwitz. Negotiations for transport have begun, and we are planning to begin them on May 15th by sending 8,000 Jews a day, mainly from the Carpathians. Afterward, and at the same time, the transports from the other ghettos will take place." Between May 15th and July 7th, 1944 a period of seven weeks 147 trains containing 435,000 Jews were sent from Hungary to Auschwitz. The cramped journey took 3-4 days, while the sick and elderly died en route. Whoever was left was exterminated in gas chambers shortly after arrival at the camp. On June 30th, 1944, at the peak of the transport operation, Veesenmayer updated Eichmann and proudly stated that he had finished transporting 340,620 Jews a record number for one and a half months. Every day more than 10,000 Hungarian Jews were murdered in Auschwitz, in addition to the extermination of transports from other countries. "On 29 June, all at once, a smaller operation began in the suburbs of Budapest, as a means of preparation," Veesenmayer continued to boast to Eichmann. "There are more special transports of 'diplomatic' Jews, educated and with many children, and professional workers." During interrogation, Eichmann was asked about his personal involvement in Hungary, and he got tangled up with his answers: "As I said, I myself was there. I would not allow myself to ever dream that the difficulties in France and Holland, which are known from the files, and certainly Himmler and the head of the Security Police thought that in Hungary things would be even more difficult. That they [the difficulties TA] would become enormous. I myself, Chief Inspector sir, as I traveled to Hungary, had nothing but worries in my head. I said in my heart, how should I do this, where should I start? Because there was no time to prepare, I didn't have any time to contact the authorities, to get any details." Later on, Eichmann puts the blame on the heads of Budapest district. "I didn't have anything else to do, Chief Inspector sir. I needed to put the brakes on at times the role I played and that my subordinates played in Hungary was in fact inactive. I never even saw one transport, I didn't have the authority to. The operation, I have to say, took place by itself." Chief Inspector Less didn't give up and asked Eichmann again about his part, but the latter continued to deny: "My mission in Hungary was to assure the quick evacuation of all Jews to Auschwitz The horrible discipline of the Hungarian Gendarmerie made my unit basically worthless. We only had to do routine things, like making connections with the authorities, who dealt with transport problems." Less didn't give up: "And who oversaw the list of Jews who were deported to Auschwitz?" Eichmann lied: "IVB4 didn't evacuate. The authority had to do that, meaning the independent authorities of the general government. In western Europe, the authority of the commander of the police security had to do it. In France the French police, in Slovakia the Slovakian authorities, in Romania the Romanian authorities, and in Hungary the Hungarian authorities." Less: "Did you put together the transports?" Eichmann: "Chief Inspector sir, of course. The transport schedule. The transports themselves were put together by the evacuating authority." Up until May 31st, 1961, the day Eichmann was executed by hanging, he continued to maintain that he was just a cog in a system that only dealt with transportation and followed rules of his commanders, with Himmler at the top. But documents retrieved by Bureau 06 show that Eichmann received from Himmler the Iron Cross, a German medal for acts of heroism. In a personal letter sent to him on September 29th, 1944 it was noted that Eichmann earned this honor due to his excellent leadership over his "commando" in Hungary. During his interrogation, Eichmann was shown the letter, and without blinking an eye he lied, saying the Iron Cross was given to him for the work he did for a hospital of the Wehrmacht. Eichmann never admitted the real reason he got the medal, and never apologized for his crimes. Only once, in an interview he gave to a Dutch Nazi journalist named Willem Sassen in 1958, he boasted: "I didn't just follow orders. If I was that kind of person, I would have been an imbecile. I thought and wondered about the essence of the orders given to me. I was an idealist." This article, which was found by Bureau 06, was used as evidence against him. Nine months of investigation, thousands of documents From among those who took part in the Eichmann affair, from the Mossad agents who kidnapped him in Argentina, to the Holocaust survivors who testified in the trial, to the prosecutor, Gideon Hausner, and the judges, Moshe Landau, Benjamin Halevy, and Yitzhak Raveh the role of Bureau 06, whose work helped in convicting the Nazi criminal, was pushed aside. The unit began working on May 25th at the Al Jalame detention center (Kishon prison in northern Israel today), where Eichmann was held. It was given its name because it was a sort of sixth department in the police headquarters, and also since the name symbolized the number of the millions of Jews who perished in the Holocaust. Deputy Commissioner Avraham Zelinger was appointed head of the unit, after heading the Northern Command, and his deputy was Commander Efraim Hofstatter, who had previously been head of investigations for the Tel Aviv Police Force. The bureau was made up of three branches: Branch 1, which oversaw the gathering of evidence and documents and had 14 investigators; Branch 2, which comprised solely of the investigator, Chief Inspector Avner Less; and Branch 3, which managed the archive material brought to the country, and was made up of typists, translators, and citizens who dealt with sorting and photography of the documents. The investigators worked for nine months on gathering the material. Thousands of documents came from Europe, from the Yad Vashem archives and the late Nazi hunter, Tuviah Friedman. The investigators wanted to prove through legal means that Eichmann was not a cog in the system, but managed a well-oiled extermination mechanism and was an integral part in the circle of decision-makers. Every day the investigators analyzed dozens of documents, and in the evening convened for a meeting called "the reading of psalms." Each investigator presented the evidence he found and Hofstatter decided what would go into the investigation file. Eichmann's questioning began on May 29th, 1960. After he told his life story, he was confronted with the evidence. Every signature of his on a document, every order to deport Jews, every telegram that dealt with transports became evidence against him. The interrogation was conducted in German, and the video recording was transcribed and printed, and was given to Eichmann to verify. Only afterward were they translated into Hebrew. Chief Inspector Dr. Yossi Hemi has been completely invested in the Eichmann affair for four years. As a historian at the Israel Police Heritage Centre & Museum, in the Israel National Police Academy near the city of Beit Shemesh, Hemi has lectured extensively about Bureau 06 and the Eichmann interrogation. If he hadn't decided to dive into the evidence files, much of the material may have been kept in the state archives. "My job is to teach the legacy of and conduct historical research into Israel Police," he says. "We found out that the largest investigation the police ever conducted had not yet been researched properly. At first, we thought a lecture would suffice, but the more we learned about the case, and the Sisyphean work of the investigators, the manuscripts of the Nazi criminal, the banality of evil that arose from the documents we felt as if we were traveling through time. Out of the 400,000 pages, I read about half in the past four years. "Out of the 400,000 pages, I read about half in the past four years. Two years ago, I understood that lectures would not be enough to tell the story of the Bureau, so the police decided to gather all the investigative material into a research book and to also have an exhibit. I chose specific countries, where the Holocaust was less told about, and not in Germany or Austria." The book, titled Bureau 06: The Interrogation of Adolf Eichmann by Israel Police, was set to be published on Holocaust Remembrance Day, but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. "Much can be learned from the authentic investigative materials on the Final Solution and the way the transports were managed," says Hemi. "We understood we had to tell the story of the Bureau, of the investigators through their work, and I got a lot of help from an investigator at the Bureau, Micky Goldman. "The book is the first academic research work about them. It sheds a light on the role of Bureau 06 after so many years. It is doubtful if Eichmann's conviction would have been so decisive without the letters and telegrams found and analyzed by those investigators." This article originally appeared at https://www.israelhayom.com/2020/04/20/the-eichmann-files/ Coronavirus Outbreak LIVE Updates: The Maharashtra heath department on Monday said that 522 new cases were reported in the state on Monday, and 27 deaths were recorded. Auto refresh feeds This will be the third video conference of the Prime Minister with the Chief Ministers after the spread of the COVID-19 in the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with chief ministers via video conference on Monday morning on the way ahead in the fight against the novel coronavirus, amid indications that the discussions could also focus on a graded exit from the ongoing lockdown. The Centre and the state governments have been giving gradual relaxation in various fields and sectors to boost economic activities as also to provide relief to people. But some states are willing to extend the lockdown beyond 3 May to ensure that coronavirus cases remain under control. Sources in the government indicated that besides discussing the way forward in dealing with the pandemic, the discussion between Narendra Modi and the chief ministers could also focus on a "graded" exit from the lockdown which is in place till 3 May. "As far as the areas under the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits, the tally of COVID-19 cases went up to 1,119," a health department official said. With 80 fresh COVID-19 cases in Pune, the total number of confirmed cases in the district climbed to 1,264, an official had said on Sunday. The toll also saw an increase to 77 after five more COVID-19 patients succumbed to the infectious disease in the past 24 hours. As many as eight people have recovered from the infection since Sunday, according to the Delhi Health Report. A total of 877 patients in Delhi have recovered from coronavirus so far. "As on date, 1,987 cases are active," the report said. With 293 new COVID-19 cases and no deaths reported in the past 24 hours, the total coronavirus cases in the National Capital had reached 2,918 on Sunday while the toll remained at 54. The Delhi Hindu Rao Hospital will resume services of casualty and emergency wards including the Flu Clinic and the 3 OPDs (Gynae, Pediatrics, Medicine) with restricted entry of patients and attendants from Monday, said NDMC Commissioner Varsha Joshi. As many as 2,287 RT PCR tests were conducted in the past 24 hours and the total number of active cases in the state stood at 72 while the live of one patient was lost due to COVID-19. With five more individuals testing positive for COVID-19 in Odisha, the total confirmed cases in the state reached 108, as per the information shared by State Health and Family Welfare department website on Monday. Last week, a surgeon had to dig grave for his colleague - who succumbed to the viral infection - with the help of two ward boys at a cemetery in Chennai, after a mob attacked their ambulance to block the burial at two cemeteries, NDTV reported. The Tamil Nadu government has brought an ordinance to ensure that COVID-19 patients receive a dignified burial or cremation. The executive order has made blocking or attempting to block funerals of coronavirus victims a criminal offence. Those who engage in such activities will be liable for a jail term upto three years. The recovery rate in India stood at 22.8 percent after 6,185 COVID-19 patients were cured of the virus. With 1,396 more individuals testing positive for the novel coronavirus, the total confirmed cases rose to 27,892. This figure also includes 20,835 active cases. India registered 48 fresh COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, thereby taking the toll to 872 across the nation on Monday, according to the latest data released by the health ministry. They are likely to aspects that could also focus on a graded exit from the ongoing lockdown imposed in view of COVID-19. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with chief ministers via video conference on Monday at 10 am on the way ahead in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Jaipur recorded the highest number of positive cases in the state at 827 with 24 fatalities. After 36 more individuals tested COVID-19 positive for the novel coronavirus in Rajasthan, the total confirmed cases climbed to 2,221 on Monday, said the state health department. Agra remains the worst-hit with 372 positive cases, followed by Lucknow at 200, Kanpur at 170, and 117 in Noida district, according to the press release issued by the state government. With this, the overall count in Uttar Pradesh has reached 1,879. Six more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Lucknow on Monday after tests of 461 COVID-19 samples were conducted, according to King George's Medical University. BMC urged others who have recovered from the viral infection to come forward and help others recover by opting for plasma donation. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday said that blood samples of four COVID-19 survivors have tested positive for antibodies in Mumbai. Their plasma will now be used to treat other patients. The city has also registered the highest number of positive cases in the state at 827. The total number of COVID-19 cases in Rajasthan stood at 2,221. After three more COVID-19 deaths in Jaipur, the toll in the city climbed to 24 on Monday, said the state health department. So far, Rajasthan has recorded 44 fatalities. First COVID-19 positive case was reported in Jamtara, taking the total number of cases in Jharkhand to 83, said state Health Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni on Monday. So far, three patients have succumbed to the infection in the state. On Monday, the overall COVID-19 positive cases in Haryana climbed to 296 after 10 more individuals test positive for the infectious disease in the state. Of the total, 94 are active cases. During the interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi via video conference assessing the COVID-19 situation across the states, chief ministers of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Puducherry, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Gujarat and Haryana will speak as per schedule. According to sources, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was likely to skip the interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi through video conferencing to discuss COVID-19 situation in the country. "With a view to easing liquidity pressures on mutual funds, it has been decided to open a special liquidity facility for mutual funds of Rs 50,000 crores," ANI quoted the central bank. The Reserve Bank of India on Monday announced a special liquidity facility for mutual funds of Rs 50,000 crores to tackle the crisis. Several rating agencies and multi-lateral organizations have lowered the growth forecast for India in a post COVID-19 world. The government finds itself staring at a precipice with the International Monetary Fund slashing its FY 2020-21 growth projection for India to just 1.9 percent from 5.8 percent projected in January. Narendra Modi's interaction the state chief ministers is expected to focus on reviving the already slowing Indian economy. In the meeting, it may be discussed how India could look to leverage the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity to attract investors away from China to promote manufacturing in the nation. Accoridmg to sources, Kerala has given its suggestions in writing. The state Chief Secretary is attending the meeting. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan will not attend video conference meeting of state CMs with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on COVID-19 situation. Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa attended the video conference meeting of state CMs with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on assessment of COVID-19 situation across the nation. Telangana has reported 1,002 COVID-19 cases so far, with 280 persons cured or discharged. The toll in the state is 26, according to Union Health Ministry data. She also said that the positive cases curve has almost started flattening in the last few days in the state. The Telangana government is doing its best to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus and the situation is under control, Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has said. While, as many as 31 people have succumbed to the viral infection. With 80 new COVID-19 cases of coronavirus reported in Andhra Pradesh, the overall count in the state has reached 1,177. The recovery rate was at 20 percent after 235 COVID-19 patients were cured. The recovery rate was at 11 percent with 31 COVID-19 patients being discharged. The district recorded nine fatalities so far. As of 9 am on Monday, Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases at 292 after 13 more people tested positive. The figure also includes 252 active cases. The patient had kidney problems and was undergoing dialysis. His family members were kept under quarantine after he tested COVID-19 positive. A 50-year-old man, who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, committed suicide by jumping off from fire exit window of Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru, where he was being treated. The chief minister also said that the travel of stranded students in Kota has already been initiated. As she attended the COVID-19 review meet with the Prime Minsister Narendra Modi on Monday, Mamata weeted, "I've instructed my officers to do the needful. Till the time I'm here, nobody from Bengal should feel helpless. I'm with you in these tough times." West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday tweeted that the state government will make all possible efforts to bring back stranded people stuck in different parts of the country due to lockdown. Home Minister Amit Shah, joining the video conferencing meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief ministers, told all the states to be vigilant in enforcing the lockdown and to punish violators. Twenty-two staff of AIIMS Rishikesh and seven staff of Bapu Gram quarantined after they came in contact with a nursing officer of AIIMS Rishikesh who tested positive for COVID19, ANI reported. 20 Bigha area, Bapu Gram in Rishikesh declared 'Red Zone' With three more COVID-19 deaths in Pune, the toll in the Maharashtra district climbed to 80 on Monday, said the health officials. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases also saw a spike with 55 fresh cases, thereby taking the overall count to 1,319 in the district. Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat suggested that the duration of MNREGA wage employment should be increased to 150 days from the present 100 days. The Uttarakhand CM Office during the PM's COVID-19 review meet said that a committee of ministers and experts was constituted to help enforce economic revival in the state. "It is the Centre's responsibility to arrange trains and buses so that labourers could reach their homes," an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana said. Several migrant labourers have been residing in the coronavirus hotspots of Mumbai's Dharavi slum area, it noted. The Shiv Sena on Monday said it is the Centre's responsibility to make arrangements for sending migrant labourers to their native places during the lockdown enforced to contain the fast spreading coronavirus. He also said that Uttarakhand, which is a tourism and pilgrimage destination, has been greatly affected by the lockdown. During the PM COVID-19 review meet, Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said that business and trade activities should start in a phased manner, with focus on all precautionary measures. "We should look towards easing peoples life by turning the situation to normal. Economic revival is key to moving forward," Rawat said at the meeting. The overall figure of 511 also includes 19 deaths. The recovery rate was at 38 percent after 188 COVID-19 patients were cured. Eight more people tested positive for coronavirus in Karnataka on Monday, as per the state health department's midday report. This takes the total number of COVID-19 positive people in the state to 511. "I sincerely urge the Union government to initiate measures to kickstart economy as we work together to curb the disease, said Patnaik. Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday said he was in support of extending the nationwide lockdown imposed in view of the novel coronavirus, but stressed on the importance of resuming economic activities. "Even if the national lockdown continues, economic activities within the states should be allowed," said Patnaik. Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik urged the Centre to initiate measures to kickstart the economy. He suggested that Niti Ayog should come up with transformative ideas to keep the economy moving as the COVID-19 crisis continued. The order came while dealing with a payment dispute between two private firms the importer of the testing kits and the sole distributor in India which had resulted in delay in their arrival. Stating that public interest must "outweigh private gain", the Delhi high court on Sunday capped the price of 4.5 lakh COVID-19 rapid testing kits scheduled to arrive from China at Rs 400 each. According to the details provided in Delhi High Court, SARS CoV-2 Antibody test kits procured from China, whose delivered cost was Rs 245 per test, were sold to the ICMR for Rs 600 per test, a huge mark up of 145%. At a time when India is facing an unprecedented crisis because of the coronavirus pandemic, a legal dispute between an importer and a distributor has exposed massive profiteering in the delivery of testing kits to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The nationwide lockdown imposed in view of the novel coronavirus which is scheduled to end on 3 May, should be extended further, with relaxations for economic activities within the state, Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant was quoted by ANI. Price range approved by ICMR is Rs 740-1150 for RT-PCR and Rs 528-795 for Rapid Test. No test has been procured at Rs 4500. Any Indian company wanting to supply at lower rates is welcome to contact ICMR, said the apex body of biomedical research. "Most of the CMs said the way in which cases are increasing, there should be a cautious approach and the prime minister should take a call on basis of observation of CMs. Most of the BJP-ruled states' CMs said that lockdown should be continued and economic activities be started slowly," said Narayanasamy. Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy said that most of state CMs during video conferencing suggested Prime Minister Narendra Modi that a "cautious approach" must be taken on lockdown relaxation to curb further spread of coronavirus. The State Health Department has said the mortality rate stood at 4.24 percent. On Monday, blood samples of four COVID-19 survivors have tested positive for antibodies. Their plasma will now be used to treat other patients. As many as 73,735 cases were registered by the Maharashtra Police so far for violating Centre's lockdown guidelines. Maharashtra continued to remain the worst COVID-hit state with over 8,000 confirmed cases and 342 deaths. During the COVID-19 review meet with state chief ministers on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that there was no need to worry about economic front as the economy so far looked good. "Our containment zones had risen to 1,036. There has been a significant drop in number of containment zones in Mumbai. 231 zones are out of the containment zone list after they didn't record a single COVID-19 positive patient for last 14 days," she said. Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar was on Monday quoted as saying that 231 zones have been removed from the 'containment zones' list in the city, which is one of the worst-hit cities in the country. Later in the afternoon, he said 14 more cases were reported; taking the total number of cases to 321. Earlier on Monday, Bihar principal health secretary Sanjay Kumar said that 17 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the state, of which nine are from Munger, five from Madhubani and three from Lakhisarai. "Prime Minister said that a spike in COVID-19 cases could happen in June and July, so all the activities must be done accordingly," said Chhattisgarh health minister TS Singh Deo, who was present along with Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel in video conferencing with Narendra Modi today. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday issued a revised advisory to state governments regarding the rapid antibody blood tests. ICMR has written to them to stop using Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics kits. Reports on Monday said that 1,068 private nursing homes were functional in Mumbai currently, out of the 1,416 total such facilities in the city. Because of the coronavirus scare, a lot of them had stopped operations. "The three new districts which got added to this list are Gondia in Maharashtra, Devangere in Karnataka and Lakhi Sarai in Bihar," said Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary,Health Department. The Union health ministry on Monday said that 16 districts in the country, which earlier had cases of coronavirus, have not reported any fresh cases for the last 28 days. "85 districts have not reported any new coronavirus cases in the last 14 days," said Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health. "20,835 people are under active medical supervision. 381 patients are found cured in past one day. Total number of cured people becomes 6,184. Recovery rate 22.17 percent," Lav Aggarwal said. The Union health ministry said that 1,396 new coronavirus cases were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total confirmed cases to 27,892. "We've to understand that there is no risk of transmission from recovered patients. They, in fact, can be a potential source of healing for antibodies using plasma therapy. We should avoid spreading misinformation and panic. No community or area should be labelled for COVID-19 spread. In particular, healthcare and sanitary workers or police should not be targeted as they are there to help you," said Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health The Union health ministry said that the stigma around coronavirus patients should be addressed through "an intensive campaign". After issuing a revised advisory on the rapid antibodu testing kits provided by Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics, the ICMR asked state governments to return the kits to be sent back to the suppliers. "At the level of ICMR, we have sufficient amount of kits as far as RT-PCR test is concerned. Not only are sufficient kits available, but we have also parallel ensured geographical adequacy," said Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health. Reports also also said that the Lucknow Police served a notice Kapoor in relation to an FIR filed against her for hiding her travel history Singer Kanika Kapoor, who caught the coronavirus infection and recently recovered, is likely to be donating plasma for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, India Today reported. "It needs to be stressed that ICMR hasn't made any payment whatsoever in respect to these supplies. Because of due process followed(not going for procurement with 100 percent advance amount), government doesn't stand to lose a single rupee," the Centre was quoted as saying by ANI. "We will plan a relaxation in phases and according to zones till 21st May. We will share the red, orange and green zones with you all. We request the local people to ensure that they stay at home. We want to know the opinion of the Central government on home delivery and relaxation of norms," the state government was quoted as saying by India Today. Reports said that the West Bengal government on Monday allowed the delivery of non-essential goods and services from 27 April. Reports said that 13 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Uttar Pradesh's Noida on Monday, taking the total number of cases to 128. As many as 79 patients have been discharged in Noida so far. "We've decided not to implement the Central guidelines on the opening of shops, due to the rise in COVID-19 cases in Jharkhand. No shops will open in any areas of the state until 3 May. However, shops that were earlier allowed to open will remain functional," he said. Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Monday said that the state government won't adhere to the Centre's guidelines as far as opening shops is concerned. "Mumbai Police regrets to inform about the unfortunate demise of HC Shivaji Narayan Sonawane (56) from Kurla Traffic Division. HC Sonawane had been battling Coronavirus," the Mumbai Police said. Mumbai Police said that a 56-year-old head constable who had tested positive for coronavirus passed away on Monday. Head Constable Shivaji Sonawane was posted at the Kurla Traffic Division of Mumbai Police. 1,463 new cases and 60 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours. This is the highest death toll reported in 24 hours. Two more people on Monday tested positive for coronavirus in Odisha, taking the total cases in the state to 110. Reports said that one health worker in the Koraput district has also tested positive among the two new cases. The Uttarakhand health department said that no new COVID-19 case reported in the state on Monday. The total number of cases in the state stands at 51. The Odisha government said that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced Rs 15 lakh 'compassionate assistance' to families of working journalists who may lose life to COVID-19 infection. The Gautam Buddh Nagar district surveillance officer said that 14 patients were found positive in the Uttar Pradesh district on Monday, of which six are health workers. Total positive patients till now are 129. A 57-year-old man who had tested positive for coronavirus in Karnataka's Kalaburgi passed away on Monday, taking the toll to five in the district. The deceased was admitted to Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences with breathing problems, ANI reported. Thirteen new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the Dharavi area of Mumbai on Monday, taking the total number of cases in the area to 288, including 14 deaththe BMC said. The Indian Youth Congress workers on Monday manufactured masks at the IYC office. They have also turned the premises for distribution of ration to the needy, as well as cooking food for them, ANI reported. "It is advisable to cut the masks prior to disposal to prevent reuse," the statement said. The Chandigarh administration said that used masks and gloves generated from home quarantine or other households should be kept in paper bags for a minimum of 72 hours prior to their disposal as general waste. Pune joint commissioner of police Ravindra Shisve on Monday extended the period of the order which declares the Pune Municipal Corporation area as a containment zone, till 3 May. The Bihar principal health secretary on Monday said that 19 more coronavirus cases were reported in the state on Monday. The total number of cases in the state rose to 345. A total of 12,216 labourers were brought back from Haryana in 410 buses by Sunday evening, he added. "Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has already issued directions that labourers belonging to UP, who are working in other states and have completed 14 days of quarantine, should be brought back," Additional Chief Secretary (Home and Information) Awanish Awasthi told reporters. More than 12,000 labourers from Uttar Pradesh who were stranded in Haryana due to the lockdown imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus have been brought back to the state, PTI reported. The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday said that 113 new patients have tested postive for COVID-19 since Sunday evening, taking the total number of positive cases to 1,986. 399 patients have been discharged till now. The total number of containment zones in Delhi rose to 99 on Monday. The Pilanji area in New Delhi and parts were Mehrauli were added to the list. Earlier on Monday, two AAP volunteers distributing food in the area tested positive for COVID-19. The total number of COVID-19 cases in the state rises to 8,590, and the toll stands at 369. 94 patients were discharged today after making full recovery, 1,282 discharged till date. The Maharashtra heath department on Monday said that 522 new cases were reported in the state on Monday, and 27 deaths were recorded. Reports said that 20 coronavirus cases were reported in Jharkhand on Monday. The total number of cases has now crossed the 100-mark, with a total of 103 cases in the state currently, India Today reported. Reports said that 75 new cases of coronavirus were reported in Madhya Pradesh on Monday, taking the total to 2,165. The total toll stands at 110. "The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kerala is 481 and 123 patients are under treatment in different hospitals in the state," the statement added. Kerala on Monday reported 13 new COVID-19 cases. Of these, five have come back to the state from Tamil Nadu, one from abroad and the rest have got infected through primary contact. This includes one healthcare worker in Kottayam district. Eight new COVID-19 cases were reported in Punjab on Monday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 330, the Punjab Department of Health said. Reports said that 190 cases of coronavirus were reported in Delhi on Monday, taking the total number of cases in the National Capital to 3108. No deaths were reported on Monday. On Monday, when the tests were conducted on 159 people, only two turned out to be positive. 16 people were discharged on Monday, the Telangana chief minister's office said. Two people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Telangana on Monday, taking the total number of positive cases to 1,003. The Tamil Nadu government also cancelled all outstanding orders. Health Minister C Vijayabaskar was quoted as saying that the "state's recovery rate of 56.8 percent is the highest in the country and added that the mortality is only 1.2 percent". The Indian Express reported that the Tamil Nadu returned 24,000 rapid antibody testing kits after the ICMR asked state governments to stop using those sent bu two Chinese firms. AFP on Monday reported that the coronavirus toll in the UK rose by 360, taking the total number of casualties to 21,092. Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, "Frontline journalists have been bravely covering COVID-19 against all odds, risking their lives and they are our real heroes. Our government will cover each one of them with a life insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh." Italy recorded 1,739 coronavirus cases on Monday, which is reportedly the lowest tally since 10 March, News18 reported. However, the toll from the COVID-19 pandemic rose by 333 against 260 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said. France on Monday reported 437 more coronavirus deaths, taking the toll to \23,293 as per an official, reported AFP news agency . West Bengal health department on Monday clarified COVID-19 patients to be mandatorily brought to hospitals. Only primary/secondary contacts allowed home isolation. Earlier Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced in her press conference that positive patients could home quarantine. Eight new COVID-19 cases were reported in Punjab on Monday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 330, the Punjab Department of Health said. Reports said that 190 cases of coronavirus were reported in Delhi on Monday, taking the total number of cases in the National Capital to 3108. No deaths were reported on Monday. On Monday, when the tests were conducted on 159 people, only two turned out to be positive. 16 people were discharged on Monday, the Telangana chief minister's office said. Two people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Telangana on Monday, taking the total number of positive cases to 1,003. The Tamil Nadu government also cancelled all outstanding orders. Health Minister C Vijayabaskar was quoted as saying that the "state's recovery rate of 56.8 percent is the highest in the country and added that the mortality is only 1.2 percent". The Indian Express reported that the Tamil Nadu returned 24,000 rapid antibody testing kits after the ICMR asked state governments to stop using those sent bu two Chinese firms. AFP on Monday reported that the coronavirus toll in the UK rose by 360, taking the total number of casualties to 21,092. Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, "Frontline journalists have been bravely covering COVID-19 against all odds, risking their lives and they are our real heroes. Our government will cover each one of them with a life insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh." "Scientists at New York City's health department have begun to analyze the novel coronavirus's genetic material to allow them to trace the origins of any future outbreaks in the coming months as they cautiously look to reopen the largely shuttered city," News18 reported. Italy recorded 1,739 coronavirus cases on Monday, which is reportedly the lowest tally since 10 March, News18 reported. However, the toll from the COVID-19 pandemic rose by 333 against 260 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said. France on Monday reported 437 more coronavirus deaths, taking the toll to \23,293 as per an official, reported AFP news agency . Coronavirus Outbreak LATEST Updates: The Maharashtra heath department on Monday said that 522 new cases were reported in the state on Monday, and 27 deaths were recorded. The total number of COVID-19 cases in the state rises to 8,590, and the toll stands at 369. 94 patients were discharged today after making full recovery, 1,282 discharged till date. The total number of containment zones in Delhi rose to 99 on Monday. The Pilanji area in New Delhi and parts were Mehrauli were added to the list. Earlier on Monday, two AAP volunteers distributing food in the area tested positive for COVID-19. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday reportedly instructed senior government officers to ensure COVID-19 testing of people delivering goods to houses during lockdown. He has instructed for setting up of quarantine facilities and shelter home with bed capacity of 15,000 to 25,000 in each district. Thirteen new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the Dharavi area of Mumbai on Monday, taking the total number of cases in the area to 288, including 14 deaththe BMC said. 52 new COVID19 cases were reported in Tamil Nadu on Monday, taking total number of cases to 1,937 in the state, said the state health department. 81 persons were also discharged after receiving treatment for the disease, taking the total number of recoveries to 1,101. No deaths were reported today and the toll stands at 24, it said. Meanwhile, the Greater Chennai Corporation said that 47 cases had been detected in the city on Monday. Mumbai Police said that a 56-year-old head constable who had tested positive for coronavirus passed away on Monday. Head Constable Shivaji Sonawane was posted at the Kurla Traffic Division of Mumbai Police. "Mumbai Police regrets to inform about the unfortunate demise of HC Shivaji Narayan Sonawane (56) from Kurla Traffic Division. HC Sonawane had been battling Coronavirus," the Mumbai Police said. India's total number of coronavirus cases rose to 28,380 on Monday, including 21,132 active cases, 6,362 cured/discharged/migrated and 886 deaths. 1,463 new cases and 60 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours. This is the highest death toll reported in 24 hours. "It needs to be stressed that ICMR hasn't made any payment whatsoever in respect to these supplies. Because of due process followed(not going for procurement with 100 percent advance amount), government doesn't stand to lose a single rupee," the Centre was quoted as saying by ANI. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday issued a revised advisory to state governments regarding the rapid antibody blood tests. ICMR has written to them to stop using Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics kits. The Union health ministry said that 1,396 new coronavirus cases were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total confirmed cases to 27,892. "20,835 people are under active medical supervision. 381 patients are found cured in past one day. Total number of cured people becomes 6,184. Recovery rate 22.17 percent," Lav Aggarwal said. Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar was on Monday quoted as saying that 231 zones have been removed from the 'containment zones' list in the city, which is one of the worst-hit cities in the country. "Our containment zones had risen to 1,036. There has been a significant drop in number of containment zones in Mumbai. 231 zones are out of the containment zone list after they didn't record a single COVID-19 positive patient for last 14 days," she said. As many as 73,735 cases were registered by the Maharashtra Police so far for violating Centre's lockdown guidelines. Maharashtra continued to remain the worst COVID-hit state with over 8,000 confirmed cases and 342 deaths. The State Health Department has said the mortality rate stood at 4.24 percent. On Monday, blood samples of four COVID-19 survivors have tested positive for antibodies. Their plasma will now be used to treat other patients. Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy said that most of state CMs during video conferencing suggested Prime Minister Narendra Modi that a "cautious approach" must be taken on lockdown relaxation to curb further spread of coronavirus. "Most of the CMs said the way in which cases are increasing, there should be a cautious approach and the prime minister should take a call on basis of observation of CMs. Most of the BJP-ruled states' CMs said that lockdown should be continued and economic activities be started slowly," said Narayanasamy. Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik urged the Centre to initiate measures to kickstart the economy. He suggested that Niti Ayog should come up with transformative ideas to keep the economy moving as the COVID-19 crisis continued. "Even if the national lockdown continues, economic activities within the states should be allowed," said Patnaik. Eight more people tested positive for coronavirus in Karnataka on Monday, as per the state health department's midday report. This takes the total number of COVID-19 positive people in the state to 511. The overall figure of 511 also includes 19 deaths. The recovery rate was at 38 percent after 188 COVID-19 patients were cured. During the PM COVID-19 revie meet, Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said that business and trade activities should start in a phased manner, with focus on all precautionary measures. "We should look towards easing peoples life by turning the situation to normal. Economic revival is key to moving forward," Rawat said at the meeting. He also said that Uttarakhand, which is a tourism and pilgrimage destination, has been greatly affected by the lockdown. Home Minister Amit Shah, attending the video conferencing meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief ministers, told all the states to be vigilant in enforcing the lockdown and to punish violators. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday tweeted that the state government will make all possible efforts to bring back stranded people stuck in different parts of the country due to lockdown. As she attended the COVID-19 review meet with the Prime Minsister Narendra Modi on Monday, Mamata weeted, "I've instructed my officers to do the needful. Till the time I'm here, nobody from Bengal should feel helpless. I'm with you in these tough times." The chief minister also said that the travel of stranded students in Kota has already been initiated. The Reserve Bank of India on Monday announced a special liquidity facility for mutual funds of Rs 50,000 crores to tackle the crisis. "With a view to easing liquidity pressures on mutual funds, it has been decided to open a special liquidity facility for mutual funds of Rs 50,000 crores," ANI quoted the central bank. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with chief ministers via video conference on Monday at 10 am on the way ahead in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. They are likely to aspects that could also focus on a graded exit from the ongoing lockdown imposed in view of COVID-19. India registered 48 fresh COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, thereby taking the toll to 872 across the nation on Sunday, according to the latest data released by the health ministry. With 1,396 more individuals testing positive for the novel coronavirus, the total confirmed cases rose to 27,892. This figure also includes 20,835 active cases. The recovery rate in India stood at 22.8 percent after 6,185 COVID-19 patients were cured of the virus. With five more individuals testing positive for COVID-19 in Odisha, the total confirmed cases in the state reached 108, as per the information shared by State Health and Family Welfare department website on Monday. All the fresh cases were reported in Balasore. As many as 2,287 RT PCR tests were conducted in the past 24 hours and the total number of active cases in the state stood at 72 while the live of one patient was lost due to COVID-19. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with chief ministers via video conference on Monday morning on the way ahead in the fight against the novel coronavirus, amid indications that the discussions could also focus on a graded exit from the ongoing lockdown. This will be the third video conference of the Prime Minister with the Chief Ministers after the spread of the COVID-19 in the country. As India recorded its highest one-day rise of 1,975 coronavirus cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the country's fight against COVID-19 is "people-driven" and this is the only way to overcome the pandemic. In his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' broadcast, Modi said the country is in the middle of a 'yudh' (war) and asserted people have to continue being careful and take precautions. The countrywide death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 826 with 47 more fatalities being reported and the number of cases climbed to 26,917 on Sunday, according to the Union Health Ministry. A total of 5,914 people(21.96 percent) have recovered from the infection, it said. State-wise figures The total number of cases on Sunday went up by 1,975 since the ministry last updated its data on Saturday evening. The previous highest single-day jump of 1,752 was recorded on April 24. According to the ministry, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country is from Maharashtra at 7,628. Other states where the cases have crossed one thousand are are Gujarat (3,071), Delhi (2,625), Rajasthan (2,083), Madhya Pradesh (2,096), Uttar Pradesh (1,843), Tamil Nadu(1,821) and Andhra Pradesh(1,097). Of the 47 deaths reported since Saturday evening, 22 are from Maharashtra, eight in Rajasthan, seven from Madhya Pradesh, six Gujarat and one each from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Tamil Nadu. Of the total 824 COVID-19 deaths, Maharashtra accounts for the highest number of 323 fatalities, followed by Gujarat (133), Madhya Pradesh (99), Delhi (54), Andhra Pradesh (31) and Rajasthan (33). The death toll reached 27 in Uttar Pradesh, 26 in Telangana, 23 in Tamil Nadu, while Karnataka and West Bengal have reported 18 deaths each, the ministry said. Punjab has registered 17 fatalities so far, Jammu and Kashmir six, Kerala four, while Jharkhand and Haryana have recorded three COVID-19 deaths each. Bihar has reported two coronavirus deaths, while Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Assam have reported one fatality each, according to the ministry data. Modi asks people to shun complacency Amid indications that Modi's third round of video interaction with the chief ministers on Monday since the COVID-19 outbreak could also focus on a graded exit from the 40-day lockdown, the prime minister asked people to shun any complacency that they will not be infected by coronavirus. The nationwide lockdown is due to end on 3 May. He reiterated his advice to people to maintain a distance of two yards from each other to keep healthy. Do gaz doori, bahut hai zaroori (Maintain a distance of two yards and keep yourself healthy)," he said. "I urge you not to get overconfident. You should in your over-enthusiasm not think that if the coronavirus has not yet reached your city, village, street or office, it is not going to reach now. Never make such a mistake. The experience of the world tells us a lot in this regard," he said in his 30-minute address. Modi referred to a popular Hindi idiom 'Sawdhani hati, durghatna ghati' (accident happens when caution is lowered) to make his point. Hailing states, emergency workers and civil society groups for their contribution in combating the pandemic, he said the resolve shown by the people of the country has led to the beginning of a transformation with businesses, offices, educational institutions, medical sector rapidly undergoing new changes. With the country under a lockdown since 24 March midnight, he said India's people-driven battle against the pandemic will be discussed when the world discusses the crisis later. "India's fight against the coronavirus is people-driven in the truest sense of the term. Along with people, government and administration are fighting it as well... This is the only way we can win over the virus," he said. The prime minister said wearing masks will now become a part of a civilised society and also exhorted people to stop spitting in public places, saying it was high time to get rid of this "bad habit" once and for all. This will not only boost our basic hygiene standards but also help in preventing the spread of the coronavirus infection, he added. Modi also greeted people on Akshaya-Tritiya and noted that the holy month of Ramzan had also begun. "We should pray more than ever before so that prior to the celebration of Eid the world is rid of the coronavirus and we celebrate Eid with enthusiasm and gaiety like earlier times," Modi said, urging people to adhere to guidelines of local administration. The prime minister hoped there may be some good news in the fight against the coronavirus during his next 'Mann ki Baat' episode, usually the last Sunday of every month. The last Sunday next month falls on 31 May and Eid is likely to fall on 25 May. Senior BJP leader and Union minister Prakash Javadekar said the prime minister has asked people to remain steadfast in following the coronavirus guidelines and expressed confidence that the nation will follow the path shown by him. 'Graded' exit from lockdown may be discussed tomorrow Sources in the union government indicated to PTI that besides discussing the way forward in dealing with the pandemic, the prime minister's discussion with chief ministers could also focus on a "graded" exit from the lockdown. The Centre and the state governments have been giving gradual relaxation in various fields and sectors to boost economic activities as also to provide relief to the people. But some states like Maharashtra are mulling extending the lockdown beyond 3 May in cities like Mumbai and Pune to ensure that coronavirus cases remain under control. The Congress said it hopes the prime minister puts out a comprehensive and holistic plan as regards the exit strategy during his discussions with the chief ministers. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said till the time there is no national plan to deal with disasters or pandemics, states cannot formulate plans to deal with issues post-lockdown. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh said that without aggressive testing facilities, India cannot conquer challenges posed by COVID-19. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi urged Modi to clear "bottlenecks" and ramp up testing. Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said the situation in India is improving as hotspot districts (HSD) are moving towards being non-hotspot districts (NHSD). Vardhan gave this assessment after he visited the Trauma Centre of AIIMS in Delhi to take stock of preparedness to overcome COVID-19 and visited various wards in the isolation facility for the infected patients, a statement from the ministry said. On 15 April, the Centre had identified a total of 170 districts across the country as COVID-19 hotspots. The districts that have reported either a high number of coronavirus cases or where the rate of doubling time is low are termed as hotspots. As many as 207 districts were also classified as non-hotspots whereas the remaining of the total 726 districts fall under the 'green zones' category, i.e., they haven't reported any coronavirus case for the last 28 days before April 15. Non-hotspot areas have also reported positive cases but the number remains limited. Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba also had a detailed video conference with all the Chief Secretaries and DGPs of the States/UTs to review the preparedness for COVID-19 response. With inputs from PTI Alessandra Ambrosio showed off her knockout bikini body in a barely-there red two-piece for Instagram on Saturday. The 39-year-old former Victoria's Secret Angel could be seen frolicking by the pool and basking in the sun in her latest album. Letting her luxurious hair fall free, the Brazilian bombshell accessorized the summery look with a colorful print sarong. Sizzling sensation: Alessandra Ambrosio showed off her knockout bikini body in a barely-there red two-piece for Instagram on Saturday She occasionally tied the wrap around her waist, and at other times threw it fashionably over her shoulders. Ale, as she is known affectionately to her fans, added a touch of dazzle with several bracelets and a necklace. While lounging in the Los Angeles heat she kept herself cool by sipping an iced beverage that she garnished with a cucumber slice. 'Sunshine, sunshine reggae, let the good vibes get a lot stronger!' she wrote in her caption adding: '#weekendvibes #stayhome.' Looking fab: The 39-year-old former Victoria's Secret Angel could be seen frolicking by the pool and basking in the sun in her latest album Hello, gorgeous: Letting her luxurious hair fall free, the Brazilian bombshell accessorized the summery look with a colorful print sarong Ale is currently in a relationship with Italian hunk Nicolo Oddi, who founded the fashion brand Alanui with his sister Carlotta. In 2018, Alessandra broke her decade-long engagement to RE/DONE founder Jaime Mazur, with whom she shares two children - Anja, 11, and Noah, seven. Anja, Noah and Nicolo were all with Alessandra when she rang in her 39th birthday during home lockdown earlier this month. Smoldering: She occasionally tied the wrap around her waist, and at other times threw it fashionably over her shoulders Alessandra rose to international fame as a Victoria's Secret Angel, announcing that she was giving up the title at the end of 2017. She has collaborated with her sister Aline Ambrosio and pal Gisele Coria to launch a new swimwear line called Gal Floripa, which debuted last March. The brand takes its title from a nickname for Florianopolis, the Brazilian city where Alessandra gave birth to both of her children. iPLAYER Wallander Its set in Sweden and is based on books by a Swedish author, but can this version of Wallander really be described as Scandi-noir? Probably not, seeing as it stars a largely British cast headed by Kenneth Branagh. While some will tell you Krister Henriksson delivers the definitive portrayal of the haggard detective in Swedens own TV adaptation, Branagh is, frankly, superb. Each episode from all four series keeps viewers on the edge of their seats, and if youre not already aware of Wallanders fate, dont spoil the reveal by watching out of order. Can this version of Wallander really be described as Scandi-noir? Probably not, seeing as it stars a largely British cast headed by Kenneth Branagh and a pre-fame Tom Hiddleston (above) Look out for a pre-fame Tom Hiddleston in the first two seasons. BBC iPlayer, from Monday The Honourable Woman Ahead of the eight-part spy thrillers original broadcast in 2014, many critics concentrated on the fact that Hollywood star Maggie Gyllenhaal would be playing the lead. And although shes good as businesswoman, life peer and Middle East peace campaigner Nessa Stein, its the strength of the ensemble cast that makes it worth watching again. Ahead of the eight-part spy thrillers original broadcast in 2014, many critics concentrated on the fact that Hollywood star Maggie Gyllenhaal (above) would be playing the lead Andrew Buchan, Stephen Rea, Janet McTeer, Katherine Parkinson, Tobias Menzies and Lindsay Duncan also appear in a story involving secrets, intrigue, political machinations and personal tragedy all tied up in Steins ambitious long-held dream to connect the West Bank with optical fibre cables. BBC iPlayer, from Monday In My Skin In 2018, BBC3 aired a one-off darkly comic drama about 16- year-old Bethan (Gabrielle Creevy), who was leading a double life at school, she was your typical cocky teenager, but at home she was dealing with the fact her bipolar mother had been sectioned. The story has now been expanded into a five-part series, based on the experiences of its writer, Kayleigh Llewellyn. Bethan is still trying to keep her domestic situation from her classmates while having teenage crushes, getting tough love from her Nana and keeping her English teacher off her back. BBC3/iPlayer, from Sunday Stacey Dooley Investigates The investigative reporter heads to South Korea where pornography is illegal. Its been forced underground, with perverts getting their kicks via molka, a dark craze utilising hi-tech cameras as small as pinheads to covertly record women at vulnerable moments. Dooley speaks to those on both sides perpetrators and victims to learn more about its implications, which can be tragic; one story she hears involves a young woman who killed herself shortly before her wedding after discovering a colleague filmed her while she was taking a shower. BBC3/iPlayer, from Wednesday NETFLIX Money Heist The relentlessly chaotic Spanish thriller (Casa De Papel) hurtles back for a fourth series of outlandish crime capers. To date, the mysterious El Profesor (Alvaro Morte) has pulled off the most daring robbery in Spains history, helping himself to 2.4 billion euros from the Royal Mint, alongside eight whacky crims. Having dispersed around the globe, the whacky crims are now back in town and plotting a raid on the Bank of Spain. But is Nairobi (Alba Flores, above) still alive? Having dispersed around the globe, theyre now back in town and plotting a raid on the Bank of Spain. But is Nairobi (Alba Flores) still alive? At times crazier than a wounded bull, this is the definition of binge TV. Vamos! From Friday Unorthodox Fact-based tale of a fight against religious restrictions An unhappily married young woman bridles against the many restrictions placed upon her by her insular, ultra-orthodox Jewish community in America and flees to Berlin to try to start again. She falls in with a group of musicians and begins to embrace new freedoms, but can she really escape her past? Esty is played by Israeli actress Shira Haas and the four-episode, German-made series is based on a bestselling memoir by Deborah Feldman and produced by the Deutschland 83 creator. Available now Uncorked Elijah is a young man with a big ambition to pass the exam that would pave the way to him becoming a master sommelier. You would think his father Louis would be thrilled by his sons drive and enthusiasm, but hes disappointed hed prefer him to take over the running of the family business, a Memphis barbecue restaurant. Father and son struggle with their opposing viewpoints until a tragedy forces them to look at the situation from a new perspective. Mamoudou Athie and Courtney B Vance head the cast of this likeable drama. Available now Why is there such a buzz about..? Love Is Blind (Netflix) What happens if you lock away 30 good-looking young people and tell them to flirt? So far, so Love Island. But what makes Love Is Blind so addictive is that it challenges the myth of love at first sight: the would-be couples cant see each other. For favourites Cameron Hamilton and Lauren Speed theres a happy ever after They have to do their flirting from within two isolating pods (perhaps the ultimate in social distancing yet the show was filmed in 2018, before Covid-19). Cue a frenzy of speed dating and mutual assessment unlike anything on innuendo-laden Blind Date. Because this is a deadly serious business: theyre actually choosing their marriage partners. Only after the couples, all from Atlanta Georgia, have got engaged do they actually meet. Then theyre returned to Atlanta to set up home together and start their wedding arrangements. Clearly, for viewers favourites Cameron Hamilton and Lauren Speed theres a happy ever after. But will it be the same result for the other couples? Youll have to watch to find out... Struan Robertson Advertisement SKY/NOW TV, BRITBOX & DISNEY+ Beware The Slenderman The Slenderman is a stick-thin, impossibly tall, faceless character invented for an online Photoshop competition. However, this entirely fictional, internet meme has had horrific real-world consequences. This chilling documentary reveals how two 12-year-old girls became obsessed with the avatar and the reams of internet folklore that sprung up around it, leading ultimately to them luring their best friend to a remote location and almost stabbing her to death. Including interviews with the two attackers, this is a fascinating study in how easy it is for some to lose themselves online with devastating consequences. Sky/NOW TV, from Sunday Pen15 Adult comedy about the growing pains of 13-year-old suburban schoolkids. The twist is that the central characters, best friends Maya and Anna, are played by two adults who are friends in real life, Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle, the co-creators of the show. Its funny and touching and it will make you cringe as you remember your own teenage dramas. This first season of ten half-hour episodes was nominated for an Emmy and a second season is currently being filmed. Sky/NOW TV, from Tuesday Shakespeare & Hathaway Daytime TV was once much maligned, but there are gems to be found these days, including this light-hearted mystery series. Mark Benton and Jo Joyner head the cast as mismatched private detectives Frank Hathaway and Luella Shakespeare, who solve various crimes around Stratford-upon-Avon, with help from actor and undercover specialist Sebastian (Patrick Walshe McBride). The third series recently aired on BBC1, and a fourth has already been commissioned. The second drops onto BritBox this week and sees the titular duo search for a dog thats inherited a fortune, solve the murder of two members of a re-enactment group and discover who is targeting a psychic, among other baffling cases. BritBox, from Thursday Gentleman Jack Suranne Jones wore weights around her ankles to perfect the ever-so-slightly macho strut in this terrific BBC period drama. Jones plays Anne Lister, a woman running rings around the menfolk as she battles to restore her uncles estate, which she has inherited. Sophie Rundle (above with Suranne Jones) plays the alluring Ann Walker, who soon falls under Anne Listers spell Sophie Rundle plays the alluring Ann Walker, who soon falls under Listers spell. BritBox, from Thursday Forky Asks A Question The character created in Toy Story 4 (above) is back in his own series. Each four-minute episode sees him ask a question about life The character created in Toy Story 4 is back in his own series. Each four-minute episode sees him ask a question about life. Youngsters will love it. Tony Hale provides the voice of Forky. Disney+ available now AMAZON & APPLE TV+ Tales From The Loop Languid sci-fi drama starring Rebecca Hall and Ato Essandoh, with a surreal, fairy-tale quality and a mesmerising, melancholy score co-written by Philip Glass. Beneath the town of Mercer, Ohio, is the Mercer Center For Experimental Physics the Loop. Languid sci-fi drama starring Rebecca Hall and Ato Essandoh (above), with a surreal, fairy-tale quality and a mesmerising, melancholy score co-written by Philip Glass Its purpose is to unlock and explore the mysteries of the universe, and it is the cause of the towns many oddities and anomalies. If you like the kinetic pace of much of modern TV, this will take a bit of adjusting to but its oddly beautiful and youll find yourself still thinking about it long after it has finished. Amazon Prime, from Friday Last Chance To See The Murder Of Jill Dando Twenty-one years ago, Jill Dando, one of the BBCs most popular TV presenters, was shot dead on her doorstep in the middle of the day. It was a senseless murder that shocked the nation. This sensitively handled film tells the story of one of Britains most high-profile unsolved killings, hearing from Dandos friends and family. BBC iPlayer, ends Wednesday Advertisement Veronica Mars In the original three seasons of the cult California noir, which ran from 2004 to 2007, Veronica (played by Kristen Bell) was a plucky teenage private investigator investigating crimes in the troubled beach town of Neptune. Now shes a 30-something detective, trying to discover who is behind a string of bombings that appears to be targeting Neptunes tourism industry. A crime boss is equally keen to catch the bomber. A season-finale twist divided fans and it is unclear when or if Veronica Mars will return. Amazon Prime (StarzPlay), available now or on Stan in Australia. FILMS Ordinary Love Theres nothing ordinary about the performances here from Lesley Manville and Liam Neeson, who bring emotional depth and humanity to a tale of a middle-aged couple facing up to a cancer diagnosis. Tom and Joan have already suffered the loss of their daughter, and when Joan is told she has breast cancer, their relationship, which has settled into a routine of gentle bickering, faces a challenge. Lesley Manville (above) and Liam Neeson bring emotional depth and humanity to a tale of a middle-aged couple facing up to a cancer diagnosis Of course, its a film that comes pre-packed with weepie moments, and heart strings will be tugged. But its gentle pace and crisp dialogue set it in a league of its own. Sky Store, available to buy from Monday Motherless Brooklyn Much praise was lavished on the period detail in Ed Nortons homage to film noir, set in New York in the Fifties. But its a film very much of today: Norton plays Lionel Essrog, a private detective with Tourettes, whose primary weapon is not a Colt 45 but his incredible memory. And the case hes working on involves an urban renewal project that would evict the citys poor black communities. Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays the activist fighting the plans, while a starry cast Bruce Willis, Willem Dafoe get their teeth into some meaty roles. Sky Store, available to buy from Monday Jumanji: The Next Level The Jumanji film reboot (based on a Robin Williams-starring Eighties original) was an often hilarious body-swap comedy that was fun family viewing. Starring Dwayne Johnson and Karen Gillan it was also somewhat of a surprise hit, so a sequel was inevitable. While it doesnt have the surprise factor of the first, The Next Level pushes its people trapped in a computer game antics even further to deliver just as many laughs. Kevin Hart might just steal the show this time around and is a real treat. Sky Store, available to buy from Monday A truck carrying 25 migrant labourers, including seven minors, going to Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur in violation of lockdown was seized in South Delhi's Kotla Mubarakpur, police said on Sunday. They said they apprehended the driver, Om Prakash (48), and his helper, Manoj (27), while sent the labourers to shelter homes. "A case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and section 3 of the Epidemic Act has been registered against the driver and the helper. The truck has been seized, said Atul Kumar Thakur, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South). The truck was stopped for picket checking in South Extension area around 10.30 pm on Saturday, and on checking 25 people were found either sleeping or sitting inside it along with their luggage, he said. "During interrogation, it was revealed that all the 27 persons including the driver and the helper hailed from Chattarpur District, Madhya Pradesh, Thakur said. These labourers were residing in Narela, Bawana, Rithala and Indira Gandhi Camp, Lodhi Road. They worked at private construction sites in these respective areas in Delhi on daily wages," he said. The labourers said they decided to travel to their hometown after coming to know through their contacts that a truck would come from Chattarpur (MP) to Delhi with some good and would return after unloading, the DCP said. They contacted the driver who unloaded the goods in Narela on Saturday morning. The driver asked them to pay Rs 1,000 per person in lieu of dropping them at Chattarpur, MP, he said. Nine people boarded the truck from Narela and six from Karnal bypass, the officer said. Thereafter, the driver took the Ring Road route and picked up 10 people from near Safdarjung and AIIMS hospitals, he added. All the labourers including their children have been sent to a shelter home in Fatehpur Beri, the DCP said. Meanwhile, in south Delhi's Sangam Vihar, police received information that 20 families of migrant labourers were running out of ration and were planning to leave Delhi. Their contact person, Vijender Chaudhary, was contacted and all the 20 families of labours were heard in person for any other issue like rent or medicines, police said. They said the families were provided with dry ration and were convinced to stay in their rented accommodation and contact police in case of any emergency. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two men have been arrested after police officers were injured during a chase in Ballymena on Sunday. (Niall Carson/PA) Two men have been arrested after police officers were injured during a chase in Co Antrim on Sunday. The men, aged 24 and 26, were arrested after the chase which began in the Springmount Road area of Ballymena on Sunday morning. Read More Shortly after 11.30am, it was reported that a grey Audi A4 car failed to stop for police in the area which resulted in the vehicle being pursued by specially trained officers. During the chase the police car was rammed a number of times by the vehicle before making off from the scene. Two officers in the car received minor injuries as a result of the incident. It's the second chase incident in which police have been injured this weekend. The car was later found alight in the Carrowcrin Road area of Armoy shortly before 11.45am. Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service attended the scene and extinguished the fire. Both men were arrested a short time later on suspicion of various driving offences and are both currently assisting police with their enquiries. Police have appealed to anyone who witnessed the incident or who captured footage to contact police on 101, quoting reference 730 26/04/20 It was a statement made recently by that well-known Dublin publican (from Limerick) Charlie Chalke, that got me thinking. He was commenting on the lockdown (some call it a lockout) of all pubs a few weeks ago by the government. While he was wholeheartedly in agreement with the decision, he did voice concerns that when this entire saga has passed, and we all return to what will then become the new norm, will we actually go back to the same lifestyle we enjoyed prior to the coronavirus? He wondered will pub-goers return in the same numbers. Initially, one would think, no. In the longer term, who knows. Now Charlie knows the pub scene better than most. And even more importantly, knows his customers. And in particular, their habits. He mentioned a famous New Year's Eve experience. Now not any New Year's Eve mind you. But the New Year's Eve at the turn of the millennium. Remember that one. Hard to believe it is now over two decades ago. Where does the time go to, I wonder. But to get back to Charlie, and the New Year's Eve millennium. Talk about going off the rails. Talk about a rip-off. This was a rip-off like never before. There was a time when that particular night was one of the nights of the year. If memory serves me correct, a certain political party (Blue Shirt variety) used to hold its annual shindig in Lawlor's Ballroom in Naas on that particular night. It was one of the few occasions when a full bar was in operation at the popular venue. And so we tagged along. Sure why wouldn't you? Have to say I kept the head down. Going in at least. Wasn't the thing to be at, from where I was coming from. If you get me drift. But a great night(s) nevertheless. Packed to the seams. But to get back to the night that ended New Year's Eve outings for ever and a day. Functions. Here. There. Everywhere. Of all varieties. Lavish balls. Black tie jobbies. Top class restaurants booked out. Not-so-top class restaurants booked out. Price tags. Astronomical. Babysitting services through the roof. Great if your were providing them, Not so if you required them. Three and four hundred 'big ones' a pop. I cod you not. That carry-on killed off New Year's Eve celebrations. And they have never recovered. Enough was enough. The populace cried halt. The habit was broken. Maybe for a different reason than what we face today. But the result is the same. The habit is broken. And that is exactly what Charlie Chalk was suggesting. With his publican hat firmly in place he was expressing concerns, even worries, that something similar just might happen in a few weeks/ months time. Why? Because the habit has been broken. The habit of going to the pub. And while we may not always admit it, we are (mostly) creatures of habit. And over the last number of weeks our habits have changed. And changed utterly. And the six marker? Will we return to our former habits post coronavirus? Or we will retain, to a certain degree at least, to what has become our new habits, our new norm? Could the entire fabric of our society change as a result of this? Could those in the habit of going for a pint or a gin and tonic, or whatever, decide to stay put? Enjoy a drink in the comfort of their sitting rooms. Certainly be a lot cheaper on the pocket. If it was to happen it would certainly be breaking the mould. Breaking the habit. Big time. Now when it comes to being a creature of habit, my hand would be one of the first up. Definitely fall into that category. And there are many. I have no doubt, like me. From the time one springs out of the leaba in the morning we go through the same routine. The same habits. Day-in and day-out. Did you ever notice, when regulars go into their local, how many head to the same spot. Even the same stool. Order the same drink. In fact if a regular, the bar person (a good one that is) will invariably have the drink ready before the posterior even begins to warm the stool. Weekly shopping falls into the same category. Same day, more or less same time, And more often than not, same supermarket. How often have we been told to change our various utility suppliers? Electricity, gas, car insurance, health cover. Even mortgages these days. Yet, the number that change is miniscule. Even though there are savings to be made. But do we change? Do we even enquire? No. Why? Because we are creatures of habit. Attending church services very similar. Time and time again people go to the same aisle. Sit in the same pew. Some will stand at the back. Ready for the quick (and early) exit. Are they rushing somewhere? No. Always did it. Why change now. Creatures of habit. And that is what Charlie Chalke is concerned/ worried about. The longer the lockout (sorry, lockdown) goes on, the more folk become accustomed to it. Things that only a few weeks ago might have been unheard of suddenly become the norm. Heading to the pub might not be as popular (for some) in the future as it was up to relatively recently. As mentioned when it comes to a creature of habit, I would be one of the first in the queue. Now heading into Week 4 of the lockout (who's counting), cans, tinnies and bottles have more or less become the norm. Not the same. One thing will never change. For me. Anyway. Standing at the end of the counter With a pint of plain in the paw. Memories, Fading memories, Great memories nevertheless. Charlie, I can see where you're coming from, I understand your concerns But rest assured. You need have no worries. Not from where I'm coming from anyway. Cheers! PR-Inside.com: 2020-04-25 22:38:19 Press Information Goldstein Market Intelligence 99 Wall Street ,Suite No- 527, New York, NY 10005 +44 7520 644482 Dennis Abraham Digital Marketing Research 07520644482 email https://www.goldsteinresearch.com # 525 Words 99 Wall Street ,Suite No-527, New York, NY 10005+44 7520 644482Digital Marketing Research07520644482 Various control strategies are implemented as per the process such as open-loop control and close loop control system. An example for open loop control is, turning on and off the motor that operates a pump that fills water in a tank. ICS is adopted by various companies and governments for the security and automation purposes. The automation of the control system directly impacts the profitability of a business.Report is available at:- https://bit.ly/2xY58zM United States Industrial Control Systems Market SegmentationBy Target Audience Industrial Control System Providers Component Suppliers Investors GovernmentBy Types of Control System Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) Distributed Control Systems (DCS) Supervisory control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)By Applications Industrial Security Process Controlling Others (Supervision, etc.)By End-Users Energy and Mining Sector Transportation and Logistics Sector Manufacturing Industry Electric and Electronic Industry Aviation Industry OthersBased On Geography Tier-1 Cities Industrial Control Systems Market {Market Share (%), Market Size (USD Billion)} Tier-2 Cities Industrial Control Systems Market {Market Share (%), Market Size (USD Billion)} Tier-3 Cities Industrial Control Systems Market {Market Share (%), Market Size (USD Billion)}Request for Sample Report at :- https://bit.ly/2KCdsrq Covered in this U.S. Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Market Report areU.S. Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Market Forecast 2030 by Goldstein Market Intelligence contains detailed overview of U.S. Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Market in terms of market segmentation by analysis basis, therapy type and geography. The Report highlights the competitive outlook of major global players that includes the business strategies, product portfolio, revenue distribution, financial analysis, R&D activities, and investments. The in-depth analysis of U.S. Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Market report will help the clients to assess their business strategies as per the competitive environment in the market space.Key PlayersUnited States Industrial control systems market report comprises of the following companies as the key players in the industrial control systems market: ABB Honeywell Siemens General Electric Cisco Symantec Fortinet KasperskyFurther , U.S. Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Market Report encompasses the major trends & opportunities, market dynamics and other growth factors of the U.S. Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Market Research also comprises of key challenges, risk analysis, BPS analysis, SWOT Analysis and Market Attractiveness. The report also highlights the expert analysis to provide a complete overview of the market including the PESTLE analysis of each region and country.About Goldstein Market IntelligenceGoldstein Market Intelligence helping businesses to be successful at strategy and take informed decisions to grow the business in future. Goldstein Market Intelligence is one of the leading professional services firms, providing Intelligence Services, Consulting & Advisory and research related services to clients. We, at Goldstein Intelligence Group (GIG) practice works side by side with chief executives and their teams to create effective strategies and secure alignment across the organisation. Goldstein Intelligence Group (GIG), a network of worldwide professional services firms, as a leading group with a strong commitment to establishing itself as a truly global-minded professional firm that can provide professional services across the world.Contact for more Info:Dennis Abraham(Global Sales Head)UK: +44 7520 644482Email Us :- dennis.abraham@goldsteinresearch.com Frustration is mounting as more families across the United States enter their second or even third week of distance learningand some overwhelmed parents say it will be their last. Amid the barrage of learning apps, video meet-ups and e-mailed assignments that pass as pandemic home school, some frustrated and exhausted parents are choosing to disconnect entirely for the rest of the academic year. Others are cramming all their childrens school work into the weekend or taking days off work to help their kids with a weeks worth of assignments in one day. We tried to make it work the first week. We put together a schedule, and what we found is that forcing a child who is that young into a fake teaching situation is really, really hard, said Alexandra Nicholson, whose son is in kindergarten in a town outside Boston. Id rather have him watch classic Godzilla movies and play in the yard and pretend to be a Jedi rather than figure out basic math. That stress is only compounded for families with multiple children in different grades, or when parents work long hours outside the home. In some cases, older siblings must watch younger ones during the day, leaving no time for school work. I think the pressure is on and I think its on even more for some of our low-income families. Its totally overwhelming, said Rachel Pearl, chief program officer for Friends of the Children-Portland. The Portland, Oregon-based national nonprofit pairs paid mentors with at-risk children. A lot of our families already feel theyre not doing enough when they are working so hard and I fear they will fear they are failing at it. Parents are concerned their kids are falling behind, especially in lower income families. In households where the parents earn less than $50,000 total annually, 72 percent are at least somewhat concerned about their child falling behind academically, compared with 56 percent of parents in high-income households, according to a late-March poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Meghan Perrone, a nurse, cant even begin to help her 8-year-old daughter with her schoolwork until after she gets home from work and has cleaned up from dinner. Her husband is working from home but spends most of the week holed up in the basement because his job is mainly done by phone. That leaves the couples second-grade daughter to supervise her 2-year-old sister. As a result, the family has pushed the weekly load of schoolwork to weekends and tries to cram as much into two days as they can. One recent Saturday, Perrones husband and daughter finished a science project at 10 p.m. We dont have the luxury right now to not be working. Some people arent working at all and they can make time to do this stuff, but that for us is just not an option, said Perrone, who lives in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania. Those with older children may be faring better, but parents still must keep track of timing for video chats with teachers and make sure all the assignments are completed. Sarah Karpanty, 44, a mother of two middle schoolers in Roanoke, Virginia, said the reality kicked in last week when spring break ended and home learning began. I wanted to get into a fetal position and hide out, said Karpanty, a professor of wildlife biology at Virginia Tech who is also teaching her own students online. Her boys, aged 12 and 13, are independent but still need guidance navigating the new technology. Their classes involve recorded video from teachers, online quizzes, and the occasional interactive Zoom call. When this all started we were all like, Thank God kids arent affected, she said, referring to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus commonly known as novel coronavirus. But we have to be honest, the kids are not OK. Many school districts are emphasizing to parents that the learning curve is steep, and some teachers try to avoid daily deadlines, instead allowing students to go at their own pace. California high school teacher Susan Binder said the technology can be frustrating and imperfect. Many of the apps elementary schools must now rely onwith names like Seesaw, Epic and IXLwere only intended as a tool to enhance classroom learning or share students work with parents. This is a very crude bandage were putting on a very big wound. Were just doing the best we can, said Binder, who is using Zoom and Google classroom to teach economics, AP history, and government at El Cerrito High School, near San Francisco. A video cant look at your childs face and see the confusion. A teacher can do that, she said. She worries this generation of students may end up suffering academically, socially, and emotionally. Around the world, parents and schools are facing similar challenges. In Italy, the viruss first epicenter in Europe, schools have tried to adapt to online learning with a spotty success rate. In some parts of Italys hard-hit north, many schools went weeks without assigning lessons, and one parent said her high school aged daughter went two months without a math lesson. In France, many parents with young children are taking advantage of a national initiative that pays 84 percent of salaries of parents needing to take time off to care full-time for kids. The countrys centralized school system has helped streamline teaching, with standardized online programs but there have been wide disparities and concerns about equality and low-income families who dont have internet access and devices. Kara Illig, a mother of three in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, finally broke down one day last week. Her fourth-grade son had six English assignments all due at the end of the day. Her second-grade daughter had to build a table that would support a dictionary using only printer paper, cardboard, and duct tape. She could barely keep track of their assignments, four different school email accounts, 12 Google livestreams, and her own worries as she transitioned to a new job while working from home. I was feeling like a failure. I thought, I just cant do this, she said. She posted a message on a private Parent Teacher Organization group on Facebook, asking, Is anyone else having a hard time keeping up with all of this? She added, My entire Facebook feed is nothing but photos of happy, organized families, sitting together at the kitchen table doing classwork and I can NOT relate. The post immediately got more than 70 replies, most of them supportive, and earned her a call from a slightly irritated school principal, she said. Within days, the district told teachers to no longer assign work with a daily deadline. Illig believes she ruffled some feathers, but she doesnt regret it. Its just a terrible situation and were all trying to adapt to and survive. By Gillian Flaccus and Jocelyn Gecker NTD stuff contributed to this report CANBERRA, Australia (AP) Traditional crowds at dawn services for the Anzac Day memorial holiday in Australia were replaced Saturday with candlelit vigils in driveways and neighbors gathering to listen to buglers play The Last Post. Restrictions on crowds and social distancing due to the coronavirus meant that the usual packed dawn services in cities and towns across the country were not held. The holiday, also celebrated in New Zealand, marks the anniversary of New Zealand and Australian soldiers, known as Anzacs, landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915. More than 10,000 soldiers from the two countries were killed during that World War I campaign in whats now Turkey, although Anzac Day honors those killed in all wars. Visiting the site in Canakkale, in northwestern Turkey, has become a pilgrimage for many Australians and New Zealanders to remember their fallen compatriots, but the annual dawn service and other commemorative ceremonies were canceled this year to stem the spread of COVID-19. Early Saturday, three employees of a local tourism company placed red flowers at the ANZAC Cove memorial in Canakkale. In France, in the town of Villers-Bretonneux in the Somme, Deputy Mayor Benoit Decottegnie laid a wreath at sunrise at the Australian National Memorial that honors Australian soldiers who fought and died in France and Belgium. With France in a coronavirus lockdown, there were no crowds. Decottegnie also laid a wreath at another monument to victims of World War I in the center of town. It is true that this ambiance is really particular. There is no one, he said. It is very, very, very frustrating, and I know that our Australian friends are also saddened by not being able to assist. Of course, I hope that a lot of people will commemorate this by lighting a candle or by a minute of silence or by any other means, Decottegnie said. In Australia's capital, Canberra, Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke at a crowd-free commemorative service held inside the Australian War Memorial. A didgeridoo sounded the beginning of the service. Story continues In the Sydney suburb of Wahroonga, 8-year-old trumpeter Lewis Ketteridge and 16-year-old French horn player Grace Colville were among a dozen brass musicians playing The Last Post from their driveways at dawn before 40 residents observed a moment of silence. Strangely, it made it more moving that people were still willing to commemorate Anzac Day instead of just letting it go by, said resident Catherine Colville. She said the community carefully maintained social distancing as they placed candles, pictures of serving ancestors and wreaths of native leaves and flowers under an Australian flag hanging on a tree. Marches and gatherings were canceled for only the third time they were previously canceled in 1942 and during the devastating Spanish flu outbreak of 1918. In New Zealand, where even tighter crowd restrictions are in place, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stood at dawn on the driveway of Premier House, the leaders official residence, for a ceremony. Thousands around New Zealand participated in the Stand at Dawn initiative, and in one Christchurch suburb, bagpiper Tom Glove greeted the families that gathered at each driveway with a rendition of Amazing Grace. ___ Associated Press journalists Zeynep Bilginsoy in Istanbul and Milos Krivokapic in Villers-Bretonneux, France, contributed to this report. After reports that Delhi may extend lockdown by two more weeks, five more states have also said if needed they were also ready to continue with the existing restrictions beyond May 3. Odisha, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Punjab have reportedly said they were ready to extend the lockdown, at least in major hotspot areas, beyond May 3. Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka have said they would follow the Centre's guidelines, while Assam, Kerala and Bihar said they would take the final call on the extension of the lockdown after Monday video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Also read: Coronavirus crisis: PM Modi to meet CMs today; lockdown extension, stimulus package on agenda Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday said there were 92 coronavirus hotspots in the national capital but the entire city was not a hotspot. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, however, earlier this week said the lockdown would continue as usual in the national capital and no relaxation of prohibitions would be allowed before a review meeting of experts on April 27. Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope has said the state could extend the lockdown in the red zones of Mumbai and Pune, which account for 92 per cent of total cases in the state, by 15 more days. The state account for a maximum number of novel coronavirus cases in India. The state has total 6,817 positive cases, including 301 deaths. As many as 957 people have recovered. Also read: Corona shows Kirana's might! Amazon, Reliance woo the humble neighborhood store Maharastra is followed by Gujarat and Delhi with 2,815 and 2,514 cases, respectively. India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, will also not allow opening up of all shops. "The government has already permitted shops selling essential goods, like groceries and medicines, and 11 kinds of industries to function. We will not permit any more shops to open up at this point," Times of India quoted a senior official as saying. Most opposition-ruled states, including Odisha, Punjab and West Bengal, are in favour of extending the lockdown beyond May 3. The Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday relaxed lockdown norms for states, allowing all shops, including neighbourhood shops and standalone shops, shops in residential complexes, within the limits of municipal corporations and municipalities, registered under the Shops and Establishment Act of the respective State and UT, to open during the lockdown. States and UTs are, however, have a choice to either implement the guideline or continue with the existing ones. Meanwhile, the total number of cases in India neared 25,000 as of April 25, 5:30 pm. There are now eight states that have recorded more than 1,000 cases. Andhra Pradesh is the latest state to cross the 1,000 mark. Also read: Coronavirus India live updates: Total COVID-19 cases cross 26,000; 8 states with over 1,000 cases Thiruvananthapuram, April 26 : A Kerala Police team was pleasantly surprised when it reached the house of a centenarian freedom-fighter near here to check on him - and found him waiting for them with a donation for the struggle against coronavirus. Following the Covid-19 outbreak, the Kerala Police launched a programme of visiting aged people at their house to check on them. Uunder this, a team from the Malayankeezhu police station went to the house of 102-year-old Paramesweran Nair, who lives with a helper. When the news came that a police will be arriving, Nair had a quick bath and dressed up and was waiting for them - with a cheque. "We were on a routine visit to check up on how the aged citizens are coping up with the tough times. We were surprised when he gave us a cheque of Rs 5,000 and said it was to be given to the CM Covid Relief Fund. I felt really happy that I could collect it from him," Sub Inspector of Police Anil Kumar told IANS. Nair was active with the erstwhile state Congress and was a friend of the state's second Chief Minister, Pattom Thanu Pillai. In March, the Uganda Police nabbed 37 Chinese nationals in Uganda that were involved in activity related to cyber-crime. The gang were found disassembling mobile phones and computers in Kireka, on the outskirts of Kampala. A police search at their premises later found suspected stolen computer motherboards, phones, and electricity meters. The same gang was also in possession of 1,895 Airtel and 223 MTN sim cards which they were using in scam financial transactions. Recent security operations in the city centre have uncovered a racket of mobile phone theft often linked to violent crime. According to police the recovered phones at places like Mutaasa Kafeero, City Centre Complex, and other such shopping centres in the city are linked to waves of violent crime in the country. The recovered phones, according to police also helped the security operatives to recover motorcycles in areas of Katwe that were stolen from oftentimes victims that ended up dead. Police say when the phone is stolen, dealers in the city centre change the phone serial numbers and put the phones back on the market. Police say this new trend provides a conduit for the thieves thus encouraging violent crime, burglaries, street robberies, theft of motorcycles, and related murders. Another area of crime that has baffled security forces in Uganda is crimes emanating from or aided by mobile phones and phone SIM cards. In 2017, following several killings of Ugandans, which crimes remain unresolved to-date, the government swung into action, ordering for mass registration and re-registration of all SIM cards in use. This was because it was discovered that the criminals made use of SIM cards in committing their follies. Besides murders, criminals have also been involved in scamming unsuspecting Ugandans of their hard-earned money using mobile phones. In April 2017, the Uganda Communications Commission ordered for fresh registration of all SIM cards in the country. All mobile phone holders were required to re-register using their National Identity Cards, passports for foreigners and certified documents from the Office of the Prime Minister for refugees. This order followed security concerns that unregistered SIM cards were being used by criminals in the country. Therefore the registration exercise was intended to help law enforcers to identify mobile phone SIM card owners, track criminals who use phones for illegal activites, curb incidents such as loss of phone through theft, hate text messages, fraud, inciting violence among other benefits. It, therefore, is a disturbing scenario when security bursts a criminal gang and found them with thousands of mobile phones. The country should speak up and call for a thorough investigation of the intention of the Chinese foreigners who are currently held in prison the investigation should also spread to how the Chinese managed to get the phones registered to work in Uganda. It is difficult enough to have petty Ugandan criminals using SIM cards to commit their crimes, it becomes even more difficult to think that mobile phones are now being used to commit international crimes by foreigners in Uganda. ========================================================================= This writer, Raymond Tamale is a city businessman Related The discovery of the body of a man on a beach in Waterford has been described as "absolutely tragic" by shocked locals. The man's body was found in the shallow waters on Tramore beach at around 1.30pm on Saturday. Emergency services, including the Coastguard, RNLI and an Garda Siochana attended the scene and CPR was carried out, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene. The middle-aged man was dressed in swimming gear and his clothes were neatly folded on the beach when his body was found. Local County Councillor and former member of the Irish Coastguard, Jim Griffin, described the man's death as "absolutely tragic". "God almighty, it's absolutely tragic circumstances anyway, but for the poor family to have to go through that during Covid-19 and all the restrictions that will go with his removal and his burial - such tragic circumstances and the virus makes it even more difficult for the family," the Sinn Fein Councillor said. "My condolences an deepest heartfelt sympathies for that family. "Because the beach was so isolated we don't even know how long he was alone or the events surrounding his death. He was in swimming togs and his clothes were neatly stacked." Mr Griffin, who served on the coastguard for 23 years, advised that anyone who is swimming in the sea in coming weeks does so with somebody else present. A swimmer himself, he warned that the temperature of the water in the period of late spring and early summer is far below ideal. "The temperature of the sea is still a good bit below the optimum temperature, and I would stress that anyone looking to swim in Tramore would seek out the Newtown and Guillamene swimming group that swim all year round and perhaps touch base with them and, while following restrictions, swim with them. "The temperature would bring the onset of muscle fatigue and cramp or shock. "I don't know the circumstances of how the poor man drowned but I'm a swimmer myself and it is still extremely cold, the weather has been mild and sunny but the sea temperature is still well below what you would be swimming in in the summer. "Tramore beach is so big and with the Covid-19 restrictions the beach is so empty and there's no one there to look out for you when your'e on your own." A garda spokesperson told Independent.ie: "Gardai attended an incident on Tramore beach yesterday at around 1:30pm, where the body of a male was discovered. The body has since been removed to University Hospital Waterford." More to follow... People in Sydneys north shore and eastern suburbs have cut spending far more than in other parts of the city since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic while those in some less well-off districts are purchasing more. Giving to charity has also fallen sharply in the wealthy suburbs but increased in lower income areas. Spending in Sydney's eastern suburbs and north shore has fallen faster than other areas due to the coronavirus crisis. Credit:Edwina Pickles Shoppers in Willoughby council area have slashed overall spending by 40 per cent during the past month, more than any other Sydney council area, according to a real-time spending tracker developed by analytics firm AlphaBeta, which is part of Accenture, and the credit bureau illion. There were also big spending falls in the council areas of Waverley (down 31 per cent), Woollahra (down 29) and Ku-ring-gai (down 27). Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 26) More than two million workers nationwide have been displaced as local governments continue to implement COVID-19 quarantine measures, the Labor Department said Sunday. Citing data from its regional offices, DOLE said around 2,073,362 workers have lost their jobs as of April 24. Of this number, around 1.4 million were displaced due to temporary closures of establishments, while over 600,000 personnel reported reduced incomes due to modified working arrangements (fewer workdays, rotation, forced leave, and telecommuting.) Metro Manila recorded the highest displacement figure anew with 687,634 affected workers. Central Luzon came in second with 281,278 affected workers, followed by Davao Region which listed 207,789 personnel. Calabarzon, where a number of big industries are located, reported 158,646 displaced workers, while Region 10 or Northern Mindanao has 106,162 affected workers. The enhanced community quarantine in the capital region and other COVID-19 high-risk areas has been extended until May 15 amid a continuous spike in the number of people who contract the infectious coronavirus. DOLE earlier rolled out cash assistance programs to cover those affected by government measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. Last week, the department said it has stopped accepting applications for the COVID Adjustment Measures Program, saying that funding is "very close to being depleted. However, it noted that officials are working closely with other agencies as well as Congress for an "immediate alternative program" that will assist other personnel. To date, the Philippines has recorded 7,294 cases of the viral disease, including 494 fatalities and 792 recoveries. El Al Israel Airlines planes are seen on the tarmac at Ben Gurion International airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel TEL AVIV (Reuters) - El Al Israel Airlines on Sunday extended its suspension of scheduled passenger flights by a week until May 9 but said it will operate a number of special flights to and from the United States and Europe. Israel's flag carrier a month ago halted flights due to a drop in demand in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, as well as concerns for the health of passengers and crew and the need to reduce expenses until the crisis ends. Flights had been suspended until May 2, although it operates special rescue flights to various destinations and continues cargo flights. About 5,500 of the carrier's 6,000 workers are on unpaid leave until May 31. El Al said last week it is in advanced talks with an Israeli bank to receive a loan that will be partly backed by government guarantees. The carrier has said it needs a government loan of $200 million (161.7 million) to $300 million to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. El Al on Thursday will operate special flights to and from Miami, London and Paris using Boeing 787 aircraft. Only Israelis are currently allowed to enter Israel. Last week, El Al signed a memorandum of understanding to sell three 11-year-old Boeing 737-800 aircraft to an unnamed foreign company for $76 million and lease them back for eight years. It expects to post a pretax loss of $3.7 million from the transaction. (Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Tova Cohen) German Chancellor Angela Merkel (2nd R) gives a thumbs up as she talks with German Finance Minister and Vice-Chancellor Olaf Scholz (R), German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (L, sitting) and German Labour Minister Hubertus Heil prior to the weekly cabinet meeting on August 21, 2019 at the Chancellery in Berlin. Photo: JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images German Labour Minister Hubertus Heil is trying to get the right to work-from-home (WFH) into law. According to an interview in the countrys Bild am Sonntag newspaper (link in German), he is working on legislation that will give employees the right to WFH and will present the case later in the year. The core of the proposal is to allow staff to work from home for the whole time or at least for one or two days a week. "Everyone who wants to and whose workplace allows it should be able to work in a home office - even when the coronavirus pandemic is over," said Heil, a Social Democrat (SPD), in the interview. The world is currently gripped by the global spread of the coronavirus. Germany, like many other countries, placed its citizens under lockdown, preventing the opening of non-essential businesses and enforcing strict measures on public life. However, it has put WFH into the spotlight with about 25% of Germans now estimated to be working from home, up from about 12% normally. READ MORE: Coronavirus: Germany makes wearing face masks compulsory This week, Germany took the first steps towards easing the country-wide lockdown. Small shops of up to 800m floor-space will be allowed to reopen, including car dealerships. Some classes in primary and secondary schools are allowed to begin from 4 May. Strict lockdowns still apply to public movement only groups of two will be allowed, with the exception of members of one family. The 1.5 metre social distance rule will be in place until further notice. She just welcomed her first child, with husband Joshua Jackson, just last week. And Jodie Turner-Smith shared a selfie to Instagram on Saturday as she took a brief break from caring for her newborn. The Queen and Slim star joked that she was a 'milk factory' in the caption. Factory: Jodie Turner-Smith shared a selfie to Instagram on Saturday looking a bit exhausted from caring for her newborn calling herself a 'milk factory' 'Mum= Milk factory till further notice,' she wrote over a selfie. In the selfie the British actress wore a black nursing bra and went barefaced while looking into the camera. Earlier in the week, she thanked her fans and triumphantly declared her motherhood after giving birth to her first child, a girl. The model-actress, 33, wrote, 'i'm a mother!' in a tweet, later adding, 'thanks everyone' with three emojis of smiling faces and hearts. Couple goals: Earlier in the week, she thanked her fans and triumphantly declared her motherhood after giving birth to her first child, a girl, they have been linked since November 2018 Joy: The model-actress wrote, 'i'm a mother!' in a tweet, later adding, 'thanks everyone' with three emojis of smiling faces and hearts On Tuesday, reps for the Affair star, 41, and Turner-Smith, who's been seen on The Last Ship and Nightflyers, confirmed the birth, telling People: 'Both mother and baby are happy and healthy.' The Vancouver native, who played the role of Pacey Witter on the 90s hit Dawson's Creek, opened up to E! last month about how he was 'super excited' and relishing the road to fatherhood. 'The whole process has been amazing and now I'm just ready to meet my baby girl,' he said. Jackson, who's been seen donning a mask gathering supplies during the lockdown to quell the spread of COVID-19, told the outlet that he did have concerns venturing into parenthood during the unprecedented times. Stunning: Turner-Smith showed off her pregnancy fashion on Instagram last month The Little Fires Everywhere star said he felt 'anxious because we're in this particular moment that we're in right now - just interfacing with anything to do with medicine is a little bit anxiety-inducing.' Jackson and Turner-Smith have been romantically linked since November of 2018, first crossing paths at Usher's 40th birthday bash the month before. The glam duo confirmed their relationship on Instagram last August, and were seen on the red carpet three months later for Turner's Queen & Slim premiere in Los Angeles. Jackson was previously in a relationship with actress Diane Kruger from 2006 until 2016. Kruger, 43, welcomed her first child with The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus, 51, in November of 2018. Millions of furloughed workers will be urged to pick fruit and vegetables this summer amid fears crops will be left to rot in the fields. Environment secretary George Eustice said plans were being put in place to fill the shortage of migrant labour due to the coronavirus pandemic. The scheme would see large numbers of people including those who are effectively being paid by the government not to work sent to help out with the harvest in June. Were acutely aware that were about to start the British season in fresh produce, in soft fruits and salads, Mr Eustice told the daily briefing. We estimate that probably only about a third of the migrant labour that would normally come to the UK is here, and was probably here before lockdown. We are working with industry to identify an approach which would encourage millions of furloughed workers, in some cases, to consider taking a second job helping to get the harvest in in June. Its not an issue at the moment since the harvest has barely begun but we do anticipate that there will be a need to help recruit staff for those sectors in the month of June. Furloughed staff are able to take second jobs during the shutdown as long as they have the permission of their main employer and are able to return to their normal job at any time. The announcement follows reports that the government was preparing a Pick for Britain campaign to make sure the harvest was not wasted. According to the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), travel restrictions and illness could leave a shortage of up to 80,000 agricultural workers this year. Some UK farmers even resorted to chartering flights to bring labourers from Romania. However, Mr Eustice sought to reassure the public that the international food chain was still working well despite the lockdown restrictions. He also said supermarket staffing levels have been rising in recent weeks as self-isolating employees returned to work. Less than 10 per cent of staff in the food industry were absent at the end of last week, compared to 20 per cent three weeks ago. Additional reporting by agencies Owen Castro didnt hesitate when asked if he missed face-to-face classes at the Phoenix Center, a state-certified, privately run school in Nutley that provides academic instruction and other services to students with special needs. My teachers, my friends, everything, said Owen, whos 13 and lives in Fair Lawn. But asked whether he preferred going to school, like he did before the coronavirus outbreak, or staying at home, he was less decisive. Thats a great question, said Owen, whos been diagnosed with cognitive impairment and developmental delays, which means that learning takes more time for him. Then, after thinking about it, he said, Being at home. Obviously, there are other things he can entertain himself with, Owens father, Franklin Castro, chimed in on speaker phone during a recent interview. Like most students, Owen is learning remotely these days, after the Phoenix Center and the states other public and private schools were ordered closed for in-person instruction last month. And while the adjustment has been a challenge for many mainstream teachers, students and parents as well as the inspiration for some innovative lesson plans the switch to online learning can be particularly challenging for students with learning disabilities because of their broader aversion to change generally, experts say. Matt Ryan, a teacher with the Phoenix Center in Nutley, leading students through stretches in a recent virtual class on a recent morning.The Phoenix Center Students with autism crave that sameness, regularity, said Julie Mower, executive director of the Phoenix Center, which has 144 students from 64 districts in eight counties, from Sussex down to Monmouth. I think what has been uncovered with this situation is, we all crave a schedule. But for our students, its compounded. And what were finding is, for many of the students, their functioning level does require a lot of collaboration with the parents. New Jersey and federal guidelines for educating students during the coronavirus outbreak require that students special needs continue to be accommodated under their individualized education plans, or IEPs. And while Phoenix and other special education facilities began implementing remote learning at the same time that mainstream schools did in mid-March, the state Board of Education formalized the practice on April 1, amending special education rules to mandate online education and related services for special needs students. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage These rule modifications enhance the ability of school districts and educational agencies to satisfy their legal obligations to provide a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with disabilities during a period of extended school closures resulting from COVID-19, Peggy McDonald, New Jerseys assistant commissioner of education for student services, wrote in an April 3 memo informing districts of the boards action. The Phoenix Center, like many mainstream and special needs schools, has used software integrating Googles educational and meeting platforms, Classroom and Meet, to facilitate online learning. Google recently announced that it was extending free use of the integrated Classroom/Meet software until July 1 to accommodate demand from schools. A lesson plan is displayed during a virtual class for students of the Phoenix Center in Nutley. At right, from the top, are teacher, Regan McKinlay, Phoenix staff member Esteban Maza, and student Lowesky C., and his mother.The Phoenix Center Beyond what mainstream schools do, Phoenix also proscribes table-top, or confined-space, physical activities for students to engage in with parental participation, within a timeframe of 8:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. on weekdays that mimics students regular school schedule, contributing to a sense of normalcy. Students are given more conventional assignments, i.e., homework, in standard academic subjects, and then follow up with direct online instruction in small groups. For example, the centers nurse created a video on how students should wash their hands, complete with an original hand-washing song. Students watch the video, the nurse then follows up with two students and a classroom teacher in a live Google Meet setting to make sure students have learned the hand-washing lesson. Staff hold virtual IEP meetings with each other and with parents. And individual students are able to schedule informal online meetings with staff members of their choice to satisfy their desire to continue connecting personally. Because they miss particular teachers, which is sweet, said Mower. Mower said the Phoenix Center was fortunate because its teachers began training on Google Classroom long before the coronavirus lockdown, and had a head start. Its exciting to see it in action, she said. So far, so good. Other schools, including those in the mainstream, have built less structure into their online learning programs, which provides flexibility that can be valuable in a world turned upside down by the virus, but also leaves it up parents to have their children spend adequate time, during reasonable hours, to get their work done and their lessons learned. The parents are responsible for quite a lot right now, Mower said. You cant leave it all on the parents. And thank goodness they dont, said Owens mom, Michele Castro, who now works at home for the finance department of a Manhattan hospital, and splits time looking after Owens schooling and other needs with his father. The Phoenix Center has made it not as taxing as what Ive heard of in other districts, Castro said. As for her sons need normalcy, she added, Theyve been able to keep this as day-to-day as possible. Tom Reynolds, a classroom teacher with the Phoenix Center in Nutley, waves hello to participants in a virtual class. Others at right, from the top, are student Ismael R., Phoenix staff member Brian McGinley, and students Anthony F., Louis J., and Zach S.The Phoenix Center Tell us your coronavirus stories, whether its a news tip, a topic you want us to cover, or a personal story you want to share. Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips OIC Welcomes Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen Declaration, to Extend Cease Fire Saudi Press Agency Saturday 1441/9/2 - 2020/04/25 Riyadh, Apr 25, 2020, SPA -- The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) welcomed declaration of the Coalition to Support legitimacy in Yemen, to extend the cease fire, for one month, beginning from Thursday April 23, 2020, based on the request of the UN Secretary General Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths. OIC Secretary General Dr. Yusuf bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen valued the new humanitarian initiative by the Joint Command of the coalition forces, in coincidence with the advent of the holy month of Ramadan, expressing hope that the initiative would contribute in laying ground for appropriate conditions to make exerted political endeavor a success, in order to reach a comprehensive and just political settlement, agreed upon by all Yemenis and to mitigate suffering of the Yemeni people and confront the challenges of the novel Covid-19 pandemic spread. Al-Othaimeen reiterated OIC stance, taking the side of the Yemeni people, in such circumstances of hardship and backing up efforts to bring peace to Yemen. --SPA 22:48 LOCAL TIME 19:48 GMT 0018 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Piece by piece, Kristin Demoro put the artifacts into the box. Here were the photo negatives, taken by her grandfather Ralph Demoro, a historian who documented the changing skyline in San Francisco and the Bay Areas transit systems. There were the articles, written by her father, veteran journalist Harre Demoro, who covered transportation for the Oakland Tribune and The San Francisco Chronicle. Her family had been in the Bay Area since the 1800s, by virtue of a Spanish sea captain who brought cocoa beans to San Francisco. For Demoro, living in the Bay Area meant being connected to her lineage, and her father, who died unexpectedly in 1993. Shed always felt it was her duty to stay. But now even she had to leave. Theres this whole legacy of just being so proud of the Bay Area history of my family, Demoro said, and not being one of the people coming in and taking over and changing it. The coronavirus pandemic, it seems, has prompted a minor but disorienting Bay Area exodus back to childhood homes after mass layoffs, or to states where living is more viable on the salaries that remain. The urgent time has forced many people into one of two dimensions to freeze where they are in hibernation, or to quickly make gargantuan life decisions in the 11th hour. Though there are no official data on people moving because of the pandemic, anecdotal evidence like scores of open rooms listed on online housing boards, with little reciprocation, suggests an uptick in relocation since the virus entered society. And the unprecedented move to remote work has some asking whether the post-coronavirus future even needs San Francisco. Demoro, 53, was laid off from her job as a textiles librarian before the pandemic. She made the difficult decision to move because she hasnt been able to find work since. She had dreamed of buying a condo in Oakland. But here she was, packing up five decades of memories and her dads collection of street car controllers, getting ready to settle into her mothers home in Washington state. Jessica Christian / The Chronicle Unemployment from the effects of the virus was also the final impetus for Juliet Paramor, 25, to move and to re-evaluate whether it was worth living in Oakland: Paying rent on a dancer and gig workers salary had never been easy. As she grappled with the unrealistic idea of staying, childhood friends in Washington reminded her they had a cheap room for her, should she ever need it. She decided to leave the Bay Area for good and go back to her roots to Anacortes, the small town in which she grew up. Shes hoping to get remote work or an essential worker job at a grocery store, with a salary on which shell be able to actually support herself. In a way, the pandemic helped her realize that her creative options in the Bay Area had plateaued, and it was time to say goodbye go back to her place of origin. I feel like uprooting and re-rooting are kind of in the cyclical nature of my life so far, Paramor said. Amid the decisions to stay or leave, many are re-evaluating whether the Bay Area is still their home and if it ever really was. A little over a week after shelter in place began, Bethany Cagen read an article that warned of airlines shutting down. Almost instantly, she knew she had to go back to Rhode Island, where shes from and where her family lives. It was almost like a primal urge, said Cagen, a therapist who lived alone in Oakland. That level of isolation something deep inside of me just knew I wouldnt be able to do that. Cagen packed a few suitcases, gave her plants to her friends, and offered her building manager all her food. She was on an empty flight to Cranston, R.I., the next day and plans to stay at her mothers home until August, at the least. Her sister, who was living in Argentina, came back home as well. The three of them, all used to living alone, are adjusting to a new reality. But she hasnt doubted her decision once. The Rhode Island air has made her reconsider staying long term in the Bay Area. Theres this salt-of-the-earth flavor here that I dont often feel in the Bay Area, Cagen said. Its not an ideal situation, going back to live with your mother at 40 years old, but I feel happy. My nervous system is a lot more calm. For Hannah Angely, the painful reality of leaving came right when the Bay Area was beginning to feel truly like home. She had begun to find herself here. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Photos by Jessica Christian / The Chronicle Angely, 22, had less than 10 hours to pack up three years of memories of her life in the Bay Area, where shed moved as a UC Berkeley transfer student from France. She was just getting settled in, had grown deeply attached to her role as a development officer at the French American Cultural Society, and also, to a guy shed met at Berkeley. Angely, who is asthmatic, was worried about being far from her family should anything happen, and felt more comfortable with the French health care system. So she made the quick decision to leave and has been sheltering in place at her familys home in Nice. She doesnt know when shell be able to come back, or see her boyfriend again. The plane ride was excruciating, Angely said, as she began to process what leaving meant and the possibility of it being a long time before seeing them again. It was the toughest trip ever. Usually when you take a plane you know what it means, she said. Now you dont know for how long, for what, if its for life. On Sunday, Paramor planned to load up her car before heading off to Washington. She planned to drive by each of her friends houses and wave out the window, almost like a little parade the best option in place of a closer goodbye. The same day, Demoro was to fly out to Washington, with her Oakland native and rescue cat in tow. One of the only unexpected comforts is that shell now have her mother back in her life again, after years of being apart. But Washingtons quaintness is no replacement for what made the Bay Area so inimitable to her. The sparkling sidewalk, falling in love with Beat history in North Beach, the Ukrainian ladies whom she worked with for more than a decade at Britex Fabrics. Her and her fathers photo excursions to the West Oakland rail yards near the old 16th Street Station, where he taught her to use a camera. Shes having to let go of all of that, let it live in a box for now. Its very bittersweet, Demoro said. Ive had days where Ive just been like: Let me just avoid this happening. Because if I dont do anything, its not happening. Annie Vainshtein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avainshtein@sfchronicle.com Twitter @annievain Britain's biggest department store chain John Lewis has drawn up a blueprint for reopening its shops that it will be ready to activate within weeks, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Andrew Murphy, John Lewis Partnership's executive director of operations who has led the crisis strategy, said the chain could begin reopening some stores as soon as the middle of next month. However, he emphasised it was a 'portable' strategy and made it clear the company would wait for a signal from the Government and health chiefs before triggering the operation. Boss Andrew Murphy said John Lewis could begin reopening some stores as soon as the middle of next month The plan to reopen the 50-store chain whose sister company Waitrose has continued trading in recent weeks as an 'essential' retailer would take three to six weeks to complete. Murphy revealed that John Lewis is 'modelling for scenarios where different sizes of shops are able to open at different points in time'. 'That seems to us to be reasonably likely,' he said. 'Even in a scenario where we are theoretically able to open all our shops on the first day, we wouldn't do that. We would open in a minimum of three tranches.' The first phase of the plan would likely include stores with large car parks that would allow staff to drive to work and not need to rely on public transport. John Lewis is understood to have about 20 stores in that category. One option being considered is to use private buses to get staff to and from work if public transport restrictions set out by the Government prove inhibitive. Larger stores such as London, Birmingham or Glasgow would be likely to remain closed until the later phases of the revival plan. Murphy said details of their strategy were likely to change before the launch and no date had been set. He said: 'For the last four or five weeks the crisis has been intense and the demands have meant we've been dealing with circumstances changing almost daily. Over the past seven to ten days there has been a shift. For the first time we have been properly beginning to think about a restart.' Murphy said learning from 'essential' grocer Waitrose had been a significant advantage Murphy said complexities included rapidly evolving social distancing requirements over the coming weeks. But he said learning from 'essential' grocer Waitrose had been a significant advantage. There has been mounting speculation that a Government announcement to say when stores may reopen could come as early as the bank holiday in two weeks' time. Business leaders have warned that the slow lifting of lockdown should be closely monitored and could be complex. One executive said: 'The rhetoric from the Government and their advisers has been changing in subtle ways. 'I think we are all reading that as a sign that we need to be ready to move when the time comes because if we don't we could end up being taken by surprise.' Murphy said anticipated Government restrictions on public transport capacity would be a 'massive issue' for some stores with up to 2,000 members of staff known as partners travelling to work in some of its larger shops. Murphy said anticipated Government restrictions on public transport capacity would be a 'massive issue' for some stores with up to 2,000 members of staff He said the firm's plan had been drawn up using 'assumptions rather than facts' about the timing of a restart for non-essential retailers. There has also been a lot of guesswork relating to social distancing requirements and the possible need to wear masks over the coming months. John Lewis, which is owned by the partnership's staff, has about 35 department stores and 15 smaller John Lewis At Home shops. The company's smallest At Home store is 40,000 sq ft and employs about 100 people. Its largest store, in Oxford Street, is 360,000 sq ft and employs 2,000. Murphy said it would require a 'huge amount of activity' to reopen stores that had been closed for an extended period. 'We're also really mindful that public sentiment has changed and big business will need to prioritise health and safety above all else. There will be no headlong rush to get our shops open just because we can.' Unlike some high street rivals, John Lewis also has an online business that accounts for around half of its sales and this has continued to operate, which has eased the financial pressure to reopen. Murphy said: 'We have to recognise that when we first do this we will learn a lot of things that we didn't expect, even though we will aim to get it broadly right. 'We will learn lessons that mean by the time we get to the end we could be doing things materially differently.' The closing of schools and restaurants has created a major decrease in the demand for dairy items, but Illinois dairy farmers say that has not resulted in the dumping of excess milk seen in many states. An estimated 2.7 million to 3.7 million gallons of milk could be dumped each day because of decreased demand, according to the Dairy Farmers of America. Milk prices had been depressed for the past four years and the COVID-19 pandemic could stymie what farmers hoped would finally be a rebound year for the industry, however. The excess in milk is due in part to how difficult it can be for farmers to reduce the amount of milk that young cows produce. Tasha Bunting, associate director of commodities and livestock programs at the Illinois Farm Bureau, said farmers could look at methods such as changing feed rations to dry out cows and lower the amount of milk produced. Don Mackinson, president of the Illinois Milk Producers Association, said he does not think milk dumping is a widespread issue in the state. He credited the work of the dairy processing facilities to adapt to new demands for reducing the need to go to such an extreme. But dairy farmers have had to scale back their herds and a new distribution model needs to be worked out, Bunting said. The loss of demand has also been felt on the side of dairy processing facilities, which have made shifts in production, Mackinson said. Processing facilities have been producing fewer gallon jugs and more containers of other sizes. The Illinois Milk Producers Association is working to inform grocery stores and markets that the difficulties created by the coronavirus have not led to a milk shortage. Mackinson said stores should not limit how much milk or dairy products a customer can buy, even if they are putting limits on other items to avoid panic-buying. There is no need for any grocery store to be limiting the amount of milk or dairy products that customers can buy, he said. Greggs is set to reopen a some of its branches to test if it can operate all 2,050 of its stores across the country without breaking social distancing rules. The high street bakery closed temporarily last month to protect customers and staff after the Government ordered all non-essential shops to close. Food outlets were allowed to continue operating a temporary service but many, including Greggs, McDonald's and Burger King opted to close their doors entirely. But a Greggs spokesman said on Sunday they are looking at ways to re-open. Greggs is set to reopen a some of its branches to test if it can operate all 2,050 of its stores across the country without breaking social distancing rules 'We are planning to conduct a limited trial with volunteers to explore how we can reopen our shops with new measures in place that keep our colleagues and customers as safe as we can when we re-open at scale,' they told The Sun. The hugely popular bakery chain is yet to outline finer details of the trials and has not said how many branches will be opened, or what service will be offered. Greggs fans have still been able to pick up frozen versions of the outlet's bestselling snacks but many will be happy to taste freshly baked products once again. The news comes after McDonald's said they were in talks about opening its 1,249 restaurants across the UK, according to reports. The burger chain could open for drive-thru and delivery orders as early as mid-May, the Irish Farmers Journal said. A spokesperson for McDonald's said: 'Of course we are thinking about re-opening and having those conversations but it's unclear when that will be.' Last week, rival Burger King also opened a handful of stores for delivery only - two in Bristol, one in Coventry and one in Swindon. The high street bakery closed temporarily last month to protect customers and staff after the Government ordered all non-essential shops to close Pret-a-Manger has also reopened ten outlets and six Nando's have also reopened - but only for frontline health workers. The restaurants will provide up to 1,700 free meals a day to NHS employees. Sunday's coronavirus figures showed that the death toll from the virus increased by 413, the lowest recorded this month. It means that the country passed the grim milestone of 20,000 deaths, with 20,732 in total. The news comes after McDonald's said it was in talks about opening its 1,249 restaurants across the UK, according to reports Last week, rival Burger King also opened a handful of stores for delivery only - two in Bristol, one in Coventry and one in Swindon Overall there have been more than 148,000 cases of the virus in the UK. But the risks posed by coronavirus did not stop hundreds of shoppers from flocking to DIY stores in areas including Swansea, York and Edinburgh. They were taking advantage of hot an dry conditions which has brought sunshine around the country this weekend, although wet weather is on the way. Some DIY shoppers pushed trolleys filled with rolls of carpet while others were seen lifting enormous products into their cars. Many had to wait in enormous queues as B&Q enforced social distancing rules. Some wore masks and made sure they kept apart from others so as not to risk spreading the virus. Minneapolis Spain let children go outside and play Sunday for the first time in six weeks as European countries methodically worked to ease their lockdowns and reopen their economies, while in the United States, governors moved at differing speeds, some more aggressive, others more cautious. Elsewhere around the world, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson planned to go back to work Monday at 10 Downing St. after a bout with the coronavirus that put him in intensive care. While governors in states like hard-hit New York and Michigan are keeping stay-at-home restrictions in place until at least mid-May, their counterparts in Georgia and Oklahoma have allowed salons, spas and barbershops to reopen. And Alaska cleared the way for restaurants to resume dine-in service and for stores and other businesses to open, with limitations. The official death toll from the virus topped 200,000 worldwide, with 2.9 million confirmed infections, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, though the real figures are believed to be much higher, in part because of inadequate testing and differences in counting the dead. Italy, Britain, Spain and France accounted for more than 20,000 deaths each, the U.S. for more than 55,000. Some encouraging signs were seen, as Italy recorded its lowest 24-hour number of deaths since mid-March, with 260, and New York state registered its fewest since late last month, with 367. Still, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo sounded a cautious note about any reopening, though he acknowledged officials need to think about safe activities people can engage in as the crisis wears on. You cant tell people in a dense urban environment all through the summer months: We dont have anything for you to do, the Democrat said. Theres a sanity equation we need to pay attention to. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, told Fox News Sunday that with hospitalizations dropping in his state, it will reopen churches and restaurant dining on Friday, with social distancing guidelines in place. We believe its the time to have a measured reopening, he said. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, told ABCs This Week that her state needs more robust testing, community tracing and a plan for isolating people who get sick with COVID-19. Weve got to be nimble and we have to follow the science and be really smart about how we reengage," she said, because no one no one, even if youre a protester or youre the sitting governor or youre on another side of the issue we know that no one wants a second wave. She added: "It would be devastating for the health of our people and for our economy. As some states began considering loosening restrictions on churches, one Louisiana pastor already under house arrest for holding mass gatherings conducted a service Sunday despite the states ban on gatherings of more than 10 people. A livestream from the Life Tabernacle Church in the town of Center showed Tony Spell walking among more than 100 congregants, most of whom were not wearing face masks. Shouldnt nobody be scared right now but the devil, he said, adding: God gave you an immune system to kill that virus. With infections and deaths easing in three of the hardest-hit spots in Europe, people in Italy, France and Spain were eager to hear their leaders plans for easing some of the worlds strictest lockdowns. In Spain, the streets echoed again Sunday with children's shrieks of joy and the clatter of bicycles. After 44 days in seclusion, children under 14 were allowed out with one parent for up to an hour, as long as they stayed within 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) of their homes, took only one toy and did not play with other youngsters. This is wonderful! I cant believe it has been six weeks, Susana Sabate, a mother of 3-year-old twin boys, said in Barcelona. My boys are very active. Today when they saw the front door and we gave them their scooters, they were thrilled. Her sons wore little face masks. Now we will see how long they stay on! she said. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will present a detailed plan Tuesday for the de-escalation of Spains lockdown. His French counterpart likewise said he will unveil a national deconfinement strategy on the same day. Maximum caution will be our guideline for the rollback, Sanchez said. We must be very prudent, because there is no manual, no road map, to follow. Italy's Premier Giuseppe Conte is expected to announce more details on easing the lockdown there in the coming days. Conte said priorities include restarting construction projects and export industries. He confirmed that school classes won't resume until September. As Britain's prime minister returns to work, he faces calls for more clarity on when his government will ease the lockdown, now set to run until at least May 7. Other European nations are further along in easing lockdowns. Germany allowed nonessential shops and other facilities to open last week, and Denmark has reopened schools for children up to fifth grade. The Chinese city of of Wuhan, where the disaster began late last year, said all major construction projects have resumed as authorities push to restart factory production and other economic activity after a 2-month lockdown. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Coronavirus in Onondaga Co.: Half of active cases tracked to senior living, household contacts Brad Pitt plays Dr. Anthony Fauci on SNL, making Cornell alums wish come true (video) They stayed and graduated together: Meet the SUNY-ESF students who accomplished a unique goal Sports during coronavirus: Cuomo thinks aloud about how baseball returns - The total number of Overseas Filipino Workers is estimated at 2.3 million - A photo of a woman who is a domestic worker has recently gone viral on social media - In the photo, the woman could be seen sitting on the walkway as she is waiting for her employers - The said post also garnered various reactions and comments from netizens PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed In the 2018 survey results from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the total number of Overseas Filipino Workers is estimated to be around 2.3 million. These migrant workers work hard day and night to be able to provide for their families back in the Philippines. Some Filipinos who work as domestic helpers also experience abuse under the hands of their employer. KAMI learned that a photo of a domestic helper in Singapore has recently circulated on social media and has trended since then. In the photo uploaded by Sure Boh Singapore, a woman could be seen seating on the walkway as she waits for her employers to finish their meal. The viral photo was taken in Singapore, which according to Kwentong OFW, is home to approximately 175,000 Filipinos. Furthermore, the said photo garnered various comments and reactions from netizens on social media. "This is totally atrocious." "Poor girl, some employers think that they are the boss." "Yes we should treat our domestic helper with heart they are here to work they are not a slave." "Actually Ive worked in SG for so many years and I have seen some situations like this." PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! As reported earlier by KAMI, Corporal Winston Ragos' remains have finally arrived at the Army Mortuary of Libingan ng mga Bayani. He was given military honors on Saturday, April 25, at 12:15 AM. His mother, Merlyn Ragos, was present at that time. POPULAR: Read more viral stories here Please like and share our Facebook posts to support KAMI team! Dont hesitate to comment and share your opinion about our stories either. We love reading about your thoughts! In this video, we featured Jhon Rellores and his family as they helped others who are in need amid the pandemic! Check out all of the exciting videos and celebrity interviews on our KAMI HumanMeter YouTube channel ! Source: KAMI.com.gh A world without coffee shops and crowds isnt new for the Women in Ranching group, a Western Landowners Alliance initiative that connects rural ranchers. The women usually host regional meetups, but their relationships via technology have taken on new life in light of COVID-19. The group started a weekly Zoom call to check in with each other. The women also email updates and photos of life on their land. Kayla Deresin manages Forked Lightning Ranch between Santa Fe and Las Vegas, New Mexico. She is part of the regional group that met at Troustalker Ranch in Chama in September. Its great to meet women in this industry, to see that Im not alone, Deresin said. I only work with men, and Im their boss, so I learn how to communicate and make things better. The women share work opportunities and resources during the pandemic. They even helped a rancher who was traveling abroad figure out a way home. Deresins trips to Albuquerque to see family stopped after coronavirus came to New Mexico, but the ranch work remained. You have to think, what am I going to do with myself 24/7? Its about getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, she said. I am blessed with a job where I have the space to stay safe and keep others safe. Stocking up at the grocery store was Deresins way of life before the pandemic as rural residents never know when they will be able to make the trek into town. You learn to be happy at home, Deresin said. Dont put pressure on yourself. Just slow down and be what you can be each day. Sarah Gleason ranches on 800 acres outside of Durango, Colorado, toward the New Mexico state line. Gleason spent much of the last decade working in public relations and marketing for Whole Foods and the Savory Institute. She acquired the property in March, and now she and her husband are busy irrigating and fixing corrals and fences before the bison she has owned for several years arrive on the ranch. Its been interesting making the transition at this time, Gleason said. Im definitely not bored, as there is plenty of work to do. I do find myself preparing and planning more for trips into town, a situation I think a lot of people are finding themselves in now. I dont think much about social isolation, because thats just life out here. For Gleason, the weekly check-in calls mean taking a step back to appreciate small victories. Everything feels hard now. It feels like it takes more effort than it should, she said. Its easy to fixate on our to-do list when were constantly inside our own heads. Sharing struggles, strength, hope and positivity with others helps us gain perspective. The women are given homework assignments before each call. They were challenged to share a recent moment that made them feel wonder or awe. Another time the women attended with a favor to ask or a resource to offer their community. Amber Smith, director of the Women in Ranching program, said there is power in bringing together women in agriculture, whether in-person or virtually. Smith ranches in Cohagen, Montana, and is balancing ranch work with home schooling her two children. We are running businesses, raising families, wearing a lot of hats, Smith said. Most of these women dont ever step away from their operations, so this is a chance for them to connect. One participant joined the weekly call while filling food delivery boxes with produce from her farm. Another rancher was nursing her baby and bouncing a toddler on her leg. The women set goals: writing books, starting new businesses, buying more livestock and learning new skills are endeavors born from the program. Smith, who didnt grow up in a rural area, said what she learned in making the shift to rural life is helpful for those just now adjusting to a new normal. Suddenly its just you, so you have to get to know yourself well enough to know what you need to thrive, Smith said. All of us need a sense of purpose every single day. Gratitude, especially in these hard times, is a game changer. Smith walks or works with her horses to stay mentally healthy. She is taking on small projects around the house and video chatting with her dad and siblings. Humans are meant to take care of each other, Smith said. If you need help right now, you should ask. We need a sense of community, and we have opportunities now to connect in new ways. Theresa Davis is a Report for America corps member covering water and the environment for the Albuquerque Journal. Peter Edward Wachter, 72, of Fredericksburg, passed away unexpectedly at home on Sunday, March 29, 2020. Born in 1947 in Arlington, Virginia to the late Clarence Edward Wachter and Louise Hitchcock Wachter, Pete was a decorated veteran of the U.S. Army, having honorably served his country in Vietnam. He enjoyed hunting and fishing, building and creating with his hands, and classic cars (especially 1940 Fords). However, his greatest delight came from Civil War relic hunting, a hobby he began as a young boy for which his love and enthusiasm never wavered. As a result, throughout the years, he became immensely knowledgeable on all things Civil War, as he did with any subject which sparked his interest, and was highly admired and respected within the relic hunting community. Pete will be dearly missed and fondly remembered for his intelligence, his creativity, and his wonderful sense of humor. Pete is survived by his loving children, Shayne Joseph Wachter and Brandy Lee Wachter, both of Fredericksburg. In addition to his parents, Pete was also preceded in death by his wife, Susan Dorothy Wachter. A service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to a favorite charity. Online condolences may be left at vacremationservice.com. CVS Health has conducted more than 35,000 drive-thru COVID-19 tests since early March, that number will only increase as they open up more sites in the coming days. One new such location will be in the parking lot of the Henry Ford Centennial Library 16301 Michigan Ave. The site will provide state residents with rapid COVID-19 testing and on-the-spot results at no cost, using the new Abbott ID NOW test. Were delivering on our commitment to helping increase the frequency and efficiency of testing, said Dr. Troyen Brennan, Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President, CVS Health. Based on discussions were having with other states we expect our testing capacity will continue to increase, subject to availability of supplies. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer praised the company for opening more testing sites. We need COVID-19 testing now more than ever to get an accurate count of infections to help us continue flattening the curve of this unprecedented pandemic in every corner of our state, she said. Our partnership with CVS Health is a significant step toward speeding up Michigans recovery and getting Michiganders back to a sense of normalcy in their daily lives. Rapid COVID-19 testing will be available to eligible individuals who meet criteria established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in addition to state residency and age guidelines. Patients will need to pre-register in advance online at CVS.com in order to schedule a same-day time slot for testing. To help ensure the safety of both patients and health care providers, the testing site cannot accommodate walk-ups and patients are required to remain in their vehicles throughout the entire testing process. Appointments for the testing are by appointment only. To schedule visit https://www.cvs.com/minuteclinic/covid-19-testing. Pakistan's coronavirus cases jumped to 13,304 on Sunday, as a top medical body warned that mosques are becoming a major source of transmission for the novel coronavirus in the country and urged people to pray at home during Ramzan. According to the Ministry of National Health Services, at least 15 people have died in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll in the country to 269. A total of 1,508 new cases were reported in one day, taking the total number of infections to 13,304, reports said. The number of those recovered also increased to 2,866, it said. Pakistan's worst-hit Punjab province reported 5,446 cases, Sindh 4,615, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 1,864, Balochistan 781, Gilgit-Baltistan 308, Islamabad 235 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 55 cases. So far, 144,365 tests have been done in the country, including 6,218 in the last 24 hours. "Mosques are becoming a major source of virus transmission," Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) President Dr Iftikhar Burney has said. Talking to reporters on Saturday, Burney said that the infected cases have surged rapidly during the past week. "Around 6,000 cases for coronavirus surfaced in a month.but the same has doubled in the last six days," he said, warning that the infection would further go up in the coming months of May and June. The Pakistan government early this month succumbed to pressure from the hardline clerics and allowed conditional congregational prayers in mosques during Ramzan. However, the 20-point agreement signed by the leading clerics with President Arif Alvi on restricting access to mosques during Ramzan was not being followed completely. Alvi has written a letter to the Imams of mosques urging them to ask worshippers above the age of 50 to pray at home. He pointed out that the point number six of the standard operating procedures set in the agreement said that persons over the age of 50 should avoid offering prayers at the mosque. Alvi also visited mosques in Rawalpindi to review arrangements made by the administration of mosques to contain the spread of the virus, he wrote in a tweet. He shared a picture of Jama Masjid Ghousia and said the administration had arranged for Taraweeh (special prayers offered at night during Ramzan), keeping in mind necessary preventative measures to curb the spread. However, the face masks were lacking. President Alvi said that the people, including politicians and opinion makers, should keep an open mind regarding the handling of the coronavirus outbreak as the strategy can change with the new data. "Lockdown or no lockdown? Coronavirus is new so there is a major difference of opinion in the world and in Pakistan on how to handle it. As data comes in, opinions change. So please keep an open mind, he tweeted. Prime Minister's Advisor on Health Dr Zafar Mirza also took to Twitter and again urged the "citizens to demonstrate responsibility & avoid congregations during Ramzan to protect themselves from COVID-19." However, the government was still reluctant to close down the mosques due to fear of backlash by the hardline clerics. Addressing briefing in Islamabad, Mirza said that 80 per cent positive cases were local transmission in the country. He said that government was providing protective equipment to frontline paramedical staff in various hospitals and also working to further enhance testing capacity of laboratories. Prime Minister's Special Assistant on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan expressed disappointment at the people's failure to grasp the seriousness of the coronavirus threat. The government is doing its job but the public is still not fulfilling its responsibility and not practising social distancing, she said. Planning Minister Asad Umar chaired a meeting of the National Command and Operation Centre to review the implementation of Ramzan guidelines and other issues. Interior Minister Ijaz Shah told the meeting that people in cities should be continuously educated to follow the guidelines and not operate business as usual during Ramzan. There were reports of violation of lockdown from different cities and police arrested 78 people and sealed 107 shops on Saturday in Quetta, capital of Balochistan, for violating the lockdown, Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said. He said that a total of 2,707 shops had been sealed over violations so far. In Sindh province, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah warned citizens that extraordinary measures will have to be taken to keep the pandemic under control in the province. Sindh is the only province in Pakistan which has not allowed taraweeh or Friday prayers in mosques during Ramzan. The emergency department of the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) - one of Karachi's biggest public hospitals - has been sealed after a doctor tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Sunday. In Punjab, the government announced that lockdown would not apply to pushcart street vendors, selling fruit, vegetables and other products. Due to lack of observance of lockdown, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) criticised the partial lockdown policy and asked the government either impose total lockdown or withdraw it. Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Local Government Kamran Bangash tested positive for coronavirus, provincial Health Minister Taimur Jhagra said on Twitter. "Kamran is well and at home. I talked to him, he is in high spirits, and will insha'Allah be back leading from the front soon," Jhagra said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) There was a line out the door at Emperor Nortons Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria as South San Jose residents waited for their last takeout dinner from the family-owned eatery. The neighborhood standby named for a certain San Francisco eccentric was known for its cozy atmosphere and hearty entrees. Its closing Sunday after 45 years in business, but employees said the hardest part of ceasing operations was not being able to thank longtime customers and hug them goodbye as social distancing prevented a proper farewell. Hundreds of 'PPE pirates and profiteers' are exploiting the coronavirus crisis and putting the lives of key workers at risk, a Daily Mail investigation has discovered. Health service leaders accused speculators of flooding the market for protective equipment such as face masks and gowns with vastly overpriced or counterfeit goods. New businesses masquerading as healthcare suppliers are inflating prices by up to 1,000 per cent as some desperate care homes are being forced to pay up to 10,000 per cent more for vital safety gear for their staff. NHS procurement managers are wasting hours of working time ruling out dubious suppliers from the black market, and have accused fraudsters of profiteering that 'beggars belief'. Medical staff wearing a high level of personal protective equipment (PPE) It comes as the British Standards Institution (BSI) warned of a surge in fake safety certificates for protective gear since the start of the crisis as swindlers flog substandard equipment. NHS trusts and care home bosses across the country are battling to secure equipment needed by workers treating coronavirus patients. Healthcare experts said they are being inundated with offers from supposed suppliers 'trying to make a quick buck'. One established UK wholesaler said up to 95 per cent of products being offered by emerging businesses have turned out to be fake. The BSI reported a significant increase in fake safety certificates for PPE equipment, with large numbers now in circulation. They are mostly for disposable face masks, but some have included gloves, protective clothing and eyewear. In most cases, they are used by scammers selling PPE in large quantities to companies such as care homes, wholesalers and retailers. Stephen Hill, from procurement body NHS Commercial Solutions, said he now spends most of his day trying to separate real suppliers from those trying to 'exploit the taxpayer'. The Mail found UK firms selling FFP2 masks for as little as 0.50 before the crisis for 11.95 each. The difficulties in securing PPE stocks were highlighted last week when a Government shipment from Turkey arrived three days late as hospitals ran out of equipment. Care bosses facing severe shortages have had to turn to private companies charging a premium for PPE due to 'unreliable' Government supplies. Healthcare workers wearing personal protection equipment (PPE) MHA, a charitable trust which runs 220 care homes, has had to spend 200,000 on masks at five times the usual price. Karl Silvester runs Awarding Care, which looks after 170 adults in their own homes in the Black Country area. He contacted a number of suppliers but found a box of gloves which normally sells at 2 to 3 each was priced at 15, while plastic aprons which were typically 2 pence an item were up to 2 a piece a hike of almost 10,000 per cent. Protective gear is still missing, say 31% of high-risk doctors A third of doctors treating coronavirus patients in high-risk settings are still unable to get all the protective equipment they need, health leaders have warned. The Royal College of Physicians said 31 per cent of those working in 'aerosol-generating procedure' areas the parts of hospitals with the highest exposure to Covid-19 could not always access long-sleeved disposable gowns and 37 per cent could not get full-face visors. Ministers have come under mounting pressure over the Government's ability to ensure frontline staff have the personal protection (PPE) they need. In a survey of 2,129 college members, 27 per cent reported being unable to access the kit they needed for managing Covid-19 patients compared with 22 per cent in a similar survey earlier this month. But 91 per cent of those with symptoms of the virus said they were able to access testing up from 31 per cent three weeks ago. A separate poll of GPs found that one in four had seen coronavirus face to face without adequate PPE. Royal College of Physicians president Professor Andrew Goddard said: 'This survey shows the reality of the situation facing hospital doctors. 'The lack of PPE remains their biggest concern and it is truly terrible that supply has worsened over the past three weeks rather than improved. 'Healthcare workers risking their lives couldn't care less how many billion pieces of PPE have been ordered or supplied. If it isn't there when they need it, they are in harm's way.' An ex-developer of Sony PlayStation has recently praised the Xbox Series X by Microsoft saying that the console's extra power could easily dominate Sony's PS5. The former employee said that due to the Xbox Series X's higher compute power, the PS5 would definitely take a hit. There has been a long existing battle between the PlayStation and the Xbox which has divided gamers for years and now with the upcoming PS5 and Xbox Series X, gamers will have to once again pick their champion. What makes the Xbox Series X so powerful? The Xbox Series X is said to have 12 teraflops of massive computing power while the PS5 on the other hand will only have 10.3, this alone could be the make a massive difference but there are still additional factors. The PS5 is said to be using an SSD or solid-state storage running at 5.5GB/s, while its competitor, the Xbox Series X, will only be able to run on 2.5GB/s which is only half of that. This means that loading games and other game assets will be much quicker on the PS5. Read Also: WWE 2K21 Might Not Come This Year: Is 2K Games Focusing on Something Else for Wrestling Fans? The battle between the PS5 and the Xbox Series X still continues as the former developer Chris Grannell reveals why he thinks the Xbox Series X would dominate the console wars this year. Chris Grannell is known for his work with Horizon: Zero Dawn studio Guerrilla Games and also working for WipEout games. Chris Grannel says that the mere compute power alone of the Xbox Series X can be enough for it to win the console wars. According to Grannell, the PS5 is not bad as a console and is still an absolute beast when it comes to the hardware, but the hardware is still slower on multiple paths than what the Xbox Series X can do. Other sentiment on both consoles Halo's very own co-creator known as Marcus Lehto actually praised the PS5's SSD, despite having developed a game series that has already been locked in as an Xbox exclusive. Marcus said that the PS5 would open up a whole new possibility for even more expansive content that will be able to stream much faster. Marcus then expressed how Players won't have to wait that long anymore for load screens and won't even have to hide behind certain cinematics. Marcus then told VGC that this new usage of the SSD will just help make things run much more seamless and more fluid for the players improving their console experience. Read Also: Discord Facing Server Connection Issues Across US and Europe: Is there Any Fix Yet? The upcoming PS5 Although both of the consoles are scheduled to launch at the end of the year, it seems like the PS5 has already gathered quite the attention with its DualSense controller which fans have been geeking out for. Only time will be able to determine who wins the battle of the best consoles this year. Will it be the PlayStation 5 or will it be the Xbox Series X? May 1 is the first day parents in the area can sign their kids up at elementary schools. But this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, what would typically be an in-person process has moved online. : With 11 new coronavirus positive cases being added, Telangana on Sunday breached the 1,000 mark, despite the fall in the number of cases during the past few days. According to a bulletin issued by the state Health Department, the number of COVID-19 positive cases rose to 1,001 while the active patients stood at 660 after nine patients including a 75-year old man, contact of a person with travel history to Delhi,were discharged after recovery. All the 11 new cases were reported from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation area, the bulletin added. No death was reported and the number of people who succumbed to the virus continues to be 25, the bulletin said adding as many as 316 people have been discharged so far. The number of cases are on the declining side for the past four days. The state witnessed 13 and seven cases on Friday and Saturday respectively. Expressing satisfaction over the decreasing trend in the number of cases, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao said it was due to strict implementation of the ongoing lockdown. In a press release, he said if people extend their support to the lockdown for some more days and follow the guidelines provided by the government on containment of the virus spread, the situation would further improve for the better. He said the situation in the country will be known after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video conference with all the CMs on Monday. Rao held a high-level review meeting here at Pragathi Bhavan on Sunday on the implementation of lockdown, measures taken to contain spread of coronavirus and other issues. He felt that the death rate due to the virus in the state is far less than the national average, which is some solace to the State. "If the present lockdown continues for some time, people maintain their personal hygiene and take precautions; the virus spread will totally come down during the days to come," the release quoted Rao as saying. Meanwhile, the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT), which is on a visit to the state to assess the COVID-19 situation, on Sunday extensively toured different parts of the city by visiting the Raithu Bazar, Nature Cure hospital besides a containment zone, an official release said. The Central team, led by Arun Baroka, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti, also held a meeting with Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) M Mahendar Reddy and other senior police officials. The team was briefed on the measures taken by the state police to enforce lockdown in the state besides on the security and bandobast arrangements near containment zones and at hospitals where COVID-19 patients are undergoing treatment. The team appreciated the role of police in supply of essentials to citizens and also to migrant workers, it said. The Central team also expressed its satisfaction on the various initiatives taken by the Telangana government to contain COVID-19 in the state, the release said. The Inter Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) visited several places in the city to have a glance at the efforts taken by the state government to contain COVID-19. GHMC Commissioner D S Lokesh Kumar, Hyderabad Collector Swetha Mohanthy and other officials, explained to the team members about the steps taken up by the government as part of the Containment Plan. The Central team during it's visit to Mehdipatnam Rythu Bazar and enquired about sales of essential commodities with the shopkeepers and also observed the circles drawn as a measure for social distancing in front of vegetable shops. The team members were informed that 120 mobile vans are supplying vegetables and fruits in different parts of the city manned by SHG women. The Central team members interacted with vendors and inquired from where the vegetables are brought to sell in the market. Later the central team members visited the quarantine center at Nature Cure Hospital and interacted with doctors and medical staff there. They enquired about facilities such as testing kits and arrangementsfor the people who are quarantined. Telangana Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar participated in the Video Conference held by Rajeev Gauba, Cabinet Secretary on "Public health response to COVID-19" from B R K R Bhavan here, a separate press release said. The Cabinet Secretary informed that the video conference is to have an assessment on the present situation on fighting against coronavirus. Rachakonda Commissioner of Police Mahesh M Bhagwat said the Police and TISS (Tata Institute of Social Sciences) are conducting socio economic and need assessment survey of migrant labourers. So far nearly 5,500 migrant labourers living in different areas in the city were surveyed, the Commissioner said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Sunday said the state government was doing its best to provide help and support to the elderly and destitute with all departments working together to defeat the scourge of the coronavirus. The chief minister visited the State Home for Women, and the Mothers' Old Age Home here and interacted with the inmates, besides taking stock of their health condition and availability of food and medicines. "As elderly persons fall within the vulnerable category, there is a need to ensure regular health check-ups for them and nutritious food to boost their immunity," he said. Sonowal said the Social Welfare Department has been directed to ensure the safety and well being of the people staying in different shelter homes across the state. The chief minister urged the inmates to keep themselves aware of the symptoms of COVID-19 and remain fully cautious. Sonowal further said that daily exercise and yoga are very essential for maintaining a healthy mind and body and asked the superintendent of the State Home for Women to adequately focus on extracurricular activities for the children living there. He also enquired about the quality of food being served to the inmates and measures taken for the education of the children staying at the home. Superintendent of the State Home for Women Santana Das Mahanta informed the chief minister that at present there are 77 inmates, out of which 22 are below 18 years. She said that regular classes are being held for them at the home. Few of the students attend school, and a bridge course under SSA has also been introduced for the elderly inmates. A centre for vocational training and production is being run by the home for inmates above 18 years, she said. The State Home for Women constitutes the Children Home, Observation Home, Transit Home and Home for the Destitute. The chief minister while returning from the State Home for Women also visited the Assam Sishu Kalyan Sadan and interacted with the children there. The chief minister also distributed masks, food items and sanitisers among the inmates of the centres. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WAYNE COUNTY, MI Police have identified a body found in the Huron River as a 6-year-old boy who went missing during a fishing trip with his father in late March. The body, found Friday, April 24, was identified as Jaxon Oaks, who disappeared along with his father, 29-year-old Justin Oaks, on March 29 after they went fishing on the Huron River, according to a news release issued by Michigan State Police. Police issued an alert for the missing man and his son March 30, after their family was unable to make contact with them and called police. The Associated Press reports the son and his father, of Rockwood in Metro Detroits Downriver area, were boating on the Huron River between Lake Erie and the I-75 overpass. RELATED: Alert issued for Michigan father and son missing after launching boat at marina State police said its Marine Services Team conducted an extensive search of the river, assisted by the United States Coast Guard, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Brownstown police and fire departments, Rockwood police and fire departments and Flat Rock Police and Fire Departments. Police found the boat that Justin and Jaxon Oaks had been using, a 14-foot Grumman aluminum, flat-bottom, camouflage boat, overturned in the Huron River on April 5. The body of Justin Oaks was found on April 13 in the water near the mouth of Lake Erie, police reported. RELATED: Body of missing father recovered 2 weeks after going boating with son On Friday, April 24, a relative of Justin and Jaxon Oaks was searching the Huron River for the missing boaters and discovered a body and reported it to police, according to the news release. DNR officers recovered the body from the river, and the body was identified as the missing boy, police reported. Police ask anyone with information related to the incident to contact MSP Trooper Evan Ashley at the Monroe Post by calling 734-242-3500. More on MLive: Kayaker treated for hypothermia after rescue from West Michigan lake Body recovered from Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids Fishermans body pulled from Pentwater River after multiple-agency search GOVERNMENT will soon unveil a stimulus package to support companies that have been badly affected by the Covid-19 lockdown as part of measures to avert mass job losses and save livelihoods, Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube has said. In interviews on the sidelines of his tours of Ekusileni Medical Centre in Bulawayo and Midlands State University (MSU) in Gweru last Friday, Prof Ncube said the package is set to provide the much-needed economic relief to companies and industries reeling under the effects of the global pandemic. The disease has so far claimed more than 200 000 lives and infected nearly three million people globally. Locally, 31 had been infected by late yesterday, with four deaths. What you will see during this Covid-19 response generally is a stronger shift towards supporting our social action programmes and that is very critical. Another leg of saving livelihoods is to support companies so that we can retain jobs as we dont want our people to lose jobs, said Prof Ncube. We want to create more jobs, which is precisely why we want to support companies to retain, expand and access working capital. You will see us in the next few weeks announcing the recovery package to deal with those issues and watch this space for that. Distressed firms require liquidity support to preserve jobs and prevent debts from decimating them while exporters will need special assistance. Workers in various sectors of the economy, particularly the hospitality and tourism industry, are bearing the brunt of Covid-19, and there are growing fears of job losses as the global economy continues to plummet. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that globally over 25 million jobs will be lost due to the coronavirus. During his tour of MSUs incubation hub, Prof Ncube said Government is working on a bigger recovery stimulus package, post Covid- 19 lockdown to support industry so that people dont lose jobs. He said a $500 million national venture fund was already available and would provide affordable loans to young entrepreneurs and institutions such as the MSU. Now coming to the $500 million, this pertains to the venture fund resources we launched as a Government. The reason behind is that we are looking for ideas for viable projects that we will invest in that will turn ideas into goods and services, he said. Prof Ncube said the idea revolves around creating an entrepreneurial culture among Zimbabweans. It is pleasing to note that most of our universities are doing similar things in the sense of trying to be practical, coming up with innovations and ideas, that is very encouraging indeed in terms of our education system, he said. The fund will go a long way in supporting growth of innovation and commercialising these institutions. Furthermore, Government recently came up with a $600 million package to support the informal sector and vulnerable households. Prof Ncube said Government is supporting about one million people who lost their incomes through cash transfers, including providing food hampers to the vulnerable groups. Saving livelihoods means the economic part and again we have two core approaches and the first one is to support those who have lost their incomes through cash transfers. So far, we have identified one million people and they will be paid $200 per month for the next few months so that they can keep going, he said. We already have another cash transfer of $180 a month to cover the roller meal subsidy because if you cant find roller meal the option is that you then get cash in lieu of roller meal, especially those who are in urban areas because in the rural areas we are already giving out free food and this is part of our support for the vulnerable. Prof Ncube said Government is working together with the private sector in the fight against Covid-19. Businesses right across the country have been working with Government and helping Zimbabweans so this is just part of the package of working together. We want to save lives and livelihoods and when it comes to saving lives, it is about prevention, testing, tracing and treating, he said. Those from outside the country will be quarantined and some of you need to self-quarantine at home and all of this is designed to deal with our Covid-19 strategy including social distancing and lockdown is all part of that. We are working on massive testing targeting at least 40 000 people by next week so that we are able to get a better sampling to know if the curve is flattening or not. Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Professor Paul Mavima recently issued a statement urging companies to avoid retrenchments, unpaid leave and unfair job terminations during the lockdown period. The local tourism industry which is at a standstill employs more than 40 000 workers. According to the Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ), the industry contributes 1,4 percent to national employment. Most companies are considering cost-cutting measures to stay afloat as revenues decline. According to the Employers Confederation of Zimbabwe (EMCOZ), tourism, hospitality and airlines industries were the worst affected by the pandemic. The tourism sector, 61 percent of whose workers are female, is bleeding as hotels, restaurants and bars remained closed. After her shift at a Florida urgent care clinic on April 3, Dr. Sangeetha Setty pulled up to the gate outside her soon-to-be ex-husbands neighborhood and texted to let him know she had arrived. It was her evening to pick up their 6- and 8-year-old children. But their father, Dr. Karthikeyan Sai, refused to bring them out. In a series of messages, he told Setty that he was worried that, because of her work as a physician, she would expose the children to the coronavirus. He also accused her of letting them play with neighborhood children the last time she had them, putting them at additional risk. Stay calm and go back, and let's keep the kids safe, Sai wrote. You can have them once this subsides. Setty protested, and after 45 minutes of waiting, she called the police. Two deputies from the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office arrived. Setty showed them a copy of her joint-custody agreement, which requires that she and her husband split time with the children. She pointed out that Sai, a physician himself, sometimes works at hospitals and therefore also faces a risk of coronavirus exposure. Related: Co-Parents Struggle With Custody Amid COVID-19 The deputies spoke briefly with Sai, but he refused to release the children, according to a police report. He told the deputies that the children will get the virus if he allowed their mother to take them. Im sorry, one of the officers told Setty, advising her to argue her case in court. Theres nothing we can do. She cried as she drove away. I was heartbroken, Setty said in an interview. Its difficult to explain the pain that you feel as a mother when youre cut off from your children and you cannot even explain to them why its happening. In a statement, Sais lawyer, James Cunha, said Sai attempted to work out an arrangement with Setty to minimize their childrens risk of exposure, but she refused. Cunha said Sai was concerned not only about the health of his children, but also the safety of his parents, who are at higher risk of serious illness from the coronavirus. Story continues Cunha wrote that Sais parents are elderly and live with him, and he was concerned that Setty would use the children to spread the virus to them. As parents across the country grapple with how best to protect their children from the coronavirus, a growing number of medical workers have been temporarily separated from their children after former spouses raised concerns about their exposure to the virus, according to news reports and interviews with families and lawyers. These parents say they should not be punished for doing their jobs and treating patients who are sick with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Former spouses argue that their childrens safety must come first, as well as the health of vulnerable family members. Dr. Setty outside the clinic where she works. (Saul Martinez / for NBC News) Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak At a time when most family courts are closed and are scheduling video hearings only for the most urgent matters, judges in some states lack clear guidance from higher courts on how to determine whats in a childs best interest in the midst of a pandemic. These decisions are complicated by the fact that theres still much to be learned about whether the coronavirus poses a threat to most children, though initial data suggests that serious illness in pediatric patients is exceedingly rare. Its really uncharted territory, said Rebekah Frye, a family lawyer in San Jose, California. This is the first time weve ever had to go through something like this. Its the first time we havent had access to our courts when weve needed them for situations that parents would normally feel are emergencies. In a case this month, Frye represented Dawn Polich, a respiratory therapist who fought to keep joint custody of her 10-year-old daughter after her ex-husband filed a motion arguing that her work at a hospital put the child in danger. During a court hearing, Frye argued that Polich, like most medical workers, was taking extensive precautions to prevent bringing the virus home from work, and that in these difficult times, the last thing the state should do is cut off a child from her mother. A week later, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Thomas Kuhnle sided with Polich. On April 15, he ordered that she and her ex-husband continue to honor their custody arrangement, despite the pandemic. Earlier in the month, a judge in Miami reached a different conclusion in a similar case, temporarily suspending the custody rights of Dr. Theresa Greene, an emergency room physician, until the pandemic subsided. Circuit Judge Bernard Shapiro approved an emergency motion filed by the doctors ex-husband, Eric Greene, who had argued that his former spouses work treating coronavirus patients would endanger their 4-year-old daughter. The suspension is solely related to the outbreak of COVID-19, Shapiro wrote. Last week, however, a Miami appeals court issued a stay of Shapiros order, allowing Theresa Greene to maintain joint custody while the court considered her appeal. In an interview with WTVJ-TV, Greene said she was outraged at the judges initial decision. I was just shocked that the judge would take this stance without talking to medical experts and knowing the facts and take it so lightly, take my child from me and not think of the effect on her, her mental and psychological well being, Greene said. The American Medical Association and the American College of Emergency Physicians have each come out in support of physicians whove had their custody rights challenged due to the coronavirus, arguing that doctors should be allowed to stay with their families so long as they are taking proper precautions to prevent spreading the virus. Dr. Kristin Moffitt, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Boston Childrens Hospital, said she understands why many parents are scared for their childrens safety. This month, a 5-year-old girl in Detroit died from rare complications of COVID-19, making national headlines. But, Moffitt said, decisions should be driven by data, not anecdotes. All of the data to date suggests that young children are not at serious risk of dying or being hospitalized with COVID-19, Moffitt said. Unlike the flu, which is most dangerous for the very old and the very young, Moffitt said the coronavirus does not appear to pose the same risks to children, though they could still transmit it to older family members. Whats so difficult with this pandemic is that theres so much more we dont know about it than what we do know, and that will change over time, Moffitt said. But in the absence of really clear data, it certainly is hard to resist the urge to sort of fill in those gaps with worst-case scenarios and a judgment that may not be totally data driven. Susan Myres, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, said that, rather than going to court, divorced parents should first attempt to find common-sense solutions to make everyone feel comfortable that a child is safe during the pandemic. They should set ground rules for social contacts and hygiene standards, Myres said, and make sure both parents stick to the plan. The No. 1 interest in any of these cases is what is best for these children, Myres said. And it is not just their physical health from contagions, but their psychological health. Is it important for these children to have time with their medical care provider parents? Generally speaking, the answer is going to be Yes. After her husband refused to let her take their two children on April 3, Setty called her lawyer and asked her to file a motion. But with the courts closed, the lawyer said there was no guarantee a judge would schedule a hearing anytime soon. For the next 19 days, Setty was separated from her children, unsure when she would see them. Over that time, she said she only spoke to them twice, once briefly by phone, and once by video chat. The pace of work at her urgent care had slowed significantly, in part because of the governors lockdown order, and in part because despite her husbands concerns the clinic wasnt even treating suspected COVID-19 patients, but instead was screening them for symptoms and sending them elsewhere for testing. That left Setty plenty of time to think, and worry. Finally, on April 14, her lawyer filed an emergency motion asking the judge to find Sai in contempt of court for violating their custody agreement and to order the children returned. A week later, Judge Dina Keever-Agrama scheduled a video hearing. Download the NBC News app for full coverage and alerts about the coronavirus outbreak The lawyers argued about who had the childrens best interests at heart. Sais lawyer didnt mention his earlier concerns about Settys work at an urgent care, but instead argued that she had been ignoring social distancing guidelines and had refused to answer Sais questions about whether she had been having any symptoms of COVID-19. Settys lawyer argued that Sai was wrong to withhold the children from their mother, regardless of his concerns. Keever-Agrama scolded both parents for seeming to put their personal squabbles ahead of what was best for their children, but ultimately, she concluded that the coronavirus wasnt an excuse to break a custody agreement. I don't understand why you are not following a court order, Keever-Agrama said, according to a recording of the hearing Setty made and shared with NBC News. I understand there's a pandemic and we're in uncharted waters. However, parenting doesn't change. Parenting should always be, How can we comply with the court order and serve the best interests of our children? That's the bottom line here. The judge ordered that Setty be allowed to pick up her children later that evening, and Setty quickly started making plans. She would cook their favorite Indian dish, she said. Maybe they would watch a movie, or set up a tent in the backyard and look at the stars. I dont know what well do, Setty said, her voice breaking, before the kids arrived. I have so many plans for them now that they are coming back to me. President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Tuesday, April 21, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Associated Press In his Thursday briefing, President Donald Trump suggested using UV light or disinfectants inside human bodies as a way to kill the coronavirus. The same day, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a statement reminding people how to safely use disinfectants. The list of advice included "Do not ingest disinfectant products." Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. President Donald Trump suggested Thursday night that there may be a way to inject light, heat, or disinfectant into the human body to kill the novel coronavirus. The comments were made just hours after the Environmental Protection Agency warned Americans that they should definitely not be ingesting disinfectants. "Never apply the product to yourself or others. Do not ingest disinfectant products," the EPA said in a statement. In addition to not ingesting the chemicals, the advisory released by the EPA on Thursday also told Americans to never apply them to yourself or others, not to add them directly to food, and not to mix them with other products unless the directions say to. "EPA is dedicated to its mission of protecting human health and we want all Americans to have access to effective and approved surface disinfectant products," Alexandra Dapolito Dunn, assistant administrator of EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said in the statement. "We also want everyone follow the directions on the product so that we can safely use registered disinfectants and provide critical protection to our families." Doctors were quick to criticize Trump's suggestion for a treatment, saying that ingesting disinfectants is dangerous. Trump's comments on Thursday came in response to "emerging" results from federal government studies that sunlight, heat, and humidity could help kill the coronavirus on external surfaces. The President asked William Bryan, a science and technology adviser at the Department of Homeland Security, to explore whether using heat inside the body could also kill the virus. Story continues "Suppose that we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it's ultraviolet or just very powerful light," Trump said, "Supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way." "I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning?" he asked. "As you see, it gets in the lungs, it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that." Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, listens as President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Thursday, April 23, 2020, in Washington. AP Photo/Alex Brandon Trump asked Bryan and Dr. Deborah Birx, the federal government's coronavirus response coordinator to look into his scientific hypothesis. "I would like you to speak to the medical doctors to see if there's any way you can apply light and heat to cure. You know? If you could," he said. "And maybe you can, maybe you can't. Again, I say maybe you can, maybe you can't. I'm not a doctor." Trump's comments have also prompted a response from disinfectant manufacturers. RB, which manufacturers bleach-based disinfectants for the European market, issued a statement urging the public never to attempt to consume its products. "Due to recent speculation and social media activity RB (the makers of Lysol and Dettol) has been asked whether internal administration of disinfectants may be appropriate for investigation or use as a treatment for coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)," a company representative said. The person added: "As a global leader in health and hygiene products we must be clear that under no circumstances should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route)." Read the original article on Business Insider Africa is home to 93% of the worlds malaria cases and 94% of the worlds malaria deaths (WHO, 2019). In 2018, there were 228 million cases and 405,000 deaths from malaria globally. Pregnant women and children under the age of 5 are most at risk. A child still dies every two minutes from malaria. In the African region, which carries more than 90% of the global malaria burden, 45 countries out of 54 have reported cases of COVID-19 as of 23 April 2020. For both malaria and COVID-19, this presents an overwhelming crisis politically, economically, financially, socially and culturally..the norms we have structured our lives comfortably around and have adhered to have changed overnight. Youth Leaders for Health and their Mentors in a group photograph with His Excellency Kwesi Quartey, African Union Commission Deputy Chairperson (4th from right), after a presentation of a communique to him at the African Union, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2020. Malaria can be prevented, diagnosed and treated. Similarly, COVID-19 can be prevented, diagnosed and treated. Africa must continue to place emphasis on malaria prevention, treatment and control in the era of COVID 19. However, unlike COVID 19, over the years we have developed, tried and tested diagnostic protocols to prevent, diagnose and treat malaria. Important lessons have been learnt in terms of targeted advocacy, community engagement, surveillance methods and this knowledge should be shared in this COVID-19 era. This is a fight we can win if we work together. As the world rightly focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to ensure that efforts in combating malaria are not neglected. The malaria community must remain committed to supporting the prevention of malaria infection, illness and death through preventive and case management services, whilst maintaining a safe environment for patients, clients and staff. Deaths due to malaria and its comorbidities (anaemia, undernutrition, etc.) must continue to be addressed through continued and targeted efforts. There is a growing risk that malaria deaths will rise during the COVID-19 outbreak if malaria control programs are postponed, and parents refrain from taking sick children to health clinics out of fear of COVID-19 infection. The COVID-19 pandemic further challenges malaria responses and aggravates the plight of those most vulnerable to and affected by malaria. Pregnant women, infants, and children in malaria-endemic areas are facing a multi-fold increase in their vulnerability to malaria, whilst nationwide lockdowns and curfews are in place to control the spread of COVID19. Continued investments to eliminate malaria will pay dividends beyond this one disease alone by alleviating a significant burden on resource-constrained health systems. To achieve this, we need to increase domestic resources towards strengthening our health systems and malaria programs. We must urgently shore up the worlds systems for health, particularly in the most vulnerable countries, to prevent COVID-19 from devastating communities and derailing lifesaving malaria programs. Effective and efficient healthcare systems are critical for both - to end malaria as an epidemic and to fight COVID-19 as a pandemic. This includes enhanced detection and case findings, access to treatment to interrupt malaria transmission and to reduce community transmissions for COVID-19. Even as COVID-19 is disrupting our health systems, we must ensure continuity of service delivery for malaria. Supply chains for treatments and other tools to fight malaria must be maintained and protected and we need to begin planning now for contactless systems for accessing treatments and care to protect patients and the healthcare workers whose efforts are already stretched and will be more so in the coming months. After years of progress, the number of malaria cases is on the rise and the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to further derail hard-won gains. As health advocates, let us amplify our voices as we speak up for enhanced malaria responses at the same time as we advocate for better detection and treatment of COVID-19. A community on the border with the North is angry and frustrated that social distancing laws cannot be enforced on day trippers from Northern Ireland, a public representative said. Donegals stunning sandy beaches and Atlantic coastline are normally a magnet for visitors. The north westerly county is urging its neighbours to stay away as residents observe a country-wide two kilometre movement restriction to limit spread of the coronavirus. A loophole in the law means travel curbs do not apply to those living outside the Republic of Irelands legal jurisdiction. Councillor Jack Murray, from the Inishowen area, said: I have been inundated with people who are angry. There is great annoyance and frustration when people are sacrificing so much and there is a loophole in the legislation so it does not apply to people in the Six Counties It was poorly-written legislation. We need to take an island-wide approach to this, regardless of the loophole, and adhere. The latest restrictions in operation since Friday, March 27, mandate that everyone should stay at home, only leaving to: Shop for essential food and household goods; Attend medical appointments, collect medicine or other health products; Care for children, older people or other vulnerable people - this excludes social family visits; Exercise outdoors - within 2kms of your home and only with members of your own household, keeping 2 metres distance between you and other people Travel to work if you provide an essential service - be sure to practice social distancing Gardai have been told those on day trips from Northern Ireland can no longer be arrested if they breach the law. Mr Murray added: The virus does not respect the border and tackling it should recognise that. Donegal TD Padraig Mac Lochlainn is from Buncrana, a pretty coastal town normally bustling with visitors and nearby beaches (Victoria Jones/PA) Donegal TD, Padraig Mac Lochlainn, is from Buncrana a pretty coastal town normally bustling with visitors. It is only a short distance from Derry in Northern Ireland and for generations has been seen as part of the citys natural hinterland. Mr Mac Lochlainn said: The vast majority of our people have been adhering to the movement restrictions, North and South, but the emergency laws were for the very small minority who wont. This error is unacceptable, considering that all government legislation goes through the attorney generals office. In supporting the Covid-19 public health guidelines, gardai said they adopted a graduated response based on a tradition of policing by consent. The Gardai said: This has seen gardai engage, educate, encourage and, as a last resort, enforce. An Garda Siochana continues to adopt this approach and urges everyone resident or visiting this State in the first instance to adhere to the public health guidelines to protect themselves and others from Covid-19. Gardai have used a wide range of laws available as part of the operation imposing restrictions, including those surrounding public order, assault, road traffic and drugs. The statement added: It remains the case that anyone visiting the State even temporarily is amenable to such criminal laws of this State during their time here. An Garda Siochana does not comment on legal advice it receives on specific issues nor on consultation with Government departments on relevant legislation. Cemeteries reopened to the public in the North over the weekend following mounting pressure on politicians while rules on driving for exercise were adjusted to allow reasonable travel (Brian Lawless/PA) Stormont health minister Robin Swann has repeatedly warned against complacency in the fight to control the virus. Its spread has been driven down in recent days by a bar on non-essential travel, and the PSNI have issued hundreds of fines for non-compliance. Mr Swann told the BBC he was concerned people were becoming more lax over the lockdown rules and were starting to ease up on their responsibility. Cemeteries reopened to the public in the North over the weekend following mounting pressure on politicians, while rules on driving for exercise were adjusted to allow reasonable travel. Contact tracing of cases of infection is being rolled out across Northern Ireland next week. The number of tests conducted is also being ramped up. [snippet1]987600[/snippet1] It is nice to see people step up to help businesses in the community. Two local women AshLy Tubbs and Karli Mosey created Community Crate (find it under Community Crate, Helena, MT on Facebook), which is a service that showcases items from some of Helenas local businesses. The idea sprung from seeing businesses unable to bring in cash flow during the pandemic. Locals can sign up for monthly boxes to be delivered (April boxes sold out quickly). The May boxes will feature Gulch Distillery, Wildflower Craft Boutique, Sole Sisters, Birds and Beasleys, The Local (magazine) and the General Mercantile. April featured Big Dipper, JMacs Pottery, and Montana Book Company, among others. Sign up on their website: https://www.community-crate.com/. The Independent Record is offering a grant program with marketing assistance for businesses impacted by COVID-19. Their program offers matching marketing funds to businesses. They know it is imperative for businesses to deliver their message and promote their business to their customers now more than ever to recover. Locally owned and operated businesses can use the matching advertising grants in the IR for print and digital publications and services. This complements the IRs Buy Local gift card program and their program helping local restaurants. The Montana Radio Company has created a program called $50 by 5 asking the community to spend $50 at a local business between now and May 5 to make a big impact of infusing dollars into the local economy. If half of the nearly 70,000 people in the immediate area spend the $50 it will impact the business community with a potential $1.5 million dollars. They encourage you to go to their website and get their Facebook frame to post on your page when you have spent the $50 locally. It was exciting news to hear the governors phased recovery plan to get business back up and running. In unprecedented times, we have to look at what is best for the most and it is time to get our local economy restarted. The Helena Chamber has worked tirelessly to help local businesses get through the pandemic and now we are poised to help them with recovery. We hope people will work to support the businesses still closed such as gyms by maintaining memberships to help them get through this. Check the chambers website at www.helenachamber.com for updates to all of the COVID-19 information for businesses and for business updates concerning those open for business now. We surveyed our members this past week and initial results show that 57.3% of respondents feel their businesss ability to weather the pandemics impact is tentative at best they feel there will be long-term disruption. Another 12.1% are worried working through challenges but dont have a plan for future success as of yet. And 6% are under strong duress needing immediate assistance and support. Only 24.3% felt confident in their current state and felt their business had a solid plan in place to get through the impacts. The good news is that 54.8% have had no change to their number of employees with 17% having only reduced hours with no layoffs while 9.7% have had layoffs with some of those being voluntary. After working remotely for over a month, the chamber office will reopen on Monday, April 27. Cathy Burwell is president/CEO of the Helena Area Chamber of Commerce. Love 1 Funny 2 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 1 Analysts say his sister and loyalists could form a regency until a successor is old enough to take over. North Korea has never announced who would follow leader Kim Jong Un in the event he is incapacitated. With no details known about his young children, analysts say his sister and loyalists could form a regency until a successor is old enough to take over. His absence from a key state anniversary event on April 15 triggered speculation about his health. South Korean and Chinese officials have publicly cast doubt on reports that followed suggesting Kim Jong Un was gravely ill following a cardiovascular procedure. But media reports sparked questions about who is in place to take over if Kim Jong Un, thought to be 36, fell seriously ill or died. He became the leader when his father, Kim Jong Il, died in 2011 from a heart attack. Each change at the top in North Korea has raised the prospect of a leadership vacuum or collapse of the Kim dynasty, which has ruled the country since its founding in 1948. So far, each of the three Kims to rule North Korea has held on to power with an iron grip. Under Kim Jong Un, North Koreas arsenal of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles has grown substantially, raising concerns over who would control them. The following are key figures in the North Korean leadership circle and what role they may play in any transition: Kim Yo Jong In the last two years, Kim Jong Uns younger sister has been the most visible presence around the leader, serving formally as a vice director of the ruling Workers Partys powerful Central Committee but unofficially as her brothers chief of staff. Kim Yo Jong was named an alternate member of the partys Central Committee Politburo this month, continuing her climb through the leadership hierarchy. The leaders sister, believed to be 31, has firm control of key party functions, setting herself to be the main source of power behind a collective leadership. Kim Yo Jong will be for the time being the main power base with control of the organisation and guidance department, the judiciary and public security, said Cho Han-bum of the Korea Institute for National Unification, a government-funded think-tank in Seoul. South Korean President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un, in Seoul in 2018 [Reuters] Party elders Choe Ryong Hae rose to be North Koreas nominal head of state last year as president of the Presidium of the Supreme Peoples Assembly. This capped decades of service with the party for the ruling Kim family, following his role as the influential political head of the military under the young leader. Choe and Pak Pong Ju, a fellow Politburo member and former state premier who oversaw North Koreas push to introduce more free-market functions to revive its economy, are likely to be the figureheads leading a collective leadership, analysts say. Estranged brothers, aunt Kim Jong Chol is the leaders older brother but has not been part of the countrys leadership, instead leading a quiet life playing music, according to Thae Yong Ho, North Koreas former deputy ambassador in London, who defected to the South. He is believed to be disinterested in public life and is unlikely to emerge as a major presence, though some analysts say he maintains ties with siblings and could play a more public role in a contingency. Kim Kyong Hui, the leaders aunt, was once a powerful figure in the leadership circle when her brother Kim Jong Il ruled the country. But she has not been seen since her husband, Jang Song Thaek, once regarded as the second most powerful man in the country, was executed in 2013 by Kim Jong Un. She has long been ill but briefly appeared early this year at a gala performance alongside her nephew. Kim Yong-chol, a senior North Korean official [EPA] Fourth generation Kim Jong Un is believed to have three children with Ri Sol Ju with the youngest born in 2017, according to the Souths National Intelligence Service. The oldest is a 10-year-old son, meaning any of the three would need the assistance of their relatives or political guardians if they were to become a fourth-generation hereditary leader. Kim Jong Il had been groomed for 20 years to lead the country, while Kim Jong Un had just more than a year to prepare, due to his fathers sudden death from a heart attack. Kim Yo Jong is unlikely to take over the helm but could help build a caretaker regime as a power broker until the kids grow up, and Kim Jong Chol might return to help for a while, said Go Myong-hyun, a research fellow at the Asian Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul. Richard Branson is seeking a buyer for Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. as he struggles to secure a 500 million pound ($618 million U.S.) government bailout, the Telegraph reported. Branson has set an end-of-May deadline to save the U.K. airline from collapse and is focused on securing new private investment from more than 100 financial institutions, the newspaper quoted people familiar as saying. Houlihan Lokey has been appointed to assist the process, focusing on private-sector funding, a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said. Discussions with a number of stakeholders continue and are constructive, meanwhile the airline remains in a stable position. Virgins application for government aid has effectively been shelved, though negotiations could be revived if investment cant be found elsewhere, the newspaper reported. About 50 investors have asked for information and they will be narrowed down to a handful of bidders, according to the report. Centerbridge Partners, Cerberus Capital Management, Lansdowne Partners, Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek and Northill Capital are among those in the running. Delta Air Lines Inc., which owns a 49 per cent stake in Virgin Atlantic and is consumed with its own pandemic-related problems, has already bumped up against U.K. limits on foreign airline ownership, the U.S. companys chief executive officer, Ed Bastian, said Thursday. Branson, 69, has become the highest-profile victim of an airline-industry crisis thats only just getting started. Virgin Australia, another carrier he founded, entered administration last week after failing to obtain a state bailout. A mystery box challenge by new judge Melissa Leong on MasterChef last week has spiked an increase in the search for chicken feet on the popular food delivery app Deliveroo. Since the episode featuring the dish aired, Deliveroo Australia reported a 5,272 percent increase in searches for the Asian delicacy. And for those keen to try the culinary delight - the app has over 140 dishes that match the search for 'chicken feet'. Scroll down for video Order up! A mystery box challenge by new judge Melissa Leong on MasterChef last week has spiked an increase in the search for chicken feet on the popular food delivery app Deliveroo. Pictured: 2020 judges Jock Zonfrillo, Melissa Leong and Andy Allen During Wednesday's episode of the show, contestants were given chicken feet as a surprise ingredient. Most of the contestants made savoury dishes, however, one star raised eyebrows for making a dessert. Chef Ben Ungermann controversially made chicken feet ice cream, setting off a storm on social media. Taste sensation: For those keen to try the culinary delight - the app has over 140 dishes that match the search for 'chicken feet' 'Craving chicken feet': Many viewers were excited to see the delicacy cooked on screens Looks good! Chef Ben Ungermann controversially divided audiences when he made chicken feet ice cream, serving the dish beautifully by spreading the chicken fat caramel and adding ice cream, biscuit and cherries on top While chicken feet aren't likely to return to the MasterChef Australia kitchen as a go-to element for its chefs, there are other ingredients that are in hot demand. According to Woman's Day on Monday, the most popular pantry item in this year's MasterChef Australia kitchen has been garlic. The vegetable has quickly become the most-ordered item on the revamped franchise among its all-star cast. No waste! MasterChef Australia has a special arrangement where it donates its food waste to food rescue organisation, SecondBite It's also well documented that the show has an arrangement for all food and ingredients that don't get used by contestants from the large pantry. MasterChef Australia donates its food waste to local Melbourne food rescue organisation, SecondBite. The CEO of SecondBite Jim Mullan told 10Daily in 2019: 'The MasterChef pantry is replenished on an almost daily basis while the program is shooting and we collect daily from the MasterChef studios - everything that we can possibly salvage, we collect and divert it to people in need.' MasterChef Australia continues on Monday from 7:30pm on Channel 10 Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 22:35:08|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CHONGQING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality will partially reopen its colleges and universities, with the first batch of students to return to campus from May 11, authorities announced Sunday. Seniors, medical college students and those with medicine-related majors will be among the first group of students back to campus, said Deng Qinquan, deputy director of the Chongqing Municipal Education Commission. Other university students are expected to resume class by the end of May, Deng said. Students and faculties from the areas hard hit by the virus should undergo a 14-day quarantine and related tests after returning to school, he said. All the universities and colleges are required to have closed-off campus management. In eastern China's Fujian Province, where the seniors of junior and senior high schools have resumed class, vocational schools and universities will reopen for senior students from May 6, and all primary and high school students other than first and second graders of primary schools will resume class from May 11, said Lin Heping, head of the provincial department of education. Enditem China News on Women Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page Kolkata: With air and rail passenger services suspended due to the COVID-19 induced lockdown, two judges have embarked on a road journey, each of them covering over 2,000 km, as they gear up to take charge as chief justices of high courts in separate corners of the country. The judges who were elevated to the position of high court chief justices only recently hit the road amid the nationwide shutdown to ensure trials and justice delivery system do not go off the track. Justice Dipankar Datta, a judge at the Calcutta High Court, is taking turns with son to sit behind the steering wheel, as the family moves to Mumbai, where he will be taking over as the new Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, sources privy to the development said. Allahabad High Court judge Justice Biswanath Somadder, who has been elevated as the Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court, is driving to Shillong via Kolkata. Justice Somadder, who had served at the Calcutta High Court before being transferred Allahabad, set out on the journey from the north Indian city along with wife on Friday evening in an official car, the sources said. He had a chauffeur by his side, who took charge of the wheels from time to time. The judge reached Kolkata on Saturday afternoon, and left for Shillong in the evening, after a few hours of rest at his Salt Lake residence here. He is scheduled to reach the Meghalaya capital on Sunday afternoon. Justice Datta left for Mumbai from Kolkata on Saturday morning and plans to reach the country's financial capital by Monday afternoon with overnight breaks on the way. President Ram Nath Kovind had on Thursday elevated Justice Dipankar Datta, senior judge of Calcutta High Court, as the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, and appointed Justice Biswanath Somadder of Allahabad High Court as Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court. Both Justice Datta and Justice Somadder were elevated as permanent judges of the Calcutta High Court on June 22, 2006. The Congress party on Sunday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi presents a national plan to contain coronavirus as per the requirement under the National Disaster Management Act which has been invoked by the centre to implement measures like lockdown and other restrictions to prevent its further spread. Congress said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should present a national plan before the chief ministers during Mondays video conference meet called to consult states over the current situation of the outbreak, so that the state governments can formulate their own plans and strategies which can then percolate down to the district level- where the actual containment efforts are being carried out. Covid-19 is not going to disappear on May 3, the virus is here to stay, and therefore we have to prepare ourselves and the people to live with the virus. And what is the best strategy whereby India can cope with this pandemic which appears to be unrelenting at the moment, he asked, adding that the national plan was a prerequisite for the country going forward. The questions were raised by Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari, who held a press briefing via video conference on Sunday afternoon to raise some other questions like, over testing, alleging it to be very low and sought an explanation from the government on its testing strategy. If Indias capacity is to carry out one lakh tests a day, then what is the reason for capping the tests at 39,000? Is there an attempt to play down the magnitude of the disease or is the government unsure that testing to the full capacity will lead to negative outcomes that the government is not prepared to deal with, he asked. He went on to say that there was a report in the public space that said India had only 3 lakh RNA kits left. The RNA kit is the most important component of the entire testing process. If that is true, then we will exhaust our testing capacity in a weeks time and be left without our testing shield. The government needs to tell the country, how many testing kits have been imported or manufactured in the last 36 days, how many given to which states, what has been the demand from different states, what is the position in regard to PPEs (Personal Protection Equipments), ventilators and masks, Tiwari asked. Are we prepared to exit this lockdown in a calibrated manner, he questioned further. Also Read: Pray more this Ramzan: PM Modi appeals on Mann ki Baat Former Prime Minister and senior Congress leader Manmohan Singh has also raised a similar point and said that the battle against coronavirus cant be won without more aggressive testing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the May edition of his monthly Man ki Baat address on the All India Radio delivered earlier today warned people against complacency in fight against COVID-19 and appealed for continued care and precautions. Prime Minister also said that all sectors of society and business were adjusting to the realities of a post-coronavirus world. Also Watch: Mann ki Baat key highlights: PM Modi on spitting, masks and more Congress leader Manish Tewari, however, alleged that a senior government official in Niti Aayog had claimed that there will be no fresh cases of coronavirus in the country after May 16 as per the projection/modeling done by experts based on the current data. He demanded to know if the government agreed with this assessment. We would like to ask the government if they stand by this projection that there will be no fresh cases by May 16, 2020, Tiwari asked. How do you travel from Mumbai to Allahabad when there is a lockdown? Buy 25 tonnes of onions, load them onto a truck and hit the road. Desperate to reach his ancestral village on the outskirts of Allahabad, Prem Murti Pandey, who works at Mumbai airport, says he did just that. He spent the first phase of the lockdown in Mumbai, but then it seemed that the restrictions could go on for a while. Actually Azad Nagar in Andheri East, where I live is a very congested area and there is a bigger risk there of coronavirus spreading, he told PTI. Buses and trains dont run and flights are grounded during this lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus. I realised that the government had left one way open, Pandey said, referring to the relaxation on the movement of essential commodities like fruit and vegetable. His plan also involved watermelons -- 1,300 kilos of them. On April 17, Pandey hired a mini-truck for Pimpalgaon near Nashik, about 200 km way. There, he bought the watermelons for Rs 10,000 and sent the vehicle back to Mumbai with the consignment. He had already struck a deal with a buyer in Mumbai. Next, he studied the Pimpalgaon market for a good deal in onions. Pandey said he bought 25,520 kilos of onions at Rs 9.10 per kg, shelling out Rs 2.32 lakh. He then hired a truck for Rs 77,500 and set off on April 20 with the onions on a 1,200-km journey to Allahabad. He reached there on April 23 and headed straight to the Mundera wholesale market on the outskirts of the city. Unfortunately, he couldnt find anyone who would pay cash for the load. So Pandey took the truck to his village, Kotwa Mubarkpur, a couple of kilometers away. The onions were unloaded there. TP Nagar police post in-charge Arvind Kumar Singh said Pandey came to Dhoomanganj police station on Friday and a medical team examined him. For now, he has been asked to quarantine himself at home. As for the onions, Pandey still hopes to get a good deal. Right now, the mandi is full of onions from Sagar in Madhya Pradesh. Once the Sagar supply is over, onions from Nashik will find buyers, he said. From the beginning, the media has treated the Wuhan virus less as an opportunity to inform the American public about the virus and about reasonable responses to its spread, and more as a chance to destroy President Trumps reelection bid. Its no surprise, therefore, to read an article at NBC News explaining why disenchanted Pennsylvanians, whose state ranks fifth in Wuhan virus cases and deaths, might not vote for Trump. Its a lengthy article and, certainly, one that warns Trump not to get cocky. However, it leaves out a few pertinent details. As with most mainstream media articles, the analysis opens with a personal narrative and, from that, extrapolates a broad range of conclusions. In this case, it opens with the tale of Corey Ingram, a guy who might have voted for Trump, but certainly isnt going to vote for him now: "How he's doing with this doesn't give me any confidence," Ingram, 42, an inspector at a military equipment manufacturer, told NBC News. "The rejection of science, the constant disagreeing with his experts." After this, he added, anyone but Trump. Only after that quotation does Adam Edelman, who wrote the article, say that Ingram, a political independent, was a two-time Obama voter. Edelman forgets to tell us for whom Ingram voted in 2016. I dont know why, but that leaves me suspicious that Corey voted not for Trump but for Hillary or maybe for Evan McMullin. With Ingram as a grim warning to Trump about Pennsylvania, Edelman makes his case: How Trump has responded to the outbreak from a public health and an economic standpoint, as well as a crisis management challenge will pave a path to victory (or defeat) that largely goes through battleground states. And nowhere are his challenges clearer than in the swing state of Pennsylvania. As of Wednesday night, the state had the fifth-most confirmed cases of COVID-19 and the fifth-most deaths from the virus in the U.S. The economic toll has been even more striking. Since March 14, about 1.3 million Pennsylvanians (or nearly 1 in 5 workers in the state) have lost their jobs the second-highest number during that period in the country, behind only California. In interviews, voters, former lawmakers, political strategists and union leaders all said the political fallout for Trump in Pennsylvania is already significant and is likely to remain stark unless the public health and economic situations improve dramatically before Nov. 3. But that doesn't mean former Vice President Joe Biden is sure to capitalize, they said, due to his struggle to stay visible and break through during the so-called virtual campaign that he and Trump have been forced to engage in during the pandemic. The article continues in that vein for some time. Edelman does concede that Biden has a problem, which is that his virtual campaign appears to be struggling to reach voter. Its certainly true that being locked in a basement, while issuing period incoherent utterances, really isnt a big selling point for a politician. Of course, Edelman doesn't mention Bidens challenges with coherence and reality. Instead, the new selling point is that Bidens silence is virtuous: Nick Field, the former managing editor of PoliticsPA.com, a website devoted to state politics, recalled that Biden, during the Democratic primary, benefitted largely from his reputation, managing to rally in South Carolina and in Super Tuesday states without a robust campaign or fundraising apparatus. How many states did he win where he didnt even campaign, where he just relied heavily on his reputation, Field said. Simply being known as a moderate, stable presence during a chaotic time like this could do a lot for him. Edelman is also silent about the increasingly credible charge that Biden long known for publicly groping little girls and grown women sexually assaulted a Senate staffer. And Edelman ignores Hunter Biden entirely, so he doesn't have to mention the deals the Bidens, father and son, made with China, the country that unleashed the Wuhan virus on the world. Lastly, Edelman ignores something significant for Pennsylvanians, which is the fact that, as of March, Pennsylvania produced more than 20% of the U.S.s natural gas and is one of the top coal mining states. Biden promises to do his utmost to stop that. Biden had a hard time hanging onto his thoughts about climate change when speaking with Al Gore (who is worth over $300 million thanks to his Chicken Little shtick about climate change). Nevertheless, during a fundraiser, Biden was able to make clear his determination to destroy Americas coal and fossil fuel industries. On his website, he ties this plan to racial justice. At the fundraiser, he threw in the Wuhan virus too: Biden at fundraiser tonight, continuing a theme: COVID is shining a bright light on the structural racism that plagues our laws, our institutions and our culture. And it's a wake up call, a wake up call to action to climate change overall and to climate justice. Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) April 22, 2020 Again, Trumps team should not get cocky about Pennsylvania. The Wuhan virus has thrown all political calculations out of whack. Nevertheless, Biden's dementia and his sordid history, when combined with his war against Pennsylvania jobs, won't make it an easy state for him to win either. Kabul, April 26 : Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, on Sunday urged the Taliban to call a humanitarian ceasefire during the holy month of Ramzan "Ramadan offers the Taliban an opportunity to embrace a humanitarian ceasefire to reduce violence and suspend offensive military operations until the health crisis is over," TOLO News quoted Khalilzad as saying in a tweet. "Both sides must also accelerate the release of prisoners. The war on COVID-19 makes it urgent and will also aid the peace process including getting intra-Afghan negotiations underway," he said. Last week, the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani appealed to the Taliban for a ceasefire, citing the special conditions of the coronavirus pandemic in the country. But Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen responded by saying the government's inattention to "thousands" of prisoners, who are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus, made Ghani's appeal insincere, and this and other factors made a ceasefire improbable. Ghani's appeal comes as dozens of Afghan security force members have lost their lives in Taliban attacks over the last week. The Taliban is demanding the release of 5,000 prisoners by the Afghan government based on the US-Taliban agreement. The Afghan government has agreed to the release of 1,500 prisoners but through a conditioned and gradual process. According to National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib, five out of 15 prisoners specifically requested by the Taliban were involved in major attacks in Kabul. When Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex announced Megxit in January 2020, they had a very clear and well-thought-out idea of what they wanted from their lives. At the time, the duke spoke very clearly about why he ultimately made the choice to step away from the royal fold and carve out an independent life for himself, Meghan, and their son, Archie. Shortly after making their announcement, the Sussexes settled in Vancouver Island in Canada where they remained until their final royal engagements in early March 2020. Though the pair had hoped to roll out their new Archewell foundation and their move to Los Angeles, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic changed their plans drastically. Now, the pair are residing in LA far away from the royal family, unable to get a jumpstart on any projects that theyve been planning. Its especially been hard on the duke. Now, a royal expert reveals there is only a small chance Prince Harry will be happy in LA. Meghan Markle convinced Prince Harry to move to LA With their powerhouse Hollywood team, and the duchess mother and close circle of friends all within range, Meghan convinced her husband, that moving to her hometown was the right move. TMZ is reporting that she was the driving force being the decision. Unfortunately, the pair have had to deal with isolation and quarantining like the rest of us. The duchess hasnt even been able to see her mother, Doria Ragland who lives in LA. Seeing her husbands restless, especially amid Prince Charles COVID-19 diagnosis, the duchess has decided to introduce the duke to LA through a different lens. Harry and Meghans No. 1 priority right now is helping those affected by the virus, especially the vulnerable, an insider told US Weekly. They only leave their house for charity work. The pair have begun volunteering with the Project Food Angel Foundation. The organization delivers meals to the most vulnerable LA residents. Meghan said she wanted to show Harry Los Angeles through the eyes of philanthropy, Project Angel Foods executive director Richard Ayoub told People. Theres obviously a great deal of love and selflessness between them. Prince Harry seems apprehensive about LA Though he was eager to make a name for himself, the duke might not feel that LA is the right place for him. After all, a major reason the Sussexes decided to leave the royal family was due to the constant harassment and scrunity. LA is hardly a quiet little town. Harry absolutely loved life in Canada and has made no secret of how much he misses life there, a royal insider told Express. The time that he spent there with Meghan and Archie is probably the happiest he has ever been. Harry misses the pace of life there and the fact they were living in a really secluded place where they could be themselves, relax and enjoy life. The biggest issue really has been the timing. Moving at the moment is incredibly difficult. Harry and Meghan have uprooted their life and have been unable to properly immerse themselves into LA life and get settled. Harry is hoping that once the lockdown is lifted things will be a lot easier and they will fall into step with the pace of life there. In fact, the duke hasnt filed any official paperwork that would allow him to remain in the United States for an extended period of time. The Duke has not made an application for dual citizenship and I dont think he will apply for a green card at any point, a royal insider told The Times. Theres only a small chance Prince Harry will be happy in LA Though their near-one-year-old son and their charity work is keeping the Sussexes busy amid the coronavirus pandemic, it might not be enough for the prince. The couple and their young son are currently renting a $10 million estate in a private gated community in LA away from the prying eyes of paparazzi. Eventually, they will have to come out as the world gets back to normal. Royal biographer Angela Levin doesnt think the prince will be able to handle celeb life. Harry, when I interviewed him, said one of the things he absolutely didnt want to do was be thought of as a celebrity. This was after he met Meghan, but before they married, Levin told Newsweek. He explained the difference: that celebrities can pick and choose when they want the press to be there, but if youre a royal, youre on duty 24/7. Still, it appears that the duke will give LA a fair try. Harrys number one priority is to make Meghan happy, and hell do everything he can because he feels guilty that he did not do enough to protect his mother, Levin continued. It stayed with him, so hes determined to make Meghan happy. I think he adores Meghan. He thinks shes absolutely wonderful. Hopefully, it will all work out in the end. #PeruEstaEnNuestrasManos En breve, conferencia virtual del presidente @MartinVizcarraC. pic.twitter.com/HbvFwo43D9 The man accused of cracking his whip and hurling abuse outside a Chinese consulate claims he was not being racist but just expressing his anger. Raimond Kelly, 55, allegedly hurled abuse and threatened bystanders outside the Chinese consulate at Camperdown in Sydney's inner-west on March 31. He repeatedly cracked his stock whip and yelled anti-communist messages to members of the public waiting to enter the building. Raimond Kelly, 55, (pictured) was arrested after an alleged stunt outside the Chinese consulate at Camperdown in Sydney's inner-west on March 31 Mr Kelly said he was angry about what he perceived to be China's role in the spread of the virus. He said as a survivor of leukemia he had personal reasons to be upset as the bug can kill those with weakened immune systems, The Daily Telegraph reported. 'I was just outraged by China's denial and cover up, so I needed to let them know. Nothing I said was racist. My anger was politically motivated,' Mr Kelly said. 'I've always had a thing about standing up to bullies and I just wanted to stand in front of those security cameras and have them capture me saying "Hey Chinese Government, this is your fault, so get this up ya".' On the morning of March 31 Mr Kelly looked up the location of the consulate before jumping into his car at his home in Dee Why on Sydney's northern beaches. He parked 100m away from the consulate and made sure to position himself away from people but in the view of security cameras. 'I was thinking "This is going to be a direct link to Beijing if I'm lucky",' he said. Footage captured by a member of the public shows Mr Kelly, wearing an Akubra, and cracking the whip. 'Death to communism! Wake up Australia! Wake up! No more s**t from China,' he was filmed saying. He yelled racial abuse at the people in the queue, saying they had deliberately spread the killer coronavirus around the world 'I'll put a bullet in the General Secretary's head. I'm going to kill that leader of China. Filthy f**ing commies. Trying to take over the world. No more.' In the video Mr Kelly is then seen turning to the queue of people at the building's entrance and accuses them of spreading coronavirus. 'We know it's deliberate. Five million people left your country and spread that filthy f***king disease worldwide,' he said. 'You're all wearing your masks and you know why you're wearing your masks? You knew about it! I'm onto you. I know you deliberately released this virus. Mr Kelly was filmed cracking a whip after exploding into a racist tirade outside the Chinese Consulate in Sydney 'Wake up Australia! Be wise to these pr**ks.' Mr Kelly claims he cracked the whip 'about a dozen to 20 times' during his tirade outside the building. He said he used the whip as 'punctuation' when he was talking and made sure to purposely crack it onto the ground and not hurt anyone. A security guard behind the razor wire and bollards threatened to call the police on Mr Kelly, which prompted him to go home. He immediately drove to Dee Why Police station and reported himself to police but was told to go home. After ten days he was tracked down to his home where he was arrested and taken to Manly Police station charged with stalking and intent to commit an indictable offence. Mr Kelly had even posted on Facebook posing with the whip with the caption 'I had a cracking good time at the Chinese Consulate'. If he could do it again the 55-year-old says he would think about his words a little more and would not have 'threatened to put a bullet in the general secretary's head'. He was granted bail on strict conditions and is due to appear at Manly Local Court on July 1. She has faced a strong backlash for her decision to furlough 30 staff at her floundering fashion label. But Victoria Beckham ignored her critics as she posted a throwback family snap on her Instagram stories on Sunday. The fashion designer, 46, shared the group photo in which she stood beside husband David and sister Louise Adams. Reminiscing: Victoria Beckham posted an image of her friends and family, including sister Louise Adams (centre left) on Instagram on Sunday The former Spice Girl captioned the image: 'Looking forward to when we can all be with friends and family again.' The post comes after a social media silence for the star after she received criticism for furloughing 30 staff at her struggling fashion label, despite having a staggering family fortune of 335 million. It means she was taking advantage of a Government emergency scheme to claim what was estimated to be tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money. Hitting the headlines: The fashion designer has been fiercely criticised for her decision to furlough her staff despite her family possessing a fortune of 335 million After the scandal broke, her public relations team advised Victoria to hold back on boastful Instagram pictures in a bid to soften her image. In previous days, there had been a constant supply, with the couple making public videos of themselves baking or designing tie-dye T-shirts with their daughter Harper. But Sunday's post marks a return to the more personal photos she had been sharing beforehand. The controversial business decision attracted a number of comments, including comedian Ricky Gervais, who 'liked' a comment on social media which said: 'The f****** Beckhams, sorry I'm done with them now. Shame on them.' Backlash: The controversial business decision attracted a number of critical comments And then Piers Morgan weighed in after the Beckham family spokesman justified the decision to get taxpayers to fork out 80 per cent of the wages for 30 of her staff by saying: 'Having assessed all our options, we made the decision to furlough a proportion of staff on an enhanced package.' Piers said Victoria's business was only a vanity project, adding: 'Lost money year after year. Been bailed out by her famously rich husband David Beckham. Sorry, this furlough scheme was not for prima donna millionaires like you.' Earlier this week Good Morning Britain co-host Susanna Reid, 49, explained that Victoria is reportedly forgoing her own salary and donating to food banks and asked what more she should do. Questions: Last week GMB host Susanna Reid, 49, explained that Victoria is reportedly forgoing her own salary and donating to food banks and asked what more she should do She also said that it was the government's job to make guidelines clearer and Piers said it's not their job to 'give people a moral compass.' Yet Susanna questioned why Piers was singling out the Beckham family, when there are no doubt lots of others businesses owners this could apply to. Victoria is currently isolating with her family in their country pile in the Cotswolds, after heading there before lockdown with David and their children. They have been joined by Romeo, 17, Cruz, 15 and Harper, eight. However their eldest Brooklyn, 21, is holed up with his girlfriend Nicola Peltz in Los Angeles. As the financial fallout from COVID-19 takes its toll on the global economy, the pace at which developing countries like Jamaica are able to recover hinges heavily on how quickly leading trade partners like Canada can rebound. As the island nation grapples with an unprecedented decline in tourism revenue its once crowded resorts are now ghost towns and a 20 per cent decline in remittances, its government is banking on the reopening of borders and the ramping up of spending and trade in countries like Canada to spur its own economic revival, post-COVID-19, said Edmund Bartlett, Jamaicas Minister of Tourism. Its going to be a reasonably slow bounce back, Bartlett said, adding that tourism could take up to two years to get back to 2018 rates when the Jamaican tourism industry had a record year with 4.3 million total arrivals and $3.3 billion (U.S.). Jamaicas success is tied to Canada, which stands as its second highest contributor to tourism, the minister said. We have up to 400,000 Canadian visitors, including the diaspora, who come to our shores. Canadas impact is significant. Bartlett added the pandemic also led to an immediate slowdown in some of the Canadian investments that were on the books, with many negotiations put on hold. And Jamaicas coffers have been battered by the slower movement of goods to Canada, its third-largest export partner, which imported $168 million worth of products from the island nation in 2017, according to the Canadian government. The rate at which these investments from Canada will happen is a function of how quickly the Canadian economy bounces back, Bartlett said. Canada is the island nations second-highest contributor in remittances from the diaspora, accounting for 13 per cent of the $2.6 billion (U.S.) the island receives and depends heavily on for foreign exchange, according to the World Bank. Tourism contributes 60 per cent of the countrys foreign exchange, followed by remittances. Remittance is also going to take a huge hit, Bartlett said. Possibly down 20 to 30 per cent. Roughly 25 per cent of Canadas 1.2 million Blacks identify as Jamaican and Bartlett said how the diaspora is able to spend will be key to Jamaica bouncing back. Albert Berry, professor emeritus at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, said the economic recovery of tourist- and remittance-dependent countries that rely heavily on Canada and the U.S. for trade will hinge on how well larger economies rebound. If Canada is coming out of its problem by the end of the year, then Jamaicans (in Canada) will be able to remit more, Berry said. For now, the financial blow caused by the pandemic has forced Jamaica back into borrowing, according to Bartlett. The country is currently negotiating with the International Monetary Fund for emergency support in the neighbourhood of $400 million. That will go a long way in helping to bridge the gap in the deficit from tourism and other industries, Bartlett said. Berry is not surprised that Jamaica is borrowing to stimulate the economy, with cash flow drying up during the COVID-19 shutdown. It will be tough, in the initial stages, with a lot of people out of work and some shifting into poverty, he said. Thats what happens in poor countries. It can put Jamaica back for years. That will have other geopolitical implications, Berry said. If they go down, the pressure to immigrate (to Canada) is going to multiply. Berry said that could spur nationalist sentiments globally, but a darker version of the bind that were in now, where a lot of people want to migrate to rich countries (and), at the same time, the population of those countries is turning against immigration. Jamaica now expects to bring in $1.5 billion of the $4.2 billion it had initially estimated to earn from tourism this year, Bartlett said. The industry provides 160,000 direct jobs and generates another roughly 200,000 indirect jobs on the island of 2.9 million people. There have been 120,000 temporary layoffs, with another 40,000 working drastically reduced hours. Jamaica was engineering a major economic turnaround before the crisis hit. After decades of spiralling debt, held by creditors like the International Monetary Fund, which forced the country to spend less on social programs and infrastructure so it could cover its debt, things finally started looking up. The country registered positive economic growth for 16 consecutive quarters, heading into 2019. During that period, the Jamaica Stock Exchange went up more than 380 per cent. The IMF touted Jamaica as a success story in 2019 after the country brought its debt overhang under 100 per cent of GDP, down from its record high of nearly 150 per cent. The islands debt rating also improved to a B+ rating with a stable fiscal outlook and the rate of unemployment also fell to a historic low of 7.2 per cent in 2019, almost half the 2013 rate, according to the World Bank. Our unemployment figure is going to jump significantly post-COVID, Bartlett said. This is uncharted waters. We have no clue what things are going to look like in 12 months. Bartlett said Canada is viewed by Jamaica as a model example of a country whose citizens have caught on to social distancing measures critical to curtailing community spread. Jamaica has had a harder time getting its citizens to adhere to similar rules. The government had no choice but to institute islandwide curfews in recent weeks. Its not easy for us in a country where a significant number of your people are operating at a subsistence level, he said. Staying at home for them means not being able to earn. Some Canadian residents living on the island are also feeling the pinch. Canadian permanent resident Dr. Hamlet Nation, a Jamaican family physician, said Jamaicas health-care capacity will be tested by the eminent surge in cases. Jamaica currently has 305 COVID-19 cases, with seven confirmed deaths, as health officials warn that the rate of community spread is expected to surge in the coming weeks. There is a big concern about there not being sufficient services to support the population, Nation said. If we get a large number of cases, were not going to be able to withstand it. He said low-income families are particularly at risk during the curfew. A lot of our households do not have sufficient income to be in a lockdown for a prolonged period of time. The financial fallout will be crippling, Nation said. Even when the disease has run its course, the hardships and financial implications are going to be significant, he said. We cant afford to close down the country for two to three months, because we dont have that capability. Moscow Calls US Attempts to Cast Doubt on Russian Nuclear Standards Unacceptable Sputnik News 11:13 GMT 25.04.2020 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Moscow will study the new US energy strategy, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Saturday, adding that so far it was obvious that Washington was trying to revive the national uranium industry, while attempts to cast doubt on Russia's high standards in the nuclear field were unacceptable. The new US Strategy to Restore American Nuclear Energy Leadership, published on Friday and submitted to President Donald Trump for consideration, says that the US should become a global leader in the nuclear technology market, superseding Russia and China, among other competitors. Beijing has already criticized the strategy. According to Ryabkov, the report is "very voluminous, specialized, requires analysis, and has a number of provisions that will probably require additional comments from our side. " "In particular, there are attempts to attribute to us allegedly insufficient standards in the field of nuclear safety. For us, of course, such assessments are unacceptable, since Russia is a recognized world leader in this field, as in the whole sphere of nuclear technologies," Ryabkov noted. "We will, of course, study the US Department of Energy working group's report on nuclear fuel. So far, it's clear that the document sets out the intention of the executive authorities of the United States to seek 'revive' the US uranium industry and ' Restore American Nuclear Energy Leadership,'" Ryabkov said. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address BEIRUT (AP) Turkish troops fired tear gas and live bullets at protesters blocking a major highway in northwest Syria early Sunday, killing two people and wounding others, opposition activists said. The protesters have been blocking part of the highway near the government-held village of Nairab in Idlib province for weeks to prevent joint Turkish-Russian patrols. Patrols on the M4 highway, which runs east-west through Idlib province, are part of a cease-fire agreement between Turkey and Russia signed in early March. The cease-fire ended an escalation in fighting that saw the Turkish military in rare direct conflict with Syrian government troops. Turkish and Russian troops officially began joint patrols on March 15 on the M4. But the patrols had to be shortened because of protests by those opposed to the deal, which allows Russian troops to patrol rebel-held areas. Turkey backs the opposition in Idlib, while Russia has been a main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assads government. Moscow joined the war in 2015, helping turn the balance of power in Assad's favor. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said Turkish troops removed debris from the highway Sunday morning and were met by protesters who threw stones at the force, which later opened fire. The Observatory said the two people killed were militant fighters. The activist collective Al-Dorar Al-Shamia described the two killed as protesters, and said three others were wounded in Sundays shooting. There was no immediate comment from the Turkish military. Turkey has been working on opening the highway by ending the sit-in by supporters of militant groups in rebel-held parts of Idlib, led by the al-Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee. The vital highway, which runs through northern Syria from the Mediterranean to the Iraqi border, has been partially closed since 2012. Some sections of the M4 remain under rebel control, unlike the north-south M5 highway, which Syrian forces completely recaptured in the latest offensive. Turkey and Russia already conduct joint military patrols elsewhere in Syria. Following an agreement that halted Turkeys attack on Kurdish forces in October, soldiers from the two countries monitor an area of northeast Syria along the Turkish border. NAIROBI, April 25 (Xinhua) -- French television France 24 in an article recently posted on its website debunked some fake videos, reproaching the disinformation that seek to sow discord between China and Africa at a time when the world is grappling against the COVID-19 pandemic. France 24 said a violent video in which a group of people can be seen beating an African man went viral on Twitter and other social media. The video purporting to show discrimination towards foreign nationals, particularly Africans, in China, is fake, it said, adding that it was an old footage that was shot not in China and had nothing to do with COVID-19. Such rumors intended to nurture distrust between China and Africa never end, but can not last long as facts always speak louder. FACTS SPEAK LOUDER In the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, there are 30,768 foreigners including 4,553 Africans as of April 10. "We take the same prevention and control measures for all personnel entering Guangzhou regardless of their nationality, race and gender," said Liu Baochun, director of the municipal foreign affairs office, when answering questions about local health management services during the COVID-19 epidemic at a press conference on April 12. Staff unload the medical supplies from China at the airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, March 22, 2020.(Xinhua/Wang Shoubao) Daniel Chisenga, Consul General at the Zambian Consulate in Guangzhou, said there were no cases of any Zambian harassed. Alima Danfakha Gakou, consul general of Mali in Guangzhou, told media on April 18 that the various measures have shown the importance Guangdong has attached to African residents, and a communication mechanism has been established between the African consulate generals and Guangdong and Guangzhou authorities. "The measures taken by the Guangdong government to prevent the virus are very helpful and we talk about it with great pleasure," said Ethiopian Consul General in Guangzhou Teferi Melesse Desta. "This is a time of jagged nerves," Charles Onunaiju, an expert in China-Africa studies recently told Xinhua in an interview, when talking about confusion and conflicting information over the conditions of Nigerians living in China. The relations between China and Nigeria should never be undermined by controversies surrounding the novel coronavirus, he said. Zhong Nanshan, a renowned Chinese respiratory specialist, exchanges ideas on COVID-19 control with foreigners in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, April 15, 2020.(Xinhua/Li Jiale) Another fact is that China has been firmly supporting Africa's fight against COVID-19 since the disease broke out on the continent. Despite remaining pressure to contain the epidemic at home, China has donated personal protective equipment, offered relief funds, and sent experienced medical experts, standing ready to assist African countries to the best of its ability. The latest batch of medical supplies donated by China arrived Thursday in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and is expected to be transferred to Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Lesotho, Madagascar, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Somalia as well as Tanzania's Zanzibar, with more said to come. Chinese experts and officials from health and customs departments also shared information and experience about COVID-19 in video conferences with specialists from the African Union (AU), the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and various African countries. As COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the African continent, a 12-member team of Chinese medical experts was dispatched on April 16 by the Chinese government upon at the request of the Ethiopian government. On the same day, some other Chinese medical experts arrived in Burkina Faso. China has also activated its medical teams stationed there to help fight COVID-19. A Chinese medical expert is welcomed by locals upon her arrival in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, April 16, 2020.(Xinhua) There are nearly 1,000 Chinese medical personnel working in Africa long-term, according to China's National Health Commission. COOPERATION ESSENTIAL Mafa Sejanamane, permanent representative of Lesotho to the AU and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), said that China's support is "essential" to Africa's fight against COVID-19. "We are pleased that the Chinese people and government are on the forefront of this particular struggle. With the cooperation of all our international partners, we will be able to triumph," said Sejanamane, who is also Lesotho's ambassador to Ethiopia. According to the Africa CDC, the death toll from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on the African continent passed 1,300 as the number of confirmed cases rose to 27,852 as of Friday afternoon. "The global community should forge strong partnership if the world has to overcome the crisis," Costantinos Bt. Costantinos, who served as an economic advisor to the AU and the UNECA, told Xinhua on Friday. Noting that both the Chinese government and Chinese enterprises have in recent weeks continued sending shipments of medical supplies to hard-hit countries across Africa, Costantinos said China has been "rallying for global coordination in managing the coronavirus outbreak" and "striving to take the lead against the coronavirus crisis." Members of Namibia's COVID-19 pandemic task team attend a video consultation conference with Chinese medical experts in Windhoek, Namibia, April 14, 2020. (Photo by Musa C Kaseke/Xinhua) "COVID-19 is a global threat, affecting each and every inhabitant of planet earth, with zero regard for ethnicity, social status, wealth or any other of the various strata which have been contrived, over centuries, to set us apart from each other," said Sibusiso Moyo, Zimbabwe's minister of foreign affairs and international trade. "Misguided assumptions with regard to the origin and the consequent attribution of blame take us nowhere, render a difficult situation even more challenging and impact negatively relations between and amongst brotherly nations and peoples," he said. "Let us not, therefore, allow ourselves to be side-tracked or deflected from the main task at hand by engaging in any form of stigmatization, accusation or blame," said Moyo. "Blame is not the answer. The answer is organizations, countries, institutions, and governments bringing their resources together to team up to provide these kinds of medical supplies and medical equipment for the protection of the people. So, this is a very good example," said CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Tewolde Gebremariam, when commenting on China's contribution to Africa. LASTING FRIENDSHIP Despite challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, African experts said the long-standing Africa-China relations that are based on mutual respect and understanding will remain intact or become even stronger. Members of a Chinese medical team pose for a photo upon their arrival at the airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, April 16, 2020.(Xinhua/Wang Shoubao) "Pandemics or differences will come and go, but the Africa-China relations will remain because they are built on sound principles and understanding," said Owen Sichone, immediate past director at Zambia's Copperbelt University Dag Hammarskjold Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies. "Trade between Africa and China will continue, so will the scientific and cultural exchanges between the two because they are part of their relations," said Professor Sichone. "China and Africa have come a long way in their friendship. Both have a lot to show for their cordial relations," said Lawrence Banda, vice secretary general of Universal Peace Federation-Zambia Chapter, noting that China's support to Africa on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic is a demonstration of its commitment to the continent. "The joint Africa-China COVID-19 fight efforts will further help to cement relations, which are expected to go on smoothly forward," said Banda. A year ago, Joe Biden announced he was running for president by video, joining a Democratic field so crowded it would be banned from meeting by today's social distancing rules. Then he rode an Amtrak train from the District of Columbia to Wilmington, Delaware. Once he arrived, he stopped at Gianni's Pizza, shook hands with friends and fielded questions from reporters, who crowded so tightly that he joked that someone might get hit as he tried to drive away. A year later, the Acela isn't running. Much of Amtrak's ordinary service isn't, either. Gianni's is open only for takeout. And Biden, now the presumptive Democratic nominee, spends his days mostly inside his home. "Here we are, doing a virtual campaign, which has never been done before," said South Carolina state Sen. Dick Harpootlian, a Democrat, a longtime friend of Biden's who pushed him to enter the race. Harpootlian said he's been hosting fundraisers, knocking on doors and attending rallies for presidential candidates for decades. "Those are the mechanisms that I'm used to, that I grew up with, if you will," he said. "And many of those mechanisms are out the window." To mark the anniversary his campaign, Biden can't celebrate with a rally. His team can't open new offices and collect names and addresses of supporters. Instead, staffers learned to sew masks for distribution to those who need them most. That work is part of an effort to focus on the front-line health-care workers and first responders who have put themselves in danger as the novel coronavirus has ravaged the country. Biden's advance team made calls to thank nurses and first responders. And some called to check on their contacts in communities - not asking for their votes but inquiring whether they needed help. Biden also has been making calls to first responders. On Friday, he held a 30-minute Zoom call with a nurse in Wisconsin. When the call ended, Biden decided to call her family too. Kate Bedingfield, Biden's deputy campaign manager, said that Biden's message hasn't changed. "One year ago, Vice President Biden said we are in a battle for the soul of America," she said. "As we watch Donald Trump consistently put his own politics first amidst a global pandemic and an economic crisis unlike anything we've seen in a generation, that's even truer today." But nearly everything else has changed. Take fundraising. Former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell, who hosted Biden's first fundraising event as a presidential candidate last year, recalled a room that was packed with donors. Now Biden hosts Zoom calls - and the vibe is a little different. One potential donor called in to a recent event from his treadmill. When Biden entered the presidential race, the field was crowded - and competitive. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was raising millions from grass-roots donors. The campaign of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., was on the rise. Pete Buttigieg was still the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and beginning to register in the polls. He went on to win the Iowa caucuses. Now they're - mostly - singing new tunes. "A year ago, Joe Biden announced his campaign based on a belief that we're in a battle for the soul of the nation," Buttigieg said in a video he posted to Twitter on Saturday to support Biden's efforts. "I don't have to tell you that a lot has changed since then." "I'm joining @JoeBiden and thanking our essential workers," wrote Warren in a social media post, adding her voice to chorus of defeated rivals following the campaign's lead. Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., along with former congressman Beto O'Rourke of Texas, also posted supportive #SoulSaturday messages for Biden. Some dynamics do not shift so quickly. Though Sanders has endorsed Biden, he did not take to Twitter to wish the Biden campaign happy birthday, at least as of Saturday evening. His spokesman could not be reached immediately to determine if he'd participated in any other way. Biden's allies say the biggest difference between now and a year ago is the importance of the election. "The world's changed," said Harpootlian. "Campaigns have changed. This campaign has changed. But the stakes could have never been higher. We wanted to win a year ago. But there is a scenario, a year ago, where, maybe we don't pull it off. But the stakes have become so much higher now that that is not an option." But they acknowledge that the new normal hides Biden's strength as a retail campaigner. "I think that hampers a guy like Joe Biden, who look, he's best one-on-one," Harpootlian said. "He's best speaking to a crowd of 10,000. He's best letting people feel that honesty and sincerity. It's hard to do that on a zoom call." But, Harpootlian noted: The field is level. President Trump too must forgo his famous rallies. "It's a detriment to both him and Trump," said Rendell. Biden, he said, gets his energy from being with people. Zoom meetings can come close to replicating that feel - but not entirely, he said. "It's not the same," said Rendell. "It's not the same for someone who has got tremendous personal warmth, which Biden has." And when Biden launched a year ago, The Washington Post's newsroom was chock-full of people. When this reporter stopped in Saturday to pick up supplies at her desk, she stood in a room that was completely empty. BEDFORD, Ohio-- Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland drove Care Caravans to two nursing facilities to connect with their fellow sisters and other residents and staff. Dozens of cars wound through the parking lot at Light of Hearts Villa, honking their horns as passengers waved signs with messages of encouragement out the windows. The caravans, which visited Regina Health Center in Richfield and Light of Hearts Villa in Bedford, were meant to connect the sisters on the inside of the care facilities with those on the outside. In a a statement, Sister Susan Durkin, president of the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland, said they have been in regular contact with their sisters via letters, cards, video chat and many phone calls. However the caravans allowed them to connect in person while exercising safe social distancing. Currently all of the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland are virus free. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 20:15:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Flags are seen at the Tian'anmen Square and atop the Great Hall of the People during the opening meeting of the second session of the 13th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2019. (Xinhua/Yang Zongyou) BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, started its 17th session Sunday to review multiple draft laws and law revisions, including a draft law on administrative discipline and a draft revision to the law on the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid waste. Other legislative documents include a draft biosecurity law, the draft revisions to the laws on animal epidemic prevention and the People's Armed Police Force and draft amendments to the copyright law. Lawmakers are also deliberating a draft decision on the convening date of the third annual session of the 13th NPC, a draft decision to authorize the State Council to temporarily adjust relevant laws and regulations in the Hainan pilot free trade zone and a report on environmental protection, among others. The legislative session will run from April 26 to 29. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that India's fight against coronavirus is people-driven. Every citizen of the country is a soldier in the fight against the pandemic, Narendra Modi also said, adding, 'I am proud that all of us are part of it. All of us are soldiers in this fight." PM Modi said this while addressing the 64th edition of his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat' amid the nationwide coronavirus lockdown. Here are the key highlights from his speech: Heaping praises on farmers, Modi said, "Our farmers are working day and night in their fields to ensure that no one goes hungry. There are people who are giving up rents and there are people who are giving up their pension." PM Modi also asked Indians to fall back on ancient teachings. The people around the world are falling back to Ayurveda and Yoga to fight coronavirus, he added. Modi further thanked everyone for their support in combating coronavirus."I bow and respect the 130 crore people of this country for what they are doing during this time. Every sector has been innovating during this period. Whether it is people from Aviation or Railways, they are all working to make our lives easier. They are working hard to deliver medicines and other essentials to all parts of the country," he said. A citizen can also join the fight as COVID-19 warrior by logging in to the COVID Warriors site, Modi added. On Saturday, PM Modi had tweeted: "Have been getting several insightful inputs for this month's #MannKiBaat. Do tune at 11 am tomorrow." On March 24, Narendra Modi had announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus. The lockdown was later extended till May 3. There are 24,942 coronavirus cases in India, including 5,210 cured or discharged/migrated and 779 deaths, according to the latest government data. Also read:Mann Ki Baat: PM Modi to host 64th edition of radio programme at 11 am Also read: Coronavirus India live updates: 'Every person a soldier; fight against COVID people-driven,' says PM Modi Also rread: Setback for Zydus, IPCA; US, Europe warn against using Hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus With most of our honey-do lists completed, and our financial anxiety now relegated to a steady, gnawing gut-ache, many of us have turned to a familiar pastime: finding someone to blame for all this mess. China conspired. Trump dawdled. The WHO are schmucks. CNN reporters are all lying liars. Fire Fauci. FOX Newsisnt. Take your pick, then shout loudly. Many are. Among them are the new wave of sign-waving self-appointed constitutional scholars noisily asserting that all lockdown restrictions are, by definition, a violation of our constitutional rights. Its amazing to me how so many people can suddenly decide that every one of our 50 governors, the majority of whom are Republican, are actually constitution-destroying socialist stooges, waiting in secret for just this moment to show their true colors. Who knew? Within the lockdown orders, and the accompanying protests, are two issues drawing the most criticism. The first includes restrictions on public assemblies for religious worship. Many pastors and parishioners are declaring such restrictions to be a violation of our constitutionally-protected freedom of worship. This strikes me as stupid. Most churches have gone online with services, where followers are free to watch and worship as they please. The only difference is that the plate doesnt get passed during online services, which (forgive my cynicism) I suspect may be the driving force behind some of these pastor-pumped protests. Meanwhile, to my knowledge, not a single institutional denomination as a body has opposed the current shuttering of religious sanctuaries. Correct me if Im wrong. The second issue concerns how were going restart everything following our self-induced economic coma. Im not sure its a constitutional question, but it is certainly shaping up to be a battle of sharply conflicted morality. Like you, Im watching our economic slow-motion train wreck with alarm. When businesses go down, people go downmany of whom are friends and neighbors. One way or another, their loss will become our loss. But state governors are the ones responsible for the implementation of strategies during emergencies caused by pandemics or natural disastersa fact even the president has finally acknowledged. We elected them all to do a tough job, and theyre doing it. Clearly, were closing in on an eventual economic kick-start, but were not there yet. Should significantly more testing be available before we crank the handle to reopen the Jack-in-the-Box? Seems reasonable, if your goal is to save as many lives as possible. But a growing number of critics say thats just wimpy talk. Folks are gonna die anyway, were told, so we may as well let em all die at once and get it behind us as quickly as possible, so the rest of us can get back to working multiple part-time jobs with no benefits. Exhibit A for this growingly popular point of view is Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, (R-TX) who spoke on Fox News this week with Tucker Carlson. In his interview about reopening the economy he stated that, there are more important things than living. He specifically singled out older people, who, he said, ought to be willing to die from lack of available treatmentor, as he phrased it, step out of the wayif it means a quicker economic recovery for everyone else. I am not making this up or taking his remarks out of context. You can find the entire interview on YouTube. Check it out. I guess I can admire his candor, but not much else. His remarkably callous idea, as far as it goes, is correct. Every week the economy remains in lockdown is a strain on us all. So props to Mr. Patrick for putting his cards on the table. Deciding that the lives of an entire class of people are worth less than the rest of us isnt something we typically come right out and say in America. Pre-war Germany? Sure. But America? Usually we do it in a more wink-wink kind of way. But at least its good to know where I stand. I suppose that when my time finally comes, my wife will sit at my bedside, hold my hand, look into my eyes and say, Goodbye, sweetheart. Thanks for taking one for the team. Chris Huston is an author and award-winning columnist living in the Magic Valley. Connect with Chris on Facebook and Instagram at Chris Huston-Finding My Way and at chrishustonauthor.com. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, who are the most admired people in America? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Indian Ambassador to the UAE Pavan Kapoor has expressed shock over the mortal remains of three Indians being sent back to Abu Dhabi after they were flown to their families in India, according to a media report on Saturday. The deceased were not coronavirus cases but were returned by the authorities in New Delhi, the Gulf News reported. "We are appalled at what has happened. We do not know if the bodies were returned because of coronavirus-related restrictions, but we are obviously not sending the remains of people [who have passed away from Covid-19]," Kapoor told the daily. "[As we understand], it happened because of new protocols at the airport and we are trying to sort it out," he said. The deceased were identified as Kamlesh Bhatt, Sanjeev Kumar and Jagsir Singh. Bhatt died of cardiac arrest on April 17, both Kumar and Singh had died on April 13. A foreign worker's employer has to usually arrange cargo companies to repatriate bodies of deceased persons. If airport protocols have changed, it means cargo companies have to be more careful about the clearance they're getting, Kapoor told the newspaper. Meanwhile, the Indian government on Saturday told the Delhi High Court that it will find out from the embassy concerned about the location and condition of the mortal remains of Bhatt, who died in UAE and his body was returned to Abu Dhabi from Delhi due to immigration issues. During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Maninder Acharya, representing the Centre, submitted that it being a unique case, the ministries of Home Affairs and Health and Family Welfare are in the process of framing Standard Operating Procedures so that in future there is no difficulty in similar matters. She further said that a meeting was going on at the highest level to consider the petitioner's case and prayed for some time to report about it. The law officer said the Centre shall find out from the concerned Embassy as to the location and condition of the mortal remains of the deceased which were flown back from India. Governments across the world have imposed unprecedented restrictions in view of the coronavirus outbreak, resulting in difficulties in repatriating remains of deceased persons. The coronavirus, which originated in China's Wuhan city, has claimed nearly 2,00,000 lives and infected over 2.8 million people in the world so far. The virus has taken 64 lives in the UAE. Doctors, nurses, and professionals from the healthcare sector are being revered across the globe as they spearhead the battle against the coronavirus pandemic. One such warrior, an Indian-origin doctor Uma Madhusudana, an Internist practising at Hartford HealthCare in Connecticut in the US, was recently honoured with a 100-car salute as people expressed gratitude to the COVID warrior for her outstanding service. The video has garnered over 45 thousand views on Twitter and is leaving hundreds of internet users emotional and teary-eyed. READ | US: One New Death, 76 New Cases Of Coronavirus In Oregon Joining Republic TV's Editor Niranjan Narayanaswamy live on Sunday, Dr Uma Madhusudana recounted her encounter with the coronavirus in the US and narrated how the situation has transitioned so far. Talking about the steps taken to curb the infection, Dr Uma Madhusudana said that practising social distancing, work from home and streamlined processes to treat the patients helped to a large extent. Dr Uma Madhushudana, who works at Hartford HealthCare, said that awareness education was the need of the hour for healthcare workers in order to deal with COVID-19. Stressing on the need for the frontline warriors to remain protected, Dr Uma said that it was essential to provide PPEs to healthcare workers and said that the leadership should ensure the availability of the same. Talking about the video that went viral, Dr Uma Madhusudana said that words weren't enough to express the positivity taken form the moment and dedicated it to every COVID warrior around the globe. READ | Covid Deaths Above 50000, Trump Says Briefings Not Worth His Time After Disinfectant Gaffe "My message for fellow doctors in India is that you are chosen as frontline warriors and you should feel fortunate. You need to protect yourself. Wear PPEs. We should continue doing our duty and we shall be successful", said Dr. Uma Madhusudana, conveying her message to COVID warriors in India. READ | US: Evers Stay-at-home Extension Draws Anger, Pleas For Help 100-car salute for Dr Uma Madhushudan Dr Uma Madhusudan, an Indian doctor, was saluted in a unique way in front of her house in USA in recognition of her selfless service treating Covid patients pic.twitter.com/Hg62FSwzsP Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) April 20, 2020 READ | NY Guv Cuomo Shares A Heartwarming Letter From Kansas Farmer, Calls It An 'inspiration' The Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly (KoKMA) has inaugurated a 20-bed isolation centre for the Adabraka Polyclinic to boost their capacity to hold suspected patients of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The facility is made up of two wards of 10 beds each and has two consulting rooms and washrooms attached to each ward. It was constructed and furnished within a period of two weeks at the cost of GH342,162.99. Previously, the facility was an open shed structure constructed in 2014 to serve as an isolation bay during a cholera epidemic in that year. Reason for the facility Speaking at the inaugural ceremony in Accra yesterday, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the assembly, Mr Samuel Nii Adjei Tawiah, explained that the provision of the facility was part of the assemblys commitment to ensure the safety of people during the pandemic. The assemblys swift response to convert an existing open shed into a 20-bed isolation centre for coronavirus positive patients was borne out of our sensitivity towards the health and safety of the people, he said. He added that the move was also to ensure that health practitioners were able to operate within the best environment in managing the global pandemic. Isolation centre The Head of the Adabraka Polyclinic, Dr Abdul Razak Quao, thanked the assembly for their commitment to complete the project and assured them that the facility would be used for its intended purpose. This isolation centre would be used to hold our suspected COVID-19 cases as they wait for their results so as to prevent them from going back to the communities to possibly infect others, he said. The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Ishmael Ashitey, also commended the assembly and encouraged other assemblies to contribute in their own way to support the fight against COVID-19. Touching on the mandatory wearing of nose masks, he urged the public to wear the masks, noting that he had directed the assemblies to provide masks for people who could not afford them. Provide PPE The Member of Parliament for Korle Klottey constituency in Accra, Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, also commended the assembly and health officials for working together to complete the project. She, however, called on the assembly to adequately equip the healthcare officials with the necessary PPE to keep them safe. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video After a truly shattering discovery ripped Lynsey Crombies world apart, she found her therapy in housework. Now that passion for cleaning has transformed her into TV and social media star the Queen of Clean. She tells Julia Llewellyn Smith how elbow grease saved her Lynsey wears jumper and shoes, Next. Skirt, Ghost Its impossible for Lynsey Crombies detached townhouse in an attractive suburb of Peterborough to look any more pristine. The windows sparkle and I can see my face reflected in the glistening kitchen countertops. Im nervous to sit down in case I mess up her perfectly plumped cushions. Shall I take my shoes off? I ask. No need! Lynsey replies. Ive already cleaned the floors twice today. Its only 1pm. Known as the Queen of Clean, Lynsey, 41, is a cleanfluencer, one of the new band of women storming social media, cleaning up financially from literally cleaning up. They share tips about dusting, toilet scrubbing and making their whites whiter. With 179,000 Instagram followers, regular appearances on ITVs This Morning and two books to her name, Lynsey who first came to fame throwing hoarders junk into skips on Channel 4s Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners is, as she says, in a great place career-wise. But the passion for cleanliness that brought her here comes from a very dark place. Lynseys obsession with cleaning started 17 years ago after the horrific discovery that her new husband was a paedophile. The trauma sent her into premature labour with the twins she was carrying. Overnight, she became a single mother with two babies in a special-care unit. I was in shock, and then all the bleaching started, she says. I was like a lunatic; Id get a bottle of bleach and pour it everywhere, over anything my husband had touched, all down my arms to wash away the pain he had caused me. I felt absolutely disgusting. Lynsey, who was 25 at the time, had known the man she wont name for just over a year. Theyd met when she was living in Kingston, Surrey, and working in marketing. He was seven years older with an executive job for a multinational company. I was young and vulnerable; he was good-looking, with an amazing career, a big house and quite a bit of money. I thought Id landed on my feet, she says, sitting in her spotless living room with her cockerpoo Hetty beside her (Shes only allowed on the sofa because shes just been groomed). Id been this ambitious career girl and he took my whole life. Within a year of meeting, they married. At the wedding, his sister took Lynsey aside and asked, Do you know about him being in prison? Since her new husband had told Lynsey that hed served time for being in a nightclub fight, she replied, Look, boys can be silly, everyones got a past, it doesnt bother me. Lynsey says, My sister-in-law just turned and walked away. Obviously she was trying to warn me, but she didnt do a very good job! Shortly after they married, the couple moved to Newcastle for her husbands work. Looking back, he used to do strange things: Id wake in the middle of the night and find him in his office. Hed be on his computer, and when he saw me hed literally pull all the wires out to stop me seeing what he was doing. When I found out hed been in prison, I was so shocked I went into labour One night, when Lynsey was 28 weeks pregnant, the police knocked at the door. They came in and ripped everything apart. They had a warrant for my husbands arrest and took him away, with me saying, Whats he done? But they couldnt tell me. Distraught, Lynsey went to his parents house nearby. Finally, his mother told me what hed done. I found out hed been in prison twice. I was so shocked, I instantly went into labour. With no special-care unit for premature babies in Newcastle, Lynsey and her daughters, Olivia and Mollie, were flown to hospital in Edinburgh. It was very touch and go. Mollie was especially poorly and on oxygen feeding tubes. She was in and out of hospital like a yo-yo. The unit was a very sterile place you were always having to wash your hands, so that fuelled my obsession. After six weeks, Olivia was allowed home. Mollie followed a few weeks later, but had to go everywhere attached to an oxygen canister. Isolated and still too shaken to tell family and friends what had happened, every day Lynsey walked to the shops to buy cleaning products, then, returning home, cleaned frantically until all the products were used up. There was this aggressive scrubbing because I was in so much pain internally and I was living on the breadline, so all I could do was stay home and clean. Finally, she told her family what had happened and her father drove her and the girls back to the family home in Peterborough, where she spent the next few months sharing the tiny spare room with the twins and an enormous oxygen tank. I was 25 and felt my life was over: my children were poorly, my marriage dead and I had no career or money. But soon she found a flat nearby, with her father paying the first six months rent to get her back on her feet. Social services were always visiting and used to compliment me on how everything in the flat was perfect; how organised I was. That really inspired me and helped me start to get my confidence back. I was so ashamed of what had happened to me. I had some counselling, but it did nothing what worked for me was scrubbing. But I soon realised that I was young, a mum and I couldnt let what had happened shape the rest of my life. I could have ended up a hoarder, living like a pig, seeing my kids grow up horrendously. But I thought, I am not going to let what that man did define me. In the bigger scheme of things, I had only known him for two years and the there had been a lot of good in my life before that. I decided that there would be a lot more good to come. Lynsey found a job as a receptionist at a GPs surgery, where she met her second husband Rob, then a medical rep, who now works for a big pharmaceuticals company. She asked him out by text, then, when he accepted, she sent another message, saying, PS, Ive got twins, Im going through a divorce and my lifes a mess do you still want to come? I thought hed say no and that would get me out of it, but he said yes again! I think I was so ashamed of what Id been through that I just didnt want anyone to like me. I was a mum. I couldnt let what had happened shape my whole life In the early days of their relationship, Lynsey admits, I was a horrible person. I used to shout and say such nasty things to Rob; I even took him to the police station to be Criminal Record Bureau checked. I cant believe that he stayed with me. But Rob stuck it out and two years later they had a son, Jake, now 14. It was when he was a baby that Lynsey, unwilling to leave him in childcare, took a cleaning job in a care home where the elderly residents enjoyed sharing their time-honoured cleaning tips with her. Soon she had clients all over the neighbourhood. Cleaning is the perfect job for mums you can pick and choose your hours and your clients. Its good honest work and great exercise I didnt have to go to the gym. And I enjoyed it. Lynsey was also working selling advertising space for a local magazine, when one day a researcher from Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners called looking for filthy houses for the show. Lynsey explained her background and was signed up. Within weeks she was travelling all over the country transforming some of Britains filthiest houses for the cameras. In one country house I stepped on a rug and fell through the hole it was covering right through to the floor below. Lynsey discovered Instagram four years ago, after her daughters begged her to let them sign up. Id never heard of it, but I let them have it on the condition that I followed them and they didnt block me. On her new account, Lynsey initially posted snaps of family life. But one day Id washed the floor and it had come out really nice. I had a bottle of Zoflora disinfectant, so I put that on the floor and took a picture, more for my enjoyment than anything else, and posted it on Instagram with #cleaning the girls had taught me how to hashtag. Lynsey had 40 followers but the post attracted 190 likes. It just went from that, she says. She carried on posting cleaning shots and within six months had 7,000 followers, at which point she began contacting brands, asking to promote their wares. No one else was doing cleaning on Instagram then. I was offered 100 to promote a mop, and I was, like, Wow! Left: Lynsey on This Morning with Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby. Right: With her husband, Rob Today, Lynsey can command thousands of pounds for sponsored posts. Its been a whirlwind for little old me who used to put my hand down loos, she laughs. But when it comes to cleaning products, she tends to favour a more old-fashioned approach using lore garnered from her former job at the care home. Her favourite products are lemon juice and vinegar. You really dont even have to go down the cleaning aisle in the supermarket, theres so much you can do with a lemon, she says. I really like the idea of me taking people back in time to when things were much simpler. Now Lynsey says that her cleaning obsession has calmed down. Though it still sounds bonkers to me, with her rising every morning at 5.30am to tackle her chores. By 8am today Id hoovered and polished and done the bathrooms; in the oven theres two pasta dishes, so were all prepped for later. Dress, Zara She doesnt know what happened to her ex-husband, who was sentenced to time in Durham prison. The twins, who were on the Child Protection Register until they were seven, dont know his identity but they have studied the Child Protection Reports on the case, kept in a box in the attic. Theyre amazing kids it makes me so happy their father hasnt won. Meanwhile, Lynsey is proud that she has channelled her trauma into a soaring career. As well as the social media, books and television appearances, shes launching a new vacuum and cleaning products range. She also still occasionally takes on cleaning jobs for the council. You have to keep it real, because the Instagram stuff is a bubble that could burst at any moment, she says. Shes so busy has she thought about, er, employing a cleaner? Never! cries the Queen of Clean. No one will clean to my standards. The Easy Life: Quick Ways to Clean and Manage Your Home All Year Round by Lynsey Crombie will be published by Welbeck Publishing on 2 April, price 14.99. To order a copy for 11.99 (a 20 per cent discount) with free p&p until 30 April, go to mailshop.co.uk or call 01603 648155. Flash A Chinese military medical expert team bringing along medical materials aided by China's defense ministry arrived in Lao capital Vientiane on Friday afternoon to join Laos' efforts in fight against the COVID-19 epidemic. The team, namely the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control expert team, was warmly received at the Wattay International Airport of Vientiane by Lao Deputy Defense Minister Aesamay Leuangvanxay and other high ranking army officers, and Chinese ambassador to Laos Jiang Zaidong. "In the crucial time when Laos is confronted with a huge challenge of epidemic prevention and control, we are grateful that the Chinese army sent the anti-epidemic medical experts and contributed a large number of epidemic prevention materials," Aesamay said. China has shared anti-epidemic experiences with other countries, provided assistance to many countries and dispatched teams of medical experts, demonstrating the broad mind of building a community of shared future for mankind, the Lao official said. The Lao side believes that with the valuable assistance from the Chinese comrades, "we will surely further improve our prevention and control capabilities and win the fight against the epidemic." Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong said that the joint efforts of the two armed forces in fighting the epidemic is another important move taken by China and Laos to fight the epidemic together. The Chinese military medical expert team is bringing a wealth of practical experiences in fighting COVID-19, said the ambassador, adding that the team will strive to adapt to local situation and achieve effective results. Team leader Ti Xinyu said the Chinese experts will share their experiences with the Lao counterparts, and provide consultation on virus detection and confirmation, disinfection and infection control, epidemiological investigation and personnel protection, clinical diagnosis and treatment training, among others. Ti said his team is willing to assist the Lao side to enhance its comprehensive prevention and control capabilities, establish a long-term prevention and control mechanism, and contribute to consolidating and developing friendly relations between the two armies and building a community with a shared future between China and Laos. The Chinese military medical expert team handed over anti-epidemic medical materials, including test kits, preventive clothing and face masks. Laos detected its first two confirmed COVID-19 cases on March 24, and only after five days, the first Chinese anti-epidemic medical expert team from Yunnan Province arrived in capital Vientiane on March 29 to help. The Chinese medical team, including experts in various fields such as infection prevention and control, intensive care, epidemics, and laboratory testing, also brought along with medical treatment, protective supplies and a batch of Chinese and western medicines. The Lao Health Ministry announced at its daily press conference that the country had detected 19 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Friday afternoon. David Bowie once picked his guitarist and old school friend Peter Frampton up and carried him out of the smoke-filled cabin of his private plane. In a memoir due to be published in October, rocker Frampton, 69, reveals Bowie - a 'lovely man' who he first met when they went to school together in Bromley, south east London - saved him twice. Bowie chose his old friend to play the guitar on his 1987 Glass Spider World Tour and album as a broke Frampton struggled to launch a career comeback, The Sunday Mirror reports. The second, more dramatic encounter, was as the pair settled down in the cabin of one of the private planes used to cart the musicians between venues. As the plane crossed the tarmac smoke began billowing into the cabin, causing a shocked Bowie to leap out of his seat and shout 'Smoke, Smoke', Frampton says. In a memoir due to be published in October, rocker Frampton, 69, reveals Bowie (pictured performing together in 1987) - a 'lovely man' who he first met when they went to school together in Bromley, south east London - saved him twice. 'The pilot stops and Dave literally lifts me out of my seat and carries me down the chute,' he added. 'I will never forget that. He coulda ran out but he wanted to make sure I was okay. 'That was the kind of guy he was with me, and in general. He was a lovely man.' Frampton joined Bowie for the show - which is described as 'the biggest live spectacle of his career' by Ultimate Classic Rock - eleven years after the hit album Frampton Comes Alive! sold eight million records. By 1987 Frampton's career was at rock bottom when Bowie introduced him back into the industry. Bowie chose his old friend to play the guitar on his 1987 Glass Spider World Tour and album as a broke Frampton (pictured in July 2019) struggled to launch a career comeback, The Sunday Mirror reports While Bowie died in 2016 aged 69 from liver cancer, Frampton is suffering from a muscle disease called inclusion body myositis. Last year Frampton revealed the incurable condition came on subtly, starting around eight years ago when he found his legs couldn't handle a hike as easily as before. 'At first I thought, "I'm just getting old!"', he told People Magazine. Over the next few years, with a series of falls on stage, he realized 'there's a problem'. As well as writing four albums in 12 months, he said he even sleeps with the guitar he used to write Baby I Love Your Way. Bowie (pictured in 1987 during his Glass Spider World Tour) lifted Frampton out of his seat and carried him out of the burning plane He said: I hope Im still writing lyrics and playing a new riff, if I can, when Im on my last legs. Because thats what my lifes all about. Frampton, who ended his career with a farewell tour last June, is now embarking on a clinical trial with Johns Hopkins to test a drug that, scientists hope, may stave off the effects of IBM. The disease, which affects roughly 24,000 Americans, fuels inflammation of the tissues, gradually weakening muscles. Frampton, fortunately, has not been affected in his throat, like 50 percent of sufferers, meaning he can still speak and sing, though his wrists, fingers, arms, and legs are gradually weakening. Frampton (pictured in 1977) joined Bowie for his album and tour eleven years after the hit album Frampton Comes Alive! sold eight million records But, he said, he is staying cheery. My cup is always half full. Im very positive about it, Frampton said. What is Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM)? IBM involves the inflammation of the muscles and affects associated tissues - such a blood vessels. Overtime, IBM slows and weakens muscle functionality, sometimes even affecting someone's ability to swallow. It's a non-fatal but incurable disease that can severely demobilize a sufferer. Progressive weakness of the muscles, wrists and fingers, the muscles of the front of the thigh, and the muscles that lift the front of the foot are all symptoms of IMB. Unlike in other inflammatory myopathies, the heart and lungs are not affected in IBM. Advertisement Frampton found modest success in Britain in the 1960s with his teenage band, The Herd, followed by a number-one single with Humble Pie, a band he co-founded with Steve Marriott of Small Faces. However, the Kent-born virtuoso conquered the US as a solo performer after his blockbuster fifth album Frampton Comes Alive spent ten weeks atop the album charts. Though, in the album's wake, commercial success proved hard to come by for Frampton. The title track of his follow up album, I'm In You, managed to reach number one, but the decade that followed was plagued by a series of misses and flops. According to Frampton, it wasn't until Bowie reached out to him that his career saw a resurgence. His triumphant return from 10 years of darkness is the inspiration behind his positive mindset as his battle with IBM intensifies, Frampton says. 'I'm think of all the times in my life that something devastating has happened to my career, or in my family, or [to] me,' he said to CBS. Frampton is pictured rounding out his four-month farewell tour last July in Michigan The Kent-born virtuoso conquered the US as a solo performer after his blockbuster fifth album Frampton Comes Alive spent ten weeks atop the album charts. Pictured: Frampton in 1968 'I've brushed myself up and changed directions.' Frampton admitted he hesitated to tell his children, who, though were initially devastated by the news, have provided an incredible network of support for him over the past few years. If the Johns Hopkins trial works, he promises there will be a global 'miracle tour' to celebrate his successful recovery. ALBANY A consultant for the state is predicting that the recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic will be deeper and the recovery longer than the 2008 Great Recession and that which followed the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001. According to a statement by the state Division of Budget, New York states economy will lose $243 billion over the course of the full recovery, which is equal to 14 percent of the states Gross Domestic Product. Recovery to "pre-COVID level" would take three years, to the first quarter of 2023, the review said. Budget agency officials also said the $10.1 billion in spending reductions from the levels proposed in the Executive Budget include an $8.2 billion reduction in aid-to-localities, which includes funds for health care, K-12 schools, and higher education as well as support for local governments, public transit systems, and the nonprofit that assist the state. State agency operations will be reduced by 10 percent, along with other savings. The report by Boston Consulting Group, which provided an economic outlook at the states request, details the major hits in different sectors of the states economy and compares the current pandemic with previous disease outbreaks. Publicly traded companies may return aid meant for small businesses Cuomo will allow some regions of New York to reopen May 15 Latest coronavirus-related cancellations, postponements The latest coronavirus numbers in NY Sign up for the Times Union coronavirus newsletter Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Full coronavirus coverage It makes mention of New Yorks important position among other states in the nation, citing that the health of the NY economy is crucial to the health of the entire country, as it is the financial capital of the world, represents 8 percent of Americas GDP and that New York City is the top U.S. destination for foreign travelers. The preface to the report, by Budget Director Robert F. Mujica Jr., says New York clearly cant navigate the national crisis on its own and needs federal funding. Read the report here. Budget officials on Saturday said the fiscal year 2021 Enacted State Budget Financial Plan projects a $13.3 billion shortfall, or 14 percent, in revenue from the executive budget forecast released in January. It estimates a $61 billion decline through fiscal year 2024 as a direct effect of the pandemic. Above all, our efforts to stop the spread of the virus are working to save lives, and now we are also addressing the economic realities the pandemic is causing as we move New York forward and build back better than before, Mujica said. Unlike the federal government, New York State must balance its budget and in the absence of federal assistance, we will have to make deep cuts which could impact a broad range of services. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has noted that he was deeply saddened by the news of the death of Ali bey Huseynzade`s daughter Feyzaver khanum. President Ilham Aliyev expressed his sorrow over this heavy loss: I was deeply saddened by the news of the death of Feyzaver Turan Alpsar, the daughter of Ali bey Huseynzade, a prominent representative of Azerbaijan`s literary and public thought, a famous educator and writer. Feyzaver Turan Alpsar played an important role in preserving the literary and scientific heritage of the great thinker. She was awarded the Dostlug Order and the 100th anniversary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1918-2018) jubilee medal for her contributions to the strengthening of cultural relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Turkey. May Allah rest her soul in peace! Baku, 25 April 2020 --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Portland City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly faces seven challengers vying for her city council seat. A disability and housing rights advocate wrapping up her first term, Eudaly led the way on strengthening Portland renters protections but failed in her attempt to change the citys neighborhood association structure. She won office in 2016, upsetting then-Commissioner Steve Novick. Eudaly now counts Novick among several backers who have endorsed her for another four years at Portland City Hall. Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, who once served as a Portland commissioner himself, have also given Eudaly their stamp of approval, as have the Portland Association of Teachers, the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon and labor union Professional & Technical Employees Local 17. Among Eudalys challengers are former Mayor Sam Adams, former City Hall employee Mingus Mapps, software engineer Seth Woolley and president of Portland-based Titan Freight Systems Keith Wilson. Adams, who served as chief of staff under former Mayor Vera Katz, was first elected to the Portland City Council in 2004 when he defeated Nick Fish for the Position 1 post. He served one term as commissioner and was elected mayor in 2008, becoming the first openly gay man to hold the position in a major U.S. city. He served a single term that saw him publicly admit to lying about a sexual relationship he started with an 18-year-old he met while a city commissioner. Mapps was a former supervisor for the citys crime prevention program and later the neighborhood association system until last June, working in the Office of Community and Civic Life which Eudaly oversees. He has received nods from organizations including the Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors, Basic Rights Oregon Equality Political Action Committee and the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council. Eudaly, Adams, Mapps and Woolley are enrolled in the citys public campaign finance program. Portlands Open and Accountable Elections Program limits them to accepting no more than $250 from any person and provides $6 in taxpayer funds for each of the first $50 they raise from eligible donors. The top three fundraisers of the race are Mapps ($171,767), Adams ($131,268) and Woolley ($89,681). Five of the eight candidates submitted completed questionnaire forms to The Oregonian/OregonLive by the deadline. Questions asked, short biographic information about them and links to their answers on key questions are below. Surveys were also sent to candidates running for Position 1, Position 2 and Mayor. Click each question to read the candidates responses. Some have been edited for length and clarity. Questions: -Why should Portlanders vote for you? -If elected, what two changes in city policies do you plan to advocate for within your first 90 days in office? -If the coronavirus pandemic ended today, what do you believe are two things that should be included in Portlands long-term recovery plan? -Name two inequities in the city that most concern you. How do you intend to address them if elected? -If you had your choice of bureaus to oversee, which two would you most want in your portfolio and why? -Would you support Portlanders voting to change the citys form of government it if it once again went to the ballot during your term? -Is there anything significant the City of Portland isnt currently doing to address housing and homelessness? -Do you feel Portlanders are more divided now than in past years? Candidates (in alphabetical order) -Sam Adams Residence: Concordia Occupation: Good government consultant Occupational background: Founding director, World Resources Institute United States program; executive director, City Club of Portland; additional experience listed below. Prior governmental experience: Mayor, city commissioner and mayoral chief of staff, City of Portland. Age: 56 -Chloe Eudaly (incumbent) Residence: Kerns Occupation: Portland City Commissioner Occupational background: Small business owner; nonprofit program administrator; additional experience listed below. Prior governmental experience: Community advocate; Multnomah County Cultural Coalition; District Parent Involvement Committee, Portland Public Schools. Age: 49 -Mingus Mapps Residence: Buckman Occupation: Community organizer Occupational background: Researcher and/or professor, Harvard Universitys Kennedy School of Government, Brandeis University, Bowdoin College and Portland State University; additional experience listed below. Prior governmental experience: Supervisor, City of Portland crime prevention program; program coordinator, City of Portland neighborhood association system; served in chairs office, Multnomah County; worked in intergovernmental relations office, Portland Public Schools. Age: 52 -Keith Wilson Residence: Alameda Occupation: President, Titan Freight Systems Occupational background: Assistant account executive, National Broadcasting Company. Age: 56 -Seth Woolley Residence: Alameda Occupation: Software engineer Occupational background: Software engineer; additional experience listed below. Prior governmental experience: Advocate and researcher, environmental and campaign finance reform; member, legislative campaign finance task force; member, Secretary of State redistricting task force; founder, Portland Clean Air. Age: 39 Note: Candidates Aaron Fancher, Robert MacKay and Kevin McKay did not respond to The Oregonian/OregonLives request to complete a candidate questionnaire by the deadline. Multnomah County Voters Pamphlet offers more information about candidates. -- Everton Bailey Jr; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. FORMER Army soldier Winston Ragos who was shot dead by a policeman was laid to rest at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on Sunday afternoon, April 26. Ragos was given full military honors including a 21-gun salute during his burial where his family, including his daughter, was present. On Saturday, Ragos remains arrived at the Libingan ng mga Bayani where the Philippine Army rendered military honors to him. The Army shouldered all burial expenses and provided other assistance needed by the family. They also fetched Ragos daughter, Irich Lovely in Bicol in order to attend his fathers burial. We condole with the family of the late Corporal Ragos, he has suffered enough from the challenges of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) caused by the invisible wounds of war. Our priority right now is to take care of his family ensuring they have all the resources they need during this critical time. The Philippine Army honors Ragos for his service and sacrifice that defines us as an Army, said Army chief, Lieutenant General Gilbert Gapay. Ragos was shot and killed on April 21, Tuesday by Police Master Sergeant Daniel Florendo near a quarantine control point in Maligaya Drive, Barangay Pasong Putik in Quezon City. This came after Ragos allegedly confronted two police trainees manning the said checkpoint, who asked him to go home due to the prevailing enhanced community quarantine, a measure to stop or slow down the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The police trainees reported the incident to Florendo, who was their supervisor on duty at the time of incident. He was also informed that Ragos has a gun on his sling bag. The following event, which was caught on video footage showed Florendo toting his pistol to Ragos while ordering him to put his hands up. Ragos refused to heed the order and instead tried to open his bag, supposedly to grab something inside and attempted to face the policemen. Florendo then shot Ragos twice which caused his death. Story continues He was charged of homicide cases and has been on hot water for shooting and killing Ragos despite the call of the people in the crime scene not to shoot him as he was unarmed and suffering from PTSD. Ragos kin also claimed that he has no firearm during the incident, in contrary to the claims of the police that a .38 caliber was recovered from his sling bag. Ragos was discharged from the service after being diagnosed with PTSD which he acquired while in service. (SunStar Philippines) Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has an empowering message for the class of 2020: We can power through the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic together. Woodfin, along with U.S. Sen. Doug Jones and multiple celebrities, spoke during IGNITE Alabamas Virtual Graduation for high school and college seniors on Sunday. The online ceremony celebrated those whose semesters were interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. Woodfin uplifted the graduates by reminding them of the hardships Birmingham, the heartbeat of the Civil Rights Movement, has experienced and how the city overcame those challenges together. Birmingham is a city known for its struggles, but it is celebrated for its resilience. When adversity came to our doorstep, we didnt blink, Woodfin said. We met it head on with the help of friends, family, faith leaders and a loving community. We defeated that opposition and most importantly became stronger together. You can do the same. Class of 2020, you have been through a lot and that adversity has certainly made you stronger, Woodfin continued. Know that Birmingham and the entire state of Alabama stands with you. You are much more than the leaders of tomorrow. You are the leaders of today. More than 400 seniors participated in IGNITE Alabamas social media call out, which started last month. The organization has been celebrating the seniors successes on its Facebook page. Jones started his speech with a moment of silence to all of those who have died from COVID-19. According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, 216 Alabamians have died as of Sunday afternoon. Jones is aware of what all seniors have lost due to the coronavirus pandemic. Proms and in-person graduations were postponed or moved to virtual spaces as both federal and state health officials enforced social distancing requirements. I know thats not easy, but we are all in this together, Jones said. Staying at home and staying safe is the best thing we can do right now for Alabama, for the country, for our families and for our economy. Are you a high school senior who wants to leave their mark on history? Al.com is collecting essays, videos and pictures from high school seniors to create a virtual yearbook! You can click here to learn how to participate. Another person has been hospitalized as the total number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus grow to 506 in Montgomery County. As of Saturday, that total number was up by 10 cases which included 356 active cases with 37 hospitalized cases and 319 people in self-isolation. There have been 141 recoveries and nine deaths in the county. ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Coronavirus live updates: Infections more prevalent in Harris County's poor neighborhoods At least one man in his 70s in Montgomery has been hospitalized after reportedly contracting the virus through community spread. The status and transmission remain under investigation for at least four of the cases reported on Saturday, including a Magnolia woman in her 60s. No further information was available as of press time regarding the cases, or if any of the cases are related to senior living facilities or communities. On Friday, the county officials reported a man his 50s died after being hospitalized, which marked the countys ninth death. Health officials also confirmed that one of Fridays new cases is related to the outbreak at the Park Manor nursing homes in Conroe and The Woodlands that was announced Thursday. The two facilities have reported a total of 18 cases, including one death, according to a previous article in The Courier. 'I FEEL LOST': COVID-19 outbreak reported at Conroe and Woodlands nursing homes On Friday, Montgomery County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Executive Director Jason Millsaps said the nursing homes followed the mandate from Gov. Greg Abbott and has not had any outside visitors since last month. While he could not confirm, it is suspected the outbreak was started by an employee or other health care worker. Millsaps said those at the facility who are positive have been quarantined. The log of confirmed cases reported by the Montgomery County Public Health Department which posted on social media that the statewide stay-at-home order remains in effect shows that 66.4 percent (336) of the total number of cases have been transmitted through community spread. The remaining cases included 85 travel-related cases, and 85 cases under investigation for transmission. Montgomery County Hospital District Public Information Officer Misti Willingham said the countys public health district does not release information regarding locations of specific case numbers, such as to determine if those cases may have stemmed from a school, grocery story or hospital. MORNING REPORT: Get the top stories on HoustonChronicle.com sent directly to your inbox Willingham stated in an email that community spread is the conclusion when the person has not traveled and noted it would be difficult to concluded where someone may have contracted the illness. Some of the community spread cases are connected to one another so spread within a household is an option as well, she said. As of Friday, The Courier reported the age group reporting the most cases was the 40-49 bracket. However, seven of the nine deaths in the county were those in their 80s with the remaining two in their 50s. Details on individual cases can be found here: https://mcphd-tx.org/coronavirus-covid-19/confirmed-cases/. mellsworth@hcnonline.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 21:39:49|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ZHENGZHOU, April 26 (Xinhua) -- A batch of medical supplies donated by the government of central China's Henan Province will be transported to Poland, Germany, Britain and other European countries via China-Europe freight trains. The urgently needed anti-epidemic gear, consisting of 360,000 face masks and 10,000 protective suits, will be freighted on May 6 and arrive in their destinations in about two weeks, according to the Zhengzhou International Hub Development and Construction Co., Ltd. (ZIH), operator of the China-Europe trains in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan. Zhao Wenming, general manager of ZIH, said the China-Europe freight train service has set up a green channel for European countries to obtain in a timely manner medical supplies and daily necessities, which helped promote anti-pandemic cooperation between China and Europe, as well as countries along the route. Switch cabinet components arrived in Zhengzhou via the freight trains in mid-February before they were transferred to other places across China and used on power equipment at local hospitals designated for COVID-19 treatment. Medical supplies have been sent to Europe through this route as epidemic wanes in China. Masks, protective suits, and other medical supplies weighing 144 tonnes have been transported in 35 batches from Zhengzhou to Europe this month, Zhao noted. A total of 2,917 China-Europe freight trains had been operated in Zhengzhou by the end of March since the city opened its first route to Hamburg in July 2013. Enditem Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Sunday he "can't really explain" President Donald Trump's public speculation last week about studying disinfectant in the search for a COVID-19 treatment, but he advised the president to make sure his news conferences on the coronavirus are "fact-based." Hogan, a Republican and chairman of the National Governors Association, said on ABC News' "This Week" that from the beginning of the outbreak, it's been important that officials communicate "very clearly on the facts because people listen to these press conferences." "They listen when the governor holds a press conference, and they certainly pay attention when the president of the United States is standing there giving a press conference about something as serious as this worldwide pandemic," Hogan said. "And I think when misinformation comes out or you just say something that pops in your head, it does send a wrong message." Thursday, Trump invited Bill Bryan, undersecretary of science and technology at the Department of Homeland Security, to brief White House reporters about a study that found the coronavirus did not survive long when exposed to sunlight or disinfectants. After the presentation, Trump pondered the possibility of introducing disinfectants or ultraviolet light into the human body to kill the virus. The idea prompted alarm from health experts and drew immediate social media mockery. Disinfectant manufacturers Clorox and Lysol issued statements reminding people it was unsafe to ingest their products. Hogan said that after Trump's remarks, Maryland saw "hundreds of calls come into our emergency hotline at our health department asking if it was right to ingest Clorox or alcohol cleaning products whether that was going to help them fight the virus. So we had to put out that warning to make sure that people were not doing something like that, which would kill people actually to do it." Story continues Hogan advised Trump to "stick to a message and make sure that these press conferences are fact-based." From malaria drugs to disinfectant: Here are some of Trump's claims about the coronavirus Friday, Trump said "of course" people should not ingest cleaning products. He said his remarks had been a "very sarcastic" question to a reporter. White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Deborah Birx said Trump was digesting new information about the coronavirus in front of a live audience. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the news media "irresponsibly" took Trump's remarks "out of context," though the unedited exchange was widely distributed on social media and replayed frequently on cable news. At the briefing, Birx said ultraviolet light and disinfectants were not treatments for the coronavirus though a White House transcript had to be corrected because it stated that she'd said sunlight was a treatment option. Sunday, she told CNN, "When he turned to me, I made it clear, and he understood that this was not a treatment." She said Trump "was having a dialogue between the DHS scientist and himself." Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan urges the president to ensure his coronavirus statements are "fact-based." Birx said it was "unfortunate" that the DHS study "got lost in there" amid the fixation on Trump's remarks because it was "critically important for the American people" to know that sunlight can affect the virus. She said that could mean a reduced chance of transmission when people talk to each other and could determine how environments can be decontaminated. When asked whether it bothered her having to address potential dangers posed by the president's comments, Birx said, "Well, I think it bothers me that this is still in the news cycle. "I think I have made it clear that this was a musing," Birx said. "But I want us to move on to be able to get information to the American people that can help them protect each other." Before the speculation about light and disinfectant, Trump had been criticized for touting the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a "game changer" in treating COVID-19 patients before clinical trials were complete. "What have you got to lose?" the president said of trying hydroxychloroquine as a treatment at a White House briefing April 4. Friday, the Food and Drug Administration issued a statement saying, "Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine have not been shown to be safe and effective for treating or preventing COVID-19." It cautioned against their use "outside of the hospital setting or a clinical trial due to risk of heart rhythm problems." The president lashed out at the coverage of the task force briefings in a tweet Saturday. "What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately," he wrote. "They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!" 'He didn't understand': Trump slams Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, outspoken critic on testing Hogan: Republican governor of Maryland says he has 'no idea why' Trump blasted him at briefing What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2020 When asked on CBS News' "Face the Nation" if he thought Trump should stop holding the briefings because of the threat posed by misinformation, Hogan said, "Having briefings to inform the public of what's going on is important. "I'd hate to see that stop," he said. Hogan said he hoped news conferences would be like the one held Friday, when Trump allowed public health experts to do much of the talking and he did not take questions from reporters. "Perhaps that's indicating a different strategy," Hogan said. "And I think maybe some of his advisers are suggesting that maybe a different communication policy might be more helpful." Birx hoped the briefings would continue. "I think that communication to communities is essential, because a knowledgeable community is a protected community," she told Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" anchor Maria Bartiromo. "And I think we understand that those messages of science and policy need to continue to be brought forward to the American people in a nonpolitical way." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: GOP Gov. Larry Hogan to Trump: Stop coronavirus 'misinformation' The Anthill Why are conspiracy theories so hard to suppress? What is the meaning of nothing? These are some of the questions raised in The Anthill, a brainy podcast that gives ideas probed in universities a new lease of life. Why are conspiracy theories so hard to suppress? What is the meaning of nothing? These are some of the questions raised in brainy podcast The Anthill In each episode, host Annabel Bligh interviews academics about a particularly chewy topic, from pain to the personalisation of healthcare. The show deftly bridges the gap between the dusty world of academia and our own. Coronavirus: What You Need To Know If your preferred reaction to the coronavirus pandemic is to try to think of almost anything else, give this podcast a swerve. But for anyone wishing to stay on top of things, its a must. In each episode, ITV journalists dig into whats going on and interview experts in relevant fields, from epidemiology to statistics. Start with the fascinating episode on how the lockdown could affect the economy and go from there. BudPod Neither rain nor snow nor dead of night shall keep BudPod from its appointed task, declaims comedian Phil Wang at the start of a recent episode to reassure listeners that his podcast will plough on through the pandemic. On BudPod, comedians Phil Wang (above) and Pierre Novellie, zigzag between a dizzying array of subjects in a kooky and meandering podcast that's oddly soothing and very funny Im grateful. On each episode, Wang and a chum, Pierre Novellie (also a comedian), zigzag between a dizzying array of subjects, from knife-fighting to Wiccans. Its a kooky and meandering podcast but oddly soothing and very funny. Girl Taken Five years ago, Rob Lawrie, a former soldier who was volunteering at a refugee camp in Calais, was arrested at the border for trying to smuggle an Afghan girl into Britain. This fascinating ten-part BBC series uncovers how Bru, the girl taken, came to meet her unlikely smuggler and the impact that Lawries rash decision had on his family. The tale is sharply reported and full of swooping reveals. I gobbled it up. Since the coronavirus pandemic began in January, calls to poison control centers in the United States have risen by 20%, according to a study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Upstate Poison Control Center in Syracuse, which covers all 54 counties north and west of New York City and Long Island, has seen a rise in such calls too. The CDC report issued April 20 found U.S. poison centers received 45,550 exposure calls related to cleaners (28,158) and disinfectants (17,392) from January to March, representing increases of 20.4% from 2019 and 16.4% from 2018. The increases were larger in March, the CDC reported. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published this graphic April 20 that shows the rise in the number of daily exposures to cleaners and disinfectants reported to U.S. poison centers in 2020 vs. 2019 and 2018.CDC Typically, exposure to harmful chemicals are reported in children, but during the pandemic, adults have been affected too, experts said. Many calls are people who want to make sure theyre properly using cleaning products and those who have been exposed to chemicals. While were still getting the questions and the cases regarding unintentional pediatric exposures," said Jeanna Marraffa, a toxicologist at the Upstate New York Poison Center, were also getting calls regarding cases of adults. Marraffa said one of the biggest problems among adults is people who mix chemicals. One example Marraffa cited was the mixing of bleach and toilet bowl cleaner. Theyre separately effective, but when mixed, they create toxic fumes. Exposure could lead to people getting watery eyes, runny nose and having trouble breathing. In some cases, people have tried using cleaning products to clean foods. Thats not the intended use of household cleaning substances and disinfectants, Marraffa said. While chemicals are effective at killing bacteria and germs on surfaces, they can have dire consequences when ingested. A chemical like bleach in small amounts can cause a chemical burn to the esophagus and in larger amounts could kill you, Marraffa said. On Thursday, President Donald Trump at a briefing talked about whether its possible injecting disinfectant could kill the coronavirus. Experts, including federal health officials and companies who make the cleaners, issued warnings to shoot down the presidents ideas in the days since. Trump later tried to walk the claim back saying he was being sarcastic. The New York City Poison Control Center reported a spike in calls after Trumps comments about disinfectant and coronavirus. Locally, Oswego County warned people not to inject or ingest disinfectants to prevent or treat suspected COVID-19. In Syracuse, the presidents comment did not lead to a significant rise in calls about cleaning products to the Upstate center. The Upstate center received seven calls on Thursday and 15 calls on Friday about the use of cleaning products, according to an Upstate University Hospital spokeswoman. Normally, the center receives four to 30 calls a day about disinfectants. Those who believe theyve been exposed to harmful chemicals or who have questions about exposure to chemicals can call the Upstate Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources As coronavirus deaths in NY fall below 400, Cuomo gives some details about phased reopening The week we went from defense to offense; CNYs coronavirus fight turns a corner NYs state fair is in jeopardy': Experts cast doubt on festivals, concerts in year of coronavirus Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Chris Libonati via the Signal app for encrypted messaging at 585-290-0718, by phone at the same number, by email or on Twitter. More than a month after schools across the nation shut their doors, educators face a choice: Do they teach virtually in real time, or let students learn on their own? Proponents of "synchronous" learning argue that live video instruction allows teachers to do regular check-ins, ensuring that students stay on track. But some warn that live sessions are vulnerable to privacy and security breaches, a worry that has proved well-founded. "Asynchronous" learning avoids those issues, advocates say, while granting flexibility to families and teachers whose lives are in chaos or who lack consistent access to online resources. In Virginia, two school districts are taking opposite approaches: Alexandria City Public Schools is offering synchronous learning, while Arlington Public Schools chose asynchronous instruction. The Washington Post tracked a teacher and student from each division through one day of class in the new world order. - - - 6:30 a.m. - Alexandria Colleen McEnearney's iPhone still goes off at 6:30 a.m. At the sound of the alarm, she still showers, dries her hair, dresses for work. But rather than drive 20 minutes to school, she walks 30 steps to her dining room table, alongside which she keeps a cart filled with pens, papers and device chargers that she snagged from her desk before schools closed. By 8:15 a.m., she's seated before two computers: one she will deploy to share her screen with students, one she will keep to manage access to the Zoom call. In the 45 minutes left before class, she ignores her inbox, which fills swiftly with links to Zoom meetings and parent queries, and inspects her lesson plans. She mouths each sentence of the day's slide show. She checks for typos. She tests every hyperlink. "I want it to work as smoothly as humanly possible," McEnearney said, "although I know my Zoom is going to freeze at least once, and so are my students' Zooms." It's about then that her student Madeline Arnold, 13, wakes up. Madeline used to rise early, to allow time for the walk to school. Now, she gets up an hour before her first class. The first thing she does is make her bed, which she never used to do. That's because her bed never used to be seen by her math teacher, let alone dozens of her classmates. Madeline changes into leggings and a sweatshirt, grabs a yoga mat and embarks on a half-hour of required physical therapy to treat a bone-growth issue. She remains on the floor with a foam roller until her phone pings with a reminder. Five minutes until Algebra I. - Arlington Fourth-grade teacher Maria White doesn't use an alarm anymore. She wakes about 7 a.m., an hour and a half later than she did pre-virus. Her kids, 3 and 6, follow soon after. White's husband, an IT specialist, taps at his computer. White ambles to the kitchen to sip coffee and make pancakes. As her children eat, White opens her laptop. She scans her inbox to see whether students are having technical troubles. If not, she checks answers to a daily question she posts on Google Classroom: "What is your favorite breakfast?" "Where is your favorite place to read in your house?" White pauses, frowning at a row of emoji. Weeks ago, she set a 15-emoji cap. (Otherwise, Google glitches.) It hasn't stopped the flood of chocolate bars and sunglass-adorned smiley faces. White's own children finish eating. She closes the laptop, starts clearing the dishes. Her student Kaitlin Reilly, meanwhile, is facing a tight schedule. Wake-up is at 6 a.m. Breakfast is strawberries, banana bread and her daily vitamin, inhaled in the kitchen alongside Mom, Dad, an au pair and three younger siblings. Kaitlin, 10, brushes her hair and teeth, yanks on clothes and lines up in front of the television. Together, the family finishes a seven-minute YouTube workout video. By 9 a.m., per the "Reilly Academy" schedule developed by her parents, it's time for a morning meeting in the living room. They sing "The Hello Song" and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. They discuss the day ahead: who will do what, where, when. Wrapping things up, 3-year-old Mikey Reilly opens the door to the porch and pokes his head out. Speaking extra loud and extra clear, the way he used to announce the weather at preschool, he delivers the forecast. "Usually he's pretty good," Kaitlin said, "but sometimes, if it's warm out, he'll just say it's VERY COLD." - - - 9 a.m. - Alexandria McEnearney used to be at school from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Now, her teaching day is 90 hectic minutes. Between 9 and 10:30 a.m., she must teach Algebra I to more than 70 eighth-graders, split into three 30-minute "ClassZooms." She guides them through a slide show whose colorful pages declare a daily learning target. On a recent Friday, it was to "write the equation of a line in slope-intercept form given slope and a point." McEnearney displays the problem "1 = -1/2(-4) + b" and asks her gallery of pixelated students how to solve it. There are too few participants, McEnearney knows: She hasn't heard from roughly 30 of her 109 students since the shutdown, which she attributes to poor Internet connectivity, a dearth of devices or unstable home situations. "Some of our class is missing," she said, "but that's OK." A boy named Evan unmutes himself to suggest subtracting two from each side. McEnearney nods and asks a girl named Abigail for the next step. But Abigail, whose empty black rectangle means she forgot to turn on her camera, can't say. "Sorry," Abigail said. "I haven't been paying attention. I had to do something." Madeline Arnold knows the answer, but her microphone isn't working. Her technological troubles continue when McEnearney splits the class into breakout groups - videoconferences of three to four people - and asks them to tackle a sheet of problems. Madeline's group can't find the link to the sheet. Maybe, the three girls ask each other, a classmate named Ruth has it? Madeline messages to check: She doesn't. "Well, if Ruth doesn't know," said one girl, "then I don't know if anyone knows." A notification pops up: "Breakout room will close in 58 seconds." Madeline clicks out of math class without locating the worksheet. She checks the clock: 73 minutes until science. After that, just enough time to make lunch before a choir elective at 1 p.m. Madeline launches a new Web page. If she works quickly, she figures, she can finish all of her Chinese assignments before she has to get back on Zoom. - Arlington If none of her fourth-graders need help, Maria White likes to spend the morning with her kids. She guides her son through readings and gives him BrainPop quizzes on science and math. She takes her daughter outside for a walk or helps her write her name. Around noon, White's husband takes a break from work so the couple can make lunch: chicken nuggets or Bagel Bites for the kids, sandwiches and salads for the grown-ups. "It's nice," she said, "because now I have some freedom with my kids." Her student Kaitlin Reilly, meanwhile, is staring at her iPad. Per the Reilly schedule, she must complete assignments for White's class, language arts, and geometry by midday. White assigns three types of homework: Students listen to a prerecorded video of White reading a book and comment their best guess at the text's theme, or they study an excerpt of a text, then write a post distinguishing between "main ideas" and "details." The third kind is Kaitlin's favorite: writing mini-essays to answer questions such as, "Why is learning at school more fun?" She calls the period between 9:15 and 1o a.m. her "Writer's Workshop." Writing, which she does cocooned at the desk beneath her loft bed, makes her calm, Kaitlin said. She gets so focused on her sentences that she forgets why she is mad at her siblings. Forgets even the virus. Other things are harder to forget. "There's more people in your classroom than at your house," she writes. "You get to see your teachers and friends, you get to talk [and] work with them." "I think," she concludes, "that learning at school is better." - - - 1 p.m. - Alexandria Virtual class done, McEnearney begins Zooming with colleagues - comparing virtual curricula, debating how to assess students fairly. Between 1 and 3 p.m. comes McEnearney's favorite part of the day: student conferences. Her eighth-graders can sign up for one-on-one Zoom sessions, ranging from 15 minutes to an hour, to discuss anything they want. Some raise academic concerns. But one A student, who has been signing up weekly, almost never mentions school. "We talk about her siblings, the food she's been making with her mom, how she's mad at her younger sibling," McEnearney said. "All the things she used to tell me before school, or during those little moments in the day that now we don't have." She keeps working until 4, around when she used to arrive home from school. Then she forces herself to close both laptops. She slips in EarPods, picks a podcast and wanders outdoors. Madeline Arnold's day is done much earlier than it used to be. By 1:30 p.m., she has attended all her online classes and, usually, finished all her homework. Before the virus, she would have headed to Holy Cow in Del Ray for burgers with her three best friends. She wiles away each afternoon a little differently these days: episodes of "Grey's Anatomy," running laps on a track, video games with her parents, writing songs. And reading. She is almost done with Jennifer Niven's "Holding Up the Universe," which she was always too busy to start before. "It's kinda weird," she said, "because you have more free time, but you don't have anything to do." - Arlington Maria White's husband finishes work at 3 p.m., allowing hers to begin. She plunges into virtual staff meetings, heading to her bedroom and closing the door to ensure quiet. She examines students' responses to the day's assignments, offering feedback in comments she hopes they read. She develops homework for the next day. She videotapes herself reading books. (She is terrible, she has learned, at doing voices.) She messages parents: Could you access Google Classroom today? How did your child feel about the workload - too much? Too little? "The hardest thing is not being able to individualize instruction," she said. "Some kids need extra review on certain skills, and in a classroom, you would just pull them over." That's impossible now. White likes the convenience of asynchronous learning, she said, but she is planning optional 9:30 a.m. video calls. Kaitlin Reilly would like that, she said. It would be good to see her friends. And she is used to video calls: That's how she visits with her grandparents. In evening FaceTimes, she tells them about her day and what she is learning. She tells them that she loves them, and that they have to stay healthy. Later, she confides to her journal, which she started a few weeks ago. "This is like a piece of history," Kaitlin said, "so I thought I should keep a diary." She writes until she's too sleepy to hold the pen. Then, she turns off the lights. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics centre in Boves By Jeffrey Dastin and Krystal Hu (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc has started to use thermal cameras at its warehouses to speed up screening for feverish workers who could be infected with the coronavirus, employees told Reuters. The cameras in effect measure how much heat people emit relative to their surroundings. They require less time and contact than forehead thermometers, earlier adopted by Amazon, the workers said. Cases of the virus have been reported among staff at more than 50 of Amazon's U.S. warehouses. That has prompted some workers to worry for their safety and walk off the job. Unions and elected officials have called on Amazon to close buildings down. The use of cameras, previously unreported, shows how America's second-biggest corporate employer is exploring methods to contain the virus' spread without shuttering warehouses essential to its operation. U.S. states have given Amazon the green light to deliver goods with nearly all the country under stay-at-home orders. In France, Amazon has closed six of its fulfillment centers temporarily - one of the biggest fallouts yet from a dispute with workers over the risks of coronavirus contagion. Other companies that have explored using the thermal camera technology include Tyson Foods Inc and Intel Corp. The camera systems, which garnered widespread use at airports in Asia after the SARS epidemic in 2003, can cost between $5,000 and $20,000. This week and last, Amazon set up the hardware for the thermal cameras in at least six warehouses outside Los Angeles and Seattle, where the company is based, according to employees and posts on social media. Thermal cameras will also replace thermometers at worker entrances to many of Amazon's Whole Foods stores, according to a recent staff note seen by Reuters and previously reported by Business Insider. The company performs a second, forehead thermometer check on anyone flagged by the cameras to determine an exact temperature, one of the workers said. An international standard requires the extra check, though one camera system maker said the infrared scan is more accurate than a thermometer. Story continues How widely Amazon will deploy the technology at a time when camera makers are grappling with a surge in demand could not be determined. A Whole Foods representative said cameras ordered weeks ago were starting to arrive for use. Amazon confirmed that some warehouses have implemented the systems to streamline checks. The company is taking temperatures "to support the health and safety of our employees, who continue to provide a critical service in our communities," it said in a statement. Early this month, Amazon said it would offer face masks and start checking hundreds of thousands of people for fevers daily at all its U.S. and European warehouses. Associates walk up to a Plexiglas screen, and an employee on the other side scans their forehead by pointing a thermometer through a small hole. That process has not been without challenges. A worker performing temperature checks in Houston said his proximity to associates made him uncomfortable, in spite of the screen separating them. "I didn't sign up for this," he said. A Los Angeles-area employee, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said a line once formed outside her warehouse, and employees could not receive masks until after they had entered the building and had their temperatures taken. The thermal camera system is faster, two other workers said, with no stopping in front of a screen necessary. The cameras connect to a computer so an employee at a distance can view the results, one said. Amazon did not disclose whose gadgets it was using. One of the employees, at a warehouse outside Seattle, said the technology came from Infrared Cameras Inc in Texas. Reached by phone, ICI's chief executive, Gary Strahan, said he would not confirm or deny his company's working with Amazon. Other purveyors include UK-based Thermoteknix and U.S.-based FLIR Systems Inc. (Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco and Krystal Hu in New York; Additional reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Vanessa O'Connell and Leslie Adler) Beijing has banned 'uncivilised' behaviour such as not covering the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, the city government said. The new set of regulations is an attempt to improve public hygiene amid the coronavirus outbreak. The laws claim to promote 'civilised behaviour' and relate to combating the pandemic which has infected more than 82,000 in China alone. Rulebreakers will be slapped with fines for offences including not wearing a mask in public when ill, the municipal government said on its website. The new set of regulations is an attempt to improve public hygiene amid the coronavirus outbreak. Pictured: A staff member holding a bottle of disinfectant liquid inspects at doorway of a Dong Lai Shun Hotpot restaurant on Qianmen Street yesterday The laws also require public places to set up one metre distance markers and to provide communal chopsticks and serving spoons for shared meals. Citizens must also 'dress neatly' in public and not go shirtless - an apparent reference to the so-called 'Beijing bikini' practice where men roll T-shirts up to expose their stomachs in hot weather. The state-run Global Times said the rule equalled a 'total ban' of the practice in public places. The laws claim to promote 'civilised behaviour' and relate to combating the pandemic which has infected more than 82,000 in China alone. Pictured: People wearing face masks as they record on the street yesterday Beijing already discourages a range of 'uncivilised' behaviours including public spitting, littering, walking dogs unleashed, throwing things from high buildings, public defecation and smoking in places where it is prohibited. But the latest rules - passed on Friday - outline new specific punishments. Fines for littering, spitting and defecation in public were upped to a maximum of 200 yuan ($28), from a previous upper limit of 50 yuan. Beijing (pictured yesterday) already discourages a range of 'uncivilised' behaviours including public spitting, littering, walking dogs unleashed, throwing things from high buildings, public defecation and smoking in places where it is prohibited In the past, these regulations were enforced in a patchy way and the habits have not been stamped out completely. Those who do not sort their rubbish correctly can be fined up to 200 yuan, and residents responsible for noise pollution in public spaces and who walk their dogs unleashed can be fined up to 500 yuan. The laws also encourage police to report serious offences, which may affect a person's social credit score - a fledgling system which aims to assess individual actions across society - though it did not provide more specifics. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 10:20:00|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KUNMING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- With spring in the air, Yu Guisheng, a guesthouse owner, has been busy these days catering for the crowds of tourists who are flocking to his home village tucked away in the grand Nujiang River valley, southwest China's Yunnan Province. Yu's family of four runs the guesthouse in Qiunatong Village, Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture. As a key passage from Yunnan into Tibet Autonomous Region, the village has become a hidden gem for adventurous travelers with its gorgeous blend of towering mountains, lush forests and deep gorges. The guesthouse provides food for a daily average of 100 tourists these days and about half of its 11 guest rooms are booked each day, reaching an average daily revenue of about 3,000 yuan (425 U.S. dollars). "We can barely stand after a day's work," Yu said. "This partly makes up for our loss during the Spring Festival holiday when all our bookings were canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak." "It's hard-earned money, but our life is much better now than the old days when we could hardly live off the land," he added. The 41-year-old Yu recalled that his family led a meager life by growing corn and highland barley before they opened the homestay in 2008. Like many of his fellow villagers, Yu's family had to crowd into a shabby double-decker log cabin at that time, with their home-bred pigs staying on the ground floor. Official data showed that Qiunatong was then home to 390 households, and over 80 percent of them lived under the national poverty line. The villagers, most of whom are from the Nu ethnic group, had been mired in abject poverty for generations due to poor transport infrastructure. To carry food and daily necessities into the village, Yu and his fellow villagers used to travel with horse caravans on dirt roads for three to four months every year before blizzards blocked the roads. As more money makes its way into Chinese people's pockets, many are keen on travel that can bring them closer to nature. In 2008, Yu opened the first ever guesthouse in Qiunatong, as he found that a growing number of tourists were visiting the village but lacked accommodation options. "It was a bold move, and I never expected that our homestay business would be so successful ever since," Yu said. "More and more tourists have come here over the years. With the money earned, we have expanded our guesthouse and led a better life." Yu said he expects more visitors this year with the newly built highway linking the village with Lushui, the prefectural capital and transport hub. Like Yu, many villagers in Qiunatong have cashed in on the flourishing tourism sector to shake off poverty. Two other families in the village followed Yu's footsteps and opened guesthouses of their own. In 2018, a total of 57 impoverished villagers established a handicraft workshop with subsidies from the local government to produce handmade tapestries and ethnic garments. The handicrafts are sold to tourists or over e-commerce platforms. The workshop registered annual sales of 110,000 yuan last year, bringing a dividend of 600 yuan to each of its founders. Li Wenming, deputy chief of Bingzhongluo Township which administers Qiunatong, said about 157,100 domestic and overseas tourists visited the township last year, and most of them included Qiunatong in their itinerary. The booming tourism industry and the local government's anti-poverty efforts helped lift 57 households in Qiunatong out of poverty in 2019. The village now has only five households living under the national poverty line, Li said. "It's great to see that the villagers are benefiting from the mountains and gorges that once barred their ancestors from the outside world and left them in poverty," Li said, adding that the local government will further work on improving infrastructure and training villagers to better meet the needs of tourists. Enditem Oil markets made history last week, turning negative for the first time since futures trading began more than 30 years ago. West Texas Intermediate on Monday closed at a negative $37.63 a barrel as contracts for May delivery of crude expired. When June contracts became the near-month contract, they remained in positive territory but sank to $9.06 a barrel. For Midlander Michael Banschbach, an oil, gas and natural gas liquids marketing consultant, it was an opportunity to remind producers and the general public how crude oil is priced. Even though natural gas had gone below zero in early 2019, the general sentiment in crude was that the oil price could not drop below zero, he told the Reporter-Telegram by email. This led speculators (ie, guys in their pajamas sitting at home trading online with various online brokers) to (for example) buy crude at $1 per barrel, thinking it could not go lower than that. So, either through options or futures, these speculators were long crude. Virtually no one, and particularly speculators, ever has the intention when they enter into futures contracts of going to delivery, ie, owning crude and then selling physical barrels at Cushing. To take delivery at Cushing you need a tank, or rights to a tank at Cushing, and in the case of speculators they do not have these rights, irrespective of how much or how little storage is available in Cushing. So, because they cannot take delivery and because the May options contract expired on Monday, April 21 and the May futures contract expired on Tuesday, April 22, speculators had to unwind their trades on paper and take huge losses to do so. The steep drop in prices led some analysts to speculate that prices could fall to a negative $100 if supplies continued to outstrip storage capacity. Banschbach said steps are being taken to lessen, but not completely eliminating, the chances of negative prices when the June contract expires. First, online brokers are now requiring $5 million in a margin account to trade the prompt month, which will eliminate a lot of speculators and reduce the number of participants in prompt month trading. Secondly, fundamentals are rapidly changing with significant shut ins, like Continental Resources in the Bakken; and third, USO, the largest oil-related exchange-traded fund (ETF) announced it will not hold as much prompt-month exposure as they have in the past. There are steps producers can take to remove the risk of such price speculation impacting their prices, he said. One thing a producer could do is to restructure its contract with its crude buyer, he said. The typical crude purchase contract assumes that oil will be delivered in equal daily quantities during the month, and as such, the base price -- before deductions for the Midland/Cushing basis and trucking -- is the arithmetic average of each days closing NYMEX price. In order to avoid a particularly poor pricing day, a producer could negotiate with its purchaser, if the purchaser is negotiable on this point, to price each load picked up at the lease at the price for that day. The air in Alabama is growing cleaner as fewer cars pack the highways and some non-essential factories halt or slow their production. As a general trend we would expect air quality to improve and emissions to decrease as a result of the coronavirus epidemic, said Corey Masuca, principal air pollution control engineer for the Jefferson County Department of Health. Those impacts can be seen worldwide, from India to New York. All over the world, we are seeing improvements in air quality, said Chandana Mitra an associate professor in Auburn Universitys department of geosciences who studies urban sustainability. Nitrogen dioxides [an air pollutant] are coming down in Wuhan, China and in Italy and major cities like London. And it doesn't have to be a big city. It can be a medium sized city as in Birmingham or Montgomery. Even here in Auburn, I'm sure there will be there will be impacts on air quality on the positive side. Ron Gore, air division chief at ADEM, said the states air is almost certainly cleaner now than it was at this time last year, but the full data and analysis arent available yet. Even before the shutdown we have met all the federal air quality standards in Alabama since 2015, Gore said. In other words, our air is safe to breathe as measured by the six primary pollutants that EPA and states measure across the country. So yes, our air quality will get cleaner as a result of the reductions in emissions from tailpipes, and from the industries that have either shut down or slowed down, but it's getting cleaner from what was already considered clean. Gore said estimates from the Alabama Department of Transportation indicated that the number of miles driven by vehicles in the state may have fallen by 40-50 percent from pre-COVID levels. That should be greatly reducing the amount of nitrogen oxides in Alabamas air. Those pollutants can be harmful on their own, but are also a component of ozone or smog, which can lead to air quality advisories in Alabama, usually during the summer. Gore said ozone usually does not become an issue in Alabama until late May through late September. Definitely nitrogen oxide emissions have gone down, Gore said. But the accompanying lowering in ozone probably hasn't occurred because it's not that time of the year yet. While ADEM regulates air pollution in most of the state, the Jefferson County Department of Health does so in and around Birmingham. Masuca, principal air pollution control engineer for the County, said the department has gathered nitrogen oxide data but hasnt analyzed it yet due to staffing issues caused by the pandemic. Another air pollutant of concern is particulate matter, microscopic airborne particles of dust or soot that linger in the air, often from burning fossil fuels. These are also associated with human health issues, placing severe stress on the lungs and can increase the risks of heart attacks, asthma, lung cancers and other ailments. Gore said theres about a two-month delay in getting particulate matter samples analyzed by an outside lab, so the results from after the lockdown arent in yet. Michael Hansen, executive director of Birmingham-based clean air advocacy group GASP, said the view of Birmingham from atop Red Mountain does seem to be as clear as its been in recent memory, but that many pollution sources still seem to be in full operation. Most of the industrial plants in North Birmingham, Tarrant, and East Birmingham are still operating as usual in those communities, Hansen said. The Bluestone Coke plant in particular has been churning out some big black plumes. Residents have complained about this a lot recently, particularly the accompanying odors. Emissions of greenhouse gases responsible for climate change, may be reduced this year by about 5.5 percent globally, according to one estimate. That would be the largest ever decrease in human carbon emissions, but still significantly less than the 7.6 percent reduction the United Nations says is needed every year for the next decade to meet targets set in the Paris climate accords. A Chesterfield County woman died in a car crash Saturday evening in the city of Hampton, according to a release from the Virginia State Police. Police said a call was received at approximately 7:30 p.m. Saturday reporting a black sedan was traveling slowly westbound on Interstate 64 west of Mercury Boulevard. Shortly after, another call was received of a two-vehicle wreck east of Magruder Boulevard. Police said the sedan, driven by Keira Malesha Reese-Johnson, 20, of the 6900 block of Lake Caroline Drive in Chesterfield, was struck from behind by an SUV after the sedan broke down. Reese-Johnson was transported to Riverside Regional Hospital but did not survive the injuries she suffered in the crash. An 11-year-old child in the vehicle that struck her sedan was also taken to the hospital, according to the release. Police said alcohol was not a contributing factor in the incident. On a battered workbench using makeshift materials, Farouk Sharaf, an electrical engineer in Gaza, puts the finishing touches to his home-made ventilator. The mechanical device, made of a self-inflating ambu bag valve mask and metal piston, looks disarmingly rudimentary but it works. Once it is perfected and tested by health ministry officials, the 36-year-old specialist plans to build at least 100 machines to save lives amid an outbreak of the deadly coronavirus in the besieged Palestinian enclave. As far as locations in which to spend lockdown go, you cant get much more idyllic than Turpins Hill Farm in Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland, with its 110 acres and beautiful Georgian farmhouse, the home of Debbie and Paul Rippon. But would you really want to do it with 300 alpacas? Fifty of which are about to give birth? Cuter and smaller than the llama, with fine hair and a notoriously skittish temperament, the alpaca has long been a fashionably Instagrammable pet, if you have a field handy to keep it in. But for Debbie, 47, and Paul, 48, the alpacas represent much more than that a radical new midlife direction, and a marriage-saving one at that. Debbie, 47, and Paul Rippon, 48, (pictured) who live in Northumberland, shared life at their Georgian farmhouse The story of the Rippons life is, to some extent, the stuff of a modern-day fairy tale. Childhood sweethearts, they both grew up on council estates in Nottingham Debbie had free school meals but made their fortune in the City, where, in 2015, Paul co-founded the groundbreaking, online-only bank Monzo. Growing up, Debbies mum pulled lace in the lace market, my dad banged panels on the sides of buses and my mum was a bingo caller, says Paul. I left school at 18 and wanted to start earning, adds Debbie. Paul went to Wolverhampton poly to study business. We left home in a knackered Ford Fiesta with 50 quid in our pockets. Today, Paul Rippon is worth 120 million. In the five years since its founding, Monzo has grown to 1,500 staff and 4 million customers. You might see me on the Sunday Times Rich List, he jokes. Although he wants to be clear that the vast majority of his wealth is tied up in shares in the bank. Still, the alpacas arent going to starve any time soon. It was Debbie who first conceived a fascination for the endearingly fluffy creatures, more than 15 years ago, after watching a travel documentary following Michael Palin in South America, where alpacas are from. She had already come to terms with the fact that Paul did not want children and fully admits that alpacas became a repository for all her unused maternal feelings. They are like my babies, she says. Its my family. Because Paul made a decision about [not having children], I think that is why the animals started creeping in. Paul couldnt say no to everything. Until now, Pauls job had always shaped their lives. Though Debbie worked, too for insurance companies his jobs with various banks always took precedence and dictated where they lived: Scunthorpe, Grimsby, Hull, Nottingham, London, Newcastle Every time I was promoted, Debbie would quit her job and we would move house and leave. This is house number 11, he says. By force of circumstance her alpaca obsession started small, with just three pets. It was 2005 and the couple were living in Northamptonshire, where Paul was head of banking operations at the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. Within ten months, however, he was parachuted into Northern Rock, just before its collapse and nationalisation. So the couple upped sticks once more, this time for Northumberland. Up north, three animals quickly turned into many more. It was a serious change of lifestyle before the alpacas, the couples experience of owning animals extended to two rescue cats. Paul (pictured) said Monzo was becoming more and more demanding, the couple had a beautiful house but he was constantly travelling for work Paul and Debbie began renting more and more plots of land until they bought an empty hillside, 1,000 ft up, and spent five years building a farm from scratch. One neighbouring farmer clearly thought we were completely mad, laughs Paul. At one point, they found themselves putting in five miles of fencing by themselves. Just the two of us with a post knocker! In the end, the hillside simply felt too remote. Instead, Debbie fell in love with Turpins Hill Farm. At last her alpacas, now a fully fledged herd, had found their forever home though it was a big financial risk for the couple. Monzo was in its infancy and Paul wasnt earning much. When the solicitor brought the paperwork to us for signing, he said: Do you really know what you are doing? We had a load of debt, but [Debbie] really wanted this farm, says Paul. And finally it was time for her choices to take priority, for the first time in their 27-year marriage. Last year, Paul quit his life in finance to take up full-time alpaca farming with her. Debbie (pictured) revealed she would sometimes throw a fit, when something went wrong on the farm but Paul was miles away Monzo was becoming more and more demanding, says Paul. It felt like Debbie and I had spent 27 years busting ourselves to end up with a beautiful house in a beautiful part of the world so that I could drive quad bikes and tractors and help look after the alpacas in this magical place. But I was constantly on planes and trains, staying in cheap hotel rooms when in London, or renting a bedroom. I realised that nobody was putting a chain around my neck and making me do it. I had created that for myself and I decided I didnt want it any more. Whats more, their marriage was under serious strain. Debbie never asked me to do it, but there would be times when shed say: Monzo is more important to you than anything else. I was miserable and grumpy. Debbie agrees: If something went wrong on the farm or if one of the alpacas was ill and Paul was miles away, I would sometimes throw a fit. Today, the Rippons have a thriving alpaca breeding business Barnacre Alpacas. A top breeding alpaca can go for 10,000, and a male alpaca can be around 900 for those who want a pet. Debbie revealed they sometimes work 20 hours a day, but they're passionate about what they do (file image) The couple also offer visitor tours, and a livery service for professionals in love with the idea of alpacas but unable to commit to full-time ownership. There are three holiday cottages on-site, and the couple have a part-ownership in a Victorian mill where knitwear hats, scarves, gloves, socks and so on is made from the alpaca wool. Within weeks of Paul leaving Monzo, the couples friends were commenting that he looked five years younger. A burden had been lifted from his shoulders, says Debbie. Now, we work 20 hours a day sometimes, and actually Ive never worked so hard, but were passionate about what we do. And, finally, they are together. So how is their marriage now? Whats the secret? muses Paul. We only argue in the morning, afternoon and evening . . . that helps. They burst out laughing, but theres no time for banter with all the springtime work to do on the farm, not least in the preparation for the very imminent arrival of 50 new babies (as I write, five of them are overdue). For Debbie, lockdown is a cinch: theres nothing like having a herd of alpacas as an excuse to get away from your husband. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 14:56:10|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- China has stepped up efforts to provide clear guidance and enhanced juridical services for the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), according to the Supreme People's Court (SPC) Sunday. Courts and institutions have been set up to deal with intellectual property cases that require specialized knowledge, Li Jian, an official with the SPC, said at a press conference. Approved by the SPC, special intellectual property courts have been set up in over 20 cities, including Nanjing, he added. The SPC has also worked on improving procedure rules of IPR cases and reducing the cost of IPR protection, Li noted. Chinese courts received more than 480,000 IPR cases in 2019, with over 470,000 cases concluded, according to Li. Enditem Nearly 10,000 Syria militants recruited by Turkey so far to fight in Libya; over 220 killed in action: SOHR Iran Press TV Saturday, 25 April 2020 4:18 PM Turkey has recruited nearly 10,000 allied Takfiri militants to fight in Libya and has sent more than half of them from Syria to the North African country, a war monitor says. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, citing local sources, reported on Saturday that approximately 7,400 Turkish-backed militants, some of whom non-Syrian nationals, have arrived in Libya so far, and another 2,500 are currently receiving military training in Turkey to be sent there later. The sources added that the number of militants who supported the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) and were killed in clashes with Libyan forces loyal to eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar has now reached 223. The militants killed were from the so-called and extremist Mu'tasim Division, the Sultan Murad Division, northern Falcons Brigade, the Hamza Division and Sultan Suleyman Shah Brigade. The Observatory went on to say that new batches of allied Takfiri militants are about to be sent from Syria to Libya, as the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) is recruiting new members under orders from the Turkish intelligence service. However, some militant groups have refused to register their fighters in the lists prepared by the FSA, and have had their funds suspended as a result. The sources highlighted that the measure together with a series of other restrictions are meant to compel those groups to capitulate and join the war in Libya. Two seats of power have emerged in Libya since 2011, when a popular uprising and a NATO intervention led to the ouster of long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi and his execution by unruly fighters. Haftar in eastern Libya is supported by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates; whilst the GNA in Tripoli enjoys military backing from Turkey. A bill passed by the Turkish parliament earlier this year allows the Ankara government to deploy forces to Libya to intervene in the civil war in the North African country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address "I have never seen a CM like KCR. He feels he knows everything," says Congress leader Congress Legislature Party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has said that chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao has no plan to control the spread of coronavirus. KCR is thinking the lockdown is the only way to control the coronavirus spread. He simply announced the lockdown and is sleeping at Pragathi Bhavan, alleged Mallu Bhatti. In an exclusive interview to Deccan Chronicle, Mallu Bhatti said that despite being a rich state, having all mechanisms and sufficient government staff in place, the CM was doing nothing. KCR is repeatedly asking the Centre to release funds. He should first say how much money has been released to gram panchayats to fight the coronavirus, the CLP leader said. Excerpts from an interview. How do you assess the steps taken by the state government in controlling Covid-19? CM KCR has no proper plan to control Covid-19. He thinks the only way is to announce a lockdown. I had suggested this during the Assembly session and KCR had said that there was no way that the Coronavirus would come to the state. Lockdown is not the only way to control the Coronavirus, the state government has to take several other measures and this is where KCR has failed. What are these additional measures? The main purpose of the lockdown is to see that people do not come out of their homes. But the state government has allowed one person from each family to purchase essential commodities and vegetables. There is no supervision either of those who are coming out or the shop owners on whether they are following sanitisation norms or not. If the person who comes out is affected, his family will suffer and the main purpose of the lockdown is defeated. What, then, should the government do? There are several volunteers in villages and in the cities. Government employees have no work during the lockdown. Using the volunteers and state staff, the government can supply essentials to the people at their homes. In undivided AP, the government used to give nine essential commodities to the poor. The state government has to supply all these to the people during the lockdown. Isn't government is supplying rice and distributing money to the people? The people are doing a greater job than the government. People are voluntarily helping the needy. Compared to this, the government is doing nothing. The government is distributing rice and money to ration card holders, adding some rice to what is being given by the Centre. There are about five lakh applications pending for ration cards. The government should distribute rice and money to them. The state government has cancelled the ration cards to some people who hold part-time jobs. Due to the lockdown, they are not getting salaries. The government should provide them with rice and money as well. Are the hospitals in good shape? There has been no recruitment of doctors, nurses and other technical staff in the past six years. Without recruiting staff, what is the use of increasing the number of beds? I had visited several hospitals in the past to see the plight of patients and staff. Hospitals do not have sufficient staff and equipment. I brought this to the notice of state government but it was of no use. Isn't the Chief Minister is holding regular review meetings on the Coronavirus situation? I have never seen a CM like KCR. He feels he knows everything. He never holds all-party meetings on any issue. He has never given an appointment to Opposition leaders. What is the use of holding review meetings with some officials who do bhajana to him, and briefing the media? If all-party meeting are held, the Opposition parties will bring field-level problems to his notice. Why do you feel the number of Coronavirus cases is increasing? Both the Centre and the state government delayed action. By the time they woke up, Coronavirus had spread in all states in the country and in all districts in the state. The first case was found on January 30 and Centre imposed the janata curfew on March 22. By that time the damage had been done. While the world was facing Covid-19, how did the Prime Minister hold a meeting with one lakh people to welcome US President Donald Trump in February? How did the government give permission to hold the Tablighi Jamaat conference at Delhi from March 13 to 17 when the Coronavirus was spreading swiftly? How did the government allow foreigners to attend this conference? It is unfortunate to collect 18 per cent GST on masks and other equipment. The state government has to supply these free. I demand that the government remove all taxes on masks and PPE kits. It is fortunate that Telangana state has a number of pharmaceutical companies around Hyderabad, but the government is not using this facility. Has the Congress been speaking of farmers problems? The state government is doing injustice to the farmers by profiting from their produce. The government says it has allotted Rs. 30,000 crore to purchase paddy and other crops. The government will sell this later, but it is claiming that it is doing the farmers a favour. If the government allows private purchasers, farmers will get higher prices due to the increased competition. But the government is not allowing them. He recently hit out at mega-rich stars including Victoria Beckham and Sir Richard Branson for seeking millions of pounds from the taxpayer to bail out their failing companies. But Duncan Bannatyne put the drama aside to praise NHS staff at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh as he announced the birth of his granddaughter. The entrepreneur, 71, took to Twitter on Sunday to pass on the heartwarming message to his 749,000 followers. Happy news: Duncan Bannatyne, 71, (pictured alongside third wife Nigora Whitehorn), has praised NHS staff at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh as he announced the birth of his granddaughter on Sunday He wrote: 'Thank you NHS & Everyone at Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. My daughter arrived at your doors late yesterday afternoon and very soon after had a beautiful baby daughter. 'Thank you for working and being wonderful [red heart emojis].' Duncan is already a father-of-six and has three grandchildren. The former Dragon shares four daughters, Hollie, Abigail, Jennifer and Eve, with his first wife Gail and another two children, Emily and Thomas, with second wife Joanna. He married third wife Nigora Whitehorn, who is 31 years his junior, in Portugal in 2017. Proud: The entrepreneur took to Twitter on Sunday to pass on the heartwarming message to his 749,000 followers Duncan's announcement comes after he joined the likes of Simon Cowell in criticising celebs including Victoria Beckham and Sir Richard Branson for seeking millions of pounds from the taxpayer to bail out their failing companies. Branson has asked for a taxpayer bailout to save Virgin Atlantic from collapse while Victoria Beckham told 30 employees at her fashion brand they are being put on the Government job retention scheme to pay up to 2,500 of their monthly salary. In a furious Twitter row, Bannatyne - who has a net worth of 300million - said the billionaire Virgin Group boss should instead go to a bank for help. And he also hit out at Branson's offer to mortgage Necker Island, his home in the Caribbean, as collateral to help get cash to 'save as many jobs as possible.' In an open letter to staff Branson, who is worth 4.05billion, said he was not asking for a handout, but a commercial loan, believed to be 500m, after Virgin Australia went into administration. It has been revealed that Simon Cowell has continued to pay his staff rather than rely on the taxpayer to pick up his worker's wages. Not happy: Duncan's announcement comes after he criticised Richard Branson for seeking millions of pounds from the taxpayer to bail out his failing companies Contrast: Simon Cowell (left) has revealed he will continue to pay his staff rather than rely on the taxpayer. Victoria Beckham (right) told 30 employees at her fashion brand they are being put on the Government job retention scheme to pay up to 2,500 of their monthly salary The TV tycoon has agreed to keep paying the 50 full time staff who work for his Syco production company in London and Los Angeles. He has also donated 1.6m from his personal fortune to charities in desperate need of cash. Cowell is worth an estimated 385million, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. Cowell, 60, has assured his staff they will not be placed on the furlough scheme even though the coronavirus crisis has shut down TV production of his shows in the UK and America. He has now urged other celebrities and business leaders to 'rise to the challenge' of Covid-19. Branson was slammed for appealing for taxpayer aid to help stricken Virgin Atlantic, rather than using his 4billion fortune. Compromised: Sir Richard Branson has offered to remortgage his Necker Island home as collateral after asking the government for a 500m loan Scottish entrepreneur Bannatyne, who said he had supported his leisure business during the pandemic with increased bank loans, said in a tweet to a follower: 'Do you think the island is worth 500m?' He continued: 'I have gone to the bank NOT the UK tax payer. The bank. A viable business will get the money from a bank. 'I never slated him (Sir Richard) I said he should go to the bank for a loan not the hard working UK taxpayers that you show so little respect for.' In another tweet he added: 'But tell me, why can't he borrow the money from a bank? 'In every company in the world the staff pay their taxes. So you are saying government should financially support every company that is in trouble?' Gov. Andrew Cuomo plans to slash aid to localities by $8.2 billion and cut state agency budgets by 10% unless new federal aid comes through in the coming weeks, according to an updated state financial plan released Saturday A bleak financial future awaits New York as its struggles with the economic damage of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the plan. Public schools, health care and other state aid for localities will bear the brunt of the fiscal damage if billions in additional federal aid does not come through in coming weeks, according to the Cuomo administration. On May 1, we'll know exactly what the revenues are, state Budget Director Robert Mujica told reporters on Sunday. Well know exactly where we are with Washington and whether we have more money. The new financial plan states that tax receipts have fallen by 12.4% in the past two months, and that unemployment in New York is expected to exceed 11%. It will take years for the state to recover from a projected $243 billion in damage, according to a state-commissioned report by Boston Consulting Group. The report projects that the state economy would recover to the Pre-COVID level in early 2023. With additional federal aid far from guaranteed, Cuomo is looking to balance the states books by cutting spending rather than increasing taxes. Call Washington, Cuomo told reporters Sunday in response to a question about what local officials should do to prepare themselves for looming cuts. State lawmakers will have 10 days to respond to the specific cuts the administration will announce next month. The state Senate and Assembly could meet remotely in the upcoming weeks, but opposing the governor is no easy task during a pandemic especially with upcoming elections looming. Here are five key factors in determining whether the proposed state budget cuts will actually happen. Whats on the chopping block? The Cuomo administration highlighted in the financial plan just how deep the cuts could be for localities unless the federal government steps in. Health care, K-12 schools, and higher education, reads a list of categories. Public transit systems, and the States not-for-profit partners who deliver critical services to the most vulnerable New Yorkers. The cuts would amount to a $8.2 billion reduction from the past fiscal year, or $10.1 billion from the levels originally proposed for what became the $177 billion budget that passed earlier this month. Public education and the state Medicaid are particularly vulnerable because of their massive share of state aid to localities. The state budget approved in early April included $26.7 billion in funding to localities for local schools and $23.3 billion in Medicaid funding from the state Department of Health. If state spending stays level for those two categories, then remaining local aid programs is estimated in the range of 40% to 50%, according to the budget update. Mujica said Sunday that the state would release a plan by the middle of May that still gives time for the school districts to make their budgets. All of this could be avoided with federal help Any of these reductions can be mitigated during the fiscal year if additional Federal aid is made available or revenues perform better than forecast, reads the updated state financial plan. While the federal government has provided billions in recent weeks for schools, hospitals and the emergency response, Cuomo has not given up on getting somewhere around an additional $10 billion in new unrestricted federal aid. He is hardly alone in this. State lawmakers, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and other governors are banking on a federal bailout for states. Cuomo has taken a conciliatory approach to Trump who supposedly told him the next legislation would have the aid he is seeking so the governor will likely reserve his harshest words on the matter for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and members of the state congressional delegation. Trump could still wreak havoc like a hurricane The governor has had a tumultuous relationship with Trump ever since the president took office. Sure, they have publicly been getting along lately, more or less, but the president could still torpedo the states financial picture. Actions by the Federal government to reduce or disallow expected aid, including Federal aid authorized or appropriated by Congress, natural disasters, additional pandemics, and cyber attacks are among the possible dangers to the states fiscal health moving forward, according to the updated state financial plan. Cuomo opposes new taxes No matter how complicated the budget, there is a simple choice when it comes to dealing with budget shortfalls: You can either raise revenues or cut spending. Cuomo has made a big point of opposing tax hikes all year long, but some state lawmakers have not given up on a litany of proposals to raise taxes on the wealthy. While the governor has supported some of them in the past, there are no signs he will do so now, especially considering how much the states tax revenues depend on just a few dozen top-tier earners. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie is generally supportive of raising taxes. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins whose majority depends on moderate swing districts on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley has typically aligned with the governors position significantly more than Heastie. What will the state Senate and Assembly do? Both chambers are officially adjourned until Heastie and Stewart-Cousins order them to reconvene. Thought they have both said in recent weeks that they want the legislating to continue this year, an idea that Cuomo has cast doubt on, specific dates for future sessions which could be held with lawmakers voting remotely have not been released. The pressure on them will increase once the administration releases the specifics on how it would implement cuts to locatities. Local officials are going to be leaning on Assembly members and senators to spare them from the worst and there will be just 10 days to act. Representatives of both leaders could not be reached for comment before publication time. Gov. Kate Brown on Sunday apologized to Oregonians who are dealing with delays and errors while they try to get unemployment funds. If youre waiting on an unemployment claim: I hear your frustration, Brown wrote on Twitter. Im sorry for the delays. Im committed to ensuring that eligible Oregonians receive the maximum benefits available, as quickly as possible," she added. These benefits are critical during this stressful time. If you're waiting on an unemployment claim: I hear your frustration. I'm sorry for the delays. I'm committed to ensuring that eligible Oregonians receive the maximum benefits available, as quickly as possible. These benefits are critical during this stressful time. Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) April 26, 2020 A record number of Oregonians have filed for unemployment since Brown issued a statewide stay-at-home in March. Some 37,000 Oregonians filed for unemployment last week, which brings the states total job losses to 334,000 over the five-week period of the COVID-19 pandemic response. That amounts to one in six Oregon jobs. Sunday was the first in three weeks without widespread reports of errors from people filing jobless claims. Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter The Oregon Employment Department has run into problems stemming from the large numbers of new claims and the computer system it uses to process those claims, which was built in the 1990s. In a separate Twitter thread Sunday, the employment department outlined plans for gig and self-employed workers and contractors. We know self-employed, contract, and gig workers affected by COVID-19 closures need benefits as badly as anyone, the department said. 1/5 The Employment Department is close to launching the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. We have been training staff, and are trying out the process, and monitoring the effects on our systems, with a testing group over the next few days. Oregon Employment Department (@ORemployment) April 26, 2020 The department said last week that it plans to launch the new program by the end of April. -- Lizzy Acker 503-221-8052, lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. TOKYO - Evidence that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is still alive and in the coastal resort of Wonsan is mounting, as satellite images showed his train apparently traveled there in the past few days, and U.S. and South Korean officials said they did not believe he had died. Rumors of the portly leader's possible demise have been swirling since he skipped celebrations for his grandfather's birthday on April 15, and after a South Korea media report said he had undergone a cardiovascular procedure on April 12 in a hospital outside Pyongyang and was recuperating in a nearby villa. But U.S. and South Korean intelligence services remain skeptical of reports that Kim is dead or gravely ill, according to three government officials familiar with the matter. "We understand that Chairman Kim Jong Un has been in Wonsan this week," said a South Korean official who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters. Another official said that Kim's health is among the North's most closely guarded secrets, but noted that neither government has evidence of his death. Commercial satellite images published by the 38 North website, affiliated to the Stimson Center, showed what appeared to be Kim's personal, 250-meter-long train at a railway station dedicated to the Kim family in Wonsan on April 21 and 23. The train was not present on April 15. "The train's presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country's eastern coast," Martyn Williams, Peter Makowsky and Jenny Town wrote in their report. To be sure, something strange is going down in the intensely secretive state. Thae Yong Ho, a former senior North Korean diplomat who defected to the South in 2016, said in a statement it was "unprecedented" that Kim did not appear to lay a wreath at the Kumsusan Palace of Sun where his grandfather and father's bodies are both embalmed. But the fact that Kim has not been seen in public for two weeks is not in itself unusual, falling within the "normal range" of absences for the North Korean leader, noted Rachel Minyoung Lee, a former North Korea open source intelligence analyst for the U.S. government. Indeed, Kim disappeared from public view for three weeks between a Lunar New Year concert on Jan. 25 and another event at Kumsusan Palace of the Sun to mark his father's birthday. He then retreated from the public eye for another 13 days before offering "guidance" for military training on Feb. 28, according to state media reports. "His absence from the Kumsusan Palace on Kim Il Sung's birthday was unusual, but that alone is not evidence enough to say Kim Jong Un is in trouble," Lee said. She added that North Korea's silence since then should not be over-interpreted. "North Korea does not react to rumors about the leader's health," she said. The Daily NK website first reported that Kim had undergone an operation on April 12 at a hospital near Mount Myohyang and was recuperating at a nearby villa. But it is very unlikely Kim would have left the hospital and traveled by train to Wonsan, a distance of over 150 miles, if he really was gravely ill, nor would there be any reason to transport his body across the country if he had died and officials wanted to maintain secrecy. The stakes were dramatically raised when CNN reported an unnamed U.S. official as saying Washington was monitoring intelligence suggesting Kim was in "grave danger" after undergoing surgery. But officials in Seoul and Washington soon downplayed or contradicted that report. On Saturday, Reuters reported that China had dispatched a team including medical experts "to advise on" Kim, citing three unnamed sources, but the news agency cautioned that it was "unable to immediately determine what the trip by the Chinese team signaled in terms of Kim's health." A Japanese magazine fueled the rumor mill by citing a single unnamed Chinese medical source as saying Kim was in a "vegetative state" after an operation went wrong, while a Hong Kong TV executive posted on social media that Kim was dead. Kim is overweight and is frequently seen smoking; it would hardly be a surprise to discover he had heart problems. But the fact that his train appears to have moved around the country recently, along with other indications he is in Wonsan, contradict the notion he is at death's door. Dong-a Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper, cited a U.S. official in Washington saying Kim had been seen walking around in Wonsan. For many experienced North Korea watchers, this is not unfamiliar territory. Over the years there have been many false death reports about all three North Korean leaders. Kim Jong Un had gone into seclusion and missed important public events before, only to subsequently reemerge, noted Bruce Klingner, a former U.S. intelligence official who now works at the Heritage Foundation. "On the other hand, the first that the US Intelligence Community and even North Korean ministries knew of Kim Jong Il's death in 2011 was the official announcement two days later," Klingner noted. When Kim Jong Il had a stroke in 2008, Thae said colleagues at the Foreign Ministry knew nothing for an entire week, even as official documents needing the leader's approval piled up. But it is also noteworthy that French doctors attended the North Korean leader on that occasion, experts say, and it is far from clear North Koreans would invite in Chinese officials and doctors - and possible Chinese meddling - if there really was a succession crisis being played out behind the scenes. North Korea's relationship with China is more based on tolerance and overlapping interests than any real trust. Indeed, experts, officials and diplomats say concerns about the coronavirus pandemic represent another perfectly plausible theory to explain Kim's vanishing act, especially if a senior official had contracted the virus or come into contact with someone who had. The regime has repeatedly underlined its deep concern about a possible outbreak of coronavirus, and completely shut its borders early in the outbreak. A World Health Organization official told Voice of America this week that 740 had been tested for the new coronavirus by April 17 and all were found not to be infected. But many health experts are skeptical, and Radio Free Asia reported that officials admitted the virus had spread through the country, when talking with local organizations and neighborhood watch units. The Tokyo Shimbun newspaper reported that Kim appears to be undergoing "voluntary isolation" in Wonsan, citing a high-ranking Japanese government official, and quoted North Korean sources as saying he had gone there after one of his bodyguards was found to have the virus. That's not the sort of thing North Korea would ever publicly admit, especially because it insists it has no cases of the virus. Meanwhile, there may have been no new photographs of Kim on North Korea state media for two weeks, but there is still no sign of anything amiss. This week, Kim has sent messages to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, the state Korea Central News Agency reported, while he also sent a letter to construction workers thanking them for building the city of Samjiyon, the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported on Sunday. "Experienced Korea watchers are counseling 'we don't know, we have to wait for confirmation, so have another drink,'" Klingner said, "while those new to North Korea are taking the rumors at face value and panicking about loss of control of nuclear weapons." - - - Hudson reported from Washington and Min Joo Kim from Seoul. The main aim of stock picking is to find the market-beating stocks. But the main game is to find enough winners to more than offset the losers So we wouldn't blame long term CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) shareholders for doubting their decision to hold, with the stock down 52% over a half decade. And it's not just long term holders hurting, because the stock is down 38% in the last year. Furthermore, it's down 29% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders. But this could be related to the weak market, which is down 14% in the same period. Check out our latest analysis for CF Industries Holdings There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS). During five years of share price growth, CF Industries Holdings moved from a loss to profitability. Most would consider that to be a good thing, so it's counter-intuitive to see the share price declining. Other metrics might give us a better handle on how its value is changing over time. We note that the dividend has remained healthy, so that wouldn't really explain the share price drop. While it's not completely obvious why the share price is down, a closer look at the company's history might help explain it. The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image). NYSE:CF Income Statement April 26th 2020 CF Industries Holdings is a well known stock, with plenty of analyst coverage, suggesting some visibility into future growth. So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts What About Dividends? When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, CF Industries Holdings's TSR for the last 5 years was -44%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return. Story continues A Different Perspective While the broader market lost about 3.2% in the twelve months, CF Industries Holdings shareholders did even worse, losing 36% (even including dividends) . Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 11% over the last half decade. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for CF Industries Holdings (of which 1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) you should know about. But note: CF Industries Holdings may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast). Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. Private hospitals are expected to play a key role in the implementation of government-sponsored health insurance schemes in India. Examining the availability and spread of private hospitals in the country and an analysis of their empanelment in government-sponsored health insurance schemes reveal that in low-income states of the country, empanelment of private hospitals by insurance companies is low and concentrated in a few pockets. This may indicate differences in entry conditions or low willingness of private hospitals to participate in these schemes, which has implications for the access to healthcare and insurance for the poor. The expansion of government-sponsored health insurance (GSHI) schemes in India over the last decade has brought private healthcare providers to the forefront. Over the years, several GSHI schemes which rely mostly on private healthcare providers for service delivery have been initiated and expanded throughout the country. The most recent and largest of these initiatives is the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) announced by the Government of India, which intends to provide insurance coverage for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation to about 10 crore underprivileged households across the country. The key role of private providers in AB-PMJAY is reflected in the fact that the National Health Agencythe apex body of the government for the implementation of the schemehas held discussions with representatives of private hospitals to ensure smooth implementation of the scheme (Press Information Bureau 2018; Pilla 2018). However, little is known about the nature and spread of private hospitals in India. This article examines the availability and spread of private hospitals in the country to provide insights on the potential access to insured health services in GSHI schemes. One of the very first cases of COVID-19 in New Mexico was a member of our Cathedral community in Albuquerque. From that moment I have been deeply concerned that the church not become a vector for the coronavirus. I have also been adamant that the church never close even if we must close our buildings, the work of the church continues. As Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande, which encompasses all of New Mexico and the far west part of Texas, I need to make a few points about the church and society in the days ahead. First, the church and every other faith community are essential to our society and need to be treated as such. The practice of faith is essential in helping people manage anxiety and depression, maintain hope and love their neighbor. Our faith communities help people act out of their better selves. Our faith communities help hold the fabric of our society together. For this reason, it is critical that clergy and employees of synagogues, churches and mosques are considered essential services by government agencies and we be given the guidance essential services deserve. Second, public health guidelines are not an assault on religious freedom. We must not allow this moment to be politicized as if scientific public health guidelines are pawns in an election year contest. This is a matter of life and death for all of us and we all need to be working together the last thing people need right now is faith leaders playing politics. The real question here is how can faith communities, as essential to our society, minister safely in this time? We have encouraged all our parishes to provide worship, Bible study and even coffee hour online. The Mass is still being celebrated, but with no more than five people and observing the best social distancing practices as outlined by our public health officials. Every Mass no matter how small is for, and includes, the whole world. Still, these initial restrictions will need to be updated as it appears this crisis will be long lasting. As universities and school systems consider their options for virtual classes for the rest of the year, faith communities will need to work more closely with the state Health Department and the Governors Office so we can conduct our essential ministry including worship in ways that are safe for the public. Third, and finally, the faith community and the government must continue to work together, not in opposition to each other. We are partners in saving lives. As we do this, I will be keeping two principles of my faith in mind: I will have in my heart Jesus command that we love our neighbors as ourselves especially the most vulnerable among us. As a follower of Jesus Christ and as a bishop of the church it is clear to me that when I am at my most faithful, when I am closest to God, my attention and energy are focused not on asserting my rights but on serving others. I will also be mindful of St Pauls teaching as he wrote to a community struggling with their freedom of religion, But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block for the weak, (1 Cor 8:9). I am concerned lest our churches inadvertently become vectors of the virus by encouraging large gatherings or by not following the best scientific recommendations available. Faith communities, as essential to our society, must be exemplars of the very best and safest practices lest people think their church and their government are at odds. Because of my faith in God, I will not live in fear of this virus. And because of that faith I am willing to restrict my freedoms while still working tirelessly to love and serve my neighbors. Cooking has become a popular hobby amid the Covid-19 pandemic as people across the globe follow "stay at home" orders and remain inside, they've hit the kitchen to pass the time. In fact, search interest for the word "recipe" has reached an all-time high in the U.S. and worldwide, Google Trends found. This may be because baking recipes can "bring comfort" in times of uncertainty, culinary art therapist Julie Ohana previously told CNBC Make It. "When times are turned on its head we look for ways to cope," Ohana said. "Baking a loaf of bread, some cookies, etc. is so basic but fills such a void." The top searched for recipes include baked goods, like banana bread and brownies, according to Google Trends. And while Dalgona coffee, a whipped coffee drink inspired by a South Korean candy, went viral on TikTok mid-pandemic, didn't make the top 10, searches for the recipe spiked 850% over the past week in the U.S., according to Google Trends. Here are the top 10 most searched recipes globally since March 1, according to Google Trends: 1. Banana bread recipe 2. Pancake recipe 3. Chicken recipes 4. Pizza dough recipe 5. Brownie recipe 6. "Recette crepe" (which means "crepe recipe" in French) 7. Meatloaf recipe 8. French toast recipe 9. Lasagna recipe 10. Cheesecake recipe Check out: The best credit cards of 2020 could earn you over $1,000 in 5 years Don't miss: LONDON (AP) - It's early evening on a Friday, a time that signals the end of the workweek in many parts of the world and the middle of the weekend in most others. Instead of getting ready to go out, having friends over or enjoying a much-needed rest at home, billions of people around the world are now shut in and sitting tight through the coronavirus pandemic. Associated Press photographers captured images from different parts of Europe and Africa at 6 p.m. local time on Friday, and found that even the most quintessentially public spaces were as still as a Sunday morning. Waterloo Station, Londons busiest train station and a popular rendezvous point, was missing its usual frantic flow of crisscrossing commuters and visitors to the British capital. The Via Nazionale, usually one of the busiest streets in Romes historic city center, remains buttoned up and closed for business after almost eight weeks. Under normal circumstances, the hearts of most cities pulse with energy at that hour on that day of the week. Yet since the coronavirus has swept the planet, days and hours have blended together, compressing into a long wait for life to get back to normal. Via Nazionale, usually one of the busiest roads of Rome's historical city center is almost empty at 1800 on Friday, April 24, 2020. It's early evening on a Friday, a time that signals the end of the workweek in many parts of the world and the middle of the weekend in most others. Instead of getting ready to go out, have friends over or for a needed night at home, billions of people around the world are shut-in, staying put and sitting tight through the coronavirus pandemic. Associated Press photographers captured images from different parts of Europe and Africa at 6 p.m. local time on Friday, when even the most quintessentially public spaces sat as still as a Sunday morning. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) In Paris, the stopped clock hands on an art sculpture titled "LHeure de Tous" ("Everyones Time") take on a different meaning in the lonely looking Gare Saint-Lazare train station. Meanwhile, a young man practices his trumpet playing in the Ukrainian town of Stari Petrivtsi as life goes on indoors, out of public view. ___ Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak ___ Follow AP visual journalism at AP Images blog: http://apimagesblog.com People with bicycles meet at the clock park in Duesseldorf, Germany, at 1800 on Friday April 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) Backdropped by the iconic Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, commuters wait at a metro station on a bridge over the Golden Horn in Istanbul at 1800 on Friday, April 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) The Saint Lazare train station clock, left, and the sculpture named "L'Heure de Tous" ("Everyone's Time") by French artist Arman is photographed in Paris at 1800 on Friday April 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) An almost empty Red Square, with St. Basil's Cathedral the Spasskaya Tower, right, and a security fence after a light rain at 18:00 on Friday, April 24, 2020 in Moscow, Russia. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) Sisi Ndebele, receives a seasonal influenza vaccine from a nurse at a local pharmacy clinic in Johannesburg, South Africa at 1800 on Friday, April 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) A Red Cross tent for registration of volunteers, that help to fight the spread of coronavirus is set in front of the New Town Hall in Prague, Czech Republic at 1800 on Friday, April 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) One of London's most famous rendezvous points is nearly empty under the Waterloo train station clock at 1800 in London, Friday, April 24, 2020. Associated Press photographers captured images from different parts of Europe and Africa at 6 p.m. local time on Friday, when even the most quintessentially public spaces sat as still as a Sunday morning. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein) An empty Palace Square is seen through the arch of the General Staff Building in St.Petersburg, Russia, at 1800 on Friday, April 24, 2020. Associated Press photographers captured images from different parts of Europe and Africa at 6 p.m. local time on Friday, when even the most quintessentially public spaces sat as still as a Sunday morning. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky) A clock atop the belfry of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church is seen through a clothing shop window pane with a mannequin in the foreground in Cyprus' capital Nicosia, at 1800 on Friday, April 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) Sex workers booths, sex shows, clubs, movie theaters, and stores are closed in a near-deserted Red Light District, Amsterdam, Netherlands at 1800 on Friday, April 24, 2020, following Dutch government regulations to prevent the further spread of coronavirus. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong) A woman walks across Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany at 1800 on Friday, April 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) A completely empty street in Belgrade, Serbia at 1800 on Friday, April 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic) A student practices trumpet during an online lesson to get ready for his final exam in a music school, while his grandmother wearing a face mask to protect against coronavirus listens to him, in the village of Stari Petrivtsi close to Ukraine's capital Kyiv at 1800 on Friday, April 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) People walk in an almost empty train station in Barcelona, Spain at 1800 on Friday, April 24, 2020 as the lockdown to combat the spread of coronavirus continues. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) A view of the clock at an almost empty main square because of the coronavirus lockdown, where machinery is parked for rebuilding works after the recent earthquake, in Zagreb, Croatia at 1800 on Friday, April 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic) Kosmas Giannikos, 19, jumps with his skateboard in front of the Greek Orthodox church of Analipsi in northern Athens at 1800 on Friday, April 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) Government Newer Older Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116 Page 117 Page 118 Page 119 Page 120 Page 121 Page 122 Page 123 Page 124 Page 125 Page 126 Page 127 Page 128 Page 129 Page 130 Page 131 Page 132 Page 133 Page 134 Page 135 Page 136 Page 137 Page 138 Page 139 Page 140 Page 141 Page 142 Page 143 Page 144 Page 145 Page 146 Page 147 Page 148 Page 149 Page 150 Page 151 Page 152 Page 153 Page 154 Page 155 Page 156 Page 157 Page 158 More than 200,000 people worldwide have now died with the coronavirus, figures from Johns Hopkins University show. There are more than 2.8 million confirmed cases of Covid-19, according to the tally. It comes after the number of fatalities in the US passed 50,000, as Americans endure the world's deadliest outbreak. Chinese state media reported the first known death linked to the virus on 11 January. More than 210 countries and territories have since reported cases. Five countries have now reported death tolls above 20,000 although the way fatalities are counted varies widely. The US, Italy and Spain have seen the highest number of reported fatalities. The UK's Department of Health announced on Saturday that more than 20,000 people had now died with coronavirus in UK hospitals. Home Secretary Priti Patel described the figure as a "tragic and terrible milestone" and said "the entire nation is grieving". As the UK's daily data does not include people who die at home or in nursing homes, the true figure is certain to be higher. France, which does include deaths in care homes in its statistics, said its toll had risen by 369 on Saturday. There have been 22,614 virus deaths in France since the start of March, but health officials say the mortality rate in hospitals is falling, and the number of people in intensive care has dropped for the seventeenth consecutive day. Among the latest developments: -The World Health Organization (WHO) says patients who have recovered from the virus may not be protected against re-infection -New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo says he will authorise independent pharmacies to carry out tests for Covid-19. -He said he would also expand screening for antibodies at four hospitals, starting with essential workers. The state has recorded more than 16,000 deaths -The lockdown has caused a surge in the number of people contacting the UK's Revenge Porn Helpline - a government-funded service for adults experiencing intimate image abuse -An orphanage in Belarus has appealed for government help after 13 disabled children and 10 staff members were infected with coronavirus Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Life is never easy on the farm. If its not the weather, its a change in the market or some other unforeseen element thats out of a farmers control. Farmers are resilient. They do their best to control what they can. But the outside world has a way of seeping in. Theres all the stress of not knowing if we can pay the bills, said Dennis Brubaker. Were way into the red ink now. Brubaker owns a family-run hog farm near Manheim in Lancaster County, and the coronavirus is taking its toll, he said. With the onset of COVID-19, many slaughterhouses and meat-packing plants around the country closed. Those that are still operating have fewer workers due to illness or layoffs. Brubaker said the plants are now buying just 80 percent of the amount of hogs they used to purchase from him, and they are paying less for the hogs they do take in. This dire financial situation will only get worse the longer the coronavirus drags on, Brubaker fears as he sees the unsold hogs on his farm. Its a pace that cant keep up for long. Things are multiplying in a hurry, he said. Most in the agricultural industry are feeling the pinch. In Pennsylvania, dairy farmers were hoping 2020 would be the first strong year after several years of a painful downturn in the industry. The pandemic completely shuttered major market sectors including schools, restaurants and office cafeterias - buyers of one-third or more of many dairies milk. Its the same all across the country, too, as advocacy groups warn that American family farmers are on the brink of financial collapse. Youre dealing with, you know, three, four or five years of terrible prices, then we get a huge pandemic like this, Patty Edelburg, vice president of the National Farmers Union, told Time Magazine. Were going to see a lot more family-size farms go out of business. Even before the coronavirus, farmers have borne the brunt of a volatile energy market, extreme weather and a trade war. Brubaker said about 26 percent of his product is exported, which had already given him a black eye before the coronavirus. Another financial hit is possible as the USDA predicts demand will decline with restaurants buying a fraction of what they once purchased and customers cutting their spending, reports indicate. Meat-packing plants are in similar situation, having a ripple effect on hog farmers that Brubaker is experiencing. Dennis Brubaker raises about 5,000 hogs on his farm in Manheim, Lancaster County. April 21, 2020. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com Concerns about the coronavirus had prompted the closures of at least a dozen processing plants around the country. While there is no indication the virus can be spread through meat, worker safety remains a concern, and some have ceased production after workers fell ill to COVID-19. On Wednesday, Tyson, the largest pork plant in Iowa that was linked to 200 coronavirus cases, joined the closure list as officials announced it was closing indefinitely, CNN is reporting. In a conference call with reporters Wednesday, Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding said his office has put out new guidance for food-processing plants to operate with employee safety in mind. Its for the protection of their workforce, but also to keep the food-supply chain running. These uncertain times have highlighted the complexity of our nations food chain and have required all of us to think differently, he said. One big transition plants are making is from packaging food in bulk for restaurants to packaging most food for households. About 50 percent of food had been packaged for restaurants before the coronavirus, Redding said, but that had to change drastically with an increased demand from households and restaurants significantly cutting back their operations. Some producers had to scale down, Redding said. Poultry and egg producers, in particular, had to cut way back and not take as much product from farmers as they got away from packaging for restaurants. The same is true with pork, which is now sold almost exclusively in household packaging. They had to make some difficult decisions in scaling down because the market is not there, Redding added. Dennis Brubaker raises about 5,000 hogs on his farm in Manheim, Lancaster County. April 21, 2020. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com Brubaker is seeing this firsthand at the farm he runs with his wife and two sons. He knows of three slaughterhouses and packing plants that have closed. The ones he usually deals with are still open, but they have either laid off many of their workers or are short staffed with some out sick. It slows the lines down, so the meat is being processed and shipped out at a slower rate. Since theyre accepting 20 percent fewer hogs, Brubaker has to keep more animals on his farm, which is an added expense. That is a problem many farmers are facing that has no easy answers, Secretary Redding said Wednesday. When plants shut down for two weeks, what do you do? Redding said. You cant furlough those animals. They have to be fed. Farmers cant be furloughed, either. Most people think in terms of I have a job, I go to my job, get a paycheck, and if I get furloughed, I can collect unemployment, Brubaker said. For us, as a business, there is no hourly wage, no unemployment. We have to work, and theres lots of work to be done, but were losing money doing that work. There is relief, but is it enough? According to Time, the Trump administration has stepped in to help with $19 billion in funding, using Congressional stimulus and other pre-existing programs and funds, which includes payments to affected farmers as well as the direct purchase of food products to distribute to food banks to help the millions of unemployed Americans. USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue said Friday the program would help farmers make it through a period of unprecedented losses, but also acknowledged that the funding would not be enough to offset the scale of the damage, Time is reporting. Despite the problems seen across the food chain, from farmers to consumers, it looks like the food supply chain will hold out, according to Redding. Pennsylvania will not accept hunger as our next pandemic, Redding said. The food system is safe, it is reliable, it is resilient. But it is being challenged like never before. Farmers know challenges, though. They also know there are seasons, and that spring always follows the winter. We will get through this, Brubaker said. Weve been through challenging times before. Well get through this, as well. Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. A consultant has called for a targeted testing of vulnerable groups in Dublin's north inner city after clusters of Covid-19 infection were detected in homeless people and in ethnic communities. Recent testing conducted on 215 people showed that 19pc were positive for the virus. There was also a high level of infection in one cluster of people from the Roma ethnic group, with 64pc of those tested proving positive for the virus. Clusters of infection were also identified among those living in extreme poverty in overcrowded accommodation. Dr Jack Lambert, an infectious diseases consultant at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Dublin, said: "This means we need to target special support for the Roma community in the north Dublin cluster, to make sure they are all tested, treated and isolated, and contact traced, to prevent onward spread. "Without such interventions, the coronavirus will continue to re-appear in Dublin, once we release the 'shut down' and individuals start to congregate again in the city." Read More At least one member of the Roma community has died after contacting the virus. Pavee Point, the support group working with the Roma community, has said the ethnic group is being impacted by overcrowded accommodation and living in conditions where it is not possible to self isolate. The charity has set up a dedicated Covid-19 information phone line. The testing was conducted by Safetynet Primary Care, a charity which provides medical services to marginalised groups in the city. Dr Lambert is supporting the medical charity in its call for a dedicated community assessment hub in the inner city for vulnerable people sited on the grounds of the Mater hospital, which is in the north inner city. The charity is seeking the support of the Health Service Executive. The HSE plans to set up a number of community assessment hubs in the inner city in the coming weeks, with at least two in the north inner city. The spread of Covid-19 among homeless individuals and families has been a cause of concern. The Fr Peter McVerry Trust disclosed earlier this month that nine of its clients tested positive for the virus and 51 more were isolating. The homeless charity, working with the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, secured 110 hotel rooms where homeless people could remain for their two week self-isolation. Concerns have also been raised about the impact on drug users who are at greater risk of spread of the virus. Many will suffer from underlying health conditions and do not have a safe place to self-isolate or cocoon if needed. The Department of Housing announced that it has 560 beds for any homeless people who need to self-isolate because of Covid-19, in Dublin as well as in regional cities. A school board in Alaska has banned five books from its high school English classes after deeming them to be 'controversial'. Schools in the city's of Wasilla and Palmer, with populations of around 6,000 each, have banned Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison; Catch-22 by Joseph Heller; The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien; I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou; and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. All five books have been studied in the past by high school classes in the Anchorage School District with some, required reading. An Alaskan school board has banned five literary classics from high school and include The Great Gatsby and Catch-22 The board also decided to remove I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings and Invisible Man The Things They Carried was also banned The Matanuska-Susitna School Board voted 5-2 during a meeting on Wednesday meeting to remove the books from the required reading list of English courses according to The Daily Beast. It means that teachers in the city's schools are no longer allowed to teach the texts, however it is not known if the books will be removed from libraries. The books were considered to be controversial by the board because they contain scenes of rape and incest with graphic descriptions, along with sexual references. 'Things that are pretty serious problems, especially in our teenage world,' said board member Jeff Taylor to the Anchorage Daily News. 'Is there a reason that we include books that we even label as controversial in our curriculum?' he asked. 'I would prefer these were gone.' Another board member who voted for their removal, Jim Hart admitted that he hadn't even read two of the books except for a summary. Voting in favor of removing the books were board president Tom Bergey, left, and Jeff Taylor Board member Jim Hart voted to remove the novels as did board memberRyan Ponder Fellow board member who voted against the ban, Sarah Welton, said that removing the books was a disservice to pupils. In Angelou's book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the novel contains a graphic description of molestation. Hart claims that he would be admonished if he so much as read it to the board. 'If I were to read this in a professional environment at my office, I would be dragged to the equal opportunity office,' he said. Another board member, Ole Larson said he believed that most parents did not follow the reading lists or knew much of their content. 'I can tell you the majority of parents will just sign off on the books and won't read them anyway or won't even know what's in them,' he said. In Maya Angelou's book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the novel contains 'a graphic description of molestation' One member who voted against the ban, Kelsey Trimmer, said the whole episode reminded him of the 1984 film Footloose, about a small Midwestern town that makes dancing and rock music illegal. Fellow board member who voted against the ban, Sarah Welton, told the Daily News that removing the books was a disservice to pupils. 'I believe the controversial book subjects as reviewed by parents is ... it's beneficial to our students,' Welton said. 'I think we might be doing a disservice to not provide that.' One former teacher asked the board what comments they found objectionable. Students at Wasilla High School studying the English novels have had five seminal texts removed from their syllabus 'One of the purposes in teaching books that have controversial content is so that teachers can guide students through the book to get to the underlying ideas,' Chesbro wrote. 'From your reading of these books, what are the underlying ideas to which you object?' The decision occurred after a request from a board member for information about English elective books that might be considered controversial. The Anchorage School District also uses a group of teachers and administrators to review books with the deputy superintendent making the final decision. The Mat-Su Education Association released a statement on Friday condemning the Mat-Su School Board's decision to ban five books from the curriculum. 'This is a blatant effort to curtail critical thinking, stifle discussion, and deprive our students of the opportunity to share, as a class, the experience of studying some of the most classic American literature,' Dianne K. Shibe, President of the Mat-Su Education Association. The statement goes on to say that the Board made the decision with only minimal input by the community and disregard for the public process. Longtime MSNBC cable news anchor Chris Matthews, who abruptly announced his retirement in March following controversial remarks to women and about Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders, says he believes his departure was justified. In the almost two months since departing the network and his show Hardball Matthews has spoken publicly for the first time stating that he thinks the criticism he received and his subsequent exit were warranted. The end of his broadcasting career came after a female journalist wrote an account in GQ Magazine alleging Matthews made inappropriate remarks to her while she was getting ready to appear on his show. Matthews, 74, stunned fans when he announced he was retiring live on Hardball last month, but has admitted in his first interview since his departure that his leaving was 'justified' GQ Magazine political columnist Laura Bassett named Matthews as the cable news host that she referenced in a 2017 personal essay The accusation led to a resurfacing of reports that Matthews had also been reprimanded in 1999 after a similar incident that resulted in a settlement to an employee, as well as claims that Matthews treated female politicians less respectfully. The writer of the article, Laura Bassett, told of a moment in 2016 when she was getting ready to appear on Matthew's show at which point the anchor remarked, 'Keep putting makeup on her, I'll fall in love with her.' Bassett said Matthews behaved inappropriately toward her in the makeup room prior to the show. He looked at her and said 'why haven't I fallen in love with you yet?' she wrote. 'When I laughed nervously and said nothing, he followed up to the makeup artist. 'Another time, he stood between me and the mirror and complimented the red dress I was wearing for the segment. "You going out tonight?" he asked.' Bassett said that she 'didn't know,' to which Matthews told the makeup artist: 'Make sure you wipe this off her face after the show. We don't make her up so some guy at a bar can look at her like this.' 'Again - Matthews was never my boss. I'm pretty sure that behavior doesn't rise to the level of illegal sexual harassment,' she said. Bassett tweeted on Saturday evening that her account had finally been vindicated Bassett accused Matthews of inappropriately flirting with her in makeup room 'But it undermined my ability to do my job well. And after I published a story about it, even though I didn't name him, dozens of people reached out to say they knew exactly who it was. Many had similar stories. Bassett said she wrote about the encounter in a 2017 essay but didn't name Matthews because she was afraid of network retaliation, adding, 'I'm not anymore.' In an interview with Vanity Fair, Matthews admitted to making the comments and acknowledged that it wasn't right. 'I didn't argue about it, I didn't deny it,' Matthews said. 'I accepted the credibility of the complaint in the article. I didn't want to challenge the person that made the complaint and wrote the article. I thought it was very credible and certainly within the person's rights to write that article, of course. That was highly justified. Basically, as I said, to repeat myself, it's inappropriate in the workplace to compliment somebody on their appearance, this is in the makeup chair, and I did it.' Bassett (pictured right) published an article in GQ in March accusing Matthews of being 'gross and inappropriate' with her before she appeared on his show (pictured) in 2017 Bassett claimed that Matthews made her 'noticeably uncomfortable' while on air, asking her ahead of a segment, 'Why haven't I fallen in love with you yet?' Matthew's most recent comments were appreciated by his accuser Bassett who acknowledged the anchor's candor in a tweet on Saturday evening. 'Somehow I missed that Chris Matthews confirmed my story about him to Vanity Fair yesterday. I appreciate him owning up this and respect how he handled it. And to everyone who reflexively said I was lying: Please read this,' she wrote, coupled with a link to the story. The hour-long week night talk show hosted by the pugnacious Matthews and focusing on politics was one of the staples of left-leaning MSNBC's primetime lineup, where it had aired since 1999. Matthews had already been under some scrutiny, apologizing just the week before after making an awkward comparison on air between Senator Bernie Sanders' victory in the Nevada caucuses and the Nazis' World War II takeover of France. Last month, Matthews apologized on the air after he ignited outrage by comparing Senator Bernie Sanders' (right) victory in the Nevada caucus in February to Nazi Germany's invasion of France in 1940. Sanders, who is Jewish, lost relatives in the Holocaust The remark prompted public outrage from Sanders aides, and fanned complaints about MSNBC's coverage of his campaign. 'I'm sorry for comparing anything from that tragic era in which so many suffered, especially the Jewish people, to an electoral result of which you were the well-deserved winner,' Matthews said in an on-air mea culpa to the politician. And he was criticized for an uncomfortable interview with Elizabeth Warren following the presidential debate, asking if she believed Mike Bloomberg was lying when he denied telling a pregnant female employee of his news company to terminate the pregnancy. 'Why would she lie?' Warren said. His exit came after a weekend of discussions with his bosses, just three days after GQ ran the column by Bassett. The article only served to reinforce long-held views Matthews stretching back years that saw him commenting on women's appearance both on and off the air, including demeaning female politicians such as Hillary Clinton. Matthew told his audience what was going on and addressed the comments he had made on-air. 'Compliments on a woman's appearance that some men including me might have once incorrectly thought were OK, were never OK. Not then and certainly not today. And for making such comments in the past, I'm sorry,' he concluded. In the latest report by Vanity Fair, Matthew was seen as 'being generationally out of touch, and not always aware of the implications of what he was saying on the air,' although he was still popular with his MSNBC colleagues. Matthews is now in quarantine at his Maryland home writing his memoirs for Simon & Shuster. He still gets letter of support from fans of the old show. 'People say they miss me, I miss them too,' he said. 'C'est la vie.' The 74-year-old Matthews, who underwent prostate surgery last year, worked as a speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter and was top aide to House Speaker Thomas 'Tip' O'Neill before turning to journalism as Washington bureau chief for the San Francisco Examiner. He had already been talking to MSNBC management about retiring after this November's election. Members of Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, the biggest Protestant church in the country, attend a Sunday service, as the church reopened after the government eased the social distancing measures amid a slowdown in new COVID-19 cases. /Yonhap By Bahk Eun-ji The government is urging people in their 20s and 30s to continue to practice social distancing, as young people are more likely to become coronavirus "super spreaders" because of their active social life, according to Korea's top infectious disease official Sunday. Those in their 20s and 30s account for 27 percent of coronavirus patients. Korea reported a number of confirmed cases below 15 for the eighth consecutive day, but health authorities kept calling for people, especially those in their 20s, to comply with the social distancing measures. "Those in their 20s have a high possibility of being super spreaders as they often have a wide range of activities. They can come into contact with many people and unwittingly spread the virus especially in confined spaces such as a nightclub. The government urged them to pay special attention to following the social distancing guidelines," Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), said during a regular press briefing at the government complex in Sejong. According to the KCDC, a 19-year-old man living in Daegu had visited a nightclub in Busan twice before he was confirmed to be infected with the virus last week. Some 480 people had visited the facility during the same days as his visits, and the health authorities began to track others who might have come in contact with the man. The KCDC said 10 new infections were detected on Saturday, bringing the nation's total to 10,728. The death toll from the virus rose by two to 242. A total of 8,717 patients have been released from quarantine after recovery. One new case was reported in Daegu, with continuing signs of a slowdown in the region. Other major provinces and cities also reported infections, with Busan adding one new case and Gyeonggi Province seeing six. North Jeolla Province reported one, and one more was detected at immigration checkpoints. Although fewer than 10 daily new cases have been detected here since April 18, health authorities remain on high alert over cluster infections at churches and hospitals, as well as imported cases. The government eased some restrictions in the guidelines last Sunday, but officials have warned that a new wave of infections could come at any time because the virus can spread through people who have no symptoms. Meanwhile, a paper has been published outlining epidemiological investigations and quarantine procedures at the time of the massive COVID-19 infection at a call center in Guro-gu, southwestern Seoul. KCDC Director Jeong was the main author of the paper. It is the first time that Jeong has published a paper on the coronavirus. According to the latest issue of the "Emerging Infectious Diseases," a medical journal published by the U.S. CDC, the paper was published on the prevention of mass infections at the Guro call center building last month. Quarantine officials from Seoul City, Incheon City and Gyeonggi Province also contributed to the paper. The research team suggested that Korea's handling of the call center group infection could have helped prevent the virus' spread to vulnerable groups. Ardern may be very popular - a poll last week showed 87 per cent of people supported the governments COVID-19 response - but she remains a real, fallible person. She leads a real country that is now facing fearsome economic challenges, despite its apparent victory over the first wave of the pandemic. David Farrar, the opposition National Partys pollster says that Arderns popularity bump is similar to that of every incumbent government around the world, regardless of how well they have responded to the crisis. People are going to take the public health response and say good job, but that doesnt necessarily get you credit for the next side of the response which is the economic stuff, Farrar says. The government will be hoping support survives until September 19, when voters will deliver their verdict on Arderns first term. Ardern has essentially bet the farm on being able to eliminate the virus more or less entirely, which combined with strict quarantine measures would allow New Zealands domestic economy to return quickly so some degree of normality, tourism excepted. But as Singapore has shown, keeping the virus out can be more difficult than getting rid of it in the first place. Loading ANZ New Zealand chief economist Sharon Zollner says the key for the elimination strategy will be giving firms the confidence to invest knowing that the country is likely to remain relatively open, once it loosens its restrictions. There is an enormous risk that they will oscillate in and out of various levels of lockdown and you just need to look at the damage done by these lockdowns to know that you really only want to do this once, Zollner said. Ardern, who has described her response as go hard, go early, unveiled the four-step alert system to manage the response in late March. The scheme functioned like a terrorism or fire-threat scheme, with higher alert levels corresponding to stricter measures. In return, the government provided a 12-week wage subsidy for affected businesses in the country. Within a week, New Zealand moved to alert level four, the strictest level of restrictions. Schools, shops, construction - almost everything apart from supermarkets and pharmacies - were forced to shut down. Yet public support for the harsh measures remained high as the number of new daily cases shot up from a handful in late March, to frightening 89 on April 2. Loading New Zealand is a small country and business, unions, health experts - and the public - all seemed to agree on the lockdown. But as the number of new cases dropped, cracks have appeared in support for the governments Unite against COVID-19 campaign. The criticism fell into two camps. A group of academics launched a PR campaign called plan B arguing the measures were too strict and risked creating more problems than they solved by cratering the economy, leading to unemployment, destitution and mental health problems. We don't want to squash a flea with a sledgehammer and bring the house down, says Auckland University epidemiologist Dr Simon Thornley, a member of the group. "Lockdown was appropriate when there was so little data...but the data is now clear, this is not the disaster we feared and prepared for. Elimination of this virus is likely not achievable and is not necessary," Thornley says. Others, while supportive of the restrictions, have criticised New Zealands general health preparedness, highlighting the countrys extremely low intensive care capacity. The number of ICU beds per 100,000 people was 5.14 in New Zealand, compared to 8.92 in Australia and 12.5 in Italy. The low ICU capacity perhaps bolstered the governments case for swift action, lest the nations hospitals be overrun. Yet because of this, New Zealands entire public health system has come under fire. The system is highly devolved, with power largely ceded to 20 elected District Health Boards. As the crisis wore on, these health districts - and the government - copped flak for not knowing how many ventilators they had and mismanaging the distribution of crucial PPE to frontline health workers, among other problems. The problem became so acute, the Auditor-General was hauled in to investigate. And that was before the largely invisible Health Minister David Clark was demoted by Ardern after admitting he took his family to the beach during the lockdown. Then on Monday the government quietly released a report slamming its early contact tracing efforts. The report found a system so threadbare that it became overloaded by fewer than 100 daily cases in the early days of the pandemic. "The timeliness of the process was poor," the report said, detailing a two-day average lag between a positive COVID-19 test and contacts being told to self-isolate. Politically, none of this is helped by the fact that Australia seems to have tackled COVID-19 just as well as New Zealand without closing down every Bunnings, McDonalds drive-through and takeaway coffee cart in the country. Even at the slightly more relaxed level three lockdown - which will start on Tuesday - hairdressers will still be closed as will normal shopping. Businesses can open, but transactions must be contactless, this means online ordering and pick up or deliveries. The cash will be a lifeline for some small businesses, but for many it will be too little, too late. Luke Malpass is political editor at Stuff, Nine's New Zealand publishing arm. Thomas Coughlan is a political reporter at Stuff. Wall Street curtails corporate lending in Europe to put America first - sources FILE PHOTO: The Wall Street sign is pictured at the New York Stock exchange (NYSE) in the Manhattan borough of New York City By Arno Schuetze, Pamela Barbaglia and Maya Nikolaeva FRANKFURT/LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. investment banks are shrinking lending activity in Europe as the coronavirus crisis forces them to retreat home, allowing BNP Paribas and other European lenders to fill the funding gaps and grab market share, seven sources told Reuters. Facing unprecedented demand for loans, and under pressure to support their local economy, the likes of Bank of America and JPMorgan have taken a more cautious approach on Europe, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup have also become more risk-averse in taking lending decisions in Europe as they fret over a wave of potential loan defaults, the sources added. With U.S. banks focusing on their home turf, France's BNP Paribas is using its robust balance sheet to gain market share by increasing lending across the continent, according to the sources and Refinitiv data. Bank of America, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and BNP Paribas all declined to comment. The U.S. banks remain active on selective deals, however, with Goldman Sachs and Citigroup underwriting a 3.5 billion euro credit facility for Fiat Chrysler in March. They are also deploying different financing tools - such as issuing bonds as well as providing bridge capital or bilateral loans - to spread their bets in Europe. Sources at the banks say that their European rivals can afford to be more aggressive in their capital allocation as they can access ultra cheap financing from the European Central Bank. The retreat of Wall Street's giants nonetheless follows a lending bonanza of several years, with U.S. lenders consistently dominating European investment banking league tables since the financial crisis in 2008, Refinitiv data shows. "U.S. banks are right now more concerned with their domestic commercial and retail banking activities, so they are taking a more careful approach to Europe," said Societe Generale Germany country head Guido Zoeller. Story continues Bank of America, for example, turned down requests by British events organiser Informa in March to underwrite a new 750 million pound ($926.5 million) credit line, according to one source with direct knowledge of the matter, despite being its joint corporate broker. BNP Paribas, HSBC and Spain's Banco Santander decided instead to take on the job and underwrite the facility, while Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley agreed to syndicate the debt. Bank of America subsequently failed to land a key role in handling Informa's share sale on Apr. 16 which raised 1 billion pounds and was led by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as joint global coordinators, the source said. Informa did not respond to a request for comment. A source close to Bank of America said the bank had committed more than $9 billion to European clients for liquidity back-up facilities since March 1. FRENCH OFFENSIVE BNP Paribas, under CEO Jean-Laurent Bonnafe, leads both Refinitiv and Dealogic's league tables for syndicated loan bookrunners in Europe, with Dealogic data showing it has underwritten $32 billion worth of loans so far this year. Despite oil market turmoil, BNP Paribas solely underwrote a $10 billion credit facility for Britain's BP on Apr. 6. It is unusual for one bank to underwrite such a large facility alone, particularly in a sector under strain. French lenders Societe Generale and Credit Agricole, along with Santander and Italy's UniCredit, have also moved to fill the lending gap, Refinitiv data shows. While facing pressure to provide much-needed financing to domestic businesses, French banks have the backing of the country's political establishment to expand overseas. Having high levels of liquidity means French banks are likely to be less affected from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic than other European lenders, one of the sources said. BNP is widely seen as having emerged a relative winner from the financial crisis by keeping a tight rein on costs and risk. French banks say they have built up higher capital ratios and liquidity levels than during the last crisis. "The French banking system is seen as the most active and the most solid," said a Paris-based banking source. EXCEPTIONAL DEMAND American banks' international focus had to give way as the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has triggered exceptional demand for liquidity from both U.S. and European clients. The eight banks topping this year's Refinitiv league table for syndicated loans are all European, while Bank of America - which was number one last year - has slipped to 10th position, providing around $6 billion of loan commitments. JPMorgan is the highest-ranked American bank, in ninth place, down from seventh last year. For an interactive version of this graphic, click here https://tmsnrt.rs/2XZv6NO Banks have seen cash-strapped clients around the world draw down more than $150 billion of revolving credit facilities in the first quarter of the year as business activity came to a halt in many countries. The rush to deploy lifelines has prompted lenders to set aside billions of dollars in provisions to cushion potential losses, while missing financial targets and stomaching sharp declines in profit. The bleak outlook, combined with a series of government relief packages for struggling businesses in the United States and Europe, has increased pressure on lenders to prioritize domestic clients, using state guarantees to rescue companies. "In this crisis most banks need to align their interests with their own governments' and come forward to support state-backed schemes," said a London-based banker. "That's where nationalism comes from. It leaves banks with tough choices to make as there is huge demand for liquidity across borders." ($1 = 0.8095 pounds) (Reporting by Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt, Pamela Barbaglia, Abhinav Ramnarayan in London and Maya Nikolaeva in Paris; Additional reporting by Karin Strohecker; Editing by Pravin Char and Alexander Smith) President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has noted that he was deeply saddened by the news of the death of Ali bey Huseynzade`s daughter Feyzaver khanum. President Ilham Aliyev expressed his sorrow over this heavy loss: I was deeply saddened by the news of the death of Feyzaver Turan Alpsar, the daughter of Ali bey Huseynzade, a prominent representative of Azerbaijan`s literary and public thought, a famous educator and writer. Feyzaver Turan Alpsar played an important role in preserving the literary and scientific heritage of the great thinker. She was awarded the Dostlug Order and the 100th anniversary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1918-2018) jubilee medal for her contributions to the strengthening of cultural relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Turkey. May Allah rest her soul in peace! Baku, 25 April 2020 As many as 376 students from Jammu and Kashmir, who were stranded in Rajasthan's Kota, would return to the Union Territory on Monday as all arrangements have been finalised, officials said. "376 J&K students in Kota set to return tomorrow. All arrangements finalised. This follows recent return of students and others who were in Jaisalmer and other places. Appeal: Please be patient. Govt is working hard to facilitate all," government spokesperson Rohit Kansal said in a tweet. While he gave no further details, officials said the students, who were stranded in Kota due to the nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus, left the Rajasthan town on Sunday in Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation buses and were expected to reach home on Monday. Earlier, students from Jammu and Kashmir, who were kept in a quarantine facility at Rajasthan's Jaisalmer after their return from Iran, were brought back by the administration after they completed their quarantine period. Several political parties in the valley had expressed concern over the students from the Union Territory stranded in various parts of the country and appealed to the administration to make arrangements for their return. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 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As many as nine persons died in the Saran district of the state, while two died in Jamui and one in Bhojpur districts, added the media reports. Eight people were also injured in Saran district and they were being treated at Chhapra Sadar Hospital, the reports quoted a senior cop as saying. State's Chief Minister Nitish Kumar condoled the deaths and announced an ex-gratia payment of 400,000 Indian Rupees (around 5340 U.S. dollars) to the families of each of the deceased, an official release said. Praying for the speedy recovery of those injured, the chief minister said in the official release, "The loss of lives was comparatively less as people were indoors due to the lockdown." The chief minister also urged to the people to remain alert at times when the Meteorological Department had forecast bad weather, and pay heed to advisories issued by the Disaster Management Department. Enditem At least three people were killed in a fire in Taipei karaoke bar on Sunday morning, which left 50 others in hospital. Apart from those declared dead, four other people were in a critical condition and were being treated in a local hospital, the official CNA news agency said. The fire broke out between 10 and 11am on the fifth floor of a 14-storey building on Linsen North Road in the Taiwanese capital. The bar occupied the first nine floors. Pictures from the scene showed thick smoke emerging from the building. Customers trapped on the upper floors were seen calling for help with some even standing on window sills in panic. Customers were rescued from the upper floors. Photo: AFP Firefighters used aerial ladders to rescue the trapped people from the upper storey windows. The Taipei city fire department said it dispatched 43 fire engines and 17 ambulances to the scene. The fire was extinguished at about 11.30am and the search for more survivors was continuing, the department said. The cause of the blaze was so far unknown and was under investigation, the department said. Sign up now and get a 10% discount (original price US$400) off the China AI Report 2020 by SCMP Research. Learn about the AI ambitions of Alibaba, Baidu & JD.com through our in-depth case studies, and explore new applications of AI across industries. The report also includes exclusive access to webinars to interact with C-level executives from leading China AI companies (via live Q&A sessions). Offer valid until 31 May 2020. This article Three killed in fire at Taiwan karaoke bar first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020. Supreme Court Expands EPA Power to Regulate Groundwater Discharges A divided Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that gives the federal government new powers to regulate pollution that travels through groundwater. Although regulating pollution has generally been left to state and local governments, two conservative justicesChief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Brett Kavanaughsided with the four liberal justices to boost federal authority. In the case at hand, Maui County, Hawaii, appealed a novel 2018 interpretation of the Clean Water Act by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals court sided with environmentalists who accused the county of violating the Clean Water Act by injecting wastewater underground, to eventually find its way into the ocean waters that surround the state. That court determined that the federal law applied to so-called point sources, meaning, any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance including pipes, ditches, channels, tunnels, conduits, and wells. The Clean Water Act forbids any addition of any pollutant from any point source to navigable waters without an appropriate permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The countys wastewater reclamation facility collects sewage from the surrounding area, partially treats it, and then pumps about 4 million gallons of treated water daily into the ground through four wells. The material then moves roughly a half-mile through groundwater to the Pacific Ocean, according to a summary provided by the Supreme Court. Environmentalists sued, claiming the county was discharging a pollutant into navigable waters without the necessary EPA permit. The trial court determined that the discharge from county wells into groundwater was functionally one into navigable water, and held for the activist groups. The 9th Circuit upheld the decision, stating that a permit was needed when pollutants are fairly traceable from the point source to a navigable water. In County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, the Supreme Court ruled 63 on April 23 that an EPA permit must be obtained for direct discharges from a point source into navigable waters or when there is the functional equivalent of a direct discharge. During oral arguments Nov. 6, 2019, the county contended it didnt have to obtain a permit because they are only mandatory in situations in which the point sources are delivering pollutants to navigable waters. The environmentalists countered that the Clean Water Act doesnt require that the pollutants be delivered directly from a point source to navigable waters and that a permit has to be obtained when the pollutant comes from the point source. The Supreme Court accepted this argument. Justice Stephen Breyer wrote the opinion of the court, in which Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Kavanaugh, and Chief Justice Roberts joined. Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Samuel Alito dissented. The high court found that EPA permission is needed whenever there is a discharge from a point source into navigable waters or when there is the functional equivalent of a direct discharge. The court reasoned that it steered away both from the more aggressive interpretation of the law that activists wanted and the more restrained interpretation that the government sought. Instead, the court tried to find general language that will reflect a middle ground between these extremes, Breyer wrote in the majority opinion. Thomas rejected this reasoning in his dissenting opinion, suggesting that the majority was writing new provisions into the federal law that dont exist. His opinion was joined by Gorsuch. Based on the statutory text and structure, I would hold that a permit is required only when a point source discharges pollutants directly into navigable waters. But the Court then departs from the statutory text by requiring a permit for the functional equivalent of a direct discharge, which it defines through an open-ended inquiry into congressional intent and practical considerations. Because I would adhere to the text, I respectfully dissent. In 2016, Portland voters passed a 10-cent-per-gallon gas tax to fund street repairs and safety improvements. While there have been hiccups in its administration, the city expects to break ground on all its promised projects by the end of the year with completion by summer of next year. With a pressing need for more funding for both maintenance and safety, Portlanders should vote yes on this measure and renew the tax. Like the 2016 tax, the four-year measure describes apportioning funds to specific projects. The current measure, which would raise about $75 million would include: $25 million for paving stretches of 15 roads; $13 million for potholes and gravel streets; and another $36.5 million for a wide range of safety improvements, including crosswalks, new traffic signals on dangerous streets, building sidewalks near schools; and streetlights. Opponents note several problems identified in a 2019 audit by the City Auditors office. To their credit, transportation bureau officials took the criticism to heart, addressing each of the concerns, including increasing the rate that trucks pay to ensure theyre contributing to road maintenance. An oversight committee that initially failed to conduct annual reviews is now on time and receives monthly reports from the transportation bureau about progress. Opponents also question why all the proceeds arent going to street maintenance, arguing that a tax paid by motorists should go toward road improvements that ease driving and congestion not building sidewalks. Its not persuasive. Drivers in one circumstance are pedestrians, cyclists and transit users in other circumstances. Investing in infrastructure that helps limit crashes, encourages alternatives to driving and fixes known safety problems helps drivers and non-drivers alike. Theres a gaping need for more money, of course. And the pandemic throws all tax revenue estimates into doubt. But neither of those are reasons to reject a four-year renewal of a tax that appears to be delivering whats promised. - The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board Find links to our other endorsements, including Portland mayor and City Council, here at our main endorsement posting. The World Health Organisation says there is no evidence that people who have recovered from coronavirus and have antibodies are protected against a second infection. In a scientific brief published on Saturday, the United Nations agency warned against countries issuing "immunity passports" and "risk-free certificates" that would allow people to return to work or travel, relying on "proof" that they would be protected against reinfection. WHO reports that relying on antibodies at this stage of the pandemic could increase the risk of spreading the virus, and claims that antibody testing has not yet been proven as a reliable next step as countries look to reopen after quarantines and other mitigation efforts. The report says: "People who assume that they are immune to a second infection because they have received a positive test result may ignore public health advice. The use of such certificates may therefore increase the risks of continued transmission." Several studies have discovered that people who did recover from Covid-19 do possess antibodies, but WHO insists that the low levels of neutralising antibodies in the blood in those cases are not enough to guarantee immunity from the disease. The report follows Chile's announcement that it will begin issuing immunity cards functioning as passports in the country, giving them permission to clear airport security, among other permissions. Officials across the US and in France and the UK have floated similar concepts, which presume that a person can only contract the virus once before developing antibodies to ward off another infection. But WHO reports that "no study has evaluated whether the presence of antibodies [for Covid-19] confers immunity to subsequent infection by this virus in humans." WHO supports current antibody testing "at the population level or in specific groups, such as health workers, close contacts of known cases, or within households" as they are "critical for understanding the extent of and risk factors associated with infection." But most of those studies "are not designed to determine whether those people are immune to secondary infections", the report says. Recommended Everything you need to know about coronavirus antibody testing Several antibody tests have been launched in California and in New York, where 13.9 per cent of people in the state have tested positive for antibodies. In New York City, that figure is 21 per cent. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently claimed that "large-scale antibody testing will help determine the percentage of the population that is now immune to the virus" though health officials and researchers stressed that wasn't necessarily the case, as the WHO now reports. WHO's findings also cast doubt on the efficacy of "herd immunity", in which a large percentage of a community has developed antibodies against the virus. Malinda Harris, whose daughter Hanna was murdered in 2013 near Lame Deer, has been a leader in the push for more awareness of missing and murd The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that there was currently "no evidence" that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second coronavirus infection. In a scientific brief, the United Nations agency warned governments against issuing "immunity passports" or "risk-free certificates" to people who have been infected as their accuracy could not be guaranteed. The practice could actually increase the risks of continued spread as people who have recovered may ignore advice about taking standard precautions against the virus, it said. "Some governments have suggested that the detection of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, could serve as the basis for an 'immunity passport' or 'risk-free certificate' that would enable individuals to travel or to return to work assuming that they are protected against re-infection," the WHO said. "There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection," it said. Chile said last week it would begin handing out "health passports" to people deemed to have recovered from the illness. Once screened to determine if they have developed antibodies to make them immune to the virus, they could immediately rejoin the workforce. The WHO said it continued to review the evidence on antibody responses to the virus, which emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. Some 2.8 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 196,298 have died, according to a Reuters tally. Most studies have shown that people who have recovered from infection have antibodies to the virus, the WHO said. However, some of them have very low levels of neutralizing antibodies in their blood, "suggesting that cellular immunity may also be critical for recovery", it added. Also Read: Coronavirus India live updates: Total COVID-19 cases cross 26,000; 8 states with over 1,000 cases Also Read: Coronavirus: Sonia Gandhi calls for Rs 2 lakh crore wage protection, credit guarantee MSME package Also Read: Is Kim Jong Un dead? Twitter abuzz with rumours of North Korean leader's demise Anirban Ganguly By I was on the boat at sea, not expecting anything... when all of a sudden, unexpectedly, about ten nautical miles from Pondicherry, the quality of the atmosphere, of the air, changed so much that I knew I was entering the aura of Sri Aurobindo. It was a physical experience and I guarantee that whoever has a sufficiently awakened consciousness can feel the same... observed The Mother, reminiscing that day, April 24, in 1920, when she reached the shores of the southern French enclave of Pondicherry, which the Indian philosopher, revolutionary and sage, Sri Aurobindo, had made his cave of tapasya. It was for the second and final time that The Mother (Mirra) reached Pondicherry, heralding the beginning of a new era. After a brief stay of a little less than one year in Pondicherry, between March 1914 and February 1915, she had left for Japan. But her undiminished conviction was that of a return to the presence of Sri Aurobindo. While in Japan, Mirra lived through the devastating Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 which had its origins, even then, in China. Mirra herself caught the flu, it was a close call, but she survived. In later years, Mirra would come across as the perfect blend of the West and East, and one of the most magnetic interpreters of the East to the West. She came to be recognised as Sri Aurobindos foremost interpreters and also the one who gave dynamic shape to his vision and action. Mirras was therefore a life of relentless, unceasing, indefatigable action for realising and imparting practical shape to Sri Aurobindos vision for India and the world. Driven by an inexhaustible reserve of energy, a grounded pragmatism, a keen administrative sense and a phenomenal organisational power, Mirra, who transformed into The Mother, left behind a lasting imprint on the legacy of Sri Aurobindo. In fact, it was because of her, that Sri Aurobindos legacy, message and contribution found an ineradicable presence in the collective psyche of Bharat. India was to The Mother, the theatre of mankinds spiritual evolution and possibility. Indias spiritual evolution was for her the roadmap for humanitys spiritual march. To her as to Sri Aurobindo, Indias spiritual destiny was to eventually become the world teacherVisva Gurua role India had civilisationally adorned and held in past, when civilisations looked to her for wisdom, light and knowledge. India was the country of The Mothers soul, the country she always cherished as her true mother-country. She had completely and without reserve identified with Indias inner self. India is not the earth, rivers and mountains of this land, neither is it a collective name for the inhabitants of this country. India is a living being, as much living as, say, Shiva. India is a goddess as Shiva is a God, she once observed. One principal and compelling dimension of The Mother life was the realisation of Indias spiritualadhyatmicdestiny, for in that realisation lay the seeds of a new age of global living. For years, she held classes, met people from all walks of life, from leaders to disciples, before the spiritual map of Indiathe demarcation of the cultural and civilisational space of undivided Bharat that still stands at the Ashram playground. When someone spoke of being politically correct, she retorted, The map was made after the Partition. It is the map of the true India in spite of all passing appearances, and it will always remain the map of the true India, whatever people may think about it. From Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore to Sri Guruji Golwalkar, to Vinoba Bhave, from Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, to KM Munshi, to Jawaharlal Nehru, from Dr Rajendra Prasad, to Lal Bahadur Shastri, to Indira Gandhi, from UN Dhebar to K Kamaraj to Nandini Satpathy, from General JN Chaudhuri, the liberator of Hyderabad to General JFR Jacob, the hero of the Bangladesh Liberation War, from celebrated educationists like DS Kothari to legendary litterateurs like Vinay Krishna Gokak, to name a few, each one who met The Mother came away with a lasting and inspiring impression and touch. And yet when she was asked by the All India Radio for a message on her ninetieth birthday, The Mothers reminiscences of a fascinatingly packed and eventful life, so full of struggle and achievements, so visible and yet so self-effacing, was remarkably short: The reminiscences will be short. I came to India to meet Sri Aurobindo, I remained in India to live with Sri Aurobindo, when he left his body I continued to live here in order to do his work which is by serving the Truth and enlightening humanity to hasten the rule of the Divines Love upon earth.The centenary of her final arrival in IndiaApril 24, 2020is an ideal occasion for reflecting on her life, legacy and unique contribution. Director, Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation Twitter: @anirbanganguly NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard says medical advice shows students could be back at school full-time but Education Minister Sarah Mitchell has urged parents to follow the staggered approach. All students in NSW will return from school holidays this week, but the Berejiklian government is aiming for a staged resumption of face-to-face learning. But the state opposition says the government's one day a week roster approach is confusing and urged Premier Gladys Berejiklian to allow year 12 students back full-time from Wednesday. NSW Department of Education secretary Mark Scott said schools would open for the start of term two, but the plan was to have all students attending at least one day a week by week three. The central Chinese city of Wuhan, the first Covid-19 pandemic epicentre where the virus emerged late last year, has no remaining cases in hospitals, China announced Sunday. The novel coronavirus is believed to have originated in a wet seafood and meat market in Wuhan before spreading across China and then globally. Early cases of Covid-19 were discovered among Wuhan residents in December. Coronavirus outbreak: Full coverage More than 2.8 million people have since been sickened by the rapidly spreading virus and nearly 200000 have died globally. The latest news is that by April 26, the number of new coronavirus patients in Wuhan was at zero, thanks to the joint efforts of Wuhan and medical staff from around the country, national health commission (NHC) spokesperson Mi Feng said at a briefing in Beijing on Sunday. The last patient in serious condition in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, was cured on Friday, reducing the number of these patients in the city to zero, Mi said. Wuhan, however, recorded 20 new silent carriers of the virus on Friday, with 535 suspected patients under medical observation. The city of around 11 million people was put under a total lockdown for 76 days starting January 23 but still saw the highest number of cases and fatalities in China. According to the Chinese governments revised estimates released earlier this month, the total confirmed infections in the city were 50,333 while there were 1290 more deaths, pushing the total number of fatalities to 3,869. The focus in China now is on imported cases. The NHC authorities said Sunday that it received reports of 11 new confirmed Covid-19 cases on the mainland Saturday, of which five were imported. The other six new cases were domestically transmitted, the NHC said in its daily report, noting that five cases were reported in Heilongjiang province in northeastern China and one in the southern province of Guangdong. No deaths nor suspected cases were reported Saturday on the mainland. The health authorities are also focusing on Beijing, which now has the only high-risk zone for Covid-19 in the country. On Sunday, the Beijing government made public new regulations aimed at better public hygiene, banning uncivilised behaviour of citizens. The rules include the banning of uncivilised behavior such as not covering the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing. The regulations include a renewed emphasis on dressing neatly and not going shirtless in public, in a reference to the so-called Beijing bikini practice where men roll T-shirts and shirts up to expose their stomachs in summer. Beijing already discourages a range of uncivilized behaviours including public spitting, littering, walking dogs unleashed, throwing things from high buildings, public defecation and smoking in places where it is prohibited. But the latest rules -- passed on Friday -- outline new specific punishments. Fines for littering, spitting and defecation in public were upped to a maximum of 200 yuan ($28), from a previous upper limit of 50 yuan, news ageny, AFP said in a report Sunday. Coronavirus: Health and Family Welfare Minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan visited AIIMS Trauma Centre, a dedicated COVID-19 hospital, to take updates about the on going treatments. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Sunday visited AIIMS Trauma Centre, which has been converted into a dedicated COVID-19 hospital. Earlier on April 24, Dr Harsh Vardhan and MoS, Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Choubey had held a meeting via video conferencing with state Health Ministers to review actions on COVID-19 management. In the video conference, Dr Vardhan urged them to ensure that no unnecessary stigma is attached to COVID-19 and said that we need to identify people infected with COVID-19 and treat them. A total of 26,496 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in India. 5,804 people have recovered or migrated, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Sunday. 824 people have lost their lives due to coronavirus in the country. Hours ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation through his radio address Mann Ki Baat on Sunday. Calling Indias fight against coronavirus people-driven, PM Modi said that people and the administration are together in this fight. Every citizen is fighting this war like a soldier and as per his or her capacity. During the pandemic, farmers are ensuring that nobody remains hungry, some have waived off house rents while some of the laborers, who are in quarantine at a school, are whitewashing the walls. Be it central, state or local administration, everyone is working together for quick and effective relief. PM Modi also launched a digital portal called covidwarriors.gov.in, which will be used to develop a united front against coronavirus. He said that volunteers of social organisations, civil society and local administration are all connected through this platform. About 1.25 people including doctors, nurses and NCC cadets have also joined the platform. He further urged the citizens to become COVID warriors. For all the latest National News, download NewsX App Chinese officers ride in together on bicycles in a shopping area in Beijing, China, on April 22, 2020. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) CCP Sought to Encourage German Officials to Make Positive Comments on Regimes Handling of Pandemic BERLINChinese diplomats approached German government officials in an attempt to encourage them to make positive statements on how Beijing is handling the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic, the German interior ministry said in a letter this month. The German government is aware of individual contacts made by Chinese diplomats with the aim of effecting positive public statements on the coronavirus management by the Peoples Republic of China, said the letter, seen by Reuters on Sunday. The federal government has not complied with these requests. The letter was dated April 22 and was sent to Green Party member of parliament Margarete Bause in response to her question on whether Chinese diplomats had contacted German officials with the goal of encouraging them to make positive remarks. File photo of Parliamentary leader of the Bavarian Green Party Margarete Bause greeting Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei upon his arrival at Munich Airport, Germany, on July 30, 2015. (Joerg Koch/Getty Images) The comments by the interior ministry were first reported by the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. The paper cited the Chinese embassy in Berlin as rejecting the report as untrue and irresponsible. The embassy could not immediately be reached for comment on Sunday and the Chinese foreign ministry did also not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. In the letter, the interior ministry said the German government had acknowledged Chinas efforts to contain the pandemic, particularly since Jan. 23, even without being asked to do so by Beijing. It went on to say that Berlin had told the Chinese regime that it believed that transparency was important for combating the pandemic, without saying whether it believed the CCP had been transparent or not. The ministry did not give a time frame for the contacts. On Friday, Reuters reported that Chinese regime sought to block a European Union report alleging that Beijing was spreading disinformation about the CCP virus outbreak, according to four sources and diplomatic correspondence. Epoch Times staff contributed to this report To exit the lockdown or not, that is the question William Shakespeares paraphrased poem best captures the nations dilemma. Unlike Prince Hamlet, this is not a question of ones own life but a billion other lives. It is critical to make this decision on sound facts and evidence, not fear or hope. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day total national lockdown on March 24 to combat the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) epidemic, half a million people in the world were infected, 20,000 people had died, and the virus was rampaging through nations. Epidemiologists warned of alarming deaths and hospitalisations. Without a vaccine and in the grip of panic, world leaders, in herd behaviour, adopted the Wuhan model of locking down citizens to combat the epidemic. India followed suit with Modi assuring the nation that social distancing was the only way to counter the virus and a lockdown would break the chain of infection. March 24 was just a month ago, but it is eons in Covid-19 time, as the world learns more about the disease every day. There is now greater information, data and evidence to assess the lockdown strategy and chart the next one. India now has over 25,000 cases, up from 500 at the time of the lockdown announcement, with an average of 1,500 new cases reported daily. But this is a misleading metric. The total number of cases is simply a function of the number of people tested. The more the number of tests, the higher the number of cases. For example, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal account for one-third of Indias population but only one-tenth of all Covid tests and cases. Does anyone believe that Bihar, with 120 million people, has almost the same number of Covid cases as Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh with half a million people? It is highly likely that a more intensive stratified testing strategy would have revealed multiple times the cases than reported. It is now clear that the lockdown has neither broken the chain of infection nor is it a cure for Covid-19, as claimed. The other goal of the lockdown was to flatten the curve, in tandem with available hospital capacity. India has one hospital bed for every 2,000 people; Bihar has one for every 10,000. In the United States or the United Kingdom, there is one for every 300 people. Even if India had miraculously doubled the number of hospital beds in a month and slowed down the spread of the virus by half vis-a-vis other nations in lockdown, it would still not be enough. Flattening the curve in Indias context is simply not a viable goal. Did the lockdown achieve social distancing? The idea of distance is a luxury in a poor country. Nearly all poor households in India have six members or more. Hundreds of millions of migrant workers are often crammed into one room with six or more people in big cities. As reports show, locking people in their homes has proved counterproductive. So, the lockdown has not stopped the virus, flattened the curve or physically distanced the majority, the three objectives laid out by the PM. It is also well-established that the lockdown has imposed severe humanitarian costs. In the absence of full information, the lockdown at that time was the right strategy but it is now clear that it is not an efficient one for India. After 20 million tests, 2.5 million cases and a little under 200,000 deaths across the world, the following facts about Covid-19 can now be established. One, 99% of people below 60 years of age with no pre-existing disease are safe and need not fear the disease. Two, the Indian Council of Medical Researchs finding is that more than 70% of Covid-19 infected Indians are asymptomatic. Which means they will be unaware of their infection, unwittingly transmit it to others and unknowingly recover from it. Three, even for vulnerable people, the fatality rate of Covid-19 is not as high as it was initially estimated and is perhaps the same as severe influenza, as per recent studies. And four, contrary to belief, there is no evidence of either the weather or genes providing natural immunity for Indians. In short, a majority of Indians may get infected and recover from Covid-19, obliviously. There is no vaccine for the disease expected for at least 18 months. Until such time, a lockdown is neither a cure nor viable. Indias favourable demographics and a significantly lower fatality rate than estimated means learning to live cautiously with the virus is the only pragmatic strategy. This does not mean that India is free from the Covid-19 danger or that it should throw caution to the wind. Weighing the trade-offs with improved knowledge of the epidemic, returning to a new normal with adequate protection for the vulnerable, precautions of distancing and hygiene is the most optimum strategy. But there is extreme fear and panic, which is justifiable and understandable, given the sudden onset of a seemingly deadly new virus. People are petrified of contracting the infection and, unfortunately, there is also a social stigma associated with the disease. New evidence shows that such fear and panic are unwarranted and a gradual return to a new and safe normal is the best option. It takes tall political leadership to calm nations and lead people out of their deep fears. Just as President Franklin Roosevelt did in 1933 when he exhorted Americans to shed their fear of the Great Depression, with the words There is nothing to fear but fear itself. Praveen Chakravarty is a political economist and a senior office-bearer of the Congress The views expressed are personal Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said pool testing should be encouraged in the state to ensure that coronavirus is contained in the hotspots and containment zones. At present, pool testing of coronavirus samples is being conducted in Lucknow, Meerut and Etawah. Pooling of samples involves testing them in batches and when pooled sample tests positive, then individual samples are assessed. Pool testing reduces the number of test kits used, therefore, increases testing capacity. "For prevention of COVID-19, pool testing should be encouraged, as through pool testing more people can be tested, and thereby COVID-19 could be effectively controlled," Adityanath said while chairing a meeting of senior UP government officials at his residence here. He said it is very important for medical personnel to take all precautions while treating patients infected with coronavirus. "Hence, the COVID-19 hospitals should have an adequate number of PPE kits and N-95 masks. The dedicated COVID-19 teams should be constantly monitored. The doctors, nurses, para-medical and other staff must be saved from infection at every cost," the chief minister said. Adityanath said the state government has earmarked hospitals for dedicated treatment of COVID-19 patients. He also said that planning should be done to expand plasma therapy for treatment of COVID-19 patients in the state, as it has given good results. The chief minister said the people of Uttar Pradesh who are stranded in other states and have completed their quarantine period will be brought back in a phased manner. Adityanath directed the chief secretary, the principal secretary (medical and health) and the director general of police to seek feedback from nodal officers posted in 19 sensitive districts to effectively implement containment measures in view of the rising number of cases. "Social distancing must be maintained in the industrial units, which have been allowed to operate. Steps should be taken to ensure that guidelines of the health department should be strictly adhered to in these industrial units. The supply chain is working properly, and it should be ensured that it works like this," Adityanath said, adding that health check-up of people engaged in home delivery should be done continuously. Instructions were also issued to regularly sanitise the shelter homes in the state, a statement issued by UP government said. The chief minister asked the additional chief secretary (revenue) to do geo-tagging of shelter homes and details of the people kept there in quarantine should be compiled, and they should be linked to the Aarogya Setu app. "Patrolling should be increased and no permission should be granted till June 30 for holding any public programme. Social media should be monitored," he said. Adityanath also laid stress on using RuPay cards for doing transactions. According to the Union Health Ministry, there are 1,793 COVID-19 cases in the state and 27 people have lost their lives due to the disease. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ready or not, America is opening back up. The process that began in recent days with back-in-business nail salons and unbarred sandy beaches in a scattering of states is poised to accelerate over the coming week across wide swaths of the country. After shutting down much of American life in March and keeping people home throughout April, governors are preparing to lift restrictions as the calendar turns to May - and cross their fingers that the novel coronavirus doesn't come roaring back. In Tennessee, customers will be able to sit down for meals in restaurants starting Monday. In Missouri, the coming week will be the last before the state allows "almost every business" to reopen. And in Idaho, churches and other places of worship could be unlocking their doors by next weekend. The easing will not be universal. In states such as New York, where covid-19 has exacted its heaviest toll, there is no letup to the rules in sight. And even in places where restrictions are being relaxed, governors have emphasized the need to proceed cautiously, lest they unleash a second wave. "We simply cannot open everything all at once and reverse the good work we have done collectively over the past month to slow the spread of coronavirus," Idaho Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, said in a statement announcing his state's plans. Yet even the most tentative steps have unnerved public health experts, big-city mayors and others who worry that with case numbers continuing to rise, it is too soon to reverse course on a virus that has killed more nearly 53,000 Americans. More for you Experts worry 'quarantine fatigue' is starting "We don't have the resources in place to do the level of testing and contact tracing we need to make sure we're monitoring this effectively," said Jeffrey Shaman, an epidemiologist at Columbia University. "We're flying blind." The reopenings come at a time when stay-at-home rules still enjoy widespread support, despite acute economic pain. Polls show that majorities of Americans worry more about moving too quickly to get back to business than too slowly. But the restrictions have increasingly come under assault, with business groups lobbying against them, protesters flocking to state capitols to demand their end and President Trump taking an ambivalent stand at best. He was sharply critical of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, R, for reopening too quickly. But he also has prodded governors to open by May 1, and has tweeted that citizens should "liberate" states whose leaders have ordered people to stay home. "The governor's getting pressure to reopen," said Steven Reed, the Democratic mayor of Montgomery, Alabama. "But we have to think of the long term. We can't do that and then risk the unintended consequences of setting us back on the progress that we've made." Reed said far more testing capacity is needed to chart the virus's spread before he would be comfortable with seeing restrictions eased. The decision to reopen hair salons and other businesses in Georgia, just over an hour's drive down the highway from his city, was "reckless" in the absence of such capabilities, Reed said. So far, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has been a holdout as neighboring states have announced or gone ahead with plans to allow some semblance of normal life to return. But with her state's stay-at-home order expiring Thursday, the Republican governor faces a choice over whether to renew it. Many others are in the same position and will likely be watching closely how the loosening plays out elsewhere. States moving quickly to reopen are putting themselves in the unenviable position of being "natural experiments" for the rest of the country, Shaman said. Many of the states that have eased their rules say they believe they are past the peak as new case numbers decline. But Shaman noted that those declines have come only because of sweeping social distancing rules, and that as the rules are relaxed, controlling transmission will become more difficult. How much more difficult remains to be seen. But Shaman warned that "a trial-and-error approach is less than ideal." In addition to Georgia, Oklahoma was among the first states to ease up. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt's Wednesday announcement that salons, barbers and pet groomers could reopen as of Friday came with little warning and set off an instant scramble for Teresa Bailey. The owner of Creek County Choppers, along historic Route 66 in the Tulsa suburb of Sapulpa, hadn't cut her customers' hair since a state-mandated shutdown a month ago. But with masks, fresh capes and a lot of cleaning product, she believed a reopening could be pulled off safely. "It is going to be like a Lysol bomb went off in that place for a while," she said. "I may not worry enough. I do think it'll be fine." Not everyone is so sure. Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, a Republican, on Friday said he would allow his city's shelter-in-place order to expire at the end of the month and businesses to reopen, despite deep concerns. Federal guidelines suggest no easing of restrictions until there has been a 14-day decline in new cases. In the Tulsa area, he noted, cases had been going up. But the state's action, he said, had left him with little choice - and that could have dire consequences. "Tulsa does not exist in a bubble," he said. "We should expect more people to come into contact with one another and we should expect the illness to spread. . . . Tulsa's cases will not go down. They will increase." In other places, states and cities will have different rules - a reflection of demographic and political fault lines. In Missouri, for instance, Republican Gov. Mike Parson has said he would let the vast majority of businesses reopen May 4, after his statewide stay-at-home order expires. But a local order remains in effect until May 15 in Kansas City, the state's most populous city, where the virus is disproportionately sickening the African American community. "I'm not going to abandon my community just because the rest of society says we don't care anymore," said Quinton Lucas, who grew up on Kansas City's hardscrabble East Side and now serves as the city's Democratic mayor. Leaders in St. Louis and the surrounding county are still weighing what to do when the state's order expires. Even as it does, more stringent rules will remain in effect until the end of May just across the Mississippi River, in Illinois. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to release an order Monday detailing how the state will reopen - a process that started Friday when Texas retailers started offering to-go services and hospitals resumed elective surgeries. The Republican governor has said movie theaters and restaurant dining rooms could reopen shortly after Texas's stay-at-home order expires May 1. But commissioners in Dallas County voted Tuesday to extend their stay-at-home order to May 15. The governor has indicated his coming order would supersede any local ordinance and any that violations would result in fines and jail time. Massey Villarreal, who sits on the governor's task force, said Abbott's plan - to gradually open businesses that require minimal contact - is guided by scientific data and the advice of public health experts. Villarreal said waiting too long to reopen the tenth-largest economy in the world will destroy tens of thousands of jobs in the middle of an oil industry crisis. "The question the governor and task force are asking ourselves is if in prescribing people rush back to work, are we going to kill anybody?" said Villarreal, CEO and president of Precision Task Group, a business management consultancy. "We don't want to just get back to doing things the old-fashioned way because there is no more old-fashioned way. This is a new normal. And we have to be very careful." In Ohio, which led the nation in its aggressive approach to closures back in March, Gov. Mike DeWine, R, will announce on Monday details of a partial reopening that is due to kick in Friday. Mark Weir, an epidemiologist at Ohio State University who has been advising the governor, said he is urging a methodical approach to reopening, along with preparation for the need to clamp down if new outbreaks emerge. "The staged approach from the outside may look like it's too slow for some and may look too fast for others," Weir said. "It's designed to be in the middle of those two - slowly opening so we can monitor to see if another large-scale peak is likely to be occurring." Above all, Weir emphasized, a transition is unfolding in large parts of the country - from directives that carry the force of law to a recognition of individual agency. "There is a humongous amount of power in every individual citizen to be able to defeat this thing," he said. "Everything that we've been doing by way of social distancing is protecting our neighbors and therefore protecting ourselves. Each business owner can protect themselves, their staff and everyone who comes into their shop." In other places, the reopening has been coupled with a doubling down on enforcement of the rules. Several shoreline communities in Florida's Duval County - an area that includes Jacksonville - opted to open their beaches on a limited basis last week after Gov. Ron DeSantis, R, gave the go-ahead. The move was not without controversy. For a moment in March, Florida beach communities were at the center of coronavirus ire after thousands of spring breakers partied by the ocean instead of socially distancing. Critics blasted DeSantis and local government leaders for allowing the beaches to stay open as the rest of the country was closing down. When county leaders made their choice to open back up, #Floriduh and #FloridaMorons trended on Twitter. But the mayors pointed out that, in many cases, their beaches are the largest swath of public land, and not dissimilar from parks. Charlie Latham, the Republican mayor of Jacksonville Beach, said he scoffed when he saw that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D, was among the critics - even as Central Park remained open in the nation's hardest-hit city. Community leaders also pointed out that the rules against congregating have been strictly enforced. Beachgoers can't bring umbrellas and beach chairs - anything that would lead to crowding. Police on ATVs have even cracked down on children building sand castles. "You've got to keep moving," said Elaine Brown, the mayor of Neptune Beach in Duval County. "If there's a situation where someone's brought out the suntan lotion, a book and chairs, we've got an officer that goes up to them almost immediately and says, 'That's not allowed now.' " Hundreds of people flocked to Jacksonville Beach on Saturday morning, walking alone or in family groups along the shore and mostly heeding the admonishment to keep moving. With 22 miles of beaches in the Jacksonville area, there was plenty of room to socially distance and only the occasional scofflaw. Children dug plastic shovels into the sand, a group five of teenage surfers congregated by their board, fisherman sat on coolers, their lines bobbing in the waves. Around 9:30, an officer in an ATV pulled up next to a bikini-clad woman sunbathing by the dock. After exchanging a few words she and the man she was with were on their way, walking with the other beachgoers. Even with strict precautions, however, some activities will be difficult, if not impossible, to resume safely anytime soon. In Arizona, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said she couldn't help but wonder whether decisions in certain states to reopen bowling alleys and nail salons had been driven "more by politics than by good data." Neither has been allowed to reopen in Arizona - at least not yet. But with Arizona's stay-at-home order expiring this coming week, Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, faces a choice on both, and much more. Gallego, a Democrat, said she would urge Ducey to be cautious and to look at what happens when governments try to rush the process of returning to business as usual. Singapore, she pointed out, had once thought it had the crisis under control, only to see case numbers explode. "I am as eager as anyone to return to normal life," Gallego said, noting she has a relative in the hospital whom she can't visit and a 3-year-old at home. "But we have to do it safely." - - - Wootson reported from Jacksonville Beach, Florida, and Eger reported from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Arelis R. Hernandez contributed to this report from San Antonio. JERUSALEM - Israels Labor party voted on Sunday to join the incoming government headed by arch-rival Benjamin Netanyahu, despite repeated campaign promises to never sit with a prime minister facing criminal indictments. The once-mighty left-wing party dominated Israeli politics for the countrys first three decades, but has since fallen to a historic low of three seats in the 120-member parliament. Netanyahus right-wing Likud is the largest faction, with 36. Around 3,800 members of Labors central committee were eligible to vote electronically on party leader Amir Peretzs proposal to join the unity government headed by Netanyahu and his main political adversary, Benny Gantz of the centrist Blue and White party. Israeli media said the measure passed by a roughly 60-40 margin. After three deadlocked national elections in just over a year, Gantz and Netanyahu agreed earlier this month to form what they called an emergency government to address the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic crisis. Unemployment has shot up to over 25% since the beginning of March as Israel has forced many businesses to close to prevent the viruss spread. The Health Ministry has reported over 15,000 cases and nearly 200 deaths. As part of their unity deal, Netanyahu and Gantz agreed to share the premiership, with Netanyahu serving as prime minister the first 18 months and Gantz serving the next 18 months. Gantz, however, has come under heavy criticism for giving a lifeline to Netanyahu and abandoning his promises never to sit in a government with an indicted prime minister. Netanyahu is scheduled to face trial next month on charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes. He denies the charges. Under the coalition deal, Labor would receive two government ministries. One of those would-be ministers, Itzik Shmuli, said on twitter that entering the government was the right thing to do and would allow the party to promote its social agenda and to put the brakes on any attempts to undermine democracy. But critics have noted that Labor could now become an accessory to dismantling the Oslo peace accords by the Palestinians. The interim agreements were spearheaded by Labor Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated by an ultranationalist extremist in 1995. The Netanyahu-Gantz agreement includes a clause to advance plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, including Israeli settlements, starting on July 1. Such a move would all but destroy any remaining hopes of establishing a Palestinian state. More than 13,000 people have been fined by the National Police and Guardia Civil for breaching the coronavirus State of Emergency, but there are growing doubts amongst the judiciary about their legality. Most of the sanctions are still pending because the Government Delegation has only processed around 500 of the most serious ones, such as disobeying a direct order from an Officer. 350 of those are in Majorca. There is real fear in judicial circles that these cases will end up in a jurisdiction that is already at saturation point and that the fines were imposed for non-compliance with the coronavirus lockdown rules, without there having been a previous order from the Security Forces. Felio Bauza, Professor of Administrative Law at the UIB and a Member of the Consell Consultiu, points out that the Royal Decree establishing the State of Emergency does not set a table of sanctions, but refers to the Organic Law governing the lockdown and hence, in a generic way to "the laws." "According to the doctrine of the Constitution, the declaration of the State of Emergency has the force of law because it restricts freedom, so it could and should have created the table of types of offences and did not," said Professor Bauza. What does apply is the Law of Citizen Security which he says is the norm, therefore wandering on the public road is not an infraction, but resisting authority is. That means that a person who wanders onto a public road cannot be denounced for this single action. The Officers may ask them to leave the public road and if they refuse to do so, they may be denounced for resistance and disobedience. "The conclusion is that the legal basis for sanctions for walking on public roads during the State of Emergency is scarce, says Professor Bauza. It is the first time since the Constitution came into force that a State of Emergency has limited the freedom of movement of the entire population and subjected it to a sanctioning regime, but it refers to General Laws that do not provide for such an exceptional measure. These sanctions will end up being discussed not only in the contentious jurisdiction and the Constitutional Court in Spain, but possibly in the European Court of Human Rights, he said. The Law of Citizen Security states that the disobedience of a Police request during the State of Emergency is punishable with fines of between 600 and 3,000 euros. Professor Bauza says the only possible precedent for this situation is the State of Emergency decreed when drivers left their jobs. The decree is very lax and exceptions to confinement are very vague, poorly defined and oblige members of the Security Forces to set criteria for sanctions, which are often confused with the obligations that correspond to citizens, said Carlos Portalo, Criminalist and Professor at the UIB. The total number of Covid-19 cases in Madhya Pradesh reached 2,096 on Sunday, according to Union health ministry data. Ninety nine people have died of the disease in the state, according to the health ministry. Indore continues to be the hotspot in Madhya Pradesh; 56 fresh cases were reported in the city till Saturday afternoon. More than 100 people tested positive for the disease in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday. Indore, the worst affected district, alone accounts for 57 deaths. Indore has the highest tally of Covid-19 cases at 1,085 followed by Bhopal (388) and Ujjain (103). A month ago, there was not a single Covid-19 case in Indore. We feel the virus is more virulent in the Indore belt. We have sought help from the National Institute of Virology in Pune. They have agreed to study the virus from culture at other places and compare it by extraction of virus genome, Jyoti Bindal, Dean of Government Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, told news agency IANS. The Inter-ministerial Central Team (IMCT), which has been in Indore since April 22 to monitor the efforts to combat coronavirus, asked the state administration to identify the hotspots in the city and draw up a special plan for places where 10 or more positive patients have been found. The number of coronavirus cases in Jabalpur has now climbed to 43. Hoshangabad has 30 cases, Khandwa 36 and Chhindwara five. The number of cases in other districts is: Barwani 24, Raisen 26, Morena and Vidisha 13 each, Ratlam 12, Mandsaur eight, Shajapur six, Sagar five, four each in Gwalior and Sheopur, three in Alirajpur, two each in Shivpuri and Tikamgarh and one each in Betul and Dindori, according to state health officials. So far, 210 patients have recovered and returned home. All passengers arriving in Ireland from overseas will be told to stay at home in a single room with a window open for two weeks. A mandatory new register given to everyone arriving in this country also tells them to keep away from others in their homes and clean their room every day with disinfectant. They are also told not to use public transport or taxis and not to invite anyone into their home. "Keep away from older people, anyone with long-term medical conditions and pregnant women," the form states. "It's OK for friends, family or delivery drivers to drop off food or supplies (but) make sure you're not in the same room as them as they do," it adds. The strict new travel restrictions announced last week require everyone arriving in Ireland to register with health authorities and self-isolate for two weeks. The 'public health passenger locator form' will be given to all passengers arriving at airports or ports and must be filled out before people can travel to their final destination. Travellers will be asked for their name, nationality and contact details. They are also asked where they will be staying for the two weeks after their arrival and who they are staying with during this period. Others in the accommodation where they will be while self-isolating are asked to restrict their movements for two weeks. Speaking in the Dail last week, Health Minister Simon Harris said the State will find accommodation for people who are not able to self-isolate on arrival in Ireland. Mr Harris said the Government will be doing "more than just taking a person at their word that they are following the isolation restrictions". Taoiseach Leo Varadkar also said the Government needs to increase monitoring of people who come to Ireland from overseas during the coronavirus pandemic. "I think we need to do more on that, particularly as we reopen the country, and as we reopen foreign travel, we're going to need to have these mechanisms in place to make sure that there are controls," said the Taoiseach. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 27F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 27F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Sir Keir Starmer has warned Boris Johnson the UK risks 'falling behind the rest of the world' in its coronavirus response if ministers continue to refuse to tell the public what the government's lockdown exit strategy is. The Labour leader has written to the Prime Minister to urge him to hold an 'adult conversation' with Britons to spell out what they are likely to face next. The move by Sir Keir comes after numerous UK ministers repeatedly refused to discuss how lockdown measures could be eased despite the Scottish and Welsh devolved governments publishing their own plans. Sir Keir Starmer, pictured in the Commons on April 22, said the UK risks falling behind the res rest of the world on easing the coronavirus lockdown The Labour leader has written to Boris Johnson, pictured in Downing Street on March 18, to urge the PM to set out his end-of-lockdown strategy Mr Johnson is widely expected to return to work tomorrow after spending time at Chequers to recover from his own battle with coronavirus. The issue of when and how to lift lockdown measures is likely to be at the top of his in tray amid growing pressure from Cabinet ministers, Tory grandees and Conservative Party donors for him to level with the nation. In his letter to the premier, Sir Keir said it is essential ministers learn the lessons from the mistakes made dealing with the crisis. He said the UK was again in danger of lagging behind other countries which were already engaged in 'adult' conversations with their citizens as to how the restrictions could be eased. Ministers have argued that talking about ending lockdown risks undermining their central message that people need to stay home to prevent the spread of the disease. The Labour leader said any exit strategy would only be effective if the government puts the necessary planning, investment and infrastructure in place early. 'Simply acting as if this discussion is not happening is not credible, especially when other governments and our own devolved administrations have been able to communicate so much more,' he wrote. 'The British public have made great sacrifices to make the lockdown work. They deserve to be part of an adult conversation about what comes next. 'If we want to take people with us and secure their consent, this is necessary now. 'This is a national crisis and therefore needs a national response. The coming weeks require urgent preparation and planning from the Government. 'We have already seen the consequences of poor planning and preparation. That cannot happen again.' Sir Keir said that while Labour fully supported the lockdown, the government had been too slow to enter it, too slow to increase testing and too slow to get personal protective equipment (PPE) to frontline NHS and care staff. 'If we are to learn from these mistakes, the government cannot fall short in its preparation for what happens when the time is right for lockdown measures to be gradually lifted,' he said. 'The UK government is behind the curve on this. I fear we are falling behind the rest of the world. That is why we need to see a significant step-change in the government's response to this pandemic. 'Decisions need to be taken quicker and communication with the public needs to be clearer.' Coronavirus is causing the creeping expansion of intrusive surveillance techniques, campaigners have warned. Police have used drones and automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR) to spot people suspected of violating the UK lockdown, while telecommunication firms are in discussions about sharing user data with the government. A proposed NHS contact tracing app has sparked human rights concerns over the potential for mass location tracking. The Liberty human rights group called for authorities to focus on facilitating voluntary compliance with restrictions, rather than ramping up coercive and oppressive tactics. We will make it through this crisis but we must do so with our rights intact, advocacy director Clare Collier told The Independent. The police have been handed sweeping powers in response to the coronavirus outbreak, and the expansion of intrusive surveillance is troubling. Overzealous policing will undermine public trust in the authorities, which is vital for protecting public health. Meanwhile, the normalisation of surveillance and the concerning techniques we have seen in recent weeks could have impacts which last far beyond this pandemic. Several police forces have used drones to enforce the lockdown, with Derbyshire Constabulary sparking controversy by filming walkers who appeared to be complying with social distancing guidelines. Surrey and Sussex Police are using drones that approach groups suspected of violating restrictions and issuing a message ordering them to go home. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) relaxed the rules for police drones in March, allowing them to be flown closer to people in order to support the police response while enforcing the government restrictions resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. Coronavirus: Drones being used to distribute public information messages across Port Talbot ANPR and number plate checks on the Police National Computer are also being used by some forces to spot vehicles from other regions. A police officer in Plymouth tweeted that they were equipped with the ANPR car to patrol and enforce the arterial routes through the city over Easter, adding: Any holidaymakers or out-of-force[-area] registered vehicles can expect a convo about essential travel. New coronavirus laws do not define essential travel or make journeys over a specific length illegal, and differences between the law and government guidance have sparked concern that police are misapplying their new powers. Campaigners at Big Brother Watch said that civil society organisations had been shut out of discussions on tactics during the ongoing public health crisis. Director Silkie Carlo told The Independent ANPR was already under-regulated and was ripe to be used disproportionately in this situation. The idea of using drones for surveillance has fallen between the cracks of law and regulation of some time, she added. In the present circumstances, parts of the policing and surveillance toolkit are ripe for overuse and misapplication the surveillance system was already creeping. Ms Carlo warned of a huge transparency and accountability gap during the lockdown, adding: The means of accountability we would normally use have basically been shut down. Several police forces have temporarily shuttered freedom of information (FoI) departments so staff can be redeployed, while those still operating including the Home Office are warning of indefinite delays because of coronavirus. Ms Carlo said that while she understood departments would not be operating at their normal capacity, FoI requests were critical to making sure the policing response to this crisis are being done in the best possible way. Recommended Public must risk prosecution to challenge lockdown fines ANPR is governed by a 2013 code of practice, which says usage must be transparent and necessary to meet an identified pressing need. The Surveillance Camera Commissioners Office told The Independent that police should be completing our self-assessment tool to help them evidence that they are compliant. Chief Constable Charlie Hall, the National Police Chiefs Council lead for ANPR, said: Police forces recognise that ANPR use should be for a policing purpose and must be balanced against the need to ensure it is being used proportionately and transparently, and are aware of the requirements set out in legislation and national standards. A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said ANPR was routinely used to check the provenance of vehicles coming into the force area including registration details, insurance, and involvement in crime. Under the Health Protection Regulations 2020, ANPR-equipped police vehicles have proved useful to inform officers decisions about which vehicles may need to be stopped to consider whether their journey is reasonable, a statement added. On Friday, officials announced that an NHS app that automates contract tracing will be launched in the coming weeks. It would create an anonymous log of users proximity to other people, who will be sent a mass alert if someone becomes ill. Members of parliaments Joint Committee on Human Rights raised concerns over the app last week, questioning whether new laws would be needed to protect privacy. The Information Commissioners Office has issued advice on the app, which it said would require a high level of transparency and oversight. It found that Google and Apples joint work on the technology which allows smartphones to track nearby devices using Bluetooth appears to broadly align with the principles of data protection. Separately, BT said it was giving the government a limited amount of aggregated, anonymised data that show generalised patterns in the movement of people to assist with policy planning. As always, we are strictly mindful of the privacy of our customers, whilst making sure we do everything that might help the medical authorities in the fight against coronavirus, a spokesperson added. Asked whether it would provide 4G data to enable location monitoring, a Three spokesperson said the company was in discussions with the government on how best we can assist. Vodafone said it would be willing to provide anonymised data to the government, as it has in Italy, but had not been asked. A government spokesperson said: The government, the NHS and other public health authorities receive data from a range of sources, which can help to assess the effectiveness of measures against coronavirus, all designed to protect the health service and save lives. The information received is in compliance with GDPR regulations. Britain is sending 2.5million of aid, including a plane packed full of PPE gear, to isolated St Helena, even though no cases of coronavirus have been reported on the island. The masks, gloves and gowns touched down in the Atlantic ocean island, which counts 4,300 inhabitants, last week. It had initially been reported that five ventilators were on the flight, but it was later confirmed that these ventilators would be delivered to the island by the MV Helena. It comes amid warnings of crippling shortages in the NHS that could leave doctors and nurses exposed to Covid-19 and patients without ventilators. More than 100 NHS workers have died since the outbreak began. Below is Jamestown, the capital of St Helena. Emergency coronavirus supplies have also been sent to the Pitcairn islands and Tristan da Cunha The UK has sent the PPE supplies to its territory St Helena. There were two feared cases on the island which turned out to be false alarms A flight was chartered to the island from the UK via Accra, Ghana, following reports of two people with Covid-like symptoms, reports EuroWeekly, but this turned out to be a false alarm. The residents self-isolated after experiencing a mild cough and headache but have since recovered, according to authorities. Three suspected cases on nearby Ascension Island tested negative for the virus. Anyone arriving on the islands will be quarantined for 14 days at Bradley camp next to the airport, the UK Foreign Office says, with food delivered to their doors and each allowed to exercise providing they keep a five metre distance from others. Expert hits out at Public Health England over its international work before pandemic as staff flight miles nearly doubled over three years By Joseph Laws for MailOnline One of Britain's leading public health experts has hit out at Public Health England for neglecting local public health teams by doing international work instead. Dr John Ashton, who was President of the Faculty of Public Health until 2016, has claimed some of the health body's workload should have been passed on to the Department of International Development instead. The air miles of staff working at Public Health England nearly doubled over three years to more than five million miles, The Sunday Telegraph reported. One of Britain's leading public health experts has hit out at Public Health England for neglecting local public health teams by doing international work instead. NHS staff are pictured preparing to swab a member of the public at a coronavirus test site Dr Ashton said: 'Given [Public Health England have] had such a reduction in their budget and resources, they should have been focusing on the core function of what PHE was set up to do, which is national, regional and local. 'They've taken their eye off the ball and been doing more international work, and they've neglected the regions and local public health teams.' But Duncan Selbie, Chief Executive at Public Health England, refuted these claims. He said: 'This is wrong in so many ways. There will be a right time to reflect on who did what or should have done but that time is not now. 'Right now PHE is focused solely on the job of responding to Covid-19 and I am proud of our people and their many contributions and the Secretary of State has publicly recognised this. 'On testing specifically, PHE have not tried to hold this in house or manage it nationally. We were one of the first agencies in the world to develop a sensitive test for COVID-19 and worked at pace to roll this out to a wider network of PHE and over 40 NHS labs. 'We have supported work to implement testing in a further network of testing centres and sites across the country as soon as it was safe and possible to do so. We have not stopped anyone doing anything. The Government's testing strategy makes this clear.' Advertisement It appears to be unlikely that coronavirus can reach the island, which has been virtually cut off after its weekly flights to South Africa were suspended. Most voyages have also been suspended. Ships can sail the 2,000 mile journey from Cape Town to the isolated island in five days. The island's governor, Dr Philip Rushbrook, said that as they had a population with a 'larger than normal number of older and less healthy people' they would be taking additional precautions. 'At times like these, it is crucial that we pull together as an island, using our good nature, compassion and resourcefulness for the greater good,' he said. Travellers arriving at the island will be quarantined for two weeks at Bradley Camp (pictured) next to the airport Emergency coronavirus supplies are also being sent to neighbouring British overseas territories the Pitcairn Islands, with 50 residents, and Tristan da Cunha, with 250 residents. Both have little contact with the outside world and, due to the pandemic, no one is allowed to disembark from yachts there. It was only possible to reach St Helena by ship until 2017, when an airport allowing small planes to land opened. UK deaths from coronavirus have now topped 20,000 as pressure continues to mount on the government to announce an exit strategy from lockdown. Boris Johnson is expected back in Downing Street on Monday to lead a return to normal life in the UK. Plans muted for the country have included a traffic lights system which would see some schools opening first before pubs are opened last. The Welsh and Scottish government have published exit strategies. MailOnline has contacted the Foreign Office for comment. Only two schoolchildren in NSW caught coronavirus from 18 infected classmates and teachers, a study has found. All 863 staff and students who came into close contact with the nine staff and nine children were tested for the deadly disease and only two were positive. Schools across the state will gradually reintroduce face-to-face teaching from May 11, despite a revolt by teachers' unions in NSW and elsewhere. Despite teachers' fears that bringing children back into classrooms will put them at risk, new research found not a single one has caught coronavirus from a student. The National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance probe investigated all 18 coronavirus cases in 15 NSW schools between early March and mid-April. These graphics show the teachers and students each of the nine students and nine teachers came into contact with and whether they contracted coronavirus as a result Researchers tracked down all their close contacts - 735 students and 128 teachers - of the nine teachers and nine kids who were infected with COVID-19. A 'close contact' is defined as a person who has been in face-to-face contact for at least 15 minutes or in the same room for two hours with a case while infectious. In schools these contacts were usually students and teachers in the same classes or extracurricular activities, or those within a child's close circle of friends. Only two of these 863 people, one primary and one high school student, caught the disease and neither of them transmitted the virus to anyone else. Not a single teacher in the whole state was found to be infected by a student, but one of the sick teachers infected a student. One of the students tested positive to a standard coronavirus test and an antibody test found the other caught it four weeks earlier and had recovered. A review found it was most likely both children caught the virus at school and not from another source. Prime Minister Scott Morrison wants schools return to normal as soon as possible, with all but Victoria trending in that direction The researchers noted that half the cases were staff, despite there being far fewer of them, which was further proof children were less susceptible. School-aged children make up just 1.7 per cent of cases in all of NSW, despite being 16 per cent of the whole population NCIRS Professor Kristine Macartney said the findings showed there was a low rate of coronavirus transmission within schools and between children. COVID-19 in schools study: NSW breakdown What the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance study found: - Eighteen students and staff from 15 NSW schools were from March 5 to April 21, 2020 diagnosed with coronavirus - Nine were students and nine were staff members - Those 18 people had a total of 863 close contacts within school over that time period - Of the 863 close contacts, just two people caught coronavirus - Those two people - both students - did not pass the disease on to others - No ill students passed on the coronavirus to school staff members - The spread of coronavirus within NSW schools has thus been 'very limited' and the virus' transmission in children in NSW schools is less than that of influenza. Advertisement 'I hope it provides strong reassurance of the safety of a return to school. At the beginning of the pandemic, it has been quite surprising,' she said. 'Our report really fits well with evidence from other countries, China, the very first report from the WHO, Iceland, the Netherlands, all consistently showing children have very low rates of infection and get mild disease... it's behaving very differently to other viruses.' Prime Minister Scott Morrison wants schools return to normal as soon as possible, with all but Victoria trending in that direction. He on Saturday said the risk for teachers was 'not in the classroom; their risk is in the staffroom'. 'I mean, we've got people who are going to work in supermarkets every day,' Mr Morrison told Sky News. 'We've got people who are doing jobs all over the community, driving buses, and they're doing great work and they're turning up to work to do those things.' The NCIRS study noted 'prolonged school closures can have negative consequences for the community and for children'. However, teachers' unions are largely opposed to the plan, and advocated closing schools far earlier despite Australia's top doctors advising they were safe. The State School Teachers' Union of Western Australia even went so far as to buy a full-page newspaper ad urging parents to keep their children home if possible. In Victoria, whose premier Daniel Andrews closed schools before any other state directly against Mr Morrison's advice, the union went on the offensive. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian greets students during a visit to Prestons Public School in Sydney. She is keen for classes to look like this again next month Australian Education Union Victorian president Meredith Peace on Saturday accused the PM of teglecting the safety of teachers. 'It is bizarre that the Prime Minister has been telling us for six weeks how important social distancing is but today he has basically said that it no longer matters for students or teachers,' she said. 'Throughout this pandemic we've been worried that many seem to be neglecting the health and safety of teachers, and these comments only reinforce that. 'While we're as keen as anyone to return to normal life, including a return to school, we must plan that return carefully to ensure the safety of both staff and students.' NSW will from May 11 reintroduce face-to-face teaching for students on one day per week, ramping up to full attendance by the start of term three in late July. A quarter of children will rotate through the school week one day at a time so that no more than a quarter of a school cohort will be on campus at any one time. The health advice says appropriate workplace safety measures should be taken to protect teachers, including cleaning door handles, desks, computers, hand-rails and playground equipment several times a day. States have been divided over arrangements to reopen schools for term two. A sign is pictured outside St Kilda Primary school notifying of limited access under remote learning restrictions on April 15, 2020 NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos said the plan was an 'incomprehensible' on the 'beggars belief'. 'Trying to timetable 25 per cent of our kids one day a week, at staggered times, with staggered lunches and staggered recesses, we can't see how that can work,' he told Today. He claimed the plan was 'contributing significantly to the stress levels of our teachers and principals'. NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said the NCIRS report showed it was safe for children to return to the classroom as the government planned. 'We know that COVID-19 has created some anxiety for parents, teachers and school staff, however the findings in this report confirm existing health advice that schools remain open and are safe for students to return,' she said. 'Teachers have shown great innovation in adapting to the uncertainty that COVID-19 has brought, but nothing replaces the experience of learning in a classroom.' A sign out the front of at Cobar Public School, NSW, on April 18 telling parents to refer to their website for information on sending children to school prior to the announcement NSW Department of Education secretary Mark Scott on Sunday said social distancing behaviour would still be required between teachers and parents. He said slowly ramping up the number of children in class would help parents build confidence about their children's safety on campus. 'What we're saying particularly to our school principals and leadership teams is, think about how your staff are deployed, how your staffrooms operate, how you hold meetings ... think carefully about how socially distancing best applies,' he said. 'We do want to provide that reassurance there will be space in schools and ensure there are not crowds congregating at the school gate, not having parents at the school.' NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said that as of Sunday, 52 cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in kids aged five to 17, with only three hospitalised. With jewellery shops shut due to the lockdown to control coronavirus, the demand for gold on auspicious Akshaya Tritiya is estimated to plunge by around 95 per cent and only negligible sales happening through digital mode. Sharp rise in gold prices by over 52 per cent in the last one year is also a dampener. Industry body for jewellers said that sales would only be 5 per cent compared to last year's Akshaya Tritiya, although Kalyan Jewellers is more optimistic and expected sales to be 10 per cent of the normal demand. "With a complete shutdown of showrooms during Akshaya Tritiya, which has fallen within the lockdown 2.0, jewellers have gone online or digital to cater to their customers. We are expecting only up to 5 per cent business compared to last year. People still prefer to touch and feel gold jewellery before buying," All India Gems and Jewellery Domestic Council Chairman Anantha Padmanaban told PTI here. He said jewellers all across have come out with innovative offers to attract customers for digital purchases, including locking of prices, gold ownership certificates, among others. "Any physical delivery or purchase will happen after the lockdown. We expect the industry will gradually limp back to normalcy in May and June. We expect the demand to peak during Diwali," he added. Akshaya Tritiya, also known as Akha Teej, is an annual spring time festival considered auspicious in many regions (especially in the south and the west) for beginning new ventures, marriages, expensive investments such as in gold. Sowing of Kharif (summer) crop begins on Akshaya Tritiya in many states. On this day, the construction of chariots for the Ratha Yatra festivities also begins in Puri, Odisha. This Akshaya Tritiya also taking place when gold was scaling since January, when COVID-19 pandemic began to spread across the world. Saurabh Gadgil, the CMD of PNG Jewellers, said bookings have been steady throughout the day. "We are expecting 10-15 per cent business compared to last year. Mostly people are booking small denomination pure gold of 2-3 grams. Jewellers are attracting customers by offers like e-vouchers and e-certificates," he added. He said jewellers are also offering price-lock as the gold is ruling at around Rs 48,000 per 10 grams and will go up further as stocks will dwindle in absence of gold imports. Kalyan Jewellers CMD T S Kalyanaraman said, the circumstance of this year's Akshaya Tritiya is radically different with as the company's over 140 showrooms across India and the Middle East are closed. "This year's sales cannot of course be compared to a regular brick and motors showroom sale during Akshaya Tritiya," he said, adding that "in the limited time since the announcement of our Akshaya Tritiya offering and given the current circumstances, we were expecting to clock about 10 per cent of our usual Akshaya Tritiya sales, this year". Kalyan Jewellers has launched the Gold Ownership Certificate program on the digital platform early last week to attract consumers. World Gold Council, India, MD Somasundaram PR said there is significant un-satiated investment demand as gold has been the best performing asset class and is poised to continue. Gold is ruling at around Rs 48,000 per 10 grams. In the last one year, gold prices have gained by over 52 per cent compared to Akshaya Tritiya in 2019 (7 May 2019), when the gold price was at Rs 31,496 per 10 grams, he said. Gold is sought after for its role as a safe haven in the current times when anxiety rules high about the scale of economic impact and the recovery path, which is yet uncharted. "Lockdown, high prices, income worries and postponed weddings have kept consumer demand subdued, almost non-existent in many towns. Online sales by some large jewellery retailers and digital platforms like SafeGold and MMTC-PAMP have facilitated customary token purchases in urban areas in support of tradition. We believe that this Akshaya Tritiya could spark an innovative trend in retailers' interface with consumers in emerging times - and it will be good for gold, and the broader economy," Somasundaram added. Suvankar Sen, Executive Director, Senco Gold and Diamonds opined that customers who are under lockdown but at the same time do not want to miss out on purchasing gold or jewellery for the auspicious are not only getting a chance to avail of substantial discounts on gold rates and waivers on making charges but also getting an opportunity to contribute to the COVID-19 relief fund through their purchases. "So far, during the Akshaya Tritiya online sales offer that runs from April 22-27, we have witnessed 10-15 per cent sales compared to that of last year's total Akshay Tritiya sales. As all our offline stores are closed now due to lockdown, we are experiencing customers' preference for buying bars, coins and making token advance through our e-commerce section," he added. "This year's Akshaya Tritiya is different from that of the previous year, as there is no in-store sale happening this year. So, sales figures during Akshaya Tritiya this year will be a huge difference from those of last year. Having said that, the positive response from the online gold sales proves that lockdown has not been able to adversely impact the consumer spirit," Malabar Gold and Diamonds Chairman Ahammed MP said. Paytm Gold spokesperson said it has sold over 32 kgs of gold. "Our partner MMTC-PAMP confirmed that Paytm sold the highest amount of Gold among all digital platforms in the country. Smaller cities contributed to 60 per cent of all orders and we are thankful to the buyers for their trust on Paytm Gold," he added. Ajoy Chawla, CEO, Jewellery Division at Titan Company said, in spite of ongoing uncertainty and anxiety, customers have positively embraced e-AT with much vigour and enthusiasm. "All 328 Tanishq stores remain shut this year and hence it would be unfair to compare numbers with last year. But the overall customer response totanishq.co.in from key metros and even with tier-II and III towns has been extremely encouraging. We have had over 1 million visitors on our website," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Chinese laboratory at the center of criticism over the alleged coronavirus leak has been using U.S government money in order to continue their research on bats from the caves which scientists believe are the original source of the coronavirus. The laboratory undertook coronavirus experiments on mammals captured more than 1,000 miles away in Yunnan which were funded by a $3.7 million grant from the US government during Obama's time. After the coronavirus outbreak, scientists have traced the COVID-19 back to bats found in Yunnan caves but it was first speculated to have transferred to humans at an animal market in Wuhan. The revelation that the Wuhan Institute was experimenting on bats from the place where the COVID-19 allegedly came from and using American money to continue with their research has sparked fears that the lab is the original outbreak source and not the market in Wuhan. Numerous lawmakers and pressure groups were quick it criticizes the U.S funding provided for the dangerous and cruel animal experiment at the Wuhan Institute. Also Read: Ventilators for Coronavirus Patients Built by NASA in Just 37 Days Reaction from the lawmakers Republican U.S Congressman Matt Gaetz said that he is disgusted to learn that for years the U.S government has been funding dangerous and cruel animal experiments at the Wuhan Institute, which may have contributed to the global spread of coronavirus, and research at other labs in China that have no oversight from US authorities. On April 25, Anthony Bellotti, the president of the US pressure group White Coat Waste, condemned the government for spending tax dollars in China. He added that animals infected with viruses or otherwise sickened and abused in Chinese labs reportedly may be sold to wet markets for consumption once the experiments are done. The Wuhan Institute of Virology funding The Wuhan Institute of Virology is considered the most advanced laboratory of its type in China and it is only twenty miles from the wildlife market in Wuhan that was speculated to be the location of the original transfer of the coronavirus from animals to humans. The Mail was able to obtain documents on April 26, and scientists in the Wuhan laboratory experimented on bats as part of a project funded by the U.S National Institutes of Health, which continues to license the Wuhan laboratory to get funds from America for experiments. The Wuhan Institute lists the NIH, the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research, as a partner as well as several other American academic institutes on their website. Other U.S partners of the Wuhan Institute are the University of Alabama, the University of North Texas, Harvard University, and the National Wildlife Federation. Scientists grew a coronavirus in a lab and injected it into three-day-old piglets as part of the NIH research at the institute. There is numerous news about COVID-19 bats under research in the Wuhan Institute, so a leak from the place can no longer be ruled out. According to one source, scientists at the institute could have become infected after being sprayed with blood containing the virus, and then passed it on to the people outside the lab. A second institute in Wuhan, the Wuhan Center for Disease Control, is three miles away from the Wuhan market and it is said to also carry out experiments on animals such as bats to examine the transmission of coronaviruses. Related Article: British Soldiers Given Insect Repellant to Protect Themselves Against Coronavirus @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. COVID-19 contact tracing apps are arriving in earnest, and its clear that privacy is as much of an issue as the effectiveness of the apps. Australia has launched its tracing app, COVIDSafe, despite criticisms of its approach to privacy. The voluntary software is based on Singapores TraceTogether and uses a mix of Bluetooth and stored contact data on both the app and servers to let people know if theyve been in close contact people whove tested positive for COVID-19. The Australian government has promised that its app doesnt collect locations and only shares data with health officials after an infected person offers consent, but there are concerns it might still share more than users are comfortable with. The storage of contact data (including names, phone numbers and postcodes) beyond a device makes it theoretically possible to abuse that info, or for an intruder to access it. Theres also the question of how Australia will enforce its data protections. A legislative directive to enshrine those limitations is only due to be proposed in May. The government has also vowed to delete information on its end when the pandemic is over, but thats not completely reassuring when there isnt a clear end in sight. Germany, meanwhile, is going in the opposite direction. The country has ditched its centralized approach to COVID-19 tracking, based on Pan-European Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (PEPP-PT), in favor of a decentralized architecture that only stores contact data on devices. This more closely resembles the approach Apple and Google will take when their beta tracing tools arrive in the next few days. Its not clear when Germanys app will be ready. Contact tracing apps like COVIDSafe could prove vital to ending lockdowns by making it easier to track the spread (and hopefully, decline) of the virus as public life resumes. Rather than shutting down most of society, officials could limit closures and stay-home orders to specific businesses and people. The challenge is getting enough adoption for the apps to be effective. Australia, for instance, wants at least 40 percent of the population to enlist. Thats a massive amount for any app, and privacy reassurances might be crucial for reaching that target. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gives a daily CCP virus briefing in Albany, New York, on April 17, 2020. (Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images) New York CCP Virus Deaths Fall to Lowest Since March 31 New York state officials reported 367 new CCP virus deaths on Sunday, recording the lowest death toll since March 31. That would normally be terrible news, said Gov. Andrew Cuomo of the new deaths. Its only not terrible news compared to where we were. The states total number of hospitalizations also fell, according to the governor. Areas in New York could start reopening as early as May 15, said Cuomo, outlining a two-phase plan to reopen the economy and various businesses. He said that different regions will have different schedules, noting that New York City will have to have some summer activities open for residents. The COVID-19 rate of transmission (Rt) in NYS is now about 0.8. That means 10 positive people infect about 8 others. We must keep the Rt below 1 to keep slowing the spread. Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) April 26, 2020 You cant tell people in dense urban environments We have nothing for you to do, theres a sanity equation here, Cuomo said during his daily news conference on the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. When May 15 arrives, which is when the states stay-at-home order is slated to expire, phase one will start in regions that see total hospitalizations from the CCP virus decline over 14 days, Cuomo said. He said those regions will likely be concentrated in Upstate New York. After phase one, regions can move on to a second phase, which will be carried out via a business-by-business analysis, he said. Medical personnel move a deceased patient to a refrigerated truck serving as make shift morgues at Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York City, N.Y., on April 9, 2020. (Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images) The daily death toll in New York peaked at 799 on April 8. Nearly 17,000 people have succumbed to the CCP virus, a type of novel coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19. In nearby New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy said that hes not in a position to consider the next steps to reopen at this point. We need to see more progress, and more slowing, before we can begin those considerations, Murphy said on NBCs Meet the Press. While we havent made a decision on that, were going to move as one state, recognizing youve got density issues in the north that you just dont have in the south, Murphy said. It's not been easy for Tony and Anna Hudson after closing the doors to their Stevensville restaurant due to the COVID-19 shutdown. Takeout orders only made up a small portion of their revenue stream. They worried about their employees and hoped their decision to do a major remodel to the interior of the Frontier Cafe was going to work out. But now, with the end in sight, the couple both agree there was something of a silver lining to it all. Our community has just been amazing through all of this, Anna Hudson said. Even before they were forced to close, one community member gave them a $4,000 gift to help their employees and the restaurant. They dropped that by before unemployment started, she said. We were able to add $200 to their last paycheck. That was helpful to them. Some had tears in their eyes when they realized they were getting extra money during such a scary time. And then there are the $100 tips that accompanied a cup of coffee, and other offers of support. Last week, a customer called to buy a $500 gift certificate and donated another $500 to split up among the employees. We have had people just pull up here to tell that were missed, she said. I think out of everything thats happened, whats been most important to us is that weve seen a different side of our community that has just given us so much hope. The couple took a risk when the shutdown began and decided to do a major remodel of the restaurant thats been in Annas family since 1993 when her parents purchased the business. Realizing they faced a new normal after the appearance of the novel coronavirus, the Hudsons revamped the interior to make it easier to sanitize and provide ample spacing between tables equipped with protective barriers. We just want people to be able to feel comfortable, Tony Hudson said. We want them to feel like this is a safe place for them to be. It is incredibly difficult to take money when youre earning none and go spend it. When we started this, we had no idea how bad this virus was or how deadly it would be, he said. In two weeks, we went from having the smartest people on earth telling us this would be nothing more than a bad cold to us ending up having to close our business. I cant live my life in retreat, Tony Hudson said. When you shoot off your mouth and want to be a redneck American, then you better be ready to step up. Its been the most incredible thing thats happened here. Now were ready to open a brand-new restaurant feeling like maybe we havent wasted our time or money. Owner of Hamiltons Ad-mire.V_Salon Toni Lewis Clark has been on the receiving end, too, from her clientele. They have been buying gift certificates, setting up appointments and checking in to make sure that Im OK, Clark said. I think people now realize now what it takes for small businesses to stay in business. I think people understand how important all of these small businesses are to their lives and they are willing to support that. Clark has been preparing her Main Street business to reopen. Im fortunate that I am a one-woman salon, she said. I can literally invite people in, lock the door and then ask them to wash their hands when I do the same. She plans to wear a mask and run an ionizer that Clark said has been proven to kill other coronaviruses. Of course, there will be a lot of extra sanitizing between clients. Her customers have already been calling. The first week is booked solid. When I talked with them, they told me it was the best news they had heard all day, Clark said. Its just going to be nice to have a routine again. My clients are my friends. I love being able to look at my appointment book and seeing who is coming in today. Hamilton Downtown Association Executive Director Claire Kemp has been overwhelmed by the community support for small businesses. A GoFundMe site to help small businesses survive the downturn had raised $30,000 of late last week and some additional pledges promised to push that amount closer to $44,000. Our requests for help keep rolling in, Kemp said. Right now, we have requests for $82,000. Even though some businesses have remained somewhat open, they are far behind in meeting their bills. Through it all, Kemp said shes been heartened to see the support the community has offered through the fundraising effort. All of this absolutely proves the strength of our community, Kemp said. Its all been about neighbors helping neighbors. Its been people saying to themselves that 'I got this stimulus check and while it would be nice to do a project on my home, Im going to donate it instead to help our small businesses survive.' Ive seen people come back and donate several times, she said. Its the power of many hands. We can do a lot when we all come together. This has been the most significant fundraising effort that Ive been part of. It makes me very emotional to just think about what this community has done. It shows how much our community actually values all the small businesses here, Kemp said. They understand that its these small businesses that donate to the little league or dozens of other causes every year. That they are the ones who employ our neighbors, friends and family. Thats the wonderful part of living in a small community, she said. We still have a meaningful connection with our small businesses. Kemp said there are been dozens of stories of people coming together to help through all of this. I know of a local restaurant that had to close, she said. Its employees were going to get significant unemployment checks due to the federal stimulus. They knew the restaurants owners were going to struggle to meet their bills so they came together to pay the rent for their boss. Stories like that just give you hope, Kemp said. Hope is something that we all need right now. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The US Navy has heaped praise on the Royal Australian Navy for taking part in South China Sea exercises that show allies in the region both nations have the 'same interest in ensuring freedom of navigation'. Australian warship HMAS Parramatta sailed with guided missile-cruiser USS Bunker Hill and then rendezvoused with amphibious assault ship USS America and guided missile destroyer USS Barry. The operations began on April 13 and come as China continues to expand its presence in the region, including opening research stations on artificial reefs in territory claimed by the Philippines and other nations. The US Navy has heaped praise on the Royal Australian Navy for taking part in South China Sea exercises that show allies in the region both nations have the 'same interest in ensuring freedom of navigation' Australian warship HMAS Parramatta sailed with guided missile-cruiser USS Bunker Hill and then rendezvoused with amphibious assault ship USS America and guided missile destroyer USS Barry 'We look forward to every opportunity we get to work with our stalwart Australian allies at sea,' Rear Admiral Fred Kacher, commander of the America Expeditionary Strike Group, said on the US Navy's website. 'To bring this much combat capability together here in the South China Sea truly signals to our allies and partners in the region that we are deeply committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific.' The HMAS Parramatta and its US counterparts took part in live fire exercises, co-ordinated helicopter operations, small boat force protection drills, command and control integration and maneuvering interoperability. The operations began on April 13 and come as China continues to expand its presence in the region, including opening research stations on artificial reefs in territory claimed by the Philippines and other nations More than 3000 US sailors and marines watched or participated in the exercise. 'They (Australia) have the same interest in ensuring freedom of navigation and observance of internationally accepted norms and customs pertaining to the law of the sea,' Captain Kurt Sellerberg, commanding officer of the USS Bunker Hill, said. 'The Aussies are true professionals in every sense of the word, and our current combined deployment exemplifies a shared commitment to our historically strong and enduring relationship.' Every name on the BrandBucket marketplace is exclusively listed with BrandBucket. That means that all of our sellers are very responsive, making for quick domain transfers. A dedicated BrandBucket agent will manage your domain transfer from beginning to end, ensuring a secure and easy transaction. They will manage the receipt of the domain into one of BrandBuckets secure registrar accounts and then complete the transfer to you. 1. Verification and registrar choice After we receive the payment and verify it, we will reach out via email to confirm which registrar you want the domain transferred to. We also provide a link to our tracking system, where you can communicate with us, check on the status of your transfer, view your invoice, and download your logo files. In most cases, if a domain is moved between accounts at a single registrar, the transfer is quick and usually completes within 48 hours. If a domain changes registrars (in other words, you would like to move it away from where it is currently registered), the transfer is slower. The total transfer time can then be anywhere from 48 hours to 7 days. BrandBucket has vetted and supports the following registrars: GoDaddy Namesilo Uniregistry NameCheap Google Domains Network Solutions Name.com Dynadot Amazon Route 53 123 Reg Gandi 2. We request the name from the seller. Once we know where you would like the domain transferred, BrandBucket will request the domain from the seller. All of our sellers are very responsive, making for a quick process. 3. Transfer the name into your account As soon as we receive the name from the seller, we start the transfer into your account and guide you through the whole process. 4. Verify with the buyer that the transfer is complete Once we confirm that you have received the name, we consider the escrow process to be complete. Only then do we release payment to the domain seller. On 28 March, Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom announced that his state has joined the league of coronavirus-hit states. He said a positive case, out of eight suspected, had been confirmed. He then breached the convention by identifying the purported victim: Susan Idoko-Okpe, a Nigerian lady based in the United Kingdom. The Governor advised anyone who may have come in contact with her in the last 14 days to avail themselves for test and isolation. It is now almost one month since Susan Okpe was identified as an index case, but Benue has not recorded any other coronavirus positive sample. A letter to the Minister of Health by Lagos lawyer, Ebun Olu Adegboruwa has revealed what actually happened. Benues so called index case was a mis-classification. The testing had all been shambolic and fraudulent. Susan Idoko-Okpe, nee Lawani arrived Nigeria 22 March to bury her mother on 3-4 April. Stressed by the preparations, she checked into Grace Cottage Hospital in Makurdi on 24 March. She complained of headache and fatigue. A day after, she was due for discharge. But a doctor at the hospital insisted that COVID-19 test must be carried out on her. Her sample was taken and a result that came thereafter confirmed she was positive. However, the woman, who has now been transferred to Abuja isolation centre, insisted she was negative. Read her protest and pathetic letter to the Minister of health as sent by her lawyer, Adegboruwa. REQUEST FOR THE RELEASE OF MRS. SUSAN IDOKO-OKPE (NEE LAWANI) FROM DETENTION The above matter refers. We are solicitors to Mrs. Susan Idoko-Okpe (nee Lawani) hereafter referred to as our Client and on whose behalf we have written this letter concerning the above. Our Client has informed us of the following state of affairs, which we deem necessary to bring to your esteemed attention for immediate action and remedy. 1.That she is a Nigerian-British citizen who is ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom with her immediate family. She is from Otukpa in Ogbadigo Local Government Area of Benue State by origin. 2.Her mother, Princess Omokwutu Lawani, died sometime this year, whereupon the family proposed a befitting burial for her, slated for April 3-4, 2020, in Benue State. A copy of the funeral programme is herewith attached as Annexure A for your kind confirmation. 3.Our Client arrived Nigeria on March 22 2020, through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and thereafter proceeded to Abuja from where she headed for Benue State, to partake in her mothers funeral programmes. She declared all her particulars and biodata with all the relevant agencies at the various airports on her arrival in Nigeria. The Nigerian Immigration Service stamp on her passport on March 22 2020, is herewith attached as Annexure B for your kind confirmation. 4.Owing to the stress of her journey, our Client experienced some headache and fatigue, whereupon her sister introduced her to Grace Cottage Hospital, in Makurdi, Benue State. She was registered in that hospital on March 24, 2020, with Reference Card No. 6014 3 2020. A copy of the said Reference Card is herewith attached as Annexure C for your kind confirmation. She was treated medically and indeed recovered her strength fully and was due for discharge. 5.On March 25 2020, a doctor at Grace Cottage Hospital informed our Client that the standard procedure for people coming from countries with high prevalence of COVID 19 like the United Kingdom, was to take their samples, so he would have to call health experts from the Benue State Ministry of Health to carry out a COVID 19 test on her. Our Client did not object to this procedure, as a law-abiding citizen. 6.Thereafter, the doctor came into our Clients private ward in the hospital with two men, whom he claimed were from the Benue State Ministry of Health. They took the samples from our Clients left nostril and her throat. Our Client then enquired from the doctor as to the collection of the test results and he responded that they will be ready in twenty-four hours. Though our Client was now well and ready to leave the private hospital, she was advised to wait for the outcome of the COVID 19 test results, so she waited. 7.On March 27 2020, the doctor informed our Client that the test results were out and they confirmed that our Client had tested positive to COVID 19. Our Client asked for the said test results, but the doctor claimed that he doesnt have it too and that he too was only informed verbally. 8.It was not long thereafter that one of our Clients friend, also a doctor, came in to inform her that the Governor of Benue State was on air conducting a press conference, wherein her name had been mentioned as the first index case of COVID 19 in Benue State. Our Client was totally shocked and embarrassed, as up till that moment, she was yet to be given copies of the said test results, as alleged. It was not long thereafter that one of our Clients friend, also a doctor, came in to inform her that the Governor of Benue State was on air conducting a press conference, wherein her name had been mentioned as the first index case of COVID 19 in Benue State. Our Client was totally shocked and embarrassed, as up till that moment, she was yet to be given copies of the said test results, as alleged. 9.Our Client thereafter met with the management of the hospital, whose director appealed to her for calm as the hospital was fighting on her behalf, for a cause she knew next to nothing about. It was in the course of our Clients protestations that she noticed that the entire hospital had been cordoned off by armed security personnel, with several vehicles and an ambulance. She was informed that she would be taken to an isolation center, compulsorily. 10.At the said isolation center in Makurdi, our Client was treated with disdain, dehumanized, stigmatized, traumatized and degraded, with several live video recordings of her by numerous persons that she did not know. Her consent was not sought for the said video recordings and she was never obliged copies thereof. 11.At the isolation centre in Benue State, our Client had developed high temperature, due to the trauma from the degrading treatment that she was subjected to and she was not feeding well at all. Our Client was shocked to discover that her name had gone viral as being the index case of COVID 19 in Benue State and she started receiving telephone calls and messages from all over the world, especially her children, who are all based in the United Kingdom. 12.Our Client protested her inhuman and degrading treatment, whereupon she was assured of a transfer to Abuja. Indeed, armed security men with patrol vehicles and an ambulance came to pick her to Abuja from Benue State. It was a traumatic experience, as in the course of the very long and tortuous journey, our Clients repeated requests to urinate were sternly rebuffed by her captors, who directed her to urinate on herself, as they had orders from their superiors not to stop anywhere until they got to Abuja. As our Client could not bear the pressure on her bladder any longer, she had no choice but to urinate on herself several times, in the course of the journey. She was also starving, except the bottles of water she had with her, which she had to keep drinking in order not to be dehydrated and which warranted frequent urination. 13.Our Client was taken to the National Hospital in Abuja and dumped in a ward and she has been in isolation in the said hospital ward ever since, forcefully detained against her will and for no verifiable reason. 14.At the National Hospital in Abuja, our Client demanded for the results of her tests taken in Benue State and she was only obliged on April 8 2020, by which time her name had spread all over the world as the COVID 19 index case in Benue State. 15.The documents constituting the purported test results leading to the erroneous conclusion that our Client has tested positive for COVID 19 are as follows: (A)Letter dated 2nd April 2020, from the Federal Ministry of Health, signed by A.M. Abdullahi, Permanent Secretary and addressed to the Chief Medical Director of Benue State University Teaching Hospital. The subject of the said letter is said to be one Ms. Susan Okpe, a 62 year-old Nigerian-British citizen . As you would kindly confirm from our Clients bio-data on her international passport and even her Reference Card at the Grace Cottage Hospital, her name is SUSAN IDOKO-OKPE and she is 56 years old. (B)Letter dated 2nd April 2020, from the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, signed by Dr. Patrick Echekwuebe, Head of Infectious Diseases Unit and addressed to the Infectious Diseases Unit of University of Abuja Teaching Hospital. The subject matter of the said letter is OKPE SUSAN/FEMALE/62YRS, whereas as stated earlier, our Client is SUSAN IDOKO-OKPE and she is 56 years old. But more importantly, the said letter states further as follows: The above-named patient was referred from a private hospital to our facility on 28th February, 2020, AFTER she tested positive to COVID 19 (see attached result). She was asymptomatic at presentation but developed frequent passage of loose stools the day after presentation (29th February, 2020) which has resolved. From the contents of the letter from the Benue State University Teaching Hospital above, it shows clearly that our Client was not and could not have been the person referred to therein, for the following undisputed facts: (i)As of 28th February when the letter was written, our Client was still in the United Kingdom and she only arrived in Nigeria on March 22 2020, as confirmed by the stamp of the Nigerian Immigration Service on her passport; (ii)The said letter indicated that the patient was referred to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital from a private hospital AFTER she tested positive to COVID 19. As of this period, no test had been (nor could have been) conducted on our Client, as she was still in the United Kingdom and had not arrived Nigeria at all; and (iii)Our Client is not SUSAN OKPE and she is not 62 years old. (C)The third document is a purported laboratory test result from the National Reference Laboratory, Abuja, which refers to OKPE SUSAN, 58 years, Female, Benue State, Otukpo Local Government Area. As stated above, our Client is not 58 years old, she is not Okpe Susan and she is not from Otukpo LGA. In this same test result, it is stated that the Date of onset of Fever is 16/03/2020, by which date our Client was still in the United Kingdom, having only arrived Nigeria on March 22 2020. Although our Client appreciates the efforts of government in containing the COVID 19 pandemic, it is however wrong to turn her into a victim of a virus that she has not been diagnosed of being infected with. Accordingly, we hereby on behalf of our Client, request the Honourable Minister to use his good offices to give effect to the following: 16.The above is the only test result that has been given to our Client since her ordeal started and it is the basis of her forceful detention and erroneous labelling as the so-called index case of COVID 19 in Benue State. Our Client has been forced to take other tests at the National Hospital Abuja, but no results have been given to her, despite her repeated demands. All the three documents presented to our Client as constituting the results of COVID 19 tests are herewith collectively attached as Annexures D, D1 and D2 respectively. From all the foregoing, it is clear that our Client is not and could not have been the person referred to in all the documents enumerated above. COVID 19 tests conducted in Nigeria in February 2020, could not in all possibility, refer to our Client, who was at that material time in the United Kingdom. Presently, our Client is being detained against her will, upon the condition that she must go through COVID 19 treatment, when the basis of that conclusion does not relate to our Client at all. It is now well over one month since our Client has been in unlawful captivity and she has been hale, hearty and without any symptoms of COVID 19, or indeed any other sickness or disease. She deserves her freedom, which is her constitutional right. Although our Client appreciates the efforts of government in containing the COVID 19 pandemic, it is however wrong to turn her into a victim of a virus that she has not been diagnosed of being infected with. Accordingly, we hereby on behalf of our Client, request the Honourable Minister to use his good offices to give effect to the following: (i)direct the IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE of our Client from unlawful custody at the National Hospital, Abuja; and (ii)an UNRESERVED PUBLIC APOLOGY rendered to our Client, to be published in two national newspapers, two national television stations, two national radio stations and the social media. Upon her release and proper rehabilitation, our Client will determine the quantum of damages that she has suffered as a result of her ordeal and revert to you with details thereof, for settlement. While thanking you for your kind considerations and positive response, please accept the best assurances of our warmest regards, always. Yours faithfully, EBUN-OLU ADEGBORUWA, SAN Doctors are prescribing medicines they haven't used for 20 years and others that may cause heart attacks as hospitals run low on eight key drugs. Sedative drugs used to treat patients with the worst coronavirus symptoms in intensive care have been included on a list of drugs banned for exportation in an effort to ensure there's enough supply. The Government has ordered a 'parallel export' ban on 196 essential drugs to stop companies buying up drugs meant for UK patients and selling them abroad, the Sunday Times reported. That's up from just 33 drugs included in the ban just one month ago. Ron Daniels, an intensive care consultant in the West Midlands, said some of the 'second-line' drugs being used could cause heart attacks. Sedative drugs used to treat patients with the worst coronavirus symptoms in intensive care have been included on a list of drugs banned for exportation in an effort to ensure there's enough supply (file image) He told the newspaper: 'We might be causing small heart attacks or subclinical heart attacks.' 'Were using muscle relaxant drugs that I havent used for 20 years, such as pancuronium.' Drugs in short supply include: propofol, a sedative given to those on ventilation; fentanyl and alfentanil, two opioid painkillers used as part of the sedative cocktail in intensive care; and noradrenaline and clonidine, used to treat life-threateningly low blood pressure. And there were 'limited supplies' of atracurium, cisatracurium and rocuronium, all muscle relaxants used during intubation when patients are sedated and put on a ventilator to help them breathe. Other key drugs not used in intensive care, including insulin and paracetamol, have been included on the reserved list. Ron Daniels, an intensive care consultant in the West Midlands, revealed the muscle relaxant drug pancuronium hadn't been used for two decades Doctors have warned the painkiller commonly used by cancer patients, diamorphine, was running out because it was reducing Covid-19 patients' breathlessness. Ravi Mahajan, president of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, said those most in need would get the necessary drugs first. Arbidol, generic name umifenovir, is a soviet-era flu and cold medication predominantly only used in Russia and China. Patients given Arbidol did not improve any quicker than those treated without drugs in the study of 86 patients 'We have developed clinical guidance which helps to conserve supplies, switch to alternatives when required and minimise waste,' he said. Last month pharmacists were forced to plead with the public to stop stockpiling medication amid the first wave of coronavirus panic. Lopinavir/ritonavir, marketed under the brand names Kaletra and Aluvia, is an anti-HIV medicine Pharmacies reported being flooded with orders, with some stores in Northern Ireland seeing a four-fold spike compared to usual. And hopes for a coronavirus cure were dealt a blow this week after promising HIV and antiviral drugs were shown to have no effect on infected patients in China. Patients given anti-HIV medication lopinavir/ritonavir or the flu tablets Arbidol did not improve any quicker than those treated without drugs in the study of 86 patients. Sufferers given the antivirals also reported side effects including diarrhoea, nausea, and loss of appetite. The researchers recommend for this reason they should not be used as COVID-19 therapies. However, they only looked at patients with mild-to-moderate cases of the infection and say the outcome may be different for people with critical illness. Lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) was earmarked as one of the most promising treatments for coronavirus after lab studies showed it stopped coronavirus from replicating. It is currently being tested on NHS patients in the UK as part of the biggest COVID-19 trial, called RECOVERY. The study is being led by Oxford University and is trialling five existing drugs on more than 6,000 patients around the country. Arbidol, generic name umifenovir, is a soviet-era flu and cold medication predominantly only used in Russia and China. Both drugs are protease inhibitors which stick to viral molecules and prevent them from multiplying and spreading. iPhone SE and the Commodification of the Pocket Computer The iPhone SE is the most significant event in the smartphone industry since the original iPhone. Android, iPhone X, etc. are all distractions in comparison. In order to understand why that is, lets look at the evolution of consumer car design throughout the decades: Just as the 1970s were known for their outlandish car designs, the 2000s and the 2010s will be known for their outlandishly specced (and outlandishly priced) smartphones. And just as, since then, car design has become very much more tame and predictable (with all changes in the past two decades being centered solely on maximizing utility and lowering production cost), the 2020s will similarly mirror that trend in the smartphone world. I mean, sure, things used to be weirder, in the 1920s of smartphone design, so to speak: But, just like the consumer automobile in the 1920s, mobile phones back then were an outrageously cool commodity for a sufficiently large chunk of cool kids to warrant such designs by Nokia and the other main players of the era. In the 1970s of smartphone design, things started to settle down in the engineering space but to also seek to peacock and impress in the aesthetic space (while justifying a premium), just like we saw in consumer automobiles. Hence the iPhone X, the Samsung Galaxy 8, and especially folding phones. The iPhone SE continues the impeccable parallel that exists between the evolution and the consumer automobile and the smartphone industry. It signals the beginning of the 2000s of smartphone design, when manufacturers discounted the peacock tax as a business model and applied the latest advancements in aerodynamic theory into what works and what is most sensible in terms of production. Sure, the iPhone 12 will still come out for the Lambo crowd, but with the iPhone SE that hardly matters as much as it did before. My friends know me as an avid follower of consumer tech, but theres a reason the iPhone SE is the first ever piece of tech that I bother to blog about. It really is, in my eyes, that significant. It signals a pivotal shift that the industry cant back away from. The foremost producer of luxury smartphones is doubling down on putting its latest and greatest processor, camera, operating system (and almost its display) into a form factor that can sell for under $400 without going cheap on the body or on material quality. What this does is that it irrevocably blurs the line between luxury (iPhone branding, high-end specs, great build quality and especially software updates for more than a year or two if youre lucky) and commodity (the coterie of half-assed Android lottery contestants out there). It shifts the competition radically towards the direction of focusing on whats the smartest, most efficient way to get peak smartphone into a pocketable body for a relatively pocketable price. And that is absolutely a new era in pocket computers when it comes from the leader and the trend-setter in the industry. It has me excited. For the remainder of this decade, were going to see smartphones evolve in the same way that cars did between 2000 and 2020: a true push for democratic access to vehicles with common-sense engineering being the definition of the best engineering and without any equivalent to a peacock tax as a business model. This is going to render access to the very best in smartphone tech insanely more direct than it was before. People are going to notice that thin bezels and three lenses essentially were the smartphone equivalent of vertical car doors and bombastic headlights. Oh, and just in case you were looking for a more traditional review: the phone itself is great. I missed Touch ID and putting an A13 chip in a phone this size makes it hilariously fast. All amounts expressed in US dollars. BAMAKO, Mali, April 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD) (TSX:ABX) today made a $1.5 million donation to the Malian government to support its Covid-19 containment campaign. Barricks senior executive for West Africa, Mahamadou Samake, made the presentation. The donation includes an amount of $426,000 being provided for special equipment to strengthen the medical infrastructure regionally and in the communities around the companys mines. President and CEO Mark Bristow said Barrick, through its legacy company Randgold, had a 25-year partnership with the Malian government, not only in the development of its gold mining industry but also in the field of community health. The latter included its leadership of the industry in supplementing the neglected tropical disease programs in 2012, its role in combating the Ebola outbreak in 2014, and its ongoing collaboration with community health centres on immunisation programs. That is why, in addition to the extensive preventative measures we have already introduced at our mines, we are making this contribution to the governments fight against the pandemic, he said. We are also providing significant assistance to the surrounding communities and at the regional level. Barrick is also considering the early payment of taxes to assist the government financially. This issue is currently being discussed with the tax authorities. Barrick has a strong culture of caring for the welfare of its employees and communities. Our financial strength, well-established prevention practices and procedures, and the experience we gained from dealing with two Ebola pandemics around our African operations, will stand us in good stead as we face this new and unprecedented challenge, Bristow said. Over the past quarter of a century, Barrick and its legacy company Randgold Resources have contributed $7.2 billion to the Malian economy in the form of taxes, royalties, salaries and payments to local suppliers. Over the same period, our mines in Mali paid $2.7 billion in dividends, taxes and royalties to the state almost three times the $1 billion dividend received by Barrick. Barrick enquiries President and chief executive Mark Bristow +1 647 205 7694 +44 788 071 1386 Investor and media relations Kathy du Plessis +44 20 7557 7738 Email: barrick@dpapr.com Website: www.barrick.com Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information Certain information contained in this press release, including any information as to Barricks strategy or future financial or operating performance, constitutes forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. The words support, provide, consider, will, challenge and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking statements including, without limitation, with respect to funds to be provided to strengthen local and community medical infrastructure around Barricks mines in Mali; preventative measures implemented by those mines to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic; and the potential early payment of taxes to the Malian government. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions; including material estimates and assumptions related to the factors set forth below that, while considered reasonable by Barrick as at the date of this press release in light of managements experience and perception of current conditions and expected developments, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Known and unknown factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements and information. Such factors include, but are not limited to: the risks associated with Covid-19 and other infectious diseases presenting as major health issues; failure to comply with environmental and health and safety laws and regulations; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining or development activities, including geotechnical challenges, and disruptions in the maintenance or provision of required infrastructure and information technology systems; changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls, or regulations and/or changes in the administration of laws, policies, and practices, expropriation or nationalization of property and political or economic developments in Mali; lack of certainty with respect to foreign legal systems, corruption and other factors that are inconsistent with the rule of law; risks associated with illegal and artisanal mining; risk of loss due to acts of war, terrorism, sabotage and civil disturbances; timing of receipt of, or failure to comply with, necessary permits and approvals; litigation and legal and administrative proceedings; damage to the Barricks reputation due to the actual or perceived occurrence of any number of events, including negative publicity with respect to the Barricks handling of environmental matters or dealings with community groups, whether true or not; contests over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped properties, or over access to water, power, and other required infrastructure; employee relations including loss of key employees; increased costs and physical risks, including extreme weather events and resource shortages, related to climate change; and availability and increased costs associated with mining inputs and labor. In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development, and mining, including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding, and gold bullion, copper cathode, or gold or copper concentrate losses (and the risk of inadequate insurance, or inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks). Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can affect our actual results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, us. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. Specific reference is made to the most recent Form 40-F/Annual Information Form on file with the SEC and Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities for a more detailed discussion of some of the factors underlying forward-looking statements, and the risks that may affect Barricks ability to achieve the expectations set forth in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Barrick disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Randox are to make Covid-19 tests available to the public. Leading Northern Ireland laboratory Randox will be selling home testing kits to Northern Ireland's public again in a fortnight. The Co Antrim firm told us it is currently clearing a backlog of supply orders for its tests to the NHS. But a worker at the lab said it is planning to make sales of Covid-19 diagnostic kits to the public available again from the start of May. When we called Randox Labs last week to ask about availability of coronavirus tests we were told: "They will be back on sale for 120 each in two weeks. We've got a backlog of orders from the NHS." Meanwhile, the top firm has defended selling its coronavirus home testing kits to private clinics in England - which are flogging them for up to 400 each. Randox Laboratories started selling its 120 Covid-19 tests to the public and private surgeries in March. It has since emerged a series of pricey private clinics in the UK have been selling them on to rich clients for small fortunes. Randox told Sunday Life "ethical questions" about test kit pricing should be directed to the its private clinic customers. Expand Close Randox test for COVID-19 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Randox test for COVID-19 A spokeswoman for Randox said: "It is important to note that a number of the private clinics referenced as having resold Randox kits, are not direct customers of ours, and this is the reason we do not have control over their price. "Randox has no control over what third party private clinics charge - or what their customers are prepared to pay - if they have accessed our kits. "The question about whether the actions of the referenced private clinics are ethical, is best directed to those clinics." Among private clinics selling on Randox-produced home testing kits is the Private Harley Street Clinic, which charged 375 each for the kits. The clinic's owner Dr Mark Ali was reported to have made around 2.5million in a week from sales of the kits, which he boasted he had been flogging to "lords and ladies, knights, and even doctors and dentists who are worried about catching the disease". Shadow Health Secretary Jon Ashworth branded Ali's sales of the coronavirus tests "exploitative". Among other costly surgeries Randox has been supplying is Summerfield Healthcare, which runs three private clinics in Derby, Shrewsury and Wolverhampton. Summerfield has been flogging Covid-19 testing kits for 249. Qured a company that normally offers face-to-face private GP appointments within two hours at homes or workplaces in London said in March it was supplied by Randox for its Covid-19 tests, which it was selling for 295. A spokesman for the company has now revealed they are no longer sourcing their kits from Randox. He stressed Qureds 295 price included two GP consultations pre- and post- test as well as two couriers one to deliver the test and 30 minutes later to take the sample to the lab. Randox claims its test is the only one in the world that "can identify the lethal strain and differentiate between other non-lethal variants with the same symptoms". The UK government has pledged to do 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of April, but is currently managing only about 20,000 daily. In this file photo taken on January 20, 2020, a general view shows from a helicopter the avalanche site in Annapurna mountain region, some 200 kms west of Kathmandu. Search teams looking for the bodies of four South Koreans killed in a Himalayas avalanche have found the frozen corpse of their Nepali guide, police said on April 25. (Photo by ANG TASHI SHERPA / AFP) Two bodies presumed to be those of South Korean trekkers have been discovered after they went missing in January when an avalanche hit the Annapurna region in Nepal, government officials said Sunday. The bodies were found at about 3 p.m. Saturday by those patrolling around the avalanche-hit area and will be airlifted to a hospital in Kathmandu, according to the officials. It is not clear, however, when they will be transported to the hospital given unfavorable weather conditions there, including heavy fog and rain. Their identities have yet to be confirmed. They appear to be among the four South Koreans a woman in her 30s, another in her 50s and two men in their 50s who went missing along with three other Nepalese guides when the avalanche hit a trekking route at an altitude of about 3,230 meters on Jan. 17. They were all teachers who were staying in Nepal for volunteer work. Officials earlier said they appear to have been on a weekend trekking trip when the accident took place. Rescue and search efforts were suspended about a week after the accident due to harsh weather conditions and subsequent avalanches in the region, but they resumed in early April as the temperature got warmer, with the snow and ice beginning to melt. South Korea's Embassy in Nepal has asked for local police to immediately recover the bodies found, the officials said. It also plans to dispatch its staff to the hospital to which they will be airlifted so as to provide relevant consular and other support. (Yonhap) Controversial pastor Tony Spell has defied Louisiana's stay-at-home order by going ahead with his Sunday service and falsely proclaiming the congregation was following social distancing rules, video from the packed church shows. The defiant pastor also flouted his house arrest and at one point, he lifted up his pant leg to show off his ankle monitor, declaring: 'We're not hiding any more.' On Tuesday, Spell was arrested for assault after he admitted he drove his church bus toward a man who had been protesting his decision to continue holding mass gatherings at his church in defiance of the state's coronavirus lockdown. He was put on house arrest after posting bail, flashing a peace sign when walking out of jail to thunderous applause from his supporters. On Sunday, his congregation showed up for him in full force at the Life Tabernacle Church near Baton Rouge, waving signs, whooping and hollering in agreement and some furiously shaking tambourines. Although more than 100 people were inside the church, all standing close together and very few wearing face masks, Spell said the church was practicing social distancing, saying: 'If you ain't from the same house don't touch.' The defiant reverend also flouted his house arrest and at one point he lifted up his pant leg to show off his ankle monitor, declaring: 'We're not hiding any more. He went on to prop his leg up on a speaker and gave his ankle monitor a shake, adding: 'It's a dirty rotten shame when you have to hide in America' On Sunday, his congregation showed up for him in full force at the Life Tabernacle Church near Baton Rouge, whooping and hollering in agreement as some furiously shook tambourines Although more than 50 people were inside the church, all standing close together and very few wearing face masks, Spell said the church was practicing social distancing, saying: 'If you ain't from the same house don't touch' On Tuesday, Spell was arrested for assault after he admitted he drove his church bus toward a man who had been protesting his decision to continue holding mass gatherings at his church in defiance of the state's coronavirus lockdown 'The virus doesn't have a brain,' Spell told the congregation. 'It don't stop at the door of the White House and come into the door of the church house. The virus don't have a brain, but we can bind fear right now. 'God gave you an immune system to kill that virus.' Spell added that Americans are 'like prisoners in their homes.' 'People are losing their collective minds,' Spell said. 'People are bewitched. People are bewildered. People are confused. Come out of your hiding, America.' Safe social distancing measures include staying six feet apart from other people, not gathering in groups and avoiding mass gatherings, according to the CDC. Spell seemed riled up for Sunday's service, declaring: 'If you ain't afraid, this is a free country. Do what you [inaudible].' He went on to prop his leg up on a speaker and gave his ankle monitor a shake, adding: 'It's a dirty rotten shame when you have to hide in America.' Spell held the pose for a moment longer as a member of the congregation took a photo of him showing off the monitor. On Tuesday, the police department in Central, a suburb of the capital of Baton Rouge, said on a posting on their Facebook page that Spell turned himself into the department. Video shot by the station WAFB at around 10am shows Spell, dressed in a suit and tie, with his hair slicked back, being surrounded by officers wearing face masks and placed in handcuffs. Spell is heard on the recording complaining after his Bible was taken away from him during the arrest. 'My rights to have church and to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ are endowed to me by my creator, not my district attorney, not my chief of police and not my governor, John Bel Edwards,' Spell said after exiting the jail on Tuesday afternoon. 'Not my president and not my Department of Justice.' He went on: 'my inalienable rights are given to me by God and those rights are my rights to assemble and have church. I cannot give up those rights.' A defiant Spell exited the jail flashing the 'V' sign for victory after posting bail. He was arrested Tuesday morning on an aggravated assault charge Spell claimed that he preached to his fellow inmates inside the jail and warned guards that if they used profanities, he would quote scriptures. The pastor denied any wrongdoing, saying, 'the only thing I'm guilty of is practicing my faith.' Spell wrapped up his impromptu speech by announcing his plan to resume preaching at his church tonight at 7.30pm. 'Thank God for my church who stands with me today,' he said. Before Spell was released, one Spell supporter shouted defiantly at Trey Bennett, the protester Spell is accused of assaulting. Bennett also showed up at the jail, carrying his protest sign. It says 'Close this church' on one side and 'Danger: coronavirus incubator' on the other. The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office later released Spell's booking photo, which shows the cleric with a slight smile on his face. Spell was taken to the East Baton Rouge Parish prison, where about 70 of his parishioners, dressed in their Sunday best, arrived in church buses to show support. Men in jackets and ties, women in dresses and children, some in matching outfits, gathered in a parking lot across the street. They stood close to each other, praying and singing hymns while guards, some wearing protective masks watched. Shaye Spell, the pastor's wife, flashes bail money towards waiting congregants outside the East Baton Rouge Parish jail in Baton Rouge Tuesday Members of the Life Tabernacle Church sing spiritual songs and hold their hands in the air as they wait for pastor Tony Spell to leave the East Baton Rouge Parish jail About 70 parishioners, dressed in their Sunday best, arrived in church buses to show support Families, including children in matching outfits, huddled in the parking lot, praying and singing hymns, without a face covering in sight Protestor Trey Bennett holds a sign towards members of the Life Tabernacle Church waiting outside the East Baton Rouge Parish jail for Pastor Tony Spell to post bond Spell clutched what appears to be a copy of the Bible as he walked with confidence past news reporters toward his church bus after leaving jail Spell eventually walked out of the jail flashing the 'V' for victory sign to applause from his supporters, after his wife entered the jail flashing a cash fan that had been delivered by someone in a car. Online booking records indicate bail was set at $5,000. 'Our church will never close, you get that?' the man yelled. Earlier Tuesday, Debbie Dougherty, administrative assistant to the chief at the Central Police Department said Spell had driven a church bus in reverse in the direction of the sign-holding protester. Spell already faces misdemeanor charges for holding in-person church services despite the ban on gatherings. Authorities have said they did not book him into jail previously because they did not want to add to the jail population at a time when the highly infectious disease is running rampant. They have not taken any action to close his church. Parishioner Nathan Boyce Thomas also faces charges of aggravated assault and reckless operation of a vehicle after being seen on video driving his white pickup truck to within about a foot of where protester Trey Bennett was standing at the road side. Police said Thomas drove at a high rate of speed, then braked just before turning into the church parking lot. Dougherty said Thomas also planned to turn himself in later Tuesday. Tony Spell taken into police custody VIDEO: Tony Spell arrested outside of Life Tabernacle Church in Central. STORY: https://bit.ly/3axDXJu Posted by WAFB Channel 9 on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 This video shot by WAFB shows the moment Spell turned himself in Tuesday morning and was handcuffed by officers The pastor showed up at the police headquarters wearing a suit and tie, with his hair slicked back, but without a face covering Bennett has kept up a one-man demonstration in front of the church near the capital of Baton Rouge since Easter Sunday, when he noticed hundreds of parishioners still attending services after the state's stay-at-home mandate went into effect. The mandate bans gatherings of more than ten people. Houses of worship across the state have turned to online services instead. Bennett, whose signs say 'Close this Church' and 'Danger - Coronavirus Incubator,' said he was used to getting scowls and verbal jabs from parishioners, but was 'shocked' to see vehicles being driven at him. Videos of the two incidents on April 19 were obtained and reviewed by The Associated Press. One shows the church bus making a sharp turn and then backing in the opposite direction of traffic on the shoulder to within a few feet of Bennett before coming to a stop. Another shows a white pickup truck swerving out of its lane and onto the shoulder within about a foot of Bennett's body. Spell acknowledged in a telephone interview with WAFB-TV on Monday that he was driving the bus. He said he just wanted to get out and confront the protester, but his wife talked him out of it. A seven-second clip posted on social media shows the large white bus reversing at some speed towards a seemingly oblivious member of the public. The bus appears to stop mere feet away from Bennett. Bus loads of congregants arrived at Spell's Life Tabernacle Church before an Easter church service on Sunday Spell talks to the media as he drives a bus of congregants from Life Tabernacle Church after Easter church services on April 12 in Central, Louisiana The lone picketer told WAFB: 'At first I thought he [Spell] was just turning around his bus and was going to pull away, but he just kept coming in reverse. I could see him [Spell] driving the bus. 'He was honking his horn loudly at me and making gestures suggesting he was yelling while he was driving. It didn't seem real until it was physically in my face with a bus.' On Monday, Spell told WAFB in a phone interview: '[Bennett] has been in front of my church driveway for three weeks now. He shoots people obscene finger gestures and shouts vulgarities,' though Bennett denies the allegations. Earlier this month, Bennett told local news outlet BR Proud: 'I think gathering in this large of a group it's just incubating the coronavirus. These people are coming from five different parishes people that live near me go to this church and I don't want to get coronavirus. 'I know people have the right to assemble and normally the freedom of religion but right now it's imperative we don't.' The controversial leader of the Life Tabernacle Church in Louisiana has faced intense criticism after repeatedly breaking lockdown rules and holding church services, going against stay-at-home orders issued by Governor John Bel Edwards. And although one member of his congregation died from COVID-19 a diagnosis Spell has denied - the religious leader went ahead with his service as usual on Sunday and announced day one of the #PastorSpellStimulusChallenge. More than 300,000 have watched him online urging them to claim their $1,200 payouts and give it to a missionary. Spell has come under fire for repeatedly holding services at his Life Tabernacle Church near Baton Rouge despite Louisiana's stay-at-home order to stop the spread of coronavirus. Churchgoers are pictured above after a sermon on March 29 A video clip shows him saying: 'Rule no.2, donate your stimulus money. Rule no.3 donate it to evangelists, north American evangelists who haven't had an offering in a month. Missionaries who haven't had an offering in a month. Music ministers who haven't had an offering in a month.' He added: 'We are challenging you, if you can, (to) give your stimulus package to evangelists and missionaries who do not get the stimulus package. They don't file taxes the way you and I do.' He has defended his decision to ask parishioners to give up their unemployment checks. A video posted on YouTube clocked up thousands of comments, with some asking whether Spell's church should be using regular donations to help missionaries. He defended his reactions in an interview with CNN saying the church is giving to those who are most needy. The Sunday service went ahead despite the recent death of one of the Chuch's parishioners from Covid-19. Harold Orillion, 78, died last Wednesday, according to The East Baton Rouge Parish coroner. The man's cause of death was listed as 'acute respiratory distress syndrome' due to the coronavirus. Pastor Spell disputed the cause of death, saying he died of a broken heart after recently losing his son. The pastor has previously said his parishioners are true Christians who wouldn't mind dying from the virus because they'd be doing so in the name of God and freedom. It's unclear when the man last attended a service at Spell's church. A senior doctor in Russia plunged 50 ft from her office window during a conference call when she was told her hospital would be forced to take in coronavirus patients, say reports. Dr Yelena Nepomnyashchaya, 47, a mother of two, had objected to the move because of an 'acute shortage' of personal protection equipment for doctors and nurses, it is claimed. She is now fighting for her life in intensive care after the fifth floor fall but medics are 'refusing to talk' about her chances of survival, according to TVK Krasnoyarsk. Doctor Yelena Nepomnyashchaya, 47, plunged 50 ft from her office window when she was told her hospital would be forced to take in coronavirus patients, say reports The respected doctor was on a call with Krasnoyarsk regional Minister of Health Boris Nemik when she suddenly fell. Reports say she had been told that 80 beds in one section of her veteran's hospital at Vilskogo Street, was to be given over for coronavirus patients. She was against the plan because of a shortage of protective equipment for doctors at Krasnoyarsk Regional Hospital for War Veterans, which she runs, say local reports in the Siberian city. The regional Ministry of Health have since claimed that the hospital was ready to accept Covid-19 patients. Reports say Ms Nepomnyashchaya had been told that 80 beds in one section of her veteran's hospital at Vilskogo Street, was to be given over for coronavirus patients She was against plan because of a shortage of protective equipment for doctors at Krasnoyarsk Regional Hospital for War Veterans, which she runs, say local reports Deputy head of Krasnoyarsk region's government Aleksey Podkorytov claimed the reason for her fall on Saturday may have had other explanations than reported by the local media. 'So many things could have happened,' he speculated. 'It could have been because it was Spring, the overall stress, something in her family. 'It's difficult to say what could have happened. 'There was nothing extraordinary happening at the time, just a routine conference call with doctors' reports. Pictured: Doctor Yelena Nepomnyashchaya (left). The tragedy follows other reports of that doctors in a number of Russian regions have quit their jobs in protest over a lack of PPE 'If we were to fail after each routine conference call this would have not led to anything good.' He added: 'At the time (of the accident) there were no patients with coronavirus, yet the hospital was on high alert with all necessary equipment in place. 'She just reported that there were no coronavirus patients. 'They in fact started to be admitted into the hospital, but only a very few with the lightest form of the virus.' Police are now investigating the woman's fall and the circumstances surrounding it. Krasnoyarsk is capital city of the second largest region in the Russian Federation. The tragedy follows other reports of that doctors in a number of Russian regions have quit their jobs in protest over a lack of PPE. Deputy head of Krasnoyarsk region's government Aleksey Podkorytov (right) claimed there were other reasons for her fall on Saturday. The respected doctor was on a call with Krasnoyarsk regional Minister of Health Boris Nemik (left) when she suddenly fell Doctors are quitting hospitals over lack of personal protection equipment in the country, which now has 173,000 suspected of suffering from coronavirus. At the same time, the Kremlin is gearing up to send 40-plus tonnes of medicine to cash-strapped Venezuela. The 173,000 figure from government health and consumer agency Rospotrebnadzor of 'suspected' cases is separate from the confirmed cases which now number 80,949, a rise today of 6,361, a Russian record. This means 253,949 are now either confirmed cases or suspected of suffering from coronavirus. The latest daily death figure is 66, equal to Russia's worst to date, 24 hours earlier. The total death toll is 747, while 6,767 have recovered. Russia has conducted more than 2.8 million tests, putting it ahead of Germany and second only to the US, say officials. Until now, Russia has lagged behind many major countries in the rate of infections but officials fear they will see a peak here only in mid-May, still three weeks away. As airlines start preparing to increase flights across Europe and the world, the government is planning to impose stringent restrictions on anyone arriving in Britain. At present, the UK is one of few nations with no screening for coronavirus on arrival. In line with advice from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, there are no temperature checks at airports. Instead passengers are given advice on what to do if they become symptomatic. Almost every country in the world has a lower infection rate than the UK. But once numbers of new cases begin a sustained fall, the government plans to introduce a regime similar to that in place in Singapore and Australia though without such tight restrictions. Arrivals from anywhere in the world entering Singapore must spend two weeks in a hotel room or similar accommodation provided by the Singapore government. The aim is to allow time for any symptoms to develop. Leaving the room makes the traveller liable for a jail term of up to six months. In Australia, airport hotels are being used to quarantine arrivals for 14 days. The UK plan would instead require air, sea and rail passengers to specify the address where they intend to spend the next two weeks. The authorities would conduct spot checks to ensure that travellers are at the address they registered. The travel industry has reacted with horror at the proposed move which would immediately stifle demand for flights and holidays. Wizz Air has announced plans to start up links from Luton to 14 European destinations plus Tel Aviv from 1 May. Britains two biggest holiday companies are planning to relaunch trips abroad in May and June. Airlines including British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair were also planning to introducing meaningful flights in early summer. But if anyone heading abroad on holiday or to see loved ones is to be quarantined for a fortnight when they get home, demand is likely to plummet. A senior aviation executive said: The industry has been looking to see when destination countries would reopen, because that was regarded as the main parameter for air travel to start up at a meaningful scale. But this could knock us all for six. Heathrow airport has been calling for a common international standard agreement on health precautions. A spokesperson for Heathrow said: We are already working with the aviation industry and regulators here and in other countries to establish the need for a common standard, and what it might involve. The UK government has repeatedly said that the evidence suggests temperature checks in particular are ineffective once there is community transmission. We therefore request that the evidence base for the current advice be published as soon as possible, so that it can be properly considered against international advice. Such a move would also write off inbound tourism to the UK for the summer although domestic demand is likely to be higher than for decades. In a Twitter poll with more than 2,000 responses conducted for The Independent, only 22 per cent said it was too late and that the UK should remain open. The options start right now and test everyone on arrival each received 35 per cent. The remaining eight per cent were in favour of closing the UKs borders. Separately, a senior World Health Organisation figure has said she will not holiday abroad Dr Margaret Harris told BBC Breakfast: Personally I would be travelling domestically rather than abroad simply because we are going to see this re-imported into some countries and you dont want be in a position where youre stuck as some people are. Lenders to IL&FS Tamil Nadu Power Company (ITPCL), which is undergoing insolvency proceedings, are likely to meet this week to finalise a restructuring plan, a source said. ITPCL is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) incorporated by the IL&FS Group under its energy platform (IEDCL) for implementation of a thermal power project at Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu. The company recently received RP4 rating from Crisil, which is required for implementation of a resolution plan for stressed companies. "The financial creditors of ITPCL are most likely to e-vote on the proposal this week to conclude the restructuring," the source said. ITPCL's consortium of lenders include 19 banks and financial institutions led by the Punjab National Bank. It owes over Rs 6,700 crore to its lenders and around Rs 900 crore to IL&FS Group entities, according to the affidavit submitted by IL&FS before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in January. IL&FS had earlier initiated restructuring of ITPCL, which also included selling its stake to the Tamil Nadu government and other stakeholders, but it was unsuccessful. When contacted, an IL&FS spokesperson confirmed that ITPCL has received RP4 rating from Crisil. As per the Prudential Framework for Resolution of Stressed Assets issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on June 7, 2019, all resolution plans involving restructuring or change in ownership in respect of accounts where exposure of lenders is Rs 100 crore and above, will require independent credit evaluation (ICE) of the residual debt by authorised credit rating agencies (CRAs) In case of accounts with aggregate exposure of Rs 500 crore and above, two such ICEs will be needed. Only those resolution plans that receive a credit opinion of RP4 or better for the residual debt from one or two credit rating agencies, will be considered for implementation, RBI had said. ITPCL is setting up a 3,180 MW thermal power plant in Kothattai, Ariyagoshti and Villianallur revenue villages of Chidambaram taluk, Cuddalore district. The project was being implemented in phases, with phase I of the project for 1200 MW comprising two units of 600 MW each and a second phase of 3 x 660 MW. According to the affidavit, ITPCL had entered into power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) and PTC India. TANGEDCO and PTC India owe around Rs 1,700 crore to ITPCL on account of power supplied by ITPCL to both the companies, as per the PPAs. The restructuring efforts and recovery to lenders of ITPCL have also been hindered due to the overdue payments from TANGEDCO and PTC, IL&FS had said in the affidavit. ITPCL was categorised as an 'amber' entity by IL&FS but it had stopped servicing interest and principal on term loans and debt obligations since November 2018. Due to this, banks have restricted the usage of working capital limits for the company and it is reliant only on collection from sale of power for its operations. Various companies in the IL&FS Group have been classified as 'green', 'amber' and 'red' categories depending on their ability to service debt. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Job Title: Consultancy Terms of Reference for Training of Farm Africa Staff on Gender Action Learning System (GALS) Methodology Organization: Farm Africa Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda About Farm Africa: Farm Africa is an innovative charity that reduces poverty in rural eastern Africa by helping farmers grow more, sell more and sell for more: we help farmers to not only boost yields, but also gain access to markets, and add value to their produce. We place a high priority on environmental sustainability and develop approaches that help farmers to improve their yields and incomes without degrading their natural resources. Our programmes vary hugely, ranging from helping crops farmers to boost harvests, livestock keepers to improve animal health, and forest coffee growers to reach export markets, but core to all of them is a focus on the financial sustainability of the farmers businesses and environmental sustainability. We currently work in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. About the project. Farm Africa is currently implementing a three-year project supporting coffee farmers in Western Ugandas Kanungu district. The project comprises of two distinct parts. The first part, funded by the European Union, is already under way and focuses on building the capacity of Civil Society Organisations (CSO) to create employment and self-employment opportunities within the coffee value chain for 4,800 young women and men Kanungu district. A broad range of CSOs are engaged ranging from coffee growers cooperatives (4) to national stakeholder platforms representing both young farmers and coffee farmers. The second part, funded by UK aid, started in September 2019 and is focussing on ensuring that women are empowered and able to fully benefit from support given to coffee farmers in Kanungu, as well as financially benefit from their contributions to the coffee value chain. Scope of Work: Farm Africa is seeking services of a consultant to conduct a staff training on Gender Action Learning System (GALS) methodology. The Consultant should implement a practical training methodology that; Delivers technical training on Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) on coffee production Empowers women and youth and farmers to implement and fully benefit from GAPs Improves relationships and trust between farmers, farmer groups, NGOs, companies, traders and service providers This is a 5 days assignment with an indicative budget of about UGX 3,000,000. Objectives of the Consultancy Assignment: The Gender Action Learning System (GALS) is a community-led empowerment methodology using specific participatory processes and diagram tools which aims to give women as well as men more control over their lives as the basis for individual, household, community and organisational development. GALS is not only a methodology for women, but a mainstreaming methodology for women and men to address gender issues important to the effectiveness of any development, including coffee production. GALS in different forms has been used to promote gender justice by at least 100,000 women and men worldwide, including thousands of coffee farmers. For example, at the Bukonzo Joint Cooperative Union in Uganda (BJCU), the use of the GALS methodology has led to women representing 85% of 5,200 members and 55% of its board. BJCU has also penetrated high- value speciality markets brought about by men working cooperatively with their wives on household farms to produce high-quality coffee. The consultants tasks include but not limited to the following activities: Harmonize/Synchronize training materials on GALS Conduct a 5-days practical training on GALs methodology to Fam Africa/CGC Extension Officers. To provide the Farm Africa with the materials or manual (both soft and hard) as point of reference for the training and for reproduction and distribution to participants. To produce a training report. Expected Deliverables and Timeline: All written documentation is to be submitted in English using Microsoft Word in soft copy. The main body of all reports should be written in simple, non-technical language, with any technical material being presented in annexes. The consultant will provide the following deliverables within the timeframe stated: Submit a training plan embedded in a technical proposal by 27th of April 2020 Share synchronized/harmonized training materials by 7th of May 2020 Conduct TOT training of participants in GALS methodology from 4th to 8th May 2020 Submit a comprehensive training report for review and approval by 8th of May 2020 Management and Implementation Responsibilities: The consultant will report directly to the Gender Specialist. However, s/he will also be expected work closely with the Project Coordinator (PC). Farm Africa will provide: Guidance and technical support as required throughout the training. Training venue All training materials, such as stationeries; projector; markers, flip charts and many others. Meals, refreshment, Transport refund & accommodation for CGC extension staff. Ensure all participants are present during training The consultant will be responsible for: Developing training plan Developing/ synchronizing training materials and tools; Conducting the training in a participatory and practical way Sharing training report and training materials for reproduction Transport to/from Kanungu and any living/accommodation expenses incurred Farm Africa Evaluation Principles: Farm Africa follows five basic principles of sound evaluation practice and the consultant is expected to adhere to these throughout the evaluation process. These are: 1. Confidentiality and informed consent all data collected during the evaluation will be treated as confidential and cannot be shared outside of Farm Africa. All respondents must be advised as such and always given the opportunity not to participate, or to terminate or pause the interview at any time. The purpose of the study should also be clearly explained before commencing any interviews. Data collection must conform to Farm Africas minimum standards on Informed Consent, which will be shared with the successful consultant. 2. Independence and impartiality Farm Africa is committed to impartial and objective evaluation of our projects. All evaluation findings and conclusions must be grounded in evidence. Researchers are expected to design data collection tools and systems that mitigate as far as possible against potential sources of bias. 3. Credibility Farm Africa is committed to learning based on credible evidence. The credibility of evaluations depends on the professional expertise and independence of evaluators and full transparency in the methods and process followed. Evaluations should clearly distinguish between findings and recommendations, with the former clearly supported by sound evidence. Methodologies should be explained in sufficient detail to allow replication, and evidence of failures should be reported as well as of successes. 4. Participation the views and experiences of beneficiary households, groups and partners should form an integral part of all evaluations. 5. Openness To maximise the learning potential of the evaluation process, Farm Africa may publish full evaluation reports or excerpts from them or may otherwise share them with interested parties. Qualifications of Consultant Essential Extensive experience in delivering GALS trainings to trainers and farmers Excellent community facilitation and communication skills Excellent reporting and presentation skills Fluency in spoken and written English Good knowledge and understanding of gender equality issues, particularly in the context agricultural value chain. Desirable Understanding of the Coffee value chain and gender related issues in coffee small holder farmers. Knowledge in gender mainstreaming of the farmer groups and cooperatives, Fluency in Rukiga A degree in Agriculture, Economics, or related field How to Apply: (Submission of Proposals) Interested consultants or firms are requested to submit: A full technical and financial proposal. Please provide as much detail as possible, however at a minimum please clearly distinguish between consultancy costs and expenses, and detail any expenses that you will require Farm Africa to pay directly. Copies of all relevant Curriculum Vitae (CVs). Only CVs for the specific individuals that will form the proposed evaluation team should be included. A sample of a recent training report for a similar project completed within the last 24 months (this will be treated as confidential and only used for the purposes of quality assurance). Please only submit reports where the authors were the same as or inclusive of individuals named in the proposal team. Contact details for two references (including one from your last client/employer). All documents must be submitted by email to our sealed email address tenders@farmafrica.org by 27th of April 5pm East Africa Time. The email subject line should clearly indicate Bid for GALS TOT Consultancy. Deadline: 27th April 2020 by 5pm For more of the latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com or find us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline MSU Extension of Midland County and cooperating parent educators sponsor the Parent's Corner. Send submissions to Midland County MSU Extension Educator, Lisa Treiber, 220 W. Ellsworth St., Midland, MI 48640. Safe Food = Healthy Kids Looking for a training for your childcare center or home? Michigan State University Extension is hosting several online sessions with education credits. Learn what the best practices are for food safety to help keep kids safe. Topics include cleaning and sanitizing, cooking, storing food, common allergens and personal hygiene. The workshop can count towards annual training hours for licensed childcare providers. This is also an approved training of Great Start to Quality. Dates classes will be offered: 9 a.m. to noon May 13, and 1 to 4 p.m. May 27. To select a date and register visit https://events.anr.msu.eduSFHKMarch2020 or email treiber@msu.edu. There is no charge to participate in these sessions. Food Safety Q & A MSU Extension will be hosting weekly live chats online at 10 a.m. each Monday, discussing current trending information. Join us on May 4 to discuss Solving the Mystery of Food Product Dating. Learn the difference between "Sell By," "Use By," and "Best if Used By" and what date marking of food products really means. Participants are encouraged to ask their questions during the Q & A portion of the event. Food safety educators will be available for this session and will provide the most up-to-date research-based information. To register for this session visit: https://www.canr.msu.edu/events/food-safety-q-a-solving-the-mystery-of-food-dating There is no charge to attend this session. For more information contact Kellie Jordan, jorda136@msu.edu. Food Preservation Class MSU Extension will be offering an online Food Preservation class about Steam canning from 1 to 3 p.m. May 7. Learn how to use a steam canner for food preservation. This class will provide resources to reference when preserving food. Participants will be able to ask food safety educators during the Q & A portion of the workshop. There is no charge to attend. To register for this informative session visit: https://events.anr.msu.edu/FoodPreservation05072020online/ For more information contact Lisa Treiber, treiber@msu.edu. Walking Paths at Nature Center Chippewa Nature Center,, 400 S. Badour Road, Midland, has 19 miles of trails open dawn-to-dark open daily for walking. CNC is committed to providing an opportunity for healthy outdoor recreation, solace seeking, restorative time in nature and exploration for all ages during this challenging time. Currently all CNC trails remain open. CNC is asking everyone to maintain a 6-foot distance from people outside your household while enjoying the trails. In an effort to aid in protecting the public and reduce the spread of COVID-19, all the buildings are closed until further notice. Check the CNC webpage www.chippewanaturecenter.org and Facebook www.Facebook.com/cncmidland for resources outdoor and connection. The messages of appreciation to health care workers so far have come in donated plates of sandwiches and cookies, parades of police cruisers and fire trucks, flashing their red and blue lights. Today, the thank-you is coming through a new medium: paint. POW! WOW! Worcester has brought local and international artists to Worcester over the last few years, adding dozens of murals and artworks to the citys landscape. Now amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a new mural is taking shape with a message of positivity. An image of a nurse holding a clipboard and the word together were slowly coming together via spraypaint outside the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center on Tacoma Street by artists Merk Aveli and Brandalizm. In place of the letter o" in together, theres a heart. Jessica Walsh, one of the POW! WOW! Worcester leads, said the idea for the mural and planning process came together in about a week and a half. While some parts of the mural design have changed through that time, the vision included a nurse from the start. Walsh said POW! WOW! is keeping the production small and limiting the number of people at the site in an effort to practice social distancing. Last year, POW! WOW! focused on Great Brook Valley, the neighborhood home to the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center. This one wall was left blank last year. So when the possibility of this mural arrived, it felt fateful. I just feel like this mural was supposed to be here," Walsh said. The timing just worked out perfect and the topic of it worked out perfect. The artists worked through idyllic, sunny weather on Saturday, but likely will not complete the mural before rain comes on Sunday. They plan to finish sometime next week. Related Content: Over 90 people from around two dozen villages in Rajasthan have been booked for allegedly attending a funeral without taking permission from the administration and violating social-distancing norms, the Jaipur Rural Police said on Sunday. Tarachand Sharma, station house officer (SHO) of Andhi police station, said a 75-year-old resident of Birasna Ramnagar panchayat was admitted in a local primary health care (PHC) centre on April 17 after he complained of pain due to gallstones. He was tested negative for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), and a surgery was done on April 22 to remove the stones. But his condition deteriorated and he died in the afternoon on the same day...his family members took the body from the hospital and his funeral was done at a crematorium falling in the limits of Andhi police station in the evening, Sharma said. He said the family members didnt inform the local administration even as more than a hundred people attended the funeral. According to federal guidelines, more than 20 people are not allowed at funerals during the lockdown announced to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease. We received information from our sources that 124 people attended the funeral --- which was against the orders of the district administration. Police, along with local medical teams, surveyed the area and have so far identified 96 people who have been booked, Sharma said. These people, including the family members of the deceased, have been booked under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code. Sharma said all these people have been have been kept in quarantine at a private college in Sitapura area. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Friday that there is no evidence that recovering from COVID-19 makes you immune to getting it again. In the report, WHO targets governments that are promoting the idea of immunity passports or risk-free certificates for citizens that have antibodies to return to work and regular life. In response to those governments, WHO says, There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection. The announcement from WHO mimics what medical professionals and organizations around the United States have been saying. *** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK *** On Friday, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) made a similar warning. Spokesperson Dr. Mary Hayden warned that we have to assume that despite antibodies, people may be at risk of reinfection. Last week, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, a deputy commissioner at the city Health Department, urged medical professionals not to provide medical guidance based on antibody results due to the uncertainty around immunity. Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has hopes that the antibodies prove some immunity, but still warns that this has not been proven. Theres an assumption a reasonable assumption that when you have an antibody that you are protected against reinfection, but that has not been proven for this particular virus. Its true for other viruses, Fauci said on Good Morning America" last week. We dont know how long that protection, if it exists, lasts. Is it one month? Three months? Six months? A year? In New York City, over 20% of residents have tested positive for coronavirus antibodies. Despite the comments from medical professionals, Gov. Andrew Cuomo stated that this antibody testing was the key to reopening the state." The worldwide death toll passed 200,000 on the heels of WHOs announcement, according to Johns Hopkins University. Confirmed cases worldwide stands at nearly 2.9 million. While the current number of total cases of COVID-19 in Africa is comparatively low, the potential for mass deaths across the continent is ominous, according to a study issued by the United Nations Economic Commission of Africa (UNECA): UNECA COVID-19 Response: Protecting Lives and Economies in Africa If Africa, is to stem the elevated projected rate of morbidity and mortality from the coronavirus, it will require a massive infusion economic and medical assistance. In the last week COVID-19 cases in Africa increased by 46% from 16,000 to 26,000 with 1,200 deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). With civilization experiencing a pandemic that has upended all normalcy, affecting the very fabric of our social, economic, and political life on this planet, only a collective international effort will succeed in defeating this deadly invisible enemy. No alliance is more important in this war against death than that of the United States and China, which have the two largest economies. (Courtesy Development Reimagined) COVID-19 and Poverty Killing Africa According to the analysis by the UNECA, COVID-19 in Africa: Protecting Lives and Economies, a low estimate of .3 million to as high as 3.3 million lives could be lost due to COIVD-19. The study also estimates that from 2.3 million to 22.5 million could require hospitalization, and .5 million to 4.4 million would require critical care. A minimum of $44 billion will be required for emergency healthcare. The causes for these horrifying projections include: 56% of the nearly 600 million Africans who live in urban areas-336 million, live in slums 66% of Africans do not have access to household hand washing facilities Prevalence of underlying medical conditions especially HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malnutrition An average of only 1.8 hospital beds per 1,000 people 94% of Africas stock of pharmaceuticals are imported I have written that Africa has a deficit of an estimated 1.8 million healthcare workers. The average for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is an absurdly low 0.21 doctors for 1,000 people compared to Italy with 4.2 physicians per 1,000. Twenty SSA nations have .08 doctors or less per 1,000 of their citizens, with several at levels of 0.03 and 0.02 doctors. Over twenty-five SSA nations have 1 bed or less to treat 1,000 of their population In addition to the conditions listed above, the informal economy is another major factor contributing to the projected high rate of African fatalities, the informal economy. Africa has an extraordinarily large percentage of its labor force, between 70-80%, employed outside of conventional hourly wage, and salaried employment. These jobs, if you can call them that, primarily involve hawking consumer goods on the street, selling in congested markets or from makeshift store fronts, barely provide a living, and have no health or unemployment insurance. For the majority of Africans, if you do not work, you do not eat. Thus, Africans are faced with the life threatening dilemma of obeying sheltering in place or starving their family. Informal economy in Africa (courtesy Grandmother Africa) According to the UNECA study, the economic consequences for Africa from COVID-19 could be devastating. Economic growth could drop from 1.8% to -2.6% From 5-29 million pushed into extreme poverty-$1.90 per day 19 million jobs lost Increased borrowing, devaluation of currencies, and plummeting commodity prices To protect and build towards the Continents shared prosperity, $100 billion is needed to urgently and immediately provide fiscal space to all countries to help address the immediate safety net needs of the populations, reiterates Vera Songwe, UN Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Africa, according to Africa Renewal Poverty, and lack of basic infrastructure, especially electricity has been killing Africans for decades. In the current conditions of this deadly pandemic, poverty, unarguably will be the biggest factor in the death rate from COVID-19. According to a recent report Strategy to Defeat the Pandemic, released in EIR magazine, SSA has: 14% of the worlds population 60% of the worlds extreme poor 70% of those worldwide lacking access to electricity 20% of urban dwellers worldwide living in slums They highlight the case of Nigeria, which typifies the conditions throughout SSA. Nigeria has 200 million people, 41% living in extreme poverty, 55% with no access to electricity, and 55% of their urban population living in slums. Citing Time magazine, EIR reports that Nigeria has only 500 ventilators per 2.5 per million people, 200 times less per capita than the US that has 170,000 ventilators for 330 million people. Africa and the world cannot afford to lose millions more of our fellow human beings to death and poverty. Our failure over the last half century, to eliminate poverty, hunger and install a quality healthcare system, following the liberation of African nations from colonialism, has proved fatal. Slum in Nigeria (Courtesy of Global Village) End Geo-Political Warfare Against China For humanity to defeat this deadly virus, global cooperation is imperative. Unfortunately, President Donald Trump, for opportunistic reasons, has succumbed to appalling and unjustified attacks on China. President Trump has placed a higher priority on his re-election, by appealing to the prejudices of his base of supporters, than leading a worldwide military style campaign against COVID-19. While not as extreme as some in his administration, President Trump has joined the chorus from both the Republican and Democratic parties in blaming China for the spread of COVID-19. His recent attacks on the WHO, alleging collusion with China, and subsequently cutting off funds to the WHO, is a case in point. The WHO is being unfairly scapegoated as part of geo-political crusade vilifying China. Not surprising, the instigation against China comes from British Secret Intelligence MI6. On April 15, John Sawers, former chief of MI6 (2009-2014) told Reuters, China concealed crucial information about the novel coronavirus outbreak from the rest of the world and so should answer for its deceit. He told BBC, There is deep anger in America at what they see as having been inflicted on us all by China, and China is evading a good deal of responsibility for the origin of the virus, for failing to deal with it initially. Since then, more wild unsubstantiated claims from the Trump administration have been launched accusing China of creating the COVID-19 at its virology lab in Wuhan. President Trump has vacillated in deciding whether China created the virus intentionally or accidently, with no evidence at all presented to substantiate these allegations. Africas Survival If, the projections of fatalities resulting from COVID-19 are correct, Africa will need assistance from all its partners. The scale of this crisis demands it. The United States and other Western nations must extirpate the geo-political ideology that treats African nations as pawns in countering China. Africa needs basic infrastructure. Roads, power, railroads, clean water, hospitals, etc. are crucial for Africas survival. Speaking at a Johns Hopkins webinar on April 22, Gyude Moore, from the Center for Global Development, and former Liberian Minister of Public Works (2014-2018) unequivocally recognized that China is performing a unique task in Africa. He told his audience that if China were to stop building infrastructure in Africa, there would be no one to fill that vital role. Contrary to many Africans who foolishly believe that China is colonizing Africa, Moore stated, China should not leave the continent. As I and others understand, including Gyude Moore, Africas infrastructure requirements are so enormous, that all of Africas partners can share in developing this huge continent, whose population is expected to double to 2.4 billion in the next 30 years. It is imperative that saving lives and defeating this coronavirus be the foremost concern of all citizens, leaders, and institutions. Let us use the occasion of this perilous time in our history, to jettison all prejudices, grievances, ideologies, and small mindedness, to aspire to be the noble and generous human beings the Creator intended us to be. Lawrence Freeman is a Political-Economic Analyst for Africa, who has been involved in the economic development policy of Africa for 30 years. He is the creator of the blog: lawrencefreemanafricaandtheworld.com HCM City authorities are preparing to receive around 10,000 Vietnamese from Covid-19-affected countries. According to Chairman of the HCM City Peoples Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong, among those, 300 Vietnamese students from the US are scheduled to repatriate on April 27. Chairman of the HCM City Peoples Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong After landing at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, the students will be sent to a local quarantine zone. Phong cited the information about two Vietnamese students from Japan who arrived at Van Don International Airport in Quang Ninh Province on April 22 who then tested positive for Covid-19 as a typical example of the need for the citys agencies to be on high alert. "The pandemic remains problematic, which requires drastic prevention measures. Singapore is undergoing the Covid-19 outbreak and this is a great lesson for Vietnam, Phong warned. Nguyen Huu Hung, the municipal Department of Healths deputy director, said that HCM City National University's dormitory could now no longer be used as a quarantine area as students were expected to return soon. So, the city would need to find replacement quarantine areas. It is the best to isolate each person in a separate room. We will try utmost to ensure this and offer the most favourable conditions for the quarantine, Hung noted. HCM City has confirmed 54 Covid-19 cases so far, including 53 discharged from hospital. The last patient is a British pilot or Patient 91, who has tested negative for the virus but is still in serious condition. On Friday, a flight transporting 215 Vietnamese from Singapore landed at Can Tho International Airport in the Mekong Delta City of Can Tho. They were then taken to a local quarantine zone. The passengers belong to the priority list such as children, the elderly and sick people. Dtinews Quoc Anh Over 6,300 people from abroad complete quarantine period The remaining 171 people at COVID-19 quarantine sites in Thua Thien-Hue Province completed their 14-day quarantine on Thursday, bringing the province's total to 6,380 cases finishing compulsory isolation. Investing in oil stocks used to be a no-brainer. A growing world population and increasingly globalized economy requires vast amounts of fossil fuels to heat homes, ship goods across the ocean, and fuel jet-setters around the world. Business is a lot less certain for participants in the oil and gas industry these days. Global oversupply of crude oil and natural gas, combined with fluctuations in demand, have caused the energy sector to significantly underperform the broader stock market in recent years. Major oil price crashes in 2014 and 2020 rocked the entire industry. And renewable energy continues to get cheaper and more widely used while governments are increasingly pushing businesses to lower their carbon emissions. Even so, an investment in oil can still offer value. Here's a look at how to invest in the oil market. 1. Keep an eye on oil prices One of the biggest factors governing the oil industry is, of course, the price per barrel of crude oil. When crude oil prices rise, oil stock prices tend to go up, too. When crude oil prices tumble, so will the prices of most oil and gas stocks. The reasoning behind this is pretty simple. The costs of getting oil out of the ground, transporting it, storing it, and refining it into fuel and other products are essentially fixed. When a barrel of crude oil can be sold for more than the sum of those costs, oil companies make money. But when oil is trading for less than the sum of those costs, at least some of those companies lose money. It's generally better to buy oil stocks when oil prices are low and expected to rise rather than when they are already high. However, the price of oil affects different types of oil stocks in different ways. Checking out the recent price of oil is a critical first step in oil investing. 2. Know the differences among oil stocks Not all oil stocks are created equal. In fact, "oil companies" may operate in entirely different parts of the industry. It's important to know what kind of oil company you're investing in before you buy. Upstream oil and gas companies , also known as exploration and production companies, or simply E&Ps, explore locations around the world for oil, and, once they discover it, drill wells to extract it from below the ground or seafloor. E&Ps are the most susceptible to fluctuations in the price of oil. The largest E&P in the U.S. is ConocoPhillips NYSE:COP) , also known as exploration and production companies, or simply E&Ps, explore locations around the world for oil, and, once they discover it, drill wells to extract it from below the ground or seafloor. E&Ps are the most susceptible to fluctuations in the price of oil. The largest E&P in the U.S. is Midstream companies transport, process, and store crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and refined petroleum products such as lubricants. Midstream companies often do business using fixed-rate, long-term, or take-or-pay contracts. Thus, their profitability is less affected by oil price fluctuations. The master limited partnership Enterprise Products Partners NYSE:EPD) transport, process, and store crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and refined petroleum products such as lubricants. Midstream companies often do business using fixed-rate, long-term, or take-or-pay contracts. Thus, their profitability is less affected by oil price fluctuations. The master limited partnership Downstream companies refine crude oil into other products like fuel or petrochemicals or sell refined products to consumers. Some do both. Gas station operators and refinery operators are two types of downstream companies. The price of oil impacts refineries' profitability because they make their money on the "crack spread," meaning the difference between the price of oil and the price of refined products. As such, downstream stocks often take a hit when oil prices fall since lower demand for refined products is one of the things that can weigh on crude prices. Phillips 66 NYSE:PSX) refine crude oil into other products like fuel or petrochemicals or sell refined products to consumers. Some do both. Gas station operators and refinery operators are two types of downstream companies. The price of oil impacts refineries' profitability because they make their money on the "crack spread," meaning the difference between the price of oil and the price of refined products. As such, downstream stocks often take a hit when oil prices fall since lower demand for refined products is one of the things that can weigh on crude prices. Integrated companies operate in more than one of the above segments of the supply chain. The so-called "integrated majors," sometimes referred to as "Big Oil," have large upstream and downstream operations and some midstream capability as well. ExxonMobil NYSE:XOM) Chevron NYSE:CVX) operate in more than one of the above segments of the supply chain. The so-called "integrated majors," sometimes referred to as "Big Oil," have large upstream and downstream operations and some midstream capability as well. Oilfield services companies provide equipment, operational support, and services to upstream companies. These can include onshore or offshore drilling rigs, drill bits, subsea robots, or pressure valves. When oil prices are low, upstream companies often try to cut their services costs, which hurts oilfield services companies. provide equipment, operational support, and services to upstream companies. These can include onshore or offshore drilling rigs, drill bits, subsea robots, or pressure valves. When oil prices are low, upstream companies often try to cut their services costs, which hurts oilfield services companies. Oil exchanged-traded funds (ETFs) allow you to invest in an entire subsector of the oil industry at once as opposed to any single oil company. ETFs are baskets of stocks that are traded much like ordinary stocks. One noteworthy oil ETF is the SPDR Oil and Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP), which tracks the upstream subsector as a whole. 3. Focus on the dividend Oil companies' struggles don't seem likely to disappear anytime soon. Even if they go through a period of short-term calm, such as the period between 2017 and 2019, global events outside their control can quickly set them back on their heels. That's why, for long-term investors who don't want to have to constantly monitor the oil markets, dividend investing is probably the best choice here. Integrated oil companies ExxonMobil and Chevron have been increasing their dividends annually for decades, with management prioritizing dividend preservation. Likewise, many midstream companies -- especially those with master limited partnership (MLP) structures -- offer high dividend yields and reliable payouts. When you're evaluating an oil company, don't just look at the dividend yield (also known as the dividend-to-share price ratio). Compare the yield to the company's free cash flow. The best companies can pay their total dividend obligations and fund their capital expenses using free cash flow, with some money left over. Further, look for a strong investment-grade balance sheet since that provides additional financial flexibility (more and better access to capital) and increases the probability that the company can maintain its dividend during the next industry downturn. 4. Know when to invest in oil stocks Any time is a good time to buy a great company. It's important for investors to be aware of the oil sector's volatility. Because of that, it's best to focus on companies built to weather the sector's inevitable downturns. That means focusing on those with relative immunity to price fluctuations, such as E&Ps with ultra-low production costs and integrated oil giants. Midstream companies, with their contracts, should also be able to deal with adverse market conditions more easily than others in the supply chain. Another way to invest in the oil patch is to focus on using it to generate dividend income. Many companies in the sector pay dividends with attractively high yields. However, given the sector's overall volatility, investors need to choose their oil-fueled dividend stocks carefully, focusing on those with the balance sheet strength and cash flow durability to deliver dependable income streams. The economic slowdown brought on by the coronavirus crisis has some renewable energy advocates making dire forecasts about the industrys future. The Solar Energy Industries Association predicted last month the sector could lose nearly half its workforce up to 120,000 of its nearly 250,000 jobs because of the crisis. And a recently released report from a consortium of environmental and energy groups revealed more than 106,000 renewable energy jobs were lost nationally in the month of March alone. Connecticut has 2,234 solar industry jobs, according to the most recent report by the Solar Foundation, a national group promoting the sector. Experts said the pandemic is having an impact on the industry in Connecticut, but said it is too soon to say said how bad the problem eventually will be. I think it depends on how long this lasts, said Mike Trahan, executive director of Solar Connecticut, an industry trade group. Right now, from a practical standpoint, its a serious impediment. Joel Gordes, a West Hartford-based energy consultant, said the biggest problem currently is peoples fear of contracting the coronavirus from service workers, even though their work is performed outdoors. A lot of people dont want anyone at their homes, even if they are only working on your roof, Gordes said. I dont know if Id call that a long term problem. Since the onset of the virus and the quarantine restrictions that followed, Trahan said industry and state officials have developed a new set of protocols that allow exterior work to continue on residential solar projects. Any work associated with going into peoples homes to hook up rooftop solar panels is being put off until a later date. Robert McCullough is among those who doesnt expect the coronavirus-induced slowdown to have a long-term impact on Connecticuts renewable energy sector. McCullough is a principal in McCullough Research, a Portland, Oregon-based energy consulting firm. The cost of renewable energy is lower than it has ever been and continues to decrease rapidly, McCullough said. Its unlikely that well see the renewable energy sector suffer any long term impact. While factories and other major power users remain idled or operating at less than capacity, were going to have a lot of surplus energy out there, which drives down the price, he said. In an effort to boost the amount of wind power in Connecticuts energy portfolio, lawmakers have approved efforts focused on procuring it. The first procurement for up to 200 megawatts of power was completed at the end of 2018; wind projects that were selected signed long-term power contracts with The United Illuminating Co. and Eversource Energy in early 2019. A second request for proposals went out last year. Winning proposals were selected, but long-term contracts are still being negotiated with UI and Eversource. Officials at the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said Friday they dont expect the coronavirus-related slowdown to prevent the wind projects from being ready on time to comply with the terms of the agreements with UI and Eversource. The projects selected by Connecticut in the various RFPs are not expected to come online for a few years, agency officials said in a statement. Importantly, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has indicated it still plans to issue its review of the cumulative impacts of projects in federal waters off of the Atlantic Coast in December 2020. Assuming that BOEM sticks to this schedule, DEEP has no reason to believe that the projects it has selected in various RFPs will not achieve commercial operation on their expected dates or within the contractually permitted extensions. luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com There are few certainties about the pandemic legacy, despite claims that we will be changed forever. We are all by nature recidivists about behaviours and roles we are comfortable in. Will we be kinder to each other, reward politicians who lead but dont preen, pay greater respect and salaries to heroic front line workers from grocery clerks to care home workers? We should make every effort to. But if the bounce back after previous plagues is any guide it will be a struggle. One consequence appears to be almost inevitable: a vigorous debate over how we do public health management better without damaging Canadas long history of tight controls on personal privacy. Canadians have always had a deeper commitment to the sanctity of personal data privacy especially where commercial use is involved than many other nations. However, some greater freedoms for the state and maybe even the private sector to collect and employ more personal private health data seems more likely now. Israel is using GPS tracking, cellphones and even surveillance drones today. France has said that it will begin using cellphone location tracking in the upcoming contact tracing challenge. Nearly 4 out of 5 South Koreans have told pollsters they would support such measures. Apple and Google are co-operating on changes to their operating systems to make such tracing automatic. In Apples case it has said it would never sell or grant access to that data without specific individual permission. China is on another planet where privacy is concerned. As we have learned in this awful battle we are going to be waging for many more months to come, early containment is far more effective than subsequent efforts to mitigate spread. And mitigation physical distancing, hand washing, masks is only as effective as testing and contact tracing can make it. The arithmetic is horrific. If a victim can remain asymptomatic for five days, and therefore unknown and untested as a risk, they are likely to infect three to five other people in that brief period. The explosion of infection that one person can launch can mean several hundred new victims by weeks end. This week it emerged that there were probably thousands of unknown COVID-19 cases in New York state in February! We face excruciating trade-offs: health vs. economy. The hardest one is yet to come: ease lockdown with invasive contact tracing vs. more weeks of lockdown. Even here experts disagree. Some say you need a combination of cellphone tracing, apps that can read an infected person message from a nearby cellphone, and GPS tracking devices on ankle or wrist for the infected. Others say that is way too far in privacy invasion. Traditionalists say we can contact trace with an army of volunteers making hundreds of phone calls to people the infected person remembers being near. Sadly, I would not trust my memory from two weeks ago, and anyway how do you find the old woman with the funny hat that I remember I got too close in the liquor store? Come hot summer days, after months of forced isolation, the lockdown observance will start to decline with or without permission. Even with a carefully phased and monitored easing the level of infection is likely to rise again. The only firewall is finding and treating the next waves victims a lot earlier and more effectively. It is hard to imagine that can happen without intensive testing and sharing of personal health data. Three principles, among many, that Canadian privacy gurus like Dr. Chantal Bernier insist on are: demonstrate that there is no less invasive data collection method possible, ensure that the data collected with an individuals grant of permission cannot be reused, ensure that the anonymized data self-destructs within 24-48 hours, unless legal permission is granted to hold longer. The ramifications in this highly sensitive domain for employers, public servants, families, and health researchers are too many to list. One overarching guideline must be transparency. Managing data privacy secretively will only generate resistance and severely damage the reputations of those who attempt to play it that way. The government had been planning a massive overhaul of Canadian privacy laws in this parliamentary session. Even when the House returns to something more like normal, they might be wise to consider starting the consultation process over again. Perhaps the best guarantee of public trust remains Hippocrates, Do no harm. Robin V. Sears is a principal at Earnscliffe Strategy Group and was an NDP strategist for 20 years. He is a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: is a principal at Earnscliffe Strategy Group and was an NDP strategist for 20 years. He is a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @robinvsears Two days after US President Donald Trump sparked a huge furore by suggesting that coronavirus COVID-19 patients might be injected with disinfectant, the president on Saturday (April 25) tweeted that his daily coronavirus briefings with the media were not worth his time and effort. "What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately," Trump wrote. "They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!," he added. President Trump left everyone surprised on Thursday by saying during his media briefing that doctors might treat people infected with the coronavirus by shining ultraviolet light inside their bodies, or with injecting them with household disinfectant. "Then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks (the virus) out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs," he said. After facing strong criticism from medical experts and disinfectant manufacturers, Trump on Friday defended himself saying he had been speaking "sarcastically." But he limited that day's press meet to just 19 minutes and did not take any questions from reporters. And on Saturday President Trump did not attend the press briefing which is surprising because he has been attending media briefings for nearly two months. Mickey Rowe and Helen Marion. An Asian woman with bangs and a loose pony tail smiles while in the arms of a man with light brown hair who is looking down. By Mickey Rowe and Helen Marion Ive been looking forward to April 2020. The sun is shining here in Seattle, and my four kids have been chomping at the bit to run wild in the sunshine after another rainy winter. My beautiful fiancee farewells her 20s and turns 30 this month. Im finally home after being away from my family off and on since January, first directing at the Tony Award-winning La Jolla Playhouse in California, then rehearsing and performing the title role in Amadeus at Syracuse Stage in New York. April is also Autism Awareness Month, and this year is the 30th anniversary of the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). April 2020 should be one the most peaceful and pleasant times of life for me: a fiance, father and theatre professional who is legally blind and autistic. But April 2020 sees the globe locked in the deathgrip of COVID-19. We see a medical system buckling under the weight of skyrocketing cases of a terrifying new illness. Medical facilities are experiencing dire shortages of personal protective equipment for their staff members, and therefore we are heartbreakingly seeing healthcare providers contracting and dying from the virus. Medical facilities are also experiencing dire shortages of the medical equipment they need to care for patients stricken by COVID-19, such as ventilators. In this current situation where theres not enough necessary medical equipment, and with increasing numbers of HCPs contracting the virus, difficult decisions are having to be made as to how the limited available medical care is going to be rationed and allocated. Related: Doctors Report People in Their 30s and 40s With COVID-19 Are Having Strokes An increasing number of states and medical facilities are creating triage plans that recommend who should and should not be allocated lifesaving care. People with intellectual disabilities are discovering with horror that they are at the bottom of the list. I am relieved to know that my nondisabled fiancee and three of our children are deemed worthy of lifesaving care. I am simultaneously bearing the crushing weight of finding myself at the bottom of my states list, alongside my autistic 4-year-old. In this age of COVID, if push comes to shove, he may not be allowed to live long enough to achieve his dream of growing up to run his very own robot factory, simply due to his ASD diagnosis. Story continues Decisions as to who is and who is not worthy of medical care are being made in light of the CDC declaring that people with disabilities are at higher risk for experiencing severe illness due to COVID-19. Decisions are also being made in light of the concept of Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs), a concept and supposed equation discussed by the World Health Organization and others to determine how much less disabled peoples lives are worth than their non-disabled friends, neighbors, and family members. In their 2016 paper on Guidance for Managing Ethical Issues in Infectious Disease Outbreaks, the World Health Organization states: In general, the focus should be on the health-related benefits of allocation mechanisms, whether defined in terms of the total number of lives saved, the total number of life-years saved, or the total number of quality-adjusted life-years saved. Related: What an Anxiety Therapist Wants You to Know About Emerging Into the World After COVID-19 Ari Neeman is a disability rights advocate, an expert on QALYs, a fellow autistic person and a personal friend of mine. He described to the National Council on Disability what QALYs are and what they do, and it was published in their 2019 report delivered to the President. The QALY works by weighting the lives of people with disabilities: If we were to assign autism a disability weight of 0.2, that [number] would mean that a year in the life of an autistic person would be worth 80 percent of a nondisabled persons life. Different disabilities would get a different number, if you assigned 0.5 to a mobility impairment, then a year in that persons life would equal 50 percent of a nondisabled life year. As a legally blind autistic man, father, and professional, I am here to say that my life provides just as much value to the world as yours does. My autism does not affect my respiratory health or immune system, but on this, the 30th anniversary of the ADA, Quality-Adjusted Life Years legally values me as less of a person just as black Americans used to be valued as 3/5 of a person. Related: How the COVID-19 Crisis Creates Space to Embrace Our Vulnerability While most non-disabled scholars and medical professionals acknowledge the ethical shadiness of QALYs, they claim to have found a simple mathematical solution. As two such experts, Luis Prieto and Jose A Sacristan state, QALYs have been criticized on technical and ethical grounds [] Mathematically, the solution to these limitations happens through an alternative calculation of QALYs by means of operations with complex numbers rooted in the well known Pythagorean theorem. Did you catch that? The Pythagorean theorem People love to infantilize me. Even though I am 31, people treat me as though I am 14 in most workplace settings. Now it all makes sense, they were using the Pythagorean theorem to calculate my disability-adjusted life years, much like one would calculate their fur-kids dog years. I see now. Disability Gain is a concept borrowed from the d/Deaf and hard of hearing community. Disability gain refers to the good that comes from a persons disability; how it has positively affected their personality, world view, creative problem solving, tenacity, and more. What theorem or mathematical equation has the CDC created to take into account disability gain? What theorem has the World Health Organization created to take into account the way my four children love me or the way I love them? How many quality-adjusted life-year points does each kiss my children give me a day count for? Stop using a disability label to devalue peoples lives into dog years. Thirty years ago with the passage of the ADA, we fought to make this kind of identity-based discrimination illegal. Why is it back? People with developmental disabilities are the most likely of any group to be murdered by their parents and caregivers. Though this rarely makes the news, one such instance did earlier this year when NYPD officer Michael Valva and his fiancee Angela Pollina murdered their autistic 8-year-old. According to the Ruderman Family Foundation in a report that documented more than 200 deaths from 2011 to 2015, at least one disabled person is killed per week by their parent or caregiver. With my and many states Stay Home and Shelter In Place orders, people with autism like myself are more susceptible than ever to this parental abuse. If autistic people are not safe at home, shouldnt we at least be safe in the hospital? We need to stop devaluing autistic people like myself. But apparently, our lives are worth so much less than our non-disabled parents and colleagues, with dog-year-style equations codifying how much less valuable than a non-autistic person our lives are. People are often surprised when they find out my beautiful, non-disabled fiancee is not my caregiver, though we do both help each other in many ways. I may be legally blind but I still know that I am married to the most beautiful woman on earth. How does the World Health Organization equate for the algebraic unknown that is my fiancee and our love? Or the satisfaction we both get from our incredible romantic life? Yes, disabled people like myself are sexy. Im not afraid to say it. And many likely have a better and more fulfilling sex life than you. My life is worth living. I may be autistic and legally blind, but I am also engaged. I have four kids in my beautiful blended family two biologically mine and two biologically my fiancees. We are a Brady Bunch for the 21st century a disabled man and an immigrant woman of color. The love I share with my kids and my family is not less because I am disabled. I may be autistic and legally blind, but I contribute to society (however one could imagine they are god-like enough to quantify that). I have had a prolific and varied career as an actor, a director and public speaker. I was the epicenter of significant publicity when I became the first openly autistic actor to play Christopher Boone, the lead role in the Tony Award-winning play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. This also made me the first autistic actor to ever play any autistic character in a professional performance setting. Yes, my life is as full and worth living as your own. My tenacious pursuit of my goals and belief that our differences and perceived weaknesses are actually our strengths has allowed me to live my dream! I dont want this to end simply because my life is not worth living in your eyes. I may be autistic and legally blind, but as a fiance and a father I have worked hard learning how to effectively communicate in the face of differences through all types of relationships, professional and romantic. And now I get to give back, teaching best practices and changing the industries in which I work. I have gotten to speak at organizations including the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Yale School of Drama, The Gershwin Theatre on Broadway, the DAC of the South Korean government, and more. My life is not only worth living for myself but I have also used my life to make the world a better place for others, and would like to continue doing so. I founded the National Disability Theatre, which works in partnership with Tony Award-winning companies such as La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego and the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, to employ people with disabilities and show that we are not charity cases but fierce problem-solving professionals. And I am not the only one. I am the rule, not the exception. My good friend Haben Girma, who also works at APB Speakers, is Deafblind and graduated from Harvard Law. Zack Gottsagen, who has Down syndrome, appeared on the Oscars for his rigorous work. Think how much more my disabled friends would achieve if our lives were valued and invested in by society. Disability is the only minority group that is truly equal opportunity. Anyone can join our club at any time regardless of age, race, gender, or sexual identity. And should you be lucky enough to live long enough, you too will join our prestigious club. According to Market Watch, 85 percent of college graduates on the autism spectrum are unemployed. Im going to repeat that again, 85 percent of college graduates on the autism spectrum are unemployed! This isnt because we are less capable, but largely because of social stigma and the expectations others have before ever even meeting us. Yes, we can graduate from college, but who would value us enough to pay us? Autistic people are hard-working employees who tend to think outside the box. Though Im currently underemployed due to COVID-19 restrictions, I am a proven leader, having taken only two years to turn National Disability Theatre from an idea I tossed out into a Facebook group for disabled theatre-makers into being partnered with organizations like La Jolla Playhouse, the Goodman Theatre and the Lincoln Center. I pitched and ultimately secured us funding from major donors such as the Ford Foundation and the Ruderman Family Foundation. This was by no means a simple task. I went to New York to have several one on one meetings and dinners with Lane Harwell, the head of Arts and Culture at the Ford Foundation. The Ford Foundation called on us to be better about representation so we responded with a hearty Yes, and After seeing my most recent show and learning of the associated diversity statistics, the Ford Foundation responded by more than quintupling our funding. I believe this to be a credit to my ability to effectively communicate a companys unique mission, and to forge relationships with major donors. I was able to rally interest in and financial support for a brand new company of my own creation. Unfortunately, employers never learn this about me when they are scared to have an autistic person to an in-person interview. When society learns to accept and value autistic lives, they will learn so much more about our worth. I believe the unemployment rate is so high for people on the autism spectrum because people do not think our lives are worth living or investing in. Those people are wrong. Yes, triage is essential, especially in the age of COVID-19. But using a disability status alone to value someones life as less worthy of a ventilator is not only immoral and unethical, but illegal (per the Americans With Disabilities Act [ADA], Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act [Section 504] and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act [ACA). And there are other options. As the National Council on Disability states: The lives of people with disabilities are equally valuable to those without disabilities, and healthcare decisions based on devaluing the lives of people with disabilities are discriminatory. [] There are alternatives to the use of QALYs [] such as value frameworks that use patient preferences to determine the value of healthcare treatments. [] Some stakeholders, but especially bioethicists and people with disabilities, have argued that QALYs are built on a faulty premise: that life with a disability is inherently worse than life without a disability. (7) And to those of you reading this who are on the autism spectrum; my one out of 54 who spent autism awareness month being told that your life is not as worth living as your neighbors and family members, who should calculate the dog years of their worth. What I ask of all of you today is: be brave, jump in headfirst even when you arent sure, and be brave enough to advocate for yourself when you need something. When it is scary. When you know you deserve equity even when the world tells you that you dont. Will you fail? Of course! Sometimes! But will it be worth it? Yes. If I hadnt been brave and taken leaps I was afraid to take, I would have never gotten to be on stage in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, to speak at Lincoln Center, to star in Amadeus, to start National Disability Theatre, or be marrying the woman of my dreams. So please be brave, ask for what you need, and trust that sometimes if you take a leap, the net will appear for you. Go be incredible, ignore those who say that your life is not as worthy of love and support, and more than anything, be you! I hope as our allies learn to value our lives we can move from Autism Awareness Month and towards Autism Acceptance Month. I hope we can move towards accepting autistic people as they are, accepting autistic people as valuable and accepting autistic people as equally worth investing in, not just in spite of but also because of their unique worldview and brain wiring. Our differences are our strengths. For more on the coronavirus, check out the following stories from our community: Read more stories like this on The Mighty: To Those Who Want to Open the Economy Because 'There Are More Important Things Than Living' What to Do If You Can't Afford Your Medications During COVID-19 Why I'm Hopeful Even Though My Mom Is on a Ventilator With COVID-19 'Every strongman leader is faced with the same opportunity: Harness the increased societal panic to amass more power,' warns Mihir S Sharma. IMAGE: Leaders of the BRICS nations: From left, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 2019. The pandemic, its economic consequences, and the nature of the response it imposes upon us will upend societies and politics across the world. That much is certain; but how they will shift are, as yet, not clear. Or it is better to say it is uncertain: The changes, and whether they are for the better or worse, depends crucially on whether we are aware of the dangers. Crises bring change. After 9/11, much of the world shifted into an open-ended 'global war on terror'; imbalances in the geo-economic system were allowed to persist because they were ignored as a result; and civil liberties were restricted everywhere. After the financial crisis of 2008, governments and central banks became more activist; anti-elitism and disdain for expertise and economics became rife; and the People's Republic of China was emboldened to challenge the liberal order. This crisis is not like those before: There is no obvious villain, whether jihadist terrorists or financiers; and few alive have lived through the last pandemic. Even the 1918 influenza epidemic, with which the strain of flu that originated in Wuhan can be compared in terms of its effect, came at the end of what was at that point the most devastating war in history: The dislocations, anger and decadence of the 1920s was thus assigned to the war that killed 20 million, and not the pandemic that probably killed twice as many. We have no firm anchor for predictions. Even so, there are some things that often happen in such crises -- and indeed, are already underway. The first is what political scientists call the 'rally round the flag' effect: At moments of crisis, especially if it is seen as being a crisis from abroad, support rises for the domestic leadership. IMAGE: French President Emmanuel Macron visits the Crisis and Support Centre at the French foreign ministry at the Quai D'Orsay in Paris. Photograph: Francois Mori/Pool/Reuters Across the world, approval ratings for very different leaders have shot up. More than 50 per cent of French respondents, by one survey, approve of the embattled liberal Emmanuel Macron. His populist counterparts have seen similar bumps -- even Donald J Trump has seen an upswing in his approval rating. While this is not an uncommon effect, it interacts with the remainders of past crises extremely dangerously. The presence of the populists who spread across the world since 2008, and the opportunity to weaken civil liberties that has been infecting the air since 9/11, could both combine with the fears birthed by this pandemic in very unpleasant ways. Every strongman leader, every populist, every nascent authoritarian and majoritarian autocrat is faced with the same opportunity: Harness the increased societal panic to amass more power. Photograph: Alberto Lingria/Reuters Already, Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines has declared a state of emergency as has Prayut Chan-o-cha of Thailand; Viktor Orban of Hungary has sought to extend one, subject to his discretion alone. Orban tried to blame the coronavirus in Hungary on Iranian students; Matteo Salvini of Italy blamed it on migrants crossing from North Africa; Donald Trump tweeted about how it reveals how we need borders (and also, presumably, beautiful walls). Nor should we think of this in terms of merely uplifting a particular strain of leader. When panicked, citizens agree to restrictions or intrusions they imagine may be temporary but wind up being permanent. After 9/11, for example, wiretapping has become far too easy. But the institutional threats to privacy and personal liberty following a pandemic can be as severe. It is good for a government to be able to trace your movements during a public health crisis -- but what if the structures put into place now are misused for other purposes later? What if the fear of viruses and infections becomes the excuse for permanent controls on those who travel, or even for more arbitrary decisions about access to public spaces? IMAGE: United States President Donald J Trump, left, and Dr Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the White House. Photograph: Joshua Roberts/Reuters And then there's surveillance and privacy. Writing in the Financial Times, Yuval Noah Hariri warned of how the pandemic might be a turning point for the Surveillance State: 'Not only because it might normalise the deployment of mass surveillance tools in countries that have so far rejected them, but even more so because it signifies a dramatic transition from "over the skin" to "under the skin" surveillance.' The consequences for social control are dismaying: 'The same technology that identifies coughs could also identify laughs.' 'If corporations and governments start harvesting our biometric data en masse, they can get to know us far better than we know ourselves, and they can then not just predict our feelings but also manipulate our feelings and sell us anything they want -- be it a product or a politician.' The pandemic itself is an unprecedented danger. If we are not sensible, we will end up paying for our mistakes, literally and metaphorically, for a generation. If we are not cautious, we will end up giving away hard-won rights. And if we are not wise, we will elevate and trust those very leaders who have delayed and bungled the response. Phil Robertson, flanked by his sons Jase Robertson, left, and Willie Robertson from the popular series "Duck Dynasty." (AP Photo/A&E, Zach Dilgard) Drive-By Shooters Fire Into Duck Dynasty Star Willie Robertsons Home Duck Dynasty star Willie Robertson said drive-by shooters opened fire at his home in West Monroe, Louisiana. One of the shots went through the window of the home where John Luke Robertson lives with his wife, Mary Kate McEachern, and their baby, he told USA Today. We were pretty shook up, Robertson told the newspaper on Sunday. It looks like they were just spraying bullets across my property. Between eight and 10 shots were fired into his estate, he said. No arrests have been made. Several witnesses saw a truck in which the suspects were riding pass by his property before shots were fired, he said. It was broad daylight, Robertson said, adding that the gunfire erupted on April 24 at around 2:30 p.m. The Duck Dynasty star added to USA Today that he suspects the assailants knew that they were shooting at his property. Im 100% certain, but I dont know why, he said. Korie Robertson, Sadie Robertson, and Willie Robertson attend an Evening By Sherri Hill fashion show after party during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2014 at The Plaza Hotel in New York City on Sept. 9, 2013. (Henry S. Dziekan III/Getty Images) A number of his family members are staying at his property during the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus crisis, he added. Nobody was outside at the time, but everybody had been out about 5 minutes before, Robertson said. I had just gone to the store when it happened. The local sheriffs office is investigating the matter, according to the paper. Ive been in close contact with the investigators, Robertson said. It seems local to me, but I cant be sure. The truck in question is described white and brown Ford F-250 pickup truck with large aftermarket tires and rims, according to TMZ. The driver is described as a white male in his 20s. , We're sorry, this article is not currently available Does China have a case to answer on the Covid-19 pandemic? At the time of writing the outbreak has claimed over 2,02,400 lives. What are the bare facts as they stand? The first case was reported in Wuhan on November 17, 2019. China reported this hitherto-unnamed disease that was causing fatalities to the World Health Organisation on December 31, 2019. At that point in time the number of confirmed cases stood at 266. In one day by January 1, 2020, it had jumped to 381. The first question is, where did the virus originate? There is no clear evidence but two theories. Some scientists believe the virus originated in bats before being passed to humans through an intermediary species possibly the endangered pangolin, whose scales are illegally trafficked in China for traditional medicine. These exotic animals are sold in the wet markets of China. The facility that came under the scanner is called the Hunan Sea food wholesale market in Wuhan where ostensibly the rites of passage from the bat or the pangolin to the human happened. However, a study by a group of Chinese scientists published in the Lancet in January 2020 revealed that the first Covid-19 patient had no connection to Wuhans wet animal market, and neither did 13 of the first 41 confirmed cases. There is another facility in Wuhan that is also on the radar of the international scientific community. That establishment is known as the Wuhan Institute of Virology. It is Chinas first laboratory with a Biosafety level 4 status. This is the highest level of biosafety designed for work with the deadly and easily transmittable class of pathogens known as Pathogen level-4. This institute was established in 2003 when the SARS Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus broke out in China. Its mandate is research, prevention and control of newly discovered diseases in China. It is also a virus seed storage centre and WHO reference laboratory. Its remit includes improving defence and resilience towards biological wars/terrorist attacks and maintaining national biosecurity. Mark the words biological wars. There is a considerable body of scientific opinion that believes that SARS-COV-2 actually escaped from the Wuhan institute of Virology by default because of lax safety protocols where it was being either studied or genetically engineered as a bio-weapon. In either case, should China not give full access to scientists, investigators and the international media to the Wuhan wet markets, Institute of Virology and the city of Wuhan in general to try and establish the origin of the virus rather than stonewalling an enquiry? For it is in Chinas interest also to disabuse the world about the bio-weapon hypothesis through an impartial probe. The second question is, did the Chinese government misinform, underplay or deliberately withhold critical information with regard to the emerging situation in Wuhan from the World Health Organisation that could have resulted in many lives getting saved around the world? A number of Chinese doctors who had raised the initial alarm about the gravity of the new illness including Ai Fen and Li Wenliang; the latter had sent out a warning over the WeChat messaging app advising fellow med school grads to wear protective clothing to avoid infection after several patients from a local seafood market exhibited symptoms similar to SARS have either disappeared or died in mysterious circumstances. Do the disappearance and deaths of these and other whistleblower doctors not deserve to be probed through an international investigation? The third question is, was a cover-up by the Chinese responsible for the bizarre behavior displayed by WHO in the early days of the crisis? As late as the 9th and 11th of January 2020, WHO put out bizarre tweets either downplaying the situation or trying to undercut global travel advisories that were anticipated. On January 9, 2020, the official WHO Twitter handle had this to say at 11.58 pm: Novel coronavirus emerges periodically as we have seen. SARS emerged in 2002 and MERS emerged in 2012. Several known coronaviruses are currently circulating in animals that have not impacted humans. On January 11, 2020, they followed it up with a travel advisory as follows: WHO does not recommend any specific health measures for travellers to and from Wuhan China. It is generally considered that entry screening offers little benefit, while requiring considerable resources. Even entry screening of passengers from Wuhan or China were discouraged. Is it that WHO was misled by the Chinese or was its leadership helmed by the rather colourful Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arm-twisted not to inform the world about the true facts so that the Chinese could shirk responsibility at best and cover up at worst about the origin, nature and scale of the pandemic? Finally, why did China misuse their rotating presidency for the month of March of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to scuttle a discussion on Covid-19 requested by Estonia calling for full transparency about the outbreak. This subversion by the China on specious technical grounds was brazenly executed at a point in time when death toll mounted globally and country after country across the globe was forced to lock down? The UNSC finally met for the first time to discuss Covid-19 pandemic on April 9, 2020, only after the Dominican Republic took over the rotating presidency. That is why all these issues and a lot more have spurred calls for an international investigation into the role of China, WHO and other entities into the Covid-19 catastrophe. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has a remit to investigate and prosecute crimes against humanity even against non-state parties. It has jurisdiction under the jurisprudential principles of proprio moto. Crimes against humanity are defined as serious violations committed as part of a large-scale attack on any civilian population. The facts as they prima-facie stand so far do warrant such an enquiry under the Rome Statute, for today all of humanity is under attack. The Internal Revenue Service just gave an update on the Economic Impact Payments, more commonly referred to as "stimulus checks." Through April 17, the Treasury and IRS have issued 88.1 million payments totaling $158 billion, which means that roughly 59% of the 150 million eligible households have received their money. That's an impressive statistic considering the payments started to arrive in bank accounts just a few days before. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin originally said that taxpayers who have their direct deposit information on file could expect to receive payments by April 16, and while experts had doubts the federal government could achieve such an aggressive goal, it appears the program is getting money into Americans' hands as quickly as promised, if not faster. However, this still leaves about 62 million households that have not received their Economic Impact Payment yet. If you're still waiting for your money, here's what you need to know. Are you eligible? If you have not received a stimulus payment yet, the first thing you should do is to make sure you're eligible. For starters, the payments are limited by your adjusted gross income (AGI) on your 2019 tax return. If you haven't filed your 2019 return yet, the IRS will look at your 2018 return: Filing Status Full Stimulus Payment Partial Stimulus Payment No Stimulus Payment Single or married filing separately $0-$75,000 $75,001-$99,000 $99,001 or higher Head of household $0-$112,500 $112,501-$136,500 $136,501 or higher Married filing jointly $0-$150,000 $150,001-$198,000 $198,001 or higher Eligible individuals can receive $1,200 per adult and $500 per qualifying child. People who fall in the "partial stimulus payment" column will receive a prorated amount based on where their AGI falls in the range. In addition to the income limitations, if you can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's return, you are not eligible, regardless of your income. You're also not eligible if you don't have a valid Social Security number, are a nonresident alien, or if you filed Form 1040-NR, 1040NR-EZ, 1040-PR, or 1040-SS in 2019. Direct deposit is the fastest way to get your payment The first wave of payments went out to Americans who provided their direct deposit information on their 2018 or 2019 tax return. And the IRS advises that people who receive their Social Security payments or Veterans Benefits deposited to their bank account will also receive a payment automatically, even if they aren't typically required to file a tax return. If the IRS doesn't already have your bank information, you can still get your money direct deposited. And there are two ways to do this -- the right one to use depends on your situation. If you typically are not required to file tax returns, you can use the IRS's Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info portal to register your bank information with the IRS. If you filed a 2018 or 2019 tax return (or both) but your returns didn't include your bank information for whatever reason, use the Get My Payment It's also worth noting that the IRS updates the Get My Payment tool's database daily, and it appears that major updates are taking place this week. Many people who are eligible for a payment have been receiving "Payment Status Not Available" messages since the tool was launched, but it's important to keep checking back daily. To be fair, getting every U.S. taxpayer into the database is a massive undertaking, and the IRS is making excellent time. When will paper checks arrive? The short answer is that paper checks are already starting to be mailed, but it could take a while to get yours. Once the IRS has scheduled your payment, you're unable to enter your direct deposit information, so you'll be stuck waiting on your check to arrive. You can use the Get My Payment tool (linked earlier) to check the status of your payment and see if a check has been scheduled. Here's the general idea. The IRS started mailing paper checks the week ending April 24 but is starting with the lowest-income recipients. Specifically, the first week of paper checks went to individuals with AGI of $10,000 or less. Each week, recipients with up to $10,000 in additional AGI will have their checks mailed -- for example, households with AGI ranging from $10,001 to $20,000 would have their checks mailed the week ending May 1, and so on. If you're in one of the higher income brackets, it could take until August or September before the IRS gets around to mailing yours. Although it's been a few weeks since the distribution plan was reported by The Washington Post, the original timetable has been fairly accurate thus far, as mentioned earlier. So, it's reasonable to expect the IRS to stick to this schedule unless something changes. Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu The PUNCH reports that the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu on Saturday, had his sample and those of his close aides taken by officials of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, to test for COVID-19, as a precautionary measure. Samples were also taken from the remains of his late Chief Security Officer, Alhaji Lateef Raheem, by NCDC officials to test for the virus. Raheem, who died of complications arising from diabetes and high blood pressure in Lagos, on Friday, was buried the same day in accordance with Muslim burial rites. TheCable had earlier reported that samples were from Tinubu and his personal aides and that the results were being expected on Monday. When contacted by one of our correspondents, Tinubus Media Adviser, Tunde Rahman, confirmed the development. Rahman said the action was however not an indication that the late CSO died from COVID-19 related sickness. He told Sunday PUNCH, It was just a precaution; just to be on the safer side. It has not been established whatsoever that our Chief Security Officer, Alhaji Lateef Raheem, died from COVID-19. He was battling against diabetes and high blood pressure. We think he may have died from complications arising from this medical condition. But we are not the experts in this aspect. Thankfully, before he was buried, samples were taken from his body for COVID-19 test. We are still awaiting the results. And as a precaution all of us have taken the tests and we are awaiting the results as well. This is the way it should be. No one should take chances with this pandemic. Coronavirus is real. And it is not a death sentence. Earlier on Saturday, Tinubu in a tribute to his late Chief Security Officer, titled: Lateef Raheem-My Extraordinary Aide, described the late CSO as a good and decent man. He said, A good and decent man has gone. My Chief Security Officer, Alhaji Lateef Raheem, has passed and his death cuts severely. Lateef reported for work on Monday. Feeling a bit under the weather, he went home to rest. We spoke on Wednesday on the phone. He was in fine spirits and was looking forward to resuming work. He also said his late chief security officer, who he said went beyond the call of duty to carry out his assignment, never took selfish advantage of his position and ensured he was forthright and honest to a fault. Tinubu said the late policeman, whom he first met when he was posted to him as a security detail for the 1999 Lagos State governorship election, remained with him until his death. Describing how close he was to the deceased, Tinubu said, As head of my security, Lateef had a permanent seat in my vehicle. Whenever I saw him there, I felt assured and relaxed. In the race to develop a vaccine to end the COVID-19 pandemic, governments, charities and Big Pharma firms are sinking billions of dollars into bets with extraordinarily low odds of success. Theyre fast-tracking the testing and regulatory review of vaccines with no guarantee they will prove effective. Theyre building and re-tooling plants for vaccines with slim chances of being approved. Theyre placing orders for vaccines that, in the end, are unlikely to be produced. Its the new pandemic paradigm, focused on speed and fraught with risks. The crisis in the world is so big that each of us will have to take maximum risk now to put this disease to a stop," said Paul Stoffels, chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson, which has partnered with the US government on a $1 billion investment to speed development and production of its still-unproven vaccine. If it fails, Stoffels told Reuters, it will be bad. Historically, just 6% of vaccine candidates end up making it to market, often after a years-long process that doesnt draw big investments until testing shows a product is likely to work. But the traditional rules of drug and vaccine development are being tossed aside in the face of a virus that has infected 2.7 million people, killed more than 192,000 and devastated the global economy. With COVID-19, the goal is to have a vaccine identified, tested and available on a scale of hundreds of millions of doses in just 12 to 18 months. Drug companies and the governments and investors that finance them are boosting their at-risk spending in unprecedented ways. The overriding consensus among more than 30 drug company executives, government health officials and pandemic-response experts interviewed by Reuters is that the risks are necessary to ensure not only that a vaccine for the new coronavirus is developed quickly, but that it is ready to distribute as soon as its approved. Investments from governments, global health groups and philanthropies have been aimed primarily at the most promising of the more than 100 vaccine candidates in development worldwide. But only a handful of those have advanced to human trials, the real indicator of safety and efficacy - and the stage where most vaccines wash out. Even among the more encouraging prospects, very few are likely to succeed. Its possible more than one will work; its possible none will. For companies in the race, there are some likely benefits: It's a proving ground for vaccine technologies and a chance to burnish reputations and boost shares. While some large companies, including Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline Plc, have said they plan to make the vaccine available at cost - at least at first - they may reap profits down the road if seasonal vaccination is needed and countries invest in stockpiles. But finding a vaccine that works does little good without the ability to produce and distribute it. That means building manufacturing plants now. "We want to make investments up front, at risk, even before we know the vaccines work, to be able to (immediately) manufacture them at a scale of tens or hundreds of millions of doses, said Richard Hatchett, a physician who managed US pandemic flu policy under former President George W. Bush and returned to advise the Obama White House during the 2009 swine flu pandemic. Hatchett now heads the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a vaccine-development consortium supported by private donors as well as the United Kingdom, Canada, Belgium, Norway, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. The organization has raised more than $915 million of the $2 billion it anticipates spending to accelerate testing and build specialized production plants for at least three coronavirus vaccine candidates. In the United States, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a federal agency that funds disease-fighting technology, has announced investments of nearly $1 billion to support coronavirus vaccine development and the scale-up of manufacturing for promising candidates. One underlying fear, shared by everyone Reuters interviewed, is that even if a vaccine does prove effective, there wont be enough to go around. Having reserves ready worldwide to immediately inoculate critical populations - health care workers, the elderly, people made vulnerable by medical conditions - would stamp out the pandemic faster and reignite economies, Hatchett said. The alternative, he said, is a replay of past pandemics, including the H1N1 influenza outbreak of 2009, with wealthy countries hoarding the vaccines. If that happens, pandemic experts warn, infection hot spots will continue to pop up, each with the potential to create a new wave of illness. FULL SPEED AHEAD The scale of the coronavirus vaccine race has no historical parallels. CEPI has identified at least 115 ongoing vaccine initiatives worldwide. And the race is shattering norms of speed and safety in drug and vaccine development. Some developers are running safety and efficacy trials in tandem, instead of sequentially, as is typical, and short-cutting traditional testing protocols. Others are working with regulators in multiple countries simultaneously, looking for the quickest path to market. The resulting uncertainty makes it especially risky to invest in manufacturing facilities for a given candidate, since different types of vaccines can require very distinct production lines. Many of the candidates attracting the most investment rely on proven vaccine approaches being adapted by Big Pharma companies with regulatory and production acumen. Some funders are gambling on smaller biotech companies and academic labs, which may have promising technologies but little to no experience getting a drug or vaccine approved and produced at scale. BARDA, the US R&D agency, is one of the biggest vaccine funders, with some $5 billion to spend. The agency plans to invest in five vaccine candidates, focusing mostly on projects from experienced drug makers. "Each is coming with a lot of prior experience, said Rick Bright, who until this month was BARDAs director. They all know how to scale up." In one of its biggest bets, BARDA is pouring nearly $500 million into a J&J effort. J&Js coronavirus vaccine candidate uses a cold virus, rendered harmless, to deliver genes derived from the spiky, crown-shaped proteins on the surface of the new coronavirus, prompting an immune response. J&J is using the same technology to develop vaccines for other viruses, including Ebola. While none has completed testing and won full US approval, trials so far in tens of thousands of people have produced data showing the basic approach is safe, which could speed regulatory approval for the new coronavirus vaccine. But its far from a sure bet: Animal test data, due this summer, will give the first hint of the vaccine's effectiveness and human trials will begin in September. By end of the year, well know whether it protects humans, said Stoffels, J&Js chief science officer. In China, CanSino Biologics Inc has vaccine technology similar to the one being used by J&J. CanSino is further along with its testing, having announced this month that its candidate had cleared initial safety trials in humans and was set to advance to the next stage. Sanofi SA, the worlds largest vaccine maker, has attracted BARDA money for another proven approach, based on its approved Flublok flu shot. Sanofi uses insect cells instead of the traditional chicken eggs to grow the genetically altered virus proteins used to spur an immune response. Not all the vaccine projects getting attention have a Big Pharma pedigree. Moderna Inc, a biotech firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was the first in the United States to begin human trials when it began testing its vaccine last month. Working with the US National Institutes of Health, the company received seed money from CEPI, and this month, BARDA kicked in $483 million to support the vaccines development and help scale up manufacturing. That includes hiring 150 skilled workers to eventually produce vaccine around the clock. Modernas vaccine uses genetic material called messenger RNA (mRNA) to instruct cells in the body to make specific coronavirus proteins that then produce an immune response. No mRNA vaccine has ever been approved for public use, but the technology is drawing interest, in part because it makes a vaccine easier to design and produce in vast quantities. The end game is millions of doses," Tal Zaks, Moderna's chief medical officer, told Reuters. The company hopes to have an approved vaccine available as early as March 2021, and possibly before then for healthcare workers. German vaccine makers CureVac and BioNTech SE, which is partnering with Pfizer Inc, are preparing to begin trials with similar mRNA-based vaccine candidates. So is Lexington, Massachusetts-based Translate Bio Inc, which is working with Sanofi. EXTRAORDINARY SHORTCUTS Even for vaccine hopefuls already in human tests, it will be months before theres conclusive evidence on safety and effectiveness - something funders are keenly aware of. The rush has prompted scientists to consider previously unthinkable shortcuts. Normally, vaccines would need to undergo clinical trials involving thousands of people before widespread inoculation is allowed. But after testing a prospective vaccine in a smaller group to ensure it is not toxic, Swiss researchers seek to immunize a lot of the Swiss population in the next six months and then produce for a world market, Dr Martin Bachmann, head of immunology at Inselspital, the University Hospital of Bern, said this week. A spokesman for Swissmedic, the countrys drug regulator, said it was in contact with Bachmann's group and would not allow trials until the agency is assured that safety risks are addressed. The Swiss vaccine employs virus-like particles to provoke an immune response, an approach that theoretically is considered safer because it does not directly expose people to the actual coronavirus. So far, it has only been tested in mice. Dr. Gregory Poland, a vaccine researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is among those worried about the risks of injecting a large group of people with a vaccine that has only been through minimal testing in humans. "I dont see how this is possible, he told Reuters, referring to Inselspitals plan. LESSONS UNLEARNED? The war on COVID-19 is haunted by lessons from the fight against another virus a decade ago. In the spring of 2009, the H1N1 swine flu virus emerged in the United States and Mexico and spread worldwide. Within weeks, the World Health Organization(WHO) declared it the first pandemic since 1968. Wealthier governments that had provisional contracts with vaccine makers immediately exercised them, effectively monopolizing the global vaccine supply," according to Hatchett and numerous official reports. The US alone ordered 250 million doses, and Australia, Brazil, France, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and Britain all had vaccine. Under pressure from the WHO, those countries ultimately committed to share 10% of their stockpiles with poorer nations. But due to production and distribution snarls, only about 77 million doses were shipped far less than needed and only after the disease had peaked in many regions. If an effective vaccine emerges for the new coronavirus, a replay is possible, experts in pandemic preparedness say. None of the global health authorities consulted by Reuters believes there will be sufficient supplies to satisfy the immediate demand. Governments will be under tremendous pressure to immunize their own citizenry and get life back to normal, so hoarding remains a serious risk. Ronald St. John, a physician who has held government posts on infectious disease control in the United States and Canada, expects a similar scenario with vaccines. There is going to be a lot of self-interest in terms of the production, he said. BARDA explicitly gives preference to vaccine projects promising US production capacity. We're asking the American taxpayer to give a lot to the vaccine effort, so its important to ensure US access to any successful vaccine, said Bright, BARDAs recent chief. But he added that BARDA also is encouraging the companies it backs to build manufacturing capacity outside the United States, so we can have a global supply all at once. Many governments are pouring money into vaccine initiatives with expectations that they will be first in line if a viable vaccine emerges. Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc, a San Diego biotech, is receiving up to $10 million from the Singapore government to develop its mRNA-based coronavirus vaccine candidate in partnership with the Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School. If the vaccine is approved, Singapore gets first access, said Arcturus CEO Joseph Payne. Everything after that, he said, goes to whoever pays for it. Arcturus is not responsible for the ethics of distribution - governments are - but in order for governments to get the vaccine, they need to pay for it, Payne said. The country that will win is the country that stockpiles multiple vaccines at risk. The company raised $80.5 million this week from a common stock public offering. In China, a major global producer of vaccines, the government is backing several coronavirus vaccine projects, raising the prospect it will inoculate its 1.4 billion people first. One government-backed effort, by Sinovac Biotech Ltd., is already testing vaccine candidates in humans and awaiting initial data.. Sinovac got 60 million yuan ($8.4 million) in low-rate credit lines through a discount loan program supported by Chinas central bank. Government officials quickly made land available for the company to build production plants, including a factory meant to produce up to 100 million doses a year of its coronavirus vaccine. Sinovac would not discuss how much public money is being invested. The relevant government agencies declined requests for comment. On Friday, the World Health Organization announced a landmark collaboration across the international community to raise $8 billion to accelerate the coronavirus vaccine development and ensure equitable access worldwide to any successful vaccine. Countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas announced their participation, but the United States and China, two of the worlds biggest pharma forces, did not. There will be no US official participation, a spokesman for the US mission said, adding that the US supports global cooperation to develop a vaccine. Broader questions about US policy on international vaccine distribution are still under consideration within the Trump administration, according to a member of the White House coronavirus task force who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity. The official noted that the US Department of State and the US Agency for International Development are spending nearly $500 million to assist with the COVID-19 response internationally. A WHO spokeswoman said Fridays announcement was the beginning of a global collaboration and we would welcome more countries coming on board. China did not respond to a request for comment. People involved in the global vaccine race told Reuters that the greatest incentive for countries to promise to share coronavirus vaccines may be the uncertainty around which ones will work. Since no country can be sure the candidates it backs will prove successful, committing to sharing with other nations can help assure theyll have an initial supply to inoculate health care workers and other critical populations. "That's enlightened self-interest, as well as a global public good," said Jeremy Farrar, an infectious disease expert and director of the Wellcome Trust global health charity. Hubei sends medical supplies to New York Global Times Source:Xinhua Published: 2020/4/25 17:46:34 A plane carrying medical supplies took off at 8:34 p.m. Friday and left Wuhan, a central Chinese city once hardest hit by COVID-19, for New York. The flight was operated by China Southern Airlines and loaded with nearly 20 tonnes of medical supplies on board. It was the airlines' first passenger flight that was used for delivering cargos from the province. The airlines also planned to operate more cargo flights from Wuhan to San Francisco, Rome, Paris, London and Frankfurt to send medical supplies produced by local companies to help with the coronavirus fight, said a source with the air company's Hubei branch. The airlines decided to use passenger planes to deliver cargo on March 29 and sent 17.6 tonnes of cargo on the first converted flight from south China's Guangzhou to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on April 3. As of Thursday, China Southern Airlines had run 255 converted all-cargo flights which sent 2,930 tonnes of cargos in total to 22 countries and regions, including Italy, France, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Kenya, Japan and the Republic of Korea. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Fox news has been an extremely effective messaging arm of the Trump presidency. Some might say there would be no Trump presidency if not for Fox News. Rupert Murdoch's Fox News has been a steady propaganda arm through Trumps many screwups and foibles. Serving as a kind of alternative universe to the "mainstream media," Fox has gotten the president out of numerous jams and happily explained away his most incendiary statements. It even created a caravan of illegal immigrants marching its way toward the country's southern border right before the midterm elections, a caravan that then magically dissipated once the election was over. Some say that if Richard Nixon had Fox News in his corner he would never have needed to resign. But few things have been harder to messageeven for Trump's most loyal messengerthan the president's incredibly botched response to the coronavirus pandemic. Propaganda and public health are a dangerous mix. The Spanish flu (which, despite its name, may actually have originated in the United States) was made considerably worse because the American government tried to censor coverage of it. As Walter Shapiro wrote in The New Republic last month, even though more than 195,000 Americans died in a single month in 1918, "President Woodrow Wilson, obsessed with a war in Europe that would end on November 11, made no public references to the disease. And states received no assistance from Washington, not even from the Food and Drug Administration." And just as Wilson had a supportive, complacent press ready to go along with his deceptions, so too does Trump, namely the host of a 9 p.m. nightly show on Fox News Channel. In fact, as Vox recently reported, a team of researchers concluded that viewers of Sean Hannity in the early weeks and months of the pandemic were more likely to be ignoring safe-distancing rules and to be putting themselves at heightened risk to coronavirus. The paper from economists Leonardo Bursztyn, Aakaash Rao, Christopher Roth, and David Yanagizawa-Drott focused on Fox news programming in February and early March and compared the programming of Hannity to that of his 8 p.m. counterpart, Tucker Carlson, who was more directly sounding the alarm to his viewers. Using both a poll of Fox News viewers over age 55 and publicly available data on television-watching patterns, they concluded that "greater exposure to Hannity relative to Tucker Carlson Tonight leads to a greater number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, they write. A one-standard deviation increase in relative viewership of Hannity relative to Carlson is associated with approximately 30 percent more COVID-19 cases on March 14, and 21 percent more COVID-19 deaths on March 28. (Too bad they didn't include Laura Ingraham in that study!) Story continues Its been a wild ride watching the presidents propaganda arm message coronavirus, a magical mystery journey of obfuscation and dysfunction and anti-science rhetoric, if you will. Our journey started with Fox News messaging the pandemic as just the flu, or perhaps, as the now-departed Trish Regan said, Yet another attempt to impeach the president. And Hannity and Ingraham accused the news media of whipping up mass hysteria and being panic pushers. Yes, the network that was breathless and hysterical about Benghazi (four American deaths) and Ebola (two American deaths), accused the mainstream media of the politicizing and weaponizing of the coronavirus. Because irony is completely utterly and totally dead. But as people in this country actually started to diefirst by the hundreds and then by the thousandsand possible legal troubles began to mount for Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan, Fox News knew it had to tack, but still stay true to their mango God-king worship. Fox switched course. The intellectual of the nightly crew, the slack-jawed ghoul Tucker Carlson, declared that coronavirus was real and not a hoax, intoning, People you trust people you probably voted for have spent weeks minimizing what is clearly a very serious problem. This was on March 10th, when there were already 712 confirmed cases and 27 deaths. But when it became harder and harder to message the presidents tragic mishandling of the pandemic, one that has now killed 50,000 Americans, and is on track to surpass the number of causalities from the Vietnam War, Trump seemingly found a cure for the virus, a somewhat dangerous malaria drug that he deemed a game changer. No one loves a miracle cure better than a carnival barker president and his propaganda arm. And, at first, that media arm was all in. Carlson was enraged when CNNs talking heads expressed skepticism, saying, Watching people in the media talk down a potentially lifesaving medicine because a politician they dont like has endorsed it is probably the most shameful thing I, as someone who has done this for 20 years, Ive ever seen. [It] is making a lot of us ashamed to work in the same profession as those people. Yes, well, what a difference a few clinical trials make. A study in China showed that patients that got the drug did not fare significantly better than those who did not receive it. a study of US veterans' hospitals shows no benefit and perhaps higher death rates compared to those who didnt take the drug. The miracle cure was no miracle, and eventually Fox got the message and stopped messaging hydroxychloroquine. As The New York Times pointed out in an article on April 20th, In fact, since April 13, hydroxychloroquine has been mentioned about a dozen times on Fox News, compared with more than 100 times in the four previous weeks, according to a review of network transcripts. GOP 2016 TV Hannity's Choice, National Harbor, USA Carolyn Kaster/AP/Shutterstock And then, on Thursday, April 23rd, the president had a truly disastrous press conference where he suggested that, I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute, and is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets inside the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that. The president has said a lot of really insane stuff, but never has he said something that prompted a fact check from one of the biggest sycophants in Trumpworld, Fox and Friends Steve Doocy. The next morning, Doocy, looking particularly agitated, reminded his audience that ingesting cleaning products is poisonous. It was an enormous moment in Trumpworld. In the Times, Michael Grynbaum described it as, a rare fissure between the president and 'Fox & Friends,' a show that regularly praises him." But Doocy was not the only Fox personality who was unimpressed by the notion that Americans would consider the internal use of disinfectant, which can result in serious injury and death. Even the typically loyal Bret Baier, Fox Newss chief political anchor, seemed taken aback. No one at home thinks, Oh, you know what? Im going to go drink bleach, Baier said on the network, adding, after a slight pause, I dont think. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage and Americans continue to die, Fox News finds itself in an impossible position. Will it be able to continue obfuscating the presidents incompetence? Will it continue messaging for the White House despite the possibility that it could conceivably be its own audience at serious heath risk? Or is there a chance that Rupert Murdoch decides that enough blood has been spilled defending President Trump? No one knows how this will play out, but if there were ever a time when a conscience could save lives, its right now. Originally Appeared on Vogue Cuba on Saturday prepared to deploy a medical team to South Africa to help health authorities treat COVID-19 patients. A team of 217 health care professionals including doctors, nurses, epidemiologists, and technical experts are set to land in South Africa on Sunday. They will operate across the country, with the largest contingents sent to Johannesburg and Capetown. This brings the total number of Cuban medical personnel dispatched around the world to over 1,200, in 23 different nations. Cuban officials say the large team sent to South Africa will bring much needed support and expertise to a health system struggling to contain and treat an increasing number of COVID-19 patients. Cuba is dealing with its own disease outbreak, but officials on the island say measures to contain the virus are showing signs of success, even as the number of cases continues to grow. The Trump administration has criticised other countries for accepting Cuban medical aid, but many nations continue to draw on the island's expertise and manpower to augment their own health systems during the pandemic. According to the John Hopkins university, Cuba has recorded over 1,300 COVID-19 cases and 51 deaths. In South Africa over 4,300 cases have been confirmed alongside 86 deaths. For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. (Image credit: AP) The tally of COVID-19 patients in Gujarat grew to 3,301 after 230 new cases were reported on Sunday, while the count of dead due to the infection reached 151 with the addition of 18 victims, a health official said. Ahmedabad reported 178 out of the 230 fresh cases, taking the number of cases in the district to 2,181. All the 18 fatalities reported on Sunday were from Ahmedabad, which took the death toll in the district to 104, the official said. "Apart from Ahmedabad, Surat reported 30 new cases, Anand eight, Gandhinagar two, Rajkot and Vadodara four each, and Banaskantha, Kheda, Navsari and Patan one each," Principal Secretary (Health), Jayanti Ravi said. The number of coronavirus cases in Surat stood at 526, while in Vadodara it rose to 234. The two districts account for 15 and 12 deaths, respectively. "Of the 18 new victims, COVID-19 was the primary cause in eight patients, while 10 others suffered from other co- morbid conditions like hypertension, diabetes," she said. A total of 31 patients were discharged on Sunday, taking the total number of recovered cases so far to 313. Of these discharged patients, 25 were from Ahmedabad, four from Bharuch, and one from Kutch. "Seven of the discharged patients suffered from comorbidity like high blood pressure, kidney disease, and multiple comorbidity," Ravi said. If such patients are detected on time, there is the possibility that they can defeat coronavirus if their body responds to treatment properly, she said. There are 2,837 active cases in the state, out of which 27 patients are on ventilator and the condition of 2,810 is stable, she said. As many as 51,091 samples have been tested for coronavirus in Gujarat, out of which 3,301 have turned positive. Apart from Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara, some of the districts in Gujarat that have reported high number of cases are Rajkot (45), Bhavnagar (40), Anand (49), Bharuch (29), Gandhinagar (25), Patan and Panchmahal (17 each), Banskantha (28), and Aravalli (18). As many as 30 out of 33 districts in the state have reported coronavirus cases. The COVID-19 figures in Gujarat are as follows: Positive cases: 3,301,new cases: 230, deaths: 151, discharged: 313, active cases: 2,837; people tested so far: 51,091. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Yemen's southern separatists on Sunday broke a peace deal with the country's internationally recognized government and claimed sole control of the regional capital of Aden, threatening to resume fighting between the two ostensible allies. In a statement, the separatist' Southern Transitional Council, which is backed by the United Arab Emirates, declared a state of emergency and said it would self-govern the key southern port city and other southern provinces. The separatists accused Yemen's government, which is supported by Saudi Arabia, of corruption and mismanagement. There was no immediate response from the internationally recognized government to the separatists' announcement. The division between the two supposed allies is another facet of the country's complicated civil war. On one side are the separatists and on the other are forces loyal to former President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Both have fought together in the Saudi-led coalition's war against Yemen's Shiite Houthi rebels. The Houthis in 2014 overran major parts of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, pushing out the internationally recognized government and ushering in a war that has killed tens of thousands of people. Hadi fled first to Aden and then to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the conflict in 2015 and has since waged war against the Houthis in an effort to restore Hadi's government to power. The fighting in the Arab world's poorest country has also left millions suffering from food and medical care shortages and pushed the country to the brink of famine. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Sunday said the state government's move to allow conditional opening of shops had nothing to do with the holy month of Ramzan, as being alleged by "some elements". Rupani's statement came a day after the BJP government allowed standalone shops, except those located in containment zones, malls and shopping complexes, to remain open. However, it said on Sunday that no shops, apart from those dealing with essential items, will be allowed to open till May 3 during the coronavirus-induced lockdown in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot cities. In a video message to the public, Rupani said some elements were construing his government's decision to allow shops to remain open as its effort for the convenience of the Muslim community during the ongoing month of Ramzan. "People ask that you are giving relaxations for the convenience of the Muslim community during the Ramzan month. By doing so, some elements are playing politics and using propaganda to weaken fight against coronavirus. But they will not succeed. "Our aim is to ensure the safety of 6.5 crore Gujaratis and to make sure they come out of the coronavirus crisis. We do not discriminate between Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians. We are fighting for all 6.5 crore Gujaratis," Rupani said. The CM's statement came amidst messages on social media saying that though the state government did not allow any relaxations in lockdown norms during Hindu festivals of Ramnavmi and Chitra Navratri, it is making exceptions during Ramzan. "Such allegations are baseless, especially as most of the containment zones are located in the Muslim majority localities. As per the Central guidelines, no shops are allowed to remain open in the containment zones," he said. Only shops that are not located in containment zones, malls and shopping complexes were allowed to open as per the state government's order issued on Saturday. On the government's directives on Sunday, Rupani said the administration was equally concerned about small shop owners and the rising number of coronavirus cases. "The Central government came out with a notification for small businesses to start their shops. We said the Gujarat government will follow the Centre's guidelines. We received phone calls from traders saying there is no need to hurry. "The Central government then came out with an amended notification saying state governments can make changes as per the ground situation, so we decided not to relax lockdown in four cities. We will wait for another six days in these four cities," he said. The CM said the COVID-19 recovery rate in Gujarat is 60 per cent. "Any patient will have to undergo treatment for 14-15 days before they can be discharged from hospitals after testing negative for COIVD-19 twice," the CM said, adding that 282 people who recovered up to Saturday had undergone treatment for 15 days. There were 468 people admitted till April 11, out of who 282 were discharged, which means we have a 60 per cent recovery rate, he said. Speaking about the high mortality rate, Rupani said 80 per cent of such patients suffered from comorbidities such as heart or lung diseases, diabetes, Cancer, TB etc. "Out of 133 death till yesterday, 80 per cent suffered from comorbidities. Their immunity is already weakened," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Robert Ashton is coming to terms with a new way of worshipping, and recalls the impact a previous pandemic had on his ancestors. In 1918, just over a century ago, my great-grandfather Sam King was one of more than 250,000 people who died as the flu pandemic swept across Britain. My grandfather Charlie, pictured above, then just 18 and recently conscripted into the army, was allowed to return from the front to comfort his mother. My grandparents never spoke about those days, choosing instead to put both the war and pandemic far behind them. We find ourselves living through the 2020 pandemic alone, with nobody to ask who remembers what it was like last time. Yes there was swine flu in 2009, but that was relatively short-lived and few died. The current pandemic is unlike anything we or our parents will have experienced before. That makes it frightening, but it is far from a unique event. Sometime in the next few weeks or months it will pass and we will emerge from our homes into the sunshine and normal life will resume. But I dont think things will ever be quite the same again. Im researching both an MA and my next book. University workshops and book interviews are being conducted over Zoom or Skype. Ive now become as comfortable holding meetings online as I have meeting people face to face. In the past month, my car has covered just five miles. Why should I return to driving around the country to conduct interviews when they can just as easily be conducted online? Online worship, to be honest, takes a little more getting used to. My Quaker Meeting now meets online for worship and some Friends have found this challenging. But in reality, that same sense of connection exists when everyones on my screen, as it does when were all sitting together in our Meeting House. I guess its inevitable that in this time of trouble most of us will find ourselves reflecting on those big questions about life, God and why we are here. We have more time, fewer distractions and daily reminders that some are not surviving, so every opportunity to sit and think. Back in 1918, going to the front and then returning because his father had died, must have made the world look very bleak to my late grandfather. But things did improve, he met my grandmother, married, had two children and lived a quiet but happy life in an Essex villlage. Im sure those experiences changed him, just as the current pandemic is changing us, but we too have much to look forward to. We just have to remain positive and be ready for the opportunities that will inevitably follow. If youd like to know more, or perhaps join Robert at an online Quaker meeting, email explore@norwichquakers.org.uk Robert Ashton is an author, publisher, social entrepreneur and Quaker. He has recently published a book exploring the subject of homelessness, called Any Spare Change?: One man's quest to understand rough sleeping. Visit www.robertashton.co.uk The views carried here are those of the author, not of Network Norfolk, and are intended to stimulate constructive and good-natured debate between website users. We welcome your thoughts and comments, posted below, upon the ideas expressed here. On 16 April, 2020, India witnessed yet another mob lynching incident in Maharashtra's Palghar when a large group of villagers pummeled three men to death suspecting them to be thieves. On 16 April, 2020, India witnessed yet another mob lynching incident in Maharashtra's Palghar when a large group of villagers pummeled three men to death suspecting them to be thieves. While the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has not released any data relating to mob lynchings, according to media reports, there have been over 100 such incidents across the country since 2015. In these disconcerting times, when one perforce beholds a purported civil society, one cannot help but trecall Martin Luther King Jrs words: It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important. The Palghar incident once again brings back into focus the void in our criminal justice system to adequately address and deal with such instances of mob violence and lynchings. This article scrutinises the extant framework of jurisprudence around lynchings in India and suggests a potential way forward. MASUKA and its aftermath In 2017, in response to the rising instances of mob violence and lynchings, activists and youth leaders launched the National Campaign Against Mob Lynching which culminated in the drafting of a specialised law, Manav Suraksha Kanoon or The Protection From Lynching Act, 2017 (MASUKA). It swiftly garnered national attention, given that it was the first time in Indias history that a law attempted to define terms such as, lynching, and mob. The draft law was instantaneously made public and open for public comments and suggestions. A year later, in 2018, one of the activists from the campaign filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court seeking relief relating to grievances pertaining to cow vigilantism, targeted violence, lynchings, and commission of offences by mobs under the garb of self-assumed and self-appointed protectors of law. The three-judge bench, led and authored by the then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, in Tehseen S. Poonawalla v. Union of India vigorously criticised and came down hard on incidents of mob lynching and related forms of violence, and issued comprehensive directions to the Centre as well as the states, by way of preventive, remedial and punitive guidelines. However, even after nearly two years since the judgment, neither the Centre nor the states (barring three that have passed bills pertaining to mob lynching) appear to have materially acted upon the Supreme Courts directions. Had these directions been meticulously and rigorously implemented, India perhaps would not have witnessed the Palghar tragedy. Further, three years after its launch, the campaign also has fizzled out. Potential way forward Although India does not have any statute or statutory provisions specifically relating to mob lynching, our criminal laws do contain generic provisions (such as those pertaining to murder, unlawful assembly, criminal conspiracy and rioting) that may be invoked to deal with mob lynching. However, as evidenced over the past few years, these generic laws have proven to be inadequate to deal with aggravated crimes such as mob lynching. For instance, the generic laws do not hold the law enforcement authorities (or complicit politicians) accountable for dereliction of duty, or for their inability to prevent such crimes, especially when they have demonstrable power and ability to prevent them. The Palghar tragedy is the latest textbook example of failure of law enforcement authorities to forestall such lynchings. Further, these generic laws woefully fail short of doing justice to identity-based lynchings, that is when a lynching intends to, and does in fact put to fear, an entire community. This is a markedly legitimate concern, given that, in the lynching deaths that have occurred between 2010 and 2017, 84 percent are reportedly Muslim. It is in this backdrop that there is an eminently compelling need for specialised laws to deal with mob lynchings. Ordinarily, this can be achieved by either enacting a comprehensive Central law, or by having state laws tailored to their respective socio-political milieu. Enacting a Central law An overwhelming majority of mob lynchings in India, have involved minorities. These incidents strike at the very root of articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution, that enshrine the principles of equality and non-discrimination. However, there is no statute in India that even remotely attempts to implement and fulfil these constitutional promises. Pursuant to the directions of the Supreme Court in the judgment, it is about time that the Parliament hastens to bring about a comprehensive Central law to deal with mob lynchings. It must aim to serve as an umbrella legislation to deal with incidents like the Palghar lynching and also those that take place pursuant to mistaken understanding as to the motive of the victims of lynchings. India can also take its cue from the United States, where a century after lawmakers first attempted to bring in an anti-mob lynching law, the US House of Representatives finally voted (in February) to make lynching a federal crime. Directing states to enact laws Adhering to the directions of the Supreme Court in the judgment, Manipur, Rajasthan and West Bengal have passed bills to prevent mob lynchings and have quite satisfactorily incorporated most of the guidelines laid down in the judgment. These bills await the consideration of President Ram Nath Kovind. Although these bills are being debated for their potential utility and shortcomings, the legislative process has begun. Using the extant state bills as templates, the Centre can perhaps pass a model anti-mob lynching law and direct all the states under articles 256 and 257 of the Constitution to emulate and adopt them. With the Palghar tragedy illustrating that the victims of mob lynchings can also belong to the majority community, the Central government may after all be incentivised to pursue a solution to prevent mob lynchings. Nonetheless, all said and done, merely enacting specialised laws is still not a holistic solution to address mob violence and associated lynchings, unless it is supplemented by a resolute political will to create a robust law and order infrastructure to ensure implementation of the law. New Jersey City University West Campus project "This project not only provides a social benefit, but also meets our investment mandate to fund secure, job-creating projects on behalf of our investors, says Tom Rosenfeld, President and CEO of CanAm Enterprises. CanAm Enterprises (CanAm) is pleased to announce that USCIS has approved the first I-526 petition for the New Jersey City University (NJCU) West Campus project (the NJCU Project) . CanAms $22.5 million EB-5 loan to the NJCU Project is part of the $400 million West Campus Redevelopment Plan approved by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. The redevelopment plan consists of developing two residential buildings, University Place Apartments and the Carbon Place Apartments, and approximately 10,000 square feet of retail space. It is being developed by PRC Group, a developer specializing in university campus housing and other multifamily projects since its founding nearly 60 years ago. Leasing started in mid-September 2019 and the first tenants moved in November 2019. Jersey City is the second most populous city in the state and is one of the fastest growing regions, with an annual growth rate of 9.2 percent. Jersey Citys proximity to New York City has also contributed to its real estate development. Transportation is readily available with a 24-hour PATH Train service, the NY/NJ Waterway, the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system and major highways such as the New Jersey Turnpike. We are pleased to work with NJCU and PRC Group to provide much-needed housing in this area, says Tom Rosenfeld, President and CEO of CanAm Enterprises. This project not only provides a social benefit, but also meets our investment mandate to fund secure, job-creating projects on behalf of our investors. ### About CanAm Enterprises With three decades of experience promoting immigration-linked investments in the United States and Canada, CanAm has a long and established track record. Basing its business on a reputation of credibility and trust, CanAm has financed 60 projects and raised nearly $3 billion in EB-5 investments. More than $1.4 billion in EB-5 capital from over 2,800 families have been repaid by CanAms 41 projects to date. CanAm exclusively operates seven USCIS-designated regional centers that are located in the city of Philadelphia, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the metropolitan regions of New York & New Jersey, the states of California, Hawaii, Florida, and Texas. For more information, please visit http://www.canamenterprises.com. Archived Results for Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 Older Page 1 Business owners are battling staff demanding payments under the government's $130 billion JobKeeper scheme but refusing to work. Several employers told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald their staff said they don't want to work at all, or want to work minimal hours, but still receive JobKeeper payments of $1500 a fortnight. Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations Christian Porter said employees needed to comply with their employment contracts and be available to work. Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations Christian Porter said employees need to abide by their employment contracts. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen "Employees have obligations under their employment contracts to perform work as long as it is safe to do so," Mr Porter said. "Having an entitlement to JobKeeper does not relieve employees of those obligations." I love colour. Colour lifts you when youre feeling flat. Colour boosts your confidence. I truly believe that the most important thing when getting dressed is to choose clothes that make us feel better about ourselves and wearing colour makes me happy. Trinny wears suit, Zara. Shirt, Red Valentino, from Fenwick. Ring (throughout), Legge & Braine. Trainers, Hogan Two years ago I found a bright yellow suit in Zara that has become one of my wardrobe favourites its an outfit that gives me great energy. I love what yellow represents emotionally, and I feel like a ray of sunshine whenever I wear my suit. I once wore it to the funeral of a friend who had died before her time. I hadnt realised it was a requiem mass and was the only person there not in black I was in top-to-toe shocking yellow. Although I did sit there thinking that everyone else thought I was being disrespectful, on the other hand the woman who had died was just so joyful. During the funeral, I noticed this little dot of light dancing around. I thought, there she is, looking down laughing, finding it so hilarious that I was so inappropriately dressed and yet celebrating her and not drowning her memory in black. It completely summed up my relationship with her. My philosophy is that everyone can wear every colour you just have to choose the right shade for you. You might think, Oh, I cant wear yellow, but there is a whole spectrum from neon to mustard to pick from. You just need to find your yellow. Over the next few pages I will explain how to discover your best shades, and share my tips for making colour work for you. But first, try to get in the right mindset: there is no colour you cant wear. If you are somebody who always wears black maybe because you feel uncomfortable about your body shape, or perhaps you just dont want to be noticed you are one of the women I most want to challenge. You can introduce colour slowly; choose one you like and build up a little section in your wardrobe. There is something joyful about wearing a colourful outfit, even if youre just at home and talking to people through a screen. Try it, and you will notice the difference. 1 Discover your best colours Colours broadly fall into one of three categories: cool, mid-toned or warm. For example, white is cool, ecru is mid-tone and cream is warm. Neon yellow is cool, lemon is mid-tone and mustard is warm. Schiaparelli pink is cold, bubblegum is mid-tone and raspberry is warm. Your skin tone is the colour you see in the mirror: light, medium, dark or something in between. But finding your colours is all about identifying your skin undertone, which is the underlying colour beneath the surface. Theres a whole spectrum here: pink, blue, peach, gold and so on. So how do you know which colour category you suit? You are a cool if your skin has cool undertones: think pink or blue. Your eyes are usually blue, grey or green. You are a warm if your complexion has warm undertones of peach, caramel or yellow. Your hair is tawny blonde, red or brown with coppery tones. Your eyes are hazel, green or brown. You are a mid-tone or neutral if your colouring fits in the middle. Your skin undertone will have a mix of warm and cool tones. You might have cool skin and eyes, but warm hair. Or vice versa. I am a neutral. A quick test: can you wear black? If you can wear black with no make-up youre a cool who suits cold, bright shades. If you look tired in black and need to wear make-up, youre a neutral who suits mid-tones. If black drains you no matter what make-up you wear, youre a warm and suit autumnal colours. Lastly, is there a colour that makes your eye shade pop? For example, if you have brown eyes, does the colour bring back their richness? The colours that do are your best ones. Want to rethink pink? Use toning shades in different textures. Top and trousers, Solace London 2 Try going tonal When you put together different shades of the same colour, they may be lighter or darker, but what youre looking for is the same depth of tone. I think of it in terms of trying to find the same level of dirtiness or brightness. Otherwise the colours look off together. For example, a daffodil yellow will jar with a neon yellow; a marine blue will fight with an air force blue. When you put two shades of the same colour next to each other, there should be a harmony one shouldnt flatten the other. To find out how its done, see the three examples above. 3 Find your new black neutral I think wear colour with colour might be on my gravestone! A lot of women delve into colour on one part of their body but keep the rest of their outfit black, often because they want to cover up another area. However, you will have a better figure by choosing clothes in complementing tones it gives a better flow to your body than if you cut yourself off at the waist with black. Black also tends to devalue any other colour its worn next to. Some designers have worked black with colour Yves Saint Laurent, for example, mixed it with neons or cobalt blue but there are very few exceptions. Everyone has a non-black black, an alternative neutral that works better with colour. For warm-toned women its khaki a great, versatile colour that looks particularly good with orange, tomato red and cream. Cool-toned women can use a cool burgundy, which goes brilliantly with hot pink, baby blue and dove grey. Mid-toned women such as me have navy as their neutral. I love navy and red but it also pairs well with silver, white, charcoal and some pinks. Be careful with navy and yellow: for me its too reminiscent of the Ikea logo. Navy blue is Trinny s favourite alternative to black. 'Everyone has a non-black black, an alternative neutral that works better with colour,' says Trinny 4 Meet your new style guru: the colour wheel This circular spectrum, which is made up of the natural order of colours red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet can help you understand how different shades work together and to what effect. Remember, even if youre doing contrasting colours, make sure the tone is right: a dirty pink needs a dirty yellow, a bright blue needs a bright orange For example, colours that sit next to one another can create a subtle look, as these blend into one another, while colours that sit opposite each other are complementary and make a striking contrast when worn together. I like to combine colour with either its best friend or worst enemy. Say I have something in a raspberry shade: I could find another pink that works with it, but I prefer to go across the colour wheel and wear it with a lemon yellow. Orange and turquoise is another combination I love. Remember, even if youre doing contrasting colours, make sure the tone is right: a dirty pink needs a dirty yellow, a bright blue needs a bright orange. See the box below for ideas. HOW TO USE IT TO CLASH COLOURS Prints can be great inspiration for surprising colour combinations. Look for abstract, geometric or ikat patterns. Find some Missoni or Prabal Gurung prints online and youll discover some beautiful, unexpected colour combinations. A quick styling tip: when youre clashing separates, if you tuck your shirt into your trousers, it can be too much of a contrast. Try a half-tuck, where you tuck one half of the top in and leave the other loose. It allows the contrasting colours to meet horizontally and vertically, so theres not such a harsh division at your middle. Yes, opposites do attract! Trinny works bright orange with pale blue. Jacket, Zara. Shirt, A.W.A.K.E Mode, from Net-a-Porter. Trousers, Victoria Beckham, from Fenwick. Shoes, Robert Clergerie 5. Consider DIY Dyeing We all have things in our wardrobe that maybe arent our best shade but we love anyway, or we bought because theyre the perfect shape for us but not the perfect colour. Try to wear your best shades nearest your face. If you have a fab skirt or pair of trousers that arent totally your colour, you can wear your best shade on top. If a piece you dont want to part with is in a paler shade, you might be able to dye it. Try a fabric dye that you can use in the washing machine, such as Dylon, which works on cotton, linen and viscose. The brand does a version for wool and silk, too, which you do by hand in a sink. Always patch test first, because some fabrics absorb dye in a higher concentration than others. Blue and green should always be seen, says Trinny. 'Try to ignore those associations from your childhood and embrace shades that suit you' 6. Tear up the rule book Blue and green should never be seen? No, they look great if you pick the right shades. Pink and red? I love together. The one exception to that is red and green; I find they just fight each other and are too Christmassy. You should also be aware of being biased against certain colours. For example, you might say, Im never wearing olive green, it reminds me of school, even when youre in your 50s! But if youre a warm-toned woman it could be one of your best colours. Try to ignore those associations from your childhood and embrace shades that suit you. 7. Embrace one top-to-toe shade It takes confidence to kit out your whole body in one colour, but its a look I just love. Any time I see someone else embracing it, I gravitate towards them. I like playing with different textures of the same colour, and its easier to colour match between different shops than you might think. A suit is an easy way to work a one-colour look. Jacket and trousers, Zara. Top, Red Valentino, from Fenwick When you buy something and its a really wonderful, distinctive colour, its probably part of a trend, and youll find that high-street stores and high-end designers are all dipping into the same palette that season. For example, I have a pair of orange Victoria Beckham trousers and a Zara jacket that are the same shade. Theres an opportunity each season to buy high-end and high-street pieces in the same colour then mix and match them. If you buy something in a colour you really love, have it beside you when youre next shopping online so that you can match it. 8. Choose the right make-up A lot of people ask me whether they should match their lipstick to their outfit. If you are very confident that can look incredible, but as a rule, when I wear red and pink tones, I prefer to keep my eyes and lips more neutral and tone my blusher to suit the colours in my clothes. Generally, you dont want your make-up to clash with your outfit; you want there to be a relationship between the two. You can use make-up strategically when you almost suit a colour. For example, yellow is not always my best colour but it brings me joy, so when I wear it I adjust my make-up by opting for a slightly stronger lip that way I wear the yellow and it doesnt wear me. Its about finding make-up that provides balance, and usually a strong lip rather than a strong eye will do that. See below for my favourite reds. 9. Be smart with your accessories One thing that often prevents people from wearing colour is that they dont know what shoes to wear. I love white trainers, especially in spring and summer you can throw them under anything. A metallic shoe is also very versatile. Most of my shoes are silver or gold and go with every colour combination. If you are wearing the same colour top and bottom, you could try a contrasting shoe. It works best if your body is in proportion, or you have long legs. If you have shorter legs, a shoe in the same colour as your trousers can be more elongating. Necklaces are another way to play with colour. If Im wearing a block of one shade, I might get a big contrasting necklace to break it up (for example, a yellow necklace over a fuchsia dress). If youre scared of colour clashing, this is a good way to dip your toe in the water see above for more ideas. Neons are phenomenal as an accent. If One thing that often prevents people from wearing colour is that they dont know what shoes to wear. I love white trainers, especially in spring and summer you can throw them under anything. A metallic shoe is also very versatile. Most of my shoes are silver or gold and go with every colour combination. If you are wearing the same colour top and bottom, you could try a contrasting shoe. It works best if your body is in proportion, or you have long legs. If you have shorter legs, a shoe in the same colour as your trousers can be more elongating. Necklaces are another way to play with colour. If Im wearing a block of one shade, I might get a big contrasting necklace to break it up (for example, a yellow necklace over a fuchsia dress). If youre scared of colour clashing, this is a good way to dip your toe in the water see above for more ideas. Neons are phenomenal as an accent. If your contrast colour is going to be a bright pink, green or yellow, you could do that little hint in neon. Just a sliver a neon belt, a neon necklace, a neon shoe is an easy way to bring something extra to your outfit. Trinnys wardrobe essential: a clothes rail 10 Challenge yourself If youre ready to start experimenting with colour, a really good thing to do is invest in a clothes rail (you can buy them from Amazon). Choose a colour you know you quite like and already have in your wardrobe, and whether its sweat pants, a T-shirt, a jacket or dress, hang everything in that colour together on your rail. You might discover some new relationships. Those sweat pants with that matching silk shirt could be cool with white trainers. Then start adding similar colours. Now try contrasting shades. Youll begin to see some outfits. Play around and create three-coloured outfits. Hang each outfit back in your wardrobe with everything you need to complete the look, including accessories. For the next three days, thats what youre going to wear. You might pull out one of your outfits later and have a wobble. Challenge yourself to stick to your guns and wear it. Make your Zoom calls and see what your friends and colleagues think. See how it changes your mood while you wear it, or when you catch sight of your reflection. I guarantee it will bring some joy to your day. Families walk in the sunshine along a boulevard in Barcelona (Emilio Morenatti/AP) Shrieks of joy rang out Sunday in the streets of Spain as children were allowed to leave their homes for the first time in six weeks. The sound of children shouting and the rattle of bikes on the pavement after the 44-day seclusion of Spains youngest citizens offered a first taste of a gradual return to normal life in the country. Spain has the second-highest number of confirmed infections, behind the United States. Expand Close Families visit a boulevard in Barcelona as police patrol the beach, where access is prohibited (Emilio Morenatti/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Families visit a boulevard in Barcelona as police patrol the beach, where access is prohibited (Emilio Morenatti/AP) This is wonderful! I cant believe it has been six weeks, Susana Sabate, a mother of three-year-old twin boys, said in Barcelona. My boys are very active. Today when they saw the front door and we gave them their scooters, they were thrilled. Wary of igniting new infection flare-ups, nations around the world have been taking different paths on when to reopen their economies after weeks at a standstill under coronavirus lockdowns. Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (PA Graphics) The number of deaths officially attributed to coronavirus has topped 200,000 globally and at least 2.9 million people have been infected, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Those figures are widely believed to understate the true toll of the pandemic, due to limited testing, problems in counting the dead and some governments moves to underplay their outbreaks. Spain, Italy and France, which have Europes highest death tolls from the virus, all imposed tough lockdown rules in March. Expand Close Disaster Response Force personnel disinfect a containment zone in Hyderabad, India (Mahesh Kumar A./AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Disaster Response Force personnel disinfect a containment zone in Hyderabad, India (Mahesh Kumar A./AP) All have reported significant progress in bringing down infection rates and are ready, warily, to start giving their citizens more freedom. Maximum caution will be our guideline for the rollback, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez said Saturday as he announced that Spaniards will be allowed to leave their homes for short walks and exercise starting on May 2. We must be very prudent because there is no manual, no road map to follow. So far, Spanish adults were allowed out only for essential shopping or to go to work that cannot be done from home. Children under 14 have been in complete seclusion, but as of Sunday they were allowed to take walks with one parent for up an hour. They must be within one kilometre of their homes, take only one toy with them and are not allowed to play with other children. Expand Close People wearing face masks at a ceremony in Kyiv, Ukraine, to remember the Chernobyl tragedy (Efrem Lukatsky/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp People wearing face masks at a ceremony in Kyiv, Ukraine, to remember the Chernobyl tragedy (Efrem Lukatsky/AP) Authorities recommend that parents and children wash their hands before and after outings. Mr Sanchez will present a detailed plan Tuesday for the de-escalation of the lockdown for the coming weeks. In France, prime minister Edouard Philippe said he will unveil the national deconfinement strategy on Tuesday. It follows weeks of work by experts on how to find a balance between restarting the eurozones second-largest economy and preventing a second wave of infections that could overwhelm intensive care units. French President Emmanuel Macron had already announced that Frances lockdown would start to be lifted beginning on May 11. Mr Philippes speech will flesh out the details, covering health, schooling, work, shops, transport and gatherings. The lockdown has been raising tensions in Frances poorest areas. Expand Close People wearing protective face masks watch a fight in Nicaragua (Alfredo Zuniga/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp People wearing protective face masks watch a fight in Nicaragua (Alfredo Zuniga/AP) Italys prime minister Giuseppe Conte is expected to announce more details easing the lockdown in the coming days for the first European country to see a large-scale coronavirus outbreak. Mr Conte told the La Repubblica publication that priorities would include restarting construction and export industries so that businesses would not risk being cut out of markets. He also confirmed that school classes would not begin until September. Several countries in Europe are already further along in easing lockdowns. Germany started allowing non-essential shops and other facilities to open last week and Denmark has reopened schools for some children. Germanys restaurants and tourism industry are among those still awaiting word on a way forward in Europes largest economy, but Chancellor Angela Merkel has indicated that more major decisions will not come before May 6. Germanys top diplomat said Europe must move as quickly as possible, but as responsibly as necessary to restore freedom to travel. A European race to be the first to allow tourist trips again would lead to unacceptable risks, foreign minister Heiko Maas told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. We have already seen what a cluster of infections in a popular holiday area can do in the tourists home countries. That must not be repeated. Expand Close A man collect supplies over barbed wire in the coronavirus locked down area of Selayang Baru, Malaysia (Vincent Thian/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A man collect supplies over barbed wire in the coronavirus locked down area of Selayang Baru, Malaysia (Vincent Thian/AP) That was an apparent reference to ski resorts such as Ischgl in Austria, where dozens of tourists were infected and carried the virus as far away as Iceland and Norway. The US has the worlds highest officially confirmed infections and deaths, with more than 50,000 fatalities and about 940,000 infections reported so far in the Johns Hopkins tally, but it has wide regional variations. While some US states are easing restrictions, Hawaii extended its stay-at-home order until the end of May. In Asia, India allowed local shops to reopen this weekend, though not in the places that have been hit hardest. The Chinese city of of Wuhan, where the pandemic began, said all major construction projects have resumed in a push to restart factory production and other economic activity after a two-and-a-half-month lockdown. The outbreak has largely subsided in China. South Korea, which recently relaxed some social distancing rules, saw a ninth straight day with fewer than 20 new cases but the city-state of Singapore reported 931 new cases as it battles an outbreak among foreign workers living in crowded dormitories. Authorities in Singapore also revealed they had deported a British man and blacklisted him after he lied about his travel history during a visit to a court last month. Singapore police said the 60-year-old was allowed to enter the court premise on March 25 after declaring he had not been abroad in the last 14 days. But an investigation showed he had flown into the city-state from Hong Kong on March 13, 12 days before his visit to the court. Police said the Briton was given a stern warning before being deported to Hong Kong on Sunday and barred from re-entering the city-state, despite being married to a Singaporean permanent resident. BARCELONA, SpainShrieks of joy rang out in the streets of Spain as children were allowed to go outside and play on Apri 26 for the first time in six weeks, while people in Italy and France were eager to hear their leaders plans for easing some of the worlds strictest lockdowns. This is wonderful! I cant believe it has been six weeks, Susana Sabate, a mother of 3-year-old twin boys, said in Barcelona. My boys are very active. Today when they saw the front door and we gave them their scooters, they were thrilled. Wary of igniting new infection flare-ups, nations have been taking divergent paths on how and when to reopen their economies after weeks at a standstill. The official death toll from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus, topped 200,000 worldwide, with 2.9 million confirmed infections, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Those figures understate the enormity of the crisis, because of limited testing, differences in counting the dead, and some governments efforts to underplay their outbreaks, notably China and Iran. Two weeks after being released from a London hospital, British Prime Minister Boris Johnsonthe only major world leader so far to fall ill with COVID-19will return to work on Monday. Spain, Italy and France, which have Europes highest death tolls from the virus, all imposed tough lockdown rules in March. All have reported significant progress in bringing down infection rates and are readywarilyto start giving citizens more freedom. Maximum caution will be our guideline for the rollback, Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez said as he announced that Spaniards will be allowed to leave their homes for short walks and exercise starting May 2. We must be very prudent, because there is no manual, no road map, to follow. Until now, adults in Spain were allowed out only for essential shopping or to go to work. Children under 14 were in complete seclusion for 44 days, but as of Sunday they were allowed to take walks with one parent for up to an hour. They must stay within 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) of their homes, take only one toy out and cannot play with other youngsters. The sound of children shouting and the rattle of bikes on the pavement soon returned. In Barcelona, Sabates sons wore child-size face masks as they went out. Now we will see how long they stay on! she said. The prime minister will present a detailed plan Tuesday for the de-escalation of Spains lockdown. In France, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said he will unveil a national deconfinement strategy on the same day. That follows weeks of work by experts seeking a balance between restarting the eurozones second-largest economy and preventing a second wave of infections that could overwhelm Frances intensive care units. French President Emmanuel Macron had already announced that Frances lockdown would start to be lifted on May 11. Philippes speech will flesh out the details covering health, school, work, shops, transport and gatherings. The lockdown has been raising tensions in Frances poorest areas. Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte is expected to announce more details on easing the lockdown in the coming days for the first European country to see a large-scale CCP virus outbreak. Conte said priorities include restarting construction projects and export industries. He confirmed that school classes wont resume until September. Britain, which has joined Italy, Spain and France in recording over 20,000 virus-related deaths each, imposed a less harsh shutdown in March. Johnson returns to work amid calls for more clarity on when his government will ease the lockdown, now set to run until at least May 7. The British government is also facing criticism over limited testing and a lack of protective gear for medical workers. Other European nations are further along in easing lockdowns. Germany allowed nonessential shops and other facilities to open last week, and Denmark has reopened schools for children up to fifth grade. Germanys restaurants and tourism industry are among those still awaiting word on a way forward in Europes largest economy, but Chancellor Angela Merkel has indicated major decisions wont come before May 6. Germanys top diplomat said Europe must move as quickly as possible, but as responsibly as necessary to restore freedom to travel. A European race to be the first to allow tourist trips again would lead to unacceptable risks, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. We have already seen what a cluster of infections in a popular holiday area can do in the tourists home countries. That was an apparent reference to ski resorts such as Ischgl in Austria, where dozens of tourists were infected and carried the virus as far away as Iceland and Norway. Governments around the world spent weeks flying home citizens stranded by lockdowns, but 25 Dutch high school students managed to find a different way home: sailing across the Atlantic Ocean after being stranded in the Caribbean. Instead of flying back from Cuba, the crew and students stocked up on supplies and warm clothes and set out aboard a sailing schooner, arriving Sunday in the Dutch port of Harlingen, a five-week voyage. The United States has the worlds highest recorded CCP virus toll outside of China, with at least 54,000 confirmed fatalities and around 940,000 infections, but there are wide regional variations across the country. While some states are easing restrictions, Hawaii extended its stay-at-home order until the end of May. New York, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, is keeping restrictions on until May 15, while Georgia and Oklahoma have allowed salons, spas and barbershops to reopen. Alaska cleared the way for restaurants to resume dine-in service and for stores and other businesses to open, all with limitations. In Asia, India allowed neighborhood stores to reopen this weekend, though not in the hardest-hit places. By Joseph Wilson and Geir Moulson NTD staff contributed to this report Liu "Sing" Ruixing, 60, a table games dealer at Borgata Casino Hotel and Spa, at home Sunday. She is recovering from COVID-19 after having traveled to Singapore and Nevada before returning to work in March. Read more It was 10 days after returning from Las Vegas, where she and her husband rented a car and drove out to Red Rock Canyon and then to Death Valley, that Ruixing Sing Liu, 60, says she developed a cough and a fever. A table games dealer at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City since it first opened on July, 2, 2003, Liu had also traveled to Singapore earlier in February, where a planned cruise was canceled amid coronavirus fears. She had been back at work at Borgata since March 1. After about two weeks of work, I started coughing and [ran a] fever, Liu said Sunday. I never have fever. Her voice still showing the strain of weeks of being on a ventilator, Liu spoke Sunday in a whispered voice by phone from her home in Mays Landing. She said she sought medical care at the emergency room right away. A native of China, where she was a pediatrician, Liu was one of three dealers reported by the casino to have tested positive for coronavirus shortly after all nine Atlantic City casinos shut down in Atlantic City March 16. She was the first inpatient to test positive inside Atlanticare Regional Medical Centers Mainland campus in Pomona, the hospital said in a recent release. Lius not sure where she got the virus: Singapore seems unlikely at this point, as her visit there was significantly prior to when she experienced symptoms. She and her husband returned Feb. 10, and she went back to work feeling fine. She had no symptoms at that point. Still, she said, Everybody thinks its from Singapore." On Feb. 25, they flew to Vegas for a four-day vacation. She says she and her husband rented a car, visiting nearby Red Rock Canyon and then out to Death Valley, about a 2-hour drive from Las Vegas. They werent there for the casinos, needless to say. We go to the mountains, she said. They returned to New Jersey Feb. 29 and she went back to her day shift as a dealer (everything but craps) the next day. By March 11, she was admitted to the hospital; within a week, she had landed in the intensive care unit. She finally returned home on Friday. Vegas seems possible, certainly, as the source of her illness, she said. But shes not sure of that. Everything was good for 10 days, she said. Liu says she cant rule out that she got the coronavirus in Atlantic City. There are some people, they cough, they never really cover their mouths," she said. "They do something like, Ooh, Im ok. Still, ever the loyal employee, Ruixing says shes ready to return to work at Borgata whenever it is the casinos open. Gov. Murphy has said the state is still weeks from reopening, and is planning to detail on Monday a plan to restart the economy in phases. Borgata declined a recent request to talk about how it would adjust its procedures in a post-coronavirus shutdown world. Nearly 27,000 casino employees became unemployed after the casinos closed. Most got two weeks of pay. More than 1,000 turned out for a box of food Wednesday, jamming streets for miles. Liu says the casinos have long proven they are adaptable. The casino floor was once a place where smokers were everywhere, but now is not, she pointed out. She thinks the same sorts of adaptations and precautions can make the Borgata a place where employees and customers can feel safe to come again. ASK US: Do you have a question about the coronavirus and how it affects your health, work and life? Ask our reporters. I would go back to work, she said without hesitation. Reminded that in China, she trained at Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, she said she was in fact a pediatrician and laughed at the distant memory of herself in that role as a young woman. She came to this country at the age of 26, worked at other casinos before Borgata, worked on the graveyard shift at Borgata before landing on the day shift. Too long ago she said. Movies about common people fighting oppressors, nature, and poverty are as endearing in recent times as in 1940. The Grapes of Wrath, John Fords 1940 drama about the Dust Bowl, is considered one of the greatest of American films. The River, Mark Rydells 1984 drama that marked Mel Gibsons American debut, strongly resembles it. Although released 44 years apart, these movies are remarkably similar. The Grapes of Wrath follows the Joads, Oklahoma sharecroppers who lose their land after drought ruins their crops. Tom Joad (Henry Fonda) gets out of jail on parole and finds his family packing for California. He and his parents, grandparents, siblings, brother-in-law, uncle, and former minister Jim Casy (John Carradine) head west in a ramshackle jalopy, hoping for nonexistent jobs. The family must fight to survive and stay together. (LR) Frank Darien, Russell Simpson, and Henry Fonda in The Grapes of Wrath. Fonda captured the essence of John Steinbecks character, according to the author. (Twentieth Century Fox) The River follows Tom Garvey (Mel Gibson), whose Tennessee farm is threatened by a rising river and impending foreclosure. He and his neighbors are burdened by the milling companys low grain prices. The company is run by Joe Wade (Scott Glenn), who is as eager to buy Toms land for a dam as to steal his wife, Mae (Sissy Spacek). Tom fights for his land and family. Different Settings, Similar Stories Both these films depict whole communities of farmers plagued by economic hardships and natural disasters, though they focus on individual families with leading men named Tom. The Oklahoma farmers in The Grapes of Wrath face drought and dusty winds, while the Tennessee farmers in The River endure torrential rains and flooding. In both films, some lose farms that their families have owned for years, so they must pack single vehicles to leave the land where they have lived their whole lives. The Joads lose their farm, and although the Garveys keep their land, the Gaumers, who are the Garveys neighbors, leave their repossessed farm to find work elsewhere. Both films contain strikes. In The Grapes of Wrath, the Joads first California job is picking peaches, locked in gated grounds. When Tom Joad investigates at night, he learns that they were hired as strikebreakers after previous workers wanted increased salaries. In The River, Tom Garvey earns extra money at a steel mill. When the workers see disgruntled strikers outside, they realize they are scabs, locked in for protection. In both films, the strikebreakers are mistreated when the strike ends, in the first film by lower wages and in the second by abrupt dismissals. Farmers struggle to hold back floodwaters in The River. (Universal Pictures) Both movies show farmers defending their properties against destruction. In The Grapes of Wrath, the Joads neighbor, Muley Bates (John Qualen), watches tractors reduce his land to dusty fields. When one nears the house, Muley threatens to shoot the driver. Recognizing him as Joe Daviss boy (John Arledge), Muley asks why he has this job. Davis says he needs the daily $3 to feed his family. This scene resembles the climax in The River, when the Garveys defend their levee against Joe Wades shovel-bearers. Tom Garvey sees someone climbing the levee and shoots at him. When he recognizes Baines (Mark Erickson), a fellow steel mill scab, he asks why hes doing Wades dirty work. Baines, who lost his farm and supports a wife and baby, replies, Im hungry. PG-13 Versus PCA-Approved When The River was released in 1984, the Classification and Rating Administration (CARA) rated it PG-13. When The Grapes of Wrath was released in 1940, it was not rated, since the CARA was not created until 1968. Its predecessor was the Production Code Administration (PCA), which guided films throughout production to ensure their compliance with the Motion Picture Production Code, Hollywoods content guidelines 19341968. A PCA Seal of Approval, which was necessary for American distribution, signified acceptability for everyone. According to an email response from Tom Zigo of the Motion Picture Association, The River was rated R on September 25, 1984. CARAs Appeals Board upheld the R rating on October 3, 1984. The film had been edited, and the edited version also was rated R. CARAs Appeals Board overturned the R rating on October 12, 1984, and the film was rated PG-13. It doubtless received its initial rating for frequent profanity. In addition, there is graphic blood in a steel mill fight and when Mae is injured. Also, Tom and Mae have a suggestive bedroom scene. Mel Gibson and Sissy Spacek in The River. (Universal Pictures) The Grapes of Wrath came from John Steinbecks Pulitzer Prize-winning 1939 novel, a difficult book to turn into a Code film. Its controversial pro-union message made it banned in many areas. Since the Code discouraged political agendas, conservative director John Ford highlighted the Joads as people, saying he was not interested in Grapes as a social study, according to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). He sympathetically depicted the Okies plight without leftist messages. Content revisions were necessary, since the novel contained profanity, vulgar humor, and sacrilegiousness. The novels ending was unacceptably controversial, so it was replaced with a hopeful speech. Despite these changes, IMDb reports that author Steinbeck loved the film, saying Henry Fonda made him believe my own words. Temporary Victory Versus Inspiring Hopefulness The Grapes of Wrath ends with an ideal, not a single victory. Jobs couldnt truly solve the problems of the Joads or the millions they represented. Since it was impossible to happily, realistically conclude the story, Ma (Jane Darwell) summarized their future thus to Pa (Russell Simpson): Rich fellas come up, and they die, and their kids aint no good, and they die out. But we keep acomin. Were the people that live. They cant wipe us out; they cant lick us. Well go on forever, Pa, cause were the people. Such determination can inspire everyone. Ma (Jane Darwell) and Pa (Russell Simpson) Joad and in The Grapes of Wrath. (Twentieth Century Fox) The River had great potential but remained obscure. I think its biggest shortcoming is its ending, which feels incomplete. Seeing he has been licked by the farmers camaraderie, Joe Wade plugs the last, single leak with a sandbag as a sign of truce, but his defeat is temporary. He then predicts, Sooner or later youre going to have too much rain, or too much drought, or too much corn. I can wait. Although the film ends with the Garveys happily together, we fear they soon will lose their land. These films have similar plots and comparable scenarios, yet one is considered a masterpiece while the other received negative reviews and lost money. The Grapes of Wrath cast a rising young star, and The River cast a charismatic up-and-comer, so both had great potential. Mel Gibson in his first starring role in an American film. (Universal Pictures) The River captured realism through blood, vulgarity, and foul language, precluding families from seeing it. The Grapes of Wrath avoided inappropriate and offensive content, yet its stark realism remains gripping. When filmmakers cannot vivify their movies with swearing, violence, and risque situations, they must deepen their stories and characters. If The River had been a Code film, perhaps it would have had depth, completion, and hope like The Grapes of Wrath. Tiffany Brannan is an 18-year-old opera singer, Hollywood historian, travel writer, film blogger, vintage fashion expert, and ballet writer. In 2016, she and her sister founded the Pure Entertainment Preservation Society, an organization dedicated to reforming the arts by reinstating the Motion Picture Production Code. Lawyer and Human rights activist, Femi Falana, has asked the federal government to publish the full report of the investigation into the recent deaths in Kano. The Senior Advocate of Nigeria who is also the acting president of the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and beyond, made the request in a letter to Health Minister Osagie Ehnaire on Sunday. The letter read: During a press briefing held at Abuja a week ago, you did announce that the Federal Ministry of Health, the Kano State Chief Epidemiologist, Officials of the Kano Public Health Department and those of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had commenced an investigation into the strange deaths and mass burials currently going on in Kano State, it read. However, we are disturbed to note that the burials have since continued without any official information on the cause of the strange deaths. The people of Kano State and Nigerians, in general, are worried over the worsening health crisis as it may spread to other parts of Kano State not yet affected as well as other parts of the country if not urgently addressed. But since the Kano State Government is completely overwhelmed we hereby call on the Federal Government to take over the management of the crisis without any further delay. In addition, we are compelled to request for a certified true copy of the report of the joint investigation conducted by the Federal and Kano State Ministries of Health into the strange deaths and mass burials taking place in Kano State. The report should include the nature and cause of the deaths, the number of casualties and patients currently undergoing treatment in hospitals as well as an outline of the measures being put in place by the Federal Government to stop the strange deaths involving mass burials. Take notice that if you fail to accede to our request we shall not hesitate to invoke the relevant provisions of the law to compel official disclosure of the findings of the joint team constituted to investigate the cause of the strange deaths and mass burials in Kano State. Falana said the request was made in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, and Ehanire is required to publish the report within seven days of receiving the letter Lincoln Park, N.J. A driver who police believe was wearing an N95 mask for several hours passed out Thursday while driving his car in Lincoln Park and crashed into a pole, according to a Facebook post from the borough police department. The driver, who was not severely injured, was the only person in the car and passed out due to insufficient oxygen intake/excessive carbon dioxide intake, police said. Motorists and the public alike are reminded that while masks should be used in public settings to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, they are not necessary outdoors when social distancing can be maintained, and especially not necessary when driving a vehicle with no additional occupants, the department said in the post. Authorities said they have not ruled out another medical reason as a contributing cause to the crash, but said they did not find any evidence that the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. As it relates to this specific incident, we reiterate that police officers are not physicians and do not know the medical history of every person we encounter, police said in an updated post. It was stated in the original post that we believed the excessive wearing of an N95 mask was a contributing factor to this accident. While we dont know this with 100% certainty, we do know that the driver had been wearing an N95 mask inside the vehicle for several hours and ultimately passed out while operating the vehicle. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources The week we went from defense to offense; CNYs coronavirus fight turns a corner Cuomo: Central New Yorks OK coronavirus numbers may not allow early reopening NYs state fair is in jeopardy': Experts cast doubt on festivals, concerts in year of coronavirus Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Donations and support to organizations and places like hospitals, emergency services, animal shelters, homeless shelters, relief funds, small businesses and more are in high demand these days. With mass hoarding and personal protective equipment (PPE) difficult to sufficiently provide in places that need it most, supplies across the nation are being rationed. This fear is something the Observer understands, but we are Rio Rancho and know how to help our neighbors. Throughout the quarantine, the Observer has seen our neighbors help one another in amazing ways. We have seen community members like Earl Waid from the Rio Rancho Rotary Club buy food from Joes Pasta house and serve lunch to Rio Rancho grocery-store workers at Smiths and both Albertsons in Rio Rancho. We have seen small-business owners like Vic Briseno from Slice and Dice Pizzeria supplying families with milk and eggs. On April 16, social-distancing parades outside of Presbyterian Rust Medical Center and UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center honored medical staff in the hospitals. Signs with encouraging words and thanks for our essential workers are displayed all over Rio Rancho. The Observer also appreciates all those who have stayed home. We are proud to serve a community that has done so much for its members. The Observer is calling on the willing and able to donate and help where they can. Our hospitals and animal shelters need donations. Watermelon Mountain Ranch needs antibacterial cleaning supplies and pet food. To donate to the no-kill animal shelter, visit wmranch.org/donate-1 or set up an appointment to drop off supplies by calling 980-6354. People can also mail donations to 1380 NM 528 SE, Ste. 374, Rio Rancho, NM 87124. Animal Humane New Mexicos biggest need is contributions to its pet food bank at its main campus in Albuquerque, at 615 Virginia St. SE. People can drop off food there. This bank will provide pet food to families in need during the COVID-19 crisis, said Kelsey Gutierrez, senior adoptions and admissions manager. Also, to donate to the Rio Rancho Animal Resource Center, call 891-5075. People can give any supplies to Sandoval Regional Medical Center by calling 994-7400 and leaving their name, company name, phone number and type of items to be donated. The mailbox is checked daily and calls are returned in a timely manner, said spokeswoman Cindy Foster. Presbyterian Healthcare Services spokeswoman Alyssa Armijo said PHS welcomes any contributions of unused, professional-grade PPE, including masks, gloves and gowns. Handmade items are not currently being accepted. To donate, call 923-8950 or email tsantana@phs.org . Sandoval County is accepting donations of any PPE for poll workers May 5 through June 2. The county will have almost 31 polling places, said Sandoval County spokesman Stephen Montoya . The public can help by emailing eoc@sandovalcountynm.gov. Haven House domestic violence shelter is looking for hand sanitizer and homemade PPE. For questions about donations, contact Josh Ortiz at 404-9365, ext. 104, or email at joshua@havenhouseinc.org. Well get through this by pulling together! France is limiting sales of nicotine substitutes after new research suggested the drug may offer some protection against coronavirus. Health chiefs say they want to avoid a shortage of products such as nicotine patches and gum and to prevent their incorrect use and overuse. A study published this week, based on 483 patients at Pitie-Salpetriere hospital in Paris, said smokers were less infected with Covid-19 than other people. The researchers found that only 5.3 per cent of the coronavirus patients studied were smokers, while 25.4 per cent of the general population smokes regularly. But scientists warned that smokers who did become infected would develop more severe symptoms of the respiratory disease. British experts say smokers who contract coronavirus are more likely to end up in intensive care than non-smokers with it. The French health ministry has since banned online sales of nicotine products, and limited their sale in pharmacies. People will be allowed to buy only one months supply at pharmacies, and a register will be taken of everyone who purchases them. A team of French researchers has written an interesting scientific article which tends to show that there are fewer patients in the population consuming nicotine, and therefore smokers, than in the rest of the population, health minister Olivier Veran told parliament. But beware, this does not mean that tobacco protects. Tobacco kills, Mr Veran said, adding that more than 70,000 people die each year in France from smoking-related illnesses. The study also suggested that nicotine could prevent the virus from entering cells. The theory is that it could adhere to cell receptors, therefore blocking the virus and preventing it spreading in the body, according to Jean-Pierre Changeux from Frances Pasteur Institut, who also co-authored the study. The researchers are awaiting approval from health authorities to carry out further clinical trials. They plan to use nicotine patches on health workers at the hospital as a test. The sales restrictions are due to last until 11 May, when France is to begin easing lockdown measures and reopening schools. Vietnam has gone two days without a new coronavirus case as of Sunday evening, keeping the number of active infections at 45. Of the country's 270 patients, 230 have been discharged from hospitals, but five have relapsed. The 45 active patients, which include the relapse cases, are being treated in six different medical facilities. Most of them are in stable health, with 13 having tested negative for the virus once and three others twice. No new cases of community transmission have been recorded over the past 10 days. Meanwhile, the Viet A Technologies Joint Stock Company stated Sunday that made-in-Vietnam Covid-19 test kits have been recognized by the Emergency Use Listing procedure (EUL) of the World Health Organization. The kits, which use reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), can detect the new coronavirus in droplets obtained from the respiratory tract and blood. They provide results faster and are easier to use than those used by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and WHO, according to Vietnam's Ministry of Science and Technology. As of Friday morning, Vietnam had gone eight straight days clear of new infections, but the evening saw two new cases - both students returning from Japan. They were quarantined on arrival and are now under treatment in Hanoi. The relapse cases are being monitored at different hospitals. The Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute have cultured the virus taken from them to try and find the cause of the relapse. More than 52,000 people are quarantined in Vietnam. Of these, 325 are isolated in hospitals, almost 10,000 others are in centralized quarantine facilities, while the remainder are quarantined at home. The Covid-19 pandemic has reached 210 countries and territories with a reported death toll of 203,332. The number of employees who work from home is expected to increase substantially in South Africa following the COVID-19 lockdown. This is the view of leading tech companies VMware, Micro Focus, Euphoria Telecom, and SqwidNet, who spoke to MyBroadband about remote working in South Africa. John Woollam, CEO of Euphoria Telecom, said the COVID-19 pandemic has delivered the final push that was needed for businesses to implement work-from-home strategies. These have been under discussion for some time, but many companies have been reluctant to roll them out due to a combination of fear of the unknown, the risk of reducing output and business continuity concerns, said Woollam. He added that Euphoria Telecom predicts about 30% of South African businesses will implement some form of remote working policy after the pandemic is over. SqwidNet Managing Director Phathizwe Malinga said the implementation of remote working in many businesses post-lockdown will happen because of the high levels of productivity experienced during the current lockdown. He added that IoT will help businesses get remote visibility when it matters most. Through simple, affordable interventions, workers can retrofit remote visibility onto these assets, and give themselves the ability to track and monitor them as they start to work more from home, said Malinga. Micro Focus South Africa country general manager Gary de Menezes said that people have preferred face-to-face engagements with the thought process that this is the best and only way. However, de Menezes believes the lockdown has shown South Africa this is not entirely true. We firmly believe that after the experience of this lockdown it will become an everyday part of our new way of working moving forward, said de Menezes. The positives of remote working Malinga said the positives outweigh the negatives considerably when it comes to remote working. One of these positives is that people will be able to spend more time with their families. A lot of us were raised with our parents heading off to work early and returning late, said Malinga. We didnt get to know our parents until they slowed down or retired. Ian Jansen van Rensburg of VMware added that an increase in working from home could also alleviate traffic congestion which reduces the frustration of workers. From a productivity perspective, Malinga said that work which requires uninterrupted blocks of time is easier to do as a remote worker, as you are less likely to be interrupted compared to working in an office. Woollam also highlighted that staff happiness levels tend to increase when they are allowed to work from home. This is because they can manage their own time and achieve a better work-life balance. Possible struggles However, Woollam cautioned there are also elements of remote working that can prove challenging. Managing a remote team will require an increased focus on management, reporting, and KPIs in order to ensure productivity is maintained, said Woollam. For a lot of employees who are not used to this, it can be perceived as micro-management, which in many businesses could create a negative clock watching work environment. He added that companies will need to learn to manage based on output, rather than raw hours behind a desk. De Menezes said the biggest negative of remote working is that it makes it difficult to switch off and take a break. You can easily end up sitting in front of your screen for five straight hours in different meetings this has an adverse effect on your general health and wellbeing, he said. Jansen van Rensburg agreed, although he highlighted that the opposite can also be true. Working from home can lead to people overworking themselves or not doing their work at all. Two extremes, he said. Self-discipline and keeping an excellent working balance is of the utmost importance when working from home. How to prepare for work-from-home increases Woollam said the best way to prepare for an increase in work-from-home staff is ensuring you have the right connectivity and systems in place. Quality connectivity is critical. In a high-volume calling environment, companies should even go as far as to have separate connectivity just for voice traffic. said Woollam. High-quality, cloud-based systems that should be considered, said Woollam, include those relating to telephony, video conferencing, CRM, reporting, analytics, and billing. Jansen van Rensburg agreed that having the right technologies is of the utmost importance if a business will be implementing remote working. If an employee sits at a desk at work or home, the digital experience should be the same, he said. It should be easy to ask for and receive IT support, he added, and employees should be able to have their own devices enrolled by IT to gain full, secure access to all business-critical applications. According to de Menezes, the following should be introduced to working-from-home culture alongside reliable infrastructure: Exodus, Neon Demon, Twelve Monkeys. A time travel trilogy, two biblical epics and at least one of the best films youve never seen are all on today as TopFilmTip brings you the best films on TV for Saturday, 25 April. Head-banging classic rock, nutty ex-GFs, geeky friends, puerile puns and guitar worship in catchphrase comedy rhapsody in Wayne's World 10:00am Comedy Central Time-traveling Oedipus woos his own mum, brutalises bully, invents rock n roll and befriends man thrice is age in flaming 88mph fun Back to the Future 11:00am Film 4 Unwilling to compromise, duty bound sheriff hunts murderers to morally grey ground of obsession in deconstructionist western Lawman 12:45pm ITV4 Teenage time traveler breaks history, visits hoverboarding future, idealised past and dystopian present in flawless sequel Back to the Future Part II 13:20pm Film 4 Christopher Lloyd and Thomas F Wilson in a scene from the film 'Back to the Future Part III', 1990. (Photo by Universal Pictures/Getty Images) Crazy kid emulates Eastwood while mad scientist runs riot in old west, steals train and womans heart in anachronistic fun Back to the Future Part III 3:30pm Film 4 Read more: The best 4K TV deals Helen Mirren stars as the monarch suddenly despised by media and public alike before finding redemption in a metaphorical stag The Queen 4:55pm ITV3 Raised as royal brothers, siblings' close bond breaks as one realises his true origins and must lead his people to freedom in biblical musical The Prince of Egypt 5:30pm Sky 1 A poster for DreamWorks' 1998 animated film The Prince of Egypt. (DreamWorks) Deity doubting Prince Of Egypt leads his enslaved people to freedom in Ridley Scott's lavish, sprawling epic Exodus: Gods and Kings 6:00pm Film 4 Snowbound hulk and alcoholi-dad stave off ruthless drug dealers cabin assault in fiery-axe-wielding toxophilic exhilarator Braven 9:00pm Sony Movies Action Repeatedly scrubbed time tumbler seeks apocalypse averting insight in Terry Gilliam's cyclical Cassandra complex 12 Monkeys 9:00pm SyFy Universal Captain handsome and crew overcomes existential ennui by battling WMD wielding lunatic with bikes, beats and shouting Star Trek Beyond 9:15pm Channel 4 Railroaded into stealing a McGuffin, hackers find themselves subject to alphabetifistful-spaghetti government agency witchhunt Sneakers 10:00pm Sky Living Story continues Pulling no punches, loquacious force-of-will personified blazes trail through haters and humanity alike: intricate, intimate pugilistic powerhouse biopic Ali 10:10pm ITV4 Brain munching zombie brainiac, sexually slandered vampire and virginal human put aside differences to battle alien onslaught in Werner Herzog teen-comedy curio Freaks of Nature 11:00pm Horror Channel Innocent and callow natural beauty is consumed by rapacious jealousy of LAs modelling culture in Hypnotic phantasmagoria The Neon Demon 11:15pm Film 4 Intravenous venom abusing death distributer and pet hyena outsmart and butcher mercs and aliens alike in delightfully dark sci-fi Riddick 11:40pm Channel 4 Mel Gibson discovers vast conspiracy after his daughter is murdered. Kills lots of people and uncovers the truth Edge of Darkness 11:45pm BBC One A bounty hunter tracks down a bunch of lowlifes in Steve McQueen's final feature The Hunter 1:00am Talking Pictures TV Just out of prison The Rock evades drug-withdrawn cop and philosophical killer whilst making good on his personal kill-list Faster 1:10am Sony Movies Everything new on streaming in April: Netflix UK: Aprils new releases Everything coming to Now TV in April Amazon Prime Video UK: The biggest April releases Everything coming to Disney+ in April Follow TopFilmTip on Twitter for daily film recommendations. Some films may require a Sky subscription. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. The driver of a refrigerated chicken truck that ploughed into four police officers - killing them all - is being interviewed by detectives. Mohinder Singh Bajwa is being questioned four days after he was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital under police guard in the wake of the horrific smash. He is reportedly 'reluctant to speak' to detectives about how his truck veered across traffic and hit the officers in the emergency lane at 100km/h. The crash on Wednesday killed Leading Senior Constable Lynnette Taylor and her colleagues, Kevin King, Glen Humphris, and Josh Prestney while they were on duty. Mr Bajwa was taken from hospital on Sunday night and is being interrogated at West Melbourne Police Station. Mohinder Singh Bajwa is being questioned four days after he was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital under police guard in the wake of the smash Senior Constable Kevin King (pictured, far left), Constable Glen Humphris (second from left), Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor (second from right) and and Constable Josh Prestney (far right) all died in the crash last Wednesday night Four police officers were killed when they were struck by a truck (pictured at the tragic scene) in Melbourne, marking the greatest loss of police life in a single incident in Victoria's history An ice pipe was allegedly found in his truck's cabin, with a second reportedly uncovered at his Cranbourne home when police raided it following the crash. He suffered a 'medical episode' and 'blacked out' following the crash and was unable to speak to police for several days. Police on Friday refused to comment on the man's condition or whether or not he was conscious. He is understood to have a pre-existing mental health issue, The Age reported. The four cops had pulled over a Porsche 911 driver by disgraced mortgage broker Richard Pusey which was allegedly speeding at 140km/h about 4.50pm. Emergency services took the bodies of the four police officers away from the scene Police pulled over a speeding driver at 4.50pm on Wednesday, then proceeded to call for backup from highway patrol when they decided to impound the car. By 5.40pm, the refrigeration truck had ploughed into the three cars and four officers, killing them all About 50 minutes later, Mr Bajwa's semi-trailer veered into the emergency lane and struck the stopped cars. Pusey walked away unscathed because he was urinating beside a tree, and is accused of taunting Senior Constable Taylor as she lay dying. He is also accused of filming a dying officer, before posting graphic images to Facebook after fleeing the accident. A Melbourne court heard on Friday that rather than spring to the officers' aid after they were hit, Pusey took pictures of the carnage and berated the police. He allegedly filmed a groaning Leading Senior Constable Taylor, a mother-of-two, while saying: 'There you go. Amazing, absolutely amazing.' Pusey (pictured) is alleged to have taken disturbing pictures at the crash sight, showing the officers' lifeless bodies Mr Bajwa - pictured with his wife - is under police guard in hospital. Victoria Police are yet to determine what led to the deadly crash 'All I wanted was to go home and have my sushi and now you've 'f***ed my f***ing car.' Police on Thursday said it was still 'too early' to say what caused the crash and won't be able to provide answers until they speak with Bajwa. Investigators took a blood sample and Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said the truck driver did not have an extensive criminal history. Mr Bajwa's university student son, Gurdeep, declined to comment on Thursday. 'I'm not able to talk to anyone, not able to share any comments. I'm not able to speak,' he said. The police car that arrived at the scene was crushed by a refrigeration truck - killing four police officers who were standing by the roadside Flowers have begun piling up outsied the Boroondara Police Station in Melbourne's north-east EPA US senator Lindsey Graham said he believes North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is dead or incapacitated following unconfirmed reports of his demise. Mr Graham, an ally of Donald Trump and member of the powerful senate foreign relations committee, speculated that the hermit kingdom would not let rumours of its leaders death go unanswered for so long. Well, it's a closed society, I don't know anything directly, he said. But I'd be shocked if he's not dead or in some incapacitated state because you don't let rumours like this go forever or go unanswered in a closed society, which is really a cult, not a country, called North Korea. So I pretty well believe he is dead or incapacitated, he told Fox News. Rumours of Kim Jong Uns death have swirled since he missed the commemoration of the 108th birthday of his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung, ten days ago. North Korean authorities have said nothing to counter media reports that Mr Kim is unwell, prompting concerns about who is next in line to run a nuclear-armed country that has been ruled by the same family for seven decades. Reuters reported this week that China has dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on Kim Jong Un, citing three people familiar with the situation. Adding fuel to the rumours, a train that likely belongs to the North Korean leader has been parked at his compound since last week, according to satellite imagery. The satellite photos released by 38 North, a website specialising in North Korea studies, don't say anything about Kim's potential health problems, and they echo South Korean government intelligence that Kim is staying outside of the capital, Pyongyang. "The train's presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country's eastern coast," it said. Story continues South Korean and US officials have repeatedly indicated that there have been no unusual signs that could indicate health problems for Kim. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorised to talk to the media, told Reuters the latest rumors about Kim's health had not changed the US assessment of the information as "speculation." White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway wouldn't comment on Kim's status. "The president will make any announcement about a head of state," she said Saturday night on Fox News Channel's Justice With Judge Jeannine. With agencies Colorado Springs City Council deadlocked Monday over the appointment of Stephannie Fortune to fill Councilman Richard Skorman's seat on the board. Who among the 7 finalists should be appointed? You voted: WOOD RIVER Jersey County reported its first coronavirus death Saturday, according to a posting by the Jersey County Health Department. The victim was listed as a male in his 50s by the Illinois Department of Public (IDHP) health. The county also has 12 positive cases listed. No new positive cases were reported Saturday and five of those listed have reportedly recovered. This comes as the IDHP reported 2,119 new cases and 80 deaths, bringing those totals to 41,777 and 1,874, respectively. Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike also cautioned against home remedies involving injecting, ingesting or snorting household cleaners, related to recent comments by President Donald Trump about potential ways to combat the virus. She noted there has been an increase in calls to the Illinois Poison Control Center regarding cleaning products. For more information, she said residents could call 1-800-222-1222 to talk to poison control experts. Locally, in addition to the report of a coronavirus-related death in Jersey County, the Madison County Health Department announced a total of nine new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 286 and 16 deaths. The Madison County figures include 73 people hospitalized and 82 recovered, meaning they have completed isolation. More Information COVID-19 by the numbers Illinois - 41,777 (1,874 deaths) Madison County - 286 (16 deaths) Jersey County -12 (1 death) Macoupin County -28 Greene County -2 Calhoun County -1 Montgomery County -23 (1 death) St. Clair County - 363 (24 deaths) 360 Clinton County -82 Bond County- 5 (1 death) Monroe County- 63 (10 deaths) Washington County -7 Cases by zip code 62002 (Alton) -41 62010 (Bethalto) -8 62035 (Godfrey) - 8 62052 (Jerseyville) -9 62095 (Wood River) -9 62024 (East Alton) -7 62025 (Edwardsville) -76 62034 (Glen Carbon) - 23 62294 (Troy) -10 62249 (Highland) -9 62040 (Granite City/Pontoon Beach) - 43 62234 (Collinsville) -23 62060 (Madison) -8 62249 (Highland) -9 62069 (Mt. Olive) -7 62056 (Litchfield) -8 Sources: Illinois Department of Public Health and Madison County Health Department See More Collapse A higher number of females have tested positive, a total of 171. Local health officials have noted the disparity, and that it appears to go against the national average, but have not researched it at this time. Information by ZIP code shows additional cases in the Alton, Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Granite City/Pontoon Beach, Collinsville and Madison areas. The health department noted that there were several clusters of cases in nursing homes in Edwardsville and Glen Carbon, causing a significant bump in cases in those areas. The IDPH is releasing case numbers by ZIP code for areas with more than five cases. Numbers are not released in ZIP codes with fewer cases to protect the privacy of patients. The information is available on the IDPH website www.dph.illinois.gov. Click on the coronavirus banner, then COVID-19 statistics in the drop-down menu on the left side. The site also lists case clusters in long-term care facilities. Additional cases have also been reported in Macoupin, St. Clair, Clinton, Bond and Monroe counties in the Metro East, according to the IDPH website. Additional deaths were also noted in Monroe and St. Clair counties. During the state briefing, Gov. J.B. Pritzker encouraged people to go online to fill out the census at www.2020census.gov. He also highlighted numerous agencies and organizations that are stepping up during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pritzker said he has seen an outpouring of efforts by residents to help others, adding what they all have in common is a decency, a kindness, a generosity that should make all Illinoisans proud. He also reminded residents about the Call4calm hotline, where people can text talk or hablar (for Spanish) to 552020, and will receive a call from a counselor from a local community health center; and, encouraged residents to look into volunteer opportunities by going to www.coronavirus.illinois.gov and click volunteer opportunities. Ezike also reported that, statewide, there were 4,699 people hospitalized due to the virus, 1,244 in ICU, and 763 on ventilators. For the latest information on COVID-19 or coronavirus resources, visit the Madison County Health Department online at www.madisonchd.org or on Facebook @MadisonCHD. Also visit www.co.madison.il.us for more news and a daily update or at Facebook @MadisonCountyIL. After weeks of uncertainty, there may be a glimmer of hope for those wanting the state Legislature to get back to the business of legislating. The Times Union reported on Thursday that the Legislature made tentative plans to resume session in the next two weeks, and that majority conferences in both the Senate and Assembly met privately this week to discuss upcoming legislative priorities. Of course, plans to resume legislating in the next two weeks could always change. But while the New York City Council debuted a new voting-by-Zoom method of legislating on Wednesday, there are few signs so far that the state Legislature would similarly vote by taking advantage of video conferencing apps such as Zoom. A spokesman for the Senate said that the body has a system for remote voting in place, but did not answer questions about what technology that system uses. A spokesperson for the Assembly didnt respond to a request for comment. If the state legislative session does resume, the process of voting remotely could look a lot like it did during the budget process. Im not speaking for the conference or the leader, but my expectation is if we were going to go back into session to take up bills, people would still be (in Albany), they would just be in their office the way they were during the budget process, state Sen. Diane Savino, who chairs the Senate technology committee, told City & State. I dont anticipate the likelihood that well all be home in our districts, voting from home. Savino said that while some lawmakers may choose to participate from their districts, its easier to work from Albany and not very hard to social distance while in the state Capitol building. Both houses used Zoom to pass the budget they just didnt use it for voting. Members of the Senate used Zoom to check in with the clerk and mark themselves as present while the budget was being voted on. City & State reported earlier this month that the Senate also had the technology to allow members to speak remotely, though none chose to do so. And when it came to actually casting their votes, both the Senate and Assembly relied on systems of effectively voting by default, showing up on the floor to cast their vote or voting using something called a Rule 9 form. The last option is traditionally reserved for senators who want to vote against certain bills but cant physically show up on the Senate floor to do so, but it was used by some during the budget so that senators could maintain social distancing. While voting with the Rule 9 form can technically involve the use of technology state Sen. Julia Salazar said that she had signed one from her office then emailed it to the Senate floor counsel its a more primitive method of remote voting than what some would like to see the Legislature adopt. Spokespeople for the Senate have repeatedly said that a system for remote voting is in place, but have not made clear what it involves or how it works. Still, some expect to rely on that system if they do reconvene remotely. I think the Senate will follow the same protocol that we had during the budget except that we wont be voting or debating on the floor, but we have the technology in place to both cast votes and hold debates remotely, state Sen. Brad Hoylman said. I know theyre working out the final details. Earlier this month, some lawmakers, such as Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, were still unclear on the process of remote voting for the Assembly. I dont know how it will work, Glick said during a conference call on April 13th. I dont know how we will register votes. Andrew Hoppin, the former chief information officer for the state Senate, has been advocating for adopting remote voting, and suggested that the Legislatures IT staff could purchase and integrate off-the-shelf software to make that happen. Asking lawmakers to voice their votes over Zoom as the New York City Council did is one option, but apps geared specifically for government services, like tallying votes, are available too. Good government groups including Common Cause York have also suggested using Zoom or other off-the-shelf software. The Legislature has the technology to remain in remote session and tackle these issues out in public through virtual, remote technologies. Lawmakers just need to use it, Common Cause New Yorks executive director, Susan Lerner, said during a recent conference call. The scenario Savino suggests, in which most lawmakers return to Albany, stands in sharp contrast to the New York City Councils first remote meeting with most lawmakers video-conferencing in from their homes or district offices. Their first meeting on Wednesday wasnt flawless there were some issues with the muting function on Zoom when council members were called on to vote, and the livestream timed out for some viewers at one point but it got the job done. As for the details on how or whether remote voting will take off in the state Legislature? Those are still buffering. The argument for the universal provision of basic needs, free at the point of use, has arguably never been stronger. But as the country fights its greatest health crisis in a century, it also has an estimated three million people going hungry during the lockdown. The coronavirus pandemic has shown why the National Health Service is of such immense importance. What if there could be a National Food Service too? There is in fact a project bearing that very name. The National Food Service is a network of initiatives committed to tackling food insecurity, social isolation and food waste. It is currently made up of 13 branches stretching from Glasgow to Falmouth and over the last few weeks it has begun to forge new links all over the country. It will not stop there. We think there should be a National Food Service in every city of the country. Thats the aim, says Selina Treuherz, one of the activists behind the service. That may sound incredibly ambitious but Treuherz argues that the foundations of what the NFS is attempting to create already exist. Thousands of local groups have led the fight against hunger in their communities for the best part of a decade or more. What were saying is we dont need the state to come in and build a National Food Service, she explains. Its just about working together to make it stronger and to strengthen the communities in the areas that need it most. In practice, that means social eating spaces where those in need can come and enjoy a meal with others. I feel like we are proving it can be done now, Treuherz adds. Our founding branch, Food Hall in Sheffield where I volunteer, has been running for five years. Weve been serving the community on a contribute-what-you-can basis. It might seem like a radical idea but its not at all. Its just people helping each other with the means that they can. A fully realised NFS would not be government-run like its health equivalent. Each existing branch in the network is autonomous. They share values, resources and the same overarching goal to ensure that nobody goes hungry but they operate independently and in different ways to each other. This means there is not a single point of weakness, Treuherz says, such as an over-reliance on central funding. The NFS is only beholden to the people it helps feed. Were built by each community for the community. But the pandemic presents new challenges. An organisation designed to bring people together through food is now having to focus on merely feeding them and support is needed. NFS branches are still operating, making around 3,000 meals since the lockdown began and delivering food parcels to communities in need, but they have found that they are often required to step in where the response from local government is falling short. National Food Service volunteers (National Food Service) If Im honest, Ive been on the helpline quite a lot and the government response is pretty shocking, says Treuherz. Were getting a lot of people ringing up saying theyve had one parcel and been told thats their lot, and theyre on their own in the house. The parcels supplied by councils have often been low on food. Even when the boxes are full, they can be of little nutritional value. Food waste has also increased following the wave of stockpiling at the beginning of the crisis. The branch at which Treuherz volunteers in Sheffield used surplus stock from supermarkets to help feed those in need but they are currently struggling to meet demand. We actually cant get enough food to feed enough people, she says. Its really sad. You run out of food at the end of the day and you just cant help everyone. To help voluntary groups provide emergency food for those in need during the crisis, the NFS has petitioned the government with three demands: to offer more support for organisations tackling food insecurity; to reduce barriers to immediate food access; to protect community spaces and increase access to kitchen facilities. Its given about 3.25m to food waste groups which just is not nearly enough for a national effort, explains Treuherz. But even in a pandemic, there are positives to be found. Community groups are coming together, theres this whole idea of mutual aid and food is playing an essential role in that, she adds. Its really important that we build on this for the future and this doesnt end at the end of Covid-19 because this is such an opportunity for change both within our food system and the rest of society, she adds. Britain will look radically different after this crisis has passed. A national food service may need to be part of its landscape. South Africa is counting on accessing 95 billion rand ($5 billion U.S.) from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and New Development Bank to help finance a 500 billion-rand economic stimulus package. The money from the multilateral lenders is available only for COVID-19-related measures and the government would have to adhere to some broad agreements, including on what the funding may be used for and repayment terms, National Treasury Director-General Dondo Mogajane said in an interview with broadcaster eNCA on Sunday. The agreements should not compromise the countrys sovereignty, Mogajane said. President Cyril Ramaphosa on April 21 unveiled the fiscal package to help fight the pandemic, provide aid to the poor and shore up an economy that the central bank projects will contract 6.1 per cent this year. The package includes a 200 billion-rand loan-guarantee program, tax-relief measures and 130 billion rand that will be diverted from existing budgets. While some senior officials in the ruling African National Congress and its alliance partners initially shot down suggestions that the government might seek help from multilateral lenders, saying the structural adjustments associated with such loans would undermine sovereignty, Ramaphosa and the Treasury have made it clear that the government will request the assistance. We are looking for new money that is cheap, Mogajane said. The IMF said itself that its at one per cent interest. Debt as a percentage of gross domestic product will increase from the estimates given in February because the country will still have to go to the market and borrow more, Mogajane said. The cost of borrowing has also increased due to recent credit-rating downgrades, he said. The government has been engaging with the World Bank and New Development Bank for the past two weeks and will have meetings with the IMF next week. It could take as long as six weeks to finalize a deal with the IMF, but, once the lenders board has confirmed it, the money would be available within 72 hours, Mogajane. ANC spokesman, Pule Mabe, indicated that the ANC may have softened its line on further borrowing from the IMF that could have more conditions attached. A post-corona plan must include sustainable relations with those institutions, making sure that the conditions that are set out would allow us to maintain our sovreignity, he said, according to the transcript of an interview with Johannesburgs Sunday Times newspaper. On our own it might be difficult, said. We need these relations, but we need to make sure they are structured so the sovreignity of our people is not compromised, he added. What Bloombergs economist says The more details emerge on the stimulus package, the more you realise the extent to which the Treasury is constrained. They are trying as much as possible to work within the existing envelope, so theres very little new discretionary spending. This is good for debt sustainability, but not as great for stimulating growth. Without accelerated structural reform, the package will do very little to cushion the economy. Boingotlo Gasealahwe, Africa economist Read more about: Patricia Diamond started calling around for coronavirus testing kits for Atlantic County in late March. At that point, the county had less than three dozen cases of the virus, far fewer than counties in North Jersey, where the virus already had a death grip. Still, officials there were considering opening a site to test their residents. As they watched the virus rapidly spreading in the state, they realized it was only a matter of time before Atlantic County saw a spike. But Diamond, the Atlantic County public health officer, and other county officials were having trouble buying testing kits. They found themselves competing with other counties and even the state of New Jersey for coronavirus supplies. They were also in it alone. The state told them not to expect help, said Dennis Levinson, the Atlantic County executive. We were told, unequivocally, if the counties want to have test sites, they are on their own, Levinson said. County officials ultimately found a lab in Bergen County that could provide coronavirus testing kits and agreed to pay $50 per test. On April 9, Atlantic County opened its testing site in the parking lot of Hamilton Mall, but it was only to serve first responders. It wasnt until April 14 that the public could get tested there. By that time, Atlantic County had 292 confirmed coronavirus cases and 13 people had died. The countys struggle highlights a disconnect in the states testing strategy. While county-run testing sites comprise a sizable portion of New Jerseys coronavirus testing infrastructure, Atlantic Countys experience shows a state government stretched thin, without a cohesive plan for widespread testing. This breakdown has led to cutthroat competition and bidding wars. A small county like ours, 275,000 people, are at a major disadvantage because we could be bidding against a neighboring county, bidding against the state and bidding against other states, Levinson said. It seems to me it would have been better to have a central location and to distribute them (to) counties as far as need is concerned. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage Atlantic County is not an anomaly. Officials from Camden, Cumberland and Gloucester counties say theyve run into the same problems obtaining supplies and testing residents, making it even more difficult to tame coronavirus. Louis Cappelli Jr., the Camden County freeholder director, said county officials have been scouring the globe in search of personal protective equipment, including gowns, masks and sanitizer. Were going out of the country, Cappelli said. Were in China and South Korea. Camden Countys purchasing agent, Anna Marie Wright, has pivoted to working full time locating supplies to help the county test residents, Cappelli said. Theyve managed to find a reliable glove supplier but are still scrounging for masks and other supplies. PPE is the Wild West, Cappelli said. Camden County is competing with its neighboring counties, other cities, states and even hospitals. Its hit or miss. Camden County officials initially planned to open a coronavirus testing site in early March, before the outbreak intensified. President Donald Trumps guarantees at the time that anyone who needed a test could get one led county officials to believe they could quickly move forward with testing, Cappelli said. That guarantee fell by the wayside, and testing remains one of the biggest problems of the coronavirus crisis across all levels of government, from Atlantic and Camden counties to the state of New Jersey and the United States. Camden County couldnt open its first testing site until April 1. By then, the county had 289 confirmed coronavirus cases and three deaths. A second testing site opened April 15, and a third will open April 29, county spokesman Dan Keashen said. Camden County now has 2,983 coronavirus cases and 121 people have died from complications related to the virus. Gov. Phil Murphy continues to stress the importance of widespread testing, though he has not been specific about how the state will get there. On Friday, Murphy said his administration was pushing the federal government to allow more testing in the state, specifically starting the testing of people without symptoms of the virus. We continue to press our federal partners for the necessary waivers to open up testing for more individuals, Murphy said at his new briefing that day. Having a robust testing program in place is key for our ability to get our economy back running. The governors office did not respond to questions about its role in assisting counties with testing. The state could be on the cusp of a testing breakthrough, though, thanks to its flagship college. Rutgers University has developed a saliva test, already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, that could be used to test up to 10,000 people per day. That test is expected to be rolled out next week, though its not clear if the states testing infrastructure can support a more than 100% increase in daily tests. Cappelli, the Camden County official, said he sees the promise in the saliva test, but that until it can be widely used, counties just wont be able to do the amount of testing needed for people to fully emerge from isolation. There just arent enough test kits to go around, Cappelli said. Its just not going to happen. Atlantic County has only been able to obtain 800 coronavirus tests, 600 tests in the first deal and 200 later. The tests were purchased from BioReference Laboratories, an Elmwood Park-based company that is one of the leading testing labs in the state. The county will be testing residents on Tuesday and Thursday, but then its tests will be exhausted. Officials are waiting to see if theyll try to order more. If they do, competition for tests and other supplies will be fiercer. In the past week, some 30 additional testing sites have come online in New Jersey, according to state government counts. Atlantic City is also opening two testing sites this week, further increasing demand. Now we have Atlantic City a city opening up two sites, said Levinson, the Atlantic County executive, adding that the competition for resources has resulted in a cutthroat environment. Lets make sure we get this for our counties. And what about other counties? They have to look after themselves. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Payton Guion may be reached at pguion@njadvancemedia.com. The Hamilton County school board approved an application, submitted by Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy (CGLA), which outlined plans to establish a charter elementary school in the Highland Park neighborhood. Located on the CGLA campus, Montessori Elementary at Highland Park (MEHP) will open in August, 2021. MEHP will be a co-educational, public charter school that offers an educational program for children, PreK 3 through 5th grade. The school will serve families from all backgrounds and provide a dynamic, participatory environment that integrates Montessori childhood education with STEAM experiential learning. With a career in education that spans more than 35 years, Dr. Elaine Swafford, who is CEO of CGLA and MEHP, is exceptionally enthusiastic about this new educational venture. The Montessori method is a research-based blueprint for cultivating confident, agile thinkers, said Dr. Swafford. Because young minds are inherently curious, the Montessori program creates a stimulating and nurturing academic environment that sparks active exploration. I enjoy observing a Montessori classroom because little people are actively moving as they problem-solve and discover. The mission of MEHP is to cultivate ambitious, fearless learners through intellectually-stimulating, interactive experiences that awaken curiosity, nurture advanced thinking, and promote independence. MEHP will open in August 2021, and parents have already been inquiring about the admission application schedule. Dr. Swafford encourages parents to continually visit the MEHP website, MEHP.org, for updates. The application submission process will follow charter school protocol, and I anticipate we will begin accepting applications around November 15, 2020. Dr. Sue Anne Wells, cofounder of CGLA, is the founder of MEHP and believes quality elementary education is critical to academic success. Research proves that an investment in a comprehensive early learning program will reduce and, often, eliminate achievement gaps and is a cost-effective strategy that improves the quality of a life in a community, she said. No doubt, the innovative program of Montessori Elementary at Highland Park will be the gateway for transforming lives in Chattanooga. The MEHP curriculum will incorporate STEAM project-based learning into the overriding Montessori method. Swafford highlights the complementary relationship between both approaches. Officials said, "STEAM project-based learning and Montessori are both hands-on, inquiry-based, and experiential educational models. Together, Montessori and STEAM will be able to shape a program that progresses in complexity and depth. For more information about Montessori Elementary at Highland Park, contact Justin Booker, CCO of CGLA, at JustinBooker@CGLAonline.com or at 423.702.7230 or Dr. Elaine Swafford, CEO of CGLA, and MEHP at ElaineSwafford@CGLAonline.com or at 423.702.7230. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Hailey Waller (Bloomberg) Sun, April 26, 2020 11:02 626 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd44b226 2 News richard-branson,Virgin-Atlantic,Airlines,travel,coronavirus,COVID-19 Free Richard Branson is seeking a buyer for Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. as he struggles to secure a 500 million pound (US$618 million) government bailout, the Telegraph reported. Branson has set an end-of-May deadline to save the UK airline from collapse and is focused on securing new private investment from more than 100 financial institutions, the newspaper quoted people familiar as saying. Houlihan Lokey has been appointed to assist the process, focusing on private-sector funding, a Virgin Atlantic spokeswoman said. Discussions with a number of stakeholders continue and are constructive, meanwhile the airline remains in a stable position. Virgins application for government aid has effectively been shelved, though negotiations could be revived if investment cant be found elsewhere, the newspaper reported. About 50 investors have asked for information and they will be narrowed down to a handful of bidders, according to the report. Centerbridge Partners, Cerberus Capital Management, Lansdowne Partners, Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek and Northill Capital are among those in the running. Read also: Singapore Airlines extends cancellation of 96 percent of flights till end-June Delta Air Lines Inc., which owns a 49 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic and is consumed with its own pandemic-related problems, has already bumped up against UK limits on foreign airline ownership, the US companys chief executive officer, Ed Bastian, said Thursday. Branson, 69, has become the highest-profile victim of an airline-industry crisis thats only just getting started. Virgin Australia, another carrier he founded, entered administration last week after failing to obtain a state bailout. --With assistance from Christopher Jasper. The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) is set to host its second webinar under the topic "International Logistics: challenges and developments of the COVID-19 situation on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. The webinar will focus on the current challenges and opportunities in the logistics and transport of goods in international trade amidst the emergence of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The purpose of the virtual session is to help outline present, short- and medium- term perspectives in logistics and transportation. The second webinar is also expected to tackle the issue of shipping lanes and how the current situation has resulted in more cargo going back and forth between Brazil and the Arab countries at lower costs. Speakers to be featured at the event include Dennis Lister, Vice President, Emirates SkyCargo Products and Business Development; Sara Hassan Kamal Elgazzar, Dean, AASTMT College of International Transport and Logistics; Nicolas Buhmann, Manager, Maersk Line TradeLens (Global Trade Digitization); Fernanda Rezende, Transport Development Coordinator, National Confederation of Transport (CNT); Rubens Hannun, President, ABCC and Tamer Mansour, Secretary General and CEO, ABCC. During the session, participating logistics and infrastructure experts will discuss key measures aimed at addressing current challenges like shortages, the container flow, and the joint actions that may be taken to add bring benefits to the general society and the private sector. Meanwhile, Emirates SkyCargos Dennis Lister and Maersks Nicolas Buhmann will tackle the challenges of their respective fields--air and sea shipping--including insights for the South America-Arab trade when it comes to ensuring steady supplies and the availability of shipping containers, among other subjects. Rubens Hannun, President, Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, said: "We are excited with our second webinar session, which will focus on the logistics industry. The session will tackle the obstacles, challenges and opportunities in logistics and transportation, amidst the COVID-19 situation. There are many food security concerns in different countries, and food security can only be ensured through safe, reliable, permanent logistics. In line with this, the ABCC believes that the ongoing debate will also fast-track a medium-to-long-term solution involving direct shipping lanes linking up Brazil and the Arab countries. We have already been looking into this and have already started to plan alongside the Union of Arab Chambers at the request of the Arab League. Our goal is to create a work agenda that will culminate in the setting up of a private company to operate in logistics and marine transportation between Brazil and the Arab countries." The second webinar follows the success of the initial virtual session held recently and featured Tereza Cristina, Brazils Agriculture, Livestock and Supply Minister and Khaled Hanafy, Secretary General, Union of Arab Chambers--with discussions centering on supply chains. The webinar was viewed by some 800 people across Brazil and the Arab countries. The Chamber intends to host regularly held webinars for as long as the situation continues, in a bid to provide information to Brazilian and Arab companies, thereby helping keep trade going. -- Tradearabia News Service Speculation surrounding the condition of Kim Jong-uns health continues, with conflicting reports suggesting the North Korean dictator is either fine, brain dead, or possibly even dead. The reclusive nations leader has not been seen in public for weeks, and concerns for his health were raised earlier this week after he was absent from anniversary celebrations for the birth of North Koreas founder and Kims grandfather, Kim Il Sun, on April 15. Daily NK, a Seoul-based website, reported earlier this week that Kim, 36, was recovering after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure on April 12, citing one unnamed source in North Korea. South Korean government officials and a Chinese official with the Liaison Department challenged subsequent reports suggesting that Kim was in grave danger after surgery. Reports suggest North Korea's Kim Jong-un is severely ill following a procedure. Source: AP No signs of unusual activity have been detected in North Korea, according to South Korean officials. Reuters reports overnight doctors from China were dispatched to North Korea, according to three people who were familiar with the situation. But conflicting reports have emerged on the real state of Kims health. A Japanese publication, Shukan Gendai, reported Kim was in a vegetative state. The vice director of HKSTV, a Hong Kong-based satellite television network claimed Kim was dead and according to the International Business Times, told her Weibo followers the allegations come from a very solid source. However, a South Korean source told Reuters on Friday their intelligence was that Kim was alive and would likely make an appearance soon. The person said he did not have any comment on Kim's current condition or any Chinese involvement. South Korea and China have played down speculation that Kim Jong-un is seriously ill. Source: EPA Given North Korea is one of the most secretive countries on earth, proving the condition of the dictator has been difficult, as the health of its leaders is treated as a matter of state security, Reuters reports, noting the press agency has not been able to independently confirm any details on Kim's whereabouts or condition. Story continues When Kims father, Kim Jung-Il, suffered a stroke in 2008, Chinese doctors and French physicians were involved in his treatment. Kim inherited the leadership after his father died of heart complications in 2011, and the rumours of his poor health have spotlighted his potential successor, his sister Kim Yo Jong. State media in North Korea is yet to report anything on Jong-uns condition International Business Times reports. With Reuters. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play. New Delhi, April 26 : Humanism and financial security must drive our approach to dealing with migrant labourers amid the nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus scare, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said. He said at a meeting of the Congress consultative group on COVID-19, held to discuss the issues related to corona tests and migrants, that these poor workers need to be "protected ". Rahul Gandhi said that the states should be left to follow their own methodology as different states may choose different ways to tackle the migrants issue. Rahul Gandhi said that it would be for the states to see how they deal with the migrants stuck in their jurisdictions. Former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram said that the migrants should be immediately provided cash as interim relief to tide over the crisis. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is Chairman of the group, said that India is lacking in corona testing and more testing was needed for the country to conquer this menace. Former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh said that the country has the capacity to triple the numbers of tests, adding that 10 million test are required to reach the threshold level. Randeep Surjewala, Chief Spokesperson and group convenor, said that the central government's financial plan to tackle the crisis has not worked and the government needs to step up its efforts. Another former Minister and party MP Manish Tewari said that the party should give a proper plan to the government on "economic issues". The party had raised the issue of migrants in a Congress Working Committee statement on Thursday. "The CWC draws the attention of the central government to the necessity of framing a policy under which migrant workers who wish to return to their home states/villages may be allowed to travel under strict conditions of health safety, and provided adequate money and food in the interim...." Protesters are organizing a vehicle convoy to encircle Westville Correctional Facility raising awareness for what organizers are calling an unsafe situation inside the prison walls. The drive-by protest will start at noon Tuesday at the prison and continue until 2 p.m., said organizer Angela Grable, of Columbia City, Indiana. Protesters will stay inside their vehicles, which will be decorated with signs, and drive around the prison, praying for those inside. Grable and her husband are in contact with an inmate and have been ministering to him for nearly two years. She said she received a phone call last week she called disturbing, which was the motivation for the protest. He was telling me to take care of his mom if he did not make it because things are so bad, Grable said. It breaks my heart. These people are calling their families and saying goodbye. As of April 20, 123 inmates at the facility have tested positive, according to the Indiana Department of Correction. One death has been reported of a man who was over 70 years old. The Times was unable to reach Westville Correctional Facility officials Saturday for updated information. Global leaders have marked World Malaria Day on Saturday 25 April amid fears that focus on the coronavirus pandemic could roll back progress on the mosquito-borne disease, notably in Africa. This year, the fight against malaria is one of keeping it high on the political agenda, with experts warning that efforts to contain Covid-19 could shift attention away from malaria control and fuel another fatal outbreak. There appear to have been signs of this in Zimbabwe, where malaria so far has claimed the lives of at least 152 people. It is a reminder of the threat still posed by the mosquito-borne disease, which kills one child every two minutes. Authorities in Harare on Friday said that malaria cases had surged by nearly 50 percent, while only 29 coronavirus cases and four deaths have been reported so far. In Kenya, President Uluru Kenyatta urged world leaders not to lose track of the collective war against other diseases that can take a deadlier toll. "The World Malaria Day gives us an opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made in the fight against malaria, even as we continue implementing interventions to end the disease in Africa by the year 2030," he said in an address to the nation on Saturday. Big killer Malaria remains the biggest killer in Sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for 93 percent of global cases, according to non-profit group Africa Check. A new report published by the World Health Organization predicts that malaria deaths on the continent may jump from a projected 386,000 to 769,000 as campaigns to combat it are interrupted by the coronavirus. "We must not turn back the clock," Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa said as officials warned the fight against malaria could be set back by 20 years. We saw with the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in West Africa that we lost more people to malaria than we lost to the Ebola outbreak. Let us not repeat that with Covid-19, Moeti added. The two diseases have similar symptoms including fever, chills, headache and joint pains, raising concerns that some malaria cases may go unrecognised. Marshalling donor support "Those most in need of help are refusing to go to health clinics out of fear or because they can't due to the lockdowns in place," Dr Corine Karema, a member of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance told RFI. While Covid-19 has become a global pandemic, now estimated to have killed nearly 200,000 people, the World Health Organization has called for malaria control efforts to be doubled. It wants more research and development, stronger political leadership and funding, more cross-border co-operation, and more policies targeted to local conditions. Finding the money may be difficult. Donors pledged only half of the recommended $5 billion per year for malaria programmes in 2018, well before the coronavirus outbreak. Now with the squeeze on government budgets, more reductions are likely to follow. Ironically, while coronavirus is overshadowing malaria, the longstanding malaria treatment chloroquine has been touted as a potential vaccine for the pneumonia-like disease, although most specialists are sceptical. There are fears too that a chloroquine vaccine for Covid-19 could lead to shortages for malaria patients. NHS staff carry out coronavirus tests at a testing facility in Bracebridge Heath, Lincoln. (PA) Reports the government has ordered 50 million new coronavirus tests after scientists in Oxford made a breakthrough in developing the new form of kit have been welcomed by ministers. According to the Mail on Sunday, the new immunity tests have been devised by researchers working for the government-backed Rapid Testing Consortium. Once they go into mass production, up to one million of the new lateral flow tests are expected to be produced each week. The kits will cost 10 and tell users if they have coronavirus using a similar two-line system to pregnancy tests. An Oxford-based consortium reportedly made a breakthrough in developing the kits. (PA) Users will reportedly provide a pinprick of blood for analysis and be given the results after a 20-minute wait. A source reportedly told The Mail on Sunday the development of the tests represented a breakthrough moment which they hoped would allow the government to turn the tide on the virus. Health minister Nadine Dorries described the reports as a gamechanger, saying it was fantastic to see our scientists & business community taking on challenge of #COVID19. *Game Changer Alert* Fantastic to see our scientists & business community taking on challenge of #COVID19 developing high-quality solution that will hopefully meet our exacting regulatory standards. Good luck! The British people want a test they can trust. https://t.co/X1AtGSfe1b Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) April 26, 2020 Lord Bethell, also a health ministerm, described the research as a step in the right direction. Good luck to the Rapid Testing Consortium. Great to see Oxford University's excellent #covid research put to work. People want to know if they've had the disease, with a test they can trust. This looks like a big step in right direction. https://t.co/eE68lVrpQD pic.twitter.com/f4VMfIklht Lord Bethell (@JimBethell) April 26, 2020 It comes as the government seeks to hit its 100,000-a-day testing target by next Thursday. Story continues Home Secretary Priti Patel told the Downing Street daily briefing on Saturday that 28,760 tests were carried on Friday. It comes as the military is to begin operating mobile coronavirus testing units which will travel to care homes, police stations and prisons across the UK. The mobile facilities can be set up in less than 20 minutes and allow for hundreds of people to be tested each day. Specially-trained members of the armed forces will collect swabs at the mobile sites before they are sent to "mega-labs" for processing, with results available within 48 hours, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said. National testing coordinator Professor John Newton added: "New mobile testing units will help us achieve our goal of 100,000 coronavirus tests a day, providing tests to vital frontline workers wherever they need them. "In a matter of weeks, we have worked with Britain's leading scientists, academics and industry partners to build scores of new testing facilities and Britain's largest network of diagnostic labs in history." Coronavirus: what happened today? Click here to sign up to the latest news, advice and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter The State Council's executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday decided to give greater weight to inclusive financing in evaluating the performance of financial institutions, and lower the provision coverage ratio of small and medium-sized banks so as to boost financial services for micro and small firms. The Chinese government puts great emphasis on the economic development amid the global spread of COVID-19. Li has repeatedly urged upgrading financial services in support of the real economy. Since the start of the COVID-19 situation, the People's Bank of China, China's central bank, has cut the required reserve ratio three times this year, releasing 1.75 trillion yuan (about 246.7 billion U.S. dollars) in liquidity to better support smaller businesses. "We must scale up financial support for the real economy, especially the micro, small and medium-sized companies, to help them overcome the difficulties," Li said. It was decided on Tuesday that the regulatory requirement for the provision coverage ratio of small and medium-sized banks will be lowered by 20 percentage points, to free up more credit resources and boost the capacity for serving micro and small companies. To encourage financial institutions to better serve micro and small businesses, the meeting decided to raise the weight of inclusive finance to no less than 10 percent in the integrated performance evaluation of the branches and subsidiaries of financial institutions in the banking sector, to incentivize more lending to micro and small firms. "Financial departments must adjust and adapt the support polices in light of the changing COVID-19 situation and economic conditions. The policies introduced need to be targeted and robust," Li said. To ease the rent burden on micro, small and self-employed businesses, the meeting called for a three-month rent exemption in the first half of this year for such firms in the services sector renting state-owned properties. The meeting urged state-owned enterprises, especially those directly under central management, and public institutions such as colleges, universities and research institutes, to take the lead in offering such rent relief. State-owned banks will be encouraged to extend pledge loan at concessional rates to such lessors according to their needs. The day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in early April advised everyone to cover their faces in public, the co-owner of a small network of grocery stores in Wisconsin logged into Facebook and began a post: "HELP!" She had been waiting on a shipment of face masks to protect her employees, but, like many grocers' orders, it was delayed. Dedicated patrons sprang into action within a matter of days they had outfitted all 400 workers with homemade face masks. Six weeks after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, and long after grocery workers were deemed essential, major retailers are only lately beginning to provide them with masks. Walmart and Kroger, the largest supermarket chains in the country, have announced new policies requiring all employees to wear masks. Some independently owned stores are still awaiting shipments or have yet to find a distributor to provide them. Washington, it seems, has contributed to the delay. Without a centralized process by the federal government to buy and distribute protective gear, states, cities and hospitals have scrambled to outbid each other and the feds, too. With prices skyrocketing and supply chains disrupted, some grocery stores have struggled to compete. According to the National Grocers Assn., in recent weeks five retailers two of them in California have seen their deals to buy masks suddenly fall apart when suppliers canceled or postponed the stores' orders, saying they were required to give priority to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's requests. The association, which declined to name the retailers, said that has forced some grocers to then have to ask the federal government for help. On a phone call last week with representatives of grocery and food industry groups, Agriculture Department officials said they would work with FEMA to distribute reusable masks to grocery stores. Store owners are being encouraged to submit requests to the government, though they've received no assurance they'll get anything. Story continues In just the last week, the director of emergency management for Miami-Dade County accused the federal agency of commandeering a shipment of 1 million N95 masks, and a Delaware medical equipment supplier said FEMA had taken control of two of his shipments intended for customers in the United States. As complaints have multiplied, FEMA officials have denied reports that the agency has seized urgently needed medical supplies or rerouted shipments already committed to other buyers. "What we have found in these kind of cases is that it is a miscommunication between the customer and distributor," a FEMA spokesman wrote. Grocers, their lobbyists and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents 900,000 grocery employees at major chains, have called on the Trump administration in recent weeks to consider grocery employees as among those that should be favored to receive protective gear. While doctors, nurses and law enforcement officers should have first priority, the grocery representatives said, their own workers have been pushed too far down the list of recipients. The hope is that by recognizing stock clerks and cashiers as "extended first responders" or "emergency personnel," government officials might be more willing to share their supplies and less inclined to interfere in grocery stores' orders. "I talk with my peers at big chains and small and most of us have struggled," said John Ross, president of the Independent Grocers Alliance, a network of 1,200 stores nationwide. "We weren't even on the radar screen as people were thinking, 'Who do I protect first?'" Another reason for the delay is that the vast networks of distributors and wholesalers that grocers rely on don't typically carry medical masks. Those are less effective than N95s, which filter 95% of particles, but still are capable of filtering 60% to 80%. Forced to look outside of their usual supply chains, supermarkets and independent grocers found themselves outgunned in a market controlled by overseas sellers and brokers. While supplies of medical and cloth masks have increased in recent weeks, Ross said, many grocery stores still don't have enough to protect their employees. "Only now are they tapping into international and domestic sources and starting to stock up for us in order to meet demand," he said. Meanwhile, grocery workers are putting in longer hours to stock shelves, fill online orders and spray every surface with disinfectant often within a few feet of customers who might not be wearing masks. Thousands of grocery workers have tested positive for the coronavirus and, as of April 12, at least 41 had died, according to a report by the Washington Post. A growing number of states and cities have issued orders restricting how grocery stores operate. They've imposed occupancy limits, shut down salad bars and delis, and directed stores to set aside certain hours for older people and other vulnerable customers. A small number have published guidelines recommending that everyone inside a grocery store customers and shoppers wear masks, but few have required it. California's guidance for grocery stores, which the state issued April 15, said only that employers should issue masks to their workers if they're unable to keep the proper distance from customers. The rules in Los Angeles are more stringent. Mayor Eric Garcetti's order requires owners of essential businesses, such as grocery stores, pharmacies and restaurants, to provide their workers with cloth face coverings or reimburse them for the cost. Customers can be denied service if they enter a business without their nose and mouth covered. The possibility that these orders could become more widespread at a time when masks remain so hard to get has some grocers nervous. The president of the Wisconsin Grocers Assn., Brandon Scholz, said that if the state handed down a mandate similar to those in Maryland or New Jersey, many of Wisconsin's smaller grocery stores wouldn't be able to comply. They have been adapting, he said. Stores have installed plexiglass shields to protect cashiers, enforced social distancing measures at checkout lines and provided hand-sanitizing stations. Owners and managers who were initially hesitant to order masks have now become concerned that they don't have an answer to satisfy customers asking why their workers aren't wearing them. But there's little they can do about a broken global supply chain, Scholz said, adding, "It's not that nobody wants to." Mumbai, April 26 : A 57-year-old Mumbai policeman succumbed to Covid-19 at the Nair Hospital, the first such casualty in the city's police force, an official said on Sunday. At least 40 other policemen have tested coronavirus positive and are undergoing treatment at various city hospitals. The deceased policeman -- a Head Constable posted at Vakola Police Station in Santacruz east -- was residing at the Premnagar Colony in Worli. He was rushed to the Nair Hospital after complaining of uneasiness on April 22 and later tested positive. As his condition continued to worsen, he was put on a ventilator but he failed to make it and breathed his last on Saturday afternoon, sending shockwaves in the police force. Though it is not clear when and how he got infected, another policeman and a close contact of the deceased has also tested positive, and is currently under treatment at a government facility in Jogeshwari. Other policemen who were in touch with the deceased have been quarantined at their own homes as a precaution. In view of over 95 Covid-19 cases that have hit the force so far, the Mumbai Police have decided against deploying those officials with comorbidities or related health issues in containment zones or sensitive areas like Dharavi and other slums pockets. The worst-hit in the country, Mumbai has recorded 191 Covid-19 casualties and another 5,049 positive cases till April 25. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Australian supermodel Nicole Trunfio gave birth to newborn daughter Ella Wolf back in February of this year. And the Vogue covergirl, 34, has proved she's snapped back into shape on Saturday, while slipping into a skimpy black swimsuit. Nicole delighted fans in an upmarket monokini, which showed off her lithe figure while spending time in the bathroom with daughter, Gigi. Beauty! Model Nicole Trunfio, 34, flaunted her sensational post-baby body in a skimpy black swimsuit only two months after giving birth. (L) on Saturday (R) while pregnant The Australian star looked nothing short of incredible, with it clear the beauty will no doubt be back on the catwalk soon. Nicole wore her raven-haired tresses down and kept her makeup look glam with a dark eye and a matte lipstick. She posed by a bathroom mirror with her daughter, Gia. Oh my! The Australian star looked nothing short of incredible. Here with daughter Gia Nicole is currently in lockdown with her three children who she shares with her musician husband Gary Clark Jr. Nicole shared some sweet photos of herself on Friday, cradling two-month-old daughter Ella Wolf, which she joked were a series of 'Instagram versus reality'. In one photo, Nicole stunned as she held her daughter while she was smiling. But in another image, Ella Wolf can be seen crying as Nicole pulled a funny face. 'Instagram VS reality!' Nicole shared sweet photos of herself cradling her two-month-old daughter Ella Wolf on Friday, as she reached out to other mothers in lockdown 'I want to support all the mothers out there': In one photo, Nicole stunned as she held her daughter who was smiling She wrote in the caption: 'How are you mamas doing? I always want to support all of the mothers out there in any way I can, let me know how you are dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.' She added: 'Things that are hard... [Share] ways you are overcoming them! We are all in this together!' Nicole finished: 'This is a place for mothers to VENT and MOSTLY to help each other out! LOVE to you all.' Adding to their brood: Nicole and her musician husband Gary Clark Jr. welcomed baby Ella Wolf on February 21 Nicole and her musician husband Gary Clark Jr. welcomed baby Ella Wolf on February 21. She shared a sweet photo of her little hand, along with the caption: 'Your mummy and daddy and brother and sister love you so, so, so, so much already. You are MAGIC.' The couple, who tied the knot back in 2016, are also parents to five-year-old son Zion, and two-year-old daughter Gia. They live on their ranch in Texas, in the US. Satellite imagery of a parked train suggests Kim Jong Un may have been at his holiday compound in North Koreas east coast this week as speculation swirls about the leaders health, according to the monitoring group 38 North. China sent a team that included health-care experts to the neighboring country to advise on Kim, Reuters reported, citing three people familiar with the matter. Kim has been out of the public eye for a few weeks, and was reported to be in critical condition after undergoing cardiovascular surgery. US officials said Monday they were told of Kims condition after the surgery, though they were unsure of his current health. President Donald Trump on Thursday cast doubt about a CNN report saying the North Korean leader was very ill. Officials with the National Security Council at the White House declined to comment on Saturday. Also Read: China checks on Kim Jong-uns health, sends a team to North Korea Kim was conspicuously absent from birthday celebrations on April 15 of his grandfather and state founder Kim Il Sung. He has not been seen since a politburo meeting on April 11, raising speculation about his condition. The state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim sent a message Wednesday to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Letters of this sort are reported frequently. What is described by Washington-based North Korea monitoring project 38 North as a special train possibly belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is seen in a satellite image with graphics taken over Wonsan, North Korea. (via REUTERS) A delegation led by a senior member of the Chinese Communist Partys International Liaison Department -- which deals with North Korea relations -- departed Beijing on Thursday, Reuters said, adding it wasnt able to immediately determine what the trip signaled about Kims health. The health of the North Korean leader is one of the most closely guarded secrets in the isolated state, known only to a few people in its inner circle. Also Watch l North Koreas Kim Jong Un in critical condition? Watch Chinas reaction Also Read: Kim Jong-uns heart care centre has imported machines, doctors trained abroad: Report The head of the Korean Friendship Association, a group that says it receives official information from North Korea, on Saturday disputed news reports that Kim, 36, is gravely ill. Information about the serious state of health of our Marshal Kim Jong Un is false and malicious, Alejandro Cao de Benos said in tweet. Cao, who was featured in the 2015 documentary The Propaganda Game, didnt say where he got the information and declined further comment when contacted by Bloomberg. Esto es OFICIAL: La informacion sobre el grave estado de salud de nuestro Mariscal Kim Jong Un ES FALSA y malintencionada. Gracias por preocuparse, pero ruego a los periodistas que consulten la fuente de las noticias y sean menos sensacionalistas. Alejandro Cao (@DPRK_CAODEBENOS) April 25, 2020 Analysts at 38 North, a website devoted to analysis of North Korea, said a train probably belong to Kim has been parked at the railway station that serves the private compound in Wonsan since at least April 21. Wonsan is about 230 kilometers (143 miles) from Pyongyang. Imagery indicates the train arrived sometime before April 21 and was still present on April 23, when it appeared to be repositioned for departure, the analysts said. There was no indication when that departure might take place. The trains presence doesnt prove Kims whereabouts or indicate anything about his health, they added. It's not just Michigan where the bad calls from elected officials are being made. Over in Southern California, more stupidities from local officials supposedly protecting us from the coronavirus are bringing us some absolutely ridiculous acts. First, the surfers aren't backing down in Encinitas. The beaches are closed and the locals are still protesting, and now the cops are making arrests. Here was the scene yesterday as reported by local CBS 8: Get a load of that police activity. The surf rebellion seems to be a global phenomenon well worth noting because surfers themselves are not usually associated with political activity. Surfer magazine noted that a turning point seems to have been reached among surfers: In the past week, it seems that many surfers have turned a corner in their feelings about how we should approach the COVID-19 pandemic. And a lot of that probably has to do with the cumulative effect of a handful of viral videos on social media: police shooting at a surfer in Costa Rica, a lifeguard boat chasing a SUPer around empty Malibu, etc. Some of these scenes look terrifying, others hilarious, all of them would have been impossible to imagine happening before this pandemic. But the most pivotal of these videos was surely the one of a La Jolla grom coming into the beach as a lifeguard boat approaches, then sprinting up to the street where dozens of shoulder-to-shoulder, mask-less spectators cheer. The comment section of the post, by La Jolla surfer Derek Dunfee, went bonkers for obvious reasonsa kid cant surf alone but a bunch of assholes on land can stand close enough to smell each other? It's actually an international phenomenon -- the Israeli and New Zealand surfers are rebelling, too. Ha'aretz headline: 'Ikea Is Packed and Israeli Police Are Concerned About Surfers?' Headline from 1 News in Auckland: Police wait on surfer flouting lockdown rules at Tauranga beach, Dunedin surfers also out in water It's out of control. The whole beach restriction thing in any case is stupid, given that surfing is a naturally socially distanced activity, and by quite a bit more than six feet, given that nobody can actually surf without it. In surfing, only one person can be riding a wave at a time. Surfers get angry when ignorant people trying to surf fail to observe the long-standing etiquette of not cutting in on one one another's waves and the pecking order of who gets which one. Some surfers actually go far out to sea to get away from the prospect of it. So it's rather striking that the beaches on a hot day are special targets of police enforcement, given that people sitting on the beach itself can socially distance as easily as people in the lines at WalMart, while people in the water are going to have to socially distance or they can't perform their activity at all. The other thing is, it's pretty healthy to be out in the open spaces and taking in heat, given that the coronavirus tends to flourish in places where it's cold and flu epidemics in general are killed off by warm weather. Which brings us to the bad advice up north in Los Angeles. Here's the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, starting with the cop chief: With potentially record-setting heat on tap for the weekend, local officials have urged residents to avoid flocking to closed beaches and trailheads to take advantage of the taste of summer which would defy COVID-19 social-distancing mandates. Its getting warmer in Los Angeles and when it gets warmer in Los Angeles, we are a coastal city, we tend to head to the beach, we tend to head to the trails, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore said. We like to be outdoors. And yet, as we know, in the nonessential activities, weve needed to close trailheads. Weve needed to close the beaches. Then we get into the truly dumb stuff, with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti: Mayor Eric Garcetti said if temperatures in select areas, most notably the hotter areas of the San Fernando Valley, reach potentially dangerous levels for people without air conditioning, the city may open cooling centers. If we do have triggers that go beyond the normal triggers that we have even in the pre-COVID-19 days, Garcetti said, we are looking at cooling centers this weekend. He noted that extreme heat can become life-threatening to some people, particularly seniors. If the city does open cooling centers, Garcetti said, well have to do it, of course, with physical distancing. Cooling centers, as in air conditioned places where air circulates around and around, same as it does on airline flights and cruise ships? Sounds like a petri dish for catching coronavirus. Compare and contrast with a decently socially distanced hike on the local trails, or a cool-off in the water. Cooling centers are fine and dandy for those without air conditioners who need to be out of the heat, as in any heat wave, but these days, there's an actual risk from re-circulated air. Heat itself tends to be the disinfectant, and as one doctor at a Trump briefing noted the other day, and even the human body knows that heat is a virus-killer. Infected people get fevers because their bodies are attempting to kill off viral infections. Surfers tend to be very dedicated to their sport, which is more than sport to them, it's a way of living, their core pursuit of happiness. It's noted here from this piece in the San Diego Union-Tribune: For Randy Strunk, owner of Pacific Beach Surf Shop, These daily rituals of surfing are so ingrained into body, mind and spirit. The ocean is where we feel connected and find our balance and peace. Its where we sort things out and find purpose in our life. Anecdotally, it seems to be true. Far from being ne'er do wells, as portrayed in movies, spicolis and surfer dudes, surfers have to be pretty intelligent and talented just to be able to balance upon their boards in rushing water, as well as physically fit enough to take on the forces of the ocean. My coding teacher at San Diego Continuing Education has the appearance of a stereotypical surfer - extremely pretty, with long flowing blonde hair -- but is an extreme expert on the intricacies of code. My brother in law, who was nobody's idea of dumb, ever, was a featured denizen in Tom Wolfe's 1968 Pumphouse Gang, which delved deep into the independent spirit and dedicated love for the sea of the surfers themselves, even as it had many comic moments. It's kind of a breathtaking thing to see surfers as the vanguard for all of our rights in this coronavirus lockdown. Maybe the irrational lockdown activities of the public officials will go down, based on the surfers' willingness to defy stupidity. Seven West Media's television revenue fell by almost a fifth in the first quarter of the year while the broader commercial free-to-air industry was down 8 per cent even before the coronavirus pandemic caused advertising to plummet across the media sector. The Kerry Stokes-controlled television, newspaper and magazine company made $186.6 million in advertising revenue for the first three months of the calendar year as audiences declined for the cricket and cooking show My Kitchen Rules. My Kitchen Rules is one of a number of programs Seven ran during the period. Credit:Seven Network News and current affairs programming helped Seven obtain a 34.9 per cent revenue share among the commercial free-to-air networks, placing them second to Nine Entertainment Co for the quarter. But Seven's revenue was down by 4.4 percentage points from 39.3 per cent last year, according to confidential ThinkTV data obtained by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Revenue for the same period last year was $228.5 million. Now that the Green Party has expressed a willingness to no more than enter talks about talks on government formation, there is a risk that - to use the term of the week in another context - complacency will set in. The growing assumption that the Greens are as good as on board may well prove baseless. In fact, and if anything, its response to the Fianna Fail-Fine Gael coalition framework document is being interpreted by some observers as the Greens setting up the process to fail. And should that happen, it may well take us back to a contribution Simon Coveney is said to have made at a meeting of the Fine Gael executive council last week, where he suggested a government may not be formed until mid-June. Yes, but what government? Coveney's more revealing contribution was said to be that Fine Gael had no need to fear an election, should that be the only option at the end of the process. There is the potential now that the Greens, or elements within the party, are only entering the talks about talks process as a form of damage limitation should, or when the talks fail and the voting public subsequently take a dim view. Should that be the case, and its response to the framework document points towards it in some respects, the Greens would join Fine Gael in the public imagination as not wholly committed to the formation of this government, and may yet suffer the consequences. These developments explain the relative stillness of Sinn Fein at the moment as the talks about talks begin. Mary Lou McDonald and her colleagues are quietly making known their availability to pick up the pieces should the talks collapse. And certain Fianna Fail TDs and councillors, as we also saw last week, not to mention grassroots members throughout the country, would be happy with such an outcome, which, should it come to pass, would present great difficulties for Micheal Martin. In other words, the whole thing could yet end up in a ditch. There are many aspects, indeed most, of the Greens' response to the framework document which are laudable, and the bone fides of Eamon Ryan, the party's leader, is not questioned here. Indeed, his emphasis last week on a new green deal as the mechanism to unlock future economic growth was also highlighted in this space last weekend. The European Union late last year announced a new Green Deal which aims to transform the 27-country bloc from a high to a low-carbon economy, without reducing prosperity, while improving people's quality of life, through cleaner air and water, better health and a thriving natural world. The European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen - whose surprise election to that position was dependent upon a resurgent Green vote in the European elections - called it "Europe's man on the moon moment". We can park for analysis another time the lofty ambitions of that EU plan, and the difficulties evident in achieving its goals throughout a bloc which has differing approaches and political outlooks. And ask the question: are we actually in Ireland's cloud-cuckoo-land moment? The EU plan has a 2050 end target. In terms of government formation here, we can look no further than 2025, which is not to say we should not always look at the bigger picture too. In its election manifesto, by necessity the Greens also offered a shorter term analysis. In the opening paragraph it warned that there was now international consensus that we had just a decade to make the changes necessary to halt the warming of the planet and save the natural world: "We, the Green Party, have a special role to play in this decade of change" And on that basis the Greens went from two to 12 seats, a notable achievement overshadowed somewhat by Sinn Fein's performance, but which gives the Greens a clear mandate to enter government. The potential difficulty with its response to the framework document is not that it differs from its election manifesto, but that it sticks so rigidly to it and, therefore, possibly sets up the talks to fail. Politics is the art of compromise, but it remains to be seen how willing, if at all, newer Green TDs are to compromise on one almost impossible demand - a 7pc cut to carbon emissions every year until 2025. The ambition is noble and, as the Greens acknowledge, it would require enormous changes in our approach to capital expenditure on transport, in our energy systems, in our agriculture practices, and in how we all live our lives. However, there are many who believe it an impossible target to reach this year even with, for example, the current reduction in road traffic due to coronavirus, or next year or after that too, which is not to say the target should not be aimed towards. But the Greens' framework document response asks Fianna Fail and Fine Gael to "commit" to an average annual reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of at least 7pc. The last time the Greens entered government formation talks, the late Seamus Brennan is said to have advised that they were "playing senior hurling now, lads". Eamon Ryan will have learned from that experience. He still has the blood on his knuckles. In a way, it could be said that the Greens have turned the tables on the two traditional parties, certainly Fianna Fail: you want to be Taoiseach, Micheal? Well, let's throw the ball in and play senior hurling then. Game on. The view is that the Greens could demand three senior and three junior ministries to enter government, meaning half of its parliamentary party would be on the State payroll, and such a demand would be met. But can the Greens' demand for a commitment on carbon emission targets be compromised and steered more towards a noble aspiration? And anyway, how can agreement be reached to achieve such a commitment in such a short time available to form a government - by next June, according to Simon Coveney? For example, what would Regional Independent TDs, also said to be central to the talks, make of proposed changes to agriculture practices? All of these questions can be, if not fudged then certainly massaged should the political willingness be there to do so. But that is the question: to what extent would the Greens' parliamentary party be content for the talks to fail; or to put it another way, to what extent would it be more willing to embrace compromise were a proposed national government including Sinn Fein, rather than a three-way coalition in the offing? Bottom line: the new Labour leader, Alan Kelly, may yet be called upon to do the State some service, Sinn Fein has not gone away, you know, and Fine Gael's unspoken desire for another run at the electorate may yet come to a sorry pass. Superstar Amitabh Bachchan has effortlessly managed to attract the wrath of trollers once again. Last night, Big B took to all his social media handles to announce how a bat flew straight into his Mumbai home, Jalsa. He declared this update to all his fans and followers as breaking news of the hour. The actor wrote, "BREAKING NEWS !!! News of the hour .. a BAT , yes chamkadadh just entered my room ..3rd floor Jalsa .. where we all sit and chill .. never seen before in the area, let alone a house , ... in my house ... in my room !!! Aur hamara hi ghar mila usse! Corona piccha chhod hi nahin raha! Udd udd ke aa raha hai, kambakht!! Pexels The very second after Amitabh Bachchan posted this update, people started trolling the actor for spreading misinformation about bats and detailing how the species isn't harmless flying around but also is an integral part of the ecosystem. Some users also found this to be absolutely absurd and in no way a piece of "breaking news". Check out the tweet reactions below. Sorry to hear this from a reputed personality. Bats are not harmful and there is no need to fear. Kindly understand that they did not spread the virus to human.The reason is still debated. By nature, most animals have got virus in their body. Pls read this pic.twitter.com/BxAdnI67bz Sudha Ramen IFS (@SudhaRamenIFS) April 25, 2020 This is story of every uncle now days after limits on WhatsApp forwards Sarcasm (@SarcasticRofl) April 25, 2020 Did you see if that was Made In China ? Nishant Ahuja (@Nishant_Ahuja) April 25, 2020 Sir This tweet will doom a species. #BatsAreNotCorona U hv always spoken #ForWildlife#Bats r imp in ecosystem They predate on insects,r prolific pollinators of imp crops,disperse seeds.Their coping mechanism with viruses gives templates to research disease Plz undo the damage JAYOTI BANERJEE, IFS (@jayotibanerjee) April 25, 2020 Sir, bats do not spread coronavirus. You may think that this is a humorous thing to say, but for an already misunderstood and maligned species, this could cause a lot of trouble. Please read this press release, which is backed by science. pic.twitter.com/bT5QvnOj6N Radha (@MissGoobe) April 26, 2020 https://t.co/v6ThswczOe Stop! please stop blaming these animals... Don't let this even pass as a joke. @ParveenKaswan Rahul Shrivastava (@rahul_seo) April 25, 2020 Ab to chamgadar bhi agaya, Rekha ji kab ayegi ?? Prithvi (@The_BeardMan_) April 25, 2020 Amitabh Bachchan just didn't leave this piece of breaking news for his Twitter and Instagram accounts. On his blog, the actor penned down in detail as to how he let the bat out of his home. There be no other news than this: A bat .. yes a BAT, just flew into my room, Jalsa 3rd floor, my private room. Never ever seen one in the entire Juhu area, let alone a house. Now today my house, my personal room, apparently came out from my bedroom, panic among the girls finally got rid of it by opening one of the doors leading out to the balcony," Big B wrote. Reuters While it is believed that COVID-19 has originated from bats, there is no conclusive evidence claiming this as true. For actors like Amitabh Bachchan who have the power to influence millions of people, fake news or unverified facts can only create havoc. Something everyone should avoid at all costs. Pike County, with a population of about 13,000 southeast of Vincennes, has the fewest positive COVID-19 cases in the state with one. Only 50 people have been tested there, according to the state. A shell-shocked TV industry has begun to take its first tentative steps back to recovery, with Neighbours resuming production on Monday after a four-week shutdown, while the ABC has announced a $5 million development fund to ensure the sector is production ready when things return to some semblance of normality. The moves come as production in Sweden and Denmark restarted last week under new guidelines designed to minimise health risks. Neighbours resumes production on April 27, with new social-distancing measures in place on screen and off. Credit:Fremantle Media Although no such guidelines are yet in place here, Fremantle Media Australia is adopting many similar principles as it reboots Neighbours, which is the first mainstream scripted show to resume production. According to Screen Producers Australia, at least 119 productions have been shut down or delayed indefinitely by COVID-19, stalling almost $500 million worth of activity in the sector. Guy Hutchinson, president and CEO of Rotana, one of the leading hotel management companies in the region, has issued a statement outlining his hopes for the future of the hospitality industry in the wake of the current Covid-19 pandemic. Hutchinson praised the regions governments, frontline healthcare professionals and other key workers for their decisive response to the global crisis, and urged the public to adhere to social distancing guidelines during the holy month of Ramadan. Although we will miss our traditional gatherings, this is a sacrifice we must all be prepared to accept for the greater good. By uniting behind this shared sense of purpose, we are coming together as a community in new and profound ways, commented Hutchinson. He went on to share details of Rotanas efforts to support guests, staff and communities across the region, which include the adoption of stringent hygiene protocols and extending the use of Rotana properties to governments to assist in their efforts to combat the spread of the virus. The statement ended on an optimistic note, as Hutchinson shared his vision for the industry in a post-crisis landscape: The hospitality sector will surely recover. Whether our new reality will be the same as before remains to be seen. Speaking as a passionate hotelier, I would like to think there will be some differences. He continued: I believe the dark hours we have faced will lead to a heightened appreciation for the joy of travel, making us realise just how privileged we are to serve our guests through this incredible industry. Together, we will reach those brighter days ahead. Hutchinson, who was ranked seventh in Hotelier Middle Easts prestigious annual Power 50 list in 2019, was announced as Rotanas permanent President and CEO in January following a successful year-long tenure as acting CEO. - TradeArabia News Service A police officer in the North has been treated in hospital after a car rammed a patrol vehicle. At around 5.20pm on Saturday, a blue BMW was detected travelling at excessive speed on the M22 by a PSNI patrol in Antrim. New international arrivals to the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia will have to undergo 28 days of quarantine as part of an effort by local officials to tighten measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 amid growing fears of a secondary outbreak. According to a statement by the local government late on Saturday, new arrivals from outside China, including those arriving through other provinces, must now undergo a 14-day centralised medical observation as well as an additional 14-day medical observation at home. They will be released from the 28-day quarantine if all the tests, including two for nucleic acid and one for antibodies, proved negative, the statement said. Visitors from domestic locations classified as high-risk zones, including Beijings Chaoyang district, home to many foreign embassies and one of the main business districts in the Chinese capital, as well as two districts in Guangzhou Baiyun and Yuexiu will also be subject to a 14-day medical observation and coronavirus test period, it said. The stricter measures come in response to the rapid spread of the outbreak worldwide and the risk of a second wave of infections in some parts of China. Earlier, the authorities in Harbin, the capital city of the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, implemented a similar 28-day quarantine measure for people arriving from abroad after the city reported a cluster of infections caused by a 22-year-old university student returning from the US. After nearly two months of restrictions on movement that appeared to have brought the outbreak under control, China is now facing a significant risk of a secondary outbreak, with a handful of Chinese cities reporting cluster transmission originating from imported cases. On Saturday, China reported 11 new infections, including five imported cases, while all six domestic cases were believed to be linked to earlier infections caused by people returning from abroad. Story continues Among the new local infections, five were reported in Heilongjiang, now the frontline in Chinas battle against a second wave of infections after the northeastern rust belt province reported an influx of coronavirus cases traced to Chinese nationals returning from Russia and the US. The health commission of Heilongjiang said on Sunday that the five new cases, included three previously asymptomatic cases in the city of Mudanjiang. Experts said they were linked to earlier infections of Chinese nationals returned from Russia, which shares a border with the province. The two other new cases were in Harbin city and are linked to the student, whom local health authorities identified as the source of at least 87 infections in Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Inner Mongolia. A giant statue of a Russian Matryoshka doll on a street in Suifenhe, China, a border city that has imposed a residential lockdown. Photo: Reuters According to Ke Yunnan, the deputy chief of the Harbin Health Committee, the student, who was quarantined at home rather than in a centralised medical facility after landing in Harbin on March 19, infected at least one of her neighbours. The coronavirus was then passed on to an 87-year-old man who was treated at two hospitals before testing positive, causing the temporary closure of several departments of the two hospitals and putting more than 400 medical workers under quarantine. To stop the disease spreading, Harbin announced a new lockdown policy on Wednesday under which non-locals and vehicles registered elsewhere were banned from entering local residential compounds. In Suifenhe, a city of 70,000 people on the border with Russia, a residential lockdown was declared earlier this month after a spike in infections imported from Russia. Residents who wish to leave the city are now required to offer a medical certificate showing they tested negative at least three days before their departure. Those who are allowed to leave are asked to undergo 14 days quarantine and two nucleic acid tests on reaching their destination, the city government said on Sunday. On Saturday, Wang Xingzhu, the local party chief, urged border officers on Saturday to stay vigilant about infection risks caused by smugglers after China closed its border checkpoints with Russia. During a patrol with local border officers, Wang said police and local villagers should work closely together to take responsibility and fight the peoples war against imported infections. Sign up now and get a 10% discount (original price US$400) off the China AI Report 2020 by SCMP Research. Learn about the AI ambitions of Alibaba, Baidu & JD.com through our in-depth case studies, and explore new applications of AI across industries. The report also includes exclusive access to webinars to interact with C-level executives from leading China AI companies (via live Q&A sessions). Offer valid until 31 May 2020. This article Coronavirus: Inner Mongolia tightens quarantine rules as fears of second wave of cases grows first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020. LANSING, MI -- Grocery stores and pharmacies in Michigan are now required to set aside shopping hours for vulnerable residents. The move is part of an executive order signed Sunday, April 26 by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to establish strategies to reduce exposure to COVID-19 for customers and employees. Per the executive order, those considered to be part of the states vulnerable population are people over 60, pregnant women, and those with chronic health conditions including heart disease, diabetes, and lung disease. While Michiganders fight this virus, we must continue to take aggressive action to reduce exposure and prevent a second spike in cases, said Whitmer in a news release. This is not the time to slow our efforts; we must continue to be smart. By establishing these guidelines, we can protect Michigan families and our frontline workers. When we come together, we can slow the spread of this virus and save lives. Additional guidelines established under the new order require checkout employees to wear some form of covering over their nose and mouth, be it a scarf, bandana, or homemade mask. This also applies to employees and vendors being notified by a food-selling establishment -- grocery stores, restaurants, convenience stores -- if a fellow employee tests positive for COVID-19. Heres are other new requirements under Executive Order 2020-42: Ensure that both employees and customers remain at least six feet apart to the maximum extent possible. Close self-serve prepared food stations such as salad bars and eliminate free samples and tasting stations. Adopt procedures to meet the environmental cleaning guidelines set by the CDC, including by cleaning and disinfecting frequent touchpoints throughout the day such as point of sale terminals at registers, shopping carts, and shopping baskets. Prohibit employees who are sick from reporting to work and send employees home if they display symptoms of COVID-19. Accommodate employees who fall within a vulnerable population by providing lower-exposure work assignments or giving them the option to take an unpaid leave of absence with a return date coinciding with the end of the states of emergency and disaster. Develop and implement a daily screening program, as described herein, for all staff upon or just prior to reporting to work sites. COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus. Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible. Carry hand sanitizer with you and use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and when you go into places like stores. Related news: Sunday, April 26: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan New Michigan coronavirus cases lowest seen in a month, but deaths still high Whitmer defends stay-at-home order, says Michigan needed unique solution SNL delivers a spoof Message from Gov. Whitmer Michigan mortgage lenders partner with state to provide borrowers coronavirus financial relief Kim I and Kim II were both elderly when they died, and the latter in particular looked sickly. Both men left a succession plan that had seen their heirs elevated through the ranks of the military and the Workers Party. And in both cases, the deaths were announced a few days later on television in a quivering voice by Ri Chun Hee, the Walter Cronkite of North Korea. What Is the Purpose of the Book of Haggai? Most books in the Bible have multiple messages, and even though Haggai doesnt take up a great number of pages in the Bible (its the second shortest book in the Old Testament), Haggai does have multiple messages for its intended audience. Similar to other prophets, Haggai shows what happens when people disobey God (Haggai 2:16-17). The people have stopped rebuilding because they fear their enemies, but God has called them to rebuild the city. As someone who bore witness to the destruction of Jerusalem because of its disobedience, Haggai does not want history to repeat itself. Second, Haggai shows what happens when you obey God. Instead of a curse, you receive a blessing (Haggai 2:7-9). The book also has a great deal to say about God being with his workers during trials. Not only had Jerusalem grown lethargic in its building, but the Samaritans and other neighboring nations had grown worried when Jerusalem rebuilt the foundation of the city. If the Hebrews continued their progress and finished the temple, they would be a formidable power, so the neighboring nations press hard to make sure it doesnt happen. Haggai reminds the reader that God is on their side (Haggai 1:13) and that they should not grow weary in their restoration process, no matter how bad the threats outside Jerusalems walls appeared. Haggai makes sure to emphasize what will happen if they keep restoring the temple. The glory will return to the temple once more (Haggai 2:1-9), cursed people will be purified (Haggai 2:10-19), and blessings will come (Haggai 2:23). In other words, the book says, Keep going. Press on. It will be worth it. Dont listen to what others say who try to deter you from building. Listen to the God of the Universe and obey him alone. Photo credit: Pixabay/Free Photos Taiwan confirms 1 new case of COVID-19 in Navy cluster ROC Central News Agency 04/25/2020 03:19 PM Taipei, April 25 (CNA) Taiwan confirmed one new case of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Saturday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 429 since the pandemic began late last year, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC). The latest case was the 31st resulting from a cluster infection on board the "Panshi," a fast combat support ship which was part of a three-vessel flotilla that visited Palau in mid-March, said Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (), who also heads the CECC, at a daily press briefing. The flotilla left Taiwan in early March, stopped in Palau from March 12-15, and returned to Taiwan on April 9, but the crew were not allowed to disembark until April 14-15 because of quarantine regulations. The latest patient, a male cadet in his 20s, tested negative for COVID-19 after all 744 crew on the three ships were placed in quarantine on April 18, following the discovery that some on board had contracted the disease, the CECC said in a statement. However, the cadet was found to have antibodies in his blood for the coronavirus and was sent for a second test on April 24, the CECC said, adding that he was confirmed positive Saturday. As of Saturday, 1,865 people were listed as having come into contact with the 31 confirmed cases, with 534 required to isolate themselves at home, the CECC said. Of the 534 people undergoing home isolation, 173 have been tested and 154 found to be negative, the CECC said. Besides the 534 in home isolation, the others among the 1,865 people who had contact with the Panshi's confirmed cases have been asked to practice "self-health management," which means wearing a mask at all times, taking and recording one's temperature twice a day, and minimizing time spent in public. Of Taiwan's 429 COVID-19 cases to date, 343 have been classified as imported, 55 as local infections, while the 31 from the "Panshi" are still being investigated to determine whether the source of the infections was imported or domestic, according to CECC statistics. To date, 275 COVID-19 patients in Taiwan have been categorized as recovered, six have died, while the others are still hospitalized, the CECC said. Globally, COVID-19 has infected 2,833,642 people in 184 countries and regions, including 912,628 in the U.S., 219,764 in Spain, 192,994 in Italy, 187,708 in France and 150,383 in Germany, with a total of 195,715 fatalities, according to CECC statistics as of Saturday. (By William Yen) Enditem/cs NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Editor's note: This is a guest post written by TravelSkills on SFGATE reader Patrick Munson Last week, I made the very difficult decision to leave my small New York City apartment and fly to San Francisco to be with my family for the remaining months of "shelter in place." The decision was not an easy one. For the first time in my 33 years, I decided to risk my physical health (and sadly, those around me) for the sake of my mental health. As someone who has struggled with anxiety and depression, this period of quarantine has been a balancing act of keeping myself healthy with exercise, home-cooked food and some fresh air, while also keeping my mind in a strong and manageable place. I'd be lying if I said I was super successful. The first few weeks went okay. I started with a close group of single friends in what we called a "quaranteam." However, we quickly abandoned that strategy as we realized we were putting others and each other at risk. That meant I ended up alone in a 300 square foot apartment with only sporadic visits to the grocery store paired with afternoon walks around the neighborhood. As I entered into my seventh week of quarantine and third week of being alone with no end in sight, the thought entered my mind: I have to get out of here. I jumped online and was able to find a one-way Alaska Airlines flight to SFO for just $250 with only four days notice. It's important to note that it is a privilege that I was even able to contemplate my escape. I'm incredibly fortunate to have a job that will let me work anywhere. I have the means to fly. I have no kids or pets or anything truly holding me down (other than my six plants that I was bound to kill anyway). And perhaps most of all, I'm lucky to have family in San Francisco that has space for me to quarantine in for 14 days. My heart breaks for those who don't have the same choices I have. New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has directed that COVID-19 test kits should be made available to the general public at the lowest price possible so that people's health can be safeguarded at a time when the country is going through an unprecedented medical crisis affecting public order. Justice Najmi Waziri issued the direction to all three private companies, which had entered into an agreement, to import 10 lakh test kits from China and distribute them here at a price not beyond Rs 400 per kit inclusive of GST. "The country is going through an unprecedented medical crisis affecting public order. People have been cloistered in their homes or constrained to stay wherever they were on March 24. A profit mark-up of Rs 155 that is 61 percent on the landed cost price of Rs 245 is much on the higher side and in any case more than sufficient for the seller," Wazir said. Observing that the economy is virtually at a standstill for the last one month, the court said that there is an element of "disquiet apropos" one's safety. People walk along a near empty High Street in Winchester, as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. Photo: Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images The UK retail industrys lobby group, British Retail Consortium (BRC), just issued a new set of guidance to prepare companies for reopening in anticipation of the lockdown eventually easing. Both the BRC and Usdaw unions guidance takes into account government advice as well as lessons learned by pharmacies and food retailers, which are deemed essential, on social distancing. The coronavirus pandemic has significantly changed everything as leaders across the globe battle COVID-19 from spreading as well as helping navigate the damage to the economy. On 23 March, the UK government ordered the closure of all non-essential stores, as well as playgrounds and libraries, and imposed a range of drastic measures on public life, in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. To date, there have been 20,000 coronavirus deaths in hospitals in Britain. The UKs independent budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), said that the UK economy could contract by as much as 35% in the second quarter of 2020 if the current lockdown persists for three months. In this scenario, unemployment is expected to rise to 10%, compared to 3.9% at the start of the year. That would equate to 2 million extra people out of work. Meanwhile, British retail sales fell by the most on record in March and the deterioration is likely to be even worse in April. On 24 April, the UK government said it was too early to lift the lockdown. While no date has been set for the lockdown lifting, the Usdaw general secretary Paddy Lillis said we need to be ready and we need to make sure that the proper preparations and measures are put in place. Guidance includes: Providing hand sanitiser for customers; Encouraging customers to visit shops alone; Limiting the number of customers in shops at one time; Encouraging cashless payments; Keeping customers 2 metres apart. BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: Continued close collaboration with government, including public support for the steps retailers are taking and adequate notice to get supply chains up and running, will mean that retail businesses can start trading again slowly and safely, and customers can feel confident that they are safe to return to shops. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo Finance UK Our beauty expert Triona McCarthy has a round-up of her favourite Irish products to keep you feeling well and cared for while working from home. Most wanted Sculpted by Aimee Connolly Full Face Edit, below, 35, see sculptedbyaimee.com, is the perfect, prettiest palette for touching up before work calls on Skype or FaceTime. It has everything I need for lips, eyes and cheeks under one sparkly pink lid, including a bronzer, a highlighter and a blusher. Expand Close Full Face Edit / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Full Face Edit But there's more! It also has a matte brown shadow, perfect for definition or to use as a liner; a warm rose bronze shimmer shadow for the perfect lift and sparkle; and a pink cream tint that's perfect as a blusher or a lip tint. Be a nerd Expand Close Zooey Deschanel / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Zooey Deschanel Check out the Nerd Network, an online skin consultation and membership service. It's designed as a first step towards long-term skin health, and promises real results, with the guidance of qualified and experienced skin experts. The brains and beauty behind it is Jennifer Rock, who, incidentally, is a dead ringer for actress Zooey Deschanel, pictured above. It's a great service, especially now, when salons are closed and human connections with people other than your family are hard to find. You'll get expert skincare advice through a video call, from a real human, whenever and wherever suits you, along with access to results-driven skincare brands such as Skingredients, Image Skincare, Dermalogica and more, shipped right to your door. See theskinnerd.com Let us spray Expand Close Holos spritz / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Holos spritz After lockdown ends, I'm not sure if I should go straight to an AA meeting or a WW meeting, with the amount of food and drink I've been consuming! Until then, let us spray, with Holos Super Natural Activity Pre and Probiotic Spritz, right, 33, holos.ie. It's the perfect product to refresh your face, as it's infused with herbal flowers, plant oils and essential oils of frankincense, lavender and sweet orange - and it also contains probiotics (good bacteria) to maintain skin immunity. It works to repair, rebalance pH, and helps to reduce redness, inflammation, acne and fine lines. It can also be used over make-up as a setting spray. Video of the Day Triona's trick Apple cider vinegar is a staple in the 'White House'. Mix a tablespoon of ACV with a cup of water and drink it every morning. It can help to lower glucose levels, promote a healthy gut, reduce bloating, whiten teeth, brighten skin, and heal blemishes. Cult product Expand Close Ambr Blue Light Blocking Glasses / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ambr Blue Light Blocking Glasses I said, ooh, I'm blinded by the lights No, I can't sleep until I feel your touch. Blinding Light by The Weeknd seems to be the lockdown anthem and it's the song I sing while wearing my new Ambr Blue Light Blocking Glasses, above, from 55, ambreyewear.com. They block harmful blue light emitted by digital devices, providing relief from eye strain, headaches and sleep difficulties. Blue light has been shown to suppress melatonin production, the sleep hormone, resulting in disrupted sleep quality. I went for Juno - pictured - one of 46 colourful styles from the Dublin-based company. Such a chic solution for those of us who spend long hours looking at a screen. These glasses can be worn by anyone, whether they need prescription or not. Triona's top trends Expand Close Green Angel / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Green Angel I've always been a huge supporter of Irish beauty brands, but since the lockdown began, I've grown to love our little island's many amazing companies, such as Green Angel by Mary and Chris Mitchell. Obvs, I've been doing my work from home, and I find that sometimes just changing up the scenery with a vase of fresh flowers or introducing a new scent to the house can lift my spirits, and make me more productive. So lately I'm really enjoying my Green Angel White Linen Candle, above, 20, greenangel.com; I have it at my desk while I'm working. Yes, I'm quite sure the name was inspired by my married name - Mrs White! The fresh, powdery linen scent makes me think all the laundry is done and folded away neatly in the hot press, so that's one less thing to distract me. Top Tip: I repurpose the beautiful minimalist pots and store my pens and make-up brushes in them. "The more complex and pressured a woman's life becomes, the more she prizes simplicity and beauty. White Linen is that soothing element that can lift the spirit and make a woman relaxed and cool" - Estee Lauder. Estee Lauder's White Linen, below, from 66, launched in 1978, and is one of the most successful perfumes ever. Expand Close White Linen / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp White Linen An aldehyde floral like Chanel No 5, it epitomises freshness and cleanness. Buy it from any of the Irish retailers online, such as Brown Thomas, Arnotts, Debenhams, Littlewoods, Boots or McCauley's. India is set to get a new permanent representative to the United Nations as the current envoy, Syed Akbaruddin, is to retire soon. As per sources, TS Tirumurti, currently Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), is to be appointed as the next ambassador to the UN, based in New York. About TS Tirumurti TS Tirumurti joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1985. His previous diplomatic assignments include postings in Cairo, the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva, the Representative of India in Gaza, Washington D.C, Deputy Chief of Mission in Jakarta and High Commissioner in Malaysia. He has also served as Under Secretary (Bhutan), Director (Foreign Secretarys Office), Joint Secretary (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Maldives) and Joint Secretary (United Nations Economic and Social) during his stints at the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi. Tirumurti assumed his current assignment as the Secretary (Economic Relations) on February 5, 2018. READ | United Nations Looks Beyond Covid Crisis; Eyes Similar Fight Against Climate Change READ | Hardik Patel Fearmongers; Cites United Nations To Claim Covid Will Set India Back 10 Years Syed Akbaruddin: A man of many accomplishments Syed Akbaruddin has had an illustrious tenure at the UN. The Indian ambassador gained particular fame after his efforts led to the proscribing of Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, and with his outspoken and taking-on-all-comers approach to block China and Pakistan's attempt to raise the Kashmir issue at United Nations after the abrogation of Article 370. Syed Akbaruddin's strong representation of India thwarted China's plan of raking up Kashmir issue at United Nations Security Council (UNSC) at Pakistan's behest. Except for Pakistan's all-weather friend China, the rest of the four permanent nations the US, the UK, France and Russia, supported India stating that Kashmir remains a bilateral issue and an integral territory of India. It was during Syed Akbaruddin's tenure that India created history at the United Nations in 2017 by winning a fiercely-fought electoral contest against its former colonial ruler Britain for the re-election of Justice Dalveer Bhandari at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague. Indias victory had made global headlines since it was the first time in decades that a permanent member of the UN Security Council (the P-5 club) had been forced to fall back by a non-P5 member. India is set to become a non-permanent member at the UNSC for a two-year term 2021-22. Each year the 193-member General Assembly elects five non-permanent members for a two-year term at the UN high-table. Indias candidature received unanimous endorsement by Asia-Pacific group. The non-permanent seat is particularly significant given that Pakistan and China, both countries with which India has had diplomatic challenges at the UN, supported the move. However, significant work remains with regards to the United Nations. India has been foremost in seeking an overhaul and reform in the world body, with the pitch set to increase given the Covid pandemic. READ | United Nations: 189 Staffers Infected, Three Dead Due To Coronavirus Pandemic READ | United Nations Warns Of 'global Food Shortage' Due To Coronavirus Pandemic A Historical Perspective Related to: Living Newer Older Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 History is the social genetic code of who we were, who we are, and ultimately, who we will become. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 10:41:07|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CHANGSHA, April 26 (Xinhua) -- After cleaning, disinfection and catering, students at Changjun Xiangfu High School in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, lined up to enter the school gym to have lunch at their fixed positions. With 480 single desks spaced 1.5 meters apart and the floor covered with waterproof nylon cloth, the 800-square-meter gymnasium has been converted into a large canteen which looks like an "examination hall". Hunan Province, a neighboring province to Hubei, the former epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, has reported no new cases for over 20 days. On April 13, the second batch of students resumed classes in Changsha. Except for the graduates who started their new semester on April 7, all the students from other grades of high schools and junior high schools returned to the campus. Different schools have come up with their own solutions to divide crowds into small groups to ensure the safety of teachers and students. "Keep distance and don't talk," said Li Jianpeng, deputy director of the education department of the Changjun Xiangfu High School, waiting at the entrance of the gymnasium in advance to maintain order. "It is convenient to manage the eating environment of students in the gym, which can help avoid the risks brought about by queuing together in the canteen," Li added. Due to its large number of students, the high school has adopted the modes of arranging students from different grades to have lunch in the school canteen, the gymnasium and classrooms at different peaks. While students from senior one and senior three grade eating at the canteen with two students sharing one table, all the juniors eat in the classrooms as the canteen staff will pack food for them. Li said the arrangement can not only make up for the shortage of space and seats in the original canteen during the special period of epidemic control and prevention, but also ensure that all students could finish their meals within a reasonable time. "Eating in the gymnasium feels like attending an examination, quiet and comfortable. The 1.5-meter interval between each person also makes me feel very safe," said Yu Yan, a senior two student, adding that it saves time and ensures the safety of the students. Different from Changjun Xiangfu High School, Changsha No.1 Middle School has arranged all students to have meals in the classroom. "Meals are distributed by the canteen and a catering enterprise every day," said Zheng Xiuhe, deputy director of the general affairs department of the middle school. After the meal is distributed, the students eat at their own desks while keeping a safe distance of 1.5 meters. "The dining way we adopt ensures the safety of teachers and students. We also hope that it can help our students develop a good hygiene habit," Zheng said. Enditem Actor Vidya Balan on Sunday said she was elated that her efforts to raise 1,000 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits exceeded expectations, as over 2,500 kits were arranged to help healthcare workers in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The actor on Saturday pledged to donate 1,000 PPE kits and announced that she is also collaborating with celebrity shout-out platform Tring to raise money for additional 1,000 units. In a video uploaded on Instagram, Vidya said, "I've woken up to good this morning. We reached 2,500+ PPE kits and raised over 16 lakh in just a few hours. "A big thank you to each of you who has donated and made this possible. A load of gratitude and bless you. This is truly the unity and spirit of India." The "Tumhari Sulu" actor captioned the video, writing that the campaign will run for some more time so that people can still donate. "Every single kit is helping protect a life. The #WarAgainstCovid19 continues. Let's #UniteForHumanity #StayHome #StaySafe." For donations made through Tring, Vidya will be recognising the support of every donor by sending a personal thank you video message and a chance for a two-minute video call with her. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump's remarks that disinfectants could potentially treat coronavirus patients remaining in the after four days of them being made was "bothering", a key member of the White House Task Force on Coronavirus has said. "I think it bothers me that this is still in the cycle, because I think we're missing the bigger pieces of what we need to be doing, as American people, to continue to protect one another," Dr Deborah Brix, member of the White House Task Force on Coronavirus, told CNN in an interview. Trump on Wednesday had suggested the possibility of studying injecting disinfectants into COVID-19 patients or bringing UV light "inside" their bodies to kill the deadly virus, drawing immediate flak from health experts while a leading disinfectant producer urged people not to listen to such dangerous speculation. Brix, a leading doctor specialising in HIV/AIDS immunology, said the dialogue should focus on asymptomatic cases and not on the president's remarks. "We should be having that dialogue about this unique clotting that we're seeing. We are the first country that really had young people to this degree. Italy and Europe is about eight years older than us, as a median age. "So, this is the first experience of this virus in an open society, where we really can understand what's happening to every different age group. These are the things that we should be talking about and focusing on," Brix said. "As a scientist and a public health official and a researcher, sometimes, I worry that we don't get the information to the American people that they need, when we continue to bring up something that was from Thursday night," she said. Responding to a question, Brix said Trump made it clear that physicians must study his idea. "I think I have made it clear that this was a musing. But I want us to move on to be able to get information to the American people that can help them protect each other and also help them understand how devastating this virus is to different age groups and different symptoms and different comorbidities, she said. Dr Brix said that she is "always concerned" when asked about a potential surge in new cases and deaths after many states have started taking actions to open up their economy. "I'm always concerned. And that's why we put out key, key gating criteria. And that gating criteria was not only looking at the epidemic. It was looking at the health care workers and making sure that the health care workers were protected. And it was also looking at capacity within the hospitals," she said. Noting that over the last few weeks there is a better understand how much asymptomatic cases and asymptomatic spread may be out there, Dr Brix underscored the need for sentinel surveillance, monitoring proactively in long-term care facilities, in inner-city clinics that have multi-generational households, in prisons, among Native Americans, to really ensure to find the virus before people even get symptoms. "And that's a key part of this also that, sometimes, I think is missing when we're talking about diagnosis and contact tracing. We also have to diagnose the virus before it is evident in communities," she said. The coronavirus, which originated in China's Wuhan city, has claimed over 2,00,000 lives and infected nearly 3 million people in the world so far. There are nearly a million confirmed coronavirus cases with over 54,000 deaths in the US. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The worldwide Covid-19 death toll zoomed past 200,000 on Saturday as the United Nations launched a global push for a vaccine to defeat the pandemic. Governments around the world are struggling to limit the economic devastation unleashed by the virus, which has infected more than 2.8 million people. The scale of the pandemic has forced medical research on the virus to move at unprecedented speed, but effective treatments are still far away and the UN chief said the effort will require cooperation on a global scale. We face a global public enemy like no other, secretary-general Antonio Guterres told a virtual briefing on Friday, asking for international organisations, world leaders and the private sector to join hands. A world free of Covid-19 requires the most massive public health effort in history. The vaccine should be safe, affordable and available to all, Guterres stressed at the meeting, which was also attended by the leaders of Germany and France. Notably absent from the meeting were the leaders of China, where the virus first emerged late last year, and the US, which has accused the UNs World Health Organization (WHO) of not warning quickly enough about the original outbreak. Spains daily virus toll rose slightly on Saturday with 378 people dying, a day after the country registered its lowest number of deaths in four weeks. Iran raised fears of a fresh outbreak with another 76 fatalities declared, bringing the countrys death toll to 5,650. The UN General Assembly, meanwhile, is yet to decide as to how it will proceed with a secret ballot scheduled for June to elect non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, an election India will win following the endorsement of its candidature by the Asia-Pacific grouping. Elections for the five non-permanent members of the 15-nation Council for the 2021-22 term are scheduled to be held in June. India is a candidate for a non-permanent seat in the elections this year and its victory is a given following the endorsement of its candidature by the 55-member Asia-Pacific grouping, including China and Pakistan. Nevada, like no other state, is totally dependent on tourism. If tourism dies, the state will die. The Democrat governor, Steve Sisolak, is doing his best to kill Nevada. Sisolak seems to be driven more by a lack of clear thinking rather than malicious intent. Sisolaks plan is to place most state residents under what amounts to house arrest. In order to discourage anyone from leaving their house he is attempting to make leaving home as unpleasant as possible. Parks are closed, or if that is impossible, at least the bathrooms are closed. He is even attempting to close the vast desert that surrounds Las Vegas, blocking off roads and trails. All businesses are required to close except for essential businesses like grocery stores. The schools are closed, making it difficult for parents to work because they have to care for their children. The entire tourist industry has been shut down. The Las Vegas strip, usually crowded with tourists staying in some of the 150,000 hotel rooms, is completely deserted. Credit: Reiji via YouTube screen grabs (cropped) Tourism is the base of Nevadas economy. Hundreds of thousands of tourist industry workers have been laid off. The state unemployment benefits office is apparently helpless in the face of the flood of applicants. The governor sees this as a medical problem. It does not seem to bother him that destroying the Nevada economy will devastate the citizens of Nevada. Not only will they lose their jobs, they will also lose their savings and assets. What exactly is the purpose of the house arrest? The disease is going to spread through the population until enough people are recovered and immune, so that herd immunity develops, and the virus fades away. That is the typical pattern for the spread of a new disease. Placing everyone under house arrest will slow the spread of disease but prolong the time it takes for herd immunity to develop. The justification for house arrest is that it is necessary to flatten the curve and avoid spikes that will overwhelm the medical resources. Why is it necessary to take draconian measures? The governor seems to be relying on computer models that have been consistently wrong. Why anyone takes these epidemiological models seriously is a big mystery. Whenever the model is too high by a factor of 10 or 20, the believers in the models implausibly claim that good behavior on the part of the people has lowered the number of deaths. Thus, the theory embedded in the model is never wrong. If a model is immune to falsification, because no matter what happens it is always right, it is not scientific, but meaningless nonsense. A March 20th article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, citing a model, suggested that 94,000 Nevadans would have to be hospitalized. The same article reported that Governor Sisolak warned that hospitals faced a potential tsunami of Covid-19 patients. In the governors April 21st situation report Kyra Morgan, the state biostatistician, claims that with limited action, the peak hospitalizations will be 65,000. She claims that with social distancing the peak hospitalizations will be 25,000. With shelter in place (house arrest) she claims peak hospitalizations will be only 1300. Nevada has only 5500 hospital beds. Thus, you have the model-inspired case for placing the entire population under house arrest. As best I can make out, the governor assumes that in a few more months the virus will be suppressed by surveillance and contact tracing. This assumes every time a case pops up an army of contact tracers will find everyone exposed to the case and put them under quarantine to make sure the virus does not spread further. This is obviously incompatible with the tourist industry. Tourists mix with other anonymous tourists in casinos and shows. No contact tracing is possible. The governors plan, then, is to shut down the tourist industry until the virus has vanished on a national scale, probably in one or two years. This is ridiculous. If the Nevada economy is shut down for a year, the economy will have vanished. The population will take total losses on their houses, default on their credit cards and stop paying rent. The Casino industry will be bankrupt. Some of the worlds largest hotels will be empty tombstones. The government will lose most of its tax income. Like the Okies escaping the dust bowl in the 1930s, Nevadas population will decamp to other states, leaving their incomes and assets behind. The governors plan is a recipe for the destruction of the state. The plan cant roll out as planned because the governor, if he continues with his plan, will be driven from office by an enraged population. Rather than wait to be removed from office, the governor needs to come up with a plan that is compatible with the survival of the state. The mayor of Las Vegas calls the governors plan insanity. Already, public demonstrations protest the governors actions. A realistic plan will give first priority to protecting the states economy. Medical measures must be compatible with prompt reopening of the economy. If this results in a medical catastrophe, that is better than the total destruction of the state. Fortunately, a medical catastrophe is unlikely. There are many reasons for optimism. Covid-19, with very few exceptions, only kills elderly people that have serious health problems. This is incredible good luck. The 1918 Spanish Flu killed young people in the prime of life. The medical profession is rapidly improving treatment protocols. Therapeutic drugs show considerable promise for limiting the severity of the disease. Much can be done to slow down the rate of spread without placing everyone under house arrest. Resources then can be concentrated on protecting the most vulnerable. The country of Sweden provides a model. Sweden never shut down its economy allowing the virus to spread toward a condition of herd immunity. An effort is made to protect the elderly population vulnerable to severe consequences. This seems to be working well. The CEO of Wynn Resorts developed a 23-page program for starting to reopen the hotels and casinos. Marriott is testing the use of electrostatic sprayers and ultraviolet light to prevent spread of the virus. It is quite likely that the summer will suppress the epidemic. Sunshine kills the virus in seconds. Nevada has a super abundance of sunshine. This could give a respite while improvements in treatment continue. The economy has to be protected. That must be the first priority. Norman Rogers is a resident of Las Vegas. Ekiti State has recorded four more Coronavirus disease, Governor Kayode Fayemi said on Saturday. This brings confirmed cases to eight. A statement signed by the governor said the victims contracted the disease from the states fourth index case, a 45-year-old medical doctor working with a private clinic in the state. Fayemi said new positive cases were stable and showed no symptoms of the deadly disease, saying they had been transferred to the Ekiti isolation centre for treatment. Ekiti State Government has received notice from NCDC of four (4) new COVID-19 positive cases, in the State. The new cases are primary contacts of the 4th recorded case, a male doctor, aged 45 years old, who carried out a surgery on the recently deceased third positive case, during childbirth. The newly confirmed cases are currently stable and asymptomatic and they have been transferred to the States Isolation Center, Ado-Ekiti while our contact tracing team have commenced the process of contact identification and tracing of their immediate contacts for isolation, he said, in a report by The Nation. Tata Steel's UK arm is seeking an estimated GBP 500-million government financial package to survive through the coronavirus lockdown period, according to UK media reports. Tata Steel, which owns the UK's largest steelworks in Port Talbot in Wales, is holding discussions with the Welsh government as well as the UK Treasury as it seeks the GBP 50-million cap set on loans being offered under the UK's Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) to be lifted. Also Read: Coronavirus India live updates: Total COVID-19 cases cross 26,000; 8 states with over 1,000 cases "We continue to have ongoing discussions with Tata Steel about what support it needs to sustain a strong steel making presence in the UK and in Wales," a Welsh government spokesperson said. The Indian steel major employs 8,385 people in the UK, including about 4,000 people in Port Talbot and 2,800 in other parts of Wales. "We continue to work with both the UK and Welsh governments to identify what support is available," a company statement said. According to 'Sky News', the support sought is largely understood to comprise a commercial loan that would be repayable when demand for steel recovers. The GBP 500-million figure is said to be a "ballpark" estimate of the company's funding need. "The GBP 50 million cap on loans that are now available under the government support scheme is only about 10 per cent of what Tata Steel actually needs," said Opposition Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, whose constituents make up much of the steel workforce in Port Talbot. "Tata Steel estimates that it will take around six months to get back to business as usual, or as close as possible to it and the challenge they have is cashflow over that six month period. And the estimation is in the region of GBP 500 million," said Kinnock, who had also raised the issue in the House of Commons earlier this week. Responding to him, First Secretary of State Dominic Raab, who is standing in for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson while he recuperates, said that UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak is looking "carefully" at the steel sector. "All those who are not directly benefiting from this particular scheme [CLBILS] to ensure that in the round we are providing the measures that we need in a targeted way to support all the different crucial elements of the economy," Raab said. Also Read: Coronavirus: Sonia Gandhi calls for Rs 2 lakh crore wage protection, credit guarantee MSME package Also Read: Is Kim Jong Un dead? Twitter abuzz with rumours of North Korean leader's demise Egypt is in talks with the International Monitory Fund (IMF) about a new one-year financial assistance deal along with technical support as a proactive step against the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, Egypts prime minister and central bank governor said on Sunday. The decision is aimed at preserving the gains of Egypts economic reforms, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly told a televised press conference. The reforms were tied to a three-year, $12 billion bailout program with the IMF agreed upon in late 2016. Over the past few days, [we] developed negotiations with the IMF for the new proposed cooperation program to include a financial package alongside technical support, Mabouly said. The move is a proactive step and a precautionary measure against any potential repercussions on the Egyptian economy and is meant to protect the countrys foreign reserves as the crisis has brought major industries like tourism and aviation to a standstill, he said. The government and the IMF will discuss steps to obtain the new funding within the next few days, the prime minister said. Egypt is requesting the funds under the IMF's Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) and a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), a statement by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said. The emergency financing under the RFI will allow the government to address any immediate balance of payments needs, while an SBA would support the country's macroeconomic policies, she added. She said she expects the request for the RFI to be presented to the IMFs Executive Board "within the next few weeks. Egypt said in February, before the advent of the coronavirus in the country, that it was in talks with the Fund about technical assistance on non-financial structural reforms. The prime minister said the country's economic situation was very good and there was no need for financial assistance before the crisis. He assured the public that the Egyptian economy nevertheless remains steadfast in the face of the slowdown caused by the global pandemic. The IMF is very enthusiastic about the program due to the high credibility of the Egyptian economy, central bank governor Tarek Amer told the joint news conference. This program is for one year only, but we can also benefit from other financings, Amer said. The central bank governor stressed that Egypt has sufficient foreign reserves to deal with the effects of the coronavirus crisis for one or two years. We have foreign reserves much more than our needs. The IMF-backed reforms Egypt has pressed ahead with over the past years included devaluing the currency by around half, cutting energy subsidies and introducing a value-added tax. The changes have further strained the budgets of millions of Egyptians. Egypt expects economic growth to slow to 4.2 percent in the current 2019/2020 fiscal year, ending in June, due to the effects of the coronavirus, Planning Minister Hala El-Saeed said in the same briefing. Search Keywords: Short link: Coronavirus pandemic latest news live updates: The total number of cases in India has reached 26,917 as of April 26, 5:00 pm, including 20,177 active cases, 826 deaths, 5,913 cured or discharged patients and 1 migrated patient, showed data by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. As numbers of cases and deaths grow, PM Narendra Modi will interact with chief ministers via video link to discuss the status of COVID-19 in India. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that 80 per cent of the cases are asymptomatic and rest 20 per cent have mild symptoms. He urged people in "hiding" to get themselves tested. Thackeray also said that the state will help migrant workers but trains will not be operational as they do not want gatherings. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also held a press conference and said that the past week was better than the one before that. He also said that Delhi government is asking recovered patients to donate plasma for plasma therapy. He also said that Delhi would follow the Centre's guidelines on reopening local shops and keeping malls and complexes closed. Meanwhile, Haryana has sealed the Delhi-Sonipat border and will keep it blocked till May 3. Additionally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation through his Mann Ki Baat radio programme today. He said that the fight against coronavirus in India is a people-driven fight. Every person is a soldier in this war and everyone has been contributing in every way they can. "Some are waiving off house rent, also some labourers who are in quarantine at a school are whitewashing schools," he said. There are now eight states that have recorded more than 1,000 cases. Andhra Pradesh is the latest state to cross the 1,000 mark. Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases with 7,628. As the number of cases increase, five states said that want the lockdown to be extended after Delhi proposed an extension till May 16. Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab and Odisha have all voted for an extension of the lockdown that is scheduled to be lifted on May 3. Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka said that they would follow the Centre's orders, while Assam, Kerala and Bihar will await Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video conferencing with states and union territories on Monday. Also read: Bravado! IndiGo, Vistara, SpiceJet, GoAir start bookings violating govt orders Follow the latest updates on coronavirus news here on the BusinessToday.In blog: 9.57 pm: Delhi coronavirus news: COVID scare in AIIMS A nursing staff, deputed at Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital of Delhi AIIMS, has tested positive for coronavirus. While her two kids have also contracted the infection, her husband has tested negative. Meanwhile, a security guard deputed at OSD office of Delhi AIIMS has also been found COVID-19 positive and Contact tracing has been initiated. 9.03 pm: Mumbai coronavirus cases Mumbai posted 324 new coronavirus cases and 13 deaths due to the virus today, taking the total number of cases in the city to 5,194 and deaths to 204. 135 patients discharged today after recovery; total 897 patients discharged till today, stated Public Health Department, Mumbai. 324 new #COVID19 cases & 13 deaths have been reported in Mumbai today, taking the total number of cases to 5194 & deaths to 204. 135 patients discharged today after recovery; total 897 patients discharged till today: Public Health Department, Mumbai. #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/75t0tonSLN ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 8.10 pm: Haryana corona update There are 296 cases of COVID-19 in Haryana out of which 94 are active. Three people have lost their lives due to the disease so far. The doubling rate of cases stands at 18 days in the state. 7.56 pm: Gujarat COVID-19 cases According to Gujarat Health Department, 230 new COVID-19 cases and 18 deaths were reported in Gujarat during the last 24 hours. Now, total number of positive cases in the state stand at 3,301, including 155 deaths and 313 cured or discharged patients. 7.53 pm: Punjab coronavirus cases Punjab Health Department said that 5 persons tested positive for novel coronavirus in the state today. Of the new cases, 3 have been reported in Jalandhar, 1 in SBS Nagar and 1 in Ludhiana. 7.40 pm: Rajasthan coronavirus news Rajasthan: A viral video shows a policeman giving a haircut to his colleague on-duty in Nagori Gate area of Jodhpur, Rajasthan. "Police personnel face different kinds of problems on-duty. But there is a solution of every problem," said Nagori Gate SHO Jabbar Singh. Rajasthan: A viral video shows a policeman giving a haircut to his colleague on-duty in Nagori Gate area of Jodhpur. Nagori Gate SHO Jabbar Singh says, "Police personnel face different kinds of problems on-duty. But there is a solution of every problem". #CoronavirusLockdown pic.twitter.com/XP7FZSlZNp ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 7.37 pm: Coronavirus updates Nepal extends their nationwide lockdown till May 7 amid coronavirus pandemic. A meeting of Council of Ministers today decided to extend the lockdown by 10 days, stated Nepal PM Secretariat. 7.33 pm: Madhya Pradesh coronavirus cases Madhya Pradesh has seen 2,090 COVID-19 cases so far and 103 people have lost their lives, informed State Health Department. Of the major cities, Indore has recorded 1,176 cases and 57 deaths, whereas in Bhopal there are 415 cases and 9 deaths. Till date, 2090 cases of #COVID19 have been reported in Madhya Pradesh and 103 people have lost their lives. Indore has recorded 1176 cases & 57 deaths while in Bhopal there are 415 cases & 9 deaths: Health Department, Madhya Pradesh pic.twitter.com/ZfXkDK57GC ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 7.02 pm: Use umbrellas when going out: Kerala's idea to maintain social distancing To enforce physical distancing, Thanneermukkom GP in Alappuzha, mandates that everyone hold umbrella when they go. 2 opened umbrellas, not touching each other, will ensure min distance of 1 meter from one another. Umbrellas distributed at subsidized rate. To enforce physical distancing, Thanneermukkom GP in Alappuzha, mandates that everyone hold umbrella when they go. 2 opened umbrellas, not touching each other, will ensure min distance of 1 meter from one another. Umbrellas distributed at subsidized rate: Kerala Min Thomas Isaac pic.twitter.com/bRBuhniC3K ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 6.54 pm: IRS Officers' Association disassociates itself from tax suggestions by 50 tax officers IRS Association has said that the paper FORCE prepared and submitted to CBDT by "50 young IRS officers" recommending policy measures like tax hikes amid the coronavirus pandemic does not represent the views of the entire IRS or Income Tax Department. 6.35 pm: INDIA CORONAVIRUS TRACKER BusinessToday.In brings you a daily tracker as coronavirus cases continue to spread. Here is the state-wise data on total cases, fatalities and recoveries in one comprehensive graphic: 6.12 pm: Shimla COVID-19 lockdown updates Shimla District Administration allows shops to open, except shopping malls and liquor shops in rural areas, from 10 AM to 2 PM from tomorrow. Wearing face masks and following social distancing norms will be mandatory at the shops, the authorities added. 6.08 pm: "We have to come up with our new model of development which makes us self-reliant," says Mohan Bhagwat. 6.06 pm: "We have to be patient and calm. There should be no fear or anger. Follow all guidelines and precautions,": RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat tells Sangh workers. 6.06 pm: "Even if someone did something wrong, do not consider everyone guilty. Some people want to misuse it," RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat says on the COVID-19 crisis in India. 6.03 pm: India handled this pandemic effectively as government and people responded proactively to this crisis, says RSS chief Bhagwat. 6.03 pm: Besides making others aware, Sangh workers following all rules and precautions during lockdown in wake of COVID-19, says RSS chief Bhagwat. 5.50 pm: Coronavirus in India The total number of cases in India has reached 26,917 as of April 26, 5:00 pm, , showed data by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This includes 20,177 active cases, 826 deaths, 5,913 cured or discharged patients and 1 migrated patient. 1,975 new COVID-19 cases and 47 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours. 5.44 pm: RSS chief Bhagwat cautions against vested interests trying to take advantage of crisis in the country. 5.42 pm: We should continue relief work till this pandemic ends, help all those who are affected due to COVID-19 crisis: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat tells Sangh workers during his address on Sunday. 5.40 pm: RSS is active during lockdown, its work has taken shape of relief activities, says Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat. 5.25 pm: Tamil Nadu coronavirus updates Tamil Nadu government has promulgated an ordinance under Tamil Nadu Public Health Act which mandates fine and one to three years imprisonment for anyone who blocks or attempts to block burial or cremation of any person who dies due to notified diseases. 5.20 pm: Coronavirus in Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir has seen 29 more coronavirus cases have been reported in last 24 hours, with all these cases coming from Kashmir Division. They tally of COVID-19 cases now stands at 523, of which 466 cases are in Kashmir valley and 57 in Jammu Division. 5.10 pm: Mumbai coronavirus updates 31 journalists in Mumbai have been discharged today after their second COVID-19 report came negative. All journalists have been advised to stay in home quarantine for 14 days, informed Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). #WATCH Mumbai: Housing Society members of Press Enclave in Pratiksha Nagar, Sion East welcome two journalists by applauding for them, as they return home after getting discharged today from hospital. The second #COVID19 report of the two journalists came negative. pic.twitter.com/2Tz63TwxxK ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 5.01 pm: Coronavirus news: Medical supplies sent to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das, High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh, dispatched second consignment of medical equipments for fighting coronavirus to Central Medical Store Depot, Bangladesh today. The supply contains 50,000 surgical gloves and 1 lakh Hydroxychloroquinine under COVID19 Emergency Fund, informed High Commission of India in Bangladesh. Riva Ganguly Das, High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh, dispatched 2nd tranche of assistance containing 50000 surgical gloves&1 lakh Hydroxychloroquinine under COVID19 Emergency Fund today to Central Medical Store Depot, Bangladesh: High Commission of India in Bangladesh pic.twitter.com/Xk3SORKAWU ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 4.57 pm: Jharkhand coronavirus updates Ranchi has seen 6 new coronavirus cases today, including a staff of Sadar Hospital, 3 in Hindpiri and 2 in Lowadih, informed Jharkhand Health Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni. The total number of cases in the Jharkhand now stands at 73. 4.48 pm: Coronavirus in Bihar 4 new coronavirus cases have been identified in Bihar today, informed State Principal Secretary (Health) Sanjay Kumar. This takes the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state to 255. 4:20 pm: Corona updates: PM Modi to hold video conference Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with CMs via vdeo conference on Monday. They will discuss the situation regarding the spread of coronavirus in the country. There would be discussions on the ongoing lockdown. 4:10 pm: Corona cases in Andaman and Nicobar The number of coronavirus cases in Andaman and Nicobar has surged to 33. Four people have been reported positive after they came in contact with a person who was infected with corona. Twenty-two cases are active in the islands. 4:00 pm: Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College doctor tests positive for corona A junior doctor at Aligarh's Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College has tested positive for coronavirus. He is the third official in the establishment to be infected. The hospital said that the infected doctor did not have any contact with any corona case. He has no travel history also. 3:50 pm: Coronavirus cases in Uttar Pradesh UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Sunday that corona pool testing should be encouraged. Currently only Lucknow, Meerut and Etawah are conducting pool testing. Pool testing is done in batches and when samples are positive, only then individual samples are assessed. Pool testing reduces time and number of kits used. This also means that more people can be tested through this method. 3:40 pm: Corona news in Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu government has passed an ordinance to criminalise stopping of burial or cremation of the patients. It has said that it's legally wrong to stop and protest against the burial or cremation of patients of notified diseases. "Such acts will lead to fine and minimum imprisonment of one year to three years," it said. Culprits will be booked under Tamil Nadu Public Health Act of 1939, Section 74. 3:30 pm: Corona cases in Assam Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has asked landlords and owners of private hostels and PGs to provide concessions while collecting rents from students and tenants. He also appealed for a humanitarian approach while dealing with rent-related issues with people who do not have regular incomes. 3:20 pm: Andhra Pradesh coronavirus cases The number of cases in Andhra Pradesh has increased to 1,097 after 81 new positive cases were reported in 24 hours. The state has 835 active cases. Thirty-one people have died and 231 have been discharged. 3:03 pm: Rajasthan corona cases Rajasthan today reported 69 new COVID-19 cases and 36 deaths. The total number of cases in the state has increased to 2,152. The state health department said that 518 patients have been cured. 69 new #COVID19 cases & 2 deaths have been reported in Rajasthan today, taking the total number of cases to 2152 & deaths to 36 in the State. 518 patients have recovered from the disease so far: Rajasthan Health Department pic.twitter.com/7ffeixc3GH ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 2:55 pm: Corona impact: High-pollution areas in Delhi, Mumbai turn green Multiple areas in Delhi and Mumbai that are known for being highly polluted have turn into green zones. Vinobapuri, Adarsh Nagar, Vasundhara, Sahibabad, Ashram road, Punjabi Bagh, Okhla and Badarpur in Delhi have become green zones, said SAFAR. Worli, Borivali and Bhandup in Mumbai have also turned into green zones. 2:45 pm: Coronavirus news Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that 40 staff members of Jagjivan Ram Hospital, located in Jahangirpuri have been tested positive. He added that a lot of cases have emerged from Jahangirpuri, including the staff members of the hospital. 2:35 pm: Coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh The BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government has decided to have a separate 'Happiness Department' and use its services to reduce the stress of coronavirus patients and boost the morale of those at the forefront of the battle against the disease. The chief minister has said those infected by coronavirus should be treated in a joyous environment, and emphasised the need to boost their morale and entertain them to reduce their stress, a state public relations department official said. 2:25 pm: Rahul Gandhi urges PM to clear bottlenecks Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asked Prime Minister Modi to clear bottlenecks. He said that the only way to get past this is by increasing testing. Experts agree that mass random testing is the key to beating Corona. In India, a bottle neck is stopping us from scaling testing from the current 40,000 per day to 1 lakh tests a day, for which test kits are already in stock. PM needs to act fast & clear the bottleneck. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 26, 2020 2:10 pm: Coronavirus in Maharashtra: Thackeray pays tribute to the fallen policemen Uddhav Thackeray paid tribute to the two policemen who lost their lives due to coronavirus. "I pay homage to them," he said. Thackeray added that the families of the policemen will be compensated as per government policy. 2:05 pm: Maharashtra coronavirus: Thackeray says 80% asymptomatic Uddhav Thackeray in his address to the state said that 80 per cent of cases in Maharashtra are asymptomatic and 20 per cent have mild symptoms. He urged people who are "hiding" to go and get tested. Thackeray said that the government has to ensure that they save as many people as possible. 2:00 pm: Maharashtra coronavirus cases CM Uddhav Thackeray addressed the state and said that the govt is working to help migrant workers. He said that trains haven't been started because the state does not want a crowd. He said if cases increase then the govt will have to extend the lockdown. 1:50 pm: Coronavirus in China: No cases in Wuhan The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the global coronavirus pandemic began, now has no remaining cases in its hospitals, a health official told reporters on Sunday. "The latest news is that by April 26, the number of new coronavirus patients in Wuhan was at zero, thanks to the joint efforts of Wuhan and medical staff from around the country," National Health Commission spokesman Mi Feng said at a briefing. The city had reported 46,452 cases, 56% of the national total. It saw 3,869 fatalities, or 84% of China's total. 1:40 pm: Coronavirus cases in West Bengal A senior government doctor and a 34-year-old man, both diagnosed with the diease, died at a hospital on Sunday, sources at the facility said. The 60-year-old doctor, posted as assistant director health services (equipment and stores), was initially admitted to Beliaghata Infectious Diseases hospital and later shifted to a private hospital in Salt Lake on April 18, where he succumbed to the disease. 1:30 pm: Chandigarh coronavirus cases Fourteen Border Security Force (BSF) jawans have been quarantined in Chhattisgarh for suspected coronavirus infection after they returned from Agra, officials said on Sunday. Their samples have been sent for testing and the reports are awaited, a senior official said. The troops, onboard a truck of the force, had reached Bhilai town in the central Indian state on Saturday after staying at a police line in Agra for 20 days. 1:15 pm: Coronavirus in Delhi: Kits should be available at lowest rate, says Delhi HC COVID-19 test kits should be made available urgently at the lowest possible price so that the virus can be controlled and people's health can be safeguarded at a time when the country was facing an "unprecedented medical crisis", the Delhi High Court has said. Justice Najmi Waziri issued the direction to three private companies which had entered into an agreement to import 10 lakh test kits from China and distribute them here at a cost of Rs 600 each, the rate approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). 1:00 pm: Coronavirus vaccine Vaccine major Serum Institute of India on Sunday said it plans to start production of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University in the next two to three weeks and hopes to bring it to the market by October if the human clinical trials are successful. "Our team has been working closely with Dr Hill from Oxford University, and we are expecting to initiate production of the vaccine in 2-3 weeks and produce 5 million doses per month for the first 6 months, following which, we hope to scale up production to 10 million doses per month," Serum Institute India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla said. 12:45 pm: Maharashtra coronavirus cases: Police personnel dies Second police personnel has died in Maharashtra. The 52-year old personnel was admitted to the hospital and had been battling coronavirus for the past few days. Earlier a 57-year old head constable died of coronavirus. Maharashtra coronavirus count has surpssed 7,000. 12:33 pm: Delhi recovering better this week, says Kejriwal CM Kejriwal said that in the 7th week, 850 cases were reported with 21 deaths, while 260 people recovered. But last week, which was the 8th week, 622 cases were reported, while 21 died and 580 recovered. 12:30 pm: Delhi coronavirus: Plasma therapy working, says Kejriwal CM Kejriwal said that plasma therapy is working for infected patients. He said that a certain patient admitted at the LNJP Hospital was not doing very well but is now recovering after he underwent plasma therapy. He said that Delhi government is asking patients who have been cured and discharged to donate plasma for infected patients. 12:20 pm: Delhi coronavirus update: Which shops locked down? Kejriwal said that Delhi is also implementing the MHA's directions to only open a few local shops. Medical stores, grocery stores, fruit and vegetable shops, dairy, standalone shops in residential areas, and neighbourhood shops will remain open. Shopping complexes and markets will remain shut, he said. 12:15 pm: Coronavirus news Delhi: Border sealed Delhi-Sonipat border has been sealed by the Haryana authorities. This sealing will remain till May 3. Haryana has far few cases at 289 than Delhi's 2,625. The Delhi-Sonipat border has been sealed by the Sonipat District Magistrate, in view of #COVID19 situation. The borders have been sealed till 3rd May. #Haryana pic.twitter.com/flD54nEX2U ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 12:10 pm: PM Modi says he is proud of India PM Modi said during his Mann Ki Baat address that when world leaders thank India, he feels proud. Today, when world leaders tell me- Thank you India, thank you people of India, I feel very proud. India is caring for its own citizens and India is contributing towards creating a healthier planet. #MannKiBaat pic.twitter.com/826hAZBYG6 PMO India (@PMOIndia) April 26, 2020 12:00 pm: Delhi coronavirus updates Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said that this week has been better for Delhi as there were fewer cases and more people recovered and went back home. Delhi has reported 2,625 cases so far, according to Health Ministry data. 11:50 am: Coronavirus PPE from Singapore Two Air India flights and one Blue Dart flight will get 78-tonnes of cargo to India. This shipment from Singapore is part of the 1 million PPE kits sourced from Singapore-based company. 2 Air India & 1 Blue Dart flights in two days bringing in about 78-tonnes cargo to India as part of 1 million PPE kits being acquired through a Singapore-based company: High Commission of India in Singapore pic.twitter.com/cfQ3ZcBphy ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 11:40 am: PM says medical officials have supported stringent punishment for violators PM Modi said during his Mann Ki Baat address that people associated with medical services have expressed satisfaction with the ordinance to punish people indulging in violence against corona warriors. "It was critical to ensure he safety of all doctors, nurses and paramedical staff," said PM Modi. 11:30 am: PM Modi says let's hope we are coronavirus-free before Eid During his Mann Ki Baat address PM Modi said that we must pray this Ramzan for the pandemic to get over before Eid. He said we can achieve it by following the orders of the local administration. 11:20 am: Mann Ki Baat: Masks have become part of our lives, says PM Modi PM Modi said that masks have become a part of our lives. "It doesn't mean that all those wearing are sick. Masks will become a symbol of a civilised society. If you want to protect yourselves and others from the disease, the use of a mask is important," he said. 11:10 am: Become a COVID warrior, says PM Modi during Mann Ki Baat PM Modi said that the government has created a digital platform for volunteers of social organisaions, civil society and local administration. These members -- 1.25 crore of them -- are connected through this platform, he said. "You can also become a COVID warrior," he said. 11:05 am: Coronavirus a people-driven fight, says PM Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during his Mann Ki Baat address today that the fight against coronavirus is people-driven in India. He said every citizen is a soldier in this fight. "In the middle of this pandemic, the farmers are ensuring that no one sleeps hungry in our country," he added. 11:00 am: Coronavirus lockdown in Tamil Nadu: Over 3 lakh violations More than 3 lakh lockdown violations were reported in Tamil Nadu till 9 am on April 26 -- the day the state implemented the intense lockdown. The police arrested 3,24,269 people, while 2,76,183 vehicles were seized. So far, Rs 3,27,33,714 has been collected as fine. 10:55 am: Andhra Pradesh coronavirus news: Bored truck driver leads to 24 new cases A bored truck driver who played a game of cards with his friends led 24 new cases in Vijayawada. Another similar case involving a truck driver and social grouping to pass time resulted in the infection of around 15 people in another locality in Vijayawada. These two instances accounted for about 40 cases in the city in the last couple of days. 10:50 am: Coronavirus cases in Kerala: Swiss nationals airlifted Swiss Air airlifted 164 Swiss nationals who were stranded in Kerala due to the coronavirus lockdown. They were airlifted from the Cochin International Airport yesterday. The flight left from Kochi to Zurich at 11:10 pm. Kochi: 164 Swiss nationals, who were stranded in Kerala due to COVID19 lockdown, airlifted from Cochin International Airport by Swiss Air yesterday. The flight took off from Cochin International Airport yesterday at 11.10 pm to Zurich. pic.twitter.com/T0kKlPPwlM ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 10:45 am: Can recovered people get infected again? WHO weighs in WHO says that so far there's no evidence that a recovered person cannot be infected again. "Some governments have suggested that the detection of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, could serve as the basis for an 'immunity passport' or 'risk-free certificate' that would enable individuals to travel or to return to work assuming that they are protected against re-infection. There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection," it said. 10:40 am: Global coronavirus cases and deaths Global deaths linked to the coronavirus crossed 200,000 on Saturday, while confirmed cases of the virus are expected to hit 3 million in coming days. More than half of the fatalities have been reported by the United States, Spain and Italy. The first death linked to the disease was reported on Jan. 10 in Wuhan, China. It took 91 days for the death toll to pass 100,000 and a further 16 days to reach 200,000: REUTERS 10:35 am: UP coronavirus updates Plans for reviving the economy in the state is on. Like every other state, UP has also felt the impact of the coronavirus lockdown. "A concrete proposal (is needed) for revival of industries in the state after the lockdown is lifted. In the changing global scenario, India can become a good investment destination, and Uttar Pradesh can play an important role in this," said CM Yogi Adityanath to officials on Saturday. The government has also banned large public gatherings till June 30. 10:29 am: Gujarat coronavirus news: Local shops' operations resume Operations have resumed in local shops in Gujarat after the MHA relaxed norms for registered shops and stores outside municipalities. However, this relaxation comes amid fast-escalation of cases in the state. Gujarat is now second in line after Maharashtra with 3,071 cases. Ahmedabad: Locals shops in Bhimjipura resume operation; all shops except those located in malls, shopping complexes and containment zones, are allowed to open from today. #Gujarat pic.twitter.com/4tVXzAOkUX ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 10:25 am: COVID-19 cases in Madhya Pradesh: Indore strain deadlier? Doctors and researchers have suggested that the coronavirus strain in Indore might be deadlier than in other parts of the country. "We have a feeling the strain is definitely more virulent in Indore belt. We have discussed this with the NIV and will be sending samples for them to compare by extraction of virus genome, Dean of Government Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) Medical College Jyoti Bindal told PTI. She added that the high mortality rate could be because of the rather deadly strain. 10:17 am: Complete lockdown in Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu government has announced a complete lockdown in five cities from April 26 to 29. Chennai, Coimbatore, Madhurai will follow the restrictions till April 29, while Salem and Tirupur will remain under strict restrictions until April 28. Streets of Madurai deserted after the intense lockdown. Tamil Nadu: Streets in Periyar area in Madurai wear a deserted look following the announcement of complete lockdown in the city, by Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami, from April 26 to April 29, between 6 AM & 9 PM. #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/e9aVfvKEo4 ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 10:10 am: Jharkhand coronavirus news So far 13 people have recovered from coronavirus in Jharkhand, including six from Ranchi, four from Bokaro, two from Hazaribagh and one from Simdega this week. The state health department said that the recovery ratio this week was 18 per cent. 10:00 am: Coronavirus in India updates Federation of Resident Doctors' Association asks for accommodation facilities for resident doctors who have been asked to home-quarantine. Federation of Resident Doctors Association writes to Union Health Minister over accommodation facilities for resident doctors advised for home quarantine. The letter states, "It will be an important precautionary measure to control the spread of the virus." #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/oeLsaiFfrM ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 9:40 am: Coronavirus in Rajasthan Fifty-eight new cases have been reported in Rajasthan so far. There have been 11 cases in Ajmer, 15 in Jodhpur, 7 in Jaipur, 3 in Kota and 20 in Nagaur. Hanumagarh and Jhalawar have reported one case each. 9:30 am: Maharashtra coronavirus cases Maharashtra government has issued a circular to its employees stressing on the importance of social distancing, hygiene and wearing protection gear. It asked everyone to wear masks, hand gloves and if necessary aprons. It asked its officials to wash hands and apply soap for at least 20 seconds before beginning the daily work. It asked its employees to disinfect objects that are touched frequently. The circular also stated that there should be a distance of at least one metre between two employees. "Use speakermode while using mobile phone," it said. The circular also asked all department heads to ensure supply of personal protection kits and other items. 9:20 am: Rajasthan coronavirus news: HC closed Rajasthan High Court was declared closed till May 3 after a key official was tested positive. The official sits close to judges during judicial proceedings. The court said that only immensely urgent matter will be heard in this period. The concerned judge to whose court the official was attached was tested negative. 9:15 am: Coronavirus in Tamil Nadu Social distancing goes for a toss as people flock to the Koyambedu Wholesale Market to restock vegetables as the state announces a complete lockdown. Tamil Nadu: People buy vegetables at the Koyambedu Wholesale Market in Chennai today amid complete lockdown in the city, announced by Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami, from April 26 to April 29, between 6 AM & 9 PM. #CoronaLockdown pic.twitter.com/dz67s5LRk3 ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 9:00 am: Coronavirus taught us to be self-reliant: Rawat Bipin Rawat said that coronavirus has taught the country to be self reliant. He said that defence usually imports weapons and equipments from abroad but if the challenge is given to the industry, the will stand up to the challenge and manufacture their own ammunitions. 8:55 am: Must spend budget pragmatically: Rawat Bipin Rawat said that whatever coronavirus budget has been allocated must be spent pragmatically. He said that there is no drop in their operational preparedness. 8:50 am: Bipin Rawat says rsponsibility of armed forces to fight against coronavirus Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat has said that it is the responsibility of the armed forces to fight against coronavirus. He said patience and discipline can go a long way to fight coronavirus. 8:40 am: No Akshaya Tritiya celebration in Varanasi Varanasi ghats sport a deserted look amid the coronavirus lockdown. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath banned public gathering till June 30. He said that strict action will be taken against people violating norms. A line to vote in Wisconsin's spring primary election wraps around blocks Tuesday, April 7, 2020, in Milwaukee. MUST CREDIT: Photo for The Washington Post by Sara Stathas Read more So far, COVID-19 has disrupted presidential campaigns and primary election schedules. But federal, state, and local officials should not permit the pandemic to disrupt voting itself. Given how much we have all learned to live at a safe distance, there is no excuse for government not to move toward instituting policies and funding to provide every voter with the option to cast a ballot by mail. In-person voting is preferred by many and can remain an option. But no one should have to risk contracting a potentially fatal infection when exercising a constitutional right like those voters forced to stand in long lines and in crowded polling places during Wisconsins April 7 primary. That debacle arose from toxic partisanship and eleventh-hour court rulings, culminating in an avalanche of absentee ballot applications that were never fulfilled. Voters, candidates, and American democracy itself deserve better. While states are addressing the logistics of providing more voting-by-mail options for upcoming local municipal elections and primaries in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the presidential election has sparked debate over moving to a universal system of voting by mail. That seems a logical solution at least during this crisis, but this is a battle fought on partisan lines, with Republicans pushing for in-person voting and resisting the move to mail voting. A Democratic political group filed a lawsuit last week that would make it easier to vote by mail in Pennsylvania. The term voting by mail covers more than one category of voting. Every state offers absentee ballots; some states require voters to provide an excuse for his or her absence from the physical polling place. Pennsylvania and New Jersey do not. Both of these states also offer registered voters the options to request mail-in ballots. Only Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, and Utah offer all-mail voting; 27 other states allow all-mail voting only for certain local elections, such as school board contests. (New Jerseys municipal elections in May will be all-mail.) All-mail voting, which provides mail-in ballots to all voters, can increase election expenses, such as printing, mailing and other costs. Montgomery County, for example, expects to spend $50,000 on scanning equipment for mail-in ballots. The first federal stimulus package includes $400 million to help states defray election costs though that falls far short of the $2 billion that the Brennan Center says is needed. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy are publicly encouraging voters to apply to vote by mail for their states respective June 2 and July 7 primaries. Voters must request mail-in ballots by May 26 in Pennsylvania (votespa.com) and June 30 in New Jersey (https://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/vote-by-mail.shtml). While it may be unwieldy to fully shift to all-mail voting in states that also have postponed primaries, vote-by-mail ought to be readily available and not only for seniors or for those who can provide a justification or an excuse, like those required in a number of states. Surely these impediments can be waived or removed altogether nationwide before Election Day on Nov. 3. Even in a normal election year, the battle around mail-in voting typically involves critics (usually Republican) who claim the system automatically advantages Democrats and is vulnerable to fraud. Neither of which is true. Other critics insist voting by mail is too convenient as if voting were constitutionally required to be arduous. In fact, voting by mail is arguably more labor-intensive. Except in all-mail voting states, even registered voters who dont already vote by mail must request, fill out online, or complete in writing and return an application, and later, fill out and mail in their ballots. A robust democracy depends on participation by voters on election days. Discouraging or impeding that participation whether through Russian interference in the 2016 election, or efforts to require IDs or otherwise disenfranchise certain groups from voting weakens our democracy. The prospect of voters avoiding polling places due to fear of infection could further weaken it. More states should allow no-excuse absentee ballots and encourage voters to request mail-in ballots. And voters must play their part and request ballots and use them to vote. Politicians often compare the nations efforts against the coronavirus to warfare. They should realize that failing to protect every voters right to cast a ballot without fear is a form of surrender. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed the people-driven war in India against the coronavirus disease, and said it will be discussed in the future. He said this during his monthly radio programme Mann ki Baat. Suggestions and phone calls for this edition of Mann ki Baat are many times higher than the usual. Encompassing many subjects, you mann ki baat has reached me. In hustle and bustle of life, several topics remain unnoticed have come to the fore through your feedback. I intend to share a few such aspects with the countrymen, he said. Indias fight against coronavirus is people driven. It is being fought by the people and the administration in close collaboration, added PM Modi. Be it businesses, offices, education institutes or medical sector, everyone is adapting to changes in the post-coronavirus world, he said. A vast country like India which is striving for development, fighting a decisive battle against poverty, has only this option to win the war against coronavirus. We are fortunate that the entire country with every citizen as a soldier is leading and fighting this war, he said. Wherever you see, you will find that its a people-driven war. When the entire world is battling this pandemic, in future whenever this war with pandemic will be discussed, its events recalled, I am sure that this people-driven war of India will be surely discussed, the Prime Minister further said. Indias decision to supply medicines to countries which needed them amid the Covid-19 pandemic was guided by its ethos, he said, adding that he feels very proud when world leaders thank India and its people for the assistance. In his over 30-minute-long address, Modi hailed the contribution of state governments in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, saying they have played a very active role. In his last Mann ki Baat address on March 29, four days after announcing the first phase of nationwide lockdown, the PM had apologised to the nation for imposing the shutdown but justified the step, saying it was needed to win this battle. I apologise for taking these harsh steps which have caused difficulties in your lives, especially the poor people. I know some of you would be angry with me also. But these tough measures were needed to win this battle, he had said. Since that address, a second phase of nationwide lockdown has been imposed which will end on May 3. The government has also announced some relaxations in the lockdown rules including opening neighbourhood and stand-alone shops providing non-essential goods and services but with certain conditions. According to the Union health ministry figures released on Sunday morning, Indias coronavirus count stood at 26,496 including 19,868 active cases and 824 deaths from Covid-19. Chief executives at 18 FTSE 100 listed companies furloughing thousands of staff raked in over 300million, or over 3million each, in pay and rewards since 2015, new findings from the High Pay Centre claim. There are mounting calls for highly paid executives to play a bigger part in shouldering the financial burden stemming from the crisis, which will end up hitting taxpayers hard in the pocket. The Government's Job Retention Scheme looks set to cost British taxpayers over 40billion in just the first four months of its existence, while some experts think the economy could shrink over a third this quarter. 'It is highly questionable whether companies in receipt of public money should continue to disproportionately channel private gains to a small number of often very rich people, in the form of very high chief executive pay and dividend payments', the High Pay Centre said. Responses: FTSE 100 and 250 companies' responses to the Covid-19 pandemic It added: 'It is right to question the resilience of companies that have lavished billions on shareholders and executives in recent years, but now depend on public funding to cover their costs throughout what will hopefully be a brief pause in economic life.' As well as furloughing staff, companies can also apply for a loan via the Government's Corporate Finance Facility, and like some airlines including billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic, plead for a taxpayer-backed bailout. Virgin Atlantic is reportedly now racing to win over new private investments to stay afloat. Fair furlough? To date, around 18 per cent of companies listed on the FTSE 100 index have used the Government's Job Retention Scheme to furlough staff, according to the High Pay Centre. For the FTSE 250 index, the figure is 26 per cent. But, this figure could be higher as some companies would not reveal to the High Pay Centre whether they planned to furlough staff or not. According to the High Pay Centre, in the last five years, the chief executives at FTSE 100 companies which have confirmed they have furloughed staff received over 320million in pay and rewards, amounting to over 3million each a year. So far, companies on the FTSE 100 index which have furloughed staff include the likes of Primark owner Associated British Foods, easyJet and Melrose Industries, the owner of aerospace group GKN. Closed: Primark owner Associated British Foods has furloughed over 30,000 people Grounded: Budget airline easyJet has furloughed 7,500 people in its workforce Costly: The Job Retention Scheme looks set to cost taxpayers at least 40billion Primark-owner AB Foods has furloughed around 30,000 staff, while embattled easyJet has furloughed 7,500 people, but still dished out a 174million dividend last month. Some companies who have furloughed staff have also cut pay for their top executives. The Government's Job Retention Scheme, which is designed to ensure people keep their jobs, means taxpayer money is being used to pay up to 2,500 a month for staff furloughed by their employers. The FTSE 100 companies known to have furloughed staff have dished out 26billion in dividends and raked in 42billion worth of profits since 2015, the High Pay Centre's research revealed. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 companies who told the High Pay Centre they had furloughed staff have forked out around 1.9million a year to their chief executives, doled out 14billion worth of dividends and generated 18billion worth of profits. So far, around 435,000 companies have applied to use the Job Retention Scheme, with over 3.2million workers affected. Fat cat pay cuts Up to 22 April, around 37 per cent of chief executives at FTSE 100 listed companies had had their pay cut as a result of the pandemic, according to the High Pay Centre. For FTSE 250 listed firms, this percentage is lower, at around 31 per cent. AB Foods boss George Weston will get a temporary 50% pay cut When chief executives are taking a pay cut in response to the pandemic, the reduction is generally between a third and a fifth. But it is not always clear whether this is an annual base salary reduction or on a pro-rata basis for the duration of the lockdown. The High Pay Centre thinks that out of all the companies on the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices, only 13 per cent have scraped or reduced bonuses or lucrative long-term incentive plan payments, which are often based on performance metrics and can amount to huge sums. Plus, when bonuses have been scrapped, they often only relate to cash bonuses, meaning bonuses in the form of shares could still be in the pipelines. The inclusion of bonus cuts could have a marked difference on whether of not a fat cat's pay reduction offers any 'meaningful demonstration of solidarity' with their staff, the High Pay Centre said. Taking an example, a chief executive on an annual base salary of 850,000 and an annual bonus of 1.4million, which is fairly standard for bosses on the FTSE 100, a 20 per cent salary cut lasting three months would represent a loss to the boss of around 42,500. But, if the same chief executive had their annual base salary reduced by 30 per cent and their annual bonus scrapped, this would amount of a pay reduction of 1.65million. Apply these reductions to all top brass at major companies, and the impact would be substantial. 'Temporary salary cuts do not represent a particularly generous sacrifice in the context of median FTSE 100 CEO annual pay of 3.5million', the High Pay Centre said. Dividends demolished To date, 33 per cent of companies listed on the FTSE 100 index have withdrawn proposed dividend payments to shareholders or opted not to offer them as a result of the pandemic. Within the FTSE 250 index, around 47 per cent of firms have altered their dividend plans. Across all indices these percentages look set to rise as more companies announce their annual results in the next few weeks. No divi here: Banks like Lloyds Banking Group have scrapped dividends for investors Banks were among the first to take action on the dividend front. Barclays, the Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group have all suspended dividend payments this year as a result of the crisis. The banks took the decision after a request from the Bank of Englands Prudential Regulation Authority, who has also called on top brass to take a pay cut. According to The High Pay Centre, decisions to withdraw or withhold dividend payments 'should be welcomed' in this period of uncertainty. But, on the other side of the coin, the mass dividend dry-up has left thousands of investors with a small number of shares in big-name brands without a vital source of income for the year ahead. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 14:36:25|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close GUIYANG, April 26 (Xinhua) -- A batch of medical supplies donated by Qinglong County in southwest China's Guizhou Province, has arrived at its sister city of Tamworth in Australia to aid the fight against COVID-19, according to the provincial foreign affairs office on Sunday. The supplies, including 60,000 surgical face masks and 50,000 pairs of gloves, will be used for pandemic control and prevention in Tamworth. "The donation has been regarded as a milestone for demonstrating friendship under the sister city relationship and has been received at a very welcome time to combat the COVID-19 pandemic," said Col Murray, mayor of Tamworth. Qinglong and Tamworth began sister city relationship in 2016, with cooperation strengthened in animal farming, mountain tourism and grassland industry. Enditem The Volta Regional Environmental Health Office has said it would close down "Lizz Dee" shopping mall in Ho for allegedly refusing to comply with preventive measures to curb the spread of the Coronavirus disease. Management of the facility was said to have driven away a team from the Office led by Mrs Sybil Boison, Regional Environmental Health Officer, to inspect the Mall and sensitize staff and management on the disease. Mr Peter Pariki Regional Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) Focal Person who was also on the tour told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the Mall had refused to adopt the nationwide COVID-19 preventive regulations, making its environment a high-risk area. He said the facility had no notices on the pandemic, no markings to guide social distancing, and had customers sharing multiple-use napkins at its handwash station. Mr Pariki said the team arrived at about 0800 hours for the exercise but was asked to leave, halfway into the meeting by a man said to be the owner of the Mall. The CLTS Focal Person said they were told their presence was affecting business activities. Mr Pariki said the office had earlier in the week been met with similar resistance, and was told that management of the Mall was yet to permit access to the facility, and later agreed on the Saturday date, which again was foiled. He told GNA that management of the facility would be sanctioned, and hinted of closing the Mall down until proper adjustments were made. When the GNA contacted the Mall, a Supervisor, who gave his name only as Elorm, said it was not true that the team from the Regional Environmental Office was turned away. The Regional Environmental Health Officer and her team earlier visited some other retail outlets including Melcom and Stadium Gate Shopping Mall, insisting on the constant disinfection of surfaces and shared spaces. The Regional Environmental Health Officer told the GNA that her office would work to ensure that the compliance checklist was followed to the latter. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video By Express News Service CHENNAI: At a time when all countries are fighting the pandemic and have sealed off their borders, a parcel containing 1.7 kg cannabis (marijuana) arrived at the Foreign Post Office here, all the way from Vancouver city in the United States. The postal intelligence sleuths of Air Customs seized the consignment that was addressed to a person based in Annavaram, East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. According to Chennai International Airport Commissioner of Customs Rajan Chaudhary, the consignor had declared the parcel to contain sleeping bags and a hand vacuum. A total of 1.7 kg cannabis of foreign origin valued at Rs 9 lakh was recovered and seized under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Toronto police are investigating after anti-Semitic graffiti was recently spray painted on a garage and a coffee shop in Torontos west end. The acts of vandalism happened over the Passover holiday, which began the evening of Wednesday, April 8, and ended Thursday, April 16. In once incident, the garage of a home on Crawford Street, near College Street and Ossington Avenue, was defaced with a tag that insinuated the Jews were to blame for the COVID-19 pandemic. On Thursday April 9, a nearby Aroma Espresso Bar, which is part of a chain of cafes founded in Israel in 1994, also recently tagged with the message Zionists are not welcome. Zionism is Jewish national movement to recognize and re-establish an independent Jewish state in Israel. This same Aroma location near College and Bathurst streets was vandalized with a similar hateful message just a week earlier. Bnai Brith Canada, a Jewish service organization that had advocated for Canadian Jewry and championed the cause of human rights since 1875, reported the three incidents to Toronto police. Officers from 14 Division with the support of the Hate Crime Unit are now investigating, said Toronto Police spokesperson Connie Osborne in an April 22 email to toronto.com. Inquiries remain ongoing and no arrests have been made at this stage, she said, adding any hate crime charges will be determined in consultation with the Crown Attorney at a later date. Bnai Brith Canada condemned the anti-Semitic graffiti in an April 13 statement. It is disappointing that while most people are working together in the face of crisis, at least one person has instead chosen to spread hatred, said Michael Mostyn, the organizations CEO. Spreading antisemitic messages during a Jewish holiday is a particularly despicable act. A Mumbai-based entrepreneur, who runs a consumer products and marketing firm, had committed to fund a wedding in his family. But little did he anticipate a pandemic was looming, which will turn everything upside down. After the Covid-19 outbreak, he is on the verge of closing down the company, as the venture capital (VC) firm investing in his start-up has backed out and most of the clients have cancelled contracts. I even put up some of my property on sale, but who would buy it at this time? the founder, who is now facing pressure from his staff to pay salaries, ... Pakistan, which is struggling with the coronavirus disease like the rest of the world, has doubled the number of terrorists waiting to infiltrate into Kashmir from its 14 operational launch pads, a senior government official told Hindustan Times. Our information is that there are about 450 terrorists affiliated to different Pakistan -backed terrorist groups at these launch pads, the official said. Pakistan has reported nearly 12,700 Covid-19 cases and 268 deaths. The new estimate, powered by new intelligence inputs received by national security planners in Delhi, indicates that Pakistan has doubled the presence of terrorists at the launch pads in just about a week or so. As reported by Hindustan Times on April 9, intelligence agencies had put the number of terrorists at the launch pads at about 230. The situation has changed vastly over the last 2-3 weeks, the official cited above said. According to information available with national security planners, the 450 terrorists include 244 from the Lashkar-e-Taiba, 129 from the Jaish-e-Mohammed and 60 from the Hizbul Mujahideen. Smaller groups such as the Al Badr make up for the rest. Most of these terrorists were minted recently from the many camps that are being run in Pakistan, mostly in its occupied territories. Available intelligence inputs with security agencies indicate that out of 16 terror camps, 11 are functioning in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), two in Punjab, Pakistan and three in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) region. Seven of the 11 terror camps running out of PoK are hybrid camps where the trainees include recruits of different terrorist groups. The existence of such mixed terror camps is evidence that there is one force that oversees them; the Pakistani deep state, a counter-terror official in Delhi said. Opinion | Paks troubled economy is hurting more than Imran Khan wants to believe Three other camps are dedicated to train Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and one for training Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) group. In the KPK region, the Hizbul Mujahideen runs two camps and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) runs one. The LeT and JeM share one camp each in Punjab province of Pakistan. Officials said Pakistans Inter Services Intelligence had gone to great lengths through the year to raise the presence of terrorists in Kashmir. This is the first summer after India scrapped Article 370 in August last year and there have been attempts to incite street protests, and violence, ever since. The terror reinforcements at the launch pads, an intelligence official said, were designed to beef up the strength of terrorists in Kashmir depleted due to some recent setbacks. It is estimated that there are about 240 terrorists in Kashmir including about 100 foreigners. Every 6 of 10 foreign terrorists are affiliated to the Lashkar-e-Taiba; the other four are linked to the Jaish. As things stand, officials said, Pakistans ISI has only operationalised 14 of the 86 launching pads or detachments along the Line of Control in Srinagar sector, Rajouri-Poonch sector and in Jammu sector across the international border. In the Srinagar sector, 10 out of 51 pads are used by terrorists belonging to LeT, JeM, HM, Al-Badr and other sundry groups. In Rajouri-Poonch sector, three out of 13 pads across the LoC are occupied while one out of four pads are occupied by terrorists in Jammu sector largely belonging to LeT, JeM and HM terror groups. Pakistan Army has no option but to continue with jihad in Kashmir else the public will start focusing on the poor domestic situation on the economic and Covid-19 response front and start questioning the leadership, said a senior Indian general. Even though Rawalpindi GHQ plans to underplay its role by projecting local participation through the newly-formed Resistance Front and Tehreek-e-Millat-e-Islamia (TMI), Pakistani terrorists are being infiltrated to ensure that things dont go south in the Valley and international attention . Besides, a sustained effort is on by the Imran Khan government to raise the Kashmir issue at multilateral fora including filing a petition through an NGO in the International Criminal Court at Hague apart from moving the United Nations Security Council. Also read | ISKP commander who was its bridge with Paks ISI, Lashkar arrested SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shishir Gupta Author of Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within (2011, Hachette) and Himalayan Face-off: Chinese Assertion and Indian Riposte (2014, Hachette). Awarded K Subrahmanyam Prize for Strategic Studies in 2015 by Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) and the 2011 Ben Gurion Prize by Israel. ...view detail Nicola Sturgeon today made clear she is willing to ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions in Scotland at a different rate to the rest of the UK. The Scottish First Minister last week set out her blueprint for loosening rules north of the border but Downing Street continues to refuse to set out its strategy. Ms Sturgeon said this morning that if she disagrees with the direction advocated by Boris Johnson and the UK government she will move independently of Number 10. However, the SNP leader refused to be drawn on when specific measures could be relaxed. She also insisted any decision to go a different route to the rest of the UK will not be 'political' but driven by scientific advice. It comes after she said her government is considering plans which could soon allow people to meet with a 'bubble' of friends or family. Nicola Sturgeon today said she is willing to ease lockdown independently of the UK government Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Ms Sturgeon said she would diverge from elsewhere in the UK in lifting lockdown measures if necessary. But she stressed any decision would not be 'political in any way, shape or form' and would be driven by scientific evidence. She said: 'If, and it is an if, I'm not saying that we're likely to get in to this territory, the UK government took decisions that I thought were premature in terms of coming out of the lockdown then clearly I would want to make sure that Scotland did what I judged was best to protect the population.' Mr Marr asked Ms Sturgeon when he will be able to see his parents, who live outside Dundee but she would not drawn. She replied: 'I'm not going to give you a date for that now, Andrew, because it would be irresponsible for me to do so because I do not have the information that gives me the confidence that I can say that with certainty. 'One of the most difficult, if not the most difficult aspect of all of this is that need for grandparents to be separate from their grandkids. 'My own parents are suffering from that right now and grandparents up and down the country are in the same position.' Last week Ms Sturgeon suggested people in Scotland could soon be allowed to conduct small gatherings. The Scottish First Minister said other countries were now beginning to look at expanding the definition of 'households' to allow friends and family to reunite and that Scotland could do the same. The SNP leader said any such scheme would only work if people stuck to meeting the same group each time as she said she understood the 'anguish' of not being able to see loved ones. Another 368 coronavirus deaths have been recorded in the UK today - indicating a possible new low for this month's figures She also suggested people who live alone could 'match up with somebody else who is on their own or a couple of other people'. Ms Sturgeon today insisted that Scotland will 'look seriously at social and economic reform' as part of its post-coronavirus recovery efforts. The First Minister said the virus had fundamentally changed everyday life but has given an opportunity to shape a different kind of future. Despite giving some hope of restrictions being relaxed, Ms Sturgeon did make clear this morning she believes the current three-week period is likely to be extended. P eople entering the UK could be forced into quarantine for two weeks under plans for the "second phase" of the Government's response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to reports. Officials are said to be working on a plan similar to one being operated in Singapore for passengers arriving at UK sea and airports. According to The Sunday Telegraph and The Mail on Sunday, it is intended to stop fresh cases arriving from abroad when the Government rolls out its track and trace scheme to identify and isolate new infections as the lockdown is relaxed. The scheme, said to have been agreed by ministers and officials earlier this week, could be rolled out as early as next month. It could include large fines or even criminal prosecution for those who fail to remain at addresses given to authorities as their place of isolation, with visits to addresses ensuring they do not break their quarantine. It comes as: The Prime Minister was said to be raring to go after spending the past two weeks recuperating at his official country residence Chequers. It followed a week in St Thomas Hospital including three nights in intensive care after his condition dramatically deteriorated. Coronavirus in numbers: UK hospital death toll rises to 20,319 He returns to No 10 amid growing pressure from senior Conservatives to begin easing lockdown and growing dismay at the damage it is causing to the economy. However, scientists advising the Government on its response warned it was far too soon to consider any relaxation, as the official death toll for the UK passed 20,000. Mr Johnson prepared for his return with a three-hour summit meeting on Friday with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab who has been deputising for him and Chancellor Rishi Sunak. His main concern while he has been away was said to have been to ensure the lockdown conditions were kept in place long enough to prevent a second wave of the pandemic hitting the country. All you need to know from the April 25 UK coronavirus briefing Meanwhile, a series of wealthy Tory backers who have donated millions of pounds to the party coffers have urged the Government to begin loosening the restrictions to controls to allow the economy to start up again. Financiers Michael Spencer and Peter Hargreaves, the banker Sir Henry Angest, Phones4u founder John Caudwell and restaurateur Richard Caring all told The Sunday Times they wanted to see some re-opening of the economy. Steve Morgan, the former boss of the housebuilder Redrow, told the paper: Were actually in danger that the medicine if you want to call the lockdown that is more harmful than the cure. Im strongly in favour of getting the country back to work. This is not about profit; this is about saving the country from going bankrupt, from mass unemployment, from businesses going bust, people losing their livelihoods and homes. How Europe is adapting to the Coronavirus lockdown 1 /14 How Europe is adapting to the Coronavirus lockdown Valerio Calderoni, owner of an italian tipical restaurant, and his wife Martina, pose for a picture during a test for a of possible plexiglass separator between tables of restaurant ''Il Ciak'', Trastevere district in Rome, Italy, EPA School-leaving examination year are sitting in their classroom in the Joseph Koenig Grammar School in preparation for the exams in Haltern am See, Germany AP While observing the self isolating distance requirements to contain the coronavirus, numerous visitors enjoy the sunshine in the Schoneberg city park in Berlin, Germany, AP Neighbours speak from their decorated balconies with red roses during Sant Jordi Day in El Prat del Llobregat, Spain Getty Images Residents watch the movie "Loving Vincent" projected on the wall of a neighbouring building from their front garden in Berlin's Kreuzberg district on April 23, 2020 during the ongoing Covid-19 novel coronavirus pandemic. - The German capital is one of the world's most diverse cinema cities but with cinemas closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, cultural project "Window Flicks" are bringing film evenings to residents stuck at home by projecting movies on urban canvasses and knocking on doors offering popcorn AFP via Getty Images A woman wearing a protective mask passes Lipizzaner horses in a reopened park after the Austrian government loosened its lockdown restrictions during the coronavirus disease Reuters Alfons Lopez cooperates with the BonArea supermarket as a volunteer making home delivery to elderly people during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in El Masnou, north to Barcelona Reuters Bayern Munich's Manuel Neuer and Sven Ulreich during training despite most sport being cancelled around the world as the spread of coronavirus disease Reuters A hairdresser attends to a customer at the "1001 Haar" studio in central Copenhagen AFP via Getty Images Valerio Calderoni, owner of an italian tipical restaurant, and his wife Martina, pose for a picture during a test for a of possible plexiglass separator between tables of restaurant ''Il Ciak'', Trastevere district in Rome, Italy, EPA Max Bruehmann (l) and Heiko Gruner employees of German car producer Volkswagen Sachsen, work with face masks in the assembly of the ID.3 in the vehicle plant in Zwickau, Germany, AP In contrast, Professor John Edmunds, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies which has been helping shape the Governments response, warned any relaxation risked an upsurge of new cases. The strategy behind plans to lift the lockdown is based on the idea [that] you could then control the epidemic by testing people for infections before tracing their contacts, he told The Observer. However, if we lifted the lockdown now, the testing and tracing system would be overwhelmed. We will have to get case numbers down a lot lower than they are now before we can think of lifting current regulations. In a letter to Mr Johnson, Sir Keir said it was essential ministers learned the lessons from the mistakes made dealing with the crisis. TODO: define component type apester He said the UK was again in danger of falling behind other countries as well as the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales which were already engaged in adult conversations with their citizens as to how the restrictions could be eased. Simply acting as if this discussion is not happening is not credible, especially when other governments and our own devolved administrations have been able to communicate so much more, he wrote. The British public have made great sacrifices to make the lockdown work. They deserve to be part of an adult conversation about what comes next. If we want to take people with us and secure their consent, this is necessary now. This is a national crisis and therefore needs a national response. The coming weeks require urgent preparation and planning from the Government. Liberal backbenchers are urging the government not to back down on its industrial relations agenda and push through a union-busting bill to spur economic growth after the coronavirus pandemic. Senator Andrew Bragg and MP Jason Falinski argue the government should not lose sight of its pre-crisis industrial reform agenda and go further to ensure the employers have the flexibility to respond to future crises. Australia's construction sites have kept moving throughout the pandemic. Some Liberal backbenchers argue industrial relations reform will help other sectors start back up. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Prime Minister Scott Morrison has signalled in recent days he is considering broad industrial reform but also wants to keep working with the unions as Attorney General Christian Porter did in negotiating the ACTU's support for the JobKeeper scheme. Senator Bragg said the government's first priority in the industrial arena should be passing its Ensuring Integrity bill, which will allow the government to deregister unions that break the law, including by leading unprotected strikes. Paramedics have been told to take more coronavirus patients to hospital, after a 'scorecard' threshold was lowered because of fears only seriously ill people were being taken to A&E. The London Ambulance Service has changed how it uses the scorecard, which is called News2 and helps assess whether people who call 999 are at risk of deteriorating from coronavirus. News2 helps operators assign a score to callers to decide how serious their symptoms are and looks at breathing rate, oxygen saturation, temperature, blood pressure, pulse rate and level of consciousness. Initially, a score of five meant a patient would need to be monitoring every hour, however, paramedics were told on March 12 that suspected coronavirus patients may not be admitted to hospital even if they scored as high as six. This was changed again on April 10, with paramedics told that people scoring between three and five should be taken in for assessment. News of the change is likely to raise questions over whether some patients may have become seriously unwell or even died because they were not taken to hospital between March 12 and April 10, believed to be the peak of the pandemic, under the guidance. An ambulance crew deliver a patient to the Royal London Hospital in London. The LAS has changed the guidance it gives its paramedics on which coronavirus patients to take to hospital Speaking to the Sunday Times, the LAS declined to say whether its change in guidance was as a result of concerns over previous advice. It insisted that the scoreboard was never used in isolation and that it was a part of several other assessments. The LAS added: 'We are constantly updating our guidance to staff to better reflect the national understanding of this new disease.' However, the revelation will only add to fears that patients arriving at hospital only do so when already critically ill. Previously, it was revealed that coronavirus patients who get put on a ventilator have just a 34 per cent chance of survival, according to a study which seems to lend weight to a growing chorus of medics sceptical about the course of treatment. What is the London Ambulance Service's scorecard system? The London Ambulance Service uses the News2 scorecard to help assess whether people who call 999 are at risk of deteriorating from coronavirus. News2 helps operators assign a score to callers to decide how serious their symptoms are and looks at breathing rate, oxygen saturation, temperature, blood pressure, pulse rate and level of consciousness. Initially, a score of five meant a patient would need to be monitoring every hour, however, paramedics were told on March 12 that suspected coronavirus patients may not be admitted to hospital even if they scored as high as six. This was changed again on April 10, with paramedics told that people scoring between three and five should be taken in for assessment. News of the change is likely to raise questions over whether some patients may have become seriously unwell or even died because they were not taken to hospital between March 12 and April 10, believed to be the peak of the pandemic, under the guidance. Advertisement The figures come from the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (ICNARC) and are based on a sample of 6,720 critically-ill coronavirus patients. Of those who required advanced respiratory support - known as invasive ventilation - just under two-thirds of patients died. Data showed that 1,744 (65.4 per cent) died after requiring mechanical ventilation in critical care, while some 923 (34.6 per cent) on the same treatment were discharged. For those who required basic respiratory support - such as oxygen through a face mask, which is known as non-invasive ventilation - 894 patients (81.9 per cent) recovered and some 198 (18.1 per cent) died. The research tips the scales towards a growing weight of evidence suggesting the procedure does not provide life-saving treatment, and could even be harming patients. Some doctors have voiced concerns that ventilators flare up lung inflammation and are explicitly warning against their early use in critical care. It comes as the UK's coronavirus death toll increased by 413 today - the lowest recorded this month - as NHS bosses said social distancing is 'paying off' but warned breaking the rules now could result in a second peak of the deadly disease. Stephen Powis, the national medical director of NHS England, said the latest government statistics showed there had been a 'slight uptick' in the number of people using their cars and going outside in recent days. Data showed that 1,744 (65.4 per cent) died after requiring mechanical ventilation in critical care, while some 923 (34.6 per cent) on the same treatment were discharged (pictured, ventilators in Oxfordshire ready to be shipped to NHS hospitals) He told the daily Downing Street coronavirus press conference that the nation needed to 'remind ourselves that this has been a really tough four weeks and we don't want to lose the benefits' which have resulted from people staying at home. Mr Powis said nobody could be 'absolutely confident' that the UK is now firmly on a downward trajectory as he urged Britons to continue to adhere to draconian lockdown measures. The 413 new fatalities represents a significant drop on yesterday's UK figures - and are also lower than previous Sundays, which typically see a lower toll than weekdays. US opposition to IMF loan to Iran violates global right to health norm: Shamkhani Iran Press TV Saturday, 25 April 2020 2:07 PM A high-ranking Iranian official says the United States' blocking of Iran's request for a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help the country fight the deadly novel coronavirus pandemic violates the rule governing right to health. "US opposition to #Iran's loan request from the #IMF is a violation of the Peremptory Norm of Right to Health," Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), said in a Saturday tweet, adding, "Third-party governments have 2 obligations: To cut ties with the violating government & to take action to resolve the illegal situation." Shamkhani also took a swipe at the European countries for their inaction in this regard, saying, "Europe as always just said sorry." Governor of the Central Bank of Iran Abdolnaser Hemmati wrote last month to the IMF to request a $5 billion emergency loan for funding Tehran's needs under the current circumstances that the sanction-hit country is battling the deadly virus. However, the US has moved to block Iran's request for the loan, according to various reports. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said on April 21 that the European Union should fulfill its duties at a time that Washington's sanctions have caused serious problems for the Iranian people. Despite the hardships it is suffering due to the US sanctions, Iran has been doing its utmost to contain COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus. Tehran has repeatedly said it does not seek Washington's help in the fight, but wants the White House to lift the illegal economic sanctions so that Iran could mobilize its own resources to tackle the pandemic. The administration of US President Donald Trump has not only defied international calls on Washington in recent weeks to halt the draconian sanctions, but has even slapped more such restrictive measures on the Islamic Republic. Washington re-imposed its sanctions on Iran in May 2018 after unilaterally leaving a historic nuclear accord with the Islamic Republic and five other major powers that has been endorsed by the UN Security Council. Iran's Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi said on Saturday that the country is witnessing a "declining trend" in the number of fatalities and cases of new coronavirus infections as a result of bilateral cooperation between the people and the government. "There is a declining trend in corona disease in most provinces and this has been the result of effective measures by the people and the government," Harirchi said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Raising voice against the governments coalition deal, several thousand pro-democratic Israeli forces reportedly demonstrated against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his absolute power regime ahead of his corruption charges trial, as of April 26. Despite confinement measures, protesters braved COVID-19 health risks to challenge Netanyahus unity government agreement, which they said, gave him power over the jury and legal officials' appointments. Demonstrators argued that Netanyahu would abuse agreement to rescue himself out of legal troubles and crush democracy, a news agency reported. Waving Israeli flags and slogans, demonstrators flooded central Tel Avivs Rabin Square in line with health regulations wearing protective masks, and at least 2 meters apart in accordance with the health ministrys safety protocols, as per media reports. The protestors rebelled against Netanyahus alleged corrupt behaviour and demonstrated bitter disagreement against his partnership with the blue and white political partys chief Benny Gantz. Earlier, Netanyahu and former military chief reportedly signed the power-sharing agreement, that came about after weeks of negotiations. In what they termed as national emergency government, the duo sought to rescue the country out of the coronavirus outbreak. Read: Coronavirus Death Toll In UK Surpasses 20,000, Total Cases At 148,377 Read: Singapore To Extend Partial Lockdown, Reports 931 New Coronavirus Cases 'Significant boost' to retain power However, the alliance infuriated the pro-democratic forces who accused Netanyahu of evading trials to escape prosecution. Netanyahu has been accused of fraud, breach of justice and bribery, which the Israeli Prime Minister said was a setup by the hostile media and aggressive police and prosecutors. He had declared himself the victim denying all charges as the Ministry of Justice postponed the hearing two days before it was to begin until late May, according to media reports. Therefore, the delivered agreement provided Netanyahu a significant boost to retain power while he was tried in the Court of Justice, simultaneously, enabling him to hold influence over judicial appointments. However, as per media reports, a few key appointments required approval from both parties such as the appointment of the attorney general and the state prosecutor, in which case, Netanyahu holds veto power. Although, this further enabled the leader to alter his judicial fate. Read: France Reports 369 More Coronavirus Deaths, Nationwide Toll Soars To 22,614 Read: US Reports 2,494 More Coronavirus Deaths In 24 Hours, Nationwide Toll Soars To 54,265 (With AP Inputs) This year seemed like a perfectly reasonable year for a bucket-list adventure, but within a few months, COVID-19 has dramatically changed the circumstances of those adventures. For the O'Brien family in the Comox Valley, a carefully organized nine-month long trip around the world was cut short after just three months. The family of five had left Vancouver Island mid-January, having rented their house and taken time off work until October. The family was touring Vietnam when COVID-19 started to affect their daily life. "Our family was contacting us. Friends were contacting us, saying, 'Where are you guys? What's your plan? When are you coming home?' and all we could think about was keeping the kids' hands clean, stopping them from touching their faces," said Melissa O'Brien. The family decided to fly to Singapore and then Australia, thinking an English-speaking country would be easier to navigate if things escalated. "It was easy to go about our travels and think 'We'll just ride this out for a little while.' We thought we'd give it a couple of months, and then make a decision," O'Brien said. But it quickly became apparent that wouldn't work. Listen to the interview with Melissa O'Brien here: When the family realized it might be months before the pandemic subsided, they decided to head home. But that was easier said than done. This was the end of March and flights out of Australia were rapidly booking up. After multiple cancelled flights, hours-long conversations with insurance providers, it took a friend of a friend who was an Air Canada pilot to help them get on a flight out of Sydney. "Getting on the plane was a huge relief," O'Brien said. But just as the O'Brien family was departing Australian soil, another Vancouver Islander had entered Australian waters on his own trip of a lifetime. Bert ter Hart, from Gabriola Island, departed Victoria alone in his sailboat on Oct. 28. He hasn't set foot on land since then, and hasn't seen another person since a quick stop in San Francisco in January. Story continues Ter Hart is on a seven-month solo sailing trip to navigate the five southern capes using celestial navigation: South Cape in New Zealand, South East Cape and Cape Leeuwin in Australia, Cape Agulhas in South Africa, and Cape Horn in Chile. Bert terHart/Sailblog "I prefer to call him the social distance champion," says his sister Leah ter Hart. Ter Hart says her brother's main challenges will be the weather, the often treacherous conditions in the rough Southern Ocean and making sure his supply of provisions lasts for his entire trip. Ter Hart is expected back home in July, and it is unclear whether he'll have to quarantine himself when he gets back to Canada. "He technically hasn't left Canadian soil he hasn't disembarked," said sister Leah. "So we'll just have to see what the authorities say, and see what it looks like in July with COVID-19." Listen to the interview Leah terHart here: The O'Brien family, who are currently holed up in a cabin in the Comox Valley, are also waiting to see what happens in the near future and whether any part of their great global adventure can be salvaged. "At this point, we don't really have a plan. We're just going to ride this out," Melissa O'Brien said. "This trip definitely had an impact on us on recognizing how vulnerable the world is. We will travel for sure, but it will probably be something shorter." If you have a COVID-19-related story we should pursue that affects British Columbians, please email us at impact@cbc.ca. Samples of 13 people from Kangra district, who came in contact with a coronavirus positive doctor of a private hospital in Punjab's Pathankot, have been sent for verification on Sunday, officials said. The reports are expected to come by Monday. The lady doctor from a private hospital in Pathankot was found to be infected by COVID-19. Later, it was found that there were 13 people from Kangra district who were undergoing treatment under the doctor. After this matter was revealed, the Pathankot district magistrate released the list of these 13 people to the Kangra administration. The people who gave the samples comprise three persons from Indora, five from Nurpur region, three from Fatehpur and one each from Baijnath and Kangra. Out of them,a woman from Fatehpur Dhametta region has already been admitted to Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College Hospital, Tanda. SDM (Fatehpur) Balwan Chand, SDM (Nurpur) Surendra Thakur and BMO (Indora) Kapil have confirmed that the samples have been sent for investigation. If any of them are declared positive for the virus, further action will be taken, the officials said. Among those who were tested are few elderly persons aged 70, 83, and 91 years. There is also a 25-year-old youth. Residents of the district are slightly worried after the doctor tested positive as many people from Kangra district go to the private hospital for treatment. Kangra Superintendent of Police Vimukt Ranjan has advised people to get themselves treated in Kangra for now. Chief Medical Officer Dr Gurdarshan Gupta has urged people to visit hospitals only when it becomes essential as their exposure may cause infection and put their safety in danger. He also appealed to them to avoid bringing children and elderly people to the places where there were chances of their exposure to the infection. He said the E-Sanjeevani Portal had been designed to help people and they should take advantage of it to keep their family safe. Kangra Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Prajapati said those coming to Kangra district from outside states should ensure compliance with the protocol of COVID-19 keeping in mind the safety of their family and society and it would be necessary to stay in home quarantine for the scheduled time. After new guidelines were issued by the government, the residents of Kangra district stranded in the outside states are being allowed to come on a conditional basis, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 20:15:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close China's medical supplies for 18 African countries arrive at the Kotota International Airport in Accra, capital of Ghana, April 6, 2020. TO GO WITH XINHUA HEADLINES OF APRIL 20, 2020. (Xinhua/Xu Zheng) 74 countries and regions and six international organizations had inked procurement contracts on 192 batches of medical supplies worth 1.41 billion U.S. dollars with China. BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- China has taken measures to strengthen quality control over exports of medical supplies, winning support from home and abroad, an official with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Sunday. The ministry has been working with other government departments to crack down on exports of counterfeit and shoddy products and other behaviors that disrupt the market and export order, Li Xingqian, director of foreign trade department under the MOC, told a news briefing. As of Saturday, 74 countries and regions and six international organizations had inked procurement contracts on 192 batches of medical supplies worth 1.41 billion U.S. dollars with China. China's exports of epidemic prevention supplies have been rising significantly in recent months. Customs data showed that the value of such exports has hit 55 billion yuan (about 7.77 billion U.S. dollars) since last month. The Chinese government has always been providing assistance to the international community in various forms to fight against the coronavirus epidemic, Li said, while pledging more efforts to ensure the export quality of epidemic prevention materials. Kapil Wadhawan The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on April 26 took Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL) promoters Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan into custody in the UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) case. News agency PTI quoted Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has confirmed that the CBI had taken custody of the scam-accused promoters of DHFL in Satara and that the local police had extended all cooperation to the central probe agency. Deshmukh had earlier requested CBI to take custody of the two on Wednesday after their quarantine ended in Satara. The duo, accused of financial irregularities under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and out on bail since February 21, was held earlier in April while on their way in a motorcade to Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra from Mumbai in violation of lockdown norms. In early March, CBI had taken over the probe into alleged irregularities in the investment of over Rs 4,100 crore Employees Provident Fund (EPF) of UPPCL, the state-owned power firm, in the scam-tainted DHFL, Moneycontrol had reported. The illegal investment of EPF by the state power firm in DHFL happened between March 2017 and December 2018. The case is also being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). DHFL owes over Rs 1 lakh crore to multiple financial institutions, including around Rs 40,000 crore to banks. The ED has found misappropriation of funds worth Rs 12,773 crore by DHFL, and another Rs 20,000 crore is untraceable as per a KPMG forensic audit report. In advance of Fleet Week performances, U.S. Navy Blue Angels fly over San Francisco on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) Read more For a brief escape this week, look to the sky. The Navys Blue Angels and the Air Forces Thunderbirds will fly over Philadelphia on Tuesday to honor health-care workers who have been working to combat the coronavirus. The 12-jet flyover will begin in Philadelphia at 2 p.m. and last for about 20 minutes, according to a statement released Sunday. City officials said a specific route would likely be released Monday. Flyovers will take place earlier Tuesday above New York City and Trenton. Both Philadelphia and military officials encouraged people to watch the spectacle from home, urging against gathering at landmarks or hospitals, or watching in groups. HELP US REPORT: Are you a health care worker, medical provider, government worker, patient, frontline worker or other expert? We want to hear from you. Cmdr. Brian Kesselring, Blue Angels commanding officer and flight leader, said in a statement: We are incredibly honored to have the opportunity to salute those working on the frontline of the COVID-19 response, we are in awe of your strength and resilience. Thank you to all of those in essential industries keeping our nation moving forward. We will get through this. We are all in this together. Last week, President Donald Trump hinted at the forthcoming spectacle, saying at a press briefing that the military wanted to show support to the American medical workers who, just like military members in a time of war, are fiercely running toward the fight. This is a tribute to them, to our [health-care] warriors, because theyre equal warriors to those incredible pilots and all of the fighters we have for the more traditional fights, Trump said. Staff writer Diane Mastrull contributed to this article. The corona pandemic that posed a global threat to human life, affecting almost all countries, has rightly evoked thoughts on international cooperation for handling a natural disaster of this magnitude, importance of information on the origin, nature and scale of this danger for planning a response to what professionals would describe as a 'non traditional threat' to security and last but not the least, an in-depth examination by the affected nations to make sure that this was not a man-made disaster attributable to some rogue quarters trying to initiate a 'biological' misadventure. In the sphere of national security, the rationale for cooperation with other countries in both 'Intelligence sharing' and a 'coordinated response' in regard to a 'threat' is the convergence on the identification of the 'enemy' behind the threat. This is the raison d'etre of strategic alliances. Conventional threats to national security emanated from the 'military' power of the enemy, the adversary's plans of espionage and, as is now an accepted phenomenon, the induction of 'non-state' actors -- a term used for armed militants fostered by the adversary -- to conduct a 'proxy war' through acts of terrorism. Military threats had now acquired a nuclear dimension and expanded into the realm of space -- and there is no pushing back from there. Since every country acts for its own self interest -- predecessors of President Donald Trump chose to hyphenate Pakistan with Indo-US relations on that plea --safeguarding national security becomes the sole responsibility of the sovereign power ruling the country. Seeking bilateral or multilateral strategic alliances to deal with a common enemy is an important part of national defence but as these collaborations were not always permanent, a sovereign nation had to remain prepared to fend for itself largely on its own. This called for a matching enlargement of the Intelligence set-up of the country to keep pace with the security scenario. By the turn of the century, two distinct areas of non-traditional threats to national security had emerged prominently -- this was a development of the post-Cold War era. One was what Warren Christopher, Bill Clinton's Secretary of State hinted at when he famously said in 1993 that 'national security is inseparable from economic security'. Damaging the economy of the enemy was a way of weakening the latter -- this is how the term 'economic warfare' became a currency of combat -- and the attack on the economic strength of the opponent could be made through the use of 'Competitive Intelligence' on one hand and the stark reality of 'sabotage' on the other. China's planned effort to garner business intelligence as well as information on crucial scientific research in US universities is widely known. In the wake of the corona pandemic that has hit the global economy to an unprecedented extent, the finance media has created a scare that China was moving in to buy out businesses across the world. That this could become a credible 'threat' is implied in the decision of India to screen all FDI proposals originating from neighbours 'across our land borders'. Intelligence agencies now have an expanding area of responsibility in the sphere of economic security. Take-overs of businesses elsewhere can be used by a country like China to find 'berths' for its agencies in the new corporate entities -- this may become a new tradecraft of Intelligence -- gathering in times when international travel was on a discount. The second threat that has grown exponentially is Cyber Warfare that represents the flip side of the IT revolution. The transformational event that brought about the shift from the Industrial Age to the Age of Information, came as a boon to the world community as it created a globalised economy to the advantage of all countries big or small. However, since life of the nation today runs on systems based on IP networks, a major threat to national security now comes from a planned disruption of these systems carried out by the enemy through resort to hacking, planting of malware or subversion with the help of an 'insider'. India, like all major countries, has created a huge national security infrastructure to defend the nation against cyber attacks -- it is developing exclusive software protocols, screening out hardware options and sharpening the responses to any emergency caused by a 'breach'. India faces an entire set of security risks, traditional and non-traditional, ranging from the threat to our borders from China and Pakistan who had a military alliance to the Pak-sponsored Islamic militants out to cause internal destabilisation here through terror attacks on our strategic economic assets. India had successfully established Intelligence-sharing arrangements with the US on terrorism emanating from Pakistan while China, as expected, came to the rescue of its 'all weather friend' by resisting the UN move to designate LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad chiefs as 'international terrorists'. In as much as foreign policy is a product of national security and economic concerns, the role of our diplomatic community in enlisting world opinion against Pak-sponsored cross-border terrorism in Kashmir and elsewhere, has been extremely fruitful. Both NSA and our foreign policy establishment have made successful efforts to isolate Pakistan internationally on the issue of radical Islamic terror. A new geo-political threat to India is also emerging on the marine front as China, with the silent support from Pakistan, was trying to enhance its access to Indian Ocean. The Modi regime has cautiously moved towards QUAD -- a joint forum of US, Japan, India and Australia working for preserving the international order in the Indo-Pacific against the aggressive designs of China -- and built a close relationship with ASEAN towards the same objective. The Intelligence agencies of India have a crucial role ahead in assessing the plans of China for the Indian Ocean and its littoral states. Some non-traditional security threats that are universal in the sense that they demanded a global response include repercussions of climate change and environmental degradation, disaster caused by seismic events like tsunami and the recent spread of the Corona pandemic about which many things were still unknown. Building a united approach to these is work in progress. However, the Corona virus episode has on one hand raised questions about timely dissemination of information available at the level of a country -- China in this case -- or an international agency, such as the WHO, and created, on the other, a lurking doubt about the possibility of biological weapons being still developed as part of warfare. The American establishment is raising a host of issues around the 'Chinese designs' -- a probe into the biological and chemical research conducted in Wuhan, the science hub of China, is also being demanded in many quarters. As a major power, India has to have its own information gathering mechanisms to keep abreast -- with or without collaboration with a country like the US -- of what was going on in the world. On the home front, the Corona pandemic has added to the burden of keeping track of events that could deepen the internal divides in India and in particular aggravate the Hindu-Muslim tensions. One after the other, issues of national policy have been exploited by the political leaders of the minority community to accentuate communal feelings -- from the Act granting citizenship to Hindus persecuted in the neighbouring Islamic states to the punitive action initiated against the Tablighi Jamaat chief for holding a large Ijtema at Delhi in violation of corona restrictions. The mandate of the government on 'social distancing' was for all social and religious gatherings. The community leaders should have squarely condemned the attempt of Maulana Saad Kandhalvi to pit 'faith' against a national health directive -- while giving the benefit of the doubt to the ordinary Muslims who might have turned up out of ignorance. The machinery of the Centre and the states was being deployed to trace the missing Tabligh followers in various parts of the country. The community should have unitedly counselled the individuals concerned to report to the nearest health authority without fear, for their own good. As this did not happen -- vote bank politics seemed to have come into play -- a cycle of rumours started aggravating the communal front. India's Intelligence agencies, who were adept at assessing the rise of any caste, communal or regional tensions in the country had to help the search for the 'missing' Tabligh elements and also look out for possible agents provocateurs or enemy agents trying to endanger India's security during the corona pandemic. The reported participation of many Rohingya Muslims from the camps in India in the Tabligh Ijtema and their subsequent flight from there had added to the security concerns. Fortunately, India has seen a phenomenal rise of tech-Intelligence and this has helped our agencies to deal with the information challenge posed by the corona crisis. While Pakistan has again used the summer months to intensify infiltration of Mujahideen into the Kashmir valley, we have to watch out for any attempts of the Pak agencies to spread 'radicalisation' taking advantage of the communal fallout of events like Shaheen Bagh protests and the controversial Tablighi Jamaat Ijtema. Finally, the adverse economic impact of the corona lockdown on large sections of people dependent on daily wages or small jobs in metropolitan centres, will have to be monitored for any signs of public unrest brewing in any area. While the central Intelligence machinery does its job, the Intelligence function of the state police has to be constantly evaluated by the Centre in the interest of internal security and stability of the country. The horrific incident of planned lynching of an aged leader of a known Hindu sect along with his fellow saint and the driver of their car by a large group of miscreants in Palghar district of Maharashtra -- in the presence of two policemen from the nearby police post -- is a warning to the Centre that disruptive forces might be out there to create chaos in the country in this moment of national crisis. Was the SP not in touch with his police stations who would have the local Intelligence about all that was cooking up in the area? The Centre should make an example of this case to create an effective deterrence against what might otherwise become an unsettling trend of politically instigated public violence in the country. Our agencies must unearth all aspects of the ugly Palghar episode. (The writer is a former Director Intelligence Bureau) Latest updates on Howdy Modi Houston Agra, April 26 : When Agra mayor Navin Jain shot out a missive to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his deputy Dinesh Sharma on April 21, appealing to save the Taj city from turning a Wuhan, the desperation and helplessness of the elected representatives was loud and clear. Like most locals the two MPs and nine MLAs, all of the BJP, have all privately expressed concern and dissatisfaction with the approach and working of the state government machinery in Agra, which has no road map nor a strategy to deal with the Covid-19 crisis. The Mayor whose letter leaked Saturday, said after his letter, there was discernible improvement in services. Interestingly, Priyanka Vadra has referred to the Mayor's letter in her tweet on Sunday. Local MP S.P. Singh Baghael met the District Magistrate and other officials to bring to their notice the problems people were facing. Baghael said people were not getting medical facilities, food supplies and were being ill-treated. Covid-19 suspects and patients are being hounded and treated like stigmatised non-humans, allege the sufferers, family members and those directly affected. Human rights violations are on the rise, as police personnel out of frustration and over work are resorting to rough behaviour, say the victims. Three days ago, 70 patients were dispatched to Saifai hospital at midnight. However, reports from there suggest conditions are no better than Agra. Those quarantined in Agra complain of lack of medical facilities. Even food and water are in short supply, according to messages on the social media platforms. Nodal officer senior IAS official Alok Kumar said he would try to find out how and why people were not provided emergency medical support promptly. One senior citizen two days ago died as dialysis could not be arranged. Another woman in a government hospital died as timely help could not reach her. Due to restrictions on movements, people in the hot zones are the worst sufferers. Even as alarm signals continue to panic people, the district authorities have not responded to appeals for supply of essentials in the 80 odd hot zones. Medical services of the private sector remain paralysed. The administration on Sunday released a list of private nursing homes where medical facilities would be available round the clock. Meanwhile, the local Lady Loyal Hospital for women, celebrated its 132nd foundation day with a record number of deliveries. Out of 154, 86 were caesarean and 68 normal deliveries. The number of Covid-19 positive now stands at 371. Nine have succumbed to the deadly virus. A family who lives in Salisbury built a Rube Goldberg Machine to thank essential workers. Posted: Apr 25, 2020 11:26 PM Posted By: WKTV Recovered after being stricken by coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepared to lead the government response to the pandemic challenge again from Monday, as pressure grew from various quarters to announce steps to ease the lockdown. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab told Sunday television that a vaccine against the virus is not likely to come to fruition this year. Human trials for a vaccine have begun in Oxford, with experts hoping for positive results by September, but others have tempered expectations. Downing Street said Johnson, who has been recuperating in a country retreat after leaving hospital, will resume duty on Monday, at a time when a new opinion poll suggested dwindling public trust in his governments ability to deal with the pandemic. According to Raab, who is deputising for Johnson, the prime minister is raring to go. Johnson, who studied Classics at Oxford, is reported to have quoted iconic Roman statesman Ciceros words to his aides: Salus populi suprema lex esto (The health of the people should be the supreme law), which has been interpreted as his reluctance to ease the lockdown. Raab said without the lockdown the death toll would have been worse than the over 20,000 figure as of Saturday, adding that social distancing measures would be in place at least for some time. He refused to set a timetable when the lockdown would be eased. Pressure on easing the lockdown grew after the governments in Scotland and Wales set out conditions needed before a review could be held. Raab has previously set a five-point test before easing the curbs could be considered. The test includes: protecting the National Health Services ability to cope; a sustained and consistent fall in the daily death rates; reliable data showing the rate of infection is decreasing to manageable levels; the range of operational challenges, including testing capacity and PPE, are in hand, with supply able to meet future demand; and that any adjustments to the current measures will not risk a second peak of infections. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Four terrorists were killed and an army officer injured in a fierce gunfight between security forces and holed up terrorists on Sunday in Jammu & Kashmir's Kulgam district. Police said four terrorists have been killed in the encounter between holed up terrorists and the security forces in Guddar village of Kulgam district. "An army officer sustained injury in the operation. He has been shifted to hospital for treatment. "Exact identities of the slain terrorists are being ascertained. One of them has so far been identified as a local", police said. After receiving specific information about a group of terrorists hiding in Guddar village, security forces including the Rashtriya Rifles (RR), special operations group (SOG) of local police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) had launched a cordon and search operation in the village in Kulgam district. As the security forces closed in on the hiding terrorists, they came under heavy automatic gunfire after which an encounter broke out which has now ended, but searches are still going on in the area, police said. A French-registered fishing vessel has been detained by the Naval Service off the west Cork coast. The LE Bernard Shaw stopped it for an alleged breach of fishing regulations 180 nautical miles west of Mizen Head. Even as the world grapples with the pandemic unleashed from Wuhan, China is back to the business of great power politics building military infrastructure, conducting naval exercises and sinking the fishing boats of other nations. While the rest of the world has come to its knees, in no small part due to Chinas behaviour, Beijing is busy reaping the dividends of this global disorder. If, at one level, it is using this coronavirus disease (Covid-19) to project itself as a global leader by supplying medical kits and expertise to nations in dire need, thereby trying to distinguish itself from an inward-focused Donald Trump administration, at another level, it is waging an information war in Europe, seeking to create internal rifts within the European Union. It is extraordinary to witness the full play of great power politics at a time which, according to most liberal institutionalists, should have been a case study of greater global coordination. Global pandemics were widely viewed as non-traditional security threats which would lead to greater cooperation among major powers, and not as arenas of contestation among major powers for relative gains. And international institutions were supposed to help the international community navigate these security challenges. But the state of the world today should disabuse us of all these fallacies. If anything, the fault lines between the United States (US) and China have been accentuated because of the crisis. Historically, China and the US have tried to work together to manage various global crises in the past. But not this time. Trumps America First approach has meant antagonising even close allies by diverting medical supplies, outbidding the original buyers, or forcing American companies to stop exporting hospital-grade N95 masks. The lack of leadership shown by Washington has made China a necessity for many nations even in the West which had to import faulty Chinese medical kits for lack of any alternative. While a large part of the world remains furious with China for its initial concealment of adequate information, they are forced to take Chinese help. This has allowed China to expand its influence under the garb of helping the world during this pandemic, a crisis which would have been much less severe had the country behaved responsibly initially. Europe is now pushing back strongly with French President Emmanuel Macron questioning Chinas handling of the outbreak, saying things happened that we dont know about and British foreign secretary Dominic Raab suggesting that hard questions would have to be asked about how the outbreak started and how it couldnt have been stopped earlier. Yet, the ability of these nations to take on China directly remains severely limited. As a result, the world will continue to transition to a phase where the jostling between China and the US will get exacerbated and the biggest loser will be global governance. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held its first session on the pandemic, some four months after the deadly contagion emerged as the biggest security challenge since World War II. After assuming the presidency of the UNSC last month, Chinas Ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, made it clear that Beijing does not plan to discuss the pandemic situation in the Council during its presidency as there was no need to panic, even adding that the world is not far from the defeat of Covid-19 with the coming of spring. Washington and Beijing remain divided on the scope of the joint resolution with the US insisting that the UNSC resolution should be explicit about the origin of the virus in Wuhan, China, much to Beijings annoyance. But more serious has been how the World Health Organization (WHO) has dealt with this once-in-a-lifetime crisis. Far from being the nodal agency to coordinate a global response to this pandemic, it seems to have made itself subservient to Chinese interests, losing credibility in the eyes of its other stakeholders. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was forced to declare an international public health emergency only at the end of January after calling it off just a week earlier under Chinese pressure. Tedros repeatedly defended Chinas handling of the crisis with the WHO even tweeting in mid-January that preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission. Tedros suggested at the end of January that WHO doesnt recommend limiting trade and movement. This has generated an intense backlash in Washington which is WHOs largest single funder with President Trump not only accusing the UN agency of being very China-centric but also following it up by halting US funding while a review is conducted to assess the World Health Organizations role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus. Though Trumps move to cut funding has led to political bickering in the US, senior members of the US Congress have also called for a Congressional investigation into the WHOs handling of the crisis, ostensibly in cahoots with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Great power politics has continued unabated even when many expected greater global solidarity. The international order was getting fragmented and major power rivalry was beginning to shape the global contours before the present crisis. That process has been galvanised by the Covid-19 crisis. Where on the one hand, the CCP stands exposed for its shenanigans during the pandemic, the vulnerabilities of the US and the West in general too are out in the open. Nations like India should be prepared to navigate the externalities of this challenging environment. Harsh V Pant is professor, Kings College London and distinguished fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi The views expressed are personal Actor Meera Chopra says the complete shutdown of film industry amid the nationwide lockdown worries her. The film industry came to a grinding halt after the nationwide lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country. "It worries me a lot, I was suppose to start shooting for a show in April, and a movie in June. Both the projects are halted because none of the industry folks know when the shooting will be resumed now. I've been in touch with my producers and they are equally blank about the future. "It seems right now nothing is in our hands. We are facing a huge crisis and we all have to fight that first and then think about anything else. We have to fight corona together for our better future. It's very important to maintain our mental balance right now, it's a very sensitive period," Meera told PTI. The actor, who was last seen in "Section 375" alongside Richa Chadha and Akshaye Khanna, was also working on an Amazon Prime series "Kamathipura" when the lockdown was announced. "It's sad because the entire shooting was over and we were in middle of dubbing when the lockdown was announced. We would have been able to release the series if we had just few more days to complete the dubbing. Now we all are waiting for the lockdown to get over so that we can complete the pending work and release it." While the impact of the lockdown has been widespread, the actor believes it will be particularly challenging for the film industry to function normally until a vaccine is not out. "None of us have ever seen anything like this, and moreover we don't know when it's going to get over. It looks dark for the next one year till vaccine is not out. None of us are used to sitting at home. We don't know when the shooting will start. There are at least 100 to 200 people on a set. I don't see such a huge number of people working together till the corona threat is on us." The actor said she is spending time with her family during the lockdown, but misses being on a set, because things were going in a right direction post "Section 375". "I've been getting more meaningful roles and films, now I have the liberty to choose what I want to, which I never had before and it's very satisfying. I want to do roles where I can give back something to the society. I can't do anything which is shallow and meaningless," she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "Poems from Jamaica," the first ever Jamaican poetry translated and published in China, was released in March 2020. The poems were written by Paulette A. Ramsay, a poet and professor at University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. They were translated into Chinese by Hou Tao, a professor from Taiyuan University of Technology in China's Shanxi province. Written originally in English, the collection features poems that explore a vast array of subject matters and thought-provoking ideas. The Chinese renderings of the poems are also highly readable and manage to retain the meanings and rhythms of the original poems. Ramsay's poetry centers around her reflections on life and people. Her representative work "Star Apple Blue and Avocado Green," which was published by Ian Randle Publishers in 2016, showcased her talented poetry skills and keen observations on life. Being a Latin-American writer, she often offers historical perspectives of Afro-Hispanic societies in her writing. Her poetry tends to deal with the history and future of the oppressed set against the setting of daily life. She combines kindness, genius, inspiration, female empowerment and her desire for social justice and passing a good cultural legacy to the younger generation. The University of West Indies at Mona and the Taiyuan University of Technology have developed close ties since they jointly built the first Confucius Institute in Jamaica in 2009. By selecting and translating these poems, with some verses specially created to commemorate the unforgettable moments of bilateral cooperation, the translator Hou Tao endeavored to enhance bilateral educational collaboration and people-to-people exchanges. Its publication is also intended to offer vivid experiences of Jamaican life and provide materials for national and regional research. The West Bengal government has not received any official communication from the Ministry of Human Resource Development or the UGC about framing a guideline to hold examinations that have been postponed, state minister Partha Chatterjee said on Sunday. While the state universities have forwarded certain suggestions to the department to ensure the academic future of the students was safeguarded, there has been no correspondence from University Grants Commission (UGC) or the MHRD on chalking out an action plan about ways to conduct postponed semester examinations, he said. "I am clearly stating that the state universities will take their decisions in the interest of students based on the discussion with the higher department in light of the present situation," the minister said. "There has been no letter from either UGC or MHRD on the issue," he added. He said the department is working in coordination with different state universities on the issue. Chatterjee also urged "a section of the media not to publish any which will create confusion among students", but did not elaborate. In a recent directive, UGC said universities and colleges would have to chalk out a plan of action to hold the postponed exams after getting the commissions guidelines. The state government has been asking the commission for sharing the report of its seven-member expert committee before going ahead with the recommendations given by it. The UGC committee is weighing measures to resume the academic activities and examinations of universities and colleges in the country severely disrupted by the lockdown in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently announced that universities will have to conduct only the last semester exams of final-year students and other semester exams for both undergraduate students would not be held this time. The semester exams were slated to take place in April-June. Banerjee made the announcement a day after the education minister held a meeting with vice-chancellors of different state universities. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A grandmother who was fighting for her life after contracting Covid-19 set up a fundraising page for the NHS from her hospital bed, days before she passed away. Kathleen Fox, known to friends and family as Catherine, was taken by ambulance to Antrim Area Hospital on April 16 after struggling for breath and feeling increasingly unwell. The grandmother-of-seven died in the early hours of Monday last week, moments after her daughter Sarah Fox said goodbye on the phone. "I hadn't slept a wink and at 4.40am I got a call from the hospital saying that Mum was close to the end," said Sarah, from Newtownabbey. "They said if I wanted to call her they would hold the phone up to her ear so I could say goodbye. It was awful, but I told her I'd love her forever, and got to say my goodbyes." And while the situation has been devastating, Sarah said the family have taken comfort from the great care her mother received from medics. "It's an inhumane situation for everyone going through this, but the staff were brilliant with her," she added. "One nurse in particular befriended her and we took solace from that, knowing she wasn't alone even though we couldn't be with her like we'd have wanted." As she comes to terms with her grief, Sarah, mum to eight-year-old Gabrielle, wants to remember her mother for all the great things she did in her life, and for her final act of kindness in the days before her death. "Mum should have turned 69 on Saturday (April 25)," said Sarah. "So sitting in hospital the week before her birthday, she set up a fundraiser for the NHS on her Facebook page asking people to donate, rather than getting presents. "She'd actually started to feel a lot better and was trying to do something positive. When she went in on the Thursday, she was really unwell and had pneumonia on both lungs. But by the time we spoke to her on Friday, she was like a different person. She was being treated with oxygen and she sounded great. "Her positive result came back for the virus that afternoon, but at the same time she sounded so much better and she was telling us about all the staff and how they couldn't do enough for her. "We started to think, great, she can get through this, she can recover, and on the Saturday she set up her donation page. She wanted to raise money for the staff and, considering what she was going through, it was kind and selfless and loving. That's how we'll remember her." But by Sunday Catherine, who was also mum to Sarah's siblings Stephen Fox and Suzanne Redburn, had started to deteriorate. "I spoke to her around 10pm and things were obviously worse," said Sarah. "I don't know that she realised how dangerously ill she was. She passed away the following morning." Catherine, who spent most of her career helping bereaved families as a claims handler with an insurance firm, had gone into self-isolation at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis. "Mum had COPD, so right from the start we knew she shouldn't be taking any risks," said Sarah (40). "She lived in a ground-floor flat in Newtownabbey, just around the corner from me, and she hadn't been out for five weeks. "We were dropping groceries over to her and talking to her through the window, but she wasn't going out at all. She didn't have anyone in the flat either, so we don't even understand how she got it. "The doctors said she might have got it by touching something in the communal part of the flats where she lived or even from something that was delivered to her. We'll never know." And like other bereaved relatives struggling with loss during lockdown, Sarah and her family have not yet had the chance to give Catherine, who loved to sew and bake with her grandchildren, a proper send-off. Catherine's Birthday Fundraiser for NHS Charities Together is on Facebook. India on Sunday gifted one lakh anti-malarial tablets of hydroxychloroquine and 50,000 surgical gloves to Bangladesh to help it combat the coronavirus pandemic which has infected nearly 5,000 people and killed over 100 in the country. Indias High Commissioner Riva Ganguly Das, on the occasion of India dispatching the second tranche of assistance to Bangladesh, invoked legendary poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore to highlight the importance of India-Bangladesh relations. She handed over the supplies, consisting of 100,000 hydroxychloroquine tablets and 50,000 sterile surgical latex gloves, to Health Minister Zahid Malik, bdnews24.com reported. A helping hand from our neighbour at this time of distress is most welcome, the minister said. In a video message posted on Twitter, the Indian envoy said that the coronavirus has spread to the entire world and many people in India and Bangladesh have also been infected. On March 15, India took the initiative and organised a conference of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation leaders on the pandemic during which a SAARC emergency fund was launched, she said. Under the initiative, today (Sunday) we gifted Bangladesh government one lakh medicines and 50,000 surgical gloves which can be used by the healthcare professionals, Das said. Earlier, India gifted head covers and masks for medical professionals, she said. India-Bangladesh relationship is very deep. We are neighbours. In our neighbourhood first policy, we always say Bangladesh first. We are with you. We have always been with you. We were with you in the past too and will remain with you in the future as well. Stay indoors, stay safe. I am absolutely confident that the crisis which we are dealing with, we will come out victorious. Thank you, Das said. Along with this, India has launched an initiative to conduct online courses which could help the medical professionals, the envoy said. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Raipur conducted a course which was attended by many people from Bangladesh, she said, adding that another course will be conducted soon. India has been at the forefront of sending essential medical supplies and medicines such as anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to several nations including the United States. Bangladesh has reported nearly 5,000 COVID-19 cases and 140 deaths due to the disease. The Bangladeshi government has announced a USD 11.6 billion stimulus package to support its economy, with a primary focus on supporting the manufacturing and service sectors, agriculture and social safety nets. An eerie photograph has emerged showing a lone traveler dressed in a hazmat suit aboard a practically empty international Japan Airlines flight en route to Los Angeles amid the coronavirus pandemic. The passenger looks out the window surrounded by rows of empty seats, illustrating how the airline industry has buckled to its knees as the virus crisis has locked down countries and limited travel. The photograph, snapped on April 15, also depicts the great security measures those brave enough to travel take to protect themselves against the contagious COVID-19. Internationally the airline industry is taking a major hit in the economic crisis spurred by the pandemic which has seen airline demand shrink to essentially zero, airport traffic in the US to plunge by 95 percent and airlines to lose billions of dollars. An eerie photograph has emerged showing a lone traveler dressed in a hazmat suit aboard a practically empty international flight from Japan Airlines flight en route to Los Angeles on April 15 amid the coronavirus pandemic Analysts anticipate airline earnings to decline by more than 200 percent for the first quarter and for airlines to lose billions in losses a stark contrast to the $1.8billion first-quarter profit a year ago, as per CNN. The number of people being screened by TSA at US airports is down 95 percent in April compared with last year, following a 51 percent drop in March. The loss in business has led airlines to slash their schedules in May by as much as 90 percent. Congress has approved $25billion in grants and low interest loans for the airline industry under the condition the companies do not implement any involuntary layoffs, furloughs or pay cuts for their 750,000 employees through the end of September. The first round of checks from that pool that totaled to a whopping $2.9billion, were issued on Monday. The Association of Flights Attendants, a major airline union, is trying to mandate masks for passengers and crew aboard all flights and for a temporary ban on leisure travel. A passenger waits for his baggage at the practically empty Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta on April 23 In this April 21 photo, a lone person works at the Delta airlines check-in desk at McCarran International airport in Las Vegas, Nevada United Airlines said that demand for travel has diminished to 'essentially zero', leading the airline to launch massive cuts as officials predict the decline in demand will extend into 2021. 'Travel demand is essentially zero and shows no sign of improving in the near-term,' executives wrote in a memo on April 15. 'Less than 200,000 people flew with us during the first two weeks of April this year, compared to more than 6 million during the same time in 2019, a 97 percent drop. And we expect to fly fewer people during the entire month of May than we did on a single day in May 2019.' United has warned investors that its first-quarter net loss will come to $2.1billion, while its operating loss will be $1billion. Last week Southwest Airlines reported that shares have fallen 47 percent this year, and Southwest is easily the best performing stock among major U.S. airlines. 'Traffic is virtually zero' and if it doesn't improve by July, 'we will have to prepare ourselves for a drastically smaller airline,' Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said. Kelly said that the airline is burning through cash at 'an alarming rate', but didn't give official figures. Across the US there are over 978,000 cases of COVID-19 and over 55,000 deaths Last week some airlines announced plans to reapply for government aid under the $2.2trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, according to Market Watch. On Monday United Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines disclosed plans to increase the among of aid they requested from the government. United said on April 15 it anticipated to receive about $5billion from the government through the Payroll Support Program under the CARES Act. On Monday the company said it expects to borrow up to an additional $4.5billion through the CARES Acts loan program. According to current share prices, taxpayers could own roughly a little more than $1billion worth of airline shares not including JetBlue Airways Corp. American Airlines Group Inc said it expects to receive $5.8billion under the CARES Act. Delta Airlines Inc said it reached a deal to receive $5.4billion under the CARES Act. Southwest expects more than $3.2billion in government aid under the Act. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 26) The number of people violating home quarantine orders has gone down by half since troops were deployed to help in its implementation. According to a report by Joint Task Force (JTF) COVID Shield on Sunday, "the presence of fully armed SAF commandos and soldiers, including armored personnel carriers, on the streets of Metro Manila and nearby areas was felt starting April 21." Troops were deployed to at least 10 Metro Manila public markets where violations of home quarantine were high. More policemen and soldiers also secured areas in the provinces where similar violations occurred. JTF COVID Shield commander PLGen. Guillermo Eleazar said there were 3,314 violators reported across the country on April 21. By April 23, only 1,585 violators were reported across the country. The report added, "The reduction was mostly recorded in Luzon where most SAF commandos and soldiers were deployed." From a total of 2,313 violators reported in Luzon on April 22, the figure went down to more than half, or 1,152 violators, according to PLt.Gen. Eleazar. From April 23 up to April 25 the number of violators were below the 2,000 mark 1,488 violators were reported on April 24, and 1,811 on April 25. Eleazar said the drop in numbers was due to the help of SAF troopers, soldiers, as well as HPG personnel. We are monitoring the situation on the ground on a daily basis in order to make immediate and necessary security adjustments in any area where any increase of ECQ violators was monitored, he added. The deployment of troops was done after President Rodrigo Duterte expressed frustration over continuous violation of quarantine restrictions. The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal Whats it like to be famous? That was the first question Andrew Warhola asked of his classmate Philip Pearlstein at Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh in the late 1940s. It only lasted five minutes, replied Pearlstein, who had won a national high school art competition and had been featured in an article that Life magazine published on the contest. Twenty years later, the pop art superstar who became known as Andy Warhol would borrow and tweak Pearlsteins words by declaring, In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes. An exhibition of Pearlsteins realist nudes was to have taken place at LewAllen Galleries in Santa Fe this month, but the show was postponed because of the coronavirus crisis. Journal North recently interviewed Pearlstein, who will turn 96 on May 24, about his wide-ranging career, his friendship with Warhol and his love of painting portraits that are not always flattering. What follows is an edited transcript of the conversation. Q: Whats your connection to the Southwest and to Santa Fe? A: I spent a lot of time with the Navajo around the time of the Bicentennial. The U.S. Department of the Interior decided to stage a large traveling exhibition by a group of artists called the New Realists, which was accompanied by a book. The artists chose where they wanted to paint. I did two paintings in the Canyon de Chelly National Monument, which has one of the longest histories of continuous human habitation in the world. One of the paintings got ruined by a wind that came through the canyon every afternoon. I was warned about the wind, but I didnt listen. So I had to return the next year after I repaired the canvas to finish the painting wrecked by the wind. I became acquainted with the director of the museum of the Navajo Junior College at the canyon. A year later, I was given a very big exhibition of my paintings of nudes in the museum there. I was given the title of Cultural Exchange Person to the Navajo. I returned about three or four times over the next couple of years to teach classes about the history of painting styles and different techniques of printmaking. At some point I was invited to teach at a summer program in Santa Fe sponsored by the art dealer Gerald Peters. I took students out to paint the little church that Georgia OKeeffe made famous. I cant remember the name right now (San Francisco de Asis Mission Church in Ranchos de Taos). Thats what happens when youre 95. But one of my paintings was turned into a print for the U.S. Art in Embassys program. Q: How did the show at LewAllen in Santa Fe come about? A: It was arranged by Betty Cuningham Gallery on the Lower East Side in New York, where the exhibit opened on Feb. 27. That show is still hanging in New York, although the gallery is closed right now. The show at LewAllen is a different group of my paintings. Q: You must be disappointed that the Santa Fe show has been put on hold. A: Yes, of course, but I wasnt going to come out to New Mexico. At my age, its not a lot of fun to travel. Q: I met you in New Jersey at a lake community where you painted portraits of your neighbors. How did you and your late wife Dorothy get to Highland Lakes? A: We had been going to Fire Island (New York), but it was getting harder and harder for Dorothy to walk to and from the ferry. Cars arent permitted on the island. Wagons are used to bring groceries and luggage to the houses. It got to the point where I was pulling Dorothy around in a wagon. Some neighbors in our building in New York, Charles von Nostitz and Christian Malcolm, told us about Highland Lakes. We bought a place there in 1998. Its an interesting group of people art restorers, graphic artists, textile designers, art directors all very creative and friendly. We had some wonderful times there. Q: Yes, I remember hearing stories how you dressed up as a Royal Canadian Mountie for a farewell party when Charles and Christian moved to Canada. But what about the portraits? A: At Highland Lakes, Ive done about 20 portraits. Its a very good way of getting to know people. Ive never gone after flattering people. I record my everyday experience of looking at them. I did my best to be true to what I saw. Q: How did you end up becoming a professional artist? A: In my high school, we had a marvelous art teacher. I went to high school in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh. I and a lot of the other kids at the school were from Greenfield and Hazelwood. We were from the wrong side of the bridge. This teacher took kids from economically and racially mixed neighborhoods and started an after-school arts club. Several people from the club went on to have careers as professional artists and industrial designers, and to work in what is known today as graphic arts. When I was in 11th grade, I did a picture of a carousel in Schenley Park that won a national high school art competition. Life magazine wrote a story about me. The article changed my life. I became famous in Pittsburgh. I had grown up living in my grandmothers house with my fathers siblings. They made fun of me because art wasnt a manly thing to do. Q: Did you serve in World War II? A: Yes, I was drafted. In basic training, we were trained to use a bayonet to try to kill the person opposite us. They took this group of flabby kids and turned us into muscular monsters. That was in Alabama. But I was sensible enough to have brought the Life magazine with me. The article probably saved my life. At the end of basic training, I was sent off to Florida and put into a unit that was doing charts for training purposes, about how to take the weapons apart and so on. The guys in charge had been art directors in California. We worked at the highest level. I learned how to be a commercial artist. Q: So you spent the war stateside? A: No, I was sent back to training to become a rifleman. Then I was sent to Italy, near Naples. I never saw combat. After the fighting stopped, I was assigned to make signs. Q: When did you meet Andy Warhol? A: Andy was a friend of Dorothys. We were all together at Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University) after the war. A lot of us were older veterans. We recognized how talented Andy was. In high school, the teachers thought he was stupid because he had dyslexia, which wasnt really understood yet. At Carnegie Tech, Andy was like a little brother to me. Andy wanted to be a schoolteacher, but he was too talented to be an ordinary teacher. We decided he should go to New York. Q: You and your wife, the former Dorothy Cantor, were the subject of a 2015 show at the Warhol in Pittsburgh called Pearlstein, Warhol, Cantor: From Pittsburgh to New York. What was it like trying to break into the New York art world in the early 1950s? A: Dorothy came to New York with her sister and lived in a womens dorm. Andy and I had a sublet on Eighth Street. We met a man who was president of the art directors club in New York. He had everyones phone number. We agreed Andy should call first. By this time, he had changed his name. Andys first big job was shoes on the ladder for Glamour magazine. Some of the shoes were by Dorothys cousin, who was a famous shoe designer. I ended up going to work for a man from Czechoslovakia named Ladislav Sutnar. I stayed for seven years, but left when Dorothy got pregnant because he couldnt offer me health insurance. Q: Why did you and Andy go separate ways? A: I went to the Institute of Fine Arts (New York University) and got a degree in art history on the GI Bill. I was working at Time Inc. for Life magazine and I got a Fulbright Fellowship to study in Italy. When I came back, I got an offer to teach at Pratt Institute. I was teaching classes in two-dimensional design. It wasnt called graphics yet. I also taught art history because of my degree. They gave me a figure drawing class to teach. I wasnt that interested because I didnt want to study anatomy. But it changed my life. A group of us would all pitch in to pay the models. A friend had a wonderful collection of Indian saris. On Sunday evening, we would go to her house and she would drape the saris over her couch, and the models would just lie around. I started doing paintings of nude art students casually going to sleep. I became radical as an artist when I began painting the figure realistically. It was against everything. My old friends wouldnt speak to me because I had turned my back on abstract expressionism. Meanwhile, Andys career really took off. By the end of the 1950s, he was the highest paid illustrator in the country. This was not the Andy Warhol who became famous. His personality changed later on. It was a totally invented personality. Between 1957 and 1962, Dorothy and I had three children. We stopped seeing everybody. We couldnt afford babysitters. Andy re-entered the art world as a pop artist. (The art dealer Leo) Castelli picked him up and he became a major artist. We were very proud of him. Although Dorothy spent a great deal of time with the children, she started a side career as a publisher, working mostly with women artists. Q: Whats next? A: I think Im going to lie down for a little while. In May, theres going to be a show of my work in the Czech Republic at an institute in Pilsen named for Ladislav Sutnar, who is now considered to be one of the pioneers of information graphics. Investing in cannabis has never been more challenging than it is today. There are many pot stocks to choose from and not all of them carry the same risks. In addition to cash flow and profitability, investors need to consider how much growth to expect from the company as well as the stock's current valuation. However, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, there's another item that needs to enter the equation: Where its operations are. Being in the wrong state could prove to be catastrophic. Cannabis markets to steer clear of The coronavirus pandemic has forced some states to make difficult decisions, including which businesses are essential and which are not. And that has significant ramifications since being considered essential can be the difference between a company generating enough cash to get by this year and going under. One state that's not allowing recreational pot shops to stay open is Massachusetts. The reason Gov. Charlie Baker sees a problem with keeping recreational pot shops open is that they could attract out-of-state visitors, which would undermine the state's ability to contain the spread of COVID-19. Baker said, "making those sites available to anybody from the northeast would cut completely against the entire strategy we're trying to pursue." However, medical marijuana dispensaries are still considered essential within the state and are allowed to remain open. Another state that could be problematic for investors is Nevada. While it is permitting the sale of recreational marijuana, the challenge faced by dispensaries is that they may not see many out-of-state visitors, which is likely to hurt sales in a big way. Massachusetts is surrounded by many states that haven't legalized recreational marijuana which can entice cannabis users from neighboring states to visit its pot shops. But the same can't be said of Nevada, where Oregon, Washington, and California all permit recreational pot. In 2019, Las Vegas brought in more than 42 million tourists, many of them flying in from all over the world. That number will take a big hit this year as a result of significant travel restrictions. For such a tourist-dependent city, it makes cannabis companies based in the area, like Planet 13 Holdings (OTC:PLNH.F) a much riskier investment. How can investors minimize their risk? By gauging where a company does a lot of its business, investors can better assess the risk level of an individual pot stock. And when analyzed in conjunction with its cash balance, rate of cash burn, and prospects for profitability, it can help investors get a complete picture of how strong of a position a company is in to outlast this pandemic. Analysts were already expecting many bankruptcies to happen this year, and COVID-19 may only increase the number of at-risk cannabis companies. Harvest Health & Recreation (OTC:HRVSF) is a multistate cannabis operator, and judging by the states where it has a presence in, it may be one of the safer pot stocks to buy amid the pandemic. The company's largest presence is in Arizona and Florida, both states which have classified marijuana as essential. It also has dispensaries in Arkansas, California, Maryland, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania. The company released its year-end results on April 7, reporting revenue of $116.8 million for 2019, a 149% increase from the prior-year tally of $47 million. Unfortunately, the company's net loss ballooned from $67.5 million in the previous year up to $173.5 million. By the end of March, the company also had $85 million in cash on its books. The concern for investors is whether that may be enough, as from Dec. 31, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2019, the company's cash and cash equivalents fell from $191.9 million to just $22.7 million. That's nearly $170 million in cash that was used up during the year. Harvest Health will likely scale back operations this year, but what will be critical to the stock's performance this year is if it can slow its rate of cash burn down enough to avoid having to raise additional cash through the equity markets. Raising cash during a downturn won't be easy, and with Harvest Health's stock already down more than 90% in the past year, investors may ditch the stock for good -- if they haven't already. The stock's performance is even worse than the 69% decline that the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF has been on over the past 12 months. Even though Harvest Health may be in good shape in terms of where its operations are, it's still a bit risky when taking into account its cash balance. That's why finding a pot stock that ticks all the right boxes this year will prove to be challenging. But it's important that investors conduct a thorough analysis before investing in a stock; otherwise, they could incur some large losses this year. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 18:39:03|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KABUL, April 26 (Xinhua) -- One suspect had been arrested in connection with a shooting that killed seven member of a family and injured two others in Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province, the Afghan Interior Ministry said Sunday. "The Afghan National Police (ANP) in Kunduz has arrested a man in connection with killing of seven members of a family. The incident took place in Kanm village, Imam Sahib district of Kunduz on Saturday," the ministry said in a statement. The suspected man killed the relatives due to family disputes and one AK-47 gun was also found at his house, the statement added. An investigation was underway, the statement added. Enditem P olice have been forced to close a California beach after thousands of people flouted the lockdown to bask in a heatwave. An estimated 40,000 people descended on Newport Beach on Friday, while Huntington beach and scores of others were also rammed this weekend. Temperatures hit 32C degrees in some parts of California, which was one of the first US states to shut down as the death toll rose to 1,600. Officers in Pacific Grove had to close Lovers Point Park and Beach on Saturday after it became too overcrowded, while San Diego police arrested three people who were protesting beach closures. Huntingdon Beach was crowded with thousands of people on Saturday / AFP via Getty Images "I know they have rules and restrictions, but people aren't listening," John Overchuck, 45, who lives on New Smyrna Beach said. "I walked on the beach 10 minutes ago and it's packed. That wasn't supposed to happen." Brian O'Rourke, a lifeguard chief at Newport Beach, added: "Its crowded out. We havent had too many issues with [social distancing] as lifeguards. Newport Beach in California saw 40,000 people cram onto its sands on Friday alone / Getty Images "Our primary mission is watching the water. Weve had dozens of ocean rescues and hundreds of preventative actions." Most of beaches in California - including all in Los Angeles - remain shut, while others have reopened but crowds still defied orders to socially distance. Dozens of residents protested at Huntingdon Beach recently over California's lockdown rules. The state's Governor Gavin Newsom tweeted: "CA can only keep flattening the curve if we stay home and practise physical distancing. You have the power to literally save lives." It comes after crowds crammed onto beaches in Florida last weekend after some of the measures were eased. Quick coronavirus testing (Photo: VNA) According to the April 25th morning report from the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, Vietnam has reported zero deaths from COVID-19 so far. Among the five positive again, patient No.188 was discharged from Ha Nam General Hospital on April 16 after her results came back negative twice. She was put in quarantine for two weeks, during which she was monitored by the Hanoi Centre of Disease Control, re-tested frequently at the National Hospital for Tropical Disease in Hanoi and the results came back positive on April 21st. Patients No.52 and No.149 were declared recovered by Hospital No.2 in the northern province of Quang Ninh on April 16 and remained in quarantine there for another two weeks. On April 21st, the hospital conducted tests for the two patients and their results returned positive. Patient No.137 was declared recovered from the National Hospital for Tropical Disease in Hanoi on April 7th after testing results came back negative three times on three consecutive days (April 3rd-5th). During the two-week quarantine, she exhibited no clinical symptoms of the disease and all testing results on April 7th, April 16th and April 19th came back negative. The CT scan of the patients lung did not show any signs of damage and the patient was allowed to be returned home on April 22nd after her two weeks in hospital quarantine ends. On April 23rd, the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Hanoi confirmed that the tests results came back positive again, and the patient was brought back to the hospital. Another relapse case was in the southern province of Binh Thuan. Patient No.36 was confirmed to be free of the virus on April 10 after testing negative three times. During the following two-week quarantine at a medical facility in the province, the patients test results came back negative twice before a third test on the final day of the quarantine showed positive results. The patient is being quarantined for further medical monitoring. On April 24th evening, two new cases were detected, both students returning home from Japan. They were immediately quarantined and are currently being treated for the virus. As many as 54,966 people are currently in quarantine and have their health status monitored across the country./. President Donald Trump's decision in late January to ban travel between the US and China was not a great moment in the fight against coronavirus, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Sunday. Trump has repeatedly described his decision to implement a travel ban between the US and China as his best and earliest move to fight the pandemic. "Actually, tens of thousands of people were still allowed in from China. So it wasn't, as it is described, as this great moment. There were Americans coming back or green card holders coming back. But there were tens of thousands," Pelosi told CNN. "If you're going to shut the door because you have an evaluation of an epidemic, then shut the door, she said, continuing to be critical of the Trump's policies on coronavirus pandemic that has so far killed more than 54,000 Americans. "Let's go into the future. What the American people want is for us to have a plan to go forward. And our plan to go forward addresses their concerns, she said. Their first concern is that our heroes be taken care of, our health care workers, our police and fire, our emergency services, our teachers, our food service people, our transportation workers, our Postal Service, that they be taken care of... because they are taking risks to do their jobs, she said. Secondly, people want their checks under the stimulus package. They have all not gotten them, and we have to have oversight as to how quickly that should be moving, she said. In another interview to MSNBC, Pelosi said that the numbers are staggering in terms of the infections, but also, the deaths. Pelosi slammed Trump for making comments about disinfectants as potential treatment for coronavirus patients. Trump on Wednesday suggested the possibility of studying injecting disinfectants into COVID-19 patients or bringing UV light "inside" their bodies to kill the deadly virus, drawing immediate flak from health experts while a leading disinfectant producer urged people not to listen to such dangerous speculation. "We have these comments coming out of the White House, that the president has been irresponsible and we have insisted on the truth. He said it was a hoax; he said it would go away magically; he said all kinds of things that were not true. And people believe him. He's the president of the United States. The president's words have weight. They have weight, Pelosi said. So now that he's gone to this limit, at least it means that lots of scientists and medical professionals have come forth and said, 'No, he has gone too far this time.' As I said, as a mom and a grandmother, I'm embarrassed sometimes about how the president talks... This is dangerous, she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) GLENMONT, Ohio A bride once asked Kevin Mooney if he was playing music as they toured his property. No, he said, thats the birds singing. Its a familiar sound in the treetops south of Loudonville, where Mooney has built a collection of extraordinary overnight accommodations. Theres the View, with floor-to-ceiling glass walls, offering unobstructed scenes of the forest; Old Pine, a two-story perch constructed out of 100-year-old barn siding; and the Tin Shed, which requires guests to bounce across a 100-foot extension bridge to enter. Clevelanders Kevin and Laura Mooney founded the Mohican Treehouses in 2012, on 100-plus acres south of Mohican State Park, about midway between Cleveland and Columbus. Since then, its grown into a popular venue for weddings, outdoor retreats and unique overnights. The couple started their project with three well-appointed cabins, built firmly on the ground. Then a friend shared a book about treehouses, and Mooney was hooked. He hired well-known treehouse expert Pete Nelson, host of Animal Planets Treehouse Masters, to design Mohicans first two up-in-the-branches creations. Since then, Mooney has added seven more, including his newest creation an Airstream trailer, lofted 25 feet in the air, supported by half a dozen trees. If it sounds a bit odd, it is but it also is a design masterpiece, with an add-on luxury bath and wraparound deck. An elevated Airstream trailer is the newest overnight option at the Mohicans Treehouse Resort and Wedding Venue near Loudonville, Ohio. Dining area inside the new Airstream treehouse at the Mohicans Treehouse Resort and Wedding Venue near Loudonville. The treehouses here are not the ramshackle structures you built in the back yard as a kid. These are high-end accommodations, with granite countertops, black walnut floors, high-end linens, bathrooms and small kitchens. They rent for $300 and up a night. Theyre part of a trend in treehouse living, with a growing number of elevated structures throughout the U.S. and around the world, some used as private residences and others for public overnights. Metroparks Toledo this year is opening Cannaley Treehouse Village, a collection of five treehouses, available for overnight rentals. Ohios Hocking Hills area, too, has seen an increase in treehouse overnight options in recent years. Theres something nostalgic and romantic about spending the night in the treetops, said Mooney. It gets you back to the basics, he said. They make people smile. Mooney, who retired in 2005 at age 42 from his job as a financial consultant, took a class in treehouse design at Out n About Treehouse resort in Oregon, and has designed several treehouses on the property. He admits that he borrows liberally from the many structures he has toured over the years. Ive never had an original idea in my life, he joked. Ive copied a lot of good ones. The Little Red Treehouse, one of nine treehouses at the Mohicans Treehouse Resort near Loudonville. Interior of the Little Red Treehouse, part of the Mohicans Treehouse Resort and Wedding Venue near Loudonville. Laura Mooney designs the interiors, while a crew of Amish workers builds the structures. The houses are suspended from the trees using specially-made hardware, which allow the plants to continue to move and grow. All are inspected by the state of Ohio. When Mooney started the business, he thought the area around Mohican State Park was poised for growth similar to the private development that has occurred in the Hocking Hills region of Ohio. That growth didnt materialize, but the Mooneys developed a niche, hosting weddings with an elegant, rustic theme. The Grand Barn, initially conceived as a corporate retreat center, now hosts as many as 100 weddings a year, accommodating 200-plus guests at a time, with newly married couples and their guests spending the night before and after in the treetops. Mooney has also started his own catering company, Treehouse Provisions, which will eventually relocate to Clevelands west side. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, most spring weddings at the site have been canceled, making it easier for families and couples to spend a night or two in the treehouses, which typically book up months in advance. Like most hotels in Ohio, the treehouses remain open, even while the states stay-at-home order is in effect through May 1. On a recent weekday in mid-April, several Ohio families were enjoying a quiet, relaxing spring-break getaway. We felt like we needed to get out of Columbus, said Aaron Epting, who was spending two nights at the treehouse resort with wife, Amanda, and three young sons. We were supposed to be in the Bahamas. The Nest, one of nine treehouses that make up the Mohicans Treehouse Resort near Loudonville. Kevin Mooney, owner of the Mohican Treehouse Resort and Wedding Venue near Loudonville. While north-central Ohio is no substitute for a tropical island getaway, there is plenty to do nearby, including Mohican and Malabar Farm state parks, mountain biking trails, horseback riding, canoeing, ziplining and more. Mooney, meanwhile, continues to expand his overnight offerings, with crews renovating two houses on his property, both of which should be available to rent this summer. He also recently purchased a second Airstream trailer, which he will renovate, and eventually turn into another treehouse. He is also adding a luxury platform tent to the site, fully equipped with heating, air conditioning, upscale bath and other amenities. And when all of that is done, he said he has more ideas, for additional treehouses and other unique overnight options. I dont think I can stop. I tried retiring once and it was horrible. If you go: The Mohicans Treehouse Resort & Wedding Venue What: A wedding venue and collection of cabins and treehouses for overnight rentals, on 120 acres near Mohican State Park. Overnight rates start at about $250 a night, more on weekends. Where: 12164 Vess Road, Glenmont, about 8 miles south of Loudonville More information: themohicans.net Read more: Treehouse Village overnights available this summer at Metroparks Toledos Oak Openings Preserve More Ohio treehouses for overnight adventures in Hocking Hills, Holmes County Interior of the Tin Shed treehouse, one of nine treehouses at the Mohicans Treehouse Resort near Loudonville. Bahrain has launched a virtual mall to enable shops to continue serving its customers during the ongoing global Covid-19 outbreak. The mall.bh website, which officially opened on April 23, features a range of products from more than 100 companies operating in the kingdom including fashion, homeware and electronics. Several major brands are set to participate in the virtual service, with the government-run website not charging any fees to retailers amid physical store closures to combat the spread of Covid-19. Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani, Bahrain's Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, said: This will enable companies to continue offering their products to consumers. It has been designed by the Ministry and will provide its services to companies for free." The initiative is the latest digital offering from the kingdom to help combat the ongoing global health crisis, with solutions including remote learning and a nationwide bracelet tracking programme rolled out across the country. Last month, Bahrains Ministry of Education together with the kingdoms Information & eGovernment Authority announced a partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to create a dedicated electronic education portal for millions of students. This portal is used to view lessons, download education materials, complete their homework online, and participate in discussions with classmates. Parents can use the system to follow up on the activities carried out by their classes, while school administrators can monitor the progress of students and teachers. The portal is powered by AWS, which recently opened its first Middle East data region in the Kingdom. AWS is also supporting the Bahraini government in its concerted shift to the cloud the kingdom has mandated the use of Cloud IAAS & SAAS across government, which assisted in the fast roll-out of nationwide distance learning. To put this into perspective, according to a recent study by Teacher Tapp, just one in six schools in the UK had the technology to set and receive work from pupils. Meanwhile, Bahrains national electronic wallet BenefitPay announced a 1,257 per cent increase in the number of remittances through its Fawri+ service during the month of March 2020 worth some BD103 million ($270.7 million). - TradeArabia News Service (Newser) The Navajo are battling America's third-highest coronavirus infection rate after New York and New Jersey as they scramble to treat the sickand it's clearly an uphill battle, NPR reports. Their challenges include lack of hospital space, lack of nursing, lack of equipment, and facilities that simply aren't designed for respiratory care. "We basically changed our hospital from an acute care hospital and an ambulatory care clinic to one that could take care of respiratory care patients," Diana Hu, a doctor at a reservation hospital, tells NBC News. "And that transition happened over a period of about seven days." The situation forces them to fly patients to Albuquerque, Flagstaff, and Phoenix as strike teams try to help in communities, but endemic Najavo problems aren't helping. story continues below Officials say the lack of clean, running water makes it hard to promote hand-washing, and contact-tracing can be tough when people live hours apart or have no phonereminders that American tribes have long lacked funding for essential infrastructure. "We are United States citizens but we're not treated like that," says Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez. "You can hear the frustration, the tone of my voice. We once again have been forgotten by our own government." Apropos, the Navajo have joined 10 tribes in suing the federal government, saying their combined $8 billion share of $2 trillion in relief money is far too low. The Navajowho number roughly 175,000 across Arizona, Utah, and New Mexicohad 1,540 coronavirus cases and 58 deaths as of Friday, the AP reports. (Read more coronavirus stories.) By Yi Whan-woo The government and businesses of Uzbekistan are joining hands to help low-income families and the jobless under a nationwide campaign suggested by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. / Courtesy of Embassy of Uzbekistan The "Kindness and support" campaign is to help "vulnerable segments of the population" and to ensure the country's industries and relevant infrastructure are in "full operation," according to the Uzbekistan Embassy in Korea. The government has been supplying food and medical equipment to families in need and those who lost work in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Companies also have been hiring members of low-income households and supplying goods they need. In return, the companies receive government incentives on tax, leasing, credit preferences and other areas. "The head of state expresses confidence that the Kindness and support nationwide movement will become a bright example of the country's and nation's strength," the embassy said. It said the country's act of goodwill was even more noteworthy because of Ramadan, which Muslims observe as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection and community. It lasts from April 23 to May 23 this year. As mid-valley students mourn the possibility of no graduation procession, some local businesses have stepped up with a different take. Swapping rolled-up certificates for colorful signs, Gillot Home Team realty, school districts and individual donors have been sponsoring an Albany business to make 2020 graduate flair, then dropping them off celebration-style in students front yards. We just have a lot of heart for our kids and the seniors, said Lori Hill, Gillot director of operations. Were just a very tight-knit community. The Lebanon Gillot team has been doing business in the area for over 28 years and, Hill said, wanted to apply relational real estate to help in any way they could. So, after linking up with Xtreme Grafx owners Arthur Meeker and Chrystal Hart-Meeker, the realty group paid the business to make over 300 signs for Lebanon High School grads. Now, they're just one of several donors chipping in for signs across the region. Last week, volunteers led a car parade horns honking and all through Lebanon neighborhoods to distribute the signs. Hill said she drove over four hours to get the job done. It's just a great way to celebrate these kiddos who have worked so hard but arent getting a graduation, she said. Tracy Lengwin, mother of Corvallis High senior Maci Lengwin, said she surprised her daughter with the sign, and both were overcome with emotion. It was really great, Lengwin said. She was pretty touched and overwhelmed by it as well. Maci, her mother said, is super social and would always help plan events like dances and assemblies when school was in session. Shes knee-deep involved in everything, so for her its been really devastating, Lengwin said. Through these obviously unprecedented times, getting the sign as a token of appreciation was such a bright light in our month. Reilly Mincinski, a soon-to-be Corvallis High School graduate and daughter of a Gillot employee, helped drop off some signs last week. Mincinski, who will attend the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the fall to study nursing, said the signs are symbolic of her class still being able to get the job done. It feels pretty great, she said. It allows my community to see that Im part of the class that got cut short but were still thriving. She didnt actually get to see her own sign go up because she was helping get other people theirs. It was so much fun, Mincinski said. Meeker said plenty of parents had already considered ordering signs he got calls from people trying to find small ways to make up for such a big milestone. After the Gillot team stepped in, though, he began making templates for signs with all the local high schools colors and mascots. After Mid-Valley Media initially reported this project on April 15, Meeker added, business has been amazing, with over 2,800 signs made and counting. It is able to keep our employees working and able to social distance while theyre at work, he said. Im also moving materials from our suppliers. Its been a win-win situation for everybody. Hes also launched an online store for families who want additional signs and is in talks with more cities for signs and smaller communities for banners with graduating students pictures. People are just so excited about the project, Meeker said. For Robbin Davis, a Lebanon High School mom, getting a sign meant so much in whats usually a somber month for her family. Her senior Makenna Davis was born 10 days after 9/11. Her dad soon after went to fight in Iraq and was killed in action in April 2005. Makennas sign was delivered days after the 15 anniversary of his death. I think these seniors really needed it, Davis said. Its kind of like they were born in a rough time that we were going through in the United States. Theyre going out (of high school) with it being rough and shut down. But, she said, this is just another hurdle for her daughter and peers to overcome. Her futures so unsure, she said. But, Shell make lemonade out of lemons and go on and keep trucking through. Signs are free to every high school senior, but extra signs can be purchased by visiting gowrapit.com. For more information, call 541-926-9727. Reporter Nia Tariq can be reached at nia.tariq@lee.net. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Just when you think it is safe to rummage through the deep freezer with a shaking hand to find your favourite comforting trash pudding hopefully something rich in E numbers, devoid of fresh fruit and pumped full of synthetic cream a food snob comes along to sneer at your appalling taste and your lack of finesse. Last week it was BBC Radio 4 Womans Hour presenter Jane Garvey, when she scandalously claimed that the Arctic Roll was a low-level pudding. Gasp. Low level? Hark at her. Thats a terrible thing to say about an innocent sponge filled with ice cream and raspberry sauce! And the broadcaster soon found herself in a jam when Arctic Roll fans started complaining in their droves about her pudding-based elitism and forced the dessert rat into an apology. Jan Moir reflected on a selection of retro puddings, after Jane Garvey claimed Arctic Roll (pictured) is a 'low-level pudding' I do apologise if youre a big, big fan of Arctic Roll, she sniffed. While she hadnt meant to offend anyone, she added: Ill be honest with you, I dont like Arctic Roll. To be fair, she is not alone. The food writer and author Nigel Slater once likened the 1970s family favourite to a frozen carpet that tasted like cold cardboard just a tube of vanilla ice-cream wrapped by wet sponge and ring of red jam so thin it could have been drawn on with an architects pen. Is it really that bad? Arctic Roll was high on the hit list of factory-made puddings that reached the height of their popularity in the 1970s because well, we just didnt know any better. Today, it is up there on the foodie podium of odium, alongside Angel Delight, Viennetta, Neapolitan Ice Cream Bricks and Heinz Steamed Puddings in tins. They barely had a vitamin or a natural element between them. Back then it wasnt the Ready Brek that made us kiddies glow in the dark, it was what we had for pud. But is Arctic Roll so terrible? Can anything so innocently formed of ice cream, sponge and fruit be so bad? I decided to make one from scratch to get to the jammy heart of the matter and restore some dignity to this most maligned of frozen desserts. I dont have to look far to find a recipe there is one prominently displayed on the BBCs Good Food website. Jane must be furious; are they trolling her? I assemble all the ingredients including my last, precious tattered half-bag of plain flour before realising I am expected to make the ice cream and the jam from scratch. What? Theyve got to be kidding. Begrudgingly, I agree. But I wont be spending 10 on a vanilla pod as instructed a splash of bottled essence will have to do. Food snob Jane wont approve. Jan who made her own Arctic roll, said the 1970s family favourite tastes pretty nice. Pictured: Angel Delight Start by whisking eggs, icing sugar, vanilla and double cream to make the ice cream. Freeze it in a loaf tin for an hour, then mould into a log shape before freezing for another two hours. Oh my goodness. It tastes like the Walls Ice Cream of my childhood retro heaven. I make the jam. The jam boils into an inedible strawberry magma. To my jam shame, I use some from a jar instead. I bake the sponge, roll it up tightly in parchment and wait. To assemble: Unwrap the Swiss roll, spread with jam, slap in the ice cream cylinder, roll it all up and stick it back in the freezer. I want to be honest here. I have hopelessly over jammed and under-creamed my Arctic Roll. It looks like a limb stump from The Red Wedding scene in Game Of Thrones. It looks hideous. I sprinkle some caster sugar on top and hope for the best. How does it taste? Pretty nice, despite the disparagers. And not a whiff of wet cardboard in sight it would be fun to make with children. Arctic Roll may not be the most sophisticated frozen dessert in the world, but at least its not a Viennetta. That is the lowest of the low. Now take a look at my retro pudding trolley Jan said Viennetta (pictured) was considered the height of sophistication in the 1980s Arctic Roll 1.20/260g, Waitrose A cylinder of vanilla ice-cream coated with raspberry sauce not the strawberry specified in the BBC recipe and entombed in a layer of sponge. It was invented in the late 1950s by Dr Ernest Velden, a Czech lawyer who fled to the UK at the start of World War II. He set up an ice cream factory to manufacture his innovative dessert in Eastbourne, Sussex, in 1958. Birds Eye bought Veldens factory a few years later and Arctic Roll reached the peak of its popularity in the 1980s when the firm was making over 25 miles of the stuff each month, using a giant, 100ft-long oven. Angel Delight 60p/59g, Sainsburys Launched by custard powder company Birds in 1967, in a Strawberries and Cream flavour classic Angel Delight has held its place on our supermarket shelves ever since. Made by whisking a sachet of dessert powder into cold milk. Left to set, it transforms into a sweet, sticky mousse. It was hugely popular in the 1970s many have fond memories of the Butterscotch flavour, which is still available along with Banana, Chocolate and Strawberry versions. Viennetta 1.65/650ml from most supermarkets With its sophisticated, continental-sounding name, Viennetta was originally launched by British ice cream company Walls from its Gloucester factory in 1982 as a one-off posh Christmas dessert. The ice cream gateau with its concertina layers of wavy vanilla ice cream interleaved with crisp chocolate proved so popular that it became a year-round product. Considered the height of sophistication in the 1980s, a decade later it was given thicker chocolate layers, and appeared in new flavours, including Mint, Strawberry, Cappuccino and Praline. Jan claims Heinz discontinued their range of steamed sponge puddings (pictured) several years ago Heinz Steamed Sponge Puddings Tinned treacle sponge, Spotted Dick and Jam sponge pudding just the kind of retro comfort food we could all do with. Well, we hate to break this to you but Heinz discontinued their range of tinned sponge puddings several years ago. And no, we had no idea either and now we feel bereft. Neapolitan Ice Cream brick 1/1 litre, Tesco Jan revealed Neapolitan Ice Cream brick (pictured left) is still available in Tesco and Birds Strawberry Trifle Kit (pictured right) is sold in most UK supermarkets Invented in the 19th century, this colourful, striped block of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream is another classic dessert that has stood the test of time. It was originally sold in oblong, cardboard cartons, which unfolded, to allow the ice cream to be sliced and served between two flat wafers. You can still buy the cardboard packages in Tesco, although plastic cartons of the soft scoop version are more widely available. Birds Strawberry Trifle Kit 1.60, most supermarkets Recipes for trifle date back to the 1590s and these days there are all kinds of sophisticated versions of this traditional British dessert to buy and make. But if you want to be taken back to tea at grandmas or the Sunday lunches of your childhood a Birds trifle kit is the only way to go. A box of glorious retro sachets: jelly crystals; custard powder; dream topping (a white, creamy topping), chocolate sprinkles and sponge fingers. Its typical, space-age instant food of the 1960s and 1970s. And you dont have to bother making any stupid jam. Universities have had to provide lectures online as a temporary solution during the COVID-19 pandemic, but experts believe that e-learning will become an indispensable part of higher education in Vietnam. Nguyen Thu Thuy, acting director of the University Education Department under the Ministry of Education and Trianing (MOET), said that 110 out of 240 higher education establishments have organized e-learning at different levels. At least 45 percent of schools have organized e-learning, while 42 percent still have not used this training method, and 13 percent are security and national defence. Universities are classified into three groups: those that use LMS (learning management system) and LCMS (learning content management system); those without LMS and LCMS and only use real-time online teaching tools (live-video communication) and communication tools (Google Hangouts Meet, Microsoft teams, Adobe Connect, Zoom, Skype, Email and social networks) between lecturers and students; and schools that do not offer online training at all. Universities have had to provide lectures online as a temporary solution during the COVID-19 pandemic, but experts believe that e-learning will become an indispensable part of higher education in Vietnam. Around 57 percent of state-owned schools still have no online training, while the figure is just 20 percent for non-state schools. Thuy noted that most schools are thinking of organizing online training for long-term training, rather than a temporary short-term solution. Covid-19 has heightened their awareness of the importance of e-learning and the need to restructure lecturing staff. However, many schools complain of difficulties when organizing online training. Only Hanoi and HCM City Open Universities can provide fully worked out e-learning. These higher education establishments have been providing training from a distance for many years. MOET has encouraged schools to join forces to build open e-learning courses, open school materials and design free lessons. According to Nguyen Son Hai, director of the Information Technology Agency, 11 ICT groups have registered to assist education establishments to organize online training, and settle problems in infrastructure, software solutions and internet access fees. The Hanoi University of Science and Technology is one of the first schools to provide online lessons. Its rector Hoang Minh Son said the school will use AI to personalize online training. MOET should cooperate with the Ministry of Information and Communications to carry out digitalization. The Hanoi University of Science and Technology is ready to pioneer the process, Son said. Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Van Phuc said the ministry is revising regulations on full-time higher education. The new regulations will mention blended education (traditional and online education), providing a legal foundation for schools to organize e-learning. Thanh Lich Vietnamese teachers, students frustrated with online teaching Students play truant to avoid learning, teachers are confused about teaching aids, and apps for online learning have security risks. Tottenham have joined the race to sign Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic after the midfielder admitted he is considering his future at the club. Rakitic has been a key part of Barca's success since joining the club from Sevilla in 2014 but has been relegated to a supporting role this season. The arrival of Frenkie De Jong from Ajax last summer has seen the Rakitic lose his place in the first team and led to questions marks over his future. Tottenham have reportedly joined the race to sign Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic Rakitic has revealed he turned down a move to PSG as part of a deal for Neymar last summer Rakitic has hinted at exit after saying he doesn't want to be treated like a 'sack of potatoes' This week the Croatia international revealed Barca had attempted to use him as a makeweight as part of a proposed deal to sign Neymar from PSG last summer. Rakitic has been left hurt by that development and stated that he won't allow Barca to treat him like a 'sack of potatoes' and wants to be 'somewhere he feels 'respected.' With just a year remaining on his contract at the Nou Camp it appears likely he could move on this summer, with a host of clubs queuing up for his signature. Jose Mourinho is a long time admirer of Rakitic and is keen to bolster his midfield options According to Mundo Deportivo, Tottenham are the latest club to register their interest as Jose Mourinho looks to bolster his midfield options. Spurs' bid for Rakitic could be aided by Barca's reported interest in Tanguy Ndombele, who has endured a strained relationship with Mourinho. The Portuguese is a long time admirer of Rakitic but he faces competition from Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Sevilla and Napoli for the 32-year-old. Barca may also yet opt to offer him a new deal, with manager Quique Setien stating last week that he will continue to play if he stays at the club. In what a police officers called a case of many firsts,a 35-year-old man was arrested on Saturday morning from outside a containment zone in Madipur, near Punjabi Bagh, for allegedly murdering his wife in their home inside the zone. The murder, the first such incident reported from inside a Covid-19 containment zone in Delhi, was reported when the suspect called the police and confessed to the murder. The city has 92 such zones, across areas such as Nizamuddin, Chandni Mahal, Nabi Karim, to limit the spread of Covid-19. Police officers privy to the investigation said that because this was the first case of murder within a containment zone , they had to look at standard operating procedures for such cases and act accordingly. There were many firsts in this case. Usually our officers immediately visit the crime scene, but in this case, we called the suspect and asked him to come outside the zone. We waited for him. He was then arrested and sent into isolation, a police officer said. Police said that it took them around eight hours to clear the crime scene the road that leads to the house was first sanitised and investigating officers then waited for personal protective equipment (PPE) kits to be delivered before carrying out a detailed inspection of the room. A forensics team was called to the spot. Senior officers said even though the woman hadnt died of Covid-19, her body was wrapped in multiple layers. The hearse used to take the body from the house was also sanitised twice. The police said the suspect, Rahisul Azam, called the police at 3.56 am and reported that he had attacked his wife after an argument in their house. The woman supposedly died on the spot. A team from Punjabi Bagh station rushed to the address given by the man, but found the house was in a containment zone. In order to adhere to guidelines, the sub-divisional magistrate, district magistrate and civic agencies concerned were informed of the case. The Delhi Jal Board was roped in to sanitise the area, said a senior officer. The policemen then called up Azam and asked him to walk out of the containment zone and surrender. Before he was arrested, his temperature was checked and he was asked if he had symptoms. Azam has told us he sells footwear in Jahangirpuri and had got married three years ago. It was the second marriage for both Azam and his wife. While he had three children from his first marriage, the woman had six. During an argument on Saturday, he hit her with a stick on the head and she fell unconscious. He said when he checked, she was already dead, the officer said. Deputy commissioner of police (west) Deepak Purohit said disaster management teams and Covid helplines were also alerted. Azam has been arrested as per guidelines issued in view of Covid-19. All preventive and precautionary steps are being taken while investigating the case so as to adhere to the containment zone guidelines and at the same time to conduct an efficient investigation, Purohit said. Until late Saturday evening, investigating officers said they were checking with authorities about proceedings related to the autopsy and disposal of the body. Police said they are checking if the body could be handed back to the family, because the woman was not Covid-19 positive but was a resident of a containment zone. Bud Rigby is 90 years old. When asked if he still cares about the great project of his life the Hubble Space Telescope the answer comes back strong. You better believe it, Rigby, of Ridgefield, said. On April 24, 1990 30 years ago the space shuttle Discovery took off carrying Hubble. Rigby was part of the team at PerkinElmer in Danbury, now Goodrich Corp., that built the nearly 8-foot-wide mirror that lets Hubble see what it sees. What it has seen so brilliantly, in our own solar system and beyond still can, and should, make people pause in wonder. Along with the Apollo mission to the moon, Hubble is NASAs greatest triumph. Its the most famous telescope in the world. Its captured more than a million images and astronomers have published more than 10,000 papers based on what theyve learned from its pursuits to boldly see what no one has seen before. It was science-shaking, said Diana Hannikainen, observing editor of Sky & Telescope Magazine, of the impact Hubble had on the world. And if the general public may be a little blase about Hubble, its nice to remember when its images were a revelation. It was headline news, Hannikainen said. Youd watch the evening news, and there would be another image from Hubble. Hubble images are so spectacular, said Hubble project scientist Jennifer Wiseman. They inspire people around the world to reflect again on the beautiful universe. They connect us to something. The Hubble Space Telescope is named after American astronomer Edwin Hubble, who discovered that the universe is expanding, rather than being fixed. It sits about 340 miles in space above the earth and has orbited it every 97 minutes, year after year. Wiseman said its Hubbles place out in space that makes its work so impressive. It doesnt have to peer through the murk of our atmosphere to study the firmament. Its perch gives us really clean science, she said. Hubbles mirror gives it its phoenix story the telescope that went from grave to rave. The team at PerkinElmer received the 1,800-pound, 94.5-inch-wide mirror from Corning Glass Works in Ithaca, NY, in 1978. The PerkinElmer team set about refining and polishing the mirror to an extraordinary degree of fineness a surface finish never achieved before on a mirror so large. But because of a slight flaw in the test system PerkinElmer built for polishing the mirror, the final product was, while essentially perfect, was ever so slightly flat by one-fiftieth of the width of a human hair. Because of that mistake, the first images Hubble sent back to NASA were fuzzy and out-of-focus. There was a huge uproar. The PerkinElmer optics team believe, then and now, they were denied the chance to complete their work and correct that error. NASA dissatisfied because of missed deadlines and budget overruns simply shut the PerkinElmer team down in 1982 and stored the mirror until NASA assembled the telescope at its Lockheed Martin facility in California. We had $150,000 in the budget to do the planned cross-check tests and recertification analyses to make sure there were no mistakes, said Lou Montagnino of Southbury, manager of manufactured optics analytics at PerkinElmer for the project. There were other things I and others had requested. They said no to that $150,000. They then spent more than $1.5 billion on repairs. But because the PerkinElmer team did such meticulous record-keeping of its work, NASA was able to use that record to devise a new camera and corrective relay optics for Hubble, which shuttle astronauts installed in 1993. Since then, its all been glory. Wiseman can easily list some of Hubbles greatest achievements its images of a comet crashing to Jupiter, and its deep field study that showed that even in one small corner of the universe, there are thousands of galaxies, each containing billions of stars. Its studied the weather on Neptune and Uranus, and found evidence of water vapor escaping from Europa, one of Jupiters planets. Its studying the atmosphere of newly discovered exoplanets. Wiseman said great credit should go to all the people responsible for Hubble over the decades. And because NASAs last repair mission to Hubble in 2009 was so complete an overhaul, we can expect to be astonished for years to come. We are confident that it will be providing earth with excellent science through the next decade, she said. And maybe beyond. Contact Robert Miller at earthmattersrgm@gmail.com As you might know, The Gorman-Rupp Company (NYSE:GRC) last week released its latest quarterly, and things did not turn out so great for shareholders. It wasn't a great result overall - while revenue fell marginally short of analyst estimates at US$92m, statutory earnings missed forecasts by an incredible 38%, coming in at just US$0.21 per share. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what expert is forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analyst has changed their mind on Gorman-Rupp after the latest results. View our latest analysis for Gorman-Rupp NYSE:GRC Past and Future Earnings April 26th 2020 Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus, from the sole analyst covering Gorman-Rupp, is for revenues of US$368.4m in 2020, which would reflect a discernible 6.3% reduction in Gorman-Rupp's sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are forecast to drop 19% to US$1.05 in the same period. Before this earnings report, the analyst had been forecasting revenues of US$412.2m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.44 in 2020. Indeed, we can see that the analyst is a lot more bearish about Gorman-Rupp's prospects following the latest results, administering a substantial drop in revenue estimates and slashing their EPS estimates to boot. The consensus price target fell 6.8% to US$41.00, with the weaker earnings outlook clearly leading valuation estimates. Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. One more thing stood out to us about these estimates, and it's the idea that Gorman-Rupp'sdecline is expected to accelerate, with revenues forecast to fall 6.3% next year, topping off a historical decline of 0.3% a year over the past five years. Compare this against analyst estimates for companies in the wider industry, which suggest that revenues (in aggregate) are expected to grow 1.7% next year. So while a broad number of companies are forecast to decline, unfortunately Gorman-Rupp is expected to see its sales affected worse than other companies in the industry. Story continues The Bottom Line The most important thing to take away is that the analyst downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. Unfortunately, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and our data indicates revenues are expected to perform worse than the wider industry. Even so, earnings per share are more important to the intrinsic value of the business. Furthermore, the analyst also cut their price targets, suggesting that the latest news has led to greater pessimism about the intrinsic value of the business. Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. At least one analyst has provided forecasts out to 2021, which can be seen for free on our platform here. However, before you get too enthused, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Gorman-Rupp that you should be aware of. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. PITTSBURGH On Saturday afternoons, the Strip District neighborhood of Pittsburgh becomes a jam-packed hub of old-fashioned shopping. People stride along Penn Avenue, hopping from greengrocer to butcher to fishmonger to Italian market, smiling and gesturing and jabbering as they go. Not this weekend. As strange, spaced-out lines formed outside favorite establishments, the chatting was muted, the sidewalk sidesteps were awkward and tentative, and the facial expressions were, well, not really facial expressions at all. Just like much of the planet during these jumbled coronavirus days. Smile, they say, and the world smiles with you. Unless youre wearing a mask. Then the world cant see your smile, much less smile back. The rise of the protective face mask first in China (where smog and SARS gave rise to its use years ago), then elsewhere in Asia, into Europe and now marching across North America has abruptly excised half of the face from our moment-to-moment human interactions. With it has come a removal of crucial visual cues that people have used for millennia to communicate, understand each other and negotiate space in the public arena to find common ground. Our minds light on the face like butterflies on a flower, for it gives us a priceless flow of information, Daniel McNeill wrote in The Face, his 1998 book on its significance throughout human history. A partial inventory of the information thats lost when the mask goes up: Smiles. Frowns. Lip movements. Crinkle lines at the mouths edge. Cheek twitches that indicate approval or disapproval. Reflexive gestures that collaborate with the eyes to say: Hey, I mean no harm. Or: Hey back off. Its not just covering us up. Its blocking something. Its a barrier to communication. Is she smiling? Sarcastic? Is she happy to see me? I cant figure it out, says Christie Cawley, a Pittsburgh business adviser whose consultancy, tHRive, helps nonprofits with business skills. With the masks, when people are making eye contact, you dont know if theyre friendly or not, Cawley says. Its a whole communications channel that we naturally have as humans, and its kind of dulled turned off a little bit. Regulations from Pennsylvanias governor say that most businesses still open in the state must bar anyone without a mask from entering. Other governments states and nations have imposed similar restrictions, which sit atop peoples already palpable desire to shield their mouths and noses from taking in the insidious virus that causes COVID-19. However legitimate, that still creates a potentially disorienting situation: Instead of a fellow human coming openly toward you, were encountering each other with visual cues removed, like astronauts or deep-sea divers or hazmat-removal teams. Different levels of smiles lead to perceptions of warmth, competence, trustworthiness, attractiveness, etc., says Fan Liu, an assistant professor of decision sciences and marketing at Adelphi University whose research focuses on nonverbal communication. These perceptions and characteristics significantly influence our daily social lives. Nonverbal cues, she says, play a central role in communication that we dont always realize. When these cues are cut off, people are more likely to focus on outcome rather than process, Liu says, and some nuances of human interaction may be lost. No wonder. Theres a reason why historys greatest artists didnt make their names painting shins or elbows or thumbs. The face is the gateway to who we are, the front door to our humanity and individuality. We mouth off. We have face time (and FaceTime). We pay lip service and give each other lip. We grin and bear it. Are all these going by the wayside at least for now? Theres a reason, too, why masks suggest something surreptitious and nefarious. Covering pieces of the face often is presented as shorthand for mistrust or menace across modern culture, from historical literature (The Man in the Iron Mask) to comic books (Batman), from TV (The Lone Ranger) to movies (The Mask) to music (The Stranger). Such potent cultural cues can be activated, however subconsciously, when we cover our faces even for the most legitimate (and protective) of reasons. A mask, in short, can be alienating no matter who is behind it and particularly when theres a power imbalance in the conversation. Leah Lizarondo, co-founder and CEO of Pittsburghs 412 Food Rescue, says her teams ability to show empathy has been impeded by its new contactless, mask-forward methods of dropping off food. She recalls meal distributions at Pittsburgh school-bus stops during the past month done with masks and, she laments, less humanity because of it. Theres something extremely surreal about dealing with someone when you cant really smile. Its exactly the opposite of what you want this exchange to be. You dont want it to be a transactional exchange. You want it to be a relationship, Lizarondo says. Were trying so much to create analogues to that empathy. Im not sure were there yet. Which raises the question: If this endures for weeks and months, what would those analogues be? If half of the facial radio signal is obscured by face-mask static, how do the messages punch through? Will new methods of socially distanced nonverbal communication emerge? The important point is not to rely on any one visual cue. Furrowed eyebrows could mean that a persons angry, someones confused, someone doesnt have glasses on and theyre squinting, says Mary Inman, a psychology professor at Hope College in Michigan. So we need to take time and ask people for clarification, says Inman, who studies peoples perceptions of discrimination. Itll slow down communications a little bit, which could be a good thing. If we go to (wearing) full masks continually, then we will be needing to slow down and clarify. You can bet on one thing: Until that happens, things may be awkward. For now, though, we still have the eyes. Have you heard? Theyre windows to the soul. But, alas, only to a point. The face is the focal point. Now weve lost the focal point of that kind of communication. It is going to add a layer of distance between us, says Dan Everett, a linguist and sociology professor at Bentley College in Massachusetts. Its sort of like were dogs without tails now. Our reach may be local but not the effort in aiding the fight against COVID-19, say several community radio station managers who are operating with limited resources and broadcasting shows with a local touch like "Break the fake chain" and "Panchtantra ka Corona mantra". Local initiatives matter the most to check the deadly virus spread, according to station managers of few Community Radios (CR), either located in university campuses or in far-flung districts and remote corners of country. According to Vinod Pavarala, UNESCO chair on community media, the role of CR stations is important as the vulnerable sections of the population need credible information in their local language on how they can protect themselves against coronavirus. "At a time when there is a mass spread of wrong information, it is even more challenging to break the chain not only of the virus but of the fake as well. We have a show called 'Break the fake chain' and we receive calls from housewives to rickshaw pullers about whether so and so Whatsapp message's claim is correct or not," said Surinder Singh Banolta, manager at a university community radio in Shimla. Pinki Chandran, Station Director of Bangalore's Radio Active CR 90.4 MHz, told PTI, "We have been working on a series of programmes since March including official updates from different government departments, programmes on health- with special focus on mental health, dealing alcohol withdrawal, spotlight on the various different initiatives by individuals and NGOs, appeals on understanding facts and importance of fighting misinformation besides community testimonies" "This is happening because community reporters, producers and volunteers are on the frontline, acting as responders in bringing out information. It is a mix of problem-focused reporting and solutions showing possibilities. The everyday reporting is allowing communities to highlight their neighbourhoods and issues," she said. Amity University's Community Radio station is running a programme called "Panchtantra ka corona matra" where different stories from Panchtantra tales are being used to convey messages related to coronavirus. "The stories from the Panchtantra have been converted into messages for how to fight against coronavirus.We have produced different programmes for farmers, on social distancing, avoiding rumour mongering and measures that need to be taken at home beyond handwashing and sanitising, " she told PTI. Jadavpur University's 'JU Radio' has shifted its programming to digital mode where different volunteers are being connected through phone while the station is being operated with minimum staff. "We encouraged listeners to do a 5-minute audio recording which is uploaded on our YouTube, Facebook page so that it can be seen by authorities concerned for taking follow up measures. We also provide inputs about drug stores and delivery of essential services which help a lot of people in a particular locality," a varsity official said. "Alfaz-e-Mewat FM 107.8" operational in Haryana's Nuh district, caters to 225 villages and is focusing on broadcasting information received from the district collector, chief medical officer, and other govt. authorities, including entitlements of extended schemes. "We do different programmes on information received from the district collector, chief medical officer and other government authorities, including entitlements of extended schemes. We also did a series called '21 din 21 baatein' with a message by an expert along with a thematic poem on frequent handwashing, access to healthcare services, physical distancing, importance of yoga, and time for self-learning on a daily basis to spread positivity in people," said Fakat Hussain, a Radio Jockey at the CR. "Discussions on contemporary issues, including the coronavirus outbreak, and local folk songs on social isolation are presented to listeners. Some are live and interactive sessions, with listeners asking questions. Officials cannot possibly go to every village, but through this medium they can communicate to the maximum number of people," he added. Pradeepta Dutta, chairman of Radio Kisan which operates from Orissa's Balipatna said, "Our programmes are completely about the lockdown situation. Details like timings and location of weekly markets, adhering to rules on safe distance, and the status of local ATMs are some critical messages that community radio can disseminate effectively. When misinformation is flooded on social media, people get confused, so we also have to act as a fact checker". There are over 270 Community Radio stations operational in the country. "While community radios are playing an important role in educating people in remote areas of the country, they are struggling with funds as the outbreak of COVID-19 has further strained their limited resources," N A Shah Ansari, President of Community Radio Association told PTI. "In a letter to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting we have appealed for advertisements and a one-time grant to procure additional equipment to be able to run their services for communities," he added. The country is under a lockdown since March 25 to contain the spread of coronavirus. The lockdown has now been extended till May 3. The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 824 and the number of cases climbed to 26,496 in India on Sunday, according to the Union health ministry. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) T he Foreign Secretary has confirmed the Government is following reports of Kim Jong Un's death "very closely". Dominic Raab said accounts of the North Korean leader's demise are currently "uncorroborated" but his office is following updates. Mr Raab, who is currently standing in for Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he recovers from coronavirus, said he had viewed international media reports but they have not been verified. The statement comes as US senator Lindsey Graham said he would be shocked if Kim was not dead or incapacitated, Fox News reported. Kim Jong Un is 'alive and well' say South Korean officials / POOL/AFP via Getty Images Asked about the reports on Sky News' Sophy Ridge, Mr Raab said: "No, the reports are uncorroborated. "I have seen the international media reports but we don't have any verified state of play on that yet. "But obviously we are following it very closely, those reports." Mr Raab confirmed the Government is closely following updates about the leader's death / Sky News On Saturday evening Senator Graham, who is a member of the US Foreign Relations Committee, said although he has no direct information about Kim's health, his lack of public appearances is telling. "It's a closed society. I haven't heard anything directly, but I'll be shocked if he's not dead or in some incapacitated state because you don't let rumors like this go forever or go unanswered in a closed society," he told Jeanine Pirro on Fox News. "So I pretty well believe he is dead or incapacitated. And I hope the long-suffering North Korean people will get some relief if he is dead," he said. Kim Jong Un waving before boarding his train at Vietnam's Dong Dang railway station in 2019 (Vietnam News Agency/AFP via Gett) / Vietnam News Agency/AFP via Getty Images "President Trump is willing to do business with North Korea in a win-win fashion. So if this guy is dead, I hope the guy who takes over will work with President Trump to make North Korea a better place for everybody." Claims about Kim's health have been bandied about in recent days, with satellite footage showing his train parked at his compound in Wonsan. The North Korean Government has not said anything to counter media reports that the leader is unwell, prompting concerns about who is next in line to run a nuclear-armed country that has been ruled by the same family for seven decades. Kim missed the celebration of his late grandfather and state founder Kim Il Sung on April 15, the countrys most important holiday. TODO: define component type apester At his last public appearance on April 11, he presided over a political bureau meeting of the ruling Workers Party, discussing preventive measures against the coronavirus and electing his sister as an alternate member of the bureau. Television American Idol: The singing competition adapts to the stay-home guidelines meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus by featuring the Top 20 singing from their homes, host Ryan Seacrest and judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Perry all weighing in from their homes. (8 p.m. Sunday, ABC) Homeland: After eight seasons, the series ends, as Saul and Carries final mission comes to a conclusion, as the episode description says. Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin star. (9 p.m. Showtime) Vida: The drama about Mexican-American siblings in Los Angeles, and their community, returns for Season 3. (9 p.m. Sunday, Starz) Penny Dreadful: City of Angels: Described as a spiritual descendant of the original Penny Dreadful story, this new series takes place in 1938 Los Angeles, and blends detectives investigating a gory murder, Nazi spies, Mexican-American folklore, and supernatural forces. The cast includes Nathan Lane, Natalie Dormer, Daniel Zovatto, Kerry Bishe and Rory Kinnear. (10 p.m. Sunday, Showtime) A Parks and Recreation Special: The cast of the terrific sitcom reunites for a special 30-minute episode in which Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), the pride of Pawnee, Indiana, public service, is observing social distancing, but wants to connect with her friends. Along with Poehler, cast members coming back include Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson) ); Rashida Jones (Ann Perkins); Aziz Ansari (Tom Haverford); Chris Pratt (Andy Dwyer); Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott (Ben Wyatt); Retta (Donna Meagle); Rob Lowe (Chris Traeger); Aubrey Plaza (April Ludgate); and Jim OHeir (Gerry Gergich). The special episode is intended to raise money for Feeding Americas COVID-19 Response Fund, which helps food banks serve members of the community who need assistance. (8:30 p.m. Thursday, NBC) Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives: Takeout: Guy Fieri hosts a stay-home three-episode version of his show, in which Fieri will talk, via video chat, with some of the chefs who have been featured on his show, and Fieri will cook some dishes guided by the chefs step-by-step instruction. (9 p.m. Friday, Food Network) Streaming Never Have I Ever: A coming-of-age comedy about a high school student that stars Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, and is co-created by Mindy Kaling. (Available to stream beginning Monday, Netflix) Normal People: Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal star in a series based on Sally Rooneys novel, about two young people who come from different worlds, their relationship, and how they evolve. (Available to stream beginning Wednesday, Hulu) Already streaming After Life: Ricky Gervais stars in a second season of the comedy-drama. (Available to stream, Netflix) Beastie Boys Story: Spike Jonze directs a documentary about the group. (Available to stream, Apple TV+) Defending Jacob: Chris Evans, Michelle Dockery and Jaeden Martell star in a limited series about a couple whose apparently happy home life is thrown into turmoil when their teenage son is accused of killing a schoolmate. (Available to stream, Apple TV+) Related: Defending Jacob: Chris Evans leads a strong cast in a suspenseful, but slow-paced miniseries -- Kristi Turnquist kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Season 12s reunion for The Real Housewives of Atlanta does not have an official air date yet, but between Andy Cohen and Nene Leakes, we know it was tough. Cohen posted a video saying it was over and he was going to pour himself a drink and go to bed. Meanwhile, Kandi Burruss hit Instagram with a photo of her shoes to say I hate reunions. Perhaps dropped clues that the ordeal was exhausting, but its Nene Leakes take on the experience that has fans ready for the dramatic event. The RHOA OG expressed her views about the reunion and although shes glad its over, called it unfair. Nene Leakes of The Real Housewives of Atlanta | Gary Gershoff/Getty Images Leakes states problems started with wardrobe Leakes put a post-reunion video on her YouTube channel to tell fans how it went and shared that pre-taping, it was rocky. Days before filming, wardrobe was discussed, and she was told two castmates would wear white. Therefore, she opted for black in order not to copy anyone. On the day of the reunion, Leakes said she showed up and saw all the women (except for Marlo Hampton and Tanya Sam who were shooting later) were wearing white. She confirmed with Hampton and Sam they too would rock white when it was their turn to film. Up until the last second before they went live, Leakes was in black. She asked her husband Gregg and a friend for advice about changing her outfit, and both told her to switch. Specifically, her hubby said they were trying to portray her as a villain by being the only one dressed unlike the rest of the cast. Leakes hurried to swap outfits. Nene Leakes says interrogation style caused her to take breaks Leakes said she was questioned for more than two hours during the reunion and she didnt understand why. She asserted most of the women sided with Kenya about their beef with the others jumping in. She said Eva Marcille chimed in. Evas got to save her plum and make it into a peach so shes got to pull s*** out of just do whatever shes gotta do. Leakes stated she kept answering questions and argued with whomever but after two hours, closed her computer to take a break and use the restroom. She didnt think what was happening during the discussion was fair. Exasperated, Leakes explained, Whenever I felt like I wanted to take a break, I was gonna take a break. Because if Im just the person you guys are asking questions to, Im a need a break a little bit more than everybody else, I guess. During the taping, she called for Hampton and Sam to come out and said the two women were barely able to speak. Additionally, Leakes said things were brought up that were out of place, such as her tiff with friend Wendy Williams. Leakes says Yovanna is lying, has proof As most viewers know, part of season 12s storyline was Snakegate which involved Yovanna Momplaisir and an alleged recording of Cynthia Bailey saying mean things about Nene. Leakes said during the reunion, she was notified by text that Momplaisir would appear to talk about Snakegate. That was the last straw for her, and she expressed it didnt make sense for a someone outside of the show to come on the reunion just to stir the pot against her. Where was the cookie lady? Where was Marc Daly? Where was Todd Tucker? Leakes was over it and called Momplaisir thirsty and dumb. Additionally, Leakes said she has a transcript of the Snakegate recording and she sent it and texts to Bailey to prove it. What Leakes says contradicts other reports Rumors are already flying that Leakes kept walking off the reunion because she couldnt handle the heat. According to her version of events, she wanted to take breaks after being questioned extensively, and she felt like most of the reunion was centered on her. None of the other Housewives have commented directly about Leakes or the reunion. Ultimately, Leakes was not happy with the event and promised that shell share more of what occurred behind the scenes. Fans will have to stay tuned to hear more from her perspective. "In these uncertain times, many of our clients have asked us about the nuances of this complicated, ever-evolving program. While we are not CPAs, we are happy to tackle this challenge and publish our research." - Chao He, Founding Partner Swenson He, a leading developer of web and mobile solutions, announced today the launch of its new web application, the SBA Loan Calculator. In these uncertain times, Swenson He is working to provide small businesses everywhere with helpful financial insights and resources related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This new application makes it easy for small business owners to estimate if their business is eligible to receive a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan and calculate the maximum loan size and loan forgiveness amount based on the Paycheck Protection Program. "In these uncertain times, many of our clients have asked us about the nuances of this complicated, ever-evolving program. While we are not CPAs, we are happy to tackle this challenge and publish our research." - Chao He, Founding Partner By simply answering a series of questions within this free tool owners will be able to determine: if their small business is likely eligible to participate in the stimulus program the maximum loan size the SBA may be willing to loan their business the maximum amount the SBA plans to forgive at a later date As an ongoing effort to help small businesses cope with the economic damage of COVID-19 Swenson He will continue tracking the latest developments and work to keep business owners updated via the web application. For more information or to begin using the application, please visit https://ppp.swensonhe.com. Disclaimer: This tool should only be used for estimation purposes and is not to be relied upon as a CPA-certified audit. None of the authors or contributors are licensed professionals. Please conduct your own research before making any business decisions. About Swenson He: Swenson He is a leading software consulting firm that specializes in iOS & Android mobile app design and development. Swenson has its headquarters at Beverly Hills, California, United States. It was founded in 2014 by two MIT alumni, Nick Swenson and Chao He, seeking to fulfill the needs of service seekers for building their sophisticated, robust mobile apps. M S Sriram By Even four or five decades earlier, the general opinion in India was that science had its origin and development in Europe, and that non-Western societies did not have any noteworthy sciences prior to their colonisation. Actually, a lot of work had been done on sciences in India, particularly mathematics and astronomy, and some other disciplines too, for more than 150 years before the 1980s by both Indian and European scholars. But this was all in the scholarly domain and not a part of public discourse. The 1970s and 80s saw some significant changes in the scenario. This was when the harmful effects of modern science and technology with a Western stamp began to be realised. This led to greater interest in alternate technologies, and the realisation that non-Western societies had viable technologies with their own worldviews and social norms. This is when gobar gas and such innovations came into being, and environmental movements like chipko andolan and others gained ground. Indian society had functioned well for several millennia. Also, some estimates indicated that a major part of the total world industrial production in the 18th century came from India and China. All these could not have been possible without viable technologies pertaining to various aspects of life. However, some scholars would not consider the traditional technologies as science-based. They exclusively associated science with modern Western science. There was a significant change in the discourse around the beginning of the 1980s, thanks to a remarkable book named Indian Science and Technology in the 18th Century by Dharampal, published first in 1971, but not noticed much till the end of the 70s. It had 17 chapters, which were all contemporary European accounts of the sciences and technologies as practised in India in the later part of the 17th century. One remarkable chapter was Remarks on Astronomy of the Brahmins by John Playfair, a British astronomer (1790). His analysis was based on four Indian astronomical tables (pertaining to the positions of the sun, moon and planets) from Siam (Thailand), Chrisnaboram (Krishnapuram), Narsapour, and Tirvalore. He made a detailed comparison of the data with some contemporary European tables and what could be derived from Ptolemys astronomy (2nd century). He remarked on the great accuracy of the tables and observed that the construction of these tables implies a great knowledge of geometry, arithmetic and even of the theoretical part of astronomy. He rules out the possibility of Indians borrowing from Greeks or Arabs, and argues that the transmission was more likely to have been the other way round. Equally remarkable is the chapter on Hindu Algebra by H T Colebrooke (1817). Colebrooke goes into the details of Indian algebra and concedes that it was advanced, but remarks without any justification that Hindus received hints on the methods from Greeks. A review of this in Edinburgh Review (November 1817) doubts this remark, and notes that Greeks had nothing to give on that subject which it was worth the while of the Indians to receive. From the three chapters on the indigenous production of iron, one learns that wootz steel of very high quality was produced in India. It is estimated that around 10,000 iron and steel furnaces might have been functioning in India in the late 18th century, producing around 20 tons annually. There are two chapters on the Indian method of inoculation against smallpox, which seems to have been practised in large parts of India for a long time and was very effective. There are also chapters on the making of mortar, paper, ice, on agriculture, and also shorter accounts of dyeing, surgical operations, materials used in buildings, and so on. All these indicated a significant level of development of sciences like mathematics and astronomy, and technological methods in India before the British conquest. Also, the theories and practices were markedly different from the contemporary European ones. Dharampals book had a great impact, and inspired many people to look at traditional Indian sciences and technologies with a new perspective. It also inspired social activists. Academic work had been going on in areas like astronomy, mathematics, chemistry, metallurgy, agricultural practices, Ayurveda and architecture even earlier, but there was a new impetus. Also, some traditional practices were continuing, if not thriving, as in the case of Ayurveda, local health traditions, textiles, metal works, etc. There has also been an increase of interest in non-Western science, technology and medicine, the world over. However, all these do not mean that there has been a significant revival of traditional Indian sciences and technologies. Nor are they posing any challenge to the dominance of the modern paradigm of development. One of the reasons for this is the lack of awareness about the traditions in society at large, thanks to our educational system. There is a need for widespread dissemination of authentic information about them. We hope to explore at least the main features of our traditional sciences and technologies in this series of articles. M S Sriram Theoretical Physicist & President,Prof. K.V. Sarma Research Foundation (Email address:sriram.physics@gmail.com) They ran banks, held public office, ran farms and gave generously of their time to the suffragist cause. They are, "Amazing Women of Early Mason City," a new book written by Pat Schultz, former executive director of Wright on the Park. "Amazing Women" details the lives of 50 Mason City women. The 220-page volume contains biographies as well as photos and other illustrations. Schultz first became interested when she learned about Mary Emsley Adams, president of the City National Bank at the time Frank Lloyd Wright was selected to design the bank and hotel building. She found it unusual that a woman held that position in 1907. For the grand opening of the restored building, she decided to see what other local women were doing at the time and presented her findings at a series of teas in the hotels Ladies Parlor. Intrigued by what she found, she continued her research. It wasnt as though I had a good starting point," she said. "The biographies in the county histories concentrate only on the men. I started going through old newspapers available at online sources. The number I found just kept going and going. After I retired, I tackled it more fully, using resources from many places including the local library, the Iowa Womens Archives at the University of Iowa Library, and the Iowa State Historical Society. Other publications were also found. Three of the women in the book were so active in the suffragist movement, they earned inclusion on the list of 24 Iowa women on a memorial at the national headquarters of the National League of Women Voters. Many of the other women covered in the book were also involved in the effort to earn the right to vote. The book begins with the earliest settlers in or near Mason City, those who came by covered wagon and began building the community. It continues with other women born before 1930. I hope someday a writer will pick up where I left off because there are many other women who deserve this kind of record of their achievements, said Schultz. Since Schultz donated her work and design to Wright on the Park, the book published through Control Print of Mason City. A book signing and sales at the Wright on the Parks gift shop when it is able to reopen once the current pandemic restricts are lifted. Meanwhile, copies of the book can be obtained by visiting wrightonthepark.org, selecting its shop option, then the books option and scrolling down to find the photo of the book cover. It made me pretty angry that the recorded histories didnt cover women, so I was determined to do this, said Schultz. I was truly amazed at what I found. I just hope I didnt miss too many. These women deserve every bit as much coverage as the men of their time; they were equally builders of the Mason City community. Love 4 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Hyderabad: Around this time every year, Bheema Shanker Ling travels to Hyderabad from Nanded, where he lives, and boards a flight to Dehradun in Uttarakhand where his presence is a must. Ditto is the case with Ishwar Prasad Namboodiri of Kerala, who cannot afford to remain absent for the most important work of his life. But this year was different. Both men were scheduled to fly separately and reach Uttarakhand around April 20, but all flights are cancelled due to the lockdown. But that did not stop them. Bheem Shanker Ling, the Rawal or head priest of the Himalayan shrine of Kedarnath, and Prasad Namboodiri, the head priest of Badrinath dham, travelled by road, covering distances of 1,800 km and 2,800 km respectively, to ensure that traditions are kept alive. The doors of Kedarnath and Badrinath will open on April 29 and May 15 respectively amid rituals. The Char Dham yatra has been suspended during the lockdown period. Lakhs of people visit the shrines every year and people from South India form the major chunk of devotees. There is 18 feet of snow in Kedarnath at the moment and a team of 25 people are clearing it. Though the yatra is suspended, the portals of Kedarnath will open as scheduled at 6.10 am on April 29. After taking necessary permissions, I started from Nanded in a car on April 17 and reached Ukhimath on April 19, Shanker Ling told Deccan Chronicle from Ukhimath, which is the winter seat of the deity. The moment he arrived in the Himalayan state, he was quarantined and underwent tests for the coronavirus, as was made mandatory by the Uttarakhand state government. I have tested negative but I'm still in quarantine, he said. According to him, the Uttarakhand government has allowed 16 people which includes priests and cooks, who will stay in Kedarnath until it closes by October end or first week of November, to travel. Situated at a height of 3,583 m above sea level, the region remains buried under a thick blanket of snow during the winter. All of them have been instructed to maintain social distance. The rituals begin today (April 25) and the doli (carrying the deity) will reach Kedarnath on April 28 and the portals open the next day. Being in quarantine, I might not go and will authorise another priest. I will make it to Kedarnath immediately after the quarantine period comes to an end on May 2,'' said Shanker Ling, who originally belongs to Karnataka. He has been the head priest for 20 years. His only regret is that every year, the doli or procession is taken by road till Kedarnath and thousands of people turn up to witness the occasion. This year, it is being taken in a vehicle to avoid crowds. He says that there would be special prayers to eradicate Coronavirus when the portals open on April 29. Similar is the case with Ishwar Prasad Namboodri. After his arrival in Rishikesh on April 21, he has been in quarantine. The portals of Badrinath will open on May 15 and he will reach there by then. He too has tested negative,'' said Mohan Prasad Thapliyal, former president of the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple committee. He informed that since the head priests for the remaining two dhams Gangotri and Yamunotri are locals and there was no problem on that front. People from south Indian states form a major chunk of devotees who visit the Char Dham Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. In 2019, a record 11 lakh people visited the shrines, and 7 lakh in 2018. In 2014, a year after the devastating flashfloods in Kedarnath which killed several thousands, 41,000 people had visited the shrine. This will be the first time that 'yatra' has been suspended due to the pandemic and it is believed that the footfall this year could be the lowest ever. 1. Yes. The downtown area needs a good draw. Some quality taverns would be a plus. 2. Yes. Too many storefronts are vacant. Bars could help to bring in needed revenue. 3. No. Putting a number of bars downtown is just asking for trouble. Dont change things. 4.No. Several churches have located downtown. Putting bars close by would be a bad fit. 5. Unsure. It would depend on how the law is written and what standards are enacted. Vote View Results Clarion Call Newer Older Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 There are times in one's life, should they hear the call, when seemingly complex issues become clear; and should one heed that call, it is incumbent upon them to express their knowledge of the truth as best they can, as often as they are able and willing to do so. You can also visit Stan's Governing /Political knowledge here: https://beaufortcountynow.com/category/343/stans-well-considered-rant.html The Washington Post is providing this news free to all readers as a public service. Follow this story and more by signing up for national breaking news email alerts. Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth are isolating from the world, but at least together at Windsor Castle is a comforting thought. However, the alleged reality is that Prince Philip would rather be anywhere than the Queen's side, and vice versa. Is that a heartbreaking thought or what? Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth have now been cooped up together at Windsor Castle for weeks now. While having limited movement and places to go to maybe a struggle, not just for them, but for all people striving to practice social distancing measures, the British are comforted with the idea that they are at least together. The British Government introduced very strict social distancing measures because of the dreaded pandemic and the royals are not exempted. The Queen arrived at the Berkshire-based castle earlier than Prince Philip, but she was later joined by the Duke of Edinburgh. Normally, the two live apart and only reunite at Windsor to celebrate the Easter holidays. So being together might also be a novelty that people expect them to at least enjoy, even though it is not the most ideal of times. However, the reality is that the two are so used to being away from each other that the new setup is probably not working as well. Prince Philip reportedly still wants to be on his own and away from the Queen. Had the present circumstances push them to live with each other now, the 98-year-old Duke would be at the Wood Farm on the Queen's Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. He moved there after retiring in 2017 and enjoyed his quiet time there, reading and painting watercolors mostly. The Queen once called him her "constant strength." Meanwhile, if the coronavirus did not affect them so, the Queen would be at the Palace, still performing her duties full time. According to an old friend, Prince Philip does not feel bored at the farm at all. Instead, he loved being the master of his own time and as far away as possible from cameras. This is why Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth no longer see each other much after retirement. While the Prince might be happier or at least more comfortable back to his usual activities before the pandemic, a source from The Times said that the two are not having any issues with this sudden time together at all. Moreover, they still have their private apartments during this lockdown anyway, so there is no shortage of individual privacy. The Queen is still keeping up with what is happening by reading the news and calling up the rest of the family through video messages. The Duke of Edinburgh retired from his royal duties after handling around 22,219 engagements solo. He is also patron of a total of 785 organizations. After being so silent since his retirement, Prince Philip suddenly issued his first public statement because of the COVID-19 as well. In his statement, he thanked the essential workers making the country still run as normally as possible, even though it is quite scary to step out of the house these days. There are even alarming reports that the lockdown of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth can take a turn for the worse if the Duke's health is compromised. Reportedly, the Prince is already quite frail. READ MORE: Queen Elizabeth II NEVER Wanted To Be Queen, Voted For THIS Royal Instead Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal LAS VEGAS, N.M. Tanya Tohtsoni, a Navajo woman and RN-BSN student at New Mexico Highlands University, is on the front lines as a nurse serving the hard-hit Navajo Nation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tohtsoni also won a $1,000 Florence Nightingale Foundation scholarship in April 2020, the second year in a row she has received the honor. She has maintained a 4.0 GPA to date and is on track to graduate in December 2020. Tohtsoni, who has been a nurse for 10 years, said her Navajo heritage motivates her every day. She is a nurse discharge specialist overseeing the COVID-19 unit at the Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock, New Mexico. Were dealing with a high COVID-19 confirmation rate on the Navajo Nation, Tohtsoni said. I coordinate care for COVID-19 patients at the hospital. In the online RN-BSN program at Highlands, Ive learned about nurses needing to be flexible and adaptive, which has been very important during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tohstoni said nursing is her way of giving back to her Navajo people. In my nursing career, I want to continue to provide assistance to my native Dine people. I am very committed to my Dine community. Working in a rural area, I see there are limited resources. I know continuing my education will allow me to give my patients the best care possible, Tohtsoni said. Tohtsoni said her clans are Water-Flows-Together and Folding-Arms. She grew up in Teec Nos Poz, Arizona, and lives in Kirtland, New Mexico. In Dine culture, a babys umbilical cord is buried in a location wheres its hoped the child will return. My umbilical cord was buried at my late maternal grandparents home and Ive always felt that is where my heart lies. I have gained strength in my Navajo upbringing and Im blessed to have experienced growing up on the reservation. I believe my experiences growing up Navajo, both challenges and opportunities, shape who I am, along with my Christian faith, Tohtsoni said. Tohstoni said her parents, Jerry and Marilyn Huskay, were a huge influence in her life and pursuit of nursing. Tohtsoni said Beatrice Hurtado, one of her Highlands nursing professors, has helped her grow enormously in nursing knowledge, including practical on-the-job applications. Beatrice Hurtado allowed me to see different aspects of nursing beyond bedside manner, such as advocacy for patients and policy changes for patient care, Tohtsoni said. I also learned about low health literacy and how to address the barriers it causes, which is a really big concern on the reservation. Tohtsoni said it has been extraordinary to go through the online Highlands RN-BSN program with her cousin, Terradena Tsosie-Yazzie. Terradena is like my sister and going through the experience together has strengthened our bond. We help motivate each other, Tohtsoni said. She said she also draws motivation from her 15-year-old daughter, Shandiin. Each night after I complete my shift at the hospital, we sit together at the kitchen table and do our homework, Tohtsoni said. Tohtsoni said losing her two maternal grandparents and paternal grandmother to cancer galvanized her to study nursing. There is a special place in a nurses heart that draws them to the type of work that we do. It brings us all together as our binding character trait. Im proud to be a nurse and it will be part of my identity forever, Tohtsoni said. Looking ahead, Tohtsoni said her long-term goal is to be a nursing educator someday. My career vision is to pursue my masters degree in nursing education. I have always had a passion for educating and providing knowledge to my patients. I also really enjoy working with new nurses on the unit in an educator capacity, Tohtsoni said. Quantum computing is increasingly becoming the focus of scientists in fields such as physics and chemistry, and industrialists in the pharmaceutical, airplane, and automobile industries. Globally, research labs at companies like Google and IBM are spending extensive resources on improving quantum computers, and with good reason. Quantum computers use the fundamentals of quantum mechanics to process significantly greater amounts of information much faster than classical computers. It is expected that when error-corrected and fault-tolerant quantum computation is achieved, scientific and technological advancement will occur at an unprecedented scale. But, building quantum computers for large-scale computation is proving to be a challenge in terms of their architecture. The basic units of a quantum computer are the "quantum bits" or "qubits." These are typically atoms, ions, photons, subatomic particles such as electrons, or even larger elements that simultaneously exist in multiple states, making it possible to obtain several potential outcomes rapidly for large volumes of data. The theoretical requirement for quantum computers is that these are arranged in two-dimensional (2D) arrays, where each qubit is both coupled with its nearest neighbor and connected to the necessary external control lines and devices. When the number of qubits in an array is increased, it becomes difficult to reach qubits in the interior of the array from the edge. The need to solve this problem has so far resulted in complex three-dimensional (3D) wiring systems across multiple planes in which many wires intersect, making their construction a significant engineering challenge. A group of scientists from Tokyo University of Science, Japan, RIKEN Centre for Emergent Matter Science, Japan, and University of Technology, Sydney, led by Prof Jaw-Shen Tsai, proposes a unique solution to this qubit accessibility problem by modifying the architecture of the qubit array. "Here, we solve this problem and present a modified superconducting micro-architecture that does not require any 3D external line technology and reverts to a completely planar design," they say. This study has been published in the New Journal of Physics. The scientists began with a qubit square lattice array and stretched out each column in the 2D plane. They then folded each successive column on top of each other, forming a dual one-dimensional array called a "bi-linear" array. This put all qubits on the edge and simplified the arrangement of the required wiring system. The system is also completely in 2D. In this new architecture, some of the inter-qubit wiring -- each qubit is also connected to all adjacent qubits in an array -- does overlap, but because these are the only overlaps in the wiring, simple local 3D systems such as airbridges at the point of overlap are enough and the system overall remains in 2D. As you can imagine, this simplifies its construction considerably. The scientists evaluated the feasibility of this new arrangement through numerical and experimental evaluation in which they tested how much of a signal was retained before and after it passed through an airbridge. Results of both evaluations showed that it is possible to build and run this system using existing technology and without any 3D arrangement. The scientists' experiments also showed them that their architecture solves several problems that plague the 3D structures: they are difficult to construct, there is crosstalk or signal interference between waves transmitted across two wires, and the fragile quantum states of the qubits can degrade. The novel pseudo-2D design reduces the number of times wires cross each other, thereby reducing the crosstalk and consequently increasing the efficiency of the system. At a time when large labs worldwide are attempting to find ways to build large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computers, the findings of this exciting new study indicate that such computers can be built using existing 2D integrated circuit technology. "The quantum computer is an information device expected to far exceed the capabilities of modern computers," Prof Tsai states. The research journey in this direction has only begun with this study, and Prof Tsai concludes by saying, "We are planning to construct a small-scale circuit to further examine and explore the possibility." Categorical Class Newer Older Page 1 Page 2 In northeastern North Carolina, and, in particular, here around Beaufort, Pitt and Craven Counties, we are creating an online marketing paradigm centering around the power of our Beaufort County NOW zeitgeist, which is proving to be the "gold standard" of all online publications here in northeastern North Carolina. The federal governments voluntary coronavirus tracing app, launched on Sunday, is a crucial part in the process of returning to our normal way of life without risking further outbreaks, which would send us back to square one. That is why the both of us MPs from opposite sides of the political divide will be downloading the app, so we can play our part in helping to protect our families, friends and fellow Australians from this insidious virus. We will do this without hesitation. Bipartisan support: the coronavirus contract tracing app. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The app works by allowing state and territory health authorities to notify you if you have come in close contact with someone who is subsequently diagnosed with COVID-19. Using Bluetooth technology, it looks for other devices that also have the app installed. It takes a note of only the date, time, distance and duration of the contact. This information is encrypted and stored on your phone and will be automatically deleted every 21 days unless you test positive for coronavirus and share the information with health authorities. This will then allow authorities to notify those you have had contact with to ensure they are tested, treated and protected. As rumours around North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's poor health catches fire, the country remains unusually silent, thereby fuelling speculations that something is wrong in the tightly-controlled country. Notably, social media is abuzz with speculations over Kim Jong Un's alleged death after a senior official at a Beijing-backed satellite TV channel claimed the same on Weibo. Vice Director of Hong Kong Satellite Television Shijian Xingzou reportedly stated on her Weibo account, citing top-level sources, that the North Korean leader had died. She is a niece of a Chinese minister and has over 15 million followers on Weibo. The guessing game is on, with world powers watching the situation in North Korea very closely. The United States has "extensive contingency plans" if the news about Kim Jong-un's death turns out to be true, Fox News quoted a US intelligence source as saying. The Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, who's seen as his successor for a long time, was ready to assume power in the country. The official North Korea media is, however, silent on reports around Kim Jong-un's health. No pictures on his public appearances have appeared lately. Strangely, there were no pictures of his appearance in his late grandfather's birthday ceremony on April 15, an important holiday in North Korea to honour his grandfather and country's founder Kim Il Sung. Also read: Is Kim Jong Un dead? Twitter abuzz with rumours of North Korean leader's demise The only official news that has come out about the North Korean dictator is that he replied to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who wrote to him on his grandfather's birthday. The news, without his picture, was published in official North Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday. Several reports in the international media claimed that the 36-year-old ruler of North Korea is recovering from major heart surgery. Reuters recently reported that China had sent a team including medical experts to advise on Kim's health. Meanwhile, Japanese weekly magazine Shukan Gendai claimed that the North Korean leader is in a "vegetative state" after a heart surgery earlier this month. US President Donald Trump last week also called CNN reports claiming Kim Jong Un was gravely ill "incorrect" and based on "old documents". South Korea has also rubbished reports published in the Daily NK website and other South Korean media that Kim was at death's door. ALSO READ: Kim Jong Un's absence from North Korean media fuels speculations about his health ALSO READ: North Korean media tightlipped about Kim Jong Un's health or whereabouts It's easy to imagine artificial intelligence brightening up life in the big city. Self-driving taxis, drones and food-production machines could provide all sorts of conveniences to city dwellers, like shorter commutes and faster package and food delivery. But technologists don't spend as much time talking about how AI can help small towns. Kevin Scott, Microsoft's chief technology officer, is an exception. Scott grew up in Gladys, Virginia, a farming community in Campbell County. The county's population of 54,885 decreased by 252 from the prior year, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. He talks about this part of the world in a new book co-written with Greg Shaw, "Reprogramming the American Dream." Scott, who has been working with a type of AI called machine learning since 2003 and helped lead Microsoft's $1 billion investment last year in OpenAI, believes AI can help people in Gladys and other small towns. While some worry about job losses stemming from adoption of AI in the workplace, he's hopeful that rural entrepreneurs can tap AI to build businesses that can solve local problems, and even improve people's jobs. "If your job is about performing one or a small number of highly repetitive tasks, if those tasks can be done less expensively with automation, and your employer can't find a way to leverage your ingenuity and industry to make their business better, then yes, watch out for AI. But that's a lot of ifs," Scott and Shaw write in the book. "The far more likely path for the foreseeable future if AI enhancing human productivity by doing the gruntiest of grunt work and freeing up humans to do things they are much better suited to do." The book arrives at a time when more people have time to read it. In the U.S. and abroad people have been ordered to stay home to avoid the coronavirus, including in Campbell County, which has 10 cases, according to the state health department. Unemployment increased in Virginia in March, although county-level data is not yet available. With the pandemic foremost on everybody's mind, Scott discussed with CNBC some ways that AI could come in handy for rural people in a future outbreak: Smart delivery vehicles. Autonomous vehicles like the one from Silicon Valley start-up Nuro that take up less space than cars could deliver goods to people safely and without human contact. "I think about my grandmother, a 90-year-old woman living in a very sparsely populated part of Central Virginia," Scott said during an interview on Microsoft's Teams communication software on Tuesday. "She's lucky enough to be in just really good health. She lives independently in the same house my mom was raised in, and the day is coming when she's not going to be able to drive to pick up her prescription." Smarter delivery vehicles could lengthen the amount of time she could live independently, he said. More modern digital health care. Without a top-tier research hospital in the area, Gladys residents don't have access to high-quality care if they come down with serious illnesses. Systems that count on AI to diagnose patients and refer them to specialists could help fill the gap, Scott said. Predictive models, coupled with biometric sensing, could contribute to early detection of diseases, and AI could play a role in delivering telemedicine, he said. Better interactions. Small-town people don't always have high-speed internet connections. It's something Microsoft has been trying to address since 2017 with its Airband effort, and the company has worked with partners to bring connectivity to Virginia's Charlotte and Halifax counties, which lie directly southeast and south of Campbell County, respectively. People with slow connections at home might ordinarily run into difficulty when they try to meet with people over video-calling software, which have become more popular in the coronavirus age. Teams, which is one of several options for video calls, draws on a type of AI known as reinforcement learning, which involves training systems better through repeated trial and error, to optimize call quality. "It can even fill in in some instances when there are tiny drops in the audio stream because of poor network connectivity," Scott said. "These digital tools are the things that in a world where we're dealing with the Covid crisis, they just need them more than ever, I think to have some more sense of continuity in their lives." Dr. Terry Gaff is a physician in northeast Indiana. Contact him at drgaff@kpcmedia.com or on Facebook. To read past columns and to post comments go to kpcnews.com/columnists/terry_gaff. He said the officers had made the District proud by arresting the alleged perpetrators with support from the Assembly and the community people. Mr Agama said this when members of South Tongu District Security Council and the leadership of the Minority Caucus in Parliament visited the Adzahli family to update them on the progress made in arresting the alleged murders of Marcus Mawutor Adzahli. We arrested some people in the South Tongu District which led us to other perpetrators in Kasoa, he said. The DCE said the five people arrested would be arraigned before court in Dabala next month. Mr Agama admonished the youth not to allow anybody to influence them to take the laws into their own hands as experienced weeks ago after the murder of Marcus Adzahli in Sogakope. He said there were legal means to address issues and that it was not the demonstration of the youths of Sogakope that led to the arrest of the perpetrators rather steps and measures taken by relevant institutions... Mr Agama also added that postmortem results proved that the bullet wounds on the Assemblyman were not from an AK-47 gun. Mr Geoffery Adzahli, the father of Mr Marcus Adzahli, said they were grateful to the security agencies for the arrests made so far and asked them to speed up investigations to arrest everybody involved and bring them to book. Mr Marcus Mawutor Adzahli was murdered in his house in the early hours of March, 01, 2020 by unknown assailants, with his wife and daughter injured in the attack. The incident led to the blocking of the Sogakofe barrier by Sogakofe youths and the attacking of the Sogakofe District Police Station by the youths to register their displeasure over alleged inactions of the Police in the District towards security issues. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video As Netflix dropped its new film Extraction, fans rejoiced at the mini-Marvel reunion. Director Sam Hargrave was stunt coordinator on several Marvel films, Avengers: Endgame director Joe Russo wrote the script, and he and Anthony Russo are producers. Not to mention the film relies on action, violence and Thor star Chris Hemsworths natural charisma. Speaking of action and violence, watch two women at the helm of a comedy thriller series that has just launched on Disney+Hotstar. Lara Dutta and Rinku Rajguru make for a quirky pair who go about a crime-solving mission in their unique way. Here are more titles you can watch during the lockdown. Yours Sincerely, Kanan Gill (Netflix) Revisiting life goals set in a letter written as a teen to his future self, comedian Kanan Gill reports back on if he's lived up to his own expectations. He wanted health and got a hernia. He chased success and felt like a failure. He made plans for life. Life had other ideas. The new Netflix stand-up special comes as a welcome surprise for devoted fans of the comedian who was conspicuously absent from the scene for more than a year. Extraction (Netflix) Chris Hemsworth plays a mercenary named Tyler Rake. When Ovi (Rudhraksh Jaiswal), the teenage son of a drug lord (Pankaj Tripathi), is kidnapped, Rake is called into Dhaka, Bangladesh to rescue him. The job, however, is a set-up. Lacking the money to pay Rake, the drug lords second-in-command, Saju (Randeep Hooda), plans to kill the mercenary once Ovi is safe and sound. When the kidnappers, rivals of Ovis father, redouble their efforts to get the boy back, Rake and Ovi are put between a rock and a hard place with no choice but to fight their way out. Hundred (Disney+Hotstar) Hundred is a story that chronicles the many misadventures of two contrasting women, set in the backdrop of Mumbai, its chawls and crime gangs. The masala entertainer marks the digital debut of Bollywood actress Lara Dutta and Marathi cinemas Rinku Rajguru. Rinku plays a terminally ill girl looking for thrills who is hired to be an undercover agent by an ambitious female cop, Lara, looking for a promotion. As they both unite to accomplish their own goal in 100 days, chaos ensues. My Teacher's Wife (Lionsgate Play) My Teachers wife revolves around Todd Boomer, a would-be cartoonist who desperately needs a recommendation to Harvard from his math teacher played by Christopher MacDonald. However, calculus is the one subject in which Todd isn't pulling his weight. One rainy night he picks up a woman stranded by the side of the road who needs a ride (Tia Carrere). The woman turns out to be a whiz in his rusty subject, and she begins tutoring him. He starts to fall for her and only later does he realize she's the wife of his math teacher. The Holiday (MX Player) The Holiday promises to take you through an exciting bachelorette trip to Mauritius that Patrick, Armaan and Kabir played, by Priyank Sharma, Aashim Gulati and Veer Rajwant Singh, throw for their best friend and bride-to-be, Mehak, played by Adah Sharma. The actress says, The Holiday is all about fun and brings out the emotions of true friendship. I dont think anyone has watched a bachelorette before where a girl goes with 3 of her best friends who happen to be boys." T J S George By The story is that a man used to walk up and down Londons glamorous Oxford Street with a placard proclaiming the end is nigh. The idea was to encourage people to repent their sins and prepare for the imminent apocalypse. What was only a spiritual note of caution then has now acquired real-life validity, thanks to the coronavirus. An Australian think-tank has predicted that human civilisation as we know it will come to an end in 2050. The end is indeed nigh. The reason the Australians cited for the catastrophe was climate change, described as the greatest threat to humanity. The upheavals caused by climate change, warned the scientists, could take humanity to an increasingly chaotic world which would overwhelm societies around the globe. The threat raised by the invisible virus appeared to be a new apocalypse. Actually, both are the same. All past civilisations ended because of climate change. Survival or extinction of life was related to the ice age, the freezing of oceans, the warming of oceans, the rise in sea levels. The phenomenon was visible in India in recent times, too. Unprecedented droughts caused by climate change triggered migration in parts of India last summer. In Tamil Nadu, a BJP leader poured water over a plastic globe as his followers chanted slokas to please the rain god. Unfortunately, the rain god did not seem supportive of the party. It is interesting that all religions see the world ending under a deluge of water, Pralaya. Biblical and Babylonian legends have the Great Deluge as their central theme. So have Tibetan, Sumatran, Mayan and African traditions. They all have one person surviving to keep the cycle of creation going. In India, it will be Vaivasvat Manu who will appear to continue the human legacy. In the Biblical version, it is Noah. In the Indian tradition, cyclical destruction of the world must occur at the end of the Chatur Yuga. We are at some kind of a trigger point now. This year, 2020, as many as 21 cities in India will run out of ground water. These include Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. By 2030, up to 40 per cent of Indias population will have no drinking water according to an IndiaSpend estimate. Not that pralaya is the only way that civilisation can die. There are theories that the end will come in a fire that devours the whole universe. Other theories include nuclear war and a meteor crashing onto earth and blasting it into smithereens. But the Deluge remains a prominent fixture, some theories predicting that it could be triggered by an earthquake or by multiple tsunamis caused by global warming. The nuclear war theory has lost its charm. Such a war can, of course, wipe out what we see as civilisation, but the warmongers themselves will be wiped out in the process. That reality has acted as a deterrent. It was a fashion in the white mans world to see desperadoes like Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi as starting nuclear wars. But it was a desperado named George Bush who came close to it, falsely claiming that Iraq was hiding weapons of mass destruction. As everyone knows, George Bushs follies wrought such havoc that Iraq is still a smouldering cauldron, more than one generation of its citizenry lost in the netherworld of hopelessness. The world can be virtually destroyed without nuclear blasts. Look at the way Nature has gone crazy. We were all told that India was being destroyed by drought: Soil drying up, rivers disappearing, poor people migrating to safer areas. Then suddenly the monsoon staged a delayed entrance. But it was accompanied by the eccentricity of drought conditions growing even in areas that got suddenly flooded. Has Nature become vengeful? Lets not ignore the forgotten messages of history. Literature of the Tamil Sangam period refers to a sunken country stretching from Kanyakumari to Australia. What made it disappear into the sea? Uncontrolled exploitation? Bartruharis poem is clear. A hundred years complete our span / And half of that is passed in night / childhood and old age devour the half / of what belongs to light. All that we are left with is half of half. And what do we do with that? Bartruhari answers: The rest is torn with parting pangs of ceaseless toil / what profit is our human life unstable as a wave. If we still dont get the message, we should go back to Bhagwat Gita and listen to Krishna saying: Time, I am, the Destroyer of All. Many millennial investors were newcomers to the investing world around the time of the 2007-2008 financial crisis. While there have been hiccups in the market and the broader economy since then, nothing has compared to the current crisis. The impacts of shutdowns around the globe due to the COVID-19 pandemic are impossible to measure right now, especially with no concrete timeline on a reopening. Today I want to discuss how millennials could potentially make a fortune over the next decade. We only need to look back at some of the opportunities that the 2010s offered investors. Air Canada stock has struggled mightily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company faced dark times in the early part of the previous decade as well, with its stock falling below the $1 mark. A $10,000 investment in Air Canada at the beginning of the 2010s would have been worth nearly $380,000 by the end of the decade. The story at Kirkland Lake Gold is even more inspiring. A $10,000 investment in this top gold miner would have been worth over $680,000 by the end of the 2010s, which means that a $20,000 investment in these stocks would net an investor over $1 million in gains. Millennials who make the right investment today, especially in a TFSA, could be set by the end of the 2020s. Millennials: Focus on healthcare Healthcare is one of the most promising sectors for investors on the hunt for long-term growth. The COVID-19 outbreak has put a greater focus on healthcare and with good reason. Millennials may want to consider some of these top TSX healthcare stocks in late April. VieMed Healthcare stock has climbed 40% month-over-month as of close on April 22. Investors who are looking for a theme stock during this pandemic should look no further. VieMed provide in-home durable medical equipment and health care solutions to patients in the United States. Notably, it supplies ventilators and is focused heavily on non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in the U.S. home respiratory healthcare space. Story continues Savaria Corporation is another healthcare star that millennials should watch closely. The company designs, engineers, and manufactures products for personal mobility in Canada and around the world. This sector is well-positioned to post good growth over the next decade. Moreover, Savaria boasts an immaculate balance sheet. Protect your portfolio While millennial investors will typically have a long-time horizon, this does not mean that they should not seek protection in their portfolios. You should look to hold onto defensive stocks. The recent market slide has made this necessity apparent. Consumer staples like Loblaws, Metro, and Empire Company have all remained in positive territory. Grocery retailers offer an essential service that will continue to trudge forward in dire circumstances. Play the long game At the beginning of the 2010s, many investors were pessimistic after one of the worst recessions in the modern era. The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted many of our day-to-day lives. However, millennials have time on their side. There will be a return to normalcy in the months and years to come, and millennials should feel optimistic about their chances to grow their portfolios in the 2020s. The post Millennials: How to Turn $20,000 Into Over $1 Million This Decade appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada. More reading Fool contributor Ambrose O'Callaghan owns shares of KIRKLAND LAKE GOLD LTD. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Viemed Healthcare Inc. The Motley Fool recommends Savaria. The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2020 The Kerala government on Sunday commenced the registration process for bringing back people from the state stranded in various countries once the Centre gives the nod and air services resume. The process was set in motion in line with a recent state government order that the expatriates wishing to return home can register on the website of the Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) department after getting themselves tested for COVID-19 and obtaining a negative certificate, official sources said. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has already written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on arranging special flights to bring thestrandedIndians, especially from the Gulf Cooperation Council nations. The Centre was also thinking in terms of bringing back non-resident Indians, Vijayan said at a meeting he held with collectors, medical officers and police officials of the 14 districts on Sunday through video conferencing. Thousands of people were waiting to returnand all measures should be taken keeping this in mind, he said adding theairports should have testing facilities. The quarantine facilities should also be near the airports, he said. Those with expired visiting visas, the aged, pregnant women, children, critically ill patients, students who have completed their courses and others are among thelarge numbers of people who are waiting to return from foreign countries, especially the Gulf nations. The state government order has specifically mentioned that the registration is for arranging quarantine facilitiesin the state, if necessary, and not for getting any priority on flight bookings. After the NRKs register themselves, the government would draw up a list on how to bring them back as per priority. There has been a huge demand from the NRKs, settled in various parts of the globe to return to their home state due to the COVID-19 situation. Once the lockdown is lifted and air services resume, the government is expecting a huge influx of NRKs and Malayalees living in other states to come back to Kerala. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A critical Covid-19 patient under treatment at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases' intensive care unit in Hanoi, April 24, 2020. Photo courtesy of Doctor Pham Van Phuc. Vietnamese doctors treat Covid-19 by using oxygen therapy, ventilators, antibiotics and antiviral drugs depending on the severity of the case. Dr Pham Van Phuc, who works at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases' intensive care unit in Hanoi, said his department has received five critically ill Covid-19 patients who need ventilators. The patients arrived at the hospital with respiratory distress and require high levels of oxygen intake through ventilators. Then emergency room (ER) doctors treat patients with a combination of antiviral drugs. Depending on the respiratory condition of a patient, doctors use various treatment protocols. Mild cases are treated for the symptoms and provided nutrients for health improvement. Severe cases could require oxygen therapy with oxygen masks and cannulas. If this does not work, doctors pump up the oxygen levels and resort to non-invasive mechanical ventilation. If the patient does not respond, they are transferred to the intensive care unit where doctors intubate them and put them on a ventilator. Using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which involves pumping blood out of the body and to a heart-lung machine that removes carbon dioxide and sends oxygen-filled blood back, is the last option. "There are patients who need a breathing tube and intubation right at the emergency department," Dr Phuc said. "There are also those who need it when they arrive at the intensive care unit." Endotracheal intubation is a high-risk technique that poses a risk of infections to doctors since they are exposed to aerosol dust generated by the procedure. There is less risk in using ECMO, but it is a high-tech method that requires a team of specialized doctors. On top of antiviral drugs, doctors also have to perform resuscitation and use various drugs to maintain body functions. Covid-19 patients in critical condition often experience bacterial infections, and so antibiotics are often added. Dr Phuc said the selection of antiviral drugs is a complicated issue and there is no consistency when it comes to antiviral drug protocols for critically ill patients. So doctors have had to refer to many studies, especially those done by doctors in China where the pandemic first broke out and others published in globally reputed medical journals. For instance, initially, based on the Chinese regimen and Vietnamese research, Covid-19 treatment involved a drug used to treat HIV. All medicines have varying degrees of efficacy but also side effects. The HIV drug for instance causes nausea, diarrhea and fatigue among other things. If the side effects become serious, the medication has to be stopped immediately. Patients in intensive care are mostly older people or have underlying conditions, and so all their organs must be screened and the conditions treated. The professional committee at the hospital has to work on every detail for each individual to come up with an appropriate treatment protocol. Patient 20, a 64-year-old Hanoi woman, is a severe case. She had pneumonia and her health was failing when she was first admitted to the hospital. She responded very slowly to treatment and her lung lesions worsened, and she was put on a ventilator but did not improve. So doctors decided to put her on ECMO. A British patient, 74, who was discharged from the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases on April 14, has blood cancer. The hospital spoke with his doctor in England to find out about his condition and if he was on medication. "In addition to antibiotics and antiviral drugs for Covid-19 treatment, we combine a variety of other drugs to treat underlying medical conditions besides adjuvants, anticoagulants, etc.," Phuc said. "We have to select suitable drugs while also minimizing side effects and mitigating harmful interactions between the various drugs." Dr Phuc said one of the problems facing Covid-19 patients is blood coagulation disorders which clog veins and lead to multi-organ damage. "Almost all organs like the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, brain are affected, and screening is complicated." "The greatest difficulty in treating critical patients is that currently there is no specific protocol anywhere in the world. So patients in serious condition could die without appropriate treatment," he added. Currently the intensive care unit at the hospital has two critically ill Covid-19 patients. Of Vietnams 270 cases so far, 230 people have recovered and no deaths recorded. The country has gone two days without a new case as of Sunday evening. No new cases of community transmission have been recorded over the past 10 days, according to the Health Ministry. Members of the Civil Protection and Carabinieri carry a coffin of a Covid-19 dead man on April 04, 2020 in Bergamo, Italy. Anadolu Agency As Italy prepares to emerge from the West's first and most extensive coronavirus lockdown, it is increasingly clear that something went terribly wrong in Lombardy, the hardest-hit region in Europe's hardest-hit country. Italy had the bad luck of being the first Western nation to be slammed by the outbreak, and its official total of 26,600 fatalities lags behind only the U.S. in the global death toll. Italy's first homegrown case was recorded Feb. 21, at a time when the World Health Organization was still insisting the virus was "containable" and not nearly as infectious as the flu. But there is also evidence that demographics and health-care deficiencies collided with political and business interests to expose the 10 million people in the northern Italian region of Lombardy to Covid-19 in ways unseen anywhere else, particularly the most vulnerable in nursing homes. Virologists and epidemiologists say what went wrong there will be studied for years, given how the outbreak overwhelmed a medical system long considered one of Europe's best, while in the neighboring Veneto region, the impact was significantly more controlled. Prosecutors, meanwhile, are deciding whether to lay any criminal blame for the hundreds of dead in nursing homes, many of whom don't even figure into Lombardy's official death toll of 13,325, half of Italy's total. By contrast, Lombardy's front-line doctors and nurses are being hailed as heroes for risking their lives to treat the sick under extraordinary levels of stress, exhaustion, isolation and fear. One WHO official said it was a "miracle" they saved as many as they did. Here's a look at the perfect storm of what went wrong in Lombardy, based on interviews and briefings with doctors, union representatives, mayors and virologists, as well as reports from Italy's Superior Institute of Health, national statistics agency ISTAT and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which advises developed economies on policy. Caught unprepared Italy was the first European country to halt all air traffic with China on Jan. 31, and even put scanners in airports to check arrivals for fever. But by Jan. 31, it was already too late. Epidemiologists now say the virus had been circulating widely in Lombardy since early January, if not before. Doctors treating pneumonia in January and February didn't know it was the coronavirus, since the symptoms were so similar and the virus was still believed to be largely confined to China. Even after Italy registered its Feb. 21 case, doctors didn't understand the unusual way Covid-19 could present itself, with some patients experiencing a rapid decline in their ability to breathe. "After a phase of stabilization, many deteriorated quickly. This was clinical information we didn't have," said Dr. Maurizio Marvisi, a pneumologist at a private clinic in hard-hit Cremona. "There was practically nothing in the medical literature." Because Lombardy's intensive care units were already filling up within days of Italy's first cases, many primary care physicians tried to treat and monitor patients at home. Some put them on supplemental oxygen, commonly used for home cases in Italy. That strategy proved deadly, and many died at home or soon after hospitalization, having waited too long to call an ambulance. Reliance on home care "will probably be the determining factor of why we have such a high mortality rate in Italy," Marivi said. Nurses at the Hospital Pope John XXIII in Bergamo help patients communicate with their family members through tablets and smartphones. Nicola Marfis | AGF Italy was forced to use home care in part because of its low ICU capacity: After years of budget cuts, Italy entered the crisis with 8.6 ICU beds per 100,000 people, well below the OECD average of 15.9 and a fraction of Germany's 33.9, the group said. As a result, primary care physicians became the front-line filter of virus patients, an army of mostly self-employed practitioners who work within the public health system but outside Italy's regional hospital network. Since only those with strong symptoms were being tested because Lombardy's labs couldn't process more, these family doctors didn't know if they themselves were infected, much less their patients. With so little clinical information available, doctors also had no guidelines on when to admit patients or refer them to specialists. And being outside the hospital system, they didn't have the same access to protective masks and equipment. "The region was extremely behind in giving us protective equipment and it was inadequate, because the first time, they gave us 10 surgical masks and gloves," said Dr. Laura Turetta in the city of Varese. "Obviously for our close contact with patients, it wasn't the correct way to protect ourselves." The Lombardy doctors' association issued a blistering letter April 7 to regional authorities listing seven "errors" in their handling of the crisis, key among them the lack of testing for medical personnel, the lack of protective equipment and the lack of data about the contagion. The regional government pushed back at the criticism and defended its efforts. But the civil protection agency also acknowledged that Italy was dependent on imports and donations of protective equipment and simply didn't have enough to go around. Some 20,000 Italian medical personnel have been infected and 150 doctors have died. Lost weeks Two days after registering Italy's first case in the Lombardy province of Lodi, sparking a quarantine in 10 towns, another positive case was registered more than an hour's drive away in Alzano in Bergamo province. Whereas the emergency room of the Lodi-area hospital was closed, the Alzano ER reopened after a few hours of cleaning, becoming a main source of contagion. Internal documents cited by Italian newspapers indicate the handful of serious pneumonia cases the Alzano hospital saw as early as Feb. 12 were likely Covid-19. At the time, Italy's health ministry recommended tests only for patients who had been to China or been in contact with a suspected or confirmed positive case. By March 2, the Superior Institute of Health recommended Alzano and nearby Nembro be sealed off as the towns in Lodi had been. But political authorities never implemented the quarantine recommendation there, allowing the infection to spread for a second week until all the Lombardy region was locked down March 7. "The army was there, prepared to do a total closure, and if it had been done immediately maybe they could have stopped the contagion in the rest of Lombardy," said Dr. Guido Marinoni, head of the association of doctors in Bergamo province. "This wasn't done, and they took softer measures in all of Lombardy, and this allowed for the spread." Asked why he didn't seal off Bergamo sooner, Premier Giuseppe Conte argued the regional government could have done so on its own. Lombardy's governor, Attilio Fontana, shot back that any mistake "was made by both. I don't think that there was blame in this situation." Lombardy has one-sixth of Italy's 60 million people and is the most densely populated region, home to the business capital in Milan and the country's industrial heartland. Lombardy also has more people over 65 than any other Italian region, as well as 20% of Italy's nursing homes, a demographic time bomb for Covid-19 infections. "Clearly, with the benefit of hindsight, we should have done a total shutdown in Lombardy, everyone at home and no one moves," said Andrea Crisanti, a microbiologist and virologist advising the Veneto regional government. But he acknowledged how hard that was, given Lombardy's outsize role in the Italian economy, which even before the pandemic was heading toward a recession. "Probably for political reasons, it wasn't done," he told reporters. Industrial lobbying Unions and mayors of some of Lombardy's hardest hit cities now say the country's main industrial lobby group, Confindustria, exerted enormous pressure to resist lockdowns and production shutdowns because the economic cost would be too great in a region responsible for 21% of Italy's GDP. On Feb. 28, a week into the outbreak and well after more than 100 cases were registered in Bergamo, the province's branch of Confindustria launched an English-language social media campaign, #Bergamoisrunning, to reassure clients. It insisted the outbreak was no worse than elsewhere, that the "misleading sensation" of its high number of infections was due to aggressive testing, and that production in steel mills and other industries was unaffected. Confindustria launched its own campaign in the larger Lombardy region, echoing that message, #Yeswework. Milan's mayor proclaimed that "Milan doesn't stop." At the time, Confindustria Lombardy chief Marco Bonometti acknowledged the "drastic measures" needed in Lodi but sought to lower the sense of alarm. "We have to let people know they can go back to life as it was, while safeguarding their health," he said. Even after the Rome-based national government locked down all of Lombardy March 7, it allowed factories to stay open, sparking strikes from workers worried their health was being sacrificed to keep Italy's industrial engine rolling. "It was a huge error. They should have taken the example where the first cluster was found," said Giambattista Morali of the metalworkers' union in the Bergamo town of Dalmine. "Keeping factories open didn't help the situation; obviously it worsened it." A rider of delivery food Just Eat runs in Piazza Duomo on April 23, 2020 in Milan, Italy. Pier Marco Tacca Eventually, all but essential production was shut down nationwide March 26. Confindustria's national president, Carlo Bonomi, has been urging that industry be reopened, but in a safe way. "The paradigm has changed," Bonomi told RAI state television. "We can't make Italians secure if we don't reopen factories. But how do we make factories safe to secure Italians?" It's a tough sell, given Lombardy is still adding an average of 950 infections daily, while other regions add from a few dozen to 500 apiece, with most new cases registered in nursing homes. Italy is set to begin a gradual reopening May 4, leading with regions farther south where the outbreak is more under control. Lombardy probably will be last to fully open, with its 73,000 confirmed cases, 70% of Italy's total, and estimates that the real number could be 10 times that. A costly field hospital Perhaps no initiative better illustrates Italy's confused coronavirus response than the 200-bed field hospital built in less than two weeks on the grounds of Milan's convention center. The hospital was unveiled to great fanfare on March 31, the fruit of a 21 million euro ($23 million) fundraising campaign headed by Lombardy's governor, a member of the right-wing League party, to try to ease pressure on regional ICUs, which on that date were near capacity at 1,324 patients. The national civil protection agency opposed the plan, arguing it could never equip it with ventilators or personnel in time. Instead, the agency, which reports to the rival 5-Star-Democratic government in Rome, preferred smaller field units set up outside hospitals and a program to move critical patients elsewhere. In the end, the Milan field hospital was barely used, treating only a few dozen patients. Since it opened, Lombardy has seen pressure on its ICUs fall considerably, with just 700 people needing intensive care today. Fontana, the governor, defended the decision and said he would do it again, telling Radio 24: "We had to ... prepare a dam in case the epidemic overcame the embankment." Nursing home 'massacre' While the regional government was focused on building the field hospital and scrambling to find ICU beds, its testing capacity lagged and Lombardy's nursing homes were in many ways left to fend for themselves. Hundreds of elderly have died in Lombardy and across Italy in what one WHO official has termed a "massacre" of those most vulnerable to the virus. Prosecutors are investigating dozens of nursing homes, as well as measures taken by local health authorities and the regional governments that may have worsened the problem. Lombardy has more nursing homes than any other region, housing at least 24,000 elderly, and it registered more dead at those facilities than others too. Of the 3,045 dead from Feb. 1 to April 15 in the region, 1,625 were either positive for the virus or showed its symptoms, according to preliminary results from a survey by the Superior Institute of Health. UPPER THUMB The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Upper Thumb increased on the state report April 26, and an additional death was recorded. According to the state data, Huron County gained two additional coronavirus cases for a total of 13 confirmed and no deaths. Tuscola County had an increase of one case for a total of 82 cases. Tuscola County also had an additional death reported for a total of 13 coronavirus-related deaths. Sanilac County numbers remained unchanged with 34 cases and four deaths. Statewide there were 575 additional coronavirus cases recorded for a total of 37,778 cases, which was the second lowest increase since the daily confirmed-case peak April 3. The state also had an additional 41 deaths, which is the lowest daily total since March 29. The state has had a total of 3,315 die from the coronavirus. According to the state report 8,342 people have recovered from the coronavirus in Michigan. The state of Michigan is still encouraging residents to seek testing, noting that testing is critical to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Earlier this week the state expanded its testing criteria to include any Michigander that is displaying mild symptoms and any essential worker still reporting to work regardless of being symptomatic. Testing remains critical to our efforts to slow the spread of the virus, said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, MDHHS chief medical executive and chief deputy for health in a press release Friday. Increased testing helps us understand where this disease is so we can identify people at highest risk and make sure we are quickly implementing best practices for preventing further cases and deaths. Common COVID-19 symptoms include fever, dry cough and shortness of breath. Those who experience symptoms should call their health care provider to discuss getting an order for testing. If a health care provider is unavailable, please contact the nearby testing site to discuss getting an order for testing; in some cases, an order may not be necessary. Nearby sites can be found by visiting Michigan.gov/CoronavirusTest and entering the ZIP code. The test is free for most people. Many insurance providers are waiving copays, and those with Medicaid or the Healthy Michigan Plan also have no cost. According to the press release, MDHHS would like to see 15,000 tests completed daily in Michigan per recommendations by the Harvard Global Health Institute, which published a recommendation of 152 tests per day per 100,000 population to begin to re-open the United States. That level of testing is necessary to identify the majority of people who are infected, and isolate them from people who are healthy, according to the Harvard researchers. The Ghana Technology University College (GTUC) is to be renamed the Ghana Communications Technology University. Professor Emmanuel Ohene-Afoakwa, the President of the GTUC, said this in Accra, when he on behalf of the University presented COVID-19 relief support to more than 300 of its resident international students and some needy Ghanaian students, who were already receiving scholarship from the Institution. He extended his appreciation to Government, the President and Parliament about the fact the GTUC, which was now going to be named as the Ghana Communications Technology University has been added to the Public Universities' Bill. "We are very happy and we grateful to the President and then to the Government about this inclusion, and therefore, we know that once the Public Universities' Bill is passed, automatically, Ghana Communications Technology University will become fully fledged public university and then we will begin to received support from the Government." The relief items presented to the students include bags of rice, tubers of yam, cooking oil, tomato paste, bottled mineral water, spaghetti, facemasks and alcohol based hand sanitizers. The items forms part of the first batch of donation to be made by the GTUC from an amount of GH100,000.00, which had been set aside by Management to provide support to international students, who are currently in resident on campus and some needy Ghanaian students. Mr Joel Koume, President, GTUC International Students Association, expressed his gratitude to Management of the GTUC for the kind gesture. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A police officer in Somalia's capital has been arrested in the fatal shooting of at least one civilian while enforcing coronavirus restrictions. The shooting on Friday evening sparked protests in Mogadishu that continued Saturday with crowds of angry young men burning tires and demanding justice. There has been growing anger among some residents over alleged abuses by security forces, including beatings, while enforcing virus-related restrictions. Shouts of "No police, no curfew" could be heard as hundreds of protesters took to the streets and damaged a police landmark at a city roundabout. The country's police chief on Saturday fired the commissioner in charge of security in Bondhere district where the shooting occurred. Somalia has one of the world's weakest health systems and virus cases have been rising quickly. The Horn of Africa nation had more than 325 cases as of Saturday. Empty classrooms and deserted playgrounds have become a strange new reality for schools around the country. As children learn from home to help slow the spread of coronavirus school grounds are now very different places to be for the few teachers and students still on-site. Lisa Robinson, campus principal at Essendon Keilor College. Credit:Justin McManus Essendon Keilor College principal David Adamson said not a single student attended any of the school's three campuses in the first week of term two. "It was a bit strange, a bit weird, because you're used to all the noise and the people all over the place so it's a bit surreal." A group of kitchen warriors' comprising cooks, food packagers and distributors is manning a community kitchen in Mathura which caters to around 12,000 to 15,000 people daily, bringing a ray of hope to those hit by the nationwide lockdown. The initiative was initially started to provide food to labourers hired for various projects of the Uttar Pradesh Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad. It eventually culminated into a community kitchen which has so far provided more than 3.64 lakh food packets to the needy during the ongoing lockdown in Mathura district. Around 50 cooks, all of them women, 40 food packagers and distributors each run the show. The Uttar Pradesh Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad was constituted in 2017 for preserving, developing and maintaining the aesthetic quality of Braj heritage. Braj, also known as Brij or Brijbhoomi, is a region around Mathura-Vrindavan and is considered to be the land of Lord Krishna'. The area stretches from Mathura, Jalesar, Agra, Hathras and Aligarh to Etah, Mainpuri and Farrukhabad districts. "In this kind of scenario, when people are actually scared and afraid and rightly so to venture out, there are not many people you will get to work even on payment, and work with discipline. The group (kitchen warriors) works from 6.00 am to 6.00 pm. The cooks make poori' from 8 quintals of wheat. And during the entire shift, social distancing is strictly adhered to," UP Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad vice-chairman Shailja Kant Mishra told PTI. "They (the cooks, distributors and those packaging the food) are warriors as they combine their energies to fight and control the menace. There are more than 50 cooks, 40 persons are engaged in packaging and 40 persons go to distribute the food. As many as nine vehicles are being used for distribution," he said. The food is distributed in Mathura district, he said. Terming the community kitchen as a "collaborative venture" entirely based on public cooperation, Mishra said, "Initially, we had circulated four phone numbers and asked the public to inform us if anyone needs food. We were flooded with calls, then we put two young boys on the computer, and told them to note the names of callers, their address, and how many food packets they need, and then this information was passed on to the distribution vehicles. Now, things are streamlined and till April 24, we have distributed 3,64,894 food packets, Mishra said proudly. Most of the 'kitchen warriors' are residents of Vrindavan and practice all norms of social distancing while discharging their duties. The 'kitchen warriors' started their journey on March 24 making 700 food packets. In the past one month, the demand has gone up and 12,000 to 15,000 people are catered to on a daily basis, the official said. Another kitchen warrior' is Doodh Nath Yadav, a retired assistant engineer of the hydel department. The UP Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad vice-chairman said Yadav is one of the diligent members of the team who begins his day at 4 am and takes the food packets to maximum number of people daily. Yadav spends close to 11-12 hours for the distribution of food packets to the maximum number of people, Mishra said. Meanwhile, UP minister Chaudhary Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary had sent a truck load of wheat to the community kitchen. BJP MP from Mathura Hema Malini had also urged people to contribute oil and wheat to the kitchen. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Betsy James Wyeth, the indomitable widow, collaborator and muse of the painter Andrew Wyeth, died on April 21 at her home in Chadds Ford, Pa. She was 98. She had been in declining health for years, her son Jamie Wyeth said in confirming the death. The couple met in 1939 in Cushing, Maine, when she was 17 and he was 22. As the oft-told story goes, Ms. Wyeths father invited the handsome young painter to meet his three daughters. He was taken with Betsy, the youngest, and she with him, and she tested her new beau by inviting him to meet the Olsons, a brother and sister who lived in a squalid but atmospheric farmhouse. Christina Olson was paralyzed from the waist down, and it was Ms. Wyeths intention to see if Mr. Wyeth would be shocked by the Olsons grim existence. As he said afterward, he was too focused on his future wife to pay much attention. Five more staff and residents from a western Sydney aged care facility have been diagnosed with coronavirus. A doctor from Nepean Hospital was also among the eight new confirmed cases reported on Sunday, as the small number of locally acquired cases in the Blue Mountains grew. It comes as a staff member from a Blue Mountains aged care facility was among the confirmed cases on Saturday. More than 3000 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in NSW to date, but Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the state was "still doing extraordinarily well". "Our hopes have turned to desperation in the last four or five days," said Mr Nguyen Huu Le. spokesman for the Viet Families Reunion appeal committee, a hastily organised body. South Vietnamese students in Australia made a passionate plea yesterday that their families be saved from communist vengeance. 'Save our families - don't let them be killed' Plea by Vietnam students At a press conference at the University of NSW, attended by representatives of the Union of Vietnamese Students in Australia from four State capitals, Mr Le said the Australian Government had turned a deaf ear to requests that their families be allowed to enter Australia. He appealed to the Government to ease restrictions so that students' parents, brothers and sisters - as well as wives and children - could enter Australia. Since most of their families had a "strong tradition of non-co-operation with the communists," they would be marked for reprisals. Many of their families were in more danger than the 34 Vietnamese nuns flown out of Saigon on Friday by RAAF Hercules transport, Mr Le said. The students, who made their appeal beneath banners reading Save Our Families and Don't Let Them Be Killed, said privately that they were worried and fearful about their relatives. The Texas Historical Commission approved a controversial plan Saturday to exhume four partly intact sets of skeletal remains at the Alamo, allowing badly needed preservation work to continue on the mission-era church. On a 5-0 vote, the commissions executive committee approved the Texas General Land Offices request for a permit that provides an option to use DNA testing, which has been the subject of heated debate at the historic mission and battle site. The Land Office, which had been dueling with two descendants groups over the handling of human remains, is determined not to let the coronavirus pandemic slow its efforts to save the iconic limestone church and adjacent Long Barrack from decay. The Alamo has been closed to the public since March 16 due to coronavirus restrictions. On ExpressNews.com: State agencys plan to exhume Alamo human remains reignites controversy Commission executive director Mark Wolfe told commissioners during the teleconference meeting that deciding how to deal with DNA analysis was critical. Some cultural groups support destructive testing of human remains to extract DNA. Others find it offensive, Wolfe said. So we were attempting to find a path that would respect and respond to both perspectives. In the end, the commission didnt order DNA testing, instead authorizing project archaeologists and commission staff to determine when and how it should be used. A pending permit to move the Cenotaph monument in Alamo Plaza was not discussed Saturday. Steve Tomka, principal investigator on the project and director of the cultural resources program at Raba Kistner, consultant to the Land Office and nonprofit Alamo Trust, said afterward that getting the permit was crucial to advancing the efforts to save the church, which experts have described as structurally fragile. Its hollow limestone walls have been bearing the weight of a concrete roof since 1920. My concern as an archaeologist is to move forward with a process, because really our main goal is to preserve the building, Tomka said. Under the plan, archaeologists will clean, document and remove the human remains and store them in a collections vault on the Alamo grounds. This will allow the placement of sensors and other work to continue in the areas where the remains were found. Once the work is done, the burials likely will be reinterred in a chamber of the church known as the Monks Burial Room, where one of the sets of remains was discovered. New mystery While the key objective is to save the church from structural degradation or potential collapse, the digs have generated tantalizing mysteries, including the discovery of at least one and possibly two coffins. Some believe one of the coffins might have contained the body of an Alamo defender whose corpse was spared being burned on a funeral pyre after the legendary 1836 battle. Lee Spencer White, president of the Alamo Defenders Descendants Association, has gathered evidence she says suggests Native Americans at the Mission San Antonio de Valero and Spanish and Mexican troops stationed there later did not bury their dead in coffins. She supports DNA testing that she said could reveal the existence of a 1836 defenders remains in the church, where some 1.6 million visitors pass through reverently when the site is open. As a matter of fact, no early burials in San Antonio are in coffins, White said. Only logical answer is its a defender. Clearly, its a reburial in a coffin. But the Alamos on-site archaeologist, Kristi Miller Nichols, challenges Whites theory. She said coffin burials of indigenous people, mission priests and other mission inhabitants have been documented at Mission San Juan and in mission sites elsewhere, including Florida and New Mexico. Overwhelming evidence in San Antonio refutes claims that only the later Anglo residents and defenders of the Alamo could be buried in a coffin at the site, Nichols wrote in a letter to the commission. On ExpressNews.com: Legal battle looming over definition of cemetery For his part, Tomka said he couldnt speculate based on the discovery of the outline of a coffin at one of the burial sites and remnants of a hexagonal encasement at another that suggests a second possible coffin what the identity might be of those unearthed remains. Right now, the only things that we know about the remains associated with a coffin is that we have a coffin, Tomka said. Its a long ways away before we know the answers to those questions. Cenotaph in limbo Critics of the master plan for renovating Alamo Plaza are waiting for the commissions decision on another permit sought by the General Land Office and city of San Antonio to move the Cenotaph moument in Alamo Plaza that honors the Alamo defenders. Relocating the 1930s monument is part of the $15 million, city-funded first phase of a larger $400 million-plus Alamo Plaza makeover. Whites group is among those opposed to moving the 58-foot-tall marble monument to a location about 500 feet from where it stands now, saying it would dishonor the defenders. Another protest was held at Alamo Plaza on Saturday, attracting about 60 people despite city restrictions against gatherings designed to slow the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus. At the protest, speaker after speaker thundered their mantra, Not an inch! But the issue was not on the executive committees agenda Saturday. Chris Florance, communications director with the commission, said the agencys board, now using teleconference meetings because of the COVID-19 pandemic, wants to have an in-person meeting in Austin in mid-June to take up the matter of the Cenotaph. Protocol battle Whites group is also in a legal battle with the Land Office and nonprofit Alamo Trust to participate in implementing a human remains treatment protocol created last year at the Alamo. But the descendants associations lawsuit was dismissed by state District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble in Travis County last week, after lawyers for the trust and other defendants argued the association members lacked standing in the case. White said shell keep fighting for access to the human remains process. Meanwhile, the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation still has its lawsuit pending in federal and state court in San Antonio over the handling of human remains; it, too, wants to participate in the process. Ramon Vasquez, executive member of the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation, supports DNA testing, but doesnt have faith it ever will be used. The protocol for handling human remains found at the Alamo was developed and is guided by a committee of federally recognized tribal organizations. The panel doesnt include Tap Pilam, which is not federally recognized, but includes descendants of indigenous members of tribal bands from South Texas. If we dont have a say so, or are not participating in what that looks like, then again its an injustice to the lineal descendants, who I think have shown their sincerity about these remains, Vasquez said Saturday. He believes the four burials to be exhumed are all indigenous. If theyre American Indians, theyre going to be of the Coahuiltecan stock, Vasquez said. For the first time, the Alamo Trust presented testimony from an expert challenging the benefits of DNA testing, as well as Tap Pilams estimates on how many people buried at the Alamo were Coahuiltecan. Kimberly TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta in Canada, backed the Alamos tribal consultants in a letter to the commission, saying DNA testing most likely would be unethical and ineffective. DNA alone cannot tell us who living today has the greatest cultural claim to and stake in those ancient remains, said TallBear, a Cheyenne-Arapaho descendant. The Alamo Trust, meanwhile, estimates that the percent of Coahuiltecan-speaking indigenous people among the 1,000-plus mission burials was at least 33 percent, but no more than 47 percent. In his own letter to the commission, Alamo CEO Douglass W. McDonald said the human remains treatment policy is inclusive and does not preclude the engagement and counsel of other local indigenous or local non-indigenous descendant communities depending on the results and data revealed as part of the project. On ExpressNews.com: Despite pandemic, Alamo Plaza makeover continues City Councilman Robert Trevino, who earlier this month was elected chairman of the six-member Alamo Management Committee, said Saturdays approval keeps a key component of the Alamo project moving forward. He vowed to ensure the process is a transparent one as this transformational project continues to unfold. Vasquez, who has served on the projects 30-member Alamo Citizen Advisory Committee since it was formed in 2014, said hes afraid the unearthed remains will sit on shelves for years, as others from missions such as San Juan have, at university archaeological labs. Its a stain that our children are going to inherit, Vasquez said. Even though the permit period is for 10 years, Tomka said it wont take nearly that long to do the work. Months for certain. Our project will not go on for 10 years. We have many other things that we need to take care of, he said. Scott Huddleston covers Bexar County government and the Alamo for the San Antonio Express-News. To read more from Scott, become a subscriber. shuddleston@express-news.net | Twitter: @shuddlestonSA JACKSON (WNE) A new group is planning to offer antibody testing starting next week. The news came in a press release Thursday when the group, Test Teton Now, announced it would start offering the service on April 30 through private healthcare clinics. Test Teton Now is moving ahead with a test made by a subsidiary of United Biomedical Inc., Covaxx, the same company St. Johns Hospital originally planned to work with and abandoned. Its test has not been FDA approved. Extherid Biosciences, a local lab, will be processing the tests. In contrast to RT-PCR testing, which is usually done with a nasal swab and tests for active infection with COVID-19, antibody testing requires a blood sample and does not test for active disease. As Director of Health Jodie Pond, Teton District Health Officer Dr. Travis Riddell and St. John's CEO Paul Beaupre noted in a letter last week, antibody tests also do not confer information about an individual's immunity to COVID-19. Test Teton Now repeated that message in its press release. The presence or absence of antibodies to COVID-19 "does not mean an individual is immune," the release states. Testing through Test Teton Now will be available for people who are 18 and older for $75 per person. It will be provided free to first responders and individuals who cannot afford testing. The new group's goal is to test between and 8,000 and 9,000 people to "better understand the spread of COVID-19 in and around the Tetons," according to its website. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 French Polynesia unions go to court over Covid-19 package April 26,2020 | Source: RNZ French Polynesian unions have gone to France's top administrative court over the government's Covid-19 package, saying it violates labour laws. The five main unions said they rejected the provision that workers had to use up all leave before being eligible for any emergency support payment. To counter the sudden joblessness and in the absence of any unemployment insurance, the assembly last month approved a raft of measures including a temporary $US900 monthly payment for employees whose job had gone. The same support was made available for self-employed people who could prove that they had been forced to abandon their activities. A total of $US280 million had been budgeted for the emergency but the disbursement of the extraordinary financial support was limited to no more than three months. The labour minister labelled the unions' move criminal because if the court action succeeded the entire relief programme would fall over, making the crisis even worse. The government said it was assured by France that it would get funds as part of its national solidarity but for there had been no concrete answer to a request for help. 57 people tested positive for Covid-19 and one of them is still in hospital. Lockdown restrictions have been widely eased in islands outside Tahiti and Moorea but a territory-wide nightly curfew remained in force. Tourism, as a key plank of the economy, had been worst hit by last month's suspension of air traffic but pearl farming and the fishing sector had also been hit by the lockdown. 2020, Radio New Zealand Theme(s): Others. The COVID-19 pandemic poses serious questions about newsroom practices and for media companies. Journalists became the focus of public discussion when it was reported on 21 April that 53 of them in Mumbai city had contracted COVID-19, in the line of work. It is obvious that there would be other cases among media persons in other parts of the country too. The pandemic has not only struck the world, including India, in ways that are sweepingly disastrous, but also presented Indian media with challenges for the short as well as the long term, as perhaps never before. The portents signal changes that will have to be faced by not just media owners across print, broadcast and online platforms, but also by journalists. More significantly, this presents an occasion to examine the way newsrooms operate and newsgathering takes place. Wading into dangerous situations and conflict zones is considered part of the job by news journalists everywhere, and international media organisations regularly compile the growing number of deaths and even murders of and assaults against news reporters and photographers. While newsgathering is a job, it is also one that carries with it the responsibility of a fundamental duty of the media: to inform its consumers of the ground reality as truthfully and as quickly as possible. However, the coverage of the present pandemics horrific and multifarious impacts at the ground level is fraught with serious consequences not just for the individual journalists but also their families, colleagues, and even neighbourhoods. As soon as the news of the 53 journalists being infected with the coronavirus broke, social media was rife with posts about many journalists, especially television journalists being coerced into physically reporting from the hotspots, forced to present piece to camera (talking to the audience directly through the camera) from affected sites, and generally having to meet dignitaries and officials for in-person interviews rather than conduct telephonic ones. Joe Biden voted in the '90s for a racist crime bill that disproportionately sent minorities and nonviolent offenders to prison. He voted for a bankruptcy bill that made it almost impossible to discharge student loan debt. He voted for NAFTA. When moderate Democrat voters see him lose this election and shame younger voters for not electing another corrupt Democrat, they should understand that always voting for the lesser of two evils doesnt encourage the party to run good candidates, just less evil ones. You may think Bernie Sanders policies are too far left. But if his leftist policies are disqualifying, what does it say that older voters dont disqualify Biden for taking corporate money with strings attached? Is it really surprising Biden favors keeping our broken health-care system and tweaking it around the edges? Could that have something to do with the millions of dollars hes received from the health and insurance industries? Older voters keep voting for corrupt politicians and expecting systemic change. By huge margins, young voters chose the only honest politician in Washington. Older voters rejected them. When young people refuse to vote for Biden, it wont be their fault that he loses. In the face of massive student loan debt, unexpected medical bills and wage stagnation, young voters can imagine something worse than Trump: the status quo. Civility is less important to them than financial security. Voting for Biden means more of the same, and many people cant afford that. Older voters should have listened. Chris Anderson, La Crosse Love 1 Funny 5 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 2 UK govt. warned of coronavirus last year, leaked document reveals Iran Press TV Saturday, 25 April 2020 9:12 AM UK ministers were warned about the risk of the coronavirus last year and its potentially catastrophic social and economic consequences, a leaked secret document has revealed. Leaked to The Guardian, the 2019 National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA) was signed off by government chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance, as well as a senior national security adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The 600-page document warned that even a mild pandemic could kill tens of thousands of people in Britain, and outlined the "capability requirements" to mitigate the risks to the country. The recommendations included the need to stockpile personal protective equipment (PPE), draw up plans to manage a surge in excess deaths, and establish procedures for disease surveillance and contact tracing. Having plans for assisting UK citizens overseas and repatriating them to Britain was also listed as a priority. "A novel pandemic virus could be both highly transmissible and highly virulent," the document said. "Therefore, pandemics significantly more serious than the reasonable worst case are possible." All of these areas have come under critical examination since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with the government accused of being too slow to react to the crisis. The true extent of Britain's COVID-19 death toll was more than 40 percent higher than government figures indicated, according to official data that put the country on track to become among the worst-hit in Europe. Close to 20,000 people have died in hospital in the United Kingdom after testing positive for the new coronavirus, data showed on Friday, as Britain approached a milestone it had hoped never to reach. The UK government is also coming under increased pressure to ease the lockdown as evidence of economic disaster accumulates. According to budget forecasters, the British economy could be heading into its deepest recession in more than 300 years. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Maharashtra government has decided not to extend the relaxation given to shops and establishments from the ongoing lockdown even after it was announced by the Central government via a notification on Friday. Amid the rising number of Covid-19 cases, Maharashtra has decided to stick to the current curbs till May 3. State health minister Rajesh Tope said the state government was not extending the relaxations to shops and establishments. The Centre has issued the notification allowing standalone shops in rural and urban areas, but in the absence of a similar notification in Maharashtra, it will not come into effect. It is the prerogative of the state government to decide on the lockdown. Maharashtra government is not in favour of allowing establishments to operate till May 3, he said. Tope, however, said that the relaxation from lockdown is expected to be discussed during a meeting between PM Narendra Modi and chief ministers of states on Monday. According to the officials from the state government, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray is of the opinion that lifting of restriction may further jeopardise social distancing and lead to a rise in cases. Even if we extend the relaxation and allow stand-alone shops to operate, the police and revenue machinery will be engaged in implementing the lockdown orders to a great extent. Secondly shortfall of raw material and manpower will continue to persist until the lockdown is not lifted completely. Against this backdrop, the state government has decided to continue with the complete lockdown for one more week, an official from Mantralaya said. The official said that the state can impose stricter norms than specified by the Centre under the Disaster Management Act, but cannot give more relaxations than that ordered by the Centre. This was the reason why we had to withdraw our last weeks order of allowing sweet and snacks like farsan shops within two days, he said. Tope had earlier said that the after the second phase of the lockdown ending on May 3, it may be extended by two weeks till May 18 for MMR and Pune where the positive cases are highest. On Saturday evening, he said, The decision about the extension in MMR and Pune is yet to be taken. The activities within the district with tag of green zones can be allowed through, he said. 92nd joint patrol on Mekong River completed PLA Daily Source: Xinhuanet Editor: Wang Xinjuan 2020-04-25 22:29:51 KUNMING, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The 92nd Mekong River joint patrol by China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand concluded Friday as three Chinese law enforcement boats returned to Guanlei Port in the southwest Province of Yunnan. A total of 109 law enforcement officers from the four countries participated in the mission on board five vessels, which navigated 651 km in four days and three nights, according to the provincial public security department. Chinese and Lao officers examined 27 vehicles, 42 persons and six tonnes of cargo during joint operations in Lao waters. Chinese officers also donated masks, protective gowns, gloves and other materials for protection from the COVID-19 disease. The Mekong River, known as the Lancang River in China, is a vital waterway for cross-border shipping among China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand have been carrying out joint patrols on the Mekong River for eight years. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hyderabad, April 26 : In a boost to efforts aimed at tackling the pandemic, a start-up incubated at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) has been selected for Covid-19 funding by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC). OncoSeek Bio Pvt Ltd will receive funding support for developing an in vitro Lung Organoid model, from BIRAC which comes under the Union Science and Technology Ministry's Department of Biotechnology (DBT). OncoSeek's project is one of 16 selected so far from the 500 proposals received for the Covid-19 research consortium. Dr Suresh Poosala, Founder CEO of OncoSeek, said: "Current animal models available for research on Covid-19 are either difficult to get into India or create them in time, to address the pandemic. The company envisages creating novel in vitro platforms for Covid-19 research under the support." Under this grant proposal, the company plans to use their novel platform to screen drugs/peptides/molecules/agents/compounds targeted against the virus or the host cell. It plans to create this capability in the next 6 months. "With the help of talented faculty at the School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, and ASPIRE- BioNEST, they can address the challenges and bring out the science to understand and solve the Covid-19 puzzle." OncoSeek is a start-up incubated at ASPIRE-BioNEST at UoH since 2019, and works on developing in vitro and in vivo platforms for specific diseases for therapeutics screening. BioNEST at the University of Hyderabad is a life sciences incubator, set up with the support of the BIRAC, an enterprise under the DBT, to provide a plug-and-play life science ecosystem of incubation. Cranes stand above shipping containers at the Port of Los Angeles, which is the nation's busiest container port in Terminal Island, Calif., on March 6, 2020. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) US Lending Agency Provides Relief for Exporters Hit by Pandemic WASHINGTONThe U.S. export credit agency is providing relief measures for American exporters that face payment and liquidity issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Exporters have taken a significant hit by a slowdown in global trade caused by the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus. In response, the U.S. Export-Import Bank (Exim) has stepped up its programs to help companies that face shipment problems, payment difficulties, liquidity problems, or other business interruptions. As part of the relief efforts, Exim established a temporary bridge finance program to help foreign buyers get short-term financing for their purchases of U.S. goods and services. The program is intended to address scarce credit options because of the pandemic. The bank also has expanded its existing working capital and supply-chain finance programs to help exporters navigate through the turbulent times. Those programs become very important during the economic or any type of crisis because liquidity becomes a big issue, Jim Burrows, senior vice president at Exims small business group, told The Epoch Times. In addition, Exim has provided a 90-day extension of payment deadlines on debts for foreign buyers. Exporters will also have a 90-day extension for filing claims with the bank related to the non-payment of invoices. Its business as usual. We have not seen a downturn in application volume, Burrows said. In fact, were anticipating an upward trend in application volume because of the crisis. The virus has also impacted private lending markets, which makes it difficult for American exporters to sell products. Certain private sector insurers or banks may reduce trade financing due to uncertainty and liquidity issues. And some even have started to pull out of certain markets, Burrows said, adding that Exim will be able to fill in the gap and continue supporting U.S. exporters. We complement the private sector, especially in financial crisis times, he said. China Threat In addition to the relief measures to support exporters during this challenging time, the export credit agency continues to focus on the economic and national security challenges from China. In December, President Donald Trump signed into law a seven-year reauthorization of Exim, the longest extension in the agencys 86-year history. The law has established a new Program on China and Transformational Exports that targets Chinese export subsidies around the globe. The program sets a goal of reserving 20 percent of Exims financing authority, nearly $27 billion, to support U.S. businesses that compete directly with exports from China. The program aims to boost exports of U.S.-made goods and services in certain advanced technologies including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, renewable energy, semiconductor, and 5G. Were looking at program enhancements in order to allow our American exporters to compete head-to-head with China, Burrows said. The bank is working on developing tactical plans for short term as well as medium and long-term programs to compete directly with China, he said. China has three export credit agencies that it uses to promote its national interest abroad including its ambitious development program, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The Chinese Communist Party has made the initiative a centerpiece of its plans to grow its geopolitical influence. Chinas Export-Import Bank alone provided more than $149 billion in loans to more than 1,800 BRI projects in the last several years. In 2018, Chinas export credit agencies provided almost the same amount of medium and long-term financing as the export credit agencies of the United States, the UK, France, Japan, Canada, Italy, and Germany combined, according to Kimberly Reed, Exims president and chairman. The sheer volume of the Chinese activity is not the only source of concern. They do not play fair, Reed said in January at the American Association of Port Authorities Shifting Trade Conference. She said the Chinese export credit agencies operate at a large volume outside the terms set by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Countries that rely on Chinese financing are increasingly finding themselves stuck in a debt trap, in which China has the upper hand. Asserting that an entire community cannot be held responsible for the mistakes of a few, the Rashtiya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has said that the pandemic calls for national unity, and asked citizens to be aware of those who want to exploit the opportunity to break the nation and create tensions between communities. Bhagwat also said that the pandemic has also shown the need to create a new development model, which should have Swadeshi at its core. The RSS has long-held swadeshi, which refers to boosting domestic capabilities and production and reducing external economic dependence and inter-linkages, as a core ideological belief. He also underlined the necessity of following the governments protocol on social distancing. For Coronavirus Live Updates If anyone out of anger or fear does something wrong, we cannot blame the whole community and distance from them, Bhagwat said in a televised address. This is widely being interpreted as a reference to the Tablighi Jamaat gathering in Delhis Nizamuddin, where thousands got infected. At the same time, Bhagwat warned against any attempt to disintegrate the country. He said it is incumbent on community leaders to ensure that people are not provoked by those who are anti-India to react with anger or fear to governments instructions on physical distancing. People dont want any restrictions. We (RSS) stopped all programmes till June end. Some others might feel the government is trying to put restrictions ... some are creating a problem that leads to anger. The ones who will benefit from this will keep provoking he said. The RSS chief also made a renewed pitch for encouraging Swadeshi or indigenous production and said the pandemic has given India the opportunity to become self reliant and cut dependence on other nations. He however cautioned that indigenous production will have to meet quality standards. The PM (Narendra Modi) recently told the Sarpanches that this problem is teaching us self-reliance. We need to focus on employment. Will those who went (to their villages) come back, will people have jobs, will people be able to pay? We need to start preparing and think of self reliance, he said. Political analyst Hari Desai said, Bhagwats comments on not demonising a community and pushing for swadeshi are welcome. However it remains to be seen whether it will be followed by Swayamsevaks and BJP leaders who have been blaming a particular community for the spread of Covid-19. Bhagwat also criticised the lynching of two Hindu religious leaders in Maharashtras Palgarh and said such instances should not be allowed.Should this (lynching) have happened, should law be disrupted, what role should the police have played? The sanyasis were beaten to death. They were people who served others, he said. Like a scale out of the eyes, it was incredibly tough to swallow the sad news bite that laid sympathetic on my TV screen on a Wednesday morning." Coronavirus kills 'brilliant' doctor in Nigeria. I immediately recalled one of the reports of the Nigerian Medical Association, the umbrella body of doctors, on how the lack of adequate protective gear, testing kits and slow testing process have put medical staff at risk. Tragically, it was a sexagenaria, the late Dr Emeka Chugbo that we lost to the global ravaging pandemic. May God grant him a deserving repose. It is no exaggeration that health professionals, anywhere in the world, are regularly exposed to risk, particularly, in the event of an outbreak. Let's travel back to the recent past, we could see vividly the professional and patriotic brilliance of Dr Ameyo Adadevoh - a sheer genius physician who was respected for her handling of the first Ebola case. While she and her team did an excellent job to curtail the spread of Ebola, we, tragically, lost her to the virus. The end of another hero. May she sojourn well to her new world. About a decade now, it appears our world has changed. From one virus to another. With the outbreak of Lassa fever, many heroes took a bow from this world since they had always been exposed to risks. They fought impressively hard to see Lassa fever patients saved and restored, disturbingly, we lost Dr Philip Dzuana to the pandemic. In the wake of this, the President of the National Association of Resident Doctors, Dr Sokomba tweeted: This morning we lost Dr Philip Dzuana to Lassa fever - he was the sixth doctor to have died of Lassa fever. May their souls rest in peace. It is, however, sad to note that despite the level of risk exposure that daily confronts health professionals, their welfare and remunerations are a mere shadow compared to their regular workload. According to the WHO, a strong health system has a robust finance structure, well -remunerated and trained workforce, sufficient and highly maintained facilities, logistics for medicines, vaccines and technologies, and reliable and regularly updated health information system. It is believed that in the presence of such, easy access to quality health service will be guaranteed. Looking back to the health profile of Nigerian leaders and how they have made the tax payers foot their foreign medical bills, one is only left to asking two questions: Is health no longer an investment? Are healthy citizens no longer the greatest asset of a nation? Pitiably, the budgetary allocation to the health sector is a lucid illustration of a government that prioritizes foreign medical trips over the equipment of its own health centres. In the last four years, the budgetary allocation to the health sector has been less than 6%, which is ten times lesser than what the government of South Africa invests in health. As a consequence, life expectancies in both nations have been 53 and 62 accordingly. As a matter of fact, a quick gaze at life expectancy in the UK, makes the matter more interesting and puzzling- 80 years. To further add to this worries is the sympathetic bed capacity of hospitals which is half a bed for 1,000 people. By extension, in Nigeria, there appears to be less than 1 doctor for every 4,000 Nigerians. Put similarly, Dr Chris Akani, a Professor of obstetrics and gynaecology noted that the risk of a woman dying because of pregnancy or child birth is 1 in 15 compared to what obtains in the developed world (1 in 5,000). Little wonder, few Nigerians who could afford foreign medical trip, jet out to be safely delivered of their babies. Sometimes ago, the government of President Muhammadu Buhari expressed its interest in halting medical tourism by Nigerian politicians and administrators but in retrospect, we know, he actually meant the opposite. As reported by Business Day, March 30, 2020, President Buhari did spend a total of 154 days (between January 19 to March 10 and May 7 to August 19) receiving treatment abroad. Even though the cost incurred has been unpublished, Nigerians, however, are believed to spend over $1billion annually on medical tourism, that's something close to #307 billion, which is just a little below the #359 billion budgeted for the Federal Ministry of Health in 2020. For President Buhari, he has only followed in the footsteps of his predecessors. The late President Yaradua observed 109 days out of his 1,072 days in German and Saudi Arabian hospitals, same as a former Head of State, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida with a record of a six-week medical vacation in both Switzerland and Germany. With preference for foreign medical attention, it needs no further proof that the hospitals in Nigeria, to the exclusion of a few, must have been wretched structures with second-rated facilities. Often times, the government has demonstrated its fake concern and chronic insensitivity by sacking or threatening to sack the health professionals whenever they are on strike. In 2012, for example, Lagos State Doctors who were on strike in protest of non payment of their salaries were threatened with sack. This scenario ,again, leaves us with two perturbing questions: Are Nigerian leaders still with conscience? Do medical officers deserve contempt? In summary, the health of the citizens is the asset of any nation while the happiness of the health workers is all we can give back in appreciation of their endless risk. Kudos to the health professionals. Long live the Nigerian Medical Association! Long live Nigeria! Dear W.C., I am a single mother living in an apartment with my three children. My ex-husband and I are divorced, and due to the loss of his job, he can no longer pay me child support. I am still working, but only part-time now. I am afraid to go to work, due to risking being exposed to this virus, but I am more afraid of being unable to feed my children. I am being very careful as far as wearing a mask and gloves when I am at work. Due to the reduction in my hours and the lack of child support, I have not been able to pay my rent or utilities for the past two months. I also am struggling to have enough food for the kids, as they are eating every meal at home now. There just are not enough funds to pay all these expenses. My ex-husband has applied for unemployment, and I am hopeful he will be able to begin paying child support again soon. Until then, I dont know how we are going to get by. Dear Readers, It has been weeks now since many people lost their jobs, and have yet to begin to receive unemployment. Many also are waiting on their stimulus checks or transfers that will help put a dent in their expenses. The problem is that many people already are in so much debt that those funds are already spent before they even reach their bank accounts. Then, we add in the additional need for food, medications and toiletries, and the reality is there are many, many people in desperate need. This single mother was one of the many letters received this week that highlight the new reality for people in our communities who live paycheck to paycheck. These are often who we refer to as the working poor. These people often work hard at more than one job being paid low wages just to make ends meet each month. Now that the working poor have lost their ability to earn even those low wages, due to no fault of their own, there are few safety nets in place to catch every individual in this country at the same time. That is why we are now receiving so many pleas for help. After doing a thorough investigation into the single mothers references and other information, I called the woman to learn more about her situation. She answered the phone, and we began our long conversation. I could hear children laughing and playing in the background, and she explained her oldest daughter was reading a book to the two younger children. She added, She wants to be a teacher someday, so this has been a good learning experience for her. The proud mother told me about her children and how this self-isolation has affected them. She shared how the children had become better friends now, and they felt even closer as a family. She said: Before, they used to barely spend time together. Now, we have no choice but to be each others best friends. I hope when this is all over, it stays this way. The woman also told me about her youngest childs health challenges and how she still needed regular medical care in Milwaukee. She told me how they have used tele-medicine recently, but she also needed to take her for treatment soon, because without this treatment her condition could become life threatening. I asked the woman about her ex-husband, and she told me that due to a drinking problem and verbal abuse she had endured while they were married, he had very little contact with the children. He also had not been good about proper care for their child with special needs. He had supervised visitation before the virus struck, but he did not seem interested in continuing that in the future. The woman said he had been consistent with his child support in the past, and she hoped he was able to help the children again soon, as she relied on that income to get by each month. The woman was able to send me photos of her bills and budget. We went over these, and I made lists of all her overdue expenses. The woman was able to send me photos of her refrigerator and her apartment. The refrigerator was indeed nearly empty. Her cabinets were about the same. I asked if she would be able to go grocery shopping, and she said she could. She said she would leave her children home so as not to risk exposing them to anything at the grocery store, and she would wear her mask and gloves. I made arrangements to have a volunteer drop off grocery store gift cards right away. They would leave them outside her sliding glass door, since she was in a first-floor apartment. The volunteer would put them in an envelope and text her when they were there. I also asked the woman about their toiletries and other household necessities, and found they were nearly out of these as well. I added an additional gift card for these items. We continued reviewing her budget, adding four months rent to her list, two months of past due rent and two months going forward, along with paying her overdue utilities and some into the future. This would remove the extreme stress she was going through over these expenses for the next few months, and keep them all in safe shelter beyond this initial crisis. This would also help the landlord who was suffering financially due to the lack of rental income. The woman shared how her landlord took good care of their building and had told her how difficult it was going to be for him at this time. We both shared our concerns over the future of all unemployed renters and their inability to ever catch up once they return to work. My hope is that banks and mortgage companies will allow mortgages to be put on hold for the next few months, and payments added to the back end of the loan. This is a good idea, but I have yet to see it take place in reality. The woman shared with me the details of her job, and her daily fear of either becoming deathly ill or being asymptomatic and spreading the illness to her children without even realizing it. We talked about the ways she should be protecting herself, and the safety measures she should be utilizing. She did admit her employer had implemented some additional safety measures recently that helped to ease some of her anxiety. That is something we are all sharing during this pandemic anxiety. There are few people I have talked to recently who do not share fear and anxiety over our economy, our health and our future. The final thing I talked to the woman about was her transportation. After several questions, I was able to find out her car was in very bad shape. She told me about the excessive miles and balding tires. The check-engine light frequently came on, and she had already been stranded while in Milwaukee at the hospital with her daughter. She sent me pictures of the car, including the odometer, and of repair quotes she had obtained before the pandemic, and they were quite extensive and expensive for the age of the car. It would not be a good use of our funds to repair a car that would not run for long. We had a recent donation of a vehicle that would be perfect for this mother and children. It would provide safe transportation for both work and medical care. I made arrangements to have the car registered in her name using the new methods required by the DMV, and she was able to pick up the car the following day. We ended our call with the mother and children all on speaker phone together thanking us for our help. We also said a prayer together thanking all of you, our donors, for your support during these trying times and the years of poverty relief we together have already provided to thousands of our fellow creations. We ended our call with a promise to talk again once she received the vehicle. The next day, I called the mother and children to see what they thought of the donated car. They had all just taken a ride in the car, after the mother had thoroughly cleaned and disinfected it just to be extra cautious with the children. They were all so excited and shouted out together, Thank you. The mother was crying tears of joy over not just the car, but also the gift cards for food she held in her hands as we spoke. While the mother was silent on the phone for a few minutes, I believed to be overcome with emotion over the help we were providing, the oldest daughter told me about all the cool features she loved about the car. I then heard her say to her mother: Mom you can stop crying. Its okay now. We will be alright. The mother finally was able to speak, and shared her gratitude for the way we together had changed their lives overnight. We all said goodbye with the farewell so many are using these days, I hope you stay healthy. I share that wish with all of you as well. We are hoping and praying for the end of this crisis soon. With each passing day, the need for assistance is bigger. We continue to have those who are sick, those who are so selflessly caring for the sick, our first responders, and the many people who go to work so we may have food and other essentials in our prayers. If you are at all able to donate at this time, it would be greatly appreciated. For those of you who have already donated in anticipation of the compassion that will need to be shared with many, we and the many people we are providing assistance to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. At this time, we need to remain strong, helping our poverty-stricken fellow creations. We know many of you are very concerned. We are, too, but we also have great faith this wont last forever. This, too, shall pass. We will continue to be there to do what we can in a safe manner for all people involved with The Time is Now to Help. We thank you for your continued support during this difficult time, and pray everyone stays safe and healthy. Thank you and God bless you. Health and happiness, love and God bless everyone, Sal Please help: There are many coming to us in desperation. Our good fellow creations need our compassion. Together we make a big difference. Make checks payable to: The Time Is Now to Help, P.O. Box 1, Lake Geneva, WI 53147. The Time Is Now to Help is a federally recognized 5013 charitable organization licensed in the states of Wisconsin and Illinois. You will receive a tax deductible, itemized thank you receipt showing how your donation provided assistance for the poverty stricken. A very special thank you: Family Foundation, Mark and Natalie Reno, Paul Ziegler, Ziegler Charitable Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Schuberth, Electronic Specialties, Daryl and Geri Braun, Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin, Freedom Plastics Foundation, Hufcor Fund, Kunes Country Auto Group, Joyce Byers, The Gary and Nancy Blemel Charitable Fund of InFaith Community Foundation, Brian and Becky Pollard, Dick and Jean Honeyager, William Norton, William Davit, David Greenawalt, Paula Harris, Paypal Giving Fund, Teresa Hurley, Karin Collamore, Jeff Zott, Scott Annen, William Wright, Estelle Reeder, Phil Allen, Jeanne Allen, Bruce Baldwin, John and Sally Dicmas, Karin Slayton, Deborah Bollman, Charles and Nancy Castelein, Kathryn Petrie, Nancy Dunn, Clark and Charlene Hatfield, Gregory Swanson, George and Nadine Kelm, Steven and Karen Johnson, John and Virginia Sullivan, Wayne and Maria Osborn, Mark and Patricia Solheim, Kevin and Theresa Watts, James and Mary Johnson, Richard and Ann Weber, Joseph and Arlene Wachal, Judith Townsend, William and Jean Isaacson, Nancy Ferguson, Dorothy Tookey, James Dyer, Denise Hubbard, Bob and Millie McCormick, and Alliant Energy Foundation. Memorials: The estate of Joyce E. Dougherty in her memory. Prayer chain: The power of prayer and positive thoughts comes from the true healer, our Lord answering our prayers. Please pray for healing for the following people: Talyn, Mike, Sylvia, Richard, Jennifer, Jayden, Maria C., Alex, Lily, Kaitlyn, Sheila, Rhonda, Deda Lee, Betty, Marilyn, Helen, Dennis, Mary, Joseph, Sal, Jordan, Jean, Tom L., Dr. Peter, Alyce, Matthew, Pam E., Jenene B., John S., Patricia H., Darlene, Judy and Wendy. Furniture donations: To donate furniture please call Love Inc. 262-763-2743. Please visit: www.timeisnowtohelp.org Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The coronavirus pandemic is fake, you know. Its a big plot, like fluoridation (exposed by Stanley Kubricks classic 1964 movie, Dr. Strangelove). Except the pandemic doesnt target mens precious bodily fluids. Its worse: It aims to unseat Donald Trump in November. Compared to that, Joe McCarthys conspiracy so immense in which General of the Army George C. Marshall, a World War II hero, supposedly gift-wrapped China for Chairman Mao was a round of Old Maid. True, a fake pandemic would require hundreds of thousands of co-conspirators and no one could snitch. It would also require cooperative politicians, such as Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, to make unpopular decisions. Thats what politicians like to do, right? Make unpopular decisions. Wait: Maybe things are even more sinister. Maybe DeWine and Ohios Health Director Dr. Amy Acton are lizard people. In case no ones clued you in, lizard people are bloodthirsty reptilian aliens [who] arrived on earth in ancient times, according to an Ohio State University blog, The Psychology of Extraordinary Beliefs. Reptilians, the blog reveals, have been merging with humans through the manipulation of DNA, as well as interbreeding [to] gain control of the world by obtaining positions of power and influence: Royalty, politicians, popular entertainers, etc. What better way to control people than claiming your disruptive orders are all that stand between Ohioans and death? We also know, courtesy of a 2013 report in The Atlantic magazine, citing a web posting, that one sign someones a lizard person is that he or she has the capability to disrupt electrical appliances. Could that be why DeWine and Dr. Acton require Statehouse reporters to remain in a separate room to ask questions? Maybe DeWine and Acton would out themselves as lizard people if they were in the same room as reporters and disrupted their video and audio equipment. Of course, these theories are absurd, but they arent much less absurd than some of the conspiracy theories about the coronavirus (theories garnished at a recent Statehouse demonstration with a sickening anti-Jewish slur, a dye marker of social malignancy). No question, Ohioans thrown out of work by the pandemic are facing terrible circumstances. But if the choice is between being unemployed versus being dead, its clear which option most breadwinners would select. And for all its countless faults, Congress has bolstered the unemployment compensation system. The budget test confronting Ohio will come in, say, a month or so, when DeWine and the General Assembly will have to rebalance Ohios budget. As previously noted, legislators could not foresee the pandemic when, last year, they estimated this years tax collections to write Ohios two-year budget. The Ohio Constitution requires a balanced state budget. All Statehouse double talk aside, keeping Ohios budget balanced will require either (a) spending cuts or (b) tax increases. Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, a suburban Columbus Republican, said last week that the pandemic has likely punched a $5-billion-plus hole in Ohios budget, twice as much as Ohios Rainy Day Fund. As noted before, only about one-tenth of the budget (the non-Medicaid, non-school, non-prison part) is politically cutable. That puts a tax debate (if not tax increases) on the Statehouse agenda in an election year. As for the Ohio Houses 2020 Economic Recovery Task Force, it looks, walks and quacks like one of Speaker Larry Householders patented methods for keeping the Houses GOP right-wingers distracted with legislative busy-work. Meanwhile, Householder, a Republican from Perry Countys Glenford, is surely fashioning his own Ohio recovery plan. (In what would be a complete coincidence, his plan and the task forces report might somehow match. Funny how power works, isnt it?) On the presidential front, Donald Trump may or may not be in trouble in Ohio. The president certainly isnt in trouble with Ohio Republicans. So, until, say, October, dont strain your eyes squinting at polls, or get yourself worked up over what cable TV pundits say. Instead, watch Sen. Rob Portman, of suburban Cincinnati, Ohios Republican weathervane. The day that Rob Portman really calls out Donald Trump if that day ever comes is the day that Joe Biden will know that hes going to carry Ohio. Thomas Suddes, a member of the editorial board, writes from Athens. To reach Thomas Suddes: tsuddes@cleveland.com, 216-408-9474 Have something to say about this topic? * Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication. * Email comments or corrections on this opinion column to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15 Trend: Azerbaijani citizens who are abroad will be able to return to the country from April 20, Ibrahim Mammadov, spokesman for the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers, said. Mammadov made the remark in Baku at the press-conference on April 15, Trend reports. The Operational Headquarters is considering the issue of opening the borders, the spokesman said. As the quarantine zones were full, the borders were closed, Mammadov said. After April 20, conditions will be created for receiving 300-400 people from abroad weekly. A big number of people are expected to arrive from Russia. For this purpose, the website 'Eve gedirem' (Im going home) will start to operate on April 17, Mammadov added. The people wishing to come to Azerbaijan from Russia will have to register via the website. The process will start on April 20. Then citizens from Turkey and other countries may gradually arrive. All these people will be on quarantine for a period of 14-21 days. Renowned global real estate event Cityscape 2020 will be held in November this year owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. The event's organisers said they will be working with the real estate community over the coming months to support them through these challenging times. To be held from November 15 to 17 at Dubai World Trade Centre, Cityscape will broaden its horizons beyond residential and spotlight the rapidly growing sectors of industrial and logistics, commercial: retail and office, proptech and architecture. It is committed to supporting the GCC in re-establishing a back to business approach, delivering a focused event that creates a hub for the real estate sector to network, discuss some of the most poignant topics, delve into market recovery and discover new real estate opportunities. In an increasingly mature residential market, this gives the industry growing opportunities across these high-growth asset classes, fundamental to continuing progress in the real estate economy across the GCC, said the organisers. Reaching out to new partners and associations across these commercial and industrial sectors, alongside working closely with its exhibitor community to develop a new floor plan to showcase these projects, Cityscapes participants can expect a new era of real estate to develop at this years Cityscape 2020, they stated. Alongside these show floor developments, Cityscape 2020 also sees the launch of the high-level Real Estate Summit, for top tier investors, government, consultants and developers. Supported by an important Investor, Government & Corporate End User Hosted Buyer Programme, Dubai will play host to this gateway for real estate networking in the Mena region. In 2021 Cityscape will run alongside the World Expo.-TradeArabia News Service First, as hard as it might be, the media needs to put the equivalent of a consumer warning on all coverage of Trump, who spent part of his Sunday afternoon rage-tweeting against the press. He has squandered the privilege of being covered as a normal president would, and both the tone and the content of mainstream reporting must change to reflect this. It would make this easier if Republicans decided they do not want to be the party of Clorox chewables. Will they finally disown Trump in large numbers? Dont bet your next load of laundry. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Emergency personnel responded to a motor vehicle accident in Annadale, Saturday night, that left one dead and another in critical condition. The incident happened at the cross-sections of Arden Avenue and Annadale Road at about 8:04 p.m., according to an FDNY spokesman. According to emergency transmissions, an individual was ejected from a car. Upon arrival, a female victim, 32, was lying outside the vehicle, and pronounced dead on arrival, according to an NYPD spokesman. Another male victim, 32, was transported to Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze, and is in critical condition, said both spokesmen. An NYPD spokesman said the incident was related to a possible stolen vehicle, that led to an accident with the car carrying the two victims. An individual from that car fled the scene, and police are searching the area, the spokesman said. FDNY and NYPD were at the scene. Police were barricading sections of Annadale Road and Arden Avenue from motorists immediately following the accident. Helicopters could be seen and heard within the surrounding area. Police do not have a description of the individual. This is a breaking news story. Check SILive.com for updates. The number of sailors aboard the USS Kidd to test positive for the novel coronavirus has risen to 33, the U.S. Navy said in a statement on Saturday. Why it matters: The second major COVID-19 outbreak on a U.S. naval vessel forced the ship to port so it could be cleaned and disinfected. In late March, the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt moved 2,700 members offshore as hundreds of crew members tested positive for the coronavirus. The Navy learned of the outbreak on the USS Kidd after a sailor needed to be medically evacuated to a treatment facility in San Antonio, Texas on Thursday, where he tested positive for COVID-19, the Navy said in a statement Friday, when it reported 18 cases. What they're saying: "Two Sailors have been medically evacuated to the United States," the Saturday statement said. "Sailors aboard Kidd are wearing PPE and N95 masks." Rear Admiral Don Gabrielson said in Friday's statement the first patient transported was "already improving and will self-isolate." "We are taking every precaution to ensure we identify, isolate, and prevent any further spread onboard the ship," Gabrielson added. "Our medical team continues coordinating with the ship and our focus is the safety and well-being of every Sailor." The big picture: The Navy said it expects the number of USS Kidd cases to rise as testing continues. The ship's crew consists of about 350 sailors, according to ABC News. The USS Kidd has been operating off the Pacific coast of Central America as part of a U.S. counter-drug mission, according to the New York Times. Editor's note: This article has been updated with the Navy's latest statement. Sunday, April 26, 2020 6.5 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR EMPLOYABILITY AS YOU STAY AT HOME DURING THIS LOCKDOWN Greetings to you all, my fellow citizens of the world. I trust that you and your families are keeping well. My prayers are for your physical, mental and financial strength as you experience various challenges and losses during this pandemic. An enormous thank you to the medical personnel, emergency workers, and essential frontline employees who are making incredible sacrifices on a daily basis to get us through this storm. Together, we will get through this. And that is for sure! We admit, 2020 has been an epic Steven Spielberg's blockbuster! To say we are awed with the unfolding scenes is to say the least. The coronavirus pandemic is tearing aggressively at the fabrics of everyday life fast changing the socio-economic paradigm. Families have been heartlessly torn apart by this biological monster; the labor market is also on the casualty list. According to an alarming Bloomberg report, this coronavirus nightmare could cost the global economy a whopping $2.7 trillion! Oh, when you hear about the global economy, you may be deceived into thinking the supposedly impregnable American economy would be spared from the claw of this pandemic. But, you couldn't be any more wrong. The American economy is right at the frontiers, bleeding profusely. Numbers don't lie, do they? How about we flavor this piece with some statistics to paint the existing reality better? In the United States alone, the Fed estimates that the coronavirus could trigger as many 47 million losses pumping the unemployment rate to 32%. Do you think the Fed guys are just some bald pessimists? Nah, the signs are already showing. Another 4.4 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as the economic devastation of the pandemic bites deeper. This gets the total count of jobless claims since mid-March shooting up to 26.4 million. Indeed, this already amounts to over 15% of the US workforce. Here is another statistic to keep you awake at night: nonfarm payrolls in March dropped by 701,000, with the unemployment rate jumping to 4.4%. Do you know when last we had nonfarm payrolls that terrible? Far back in September 2010! These ugly features aren't aimed at spiking your blood pressure. They are just to let you know the good sweet summer days are fast receding. When the coronavirus storm wanes, we are going to see an almost unprecedentedly competitive labor market; a seemingly carnivorous battle among so many for such few jobs. With about 67 million Americans jobs at a high risk of a layoff, you can't expect to moonwalk into your office anymore! How are you going to survive this economic tsunami? I will tell you: PERSONAL BRANDING! Here in this revealing guide, I am going to show you the assured 6.5 Fresh Passion ways to increase your employability during the lockdown, making sure you are the best fit for the handful of job openings that would come after the lockdown. These strategies will rightly position you for a flood of congratulations in an era of wailing. Drooling already, let us go then! 1. Acquire more skills In the contemporary workplace, career progression is mostly dependent on the academic sophistication of your CV. If there is anything allowed to be overweight in a twenty-first-century dripping with a skinny obsession, it is your resume. The more skills, the better! When the coronavirus subsides and businesses open, employers will only take in the BEST of the best. Sorry, this is more than just having good looks and a nice beard. They will look at the exclusiveness of the solutions you can deliver. How special are they? The lockdown is one of the best times to stock up more valuable certifications. Soft skills are some of the best garnishments to get your profile more delicious to employers. I understand the prevailing norm for this lockdown is to Netflix and chill. However, the fact that it is the norm makes it the generic culture. For someone obsessed with personal branding, for that dude who yearns to step above conventions, you have to take the hard, painful road. This is to develop yourself. Growth doesn't come easy. You aren't going to learn new skills in your dream, are you? Come on, a level of diligence and self-denial is crucial here. You can't risk duplicating skills that are abundant on the counter. Do you know the uglier part? Job seekers are going to get more desperate after the lockdown. There will be far less integrity in the job market. Yes, highly qualified candidates will take jobs for erstwhile peanuts. Don't blame them, the competition will be a biting inferno. Let me ask you a fair question. If I was an employer and you present to me to equivalent skill sets with another candidate who is willing to take far less than your proposed salary, why will I be willing to employ you when the other candidate would do the same job in the same capacity you would? Come on, I am not Bill Gates' cousin, I would go for him, sorry! But you know what? I would be willing to consider you and pay you higher if you were more SPECIAL! Research your industry and optimize your career. What are some of the bestselling skills you can add that make an employer salivate for you? If you are in the sales and marketing niche, you may want to up your web development and digital marketing skills. If you are in the finance niche, perhaps, you can be learning SQL, Tableau, and Excel. Develop your personal brand. Bring more to the table than others! Don't get me wrong, buddy. Not only technical skills are worth your time. You can also furnish your resume with some leadership certifications. We will touch on this later on. Rewrite your CV/Resume Don't tell me you want to carry your pre-coronavirus resume straight into a post-coronavirus job market and expect employers to chase after you. You are not going to put new wine into old wineskins, are you? Apologies, but you need to renovate your CV. It needs more juice, vibe, and sparkle. Garnish your unique selling proposition (USP). Oh, I hear you asking why. Well, if you were competing with 10 candidates for an opening before the COVID-19 outbreak, expect to compete with at least 50 for that specific opening after the lockdown. So this is where your personal branding comes in. Your CV should know show refined peculiarity. Let us assume you have learned some new skills during the lockdown, isn't it good to parade them in your resume? Given the increased competition after the lockdown, you want your resume to catch your employers much faster. You want them to be falling in love with in the first minutes of glancing through your CV. This is even more important, considering that there is going to be an enormous sea of resumes to go through for each job opening now. Indeed, you can't afford not to stand out via your CV (illuminating your personal brand) as fast you can. 3. Leverage your social media Sorry to burst your bubble, but social media is far more than the Drake's flip the switch challenge. Social media is transforming the labor market optimizing job search and improving your professional visibility. Given this coronavirus nightmare, you need more than ever to improve your social media presence. It is no fluke that 56% of job seekers leverage social media when looking out for a new role. If you are going to make your personal brand stand out, you need a shinier digital footprint. More than those pretty cat pictures, share some of your career achievements on your social media platforms. Embellish your social media with alluring testimonials. I will tell you the truth, you are not showing off. Actually, you never know who is looking. Ensure your social media profile is current. Make sure to align your CV with your online profile. Sadly, I have been bedeviled with countless scenarios where promising candidates are flushed out of the shortlist owing to discrepancies between their offline CV and their social media accounts. This is more common with conflicting employment dates. There, I almost forgot! Never post inappropriate content on your social media account. IT IS A CAREER KILLER! Your social media account is not so private, after all. Hiring managers and recruiters are digging through your Instagram, Facebook, and even as far to your TikTok account. How bad would it be when they see those obscene pictures from that your memorable booze night? Uh-oh! 4. Improve your communication and teamwork When businesses resume and the economy kickbacks, there will be far less tolerant environments for "corporate toxicity". Employers will be avidly seeking team workers and great communicators. Far gone are the times for sporadic, isolated growths. This is the time for coordinated progressions. While you have your personal brand and should strive for the extraordinary individually, you must learn to pull together with your coworkers. Improve your social skills and tolerance for a plurality of personalities. Too bad, if you are that guy in the office that smiles only once all summer. You may have to get some Youtube tutorials on how to smile or learn a bit of humor, at least. Good laughter when well-timed doesn't hurt, does it? 5. Expand your network It is popularly said that your network is your net worth. A powerful network is as sweet as having the president next door. All you have to do is just reach out when in need. Having a powerful brand doesn't mean you have to socially quarantine yourself from people. No, you need connects, especially in your industry. Want a shocker? People have clinched alluring seven-figure jobs from just a friendly recommendation; no grilling interviews! Expanding your network in this lockdown is one powerful way to fatten your employability. What are friends for? Definitely not just for sharing pizza only! Every friend in your network is an extra beacon to shine your light further to prospective employers. If you want to go digital, LinkedIn is a very powerful to start building valuable relationships. Aside from LinkedIn, there are other professional platforms like Jobcase, Xing, Lunchmeet, and Bark where you can link up with like-minded professionals. Trust me, this career "web" will get you the goods when you need it. Now that everyone is on lockdown, how about renewing touch with your professional contacts? There are other avenues to expand your horizons. Look out for your alumni organizations, community job clubs, and hobby groups. You don't necessarily have to meet them in person. Most of these groups have digital communities on Facebook, Pinterest, and WhatsApp. Dust the cobwebs off those old relationships. You are going to need them much more than ever now. Don't forget parasitical networks don't last. This is absolutely not the time to ring friends three times every hour for a job opportunity. This is when you should emotionally consolidate such relationships by showing empathy first. Our society is dripping with gloom. Show them you care, at least. When the storm of this virus clears, trust me, they will remember you and pay you back with a valuable referral. 6. Show Initiative and Leadership Here is something you can take to the bank: the post-coronavirus era will see an enormous spike in the need of workplace leadership. More than ever, employers will be seeking transformational leaders who can take the initiative and sail the ship on their own. Employers wouldn't have the time to babysit their staff any longer. If you want to be the "Brad Pitt" of the corporate world that employers are chasing after, you have to develop remarkable leadership skills. The good news is the lockdown gives you all the time you want to consolidate your leadership skills. Work on your personality. You need more discipline, tolerance, communication, situational awareness, motivational prowess, and multitasking! Of course, employers would ask for hard proof. There are several notable online leadership certifications you can grab now and pump up your employability. Do you want me to tell you some I fancy? Alright, then! There is the eCornell Executive Leadership Certificate from Cornell University. For risk management, you can go for the Risk Management Professional Certificate from the New York Institute of Finance. Also, you can get a Project Management Professional Certification from the Southern New Hampshire University or Rutgers University. 6.5 Stay positive I agree you have fortified your employability and are possibly the best candidate for the job. This doesn't mean you would clinch every opening you apply for. Psychological resilience is another recipe that shouldn't be missing. You have to learn to swallow the bitter pie and soldier on. Having an illustrious personal brand doesn't mean you will never suffer disappointments or failures. What it rather means is that when disappointments set in, you just dust it off like "is that all you have got???" The greatest temptation to quit often happens right before you are about to experience exponential success. Personnel of the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) in the Hohoe Municipality have donated items to three health facilities in the Municipality in the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic. The items, six dozens of tissue papers, three veronica buckets, five cartons of carbolic soap and six boxes of examination hand gloves at an estimated cost of GH2,500.00, were presented to the Hohoe Adabraka Health Centre, Fodome Helu Health Centre and Likpe Bakwa Polyclinic. Mr. Mathias Apoenchi, the Hohoe Municipal Coordinator of NABCO presenting the items to the health facilities, said the donation formed part of the Corps' contribution to the fight against the coronavirus disease. He urged the beneficiaries to take good care of the items and put them to good use to the benefit of the citizenry. Dr. Pius Mensah, Medical Superintendent of the Hohoe Municipal Hospital and the Acting Hohoe Municipal Director of Health Services, expressed gratitude to the personnel for the support, adding that the donation came at the appropriate time. Mr. Francis Ladzagla, a Physician Assistant at the Hohoe Adabraka Health Centre on behalf of the three health facilities, thanked NABCO for the items and added that the items would be effectively utilised to protect staff and clients from the disease. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Prophet Seth Frimpong 25.04.2020 LISTEN Kumasi based gospel artiste and songwriter, Prophet Seth Frimpong, who is credited with hit songs 'Okumchola' and 'Nyame Animonyam', has died. He died at the age of 50. The younger brother of the deceased, Rev. Emmanuel Frimpong, who confirmed this to BEATWAVES, said his brother died at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, at the early hours of yesterday, Friday morning after a short illness. According to him, his late brother wasn't feeling well and was rushed to the hospital on Tuesday, April 21. BEATWAVES gathered that the gospel musician had been battling diabetes, and for that reason, had been out of the public's eye for several years. Prophet Seth Frimpong, also known as the Dancing Prophet, had a blissful singing career spanning from the late nineties. He was very popular. He released his first gospel album Ade A Nyame Aka in 2000 followed by Enkosi Aga in 2002 and Mehuri So, his third album, was released in 2004. He is credited with hit songs including 'Okumchola', 'Mehuriso', 'Adansidie' and 'Nyame Animonyam'. Before his untimely death, he released a remix of his popular song 'Adansidie' which featured Bro Sammy and Emelia Brobbey. Veteran gospel musician Professor Kofi Abraham told BEATWAVES in an interview that the death of Prophet Seth Frimpong was a big blow to the Ghanaian music industry. Prophet Seth Frimpong was a great musician and may his soul rest in peace, he said. BEATWAVES wishes to extend our condolences to his family and children. ---Daily Guide Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size On how many fronts can you wage war and prevail? Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, are about to find out. Their battle with Britain's tabloid newspapers is reaching its climax but don't expect victory for the polarising royal couple. Even a High Court win will probably feel like a loss once it's all over. "They are trying to beat the media with a very big stick," says public relations guru Mark Borkowski, who regularly advises celebrities facing court. "However, what's really happening is that they are in a knife fight with an enemy who has a flame thrower." The Los Angeles-based couple fired a fresh shot this week by ending all co-operation with four tabloids: The Daily Mail, The Sun, The Daily Mirror and The Express. Despite insisting they value a free press, the duo cut off the outlets because they did not want to be "currency for an economy of click bait and distortion". "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have watched people they know - as well as complete strangers - have their lives completely pulled apart for no good reason, other than the fact that salacious gossip boosts advertising revenue", they said in a statement. It was a tone deaf contribution. That same day, Britain's coronavirus death toll had just topped 15,000 and millions were out of work as the United Kingdom's unprecedented lockdown paralysed the economy. "It was the worst case of timing I have ever seen," Borkowski says. "They are clearly in a bubble." Society of Editors executive director Ian Murray also blasted the decision, but for different reasons: "Although the Duke and Duchess say they support a free press and all it stands for, there is no escaping their actions here amount to censorship and they are setting an unfortunate example." Advertisement Harry's hatred for the press can be traced back to the death of his mother Princess Diana in 1997. For Meghan - an actress who embraced the media for years and is alleged to have used friends to speak to reporters and engineer favourable coverage - the disdain is more recent. She is suing The Mail on Sunday and its publisher Associated Newspapers for breach of privacy, infringement of copyright and breach of data protection laws over the publication of portions of letter she wrote to her estranged father in 2018. The letter was sent after Thomas Markle sensationally joined forces with the paparazzi to stage fake photographs in exchange for cash. "Daddy, it is with a heavy heart that I write this, not understanding why you have chosen to take this path, turning a blind eye to the pain you're causing," Meghan wrote. "If you love me, as you tell the press you do, please stop. Please allow us to live our lives in peace." Thomas Markle willingly gave the letter to the newspaper but the court will decide whether the masthead had a legal right to publish it. The case had a procedural hearing in the High Court on Friday and Thomas Markle will almost certainly appear over the coming months to testify against his own daughter. The prospect of such bombshell testimony gives The Mail little incentive to settle. Lawyers for the newspaper say their source has a "right to tell his version of what had happened between himself and his daughter". Separately, Harry is suing the owners of The Daily Mirror and The Sun for alleged phone hacking. The couple has also withdrawn from the so-called royal rota, a system which guarantees royal correspondents access to official engagements. Advertisement Borkowski knows a thing or two about image and perception. And in Harry and Meghan, he sees a poorly advised couple conducting a war they should have never started. He also suspects the British public grows tired of the antics. "I want to be as generous as possible about this because they are wounded individuals," Borkowski says. "Harry clearly treasures and loves this woman. And he is scarred. Everyone knows about the huge impact of losing his mother. And that appalling decision for him to walk behind the coffin at her funeral would have scarred anyone. "But this wounding, from my perspective, is leading to some appalling decisions being made." The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are polarising figures in Britain. Credit:Getty Nigel Tait, a partner at high-profile British law firm Carter-Ruck who has acted for Elton John, Simon Cowell, Liam Gallagher and other celebrities in fights with the press, believes Meghan will win the case. "In very general terms, did the Duchess of Sussex have a reasonable expectation of privacy in writing a letter to her father? I imagine the answer will come back yes," Tait says. "Then the question is not whether the information that was published was in public interest, it's whether it was in the public interest that her privacy was breached. I'd be surprised if the court found it was. Advertisement "My view is you should be able to write to your mum or dad without it ending up in the newspaper - even if you're a politician or member of the royal family. Otherwise, how can you communicate? How can you live your life properly if you have no privacy at all?" The European Convention on Human Rights protects the right of a person to have a "reasonable expectation of privacy". Those four words are the Achilles heel for The Mail, which has lodged a lengthy defence with the court over its publication of extracts from the letter. "There is a huge and legitimate public interest in the royal family and the activities, conduct and standards of behaviour of its members," the paper's lawyers said. "This extends not merely to their public conduct, but to their personal and family relationships because those are integral to the proper functioning of the monarchy." And this: "The letter was Mr Markles property, and he was entitled to give it to whomever he chose." Loading They also argue Meghan has been a hypocrite. A few days prior to the letter's publication, an article appeared in the US magazine People anonymously quoting five friends of the Duchess. The story was highly critical of Thomas Markle and detailed how Meghan and Harry had tried to help the former Hollywood lighting technician deal with huge press interest ahead of his daughter's entry to the British royal family. One of the friends quoted in the People story also referenced Meghan's letter. The Mail claims Meghan authorised her friends to speak to the magazine - a contention flatly denied by lawyers for the Duchess. The People article was so one-sided that Thomas Markle had a right to respond and correct the record, The Mail says. The paper even suggested Meghan's handwriting in the letter was so neat that she probably knew it might end up in the public arena. Advertisement Tait says the defences won't work and predicts Associated Newspapers may have to pay more than 1 million in damages and costs to Meghan. But the newspaper group might not consider that outcome a loss. "The editors will know that this case is going to attract world attention and that it will be good copy for them," he says. "It may be commercially worth it to them to spend 1 million fighting a case they lose, if they can make some inroads and land some punches." Prince Harry has long had a fraught relationship with Britain's press. Credit:AP Professor Chris Frost, the chair of the National Union of Journalists' ethics council, agrees The Mail wants to get the Duchess and her aggrieved father in the witness stand and engineer its own royal news event. "That sort of thing brings the press into considerable disrepute and the national newspapers in the UK have been doing that certainly the tabloids anyway over the past 20 years or so in an effort to generate copy and generate interest from the public to buy papers," he says. "What's interesting though is that the public isn't buying the papers in the numbers they used to and it's difficult to understand why editors continue to do things that certainly attract attention but dont sell newspapers." Frost contends the fall in tabloid readership was not just part of the worldwide shift from print to digital but a response to the content being published. Advertisement Since the outbreak of Coronavirus across the world, countries have been targeting to achieve herd immunity against it as the only guarantee of normalcy to return. The idea is simple, once herd immunity is reached, the virus will not have too many ways to spread to those not immune to it. Reuters Don't Miss: Contribute To Indiatimes Fundraiser To Help India Fight COVID-19 For herd immunity, around 70% to 90% of the population of a region should be immune to the virus. When this happens, it would give an indirect immunity to those not immune to it, simply because no infected carriers will be available for the virus to spread through. How herd immunity works There are two ways of achieving immunity at this scale and at a pace this fast. One, and usually the safer way, is to administer vaccines against diseases to the masses. Measles, mumps, polio, and chickenpox are examples of infectious diseases for which vaccines were used to establish herd immunity. The other way is widespread infections, based on the assumption that majority of the population will be able to develop immunity against the disease. As can be understood, this is a risky strategy and still leaves certain age groups vulnerable to the disease, as herd immunity is mostly focussed on the healthy, young portion of the population. A number of experts have been advocating the latter to develop herd immunity against the novel Coronavirus. Countries like UK even practiced it during the initial stages. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson supported it back in March and hence did not ban large gatherings or close schools. (Image: Reuters) The plan evidently failed, though. Johnson issued a nationwide stay-at-home order later in March. Since then, the number of infected in the UK is nearing 150K, with total deaths having crossed 20,000. Johnson later contracted the virus himself. But why is herd immunity so difficult to achieve with the latter approach? There are multiple reasons for it. One reason is that even if the infection is allowed to spread among young, healthy people, the virus might be enough to hospitalise, if not kill them. At the rate of community transmission, that would prove to be a burden on the medical resources in a country. Overwhelming of hospitals and other resources might then lead to an increase in deaths due to other infections, or lack of medical resources too. In another undesired scenario, the disease can also spread from one generation to another, considering multiple generations of a family live together in a country like India. That is also why lockdowns are being observed across the globe. To control this rate of spread, stretch out the number of cases observed within a day and hence avoid a burden on the medical supplies. Another and a deeper rooted issue with the COVID-19 is that the development of immunity in a host against the virus has not yet been proven. (Representative Image: Reuters) Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the World Health Organization (WHO), explained as per a CNN report that it's not known whether people who have been exposed to the virus become completely immune to it and if they do, for how long is it effective. That's why governments should wait for a vaccine, she said. The third reason raises questions on the on-ground practicality of the concept. Even if a portion of the population is allowed to resume work and get infected with the virus, and even if they develop the immunity against it, the number of people getting infected just might not be enough to develop herd immunity. So why is herd immunity being advocated? Gaining herd immunity through widespread infection would render the ongoing lockdown strategy useless. Instead, the masses will be allowed to engage in outdoor activities, as is being observed in Sweden. This would mean that the economy would not be as affected by the Coronavirus outbreak as is the norm being seen across the globe. On an optimistic note, the strategy can be used to bring down the mortality rate of the virus. This is again based on the assumption that the young generation of a region will be able to host the virus without being hospitalised or dead. This would in turn protect those in their old-age or the newborns. It can, however, be understood that the risk carried by the radical concept is too high. So if herd immunity is to be achieved, a tested and proven vaccines for the COVID-19 will be a much better way to do so. Young talent demoralized due to unfair compensation scheme By Lee Kyung-min "Young people don't have the commitment to the firm my generation had," said a 40-something man surnamed Kim who works at a large conglomerate. "I mean, the younger they are, the worse their attitude is when it comes to working overtime. How can they say they are leaving work at 6 p.m. when they clearly see the rest of their coworkers are still at their desks busy doing work that was assigned to their team? I don't understand them." Kim, who holds a mid-level managerial position and is on track for a promotion, thinks young people need to be reminded that it is all about teamwork at the end of the day. The ability to accomplish assigned work in a thorough, timely manner is of course a desired quality in an employee. Yet, not caring about how others are doing simply because their "work is done" sometimes looks selfish and lacking empathy, he claimed. From a team leader's point of view, those volunteering to help would mean so much, especially when there is a deadline and the amount of work is overwhelming. But he said that kind of team spirit is getting hard to find in young people whose focus on a work-life balance comes first. "I heard millennials are different, but it's just hard to understand them. Maybe I'm getting old." However, an office worker surnamed Lee, in his second year at another large conglomerate, argues there is nothing that needs to be understood. "Workers that are many years my senior say they did it because that was how things had been, not because it was needed. I don't see why I can't leave after finishing my work just because some others aren't finished. Having me around doesn't get the work done any faster, and everyone knows it. They are there because they don't want their boss looking over their shoulder at other times." By the same logic, he sees no reason to try to stand out by asking for more work than was previously assigned. "My pay doesn't get any higher and if I do more work, it only increases my workload. Earning a good reputation and getting recognition can only motivate you so much if you are overworked and underpaid, especially when there is no monetary reward of any kind," he added. As Congress begins drafting another bill to help Americans cope with the coronavirus, one thing is sure: There wont be legislation without federal aid to state and local governments. New Jersey and other states are reeling from the pandemic, which has forced them to shut down businesses to stop the spread of COVID-19, drying up tax collections even as the costs of police officers, firefighters, school teachers and first responders continue unabated. After the latest $500 billion spending bill cleared Congress only after Republicans dropped their opposition to including funds for hospitals and testing for the virus in addition to small businesses, House members said they wont approve any future legislation that does not help state and local governments. Theres no chance it passes without state and local, said Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-5th Dist. President Donald Trump has talked about including state and local aid in the next stimulus bill. Its probably going to be the next thing on the list, he said on Thursday. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Sunday that the final bill will have such assistance. We will have state and local, and we will have it in a very significant way, she said on CNNs State of the Union. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage House Democrats discussed new federal aid for states and localities last week at their caucus meeting. A lot of people have had to shelter in place and that harms businesses and shuts down tax revenues, said Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-11th Dist. Youve got to fund 911 calls, hospitals, EMTs, firemen, police. All of this is putting a huge strain on the system. If a town declares bankruptcy, how are they going to provide services? said Pallone, D-6th Dist. "Are they going to stop collecting the garbage and then youre going to have ahygiene problem?ders and health care workers on the front lines of the pandemic. But Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. suggested McConnells latest comments may not be his final word on the subject. If a town declares bankruptcy, how are they going to provide services? said Pallone, D-6th Dist. "Are they going to stop collecting the garbage and then youre going to have a hygiene problem? He may think hes speaking for the Republican Party but I dont think so, he said. And while McConnell talked about underfunded pensions, New Jersey lawmakers talked about the need to fund basic services. A lot of people have had to shelter in place and that harms businesses and shuts down tax revenues, said Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-11th Dist. Youve got to fund 911 calls, hospitals, EMTs, firemen, police. All of this is putting huge strain on the system. Gov. Phil Murphy said the state needed a big slug of federal aid just to maintain its essential services. We wont go bankrupt but well gut the living daylight out of things like educators, first responders, the very folks we desperately need," he said Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press. This is the health care crisis of all time in our countrys history. We need states to be fully funded at the point of attack, being there for our residents. The National Governors Association, headed by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, has asked for $500 billion in federal assistance, and U.S. Sens. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., have introduced legislation to provide that money. Their measure also would remove the Trump administrations restrictions on the $150 billion in federal aid New Jersey and other states received under the $2 trillion federal stimulus law, known as the CARES Act. The U.S. Treasury Department said states only could use those funds on the extra expenses they incur due to the coronavirus. Murphy said last week that the rule renders much of this funding literally unusable, and without additional flexibility, will mean we will likely not be able to use it, but well have to return a good chunk of it to the federal government. On Sunday, 46 Senate Democrats, including Menendez and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., asked Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to drop those restrictions and follow the law as written. To prevent the flexible use of these relief funds is a choice that is neither required nor intended by law, the senators wrote. New Jersey lawmakers said they had two other asks: Any stimulus payments directly to individuals should reflect differences in regional costs of living, and the next bill should at least temporarily suspend the $10,000 cap that the Republican tax law imposed on the federal deduction for state and local taxes. I have been told that that is a key priority, Sherrill said. It comes up during every discussion. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Bay of Plenty Do you want the opportunity to work on one of the busiest ports in New Zealand? Then read on! We have an exciting role for... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz Authorities in five southern provinces in Yemen have rejected a separatist groups claim to self-rule, further heightening tensions among ostensible allies in the Saudi-led coalition battling Houthi rebels elsewhere in the country. The separatists Southern Transitional Council (STC), which is backed by the United Arab Emirates, scrapped a peace deal with the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and declared a state of emergency overnight. The separatists said they would self-govern the key southern port city of Aden and other southern provinces, accusing the government of corruption and mismanagement. The STC seeks the return of the independent state that existed in the south until 1990. Yemens internationally recognised government rejected the STCs self-governance, and described the move as a continuation of the armed rebellion that started last August. The government said local and security authorities in the provinces of Hadramout, Abyan, Shabwa, al-Mahra and the remote island of Socotra dismissed the move as a clear and definite coup. Some of the provinces issued their own statements condemning it. The authority to declare an emergency lies with the president only, and militias cannot replace state institutions, Shabwa security forces said in a written statement. The administration of Hadramout, the biggest province in the south, said the STCs announcement is a violation of legitimacy and the Riyadh Agreement, referring to a 2019 power-sharing deal between the separatists and the Yemeni government. Abyan and Socotra administrations called for loyalty to the president, while the local authorities of al-Mahra province said the STCs step aimed to deepen the crisis already existing in the country. The STC did not immediately comment on the statements from the five provinces. Saudis caught in the middle In August, STC-aligned forces seized control of Aden, the temporary seat of Hadis government. The STC and the Yemeni government later agreed on a power-sharing deal. Brokered by Saudi Arabia, the agreement included arrangements for a government reshuffle and for military and security forces to be incorporated into the defence and interior ministries, although it has not been fully implemented. Peter Salisbury, a Yemen expert at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group think tank, said tensions between Hadis government and the separatists have been rising for months. He said both sides have exchanged accusations of noncompliance with the peace deal, and were building up forces with intent to resume infighting. He said Saudi Arabia, which brokered the power-sharing deal and had been overseeing its implementation, was expected to intervene. Each side wants the Saudis to support its narrative and Riyadh is really caught in the middle right now, Salisbury said. Catherine Shakdam, head of the Yemen department at the London-based Next Century Foundation, a peacebuilding think tank, told Al Jazeera that the main issue for Saudi Arabia has to do with the fact that it has backed the Hadi government. Hadi has lost whatever legitimacy he may have had at some point. We need to remember that the only legitimacy that he had was, in fact, given by the international community, Shakdam said. There was an understanding that if he wasnt supported by the international community, then de facto sovereignty would fall onto the Houthi movement, she added. Yemens civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis took control of the countrys north, including the capital, Sanaa, and drove Hadi from power. A Saudi-led military coalition intervened against the rebels in an attempt to restore the government the following year. The conflict has killed more than 100,000 people and created the worlds worst humanitarian crisis, leaving millions suffering from food and medical shortages. Purchases made via links on our site may earn us an affiliate commission With the country fighting the coronavirus pandemic, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said a community cannot be held responsible for the mistakes of few as he exhorted all to help the affected people without any discrimination and cautioned against forces inimical to India's interests taking advantage of the situation. His remarks come in the backdrop of incidents involving Tablighi Jamaat members after it centre in Delhi emerged as a major coronavirus hotspot and apprehensions about religious profiling. In his first online address to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) workers from here, Bhagwat also advocated 'Swadeshi' model of economics for the post COVID-19 period to make the country self-reliant. The RSS chief slammed the recent lynching of two sadhus in Palghar, Maharashtra and questioned why the police failed to prevent the incident. "If someone does something wrong out of fear or anger, we should not hold the entire group responsible or alienate the entire community, he said in remarks seen as a reference to recent incidents involving Tablighi Jamaat members. Emphasising on the need to help others with patience in this time of crisis and shun any feeling of fear or anger, Bhagwat said there are some with anti-India mindset who are raising doubts and provoking people against the instructions of the lockdown to battle COVID-19. At times even politics comes in between, but we should not react and continue to do our relief work by helping everyone as all 130 crore Indians are children of mother India and are our own, Bhagwat said and asked the Sangh workers to stay positive and play a constructive role. In the aftermath of this crisis, Bhagwat said, a new phase of rebuilding the nation will be started, and "we have have to come up with our new model of development which makes us self-reliant". Pitching for Swadeshi model in days ahead, Bhagwat urged the people to maximise the use of indigenous goods and try to live without using imported items. To ride over the current situation and meet future challenges, Bhagwat said politics that thinks about the nation first, an education system that provides samskar' (values) and the best possible behaviour of the citizens themselves are essential. Family values, cleanliness, environmental concerns and organic farming will be the new horizons in the post COVID-19 world where not only the government and administration but even the society will have to make special efforts, he said. Expressing anguish over the Palghar incident, Bhagwat said it was the responsibility of the administration to maintain law and order. "Sanyasis (saints) who pray for the well-being of humanity were brutally killed in Palghar. What was the police doing? Such an incident should not have happened," he said. He said the RSS with join other outfits in paying tributes to the two sadhus on April 28. The two sadhus and their driver were lynched on April 16 while they were on their way to a funeral in neighbouring Silvassa Underlining that RSS is active during lockdown in the shape of relief activities, the Sangh chief said, "We should continue the relief work till the battle against this pandemic ends". He said the entire world has been witnessing how RSS workers are contributing, but we are not doing this relief work for fame, we are doing it as our duty. Bhagwat said India handled this pandemic effectively as government and people responded proactively to the crisis. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The owner of one of Vietnam's biggest rice exporters, Nguyen Quang Hoa, can only watch as 500 containers of sticky rice stranded in a port container yard for a month slowly degrades. He's furloughed 400 factory workers, but his losses keep growing. If he doesn't ship the 12,500 tons of rice soon, he's worried his Chinese clients will reject it, and his company will be forced to default on $13 million in bank loans. "We may have to throw away all the sticky rice, and spend more money getting rid of it," said Hoa, director and founder of Duong Vu Co. "My company is teetering on the edge of collapse." Hoa is one of more than 100 traders in Vietnam hurt by a government measure last month to restrict shipments on concerns that global demand will spike as the coronavirus upends supply chains. While the world's third-biggest rice exporter has since reopened some trade, hundreds of thousands of tons of spoiling rice at the country's ports show the dangers of curbing exports. In an effort to ease some of the bottlenecks at ports, the customs department on Thursday said it is resuming exports of glutinous rice. The shipments will not be part of this month's rice export quota, according to a statement on its website. There would be no limits placed on the April shipments of sticky rice, the trade ministry said on its website. Less than three weeks after suspending overseas shipments on March 24, the Vietnamese government said it would allow 400,000 tons of exports in April. To do so, traders had to submit customs declarations, with registration opening at midnight on Saturday April 11. Within three hours, the export quota was full, according to local news. Many were unable to register, and an estimated 300,000 tons are still stuck at ports, according to Pham Thai Binh, chief executive at exporter Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Co., who sits on the Vietnam Food Association's governing board. The trade ministry, which oversees exports, was unavailable to comment. If the rice isn't shipped, the companies involved will struggle to survive, the Vietnam Food Association said in a state newspaper. Even with the April quota deducted, there's still about 1.3 million tons of contracted undelivered rice, according to Bloomberg calculations. Additionally, uncertainty over whether the government could restrict shipments again is holding back traders from signing new export deals. No new contracts have been signed, even after the export halt was lifted, according to the Vietnam Food Association's Binh. "Over 100 rice exporters are in financial trouble as thousands of rice containers have been ensnared at ports," said Binh, whose firm was also unable to sign up for rice exports in April, and has more than 100 containers of rice trapped at ports since March 24. In Can Tho, a city in Vietnam's rice belt, officials estimated that a majority of its rice exporters have been losing as much as $14,000 a day each on damages paid to shipping companies, container fees, and fines for being unable to fulfill export contracts, according to Tien Phong newspaper. Vietnam's handling of the situation has drawn criticism, with the food association urging the government's customs department to stop opening the registration for customs declarations at midnight like it did this month. Many traders signed up to ship large amounts even though they didn't have enough volumes ready for exports, Vietnam News reported. In response, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ordered an investigation into profiteering as well as whether there has been any wrongdoing in the state's management of rice exports. The government also directed the trade ministry to bring forward some of May's export quotas to this month, adding 100,000 tons for April shipments. The Vietnam Food Association and rice firms on Wednesday urged the government to terminate the export quotas from May to facilitate traders' shipments and purchases from farmers, local news website BNews reported, citing a meeting held by the trade ministry. The Southeast Asian country has shipped 127,600 tons of rice this month through April 23 out of 400,000 tons registered by traders, according to the customs department's website. Nearly 700,000 tons of rice was exported from Vietnam a year earlier, the customs data show. The trade ministry has been ordered by the premier to submit its rice export plan for next month before April 25. It also proposed that the country ship 2.7 million tons of rice to help farmers, without specifying if the amount is meant for this year. But concerns over the outlook for exports is only growing. National rice stockpiles, the very reason the export ban happened in the first place, have failed to grow to the state's target levels due to a spike in domestic prices, raising speculation the government could intervene again. Low-quality rice shipments, which account for about 1/5 of total shipments, may be halted until mid-June to help build inventories. "We've stopped signing new contracts. How can we know if we are able to deliver?" said Nguyen Van Thanh, director of rice exporter Phuoc Thanh IV Co. "Vietnam is offering our export market to other rice producers, and we traders will have to restart from scratch after everything settles down." WASHINGTON (AP) Over the past week, President Donald Trump was pretender to a throne that doesn't exist as he claimed king-like powers over the coronavirus pandemic response and Congress. He also denied praising China's openness in the pandemic, when he's on record doing so repeatedly, and claimed far more Chinese than Americans are dying from COVID-19 when the numbers show the opposite. A look at his recent rhetoric and its relationship with reality. CHINA vs. US TRUMP: China has just announced a doubling in the number of their deaths from the Invisible Enemy. It is far higher than that and far higher than the U.S., not even close! tweet Friday. THE FACTS: Its the reverse, more than 4,600 recorded deaths in China compared with more than 36,000 in the United States. And the notion that China can overtake the U.S. in a final accounting of the dead is a long shot right now. Even with the upward revision Friday of Chinese deaths which was not a doubling, as Trump claimed the recorded U.S. death toll is about seven times higher than Chinas, according to the count by Johns Hopkins University as of Friday night. And China has more than four times more people. The full picture is not known in either country. Trump routinely manipulates information to make the U.S response to the coronavirus pandemic look better than it is. Chinas secretive leadership obscured the severity of the crisis for crucial weeks, and its numbers remain in question. As well, deaths from the virus have not been fully reported in either country because the pandemic is still raging in the U.S. and still being accounted for in China. But for China to surpass the U.S. in this count, it would have to be underreporting deaths by the tens of thousands, and deaths in the U.S. would have to nosedive from the current trend and projections. ___ EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY TRUMP: Some in the Fake News Media are saying that it is the Governors decision to open up the states, not that of the President of the United States & the Federal Government. Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect ... It is the decision of the President. tweets Monday. TRUMP, asked about his level of authority to reopen the country: I have the ultimate authority.... They cant do anything without the approval of the president of the United States. news briefing Monday. Story continues THE FACTS: The federal government did not close down the country and wont be reopening it. Restrictions on public gatherings, workplaces, mobility, store operations, schools and more were ordered by states and communities, not Washington. The federal government has imposed border controls; otherwise its social distancing actions are mostly recommendations, not mandates. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, knocking down a series of false rumors about the coronavirus, makes clear that states and cities are responsible for announcing curfews, shelters in place, or other restrictions and safety measures. Trump has argued that states and communities imposed restrictions because he let them and that he can overrule their decisions. Constitutional experts disagree. The president can un-declare his national emergency declarations, which freed up federal funds and provided assistance to state and local governments, said Walter Dellinger, a former acting U.S. solicitor general. But he has no federal statutory or constitutional power to override steps taken by governors and mayors under state law. He has never understood that he lacks a general power to rule by decree. The federal government does have broad constitutional authority over states on things that cross state lines and involve the entire nation, such as regulating interstate commerce and immigration, levying taxes or declaring war. What Trump is proposing, however, is different. He is wading into states sharply defined powers to protect public health. Asked what authority he had to make such an assertion of presidential power, Trump promised earlier in the week that he would provide a legal memorandum supporting his view. By Thursday, he hadn't and he told governors that day they could reopen states when they deem appropriate. ___ TRUMP: If the House will not agree to that adjournment, I will exercise my constitutional authority to adjourn both chambers of Congress. news briefing Wednesday. THE FACTS: His power to adjourn Congress is highly questionable. The Constitution does not spell out a unilateral power for the president to adjourn Congress. It states only that he can decide on adjournment if there is a dispute over that matter between the House and Senate. Such a disagreement does not exist, nor is it likely to arise. Constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley said on Twitter the Constitution gives a president authority in extraordinary occasions to convene or adjourn Congress. But, he said, This power has never been used and should not be used now. Trump is unhappy that Congress has refused to fully adjourn during most breaks. Because Congress is still formally in session, Trump can't circumvent Congress and unilaterally put his nominees for various positions to work in the jobs he wants them to have. Lawmakers also used the tactic of holding off on adjournment to thwart some of President Barack Obamas nominees. Doug Andres, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said McConnell will find ways to confirm nominees essential to the pandemic response but Senate rules will require that the Democratic leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, give consent to move forward on them. ___ WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION TRUMP, explaining in part why he is freezing money to the World Health Organization: The WHO willingly took Chinas assurances to face value, and they took it just at face value and defended the actions of the Chinese government, even praising China for its so-called transparency. I dont think so. news briefing Tuesday. TRUMP, asked about his past praise of China: I dont talk about Chinas transparency. news briefing Tuesday. THE FACTS: He did praise China's transparency as well as its overall performance in the pandemic. While it's true that WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus complimented China's response, Trump early on similarly took China's assurances at face value. In a CNBC interview on Jan. 22, Trump was asked if he trusted information from China about the coronavirus. "I do, Trump said. I have a great relationship with President Xi. Two days later, he was even more effusive. China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus, he tweeted. "The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. ...I want to thank President Xi!" Trump kept up the compliments when asked several times in February about whether data from China can be trusted,. He called Xi extremely capable and said he's doing a very good job with a very, very tough situation. Such praise faded as the pandemic hit hard in the U.S. and the federal response stumbled. The time was ripe for scapegoats. It also become clearer that China had not been forthcoming at the start. On March 21, Trump said of his earlier remarks: China was transparent at that time, but when we saw what happened, they could have been transparent much earlier than they were." In any event, his denial that he ever praised China's openness is false. ___ TRADE TRUMP: China has paid us nothing in your last administration, nothing in any previous administration. They paid us tens of billions of dollars because of what weve done. And the trade deal we have, they have to give us $250 billion in purchases. ...Were taking in billions of dollars for China from China. They never paid us 10 cents. news briefing Tuesday. THE FACTS: A familiar assertion, false to the core. Its false to say the U.S. never collected a dime in tariffs on Chinese goods before he took action. They are simply higher in some cases than they were before. Its also wrong to suggest that the tariffs are being paid by China. Tariff money coming into the treasury is mainly from U.S. businesses and consumers, not from China. Tariffs are primarily if not entirely a tax paid domestically. ___ TRUMP, on the World Trade Organization: Were winning a lot of lawsuits right now that we never won before in the past. Were winning a lot of money that we never won in the past. Thats with the World Trade. news briefing Wednesday. THE FACTS: He is wildly wrong to suggest that the U.S. was bound to lose disputes taken to the trade organization before him. The U.S. has always had a high success rate when it pursues cases against other countries at the WTO. In 2017, trade analyst Daniel Ikenson of the libertarian Cato Institute found that the U.S. won 91% of the cases it took to the Geneva-based trade monitor. As Ikenson noted, countries bringing complaints to the organization tend to win because they dont bother going to the WTO in the first place if they dont have a strong case. ___ DRUG TREATMENTS TRUMP, on the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine: "We have millions of doses that we bought, and many people are using it all over the country. And just recently, a friend of mine told me he got better because of the use of that that drug. So, who knows? ...Its a lot of good things that are happening with it. news briefing Monday. THE FACTS: He continues to make unverified claims about a drug that can have serious side effects and may not work. The drug has not been proven as a treatment for COVID-19, and Trumps own health experts say more studies are needed to know whether its safe and effective to use. The president has been talking up hydroxychloroquine, a drug long used to treat malaria, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, after very small preliminary studies suggested it might help prevent coronavirus from entering cells and possibly help patients clear the virus sooner. Doctors can already prescribe the malaria drug to patients with COVID-19, a practice known as off-label prescribing. The Food and Drug Administration has allowed the drugs into the national stockpile, but only for narrowly defined purposes as studies continue on whether they are effective and safe enough to be approved for wider use by people sick with the coronavirus. The drug has major potential side effects, especially for the heart, and large studies are underway. The FDA says people should not take it without a prescription and emphasizes that the malaria drugs being explored are not FDA-approved for treatment of COVID-19. The American Medical Association, the American Pharmacists Association and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists in a joint statement warned against prophylactically prescribing medications currently identified as potential treatments for COVID-19. That means prescribing a medicine for the purpose of warding off a disease or preventing its spread. The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday barred pilots from taking hydroxychloroquine and closely related chloroquine within 48 hours of flying. The safety agency cites the wide variety of dosages and lack of standards around using the drugs to treat the coronavirus in deciding that any pilots who take them must wait before flying. ___ TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS TRUMP, on imposing restrictions on travel from China: I saved tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of lives, by doing that. news briefing Monday. TRUMP: And if we didnt close our border early very early, long before the kind of dates youre talking about we would have had thousands and probably hundreds of thousands more death. news briefing Tuesday. THE FACTS: Trump has no standing to boast about saving thousands, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of lives because he imposed travel restrictions on China when he did. The impact hasnt been quantified. While Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health has praised the travel restrictions on China for slowing the virus, public health officials don't know the effect of them. The move left plenty of gaps in containment. Trumps order in late January did not fully close the U.S. off to China, as he asserts. It temporarily barred entry by foreign nationals who had traveled in China within the previous 14 days, with exceptions for the immediate family of U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Americans returning from China were allowed back after enhanced screening at select ports of entry and for 14 days afterward. But screenings can miss people who dont yet show symptoms of COVID-19. While symptoms often appear within five days or six days of exposure, the incubation period is 14 days. A recent study from the journal Science found Chinas internal crackdown modestly delayed the spread of the virus. It cast doubt that travel restrictions elsewhere will do much compared with other preventive measures, citing in part the likelihood that a large number of people exposed to the virus had already been traveling internationally without being detected. For weeks after the first U.S. case of the coronavirus was confirmed in January, government missteps caused a shortage of reliable laboratory tests, leading to delays in diagnoses. ___ EDITOR'S NOTE A look at the veracity of claims by political figures. ___ Find AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck By PTI NEW DELHI: Fourteen Border Security Force (BSF) jawans have been quarantined in Chhattisgarh for suspected coronavirus infection after they returned from Agra, officials said on Sunday. Their final test reports are awaited, a senior official said. The troops had reached Bhilai town in the central Indian state on Saturday from Delhi via Agra onboard a truck of the force. All the 14 personnel were tested upon arrival and subsequently, two sent to an isolation facility in neighbouring Durg district, while the rest quarantined at a centre of the Bhilai Steel Plant, a senior official said. After starting their journey from Delhi, the BSF troops had halted for 20 days at police lines in Uttar Pradesh's Agra district. "As per information, the cook of the local police in the Agra camp has been found positive for COVID-19 infection," the official said. They said the police cook could have passed on the infection to the BSF troops, who are deployed in the anti-Naxal operations grid of Chhattisgarh. Officials of the force also raised concerns over the movement of troops during the lockdown period and said all such activities have been strictly banned by the force headquarters. Such isolated instances may lead to serious consequences in the paramilitary, they said. BSF Director General (DG) S S Deswal had recently issued a stern warning to his commanders and personnel, saying strict action will be taken if any of them violates the COVID-19 medical protocols. The BSF is primarily tasked to guard Indian borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh apart from rendering a variety of duties in the internal security domain of the country. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 20:12:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, talks with farmers working at a chili planting base in Nayong County of Bijie City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, April 25, 2020. Wang visited the southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou for research on poverty alleviation from Thursday to Sunday. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Wang Yang has called for more efforts to focus on the new challenges brought by the epidemic to the disadvantaged to ensure high-quality completion of the objectives of poverty alleviation. Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, made the remarks during his visit in southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou for research on poverty alleviation from Thursday to Sunday. To have a job is an important way to get rid of poverty, and a prominent challenge now is to overcome the impact of the epidemic on the employment of the disadvantaged, he said. As national work resumption has accelerated, the local governments should seize the opportunities to organize the disadvantaged to go out for jobs, he said. The biggest impact of the epidemic on industrial development in poor areas is the difficulty in sales, and thus poverty alleviation through consumption should be promoted, he said. Wang also stressed follow-up support for residents relocated from inhospitable areas through more vocational training and poverty alleviation workshops. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- When I try going about business in my West Brighton neighborhood, the lunacy of life in the pandemic sets in. A trip to the bagel store this morning illustrated this insane world in which we live right now. It started with remembering to wear a mask and gloves just to go down the block. Forest Avenue usually starts to wake up on a Sunday around 6:30 a.m. between passing busses and runners in the street, people waiting on bus stops or driving to church or the gym. Few cars appeared at that time today and not a soul was on the street. What the Forest Avenue strip of "Peter Pan Alley" looked like around 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 26, 2020, West Brighton. (Staten Island Advance/ Pamela Silvestri)Pamela Silvestri The bars over here are usually cranking on a spring Saturday night. And Sunday morning normally indicates how busy things were on the strip the night prior -- cigarette butts and sometimes beer bottles are left in the gutters -- before the street cleaner comes by. The only litter Im seeing this morning are used wipes and surgical gloves tossed around the bank parking lot at the bottom of my block. Throughout the day this drag has become pretty desolate. Mar Mar (Mar Mar via Whereyoueat.com) is open later in the day as is the liquor store and Jodys Club Forest (JodysClubForest.com) in its new dinner-only and to-go format each night (except Mondays.) Otherwise the dry cleaner is closed (opening May 1). Gates are down daily at Liberty Tavern, Chocolate and Balloons and Diamond Forest. Bob Moore buys the newspapers at Silver Lake Bagel around 6:30 a.m., West Brighton. (Staten Island Advance/ Pamela Silvestri)Pamela Silvestri The deli itself is a different place now. Silver Lake Bagels, referred still by some in these here parts as Ranas, used to be a 24-hour format. But in mid-March with no traffic and certainly no bars open they lost their late-night munchies crowd. So Ali, the shop owner, decided to close temporarily between midnight and 5. Paper towels are now in the inventory at Silver Lake Bagels, West Brighton. (Staten Island Advance/ Pamela Silvestri)Pamela Silvestri Silver Lake Bagels now inventories surgical masks plus lots of paper towels and cleaning supplies. There is a recently-installed plexiglass partition at the cashier station. And the store has been rearranged a bit. The ice cream freezer has been shoved aside to accommodate a table by the door with a giant jug of hand sanitizer. Ali also removed the table at which customers once congregated to play the lottery. Since the card store down the block shut, the delis Lotto has become an attraction, for better or worse. But Ali put the kibosh on the gambling at around 10 p.m. Otherwise people lingered in the store and caused an alarming backup of patrons on line. Self-serve on bread in West Brighton. (Staten Island Advance/ Pamela Silvestri)Pamela Silvestri I wonder what will happen with self-service features on the bread and coffee. Will the staff be handling this in the future? Will a change in service like that make the store more efficient or will it be more cumbersome with an employee dedicated to fixing peoples drinks for them? The deli area at Rana's aka Silver Lake Bagels, West Brighton. (Staten Island Advance/ Pamela Silvestri)Pamela Silvestri Well, theres plenty of beer in the store, a particular plus for former occupants of the neighborhoods bar stools. And our Silver Lake Bagels has been a blessing with no interruptions on bread, cold cuts and household supplies. That has helped keep us out of the supermarkets. Beer is stocked at Silver Lake Bagels in West Brighton. (Staten Island Advance/ Pamela Silvestri)Pamela Silvestri A look around the borough tells me to take hope as business owners have been quite remarkable in adapting to this wild environment. Pastavino at Urby in Stapleton (PastavinoSi.com) now sells Froze , frozen rose wine, by the pint and quart. The Richmond, also in Stapleton, is back open for its eclectic American dinner program (TheRichmondSI.com). Hours are Friday through Sunday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Orders over the phone direct to the restaurant will see 10 percent off the bill. Family meals and other promotions are not included in the discount. Palermo Pizza in Richmond Valley (PalermoPizzaSI.com) is delivering their grandma pies, chicken Francaise and fresh fried zeppoli to the South Shore. Sicilian fare is available and offered at 10 percent off or $3 off any large pie ordered online. Randall Manor Tavern in West Brighton (RMT via Instagram) is open for their signature pub grub that includes sandwiches, soups and American comfort fare by talented executive chef Steve Rowan. Recent specials have include seafood such as shrimp tossed with spaghetti and herbs. Flagship beers on tap can be packaged in a growler to go. In bakery news, Renatos in Port Richmond (Renatos via Instagram) has a new Cannoli Cream Pie that pastry chef Michael Peccerillo promises is a game changer in the way of Italian dessert. It comes drizzled with chocolate and topped with fresh strawberries. The long-time neighborhood pastry shop also sells cannoli kits for assembly at home in quarantine boredom. Rossville Deliverys Jordan Berber (RossvilleDelivery.com) shuttles a new product by Lauras Cupcake Shack (Laurascupcakeshacksi), a cupcake bouquet with assorted flavors -- chocolate, vanilla, red velvet and more with choice of buttercream. The colorful displays can be custom crafted by Laura Kuka Valois for birthdays, Mothers Day or just as a way to give a lift to someones isolation. The boys went fishing yesterday evening as the tides changed. My husband, Dave, bought bait from Pat Scagliones E-Z Catch, Livingston. Because Pat sells worms -- creatures that are considered pet food for some animals -- he is an essential worker. Pat says that people have been looking to fish the shoreline as they are chased out of parks due to social distancing rules. He also says Staten Islanders patterns have changed a bit and, as a result, he stays open later, until about 7:30 Tuesday through Sunday. Hopefully the interest in recreational fishing sticks around after the pause as it would benefit a small business like this. Interestingly E-Z Catch is one of the few places left on the East Coast that manufactures saltwater traps. Pat prides himself on using only American-made materials to make the crab pots and cages. He believes in American labor and staying loyal to the stores original suppliers. The bait-and-tackle store started in Tompkinsville with Scags dad, Patsy, in 1958. Patrick Scaglione setting up a train display at Clove Lakes Rehabilitation Center, Castleton Corners, at Christmas time. He also sells trains from his bait and tackle store. (Courtesy of Victoria Boyle)Dr. Gracelyn Santos Keep in touch. Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. She can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com. It was always going to take more than a global pandemic to get in the way of the launch of Ireland's newest "super premium" whiskey. Business partners Andrew Cowan and Michael McKeown have spent the last two years working hard to resurrect Newry's once globally famous Matt D'Arcy whiskey brand. So, even as many in the drinks trade are wondering what the future holds, Matt D'Arcy & Co Limited has, after a gap of more than a century, unveiled a 17-year-old single malt and a 10-year-old blend finished in port casks from Barbados - aimed at the super-premium and premium whiskey markets respectively. The launch is part of a 7.3m (8m) investment in the original Newry site of the Matt D'Arcy Whiskey Company, with plans for an on-site distillery, restaurant, Victorian bar and international visitor centre. The pair are confident that the attention to detail that they have put into achieving just the right taste and presentation for their new whiskeys will win over fans in a category that has boomed globally in recent years. "I have worked 24/7 and taken no holidays for well over two years in the planning of this," said Cowan, who is CEO of the firm founded and owned by McKeown. He travelled to Dublin last week to restock the Celtic Whiskey Shop's online store - currently Matt D'Arcy's only active listing. The first few weeks of business had seen brisk online sales and home deliveries to housebound tipplers and the first consignment sold out sooner than expected. Other listings - as well as a launch in the lucrative US market - are also on the cards once some type of normality returns to the business world. "It's difficult to launch in the middle of a crisis, but then again it's always difficult to launch in such a competitive market," said Cowan. "My plan from the start has always been to leapfrog to the super-premium end of the market." That plan was given an immediate boost last month when both of the whiskeys won multiple awards at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, with the 17-year-old single malt taking Best Irish Whiskey in a blind taste test. It was a moment of great personal satisfaction for Cowan, for whom whiskey is a matter of heritage. His great grandfather was behind the famous Belfast brand Cowan's Whiskey. Cowan followed the family passion and rose through the Irish Distillers graduate recruitment programme to ultimately head up Pernod Ricard's entire whiskey and gin portfolio. He then set about making his mark at high-profile non-drinks brands, including Coca Cola, Kerry Foods, Ballygowan and The Gathering 2013. But Cowan could not resist a return to the drinks trade when McKeown - a keen historian but not a whiskey drinker - approached him with a proposal to breathe new life into the Matt D'Arcy story. "I can't even explain to you the passion I have for this and how much I love what I do," he said. "I put an awful lot of my heart and soul into Matt D'Arcy's. You know, it's like giving birth to twins in some respects, in a business sense." Marisa Leuzzi at the American Red Cross during her plasma donation on March 31. Marisa Leuzzi Marisa Leuzzi doesn't know how she was exposed to the coronavirus, but the infection led her body to develop antibodies to the disease. Leuzzi was the American Red Cross's first donor of convalescent plasma. That helped save the lives of two critically ill patients: her aunt and a "complete stranger." Doctors were afraid that Leuzzi's aunt would succumb to COVID-19, but her blood-oxygen level increased and vitals stabilized within hours of the infusion. Medical experts say rigorous clinical trials and more robust scientific evidence about the effectiveness of plasma therapy could take it from a "Band-Aid" to a "panacea." Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Marisa Leuzzi's primary care physician told her in March that she had the flu. Leuzzi had a high fever, some gastrointestinal discomfort, and a slight cough. But she hadn't traveled or knowingly come in contact with a coronavirus patient, so COVID-19 seemed unlikely. Still, Leuzzi, who is asthmatic, was convinced something else was at play. She went to a drive-thru coronavirus testing center in Pennsylvania, where she lives, for "peace of mind." Her instincts were right: She had COVID-19. Less than two weeks after recovering from the illness, Leuzzi became the American Red Cross's first donor of convalescent plasma an antibody-rich blood component that is obtained from patients who have recovered from infection diseases. Her donation helped save the lives of two coronavirus patients, one of whom is her aunt. "I'm still coming to terms with it," Leuzzi told Business Insider. "But I'm so happy that I could take something from my experience and make a positive out of me having COVID-19." 'Roll up a sleeve' to help Leuzzi's aunt, Renee Bannister, is 63 years old and works as a teacher in New Jersey. She contracted COVID-19 around the same time as Leuzzi, but her case was more severe: Bannister was hospitalized with a high fever and severe respiratory distress. Story continues The pair hadn't seen each other recently and neither knows when or how they were exposed to virus. But when Leuzzi came across reports about experimental blood-related therapies to help patients fight the virus, she reached out to Bannister's doctor at Virtua Hospital. He looped in the Red Cross and Mayo Clinic; about four days later, on March 31, Leuzzi was "hooked up" to a plasmapheresis machine at a Red Cross center in Pennsauken, New Jersey. The extraction process took about two hours and was "completely painless," she said. Dr. Erin Goodhue, executive medical director for the Red Cross, told Business Insider in an email that the group is witnessing "the best of humanity as people roll up a sleeve to help those in need." "We are seeing individuals like Ms. Leuzzi give of themselves to help the most vulnerable COVID-19 patients fight back," Goodhue said. 'They didn't know if she'd make it through the night' By the time Leuzzi's blood-plasma donation reached Bannister on April 3, she was on a ventilator. Doctors told the family that "they didn't know if she'd make it through the night, including the night before her infusion," Leuzzi said. But, within a few hours of receiving Leuzzi's plasma, Bannister's blood oxygen level jumped 17%. "In the next three to five days, we started to see the rest of her vitals improve, such as her blood pressure and heart rate, and her fever started to come down," Leuzzi said. "By about the fifth day, we saw all her vitals stabilize." Renee Bannister. Marisa Leuzzi A 61-year-old man from New Jersey who Leuzzi said is a "complete stranger" to her also benefitted from her plasma. "That was news to me," she said. "We were under the impression that my aunt got all my plasma. We found out just a few days ago ... that they had some extra plasma and were able to use it on another patient who was in the same hospital." The man "was just at the right place at the right time," Leuzzi said, adding that his recovery looked much the same as Bannister's. Doctors were surprised by the quick recoveries On April 14, Bannister was taken off the ventilator. She'd been on it for 22 days. Bannister was discharged from the hospital on April 21 and is now in a rehabilitation center for physical and occupational therapy so she can "continue her recovery and rebuild her strength," Leuzzi said. She added that Bannister is "doing very well," remains in "good spirits," and will likely return home in May. The other recipient of her plasma has also been taken off a ventilator. It's hard to say if or how much the plasma helped the two patients, Leuzzi said, but she noted that the doctors "were pretty surprised that they turned around as quickly as they did." Dr. Graham Snyder, medical director of infection prevention at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, told Business Insider that convalescent-plasma infusion treatments were first tried in the 19th century. They're largely "reserved for infections where there is no immunity in the population, and no vaccine or other treatment," he said. Recent examples have included Ebola and MERS. Snyder underscored the need for rigorous clinical trials of the approach in coronavirus treatment. "What we have are reports of small groups of patients who received the treatment [and] did better, but without comparison to other patients," he said. "So we can't estimate what would have happened if they didn't receive treatment." Being your 'own advocate' Meghan May, a professor of infectious disease at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, said direct plasma transfers from recovered patients may serve as "a bit of a Band-Aid." "That said, the underlying principle the transfer of antibodies to help sop up and neutralize virus in critically ill patients has the makings of a panacea," she told Business Insider. What's needed, she said, is for the antibody-making process to move from patients' bodies into laboratories and gain FDA approval. That way, plasma infusions too could be scaled up. May highlighted Herceptin, a cancer treatment that's based on antibody therapy, as an example of a treatment that used a similar approach. "Absent an antiviral drug, antibody therapy could be a helpful addition to support treatment until a vaccine is discovered," May said. Leuzzi said she hopes her story will show others the value of being your "own advocate" and encourage recovered COVID-19 patients to donate convalescent plasma and "see what a difference it can make." "It's an amazing feeling" to have been able to help two people, Leuzzi said. Read the original article on Business Insider Here are todays leading news stories: Society -- Vietnam did not report any new cases of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Sunday morning. The total number of patients in the country is still 270, of whom 225 have recovered. -- A made-in-Vietnam COVID-19 test kit has met all standards defined by the World Health Organization after undergoing five rounds of testing and quality evaluation. -- The Party Committee in the northern province of Quang Ninh has ordered local authorities to verify a case where COVID-19 testing equipment in the locality was bought at a very high price, which might have caused losses to the local budget. -- A team of traffic police officers in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap has been suspended after using pepper spray to stop two traffic violators, causing one of them to die and the other to suffer serious injury in a road crash. -- A 34-year-old tipper truck driver from the north-central province of Nghe An was arrested on Saturday after being caught on CCTV fatally running over a two-year-old boy while backing his vehicle, before removing the victims body from the scene. Business -- Online customs declaration services were made available for the export of an additional 38,000 metric tons of rice at 0:00 am on April 26, the General Department of Vietnam Customs stated, adding that the volume is part of Vietnams 400,000-tonne shipment quota for April. Education -- The Hanoi Department of Health on Saturday proposed a plan on letting students of grades one to twelve return to school on three different dates in May, while local kindergartens will be reopened in early June. -- A total of 51 private preschools in Ho Chi Minh City have been disbanded due to prolonged school closures and financial difficulty during the COVID-19 epidemic, according to the municipal Department of Education and Training. World News -- The novel coronavirus has infected over 2.91 million people and claimed more than 203,100 lives around the world as of Sunday morning, according to statistics. About 836,400 people have recovered from COVID-19. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 25) The Department of Energy said Saturday that payment for household electricity bills will be on a staggered basis, following the extension of the quarantine. The DOE said customers will be given a grace period for bills due from March 15 until May 15. "Ang ginawa po natin diyan, binigyan po natin sila ng panahon para bayaran ['yung electricity bills] after the ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) in four equal installments po," Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said in a public briefing. [Translation: We will allow them to pay (the electricity bills) in four equal installments after the ECQ.] "Para sa gano'n po naman, medyo hindi magipit 'yung ating mga kababayan sa pagbabayad nitong mga nakonsumong kuryente sa kanilang mga bahay-bahay po," he added. [Translation: So that our citizens will not be short of money upon paying for electricity consumed in their houses.] Energy, power sector workers are 'backliners' in COVID-19 fight Meanwhile, the DOE highlighted the critical role of all its workers from power supply and energy services, down to energy transmission and power distribution. It said they are "backliners," who are important in ensuring the continuous operations of frontliners amid the pandemic. "Kung meron po tayong frontliners, meron din tayong 'backliners' na nagsisiguro na 'yun pong mga kailangan ng ating mga frontliners, katulad ng power, transportation, eh, nabibigyan po natin ng serbisyo," Cusi said. [Translation: If we have frontliners, we also have "backliners," who cater to the needs of our frontliners, such as power, transportation.] "Pati 'yung mga oil station po, makikita ninyo na they continue to serve; they continue to provide the necessary services para naman po makakilos din po ang ating mga frontliners at ating mga kababayan," he added. [Translation: Even those in the oil stations they continue to serve; they continue to provide the necessary services for the benefit of our frontliners and citizens.] The DOE said it is coordinating with some players of the industry to keep the health of its workers in check. "We coordinate with the industry players na magsagawa rin po ng medical measures para sa ganon ay maprotektahan din ang health ng ating backliners," Cusi said. [Translation: We coordinate with the industry players to provide medical measures for the protection of the health of our backliners.] The Energy chief lauded the service of the backliners. "Akoy nagpapasalamat sating energy, transmission, at distribution companies," he said. [Translation: I'm thankful for our energy, transmission, and distribution companies.] Washington, D.C., April 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Center for Immigration Studies will stream an Immigration Newsmaker conversation on Monday, April 27, at 11:30 a.m. EDT featuring former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who is campaigning to take back the Alabama U.S. Senate seat that he held for 20 years. This timely conversation with one of the nations top immigration experts takes place as President Trump contemplates signing a second Presidential Proclamation expanding suspension of certain immigration categories to help the American worker in a time of high unemployment. During his twenty years in the U.S. Senate, Sessions played a major role in the immigration debate and resulting policy. He provided leadership as chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Refugees and as a ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee. Sessions has been a constant voice for decades asking, Whos Looking Out for the American Worker? As attorney general early in the Trump administration, Sessions played a major role shaping immigration policy. His impact on immigration courts can still be felt from his streamlined hiring plan to attack the court backlog, and his tighter guidelines for immigration judges. When: Monday, April 27, at 11:30 a.m. EDT. Stream: Scheduled streams will be live on both Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Questions: Questions can be sent prior or during the event to mrt@cis.org or on twitter to @CIS_org. The Immigration Newsmaker series provides an opportunity for government agency heads, members of Congress, and other policymakers to discuss their priorities and explore the challenges they face. See previous interviews here. The tally of Covid-19 patients in Maharashtra has gone up to 8,068 with 440 new cases, a state health official said Sunday. Countrywide, the number of Covid-19 cases climbed to 26,917. Nineteen fatalities on Sunday took number of casualties to 342. Out of the 19 deaths, 12 were in Mumbai. So far, 1,188 patients across the state have been discharged after recovery, the official said. Maharashtra continues to be the state with the highest number of Covid-19 infections. Follow coronavirus latest updates here. In the last 24 hours, Mumbai recorded 358 new cases. The city now has a total of 5,407 cases of Covid-19. It has recorded a total of 204 deaths. Pune recorded 72 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday to take its total to 1,139. Maharashtra has so far carried out 116,345 tests to detect coronavirus. In the last 24 hours, authorities conducted 7.373 tests. The state has been grappling to cap surging numbers of Covid-19 despite a stringent lockdown in place. Mumbais sprawling slums where more than half of the citys 12 million population live, are posing a huge challenge to check the spread of infections. Mumbai is home to as Asias largest slum Dharavi which has now emerged as a Covid-19 hotspot. Dharavi which measures 2.4 sq km, has more than one million people. Most of them live in cramped dwellings where hardly anybody can practice social distancing. When I reflect back over the last six weeks, I am thankful for the West Texas Food Bank team, which have worked to the bone building pantry boxes and manning our pantries. I am thankful for my leadership team and board of directors for their guidance and counsel during these uncertain times. And I am just completely humbled by members our community, who have rallied around the food banks mission and opened their pocketbooks. (Last) week we served more than 1,000 households from our on-campus pantries, compared to March of last year when we served a little more than 1,100 households for the entire month. Between March 16 and April 23, we served 3,150 households -- 2,815 came to the food bank for the first time. This is an 89 percent increase in new households. These increases are also being seen by our more than 80 partner agencies located throughout the 19 counties the food bank serves, making sure those who need a little extra help can get it. What does it look like to go from serving a few hundred families a month to serving more than 200 families a day? Well, its hectic, and its chaotic, but it is an absolute act of love on the part of the food bank team, who so steadfastly believe in our mission, they are willing to put themselves in harms way to make sure the community is fed. Looking back at the 35-year history of the West Texas Food Bank, I can say with some certainty that without the growth of our programs over the past five years, we would not be in a position to handle the load we are seeing today. Your support of the food bank through the Capital Campaign to build our facilities was second to none. You have also been an amazing support network for the growth weve had since moving into the two new, state-of-the art food bank facilities. These facilities have allowed us to double our output. Weve gone from distributing 3 million pounds a year from our old home on 2nd Street in Odessa, to distributing 6 1/2 million pounds last year. And doubling our distribution wasnt by accident, it was by design. The need in the 19 counties we serve demanded we step up, and thanks to your support, we did. Which brings me back to today, and how the food bank team has been able to handle the stress of the exponential growth in our distribution. We are making use of our warehouse, which was designed to distribute 10 million pounds of food a year. Thats right, we built bigger preparing for growth. Our two facilities lend themselves to the drive-thru distribution model because they were designed for large trucks to not ever have to reverse and turn around in the parking lot, so basically our campuses were built as a drive-thru already. The Client Choice Pantry on each campus is designed to be accessed directly from the parking lot, so clients never have to enter the warehouse. The conversion of these spaces into makeshift staging areas for the drive-thru distribution was a very simple task. We now use the area -- which used to serve as a pantry -- to prepare the pantry boxes, produce bags, fresh fruits, and protein and dairy products. In total, each client we serve is leaving with more than 50 pounds of food. All this to say thank you to the food bank team, who are much more like my family, and who have gone above and beyond. And thank you to community members who stepped up to make sure the West Texas Food Bank was prepared to handle whatever crisis came our way, and who have taken care of the food bank team with delicious lunches and goodies. Again, I am humbled by the support we have received over the past several weeks. -- Libby Campbell is executive director of the West Texas Food Bank. Dalkey is where I grew up, and coming back for a weekend gives me the comfort of being home. My wife and I usually stay at the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel. It's a lovely spot, with a nice stroll down to Dalkey village, but it's not so pleasant on the way back up the hill later. We are real foodies, so the first thing we do, wherever we go, is find a nice restaurant. In this case, the Thai House is usually our first port of call. We'll head to The Queen's for a drink. We aren't night owls, so it would be an early night. I'm a big believer in keeping my sleep patterns the same, no matter what day of the week it is. On Saturday, we would head up Killiney Hill for a quick workout. The quarry steps, all 117 of them, provided a great fitness platform through my amateur rugby career. Then we'd head down to the bathing place on Vico Road for a dip to ease the aching muscles. For breakfast, we'd visit Select Stores, where they do a delicious egg, avocado and chorizo bowl. Saturday night would be quiet, with a meal and a drink in the hotel. Not exciting, but with both of our hectic schedules, it's nice to relax. Sunday, for me, is a day off from working out, so after a hotel breakfast, we'd have a lovely walk down the Dun Laoghaire West Pier, and a nice coffee in the sun. Damian Hall is a personal trainer with 20 years' experience with people over 40 in his private personal training studio in Dublin, and on his Complete Transformation Retreats to Lanzarote. See completepersonaltraining.ie Katie Price was sexually assaulted during a terrifying carjacking ordeal which saw armed thugs attack her and her young family while in South Africa in 2018. The model and TV personality opened up about the incident on last weeks episode of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins on Channel 4, but has now discussed the robbery in greater detail. The star, mum to sons Harvey, 17, Junior, 14, Princess 12, Jett, six and Bunny, five, revealed she was waiting for a bullet to hit as she attempted to protect her family after stopping for a toilet break near Johannesburg. Read more: Katie Price reveals fifth kidnap threat during 'Celebrity SAS' interrogation Katie Price discussing her new book 'Playing with Fire' and her career at BUILD London on October 20, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images) Price has also revealed the experience left her with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and needing treatment at Priory rehab clinic. Speaking to The Sun, the 41-year-old explained: The reason I went there was because I got held at gunpoint and sexually assaulted. Six men attacked us after we stopped because my son Junior needed a wee. We should never have been allowed to make that journey without security. (L to R) Junior Andre, Harvey Price, Katie Price and Princess Andre attend a VIP screening of "The Lego Movie" at the Vue West End on February 9, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/WireImage) It was like something from a horror film. This big man in an adidas hoody was shouting in my face, swearing and demanding I give him everything. And he was touching me down below. The star revealed she thought she was going to die during the horrific incident, but her protective instinct took precedence as she launched herself in front of the kids trying to protect them. Read more: Katie Price reveals her 'Celebrity SAS' bond with fellow contestant Anthea Turner Police later said it was a miracle the gang did not kill Price and her family. The experience has also had a profound impact on daughter Princess, who Price says can no longer go anywhere on her own. Price decided she couldnt face the ordeal of pressing charges, but she reveals the family of invested in a protection dog in an attempt to make everyone feel safer. You can watch Price on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins which airs on Mondays from 9pm on Channel 4. Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan has challenged Victoria to open schools within the next month and said principals should show more latitude to parents struggling to balance work with supervising children. But the Andrews government has bluntly rejected calls to reopen schools before the end of term two, arguing it would risk causing a new spike in coronavirus cases. Education Minister Dan Tehan (right) with Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy. Credit:Mick Tsikas As some states prepare to reopen schools to all students as soon as Monday, and others look to phase in a return to schools during term two, Mr Tehan on Sunday said he hoped all schools in Australia would be open by the end of May. The federal governments hope is that we would have all schools reopened by the end of May, and hopefully we can all start working towards that right across the nation, he said. To prevent COVID-19 from spreading, the officials of Florida announced that they might not open up schools or mass shelters for people who seek refuge in the event of a hurricane. Instead, they said, the state might utilize hotels reportedly "paid for with federal fund," and set out ride-sharing services to transport people to keep them away from harm. This was according to Jared Moskowitz, the Division of Emergency Management Director. Incidentally, Moskowitz told the task force members to reopen Florida, an even more rapid solution that has earned some attention, too. Hurricane Season Approaching As the hurricane season nears, precisely on June 1, COVID-19 has state officials reconsidering placing hundreds or even thousands of Floridians into large open spaces. Moskowitz shared, the state is already in talks with Abbott Labs, as well as others, about acquiring an additional supply for virus tests "for hurricane shelter needs." Relatively, the department has the same apprehensions about utilizing buses to transport the evacuees safely. It might be safer, the director said, to have Florida hire Lyft or Uber drivers to transport people to shelters. One more possibility, he elaborated, is to provide families with limited financial means with gas cards to help them get out of such situations. To Issue Stay-at-Home Orders? The state, according to Moskowitz, is discussing as well, if it is issuing stay-at-home measures for Category 1 and 2 storms, instead of evacuating, for those who live in shelters built after 1996, when the construction procedures weren't as strict. That way, the official emphasized, they won't have as many Floridians congregating and leaving. He also noted that "such an idea would not be as useful for storms" that are stronger. Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis asked the members of the task force to come up with some recommendations on how the state would reopen by Friday. However, the deadline has been delayed and scheduled for early next week. Incidentally, the stay-at-home order he issued is set for expiration on Thursday. Task Force's Requests As for the recommendations, business leaders, as well as local officials on the task force, looked to the governor and the Department of Health for guidance. To this point, they've come up with two requests: One is to give clear orders, and the other is to provide those orders as soon as possible to give everyone time to prepare. Asking for the same guidance, are the law enforcement agencies. Florida Police Chiefs Association executive director Amy Mercer specifically requested that the police officers not be transformed into "distancing police" when the reopening of businesses takes place. If they open with some rules on social distancing, she said, there should be clear guidelines that everyone can understand easily. Otherwise, she added, such confusion will result in more calls to the law enforcers. Check these out! Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 26) Paranaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez has requested the Bureau of Immigration to deport the Chinese nationals who were recently apprehended for working in an illegal Philippine offshore gaming operation in the city amid the Luzon-wide lockdown. This comes after 44 Chinese POGO employees were arrested in a police operation last Friday night at a house along Barangay Tambo, Naia Road following reports of suspected individuals roaming around the area after curfew hours. Nine Filipinos were also arrested during the operation. According to Olivarez, some of those who were caught in the operation even had handguns with them. "Noong Friday night, nagkaroon kami ng operation doon at nakita po namin na nag-o-operate illegally 'yung isang POGO operator na pinaverify din po namin na wala pong lisensya from Pagcor (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) at lalong-lalo na alam naman natin sa guidelines ng IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) ay pinatigil ang ating POGO operations during the enhanced community quarantine," Olivarez told CNN Philippines' Newsroom Weekend on Sunday. [Translation: Last Friday night, we had a police operation in the area and found out that a POGO operator has been operating illegally, and we were able to verify that it did not have any license from Pagcor, more so, that it cannot operate based on the IATF guidelines suspending POGO operations during the enhanced community quarantine.] "Mas mahirap pa rito, may mga baril na nakuha sa kanila na mga .45 calibre at 9mm...kaya po tayo ay nagrequest sa Bureau of Immigration na ito pong mga Chinese na ito ay ma-deport ho natin immediately dito po sa ating bansa," Olivarez added. [Translation: What makes this worse, we even retrieved from them .45 calibre and 9mm pistol...that's why we requested the Bureau of Immigration to have these Chinese nationals deported from our country.] The mayor added that the incident has prompted the city government to be on the lookout for other POGOs either licensed or not which could still be operating in the city despite the imposed lockdown. "Lalo po kaming magiging aware sa mga nag-o-operate ng iligal dito sa atin...hindi po pwedeng mag-operate and POGO sa Paranaque either may license siya sa Pagcor [o wala]. Iyan po ay maliwanag na sinuspend ng ating Pagcor at IATF," Olivarez added. [Translation: We will be more aware of those who will be operating illegally in the city...POGOs cannot operate in Paranaque whether they have a license from Pagcor or none. Operations were clearly suspended by Pagcor and IATF.] Bureau of Immigration Spokesperson Dana Sandoval said the agency is already verifying the individual records of the Chinese nationals prior to filing deportation cases against them. "We are also interested to find out if they have other cohorts or if similar establishments are operating in the area. We will be coordinating with the Philippine National Police to gather more intelligence information about this," Sandoval said in a statement. "We will not take this lightly. Foreign nationals that are in the country must abide by our laws lest face criminal and immigration sanctions," she added. Meanwhile, Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete said in a statement that deportation proceedings may be initiated against the Chinese nationals to ensure if they have violated immigration laws. However, if a criminal case has been filed against them and they were proven guilty, they still need to serve the sentence before the deportation can push through. Lawmakers have earlier opposed calls to allow POGOs to resume operations after the enhanced community quarantine, noting that they are not under any essential industry needed to battle the overcome the coronavirus outbreak, and that they even failed to settle their taxes which were supposed to give the Philippine government revenues. READ: Lawmakers oppose reopening POGOs after lockdown, say it would send conflicting messages on gov't priority The Anti-Money Laundering Council previously said POGOs generate a mere 7 billion in net inflows. This money is retained as a huge chunk of the 30-billion capital sent to the country that is subsequently pulled back out. However, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee noted that this only translates to a "negligible" 0.04 percent of the domestic economy, and that the social ills that POGOs bring to the country are not worth the regulation fees that the government also earns from. The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases said that POGOs had to be closed, following President Rodrigo Duterte's order to close down all non-essential establishments to contain the spread of COVID-19. Duterte has extended the enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and all other "high-risk" provinces in Luzon until May 15. CNN Philippines' Glee Jalea, Melissa Lopez, and Paolo Barcelon contributed to this report. Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator, told NBC News' "Meet the Press" Sunday that while the coronavirus trends give her "great hope" for slow reopenings over the next few months, many of the social distancing measures that have upended American life will be a constant fixture through the summer. And, while President Donald Trump and many governors press to re-open the economy, Birx said the U.S. needs a "breakthrough" on coronavirus testing to help screen Americans and get a more accurate picture of the virus' spread. Birx said the task force intends to continue working with states to scale up testing for those sick with the virus. "At the same time," she added, "we have to realize that we have to have a breakthrough innovation in testing" for those who have already had the virus but had either mild or no symptoms. More from NBC News: Fauci's absence from recent briefings draws notice Trump's comments on disinfectants left even close aides shocked WHO warns on lack of evidence for COVID-19 immunity Birx said that current diagnostic testing, which tests a sample from someone's nose or mouth for evidence of the live virus, can "carry us through the spring and summer." But she added that there needs to be a significant breakthrough with antigen testing, which can discover whether someone had already had the virus and can help "screen large numbers of individuals quickly." Identifying a better understanding of the extent of the virus' spread is one key to ultimately relaxing restrictions that have hamstrung both the American economy and American life, even as the World Health Organization warned Saturday that that there's no clear evidence that someone who recovered from COVID-19 is immune from developing a second infection. Haiti - News : Zapping... Hinche : 5 contaminated Haitians flee from the hospital Dr. Denis Jean, Departmental Director of the Center Department of the Ministry of Public Health, confirmed that 5 people who tested positive for Covid-19 fled this week from Sainte Therese de Hinche hospital, fearing that if the we do not quickly find these people they risk infecting a lot of people... See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30611-haiti-news-zapping.html Covid-19 : Contribution of the Canez Group The Canez Group announces an estimated contribution of US $ 60,000 for the Haitian Endemic Disease Foundation, Bernard Mevs Hospital, Saint Luc Hospital and Canape Vert Hospital. This contribution includes 5 hospital-grade oxygen concentrators, around 20 hospital beds and 100 mattresses. In addition, a generator will be made available to Bernard Mevs Hospital for the duration of the health crisis. The Haitian Compas Festival on the internet the Haitian Compas Festival which had been postponed until next year because of the Covid-19, will take place this year but on the internet on Saturday May 16, 2020 called "Quarantaine Edition". To be continued... Arrests of two bandits A 12-gauge rifle, of Tristar brand, was seized by the Croix-des-bouquets police, during the arrest this week of two individuals (Legrand Ricardo and de Lubin Willy) traveling on a motorcycle in the "Terre Rouge" area. Guyana : Supply of protective equipment Saturday Rodolphe Alexandre, President of the Territorial Collectivity of Guyana handed a batch of protective visors to the Consul of Haiti in Guyana, Mrs. Judnie Galdine Souffrant. These personal protective equipment will be used to protect fragile people or those on the front line within the Haitian community. 325th anniversary of Saint-Marc As part of the 325th anniversary of the city of Saint Marc, the town hall declared [...] The risk of the spread of the coronavirus prevents us from sharing this great moment together, however, it remains alive in our hearts. This April 25 brings back for our city its 325th anniversary. 325 years of history; 325 years of sharing and solidarity despite our differences. Together, let's continue to act for our city." HL/ HaitiLibre Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry co-organised a webinar with Clyde& Co on "The Legal Impact of Covid-19 on employment in the UAE". The webinar was attended by 278 participants from various sectors of the business community. The webinar aimed at helping employers and employees deal with the impact of Covid-19 on their businesses. It focused on the nature of this working relationship, provided guidance to the concerned parties and updated them on the latest policy developments governing the relationship between employers and employees. It also shed light on the current ministerial guidelines in relation to the workplace and their impact on the employees. Topics such as practical issues to be considered when the employees start working remotely, how to apply and approve paid and unpaid leave, and legal procedures for reducing salaries and wages were also covered. The session was moderated by Rebecca Ford, Partner- Employment, Clyde & Co.; and Samantha Ellaby, Senior Associate- Employment, Clyde & Co. The webinar was attended by members of Dubai Chamber, legal professionals, business owners, human resource managers and contract experts, as well as members of business groups and councils, and economic and professional bodies. Jehad Kazim, Director, Legal Services, Dubai Chamber, stressed on the importance of organising the relationship between employers and workers, especially in uncertain times, like we are facing now, noting that the contractual relationship between the parties should be clearly understood by everyone. Kazim pointed out that the introductory webinar covers an important topic in the labour market today. It particularly answers the inquiries of the private sector about the contractual relationship and how to align them with current developments in a transparent manner that guarantees the rights and duties of all parties. The webinar is consistent with the chambers commitment to enhance the awareness of the business community in all topics which impact on their business and activities, Kazim remarked. Rebecca Ford, during her presentation, covered the latest policy developments and advised the participants on topics such as how to manage remote working and how to implement emergency measures during such uncertain times. Webinar, such as these, are a platform for various stakeholders to come together and discuss the impact and solutions that situations like these require. We hope we were able to answer the concerns of the businesses in relation to the best way to proceed forward and the various issues they need to keep in mind while dealing with a fundamentally changed employee-employer relationship, Ford remarked. Dubai Chamber regularly organises workshops that are of interest to the business sector in the emirate, and that contribute to enhancing their awareness of the latest legal and policy developments that regulate the business environment and contribute to making it dynamic, said the statement. TradeArabia News Service Reporter Stephanie Earls is a news reporter and columnist at The Gazette. Before moving to Colorado Springs in 2012, she worked for newspapers in upstate NY, WA, OR and at her hometown weekly in Berkeley Springs, WV, where she got her start in journalism. https://www.aish.com/ci/s/Gift-of-Life-Lifesaving-Quest-to-Harvest-Plasma-of-COVID-19-Survivors.html Two observant Jews pool their efforts to bring antibody-rich, potentially lifesaving convalescent plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients to others in desperate need. On April 1, Rabbi Leib Kelemen, a well-known author and rosh kollel in Jerusalem, sent out a podcast. Imagine, he told his listeners, a scene in which all the negative news coverage of chareidi Jews was suddenly replaced by images of chareidi Covid-19 survivors lining up in multitudes to give potentially life-saving convalescent blood plasma to those still battling the virus. Little did he know that the wheels were already turning that would bring his vision to pass. If I Find a Donor The story, which has the makings of a Hollywood thriller and which is far from over, begins with apparent serendipity. On March 29, Covid-19 patient Rabbi Mordechai Swiatycki of Monsey was taken to Westchester Medical Center, where his medical condition declined rapidly and he was placed on a respirator. At one point, the German-born infectious disease specialist overseeing Rabbi Swiatyckis case, Dr. Bettina Knoll, began reviewing all the possible treatments with his son Abba. She mentioned a number of possible medications, but also said she wished that she could try using convalescent blood plasma drawn from those who had recovered from the virus. Unfortunately, she said, there were no donors. Abba asked what would happen if he could find a donor. Even though Dr. Knoll did not initially receive a favorable response from her supervisors to his suggestion, the seed had been planted in Abba Swiatyckis mind. Two organizers, Mordechai Serle and Abba Swiatycki On April 4, Abba contacted Rebbetzin Abby Fink of the Young Israel of New Rochelle, whose shul became the center of the first major outbreak of COVID-19 virus in New York State, when a shul member returned from a trip abroad and did not realize that he was infected. Rebbetzin Fink gave him the name of another man, Mordechai Serle of Flatbush, who had been searching for convalescent plasma for his hospitalized father-in-law. She informed Abba that Mordy Serle had found a donor. (Both Serles father-in-law, Reb Dovid Shurin, and Abba Swiatyckis father recovered. The former never received the blood plasma that that a member of the New Rochelle community volunteered to give; the latter eventually received the convalescent plasma, but only after being removed from the ventilator.) The two fortyish executives Serle a partner in a law firm and Swiatycki a senior officer in a real estate development company hit it off, however, and they decided to pool their efforts to see whether they could bring the convalescent plasma to more people in desperate need. They didnt have much medical background, but they possessed energy, creativity, a burning drive to get things done. Soon they would be commanding a national effort, to be named the Yitzchak Lebovitz Covid Plasma Initiative, to provide potentially lifesaving plasma to Covid patients. A List of Names By Motzaei Shabbos, April 5, the two had created a website covidplasmasavealife.com to register potential donors of convalescent plasma i.e., all those who tested positive for Covid-19 virus and have been symptom-free for at least 14 days. The entry of the first names in their data bank came about in a particularly poignant fashion. The family of Reb Meir Greenberg of Monsey were searching for convalescent plasma and had sought donors through one of the popular Orthodox websites for their critically ill father. At 2:00 a.m. in the morning on April 6, Abba Swiatycki received a call from one of the daughters; she sent him the names of all the people whod offered to donate plasma to her father. Only later did Abba learn that shed called him only moments after her fathers passing. When Serle and Swiatycki first put up their website, the only hospital in the New York metropolitan area actively seeking convalescent plasma donors was Mt. Sinai in Manhattan. Playing a leading role in that campaign was a Monsey-based chassidishe importer of shoes, Chaim Lebovits, who has developed a volunteer sideline guiding individual patients with medical problems requiring the highest level of medical expertise. In the course of his activities, Lebovits had developed a close relationship with Dr. Jeffrey Bander, a cardiologist at Mt. Sinai Hospital. Both Swiatycki and Serle had already been in contact with Lebovits, in the course of their search for convalescent plasma for their loved ones. Now he became the guide for his slightly younger colleagues and connected them with crucial contacts around the country, chief among them Dr. Shmuel Shoham, a native Israeli, now at Johns Hopkins University Medical Center in Baltimore; and Dr. Michael Joyner of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The Angel and the Sword Those contacts became crucial when the Mayo Clinic was appointed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the lead research institution for the FDAs Expanded Access Program (EAP). The Mayo Clinic had already been joined in a voluntary association with over 50 other leading academic institutions, including Johns Hopkins, on research on convalescent plasma. This is far from the first effort to harness plasma to fight infection. The technique was employed in the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic and again against the H1N1 flu in 20092010. Of most direct relevance to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was used to combat two previous coronaviruses: SARS in 2003 and MERS in 2012. But the FDAs approval of Early Access Program for convalescent plasma, under the Mayo Clinics auspices, had the potential to make the technique much more widespread and accessible. Until then hospitals could only gain permission to use convalescent plasma under a cumbersome procedure on a case-by-case basis, and usually only when the patient was critically ill. And past experience shows that it is more likely to be effective at an earlier stage of illness. Under the EAP, any hospital that complies with the Mayo Clinic protocols and appoints a senior investigator to oversee the clinical trials is able to use transfusions of convalescent plasma. Nevertheless, in a video issued on April 2, Dr. Joyner predicted no more than a trickle of cases using the therapy in the week to come, and pointed out that the logistics involved are extremely complex. Though Dr. Joyner did not specify the nature of those logistical complexities, they are threefold. The first is securing an adequate supply of donors. The second is finding enough machines to draw the blood plasma. Few hospitals have their own machines, and the 70-minute process of extracting the blood plasma and restoring the donors blood, along with the preliminary intake makes for a two-hour process per extraction. Then there is the logistical nightmare of making sure that all the slots on the available machines are taken and do not go unused. Finally, hospitals must be convinced to join the EAP. Like most large bureaucracies, their natural tendency is to continue doing what they have been doing and to avoid rapid changes in procedures. Dr. Joyner, early on, came to view the chareidi community as a major ally. Because the community was so hard hit by the COVID-19 virus, it constituted a huge reservoir of potential donors. In addition, he knew the communitys ability to mobilize once it identifies a goal. As Chaim Lebovits likes to say of himself, How did a chassid with lange peyos get to the point where he can reach the top expert in any medical field within half an hour? Its because my entire education was in Yiddish, and my English is so weak. I never learned the words, I cant or No. On Erev Pesach, Chaim was having difficulty convincing a particular hospital to try convalescent plasma on one of his clients. After consulting his rav, he arranged a conference call on Yom Tov with the head of the hospital and Dr. Joyner. On another occasion, Dr. Joyner called Lebovits on Erev Shabbos, and told him that he needed eleven donors in Brooklyn, Minnesota before the weekend. Reb Chaim, who wasnt previously aware of the existence of a Brooklyn in Minnesota, reached out to his connections in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park. An hour before Shabbos, eleven chassidim showed up at the blood center in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. After the successful conclusion of the Yom Tov phone call, Dr. Joyner told Reb Chaim, Im named after the archangel Michael, but I need a sword. You [i.e., your community] will be my sword. Blood that Heals Serle, Swiatycki, and Lebovits decided early on to follow a decentralized approach to compiling donor lists. In addition to their website, separate individuals and organizations in Crown Heights, Williamsburg, Monsey, Kiryas Yoel, Lakewood, and northern New Jersey have run their own donor campaigns. Already on April 1, Agudath Israel of America sent out a donor registration request to its membership. Within two weeks, approximately 5,000 recovered coronavirus victims have signed up, out of an estimated potential donor pool of around 40,000. Each donor provides enough plasma at one session to benefit three patients (though where the patient does not respond to the first transfusion perhaps because it is low in the necessary antibodies a second unit is often given). Each donor can provide plasma every seven days. The existing donors are already sufficient to cover every current slot for donations. The response of the chareidi community must further be put into the context of parallel efforts to enlist secular donors. This week, the ad hoc save-a-life campaign has secured 120 slots at two Delaware blood centers. Prior to Shabbos, the two sites had only two donors lined up. Similarly, a Pennsylvania blood center that services twenty-nine hospitals, with which negotiations have commenced, has only nine units of convalescent plasma on hand, representing at the most three donors. The next bottleneck to be tackled was the shortage of machines capable of extracting the vital blood plasma containing antibodies to COVID-19. Maimonides Medical Center in Boro Park is one of the few hospitals close to a Jewish population center with the machine necessary to extract blood plasma. But, at present, it has only one such machine, and generally services no more than five donors daily. Monsey businessman Leizer Sheiner and his Williamsburg counterpart Leizer Kestenbaum both clients of Mordechai Serle have been working closely with Maimonides to increase its collection and storage capacity by purchasing more tubing and collection bags, and hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, a second machine to extract convalescent plasma. The big breakthrough, however, came when the group succeeded in bringing New York Blood Center (NYBC), one of the worlds largest blood centers, with affiliates across the United States, into the convalescent plasma project. NYBC has the capacity to extract hundreds of units of blood plasma daily. One of the keys to clinching the deal was Mordy Serles undertaking to Dr. Beth Shaz, NYBCs Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, that his group would handle all the paperwork connected to new donors and assist with the scheduling of donors. That work was done by data analyst Adam Kahn and a team of volunteers headed by Pam Sher, and including Henya and Dovi Grossman, Aliza Rubinstein, and Nosson Swiatycki. Get Them on Board But no matter how many donors are available and how many plasma extraction machines are humming, there is no benefit unless hospitals are on board with trying the convalescent blood therapy. The trio of askanim took on that responsibility as well. Mt. Sinai had long been running clinical trials and was eager to partner with the Mayo Clinic from the start. At the initiative of Chaskie Rosenberg of Boro Park Hatzolah, Serle, Lebovits, and Swiaticki spoke by phone with Dr. Patrick Borgen of Maimonides Medical Center, and the hospital moved with great alacrity to join the EAP within two hours. Westchester Medical Center (WMC), which had already some experience using the convalescent plasma with a few individual patients also joined quickly. Dr. Elliot (Ari) Levine, an Orthodox cardiologist at WMC, has since taken a lead in handling inventory and allocation issues between NYBC and the various participating hospitals. Other hospitals needed a bit more of a push, or at least education in the contours of the Mayo Clinic trials. Memorial Sloan Kettering, for instance, was not aware that the trials were not limited to critically ill patients. As with compiling the donor lists, the ad hoc group has employed a decentralized approach to enrolling hospitals in the EAP clinical trials. Liba Lederer and Yehudah Kaszirer of the Lakewood Bikur Cholim, for instance, have been negotiating with hospitals in the Philadelphia and central New Jersey area, and other Orthodox groups are working with hospitals in northern New Jersey. Still, just before Shabbos Chol HaMoed Pesach, Mordy Serle received a call from Dr. Shaz that she had 400 units of convalescent plasma in store and no takers. That Shabbos, Mrs. Serle delivered a baby girl at 11:30 a.m. Less than a quarter-hour after the birth, she told her husband that he had to do something about the missed opportunity represented by those 400 units, and while still in the delivery room, he began work on convening a conference call that afternoon. When the conference call commenced, it included Dr. Joyner of the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Shoham of John Hopkins, Dr. Benjamin Chen and Dr. Jeffrey Bander of Mt. Sinai, representatives of ten New York metropolitan area hospitals all of them serving significant Jewish populations and most of the major Orthodox activists in the save-a-life group. All of the latter were acting under strict rabbinical guidance. The group heard a presentation by Dr. Chen and Dr. Bander on the extremely promising results from Mt. Sinais clinical trials to date, which was crucial to convincing some of the hospitals to become more active in using convalescent plasma. Then Dr. Joyner and Dr. Shoham answered all questions about the operation of the EAP. The former was able to allay concerns about any dangers arising from the transfusion of the blood plasma. Get the Chassidim Just two weeks since the launch of their website, the working group has given a major boost to use of a highly promising therapy for COVID-19 patients, and one that also has the potential to be used as a prophylactic for health care workers, who are the most exposed to the virus. There is still room for substantial expansion of the use of convalescent plasma in the New York metropolitan area. The donor base is already there, as the save-a-life initiative proves. And the success of the program has created its own momentum, as more organizations seek to join in. The American Red Cross and Vitalent, a non-profit blood center, have announced that they are making available additional machines for the extraction of blood plasma. Meanwhile, the FDA has approved an antibody level test for recovered conronavirus victims, and the Mayo Clinic has committed to producing 1,000 tests a day, with the capacity to increase that to 20,000 if necessary. (These tests are crucial, as at present it is estimated that about five percent of plasma donors do not have high enough levels of antibodies for their plasma to be therapeutic, but until now, there has been no test for antibody levels.) Not only can the model be expanded, but it can be duplicated around the country, particularly in areas hard hit by the coronavirus to date. Agudath Israel of America has already briefed all its regional directors on the program, and they are eager to work with hospitals in their areas. That has already happened with Sinai Hospital in Baltimore joining the Mayo Clinic protocols. In addition, the groups efforts have already had an impact in Israel. Chaim Lebovits relates with relish the discussion in a conference call between himself and Dr. Joyner and Dr. Shoham and a senior Magen David Adom (MDA) official in Israel. The MDA officials main question concerned, Where do you find the donors? Dr. Shoham answered him in fluent Hebrew, Whats your problem? Do what we did! Get the chassidim. You have plenty of chassidim. The next day, the MDA official called back to say that they had successfully followed Dr. Shohams advice. Indeed, there have been multiple calls from communal leaders in Israel, where there are fewer regulatory barriers to trying the convalescent blood therapy, for chareidim who have recovered from the COVID-19 virus to donate blood plasma. The Badatz-Eidah Hachareidis issued a proclamation that it is the highest priority for coronavirus surivors to donate blood. Similarly, Rabbi Elimelech Firer, the founder of Ezra LMarpeh and considered one of the worlds greatest medical experts, appealed for donations of blood plasma and established a special hotline for those seeking to donate. Public and Private Not surprisingly, the story of a chareidi initiative at the forefront of research on what could become a game-changing therapy in battle against the coronavirus has attracted widespread media attention from outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, CNN, and Fox News. But Mordechai Serle, Abba Swiatycki, and Chaim Lebovits who, incidentally, have still not met one another in person are focused not on media reviews but on saving more lives. At all times, they have acted in accord with clear rabbinic guidelines, primarily from Rabbi Yisroel Reisman, a rosh yeshiva in Yeshiva Torah Vodaath and one of Flatbushs most prominent shul rabbanim. He, in turn, has been in ongoing consultation with Rav Reuven Feinstein, on the one hand, and with leading infectious disease specialists to assess the potential benefit from convalescent plasma, on the other. During World War II, Rav Dessler proclaimed that when Jews are being slaughtered, there is no more private life. The trio of askanim can attest to the truth of his words. During one conference call, Reb Chaim Lebovits told his colleagues that he had to get off the phone for a quarter of an hour for the levayah of his brother. And then, despite his personal mourning, he got back on the line. This article originally appeared in Mishpacha Magazine. The coronavirus pandemic is already changing American life in ways that will far outlast the pandemic itself, for better and for worse. Why it matters: Eventually this pandemic will end. But it will leave an indelible mark on the economy, the health care system and our day-to-day routines. Well be adapting to a new normal, not returning to the pre-coronavirus world we once knew. Our economy will take a long time to recover, Axios markets editor Dion Rabouin writes. Many companies, large and small, simply will not survive. History shows that when employees are laid off in large numbers, they come back in stages, rather than all at once. That will be doubly true for this recession. Customers will be slow to return, which will mean companies will be slow to bring back workers. Our health care system will have to adapt on several levels. Insurers and the federal government have stepped in to cover coronavirus-related medical bills, but a slow economic recovery will leave millions of people uninsured while their financial situation remains precarious. Medicaid will cover many of them, but that will strain state budgets at a time when they are most precarious. If we do things right, well start building up bigger, better stockpiles of the things we need in a pandemic, including masks and other protective gear for hospital workers. Our cities will be reeling from these twin health and fiscal crises for a long time, Axios cities editor Kim Hart notes. Tax revenues have cratered, and they will come back slowly and unevenly. Some local governments will furlough or lay off their workers and cut public services including police or K-12 education. They may need to raise taxes to make ends meet. Our politics will have a new center of gravity. The coronavirus has almost killed more Americans than the Vietnam War. It will likely eliminate more jobs than the Great Recession. Washington has shoveled trillions of dollars out the door in record time, with little oversight. We havent even scratched the surface of the political fallout, and this is the kind of all-encompassing crisis that can not only affect an election or two, but alter the focus of politics for years. Voting by mail will be the next big battleground over voting rights. Our information ecosystem is already in a state of upheaval, Axios Sara Fischer writes. Local news, already hanging by a thread, has been devastated in this crisis. Tens of thousands of journalism jobs have been lost just in the past month. The virus has weakened the growth of partisan publishers. Theyll probably rebound, but for now, it's pushed people toward higher-quality news habits they make take with them after the pandemic. Between the lines: Some of these adaptations could be good for us, in the long run, if we stick with them. Some Asian countries were more prepared to swing into action when the novel coronavirus hit because of their recent experience with other outbreaks. If we start getting our flu shots and keep washing our hands, then our new normal will have some improvements. Our everyday rhythms will change, too, in ways big and small. This nationwide work-from-home experiment will almost surely accelerate the trend toward more remote work in white-collar professions. Well likely need at least some form of social distancing until theres a vaccine, so itll be a long time before we get back to sitting in crowded restaurants and packed sporting events. Many public health experts would be perfectly happy if we never shake hands again. The bottom line: The pandemic itself is a long way from over, and its impact on our daily lives will last even longer. OnePlus Warp Charge 30 wireless charger could be priced at Rs 3,990. Internationally, it is priced at $70 If you are looking to get your hands on the new OnePlus 8( 39999 at amazon) Pro( 48999 at amazon) and its wireless charger, then there is good news for you. Just like the OnePlus 8 family of devices, it looks like the wireless charger will be priced cheaper in India than its international pricing. If information circulating the internet is to be believed, then the OnePlus Warp Charge 30 wireless charger could cost Rs 3,990 in India. OnePlus Warp Charge 30 wireless charger specifications and features This is the first time OnePlus has gone wireless when it comes to charging. The company had maintained that they will not use the technology till its fast enough to match speeds offered through the thick, red USB cable that has become sort of a signature. The company seems to have cracked it. The Warp Charge 30 wireless charger can deliver 30W of power and can top up the OnePlus 8 Pro from 1-50% in just 30 minutes. As revealed in the blog post, the Warp Charge 30 Wireless charger relies on an industry-first isolated charge pump with Warp Wireless direct charging architecture. OnePlus claims this ensures a charge efficiency of 97 percent and minimizes the energy converted into heat. The charger comes with full-fledged fan systems to aid in the cooling. The wireless charging is modulated using a customized chip in the charger that controls the current and voltage to maximize efficiency. The charger is also Qi-compatible and comes in the pad and stand versions. OnePlus Warp Charge 30 wireless charger price As mentioned above, it looks like the charger will be priced cheaper in India than its international counterparts, as per tipster Ishan Agarwal. The wireless charger will be priced at Rs 3,990 in India as compared to the $70 price tag in the US which translates to Rs 5,340 approx. directly converted. If you are looking to get your hands on the OnePlus 8 or the OnePlus 8 Pro you can check out the information of the smartphones in detail here. You can also check out our comparison of the OnePlus 8 vs its competitors and the OnePlus 8 Pro vs its competitors to make an informed buying decision Thousands of fish-workers holed up on their boats, some surviving on two meals a day, as they wait to be evacuated. For the past one month, Mailupalli Polisu has been confined to his boat, which is docked at the Veraval Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat. Polisu is among the nearly 25,000 fishermen belonging to several Indian states stuck on their boats on the Gujarat coast since March 24 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a lockdown. Fishermen from states such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh (AP), Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Bihar travel to Gujarat every year in August the start of the fishing season to earn livelihood. They were all set to return home in March. We barely have any drinking water. There are no toilets on the boat. We get two meals a day. All we want is to go home now, Polisu, who is from APs Srikakulam district, 2,000km away,told Al Jazeera. The lockdown has brought the countrys public transport to a grinding halt, while states have sealed their borders to contain the pandemic, leaving thousands of fishermen stranded at ports in coastal states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka. On April 22, things took a grim turn at the Veraval Portwhen a 28-year-old fisherman, MK Raju, was found dead in his cabin. His post-mortem report revealed that he had suffered a heart attack. Ever since he heard that some fishermen in a neighbouring village in Veraval had contracted COVID-19, he had been getting anxiety attacks, Polisu said. All of us are in shock, and scared. He had not yet met his four-month-old son back home, Polisu, who is from the same village as Raju, said. MK Raju who died of heart attack allegedly after hearing about COVID-19 cases among fishermen [Photo courtesy: Traditional Fish Workers Union] On April 9, another fisherman T Jaganathan, 45, died of stomach complications after he stopped eating, allegedly for fear of contracting COVID-19. PK Rehman, founder of the Traditional Fish Workers Union (TFWU) that represents some of the fishermen, blamed the death on the lack of potable drinking water option at the port. The fish workers are in panic as the MLA [member of state legislature] of Veraval told them about COVID-19 positive cases among fishermen in the neighbouring district. Their current living conditions on the boats make them vulnerable to the disease, Rehman told Al Jazeera over the phone. Polisu said he was forced to mostly spend last month squeezed into his boats cabin space with eight others, leaving no room for social distancing. Mainepalli Ramu, who is also stuck at the Veraval Port, said he is staying with 12 others in a congested cabin of a trawler. The boat is not moving so it gets boiling hot and suffocating. For how long can we sit inside? he said. Rehman pointed out that state governments have been selective in rescuing stranded citizens. The Gujarat government sent buses to rescue 1,800 pilgrims from the state of Uttarakhand. Migrant fish-workers sustain the Rs 7,000 crore ($918m) fisheries industry in the state. Are they any less important? he said. Without livelihood In the first week of April, fishermen from Maharashtra and Gujarat were prevented from returning to their villages by locals on suspicion of carrying coronavirus. While most of them managed to return home by April 22, aided by activists and politicians, 2,700 fishermen from AP are still stranded at the Veraval Port. Every year, thousands of fishermen from across the country migrate to Gujarat to find employment on fishing vessels across the states 1,600km-long coastline. They stay there till March-April the end of the fishing season. There are three categories of work: helpers get paid $131, crew members $197 and boat captains get paid $263 per month, Ramu said. Most of them have been unable to send money home as the bank branches are shut due to the lockdown. Kiran Koli, general secretary of Maharashtra Machhimar Kruti Samiti, a fishermens association, said the shutting down of ice factories, stopping of exports, and the disruption of supply chain had made fishing activity untenable in the country. Sixteen million people dependent on the industry are currently without a livelihood, Koli told Al Jazeera. Polisu, who has been coming to Gujarat to work as a child, said he had never seen such a situation before. The Veraval fishing harbour where thousands of fishermen are stranded on fishing vessels and trawlers due to the lockdown [Photo courtesy: Traditional Fish Workers Union] Ajay Prakash, the Collector of Gir-Somnath district where Veraval falls, initially told Al Jazeera that Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat state had mutually agreed to send the workers back home through cargo vessels by sea, after screening them for COVID-19. After preliminary enquiries, we found that cargo vessels were not suited to transport people. Now we are planning to send them back by buses via land route, he told Al Jazeera. He claimed it was not clear by when the workers would be sent back, as they were waiting for the Andhra Pradesh government to arrange for the buses. The fish workers complained that the delay had left them in a state of nerves. They should at least tell us when we can leave. This feels like jail, Polisu said. They also complained they were getting reduced rations, contrary to Collector Prakashs claims that the state government had been taking adequate care to provide food and rations since the day of the lockdown. Mainepalli Appanna, another stranded fish worker at Veraval port, countered that they had not received any food or essential supplies from the state government. Only the boat owners are giving us food. Theres no tea or breakfast. They provide 100 litres of water for eight people for three days, which we use for drinking, cooking, and bathing, Appanna said. Polisu claimed his family back in Srikakulam wife, three children and mother were eagerly waiting for his return. Right now they are surviving on rations provided by an organisation. I need to be around my family in this crucial hour, he said. US President Donald Trump and Adm. Brett Giroir, assistant secretary of Health attend the daily coronavirus briefing at the White House April 20, 2020 in Washington, DC. Oil prices fell below zero today due to a collapse in energy demand and near full capacity of storage tanks in the U.S., brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Alex Wong/Getty Images Emails obtained by Vanity Fair indicate the Trump administration cooked up a plan to distribute the unproven drug hydroxychloroquine to millions of COVID-19 sufferers. Brett Giroir, the Trump adviser overseeing the coronavirus testing, emailed health officials on April 4 suggesting the drug should be made widely available outside of hospitals. Trump began pushing hydroxychloroquine as a "cure" for the coronavirus in late March. A controversial study had suggested a combination including the drug might be effective against the disease. But a later, larger study of more than 300 patients showed the drug had no benefit. Another Brazilian trial was halted after several patients died. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Trump administration officials concocted a plan to distribute millions of doses of the unproven drug hydroxychloroquine to COVID-19 outpatients, according to emails obtained by Vanity Fair. Hydroxychloroquine is an effective anti-malarial drug, but despite being repeatedly touted by President Trump as a potential cure for the virus, there's no robust evidence that it would work. Vanity Fair got hold of an email sent April 4 by Brett Giroir, the Trump adviser overseeing the coronavirus testing in the US, to a group of health officials. Vanity Fair said at least two officials from FEMA were included on the email. It reportedly read: "WH call. Really want to flood Ny and NJ with treatment courses. Hospitals have it. Sick out patients don't. And can't get. So go through distribution channels as we discussed. If we have 29 million perhaps send a few million ASAP? WH wants follow up in AM. We can get a lot more of this. Right Bob? Millions per week?" The email, Vanity Fair reported, was sent hours after Trump hyped up hydroxychloroquine once again as a coronavirus treatment and boasted of the administration's supplies. Trump said: "And the hydroxychloroquine is a I hope it's going to be a very important answer. We're having some very good things happening with it, and we're going to be distributing it through the Strategic National Stockpile. It's going into the Strategic National Stockpile to treat certain patients. And we have millions and millions of doses of it; 29 million to be exact." Story continues The potential use of chloroquine-based drugs has become a political issue in the US as much as a scientific one. One top vaccine scientist, Rick Bright, was ousted this week as director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). Bright said he lost his position for refusing to tout unproven coronavirus treatments, and that he plans to file a whistleblower complaint. Trump first touted hydroxychloroquine as a potential coronavirus cure on March 23. A controversial French study had just found a combination of drugs that included hydroxychloroquine may be effective in combating the coronavirus. Although the study had yet to be replicated, it was repeatedly mentioned on Fox News where it may have caught Trump's eye. Subsequent studies have suggested that such anti-malarials have no impact on the coronavirus. One Brazilian study was halted after patients died. And the biggest patient study yet, conducted in the US, showed there was no benefit to using the drug. Read the original article on Business Insider Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 26) The former soldier shot dead by a police officer at a quarantine checkpoint was laid to rest on Sunday at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City. Retired Corporal Winston Ragos was buried with full military honors by the Philippine Army. Ragos was fatally shot by Police Master Sergeant Daniel Florendo in Quezon City earlier this week, after the former allegedly attempted to pull a gun on the officers manning a nearby checkpoint. But witnesses at the scene said Ragos, who supposedly violated enhanced community quarantine protocols, did not have a gun inside his bag. READ: PNP chief says cop who shot ex-military only made 'judgment call', vows 'thorough' probe on incident The incident sparked outrage online, more so after the revelation of the ex-soldiers mother that her son had suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after completing his tour of duty, which included the Marawi siege. The Quezon City Police District earlier said it has filed a homicide complaint against Florendo. Both the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines are conducting investigations into the incident. The Army has also sought the National Bureau of Investigation's help in calling for an "impartial" probe on the controversial shooting incident. "We are just looking to find out the truth so that justice will be given to one of our soldiers," it said in a statement. China sent medical team to advise on North Korea's Kim: Reuters Iran Press TV Saturday, 25 April 2020 8:30 AM China has sent a team of medical experts to North Korea to advise on the country's leader Kim Jong-un amid conflicting reports about his health, Reuters reports. A delegation led by a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party's International Liaison Department left Beijing for North Korea on Thursday, Reuters reported citing anonymous sources. The department is the main Chinese body dealing with neighboring North Korea. It was not immediately clear what the trip by the Chinese team signaled in terms of Kim's health, the report added. The Liaison Department could not be reached by Reuters for comment late on Friday. The trip came after South Korea and China both refuted a CNN report that the North Korean leader's life was in "grave danger" following a cardiovascular procedure. On Monday, CNN cited "a US official with direct knowledge" as saying that Washington "is monitoring intelligence" that Kim "is in grave danger after a surgery." The following day, government sources in Seoul and Beijing contradicted the report, saying that Kim was not seriously ill. The presidential Blue House in Seoul also confirmed that there were no unusual signs coming from the North. Daily NK, a Seoul-based website, also cited unidentified sources within North Korea as saying that Kim was recovering at a villa in the Mount Kumgang resort county of Hyangsan on North Korea's east coast after undergoing the cardiovascular procedure at a hospital on April 12. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump also downplayed earlier reports that Kim was gravely ill. "I think the report was incorrect," he said, but he declined to say if he had been in touch with North Korean officials. There has been speculation about Kim's health following his absence from a major event on April 15 that marked the birth anniversary of his grandfather and North Korea's founding father, Kim Il-sung. North Korea's state media reported on April 12 that Kim had visited a military airbase and observed maneuvers by fighter jets and attack aircraft on the eve of a national holiday commemorating the birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung. North Korea has been under multiple rounds of harsh sanctions by the UN and the US over its nuclear and missile programs. China is North Korea's sole major ally and has a keen interest in the stability of the country with which it shares a vast border. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address MEXICO CITY (AP) The Mexican government said Friday it plans to reopen automotive factories in conjunction with the United States and Canada. The Foreign Relations Department said in a statement that the details of the plan would be released in the coming days. The department said health safeguards would be in place to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, which caused Mexico to order the closure of non-essential plants several weeks ago. The Mexican government will be emphatic about health protection and will ensure that the reopening will be orderly, gradual and cautious, the statement said. The announcement came three days after the U.S. government launched a campaign to get Mexico to reopen plants, suggesting the supply chain of the North American free trade zone could be permanently affected if they didnt resume production. Mexico's border assembly plants are key to the U.S. supply chain, including defense contractors, and more employees at the facilities have staged walkouts and protests because of fears over the coronavirus. Christopher Landau, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, launched a Twitter campaign Tuesday urging efforts to keep supply chains intact. He expressed concern about virus lockdowns damaging the flow of parts and goods that feed businesses in the United States, Mexico and Canada and warned that if we do not coordinate our response, these chains can evaporate. There are risks everywhere, but we dont all stay at home for fear we are going to get in a car accident, Landau wrote. The destruction of the economy is also a health threat. Ellen Lord, U.S. undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, had voiced similar concerns Monday in Washington. We are seeing impacts on the industrial base by several pockets of closure internationally. Particularly of note is Mexico, where we have a group of companies that are impacting many of our major primes, she said. New Delhi: Over 400 Pakistanis stranded in Afghanistan due to the restrictions in place to curb the coronavirus pandemic crossed over to Pakistan through the Torkham border and have been placed under quarantine, according to a media report on Sunday. The 462 returnees, who arrived on Saturday, include 379 men, 47 women and 60 children. With this, the total number of Pakistanis who have returned from Afghanistan amid the ongoing crisis has reached 1,632, the Dawn newspaper reported. Hundreds of Pakistanis and Afghan nationals are stuck on either side due to closure of the border as a precautionary measure to contain the deadly coronavirus from spreading. Shamsul Islam, the focal person for the return of stranded Pakistanis, said that more people were expected to come back via the Torkham border in the coming days. They were shifted to a quarantine facility in Jamrud in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after completion of the necessary immigration procedure, he said. The swab samples of the newly returned people would be taken after 48 hours of their arrival and they would be given complete health facilities, the report said. The total number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan reached 12,644 on Saturday with 256 deaths. Katie Price has revealed she was sexually assaulted while being held at gunpoint during a terrifying carjacking incident while in South Africa with her children in April 2018. The 41-year-old former glamour model has spoken of the horror ordeal where she thought she was going to die during an episode of Channel 4's reality show SAS: Celebrity Who Dares Wins this week. And in a subsequent interview with The Sun she revealed she was groped during the incident, that also involved her kids Junior, 14, and 12-year-old Princess - who she has with ex-husband Peter Andre. Katie Price is on reality show SAS: Celebrity Who Dares Wins. Photo: Instagram She told the publication she ended up at The Priory rehab clinic to treat her post traumatic stress disorder following the attack. The reason I went there was because I got held at gunpoint and sexually assaulted, she said. It was like something from a horror film. This big man in an adidas hoody was shouting in my face, swearing and demanding I give him everything. And he was touching me down below. Shortly after the incident in 2018, Katie admitted she would have done anything to keep her children safe, even though she was in fear for her own life. We'd just got out of the car to have a wee - all of us, she recalled in an interview with OK! magazine in June 2018. Six guys pulled up with their guns and said We're going to shoot and kill you. I said [to the hijackers] 'You've got to kill me, you're not getting to my kids.' I thought I was going to die. The former glamour model was in South Africa with two of her children in 2018. Photo: AP The armed men stole stole gems, money, laptops and camera gear after forcing their way into a vehicle and Katie - who is also mum to Harvey, 16, with ex-boyfriend Dwight Yorke, and four-year-old Jett and Bunny, three, with estranged husband Kieran Hayler - was previously said to have told pals she felt "lucky" to have got away unscathed. She reportedly said afterwards: We are lucky to be alive, it could have been much worse." Insiders previously told how the whole party were left "terrified" when they were targeted by the robbers because they initially had no idea what the men wanted from them. Story continues A source said at the time: "The robbers seemed to be off their heads. They were screaming threats and ordering all the passengers not to move. "Everyone in the car was terrified, because they had no idea if they were just being robbed for money, if the gang might try to kidnap them - or worse. "One brave member of the team tried to stop them, but was hit in the face." With additional reporting by Bang Showbiz. Got a story tip or just want to get in touch? Email us at lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com. Some experts have suggested issuing oil bonds to store oil and petroleum products as oil prices now are low. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) reported that Vietnams crude oil output in the first three months of the year decreased by 11 percent. Crude oil imports soared by 68 percent and refined petroleum inventory increased by 47 percent. Some experts think that Vietnam can learn from the method applied by the government of Brunei. When the oil price goes down, the government releases a message encouraging people to buy oil to store, one dollar per person. The oil is stored in the governments storehouse. When the oil price goes up, the government buys back the oil from people at the market price Le Dang Doanh, a respected economist, thinks the model is applicable in Vietnam. Vietnam still has to import petroleum products, and since the fuel price has fallen to a low, Vietnam needs to think of storing petroleum products which will serve production and business activities when the epidemic ends. According to Doanh, Vietnam still has to import petroleum products, and since the fuel price has fallen to a low, Vietnam needs to think of storing petroleum products which will serve production and business activities when the epidemic ends. He said some enterprises have suggested issuing corporate bonds, which offers a golden opportunity to petroleum enterprises to try the model. However, he said the oil bond model needs to be applied on a trial basis first, in a small scale in large cities, where there are many large petroleum companies and good storage facilities, where people have good conditions and have many opportunities to access information. Urbanites are more open to policies than than people in rural areas. Besides, the storage facilities in urban areas are better than in rural areas. When the petroleum prices are low, it is necessary to think of storing products, Doanh said. Persuading people to store petroleum products together with the State under the oil bond model is a very good idea which needs to be applied soon so as not to miss the opportunity, he said. Meanwhile, Dinh Trong Thinh from the Finance Academy thinks Bruneis method may not work in Vietnam. In Brunei, oil is just 30 meters under the earth surface and the oil exploitation is automatic. Each drilling machine can bring nearly 100 Brunei dollars, or VND1.6 million each minute. With plentiful oil reserves and easy exploitation conditions, the oil production in Brunei is very low. Meanwhile, in Vietnam, the exploitation cost is over $50 per barrel. He doesnt think its a good idea to issue bonds at this moment to get money to buy petroleum products. He said when the worlds oil storehouses get nearly full, the storehouses in Vietnam, which exploits oil and imports petroleum products, will also become full. The government does not have enough depots to store oil. Le Ha VN petrol and oil giants lost billions of US dollars on plunging oil The revenues of PetroVietnam and Petrolimex slumped by $6.13 billion and $521.74 million this year due to the dropping oil price and the COVID-19 health crisis. Mosques in Egypt have been closed since 21 March amid measures to combat the spread of coronavirus The National Endowment Investment Group the investment body of the Ministry of Religious Endowments in Egypt will manufacture disinfectant booths to be installed at the entrance of mosques to curb the spread of coronavirus, Minister of Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa said in a statement Saturday. Gomaa stated that the ministry has started to equip mosques as part of a large scale plan for sanitising and continuously sterilising mosques. Mosques in Egypt have been closed to customary daily prayers and Friday congregations since 21 March amid measures to combat the spread of coronavirus. In earlier statements, Gomaa said that mosques will remain shut until the cause of the closure disappears. The National Endowment Investment Group earlier announced it had set up a production line for protective full-face masks aimed at contributing to boosting the protection of individuals and organisations against the coronavirus. The multiple-use polycarbonate masks are designed to avoid external hand-to-face contact. The ministry offers them for sale at EGP 50 ($3.2). The government shortened last Thursday coronavirus curfew hours to start from 9pm instead of 8pm on Friday, the first day of the holy month of Ramadan. Tarawih prayers, which are special evening prayers performed during Ramadan, are suspended this year. The government said it will gradually ease restrictions after the Eid Al-Fitr religious holiday, which marks the end of Ramadan. The total number of coronavirus cases in Egypt has reached 4,319, with a death toll of 307. Search Keywords: Short link: When the Manitoba government on March 30 ordered all non-essential services to close under the Public Health Act to reduce the spread of COVID-19, a measure that went into effect two days later, Shawn Bennett sprang into action. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/4/2020 (626 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. When the Manitoba government on March 30 ordered all non-essential services to close under the Public Health Act to reduce the spread of COVID-19, a measure that went into effect two days later, Shawn Bennett sprang into action. The first thing Bennett, owner of Happy Tails Pet Resort & Spa, a doggie daycare with two locations in Winnipeg, did after learning about the order was openly wonder whether his four-year-old, family-run operation qualified as an essential service. It took some investigating, but near the bottom of a long list of businesses deemed crucial under the act the 73rd of 74 entries was the following description: "A business that provides for the health and well-being of animals, including farms, boarding kennels, stables, animal shelters, zoos, aquariums, research facilities and other service providers." "Before we knew for certain that wed be allowed to stay open, we reached out to a lot of our clientele, many of whom work in the health industry, to let them know we werent sure what was going to happen," Bennett says, speaking loud enough over the phone to be heard above barking in the background. "It was a bit humbling because to a person they said they were with us no matter what. If we stayed open, great, theyd see us in a day or two. If we were forced to close, no worries. They and their pet would be back when we reopened." Sure, business is down significantly at facilities such as Bennetts, what with so many people either working from home or not working, period. But for that segment of the population that continues to head out the door day in and day out, Happy Tails and businesses like it have been a godsend, he feels, as theyve given pet owners one less thing to worry about. This week we chatted with the owners of three doggie daycares Bennett, Nikki Sherwin of Woofs N Wags and Katie Heinrichs of the Dog Loft to learn about each ones business, as well as to garner a few tips for anybody concerned how their own "fur baby" is reacting to these turbulent times. Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free PressTara Chez drops off their pup, Charlie in the vestibule at Woofs N Wags Wednesday morning.April 23, 2020 Despite what you may have heard or read, not everybody is a fan of the Netflix docuseries Tiger King. Owing to the fallout from COVID-19, Katie Heinrichs, owner of the Dog Loft, a 24-7 canine daycare centre located at 245 Marion St., was forced to lay off three-quarters of her 25-person staff. To help make ends meet, shes been pulling the graveyard shift herself, which means bedding down on a leather couch in her office every evening, while a few overnight "guests" are curled up at her feet. Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free PressJessie Schaum, an employee at Happy Tails Pet Resort, leads some of their clients pups around their artificially turfed outdoor play area Tuesday afternoonApril 22, 2020 "One night I was watching the first couple of episodes of Tiger King and I swear to god, every time one of the tigers on-screen growled, the dogs in here with me went crazy," she says. Heinrichs grew up in Altona. A dog lover since she can remember, she began volunteering at the Pembina Valley Humane Society during her final year of high school. She moved to Winnipeg after graduating and immediately landed a job at a doggie daycare; "the competition," she calls it. Three and a half years later, in December 2013, she opened the Dog Loft in a closed butcher shop, a location youd think would be a big hit with the canine crowd, right? Wrong. "The first time I came in with my own dog, Olivia, she stopped in the entrance and pooped, she was so terrified by the smell, which truly was horrible," Heinrichs says with a laugh. "I was like, what have I done? I just signed a five-year lease." Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free PressEaston says Hello while enjoying some time socializing with other dogs at The Dog Loft Wednesday afternoonApril 23, 2020 The big reason Heinrichs, who presently offers curb-side drop-off and pick-up, chose to remain open around the clock instead of reducing her hours to save money is the obligation she feels to pooches like Kaiser, a "little Pomeranian-thing" that gets dropped off by his owner, a doctor at St. Boniface Hospital, every night at 7 p.m., and goes home at 8 the next morning. "People might think why not leave him at home, all hes going to do is sleep, but if it was me, I wouldnt want my dogs spending the night unsupervised," she says. "Thats kind of been my line of thinking since the day we opened, that we treat the dogs who come here the same way wed want our own dogs to be treated." Also, if youre one of those dog "parents" whos hesitant about sending your pooch off to daycare, believing they wont get along with other dogs, you may not know your pet as well as you think you do, Heinrichs says. Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free PressWoofs N Wags owner, Nikki Sherwin kisses her dog Paisley Wednesday morningApril 23, 2020 "Some mornings its like dropping your kid off for the first day of school. There will be tears, the owner will be all nervous, but as soon as theyre out of sight, that dog is wagging its tail, running around as if to say, OK, Ive got this. I really have to start filming this stuff because owners never believe me." In mid-March, not long after Manitoba announced the provinces first confirmed case of COVID-19, Nikki Sherwin got in touch with Health Canada. The owner of Woofs N Wags, which opened at 491 St. Annes Rd. in 2007, was interested to know if there was anything she could do to assist health care workers. Lucille Austria grooms Jozy at the Dog Loft. As the dog boarding business is down, the grooming business is on the rise, left. Right: Tierney Maytchak, the resident auntie at Woofs N Wags, hangs out with some guests. "I said if there are doctors or nurses out there having to work extra long shifts because of the virus, I would happily volunteer my facility my home, even if they were looking for a place for their dog to stay while they were out of the house," Sherwin says, adding shes gone so far as to offer free toilet paper to regular customers who cant find a roll to save their life. "I know one person in the health field who doesnt have any family in Winnipeg nobody who can take her dog when shes away and I figured since theyre doing so much for us, donating a few hours of my time is the least I could do for them." Sherwin, a single mother of one, has a degree in psychology. Prior to opening Woofs N Wags, which has a second location at 2 Donald St., she taught behavioural programs to children, focusing on anger management, self-esteem and friendship groups. It was an easy transition going from kids to dogs, she says, adding dogs are very similar to humans, with different emotions and anxiety levels. photos by Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free Press Resident dogs at Happy Tails Resort enjoy some warmer weather as they play outdoors. "Just like no two kids are alike, no two dogs are alike, either," she points out. Following up on that, Sherwin has a couple tips for pet owners whose dogs might be wondering, first of all, why when they go for a walk theyre no longer allowed to interact with other dogs and dog owners. And secondly, whats with all the masks? About walk-time: Sherwin advises making your daily stroll about the two of you, and that if you need to avoid others to observe social distancing rules, turn it into a game by running towards a tree in the opposite direction, or scampering around a bush. As for face coverings, be sure to have some fun with that, too, she says. Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free PressWoofs N Wags Owner, Nikki Sherwin, spends time her pups Crickett (left) and Butterfly (right) at the Donald St location Wednesday morningApril 23, 2020 "If you have a sensitive dog, you need to be aware that everything youre doing thats new, like putting on a mask before you go out, you need to associate it in a positive light for your dog," she explains. "You can start at home, putting on a mask and giving puppy a treat at the same time. Or wear the mask while youre filling his food bowl or giving him a tummy rub. That way when you go into the world and he sees all these people wearing masks, hell be desensitized and think, Look at all these silly human beings. I guess wearing masks is the new thing." Shawn Bennett has been around dogs his entire life, as a pet owner, a breeder and as a registered dog judge for competitions held all over the world. However, it wasnt until his daughter Celeste came home from university four years ago and announced she didnt want to be a veterinarian after all that he and his family began putting the wheels in motion to open Happy Tails Pet Resort & Spa. Woofs N Wags owner Nikki Sherwin has noticed a drop in business since the start of the COVID-19 epidemic as much of the business for her Donald Street location comes from downtown. "Growing up she was the type who brought home birds with broken wings and nursed them back to health, or got off her bike to make sure a frog or squirrel got across the road safely," Bennett says. "A vet was the only thing she ever wanted to be but after doing a practicum for university and spending a week witnessing nothing but negativity dogs passing away, dogs being hit by cars she said, Mom and Dad, I dont think I can do this." The timing couldnt have been better. Between showing their own dogs and judging international events, Bennett and his wife were away from home a fair bit. Their eldest child had moved out, leaving Celeste and another son at home, but the writing was on the wall, he says. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "Obviously they were going to move out at some point, too, so what it boiled down to basically was we were running out of people to take care of our own dogs, so why not open a business that could do just that?" he says with a chuckle. Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free PressCharlie (left) waits to be greeted by some other resident dogs as he waits to be let into the office/indoor play area at Woofs N Wags Wednesday morningApril 23, 2020 Between their two locations, 596 St. Annes Rd. And 141 Samborski Dr., Happy Tails Pet Resort ordinarily has a staff of close to 40 people. Owing to COVID-19, that number is currently a fraction of what it once was. Take spring break, for example, when they had more than 100 bookings for week-long stays that suddenly went poof, after travel restrictions were put into place. "Whats nice is some of the people who cancelled asked if they could help us out in other ways, by donating a few days of daycare to a pet owner who really needed our service. Others have dropped off toys or food. Its been really something to see." One thing Bennett does want to stress is that when things do return to normal, and people go back to their regular, 9-to-5 routine, they have to be cognizant of separation anxiety, which can affect certain breeds more than others. Understanding not everybody can afford the services of a doggie daycare, he suggests regularly going for a walk or drive without your pet, so they get used to being home alone, and forces them to realize having their family home with them 24-7 isnt a forever thing. "Dogs have a routine as well and their mental health is important to monitor, just like our own. There are a lot of people whose dogs do a ton of damage to the home when theyre alone because of separation issues. Its really too bad we cant talk to them and explain everything thats going on in the world right now. That would sure make things a lot easier, wouldnt it?" david.sanderson@freepress.mb.ca Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free PressPaisley rolls around in an empty, indoor room which is normally filled with resident dogs Wednesday morningApril 23, 2020 Nobody knows where Kim Jong Un is. While North Korea has remained tight-lipped on the health and whereabouts of its Supreme Leader, capital Pyongyang grows antsy. Anna Fifield, Beijing Bureau Chief for The Washington Post, recently mentioned in a column that helicopters were seen flying low over the city and residents are panic buying. ALSO READ: Kim Jong Un death rumours: Here's what South Korea has to say Fifield, who authored Kim's biography 'The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un' in 2019, stated in her column that people in Pyongyang are stocking up on everything from "laundry detergent and rice to electronics to liquor". Imported goods were first to go, she said, with domestically produced items like canned fish and cigarettes witnessing similar demand over the past few days. ALSO READ: Kim Jong Un's doctor botched heart surgery as his hands were shaking, claims report However, on how things stand, Fifield clarified that she doesn't know. "I'm always very cautious with these kinds of rumours, given the number of times they've turned out to be wrong. The short answer right now is: I don't know. None of us will know until either North Korea tells us or he waddles back into view," she wrote. Kim Jong Un has been missing from public life for the past few weeks. He even missed the ceremony on April 15 to honour his grandfather Kim Il Sung, a day of national importance in North Korea's calendar to commemorate its founder. Several reports say that the North Korean leader is in a "vegetative state" or very bad health after botched heart surgery. Rumours took a turn after Hong Kong Satellite Television Vice Director Shijan Xingzou claimed in a Weibo post that Kim Jong Un is dead, citing "very solid source". Neither report has been corroborated by North Korea's state media. South Korea has also downplayed the report saying that no unusual activity has been detected. China has reportedly sent a team of medical experts to advise on Kim's health. ALSO READ: Kim Jong Un death rumours: North Korea remains silent as world watches closely Reports earlier today suggested that the special train belonging to Kim was spotted in the resort town of Wonsan. The train was spotted in satellite images reviewed by a Washington-based North Korea monitoring project 38 North. As per the report by 38 North, the special train was seen parked at the "leadership station" in Wonsan on April 21 and April 23. This station is reserved only for members of the Kim Family. "The train's presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country's eastern coast," the report said. Though the project claims that it was Kim's train, international news agency Reuters has said that they have not been able to confirm this story independently. ALSO READ: Is Kim Jong Un dead? Twitter abuzz with rumours of North Korean leader's demise Overwhelmed Providers Can Now Find Person-Generated Goals of Care and COVID-19 Statements in Real-Time VIENNA, Va. and DALLAS, April 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- eHealth Exchange, one of the nations largest health information networks, announced today its newest network participant, ADVault, Inc., the creators of MyDirectives. The MyDirectives platform allows individuals to upload or create, store and share their advance directives, advance care plans and portable medical orders like POLST forms. Now integrated into eHealth Exchange, the ADVault Exchange global repository is accessible by any healthcare provider participating in the eHealth Exchange for the patients they treat. This reduces the burden health organizations face in trying to get this critical information directly from patients or their caregivers during times of crisis. ADVault also announced that personal COVID-19 statements can now be added as a type of advance care planning document that consumers can store for free in the ADVault Exchange. Now, more than 75 percent of all U.S. hospitals, including the USNS Comfort in Los Angeles and USNS Mercy in New York City, have immediate access to advance care plans including, possibly, updated details such as desires to be cared for in place, for a ventilator or other specific healthcare wishes. During this pandemic, people are frequently alone without an advocate in the room and potentially unable to speak for themselves, and hospitals are resisting paper documents from patients for risk of infection, explained Scott Brown, co-founder and president of ADVault. So now it is more critical than ever for people to have confidence our healthcare system cares enough about you to hear your voice, access your goals of care and talk to the people youve asked to speak for you. We are honored to work with eHealth Exchange to help more people have such confidence. Dallas-based ADVault is a global, person-generated health data company credited with inventing digital advance care planning in 2007. MyDirectives.com and MyDirectives MOBILE allow people to upload paper advance directives (e.g., Caring Conversations, Five Wishes and the Veterans Administrations form 10-0137), digital advance care plans such as MIDEO and the MyDirectives uADDTM, the new COVID-19 personal statements and portable medical orders such as POLST and MOLST forms. The service is entirely free to consumers. The platform is financially supported by providers and health insurers such as Humana and UnitedHealthcare who want to help their members have a voice in their care. Story continues Even before the current pandemic, we as a healthcare community understood that advance care plans are imperative to better serve people by understanding their wishes for care, said Jay Nakashima, executive director of eHealth Exchange. ADVaults addition of personal COVID-19 statement functionality is a significant addition to the value that eHealth Exchange is bringing to our healthcare ecosystem. We thank ADVault and its integration partner Zen Healthcare IT for putting this collaboration on the fast-track so our participating hospitals and health information organizations can help more people during this intense global crisis. In normal circumstances, providers and caregivers use the eHealth Exchange to access patient information from outside their own facility to ensure a complete clinical picture and to make more informed decisions for better care. Advance care planning documents, including the COVID-19 statements that individuals are recording with their doctors, nurses and loved ones, on file with MyDirectives are now being pulled into electronic health records to empower caregivers with vital information to help guide clinical decision-making. Everyone at eHealth Exchange and at Zen moved quickly in recent weeks as the global health crisis caused leaders to realize the growing importance of advance care plans, said Mike Munoz, ADVaults director of product. We are impressed with the entire teams effort to focus on behalf of consumers and their goals of care. About ADVault, Inc. Since 2007, Dallas, Texas-based ADVault, Inc., is the worlds leading all-digital advance care planning platform via the award-winning MyDirectives and MyDirectives MOBILE interfaces, now with consumer users in over 50 countries. MyDirectives lets people create, store, update and share the free MyDirectives digital advance care plan or upload any third-party advance directive (such as documents from Caring Conversations , Five Wishes , the VA Form 10-0137 (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs), advance care plan, COVID-19 personal statements or portable medical order. Additional information can be found at www.advaultinc.com , MyDirectives.com or this TEDx Talk . About the eHealth Exchange The eHealth Exchange, a 501(c)3 non-profit, is among the oldest and largest health information networks in America and is most well-known as the principle way the federal government shares data between agencies and with the private sector. The eHealth Exchange network, which is working in 75 percent of all US hospitals, is leveraged by more than 30 electronic health record (EHR) technologies and 61 regional or state health information exchanges (HIEs). Four federal agencies (Centers for Medicaid and Medicare, Department of Defense, Department of Veteran Affairs, and Social Security Administration) participate in the network to share patient information with private sector partners as well as other agencies. In all, the eHealth Exchange supports secure exchange of the records of more than 120 million patients. www.ehealthexchange.org / @ehealthexchange About Zen Healthcare IT Zen Healthcare IT is an interoperability technology and consulting firm. Zen helps all stakeholders in healthcare - vendors, providers, payers, HIEs, and ACOs - simplify interoperability. Using technology tools and years of interface development and support experience, Zens solution architects and engineers design and build use-case driven solutions for health information exchange. The Zen team solves problems ranging from data acquisition, data normalization and aggregation, and data delivery challenges. Zens national client-base leverages Zens broad range of services, on-demand engineering, and disruptive Gemini Integration as a Service platform helps overcome interoperability obstacles and creates sustainable health information exchange infrastructures. Learn more at http://www.ConsultZen.com . Contact: Dawn Van Dyke eHealth Exchange dvandyke@ehealthexchange.org 703.864.4062 For ADVault: Heather Cabral West End Strategy Team heather@westendstrategy.com 202.550.6880 When he was preparing to take over as president of what was then Western New England College, Anthony S. Caprio was told the Springfield campus was just about the right size. The understanding was that wed reached the best size to accommodate the needs of our educational programs, says Caprio.I remember thinking, I dont think so. Twenty-four years later, Caprio is preparing to retire in late June, departing from a significantly changed institution from the one he joined in 1996. The college that chose Caprio became Western New England University in 2011. The physical expansion of the campus is unmistakable: during his time, nine new buildings were constructed, among them the $40 million Center for Sciences and Pharmacy and the University Commons dining facility and student center. The campus covers 215 acres, delighting Caprio, who said that upon his arrival, even he didnt know the potential to access more available land. Judging Caprios tenure solely through the lens of construction, though, is a vastly incomplete view. At a time university presidents often find themselves torn between fundraising duties and academic goals, hes found satisfaction and success in all aspects of the job If anything, I think Im unique. Ive loved every single moment of these 24 years, Caprio says. I like to spend my time, thinking of solutions to problems. That process is so energizing. Caprios enthusiasm for problem solving, along with his interpersonal skills, create a difficult act to follow. Dr. Caprios most valuable quality is that regardless of who he is speaking to, he listens and remembers and leaders dont always possess those important skills, says trustee Steven Kitrosser. Above all, he is a doer. He makes an effort to get involved and helps solve problems so that things can get accomplished. Caprios final months as president unfolded with a problem he could not have imagined. The COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak created unprecedented challenges and forced decisions for which there was no blueprint. Western New Englands decision to clear the campus and go to online education was necessitated by health and safety. Three Western Massachusetts university presidents Caprio, Bay Paths Carol Leary and Westfield States Ramon Torrecilha will leave campuses that pulsated with activity and growth during their tenures, but were strangely quiet at the end, as work continues by remote means. Those images might produce Caprios last set of Western New England memories, but they wont reflect a busy, bustling quarter century with an end that coincides with the institutions 100th year. Its an anniversary whose symbolism, Caprio says, had nothing to do with his own decision to end the longest presidency in the history of the institution. I started thinking about retirement about a year ago, he explains. It was nothing in particular (that caused it). It just comes upon you. During his tenure, Western New England began its first doctoral program, a Ph.D. in behavior analysis. Other advanced degree programs came later. What gives Caprio special pride, he says, is that the university has been able to expand its campus and diversify its curriculum while maintaining its own distinct identity. Weve done our own strategic planning and our own branding. We did not have the aspiration of competing against, for example, the Ivy League schools that have their own cachet, he says. Caprio believes the goal at Western New England was equally as meaningful, in a different way. Our mission has always been to educate all types of students from all types of backgrounds and identities, and prepare them have a good life and make a good living, he says. Caprio plunged into the expansion of course offerings and expanded curriculum, and colleagues credit him for blending a liberal arts curriculum into an urban setting. Long known for its excellence in engineering and law, Western New England has branched into new areas without losing sight of its reputation in traditional majors. Weve diversified our portfolio. Thats been a fun project for me, keeping things balanced in the right way, the president says. Thats the academic side of Anthony Caprio, who studied in Paris, France, has a background in languages and served for seven years as provost and professor of language and literature at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta. Not everyone with such a sophisticated academic background is eager to embrace the fundraising role that has become more essential than ever, especially for private colleges in the Northeast facing growing economic pressures. It was never a conundrum for Caprio. I love fundraising, he says. I have to be invested in all of the financial as well as academic aspects of the university. Some college presidents do only some of those, but that is not my personality. As for fundraising, I believe our alumni already have a bias in our favor. Fundraising provides me an opportunity to do group meetings, to sit and talk with people. Most of all, Im selling a university that has value, and an institution I believe in. The most ambitious fundraising drive in the universitys history will be in its final stages as the president departs. The $35 million drive, called the Campaign for Our Second Century, is within $700,000 of its goal and may be completed in fewer than five years. The president is especially moved by the Caprio Challenge, a $1 million campaign to honor his career by supporting the university. The challenge was made possible by the offer of $500,000 from trustees and benefactors, with a call for matching funds. Western New England University counts about 2,700 traditional students and 3,500 in all. Both the full-time undergraduate enrollment and the School of Law have seen significant increases in the 21st century. Caprio put his background in languages (notably French), literature and foreign studies to good use, forging exchange agreements with institutions in Europe, South America and Japan. His legacy will encompass physical campus expansion, new programs and financial growth. To listen to those commending him, though, its Caprios humanity that will leave the most lasting impression. His cheerfulness and his kindness are infectious. His oversight of all phases of the development of the campus has largely contributed to its beauty and functionality, says Janet Johnson Bullard, a 1969 graduate. His contributions are appreciated by all of us who have been touched by his humanity. He has been the engine behind the growth and expansion of a sleepy college in Springfield into a powerhouse regional university, adds John Brennan, a member of the Class of 1971. For all of the campus expansion under his watch, Caprio believes there is room for more. His own retirement plans are non-specific by choice. I plan on a little bit of rest, he says. Caprio also expects to lend his academic expertise to other organizations and perhaps other institutions of higher learning. His exit comes 20 years after Caprio, who earned his bachelors degree from Wesleyan University in 1967 and completed graduate work at Columbia University, actually graduated from Western New England. In 2000, he was awarded an honorary bachelors degree, allowing him to share the end of his first four years on campus with the freshman class that accompanied his arrival in 1996. It is a much different institution today. His associates say Caprio is the reason why. He absolutely is leaving the university in a much better place than when he arrived, longtime trustee Kevin Delbridge says. His legacy will be long remembered after he takes his final walk out of Deliso Hall. Most high school seniors hope to be accepted by their top two or three choices for college. Craig McFarland, 18, of Jacksonville, Fla., aimed particularly high and wide, and was accepted by all eight Ivy League schools. First came his acceptance to Yale University in December. I was just yelling in shock when I heard the Yale acceptance video, Mr. McFarland said, recalling that, earlier that day, hed had a disappointing track practice, gotten into an argument with a friend and had car trouble. After that, the other acceptances trickled in: Princeton University, Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, Dartmouth College, Cornell University and Harvard University. He opened them all in a single sitting. I was alone with my sister in my room and opened all the Ivy League schools one by one, he said, adding that he yelled a little louder with each acceptance. When I opened Harvard as the last one, my sister and I ran to my dog and danced around. This week it was revealed she'll reprise her character April Ludgate in the upcoming Parks And Recreation reunion. And on Saturday, Aubrey Plaza was spotted walking her dogs through Los Angeles with a friend. The 35-year-old actress wore a makeshift face mask around her neck as she strolled in casual attire. Here's April! On Saturday, Aubrey Plaza was spotted walking her dogs through Los Angeles with a friend The Ingrid Goes West star slipped into a Run DMC sweatshirt for the stroll, which were worn with clingy black leggings. On her feet she wore white sneakers and her wavy brunette tresses were covered with a cap. The screen beauty went makeup free for the outing. The look: The Ingrid Goes West star slipped into a Run DMC sweatshirt for the stroll, which were worn with clingy black leggings Meanwhile, Parks And Recreation stars including Amy Poehler and Chris Pratt are reuniting for a scripted reunion special. The new project will feature Amy's lead character Leslie Knope, a small town bureaucrat, tries to keep in touch with her loved ones amid the pandemic. Airing April 30, the reunion episode is a fundraiser for the Feeding America COVID-19 Relief Fund, according to Variety. Incoming: Parks And Recreation stars including Amy Poehler (pictured in character as Leslie Knope) are reuniting for a scripted reunion special Nick Offerman will be reprising his role as the grumpy Ron Swanson amid a slew of series regulars who are returning for the special. Rashida Jones, Aubrey Plaza, Aziz Ansari, Retta, Adam Scott, Jim O'Heir and Rob Lowe are all joining them in the project. Some of the show's sprawling variety of guest stars will also be making a return appearance, but specific names have not been announced. Kristen Bell, Jon Hamm, Andy Samberg, Patricia Clarkson, J.K. Simmons, Bill Murray, Heidi Klum and Paul Rudd have all featured on the program. All together: (from left) Adam Scott, Aubrey Plaza, Nick Offerman, Chris Pratt, Rob Lowe, Retta, Aziz Ansari, Jim O'Heir and Rashida Jones will all join her Ensemble piece: Airing April 30, the reunion episode is a fundraiser for the Feeding America COVID-19 Relief Fund, according to Variety Iconic: Parks And Recreation ran for seven seasons on NBC from 2009 to 2015, earning Amy six Emmy nominations as lead actress Former First Lady Michelle Obama put in an appearance as herself, as did then-Vice President and current presidential candidate Joe Biden. Michael Shur, who co-created the original sitcom with Greg Daniels, is in charge of the new charity special. 'Like a lot of other people, we were looking for ways to help and felt that bringing these characters back for a night could raise some money,' he told Variety. 'I sent a hopeful email to the cast and they all got back to me within 45 minutes. Our old Parks and Rec team has put together one more 30-minute slice of (quarantined) Pawnee life and we hope everyone enjoys it. And donates!' Iconic: Nick Offerman will be reprising his role as the grumpy Ron Swanson amid a slew of series regulars who are returning for the special Full of affection: The new project will feature Amy's lead character Leslie Knope, a small town bureaucrat, tries to keep in touch with her loved ones amid the pandemic Parks And Recreation ran for seven seasons on NBC from 2009 to 2015, earning Amy six Emmy nominations as lead actress. The same network was behind Friends, whose unscripted reunion special for HBO Max has been delayed indefinitely because of the pandemic. HBO Max is scheduled to launch on May 27, and the original plan was that when it did so the reunion and all the old Friends episodes would be on it. Getting the band back together: Michael Shur, who co-created the original sitcom with Greg Daniels, is in charge of the new charity special Friends star Courteney Cox dished about the upcoming reunion special with Kevin Nealon in February on his YouTube interview series Hiking With Kevin. She shared that although the cast still socialize privately, now 'we're all gonna get together for the first time in a room and actually talk about the show.' The leggy brunette gushed that 'I'm so excited to - we're gonna have the best time. It's gonna be great. But we really haven't all done that and actually sat there and talked about and reminisced about this incredible experience that we had.' Watch every episode of Parks and Recreation on HBO Max soon, or now on Stan in Australia. Hunk: Chris Pratt is pictured in the role of Andy, which made him a big name before his days of movie stardom in the Jurassic World franchise and Marvel Cinematic Universe Early downloads of the government's new coronavirus tracking app suggest the hoped-for numbers can be achieved, despite technical and design flaws. CovidSafe went live at 6pm on Sunday and was downloaded a million times on its first night in a promising start towards the needed figure. Prime Minister Scott Morrison had said 40 per cent of the population needed to install the app for it to be effective. The government has been campaigning for Australians to use the app as a prerequisite to swiftly end strict lockdown measures. The app uses Bluetooth technology to track users who come in close contact with people who have tested positive to coronavirus. Many Australians were horrified and confused when they were confronted with a screen telling them they had tested positive to coronavirus Some people who tried to download the app reported there were issues getting confirmation emails, in having their phone numbers recognised, and that the app ceased sending a Bluetooth signal when the phone went into low power mode. Others were alarmed and confused by a message telling them that they had contracted coronavirus, despite not being tested. 'You have tested positive for COVID-19,' the message read. 'Unless you consent, your contact information will not be uploaded. 'If you consent, your contact information will be uploaded and shared with State or Territory health officials for contact tracing purposes.' The message flashes up if the user hits the button which ways 'Upload my Information' on the home screen of the app. However that button is below text which reads 'Has a health worker asked you to upload your information?' and should only be pressed if the user has actually been diagnosed with coronavirus. The button is below text reading 'has a health worker asked you to upload your information?' and is the most obvious call to action on the front page of the app AUSTRALIA'S COVIDSAFE APP - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW The COVID-19 contact tracing app is called COVIDSafe. It only works on smartphones and can be downloaded from the Apple or Google app stores. Use of the app is voluntary. PURPOSE * To identify people who may have come into contact with someone who has COVID-19 so that they can be advised to take measures to help stop the spread of the disease or get tested. REGISTRATION Registration will require users to input their: * mobile phone number - so they can be contacted if needed for contact tracing. * name - so the relevant health officials can confirm they are speaking to the right person, although the Health Minister says you can use a fake name if you want. * age range - so health officials can prioritise cases for contact tracing. * postcode - to make sure health officials from the right state and territory are dealing with your case. COVIDSAFE IN USE The app will record the following contact data: * the encrypted user ID. * date and time of the contact. * the Bluetooth signal strength of other COVIDSafe users you come into contact with. This will be logged every two hours in the National COVIDSafe data store. * No location data will be collected at any time. * Contact data stored on a device will be deleted after 21 days. * All data stored will be deleted once the pandemic has concluded. PRIVACY * Personal information collected via COVIDSafe will handled in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Biosecurity Determination 2020. * There will be criminal penalties and anyone breaches someone's privacy. Source: Australian Government Department of Health Advertisement A spokesman for Government Services Minister Stuart Robert said the message was not a flaw, and the app was working as intended. 'You don't upload if you haven't tested positive, that's the whole point of the app,' they told Daily Mail Australia. 'You're only supposed to push that button if you've been asked to by a health official if you've tested positive.' However, users said they were concerned at receiving the alarming message after having mistakenly pressed the 'Upload my Information' button. 'There was a split second of panic before I realised I hadn't even been tested and couldn't be sick,' one alarmed user said. Another shocked user said that feature of the app could have been designed better. 'Nowhere does it say "click if you've been diagnosed with coronavirus" or "have you tested positive for COVID-19?",' they said. 'Even a first-year computer science student could have worked that out.' Once a user agrees to share their information they are required to input a code given to them by the health official to continue the process. CovidSafe went live at 6pm on Sunday and has been downloaded 500,000 times as Australians hope to further flatten the infection curve A survey by Newspoll indicated the government was likely to get the requisite 40 percent of the population downloading the app. The survey showed 54 per cent of respondents intended to sign up against 39 per cent who vowed they would not, chiefly on privacy grounds. 'Australians will rise to the challenge because they have risen to the challenge of distancing, they have risen to the challenged of testing,' chief medical officer Brendan Murphy said. If the 54 per cent download rate is borne out in coming days, it would give the Australian app a far higher acceptance than similar apps used overseas, where numbers had not risen above a quarter of the population. Part of that acceptance could stem from government assurance about privacy provisions, with collected data only able to be accessed by health professionals and will not be made available to police or intelligence services. For those who never test positive, all tracing data more than three weeks old will be automatically deleted. The Project's Tommy Little DEMANDS Australians download coronavirus tracing app in rant on live TV Alison Bevage for Daily Mail Australia Comedian Tommy Little told Australians to hurry up and download a government tracking app to their mobile phones so he can get back to playing sport. The cheeky funnyman unleashed a rant on The Project to encourage the public to embrace the coronavirus tracing app as 500,000 people rushed to download the tracker on Sunday. 'I am the person that if ever someone tells me to do something, I say no,' he said. 'But I'm so sick of talking about this virus, I'm sick of people not being able to leave their homes, and if the one thing you do - if you don't do anything else in your day today - just download this app. 'It's gonna make it so much easier for us to live our normal lives quicker. 'I'm sick of not playing sport, sick of not watching sport, just download the freaking app, people.' The CovidSafe app was launched at 3pm but there was a three-hour delay until registrations opened at 6pm, which confused some people who then left scathing one-star reviews The CovidSafe app uses encrypted data The Government wants 40 per cent of Australians to use the CovidSafe app so there is enough coverage for it to be effective. Health officials say widespread use of the app would help to ease the lockdown restrictions. The app is designed to speed up coronavirus contact tracing. Users who have been within 1.5 metres of someone who has the virus will be recorded using bluetooth, helping the authorities in the laborious process of contact tracing. The app uses anonymous IDs from anyone you are within 1.5 metres of, for about 15 minutes or more - if they also have the app. Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Sunday that the data would not be used for any other purpose than coronavirus tracing. 'It assists in the early alert and finding of people who may have been in contact with a person that is positive with the diagnosis,' he said in a televised address to the nation. Tommy Little encouraged people to stay home but now he is tired of restrictions and hopes that if everyone downloads the CovidSafe app he can play sport again Perth protesters hold signs on Saturday as they are tired of lockdown restrictions. Health authorities have said the CovidSafe app may help them lift the restrictions Privacy concerns have been an issue for many people who don't like the idea of the government using their mobile phones to track them. Mr Hunt addressed those privacy concerns on Sunday, saying the data was encrypted and that nobody had access to it other than public health officials for the limited purpose of coronavirus contact tracing only. CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 27,244 Victoria: 20,269 New South Wales: 4,273 Queensland: 1,161 Western Australia: 692 South Australia: 473 Tasmania: 230 Australian Capital Territory: 113 Northern Territory: 33 TOTAL CASES: 27,244 ESTIMATED ACTIVE CASES: 269 DEATHS: 897 Updated: 5.31 PM, 11 October, 2020 Source: Australian Government Department of Health Advertisement He said there was no geolocation, that courts would be prohibited from accessing the data, that the information had to be kept on servers located in Australia and that it would be deleted once the pandemic was over. Those who are diagnosed are asked permission a second time to consent to release the data from their phones. The app was released at 3pm with registration opening at 6pm. It was an instant hit with more than 500,000 Australians downloading the app by Sunday night, a Health Department spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. Many people downloaded the free tracker when it hit the app stores at 3pm but did not realise they had to wait until 6pm to register. This resulted in confusion when their registration would not work, resulting in a number of one-star reviews on the Android app site. 'It won't send me a PIN code, therefore does not work,' wrote Brett Vogler. 'It said try again later or invalid phone number.' Police talk to a man in Kings Cross, Sydney, on Anzac Day as they enforce lockdown rules Others told the one-star brigade to wait and countered with five-star reviews. 'Hold off with the harsh one star reviews people,' wrote Aaron Aardvark. 'It won't take your phone number until after 6pm ... show some patience.' Australia had 6,714 coronavirus cases as of Sunday night, with 83 deaths, 1,086 active cases and 5,541 patients fully recovered. Worldwide as of Sunday night there were 2,940,059 coronavirus cases with 203,803 deaths 1,894,505 active cases and 841,751 patients recovered according to the Worldometer coronavirus statistics tracker. The USA still has the highest number of overall cases at 960,896 confirmed infections with 54,265 deaths. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) recently released a report stating that the LGBTQ+ community is at a higher risk of contracting coronavirus, and The Pride Center of Staten Island has its back. In the report, The Lives and Livelihoods of Many in the LGBTQ Community are at Risk Amidst COVID-19 Crisis, The HRC details the unique challenges that the LGBTQ+ community faces. Of the nearly 14 million adults and 2 million youth that are members of the LGBTQ+ community, HRC estimates that about 40% work in industries that are heavily impacted by COVID-19. The top five industries include restaurants and food services, hospitals, K-12 education, colleges and universities, and retail. For comparison, these industries make up about 22% of the industries that employ non-LGBTQ+ individuals. Furthermore, one in five LGBTQ+ adults (22%) in the United States live in poverty, compared to the 16% that are non-LGBTQ+. As a direct result of this, one in five LGBTQ+ adults have not seen a doctor when needed because it was unaffordable. Especially within the younger generation, homelessness is common. The report explains that LGBTQ+ youth are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than non-LGBTQ+ youth. Many members of the LGBTQ+ community also face adverse health issues that can cause complications with COVID-19. LGBTQ+ individuals are more likely to smoke and have asthma, which are both known to cause high respiratory risks. Furthermore, 1.4 million LGBTQ+ adults have diabetes. One of the largest complications for COVID-19 within the community is for those individuals living with AIDS or HIV. HIV, which can lead to AIDS, interferes with the bodys ability to fight infections. According to the report, people with HIV are also more likely to have cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, and other serious illnesses that can cause complications when COVID-19 is contracted. Overall, HRC states: In many cases, LGBTQ people are at greater exposure and risk of both economic and health complications than non-LGBTQ people because of the types of jobs they are more likely to have, because of their experiences with poverty and lack of paid leave, and because of the health disparities they have compared to non-LGBTQ people. Carol Bullock, the Executive Director of The Pride Center, told the Advance/SILive.com she wasnt surprised by the statistics and high risk that the HRC details in the report. She said that its absolutely true that the LGBTQ+ community is taking a hit from coronavirus. Many members in our community are isolated to begin with, Bullock said. Adding something like this only layers on top of that. Because of family rejection or homelessness, many individuals are struggling to find the resources they need to stay safe - physically and mentally, Bullock explained. Among the two biggest issues that The Pride Center has seen during the outbreak are food insecurity related to poverty and health concerns. Transgender individuals in particular, Bullock says, have been struggling to get necessary tools for their health. One big example of health issues weve seen is the need for trans[gender] individuals to get hormone treatments, she said. Weve been able to help a few individuals by referring them to [NYC Health + Hospitals], but its a serious challenge. THE AIDS EPIDEMIC In the 1980s, there was a widespread outbreak of HIV and AIDS in the United States. It caused hysteria and prejudice against LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly homosexual men and transgender women. Some are comparing parts of that epidemic to the current coronavirus pandemic. The HRC details some similarities in the reactions to COVID-19. In particular, some specific groups are being targeted as the carriers, despite the virus easily spreading to all communities. The blame placed on the LGBTQ+ communities during the AIDS epidemic is similar to the experience that many Asians and Asian-Americans are having today. Furthermore, the HRC claims that there are similarities in administration response. They claim that the Trump administration initially downplayed the threat of coronavirus, similar to how the Reagan administration ignored the AIDS epidemic in the beginning. Bullock agrees that there are some similarities to the AIDS epidemic and the current pandemic. The fear behind it and the administration are the biggest similarities, Bullock told the Advance/SILive.com. Overall, I hope that the community can come together now like they did then. That will be a very similar experience. However, she did note that more people are taking coronavirus as something that could happen to them. At the time, AIDS was simply considered a disease in the LGBTQ+ community and not something heterosexuals could contract. I see this in our community on Staten Island, not just the LGBTQ+ community, Bullock said. Its really impacting everyone. Carol Bullock, executive director at the Pride Center of Staten Island, and Marcy Carr, operations director at the Pride Center of Staten Island, enjoy the PrideFest at Snug Harbor in 2019. (Staten Island Advance/Irene Spezzamonte) THE PRIDE CENTER OF STATEN ISLAND On March 13, The Pride Center closed its doors to the public and went virtual in hopes of keeping both staff and clients safe. Despite the transition, Bullock says things have been up and running better than they could have hoped. Ive been blown away by my team," Bullock said. The minute we made the decision to close the center, on a dime they were able to get all of our programming on different virtual platforms. The Pride Center is currently offering all of its regular programming online. It provides free mental health counseling, youth and senior programs, and other resources for the LGBTQ+ community. Since the start of the pandemic, Bullock noted that theyve seen a higher rate of attendance and expanded their services to meet community need. Were seeing more individuals who have reached out to us because weve made ourselves available online, Bullock said. This has allowed us to reach individuals who may not have been able to physically come to our center, but realize they have a need for our services. The HIV testing team at the center also partnered with Community Health Action of Staten Island (CHASI) to do at home HIV testing. HIV tests are being sent to individuals at home to do regulated home testing. Their community outreach is still operating as normal, as well, offering virtual training for any organizations that are interested. Especially in senior programming, the center has been adding more services, including delivering hot meals, providing technology education and more. I actually reached out to one individual in our senior programming, and she expressed that she needed cat food," Bullock said. So, we got her some cat food. Cat food, phone chargers - were getting things that people need, no matter what it is. The center recently created a survey on which individuals can detail what issues theyre having and what their needs are. Were encouraging anyone that we can help to fill it out, she said. "Some of these things, like cat food, we happened to trip across. We want to know if theres something we can do or we can connect people with a resource thats already doing it. We want to help Staten Island. CSI students march in the Staten Island LGBT Pride Parade. (Staten Island Advance/Hilton Flores) NYC PRIDE PARADE, S.I. PRIDEFEST Earlier this week, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced cancellations of large events through June. This includes the iconic NYC Pride Parade, which would be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. On Staten Island, The Pride Center is modifying events, rather than postponing or cancelling the celebrations. Staten Islands PrideFest will be taking place virtually, Bullock said. I know some people are postponing, but we still want to celebrate, she said. Our events are simply going to be different ways of celebrating pride. Currently, the PrideFest lineup includes the Spectrum Transgender Open Mic on May 6 at 7 p.m. and the Youth Prom on May 16 at 7 p.m. Bullock promises more very creative and exciting events to be announced shortly. The tone may be different, especially because last year was a huge commemoration of the 50th year since the Stonewall Riots," Bullock said. This year, its going to be a celebration, but its also going to be about coming together and supporting each other. For more updates on PrideFest activities and services offered by the center, Bullock encourages visiting their website. #PCSIHEREFORYOU The Pride Center is currently doing a social media campaign using the hashtag #PCSIHereForYou. Bullock wants to stress that theyre trying to help the entire Staten Island community. We are here for you, she said. And thats not the LGBTQ+ community, specifically. Its allies, its Staten Island. Barrick (Niugini) Limited (BNL), majority owner and operator of the Porgera gold mine in the Enga province of Papua New Guinea (PNG), said today the Governments decision not to extend its Special Mining Lease was tantamount to nationalization, without due process, and in violation of the Governments legal obligations to BNL. BNL said it remained willing to discuss the issue with Prime Minister James Marape and his Government in the hope of averting what it described as a catastrophic situation for the Porgera Valley communities, for Enga Province and for Papua New Guinea as a whole. BNL intends to pursue all legal avenues to challenge the Governments decision, and to recover any damages that BNL may suffer as a result. The Company also said it had no interest in discussing transitional arrangements for the management of the mine, as proposed by the Government, as this was not consistent with BNLs rights. BNLs right to the renewal was confirmed by the PNG National Court in August 2019. Barrick (Niugini) Limited notes that it has yet to receive formal notification from the Government regarding the decision and that, in the absence of further detail regarding the proposed transitional arrangements, the company intends to temporarily suspend mining and mineral processing operations at the Porgera Mine, in order to ensure the safety and security of employees and communities. BNL remains ready to participate in further discussions with the State. Critical safety, security and environmental personnel at the mine will remain operational during this period, and mine management are hopeful that full mining operations can resume in the future. BNL applied for the extension of the SML in June 2017 and has been engaging with the Government on this matter for the past three years. In 2019, in response to a request from Prime Minister Marape, the company proposed a benefit-sharing arrangement that would deliver more than half the economic benefits to PNG stakeholders including the Government for 20 years. Barrick president and chief executive Mark Bristow has met with Prime Minister Marape four times to discuss the extension issue and to re-affirm BNLs commitment to a long-term partnership with PNG. After their first meeting in June last year, the Prime Minister wrote to Bristow stating that the Government values our continued partnership with Barrick and it is our intention to do everything possible to ensure that arrangements are in place to enable continued operations of the Porgera Gold Mine once the current SML expires in August 2019. Despite this and other assurances, and numerous encouraging conversations with Government ministers and representatives, neither the Prime Minister nor anyone acting on behalf of the Government has at any point proposed alternative benefit sharing terms on which the SML could be extended, nor have they indicated that the SML would not be extended. The Government has also ignored the wishes of the legitimate Porgera landowners, who overwhelmingly support the extension of the SML under BNL, and the Prime Minister has refused to consult, travel to Porgera to engage directly, or hear their views in Port Moresby. BNL also notes that the Government has advanced the existence of alleged environmental damage claims and resettlement issues as a reason for the non-extension. The company notes that environmental management practices at the mine were studied and approved by the Government. The PNG Conservation and Environmental Protection Authority (CEPA) has carried out regular audits of the mine and has always found it to be in compliance with its permits. In fact, BNLs environmental management system exceeds the requirements of its permits. As far as resettlement is concerned, BNL has compensated and relocated more than 1,400 households impacted by the mines operations, and at no stage has the government indicated that the mine had not complied with its obligations in this regard. PNGFM/Pacific Mining Watch next : Dominic Raab today insisted the UK government is 'on track' to hit Matt Hancock's 100,000 daily coronavirus tests target by the end of the month despite the number of checks continuing to lag far below capacity. Mr Hancock set the target at the start of April and ministers now have just four days to get to the six-figure testing number. The latest published statistics show daily capacity for tests is at about 51,000 but the number actually carried out is still below 30,000, leaving the government with a massive task if it is to deliver on the Health Secretary's goal. But Mr Raab said this morning he expected there to be a 'big surge' in tests carried out this week as extra capacity 'comes on tap'. His comments came as key workers again struggled to secure a home testing kit after the government's website stated there were 'non available' just twenty minutes after the latest batch of the checks was released today. The test site launched on Friday in an effort get key workers who are isolating checked so they can go back to work. But so far it has struggled with high demand, with tests running out in a matter of minutes. Mr Hancock has pledged 5,000 tests a day would be made available for key workers through the online portal, in an effort to 'get Britain back on her feet'. Key workers can also book slots at drive-through testing centres across the country. Mr Hancock is under huge political pressure to deliver on the target and he said on Friday he does believe 100,000 tests will be carried out every day as of the end of this month 'but nothing is guaranteed in life'. That pressure has only grown after England's Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty told MPs that the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) had not signed off on the number. Dominic Raab today insisted the UK is 'on track' to carry out 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of April There are now 31 drive-through testing sites in operation across the UK. A soldier is pictured taking a swab from a key worker at a testing station in Chessington Key workers continued to struggle to secure a home testing kit again today after the UK government website stated there were 'none available' just twenty minutes after the tests were released Mr Raab was told during an appearance on Sky News this morning that just 28,700 tests were carried out in 24 hours according to the latest available data. Asked if he believes the government will get to 100,000 by the end of the month, he said: You are right about that in terms of the latest figures for tests carried out although it is a bit old now because we have come through the weekend, we have got new data. Our capacity for carrying out tests is now at 51,000 per day so we have passed the halfway line to our target. There are two things in the last week that really matter and you always get the exponential increase in a project like this in the last week as the capacity comes on tap.' He continued: 'First of all, with the NHS portal we are making sure people can access the tests either through home kits, through any one of the 31 drive-through centres and increasingly with mobile testing labs and the military are helping spread those across the country. The second thing is we focused initially on NHS workers, then on care workers, we have now brought it to include all essential workers. So I think we are going to see a big surge in the last week and we are on track to hit that target. On the booking website's first day in operation some 46,000 people attempted to secure a test with available home checks and drive-through slots gone in a matter of minutes. Regional drive-through tests are still available in England but have been booked out for the day in Wales and Northern Ireland. Drive-through test sites are only accessible to key workers who have their own transport, with a car registration plate required to book a slot. The 5,000 home tests released daily are only intended for those who have symptoms or who have a member of their household who has displayed symptoms of coronavirus. Number 10 said the government is trusting that those applying for tests are key workers, with no eligibility checks in place for online bookings. Concerns have been raised about the location of the drive-through sites with some workers facing lengthy journeys to get tested. Iceland delivery driver Scott B. from Middleton, Greater Manchester, said that he had only been able to secure a drive-through test for him and his wife, who is 'extremely high risk' due to medical conditions, 51 miles from home at Doncaster Airport. He tweeted: 'Just been online to book a Corona test for me and my wife (my wife is classed as extremely high risk and I'm classed as a key worker ) , the nearest test centre is 51 miles away.....yeah nice one #coronavirustesting #Manchester #NHS.' He said he was unable to take the time away from work to make the journey so will not be taking up the offer. Another key worker from Manchester, Simon Crowther, was directed to a test site 100 miles away from his home in Penrith, Cumbria. He tweeted: 'Just booked my Covid19 key worker test. I live in Manchester. The test is in Penrith! Oh well at least the M6 should be clear.' For key workers who are under 18 drive-through testing is only available in London or Belfast. Health Secretary Matt Hancock, pictured in Downing Street on Friday, is facing increasing political pressure over his 100,000 testing target Key worker Scott B. said that he had only been able to secure a drive-in test for him and his 'extremely high risk' wife 51 miles from his home Simon Crowther was offered a drive-in test in Penrith, Cumbria, 100 miles from his home in Manchester Will Vernon, who was trying to book a test on behalf of his 17-year-old sister who works at a supermarket said he had been unable to book any test Will Vernon, who was trying to book a test on behalf of his 17-year-old sister who works at a supermarket said he had been unable to book a test. Mr Vernon tweeted: 'Turns out my 17 year old sister can not get a COVID-19 test despite being a key worker @mrjamesob @Number10press @MattHancock'. Despite tests booking up so quickly, Dr Simon Eccles, chief clinical information officer at NHS Digital, said the website had been 'improved' before it re-opened on Saturday - adding that an 'amazing team' had worked 'all night' on it. 'Home kits all booked by 8:15! I know it's frustrating but we're developing more lab, supply and logistics capacity every day,' he said on Twitter. 'If we'd waited until we had the full 100k, to launch, no one would have had a test today. More home kits again tomorrow, even more next week.' Asked whether the government was confident people would be able to test themselves accurately with a kit sent to their homes, the spokesman added: 'There are videos available to show people how to do this and people will be given clear instructions.' Under the scheme, test results from the drive-through sites will be sent out by text within 48 hours, and within 72 hours of collection of the home delivery tests. Israeli army intelligence agents collect info to prevent unrest amid pandemic: Report Iran Press TV Saturday, 25 April 2020 10:11 AM Israeli military intelligence agents have reportedly helped the regime's security council collect information on citizens in order to prevent unrest over the handling of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Senior military intelligence officials confirmed to Haaretz newspaper the participation of officers in discussions of a committee appointed by Israel's NSC agency to address the outbreak. According to the report, the committee discussed two weeks ago the possibility of a popular revolt over growing economic, psychological, and health problems in the occupied territories and possible ways to prevent such a rebellion. The participants considered how "to halt, in time, the risks that could very well bring about wide-scale social unrest," thereby possibly leading to anti-regime protests, the report said. The committee, headed by Professor Eli Waxman of the Weizmann Institute of Science, gathered the NSC and military representatives as well as a group of 30 participants hailing from academic, defense, law enforcement, and government fields. They raised possible causes for unrest, including economic hardship people are going through and a sense that the Israeli authorities have lost control. They further cited a possible trend toward focusing on a "scapegoat" for the crisis such as the ultra-Orthodox community, Arabs or foreigners. The participants in the NSC committee proposed an "awareness campaign" to reduce feelings of discontent and a ministerial panel responsible for influencing the public. Waxman's son was listed as a research assistant for the committee, while he serves as an officer in a military intelligence unit which, in regular times, gathers intelligence information on the enemy using advanced technological means. Sources in the Israeli army said the officer had obtained his commanders' permission to help the NSC committee gather information which could serve as a database. Waxman's son is "an officer in the intelligence branch who volunteered to help out as a research assistant on matters of gathering open information from around the world and building a database to support the committee's work. He led teams of volunteers from the unit who specialize in such work, with the approval of his superiors," members of the NSC committee noted. The Israeli army claimed that military intelligence officers did not participate in the discussions concerning social protests. Representatives of the military intelligence directorate "aided the NSC, with the authority and approval of the relevant bodies, in collecting open information from the internet on planning exit strategies from all over the world, and making them accessible to the members of the committee," the Israeli army spokesperson's unit said. "It should be emphasized that Military Intelligence officers did not take part in discussions concerning social protests in Israel and civil revolt. In addition, the intelligence branch does not collect information about the citizens of Israel." Last month, Israel gave its spy agency Shin Bet the green light to use "counter-terrorism" operations against those infected with COVID-19, treating the pandemic as a security menace. Shin Bet confirmed that it was examining the use of its technological capabilities to deal with the highly contagious virus. Israel has so far reported 15,148 infection cases and almost 200 deaths from the coronavirus. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Extended check-in time, frequent disinfection every hour, additional queue managers at entry, exit, boarding point, check-in halls, security check areas and boarding gates, with social distancing markers and reminders welcome to our airports post-coronavirus. Indian airports are preparing to resume business in a scenario where they know business will be unusual. While counting their losses and strategising on how to protect revenue, Indias major private airports and State-owned Airport Authority of India (AAI) are ramping up sanitisation. They are also implementing procedures to comply with social distancing measures which will become a norm when air travel resumes in a controlled manner after lockdown. Airports expect passenger footfall to drastically reduce for the entire year. This will harm the revenue of airports and the vast retail ecosystem that serves their customers at airports. But fewer footfalls will make it easier to prevent crowding in the immediate days after travel begins. The Airport Council International (ACI) a group of worlds largest airport estimates that due to the pandemic, footfall to reduce by 40 percent in 2020 at Asian airports. Several airports have already started marking various contact points for making zones for social distancing, AAI Chairman Arvind Singh said. Delhi Airport, Indias largest in terms of passenger capacity, said it has deployed a team of 500 professionals to carry out frequent disinfection every hour. There will be additional queue managers at entry, exit, boarding point, check-in halls, security check areas and boarding gates, with social distancing markers and reminders. We are conducting training and assessments of key service personnel, check on major facilities and performing risk evaluations to prepare for resuming operations. We will leave no stone unturned when it comes to the well-being of its passengers, said Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEO at Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL). The airport which pays 47 per cent of its revenue as rental to State-owned AAI has started negotiations for a waiver on that till business returns to normal level. Mumbai airport has formed quarantine centres at both the terminals if a passenger develops symptoms during screening which will be compulsory before entering the airport. It advises travellers to carry less luggage and wear masks and gloves. Hyderabad airport will aggressively promote its digital entrance facility which allows self check-in, self bag-tag and travel without a printed boarding card. We are disinfecting the entire airport premises during this closure with high-grade disinfectants and will increase the frequency of sanitising and deep cleaning once operation resumes, said Hari Marar, MD & CEO at Bangalore International Airport. CISF, the paramilitary force that guards airports, said measurement of body temperature at the airport entrance will be made mandatory. M A Ganapathy, special DG (airport security) said the closure of check-in time for passengers may have to be increased to 120 minutes from the current 45 minutes to prevent queueing and make time for multiple checkings. The airports business will be severely impacted by a government recommendation to keep business outlets closed for a certain period. The rents or concession fees from such stores, which has become zero over the last one month form a large part of the private airports revenue. To avoid crowding and breaching of distancing norms all outlets except pharmacy shops and ATMs may not be allowed to operate till the situation is normal, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security has proposed. The ministry of civil aviation has formed a committee headed by joint secretary on the procedure to finalise guidelines on how to resume air travel. CEOs of private airports along with airlines are part of the committee. Sources said that multiple global chains are discussing to invoke the force majeure clause saying that they will be unable to pay rentals to airports for FY 21. We are accounting for zero non-aeronautical sale for the rest of the year, this will be damaging for sustenance," said an executive of a private airport. Hence, airports does not want blanket ban on stores and assure that strict crowd control measures will be implemented there too. We are even changing the store layout plans and making clear demarcation signs and will encourage customers for no-contact purchase options, says P K Thimmaya, CEO of Flemingo Travel Retail which operate duty-free stores at Mumbai airport. They can shop on our website and just collect their purchase from a pre-designed counter, he says, pointing out that they provide livelihood to almost 1,000 families. Photograph: PTI Photo. Actor Amitabh Bachchan, who has been putting out motivational posts through out the coronavirus pandemic, felt the crisis up close and personal on Saturday. The veteran actor took to Instagram to declare to the world the news of the hour - that a bat had entered his home in Mumbai. He wrote in English and Hindi: BREAKING NEWS !!! News of the hour .. a BAT , yes chamkadadh just entered my room ..3rd floor Jalsa .. where we all sit and chill .. never seen before in the area, let alone a house , ... in my house ... in my room !!! Aur hamara hi ghar mila usse! Corona piccha chhod hi nahin raha! Udd udd ke aa raha hai, kambakht!! In his blog, he elaborated, There be no other news than this : A bat .. yes a BAT , just flew into my room, Jalsa 3rd floor, my private room. Never ever seen one in the entire Juhu area, let alone a house. Now today my house, my personal room, apparently came out from my bedroom, panic among the girls, finally got rid of it by opening one of the doors leading out to the balcony. I was wanting to get to my study to pick up the badminton racquet, that I had decorated my interior with - a gift from special person - but the girls were screaming and pulled me out of the room. The racquet, the badminton racquet, is the ideal weapon for this flying object .. in school we would strike with it when it came out in our dorm at night .. you had to time it right, and apprehend its erratic flight path, to get it to crash into the netting and get stuck .. then you let it out. BUT .. a bat in these times .. after all the corona stories .. begins to get a little eerie .. beyond that do not have much to say .. but if I do .. shall return .. with or without BATMAN .. !! The post drew response from a host of his industry colleagues - Bhumi Pednekar was disturbed by the idea and wrote OMG, Diana Penty wrote Gosh. TV actor Aahana Kumra wrote: Oh god! Please be careful!!. Veteran critic Bhawana Somaya said: What??? Some of his fans too expressed concern; one user wrote Take care sir. What would otherwise have been an inconvenience, in coronavirus times, is likely to send shivers down the spine. Amid the Coraonavius crisis, Amitabh has been posting throwback pictures. He recently revisited the days from the age of innocence in a new social media post. Amitabh had taken to Instagram and shared a collage with one of the four pictures was from photoshoots of his early days in Bollywood, in 1969. The second image comprises photoshoots of seventies or early eighties. The age of innocence is over, Amitabh captioned the image. Also read: Karan Johar proudly shows off grey hair as his lockdown look: Let me start behaving like my age for once Ever since the janta curfew last month, Amitabh has not participated in the weekly Sunday darshan where he meets his fans. Bachchan recently said that Sundays arent the same anymore without the 38-year-old ritual of greeting his fans, which has come to a halt amid the nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Amitabh recalled the anticipation and excitement he would feel to greet his fans. The Sunday does not mean the same as before. Waiting for the time to arrive, the security in place, that familiar sound of the step board being dragged into position, that familiar scream of the well wishers at the gate as each domestic entrant enters and leaves premises... of the knowing that he comes, the actor wrote in his blog on Sunday. (With PTI inputs) Follow @htshowbiz for more Hundreds of frightening health alerts pop up worldwide each month. Consider these from last December, the month that ended with the first inkling of what would become the deadly COVID-19 pandemic: A herdsman infected with the pneumonic plague in Inner Mongolia, the fourth case in a few weeks. Three hundred cases of cryptosporidium infection in Sweden, causing gastrointestinal and respiratory issues. An Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo 3,346 cases as of Dec. 15, 2019, two-thirds of them dead. And then this one: A pneumonia of unknown etiology in Wuhan, China, on Dec. 30. How does the world determine which one is a call to battle stations? To answer that question, the Star has looked at the system for broadcasting and interpreting alerts, and how it actually played out with COVID-19. With both the current pandemic, and SARS in the early 2000s, reaction time at each step was slow, the Star found. Even once it was clear there was a problem health leaders including many in Canada insisted there was a low risk to Canadians. Ultimately, says Toronto infectious disease Dr. Michael Gardam (Humber River Hospitals chief of staff and a veteran of SARS and other outbreaks), common sense and experience needs to play an enormous part in deciding which alert is the real deal. When he heard in the early days public health leaders in Canada and at the WHO said there is little evidence of human to human transmission with the novel coronavirus he did not believe it. That would have been one hell of an infectious bat to have all those people exposed to it at a wet market, Gardam says. Lets talk about sickness and disease and the planet earth. With a population of 7.6 billion, there is a lot to discuss. Its a world of travellers, which means that one countrys illness could be another countrys illness very quickly. There is no official, worldwide system that takes information from governmental health agencies and plugs it into a shared database. Instead, there is a mishmash of systems, some run by volunteers, some by companies, that scan media and social media reports looking for disease outbreaks. ProMED is the best known. It is run by the 90,000 member International Society for Infectious Diseases, an association of doctors and scientists around the world whose business is disease. Take a look at the ProMED website. On the left side you will find the last few months of alerts. Its worth looking at. Its a bit like an old fashioned listserve pushing out raw information. Thousands of doctors around the world, including Gardam, receive these ProMED emails everyday. The Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED) was set up as an early warning system to alert the globe to emerging diseases. Its the public face of the International Society, a network created in the 1980s. Its stated belief is that diseases cross international boundaries and information is key to stifling outbreaks. In SARS, the first warning was given by ProMED. There are about 4,000 alerts carried by ProMED Mail every year. They come from ProMEDs scans of media and other sources of information around the world. Sometimes it is an email sent to ProMED by a doctor who notices something (as it was with SARS) but most often it will be a media story based on a localized public health alert. A Toronto based company, BlueDot, does similar work for a growing roster of clients and like ProMED was among the first to sound the initial alarm on COVID-19 on Dec. 30. Prior to that, as the then-unnamed virus spread in Wuhan, China, only local doctors and health officials were in the know. The information they were developing was kept local. According to information later published in scientific papers, people were showing up in emergency rooms complaining of a pneumonia-like illness. All but one of the initial 27 sick individuals were either workers or visitors to a wet market in Wuhan, a sort of farmers market named for the wet floors from melting ice used to keep animal and vegetable produce fresh. The first known patient this is still a mystery was a housebound man with Alzheimers who contact tracers determined had no contact with the market. Wuhan is an enormous city, with a population of 11 million, the most populous city in central china. The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market is in a central part of a bustling residential district, not far from the banks of the Yangtze River. Throughout December, doctors were treating patients for a variety of symptoms. Some had a dry cough, some had fever, x-rays showed some had pneumonia. Each original patient from December was sick for an average of six days before going to see a doctor, meaning during that time they would have been infecting others, based on what is now known of COVID-19. While people were showing up for medical treatment by the second week of December, it took until Dec. 29 for a Chinese medical surveillance system set up in the wake of SARS to link four cases in different hospitals as having a pneumonia of unknown etiology. Within two days the system had identified more cases. An urgent symposium among doctors treating patients was held so that they could pool knowledge. One theory was that SARS had returned after seventeen years. Late in the evening on Dec. 30, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commisison issued a local release describing an urgent notice on the treatment of pneumonia of unknown cause. A Wuhan journalist saw the release and wrote a story on Dec. 31. It was that story that was spotted by ProMED and BlueDot, which scans the Internet in multiple languages. There were 27 cases, seven of them in serious condition, but all with pneumonia symptoms. Antibiotics were not working. Most had fever, some had difficulty breathing. Some were recovering and two would soon be released. There was a connection to the wet market, the story said. Infectious disease experts, including at the Wuhan Centres for Disease Control were being consulted. So far, the investigation has not found any obvious human-to-human transmission, and no medical staff infection has been detected. The detection of the pathogen and the investigation of the cause of the infection are ongoing, a translation of the Wuhan journalists story reads. Around the world that Dec. 31 (and depending on what time zone a person was living in) revellers were either preparing for New Years Eve or sleeping off the after affects. Nobody was aware of the gathering storm. Dr. Gardam in Toronto recalls seeing the email from ProMED. I remember looking at that email and going, theres another one and filing that away for future reference. In no way did it raise the alarm because there are just so many of these things popping up that end up being nothing, said Gardam. Nobody reading that on Dec. 31 would say, Oh my God, its coming, said Gardam. He points out that outside specialists have no access to the data that the Wuhan doctors and Wuhan disease experts are compiling. To put that email alert in context, it was sent out in the midst of many other alerts as is typically the case. Yellow fever in Mali, tuberculosis in Switzerland, a lengthy update issed by the WHO on seasonal influenza cases in the world. There was even a report on ProMED of four cases of Legionnaires disease in Barrie, Ontario. But what stands out about what became COVID-19 is the word unknown. Three weeks (at least, as recent reports suggest the outbreak may have started earlier in November) into the Wuhan outbreak, researchers did not know what was causing it. Most of the other ProMED alerts involve already identified diseases, something that should have attracted more attention. Gardam, who was deeply involved in battling the Toronto SARS outbreak, and pandemic planning after, said that one reason that the initial alert out of Wuhan was not taken as seriously as in hindsight it should have been is that novel pathogens new bacteria or virus that can cause disease often pop up and because it is not well suited to humans it stops. Coronaviruses are frequently the culprit and most people will be infected by one coronavirus or another in the course of their lifetime get a runny nose, sore throat, aches, maybe a fever and then recover nicely. The difference with COVID-19, as is now abundantly clear, is that this particular coronavirus is very well suited to human transmission. Once the original notice was sent out by ProMED, BlueDot, and then the World Health Organization, the issue was, just how dangerous is this new illness. Would it spread? Gardam said that what he watched out for was the ensuing updates, which showed more and more cases in the early part of January, including fatalities. It puzzled him to see public health leaders in Canada, in the U.S., and at WHO downplaying concerns. In the middle of January, the WHO said that, based on preliminary work by Chinese medical authorities, there was little or no evidence of human to human transmission. Gardam said that the notion that an infected bat (the assumed culprit) had somehow infected so many people at the market market workers as well as shoppers was just not plausible. Although detective work on the genesis of the outbreak continues (media reports range from an infected bat at the market to an infected bat at a Wuhan infectious disease lab that studies coronaviruses in bats), it is generally accepted that the virus jumped from a bat to a human, likely with another animal as an intermediary. Regardless, Gardam said with so many cases known by early January it was clear to him that no matter the origin case, this was now a case of human to human transmission. Yet the WHO, in mid-January, said there was no evidence of that transmission. Politicians and public health leaders then took their cue from the agency. On Jan. 30, both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canadas top public health doctor Dr. Theresa Tam said the risk to Canadians was low. Gardams analogy to what was happening is, you are standing on the shore you can see the tidal wave coming at you but right now, at this moment on the shore, you are fine but the tidal wave is coming. He said it was disingenuous to say the risk to Canadians is low. Instead, leaders should have said the situation is likely to change in the next few weeks. He said there was a reluctance to give that message because with it would have come the extreme shutdowns that Canada and the rest of the world ultimately experienced. Dr. Kamran Khan, the St. Michaels Hospital doctor who founded BlueDot, told the Star that his companys disease surveillance network picked up the original alert out of Wuhan and coupled it with a system that connects outbreaks around the world via commercial air travel. That helped them determine early which cities (most were cities in Asia) were among the first to receive cases of the new virus based on typical travel from Wuhan. As to whether the world should have acted more quickly on the original alert, Khan said BlueDot published information about the spreading virus because we felt it was a credible threat in early January. However, everyones threshhold to declare battle stations (is) different, Khan said. Mario Possamai, who was a senior advisor to the SARS Commission which investigated Ontarios response to the outbreak, said one only has to look at the overriding statement made by Justice Archie Campbell who in his final report pointed out numerous inadequacies which led to the disease spreading in 2003. SARS taught us that we must be ready for the unseen, Campbell wrote in 2006. Correction - April 27, 2020: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly referred to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Kevin Donovan is the Stars chief investigative reporter based in Toronto. He can be reached at 416-312-3503 or via email: kdonovan@thestar.ca Read more about: Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ary Hermawan (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, April 27 2020 Imagine checking your phone and instead of finding a list of unread WhatsApp messages from family and colleagues, you find a harrowing notification saying, Youve registered your number on another phone. After scrambling on social media to announce the hacking, you gain control of the text messaging application, but only to find that whoever hacked your account has broadcast a message inciting people to take part in nationwide riots a day before May Day. You realize there is something sinister about the whole incident and seek advice from human rights organizations who tell you to switch off your phone and find a safe house. But the police get to you first. They arrest you on incitement charges, along with a foreign national, just before you step into a vehicle owned by a local foreign embassy. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Migrant workers will now be able to go out of Rajasthan and those in other states can come back in a phased manner after his government coordinated with others, chief minister Ashok Gehlot said on Saturday evening. Ashok Gehlot said the state government wants to send all migrants workers to their homes safely and expected their support. If anyone violates rules, there will be strict action," the chief minister said. The comments came after Gehlot addressed a high-level meeting on this issue from his residence through video conference. Chief secretary DB Gupta said he was coordinating with his counterparts in other states to ensure safe passage to migrant workers. Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana have already initiated the process to bring back migrant labourers stranded in other states after the lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus pandemic was imposed in March till April 14 and then extended till May 3. Also read: UP starts bringing back migrant workers Union cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba met chief secretaries of the states on Saturday to talk about the thousands of workers, currently in migrant labour camps around India who want to return home, among other things. With no interstate travel being allowed and passenger trains not running, several states have suggested running special trains to transport these workers. At Saturdays meeting, some states including Punjab, Gujarat, Bihar and West Bengal asked the Centre to set a protocol for such movements. Registration Gehlot said the migrant workers will have to register themselves on emitra.rajasthan.gov.in portal, e-mitra mobile app or e-mitra kiosk, or at helpline number 18001806127. After registration, his government will seek permission from the respective state and will make arrangement for their return on a particular day and time according to the number of workers, said a release from chief minister's office. Migrant workers or other emigrants coming from outside in their private vehicles with curfew pass will be allowed into Rajasthan after registration at the entry points and will be quarantined after reaching their destinations. Also read: 19 buses to take 653 migrant workers to their hometowns from Gurugram Similarly, collectors in Rajasthan will issue curfew passes to people of other states going back in their private vehicles. Gehlot said it was a challenge to send migrant workers to their states and protocol will have to be followed. He directed officials to ensure that migrants followed social distancing and other health norms as they leave for home in the next few days. He said the quarantine period and curfew rules should be implemented strictly without any discrimination on the basis of caste. Also read: After months wait, migrants in Haryana finally on way home He appealed to villagers to inform local administration about people coming from outside so that quarantine rules can be ensured and 'tapasya' of Rajasthanis for so many days doesn't go waste. Following protocols The chief minister directed officials to ensure sufficient arrangement for screening the workers for influenza-like symptoms such as fever and cold and cough. The transport department should ensure enough buses and district administrations should make arrangements for temporary shelter and food etc state's borders, Gehlot said. Buses and shelters should be sanitised. The chief minister said migrant workers coming in from outside should stay under home quarantine as much as possible. For those who cannot follow this, the district administration should organise institutional quarantine facilities, he said. Gehlot said everyone should keep all identity documents and documents related to Covid-19 tests, if done, with them, and should produce them when asked, without any fear or hesitation. "Don't hide information about contact with a Covid-19 positive patient or any symptoms of the disease," he appealed to the people. The government is tracking everyone in quarantine through the Covid-19 info app. If anyone goes outside the quarantine area, they will face action Rajasthan reported 49 new cases on Saturday, taking the state's Covid-19 toll to 2,083. There have been 34 deaths in the state even as 513 people recovered from the disease. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON By Trend Azerbaijan is not just a transit territory, but also an active participant in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project with large forecasted dividends, Vadim Kozyulin, Candidate of Political Sciences, Professor of the Academy of Military Science, Director of the Asian Security Project at the PIR Center told Trend. The INSTC project has been modified over 20 years. As it turned from an idea into a reality, new participants connected to the INSTC, Kozyulin said. One of the three main routes of the project, the South-West Transport Corridor, runs through the territory of Azerbaijan. It does not just pass through this territory, but connects Azerbaijan with Russia, Europe, Iran, India and many other countries. For the economy of all participants, this is approximately the same as the opening of a subway between the districts of the city, where traffic jams used to be, and you had to get to the desired point bypassing the ring road. Only in our case, these areas are scattered thousands of kilometers away. The benefits of the new railway binder are obvious, and all participants will receive dividends when the corridor is fully operational, the political expert noted. Azerbaijan is not just a transit territory, but an active participant in the project and the beneficiary. The INSTC brings not only obvious economic benefits, but also will strengthen the political and sociocultural relations of the participating countries, Kozyulin added. The foundation of the International North-South Transport Corridor was laid on September 12, 2000 according to an intergovernmental agreement signed between Russia, Iran and India. Azerbaijan joined this agreement in 2005. In general, 13 following countries have ratified this agreement. The goal of creating the corridor is to reduce the delivery time of cargos from India to Russia, as well as to Northern and Western Europe. The new corridor is expected to reduce the delivery time from six to three weeks. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz You are here: China Chinese prosecutors have intensified crackdown on epidemic-related crimes of various types, including intellectual property right (IPR) infringement, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) on Saturday. The SPP said that procuratorial organs gave full play to their procuratorial functions to effectively protect the interests of IPR holders. More than 85 percent of the epidemic-related IPR infringement cases involve counterfeit and substandard masks, said Zheng Xinjian, a prosecutor with the SPP. Chinese authorities issued a guideline in February, making clear that the production and sale of fake products should be the focus of a national crackdown. Not because Amash threw a temper tantrum and jettisoned himself out of the Republican Party after unironically calling the President a despotic blowhard and feckless nebbish. And I dont mean he should be shamefast over crowing for Trumps impeachment for actions he admits were not illegal, while never requesting the same removal of a president who blatantly tromped on the law. Or even for hanging his libertarian-ish coequal, Rep. Thomas Massie, out to dry by refusing to join his protest request for a quorum on the costly coronavirus-relief bill. The Michigan congressman made his bones out of being a principled, if esoteric, gadfly. But, since hes turned on the brusquest iconoclast to ever sit in the Oval Office, Amash has become not just a sometimes-darling of the left, but a stalwart to the irascible anti-Trump right. Too bad the support doesnt translate into politics all-important objective: running for office. In the Bulwark, the hobby blog founded by neocon nepote Bill Kristol, outspoken Twitterers Sarah Longwell and Tim Miller urge Amash to do the right thing and not launch a presidential bid. Amash is great. But a third-party run could help reelect Donald Trump, they warn. Amash recently posted two tweets suggesting serious consideration of a White House run, possibly under the banner of the Libertarian Party. Juvenile plaudits abound for Amash throughout the plea. Longwell and Miller describe him as the only member of the Freedom Caucus who didnt abandon everything and as the only non-Democratic lawmaker to talk openly about Donald Trumps racism, as if adopting the lefts identity politics is a feather in his Tea Party-fashioned bicorn hat. Then there are approbatory lines like: We love him because as the Republican party descended into debt-fueled lunacy, abandoned free trade, sneered at the rule of law, and shrugged at corruption, he put on a tight polo shirt and said, Im out. The erotic imagery of a tight polo shirt is a tell for the seriousness of the analysis. As is the very-online teeny-bopper patois of: We love him because we could set-up (sic) a tweetbot that QTs everything he sends out with STRAIGHT INTO MY VEINS. Straight into the chippy part of my amygdala, is more like it. When #NeverTrumpers deploy reinforcements, they arent sending their best people. Should Amash pull the rabble-rousing trigger on a presidential run, itll be hard to take his splenetic bid seriously. Amash absenting the GOP in a sententious huff wasnt the stuff of constitutional fidelity. He was trailing his Republican primary opponent by double digits. Amash played a not-so-secret hole card, auditioning for a CNN contributor gig with his sanctimonious egress. Longwell and Miller were fooled by the cynical play, but not fooled enough. On one hand, we want to be for him -- to have the joy and satisfaction of getting behind the constitutional superhero of our dreams, they write, prefatorily qualifying their support, which doesnt rise to the level of endorsement. But on the other hand, there is a downside risk to his running and the price of a second Trump term is too great for anyone to be playing dice with it. In short: we want to beat Trump, and that means backing his binary opponent. Many apologies, Justin. Better luck in 2024. As longtime political operatives, Longwell and Miller get it: our first-past-the-post republic renders third-party candidacies irrelevant, except for a possible spoiler effect. Elections are duels between red and blue; bystanders are only a distraction, figured by inebriated cranks and obscenity-yelling attention-seekers. Amash does pose a spoiler threat -- but for the other side. Quoting pollster Richard Czuba, who conducted a poll of Michigan voters in 2019 of a three-way race between Amash, Trump, and Biden, Longwell and Miller are convinced the President would be aided by a from-the-right option. [Amash] will not take away Republican votes from Trump. What he will do is give independent voters who dont want to support President Trump an outlet to not vote for the Democrat, Czuba found. That gets to the real qualm Longwell and Miller have about an Amash candidacy: they want Trump out, even it means supporting Joe Biden, who cant remember the predicates to his sentences and is promising the most progressive administration ever. So much for high-minded opposition. To Longwell and Miller, selling your beliefs to assuage resentment over Trumps rise is smart political strategy. The probity of #NeverTrumping, it turns out, was never really there at all. ALBANY Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo offered a first glimpse on Sunday into the state's reopening plan, a phased approach that will begin with resuming manufacturing activities. The early stages of the plan, divided into two parts, would begin with construction and manufacturing in low-risk environments. The second phase would restart "more essential, lower-risk" businesses, a category that has not yet fully been defined but that state officials are asking companies to begin planning. Those businesses must consider "how they're going to reopen with that 'new normal,'" Cuomo said, noting that many organizations may reconfigure their physical spaces or change daily practices to reduce in-person interactions. Companies will submit plans to the state before restarting, he said. "This is not a one-sided equation here," Cuomo said. "Businesses, you develop a plan on how you would reopen given everything we now know, and if you have a plan that actually takes into consideration these new circumstances." The state will take a two-week break between reopening phases to monitor infection levels and ensure that coronavirus cases do not rapidly increase. Opening too quickly and too soon could cause a second wave of the virus that again overwhelms the state's health care system, the governor said. He declined to take a firm stance on reopening schools, saying that sending children back to the classroom must be coordinated with a large-scale opening of businesses. Some localities have been discussing the possibility of summer school to make up for lost time in the spring. "That we have to feel out as we go," the governor said. "On any of these things, I'm not really comfortable getting too far ahead of ourselves. You want to talk about a two-week window I think thats an intelligent window to talk about." Cuomo reiterated on Sunday that the state will take a regional approach to its reopening plan, noting that officials will avoid authorizing large events or other activities that could draw mass crowds from other areas. The state could begin reopening as early as mid-May, when the state's "on PAUSE" order is set to expire as long as regions have seen declining hospitalizations for at least 14 days, in accordance with guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cuomo said. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Hospitalizations and intubations continue to decrease, as do the number of COVID-19 deaths statewide. A total of 367 people died from the virus on Saturday down from 437 the day before bringing the state's death toll to 16,966. Parts of upstate New York including the North Country and the Mohawk Valley will likely begin reopening before New York City and its surrounding counties, Cuomo added. The revival of parks, schools, beaches and businesses downstate must be coordinated within New York City and Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties, Cuomo said. New York is also continuing to work with its border states on any large-scale reopening plans that could prompt people to cross state lines. Thousands of New Yorkers are increasingly anxious to get back to work, as the pandemic has led to record numbers of unemployment claims. The state Department of Labor announced Saturday that it has paid out $3.1 billion to New Yorkers since the coronavirus began impacting businesses in early March. More than 1.4 million people have completed unemployment applications in that time, officials said. Far west in the Atascosa Mountains, Rorabaugh has similar concerns about impacts of wall construction on rare species such as the Sonora Chub, Chiricahua Leopard Frogs and Tarahumara Frogs. In California Gulch there north of the border, endangered Sonora Chub live only in a small tinaja, a pool formed in a rocky hollow, and perennial pools at the border that Rorabaugh fears will be dried up by wall construction. The frogs live in neighboring Sycamore Canyon although not at the border, but Rorabaugh said hes concerned that toxic leachates from concrete used in wall construction could still hurt them. Endangered turtles future at stake Still farther west at the Quitobaquito pond at Organ Pipe National Monument, University of Arizona biologist Michael Bogan said hes concerned that groundwater pumping for the wall in that area could dry up waters that now house the endangered Sonoyta Mud Turtle, which lives only there and in the Rio Sonoyta just south of the border. The CBP has agreed not to pump groundwater closer than five miles from the pond. Two University of Arizona hydrologists have said that even more remote pumping farther away could lower its water level. Oscar winner Brad Pitt portrayed White House infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci in the latest 'At Home' version of "Saturday Night Live" and tried to set the record straight regarding President Donald Trump's remarks on the coronavirus outbreak. The NBC late-night comedy sketch show was back with cast members collaborating from home amid the COVID-19 pandemic. After playing weatherman on John Krasinski's new YouTube show "Some Good News", Pitt turned Fauci where he tried to clarify some of President Donald Trump's comments during the daily White House coronavirus task force briefings. "Yes, the president has taken some liberties with our guidelines. So tonight, I would like to explain what the president was trying to say," Pitt said in the video shared on "SNL"'s Twitter page. The Hollywood star then showed a video of Trump ad-libbing at a briefing, and saying there would be a vaccine for the deadly virus "relatively soon". Pitt's Fauci started by clarifying that when Trump said "everyone can get a test, what he meant was almost no one". Another clip of the POTUS played saying his administration had done an "incredible job" and COVID-19 will "disappear one day, like a miracle". "A miracle is great. Who doesn't like miracles? (But) Miracles shouldn't be Plan A," the actor said. Pitt's turn as Fauci comes weeks after director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was asked who he would like to impersonate him on "SNL". "Oh, Brad Pitt, of course," Fauci jokingly told CNN's Alisyn Camerota who gave him option between the "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" star and Ben Stiller. Fauci has become a household name for his matter-of-fact delivery of information during White House press conferences amid the pandemic. Removing his wig and dropping the expert's accent, Pitt concluded his set to thank the real Fauci. "To the real Dr Fauci, thank you for your calm and your clarity in this unnerving time," he said. The actor also thanked healthcare workers and announced that the show was "sort of" live from New York. Tom Hanks hosted the inaugural "SNL At Home" which aired on April 11 with a musical performance by Coldplay's Chris Martin. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russia will halt the export of grain until July 1, 2020, the Agriculture Ministry said on Sunday, Trend reports citing TASS. "After exporting all grain declared under the quota, the export of wheat, meslin, rye, barley and corn to the non-member states of the Eurasian Economic Union will be suspended until July 1, 2020. The Federal Customs Service has stopped issuing new declarations for export purposes," the statement said. According to the ministry, on April 26 the non-tariff quota for grain export from Russia to the tune of 7 mln tonnes, introduced on April 1, was selected in full. The ministrys representatives say these restrictions would help stabilize grain prices and ensure the demand in grain and its products in the country. However, these measures would not prevent Russia from achieving its goals under the state programs and the total volume of agricultural exports in 2020. After spending two decades in the acting game, Thandie Newton is finally enjoying the kind of career boost she expected to have in her twenties. The 47-year-old actress has become a household name thanks to the success of HBO's sci-fi drama Westworld, with her character Maeve taking on a pivotal role in season three. 'Thanks to Westworld, I've become an action hero at my age!' she told The Sunday Telegraph. 'Why didn't this happen in my 20s?' Westworld's Thandie Newton, 47, has admitted admits she's shocked at her late-career boost. Pictured in Westworld 'I'm flabbergasted! I feel like I'm in my prime, and my 40s are great, man, but why didn't this happen in my 20s? It's the complete reverse of what it should be,' she mused. Thandie, who is also known for her roles in Crash (2004) and Mission Impossible: 2 (2000), went on to describe the physical requirements of playing her character in Westworld. Likening the experience to being in the military, the brunette explained that she has to remain as fit as possible throughout filming. 'I'm flabbergasted!' Thandie (pictured) said she feels like she's 'in her prime' but wonders why the career boost 'didn't happen in her 20s Thandie's character Maeve began the series as a robotic 'host' brothel-owner within the Westworld theme park. Thanks to a glitch in her programming, the sassy saloon-owner begins to gain consciousness and eventually realises she's part of a scripted storyline. This season, she manages to escape from the park, only to discover she has been under the control of the mysterious Serac (Vincent Cassell). Role of a lifetime: Thandie's character Maeve began the series as a robotic 'host' brothel-owner within the Westworld theme park. Pictured: Thandie Newton and Rodrigo Santoro in Westworld Upon meeting Serac, Maeve is instructed to take down Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) and foil her plans to destroy humanity. Westworld is based on the 1973 film of the same name which was written and directed by author of Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton. The popular series is set at the intersection of the near future and re-imagined past as visitors to an American Old West-theme world where one can indulge in anything they would like without consequence - or so they think. (Bloomberg) -- Vietnam flattened its coronavirus infection curve with a sledgehammer, and after some early success, its now starting to open up its economy again. When two visitors from neighboring China emerged as Vietnams first cases in late January, the Communist Party-led government began imposing controls that would have been difficult in many democratic countries. Over subsequent weeks it banned virtually all domestic and international flights, ordered pharmacies to report customers buying cold medicine and quarantined more than 100,000 people in military camps, hotels and closely monitored homes. Nguyen Duc Hieu, a 22-year-old student, was forced into quarantine when he returned from London in late March. En route to Ho Chi Minh City, the pilot informed passengers the plane was being diverted to the Mekong Delta because all quarantine facilities in the nations commercial hub were full. Passengers were then herded into military vehicles, driven to a military school that had been converted into a quarantine camp and kept there for more than two weeks. We had six to eight people in a room with bunk beds and military blankets, Hieu said. We were provided some personal stuff at the camp, like a toothbrush, toothpaste, pillow and a mosquito net. Although it was uncomfortable, I think it was necessary. Zero Deaths The crackdown appears to have paid off. With just 270 infections and no official virus-related deaths, Vietnam is easing lockdown rules in most of the country, allowing some businesses to reopen. Theres some skepticism over the low infection numbers, given the limited testing in the population: By April 21, Vietnam had tested about 1,881 per million people, compared with about 14,500 in Singapore. Still, Vietnams approach has won praise from bodies such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, and its outbreak stands in contrast to nearby Singapore and Indonesia, where restrictions are being extended as cases continue to spike. Story continues Vietnam had to deal with SARS, the bird flu and various financial crises, said Fred Burke, managing partner at the Baker McKenzie law firm in Ho Chi Minh City, who advises the government on foreign investment rules. Theyve learned they need to act fast and thoroughly. Trade-War Winner Vietnam was already a favored location for foreign investors looking for an alternative manufacturing hub to China following escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and the worlds second-largest economy. The governments goal is now to build on that momentum. Pledged foreign direct investment rose 7.2% last year, with $24.6 billion flowing into manufacturing, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment. That helped spur economic growth to 7.02%, the second-fastest pace since 2007. The virus impact on China -- already seen by many foreign companies as getting more expensive with an aging population -- makes Vietnam look even more attractive to businesses, said Vu Tu Thanh, senior Vietnam representative of the U.S.-Asean Business Council. A survey of some of the groups corporate members indicates theyre still re-evaluating their positions in China, Thanh said. Risks Remain Japan, Vietnams second-largest investor in the first quarter with $848 million, announced earlier this month it was earmarking $2.2 billion of its economic stimulus package to encourage manufacturers to shift production out of China. Vietnam is sure to benefit, said Burke, whos a member of a government council advising on reforms to foreign investment administrative procedures. The government allowed some companies to continue operating if they put in place social distancing rules. Officials also stepped up efforts to make government processes, such as investment license applications, easier, Burke said. Samsung Electronics Co. was allowed to shuttle in more than 1,000 engineers from South Korea, an accommodation of one of Vietnams largest investors that makes about half of its smartphones in factories north of Hanoi. Most served mandatory 14-day quarantines in four-star hotels -- not in military camps -- while some were permitted into factories a few days after landing. To be sure, Vietnam isnt out of the woods yet. Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, who chairs the National Steering Committee on Coronavirus Prevention and Control, cautioned on Friday the nation remains at risk for a major outbreak. It must also brace for a prolonged slump in global demand, with many months before factories can start ramping up orders for everything from Nike Inc. shoes to LG Electronics Inc. home appliances. Vietnams heavy reliance on exports -- which amount to more than 100% of GDP, according to World Bank data -- means growth has already taken a knock in the first quarter, slowing to 3.82%. The International Monetary Fund is projecting it could weaken to 2.7% for the full year. The easing of restrictions also doesnt mean that life will return to normal. For starters, the lockdown isnt being lifted altogether, said Gareth Leather, an economist at Capital Economics Ltd. in London, whos predicting a contraction in GDP this year. Whats more, people wont return to their pre-crisis habits straight away. Fear of catching the virus means that people will continue to practice social distancing for quite some time. The cost to many of the nations 96 million citizens is exemplified by kilometer-long queues at free rice ATMs -- semi-automated distribution centers offering free rice to furloughed and laid-off workers. The government believes its severe moves to blunt the virus ultimately saved the economy from more pain. Theyve shown theyve got a deep sophistication in how they handle problems, said Adam McCarty, chief economist with Mekong Economics in Hanoi. (Updates with company consultations in the 14th paragraph.) For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. - Raila said African countries need to restructure their living spaces immediately after the coronavirus epidemic has been crashed - He said African leaders had failed at strengthening food production and as a result, they could not enforce a lockdown since their subjects risked starving - The opposition leader noted that the pandemic ought to be an eye-opener to prompt African leaders to make right investments in Agriculture, sustainable planning, housing and health Opposition leader Raila Odinga has said the coronavirus pandemic has exposed how African states have been mishandling their housing, education, agriculture and health sectors. With most experts fronting the idea of countries imposing full lockdowns to stem the disease, Raila said, this could not be easily achieved since most states, Kenya included, were food insecure. READ ALSO: Call Polis: Fans worried about singer Bahati after wearing Diana's dress to mimic Akothee Raila said slums needed to have named streets and house numbers. Photo: Raila Odinga. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Coronavirus: Somalia COVID-19 cases surpass Kenya as total hits 390 Even if governments offered to feed vulnerable populations after enforcement of lockdowns, the ODM leader said food distribution will be hit by coordination hitches. He singled out informal settlements among areas where food distribution will meet obstacles arguing that house numbers and streets would have eased the exercise in slums. READ ALSO: Sitaogopa lolote, niko na Mungu, DP Ruto asema huku masaibu yakichacha "Distribution of food in slums would be easier were there to be streets, houses with street numbers and residents on known welfare programmes," Raila said in a statement on Sunday, April 26, adding that African countries needed to restructure living spaces immediately after the epidemic. Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko (pictured) has been distributing food in informal settlements in the capital city. Photo: Mike Sonko. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Kenyan men threaten to disregard COVID-19 precautions after CAS Mwangangi said she has a partner Raila's remarks came hardly a month after about two people succumbed and several others injured during distribution of relief food to a section of Kibra residents on Friday, April 10. The African Union High Representative for Infrastructure Development was among well-wishers who donated a consignment of food valued at KSh 15 million to the residents. Raila is also the African Union High Representative for Infrastructure Development. Photo: Raila Odinga. Source: Facebook Following the incident, authorities tightened guidelines regulating the distribution of donations and required all contributions to be handed to the government to facilitate smooth sharing. "These additional measures will make the donation and distribution more secure to and enhance accountability in the process," said Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Fred Matiang' i. Leaders in the continent, the former premier said, were also hesitant to lock down their territories fearing their subjects will starve and as a result, cause anarchy. He, nonetheless, argued that food scarcity in the continent was a self-inflicted wound caused by underutilisation of arable land Africa has for food production. "Leaders fear to lock down their countries to fight COVID-19 because it could lead to starvation and even upheavals. Yet Africans could easily feed themselves even under a lockdown. African homes used to have food, including chickens and eggs, dried and preserved fish, meat, cassava, millet, beans. Nearly every homestead had a vegetable farm," stated Raila. Raila said African leaders had failed at strengthening food production and encouraged exportation of raw materials to western nations. Photo: Raila Odinga. Source: Facebook Kenya, which as of Saturday, April 25, had recorded 343 cases of coronavirus, extended its containment period which was set to end on Monday, April 27, by 21 more days. On Monday, April 6, President Uhuru Kenyatta issued a cessation of movement of order which affected the expanded Nairobi Metropolitan Area, the counties of Kwale, Mombasa, Kilifi and recently Mandera was included to the list. The country is also under a dusk to dawn curfew. Section of leaders, for instance, Mombasa governor Hassan Joho, whose devolved unit is among hardest hit after Nairobi, has been fronting the idea of a lockdown. Joho is among governors with relief food distribution programs aimed at cushioning residents from economic freeze caused by coronavirus. Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly. Evacuate Kenyans from China instead of giving Raila Odinga 72M- Kenyans tell Government | Tuko TV. Source: TUKO.co.ke Reaching natural gas production of one billion cubic metres per day (Bcm/d) has been one of the three core hydrocarbons resource strategies of Iran since the Islamic Republic began to seriously develop the supergiant South Pars non-associated gas field in 1990, alongside producing 5.7 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil and building out a world-class petrochemicals sector. As highlighted by OilPrice.com, Iran is currently working quietly towards the oil output and petchems sector targets, but it also announced last week that it is finally to achieve its monumental and long-awaited gas production target this Iranian calendar year (ending on 20 March 2021). At the same time, it also announced that its flagship Persian Gulf Star Refinery (PGSR) essential to Irans new-found gasoline self-sufficiency is ramping up its refining capacity. South Pars - the 3,700 square kilometer portion of the 9,700 square kilometer gas basin that Iran shares with Qatar (the North Dome field) - holds an estimated 14.2 trillion cubic meters (tcm) of gas reserves (8 percent of the worlds total and around 40 percent of Irans total estimated gas reserves of 33.8 tcm) plus 18 billion barrels of gas condensates. For at least two decades it has additionally accounted for around 60 percent of Irans overall gas production and is also central to Irans ambition of becoming a top-tier global player in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market. Given the global significance of this resource, the South Pars field was, up until the re-imposition of sanctions by the U.S. in 2018, the focus of a superpower tug-of-war between NATO members and Russia, with both sides eager to put their best companies on the ground in one or more of the South Pars phases. For Europe (and the U.S.) this opened up the opportunity of being able to significantly reduce the continents extreme dependence on Russian gas flows. Russia, understandably, was equally eager to retain its gas-centric power over Europe and instead to divert Iranian gas flows eastwards, to bolster its own gas arrangements with Asia in general and with China in particular. With the withdrawal of French oil and gas major Total from Phase 11 as a result of the new U.S. sanctions, Russia has the dominant position now in Iran (albeit with China working increasingly busily alongside it), although for the time being the enormous degree of its participation is disguised in the form of contractor-only work, as revealed by OilPrice.com. Story continues Premium: The Oil Sector That Will Suffer The Most With Russia and Chinese money, equipment, technology, and expertise available as and when required, South Pars will exceed 750 million cubic meters per day of natural gas output by 20 March, in turn bringing the countrys total natural gas production capacity to one Bcm/d, according to a comment last week from Iran Petroleum Minister, Bijan Zanganeh. He added that the first major offshore development stage of Phase 11 (now under the leadership of Irans Petropars) will be spudded within the next few weeks, with the Phases output destined to be pumped to refineries in Assaluyeh and Kangan in the Bushehr Province, and noted that the platform jacket for the Phase is in Qeshm Island ready for installation. According to Petropars plans, Phase 11 is now scheduled to be developed in two integrated and consecutive stages, with each stage containing 15 wells and the aim being the production of 56 mcm/d of natural gas plus 75,000 bpd of gas condensate and other tangential products. In addition, Zanganeh said, two 32-inch pipelines jointly stretching over 270 kilometers will be constructed and installed to ensure the onward distribution of the gas to the intended refineries. With around US$33 billion having already been spent on the development of South Pars as a whole, according to sources in Iran spoken to by OilPrice.com last week, a very high percentage of the work on all phases has already been completed, with just a handful not having a 95 per cent plus completion rating as of now. Of these relatively under-developed phases, Zanganeh stated earlier this year that Phase 14 would come online by the end of the current Iranian calendar year on 20 March 2020 and, according to a source who works very closely with the Petroleum Ministry, this objective was only missed because of the sudden onset of the coronavirus in Iran as elsewhere. As it stands, the third platform of the offshore field is already loaded for installation in its designated spot, and, once operational, the platform is designed to produce 14.1 mcm/d of natural gas. Its adjunct phase 13 (SP13) - targeted to produce 56 mcm/d of gas on its own, saw two platforms (B and D) become ready for an operation just prior to this development and since then, according to its operator at the end of March Irans Pars Oil and Gas Company the last platform (13C) of the offshore project has been successfully installed in the Persian Gulf. In sum, 38 offshore wells have now been drilled in the offshore sector of SP13 located in the northwestern part of the gas field, with the delivery of gas to the onshore refinery scheduled to begin when an offshore pipeline becomes available. In preparation for this, a fourth train is now ready, allowing for the processing of up to the full 56 mcm/d of nominal gas capacity, which would then be fed into the Iran Gas Trunkline (IGAT) system. Premium: Oil Storage Nears Its Limit At the same time, the flagship of Irans enormously important gasoline sector the PGSR (more generically known as the Bandar Abbas refinery) that is fed by gas condensate produced from South Pars is now back to full operation following a similar slowdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak and is geared towards breaking new production records. Its importance to Iran is difficult to overstate, suffice it to say that for a resource-rich country such as Iran no element of previous U.S.-led sanctions was more galling to it than having to rely on international assistance to meet its day-to-day needs for gasoline. An indication of how important it was to Iran to become self-sufficient in gasoline is evidenced by the breakneck speed with which it moved on the development of the PGSR, with the original plan involving a 360,000 bpd three-phase refinery development, each designed to produce 12 million liters per day (ml/d) of Euro 5 gasoline, plus 4.5 ml/d of Euro 4 standard diesel, 1 ml/d of kerosene and 300,000 liters per day of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). To achieve these targets, the projects developers were given a 260 million additional loan from the National Development Fund of Iran, as part of the estimated total cost for the three stages of approximately US$3.4 billion. Phase 1 was officially inaugurated in April 2017, with the first shipment of gasoline delivered for distribution just one month later in June, and Phase 2 began producing Euro 5 standard gasoline shortly after its own official launch in February 2018, running at full capacity by the end of June that year. Phase 3 saw its official inauguration shortly after that. Despite reaching its initial targets, plans for the PGSR have been extended and, according to a comment last week from the chief executive officer of the project, Mohammad Ali Dadvar, the PGSRs gas condensate refining capacity is set to increase to 480,000 bpd by September of this year. To this effect, according to Dadvar, air conditioning units for new cooling products and pumps, are already on-site and the construction of the required equipment is underway. Currently, an average of 45 million liters of petrol and 17 million liters of gasoil are being produced at the refinery on a daily basis, which will increase to about 54 million liters and 20 million liters per day, respectively, he said. In addition, he said, the refinery also now supplies 3.5 to 4 million liters per day of naphtha which is mostly exported or supplied to Tabriz and Arak petrochemical plants as feedstock. [Given] sanctions...nearly 70 percent of the Persian Gulf Star Refinerys output is petrol, which provides the lions share of the countrys demand for quality fuel, he underlined. By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Read this article on OilPrice.com Once you clicked on the message, the first slide appeared with the image of a car and its purported owner. It said, You kept your car parked; the second slide showed the owner washing up and the message said, You kept the threat away; the third showed the owner keying away at her laptop with a message, You kept working at home. The final slide, a simple ... Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. 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Digital Editor UPDATED on Mon., April 27, 2020 Immigration advocacy groups want a federal judge in Oregon to temporarily halt part of President Donald Trumps latest order that would restrict some children of permanent residents from obtaining visas to enter the country over the next two months. The Portland-based Innovation Law Lab, Los Angeles-based Justice Action Center and the American Immigration Lawyers Association have filed a motion seeking a temporary order to block Trumps ban on visa services for children of immigrants who are at risk of turning 21 and aging out of their preferential underage status for the processing of visas. The three plaintiffs filed their emergency motion for a temporary restraining order on Saturday in U.S. District Court in Portland. They ask that the order last up to 21 days. The motion falls outside the scope of the plaintiffs underlying case regarding Trumps immigration healthcare proclamation, and the alleged injury is completely speculative, attorneys for the government responded on Monday. Plaintiffs have not allegedlet alone demonstrated with any evidencethat a single person has been or will be harmed by the COVID-19 Labor Proclamation, wrote Courtney E. Moran, a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justices immigration civil litigation office, in a response. On the other hand, action by this Court to enjoin the Proclamation would make irreparable the harms to the national labor market that the Proclamation is addressing in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its dramatic and unanticipated impact on employment in the United States. U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon has scheduled oral arguments Wednesday by phone. Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter Last Wednesday, Trump signed an order that blocks some new entrants to the country who dont already have visas or other travel documents but exempted certain categories of foreign workers and employers, including investors and health care professionals, as well their spouses and children. Also exempt are children or spouses of American citizens and U.S. military and most asylum seekers. Trump has said the purpose of the executive order is not only to protect Americans from the coronavirus but to save their jobs. In order to protect our great American workers, I have just signed an executive order temporarily suspending immigration into the United States, Trump said. He added: This will ensure that unemployed Americans of all backgrounds will be first in line for jobs as our economy reopens. The three advocacy groups say the exemptions dont go far enough. They want a judge to order the government to restore urgent and emergency consular processing and visa adjudication services'' to children "who are in danger of losing their place in the visa queue,'' according to their motion. Trumps new temporary freeze on green cards applies to immigrant visas granted based on preferential categories that Congress created for family-sponsored, employment-based and diversity-based entry, the motion says. The same three nonprofits convinced Judge Simon in November to issue a nationwide injunction that bars Trump from requiring immigrants to prove they can get or pay for health insurance before theyre granted visas. The Trump administration has appealed that ruling and is awaiting a decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That proclamation says immigrants applying for U.S. visas cant enter the country unless they can show theyll be covered by health insurance within 30 days or show they have the financial resources to pay for reasonably foreseeable medical costs. -- Maxine Bernstein Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212 Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian Subscribe to Facebook page Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Dutch Bros. barista tests positive for coronavirus Portland-area Safeway employee tests positive for coronavirus Roseburg VA director leads coronavirus dance party without social distancing, face masks Global coronavirus death toll passes 200,000 amid efforts to ease lockdowns Coronavirus in Oregon: 1 new death, more than 2,250 known cases Medical workers put on their protective gears before working at the unit for coronavirus COVID-19 infected patients at the Erasme Hospital in Brussels on March 27, 2020. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images) Why a Small Nation Like Belgium Is Having a Major Virus Outbreak News Analysis Belgium, based on its population of 11 million and geographical size of 30,500 square kilometers (11,849 square miles), is considered a small country among the 195 sovereign nations in the world. But looking at its current number of deaths and confirmed infections due to the CCP virus, Belgium has one of the worlds highest death rates. As of April 23, the number of confirmed infections in Belgium announced was 42,797; the number of deaths was 6,490making the death rate roughly 15 percent. This places Belgiums mortality rate above hard-hit nations such as the United States, Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Why is Belgium experiencing such a severe situation? The Epoch Times editorial article, Where Ties With Communist China Are Close, the Coronavirus Follows, suggests that the heaviest-hit regions outside China all share a common thread: close or lucrative relations with the communist regime in Beijing. The situation in Belgium is no exception. In fact, Belgium has had close ties with the Chinese Communist regime, from the royal family to the government, for many years. Belt and Road Two of Belgiums most important ports have embraced Beijings Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, also known as One Belt, One Road), an ambitious project to build geopolitical influence by financing infrastructure projects throughout parts of Europe, Africa, and central and south Asia. Belgiums geographical location is strategically advantageous: It faces the Netherlands to the north, France to the south, Luxembourg and Germany to the east, and the North Sea to the west. Belgiums largest port of Antwerp is close to the production and consumption center of Europe, and as such, was coveted by Beijing. In July 2015, the Port of Antwerp set up a Belt and Road task force, signing a deal with Chinese companies to build a China-Europe-Africa International Trade and Logistics Center. The Port Authority of Antwerp then signed twinning port agreements or memorandums of understanding with Chinese ports in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Ningbo, Tianjin, Qingdao, and Dalian. In May 2018, the first Silk Road train from a Chinese port in Tangshan arrived in Antwerp as part of a direct railway link between the two countries. Meanwhile, the port training center at Antwerp has trained about 3,800 Chinese maritime experts. The port of Zeebrugge, on Belgiums northern coast, is the nations second most important commercial port. It is close to Britain, and today, there are ferry connections between Zeebrugge and the British ports of Hull and Dover. As part of the Belt and Road project, Chinas state-owned shipping firm Cosco signed an agreement in November 2017 to acquire a controlling stake in the container terminal at Zeebrugge. The agreement contributes to strengthening Belgian-Chinese trade and the international position of the Port of Zeebrugge. Kris Peeters, then-deputy prime minister of Belgium, said at the signing ceremony in January 2018. Link Between Chinese Investment, European Technology The car factory Volvo Car Gent, located in the port district of Ghent in western Belgium, covers an area of more than 490,000 square meters (about 5.27 million square feet). The plant, which opened in 1965, was the first European Volvo plant outside Sweden. While Ford Motor bought Volvo in 2009 for $6.45 billion, the automaker ran into trouble as a result of the global financial crisis, and began divesting assets. In 2010, Ford sold Volvo to Chinas Geely Group, which became the first Chinese company to own a multinational premium car brand, for $1.8 billion. In April 2014, Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited the Volvo factory, accompanied by King Philippe Leopold Louis Marie of Belgium. Xi and the Belgian king jointly unveiled the companys 300,000th car exported to China. With the increasing popularity of Volvo in the Chinese market, the brands car output continues to reach new highs, and the Volvo car plant has gradually become the fulcrum for the global layout of Geely. Geely received approval from the Chinese government to build a Volvo plant in Daqing, in Heilongjiang province, in 2011. Engineers from the Ghent factory brought their technical expertise to ensure that the new plant would have the same quality and competitiveness as other plants around the world. The Daqing plant is showing positive growth momentum thanks to cutting-edge automotive production technology from Volvo, then-vice governor of Heilongjiang, Hao Huilong, said. In May 2017, Peeters went to China to attend the Belt and Road International Cooperation Summit Forum. During the visit, he made a special trip to Daqing to witness the launch of the trial operation of Volvos S90 luxury sedan, which was being moved to the Ghent factory through the Overland Silk Road Central European special train. On May 30, a batch of Volvo S90 cars produced in Daqing was transported to the port of Zeebrugge in Belgium via the Asia-Europe Railway and transferred to Ghent. Soon after, a large number of new luxury Volvo cars that were made in China were distributed to the European market from the central auto plant in Ghent. In June 2017, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, accompanied by then-Prime Minister Charles Michel, visited the Geely Volvo Innovation Achievement Exhibition. The two leaders saw the Volvo S90 model produced in the Daqing plant loaded aboard the China-Europe train to Belgium. The relations between the leaders of both countries ensured that there were no obstacles in selling China-made Volvo cars to European countries. In July 2019, the first batch of Volvos XC60 model was shipped to Ghent from the Chengdu plant in Chinathe third Volvo plant in the country. Geely spent $1.8 billion to buy Volvo. Can it compete in the targeted European market? Can they afford the worlds most cutting-edge automotive production technology that is continuously upgraded? This was still very uncertain at the time. But now it seems that China already has what it wants. At the same time, the 100 percent Chinese-owned Swedish car brand has fully demonstrated the Made in China high-quality products in Europe and the world. This is precisely the influence that the Chinese regime wants to achieve in pushing forward its Belt and Road Initiative. The Volvo Car Gent factory was praised by Xi Jinping in April 2014 as a model of economic and technological cooperation between China, Belgium, and Sweden. The Belgian auto industry that is seeking investment and business cooperation with China can be likened to the Chinese idiom: pick a sesame seed only to lose a watermelon, which means, concentrate on small gains at the expense of more important ones. Many EU member states expressed that the BRI project runs counter to the EUs free trade proposition because these Chinese companies are subsidized by the Chinese government. Therefore, they have unfair advantages in competition with European companies. Key Politicians Advocate Belt and Road Initiative Kris Peeters, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Employment of Belgium from 2014 to 2019, visited China many times. He stated on various occasions that Belgium is willing to team up with Beijing to contribute to the BRI. On March 23, 2017, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) approved 13 new members, including Belgium, bringing the total bank members to 70. Peeters praised the move, saying: We believe that the AIIB has the ambition to set the example for other development banks in China and abroad by adopting sound global standards with respect to economic viability, fiscal sustainability, climate and environment-friendliness and social sustainability. During an interview with Chinese state-run media Xinhua News Agency, Peeters hailed the BRI as a grand vision. In order to be successful, they must be developed together with all stakeholders, not only with national and regional governments and economic operators, but also with the local communities who will be most directly affected, he said. On March 27, 2018, when Peeters attended a ceremony at Volvos factory in Ghent, he praised Chinas Geely brand in Belgium, and criticized the Trump administration for increasing tariffs on Chinese products as unwise trade protectionism. Similarly, former Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme is also an enthusiastic advocate of Belgium becoming a partner of Chinas BRI. In an exclusive interview with Chinese state media Southern Metropolis Daily on Oct. 27, 2019, Leterme said Belgium is a gateway to the European market as well as a major logistic hub in Europe. Belgian ports offer excellent connections to all major European centers for consumption and production. He proposed the Belgian government to expedite the feasibility assessment of joining the BRI framework. He also revealed that Belgian leaders had already put it on the agenda and started discussions. Peeters and Leterme had made a number of appearances as supporters when the CCP promoted the BRI around the world, urging other EU member states to participate in the initiative. This is very rare among European leaders. Spreading the CCPs Propaganda Beijing has opened six Confucius Institutes in Belgium so far. In addition, more than 50 schools in Belgium that offer Chinese language courses use textbooks provided by the CCP, which means, these are brainwashing materials compiled by the regime. In recent years, the two countries have more than 100 cultural exchange programs in music, art, and cultural performances every year. The Brussels Chinese Cultural Center, founded in 2015, is an active participant. In August 2017, China issued a Belt and Road commemorative stamp. A month later, the Confucius Institute at Leuven University in Belgium celebrated Global Confucius Institute Day and to promote Sino-Belgian cultural exchanges. Erik Famaey, treasurer of the Belgian-Chinese Economic and Commercial Council (BCECC), spoke at the exhibition, touting the BRI as a historic project that benefits not only Asia but other regions of the world. The BCECC, established in the 1980s, is the leading Belgian business association for companies engaged in doing business in or with China. However, all China experts who have a deep understanding of the CCP know that the BRI is certainly not just an economic initiative or economic project. Beijing wants to extend its influence around the world by using its BRI to infiltrate other nations politics, diplomacy, military, defense, culture, and education. The primary tasks of the Chinese consulates and the Confucius Institutes in other countries are to seize all opportunities to promote the BRI and glamorize the China story. Virus Outbreak According to an April 2 report by Xinhua, Xi Jinping had a phone conversation with King Philippe, in which the Belgian king said that China took the lead in getting the CCP virus outbreak under control, and its experience is of important value to other countries fighting the pandemic. Noting China has been supporting and contributing to other countries fight against the disease, King Philippe said Belgium appreciates Chinas provision of emergency medical protective supplies, and is willing to collaborate with China on drug development, Xinhua reported. Xinhua is the official mouthpiece of the CCP. It is difficult for the outside world to verify whether King Philippe actually made such statements. Those words seem to parrot the CCP s narrative. However, his close relationship with the CCP is evident. Shortly after the phone conversation, Brussels Times reported that 3 million protective masks delivered to Belgium from China were rejected because they did not meet the quality standards. A Xinhua report quoted Xi as saying that China would tighten up quality control measures, and provide as many resources as it can for the global fight against the disease. Xis promise and the poor-quality masks sent to Belgium prove that the CCP is not trustworthy. Whoever believes in the CCP will be duped. In Belgium, both the royal family and key politicians are advocating the BRI project. Its government was said to have placed the discussion of BRI cooperation high on the agenda. Italy was the first G-7 country to join BRI, over the objections of other EU leaders. It is one of the countries hardest-hit by the global pandemic. More than 25,000 Italians have died from the CCP virus so far. The outbreak in Belgium is just as serious. It is a warning for Belgium: stay far away from the CCP. Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled the last name of the Belgian prime minister. The Epoch Times regrets the error. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. The Region Newer Older Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 In every local region there are daily events: planned, serendiptous, environmental and unavoidable that deserve mention. It has been known, ever since 1984, that zinc is an effective virus fighter. That year a research study discovered that taking zinc gluconate lozenges early in the course of a common cold could shorten it. After a series of apparently conflicting research studies, a 2012 review of the literature concluded that taking zinc early reduces the duration of a common cold by an average of 1.65 days. Since colds are mild virus infections, it is clear that zinc has anti-virus properties. Zinc and COVID-19 When the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) virus pandemic began, one of the glaring facts apparent to those who were familiar with the zinc research was that at least two of the three groups in the United States that were known for having zinc deficiencies (elderly people and Black Americans) were contracting and dying from COVID-19 at much greater proportions than the general public. There are no statistics available on the third group (vegans), but there is an anecdotal report of a young and robust vegan getting a severe case of COVID-19. Correlation is not causation, and there are other reasons why African Americans and elderly people might be the most vulnerable. But medical researchers have long known some of the mechanisms through which zinc fights virus infections within the cell. In an excellent YouTube video from March 6, 2020, Dr. Seheult illustrates and explains the inner workings of COVID-19 within the cell and how zinc within the cell fights it. On April 7, two Belgian researchers, Amir Noeparast and Gil Verschelden, published a research paper in which they discussed the research results about the relationship between zinc deficiency and COVID-19. The evidence that they marshal is impressive: Zinc deficiency is prevalent. Up to a fifth of the global population is estimated to suffer from different degrees of Zinc deficiency. In the western world, Zinc deficiency is more prevalent among the geriatric population, and vegans/vegetarians as well as among people with certain underlying conditions. Notably, the early reports show that the elderly SARS-CoV-2 patients are among those with a higher fatality rate. Womens bodies make better use of zinc. It is reported that among the geriatric female population, a gene polymorphism that leads to an increased immune response-mediated release of Zinc is associated with decreased IL-6 level and thus reduced incidence of fatal Cytokyne Storms. ARDS is more common in people with zinc deficiencies. Zinc deficiency is associated with an increased risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in humans. Thus the evidence shows that ability to utilize the available zinc can explain the lower number of deaths of women from COVID-19-induced Cytokyne Storms. Also zinc-deficiency may directly contribute to another cause of death from COVID-19, ARDS. The HCQ-Zinc Connection The problem with zinc taken orally is that it doesnt always find its way into cells. Thats why Dr. Seheult in his video and the two Belgian researchers in their research paper focused upon a group of chemicals that may serve as zinc ionophores. These chemicals help transport zinc into the cell through the lipid outer wall that protects the cell. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and its close relative chloroquine (CQ) are the zinc ionophores that have been in the news lately. According to the two Belgian researchers, research is inconclusive as to whether CQ is effective at getting zinc through the cell walls and into the lysosomes within cells where it could prevent virus replication: In 2014, a Chinese cancer study by Xue et al. reported that CQ increases zinc uptake in ovarian cancer cells and mediates zinc accumulation into the lysosomes of these cells. In contrast, a Korean study conducted by Seo et al. partially contradicts findings of Xue et al., though in a different context and a separate cell line (adult retinal pigment epithelial cells). In contrast to the conclusion of Xue et al., Seo et al. reported that Chloroquine decreases the free zinc levels in lysosomes. However, they still observed some increased intracellular zinc levels upon CQ treatment compared to the control group. Therefore, we acknowledge that whether CQ/HCQ are global zinc ionophores mediating intracellular uptake of zinc by cells of different origins, at this stage, should remain an open question and the subject of further investigation. The two Belgian researchers conclude that zinc should always be given to patients whenever HCQ is administered, because: Even if CQ or HCQ does not turn out to be zinc ionophore, it would still be possible that Zinc can exert an anti-SARS replication effect independent of CQ/HCQ. Patients with zinc deficiency would likely be deprived of this additive effect. If further data suggests that CQ/HCQ are zinc ionophores mediating zinc uptake into the SARS-CoV-2 infected cells, one can postulate combining zinc supplements with CQ/HCQ or at least zinc correction in zinc-deficient patients could be beneficial. However, if the new data suggest that CQ/HCQ is interfering with zinc uptake into the SARS-CoV-2 infected cells or in an organelle such as lysosomes in line with findings of Seo et al. combining zinc correction or zinc supplementation with CQ/HCQ might be even highly essential. Dr. Vladimir Zelenko, a medical doctor in up-state New York, used a cocktail of zinc, HCQ and an antibiotic to successfully treat COVID-19 when it raged through a Hasidic Jewish community that he serves. He didn't prescribe anything to those who were young and healthy, but he treated 200 of the others with his cocktail with excellent results: zero deaths, only four needing hospitalization for pneumonia and only two needing hospitalization for intubation on a respirator. Despite Zelenkos success, not a single controlled study has tried out the combo of HCQ with zinc. Instead they have either tried HCQ by itself or paired it with an antibiotic such as azithromycin. On April 21, Dr. Faucis institute National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) recommended against using the combination of HCQ and azithromycin for treating COVID-19 due to irregular heartbeats that can result. It based its recommendation upon a VA hospital retrospective study conducted without using zinc upon patients who were probably zinc-deficient, being elderly and about 2/3 Black. In that study, the patients in the HCQ groups died at a significantly higher rate than the patients who had not received HCQ. But the higher death rate in the HCQ groups may have been due to the fact that the VA put sicker patients into the two groups taking HCQ (one of which also took azithromycin), while putting healthier patients into the control group that didnt take HCQ. The GoodRX blog noticed this flaw. They wrote: One thing to note is that people who had more severe symptoms, which might partially explain the higher death rates, were also more likely to get medications. People in this study were over 65 years old (on average) and male, which makes it difficult to apply the results to everyone. Randomized studies with a diverse population are needed to better understand the role of hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19. Even worse, Faucis NIAID never even considered the fact that the VA was treating a group that is known to be zinc deficient without adding zinc supplements. Nor did they consider the interaction between HCQ and zinc, such that HCQ either works better if combined with zinc, or HCQ can deprive patients of needed zinc if not administered along with zinc supplements to zinc-deficient patients. The Zinc Dosage Zinc, if taken at high concentrations over a long period of time, can deprive the body of copper, which is also a valuable nutrient. As a result, 40mg of zinc per day is considered to be the maximum safe amount if zinc is taken continually. As always, people should consult their doctor or pharmacist if they are already taking other medications because zinc could interfere with the effectiveness of those medications. The American people are figuring it out. Zinc pill makers are barely keeping up with growing demand as evidenced by the 1 to 2 week delay getting zinc pills from Amazon. In contrast, Faucis NIAID remains clueless, not even recommending that zinc supplements be given to those COVID-19 patients who are both Black and elderly, and thus doubly likely to be zinc deficient. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal With $100 in his pocket, he moved to the U.S. from Mumbai, India, in 2001. Ten years later, he opened Raaga, the most acclaimed Indian restaurant in Santa Fe. And less than a decade after that, he out-cooked Food Network star Bobby Flay with a signature dish, chicken tikka masala. When it comes to chef Pramod Paddy Rawal, the man and the legend are the same. Todays win is for Santa Fe, Rawal says during the episode of Beat Bobby Flay that aired on Feb. 2. Their love lifted me out of tough times. Now, on a mostly empty and shuttered stretch of Old Santa Fe Trail, Rawals doors remain open five days a week. At Raaga-Go, the takeout-only joint he launched in fall 2018 after closing Raaga on the advice of his doctor, he is cooking for a pandemic-stricken City Different the same way he would in healthier times and his tikka masala is as on point as ever. The Raaga-Go menu is a tour de Rawals forces, including vegetarian appetizers and house specialties, tandoori and biriyani dishes, five kinds of naan, and a selection of curries that include makani, spinach, korma, vindaloo or kerala, with your choice of paneer, chicken, beef, shrimp or lamb. Rawal also offers three Thai dishes for those who find their tastes wandering further East: kee mao, or drunken noodles with bok choy, Napa cabbage and basil; pad Thai; and a green curry with broccoli, green beans and eggplant. An array of well-priced desserts features Rawals rasmalai, beloved from his Raaga days, as well as rice pudding and gulab jamun balls dunked in rose water syrup. On a recent evening, the contents of a warm bag left by Dashing Delivery were testament to the power of takeout to refresh bored pantry-bound palates. Marveling at the luxury of candy-colored curries packed in Styrofoam and plastic, we unboxed and plated an array of complexly spiced contemporary Indian cuisine with nods to Santa Fe ingredients. A pair of crusty potato-and-pea samosas were subtly flavored, made brighter by the accompanying sweet and tangy tamarind sauce and a bold mint chutney. Slightly charred cilantro naan is pounded flat with garlic in the middle, the green herbs radiating outward. Kurkuri bhindi is an okra dish for the okra-unsure, as well as seasoned lovers of the vegetable, as julienned pods are beguilingly battered, spiced and fried to a light crispness, and served with a sparky pico de gallo. The spinach chaat is a standout: a simple-looking, yet revelatory, blend of lace-edged, flash-fried fresh greens, juicy diced tomatoes and spring onions tossed in a zingy raita yogurt dressing. This salad, made down the block from the Roundhouse, even comes with a political endorsement: In 2018, before he became Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams communications director, Tripp Stelnicki called the chaat the sort of appetizer you inhale. A long list of spices makes the tikka masala sing: red mace, coriander, cumin, green and black peppercorn, green cardamom, and cumin and coriander seeds. Between the soft yogurt-marinated chunks of chicken, the creamy balm of the tomato sauce, and fork-tender slices of onions and red, yellow and green peppers, its a harmony of flavors and textures. We ordered it medium (most dishes can be ordered at four levels, between mild and hell) and, as one Beat Bobby Flay judge suggested, we might amp the heat level next time, but the floral spices still kept things interesting. In general, we ordered items at all levels and never found one dish too hot, which owes to Rawals dedication to using spices for flavor, not heat. Rawal excels in the vegetarian realm. His baigan bharta, a Punjab dish based on his mothers recipe, elevates roasted eggplant to a bright yellow, mystical blend of turmeric, onions and tomato. This wizardry with simple ingredients prompted me to order a copy of The Raaga Cookbook: Modern Indian Cuisine, a self-published tome Rawal released in 2015 that is available at the restaurant. The vegan, gluten-free khatte chole boasts smoky chickpeas and small potatoes bathed in ancho chiles, pomegranate and ginger. Drizzled over perfectly cooked long-grain basmati rice, the garbanzos hit all five notes of Indian cuisine: sweet, sour, spicy, bitter and hot. In Indian classical music, raagas are melodic frameworks that also consist of at least five notes the rest depends on improvisation, or the musicians ability to color the minds of the audience. (Raaga comes from Sanskrit, meaning to color, tinge or dye.) Gazing at a pair of empty, stained plates after one of Raaga-Go takeaway meals, I felt sated by the influence of both the chefs careful framework and his striking improvisations. This ones for you, Santa Fe, Rawal beamed when he beat Bobby Flay but he didnt need to go on TV to convince us of his devotion to feeding his adopted hometown. His goodness comes straight to your door. Raaga-Go WHERE: 410 Old Santa Fe Trail, Unit A, 505-983-5555, raagatogo.com HOURS: Lunch and dinner Tuesday-Saturday 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., 4-9 p.m. No alcohol Britain's prime minister Boris Johnson will return to work on Monday after his recovery from Coronavirus, according to reports on Sunday. This comes after UK's coronavirus death toll reached 20,000. The Press Association of UK said Johnson would be back in his Downing Street office on Monday after himself recovering from the virus. Another news channel quoted sources and said the 55-year-old was "raring to go". READ | MHA allows intra-state movement of asymptomatic migrant labourers after COVID-19 screening After contracting the virus, Johnson spent three days in intensive care. The prime minister's return to work comes as pressure intensifies on his government over its handling of the crisis. Health department figures released Saturday showed official number of fatalities due to Covid-19 to be at 20,319. READ | UK: Boris Johnson aide attended key science meetings on virus Covid-19 outbreak in UK UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, who led the daily Downing Street briefing to provide the latest figures, said there were some "tentative signs" that Britain is making progress in its efforts to control the spread of the deadly virus as the number of hospitalisations continued their downward trajectory. "The main reason is the way Britain has responded to the guidelines to stay at home and maintain social distancing," said the Cabinet minister. "It isn't over, we're riding perhaps, we hope, a downward trend but it is by no means, no means established yet," he said. READ | Nurse talks about his experience treating British Prime Minister Boris Johnson He went on to announce a series of packages related to transport and trade, including a transport support unit dedicated to fighting the pandemic. The measures include a trilateral agreement with France and Ireland committed to keeping freight open throughout the crisis for trade of food, medicines and other essential items, protecting ferry routes with funding of up to GBP 17 million and 26 freight routes with the rest of Europe to be protected. The minister said there is "spare capacity" because of a reduced transport service during the lockdown, with around 9,000 vehicles available to help in the fight against the virus and would be deployed to distribute packages to the vulnerable. There will also be a review into how drones might be used to deliver medical supplies, he said. The minister was questioned by reporters about the government's website set up for key workers to be able to book swab tests for the novel coronavirus, which shut down within hours of going live on Friday. He stressed that the site had not crashed but had reached full capacity when it stopped taking further bookings. "It looks like the trajectory for more than 100,000 by the end of April will be met in terms of capacity," he insisted, in reference to the government's target set for testing people for Covid-19 in an effort to gradually ease the lockdown in place to control the spread of the novel coronavirus. (inputs from PTI, AP) READ | UK PM Boris Johnson to talk to Trump, meet Queen as he recovers from COVID-19 Workers take down a Belt and Road Forum panel outside the venue of the forum in Beijing on April 27, 2019. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images) US Senators Call Attention to Developing Countries Hit by Chinas Debt Diplomacy Amid Pandemic Sixteen Republican U.S. senators have expressed concern about developing countries being weighed down by Chinese debt amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The debts are in connection with loans that the Beijing regime has offered to countries under its foreign policy project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, also known as One Belt, One Road). Rolled out in 2013, the strategy aims to build Beijings geopolitical influence along trade routes linking China, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Europe. We urge the State Department and the Treasury to consider the impact of the Chinese-financed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on the finances of many troubled economies and policy implications of additional International Monetary Fund (IMF) or World Bank support, the senators wrote in a joint letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, according to an April 24 statement from Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). Other signatories include Sens. David Perdue (R-Ga.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). BRI Debt On April 13, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that it would provide immediate debt service relief to 25 of its poorest and most vulnerable membersincluding Sierra Leone, Nepal, Gambia, and Mozambiqueso these countries can allocate their financial resources to pandemic relief efforts. Many countries that have signed on to BRI are heavily indebted to China, including Nepal, Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Mozambique. The senators pointed out that Chinese lending is inconsistent with global standards of governance, such as loans that require existing assets or sources as collateral. In 2017, Sri Lanka handed over control of its key port of Hambantota to Beijing via a 99-year lease, after it was unable to pay off over $1 billion in debt for the BRI port project. Last week, Tanzania President John Magufuli canceled a BRI project signed by his predecessora Chinese loan of $10 billion to construct a port at the countrys Mbegani creek in Bagamoyo, according to several media outlets. Magufuli said the terms of the deal signed in 2013such as the Tanzanian government would have absolutely no power to voice opinions on future investors for the port throughout the 99 years it will be leased to China following constructionwould only be accepted by a drunken man. The senators noted that as China is suffering economic consequences of the virus outbreak, China would be less willing to roll over debts as they mature, which could exacerbate emerging-market liquidity challenges, and as projects struggle in areas of strategic interest, China will be tempted to safeguard its investments and political influence. The letter called for specific U.S. actions, including pressuring Chinese institutes to renegotiate the underlying debt of developing countries, and requiring any country that asks for IMF assistance to come clean with all outstanding financial obligations, including BRI agreements and Chinese debts. Without these actions, U.S. and other Western taxpayers would be in essence bailing out Chinese financial institutions and enabling Chinas debt-trap diplomacy, the senators concluded. Member nations are assigned quotas to finance the IMF, usually funded by taxpayer dollars. Health Silk Road The senators letter also pointed to the fact that China has been promoting its Health Silk Road, the health component of the BRI initiative, amid the pandemic. In January 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) and China agreed to become partners in implementing health projects under BRI, naming the partnership the Health Silk Road, according to Chinese state-run media China Daily. The agreement was signed by then-WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, who was succeeded by Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in 2017. Ghebreyesus visited China in September 2018. According to the WHO, the two sides agreed to reaffirm their commitment to improving the health of citizens in countries that were engaged with Chinas BRI. The current WHO chief also praised the Chinese regime during his trip, calling China a model for universal health coverage, a bulwark against health emergencies, and a reminder that transformations can be far-reaching. In March, Chinese state-run media Xinhua reported that Chinese leader Xi Jinping told Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in a phone call that China would be willing to work with Italy on the construction of a Health Silk Road. Italy, which signed on to Chinas BRI in March 2019, is the first G-7 nation to join. Many U.S. lawmakers have criticized China for not being transparent about the virus outbreak, with some proposing legislation to hold Beijing accountable for the spread of the virus. On April 15, U.S. President Donald Trump declared that U.S. funding for the WHO would be halted for 60 to 90 days, pending a review to assess the World Health Organizations role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus. Francois Godement, senior advisor at the Paris-based nonprofit think tank Institut Montaigne, suggested in a blog post published in March that China has greater influence at the WHO than the United States, despite the fact that China has donated considerably less to the agency. U.S. contributions to the WHO exceeded $400 million in 2019, while China provided $44 million in the same year, according to State Department statistics. One of the reasons for Chinas powerful influence in the United Nations is the control Beijing had over the budget-setting Fifth Committee of the U.N.s General Assembly, Godement wrote. For example, the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) heaps official praise on Chinas BRI year after year, despite Beijing having contributed a paltry $1.3 million to the agency, compared to the $1.6 billion from the United States in 2018. Furthermore, Chinas BRI simply has no discernible relation to refugee issues. Currently, a petition on the website change.org calling for Ghebreyesuss resignation has collected more than 1 million signatures. The petition states that Ghebreyesus acted too late in declaring a global health emergency and failed to be politically neutral, accepting Chinese data and information about the virus without scrutinizing them. Daesh member goes on trial in Germany for genocide of Izadis, war crimes Iran Press TV Saturday, 25 April 2020 9:52 AM A man believed to have been a member of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group has gone on trial in Germany for crimes against the Izadi minority group, as well as killing a five-year-old girl. The 27-year-old Iraqi man, identified as Taha al-J, is accused of genocide, murder, war crimes and crimes against the Izadi Kurds. He also stands accused of killing a little girl named Rania, whom he bought as a slave and chained to the window of a house where she lived with her mother, as "punishment" for having wet the bed. Al-J's wife, a German woman named Jennifer Wenisch, has also been on trial separately since last April at a Munich court for murdering the child. The little girl died of thirst after suffering in harsh temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). Rania's mother, identified only by her first name Nora, has repeatedly testified in Munich about the torment her child had endured. The mother and her five-year-old daughter had been kidnapped in the summer of 2014 after Daesh terrorist invaded the Sinjar region of Iraq. German prosecutors say that the accused bought them as slaves at the end of May or beginning of June 2015. They allege that he then took them to Fallujah, where they were seriously maltreated and at times deprived of food. "Both were regularly beaten. The woman has suffered pain in her shoulder ever since. The child once had to stay in bed for four days after being beaten," chief prosecutor Anna Zadeck said on Friday. Al-J's trial is being conducted in Frankfurt under heavy police guard. His case is expected to last until August. He was arrested in Greece in May 2019, before being extradited to Germany in October, where he has since been held in pre-trial custody. The Izadis, who are mostly based around the Sinjar Mountains in northern Iraq, are a religious sect whose beliefs combine elements of several ancient Middle Eastern religions. Back in August 2014, Daesh terrorists overran Sinjar, killing, raping, and enslaving large numbers of Izadi Kurds. The region was recaptured in November 2015, during an operation by Kurdish Peshmerga forces and Izadi fighters. According to the United Nations, the killings of 1,280 Izadis and kidnappings of 6,400 more may have constituted genocide. The Paris-based NGO International Federation for Human Rights said in a report on October 25, 2018, that foreign militants, including many of European origins, were responsible for atrocities and acts of brutality carried out by Daesh against Izadi Kurds. Extremists from across Europe joined Daesh in droves in 2014, when the Takfiri terror group launched its campaign of death and destruction in Iraq and Syria. Back then, many European leaders ignored repeated warnings that the militants could return home one day and that they would be a serious security challenge across the continent. They instead allowed their nationals to join the Takfiri terror outfit in the hope that they would help topple Syrian President Bashar Assad. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address President and CEO of Baystate Health Dr. Mark A. Keroack reported that the health system has been able to keep more COVID-19 patients off ventilators at higher rates than nearly any other health system in Massachusetts. This has meant a much quicker rate of recovery and the ability for people to leave the hospital. The Massachusetts Hospital Association releases data daily on the number of patients that are on ventilators. Hospitals across the state are averaging 35% to 40% of their COVID-19 patients on ventilators, Keroack told MassLive on Friday, adding that Baystate has had approximately 20% since the outbreak began. The numbers are so low because physicians at Baystate are more reluctant to use ventilators for COVID-19 patients too soon because once they are on them a persons lungs start to rely on aided breathing. This is partially due to a deconditioning of the chest muscles. Its not that a ventilator isnt good, said Dr. Andrew Artenstein, the Baystate Health chief physician executive and chief academic officer. Because obviously, if you cant get enough oxygen, any other way the ventilator is lifesaving. The problem with the ventilator is it keeps you in the hospital longer. The unusual thing about COVID-19 is that a person could have very low levels of oxygen in their bloodstream but not feel uncomfortable because the body is getting rid of carbon dioxide very effectively. It kind of pulls people into thinking oh my God, weve got to put this guy in a ventilator because his oxygen levels are low, said Keroack. Well, what they really need is oxygen because theyre able to move out the carbon dioxide effectively. Artenstein said that a patient, once they are put on a ventilator, is in the hospital twice as long with the COVID-19 infection. So doctors at Baystate have been looking at treating their patients in one of two ways. The first option is to attach a nasal cannula that administers a high-flow of oxygen that aids breathing. The second is to lie the patient in the prone position which opens a different area of the lungs to aid a patients breathing. Its worked in other diseases and it may do a better job of just getting to the parts of the lungs that need to be opened up that need the oxygen, Artenstein said. With funding from the National Institutes of Health, Baystate has had a department that has almost two decades of experience in research of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Weve had studies going on funded by NIH for years. Not around COVID-19, but around other types of whats called, ARDS, acute respiratory distress syndrome, said Artenstein. Theres always been a lot of interest and work done on acute lung injury and [COVID-19] is a different version of acute lung injury. Having a LIVE Q&A with Dr. Mark Keroack, President & CEO of Baystate Health on COVID-19. https://t.co/OJgHECKT0O Eric Lesser (@EricLesser) April 24, 2020 Keroack also pointed out in a Q&A with Sen. Eric Lesser that one of the other issues that have been prevalent since the outbreak began is avoiding going to the hospital if theres a problem. We are well below 50% of the capacity that we had built, said Keroack. Baystate had prepared beds for much higher numbers of infected, thinking that we might have an epidemic that was as bad as New York for example. Keroack said that even though there is a pandemic, the hospital is still able to care for patients with non-COVID-19 related illnesses. As of Friday, there are 350 patients being treated for other ailments. One of the things we are hearing from our doctors is that patients may be waiting a little too long [for treatment], said Keroack. Weve seen the number of kids with ruptured appendices, for example, who if they came sooner would have had a much simpler operation or people with large heart attacks that might have had small ones if they came sooner. Like at Baystate, the majority of hospitals in Massachusetts have been very good at separating those that are infected with the virus and other patients, according to Keroack. The supply of protective equipment has been difficult across the U.S. and in what was described as almost like a covert operation, Artenstein recently hit headlines after getting a supply of N95 masks to Western Massachusetts and navigating a couple of FBI agents who questioned them. I don't like to be held hostage by anybody and I don't understand why the greatest country in the world [is] relying on other countries to make this or make that. We need to get back to making things here in America, said Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno on Thursday. Were cannibalizing each other to get supplies, to get something we need. With the need for equipment increasing and the supply, unable to keep up with demand, Keroack told MassLive that he has been working with local manufacturers which he thinks will be the ultimate solution to the shortage. This may well do a lot to reverse what has been a trend towards globalization in the supply chain, said Keroack. I would certainly be willing to spend a little bit more on masks and gowns if I knew I had an in-state supplier that could be reliable as opposed to some supplier from China where the next pandemic could get [the supplies] shut off. The hospital is running low on gowns and is looking to use ponchos that can be bought from stores locally as a solution. It's an acceptable substitute, but it's a little bit more clunky than the specially designed gown, Keroack said. Baystate facilities, as of Friday, are treating 137 patients who are confirmed COVID-19 cases, and 13 of these are in critical care units. There are also another 35 patients who are suspected of having the virus. Baystate Medical Center in Springfield has the greatest number of COVID-19 patients in the system, with 127. Baystate Noble in Westfield has 6, Baystate Wing Hospital in Palmer has 4, and Baystate Franklin in Greenfield has none. Baystate announced on Friday that its hospitals have now tested more than 4,000 people for COVID-19 and just under a percent have tested positive. Baystate has treated and discharged 251 patients and transferred another 68 to post-acute care facilities. Another 363 did not require hospitalization. Related Content: Eight people, including seven policemen, tested positive for coronavirus disease Covid-19 on Saturday in Varanasi, taking the number of infected people in the district to 34. These policemen were posted in Sigra police station in the city. District Magistrate Kaushalraj Sharma said that 95 reports were received from the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) on Saturday in which seven police personnel tested positive for Covid-19. The police personnel include a sub-inspector, three head constables and three constables. The other 87 samples tested negative, said Sharma. He further said that the sub-inspector first developed dry coughing and fever. Thereafter, some police personnel exhibited symptoms. They all lived in the same barrack at police outpost. Three days ago, they were quarantined in a guest house and their sampling was done. On Saturday, their report was received and seven policemen were tested. They have been shifted to isolation ward of BHU. Another 39-year-old person has also been tested positive. He has also been shifted to DDU government hospital. There are 25 active Covid-19 cases in the city and eight have been cured of the disease. One person has died. The district administration is using specially designed drones to disinfect Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modis Lok Sabha constituency. A statement by the principal scientific advisors office said it has collaborated with Invest India, the countrys National Investment Promotion Agency through the AGNIi Mission, and Invest Indias Business Immunity Platform (BIP) - to facilitate the use of specially designed drones to sanitise Varanasi, news agency PTI reported. The statement said using drones, authorities can spray disinfectant over large, crowded, vulnerable urban areas by protecting city-dwellers from Covid-19, while reducing human contact to keep frontline workers safe. Meanwhile, the number of Covid-19 cases in Uttar Pradesh reached 1,793 on Sunday with 177 new patients reported in the last 24 hours. The total number of samples found negative is 54,216. The total number of samples result awaited is 842, Uttar Pradeshs Directorate of Health Services said in a bulletin on Saturday. The media bulletin further said, The total travellers screened at the border check posts is 15,59,010. These are all travellers and not suspects. 35 patients have been declared recovered and discharged today, taking the total number to 261. Total number deaths due to Covid-19 in Uttar Pradesh is 27 - one each at Basti, Varanasi, Bulandshahar, Lucknow, four at Meerut, six at Moradabad, one at Firozabad, eight at Agra, three at Kanpur, and one at Aligarh, according to state health officials. Trevor Phillips' appointment to be part of a review into the impact of coronavirus on black, Asian and minority ethnic communities has drawn criticism from leading Muslims and an MP. The former Equality and Human Rights Commission chair was asked by Public Health England to provide expert support for its investigation to find out why Covid-19 seems to disproportionately affect people from BAME backgrounds. Data from the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre suggests 34.5 per cent of critically ill Covid-19 patients were from the BAME community. This is despite just 10.8 per cent of the population being black or Asian, according to the 2011 census. Harun Khan, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), said on Saturday that the decision to appoint Mr Phillips to the inquiry was 'insensitive'. It comes after the Labour veteran was suspended from his party earlier this year over allegations of Islamophobia. Trevor Phillips (pictured) has been appointed to review the impact of coronavirus on black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities In a statement, Mr Khan said while the review was needed, it was 'wholly inappropriate' to give the role to someone who was 'being investigated'. 'The decision is particularly insensitive given that British Muslims overwhelmingly come from BAME communities and so many Muslim doctors have died at the front line of this pandemic,' Mr Khan said. Meanwhile, Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi claimed on Twitter that Mr Phillips' appointment 'undermines the integrity and credibility of the review'. In a letter to PHE's chief executive Duncan Selbie, she said she was 'shocked and troubled' to learn Mr Phillips had been asked to join the inquiry despite the allegations against him. Speaking about the disproportionate data Mr Phillips told The Times: 'This data stops you in your tracks. Anyone who maintains that this virus doesn't discriminate is either not looking at the numbers or doesn't want to admit the truth.' He added that anyone citing structural racism should note death rates in the Bangladeshi community, among the poorest English households by average weekly income, were lower than those among white Britons. Harun Khan (left), secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), said on Saturday that the decision to appoint Mr Phillips to the inquiry was 'insensitive'. Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi (right) claimed on Twitter that Mr Phillips' appointment 'undermines the integrity and credibility of the review' Mr Phillips, an anti-racism campaigner, has previously defended his statements, including that it was 'nonsense' to define being anti-Islam as racist as Muslims do not identify as a race. Responding to the criticism around his appointment, Mr Phillips told the Huffington Post: 'Everyone should be contributing anything they can to tackling this crisis. 'Anyone can see the research Richard and I have already done on our website, which explains why we've been asked to help.' The first ten doctors to die in the UK from Covid-19 were all BAME - with ancestry from regions including Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Pictured is Dr Abdul Mabud Chowdhury, 53, who passed away in hospital after a 15-day battle against the virus PHE said Professor Richard Webber, who runs the specialist research and insight consultancy firm Webber Phillips with Mr Phillips, had also agreed to provide support to the inquiry. 'We're delighted to put our team which together has more than a hundred years experience in this field and our technology at the disposal of PHE to help it solve the puzzle of who is most vulnerable and why,' Mr Phillips said. Egypts President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called for transparency and objectivity in the media on Sunday in a meeting with Information Minister Osama Heikal, the presidency said. According to the statement of the Egyptian presidency, the president called for coordination between the state institutions in the media concerning the coverage of different crises, especially recent developments and updates, whether domestic or international. El-Sisi also called for the media to boost its role in order to raise awareness and to enforce social and cultural norms and values in society. Heikal discussed with the president the vision to develop the media policies of the state on the current regional and international developments, especially through the expertise of Egypt in the media field, the statement added. The Ghaziabad district administration on Sunday issued an advisory for officers of both Delhi and central governments restricting movement of their vehicles between 9 am to 6 pm during the lockdown. It is often observed that their vehicles are plying during office hours and this type of shunting makes the lockdown ineffective, Ghaziabad District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey told PTI. He said the new guidelines will be applicable with immediate effect. In its advisory, the administration stated that the employees commuting in between Ghaziabad and Delhi must ensure their entry into Delhi before 9 am. On their return, they must cross the borders to enter the limits of Ghaziabad after 6 pm while returning home. These vehicles will not be allowed into the district in the intervening hours from 9 am to 6 pm. Beside this, all employees related to essential services working in different shifts must obtain passes from their heads of departments as without showing valid passes of the Delhi or central government offices, they would not be permitted to cross the Ghaziabad border while returning from Delhi. Central government officers from the rank of deputy secretary and above would be permitted on the basis of their departmental identity cards. Media persons, doctors, paramedical staff, police personnel and bank employees would also be allowed to travel to and fro Ghaziabad by showing their identity cards. Goods carriers, though, would not be checked while entering the district, Pandey said. This measure is being taken to effectively enforce the lockdown, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) - Shatta Wale has shown massive support for Stonebwoy's newly-released Anloga Junction album - In a new post, Shatta Wale has urged his fans to grab copies of his 'brother's' album - Stonebwoy released the album on Thursday, April 24, 2020, and it is already been classified as a hit Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Ghana Dancehall superstar Shatta Wale, known in private life as Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jnr, has shown massive support for his colleague Stonebwoy, born Livingstone Etse Satekla, on the release of his new album titled Anloga Junction. Stonebwoy released the much-anticipated album named after his hometown on Thursday, April 23, 2020. The 15-track album which features international artistes like America's Keri Hilson, Nigeria's Zlatan, South Africa's Nasty C, Tanzania's Diamond Platinumz, and Jamaica's Alicai Harley, among others, has already been pencilled as a masterstroke. Reacting to the release of Stonebwoy's album for the first time, Shatta Wale has shared the cover art of the album on his social media pages. Sharing the photo, Shatta Wale urged his fans to go and grab copies of the Anloga Junction album. Shatta Wale who described Stonebwoy as his blood brother also congratulated him on the released of the new album. "Grab a copy now !!!! Big up to my own blood brother Bhim president @stonebwoyb #anlogajunction , " Shatta wrote. Shatta Wale's show of support for Stonebwoy has earned massive praised from his followers on social media. As previously reported by YEN.com.gh, Anloga Junction happens to be Stonebwoy's fourth studio album. Ahead of the release, Stonebwoy held a virtual listening session on April 23, 2020, which was broadcast live on Joy Prime and Hitz FM. The album listening dubbed 'Road to Anloga Junction', happened in a 2-hour live telecast from 4 pm to 6 pm and gave Stonebwoy the opportunity to give his fans a taste of the songs on the album. 51-year-old Fred Drah recovers from COVID-19 in Ghana | #Yencomgh: Have national and human interest issues to discuss? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page Source: YEN.com.gh In a major relief to lakhs of Odias stranded due to COVID-induced lockdown, the Odisha government on Sunday launched concrete steps to bring back labourers stuck in Gujarat and Maharashtra in a safe and dignified manner, a senior official said. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik discussed issues pertaining to migrant workers with his Gujarat and Maharashtra counterparts Vijay Rupani and Uddhav Thackeray respectively through separate video conferences in which Union Petroleum and Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also took part. Patnaik requested Rupani and Thackeray to arrange for safe return of Odia brothers and sisters working in their respective states. It was decided that senior officials of Odisha will coordinate with Gujarat and Maharashtra officers to facilitate the return of stranded Odia migrant workers to their homes from the western states. A majority of the estimated five lakh Odia migrant workers stranded across the country due to the lockdown are in Gujarat, mainly in Surat, while a sizable number of them are also stuck in different places of Maharashtra, he said. A coordination committee will be constituted comprising two senior officers each from Gujarat and Maharashtra to work out details of the return of the stranded workers to Odisha, he said. Similarly, chief secretaries of Odisha and Maharashtra will discuss the modalities and senior officers of the two states will coordinate for return of the stranded Odia workers from the western state. The stranded migrant workers from both Gujarat and Maharashtra will be brought to Odisha mainly by buses while other modes of transportation will also be examined, the official said. Those wishing to return from the two western states to their homes in Odisha will have to register their name and address on state government portal covid19.odisha.gov.in. Pradhan also emphasised on registration of all Odia workers before their return. The migrant workers will be placed under quarantine for 14 days after their return to Odisha, the official said, adding that registration and quarantine are mandatory for the returnees. While the Maharashtra chief minister promised that his government will not levy any tax on buses carrying the home-bound Odia workers, the Odisha government will urge the governments of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to waive road tax of buses bringing the migrant workers to their native places from the two western states, the official said. Altogether 7,086 temporary medical centres have been set up in 6,798 gram panchayats of the state for placing people returning from other states under quarantine, he said. In all those centres, 1,69,406 beds have been readied to provide COVID-19 health services in rural areas. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal recorded the first case of a senior health official dying after being infected by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) when Biplab Kanti Dasgupta, assistant director of health services, died at a private hospital early on Sunday. Dasgupta, 60, was in-charge of the states central medical store. He was admitted to the hospital on April 18, a day after his samples tested positive, and had been on ventilator since then. His wife is also battling Covid-19. Condoling his death, chief minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted: We have lost Dr Biplab Kanti Dasgupta, Assistant Director, Health Services, West Bengal, in the early hours of today. He was Assistant Director of Health Services, Central Medical Stores. We are deeply pained with his untimely demise. Coronavirus outbreak: Full coverage In another tweet, she said, His sacrifice for the cause of ailing humanity will ever be in our hearts and will make our COVID warriors fight the deadly virus with even greater determination. My heartfelt condolence to Dr Dasguptas bereaved family members and colleagues. Following his death, Dasguptas colleagues remembered his last social media post on Facebook, dated April 9, which had said, Trust god even if the answer is wait. In a statement, the West Bengal Doctors Forum said, This is the first reported death of a member of our medical fraternity in the state, who was tested positive for Covid-19It is pertinent to note here that over the last few weeks, more and more healthcare workers are diagnosed with Covid-19, some of them asymptomatic, while several others are in quarantine. We urge the health and administrative authorities to proactively look into the matter as it is a matter of grave concern. With limited resources at disposal, we cannot afford to have a situation where a shortage of healthcare providers poses a threat to delivery of care. The forum requested all doctors in West Bengal to observe two minutes silence at 11 am on Monday to pay respect to the states first Covid-19 martyr among healthcare professionals. The number of health care staff affected in West Bengal was not immediately available. On social media, people demanded a state funeral for Dasgupta. Dasgupta, who contracted Covid-19 while being on duty, has died. Let us demand a state funeral. No stigma please! wrote retired civil servant Dinabandhu Bhattacharya, and many netizens supported his demand. According to the Union health ministry, a total of 611 persons have tested positive for Covid-19 in West Bengal, of whom 105 have recovered. Though 57 persons who tested positive had died till Friday, the state has attributed only 18 deaths to Covid-19 and the rest to severe co-morbidity. In the past few weeks, the world has gone through unexpected and never-before-thought of changes and it has been all-encompassing - economies, politics, laws, you name it and its happening. But the most remarkable is the way social behaviours have altered. Ever since the outbreak of novel coronavirus, theres been an eerie silence on the handshake front and its verboten, to stop the spread of the disease. As fear of the disease mounts, people across the world are almost coming to terms with the fact that handshakes - perhaps one of the oldest forms of greeting someone - is going fade away, and will probably be replaced by a foot shake! Source/financetwitter We shake hands to say hello, goodbye and congratulations, to show respect, trust, co-operation, and to signal our confidence to strangers, friends and maybe even enemies. Throughout history and even in our normal day-to-day lives, gestures like hugs and cheek-pecks, have been a sign of making peace and a staple for closing business deals. However, all of this is under siege in the age of coronavirus - now, instead of being a positive and uplifting gesture, a handshake will attract skeptical and even accusatory stares, because it could potentially infect someone. Given just how seemingly abnormal our new normal is about to be, theres one question in everyones mind - it really possible to break a habit thats so deeply ingrained in our social decorum? Heck, authorities are struggling to keep a tab on people breaking the social isolation rule, handshakes disappearing might still seem a far-fetched thought. The only thing that might possibly discourage people from shaking hands, is the gnawing fear of contracting the disease. All of a sudden, we have been thrust into this era where constant hand-washing is no longer an OCD, and handshakes are a taboo. Origin of the handshake According to historians, the handshake has been around for centuries, but the origins of the same are still very murky - theres no telling where and at what point, it possibly started. But there are a thousand theories about it being one of the strongest forms of human contact. One of the most widely believed theory is that the gesture was essentially a means of conveying trust and peaceful intentions. According to the article What is the origin of the handshake on History.com, 'When they clasped hands, people showed that their word was a sacred bond. An agreement can be expressed quickly and clearly in words, but is only made effective by a ritual gesture: open, weaponless hands stretched out toward one another, grasping each other in a mutual handshake', the historian Walter Burkert once explained. Source/callmetaphy.blogspot.com/ By extending their empty right hands, two people could show that they were not holding weapons and held no ill-intentions. Furthermore, the up and down movement when the hands are grasped however lightly, added intent that nothing was concealed in the sleeve either. It might actually be considered the adult equivalent of the kiddish pinkie-promise. According to History.com, perhaps the oldest depiction of the handshake comes from a stone relief found in the ninth century BCE, which is nearly three thousand years ago. The carving shows two tall imposing men facing each other, one of them being the Assyrian king, Shalmaneser III, and the other - facing him, whose hand he is holding - is a Babylonian ruler. Throughout ancient history, there is sporadic evidence of handshakes being a part of everyday life - engravings on vases, stone sculptures, all point to handshakes as a sign of finalising a royal wedding or perhaps warriors making a peace deal. Wikipedia In the literary field, evidence stretches to the epics written by Homerin The Iliad And The Odyssey, he described handshakes as a sign of pledges and display of trust. In the Iliad, written in the 8th century BCE, Diomedes and Glaucus shook hands when they realized they were guest-friends, and Diomedes proclaimed Let's not try to kill each other. The greeting also dates back at least as far as Ancient Greece, where the gesture was used in funerary motifs. It usually showed the dead person shaking hands with a family member to signify the bond between the living and the dead. Source/shadowsflyaway.files.wordpress The base of a column at the Acropolis Museum in Athens, meanwhile, shows Hera, the wife and sister of Zeus (Zeus married his sister Hera, which is why they were also husband and wife) shaking hands with Athena, goddess of wisdom. In the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, a funeral stone from the 5th century BC depicts two soldiers shaking hands. Some historians believe it was popularized by the 17th century Quakers. They found the handshake a more democratic form of greeting compared to then-common bow, curtsy, or hat-tipping. Whatever the case, it is clear that things have changed amid the pandemic. In the wake of the virus which is all around us, many are sure that handshake will quickly be replaced with alternatives. Will the gesture stop post-COVID-19? In France,"La bise" - which is an integral part of French greeting culture - which involves greeting with a kiss on the cheek is threatened by the COVID-19 disease. French Health Minister, Olivier Veran, pulled the rug out from underneath the feet of the entire French population by saying people should not longer do la bise. Contact-less greetings are gaining traction everywhere in the past COVID-19 world. PM Narendra Modis enthusiastic bear hugs and President Donald Trump's awkward tight handshakes are not going to be followed by any world leader for years to come. Reuters In the wake of the pandemic, world leaders have been promoting alternative greetings whenever they get a chance. Instead of handshakes or high-fives, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams introduced the elbow bump at a news conference in Connecticut as a possible alternative to avoid the coronavirus. Source/USATODAY Many have resorted to the age-old Indian tradition of Namaste. Narendra Modi was himself promoting the Indian tradition, saying that the world is increasingly adopting this no-contact way of greeting. World Health Organization Assistant Director-General Bruce Aylward was photographed offering an elbow to a reporter who extended his hand for a handshake. In many parts of Europe, the Middle East and the Far East, the contactless greeting has been an enduring tradition. In New Zealand, the native Maoris tap noses and foreheads. Tibetans stick out their tongues at one another and the Japanese take a bow. So, with alternatives in the greeting world, abound, how things pan out in the post-pandemic world is still uncertain. Perhaps it all depends on how we, as a community, to choose to adapt while coming to terms with the new normal. 16 Shares Share Ten years from now, the internist stands in the emergency department. Doctors run past him as he stares at the number of gurneys pushed against the wall with struggling patients who all need assistance. There are not enough gowns for him, and his colleagues, the sheer volume of blood needed surpasses what the hospital provides, and he has never faced a hospital emergency room in a time of such uncertainty and crisis. He thinks, This is deja vu just like when COVID-19 took the worlds hospitals by storm. And Im seeing it again, with no difference in our readiness. While COVID-19 has recruited entire populations to aid in flattening the curve, those in the hospital to fight the virus directly include only essential personnel. Anyone excluding physicians, nurses, and support staff, have been sent home as part of infection control. These include our future doctors, the medical students who are supposed to be engaged in learning through direct patient care, and using the time in the hospitals to prepare a physician workforce to meet the needs of our country. Per the Association of American Medical Colleges interim guidance, medical students should avoid involving themselves in any direct patient care activities. The definition of essential personnel during the COVID-19 crisis has excluded medical students, and perhaps rightfully so as patient care should be the utmost priority. But the profound consequences of this crisis on medical education and its future repercussions in the training of physicians must be considered. We have the unique opportunity to train students on how to be great physicians in resource-challenging times. From makeshift personal protective equipment (PPE) to complex disaster triage, doctors are learning to think and practice in novel ways. Although we are certain there will be more pandemics or disaster scenarios in the future, we are not training our medical students today to be better prepared. Instead, medical students are being told to stay home, thereby creating a missed opportunity in their training. For pre-clerkship students across the nation, medical schools have transitioned to online platforms. From learning to take a patients sexual history online to exploring the complexities of the immune system, distance-learning is challenging medical students to adapt their learning styles. For students training on the hospital wards, education has come to an abrupt, indefinite pause, with clinical rotations now replaced by online cases. This pause translates to less time learning essential clinical skills as well as less exposure to a potential pursuant specialty. A medical student may miss out on the opportunity to deliver a newborn on their obstetrics rotation or participate in a code in the emergency department. In a curriculum as compact and fast-paced as that of medical school, this break in education might result in negative long-term consequences for our society. Medical education is not designed to be fully online, nor does it permit the time to have large gaps away from clinical rotations. Although many medical students find some aspects of medical education to be feasible in an online environment, other parts of the curriculum like team-based learning applications, patient interviewing skills, and physical exam skills cannot be properly learned through online methods. Here, we see the aspect of learning directly from patients and as part of a health care team with the nuances of seniority and hands-on procedures being stripped away completely. Another ramification of this pause in medical education is the impact on residency applications. For many pre-clerkship students, the opportunity to engage in extracurriculars and build leadership experience has greatly decreased for the next few months. Internships and fellowships that were to take place in hospitals are considered rightfully socially irresponsible. For clerkship students, the ability to do sub-internship rotations at potential residency institutions proves to be an insurmountable hurdle when many states have ordered shelters-in-place. These seemingly small inconveniences are currently compounding for medical students. Although shelter-in-place orders are the type of interventions that we need now, we must consider the missed hours of work for medical students and how those experiences might be made up. These formative months of clinical work and leadership experiences prove vital in preparing the best doctors of tomorrow who will be fully equipped to deal with future crises. Medical students have demonstrated that they are capable of providing alternative assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic through patient outreaching efforts, supporting frontline providers through childcare and obtaining groceries, organizing blood drives and PPE donations, and helping identify housing options for the homeless community in a time where social distancing is vital. However, they should do even more to prepare for their roles in the next pandemic. In a decade, they will need to know how to make medical decisions and manage complex patients in a high stake setting. Medical schools are indeed training the future essential personnel and must help prepare our students to address the next pandemic. In addition to engaging in direct clinical care that is central to the medical student curriculum, this cohort of students can learn from the mistakes that we may make in this current pandemic and how to avoid similar situations down the line. There is some inherent risk associated with a physicians work, but it is vital for students to learn that early and in a supervised setting. Students were not pulled during the HIV epidemic, and students and doctors alike still provide care to patients with tuberculosis a highly infectious disease. It is imperative that we protect ourselves, but also fulfill the obligation to serve our patients. Preventing medical students from practicing and learning medicine during this crisis will be detrimental during the next global health crisis. Samya Faiq is a medical student and can be reached on Twitter @samyafaiq. Harveen Kaur Sekhon is a medical student and can be reached on Twitter @harveenkaur_. Sharad Jain is an internal medicine physician. Image credit: Shutterstock.com Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the spirit shown by people of India when they together clapped for Covid-19 frontline warriors during Janta Curfew, has inspired everyone. He said this during his monthly radio address Mann ki Baat. The claps (taalis), lamps (diyas), candles and the sentiment generated by people, the spirit by which people resolved to do something, has inspired one and all, PM Modi said. In his address to the nation last month, PM Modi had announced a self-imposed one-day quarantine known as Janta Curfew to fight the spread of coronavirus disease Covid-19. The Janta Curfew lasted for 14 hours - from 7 am on March 22 to 9 pm. The Prime Minister also urged people to praise the efforts of emergency workers by clapping or blowing conches - a call which was widely responded. Then, on April 5, PM Modi asked people to switch off the lights at the homes and light lamps or candles to spread the light and fight the darkness of coronavirus. Millions of people across the country responded to the call. From towns to villages, everywhere people are coming together in this giant endeavour. Look at our farmers, in the middle of this pandemic, they are working day and night in the fields to ensure that no one sleeps hungry. Everyone is fighting this battle according to their capacity, PM Modi further said on Mann ki Baat. In his last Mann Ki Baat address on March 29, four days after announcing the first phase of nationwide lockdown, the PM had apologised to the nation for imposing the shutdown but justified the step, saying it was needed to win this battle. I apologise for taking these harsh steps which have caused difficulties in your lives, especially the poor people. I know some of you would be angry with me also. But these tough measures were needed to win this battle, he had said. Since that address, a second phase of nationwide lockdown has been imposed which will end on May 3. The government has also announced some relaxations in the lockdown rules including opening neighbourhood and stand-alone shops providing non-essential goods and services but with certain conditions. According to the Union health ministry figures released on Sunday morning, Indias coronavirus count stood at 26,496 including 19,868 active cases and 824 deaths from Covid-19. An unidentified Pakistani intruder was shot dead along the Indo-Pak border here on Sunday after he ignored repeated warnings by BSF personnel, officials said. They said a Border Security Force patrol team noticed some suspicious movements at Bhindi Saida village near the border on Sunday morning. The personnel found a person entering the Indian territory from across the border and warned him repeatedly to stop, but he continued marching towards them, the officials said. BSF personnel then opened fire and shot him dead, they added. No arms, ammunition or other suspicious items was recovered from him, official said, adding further investigation is underway. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The winds of change blow swiftly in the midst of a pandemic, and nowhere could this be more true than the dispute between the Chester Water Authority and City of Chester over a potential sale of the authoritys assets. On Wednesday, Chester City Council adopted a resolution to begin negotiations with three bidders who responded to a request for proposal put out earlier this year: The CWA, Aqua Pennsylvania and American Water Pennsylvania. On Thursday, the state Department of Community and Economic Development issued an Emergency Action Plan for Chester related to Gov. Tom Wolfs April 13 declaration that the city was facing a fiscal emergency. The plan, among other things, directed the city to continue working with its legal counsel to formulate positions related to the authority and to city assets with respect to CWA, but prohibited Chester from selling, leasing, or otherwise monetizing any assets valued at more than $10,000 without DCED approval. Then on Friday, Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge Spiros Angelos issued an order indicating any sale of CWA assets must be approved not only by the city, but also by Chester and Delaware counties, where the bulk of the authoritys customers live. A long and winding road Chester City finances have been plummeting since 2011, when it had a year-end balance of more than $8.7 million dollars. By 2014, the city had a deficit of $6.8 million, which had ballooned to more than $23 million by 2016, the last available year for audited financial statements. Actual revenues during that period were also often far lower than budgeted projections. The DCED emergency plan would cut about $10 million from the citys $55 million budget through hiring freezes, elimination of benefits not legally obligated for terminated or temporarily laid-off employees, limiting discretionary spending and adjusting pension fund payments. The CWA is not in financial distress, though it did furlough 24 administrative employees Thursday, according to Solicitor Frank Catania. He attributed those furloughs to employees being unable to work remotely and a 10 percent drop in water usage, probably due to shuttered businesses. Catania said those employees will be paid through next Friday and will retain benefits for now, and CWA has offered to help usher them through the unemployment compensation process. Dating back to 1866, the CWA serves a total of about 200,000 people in the city, in 17 of Delaware Countys 49 municipalities and in 16 of Chester Countys 73 municipalities. The CWA board was under the citys sole control until Act 73 of 2012 came into effect. It is now made up of three representatives each from Chester City, Chester County and Delaware County. Approximately 22 percent of CWAs customer base lies in the city, while about 78 percent is located elsewhere in Delaware and Chester counties. The dispute over CWA and its assets goes back to 2016, when the DCED hired Econsult Solutions to draft Chesters Act 47 Recovery Plan. The plan required the city to eliminate its budget deficiencies and address its funding deficit or face entering receivership. Chester Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland sent a letter to the CWA after Econsult concluded selling the authority was the only way to reach that goal. Bryn Mawr-based Aqua America Inc. offered to buy CWA from the city in May 2017 for $320 million, which the CWA board unanimously rejected, finding it would ultimately increase rates for its approximately 42,000 customers. Shortly thereafter, Chester City officials asserted they had the right to reclaim and transfer the authoritys assets or dissolve the authority altogether. CWA officials, wary that litigation with Chester over the ability to transfer assets would be pricey, entered into negotiations with City Council to reach an agreement in March 2018. That resulted in a proposed settlement unanimously approved by the CWA board to provide $60.2 million to Chester in exchange for city officials agreeing not to raise any claim to terminate or acquire any CWA project for 40 years. The agreement would also protect CWA assets by placing them in trust for that same time period. The authority planned to raise the funds for this deal through a 10-percent rate hike to customers. Aqua Pennsylvania filed suit, however, alleging the hike would result in $75,000 being directly passed on to its customers with no corresponding benefits. City Council then approved a resolution to issue a request for proposal to value CWA assets. That prompted CWA to file a trust petition in the Common Pleas Courts Orphan Court Division, as well as a second lawsuit aimed at shutting down the RFP and placing a moratorium on selling the authority to Aqua or any other buyer. Eight CWA customers from Delaware and Chester counties intervened, arguing Chester and Aqua had conspired to sell CWA and its assets unlawfully and that Section 5622(a) of the Municipalities Authorities Act does not authorize the seizure of the CWA by the City of Chester. Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge James Bradley issued an order last July enjoining the city from alienating any assets owned by or allegedly owned by the Chester Water Authority and prohibiting the city from taking any legal action to dissolve or attempt to dissolve the authority. An order from Angelos later extended Bradleys order by 30 days and the city returned six RFPs it had received unopened, except to determine who to send them back to, according to letters to potential buyers posted on the CWA website. The letters, signed by Kirkland, indicated a new RFP would be issued in the near future. A February court order allowed the bidding process to resume and the city put out another RFP the same month, leading to the three competing bids currently on the table being submitted in March. Meanwhile, Wolf declared a fiscal emergency in the city April 13. This was later accompanied by a concise statement of facts issued by the DCED in support of the declaration. One line in that statement appeared to assign the CWA to Chester as an asset, the sale of which could generate millions of dollars in support of Chesters long-term fiscal recovery. The CWA issued a seven-page response that was highly critical of the statement and argued selling its assets would be a counter-productive theft of hundreds of millions of dollars from ratepayers throughout Chester and Delaware counties. The response noted the city itself has not counted CWA as an asset in audited financial statements overseen by the DCED since at least 2003. The city cannot claim in every single one of its audited financial statements going back decades that the authority is not a city asset, and then suddenly reverse course and now claim it owns the authority, according to CWA. Likewise, the Act 47 Team cannot sign-off just a few months ago on the 2016 Audit explicitly stating the authority is not a city asset, and now claim that it is. Catania said he believes DCED is actively pushing for a sale in order to lessen the burden on the state government in supporting the city, as part of a wider statewide policy. He pointed to emails CWA uncovered through Right to Know Law requests in 2017 showing an Act 47 coordinator had been in contact with Aqua America representatives regarding a possible authority sale shortly before Aqua made its original pitch and offered to be helpful where appropriate. DCED spokesperson Casey Smith said neither the department nor the Act 47 coordinator has promoted a sale of the CWA, but DCED does recognize that the city may be interested in selling its asserted interest in the authority. The CWA also reached out to state legislators to write letters to DCED Secretary Dennis Davin supporting its position. Several took up that call, including state Sen. Tom Killion, R-9 of Middletown, and state Rep. Leann Krueger, D-161 of Swarthmore. We have heard from hundreds of constituents expressing strong opposition to any sale of CWA, wrote Krueger in a letter with state Reps. Christina Sappey, D-158, and Carolyn Comita, D-156, both of Chester County. The sale of municipal water authorities in our region have frequently resulted in sharp rate increases for consumers, many of whom are senior citizens. CWA is, and continues to, operate as a financially solvent, independent municipal water authority with its own governing board. Any sale of CWA is unwarranted and not in the best interests of our constituents. State Rep. John Lawrence, R-13 of Chester and Lancaster counties, and Republican Majority Leader Bryan Cutler, R-100 of Lancaster County, argued in their own letter that the suggestion the city owns CWA is ludicrous and that they were worried the DCED may attempt to force its sale under the guise of the fiscal emergency. This would be a gross abuse of power under any circumstance, but particularly egregious at a time when the public is rightfully distracted by with COVID-19 pandemic, Lawrence and Cutler contended. Killion, whose district includes Chester, said he was equally concerned about a sale in his own letter, noting he had previously opposed the idea even before the emergency was announced. It is my understanding that discussions are ongoing about using the Emergency Declaration as a vehicle for privatizing the CWA, he said. I want to convey in the strongest terms possible that I oppose the sale of this public asset and believe privatization is not in the best interests of CWA ratepayers in Delaware and Chester Counties. Offers received Representatives for American did not reveal what its bid was, offering this statement instead: As outlined in detail in its proposal, Pennsylvania American Water is uniquely situated in its ability to meet the needs of the City of Chester and its surrounding communities through an acquisition of the water system assets of the Chester Water Authority. While its true that we are the largest water and wastewater utility in the commonwealth and invest more in our systems than any other investor-owned water and wastewater utility, its also true that we are a neighbor and partner with a century-long track record of supporting communities across the Commonwealth, offering first-hand local knowledge and expertise as the water provider in nearby communities in Chester, Lancaster, Bucks and Montgomery counties. Aqua President Marc Lucca said his company has offered up to $380 million to acquire CWAs assets and vowed that customer bills would remain at current levels for about a decade. There would be no change in their rates until at least 2029 and an increase in the average bill to only $45.88 in 2031, Lucca said Friday. During that 10-year period, while rates would not be affected, we would continue to invest in their systems and their people. They would become our systems and our people if we were to be successful, so its not like we would take a hiatus of investing in the capital that is absolutely needed. Were investing in the people. We will continue to do that; that is our commitment. CWA rates currently range from $35.15 to $41.70, while Aquas average rates are approximately $65.52. Lucca said Aquas business relies on making sure that the environment and watersheds are protected, and that it would continue to do so at the Octoraro Reservoir and more than 2,000 acres of land the authority currently holds. Weve committed in our letter (to Chester City Council) that there would be access for continued use of Octoraro, he said. Weve committed already to maintaining a committee that the Chester Water Authority has held together for a number of years, very successfully we would continue to have that committee so they could help advise on the use of the reservoir and the surrounding areas. The CWA bid is identical to the original $60.2 settlement million offer, according to Catania, but he said Friday that the Public Utilities Commission, not private companies, sets the rates and typically does not abide by rate freezes proposed in bids. Catania added that the two new orders from Angelos effectively render the entire RFP process moot anyway, at least with respect to these bids. New orders There are currently four cases and eight appeals pending on various aspects of the dispute, according to Angelos. He noted in the orders issued Friday that Chester asserts that as the original incorporating municipality, it alone has authority to transfer the assets of CWA. The city also argued that Act 12 of 2016 provided a concise framework for valuation of acquired water and wastewater systems by public utility companies and that CWA assets consisting of generation, transmission and storage do not count as protected natural resources. The judge agreed that any transfer of assets must be conducted solely by the governing body under the MAA, but determined that body to be the City of Chester, Delaware County and Chester County acting in unison. Angelos added that the identification of proposed real and/or personal property comprising the generation, transmission and storage-related assets that would be transferred to a trust, as requested by CWA, must first be identified on the record. As such, he said the court would schedule a conference on discovery deadlines related to that issue. Chester City Solicitor Ken Schuster said earlier Friday that the city was moving forward with the bid process and would have a website available for the public to review the bids in full and comment in some fashion. Schuster said the city had already reached out to each bidder to begin the interview process, but did not know how long that would take. He added that whatever bid was selected would be contingent on a court order either allowing the sale to proceed, probably from the Commonwealth or Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Schuster did not respond to calls, emails or texts following the revelation of the new orders from Angelos, however, and the website did not appear to have gone live as of Saturday afternoon. IMANI Africa President Franklin Cudjoe is in favour of more stringent backing of directives for the mandatory wearing of face masks due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. I think the advice to wear a face mask should be changed into some real order with some level of punishment but we must also have a humane face, he said on The Big Issue. Mr. Cudjoes appeal for a humane face was because the fact of the matter is [that] not everyone can purchase a face mask. He however advised against any move by the state to supply face masks to poor people. I think that every person, however poor or wretched the person is, has a piece of cloth which can be washed, sanitised and with two pieces of rubber strings, you can actually hold them. I would not go as far as to recommend that Ghana does a stimulus package where face masks are going to be used. We may overproduce and you know which challenges this comes with and procurement opportunities. Also speaking on the show, a former Health Minister, Alex Segbefia also backed the mandatory wearing of face masks but said the poor persons in society needed some state support. If you make it mandatory and people can't get [the face masks], they are open to sanctions and there is no way they could have rectified it Those [poor persons] should be identified and the government assist them in giving the mask. The wearing of face masks in public places has also been made mandatory within the Greater Accra Region. The Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly in the Central Region will also make the wearing of face masks mandatory from Monday, April 27, 2020. But there are no significant penal measures for these directives. All public and private institutions in the region were only instructed by the Assembly to begin a 'No Face Mask, No -citinewsroom Taron Egerton was reportedly left 'raging' after a discarded cigarette caused a fire at his luxury apartment block. The fire is said to have started at the west London complex on Friday morning near the BBC Television Centre in White City. One of the Rocketman star's neighbours flicked a cigarette butt on to a balcony filled with paper and clothes. 'Raging': Taron Egerton was reportedly left angered after a discarded cigarette caused a fire at his luxury apartment block (pictured in February) Firemen put out the blaze in minutes and the building managers had to warn tenants not to put flammable items on their wooden balconies or throw cigarettes. A friend of the 30-year-old thespian claimed the screen star was left angered by the fire which was caused by 'sheer stupidity'. The source told The Sun: 'Taron takes great pride in his pad and was fuming when the blaze happened as a stupid action could have caused a real tragedy. 'Stupidity': The fire is said to have started at the west London complex on Friday morning near the BBC Television Centre in White City (pictured in Rocketman) Uh oh: One of the Rocketman star's neighbours flicked a cigarette butt on to a balcony filled with paper and clothes (pictured in November 2018) 'Had the fire brigade not dealt with it so quickly, who knows what could have happened.' Taron's representatives told MailOnline he was not in the building at the time of the fire. Taron's upscale penthouse is in a new development which includes access to a private gym, swimming pool, cinema and 24-hour personal trainers. The star snapped up the exclusive pad after winning the Golden Globe for Best Actor at the start of the year for his portrayal of Elton John in Rocketman. Accepting the award, he said: 'This role has changed my life, it's been the best experience of my life, it's been such a joyous thing. The actor also thanked Elton's husband David Furnish for being convinced 'he could play his husband.' Taron then added: 'To Elton John, thank you for the music, for living a life less ordinary and thank you for being my friend. 'My mother is in the room somewhere. This is for you mam.' The Akwa Ibom State epidemiologist, Aniekeme Uwah, has been sacked by the state government under controversial circumstances. An epidemiologist is a medical professional whose focus is mainly on the study and containment of disease outbreak, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, within a population. Mr Uwah, a former chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Akwa Ibom State branch, was leading the fight against the spread of the coronavirus in the state as the state epidemiologist until his sudden removal on Friday. He was among the African doctors honoured in 2019 by the African Union for their contributions to the fight against the deadly Ebola virus in Liberia. There are 11 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Akwa Ibom State as of April 25. The news of Mr Uwahs removal first filtered into Facebook and Twitter on Friday afternoon before the state government, through the Commissioner for Health, Dominic Ukpong, later confirmed it a day after in a statement issued around 9 p.m. on Saturday. The information that circulated on Facebook had it that Mr Uwah was removed for pushing in more samples for COVID-19 testing against the number approved by the Commissioner for Health in Akwa Ibom, Dominic Ukpong. Several media aides of Governor Udom Emmanuel scrambled on Facebook on Saturday to counter the information but ended up doing a poor job, posting contradictory and some hard-to-believe stories in one of the stories, they claimed the sacked epidemiologist hung up a call against the governor. Mr Uwah had not spoken with the governor on the phone. He only had a meeting with the governor two days before he was sacked, PREMIUM TIMES learnt. Reason for his removal Most people in Akwa Ibom were still confused or completely in the dark by Friday on why the state epidemiologist was sacked, until the spokesperson of the NMA in the state, Emmanuel John, went on a live radio interview on Saturday morning to say what he knew about the development. Dr Aniekeme Uwah sacked as Akwa Ibom state epidemiologist As at when the commissioner for health called Dr Aniekeme Uwah not to test more than 10 persons, Dr Uwah had already tested 19 persons, Mr John, a medical doctor, said in the interview with Inspiration FM, Uyo. The 20th person waiting to be tested when the call came was a senior doctor, a nephrologist who had been exposed to COVID-19 and is self-isolating at the moment. What Dr Uwah did by testing 31 persons who met the case definition saved this state grand embarrassment if the people waiting to be tested were turned back for no clinical reason, and also saved the society from community infection, should they turn positive. Mr John said the removal of the epidemiologist was one of the most unfortunate things to have happened in Akwa Ibom State. He said about 84 persons have been tested for the coronavirus in Akwa Ibom State so far. When we have a medical doctor who begins to talk about the politics of testing, its a shame. It is not acceptable. In medicine, we call it infamous conduct. The NMA spokesperson was asked if there was any rationale for testing some samples and leaving out some. There is no explanation, Mr John responded. Before a doctor, every patient is equal. Why would you test one and leave the other? It is a bad medical practice, it is a bad public health practice. Some state governments who are doing this, they are banking on the fact that these symptoms can be self-limiting for some people with strong immunity. We understand what they are thinking, Oh, if we do not test, the person may have the symptoms and then the person may recover on his own and then it is not recorded for us. I want to say here, at the end of COVID-19, no state governor is going to receive a fund for not having so many cases. If there is anything, a government will get money for having a lot of cases. International partners do not take their money to where there are no challenges. Akwa Ibom government keeps mum The health commissioner, Mr Ukpong was scheduled to be at the same radio station for a live interview by 12 noon to react to the allegations made by the NMA spokesperson. But he declined after the station had already announced his scheduled appearance. The commissioner rather requested for a recorded interview to be done elsewhere because he was not comfortable with a live phone-in programme, a source close to Inspiration FM said. The health commissioner did not respond to calls and text messages from PREMIUM TIMES. Advertisements The Commissioner for Information in Akwa Ibom, Charles Udoh, around 9 p.m. on Saturday sent out a statement signed by Mr Ukpong, informing the public that one Ntiense Umoette has been appointed as the new epidemiologist for the state. Apart from saying that Ms Umoettes appointment was an internal reorganisation to match skills and competence to role, the statement did not say why the former epidemiologist was sacked. The information commissioner, Mr Udoh, just like his counterpart in the health ministry, did not respond to calls and text messages from PREMIUM TIMES. What appeared to be a semblance of government reaction to the remarks made by the NMA spokesperson came from Facebook posts made by some media aides to Governor Emmanuel. The dude spoke like a rascal. I doubt (if) he is a real medical doctor, Essien Ndueso, a media aide to the governor, said of the NMA spokesperson interview in a post on Facebook. He sounded very unprofessional. Reminds of how a typical Buharist sounds, Cavil Iwang, a pro-government blogger, said, also on Facebook, in support of Mr Nduesos comment. Buharist is a term used for people who are ardent supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari. The number of samples tested for COVID-19 has been a controversial issue in Akwa Ibom. There is a general belief among the people that the state government has not been sincere with its information on sample testing. The NCDC publishes the record, we dont control that process. The tests are not conducted in Akwa Ibom state. .. I cant give you that update now because that happens on a regular basis, unless I check with the situation room, the information commissioner, Mr Udoh, said a few days ago when PREMIUM TIMES asked him how many persons have been tested so far in Akwa Ibom state. When PREMIUM TIMES pressed on with the issue, Mr Udoh said, The first batch that had five cases, we sent 17 samples and then, of course, five of them came back positive. This last batch that we just did, we sent 16 samples, three of them came back positive. Mr Udoh went on to say, The NCDC supplies us test kits, we dont have the test kits. We are looking to buy but we cant find it. He said explicitly that the number of COVID-19 tests conducted in Akwa Ibom was dependent on the testing kits sent to the state by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. The commissioner before the interview had said the Akwa Ibom State government was planning an aggressive COVID-19 testing in the state. There is no such thing as aggressive testing in the state, the NMA spokesperson said in the radio interview. The controversial removal of the state epidemiologist has obviously set up another round of clash between the health commissioner and medical doctors in the state. Some weeks ago, the NMA and other health professionals in Akwa Ibom state had passed a vote of no confidence on the health commissioner and called for his immediate removal. The rift was only settled through the intervention of Governor Emmanuel. Three persons working in Mr Emmanuels administration have told PREMIUM TIMES that they wished the governor could reverse Mr Uwahs sack and intervene once again in the brewing crisis between the health commissioner and the doctors, for the sake of the fight against the coronavirus. The information commissioner, Mr Udoh, in the interview with PREMIUM TIMES said the Akwa Ibom State government is doing its best to fight the pandemic and that residents should trust the administration. We need to look at this thing as something that concerns every one of us; it could be anyone the next minute. No one has complete knowledge of this thing, nobody was prepared for this. That is why I am on the street, from morning till night I am on the street because we have a responsibility. Along the line we will make mistakes. Along the line, we will take decisions that people dont quite understand. What we expect is that when people look at all that (we have done), they should say look, this decision, these guys took it in good faith. If you dont understand, ask questions, ask for clarification so that together we can win this fight, the commissioner had said. A Republican state senator has apologized for wearing a face mask resembling a Confederate flag during a contentious session Friday over Gov. Gretchen Whitmers emergency powers during the pandemic. Sen. Dale Zorn told WLNS Friday that the red face covering with white stars inside of thick blue stripes was not the Confederate flag, but said he knew it would raise some eyebrows. His wife made it for him, he told WLNS, and said it was more similar to the Tennessee or Kentucky flag. Republican state senator dons Confederate flag mask, then things get weirder https://t.co/TUXbwPiT7w pic.twitter.com/BswEFAEAXC Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) April 25, 2020 Following the WLNS report, Zorn on Saturday apologized on social media for his choice face mask pattern. I did not intend to offend anyone; however, I realize that I did, and for that I am sorry, he wrote. Those who know me best know that I do not support the things this pattern represents. My actions were an error in judgment for which there are no excuses, and I will learn from this episode. At some point during Fridays Senate session, Zorn removed the mask and told WLNS reporter Kiyerra Lake he didnt want his actions to cause a negative effect to the institution. Even if it was a Confederate flag, we should be talking about teaching our national history in schools and thats part of our national history and its something we cant just throw away because it is part of our history, Zorn told WLNS. If we want to make sure that the atrocities that happened during that time doesnt happen again we should be teaching it. Our kids should know what that flags stand for. When Lake asked Zorn what the flag stood for, he said the Confederacy. Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, a Republican, does not believe the mask was the Confederate flag, his spokeswoman Amber McCann said. Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, a Democrat, said he was at a loss for words. Im just really disappointed to see him make a choice that is deeply hurtful to so many people, Ananich said Additionally, when he was called out for it, he didnt seem to even understand or acknowledge what the problem was. At a time when tensions are high and Michiganders are dying, this is a terrible distraction from the conversations we are having about how to save more lives. Zorns comments came as the GOP-led Senate voted along party lines to approve a bill limiting the emergency powers of the governor and create an oversight committee to assess the governors response to the coronavirus pandemic. 2020 The Detroit News Visit The Detroit News at www.detnews.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) missed earnings with its latest first-quarter results, disappointing overly-optimistic forecasters. Results showed a clear earnings miss, with US$1.4b revenue coming in 4.4% lower than what the analystsexpected. Statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.55 missed the mark badly, arriving some 57% below what was expected. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year. Check out our latest analysis for First American Financial NYSE:FAF Past and Future Earnings April 26th 2020 Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus, from the five analysts covering First American Financial, is for revenues of US$5.39b in 2020, which would reflect a definite 15% reduction in First American Financial's sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to dive 50% to US$2.94 in the same period. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$6.09b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$4.65 in 2020. It looks like sentiment has declined substantially in the aftermath of these results, with a real cut to revenue estimates and a pretty serious reduction to earnings per share numbers as well. It'll come as no surprise then, to learn thatthe analysts have cut their price target 18% to US$53.43. That's not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. The most optimistic First American Financial analyst has a price target of US$59.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$48.00. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of analyst estimates, it looks to us as though the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting that First American Financial is an easy business to forecast or that the the analysts are all using similar assumptions. Story continues Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. These estimates imply that sales are expected to slow, with a forecast revenue decline of 15%, a significant reduction from annual growth of 4.1% over the last five years. Compare this with our data, which suggests that other companies in the same industry are, in aggregate, expected to see their revenue grow 1.2% next year. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - First American Financial is expected to lag the wider industry. The Bottom Line The biggest concern is that the analysts reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds could lay ahead for First American Financial. On the negative side, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and forecasts imply revenues will perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target fell measurably, with the analysts seemingly not reassured by the latest results, leading to a lower estimate of First American Financial's future valuation. Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for First American Financial going out to 2022, and you can see them free on our platform here.. You still need to take note of risks, for example - First American Financial has 2 warning signs (and 1 which is significant) we think you should know about. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. President Rouhani: Iran closely watching US moves Iran Press TV Saturday, 25 April 2020 10:45 AM Iran's president has told the Qatari emir that Tehran won't initiate any conflict in the region despite the US provocative moves. "The Islamic Republic of Iran is closely watching and following the activity and movements of Americans, but will never be the initiator of any tension and conflict in the region," President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday. He made the remarks in a phone conversation with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The Qatari emir, in turn, underlined the need for all countries to prevent escalation of tensions in the region. During the phone call, the two sides also stressed that all countries must cooperate and strive to ensure the stability and security of the region. The phone conversation came after US President Donald Trump claimed that he had instructed the US Navy to destroy Iranian boats "if they harass" American ships in the Persian Gulf. "I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea," Trump wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. The order was Trump's reaction to a recent confrontation between US warships and Iranian boats in the Persian Gulf. Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps released a video on Sunday showing its Navy warning off a flotilla of US warships in the Persian Gulf as they tried to approach the Iranian territorial waters. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address : Noted jewellery retailer Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers expects to take a hit in sales for the next five months due to the ongoing lockdown and said it is delaying new design launches. Managing Partner Amarendran Vummidi said that the lockdown has affeted sales on Akshaya Tritiya day, which usually is 10 to 12 times more than normal. "This (sales) is the usual norm for Akshaya Tritiya. But if Tirupati can be (under) lockdown and Mecca can be lock-down, I think lock-down on Akshaya Tritiya day would surely be a first. But we are all doing it for the good and welfare of the community", he told PTI. Asked about the challenges faced, he said, "every week of closure should be equal to one month of setting back. So probably if the lock-down is for five weeks, we probably will have a five month impact after which things will come back to normal". Expansion of projects and new launches would be delayed and the retalier would take things ahead after assessing how the market responds, he said. The primary challenge was to make sure that all staff and customers are safe, he said. "That is one of the major risks we see. We are taking a lot of care to make sure that does not happen. The second risk is with regard to sales. We expect a drop-in sale for the first five months. Most of our products and production will be going down", he said. He said once the lock-down was lifted they expect 'price point' to drop. "That is what we are looking at. We are looking at a drop in price points and drop-in sales", he said. On the opportunities available in the current situation, he said they expect a quick rebound in sales with the commodities and share markets witnessing a fall once normality is restored "only gold is resilient. People's confidence in investing in gold has improved. For a short term there will be a drop in sales, but long term business will be much better, he said. On expecting support from the government, he said they wanted them to be a little more empathetic towards the industry in terms of ESI and PF "if the government can bear most of it". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In pandemic, its us versus them When Nevada County outside of Lake Tahoe became a coronavirus hot spot, tensions grew between year-round locals and those escaping cities In pandemic, its us versus them When Nevada County outside of Lake Tahoe became a coronavirus hot spot, tensions grew between year-round locals and those escaping cities TRUCKEE The coronavirus pandemic at first seemed impossibly distant to residents of the hamlets ringing Lake Tahoe. It was winter, and snowdrifts pillowed the Sierra Nevada. The novel virus seemed to be contained to urban places like San Francisco and Los Angeles, or as far removed as Wuhan, China. Besides, people in this mountain town are hardy the type used to hunkering down. I think there was a bit of hope and thinking that, Oh, were our own little place, and itll never get here, and well be fine, said Truckee Mayor Dave Polivy, 42. That wasnt the case. As the ski resorts closed in mid-March in spite of a blizzard and residents were told to shelter in place, eastern Nevada County became a hot spot. Despite having only 20% of the countys population of 99,755, the eastern side saw up to 80% of the coronavirus cases. As of Thursday, 36 residents have tested positive; of them, 24 live near the eastern border. So did the countys only victim, an 81-year-old woman who died in Truckee in early April. The pandemic has left the 16,500-person town with an infection rate seven to 10 times higher than the rest of California, threatening to overrun its only hospital. The Tahoe Forest Health System, with its six ICU beds and nine ventilators, serves several counties in two states. It cannot handle the brunt of the pandemic. Struggling to contain the outbreak before it overruns them, Truckees leaders have asked second-home owners and tourists to stay away until Gov. Gavin Newsom lifts shelter-in-place orders. But not everyone has listened. Pristine Lake Tahoe at 22 miles long and 12 miles wide laps five counties in California and Nevada, and each has grappled with the pandemic in slightly different ways. Both El Dorado County and Nevada County, which includes Truckee, banned short-term rentals and hotels from serving nonessential workers. Placer County dispatched 15,000 letters this month to second-home owners along the lake, asking them to stay put at their primary residence. Placer County Public Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sission ordered the letter sent. Should that person become ill while residing in their second home in North Lake Tahoe, they would potentially be going to receive care at a hospital that was already at capacity, if not operating over capacity, she explained. They think theyre somehow going to a safe haven, but theyre not. But such bans have not been enough to deter all visitors and theyve fanned long-standing tensions between full-time locals and part-time residents. Prepandemic, the issues were housing prices and the cost of living, pushed up, locals would say, by the part-timers from the west. Now, its about who has a right to stay at all. On April 10, an email with information about Truckees stay-at-home advisory began circulating among members of the Serene Lakes Property Owners Association, a group of lot and cabin owners in the Donner Summit area, among them second-home owners. Some bristled at the new regulations. Thanks for passing along this ridiculous suggestion/recommendation, one member wrote back in an unsigned email. Bay Area hospitals are just as overwhelmed as hospitals in small towns. Oh yea, and we pay taxes here. Ironic how 50% of homes in Truckee area are 2nd homes yet county supervisors bite the hands that feed them. The email continued: Were supposed to support the community when its convenient for the locals (who are mostly transplants from other states etc) and stay away when its not? Were all in this together! . Until it affects me, then youre on your own. Such attitudes are part of the problem, said Harry Weiss, the CEO of Tahoe Forest Health System, which has campuses in Truckee and Incline Village. The system is one of Californias 34 Critical Access Hospitals, defined as more than 35 miles away from another hospital or in a rural area and equipped with 25 acute care inpatient beds or fewer. Located in secluded corners of the state others are in Yreka and Fort Bragg these hospitals have by definition fewer resources than their urban counterparts. They were never built to handle the full force of a pandemic. The Tahoe Forest Health System covers an area spanning about 3,500 square miles, including some of the countrys premier ski slopes. Weiss said thats probably where the coronavirus spread, arriving with tourists from Sacramento and the Bay Area in early March. Lake Tahoe can see its population balloon from 14,000 to 140,000 in a single weekend. We took off like a rocket, Weiss said, recalling the early weeks of the pandemic. This has been a really hot area. Many of the first patients that tested positive werent full-time residents. In fact, the impact of those from outside the region is difficult to measure. Those cases arent included in Nevada Countys count; test results are registered in a patients home county, not where they were swabbed. Weiss maintains that the regions medical facilities arent set up to handle them especially not the additional demands presented by patients breathing the thin mountain air at 6,000 feet while in respiratory distress. We dont want to overwhelm rural health resources when there are at least 100 hospitals near and around San Francisco and Los Angeles, with more than 300 in the state total, Weiss said. With a primary residence elsewhere, those part-timers have the option of seeking medical care in other places. But residents of this small town dont have that luxury. Many Truckee residents are watching how other communities are coping, and are frustrated that their community hasnt been more proactive. They see Mammoth Lakes, a ski destination in Mono County where the town voted to install a highway checkpoint on the main road to insure that only residents and those with essential business were allowed to enter. They point to South Lake Tahoe, where the Town Council voted in early April to issue $1,000 citations to anyone violating the states shelter-in-place order, and where the interim police chief has promised that his officers will regularly check the 1,400 vacation rentals, calling the owners if the property is occupied and possibly fining them. Elsewhere around the lake, residents have tucked handwritten notes on the windshields of visitors cars with license plates from out of town, asking them to go home. But theres a hitch. Truckee also benefits from more than $150 million in visitor spending in the region in 2018 and even a pandemic hasnt totally eliminated that business. At the local grocery store, residents have noticed vehicles bumper-stickered with San Francisco parking permits. On recent weekends, tourists ill-dressed for the spring chill continue to unload hiking gear at popular trailheads. Pushing too hard against those who have chosen to visit despite the towns warning could backfire. Its turned into an us versus them argument, said Truckee Police Chief Robert Leftwich. I dont think anyone fully understands the havoc that this is wreaking on our sense of community. The biggest defense we have is each other. If we start losing that, then we lose our civic duty to do it together. Thats scary for me. He doesnt plan on taking a hard-line approach to enforcing the shelter-in-place order by issuing citations, fearing it will erode trust within the community. But even he has been tested as hes witnessed tourists breaking the rules to stay in rentals on his street near Donner Lake. He doesnt doubt its happening, and emphasized that they need to stay home. Its hard to put different labels on who should receive what services, Leftwich, 50, said, pausing. Police officers dont provide one set of services to one group and a different set to another. Just because theyre staying in a rental doesnt mean theyre treated differently. From that standpoint, that somebody has a right to a hospital bed or a ventilator over someone else Im struggling with that question. Some residents believe that the idea out-of-towners are overrunning their community is overblown. They include property owners and management companies, who have taken a financial hit, but who also can see that people are not arriving in droves. Murat Gocmen, 40, a software engineer who runs a vacation rental management company overseeing 25 homes, wishes the states stay-at-home order was clearer; it seems toothless to him. Gocmen, who primarily lives in Walnut Creek, manages homes in North Lake Tahoe, known for its secluded neighborhoods. Gocmen has blocked reservations at his rentals until at least April 30 but if the state extends its order, he would extend his block too. He said that the homeowners he works with have been unsure what shelter in place means it seems to be interpreted county by county. Some Airbnbs have continued to operate; others have not. The first wave was canceling reservations, Gocmen explained. The second wave was people coming to Tahoe to ride it out. We see a lot of tension. The locals very, very, very much dont like the idea of people who dont belong here staying. And rightfully so. The idea is that, because Truckee doesnt have enough resources, we want to make sure people are taking this seriously. Bad actors, however, have been in the small majority, said another property manager, Dave Williams, 48, who oversees 300 homes. While some ski lease tenants have chosen to wait out the pandemic in the mountains, most visitors appear to have left, he said. I think its becoming less and less common every day, he said. Ive read about families that have decided to socially distance by having one member come up and the others stay in a primary residence. Others arrived when the shelter-in-place order went into effect, and theyve chosen to stay here. They may not be any more correct than anyone else. I dont really know. On a recent weekend, the town seemed both riveted by the pandemic and quietly untouched. At the Tahoe Forest Health Hospital in Truckee, officials were still braced for a surge to materialize, but it had not. The building of dark brick and brown paneling, across the street from a strip mall, was flanked by an empty parking lot, the patient parking slots without cars. An Amtrak train rumbled through the historic town, past the shops with rainbows painted in their windows. No one got off at the station. Downtown, the grocery store was sold out of flour and yeast, like most everywhere else in the country. A distillery, Old Trestle, had begun producing bottles of hand sanitizer by the thousands. At Morgans Lobster Shack & Fresh Fish Market, a sign advertised the restaurants own stimulus package: two red snapper tacos, beer included, for $8. But up road at a popular trailhead, a parking lot was crammed with vehicles with license plates from as far away as Florida and Washington state. A cluster of 15 men, broad-shouldered and mustached, hiked upward, veering left at a fork in the trail. They passed a woman peering at her cell phone, confused, trying to navigate through the snow with a cell phone app. She wore a backpack branded with the logo of a major technology company based 200 miles away. Lizzie Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ljohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LizzieJohnsonnn Correction: An earlier version of this story gave an incomplete definition for Californias Critical Access Hospitals. They are in rural areas or 35 miles from another hospital. The West Bengal Imams Association on Saturday shot off a letter to Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, accusing him of trying to disturb the communal harmony from a constitutional position and seeking retraction of his statement on Nizamuddin markaz in Delhi. The imams body threatened to start a movement if Dhankhar does not retract his statement or clarify himself. Of around 40,000 mosques in the state, clerics of 26,000 mosques are members of the association. Dhankhar referred to Nizamuddin markaz in his letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday. He wrote a day after Banerjee sent him a five-page letter, accusing Dhankhar of forgetting his constitutional role. I can figure out that your entire strategy is crafted to deliberately divert peoples attention from your abject failure in combating and containing coronavirus in West Bengal. Your appeasement of the minority community was so explicit and awkward that as regards a question about the Nizamuddin markaz incident by a journalist, your reaction was Do not ask communal questions. This is most unfortunate and cannot be appreciated, Dhankhar wrote to Banerjee. As Muslims across West Bengal observed the first day of the month of Ramzan, the imams body raised strong objection to Dhankhars comment. Nizamuddin markaz incident was related to Delhi Police and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was completely their issue... we all are very much aware that general Muslims of India dont have any relation with (the) markaz incident, Md Yahiya, chairman, Bengal Imams Association, wrote to Dhankhar. Copies of the letter were sent to important officials at Raj Bhawan. If the authorities at Nizamuddin have made any mistake law will take it own course, said the letter. As a lawyer by profession, I hope you are well aware about that. Yahiya added and accused the Centre and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of targeting Muslims. This is the first time any religious body in the state has spoken out against Dhankhar whose acrimonious relationship with the Trinamool Congress government has been in news since last year. The Bengal chief minister said in her press conference (when a journalist asked about Nizamuddin Markaz incident) that it is a communal question. Whats wrong with that reply? As a chief minister she also has right to freedom of expression, said Yahiyas letter. The letter said that when students of Jadavpur University (JU) once asked Dhankhar questions on the Jamia Millia University incident, Dhankhar, in his capacity as chancellor of JU, said Jamia Millia is not related to Bengal. By avoiding such question in her (Banerjees) press meet how is it appeasement of Muslims of Bengal as you mentioned in your letter? Please clarify or retract publicly for trying to disturb the communal harmony from a constitutional position, as early as possible. Since in this lockdown period we cant move towards Raj Bhavan, we need to do our movement from home, the letter said. A Raj Bhawan official said the offices were closed during the weekend and correspondences would be checked on Monday. Trinamool Congress leaders were not willing to react. However, BJP Bengal unit general secretary Sayantan Basu said, This (the letter) is part of a greater conspiracy. It is well known that a large number of people from Bengal attended the markaz in Delhi and many of them have not been traced and placed under quarantine. The Governor has only warned the government. Mamata Banerjee must remember that one can ride a tiger but getting off the tiger is not easy. She must stop her communal politics, said Basu. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON BAMBERG -- Hundreds of people gathered on a February morning to welcome Piggly Wiggly to Bamberg. "We prayed for it, we waited for it, we got it," Bamberg County Council Chairwoman Sharon Hammond told the crowd of shoppers. "We have to support this store, she said. "We asked for it, we got it, weve got to keep it. The way to keep it is by being Bamberg. By being Bamberg, we shop local." Hammond spoke at the grand-opening ceremonies of Bamberg's Piggly Wiggly in the Heritage Shopping Center at 3386 Railroad Ave. Its the former home of Bi-Lo, which closed in 2018. Bamberg resident Danny Matheny said residents have been waiting for a new store since then. Theyve had to travel to Denmark and Ehrhardt for groceries. "This is just wonderful, Matheny said. He praised the Fogle family for investing in Bamberg and promised to make them successful by shopping at their store. "If we don't, it will be gone again," he said. Bamberg resident Jennifer Defrenn said it was a great day. "This is good because we don't have to run to Orangeburg just to get something," she said. "Like little things you need, you don't have to drive to Denmark or Orangeburg just to buy something. Bamberg resident Alyce Fleming has had to travel to the Piggly Wiggly in Denmark for past two years to shop. With the opening of the Piggly Wiggly in Bamberg, she can now walk to the store. "I am delighted," Fleming said. Shoppers lined up outside the store at about 6 a.m. for its 8 a.m. opening. "We appreciate everybody coming out," Fogles Inc. Vice President Chuck Fogle said. "We will try our best to win your confidence. We appreciate your business." Orangeburgs OCain Construction handled the work at the location. The store now has state-of-the-art, energy-efficient equipment. It also has a complete selection of groceries and produce, as well as a deli and a bakery. C&S Wholesale Grocers is the store's supplier. Augusta-based investment company The Vireo Group purchased the entire Heritage Shopping Center property with the intention of investing more than $2 million to upgrade the location. Vireo Group Director of Leasing Todd Wilson praised the countys and city's leadership for helping bring the store to the area. Vireo Group Managing Member Clay Boardman said, "We are investing in Chuck as much as we are investing in anything. The improvements have included the addition of exterior lighting and painting. "Without the cooperative spirit, the city, the county and economic development, we simply would not have done it, he said. The S.C. Coordinating Council for Economic Development provided some infrastructure support to upgrade the shopping center while the county and city also helped with infrastructure needs. The SouthernCarolina Regional Development Alliance also helped to finalize the deal. It is not Fogles first store in The T&D Region. Fogles Inc. owns and operates one in Denmark, two in Orangeburg, one in Neeses and one in Columbia. Bamberg Mayor Nancy Foster praised Fogle for helping Bamberg. "I want to remind all of you how bad we all wanted our own grocery store," she said. "You would have thought Denmark was in Atlanta." "Today we have gotten what we want," Foster said. "Without your support, the Pig will not survive. It is time we all shopped local. Use it or lose it, she said. "Are we 'Big on the Pig?'" she asked the hundreds gathered for the ceremony. In response, those in attendance issued a loud, "YES!" to a chorus of applause. Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, noted that he had to park on the grass for the stores opening because the parking lot was full. "We love it here, this is home," Hutto said. "Sometimes it is challenging when things change in your hometown, and not having a grocery store is a pretty big change for a lot people to adapt to. Now we have a grocery store and everybody can be happy and rejoice in that." He also noted the store is not just about shopping, it is about jobs and helping a community sustain itself. The store employs between 60 and 70. The Fogle family has done a wonderful job in investing in South Carolina and investing in rural communities," Hutto said. Rep. Justin Bamberg, D-Bamberg, said, "I look around and see everybody smiling and walking through. "This is why folks like myself, Mayor Foster and Sen. Hutto do what we do. This is what it is about." Contact the writer: gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5551. Check out Zaleski on Twitter at @ZaleskiTD. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Boris Johnson is facing mounting calls to ease the lockdown from multiple flanks of his own party including donors, cabinet ministers and rebellious MPs. The Prime Minister will return to work in Downing Street on Monday to find restlessness brewing in the Tory ranks for restrictions to be relaxed. Wealthy backers who have poured millions into Conservative campaign war chests have demanded the government acts to fire back up the spluttering economy. The six businessmen, who include billionaires Peter Hargreaves and Michael Spencer, warned the lockdown risks wreaking long-term damage. Phones4u founder John Caudwell, who donated 500,000 to the Conservatives, told the Sunday Times he favoured 'cautiously reopening the economy'. Steve Morgan, the former boss of the housebuilder Redrow, told the paper: 'We're actually in danger that the medicine - if you want to call the lockdown that - is more harmful than the cure. 'I'm strongly in favour of getting the country back to work. This is not about profit; this is about -saving the country from going bankrupt, from mass unemployment, from businesses going bust, people losing their livelihoods and homes.' Millionaire banker Sir Henry Angest and restaurateur Richard Caring also lined up to impress the need for a loosening of restrictions. Boris Johnson is facing mounting calls to ease the lockdown from multiple flanks of the Conservative Party, including donors, cabinet ministers and rebellious MPs Phones4u founder John Caudwell, who donated 500,000 to the Conservatives, said he favoured 'cautiously reopening the economy' During Mr Johnson's recovery, the cabinet successfully displayed a united front and rallied around the government's central message for the public to stay at home. Ministers have consistently shrugged off calls to publish an exit strategy, despite signs Britons are growing agitated and flouting social distancing rules. But last night three of the PM's top team broke ranks to anonymously undermine the strategy. One of the trio of cabinet ministers told the Sunday Times: 'I don't know anyone in the cabinet who doesn't want the lockdown eased as soon as possible. 'If the public are beginning to give up on it, then nobody wants to see it enforced through compulsion rather than consent.' Private disagreements have been seeping out of cabinet, which is reportedly split between 'hawks' wanting to ease the lockdown and 'doves' who want to keep the current curbs. Hawkish members include Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who has had to dig deep into the Treasury coffers to fund billions in bailouts and is confronted with bleak forecasts. Last night three of the PM's cabinet broke ranks to anonymously undermine the strategy. Pictured: Boris Johnson holding his first Cabinet meeting following last year's General Election Doves are understood to include Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who is one of the senior figures steering the response to the crisis. Mr Johnson, who will take the reins back from Dominic Raab on Monday, has reportedly become more reluctant to ease the lockdown since his own battle with the virus in intensive care. Yet he is facing a revolt on his own backbenches, with several Tory party big beasts publicly voicing their concerns. Former Brexit secretary David Davis this weekend wrote: 'If we do not get a plan in place soon, it will have a devastating impact on businesses, jobs and lives. 'This should jolt the Government into rapidly navigating the UK's route out of lockdown.' Former business secretary Andrew Leadsom also urged the government to give businesses the confidence to re-open. The clamour to publish a blueprint out of lockdown is also being echoed by a re-energised Labour Party with Sir Keir Starmer at the helm. Ministers have consistently shrugged off calls to publish an exit strategy, despite signs Britons are growing agitated and flouting social distancing rules (London revellers pictured) Former business secretary Andrew Leadsom also urged the government to give businesses the confidence to re-open Sir Keir has repeatedly called for the government to spell out a road map forward. Yet leading scientists have poured cold water on hopes the lockdown could be relaxed, warning the rate of new infections is still too high. Tacking to a containment strategy based on rigorous testing and contact tracing is widely touted as the route to easing restrictions. But the UK's track-and-trace infrastructure would cripple under the load of daily cases at their current levels, experts have said. They have lined up behind Professor John Edmunds, who sits on the government's scientific advisory group, Sage, to not jump the gun on lifting the social distancing. The warnings came as Britain passed the grim 20,000-death milestone in the coronavirus outbreak. A further 813 recorded fatalities took the total toll to 20,319, while cases also rose by 4,913 to 148,377. Downing Street last night declined to comment. Another round of wet weather is set to march across much of the East this week, with the threat of strong winds and localized flooding. A storm will move through the northern Rockies and into the Northern Plains early this week, bringing with it periods of rain and the potential for more severe weather in the central and lower Mississippi River Valley. "On Wednesday, the storm will move into the Great Lakes with another dose of rain and showers from Wisconsin to Ohio," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda. As the storm strengthens, it will generate strong northerly winds across the Upper Midwest, as well as strong southerly winds ahead of the storm along the Eastern Seaboard. "Thunderstorms will sweep through the Tennessee Valley and the Deep South into the Appalachians on Wednesday. Storms in the afternoon could contain some gusty winds and heavy downpours," Sojda added. This same area was recently hit by damaging winds and hail as severe thunderstorms rolled through on Saturday. CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP AccuWeather meteorologists anticipate the threat for thunderstorm activity will translate eastward into Wednesday in the wake of the severe weather in the Mississippi Valley expected on Tuesday. Wind gusts within some of the stronger storms could have serious impacts on outdoor hospital tents and testing centers. Rain will arrive in western Pennsylvania and western New York by Wednesday afternoon, spreading through parts of the Northeast on Wednesday night and into Thursday. Instead of being able to do socially distant activities outdoors, the rain and wind may force quarantined residents during the COVID-19 pandemic to stay indoors. "Localized flooding will be concern in many portions of the East once again as this next round of downpours moves through areas that have already had a wet April," said Sojda. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the only locations east of the Mississippi River to currently have dry conditions is Florida and along the Gulf Coast. Story continues The storm track so far this spring and brought storm after storm across the Tennessee Valley and the Great Lakes, delivering plenty of rain in these areas, as well as along the Eastern Seaboard. From March 1 through April 26, Detroit has received over 5.5 inches of rain, almost 120% of normal for that stretch of time. Washington, D.C. also has recorded 120% of their normal rainfall during that time, coming in around 7.2 inches. Places like Nashville and Atlanta have been even wetter, with 153% and 164% of their normal rainfall, respectively. Rain and thunderstorms from this next storm are expected to reach all of these areas, and even some of the drought-stricken locations like Florida. Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios. The Pakistan government has authorised the army to take over in case business community and religious clerics violate lockdown measures imposed to check coronavirus spread. For the Muslim community all over the world, the month of Ramazan is regarded as the holiest but in wake of coronavirus pandemic, it has turned out to be a problem for Prime Minister Imran Khan. Khan's government has enforced tight lockdown instructions but hardliner and fundamental religious cleric and business community are not ready to obey the orders, rather they have declared to continue their activities as routine. Khan, COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, DG-ISI Lt. Gen Faiz Hameed, some of the Cabinet ministers and advisors held a meeting at the ISI Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Thursday (April 23) and discussed the prevailing situation and various measures to counter any odd situation. According to informed sources familiar with the matter, it was agreed in principle during the meeting that police, rangers and even troops can be used to maintain law and order if the business community and religious clerics attempt to cross their limit and violate the lockdown instructions. Hundreds of violators were reportedly arrested in Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and other cities on Saturday, the first day of the holy month of Ramazan. "The situation will worsen soon if the government would not ease its restrictions since poor people are very frustrated of not getting food and other basic amenities," the sources said, adding "government system is not effective". The sources said that the participants received a comprehensive briefing on internal and external challenges faced by the country including the impact of COVID-19 outbreak. The business community in Karachi has threatened to ignore government orders, open their shops and do business as a routine, while religious clerics are leading prayers in mosques as normal. Contrary to their hard stance, the doctors and nurses are in favour of enforced stern lockdown instructions. They have launched a hunger strike in Lahore demanding adequate protective equipment for frontline staff treating coronavirus patients. The protest has also continued in Karachi. "Overall circumstances are not short of civilian disobedience if the government does not relax its strict measures to maintain lockdown effectively, it will face a difficult position," sources said. Health workers have complained for weeks that the country's hospitals are suffering from chronic shortages of safety gear, prompting the arrest of more than 50 doctors who called for more supplies in the city of Quetta earlier this month. The frontline staffs have been left vulnerable, with more than 150 medical workers testing positive for the virus nationwide, according to the Young Doctors' Association (YDA) in worst-hit Punjab. "Situation is seriously grim," YDA spokesman said. State Minister for Health, Zafar Mirza, on late Saturday said 79 per cent of the coronavirus cases in the country now were locally transmitted as the nationwide tally of COVID-19 patients surpassed 12,500. Apart from health issues, the sources further said, the tense situation at eastern and western borders of the country was also discussed during the meeting and military spokesman submitted his output in this regard. -ANI Also Read: Britain removes China's data from daily COVID briefings amid suspicions over 'inaccurate' figures City health officials estimate that 830 New Yorkers of Asian descent have died from coronavirus as of Tuesday, the fewest deaths of any racial group. But some local South Asian leaders say the official numbers may not tell the whole story. Theres no way its as low as they say it is, said Annetta Seecharran, executive director of Chhaya, a nonprofit representing South Asians and Indo-Caribbeans. She and other community leaders note theres no breakdown by ethnicity within the expansive Asian category, which represents people from dozens of countries in the worlds largest continent. Large South Asian populations fill some of the neighborhoods hardest hit by the coronavirus. Yet many South Asian New Yorkers a category that includes people whose roots trace back to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and neighboring countries have long been ambivalent about what box they should check off on all kinds of forms, advocates say. As of Tuesday, some 1,065 confirmed or probable COVID-19-related deaths were relegated to the other or unknown race categories. That represents about 9% of the nearly 11,700 city deaths logged through Tuesday, when the city Department of Healths most recent racial breakdown was released. This has been one of my biggest concerns: that the community is not being counted, said Seecharran. Both in terms of deaths and in terms of infection rates. Seecharran and other local South Asian community leaders say accurate accounting is crucial in allocating and focusing resources in aiding treatment and fighting spread. Analysis Is Still Limited City officials have acknowledged that the data is preliminary. They rely on lab reports and medical records to identify the race or ethnicity of those who died of the virus. When the information is missing, victims are categorized as unknown. The city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene does not track the fatalities by ancestry or country of origin. This kind of surveillance data, while helpful, is an incomplete picture given that it relies on the data of those who have been tested, Patrick Gallahue, a Health Department spokesperson, said on Saturday. We are doing everything we can to expand testing, but our analysis is still limited by the lack of widespread testing. As for infection rate, the governors office conducted antibody testing on 3,000 seemingly healthy people to measure what share of those without symptoms may have already been infected with the virus. The preliminary results released Thursday showed Multi/None/Other race state residents with the highest share of positive cases, 22.8% followed by Hispanic (22.5%), black (22.1%), Asian (11.7%) and white (9.1%). New York City made up 43% of those who were tested and 21% of positive cases. On Sunday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he was putting his wife, first lady Chirlane McRay, in charge of a new coronavirus task force that will look at the racial and ethnic inequities highlighted by the pandemic. Doesnt Fully Add Up South Asians represent one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in America, and New York City is home to the largest concentration in the country an estimated 434,000 according to latest Census Bureau figures. Some South Asian community leaders believe even that statistic fails to capture the true size of the population, due to language barriers, as well as fears of government data collection and retaliation due to immigration status. The coronavirus data marks an extension of this chronic undercounting, advocates said. Shahana Hanif, a Bangladeshi organizer from Kensington, Brooklyn, said that every single day, she hears about another death in the community. She doesnt trust the city data, so she and other community leaders have taken it upon themselves to keep their own unofficial count. She said that well over 100 Bangladeshi New Yorkers have died in recent weeks, based on reports from community groups and Bangla ethnic media outlets. Were all relying on our own block associations and neighborhoods, said Hanif, a member of grassroots group Bangladeshi Americans for Political Progress (BAPP) who is also running to replace her current boss, term-limited City Councilmember Brad Lander, in the 39th District. Bangladeshis are in the hardest situations right now, added Hanif. Many, she said, are working class and they are our most essential workers and they happen to be undocumented. On Thursday, the first day of Ramadan, Hanif and her sister Sabia launched a fundraiser for New Yorkers to pledge or match their stimulus checks to undocumented Bangladeshis. Have to Brace Ourselves Fahd Ahmed, executive director of Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM), which advocates for South Asian and Indo-Caribbean New Yorkers, agreed that the city death count did not seem accurate. Are people being classified differently, or are they not being counted? Ahmed said. Other communities are much, much more heavily being impacted, and at the same time, if we actually break down the percentages of these numbers, it doesnt fully add up. Prarthana Gurung, a campaigns manager at Adhikaar, a nonprofit that works with Nepali-speaking community, said shed heard of a handful of cases of Nepali people dying at home and a lack of clarity regarding whether they sought medical aid. Every day we have to brace ourselves, Gurung added. You see it that we need to fight tooth and nail to get services in languages we need. Some advocates say that one reason for what they called an undercount boils down to identity. Hanif observed that some racial and ethnic categories, such as Asian, black or mixed race, feel constricting for some. That may affect how they self-identify, if they choose to do so at all. The available racial categories at the hospitals and even for the census are limiting to certain ethnicities for many of us from South Asian countries, that definitely creates a barrier, Hanif said. Weve had many discussions about what racial categories mean and their implications, especially for recently arrived immigrants and elders, she noted. Unlike other categories, I would think the Asian category is controversial because weve had to refocus our identity from the country where we migrated from. Living in Hard Hit Areas Meanwhile, the majority of South Asian New Yorkers live in central Queens, southern Brooklyn and Parkchester, The Bronx all areas with a high share of workers in food preparation, delivery, janitorial services and construction. South Asians in New York also tend to live in areas more densely populated than the citywide average. For instance in Elmhurst, where South Asians make up 20% of the neighborhood, around 61,700 people live per square mile, about three times Queens overall density. Related Neighborhood on Edge Surrounds Elmhurst Hospital at Center of Surge Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Corona some of the citys hardest hit neighborhoods are home to at least 33,000 or 8% of all South Asians New Yorkers, according to the U.S. Census latest estimates. Though the city and state provide daily updated tallies of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths, a racial breakdown is only sporadically available. The data does not parse ethnicity, a limitation that advocates said is a disservice to serving communities. We need granular ethnic specific data, like urgently. Its not just because we want to know, for the sake of knowing, Seecharran said. We need to be able to figure out how to tailor our response. Language Access Advocates are also calling on public hospitals to diversify their Asian language offerings for hospital intake forms. The city Health and Hospitals Corporation provides intake forms in the top 13 languages spoken by the agencys patient population, said agency spokesperson Stephanie Guzman. Among those languages are Bengali, Arabic, Urdu, Hindi, Korean, Cantonese and Mandarin, Guzman said, adding that interpreter services are available in more than 200 languages and dialects. Since 2017, the city has been required by law to provide official material in 10 different languages, including Bengali, Korean, Urdu and Arabic. Online resources related to the pandemic, spanning topics such as COVID-19 treatment, food assistance, housing, are also available in these languages. But organizations like DRUM, Adhikaar, Chhaya, and BAPP say their communities are leaning heavily on them for translation services and language support. Theres this huge language barrier and for organizations like us were having to literally insert ourselves at every single point in this journey making sure people actually understand, Gurung said. Moumita Ahmed, a founding member of BAPP, said shes acted as an interpreter several times for Bangladeshi acquaintances who werent able to communicate with their doctors. Ahmed described one instance of assisting a Bangladeshi woman who was tested at Brooklyn Hospital in Fort Greene but had difficulty accessing her results. It took a lot just to help one person, said Ahmed. Dr. Raihan Faroqui, also a member of BAPP, said that he was hearing of Bangladeshi New Yorkers who were calling 911 for the first time and experiencing difficulty navigating the service. Along with several others, he is planning to launch a hotline next week for Bangladeshis to hear COVID-19 information and straightforward guidance, spoken in Bangla. Its not like were trying to make Bangla 911, thats not what were trying to do, Faroqui said. You call us, you hear a prerecorded message in Bangla Just hearing that in Bangla is so empowering. From the beginning of March to Thursday, 311s Language Line, a vendor that provides interpretation services, logged 50,000 calls, nearly twice as many calls the city received during the first two months of the year. The 311 system operator will hire additional 270 call-takers consisting of temporary workers and NYPD cadets in the next several weeks to increase its staff size to 860, according to the mayors office. 311 is in the process of staffing up significantly, with a specific emphasis on Spanish-speaking call takers, said Laura Feyer, a City Hall spokesperson. Want to republish this story? See our republication guidelines. SUPPORT THE CITY You just finished reading another story from THE CITY. We need your help to make THE CITY all it can be. Please consider joining us as a member today. DONATE TODAY! "It's not every day you get to paint a whole town," says muralist and fine artist Heesco Khosnaran. One wall at a time he has transformed Yarram in south-east Gippsland into a gallery of murals: images reflecting the town's people and history. "Especially during this crazy chaotic time, I think this project is giving people something positive and different, and a hope for the future for this town," he says. The Yarram project was a natural fit for Khosnaran, whose much-photographed signature landscapes appear on the Grenfell silos in NSW and Karoonda silos in South Australia. Scientist shows space achievements of the nation via a livestreaming program on Thursday to mark China Space Day.[Photo by Tang Ke / For China Daily] Planetary exploration program named Tianwen, or Quest for Heavenly Truth President Xi Jinping extended greetings to elder scientists who participated in the country's first satellite program 50 years ago and said he expected space industry workers to learn from their predecessors' spirit and strive to build the nation into a stronger space power. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, wrote a letter in reply to some distinguished Chinese space scientists who participated in the Dongfanghong 1 mission half a century ago. He said new generations of space industry workers should learn and uphold the spirit of those who took part in the making of the nation's first nuclear weapon, ballistic missile and satellite. A number of decorated space scientists, including Sun Jiadong and Wang Xiji, recently wrote the letter to Xi to express their expectations for China's space sector. In his reply, Xi encouraged space industry professionals to overcome difficulties and hardships to achieve new heights in space science and technology. "(You should) strive to strengthen and expand our space exploration and make our country a great space power as soon as possible," the president wrote. Xi also wrote that he was in the village of Liangjiahe in Shaanxi province 50 years ago when he heard about the launch of China's first satellite. He told them he was very excited about the great news. He recalled that the scientists' enterprise, diligence and perseverance inspired the whole nation at that time and exemplified the Chinese people's spirit of striving. On April 24, 1970, the first Chinese satellite, Dongfanghong 1 or The East is Red 1, was carried aloft by China's first carrier rocketLong March 1. The mission made China the fifth nation to independently design, build and launch a satellite, after the Soviet Union, the United States, France and Japan. The 173-kilogram spacecraft worked 28 days before it ran out of power, but the satellite still travels in its orbit. China has since sent over 500 spacecraft aloft and developed more than 20 models of carrier rockets. Since 2016, China has set April 24 as the country's Space Day to mark the launch of Dongfanghong-1 into space on April 24, 1970.[Photo provided by the China Academy of Space Technology] In 2016, China designated April 24 as China Space Day. Space authorities and major contractors organize events around the date each year to commemorate the nation's accomplishments in space. This year's events were mainly held by teleconferencing or livestreaming due to the impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak. The annual China Space Conference is scheduled for Fujian province in the second half of the year, according to the China National Space Administration. China is now a major player in the international space arena. The country carried out more space missions in 2019 than any other nation, with 32 successful orbital launches. Also, on Friday, the China National Space Administration announced that the country's planetary exploration program has been named Tianwen, or Quest for Heavenly Truth. The program was named after a long poem by famous ancient poet Qu Yuan of the Kingdom of Chu during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). He is known for his patriotism and contributions to classical poetry and verses, especially through the poems of the Chu Ci anthology, also known as Songs of Chu. The name represents the Chinese people's relentless pursuit of truth, the country's cultural inheritance of its understanding of nature and the universe, as well as unending explorations in science and technology, officials said. The country's first Mars mission, which is expected to take place in coming months, was named Tianwen 1, the administration said. It also released the planetary exploration program's emblem, which incorporates the elements of China, cooperation and capability in deep-space expeditions. According to the administration, the country's first Martian probe will conduct scientific investigation of the Martian soil, geological structure, environment and atmosphere as well as water. The robotic probe will consist of three partsthe orbiter, lander and rover. The rover will have six wheels and four solar panels and will carry 13 scientific instruments. It will weigh more than 200 kilograms and will work about three months on the planet, said Sun Zezhou, the probe's chief designer at the China Academy of Space Technology. Ye Peijian, a leading scientist in deep-space exploration at the academy, said the probe is expected to land on the Martian surface before July 2021. HOUSTON (AP) Texas' attorney general has accused the nation's largest egg producer of price gouging during the coronavirus pandemic. A lawsuit filed Thursday by Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton alleges that Cal-Maine Foods raised generic eggs price by 300% even though the pandemic hasn't disrupted its supply chain, the Houston Chronicle reported. Texas is seeking more than $100,000 in damages. Cal-Maine denies the allegations, saying its prices are based on independent market quotes. We have been consistent in our pricing practices whether we sell at a profit or at a loss, a spokesman said in an email. The Mississippi-based company has 42 egg-producing facilities in 15 states, mostly in the South. After Gov. Greg Abbott's state of emergency declaration in March, Texas residents scrambled to stock up on groceries and supplies. Eggs, among other staples, were in such high demand that many stores imposed limits on how many each customer could buy. Cal-Maines egg prices jumped from about $1 per dozen to as high as $3.44, according to Paxton's lawsuit. That created a huge profit potential for a company controlling nearly 20% of the nation's egg sales, the suit alleges. It is simply charging more because it can, the lawsuit states. Or, more specifically, because the pandemic caused market demand to jump. Texas' penalty for price gouging is a fine of up to $10,000 per violation with another penalty of up to $250,000 if the affected consumers are elderly. Last month, Paxton sued a Houston-based company for allegedly illegally inflating prices for masks and soap. Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger announced on Saturday that all restaurants in Hamilton County can open on Monday with specific guidelines. The Hamilton County Health Department will open restaurants based on the authority delegated by Governor Bill Lee in his latest Executive Order No. 29, released on Friday. It includes restaurants within the city of Chattanooga. All restaurants shall comply with the guidelines found in the "Tennessee Pledge: Reopening Tennessee Responsibly" document, found on Hamilton County's website at www.HamiltonTN.gov or on the state of Tennessee's website at www.TN.gov. Reading from a statement, one of the prisoners said they were not being provided with medicine and complained about rancid food. He threatened to direct gang members outside to set buses on fire and execute prison guards as detainees standing behind him mimicked a decapitation. This virus that is circulating around the world is going to kill many brothers in prison, he said. Were prepared to knock down these prisons. A state official said in a statement that the men in the video had been identified, and that the authorities had confiscated the cellphone used to make the video. To prevent transmission of the virus, officials in Brazil have suspended visits from relatives and lawyers, and sought to step up hygiene measures at federal and state prisons. While Brazilian judges have approved thousands of early release petitions, top Justice Ministry officials have said it would be a mistake to release prisoners en masse, arguing that would create risks to public safety. Prisoner advocates say it is more risky for the inmates to remain in prisons. Pastoral Carceraria Nacional, a Christian organization that supports prisoners and their families, said many relatives of the incarcerated have been barred from providing them with food and hygiene items. Prisoners get the bulk of material support from what their families can bring, because the food they are given inside is terrible and scarce, said Sister Petra Silvia Pfaller, the groups coordinator. Even before the pandemic they were already going hungry. Syed Akbaruddin, one of the most visible faces of Indian diplomacy in recent years, is likely to be replaced as Indias permanent representative to United Nations by TS Tirumurti, a seasoned diplomat with experience of multilateral organisations. Akbaruddin, who took Indian diplomacy into the Twitter era during his stint as spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs (MEA), is set to retire this month along with Indias high commissioner to the UK, Ruchi Ghanshyam, people familiar with the development said. Turmurti, who has been the secretary (economic relations) since early 2018, has earlier had stints at Indias permanent mission in Geneva and as director in the foreign secretarys office and joint secretary (UN, economic and social). Ghanshyam, who was superseded for the post of foreign secretary earlier this year, is expected to be replaced in London by Gaitri Kumar, currently the envoy to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity. Santosh Jha, currently Indias envoy to Uzbekistan, is tipped to be the new ambassador in Brussels, they said. Rajiv Chander, another IFS officer who was superseded for the post of foreign secretary, is set to retire in August and is expected to be replaced as Indias permanent representative to the UN by Indra Mani Pandey. Pandey is currently the additional secretary (disarmament and international security affairs). Raveesh Kumar, who was, till recently the MEA spokesperson, is set to become the envoy to Finland. The Mahim Kabrastan Trust in Mumbai on Sunday said burial of COVID-19 victims will be free of cost at their cemetery. It is one of the cemeteries mandated by Brihnamumbai Municipal Corporation to bury community members who die due to the coronavirus infection. "During such distressing times, serving mankind is the most important aspect. We have decided to waive off all burial expenses. Burial of COVID-19 victims in Mahim Sunni Muslim Kabrastan is free of cost," Mahim Sunni Muslim Kabrastan Trust chairperson Suhail Khandvani said. He said the burial is being done as per protocol to ensure there is zero risk of transmission of the virus to those in attendance. "Special coffin boxes have been organized, and the burial takes place with zero manual intervention. Sanitation is done before and after the burial," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a major setback for the holy city, which is a hub of religious tourism in northern India, the entire Amritsar district has been excluded from the much-hyped Rs 60,000-crore Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway project, as per the official website of Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change Though Amritsar has been excluded from the project, its name is still part of the project that is aimed at promoting tourism by linking two major religious shrines -- Golden Temple in Amritsar and Mata Vaishno Devi in Katra of Jammu and Kashmir, apart from opening the golden gate for boosting economy of northern region. The Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway is an under-construction 575-km controlled-access passage, which will connect Delhi with Amritsar in Punjab and Katra in Jammu and Kashmir. It will be constructed as part of the Bharatmala project. As per the website http://environmentclearance.nic.in of the Union ministry, Amritsar district is not part of execution of the project, which means the expressway bypasses the district in the alignment proposed for it. Taking serious note of this development, Amritsar MP Gurjit Singh Aujla on Sunday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, raising concern of the drastic change in the mega project. Observing that the entire Amritsar district is missing from the alignment of the expressway, he said, I request you on behalf of all the residents, business owners, pilgrims and transporters connected with Amritsar to reconsider this project and make necessary amendments to reconnect Amritsar with the said highway. Former BJP state president and Rajya Sabha MP Shwait Malik said, I have also written to Union road and transport minister Nitin Gadkari to include Amritsar again in the project. However, he blamed the Capt Amarinder Singh government in Punjab for exclusion of Amritsar. I am sure the conspiracies of the Congress government led to the exclusion of Amritsar from the project. Kulwant Singh Ankhi, patron of Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM), a local NGO, said, Along with Amritsar, residents of Tarn Taran district are also pained as they feel cheated at the hands of higher authorities of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). Theres not a perfect way to educate students in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, but there are a couple of clearly wrong approaches: Bringing children back into the schools next month likely would endanger students, teachers and families and reverse our hard-won progress against the spread COVID-19. And simply declaring the school year over six weeks early as some states foolishly did would cheat students out of even more of their education than theyre already losing. We would have preferred to see this school year extended once its safe to resume in-school learning, but the fact is that we cant be sure itll be safe in June. Or July. So it was reasonable for Gov. Henry McMaster and Education Superintendent Molly Spearman to decide that students will finish out the school year with remote learning. That is a far from adequate way to educate children, but its exponentially safer than packing them 30 to a classroom and 80 to a school bus, and its worth a lot more than nothing. Critically, the governor and superintendent recognize that some students will need additional help, either through summer programs or catch-up programs when school resumes in the fall. Whats critical going forward is that they and our schools, and our legislators recognize that its not just the special-needs students they repeatedly referenced during their Wednesday announcement who will need extra help. Thats a term of art in education, and unfortunately this pandemic has left most students with special needs. Zoom and other online platforms that allow teachers to deliver real-time classes with live student interaction offer the best opportunity to teach most students. But only a quarter of students attend a school where all the teachers are using that technology, not all teachers are good at teaching online, not all students can access online classes, not all students learn well remotely, and a disturbing number of students are skipping classes entirely. So even if you consider that most schools are providing some combination of virtual classes and paper work packets, thats still only a small portion of students who are receiving those best opportunities. As Mrs. Spearman acknowledged on Wednesday, all of the disruption means that even the best teachers with the brightest students and the best tools for providing distance learning are sometimes having to pick and choose which of the state-mandated standards to teach to students this year and which to skip. The result: Few students will finish this school year knowing as much as students in the same grade did a year ago. That means many and probably most students will need remediation either through the summer or through an extended 2020-21 school year. And that could be even more difficult if infection rates remain high through the summer or if we get a resurgence of the virus in the fall. The summer timeout provides an opportunity for teachers and administrators to learn lessons from the past six weeks so they can improve how they deliver remote learning if they have to continue that next school year. And it gives them breathing room to consider how they can catch students up. We are encouraged that Mr. McMaster and Mrs. Spearman are seeking input from experts and other stakeholders and keeping their options open for continuing students education through robust summer programs and into the next school year. Now they need to listen to those ideas and chart the best course forward, even if its unpopular or difficult. In a sobering performance of self-serving and wilful ignorance, social-distancing protesters gathered in groups to breathe on each other, and demand the right to endanger the health and safety of others recklessly under the guise of personal liberty. Apparently, were not all in this together after all. How sad! Kat Duffy, Mississauga Read more about: (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Israels new coalition government seems to be contemplating massive annexations of occupied Palestinian territories in the coming weeks. The person dictating the timetable may not be an Israeli at all, but President Donald Trump. Article 29 of the national unity government agreement between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus Likud party and Benny Gantzs Blue and White coalition explicitly opens the door to annexations. Trumps so-called Peace to Prosperity proposal announced on Jan 28 gave Israel license to permanently appropriate all existing settlements in the West Bank, plus the strategically crucial Jordan Valley. This would completely encircle any potential Palestinian entity within a greater Israeli state. Netanyahu, fighting not only for reelection but also to avoid a criminal trial on corruption charges, leapt at the chance to announce that he would immediately annex much of the West Bank. Trump and his son-in-lawand advisor on the Middle EastJared Kushner warned Netanyahu to wait. Gantz adopted an incoherent policy in favor of annexation but only in coordination with the international community, whatever that means. During weeks of negotiations to form a government, Gantz insisted his party would not support unilateral annexation. But the new agreement marks his complete capitulation. Netanyahu appears determined to go forward for personal, political and ideological reasons. And Gantz is no longer inclined to stop him. There is an additional incentive for Netanyahu and his allies to move quickly: Trump is in big trouble politically. The coronavirus pandemic has decimated the U.S. economy, depriving the president of his main reelection pitch, and his poll numbers are sinking badly. Moreover, he will have to face the centrist veteran Joe Biden, a more formidable opponent than the avowedly socialist Bernie Sanders. None of the leading Democrats have embraced the Trump proposal. So it would be reasonable for Netanyahu to conclude that this opportunity for Israel to seize large swaths of Palestinian territory with American approval may never be on offer again. Once the deed is done, it would be extremely difficult for another president, whether Biden or anyone else, to force an Israeli withdrawal. Story continues Netanyahu may be willing to bear the costs annexation would impose on Israel, including another bloody conflagration with the Palestinians, serious damage to relations with Jordan, for long Israels closest ally in the Arab world. He may be willing to risk recent improvements in relations with other Arab states. If anything gives the prime minister pause, it may be the knowledge that annexation would create another major headache for Trump, who has plenty of crises on his plate right now. Trump may not care if there is an explosion of Palestinian anger, and the Arab states are unlikely to direct their anger at him. But an annexation drive would set off a debate within the U.S. over the nature of American support for Israel, which is neither in the interest of the president nor of the prime minister. Few Democrats, including Jewish supporters of Israel, favor the annexation plan; internationalist Republicans in the Senate are also skeptical. On the eve Trumps re-election bid, it would be politically awkward to abandon a decades-long bipartisan consensus for a two-state solution, with very limited domestic support and widespread anxiety about the consequences. Much depends now on the signal Trump sends to Netanyahu. A green light would allow Israel to move rapidly on annexation, with only the current coronavirus crisis serving as any kind of brake. A clear red light is unlikely: It would be hard for Trump, having essentially endorsed annexation earlier this year, to now do a volte-face. But he might be able to hold up the process by asking Netanyahu to wait for the Israeli-American mapping committeewhich is to determine exactly which areas of the occupied West Bank Israel can be permanently annexedto complete its task. The committees deliberations can then be dragged out until Trump feels politically secure enough. A third possibility is a flashing yellow. Trump might quietly encourage Netanyahu to take something small for now, like the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, which most Palestinians assume will eventually become part of Israel anyway. This would set the precedent, both in Israel and in Washington, without actually setting off a conflagration. Having thus laid the groundwork at little political cost, Trump and Kushner could make the annexations a second-term project. That might make the implementation of Article 29 of the Netanyahu-Gantz deal contingent on the outcome of the U.S. election in November. The question is whether the prime minister and his hardliners are prepared to risk waiting. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Hussein Ibish is a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Sunrise presenter Samantha Armytage was spotted delivering a stack of papers to Sydney publicist Nick Fordham last Monday. And the journalist, 43, has now confirmed rumours that she's officially signed with Nick's agency, The Fordham Company (TFC). Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, Samantha said: '(Im) looking forward to working with Nick (Fordham) as hes a very good operator. Good times ahead!' 'Good times ahead! Sunrise's Samantha Armytage, 43, has confirmed she's signed with Sydney talent agent Nick Fordham Nick represents a host of Australian media stars, including Samantha's former breakfast TV rival, Lisa Wilkinson. Lisa, who hosts The Project, recently said in a press release for The Fordham Company: 'When you put yourself in the hands of the Fordhams, you just dont get their expert management guidance, you become part of the family.' Also on the books are Sylvia Jeffreys, Em Rusciano and Lisa Wilkinson's husabnd Peter Fitzsimons. Welcome to the gang! Nick (left) represents a host of Australian media stars, including Samantha's former breakfast TV rival, Lisa Wilkinson (right) Samantha returned to Sunrise last Monday after taking six weeks off to recover from a 'respiratory infection' at her $2.2million estate in Bowral, NSW. Her last appearance on the show was on March 13. She had previously taken a leave of absence on February 26, citing an ongoing 'respiratory illness', before returning for a brief stint on March 3. She's back! Samantha returned to Sunrise last Monday after taking six weeks off to recover from a 'respiratory infection' at her $2.2million estate in Bowral, NSW The breakfast TV star announced she would be taking more leave on March 17. 'Hi all... I'm taking a few weeks off work as I've had a respiratory infection (for three months) since the bushfires and it just won't heal,' she told fans at the time. 'I don't have coronavirus, but I'm worried I'll get it if I don't get better. Thought it was a good time to lay low,' she added. Eerie footage has shown two fishermen chatting and laughing a week before a huge wave swept them out to sea from the same coastal spot - killing one of them. Kristoffee Salazar, 35, and Romero Pizon, 45, were fishing at Contos Beach 260km south of Perth when they were hit by the wave about 8.30am on Saturday morning. A helicopter crew rescued Mr Salazar from the water but Mr Pizon could not be saved. Video taken the Saturday before showed the pair fishing on the same rocky outcrop with about a dozen other fisherman. The pair were swept off the rocks as strong winds and a rough swell lashed the popular tourist region in Western Australia's south west. Witnesses said the pair were spotted as far as 400m from the shore. 'I was under the water for a couple of minutes and when I came up I saw my fellow fisherman,' Mr Salazar told 7News. 'I was tossed around in the middle of the waves and I let myself float and just praying hopefully my friend is okay - I wasn't ready to give up.' Mr Pizon was brought back to land by a rescue team in a jet ski but could not be revived. The friends had migrated to WA from the Philippines and worked together at a beef company in the state's south-west. Mr Pizon and Kristoffee Salazar, 35, were fishing at Contos Beach 260km south of Perth when they were hit by the wave about 8.30am on Saturday morning Romero Pizon, 45, died after being swept off rocks at Contos Beach 260km south of Perth on Saturday morning A Surf Life Saving spokesperson said a rescue crew stayed in the water for half an hour with the surviving fisherman until emergency services arrived. 'Air crew identified two persons in the water, unfortunately one appeared deceased face down but the other appeared conscious, floating on his back,' the spokesperson said. 'They remained in the water for approximately 30 minutes, supporting the fisherman with the rescue tube until the arrival of emergency services.' 'The helicopter deployed a rescue crew member who dropped into the water from the helicopter and, with a rescue tube, swam to the aid of the conscious fisherman.' Police in the region have encouraged those fishing off rocks to make sure they are safe. 'If you intend to do a past-time like fishing from rocks which is considered risky, make sure you are safe, have all of the equipment with you and you listen to the locals in terms of conditions and potential risks,' South West district superintendent Geoff Stewart said. A special cell for women and children jointly set up by two Maharashtra government departments and TISS has said calls about domestic violence, psychological disorders and emotional outbursts have increased during lockdown for the coronavirus outbreak and counselors are dealing with 40-50 cases per day. A counselor at the Special Cell for Women and Children, a joint initiative of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and the state government's Department of Women and Child Development and Home Department, said one of the reasons could be that men are not used to staying at home this way and, as a result, women may not be getting their "household space". "In normal circumstances, the woman, who may be a housewife, gets her own space after her husband or other male members leave for work. But now (lockdown), every one is at home and she may feel drained due to the work," said Vaishali Ranade, a senior counselor at the cell. "Male members may not be used to staying at home all day this way. Moreover, they may feel irritated if they have addictions like cigarettes or liquor etc as these are now unavailable," she said. These reasons, plus issues like insecurity, financial instability, lowered confidence levels may be adding to frustration levels, leading to wives or women members in the household bearing the brunt, Ranade explained. "A 27-year-old woman recently called stating that her husband was beating her up for petty reasons. She and her children were outside for several hours before calling the special cell. We gave her emotional support and then called up the police which dealt with the man," she said. In another case, a woman with a little child called stating that none of the six male members helped in household chores despite being at home due to the lockdown. "When the woman protested, her husband assaulted her and not she doesn't want to live in that house. We are also getting calls that suggest there is an increase in demand for sex and women, being tired after all the household work, are unable to cope which is leading to conflict," she said. She said a Kanpur man currently stranded in the city had also called, stating he had suicidal tendencies, and he was asked to call 'iCall', a psychological helpline run by Tata Institute of Social Sciences. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's online grain export quota ran out on Sunday, data on the agriculture ministry's website showed, as traders rushed to secure customs documents for shipments in May and June. Analysts said on Saturday that supplies from the world's biggest wheat exporter would continue despite the fact that the quota was then running down fast. Russia previously set a quota for grain exports of 7 million tonnes for April through June following the outbreak of the new coronavirus. In reality, Russia's April grain exports are likely to total little more than 4 million tonnes, leaving almost 3 million tonnes for exports in May and June even though the quota is formally exhausted, IKAR consultancy said on Saturday. (Reporting by Polina Devitt; Editing by Gareth Jones) Utica, N.Y. - Dan Enea, a funeral director from Little Falls, just spent 17 days down in New York City helping out the overwhelmed New York City Medical Examiner's Office and calls it the most gut-wrenching experience of his life. He's now quarantined in a hotel just outside of New York City for 14 days before he can return home, "I went with a group that I've also deployed with in the past, whom I went to Haiti with, I went to New Orleans with, so it was the same group." But Enea says nothing could have ever prepared him or the members of his group for what they saw during this COVID-19 trip, "We assisted in going to people's homes and taking people out of their homes and other facilities. Every time we went out, we had the military with us, which was a huge help and which was interesting because a lot of these military people were young men and women who have never seen what we've seen, and they struggled with it, but we all worked together and made it happen. They were long nights. We were pretty much on the military shift, 8 PM to 8 AM and there was another shift from 8 AM to 8 PM, but if you know somebody working down there that's a nurse or a doctor, someone in the health care field or a funeral director, reach out to them and give them support, I think that's most important." Enea says counselors have been made available for the funeral directors who went down to help, and he says it's nice to know they are there if you need someone to talk to. He says with so many families not being able to say goodbye to their loved ones, then not being able to retrieve their bodies for many days because of the backlog, and finally not being able to hold a gathering for their loved one because of the social distancing guidelines, the devastation is literally tripled, "That's I think the worst part of it. Families not being able to say goodbye in ways that they are used to. Not being able to have the public come in and pay their final leave, that can be devastating for families." Enea says some of the images we have seen on TV or online from New York City during this crisis have been horrific, but to see the very same thing in person is something you just can't imagine, like seeing refrigerated trucks brought in to handle the overflow of bodies, "They brought those in. They were a big help, but it was just overwhelming. I believe some funeral homes there we're not even taking new funerals anymore, they were just leaving it to the medical examiner, we were assisting." Finally, with all of the horrific things he saw, Enea says there was plenty of good, with so many people coming together from all over the country to help. The one memory that will stand out forever, he says happened each night at 7 PM, "Every night at 7 PM there would be people that would go out on their balconies and hit the pans and things like that and cheer for all the first responders. It sent chills down my spine. It teared me up definitely." After quarantining and coming home, Enea says he may go back down to New York City to help again in the coming weeks, if needed. On warm, tantalizing spring days, with temperatures rising into the 70s and Bay Area residents restless after more than a month of sheltering in place, many of them couldnt resist the temptation. So they flocked to parks throughout the region this weekend, complicating the battle to slow the spread of coronavirus. Most people observed social-distancing guidelines and avoided closed picnic areas. But some people ignored the signs and gathered in large groups, to the dismay of Robert Doyle, general manager of the East Bay Regional Park District. The biggest violation involved people trying to hold picnics and not leaving when asked, Doyle said. Its just really busy, he said Saturday afternoon. Weve got some full and overflowing parking lots. Thats generally the way its been, and now with the heat, a lot of people want to go outside. Its been a struggle. Doyle acknowledged the park visitors who carried face masks, following the recent guidelines. Most Bay Area residents now are under orders to carry those masks while exercising in public and wear them when they cannot stay 6 feet apart. About 90% of the East Bay districts parks were open over the weekend, though the picnic and swim areas were closed because thats where people tend to linger. The system comprises nearly 125,000 acres in 73 parks, including more than 1,250 miles of trails. Doyles message to stir-crazy, nature-seeking folks: Feel free to hike and enjoy the great outdoors. But follow the rules. If we see people in areas theyre not supposed to be, well be nice and tell them first, he said. If they dont cooperate, theyre subject to tickets. And if theyre parked illegally, theyre going to get tickets. With East Bay temperatures in the low 70s Sunday afternoon, some people were too tempted to follow all guidelines. The parking lot at Union Point Park was full as residents shed their cars to stroll along Oaklands Embarcadero. Lakeside Park and Pine Knoll Park, part of the Lake Merritt tidal lagoon near the center of downtown Oakland, were so packed that some joggers gave up on social distancing along the paths and ran in the bike lanes. For the most part, I think people are wearing masks and looking out for each other, but it can be impossible when its so crowded, said Lauren Silver, an East Bay real estate agent. Everybody wants to be outside and enjoy the weather. Not all parks were crowded. Union pile driver Robert Locklear found an unlikely place of solitude near his house at Littlejohn Park in Alameda. With the playground, barbecue pits and picnic areas closed off by caution tape, Locklear and his two dogs had free rein of the clover-filled outfield of the parks multipurpose athletic field. This place would normally be packed, with picnics everywhere, said Locklear, who visits the park two or three times a day. When more people are here, they do a good job of distancing out. Nobody wants to get COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Many state parks around the Bay Area remained closed this weekend, such as those in Sonoma County. State parks in Marin County and throughout California are temporarily closed to vehicles. Now Playing: On March 16, many Bay Area residents were ordered to observe social distancing and shelter in place with hopes of flattening the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Artists have used this time to channel their creative impulses in interesting and unique ways to combat the isolation. Video: Manjula Varghese / The Chronicle That doesnt always stop people from trying to drive to these parks, especially on warm weekends. So far, state parks in the Bay Area have not been too crowded and the majority of visitors are abiding by the physical distancing guidelines, Adeline Yee, a state parks information officer, wrote in an email to The Chronicle. State park peace officers will continue to patrol state park units to monitor visitation, she said. The expectation is that the public will adhere to the advice of public health officials and the closures. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. This rush outside came as no surprise, especially given the weather forecast. Gov. Gavin Newsom, in his news conferences Thursday and Friday, implored California residents to resist the temptation and follow the states stay-at-home order. But reports from Southern California suggested the warm weather was a powerful lure. Officials in Orange and Ventura counties loosened restrictions at beaches, prompting a flood of visitors. About 40,000 people showed up at Newport Beach, according to the Associated Press, though lifeguards said most of them appeared to avoid close contact or clustering. I want to encourage people to consider the impact of these decisions, not only on yourself but on the rest of the state, Newsom said Friday. Do your best to practice physical distancing and wear face coverings where appropriate, and continue to do justice to this moment. In Santa Cruz County, deputies with the Sheriffs Office warned beachgoers Saturday that anyone who sits, sunbathes, reads or congregates with others could face fines of up to $1,000, though people can still walk, run, surf or swim, and come alone or with family. Avoid $1000 fines and use the beaches for recreation only, county officials tweeted. The challenge for park officials statewide will only grow in the weeks ahead, given the possibility of relaxed shelter-in-place orders. Doyle advised visitors to hike early in the day and use East Bay parks during the week if possible, to avoid heavy weekend crowds. He acknowledged the Bay Areas success in smashing the curve of the coronavirus to this point, while cautioning people about the risk of taking a step backward. Were trying to educate people, Doyle said. Your old behavior could get you sick, and it could kill you. Its just critical that everybody helps. San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Lauren Hernandez contributed to this report. Ron Kroichick and Rusty Simmons are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: rkroichick@sfchronicle.com, rsimmons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ronkroichick, @Rusty_SFChron Call it strange, but a woman with a fake boob job is saved by the implants used to augment her breast size. From a certain point of view, women with less endowed chests are not as attractive. On this rare and unusual occasion, breast augmentation saved a woman's life because it deflected a bullet. The Sage medical journal published this odd case recently filed. Doctors described the unusual case of how silicone breast implants saved a life, by deflecting a bullet miraculously from important organs of the 30-year old woman. Woman's boob job saves her This happened in Toronto, Canada, and it's quite rare. It's also noted that it happened in Canada which is considered safer than the neighboring USA. What is relevant is how the breast implant save the woman's lfe from a bullet. The physician who reported it to CNN was surgeon Giancarlo McEvenue. According to the doctors connected to the case, the silicone implant did alter the path of the bullet which avoided it to do more harm to the woman. Kinds of breast implants used for augmentation Women can opt for two types of breast implants that are legal in the United States. These types both have silicone outer shell but differ on what is inside the silicone shell. One option is saline-filled, another is silicone gel based. But there are some differences between these implants. Characteristics vary from shell thickness, shell surface textures and the shapes, they are used to get bigger chests, or rebuild breast tissue from a mastectomy or damage to the breast tissue. Also read: Woman Who Shot, Slashed Boyfriend's Face from Ear to Ear, Given life Sentence After Years of Trial How the shooting happened is a mystery, even the doctor/surgeon concerned cannot fully explain everything that happened. McEvenue said that the patient was seen walking into the emergency department, looking for medical help after getting shot in the chest. To be exact, McEvenue could not believe that the patient was talking after getting the injury. People who gets shot on the chest would be in a critical condition. Wounds received by the woman When the doctors in the ER checked the female patient, they noticed these injuries caused by the gunshot. McEvenue said,"The bullet wound entry was on the left breast, but the rib fracture was on the right side. The bullet entered the skin on the left side first, and then ricocheted across her sternum into the right breast and broke her rib on the right side,". When the bullet hit the breast implant, that most likely changed the path of the bullet that could have been fatal. He added,"The woman suffered a gunshot wound, broken ribs and broken implants, but otherwise was remarkably unscathed." He confirmed that the left-hand side is where the heart and lungs are, if the bullet was not glanced by the silicone implant, it would be a life-threatening injury for her. The medics were able to retrieve the bullet in the woman's right lower anterior thoracic wall below the right breast. She was given the appropriate treatment with the removal of the implant. Although the firearm was never traced and the shooter was never identified, what's important is the survival of the woman. It is one rare occurrence that a boob job saved the life of a woman, and one of the strangest unsolved attempted murders. Related article: Wife Accidentally Kills Husband in Utah But Further Investigation Reveals a Different Story @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Singapore has deported a British man and blacklisted him after he lied about his travel history during a visit to a court last month. It was part of precautionary measure to curb the COVID-19 outbreak. Singapore police say the 60-year-old man was allowed to enter the court premise on March 25 after declaring he hadn't been abroad in the last 14 days. An investigation showed he flew into the city-state from Hong Kong on March 13, 12 days before his visit to the court. Police said the Briton was given a stern warning before he was deported Sunday to Hong Kong and barred from re-entering the city-state, despite being married to a Singaporean permanent resident. Singapore has the most virus cases in Southeast Asia at 13,624. This included 931 new infections Sunday, mostly among foreign workers living in cramped dormitory. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (Bloomberg) -- How and when to ease lockdowns to fight the coronavirus along with government efforts to ramp up testing capacity were the key questions across the globe this week as the pandemic spread. In the U.S., small bands of protesters driven by the social-media tactics of a coalition of gun-rights activists and far-right groups staged demonstrations over government-ordered closures of businesses and schools, particularly in Democratic-led states. Elsewhere the impact of the virus on the worlds poorest people is coming into focus. And uncertainty swirled around the state of Kim Jong Uns health after reports the North Korean leader was in critical condition following cardiovascular surgery. Dig deeper into these and other topics with the latest edition of Weekend Reads. Patchwork Approach to Reopening States Reveals a Red-Blue DivideAs Amanda Hurley reports, the gap between how Republican- and Democratic-controlled states seek to ease social distacing measures and restart their economies will likely grow wider as the pandemic grinds on. Inside the Dystopian, Post-Lockdown World of WuhanThe first epicenter is coming back to life, but not as anyone knew it. Sharon Chen and Matthew Campbell with the help of Claire Che and Sarah Chen tell what its like for some of the millions of people in Wuhan trying to come to grips with the economic and social fallout from the worst pandemic in a century. The Week Coronavirus Got Away From Boris Johnsons GovernmentBritain had time. Academics, disease specialists and critics say the prime minister wasted it. Alex Morales, Suzi Ring, Robert Hutton and James Paton take you inside a critical week in March. Kim Jong Un Has Put North Korea in Position to Outlast His ReignWhatever the state of Kims health, hes already put North Korea in its strongest position to resist U.S. pressure in decades. Eight years after Kim filled the power vacuum left by the death of his reclusive father, Kim Jong Il, North Korea is more secure and less isolated. Jihye Lee and Jon Herskovitz explain why that matters right now. Story continues Workers Who Make the Worlds Clothes Are Facing Abject PovertyRozina Begum is worried that she and her husband and two children will starve. Rozina along with 300 other workers at the Ultimate Fashions plant on the outskirts of Bangladeshs capital lost their jobs March 25. Shes one of the millions of people who are on the lowest rung of a global supply chain that has been shattered by the virus, Marvin G. Perez and Arun Devnath report. Virus Care Disruptions Raise Infant Death Risk in Poor NationsThe Covid-19 pandemic has the potential to reverse years of progress in reducing maternal and child mortality worldwide by impairing access to medical care in poorer countries. Anne Pollak takes a closer look. Hope Turns to Doubt, Then Gunfire, as Saudi Megacity EmergesWhen Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled plans for Neom, a futuristic megacity on the Red Sea coast, residents rejoiced. Jobs and investment would surely accompany the $500 billion development at the center of the young leaders plan to transform his conservative kingdom. But that optimism has faded. Vivian Nereim explores why. High-Seas Energy Fight Off Malaysia Draws U.S., Chinese WarshipsMalaysias push to explore energy blocks off its coast has turned into a five-nation face-off involving U.S. and Chinese warships. Thats raised the risk of a direct confrontation as broader tensions grow between the worlds biggest economies, Philip J. Heijmans reports. Religious Groups Mass Gatherings Spark Asian Virus ClustersA conservative religious groups gatherings have emerged as virus hotspots in Malaysia, India and now Pakistan, with authorities tracking people who attended an event with as many as 70,000 worshipers. Faseeh Mangi has more. Tell us how were doing or what were missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net. And finally Sushen Dang, 26, and his fiancee, Keerti Narang, dreamed of making their wedding an affair to remember but not like this. Instead of hundreds of guests descending on a wildlife resort for a multi-day revelry with cocktail parties and elaborate feasts, the couple got married over the video conferencing app Zoom amid a stringent national lockdown. Its just one example of how Indias $70-billion wedding industry has skidded to a stop in the midst of peak marriage season. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Former Union minister and controversial BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde on Sunday fired a salvo against Twitter India for its alleged 'anti-India stand' and blocking him 'with very prejudiced intentions'. The MP from Uttara Kannada has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the 'Digital colonisation' by a a corporate entity. Hegde, in a Facebook post on Sunday said he took offence against a Khalistan supporter and the 'hidden agenda of the Tablighi Jamat movement within India'. He said he had written to the Prime Minister and Home Minister Amit Shah on April 20 against Gurupatwant Singh Pannun advocating independence of Punjab by advocating formation of Khalistan. "As a consequence of the two bold steps taken by me, on April 24, 2020 my official Twitter account got blocked by Twitter India Inc.," the MP alleged in the post. The MP shared the message he received from Twitter where he was asked to delete the tweets that violate its rules. Twitter also said that if he felt that it has made a mistake, he can appeal the violation. Hegde said he would not delete the tweet "because it was to expose the wrong being done under the umbrella of a religion. Undoubtedly I am not against any religion, but being an Indian, I will never allow any person or organisation to spread hatred or to provoke people to indulge in any anti- social or anti-national activity. "I stand affirm on my statement and will defend it strongly," Hegde stated. The MP wrote to Modi on Saturday against Twitter India about "selective targeting" of several national handles and pro-Indian handles by suspending or locking rampantly in the past few months. He alleged that the Twitter account of decorated veterans had been suspended without notice. He also charged some twitter handles with targetting the Prime Minister and Home Minister for their own pecuniary interests. Hegde demanded that the selective targeting by Twitter be investigated. Hegde has a history of making controversial remarks. Earlier this month, the state Congress had accused him of giving a call that Tablighi people should be shot down in the backdrop of a religious meet of the organisation in Delhi turning into a coroanvirus hotspot. In February this year, he had reportedly claimed that the entire freedom movement was staged with the consent and support of the British, and the independence movement led by Mahatma Gandhi was a "drama",drawing the BJP leadership's ire. He had earlier opposed the state celebrations of Tipu Jayanti during Congress rule in Karnataka since it was started in 2015 and had called the festival a "shameful event glorifying a brutal killer." In 2017, as a union minister he had kicked up a row saying that the Constitution would be changed, but later apologised in the Lok Sabha after facing flak. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (Bloomberg) -- With a series of high-level summits culminating in a visit to Germany in the fall by President Xi Jinping, this was supposed to be the year of Europe-China diplomacy. Instead, Europeans are warning of a damaging rift. Diplomats talk of mounting anger over Chinas behavior during the coronavirus pandemic including claims of price gouging by Chinese suppliers of medical equipment and a blindness to how its actions are perceived. The upshot is that Beijings handling of the crisis has eroded trust just when it had a chance to demonstrate global leadership. Over these months China has lost Europe, said Reinhard Buetikofer, a German Green party lawmaker who chairs the European Parliaments delegation for relations with China. He cited concerns from Chinas truth management in the early stages of the virus to an extremely aggressive stance by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing and hard line propaganda that champions the superiority of Communist Party rule over democracy. Rather than any single act responsible for the breakdown, he said, its the pervasiveness of an attitude that does not purvey the will to create partnerships, but the will to tell people what to do. While the Trump administration has resumed its swipes at China, European officials are traditionally less willing to be openly critical, in part for fear of retribution. The fact that politicians in Berlin, Paris, London and Brussels are expressing concern over Beijings narrative on Covid-19 hints at a deeper resentment with wide-ranging consequences. Already some European Union members are pursuing policies to reduce their dependence on China and keep potential predatory investments in check, defensive measures that risk hurting China-EU trade worth almost $750 billion last year. Its a turnaround from just a few weeks ago, when China emerged from the worst of its own outbreak to offer web seminars on best practice gained from tackling the virus where it first emerged. It also airlifted medical supplies including protective equipment, testing kits and ventilators to the worst-hit countries in Europe and elsewhere, in a show of aid-giving that contrasted with Americas international absence. Story continues The pandemic offered a chance for mutual solidarity. But it didnt last. Now the atmosphere in Europe is rather toxic when it comes to China, said Joerg Wuttke, president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China. Belt and Road Concerns were aired during a March 25 call of Group of Seven foreign ministers about how China would proceed during the crisis and once it subsided. Ministers were told that Europe and the G-7 must be on guard as Beijing was likely to move more self confidently, more powerfully and in a way that exploits its leverage when other nations were still in lockdown, according to a European official familiar with the call. In public, Chinese officials have struck a conciliatory tone. When peoples lives are at stake, nothing matters more than saving lives. It is useless to argue over the merits of different social systems or models, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a regular press conference on April 17. China, he said, is ready to work with the international community, including European countries, to jointly safeguard the health and safety of all mankind. Yet Chinas means of going about it has backfired in much of Europe. An anonymously authored text posted on the website of the Chinese embassy in France this month falsely accused French retirement home staff of leaving old people to die. It was an incredible accusation on one of the most sensitive and tragic aspects of the crisis in France, Mathieu Duchatel of the Institut Montaigne wrote on Twitter. The embassy website comments rang alarm bells for the needless offense caused. China underestimated the reaction to its conspiracy theories amplified by propaganda outlets, according to two European officials in Beijing. Whats more, Chinas insistence that aid be accompanied by public thanks and praise has undercut the goodwill it might otherwise have gained, they said. Vulnerable Companies European governments have become more wary of China over the past two years as Xis Belt and Road Initiative on trade and infrastructure expanded across the continent, snapping up strategic assets including ports, power utilities and robotics firms from the Mediterranean to the Baltic Sea. While some nations including Italy and Portugal have been enthusiastic backers of Belt and Road, another program known as Made in China 2025, whereby Beijing seeks to become the world leader in key technologies, is seen in many quarters as a further threat to European industry. With stock prices tumbling on the coronavirus crisis, countries including Germany that have investment screening regulations have tightened them and extended their scope in response to concerns that China, among others, could take controlling stakes in companies suddenly made vulnerable. EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager suggested in a Financial Times interview that governments go further and buy stakes in companies themselves to stave off the threat of Chinese takeovers. More far-reaching still are proposals to curb dependence on China, not just for medical supplies but in areas such as battery technology for electric vehicles. EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said last week theres a need for a discussion on what it means to be strategically autonomous, including building resilient supply chains, based on diversification, acknowledging the simple fact that we will not be able to manufacture everything locally. Japan already earmarked $2.2 billion from its $1 trillion stimulus package to help its manufacturers shift production away from China. Without mentioning China, EU trade ministers agreed in an April 16 call on the importance of diversifying to reduce the reliance on individual countries of supply. As a first step, Berlin plans state funds and purchase guarantees to start industrial production of millions of surgical and face masks by late summer. China currently exports 25% of the worlds face masks. Wuttke of the EU trade chambers said the discussion on supply chains began when Beijing shut its ports earlier this year, prompting fears that pharmaceutical ingredients produced in China would not reach Europe, and causing policymakers to realize that strategic products had to be secured. According to another European official, even official suppliers were breaking contracts for items such as ventilators and scamming people, burning bridges along the way. People want to have their eggs in more baskets, said Wuttke. Burning bridges Certainly, the tenor of the political debate in Europe has shifted since. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told Bild newspaper that Chinas revising up of the death toll last week was alarming, while French President Emmanuel Macron said in an FT interview there were clearly things that have happened that we dont know about. U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said it cant be business as usual with China once the pandemic is over. Spains Health Ministry has canceled an order of antigen test kits from Chinese company Bioeasy after sending back a previous batch, the countrys El Pais reported. Health authorities found that both sets of kits were faulty, it said. As a result of the Covid-19 crisis, pressure is growing on the U.K. to reverse its decision to allow Huawei Technologies a limited role in its fifth-generation mobile networks, while France may be less inclined to give Huawei a chunk of its 5G contracts after the embassy spat. Germany must make a decision by around midyear on Chinese involvement in its 5G networks. In the battle of narratives, Germany is key, according to Janka Oertel, director of the Asia program at the European Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin. As well as Europes dominant economy, its trade ties to China dwarf those of its neighbors: German exports to China in 2019 were higher than the U.K., France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands combined. It will assume the EUs rotating presidency on July 1, giving it the chance to turn the debate in Europe. China could still win back favor and help secure a greater global role by acceding to demands to open up its markets and introduce a more level playing field for international business, said Oertel. That would be something that the Europeans would very much appreciate, she said. All the same, she added: I dont think its very likely. (Updates with El Pais report in final section.) For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. The Covid-19 pandemic has sent oil prices plummeting to record lows as people stopped driving and flying on a massive scale. This week, for the first time in recent history, oil futures dipped below the zero mark. The first to be hit are countries dependent on oil revenue and companies that produce oil with new and expensive techniques, such as fracking. For the first time since the creation of the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) in 1983, prices plunged below zero. On April 20, the price for Western Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil sunk to -$36.98. It concerned futures for WTI, a light, low density crude oil that forms the base commodity of oil future contracts of the Nymex; the contracts expired on 21 April. There were no buyers for the oil, and there's not enough storage capacity, says Francis Perrin, Chairman of Energy Strategies and Policies in Paris. So you have to pay buyers if you want them to take your oil. The dramatic phenomenon sent shockwaves around the world, but lasted only one day. The next day prices jumped back to around $15. But WTI is only one of several oil price markers. Major names such as North Sea Brent crude oil, Dubai Crude, Urals Oil, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), as well as others, remained relatively stable, between $15 and $20. Saudi strategy But the general level is still very low compared to last year. Already affected by a general slump and overproduction, prices took another nose dive in March, after Russia refused a Saudi proposal to cut production. As a result, Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, unilaterally announced that it would increase its production by 1 million barrel per day from 12 to 13 million. The Saudis also announced a price cut of between $6 and $8 per barrel. It was a strategy to get the Russians back to the negotiating table, says Perrin. A month later, Russia heavily dependent on oil and gas revenue returned to another set of Opec+ meeting (the thirteen Opec members plus Russia, along with other non-members) on April 12, and this time agreed to slash world production by 10 percent starting from May. The Saudi strategy worked, says Perrin. Most affected by the fall in oil prices are countries that are largely dependent on oil revenue, such as Russia, Venezuela, Angola and Saudi Arabia itself. And the controversial US fracking industry, which now risks being decimated. The US was increasingly producing non-conventional shale oil, that is costly to produce, while Saudi Arabia enjoys the world's lowest oil production costs," Perrin explains. According to a report by the Oslo-base consultancy Rystad Energy, fracking is set for the biggest monthly decline in history as a result of the price collapse and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. "With such a rapid decline in fracking already visible, very little activity will be happening in the oil basins during the remainder of the second quarter of 2020," Artem Abramov, Rystad Energy Head of Shale Research, is quoted as saying on the company's website. Crucial lifeline Shale oil, extracted by fracking techniques, is costly and controversial, with environmentalists saying it damages nature. In 2011, France was the first country to officially ban the process. The same year, thanks to its often criticised "fracking revolution", the US became the world's number one oil producer ahead of Russia and Saudi Arabia. But it may all be over soon. In the US and Canada, companies themselves take the decision on production levels. These are not political decisions, says Perrin, pointing at countries such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, where oil is the crucial lifeline. As a private company, you say it's no longer profitable. So we reduce our drilling activities. We close some wells. But in the end that will lead to a overall fall in US production, he says. Our Founding Principles Newer Older Page 1 Page 2 This ongoing examination into what influenced the United States of America to become a nation of such profound greatness is a group effort. Please join us. Pat and Catherine Hughes saw the urgent need in early March to update their wills and their last intentions. The Henrico County couple hadnt revised their documents in more than 25 years a couple of years after their two sons were born. Their wills were simple back then, mostly dictating who would take care of their sons should they die and making sure the boys were taken care of financially. The Hugheses figured they eventually would get around to revising their end-of-life wishes. There was no rush. But the sense of urgency shifted dramatically for them and others last month as the coronavirus began spreading into a worldwide pandemic. Thousands were infected and deaths were increasing in the United States. We had thought about it and talked about it. But time just kept going, Catherine Hughes said about wanting to update their wills in recent years. We got home on March 5 from a trip to Argentina and looked at each other said we need to move this along now. This was a no kidding kind of thing. COVID-19 made them go running and screaming to [our lawyer] to get powers of attorney set up immediately and wills updated so in case we die things were in place, Pat Hughes said. COVID-19 made this a pressing need. Trust and estate lawyers across Virginia say they have seen a rush in the past month or so from people wanting to create or update their end-of-life legal documents, from wills and trusts to health care power of attorney and medical directives. Theres a little more sense of urgency these days, said Helen Lewis Kemp, a partner at Henrico-based Virginia Estate & Trust Law PLC who said she has seen a big uptick in requests from new and existing clients since early March. Everyone is feeling their mortality a little bit more because of the uncertainty thats taking place, Kemp said. People who have put it off are now circling back. They are coming out of the woodwork and finding the importance of it now. Creating or updating a will and other estate planning documents went from being at the bottom of the to-do list to the near or at the top, she said. The surge isnt just coming from older clients, who she said naturally would want to tend to their estate planning matters. But a greater number of clients are age 35 and above who seem to have wanted to take care of their plans but have put it off. A large number realizing the importance of estate planning are physicians, nurses and other healthcare workers, Kemp said. They definitely feel at risk. They want to be of service to their patients and jump in and help when they can, but they also want to get their affairs in order. Mike and Crystal Rose are starting to do just that largely because of COVID-19 but also after some gentle nudging from his parents. Hes a 38-year-old mortgage underwriter and shes a 36-year-old nurse at VCU Healths orthopedic surgery department. They have a 1-year-old daughter. Mike Rose said there is more of an impetus now to get their end-of-life legal documents in order with his wife working at a hospital and them having a toddler. It is something we should have done a long time ago, Crystal Rose said. There is always a concern something could happen at any point. By working in the hospital and seeing things that happen at moments blink of an eye, you have to have your family know what your wishes are. Thomas D. Yates, a lawyer with Yates Campbell & Hoeg, a boutique trusts and estates law firm in Fairfax, said there is a greater sense of urgency to finalize documents as the number of people infected with coronavirus surges and the number of deaths increase. The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 50,000 on Friday, including slightly more than 400 in Virginia. People are nervous about their health, said Yates, who heads up the wills, trusts and estates section of the Virginia Bar Association, the largest voluntary statewide bar organization. The immediate attention to the issue has accelerated because of the virus, he said. People are saying this is something that needs to be wrapped up immediately. People who have been dragging their feet now want to quickly complete the process as humanly possible. {&bullet}{&bullet}{&bullet} Completing wills and other legal documents are a tad more challenging these days, lawyers say. With demand increasing, attorneys are busier and working longer hours. That could mean it could take longer to meet with a lawyer to even begin the process. Rather than meeting clients face-to-face in an office, attorneys now are discussing end-of-life affairs over the telephone or meeting virtually often using online video conferencing platforms such as Zoom or FaceTime. Law offices have been creative in finding ways to get documents signed. Wills and health care power of attorney documents just cant be sent in the mail. Two witnesses one typically might be a lawyer must be present during a signing, plus a notary public. Lawyers have to make sure that this is what the person really wants, Yates said. Some offices, including Virginia Estate & Trust Law, make appointment times so clients can sign documents from their vehicles or by using a table set up in the parking lot or in front of the building. Face masks and gloves are worn. Social distancing norms are in place. Documents are sanitized. Its drive-by will signing, Yates said. We are doing things weve never done previously. Everyone is being force to change the way they do things. {&bullet}{&bullet}{&bullet} Are wills, medical directives and other end-of-life documents needed? Legal professionals say definitely yes to make sure your wishes are honored for how your money is distributed or whether you want to be placed on a ventilator. Wills spell out in detail who gets your property and other assets. Sometimes for young adults with minor children, wills might dictate who would serve as a guardian or how the childrens finances would be handled. If someone dies without a will, generally that persons property will go to the closest relative, starting with a spouse and then children. If single, the property and other assets could go to siblings or other relatives. Advance medical directives or a healthcare power of attorney allow you to appoint someone to follow your decision on medical issues. If you are on a ventilator and cant speak for yourself, you need to appoint someone in advance to make the decision for you, said John Midgett, a partner in the Virginia Beach firm of MidgettPretiOlansen. Expect to pay anywhere from $700 to $2,000 for a simple will or for a power of attorney or for a medical directive, he said. The cost will depend upon the complexity of the document. Lawyers across the country, he said, are getting calls from potential clients who worry about not being able to pay to have the documents created because they have been laid off or furloughed from their jobs. If you are saving your dollars, what is the most logical [document] to spend it on? Id say the power of attorney or advanced medical directive. Those are the absolutely critical documents to have if you get ill, said Midgett, who is the national secretary of the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils, a national network of affiliated estate planning councils and credentialed professionals in the estate planning industry. {&bullet}{&bullet}{&bullet} Holographic wills wills in the handwriting of the deceased who also must sign and date it for it to be legally valid can be used in Virginia, Yates said. Its anything in your name that does not have a beneficiary designation, Yates said. Holographic wills are simple dispositions. Holographic wills are considered an option in the current pandemic crisis environment, such as if a person was dying and couldnt get to a lawyer, he said. But lawyers would say to be careful using that method, Yates said. You may try to do something that may not work the way you think it would. There is a risk of a lack of precision. Another problem with providing handwritten documents for medical decisions, Midgett said, is that the hospital might question it. We dont want to be penny wise and pound foolish, he said. If you had to have something today and you cant wait or cant afford to see a lawyer, a holographic will is your best bet. {&bullet}{&bullet}{&bullet} Beneficiary designations are another area that often get confusing for those creating or updating wills. A person lists a beneficiary on a life insurance policy, retirement account or a 401(k) form thinking that will be included as part of a will. But not so. They often have named individuals as beneficiaries on a life insurance policy or a 401(k) and those people will remain as their beneficiaries even if their wills dont say that, Kemp said. It is really important for people to check and discuss with a lawyer their beneficiary designations. People starting a new job after college will name parents or a sibling as a beneficiary and forget about it. Then that person gets married and has three children. It is critically important for owners of life insurance, IRA and 401(k) accounts to update their primary and secondary beneficiaries over the years as circumstances change because those designations are not governed by a will, Kemp said. All of those assets pass outside of the will, Kemp said, noting that beneficiary designations supersede a will. A lot of what lawyers do, she said, is to review the beneficiary benefits to make sure those designations jive with the wishes and intent of a will. That way everything is coordinated and goes the way the person intended. {&bullet}{&bullet}{&bullet} Putting off updating a will or creating a new one often happens because people dont want to talk about their own mortality, lawyers and estate planners say. But families need to have the conversation, they say, because wishes change and financial situations differ over time. John and Karen Rose first completed a will decades ago and it has been updated periodically over the years. But the Henrico couple have thought for the past several years about the need for updating it again. He retired in 2015. Two of their sons got married in the last several years. And three grandchildren have been born one is the daughter of Mike and Crystal Rose. Its been on our list to update. The coronavirus has given us the availability of time, the 70-year-old John Rose said. The hardest tool in the tool box is a round-to-it. We finally got around to it. In reviewing their previous end-of-life legal documents recently, Rose and his 68-year-old wife discovered several people mentioned in their previous wills are now deceased. Changes were made to their wills. They signed the documents in front of Kemps offices in Henrico this past Wednesday. Life situations also have changed for Hugheses since they first completed a will in the years after their sons were born. Their sons now are 34 and 29. Pat Hughes, 56, is a supply chain consultant. His wife, Catherine, 55, teaches special education for Henrico public schools. When we wrote our wills years ago, our goal was that the children had guardians if something happened to us. We wanted to make sure they were taken care of, Catherine Hughes said. Times have changed, she said. Our responsibility has changed from guardianship of our children to now we have to make sure that this family trust is taken care of financially, she said. We also had to shift to allow our children to make the decision for us if we had to be on a ventilator. The couple had Kemp quickly draw up documents for financial and medical power of attorney. They signed those weeks ago COVID-19 made it a crucial issue to get those taken care of immediately, they said. With that in place, that gave us some peace and calm to work on bigger and longer-term documents that we need that are a lot more difficult, Pat Hughes said. {child_tagline} (804) 649-6379 {/child_tagline} A few bags of frozen french fries are seen on sale in a freezer case at a Giant supermarket in Falls Church, Virginia, U.S., on April 23, 2020.(Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) Frozen French Fries in Short Supply as Farmers Sit on Tons of Potatoes Shopper Lexie Mayewski is having a hard time finding frozen french fries in Washington-area supermarkets because of disruptions to the food supply chain. On the other side of the country, Washington state farmer Mike Pink is weighing whether to plow under 30,000 tons of potatoes worth millions of dollars that would have been turned into french fries for fast-food chains like McDonalds, Wendys, and Chick-fil-A. Their incongruent experiences underscore how Americas highly specialized and inflexible retail and foodservice supply chains are contributing to food shortages and waste in the wake of demand disruptions from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic that has killed almost 50,000 people in the United States. Frozen french fry sales at grocery stores spiked 78.6 percent for the four-week period ended April 4, according to Nielsen data, resulting in shortages at many U.S. supermarkets. Mayewski, 25, a construction manager, has not seen frozen fries at the Giant Food or Safeway supermarkets near her Maryland home. Theres not a single french fry to be found, said Mayewski, whose supply of frozen shoestring and waffle fries was running low. Frozen fries are an ideal pandemic stapleoffering comfort, convenience, and long-shelf-life for U.S. families accustomed to fast-food meals and school cafeteria lunches. Freezers Full of Fries Kraft Heinz Cos Ore-Ida, the main producer of frozen fries for supermarkets, is rushing to bolster supplies. Our Ore-Ida factory is running at full capacity to keep up with demand, Kraft spokesman Michael Mullen said. At the same time, major fast-food french fry suppliers McCain Foods, J.R. Simplot, and Lamb Weston Holdings are canceling potato orders. Fast-food suppliers freezers are full of frozen fries, hash browns, and potato skins, and their storage sheds are packed with potatoes, farmers and experts told Reuters. Their demand is down because four out of ten U.S. restaurants are closed, as are schools, hotels, and workplaces. Fast-food chains are doing drive-through only, and with no set date for lifting stay-at-home orders, the outlook for the foodservice industry is dim. Lamb Weston, McCain, and Simplotwhich supply the lions share of McDonalds french friesdid not respond to requests for comment. Lamb Weston also does retail sales. A few bags of frozen french fries are seen on sale in a freezer case at a Giant supermarket in Falls Church, Virginia, on April 23, 2020. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) Pink, who farms near Pasco, Washington, said fast-food french fry suppliers canceled orders for 1,000 acres of potatoes. He has already invested $2.5 million on those crops. Each acre produces roughly 30 tons of potatoes and getting them ready for sale would cost Pink another $1.5 million. He may have to plow the potatoes underadding to food destruction in the U.S. produce and dairy sectors. Do I continue to invest or do I stop and try to minimize my loss? asked Pink. Its just devastating. The National Potato Council said there are $750 million to $1.3 billion in potatoes and potato products clogged in the pipeline. Its a huge challenge. Nobody was prepared. Nobody could imagine that this could happen, Rabobank food analyst JP Frossard said. Grocery consultants and retailers told Reuters that foodservice products like toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and meat have found their way into the retail channel, while many others have not. Compounding problems, most foodservice operators do not have connections at supermarketswhere adding a new product can take several months. It would be a Herculean task, Allen said of rerouting supplies. And with all the uncertainty around demand, he added, the investment would be tough to justify. By Lisa Baertlein Epoch Times staff contributed to this report. The Spanish government's strict stay-at-home order allows people to leave their homes to walk their pets. Well, that order has prompted some to get a little creative with what the government means in terms of "pet." On Friday the Spanish National Police tweeted an image of a man getting fined for "walking" a fish in a bowl in Logrono, a town in northern Spain. He was penalized for violating government orders to stay inside due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, he is not alone. #NoTieneGraciaGuardias civiles de #Lanzarote denuncian a una persona por incumplir las medidas de limitacion de circulacion impuestas en por el estado de alarma paseando una gallina#EsteVirusLoParamosUnidos pic.twitter.com/kZ7vGuTKE5 Guardia Civil (@guardiacivil) March 25, 2020 On March 25, a person walking a hen was accused of violating movement restrictions by the Spanish Civil Guard in Lanzarote. Pedimos SENSATEZ durante el #EstadoDeEmergencia por culpa del #COVID19.Estamos ante una situacion MUY GRAVE como para andar por la calle intentando enganar a la @policia... NO nos enganas y ademas seras sancionado.Es una cuestion de salud publica.#EsteVirusLoParamosUnidos pic.twitter.com/67cjOMNdC3 JUPOL (@JupolNacional) March 16, 2020 On March 16, footage of a man being confronted for walking a toy dog on a leash was released on the Spain's national police union Twitter page. The police union urged people not to try to deceive the police. En estado de alarma se permite el paseo de mascotas acompanadas de una persona, siempre con paseos cortos para hacer sus necesidades.El que tengas complejo de Tyrannosaurus rex no esta contemplado.#quedateencasa pic.twitter.com/C8dWkrvAdm Policia Local Murcia (@MurciaPolicia) March 16, 2020 En estado de alarma se permite el paseo de mascotas acompanadas de una persona, siempre con paseos cortos para hacer sus necesidades.El que tengas complejo de Tyrannosaurus rex no esta contemplado.#quedateencasa pic.twitter.com/C8dWkrvAdm Policia Local Murcia (@MurciaPolicia) March 16, 2020 On the same day, the police department in the southeastern city of Murcia tweeted video showing an unidentified citizen being stopped by police while trying to walk the streets dressed as a Tyrannosaurus rex. Earlier this week, the Spanish Parliament extended the county's state of emergency to May 9, prolonging the country's stay-at-home order to eight weeks in total. The European country has recorded more than 20,000 deaths due to the novel coronavirus. Slovak government approves defense treaty with US US senators unveil bill to impose sanctions against Russia EU wants to help Lebanon avoid economic collapse CSTO to approve Kazakhstan peacekeepers withdrawal order German president calls for thorough discussion on mandatory vaccination Andranik Hovhannisyan elected UN Human Rights Council vice-president Aliyev: Peace treaty with Armenia not a guarantee for avoiding war Russian Foreign Ministry: Further NATO enlargement involves risks Aliyev not to let OSCE deal with the Karabakh conflict Ex-Mayor of Yerevan invited to police Boris Johnson apologizes for attending party during lockdown Global COVID-19 cases rise by 55% percent, deaths stable Thailand introduces $9 tourist fee Erdogan vows to tame Turkish inflation as scepticism grows Turkey's Turkic world ambitions face reality check in Kazakhstan Teacher in Baku beats student NEWS.am daily digest: 12.01.22 Turkish FM expresses concerns to Chinese counterpart OSCE Chairman-in-Office speaks on situation along Armenia-Azerbaijan border Iran cancels travel ban on common borders CSTO defense ministers council special session to be held Thursday Dollar loses value in Armenia Which NGOs, extra-parliamentary forces to be included in Armenia Constitutional Reform Council? 4,391 foreign nationals visit Artsakh in 2021 China calls on US to immediately close Guantanamo prison State Department says more progress must be made to salvage nuclear deal Measure ensuring implementation of law on addendum to law on Armenia state border is approved Davit Minasyan is sworn in as new mayor of Armenias Parakar enlarged community World Bank: Armenia economic growth expected to be 4.8% in 2022 and 5.4% in 2023 Azerbaijani Defense Minister receives new commander of Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh Biden names Kamala Harris as US president during Atlanta speech Ombudsman: Azerbaijan is launching provocations in Armenia territories where it earlier invaded Russia-NATO Council meeting kicks off in Brussels Serdar Kilic is appointed Turkey special representative for Armenia Armenia ambassador to Georgia informs Switzerland envoy about Azerbaijan's gross ceasefire violation Economy minister: Armenia government was guided by political considerations when lifting sanctions on Turkey goods Turkey defense minister expresses support for Azerbaijan in another military aggression against Armenia Pashinyan, Putin discuss Karabakh, Kazakhstan Toivo Klaar: Deeply worried by reports of renewed incidents and casualties on Armenia-Azerbaijan Germany: A record 80,430 COVID-19 cases detected per day 3 more persons die of coronavirus in Artsakh Criminal case launched into 3 Armenia soldiers killing by Azerbaijan shootings Copper rises in price One of main tasks of Armenia peacekeepers in Kazakhstans Almaty is to prevent water supply system poisoning About 80 Americans cannot fly from Afghanistan Turkey parliament ex-deputy speaker: Armenia must fulfill 4 preconditions Border situation in Armenias Gegharkunik Province was calm at night French FM says talks on Iranian nuclear deal are progressing slowly 289 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Gold slightly rises in price North Korea says it successfully tested another hypersonic missile OSCE calls on Azerbaijan, Armenia to refrain from the use of force Oil is trading without a single dynamic US State Department welcomes announcement on CSTO forces withdrawal from Kazakhstan Newspaper: Ex-ministers are summoned to Hayastan All Armenian Fund parliamentary inquiry committee MOD: Armenia soldiers dead body found at midnight after Azerbaijan provocation Newspaper: Casualties of Armenia PM Pashinyan's 'era of peace' US concerned about EastMed natural gas pipeline project Giant fish sold at auction for over 16 million yen German Marshall Fund: It Is not too early to think about political change in Turkey Armenian Foreign Ministry: We call on Azerbaijani authorities to refrain from provocations Armenia's Geghamasar community head: The situation is stable now Queen Elizabeth II's favorite fast food revealed Human Rights Defender: Azerbaijani troops open fire on Armenian sovereign territory World Economic Forum: Cybersecurity and space pose new risks to the global economy Defense Ministry confirms Armenian side has 2 victims Satanovsky on sending Armenian servicemen to Kazakhstan Unofficial data: 2 servicemen killed as a result of Azerbaijan provocation CSTO and Kazakh Defense Ministry developing plan WHO thinks it's too early to consider COVID-19 pandemic European Commission to require Poland to pay fine of nearly EUR 70 million White House announces $308 million humanitarian aid for Afghanistan Erdogan angry at minister after efforts to strengthen lira failed Armenian FM has phone call with US Assistant Secretary of State India imposes one-week quarantine even for vaccinated tourists Armenian ex-president expresses condolences on poet Razmik Davoyan's death Traction Programme to showcase 8 startups during the Digital Demo Day Azerbaijan uses artillery and UAVs, 3 Armenian soldiers wounded NEWS.am daily digest: 11.01.22 Austrian Chancellor confirms plan for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination in February Armen Sarkissian and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev discuss situation in Kazakhstan Gulf, Iran and Turkey FMs to visit China 20 pregnant women with COVID-19 die in Azerbaijan in year Armenia hands over wanted US citizen to United States Economy ministry: Organizing of accommodation and public catering increased by 61.1% in Armenia Armenia parliament speaker expresses condolences on European Parliament President death Azerbaijan opens fire toward Armenia village sector, one soldier wounded Shoigu: CSTO peacekeepers deployed in Kazakhstan thanks to Syrian and Karabakh experience Azerbaijan official pledges to remove Armenian toponyms from Google Maps UN offers two plans to help Afghans totaling $ 5 billion in 2022 Armenia attorney general travels to Moscow on working visit Azerbaijan MOD blames Armenian side for soldiers death Dollar drops in Armenia Shirak Province captives families hold protest outside Armenia government building Rolls-Royce sales rise to record high in 2021 Ombudsman: Azerbaijanis directed gun at Armenia residents car in which his wife, 3-year-old child were ANCA urges President Biden and Congress to hold Azerbaijan and Turkey accountable for war crimes Serbia's Orthodox Patriarch tests positive for COVID-19 Brothers, sisters of 2020 Artsakh war military casualties to get compensation in lieu of their deceased parents Turkish authorities sanction arrest of 33 suspected FETO ties Hong Kong riot police armed with shields dispersed a crowd of 300 pro-democracy activists holding a singing protest in an upmarket shopping mall on Sunday, despite a ban on public gatherings of more than four people. Chanting popular protest slogans, mostly young activists clad in black swarmed the Cityplaza mall shouting "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times!" while others called for the release of pro-democracy activists. The protest was the first sizable gathering since the government imposed the ban on public meetings at the end of March to curb a spike in coronavirus infections. Fears that Beijing is flexing its muscles over the Asian financial hub risk reviving anti-government protests after months of calm as social distancing rules start to ease. Political tensions have escalated over the past two weeks after the arrest of 15 pro-democracy activists in the city's biggest crackdown on the movement. Beijing has said it supported the arrests in the Chinese special administrative region. On Sunday, police cordoned off sections of the Cityplaza mall, prompting some stores to shut as activists and shoppers, including families with children, were ordered to leave. "People were just singing, it's very peaceful ... we didn't do anything illegally. Democracy and freedom is more important," said a high school student surnamed Or who came to participate ahead of his university entrance exam on Monday. Adding to concerns that Beijing is increasingly meddling in the city's affairs - a claim the central government rejects - Beijing's top official in there urged local authorities last week to enact national security legislation as soon as possible. Whether on the radio or in the pulpit, the Rev. Erskine Ramsay Faush Sr.s rich baritone voice had a mesmerizing effect on his listeners. Faush, a legend in Birmingham both as a radio announcer and pastor, died on Saturday, April 25. He was 88. For decades, Faush was on the air at WATV, 900 AM, from 8 to 11 a.m. weekdays. He hosted a program called Gospel Cavalcade and was considered an inspirational radio voice for Birmingham throughout the civil rights era. Faush was president and co-owner of WATV-AM with another radio personality, Shelley Stewart. Faush and Stewart bought WATV for $425,000 in 1989. Together they operated Birmingham Ebony Broadcasting the authentic voice for African Americans in Birmingham. They sold WATV in 2004 to Sheridan Broadcasting. I see what I do in the business world as an extension of my ministry, Faush said in an interview with The Birmingham News in 1993. Everything I do is in the form of ministry. He gained a reputation not only as a connoisseur of gospel music but for using his programs to raise money for the poor and homeless. He once helped raise money for a family to go to Texas for a kidney transplant, then raised money for them again when they returned home to find their utilities shut off. He began in radio in 1950 and in 1953 became program director at WBCO-AM in Bessemer after his brother, William, had done a stint there as a disc jockey. There were very few opportunities for blacks in radio at that time, Faush said. Faush was inducted into the Alabama Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 2013. Faush retired after 21 years as pastor of the 550-member Metropolitan AME Zion Church in downtown Birmingham in 1993 when he was assigned as a district superintendent overseeing 16 churches in AME Zion Birmingham district. He later became a presiding elder. Faush graduated from Parker High School in Birmingham, where he later worked as assistant band and choir director. He earned degrees from Faith College and Alabama State University, and divinity degrees from Union Seminary and Livingstone College. Only his business partner, Stewart, had been on the air continuously longer in Birmingham than Faush. Faush grew up in Birmingham and had been associated with Metropolitan AME Zion Church all his life. His father, Ed, was president of the choir in the early 1900s and his mother, Alberta, was still a member at age 97 in 1993. The church founded a $2 million housing development for seniors in Woodlawn that was named Faush-Metropolitan Manor in his honor. Faush began his church career as minister of music at Metropolitan AME Zion Church, then was pastor of Mt. Herman AME Zion Church for six years and the Trinity AME Zion Church for three years before becoming pastor of Metropolitan in July 1972. He retired in February 1993. Faush held the title of pastor emeritus at Metropolitan AME Zion Church, which was founded in 1885 and serves as a 700-seat cathedral for all the Birmingham-area congregations in the AME (African Methodist Episcopal) Zion denomination. Faush is surived by his wife, Audrey, and three children: Brenda, Anita, and Erskine Chuck Jr. Faush Sr. voiced hope, inspiring a city for more than fifty years, said his son. He was the preachers preacher, the broadcasters broadcaster, and the servant leaders leader. A workplace injury two decades ago when she was newly pregnant left Robin Ervin with neuropathy in her left leg and without a functioning bowel or bladder. She has been living on disability benefits since. Now as the coronavirus pandemic upends the economy, Ms. Ervin, 46, has found a way to get back into the work force: She is answering customer service calls for a regional retail chain. Call centers have had to adapt swiftly because the pandemic has dealt them a double blow. They are fielding more calls from customers inquiring about online orders or seeking refunds or forbearance. But many of the people who would normally answer those calls either cant get to work or are not equipped to work from home. The transition has been messy; industry executives say they are struggling to ship computers, headsets and other equipment to employees. Many customer service representatives, who earned a median income of $34,710 last year, also dont have internet connections fast enough to take calls and log in to corporate computer systems. In addition, companies said, they have had to shut down offices in countries like the Philippines because of strict stay-at-home orders. New Delhi: Members of the Muslim community open their fasts with iftar on the first day of the holy month of Ramzan at the rooftop of their houses during a nationwide lockdown imposed in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, at Kamla Market in New Delhi. (Image: AP) These are the first pictures to emerge of a father who is critical in hospital after an 'attempted murder suicide' in which his son, three, and daughter, one, were stabbed to death while their distraught mother ran from the flat screaming 'help me.... it's my children'. The man has been named locally as their father, Nithin Kumar, MailOnline can reveal. Mr Kumar, who is known as Nithi, worked in the shop near his home in Ilford, and returned home shortly before 4.30pm before the fatal stabbings at around 5.40pm yesterday. His employer, Shanmugatha Thevadurai, 54, told MailOnline today: 'Everything was normal. Nithi was a wonderful man and a loyal worker. He opened the shop at 9am, worked a normal day and made me tea shortly before he left.' Nithin Kumar (pictured) is in a critical condition in hospital after a one-year-old and three-year-old died last night Police officers stand at the scene in Ilford, East London, this morning - with a pram pictured between the two of them Eyewitnesses reported how a distraught mother ran into the street screaming after her son, three, and daughter, one, were stabbed to death. The girl died at home in Ilford, East London as her brother was rushed to hospital before dying in a major trauma centre. Neighbour Reshna Begum, who lives across the road from the family, said the mother of the stabbed children was screaming as though she had been tortured. 'I heard a woman screaming 'Help me',' she said. 'It sounded like she was being tortured. I knew something horrible must have happened, it went on for about 10 minutes.' A woman left two cuddly bunnies along with a note to 'little angels' outside the children's home Pictured: Teddy bears in a window at the scene as police investigate the deaths of a three-year-old boy and one-year-old girl who were stabbed in an alleged attempted murder-suicide The pram is pictured at the scene in Ilford this morning following the death of two children from stab wounds The neighbour said she later saw medics carrying a 'little body' in a bag outside. She added: 'My heart just sank, it's devastating, horrific. From a mother's perspective ... I'm still shaken from it, I can't imagine what she feels at the moment.' Retired builder Thomas Dodds, 78, who lives close by, told of his horror as the incident unfolded in the borough of Redbridge. 'I could tell something awful had happened from the high pitched screaming. It sickens my heart, how could somebody do such a thing to a baby and a three-year-old child? They have no heart. 'There was lots of screaming and panicking and then it just stopped. A couple of years ago something similar happened up the street where a bloke stabbed his wife to death and hid in the shed. 'I was at home last night and I didn't realise what happened until three police cars turned up. Next thing, three big ambulances and three more small ones arrived.' Police, pictured at the scene today, are now conducting a murder investigation - but said all three people knew each other A passer-by who lives in the road said she heard someone 'screaming and screaming inside' before police turned up and officers went 'rushing in'. The resident, who gave her name as Angelina, said the woman was helped out by police and appeared to be Asian and in her 30s. She added: 'The air ambulance came and that's when I knew it was serious, that something nasty had happened. 'It has absolutely shook me, I couldn't sleep last night. I knew something terrible had happened but when it came out that two children had died, I was shaken.' A shopkeeper who lives above the scene said the father of two is of Sri Lankan origin and seemed 'normal.' Two small toy rabbits, one blue and one white and pink, were left at the scene with a note saying: 'Little angels, we are so sorry. Rest in Peace.' Pictured: The man who is recovering in hospital, Nithin Kumar, following the fatal stabbing of his two children Nithin Kumar worked at this shop in Ilford. He is currently in a critical condition in hospital Several neighbours said the man, woman and children were of Sri Lankan descent but none knew them by name. Neighbour Intisar Ahmed said they had lived there for around two years and that she saw a police officer take one of the injured children outside and try to save him with CPR. She said: 'I was so, so upset. I couldn't believe it, the baby on the floor and the policeman trying first aid. 'I saw them put him on the floor and it looks like they had taken the clothes off. I could hear the mother screaming.' One woman, who did not want to be named, said: 'A man and woman lived above the shops with their two children. 'They were happy smiley kids, they were only 12 months and three years old so you can imagine. They were just happy playful children. 'But the family kept themselves to themselves and they weren't seen out that often. They lived in the flat with the white teddy bears and the snowflakes in the windows.' Harshad Patel, 64, who lives above J + N newsagents, said: 'They are my neighbours. There was a mother, the father and two children. 'They came into my store occasionally and seemed like a normal family. They have a little baby girl and a three year old boy.' The shopkeeper added: 'They moved in around two, two and a half, years ago. He is Sri Lankan, but speaks a bit of English. He would come into the shop with his boy to buy milk and bread. He also came in sometimes with his baby. 'There was never anything suspicious. They looked like a nice family. He always said 'hello, how are you?' and the wife looked happy. She once came into my store when she was pregnant with the baby.' Harshad, who is originally from Uganda, explained that there are four flats behind the Vinayagan Stores newsagents and that the family lived on the ground floor. He added: 'I didn't hear anything. One of my relatives called me to say the police had put a cordon up and something was wrong. I lifted my store shutters to see and the police told me to go back inside. 'I saw the police officer enter the newsagents next door with the owner. I'm sad. They were our neighbours. How can you stab the children?' Redbridge Council leader Jas Athwal said last night: 'Earlier today there was an incident in Ilford. Two young children have passed away and an investigation is ongoing. 'My thoughts are with the family and wider community who are grieving this unspeakable tragedy. We ask that everyone please respects the family's privacy at this difficult time.' Police are pictured at the scene in Ilford last night following the shocking incident which left two children dead A police oficer stands next to a pram outside the scene in Ilford last night as detectives continue to investigate Redbridge Council leader Jas Athwal said last night that two young children had died and an 'investigation is ongoing' Ilford North Labour MP Wes Streeting last night confirmed that he had been in touch with Mayor Sadiq Khan about the tragic deaths The London Ambulance Service and London's Air Ambulance also attended the incident, and enquiries into the circumstances continue. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'Police were called at approximately 5.30pm on Sunday, April 26 following reports of a man and two children injured at a residential address in Aldborough Road North, Ilford. Police were called at 5.40pm yesterday to an address in Ilford, East London, to reports of a man and two youngsters injured. A spokesperson for the Met Polcie said: 'Officers, London Ambulance Service and London's Air Ambulance attended. A one-year-old girl was pronounced dead at the scene. A three-year-old boy was taken to hospital for treatment but subsequently died. 'A 40-year-old man has been taken hospital for treatment; condition awaits. All three suffered knife injuries. It is believed all parties involved are known to each other. 'At this early stage, police are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident. Homicide detectives from Specialist Crime investigate. Enquiries into the circumstances continue.' The murder investigation was launched as Britain continues to be in lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 20,000 people now dead from the infection in the country. Ilford North Labour MP Wes Streeting last night confirmed that he had been in touch with Mayor Sadiq Khan about the tragic deaths. The deaths came as Britain endured three other deaths from knife attacks across the country this weekend - while a 16-year-old boy was left fighting for his life in hospital. One case saw a man in his 20s stabbed to death in Newham, east London last night. Three other people were killed and one was left fighting for his life over the weekend. The fatal attacks were in Newham and Smethwick. A man was due to appear in court today charged with murder in Hackney. Two teenagers were stabbed in Solihull In the West Midlands, a 20-year-old man was killed and a 16-year-old boy was left fighting for his life after two separate knife attacks. Police arrested a 14-year-old boy on suspicion of attempted murder after two teenagers were stabbed in broad daylight on Chapelhouse Road in Solihull at around 2.40pm yesterday. Two hours later, a man was found with serious knife wounds following a second attack at the West Cross Shopping Centre in Smethwick. The air ambulance was called but the victim was pronounced dead before he could be taken on board. In another separate incident, a man was due to appear at Thames magistrates' court today charged with murder over the death of a man in Trinity Close, Hackney. The incident was said to have taken place at 12.25pm on Saturday. Romayne Husbands, 26, from east London, was arrested by homicide detectives, reports the Evening Standard. The victim in Smethwick had suffered knife injuries and the air ambulance was called but unfortunately the man was pronounced dead before he could be taken on board As of the morning of April 26, 1,676 health workers in Ukraine were infected with the coronavirus. This was announced at a briefing by the Minister of Health of Ukraine Maxym Stepanov. "The number of medical workers who contracted Covid-19 coronavirus disease as of this morning is 1676. We have the largest number of sick medical workers in the Chernivtsi, Ternopil, and Rivne regions," Stepanov said. He noted that over the past day, 101 health workers have become infected with the coronavirus. We recall, as of the morning of April 26, 8617 laboratory-confirmed cases of Covid-19 were recorded in Ukraine, of which 209 were fatal, 840 patients recovered. 492 new cases were recorded per day. As if an increasing number of Covid-19 cases isnt enough of a worry, Rajasthans healthcare department has another reason to fret -- 80% of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus disease in the state are asymptomatic, posing a greater risk of carriers of the virus unwittingly spreading the disease and preparing the ground for community transmission. Asymptomatic people are those who have Covid-19, probably in a mild form, but have no outward manifestations of the virus such as shortness of breath, cold or fever. Vulnerable groups whose immunity is low such as the elderly or those suffering co-morbidities like cancer, heart, lung, kidney or liver disease are especially susceptible to catching the infection from them. As of Sunday night, Rajasthan had 2,185 Covid-19 cases and reported a total of 41 fatalities.The state has so far tested 82,942 people. Approximately 80% of the cases being reported in the state are asymptomatic, KK Sharma, director of public health in Rajasthan, said. As the extended lockdown eases after May 3 and movement of people resumes, these unwitting spreaders will make it tough to contain the spread of the virus, according to doctors, who say the only way out is aggressive mass testing and following preventive guidelines. If we dont test and contain the spread of the virus then it can lead to the third stage of {the disease of} community transmission, Dr S Banerjee, head of the medicine department at SMS Hospital A viral disease is said to be in the community transmission stage when a person who has no recent history of travel or exposure to a known patient develops the disease, and the source of infection cannot be traced. While asymptomatic people can become carriers, the silver lining is that it shows that the emergence of a milder form of the disease from which people are recovering without the need for treatment, said Dr Virendra Singh, pulmonologist and a member of the CMs advisory committee on Covid-19. Ajitabh Sharma, the nodal officer for Covid-19 prevention in Jaipur district, said the administration had identified some potential asymptomatic superspreaders such as provision store owners, dairy booth managers, milk suppliers, vegetable vendors and health workers and was testing them. The government had initially planned to conduct rapid tests on such superspreaders, but after the rapid test kits turned out to be faulty, that plan has been put on hold. In Rajasthan, six districts with over 100 cases each are a particular cause of concern for health authorities. Several areas in these districts have become hotspots from where the viral disease has spread among a larger population, most of whom are now deemed to be asymptomatic. The six districts are Jaipur with 799 cases, Jodhpur with 341 cases, Tonk with 115 cases, Kota with 152 cases, Bharatpur with 109 cases and Ajmer with 123 cases. In Jaipur, the disease has been traced to a person who returned from Oman to the congested Ramganj neighbourhood in the city, as well as some Tablighi Jamaat members who returned from a religious congregation at the Islamic missionary groups headquarters in Delhis Nizamuddin Basti, which had gone on to become the biggest coronavirus hotspot in India. Social distancing was not followed and the disease spread rapidly. The health department has adopted a strategy of aggressive sampling in these hotspot areas to identify cases and contain the spread of Covid-19. To be sure, doctors say, it is impossible to test everyone given the limited staffing and resources. Tonks chief medical and health officer (CMHO) Dr Ashok Yadav said that of the 115 positive cases in the district, 114 were asymptomatic. He said that some Tablighi Jamaat members hid their travel history and did not come forward for tests, which led to a chain of infections. Bharatpurs CMHO Dr Kaptan Singh said that of the 109 cases in the district, 107 were asymptomatic. His Kota counterpart Dr BS Tanwar too said that of 152 cases, around 150 were asymptomatic. Both Singh and Tanwar said people had initially hidden their travel history, offered prayers in congregations and spread the infection to others. Jodhpur CMHO Dr Balwant Manda said there were fears of community spread of the disease through asymptomatic superspreaders. We are testing aggressively in hotspots to identify such superspreaders and we urge people to cooperate and get themselves tested, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The worlds changed, said Harpootlian. Campaigns have changed. This campaign has changed. But the stakes could have never been higher. We wanted to win a year ago. But there is a scenario, a year ago, where, maybe we dont pull it off. But the stakes have become so much higher now that that is not an option. Coronavirus lockdown: Owing to low TRP ratings, Dadi Amma Dadi Amma Maan Jao starring Sheen Das, Anagha Bhosale, Seema Biswas and Mohan Joshi is likely to be pulled off air next month. Television is one of the industries in India that has been severely impacted by the nationwide lockdown due to novel coronavirus-COVID-19. Ever since the pandemic has started expanding its reach in India, all the shooting of television shows has been put on hold. Moreover, there are several shows that are being pulled off air. One of the shows that has joined the long list is Star Pluss show Dadi Amma Dadi Amma Maan Jao. Launched in January this year, the telly show might go off air next month due to low TRP ratings. Revolving around two ambitious sisters who have been assigned the responsibility of taking care of their grandparents, Dadi Amma Dadi Amma stars Sheen Das, Anagha Bhosale, Seema Biswas and Mohan Joshi in lead roles. Going by the latest buzz around the show, it is unlikely that the show will return on air after lockdown. Before Dadi Amma Dadi Amma Maan Jao, shows like Beyhadh 2, Patiala Babes and Ishaaro Ishaaro Mein have also been axed by the makers citing their finite storylines. Reacting to the same, Beyhadh 2 actor Shivin Narang recently told a news portal that they dont have any clarity on this issue yet but anything is possible. Also Read: Mahabharat actor Sourabh Raj Jain spills the beans on his preparations, reveals habits he inculcated to transform into Lord Krishna He added that Beyhadh 2 is a big brand with a huge following. Although it is a finite show that was nearing its end, they could have done justice to the show and its audience by providing it a logical end. Also Read: Bigg Boss 13: Mahira Sharma not in touch with Sidharth Shukla, says she doesnt like to call or message anyone first Also Read: Ramzan 2020: Dipika Kakar, husband Shoaib Ibrahim shares glimpse of their first sehri For all the latest Entertainment News, download NewsX App Mum-of-three, Danielle Martin, woke up from a coronavirus induced coma to learn she was pregnant with twins. (Caters) A mum-of-three has woken up from a coronavirus induced coma to discover she is pregnant with twins. Danielle Martin, 32, from Belfast, Northern Ireland was left fighting for her life when she was rushed to hospital while nine weeks pregnant. Though she was initially diagnosed with pneumonia, tests revealed she was actually suffering from coronavirus. But after ten days in an induced coma, the living nightmare turned to joy when doctors revealed that she and partner Bryan, 32, are expecting not one, but two babies. Read more: Teacher gives birth in car park after ambulance mistook plea for help for wave The stay-at-home-mums illness initially began with a sore throat, which lead to her suffering from a bad chest. Danielle assumed it was just a chest infection but after six days found she was struggling to breathe. It felt like I was suffocating so Bryan decided to call an ambulance who came within five minutes and took me away - I was terrified, she explains. The mum-of-three woke up from a coma to be told she was expecting twins. (Caters) Scans at the hospital initially revealed Danielle was suffering from severe pneumonia and she was put onto a ventilator. But overnight Danielle took a turn for the worst and her oxygen levels dropped leaving doctors with no choice but to put her into an induced coma. Bryan says the doctor rang to say Danielle was spotting and it was highly unlikely the baby would survive as it was still very early in the pregnancy. It is crazy how quick things can take a turn for the worse, Bryan, a security guard, explains. One day Danielle was sending me photos telling me about the toast she was eating in hospital, the next she was in ICU. The doctor rang to say her oxygen had dropped and shes been put into an induced coma - I was devastated and worried sick. It was a living nightmare knowing she was fighting for her life and our unborn baby too. Bryan says it was also difficult explaining to the couples sons, Jaiden, nine, Parker, three and Joshua, two, where their mummy was, particularly as they had seen her be taken to hospital in the ambulance. Story continues I had to put on a brave face and reassure them she will be fine and be home in no time, he explains. The hospital rang me daily with updates but it was always up and down, one day it would be good news and the next bad. I was hoping she would pull through with all my heart. Read more: Transgender activists Hannah and Jake Graf welcome first baby via surrogate The family of five will soon become a family of seven. (Caters) Thankfully, Danielle did start to get better and doctors were able to start weaning the mum-to-be off the ventilator. After ten days in an induced coma, Danielle was shocked to be told she was actually expecting twins. I woke up feeling very confused an agitated from the coma but once I had came round, I was extremely grateful, she explains. I was in disbelief when they told me about the twins - it was the cherry on top of the cake knowing I had beat coronavirus and have twins on the way! It is a random way to find out youre expecting two babies but at least we will be able to remember something good about this horrible time. Read more: Model Iskra Lawrence 'feeling super protective' of newborn Bryan learnt he was soon to be a father of twins when Danielle was moved to a ward to recover and rang her husband to tell him both babies were fine. I was like both?, he says. At first I thought maybe she is still a little confused from everything she had been through. But when she said twins, I was so happy and grinning from ear to ear. Danielle, who hadnt been out for ten days prior to catching the virus, says she feels incredibly lucky to have survived coronavirus and now wants to urge others to stay at home as it could happen to anyone. I am recovering with plenty of rest and hoping my friends and family are doing the same, she says. Bryan has set up a fundraiser for Nightingale hospital to give something back after they helped his partner and unborn babies. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-08 21:26:39|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Djibouti's Ministry of Health on Wednesday announced 14 new COVID-19 confirmed cases, eventually bringing the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Horn of Africa nation to 135. The Djiboutian Ministry of Health, in a statement issued on Wednesday, disclosed that from the total of 427 people who were tested for the novel coronavirus over the last 24 hours some 14 people were tested positive. According to the ministry, some 25 people who have been tested positive for COVID-19 have so far recovered from the virus since the Red Sea nation confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on March 18. Djibouti has not yet reported its first COVID-19 inflicted death. Djibouti, which lies on a key location connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, hosts a number of foreign military bases and is the main sea outlet for landlocked Ethiopia. Recovered Patients With Antibodies Not Immune to Coronavirus, WHO Warns By VOA News April 25, 2020 The World Health Organization warned Saturday that there was "no evidence" that recovered COVID-19 patients with antibodies were immune to a second coronavirus infection. The WHO issued the warning in a scientific brief as it confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide had topped 2.8 million. Worldwide fatalities exceeded 200,000, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics. "Some governments have suggested that the detection of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, could serve as the basis for an 'immunity passport' or 'risk-free certificate' that would enable individuals to travel or to return to work assuming that they are protected against reinfection," the WHO said. "There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection," it added. Chile said last week that it would start distributing "health passports" to people who were considered recovered patients, allowing them to return to their jobs. Before receiving passports, they were to be screened to determine whether they had developed antibodies. 'Fresh outbreak' warning in Iran Other countries were also taking action to reopen their economies, even amid fears of new outbreaks. Iran, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East, warned Saturday of a "fresh outbreak" at the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in the mostly Shiite country. Iran's ministry of infectious diseases said there were "signs of a fresh outbreak" in northern and central provinces "where we made great efforts to control the epidemic." The warning came after Iran began reopening some businesses that had been closed on April 11 because of the virus. Other countries were moving ahead with plans to ease travel restrictions and reopen businesses to jump-start their economies, including the U.S., the world leader by far in coronavirus infections and fatalities. The southeastern U.S. state of Georgia has become the center of debate over when to lift lockdown orders that have kept hundreds of millions of people indoors. On Friday, Georgia became the first U.S. state to launch a widespread reopening effort, allowing some nonessential businesses to reopen "on a limited basis." The businesses were permitted to reopen their doors before the state's monthlong shutdown is lifted on April 30, despite warnings from some elected officials in the state that it could spark a new surge in coronavirus infections. Oklahoma also allowed some retail businesses to reopen Friday, and Florida opened some of its beaches to visitors a week ago. South Carolina eased some restrictions on Monday, and other states plan to relax guidelines next week. While U.S. President Donald Trump voiced opposition to Georgia's reopening after initially supporting it, he has pushed to reopen the U.S. economy sooner than most health experts have recommended. Soaring US deficit The U.S. Congressional Budget Office said Friday that the economic hardship caused by the coronavirus in the U.S. would last through next year, as the pandemic wreaks havoc on the financial health of countries around the world. The nonpartisan agency said the U.S. budget deficit would nearly quadruple from $1 trillion to $3.7 trillion this year and the unemployment rate would soar from 3.5% in February to 16% in September. The CBO predicted that unemployment would fall after September but would remain in double digits through 2021. The report intensified pressure on the Trump administration as it tries to balance concerns about the ballooning federal deficit with the provision of stimulus money to offset the outbreak's economic effects. Trump signed a $484 billion relief package Friday for small-business loans and help for hospitals in expanding COVID-19 testing. The money was part of more than $3 trillion the U.S. government has spent to boost the economy. The coronavirus has had a devastating effect on the global economy, but the International Monetary Fund and other organizations warn that developing countries will be the worst hit. The U.N. food agency projects that 265 million people could experience acute hunger this year, twice as many as last year. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on governments to ensure health care is available to all people and that economic aid packages help those most affected. A report released this week said Spain, which is second to the U.S. in number of confirmed cases, had more health care workers infected with COVID-19 than anywhere else in the world. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, citing available official data, said 20% of the more than 200,000 registered coronavirus cases in Spain had been confirmed among its health care workers. The report found that 10% of Italy's cases and 3% of the U.S. cases had been detected in those who work in the medical field. Spain's Medical Colleges Organization said the high rate of infections in health care workers was due to the lack of "essential safety measures." Spain has seen the number of recovered cases outnumber new infections in recent days, and the government announced Saturday that children under 14 would be allowed to go outdoors Sunday for the first time since March 15. G-20 raises funds The G-20 group of industrial and emerging-market nations called Friday on "all countries, international organizations, the private sector, philanthropic institutions and individuals" to contribute to its funding efforts to fight COVID-19, setting an $8 billion goal. The G-20, an international forum for the governments and central bank governors of 19 nations and the European Union, said it had previously raised $1.9 billion. Saudi Arabia, the current holder of the G-20 presidency, contributed $500 million. As of Saturday afternoon EDT, the U.S. had more than 924,000 COVID-19 cases, nearly one-third of the world's total. There had also been more coronavirus deaths in the U.S. than in any other country in the world, with more than 53,000, more than one-quarter of the world's coronavirus-related deaths. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Sunday evacuated a six-year-old girl, suffering from cancer and in need of an emergency surgery, along with her father from Kuwait in a humanitarian mission amidst the COVID-19 crisis, Union Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik said. The minister has shared a photo of a man, with a girl sitting on his shoulder, standing outside an IAF plane. "Today an Indian Air Force plane on a humanitarian mission to assist the State of Kuwait during COVID-19 crisis, evacuated a six year girl with her father," Naik stated in a Facebok post. "The small girl is suffering from cancer (tumour in her skull) and she needed emergency surgery," he wrote. He stated: "Where else does God reside - with the Indian Air Force crew, the Govt of India with numerous functionaries making it happen, and, of course the father carrying the small girl, let's wish her well. "May she recover fast and lead a long and healthy life. God bless her with her recovery". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday spoke to his counterparts from African countries Burkina Faso, Comoros, Uganda and Mali and discussed health cooperation and development partnership with them. An Africa-focus working day. Useful conversations with Foreign Ministers of Burkina Faso, Comoros, Uganda and Mali. Historical solidarity on display in the midst of contemporary challenges, he said in a tweet. An Africa-focus working day. Useful conversations with Foreign Ministers of Burkina Faso, Comoros, Uganda and Mali. Historical solidarity on display in the midst of contemporary challenges. Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 25, 2020 In conversation with Malis Foreign Minister Tiebile Drame, Jaishankar discussed health security and solar energy. Click here for the complete coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic Health security and solar energy discussed with FM @T_Drame of #Mali. Our medical supplies will be reaching there shortly, he said in a tweet. Health security and solar energy discussed with FM @T_Drame of #Mali. Our medical supplies will be reaching there shortly. Underlines Indias growing cooperation with the Sahel. Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 25, 2020 Jaishankar spoke to Uganda Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa and confirmed the impending shipment of medicine supplies and health equipment to combat coronavirus. Click here for the latest updates from the coronavirus outbreak Followed up on PM @narendramodis talk with President Museveni by talking with FM Sam Kutesa of #Uganda. Confirmed the impending shipment of medicine supplies and health equipment to combat #coronavirus. India and Uganda will address this global challenge cooperatively, he said in a tweet. Followed up on PM @narendramodis talk with President Museveni by talking with FM Sam Kutesa of #Uganda. Confirmed the impending shipment of medicine supplies and health equipment to combat #coronavirus. India and Uganda will address this global challenge cooperatively. Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 25, 2020 He also spoke to Comoros Foreign Minister Mohamed El Amine Souef. A SAGAR friendship reaffirmed. Wonderful talking to FM Mohamed El Amine Souef of #Comoros. Our will surely grow further, he said in a tweet. A SAGAR friendship reaffirmed. Wonderful talking to FM Mohamed El Amine Souef of #Comoros. Our health cooperation and development partnership will surely grow further. Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 25, 2020 So glad to learn that Minister Alpha Barry of #BurkinaFaso has recovered from #Coronavirus. Wished him and his other colleagues good health when I spoke to him today. Indian medical supplies will be reaching Burkina Faso very soon. Friends stand by each other in times of crises. Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 25, 2020 Jaishankar also wished good health to Burkina Faso Foreign Minister Alpha Barry who recovered from coronavirus infection. So glad to learn that Minister Alpha Barry of #BurkinaFaso has recovered from #Coronavirus. Wished him and his other colleagues good health when I spoke to him today. Indian medical supplies will be reaching Burkina Faso very soon. Friends stand by each other in times of crises, he said in tweet. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Washington: Kanye West, the mercurial rapper and fashion mogul, has officially gained the status of "billionaire" following a long and acrimonious dispute over his wealth with Forbes magazine. The feud began after the august financial publication featured West, 42, on its cover last year, but did not call him a billionaire. Kanye West, pictured in February at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, has won his battle with Forbes to be judged a billionaire. Credit:Evan Agostini/Invision/AP West was unhappy and told Forbes so, accusing it of "snubbing" him and being "disrespectful". He complained: "I showed them a $US890 million [$1.4 billion] receipt, and they still didn't say 'billionaire'." The thorough journalists at Forbes responded that they did not have enough documentation, and could not rely on "industry guesstimates". Amid a severe shortage of housing for tribal members on the Wind River Reservation, a new challenge has further illustrated the crisis the tribes face: the coronavirus. While both the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes have recently been awarded grants to build more housing, the money wont come close to fixing the problem, and it wont help as the tribes deal with the more immediate challenge of mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Twenty-three new cases have been confirmed in Fremont County in the last two days, and the portion of Wyoming coronavirus patients who are American Indian has risen to 16 percent. And as Wyomings two tribes work to limit the spread of the virus which leaders of both tribes say is no longer contained to one or two families they face challenges that counties and cities across Wyoming dont have to contend with. Many tribal members, like those throughout Indian County, already are more susceptible to the virus due to higher rates of preexisting health conditions, but adding to the challenge of containing the illness is the lack of housing and overcrowded conditions. Earlier this week, tribal leaders said four Northern Arapaho citizens had died from complications of the illness. Three of those deaths were among immediate family members. Its unclear whether they, or any other family members, lived together. We out here, unfortunately, live two to three families in one home, Northern Arapaho Business Council Chairman Lee Spoohunter explained. If you have one person who tests positive in the house of seven, it really puts a lot of people at risk. And there are even some families that (have) higher numbers than seven in a household. At the same time, many of those same tribal members living in multi-generational or multi-family homes could have preexisting conditions that make them more vulnerable to the virus. Two of the four Northern Arapaho citizens who died had preexisting health conditions. Native American advocacy organizations and tribal leaders from both tribes have warned that COVID-19 could have a devastating effect on Indian County because of tribes higher rates of diabetes and heart disease, for example, which make it more likely that Indigenous people will suffer from complications or even die from the illness. So that makes it very hard for tribal members to combat something like this, Spoonhunter said, adding that the tribe has opened up its Wind River Hotel & Casino for individuals to quarantine away from home to avoid infecting others. The casino has been closed due to the pandemic. *** While the first cases on the reservation were initially contained to a couple families, leaders said last week that the virus is no longer contained and is spreading through the tribes. In addition to many families living in a crowded home, the two Wind River Tribes are also struggling to keep members, especially younger ones, indoors as the tribes continue to enforce a stay-at-home order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The coronavirus is spreading rapidly through our communities and we realize a large percentage of our population have other existing health conditions, and it is so important to protect yourself and your families, Eastern Shoshone Business Council Vice-Chair Karen Snyder said in a web address last week. The order has been tough for many to follow, especially the younger population on the reservation, and many are becoming restless. Still, leaders have said its a necessary tool along with practicing other recommendations like frequent hand washing, social distancing and wearing cloth masks to keep as many members as possible from contracting the illness, even knowing that many might be in close quarters at home. It was it was a no-brainier for us, Spoonhunter said. We needed to make sure that we took care of our people and made sure they were safe, especially with our elders who are more vulnerable to this. While the order has caused many to become restless and disregard it, Rep. Andi Clifford, D-Fort Washakie, said shes heard from some tribal citizens that the extra time inside with family has had a silver lining. The stay-at-home order has allowed family members to spend more time together cooking meals and has given grandparents the chance to tell stories to grandchildren, she continued. All of this is not bad; theres some good, Clifford said. A grandma was saying, Im meeting with my grandchildren; we sit down and eat and Im telling them more stories. Stories about me, about my life, about their great-grandparents, when I normally wouldnt, and thats really good because theyre hearing more oral stories. *** Both tribes have recently been awarded millions in federal grants to address the need. Still, the homes theyll build with the money wont fully address the need. Northern Arapaho housing officials have said they need about 600 units to meet demand, while Charles Washakie, executive director of the Eastern Shoshone Housing Authority, said Friday that his tribe will need more than 500 units by 2025 to meet the needs of a growing population with high numbers of young people. Washakie said 642 people are reported to live in 136 Eastern Shoshone housing units right now more than 4.5 people per home. And he said that number is likely low because tenants are hesitant to report higher numbers living in one home to avoid getting in trouble. For Washakie, the pandemic has also affected his workers and the work they can do. Hes had to lay off many housing employees and limit maintenance to emergency repairs to protect his employees. Its also meant he and his workers havent been able to start work building new homes to help ease the shortage. The Eastern Shoshone Tribe was recently awarded a $4.2 million grant through U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developments Indian Housing Block Grant Program. The money will be used to build two dozen units. But because of the pandemic, he cant start work on the new homes or complete other rehabilitation project he has grant money for. And those grants have deadlines to meet, he added. We dont know how long this shutdown is gonna be, Washakie said, referring to the reservations stay-at-home order. Well be able to struggle through it; were just in a bind right now. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A train likely belonging to North Koreas leader has been spotted at a resort town in the countrys east, satellite imagery showed, amid conflicting reports about Kim Jong Uns health and whereabouts. In a report on Saturday, 38 North monitoring group said the train was parked at the leadership station in Wonsan on April 21 and April 23. The station is reserved for the use of the Kim family, according to the Washington, DC-based group. The trains presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the countrys eastern coast, it said. Speculation about Kims health first arose due to his absence from the birth anniversary of North Koreas founding father and Kims grandfather, Kim Il Sung, on April 15. North Koreas state media last reported on Kims whereabouts when he presided over a meeting on April 11. China has dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on Kim, Reuters news agency reported, citing three people familiar with the situation. A third-generation hereditary leader who came to power after his fathers death in 2011, Kim has no clear successor in a nuclear-armed country, which could present a significant international risk. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un takes part in a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers Party of Korea in this image released on April 11, 2020 [File: KCNA via Reuters] Daily NK, an online media outlet run mostly by North Korean defectors, reported last week that Kim underwent a cardiovascular procedure and was recovering at a villa in North Pyongan province. Citing an unidentified source in the country, it said Kim, who is in his mid-30s, had needed urgent treatment due to heavy smoking, obesity and fatigue. South Korea has played down the report. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump downplayed reports that Kim was ill. I think the report was incorrect, Trump told reporters, but he declined to say if he had been in touch with North Korean officials. Trump has met Kim three times in an attempt to persuade him to give up a nuclear weapons programme that threatens the United States as well as its Asian neighbours. While talks have stalled, Trump has continued to hail Kim as a friend. Reporting from North Korea is notoriously difficult because of tight controls on information. On Thursday, citing an unidentified government official, South Korean broadcaster SBS reported that Kim appeared to have been in Wonsan for at least the past four days and would soon return to the public eye. The report added that the military was monitoring Kims train, which had been seen in Wonsan, while his personal jet frequently used by Kim on his trips to Wonsan remained in Pyongyang. North Koreas state media remain silent about the international speculation on Kims health. On Saturday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim had received a message of greeting from the chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation on the occasion of the first anniversary of Kims summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The message wished Kim good health and happiness, the KCNA said. This is not the first time that Kim has vanished from the public eye, and past absences in state media dispatches have also triggered speculation about his health. In 2014, state media did not report any public activities for Kim for about six weeks, before he reappeared with a cane. South Koreas spy agency later said he had a cyst removed from his ankle. Asthma patients in Bauchi say they are being stigmatised as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic because of the occasional breathing difficulties they encounter. Some of them told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi on Sunday that because breathing difficulties is one of the important symptoms in determining a case of coronavirus prior to medical test, they were being mistaken for COVID-19 patients, particularly in public places. They said, for this reason, anytime they experience asthma attack in public, they were treated with scorn, sometimes with people fleeing from the scene. They said since it was not possible under such circumstances to satisfactorily explain themselves, they faced enormous embarrassment. Hadiza Usman, an asthma patient, said the most annoying aspect was that even some people in the neighbourhood who were aware of their status as asthma patients, tended to display such ignorance. The phobia for coronavirus has reached the level that even people that know you become jittery whenever you experience asthma attack. Sometimes even relations are not comfortable; I know of somebody whose brothers contemplated calling NCDC to help determine whether it was the normal asthma attack or Coronavirus, she said. READ ALSO: Another patient, Mohammed Umar, said he had experienced stigmatisation twice while trying to withdraw money from a bank. We were queuing outside waiting for our turn to enter the banking hall when l had a mild attack. Knowing the implication, I excused myself and kept a distance but when the attack subsided and I went back to rejoin the queue, nobody was willing to stay close to me. One of the customers even drew the attention of the security personnel of the bank, who approached me, yet even after explaining the situation, nobody was willing to take chances. Another patient, Umaru Galadima, said he had experienced such stigmatisation but said whoever was sceptical had a genuine reason to be suspicious. With the coronavirus pandemic moving like bushfire, everybody must be careful; In any case, how do you differentiate difficulty in breaching occasioned by asthma attack and one caused by Coronavirus? I personally had cause to move away from a person that had mild asthma attack, until I was convinced it was not a case of COVID-19, he confessed. Also narrating his experience, a 16 year-old who spoke to NAN on condition of anonymity, said his peers tended to be sceptical each time he experienced an asthma attack, in spite of knowing his condition for the past five years. Most times, it takes the pattern of mild jokes, like some asking me are you sure its not that thing (Coronavirus)?, and we laugh over it, he said, adding that such jokes could be very embarrassing. On his part, Usman Haruna told NAN that he was no longer comfortable with the situation and had started wondering each time he had asthma attack, in spite of being with the ailment for many years. Frankly speaking, sometimes I become scared when I experience an attack, and I always prayed to God to let it be that its asthma attack and not coronavirus in disguise, he said. He advised asthma patients to be vigilant and be able to distinguish mild asthma attack from symptoms of coronavirus. The symptoms of coronavirus, as outlined by medical experts, include difficulty in breathing, fever, cough and runny nose, among others, while the major sign of asthma attack is difficulty in breathing, chest pain and cough, among others. (NAN) EED/ASH Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reportedly said on April 25 that Canadas approach to reopening the economy would not depend on the widespread immunity development to the COVID-19 for a certain section of the population, but would instead be cautious. While speaking at a daily news briefing, Trudeau said that he had no plans that hinged on individuals being immune or having immunity to COVID-19. Further, he said, that the government needed to be on side of the caution, and immunity was something that needed clearer answers. He added that there was no evidence that the people could build immunity towards the COVID-19 disease. Meanwhile, the WHO reportedly warned on April 25 that the patients that recovered from the coronavirus might not be immune to the disease and there was a risk of relapse. Therefore, Trudeau emphasized, that for now, Canada would continue the social distancing measures and provide more personal protective equipment (PPE) to the healthcare workers. Read: UK Hospital Deaths From Coronavirus Cross Grim 20,000 Milestone Read: Californias island Of Romance Crippled By Coronavirus Top doctor warns Canadas chief public health officer, Theresa Tam, warned the country that there was no evidence against relying on "herd immunity" in order to reinstate the economy. Evidently, she pointed out at Quebecs premier who considered this approach to restart the provinces businesses, confirmed media reports. The provinces authorities last week raised the point of the collective immunity for the people that resided in Quebec. Trudeau reportedly met the leaders from the Quebec province to discuss how the economy might be reopened after weeks of confinement in phases. As of Saturday, April 25, the outspoken premier of Ontario Doug Ford said at his daily news briefing that he had a tough time threatening the protesters known as the "bunch of yahoos" in about a 100 in number. Furthermore, he said, the bunch demonstrated in front of the provincial legislature in Toronto to denounce stay-at-home measures. They demanded the businesses restart, which, at the moment, was a risky initiative and it would put the citizens safety in jeopardy, he reportedly said. Read: Minneapolis Puts Recreation On Hold As Coronavirus Cases Rise Read: Italy: Fourth-grader Creates Coronavirus Game, Names It 'Cerba-20' The Russian Agriculture Ministry announced on April 26 that it was suspending its export of most grains until July 1, seemingly shrugging off warnings from international organizations who are asking countries not to disrupt global food supply chains during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The ministry said the Russian cutoff affected shipments of wheat, corn, rye, barley, and meslin, which is a mixture of wheat and rye. It made no mention of the crisis from the coronavirus that has infected 185 countries or regions around the world and infected nearly 3 million people since emerging in central China in December 2019. The supplies from Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, will continue to fellow members of the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union (EES), which includes other post-Soviet states Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Leaders of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) warned in a joint statement in late March that "as countries move to enact measures aiming to halt the accelerating COVID-19 pandemic, care must be taken to minimise potential impacts on the food supply or unintended consequences on global trade and food security." British Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs George Eustice said on April 26 that there was "no serious disruption" to international flows of food, although he acknowledged that there had been "isolated cases" of trade being disrupted, for example goods from India. The Russian Agriculture Ministry announced the April 26 move by saying a quota set earlier this month for exports through June had been "fully exhausted." Moscow had said the quota was introduced to safeguard its national supplies and market. The World Food Program (WFP) said in early April that while "disruptions are so far minimal" from the COVID-19 crisis, food supply "adequate," and markets "relatively stable," panics or other behavior changes could create major problems. But spokeswoman Elizabeth Byrs said accompanying the release of a WFP report that "we may soon expect to see disruptions in food-supply chains." An unnamed Iranian official was quoted on April 26 as saying that Tehran had allowed for the import of 3 million tons of wheat, more than half of it already unloaded to Iranian ports. Kazakhstan has seen protests over wheat and flour supplies and said recently that it might abolish quotas on wheat and flour exports. A Reuters report said less than 1 million tons of a recently announced Russian 7 million-ton quota for April-June remained by April 25, owing to a deluge of orders for later exports. It quoted analysts suggesting that while the quota might be formally exhausted, grain exports so far in April were probably around 4 million and 3 million tons more might be spoken for but would probably ship out in May and June. Russia exported more than 35 million tons of wheat and 43 million tons of all grains in 2018-19, RIA Novosti reported. With reporting by Reuters and TASS Thousands of migrant labourers from Madhya Pradesh have returned home from Gujarat, more than a month after the lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus pandemic was imposed, news agency ANI reported. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan had said on Friday the state government will bring back migrant workers stranded in other parts of the country. ANI quoted the chief minister as saying on Saturday that at least 2400 migrant labourers reached Madhya Pradesh in 98 buses and were screened for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). They reached the central states Jhabua district from Gujarat. We are bringing back migrant labourers from Rajasthan and this will continue Shivraj Singh Chouhan said. Also read: Post-lockdown plan, migrants in focus at Centre-states meet The chief minister said the state government is also making efforts to send labourers stranded in other districts of the state to their home districts. We have arranged vehicles for them. They are being screened before leaving for their homes, he added. This also comes after Chouhans counterpart in Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath announced that his government will bring back labourers and workers who have been stranded in other states and have completed 14 days of quarantine in a phased manner. On Saturday, Union cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba met chief secretaries of the states to talk about the thousands of workers, currently in migrant labour camps around India who want to return home, among other things. With no interstate travel being allowed and passenger trains not running, several states have suggested running special trains to transport these workers. At Saturdays meeting, some states including Punjab, Gujarat, Bihar and West Bengal asked the Centre to set a protocol for such movements. Prime Minister Narendra Modi placed the country under a three-week lockdown from March 25 to April 14 to prevent the spread of coronavirus. As the number of coronavirus disease cases continued to increase, the lockdown was extended till May 3. The lockdown brought the entire country to a standstill but hit thousands of daily-wage migrant workers in big cities the most, who were seen walking back to their homes. The Centre directed the state governments to ensure strict enforcement of the lockdown, and provide food and shelter to those distressed to avoid a nationwide exodus of labourers. Last week, the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) allowed stranded migrant labourers across India to return to their places of work within the city which are non-containment zones. In the event, that a group of migrants wish to return to their places of work, within the state where they are presently located, they would be screened and those who are asymptomatic would be transported to their respective places of work, MHA said in a statement. The ministry, however, said labourer cannot move outside any state or Union territory they are in. We need to aggressively search for asymptomatic carriers, particularly among people who have frequent contact with the public and among vulnerable populations. This includes those who are infectious but will never develop symptoms and those who will develop them days after the test. Those in high-risk asymptomatic groups who must be urgently targeted include health workers, especially those in long-term care facilities; the homeless and those working in shelters; grocery store employees and delivery drivers, taxi drivers, emergency workers, employees in high density workplaces like delivery warehouses and meat processing plants; and anyone who has had close contact with a known Covid-19 patient. These high-risk groups need to be tested as often as every five days, given what we know about the time it takes to develop symptoms after becoming infected, and those found to be infected should self-isolate immediately while their contacts should be quarantined for 14 days. Testing will need to be expanded at least fivefold and made as accessible and convenient as possible, without the need for a doctors referral, and free of charge. Right now about 200,000 people a day are being tested for the virus across the country. We need this to grow to around a million tests or more daily. Testing will be sufficient when fewer than 5 percent of the tests come up positive. In New York, 38 percent of those tested were found to be infected as of Wednesday. The number of new tests is also far too low. Louisiana, another hot spot, reported only 481 new Covid-19 tests last Thursday. To do this, states must expand mobile testing programs so workers like those in grocery stores and high-density workplaces can be tested repeatedly and on-site. They should also set up neighborhood testing sites to encourage everyone else to get tested without hassle. Scaling up testing will require a surge in strategic planning and supply chain management. The Food and Drug Administration recently approved new polyester-based swabs that can be swiftly manufactured domestically and dont have to be inserted as far up the nose. It also approved the use of sterile saline solution for transporting samples for testing if the medium that is normally used is unavailable. Newly approved testing platforms can deliver results in 15 minutes. The low-key podcast also has become one of the clearest windows into Biden, offering a flavor for how he would govern, the types of people he would surround himself with and the questions he poses to advisers. He has used the weekly shows as a public audition for some of his potential running mates a circumstance that goes unspoken and to showcase a kitchen cabinet, all from the studio in the basement of his Wilmington, Del., home now serving as campaign headquarters. A western Massachusetts factory that typically produces games will now be manufacturing thousands of pieces of personal protective equipment amid the coronavirus crisis. Cartamundi, a Hasbro partner factory in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, will begin producing up to 50,000 plastic face shields per week and will donate them to hospitals in Massachusetts and Rhode Island during the COVID-19 pandemic. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Rep. Richard Neal toured the factory Saturday, along with Hasbro President and Chief Operating Officer John Frascotti. "This is a big deal," Baker said. "They've stepped up, reconverted some of their operations and created the space to safely make it possible to manufacture gear to support our front-line workers and first responders." Baker said Hasbro also donated 250 face shields to staff and caregivers at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home, which has seen 65 of its residents die of COVID-19 as of Saturday. "We are incredibly grateful to Hasbro and its team for the work that you're doing, leading here and supporting your health care workers here in Massachusetts and in Rhode Island," Baker said. The governor said Massachusetts is offering a total of $10 million to manufacturers who make similar conversions during the outbreak. There are more than 600 firms working with the state on that initiative, including 400 that are based in Massachusetts, according to Baker. Watch the video above to learn more about this story. I f Sally Rooney made a splash with her debut, Conversations with Friends in 2017, she all-but-drowned the literary sphere when Normal People came out in 2018. The sharp tale of two rural Irish teenagers, Connell and Marianne, navigating love, young adulthood and social pressures, has sold over 500,000 copies in the UK alone and was quickly snapped up by the BBC - its 12-part series is available on BBC iPlayer now (and has an excellent portrayal of men's mental health ). For all its hype, Normal People is not a new premise. But with her absorbing prose, Rooney transforms the will they, wont they genre into compulsory reading. If youve recently read Normal People and have found a Rooney-shaped hole in your library, weve recommended some similar (and equally as excellent) alternatives below. The Secret History by Donna Tartt If you never have, do try The Secret History. Donna Tartts superb 1992 novel may be set in New England rather than Ireland at an elite Vermont college, but it lays bare the same apparent contradictions between arrogance and insecurity common to young adults. Its also a rippingly good thriller. - Katie Law, Deputy Literary Editor Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner Its easy to find echoes of Anita Brookner in Rooneys novels, where wry, introspective female protagonists take the lead. She won the Booker Prize in 1984 for Hotel du Lac, which follows romantic novelist Edith Hopes sojourn to Lake Geneva after an affair with a married man leads to social humiliation. - Jessie Thompson, Deputy Arts Editor Emma by Jane Austen Sally Rooney has been called a millennial novelist but actually a lot of the themes in Normal People are timeless. The intense relationship between Connell and Marianne and their struggles to know how to articulate and act on their feelings reminded me of the relationship between Emma and Mr. Knightley in Emma by Jane Austen. Like Connell, Knightley is a study of a man who is on the whole a good person but occasionally goes astray and is unsure how to admit to that. The influence of the community is strong in both books and both authors have a knack for dialogue, tension and capturing how power dynamics can shift. - Susannah Butter, Comment Editor and Features Writer Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan Exciting Times follows the nihilistic 22-year old Ava, a teacher struggling to make ends meet in the gaudy, moneyed expat banker playground of Hong Kong offering a penetrating look at class, gender and wealth. Dolans smart, acerbic writing will remind you of Rooneys as will her exquisite portraits of twisted millennial relationships. - Phoebe Luckhurst, Acting Features Editor Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Two teenagers from different walks of life fall in love but end up following very different paths. Sound familiar? Chimamanda Ngozi Adichies Americanah is set between the US and Lagos, Nigeria and tells the story of Ifemelu and Obinze. When Ifemelu moves to the US, Obinze follows but is denied a visa following 9/11. A poignant and compulsive tale. - Laura Hampson, Digital Lifestyle Writer The Group by Mary McCarthy Id recommend The Group by Mary McCarthy, written in the 1960s and the inspiration for Candace Bushnells Sex and the City. Its 1933, and a group of women have just graduated from Vassar College. McCarthy explores how they think and talk to about sex, men, marriage, relationships, work and more. So, whats new? - KL The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy In this April 15, 2020, photo, President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. President Donald Trumps well-known disdain for foreign aid is colliding with the imperatives of fighting the coronavirus pandemic, as his administration boasts about Americas generosity for countries in dire need while still generating confusion and anger on the global stage. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trumps well-known disdain for foreign aid is colliding with the imperatives of fighting the coronavirus pandemic, as his administration boasts about Americas generosity for countries in dire need while still generating confusion and anger on the global stage. The U.S. has committed more than half a billion dollars in anti-virus aid for foreign countries since January a sign that some administration officials recognize Trumps America First policy cant fully protect Americans from a highly infectious disease that knows no borders. And, they know that if the United States doesnt help, arch-rivals like China and Russia will gladly step in to fill void, in part to advance their narrative that the era of U.S.-led Western leadership is over. For instance, two years after slashing virtually all U.S. aid to the Palestinians, the administration announced on Thursday it would provide $5 million in assistance to Palestinian hospitals and households for immediate, life-saving needs in combating COVID-19. Yet, in just the past several weeks the administration has sent conflicting messages about its commitment to assist, suspending contributions to the very organization tasked with battling the global outbreak and reversing decisions to provide critical equipment like personal protective gear and ventilators to other countries in order to meet domestic needs. It has left aid recipients uncertain about whether grant money from the United States can be used to buy those same items, even if they werent intended for distribution in the U.S. The latest in the jarring moves came Tuesday when Trump announced the suspension of U.S. funding for the World Health Organization pending a review of whether the agency bowed to Chinese demands to downplay the threat of the pandemic in its early stages for political purposes. Just two weeks earlier, the State Department had hailed both WHO and the support U.S. provides it. WHO is coordinating the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and is on the ground in 149 countries around the world, it said in a March 31 fact sheet touting America's generosity. This broad-based effort would not be possible without U.S. support. Story continues An update to that fact sheet, released on Thursday, does not mention WHO. The previous one, though, noted that the U.S. had provided WHO with more than $400 million in 2019, which was more than twice the next largest state contributor and dwarfed the Chinese contribution of $44 million. Trumps funding suspension decision was widely denounced. Abandoning this critical body will only put more lives at risk, said Michelle Nunn, head of the relief agency CARE USA, one of many humanitarian groups to condemn it. The Trump administrations decision to halt funding to the WHO during a global pandemic is dangerous, self-defeating, and short-sighted." Just six days before Trump's announcement, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had announced the U.S. would almost double its overseas virus aid to nearly a half-billion dollars since January. He referred to the unmatched generosity of the American people and said the United States has continued to lead the worlds public health and humanitarian response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pandemics do not respect national borders, he said on April 8. Through decades of U.S. global leadership in health and humanitarian assistance, we know that smart and strategic investments have proven critical to protecting the homeland. As history proves, we can fight pandemics at home and help other nations contain their spread abroad. Pompeo, however, also introduced a caveat to American aid: He said that assistance to the 64 nations identified as most at-risk would not include personal protective equipment and other essential supplies. We will keep all critical medical items in the United States until the demand at home is met, he said. That was a 180-degree shift from what the United States Agency for International Development said March 18 when it announced the release of some $62 million in emergency anti-virus assistance. That aid, it said, would include the provision of personal protective equipment and other critical commodities. U.S. officials are now looking for alternative places to send the more than $400 million in contributions planned for WHO in 2020. But there's already uncertainty about what aid recipients can do with U.S. funds. An April 10 directive from the Federal Emergency Management Agency barring the export of personal protective gear made in the U.S. or by U.S. companies abroad has left many in government and aid organizations confused about what American assistance can be used to buy once it arrives at its destination. Some groups fear that the administration may use that directive or a corollary to ban them from using grant money to purchase certain types of gloves, facemasks and other respirators, according to relief agency officials. One group, Partners in Health, a Massachusetts-based non-governmental group that runs medical facilities in Haiti, said it had been advised through official channels not to apply for funding that could be used to purchase equipment to battle COVID-19, because the funding could be delayed by confusion over whether the U.S. would finance such purchases. It remains unclear whether or not the U.S. government will be accepting applications for funding that includes commodities such as PPE or tests, spokeswoman Elizabeth Campa said. The U.S. government seems to have a hold on anything being sent overseas out of the U.S. related to coronavirus, including money to buy equipment from producers in other countries. Neither the State Department nor USAID would comment on the matter. ____ Associated Press writer Michael Weissenstein in Havana contributed to this report. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 20:33:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The medical consultant expert team from China arrived in Malaysia's Sarawak state on North Borneo on Sunday as the experts continue to share China's experiences to fight the COVID-19 outbreak. The experts were greeted by Cheng Guangzhong, Chinese Consul General in Kuching, the state capital, as well as officials from the state government and health authorities upon their arrivals at the airport. As the state of Sarawak is at a critical state of fighting COVID-19, the arrival of the experts and the medical supplies that they brought would definitely help Sarawak to contain the outbreak, said Cheng, adding that the team will hold discussions with health officials and health personnel during their stay in Sarawak. The medical team arrived in Sarawak after a week of packed schedule in Malaysia's capital of Kuala Lumpur where they visited designated hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients as well as related research institutes. During the visits, the Chinese experts had in-depth discussions with Malaysian officials, medical personnel and researchers on issues related to COVID-19. They also briefed their Malaysian counterparts on the role of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in treating COVID-19 patients in China. The eight-member expert team was organized by China's National Health Commission and selected by the health commission of Guangdong province. They arrived in Malaysia on April 18. Enditem Regional Health System Newer Older Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 In Short: The Beaufort County Hospital Board. US intelligence reports have repeatedly warned the White House of the severe threat of a coronavirus crisis, and ABC News reported that the US administration received the first of these warnings in November 2019. by Vladimir Platov The coronavirus outbreak has and will certainly continue to affect all of our daily lives and reality as we know it. Covid-19 has exposed a multitude of problems that have built up in modern society. Health systems in many different countries have not got enough medical supplies, there are problems with social insurance schemes for citizens and businesses, and the wrong priorities were used in national economic planning and management to justify how budgetary funds were allocated. That is why politicians, economists, bankers and doctors are not the only ones who have been enlisted to adapt how they work and face new challenges in these uncertain times. Intelligence agencies in different countries have also been summoned to the front line in the fight against Covid-19, but the way they are operating differs from country to country, which is more of a reflection of the orders coming from the political elites in these countries. After all, an epidemic is not only a good time to gather intelligence to investigate the causes of the outbreak, but it is also the perfect opportunity to spread misinformation and take advantage of the state of panic. First of all, we should probably mention the fact that monitoring public health and sanitation in different countries and the spread of dangerous infections has always been a key focus for intelligence agencies in countries around the world, as these factors can be detrimental to a countrys national security and the theater of war where an armed conflict takes place. The United States devotes a great amount of energy and resources to this work, constantly investing billions of dollars to set up and run its biolabs, not only on US territory, where they are continuing to develop biological weapons, but also in regions where there could potentially be US military operations in the future. This explains why Washington has been setting up more and more Pentagon biolabs in border countries around Russia and China over the last few years, two countries identified as strategic adversaries in the US National Security Strategy. This is the reason why the United States responsible for unleashing more armed conflicts than any other country in recent years and for launching foreign military interventions in countries all over the world has been constantly ramping up its research into biological warfare, mainly through the Pentagons Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which was created specifically to develop these kinds of military technologies. DARPAs main objectives in this field include work with pathogenic microorganisms, collecting the biological materials in countries of interest (all of these samples are sent back to the United States), studying how susceptible local residents are to various diseases and how responsive they are to treatment, and conducting clinical trials for breakthrough medical treatments on ethnically heterogeneous local populations. It is worth recalling the US National Intelligence Councils Global Trends 2025 report, released back in 2008, which predicted that the emergence of a novel, highly transmissible, and virulent human respiratory illness for which there are no adequate countermeasures could initiate a global pandemic. Moreover, American intelligence experts even named the coronavirus as the disease which could cause this pandemic. The importance of this work in the United States was also stated in a report produced by the Rockefeller Foundation and leading consulting firm Global Business Network in association with American intelligence experts in May 2010, which outlined a scenario of global development in response to a deadly pandemic. It is noteworthy that even back then, the authors of this scenario mentioned that China would be the country capable of mobilizing the best response, highlighting its ability to immediately introduce mandatory quarantines and special measures to protect borders. In 2015, the British scientific journal Nature Medicine published an article about successful experiments conducted at the Fort Detrick biological warfare laboratory. This United States Army Medical Command installation which specializes in developing biological weapons is considered the American devils kitchen for a good reason. The article in Nature reports the successful results of experiments carried out to engineer a virus with the surface protein of the SHC014 coronavirus, found in horseshoe bats in China, so that it could infect human airway cells without first evolving in an intermediate host. In the same year, former German Deputy Defense Secretary Willy Wimmer reported that the US military even patented the new bioweapon. It is worth noting an article published in the New York Times about an anti-epidemic exercise code-named Crimson Contagion that was conducted by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in Washington in 2019 and on the territory of 12 States, which simulated the scenario of a severe influenza pandemic, similar to the coronavirus outbreak in China. US intelligence reports have repeatedly warned the White House of the severe threat of a coronavirus crisis, and ABC News reported that the US administration received the first of these warnings in November 2019. On March 31, Reuters cited official sources in the US administration who confirmed the fact that the US Intelligence Community (IC) is trying to paint an accurate picture of how the novel Covid-19 coronavirus could spread around the world. Why are they doing this? But the activities of the intelligence agencies on the front line in the fight against Covid-19 have not been limited to just monitoring the global spread. Articles have been written about acts of modern piracy the United States has engaged in against its partners in foreign intelligence agencies, intercepting respirators and surgical masks and diverting them to the American market where they are in short supply. US intelligence agencies are now keeping an especially close eye on the progress other countries are making in developing Covid-19 drugs, and are poaching the scientists who are carrying out this research to buy up all the results of their research and ensure that these drugs are only supplied to the United States! The Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger and German news magazine Der Spiegel go into quite a bit of detail on this particular story. The Israeli security services have taken a leaf out of Washingtons book, and have also started practicing these pirate tactics. A recent interview with an anonymous senior Mossad intelligence agency official on an Israeli TV news station has caused a stir in the Middle East, as this person blatantly admitted to the theft of supplies from other countries to secure essential personal protective equipment and medical equipment in the fight against coronavirus, which are now in short supply in countries all over the world. It is becoming clear how Israel has been able to provide itself with a sufficient supply of personal protective equipment, test kits and ventilators in these circumstances, while the rest of the world, including the United States and Canada, is experiencing an acute shortage of them. An article recently published in the New York Times wrote about the Mossads heavy involvement in Israels fight against the virus, and according to Israeli medical and security officials, it has been one of the countrys most valuable assets in acquiring medical equipment and manufacturing technology abroad. Vladimir Platov, Middle East expert, writes for the online magazine New Eastern Outlook, where this piece first appeared. Iran 'Watching' US Activities but Will 'Never' Start Conflict, President Rouhani Says Sputnik News 12:27 GMT 25.04.2020 The development comes as Iran finds itself battling on two fronts: firstly against the coronavirus crisis, that has so far infected over 88,000 Iranians and killed 5,574, and secondly against an increasingly assertive American presence in the Persian Gulf. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared on Saturday that his country is closely watching U.S. activities in the Middle East but would not start a conflict in the region. "The Islamic Republic of Iran follows America's activities and movements closely but it will never be the one that starts conflict and tension in the region," President Rouhani reportedly said during a telephone conversation with Qatar's ruler, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani. Mr Rouhani's comments come amidst increased sabre-rattling between Tehran and Washington. On Wednesday, April 22, President Trump instructed the US Navy operating in the Persian Gulf to shoot at any Iranian ships that target American vessels in the region. Earlier on in April, the U.S. military claimed that 11 Iranian patrol boats harassed a number of its ships in the Persian Gulf by repeatedly sailing too close. Last week, the Pentagon appeared to try and pacify tensions slightly by suggesting that the president's Tweet did not change the rules of American engagement in the Persian Gulf, which are based strictly on self-defense. "The President issued an important warning to the Iranians. What he was emphasizing is all of our ships retain the right of self-defense and people need to be very careful in their interactions to understand the inherent right of self-defense," Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist told reports. Also last week, Iran successfully put into orbit what it described as its first "military satellite." The U.S. response to that launch came thick and fast. U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said at a press conference that Iran's satellite launch was in breach of United Nations Secretary Council resolutions. "Every nation has an obligation to go to the United Nations and evaluate whether this missile launch was consistent with that Security Council resolution," Pompeo told reporters, referring to U.N. Security Council resolution 2231. "I don't think it remotely is, and I think Iran needs to be held accountable for what they have done," he added. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A federal judge says immigrants in government custody are not entitled at least not for now to gloves and other protective equipment when performing mandatory daily cleaning of their living quarters. Although the detainees have shown that their health is at stake from possible exposure to the coronavirus, they have not yet proved the need for a court order requiring the private contractor that runs the facility to share scarce protective gear with them, said U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal of Los Angeles. Assuming adequate supplies for all, it would almost certainly be in the public interest to grant relief and order the contractor to supply the equipment, Bernal said Wednesday. But he said the detainees simply do not make a case that this is the reality in mid-April 2020, when the country is at near peak resource utilization, and even frontline healthcare workers have at times struggled to secure PPE, or personal protective equipment. The suit was filed by inmates at Adelanto (San Bernardino County) and also covers detainees at 11 other facilities run by the GEO Group under contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including Mesa Verde in Bakersfield. They are in custody while awaiting hearings on their legal status or possible deportation. In recent weeks, federal judges have ordered ICE to release medically vulnerable detainees to the custody of friends and relatives because of the dangers of virus exposure in the crowded facilities. U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney of San Francisco has ordered the releases of six inmates, three of them to homes in the Bay Area, and Bernal ordered six detainees freed from Adelanto on April 10. Bernal has also allowed thousands of ICE detainees nationwide to proceed with a class-action suit accusing the government of failing to provide adequate health care. His latest order arose from a suit saying GEO has required detainees, since the outbreak of the coronavirus, to clean up their housing units at least once a day, without providing enough sanitary ingredients or any protective clothing. The suit specifically seeks court orders for gloves and gowns. Bernal said in his order that GEO had been required by federal rules to provide face masks as of April 10, but that it was not clear whether the contractor was complying. But he denied a temporary restraining order to require immediate supplies of gloves and gowns. The judge said he was hesitant to enter an injunction forcing a reallocation of limited PPE resources in GEO facilities. GEOs current distribution of PPE is likely calculated to reduce the overall likelihood of a facility outbreak, he said. He also said GEO had offered evidence that it has encountered supply shortages and shipment delays when attempting to acquire more protective equipment. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. The court hopes that as PPE becomes more widely available, GEO can remove any shortcomings it now has in meeting federal standards, Bernal said. Daniel Charest, a lawyer for the detainees, told the online legal publication Law360 that the ruling was disappointing but at least acknowledged that they were being exposed to harm by the mandatory cleanup duties. The fact that they couldnt take the forced laborers off the work details and still operate safely shows you just how much of the work that GEO is supposed to be doing that they push off on the detainees, Charest said. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko Kim Kardashian is looking on the positive side, as she soaks up quality time with her four children under California's coronavirus lockdown. 'What's your favorite thing about quarantine?' the 39-year-old reality star captioned an adorable Instagram photo of herself with lookalike daughter North, six. 'Mine is hanging with my babies 247.' In the snap, the KKW Beauty founder pouts her plump lips forward, as she matched her eldest in a white sweatshirt with her rapper husband's name emblazoned across the chest in blue glitter. Mother daughter duo: Kim Kardashian matched her eldest in a white sweatshirt with her rapper husband's name emblazoned across the chest in blue glitter While North styled her hair into two trendy buns, her glamorous mom kept her long tresses down and rocked a rose-gold eye shadow. Her post comes just one week after the Stronger hitmaker, 42, whisked their youngsters on a three-day trip to Wyoming, so Kardashian could get some alone time. 'They have been taking turns caring for the kids,' a source told People on Thursday of how the pair are balancing time with North, Saint, four, Chicago, two and baby Psalm, along with their businesses. Dream team: Her post comes just one week after the Stronger hitmaker, 42, whisked their youngsters on a three-day trip to Wyoming, so Kardashian could get some alone time The insider added: 'It's a huge chaos with all the kids at home. Kanye normally escapes to his office for work breaks.' While Kim appears to be changing her tune after a few days off, she has been vocal over the perils of homeschooling and struggling to keep her big brood entertained under quarantine. '[The theater room] is the place that has gotten the most use lately,' Calabasas socialite said in the June/July edition of Vogue. Twins: The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star Kim Kardashian West and eldest daughter North also coordinated looks in Paris back in March 2 'The whole family has spent the last few nights in there after the kids made it into a fort, with, like, different beds all over the floor. My daughter [North] is the fort police. If you move out of your bed that she designated for you, it's a problem.' Earlier this month, she seemed overwhelmed by her kids, as she attempted to film a 'Quarantine glam' makeup routine. After shooing North out of the room, the mother-of-four said: 'I'm hiding in the guest room because my kids will not leave me alone.' 'The whole family has spent the last few nights in there after the kids made it into a fort, with, like, different beds all over the floor. My daughter [North] is the fort police. If you move out of your bed that she designated for you, it's a problem' Like clockwork, North chimed in to tell Kim: 'Hey, that's mean!' prompting Kim to roll her eyes. Despite her attempt to hide, the budding fashionista kept interrupting her mom. North finally headed off with an irritated sigh, as Kim appeared to be losing her patience. Cameo: The KKW Beauty mogul, 39, was in the middle of showing fans how to recreate her at-home look when daughter North, six, wandered in and interrupted On Friday, Forbes Magazine published an article that her husband has reached billionaire status. Despite the massive achievement, the article notes that West was left unhappy with their research and findings - stating that he believes his net worth to be around $3.3 billion, rather than the $1.26 billion they have estimated. 'It's not a billion,' West allegedly texted the publication Thursday night. 'It's $3.3 billion since no one at Forbes knows how to count.' The launch of Hubble Space Telescope on April 24, 1990. This photo captures the first time that there were shuttles on both pad 39a and 39b. This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Rodger I. Thompson, Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona The Hubble Space Telescope launched on the 24th of April, 30 years ago. Its an impressive milestone especially as its expected lifespan was just 10 years. One of the primary reasons for the Hubble telescopes longevity is that it can be serviced and improved with new observational instruments through Space Shuttle visits. When Hubble, or HST, first launched, its instruments could observe ultraviolet light with wavelengths shorter than the eye can see, as well as optical light with wavelengths visible to humans. A maintenance mission in 1997 added an instrument to observe near infrared light, which are longer wavelengths than people can see. Hubbles new infrared eyes provided two new major capabilities: the ability to see farther into space than before and see deeper into the dusty regions of star formation. I am an astrophysicist at the University of Arizona who has used near infrared observations to better understand how the universe works, from star formation to cosmology. Some 35 years ago, I was given the chance to build a near infrared camera and spectrometer for Hubble. It was the chance of a lifetime. The camera my team designed and developed has changed the way humans see and understand the universe. The instrument was built at Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colorado, under our direction. A typical image taken with NICMOS. It shows a gigantic star cluster in the center of our Milky Way. NICMOS, thanks to its infrared capabilities, is able to look through the heavy clouds of dust and gas in these central regions. (Image credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI) Seeing further and earlier Edwin Hubble, HSTs namesake, discovered in the early 1900s that the universe is expanding and that the light from distant galaxies was shifted to longer, redder wavelengths, a phenomenon called the redshift. The greater the distance, the larger the shift. This is because the further away an object is, the longer it takes for the light to reach us here on Earth and the more the universe has expanded in that time. The Hubble ultraviolet and optical instruments had taken images of the most distant galaxies ever seen, known as the Northern Hubble Deep Field, or NHDF, which were released in 1996. These images, however, had reached their distance limit due to the redshift, which had shifted all of the light of the most distant galaxies out of the visible and into the infrared. One of the new instruments added to Hubble in the second maintenance mission has the awkward name, the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer, NICMOS, pronounced Nick Moss. The near infrared cameras on NICMOS observed regions of the NHDF and discovered even more distant galaxies with all of their light in the near infrared. A typical image taken with NICMOS. It shows a gigantic star cluster in the center of our Milky Way. NICMOS, thanks to its infrared capabilities, is able to look through the heavy clouds of dust and gas in these central regions. (Image credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI) Astronomers have the privilege of watching things happen in the past which they call the lookback time. Our best measurement of the age of the universe is 13.7 billion years. The distance that light travels in one year is called a light year. The most distant galaxies observed by NICMOS were at a distance of almost 13 billion light years. This meant that the light that NICMOS detected had been traveling for 13 billion years and showed what the galaxies looked like 13 billion years ago, a time when the universe was only about 5% of its current age. These were some of the first galaxies ever created and were forming new stars at rates that were more than a thousand times the rate at which most galaxies form stars in the current universe. Hidden by dust Although astronomers have studied star formation for decades, many questions remain. Part of the problem is that most stars are formed in clouds of molecules and dust. The dust absorbs the ultraviolet and most of the optical light emitted by forming stars, making it difficult for Hubbles ultraviolet and optical instruments to study the process. The longer, or redder, the wavelength of the light, the less is absorbed. That is why sunsets, where the light must pass through long lengths of dusty air, appear red. The near infrared, however, has an even easier time passing through dust than the red optical light. NICMOS can look into star formation regions with the superior image quality of Hubble to determine the details of where the star formation occurs. A good example is the iconic Hubble image of the Eagle Nebula, also known as the pillars of creation. The optical image shows majestic pillars which appear to show star formation over a large volume of space. The NICMOS image, however, shows a different picture. In the NICMOS image, most of the pillars are transparent with no star formation. Stars are only being formed at the tip of the pillars. The optical pillars are just empty dust reflecting the light of a group of nearby stars. The Eagle Nebula in visible light. (Image credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)) In this Hubble Space Telescope image is the Eagle Nebulas Pillars of Creation. Here, the pillars are seen in infrared light, which pierces through obscuring dust and gas and unveils a more unfamiliar but just as amazing view of the pillars. (Image credit: NASA, ESA/Hubble and the Hubble Heritage Team) The dawning of the age of infrared When NICMOS was added into the HST in 1997 NASA had no plans for a future infrared space mission. That rapidly changed as the results from NICMOS became apparent. Based on the data from NICMOS, scientists learned that fully formed galaxies existed in the universe much earlier than expected. The NICMOS images also confirmed that the expansion of the universe is accelerating rather than slowing down as previously thought. The NHDF infrared images were followed by the Hubble Ultra Deep Field images in 2005, which further showed the power of near infrared imaging of distant young galaxies. So NASA decided to invest in the James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, a telescope much larger than HST and completely dedicated to infrared observations. On Hubble, a near infrared imager was added to the third version of the Wide Field camera which was installed in May of 2009. This camera used an improved version of the NICMOS detector arrays that had more sensitivity and a wider field of view. The James Webb Space Telescope has much larger versions of the NICMOS detector arrays that have more wavelength coverage than the previous versions. The James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to be launched in March 2021, followed by the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope, form the bulk of future space missions for NASA. These programs were all spawned by the near infrared observations by HST. They were enabled by the original investment for a near infrared camera and spectrometer to give Hubble its infrared eyes. With the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers expect to see the very first galaxies that formed in the universe. [Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversations newsletter.] This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates and become part of the discussion on Facebook and Twitter. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. Secretary of State Jena Griswold is asking the Colorado Supreme Court to overturn a decision that added a U.S. Senate candidate to the Democratic primary ballot despite her failing to collect enough petition signatures, saying the lower court ruling was unfair to those who did. Late Friday night, Griswold appealed a decision handed down Tuesday by Denver District Court Judge Christopher J. Baumann ruling that Michelle Ferrigno Warren had qualified for the ballot with 5,383 valid signatures just over half the 10,500 signatures required for statewide candidates because her petition efforts were stymied by the coronavirus pandemic. The ruling added Warren to a primary ballot that already listed former Gov. John Hickenlooper, who qualified by petition, and former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, who emerged from the caucus and assembly process. The winner of the June 30 primary will face U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner in a contest that could determine which party holds the Senate majority after the November elections. Baumann ruled that Warren "substantially complied" with signature requirements, considering her circulators "had to collect petition signatures in the shadow of a global pandemic and looming public health emergency." Petitions were due March 17, a week after Gov. Jared Polis declared a state of emergency in response to a growing number of coronavirus cases. Griswold, represented by an assistant attorney general, argued that Baumann's ruling was unfair to candidates who complied with statutory requirements, as well as candidates who who failed to collect enough signatures but didn't ask a judge to overlook their shortfalls. A spokeswoman for the Secretary of State's Office said in a statement that Griswold "recognizes the challenges posed by the coronavirus" but wants the courts to "apply a uniform standard across the board out of fairness to all candidates." Thats why the Secretary of States Office is appealing the Ferrigno Warren District Court case. Given the gravity of this decision, the Colorado Supreme Court should have the opportunity to weigh in and we hope it will issue a uniform standard that can be applied to all similar cases," said Betsy Hart, Griswold's spokeswoman. Across North Carolina Related to: Travel Living Older Page 1 Stan Deatherage takes pictures all over North Carolina, from the mountains to the coast and very much in between. Here, we explore what goes on within the photographer's eye of this Tar heel traveler, who valiantly shoots first and uploads later. Jair Bolsonaro, President of Brazil | To his base, he can simply do no wrong. Its the rest of Brazil, and the world, that is left to count the cost, writes Dan Stewart, Times International editor. (Image: Reuters) President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil was struggling to govern effectively long before the explosive resignation speech of his star Cabinet minister, who basically called his soon-to-be former boss a criminal. Bolsonaro became a president without a political party in November, after falling out with leaders of the Social Liberal Party, which had backed his presidential bid. Several political allies including two of Bolsonaros sons are under investigation in a series of criminal and legislative inquiries. They include suspected money-laundering schemes and defamatory disinformation campaigns waged online. In recent weeks, Bolsonaros strikingly dismissive response to the coronavirus pandemic, which he has called a measly cold that cannot be allowed to throttle economic growth, generated calls for impeachment at home and bewilderment abroad. Given those challenges, which have left Bolsonaro deeply isolated, the dramatic exit of Justice Minister Sergio Moro on Friday was seen by critics and supporters of the president as a potentially destructive blow to his grip on power as his second year in office gets underway amid a public health crisis and a recession. COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show Known for his bombast and braggadocio, Bolsonaro may be gambling that lawmakers will not dare to impeach him and put Brazil, Latin Americas largest country, through another political spectacle like the one that felled a predecessor, Dilma Rousseff, four years ago. It remains unclear what the recent developments will mean for his support base, which includes evangelical Christians and a stable of military leaders he appointed to top jobs. Moro, a former federal judge who became the most iconic figure of an anti-corruption crusade that sparked hope across Latin America in recent years, resigned in protest after Bolsonaro fired the federal police chief, Mauricio Valeixo. In an extraordinary televised address delivered Friday morning from the Justice Ministry in Brasilia, the capital, Moro said Bolsonaro intended to appoint a new police head that would do his political bidding by keeping him abreast of investigations and compiling intelligence dossiers at the presidents request. Bolsonaro intends to appoint Alexandre Ramagem, the current head of Brazils intelligence agency, as the new police chief, according to reports in the Brazilian press. Ramagem was Bolsonaros head of security during his presidential campaign. Moros accusation prompted Attorney General Augusto Aras to ask the Supreme Court to open a criminal investigation into the conduct Moro had described, saying that if confirmed, it amounted to obstruction of justice and other crimes. This all wears down the government at a time when all energies should be focused on fighting the virus and shoring up the economy, which is mired in crisis given the growing unemployment, misery and hunger, Sen. Sergio Olimpio Gomes, who until recently had been among Bolsonaros top allies in Congress, said Friday night. What happened yesterday constituted a perfect storm. As Brazils coronavirus contagion accelerated this past week, with nearly 53,000 confirmed cases and 3,670 deaths, speculation intensified over how much longer Bolsonaro would last in power as talk of impeachment and resignation ramped up. The president is digging his own grave, former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who governed from 1995 to 2002, wrote in a message on Twitter. May he quit before hes removed. Spare us, on top of the coronavirus, from a long impeachment process. Gilmar Mendes, a Supreme Court justice, said Saturday that it was hard to predict just how damaging the investigations will be for Bolsonaro. Up until recently, I had the sense that the political class had no interest in talking about impeachment, he said. Now this is being discussed again with greater frequency. Bolsonaro appeared to grasp the political peril he faced when he delivered a long, defiant address Friday night in which he called Moro a liar and opportunist. The government endures, Bolsonaro said toward the end, flanked by his remaining ministers. The pandemic has upended the governments economic policies, which sought to promote growth through austerity initiatives, privatizations and embracing free market reforms to attract foreign investment. That ultra free market talk has run head-on into the needs imposed by the pandemic, said Laura Carvalho, an economist in Sao Paulo, noting that the government has been forced to violate its own spending caps and create new welfare programs. Given how slowly and haltingly Brazils economy had been bouncing back from the recession that began in 2015, the long-term prospects are grim, she said. There is no reason to expect the recovery will be swift, she said. The departure of Moro now confronts Bolsonaro with a powerful political rival who has long been assumed to harbor presidential ambitions of his own. Jose Augusto Rosa, a congressional leader who heads a conservative pro-gun faction colloquially called the bullet caucus, called Moros departure a self-inflicted wound for a president struggling to manage the response to the pandemic and the resulting economic contraction, which economists predict will be about five percent this year. Moro was a pillar of stability in the governments base, representing the fight against corruption and organized crime, said Rosa, whose faction has broadly supported Bolsonaro. This is a huge blow. A spokeswoman for Vem Pra Rua, an influential anti-corruption movement, said Moros resignation would erode Bolsonaros support base. The movement led massive demonstrations that helped to weaken the leftist party Bolsonaro defeated in his presidential bid. It was an ugly betrayal, Adelaide de Oliveira, a spokeswoman for the group, said in reference to Bolsonaros alienation of Moro. All Brazil poured out into the streets and we fought for many years to empower someone who genuinely wanted to do away with corruption in the country. Sadly, the dream ended today. While several Latin American leaders have seen a bounce in public opinion as they imposed strict quarantine measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Bolsonaros popularity has dropped amid what critics call a flailing response. The presidents opposition to social distancing measures led him to fire his popular health minister last week and pick fights with some of the countrys most powerful governors. Acacio Machado, a 70-year-old retiree in Rio de Janeiro who voted for Bolsonaro in 2018, said he has come to regret his choice in recent months. I voted hoping there would be a change, but I was fooled, he said, adding that many friends who voted for Bolsonaro had also come to rue their decision. If I had had a crystal ball at the time, I would have spoiled my ballot. c.2020 The New York Times Company Megha Sharma and Gaurav Sapra planned to wed in New Delhi a 5-day celebration of their love with hundreds of family and friends. Then COVID-19 hit. The Edmonton couple had to cancel reservations for a grand banquet hall and accommodations, as well as airline tickets for Sharma's family. But within days, they revamped their plans to create something new an online traditional Hindu wedding that followed public health measures. On April 17, nearly 500 guests tuned in via Zoom from India, Nigeria, Dubai, Australia, the U.S. and Canada. Dressed in suits and saris, they danced and feasted for hours. "They were hooting for us when we were exchanging the garlands and doing the rituals and they were clapping and singing and dancing, playing music and teasing us," said Sharma, laughing as she recalled the festivities. "We really felt that they were together with us in the room. It was so amazing." Swati Sharma From their new home in southwest Edmonton, still decorated with colourful banners, the beaming couple shared their story on Wednesday by video call with CBC News. They recalled the heartache after the pandemic wiped out months of wedding plans. Friends had organized music and dancing to welcome the couple at the New Delhi airport; there was shopping to be done and bachelor and bachelorette parties to attend; Sharma would meet Sapra's parents for the first time. They held out hope until the last minute before cancelling their month-long trip to India. "We were all crying," Sharma said. "Our hopes were shattered, completely shattered." The families decided to go ahead with a brief legal wedding ceremony on April 14. But they soon realized COVID-19 didn't mean they had to give up their dream of a traditional ceremony on April 17. They would do it online instead. Swati Sharma Within three days, they found a local priest ready to perform a ceremony mindful of public health orders. They tracked down garlands, turmeric and as many other ceremonial items as they could find. Traditional Hindu rituals were performed in unique ways. Story continues Rather than having a professional henna tattoo artist paint Sharma's hands and feet at a party during the Mehendi ceremony, intricate designs were applied by her sister at home. Swati Sharma also took on the role of photographer, chef and determined wedding planner. "During this pandemic if you want to conduct something as big as a marriage, it is possible, if you are taking all of your social distancing precautions," Swati said. "There is nothing that you cannot do." Swati Sharma 'Almost 500 people saw it live' On April 17 10:30 a.m. Edmonton time, 10 p.m. New Delhi time Gaurav Sapra and Megha Sharma became husband and wife in front of hundreds of loved ones. The ceremony took place at Swati's home where three laptops allowed guests to tune in as the couple exchanged vows and circled the sacred fire. On a big screen TV in the living room, the groom's parents and brother in India could be seen dancing and participating in the ceremony. "Almost 500 people saw it live," said Gaurav, explaining that by that point many guests would have typically gone home. "Because this was the only thing happening, people were on the call for almost three hours." The wedding finally wrapped up with the Griha Pravesh ceremony that welcomes the bride into her new home. On WhatsApp from India, Sapra's mom guided them through the ritual for prosperity and good luck. Swati Sharma Both graduates of MacEwan University and originally from New Delhi, it's been four years since the couple met on Facebook. Sapra inquired about a textbook Sharma wanted to sell. A year later they bumped into each other and quickly fell in love. Now settling into their new home, Sharma praised her husband's homemaking skills. Traditionally, the in-laws would do all the cooking until the bride's henna fades. But with his parents in India, and only minimal cooking skills, Sapra used his time in self-isolation to perfect delicacies such as shahi paneer and dal makhani for his vegetarian wife. Megha Sharma "He is taking such good care of me and he is not letting me work," Sharma said, provoking laughter from Sapra. "He's doing everything by himself so that I don't feel I'm not getting the treatment I would have gotten, had I been in India with his family." In the future, the newlyweds hope to travel to India for an in-person traditional wedding celebration. But for those debating whether to go ahead with upcoming nuptials, they say go for it. "Who knows what's going to happen in the next few months," Gaurev said. "Whatever's happening in the world, at least in your world you have created a happy moment for yourself. It's just going to make your life much more beautiful." ALTON Few places conjure the nostalgia of a bygone era like drive-in movie theaters, and Starlight Drive-In formerly located on College Avenue just west of Homer Adams Parkway in Alton holds a special place in the hearts of local moviegoers who visited the theater in groves each weekend during its 35 years of operation. I remember having my first kiss there, said Richard Kitsmiller. Going to get snacks was always fun. I remember the strong smell of popcorn and they had those metal poles keeping everyone in line. Seeing the different people sitting in their cars, I always wondered what their lives were like. Having opened in 1950, the theater originally had space for 400 cars and beckoned moviegoers of the time with its futuristic screen tower and theater name in giant illuminated letters. I went to see a John Wayne movie on Christmas of 1969, said Phyllis Bierman. It was cold. There were heaters on the speaker posts that you could put in the car and have the illusion of heat. In the summer, you could be eaten by mosquitoes and watch a movie at the same time. A second screen was added in the mid-70s and a playground built soon after. I remember going and sitting on top of the car or in the back of a truck in sleeping bags, watching the movies, playing on the swing sets in front of the screen just before the movie started, said Phillip McFarlane. It was pretty close to where we lived on Milton Road. I think we saw some of the Star Wars movies there good childhood memories. Watching movies on outdoor screens from a car had its perks, offering a variety of experiences unique to drive-in theaters. When there was a break in the film, everyone would honk until it was fixed and the movie resumed, said Bierman. Someone always had an aftermarket weird horn. I remember one year the cicadas being really loud as my dad tried to raise the volume up, said Kitsmiller. Doug Bush, another Alton resident, said he had a friend who lived close enough to the theater that he could watch movies from his bedroom window. No sound, but the screen was big enough you could watch from across Homer Adams Parkway, he said. Todd Keith said he remembered his dad sneaking in grocery bags of popcorn by putting them in the trunk and Jason Rexford said he remembered packing as many people as we could into the station wagon and sitting on the roof watching the movies. Although the Starlight closed in 1984, the Bel-Air Drive-In located in Pontoon Beach off historic Route 66 remained open until 1987. Once owned by Bloomer Amusement Co. who also once owned the Starlight, the Bel-Air was similar if not slightly smaller than Altons theater. Demolished in the mid-90s, the site of the theater is now an industrial park. Going to the drive-in was an exciting thing to do back then, said Kitsmiller. When we were kids on a hot summer evening and (my) dad would say lets go to the drive-in, (I remember) the excitement I shared with my brother jumping in the back seat of my parents red Maverick. The Bloomer family once owned as many as 17 theaters in the area, including the Starlight Drive-In and Cameo theaters in Alton, as well as the Bel-Air Drive-In in Pontoon Beach, the Skyview Drive-In in Belleville and Roxana Cine in Roxana, Illinois. We had the Starlight and then in the mid-80s we bought the Cameo, said Steve Bloomer, owner of Bel-Air Drive-In, built in 1949 by Bloomers grandfather, Frank Bloomer, and Frank Bloomers two brothers, Tom and Leslie. We had the Cine in Roxana and bought that one in the late 60s. I think its a church or something now. The Skyview Drive-In remains the only operating theater still owned by the Bloomer family. Reporters note: Some information contained in this story, such as opening and closing dates, was obtained from cinematreasures.com - Read below for more memories from Alton residents: I seen Escape from New York with some older kids I hung out with back then and I had to sneak out of the house. I ended up getting caught by my parents. My little brother ratted me out because I wouldnt take him. -Richard Kitsmiller I remember seeing Smokey and the Bandit there and Star Wars on a re-release. Im sure I saw others, but those two stand out. -Dan Deck I remember seeing Kenny Rogers film called Six Pack there with my Dad. I also remember riding my bike up there and sneaking in and watching a sci-fi movie on the back screen. -Todd Keith I saw a couple movies there, (such as) Close encounters of the Third Kind. -Doug Bush I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark there. I think The Incredible Shrinking Woman was on the other screen. -Jason Rexford Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 22:27:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislature Sunday began deliberating a draft decision to authorize the State Council to temporarily adjust relevant laws and regulations in the Hainan pilot free trade zone. The main content of the draft decision includes temporary adjustments of the land administration law, the seed law and the maritime law. It is a major decision to support the construction of the Hainan pilot free trade zone and a free trade port with Chinese characteristics, according to Yuan Shuhong, vice minister of the Ministry of Justice. The move aims to support Hainan to deepen its reform and opening-up in an all-round way and promote the implementation of the pilot policy in the Hainan pilot free trade zone, said Yuan. The draft decision clarifies that the trial implementation of the adjustments will be no later than December 31, 2024. Enditem Meera Bhardwaj By Express News Service BENGALURU: Siddanapalya and Chinnaiahnapalyatwo backward villages in Anekal taluk of Bengaluru Rural districtdaily see a band of youngsters come there and give them gyaan on coronavirus and provide essentials.Murali Prabhas, a young startup entrepreneur, and three other fellow engineers, Thasneem Fathima, Sushmitha Singh and R Nisha, trudge every day from Whitefield to Anekal to provide succour to these affected villages due to the lockdown. Another member is Dr Raj Kumar who is busy with his medical duties but contributes to their volunteering programme in kind and cash. They load their vehicles with rice, pulses and spices as also medicines and hygiene kits for distribution in these villages, just 50km from Bengaluru. The group tries to create awareness about the deadly Covid-19 disease and the need to maintain personal hygiene hand washing and social distancing. However, it is easier said than done as the professionals from Bengaluru say the attention span of people is just five minutes when one talks about coronavirus and its deadly effect while the attraction for food and hygiene kits is more. The Humanity First group has been involved in social work for the last five years and they say the present work has not been easy as the villages with a population of 1,000-1,200 are completely unaware of what is happening in the world. Murali says, None of them adheres to any rules of the national lockdown. As far as social distancing is concerned, it is an alien concept for them. Members of Humanity First distribute food at a village in Anekal taluk | Express Presently, this group has been preparing food like pulao/tomato bhath/bisibele bhath/puliyogire at the villages itself as any packed food is not welcome here. The days menu is prepared taking help from a select band of 10 villagers while the vegetables are purchased from the farmers here. This makes it easy for the group to deal with them as they are highly suspicious, says a group member. Only 4-5 of us go every day as we have to maintain social distancing. The villagers crowd around us as soon as we reach. Food is such an attraction that some residents bring vessels instead of plates. We have been teaching them how to wash hands, wear masks and keep a distance of 12 feet from one another. For them, the kit is a big attraction apart from the food and within 5 minutes, we have to teach them about hygiene. The hygiene kit comprises a bottle of sanitiser, mask, bath and washing soaps, sanitary pads, shampoo and a strip of Dolo 650 a paracetamol. Every day, kits worth Rs 12,000 are distributed to children who are above 14 years. For food preparation, they spend about Rs 6,000 per day.The group is managing this work from its own savings and small donations from their friends and relatives while one of the members brings his vehicle for distribution work. In these villages, one can find migrant labourers from UP, Bihar and Odisha who work in the nearby iron and steel fabrication units, garment factories and a pharmaceutical company. Since the units are closed, the migrants have been managing with free rations from the government. For the migrants, these are hard times and even a single food item that they get from these youngsters is welcome. The Humanity First has tied up with a womens group who are making sanitisers and masks and they are helping them to market 2,000 masks and 10 litres of sanitiser.For this dedicated group of youngsters, it is with a prayer on their lips that they go to these villages to do their bit. People await our arrival every day and we cannot miss it even for one day in such harsh times, they say. SERVICE THEIR MOTTO From 2014 onwards, Murali Prabhas has done a lot of backend work for charity trusts and Rotary. He and his friends built four washrooms for the Divine Blind School in 2016. After his visit to a school in Kolar district where children were wearing torn uniforms, Murali and his friends decided to take up social work and adopted two slums between Kadugodi and Whitefield in Bengaluru. For three years, they taught science and mathematics and distributed textbooks to Class 10 children in the slums. On the Frontline Against China, the US Coast Guard Is Taking on Missions the US Navy Can't Do Competition with China has drawn more Pentagon resources to the Pacific, but the most visible U.S. military presence there... 80% patients in Maharashtra asymptomatic, says CM Uddhav Thackeray India oi-Madhuri Adnal Mumbai, Apr 26: Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday 80% patients who are asymptomatic and 20% are there who have mild, serious or critical symptoms. During his address to state, Maharashtra Chief Minister said,''We have 80% patients who are asymptomatic and 20% are there who have mild, serious or critical symptoms. We have to see how these people are also saved. Those who are hiding it and not getting tested, if you have symptoms please go and get tested.'' Thackeray urged migrant labourers not to panic and that he is talking to the centre and whatever is possible will be done soon. "I assure the migrant labourers that I am talking to the centre and whatever is possible will be done soon. One thing is sure that trains are not starting because we don't want a crowd, otherwise, lockdown will be needed to be further extended. We are trying to find a solution for migrants who want to go back to their homes," Maharashtra Chief Minister said. He also thanked people for celebrating festival like Akshaya Tritiya from home during coronavirus lockdown. He also urged the Muslim community not to go out to pray during Ramzan amid lockdown. Chief Minister also paid homage to two Mumbai Police officials who lost their life due to coronavirus. "It is painful that 2 of our policemen have sacrificed their lives. I pay homage to them. Their families will be supported as per the government policy," Thackeray said. Maharashtra currently has 7,628 cases, the highest in the country. A chunk of them are from Mumbai, the country's financial capital. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, April 26, 2020, 15:16 [IST] As we approach year three of the pandemic, its safe to say weve learned to be more cautious and flexible with our plans. And with the omicro Veteran award-winning journalist Joe Hart has been selected as the next editor of the Delaware County Daily and Sunday Times and Delcotimes.com , Senior Publisher Edward S. Condra announced. He succeeds longtime editor Phil Heron, who retired on April 17. I cant think of anyone better suited to take over the reins than Joe Hart, said Heron. Hes a Delco native with rock-solid journalistic skills and a lifetime of experience. They picked the right person for the job. I cant think of anyone better suited to take over the reins than Joe Hart, said Heron. Hes a Delco native with rock-solid journalistic skills and a lifetime of experience. They picked the right person for the job. This really was an easy decision, Joe Hart is the only choice to lead the Daily Times editorial team, Condra said. Joe started here as an intern right out of college and has literally done and excelled at every job in the newsroom. Joe has been a driving force since day one and his knowledge and enthusiasm for his job and the community are amazing. I look forward to working with Joe in his new role. Hart moved to the copy desk in 1993, learning the art of writing headlines under Herons careful tutelage, and went on the city desk five years later, working closely with reporters to develop stories. He was named associate editor of the paper in 2004. The recipient of many regional and state awards for his stories, headlines and editorials, he is proudest of being only the second winner of a Delaware County Press Club Award of Excellence for leading a series examining the plight of the mentally ill. Born in South Philadelphia, Hart was raised in Springfield and graduated from Cardinal OHara High School. He attended West Chester University and currently resides in Lansdowne. I am thrilled to have this opportunity, Hart said. Following Phil is a formidable task but I learned so much from him and other great journalists like Linda DeMeglio, Frank Zini and Stu Rose, who hired me. These are very challenging times for our community and my industry. But I couldnt have better colleagues and I promise we will continue to give our readers the very best that we have. Joe Hart can be reached at 484-521-3130 or editor@delcotimes.com. Hart, 58, literally grew up at the Daily Times. He started as a summer college intern in 1983 and was hired as a full-time reporter that December. During his years as a reporter he covered the city of Chester, the Chester Upland School District and Delaware County government while also juggling all manner of breaking news and features. Along the way he developed a specialty in mental health issues and politics and is a self-described political junkie. Among his most memorable assignments were walking from Washington, D.C., to Marcus Hook with a group of Vietnam veterans dubbed Delco Company in 1988 and also traveling to Rome in 2000 to cover the canonization of St. Katharine Drexel. Watertown, NY (13601) Today Snow showers this evening becoming more scattered later. Low near 25F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 40%.. Tonight Snow showers this evening becoming more scattered later. Low near 25F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 40%. At crucial meeting of PM with CMs, migrant issue to be main point of discussion India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Apr 26: A crucial meeting of the chief ministers will be held on Monday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi would interact with the CMs of all states and UTs to discuss the coronavirus situation. The key agenda of the meeting would be relating to the migrants labour, who are stuck in various parts of the country. During a meeting chaired by Union Cabinet Secretary, Rajiv Gauba with the chief secretaries of the states, this point had come up for discussion. The PM during his interaction is likely to ask the states, if they are ready to take back the migrants. A road map on how to go about this too would be discussed during the meeting. Further the meeting would discuss the guidelines to set in place regarding opening of industries and other services outside the containment zones. The PM would also take stock of the situation and advise states which are not implementing the lockdown correctly to do so more stringently. A top official told OneIndia that the PM is unhappy with the way in which some states are enforcing the lockdown. This is a very crucial stage of the battle abasing the coronavirus and all states and UTs must adhere to the norms set by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The PM would reiterate that the checking needs to be uniform in nature. He would also tell the states focus would need to be on the containment zones even while relaxing the restrictions. The officer cited above said, while the Centre could issue broad guidelines, states would have to take a call depending on the situation. While easing of norms without the required checks would not be a feasible option, the states are free to impose stricter restrictions depending on the situation. States such as Bihar have said that it would be hard for the state to take a call on such issues all by itself. Hence, the Centre would need to come up with a protocol. During the meeting of the Chief Secretaries, West Bengal said that the situation is under control. However Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said that there are a several loaded trucks stuck at the Indo-Bangladesh border and this would need urgent action. During the meeting with the PM, the Kerala CM would raise the issue of Indians stuck abroad. There are around 5 lakh Malayali workers stuck abroad and they would need to be brought back. The state is under immense pressure on this issue, Kerala's chief secretary Tom Jose had pointed out. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, April 26, 2020, 8:05 [IST] MONDAY, MARCH 23 I got into a feisty debate with Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Good Morning Britain today, prompting a flood of complaints to ITV and the TV regulator Ofcom about me being too hard on him and demanding that I apologise. Well sorry, but I wont be making any apology for holding Government Ministers feet to the fire over this crisis, particularly given Britains wildly changing outlier strategy to combat Covid-19 and our abject failure to prepare properly for the pandemic with anywhere near enough tests or protective kit for health workers. Im not talking to you, Morgan! Sir Bob Geldof joked. I said at Christmas I was never going to be interviewed by you! Of course, Bob then did talk to me, via Skype from his London home, and we discussed the lockdown One of the things Mr Hancock failed to explain adequately when I challenged him is why were still charging NHS staff to park in hospitals during the crisis? Its never made sense to me that we financially punish poorly paid health heroes for going to work to save our lives, but its especially appalling at a time like this. TUESDAY, MARCH 24 At a party in December, Sir Bob Geldof told me he would never be interviewed by me because, as he put it in his typical fruity language: Youre too f****** good a journalist and will get me to say stuff I dont want to say! Today he appeared on GMB, and the irony wasnt lost on us. Im not talking to you, Morgan! he joked. I said at Christmas I was never going to be interviewed by you! Of course, Bob then did talk to me, via Skype from his London home, and we discussed the lockdown. The thing is, he chortled, self-isolation is easy for you, Morgan. Nobody wants to be anywhere near you anyway! WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25 I woke up today to several hospital nurses sending me photos of parking tickets they received for working longer shifts than normal. Kirstie Allsopp, whom I know well and like ranted hysterically on Twitter after people criticised her for decamping her family to their luxury holiday house in Devon when her husband tested positive for the virus, angering locals who want second-home townies to stay away to avoid bringing the disease with them This incensed me so much that I ripped into Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick for the Government not immediately ordering free parking for all NHS staff as they fight the virus. Were already indebted to them, he blustered. Anything further we could be doing. Piers, we should be considering. We asked Matt Hancock about this on Monday and nothing has been done 48 hours later, I raged back. Its shameful! I then vowed to pay personally for any and all parking fines sustained by NHS staff. Talking to them straight down the camera, I said: I will pay them and then go to the Government and have the battle with them you dont get involved. At 9pm tonight the Government announced free parking for all NHS staff and care workers for the duration of the crisis. Im pleased they finally listened, but the least we can do for NHS staff after all this is over is never charge them again for parking at hospitals. THURSDAY, MARCH 26 My tolerance of self-absorbed celebrity whining, which was already extremely low, has reached Ground Zero during this crisis. Kirstie Allsopp, whom I know well and like ranted hysterically on Twitter after people criticised her for decamping her family to their luxury holiday house in Devon when her husband tested positive for the virus, angering locals who want second-home townies to stay away to avoid bringing the disease with them. The last 24 hours has been utterly horrible, full of vile, unpleasant and frankly frightening comments, she wailed, seemingly oblivious to the fact that NHS staff are currently going through something a lot more horrible, vile, unpleasant and frankly frightening. Friend or no friend, this tone-deaf public wallowing was beyond the pale. Kirstie, I replied, youre rich, privileged, and isolating in a lavish country home with your family. Maybe stop making this crisis about your struggle with trolls & direct your energy into rallying support for NHS workers risking their lives for us all in very dangerous circumstances? She exploded with foul-mouthed fury. You total B******, there was NO need to Retweet that to your millions of followers, it was totally unnecessary and unkind. She added that I was scum and using the crisis to further your career. Ironically, this was precisely the type of horrible, vile and unpleasant trolling that Kirstie was moaning about in the first place. Oh, get over yourself, I retorted. Seriously. People are dying and others are risking their lives to save them. Get a grip and help them. Kirstie responded by blocking me, and then deleting her original whining tweets, which suggests she agreed with me but still wanted to throw her me-me-me toys out of the pram. Fortunately, not everyone is being so self-absorbed. Tonight I was thrilled to see the whole country join in clapping for our carers. It was truly the most spine-tingling act of national unity Ive ever seen, and it will have given our healthcare heroes such a boost when they most need it. Bravo, Britain! MONDAY, MARCH 30 My 55th birthday. Usually Id be celebrating with a wild party in Hollywood. Today was a little quieter! But I did have the great pleasure of interviewing Bob Weighton, the worlds oldest man, who was 112 yesterday and has survived two world wars and the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918. He said he didnt like offering advice because if people take it, and things go wrong, then you get the blame! But he did proffer this pearl of wisdom: What Ive learnt in my life is that its far better to make a friend out of a possible enemy than an enemy out of a possible friend. The twins were coming. Jennifer Laubach was battling COVID-19 symptoms the day her water broke. So was her husband, who raced upstairs to pack his wife's hospital bag, worried as she wasn't due for another eight weeks. But when he returned with the bag, the virus took over. Andre Laubach was overcome by a violent cough, gasped for air and couldn't speak, so his wife headed to the hospital with him in the passenger seat. But while driving through their Clarkston, Michigan, neighborhood, they got a call from their doctor: The dad's coronavirus test results were in. He tested positive. He couldn't go to the hospital. So Jennifer Laubach turned the car around. "When I dropped him back off at home, I was worried that I might not see him again," Jennifer Laubach recalled. "I was afraid he was going to die in his sleep, and he was all by himself." As her husband got out of the car, she said, "I love you." He could only nod. (L to R) Twins Mitchell and Maksim Laubach inside the neonatal intensive care unit at the Troy Beaumont Hospital in Troy, Mich., on April 25, 2020. Full coverage: Your coronavirus resource guide The Laubachs are among 37,000 Michiganders who have been infected by the novel coronavirus that to date has afflicted more than 934,000 Americans and killed more than 53,000. More than 3,000 have died in our state. Their story, though, is one of survival. Andre Laubach, a 36-year-old attorney, overcame the virus that took over his lungs and caused him to miss out on the birth of his twin sons, Mitchell and Maksim, who were born early on April 3. Mitchell weighed 3 pounds, his brother 4. Neither baby has the virus. On Saturday, after three weeks of being cared for by nurses and doctors, baby Mitchell finally came home. His brother Maksim, who is still fighting some lung issues, is due home in about three to five days. The Laubachs are now sharing their story, they said, to clear up any misconceptions about how serious COVID-19 is. The virus caused the mom to go into early labor, they said, and nearly cost the father his life. Story continues "I want everyone to know that they need to take this virus seriously," said Jennifer Laubach, 36, a controller for a construction firm who gets frustrated by social media comments that claim COVID-19 isn't a big deal. "I'm like 'Oh my God. If you only knew. It's not just a cold.' " Jen and Andre Laubach in their Clarkston, Mich., home with one of their newborn twins, Mitchell James Laubach after leaving the Troy Beaumont Hospital in Troy, Mich., on April 25, 2020. 'I was seeing stars' After his wife drove off for the hospital, Andre Laubach slowly made his way back to the house and laid down. His mind raced. "I thought, 'I know I'm going to miss the birth of my children. But I'm on the brink of death,' " recalled Andre Laubach, who has asthma and struggled to breathe, gasping between vicious coughing fits. He had been sick for nine days by then, battling a cough, fatigue and dizziness. His wife also had a nasty cough, along with shortness of breath and diarrhea. Neither had a fever, though they suspected coronavirus. His wife called their doctor on a Sunday night for prescriptions to get tested. The following day he turned 36 years old. More: These are the 6 new possible symptoms of the coronavirus the CDC added to its list More: Federal coronavirus strategy lurches as plans to help states change, then change again I was sick and resting and she said, Happy Birthday, I got you a Coronavirus test, he recalled. The next morning, the couple got tested. By nightfall, they were in the ER. Andre Laubach had been coughing for nearly two hours and couldnt breathe. At McLaren Hospital, however, his oxygen levels were high and he had no fever. So they sent him home with asthma treatments. More coughing fits followed, so badly that he vomited. One night he coughed for five hours straight and thought he tore his abdominal muscles. At about 7 a.m. he finally fell asleep. Then four hours later, his wife woke him up. "My water broke," she told him. Jennifer Laubach remained calm. She sat down to compose herself while her husband called Troy Beaumont Hospital, told them they were on their way, and that they might have COVID-19. He then raced upstairs and packed his wife's hospital bag. But by the time he got back downstairs, he hit a wall. The coughing took over again. "I got a violent cough. I was seeing stars," he said. "I sat down in a chair and couldn't talk. Jen said, 'You ready to go? Can you drive?' I knew it was a no, but I couldn't tell her that. It was my responsibility to drive my wife to the hospital when she was in labor." But his wife saw through him. "It was really heartbreaking. He looked at me. He couldn't talk," she recalled. "That look told me everything. It said, 'I want to go but physically I can't because I can't breathe. I can't talk.' " After his wife arrived at the hospital, she called her husband and told him to call 911. An ambulance arrived at the house. EMT workers checked his oxygen levels and said they were good. Jen Laubach holding Mitchell and her husband Andrew Laubach holding Maksim inside the neonatal intensive care unit inside Troy Beaumont Hospital in Troy, Mich., on April 24, 2020. "They said, 'you're not the best candidate for a bed, that there are other people that need a bed more than you.' " the husband recalled. "So they left." That night, Andre Laubach left his front door unlocked, worried he might not be able to get to the door. "It was the virus, me, God and the cats. When the ambulance left, I had so much to live for at that point, he recalled, thinking of his twins that were on the way. But he was scared. I'm alone, with no doctors. My wife is at the hospital. Its you vs. the virus, he recalled thinking to himself. There were a couple of times it was touch and go. It was scary. I knew that I was one push away from where it could take me out. But he made it through the night. 'We are having babies' It was a half-hour drive to Beaumont Hospital in Troy, Michigan. When Jennifer Laubach arrived, there was a lot of confusion. They didnt know what to do with me, she said, noting the hospital knew that her husband was COVID-19 positive and presumed her to be positive, too. Jennifer Laubach's first test came back negative (her second test after giving birth came back positive) though the hospital was aware of her symptoms: coughing, shortness of breath and chills. So, upon arrival at the hospital, she sat in a wheelchair in the ER for a half-hour while the staff looked for a room for her. There was concern over her infecting other pregnant moms or newborns. So they looked for a special room. A nurse and doctor eventually examined her and told her that she hadn't dilated yet. After her exam, she was taken to a negative pressure room designated for COVID-19 patients. The doctors had hoped to keep her from going into labor for another two weeks. I prayed to God that night, Please let me live through this, the mom recalled, noting she was worried about her husband at home. She also thought about how difficult it was getting pregnant in the first place. She and her husband struggled. She had a low egg count and wound up getting fertility shots they worked. She produced two eggs that were successfully fertilized in a Petri dish and then placed back in her body, and the twins would grow. They were their miracle babies. She had to get through this, she thought. And so did her husband. At 5 a.m. the following morning, she had her first contraction. We are having babies, she texted her husband. Although she labored alone, she recalled the kind hospital staff encouraging her, and a nurse named Onn who held her hand as she grimaced in pain. "She was my angel, my rock star," she recalled of Onn. Almost five hours after her first contraction, the twins arrived. Mitchell was born at 9:41 a.m. Maksim at 9:51. Jennifer didnt get to hold the babies, who were whisked away by nurses to be cleaned and to avoid any contamination. They held them up from me across the room. They were cute. I remember thinking how tiny they looked, she said. She then texted a photo of the babies to her husband. It was both incredible and surreal, Andre Laubach recalled. It was great to see them and know that theyre OK. They seemed healthy and Jen was in good spirits at the same time. Andre Laubach said he still felt awful about missing their births. But he was very sick, and still had a ways to go to recover. So the photo of the babies meant everything. It gave me a reason to fight, he said. I see those pictures and I think, I better get through this. Ive got things to take care of now. Jen Laubach checks on her newborn Mitchell James Laubach after her husband Andre Laubach carefully put him in his car seat for their ride to their home in Clarkston, Mich., from Troy Beaumont Hospital in Troy, Mich., on April 25, 2020. Jen and Andre Laubach had a tense month of April with both testing positive for COVID-19 and Jen giving birth prematurely to her twins Mitchell and Maksim Laubach on April 3, 2020. They were able to take Mitchell home but Maksim had to stay at the hospital for some followup tests but will be joining his twin brother later in the week. Meeting the boys The Laubachs would go three weeks before they got to meet their boys, who also couldnt come home right away because they were born prematurely and needed extra care. On Thursday, after being cleared by infectious disease doctors at Beaumont, the couple finally went to the hospital and held their sons. They also took a quick course at the hospital in caring for preemies as they would soon be bringing the boys home. The delay in bringing them home gave them plenty of time to set up the nursery, which wasn't ready yet as the twins weren't due until May 11, the day of their scheduled C-section. The couple also had to cancel their baby shower because of the virus, though their friends and family had mailed all the gifts. The worst is behind them now. It's time to be a family. "Andre relied on wanting to see his kids, to feed his kids, that's what got him through," his wife recalled. "For us to be reunited as a family." On Saturday, they drove away from Beaumont Hospital, with baby Mitchell in the back. His brother could be home by the end of the week. Andre Laubach credits much of this to his wife. "Jen drove a half an hour after her water broke, after thinking I was dying, diagnosed with coronavirus and then delivered two babies with no support" he said. "She's tough." The experience also taught him a valuable lesson. Dont take the moments that you have with the people you love for granted, he said. You just gotta cherish every day that you have. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mom with coronavirus delivers twins as husband faced death The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called to investigate four shootings involving law enforcement officers over the weekend two of which ended in deaths. One of those who survived being shot is a Hoover man. The first of the incidents occurred about 4 a.m. Friday at a prison in Sumter County, according to GBI spokesman Terry Howard. Investigators at the Sumter County Correctional Institute on McMath Mill Road were conducting a surveillance operation that centered on illegal contraband being brought into the prison, Howard said. It was during this operation that a correctional officer encountered an inmate that led to a struggle between the inmate and the officer, Howard said. The officer fired several times during the struggle, and the inmate was injured. The inmate was taken to the Phoebe Sumter Medical Center, officials said. He has since been released from the hospital and taken back to the prison, according to the GBI. The Cook County Sheriffs Office requested the GBIs assistance Friday evening regarding an incident at a home in Adel, the agency said in a news release. Cook deputies were sent to the home in the 1900 block of Boone Road shortly before 10 p.m. Someone had reported gunshots in the area, officials said. When the deputies arrived, one of them met with 67-year-old Roy Joiner. Joiner had a gun and exchanged gunfire with the deputy, which resulted in Joiners death, the GBI said. No other details about the shooting were released. Investigators said deputies had been sent to the house earlier that night after it was reported Joiner was threatening people with a knife. Arrest warrants were being prepared for Joiner when the second call came in, according to the GBI. Less than two hours after the shooting in Cook County, GBI investigators were contacted by the Atlanta Police Department, according to spokeswoman Natalie Ammons. Ammons said an Atlanta police officer had conducted a traffic stop on a car with a drive-out tag in the 100 block of Boulevard NE about 11:35 p.m. During the stop, a passenger later identified as 24-year-old Byron McNeal of Hoover got out of the car with a gun, Ammons said. An officer fired at McNeal, striking him. McNeal was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he is stable. Saturday evening, the GBI was requested by the Hogansville Police Department in Troup County, spokesman Jeremy Dockins said. Dockins said Hogansville police were sent to a home on Lincoln Street about 9:30 p.m. to respond to a noise complaint. When they arrived, they tried to contact the homeowner, 61-year-old Faron Morris Hammond, Dockins said. The officers were not able to get in touch with him and left the home a short time later, he said. Just 10 minutes later, a second 911 call from a different caller came in regarding the Lincoln Street home. Officers were sent to the scene again, where they found Hammond, Dockins said. The officers spoke with Hammond through the door, and Hammond fired at the officers one time with a 12-gauge shotgun. One of the officers was struck, Dockins said. The officers returned fire, striking and killing Hammond inside the home. The officer was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No officers were injured in any of the other shootings, according to the GBI. All of the incidents remain under investigation. So far in 2020, the GBI has opened 34 investigations into officer-involved shootings. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also tracks officer-involved shootings that don't involve the GBI, and those numbers sometimes differ from the GBI's tally. 2020 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.) Visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.) at www.ajc.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A team of 14 nurses and seven doctors from the University of California San Francisco will work on the Navajo Nation for a month to help treat COVID-19 patients. The team arrived in Albuquerque on Wednesday night. They are now assisting Indian Health Service staff at hospitals and care sites in Gallup, Shiprock and Chinle. The Navajo Nation had more than 1,600 COVID-19 cases and 59 deaths as of Saturday. Sriram Shamasunder, a medical doctor at UCSF and founder of the HEAL Initiative, told the Journal that Navajo leadership is doing a fantastic job during the crisis, but asked for more critical-care nurses. We dont want to promote a narrative of Navajo as helpless and us as outsiders coming to save the day, Shamasunder said. We are here to augment and support rather than lead from the outside. Shamasunder, who has also worked in Haiti, Rwanda and Burundi, said the effort builds on a yearslong partnership between the reservation and the HEAL Initiative, which trains and mentors health care workers in disadvantaged rural areas. Dozens of Navajo and nontribal doctors and nurses work on the reservation as part of the program. We already know the community leaders and the medical and cultural context, he said. The surge in San Francisco never really came, so we saw this as an opportunity to offer our skills. These communities are hurting, and have been underfunded and understaffed for a long time. The team will fill critical care gaps to treat more patients at IHS hospitals instead of in Albuquerque. They will also help at isolation sites for COVID-19 patients. In Gallup, the New Mexico Department of Health worked with reservation medical leadership to address COVID-19 outbreaks in local rehab facilities and homeless shelters. The agencies now provide housing for those patients, who otherwise would not have had anywhere to isolate and prevent spread of the disease in border towns and on the reservation. Earlier this month, UCSF sent a team to New York City to treat COVID-19 patients. Shamasunder said transitioning to another large, urban hospital is not a big leap. But the uniqueness of the sovereign Navajo Nation, which is vast and rural, can trip up even the most well-trained medical professional. More than 70 people were interested in volunteering for the assignment. The team leaders emphasized the workers need to be flexible and follow the lead of local medical professionals. We approach this with a level of humility, of respect and sacredness for the Navajo people and the land, Shamasunder said. We are here to walk alongside them. Pakistan on Saturday clarified that no vaccine was being prepared after reports emerged that the country was on the verge of developing it with the help of China even as the coronavirus cases climbed to 12,644. Advisor on Health Zafar Mirza in his daily media briefing said that currently there was no coronavirus vaccine in Pakistan and no work of any kind was going on for its development. "Let me clarify that while there are several initiatives to develop vaccines across the world, there is no such initiative in Pakistan at the moment", he said. But he said that a Chinese company developing a vaccine contacted Pakistan and offered it to become a part of clinical trials. We have asked for more information from them, Mirza said. He said that a similar offer was made by a company in Japan and Pakistan asked for specific details. Mirza said that 79 per cent of the all coronavirus cases in Pakistan were locally transmitted. It is now fair to say that our outbreak is now mostly of local transmission, he said. Imran Khan's Ramzan greeting begins by berating Pakistan, ends with praising China Imran Khan tests negative Imran Khan tested negative for the novel coronavirus. This comes a day after it emerged that Faisal Edhi with whom Khan had interacted on April 15 had been confirmed as a positive COVID-19 patient. Khan's test report was confirmed by Dr.Zafar Mirza, the Special Assistant to the Pakistan PM on Health. Earlier, reports indicated that Imran Khan's family members also tested negative for the novel Coronavirus. Faisal Edhi had presented a cheque worth 1 crore Pakistani rupees to Khan in Islamabad in his capacity as the head of the Edhi Foundation, which is the country's largest charity foundation. Reportedly, he developed COVID-19 symptoms soon after visiting Islamabad. Though these symptoms subsided after 4 days, he insisted on getting tested as he had been on the ground working with novel Coronavirus patients. Currently, he is in isolation at a hospital in Islamabad. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan tests negative for the novel Coronavirus COVID-19 crisis in Pakistan The Ministry of National Health Services reported that Pakistan's coronavirus tally touched 12,644, as the government asked people to follow official guidelines while visiting mosques in Ramadan. It said that three patients died on Saturday, taking the total death toll to 256. Another 2,755 recovered from the disease. The largest province of Punjab reported 5,378 cases, Sindh 4,232, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 1,793, Balochistan 656, Gilgit-Baltistan 307, Islamabad 223 and Kashmir 55 cases. So far 138,147 tests were done including 6,780 during the last 24 hours, according to the data issued by the ministry. It also said that 785 patients were diagnosed during the last 24 hours. The Imran Khan government on Friday extended the lockdown till May 9. 'They were abiding': Imran Khan's rival Bhutto says Pak PM blundered Ramzan Covid lockdown Imran Khan has been panned by the opposition for his inconsistent stance on the enforcement of a lockdown. In March, he ruled out the possibility of imposing a lockdown in Pakistan. Acknowledging Pakistans dire economic condition, Khan stated his government did not have the capacity to take care of 25% of the population which is under the poverty line if a lockdown was implemented. However, the Pakistan government later imposed a lockdown and extended it till April 30. Pak Govt Using ISI's System To Track Suspected COVID-19 Cases: Imran Khan Boris Johnson is expected to return to Downing Street after recovering from coronavirus (Victoria Jones/PA) Boris Johnson is set to take charge of the Governments response to the coronavirus outbreak when he returns to Downing Street on Monday after recovering from the disease. The Prime Minister was said to be raring to go after spending the past two weeks recuperating at his official country residence Chequers. It followed a week in St Thomas Hospital including three nights in intensive care after his condition dramatically deteriorated. He returns to No 10 amid growing pressure from senior Conservatives to begin easing lockdown and growing dismay at the damage it is causing to the economy. However, scientists advising the Government on its response warned it was far too soon to consider any relaxation, as the official death toll for the UK passed 20,000. Officials were reported to be working on a Singapore-style plan for the passengers arriving at UK sea and airports to be quarantined for 14 days. According to The Sunday Telegraph and The Mail on Sunday, it is intended to stop fresh cases arriving from abroad when the Government rolls out its track and trace scheme to identify and isolate new infections. Mr Johnson prepared for his return with a three-hour summit meeting on Friday with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab who has been deputising for him and Chancellor Rishi Sunak. His main concern while he has been away was said to have been to ensure the lockdown conditions were kept in place long enough to prevent a second wave of the pandemic hitting the country. Meanwhile, a series of wealthy Tory backers who have donated millions of pounds to the party coffers have urged the Government to begin loosening the restrictions to controls to allow the economy to start up again. Financiers Michael Spencer and Peter Hargreaves, the banker Sir Henry Angest, Phones4u founder John Caudwell and restaurateur Richard Caring all told The Sunday Times they wanted to see some re-opening of the economy. Steve Morgan, the former boss of the housebuilder Redrow, told the paper: Were actually in danger that the medicine if you want to call the lockdown that is more harmful than the cure. Im strongly in favour of getting the country back to work. This is not about profit; this is about saving the country from going bankrupt, from mass unemployment, from businesses going bust, people losing their livelihoods and homes. In contrast, Professor John Edmunds, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies which has been helping shape the Governments response, warned any relaxation risked an upsurge of new cases. The strategy behind plans to lift the lockdown is based on the idea [that] you could then control the epidemic by testing people for infections before tracing their contacts, he told The Observer. However, if we lifted the lockdown now, the testing and tracing system would be overwhelmed. We will have to get case numbers down a lot lower than they are now before we can think of lifting current regulations. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer added to the pressure on the Government by stepping up his calls for ministers to set out an exit strategy for lifting the restrictions once it was safe to do so. In a letter to Mr Johnson, Sir Keir said it was essential ministers learned the lessons from the mistakes made dealing with the crisis. He said the UK was again in danger of falling behind other countries as well as the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales which were already engaged in adult conversations with their citizens as to how the restrictions could be eased. Simply acting as if this discussion is not happening is not credible, especially when other governments and our own devolved administrations have been able to communicate so much more, he wrote. The British public have made great sacrifices to make the lockdown work. They deserve to be part of an adult conversation about what comes next. If we want to take people with us and secure their consent, this is necessary now. This is a national crisis and therefore needs a national response. The coming weeks require urgent preparation and planning from the Government. We have already seen the consequences of poor planning and preparation. That cannot happen again. Kindness and generosity go a long way - at a time when everyone is watching out for themselves, helping out others takes a lot of compassion and courage. In order to ensure that no one goes empty stomach, Anganwadi workers are distributing food to tribals in Chhattisgarh. They are fighting off the other side of the pandemic where poor people are starving due to the unavailability of resources. Don't Miss: Contribute To Indiatimes Fundraiser To Help India Fight COVID-19 Anganwadi workers in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district are distributing ready-to-eat meals and dry rations to tribal families who are residing in remote areas of the district. According to Times of India, Anganwadi workers step out to look for the tribal families as some of them do not have permanent homes. The Muria tribe is one such community which resides in the extreme interiors of Naraynpur, which is also one of the worst Maoist-hit districts in the state. ANI Narayanpur District magistrate, Padum Singh Alma, appreciated the Anganwadi workers for their selfless work and praised them for going the extra mile, since it is difficult to find the homes of the tribal families as located remotely. He mentioned that since the Minor Forest Produce (MFP) collection season is presently going on, many tribal families go deep into the forests to look for the same. The anganwadi workers pick forests based on where the MFPs are located and find the needy families. TOI Haats (markets) also provide them with information regarding the tribe's whereabouts. The report further adds that the members of the Muria tribe leave their homes early in the morning to collect MFPs from the forest. Sometimes, the anganwadis have to walk for miles before they can locate the families. ET (Minor Forest Produce) Aside from feeding the families, the anganwadi workers are also teaching the tribal community about the several precautionary measures that need to be taken to keep them safe from getting infected with COVID-19. Vaccine major Serum Institute of India on Sunday said it plans to start production of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University in the next two to three weeks and hopes to bring it to the market by October if the human clinical trials are successful. The Pune-based company has partnered with Oxford University as one of the seven global institutions manufacturing the vaccine. "Our team has been working closely with Dr Hill from Oxford University, and we are expecting to initiate production of the vaccine in 2-3 weeks and produce 5 million doses per month for the first 6 months, following which, we hope to scale up production to 10 million doses per month," Serum Institute India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla said. SII has collaborated with scientists at Oxford University for a malaria vaccine project in the past and can say with certainty that they are some of the best scientists, he added. "We expect the (COVID-19) vaccine to be out in the market by September - October, only if the trials are successful with the requisite safety and assured efficacy. We will be starting trials in India for this vaccine hopefully over the next 2-3 weeks' time," Poonawalla said. SII will be manufacturing the vaccine in anticipation of clinical trials succeeding by September - October in the UK, he added. "Following that, we have undertaken the decision to initiate manufacturing at our own risk. The decision has been solely taken to have a jump-start on manufacturing, to have enough doses available, if the clinical trials prove successful," Poonawalla said. The company plans to initiate the trials in India for the vaccine with necessary regulatory approvals, which are underway presently. "Keeping the current situation in mind, we have funded this endeavour at a personal capacity and hopefully will be able to enlist the support of other partners to further scale-up the vaccine production," Poonawalla said. The vaccines will be manufactured at the company's facility in Pune. Building a new facility for Covid-19 vaccine would have taken around 2-3 years, he added. The Indian regulatory authorities are working with the company to ensure smooth procedural functioning. "We are in touch with the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and ICMR," Poonawalla said. The company had earlier said it will not patent any COVID-19 vaccine which it develops. Asked about the decision, Poonawalla reiterated, "We will not patent Serum's vaccine for COVID-19 and will make it available for all to produce and sell, not just in India but across the world." Whosoever makes and develops the vaccine will need multiple partners to manufacture the vaccine, he added. "I hope that whichever company develops the vaccine does not get it patented and makes it available based on royalties or a commercial understanding to as many manufacturers across the world to make billions of dosages at a fast pace," Poonawalla said. Death toll due to COVID-19 has crossed 200,000 globally, with the number of infections at over 2.8 million. In India, the coronavirus has claimed over 800 lives and the number of cases has crossed the 26,000-mark. (CNN) Two million chickens on several farms in Delaware and Maryland will be "depopulated" due to a lack of employees at chicken processing plants, according to a statement from Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc. The reduced employee attendance at the company's plants is a result of "additional community cases of COVID-19, additional testing, and people practicing the 'stay home if you're sick' social distancing guidance from public health officials," the statement reads. The chickens will be depopulated "using approved, humane methods" that are accepted by the American Veterinary Medical Association and all state and local guidelines, the company said. CNN has reached out to the Delaware Department of Agriculture, but has not yet received a response. The Maryland Department of Agriculture says it learned of the company's plans on April 9, and "continues to monitor for any developments." "MDA is only involved in depopulations when it is done in response to animal health concerns," the department said in a statement. "This particular case was a private decision made by an individual business." Delmarva says it made the "difficult but necessary" decision after exhausting "the study of other alternatives, including allowing another chicken company to transport and process the chickens, and taking a partially processed product to rendering facilities to utilize for other animal feed." "If no action were taken, the birds would outgrow the capacity of the chicken house to hold them," the company said, adding that they are not closing any processing plants, and will continue to compensate the affected chicken growers. This story was first published on CNN.com "2 million chickens will be 'depopulated' in Delaware and Maryland because of lack of employees at processing plants" Moving critically ill coronavirus patients, who have no prospect of survival, to isolated wards outside of the main St Vincent's Hospital building on Victoria Parade in Fitzroy, is one option being explored. This would allow key family members, dressed in protective clothing including gowns, gloves and face masks, the chance to be at their bedside as they take their final breath. That is a chance the family of Melbourne grandfather of six, Giuseppe Franzoni, 84, who died on April 17 after contracting coronavirus two weeks earlier, would have appreciated. Hillside man Giuseppe Franzoni, 84 died in Sunshine hospital the 15th Victorian to succumb to COVID-19. His family has issued a plea asking for people to take the virus seriously. His son Frank Franzoni was standing in his kitchen, with his wife Patricia and their daughter Giorgia, 15, as he watched his father die through a video stream on a smartphone set up by staff at Sunshine Hospital in Melbourne on April 17. "There aren't really any words," Mr Franzoni said. "It's not what he would have wanted or what we wanted. I wouldn't wish it on anyone." For those still fighting for life, there will be regular phone updates from staff or regular Facetime and video-link catch-ups for COVID-19 patients who were not sedated and well enough to speak. "Rather than the families having to navigate our systems and find us, we can go to them," Professor Boughey said. "If that means a twice daily, three times daily updates and having a team of people who can roam the hospital to be able to do it, then that's what we will do. The idea is that it would be a 24-hour a day system." Early research on mortality rates of coronavirus patients requiring intensive care is grim and suggests about half will die. The Austin hospital in Melbourne's north-east has treated more than 20 COVID-19 patients, who required intensive care, including ventilators, dialysis machines and complicated infusions. Loading "It's a challenging environment, but also an area full of kindness and compassion," Intensive care unit director at the Austin, Dr Stephen Warrillow, said. "We absolutely embrace the concept that we are looking after a human being. There is a person at the centre of all this. They have their own entire world. They have families and people who love them. We put at the highest priority the dignity of that person." Dr Warrillow said was it jarring being unable to welcome families into the intensive care unit, with visitors for COVID-19 patients, banned due to the risk of infection. Instead, digital systems including video call updates for families, are being used to provide connection. Loading For those who succumb to the deadly virus, isolated wards in the hospitals palliative care unit may be used so some family members can be with the dying patient in their final moments. "This is done on a case-by-case basis, where a a unique risk assessment is done," Dr Warrillow said. If somebody is dying we would always try and find a way so there is human connection. No one ever dies alone in ICU. Ever. There is always somebody with them." At Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital's COVID Red intensive care unit, families are not permitted. Were putting things in place like iPads for Skyping and Facetime so that people can still keep communicating, co-director of the unit Dr Richard Totaro said. Were endeavouring to keep in touch with families every day, just to keep them up to date." Priests are also required to hold vigils and offer spiritual comfort over video calls, Dr Totaro said. Westmead Hospital ICU social worker Kaylene Tanti said she empathised with the anxiety and distress families felt when their loved ones were being treated for COVID and the hospital was exploring new ways to maintain contact. The separation between the dying and their families is something Australian hospitals are desperately trying to avoid as they work tirelessly on solutions to allow people to say their final goodbyes without risking their own infection. Credit:Justin McManus "In the coming days we will be developing a plan and actions to provide greater virtual connectivity with patients, while observing infection control protocols, she said. Millions of live chickens have been buried in Iran, and many more will be dumped soon, says the chairman of the board of directors of the Tehran Poultry Farmers' Union. Poultry farm owners were forced to bury fifteen million newborn chickens due to the lack of feed, and since there are no customers, they will soon dump hundreds of thousands of more hens, said Nasser Nabipour. A video widely circulated on social media shows hundreds of thousands of newborn chickens being buried alive by a bulldozer in Iran. Nasser Nabipour maintained that one-day-old chickens should be bought within 24 hours after they hatch, and transferred to poultry farms across Iran; otherwise, they should be destroyed. Furthermore, Nabipour has warned that, due to the outbreak of coronavirus, there are no customers for the baby chickens, and if the trend continues, the poultry farmers will soon bury "all their chickens alive." The circulation of the video has triggered a series of criticisms for the move, described as "barbaric" and "ruthless" by many social media users. Days after the circulation of the footage, President Hassan Rouhani, instructed the Minister of Intelligence to "prosecute" all responsible for the massacre of millions of one-day-old chickens. Defending the move, the secretary of the "One-Day Chicken Manufacturers Association", Mohammad Reza Sadiqpour told the state-run Iran Students News Agency (ISNA), "The chickens were dumped since the price of live poultry and one-day-old chickens has sharply dropped." According to Mr. Sadiqpour, in the last two months, due to the coronavirus crisis, the consumption of chicken has decreased. Therefore, producers started destroying their one-day-old chickens to balance the market. Sadiqpour also disclosed that poultry farmers suffer from a severe shortage of corn and soybeans due to the government's failure to allocate currency for imports. New Delhi: The Akhil Bharatiya Sant Samiti has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding strict action to be taken against those responsible in the Palghar lynching incident where two sadhus and their driver were lynched by a mob on the night of April 16. In its letter, the Samiti claimed that the Palghar lynching incident is the result of an alliance between church missionaries and Maoists. It said that according to the FIR, four accused with links to CPI(M) and one NCP workers were named in the incident, and raised suspicion that because of their political links, a fair investigation in the case won't be possible. The Samiti requested the Prime Minister to order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the matter. The lynching of sadhus took place on the night of April 16 when three men, two seers and their driver, were going from Mumbai in a car towards Surat in Gujarat to attend a funeral. Their vehicle was stopped near a village in Palghar district where the three were dragged out of the car and beaten to death with sticks by a mob on suspicion that they were child-lifters. The deceased were identified as Chikne Maharaj Kalpavrukshagiri (70), Sushilgiri Maharaj (35), and driver Nilesh Telgade (30). The petition noted that 101 people have so far been arrested in the case, which has been transferred to the state Crime Investigation Department (CID). Hyderabad, April 20 (IANS) The Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) Telangana chapter on Monday welcomed the decision of the state government to defer fixed electricity charges for the industry till the end of May. Image Source: IANS/PIB Hyderabad, April 26 : Hinting at another extension of the lockdown, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao on Sunday said if people extend their support to the lockdown for some more days, the situation would further improve. Expressing satisfaction that the spread of coronavirus is on decline in the state due to strict implementation of the lockdown, he said if people extend their support to the lockdown for some more days and follow the guidelines given by the government on containment of the virus spread, the situation would improve further. KCR, as Rao is popularly known, said that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with the chief ministers through video conference on Monday, the situation in the country would become clear. The lockdown in Telangana was already extended till May 7 while it will remain in force in the rest of the country till May 3. The Chief Minister on Sunday held a high-level review meeting on the implementation of lockdown, measures taken to contain spread of coronavirus and other issues. KCR reviewed the situation in Hyderabad and other areas. He enquired about the assistance given in the containment centres and instructed that the essential commodities should be supplied to people in these areas. He also enquired about the treatment being provided to Covid-19 patients in Gandhi Hospital. He observed that the death rate due to coronavirus in the state is far less compared to the national average, which is some consolation to the state. "The CM said that if the present lockdown continues for some time and people continue to maintain their personal hygiene and take precautions, the virus spread will totally come down in the coming days," he said. Stating that the PM will hold a video conference with all the CMs tomorrow, he said they would explain about the situation in their respective states. He hoped that some clarity would emerge on future course of action. The IIT Kharagpur has created an online forum to help stranded foreign students at the institute share their problems faced during the nationwide lockdown imposed to contain the spread of novel coronavirus, a spokesperson of the institute said on Sunday. The Office of International Relations (OIR) is reaching out to the foreign students and is also sharing academic information on the forum, he said. The institute is presently hosting students and post- doctoral fellows from Afghanistan, Bhutan, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Russia, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, the spokesperson said. The OIR is also helping the students get an extension of their visas and is processing their scholarships so that they dont face difficulties during the lockdown, he said. Several foreign students are getting financial aid under international programmes run by us and outreach bodies of the Centre. We have ensured that they receive their scholarships on time. We have assured them that they have nothing to worry and like other students of the institute, the IIT Kharagpur campus is their home away from home, Associate Dean of International Relations, Professor Anandaroop Bhattacharya said. Tamim Boubou, studying MTech in Control System Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering, was planning to go home to Syria during the summer recess. But he is now utilising his time attending online video lectures. The online video classes are interactive and helpful, he said. The institute, through its official social media handle, is also networking with its alumni to reach out to current students, who got stranded in countries they had gone to for academic activities, the spokesperson said. A few days back, a student who had gone to the US for an internship, had tweeted seeking help from Indian authorities after getting stranded there, he said. The students friends from the IIT Kharagpur helped her get connected to the IIT KGP Foundation, the alumni body of the institute in the US, which is now helping her, the spokesperson added. The Co Antrim man in charge of Childline UK has said the NSPCC is becoming increasingly concerned about the number of children experiencing abuse and neglect during lockdown. Shaun Friel, who lives in Ballymena, was speaking after it was revealed that Childline had delivered 363 counselling sessions across the UK in one week (April 12 to 19) to children who had experienced physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect. This figure represented a five-fold spike on the previous week. Of those children reaching out to the NSPCC-run service, the number experiencing physical abuse rose by 36% in one week, while those reporting emotional abuse jumped by 31%. Within the same period, Childline UK counsellors dealt with an average of 60 children per day. Shaun, who took on the role of Childline UK chief last year, said: "Since the lockdown began there has been an obvious concern among children and young people about coronavirus and its impact on them. "But what we're also seeing at Childline is an increase in contacts from children experiencing abuse and neglect and this is deeply worrying. "During lockdown it's more difficult for children to make a telephone call. They may not have the same privacy and space as before. But we are seeing more contact via email or chat. The website is much easier to access in terms of dipping in and out when they have privacy and it has a range of resources and tools. "And we are very keen to stress to them that we are still here." Shaun said that one of the factors for the surge in reports of abuse was abuser and child in lockdown together on a daily basis. To adapt to the ever-changing situation, the NSPCC has launched its emergency appeal 'We're still here for children' and is appealing to the public to visit its website and donate 10 so the charity can continue to answer calls and be available for young people who need someone to talk to. Millions of key workers have failed to secure a home testing kit again today after the UK government website stated 'none available' just twenty minutes after the tests were released. The test site was launched on Friday in an effort to test key workers who are isolating and get them back to work, however it has struggled with high demand selling out within minutes every day. Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed that 5,000 tests a day would be made available for key workers through the online portal, in an effort to 'get Britain back on her feet'. Drive-through COVID-19 test centre for NHS workers at Edinburgh Airport However in its first day the site saw 46,000 people attempt to secure a test, and again reached capacity for home testing kits within just twenty minutes of opening at 8:00BST today and yesterday. Regional drive through tests are still available in England but have been booked out for the day in Wales and Northern Ireland. Drive-through test sites are only accessible to those with cars, and a car registration plate is required to book a slot. Millions of key workers have failed to secure a home testing kit again today after the UK government website stated 'none available' just twenty minutes after the tests were released The 5,000 tests released daily are only intended for those who have symptoms or who have a member of their household who has displayed symptoms of coronavirus. Number 10 said the Government is trusting that those applying for tests are key workers, with no eligibility checks in place for online bookings. The official spokesman said: 'As with many other aspects of the coronavirus response, we would expect the public to respond in good faith. 'That is what they have done with other aspects of the scheme, I think we'd expect it to be the same here.' A new covid-19 test centre in Liverpool, as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus A soldier takes a swab from a key worker at a drive-through testing station at Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey, Friday April 24, 2020 A soldier and medic check paperwork at a drive-through testing station at Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey, as the UK Iceland delivery driver Scott B. from Middleton, Greater Manchester, said that he had only been able to secure a drive-in test for him and his wife, who is 'extremely high risk' due to medical conditions, 51 miles from home at Doncaster Airport. He tweeted: 'Just been online to book a Corona test for me and my wife (my wife is classed as extremely high risk and I'm classed as a key worker ) , the nearest test centre is 51 miles away.....yeah nice one #coronavirustesting #Manchester #NHS.' Mr B. says he is unable to take the time away from work to make the journey so will not be taking up the offer. Another key worker from Manchester, Simon Crowther, was directed to a test site 100 miles away from his home in Penrith, Cumbria. Key worker Scott B. said that he had only been able to secure a drive-in test for him and his 'extremely high risk' wife 51 miles from his home He tweeted: 'Just booked my Covid19 key worker test. I live in Manchester. The test is in Penrith! Oh well at least the M6 should be clear.' For key workers who are under 18 drive-in testing is only available in London or Belfast. Will Vernon, who was trying to book a test on behalf of his 17-year-old sister who works at a supermarket said he had been unable to book any test. Testing options offered to Scott B. who lives in Middleton, Greater Manchester Mr Vernon tweeted: 'Turns out my 17 year old sister can not get a COVID-19 test despite being a key worker @mrjamesob @Number10press @MattHancock'. Despite tests booking up so quickly, Dr Simon Eccles, chief clinical information officer at NHS Digital, said the website had been 'improved' before it re-opened on Saturday - adding that an 'amazing team' had worked 'all night' on it. 'Home kits all booked by 8:15! I know it's frustrating but we're developing more lab, supply and logistics capacity every day,' he said on Twitter. 'If we'd waited until we had the full 100k, to launch, no one would have had a test today. More home kits again tomorrow, even more next week.' Asked whether the Government was confident people would be able to test themselves accurately with a kit sent to their homes, the spokesman added: 'There are videos available to show people how to do this and people will be given clear instructions.' Under the scheme, test results from the drive-through sites will be sent out by text within 48 hours, and within 72 hours of collection of the home delivery tests. However for Mark Conner, a fire safety advisor from Liverpool who manages NHS facilities and care homes, his initial test on Friday was deemed 'not clear' and he now faces a 35 mile drive to Manchester. He told the MailOnline: 'I developed symptoms and so I went on the government website in the early hours of Friday morning. I got my booking acceptance message and booked a 2pm appointment 15 miles away at Haydock racecourse, I live in Liverpool.' Simon Crowther was offered a drive-in test in Penrith, Cumbria, 100 miles from his home in Manchester After three hours of waiting with the windows up on an 'extremely hot' day to be tested Mr Connor was informed the next day that the results of his test had been unclear. Describing the experience he said: 'The queues where very long, you are shown information boards to tell you to keep all windows shut bearing in mind it was an extremely hot day. You have your barcode scanned at various points along the route to the test bays. 'The next day I received a text message telling me my result was not clear and giving me the advice to book another test or simply self isolate. After three hours of waiting with the windows up on an 'extremely hot' day to be tested Mark Connor, from Liverpool, was informed the next day that the results of his test had been unclear 'I tried to book another test over night but all areas except Scotland didn't have availability untill 8am this morning. At 8am this morning availability in England was showing but the nearest test site to Liverpool is now Manchester Airport, 35 miles away.' Among those able to book a test on Friday was Poundstretcher property manager Natalie Orton-Rose, from Leicester. But she revealed she was turned away after she arrived at the drive-through centre. Will Vernon, who was trying to book a test on behalf of his 17-year-old sister who works at a supermarket said he had been unable to book any test For key workers who are under 18 drive-in testing is only available in London or Belfast She told the BBC: 'I drove an hour from my home in Leicester [to the test centre in Nottingham] and sat waiting for half an hour in the queue only to be told actually they had no more tests left,' she said. 'I am absolutely disgusted. It is bad enough that my closest test centre is an hour away but then to waste my time and fuel.' Transport Secretary Grant Shapps apologised after the new government website was closed due to 'significant demand'. Poundstretcher property manager Natalie Orton-Rose was turned away after she arrived at the drive-through centre Mr Shapps told the daily Downing Street coronavirus press conference Friday that reports the website had crashed were not accurate and it was 'simply that the slots for today were taken up'. He insisted the government is confident every key worker who needs a test will soon be able to access one as ministers strive to hit a 100,000 daily tests target by the end of April. 'We know what the capacity is, we don't quite know how many people would want to be tested because many people working for the NHS for example will have already accessed those tests through their work places,' he said. The rush for tests comes as the UK Government insists that the lockdown must continue - as Britons have been tempted back outside to green spaces by days of constant sunshine. Many police forces across the UK have complained of having to deal with flagrant breaches of the shutdown rules, while traffic data revealed car journeys had crept up by three percentage points this week. And mobility data released by Apple revealed that in recent days searches for maps for walking or driving hadincreased by eight percentage points. WASHINGTON U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Friday said he has notified Congress that the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement will take effect on July 1, a month later than initially proposed. In a statement, Lighthizer said both Mexico and Canada had taken measures necessary to comply with their commitments under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which replaces the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Some industries, including automakers, had been arguing for a delayed implementation because of the difficulties they are facing from the coronavirus pandemic. Mexico had asked the United States and Canada for a longer transition period for the auto industry to certify that it was meeting new, more stringent North American content rules. Lighthizer said his office would work to ensure a smooth implementation of the new trade rules. "The crisis and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates that now, more than ever, the United States should strive to increase manufacturing capacity and investment in North America," Lighthizer said in a statement. "The USMCA's entry into force is a landmark achievement in that effort. The accord includes tougher rules on labor and automotive content but leaves $1.2 trillion in annual U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade flows largely unchanged. Trump had been a critic of NAFTA. Related Video: Click here to See Video >> The OPP has no idea why there are people pretending to be police officers and stopping motorists to check their essential worker status during the coronavirus pandemic. So far, Wellington County OPP has released information about two suspects, including one who has already been arrested and charged, but Const. Cheri Rockefeller says there certainly could be more than one impostor still out there. There are other people that have had these same experiences. We cannot rule anything out at this point, Rockefeller told The Banner. Its bizarre, she explained. We have no idea why. Are they wannabes? Are they power tripping? Are they doing it for other sinister reasons? We have no idea. Police have released details about two separate and unrelated incidents with different suspects and vehicles occurring in Fergus and Puslinch on April 14 and 17 respectively. A-25-year-old Puslinch man has been arrested in connection to the April 17 incident. The OPP is advising the public that police are not conducting random traffic stops to check motorists work status during the COVID-19 pandemic, nor are drivers required to prove they are an essential worker to police. But what can someone do if they feel uncomfortable or suspect they are being approached by a phoney police officer? Here is what the OPP recommends: If you feel youre being stopped by a someone impersonating a police officer and fear for your safety, call 911 and provide your location. Do not get out of vehicle. Lock your door. Crack your window low enough to pass your licence and registration. Ask the officer for further identification (i.e., badge). Ask them to call dispatch on their radio in front of you to verify that the officer is not fake. Ask for another officer to attend that location. Your go-to is always call 911 if you fear for your safety. Rockefeller said. If you call 911, you are going to get more police cars there and youre going to know if it is a real police officer. If someone driving in a largely rural area feels something isnt right and doesnt feel comfortable stopping, what can they do? If they are too fearful to pull over, they can always dial 911 and then go hands free. If you can do so safely and go hands free, that is obviously what we recommend. Other points to consider when being pulled over include: Slow down, put four-ways on or signal to let the officer know you see them. Drive to a well-lit area with people around if possible. Be observant: Is the officer wearing a full police uniform or a plain clothes officer with a badge? Is he or she professional looking as opposed to unkempt? What does the police vehicle look like? Is the cruiser equipped with proper emergency equipment or does it look old, broken down or like something bought at a police auction? A real officer will understand and respect why members of the public are apprehensive and being extra cautious at this point in time given what just happened in Nova Scotia, Rockefeller said. If you fear for your safety, absolutely, call 911, she said. You are not going to be criticized. Members of the public are asked to refer to either opp.ca, publicsafety.gc.ca or covid-19.ontario.ca for up-to-date information regarding restrictions under federal or provincial orders. Any person with information on this incident or one of a similar nature is asked to contact the OPP 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. World War II veteran Dalton Drake passed away on April 18, but because of the coronavirus restrictions, the 98-year-old could not have the funeral he deserved. One with military honors. That didnt stop hundreds of veterans and Luzerne County community members from doing their best to give him the proper sendoff Saturday, WNEP is reporting. According to reports, employees of the Snowdon Funeral Home in Shaverton asked veterans and the public to honor Drake one last time by lining Route 309 from town to the cemetery in Hanover Township, and hundreds answered the call. Naval officer Peter Howie often helps perform military honors for veterans who are laid to rest, but he never thought that would mean standing along the road but he did it in honor of Drake, reports indicate. "Whenever I dawn my uniform for a military honor it's always about honor and pride for me. I've always said that if it weren't for previous service members who went before me, I may not be where I am now," Howie told WNEP. Im just another veteran honoring a fellow veteran. Thats all, U.S. Marine Corps veteran Don Shymansky told PA Homepage. According to Drakes obituary, he earned his bachelors degree in chemical engineering from Ohio State in 1943, then fought with the Navy aboard the USS Cacapon as a lieutenant junior grade. After World War II, he returned to Ohio State to earn his masters in chemical engineering. Hes survived by his wife of 63 years, Priscilla Drake, as well as their children, grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews and cousins. While the coronavirus prevented him from getting the goodbye he deserved, the community coming out to do their best to honor him. Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. On top of the coronavirus pandemic, the world may see a global humanitarian catastrophe, including famine in three dozen countries potentially the most serious crisis since World War II. Ports are closed and supply chains disrupted as a disaster looms for millions. David Beasley, the executive director of the United Nations World Food Program and a former governor of South Carolina, said in an interview with CBS News that members of both parties in the U.S. have come together to help stave off poverty, starvation and instability, but he says more aid is needed to keep food supplies moving. He also spoke about the need for "common sense" on when to reopen the economy. Beasley spoke with CBS News' Pamela Falk from his home in Society Hill, South Carolina, where he recently recuperated from a case of COVID-19 himself. CBS News' Pamela Falk: You came down with coronavirus. Tell us what the experience was like. David Beasley: You read all stories, then when it hits you, it's a whole different ballgame. I've been lucky, in the sense that it never got so severe that I had to go to the hospital. But at the same time it didn't hit me for three days. It was real slight and went away completely ... it hit me with a little fever, aches and pains. And then I thought it was going away after three days, and then it it just kept lingering for three straight weeks. ... Fortunately I never had respiratory issues. I was worried one particular day, but made a good turn, and it's behind me now. I'm so grateful that I can speak with experience about what I faced so that people can understand what this is all about. SUDAN-CRISIS-DIPLOMACY David Beasley in 2018 ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP via Getty Images Even when governors or leaders say we're going to open up, still use common sense. That's the key: use common sense, use the brain that God has given you. And be careful. This is a deadly disease. Even if it's not deadly for you, you can give it to someone who might be elderly or with a pre-existing condition, and then that obviously is deadly. Story continues The World Food Program warned that, in addition to the coronavirus pandemic, the world may see a global humanitarian catastrophe. What is your message to world leaders, to the private sector? What can be done? Beasley: This is tragic. We feed about 100 million people on any given day, but 30 million depend on us 100%. So now with COVID, we've got an additional 130 million people bringing us to 265 million people literally marching to the brink of starvation. We got to work out these issues immediately. Otherwise we're going to have famines unlike anything we've ever seen in history. Number one: Let's end the wars right now. Please end the wars that would be the biggest thing. Number two: We need to pre-position about $1.9 billion worth of food to advance that funding so we can pre-position it so that when supply chains begin to break down, people won't lose their lives because of what we do. Number three: We need about $350 million so that we can move medical supplies, testing kits, doctors, nurses and health care professionals. The last thing we need to do is keep the supply chain going because if you can't get the food out of a field to the market to the consumer, people will die. I tell you, the worst is yet to come. I'm so concerned about Africa. Obviously I'm concerned about our donor nations that their economies get back to moving as quickly as they can, so that we can provide the monies that are going to be needed to stave off massive famine in many of these countries that depend on success in the economies of donor nations like the United States, like the U.K., like Germany. Many Africans depend upon remittances from their friends and families from around the world, like from the United States. And if we start seeing in urban areas of Africa youth losing their jobs, and not having food, you're going to have riots. Destabilization is going to be a game-changer. So we're trying to identify the hotspots upfront and see what we can do to come in with safety nets, but we're going to need funding to do that. If we don't, it'll be catastrophic. Are you speaking to the U.S. administration, to the Trump administration, about keeping ports open? Beasley: Yes, I've been talking to not just the U.S. administration but literally leaders from many countries all over the earth. And I can tell you that the United States has been an extraordinary donor. In fact we get about $3.4 billion from the United States. Republicans and Democrats, even though they seem to be fighting over everything, when it comes to food security foreign aid and stabilization, they have been absolutely remarkable and every leader that I have talked to, including the United States, is committed to working with us doing their dead-level best not to back down. This is the 75th anniversary of the UN. Do you think [the next General Assembly, in September] could take place? Beasley: This year is one of the most devastating years in the United Nations history. So this would be a year for everybody really coming together because COVID has transcended all borders around the world. So it'd be a great time for leaders to come together for a variety of reasons. However, if COVID is still a contagious issue, I would imagine we might see the first UN General Assembly as a virtual show. A final note: Asked about being back home in South Carolina to recuperate, Beasley said he's able to walk around and get fresh air. "My family's lived in this area since the early 1700s so we're an old family that came across like we were, we were immigrants, way back when," he said. World Food Program director on coronavirus: "The worst is yet to come" Texas Democratic party to hold convention virtually amid coronaviurs Millions still waiting for checks as surge in unemployment claims creates backlog State officials announced Sunday that 160 Pennsylvania businesses have received $13.5 million in funding to help during the coronavirus pandemic. Officials with the state Department of Community and Economic Development said Sunday this is the second round of funding from the COVID-19 Working Capital Access Program, which has now awarded more than $23 million to a number of diverse businesses like restaurants, wellness centers, wineries and breweries, consulting firms, and salons and spas. These loans will help businesses in the commonwealth quickly access capital to address their critical needs while we continue to follow the governor and health secretarys orders, said DCED Sec. Dennis Davin said in a press release. Small businesses are the fabric of our commonwealth, and the Wolf Administration is committed to supporting them to the fullest extent during this unprecedented time. This follows Governor Tom Wolfs March 25 announcement that the Commonwealth Financing Authority authorized the transfer of $40 million to the Small Business First Fund for program. The Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority also authorized making $61 million available to provide loans of $100,000 or less to for-profit businesses with 100 or fewer full-time employees. Authority staff members continue to review submitted applications for approval and are working with the DCED to disburse loan funds at the time of approval. Businesses seeking further guidance from DCED about these programs can contact its customer service resource account at ra-dcedcs@pa.gov. A list of approved projects can be found here. New disbursements are highlighted in yellow. Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. If the business community and religious clerics refuse to obey the COVID-19 lockdown guidelines, the Pakistan government has authorized the Army to take over as enforcer. According to reports, the Imran Khan-led government has stated that police, rangers and even troops can be used to maintain law and order if the business community and religious clerics attempt to cross their limit and violate the lockdown instructions. This decision was taken during a meeting at the ISI Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Thursday with officials including Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, DG-ISI Lt. Gen Faiz Hameed, some of the Cabinet ministers and advisors. Reportedly, the officials discussed the prevailing situation and various measures to control the situation. Reportedly, the business community in Karachi has threatened to ignore the government orders and open their shops. Along with it, the religious clerics are also leading their prayers in Mosques as normal. Hundreds of violators were reportedly arrested in Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and other cities on the first day of the month of Ramazan for violating the guidelines. Healthcare workers in Pak stage protests Meanwhile, the doctors and nurses in Lahore and Karachi have staged a hunger strike demanding adequate protective equipment for frontline staff treating coronavirus patients. The healthcare workers have also been complaining for weeks that the country's hospitals are suffering from chronic shortages of safety gear. Read: Imran Khan's desperate S.O.S lands Pakistan Covid dole; ADB adds $1.7 billion to IMF's 1.3 COVID-19 in Pakistan So far, Pakistan has reported 12,723 Coronavirus cases, out of which 269 people have succumbed to the infection till now. Meanwhile, 2,866 people have reportedly recovered. As the number of cases spiked, the country extended the partial lockdown on Friday by another two weeks till May 9. Read: COVID-19 Update: Home ministry exempts registered shops from lockdown restrictions Meanwhile, first detected in China's Wuhan, at present, there are around 2,923,285 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection across the globe and the disease has led to the death of around 203,308 people. In a ray of hope, around 837,531 people are also reported to have recovered. Read: Pakistan Army trying to push terrorists into J&K amid the novel coronavirus outbreak Read: Work on worlds longest immersed tunnel connecting Denmark & Germany to begin in Jan 2021 (With ANI Inputs) Scandi Standard, a Swedish chicken meat processor and owner of Irish brand Manor Farm, has announced it is looking to reduce further the amount of antibiotics used to treat its flock at its chicken farm here. The company, which acquired Manor Farm in 2017 from the Carton family for 70m in cash and shares, said it had already reduced the use of antibiotics at its Irish operation by 55pc. It hopes to bring this in line with its Nordic businesses, which have less than 1pc of the flock treated, within two years. With 3,266 employees and net sales of over 910m, Scandi Standard operates large chicken farms across Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. It has the market-leading brand in Ireland, Denmark and Sweden, the second-largest in Norway and the third-largest in Finland. Figures in Scandi Standard's 2019 annual report show that the Irish operation accounts for the majority of the use of antibiotics across its entire flock. In 2018 and 2019, the percentage of its whole flock treated with antibiotics was 13.5pc and 11.8pc, respectively. This figure reduced to close to 0pc in 2018 and 0.1pc in 2019 when Ireland was excluded. In response to questions from the Sunday Independent, Ado Carton, chief executive of Manor Farm, said the company had been working on the reduction of antibiotics in Ireland since Scandi Standard bought it. "Good animal welfare rests on three pillars: the feed and care of our breeding flocks, the housing environment, and the quality of the day-old chicks. "We will continue to make improvements on all these parameters. Our goal is to reach the Nordic levels of usage in the coming years - we're making steady progress," he said. Net sales for Manor Farm hit around 181.4m in 2019, an increase of 1pc on the previous year. It maintained its position as the leading chicken supplier in Ireland, with products from Manor Farm mostly being used by supermarkets and labelled as own-brand. Carton said the company was satisfied with the continued transfer of knowledge and best-practice across the group, particularly in the area of antibiotics. Crude oil's collapse into negative prices on Monday was a clear warning of just how scarce storage space for oil is getting. Prices below zero are the market's way of telling producers to stop pumping, now. Dismissing the historic move in the May contract for West Texas Intermediate crude as more of a financial thing than an oil situation, as U.S. President Donald Trump did, misses the point. People left holding that contract when trading ceased on Tuesday would have had to take delivery of the oil at the Cushing storage hub in Oklahoma. But with the world awash in oil, there was nowhere for them to store it. So, they had to get rid of that obligation, at almost any price. The situation has arisen because there is still simply too much crude being produced in a world that cant use it. The output cuts agreed to on April 12, after a four-day standoff between Mexico and the other members of the OPEC+ alliance, havent yet made a barrel of difference to supplies. They are only just starting to be implemented by a handful of the participants, with most including the two biggest, Saudi Arabia and Russia unlikely to make meaningful reductions before the deal officially comes into force on May 1. Meanwhile, about 40 million barrels of Saudi crude is heading for the U.S., alongside at least 11 million barrels from Iraq, all of it due to arrive by the start of June. Signs elsewhere are just as discouraging. Non-OPEC producers simply arent reacting quickly enough. U.S. production hasnt fallen nearly as dramatically as weekly data from the Energy Information Administration appear to show. More comprehensive monthly data from the same source suggest the drop is about half of that implied by the weekly numbers and over a period thats four times as long. My colleague David Fickling notes that other benchmark crude grades, such as North Sea Brent, dont have the same physical delivery requirements as WTI, which may give them some protection from falling into negative territory. But Intercontinental Exchange Inc., a leading provider of online marketplaces and clearing services for global commodity trading, is already preparing Brent crude contracts for negative trading. And some physical crudes priced at big discounts to Brent are already very close to zero. Meanwhile, the lack of storage space at Cushing that triggered WTI's sub-zero dive doesn't look likely to improve by the time the June contract expires, although the realization that prices can actually turn negative may help avoid a repeat in mid-May. But it's not just at Cushing that storage capacity is running out. Indian storage tanks are nearly full. Tankers full of crude are starting to build up off the coasts of America and well-known floating storage areas like South Africa's Saldanha Bay. Even where there is still space in tanks, it has mostly already been reserved, making it unavailable for use. Desperate times call for desperate measures. In Europe, refined products are even being stored on barges. In the U.S., pipeline operator Energy Transfer LP is looking to free up space in its conduits in Texas to store 2 million barrels of crude. And a director of Ukraine's state-owned oil company Naftogaz Ukrainy has suggested storing non-Russian crude in an underutilized pipeline network, which could theoretically hold as much as 35 million barrels. Even solutions like these will only delay the inevitable. Unless producers start cutting supply much more aggressively, another bout of negative prices will have to jolt them into action. Unable to travel to Rajasthan for his mother Saeda Begums last rites, Irrfan Khan was a part of the funeral through video conferencing. Her last rites were performed on Saturday evening at Chungi Naka graveyard on the outskirts of Jaipur. DNA reports that only a few family members could make it to the funeral. Irrfans mother Saeda died on Saturday morning. She was 95 years old. The actor was unable to travel to Rajasthan for the funeral, due to the nationwide lockdown till May 3. With the coronavirus pandemic rapidly spreading across the country, all domestic and international flights have been cancelled and states have sealed their borders. ANI reports that Saeda was unwell for a long time and died of natural causes. She belonged to the Nawab family of Tonk and was a resident of the Beniwal Kanta Krishna Colony in Jaipur. Also read: Irrfan Khans mother Saeda Begum dies at 95, actor unable to fly back to India Irrfan was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour in 2018 and has been undergoing treatment for his condition. Earlier this year, he returned to the big screen with Homi Adajanias Angrezi Medium, a sequel to the 2017 sleeper hit Hindi Medium. The business of Angrezi Medium took a massive hit, when theatres across the country shut down within days of its release due to the coronavirus outbreak. The film was then released on Disney+ Hotstar. Follow @htshowbiz for more SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Laurence Fox has revealed that he used to shout cut at ex-wife Billie Piper to try and shut down their arguments. The 41-year-old admitted to The Sunday Times that they used to have terrible fights in which he 100 per cent wound the f*** out of her, before continuing: She never broke any teeth. "He used to shout 'cut' at the height of their arguments," the interview reads. "He now refuses to argue. 'You dont need that in your house. You dont need that shit.'" The two actors divorced back in 2016 after nine years of marriage. Piper has since moved in with her new boyfriend, musician Johnny Lloyd. Of this Fox said: I actually do feel for her, he says, but feels more for Johnny, whos a sweetheart. Because I would go, Oh God, what happens if this goes wrong? Fox caused uproar in January this year when a BBC Question Time appearance saw him accuse a woman of colour of racism after she called him a white privileged male. Fox called the discussion surrounding the Meghan Markle race row boring and claimed: It's not racism. We're the most tolerant lovely country in Europe. After the show, actors union Equity denounced him as a disgrace to our industry. Speaking of the appearance, Fox actor said it caused a lot of stress among his family. Since the show aired, he claims to have been taking sleeping pills for insomnia because I thought my career was over. SPRINGFIELD Luz Mercado greets a seemingly endless string of cars outside The Gray House on Thursday morning with equal parts cheer and efficiency. Hello! Good morning! Buenos dias! she chirps, clutching a clipboard. Two doubles! she calls over her shoulder to a cluster of volunteers who hurriedly load bags of food into the trunks of idling minivans and compact cars. Mercado, 50, of Springfield, is the lead volunteer for the food pantry at The Gray House, a charitable organization in the heart of the citys North End. Founded by five Sisters of St. Joseph in the 1970s, the agency provides food to hungry families in the neighborhood, across the city and in surrounding communities each Thursday and on alternating Fridays. Founding members say they were struck by the deep-seated poverty in the neighborhood among the poorest in the state and resolved to be a resource for the community. The Gray House mission is simple: to help its neighbors facing hardships to meet their immediate and transitional needs. 13 The Gray House in Springfield offers no-contact food distribution Since the coronavirus pandemic hit, food services director Benjamin Holt said they have seen a 40% to 60% increase in families seeking help to feed their children as joblessness rates have soared. One day we saw 284 families in 180 minutes, Holt said, adding that volunteers like Mercado are the lifeblood of the program, which runs like a well-oiled machine. In addition to the flurry of activity at the curbside, volunteers wearing masks and gloves are busily organizing and packaging up canned goods, meats, fruits and vegetables in the rooms inside usually slated for after-school programs for neighborhood children. Mercado said she began devoting about 10 hours per week to The Gray House when she became unemployed four years ago and watched her own food pantry dwindle and then dwindle some more. 4/23/2020 - Springfield - Lead volunteer Luz Mercado (left) at The Gray House, a social service agency in the North End of Springfield, gets ready for the food distribution with the volunteers Chun Nickles, Brandon Mock and Sarah Kim. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican) A mother of three sons, she had worked in hospitals all her life. After a divorce, she moved to Springfield from New Jersey to live near her sister. After an ovarian cancer diagnosis, she had other health complications and eventually lost her job at Baystate Medical Center. I was down to feeding my sons ham sandwiches every night for dinner, and a little bit of oatmeal in the morning, Mercado said. One day, one of her sons teachers at Roger L. Putnam Vocational-Technical High School called to say her son had been sleepy and irritable in his classes. He said he was hungry. He had skipped breakfast so his mother could have milk in her coffee, Mercado recalled, her eyes filling with tears at the memory. The teacher called me and asked us if we were going hungry. I was ashamed but I had to say yes. I had never relied on anyone but myself before, Mercado said. I felt like a failure as a mother. In under an hour, staff and volunteers from The Gray House brought her the bags of food she needed to put food on the table. Mercado was awash with relief, as she was down to her last months rent in her bank account and had begun weighing eating versus eviction. 4/23/2020 - Springfield - The Gray House's volunteers Julio Torres of Springfield and Chun Nickles prepare for the supplies for the food distribution. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican) She also marvels that while she lived just over a mile away from The Gray House, she never knew it was there before they offered help. Now, she takes a reporter on a tour of the house, beaming with pride over the set up of the food pantry, the educational programs for children, the office space, its pool of volunteers. We start sorting and organizing the food for the Thursday pick-ups two days in advance, she reports. Many times my sons come and help. Two weeks ago, her beloved 84-year-old father died. Because of travel restrictions and social distancing mandates, she was unable to attend his service in New Jersey. The sisters at The Gray House offered Mercado time off from her volunteer work to grieve. She declined. The work keeps her grounded, she said. Plus, her father always admired her volunteerism. Asked what keeps her coming back week after week to The Gray House, Mercado paused. I think its the relief in their eyes, when we give them this food and they know they wont have to worry their children will be hungry. I felt that once, she said. About the Series As concerns about the community spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus evolve, people everywhere are doing good works every day. From health care workers on the front lines to Postal Service workers delivering our mail. From grocery-store workers to manufacturing plant employees. Life as we know it is different, but it continues. This series, Angels Among Us, will highlight stories about what Western Massachusetts residents are doing to help others and to keep our lives moving forward. If you have an idea for this series, please email it to newsdesk@repub.com with Angels in the subject line or mail to Angels Among Us, The Republican, Executive Editor Cynthia G. Simison, 1860 Main St., Springfield, MA 01103. Related content: Sony has announced new release dates for the Spiderman movies, the Venom sequel and even the Uncharted movie The Coronavirus outbreak has had a major impact across industries, including the film industry. Earlier this month, Disney had announced a major reshuffling of its release timelines, with the most notable being moving the release of the Black Widow movie, which had a cascading effect on every other Marvel movie release. Now Sony too has announced delays in release some of its films which have once again impacted the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sony has announced that the sequels to Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse and the third film in the Spiderman: Homecoming trilogy will be delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak. The final movie in the Homecoming trilogy will now release on November 5th, 2021 instead of July 16th, 2021 while the sequel to Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse will now see theatre screens on October 7th, 2022 instead of April 8th, 2022. With Sony moving the release of the third movie in the Homecoming trilogy, it means that Marvel too will have to shuffle some releases around, seeing how they like to maintain a timeline of releases. Due to the change in the release date of the third Spiderman movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder are both going to once again be pushed back. The Doctor Strange sequel, which had already been moved to November 5th, 2021 just a couple of weeks ago, will now open on March 25th, 2022. Thor: Love and Thunder is going to move up a week, releasing on February 18th, 2022 instead of the recently announced February 11th, 2022. Marvel had already announced a whole new release timeline for some of its upcoming films, including the announcement that some films will come straight to its Disney+ streaming platform. There are other notable movies from Sony that have also received new release dates. Venom: Let There Be Carnage, has been pushed to June 25, 2021, instead of releasing this year in October. However, there is a slight silver lining. The Uncharted movie which stars Tom Holland has now been moved to an earlier release date of July 16, 2021, from the originally planned release date of October 8, 2021. In the last few years Turkish designed UAVs have gained a lot of combat experience in Syria, Yemen, Ukraine and Libya. Turkish aircraft are effective and now China, Israel and the U.S. have another competitor in the combat UAV market. Turkey claims that their UAVs in Syria have destroyed over 2,500 targets, nearly all of them belonging to the Syrian military as well as some belonging to Kurdish separatists (mainly Syrian, but some Turkish) forces. The targets included at least 135 tanks, 40 other armored vehicles, 45 tube artillery weapons, 44 multiple rocket launchers, twelve anti-tank guns, 29 anti-aircraft systems, one UAV, eight helicopters and nine ammunition storage sites. Turkey described how one of the Syrian anti-aircraft systems, a Russian made Pantsir mobile missile launcher was destroyed by a UAV. Normally a Pantsir is active and searching for targets, including hostile UAVs. Turkey had another of their new systems, the Koral jammer, which is vehicle mounted and apparently widely used in Syria, jam the Pantsir sensors so a Bayraker TB2 UAV could destroy the Pantsir vehicle with a Mam-L laser-guided missile. . The Turks provided video. The Mam-L has a range of 8 kilometers and weighs half as much as the American Hellfire. Thus Mam-L is light enough for smaller UAVs to carry two of them. Mam-L and the larger UMTAS are the principal weapons of Turkish armed UAVs and are used regularly against PKK separatists in Turkey and Syrian forces and rebel groups in Syria. Mam-L and UMTAS are available to all customers for Turkish UAVs large enough to carry them. The 25 kg (55 pound) Mam-L is an unpowered version of the larger (37.5 kg/83 pound) UMTAS rocket-powered laser-guided missile. Both have a range of eight kilometers but the Mam-L glides to the target and range is less if the UAV is at a lower altitude. UMTAS is much faster and has a fire and forget feature where once the UAV laser designator identifies the target, the UMTAS will home in on it while the UAV seeks other targets. Mam-L is used against smaller, unarmored and stationary targets. UMTAS is described as an anti-tank missile and effective against tanks whereas the Mam-L will usually only damage a tank if that. Most of the targets Turkish UAVs attacked were troops in the open, bunkers, buildings, or unarmored vehicles. Most Turkish UAV manufacturers are attracting export orders. At the end of 2018, Ukraine ordered two Bayraker TB2 UAV systems for $69 million. Each system contains six UAVs, three truck-mounted ground control systems, two remote video terminals (which troops can use) and maintenance gear. The first system was delivered in 2019 and the other in 2020. Ukraine is the second export customer for Bayraker, as Qatar had earlier ordered one system. Saudi Arabia is also a customer. The primary user is the Turkish military, which already has six systems and plans to buy 151 UAVs (mostly as systems but also spares for expected operational losses). Turkey has not released a lot of information on their UAV losses in combat. In Libya, where several hundred Turkish troops and several thousand Arab mercenaries intervened in the civil war in 2019, the Bayraktar TB2 was used a lot and the opposition, the LNA (Libyan National Army), has claimed to have shot down 28 of them as of mid-April. Photographic evidence of only a few of these destroyed UAVs is available and the LNA admits that many of the Bayraktar TB2s were destroyed over enemy (Libyan GNA/Government of National Accord) forces. The LNA controls about 80 percent of Libya and Turkey intervened because the GNA is recognized by the UN while the LNA is only recognized by most Libyans. The GNA is, like Turkey, more tolerant of Islamic militant groups and was willing to sign a treaty that bolstered Turkish claims on waters off Greece that might contain natural gas deposits. Turkey is seen by most countries, including Russia and nearly all Arab states, as the unwelcome foreign invader in Libya. As a result, Turkey does not like to discuss its military operations there. The LNA is actively supported by several Arab states, mainly Egypt and the UAE (United Arab Emirates). The UAE has been operating its Chinese armed UAVs in Libya for at last two years and the LNA has an active air force that can shoot down large UAVs like the Bayraktar TB2. In Ukraine, the Bayraktar TB2 is facing Russian backed forces who also have a lot of anti-aircraft weapons and have shot down several of the Turkish UAVs. Same situation in Yemen, where Iran-backed rebels are a threat to Turkish UAVs. Despite these combat losses, the Turkish UAVs have performed as expected. All UAVs of this type, be they Israeli or American are vulnerable. A slow UAV is unequipped to deal with most anti-aircraft missiles but able to avoid most ground fire if they stay at a high (6,000 meters, 20,000 feet) altitude. The small Turkish firm that developed Bayraktar borrowed heavily from commercial technology that has already proved itself. As a result, Bayraktar was the first locally designed and built UAV of its class to enter service in 2014. Bayraktar is a 650 kg (1,433 pounds) aircraft with a 55 kg (110 pound) payload and an endurance of 24 hours. In 2016 Bayraktar TB2 was equipped to carry two Turkish made Mam-L laser-guided missiles. The same firm also developed the much smaller Bayraktar Mini UAV which is a 4.6 kg (9.9 pounds) aircraft that is battery powered and hand-launched. Endurance is 60 minutes and the Bayraktar can operate up to 15 kilometers from the operator. The Turkish Army has been using the Bayraktar Mini since 2007. The Turkish national police have also ordered the Bayraktar Tactical. Turkey has another firm producing large UAVs for commercial and military use. The latest entrant is Vestel, a Turkish conglomerate that has long manufactured appliances, computer equipment and commercial grade equipment for a wide variety of needs. In 2016 Vestel offered the Turkish military a new large UAV design, the Karayel. The Turkish military tried them out and by 2019 Vestel even had its first export customer, Saudi Arabia. The Turkish military has been using it in Syria and against PKK Kurdish separatists in eastern Turkey and was pleased with the results. Karayel is a half-ton UAV with a max endurance of 20 hours and a controlled flight range of 200 kilometers. Preprogrammed flights can go much farther. Karayel can fly high enough (6,500 meters/20,000 feet) to avoid most anti-aircraft weapons. At least one Karayel was shot down in Yemen by rebels operating along the Saudi border. This UAV may have been flying lower to obtain more detailed video of what was below and came within range of rebel anti-aircraft missiles. Or it may have had equipment problems. Whatever the case the Saudis had at least one of them, which is now lost. Karayel is well designed, with multiple redundancies and automatic (software controlled) landing and takeoff. Max payload is 190 kg, which means for shorter (a few hours) missions it can carry four Turkish made 22.5 kg (50 pound) Mam-L laser-guided missiles (similar to Hellfire) or two 50 kg GPS guided bombs. For longer (up to 20 hour) surveillance missions Karayel carries only about 55 kg of sensors (day/night vidcams or even a lightweight radar). Turkish firms have developed and deployed several workable combat UAVs and the Turkish armed forces have tried them all. In early 2018 the Turkish Air Force received six of 40 Anka UAVs they had ordered back in 2013. At that point eight Ankas had been built but two crashed during testing. Anka is actually delivered as a system and each of these consists of three UAVs plus ground control equipment and all necessary maintenance and ground operations gear. Looking very similar to the American Predator, the Anka is a 1.6 ton aircraft propelled by a rear-facing propeller. The payload is 200 kg (440 pounds), endurance is 24 hours and Anka can operate up to 200 kilometers from its controller. Max altitude is 7,900 meters (26,000 feet). A UAV like this would sell for over $2 million each. The Turkish military was supposed to receive its first Anka by the end of 2013 but that was delayed by technical problems. Turkey also announced a larger (four ton) version of Anka that can carry missiles or a lot more reconnaissance equipment. That has also been delayed and none have entered service yet. In 2016 Turkey put the original Anka UAV into service for the first time but deliveries of production models only began in 2017. The Turkish Air Force ordered 30 aircraft (ten systems) in 2013. Anka was late to arrive and the smaller, less expensive and more reliable Bayraker TB2 has become the most widely used by the Turkish military. Turkish UAV development has been going on since the late 1990s when Israel was still an ally and supplier of weapons and tech to the Turks. But by 2003 an anti-Israel Islamic government was running Turkey, and local UAV development was crippled but not destroyed as military and technical relationships with Israel were severed. Turkish firms could use a lot of existing tech to build larger UAVs suitable for commercial use. What makes large UAVs attractive to the military are the accessories, like sensors and the ability to use weapons. Take that out of most current military UAVs and you have a UAV for commercial markets, which includes border patrol and coast guard. Anka was clearly a military UAV, of the type the Israelis had pioneered in the 1980s. The Turkish government apparently ordered a state-owned firm to match the leased Israeli Heron UAVs used by Turkish forces. These Herons were eventually (2017) returned to Israel. Building large UAVs similar to the Heron proved difficult. One of the disputes with Israel was over electronic accessories Turkey wanted to add to the Israeli UAVs. The Turkish developer was perpetually late and when the delivery was made there were problems installing these on the Israeli UAV. The Turks blamed the Israelis and the Israelis kept quiet until they got their UAVs back. Then details of the over-promised and under-delivered Turkish technology were released. This situation was not unique to the large UAVs like Anka, and with other ambitious Turkish defense projects where the government demanded more than local firms, especially state-owned ones, could deliver. With the Israelis out of the picture, there was no one the government could blame for the years of delays in getting the Anka operational. The smaller Turkish firm that developed the two Bayraktar UAVs paid closer attention to the Turkish experience with Israeli UAV tech and managed to develop and manufacture competitive UAVs sooner than the larger Turkish firms that paid more attention to Turkish politics than to customer needs. The Bayraktar TB2 was very similar to the Israeli Heron UAV, which was the primary UAV for the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). Bayraktar also paid a lot of attention to software development, learning much from the experience of the Israelis and Americans. The Bayraktar TB2 flight software not only takes off and lands automatically but can also move from its parking spot on an airfield, taxi to the runway and takeoff without human intervention other than commands from the airbase flight controllers. In-flight, the control software has several redundancies, mainly alternate procedures for various emergencies that make Bayraktar TB2 safer and easier to operate. Ukraine probably could have obtained a similar UAV from China for less money but Bayraktar already had a reputation for reliability and better software than most. Another bonus for Ukraine to buy UAVs from Turkey was that Russia is trying, with mixed success, to turn Turkey into an ally. Ukraine also does business with China, which is also an ally with Russia but believes business is business. The Heron Shoval UAVs Israel sold/leased to Turkey are very similar to the American Predator A (or MQ-1). The Shoval weighs about the same (1.2 tons) and has the same endurance (40 hours). Shoval has a slightly higher ceiling (10,000 meters versus 8,100) and software which allows it to automatically take off, carry out a mission, and land automatically. Not all American large UAVs can do this. Both Predator and Shoval cost about the same ($5 million), although the Israelis are willing to be flexible on price. The Shoval does have a larger wingspan (16.5 meters/51 feet) than the Predator (13.2 meters/41 feet) and a payload of about 137 kg (300 pounds). Meanwhile, the anti-Israel Turkish government thought Shoval would be easy to replicate because Turkey's economy has been booming since 2000 and the Islamic government made good on its pledge to crack down on the corruption that had long crippled the economy. As the economy grew, the government sought to make Turkey more self-sufficient in military equipment, and UAVs are considered part of this program. But this was mainly for show, not for real. One exception was Turkish commercial firms developing, and delivering, less ambitious UAVs like the Bayraktar TB2 and Mini UAVs. By 2017 state-owned firms caught on. That year STM, a state-owned Turkish firm, put on the market three new locally developed UAVs. These UAVs (Alpagu, Kargu and Togan) are simpler and smaller than earlier Turkish efforts. STM declared that the three new UAVs were already in service, which meant that Turkish troops and police tested them and found them useful. What the manufacturers want is export sales and these UAVs address a market that is currently very crowded and competitive. Alpagu is a 3.7 kg (8.2 pounds) fixed-wing UAV that can do surveillance but is primarily meant for use as a portable cruise missile as it carries half a kilogram warhead and can be guided to a target up to 5,000 meters away by a soldier. The other two STM UAVs (Kargu and Togan) are based on commercial quad-copter designs. Kargu is a 6.3 kg (13.8 pounds) UAV while Togan is a 7.5 kg (16.5 pounds) quad-copter design. These also carry a wide variety of accessories already available for UAVs like this. The problem with smaller UAVs like this is that they compete in a crowded commercial market, largely dominated by several Chinese firms. The companies are constantly innovating and introducing new models. Israel recognizes what is going on here and has adopted the Chinese quad-copters for military and police use. Earlier this week, a 12-year-old boy in Gasconade County stumbled upon something unusual. Turns out, one simple act three decades ago has made a big impact for two local families. "Mom I think came up with the idea to write this message in the bottle," John Thomas told KY3. Back in 1984, 6-year-old John Thomas was at a family BBQ in Houston, Missouri, when he did something he never thought he'd hear about again. "She wrote it up, we put it in there and we sealed it up, said a little prayer and threw it out. This is the first time I've heard of it since then, which was 35, 36 years," Thomas said. 12-year-old Jimmy Humphrey found his note inside a Dr. Pepper bottle. "To whom it may concern, this bottle was thrown in at Dog's Bluff, Houston, Mo. If you find it, please reply to occupant 712 N. Grand Houston, Mo. 65483. Happy Fishing. March 24, 1984. 3 pm," Jimmy Humphrey read aloud. "It was in fairly good condition. It has some tears here and there. It was written on a napkin...like a fast food napkin," the Humphrey family explained. The bottle traveled nearly 200 miles from the Big Piney River to the Gasconade River near Hermann, Missouri. "It's crazy that it didn't break while traveling," Jimmy exclaimed. With no name, Mom, Cristen, put the note on Facebook. "And boy, the whole community just jumped in and they were all over it, sending me leads and it was really incredible. And we found him," Cristen said. Thomas is now a police officer with the Willow Springs Police Department. "I don't know. I like to think that maybe faith has a little bit in it and maybe that was a way to touch somebody else's life, that needed it," Thomas told KY3. "I think it was meant to be found during this time. 36 years it could've been found but it wasn't. It was found now, when we really needed something like this to happen," Cristen stated. Jimmy is keeping the bottle and note on shelf at home. The two families plan to meet up for a picture and dinner in the near future. Stacey Abrams said Sunday she would be willing to accept an offer to be former Vice President Joe Biden's running mate . Abrams, a former party leader in the Georgia Legislature and 2018 candidate for governor, was not shy about making her case for a spot on the ticket in a pair of interviews and also said Biden choosing a woman of color would "help promote not only diversity, but trust." "As a young black girl growing up in Mississippi, I learned that if I didnt speak up for myself, no one else would, so ... my mission is to say out loud if Im asked the question, 'Yes, I would be willing to serve,'" Abrams said on NBCs "Meet the Press" when asked by host Chuck Todd if she'd be the best running mate for Biden. She added, "There is a process that will played out" and that Biden "will pick the person he needs." Candidates for vice president often are reluctant to express an interest in the job, but that is something Abrams had no qualms about. "It's not about attention for being the running mate. It is about making sure that my qualifications aren't in question, because they're not just speaking to me. They're speaking to young black women, young women of color, young people of color, who wonder if they too can be seen," Abrams said in an interview with CNN's "State of the Union." "What I try to do is tell the truth and be direct. But I understand that there is a process that will be at work, and that he has no shortage of qualified candidates to choose from. She deflected concerns about her lack of executive experience, pointing to her national work since she lost a closely contested gubernatorial election to Republican Brian Kemp, including with a group she founded to promote voting rights. "I believe in doing the work," she said on "Meet the Press." "I've been doing it since the day I did not become governor and I will continue to do so. And I do so at a national level." Story continues Biden has pledged that he will pick a woman to be his running mate, and Abrams long has been seen as a potential running mate for Biden. Other prominent female politicians have been repeatedly mentioned, such as Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kamala Harris of California all of whom were candidates for the 2020 Democratic nomination as well as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Abrams last week called for Biden to pick a woman of color and said it would be concerning if the former vice president didn't do so, given their strong support for the Democratic Party. "I, of course, think that a woman of color can bring certain attributes. We have to lift up marginalized communities, communities that do not trust that they will be served because they've been the hardest hit by this pandemic," Abrams said. "And so, yes, having a woman of color on the ticket will help promote not only diversity, but trust." A state corrections worker has tested positive for COVID-19, the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services said Sunday. The staff member works at the State Diagnostic and Evaluation Center in Lincoln, which has struggled in the past with overcrowding. In January, the facility had 492 inmates, more than three times the 160 it was designed to house. Scott Frakes, director of Correctional Services, said in a press release that the staff member has been isolated at home for five days and has had no close contact with any other staff members or inmates. He said the state would take additional precautions, specifically monitoring the temperatures of people in the housing unit where the employee works. Currently, the state requires anyone entering a state correctional facility to undergo a temperature check, wear a mask and undergo questioning about symptoms or exposure to the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19. The state said all inmates have been issued masks. In its press release, the state said this is the second corrections worker to test positive for COVID-19. The state said no inmates have tested positive. SEOUL, KOREA, REPUBLIC OFA train likely belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been parked at his compound on the countrys east coast since last week, satellite imagery showed, amid speculation about his health that has been caused, in part, by a long period out of the public eye. The satellite photos released by 38 North, a website specializing in North Korea studies, dont say anything about Kims potential health problems, and they echo South Korean government intelligence that Kim is staying outside of the capital, Pyongyang. Seoul has also repeatedly indicated that there have been no unusual signs that could indicate health problems for Kim. That hasnt stopped growing unconfirmed rumours and media reports about Kims health that have emerged since he missed an April 15 commemoration of the 108th birthday of his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung. Kim Jong Un is the third generation of his family to rule North Korea, and he hadnt missed the April 15 event, one of the years most important for the North, since assuming power after his father Kim Jong Ils death in late 2011. Kims health is of crucial importance because of worries that the serious illness or death of a leader venerated with near godlike passion by millions of North Koreans could cause instability in the impoverished, nuclear-armed country. Many experts in South Korea downplayed speculation that Kim is seriously ill. They also said North Korea wont likely face a serious immediate turmoil even if Kim is incapacitated or dies because someone else like his influential sister Kim Yo Jong will quickly step in, though the prospect for the Norths long-term political future would be unclear. Kim Jong Uns train has been parked at the Leadership Railway Station servicing his Wonsan compound since at least April 21, the website 38 North said Saturday, citing an analysis of recent satellite photos of the area. The website said that the approximately 250-metre-long train wasnt present on April 15 but was present on both April 21 and 23. The trains presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the countrys eastern coast, it said. The photos indicate the train arrived before April 21 and was still present on April 23, when it appeared to be repositioned for departure. However, there was no indication when that departure might take place, 38 North said. North Korea exerts extremely tight control on information about its leadership, making it virtually impossible for outsiders to find out whats going on at those senior levels. Even South Koreas main spy agency has a mixed record on confirming developments in North Korea. When Kim Jong Il died in December 2011, for instance, few outsiders knew it until it was reported by North Koreas state media two days later. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasnt authorized to talk to the media, said the latest rumours about Kims health had not changed the U.S. assessment of the information as speculation. Danny Russel, a former National Security Council director and assistant secretary of state for Asia who has dealt with North Korea in the past, cautioned that rumours have abounded for years about Kim, his father, Kim Jong Il, and his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, and most turned out to have been false. While serving in government I was on the receiving end of multiple intelligence reports about alleged accidents, illnesses and assassination attempts against North Korean leaders only to have them reappear in public, he said. South Koreas presidential office said last week that Kim appeared to be handling state affairs normally and that there had been no suspicious activities, such as an emergency readiness order issued by the Norths military or the ruling Workers Party. The South Korean government has since maintained its assessment that Kims health remains the same. Some South Korean media outlets, citing unidentified government officials, have reported that Kim was staying at Wonsan. North Koreas state media still remain silent about the outside speculation on Kims health. On Saturday, the official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim had received a message of greeting from the chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation on the occasion of the first anniversary of Kims summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The message wished Kim good health and happiness, KCNA said. Its not the first time that Kim has vanished from the public eye, and past absences in state media dispatches have also triggered speculation about his health. In 2014, state media didnt report any public activities for Kim for about six weeks, before he reappeared with a cane. South Koreas spy agency said later that he had a cyst removed from his ankle. AP Diplomatic Writer Matt Lee in Washington contributed to this report. Read more about: Politics with Rod Eccles Older Page 1 Rod Eccles is the Host of The Nationally Syndicated Radio Show The Rod Eccles Show. He is The Coolest Most Politically Incorrect Conservative Black Man on the Planet and he is being dubbed the new Black Rush Limbaugh of our time. He is one of the leading voices in the Conservative Movement.He just published his first book titled The Conservative ECCLESiastes: Logic and Wisdom from the Coolest, Most Politically Incorrect, Conservative Black Man on the Planet. This year his show was added to the list of Top Talk Conservative Radio Show Hosts on Top Talk.com. Currently, Rod is traveling around the country making Key Note Speeches to Tea Party and Republican Organizations to fire up the base for the 2016 elections. The head of the HSE hospital group that oversees hospitals in Dublin and the midlands has thanked staff and the public for their efforts so far in the fight against Covid-19 but also extended his condolences to those who have lost their lives to the virus. Mr Trevor OCallaghan is the CEO of Dublin Midlands Hospital Group. It includes in Laois, Offaly, Kildare as well as St James, Tallaght and the Coombe in Dublin. The Dublin Midlands Hospital Group would like to acknowledge the great support the community is giving our frontline workers at this time. "While the numbers of cases and deaths are increasing, the national predictive modelling being undertaken by the Department of Health is showing an encouraging reduction in the reproduction rates of the virus. "This is very positive for us all to see and a testament to people adhering to the guidelines. We can also update you that most hospitals have had ICU discharges, and this is another encouraging development," he said. Mr O'Callaghan said recent weeks have been very difficult with the deaths of two healthcare workers from St Luke's in Kilkenny, the 12 deaths in St Mary's in the Phoenix Park and nine deaths relating to CHO 8 community mental health services in Maryborough on the campus of St Fintans, Portlaoise. "This is deeply sad for the families and the staff who are caring for those residents and I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to all. I would also like to acknowledge the work of the medical and nursing team in the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise who provided clinical assessment to support the clinical teams within Maryborough over a number of days ahead of the bank holiday weekend and who remain available to this service on an ongoing basis. "The activity across hospital sites is increasing and all sites are seeing increasing non-Covid ED activity, while continuing with care of Covid positive illnesses. We are working very closely with our CHO 8 partners who are seeing increasing pressure on their community nursing homes and residential units and we are endeavouring to support our colleagues by providing expert medical and nursing support in the area of Care of the Older Person, Respiratory Medicine, PPE capacity management and Infection Prevention and Control Guidance. "In that regard, we are officially announcing our Covid 19 Acute and Community Support Teams who will provide expert advice and guidance available to nursing homes and residential units in the CHO 8 area. A dedicated email RAFT.MRHT@hse.ie and mobile number 086 035 7351 which is operating Monday-Friday 9am 4pm and weekends 9 am 2pm. A more established model is also working within the CHO7 area South Dublin, Kildare West Wicklow which includes our Hospitals in St James, Tallaght University Hospital and Naas General Hospital. "Our staff are collaboratively working with our community colleagues to respond to these rapidly emerging challenges. All our staff are working long hours, weekends, working in different locations or maybe doing different job roles. These are extraordinary times and we have an extraordinary workforce that are highly regarded across the country as we have seen from the Shine Your Light campaign. Thank you to each and every staff member. For further information on Covid 19, testing, cocooning and minding your mental health during Covid 19 please visit: www.hse.ie. - Kapuso artist Heart Evangelista has been donating to those in need ever since the pandemic hit the Philippines - However, her latest online post about her donations caught the attention of a netizen who questioned her post - The netizen even suggested that the actress should reduce her posts about her donation - The actress's response towards the netizen garnered reactions and comments from the online community PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed Actress and fashion icon Heart Evangelista is among the celebrities who have been extending a hand out to those in need amid the pandemic. However, KAMI learned that the actress's latest post about her donations prompted one netizen to ask why she kept on uploading photos of her donations online. In the said comment, the netizen even compared Heart to an unnamed actress who donated a lot but did not post a photo about it "I saw one particular actress from the Philippines who GAVE A LOT and gave a lot of her time to SHARE HER blessings to the community but not a single picture of her with all her donations, time and effort," the netizen wrote. The netizen even left a suggestion for the actress, "I suggest you reduce those "altruism" pictures of yours because its totally inappropriate." Source: Instagram @iamhearte via Fashion Pulis Source: Instagram Heart eventually replied afterwards, "My donations are not out for the people to see. These are donations from companies and I post to show them for transparency. "Now go on to your real account and do something good. Maybe pray... in a room where no one will see you but GOD." The actress's response towards the basher elicited comments and reactions from the online community as well. "Ang taray ng response ni Heart. You go girl!" "Nakakahiya si basher, kung alam lang niya matagal ng active sa pagtulong si Heart." "Come on, ang tagal nang ganyan ni Heart. She loves to dress up ever since. That's how she normally dresses." "Bakit pa kailangan pansinin yung mga suot niya? Pwede naman yung mga natulong niya ang mapansin." PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! As reported earlier by KAMI, Heart Evangelista has been active on social media amid lockdown situation in the country. Just recently, she shared a photo of her learning how to properly wash clothes. Her TikTok video also garnered more than 1.5 million views already. Heart Evangelista, or Love Marie Ongpauco in real life, is one of the well-known actresses in the Philippines. Aside from being a fashion icon, Heart is also the wife of Gov. Chiz Escudero. POPULAR: Read more news about Heart Evangelista Please like and share our Facebook posts to support KAMI team! Dont hesitate to comment and share your opinion about our stories either. We love reading about your thoughts! In this video, we featured Jhon Rellores and his family as they helped others who are in need amid the pandemic! Check out all of the exciting videos and celebrity interviews on our KAMI HumanMeter YouTube channel ! Source: KAMI.com.gh Iran Lying About Peacefulness Of Space Program, Pompeo Says Radio Farda April 25, 2020 In a tweet on April 25, the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Iran continues to lie that the Revolutionary Guard's space program is peaceful when in reality it is part of the country's nuclear weapons program. "Deeply troubling that the IRGC, a Foreign Terrorist Organization, launched a military satellite. Their secret space program advances technologies used in nuclear weapons delivery systems," Pompeo tweeted on Saturday, April 25. On Wednesday Pompeo had called for Iran to be held accountable for the launch and said he believed launching the satellite was in violation of the Security Council Resolution 2231. The 2015 resolution called upon Iran to refrain from work on ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons. IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh said in an interview on Iran's state TV on 24 April that by launching its first military satellite into space on April 22, Iran has become a "superpower". He also praised the measure as a boost for Iran's deterrence power against any enemy. France, Germany and Britain have also criticized Iran's launch of a military satellite into space while Russia has defended it. "Reports that Iran has carried out a satellite launch using ballistic missile technology are of significant concern and inconsistent with UN Security Council Resolution 2231," a British Foreign Office spokesman said on Friday and added that Iran must abide by the Resolution's call upon Iran to refrain from undertaking any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons. "Iran must abide by this," he said. Iran, however, claims that tying the satellite launch to ballistic missile development is only an excuse that the United States uses for bullying Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif on Friday in a tweet said Iran neither has nukes nor missiles 'designed to be capable of carrying' such horrific arms' and accused the European powers of obeying the United States instead of Resolution 2231 of the U.N. Security Council. "US has been bullying all against UNSC Resolution 2231 since 2017... Neither (Europe or the United States) can lecture Iran based on flimsy misreadings of UNSCR 2231," Zarif said in the tweet. Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-lying- about-peacefulness-of-space-program- pompeo-says/30576344.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Reopening of stores in the wake of relaxation in guidelines from Centre, allowing neighbourhood and standalone shops to be open, will depend on members getting clarity from state governments, according to the Retailers Association of India (RAI). The retailers body lamented that a series of circulars from the Centre has only "complicated" the situation and has become "very difficult to interpret". "Members can't open it until and unless the states allow. Until states come up with a clarity, they can't open but the states are equally confused with this. It is the prerogative of states to allow stores to open, Centre is the guiding principle. Sadly, states have not got enough of clarity," RAI CEO Kumar Rajagopalan told PTI. He was responding to a query on whether RAI members will be reopening stores after the Home Ministry issued circulars relaxing guidelines for the lockdown. "RAI has told its members to get clarity from the states before they reopen," Rajagopalan added. Referring to the series of circulars issued by the Centre, he said, "It has got complicated...It is very difficult to interpret it. While it is a welcome sign from the government that they want to open up stores...(but) the whole thing is sounding more complicated than it was before." Arguing his point, Rajagopalan asked, "Will a departmental store in neighbourhood be allowed to open or not? Will states allow it? If (will) somebody on a high street be allowed to open or not? Clarity is not there." The government has clarified that the latest Home Ministry order implies that all shops in rural areas, except those in shopping malls, are allowed to open, whereas in urban areas, all standalone shops, neighbourhood shops and shops in residential complexes are allowed to open. Shops in markets/market complexes and shopping malls are not allowed to open. RAI has argued that the "current circular is open to interpretation and needs more clarity for easier implementation -- terms like market complexes are not easily understood". Rajagopalan said the experience of selling essential items, ensuring supplies to consumers during the lockdown, should have been drawn upon while allowing other items to be sold. To make it simpler, he said, "They (Centre) should say all kind of retailers can reopen subject to social distancing norms. Let them say that all kinds of stores, online and offline, everybody including the malls are allowed, provided the social distancing norms are strictly followed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A local progressive organization is hosting a virtual rally about long-term care facilities today. Southwest Iowa Indivisible will host a "Protecting Seniors in Long Term Care" rally on videoconferencing website Zoom at noon, according to a release. The group called the continued outbreak of COVID-19 cases in Iowa nursing homes "shocking." During a livestreamed press conference on Thursday, Gov. Kim Reynolds said there have been 12 outbreaks at long-term care facilities in the state. The group pointed to an outbreak at the Douglas County Health Center in Iowa and asked When will it happen here? The release said the rally will include: Speakers who have family members in long-term care who are at risk of being exposed to COVID-19 by transfers or visitor exposures. Medical professionals and health care advocates. Iowa Rep. Molly Donahue, D-68, of Linn County, a COVID-19 hot zone in the state, will speak as well. Go to us02web.zoom.us/j/83740213583?pwd=UEV4N3BpejVIQnFDL25XbnorYXJTUT09 to access the Zoom meeting. The meeting ID is 837 4021 3583, with password 210977. For more information, go to the "ZOOM Rally: Protecting Seniors in Long Term Care" Facebook page. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 18:40:24|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TAIPEI, April 26 (Xinhua) -- A fire at a karaoke bar in Taipei Sunday morning has caused five deaths and injured another 49 as of 4:30 p.m., the city's fire department said. Two of the injured showed no signs of breath before arriving at a hospital and have been in critical condition while seven others were unconscious, the fire department added. The fire broke out at around 10:57 a.m. on the fifth floor of the 14-floor building, which was part of a karaoke bar, and was put out about half an hour later. A total of 156 people were rescued from the fire while about 200 were evacuated. A preliminary investigation found that one of the elevators was being repaired and the fire control systems, such as fire alarms, ventilation system and sprinklers, were shut down when the fire broke out, the fire department said. The actual cause of the fire is still under investigation, the department added. Cashbox Partyworld Co., Ltd., the operator of the karaoke bar, said in a statement that it will fully cooperate with the authorities in the investigation. Enditem Update: Labor Department says has the guidance it needs and is updating systems to handle expanded benefits for gig workers. Some New Jersey workers have been waiting for as long as six weeks to claim unemployment benefits after applying once they lost their jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic. Among those reporting they havent seen benefits are gig workers, independent contractors, freelancers and the self-employed. The Labor Department has said it continues to wait for more federal guidance before it can pay benefits. And the agency repeated that again on Saturday. Workers who are self-employed, independent contractors and others not usually eligible for unemployment will not be able to claim state benefits, the Labor Deparment said in a statement. These workers likely are eligible for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), a program the Labor Department is working to bring online in New Jersey, and will be available soon. For now, and as it has said for weeks, the first step for self-employed workers, independent contractors and others not usually eligible for unemployment is to apply for state benefits and be denied. Workers will hear from the Labor Department soon on next steps to take to claim their federal benefits, the agency said. So while this is a new statement from the Labor Department, there was no new information for gig workers and others who are waiting. They still have to apply and wait. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage NJ Advance Media has heard from hundreds, if not thousands, of other workers who say they are not in the gig worker category but are still waiting to hear about benefits. Those workers, the Labor Department previously said, are part of a backlog it is trying to get through. The Labor Department also shared new information about common mistakes those applicants may have made, with clarifications about what could be holding up benefits for some. It said workers must certify their eligibility and availability for work each week in order to continue receiving benefits in accordance with federal labor department rules, and the Labor Department strongly encourages them to do so online at myunemployment.nj.gov, and it offered a new guide. It said certifying in New Jersey means answering seven questions and attesting to the truthfulness of the answers. Failure to answer all of the questions correctly could result in a delay of benefits, it said. Applying for unemployment can be complicated, so this guide takes workers step-by-step through claiming their weekly benefits, Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo said in the press release. As soon as it became clear new unemployment recipients were hitting a snag, the Department created easier-to-understand instructions. The Labor Department said half of the errors happen on the first three questions by claimants saying they are not available for or actively seeking work, or mistakenly saying they refused available work. Workers should answer yes to Question 1 if they were physically able to work before losing their job due to the coronavirus, are out of work temporarily and expect to return to their job, or are able and available for work, the agency said. Those who are waiting to be recalled to their current job, or are delaying their job search until the national emergency subsides, should answer yes to Question 2, it said. On Question 3, workers should say no, unless they have refused work, it said. The Labor Department advised workers to read Question 4 carefully, and should say no unless they have obtained Unemployment Insurance-approved student status. It also said every worker who is eligible for unemployment will also receive a supplemental $600 weekly benefit through the end of July, regardless of the amount of their regular unemployment payment. And, it said, workers who voluntarily quit a job, are not actively seeking work or who refuse work are not eligible to collect unemployment. For workers who have been approved for benefits, see the instructions on how to complete the weekly certification. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Karin Price Mueller may be reached at bamboozled@njadvancemedia.com. The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. TOP OF THE HOUR: Japan adds 14 more countries to entry ban list. New Zealand prepares to ease rules on strict lockdown. South Korea mulls reopening schools after 26th straight day under 100 new cases. China reports just 3 new virus cases, no new deaths. ___ TOKYO Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that his country is adding 14 more countries, including Russia, Peru and Saudi Arabia, to the entry ban list as the country steps up border control as the coronavirus infections continued to spread in the country. Japan has already banned entry from more than 70 other countries, banning foreigners with records of visiting those countries in the past two weeks, while invalidating visas for the rest of the world. The additional step on the 14 countries will take effect Wednesday, Abe said. The entry ban and the visa restrictions, initially set to end on April 30, are extended until the end of May. Japan is now under a month-long state of emergency through May 6, for now. Officials and experts are now gauging its effect and whether to extend the measure. Japan has 13,385 confirmed cases, as well as 712 others from a cruise ship quarantined near Tokyo earlier this year, with 364 deaths, according to the health ministry. ___ WELLINGTON, New Zealand New Zealand reported five new coronavirus cases Monday as the nation got ready to ease the rules on a strict lockdown from midnight. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there hasnt been widespread community transmission of the virus and the country has so far managed to avoid the worst scenarios for an outbreak. She said it would continue to hunt down the last few cases. From midnight, certain businesses such as construction will be allowed to reopen, but social distancing rules will still apply. Ardern said the nation was opening up the economy, but not peoples social lives. ___ Story continues SEOUL, South Korea South Korea reported only 10 new cases of the coronavirus, its 26th straight day below 100 as officials mulled reopening schools amid the slowing caseload. The figures released by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday brought the national totals to 10,738 cases and 243 deaths. At least 1,044 infections have been linked to international arrivals, but such cases have also declined in recent weeks amid tightened border controls. Using an active test-and-quarantine program, South Korea has so far managed to slow its outbreak without imposing lockdowns or business bans. But schools remain shut while providing children remote learning. Prime Minster Chung Sye-kyun during a virus meeting Monday instructed education officials to prepare measures to ensure hygiene and enforce distance between students at schools so the government could announce a timeline for reopening schools no later than early May. ___ BEIJING China reported just three new coronavirus cases Monday, and no new deaths for the 12th day in a row. A total of 723 people remain hospitalized and just under 1,000 were being kept in isolation and under monitoring for being suspected cases or for having tested positive for COVID-19 without showing symptoms. Beijing added one additional postmortem death to its count, raising Chinas overall death toll to 4,633 among 82,830 cases. Of the new cases, two were imported and one was detected in the province of Heilongjiang bordering Russia, according to the National Health Commission. ___ SIMI VALLEY, Calif. The family of a U.S. Marine killed in Iraq last month had to postpone his memorial service because of restrictions on large gatherings in California to slow the spread of the coronavirus. On Sunday morning, they were surprised with a parade outside their Simi Valley home that began with a police helicopter flyover, followed by about 1,500 law enforcement vehicles, fire engines and cars. The Ventura County Star reports the huge turnout to honor Gunnery Sgt. Diego D. Pongo was orderly. Pongos sister-in-law helped organize the parade to surprise his parents and brothers. The citys police department helped with traffic control. Community members kept the parade going for more than two hours, and many of their cars blasted music while kids hung out of windows waving flags. People who gathered on the sidewalk to watch the parade followed social distancing measures, Sgt. Patrick Zayicek told the newspaper. It was a great show of support in our community., he said. ___ CANBERRA, Australia Chinas ambassador to Australia has told a newspaper that the Australian governments pursuit of an independent international inquiry into the coronavirus outbreak could spark a Chinese consumer boycott of students and tourists visiting the country, as well as sales of major exports including beef and wine. Ambassador Cheng Jingye told The Australian Financial Review in an interview published Monday that Australias push for an inquiry was dangerous and predicted it would fail to gain traction among global leaders. Resorting to suspicion, recrimination or division at such a critical time could only undermine global efforts to fight against this pandemic, Cheng said. Cheng did not accept that the virus had started in a wet market in the city of Wuhan, saying the scientific jury was still out on its origins. Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt said such an independent inquiry was in the interests of Australia and the world. The Australian government has called for an inquiry into the virus and for changes to the World Health Organization. Education is Australias third largest export industry and China is the largest source of students studying in Australia. China is also Australias largest trading partner. The Chinese Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the accuracy of the newspaper story. ___ LOS ANGELES A lingering heat wave lured people to Southern California beaches, rivers and trails again Sunday, prompting warnings from officials that defiance of stay-at-home orders could reverse progress and bring the coronavirus surging back. Tens of thousands of people packed the sand at Newport Beach in Orange County, where residents compared weekend crowds to the Fourth of July and lifeguards reminded people to stay apart if they were in groups of six or more. Neighboring Huntington Beach also saw big gatherings, despite the closure of parking lots and metered parking restricted along Pacific Coast Highway. Temperatures were close to 90 degrees. Robin Ford surveyed the crush of visitors with concern. Unless all these people are in one household, it does look like they are not social distancing," Ford told the Orange County Register. "They could be spread out more. ___ ROME After Italys bishops complained that the latest lockdown rules still dont allow public Masses, Premier Giuseppe Contes office has promised to come up with a plan that would let the faithful attend services while respecting social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since a national lockdown began in early March, churches in Italy havent been allowed to hold Masses for the public, although they can keep their doors open for those wanting to pray individually. Conte on Sunday announced some easing of containment measures for the nation, starting May 4. In response, the Italian bishops conference quickly put out a sharply worded statement, saying bishops cannot accept seeing the exercise of freedom of worship be compromised and insisting that the faithful must have access especially to the sacraments. ___ ROME After seven weeks in lockdown to contain one of the worlds worst outbreaks of COVID-19, Italians are regaining some freedoms. Premier Giuseppe Conte says that starting May 4, public parks and gardens will re-open and people will be able to visit relatives who live in the same region. However, Conte told the nation in a televised address Sunday night that citizens must practice social distancing. In the case of parks, mayors can impose limits, such as how many people enter, to avoid crowding. During family visits, people will have to wear masks and cant hold parties. If people dont follow the new measures, Conte says the curve of contagion can rise again, it will go out of control, deaths will climb and well have irreparable damage to the economy. Conte says professional sports teams can resume training on May 18 and athletes in individual sports can resume training on May 4. That means the Serie A soccer league could resume playing games in June. It has been suspended since March 9. Twelve rounds remain in Serie A, plus four other games that were postponed from the 25th round. The Italian Cup was suspended after the first leg of the semifinals. Also on May 18, libraries, museums and art exhibitions can re-open. Factories, construction sites and wholesale supply businesses can resume activity as soon as they put safety measures into place aimed at containing COVID-19. But Conte says that if the epidemiological curve of contagion starts to rise again, the government will quickly intervene and shut down such industrial activity again. Conte offered a new mantra for the about-to-begin second phase: If you love Italy.... keep the social distance. Health ministry figures indicate that Italy had seen its lowest day-to-day increase in deaths 260 since mid-March, during the first week of lockdown. Starting May 4, funerals will be allowed, but preferably should be held in the open, no more than 15 persons can participate and mourners must wear masks. If all goes well, retail shops will reopen on May 18, and restaurants, cafes, barber shops and hair salons on June 1. ___ FISHERS, Ind. A church in suburban Indianapolis resumed in-person services for the first time in a over a month. The iTown Church in Fishers limited the number of attendees to 10 on Sunday in order to adhere to a state order that prohibits gatherings of over 10 people. According to the Indianapolis Star, the 40-minute services began on the hour, with each service followed by a 20-minute period to allow cleaning crews to sterilize the area. ___ PARIS While the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care in France is continuing to trend downward, the overall number of ICU patients is increasing, with more people needing emergency care for other ailments. The build-up of patients in French ICUs comes amid concerns that people with long-term medical problems have been delaying or not getting treatment during the outbreak, while hospitals have been struggling with huge flows of patients seriously ill with the new coronavirus. The Health Ministry said hospital ICUs were treating 7,553 people on Sunday, 28 more than on Saturday. But the proportion of COVID-19 patients in ICUs was again down, at 4,682. That was 43 fewer than the day before. The ministry said the increase of non-COVID patients in ICUs underscores the necessity of tracking and treating patients with chronic illnesses as well as the urgent need to care for serious acute illnesses. The overall death toll from Frances virus outbreak is now up to 22,856, behind only Italy and Spain in Europe. More than one-third of Frances victims died in care facilities, mostly for the elderly. ___ LAUREL, Mont. Montana took its first, halting step toward reopening as churchgoers returned to services after a month-long hiatus and a general stay-at-home order expired. While other states have been extending restrictions amid the continuing spread of the coronavirus, Montana is among those that are beginning to loosen rules in hopes of restoring battered economies and regaining some normalcy. Roughly 100 people streamed into St. Anthony Catholic Church in Laurel on Sunday, where ushers tried to keep families separate from one another and large bottles of hand sanitizer were on offer at the sanctuarys entrance. Church member Jack Auzqui says being unable to attend had been spiritually difficult for him and his wife. Returning, he said, was akin to a family being reunited. Rev. Bart Stevens opened with an instruction for attendees not to linger after the Mass to minimize social interactions. At Christ the King Lutheran Church in Billings, Pastor Ryan Wendt said the church was mixing faith with common sense precautions. Every other pew was kept empty to comply with social distancing guidelines, while elderly and medically-vulnerable members of the congregation were advised to stay home. ___ TORONTO Canada's most populous province says all publicly-funded schools will remain closed until May 31 to keep students and staff safe amid the pandemic. Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce says the decision was based on advice from medical experts. Lecce says the school closure could be further extended. Students have already transitioned to learning online over the past month. The Ministry of Education says it has already distributed 20,000 iPads to students whose families dont have the means to access online learning. ___ Follow AP news coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak A man wearing a face mask walks past an installation for the recent Lunar New Year of the Rat, at Yu Park in Shanghai on Feb. 6, 2020. (Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images) Will Geng-Zis Turmoil Produce Changes in China and Iran? Commentary One topic has now set tongues wagging in the world of Chinese intellectuals. According to the Chinese astrology chart, 2020 is the year of Geng-Zi, or the metal rat, which comes once every 60 years. It is said that every time the year of the metal rat rolls around, a big history-shaking incident takes place. That may be happening in China, and also in Iran, which doesnt share Chinas astrology. In 1840, during the Qing Dynasty, the Opium War broke out, leading to Chinas stagnation for more than a century. Sixty years later, in 1900, toward the end of the Qing Dynasty, forces from an alliance of eight nationsthe UK, United States, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Japan, and Austria-Hungarymoved from Tianjin to Beijing, an incident triggered by the Boxer Rebellion, which had started in 1899. 55 Days at Peking is an American film starring Charlton Heston and depicting the siege of the foreign legations compounds in Peking, now known as Beijing, during the Boxer Rebellion. The metal rats next return, in 1960, coincided with a famine caused by the Great Leap Forward led by Mao Zedong, the founding father of a new China, or the Peoples Republic of China. Yang Jisheng, a former journalist for Xinhua News Agency who lost his foster father to the famine, later authored Tombstone, a detailed reportage about the epic disaster. Are we now in the midst of a new catastrophe, destined to thwart the Chinese Communist Partys goals for global hegemony? Is the CCP doomed to be defeated by the metal rat? Can the mythological symbol become a force for success, or will the Chinese sink again into 60 years of misery? Nobody knows for sure, but the Iranians seem to be suffering from a metal rat-like catastrophe: massive unemployment, lack of jobs, shrinking housing, and ongoing repression. Twitter reports an increasing tempo of arrests, torture, and execution, and it appears commonplace for corpses to disappear, lest enraged relatives resolve to bring down the whole rotten edifice. It will take some time before the mess is sorted out, especially now that leading officials of the regime are being struck down with the virus. One can imagine the plots and subplots following the death of Supreme Leader Khamenei. And the leaders are tucking away their cash, far from the avid clutches of the people who have been robbed of their wealth. Oriental banks are favored hiding places. Meanwhile, food is in short supply, suicide is mounting, and there are reports of prison escapes throughout the country. All this chaos is the product of a failed state, the Islamic Republic of Iran, which seems totally unable to get a grip on the manufacturing and distributional capacities of the nation. Leaders are promising violent action against the United States and its friends and allies should the Americans take military action against Iran, and security forces are forever clamping down on protests against bad management, censorship, and vicious beatings. With such a background, its no surprise that there are nearly constant uprisings, although nothing on a scale that would frighten the ruling class. But every so often, mass demonstrations convulse the country, and Khamenei and his men must decide how to put them down. Sooner or later, the leaders who have miscalculated most everything will miscalculate the situation and there will be a full-fledged revolution. Until then, the regime will search for some way to forestall the devastating effects of Geng-Zi. Alternately cracking down on domestic protests, providing training and weapons to foreign forces to challenge Americans and Israelis, and attacking U.S. air fields around the region, the Iranians seek to impose their will on us. It may yet work. Michael Ledeen is a freedom scholar at Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He has served as a consultant to the National Security Council and the departments of State and Defense, and as a special adviser to the Secretary of State. He is the author of 35 books, most recently Field of Fight: How to Win the War Against Radical Islam and its Allies, co-authored with retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Back in January, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex shocked the world, and the royal family, when they announced that they would be stepping down as senior royals. Fans were shocked to hear that the power couple would be stepping down as senior members of the royal family at a time when Meghan looked as if she was finally starting to become comfortable in her new role. Recent reports, however, indicate that Meghan was having a very hard time following the royal rules and felt as if they were restricting her from showing the world who she truly is. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry had a hard time following the royal rules Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend a reception for young people at the Palace of Holyroodhouse on February 13, 2018 in Edinburgh, Scotland | Andrew Milligan WPA Pool/Getty Images Since Prince Harry was a little boy, he seemed as if he did not like being in the spotlight constantly. Even when he was a kid, he was expected to always be on his best behavior and act like a perfect gentleman. And while his older brother, Prince William, didnt have any problem with using his manners and acting as a perfect royal in public, Prince Harry would stick his tongue out at the camera and act more like a normal kid. When Prince Harry was a teenager, he made headlines and was labeled as the wild royal when he was caught smoking marijuana, drinking alcohol, and he was photographed getting naked at a party in Vegas. Meghans behavior may not have been as controversial as her wild princes behavior, but she still has broken quite a few royal rules since becoming the Duchess of Sussex. Some of the rules that she has broken are not really considered to be that big of a deal to some people. For example, unlike other females in the royal family, Meghan has been known to wear dark-colored nail polish and open-toed shoes. And, on a few occasions, she has opted to wear a pantsuit instead of a traditional dress or skirt. There have been a few occasions, however, when she has broken some royal rules that have raised a few eyebrows, like when she voices her opinion about her political beliefs. Members of the royal family are supposed to stay neutral when it comes to their political opinion. However, Meghan has never been shy letting people know that she sides with the Democratic party and that she doesnt like President Trump. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle make a shocking exit from the royal family Meghan and Prince Harry shocked the world when they announced that they would be stepping down from their royal duties. They had originally planned to live in both the U.K and North America while they continued to work on their charities without receiving their income from the UK taxpayers. However, after having a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the family, it was decided that they would lose their HRH titles and would no longer be able to continue working with their charities in a royal capacity. Fans of the royal family were quick to point the finger at Meghan for the couples decision to leave, which is why they dubbed the couples decision Megxit. It was originally believed that the couple would be spending the majority of their time in Canada. However, recent reports have suggested that the couple is currently living in a $20 million mansion in Malibu. Did Prince Harry and Meghan decide to leave because they didnt want to be voiceless figureheads? There have been many theories about why the Duke and Duchess of Sussex decided to leave their royal duties, but many people believe Meghan is the driving force behind the decision. According to Express, royal writer, Ashley Pearson, believes that the royal life was not as spectacular as Meghan thought it was going to be. She had no idea how un-glamorous it really is to be a royal and, when she found out she would be a civil servant with a tiara, she was like, No way,' Pearson said. Meghan was also very politically driven before she got with Prince Harry and many royal experts believe that she did not like the fact that she was no longer allowed to voice her political stance. Because of that, she was desperate to get back to her old lifestyle. BBC correspondent, Jonny Diamond said that if Meghan continued to stay in the royal family, she feared she would become a voiceless figurehead. While Meghan and Prince Harry have yet to address the exact reason that made them come to their decision to step down as senior royals, Prince Harry hinted that the pressure of being a royal was too much to bear and that this decision would benefit not only him and his wife but also their son. For years, Greys Anatomy fans have found Meredith Greys (Ellen Pompeo) strength inspiring. The award-winning general surgeon and single mother proved time and time again she is the sun of her own story. But even so, viewers may not have known the character was headed in that direction when the Shondaland series began in 2005. And recently, Pompeo revealed she didnt find Merediths iconic pick me, choose me, love me speech empowering. However, its evident the show has grown over the past 15 years. Meredith Greys pick me, choose me, love me speech on Greys Anatomy Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey on Greys Anatomy | Gilles Mingasson/ABC via Getty Images In Greys Anatomy Season 2, Episode 5 titled Bring the Pain Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) is struggling to choose between his intern, Meredith, and his wife, Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh). Then at the end of the episode, Meredith who isnt exactly the romantic type tells Derek to pick her. She says: I lied, Im not out of this relationship. Im in. Im so in its humiliating because here I am begging. OK, here it is. Your choice. Its simple. Her or me. And Im sure shes really great. But Derek, I love you. In a really, really big pretend to like your taste in music, let you eat the last piece of cheesecake, hold a radio over my head outside your window, unfortunate way that makes me hate you, love you. So pick me, choose me, love me. Meredith then tells Derek to meet her at Joes Bar if he chooses to divorce Addison. He never shows. Ellen Pompeo discusses the growth of Meredith Grey on Greys Anatomy Of course, Greys Anatomy fans know Derek and Meredith eventually fall in love and start an epic romance before his death in season 11. But regardless, Merediths pick me, choose me, love me speech was hailed as one of the many romantic moments of the series. Then in an interview with Variety from April 2020, Pompeo shared why it wasnt. When the publication asked whether the actor saw Meredith as a strong feminist at the start of Greys Anatomy in 2005, Pompeo explained the character stood out from other roles at the time. I did recognize that the film roles that I was being offered at the time were all the girlfriends and sort of just the chick in the movie with not a lot to do, she said. And [when] I read the pilot, I did recognize, Wow, this is a female lead with a career. I wasnt seeing many of those parts, so I did recognize that. However, Pompeo didnt always see Meredith as the empowering woman she is today, particularly when she begged Derek to love her. Her journey to becoming powerful was not really so obvious to me, Pompeo said. I have a different perspective, and maybe people see the beginning of the show as more empowering than I did. But that, Pick me, choose me, love me [line]; I was like, Why am I begging a man to love me? To me, thats not empowering. Nevertheless, Pompeo acknowledged how much growth Meredith has gone through on Greys Anatomy. With television shows specifically, they dont really know where theyre going, Pompeo said. Shonda [Rhimes] definitely had an idea for characters and they have to have some sort of arcs. But I think that a show that runs for as long as Greys, the show has had to grow with the characters. She continued: Im 15 years older now, so Im so much stronger a person than I was then. It just evolves. The writers get to know you, they watch the dailies and they watch the show. Greys is so unique, because weve been on the air for so long, theyve all watched me grow up. Shonda and the writers, weve all grown up together. Whether or not you find Merediths speech empowering, the Greys Anatomy character has certainly grown into someone worth aspiring to. And now we look forward to watching Meredith continue her journey as the Shondaland series nears its 17th season. So stay tuned. Read more: Greys Anatomy: Krista Vernoff Reveals Why Alex Karev Didnt Die in Season 16 By Trend There are no disagreements or contradictions regarding provision of social benefits in Azerbaijan, said the countrys deputy economy minister Sahib Alakbarov. He made the remarks during the briefing of the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers, Trend reports. He was commenting on the refusal to pay lump-sum payments to tax identification number (TIN) holders. The deputy minister said that there are a lot of speculations about paying a one-time allowance of 190 manat. Alakbarov noted that he spoke with the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population on this issue on April 23. "We have fully agreed on the matter. TIN has nothing to do with this issue. The number does not play a key role here. But possibly, some people are still really unhappy with the refusal. Those who received the refusal two days ago, can express their dissatisfaction even today. There can be other issues. I think that there are no disagreements or contradictions in this regard. But if therere questions, the issue should be studied, and the relevant authorities should answer these questions. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz (Natural News) As part of a coordinated response to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, a local homeless shelter in Boston known as the Pine Street Inn recently tested 397 people who were staying there, 146 of whom tested positive for the coronavirus. But the odd thing is that none of them showed any symptoms. Because there was a small cluster of known cases of the virus in Bostons South End, testing was commenced at what would seem like a hotbed of potential infection: a homeless shelter. But much to the shock of local health authorities, nobody at the shelter was actually sick, despite some of them testing positive. It was like a double knockout punch, stated Dr. Jim OConnell, president of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, which provides medical care to Bostons homeless shelters. The number of positives was shocking, but the fact that 100 percent of the positives had no symptoms was equally shocking. False positives have plagued current testing efforts, causing many scientists and health officials to believe an artificially high percentage of people are infected with the coronavirus. Many antibody tests, for example, produce far higher numbers of false positives than true positives. All the screening we were doing before this was based on whether you had a fever above 100.4 and whether you had symptoms, OConnell added. Seeming perplexed, he added, How much of the COVID virus is being passed by people who dont even know they have it? Listen below to The Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, answers questions about lockdowns, flu fatalities, the nature of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), and much more: Most of the new isolation beds set up for homeless people in Boston amid the coronavirus pandemic remain unused The 146 people who tested positive at this particular homeless shelter were immediately moved to two different temporary isolation facilities, both located in Boston. In the end, only one of the infected individuals ended up needing hospital care, while the rest continue to show no symptoms. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that it is actively looking into these results because they could be a game-changer for how virus testing is to proceed at a societal level. If we did universal testing among the general population, would these numbers be similar? asks Lyndia Downie, president and executive director of the Pine Street Inn. I think there are so many asymptomatic people right now. We just dont know. We dont have enough data on universal testing to understand how many asymptomatic people are contagious. In the coming days, authorities say they will be conducting additional tests at other Boston homeless shelters which could shed more light on how this thing is potentially spreading unnoticed because many of the people who catch it never end up showing symptoms. It tells you, you dont know whos at risk, adds Marty Martinez, Bostons chief of Health and Human Services. You dont know what you need to do to contain the virus if you dont actually have the details or facts. Martinez says that the goal of his department is to test everybody at all Boston homeless shelters in the coming days in order to gain a good understanding of who has it and who doesnt. The problem with this plan, of course, is that the issue with high numbers of false positives still hasnt been resolved. More of the latest news about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) is available at Pandemic.news. Sources for this article include: Boston25news.com NaturalNews.com Fourteen Border Security Force (BSF) jawans have been quarantined in Chhattisgarh for suspected coronavirus infection after they returned from Agra, officials said on Sunday. Their final test reports are awaited, a senior official said. The troops had reached Bhilai town in the central Indian state on Saturday from Delhi via Agra onboard a truck of the force. All the 14 personnel were tested upon arrival and subsequently two sent to an isolation facility in neighbouring Durg district, while the rest quarantined at a centre of the Bhilai Steel Plant, a senior official said. After starting their journey from Delhi, the BSF troops had halted for 20 days at a police lines in Uttar Pradesh's Agra district. "As per information, the cook of the local police in the Agra camp has been found positive for COVID-19 infection," the official said. They said the police cook could have passed on the infection to the BSF troops, who are deployed in the anti-Naxal operations grid of Chhattisgarh. Officials of the force also raised concerns over the movement of troops during the lockdown period and said all such activities have been strictly banned by the force headquarters. Such isolated instances may lead to serious consequences in the paramilitary, they said. BSF Director General (DG) S S Deswal had recently issued a stern warning to his commanders and personnel, saying strict action will be taken if any of them violates the COVID-19 medical protocols. The BSF is primarily tasked to guard Indian borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh apart from rendering a variety of duties in the internal security domain of the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As the COVID-19 pandemic strains health care in hotspots of the country, a close look at the situation at hospitals locally and across Wisconsin shows reason for optimism. In recent days, the number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 statewide and locally has held steady or declined. On Friday, the state Department of Health Services reported that 361 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized in Wisconsin, with 143 requiring intensive care. Earlier in the week the total number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients was 358, with 137 in ICUs. Overall, as of Saturday, 4,272 of the states 11,489 hospital beds were empty, and the DHS reported that 1,253 ventilators were on hand in Wisconsin hospitals. And of the 5,687 confirmed cases of the virus statewide, 1,376 patients, or 24%, were ever hospitalized, the DHS reported Saturday. The news on the states hospital vacancies comes at a time when some health care workers are being furloughed across the country, and concerns are being raised about Gov. Tony Evers extension of his Safer At Home order to May 26. Last week, the Mayo Clinic, headquartered in Rochester, Minn., announced it was furloughing or reducing the hours of 42% of its 70,000 employees across all campuses in an attempt to mitigate financial losses for the pandemic. Evers last week released his Badger Bounce Back plan, which lists criteria to be met prior to reopening the state. Ensuring adequate health care facility capacity in the event of a surge is one of the criteria. The criteria also including a decline in the percentage of new positive cases against the total tested for COVID-19, progress in testing and tracking those infected with the disease, and provisions of personal protection equipment for healthcare and public safety personnel must show improvement over 14 days. In Kenosha County, COVID-19 patient hospitalizations are below the state average, according to Jen Freiheit, director of the countys Division of Health. Of the positive cases so far, only 18% have required hospitalization, she said. This is less than the state average. She also said the countys health care system has not been hit as hard to date as other areas of the country. We just havent seen the most critical patients at the rate that some places have seen; but this is not necessarily a predication of whats to come, Freiheit said. On Friday, DHS started reporting the number of patients who are considered recovered from the coronavirus. As of April 23, the state had 2,313 recoveries, or 46% of patients. To be considered recovered, patients must meet at least one of these criteria: Documentation of resolved symptoms Documentation of release from public health isolation 30 days since symptom onset or diagnosis Froedtert South sees drop in admissions COVID-19 patient admissions at Froedtert South, which has hospitals in Kenosha and Pleasant Prairie, peaked on April 13 but have tapered off since then, said Ric Schmidt, hospital president and CEO. We went through a scary phase (on April 13) and I think we handled it well and never missed a beat, Schmidt said last week. The next test will be what happens if we go over 150 inpatients. In a letter to Kenosha Mayor Antaramian regarding the hospitals pandemic planning in early April, Schmidt reported that prior to the outbreak, the hospital had a daily intake of patients numbering between 115 and 150 with an average of 130. Following the outbreak, daily numbers dropped as elective procedures were postponed. Regarding surge planning we can handle an increase from 60 or 70 to 150 patients ... assuming our staff remain healthy, he wrote. As of April 23, Advocate Aurora reported 96 COVID-19 patients were in its facilities statewide, according to spokesperson Cheri Mantz. The regional hospital and health care system also did not provide information regarding the trend of COVID admissions, total hospital beds, or immediate bed availability. Regarding testing, however, Mantz said, We are pleased to share that through ACL Labs we have doubled testing capacity, however there continues to be a national shortage of COVID-19 test kits and the materials needed to process them. Ascension plans for COVID-19 Ascension Wisconsin on Saturday said that it continues to experience COVID-19-related activity. We have engaged our surge plans to care for this patient population and expand well beyond our normal operations at levels by 50% and 100%, the hospital said in a statement sent Saturday. Ascension confirmed that they are currently caring for 71 patients with COVID-19 in its Wisconsin hospitals, which includes Ascension All Saints in Racine and Ascension Southeast Wisconsin Hospital in Franklin, just north of the Racine County line on 27th Street. While we are currently caring for patients with confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19, we want to reassure the public that individuals who need emergency care should not delay treatment. We are equipped to safely protect our patients from potential exposure to COVID-19 responding to any acute medical and emergent needs, Ascension said in a news release. Ascension said it has separate intake and care areas, waiting room distancing, staff screening, ongoing use of personal protective equipment, as well as extensive safety and sanitization protocols, in place to ensure all patients are cared for in a protected environment. We continuously monitor guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and adjust safety practices and safeguards accordingly, Ascension said in a news release. The hospital said it is watching the COVID activity very closely and said that the community should continue the safe practices of: Staying at home Washing hands and surfaces often Staying six feet or more away from others in public spaces Not meeting in groups of any size Covering the nose and mouth with a mask or face covering Hospitals would need supplies in event of surge For now, bed availability and supplies are holding steady, say Kenosha County health care officials. Right now hospitals are able to keep up, Freiheit said. If the question is, Is there a perceived crunch (for beds)? the answer is no for now, Schmidt said. In early April, Froedtert South reported it had 35 ventilators, 27 of which were dedicated for critically ill COVID-19 patients and eight dedicated for surgeries. In the event of a surge, however, more supplies would be required at Froedtert South facilities, Schmidt said. What will limit us is not hospital beds but the limitations of our medical staff and staff, our ability to attain additional ventilators and attain the needed PPE, he wrote. Regarding testing Schmidt noted that the hospital is getting results in 24 to 72 hours, but a game changer would be a very large supply of Abbotts quick test. Following an offer of assistance from the mayors office, Schmidt noted that Froedtert South could use additional hand sanitizers, disinfectants, isolation gowns, surgical masks and N95 masks. Mantz said that Aurora Advocate hospitals have sufficient personal protection equipment to meet its current needs and continue to work to acquire additional PPE from reliable sources. If the question is, Is there a perceived crunch (for beds)? the answer is no for now. Ric Schmidt, president and CEO of Froedtert South Alyssa Mauk contributed to this report. Love 5 Funny 0 Wow 3 Sad 0 Angry 2 The Repair Shop Wednesday, BBC1 Rating: Hitmen Wednesday, Sky One Rating: The one show we all really need right now, at this most difficult time, has to be one of my personal favourites, The Repair Shop. Gosh, its lovely. Its like immersing yourself in a warm bath of kindness and goodness. Its as if people gathering when they shouldnt, or stripping supermarket shelves bare, never happened. Geoff Clark, Mark Stuckey and Jay Blades with Geoffs restored jukebox in The Repair Shop And the experts are so, well, expert. They can fix anything, and come The Time After theyll be so much more valuable than bankers, say. As it is, I dont understand why people are stockpiling loo rolls when they could be sharpening flints. I sharpened three this morning and am up for doing six more this afternoon. But back to The Repair Shop, which has been knocking about for a few years, yet I dont think the BBC clocked how beloved it was until the Christmas special attracted 5.5 million viewers. (For comparison, Belgravia is currently getting around four million.) So having been booted around the schedules, its finally been awarded a primetime slot on BBC1. Its set in a big thatched barn (in Sussex, I think) where a dream team of craftspeople is given family heirlooms to restore. Some items are very old. This week there was a mid-17th-century clock that had been in a box in a cupboard for the past 70 years. Youll wonder how much it is worth. But no one on the programme does, because thats not its proper value. Its value is to its owner, Frank, who remembers it chiming in his grandfathers house. The owners all tell their stories, then the craftspeople get to work, then the newly restored item is revealed to them, voila, but its never showy. The (now shiny) item will likely be hidden under a bit of tatty blanket prior to the owner seeing it again. Often there are tears, your own included. Often? Always there are tears. I think this may be the most moving programme on the box. Aside from the clock, this week also saw two sisters bring in their childhood bicycle watching them ride it again at the end, you could see their childhood selves in their faces but the standout item was the Sixties jukebox owned by Geoff. He had bought it prior to his wedding to Marie in 1978. We couldnt afford a reception so had it in our dining room, with sandwiches and cups of tea, and the jukebox was in the dining room and I played D1, Moonlight Serenade by Glenn Miller. Absolute magic happened as Marie and I cuddled each other and shuffled around. Everything came together in that moment. Gosh, its lovely like being immersed in a warm bath of kindness and goodness Marie, he said, had died seven years ago, and ever since he hadnt played the jukebox too painful but now he was ready to bring back that moment and the jukebox was kaput. Mark Stuckey, the audio expert, got stuck right in, and painstaking doesnt come near it. Every little wire, switch, latch and there were hundreds had to be carefully pincered out, cleaned, pincered back. Meanwhile, Dom, the metal expert, restored the chrome work. No one is competitive. Everyone is helpful. Mark: Dom, can you clean up this chrome for me? Dom: I would love to do that. Thank you so much, Mark! And at the end, well, when Geoff was there and D1 was pressed Hitmen which should be called Hitwomen, surely? stars Mel and Sue in their first scripted comedy, and its surprisingly adorable I was in pieces, as was the entire barn. You may say thats not very cheering but it is because, along with any item, youre also restoring memories that people dont wish to lose. And there is so much humanity in that. Hitmen which should be called Hitwomen, surely? stars Mel and Sue in their first scripted comedy, and its surprisingly adorable. Never been an especially big fan of the former Bake Off pair so thats why I found it surprising, I suppose, and I did laugh a couple of times, which given that a killer virus is after me, has to be a result. They play Fran (Sue Perkins) and Jamie (Mel Giedroyc), the hitwomen who hang out in a shabby van awaiting orders from their boss, Mr K. In the first episode they had a lawyer with his hands tied and a bag over his head in the back, whom Mr K may want killed at any moment. Fran is struggling to find anyone who might come to her birthday party so Jamie suggests they have it in their van. Go on, urges the lawyer, now the adrenaline has worn off Im pretty bored. Next scene, a little party hat tops the bag on his head. I laughed. Theres also some decent character work Fran is lonely and married to a gay Brazilian who only wanted a visa and theres a good joke in episode two when Jamie complains about her boyfriend. Its like having sex with a Shredded Wheat. And then he turns up and hes super-hot. It was funny, I promise. This has a tip-top supporting cast (Jason Watkins, Sian Clifford, Asim Chaudhry), and while its not essential viewing its no Repair Shop! it does pass the time nicely enough. Which is not to be sniffed at. At all. Mamata Banerjee upset after not being allowed to speak during PMs meet Missionaries of Charity itself requested SBI to freeze all bank accounts: Govt Mamata Banerjee on PM Modi's virtual hospital launch: We inaugurated it last year Dont hide seriousness of pandemic: BJP MPs from Bengal tell Mamata Banerjee India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Apr 26: The BJP accused the TMC government in West Bengal of "hiding" the seriousness of the coronavirus crisis in the state by "fudging" figures and alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee violated the lockdown norms routinely. At a press interaction organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) through a video-conference, its MPs from West Bengal, including Union minister Debasree Chaudhuri, said they were confined to their homes in the state while Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders and workers were allowed to move around. PM, Amit Shah must explain: Mamata Banerjee on COVID-19 teams in Bengal Chaudhuri and another MP, Sukanta Majumdar, alleged that they were served with quarantine notices by the local administration so that they could not step outside to provide ration and other relief material to the masses. With the Assembly polls in the state due next year, the BJP has turned up the heat on the TMC government over its alleged poor handling of the COVID-19 crisis and the state's ruling party has, in turn, accused its rival, which is in power at the Centre, of trying to defame it. The BJP leaders alleged that the West Bengal government is "fudging" the coronavirus infection figures. Chaudhari noted that the state government revised its figures on Friday due to pressure from a central team to come clean. There is a huge difference between the reality and what the state government is saying, she said. BJP MLA Sabyasachi Dutta alleged that dead bodies are being cremated secretly in the state. He also claimed that Banerjee is moving around in a huge carcade in violation of the lockdown norms. Coronavirus: Is Mamata Banerjee using Tablighi Jamaat incident to gather votes asks BJP MPs John Barla and Jayanta Kumar Roy said BJP functionaries were stopped from carrying out relief work. Another party MP, Arjun Singh, lashed out at the TMC, saying its workers have been selling the free ration provided by the Centre to people. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, April 26, 2020, 8:23 [IST] Eleven provinces and cities had exports of more than 1 billion USD in the first quarter and accounted for 78 percent of the nations entire exports. Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Hai Duong, Long An, Tay Ninh, and Thai Nguyen provinces and Hai Phong, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City accounted for exports of 49.35 billion USD between them. Tay Ninh was a new entrant to the club after managing to increase shipments by 10 percent year-on-year to 1.094 billion USD. Meanwhile, HCM City became the first locality ever to exceed 10 billion USD worth of exports in a quarter, according to the General Department of Customs. Its exports were up 14.6 percent and it accounted for 16.6 percent of the countrys total exports. Hai Phong and Bac Ninh reported impressive increases, the formers by nearly 1.05 billion USD to 3.92 billion USD, the second highest after HCM City. The countrys second biggest exporter, Bac Ninh, saw shipments rise by 450 million USD to 8.06 billion USD. Hanoi and Thai Nguyen bucked a trend of rising exports. The latters dropped by over 400 million USD to 6.95 billion USD. Hanois exports fell from 3.35 billion USD to 3.15 billion USD./. The UAE Government has announced that the number of Covid-19 tests has broken the one million mark in the country, reaching a total of 1,022,326 screenings. Speaking at the UAE's regular media briefing on Saturday, Dr Abdul Rahman bin Mohammad bin Nasser Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention, said Covid-19 tests are available nationwide under the directives of the UAE leadership for Emiratis and residents alike at more than 14 mobile drive-through facilities, in addition to screening centres provided by hospitals and other medical facilities across the country, as well as screening services dedicated to people of determination, said a Wam news agency report. The minister attributed the success in conducting such a large number of tests to the "tireless efforts made 24/7 by dedicated medical teams." "Even during the holy month of Ramadan, the working hours of our medical teams have not changed, and they are continuing their work with more determination to ensure public health and safety," he added. "The more tests we conduct, the earlier we detect more cases, and the more efficiently we can contain the virus. The more tests we perform, the more proactive we can handle those proven to be in contact with confirmed cases, as well as those who dont exhibit any symptoms and yet carry the infection," he said. "It is normal that we detect more cases when we accelerate screening. And herein we would like to reassure the public that this increase in the number of patients is expected and proves that we are on the right path to contain the spread of the virus," he added. He conveyed to the public his high regard for the countrys frontline health workers in combatting the virus. "On behalf of all our medical teams, we thank all members of the community, including citizens and residents, for their compliance with preventative and precautionary measures and their contributions to ongoing national efforts." Dr Amna Al Shamsi, spokesperson for the UAE Government, said the number of recoveries has increased to 1,887 after another 127 cases were fully cured. "Past weeks saw the recovery of an average of 100 cases daily," she said, adding that 20 percent of the total infections have recovered. Accelerated screening resulted in the detection of 532 new cases among various nationalities, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 9,813. She explained that the decision to partially relax restrictions does not mean that the situation is back to normal. Precautionary and preventative measures are still in place, and the public must comply with all measures, including social distancing and the wearing of masks. "On the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, the UAE has been keen to partially relax restrictions on movement while ensuring that all people continue to abide by the relevant prevention guidelines and instructions. These new measures include allowing first and second degree relatives to visit while avoiding inviting those susceptible to infection, including the elderly and people with chronic diseases. The number of people present in a place at any one time may not exceed five individuals," Al Shamsi stated. "Exercise should take place near ones home for up to two hours, with a maximum of three people at any one time. Food should not be exchanged between residents of different homes. In the event that food is received from relatives or friends in the vicinity of ones home, the appropriate handling of food in disposable sealed bowls must be ensured," she noted. Domestic helpers are prohibited from meeting anyone outside the home. They also cannot receive food from an unknown source. They should be provided with the necessary protective equipment should they need to interact with people from outside. They must also be advised on the necessary precautions to follow in the event of receiving any parcels or goods from delivery services. Al Shamsi said that MoHaP, along with the Departments of Health in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, have launched an app to allow health authorities to rapidly identify cases susceptible to infection and consequently contact and test them. "The application provides a service that shows to what extent people under home quarantine abide by the required measures in order to ensure their protection and the safety of the public. Every user will have a QR code showing his or her health condition. The app uses Bluetooth short range signals to show whether or not the person in question is near other people who had contact with previously confirmed Covid-19 cases who also should have the app installed on their mobiles." Day 30 of coronavirus shutdown in Alabama a month since Gov. Kay Ivey warned the virus is very real as she forced non-essential businesses to close. Almost 6,000 people have been afflicted by the virus in the state, that we know of, and two more hotspots popped up in east Alabama in recent days. Across the country 50,000 Americans have died. More than we lost in Vietnam. Hundreds of thousands of Alabamians have lost jobs or face threats to their businesses. More than 300,000 since February a number that would amount to 15 percent of the entire labor force have filed for unemployment. One month in, and a conflicted Alabama grapples with its isolation, pondering the value of money, and lives, and health. Thirty days in, and we descend into madness. Oh wait, thats just me. Mostly me. But the concern is so real, from doctors who describe heartbreaking video calls with patients, like one in which a woman told in sad detail how she called an ambulance for her husband, but because of coronavirus precautions was not able to go with him. He got into the ambulance, and she never saw him again. People die without their loved ones, or lose their loved ones with farewells unspoken. And the toll is real. Others put off medical care personally or by mandate because they fear infection worse than their current condition. Jennifer Freeman of Homewood took her mom to an ER, where she had a heart procedure. She probably needed more rehab, but left, worried about contagion. My family was too afraid for her to stay and no one could visit her, Freeman said. It was very scary. Shes home now and we are relieved. A few Alabamians have marched to demand a return to work, a return to normalcy even if nothing is close to normal. The sentiment is understandable, especially from those struggling to keep a business alive, especially for those living on a shoestring, counting on jobs for healthcare, if they are lucky, and on healthcare to keep them well enough to work. But we are torn, individually and collectively, by our empathy, and by our circumstance. People like Jessica Buckner would love to go back to work, but its just not possible. Her right lung was removed at the age of 2, and she suffers from asthma on top of that, so on the best days breathing is a chore. She has long worked in pharmacies, but self-quarantined after coming into contact with a customer who had a likely case of the virus. She misses her job and her work and she worries, like so many of us, over things left undone and up in the air. She frets for her mom, who insists on getting her own groceries, and she beats herself up because I should have visited her before all of this hit. In isolation it is easy to worry. But she does not dwell too long. She wants to be productive and helpful, so she joined a group Birmingham Face Masks making cloth masks for those who need them. But she is a reminder that a speedy return to work is not a return to normalcy at all. She like so many others is a reminder that scoffing at social distancing isnt a display of individual rights. It is a callous clear and present danger to those with existing health issues or compromised immune systems. We try to balance, to understand. But it is hard. Those elected to lead us flip and turn so often it is hard to follow. Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, once a voice of caution about the virus, has begun to push for reopening the economy, while Gov. Ivey, once reluctant about shuttering the state, has resisted the push to reopen without more time and testing. Of course many are angry, and worried, about loved ones or their own health, about jobs, and careers, and kids, and futures. Hannelore Melville put her passion and expertise into growing a small business as a personal chef, but worries about what comes next. We are surviving at home, but I'm increasingly worried about whether or not I'll have a small business left after this, she said. It's just not safe for me to do what I do. She fears clients will come to see her as dispensable during the pause, or that their own economic uncertainty will give them little choice. But being a business owner is only half the worry when you are also a parent. She worries about her children who are to start college this fall, and if it will even happen. She mourns what her children will miss. I feel we are in suspended animation, she said, making plans and staying busy to fill up the day. Many feel it. And though some take to the streets to shout their confident positions from placards and pickup trucks, many more simply try to survive and adapt, to stay out of the darkest parts of their heads, but to take time for some introspection and empathy. I've been sad for my granddaughter missing out on 5th grade, Jill Bates of Birmingham wrote to me in response to a question. I've worried about people I care about who could be vulnerable. I've spent less money this month and more time alone with my thoughts. It has hit home that we need the earth, but it does not need us. I asked on social media for people to describe their feelings. The responses, for the most part, were inspiring, and beautiful. They were sad and hopeful at the same time, longing both for return to life, and change in hearts. I leave you with one, from Wendy Price: The world keeps on turning but it's never gonna be the same and maybe that's good. Maybe that's the best news out of all of this suffering and uncertainty. As it was, we were in a rut, on a treadmill walking, running, at times crawling along, on and on without looking up. I'm sorry for the people who are hungry, living in a violent home, losing a business or worse - a loved one. I've realized the brevity of life more during the last month than any other time in my 55+ years I'm not hungry, so I count myself lucky. I'm not without someone to talk to, so I count myself blessed. Thirty days in. Compassionate, concerned, thoughtful, fearful. Changed. John Archibald, a Pulitzer Prize winner, is a columnist for AL.com. His column appears in The Birmingham News, the Huntsville Times, the Mobile Register, Birmingham Magazine and AL.com. Write him at jarchibald@al.com. In one week Africa garnered a 43% jump in its Covid-19 cases. These numbers are relative to Nigeria despite her recorded numerical being low. Nigerias low infection and fatalities are loss leaders. They correlate her rather huge testing gap; limited contact tracing, and voluntary acknowledgement of infections. Policymakers must bear these worrying facts in mind. Our national response must henceforth be robust as Nigerias pandemic exponential surge has commenced. To mitigate the scope of fatalities, Nigerias leadership must recalibrate, seek bi-partisan measures and act boldly in order to avert a possible systemic collapse. Policy, partisan and ideological pussyfooting will not serve collective national interest. For Nigeria, the unfolding narrative and concrete realities are not comforting. Because this is a global pandemic that affects almost every nation big or small, there is no rescue mission coming to Nigeria. This is a hard and grim fact. Thus Nigerias solution to this crisis, now twined with the collapse of the global oil market, must be home grown. Regrettably, as a nation, we remain ill-prepared and ill-equipped to grapple with the twin disaster, characterized by some as the perfect storm. Prospective high fatalities aside, the Covid-19 pandemic has unfathomable national security implications for Nigeria. It will push Nigerias so-called poorest of the poor well beyond the desperate poverty threshold. If that happens, the ripple effect might include the triggering uncontrollable civil disobedience and food riots. The latter, could predicate and also precipitate inconceivable get-even reprisals from long disenfranchised masses against the national elite. One possible tripwire besides hunger-driven-anger will be further extra-judicial killings by security operatives while enforcing lockdowns. Efforts by Federal and State governments to combat the pandemic have been as salutary as they have been disjointed and compartmentalized. Oddly, the Organized Private Sectors CACOVID framework has beaten its own narrow path. For efficacy, CACOVID should have adopted modalities used by the Dangote/Agbakoba 2012 Flood Disaster Committee. The overarching reality is that Nigerias laggardly response proves her lack of a national resilience strategy, despite her 2014-2015 Ebola experience. A holistic approach was needed from the onset. It did not happen. Some federal politicos and bureaucrats felt it was business as usual. Hence related policies were transaction-driven and disbursements under the SIP framework skewed by partisan considerations. There were other hindering factors. First, the FGN made a huge mistake in failing to carry along the 36 states. Second, while some states were proactive, others waited to be bottle-fed or spoon-fed by federal authorities. Third, was the FGNs failure to disburse mitigation fund early to the 36 federating units and its sectionalizing of the disbursement of N2trn palliatives. Fourth, the FGN lost sight of commonsensical measures; that prevention is better than cure and a stitch in time saves nine. So as much as the FGN focused on the core affected states, it failed to shield unaffected states by ignoring the fact that the coronavirus being invisible and nimble with trans-boundary capacity, with eventually spread. That being said, each state with an Executive Governor ought to be fiscally independent and viable. As variously suggested the FGN still needs to walk back her Covid-19 response strategy. If we dont change our national palliatives (cash & food) distribution strategy, we will upend extant Covid-19 mitigation measures. Locking down 36 states without giving out palliatives will be putting the horse before the cart. It will be a recipe for disaster. As of 24 April 2020, Nigerias Covid-19 numerical stood at 981 infections and 31 deaths. Meanwhile, most of the 36 states of Nigeria seem to believe they are prepared for the Covid-19 onslaught. They are not. Any such assumptions will in time prove delusional as evidenced by the exponential infection rate in Kano State from zero to 73 in one day. FGN and NCDC remain seemingly blind to census of asymptomatic carriers. They are also oblivious of the cumulative R-Value; the number of people being infected daily by unidentified infected persons. The unseen and undocumented numbers are at least ten times published infected and death figures and rising by the hour. Sadly, most Nigerians continue to exhibit a false sense of security by not observing mitigation measures responsibly. Under auspices of Nigerias Governors Forum (NGF), the 36 Governors recently agreed to a two-week interstate spread-mitigation lockdown, albeit belated. Their decision is confirmation of the troubling scope of huge national testing gap; and that partial lockdown and voluntary social distancing are not working optimally. It also affirms that FGN social palliative intervention remains egregiously skewed, and dysfunctional. This reality underpins that prior to the envisaged national lockdown; we need to institute a nationwide palliative intervention, using the 36 States, 774 Local Governments and innumerable community structures. The scope of the unfolding challenge will be further compounded by limited financial and testing, mitigation, and therapeutic resources. Nigerias present challenges will be further compounded by national revenue from oil sales having just tanked. Her Bonny light oil is selling at $12 per barrel and no one is buying. Recently the FGN drew $150m from the Sovereign Wealth Fund leaving a balance of $210m, with the Excess Crude Account at $72.2m, and the badly depleted External reserves now at $33.9bn. Invariably, even as FAAC doled out N780.9bn to the three tiers of government this week; henceforth the FGN and States will be fiscally challenged. This lack of buoyancy may turn to insolvency. Here is the upshot and some plausible emergent scenarios in weeks ahead. Along with the pandemic, a conjunction of circumstances has placed corporate Nigeria at grave risk. Indeed, after many years of policy and governance missteps, Nigerias moment of reckoning seem to have arrived. Without being alarmist, if Nigerian authorities fail to handle the pandemic proactively henceforth, she risks a systemic collapse in the near term; that will mean restructuring of sorts by default. We confront a complicated balance in the various measures to pursue. Nigerias Covid-19 spread will spiral upwards exponentially. Communal and institutional (prisons and IDP camps) infection outbreaks and death rates will rise. Since most Covid-19 related deaths will not be recorded, absent prior testing, national fatalities will continue to be under reported. Federal and State authorities can anticipate further busting of the Covid-19 lockdown regime nationwide, protestations, possible food riots and related banditry and upheavals. Federal and State funding for Covid-19 response will taper and competition for scarce funding indescribably steep. Monthly FAAC allocations to States and LGs will be drastically reduced. Only states with up to 90 days savings will go unscathed. We can anticipate FGN-States relations to be strained. Meanwhile, FGN must also take some urgent interim public health measures, while contemplating longer term socioeconomic impact of Covid-19. FGN should devolve Covid-19 response to the States, while retaining oversight responsibilities. Both FGN and States must in partnership continue to identify, trace, isolate and treat those already infected while pushing for broader testing at the state-level; ramping up masking, and making it mandatory nationally. Marginalized Nigerian scientists should be pulled into the technical response outreach fray. The Presidential Task Force (PTF) should pool available resources -N500bn stimulus package; N20bn CACOVID donations; balance of the SIP interventions and External UN/EU/World bank donations all estimated in excess of N600bn - into a single treasury account. Of these, the 36 states should be allotted N2bn each immediately, as confidence building measure, for Covid-19 response and grassroots outreach and palliatives. Obaze is MD/CEO, Selonnes Consult a policy, governance and management consulting firm in Awka. HSE chief Paul Reid has confirmed plans are being made to ramp up testing for Covid-19 to 100,000 tests a week. He also said the deadly virus would be with the health system at least until next year and there was a need to plan for non-virus services for patients. The war-like response by services would need be adapted to ensure other services are kept going, the HSE CEO explained. His comments come after reported tensions between the HSE and emergency authorities over orders to hike up testing levels, which are currently at 10,000 a day. However, only 1,500 are coming through GPS. Mr Reid confirmed there were constructive tensions between the HSE and Department of Health over the plan to hike up test numbers. This has now been agreed and a draft plan will go to the government later this week. It is expected that the 100,000 weekly test rate will be reached by the third week in May, Mr Reid said. The government says that decisions to fight the virus will need to be made in real time and wants results turned around in 48 hours or less. Mr Reid also said nursing homes were getting the greatest levels of support when it came to testing, protective equipment and general resources. Of 37,000 tests done last week, 20,000 were done on patients or residents in long terms care. Nonetheless, the HSE has a list of nursing homes worst impacted by the virus. There are 75 considered 'red' or facing the biggest problems with outbreaks. Anne OConnor, chief operations officer at the HSE, said: Our preference is to support the nursing homes to continue to provide care. It is very important that we seek to support the nursing home to provide care. The nursing home is a persons home, they should only be moved on the basis of clinical need. Mr Reid also revealed that there needs to be a doubling of personal protective equipment sources, after a 208m order from China. Another one for between 150m and 200m is being finalised. This in particular to source masks for healthcare settings, with an estimated 7 million a week now needed. - additional reporting by Press Association The current restrictions started on Friday, March 27. They mandate that everyone should stay at home, only leaving to: Shop for essential food and household goods; Attend medical appointments, collect medicine or other health products; Care for children, older people or other vulnerable people - this excludes social family visits; Exercise outdoors - within 2kms of your home and only with members of your own household, keeping 2 metres distance between you and other people Travel to work if you provide an essential service - be sure to practice physical distancing HSE chief: 'We need to build for the longer model, not just a wartime response to Covid-19' By Press Association The Health Service Executive (HSE) chief Paul Reid said systems which had been established for three to six months would now be needed for a much longer period, perhaps into next year. We need to build for the longer model, not just a wartime response to Covid-19, to protect everybody. He said the executive would need to scale up and down the response as necessary depending on how the disease progresses. He said it was building an indigenous supply of PPE although overseas orders were set to double in the short term. The chief executive said there was an opportunity to stimulate the economy over the next couple of years instead of ordering from China. Much of the firefighting approach we have had to put in place now, we need a much more strategic approach, he said, adding: We need to look forward in a very different way. He also called for the breaking down of health service bureaucracy. Mr Reid said Ireland would have to build a new model of care and national infrastructure and move away from the current wartime-style footing. We need a new model that supports the country in the future in terms of pandemics. He said that included new sustainable processes for contact tracing cases of the virus and the supply of protective equipment. We are going to have to break down levels of bureaucracy, he said. He added: I am talking about this year and the following year because Covid-19 is going to be with us. He said Ireland could not go back to traditional models and practices of care, adding: This is a new vision, a new future, this is a new lens we are going to look through in the future. Guwahati, April 26 : Two top NSCN (IM) activists, including a self-styled major, were arrested in Assam and arms and ammunition were seized in separate operations by the Indian Army and state police, officials said on Sunday. A Defence spokesman said that Indian Army in a joint operation with Assam Police apprehended an NSCN (IM) rebel, Raju Bramo, near Lalpahara in the Tinsukia district on Friday. In another development, a self-styled major of NSCN (IM) Nyaoba Konyak alias Nweypa was apprehended near Titabor in Jorhat district on April 23. Defence Public Relations Officer Lt Col P. Khongsai said two US-made Beretta pistols with two magazines, one point 22 pistol and four live rounds of ammunition were recovered from the rebels who were later handed over to the Assam police. It is suspected that NSCN-IM's Nyaoba Konyak was actively involved in extortion and kidnapping activities in upper Assam, Lt Col Khongsai said. The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), which had several rounds of negotiations with the Indian government in Delhi as well as outside India after signing a ceasefire pact in August 1997, is one of the most influential rebel groups in the northeastern region. The BJP government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had signed a "framework agreement" with the NSCN-IM leadership in 2015. Nagaland Governor R.N. Ravi is also the Centre's interlocutor to hold talks with NSCN (IM) and other Naga outfits. A Republican senator from Michigan apologized on Friday for wearing a mask that appeared to have a confederate flag on it. Senator Dale Zorn wore the mask during a senate vote at the state capitol and was immediately slammed on social media and by other Michigan politicians. 'I'm sorry for my choice of pattern on the face mask I wore yesterday on the Senate floor,' he said in a statement. Senator Dale Zorn wore the mask during a senate vote at the state capitol and was immediately slammed on social media and by other Michigan politicians 'I'm sorry for my choice of pattern on the face mask I wore yesterday on the Senate floor,' he said in a statement. 'I did not intend to offend anyone; however, I realize that I did, and for that I am sorry. Those who know me best know that I do not support the things this pattern represents. My actions were an error in judgment for which there are no excuses and I will learn from this episode' 'I did not intend to offend anyone; however, I realize that I did, and for that I am sorry. Those who know me best know that I do not support the things this pattern represents. My actions were an error in judgment for which there are no excuses and I will learn from this episode.' And while the politician did apologize for wearing the mask, he declared it did not actually depict the controversial flag. 'I told my wife it probably will raise some eyebrows, but it was not a Confederate flag,' Zorn said to WLNS. And while the politician did apologize for wearing the mask, he declared it did not actually depict the controversial flag The Republican then went on to say that they symbol needed to be taught in schools as it is 'part of our national history.' 'It's something we can't just throw away because it is part of our history,' he added. 'And if we want to make sure that the atrocities that happened during that time doesn't happen again, we should be teaching it. Our kids should know what that flag stands for.' The Republican then went on to say that they symbol needed to be taught in schools as it is 'part of our national history' Senator Jim Ananich, Senate Democratic Leader of Michigan, took to Twitter to criticize Zorn for wearing the 'hurtful' mask. 'Frankly, Im at a loss for words other than to say Im just really disappointed to see him make a choice that is deeply hurtful to so many people,' he said. 'When he was called out for it, he didnt seem to even understand or acknowledge what the problem was. 'At a time when tensions are high and Michiganders are dying, this is a terrible distraction from the conversations we are having about how to save more lives.' The long-running debate about the Confederate flag and its symbols and statues has been increasingly heated in the past few years, especially in southern states. Many recognize that the symbol is one associated to the southern states secession during the Civil War as states fought for the right to keep slaves. Senator Jim Ananich, Senate Democratic Leader of Michigan, took to Twitter to criticize Zorn for wearing the 'hurtful' mask The debate became supercharged after white supremacist Dylann Roof was pictured holding a Confederate flag prior to his 2015 attack on a black church in Charleston in which he killed nine people. The racially motivated attack prompted major retailers to discontinue the sale of the flag and sparked debate about whether local and state governments should rename streets and remove statues associated with Confederate leaders. The debate has been the most heated on college campuses. The Michigan Legislator does not list the flag as one of the flags they recognize. April 26 : Love is in the air and South Indian Telugu actress Samantha Ruth Prabu aka Samantha Akkineni surely knows how to express her love in the most creative way. Over the years, she has done a great job by entertaining her fans in the most exciting manner. We noticed that she seemed to have a personal love affair with heart-shaped accessories, making her look like an adorable queen in them! You too can use them in your style statement get your special ones heart ticking! Those heart-shaped crystal and pearl earrings made her look like a dreamy babe. Her makeup was top notch radiant and hotness overloaded! She went for smokey eyes, with a light blue tint under her eyes, bold and broad eyebrows, and dewy glow on her face. Isnt she so squeezable in this click? We couldnt resist but keep admiring the happiness on her face! Plus, again the star on her face was that heart-shaped pair of H&M dangling earrings! The upper stud was a striking pearl bordered with shimmery stones and the heart followed in with more dazzling stones. Her minimal makeup suited this professional look very well. Such flawless beauty would stop time for a while, wont it? She turned into a fantasy girl in this stare and we love the boldness in this gaze. But to confess, this time, those diamond heart-shaped statement earrings from Alessandra Rich collections was the star! You could wear them with your sarees, suits, salwar kurtas and look your best! The last one in this set is a golden heart-shaped accessory that she chose to wear from Viange. This is one of Indias first jewelry that is designed on vintage styles. Here, Samanthas earrings were gold plated beauties that dangled away in total bliss. It looked cute on her along with those short tresses. A New Jersey mayor and an advocacy group are calling for the shutdown of an Amazon warehouse after a report of more than 30 employees infected with the coronavirus. After Business Insider reported more than 30 employees at the Carteret Amazon fulfillment center tested positive for COVID-19, Mayor Daniel Reiman called on the Middlesex County and state department of health to temporarily close the facility, until all workers could be tested and the facility could be sanitized. Reiman also called on Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to ensure that the facility had the proper protective supplies. By choosing profits over people, Amazon has now placed both in danger" said Reiman. These employees arent drones, they are people and Amazon treats them like herded sheep." In a phone call, a spokeswoman for Amazon told NJ Advance Media the company never confirmed the number of employees who tested positive. But when asked, Amazon did not say how many of the employees at the Carteret facility tested positive for the virus. We are supporting the individuals who are recovering, said Rachael Lighty, spokeswoman for Amazon. We are following guidelines from health officials and medical experts, and are taking extreme measures to ensure the safety of employees at our site. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage The wife of a worker at the Carteret facility, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, said that conditions at the warehouse were subpar, including a break room that had no running water. Pictures she sent to NJ Advance Media show a crowded break room as recently as March 18, dust covered air vents and a break room sink with two signs that read DONT USE SINK and NO WATER. Another picture shows a sign that reads Lets social distance together, above an email for human resources. Below the email, the words STOP LIE HR" are scrawled in pen. The accusations regarding an unclean facility were simply unfounded, said Lighty. As of April 2, there were four confirmed cases of the virus in the Carteret facility, said the workers wife, but nearly every day, her husband has received text after text notifying him of a new case. The messages do not specify how many new cases, merely saying We have additional cases of COVID-19. We dont know, she said. Because they wont give us that information. The company said that when a COVID-19 case was confirmed in any of their facilities, they would tell employees, including those who had not come in contact with those infected. But Amazon, after several requests, did not provide specific numbers. The report comes little more than a week before May 1, when the company will end its unlimited unpaid time off for employees. In a note to employees, the company said that on May 1, it would be returning to our normal attendance policy. The company will extend $2 hour per hour wage increase to May 16. The company is extending double overtime pay in the U.S. and Canada, said Lighty. It will also provide flexibility with leave of absence options, including expanding the policy to cover high-risk individuals or school closures, she said. One after the other, employees at Amazon facilities across New Jersey have been reported as COVID-19 positive. Employees in Amazon facilities at Edison, Robbinsville and Teterboro have tested positive. Workers rights organization Make The Road New Jersey joined Reimans call to shut down the Carteret facility, calling on Governor Phil Murphy to shutter the facility. We call on Governor Phil Murphy to utilize his executive authority to temporarily shut down Amazons Carteret warehouse, because its clear this outbreak is beyond Amazons control, Adil Ahmed, the organizations director of worker organizing and policy, said in a statement. The workers are not robots, Ahmed added. They are humans with families and loved ones, and we cannot afford to social distance on their backs. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Rodrigo Torrejon may be reached at rtorrejon@njadvancemedia.com. - The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has predicted that Ghanas current account is expected to expand to 5% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - It added that Ghana's external accounts would be severely affected by the economic fallout from the coronavirus - The EIU has also projected that there will be a sharp increase in revenue from gold exports, fuelled by rising production and increased prices Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in The latest prediction from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) shows that Ghanas current account is expected to expand to 5% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). EIUs analysis also revealed that the economic fallout from the coronavirus will place significant additional pressure on Ghana's external accounts. This, per a report by classfmonline.com, would be as a result of a near-halving in global oil prices. READ ALSO: Ghana requests for $120 million dollars from IFAD to boost agriculture YEN.com.gh has learned that cocoa production is also likely to decline because the industry is constrained by poor weather conditions and crop disease. Information available suggests that it would, however, be partly compensated by higher international prices. The EIU has also predicted a sharp expansion in revenue from gold exports, fuelled by rising production and increased prices. Together with lower imports on the back of a contracting economy, this will help to limit the deterioration in the trade balance in 2020-21. Meanwhile, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has revealed that Ghanas economy is likely to contract by 1% in 2020. This contradicts the 1.5% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate announced by the government and confirmed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. It is also in contradiction with the 2% growth rate predicted by Fitch, an international rating agency. The EIU believes Ghanas economy will contract because of falling oil prices. READ ALSO: Fitch rates Ghana's economy at 'B'; predicts swift recovery Enjoyed reading our story? Download YEN's news app on Google Playstore now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news! Nana Addo shouldn't share the food to the kayayo's only - Market women cry out | #Yencomgh Want to be featured on YEN.com.gh? Send us a message on our Facebook page or on Instagram with your stories, photos or videos Source: YEN.com.gh A Santa Fe mobile art gallery is inviting you to color away the coronavirus for free. Axle Contemporary is offering Local Coloring, an adult coloring book, in a free download at axleart.com. Published in 2017, it features 67 drawings by area artists set to stories by five local writers. The illustrations range from psychedelic swans to depictions of humans, tigers, owls, crashing waves and pueblo scenes. The gallery released a chapter a week for five weeks, which are all available. At the time, there was sort of a new thing of adult coloring books that werent necessarily for children, Axle Contemporary co-founder Matthew Chase-Daniel said. We know a lot of people and we like doing things that bring people together both accomplished artists and unknown artists. Chase-Daniel and fellow Axle founder Jerry Wellman asked the authors to fill their stories with rich imagery, then showed the works to the artists. Storyteller Joe Hayes penned a coyote tale, while Jamie Figueroa and Lily Hoang wrote about giants and monsters. Nasario Garcia conjured small town Norteno fiestas imbued with mystery and magic. Melody Sumner Carnahan spun out stream-of-consciousness. The artists include Jason Garcia, Erin Currier, Eliza Naranjo-Morse, Rose Simpson and more, as well as Wellman and Chase-Daniel. At the time, the gallery staged a reading and showing at the New Mexico Museum of Art. They sold about 200 copies and won a 2018 Best Activity Book, a New Mexico/Arizona Book Award. Now Local Coloring is free. The first day ignited 200 downloads, Wellman said. A woman in Albuquerque sent us a photo of her 5-year-old daughter and she had printed it out and was coloring the cover page, Chase-Daniel said. A former Santa Fean under quarantine in Italy wrote them, Thank you friends! What a great idea! You may not remember me but we met many times when I was living in Santa Fe! I am now back in my country, Italy, enjoying coronavirus! Keep safe and follow the rules!!! I will be coloring your book while thinking about the good old times in Santa Fe!! Housed in the back of a custom retrofitted 1970 aluminum step van, Axle Contemporary is an art gallery on wheels. Chase-Daniel and Wellman founded it in 2010. The vans mobility allows them to visit both typical and common art venues, including schools, empty lots, restaurants, grocery stores,and city streets. They exhibit installation art, performance and works on paper, including photography, drawing, and painting, and occasionally sculpture. The gallery has since grown beyond the confines of the mobile exhibition space, and also includes book publishing and alternative methods of creation and dissemination of contemporary arts in the public sphere. A farm sanctuary in California is offering people the chance to invite a llama to make a cameo appearance in their next Zoom meeting. Sweet Farm, which is based in Half Moon Bay, launched its Goat 2 Meeting initiative last month. Those wishing to take part can choose from inviting either a llama, goat, cow or another farm animal onto their live video call. The idea is to simply provide some light relief during the coronavirus outbreak, while also raising awareness of the negative impacts of industrialised farming. So far, Sweet Farm has facilitated more than 100 calls with farm animals and received more than 500 requests. Recommended Animal shelter celebrates being cleared out of pets amid coronavirus The schedule for calls is now filled until June. The prices for an animal cameo start at $65 for a 20-minute appearance on a call with up to six people. This goes up to $100 for those who would like an animal to appear on a corporate call for 10 minutes with unlimited participants. People can also pay $750 for a VIP virtual tour of Sweet Farm. Proceeds will go towards Sweet Farms efforts to rescue farm animals and educate the public about industrialised farming. Nate Salpeter, co-founder of Sweet Farm, told CNN.After the coronavirus happened and shelter in place went into effect, we had to completely rethink the way we were driving revenue and executing our mission. Our board member, Jon Azoff, came up with the idea and said, You know, were having so many company meetings and happy hours but theyre all boring. What if we could get a goat or llama on the call? Salpeter added that with animals, everything is totally unscripted. He went on that the animal Zoom calls will life peoples spirits when they need it most. At the time same, were teaching people a serious lesson, he continued. There is so much news about things like the coronavirus and swine flu that come out of the way people treat animals. Weve been working for years and years to show people that this is a byproduct of the way we treat them. In the beginning, there was an infinitely dense, tiny ball of matter. Then, it all went bang, giving rise to the atoms, molecules, stars and galaxies we see today. Or at least, that's what we've been told by physicists for the past several decades. But new theoretical physics research has recently revealed a possible window into the very early universe, showing that it may not be "very early" after all. Instead it may be just the latest iteration of a bang-bounce cycle that has been going on for well, at least once, and possibly forever. Of course, before physicists decide to toss out the Big Bang in favor of a bang-bounce cycle, these theoretical predictions will need to survive an onslaught of observation tests. Bouncing cosmologies Scientists have a really good picture of the very early universe, something we know and love as the Big Bang theory . In this model, a long time ago the universe was far smaller, far hotter and far denser than it is today. In that early inferno 13.8 billion years ago, all the elements that make us what we are were formed in the span of about a dozen minutes. Even earlier, this thinking goes, at some point our entire universe all the stars, all the galaxies, all the everything was the size of a peach and had a temperature of over a quadrillion degrees. Amazingly, this fantastical story holds up to all current observations. Astronomers have done everything from observing the leftover electromagnetic radiation from the young universe to measuring the abundance of the lightest elements and found that they all line up with what the Big Bang predicts. As far as we can tell, this is an accurate portrait of our early universe. But as good as it is, we know that the Big Bang picture is not complete there's a puzzle piece missing, and that piece is the earliest moments of the universe itself. That's a pretty big piece. Related: From Big Bang to present: Snapshots of our universe through time The conflagration The problem is that the physics that we use to understand the early universe (a wonderfully complicated mishmash of general relativity and high-energy particle physics) can take us only so far before breaking down. As we try to push deeper and deeper into the first moments of our cosmos, the math gets harder and harder to solve, all the way to the point where it just quits. The main sign that we have terrain yet to be explored is the presence of a "singularity," or a point of infinite density, at the beginning of the Big Bang. Taken at face value, this tells us that at one point, the universe was crammed into an infinitely tiny, infinitely dense point. This is obviously absurd, and what it really tells us is that we need new physics to solve this problem our current toolkit just isn't good enough. Related: 8 ways you can see Einstein's theory of relativity in real life To save the day we need some new physics, something that is capable of handling gravity and the other forces, combined, at ultrahigh energies. And that's exactly what string theory claims to be: a model of physics that is capable of handling gravity and the other forces, combined, at ultrahigh energies. Which means that string theory claims it can explain the earliest moments of the universe. One of the earliest string theory notions is the "ekpyrotic" universe, which comes from the Greek word for "conflagration," or fire. In this scenario, what we know as the Big Bang was sparked by something else happening before it the Big Bang was not a beginning, but one part of a larger process. Extending the ekpyrotic concept has led to a theory, again motivated by string theory, called cyclic cosmology. I suppose that, technically, the idea of the universe continually repeating itself is thousands of years old and predates physics, but string theory gave the idea firm mathematical grounding. The cyclic universe goes about exactly as you might imagine, continually bouncing between big bangs and big crunches, potentially for eternity back in time and for eternity into the future. Before the beginning As cool as this sounds, early versions of the cyclic model had difficulty matching observations which is a major deal when you're trying to do science and not just telling stories around the campfire. The main hurdle was agreeing with our observations of the cosmic microwave background, the fossil light leftover from when the universe was only 380,000 years old. While we can't see directly past that wall of light, if you start theoretically tinkering with the physics of the infant cosmos, you affect that afterglow light pattern. And so, it seemed that a cyclic universe was a neat but incorrect idea. But the ekpyrotic torch has been kept lit over the years, and a paper published in January to the arXiv database has explored the wrinkles in the mathematics and uncovered some previously missed opportunities. The physicists, Robert Brandenberger and Ziwei Wang of McGill University in Canada, found that in the moment of the "bounce," when our universe shrinks to an incredibly small point and returns to a Big Bang state, it's possible to line everything up to get the proper observationally tested result. In other words, the complicated (and, admittedly, poorly understood) physics of this critical epoch may indeed allow for a radically revised view of our time and place in the cosmos. But to fully test this model, we'll have to wait for a new generation of cosmology experiments, so let's wait to break out the ekpyrotic champagne. Paul M. Sutter is an astrophysicist at SUNY Stony Brook and the Flatiron Institute, host of Ask a Spaceman and Space Radio, and author of Your Place in the Universe. Originally published on Live Science . The COVID-19 crisis is highlighting several critical national problems. While its great that the country is mostly working through these issues, its clear the problems will require continued attention when the crisis abates. Its imperative that essential items are manufactured within the United States. Medical supplies and equipment, drugs, technology, aluminum and steel are just a few examples. We cant continue to allow our manufacturing to be outsourced to other countries, because foreign governments may ban the export of crucial items during a crisis. Control of our borders is not a Republican talking point. Its required for our collective safety. Even before the pandemic, tens of thousands of Americans were dying annually due to illegal drugs coming across our porous borders or through our ports of entry. Stopping a virus is yet another reason. Immigration laws were passed with bipartisan support, yet multiple administrations and sessions of Congress ignored the law and the problem. The current crisis will pass, but we cant forget and go back to normal. We cant simply hope the country will be able to work through these problems again during the next crisis. Robert Minninger, Spring City The Duchess of Cambridge was 'moved to tears' by the sacrifices of frontline workers, leading the royal couple to launc their mental health support service 'Our Frontline' last week. Kate Middleton, 38, has played a 'pivotal' role in setting up the new initiative, 'Our Frontline', alongside William, 37, which will see charities and organisations provide around-the-clock support to everyone from NHS staff to bus drivers. And new reports say the duchess has been 'moved to tears' by the stories on the frontline and is 'particularly keen' for families and children of key workers to access the resources as well. Kate, 38, has played a 'pivotal' role in setting up the new initiative, 'Our Frontline', and was 'moved to tears' by the stories of frontline workers (seen in March) 'They have both been incredibly affected by stories they have heard and Kate, in particular, has been moved to tears by some of the stories she has heard about the sacrifices frontline workers are making,' a source told The Sun. The Duke of Cambridge led talks with the organisations but Kate was a driving force behind the initiate through her involvement with the planning and coordination of the service. And the couple said supporting frontline workers during the Covid-19 pandemic will be their 'top priority' in the months ahead and are 'deeply committed' to ensuring support is in place. The royal couple said supporting frontline workers during the Covid-19 pandemic will be their 'top priority' (seen during a visit to the London Ambulance Service 111 control room in Croydon, south London, in March) The source revealed how William has experienced 'first-hand' the effect working on the frontline can have following his work as an air ambulance pilot in the past. The Duke of Cambridge said: 'Over the past few weeks, millions of frontline workers across the UK have put their physical and mental health on the line to protect us all during the coronavirus pandemic.' 'Every day, they confront traumatic situations at the same time as having to contend with their own worries about the risks to themselves and their families. 'That takes a real toll, and as I've seen for myself through my work with the air ambulance, without the right support at the right time, the challenges they face will only be greater. William and Kate's Royal Foundation is formally backing a new initiative, called 'Our Frontline', aimed at supporting frontline workers. Here William and Kate are pictured with the Queen, who celebrated her 94th birthday yesterday 'Catherine and I, together with the Royal Foundation, will do all we can to support Our Frontline. 'This work will be our top priority for the months ahead.' The project will be a combination of one-to-one support and online resources for any NHS workers, carers, emergency services personnel and key workers whose psychological wellbeing comes under pressure. Charities Mind, Samaritans and Hospice UK will all be involved in the initiative, as will Shout - a text messaging helpline supporting people in crisis. The Our Frontline project, backed by William and Kate (pictured), will be a combination of one-to-one support and online resources for any NHS workers, carers, emergency services personnel and key workers William and Kate's charitable organisation will help raise awareness about the new resource. Frontline staff and key workers can call or text a trained volunteer and access specially developed online resources, tool kits and advice to support their mental health. The duke, whose grandmother the Queen turned 94 last week, has experience of being in the same environment as doctors, nurses and other health workers as he was a pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance. He has spoken in the past about the mental pressures that came with the job. In a 2018 interview, William said the experience of attending several traumatic emergencies involving children and having his own children 'tipped me over the edge', but speaking to his crew helped him cope with the 'enormous sadness' that he had witnessed. The duke chaired a roundtable call with representatives from the emergency services sector and the NHS to learn more about the mental health challenges key workers face and how Our Frontline can support them. The Duke of Cambridge has his own personal experience of being a key worker, having worked for the East Anglian Air Ambulance service Those on the call will include NHS England and NHS Improvement, Faculty of Pre Hospital Care - Royal College of Surgeons, Mind, Lifelines Scotland, Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, National Police Chiefs' Council, the Fire Fighters Charity, Police Care UK and the Ambulance Staff Charity. Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, said: 'Every day, those working in health and social care, 999 services and other vital roles - staff working in supermarkets, pharmacies, transport, catering and cleaning to name a few - face huge challenges to their physical and mental health. 'That's why it's so important they can easily access information and contact trained advisers to help promote good mental health, any time of day or night.' Frontline staff and other key workers can see more information at www.ourfrontline.org or visit @OurFrontlineUK on social media. How Books and Buckets program in Long Beach aims to keep kids away from gang violence CLEVELAND, Ohio A Cleveland man was fatally shot early Sunday, his 25th birthday, police said. Officers were called about 2:30 a.m. to a house on the 13300 block of Benwood Avenue, north of Harvard Avenue in the citys Union-Miles neighborhood, Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said. They found a man on the second floor of the house suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest. The man was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, Ciaccia said. He has been identified as Emeir Ragland, 25, by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiners Office. Ragland was attending his 25th birthday party at the Benwood Avenue home, Ciaccia said. Cleveland homicide detectives learned at the scene that Raglands nephew, a 22-year-old man, fired the shot at Ragland. The nephew believed the handgun was unloaded, Ciaccia said. The 22-year-old was arrested at the Benwood Avenue house and booked into Cuyahoga County Jail, Ciaccia said. Formal charges have not yet been filed, court records show. The shooting remains under investigation. More Cleveland crime news: Man found stabbed to death in Clevelands Edgewater neighborhood 14-year-old boy shot dead in Clevelands Central neighborhood, another injured, EMS says Cleveland man pleads guilty in hit-and-run death of mother of three on Christmas Day Bay of Plenty Do you want to work for one of the most well respected contractors in the business? Work on one of the most exciting long... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz Image Alterations Dear Diary: It was the 1970s and I had recently moved to the area now known as Dumbo from the West Coast. I had a new pair of pants that needed altering, and I found a tailor in a basement shop in Brooklyn Heights. A bell rang as I opened the door and entered the shop. The tailor, an older man, was doing something behind the counter. He continued to stand with his back to me while I awaited his attention. Finally, after a minute or two that seemed much longer, he spoke without turning to face me. What do you want? I held up the pants. I need to have these pants taken in, I said. He swiveled slightly and glanced quickly at the waist of the pants and then at my waist. Without making eye contact, he swiveled back away. The Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, on Sunday confirmed that the state has recorded two new cases of the coronavirus. In a statement made available to journalists on Sunday, the governor said one of the cases involved one of the recently arraigned suspects in the murder of Funke Olakunrin, the daughter of the national leader of Afenifere, Reuben Fasoranti. We have confirmed two other cases in Ondo State, Mr Akeredolu said. One of the cases involves one of the recently arraigned suspects in the murder of Mrs Funke Olakunrin, Pa Fasorantis Daughter. The Commissioner of police has been duly informed and the line tracing of police officers and others in the SARs facility where he was kept has started and their specimens are being collected. The suspect has been isolated from others and will be moved to the IDH for treatment. The commissioner of police has assured the state that there will be adequate security around the IDH premises to prevent his escape and while on treatment, he will be manacled to the bed. I will expatiate on all cases in my weekly press briefing tomorrow. The suspects were arraigned on Friday at the Chief Magistrates Court in Akure and were ordered remanded at the Correctional Centre in Owo. The magistrate, Victoria Bob-Manuel, however ordered that they be tested for COVID-19 and the result ascertained before being admitted into the correctional centre. Mr Akeredolu had on Saturday confirmed the states fourth COVID-19 case, whom he described as a reckless officer who endangered the lives of citizens by traveling from Lagos to Akure after his confirmation as being positive in Lagos. The governor said the police officer contracted the virus in Lagos, but in breach of the lockdown rules, came to Akure for treatment. Earlier today, I got news of another positive case of COVID19 admitted to our facility in Akure, Mr Akeredolu had said. The case of this individual who is a police officer is unique. He was tested in Lagos but came to Ondo state while awaiting his results. Upon receiving a positive result, he claimed to have returned back to Lagos. According to him, he waited a few days in Lagos to be picked up. When this failed, he panicked and rushed back to Akure for treatment. Mr Akeredolu noted that while the state appreciated the confidence reposed in its facilities, the officers action was most reckless because he put the lives of others at a risk. I am most disappointed in the level of porosity of the entry points to the state, he said. The police officer should know better. I have contacted the commissioner of police to double up on securing our entry points. PREMIUM TIMES however, gathered that the police officers driver, a policeman, has also tested positive to the virus although this has not been officially announced. The development would bring the total number of confirmed cases in the state to six, from the official figure of four announced by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Saturday night. Of the infected persons, one person had earlier been discharged after undergoing treatment. Mr Akeredolu is expected to address the residents of the state on Monday on further measures to deal with the spread of the disease. He had earlier threatened that he would order a total lockdown should the state witness a fourth positive case of the disease. Advertisements Now that his fears have been confirmed, it is not clear whether he would make good his threat to install harsher measures. The first case of the virus in Ondo State, a military officer, had earlier been discharged after undergoing treatment at the states treatment centre in Akure. The Commissioner for Health, Wahab Adegbenro, said the second case had tested negative for the virus after an initial test, and would need to undergo a second test to confirm he is virus-free. He had also informed PREMIUM TIMES that the third case was responding well to treatment. According to the NCDC, as of Saturday, the number of confirmed cases in the country is 1182, including 35 deaths and 222 discharged. Today we'll take a closer look at FBL Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:FFG) from a dividend investor's perspective. Owning a strong business and reinvesting the dividends is widely seen as an attractive way of growing your wealth. On the other hand, investors have been known to buy a stock because of its yield, and then lose money if the company's dividend doesn't live up to expectations. In this case, FBL Financial Group likely looks attractive to investors, given its 9.2% dividend yield and a payment history of over ten years. We'd guess that plenty of investors have purchased it for the income. The company also bought back stock equivalent to around 0.6% of market capitalisation this year. Remember that the recent share price drop will make FBL Financial Group's yield look higher, even though recent events might have impacted the company's prospects. When buying stocks for their dividends, you should always run through the checks below, to see if the dividend looks sustainable. Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis NYSE:FFG Historical Dividend Yield April 26th 2020 Payout ratios Companies (usually) pay dividends out of their earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, the dividend might have to be cut. As a result, we should always investigate whether a company can afford its dividend, measured as a percentage of a company's net income after tax. In the last year, FBL Financial Group paid out 38% of its profit as dividends. This is a medium payout level that leaves enough capital in the business to fund opportunities that might arise, while also rewarding shareholders. One of the risks is that management reinvests the retained capital poorly instead of paying a higher dividend. Remember, you can always get a snapshot of FBL Financial Group's latest financial position, by checking our visualisation of its financial health. Dividend Volatility From the perspective of an income investor who wants to earn dividends for many years, there is not much point buying a stock if its dividend is regularly cut or is not reliable. For the purpose of this article, we only scrutinise the last decade of FBL Financial Group's dividend payments. The dividend has been cut on at least one occasion historically. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was US$0.25 in 2010, compared to US$3.50 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 30% per year over this time. The growth in dividends has not been linear, but the CAGR is a decent approximation of the rate of change over this time frame. Story continues It's not great to see that the payment has been cut in the past. We're generally more wary of companies that have cut their dividend before, as they tend to perform worse in an economic downturn. Dividend Growth Potential With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Why take the risk of a dividend getting cut, unless there's a good chance of bigger dividends in future? FBL Financial Group has grown its earnings per share at 2.9% per annum over the past five years. A payout ratio below 50% leaves ample room to reinvest in the business, and provides finanical flexibility. However, earnings per share are unfortunately not growing much. Might this suggest that the company should pay a higher dividend instead? Conclusion To summarise, shareholders should always check that FBL Financial Group's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. We're glad to see FBL Financial Group has a low payout ratio, as this suggests earnings are being reinvested in the business. Unfortunately, earnings growth has also been mediocre, and the company has cut its dividend at least once in the past. While we're not hugely bearish on it, overall we think there are potentially better dividend stocks than FBL Financial Group out there. It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. Just as an example, we've come accross 3 warning signs for FBL Financial Group you should be aware of, and 1 of them makes us a bit uncomfortable. We have also put together a list of global stocks with a market capitalisation above $1bn and yielding more 3%. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. Two youngsters in California set out to lift spirits during coronavirus lockdowns by shouting compliments at people passing by their homes. Doting dad Bret Turner shared his five-year-old daughter's hilarious antics last week in a Twitter thread that went viral as Americans across the country look for comic relief amid the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. 'My daughter and her neighbor friend spend a lot of the day sitting 6 feet away from the sidewalk, shouting compliments out at strangers who walk by. It's the right mood for these times,' Turner, a writer and children's musician living in Albany, tweeted on April 21. He went on to keep a running list of the compliments the kids came up with, including: 'Your shirt matches your dog and I like that about you!' and 'You should wear those shoes every day because they make your eye shine like the sun!' Children's musician and doting dad Bret Turner (pictured) shared his five-year-old daughter's hilarious method of spreading joy amid coronavirus lockdowns in a viral Twitter thread Turner said some of the best-received compliments involved face gear, such as: 'Your mask covers SO much of your face I don't even know what you look like! Great job!' The dad noted that there were 'occasional hiccups' in the quality of the compliments, noting that his daughter is only five years old and 'the spirit of uplifting is always there'. Among the slightly less successful compliments were: 'Your dress is much more beautiful than your shoes!' 'I don't know if you have hair under your hat but if you do it's beautiful!' 'Your dog's face is almost as cute as my face from when I was a baby!' Turner noted that there were 'occasional hiccups' in the quality of the compliments, noting that his daughter is only five years old and 'the spirit of uplifting is always there' Turner said one passerby accidentally 'killed the vibe' by jokingly asking the kids: 'Aren't you supposed to be in school?' 'My daughter said solemnly "I go to school on a computer now,"' he wrote. Turner's thread racked up more than 68,200 likes and 9,300 retweets as people shared their own favorite compliments from children. When he told his daughter that people online were enjoying her compliment campaign, she was less than impressed. 'She looked and me and said "ok... can you read me a book now?' Turner wrote. He offered an update a couple days after the thread went viral, revealing that his daughter appeared to be running out of inspiration for kind remarks. 'UPDATE: today she's grown tired of compliments, so instead she's yelling about the popsicle she's eating from the doorstep: "THIS POPSICLE IS FROM MY MOM AND DAD!" "MY BROTHER HAS A POPSICLE TOO, DID YOU ALSO WISH YOU HAD ONE? BECAUSE I CAN'T SHARE IT",' Turner tweeted on April 24. Turner has also been doing his part to help others out during quarantine by launching his own 'Stay-home singalong' for families fighting cabin fever. When Turner told his daughter that people online were enjoying her compliment campaign, she was less than impressed https://www.aish.com/jw/s/Kidney-Transplant-Champion-Dies-at-55.html Rabbi Heber helped facilitate over 800 kidney transplants in Israel and around the world. In 2006, Rabbi Avraham Yeshayahu Heber was an incredibly busy 42-year-old father and husband living in Jerusalem. He was working two jobs, as a school principal and a teacher, and had the energy for a full, bustling life. Then he became gravely ill with kidney disease. Within months, Rabbi Hebers life narrowed to a series of doctors appointments and painful medical treatments. His doctors told him that without a kidney transplant, his prospects were poor. Rabbi Heber was entered onto the list of patients waiting for kidney transplants in Israel. As in other countries, that list is tragically long and patients can wait for years to find a suitable donor. Each week, Rabbi Heber had to travel to Jerusalems Shaare Zedek Medical Center for dialysis to clean his blood, a function that his kidneys could no longer perform. Dialysis took four hours a day, three times a week. The process is exhausting, weakening patients immune systems and often resulting in patients feeling mentally and physically exhausted. Rabbi Heber was told that he could potentially gain an extra five to seven years of life through this grueling dialysis regime, but that the only cure for his kidney disease would be a kidney transplant. During these long and grueling dialysis sessions, one thing brightened Rabbi Hebers days. He became friends with a younger dialysis patient named Pinchas Turgeman. Just 18, Pinchas also was on the kidney transplant list. The two men became study partners and spent hours each week reading and discussing the Talmud. Sharing a love of studying Torah and the experience of life with irreparable kidney disease, they became very close. Luckily, Rabbi Heber was soon told that a donor had been found for him and he was able to have the lifesaving kidney transplant he needed. Overjoyed, he told his friend. Pinchas was happy for Rabbi Heber but couldnt resist asking, What about me? Both men knew that Pinchas kidney disease was already very advanced and he was running out of time. Rabbi Hebers transplant was successful and he soon regained his health enough to help search for a donor for Pinchas. Unlike many organs, kidneys can be donated by a living donor. People are born with two kidneys and even if they donate one, the other provides enough vital blood filtering activity to maintain a persons health. Years later, in encouraging others to consider kidney donation, Rabbi Heber would explain this concept, concluding: So with one kidney you can live ad meah vesrim (until the ripe old age of 120) totally healthy. Eventually, Rabbi Heber did find a kidney donor for Pinchas, but by then it was too late: Pinchas Turgeman passed away from kidney disease at the age of 22, two weeks before his scheduled transplant. Rabbi Heber with Shimon Peres Pinchas death devastated Rabbi Heber. After his friends funeral he sat by himself alone, not eating nor sleeping, just wondering what he could do so that he never again would have to go to the funeral of a person whose life could have been saved by a kidney donation. The day after Pinchas funeral, Rabbi Heber decided that his lifes goal was to help facilitate live kidney donations, raising awareness of the procedure and helping test and facilitate donor matches. In 2009 Rabbi Heber founded Matnat Chaim. Its name means The Gift of Life in Hebrew. We...have first-hand knowledge of the suffering undergone by kidney patients in need of kidney transplant Matnat Chaims mission statement declares; (we) feel that it is our duty to ease the difficulties they encounter in finding living kidney donors. We have therefore formed a voluntary association with the aim of encouraging living kidney donations in Israel. Matnat Chaim spread awareness of kidney donation and raised the issue in Israels press. It also helped people register to be tested to be potential donors. Instead of waiting until a patient with kidney disease was gravely ill, Rabbi Heber helped pioneer a novel approach: healthy Israelis would be encouraged to test and see if they could donate kidneys, even to people they did not personally know. With so many patients waiting on the transplant list, every person who is willing to be tested can potentially save a life. In fact, about 80% of kidney donations in Israel today take place between strangers, in part due to Rabbi Hebers efforts at education and signing up donors. In the first year Matnat Chaim was operating, Rabbi Heber and Matnat Chaim located four kidney donors. During the second year, they helped make arrangements for eight donations. By 2019, Matnat Chaim had arranged over 800 kidney transplants. In recent years the organization had expanded beyond its base in Israel, arranging at least one kidney donation in England, as well. In recent weeks Rabbi Heber became ill with Covid-19. He passed away on Thursday, April 23, in Jerusalem, at the age of 55. His legacy is one of life for hundreds of kidney patients who today enjoy healthy lives, and also of incredible generosity and kindness as he encouraged hundreds of people to perform the mitzvah of pikuach nefesh, or saving a life, by donating kidneys. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu expressed his deep sorrow about the passing of Rabbi Heber, noting that Rabbi Heber instilled the awareness of the importance of donations in the general public Thanks to him, hundreds of people in Israel were granted a new life. Benny Gantz, the leader of the Blue and White party in Israel noted that Rabbi Heber spread so much kindness and solidarity The parents, children, brothers and sisters that owe him the lives of their loved ones, and all of us, who were impacted by the power of his giving to the community are grieving tonight. With 293 new cases and no deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the total coronavirus cases in the national capital reached 2,918 on Sunday while the toll remained 54. As many as eight people have recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours, according to the Delhi Health Report. A total of 877 patients in Delhi have recovered from coronavirus so far. "As on date, 1,987 cases are active," the report said. Among the total 2,918 cases, 1,931 patients (or 66 per cent) were less than 50 years of age, while 469 were between 50-59 years and 518 patients were above the age of 60 years, the Health Report said. In the last 24 hours, no death was reported. Among the total 54 deaths, over half (29) were of those aged 60 years or above, 15 were aged between 50 to 59 and the rest 10 were below 50 years. Among the total deaths, 46 people (85 per cent) had other serious diseases as well. On Sunday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said it has been eight weeks since the outbreak of coronavirus in Delhi, and there were fewer coronavirus cases and fewer fatalities in the city this week as compared to last week. Kejriwal said while 850 cases were reported in the seventh week, in the eighth, only 622 new cases were reported. However, with the 293 cases reported in the last 24 hours, the total patient count of this week has reached 915, which is more than the previous week. The report said as on Sunday night, 11 patients are on ventilators, while 42 are in the ICU. So far, 37,613 tests have been conducted in the city and 2,533 reports are pending. "While 2,918 reports were positive, 39,919 reports were egative," it says. There are three levels of coronavirus care in the city for those having no symptoms, mild symptoms or critical patients - Covid care centres (CCC), dedicated health centres and dedicated hospitals, respectively. Across the city, there are seven Covid Care Centres housing 883 patients, the Health Department said. While the CCC formed in DDA flats Narela has 423 (highest) patients, that in Mandoli has 164 patients. There are two Covid-19 Health Centres having 102 patients. Delhi has nine Covid-19 hospitals having 576 patients. "LNJP has the highest (165) COVID patients among all the hospitals," the Health Department said. The nine hospitals also included Central government hospitals and private hospitals. Among the private hospitals, Max has the highest (95) Covid patients. The positive cases in the city are increasing at a rapid rate since the last 25 days. The total positive cases in Delhi were 97 with two deaths on March 30. By April 10, there were 903 cases with 14 deaths. So far, Delhi has set up 97 containment zones across the city. "Across the red zones, 260 people have tested positive. A total of 5,438 samples were collected from the containment zones so far," the Health Report said. In Delhi, daily house to house surveillance and sanitization of area under is being done in the containment zones. Tobi Aworinde, Abuja The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has cautioned the public against consuming bleach or other disinfectants as proffered by United States President, Donald Trump. Trump had, at a news conference on Thursday, suggested using powerful cleaning agents, through an injection, as a possible COVID-19 cure. The US President, while briefly addressing his advisor, Dr Deborah Birx, said, I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it (the virus) out in a minute one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. READ ALSO: Police arrest suspected killers of Kaduna seminarian Amid global shock and outrage over Trumps comments, the NCDC strongly advised against drinking disinfectants. The agency, in a tweet on Saturday, said, It is important to note that bleach and other disinfectants should be used to clean surfaces. They should not be consumed by people to treat COVID-19. Drinking bleach and disinfectants can lead to health complications and even death. Please share widely! DOWNLOAD THE PUNCH NEWS APP NOW ON #video-container { margin-bottom: 10px; } .socialmedia { margin-bottom:20px; margin-top:20px; font-family: Open Sans, sans-serif; } .socialmedia h3 { font-size:14px; margin-bottom:10px; font-weight:bold; text-align:left; } .socialmedia h3 span { font-size:14px; font-weight:normal; line-height:1.5em; } .socialmedia h3 span#whatsapp { width:50px; height:50px; background:url(http://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/07104600/wa1.png) no-repeat; } .socialmedia h3 span a { color:gray; } #main h3 { font-weight:bold; font-size:24px; } .box_app { background-color:#fafafa; width: 100%; text-align: left; } Israeli settlers attacks against Palestinians rise 'noticeably,' rights group says Iran Press TV Saturday, 25 April 2020 2:32 PM Israeli settlers have noticeably escalated attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in April despite restriction of movement and lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a rights group says. In an official report on Saturday, the Israeli rights group B'Tselem said since the outbreak of the contagious disease in the occupied territories, the settlers have ramped up their assaults with full support from the Tel Aviv regime. B'Tselem said during the first three weeks of the current month only at least 23 attacks by settlers had been documented compared to 23 such incidents throughout March, adding that 11 of these attacks were conducted after mid-March, when strict restrictions on movement and social gatherings were imposed. The report went on to say that for comparison it was worth noting that only 11 attacks had been recorded in January and 12 in February. According to the report, in these violent incidents, Israeli settlers, some of them carrying firearms, physically assaulted Palestinians with clubs, axes, electroshock weapons, stones and assault dogs, inflicting severe injuries in a number of cases. It added that settlers also launched attacked Palestinian homes, set their cars on fire, vandalized their property, and uprooted their olive trees and other crops as well as sealing their livestock. B'Tselem said that such incidents occurred throughout the occupied West Bank, stressing that three flash points have witnessed most of the attacks, namely the area around the recently-expanded outpost of Havat Ma'on in the southern hills of al-Khalil (Hebron). The second epicenter has been the area around the Shilo settlement and its adjoining bloc of outposts, it added, saying that in this area the villages of al-Mughayir, Turmusaya, Qaryut and Qusrah have also been within target range. The area around the Halamish settlement, where another new outpost was recently established, has been the third epicenter in the West Bank, the report added. Furthermore, Israeli settlers harass Palestinian shepherds almost every day in the Jordan Valley in the vicinity of Rimonim and Kochav Hashahar settlements, and also in the southern parts of al-Khalil, the report added. B'Tselem added that Israel settlers also graze their cattle and sheep in Palestinians' cultivated fields, mostly in the Jordan Valley, on a daily basis, stressing that these routine acts of harassment and vandalism were not included in the data gathered by the rights group. "Five of eight attacks on Palestinian homes in March occurred in the presence of soldiers, who not only allowed the settlers to do as they pleased but took action against Palestinians trying to protect their families and homes. In some cases, soldiers arrested residents, and in at least three incidents fired tear gas canisters at residents," B'Tselem said. "In three incidents, the soldiers arrived with the marauding settlers or joined them early on in the assault. Similar incidents occurred in April, with soldiers firing rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters at residents, as has happened in the villages of Qusrah and a-Shuyukh on April 6," the report further read. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Click here to read the full article. [Editors Note: The following article contains spoilers for HBOs Bad Education.] The climax of Bad Education is both entirely expected and utterly bizarre. More from IndieWire After spending nearly 90 minutes carefully divulging secret after treacherous secret, steadily building to a con artists just comeuppance, Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman) walks into Roslyn High School and comes face to face with his worst nightmare. Students who once high-fived their beloved superintendent are left agape in judgmental astonishment; co-workers who wouldve followed him into fire now demand his resignation; parents boo him off the stage during an explanatory assembly. As Frank walks back to his office, glancing into the conference room where he once received congratulatory fruit baskets and posed for pictures with appreciative colleagues, he only sees FBI agents combing through records. And those records expose more than $2 million Frank embezzled from the Long Island school. This is it. All movie fans recognize this as the moment when the con artist finally gets busted. And as Frank reaches for his office door, you just know theres a herd of cops waiting on the other side to slap him in cuffs. Except when Frank opens his eyes, theres no lurking sheriff; theres just Mrs. Carol Schweitzer, poised with another complaint about her young son Chads education. Shes already met with Frank once, last fall, when he graciously offered to let the struggling student retake a test and put Chad on the placement track his mother demanded, despite what his teachers advised. So what does Frank do, when a parents relatively minor and totally outrageous complaint arrives at the very moment his life is falling apart? He stops to teach the kid how to pronounce the word accelerate. Story continues Why? Because Bad Education isnt just telling a juicy true story about a salacious scandal; its making a point about our broken American school system, the abuse teachers are forced to take, and the madness it can drive them toward. Frank Tassone, as seen in Bad Education, is two men at once. The Frank we first meet is fully dedicated to his job. He spends late nights at the office memorizing names of various teachers, administrators, and students. He shares his many gifts with the staff and always puts his best face forward in public. When theres a work trip to Las Vegas, his colleagues skip the monotonous conference lectures in favor of hitting the craps tables but not Frank. He pays close attention, takes notes, and even stays after to bend the speakers ear. His goal in life is the same as his goal at work help others succeed and our first hint toward Franks duplicitous nature comes when the supposed widower runs into an old student, Kyle Contreras (played by Rafael Casal), and makes a move. Up until that point, Frank presents as straight, telling curious women hes a still-wounded widower. So is Frank stuck in the closet, just coming to terms with his sexuality, or is there more going on we dont know about? Obviously, its the latter, but Frank and Kyles relationship isnt just there to hint at Franks secretive nature; its another example of his complete dedication to his students. Frank only suggests they go back to his room when Kyle, a once-promising writer back when Frank taught him in English, admits his life hasnt worked out the way he hoped. That means his life didnt work out like Frank hoped either; that his efforts werent enough. In a flash, you can see Franks intentions shift, as though hes only attracted to Kyle because he thinks he can still help him succeed, all these years later. Would they have still hooked up if Kyle had become a famous science-fiction author? Maybe not. What Frank wants more than anything is to help his students, and even when the financial scandal starts to surface, Bad Education marks a clear dichotomy between Franks motivations and those of his primary accomplice. Pam Gluckin, the assistant superintendent played with pitch-perfect smarm, apprehension, and umbrage by Allison Janney, represents greed, while Frank represents corruption. Both overlap with one another at times, but shes the one throwing lavish parties at her seaside mansion; shes the one paying for her cousins Christmas presents on the school credit card; shes the one who, when its all summed up, embezzled twice as much as Frank. Frank, though, is no martyr, and the movie never paints him as such. Writer Mike Makowsky, who was a student at Roslyn when the scandal broke, picks and chooses what we know about Frank in order to show how he got away with the con for so long, sure, but also because hes making a point through the character, not a biopic about him. Bad Education isnt The Frank Tassone Story; its a sagacious study of what caused this unprecedented event, and once Frank and Pams radical misconduct is exposed, thats when we start to see their damning similarities. While Pam lets loose her indignation to more spectacular extremes trying to beat up her oblivious son (played by the young master of 20-something dummies, Jimmy Tatro) for screwing up their remodel and sitting in contemptuous silence as her family tears open their Christmas presents Franks expenditures are largely tied to his work. He buys expensive suits to look good for school events; he eats costly meals to impress benefactors and maintain his healthy sheen; he even lives in a pricey New York apartment to avoid stirring controversy over his lifestyle. The film makes clear that Frank grossly overindulges while illustrating why he feels entitled to such perks the $20,000 trip to Europe was for work, so who cares if he flew first-class and brought a friend? Doesnt he deserve a few perks for a life spent in service to everyone else? Bad Education offers a resounding no, while inviting audiences to consider what exactly those perks should be. If we want our teachers and school administrators to get the results that Frank does the No. 4 school district in the country! more admissions to Ivy League colleges than ever! then the effort we demand of them has to mirror the recognition offered. To start the movie, Frank is shown entering a crowded auditorium to a rapturous standing ovation. At the end, he dreams of being on that stage again. But applause clearly isnt enough; not for what he did or what he dreamed of doing; not for a lifetime of dealing with people like Mrs. Schweitzer, who stands in front of a man in crisis and complains that her sons teacher made his test harder out of spite. Shes not only taking Frank for granted, but everyone whos carved time out of their own lives to help a student. My problem? My problem is you, Frank says. Its the people who trot their poor children out like race horses at Belmont; who derive some perverse joy out of treating us like low-level service reps. Do you remember the teachers who sat with you, who held you by the hand, who taught you to add and subtract, or showed you Gatsby and Salinger, for the first time Mockingbird even? Do their names escape you? Are their faces a blur? [] You might forget, but we dont. We never forget. Ever. As millions of Americans are homeschooling their kids, it took just 71 minutes of teaching for super-producer Shonda Rhimes to argue that educators deserve $1 billion a year or a week. Its a position almost everyone can get behind, yet its gone widely ignored on a national scale. Its also the same frustrating feeling Frank finally reveals when he confronts Mrs. Schweitzer. Somewhere between the fleeting applause and egregious embezzlement lies proper acknowledgement for our inexhaustible educators, and Bad Education serves as a searing reminder that we still havent found it. After all, Franks only a con artist because he spent a lifetime being overlooked. Bad Education is streaming now on HBO. Best of IndieWire Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. MESSIAH (Netflix) 10-part series Cast: Mehdi Dehbi, Michelle Monaghan, Tomer Sisley, John Ortiz, Stefania LaVie Owen, Sayyid El Alami, Jane Adams, Wil Traval Created by Michael Petroni Rating: * Have you ever binge-watched a series that you disliked and yet continued to watch partly out of lethargy and partly because you just needed to know how bad it really was? I do, sometimes. And the latest one on my list of Precious-Hours-Wasted-That-Won't-Ever-Return is Messiah (Netflix). The 10-part series starring Belgian actor Mehdi Dehbi in the title role is dull as hell because, just like so many other serials of its ilk, it is born out of America's eternal paranoia about being the hunted one, coupled with its self-serving delusion about the role it has actively played in destroying nations and generations, fanning strife in several regions, supplying arms to both sides, all the while harbouring a narcissistic white man's burden that serves no purpose except to make them feel guilt-free. Messiah is about a street preacher in Damascus who catches the attention of a CIA officer, Eva Geller, when he leads a large group of hungry refugees to the border with Israel and they take to calling him Al-Masih. He is captured by Israel, interrogated by Mossad's Aviram Dahan and seems to know too much about everyone. Then he disappears, only to suddenly appear in the middle of a tornado in Texas. As all those waiting for the next coming of the lord gather around him for some answers and gyaan, he decides to treat his new-found American followers to a miracle on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Simultaneously something stirs in his followers stranded at Golan Heights. All this intrigues Eva Geller and Aviram Dahan enough to keep dashing from one place to another to try and figure out who this man really is. Messiah is terribly similar to many such serials before, but especially Homeland, but without the fabulous two actors Claire Danes and Damian Lewis. Its story and characters, including their circumstances, are depressingly similar to Homeland. Consider this: Eva Geller is an officer whose personal life is devastated and her home is a quiet mausoleum of sad memories. To get away from it all she is focused on and devoted to her job. Aviram is separated and a drunk and has anger-management issues. He also has a past misdemeanour that niggles at him. Am I making the series sound even mildly interesting? I am sorry if I am. Messiah is deathly boring because nothing happens for long periods of time. While the CIA and Mossad officers are trying to piece together information about Al-Masih, to figure whether he is a messiah or a con, they get nowhere, and so they spend their free time dissing the other about interference in the affairs of their nation and then they make out. All things Middle East and Arab are shown as very exotic and meaningful, especially Al-Mesih, who calls himself the voice of God. A doomsday scenario keeps building up as miracles keep mounting, and there is an uprising in sandy parts of the world. So considerable and scary does the impact of Al-Mesih get that the President of the United States requests his company. This was a good clue for me to switch off this duffer show, but I really had to see how stupid it could get. It gets really stupid, and annoying. Mehdi Dehbi gives the character of Al-Masih a self-conscious smug divinity. He only utters riddles or what sounds like vague profundities that, if you listen carefully, is plain gibberish. Shot in Jordan and the US, Messiah has nothing that redeems it. Please don't waste your time on it. Especially since the series ends on a cliffhanger and there won't be a season 2. Instead, I suggest, watch Tokyo Trial. Amid the lockdown, a number of Information Technology sector employees in Maharashtra have been able to shift to working from home, all thanks to help provided by the Home Guards. These personnel have been helping various IT firms by accompanying the trucks used for transporting computers, laptops, networking equipment and other peripherals from the offices to residences of employees, a senior police official told PTI. Maharashtra has several IT campuses in Pune, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Nashik, where thousands of employees of various companies cater to overseas clients, contributing sizeably to export earnings. As the movement of people has become extremely difficult due to the lockdown, industry body Nasscom recently approached the Home Guards to help the IT companies in moving the technical equipment to the homes of employees. Keshav Murugesh, the Chief Executive officer of WNS, who was chairing Nasscom till April 6, said they approached the Home Guards for help and the force was pivotal in executing the task. All the IT companies paid for the help rendered for the movement of equipment, he said. Following the request, volunteers of Home Guards accompanied trucks of various companies and helped in shifting their desktops, laptops in Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Nagpur, a senior police official said. More than 20 IT companies, like IBM, Hexaware, Cognizant took help of the Home Guards, the official said. "Whatever we could do, we did it to support the industry," he said. Director General of Home Guards and Civil Defence, Sanjay Pandey, said various companies, which are mostly service providers, needed help during this period. It is natural that we should help the industry. We provided the Home Guards for shifting desktops and laptops of IT companies, Pandey told PTI. The Home Guard volunteers earned extra for the help they extended, another police official said. As of now, the strength of the Home Guards in Maharashtra is 45,000, out of whom 15,000 personnel are on duty during the coronavirus-enforced lockdown. A few of them have been given the task of helping the IT industry, he said. The Home Guards usually assist Maharashtra Police during natural calamities. They are also deployed for bandobast duties during festivals, in trains to help the railway police and other police assistance-related work. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police are on the lookout for a labourer, who allegedly raped his 14-year-old cousin and impregnated her, in Janampuri. The crime came to the fore when the girl complained of stomach pain and was examined by doctors at the Ludhiana civil hospital. The victim, who is a student of Class 7, told the police that on December 29, 2019, she was alone at home, when her cousin, who is in his 20s, barged in and raped her. He threatened her against revealing the matter to her parents and left. Her father said she complained of severe pain in the stomach on April 24, following which they took her to the Ludhiana civil hospital. There, the doctor informed them that she was four months pregnant. On being coaxed, the victim revealed the sexual assault to her parents. Sub-inspector Tamanna Devi of Salem Tabri police, who is investigating the case, said they had booked the accused under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. A manhunt has been launched for his arrest. Living Newer Older Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Another batch of 13 Nigerian returnees from Togo Republic have arrived at Seme Border Post in Lagos State in the early hours of Sunday, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. NAN reports that the 13 returnees arrived the border post in a Toyota Coaster bus with Togolese registration number TG 5923 A. NAN gathered that the Nigerian returnees were resident in Togo but decided to return to their country following the outbreak of COVID-19. The Nigerians were screened with the infra red thermometer by our officials when they arrived today. We have called Lagos State Ministry of Health and they have promised to come and evacuate them to quarantine facility in Badagry, a Port Health official told NAN at Seme border. NAN reports that the arrival of 13 returnees from Togo on Sunday brings to 103 the total number of Nigerians that arrived through Seme border post after the border closure on March 21. NAN reports that 67 Nigerians resident in Ivory Coast returned on April 8, at Seme border post in a luxurious bus with registration number Osun XA 240 EJG. One of the 13 Nigerian returnees from Togo being screened with Infrared Thermometer by an official of Port Health Services at Seme border on Sunday. Another returnee from Togo being screened by a Port Health official at Seme border in front of the coastal bus that brought them. Another batch of 23 Nigerian returnees, who came from different parts of the world and landed in Lome, Togolese capital, on Ethiopian Airlines, arrived Seme border on April 19 and were quarantined in Lagos. (NAN) The silver is dazzling even if applied just along the lash line Then look no further than these multicoloured multitasking palettes Your social life might be somewhat on hold right now but you can still get spruced up for an online meet-up. And so to palettes and an easy way of doing a bit of a make-up update and bringing in new light (and shades). Id particularly like to rhapsodise about the Ted Baker St Barts Eyeshadow Quad Palette in Pashion (1, 32, tedbaker.com). Its a swanky enough collection of colours including a russety red, a deep green and a light gold, all in buildable, light textures. But its the glittering silver that Id wager youll find yourself reaching for over and again. This is a year-round winner with a great level of pigment and will be especially good when the sun comes out for really brightening up the eyes. This is dazzling even if just applied along the lash line. LOreal Paris offers a wealth of colour options well, 16 in its Eye Go Wild Eyeshadow Mega Palette (4, 14.99, superdrug.com). A cheery mix of nudes, caramels, pale gold and some warmer red tones, this is understated escapism with a good pigment payoff and easily blendable texture. For more eye candy you could try the new Huda Beauty Pastel Obsessions Palette in Rose (2, 27, cultbeauty.co.uk) with its pretty range of balletic pinks and pale peaches with a dash of sunshine yellow (you dont have to cover the whole lid with this; a dab in the corner of the eye could be enough to refresh a look). There are also Lilac and Mint quad options. The new Guerlain Les Meteorites Pearl Dust Palette (5, 44, guerlain.com, from 27 April) is a charming addition to the highlighter category. With three hues pink, gold and amber you can ramp up or tone down depending on how much warmth you want to add on any day. Apply it to all the high points on the face cheekbones, brow bones, bridge of the nose and the cupids bow if you like. But you could also use it as a pearlescent finish on your eyes or cheeks. For serious glamour, look to Westman Atelier and its Lip Suede in Les Rouges (3, 75, net-a-porter.com), all housed in a glossy red compact. The brainchild of the ever-stylish and talented make-up artist Gucci Westman, this is true to her brand ethos and an all-natural, vegan formula. There are four shades of lipstick fuchsia, brick, tomato and dusty rose which you can wear alone or mix to create your own options. And the inclusion of marula oil makes for a comfortable, plumped-up pout. These raise the bar! With soap being such a hot topic at the moment, I wanted to give a shout out to Lucy Bees natural collection. So many varieties often the fancy and therefore more fragranced ones leave my hands parched and unhappy, but this range actually nourishes. The soaps are made with 100 per cent coconut oil but produce a luxurious lather. I prefer the Fragrance Free one (6, shop.lucybee.com) but theres an Ylang Ylang, Jasmine & Cedarwood option and a Lemon, Tangerine & Cinnamon (8 each). The Spearmint, Basil & Clove Natural Exfoliating Soap (9) is also great for the shower. A knotty problem solved A new and brilliant conditioner this way comes, and it has totally won me over. Meet top hairdresser (and all round good guy) Larry Kings Liquid Hairbrush Conditioner (42, larryking.co.uk/shop). Creating it was a bit of a labour of love for him: his daughters hair always became very tangled, and combing it out was never exactly the highlight of her day. So he wanted to create a conditioner that would smooth the whole process and be silicone free. Not only did he manage it, but Ive found that it isnt just that initial post-wash comb-through that has been made much more of a knot-free endeavour: my hair actually stayed pretty much tangle-free until it was next washed. And instead of silicone Larry used ingredients such as pea protein along with tsubaki and avocado oils. The conditioner is part of his first haircare range, which augments an existing styling offering and includes The Wash Cycle, shampoos that instead of being matched to particular hair types are designed with your hairs ever-changing needs in mind: City Life, Good Life and Social Life (39 each). Better still, sustainability is a key consideration, with everything presented in refillable glass jars. It appears that the MDC Alliance has ambitions to expose this country to the whims of a foreign power to reduce the country to the status of a proxy state. If you are a proponent of democracy, you must make it your business and concern to be the first to practice democracy. Just now some allied world power are the least qualified to preach democracy. This is the dilemma with which those African states that look up to such foreign powers for their democratic ambitions are faced with the agonising reality of duplicity which is justified in the name of democracy. A mother and her two adult children are facing assault charges after allegedly beating a woman at the Hampton Inn in Lower Nazareth Township. Charged in the April 16 incident are 44-year-old Tammy Rivera, 21-year-old Jaylynn Rivera and 19-year-old Alize Rivera, all of the 400 block of East Broad Street in Bethlehem. Tammy and Jaylynn Rivera are each facing charges of simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct. Alize Rivera is charged with disorderly conduct. Colonial Regional police were called to the hotel, 3723 Nazareth Road, for a reported fight at 11 p.m. The woman had injuries to her face, head, arms and legs, according to police. She reported to investigators being assaulted by the ex-wife of her boyfriend and his children. Investigators obtained video surveillance of the incident. Police said the footage and witness statements both corroborated with the womans story. The trio are awaiting arraignment on the charges before District Judge John Capobianco. Tammy Rivera told lehighvalleylive.com Sunday the altercation was the result of her husbands alleged infidelity while they were married and she and her daughter acted in self defense during the incident. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Berlin: An Iraqi man accused of being an Islamic State terrorist has gone on trial in a high court in Frankfurt, Germany, accused of genocide, human trafficking, and the torture and murder of a 5-year-old Yazidi girl he had held as a slave in Fallujah, Iraq. Opening statements in the trial of the defendant identified by his first name and last initial in accordance with German privacy rules, Taha Al-J., came a year after his German-born wife went on trial over the death of the same girl. Iraqi Yazidi women mourn during the exhumation of a mass grave in Iraq's north-western region of Sinjar. Credit:AP His trial is believed to be the first in the world that carries the charge of genocide in relation to the Yazidis. "This trial is remarkable in many ways," Alexandra Lily Kather, an international law expert, said in a telephone interview. "This is the first case going on trial in the world including genocide among the charges with respect to crimes committed against the Yazidi." Kather co-authored a report on the trial's significance for Just Security, a legal blog. Often, he wrote, lawyers are not looking at their screens but down at their files, their outlines and notes or simply out the window, and cannot see the judge is hollering, Stop! Stop! because an objection has been made, and the audio stays with the witness rather than obeying the judge. Washington, Apr 26 (UNI) Gen John Raymond, commander of US Space Command and US Space Force Chief of Space Operations, says the new military satellite launched by Iran appears to lack the capacity to provide intelligence. "US_SpaceCom continues to track 2 objects @PeteAFBs @18SPCS associated w/#space launch from Iran, characterizing NOUR 01(#SATCAT 45529) as 3U Cubesat. Iran states it has imaging capabilities actually, its a tumbling webcam in space; unlikely providing intel," Raymond wrote on Twitter on Saturday. On Wednesday, the Iranian military said that its first military satellite Noor (Light) had been successfully launched into orbit atop Qassed (Envoy) carrier. Western nations doubted the launch's compliance with UN Security Council resolution 2231 on the Iranian nuclear issue. Tehran argued that not a single international resolution had banned it from launching military satellites into orbit. The successful launch followed several of Irans failed attempts to launch satellites: the February failure to launch the Zafar communications satellite and failed satellite launches in January 2019. At the end of October 2019, Irans Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi said that Iran was planning to have new satellites launched into Earth's orbit by the end of the then-current Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 19. In January, the minister said Iran had prepared at least six satellites to be launched into space. This week, Jahromi stressed that Irans space program is peaceful in nature, with part of it devoted to civilian needs, while the other part being a military defense program. UNI XC-RHK0842 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attends a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang, in this April 11, 2020, file photo provided by the North Korean government. AP China has dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to three people familiar with the situation. The trip by the Chinese doctors and officials comes amid conflicting reports about the health of the North Korean leader. Reuters was unable to immediately determine what the trip by the Chinese team signaled in terms of Kim's health. A delegation led by a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party's International Liaison Department left Beijing for North Korea, Thursday, two of the people said. The department is the main Chinese body dealing with neighbouring North Korea The sources declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter. The Liaison Department could not be reached by Reuters for comment late Friday. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, also late Friday. The Daily NK, a Seoul-based website, reported earlier this week that Kim was recovering after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure, April 12. It cited an unnamed source in the North. South Korean government officials and a Chinese official with the Liaison Department challenged subsequent reports suggesting that Kim was in grave danger after surgery. The South Korean officials said they had detected no signs of unusual activity in North Korea. On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump also downplayed earlier reports that Kim was gravely ill. "I think the report was incorrect," Trump told reporters, but he declined to say if he had been in touch with North Korean officials. If you were still harboring naive notions of free and fair elections when Democrats are involved, perhaps this will help disabuse you of those fantasies. From a Fox News report a few days ago: A prominent Democratic lawyer who represented Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign [Marc Elias] is threatening to sue the state of Nevada unless it immediately suspends prosecutions for ballot harvesting before the June 9 primary, among a slew of other demands, according to a letter obtained by Fox News on Tuesday. Writing on April 10 to Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, a Republican, Elias first took aim at Nevada Revised Statutes section 293.330(4), which prohibits ballot harvesting and permits only certain individuals, like family members, to return ballots. Ballot harvesting, or the practice of allowing political operatives and others to collect voters' ballots and turn them in en masse to polling stations, has drawn bipartisan concerns of fraud from election watchers. "We ask that your office and the office of the Nevada Attorney General immediately announce a suspension of prosecutions under this statute for all elections for which mail-in balloting will be the primary means of voting in the state," Elias said. At the same time, Elias called for Nevada to stop throwing out ballots when signatures on voters' ballots appear different from those on voters' registrations, saying "lay election officials have never had the necessary expertise" to make an accurate determination. Ballot-harvesting is a crime, forbidden due to the inherent opportunities for fraud, intimidation, and outright manufacture of votes. The Democrats tried to legalize ballot-harvesting in the last stimulus go-round, but thankfully, they were caught and prevented from doing so. Worse still, Elias's threats also seek to force Nevada to send a ballot to all registered voters, regardless of whether a voter requested a ballot or not. As you'll see, Nevada is merely the target du jour. The same will be expected of all 50 states before November 3, 2020. This effort is spearheaded by former Clinton attorney Marc Elias, a partner at Perkins Coie law firm, the same firm that facilitated and helped disseminate the fraudulent Steele dossier, which launched the Russian collusion narrative. Unsurprisingly, Elias was the attorney who engaged Fusion GPS to procure the dossier using funds laundered through Perkins Coie. Elias is a prime example of all things wrong with the legal profession these days, a poster child for "whatever it takes" lawyerly maneuvering, regardless of ethics or legality. His involvement also makes it clear that this is no one-off effort concerning Nevada alone. This well known Democrat fixer has a long history of fighting voter ID laws in state after state, with his legal challenges bankrolled by none other than George Soros. He is the point of the spear in the left's effort to wrest control of the electoral process from the people of the United States. Having licked his wounds after the 2016 debacle, Elias has emerged again, fighting the same battles, singing the same tunes. Elias wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post, published on March 16, 2020. In his missive, he outlines the same demands he has threatened against Nevada. It will not be enough for states to simply allow more citizens to vote by mail. Each state must also provide adequate resources for the printing and distribution of millions of extra ballots and to support with extra funds the officials who are tasked with processing and counting the flood of mailed ballots. It will also require states to revisit their laws to provide free postage and community ballot collection. States then need to address the manner in which ballots are verified to minimize rejections based on issues with voters' signatures. Citing likely difficulties with processing large numbers of mail-in ballots, Elias says: [A]ll votes postmarked by Election Day must be treated as timely and counted in full. Unfortunately, many states do not currently count ballots received after Election Day, regardless of when voters mail them. Replacing Election Day receipt laws with the more intuitive postmarked-by-Election Day standard is essential. As all Democrats do, Elias ignores the concept of personal responsibility on the part of the voter, who is naturally expected to consider mailing time when returning his ballot. What his proposal does is completely different from what he claims that it will do. It permits the exploitation of exit polling, enabling operatives to dump vast numbers of fraudulent ballots wherever needed on Election Day, having seen from exit polling which races and precincts are going to their opponents. This cannot be permitted, as it provides specific real-time data to enable election-tampering with a specificity not seen outside of North Korea. Ideally, states will act to correct these anti-democratic laws. If not, Congress should step in and amend federal law to make clear that ballots mailed by a voter on or before Election Day must be treated as cast on Election Day. In his own words, Elias reveals the framework for stealing an election. Create avenues for mischief, then exploit those avenues for all they're worth. Remembering that by threatening endless lawsuits over clearly fraudulent ballots, it's not too difficult to intimidate a county election commissioner into matching voter registration signatures against received ballot signatures with a very broad standard to avoid litigation that could bankrupt post-COVID budgets. The pattern is clear. Force a mail-in ballot scenario, suspend prohibitions against ballot-harvesting (citing reasons of health and safety, of course), and then find judges in each state to forbid the invalidating of ballots where the signatures do not match the registration. Apart from simply declaring themselves the winner at the end of a rifle barrel, the Democrats couldn't possibly have devised a more direct path to hijacking an election. This is the greatest danger we face in 2020 not the virus, not North Korea, not even the economic effects of the virus, but rather the clear intention of one party to steal an election by any means necessary. Don't be distracted: this is one issue you must not let lie fallow. They are arranging for the invalidation of your vote, right in front of your eyes. We must prevent these changes, or, like a miraculous resurrection of Lenin, we will see the whole country "turn" blue November 3. The author writes from Omaha, Neb. and welcomes visitors to his website at dailyherring.com. Image: Tom Arthur via Wikimedia Commons. Responding to what union officials consider the companys minimalist approach to COVID safety precautions, two locals with the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers have requested to bargain for extra measures with Nippon Dynawave Packaging in Longview. I would say that all of the companies we represent are trying to take this seriously, but there are different levels, said Jim Anderson, Washington area representative for the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers. AWPPW represents thousands of workers at paper mills in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California and Virginia, including about 375 employees at Nippon Dynawave. Many of the mills have adopted added safety measures for COVID-19, Anderson said, but not Nippon Dynawave. Not to be overly harsh, but what I would say is (Nippon Dynawave) has looked at the CDC guidelines and they are doing what they have to do to stay within those guidelines, Anderson said. That doesnt necessarily mean they are doing all they could or should be doing. While the company has taken precautions to keep workers safe including social distancing and giving some employees N95 masks it hasnt gone beyond the standard Center for Disease Control recommendations, Anderson said. He pointed to the face masks as an example. The company handed out as many N95 masks as it had on supply, but that wasnt enough to cover all workers, Anderson said. Unlike some paper mills in the region that provide cloth masks to fill the gap, Nippon Dynawave has not considered an alternative, he said. They cant get N95 masks. Everybody knows that. ... But that shouldnt be the answer. You should say, We are looking at what else we can do, Anderson said. It will sound like Im hitting them, but Im just disappointed in them. Anderson said the company has agreed to bargain the matter, but a date for a virtual meeting has not been set yet. In a prepared statement, Nippon Dynawave said it has met with union local leaders since March 20th to discuss the companys response to the pandemic. Nippon Dynawave Packaging received the AWPPW demand letter on April 4th and quickly provided a response. We thank all our Union and salaried employees for their diligent commitment to practicing the hygiene and physical distancing efforts required to protect themselves and their communities from infection. By doing so we support our community and keep essential food supply chains around the world moving, according to the statement. The bargain is not an opener for any work contract at the mill, Anderson said, and it will focus exclusively on COVID-19 safety policy. (Local 633 and Local 580 are currently bargaining a new contract.) The union requested to bargain over workplace conditions because we want to make sure that companies are doing as much as they can to keep workers safe from coronavirus, Anderson said. A mill in Camas, for example, built more operating shacks so workers could properly social distance. Usually two people work in a shack together to avoid heat and sound, but theres not much room to keep the CDCs recommended six-foot spacing. Anderson said he asked Nippon Dynawave about how workers in the winders shacks could social distance, and whether the company would consider adding more stations. Their answer back to me was that one of the people that works in there can stay outside, and the company would provide them with double hearing protection, Anderson said. Other mills have started staggering shift start times, so the machinery can be shut off and disinfected between each crew. That might not be possible at a mill like Nippon Dynawave, where boilers and paper machines run continuously, Anderson said. But the company could consider stricter cleaning regiments or other added precautions. Locally the WestRock paper mill started COVID-19 screening for workers four days a week. The workers at Nippon Dynawave likely would support similar testing, Anderson said. Anderson intends to bring some of the practices at other mills for consideration at the bargaining table, he said. If we hear something that sounds good (at one mill), we are trying to take that to all our other mills, Anderson said. Honestly we want to protect everyone as best we can. We do understand how fortunate we are to be continuing to get a paycheck right now. If we can protect our members and keep our facilities open because we dont have any of these outbreaks, thats great. NDP and union local leaders have been meeting weekly since March 20th to discuss our actions in response to the pandemic. Nippon Dynawave Packaging received the AWPPW demand letter on April 4th and quickly provided a response. We thank all our Union and Salaried employees for their diligent commitment to practicing the hygiene and physical distancing efforts required to protect themselves and their communities from infection. By doing so we support our community and keep essential food supply chains around the world moving. Regards, Brian D. Wood Director Support Services PO Box 188 Longview WA 98632 Office: 360.578.4580 Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 4 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Good morning, Nigeria, welcome to Naija News roundup of top Newspaper Headlines in Nigeria for today Sunday, 26th April 2020. Here Are The Major Nigerian Newspaper Headlines. 1. NCDC Announces New 87 Cases Of Coronavirus In Nigeria, 33 In Lagos The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced new 87 cases of Coronavirus In Nigeria, 33 In Lagos. Naija News reports that the confirmed that Nigeria has recorded 87 new cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in a tweet on the micro-blogging site, Twitter on Saturday evening, April 25. A Regional Manager with First Bank PLC in Kano, northern Nigeria, Abdullahi Lawal, has died of a suspected case of Coronavirus (COVID -19). Naija News reports that family sources said the deceased Nigerian banker took ill on Friday and was first put on admission at a private clinic in Kano from where he was referred to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. 74 new cases of the coronavirus infection has been confirmed by the Kano State Government. The state governor, Abdullahi Ganduje disclosed this during an interview on Saturday where he disclosed that a total of 489 samples were tested out of which 74 tested positive. The National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu alongside his personal aides have carried out tests for the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19). Naija News reports that this was done as a precaution after the death of his Chief Security Officer (CSO), Lateef Raheem. Lagos State has recorded another Coronavirus death, bringing the total number of COVID-19 deaths in the state to 19. Naija News reports that the Lagos State Health Ministry announced this on Saturday, April 25 via its official Twitter account. The Chief of Staff to Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, Mr Taiwo Akerele, has resigned from his position. Naija News gathered his resignation was connected to the dispute between the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole and Obaseki. President, Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide, Apostle Johnson Suleman has told the federal government of Nigeria to allow pastors access the various COVID-19 isolation centres in the country and heal affected persons. The clergyman who made the offer said pastors who possess the gift of healing should be given access to the centres so as to minister healing to infected persons through prayers. The death of an economic icon, Professor Ibrahim Ayagi; professor of physiology, professor Aliyu Abdullahi Umar Dikko; the regional director of First Bank in Kano, Abdullahi Lawal; former managing director (MD) of the defunct Continental Merchant Bank; and Mallam Musa Ahmad Tijjani, former editor-in-chief of the newspapers Leadership Sunday and Triumph, as well as four other famous figures died from a brief illness which is not necessarily linked to the deadly pandemic. It was concluded that quite a few suspects that prominent figures, who have just died, may have succumbed to the strange disease as there was no evidence that they had been tested for coronavirus since the test centre. Covid-19 in Kano were closed without a definite date for the resumption of the test in the most populous state of Nigeria. Chelsea have triggered the option to extend France striker Olivier Girouds contract by a year until June 2021, a source said Saturday. Giroud, 33, signed for Chelsea in winter 2018 from cross-city rivals Arsenal. Many films are on the program this May on Netflix, including All Day All Night, a social drama carried by Ashton Sanders and Jeffrey Wright. Who says confinement generally says more opportunities to watch movies. Thats good, Netflix is there. The most purist movie buffs will now find something to satisfy themselves on the platform of the American SVOD giant, since the latter, via a partnership with the distributor MK2, will offer, as of April 24, great films from the repertoire, starting with the works of Francois Truffaut. A month of May also provided with original Netflix films, including the drama All day All Night, available from the 1st of the month. Thats the Nigerian Newspaper headlines for today. Read more Nigerian news on Naija News. See you again tomorrow. Share this post with your Friends on Danish Bible Society denies censoring Israel in new Bible translation, admits to removing 'sin' Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The Danish Bible Society has dismissed reports that its new Bible translation omits several mentions of Israel, substituting it for words such as "us" and the Jews," saying its translation is for nonreligious readers. Jan Frost, a resident of Denmark and supporter of Israel, drew attention to the issue when he showed that there were 59 omissions of Israel in the new translation. This includes the People of Israel being replaced with Jews and Land of Israel being changed to the land of Jews, The Times of Israel reports. Other references to Israel were changed to refer to all readers or all of humanity. For example, The Times of Israel notes that in the new translation the word Israel in the verse He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep was changed to us. In a statement released Wednesday, the Danish Bible Society said the accusations of censorship were fake news and said the translation, known as The Contemporary Danish Bible 2020, still includes numerous references to Israel. The words Israel and Israelites occur in the translation more than 2,000 times and the words Jew and Jewish occur more than 500 times. For instance, Jacob is still given the name Israel in Genesis and the people of God are still called Israel or the Israelites in the Old Testament, the Danish Bible Society said. Actually, in The Contemporary Danish Bible 2020 The Books of Kings and The Books of Chronicles have both been given new subtitles namely, The History of Israel's Kings 1 & 2 and The History of Israel 1 & 2. The Danish Bible Society said the translation was aimed at readers who lack a religious background, with various words being rendered differently. For instance, it does not use the usual Danish words for sin, grace, mercy, covenant and many other typically biblical words, which an average Danish reader would not be familiar with the meaning of, they said. In the translation of the New Testament it uses the Jewish People, the Jews, God's chosen people or simply The People to translate Israel since the majority of Danish readers would not know that Israel in the New Testament refers in large part to the people of God with which he has made a covenant. The Danish Bible Society also said the new translation is not considered the official translation of the Danish Folk Church and they continue to publish a translation that keeps all references to Israel. Some critics, however, responded by saying that other ancient places with modern equivalents, like Egypt, were not changed in the translation to clarify their context. We are stunned that the new Danish Bible Society publication of the Bible erases references to Israel out of stated worry over confusion with the modern Jewish state, said Bnai Brith International, according to Algemeiner. Yet this surreal revision causes confusion and worse: whitewashing of history, identity, and sacred scripture! Several US universities and colleges were targeted in phishing attacks aimed at delivering malware previously used by China-linked APT groups. Faculty and students at several U.S. universities and colleges were targeted in phishing attacks, threat actors attempted to infect the victims systems with a remote access Trojan (RAT) previously used by Chinese state-sponsored hackers. The malicious code employed in the attacks is the Hupigon RAT, a RAT previously spotted in campaigns carried out by China-linked APTs such as APT3 (aka TG-0100, Buckeye, Gothic Panda, and UPS). Hupigon is a remote access Trojan (RAT) that has been active since at least 2006, it was first detected by FireEye in 2010. The campaign targeting the US universities uses adult dating lures. Messages arrive obfuscated as adult dating lures requesting the user to choose between one of two pictures to connect with by clicking the link under their picture, reads the analysis published by Proofpoint. Once the victim has clicked on one of the two links in the content of the message, the infection chain will start by downloading an executable used as a dropper for the Hupigon RAT. The malware allows the attacker to take full control of the infected system, it could be used to steal sensitive personal information, to take screenshots, and audio recordings, and to control the webcam. Most of the messages associated with this phishing campaign were observed between April 14 and April 15, Proofpoint researchers observed roughly 80,000 messages, coinciding with an observed rotation in payload. Researchers believe this campaign is financially motivated, this opinion is based on the distribution methods and message volumes. This campaign delivered over 150,000 messages to over 60 different industries, with 45% focused on education, colleges, and universities, Proofpoint concluded. These attacks demonstrate the inverse relationship of commoditized RATs incorporated into criminal and state-sponsored campaigns over time. In this case, cybercriminals repurposed an attack tool leveraged by state-sponsored threat actors among other. In this particular case, this is a general crimeware-based campaign. Additional technical details were reported in the analysis published by Proofpoint, including indicators of compromise (IOCs). Please give me your vote for European Cybersecurity Blogger Awards VOTE FOR YOUR WINNERS https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe8AkYMfAAwJ4JZzYRm8GfsJCDON8q83C9_wu5u10sNAt_CcA/viewform Pierluigi Paganini (SecurityAffairs US universities, phishing) Share this... Linkedin Share this: Twitter Print LinkedIn Facebook More Tumblr Pocket Share On Coronavirus Pandemic Creates A Very Different Ramadan Experience For Muslims By RFE/RL April 25, 2020 Millions of Muslims around the world are now abstaining from eating and drinking from dawn until sunset to mark the holy month of Ramadan, which concludes in late May. The Islamic month of fasting is when Muslims believe the Koran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad and is about togetherness. It is marked by joyful group "iftars," where the faithful break their all-day fasts by feasting with family and friends and go to evening prayers at mosques. But this year, Ramadan will be significantly different due to lockdowns and social-distancing protocols aimed at slowing the deadly coronavirus pandemic that has resulted in the closure of mosques and religious centers around the world. It will force Muslims to give up some of those cherished Ramadan rituals to prioritize their health and refrain from actions that could lead to a further spread of the deadly coronavirus, which has killed almost 200,000 people worldwide as of April 24. Instead, worshippers will pray at home and break their fasts in small groups. Others will join online prayer groups and Koran recitations. In a few countries, including Pakistan, many mosques will remain open and communal prayers will take place despite fears about spreading the pandemic. Iran In the Middle Eastern country hit hardest by the coronavirus, restrictive measures have been eased recently to salvage a struggling economy that is under pressure from crippling U.S. sanctions. But Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has instructed citizens to avoid gatherings and create a Ramadan-like experience at home. "Because of being deprived of public prayers, speeches, and so on during Ramadan, we should create the same sense in our homes," Khamenei said in an April 9 speech. Despite some new allowances for greater freedom to travel and the opening of shops, Iranian authorities have extended an order to close shrines and other religious centers until May 4. Ahead of Ramdan, which is expected to begin in Iran on April 25, some clerics and Friday Prayers leaders have called on their supporters to follow their speeches and sermons on social media, including the popular Instagram. Speaking earlier this week, President Hassan Rohani told Iranians to celebrate Ramadan while bearing in mind the country's "special circumstances" due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed more than 5,500 and infected more than 88,000, according to official figures as of April 25. The real figures are believed to be significantly higher. "There will be no communal iftars," Rohani said earlier this week. In many cities and provinces, charity groups and the paramilitary Basij force have said they will distribute food packages to those in need, an important part of charity during Ramadan. Meanwhile, some health officials have said there are no indications that fasting raises the risk of contracting the coronavirus. "There's no research proving that fasting results in an increased risk of COVID-19," Health Ministry nutrition expert Zahra Abdollahi told the government news agency IRNA on April 24. But she added that those at greater risk of contracting the virus -- including diabetics and cancer patients as well those who think fasting could damage their health -- should refrain from performing it until the pandemic is over. Afghanistan In neighboring Afghanistan, where the coronavirus has spread to some 30 of the country's 34 provinces -- killing 47 people and infecting 1,463 as of April 25 -- the Hajj and Endowment Ministry said on the eve of Ramadan that in areas under a lockdown people should pray in their homes and refrain from going to mosques. But Hajj and Religious Affairs Minister Abdul Hakim Munib said people who wanted to perform their prayers in mosques should follow official health guidelines. "Those who want to want to go to mosques and pray with their community won't be blocked," Munib said. "Our advice is to sanitize the mosques, perform ablution at home, respect social distancing during prayers while also wearing masks," he added at a press conference on April 22. He also said the elderly and sick who are at greatest risk of contracting the coronavirus do not need to fast during Ramadan, adding that they can perform their religious duty when the pandemic has ended. Kabul resident Shir Shah told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan on April 22 that he will be respecting the guidelines while urging his fellow citizens to do the same. "I'd like to ask everyone to respect the [official] health advice," he said. "It's been said that if sick people go to the mosques the virus will spread further." Pakistan The government in Islamabad, under pressure from influential clerics, has loosened restrictions on communal prayers at mosques. The decision has led to concern among health-care workers who have called on the government to reverse its decision. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan told journalists on April 22 that people want to go to mosques during Ramadan to be closer to God. "Do we forcefully tell [the people] not to go to mosques? And if they go, will the police put worshippers in jail? This does not happen in an independent society," he said. The comments came as doctors with the Pakistani Medical Association told Khan and clerics that lockdowns were needed to slow the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak, which has so far killed more than 250 people and infected more than 11,000 in the country as of April 25. Many think the actual numbers are even higher. "Unfortunately, our rulers have made a wrong decision; our clerics have shown a nonserious attitude," Qaiser Sajjad, secretary-general of the Pakistani Medical Association, told journalists. Worshippers have been told to bring their own prayer mats to the mosques, respect social-distancing measures, and perform their ablutions at home. Russia In Russia, the country's top Muslim cleric has said that mosques will be temporarily closed during Ramadan and that group prayers will not be held. Russian Grand Mufti Talgat Tadzhuddin added, however, that imams will be online to lead prayers and read the Koran. He said Muslims in Russia -- where there are millions of migrant workers from predominantly Islamic countries -- will have a "unique month of Ramadan," while adding that "I believe that blessed Ramadan will still be solemn for everyone." Russia has so far reported a COVID-19 death toll of more than 600 people and more than 68,000 infections as of April 25. Some critics believe those figures to be significantly undercounted. Central Asia In some of the five countries that make up Central Asia, officials and clerics have called on the faithful to pray in their homes, even in Tajikistan, where authorities claim -- amid widespread skepticism -- that there are no coronavirus infections. (Officials in Turkmenistan have also not reported any infections.) "People should pray at home with their family members. The reason is to prevent gatherings. It is fine for [people] to pray [the evening prayers of] Taraweeh at home," Jamoluddin Khomushi, from the Tajik Islamic Ulema Council, said this week. For his part, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon urged Muslims to abstain from fasting, saying it makes people "vulnerable to infection from infectious diseases." Tajikistan has for many years been criticized by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom for restrictions and crackdowns on religion, which the government strictly controls. Rahmon also urged farmers and manual workers to postpone the rituals. "Although this disease is not registered in our country, this does not mean that we should be careless and sit idle," he said on April 23. In Kyrgyzstan, where many of those who have contracted COVID-19 are believed to be devout Muslims who traveled to Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and other countries for religious purposes, people have been urged to forego communal prayers and group fast-breaking ceremonies during Ramadan. "This year the sacred month of Ramadan coincided with the coronavirus lockdown in our country, therefore Muslims must conduct all religious rituals -- prayers, Friday Prayers, and their iftar ceremony only at home," Kyrgyz Mufti Maksat Toktomushev said in a video statement on April 15. "Stay at home with your family members, follow quarantine rules until this is over." Kyrgyzstan has reported 665 cases of coronavirus and eight deaths as of April 25. In Kazakhstan, where 25 deaths and 2,482 coronavirus cases have been reported, Grand Mufti Nauryzbai Kazhy Taganuly has announced that Friday Prayers and special Ramadan prayers will not be performed at mosques due to the pandemic. The mufti has said medical workers, police, and the military may postpone fasting this year, Inform.kz reported. In Uzbekistan, where an increasingly stricter coronavirus lockdown has been imposed since first being announced in late March, the authorities have taken several measures that are designed to stop the spread of the virus and that will affect Ramadan. Despite being hit relatively lightly by the pandemic thus far -- with 1,836 infections and just eight deaths as of April 24 -- Uzbekistan's mosques have been closed and will remain shuttered during the month of fasting. Additionally, all special evening prayer events during the holiday have been canceled and large iftar parties forbidden. The government also announced that special mobile food markets have been set up with subsidized prices to help the less fortunate buy goods. With charity for the poor being a big part of Ramadan, officials have asked that all such donations be given to special centers instead of taking such charity to people's homes, to reduce person-to-person contact and thus the spread of the disease. But should the worst occur to a Muslim worshipper, the official Uzbek Muslim board declared on April 13 that anyone who dies from the coronavirus will become a martyr. Written by Golnaz Esfandiari based on reporting by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service Director Venera Djumataeva, Uzbek Service Director Alisher Siddique, Tajik Service correspondent Tohir Safarov, and Radio Free Afghanistan's Abdolhamid Hakimi Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/coronavirus-pandemic- creates-very-different-ramadan-experience -for-muslims/30576088.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Midland County recorded one new coronavirus case on Sunday, bringing the total to 52 cases and three deaths, according to the afternoon state report. Bay and Gladwin counties each added on new case, bringing their totals to 115 cases and two deaths and 11 cases and one death, respectively. Isabella County did not record any new cases and stands at 55 cases and seven deaths. Saginaw added 13 new cases, bringing its total to 558 cases and 43 deaths. The state added 575 new cases and 41 deaths. Overall, Michigan is at 37,778 cases and 3,315 deaths. MidMichigan Health -- which covers a 23-county region and has medical centers at seven sites, including Midland -- was listed as having 28 COVID-19 patients on the state page, defined by the state as confirmed positive patients, including those in ICU and patients who are currently pending and under investigation. The health system reported seven COVID-19 patients in ICU and 37% bed occupancy, the percentage of staffed inpatient beds occupied by any patient regardless of COVID-19 status. This data, according to the website, reflects the status in health systems and hospitals 48 hours prior to the time that it was posted to the state page, which was April 23. The average death age is 74.3, according to the state website, with the deceased ranging in age from 5 to 107. The state lists 39% of the deceased as 80-plus and 28% age 70-79. State statistics show 55% of coronavirus deaths are male and 45% are female. The state lists the total recovered at 8,342 cases, as of April 25, which represents COVID-19 confirmed individuals with an onset date on or prior to March 25, 2020, according to the state website, mich.gov. Fred Yanoski, Midland County Public Health director/health officer, on Thursday said 27 people who tested positive in Midland County had been released from isolation per guidelines. "Moving forward," he said, "the continued efforts regarding contact tracing will continue to be a key factor in mitigating COVID-19 in our community." The state lists the majority of races in positive cases as 32% Black/African American; 32% Caucasian and 22% unknown, and the top three races in deaths as 41% Black/African American; 44% Caucasian and 10% unknown The total positive cases are 45% men, 54% women and 1% unknown. Midland County Department of Public Health continues to encourage residents to take precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19: Continue to practice social distancing as recommended by federal, state and local officials Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash Disinfect commonly touched surfaces Stay home when you are sick Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. We cannot stress enough how important it is for our community to be diligent in their community mitigation efforts," Yanoski said. "We know that COVID-19 is in our community, and our residents can make a huge impact on slowing the spread of disease by following the recommended precautions." If you think you've been exposed to COVID-19 and develop a fever and symptoms such as cough or difficulty breathing, call your health care provider for medical advice. If he/she isn't available call MidMichigan Urgent Care in Midland at 989- 633-1350 or MidMichigan Medical Center's Emergency Department in Midland at 989-839-3100. MidMichigan Health has a COVID-19 informational hotline with a reminder of CDC guidelines and recommendations. The hotline can be reached toll-free at 800-445-7356 or 989-794-7600. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services also has a hotline number for Michigan residents for questions about COVID-19. The number is 1-888-535-6136 and is available seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Residents can also send an e-mail to: COVID19@michigan.gov. E-mails will be answered seven days a week between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. If you are feeling anxious, stressed, depressed and feel you need to talk to someone, reach out to Community Mental Health for Central Michigan by calling 800-317-0708. If you think you've been exposed to COVID-19 and develop a fever and symptoms such as cough or difficulty breathing, call your health care provider for medical advice. If he/she isn't available call MidMichigan Urgent Care in Midland at 989- 633-1350 or MidMichigan Medical Center's Emergency Department in Midland at 989-839-3100. MidMichigan Health has a COVID-19 informational hotline with a reminder of CDC guidelines and recommendations. The hotline can be reached toll-free at 800-445-7356 or 989-794-7600. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services also has a hotline number for Michigan residents for questions about COVID-19. The number is 1-888-535-6136 and is available seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Residents can also send an e-mail to: COVID19@michigan.gov. E-mails will be answered seven days a week between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. If you are feeling anxious, stressed, depressed and feel you need to talk to someone, reach out to Community Mental Health for Central Michigan by calling 800-317-0708. It sends shivers down Italian spines. The new recovery fund will be linked to the EU's internal budget and mostly come in the form of lending. It will be subject to Treaty Article 122 to keep tight control. Two thirds of the trillion-plus headline will be achieved by "crowding in" private money. French president Emmanuel Macron, in a remarkable outburst, issued a warning for those rich northern states that "profit" so handsomely from exporting to the south: they might wake up one day to find that the EU single market is "no longer there" unless they are careful. "If you let part of Europe fall, the whole of Europe will fall. The countries that are blocking are the same ones as ever, the frugals: Germany, the Netherlands... whose deep psychology and political constraints justify very hard positions," he said. This accusatorial tone will surely grate in Berlin and The Hague. They know that Mr Macron is trying to bounce the north into fiscal union, exploiting the emotions of the pandemic to change Europe's constitutional structure. Such a jump violates treaty law. It breaches the German basic law and alienates the Bundestag's tax-and-spend prerogatives. It cannot legally be done with a flick of the political fingers. Nor is France an honest broker. Marchel Alexandrovich, from Jefferies, estimates that a U-shaped recession will push France's public debt to 135 per cent of GDP this year. It would hit 142 per cent under a W-shaped slump caused by rolling lockdowns. France and Germany had similar debt ratios before the Lehman crisis in 2008. They have since diverged dramatically. The pandemic shock is turning France into a full member of the vulnerable Latin bloc. But Mr Macron is also right. Loans pile more debt on countries already drowning in debt. "That won't resolve the underlying issue," he said. Covid-19 requires a vast Marshall Plan financed by "joint debt" and "budgetary transfers" to the hardest hit regions. "Our Europe has no future if we don't do this," he said. The EU did agree on other measures with a nominal value of 540 billion ($914 billion) but this figure is financial legerdemain. One component is really just 25 billion of actual money from the European Investment Bank, to be levered up by private funds to 200 billion. "Previous experiences with similar structures such as the 2016 'Juncker Plan' have been mixed, to put it mildly," said economist Holger Schmieding from Berenberg Bank. There is 100 billion in loans for Kurzarbeit jobs support. The last 240 billion is to come as lending from the EU bailout fund (ESM) on "light conditionality". Loading This is politically toxic in Italy - deemed a Trojan Horse for a Brussels takeover - and it is unclear whether any country will touch it. Citigroup said each country is being left to meet the shock on its own and therefore that the package will fail to convince markets. "That leaves the ECB, yet again, as the first and last safety net for Europe," it said. The ECB's Christine Lagarde warned EU leaders of doing "too little, too late". She cautioned the eurozone could contract by 15 per cent this year. Mrs Lagarde also pointed out the fundamental injustice and economic dangers of what is happening. The strong states are spending up to 14 per cent of GDP directly to ensure a rapid rebound: the weak dare not match this. Some are spending as little as 1 per cent, implying lasting damage and a blighted recovery. Jefferies estimates a W-shaped scenario would push debt ratios to 183 per cent of GDP in Italy and 158 per cent in Portugal. Worse yet, Giada Giani from Citigroup says Italy will not fully recoup this year's lost GDP in 2021, and will then flat-line in stagnation until the middle of the decade. This will destroy monetary union if allowed to occur. The ECB will avert an immediate crisis by mopping up Italian debt under its "pandemic QE" plan. But it cannot do this forever. Italian debt made up one third of the ECB's total bond purchases in March, double the country's "capital key", yet this has failed to hold down Italian yields. Construction by China at Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea is a source of regional dispute. (Philippine armed forces) The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than 202,000 lives and thrown the global economy into chaos. Its making the world more dangerous, too. In the Middle East, Iranian gunboats have harassed U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, and Iranian-backed militias have attacked U.S. bases in Iraq. In Asia, China has continued its drive to take control of the South China Sea, sinking a Vietnamese fishing boat and sending an oil survey ship into Malaysian waters. North Korea, which hates to be overlooked, has fired off missiles and remained strangely silent about rumors that its leader, Kim Jong Un, was dead or dying. Even Russia, with its own surge of coronavirus cases, has resumed buzzing U.S. and NATO aircraft over the Baltic and Mediterranean seas. You're definitely seeing a time when these countries see an opening to do things that we would normally combat instantly both rhetorically and perhaps militarily when we're off-balance, said John McLaughlin, a former acting director of the CIA. Im sure they all consider us not only distracted, but militarily less adroit right now than we normally would be, he said in a recent podcast. Not surprisingly, Trump administration officials insist theyre not distracted, although the nation's medical and economic catastrophes have understandably taken most of their attention. President Trump responded to Irans recent actions with a bellicose tweet, saying he had instructed the Navy "to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea." Pentagon officials said a tweet is not an order, and they have not changed their rules of engagement, which allow U.S. ships to fire in self-defense. The Navy said it sent three warships into the South China Sea to reinforce freedom of navigation, a long-standing Pentagon mission in the resource-rich, strategically crucial region. But only one country has an aircraft carrier operating in the western Pacific now, and its China. The two U.S. carriers in the region were confined to port after crew members were stricken with COVID-19: the Theodore Roosevelt in Guam and the Ronald Reagan in Japan. Story continues With the contagion spreading on land and sea, the economy in free fall and unrelenting chaos in the White House, why would anyone be distracted? The long-term effects of the pandemic look even more alarming: a global depression that could persist for years, more failed states and unremitting big-power competition. China has been trying to win friends and escape blame for the novel coronavirus origin by doling out aid and medical supplies in an effort so heavy-handed it has created a backlash in some countries. But dont take any comfort in that. Americas shambolic response to the crisis has put a huge dent in our global image as a competent cutting-edge nation. The United States and China are two extremes, neither of which can be a model for Europe, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told local reporters, an extraordinary statement from a U.S. ally that American democracy looks no better than Chinese authoritarianism. Now add one more problem: a global leadership vacuum. Unlike during most major international crises of the postwar world, this time the U.S. president has gone missing. This is the first post-American crisis of our time. Theres no U.S. leadership, Thomas C. Wright, a foreign policy scholar at the Brookings Institution, told me. The administration isnt engaging with its allies except to worry about whether China is making gains. Normally the Group of 7 big industrial democracies would coordinate solutions to the pandemic and efforts to speed an economic recovery. But under this years G-7 chairman, one Donald J. Trump, thats not happening. The president has held two video meetings with his G-7 colleagues but hes been the odd man out, asking the others to join him in calling COVID-19 the Wuhan virus and saying he would halt U.S. funding for the World Health Organization. They declined. If our battle with COVID-19 lasts much longer, our economy will likely recover more slowly than those of South Korea, Japan or Germany, all of which have managed the pandemic more successfully. And in a global recession compounded by mounting disorder, everybody loses. The longer the pandemic goes on, the more the world will change, Wright warned. The real risk is that a long crisis will eviscerate international cooperation and leave a more anarchic world. How bad can it get? Foreign policy scholars compare this moment to two critical periods in the last century. After World War II ended in 1945, the United States, the only major power with its economy intact, led a massive recovery effort, producing decades of relative peace and prosperity not only for itself and its European allies, but for its defeated enemies, Germany and Japan. After World War I ended in 1918, with an influenza pandemic similar to the coronavirus, no joint recovery effort was launched. Nations went their own way, embracing nationalist politics and protectionist economics, and the next global cataclysm soon followed. This moment, alas, looks more like 1918, a time when the United States withdrew from the world and international disorder increased. And we know how well that turned out. GRAND RAPIDS, MI As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, all public Masses and other liturgical and devotional services throughout the Diocese of Grand Rapids are now suspended through May 17. In a recent letter to parishioners, Bishop David Walkowiak stated I know how extremely difficult this last month without receiving the Eucharist has been. I thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate these uncharted waters. "While I wish we could completely reopen and resume our normal lives our Catholic duty is to protect the common good by not spreading a potentially deadly disease. The news came on the heels of Gov. Gretchen Whitmers announcement that she was extending her stay-at-home order through Wednesday, May 15, with some modifications allowing certain industries to reopen. All Catholics within the territory of the Diocese of Grand Rapids are granted a dispensation from their obligation of attending Sunday Mass through June 30, according to Walkowiak. According to April 24 news release from the diocese, Mass will continue to be live-streamed from the Cathedral of Saint Andrew at 10 a.m. every Sunday. It can also be viewed on FOX 17, on the diocesan website and Facebook page. The Diocese of Grand Rapids serves more than 191,000 Catholics, 80 parishes and 31 schools throughout Kent, Ottawa, Ionia, Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, and Osceola counties. Also on MLive: Kent County reports lowest number of new coronavirus cases in 11 days YMCA, Caledonia schools hope to partner on new athletic complex Kalamazoo County hiring temporary nurses at coronavirus quarantine facility for homeless It is an understatement to say that our world has changed dramatically over the last few months. The novel coronavirus pandemic has resulted in unimaginable loss to the global economy and the loss of human lives has been unprecedented in an era of global peace. Not only are the numbers alarming but, the speed at which the challenges have emerged is intimidating. Governments and health professionals are constantly calibrating the response to this pandemic and frequent strategic adjustments are being done. We are now in lockdown, exploring novel medical treatments and are on the hunt for a vaccine that will stop this virus in its tracks. And since the scenario is grim, doctors, scientists, and governments are working on an accelerated mission mode. Also Read: Coronavirus: UP govt works on plan to revive industries post COVID-19 Unprecedented losses First, let us get an understanding of the economic impact of the novel coronavirus. The Asian Development Bank has estimated that the global economic cost of the virus is a whopping $2 to $4 trillion. Going by the damages estimated by some legal firms, the figure goes up to an unimaginable $6.5 trillion. Back home, the Indian economy is being battered as well. Under complete lockdown less than a quarter of India's $2.8 trillion economy is functional. We are estimated to lose over Rs 32,000 crore ($4.5 billion) every day during the lockdown. Huge human cost While the impact of novel coronavirus on businesses has been devastating worldwide, the human cost has also been staggering. In India, those with savings and access to shelter and food have managed to weather the storm albeit with difficulty. However, the impact on a large proportion of the 40 million migrant labourers, those who provide the muscle to power India's construction, agriculture and other sectors, has been very disturbing. After the extension of lockdown on April 14, in a desperate bid to get home, the upheaval that the vast numbers of migrant workers grappled with, was tragic. However, helped by local communities and government agencies, they have managed to cope with the lockdown. The saga of their journeys will be told over time and there will be plenty to learn from their experience. Also Read: Coronavirus Lockdown IX: What will it take to kick-start the Indian economy? First priority - defeating COVID-19 So, is there any light at the end of the tunnel, and where do we go from here? We may be stating the obvious but it is worthwhile reiterating that the greatest challenge before us is tackling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The top priority is finding a way to defeat or neutralise the effects of the virus. All other battles can be handled once we cross this particular challenge. Thanks to the early response and integrated approach of containment that India initiated, has outperformed most other countries in slowing down the pandemic. As early as in February, the private health sector came forward and has been working closely with the public sector. In an interesting development India ramped up health education and leading organisations introduced online training for COVID-19. Healthcare professionals from around the world have been signing up for these courses and a definitive is that e-training will be the next game-changer in stretching the boundaries of care. In addition to measures of containment and prevention, the big need is testing. Nationwide, testing has ramped up quickly and more than half a million samples have been tested as of April 22. Further across India, a total of 586 hospitals have been marked as dedicated COVID-19 hospitals with the capacity of over 100,000 isolation beds and 11,500 ICU beds reserved for coronavirus patients. Private sector hospitals have also created dedicated negative pressure beds for COVID-19 patients and in an extraordinary step, the Indian Railways have prepared train compartments to serve as isolation wards. Alongside, hotel chains, corporate houses, and hospitals have partnered to convert hotel rooms into facilities for individuals who need to self-isolate and be in quarantine. Alongside, telemedicine has finally found its place in India's healthcare ecosystem. Further to the recent approval of guidelines for telemedicine by the central government, teleconsultation emerged as a godsend for patients who need to consult with their doctors, without going to the hospital. In the near term, digital health with its inherent potential to scale, offering care at a lower cost, will help millions in need, and be a great tool to manage even the rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases. It is the people who build a sector and the bravehearts and protagonists of healthcare - India's doctors, nurses, paramedics, technicians, administration, and support staff have shown that they can rise spectacularly to the occasion. I am hopeful that seeing medical professionals make so many sacrifices, the ugly doubts and distrust in doctors and hospitals will be erased, forever. Get set, go The list is long and no sector has been spared by the COVID-19 pandemic, yet the captains of industry are cautiously upbeat about the recovery. Next, we must focus on re-booting the Indian economy. Over the past few years there has been a decline in India's GDP growth rates and the problem has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Indian economy is expected to languish in the 1% to 2% zone next year. When the crisis ends, and when the economy starts running again, the first few countries to get off the starting block will be at an advantage. Can the industry manage to get up and start sprinting on its own? No, every government in the world will have to lend their industry a hand. We in India will need a high octane financial boost. But we all know that governments have taken a beating as far as tax revenues and foreign remittances are concerned. Therefore, governments will have to focus on those sectors that will deliver the biggest bang for the buck. Getting India to work again Luckily for us, our agricultural backbone that accounts for almost 14% of our GDP can recover quickly and in fact, even grow next year. But they must be supported by logistics and storage. The expected normal monsoon this year will help the sector maintain its momentum. Once the threat of the virus recedes, the service industry, the number one contributor to our GDP will start cruising again. We cannot underplay the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic but unlike geophysical disasters and wars, the physical infrastructure of the industry has survived without damage. Therefore, most industries can quickly become operational with a new work culture, if they have the labour force back and the working capital to restart their business. Sectorial boost The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector, which contributes to 30% of India's GDP, is one of the key drivers of the Indian economy. Today, almost all MSMEs are out of action due to the lockdown, they are unable to pay their employees and several don't have the financial resources to re-start their businesses. The government is contemplating a Rs 20,000 crore relief package for this sector. The other sectors that need help urgently are tourism, aviation, automobile, and real estate. These sectors will put people back to work and build some traction in the recovery of our economy. This may all sound simple, but obviously there is no easy fix to this unprecedented crisis. What is most important for us is to get people safely back to work and that will be possible only when we can provide the best possible healthcare to our citizens, as there cannot be a lockdown on medical care, ever. To address the need for dedicated COVID-19 hospitals and protect staff across board, the hospitals have been making huge investments in PPEs, consumables, even though they are grappling with a decline in OPDs, elective and international patients. Our economic recovery and rebound hinges upon ensuring that our population is health and productive. Thus, it is paramount that the health sector is supported generously, so that it becomes capable of delivering to its fullest potential in this hour of great need. Civilisation has endured several crises in its history which we have put behind us, we will overcome again. This too shall pass. (The author is Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals) Report Finds No Evidence That Students Have Infected Teachers A New South Wales study into the spread of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus in schools has found that there is no evidence students have transmitted COVID-19 disease on to teachers or staff in the Australian state. The NSW Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning, Sarah Mitchell, said the report provides further information for schools as they begin planning for students to return to the classroom. We know that COVID-19 has created some anxiety for parents, teachers, and school staff, however the findings in this report confirm existing health advice that schools remain open and are safe for students to return, Mitchell said. Established by the Australian federal government, the National Centre for Immunisation Research and surveillance (NCIRS) conducted a virus tracking investigation across 15 schools10 high school and 5 primary schoolsin NSW between March 5 and April 3. The NCIRS used a total of 18 people who previously had tested positive for COVID-19 disease, of which 9 were students and 9 adults. Data of the people they spent over 15 minutes of face-to-face contact with or two hours in the same room was identified. Across the 15 schools, a total of 863 were identified as close contacts. Only two of the close contacts tested positive for the disease. Both of the secondary cases were students; one was diagnosed by swab testing the other via antibody testing. The COVID-19 in schools study (pdf) is awaiting peer review. The data gives an insight into the lower rate of infection compared to other respiratory infections among children. In contrast with influenza, data from COVID-19 disease indicates that children are not the primary transmitters. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said he is keen to see schools open again. I want to see kids back at school and I think when we can achieve that and go into classrooms and learning again, that is something Im very much looking forward to and were making a lot of progress towards that. he said Schools to Re-Open On April 21, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced that schools will open for one day a week for students, starting next term from May 11. We know that nothing is more important than a childs education, and we must begin to return our students to their classrooms in a considered way, she said. Under these changes, from week three of Term 2, every student will be attending school for one day a week. We will look to increase the number of days students are at school in a staged way and hope to have all children back at school full-time by Term 3. Studies Find Low Rates of Infection Among Children Data from international studies have found that there are low rates of COVID-19 infection among children, presenting preliminary evidence that there is limited spread among children as well as low transmission from children to adults. A Report of the World Health Organisation and China Joint Mission on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (pdf) cites tests conducted in Wuhan at the early stages of the CCP virus outbreak which support this finding. The CCP virus is commonly known as the novel coronavirus. A lot of controversy surrounds reports from the CCP, which has censored its own medical community from reporting on the virus. Experts have also highlighted the CCPs efforts to cover up the epidemic, and their underreporting on the number and severity of cases. Conclusions of a similar vein were made in Iceland. From a population test of up to 10,000 people, children under 10 and females had the lowest instances of the CCP virus. Studies in the Netherlands have also noted a similar trend where the CCP virus is reported to spread at a much lower rate among children. As of April 24, the state of NSW has conducted tests on up to 200,000 people for the COVID-19 disease. A total of 1.5 percent or 2,994 have come back positive. Of those, a total of 73 percent or 2,193 have reportedly recovered. A total of four percent of reported cases are people under 19-years-old. Twenty-nine more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, taking the total in the Union territory to 523, officials said here. All the new cases are from the Kashmir Valley, they added. "Twenty-nine new cases reported from Jammu and Kashmir in the last 24 hours," an official said. Of the total number of cases reported in the Union territory, 466 are from Kashmir and 57 from Jammu. While 137 patients have recovered, six have died due to the disease, the officials said. More than 66,000 people are under surveillance, including those who are either in government-established quarantine facilities or in home-isolation. Till date, 66,343 travellers and persons in contact with suspected cases have been enlisted for surveillance which include 6,324 people in home-quarantine, including facilities operated by the government, 263 in hospital quarantine, 376 in hospital isolation and 10,974 under home surveillance. Besides, 48,400 people have completed their surveillance period, the officials added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ontarios publicly funded schools will remain closed until at least May 31 as part of the governments ongoing prudent approach to contain the spread of COVID-19, Education Minister Stephen Lecce says. The latest extension which public health officials advised will give the province sufficient time to review the data and the modelling, so we make the best decision based on the best medical advice, Lecce said at Queens Park Sunday. Were going to ensure that safety remains our paramount priority. The month-long extension of the shutdown period will allow the government more time to work with Ontarios chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, and the COVID-19 command table, to make sure we get this right, to make sure that ultimately students and staff, when they return, can do so with absolute confidence it is safe. The province has not yet pulled the plug on the remainder of the school year, nor seen a need to extend it, because virtual learning continues and summer educational programming is being beefed up. However, Lecce didnt rule out an outright cancellation. Schools have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting two million students, since March 23, the first day after spring break. While Lecce acknowledged the frustration many feel about schools remaining closed, he urged students, parents and educators to stay the course. Clearly weve made some gains as a province because of the collective adherence to social distancing, because families have stayed home and governments of all levels have worked together to really stem the tide ... (of) people who would have died as a consequence of COVID. Lecce added students expecting to finish high school this year will do so because we have removed the impediments to graduation, by augmenting the remaining lessons with online studies. Bottom line: Students can apply to post-secondary, they will get a final mark, they will get a completed, fulsome report card. To optimize learning when students return to the classroom, the government will replace professional activity (PA) days and exams with instructional time. There are seven PA days remaining for high schools and two in elementary schools, he said. At the end of March, the government extended the initial shutdown period to until at least May 4. The latest extension caught no one by surprise. While not unexpected, I know this extension of the closure will be challenging news for many, John Malloy, Toronto District School Boards director of education, wrote to parents and guardians. The TDSB continues to deliver tablets like iPads to families who requested them, the letter says. Harvey Bischof, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, said his members more than 60,000 members, two thirds of them English public high school teachers will continue their absolute best to provide continuity and stability for students during this time. Nevertheless, there are some students that we just cant reach through this distance learning and we need to be thinking very carefully how we mitigate the gaps that arise ... once we have students back in a face-to-face situation. For example, some students at home during the pandemic are busy taking care of younger siblings while their parents are working in some sort of essential service. Cathy Abraham, president of the Ontario Public School Boards Association, said much good work has been done to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on learning. I am also extremely proud of the efforts of school boards to help keep school communities connected and engaged, Abraham said in a written statement. They are ensuring access to technology and the internet wherever possible, sourcing and donating PPE to the health sector, and working with their mental health support staff to support students and their families, among so many other initiatives. For now, private schools, First Nation schools, licensed child-care centres and EarlyON programs will remain closed until May 6, with certain exceptions for licensed care. The shutdown of those facilities could also be extended if cabinet renews the current provincial emergency order, Lecce said. Ejaz Kaiser By Express News Service RAIPUR: A Raipur-based interim shelter home, created for migrants stranded because of COVID-19 lockdown, has become a productive and recreation zone. Many among the hundreds of workers, trapped far away from their homes, are routinely easing out their stress by contributing their bit in useful activities, either through their skills or supporting in whatever ways their capabilities allow. This exercise of theirs has an objective. While realising the sense of obligation towards the state administration, they engage themselves in beneficial activities while staying in these shelter homes, which are multi-storeyed flats created out of the new building under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel during an interaction with migrant labourers. (Photo | Express) Around 300 migrant workers from 12 states and 17 districts of Chhattisgarh are stranded here. Apart from accommoadtion, they are being served with lunch, dinner besides breakfast. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, in his recent interaction with the labourers, had cited them as his guests with an advisory on safe physical distance. To prevent these migrant labourers from slipping into a state of depression and ensure psychological comfort, the government has chalked out ways to engage them in creative and constructive activities. Indoor and outdoor games, interactive discussions, counselling and other activities have become a routine. Anyone found ill is isolated and treated. Migrant workers engaged in cooking for fellow inmates of the shelter home. The entire premises are being monitored by CCTV camera and has enough security. The regulations on lockdown, social distancing and sanitation are strictly followed, stated S Bhartidasan, Raipur collector. Moved by the support of the administration, many are willing to deliver their roles in accordance to their abilities. Three workers are cook who prepare breakfast and meals for others from the items and grains provided by us. Several are making useful products, selling them and the money they get are their savings, said Gaurav Kumar Singh, CEO, Raipur district panchayat. Children at shelter camp with Anganwadi Didis Various livelihood activities have begun in the shelter homes. Sushila Tandi (Odisha), Pankaj Upadhyay (MP) and few others are making face masks, while Pooja from Kanpur, Suman (Odihsa), Meenadeep from Bagbehera are making jewelleries. There are some who put together cardboards and paper files. Amir Khan (Rajasthan) Hari Kumar, Raju, Khilawan Dewangan, Rajeshwar Saw (Bengal) are all adept in making bamboo tree guards. Other products being prepared in the shelter homes include washing powder, soap and phenyl. Migrants help fix a tent at the shelter home in Raipur. Anil Gupta, a lab technician who couldnt return to Gwalior, is assisting in health-checkup. The administration has chalked-out an Exit plan for these labourers who would be given one week of ration when they leave as it would be difficult to get work immediately after they returning to their respective native places. Around a dozen kids staying in shelter homes are given special attention through learning centre where they play and study besides getting adequate nourishment. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday slammed the Palghar lynching in which two sadhus were killed, saying there is no place for violence in society. It was the responsibility of the administration to keep law and order in check, Bhagwat said in an online address to workers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. "Sanyasis (saints) who pray for the well-being of humanity were brutally killed in Palghar. What was the police doing? Such an incident should not have happened," he said. The sadhus were messengers of humanity and were following the religion they believed in, he said. Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha has appealed for offering tributes to the two saints on April 28, Bhagwat said. "The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has also laid out a programme for the same. We will all join in offering our tribute to them," he added. Community leaders should tell people not to be angry and get misled, he said. There are anti-India forces who are waiting to use this to break the country, he added. The two sadhus and their driver were lynched on April 16 in Palghar district while they were on their way to a funeral in neighbouring Silvassa. Amid politics over the lynching, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh later said there was no Muslim among the 101 persons arrested in connection with the incident. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Its been almost a month under lockdown and yeah, now we know exactly how it feels to be inside the home all-day. Right now, the majority of the people (including me) are figuring out ways to keep them away from this boredom or what the world called Quarantine Blues. Due to work pressure or various other commitments, we might have forgotten/procrastinated watching shows, movies, or some cartoons (in my case). However, this is the perfect time to kick back and catch up on all the great content youve been missing. Its worth mentioning that, various video streaming services including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and recently Disney+ Hotstar have found an opportunity to cater to multiple age groups young to old, as families stay home all day. Recently, the king of all streaming Netflix reported a huge increase in subscribers, thanks to the lockdown. According to the Los Angeles Times, Netflix has gained 15.8 million global subscribers, surging ahead of Wall Streets expectations of 7.6 million. It now has a total of 183 million customers. Furthermore, Netflix generated a net income of $709 million or $1.57 earnings per share in its first quarter, more than double from a year earlier. Revenue during the same period rose from 28% to $5.77 billion. Have you signed up for Netflix recently? If yes, you are in the right place at the right time. As you know by now, Netflix is available both on desktop and app (Android/iOS). With Netflix offering so much content, you need to know how to find what youre looking for, navigate/control how you watch it all, and many more. Additionally, there are a lot of features and important settings to tweak to make the most out of your monthly Netflix subscription. So, instead of just giving you a list of shows to watch while were all stuck at home right now, we thought also help you level up your Netflix skills with these pro-tips: Top 10 lists! Netflix recently announced that you can now see whats popular in your country through a special Top 10 row. Sounds so cool, isnt? Did you know that this list is updated every day? Not only that, if you look under the Series or Films tabs you will also find a Top 10 list each for TV series and movies, which are also updated daily. This varies depending on the country. Search by category! The search function is the most underrated feature! Besides searching for specific show or film titles and genres, you can also search for shows that may have been tagged under specific categories. For example: Watch in one weekend, Anime for Beginners, Retro TV and more. Check out More like this If you enjoyed watching a particular series or movie, you can check out similar ones under the More Like This tab under its title page. Clicking on it reveals a list of other shows that Netflix thinks are similar. Looking out for more details? Impressed with the movie /shows? Looking out for shows creators, cast, genres, and even interesting tags? Good news, you can check this under the Details tab of a show. However, this only works on the web interface, what a bummer! However, this doesnt end here! So, if you click on the name of an actor, Netflix will show you all the films on the service that the actor appears in. Or, if youre feeling adventurous, click on the interesting tags under This show is which will take you to shows that have been tagged with words like, Goofy or Feel Good. Manage profile! If youre not particular about having every profile streaming at the highest quality, you have the choice of controlling it. From Account>Profile & Parental Controls, hit the dropdown on Profile you want, and click Change on Playback Settings. You can set the Data Usage Per Screen to Low or Medium to control how much streaming bandwidth that particular profile consumes. You can also control autoplay next episodes and autoplay previews for your profile on all devices. Coming soon! On mobile devices, there is a tab called Coming Soon to find out all the shows that are coming soon to Netflix. Under this tab, youll see the trailer, synopsis and a Remind Me bell icon so that you can get a notification when the series or the film premieres on Netflix! Profile locks for safety! Are you worried about your kid going into your account, even after creating a kids profile? Simply set a 4-digit Profile Lock, so your child is never able to go into your Profile, from any device. To set a lock, go to Account>Profile & Parental Controls, select the Profile to lock, and hit Change on Profile Lock. Set individual recommendations As you watch more on Netflix, it recommends you more and more shows you might enjoy. However, this recommendation mostly happens through email, and by default, it goes to the account holder. Well, what if you share the account with friends or relatives? Is there any way? Of course, yes! If youre using different Profiles, you can add a Profile email, so that Netflix can let you know about suggestions for what to watch, new features, etc. To add, go to Account>Profile & Parental Controls, select the Profile, and hit Add on Profile Email. Personalise font color and size according to you! You can change the color and font size of subtitles to match your eyesight or personal style preference. To do this, head to Your Account and select Subtitle Appearance. You can tweak everything from color and font to the background and shadow appearance. View history! You can see what is being viewed from the kids profiles by hitting the drop-down for the profile from Profile and parental controls, and selecting viewing activity. So what you guys think about it? Did we miss anything? Have you picked up any trick or tip while binge-watching it recently? If so, drop it in the comment section below! Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - April 21, 2020) - Hemostemix Inc. (TSXV: HEM) (OTC: HMTXF) ("Hemostemix" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Timothy C. Chang to its Board of Advisors. Mr. Chang is currently a Private Investor and an investment committee member of an Asian-based hedge fund with average total AUM of approximately US$1 billion. He has also been a consultant to Newport Healthcare Advisors and to SSG Capital Management. Mr. Chang is a renowned private equity investor who has a track record of successful special situations and venture capital business investments throughout the Asian region. Prior to becoming a Private Investor, Mr. Chang was a Managing Director of Citigroup Venture Capital International Asia Ltd., (CVCI) Hong Kong, 2005 - 2008, where he worked on and invested in private equity deals throughout Asia with a focus on Greater China. Prior to CVCI, from 2003 - 2005, Mr. Chang was Managing Director and Head of Greater China for Cerberus, a distressed assets private equity fund based in New York. Mr. Chang was also an Executive Director, Direct Investments and the Head of the Special Situations Group at AIG Investment Corp. Ltd., Hong Kong. Timothy Chang graduated Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, Summa Cum Laude with a B.A. in Applied Mathematics and Economics. He completed his senior honors thesis (with Professor Jeffrey Sachs as his thesis advisor) researching and modeling the Predictability of Realignments in the European Monetary System. "The company is commercializing ACP-01 to treat critical limb ischemia in Japan, South Korea, and across Asia," said Thomas Smeenk, President & CEO. "Timothy's foundation is Asia. His relationships are within its financing community. His business experience and knowledge of worthy license partners in the region will be very helpful, as we consummate an agreement wherein we retain scalable production, yet enable our partners to provide sales and distribution on an licensed indication basis," Smeenk said. Story continues Timothy Chang reflected: "Despite slogging my way through pre-med classes in college like Organic Chemistry and working at a lab at the Harvard Medical School, I somehow forgot to submit my application to medical school. In the late 1970's and early 1980's there were limited opportunities for Chinese-Americans to excel on Wall Street, in U.S. politics or law, and in most non-science or non-engineering based fields. My "tiger mom" (who had endured the hardships of being a Chinese immigrant in the US in the 1950's) thus decided that medicine was the field for her eldest son. I saw things a little differently, rebelled, and decided to head to New York City and Wall Street to try to break new ground. Many years later, though, I have come to realize that I have never lost my love for math and science (especially the science behind medicine). It is thus with great delight that I now find myself in a position to help Hemostemix break new ground in the autologous stem cell therapies and regenerative medicine markets," Timothy stated. ABOUT HEMOSTEMIX Hemostemix is a publicly traded autologous stem cell therapy company. A winner of the World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer Award, the Company developed and is commercializing its lead product ACP-01 for the treatment of CLI, PAD, Angina, Ischemic Cardiomyopathy, Dilated Cardiomyopathy and other conditions of ischemia. ACP-01 has been used to treat over 500 patients, and it is the subject of a randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind trial of its safety and efficacy in patients with advanced critical limb ischemia who have exhausted all other options to save their limb from amputation. On October 21, 2019, the Company announced the results from its Phase II CLI trial abstract presentation entitled "Autologous Stem Cell Treatment for CLI Patients with No Revascularization Options: An Update of the Hemostemix ACP-01 Trial With 4.5 Year Followup" which noted healing of ulcers and resolution of ischemic rest pain occurred in 83% of patients, with outcomes maintained for up to 4.5 years. The Company owns 91 patents across five patent families titled: Regulating Stem Cells, In Vitro Techniques for use with Stem Cells, Production from Blood of Cells of Neural Lineage, and Automated Cell Therapy. For more information, please visit www.hemostemix.com. Contact: Thomas Smeenk, President, CEO & Founder 905-580-4170 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined under the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "potential," and similar expressions; or, may include statements and words that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "could," or "should" occur. Although Hemostemix believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable assumptions of Management, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates, and opinions of Management on the date such statements are made. By their nature forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause actual results, events or developments to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the Company's ability to fund operations and access the capital required to continue operations, the Company's stage of development, the ability to complete its current clinical trial, complete its futility analysis and the results of such, future clinical trials and results, long-term capital requirements and future developments in the Company's markets and the markets in which it expects to compete, risks associated with its strategic alliances and the impact of entering new markets on the Company's operations. Each factor should be considered carefully and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Hemostemix expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties are contained in the Company's filing with the Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/54700 MNCs, BPOs and IT enabled services (ITES) in Gurgaon may have to allow their employees to work from home till the end of July, says Gurgaon Metropolitan Development Authority CEO V S Kundu. Kundu, who is also additional chief secretary of Haryana, however, made it clear that this is his personal opinion and no such advisory has been issued. Several real estate projects, including those of DLF, have got the green signal to resume construction but within the norms of social distancing, he said. Gurgaon, which is part of the National Capital Region, is known as the millennium city and is home to many BPOs, MNCs and technology giants, including Infosys, Genpact, Google and Microsoft. The Gurgaon district administration had issued an advisory in mid March asking MNCs, BPOs, IT companies, corporates and industries to allow work from home. As of now it appears this advisory for work from home will continue till end of July. All those who have offices in Gurgaon should continue to work from home to the extent possible, Kundu told PTI. Kundu, who is in charge of handling the COVID-19 crisis for Gurgaon district, said it is advisable that companies should ensure that as many employees as possible work from home. This might not be possible in the case of industries and the manufacturing sector but should be followed wherever possible, he added. Later, the district administration also issued a statement. "It is only his personal estimation under prevailing situation that some staff in non-essential and routine offices in Gurugaon may have to work from home till July end and no such advisory or order has been issued by the govt. "The directions of the Central Govt and State Govt will be meticulously followed in Gurugram in this regard," the statement said, referring to Kundu's remarks. Kundu said few construction sites at GMDA and NHAI projects have been allowed to resume work within the norms of social distancing. Construction sites where labourers are already staying on the site or those where labourers stay within walking distance are allowed to resume work while adhering to social distancing norms, he said. Such is the nature of the coronavirus pandemic that no one knows when we will go back to previous normal, the GMDA CEO said. You may have to go to a new normal, he added. Besides being a corporate hub, Gurgaon is also a hub for the automobile industry. It has reported 51 COVID-19 cases. Of these, 35 have recovered. It is in the red zone and is the worst affected district along with Nuh, Palwal and Faridabad in Haryana. The state has reported 289 cases (including 176 who have been cured, discharged or migrated) and three fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry on Sunday. Kundu described the situation in Gurgaon as fairly under control and said there is no evidence of community transmission. Gurgaon has effectively been under lockdown since March 22 two days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of a pan-India shutdown to stem the spread of the disease. This gave the administration a head start and enabled it to handle the situation effectively, the official said. The administration is working on the twin objectives of saving lives and ensuring livelihoods, he said. The district administration is conducting surveys and will start providing food coupons to poor families who don't have ration cards. This will give them rations for three months. The district administration has been ensuring smooth supply of rations to them through its various channels, Kundu added. He said the manufacturing of personal protective equipment (PPEs) has also started. Two apparel firms have been given permission to manufacture PPEs in their plants. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The strides that our country has made in the fight to end malaria could understandably be overlooked against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps more so than ever, however, we must maintain our efforts and lean on our experience of fighting malaria to address emerging threats to our health and the systems we have in place to protect it. World Malaria Day presents a moment for us to acknowledge how Sierra Leone has made strides, and defied the odds, against the world's oldest disease. This World Malaria Day marks one year since Sierra Leone launched its national Zero Malaria Starts with Me campaign, announced by Honourable Dr. Alpha T. Wurie, Minister of Health and Sanitation. Zero Malaria Starts with Me - also known as "Malaria E Don Wan Dae Na Mi Han" in Sierra Leone - is a continent-wide movement to eliminate malaria, that encourages all members of society to take responsibility for the fight and contribute in any way possible to the goal of malaria elimination. In Sierra Leone, our entire population is at risk of this disease and it is one of the leading causes of death and illness in our country. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), we are one of seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa where more than a quarter of the population is infected with malaria at any given time, accounting for nearly four in ten hospital consultations countrywide. Despite the challenge, Sierra Leone achieved significant declines in confirmed malaria deaths between 2010 and 2018, from 8188 to 1949 - the highest reduction in western Africa. This is partly a result of sustained commitment from our government to provide essential prevention and treatment to everyone and it is partly due to the incredible efforts we have seen by community leaders and the population at large to promote the use of these essential interventions. A spirit of inclusion, solidarity and collective responsibility must be built on and reinforced for a brighter, malaria-free, future. Sierra Leone is deeply committed to ending malaria. It is the only country in Africa to have rolled out Intermittent Preventive Treatment in infants (IPTi) at the national level and free malaria treatment is available to all. Furthermore, a mass distribution of bed nets is scheduled for next month that will equip every household with a tool proven to dramatically reduce the risk of malaria infection. Today, we call on everyone in Sierra Leone to use these bed nets and sleep under them each and every night of the year. To achieve further progress in the fight against malaria, we must now ensure that all members of society can access the right information and the treatments available to them with confidence. Government public health interventions have clearly played an important role in limiting the impact of malaria, yet so too has the media. Earlier this year, a new media coalition sought to amplify the reach and the impact of the Zero Malaria Starts with Me campaign by supporting journalists to step up and play their part in the fight against malaria. Through high-quality and factual reporting on malaria, our journalists can prevent misinformation and empower Sierra Leoneans everywhere to adopt life-saving malaria interventions. Fighting malaria is a team effort, and each and every citizen of Sierra Leone can use their voice and take action to protect our communities from this disease. Recently, a delegation from the Ministry of Health & Sanitation and Speak Up Africa met with local councils, health authorities, paramount chiefs and religious leaders in the Kono, Kambia and Moyamba districts. Paramount chiefs and religious leaders are vital sources of information for vast numbers of people and their role in supporting health initiatives must be celebrated and further bolstered in the coming months and years. Speaking as a Paramount Chief of the Kambia District, I am thrilled to work with the National Malaria Control Program and their partners to find ways to make further progress against a disease that disrupts, and all too often ends, the lives of so many members of our communities. We all share a common goal: to eliminate malaria from our districts, and from our country. Together we pledge to kickstart a decade of action, progress malaria elimination, and strengthen our health system as a whole. 2020 has proven that we cannot predict what will happen to us, as a country and as a world. Efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19 are necessary to protect our health systems, but we cannot allow this disease to compromise access to life-saving malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment. We have made too many strides forward to allow progress to fall back. In order to achieve a Sierra Leone free from malaria, an unprecedented level of human and financial resources will be necessary to make serious headway towards the goal of malaria elimination by 2030. The vision of a malaria-free Sierra Leone is in sight, but we must all work together to achieve this goal. Authored by: Dr. Samuel Smith, Director of Disease Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and Hon. Paramount Chief Bai Farama Tass Bubu Ngbak IV of Magbema Chiefdom, Kambia District. Ajith Kumar, the Thala Ajith of the Tamil film industry will turn 49 on May 1, 2020. Recently, it was reported that the Ajith fans are planning to kickstart the birthday celebrations of their idol in advance. But as per the latest updates, there won't be any celebrations for the Valimai actor this year. Earlier, it was decided that the Ajith fans will use a common DP on their favourite actor's birthday. The common DP was supposed to be launched by 14 popular celebrities of the Tamil film industry including actors Arun Vijay, Hansika Motwani, Aadhav Kannadasan, and so on. But later, Aadhav Kannadasan tweeted that he has received a call from Ajith Kumar's office, requesting to not use any common DP and refrain from having any form of celebrations. The young actor also revealed that Ajith's representatives have asked him to inform the fans about the actor's decision to not have birthday celebrations this year, by tweeting about the same. Dear #Thala Fans Got a call from #Ajith sirs office requesting not to hav any common DP for his bday and celebrate it during #Corona It was his personal request! As a fan and as a fellow actor & human would like to respect his words! @Thalafansml @ThalaFansClub @SureshChandraa Aadhav Kannadhasan (@aadhavkk) April 26, 2020 Continued Asked if i can tweet this and explain .. they said yes pls.. u can do that and tell them . Let us all wish everyone a healthy life during this #Pandemic !! #ThalaAjith was kind enuf to request us so let us respect his words ! Thank you all @Thalafansml @SureshChandraa Aadhav Kannadhasan (@aadhavkk) April 26, 2020 Even though Thala Ajith's decision came out as a disappointment for his die-hard fans, they have decided to respect their idol's decision and to cancel his birthday celebrations this year. The actor's gesture has totally won the hearts of the netizens, who have been showering him with praises for making such a wonderful decision. The sources suggest that the much-awaited first look poster of Ajith Kumar's upcoming film Valimai will be released on his birthday itself. However, the director and production banner of the project are yet to make an official confirmation on the same. Valimai, which marks Ajith's second collaboration with director H Vinoth and producer Boney Kapoor after the success of Nerkonda Paarvai, is said to be an out and out thriller. The movie, which features the actor in the role of a police officer, will hit the theaters in 2021. Also Read: DID YOU KNOW? Thala Ajith Took A Road Trip In His 'Valimai' Bike From Hyderabad To Chennai! Jacquelyn Bell had to say goodbye to her mother, JoAnn, over the phone. Joann, who was 73, battled multiple sclerosis most of her adult life, and survived three strokes and bouts of pneumonia. Bell always joked her mom had nine lives. But on March 30, JoAnn died of COVID-19 in a Michigan hospital. The night before she died, a nurse held a cellphone to JoAnns ear and Bell told her she loved her. But her mom, breathing via a ventilator, was too weak to answer. I'm by myself here and my dad's by himself and my brother's by himself, said Bell from her home in Birmingham, Michigan, just 10 minutes from the hospital where her mother died. So we couldn't even be there at all and be there for each other, be there for her. Jacquelyn Bell (center) with her mother JoAnn Bell and father Marshall Bell. (Courtesy Jacquelyn Bell) As the U.S. coronavirus death toll tops 50,000, families are being forced to navigate grief in isolation. For Jewish families like Bells, coronavirus has also upended a highly structured process of mourning and burial. Jewish families and clergy are trying to find ways to uphold tradition while keeping loved ones safe. Per Jewish religious law, burial is supposed to happen within 48 hours of death. The funeral service that follows is conducted by a rabbi or cantor and concludes with the shoveling of dirt into the grave by the deceased's loved ones. Shiva, the Jewish mourning ritual, begins right after the burial and continues for seven days. During the week of shiva, friends and relatives visit and comfort the family of the deceased. The ritual allows them to share their pain, but also to trade stories and memories of the person theyve lost. The process relies on immediacy and human interaction, two things coronavirus has crippled, even as the virus has hit Jewish seniors hard. Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner of Temple Emanu-El in Closter, New Jersey, is out of the house every day serving his 800-family congregation. Before the coronavirus, he conducted two funerals a week, but now hes doing two a day. Story continues The numbers are just astronomical, he said. Because of the increase, the immediacy of burial has been an obstacle. He says cemeteries have told him the soonest they could have a burial is four to seven days after death, well beyond the two-day law. Kirshner tries to help people cope with saying goodbye to loved ones in a way thats different than they expected. The Satnick family hosts a drive by shiva outside their home in Demarest, N.J. (Hal Satnick) Sadly, there were other times in our history where we didn't know where our loved ones were buried, he said. So I try to orient people and give them a posture of what it is we can be thankful for. Kirshner has developed a format for a funeral in the age of COVID. They are graveside and they are small. A smart phone is mounted onto a tripod and most mourners attend via Zoom. Instead of a shovel to pour earth onto the coffin, each person who is there in person brings a disposable cup. Jewish tradition defines seven relations as immediate mourners: wife, husband, sister, brother, daughter, son and parent. Some cemeteries, however, only allow one mourner to physically attend the funeral. Related: There is a deep sadness with not being able to comfort one another, one faith leader said. I tell families this will pass. They will get through this. Many times immediate mourners cannot attend but wish to take an active role in the funeral. Kirshner uses the spotlight feature on Zoom if someone attending virtually wants to read a eulogy. He does his best to create the feeling of a chapel. A paradox of these COVID-influenced virtual funerals is that they actually increase attendance. Because of the accessibility of Zoom and the number of people who are homebound, Kirshner said there have been funerals where more than 200 computers have joined the Zoom conference. That's been really important, the way that people have leveraged technology in this time to be supportive, he said. I think that there's been some value in that human touch as best as it could be. Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner of Temple Emanu-El in Closter, N.J., conducted the funeral of Madeline Satnick via Zoom. (David-Seth Kirshner / Satnick family) Kirshner conducted the funeral and shiva of Madeline Satnick via Zoom. She did not die of coronavirus, but the pandemic did affect her burial. Her grandchildren couldnt attend and had to watched the funeral from home. It was really hard because we're literally sitting there watching, wishing we could be supporting our loved ones physically, said her granddaughter Marti Satnick. She and her siblings watched their mother poured earth on Madelines coffin on their behalf by reciting each of their names as she did it. The family found comfort in the virtual funeral, but felt the Zoom shiva was clunky and sapped of the intimacy one craves during mourning. They decided to have a second, drive-by shiva, with permission of the local police, so friends could say their condolences through a car window. Madelines son Hal said he found he needed the second shiva because it helped him mourn her in a way that felt closer to normal. It's a very personal thing of what means what to you, he said. Sherri Bensimon is a licensed funeral director at Riverside Memorial Chapel, a Jewish funeral home in New York City. She is the face of Riverside Memorial for the bereaved. Her job is to handle the arrangements with the city and the cemetery, and also provide in-person comfort and advice. The outbreak forced her to close her office doors and provide counsel virtually. Instead of meeting with the families of the deceased, she conducts everything over the phone and on Zoom. Steps in the burial process are drawn out because everyone is working remotely and shes forced to deliver unwelcome news about the new rules for burial without any in-person intimacy. Bensimon often has to tell her customers that cemeteries in the hard-hit New York area are struggling to keep up and shes unable to get burials done on the prescribed Jewish timeline. I have to say to them, I'm sorry, but they are inundated or they are overbooked or they just don't have the time to do this right now and I'm sorry, she said. Mostly what I've been saying all day is just, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. After the funeral, the final part of Bensimons job is officially beginning the bereaved familys observance of shiva. She does this by giving the family a shiva candle, which serves as the beacon for the soul to come to the family while it sits shiva. The candle is supposed to burn all week long. Since everyone within a family is mourning separately, she has had to give out more candles for each death and is now running low. She arranged a recent funeral for a family with six adult children and one spouse. Normally shed give one candle for all of them but all seven family members needed their own. Obviously I want to give as many as they need, but I don't have enough to give to everyone, she said. Back in Michigan, the Bell family had a socially distant graveside funeral for JoAnn. Only 10 family members attended, including JoAnn's husband of 51 years, Marshall. The service was live-streamed for those who were not allowed to be present for the service. At the end of the service, each of the attendees placed dirt and a bouquet of purple flowers on JoAnn's coffin. Bell said purple was her mom's favorite color. For Bell, the mourning has been incredibly difficult. Though shes gotten calls and FaceTimes from friends and family, she didnt have any kind of shiva, Zoomed or otherwise, so she feels like she missed out. There's nothing like sitting next to somebody and getting a hug or sharing a story in person, she said. Bell said she already started planning an in-person memorial for when social distancing and travel restrictions are lifted, and JoAnn's legacy can be celebrated by friends and family. But the interim will be difficult. The virtual nature of Bell's mourning process has made it difficult for her to fully sink into her grief. "It doesn't feel like she's actually gone," said Bell. Express News Service By In between holding meetings and reviewing the progress of his governments efforts to curb the coronavirus, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took out time to talk to The Sunday Standard about the states fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are excerpts: At your meeting with the PM on Monday, what will be your stand on the lockdown, which ends on May 3? Should it be extended? We will inform our PM about measures that have been taken so far by the state to defeat the pandemic. Our first focus is on safeguarding the life of common people. Lockdown will be lifted gradually after reviewing the situation in each containment zone. The good news is that almost half the state is free of the coronavirus. After some relaxations were given on April 20 to restart economic activities, how many industries in the state have reopened and if they have not, then why not? We are looking at COVID-19 as adversity which should be turned into an opportunity. Our first focus to overcome the crisis will be the speedy recovery and rebooting of the industries and commercial sector. Our top priority is to provide employment to workers who have been worst affected. All the crucial departments have been directed to draw a roadmap for reviving economic activities both in rural and urban areas. Out of 146 big industries, 115 industries employing 28,300 workers have started functioning. Some big industries like John Deere (Dewas), Ultratech Cement (Neemuch), HEG and SD Bansal in Iron and Steel (Mandideep), Welspun and Sagar Manufacturing (Raisen), Cadbury (Malanpur), Oswall Denims (Rajgarh), Maral (Khargone) will soon begin work. Why was Indore allowed to become a hotspot; there are reports that the central team found that the lockdown was not enforced properly, leading to a spurt in cases? This is totally wrong. The Central team has appreciated Madhya Pradesh for its efforts regarding corona. The death toll is under control and special care is being given to Indore. Indore is the prime commercial centre and is densely populated. It is a place where a big number of people travel abroad for business and commerce. Initially such people hid their travel histories and somehow came into contact with others resulting in the infection spreading. I have reviewed the situation and arrangements in the state through video conferencing. The corona testing rate in Indore is much higher than the rest of the state. More than 6,200 samples have been taken in Indore out of which 1,000 samples have been sent to Delhi for testing. There are 489 teams engaged in this work. So far, 3.9 lakh persons have been surveyed in the infected areas. A total of 12 to13 lakh persons have been surveyed. In the next seven days, 20 to 21 lakh persons will be surveyed. There is a feeling that political instability during the initial stages of corona is responsible for the weak response to the pandemic? Do you agree that politics got priority over health and safety? I personally think this is a time where we all need to fight this menace together. These allegations are made because of political reasons. In fact, it was the Congress government which was responsible for such a poor state of affairs. Instead of making necessary arrangements for COVID-19, the Congress government was busy organising IIFA and agitations against the CAA. We are trying our best from the moment I was sworn in as the Chief Minister. I strongly disagree that public health and safety were not given priority. For us, the first and foremost priority is to safeguard the people and the Madhya Pradesh government is leaving no stone unturned in this regard. The allegation is that the delay in cabinet formation, particularly in appointing a health minister, led to the alarming situation in Indore. It is not correct, as per my opinion this is not the time to play such games but we live in a democracy, everybody has got a right to speak but nobody except the one who has made it can guarantee the allegations to be true. Yes, it is a fact that the council of ministers plays a crucial role in governing the state and its welfare. But as soon as I was sworn in, I had my full focus on overcoming the odds. Do you think that the appointment of Narottam Mishra as health minister could have been avoided due to his disqualification case pending in the Supreme Court? The case is still in the court and there is no need to discuss this issue any further. If Jabalpur could be a success story in combating COVID-19, why couldnt it be done in Indore? Every place has specific issues. The conditions in Indore were far different from Jabalpur. Indore is a densely populated city and a prime commercial centre of not only the state but central India. In Indore, we will soon see positive results. Attacks on police and health workers are continuing in the state. Why is the government not able to curb this? We are continuously trying that such incidents dont happen, we are trying to counsel such persons, not to get afraid or misinformed about this disease and yet such things happen, which is very unfortunate. I want to warn those who are indulging in this that they not be spared. Those who attacked officials are already behind bars under the provisions of the National Security Act and strict action will be taken against them. Why are minorities alone being blamed for attacks on corona warriors? Everyone is equal before the law. Those found attacking relief and medical teams are under arrest for breaking the law. How can we see it through a religious angle? This is a global pandemic; it can happen to anyone, irrespective of caste, creed and religion. All religious leaders of every sect have also appealed to the people to cooperate with the government. I dont agree that minorities alone are being blamed for attacks on corona warriors. On several COVID-19 parameters, MP is lagging behind; it has the highest death rate, and one of slowest recovery rates. How do you plan to reverse this? Madhya Pradesh is recovering from the crisis. Almost half the state is now free of transmission. Many patients have recovered. The Central monitoring team has appreciated our efforts and we are fighting the pandemic with our full force. There are reports of Jyotiraditya Scindia being unhappy, although two of his MLAs have been made ministers? Is he unhappy? This is totally wrong. He is an experienced leader and has joined us because he thinks that he can serve the public in a much better way here. We are happy that we have him with us as our party member. Ministers are appointed on the basis of their abilities and experience. When do you plan to complete your Cabinet? Or are you confident that a smaller cabinet is more efficient during troubled times? Once we get out of this crisis then whatever the party organisation decides in regard to the cabinet expansion, you will be informed. The FDIC's official problem bank list is comprised of banks with a CAMELS rating of 4 or 5, and the list is not made public (just the number of banks and assets every quarter). Note: Bank CAMELS ratings are also not made public. CAMELS is the FDIC rating system, and stands for Capital adequacy, Asset quality, Management, Earnings, Liquidity and Sensitivity to market risk. The scale is from 1 to 5, with 1 being the strongest. As a substitute for the CAMELS ratings, surferdude808 is using publicly announced formal enforcement actions, and also media reports and company announcements that suggest to us an enforcement action is likely, to compile a list of possible problem banks in the public interest. DISCLAIMER: This is an unofficial list, the information is from public sources and while deemed to be reliable is not guaranteed. No warranty or representation, expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy of the information contained herein and same is subject to errors and omissions. This is not intended as investment advice. Please contact CR with any errors. Here is the unofficial problem bank list for April 2020. Here are the monthly changes and a few comments from surferdude808: Update on the Unofficial Problem Bank List for April 2020. During the month, the list declined by one to 64 banks after one removal. Aggregate assets were little changed at $48.4 billion. A year ago, the list held 73 institutions with assets of $52.1 billion. Exiting the list via failure was The First State Bank, Barboursville, WV ($152 million). This was the second failure in 2020 and the first failure in West Virginia since 2008 when Ameribank, Northfork, WV ($104 million) failed on September 19, 2008. The first unofficial problem bank list was published in August 2009 with 389 institutions. The number of unofficial problem banks grew quickly and peaked at 1,003 institutions in July, 2011 - and has steadily declined to well below 100 institutions. Hong Kong is trying to help more than 5,000 residents return home from India and Pakistan after those countries banned all international flights to combat coronavirus. Track live updates on coronavirus here The Hong Kong Immigration Department has reached about 3,200 residents in India and 2,000 in Pakistan, scattered around both countries, according to a government news release. The situation in India is complicated by strict restrictions on domestic trips, with approval required for any travel. Also Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases On the Hong Kong end, the city has limited capacity to test, quarantine and treat people. The government plans to fly back residents in phases, starting with chartered flights from New Delhi and Islamabad for those in and around those two cities, as well as the sick, pregnant woman, children and the elderly. Passengers will have to pay for their flights. Let us know what you're seeing and hearing around the community. Submit here After yoga, world will accept benefits of ayurveda: PM India pti-PTI New Delhi, Apr 26: After yoga, the world will accept India's age-old ayurveda principles, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday and added that the youth will have to take the lead in explaining it to countries scientifically. In his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' radio address, the prime minister said it is a "misfortune" that people of the country always refuse to acknowledge own strengths and glorious traditions. "But when another country says the very same thing on the basis of evidence-based research, when they teach us our own formula, we instantly accept it," he lamented. Possibly, this is largely due to hundreds of years of "bondage" (foreign rule). "Due to this, often we fail to realise our own strengths," he said. He said just as the world has happily accepted yoga, it will surely accept India's age-old ayurvedic principles. "Of course, the youth will have to resolve to do this and explain these principles to the world in a scientific language so that they understand it," he said. People across the world are paying special attention to the importance of ayurveda and yoga amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, pointing out that the social media is full of write-ups related to its benefits in boosting immunity. He reminded people to follow the coronavirus-related protocol issued by the Ayush Ministry to increase immunity. "Warm water, decoction and other guidelines issued by the Ayush Ministry would be very helpful for you if you include it in your daily routine," he suggested. - 1 35 Omicron The body of a six-year-old Michigan boy, who disappeared along with his father during a fishing trip last month, has been pulled from a river after being found by a family member who refused to give up looking for him. A search for Jaxon Oaks and his father Justin Oaks, 29, was launched on March 30, a day after the father and son failed to return home from a fishing trip on the Huron River, near Detroit. Justin's body was found at the mouth of Lake Erie on April 13. Their 14-foot Grumman aluminum camouflage boat was discovered overturned in the Huron River on April 5. Little Jaxon's body was found in the river by a relative who continued the search for him. Officials recovered the child's body from the water and a positive identification was made. The body of Jaxon Oaks, six, was discovered by a family member on Friday. Little Jaxon's body was found in the river by a relative who continued the search for him. Officials recovered the child's body from the water and a positive identification was made A search for Jaxon Oaks and his father Justin Oaks, 29, (pictured together) was launched on March 30, a day after the father and son failed to return home from a fishing trip on the Huron River, near Detroit. Justin's body was found at the mouth of Lake Erie on April 13 A few days before Justin's body was found, his 14-foot Grumman aluminum camouflage boat (pictured) was discovered overturned in the Huron River on April 5. Police said Oaks and his son did not return to their vehicle, which was parked at a boat launch with an empty boat trailer attached to it. Pictured: Justin Oaks' recovered boat The search for the father and son began after concerned family members said they hadn't heard from Justin since noon on March 29. They had left their home around 9.45am. Police said Oaks and his son did not return to their vehicle, which was parked at a boat launch with an empty boat trailer attached to it. Justin Oaks is survived by his wife Chelsie and their young daughter Jolene. He was an avid fisher and hunter, with his Facebook page filled with pictures of himself with his prized hunts. The proud father often had Jaxon smiling next to him in the photos. Friends of the Oaks paid tribute to the family over Facebook. One wrote: 'My heart is broken for Chelsie Oaks and Jolene. I pray u have some peace in ur heart with having them back together again. What u are going through is unimaginable but know they are always with u, keeping u and Jo safe! Heaven gained an amazing man and one awesome little cowboy!! Continued prayers!' Justin Oaks is survived by his wife Chelsie and their young daughter Jolene. He was an avid fisher and hunter, with his Facebook page filled with pictures of himself with his prized hunts People left flowers, pictures and personal tokens at a memorial set up near the dock for the father and son A GoFundMe was set up by family member Traci Korte, who announced the news Jaxon had been found, which has raised more than $27,000. She wrote: 'It is with a heavy heart I share the news that after several long weeks of active searching and unbelievable amounts of prayers and support, Jaxon was finally brought home. 'There are no words to express the amount of sorrow everyone is experiencing right now, but there is peace in knowing Justin and Jax's memory lives on. On behalf of Chelsie, Jolene, the Oaks' and McNetts', I want to thank every single one of you for contributing in their time of need. 'Our hearts are broken, that is certain, and the pain may never truly heal. 'In a time in this world where people are struggling emotionally and financially, the outpouring of support has been incredible and we all are so blessed to have had you all to lean on.' A GoFundMe was set up by family member Traci Korte, who announced the news Jaxon had been found, which has raised more than $27,000 The post continued: 'As time passes, Chelsie and Jolene will continue to need that support whether it be phone calls, food, money or just time spent in your presence. 'The family will have lots of first's in their future without Justin and Jaxon, birthdays, and holidays.... It will be those days, that are sure to be the hardest, when your friendship, prayers and outreach will truly mean the most. 'Thank you for from the bottom of my heart for hanging in there with us as this process has been tough. 'They say it takes a village, and we are so thankful to have you as a part of ours.' CHEYENNE Wyomings little burgs in southwest Wyoming those tucked away gems will be getting a boost through a relatively new state tourism marketing program. The Legislature this year allocated $200,000 for a continuing grant for regional marketing efforts to increase tourism for the salt to stone activities in southwest Wyoming. The idea is for the Wyoming Tourism Board to use the money for grants to the local communities along the southwestern routes to Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks to advertise their own unique attractions. The two national parks do not need promotion; they normally get hordes of tourists. But maybe Farson in Sweetwater County, and Farson Mercantile (Home of the big cone) could use a splash of publicity for its amazing array of ice cream flavors. Although I lived for about 9 years in Rock Springs I never stopped in Farson en route to Jackson. A few years ago a friend and I did stop at Farson Mercantile and I had a very, very big cone, vanilla. The store was doing a brisk amount of business that summer day, so the word has spread. Farson is on Route B of the salt-to-stone road trip to the national parks. So is Pinedale, which has a prize in the Mountain Mans museum. It seems as if every town in Wyoming has a museum of some sort. Pinedales is one of the best quality in my opinion. Of course few people are driving anywhere given the restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic. But when they are eased or lifted entirely, Wyomings tourism promotion engine will start to pay off. Given the states increasing economic problems with the slump in coal, gas and oil revenue as well as sales taxes, tourism is more essential than ever. According to government reports, out-of-state visitors contributed $3.9 billion to the states economy in 2019, including $203 million in state tax revenue and the industry entailed more than 32,000 jobs. Early last fall my visiting family rented a four-wheel drive vehicle and explored the Red Desert. The weather was great. The views were astonishing. And of course, there were no crowds. The only other sign of human life was a couple in a jeep who had stopped and apparently were a bit lost. It was easy to do with a map that wasnt much help. It was good to hear that the state is printing a new and better Red Desert map. The salt in salt to stone refers to Route A, which starts at Evanston and follows U.S. Highway 89 near the Idaho state line north to Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks. The route goes through the Star Valley, up Salt Canyon and Salt River. It also winds through what the state tourism web site describes as quaint towns 12 of them including Smoot, Afton Thane, Etna and Alpine. The route ends at the Lincoln County line in Snake River Canyon. Thats a memorable, beautiful drive and I would like to take it again. The stone refers to the monuments, museums and other buildings, like the trading post at Fort Bridger or the railroad roundhouse in Evanston. Route C begins at Kemmerer and takes in the Fossil Butte Monument and the Wyoming Range. The Legislature is keeping its collective big thumb on the $200,000 invested in the salt to stone project. By Oct. 1, 2020, the tourism board is to require the recipient of any grant associated with the salt to stone regional marketing to submit reports to two legislative interim committees appropriations and travel, recreation, wildlife and cultural resources. The report is to include information on how the grant money was spent, recommendation for future grants and a rundown of what impact those efforts had on the new local lodging tax and sales and use tax collections. The Legislature may have to delay the reporting deadline this year, depending on the pandemic. The pandemic has turned the world on its ear. Joan Barron is a former longtime capitol bureau reporter. Contact her at 307-632-2534 or jmbarron@bresnan.net. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 New Delhi: NASA engineers have developed a new high-pressure ventilator to combat the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. The device, called VITAL (Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally), was developed by engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California to free up the nation's limited supply of traditional ventilators so they may be used on critical COVID-19 patients. JPL Director Michael Watkins said, "We specialize in spacecraft, not medical-device manufacturing. But excellent engineering, rigorous testing, and rapid prototyping are some of our specialties. When people at JPL realized they might have what it takes to support the medical community and the broader community, they felt it was their duty to share their ingenuity, expertise, and drive." The ventilator on Tuesday passed a critical test at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, an epicenter of COVID-19 in the United States. NASA is now seeking expedited FDA approval for the device via an emergency use authorization, a fast-track approval process developed for crisis situations that takes just days rather than years. The Office of Technology Transfer and Corporate Partnerships at Caltech, which manages JPL for NASA, will offer a free license for VITAL and currently is reaching out to the commercial medical industry to find manufacturers for the device. The US has been the worst COVID-19 hit country in the world with having the most number of coronavirus positive cases and deaths. As of Sunday evening, the US has recorded close to 9,40,000 confirmed cases while more than 54,000 people have lost their lives due to the fatal virus. China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism has urged the public to strengthen epidemic prevention measures when traveling during the upcoming five-day May Day holiday. Tourists are asked to pay close attention to the situation of epidemic risks released by local authorities and the latest epidemic prevention and control measures of their destination, according to a statement on the official website of the ministry. The statement also asked tourists to learn in advance about ticket reservations and other measures of scenic spots and devise their itineraries to avoid peak times. Tourists are urged to carry out self-protection measures including wearing masks and washing their hands frequently, as well as keeping their distance from others while taking transportation and visiting parks. The use of serving chopsticks and spoons during meals is also recommended, the statement said. It also reminded tourists to keep safety in mind, abide by orders and travel in a civilized way. This year's May Day holiday runs from May 1 to 5. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 12:14:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NEW YORK, April 25 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States should work together in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and lead countries through the crisis, a senior diplomat said here on Saturday. Chinese Consul General in New York Huang Ping made the remarks while delivering a speech at a video conference held by the Schiller Institute, which was attended by around 2,500 people from all walks of life. Huang said that through hard work and great sacrifice, China has become one of the first countries to control the pandemic domestically as local transmission of virus has been basically under control. Meanwhile, China has made coordinated efforts to restore the economic and social order, contributing to bringing the global economy back on track. China has also actively joined the international cooperation in fighting the pandemic in an open, transparent and responsible manner, donating and exporting billions of face masks, thousands of ventilators and sending groups of medical experts to assist countries around the world, he said. Though China-U.S. relations have been faced with difficulties in recent years, the two largest economies should abandon their differences on various issues and focus on cooperation at this moment for the well-being of all humanity, said Huang. As infectious diseases like COVID-19 could break out in any country or any ethnic group, any kind of scapegoating, racial discrimination and xenophobia should be prevented, as they won't help countries cope with the current pandemic or other global challenges in the future, said the consul general. Noting the deep friendship between the Chinese and American people that is highlighted during the pandemic, Huang said that as China was experiencing the peak of the outbreak earlier this year, people from all walks of life in the United States have extended a helping hand. Now the United States has become the hardest-hit country, China is not looking on with indifference, he added. According to preliminary statistics, China has provided the United States with more than 2.46 billion masks, some 5,000 ventilators, 258 million pairs of gloves, 29.2 million pieces of medical gowns and 3.13 million pairs of goggles. Huang voiced confidence that the friendship between the two peoples will grow stronger after this battle against COVID-19, and the two governments need to develop bilateral ties in accordance with the will of the people, he added. Enditem The USNS Comfort. Roy Rochlin / Contributor/Getty Images According to a report by ABC7, the USNS Comfort will be discharging its last coronavirus patient on Sunday, April 26. The 1,000-bed ship arrived in New York City on March 30 to help city hospitals overwhelmed with coronavirus patients. As of Saturday, April 25, it had treated 187 patients. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The USNS Comfort is set to discharge its last patient with coronavirus on Sunday, according to a report by ABC7. The ship was deployed to New York City on March 30 to help city hospitals overwhelmed with coronavirus cases. As Business Insider reported, it was originally supposed to treat patients without coronavirus. However, there weren't many non-coronavirus patients to treat. In fact, on its first day, the 1,000-ship received just 20 patients. After growing criticism from the public, the ship was reconfigured to begin taking in coronavirus patients. According to ABC7, it had treated 187 patients by Saturday, April 25. During a meeting with President Trump on April 21, Gov. Andrew Cuomo offered to have the Comfort help other hard-hit areas. "It was very good to have in case we had overflow, but I said we don't really need the Comfort anymore," Cuomo told MSNBC after the meeting. "It did give us comfort, but we don't need it anymore, so if they need to deploy that somewhere else, they should take it." Pentagon spokesman, Jonathan Hoffman, told ABc7 that The Comfort will be sent back to its homeport in Norfolk, Virginia, where it will be restocked for another possible mission. However, he did not provide a departure date. Read the original article on Business Insider No signs of Navy COVID-19 cluster transmission in community: CECC ROC Central News Agency 04/25/2020 09:11 PM Taipei, April 25 (CNA) A recent Taiwan Navy cluster case involving 31 COVID-19 infections has not yet resulted in any community outbreaks, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Saturday in the wake of escalating concerns in the country. The 31 cases of the new coronavirus disease come from a cluster infection on board the Panshi, a fast combat support ship that was part of a three-vessel flotilla that visited Palau in mid-March. The flotilla, which left Taiwan in early March, made a port call in Palau from March 12-15 and returned to Taiwan on April 9, but the crew were not allowed to disembark until April 14-15 because of quarantine restrictions. All 744 crew on the three ships were placed in quarantine on April 18, following the discovery that some of them had contracted the disease. In response to questions from the media as to whether the critical observation period for the cluster case will end by April 30, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (), who also heads the CECC, did not answer the question directly, saying only that proper contact tracing has been carried out. The most important issue at hand is to find out if the infection has entered communities from the people on the ships or anyone they may have contacted, Chen said at a daily press briefing. "It will be a crisis if we have infections that cannot be immediately traced to the source, but at the moment we have no evidence of this," Chen said. As of Saturday, 1,865 people were listed as having come into contact with the 31 confirmed cases, with 534 required to isolate themselves at home, according to CECC statistics. Of the 534 people undergoing home isolation, 173 have been tested and 154 found negative, with the rest awaiting results, according to CECC statistics. Besides the 534 in home isolation, the remaining 1,331 people who had contact with the Panshi's confirmed cases have been asked to practice "self-health management," which means wearing a mask at all times, taking their temperatures twice a day, and minimizing the time they spend in public. In addition, a further 2,613 people tested between March 30 and April 24 under an expanded testing program have all tested negative, said CECC advisor Chang Shan-chwen (). Out of these, 301 are physicians, 1,089 are nurses, 314 are other medical personnel, 342 are non-medical personnel and 567 are staff at caregiving facilities, Chang said. "This also shows that even after a large number of screenings, there are still no confirmed cases of community transmission," Chang said. Meanwhile, a total of 28 Taiwanese expatriates in Palau who had contact with Taiwan military personnel during their port call to the western Pacific diplomatic ally have all been tested and have all tested negative, according to Taiwan's foreign ministry. To date, Taiwan has confirmed a total of 429 COVID-19 patients, of which 275 have recovered, according to CECC statistics as of Saturday. (By William Yen) Enditem/J NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sesa Sen By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Even as the Centre exempted neighbourhood stores including those selling garments, mobile phones, hardware and stationery items from the ongoing nationwide lockdown, most states such as Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Delhi and Karnataka arent expected to give permissions soon, say traders associations. Retailers have also sought more clarification from the government on the guidelines, as terms like market complexes could be misunderstood. It is now the onus of the state governments to issue necessary permissions to implement the Central government order. While traders welcome the revised guidelines, we believe not many states will be willing to take such a step immediately other than a few like Odisha and Goa, said Praveen Khandelwal, general secretary, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT). The apex body of traders represents seven crore traders and 40,000 trade associations of India. Amending its April 15 order, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Saturday clarified that all shops, including neighbourhood shops and standalone shops, shops in residential complexes, within the limits of municipal corporations and registered under the Shops and Establishment Act of the respective State and UT are allowed to open. But those located in market places, shopping malls and COVID-19 hotspots and containment zones, will continue to remain shut till May 3. While allowing the opening of more shops is a move seen as a relief to most people, we feel the current circular is open to interpretation and needs more clarity for easier implementation. Terms like market complexes are not easily understood, said Rajagopalan, CEO of Retailers Association of India. Lack of clarity could hold back local authorities to issue necessary permissions, delaying the reopenings. A majority of Indias 720 districts remain in the red zone. The recent order also implies that in rural areas, all shops are allowed to open. But restaurants, hair salons, liquor and cigarette shops will stay closed as they render services and do not fall under the category of shops. Industry bodies also pointed out that the delivery of non-essential goods through e-commerce should also be allowed to ease the burden of piled up inventory of small traders while also meeting customers demand. While the latest move is in the right direction and has been taken keeping in mind to minimise risks and maximise economic activity, we believe e-tailers dealing in non-essentials should also be allowed to operate at least in a phased manner, said Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of India Cellular & Electronics Association. Continue Reading Below Advertisement The original actors were reprising their movie roles, much as they had in various media throughout the last couple of decades (this would be the final Ghostbusters appearance for Harold Ramis, who'd pass away in 2014). As for von Sydow, he was doing the voice of Vigo, who'd appeared in Ghostbusters II. They had a pretty good reason for not bringing in Wilhelm von Homburg, who'd played Vigo on the big screen. "Unfortunately, that actor had passed away," explained the game's director pre-release, "so we'll have a sound-alike." Mario Zapateria/Wiki Commons No joke about von Sydow busting von Homburg's ghost? That took some restraint. Continue Reading Below Advertisement For a second-choice understudy, von Sydow was a pretty big name. This was Max von Sydow of The Seventh Seal, Max von Sydow of The Exorcist. More recently, you might know von Sydow, who died this past March at age 90, for Game Of Thrones and The Force Awakens. Players then noticed that calling him a "sound-alike" was kind of an understatement. Vigo, in the game, sounded exactly like Vigo in the movie, even when delivering new lines. So if von Sydow was voicing game Vigo, what did that say about original Vigo? Fans badgered producers and uncovered the truth: Von Sydow had voiced the original Vigo after all. Von Homburg played the role and did the voice originally, but then the production brought in the big guns and had von Sydow dub over them. Von Sydow wasn't credited, and even von Homburg had no idea his voice work was being dubbed over until he attended the premiere and heard the final cut. He ran out, furious. Even many who worked on the game didn't know why von Sydow was brought on board. Hell, maybe even von Sydow forgot the role was his. When you have 163 acting credits, they tend to run together after a while. 5 things to consider as some provinces look to reopen for business As part of his announcement this week about restoring the Saskatchewan economy and loosening restrictions on the public, Premier Scott Moe described the plan as a way to "gradually, cautiously and methodically reopen businesses." Saskatchewan and New Brunswick will be the first provinces to relax the rules from the COVID-19 shutdown. With the number of infected people relatively low, there was some public pressure to do so. Most businesses are losing money every day and are eager to open their doors. People want to enjoy what they've taken for granted in the past such as a haircut, a sit-down restaurant meal or sending their children back to school or daycare. 'Unfortunately, I think it's probably inevitable that we will have additional clusters or hotspots.' - Craig Jenne, infectious disease expert So many people would like to have life return to normal, but in the absence of a vaccine, effective treatment or rapid testing, the reopening of a province may prove to be much more difficult than shutting down. Chris Ensing/CBC While many countries remain shut down, others have begun easing restrictions, including New Zealand, Denmark and the Czech Republic. Every country seems to take a different approach, with Norway prioritizing reopening schools, for instance, while Austria is set to open shopping centres and hotels, but has yet to make a decision about whether to keep students at home. As provinces introduce their plans, here are some of the key considerations and what to expect in the weeks and months ahead. There will be outbreaks Saskatchewan's plan will begin in May, but many dates are still undetermined. That flexibility is important, say experts, because decisions can then be based on information about how the virus is spreading instead of adhering to fixed dates. "What we know today might not be the same as what we know next week, and we'll have to make our plans flexible enough to accommodate that," said Craig Jenne, an infectious disease expert who teaches at the University of Calgary. Story continues Even if some provinces have flattened or bent the curve, there still remains a risk of outbreaks. "Unfortunately, I think it's probably inevitable that we will have additional clusters or hotspots," he said. The key will be for provinces to be prepared to rapidly respond and continue contact tracing, he said, or else just one infected person could easily spread the virus and cause a significant outbreak. Some workers can't be protected In most cases, such as working at a bank, there are methods to protect workers such as routine hand washing, physical distancing and perhaps physical barriers. Still, there is no perfect way to protect against exposure. "They do a fantastic job of knocking the risk down. But no one of those aspects alone can guarantee we don't transmit infection," said Jenne. There are also some jobs where it is much more difficult to protect employees, such as in construction, oilfield and manufacturing. "These are areas where things like routinely wearing masks, maintaining six feet of social distancing are just not practical. You cannot maintain those standards and get these jobs done in a safe fashion," he said. WATCH | Craig Jenne on how some businesses are easier to reopen than others: Knowledge is changing The largest outbreak so far in the country is linked to the Cargill beef processing plant in High River, Alta., and is a reminder about what health officials are guarding against as provinces plan to reopen their economies. It also shows how the best laid plans may not be enough to protect against a virus that health experts don't yet fully understand. Before the virus began to hit the meat processing sector, industry leaders announced they were taking many steps to protect workers and maintain operations through screening the temperature of employees as they arrive, changing shifts and hiring more staff. Still, there is only so much physical distancing that can be practised inside these types of facilities, where thousands of workers are needed on a processing line, standing shoulder to shoulder. WATCH | The wait to reopen Canada's economy, reduce COVID-19 restrictions: Despite all the protections in place, it wasn't enough. COVID-19 is leading to the closure of several meat processing facilities across North America, including the one in High River, which is shutdown indefinitely with about 500 infected people linked to the plant. "The spread of this is much more pervasive than I think even health authorities and doctors and scientists appreciated. So the measures that were put in place at that time were the best measures that had been identified," said Chris White, president of the Canadian Meat Council. Knowledge about the virus is changing frequently, which is leading to different practices to protect workers, he said, such as the recommendation earlier this month for workers to not only use face masks, but also face shields. "That's been an evolution," he said. "Every day there are discussions to say, 'Well, what we did yesterday, is that sufficient? Have we learned anything from yesterday that we could implement in this plant?'" Legal, ethical responsibility Business owners and corporations will have to plan the best way to protect workers and still be able to bring back workers, while remaining financially viable. For a typical restaurant, that could include additional measures for food safety, employee health and physical spacing between customers, according to Chris MacDonald, who teaches business ethics at Ryerson University in Toronto. "It'll bring a whole new set of questions that we haven't had to deal with yet," he said. If workers become sick or die because of contracting the virus on the job, which has happened, companies and business owners may face significant consequences. "You would expect there's going to be a whole range of unprecedented, legal risks," said MacDonald. WATCH | Chris MacDonald on what business owners need to consider as they reopen: Enforcement is key In Australia, the reopening of beaches seemed like the best way for many people to shake off the cabin fever feelings of the pandemic. Unfortunately, so many people flocked to the beaches that they had to be shut down, just days after reopening. Whether it is a public place, a business or some other venue, governments may find loosening restrictions is much easier than making sure people follow rules and important measures like physical distancing. "Enforcing the rules and enforcing the best practices is going to be something that may be difficult but will absolutely be critical," said Jenne. Both Health and Family Welfare Minister B Sriramulu and Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar have tested negative for coronavirus. The duo was tested as a precaution on Saturday, following their visits to hospitals and other facilities for Covid-19 patients. The results of their tests were declared on Sunday. In recent weeks, AARP Connecticut and other advocates have been asking lawmakers to allow nursing home residents to install cameras in their rooms. While this issue is especially important at a time when COVID-19 is keeping residents separated from their loved ones, it is also significant when we are not in the middle of a pandemic. For years, I visited my dear mother in a nursing home even though I lived quite a distance from her. Now, technology has given us a variety of safe and easy devices and cameras that help people stay connected and allow family members to observe their loved ones in nursing homes. This is important for their health and safety and for our peace of mind. In addition to protecting residents from abuse and neglect, cameras that allow for two-way communication make it easier to maintain social connection; this is good for residents as well as their loved ones who live in the community. Loneliness is a growing epidemic for older adults in this country, and we need to do what we can to help people stay connected. As many as 226 Swiss nationals stranded in India following the nationwide lockdown have left for Zurich by a Swiss International Airlines, an airport spokesperson said here on Sunday. The flight departed for Zurich at 11.20 PM on Saturday from Cochin airport, he said. The aircraft had arrived here after picking up 62 Swiss nationals stranded in Kolkotta and 164 of them boarded the flight from here Earlier, the UK and Oman had evacuated their citizens stranded in Kerala due to lockdown by operating special flights. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) When most of Afghanistan was under Taliban rule in the late 1990s, the fundamentalist regime drafted a new constitution. The document was never officially ratified, and it was unclear how much of it was ever implemented before the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 toppled the extremist Islamic group from power. But the constitution offers a glimpse into what kind of government the militant organization envisages as it prepares to negotiate a future power-sharing arrangement with the current Afghan government led by President Ashraf Ghani. A political settlement made by the disparate Afghan sides is a key component of the peace deal signed by the United States and the Taliban on February 29 that is aimed at ending the 18-year war. Under the deal, foreign forces will leave Afghanistan in exchange for counterterrorism guarantees from the Taliban, which has agreed to launch direct negotiations with Afghan officials for a permanent cease-fire and a power-sharing formula to rule the country. Since 2001, the Taliban insurgency has vowed to drive out foreign forces and overthrow the Western-backed government in Kabul. But even as it seemingly pursues peace, it been vague about what kind of postwar government it envisions in Afghanistan. Radical Islamic Seminaries The Taliban emerged in 1994 following the end of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. The predominantly ethnic Pashtun group first surfaced in ultraconservative Islamic seminaries in Pakistan, where millions of Afghans had fled as refugees. The seminaries radicalized thousands of Afghans who joined the mujahedin, the U.S.-backed Islamist rebels who fought against the occupying Soviet forces. The Taliban appeared in the southern city of Kandahar, Afghanistans second largest, in 1994, two years after the mujahedin seized power in the country. Infighting among mujahedin factions fueled a devastating civil war that killed more than 100,000 people in Kabul alone. The Taliban promised to restore security and enforce their ultraconservative brand of Islam. They captured Kabul in 1996 and two years later controlled some 90 percent of the country. In 1998, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar assembled some 500 Islamic scholars from across the country to draft a new constitution for the country. After three days of deliberations, the scholars drafted a 14-page document -- the first and only attempt by the Taliban to codify its views on power and governance. 'Intensely Religious Roots' In the document, power was centralized in the hands of an "Amir ul-Momineen," or leader of the faithful. This supreme leader was the head of state and had ultimate authority. This was Mullah Omar, the Talibans spiritual leader and founder. The constitution did not describe how such a leader would be selected or for how long he could serve. But it said the supreme leader must be male and a Sunni Muslim. An Islamic council, handpicked by the supreme leader, would serve as the legislature and implement laws and policy. The government, headed by the head of the council of ministers -- a quasi-prime ministerial position -- would report to the Islamic council. Under the constitution, Sunni Islam was to be the official state religion, even though some 15 percent of the population are Shiite Muslims. The document stated that no law could be contrary to Islamic Sharia law. The constitution granted freedom of expression, womens education, and the right of a fair trial, but all within the limits of the Talibans strict interpretation of Sharia law. It is unclear how the document shaped the Talibans draconian laws and brutal policies during its Islamic Emirate, the official name of the Taliban regime that ruled Afghanistan from 1996-2001. The Taliban banned TV and music, forced men to pray and grow beards, forced women to cover themselves from head to toe, and prevented women and girls from working or going to school. The Taliban amputated the hands of thieves, publicly flogged people for drinking alcohol, and stoned to death those who engaged in adultery. Executions were common. Andrew Watkins, a senior analyst for Afghanistan at the International Crisis Group, said the draft constitution reflects the Taliban's intensely religious roots and reveals the importance placed on a centralized authority for a group that was founded on a mission of restoring order to the country. The document was littered with contradictions and was never ratified. It was republished in 2005, a year after Afghanistan adopted a new constitution. But the document has disappeared from Taliban discourse in recent years. That may have been due to internal debate over certain articles, or just reflective of the group's inclination to remain flexible in its policies, in part perhaps to prevent internal divisions over policy differences, said Watkins. 'Monopoly On Power' As an insurgent group, the Taliban has preserved some of its key principles since it was overthrown in 2001. Power is still centralized in the hands of an all-powerful leader, who oversees a shadow Taliban government in Afghanistan. The Taliban still enforces its strict interpretation of Islam in areas under its control. And it still regards Sharia as the supreme law. But analysts say the past two decades have changed how the Taliban views power. The Taliban overcame a succession crisis after the death of Mullah Omar, has fended off competition from the global appeal of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group, and has remained a relatively coherent fighting force despite its 18-year war against foreign and Afghan government forces. The group now operates in a strange combination of increasingly centralizing its control over its own membership, while also allowing it to decentralize in other ways, said Watkins. The Taliban has claimed recently that it is not the same group that ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s. In a public statement, the Taliban said it does not want to reestablish its Islamic Emirate and has attempted to project a more reconciliatory image. But the Talibans ambiguity on womens rights, free speech, and elections -- key democratic tenets introduced in Afghanistan since 2001 -- has raised fears among many Afghans that the extremist group will attempt to restore its severe regime. The Taliban said in January 2019 that they are not seeking a "monopoly on power" in a future administration in Afghanistan but are looking for ways to coexist with Afghan institutions, in what was seen as the militants most conciliatory statement to date. A month earlier, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said if peace comes and the Taliban returns, then our return will not be in the same harsh way as it was in 1996. The Taliban said in February 2019 that it is committed to granting women their rights and allowing them to work and go to school, but only as long as they do not violate Islam or Afghan values. But in the same statement, the Taliban also suggested it wants to curtail the fragile freedoms gained by women, prompting a wave of concern from rights campaigners. Analysts said the Talibans great ambiguity on key issues reflects the divisions within the group. The Talibans political leadership based in Pakistan is believed to be more open to an accommodation in assuming power under a peace deal. Meanwhile, hard-line military commanders on the battlefield in Afghanistan are reluctant to budge on their demands for a full restoration of the Islamic Emirate. There is a cocktail of views among the Taliban on power and governance, said Javid Ahmad, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Atlantic Council. More than anything, Taliban leaders need an intra-Taliban dialogue to settle their conflicting views about a future Afghan state, Ahmad added. There are also intense differences among the Afghan political elite. Pashtuns, the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, generally support a centralized state that guarantees their control of the government. But non-Pashtuns, which constitute a majority of the population, believe too much power of the state is left in the hands of one individual, and support decentralization because it would enshrine a more inclusive and equitable distribution of power. 'Incredibly Difficult' Direct talks between the Taliban and an Afghan negotiation team over a permanent cease-fire and a power-sharing arrangement were expected to start on March 10. But the launch of the negotiations has been delayed due to disputes over the release of Taliban prisoners and the formation of Kabuls negotiating team. Even when intra-Afghan negotiations begin, many expect them to be complex and protracted, possibly taking years, considering the gulf between the sides on policy and distributing power. It will be incredibly difficult to get the two parties to come up with compromises on every issue of governance, Ahmad said, although he added that there were also reasons for hope. WATCH: Afghan Women Fear Taliban Peace Deal Will Erode Freedoms Both the Talibans political vision and the Afghan political system are modeled on the centralization of power and the supreme role of Islam. Afghanistans 2004 constitution prescribes that "no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam" and sometimes appears at odds with more liberal and democratic elements within it. Power is in the hands of a heavily centralized government. The president has the right to appoint and fire governors, mayors, police chiefs, district governors, and senators and has a tight grip on the countrys finances and how funds are spent and distributed. There is much more common ground in the legal and governance systems of these two than many of their supporters, on either side, care to admit, said Watkins. The US Treasury Department said on Saturday it has released $9.5 billion in additional funds from the Payroll Support Program to US air carriers, bringing to $12.4 billion the total provided to the airline sector hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. In total, the government has disbursed grant funds to 10 major airlines and 83 smaller carriers. Congress approved $25 billion in grants for payroll assistance for passenger airlines. Treasury required major airlines receiving more than $100 million in assistance to repay 30% in low-interest loans over 10 years and issue warrants equal to 10% of the loan amount. Click here for the complete coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic Airlines must not cut pay or jobs through Sept. 30 as a condition of the grants and are barred from buying back stock or paying dividends and face restrictions on executive compensation. SkyWest Inc Chief Executive Chip Childs told employees on Friday the airline expects to receive $438 million from Treasury in payroll assistance. There is still much about the future and recovery that remains uncertain, and there is a very real possibility that we could be a smaller airline by the end of the year, he wrote in a email seen by Reuters. Click here for the latest updates from the coronavirus outbreak The four largest US carriers are receiving $19.2 billion in total out of the $25 billion - American Airlines Group Inc , Delta Air Lines Inc, United Airlines Holdings Inc and Southwest Airlines Co. Treasury is awarding major carriers 50% of the grant funds initially and then releasing the remainder through July. Treasury said additional money will continue to be provided to approved applicants on a rolling basis. The department is still reviewing how to award $4 billion in grants to cargo carriers and $3 billion to airport contractors such as caterers. Cargo carriers that receive $50 million or less of payroll support and contractors that receive $37.5 million or less will not be required to provide financial instruments as appropriate compensation for support, the department said. The Treasury Department also published on Saturday the application form for companies deemed critical to maintaining national security seeking loans from a $17 billion fund. The fund has been mentioned as a potential source of funds for Boeing Co, which declined to say on Friday whether it would apply. Treasury said it wants companies to apply by May 1. Treasury has an additional $25 billion in loans it can award to passenger airlines and $4 billion in cargo loans. Some airlines, including American, Delta and Alaska Airlines, have already applied. Airlines may still need more money as US air travel demand has fallen by 95% and shows no sign of improving. On Friday, President Donald Trump said the US government could pre-buy airplane tickets at a steep discount of 50% or more for travel for the next four or five years. You infuse them with some cash. And in the meantime, were flying the people of our country for ... a fraction of the cost, he said. Airlines for America, a trade group representing major US airlines, declined to comment. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The coronavirus outbreak has forced the politicians to find a new way of holding protests as senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya on Sunday staged a dharna at his home here against the West Bengal government over its handling of the COVID-19 situation there. Vijayvargiya, who is the BJP national general secretary and party's in-charge of West Bengal, held the sit- in from his residence in hometown Indore. The video of his protest has gone viral on social media. During the dharna, he was seen sitting with the BJP's election symbol and boards with the slogans in Bengali language in the backdrop. Talking to some reporters at his residence, Vijayvargiya said that many BJP leaders staged in sit-in in their homes in Delhi, Lucknow and other cities as well as in the Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal. He alleged that there has been "anarchy" in West Bengal due to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's "arrogance" and the state was "negligent" in dealing with the pandemic. "It's fine if Banerjee engages in But the West Bengal chief secretary is also non-cooperating with the central team. The rice sent by the Centre to provide relief to the poor in that state is not reaching to them," he alleged. He also alleged that patients who are dying due to lack of proper treatment in West Bengal are being secretly cremated but their families are not being informed about it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Boost Lateral Thinking Nayaki Bansal, a mother of three now, recounts her heartbreaking story from an art class she took when she was a child. During one of the art sessions, her teacher asked the class to draw a displayed sculpture. When the teacher noticed Nayaki starting to paint with darker colours first, she stopped Nayaki, held up the paper in class and ridiculed her, saying, Everyone knows that you always start with the light colours! This kind of ridicule for creativity and self-expression is akin to killing excitement. What Nayaki was trying to do, was a form of lateral thinking, as Dr Parul Tank, psychiatrist at Nimai Health care and consultant with Asian Heart Institute and Fortis Hospital, Mumbai, explains, Lateral thinking refers to the fact that you can do more things with an object which you would have not thought of otherwise. Children often boost their lateral thinking when engaged in free play. For instance, children can go much beyond when moulding clay than simply creating the figures shown in the instructions. For older children, this creativity needs to be stimulated. It is always present, but not always stimulated. You can boost lateral thinking for older children by challenging the norms of creativity or, asking them to do the reverse of the regular, and encouraging them to think of novel ways of using everyday objects. For instance, different ways of using a key chain can include using it as a paperweight, or using it as a screwdriver in certain cases. Also Read: How You Can Help Your Child Cope With Eco-Anxiety Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was confident he would be able to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank this summer, with support from the US. Speaking on Sunday to an online gathering of evangelical Christian supporters of Israel, Mr Netanyahu said US president Donald Trumps Middle East plan envisioned turning over Israels dozens of settlements, as well as the strategic Jordan Valley, to Israeli control. A couple of months from now, Im confident that that pledge will be honoured, that we will be able to celebrate another historic moment in the history of Zionism, Mr Netanyahu said. Israeli annexation of West Bank territory would be highly controversial, drawing widespread international condemnations and extinguishing any lingering hopes of establishing a viable independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. Donald Trump unveiled his Middle East plan in January (Alex Brandon/AP) The Palestinians, with wide international backing, seek the entire West Bank as part of an independent state. They have already threatened to cancel existing peace agreements if Mr Netanyahu moves forward with his plan, while the European Union foreign policy chief said annexation would be a violation of international law and force the bloc to act accordingly. The UNs Middle East envoy said such a step would ignite the region. But Mr Netanyahu and his hard-line base are eager to move ahead while Mr Trump remains in office. Annexation would be popular with Mr Trumps evangelical base as he seeks to shore up support ahead of a difficult reelection battle. Mr Netanyahu reached a power-sharing deal with his main rival, Benny Gantz, last week. Although Mr Gantz, a former Israeli military chief, has given only lukewarm support for West Bank annexation, their coalition agreement allows Mr Netanyahu to present the plan to his cabinet and to parliament for fast-track approval. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war, and its settlements are now home to some 500,000 Israelis, in addition to over 200,000 Israelis living in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem. Story continues After Mr Trump unveiled his Middle East plan in January, Mr Netanyahu pledged to begin annexing territory immediately. But the Trump administration quickly delayed the plan, and the sides set up a joint committee to formulate a plan together. Mr Netanyahu addressed a conference marking the 100th anniversary of the San Remo Conference, a post-First World War gathering in Italy that helped lay the foundations for Israels establishment in 1948. I am an elder in a small church in central New Jersey and just read the petition started by state Sen. Mike Doherty, R-Warren, to reopen religious facilities for congregants to attend worship services amid the coronavirus pandemic. Like all communities of faith, our churchs congregants miss worshipping together, but having witnessed COVID-19 race through our community, including families with people who work in health care and the transportation of vital materials, or are otherwise deemed essential workers, I believe Doughertys proposal is akin to leading the faithful to slaughter. Our church is home to several congregations that worship in different languages. The church leadership has already spent a lot of time discussing remotely what services will be like after conditions are deemed safe enough for restrictions to be modified or lifted. Our primary consideration is the safety of all of Gods children who use our facility to worship. Among those considerations are the logistics of social distancing and the thorough cleaning of worship spaces after each of the five services the church is home to each weekend. Of course, that cleaning will incur additional costs to already strapped budgets. Currently, our pastor conducts several worship services a week, as well as nightly prayer services, and Bible studies via Facebook and Zoom. While this is in no way as satisfying as experiencing services in person, it is, for the time being, the only responsible way to minister to the faithful. As Jesus put it in Matthew, For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them even if it has to be on Facebook. Tony Gruenewald, Edison Trump doubles down on immigration, testing fallacies In the past few days, President Donald Trump has doubled down on his claim that coronavirus testing is totally up to state governors. He said there are lots of laboratories all over the country. He totally ignored the reality that whether there are 500, 5,000, or even 5 million testing labs, it is immaterial if there are insufficient reagents and other necessary testing supplies with which to conduct those tests. Trump also ignored that many of those materials come from China and only he and the federal government have the clout to do anything about that. At the same time, he was giving verbal support not only to southern-state governors trying to reopen their states too early for safety, but to the insurrectionists in the Midwest and West protesting their states lockdowns. And, in an effort that seems decisive, he plans to sign an executive order to suspend nearly all immigration to the United States to protect American jobs. This is utter nonsense. I grew up in the 1950s and remember the San Francisco-based beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The last line of one of his poems, Pity the Nation, read, My country tears of thee, sweet land of liberty. Never has that line been more apt. Leland J. Katz, Pompton Plains Tyrants in training: Murphy, other blue-state govs I cannot get over how the cable news networks and newspapers, are enjoying what is happening to our country. I feel that many of them want to see the country destroyed along with the economy and oil industry, and have the Bill of Rights and the Constitution torn up. Blue-state governors and mayors are enjoying the power they are using to control the population with stay-at-home and similar orders. If you do not what they say, you can be arrested in front of your family and your rights will be taken away. We will never get them back. When the governor of New Jersey states that the Bill of Rights is above my pay grade in connection with his executive orders, this is all you need to know. Phil Murphy is a tyrant in training, along with all the other blue-state governors and mayors. They are violating our First Amendment rights by not allowing us to worship in groups and limiting our freedom of assembly, using the spread of COVID-19 as the excuse. People who protest the limits are accused of not following the rules. The Second Amendments gun rights are also being threatened, and anyone who does not agree with the media or governors is called racist. Joe Petrone, Aberdeen Find mental health balance in imbalanced times I took over as CEO of NewBridge Services on April 1 as the COVID-19 pandemic began to accelerate in New Jersey. By then, the nonprofit was busy addressing the crisis impact on our clients, who are among societys most vulnerable citizens: people with severe mental illness, the elderly, and at-risk young adults. NewBridges professionals are among the ranks of mental health care workers throughout the state and nation who continue to provide treatment and make sure clients have food, medication and personal care items. Our clinicians have helped clients transition to tele-health, so treatment isnt interrupted. Our group homes are staffed, and employees are checking frequently on homebound seniors and adults with mental illness who live in the community. Young adults in our alternative education and career program are doing distance learning and continue to receive emotional support. The NewBridge team has organized volunteers to make and distribute protective masks for staff. We would welcome additional volunteers. We are providing emotional support to the community at large through outreach on social media and our website. Everyone is welcome to visit newbridge.org to learn about a variety of calming techniques. The goal, of course, is for each of us to find balance in the midst of the imbalance. Mental health care is normally a behind-the-scenes endeavor. With worries about sickness and job losses and all the uncertainty of when life can return to normal, mental health must be elevated as a priority. I am inspired and humbled to work with a staff who exude a can do attitude no matter the circumstances. When you give thanks to essential workers, please give a quiet nod to the mental health care professionals, too. Michelle Borden, CEO, NewBridge Services, Pequannock Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. The Star-Ledger/NJ.com encourages submissions of opinion. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. More Chinese travelers have booked trips that are within three hours driving distance ahead of the five-day Labor Day holiday in May. Farmyards where tourists can cook a barbecue, bed-and-breakfast homestay villages, and various resorts are the most popular accommodations. With the coronavirus outbreak steadily receding in China, travelers are confident about stepping out again by taking short trips to neighboring areas. More than 80 million people are expected to travel during the May holiday, and the number will be double that of the three-day Tomb Sweeping break in early April, according to China's largest online travel agency Trip.com Group. Traveling abroad though has come to a standstill as the epidemic has hit other countries and regions. Instead, the focus has shifted to domestic trips. Nationwide, the hottest destinations include the Taiping National Forest Park in Shaanxi province, the Mutianyu Great Wall in Beijing, the Huangshan Mountain in Anhui province, and the Wuyi Mountain in Fujian province. Those who have booked four- and five-star hotels accounts for 55 percent of the total, Trip.com found. In the past week, the number of hotel bookings in Tianjin municipality surged 70 percent over the previous week. Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei province announced they would recognize the health status of people commuting in the region to help facilitate travel, said Beijing-based online travel service provider Qunar. In the same period, tourist cities Qinhuangdao and Chengde in Hebei province saw their hotel bookings jump 40 percent week-on-week. Safety, sanitary conditions and contactless services are the key buzzwords that travelers search for the most, Qunar found. "Many families have rented SUVs and business vehicles online. Given the freedom, cleanness and privacy, car rentals have become one of the fast-growing business segments," said Gou Zhipeng, vice-president of Qunar. "Recreational vehicles that include living quarters have become more prevalent for the Labor Day holiday. Some camping bases in suburban Beijing have been largely reserved," he said. Still, traveling by RV remains a niche sector in China, and many people lack enough understanding of the style points for such a trip. In fact, the offering of camping bases and other related infrastructure has been quite mature in the country, and a regular Class C driver's license in China will allow one to drive most RVs. The rental price of a homemade RV is wallet-friendly, and the rental market is mature. RV trips are foreseen to be more prevalent in the next few years, said Xu Yang, brand director of Jiangsu Jinghang Automobile Co Ltd, China News Service reported. Targeted support policies introduced in many places across the country have brought vitality to the tourism market. More than 20 provinces and cities, including Huzhou in Zhejiang province and Changzhou in Jiangsu province have issued travel vouchers to local residents. Sightseeing spots should be opened in a limited, orderly manner with the number of tourists not exceeding 30 percent of the maximum approved capacity to prevent a recurrence of the epidemic, the Ministry for Culture and Tourism and the National Health Commission said. Kokomo police said officers were sent to a Walmart around 3 p.m. Saturday and found a 29-year-old male with several gunshot wounds following a fight inside the store. The Pickard Street mill and overlay project will begin on April 27th and continue until approximately June 19th. According to a press release from the City of Mt. Pleasant, the existing asphalt between Bradley and Mission Streets will be milled and a new layer of asphalt will be applied to the roadway. Pickard Street, between Bradley and Mission Streets, will be closed to through traffic and only open to local traffic with access to businesses along this corridor. Once paving is finished, lanes will be remarked following the current four-lane configuration. Sidewalk ramp replacements to meet barrier-free requirements will be completed. Existing curbs and gutters will remain in place. This civil construction project is classified as critical work as outlined in Governor Whitmers Executive Order 2020-42. For more information, visit mt-pleasant.org. Fourteen years after they met, and Salma Hayek is as besotted as ever with husband Francois-Henri Pinault . The Academy Award-nominated actress uploaded a gallery of throwback photos on Saturday, showing her in a fabulous hot pink dress as the couple danced the night away . The Frida star, 53, mentioned the occasion for the post in her caption - the 14th anniversary of when she first met her dashing French billionaire, now 57. Love, trilingually: Salma's heartfelt message to her beau, in English, French and Spanish And while it wasn't immediately clear whether the pictures were from the night they met, the electricity between the dancing pair is undeniable in the images. 'Today 14 years ago I met my soul mate,' Hayek wrote in the tri-lingual caption on Instagram. 'After the test of time and even the test of the quarantine I feel very blessed that Ive found you, and the more I discover you the more my love grows' Salma continued. Longtime loves: Salma Hayek uploaded a gorgeous gallery of throwback photos on Saturday, on the occasion of the 14th anniversary of when she first met her dashing French billionaire husband Francois-Henri Pinault; seen here in Los Angeles last November 'Happy anniversary Mi Amor,' she concluded, adding a revolving hearts emoji and the hashtags #love #soulmate at the end. Salma's dress in the gallery of images is a partially sheer hot pink number with a black belt, and a skirt that twirled magnificently with her every move. Hayek is a celebrated actress of Mexican descent, who married Pinault, the CEO of Kering and president of Groupe Artemis, in 2009. The pair have one daughter together, Valentina Paloma, 12. Salma's romantic post comes after she recently recalled an incident with a severely inappropriate film director, who told the Like a Boss actress to 'sound dumber and speak faster.' Hayek recounted the moment during an interview with Total Film magazine, in which she lamented that her natural and learned talents in acting weren't often put to good use in Hollywood: 'Unfortunately, I never had a lot of chances to do parts where I could use a lot of the things I learned.' Hundreds form kilometer-long lines at these semi-automated rice distribution centers, which offer free helpings of the Vietnamese staple food to furloughed and laid-off workers struggling to feed their families. Begun by Ho Chi Minh City entrepreneur Hoang Tuan Anh earlier this month, each person is allowed 1.5 kilograms of rice twice a day by queuing up -- and maintaining social distance -- at the machines. Behind the machine, the rice is stored in giant elevated vats and funneled through plastic pipes into bags carried by individuals. When an individual presses the button on rice ATM, a volunteer gets an alert on an app on his or her smartphone to release the rice. Anhs first machine, located in Ho Chi Minh Citys densely-packed Tan Phu District that is home to many workers from rural provinces, dispensed 5 tons of rice in the first two days of operation, the Thanh Nien newspaper reported. Since it went into service April 6, other businesses and donors have followed by setting up these machines elsewhere in the nations commercial hub, as well as in the capital of Hanoi and other cities across the country. These rice ATMs are attracting Vietnamese struggling during the governments partial economic shutdown to contain the virus. The social distancing mandate, which required most people to stay at home, was lifted April 23 for the majority of the nation. But the economic damage from the lockdown and global outbreak continues to ripple across the Southeast Asian country. Vietnams government says about 5 million workers have been furloughed or laid off due to the fallout from the novel coronavirus outbreak. Its social distancing order went into effect April 1, allowing only businesses providing essential services to remain open. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved a 62 trillion dong ($2.6 billion) aid package April 10 for Vietnamese struggling economically during the pandemic. Anh, whose business of smart home services is also struggling, wants to open 100 rice ATMs around Ho Chi Minh City. He says he plans to maintain them for two months after the outbreak subsides in Vietnam, according to Thanh Nien newspaper. Bloomberg EUGENE, Ore. -- A semi-truck hit the guard rail on I-5 North, at milepost 190, and overturned, leaving the highway scattered with pamphlets the semi-truck was previously carrying, and traffic backed up on Saturday. Eugene Springfield Fire said that the semi-truck had hit the guard rail and stretched it across the road, so they used hydraulic tools to cut the guard rail and clean up the scattered paper to let the cars through. Fire officials report there were no injuries. Eugene Springfield Fire was assisted by the Oregon State Police and ODOT. Elderly coronavirus patients in care homes should be evacuated to the empty Nightingale hospitals, MP demanded yesterday. At least 7,500 elderly residents have died from coronavirus amidst warnings that the virus was a potential disaster for the caring sector. Scientists initially warned the government that hospitals would not be able to cope with the influx of patients. The Nightingale hospitals were built as a response to these statements. Speaking to Freddie Sayers of the Unherd website, Imperial University's Dr Neil Ferguson repeated these claims saying: 'We got quite close to (the NHS) being overwhelmed in the UK.' A photo showing the empty interior of the NHS Nightingale Hospital in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, which is one of a network of seven sites providing surge capacity across England 'At the peak a few weeks ago there were hospitals across London who could basically take no one else. But as a nation, we acted in time to prevent the health system from being overwhelmed. 'You just need to talk to intensive care physicians in London where things got pretty close.' Acting on this type of advice doctors told care home carers not to take residents to hospital if they fall ill. But the predictions that hospitals would be overrun may have been overstated. Now Labour's shadow minister for care and older people, Liz Kendall, is urging the Government not to waste any more time and to use empty Nightingale hospitals to stop the virus spreading among 500,000 residents and staff. Despite the publicity surrounding them, the NHS Nightingale hospitals have treated very few patients Ms Kendall said: 'We have to provide alternative care. There's a real urgent need to look at any spare capacity there is at facilities like the Nightingale hospitals to see if they can care for residents. 'Care home staff are being asked to do extraordinary things. They're very skilled - but we need to make sure that care homes are not turned into hospices because that's not what they are there for.' Mistakes Ms Kendall added: 'The NHS has done very well on ramping up critical care bed capacity, emptying beds and changing care pathways so that there is extra capacity in hospitals. 'If there is free capacity in the NHS, including in NHS Nightingale hospitals, the Government should explore whether elderly and disabled people with Covid could be treated there to help limit the spread of the virus in care homes. More empty beds in an NHS Nightingale hospital despite the huge capacities they have 'The failure of testing elderly people who have been discharged as well as the appalling lack of PPE for care homes is what has caused this terrible toll of deaths. The Government must do everything to make sure they do not repeat the mistakes of the past.' The ten recently built emergency facilities, seven in England and one each in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, have a total of 11,000 beds. NHS England has refused to reveal how many beds are spare, however, London's ExCel Centre Nightingale which has 4,000 beds has treated only 41 patients. The make-shift field hospital has been branded a 'waste of money' and a 'publicity stunt' since it was built as so few patients have been treated in them. Meanwhile, more than 7,500 OAPs are believed to have died in the UK in care homes since the pandemic hit with doctors warning them not to come to hospital if residents fall ill and GPs in some areas refusing to visit them. A photo from NHS England of the new NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and Humber Staff have complained that a lack of PPE, the movement of agency staff between homes and years of austerity have exacerbated the crisis. Daily death rate figures released by the NHS only count hospital deaths, which appear to be falling, but there are fears that the true number of deaths in care homes may soon outstrip these. Labour MP Peter Kyle, who has campaigned to highlight this crisis, said: 'I'm in touch with many care homes and they are telling me their biggest stress is when someone becomes symptomatic as it's almost impossible to isolate everyone. 'Remember that some people in nursing homes and care homes will have varying degrees of dementia. An NHS worker outside the Nightingale Emergency Hospital London 'Without using inhumane and probably illegal methods of restraint it's simply not possible to isolate them in the way you would others. Therefore people who are symptomatic need to be distanced effectively. If that means being creative and using Nightingale hospitals, what's stopping us? During this crisis, hospitals have been allowed to re-invent themselves, while care homes are in a straitjacket.' Melanie Henwood, an independent health and social care consultant, said: 'Increasingly, it is being reported GPs are not visiting care homes and that residents who become infected will not be taken to hospital.' Care industry chiefs are now calling for elderly patients being discharged from hospital to be sent to sites like the Nightingale before going to homes to limit the risk of infection. Nadra Ahmed, from the National Care Association, said: 'It's a sensible move. It's one that would allay fears as well as protect people. That way at least we would know that people moving into the care services are Covid-19 free.' You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close By PTI .NEW DELHI: A 30-year-old Pakistan national has been apprehended by the Border Security Force (BSF) along the international border in Punjab on Sunday, officials said. The man has been nabbed by the force at around 10 am from near the Hussainiwala India-Pakistan retreat ceremony area in Ferozepur sector. The man, being grilled by a joint team of the paramilitary force, intelligence and state police officials, had reportedly crossed over the border and came up to the fence when a BSF patrol intercepted him, they said. The man has informed the officials that his name is Shabaz and he is a resident of Pindi village in Kasur district of Pakistan. Six face masks, few empty plastic bottles and a matchstick has been recovered from the man, they added. It is a race in which the prize could hardly be greater the dash to find a vaccine. There will be no true exit from the coronavirus disaster without one. The runners and riders include such familiar names as GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi, Imperial College and Oxford University's Jenner Institute. There has been an impressive level of information sharing around the world and credit must go to Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates and his efforts to promote fair manufacture and distribution when, finally, a vaccine emerges. Defence Committee Chair Tobias Ellwood It is a race in which the prize could hardly be greater the dash to find a vaccine. There will be no true exit from the coronavirus disaster without one It is a good thing that the competition is truly global and a good thing that the news from Britain has been so encouraging, with Imperial and Oxford collaborating to start human trials of a vaccine in record-breaking time. But we should not ignore this awkward fact: China has a head start and stands a strong chance of getting there first. President Xi has harnessed the vast resources of the Chinese state to just this purpose. Hundreds of volunteers have been recruited from Wuhan, the city at the centre of the outbreak. China has been here before with respiratory epidemics particularly SARs, from 2002 to 2004. Leading Chinese company, Sinovac, has already developed a SARs vaccine, completing the first trials before that outbreak had even ended. Such is the trail of economic destruction caused by the latest pandemic, we can now anticipate a world recession compared to the 1930s. Even the smartest of stimulus packages can't truly work until the threat of contagion is removed. And that means finding a vaccine. Despite the obvious need to share the prize across the globe, the lack of international leadership means there are no agreed rules. How and where the vaccine will be manufactured depends on who creates it. And the country that wins not only enjoys the kudos of saving domestic lives, but will give a huge advantage to its own economy. Expect the race to get nasty with data theft and cyber-attacks. It would be a terrible irony if China, the source of the outbreak, were to profit from the chaos it has wrought, but that is its intention. And this life-and-death race for a vaccine throws into sharp relief the wider struggle for global power now under way. We are at a geo-political turning point as China attempts to re-shape the world order to suit itself. It is a moment that the West has long anticipated. Yet, so far, it has failed to act. China still owes the world both an apology for hiding the initial outbreak and an explanation of how it started, but it has wasted no time in exploiting the chaos for its own advantage. And so, as nations struggle with daily new contagion figures and horrific death statistics, China promotes authoritarian governance as the best model to enforce lockdowns and reduce deaths. China likes to claim that it has tamed the disease, producing fanciful data in its support. Even the latest 'correction' of deaths in Wuhan, an upwards revision of 50 per cent to something less than 4,000, seems massively wide of the true mark given that there was no lockdown there for a full six weeks. Mathematical modelling from outside China suggests it should be closer to 40,000. Not that China seems to care. As the world's largest manufacturer of protective equipment, there's lots of 'outreach' to be done. No country struggling with the virus can refuse help right now. China is already promoting vast infrastructure development around the world as part of the Belt and Road initiative, which aims to ease the path of its exports. Now, it is seeking to establish a new 'Health Silk Road', too, in order to create diplomatic bonds of gratitude. It is no coincidence that giant Chinese companies such as Alibaba and Huawei have turned to selling masks, goggles and protective gowns, or that they are delivering vital equipment across Africa. It will do nothing to harm Chinese exports. The global economic devastation caused by Covid-19 should be spurring international collaboration. Instead it has exposed the fragility of those international institutions we normally turn to in times of crisis. It is disappointing that our closest ally, the US, has been absent from the world's stage. President Xi has been only too happy to fill the vacuum. He was already reinterpreting the global economic architecture well before the pandemic, giving China licence to advance its reach well beyond its own shores. Now, with the world caught off guard, China's strategy can accelerate. It wishes not merely to consolidate its grip on power, but to promote both authoritarianism and chaos. It is not as if China will become a global leader in the American mould. It has no desire to upgrade international institutions or uphold the rule of law, merely to take advantage of the situation as it finds it. Last month, for example, China held the presidency of the UN Security Council and ensured that this essential body failed to give public recognition to the existence of Covid-19. The world hardly noticed. The pandemic has not damaged China despite the responsibility it carries. The opposite is happening. China is emerging stronger than ever, wielding its influence faster and more aggressively, filling the void created by other nations as they retreat. We in the West, meanwhile, are left asking how this could possibly have happened. The truth, of course, is that we have failed to show leadership, and never more clearly than right now. Under Donald Trump, the US has decided to leave the stage. Europe hasn't even begun to fill the void. And so China has been given the space and opportunity not merely to recover its prestige, but exploit the pandemic. Covid-19 is adding dangerous momentum towards a process already under way, one which will see the globe breaking into two spheres of competing influences with clashing codes of conduct. Should that happen, conflict is inevitable. Today, we should all heed the echoes of the 1930s, with a rise in nationalism, a global recession and a demise in world order that could easily lead to war. In this context, the race to find a vaccine takes on vast importance, providing economic salvation to those with access, and continued misery to those populations condemned to continue without one. Even if China gets there first, I would urge our own laboratories to continue pursuing our own successful vaccine. But we must look beyond the immediate priorities of health and economics, desperate though they are. And as we work through our own domestic challenges, we must once again be willing to stand firm in defending our values and standards as we did in the 1930s. The Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, speaks of hard questions to be asked of Beijing. We must go further than that. The West needs leadership and a new creative policy towards China. There must be no economic exploitation resulting from this pandemic, especially not from the country that created it. And it is time for Britain, in particular, to act. The world is fast moving into a dangerous new era. If we don't take the initiative as we have done in the past then who will? BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 24 Trend: Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic-Radman had a telephone conversation on the initiative of the Croatian side, Trend reports on April 24 referring to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. Having discussed the prospects of relations, the ministers expressed gratification with bilateral political ties, including high-level mutual visits. At the same time, the importance of further expanding cooperation in the field of economy and trade was emphasized. The parties exchanged the views on relations between Azerbaijan and the European Union, participation in the Eastern Partnership, as well as the issues of cooperation within other international organizations. Touching upon the current global situation, the ministers exchanged views on the measures taken in both countries and on the issues of mutual support in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. In conclusion, Mammadyarov invited his Croatian counterpart to pay an official visit to Azerbaijan and the Croatian foreign minister accepted the offer with pleasure. The date of the visit will be determined through diplomatic channels after the pandemic period. By Shubham Kalia (Reuters) - Virgin Atlantic is still talking with the British government about a bailout package to cope with the devastating effects of the coronavirus outbreak on travel as well as focusing on private sector funding, a company spokeswoman told Reuters. The comments came after the Sunday Telegraph reported https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/04/25/branson-races-find-virgin-atlantic-buyer that founder Richard Branson was seeking a buyer for the airline and had set a May-end deadline for a sale, and that talks with the government for a 500 million pound ($618.35 million) bailout package had been "effectively shelved." The spokeswoman said it was incorrect to say that the company has set a deadline to seek a buyer. "Because of significant costs to our business caused by unprecedented market conditions which the COVID-19 crisis has brought with it, we are exploring all available options to obtain additional external funding," she said. She said talks with the British government were "ongoing and constructive." Virgin Atlantic is based in Britain and is 51% owned by Branson's Virgin group and 49% owned by U.S. airline Delta . The pandemic has lead to a massive fall in global air travel demand. Australia's second-biggest airline Virgin Australia Holdings , which is a part of Virgin Group, has already succumbed to third-party led restructuring that could lead to a sale. Earlier in the week, Branson had said that Virgin Atlantic would only survive the outbreak if it gets financial support from the UK government. "This would be in the form of a commercial loan it wouldn't be free money and the airline would pay it back," Branson said in a blog post to staff last Monday. In its report, the Sunday Telegraph quoted sources as saying that Lansdowne Partners, Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek and Northill Capital were among the investors interested in rescuing the airline. U.S. based Centerbridge Partners and Cerberus Capital Management were also in discussions, it said. Story continues The interested companies can offer to structure a rescue by injecting debt, equity or convertible loans, which could leave Branson with no residual stake in the airline, according to the sources cited in the report. The deal options also include putting the company into administration, it added. (Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 26) More hospitals are launching their own convalescent plasma therapy programs for COVID-19 patients, encouraged by early results from test cases. Health Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire confirmed on Sunday that apart from the Philippine General Hospital, the St. Luke's Medical Center has also started using the plasma procedure, an approach global experts say can potentially increase the chances of other patients' recovery. Currently, plasma donations given out at St. Luke's will be used for the treatment of severe or critically ill COVID-19 patients. Vergeire, citing reports from the hospital's doctors, said patients who have undergone the plasma therapy showed progress in their condition. "Ayon sa St. Luke's, kinakitaan nila na patuloy ang pagbuti ng kondisyon ng mga pasyenteng sumailalim sa convalescent plasma therapy. Dagdag pa ng pamunuan ng hospital, na handa silang ibigay ang serbisyong ito sa ibang hospital, para matulungan ang ibang hospital para maisagawa ang convalescent plasma procedure," Vergeire said in a virtual press briefing. [Translation: According to St. Luke's, they saw continuous progress in the conditions of patients who underwent the convalescent plasma therapy. The hospital management added that they're ready to perform the service for other hospitals, so that they can also utilize the procedure.] The health official said the Lung Center of the Philippines is also currently calling for plasma donations from COVID-19 survivors for the facility's own convalescent plasma program. A number of recovered patients, including Senators Sonny Angara and Juan Miguel Zubiri, have donated their blood plasma in a bid to help fellow patients. Experts contend that the blood of patients who have survived the disease contain antibodies that could help others fight the infection. FAST FACTS: Donating blood plasma for COVID-19 patients The Philippines has recorded 7,579 cases of the infectious disease, including 501 fatalities and 862 recoveries. With the price of oil plummeting amidst a trade war between producing countries, production is slowing to a halt in southwestern Manitobas oilpatch. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 25/4/2020 (627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us A gas flare at a battery south of Waskada is framed by pumpjacks earlier this year. (File) With the price of oil plummeting amidst a trade war between producing countries, production is slowing to a halt in southwestern Manitobas oilpatch. Melita Resources, which operates 50 wells in the province, will be shutting-in the majority of its wells by the end of the month due to the low price, according to company CEO Greg Barrows. The current situation is the worst the company has seen since it opened in 2012, he said. Shutting-in is an industry term meaning that a well is closed off to cease production. This is usually done to limit supply in the face of dropping prices. Barrows said the West Texas Intermediary price, coupled with the discount Canadian producers typically have to offer, means the real-world price for oil in Canada is approximately $2.45 a barrel for May. He estimates that 50 to 60 per cent of the wells in the region will end up shut-in at minimum. Depending on conditions, it costs between $10 and $15 a barrel to extract oil, Barrows said. While the current price isnt that low, the low futures price means Melita Resources would be extracting oil at a heavy loss in May. The companys current workforce isnt that large, but a lack of extraction plus a halt to drilling new wells means there will be a knock-on effect because Melita Resources wont be hiring the outside contractors it normally does. "That trickles through to every (person) out involved in that service industry, that service the wells, that either haul tank truck oil, provide chemicals, all the work around that." When drilling is occurring, Barrows said, they have up to 80 people working for them. "When the wells shut-in, therell be virtually no work," he said. He figures there will be little to no production from May through July. While the provinces weekly well reports are only updated to March 30, the statistics show there was already a decline in drilling at that point compared to the same point last year. At the end of March 2019, 46 drilling licences had been issued with 73 wells having been drilled. At the same point this year, only 34 licences had been issued and only 65 had been drilled. The last time Melita Resources drilled a well was in December 2019. Barrows said they were scheduled to drill another eight to 10 wells in August but those will likely be cancelled. "The drop in the price of oil over the past year, in combination with the impacts of COVID-19, has placed stress on the sector, and as a result we do expect to see a slowdown in production," a provincial spokesperson told the Sun. "However, the province is optimistic that the recent federal support programs announced can be applied to industry in Manitoba, and we will work with our industry associations and stakeholders to ensure maximum benefits are achieved." The federal government announced $1.7 billion in funds to clean up orphaned wells earlier this month, but that was only targeted at British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Barrows said he wasnt optimistic that other supports for the industry would be offered by either the province or the federal government. He said that frequently, there isnt a lot of sympathy for oil companies in down times but wants people to know that when companies hurt, the workers and the communities they support hurt as well. Speaking to the Sun by phone on Friday, Municipality of Two Borders Reeve Debbie McMechan said the downturn in the industry is concerning because the municipality gets approximately 30 per cent of its revenue from the oil-producing rate payers. "Its sort of a double-whammy, because the factors that were causing the low prices earlier a month ago have been really compounded with this latest go-around." Both McMechan and RM of Brenda Waskada head of council Jordan Morningstar said theyd heard that major industry player Tundra Oil & Gas, which has a Virden office, had been forced to shut-in many of its wells. McMechan added shed heard that contract workers werent being used and that Tundra had also laid off employees. "At this time, we wont be providing any comments," a spokesperson from Tundra said in response to a request for comment. cslark@brandonsun.com Twitter: @ColinSlark Members and supporters of the BJP's West Bengal unit on Sunday held a silent sit-in at their homes in protest against alleged mismanagement by the state government in tackling the coronavirus crisis. State BJP chief Dilip Ghosh, Bankura MP Subhas Sarkar, along with other workers, held placards in hand during the sit-in at their respective residences from 11 am to 1 pm, alleging suppression of COVID-19 facts and figures by the Mamata Banerjee-led dispensation, sources in the party said. "The Trinamool Congress government is hiding facts and there is no clarity on the COVID-19 situation, and the extent to which the disease has spread in Bengal," said one of the leaders who participated in the protest. At some places, groups of saffron party workers and supporters were seen sitting on rooftops, maintaining safe distance from one another. The state BJP president, donning a mask, held posters that demanded an explanation from the state government for alleged mishandling of the crisis. Ghosh had earlier accused the TMC government of "discrimination" against saffron party workers. While the TMC leaders and ministers were busy working in the midst of people amid the lockdown, leaders of other parties, especially those from the BJP, were being prevented from stepping out of their homes to help the masses, he had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On Monday, state parks will again open their gates, though visitors will have to wear masks or face coverings and keep at least six feet away from other visitors who aren't members of their families. Starting Wednesday, in a bow to doctors and hospitals, restrictions on elective procedures and surgeries will be loosened. He cited biopsies for cancer as one example. Starting April 24, retailers who previously were considered nonessential may begin providing pickup service or home delivery for customers[.] While Texas is one of the more aggressive states in its reopening schedule, one town has made the decision to outpace even Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's ambitious timeline. Colleyville, Texas has become the first city in the state to reopen several "non-essential" businesses and organizations, including churches, gyms and salons. The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.The L.A. Times describes the response to Mayor Newton's proclamation as fraught withfrom county authorities, mayors from neighboring towns, and some residents from the small town of 27,000 people,- while a about half of the residents who responded to a Facebook poll supported reopening.Southlake Mayor Karen Hill said businesses from her city are "panicking."said Hill, as reported by the L.A. Times.A local emergency room doctor also sounded the alarm, sayingOthers, including Tarrant County's executive officer Glen Whitley, are questioning if Newtown's order is even legal. But the Texas attorney general's office shot down that concern, saying Colleyville could reopen at its own pace.the L.A. Times notes.said Newton.the L.A. Times reports.Newton says he issued the proclamation after city leaders examined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's models and found that the area had reached its peak infections and only half of the local hospital beds were occupied. The city is following the CDC's recommendation, he said.the L.A. Times reports.As reported by the Dallas Morning News , Gov. Abbott announced last week the formation of a "Strike Force to Open Texas," made up of "a team of nationally recognized medical experts as well as private and public leaders," and released dates in which parks and some businesses and organizations would be allowed to reopen in the state:Abbott said in a statement Friday. The gradual reopening, he stressed, will be FILE PHOTO: Oil tanker is seen at a crude oil terminal in Ningbo Zhoushan port (This April 26 story corrects Iran imports to 255,779 tonnes, down 88.9%, in paragraph 10, not 2.558 million tonnes and up 11.3%) BEIJING/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - China's March crude oil imports from top supplier Saudi Arabia fell 1.6% from a year earlier, while purchases from No.2 supplier Russia rose 31%, Reuters' calculations based on customs data showed on Sunday. China's March crude oil imports rose 4.5% year on year to 9.68 million barrels per day (bpd) as refiners stocked up on cheaper cargoes despite falling domestic fuel demand and cuts in refining rates due to the impact the COVID-19 pandemic. Shipments from Saudi Arabia were 7.21 million tonnes, or 1.7 million bpd, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. That was down from 1.73 million bpd a year earlier and average daily imports of 1.79 million bpd during the first two months of this year. Russia supplied 7.02 million tonnes last month, or 1.66 million bpd, down from 1.71 million bpd recorded for the first two months, the data showed. While state refiners mostly maintained deep production cuts in March to reduce their fuel stocks, independent plants cranked up run rates as the oil price plunge triggered partly by Saudi and Russian pledges to increase supply boosted refining margins. Saudi Arabia and other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries as well as other producers have since reached a new agreement on output cuts, helping to lift oil prices off historical lows but with many saying that deeper reductions will be needed. China's imports from the United States remained close to zero in March. After falling last year because of the U.S.-China trade war, they are expected to pick up later in 2020 after Beijing started granting tariff waivers on U.S. goods including crude oil from early March. There were no shipments from Venezuela for a fifth month in a row, as China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) [CNPET.UL], Caracas's top oil client, steered clear of Venezuelan crudes to avoid violating secondary U.S. sanctions. Story continues Also, data showed China's imports from Iran at 255,779 tonnes, down 88.9% from a year earlier. Below are details of imports from China's key suppliers. Volumes are in million tonnes, with the percentage changes calculated by Reuters. (Reporting by Muyu Xu in Beijing and Chen Aizhu in Singapore; editing by Tom Hogue and Jason Neely) GRANITE FALLS - The Town of Granite Falls Electric Department has earned the American Public Power Associations Safety Award of Excellence for safe operating practices in 2019. The utility earned a first-place award in Category A for electric utilities based on having no days away from work and no medical treatment cases in over 12,400 worker exposure hours in 2019. Strong safety programs are essential to ensuring that electric utility employees are informed and trained on safe work procedures, said Brandon Wylie, chair of the Associations Safety Committee and Director of Training & Safety at Electric Cities of Georgia. The utilities receiving this award have proven that protecting the safety of their employees is a top priority. More than 335 utilities entered the annual Safety Awards, which is the highest number of entrants in the history of the program. Entrants were placed in categories according to their number of worker-hours and ranked based on the most incident-free records during 2019. The incidence rate, used to judge entries, is based on the number of work-related reportable injuries or illnesses and the number of worker-hours during 2019, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). As many as 53 residents of Uttar Pradesh, who were working as labourers in Haryana arrived in Etah district on Sunday, where they were screened for coronavirus and quarantined, a senior state government official said. Briefing reporters in the state capital here, Awasthi said, "On Sunday, over 9,800 workers hailing from different districts of Uttar Pradesh and working in Haryana will be coming back." According to Etah District Magistrate Sukhlal Bharti, as many as 214 workers working in the neighbouring state and hailing from Etah district are to come back to the district in nine buses. Lunch packs were served to those who had returned following which they were quarantined at JDH Degree College located on Agra Road. The Etah DM also said instructions have been issued to all the officials and workers at the quarantine centre to ensure that the labourers, who have come from Haryana, do not "run away" from the centre and that the labourers do not face any problems there, Additional Chief Secretary (Home and Information) Awanish Awasthi said. On April 25, the UP government began bringing back the state's native workers stranded elsewhere in the country amid the COVID-19 lockdown and has ensured the return of 2,224 of them in the first phase, a senior official had said. While briefing reporters on Saturday, the additional chief secretary had said the first batch of workers was brought back in 82 buses from Haryana on Saturday, and 11,000 workers were to return by Sunday. All the returning workers are to be lodged for a 14-day quarantine period. "Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had issued directions to bring back labourers belonging to UP from other states in a phased manner. In this regard, on Saturday as many as 2,224 labourers were brought back in 82 buses from Haryana. These labourers hail from 16 districts of western UP," Awasthi said. Orders have been issued to prepare shelter homes in the state on a massive scale so that the returnees can be quarantined there. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Pia Ohlin (Agence France-Presse) Stockholm, Sweden Sun, April 26, 2020 17:17 626 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd4582e7 2 Books Per-Olov-Enquist,obituary,Sweden,Book,Literature,author,novelist Free Per Olov Enquist, one of Sweden's most acclaimed authors who wrote The Visit of the Royal Physician, has died aged 85, his family told Swedish media on Sunday. The patriarch of 20th century Scandinavian literature, Enquist is known for powerful stories that weave his own melancholic life into the dark side of history. In his more than 20 novels, plays and essays, he drew heavily on his own experience as an oppressed child in a strictly religious home, as an athlete, a journalist and a destructive alcoholic, his leftwing convictions filling his writings. Born in 1934 in Hjoggbole in Sweden's far north, his books -- including The Crystal Eye (1961), The Parable Book (2013), The Magnetist's Fifth Winter (1964) and The March of the Musicians (1978) -- have been translated into a dozen languages. He won the 2001 August Prize, Swedish literature's top honor, for The Visit of the Royal Physician, which earned him broad international acclaim and tells the story of a romance between the physician of the mad Danish King Christian VII and the queen. Enquist, known in Sweden by his initials P.O., won a second August award for his autobiography A Different Life (2008), its name an homage to A Life by August Strindberg, the father of modern Swedish literature. "P.O. Enquist's importance for Swedish cultural life since the 1960s can't be exaggerated. He was the model for the socially-engaged poet who influenced generations of younger writers. It feels empty and unthinkable that he is gone," wrote Bjorn Wiman, culture editor of the Dagens Nyheter newspaper, on Sunday. His publisher Norstedts also posted a memoriam on its website: "Few have, like him, inspired other writers, renewed the documentary novel, revitalized Swedish drama and touched readers for more than half a century." The process of writing A Different Life, he said, allowed him to work through and leave behind painful memories of sleeping in a bed meant for his still-born brother, of the void left by a father who died when he was not yet a year old, and of a strict mother who pushed him to invent sins to confess. Known for his Gregory Peck-like frown and silver crown in his later years, Enquist broke free from his family, competing in high jump in high school before attending Uppsala University, where he discovered journalism and writing. He just missed qualifying for the Rome Olympics in the high jump in 1960. But as a journalist he covered the 1972 Munich Olympics when Palestinian militants took hostage and then killed members of the Israeli team. Enquist's transition to adulthood was scarred by depression, self-doubt and existential questions. He was 18 years old when Swedish author Stig Dagerman, whom Enquist admired, published Our Need for Consolation is Insatiable (1952). Enquist was 20 when Dagerman committed suicide. "I think I wanted to be a writer all my life and I didn't give up," he told AFP in a 2011 interview, even though "it wasn't so easy to survive" much of the time. An entire wall of his large Stockholm apartment at the time was taken up with a bookshelf containing his poetry, plays, novels and fairytales, in the original Swedish as well as English, French, German, Russian and other translations. "It's my egocentric bookshelf," he said with a laugh. "Every time I feel depressed that I'm not doing anything, I look at this bookshelf and say to myself 'well, that is seven metres (yards) and I have done a little bit, so I can die'." Swedish literary critic Per Svensson said Enquist "finds executioners, victims and traitors wherever they are in the world, in history and literature, to bring them back to his village. "And the result is magnificent," Svensson said. Enquist battled alcoholism for several years. After two failed attempts to kick the habit, and after not writing anything for 13 years, he succeeded on the third try after convincing his caregivers to let him use his computer and discovering to his delight that "I was still a writer". "The most terrible thing about being a writer is not to write but to not write." Taiwan calls for restraint in South China Sea ROC Central News Agency 04/25/2020 01:30 PM Taipei, April 25 (CNA) Taiwan's government has reasserted its sovereignty over the South China Sea and called on all claimants of the disputed waters to exercise restraint amid rising tensions. In a statement released late Friday, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) expressed "stern protest and concerns" on the actions and statements of some countries in the region pertaining to the South China Sea. The MOFA reiterated that the Republic of China (ROC), the formal name of Taiwan, has "indisputable rights" over South China Sea features and their surrounding waters under international law. The statement did not mention any specific countries or incidents. It was issued after a series of recent incidents that has caused tensions to rise in the region. Around mid-April, a Chinese government survey ship and an exploration vessel operated by Malaysia's state oil company Petronas engaged in a standoff in waters near Malaysia, prompting two American military ships to sail near the area. On April 18, China announced the establishment of two administrative units on islands in the South China Sea, involving the Paracel islands and the Spratly islands, which drew protests from Hanoi, which said Beijing's move violated Vietnam's sovereignty. Four days later, the Philippine government lodged two protests against China, one for the pointing of a Gun Control Director (GCD) by a Chinese military ship at a Philippine navy vessel in "Philippine waters" in February and another for Beijing declaring an area Manila sees as "Philippine territory" as part of China's Hainan Province on April 18. "The ROC government urges all parties concerned to exercise restraint and refrain from taking unilateral actions that could elevate tensions in the region," the MOFA statement said. "It also solemnly protests and calls for an immediate stop to any actions that infringe upon ROC sovereignty over the South China Sea." The Taiwan government maintained that disputes in the South China Sea should be resolved by setting aside differences and promoting joint development, adding that it is willing to participate in regional consultation mechanisms regarding the disputes. Taiwan, Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have been locked in overlapping claims over the South China Sea for decades. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to which Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam are members, are currently negotiating with China for a Code of Conduct to regulate actions in the South China Sea. Taiwan was not invited to be part of the negotiations due to the so called "One-China Policy" being observed by the other claimants and most governments worldwide. (By Emerson Lim) Enditem/cs NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address MEXICO CITY - Mexico has nearly emptied the 65 migrant detention centres it has across the country by returning 3,653 people to Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, the National Migration Institute said Sunday, adding the move should help avoid COVID-19 outbreaks in the once-crowded facilities. The institute said in a statement that only 106 migrants remain in the centres, which have a capacity for 8,524 migrants. While in March they were filled to less than half their capacity, before that there were complaints of overcrowding and poor hygiene conditions, especially last spring. Various migrant rights and international groups had urged Mexico to release the mainly Central American migrants to avoid an outbreak of the new coronavirus. Mexico began to empty the centres on March 21 in line with policies issued by United Nations agencies, but border closures by the governments of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador delayed returns, the institute said. In the return process, Mexicos government prioritized minors, the elderly, families, pregnant women and migrants with risks of chronic diseases. Mexicos justice system this month issued a resolution demanding the release of all migrants in vulnerable situations. Mexicos migration agency said it does not handle the transfer of Mexican nationals returned by the United States but made no reference to Central Americans returned by U.S. authorities to Mexico. Iran witnessing 'declining trend' in coronavirus deaths, infections Iran Press TV Saturday, 25 April 2020 10:30 AM Iran's Health Ministry says the country is witnessing a "declining trend" in the number of fatalities and cases of new coronavirus infections as a result of bilateral cooperation between the people and the government. Iraj Harirchi, the deputy minister of health, announced in Tehran Saturday that more than 50 percent of coronavirus cases, and about 70 percent of coronavirus-related deaths have decreased across the country. "There is a declining trend in corona disease in most provinces and this has been the result of effective actions by the people and the government," Harirchi said. "I would like to emphasize that at a time when smart and gradual social distancing takes place, any violation can have serious and irreparable consequences," he added. The deputy health minister also predicted that there would be "two to three outbreaks" over a year in most of the world's countries before the discovery of corona vaccines and drugs, underlining that people should stick to the stay-at-home slogan and avoid unnecessary commuting. Rouhani: People should continue to take warnings seriously In a meeting of senior officials in charge of the National Headquarters for Managing and Fighting the Coronavirus in Tehran on Saturday, President Hassan Rouhani expressed optimism that the chain of transmission would break "to some extent" in the country as long as people continue to follow the guidelines drawn up by the government. "We are on the path to control the disease but if the level of warnings and awareness of the people decreases, the disease may peak," Rouhani said. "In this situation, we have to reinstate the restrictions. Of course, we hope that people will continue to take warnings seriously and not leave home except for their livelihood." "The path to fighting and controlling this disease definitely cannot be traversed without the support of the people." Iran's Health Ministry announced a day earlier that the country was no longer "in the red" as the daily death toll from the coronavirus had begun to slow. Kianoush Jahanpour, the health ministry's spokesman, said on Friday that 93 people had died in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall death toll since the pandemic first emerged to 5,574. More than 66,000 people were reported to have recovered from the infectious disease. Jahanpour said out of 88,194 confirmed cases, 66,596 patients had been released from hospital and recovered from the illness. "None of our provinces are in the red, but warnings remain, and the situation will not be considered normal at all," the Health Ministry's spokesman tweeted on Friday. Jahanpour called on Iranians to continue to respect social distancing measures, avoid large crowds and frequently wash their hands. Iran has been doing its utmost to contain the respiratory disease caused by COVID-19 despite the hardships caused by US sanctions. The administration of US President Donald Trump has not only defied international calls on Washington in recent weeks to halt the draconian sanctions, but has even slapped more such restrictive measures on the Islamic Republic. Washington re-imposed its sanctions on Iran in May 2018 after unilaterally leaving a historic nuclear accord with the Islamic Republic and other countries that has been endorsed by the UN Security Council. Washington claims that it has exempted foodstuffs and medicine from the bans, something that Tehran entirely disputes. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Philippines extends lockdown in Metro Manila, high-risk COVID-19 areas Global Times Source:Xinhua Published: 2020/4/25 14:26:31 The Philippine government on Friday extended the enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and other high-risk provinces on the main island of Luzon amid the COVID-19 epidemic for two more weeks until May 15. Duterte's decision was announced by presidential spokesperson Harry Roque in a televised briefing on Friday morning. Duterte also accepted the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases to put some provinces in central and southern Philippines under enhanced community quarantine until May 15. Duterte said regions, provinces or areas which are considered with moderate- and low-risk in the spread of COVID-19 will be placed under a general community quarantine (GCQ) starting on May 1. "Areas previously under ECQ but remain under GCQ will allow workers to go out and work in phases. Young people, senior citizens and high health risk would stay at home," Roque said. The Philippines now has 6,981 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 462 deaths and 722 recoveries. The densely populated Metro Manila, home to nearly 13 million people, has the most number of cases. Duterte imposed strict confinement measures in Luzon in mid-March to contain the spread of the virus, including sweeping restrictions on travel and mass gatherings, and the closure of schools and non-essential businesses. He asked people to stay at home. He also asked the military and police to prepare for a stricter enforcement of quarantine rules. The Luzon-wide quarantine was originally scheduled to end in mid-April but Duterte extended it to April 30. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Coronavirus India: After a nurse tested positive for coronavirus on late Saturday evening, Hindu Rao Hospital in North Delhi has been sealed until it is completely sanitised and all the people who came in contact with her are traced. Hindu Rao Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in North Delhi, has been sealed after a nurse tested positive for novel coronavirus-COVID-19 on Saturday. The nurse was at duty in different sections of the hospital since past 2 weeks. As a precautionary measure, the hospital administration has decided to seal the entire hospital until sanitization and contact tracing is complete. North Delhi Municipal Commissioner Dr Varsha Joshi told PTI that a nurse at Hindu Rao Hospital was tested positive for coronavirus on late Saturday evening. As a part of her duty, she had been to various locations in the campus over the past two weeks so they have decided to close down the hospital until it is completely santised and everybody who came in contact with the nurse is traced. She added that there seems to be a definite negligence at some part and they will do a through inquiry on it. Dr Varsha Joshi also assured that appropriate arrangements would be made for the patients admitted in the gynaecology ward. Also Read: Coronavirus update: Total cases in India cross 26000 with toll at 824 Delhi's Hindu Rao Hospital has been sealed temporarily after a nurse of the hospital tested positive for #Coronavirus. The hospital will remain sealed until the completion of the sanitization and contact tracing process. ANI (@ANI) April 25, 2020 Also Read: Coronavirus: Following MHAs order, Jammu and Kashmir government permits standalone shops to open In the last 24 hours, 111 new cases and 1 death have been reported in Delhi. The total number of cases has reached 2625 and the death toll has risen to 54. About 95 areas in the National Capital have been identified as containment zones. Earlier this week, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged recovered patients to donate plasma in the states fight against coronavirus. Initial trials of plasma therapy give hope https://t.co/8ZQmeCWiPu Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 24, 2020 Also Read: COVID-19: Andhra Pradesh adopts four-pronged strategy to aggressively trace coronavirus suspects, curb virus spread For all the latest National News, download NewsX App (CNN) A few states this weekend are running a tricky experiment: Trying to reopen certain businesses and services amid the coronavirus pandemic, even against the advice of some health experts who say it risks dangerously spiking the number of cases. In Georgia, Tammy Noboa has seized on her state's blessing to open her hair salon after weeks of closure -- and she says deciding to do so wasn't hard. "I have to work. I've got bills to pay," said Noboa, who accepted seven appointments Saturday at her newly reopened Dominican Hair Salon in Douglasville. Georgia is one of the states that allowed some businesses to reopen Friday, weeks after shutting them down to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. More than 53,600 Covid-19 deaths have been reported in the US so far, with more than 200,000 deaths reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. The US has reported more than 938,600 cases of the disease. Georgia businesses allowed to reopen include places where clients and workers get close: barber shops and hair salons, tattoo parlors, gyms and bowling alleys -- with some guidelines for social distancing and sanitation. In Oklahoma, salons, barbershops, spas and pet groomers took appointments Friday, and some state parks and outdoor recreation areas also reopened. The states' moves run counter to the advice of experts who've run a University of Washington model suggesting no state should reopen their economies before May 1 and many should wait longer. Georgia should not begin to reopen until at least June 22, according to those behind the model at the university's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. In the Atlanta-area city of Brookhaven, Mayor John Ernst would rather nonessential businesses stay closed until his state proves it meets federal guidelines, calling for milestones like a 14-day downward trend in coronavirus cases. "Even the (business owners) who open up say, 'I don't know if I'm doing the right thing," Ernst said Saturday. "(Reopening) needs to be an orderly process." Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms bluntly told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Friday evening that people should ignore the governor's plan, saying, "Stay home, nothing has changed." Your coronavirus questions, answered Georgia and Oklahoma aren't alone Besides Georgia and Oklahoma, these states also are easing restrictions: Alaska allowed salons and restaurants to open in many areas Friday, though restaurants must keep distance between tables and can't exceed 25% of their normal capacity. Texas on Friday allowed retail stores to make curbside sales. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer allowed some businesses -- landscapers, lawn-service companies, plant nurseries and bike repair shops -- to reopen Friday, subject to social-distancing rules. Earlier this week, South Carolina retail stores reopened, but can operate only at 20% capacity or five customers per 1,000 square feet. In Iowa, elective surgeries and farmers markets can reopen on Monday. In Tennessee, restaurants can reopen Monday at 50% capacity. Retail stores may reopen Wednesday under the same guideline, state Gov. Bill Lee said. Colorado, Minnesota and Montana also will ease restrictions in varying degrees in the coming week. And other governors are setting dates for when their reopening plans will kick into action. Yet other leaders have stopped short of setting a timeline. In San Francisco, which issued the country's first sweeping stay-at-home order in mid-March, Mayor London Breed said the order is "very likely" to be extended for a few more weeks past May 3. "How we reopen is going to be important to ensuring that we do it responsibly so that we don't go backwards," said Breed, who stressed the importance of having enough PPE, testing and requirements for social distancing. Even some states without reopening plans have decisions to make: More than 10 have stay-at-home orders expiring by the end of next week, though they can be extended. Business owners struggle with reopening decisions Some business owners in Georgia told CNN they felt wary of reopening, but they did so to pay their bills. "I'm at the point where I have to do something ... I'm about to lose my business if I don't," said Tim Timmons, owner of Salon Gloss in Woodstock, on Friday. Hairstylists and barbers in Georgia wore masks and gloves when people arrived for trims and hair colors Friday. Timmons said he put measures in place to guard against the spread of the virus. The salon wasn't running on full staff, and employees stood 14 feet apart. Customers had their temperatures taken when they arrived and were asked if they've come into contact with anyone who's had the virus. But other owners said now wasn't the time to reopen. "I said, 'No, absolutely not. Get your hair done for what?'" Sabrina Watkins said of her hair salon in College Park, an Atlanta suburb. "There's a pandemic, people are dying. As much as I love the business, now is not the time, regardless of who says it is." "No way we're opening back up," said Zeb Stevenson, chef at Atlanta restaurant Redbird. "I don't think it's safe. If we reopened and then had to close back down again it would be a grave situation for the business. Better to wait it out and use science and common sense as a guide." Lequawn James, an Atlanta nurse practitioner and bodybuilder, said Saturday he would not yet visit any reopened gyms. He survived coronavirus after spending 10 days in intensive care. And he's exercising, but alone, with equipment that he's put into a rented storage unit. He said he understands workers' struggles. But he thinks it's too soon to work at or exercise at places like gyms. "I know money is what people need to survive, but you may not be around to spend it if you contract this virus," he said. At a bowling alley in Douglasville, a suburb east of Atlanta, Leon Perpignan was in line 10 minutes before it opened Friday at noon. Typically, he bowls four times a week, he said. About a dozen bowlers were there shortly after opening. "I know a lot of people disagree and say they should have waited," he said, "but I was 100% ready (for this)." "Besides," he added, "all my 'honey-do' lists are done." Southern California beaches are busy In Southern California, the social distancing challenge involved leisure, not business. Crowds descended on Newport Beach as a heat wave hit the region, but most beachgoers appeared to be keeping their distance from each other, police and lifeguards said. Surfer John Ton observed the crowd and said, "I think people should stay home unless they're surfing or exercising or something, and I think it's weird people from out of the state or county are coming." Beaches in Los Angeles and San Diego counties were closed this weekend, but other beaches were open. Hawaii has relaxed beach restrictions, Gov. David Ige said during a Saturday news conference. Beaches are now open for exercise like jogging, running or walking but people cannot loiter on the beach and must maintain social distance, Ige said. Groups of two people or more are now allowed to fish for subsistence or commercial purposed, Ige said. A previous restriction was two or less. Ige said Hawaii has seen a 98% decrease in travelers arriving at airports since the 14-day quarantine rule was put in place. No evidence yet on immunity from a 2nd infection, WHO warns The World Health Organization is warning that it's too early to say whether people who have had Covid-19 are necessarily immune from a second infection. It is urging governments to not yet issue any kind of "immunity certificate" to people who had the disease. "There is no evidence yet that people who have had Covid-19 will not get a second infection," the WHO said in a scientific brief Friday. The WHO published the brief as guidance on how to adjust public health and social measures for the next phases of the Covid-19 response. The health agency said it is reviewing evidence on antibody responses to the novel coronavirus. The brief says "most" studies show that people who have "recovered from infection have antibodies to the virus." But as of Friday, no study has "evaluated whether the presence of antibodies to (the virus) confers immunity to subsequent infection by this virus in humans," the WHO brief says. The US Food and Drug Administration has now authorized three new coronavirus antibody tests, bringing the total number of FDA-authorized tests to seven. The tests were approved under emergency-use authorizations, a lower regulatory standard used when the FDA believes a test's benefits could outweigh any risks. On Saturday, the CEO of a group helping lead the vaccine effort said it might be necessary to start manufacturing coronavirus vaccines even before they have been fully tested to see if they can protect people from infection. Manufacturing could begin even while some of the Covid-19 vaccines are in the first phase of human clinical testing, which is designed to demonstrate only safety, said Dr. Richard Hatchett of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. This plan could cut time without cutting corners or sacrificing efficacy or safety, he said on a National Academy of Sciences Covid-19 Update webcast. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Some states begin to reopen as US closes in on 1 million coronavirus cases." Indeed, Mr. Johnson described himself as leading a wartime government even before he became a casualty of Covid-19. Now the prime minister can even be rated a veteran, mercifully released from hospital treatment to complete his recovery, and his pregnant fiancee, Carrie Symonds, might be classed as collateral damage that horrible 20th-century term, having apparently contracted the disease from her wartime leader. President Trump, more clumsily, has appropriated for himself the title of wartime leader. He even trotted out the much derided Vietnam War trope that he could see light at the end of the tunnel an official lie repeated over and over again back in the 1960s to excuse repeated military failure. Evidently, Mr. Trump was unfamiliar with what the doubters said then: that any light in that tunnel was probably the headlight of an oncoming train. More deserving of respect for their knowledge and courageous experience are the genuine heroes on the front lines in the intensive-care units and the Spaniards and French people, God bless them, who inspired many New Yorkers to publicly applaud their medical personnel daily. Unfortunately, for every self-sacrificing front-line nurse or emergency room doctor, there are also legions of government officials squabbling in an unseemly display of another truism that war brings out the best in men and women, and the worst in their governments and leaders. See, for example, the rhetoric of Mr. Johnson and Mr. Trump. They have chillingly described their efforts as a war against an invisible enemy. So what else is new to any soldier? In war, you fight an invisible enemy whether its a guerrilla in the mountain or the sniper in his hide or a pilot at 10,000 feet, since the whole point of the exercise is to not be seen by your enemies so that you can kill them but they cant kill you. In the war against the coronavirus, this rings particularly true and will do so until we have a vaccine. Does that make this medical war better or worse than a traditional shooting war? About the same. In both, the norms of civilized conduct among people break down and rights quickly go out the window and everyone goes along with that. On the scale of American casualties the coronavirus war is right up there with all of our recent shooting wars. Johns Hopkins has the American death toll at around 45,000 so far, which is not much less than the 20-year tally of Americans who gave their lives in Vietnam and whose names are etched in the Vietnam Memorial Wall: 58,318. Simon Tisdall, a columnist for The Guardian, pointed out a trenchant passage from the French philosopher Albert Camuss novel The Plague: There have been as many plagues in the world as there have been wars, yet plagues and wars always find people equally unprepared. When war breaks out, people say: It wont last long, its too stupid. And war is certainly too stupid, but that doesnt prevent it from lasting. Stupidity always carries doggedly on. Sadly, so do plagues. In Britain, the National Health Service has called for an army of volunteers, especially medical personnel, invoking patriotic propaganda campaigns from the World War II era. Your NHS needs you! the posters read. And as in World War II, there are great hopes that American industrial will again carry the day, this time by churning out tens of thousands of ventilators, millions of face masks, perhaps even billions of quick coronavirus tests and ultimately vaccines. So far, only bits of that have come to pass, amid complaints that front line medical personnel were having to wash their face masks by hand and use plastic trash bags for hospital gowns. When youre at war, you arm troops before they come under fire, Chris Cuomo, a CNN anchor who contracted Covid-19 and is the brother of New York States governor, Andrew Cuomo, lamented on the air. OnePlus is rolling out OxygenOS 10.3.3 update for the OnePlus 6 and 6T which includes April patch New Delhi, Sun, 26 Apr 2020 Deepak Kumar OnePlus is rolling out the latest update of OxygenOS 10.3.3 for its OnePlus 6 and 6T smartphone, which includes the April patch and many other updates. The inclusion of the April 2020 security patch is one of the most important features of this update. This update also comes with the minor tweaks and other improvements. The user of the OnePlus 6 and 6T will be able to update their smartphone with this update to secure their mobile phone along with getting more features and updates. The update includes the April 2020 security patch which is the main event, but there are many other extras coming with the update. This update brings VoLTE and VoWiFi support on the Danish network Telenor, while this update brings VoWifi support on the Indian network Reliance Jio. So, this update brings the faster connectivity over the existing mobile networks. The pre-installed Google Mobile Services package is already update to the February 2020 release, so the Google Mobile Services package is latest. This update also brings CloudService 2.0 update, but it is available for people with the OnePlus 6 and 6T in India. Here are the details of OxygenOS 10.3.3 update: System This update brings the fix for the black screen randomly appearing while playing games issue This update comes with the updated GMS package 2020.02 In this update users will get Android Security Patch 2020.04 There are updates for improved system stability and other general bug fixes Network updates Integrated VoLTE & VoWifi support for Telenor in Denmark Integrated VoWifi support for RJIO in India Cloud Sync updates Updated the CloudService to Version 2.0 and this feature is available only in India Company is going to rollout this update incrementally and soon it will be rolled out in all the region of the world. If this update is available in your region then you will get OTA notification. After getting the OTA notification user can proceed with the installation of this update. Washington, April 26 : Indian-American nonprofit, Indiaspora has raised $1 million to fight hunger among vulnerable populations affected by the coronavirus pandemic in in the US and India, it was reported. Its 'Chalogive for COVID-19' initiative met its initial goal of $1 million, just 10 days after its launch after an outpour of support from the Indian diaspora, the American Bazaar said in a report. The contributions were sent to two beneficiary organizations: Feeding America in the US and Goonj in India. Feeding America has secured 4.7 million meals in the US through Indiaspora's initiative, as every $1 contributed secures 10 meals via the organization's network of 200 food banks, according to an official statement. Goonj, which is using the funds to provide food, dry ration and hygiene kits to displaced migrant labourers in parts of eighteen states in India, has been able to provide sustenance for 106,000 migrants and their families through this initiative so far, the Indiaspora statement said. Each $20 contributed to Goonj feeds a family of four for seven to 10 days. "There was a huge desire in our community to help during this crisis, and we provided an easy way to give. The Indian diaspora stood up and rose to the occasion when the ultimate time of reckoning arrived," The American Bazaar quoted Sanjeev Joshipura, the Executive director of Indiaspora, as saying. One of the largest contributions to the initiative came from Bay-area based volunteer group Aram Sei, whose vision is to support grassroots charities worldwide with specific focus on education and healthcare. "Our team of twelve members is proud to support the ChaloGive fundraiser initiative that helps us make a direct impact to those in need," said Sangeetha Lakshminarayanan, President and Founder of Aram Sei. "We feel fortunate to be able to make a difference in our country of origin and the country we have embraced and made our home." Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, right, speaks in a teleconference with Moody's Managing Director of Global Sovereign Risk Alastair Wilson at the Seoul Government Complex, Friday. Moody's noted that Korea will likely be less affected by the COVID-19 pandemic compared to other economies and that its sovereign rating is expected to remain stable, in the annual meeting that was substituted with the teleconference amid the pandemic. / Courtesy of Finance Ministry Four militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, police said. An encounter broke out between security forces and militants after the ultras fired upon a patrolling party of the security forces at Guddar in the Devsar area of the south Kashmir district Sunday evening, a police official said. He said the security forces retaliated and in the ensuing encounter, four militants were killed. The identity and group affiliation of the slain militants is being ascertained, the official said. With these killings, the number of militants killed in April this year has reached 26, the Army said. The overall count of the militants killed so far this year has risen to 58, an Army official said. He said despite the Army's commitment towards fighting COVID-19, the force has ensured that terrorists remain on the run for their life and their numbers as well as the leadership remains at the lowest ebb. "The Army has consistently dominated the Line of Control as well as the hinterland, eliminating the terrorist cadres and their leadership. This has further strengthened the security grid in the valley. The Army has therefore been successful in developing a positive security environment and the Awaam (people) feels assured about their safety and overall peace to sustain during the summer season of 2020," the official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry welcomed their first baby, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, in 2019, they opted against giving him a royal title. Instead, they gave Archie his fathers last name in a bid to take him out of the royal spotlight. Although Archie Harrison does not have any official royal titles, there is a way he could become an active member of the royal family even with his parents out of the monarchy. Archie Harrison, Meghan Markle, and Prince Harry | Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage Will Archie Harrison get a title when Prince Charles is on the throne? As things currently stand, Archie does not have an HRH title. But that will change once his grandfather, Prince Charles, takes the throne. According to Daily Mail, King George V issued a royal decree in 1917 that granted all of his grandchildren HRH titles. From that moment on, all of the grandchildren of a reigning monarch are given courtesy titles. When Charles takes the throne, Archie Harrison will automatically be given a royal title. The only way that would not happen is if Charles overturned the 100-year-old decree and allowed Archie to retain his non-royal status. The royals have not commented on what will happen to Archie, but a source claims that Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are okay with Archie becoming a prince they just did not want it to happen upon his birth. The Sussexes have chosen not to give their children courtesy titles at this time, on the change of reign the George V convention would apply, the insider dished. Will Archie ever work for the royal family? If the decree is followed and Archie becomes a prince upon Charles accession to the throne, then there would be an opportunity for Meghan and Harrys son to work on behalf of the monarch. The only catch is that Prince Charles would have to approve Archies standing within the ranks of the royal family. Exactly when Charles inherits the crown is anyones guess, and Archie growing up in the United States could complicate that transition. Archie Harrison is on the verge of turning one year old and is currently living in Los Angeles with his parents. Harry and Meghan are reportedly going to buy a home in the area and will be spending most of their time in the US. If Archie grows up in LA, thousands of miles away from other members of the royal family, there would be a bit of a learning curve if he wanted to join the royal family. That, of course, would not prevent him from becoming an active royal, but it certainly would not make things any easier. When will Archie Harrison see the royal family next? With Harry and Meghan setting down roots in LA, Archie will likely be unable to visit the royals on a regular basis. Martina Mercer, who is an expert on parenting, believes this distance might affect his upbringing. On the surface growing up away from his extended family may impact baby Archie in a similar way to how any family brings up their children abroad, she explained. However, hes not only estranged from his family, his cousins and grandparents, hes also removed from the Royal circle and all that it represents. Harry and Meghan may be living thousands of miles away from the rest of the royal family, but they are still keeping in contact via calls and video chats. The royals are currently in isolation due to the coronavirus pandemic and have been using video calls as a means to keep in touch. The Sussexes have not said when they and Archie Harrison will return to the United Kingdom. They are planning on splitting their time between the US and the UK, so its not like they will be gone forever. When they do return to the UK, it will be interesting to see how much they interact with the rest of the royals, including Prince William and Kate Middleton. Prince Harry never wanted Archie to grow up a royal Harry and Meghan announced their exit from the royal family at the beginning of the year. Although the couple had struggled in the royal spotlight, the move shocked many royal watchers. Dr. Jane Goodall, however, says that Harry and Meghan alluded to their exit at least six months before their announcement. According to Page Six, Goodall claims that Harry told her in the summer of 2019 that he does not want Archie Harrison to grow up learning royal protocols. At the end [of the conversation] Meghan came in to listen with Archie, Goodall recalled. He was very tiny and very sleepy not too pleased to be passed from his mummy. I think I was one of the first to cuddle him outside the family. Goodall added that she played with Archie Harrison and made him do the Queens wave. When she remarked that he will probably have to learn that one day, Harry replied, No, hes not growing up like that. Judge Ryan Clark accepted Melroys plea in District Court and found him guilty, while Judge Michael Mead found Melroy guilty in County Court. The State Administrative Office of Probation was ordered to conduct a presentence investigation of Melroy, including a substance abuse and sex offender evaluation. The findings of that investigation including background information on the defendant, his family and his criminal and employment history will help the judges issue an appropriate sentence. The sentencing for both cases will be in July. Melroy faces up to one year in jail on each count. At the time of the incidents, UNK sent a campuswide email saying the university had received a report of a sexual assault in a residence hall. UNK spokesman Todd Gottula declined to say which residence hall. A second campuswide email said that two suspects had been arrested and that the suspects and the victim were acquaintances. Zachary Reikofski, 20, of Fairbury was also charged with felony first-degree sexual assault in connection with one of the assaults. But the felony charge was dismissed, and he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor third-degree assault. Heathcote CBC bank, where Senior Constable Ray Koch was shot in April 1979. Credit:The Age The teller filled the bags with about $9000. The bandit ran from the bank and made his getaway in the tellers orange Datsun sedan. The manager of the bank, Mr. Jeff Porra, said about four staff were on duty when the bandit struck. Mr. Porra said the bandit, who was most agitated, said he expected to be caught soon and would get life. He came in and sat the injured policeman down in a chair the policeman was very distressed, Mr. Porra said. He had a gun in one hand and was wielding a knife in the other. The After Dark bandit has carried a variety of weapons on his raids, including an imitation machine gun. Yesterday he had a .25 pistol, a knife with a 23-centimetre blade and a jimmy. The bandit pushed the knife under his jumper as he left the bank. It was the After Dark bandits third raid on the bank since July 21 last year and the second time he had escaped in that car. It was also the second time he had met a policeman outside the bank. In the July 21 raid he jabbed a sawn-off shotgun in an off-duty constables ribs and said: You wouldnt happen to be a copper? Loading Senior Constable Koch was in uniform when the bandit shot him yesterday. They removed one .25 calibre pistol bullet. Although there was a second hole in his back they could not find another bullet. Senior Constable Koch is married with four children, aged between 16 and 27. Police swung every available man into the hunt. Road blocks cut every road from Heathcote, 95 kilometres north of Melbourne. Police were stopping cars as far away as the New South Wales border. The police crime coordinator, Chief Superintendent Phil Bennett, described the bandit as dangerous he is really vicious. We have thrown every available resource into the hunt, he said. Ten members of the crack Swat Squad specialists in the most dangerous police missions were sent to the area with the dog squad. Policemen were recalled to duty. Others volunteered to join the hunt in any capacity. One policeman, Sergeant Bob Santon, of Bendigo, who has known Senior Constable Koch for more than 10 years, was keeping a vigil at the hospital last night. Loading He is a good country policeman, Sergeant Santon said. Everyone knows that one day it could happen, but you dont think about it much, he said. Last might Heathcote was under police siege. Police recovered the getaway Datsun at the Heathcote Showgrounds, near where it was abandoned on the previous occasion. Police thought they might find it there after a woman teller told them the bandit had reminded her that he had used the car before. The bandit was seen leaving the Showgrounds yesterday on a blue Yamaha motorcycle. It was stolen from Cranbourne on Thursday night. He also escaped on a motorcycle stolen from Waverley, the first time he took the tellers car. Chief Superintendent Bennett said police now suspected he lived somewhere between Waverley and Cranbourne. His method of operating was to lie low in the bush for some time before emerging. Yesterdays raid was his 24th since he first struck at a TAB on May 30, 1977 equaling the record attributed to the Building Society Bandit. In another attempt to win back the people, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have reportedly collaborated with two royal authors for a new biography. But would it really help? Or would it just inflict more problems and grief on the royal family? According to The Daily Mail, palace insiders are expecting that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's biography will paint a flattering portrait of the couple. It is provisionally entitled, "Thoroughly Modern Royals: The Real World of Harry and Meghan." As per The Mail on Sunday, before moving to North America, they have already given an interview to the two journalists, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand. Scobie is a royal expert and has firmly said he is "Team Sussex" ever since Meghan Markle joined the royal family. He is considered as Meghan's "mouthpiece," as per reports. He told "Good Morning America" last month, "This world is Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's oyster. Everybody wants a piece of them right now." Durand, on the other hand, is a former producer for ABC in the US. She currently covers for the royal family for Elle Magazine. The co-authors promise to tell the couple's real story, according to them. But questions are being asked if friends of Meghan Markle have anything to do with the biography, as it echoes Princess Diana's secret involvement in her blockbuster biography, "Diana: Her True Story." Royal insiders are reportedly worried about what Meghan Markle and Prince Harry might reveal in their biography to be written by the authors. Some believe that it could even save the monarchy, as per Express UK. What would Queen Elizabeth II say about this? After all, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex barely discussed their decision to boycott British tabloids with her. Even Prince Charles didn't know about any of this. A palace insider told The Times, "We have been left stunned. They have not taken our advice." According to the Daily Mail, the 320-page biography will be released on August 11 and is expected to become a global bestseller. Meghan Markle Legal Dispute with British Tabloids News of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's biography comes after the former actress entered the first round of a legal dispute between herself and Mail on Sunday. She instructed Schillings last year, one of the leading law firms in reputation management, which has represented different high-profile clients over the years. Meghan is suing the British tabloid and three more publications after publishing an article in 2019, claiming the article breached her privacy as it reproduced parts of a handwritten letter she sent to her father in August 2018. Her legal team says the letter was released as part of a campaign "to publish false and deliberately derogatory stories about her." In a statement released by her husband Prince Harry in October 2019, he claimed that the publication "vilified Meghan almost daily for the past months" and edited her letter to manipulate the reader. A spokesperson for the newspaper has defended its decision to publish the story, saying, "We categorically deny that the Duchess's letter was edited in any way that changed its meaning." Legal documents were also disclosed during the first hearing that happened on Friday that showed text messages from Meghan to her father, Thomas Markle. On May 15, 2018, Meghan texted her dad, saying that she was very concerned about his health and asked why he wasn't responding to any calls or texts. The texts also showed how Meghan and Prince Harry offered to help by sending a team of security. Thomas Markle responded by saying he would be in a hospital for a few days, but he was okay and then refused the security team. READ MORE: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Experiencing Marriage Strain Due To BOREDOM 90 Day Fiance couple Babygirl Lisa Hamme and Usman Umar are encountering some new troubles when it comes to their relationship. The two are currently working on earning the blessing of Usman Umars mother, which he needs in order to marry Hamme. Additionally, Usman Umar claims hes interested in having more than one wife, something that Hamme is considering allowing depending on the circumstances. However, this follows rumors that Umar has been spreading. Umar has claimed that Hamme threatened suicide if she couldnt marry Umar, which is part of Babygirl Lisa Hamme must win over Usman Umars mother 90 Day Fiance star Usman Umars mother is worried about her son. Umars mother isnt so sure about him marrying Babygirl Lisa Hamme. In part, shes not pleased that Hamme is so much older than her son. Her other concern lies in how Hamme treats Umar, as well as concerns over how Umar will be treated as a black man in America. In an attempt to win over Umars mother, Hamme attended a service at a mosque. While that did leave a positive impression on Umars mother, she remained unconvinced. When Lisa came to the mosque to pray, I was happy. But we Hausas do not permit a younger man to marry an older woman. And I am scared. Hes a black man. When he gets to American they will turn him into a servant. That is my fear, Usman Umars mother told cameras. Hamme didnt exactly assuage her fears during their conversations together either. Hamme tends to boss Umar around somewhat, and continued to bark orders at him during their conversation with Umars mother. The 90 Day Fiance star considers polygamy Babygirl Lisa Hamme and Usman Umar of 90 Day Fiance | baby_girl_lisa_2020 via Instagram It seems as though if Babygirl Lisa Hamme wants to marry Usman Umar, she might need to prepare for polygamy. At least, if they move to a state that allows it, or if they stay in Nigeria. Soap Dirt reports that Usman Umar is considering possibly taking on additional wives after he marries Hamme. The publication reports that Umar claimed, Im allowed to get married to four wives. I remains unclear if Umar is aware that polygamy is not widely practiced or accepted in the United States. It could also be the case that Umar, who wants children in the future, may be looking for more wives as Hamme cannot conceive. In a conversation with Angela Lee on her Lip Service podcast, Umar said, Inasmuch as [Lisa] cannot give [me kids], even if we are going to stay together, I must get [a] child. Hammes representative, Rocco Straz, told InTouch Weekly that, As far as four wives in the Islamic religion, it is acceptable for him to take four wives, BUT and I mean BUT, he must be able to provide for all four wives. [This includes] financially, housing, utilities, vehicles, car insurance and medical insurance. Babygirl Lisas rep bashes suicide rumors Babygirl Lisa Hamme is now dealing with rumors that she threatened to commit suicide if Usman Umar wouldnt marry her. During Angela Lees podcast, Umar said, So, after some time, I was like, this cannot continue. We spent about one year with you telling me that you love me, you love me, and I was saying that I love you, I love you. But deeply in me I know its not love. I dont love you for real, honestly. But I do know that to make you happy, I do that to, you know, to make you happy to calm you down. So Lisa starts, you know, trying to hang herself, commit suicide. I was like, no, no. My father is an Imam and we were taught in the way that is good for you to please somebody. Its better I tolerate her, you know problems all the headaches she has given me and make her leave, than for me to say I didnt love her, then go and kill herself, added Umar. Umar continued, So, I was like, its better for me to tolerate that, you knowthan for me to say I dont love you, then she go and kill herself because of me. So that is how it happened. Straz told InTouch Weekly, At no given time did Lisa state she would kill herself, for him or any other man. She is a very independent woman. Lisa doesnt need Sojaboy. She wants Sojaboy! Suicide is something that should not be thrown around lightly. Lisa has a beautiful family and would ever do such a thing! How to get help: In the U.S., call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Or text HOME to 741-741 to connect with a trained crisis counselor at the free Crisis Text Line. Throwback: Sholay's Climax Was Nothing As Decent For Gabbar As We Saw In The Movie; Watch The Original Ending Here As Italy prepares to emerge from the West's first and most extensive coronavirus lockdown, it is increasingly clear that something went terribly wrong in Lombardy, the hardest-hit region in Europe's hardest-hit country. Italy had the bad luck of being the first Western country to be slammed by the outbreak, and its total of 26,000 fatalities lags behind only the U.S. in the global death toll. Italy's first homegrown case was recorded Feb. 21, at a time when the World Health Organization was still insisting the virus was containable and not nearly as infectious as the flu. But there's also evidence that demographics and health care deficiencies combined with political and business interests to expose Lombardy's 10 million people in ways unseen anywhere else, particularly the most vulnerable in nursing homes. Virologists and epidemiologists say what went wrong there will be studied for years, given how the outbreak overwhelmed a medical system considered one of Europe's best. In neighboring Veneto, the impact was significantly more controlled. Prosecutors are deciding whether to lay any criminal blame for the hundreds of dead in nursing homes, many of whom aren't even counted in Lombardy's official death toll of 13,269. By contrast, Lombardy's front-line doctors and nurses are being hailed as heroes for risking their lives to treat the sick under extraordinary levels of stress, exhaustion, isolation and fear. Even after Italy registered its first homegrown case, doctors didn't understand the unusual way COVID-19 could present itself, with some patients experiencing a rapid decline in their ability to breathe. "This was clinical information we didn't have," said Dr. Maurizio Marvisi, a pneumologist at the San Camillo private clinic in hard-hit Cremona. Because Lombardy's intensive care units were filling up within days of Italy's first cases, many primary care physicians tried to treat and monitor their patients at home, even putting them on supplemental oxygen. That strategy proved deadly, since many people died at home or soon after being hospitalized, having waited too long to call an ambulance. Italy was forced to rely on home care in part because of its low ICU capacity: After years of budget cuts, Italy went into the emergency with 8.6 ICU beds per 100,000 people, below the average of 15.9 within the developed countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. As a result, Italy's primary care physicians became the front-line filter of COVID-19 patients, an army of mostly self-employed general practitioners who work outside the public hospital system. Since only those showing strong symptoms were being tested because Lombardy's labs couldn't process any more, these family doctors didn't know if they themselves were positive, much less their patients. The doctors also had no guidelines on when to admit the sick or refer them to specialists. And being outside the hospital system, they didn't have the same access to protective equipment. Some 20,000 Italian medical personnel have been infected and 150 doctors have died. Two days after Italy registered its first case in the Lombardy province of Lodi, sparking a quarantine in 10 towns, another positive case was registered more than an hour's drive away in Alzano in the province of Bergamo. By March 2, the Superior Institute of Health recommended Alzano and nearby Nembro be sealed off like the Lodi towns. But political authorities never implemented that recommendation, allowing the infection to spread for a second week until all of Lombardy was locked down March 7. Asked why he didn't seal off Bergamo sooner, Premier Giuseppe Conte argued that Lombardy's regional government could have done so on its own. Lombardy's governor, Atillio Fontana, said if there was a mistake, it was made by both. I don't think that there was blame in this situation. Lombardy has one-sixth of Italy's 60 million people and is the most densely populated region, home to the business capital in Milan and the country's industrial heartland. Lombardy also has more people over 65 than any other region, as well as 20% of Italy's nursing homes, a demographic time bomb for COVID-19 infections. "Clearly, with the benefit of hindsight, we should have done a total shutdown in Lombardy, everyone at home and no one moves," said Andrea Crisanti, a microbiologist and virologist advising Veneto's regional government. But he acknowledged how hard that was, given Lombardy's outsize role in Italy's economy, which even before the pandemic was heading toward recession. "Probably for political reasons, it wasn't done," he told reporters. Unions and mayors of some of Lombardy's hardest hit cities now say the country's main industrial lobby group, Confindustria, put enormous pressure on authorities to resist production shutdowns on the grounds that the economic cost would be too great in a region responsible for 21% of Italy's GDP. On Feb. 28, a week into Italy's outbreak and well after more than 100 cases had been registered in Bergamo, the province's branch of Confindustria launched a social media campaign aimed at reassuring skittish investors. It insisted the outbreak was no worse than elsewhere and that production in provincial steel mills and other industries were unaffected. The lobbying group also launched its own campaign in the larger Lombard region. SEOUL, South Korea A train likely belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been parked at his compound on the countrys east coast since last week, satellite imagery showed, amid speculation about his health that has been caused, in part, by a long period out of the public eye. The satellite photos released by 38 North, a website specializing in North Korea studies, dont say anything about Kims potential health problems, and they echo South Korean government intelligence that Kim is staying outside of the capital, Pyongyang. Seoul has also repeatedly indicated that there have been no unusual signs that could indicate health problems for Kim. That hasnt stopped growing unconfirmed rumors and media reports about Kims health that have emerged since he missed the April 15 commemoration of the 108th birthday of his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung. Kim Jong Un is the third generation of his family to rule North Korea, and he hadnt missed the April 15 event, one of the years most important for the North, since assuming power after his father Kim Jong Ils death in late 2011. Kims health is of crucial importance because of worries that the serious illness or death of a leader venerated with near godlike passion by millions of North Koreans could cause instability in the impoverished, nuclear-armed country. Many experts in South Korea downplayed speculation that Kim is seriously ill. They also said North Korea wont likely face a serious immediate turmoil even if Kim is incapacitated or dies because someone else like his influential sister Kim Yo Jong will quickly step in, though the prospect for the Norths long-term political future would be unclear. Kim Jong Uns train has been parked at the Leadership Railway Station servicing his Wonsan compound since at least April 21, the 38 North website said Saturday, citing an analysis of recent satellite photos of the area. The website said the approximately 250-meter (820-foot) -long train wasnt present on April 15 but was present on both April 21 and 23. The trains presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the countrys eastern coast, it said. The photos indicate the train arrived before April 21 and was still present on April 23, when it appeared to be repositioned for departure. However, there was no indication when that departure might take place, 38 North said. North Korea exerts extremely tight control on information about its leadership, making it virtually impossible for outsiders to find out whats going on at those senior levels. Even South Koreas main spy agency has a mixed record on confirming developments in North Korea. When Kim Jong Il died in December 2011, for instance, few outsiders knew it until it was reported by North Koreas state media two days later. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasnt authorized to talk to the media, said the latest rumors about Kims health had not changed the U.S. assessment of the information as speculation. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway wouldnt comment on Kims status. The president will make any announcement about a head of state, she said Saturday night on Fox News Channels Justice with Judge Jeanine. Danny Russel, a former National Security Council director and assistant secretary of state for Asia who has dealt with North Korea in the past, cautioned that rumors have abounded for years about Kim, his father, Kim Jong Il, and his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, and most turned out to have been false. While serving in government I was on the receiving end of multiple intelligence reports about alleged accidents, illnesses and assassination attempts against North Korean leaders only to have them reappear in public, he said. South Koreas presidential office said last week that Kim appeared to be handling state affairs normally and that there had been no suspicious activities, such as an emergency readiness order issued by the Norths military or the ruling Workers Party. The South Korean government has since maintained its assessment that Kims health remains the same. Some South Korean media outlets, citing unidentified government officials, have reported that Kim was staying at Wonsan. North Koreas state media have been silent about the speculation on Kims health. On Saturday, the Norths official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim had received a message of greetings from the chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation on the occasion of the first anniversary of Kims summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The message wished Kim good health and happiness, KCNA said. Its not the first time that Kim has vanished from the public eye, and past absences in state media dispatches have also triggered speculation about his health. In 2014, state media didnt report any public activities for Kim for about six weeks, before he reappeared with a cane. South Koreas spy agency said later that he had a cyst removed from his ankle. ___ AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report. ___ This story has been corrected to reflect that the first name of the Fox News Channel host is Jeanine, not Jeannine. By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala reiterated the need for CBI probe in the data transaction Sprinklr row. He told reporters at a press meet here on Sunday that the Opposition will fight relentlessly against the LDF Government on the Sprinklr row even though an interim relief came in the form of the High Court verdict. Chennithala said the Opposition's allegations raised against the Left Government have been proven right in the light of the High Court's interim verdict on Friday. The Government has received not a single sentence in favour of the Sprinklr deal, said Chennithala. He maintained that the main ally, CPI has also not given a clean chit to the CPM in the Sprinklr row. High Court will come out with the final judgment within three weeks. "Chief Minister had been coming up with lame excuses on the Sprinklr deal. When there have been plenty of Government pleaders, the effort to bring a lawyer from Mumbai incurring several lakhs is deplorable", said Chennithala. He also added that the High Court had urged the Government to ensure anonymity, confidentiality and also not to directly or indirectly transfer the data of COVID -19 patients. Opposition Leader alleged that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan resorted to defame Congress legislator V. D. Satheesan who had highlighted the Kerala Disaster Management Authority's report that 80,000 are expected to contract COVID -19. Pinarayi had rejected this report initially, but informed the High Court, the same number. But the irony is that the Government informed the High Court that there is dearth of facilities on data transaction on the Covid-19 affected. His parish continues to learn how to remain clean, safe and socially distant during the pandemic, and church officials are following guidelines and instructions from the governor and other local officials, as well as the Diocese of Lincoln. Many parishioners he's interacted with via phone or text message long to return to church, but caution is key, he said. Health comes first at this point in time, McCabe said. Social distancing is hard on all communities, and McCabe said his parish is no different. He said hes particularly eager to continue the churchs outreach to the poor and those in nursing homes. Your parish is your family, he said. And theres all kinds of connections. The Diocese of Lincoln suspended the public celebration of Mass on March 16. Since then, McCabe has preached in front of empty pews to a congregation in cyberspace watching along on Facebook each weekend. In his 31 years as a priest, hes never had an experience quite like this one. And until further decisions are made, McCabe and his flock will have to stick to online worshiping. The front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City on Aug. 18, 2011. (Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images) Pandemic Should Shake Up Wall Streets Relationship With China, Experts Say Growing distrust of the Chinese regime over how it has handled the virus outbreak should prompt Wall Street to rethink its dealings with China, hedge fund manager Kyle Bass says. Beijings coverup of the epidemic in China, underreporting of infection and death toll figures, and disinformation campaign aimed at deflecting blame for the pandemic have sparked anger across all levels of society. Ordinary Americans are starting to understand that the Chinese government is not trustworthy, theyre not our friends, and one could deem them to be our mortal enemy, Bass, founder of Dallas-based Hayman Capital Management, recently told The Epoch Times American Thought Leaders program. And soon Wall Streets relationship is going to have to change. And I think its happening now, he said. Financial Decoupling? As the pandemic continues to exact substantial human and economic costs worldwide, a growing number of countries and regions are reevaluating their ties with the communist regime. Meanwhile, the disruption to global supply chains has forced companies to consider reducing their dependence on China as a manufacturing base, accelerating the process of decoupling from China. With the CCP viruss devastating effects in the northeastern United Statesas New York and New Jersey rank as the two worst-hit U.S. statesresidents, institutions, and governments there should be attuned to the fact that the pathogens global spread stemmed from the regimes coverup of the outbreak, U.S.-based China commentator Heng He said. Had the Chinese Communist Party not lied, and rather truthfully reported the outbreak situation then perhaps it could have been contained within China, Heng told NTD, an affiliate of The Epoch Times. However, it remains to be seen if U.S. financial institutions will start disengaging with the regime as a result of the crisis. Wall Street has always been really cooperative with China, fueling the Chinese economy, Frank Xie, associate professor at the School of Business Administration at the University of South Carolina, told The Epoch Times. Recent moves by Beijing to open up its financial sector amid heightened U.S.China trade tensions since the 2018 trade war meant that Wall Street was unlikely to disengage from China anytime soon, Xie said. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs in March became the latest foreign banks to receive Chinese regulatory approvals to take majority stakes in their Chinese securities joint ventures. Piece of the Market Even as the regime hasnt fulfilled its pledge to open up its banking sector since joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, foreign banks have nonetheless worked hard to grab a piece of the Chinese market, Xie said. He noted that Wall Street banks have helped many Chinese companies list on U.S. stock exchanges. As of September of last year, 172 Chinese firms were listed on major U.S. exchanges, with a market capitalization of more than $1 trillion, according to the United StatesChina Economic and Security Review Commission. At the same time, some Western firms have hired relatives of Chinese officials in an effort to win business in the country, the professor noted. JPMorgan Chase in 2016 agreed to pay $264 million in fines after hiring family and friends of high-level Chinese officials to gain access to banking dealsa practice that violated U.S. bribery laws. Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank also paid large fines to U.S. regulators for similar practices. Instances of fraudulent accounting at Chinese firms, with U.S.-listed Luckin Coffee being the latest high-profile scandal, also havent deterred investment firms, Xie said. I think they know a lot of [Chinese] companies are fraudulent, that a lot of companies are not abiding by financial rules, reporting rules, and accounting rules, he said. But unless there are companies like Muddy Waters that reveal their wrongdoings, theyll continue to invest. In early April, Luckin Coffee shares collapsed after the Chinese beverage brand said an internal investigation found that its chief operating officer had falsified 2019 sales by about $310 million. In January, short-seller Muddy Waters Research said it would bet against the stock, based on a report that the company was committing fraud. Chinese video streaming site iQiyi was also recently accused by Wolfpack Research, an activist financial research firm, of overstating its revenue in 2019 by as much as $1.9 billion. Blinded Bass blasted U.S. financial firms and companies for ignoring the Beijing regimes human rights abuses in pursuit of the Chinese market. Can you imagine if you explain to someone that youre doing business with a regime that has more than a million prisoners of conscience locked up and is executing live organ harvesting on this population of political prisoners on a daily basis? he said, referring to the regimes state-sanctioned practice of killing prisoners of conscience, mainly Falun Gong practitioners, for their organs to sell on the transplant market. And yet people like Blackstone cant wait to invest another dollar in China. You know why? Because they just let money blind them to the blatant human rights abuses of maybe one of the most tyrannical regimes thats ever lived. Its crazy. US Action The first step toward remedying the situation would be to make Chinese companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges open their audit books to U.S. regulators, Bass said. Currently, the regime blocks the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) or other U.S. regulators from examining the audit work papers of Chinese companies, saying they contain state secrets. Any company that wants to list in the United Statesforget about if its just from China or from anywhere else in the worldyou have to adhere to real audits just like U.S. companies do, you have to adhere to the same standards as U.S.-listed companies, he said. Lets just level the playing fieldthats not being punitive. Last June, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced bills to the Senate and House to force U.S.-listed Chinese and other foreign companies to comply with American financial disclosure regulations, or face delisting. U.S. public pension funds have also come under intensifying scrutiny because of their investments in Chinese companies, including those that support the regimes military, espionage, and human rights abuses. A group of lawmakers reportedly wants the Trump administration to bar the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, the main pension fund for federal employees, from moving to track an index run by MSCI that includes China-based stocks under scrutiny in Washington. In recent years, global stock index providers such as MSCI and FTSE have added Chinese stocks to their global and emerging markets indices, allowing billions of dollars of U.S. investment to flow into Chinese equities. One of the companies in the MSCI index is Chinese surveillance equipment maker Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology, which was placed on a U.S. trade blacklist last year because the companys technology was being used for the repression of Uyghur Muslims in Chinas western Xinjiang region. The index also includes Hong Kong-listed AviChina Industry & Technology Ltd., the listing company for Chinese state-owned firm Aviation Industry Corp. of China (AVIC). AVIC and its subsidiaries develop aircraft and weapons systems for the Chinese military. It is absolutely crazy for our military and federal employees to be indirectly contributing to Chinas military operationsand whats worse is that nearly all of these people are completely unaware of this situation, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) said in an April 24 statement. Jan Jekielek contributed to this report. UK pushes forward coronavirus vaccine trial amid increasing pandemic death toll Global Times Source:Xinhua Published: 2020/4/25 8:42:44 After implementing social distancing measures for weeks, Britain has hit "the peak" of the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the country's Health Secretary Matt Hancock. But medical experts said only a valid vaccine or highly effective drugs can give people assurance that the fight against COVID-19 could be finally won. That is why the vaccine trial carried out by a team at the University of Oxford is drawing much attention. The process is moving at a rapid pace -- Oxford researchers have begun vaccine trials on humans on Thursday. UK EFFORTS The vaccine programs respectively at Oxford and the Imperial College London are at the forefront of Britain's vaccine development efforts. The British government has announced that it will provide funding for these two programs. According to a statement from the University of Oxford, the new vaccine, called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, is based on an adenovirus vaccine vector and the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, and has been produced in Oxford. The researchers started screening healthy volunteers (aged 18-55) in March, and the study will test the new vaccine against COVID-19 in these volunteers. It aims to assess whether healthy people can be protected from COVID-19 with this new vaccine while providing valuable information on safety aspects of the vaccine and its ability to generate good immune responses against the virus, according to the statement. "The best-case scenario is that by the autumn of 2020 we have the results about the effectiveness of the vaccine from a phase III trial and the ability to manufacture large amounts of the vaccine," professor Sarah Gilbert from the University of Oxford told Xinhua through email. "But these best-case timeframes are highly ambitious and subject to change," said professor Gilbert, who is one of the scientists leading the COVID-19 vaccine development program at Oxford. CHALLENGES AHEAD As of Thursday afternoon, another 684 people who tested positive for COVID-19 have died in hospitals in Britain, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related hospital deaths to 19,506. Under normal circumstances, most vaccine development programs take more than five years. But the Oxford team said they have used some special strategies to expedite the process significantly, including a vaccine delivery system that has been used before and can be adapted for a new pathogen, which can shorten the initial vaccine development time. Also, in an emergency situation, large scale manufacturing could be carried out concurrently while the clinical trial is ongoing, which can shorten the overall timescale for vaccine development, according to the team. Finally, regulatory review of promising candidates is also expected to be undertaken faster in an epidemic, because more staff and resources are dedicated to the review process. Still developing a new vaccine is a challenging task, especially for the novel coronavirus. Researchers need to assess the safety and efficacy of the vaccine through phase I, II and III clinical trials. If the vaccine is safe and efficacious, regulatory approval is needed before the vaccine can be deployed. "The first problem is that there are no licensed vaccines for any of the coronaviruses that affect humans so it is not clear how strong the immune response after vaccination will need to be to give a good level of protection," professor Gilbert said. "We won't know that until vaccine efficacy trials have been completed. Apart from that, raising the funding is very time-consuming. There is no problem in recruiting enough trial subjects. We have had a huge response to our request for volunteers," she also said. INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION To combat the ongoing pandemic, multiple teams around the world are developing COVID-19 vaccines. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) said that it has initiated eight COVID-19 vaccine development programs with leading universities, institutes and biotechnology companies from across the world. The Oxford vaccine will be the third CEPI-funded vaccine to enter into phase I trials, along with Inovio's INO-4800 DNA vaccine candidate and Moderna's mRNA-1273 candidate, according to the CEPI headquartered in Norway. Experts have emphasized the importance of collaboration and coordination when it comes to vaccine development, so that resources can be used more efficiently in the face of a global emergency. "On every aspect of this pandemic and responses, there is an absolute need for coordination within nations among different parts of government, and then between nations, between different governments," Dr David Nabarro, chair of Global Health at the Imperial College London, told Xinhua. Dr Nabarro was appointed as a special envoy on COVID-19 of the World Health Organization Director-General in February. Collaboration between countries has already paved the way for more efficient vaccine development. "We have already benefited from Chinese scientists making the viral sequence (of the novel coronavirus) available online, this has helped us and others with designing vaccine candidates. We are in touch with some Chinese researchers and clinicians and hope to build deeper collaborative efforts," professor Robin Shattock, who is leading the COVID-19 vaccine program at Imperial College London, told Xinhua in a previous interview. "There is a lot of collaboration and coordination, I think we have learned what was successful from the previous outbreaks and this has enabled better practice and faster progress," said professor Shattock. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Islamabad: The Pakistan Navy on Saturday successfully test-fired a series of anti-ship missiles in the North Arabian Sea, a spokesman said. The missiles were fired from surface ships, fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, the Navy's spokesperson Rear Admiral Arshid Javed said. Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi witnessed the firing of the missiles, he said in a statement. "The anti-ship missiles were fired at the sea level by warships and aircraft," according to the statement. The successful demonstration of missile firing is a testament to the Pakistan Navy's operational capability and military readiness, the official said. On the occasion, Admiral Abbasi said, "Pakistan Navy is fully capable to respond enemy's aggression befittingly." The Navy spokesperson Rear Admiral M Arshid Javed took to Twitter to share the information of the test-fire of the missiles. "PakNavy conducted Live Weapon firing of Anti-Ship Missiles from Surface & Aviation units in North Arabian Sea. CNS, Adm Zafar Mahmood Abbasi witnessed LWF as Chief Guest & said that PN is always ready to thwart any aggression against Pakistan's maritime frontiers," he said in a tweet. #PakNavy conducted Live Weapon firing of Anti-Ship Missiles from Surface & Aviation units in North Arabian Sea. CNS, Adm Zafar Mahmood Abbasi witnessed LWF as Chief Guest & said that PN is always ready to thwart any aggression against Pakistans maritime frontiers pic.twitter.com/7v1OAOzo6p Rear Admiral M Arshid Javed DGPR Navy (@dgprPaknavy) April 25, 2020 The Navy did not divulge more details of the drill which has taken place amidst the continued chill in the Indo-Pak relations. Relations between the two countries are strained and they further nose-dived after the Indian government abrogated Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir in August last year. Pakistan downgraded diplomatic relations with India and expelled Indian High Commissioner. India has maintained that Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter of India and does not want anyone's interference in it. The country's 500,000-plus corruption investigators are being placed under stricter supervision as a regulation to standardize graft probes was adopted on Sunday. Experts said the regulation, passed at the annual plenary meeting of the top anti-corruption watchdog the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China can help ensure an unsullied disciplinary team, after some corrupt investigators were exposed. The regulation, details of which were not released, sets clear standards on how to handle corruption tips, how to check and review cases and how to manage ill-gotten money and assets, according to a report published on the commission's website on Sunday. It also encourages audio and video recordings throughout the entire process of the interrogation and the establishment of a registration system for those who make inquires about, or try to interfere in, the cases, the report said. Trust (in disciplinary officials) cannot replace supervision," a meeting communique released on Sunday said. We must make sure the power granted by the Party and the people is not abused." Many commission members who attended the three-day meeting said they have felt rising pressure on disciplinary officials. In recent years, President Xi Jinping has repeatedly required officials to clean house" to ensure a trustworthy disciplinary team. As those who enforce anti-graft rules, we must first place ourselves under scrutiny," said Liu Qifan, head of the anti-corruption watchdog in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. China launched a massive anti-corruption and austerity campaign as the top Party leadership was elected in late 2012. Xi said on Friday that years of effort have stopped corruption from spreading, and a crushing momentum" against graft has taken shape. However, some disciplinary officials have become conceited with the anti-corruption achievements, and a small number of them have loosened their self-restraint and become corrupt themselves, said Wang Yanfei, head of the provincial discipline watchdog in Sichuan province. Since late 2012, more than 7,900 disciplinary officials from across the country have been punished for various types of wrongdoing, with 17 from the top anti-corruption watchdog being placed under investigation in graft probes, according to figures from the commission. Last week, a three-episode TV documentary produced by the commission, named To Forge an Iron, One Must Be Strong Oneself, offered the public a rare glimpse into guilty officials from discipline inspection authorities. It features the cases of 10 former anti-graft officials, including Zhu Mingguo, who was once in charge of fighting corruption in Guangdong province. In the documentary, Zhu, convicted in November of taking bribes of 141 million yuan ($20.4 million), admitted that he made use of his position. He said he received over a thousand bottles of expensive alcohol as gifts, and had taken bribes as far back as the 1990s. It is very rare for the commission to make such a documentary for publicity," said Xie Chuntao, director of the Dean's Office of the CPC Central Committee Party School, adding that the move also reflects the commission's determination to strengthen self-supervision. Wu Hui, associate professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, said that the work rule for disciplinary inspectors is timely and necessary, as it tells the public who supervises the disciplinary officials". The new rule can help control the power of supervision and make disciplinary authorities' work more transparent and standardized, he added. CHICAGO (AP) A once-bustling bar and grill tucked below a Michigan Avenue overpass famously inspired a "Saturday Night Live" skit starring John Belushi and Bill Murray. But the money the Billy Goat Tavern is losing during the coronavirus outbreak is no joke. The tavern and millions of other shuttered businesses nationwide have turned to their insurers to help recoup their losses following state-mandated closures, which combined may exceed $300 billion a month. But insurers have widely rejected the claims, so the Billy Goat joined a growing line of businesses, including barbershops and casinos, suing insurers to force them to pay. "These businesses are in the most trying times in their history and are going to their insurance company to get what they paid for," said Chris Esbrook, a lawyer for the landmark tavern, which opened in 1934 and, as legend goes, cursed the Chicago Cubs. Insurers say policies for natural or man-made disasters don't cover virus outbreaks that bring economies to a standstill, and high-stakes battles in courtrooms coast to coast are sure to follow. What's at stake could be the survival of thousands of businesses if insurers don't pay and the insolvency of big-name insurance companies if they do. "Pandemic outbreaks are uninsured because they are uninsurable," David A. Sampson, president of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, said this month. No revenue is flowing into the Billy Goat, which previously drew hundreds of tourists a day, including some who remember the best-known line from a series of late 1970s SNL skits in which restaurant staff rebuffs patrons ordering anything but the house specialties: "Cheezborger, cheezborger, cheezborger! No Coke ... Pepsi!" As many as 30 million small businesses straining to survive with little to no revenue could submit virus-related claims worth up to $430 billion, the insurance association estimated. Those unprecedented numbers would be multiple times higher than claims following the Sept. 11 attacks. The expectation is that insurers will continue to reject the vast majority of claims, triggering waves of lawsuits from businesses in nearly every town and city. Such a filing frenzy could add to logjams in courts when they reopen fully after the pandemic eases. Among dozens of lawsuits filed to date is one by the Choctaw Nation casinos in Oklahoma and another by the Los Angeles law firm of celebrity attorney Mark Geragos. "You pay insurance for decades for precisely the unthinkable, and when it happens these insurance companies do the unconscionable" by rejecting claims, Geragos told The Hollywood Reporter. Forcing insurers to pay hundreds of billions of dollars a month could quickly deplete the $800 billion set aside to cover future home, auto and other losses, according to the insurance association. The attorney for the Billy Goat, which expanded from its flagship site to include establishments around Chicago, says he has little sympathy for insurers. "They are in the business of selling people insurance for exactly this kind of situation," Esbrook said. "They can't now cry they're poor when the very situation they are insuring arises." President Donald Trump recently expressed sympathy for businesses asking insurers to pay up for business interruption coverage. "When they finally need it, the insurance company says, 'We're not going to give it,'" he said at a coronavirus task force news conference. "We can't let that happen." Similar conflicts are playing out in Europe and Asia, though they aren't likely to see the torrent of lawsuits sure to come in the litigious United States. The question on which many cases will hinge is whether the presence of the virus in or near a business can be categorized as direct physical damage, something that would otherwise be clearly covered. It's a question courts haven't definitively answered. Proving a microscopic virus was ever even on a business's premises, never mind damaged it, could pose a challenge to plaintiff attorneys. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court last week may have inadvertently helped business owners make their case when it upheld a state order closing nonessential businesses during the pandemic, likening the coronavirus to hurricanes in its ruling. "COVID-19 pandemic is, by all definitions, a natural disaster and a catastrophe of massive proportions," the majority opinion said. Insurance companies say most policies that cover unanticipated interruptions to a business's operations specifically exclude pandemics. Such exclusions became more common after a SARS virus outbreak in the early 2000s devastated businesses in parts of Asia. A message seeking comment from the insurer the Billy Goat is suing, Society Insurance, wasn't returned. A note to policyholders on the website of Travelers Indemnity, the insurer Geragos is suing, reads like a blanket denial of virus shutdown claims because they're "not a result of direct physical loss or damage." It also cites virus exclusions in its policies. But such exclusions don't mean businesses don't have valid claims, the business lawyers contend. They point to separate policy provisions requiring that insurers pay losses when civil authorities intervene during emergencies and order businesses to close. The Billy Goat Tavern's legal team says their case may be that much stronger because their insurer did not write in a virus exclusion and then still denied coverage. Pressure on insurers isn't only coming in the form of lawsuits. State lawmakers, including in Illinois, New York and New Jersey, have proposed laws that would dictate insurers accept business claims for coronavirus damage, in some cases even if policies exclude pandemics. Industry advocates say such mandates could drain insurance funds needed to pay claims during upcoming hurricane season and when other natural disaster inevitably strike. The laws, they argue, also would undermine the contract law upon which free markets rely. "If elected officials require payment for perils that were excluded, never underwritten for, and for which no premium was ever collected, catastrophic results will occur," said Charles Chamness, president of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. By MICHAEL TARM, AP Legal Affairs Writer More from PennLive Gov. Tom Wolfs administration offers more details on reopening Pa. Gov. Wolfs reopening plan Q&A: How will this work? Long cast aside as expendable, Pa.s public health nurses are now pivotal to easing coronavirus restrictions What it looks like inside coronavirus units at Penn State hospitals: photos Man facing death battles back from COVID-19 with help of bold new therapy No motions to vote on Cabinet nominees have been registered in parliament yet. Speaker of Ukraine's parliament Dmytro Razumkov says Ukrainian lawmakers may gather for a special meeting late this week. "As of today, there is no final information when the extraordinary meeting of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will take place [this] week. I have information that lawmakers will ask for a special meeting. I think that if it happens, it will be at the end of the week," he told journalists on Sunday, April 26, according to an UNIAN correspondent. Read alsoUkraine commemorates 34th anniversary of Chornobyl disaster On that day, Razumkov took part in an official event to lay wreaths to the monument to Chornobyl clean-up workers in Kyiv on the 34th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster. "If we are talking about [the vote on] motions, then we do not have nominees registered by the Cabinet of Ministers," he added. When asked whether the ruling parliamentary faction, the Servant of the People, supported the nomination of ex-President of Georgia and former Odesa governor Mikheil Saakashvili as deputy prime minister for reform in Ukraine, Razumkov said: "It would be more appropriate if representatives of the faction speak about this." "As far as I know, there are different positions as for new appointments to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine both in the Servant of the People faction and other factions," he added. As UNIAN reported earlier, Saakashvili announced on April 22 that he had received a proposal from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to become deputy prime minister for reform in Ukraine. China's second Type 075 amphibious assault ship was launched at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai on April 22, which took only eight months from its first appearance to official launching, fully demonstrating the strength of Chinese military shipbuilding industry. After the second amphibious assault ship was launched and began the outfitting, the PLA Navy will officially embrace the layout of double aircraft carriers flanked by double assault ships. Strictly speaking, the launch of the Type 075 amphibious assault ship is no less significant than the commissioning of the aircraft carrier Liaoning several years ago. Although carrier Liaoning underwent massive retrofitting, part of the basics was preserved, whereas the amphibious assault ship with the complete flight deck was a new type for the Chinese military shipbuilding industry without any prior experience to draw on. With more comprehensive functions, the Type 075 could play a bigger role than the aircraft carrier in some specific fields. It could be the absolute center of landing operations based on its unparalleled vertical-siege-and-combat capability endowed by its huge hangar space and straight-through flight deck. Moreover, the Type 075 vessel has a dock onboard that readies the ship for beyond visual range (BVR) landing operations, while it can also serve as the mother ship for the anti-submarine helicopters it carries. Before the Type 075 came along, there was only the Type 071 amphibious transport dock ships and a number of tank landing ships, resulting in the Chinese militarys poor naval capability of vertical air projection and large-scale troops projection within a short period, which was far from enough to meet the needs of modern era. The Type 075 amphibious assault ship is the most important piece of equipment to reinforce the helicopter-based vertical landing ability that is of great significance for improving the PLAs projection capability. In sum, the Type 075 amphibious assault ship could play a critical role in carrying out landing operations. And as a combat ship with powerful projection capability, the Type 075 is also an important tool for China to take international responsibilities and maintain regional and world peace. Union Ministry of Home Affairs issues orders to extend lockdown beyond May 4, by two weeks in order to contain the coronavirus spread mainly in the red zones of the districts. As India remains in lockdown for over a month, the total number of cases reported in the country crosses 36,000 and death toll exceeds 1,200 according to DH's tally. Meanwhile, the government has announced that there will be considerable lockdown relaxation in many districts in the country from May 4. On Thursday, April 23, President Donald Trump ruminated during a press conference about the possibility that, just as disinfectants can destroy the Wuhan virus outside the body, there might be a way to destroy the virus inside the body. Within hours, the mainstream media was telling people the Trump was telling Americans to inject or ingest disinfectant to treat Wuhan virus. After that, the internet was quickly inundated with Trump said to drink bleach memes. While there was factual pushback from conservatives, facts made no difference the hoax was set in place. It will now be a smear against Trump's name as permanent as the Charlottesville hoax. Using videos and memes, this post will sketch out how the hoax developed. Hoax Phase 1: Trump theorizes within the realm of available facts. The media says that he suggests a toxic "cure." Heres the video of President Trumps original remarks. Its quite obvious that hes talking about potential experiments with ultraviolet lights or disinfectants that can be used in the lungs. Its obvious that Trump is not recommending anything specific, especially either Lysol or bleach. Instead, hes theorizing based upon things known to kill the virus and on medical procedures that already exist. Nevertheless, as just one example of media malfeasance, NBC labeled the video President Trump Suggests Injecting Disinfectant as Coronavirus Cure. Hoax Phase 2: While NBC sort of played it straight, soon reputable media outlets are asserting that Trump instructed the American people to do something incredibly dangerous: Hoax Phase 3: A day after Trump's press conferences, Nancy Pelosi gives her own press conference during which she states that President Trump advised Americans to inject Lysol into their bodies. Hoax Phase 4: Prominent media personalities (in this example, the New York Times Frank Bruni) continue to misquote Trump: Hoax Phase 5: Activist organizations, such as Occupy Democrats, assert that Trump is promoting killer cures: Hoax Phase 6: A prominent leftist satirist accurately repeats Trumps unremarkable statements but still cleverly and charmingly perverts them to align with the hoax that Trump wants people to inject Lysol and drink bleach: Hoax Phase 7: The memes begin, all with the same message; namely, that Trump told Americans to drink bleach and inject Lysol: Hoax Phase 8: With the hoax in place, the media promotes fake news about people actually having taken Trumps alleged advice to ingest disinfectants: It will not matter that there is no relationship between a spike in calls to poison control centers and Trump's ruminations. The media has a narrative and it's sticking to it. Conservatives try to attack the hoax with logic and facts: At this point, the hoax is fixed. Conservatives and other people with common sense still try to show that Trump was making a valid point rather than telling people to drink bleach. One line of argument is to point out that people ingest toxins all the time for health reasons: Indeed, a friend of mine, Todd Tharp, had a whole clever list of dangerous things we ingest: I would add to the list a poison plant for heart disease (digitalis) and another acid, this one used to treat pain, thin blood, and prevent strokes, heart attacks, and cancer (Aspirin). Conservatives also reiterated what Trump himself had said, which was that he was talking about existing therapies being applied to the Wuhan virus: There's no turning back. The latest anti-Trump hoax is now the left's fixed reality: This information will be unavailing. In connection with the Charlottesville hoax, Scott Adams has explained that, once the hoax is fixed, there is no way to displace it with facts. No matter how often he showed people the transcript in which Trump made it crystal clear that he was not calling white supremacists fine people, Trump haters could not recognize that information: After a few years of trying to deprogram people from this hoax, I have discovered a fascinating similarity in how peoples brains respond to having their worldview annihilated in real time. I call it the fine people hoax funnel. When you present the debunking context to a believer in the hoax, they will NEVER say this: Gee, I hadnt seen the full quote. Now that I see it in its complete form, it is obvious to me that my long-held belief is 100% wrong and the media has been duping me. That doesnt happen. What happens, instead, is that people, when presented with the documented facts (unassailable videos and transcripts), will start making up facts that comport with their belief system. Their brains can no longer process the actual information. I saw this with an elderly lady who had hallucinated that Nazis had walked into her room through the window. Showing her that her window was on the 5th floor and could not be opened did not alter her certainty that this had happened. She simply retrofitted her hallucination with theories about platforms, helicopters, and magic keys. Thats where we are with the Lysol/bleach hoax. Its now a fixed part of Leftist lore about President Trump. To them, he will forever be the president who told Americans to inject Lysol and drink bleach. Conclusion: Since this was an illustrated anatomy of a hoax, Ill end it with two more illustrations, the first of which, fittingly, comes from Scott Adams: And this second one, equally fittingly, has popped up on social media from both leftists and conservatives because both sides, whether based on facts or fantasies, have nothing but disdain for their political opposites: ISTANBUL (AP) - Turkeys Health Ministry has reported 2,861 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and 106 more deaths but says the rate of positive tests for the virus is decreasing. The daily figures Health Minister Fahrettin Koca shared on Saturday brought the total number of virus-related deaths recorded by the Turkish government to 2,706. Turkey ranks seventh in the world for confirmed infections, surpassing China and Iran, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally. The government reported a total of 107,773 cases as of Saturday. But experts believe many more people have gotten sick or died during the pandemic than the ones included in the Johns Hopkins University project due to limited testing for the virus, the difficulty of counting the dead during the crisis and other factors. Nearly 870,000 people so far have been tested in Turkey, which has a population of about 82 million. In a tweet, Koca urged continued precautions while the rate of positive tests is going down. Employees of a local tourism company, wearing face masks as a preventive measure against the spread of the new coronavirus, stand in attention as they pay their respects at the Anzac Cove beach memorial in Gallipoli peninsula, the site of World War I landing of the ANZACs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) on April 25, 1915, in Canakkale, Turkey, early Saturday, April 25, 2020. The dawn service ceremony and all other commemorative ceremonies honoring thousands of Australians and New Zealanders who fought in the Gallipoli campaign of World War I on the ill-fated British-led invasion, were cancelled this year due to the new coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) Health Ministry data said 3,845 people being treated for COVID-19 were released from hospitals in the past 24 hours. In this Friday, April 24, 2020, photo provided by the Canakkale Governorate, Canakkale Governor Orhan Tavli places carnations on the graves of fallen Turkish soldiers at Turkish cemetery during the commemoration ceremonies marking 105th anniversary of the Gallipoli Campaign, in Canakkale, Turkey. Traditional mass celebrations on the ANZAC Day by Turks, Australians, New Zealanders, British and French have been cancelled due to new coronavirus outbreak this year. (Kadir Oztecik/Canakkale Governorate via AP) In this Friday, April 24, 2020, photo provided by the Canakkale Governorate, Canakkale Governor Orhan Tavli lays a wreath at Turkish monument during the commemoration ceremonies marking 105th anniversary of the Gallipoli Campaign, in Canakkale, Turkey. Traditional mass celebrations on the ANZAC Day by Turks, Australians, New Zealanders, British and French have been cancelled due to novel coronavirus this year. (Kadir Oztecik/Canakkale Governorate via AP) In this Friday, April 24, 2020, photo provided by the Canakkale Governorate, Turkish army commander Zekai Aksakalli places carnations on the graves of fallen Turkish soldiers at Turkish cemetery during the commemoration ceremonies marking 105th anniversary of the Gallipoli Campaign, in Canakkale, Turkey. Traditional mass celebrations on the ANZAC Day by Turks, Australians, New Zealanders, British and French have been cancelled due to novel coronavirus this year. (Kadir Oztecik/Canakkale Governorate via AP) A picture shows an apartment building on April 22, 2020, in Clichy-sous-Bois, a Paris suburb, on the 37th day of a strict lockdown in France aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the novel coronavirus. Providing food aid might be the most fixable of the longstanding problems in the heavily immigrant housing projects ringing France's large cities. Leader after leader has tried and failed to find remedies for often-dilapidated and cramped housing, chronic delinquency, a thriving drug trade and, above all, the entrenched discrimination against minorities that limits their job prospects in France. The town mayor, seeing a looming crisis triggered by food shortages, sounded the alarm, and with scattered unrest simmering in impoverished suburbs, the French government announced 39 million euros (nearly $42.1 million) for communities in need. Clichy-sous-Bois where fiery nationwide riots started in 2005 is just 23 kilometers (14 miles) northeast of the French capital, but with its rows of housing projects, restless youth and residents teetering on the poverty line, it feels light years away. "This is my only solution," she said, relieved that a local group in her Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois stepped in with help. With open air markets closed around Paris, supermarket prices skyrocketing, an out-of-work husband, two children to feed and another on the way, Diatite said even tomatoes were now too expensive. Joining more than 1,000 others, Djemba Diatite stood for hours in line to feed her growing family, grateful for handouts of fruits, vegetables and soap. It was her first time accepting charity, but she had no choice. The coronavirus pandemic has turned her world upside down. People queue as they wait to receive food aid and drinks collected from donators by the ACLEFEU association on April 22, 2020, in Clichy-sous-Bois, a Paris suburb Some residents say they felt confined years before France imposed strict coronavirus lockdown measures on March 17. "I feel the social crisis is growing with confinement," said Clichy-Sous-Bois Mayor Olivier Klein. "We see numerous people in need, urgently, in a way we've never seen," he told France Info radio. "In these tense neighborhoods, the smallest spark can trigger still more tension." Alongside the food crisis, there has been scattered violence, with youths targeting French police in confrontations that end in clouds of tear gas, including in Clichy-sous-Bois. The town is where filmmaker Ladj Ly shot his Oscar-nominated modern police drama "Les Miserables." A call for calm came from an unlikely person, a 30-year-old man with a long criminal record who crashed his motorcycle into the open door of a police car in Villeneuve-la-Garenne, northwest of Paris. As claims that police were at fault spread across the internet, the man from his hospital bed implored gangs to "go home," in a video released by his lawyer. Clichy-sous-Bois was the spark for nationwide rioting 15 years ago. Nightly TV images of the destruction awakened many in France to large swaths of a population they barely knew existed. The lockdown is again shining a spotlight on those who struggle even in the best of times. The town is in the poorest region of mainland France, Seine-Saint-Denis, where the overall mortality rate has more than doubled since March 1, when the country began counting virus deaths, according to national statistics agency Insee. Experts have blamed the density of the population, the difficulty of social distancing in large families and the fact that those in poorer areas often have jobs with a higher risk of infection. "This crisis is simply making (the problems) much more visible," said Mohamed Mechmache, who heads the group ACLeFeu, or Enough Fire, which grew out of the riots and is distributing food in Clichy-sous-Bois. Thousands now line up twice a week for the distribution, organized after the coronavirus lockdown began. Diatite is typical of many. Her husband drives a bus at Paris' Orly Airport, which closed last month due to the lull in air traffic, putting him out of work. Their growing family lives in a 26-square-meter (less than 280-square foot) apartment. "There is a very large accumulation of inequalities that often increase" in a crisis, said sociologist Marie-Helene Bacque. "We're moving toward a large social crisis." About 70% of Clichy-sous-Bois is of immigrant origin, she noted, typical of similar suburban towns. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said since the start of the lockdown, police have carried out checks on 220,000 people in Seine-Saint-Denis to ensure confinement rules are respected, more than double the national average. Some police attribute scattered violence to the squeeze on drug dealers during the lockdown. "Traffickers want to eliminate all police presence," tweeted Linda Kebbab, an official with the police union SGP-FO. Bachir Ghouinem, who helps ACLeFeu distribute food, dismissed the violence as just "another problem" among the many facing France's poor suburbs. But he predicted a worst-case scenario should the food distributions stop. "Rioting and pillaging. We're afraid of that," he said. "If it happens here, it happens everywhere." Mechmache, the leader of the ACLeFeu, took a longer view. "I dare to hope that there will be an awareness at the end of this lockdown to tackle the problems of inequality, which have existed for more than 30 years," he told The Associated Press. For Bacque, the sociologist, "it's the moment to return to the fundamental challenge, more equality." But she says she doubts that kind of political investment will happen, adding that "an explosion is not to be excluded." A tram that allows Clichy-sous-Bois residents to connect more easily with Paris and jobs opened in December. In the nearby housing project known as Les Bosquets, dilapidated high rises used by drug dealers were razed several years ago, fulfilling a government promise after the 2005 riots. "But you don't transform the social dimension by fixing ... architectural problems," Bacque said. The goal of this article is to teach you how to use price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll show how you can use Saint Jean Groupe Societe anonyme's (EPA:SABE) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. Based on the last twelve months, Saint Jean Groupe Societe anonyme's P/E ratio is 19.26. That corresponds to an earnings yield of approximately 5.2%. See our latest analysis for Saint Jean Groupe Societe anonyme How Do You Calculate A P/E Ratio? The formula for price to earnings is: Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share Earnings per Share (EPS) Or for Saint Jean Groupe Societe anonyme: P/E of 19.26 = 22.200 1.152 (Based on the year to December 2019.) (Note: the above calculation results may not be precise due to rounding.) Is A High P/E Ratio Good? A higher P/E ratio means that investors are paying a higher price for each 1 of company earnings. That is not a good or a bad thing per se, but a high P/E does imply buyers are optimistic about the future. Does Saint Jean Groupe Societe anonyme Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry? The P/E ratio indicates whether the market has higher or lower expectations of a company. As you can see below, Saint Jean Groupe Societe anonyme has a higher P/E than the average company (15.5) in the food industry. ENXTPA:SABE Price Estimation Relative to Market April 26th 2020 Saint Jean Groupe Societe anonyme's P/E tells us that market participants think the company will perform better than its industry peers, going forward. The market is optimistic about the future, but that doesn't guarantee future growth. So further research is always essential. I often monitor director buying and selling. How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios Probably the most important factor in determining what P/E a company trades on is the earnings growth. When earnings grow, the 'E' increases, over time. That means even if the current P/E is high, it will reduce over time if the share price stays flat. And as that P/E ratio drops, the company will look cheap, unless its share price increases. Story continues Saint Jean Groupe Societe anonyme's earnings made like a rocket, taking off 294% last year. The sweetener is that the annual five year growth rate of 17% is also impressive. So I'd be surprised if the P/E ratio was not above average. A Limitation: P/E Ratios Ignore Debt and Cash In The Bank Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. Hypothetically, a company could reduce its future P/E ratio by spending its cash (or taking on debt) to achieve higher earnings. Spending on growth might be good or bad a few years later, but the point is that the P/E ratio does not account for the option (or lack thereof). So What Does Saint Jean Groupe Societe anonyme's Balance Sheet Tell Us? With net cash of 19m, Saint Jean Groupe Societe anonyme has a very strong balance sheet, which may be important for its business. Having said that, at 26% of its market capitalization the cash hoard would contribute towards a higher P/E ratio. The Verdict On Saint Jean Groupe Societe anonyme's P/E Ratio Saint Jean Groupe Societe anonyme has a P/E of 19.3. That's higher than the average in its market, which is 13.9. The excess cash it carries is the gravy on top its fast EPS growth. To us, this is the sort of company that we would expect to carry an above average price tag (relative to earnings). Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. If the reality for a company is better than it expects, you can make money by buying and holding for the long term. Although we don't have analyst forecasts shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow. You might be able to find a better buy than Saint Jean Groupe Societe anonyme. If you want a selection of possible winners, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a P/E below 20 (but have proven they can grow earnings). If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. Portland City Council Pos. 1: Carmen Rubio Carmen Rubio, 46, has been largely recognized as the heir apparent to the seat being vacated by City Commissioner Amanda Fritz. Its not surprising for the executive director of the Latino Network. Her broad experience across county and city government as well as her 10 years leading the influential nonprofit have prepared her well for the city commissioners dual role as a legislator and executive of bureaus. Organizations and politicians across the region have lined up behind her with their coveted endorsements. She earns ours as well. She has demonstrated the strength of her leadership and coalition-building skills throughout her career, but most notably at Latino Network, overseeing its growth from an organization with a budget of $600,000 to more than $9 million for the year ending June 30, 2018. The organization has emerged as a prominent voice not just regionally, but also statewide, influencing legislation in Salem and mobilizing voters statewide on initiatives of priority to the group. Those skills, she notes, will be helpful in building partnerships across government jurisdictions, businesses and nonprofits that will be crucial for an economic recovery for Portland. Housing, as it is for many candidates, is her top issue. Her own experience with housing instability she and her family had to move 10 times by the time she was 14 is a compelling story that fuels her commitment to address this urgent crisis. At the same time, her platform could have benefited from having tougher questioning along the way. Had the coronavirus pandemic not occurred, we believe competitor Candace Avalos would have consistently pushed her to sharpen her ideas and plan of action. While we are endorsing Rubio as voters best choice, Avalos, a 31-year-old educator, is someone to watch for in future races. Passionate, detailed and knowledgeable, she argues that city government isnt giving her generations concerns about the environment and paycheck-to-paycheck living the consideration they deserve. The acting chair of the Citizens Review Committee, she is committed to improving police accountability and politically courageous enough to challenge conventions that stand in the way. Portland City Council Pos. 2: Sam Chase Portland City Council lost a statesman, collaborator and true public servant with the death of Commissioner Nick Fish in January. While no one will fill his shoes, voters should look to Sam Chase, a Metro councilor, former head of the Coalition of Community Health Clinics and a former chief of staff for Fish, as the right choice to move Portland forward. In this competitive field of candidates, Chase emerges as the one with the most comprehensive view of how Portland can survive the pandemics economic blows and rebuild. He recognizes that Portlands ability to provide housing assistance and other desperately needed services relies on a recovering economy and strengthening private sector. To that end, he offers practical suggestions such as identifying capital projects that can move forward and keep people employed and offering small businesses help in accessing loans or tax relief. He also notes the city can pressure Metro to prioritize bond-funded work that provides employment over making land purchases. On housing, he supports expanded government investment but also notes the need to remove permitting or financing barriers that have made it too expensive for private entities to help fill the need. But its not just the priorities that a candidate offers; how they evaluate problems and make decisions is a critical piece as well. Most telling was Chases response when asked what the city should and should not prioritize in making tough budget calls with a pandemic-depleted treasury. After naming public safety and housing among top needs, Chase, an ardent advocate of parks who wants to lead the bureau, said that the city may have to hold back on building out the vision for parks that Portlanders want. Were going to have to make incredibly difficult decisions, he noted, adding that the focus must be on whats going to rebuild Portlands economy first. That willingness to weigh the needs of the city over his personal priorities is rare in city government where commissioners too often make decisions based on bureau fiefdoms and personal biases. Former Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith and Renew Oregon Executive Director Tera Hurst also make strong cases for themselves. Smith has a more critical eye for budget excess, while Hurst has shown her ability to build broad support for new ideas in her lobbying for climate-change legislation in Salem. But neither brings the broad view of the citys opportunities and obligations as Chase. Portland City Council Pos. 4: Mingus Mapps For more than a decade, Position 4 has been a seat of polarizing politics. Former City Commissioner Randy Leonard sparked anger and eventually lawsuits against the city for his use of water ratepayer funds for projects unrelated to providing water service. Attorney Steve Novick, who succeeded Leonard, infuriated Portlanders and the business community with inflammatory rhetoric and byzantine proposals for a street fee to fund repairs of Portlands crumbling roads. Unfortunately, the current commissioner, Chloe Eudaly, continues the pattern. She has similarly alienated Portlanders, deflecting criticism of her proposals by taking aim at colleagues, constituents and the press. And she fomented the biggest threat to her re-election with a poorly-vetted proposal from the Office of Community and Civic Life that threatened to downgrade the status of Portlands long-standing neighborhood associations. In response to the furor, she accused opponents of waging a misinformation campaign and clarified that there will be no change to neighborhood associations status in the short term. Voters should break with the divisiveness of the past and vote for Mingus Mapps, a 52-year-old former political science professor who also happened to work as a supervisor and a program manager in the citys civic life office before being fired last year. (Mapps said the termination came as his probationary period ended and that it was apparent he did not fit in with the management culture). Mapps, who touts a desire to ensure the preservation of a stable, healthy Portland for the next generation, provides a more moderate, thoughtful alternative to Eudaly. He emphasizes the need to change the tone in city politics from todays divisive and demoralizing approach to one that focuses on constructive solutions for housing, homelessness and community engagement that build off Portlands strengths. His priorities mirror the concerns of many longtime Portlanders worried over changes they fear will diminish the quality of life. Neighborhood associations, with whom he worked while in the civic life office, are among the assets that have helped create the Portland we have today, he argues, and should be defended. At the same time, he is keenly aware of the need to make Portland more representative and responsive to community members. He firmly supports restructuring Portlands commission form of government and appointing a city manager, a reform that many view as a critical fix to make the city more effective. The race includes former Mayor Sam Adams, who left office after a term marked by controversy. While Adams is a policy wonk with creative ideas who works well with business, his track record as mayor offers several exhibits against sending him back to council. Adams was all-too willing to plunder budgets to pay for pet projects while ignoring the citys obligations to maintain core city functions. He signed on to questionable deals, such as committing the city to a $5 million loan guarantee for the now defunct SoloPower, a debt that the city is still paying off. He pitched the reviled arts tax to voters with a 5% administrative cost cap that the citys revenue director admits was never realistic. And his own poor judgment engaging in a relationship with an 18-year-old and then lying about it introduced a level of drama that this city just doesnt need. Its no easy matter to dislodge an incumbent, particularly in todays uncertain environment. And Eudaly has been effective in some key ways. She has delivered numerous renter protections as promised although some may exacerbate the housing crisis by increasing costs and legal worries for landlords. But voters tired of polarizing politics would be smart to vote for Mapps. - The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board Find links to our other endorsements, including Portland mayor and the Portland gas tax, here at our main endorsement posting. - Born in Machakos in 1986, Mwangangi went to Pangani Girls in Nairobi before she graduated from the University of Nairobi in 2009 - She started working as an intern doctor in Machakos Level 5 hospital before she was posted to Meru south as a public health officer - Later on she went to study for her masters in Australia where she graduated with a master's degree in health economics and policy - She volunteered to work for 18 months unpaid in the Ministry of Health before she was promoted and later appointed CAS When Mercy Mwangangi was announced as the chief administrative secretary in the Ministry of Health, Kenyans were left guessing not knowing who she really was. As fate would have it, the coronavirus pandemic presented an opportunity for Kenyans to know the healthcare economist and the brains behind the Universal Healthcare Coverage. READ ALSO: True Love: Pastor, wife celebrate 28th wedding anniversary by picking wild flowers CAS Mercy Mwangangi during a past press conference. Photo: Health Ministry Source: UGC READ ALSO: Coronavirus: Somalia COVID-19 cases surpass Kenya as total hits 390 Born in 1986 in Machakos county, Mwangangi went through her primary school education in Machakos before he joined Pangani Girls, Nairobi, for her high school education, as reported by The Standard. She then went on to graduate from the University of Nairobi in 2009 with a bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery. Mwangangi worked at Machakos Level 5 Hospital for a one-year internship where she spent most of her time by the patient's' bedside and in the theatre. Her first official posting as a doctor was when she was appointed in the public health department in Meru South, something that she did not expect given she was so used attending to patients. CAS Mercy Mwangangi (centre) during a past press conference. Photo: Ministry of Health Source: UGC READ ALSO: Call Polis: Fans worried about singer Bahati after wearing Diana's dress to mimic Akothee To her surprise, she was the youngest in the department but that did not deter her or intimidate her from making her views known to the departmental heads. I learnt to take my seat at the table and make my voice heard, because for your voice to be heard you have to speak out loud, she said. She later went to the University of Adelaide in Australia where she graduated with a master's degree in health economics and policy. She came back to Kenya and volunteered to work unpaid for 18 months in the Health ministry while devolution was taking shape, before she was posted to the ministrys monitoring and evaluation department. It is at that department that the young doctor got a good view of the entire health sector by interacting with all spheres in the ministry. CS Mutahi Kagwe (left) and CAS Mercy Mwangangi (right) during a past press conference. Photo: Health Ministry Source: Twitter READ ALSO: Kisii: 3 MCAs among 7 arrested for drinking during curfew Later, she joined the team evaluating performance contracts and appraisals for the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF). With her hardwork and determination, five months later she was promoted to head the health financing division, which at the time was struggling to craft operational strategies. In no time, the division was on its feet. This is the time we put together the Linda Mama programme for free maternity services, the health insurance strategy for the poor and many other initiatives, including the conditional grant framework for county governments, she narrated. READ ALSO: Raila Odinga says food distribution in slums would be easier if settlements had streets, house numbers She served in the position for one and half years before she was appointed to a five-team member that was tasked with the responsibility of crafting an actionable plan for Universal Healthcare agenda. It was until during a presentation in the United States that the then Health CS Sicily Kariuki noticed the intelligent young doctor who was working in her ministry. Before long, Mwangangi found herself serving as a technical advisor to the CS. Her biggest task was piloting UHC. She was later appointed CAS in the ministry by President Uhuru Kenyatta. And just when one thinks that she has reached the pinnacle of her career, the soft-spoken doctor said she still wants to become an orthopaedic surgeon. She said she misses going through hospital wards, something that she attributes to her weight gain. Ive added weight from sitting in the office with no time to work out, she quips. Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly. Source: TUKO.co.ke Advertisement Shocking footage has emerged showing mourners running for their lives after a gunman opened fire at the funeral of a Manchester godfather dubbed 'Mr Ibiza'. Dozens of people who broke social distancing rules to attend the service of criminal Clive Pinnock, 38, were forced to flee when a series of gunshots were fired within the crowd at Gorton cemetery, Manchester, on Thursday. As well-wishers drank beer and blared music out of speakers near to the gravesite, a man armed with a gun sneaked into the cemetery and shot at the crowd, which included young children. In the video, taken by a man attending with his friends, someone can be heard shouting 'Who's shooting? Who's shooting?' as the crowd quickly disperses through the trees and armed police arrive. 'It was terrifying. Everyone was playing their respects to Clive and having a drink and remembering old times while some music played,' an onlooker told the Sun. 'Then there was a popping sound and people started running. It took a few seconds to realise it was gunfire and then everyone started running and trying to find cover behind gravestones and in cars.' Dozens of people who broke social distancing rules to attend the service of criminal 'Mr Ibiza' Clive Pinnock, 38, were forced to flee when a series of gunshots were fired within the crowd at Gorton cemetery, Manchester In the video, taken by a man attending with his friends, someone can be heard shouting 'Who's shooting? Who's shooting?' as the crowd quickly disperses through the trees and armed police arrive Greater Manchester Police said they allowed the large gathering of mourners at the funeral because they believed closing it down would endanger public safety and it was 'clear that the emotions of those at the gathering were high' Greater Manchester Police have confirmed that a man has been charged with possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence in relation to the incident. Mohammed Haseeb Umar is due to appear at Manchester Magistrates' Court on Monday. Police were called to the cemetery at 7pm on Thursday following reports that gunshots were heard following 'several gatherings'. In a statement, GMP said: 'Mohammed Haseeb Umar, 23 of Broadlea Road, Burnage has been charged with possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. Detectives are continuing to appeal for information following the incident, and asking witnesses with any footage or images to contact the force. Another man, 34, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after being found injured at the cemetery. The Manchester Evening News reported that the man walked into the crowd and opened fire before he was slashed with a knife, suffering serious face lacerations. Armed police were scrambled to the scene and it is understood the culprit was disarmed by officers who said the intervention saved his life. Police say the injured man, 34, was found on nearby Waterhouse Road with knife wounds. After being taken to hospital for treatment he was discharged and taken into custody where detectives continue to question him. Nobody is believed to have been shot and the weapon has not been found but police have taped off the crime scene as they investigate. Greater Manchester Police have confirmed that a man has been charged with possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence in relation to the incident. Mohammed Haseeb Umar is due to appear at Manchester Magistrates' Court on Monday Detectives are continuing to appeal for information following the incident, and asking witnesses with any footage or images to contact the force Clive Pinnock (pictured left) was killed in a collision between a BMW and his motorbike on April 8. He was known as 'Mr Ibiza' by friends and family. Huge crowds gathered to pay their final respects to Mr Pinnock (right, a hearse drives through town) Police added that evidence of gunshots has been retrieved from the scene and a cordon remains in place. Mr Pinnock died after a collision between a green Kawasaki motorbike he was riding and a BMW on Hyde Road on Wednesday April 8. His notoriety within the local community resulted in hundreds of people turning up to his funeral, breaching the Government's social distancing rules. Greater Manchester Police said they allowed the large gathering of mourners at the funeral because they believed closing it down would endanger public safety and it was 'clear that the emotions of those at the gathering were high'. Superintendent Rebecca Boyce from Greater Manchester Police later addressed questions about why such a large groups had been allowed to gather despite the coronavirus lockdown. She said: 'We were made aware of several gatherings taking place yesterday in Gorton in relation to a funeral. In the lead up to the funeral, officers engaged with the immediate family of the man who had sadly lost his life to explain the government guidelines and to discuss details of their plans. 'A careful assessment was then made about the policing approach to any gatherings associated with the funeral. Our overriding priority was to ensure that the wider public were kept safe. Mourners gather at Gorton Cemetery for Clive Pinnock while ignoring social distancing rules Mr Pinnock grew up on a notorious estate in Longsight. He was riding a green Kawasaki motorcycle in Gorton when it was in a collision with a BMW. He was badly hurt and later died in hospital. Pictured: The burial last night The mourners at Gorton Cemetery were pictured ignoring social-distancing rules as they packed around the grave on Thursday night Some of the fancy and bizarre vehicles to attend the funeral procession are pictured (left, a Rolls Royce, and right, a quad bike) 'We continued to closely monitor the situation and as it progressed it was clear that the emotions of those at the gathering were high and therefore a decision was made, in the interests of public safety, not to intervene unless the wider public were put at risk by the groups. Mr Pinnock was known as 'Mr Ibiza because of his links to the club scene on the island and in the Greater Manchester area. He grew up on the notorious Anson estate in Longsight, was riding a green Kawasaki motorbike on Hyde Road in Gorton when it was involved in a collision with a BMW on April 8. He was badly hurt and later died in hospital. A 34-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of drink driving in connection with the collision. Before Mr Pinnock's funeral took place, police said they attended 'several gatherings' relating to last night's ceremony. A police chief confirmed neighbourhood officers 'engaged' with those present at a large vigil in the city on April 11. The Government has urged social distancing at burials and for the number of mourners to be restricted by funeral directors to only include close family. Some of the members of the huge crowd who turned out for Mr Pinnock's funeral are photograph ahead of the burial last night Police taped off Gorton Cemetery after the incident involving the gunman at Mr Pinnock's funeral (pictured on Thursday night) A group of police officers are seen around the graves in Gorton Cemetery on Friday morning after the shooting the previous night A 23-year-old New York City EMT died by suicide less than three months on the job after the rookie was thrust into work during the coronavirus outbreak. John Mondello was found dead from a gunshot wound discharged from a weapon registered to his retired NYPD father, in Queens on Friday. Mondello was found after a passerby spotted the body just after 6.45pm on rocks along a river wall on Shore Boulevard in Astoria. EMT John Mondello, 23, died by suicide less than three months on the job after the rookie was thrust into work during the coronavirus outbreak Mondello was found dead from a gunshot wound discharged from a weapon registered to his retired NYPD father, in Queens on Friday. The body was found after a passerby spotted the body just after 6:45 p.m. on rocks along a river wall on Shore Boulevard in Astoria (pictured) NYPD officers arrive on the scene after Mondello's body was discovered in Astoria, Queens His death comes after Mondello had mentioned he was struggling with coping with patients who were dying from the deadly flu-like virus, also known as COVID-19, sources who confirmed his death told the New York Post. The young EMT was on the Tactical Response Group running non-stop to areas with the busiest emergency call volume in the city. In the city, positive cases of coronavirus have hit more than 160,000 and more than 16,000 people have died - including probable cases. So far, there have been 978,104 cases in the US of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 55,059 deaths. How the number of new coronavirus infections in the US has escalated over time A day-to-day look at the number of deaths in the US attributed to the coroanvirus Mondello graduated from the FDNY's EMS Academy in early February, the Post reports. He then went to work with the Tactical Response Group next to EMS Station 18 in Claremont. The station is one of the busiest by 911 call volume throughout the five boroughs. Emergency services personnel are taking the impacts of the virus hard, says Anthony Almojera, vice president of the EMS officers' union. 'This is indicative of what we're all going through,' he said. ' Hopefully people will reach out when they need help and don't resort to this type of action. There are places to go if people need help.' Emergency services personnel (pictured) are taking the impacts of the virus hard, says Anthony Almojera, vice president of the EMS officers' union Paramedics move a man to an ambulance after he collapsed while waiting in line during a food pantry distribution in the Bronx last week A fellow EMT who spoke with Mondello told him 'everything was going to get better.' Both spoke about how 'everyone feels stressed out and overwhelmed' especially after graduating from the academy and 'jumping into the pandemic, the high call volume.' The colleague said they two discussed the 'chaos' and seeing 'people passing away right in front of you.' 'We don't have the same union benefits as other city workers. It's really stressful to work long hours and not get paid as much,' the colleague added. Another colleague said Mondello complained of anxiety seeing so much death. 'He'd feel it was a heavy experience when he'd fail to save a life,' Al Javier told the Post. Anthony Almojera, vice president of the EMS officers' union, said the devastation wrought by the virus is taking a toll on many of his crew members. How the number of new coronavirus cases in the US has escalated over time So far, there have been 978,104 cases in the US of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 55,059 deaths 'This is indicative of what we're all going through,' he said. ' Hopefully people will reach out when they need help and don't resort to this type of action. There are places to go if people need help.' Mental health counseling is available to all FDNY service members, and has been promoted during the pandemic. 'The loss of this young EMT who chose to bravely serve others is a tragedy for our entire department. We all mourn his loss and our prayers are with his family,' FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro told the Post. Mondello's family was devastated by his passing. 'He's a wonderful boy and they're a wonderful family,' a relative told the Post Saturday. 'We are totally devastated. Beautiful personality. Big heart.' Mondellow, a Queens native, attended LaGuardia Community College and St. John's University. He had a deli job delivering food before becoming an EMT. 'He was always smiling, always joking around. He never seemed upset,' his store manager Peter Lee said. The city offers a suicide-prevention hotline number. For more information, call 1-888-NYC-WELL (1-888-692-9355). By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran has condemned Republic TVs editor in chief Arnab Goswamis derogatory comment against interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi during a discussion in his channel about the Palghar lynching incident. Mullappally said Arnabs blabbering is highly deplorable. Mullappally said the television journalist has hurled baseless allegations against Sonia Gandhi. He also opined that Arnab, who has been showing allegiance to BJP, is a curse to neutral and righteous reporting. The KPCC president said the television personality hurled abuses at the Congress leader without understanding the legacy of the Nehru family. Sonia Gandhi is a strong woman who was kind enough to pardon her husbands assailants. She is a leader who never tried to come up through shortcuts, said Mullappally Zimbabwe on Friday revised downwards its number of coronavirus cases to 28, saying a positive case had been counted twice. The Health and Child Care ministry had earlier reported that the countrys coronavirus or Covid-19 cases had risen to 29 from the previous days total after a patient tested positive in the second city of Bulawayo. The ministry would like to report that of the 101 PCR tests done in Bulawayo, which had pending results on April 22, one was not for a new case but from a retest of a case that had been reported previously, reads the statement. This reduces the cases of Bulawayo from 11 to 10 and nationally from 29 to 28 since the Covid 19 outbreak. It has also been noted that the governments figures for tests are also not accurate. On Monday, the government said it had conducted 3 308 tests, the following day it said 841 tests were conducted. Cumulatively, that means 4 149 tests were conducted, but government records said 4 159 tests were done. When asked about this, a government official said it was probably a typographical error, which was going to be corrected. However, that error remains uncorrected. Efforts to get an explanation from officials have so far drawn a blank. Zimbabwe recorded its first coronavirus case on March 20 after a Victoria Falls resident, who had travelled to the United Kingdom tested positive. The country has since recorded four fatalities, with the latest case being the mother of a former minister Sylvester Nguni. Ngunis mother had no history of travel and her family said she had been confined to her Mhondoro rural home since the country went into a lockdown on March 30. Two people have since recovered from the flu-like disease that was first detected in China late last year. Last weekend, President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced the extension of the lockdown, which was due to end on April 19, extending it to May 3. Zimbabwe like South Africa is most probably going to gradually reopen the economy. The governments response to the coronavirus outbreak has been routinely criticised, with authorities being accused of not doing enough to combat the spread of the disease that has killed more than 192 000 people across the globe, while 2,8 million infections have been confirmed. The World Health Organisation (WHO)'s medical product evaluation agency has sent a letter informing the certification of the SARS-CoV-2 testing kit LightPower iVA SARS-CoV-2 1st RT-rPCR, which was jointly produced by Vietnam Military Medical University and Viet A Company. According to the letter, the WHO's agency recognised the test kit manufactured by Vietnam under the Emergency Use List (EUL) process and issued EUL code 0524-210-00. Earlier, the British Ministry of Health and Social Care also issued a certificate of European standard (CE) and a certificate of free sale (CFS) for the made-in-Vietnam test kit. The UK Agency for Management of Medicines and Health Care Products (MHRA) has sent a certificate to Viet A company. MHRA has carried out quality testing, field testing and licensing of the above product, whereby the test kit will be sold freely in all member countries of the European Economic Area ( EEA) to which the UK is a member./. A woman who accused Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her in 1993 says she is shocked that several mainstream TV news anchors including CNN's Anderson Cooper have failed to ask the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee about the allegations despite many opportunities to do so. Tara Reade came forward more than a month ago with her story that Biden forcibly kissed, groped and digitally penetrated her when she served as an aide to the then-senator from Delaware in the early 1990s. Since then, Biden has done nearly a dozen TV interviews with news anchors including NBC News' Chuck Todd, ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, and Cooper - none of whom brought up Reade. 'I think it's shocking that this much time has passed and that he is an actual nominee for president and they're not asking the questions,' Reade told Fox News over the weekend. 'He's been on "Anderson Cooper" at least twice where he was not asked.' Reade said the anchors' failure to address such an important issue has left her distrustful of their coverage as a whole. 'I really would look to [Cooper] for answers and I would never do that again,' she said. 'I've lost total respect.' Tara Reade, 56, (pictured) slammed mainstream TV news anchors for failing to address her allegations against Joe Biden during recent interviews with him Reade says she's lost 'total respect' for CNN's Anderson Cooper because he failed to ask Biden about her allegations during two interviews after they came to light late last month. Cooper and Biden are seen in one of the interviews on March 27 'There are two things happening at once,' she continued. '[Biden] is not making himself accessible to be asked the question. 'And when he does make himself accessible, they are not asking, those anchors. 'And so that tells there may be a political agenda behind that and that's gross. ... I'm a survivor and I would like the question asked.' Reade also speculated that if the target of the allegation was conservative, anchors would take a much more aggressive approach when interviewing them. 'I guess my question is, if this were Donald Trump, would they treat it the same way? If this were Brett Kavanaugh, did they treat it the same way?' Reade asked. 'In other words, it's politics and political agenda playing a role in objective reporting and asking the question.' DailyMail.com has reached out to CNN, NBC News and ABC News for comment about Reade's criticisms. ABC News host George Stephanopoulos also failed to address Reade's allegations during a March 27 interview (pictured) NBC News anchor Chuck Todd interviewed Biden on March 29 (pictured) and did not mention Reade's allegations, which she aired on a podcast four days prior Reade was among the women who came out last year alleging Biden was too handsy, but did not make her allegation of sexual assault until appearing on journalist Katie Halper's podcast on March 25. Reade told Halper that the assault occurred after she was told to deliver a gym bag to the then-senator. Reade said she tracked down Biden on Capitol Hill and he remembered her name. 'And then we were alone. And it was the strangest thing. There was no, like, exchange really, he just had me up against the wall,' she said. She said she was wearing a work skirt, but no pantyhose. 'He just had me up against the wall and the wall was cold,' she said. 'His hands were on me and underneath my clothes. He went down my skirt and then up inside it and he penetrated me with his fingers. He was kissing me at the same time,' she said. She said that when she 'pulled back', Biden 'looked annoyed'. Reade said Biden said to her: 'Come on man, I heard you liked me.' 'He implied that I had done this,' she told the podcast host. At first Reade didn't want to mention the other quote that got stuck in her head, but then she told Halper what it was. 'You're nothing to me,' she claimed the senator said to her. 'Nothing.' Reade posted an image on social media of what she looked like in 1993, the year she alleged Biden sexually assaulted her Reade said that she had attempted to bring up her concerns about the alleged assault to her superiors in Biden's office but got nowhere. She also said her duties were cut after she refused to serve drinks at an event. Biden, she claims, had wanted her serving because he liked her legs. The former staffer said she later felt pushed out and left in August 1993 after only nine months. Biden and his campaign have fiercely denied the claims. 'What is clear about this claim: it is untrue. This absolutely did not happen,' Biden Deputy Campaign Manager Kate Bedingfield said in a statement. 'Vice President Biden has dedicated his public life to changing the culture and the laws around violence against women. He authored and fought for the passage and reauthorization of the landmark Violence Against Women Act. He firmly believes that women have a right to be heard - and heard respectfully. Such claims should also be diligently reviewed by an independent press.' Biden's campaign pushed back vehemently after Reade's claims, providing a character witness to DailyMail.com and other outlets. The presidential candidate is pictured with his wife Jill during a campaign stop in Philadelphia last month Reade filed a criminal complaint against Biden with police in Washington, DC, on April 9. On Thursday, Reade's claims were bolstered when a 1993 video emerged in which an anonymous woman later revealed to be the accuser's mother, Jeannette Altimus, called in to CNN's Larry King Live and asked the TV host and his panel about 'problems' her daughter had with a 'prominent senator'. Reade, who was in her 20s at the time of the alleged assault, had previously revealed Altimus called into the show when she told her about the sexual assault claims 27 years ago but was unable to remember the exact date or year of the phone call. When news of her official complaint against Biden first emerged, Reade said she had told her mother, brother and a friend about the assault at the time. She said her mother urged her to go to the police. Her brother Collin Moulton and the anonymous friend confirmed this, but Altimus died in 2016. The new clip was discovered by The Intercept and Reade confirmed that it was her mother's voice on Twitter. 'I remember it being an anonymous call and her saying my daughter was sexually harassed and retaliated against and fired, where can she go for help? I was mortified,' Reade told The Intercept. The CNN clip does not reference sexual harassment or anyone being fired but features an anonymous woman asking if her daughter should go to the press because of problems with a senator. The interview featured in a program King aired on August 11, 1993, titled, 'Washington: The Cruelest City on Earth?' and the caller was identified as a woman dialing in from San Luis Obispo, California. Records show that August 1993 was the last month Reade worked with Biden's office and that Altimus was living in San Luis Obispo County at the time. A new clip appears to show Tara Reade's mother Jeanette Altimus calling into Larry King and asking about her 'problems' with a 'prominent senator' in 1993. The clip does not mention sexual assault allegations. Reade filed a formal complaint against the VP this month 'I'm wondering what a staffer would do besides go to the press in Washington?' the caller asked. 'My daughter has just left there, after working for a prominent senator, and could not get through with her problems at all, and the only thing she could have done was go to the press, and she chose not to do it out of respect for him.' The panel did not offer any suggestions or advice to the caller but talked about whether they would leak news on a rival to the press. Reade responded to the clip on Twitter, identifying the voice as her mother's. 'This is my mom. I miss her so much and her brave support of me,' she wrote. 'I discussed the Larry King call w reporters last year and on Katie Halper publicly. Thank you for posting. 'I miss my mom as she died 4 years ago. Her indignation of how I was treated prompted her to reach out in 1993. 'Thank you to those who found the Larry King episode I told reporters about. 'My mother was so brave and supportive. It has been an emotional day to hear her voice again. How I wish she knew how much I appreciated her love hug your mother if you can.' CNN mentioned the Larry King episode and issued a report on its website on Saturday afternoon - marking the first time the network has addressed Reade's claim. Reade confirmed the voice on Larry King was her mother, Jeanette Altimus Just before filing the complaint on April 9, Reade said in a tweet (pictured) that those who 'silence sexual assault & sexual harassment survivors' are complicit in the alleged abuse, without naming whom she was referring to. Biden has denied the accusations Over the past several days Reade's story has gained traction on social media as supporters of Biden's former rival Bernie Sanders slammed leaders of the Democratic Party over their silence on the allegations. The hashtag #DropOutBiden began trending on Twitter on Saturday as Sanders supporters expressed their fury over the timid response to Reade's claims. Many point out that the Democratic Party mobilized en masse to try and derail the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court after decades-old allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced. The lack of attention given to the Reade allegations are likely due to the fact that Biden is ahead in polls against the incumbent, President Trump, and that defeating the Republican in November is paramount to anything else, observers say. Glenn Greenwald, the journalist from The Intercept who is a critic of Biden and a supporter of Sanders, tweeted: 'Liberals are destroying all the #MeToo progress right before your eyes in order to protect Biden and trash his accuser as an unstable liar. 'Nobody is going to tolerate sex assault accusations and 'Believe Women!' dictates be weaponized & used so manipulatively for partisan ends.' Nathan J. Robinson, the editor of the left-wing magazine Current Affairs, tweeted: 'I am trying to WARN Democrats, before Biden has actually been nominated, that they face a potential huge problem in November. 'Why do you think Trump hasn't mentioned this [allegation] yet? 'He is smart enough to know he should wait to use it until Democrats can't replace Biden.' Peter Daou, a Sanders supporter and former adviser to ex-Secretary of State John Kerry, called on Biden to withdraw, tweeting: 'Credible rape accusations are disqualifying or we have NO moral standards.' 'In 1993 the mother of Tara Reade was so disturbed by what her daughter told her @JoeBiden did to her, & the lack of help she said she got from his staff, that she called Larry King to talk about it the week Tara stopped working for him,' said activist and prominent Sanders surrogate Shaun King. 'TARA READE IS TELLING THE TRUTH', tweeted actress and #MeToo advocate Rose McGowan. Shaun King, a Sanders surrogate, said on Twitter that prominent Democrats won't speak up in support of Reade because 'they think it will help Trump' A professor who is an expert on sexual trauma tweeted that he found Reade's allegations 'credible' and that Biden should quit the race Krystal Ball, a media personality and Sanders supporter, said the new revelations bolster Reade's credibility PCUSA to hold General Assembly online only for first time in denomination's history Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Presbyterian Church USA, the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States, will be holding its General Assembly exclusively online for the first time in its history. The Committee on the Office of the General Assembly voted unanimously on Tuesday to move the gathering online. Their vote came earlier than planned, as they were originally going to vote on the matter on Thursday. Julia Henderson, interim director of assembly operations for the Office of the General Assembly, said in a statement that their vote was moved up to Tuesday due to "contractual issues." We knew we would reach a point in time in our contract with the Baltimore Convention Center and hotels where they would not be able to meet the agreed upon services listed in our contracts and that day [was Tuesday], said Julia Henderson, according to the Office of the General Assembly. This is a force majeure. We need to let them know we are canceling because they cannot meet their obligations. As a result of the decision to move the General Assembly to online, the original assembly schedule of June 20-27 was changed to three days: June 19 and then June 26-27. The convention center in Maryland where they were planning to hold the in-person assembly has since been converted into a field hospital for those suffering from the new coronavirus, explained OGA. Earlier this month, Rick Jones of the OGA reported that PCUSA leaders were considering moving the General Assembly to be exclusively online and for fewer days due to COVID-19 concerns. Due to the shorter schedule and online platform, the plan was to reduce the agenda to include key items, such as elections for moderator and stated clerk, budget, and actions regarding special committees. I dont see how concerts and virtual exhibit halls are critical. I see that we want to create a virtual GA experience, said COGA member Eliana Maxim at the time, OGA reports. But things are not the way they were. We need to do something totally responsive in this unprecedented time. PCUSA Stated Clerk, the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II, said earlier this month that, even with an abbreviated schedule, the General Assembly still plans to address social justice issues. We are not divorcing ourselves from social justice. We are in a world and nation that is hurting in many ways and people cannot connect with loved ones who are dying, he said. We have always been pro-justice. This is not a diminishing of that. I do think there is a need for us to be very poignant in our way of expressing who we are as Presbyterians. In response to stay-at-home orders and concerns over the spread of COVID-19, many churches and religious gatherings have canceled or temporarily suspended in-person events. For example, the United Methodist Church announced in March that they were postponing their General Conference, originally scheduled for May 5-15. The UMC Executive Committee of the Commission on the General Conference made the decision due to a Minnesota state order prohibiting gatherings of more than 50 people. UMC Commission Chair Kim Simpson said in a statement that they expected the decision and they are planning to move forward with new plans as quickly as possible. Our focus in this moment is not solely on the gathering of the General Conference for the work we have been called to do, but is on the individuals, families, churches and communities around the world whose lives are being impacted by this pandemic, Simpson said in March. We recognize the struggle to deal with the physical, emotional and spiritual needs which come with the unknown. We are confident that local United Methodist churches will be finding new ways to be in community with their neighbors and meet their evolving needs. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis wears a face mask as he answers a question during a recent news conference to update the state's efforts to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. (David Zalubowski / Associated Press) Several U.S. governors on Sunday outlined plans to ease stay-at-home orders in the days and weeks ahead but cautioned constituents that the coronavirus remained a threat in their communities. "What matters a lot more than the date that the stay-at-home ends is what we do going forward, and how we have an ongoing, sustainable way psychologically, economically and from the health perspective to have the social distancing we need, said Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, on CNNs State of the Union. Polis has announced that, beginning Monday, elective surgeries can be performed and retail businesses with curbside delivery can reopen. Bars, restaurants and gyms must remain shut. Colorado has seen nearly 13,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and nearly 700 deaths. Polis said that in the weeks ahead he and his administration would look at data and "adjust in real time." "We expect that we'll have to adjust the degree of social distancing in real time, meaning we're going to look at those early indicators, the mobility data," Polis said. "We're going to look at disease data. We're going to look at a number of different proxies and, as we need to, adjust it in real time." On Sunday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, whose order expires on Thursday, also expressed discomfort in talking about specific reopening dates. DeSantis, who was castigated last month by critics for a delayed response to issuing a stay-at-home order, said during a news conference, "We are going to do everything in a smart way. I am less concerned about the date and more concerned about getting it right," he said. Florida has seen 31,000 confirmed cases of the virus and at least 1,000 deaths. Nationwide, the death toll from COVID-19 topped 54,500 in the United States on Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The reported U.S. death toll is the highest globally. Stay-at-home orders in several states Alabama, Arizona, Florida and Tennessee, to name a few are set to expire later this week. Story continues In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo outlined plans at a news conference Sunday for a phased reopening of the economy, noting that any changes will be based on a "regional analysis." Cuomo has signed a pact with governors from six other Northeast states to work collaboratively toward reopening. "Look at the regional analysis. Make a determination. And then monitor whatever you do," he said of his plan. The states stay-at-home order is currently in place until May 15. New York has been a hotbed of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., with 282,000 cases and nearly 16,600 deaths. Cuomo outlined a plan that could see businesses reopening in phases starting with construction, then possibly retail establishments. Speaking to reporters from Albany, Cuomo said that implementing a safe reopening of the economy would require changes at a societal level. "People don't like change," Cuomo said. "It's hard to make change in your own life, let alone on a societal collective level." On Sunday, officials announced that all patients had been released from the Comfort, a military hospital ship, which has been docked in New York City harbor since last month. It helped treat roughly 180 coronavirus patients and will depart in the weeks ahead. In recent days, as the coronavirus death toll continues to climb, states including Georgia have lifted some restrictions, allowing for businesses such as barbershops, gyms, movie theaters and bowling alleys to reopen. Images of long lines outside businesses have raised concerns among federal officials. President Trump, who on social media has urged the liberation of some states, has done an apparent about-face in recent days, saying he does not support a swift reopening of businesses and questioning a move by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, to lift stay-at-home orders. Meanwhile, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, pushed back against comments Trump made in recent days in which the president suggested that injected disinfectants could be studied as a possible cure for the coronavirus. Hogan said officials in his state received hundreds of calls from constituents asking whether injecting or ingesting disinfectants would be helpful in combating the virus. "It's always critically important for a leader to put out the facts and to be as open and honest and transparent as possible," Hogan said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "And I think it's critical that the president of the United States, when people are really scared and in the middle of this worldwide pandemic, that in these press conferences that we really get the facts out there. And unfortunately, some of the messaging has not been great." Trump did not hold a news conference on Saturday or Sunday but continued to assail the media. "What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions," he tweeted. Earlier this week, Mexico's president confirmed that the administration would cut the national budget, abolish departments, suspend work with pay, and reduce government salaries by 25 percent. As of Saturday, Mexico's registered cases are now at 12,872, with 1,221 deaths. Health officials admit this was inaccurate because of the lack of testing in the country. Back in 2019, during the unveiling of his National Development Plan, Lopez Obrador said his post-neoliberal policies would be based on honesty, wealth distribution, gender equality, and "dignity for all." Political analysts like Fernando Dworak believe that for Lopez Obrador, "honest public figures are those living frugally." Mr. Scrooge as the Head of the State Other critics suspect that Lopez Obrador's economic recovery plan was short-sighted, and for a lot of reasons. The budget that was supposed to be allotted for bolstering healthcare was instead reduced in response to the pandemic. "He's Mr. Scrooge," Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico political science professor Federico Estevez said. He added that this likeness was not the president counting his coins, "but [it's] because his first instinct in a tight spot seems to be slash-spending." Lopez Obrador refused to take measures like business tax relief or rescue packages in the firm belief that the crisis was temporary. Had he considered the move, it may have mitigated the impact of the pandemic on Mexico's economy. He also seemed to be at a significant disconnect with the reality of the surging cases of patients with COVID-19 and how healthcare institutions in the country are scrambling for money. Despite his frugality, he aimed to finish old infrastructure projects that included the expansion of PEMEX and the construction of a new railway system. This move might contract Mexico's economy, which stagnated in 2019, by the end of the year. According to the document, the first austerity measure that Lopez Obrador proposed in the report was not to reduce employees, but employment itself. Also, he would cut off the salary of senior public officials by up to 25 percent. The rest involved major layoffs in bonuses, frugal reservation of a large chunk of the national budget, suspension of work with pay, the extension of establishment closing, and postponement of government spending. Check these out! The post-Neo-Liberal Model During the announcement of the National Development Plan in 2019, Lopez Obrador said that "We formally declare, from the National Palace, the end of the neoliberal policy." Weeks before, he called out the previous reforms of the administration as "complete failures," and that he promised he would do better by prioritizing the poor, purging corruption, and ending classist privileges. Earlier this month, Lopez Obrador remarked that the economic recovery plan was not neoliberal in nature. He added that Mexico has already "broken the mold" used in countercyclical measures, referring to the attempts of the previous administration. "[These] only deepen inequality and encourage corruption that benefits a few." Oxfam Mexico posted on Twitter their skepticism of Lopez Obrador's decisions on the implementation of the economic recovery plan. They believed that, contrary to Lopez Obrador's vision for the program, "[These] are not designed to support that many people in poverty at this time." Men in the central coastal province of Binh Dinh have voluntarily handed over a pangolin and red-shanked douc langur, rare and precious animals, to the provincial forest management department. The young pangolin will be cared for and returned to the wild. Photo courtesy SVW The pangolin and the primate, which are listed in the IB group the group of endangered and critically endangered animals, were then transferred to the Rapid Rescue Team of the Save Vietnams Wildlife (SVW) on April 23. The pangolin was handed over by Huynh Nhat Trinh, a resident in Nam Tuong 1 Village of Nhon Tan Township on April 20. The rare animal weighs 0.5kg. Its sex was not yet identified. On the same day, the red-shanked douc langur was delivered by Le Van Chuan, a man living in Suoi Da Village of Van Canh District. The young, endangered primate weighed 0.7kg. The primate was given to Chuan by an ethnic minority person who caught it while working on a farm. Chuan wanted to hand over the wild animal to the authorities. The two animals would be sent to Cuc Phuong National Park in northern Vietnam for care and rehabilitation before being returned to the wild, according to Binh Dinh Forest Management Department. VNS Javan pangolin and Phayre's langur rescued in Binh Dinh People in Binh Dinh Province have handed in two endangered animals to local authorities. By Jason Lim One of the most amazing pieces of news coming out of April 15 general election in South Korea wasn't that the ruling party won a super majority. Rather, it was that Thae Yong-ho, the most famous of North Korean defectors, won a seat in Gangnam, the richest district in Seoul. Let that sink in for a bit. A former North Korean official North Korea's deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom who came to South Korea in 2016, managed to win a seat in the National Assembly for the opposition party that got decimated in the overall election. In fact, Thae won in a landslide. Once again, a former official from a "communist" country will be representing the richest district in all of Korea for the conservative United Future Party (UFP) that has traditionally been all about fire and brimstone when it comes to North Korea. The poetic irony is too rich not to indulge in for a little while. Well, I say all power to Thae and South Korea's democracy. Thae seems to be an intelligent, well-spoken person with plenty of international experience and policy chops. Working for North Korea couldn't have been easy. If Thae could thrive under those circumstances, he will certainly be a credit to the Korean government, whichever party he belongs to. Having said that, Thae's election clearly shows that the long-standing ideological divide on the Korean Peninsula between democracy/capitalism and communism/socialism is finally dead. While die-hards may still practice red-baiting verbal jujitsu, society has moved on. The old ideological binary is no longer salient. Thae's election proves that once and for all. The richest folks in South Korea apparently felt comfortable with a former North Korean representing their interests in the Assembly. They overwhelmingly felt that Thae was one of them. And they are absolutely right. Thae was one of the elite in North Korea, he was educated in the best schools, speaks three languages fluently, worked as a diplomat, lived in a major international city, married into an aristocratic family, and raised their children with all the privileges that his circumstances could offer, including the best colleges in the Western World. If you had read an anonymized version of Thae's bio, you would have thought that he certainly had the bona fides for Gangnam. With over $1.5 million in officially reported wealth that he managed to garner in three short years, Thae is a shining example that South Korea's capitalism works. If wealth is a religion, Thae is an enthusiastic convert going off on his mission to proselytize. In short, the elite of South Korea picked a fellow member to be their voice, illustrating clearly that the new binary that is the overarching framework that organizes Korean society is one between the haves and have-nots. This shouldn't come as a surprise. This binary has been driving the underlying Korean narrative for a while. In fact, just before the COVID-19 maelstrom, the biggest news in Korea was the Oscar triumph of "Parasite"; Korea achieved its highest honor in film via a movie that dealt with the divide between the rich and poor. "Hell Joseon" was another recent and still ongoing phenomenon in which the young vociferously voice their discontent against a society dominated by a wealthy class that views them as interchangeable commodities to be treated as paycheck-hungry shirkers who only want to do the bare minimum, or robots that can be ordered to produce a high-performance for their masters. In prior generations, the have-nots at least had hopes of rising up the economic ladder to be a part of the wealthy class. Today, that hope is gone, replaced by the growing despair and resentment at the haves who flaunt and hoard but, seemingly, can't be touched. The incredible outpouring of outrage at former Justice Minister Cho Kuk is another case in point. That his high school daughter allegedly managed to do a student internship at a medical lab and be listed as the primary author on a paper that was published in a respected medical journal was a sign that Cho was a have who was only pretending to be a champion of the have-nots. The fact that a rich girl used her parents' connections to receive a leg up in getting into a prestigious university was a painful reminder that the liberal vs. conservative divide was a false front for the real divide between the privileged and the ordinary. With COVID-19, this divide is about to get even starker. Around the world, there has been pushback against the rich and famous playing "suffering" while "imprisoned" inside their mansions or yachts with all the luxuries they can handle, while people go hungry and are fearful of the painful uncertainties of tomorrow. While Korea has managed to come together as a people during this crisis for now, COVID-19 will undoubtedly highlight the depth of the fault line as time passes and challenge (or tempt) the country's leadership on how to best deal with an altogether different type of intra-Korean division. Samara Weaving has revealed how acting helps her mental health. Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph's Watch magazine, the 28-year-old Australian said channeling her emotions into characters helps alleviate her anxiety disorder. Samara's parents first pushed her towards drama classes as a child hoping she'd come out of her shell, but she still feels 'terribly awkward' in everyday life. 'It's never going to go away': Adelaide-born actress Samara Weaving (pictured) has revealed being able to channel her emotions into characters helps alleviate her anxiety disorder 'Oh I am still terribly awkward. I have general anxiety disorder, so that's never really going to go away,' said Adelaide-born Samara on Sunday. 'But I am very grateful that I have an outlet for that, which is my job, so I can use these emotions. Sometimes it's a way to escape that and it's very helpful for me. 'So that nervous, shy child I think is always there, but I have developed tools and methods to cope with it.' 'I'm still terribly awkward': Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, the 28-year-old said her parents first pushed her towards drama classes as a child hoping she'd come out of her shell Samara previously discussed her battle with anxiety with Vulture in 2019. She said of taking on different roles: 'It's very therapeutic, because I am the most anxious introvert ever. I have terrible social anxiety. Press is truly terrifying. I can't confront anyone. I can't remember the last time I got mad at someone. It's way too scary, and I'm in such awe of people who can. 'It seems like such a nice thing to do. I'd just be filled with regret, like, immediately after. I'd probably say the wrong thing, and I'm one of the people who stands in the shower after talking to an annoying person and goes 'Oh, I should've said that!'' 'I have terrible social anxiety': Samara previously said of taking on different roles, 'It's very therapeutic, because I am the most anxious introvert ever' Aussies will best know Samara as Indi Walker on Home and Away from 2009 to 2013. She has since carved out an impressive career in Hollywood, with movie Ready or Not taking making a $48 million return out of a $6 million budget in 2019. The Adelaide-born talent is currently filming Snake Eyes, which is Paramount's G.I. Joe film series spin-off, alongside Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding. Perhaps no other casino in Pennsylvania has been hit harder by the loss of business due to the coronavirus outbreak than Wind Creek Bethlehem. After voluntarily closing on March 15 to slow the spread of COVID-19, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board indicated that Wind Creeks revenue from March 2020 dropped 71% from its revenue in March 2019. In the face of its staggering losses, Wind Creek limited its waste and helped those in the surrounding community who are also struggling by donating food that could have expired during the indefinite period the casino remains closed. Without hesitation, we sought out ways to reduce waste and provide aid where needed, said Kathy McCracken, general manager at Wind Creek Bethlehem. It was imperative we offered support to organizations that are relied on by so many. After collecting $3,600 worth of food and beverage from its various outlets, Wind Creek donated the supplies to local organizations like the Hispanic Center of the Lehigh Valley, Lynnfield Community Center and Marvine Elementary School. The donations included 432 dozen eggs, 111 cases of fruit, 108 boxes of vegetables and 40 gallons of milk. Its a vulnerable time for everyone right now, said McCracken. This is Wind Creek Bethlehems opportunity to help the community that helped build us. Wind Creek made a larger donation in terms of personal protective equipment to the Office of Emergency Management. The casino resort donated $6,500 worth of PPE, including 125 masks, 104 cases of gloves and 57 cases of sanitizing wipes. Desmond Boyle may be reached at dboyle@lehighvalleylive.com. If theres anything about this story that needs attention, please email him. Follow him on Twitter @DesJBoyle. Tell us your coronavirus stories, whether its a news tip, a topic you want us to cover, or a personal story you want to share. While the migrants, faced with uncertainty and fear, are desperate to return to their native places in Bihar and the Patna High Court gets ready to hear four PILs (public interest litigations) on the issue on Monday, an alarmed Bihar government is working out plans to deal with the prospect of another deluge of migrants returning home leading to a spike in the spread of COVID-19 in the state. The government has reasons to be worried since some of the migrants, who managed to reach state using desperate and daring means despite the lockdown, have tested positive for the disease and there is no telling how many of the new lot, it if is allowed to return, will end up becoming the transmitters of disease if not checked in time. It is a fact that one cannot prevent migrants from coming for a long time as many states have already started doing it despite lockdown. They were stopped in the larger interest, but in the case of Bihar, it will be a tough ask due to the sheer magnitude and risk involved. Many of those who have reached have proved why travelling in the midst of lockdown is fraught with risk, said an official, adding the state would have to keep its plan ready to tackle another surge, as the number of returning migrants could go into several lakhs, even if just one-third of the 22-lakh migrants, who have got registered for Bihar governments assistance of Rs 1000 each, return. During Bihar chief secretary Deepak Kumars video conferencing with senior health and field officials, it came to light that eight migrant labourers who reached Bihar from different states during lockdown have tested positive. Arwal district magistrate (DM) said that a migrant worker who returned from Gurgaon on April 19 had tested positive, while Saran DM said that another person who drove his own car from Vadodara in Gujarat to Bihar on April 15, without a valid pass, had also tested positive. In another such instance, a person reached Bhagalpur from Mumbai travelling in an ambulance via Gorakhpur, Gopalganj, Begusarai, Naugachia and got himself admitted in the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College. He was found Covid-19 positive on April 20. There were three persons with him in the ambulance. One of them has also tested positive, while the results of two others are still awaited and contact tracing is on. Some people who came in contact with them have already been quarantined, Banka district magistrate said. District magistrates of Patna and Bhojpur have also reported incidents of people returning to Bihar from states like Delhi and Haryana despite the restrictions before they were found coronavirus positive. The chief secretary directed all the DMs to maintain a close vigil on all the migrants reaching the state and to ensure 100% testing so that they could be accordingly quarantined to prevent the spread of the infection. Awareness should be increased at the Panchayat level, particularly in bordering districts, so that prompt information about migrants reaching home could reach the authority for timely action, he added. The HT Guide to Coronavirus COVID-19 Pushpendra, professor and chairperson, Patna Centre of the Tata Institute of social sciences (TISS), said that return of migrants was natural, as they had been left with a Hobsons choice after being rendered jobless in the midst of a pandemic away from home and family. They cannot sustain outside without work. Bihar will need to bring about policy changes to deal with the situation not only to cater to their immediate needs but also for the long term, he added. For Coronavirus Live Updates SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) reported first-quarter earnings on April 22, and it laid out both a scenario for recovery and how the company is preparing for the worst. The headline numbers of a 51.1% drop in revenue to $1.78 billion, net income plunging from $582 million a year ago to negative $1 million, and the suspension of the dividend are important to note, but they don't actually tell us much about operations a few months from now. Instead, investors should be closely following what management is saying and how they're preparing for both best-case and worst-case scenarios. Here's what I took from the earnings report. Asian markets are getting better, probably Management seems to think that travel and gambling demand will come back "rather quickly" once restrictions are lifted in Asia, which could mean a steady recovery starting in the summer and continuing to the end of the year. It's important to note that regional differences in travel restrictions will mean that this isn't going to be a V-shaped recovery in any way but rather small upticks that eventually add up to a big rebound. COO Robert Goldstein said Guangdong province near Macao will be the first to return to Macao with other provinces following over time. But in Singapore, we know that Marina Bay Sands is closed until June 1, so the recovery may be slower there. What I took away is that travelers will return to Macao and Singapore gradually. It may not be in a flood of demand, but by 2021, we should expect business to be back to a semblance of "normal" if COVID-19 outbreaks can remain under control. Cost-cutting has come quickly In 2019, Las Vegas Sands reported $10.0 billion in operating expenses, which includes everything from labor to food and depreciation on real estate. As operations have shut down, the challenge has been cutting those costs as much as possible to reduce cash burn, and the amount management says they've been able to cut is pretty astounding. In a zero-revenue scenario, management expects Macao operations to require $110 million in operating costs per month. Marina Bay Sands in Singapore will burn $45 million, and Las Vegas will burn $65 million in cash. In total, that's $220 million per month of estimated run-rate expenses with no revenue coming through the door. Add in interest expenses, corporate costs, and minimal maintenance and growth capital expenditures, and the company expects to burn $355 million per month in these conditions. That's an annual run rate of $4.3 billion, which seems like a lot, but Las Vegas Sands could withstand that downturn for a while, given its rock-solid balance sheet. Liquidity for days Currently, Las Vegas Sands has $2.6 billion in cash and equivalents on the balance sheet and $3.9 billion of short-term borrowing capacity. In total, the company has $6.6 billion of liquidity available, enough to last for about 18 months without revenue, while still maintaining current development plans in Macao and Singapore. That kind of cushion means there's not likely to be a cash crunch at Las Vegas Sands like there might be for other casino stocks. If any company can make it through this crisis, Las Vegas Sands is it. What we learned last week Revenue and earnings are certainly going to be down across the casino industry over the next few quarters, but Las Vegas Sands' management seems to think demand will soon start to pick back up. Not all regions will come back right away, but even a fraction of the revenue the company once had would be welcome. And we've seen that this is one company that can absorb a 50% decline in revenue and still break even. Cost cutting measures are coming in fast and furious, and liquidity will be key for survival. As earnings reports come out across the industry, investors should look for how long a company can survive in a low-revenue environment as this is the worst-case scenario that investors should come to terms with before even thinking about what the eventual recovery looks like. Shrieks of joy rang out Sunday in the streets of Spain as children were allowed to leave their homes for the first time in six weeks. The sound of children shouting and the rattle of bikes on the pavement after the 44-day seclusion of Spains youngest citizens offered a first taste of a gradual return to normal life in the country. Spain has the second-highest number of confirmed infections, behind the United States. Families visit a boulevard in Barcelona as police patrol the beach, where access is prohibited (Emilio Morenatti/AP) This is wonderful! I cant believe it has been six weeks, Susana Sabate, a mother of three-year-old twin boys, said in Barcelona. My boys are very active. Today when they saw the front door and we gave them their scooters, they were thrilled. Wary of igniting new infection flare-ups, nations around the world have been taking different paths on when to reopen their economies after weeks at a standstill under coronavirus lockdowns. (PA Graphics) The number of deaths officially attributed to coronavirus has topped 200,000 globally and at least 2.9 million people have been infected, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Those figures are widely believed to understate the true toll of the pandemic, due to limited testing, problems in counting the dead and some governments moves to underplay their outbreaks. Spain, Italy and France, which have Europes highest death tolls from the virus, all imposed tough lockdown rules in March. Disaster Response Force personnel disinfect a containment zone in Hyderabad, India (Mahesh Kumar A./AP) All have reported significant progress in bringing down infection rates and are ready, warily, to start giving their citizens more freedom. Maximum caution will be our guideline for the rollback, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez said Saturday as he announced that Spaniards will be allowed to leave their homes for short walks and exercise starting on May 2. We must be very prudent because there is no manual, no road map to follow. So far, Spanish adults were allowed out only for essential shopping or to go to work that cannot be done from home. Story continues Children under 14 have been in complete seclusion, but as of Sunday they were allowed to take walks with one parent for up an hour. They must be within one kilometre of their homes, take only one toy with them and are not allowed to play with other children. People wearing face masks at a ceremony in Kyiv, Ukraine, to remember the Chernobyl tragedy (Efrem Lukatsky/AP) Authorities recommend that parents and children wash their hands before and after outings. Mr Sanchez will present a detailed plan Tuesday for the de-escalation of the lockdown for the coming weeks. In France, prime minister Edouard Philippe said he will unveil the national deconfinement strategy on Tuesday. It follows weeks of work by experts on how to find a balance between restarting the eurozones second-largest economy and preventing a second wave of infections that could overwhelm intensive care units. French President Emmanuel Macron had already announced that Frances lockdown would start to be lifted beginning on May 11. Mr Philippes speech will flesh out the details, covering health, schooling, work, shops, transport and gatherings. The lockdown has been raising tensions in Frances poorest areas. People wearing protective face masks watch a fight in Nicaragua (Alfredo Zuniga/AP) Italys prime minister Giuseppe Conte is expected to announce more details easing the lockdown in the coming days for the first European country to see a large-scale coronavirus outbreak. Mr Conte told the La Repubblica publication that priorities would include restarting construction and export industries so that businesses would not risk being cut out of markets. He also confirmed that school classes would not begin until September. Several countries in Europe are already further along in easing lockdowns. Germany started allowing non-essential shops and other facilities to open last week and Denmark has reopened schools for some children. Germanys restaurants and tourism industry are among those still awaiting word on a way forward in Europes largest economy, but Chancellor Angela Merkel has indicated that more major decisions will not come before May 6. Germanys top diplomat said Europe must move as quickly as possible, but as responsibly as necessary to restore freedom to travel. A European race to be the first to allow tourist trips again would lead to unacceptable risks, foreign minister Heiko Maas told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. We have already seen what a cluster of infections in a popular holiday area can do in the tourists home countries. That must not be repeated. A man collect supplies over barbed wire in the coronavirus locked down area of Selayang Baru, Malaysia (Vincent Thian/AP) That was an apparent reference to ski resorts such as Ischgl in Austria, where dozens of tourists were infected and carried the virus as far away as Iceland and Norway. The US has the worlds highest officially confirmed infections and deaths, with more than 50,000 fatalities and about 940,000 infections reported so far in the Johns Hopkins tally, but it has wide regional variations. While some US states are easing restrictions, Hawaii extended its stay-at-home order until the end of May. In Asia, India allowed local shops to reopen this weekend, though not in the places that have been hit hardest. The Chinese city of of Wuhan, where the pandemic began, said all major construction projects have resumed in a push to restart factory production and other economic activity after a two-and-a-half-month lockdown. The outbreak has largely subsided in China. South Korea, which recently relaxed some social distancing rules, saw a ninth straight day with fewer than 20 new cases but the city-state of Singapore reported 931 new cases as it battles an outbreak among foreign workers living in crowded dormitories. Authorities in Singapore also revealed they had deported a British man and blacklisted him after he lied about his travel history during a visit to a court last month. Singapore police said the 60-year-old was allowed to enter the court premise on March 25 after declaring he had not been abroad in the last 14 days. But an investigation showed he had flown into the city-state from Hong Kong on March 13, 12 days before his visit to the court. Police said the Briton was given a stern warning before being deported to Hong Kong on Sunday and barred from re-entering the city-state, despite being married to a Singaporean permanent resident. WESTMINSTER, Colo. (AP) Brittany Olander grabbed her surgical mask before walking out of her Federal Heights apartment. She cleared wet, heavy snow from her car, determined not to let the weather cloud her sunny mood that has proven to be so important lately in her job as cashier at King Soopers in nearby Westminster. Keeping happy vibes keeps everyone else happy, the 31-year-old said. Olander is one of dozens of Colorado residents that journalists from news organizations across the state profiled on April 16 as part of a collaborative project to chronicle a day in the life of their uncertainty, hope, fear and joy during this extraordinary time. The project, COVID Diaries Colorado, can be found in its entirety at http://colabnews.co/. The storm kept away customers from Olander's store in the Denver suburb of Westminster. The King Soopers was one of the few businesses still open and one of those few places where people can still see their neighbors since the coronavirus forced everyone inside. But it hasnt been the same at the store where she has worked for over a decade. Olander, following social distancing rules, cant hug her regular customers as she used to. She worries about the older customers she hasnt seen in weeks, the vulnerable ones who couldnt risk venturing outside even to do the shopping. With business light, Olander and her co-workers cleaned cash registers and other surfaces that are frequently touched but she was upset to find a pair of used disposable gloves left on an electric cart, rather than thrown in the trash. One regular, a woman in her 70s who used to come in nearly every day, stopped by looking for masks. Olander told her where to go, but warned they were probably out of stock. Olander ate lunch in her car at 3:30 p.m. before finishing her shift. Soon after, a woman asked if she could just stand inside the store to warm up. She tried to soothe a courtesy clerk who was confronted by a customer whose chips were placed at the bottom of a shopping bag. She fetched a replacement for a customer whose electric cart had died. Story continues Shortly before her shift ended at 7 p.m. the woman who wanted to warm up bought Advil PM and immediately took it all. Olander and other workers told a manager, who called the paramedics. It was a rough ending for a worker who has been deemed essential in this crisis, along with the other clerks and cashiers across the state, some of whom are making around the minimum wage. Olanders union was able to win $2 an hour extra in hazard pay for its workers in Kroger-owned stores, taking her pay to $20.81 an hour. In her car, Olander pulled her masks ear straps out from under her knit cap. This is my favorite part because I can just take the mask off and breathe, she said. ___ This story is powered by COLab, the Colorado News Collaborative. The Associated Press joined this collaboration with more than 20 other newsrooms across Colorado to better serve the public. As countries compete ferociously for resources to fend off the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of Canada may want to start planning ahead for the next viral wave set to sweep over the planet: the annual influenza season. Virologists and infectious disease specialists say the selection of this year's flu vaccine always something of a hit-and-miss undertaking will be critical to reducing the impact of a second wave of COVID-19 that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has warned could be worse than the first because it will coincide with the the annual arrival of the flu. "There's a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through," CDC director Robert Redfield warned this week. The success of this year's flu vaccination campaign will be critical to Canada's ability to control the novel coronavirus for three reasons: hospital capacity, co-infection (having both diseases at once, which could compound their effects) and the limited supply of COVID test kits. The need to plan ahead CBC News asked Health Canada what it's doing this year to ensure it isn't caught short if there is a global scramble similar to the one we are seeing now as countries compete for scarce medical supplies during the next wave of flu. CBC also asked if the government of Canada intends to mount a more aggressive vaccination campaign than usual. "The Public Health Agency of Canada is planning ahead for the potential for simultaneous outbreaks of the flu and COVID-19 infections in Canada this fall," spokesperson Geoffroy Legault-Thivierge told CBC News. "To help minimize challenges this may cause to the health care system, the 2020 flu campaign will put a special emphasis on at-risk populations such as seniors and people with compromised immune systems or with underlying medical conditions." Stu Mills/CBC Typically, the stated goal of the annual vaccination drive is to reach an 80 per cent vaccination rate in vulnerable populations, such as those over 65. In the past three years, that rate has fluctuated between about 65 per cent and 71 per cent. Story continues But the vaccination rate for 18 to 64-year-olds is much lower. Usually, only about a quarter of people in that population group bother to get a flu shot. Even among those with chronic medical conditions, fewer than half get vaccinated. 'Double whammy' Flu season is usually the time of year when Canadian hospitals are at their busiest. To some extent, Canadian hospitals are designed to deal with that seasonal surge. But if a second wave of COVID-19 lands on top of a bad flu season, it could break the system, said virologist Jason Kindrachuk of the University of Manitoba. "You have the issue of overwhelming health care workers," he said. "There is a high burden of severe influenza illness in the risk groups that we see hit really hard with COVID-19. That includes people aged over 65, those with chronic respiratory conditions, but that also brings into play children." Not much is known about how the two diseases might interact, but we know that it's possible to have both COVID-19 and seasonal flu at the same time. Both illnesses attack the respiratory system and both cause fever. Some infectious disease specialists, such as Dr. Greg Poland of Minnesota's Mayo Clinic, have warned that having both diseases at once likely would produce a "double whammy" effect. Kindrachuk said there's a less obvious side effect of flu season that could undermine efforts to get the COVID-19 pandemic under control the fact that people who get flu may assume they have COVID-19 and waste large numbers of badly-needed COVID test kits as a result. Evan Mitsui/CBC "We have two diseases that look fairly similar, at least in the early stages," he said. "If you have people that present with influenza-like symptoms, one of the things we're hoping to be able to do is to potentially rule out the possibility of influenza." But Kindrachuk said doctors' ability to rule out flu will depend on the patient being immunized for flu in the first place. It also will depend on the flu vaccine being the right one for the strain of influenza that happens to be going around at the time something that is never guaranteed. 'Flu is a beast' Although SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, appears to be more deadly than most strains of influenza, coronaviruses mercifully lack the flu's ability to continually mutate. Influenza "is a beast," said Kindrachuk, "and we know that it changes frequently from year to year. "We have multiple circulating strains, so trying to get a universal influenza vaccine that gives us close to 100 per cent efficacy in coverage that is the dream of every virologist that does any sort of infectious disease research. But we're not there yet." The design of each year's flu vaccine is the outcome of a worldwide effort. First, the World Health Organization collects data from over 100 countries' national influenza centres. Then, five virology centres in Atlanta, London, Tokyo, Beijing and Melbourne, Australia analyze the data and propose a vaccine composed of three or four strains of influenza A and influenza B. Last year's vaccine was a mix of strains first detected in Kansas, Colorado, Brisbane in Australia and Phuket in Thailand. It pays to start early Although Canadians normally don't see the flu vaccine until mid to late fall, preparation begins much earlier, said Kindrachuk. "We start getting an idea from Australia during the summertime, because being in the southern hemisphere, this is their winter season," he said. "That's when we tend to see some indication of what the flu season may be like. "The problem is that's all predictive, so the particular flu strain that may hit Australia quite hard may not be the one that we get hit with. And we saw that last year, when here in North America we had an over-representation of influenza B." The private companies that manufacture flu vaccines need a lot of time to grow the vaccine a process that usually involves injecting it into chicken eggs and letting it reproduce, then extracting and processing it. "It takes at least six months to produce large quantities of influenza vaccine," says a CDC document on the issue. "For vaccine to be delivered in time for vaccination to begin in the fall, manufacturers may begin to grow one or more of the vaccine viruses in January based on their best guess as to what viruses are most likely to be included in the vaccine." Sometimes, their best guess is very good. Sometimes it isn't. Getting it right is going to be especially important this year. The danger of shortages Last winter in Canada, there were shortages of Flumist, a nasal spray flu vaccine for those who react poorly to injections. Geoffroy Legault-Thivierge of Health Canada said there is still time to order more flu shots. "In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, provincial and territorial governments are reviewing their vaccine supply orders for next year's influenza season to determine whether they are sufficient or should be increased," he said. "There is still an opportunity to increase orders before final commitments need to be made." But the clock is ticking and demand is likely to be stronger than usual all around the world. As Australia heads into its flu season, its government is already warning citizens to get vaccinated. But Australia only has enough vaccine doses for about half its population. South Africa is also reporting that it doesn't have enough doses for this year, despite having ordered a year in advance. "I think we have to be proactive and start the messaging early," said Kindrachuk. "COVID-19 is not going to disappear by the fall ... but we can do everything we can to reduce that stress on both testing and health care networks." Lina Hidalgo was elected Harris County judge in November of 2018. Now, a little over a year into her term, she is leading a county with more than 4.7 million residents through an unprecedented pandemic. Hidalgo is also a Colombian immigrant who grew up in Katy. Hidalgo discussed navigating the tumult of the COVID-19 crisis and reflected on her teenage years in Katy. Before we get started, would you like to say something to the people of Harris County? Honestly, a heartfelt thank you. I know these have been incredibly difficult times, and we've asked a lot of our residents. As we always do, during a crisis, our community has stepped up. We've already saved at least 4,500 lives. And the more we all stay home, the sooner we will reach our peak in hospital admissions, and the sooner we'll get our economy back on track. We're still in the thick of this- we still don't know when the virus will peak. We still don't have universal testing, which is a prerequisite for opening the county back up. But we've fared better than expected so far, thanks to the profound sacrifices people are making. Please stay strong and stay home. The more we work on this the sooner it will be over. You grew up in Katy. What was it like going to school at Seven Lakes High School? Katy was an amazing place to grow and learn. Seven Lakes had just opened when I was there, so it was wonderful to grow with the high school. I had brilliant classmates and dedicated teachers. It made me see that it is possible for our public school system to truly deliver for its students. We just need to ensure everyone has that same opportunity. As we move through this crisis, I'm also so impressed by the resiliency of students and teachers right now in this moment. As an immigrant, did you face any additional challenges while growing up in Katy? It was a very diverse and welcoming community, so I truly felt at home. Growing up in such a diverse community- and truly all of us in this region are part of beautifully diverse communities- showed me the strength that lies in our diversity. There are always the challenges of not having the know-how on certain things. Normally parents or older siblings will pass things on from experience, but my whole family was new to it. On the lighter side, I didn't know a thing about homecoming garters. The educational system was new to me as well, and there I have my teachers and school counselors to thank. They knew to assign me to challenging classes and guided me in navigating a system that was completely new to me. How did you prepare for your current role as Harris County judge, arguably among the most powerful political positions in the state? I ran for this position because I saw an opportunity to improve government from within, tapping into an executive role that can ensure our budgetary priorities reflect the needs and values of our community. I was among many women who were inspired to run in 2016 because we saw the need for more and different voices in government. And not just for the sake of having different voices- but because having those voices in the halls of power brings about better policy. Our first 100 days were an "open transition" where we listened to thousands of residents about their concerns. What we learned guided our priorities and helped us determine what policies would be most impactful. Of course, I draw from my background every day- I've worked with people on the losing side of the criminal justice system, have been an interpreter in the hospitals at the heart of our healthcare infrastructure, have worked to promote free expression and access to information and deeply believe in the need for transparency. My academic work means I always ask questions and rely on data. Since we came into office, "best practices" has become something of a refrain in our office. Folks know I will always ask for research and will ask what we can learn from other localities or nations. And in this crisis, the same applies. There is no room in my brain to factor in politics when we make these tough decisions. Our North Star in dealing with this crisis is relying on data, research and public health expertise. You're being bombarded with information from federal, state and local entities. How do you synthesize that information? How do you separate fact from speculation? I surround myself with capable, compassionate individuals who share my belief in making decisions based on research, facts and science. We pore over the research, the information at hand, and seek out experts carefully- people with zero agenda and unimpeachable credentials. Then we decide which information requires action, what outcome would be best for the residents of Harris County, and the path forward. We always want to hear from the community. Generally, our major initiatives - whether it's been massive environmental investments, smart prioritization and speeding up of flood control projects, requiring the most stringent development requirements so we don't flood folks downstream as we build, bail reform, supercharging our veterans' services department, our immigrant legal defense fund, gun safety, or even the work we were designing on early childhood education before coronavirus hit- all these rely on thorough community input. These days, we're still working to hear from our communities by engaging with nonprofits and community forums. It's important to me that we keep an ear to the ground and not make policy from an ivory tower. Similarly, how do you distribute that information in a way that will inform people without inciting panic? Since we came into office just over a year ago, we've faced two major floods, three major chemical incidents, and now this pandemic. I always err on the side of information. During the ITC fire, it was important to me that whatever air quality readings we had were immediately available to the public. The same applies to this crisis. We've worked to ensure that readyharris.org is the one-stop-shop for regional information during disasters. We've developed the ability to send residents improved Wireless Emergency Alerts directly to their phones. And of course, I'm committed to delivering remarks in both English and Spanish. I'd love to speak more languages fluently. The community deserves to know what the situation is and what we're doing to alleviate it. But even if we're doing incredible work, it's not adequate if it's behind closed doors. I strive to present folks with the facts, even if it's tough news. In this crisis, testing is the perfect example. From the start, we were being steered to say that testing would open within a day, within a week, but it was important to me that we not string the community along. After our team scoured the nation and globe and realized there simply were not supplies available, we made that clear. Instead we secured support from the federal government. That's been the approach- I will share good news when we have it, our team will work tirelessly to ensure we have as much good news as possible, but I will say things like they are. How is Harris County situated to get past its current economic downturn? There is no doubt that the COVID-19 crisis will leave us forever changed. It's impossible to know what the exact economic impacts will be, given the downturn not just locally, but globally. What we do know is that businesses we love may not reopen. Livelihoods will be lost. But I've seen our communities pull together and lift people up, and I have no doubt that will continue as we recover from this. We are doing all we can at the county - supporting the hiatus on evictions, creating a $10 million (and growing) fund for small businesses, aiding essential workers with childcare and providing as much free testing as we can, supporting the COVID-19 recovery fund, which is providing millions in direct aid to hard-hit families. We are working with partners throughout our jurisdictions and the business and nonprofit sectors to continue to ask what else we can do. We've also worked hard to put the county finances in as responsible a position as possible. This will be hard on our county budget. Our sources of revenue are decreasing, and our costs are rising. But we've spent countless hours since I first came into office reforming the way budgeting is done, to ensure it is performance based budgeting - informed by outcomes and metrics. We've also had experts on the ground since the start of this year helping us find efficiencies and further improve our budgeting systems. We're not at a perfect place yet, but the efforts are helping ensure we're responsible with every dollar. The year 2020 has been tough for Harris County residents - the Spring Branch neighborhood explosion, the water main break, the COVID-19 outbreak - how do you maintain composure with everyone looking for hope? What do you do to relax? I derive a lot of strength from the resiliency of our community. Particularly in this crisis, we are all impacted, and each of us is necessary to make a difference. I try to squeeze in a run whenever I can and try to get out in nature at least once a week. Our county parks are true jewels, and I look forward to our county getting back in full force, ensuring they are easy to access, and that our trails connect with one another. claire.goodman@chron.com Johannesburg, April 24 (People's Daily Online) -- Local medical experts have all echoed calls for the public to make use of cloth masks to avoid being infected by the virus, but the world is still faced with a shortage of the material to manufacture quality 3 ply masks. Melt blown and SS Non-woven cloth are the main materials in the manufacturing of surgical 3 ply masks. But mask manufacturing company, Amana Healthcare Products, which had faced problems in producing masks due to lack of global material supplies, can now run their production lines at full speed with the help of a Chinese company, HARVEST NON-WOVEN PRODUCTS (PTY) LTD. This Chinese company specializes in the manufacturing of SMS cloth, which is designed for potato packaging and fruit packing in South Africa. When the call came for more mask material to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the company converted its operations to produce melt blown and SS Non-Woven cloth to support local mask manufacturing factories. Sun Xiaodong, CEO of the company, said on April 18th that they are trying to bring the transformation of the production line fully in line with the strict production standard of medical materials. The manufacturing plant is designed to adhere to the BRC standard of the food industry. They added a static masterbatch to their cloth and increased the static with 40,000 volts by using an electrostatic generator to enhance the materials virus adsorption function. To increase BFE, they also installed a cooling system at the nose of the spinneret plate, allowing the fabric to cool faster to reduce the air resistance. Hisence SA provided a super-powerful air conditioner and assisted in the transportation of the machines. So far, their 25 GSM melt blown has achieved 97% BFE, and they are busy developing the technology to produce high quality FFP3 material to support local mask manufactures. JW Eggjink, Sales Manager of BBF Safety Group, said import tariffs can be directly exempted through local purchases and is also more convenient. In the current mask shortage situation, they (HARVEST NON-WOVEN PRODUCTS (PTY) LTD) did not raise the price of raw material. U-mask, a local manufacturer of FFP2 masks, donated 30,000 FFP2 masks to China in February. HARVEST NON-WOVEN PRODUCTS (PTY) LTD helped them purchase a surgical mask production line from China, and is providing full assistance in transportation and technical services. Marko, the Production Supervisor of HARVEST NON-WOVEN PRODUCTS (PTY) LTD, has been working for the company since September, 2018. He said many local employees refused to wear masks when the epidemic started, because they believed that only patients wear them. With the company's persistent training, everyone has changed their minds. "The company really did its best to protect employees families." We love this rainbow nation, we love South Africa, and we want to contribute to help South Africa fight the epidemic, Sun Xiaodong said. 4 killed, 36 houses destroyed as Fulani radicals raid another village in Nigeria Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Four residents were reportedly killed and two others injured when suspected Fulani herdsmen raided a farming village in the Kaduna State of Nigeria Sunday evening. According to reports, a group of about 100 suspected radical herdsmen burned at least 36 homes when they attacked and razed the Unguwan Magaji village in the Kamaru Chawai ward of the Kauru local government area. Witnesses told the Christian humanitarian relief organization Stefanos Foundation that three women in the village were killed as attackers were said to have shot sporadically while residents were fleeing. Additionally, one man who tried to flee during the attack reportedly died from cardiac arrest. Witnesses claim that a quick intervention from people in the neighboring communities repelled the attackers, one of whom was killed during the altercation. When the attackers came to our house, they threatened to cut off my head, but I picked up my son and escaped through the back door and ran to the next village towards Kwall, one resident, who was not named, told Stefanos Foundation. As I was running, I felt at a point that they may catch up with me, so I found a place between yam farm ridges and hid my son and continued to run in an attempt to distract them from getting to my son. The witness said that as he hid, he saw a local vigilante group coming to defend the residents of the village. They met me and asked me to move to a safer place while they engaged the attackers, the witness said. The deceased persons have been identified by the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union as Sunday David, a father of seven; Hanatu Joseph, a mother of five children; Sarah Sunday, a mother of six children; and Dije Sajay, a mother of six children. According to a statement from the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union, the attackers stormed from behind the hills that serve as a boundary between Kaduna state and the Plateau state. Luka Binniyat, the public relations officer with the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union, said in the statement that the attackers came from four flanks to cause confusion and pandemonium for those attempting to defend the village. According to Binniyat, the attackers targeted food stores and grains to make sure they burned as much food as they could. This is to ostensibly cause starvation, especially under this lockdown from the coronavirus, Binniyat stated. While advocates have complained that the Nigerian government is failing to hold perpetrators of Fulani attacks accountable, Binniyat said there is a rare opportunity now for police to investigate because they are now in possession of the deceased attackers phone. We are hereby calling on the police to take this rare lead and carry out a scrupulous forensic investigation and make their findings public, Binniyat stated. We shall keep a keen eye on this and we call on the general public to also show interest. According to the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union, about 320 people have been displaced from the village and are in dire need of assistance. Sundays attack was not the first time that Unguwan Magaji village was attacked. According to the union, another attack occurred in November 2015 when armed herdsmen attacked the village and five others surrounded it. A total of 37 people were killed and 202 homes were razed. Additionally, the only Catholic church in the area was burned down. Hundreds of Christians have reportedly been killed in attacks said to have been carried out by Fulani radicals this year. The International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law estimates that at least 400 people have been killed by Fulani herdsmen in 2020 alone. As Fulani attacks have seemingly increased in severity and quantity over the last several years, the nongovernmental organization also estimates that at least 11,500 Christians have been killed since 2015 by Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram militants and highway bandits. Millions have been displaced throughout Nigeria and are in desperate need of help as advocates are concerned that the federal government is doing an inadequate job of responding to the human rights crises happening in the Middle Belt and Northeast parts of Nigeria. The U.S. State Department in December listed Nigeria for the first time on its special watch list for countries that engage in or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom because of the lack of effective government response to the violence in the country. As Fulani attacks have displaced residents in Middle Belt states like Kaduna, Plateau, Benue, and Taraba from their farms and homes, human rights groups have argued that the level of violence facing Christians in Nigeria has reached the standard to be declared a genocide. Nigeria is ranked as the 12th worst country in the world for Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USAs 2020 World Watch List. Six dancers from the Dutch National Ballet headed out into the empty streets of Amsterdam this week to perform their parts in a piece of choreography inspired by the coronavirus lockdown. Each put on a solo performance out in the open, some in front of landmarks including the Amstel Hotel and the Eye film museum. Footage of each piece will be edited together into a film titled Gently Quiet that will be streamed online by early May, the National Ballet said. Ballet dancer Yvonne Slingerland Cosialls of the Dutch National Ballet performs on the streets of Amsterdam for the "Gently Quiet" project, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands April 24, 2020. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw (REUTERS) I like this project as we can show what we want to do and what we are waiting for to do again, said 25-year old dancer Yvonne Slingerland, who performed her piece beside the Amstel river on Friday. Even if we are in this weird situation we are still moving and we are still trying to get to the audience. I think art right now is really important for everyone. All bars, restaurants, museums and other public places have been shut in the Netherlands since March 15 in an attempt to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. The National Ballet has cancelled all its performances until June 1 and stopped its dancers from rehearsing together. Many have resorted to practicing at home. Ballet dancer Floor Eimers of the Dutch National Ballet practices in her home, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands April 24, 2020. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw (REUTERS) This is our way of bringing a poetic production, despite not being able to work together in our studio or to perform in front of an audience, National Ballet spokesman Richard Heideman said. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.) Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter Pakistan's top Islamic medical body has warned that mosques are becoming a major source of transmission for the novel coronavirus and urged people to pray at home during Ramzan, as the COVID-19 cases in the country rose to 13,105 on Sunday. "Mosques are becoming a major source of virus transmission," Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) President Dr Iftikhar Burney said on Saturday. Talking to reporters, Burney said that the infected cases have surged rapidly during the past week. "Around 6,000 cases for coronavirus surfaced in a month.but the same has doubled in the last six days," he said, warning that the infection would further go up in the coming months of May and June. He said the number of patients in the intensive care units (ICUs) of the public hospitals is increasing at a shocking rate. "Most of the hospitals in the country are housing more coronavirus patients that those suffering from other diseases, he told reporters. His remarks comes days after Pakistan's top doctors warned of "significant mayhem" and "fatal outcomes" if mosques continue to remain open and urged the government to review its decision to allow congregational prayers during the month of Ramzan amid the deadly coronavirus outbreak. The Pakistan government early this month succumbed to pressure from the hardline clerics and allowed conditional congregational prayers in mosques during Ramzan. However, the 20-point agreement signed by the leading clerics with President Arif Alvi on restricting access to mosques during Ramzan was not being followed completely. Alvi has written a letter to the Imams of mosques urging them to ask worshippers above the age of 50 to pray at home. He pointed out that the point number six of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) set in the agreement said that persons over the age of 50 should avoid offering prayers at the mosque. Alvi also visited mosques in Rawalpindi to review arrangements made by the administration of mosques to contain the spread of the virus, he wrote in a tweet. He shared a picture of Jama Masjid Ghousia and said the administration had arranged for Taraweeh (special prayers offered at night during Ramzan), keeping in mind necessary preventative measures to curb the spread. However, the face masks were lacking. Several countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Algeria, Jordan, Kuwait, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt have stopped congregational prayers in mosques. In several Arab countries, the 'azaan' (call for prayer) has been amended and now it urges people to pray in their homes. Advisor on Health Dr Zafar Mirza also took to Twitter and again urged the "citizens to demonstrate responsibility & avoid congregations during Ramzan to protect themselves from COVID-19." However, the government was still reluctant to close down the mosques due to fear of backlash by the hardline clerics. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The visuals of a local mob wielding sticks and stones attacking the ambulance carrying the mortal remains of Dr Simon Hercules, a Chennai-based neurosurgeon for burial in dead of night left many gut-wrenching. The denial of a dignified burial for a doctor who died of COVID-19, points to social stigma that has been running unchecked for last many weeks. In fact, the Chennai incident should not be seen in isolation, but as a culmination of hundreds of incidents where doctors, healthcare workers and sanitary workers are denied accommodation. Some are asked to vacate houses and others became pariahs in housing societies they have been living for years. Following this incident and several others that have been reported in the recent past, the government quickly brought an ordinance that makes acts of violence and harassment against health workers punishable up to seven years in jail and Rs 5 lakh fine. Even landlords and housing societies come under the ambit of the ordinance. It is not just frontline workers the virus has further amplified the stigma based on religious prejudice, race, economic status, and so on. COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show What is a social stigma? According to guidance released by Red Cross, UNICEF and WHO, social stigma in context of health is the negative association between a person or group of people who share certain characteristics and a specific disease. In an outbreak, this may mean people are labelled, stereotyped, discriminated against, treated separately and experience loss of status because of a perceived link with a disease. Such treatment can negatively affect those with the disease, as well as their caregivers, family, friends and communities. People who do not have the disease but share other characteristics with this group may also suffer face this stigma. The current COVID-19 outbreak has provoked social stigma and discriminatory behaviours against people of certain ethnic backgrounds as well as anyone perceived to have been in contact with the virus. How does social stigma damages our fight? The guidance says that This can result in more severe health problems and difficulties controlling a disease outbreak. It will drive people to hide the illness to avoid being discriminated against; prevent people from seeking health care immediately and discourage them from adopting healthy behaviours. How to contain social stigma? As a society, we have a huge role to play. First, it is important to raise awareness, share accurate and transparent information about the novel coronavirus without using de-humanising words. Attaching ethnicity, location and religious connotation should be avoided. The guidance says that we should refrain from using sensational terms such as COVID suspects, infecting others, spreaders of the virus, plague and apocalypse. US CDC says we should speak out against negative behaviours, including negative statements on social media about groups of people, or exclusion of people who pose no risk from regular activities. We also have to be cautious about images that are shared. Make sure they do not reinforce stereotypes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi effected a massive bureaucratic reshuffle amid the coronavirus crisis with 1985-batch Jharkhand cadre officer Amit Khare returning as secretary, information and broadcasting ministry, health secretary Preeti Sudan given a three-month extension and additional secretary PMO Tarun Bajaj taking over as secretary, department of economic affairs. In view of the serious challenges being faced by the news media, be it print or TV, as also the advertising and film industry in face of the coronavirus crisis, the charge of I&B has been entrusted to Amit Khare, who retains charge as higher education secretary in the HRD ministry. Khare has earlier headed the I&B ministry and is well versed with the issues involved. His earlier charge as secretary, schools, has been given to Anita Karwal, who was CBSE chairperson. Karwal is a 1988-batch Gujarat cadre officer. Other important postings are Arvind Kumar Sharma, the powerful additional secretary at the PMO, who has been appointed as secretary, micro, small and medium enterprises ministry. Rajesh Bhushan, who was secretary, rural development, has been appointed as OSD, health and family welfare ministry. He will succeed Preeti Sudan after she completes her extended tenure at the health ministry. Tarun Kapoor, vice chairman Delhi Development Authority, will take over as petroleum secretary. Apurva Chandra will take over as Special Secretary and Director General (Acquisitions) at the defence ministry. Anand Kumar, a 1984 batch officer of the Kerala cadre, will move from the department of new and renewable energy to head the department of culture. Rameshwar Prasad Gupta, a 1987-batch Gujarat cadre officer who was special secretary in NITI Aayog, has been appointed secretary in the ministry of environment, forest and climate change. Rajesh Verma, an Odisha-cadre officer of the 1987 batch, who was special secretary in the department of agriculture, has been appointed secretary, ministry of corporate affairs. Aramane Giridhar, an Andhra Pradesh cadre officer of the 1988 batch, who was additional secretary at the Cabinet Secretariat, has been elevated as secretary, ministry of road transport and highways. Nagendra Nath Sinha will be the new secretary of rural development department. He is at present secretary, department of border management in the Home Ministry. Pradip Kumar Tripathi, special secretary and establishment officer in the department of personnel and training, will be secretary in the steel ministry. He is a 1987-batch IAS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Hyderabad, April 26 : Some of the Covid-19 patients, who were discharged from state-run Gandhi Hospital here after recovery, were all praise for the doctors and the other staff saying hospital superintendent Dr Raja Rao treated them like his children. The patients, most of them members of Tablighi Jamaat, walked out of hospital after completion of the treatment, showering lavish praise on the government and hospital authorities for making best arrangements for their treatment and for providing quality food. Most of those discharged praised the doctors, the paramedics and other staff the concern and dedication of. The services of hospital superintendent Dr Raja Rao came in for special praise. "He treated us like his children," said one of the youngsters after emerging from the hospital, which is the state nodal centre for Covid-19. "Dr Raja Rao gave us a lot of encouragement. He advised us to remain strong and told us that we should not be too scared of the disease. His words were reassuring," said a man from Sangareddy district. "We all used to wait for Dr Raja Rao to bring the good news (of our testing positive). He used to visit us two-three times a day. It was the best treatment we could have received," said a man from Warangal. Dr Raja Rao was Deputy Superintendent of the hospital till Superintendent Dr P. Sharavan Kumar was appointed state coordinator to tackle Covid-19. The discharged said Gandhi Hospital, being a government-run facility, they had never expected such arrangements but were surprised to get the best treatment and the care. About a dozen recovered patients shared their experiences before the camera and the videos were posted on Twitter by Health Minister Eatala Rajender, apparently to counter what he called false propaganda by opposition and some people on social media about lack of proper facilities at Gandhi Hospital. "There are no complaints, especially about food. We got VIP food. We received full cooperation from everybody in the hospital and we also extended all the cooperation and behaved well," said a patient. They said though they spent 23 days at the hospital the time flew by. "We were getting a good healthy breakfast, then tea, biscuits, eggs along with lunch, dry fruits in the evening, then tea biscuits followed by nutritious dinner. Perhaps we would not have got such food even at our homes during this lockdown period," said one of the discharged patients. "I don't know how to thank the doctors, other medical staff, security guards and the police who are serving the people with dedication. We will pray for their well-being," said a man. The experiences of the recovered patients came as reassuring to authorities, especially to the medical community amid reports of attacks on doctors and other healthcare professionals serving on the frontline in the fight against Covid-19. Gandhi Hospital itself had seen an untoward incident early this month when a Covid-19 patient had manhandled a doctor following the death of his relative in the same ward. Telangana has so far reported 990 Covid-19 patients, an overwhelming majority belonging to Tablighi Jamaat who attended a congregation at Jamaat's Markaz or headquarters in Delhi last month, their relatives or other contacts. With the discharge of 16 patients from Gandhi Hospital on Saturday, the number of recoveries rose to 307. According to officials, 658 persons are currently undergoing treatment in Gandhi and other hospitals. Latest updates on Gandhi Jayanti 2019 The rumors about the health of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un went into overdrive this weekend with some media outlets outright claiming he has died, while others claim he is very sick and may even be brain-dead. Amid all the chatter, some insist the reports of his death have been greatly exaggerated. Among those is the South Korean government, which has not veered from its stance of insisting all is normal. Our government position is firm, Moon Chung-in, the top foreign policy adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, told CNN. Kim Jong-un is alive and well. He has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13. No suspicious movements have so far been detected. Advertisement There had already been lots of rumors about Kims health because he was last seen in public on April 11. The rumors really started growing strong after he missed the April 15 celebration for the birthday of his grandfather and the founder of North Korea, Kim Il-Sung. Kim had not missed the event to mark the countrys most important holiday since he took power in late 2011. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Monday a South Korean website reported that Kim was recovering from heart surgery, and CNN later reported that Washington was monitoring intelligence that suggested Kim was in grave danger. Then, on Saturday, a Japanese magazine said Kim was in a vegetative state after heart surgery earlier this month, while a Hong Kong news outlet cited a very solid source to say Kim had died. Reuters reported Saturday that China had dispatched a team that included medical experts to North Korea. All the talk led the celebrity news website TMZ to go outside of its usual coverage area and declare that Kim was reportedly dead after botched heart surgery. Advertisement Advertisement A hint of his possible whereabouts also came over the weekend as satellite images appeared to show that a train that likely belongs to Kim has been parked on the countrys east coast since last week. The photos, released by a Washington-based North Korea monitoring project, reveal nothing about Kims health but suggest reports that he is outside Pyongyang could be accurate. The trains presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the countrys eastern coast, the report by 38 North said. Advertisement As some news sources declare that Kim is dead or brain-dead, the rumors have also started swirling in North Korea, reports the Washington Posts Anna Fifield. In Pyongyang, people are stocking up in preparation for what could come next as helicopters have been patrolling over the capital. And even as experts caution against reaching premature conclusionsafter all, this isnt the first time there are rumors about Kims health after a prolonged absence from public viewthey also concede that there could be something there. Andrei Lankov, a historian of North Korea, for example, said that he thinks something is definitely wrong with Kim. Go Myong-hyun, a research fellow at the Asan Institute, a Seoul-based think tank, tells the Wall Street Journal that Pyongyangs silence amid the persistent rumors appears to be particularly significant. It is noteworthy that North Korea has neither confirmed nor released a statement laughing at the rumors, he said. At the same time, some caution that his absence could have more to do with concerns about the coronavirus than anything else. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While rumors swirl, many have started talking about a possible successor. There is no obvious candidate to take over for Kim, who is believed to be 36. Some are raising the possibility that his only sister, Kim Yo Jong, could be the one to take over. She has recently been expanding her role in the government, which has helped to fuel the rumors, but at the same time some experts question whether a woman who is believed to be in her early 30s could ever take on the role, particularly considering there has not been a propaganda campaign around her that could help prop up her image among the general public. Yo Jongs role will likely be limited to a regent at most, Yoo Ho-yeol, who teaches North Korean studies at Korea University, tells Bloomberg. Not only the male-dominant leadership, but also ordinary people there would resist a female leader. For now, anything seems possible, and most reports are nothing but speculation. His disappearance from public events matters, but its certainly not unprecedented, and we just dont have enough information at this point to determine why, Mintaro Oba, a former State Department official, said. Could he be dead or gravely ill? Yes. Could it be something much more minor? Also yes. The Congress party on Sunday stepped up pressure on the Narendra Modi government over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic crisis by demanding a national action plan to contain the disease and its economic fallout. The party listed out five areas, it felt, must be addressed by a national plan so that the country and the state governments have clarity going forward. The party sent out a series of tweets through its official handle listing out the 5 core areas of focus the party felt needed further attention from the government in the form of a clear action plan. A month of lockdown and there is hardly any clarity from the government on a number of issues. Does the govt have a national plan? The party called attention to the following five areas in its tweet. -Procurement of more kits and increased testing -Lifting the lockdown -Economic revival -Stranded migrant workers -MSMEs On the issue of testing, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari had spelt out partys stance that questioned Centres less-than-optimal utilisation of its full testing capacity. Tiwari said the government needed to explain if it was deliberately testing less in order to play down the true magnitude of the pandemic in the country. If Indias capacity is to carry out one lakh tests a day, then what is the reason for capping the tests at 39,000?, Tiwari had asked. On the issue of lifting the lockdown, the Congress party said the country and the state governments needed a clear plan of action since the disease was not going to go away post-May 3when the second phase of the ongoing national lockdown ends. Also Read: Covid-19 not vanishing on May 3, wheres the national plan: Congress asks PM Narendra Modi The party also repeated its concerns over economic revival and accused the government of taking confusing decisions. The BJP government is making all efforts to increase the pain instead of reducing it. It is stopping the dearness allowance when it is dearly needed. It is cutting down on the Indian militarys needs. The government has lost direction, a party tweet said. Another asked, Why is the government not withdrawing projects like Central Vista and diverting the funds to fight COVID-19?. The Central vista project is an ambitious plan in the pipelines, aimed to revamp the area around India Gate in the capital that houses government offices and Parliament among others. On the issue of MSMEs and economic revival, Congress wanted to know when the second dose of financial assistance will be provided to industries. Despite industry voices demanding assistance, why is the BJP government not announcing the second financial assistance package? What is the Govt waiting for, the party asked. Also Read: On Akshay Tritiya, PM Modi calls on people to help each other amid Covid-19 On the issue of migrant workers, Congress has been demanding that arrangements be made to send them home since they are stuck in states where they work. Several state governments have indicated that they want to move migrants back to their homes in a phased manner which doesnt harm the containment efforts. President Donald Trump tweeted Saturday that his daily coronavirus briefings were not worth his time, two days after sparking a furor by suggesting patients might be injected with disinfectant to kill an infection. He appeared to confirm media reports that he was considering halting the briefings, which dominate early-evening cable television news for sometimes more than two hours, out of frustration with questions about his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately, Trump wrote. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort! What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2020 On Thursday the US leader stunned viewers by saying doctors might treat people infected with the coronavirus by shining ultraviolet light inside their bodies, or with injections of household disinfectant. Click here for the complete coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic Then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks (the virus) out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, he said. After a strong rebuff of his suggestion by top medical experts and disinfectant manufacturers, Trump on Friday claimed he had been speaking sarcastically. Also Read: Knocks the virus out in one minute: Trumps disinfectant claims baffle citizens But he limited that days briefing, which usually includes himself, Vice President Mike Pence and members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, to just 19 minutes, and did not take any questions from reporters. And on Saturday, after 50 briefings over two months, the White House did not hold one at all. Trump has used the briefings to occupy television screens and promote his administrations policies, fend off critics and attack political rivals -- from opposition Democrats to China to the US media. But after more than 53,000 Americans have died from the novel coronavirus, the briefings, opinion polls suggest, have not bolstered Trumps popularity among voters as he gears up to battle Democrat Joe Biden in the presidential election in November. An AP-NORC poll published Thursday showed that most Americans -- and a crushing majority of Democrats -- dont believe Trump when it comes to the health emergency facing the country. Entering the sitting room at the rectory of the small parish of Nevendon, in rural Essex, the maidservant saw her mistress, Augusta McGowan, the young wife of the rector, lying prone on a chaise. She was dead with the two bottles marked 'poison' lying nearby suggesting suicide. The high-spirited Augusta, 24, was apparently happy and well-liked in the parish. So why would she have killed herself? That was the question suddenly on the lips of every newspaper reader in Edwardian Britain, as reports of the incident in September 1905 took the country by storm. Indeed, what followed was a sensational maelstrom that incorporated a lesbian affair, erotic poetry, poison, suicide, coded telegrams and a paedophile parish priest. The clues to Augusta's demise lay in two letters found next to her body, one written by her to her mother, another to her blind husband, the Reverend Willie McGowan, written in Braille. And so the inquest into her death was adjourned until it could be translated and an autopsy performed. The deaths of two young women within two days, five miles apart, presented a case worthy of Sherlock Holmes. For Theodora and Augusta were, it emerged, more than just good friends (file image) But then, two days after Augusta's death, the mystery deepened when another young woman, Theodora Uniacke, was found dead just five miles away. There was nothing suspicious about Theodora's death as she had been seriously ill with pulmonary tuberculosis for over a year. But a policeman happened to know that she and Augusta McGowan were friends. Furthermore, alongside the two letters found with Augusta's body there had been a telegram that said, 'Theodora is asleep,' from one F. Uniacke Frances Uniacke, mother of Theodora. The deaths of two young women within two days, five miles apart, presented a case worthy of Sherlock Holmes. For Theodora and Augusta were, it emerged, more than just good friends. Indeed, a story of a highly intimate relationship unfurled, gripping the nation and dominating newspaper headlines. But, as so often with scandals, it burned brightly then died away and has long since been forgotten. Until now, thanks to the detective work of Ellen Crowell, professor of English and an expert on Oscar Wilde at St Louis University, Missouri, whose enthralling account of the mystery has just featured in The Times Literary Supplement. Professor Crowell first encountered the story in the diary of the artist Charles Ricketts, a contemporary of Wilde's, who wrote that he was 'aghast' at a newspaper report he had read. Intrigued, Professor Crowell began digging, using contemporary newspaper reports to piece together this fascinating tale of doomed, illicit love. 'The accounts of the inquests,' she says, 'made it very clear that it was a passionate and in 1905 inappropriate friendship.' The friendship began after Augusta, aged only 18, married the blind rector, 22 years her senior, and came to live at Nevendon. Until now, thanks to the detective work of Ellen Crowell, professor of English and an expert on Oscar Wilde at St Louis University, Missouri, whose enthralling account of the mystery has just featured in The Times Literary Supplement (file image) Through him she met Theodora, and at some point their friendship evolved into something more. At the inquest into Theodora's death, the coroner asked her mother why she had sent that 'peculiar' telegram stating, 'Theodora is asleep'? Mrs Uniacke explained that it was in response to a telegram from Augusta that 'was rather difficult to answer'. When pressed to produce this 'difficult' telegram, she resisted, saying: 'I am exceedingly anxious not to be mixed up in any way with the affairs of the McGowan family.' But the coroner insisted that she produce the telegram when Augusta's inquest resumed. When it did, the doctor who had carried out the autopsy reported that Augusta had taken 'more than a fatal dose' of morphine. Then came the telegram that Mrs Uniacke had tried to withhold. It read: 'THEODORA. 2 GROVE-ROAD. 1.3 31. DOWSON STELLA MARIS ARTHUR DORIAN JUST CONVEY TO APHRODITE ONE THING IF POSSIBLE.' Augusta's father, Mr Woolard, explained to the coroner that his daughter was 'in the habit of sending code or cipher telegrams'. The two women had been fans of 'Decadent poetry', or 'erotic verse' that they used in their code. This then-indecipherable code has now been cracked by Professor Crowell. As she explains, the numbers referred to pages in a book of poetry by Ernest Dowson, poems about separation and devotion. Stella Maris was the title of a poem about forbidden love: 'That joy, not shame, is ours to share, 'Joy that we had the frank delight, 'To choose the chances of one night' Meanwhile, the names Aphrodite and Dorian stood for Augusta and Theodora. And given the telegram's emphasis on only 'one thing', Professor Cowell believes Augusta simply wanted to know that Theodora was still alive. So when Theodora's mother, oblivious to the message's meaning, telegrammed back abruptly that Theodora was 'sleeping,' Augusta made a similar mistake to Shakespeare's Juliet, assuming that her beloved was not 'sleeping' but dead. Unable to bear life without Theodora, Augusta took a huge dose of morphine that she had been prescribed for a bad throat. And then, two days later, possibly further weakened by a broken heart, her desperately ill lover also passed away. The Braille letter to Augusta's husband, by now translated, seemed to confirm grief as the reason for her suicide. 'I've cared for only one man you. Others I've loathed and shrunk from. [But] I've given myself wholly now to my white Dorian [Theodora]. The hopelessness of her illness is killing me.' Augusta, although affectionate towards her husband, felt that he had not reciprocated her previous devotion to him. The reason for this? His interests clearly lay elsewhere, with young boys. For in a bizarre twist during the inquest, Aug-usta's widower, Reverend Willie McGowan, was arrested on charges of 'gross indecency.' Three underage boys who had worked at the rectory accused him of sexual impropriety. They had been employed to guide the blind rector around and read to him. But, as they testified, he had molested them 'two or three times a week'. Indeed, Augusta's father told the inquest that, he knew she had stopped sharing a bedroom with her husband after learning of his predilection for boys. Her worried parents tried to persuade her to leave her husband and return to the family home but she would not part from the dying Theodora. 'She lived to make Miss Uniacke happy,' he said. The jury clearly sympathised with Augusta, concluding that 'Mrs. McGowan committed suicide while in a state of melancholia, brought on by the neglect of the husband and the distress of Miss Uniacke's illness. The jury severely censured Mr McGowan for his conduct.' Two weeks later the rector was sentenced to six months' hard labour for 'gross indecency'. But the judge saved his harshest words for the rector's dead wife. 'It may be that had your wife been more attentive to you instead of so attentive to her female friend, she might have saved you,' he speculated. 'When a wife has an extreme affection for another female it is often at the expense of the husband.' He even tried to shift responsibility onto the three boys. 'One cannot help thinking that had they been boys of a proper disposition this might have been nipped in the bud,' he fulminated. There is no record of what happened to the rector after he served his sentence. Indeed, all we are left with is the tragic tale of his wife and her doomed affair, one that remains as poignant today as it did over a century ago. A special train possibly belonging to reclusive North Korean leader, ruler, Kim Jong-un, has been spotted at a resort town, claimed a Washington-based North Korea monitoring project, amid reorts that Kim is 'unwell'. The monitoring project, 38 North, said in that the train was parked at the leadership station in Wonsan on April 21, reported Guardian. It is to be noted that the 'leadership station' is reserved for the use of Kim and his close family members, The trains presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the countrys eastern coast, the report said. Speculation about Kims failing health started doing the rounds after ge failed to attend the anniversary of the birthday of North Koreas founding father and Kims grandfather, Kim Il-sung, on April 21. The specualtions got stronger on Saturday (April 25) afer Kim did not attend another national holiday, North Koreas Military Foundation Day. Newsweek rpeorted that the US intelligence has not notice any unusual military activity in the reclusive regime but Washington is closely moinitoring the situation. We have observed no indications or received any additional information to make a conclusive assessment on the status of North Korean leadership or health of Kim Jong-un, Newsweek quoted a senior unnamed Pentagon official as saying. According to North Koreas state media, Kim last presided over a meeting on 11 April. Meanwhile , China has sent a team including medical experts to North Korea to advise on Kim, said people who are aware of the development to Guardian. North Korea has so far preferred to remain silent on media reports suggesting that leader Kim Jong Un may be unwell. There's also a renewed worry about who's next in line to run the country if Kim Jong Un dies. The nuclear-armed nation has been ruled by the same family for seven decades. Questions about Kim's health flared after he skipped an April 15 commemoration of the 108th birthday of his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung. It's North Korea's most important event, and Kim, believed to be 36, hadn't missed it since inheriting power from his father in late 2011. Kim is the third generation of his family to rule North Korea, and a strong personality cult has been built around him, his father and grandfather. The family's mythical, Paektu, bloodline, named after the highest peak on the Korean Peninsula, is said to give only direct family members the right to rule the nation. That makes Kim's younger sister, senior ruling party official Kim Yo Jong, the most likely candidate to step in if her brother is gravely ill, incapacitated or dies. Stress among health care providers is common, and burnout can affect the quality of care thats provided to patients. A pair of new studies out of East Carolina University could help health care professionals mitigate burnout in the difficult months ahead. | Photo: Rhett Butler | Video: Rich Klindworth Dr. Holly Wei, associate professor at the ECU College of Nursing, said she draws energy from connecting with family and friends, spending time outdoors, hiking and observing the development of plants in nature. | Photo: Contributed Find meaning in your work Connect with an energy source Nurture interpersonal connections Develop an attitude of positivity Make 'emotional hygiene' a priority Recognize our unique abilities and contributions As we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors, nurses and other health care providers are being faced with unprecedented challenges, including shortages of staff and equipment needed to provide care to patients, fears about their own safety and that of their families, and new challenges at home such as home-schooling their children.Studies show that physicians and nurses who report signs and symptoms of burnout are more concerned about making medical errors, and higher levels of burnout in nurses are correlated with lower ratings of patient care quality. Physician stress was declared a public health crisis even before the first case of COVID-19 was reported.A pair of new studies out of East Carolina University could help health care professionals mitigate burnout in the difficult months ahead.A new study authored by ECU College of Nursing faculty member Dr. Holly Wei and collaborators looked explicitly at nurses caring for COVID-19 patients in Hubei province, China, at the beginning of the pandemic's breakout. The study provides guidance for nurse leaders to help nurses adjust psychologically to the demands of serving on the front lines of the pandemic.The study recently accepted for publication in "Issues in Mental Health Nursing" showed that nurses on the front lines of the pandemic go through psychological stages when caring for patients with COVID-19. These stages include ambivalence, emotional exhaustion and energy-renewal. Nurse leaders are instrumental in aiding these nurses' psychological adaptation by identifying negative psychological changes, providing support and fostering resilience.At the same time, Dr. Wei and colleagues also had a literature review published in "Nurse Leader" about the impact of leadership styles on nurse burnout. Both the study and literature review show that nurse leaders play a significant role in establishing a supportive work environment, providing the equipment required and meeting the emotional needs of nurses.Wei added,In another study -which was recently published in the academic journal "Critical Care Nurse" - Wei and her co-authors identified the following six strategies to help health care professionals avoid burnout:Finding meaning in one's work was the strategy cited most by the nurses and physicians who participated in the study. Wei advises that remembering one's initial sense of purpose can help motivate health care providers and remind them about the passion they have for their work. One nurse quoted in the study said,It's crucial to recognize the aspects of your life and career that give you energy, and to return to those energy sources regularly, Wei said. Some nurses and physicians reported spiritual practices such as prayer served as a source of energy. Wei said she draws energy from connecting with family and friends, spending time outdoors, hiking and observing the development of plants in nature.Wei said.Several of the health providers cited in the study pointed to providing high-quality patient care as an energy source, which can be good when patient health is good, but can put providers at risk of burnout if their patients aren't progressing, Wei said.Regularly connecting with colleagues and leadership teams and nurturing these relationships werethe study found. Seventy percent of health care providers surveyed relayed the importance of their workplace relationships. Some participants also noted how helpful it was when leadership offered support and opportunities for breaks.Wei said.More than half of nurses and physicians surveyed shared that developing a strategy of focusing on the positives of their work was helpful in avoiding burnout. One nurse contributed, "While some days were demanding and emotionally distressing, I found a way to position myself to face the challenges by seeing the good in the overall picture. I keep a gratitude journal to count my blessings."Wei said.Wei said that performing what she refers to as emotional hygiene could help health care providers build resilience and thus, reduce the risk of burnout. Strategies cited by participants as important included self-reflecting, praying, spending time with family and friends, setting boundaries between home and work, practicing mindfulness and making adequate sleep and moderate exercise a priority.one physician said in the study.Remember the contributions that you are uniquely able to provide to your patients and team at work, Wei advised. Nurses and physicians pointed out that health care is like a team sport in which each member provides valuable contributions that others cannot. Likewise, it is similarly important to recognize each other's contributions to the team.one physician said. Highly forwarded messages of WhatsApp have reduced 70 per cent after the company further limited the number of times people can send such messages, the firm has informed the Central government. An official at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) confirmed they had been informed and said: WhatsApp is saying that their limit of one per forward for viral messages has brought down the spread of such messages. Earlier this month, WhatsApp limited the number of times a frequently forwarded message can be sent further to only one chat at a time. ... She is said to have a net worth of more than $2million. And Tammy Hembrow, 26, wasn't afraid to flaunt her wealth on Instagram this Sunday as she posed for a poolside photo shoot on her Louis Vuitton beach towel - worth a whopping $800 AUD. Clad in a racy brown G-string swimsuit, the bronzed mother-of-two showed off her tiny waist and toned derriere as she seductively perched on the monogrammed fabric. So THAT'S what she does with her millions! Tammy Hembrow, 26, posed on a Louis Vuitton beach towel worth $800 while modelling a racy G-string swimsuit on Sunday 'Lil baby lowkey a flexer,' she wrote in the caption, directly quoting lyrics from Baby Keem's song Orange Soda. Tammy's swimsuit, worth $200, showed off plenty of skin thanks to it's high-cut front section and open back. Part of Tammy's tattoo collection was also on display, including a butterfly on her forearm and a dragon on her upper thigh. 'Lil baby lowkey a flexer': Tammy's swimsuit, worth $200, showed off plenty of skin thanks to it's high-cut front section and open back 'We had no money at all': Tammy revealed she grew up poor for 'majority of her childhood' and used to wash her clothes in a bathtub during her podcast Hanging With The Hembrows in February. Pictured: (from left) Tammy, Emilee and Amy c. 1996 It comes after Tammy revealed that, contrary to common belief, she and her sisters didn't grow up rich. Speaking on her podcast Hanging With The Hembrows in February, the bikini model admitted: 'The majority of our childhood we really had no money at all.' 'It was only when we got to high school - when we were like teenagers - when we moved with our stepdad and our mum.' Striking it rich: 'The majority of our childhood we really had no money at all,' Tammy (pictured) said Struggle: 'Yeah, we had a bathtub outside,' Tammy said. 'we literally had to fill it up with boiling water. Put buckets in it - like we didn't even have hot water.' Pictured: Amy, Tammy, Emilee. c. 1996 Her sister Amy, who appeared on the podcast with Tammy, explained the family used to have a bathtub outside where they would wash their clothes. 'Yeah, we had a bathtub outside,' Tammy said. 'We literally had to fill it up with boiling water. Put buckets in it - like we didn't even have hot water.' Tammy is certainly not short of cash now. She runs two successful businesses: her app Tammy Fit and activewear brand Saski Collection. The bikini model is now Australia's 11th most followed star on Instagram and her posts earn her an astonishing amount of money. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, Tammy can make a up to $33,000 per single upload to her Instagram profile. Ukrainian MP claims Energoatom's acting head requests almost US$60,000 in monthly pay 19:20, 26.04.20 440 The Cabinet on March 31 decided to tap Director General of Zaporizhia nuclear power plant Kotin to head Energoatom. After hearing about shortages on the news, a selfless Kansas farmer looked up the New York governor Andrew Cuomos address online and sent him one of five extra N95 masks he had along with a letter. Cuomo shared the heart-warming letter praising the latters "generosity of spirit". Dennis Ruhnke, who is a retired farmer, wrote in his letter that the N-95 mask is from his farming days and requested the Governor to pass it on to a nurse or a doctor on the front lines of the Coronavirus pandemic. 'Enclosed find a solitary N-95 mask left over from my farming days. It has never been used. If you could, would you please give this mask to a nurse or a doctor in your city, the farmer wrote in the letter. READ | 'Decision on lockdown extension post-video conference with PM Modi': Maha Home Minister The letter further stated that he and his wife, Sharon, are 'hunkered down' in northeast Kansas. Sharon has only one lung and also suffers from diabetes, making her especially vulnerable to the virus. The letter further reads that the family only had five masks from his working days. They kept four, for their immediate family, and mailed the fifth to Cuomo to pass on to a healthcare worker. Governor acknowledges the farmer's letter In a gesture of acknowledgment, the Governor said he has received the letter from a farmer in the northeast who has an ill and aging wife. He sent 1 of 5 N95 masks from his farming days to pass on to a health worker. He termed the letter as an 'inspiration'. "I received this letter from a farmer in northeast Kansas. His wife is ill and he is aging. He sent me 1 of 5 N95 masks he has from farming to pass on to a doctor or nurse in New York. This is humanity at its best. I share his letter as inspiration", the Governor wrote in his post on Linkedin. READ | Modi govt announces reopening of shops, non-essential services; here's what's allowed The letter from the farmer to Cuomo: READ | President Kovind, PM Modi, VP Naidu at Rashtrapati Bhavan as Sanjay Kothari takes CVC oath Here is the full text from the Letter: 'Dear Mr. Cuomo, 'I seriously doubt that you will ever read this letter as I know you are busy beyond belief with the disaster that has befallen our country. We currently (as of March 26, 2020) are a nation in crisis. Of that there is no doubt. Your approach has been spot on correct. I commend you for that and for especially telling the truth, something that has been sorely lacking as of late. 'I am a retired farmer hunkered down in northeast Kansas with my wife who has but one lung and occasional problems with her remaining lung. She also has diabetes. 'We are in our 70s now and frankly I am afraid for her. 'Enclosed find a solitary N-95 mask left over from my farming days. It has never been used. If you could, would you please give this mask to a nurse or a doctor in your city. I have kept four masks for my immediate family. 'Please keep doing what you do so well, which is to lead. 'Sincerely, Dennis and Sharon.' READ | PM Modi extends Ramzan greetings, hopes for 'decisive' victory against COVID-19 A Carabinieri officer blocks the road traffic as a convoy of military vehicles arrives at the Monumental Cemetery in Bergamo near Milan, Italy, on March 26, 2020. (Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images) Italy Reports 260 CCP Virus Deaths, Lowest Since Mid-March Italys CCP virus death toll lowered to 260 over the past 24 hours, the smallest tally since March 14, according to the countrys Civil Protection Agency. The number of new infections was the lowest at 2,324 over the past 24 hours, ANSA said. On Saturday, 2,357 infections were reported, and meanwhile, Sundays death toll was down from 415 on Saturday. The number of confirmed cases was 197,675, the third-highest behind the United States and Spain. However, it is believed that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has severely underreported the total number of cases in deaths inside China, which has a population of more than 1.3 billion. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told reporters over the weekend that he will allow some businesses to reopen as soon as this week, adding that manufacturing and construction could reopen starting on May 4. We are working in these hours to allow the reopening of a good part of businesses from manufacturing to construction for May 4, Conte told newspaper La Repubblica. Some companies will need to resume activity sooner so they cannot lose business and revenue. We cant prolong any further this lockdown we would risk seriously undermining the socio-economic fabric of the country, Conte said, according to Reuters. A resident wearing a face mask exits a shop after buying a newspaper in Treviolo, Italy, on April 9, 2020. (Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images) Meanwhile, it comes as a scientific study speculated that first COVID-19 infections in Italy date back to January, rather than February, as it has been suspected. Stefano Merler, of the Bruno Kessler Foundation, told a news conference alongside top health officials that his institute evaluated the first know cases, drawing conclusions from the contagion. We realized that there were a lot of infected people in Lombardy well before Feb. 20, which means the epidemic had started much earlier, he said, reported Reuters. In January for sure, but maybe even before. Well never know, he said, adding that an immediate surge in CCP virus cases implied that it was brought to Italy by several people rather than a single individual. Italy was the first European country to deal with the epidemic, and on Jan. 31, the country halted traffic to and from China after two Chinese tourists were found to have contracted the virus. About a year before that, Italy, in March 2019, ignored warnings from the United States and European Union, becoming the first G7 country to sign with Chinas controversial One Belt, One Road program, opening up sectors to Chinese investors, including state-owned firms. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India's "people-driven" battle against COVID-19 is the only way for the country to overcome the pandemic, and asked people to shun any complacency that they will not be infected by the coronavirus because it has so far not affected the places where they live or work. In his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' broadcast, Modi said the country is in the middle of a 'yudh' (war) and asserted that people have to continue being careful and take precautions. His note of caution comes against the backdrop of the Union government and states relaxing lockdown norms to revive economic activities. "I urge you not to get overconfident. You should in your over-enthusiasm not think that if the coronavirus has not yet reached your city, village, street or office, it is not going to reach now. Never make such a mistake. The experience of the world tells us a lot in this regard," he said. Modi referred to a popular Hindi idiom 'Sawdhani hati, durghatna ghati' (accident happens when caution is lowered) to make his point. In his 30-minute address, Modi hailed states, emergency workers and civil society groups for their contribution in combating the pandemic, and said that the resolve shown by the people of the country has led to the beginning of a transformation with businesses, offices, educational institutions, medical sector rapidly undergoing new changes. With the country under a lockdown since March 24 midnight, he said India's people-driven battle against the pandemic will be discussed when the world discusses the crisis later. "India's fight against the coronavirus is people-driven in the truest sense of the term. Along with people, government and administration are fighting it as well... This is the only way we can win over the virus," he said. Citing a Sanskrit shloka, he said. "Fire, debt and illness, if taken lightly, grow again at the first opportunity, assuming dangerous proportions, so it is important to treat them completely. Therefore, in over-enthusiasm, there should be no negligence. We will always have to remain cautious." Lauding the contribution of people in terms of helping the poor with food and medicines, he likened the exercise with 'mahayagya' in which everybody is eager to contribute. "We are fortunate that today the whole country, each and every citizen of the country, every person is a soldier in this battle and also leading the battle," he said. India's decision to export medicines needed by several countries, including developed nations, has earned it praise from world leaders, Modi said, noting that it did so as part of its ethos. The prime minister said wearing masks will now become a part of a civilised society and also exhorted people to stop spitting in public places, saying it was high time to get rid of this "bad habit" once and for all. This will not only boost our basic hygiene standards but also help in preventing the spread of the coronavirus infection, he said. The health crisis, Modi said, has made the world pay special attention to Indian heritage of yoga and ayurveda as people look to them to boost their immunity. Modi expressed confidence that the world will acknowledge the significance of India's traditional medicine system in a similar way it adopted yoga, and lamented that hundreds of years of foreign rule have resulted in Indians failing to realise their own strengths. Everyone in this battle is putting up a fight as per one's capacity and ability, and altruism has gained in strength in recent years, Modi said, asserting that he bowed to this sentiment. He asked people to join 'covidwarriors.gov.in', a digital platform that links volunteers, health professionals, representatives of civil society and local administration with each other to take care of relief works. Over 1.25 crore people are already part of this portal, he said. Airlines have clocked a distance of over three lakh km under "Lifeline Udan" project to deliver over five hundred tons of medical supplies to different parts of the country, while the railways has been running more than 100 parcel trains on close to 60 routes, Modi added. He also greeted people on Akshaya-Tritiya and noted that holy month of Ramzan had also begun. "We should pray more than ever before so that prior to the celebration of Eid the world is rid of the coronavirus and we celebrate Eid with enthusiasm and gaiety like earlier times," Modi said, urging people to adhere to guidelines of local administration. The pandemic, he noted, has changed the manner of celebrating festivals all over the world, including in India. People recently observed many festivals such as Bihu, Baisakhi, Puthandu, Vishu and Odia new year while staying indoors, he said. The fight against the epidemic has also given people a fresh perspective to look at the world around them with the importance of sanitary workers and neighbourhood shopkeepers being realised like never before, he said. People used to think negatively of police but a humane and sensitive aspect of policing has manifested itself now as uniformed personnel has been helping those in need, he added. The prime minister hoped that there may be some good in the fight against the coronavirus during his next 'Mann ki Baat' episode, usually the last Sunday of every month. He reiterated his advice to people to maintain a distance of two yards from each other to keep healthy. "Maintain a distance of two yards and keep yourself healthy. 'Do gaz doori, bahut hai zaroori'," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Chief Justice of the United States, John Roberts, said in 2014 that courts will always be careful when it comes to the next big thing in technology. And it took a worldwide pandemic for the U.S. Supreme Court to finally agree to use, of all things, the telephone. In May, the courts members will hear arguments over the telephone for the first time. Public television service C-SPAN will broadcast audio of the arguments live. Clare Cushman is director of publications at the Supreme Court Historical Society. She called the decision to use telephones a giant leap forward for a place that sticks to tradition. But she noted that hearing arguments on the phone is somewhat backward given how much of the country and other courts are now using video conferencing. Until 1971, the Supreme Court was still using pneumatic tubes to send documents. They were popular in the late 1800s for shipping mail, papers, and other things between offices. The court was still using Linotype machines to print documents in the early 1980s while others printed from desktop computers. Just two years ago, the high court made its documents available on the internet, well after other courts. Before the coronavirus crisis, Supreme Court justices were exchanging messages and opinions on paper. Yet most of the nine justices six of them over the age of 65 appear to use modern technology in their own lives. Justice Elena Kagan has said she is on the social media website Twitter. Justice Samuel Alito has described reading legal briefs on an Apple iPad. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wears an electronic sensor that keeps watch over her health. And Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh have young children who might be expected to send text messages to their fathers. This month, 81-year-old Justice Stephen Breyer used the videoconference service Zoom to talk to students at a New York school. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the oldest member of the court at the age of 87. She reads emails on an iPhone and once told people that she uses another Apple device as a sound machine to help her sleep. Still, the decision to hear arguments via telephone during six days in May was unimaginable two months ago. The change is an effort to limit large gatherings of people to slow the spread of the disease COVID-19. This year, the cases before the Supreme Court include President Donald Trumps effort to keep his tax and financial records secret. The court also will hear whether Electoral College members must vote for the candidate who won their state in presidential elections. The courts willingness to use telephones might last only a short time. But those who want more openness on the court hope it will continue after the pandemic. Melissa Murray is a law professor at the New York University School of Law. She said live audio gives Americans the ability to observe the third branch of the U.S. government at work. She added, I dont know why you wouldnt want that. Stephen Dillard serves on the Georgia Court of Appeals. He supports openness in the courts. He told The Associated Press, This is a great first step, and Im excited about it, but I hope they will go further in years to come and allow live video streaming. I'm Jonathan Evans. The Associated Press reported this story. Hai Do adapted the story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story pandemic - n. an occurrence in which a disease spread quickly around the world brief - n. a document that states the facts a lawyer plans to use in a court case branch - n. a major part of a government excited - adj. very enthusiastic and eager about something The marriage between popular Nollywood actress, Regina Daniels, and her husband Ned Nwoko still remains a tumultuous topic for discussion among many social media users. Many have alleged that Regina Daniels 19, who married the 59-year-old billionaire businessman as a teenager only went into the marriage just because of her husbands wealth. A younger sister of the popular Nigerian actress; Destiny Daniels has given a follower on Instagram an epic reason and condition on which a young girl will marry a young man. This is coming after the follower commented on her post, requesting that she doesnt marry an old man like her sister all because of money When the follower tried to caution her against following the footsteps of the Popular actress, an unapologetic Destiny who couldnt care less if the troll was older than her, gave him a piece of her mind. The follower wrote: No marry old man like your sister bcos of money you hear? you that you are young, your own is to be posting engagement ring because all the girls you proposed to didnt accept your foolishness simply because youre broke.pls make money let young girls marry young guys. Mtchwww,abeg next time dont come to my page and start spitting trash because I wouldnt care if youre older or not, Destiny replied savagely. Source:RazzNews.com Washington: Republican Senator Tom Cotton lit up social media on Sunday by suggesting Chinese students shouldn't be allowed to study science and technology at US universities, and should focus on Shakespeare instead. Republican Senator Tom Cotton. Credit:Bloomberg The Arkansas lawmaker deemed it a "scandal" that China's "brightest minds" study in the US only to return home "to compete for our jobs, to take our business, and ultimately to steal our property." "We need to take a very hard look at the visas that we give the Chinese nationals to come to the United States to study, especially at the post-graduate level in advanced scientific and technological fields," Cotton said on Fox News Channel's Sunday Morning Futures. The students should be allowed "to come here and study Shakespeare and the Federalist Papers, that's what they need to learn from America," he said. "They don't need to learn quantum computing and artificial intelligence from America." Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 11:35:32|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MEXICO CITY, April 25 (Xinhua) -- In recent weeks, Chinese ride-hailing platform DiDi Chuxing has launched a series of support programs in Mexico to help combat COVID-19. Nearly 500 cars, installed with plastic sanitary barriers and routinely disinfected, cruise here every day in the capital city, as part of a so-called DiDi "Drivers Club." Drivers are also provided with face masks and disinfection liquid, and their temperatures are monitored. The support programs are meant "to protect drivers and all passengers, as well as to help, in general, in these times that are difficult for everyone," said Jordi Cueto, DiDi Mexico's PR manager. "We evaluate the situation in the country every week," Cueto said, adding that the support program covers at least 2,000 cars operating nationwide. DiDi Mexico has also launched a special program called "DiDi Hero," which shares coupons and food offers with the nation's "tireless" healthcare personnel. The company has also created another program where drivers can "voluntarily" offer transportation to workers in the health sector. Drivers who choose to participate will not be charged a service fee by DiDi and will be able to serve DiDi Hero trips during peak periods, Cueto explained. "What we want in Mexico and in the other countries of the region where we operate is to promote staying at home for those who can; but for those who have to go out, to provide for their safety and hygiene. We want contagion to be diminished, reduced, and we can support this by taking care of the health of all people," Cueto said. Since March 30, DiDi has been providing financial support to drivers and passengers over the age of 65 so that they can stay home, as asked by health authorities. In Mexico, over 1,000 COVID-19-related deaths and more than 12,000 confirmed cases have been reported. As the world's leading mobile transportation platform, DiDi offers a full range of transportation options to more than 550 million users, including ride sharing, bike sharing, car rental, and food delivery, and provides 10 billion rides per year, its portal said. Enditem This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Daniel Garcia-Castellanos, Earth scientist, Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra Jaume Almera (ICTJA - CSIC) The rock with arguably the most fascinating story on Earth has an ancient name: Tomanowos. It means "the visitor from heaven" in the extinct language of Oregon's Clackamas Indian tribe. The Clackamas revered the Tomanowos also known as the Willamette meteorite believing it came to unite heaven, earth and water for their people. Rare extraterrestrial rocks like Tomanowos have a kind of fatal attraction for us humans. When European Americans found the pockmarked, 15-ton rock near the Willamette River more than a century ago, Tomanowos went through a violent uprooting, a series of lawsuits and a period under armed guard. It's one of the strangest rock stories I've come across in my years as a geoscientist. But let me start the tale from its real beginning, billions of years ago. History of a rock Tomanowos is a 15-ton meteorite made, as most metal meteorites are, of iron with about 8% nickel mixed in. These iron and nickel atoms were formed at the core of large stars that ended their lives in supernovae explosions. Those massive explosions spattered outer space with the products of nuclear fusion raw elements that then ended up in a nebula, or cloud of dust and gas. Supernovae disperse the iron produced in heavy stars. (Image credit: NASA) Those massive explosions spattered outer space with the products of nuclear fusion raw elements that then ended up in a nebula, or cloud of dust and gas. Eventually the elements were forced together by gravity, forming the earliest planet-like orbs, or protoplanets of our solar system. Some 4.5 billion years ago, Tomanowos was part of the core of one of these protoplanets, where heavier metals like iron and nickel accumulate. Some time after that, this protoplanet must have collided with another planetary body, sending this meteorite and an unknowable number of other chunks back out into space. Riding the flood Subsequent impacts over billions of years eventually pushed Tomanowos' orbit across that of the Earth. As a result of this cosmic billiards game, the Tomanowos meteorite entered Earth's atmosphere around 17,000 years ago and landed on an ice cap in Canada. Over the following decades, flowing ice slowly transported Tomanowos southwards, towards a glacier in the Fork River of Montana in what is now the United States. This glacier had created a 2,000-foot-high ice dam across the river, impounding the enormous Lake Missoula upstream. The ice dam crumbled when Tomanowos was nearing it, releasing one of the largest floods ever documented: the Missoula Floods, which shaped the Scablands of Washington State with the power of several thousand Niagara Falls. Trapped in ice and rafted down river by the flood, Tomanowos crossed modern-day Idaho, Washington and Oregon along the swollen Columbia River at speeds sometimes faster than 40 miles per hour, according to simulations by modern geologists. While floating near what's now the city of Portland, the meteorite's ice case broke apart, and Tomanowos sank to the river bottom. It is one of hundreds of other "erratic" rocks rocks made of elements that do not match the local geology that have been found along the Columbia River. All are souvenirs from the cataclysmic Missoula floods, but none is as rare as Tomanowos. A rock worth suing for As flood waters ebbed, Tomanowos was exposed to the elements. Over thousands of years, rain mixed with iron sulfide in the meteorite. This produced sulfuric acid that gradually dissolved the exposed side of the rock, creating the cratered surface it bears today. Several thousand years after the Missoula floods, the Clackamas arrived to Oregon and discovered the meteorite. Did they know it came from the heavens, despite the lack of a crater? The name Tomanowos, or Visitor from the Sky, suggests that they may have suspected the rock's extraterrestrial origins. Millennia of peaceful rest in the Willamette valley ended in 1902 when an Oregon man named Ellis Hughes secretly moved the iron rock to his own land and claimed it as his property. Hauling a 15-ton rock on a wooden cart for nearly a mile without being noticed wasn't easy, even in the Wild West. Hughes and his son labored for three back-breaking months. Once the meteorite was on his land, he began charging admission to view the "Willamette Meteorite." In fact, however, the legitimate owner of the iron rock turned out to be the Oregon Iron and Steel Company, which owned the land where Hughes had found the meteorite and sued for its return. While the suit worked its way through the courts, the company hired a guard who sat atop Tomanowos 24 hours a day with a loaded gun. They won the case in 1905, and sold Tomanowos to the American Museum of Natural History in New York a year later. Floods Today Tomanowos can be seen in the museum's Hall of the Universe exhibition, which still refers to it as the Willamette Meteorite. In 2000 the museum signed an agreement with descendants of the Clackamas tribe, recognizing the meteorite's spiritual significance to the Native people of Oregon. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde hold an annual ceremonial visit with the ancient rock that, as their ancestors so aptly observed, brought the sky and the water together here on Earth. In 2019 several fragments of the meteorite that had been held separately were returned to the tribe. But the museum's written display tells only some of the rock's long story. It omits the Missoula Floods, despite the significance of this event for modern earth science. Present display of the Tomanowos meteorite, American Museum of Natural History. (Image credit: Daniel Garcia-Castellanos, CC-BY-ND) Decades after geologists J. Harlen Bretz and Joseph T. Pardee separately posited the theory of the Missoula floods in the early 20th century, their research was used to explain how Tomanowos reached Oregon, where it was found. Their work also triggered one of the most significant paradigm shifts in recent geoscience: the recognition that catastrophic flooding events significantly contribute to the erosion and evolution of landscape Previously, scientists had followed Lyell's principle of uniformitarianism, which held that Earth's landscape was sculpted by regular, natural processes distributed evenly over long times. Normal floods fit into this theory, but the notion of swift, catastrophic events like the Missoula Floods were somewhat heretic. The idea of huge Ice Age floods helped geologists a century ago prevail over pre-scientific, religious explanations for unusual finds such as how marine fossils could be found at high elevation, and how a giant metal rock from outer space came to rest in Oregon. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates and become part of the discussion on Facebook and Twitter. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. Health Ministry said that 39 Egyptians fully recovered and left isolation hospitals on Saturday, which brings the total number of recoveries from the virus so far to 1,114 Egypt's health ministry reported 227 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, bringing the countrys total number of confirmed cases to 4,319. The ministry said in a statement that the total number of COVID-19 deaths has now reached 307 nationwide, with 13 new fatalities today. Health ministry spokesmen Khaled Megahed said in the statement that the newly-detected 227 cases are all Egyptians and were detected through the ministrys investigation and contact tracing protocols. Megahed also said that 39 Egyptians fully recovered and left isolation hospitals on Saturday, which brings the total number of recoveries from the virus so far to 1,114. The number of people whose test results have turned from positive to negative, including the recoveries, has now reached 1,450. According to Health Minister Hala Zayed, Egypt has carried out 200,000 rapid diagnostic tests for coronavirus and 90,000 polymerase chain reaction analyses through 27 central laboratories nationwide. According to the statement, Zayed said the 27 labs have a total staff capacity of up to 900 individuals, including doctors, pharmacists, chemists, lab technicians, and administrators. They have been linked together via an electronic network to ensure the speedy arrival of results and the complete confidentiality of data. The ministry recently introduced a new mobile application titled Egypt Health, as well as launched a WhatsApp messaging service (01553105105) and designated two hotlines (105 and 15335) to answer citizens' inquiries about the coronavirus and other infectious diseases. Starting 24 April, the beginning of the Muslim month of Ramadan, the start of the nighttime curfew was pushed back to 9pm instead of 8pm. In the ministrys statement, Minister Zayed thanked medical staff at the ministry's fever hospitals for their efforts in combating the coronavirus. The minister said that fever hospitals have received more than 900,000 sick people, whether suffering from coronavirus or other conditions, with an average daily frequency of more than 15,000 patients since the emergence of the virus in Egypt. The first case of COVID-19 in Egypt was confirmed on 14 February 2020. Zayed said that the countrys 47 fever hospitals, which are equipped with 4,258 beds including 227 ICU beds, are sorting out pathological cases, taking swabs and providing medical care in accordance with the updated treatment protocol. "These [fever] hospitals are gradually being prepared to serve as isolation hospitals, the minister said, adding that the hospitals will be conducting tests, diagnosing cases, providing treatment, following up on cases after recovery and discharge, and conducting scientific research. Fifty training sessions have been held on infection control standards and protocols for dealing with suspected and infected cases of coronavirus, the minister said. Zayed also thanked the employees of the General Administration of Quarantine at Egypt's airports and ports for their efforts in examining about half-a-million citizens coming from abroad from mid-January till international flights were suspended on 19 March. "The Ministry of Health has received 3,229 Egyptians who were stranded in a number of countries after flights were suspended, she said. Egypt began in March bringing back hundreds of its nationals stranded in various countries owing to the pandemic, and it has decided to quarantine all the repatriated citizens. On Wednesday, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said that Egypt is committed to repatriating an estimated 3,500 Egyptians stranded abroad at the earliest opportunity. "I assure all Egyptians [stranded abroad] who are listening to me, even if our circumstances are difficult, we will not leave you. As a state, we are obligated to bring home all stranded Egyptians, who are estimated at 3,500 citizens or slightly more, as soon as possible," El-Sisi said. Search Keywords: Short link: The personal belongings of an 18-year-old World War One soldier killed in the Somme have been discovered more than 90 years later. Private Ted Ambrose, the eldest of six children, was gravely wounded in the head, arm and leg in an artillery bombardment after he went over the top on 7 July 1916. He was rushed to a hospital in Etaples, 40 miles from Calais, for urgent treatment. His mother wrote to ask to visit him, but the hospital denied permission. Their response is time stamped one hour after Private Ambrose's death. The hospital sent his belongings home to Hertfordshire, including cigarettes and a picture of his girlfriend Gladys. Heartbroken, his mother Sarah hid them inside a brown leather suitcase in the loft, unable to look at it. The 'time capsule' was found 98 years after his death by his great-nephew. The heart-rending story was revealed by historian Dan Hill ahead of the publication of his book, Hertfordshire Soldiers of the Great War. The brown leather suitcase contained his old pipe, which still had tobacco inside It also had a picture of his grieving mother Sarah. Private Ambrose is pictured above. He died after sustaining wounds on the frontlines in 1916 The suitcase, which had remained sealed for decades, contained the soldier's most prized possessions including a letter from his father Samuel, a farm bailiff, wishing him luck, his pipe with burnt tobacco still inside and a photo of his mother. A brooch and letter from Gladys, unused cigarettes and a French language guide for the Expeditionary force were also found inside along with fragments of a shell, probably kept as a 'keep sake' from a near miss on the frontline. His mother also hid medals he received in the suitcase, after they were given to him posthumously in the 1920s. Private Ambrose had come to the frontline with the 6th Bedfordshire regiment following nine months of training. Once there, his eardrums were perforated after a shell exploded nearby. He was moved to hospital and, just before his return, contracted German measles leading to a longer hospital stay before returning to the front on July 1. On the day he was hit in the massive bombardment, 100 men in his regiment were killed or injured. His body was buried the day after his mother wrote to see him, at a cemetery outside the Etaples hospital. The case also contained a brooch from his girlfriend Gladys. He died in Etaples after sustaining injuries to his head, leg and arm during an artillery bombardment in the Somme Private Ambrose is pictured above with the 6th Bedfordshire regiment where he served The case also contained a book showing how to navigate Paris and a heartfelt letter sent by the private to his parents in Hertfordshire The case of possessions was inherited by his sister Margaret and then passed on to her sons John and David. The family decided to open it in 2014 after seeing an appeal by the Herts at War project to make an exhibition marking the 100th anniversary of the conflict. John from Letchworth, Hertfordshire, said: 'It was only when we opened the case that we realised the extent of the archive. It is very moving, especially the letters.' Revealing the story, Mr Hill said: 'Ted was not a famous soldier. He did not perform some uncommon act of gallantry which is remembered today. 'He was an ordinary lad from a sleepy village in Hertfordshire who simply did his duty. Whenever I go to France and pass by Etaples, I always remember to stop and say hello.' By Express News Service KOCHI: Lending a hand to Keralas battle against Covid-19, actor Mohanlals ViswaSanthi Foundation donated an autonomous robot for the isolation ward at Ernakulam medical college at Kalamasserry on Saturday. KARMI-Bot, developed by ASIMOV robotics, a company working under maker village of Kerala Start-up Mission will work as a caregiver at the hospital. The robot was handed over to District Collector S Suhas by the ViswaSanthi Foundation directors Major Ravi and Vinu Krishnan along with Jayakrishnan, CEO of ASIMOV robotics in a function held at Start-Up Village. MCH Principal Dr Thomas Mathew, RMO Dr Ganesh Mohan and Dr Manoj Antony were also present on the occasion. As part of its daily duties, the robot will dispense food, medicine, collect the trash left away by patients, perform disinfection and enable video call between the doctors and patients. The project aims to limit the interaction between Covid patients and health workers as well as to address the shortage of PPE kits by minimising its use. Carrying a payload up to 25kgs, the robot is capable of achieving a maximum speed of 1m/sec. UV-based disinfection and targeted detergent spray are the additional capabilities of KARMI-Bot. Despite our all-hands-on-deck coverage of the coronavirus outbreak, The Oregonian/OregonLive hasnt forgotten there is a primary election coming up. We know we have an important role in informing Oregonians about the issues and candidates they will be deciding on soon. Helen Jung, our opinion editor, has been actively scheduling candidate interviews for the editorial board, which will make endorsements in fewer races this election season. Those will start appearing on Sunday in print and online. As is traditional, we will publish our complete list of endorsements after ballots go out and before they are due. Editors Betsy Hammond and Margaret Haberman have worked to juggle their reporters to keep one eye on the elections and one on the states coronavirus response. Hillary Borrud, state government reporter, is working on stories on key statewide and legislative races, which also should start appearing in the next week or so. Everton Bailey, Portland City Hall reporter, also has been busy with several contested city council races, the mayors race and the gas tax. As a newsroom, well be publishing fewer stories in advance of the election due to competing demands and less staffing than the last primary. We are collaborating with other Oregon newsrooms to share pre-election reporting so that we can all inform readers before their ballots land in their mailboxes. We have set aside our usual competitive natures during this crisis to keep you, the reader, at the forefront of our decisions. On the coronavirus front, we continue to break news and push for more data. This week, the state released the number of Oregonians who have recovered from COVID-19, an important metric for reader perspective on the outbreak. We also are updating twice weekly the list of Oregon nursing homes that have active COVID-19 cases among their residents or staff. Thank you to the almost 3,500 digital subscribers who have signed up to support us. Go to oregonlive.com/supporter if you would like to join in. And many thanks to our print subscribers and advertisers who also help us provide this public service journalism for the May election and the virus outbreak in Oregon. Therese Bottomly is editor and vice president of content for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach her at tbottomly@oregonian.com or 503-221-8434. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said that without aggressive testing facilities, India cannot conquer challenges posed by COVID-19. IMAGE: Medics collect samples from media professionals for COVID-19 tests at a special testing centre in Patel Nagar, New Delhi . Photograph: Vijay Verma / PTI Photo Testing and tracing are the key to fighting the menace, he said in a video released by the Congress. "There are problems with regard to the inadequacy of testing facilities and without more aggressive facilities of testing, we are not going to conquer this menace," Manmohan Singh said. The Congress shared the thoughts of various leaders in the video to resolve the current crisis relating to the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown. The leaders are members of a consultative group headed by Singh and formulate the party's views on various matters. They also stressed on the issue of humanism, protection and financial security to drive the approach to dealing with migrant labourers. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the party should have a broad framework for protection of migrants. "We must insist that migrants are protected. But, we must also acknowledge that state governments are actually going to be responsible for driving this thing. Different state governments might choose different methodologies to solve this problem," he said. Gandhi said, "Our migrant strategy should include protection. The idea that you can tell the migrant that it is his problem, that has to be central. Movement of the migrant should depend on the two states and they should have a conversation." "Testing and Tracing are the key to fight COVID19. Humanism, protection and financial security must drive our approach to dealing with migrant labourers. This is the only way ahead," the Congress said while sharing the video. Former finance minister P Chidambaram suggested that one must leave it to the state from where the migrant originally came in to find ways to take back the migrants from other states. "But, the bulk will have to remain where they are. They have to be immediately given cash and grain," he noted. Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said "The government is failing in this battle and we have to put pressure on the government for the people of the country." Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the government's financial action plan 1 has not really worked and 'government needs to step up'. Another Congress leader Jairam Ramesh sought scaling up testing facilities and noted that the country had the capacity to triple the amount of testing. For reaching a threshold level of covering one per cent of population, 'we have to do something like 10 million tests', he said. Party spokesperson Manish Tewari said it is incumbent upon the Congress to collectively apply our minds and suggest a smart plan to how do we transition out of this lockdown due to all the issues arising out of it, especially the economic issue. The Congress also said that it believes in dialogue and discussion as the path to finding solutions. Virgin Atlantic is still talking with the British government about a bailout package to cope with the devastating effects of the coronavirus outbreak on travel as well as focusing on private sector funding, a company spokeswoman told Reuters. The comments came after the Sunday Telegraph reported that founder Richard Branson was seeking a buyer for the airline and had set a May-end deadline for a sale, and that talks with the government for a 500 million pound ($618.35 million) bailout package had been "effectively shelved." The spokeswoman said it was incorrect to say that the company has set a deadline to seek a buyer. "Because of significant costs to our business caused by unprecedented market conditions which the COVID-19 crisis has brought with it, we are exploring all available options to obtain additional external funding," she said. She said talks with the British government were "ongoing and constructive." Virgin Atlantic is based in Britain and is 51% owned by Branson's Virgin group and 49% owned by U.S. airline Delta. The pandemic has lead to a massive fall in global air travel demand. Australia's second-biggest airline Virgin Australia Holdings, which is a part of Virgin Group, has already succumbed to third-party led restructuring that could lead to a sale. Earlier in the week, Branson had said that Virgin Atlantic would only survive the outbreak if it gets financial support from the UK government. "This would be in the form of a commercial loan it wouldn't be free money and the airline would pay it back," Branson said in a blog post to staff last Monday. In its report, the Sunday Telegraph quoted sources as saying that Lansdowne Partners, Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek and Northill Capital were among the investors interested in rescuing the airline. U.S. based Centerbridge Partners and Cerberus Capital Management were also in discussions, it said. The interested companies can offer to structure a rescue by injecting debt, equity or convertible loans, which could leave Branson with no residual stake in the airline, according to the sources cited in the report. The deal options also include putting the company into administration, it added. ($1 = 0.8086 pounds) For Matt Groark, its all about giving back. "I always have, always will," he says. "People who know me know it's what I'm all about." A health and physical education teacher at Washington Township High School, Groark is also the owner of a small business - Groark Boys BBQ, which he officially kicked off with a fundraiser at Washington Township in September 2018. Over the past 20 months he's cooked up pulled pork, brisket, mac and cheese and more, giving back over $30,000 to a host of charities and community organizations. With his ever-growing popularity on social media, Groark now finds himself in position to do even more. On Friday, Sams Club kicked off an initiative in response to the coronavirus crisis to help small business stay afloat and continue to give back. It gave $1 million to Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to support their efforts. Groark received a $10,000 grant and was able to tell part of his story on Good Morning America. The main thing is to enhance and continue doing what Im doing with the business and in the community. The money is going back into the community, said Groark, who encourages other businesses to apply for the grant. "This is an incredible opportunity. The good things that I do are not possible without the support of my community and people as a whole. "Without the community, Groark Boys is not a business." A Sams Club member well before starting his business, Groark buys 98 percent of everything he needs from the wholesale company. A few weeks ago, he was cooking for Food4Staff and went live on TikTok. It was nothing out of the ordinary, just letting followers know what kind of food he was preparing and the mission behind Food4Staff. Sam's Club was watching and things just took off from there. As owner of Groark Boys BBQ, Matt Groark has given back to his community and other charitable groups. "I never tagged them or tried to get their attention," Groark said. "I'm live one day and Sam's Club popped up with the little blue check mark. So I talked to them, thanked them for popping in and that I was one of their best customers. I opened the smoker and showed the food, told them it was Sam's brisket. "I told them to give me a call, let's doing something. A couple of days later, a marketing guy for Sam's sent me an email to work together on TikTok. Everyone has this stigma that TikTok is for teens; it's girls and dancing. It's not. It's very quickly growing into a marketing hook for big business. Opportunities are there and it's something to capitalize on from a business standpoint." From that initial conversation, Groark found himself in meetings with Sams Club marketing representatives in charge of national campaigns. They were looking for some small businesses. It wasnt about giving back, but how small businesses were surviving, he said. I talked to them about my business, about Food4Staff and they loved it. Groark Boys BBQ was ultimately one of four small businesses under consideration for its national campaign. A Zoom call with the corporate office and Sams decided to use it as its lead business. Were proud to announce our partnership with @lisc_hq and are giving $1 million to support small businesses across the nation like @groarkboysbbq. Join us at https://t.co/ed9xleE6Pw to give or get support for businesses in your community. pic.twitter.com/xgdI5CBnsz Sam's Club (@SamsClub) April 22, 2020 The next thing I know, a woman talked to me about the campaign. She asked if it was OK if they shared my story with Good Morning America and Access Hollywood, he added. "I was like, absolutely. There were meetings, I had to send videos and pictures. I told them my story. I shared everything with them. It all happened within a week. "It came out great and there's been an overwhelming amount of support. It's been amazing. I've been getting phone calls from numbers across the country and there's been so much positivity. Calls saying thank you, calls asking if I ship my barbecue. A lot has come of it and it's been really cool, and it all stemmed from a loyal TikTok account." That account has grown from roughly 5,000 followers in September to over 256,000 today. Initially, Groark was just cooking barbecue in the backyard for friends and family. He'd hear the occasional comments - 'You should sell this.' He did it just because he loved to cook. "Then it started to become a passion," he said. What all started on Instagram, where he did cooking videos and came to find a huge food community, has exceeded any expectations when he decided to turn that passion into a business. Matt Groark recently fed members of the Washington Township (Gloucester County) police department as part of his mission to give back to the community. "My mission from the beginning was to give back because of the way people have supported and given back to my family. Any financial gain stems from that," Groark says. I work pretty firmly based on a quote I read - Provide more in value than you take in payments. My value is providing food but also some hope and inspiration to the community. Thats more important to me than any money Id ever get paid. Groark said he'd love to do fundraisers with other small businesses in Washington Township. One is in the works to help Mother's Cupboard. I owe so much to the community for getting behind me, he said. First and foremost, its about who I can help. Thats why Ive had so much success. Subscribe to the #TogetherNJ newsletter to get a weekly dose of these uplifting stories right to your inbox. Have you seen an inspiring story in your community during this troubling time? Tell us about it. See more uplifting stories in #TogetherNJ. Tell us your coronavirus stories, whether its a news tip, a topic you want us to cover, or a personal story you want to share. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Kevin Minnick may be reached at kminnick@njadvancemedia.com. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal New Mexico State Police Chief Tim Johnson has had enough of the name calling and the idea of pitting law enforcement agencies against each other. As the states top law enforcement officer, Johnson told the Journal on Friday he felt compelled to respond to comments made by Grants Mayor Martin Hicks, who in recent media reports called State Police officers Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams Gestapo. Johnson said he understands Hicks position as an elected leader trying to make the best decisions he can on behalf of his constituents. NMSP is not naive to the fact that our states economy is struggling right now. Many of our citizens are worried about their livelihood. Couple that with trying to keep themselves safe and healthy and it is easy to draw that conclusion that a lot of folks are in a bad place right now. But, he told the Journal, I must address any statements or excited utterances that have the potential to endanger the people Im paid to protect: the public and my officers. The idea of attempting to pit the citizens or business owners against State Police officers is one thing. Publicly stating it is another. Hicks, whose town has 10 COVID-19 positive cases according to state data, made the comments in an interview published by the Associated Press last week. We are going to stop Lujan Grisham and her Gestapo, referring to the secret police of Nazi Germany, the AP reported. Johnson said citizens shouldnt be directed by elected officials to violate laws or jeopardize the publics health, referring to the Hicks statements that nonessential businesses would be opened Monday in violation of the governors public health order. This puts both the citizens and my officers in a very difficult and unnecessary position. A position that has the potential to create terrible relationships not only right now during this pandemic, but on the back end of this. Johnson also bristled at the mayors announcement that businesses and citizens of Grants should call 911 if State Police show up at their places of business to enforce the public health order. Reading between the lines, this is an attempt to now pit the local police departments against the State Police. This plan will undoubtedly tie up critical emergency resources, and more importantly has the potential to create frictions between boots on the ground officers whom the public expects to work as collaboratively as possible to protect them. As those in law enforcement know, as too should public officials, very often State Police rely on backup and assistance from local law enforcement officers, he said. I know for a fact that we are often their backup as well, he said. Driving a wedge between law enforcement agencies is the last thing that is needed during times like this at any time, frankly. Johnson said his officers take no pride in having to visit businesses and respectfully relay to them that they are deemed nonessential. Unfortunately, its their job right now, he said. As whether State Police will be in Grants citing businesses that are violating the public health order, Johnson said his agency will be following the same protocol. We will respond to any complaints about nonessential businesses being open, he said. Since March 24, State Police officers have responded to 2,107 calls alleging businesses operating in violation of the public health order. Of those, 124 cease-and-desist orders have been issued to first-time violators, who are contacted in person and educated about the order. For second-time violators, State Police have issued only three citations to date statewide, involving two smoke shops and a loan company. Two individuals have been referred to the Department of Health for repeated noncompliance and civil penalties may be imposed. Name calling at a time like this is unnecessary, especially directed at first responders, Johnson said. My officers are doing a job that theyve never had to do before. A job I hope they never have to do again. They didnt sign up for this, but they understand the mission and follow it because thats what public servants do. It would be better, if Mr. Marukyan sent me a text message instead of criticizing without substantiation. This is what Minister of Health of Armenia Arsen Torosyan said during an interview on Azatutyun Radio today, touching upon head of the Bright Armenia faction Edmon Marukyans statement that the local tracking system isnt effective since he has heard of a case when a person bore the virus and spread it, but nobody went after the potential bearers of the virus after that person was hospitalized. As far as the local tracking system is concerned, Torosyan stated that this is a complementary tool, not the main one. Ford has plans to recall a small number of workers in effort to get factories ready for reopening as coronavirus lockdown rules are eased, a report revealed today. The automobile maker confirmed to the Detroit Free Press on Sunday that a 'skeleton crew' of hourly and salaried workers would be brought back to factories on Monday. Kelli Felker, Ford global manufacturing and communications manager, noted the callbacks are 'volunteer' status, meaning workers are not required to go back if asked, but they would be paid. She said the employees would be 'putting safety protocols in place that we will use when we do reopen our facilities.' A reopening date has not been determined. Ford has plans to recall a small number of workers in effort to get factories ready for reopening. The automobile maker confirmed to the Detroit Free Press on Sunday that a 'skeleton crew' of hourly and salaried workers would be brought back to factories on Monday Ford did not clarify which sites workers would be recalled to. Its factory headquarters are located in Detroit, but Ford has around 25 locations throughout the US. The automobile manufacturer shuttered its plants in late March in efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus at facilities and to protect workers. Felker said Ford has set up new safety measures that will begin on Monday. Workers will be provided face masks and if social distancing is not possible, they will have to wear a face shield or safety goggles, in addition to the face mask. Additionally, workers will have to obtain a 'daily health and wellness self certification' before they are let inside to ensure they do not have any coronavirus symptoms. They will also go through a no-contact temperature screening, although Felker notes the details will be different for each plant. She said to the Free Press: 'Where workers are making medical personal protection equipment now, they go through a ''thermal scanner,'' like a camera that takes a thermal picture. If an employee is too warm, they will not be allowed to enter the workplace.' However, workers are still concerned with the risks they would be taking. One told the news outlet: 'A big point of concern is the nature of the coronavirus, and its propensity to be highly contagious for up to two weeks before any symptoms show. Many people in a production facility could become infected by this virus before the first person began to show symptoms.' Ford did not clarify which sites workers would be recalled to. Its factory headquarters are located in Detroit, but Ford has 25 locations throughout the US Already at Ford, more than 800 people returned to work at four Detroit-area sites to make medical equipment. Several companies have re-purposed its factories to answer calls for help from beleaguered nurses, doctors and paramedics who are treating patients with the highly contagious virus. Workers also are making soap and hand sanitizer, which early in the crisis were in short supply. Most automakers in the US temporarily stopped making vehicles about a month ago after workers complained about the risks of infection at the factories. Many white-collar workers are being paid to work remotely but members of the United Auto Workers who don't have that option are still collecting pay and unemployment benefits that equal about 95 percent of regular take-home wages. Twenty-four UAW members have already died from COVID-19 but its unclear when or where they contracted the disease. Ford, GM and Toyota said they aren't aware of any infections among workers who returned to make medical gear. Still, there's no denying the risks are likely higher at the factories than in the safety of one's home. Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, speaks during a coronavirus task force briefing at the White House, Saturday, April 4, 2020, in Washington. Associated Press/Patrick Semansky Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, told Fox News on Saturday that the US will see a dramatic decrease in coronavirus hospitalizations and deaths by the end of May. But social distancing will have to continue "through the summer," Birx told NBC News on Sunday. Several states have begun to ease social distancing measures, but public-health experts fear that cases could rebound as a result. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. White House coronavirus task force coordinator Deborah Birx has a rough timeline for how the pandemic will play out in the US over the next several months. The number of coronavirus hospitalizations, ICU patients, and deaths "will be dramatically decreased by the end of May," Birx said in an interview with Fox News on Saturday. The number of cases, she added, will likely continue to rise. Related: How Long Will Social Distancing Last? Its Complicated "As we expand testing more and more into the greater community with much less symptoms, we'll see additional cases," Birx said. She added that increased testing could help identify mild or asymptomatic cases "currently circulating in the community." But in an interview with NBC News on Sunday, Birx said social distancing would need to continue for several more months. "Social distancing will be with us through the summer to really ensure that we protect one another as we move through these phases," Birx said. Her comments follow the decision of several states to ease social distancing and stay-at-home restrictions. Georgia allowed certain non-essential businesses including gyms, hair salons, and tattoo parlors to reopen on Friday. That same day, Oklahoma reopened state parks and outdoor recreation areas, and allowed personal care businesses to resume appointments. Alaska also reopened retail businesses and dine-in services restaurants on Friday, under the proviso that those businesses operate at 25% capacity. Story continues Some public-health experts fear that easing restrictions too soon could allow cases to rebound. Health experts predict the US will see cases in the fall The end of the coronavirus pandemic will most likely be tied to the development of a vaccine a process that could take about 18 months. On Wednesday, Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he was "convinced" the US will see coronavirus cases in the fall. In the meantime, public-health experts agree that social distancing is key to controlling the outbreak. "Every model shows that if we open things up now, we will just have a rebound," Elizabeth Halloran, a biostatistician at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington, told Business Insider on April 13. social distancing Justin Paget/Getty Images Vice President Mike Pence told Fox News on Friday that the US "will largely have this coronavirus epidemic behind us" by Memorial Day weekend. A day earlier, he gave a similar timeline to radio host Rush Limbaugh. "I truly do believe if current trend lines hold, that by early June, we could largely have this coronavirus epidemic behind us, and begin to see our nation open back up and go back to work," Pence told Limbaugh. "If some of those early studies hold out, there will be an awful lot of Americans in the fall and in the winter of next year that actually enjoy a degree of immunity from the coronavirus. That will be a bulwark against this." On Sunday, Birx told NBC News that the vice president was referring to models based on data from Detroit and Louisiana. But Halloran said it's unlikely that most Americans will be immune to the virus before a vaccine becomes available. "If I had to put my nickel on it, we don't have very high herd immunity in this population currently," she said. "We hope that a vaccine could induce an immunity that will at least keep people from dying." Business Insider Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 26) The Department of Health confirmed Sunday that two patients from Davao City who have recovered from COVID-19 have tested positive again for the virus. DOH spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire, citing Southern Philippines Medical Center where the two were admitted, said in a virtual press briefing that the two have been discharged from the hospital, but tested positive again after two weeks under home quarantine. One of the patients has tested negative again, she said, while the other is still waiting for test results. Patuloy po ang pagaaral ng DOH at ng ating mga eksperto tungkol sa posibilidad ng reinfection o reactivation ng COVID-19, Vergeire said. Wala pa pong sapat na ebidensiya upang magbigay ng pahayag dito sa ngayon. [Translation: DOH and our experts continue to study the possibility of reinfection or reactivation of COVID-19. There is not enough evidence to give a statement about this right now.] However, she explained that it is possible that a recovered COVID-19 patient would test positive again if tests would pick up on remnants of the virus, which she said are no longer infectious. The World Health Organization has warned that there is still no evidence suggesting that people who have had COVID-19 would be immune to a second infection. The DOH reported Sunday that 862 people have recovered from the viral disease, while 501 have died. A total of 7,579 people have been infected with the virus. This is an opinion column. Now that it will be built finally will they come? For too long, almost four decades, the Ramsey McCormick Building in downtown Ensley stood as a tall, ghostly, and decaying reminder of what was in this proud and once-prosperous neighborhood in west Birmingham. A stark and unavoidable reminder of lingering legal battles. Of promises upon promises unfulfilled. Last week, Birmingham officials shared what we all already knew about the historic, city-owned 10-story edifice: Decades of neglect rendered it irreparable. It will be demolished and from its ashes will rise a mini Ramsay McCormackfive stories high and decorated with salvaged remnants of the buildings unique art deco facade. Preliminary site work has begun, with demolition and groundbreaking planned for summer. Builders, Ensley District Developers, said the 30,000-square-foot structure could be completed by September 2022. Finally. (The developers, working with Stewart Perry Construction have agreed to 40% percent participation by minority- and women-owned firms, along with hiring local, according to Josh Carpenter, director of the Office of Innovation and Economic Opportunity.) Still, will they come? Will reviving the signature tower finally entice restaurateurs, bar owners, residential developers and other businesses to flockor even crawlto Ensley? Will it ignite what many have long prayed will be Birminghams next buzzworthy neighborhood? We wont know, frankly, until they build it. Or at least raze the historic structure. By now, some have been waiting so long theyre wary of even pondering the possibilities. Understandably, District 9 City Councilor John Hilliard peppered his responses to the announced construction with potentially. Ensley native Brian Rice is an engineer who owns eight buildings near Ramsay McCormack. Hes just one among several passionate and frustrated property owners whove too-long waited for Birmingham to do something with the building it bought for a buck in 1983. Waited and pushed (lawsuits between local developers and the City of Birmingham go back more than a decade) as Ensley sat in lonely limbo. On an average day, I dont see cars on 19th Street because so many buildings are vacant, Rice says. Once construction starts, Ill actually believe. Ensley was a pandemic before there was a pandemic. Birmingham is betting more than $4 million that Ramsay McCormack 2.0 is the cure. Mayor Randall Woodfin, in fact, calls the building the shot in the arm [Ensley] needs. Im very excited about it, he told me. When you study other business districts, they all had an initial tenant that took a risk in the area. Yes, [Ramsay McCormack] got caught up in some legal battles, but it was important to do something that said that the community is open for business. Ensley developers have a high commitment and passion for seeing it grow. Theyve been intentional and focused on not just Ramsay McCormack but trying to ensure that when its done, the area can attract the businesses it wants. It wants what other areas of the city have. Lupe Fiasco has an album called Food & Liquor, Woodfin said. Areas like Avondale, Lakeview, Morris Ave, and others are driven heavily by restaurants and bars. I dont think Ensley should run away from that successful model. Yet, will they come? Igniting the change Ensley desperately desires will require a lot more than one new building. It simply was not going to happen, though, until the 91-year-old beacon of Ensleys skyline was resuscitated. It still wont happen if investments arent made to improve surrounding properties, many empty shells of what they could be -- perhaps brick-and-mortar incarnations for aspiring restauranteurs currently serving from food trucks. The city slated an additional $1 million for grants and microloans for Ensley property owners to make much-needed facade and improvements$266,000 has been disbursed to Urban Impact ($146,000) and the LiftFund ($120,000) for distribution to local developers seeking to improve nearby properties, says Carpenter. About half of the funds ($450,000), however, were reapportioned to the Bham Strong fund that approved short-term loans of up to $25,000 to 66 small businesses in the city affected by COVID-19s economic fallout, Carpenter said. He expects those funds to be re-committed in the citys next annual budget fiscal year 2021 begins July 1. The timing could be great, Carpenter says. The goal remains to stabilize the economic fabric of the area. Then pray they come. Its easy to look at the citys transformative neighborhoods, including a now-bustling (pre-pandemic) downtown, and believe they sprung to life overnight. In truth, evolution was glacial, requiring years to manifest. Even after initial building blocks were laid. In 2007, Urban Standard opened on Second Ave North between 22nd and 23rd, one of the first restaurants in then-desolate downtown Birmingham. Two years later, Rogue Tavern opened on the same block. In 2016, the restored Jefferson Tower apartments, with Roots & Revelry restaurant on the second floor, opened on Second Ave North and 17th Street. It took nine years, says Woodfin, [for development] to go six blocks. The Ensley faithful have already waited much, much longer. (The timeline on the citys deck outlining the full scope of the revitalization plans: 10-15 years.) And while their wait for Ramsay McCormack 2.0 to be built is finally overahem, potentiallythey must still wait a bit more. Perhaps a long bit more. To see if they will come. Finally. A voice for whats right and wrong in Birmingham, Alabama (and beyond), Roys column appears in The Birmingham News and AL.com, as well as in the Huntsville Times, the Mobile Register. Reach him at rjohnson@al.com and follow him at twitter.com/roysj The effective implementation of lockdown to check the spread of COVID-19, supply of essential commodities to people and various other measures of the Karnataka government has won accolades of a British Minister. Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Robert Buckland lauded the efforts of the state government during a video conference Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa held with the Kannadigas living in England on Sunday regarding the measures taken to contain the virus in the state, an official release said. Buckland too appeared for discussion with the Chief Minsiter and sought information about control of the disease in India, especially in Karnataka. The Chief Minister replied to his queries and explained that effective enforcement of lockdown was possible with immense support from people, the statement read. Economic activities would be started according to the guidelines of the Central government in a phased or graded manner in coming days, the CM was quoted as saying. According to the statement, Buckland was amazed to learn that Covid-19 has not touched upon rural areas, so far. Yediyurappa assured the Kannadigas residing abroad that they need not worry about their parents or elders in the state as their well being would be taken care of. He said they can contact helpline numbers for medical and other needs. The Chief Minister also said that the state government would consider the loan repayment issues of students studying abroad, after situation turns normal. "Government of Karnataka would be in touch with Union Government regarding the rescue of Kannadigas stranded abroad only after international flight services resume," he told the Kannadigas. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China has accused Australia of 'ideological bias' and playing 'political games' after Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an independent inquiry into the spread of coronavirus. Foreign Minister Marise Payne raised the idea of a review into how the outbreak began last week, saying she agreed with the consensus view the respiratory disease originated from a wet market in the Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019. Mr Morrison has also spoken with leaders in the US, Germany and France with the aim of giving independent health inspectors powers to investigate areas where pandemics could spark in the future. China hit back on Saturday, describing Australia's proposal as 'political manoeuvring' which undermined the global community's attempts to stem the virus' spread. China has hit back after Australian foreign minister Marise Payne called for an independent review of the coronavirus outbreak and said she agreed with the view the disease originated in a wet market in the city of Wuhan . Pictured are workers at a different market in the city on April 15 'At such a critical juncture, it is highly irresponsible to resort to politically-motivated suspicion and accusation,' China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a statement issued by the Chinese embassy in Canberra. 'We advise the Australian side to put aside ideological bias and political games, focus on the welfare of the Australian people and global public health security, follow the international community's collective will for cooperation, and contribute to the global cooperation in fighting the virus, instead of doing things to the contrary.' Home affairs minister Peter Dutton said though the government was standing firm on the need for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus in China. 'We want more transparency within the communist party of China in the way they have dealt with this virus issue,' Mr Dutton told Sky News on Sunday. 'If not just to understand how we can defeat this threat in the future when you have got these wildlife wet markets where the flu may have originated from.' Mr Morrison pictured addressing the media about the coronavirus on April 23. The prime minister has also criticised the World Health Organisation's support of China and called for independent health inspectors to investigate the outbreak It comes as Mr Morrison steps up his criticism of the World Health Organisation after it expressed its support for the reopening of China's wet markets. 'It's unfathomable, frankly,' Mr Morrison told the Today show last week when asked about the WHO's decision. 'We need to protect the world against potential sources of these types of outbreaks. IT's happened too many times,' he said. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang described Australia's proposal as 'political manoeuvring' which undermined the global community's attempts to stem the spread of COVID-19 'We don't have them in Australia. I'm just puzzled by that decision.' Earlier this month, the United Nations health authority claimed the Chinese markets could be made to sell safe products with increased hygiene practices as they provided important sources of food and income. The WHO has been under attack for its handling of the worldwide coronavirus crisis and has been accused of a pro-China bias. Questions have been raised about its advice early in the crisis, most critically in allowing international travel from China to remain open, thus spreading the disease across the world. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom had praised China for its 'transparency' and handling of the outbreak after travelling to the country in January. agrees with the consensus that the deadly respiratory infection originated in a wet market (Pictured: A different food market in China) in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 Australia's is the eighth biggest donor to the World Health Organisation by voluntary contributions, while China is 21st, 2018 financial figures show In response, US President Donald Trump pulled funding from the organisation, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has faced mounting pressure to follow suit. Australia paid the UN agency $54.5 million in 2018 - the eighth biggest voluntary contribution of 71 member countries. China, the world's most populous country and home to almost 1.4 billion people, paid $9.83million in voluntary donations. As of April 26 morning, 17 new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Kyrgyzstan, bringing the total number to 682, Trend reports citing Kabar. The countrys Deputy Health Minister Nurbolot Usenbaev told Sunday that that 5 medical workers have been infected past day. The total number of contracted medical workers is 180. There are 13 COVID-19 patients are in hospitals in serious condition, 6 of them are in intensive care, he added. He also noted that 25 patients with a previously confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 were discharged from hospitals per day. Their repeated analyzes showed negative results. In total, 370 citizens were recovered from COVID-19 in the country, he said. Usenbaev said that currently 304 COVID-19 patients are in hospitals throughout the country. 8 patients have passed away. By Associated Press SEOUL: A train likely belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been parked at his compound on the country's east coast since last week, satellite imagery showed, amid speculation about his health that has been caused, in part, by a long period out of the public eye. The satellite photos released by 38 North, a website specialising in North Korea studies, don't say anything about Kim's potential health problems, and they echo South Korean government intelligence that Kim is staying outside of the capital, Pyongyang. Seoul has also repeatedly indicated that there have been no unusual signs that could indicate health problems for Kim. That hasn't stopped growing unconfirmed rumours and media reports about Kim's health that have emerged since he missed an April 15 commemoration of the 108th birthday of his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung. ALSO READ | Kim Jong Un in 'vegetative state', China medical team to reach North Korea Kim Jong Un is the third generation of his family to rule North Korea, and he hadn't missed the April 15 event, one of the year's most important for the North, since assuming power after his father Kim Jong Il's death in late 2011. Kim's health is of crucial importance because of worries that the serious illness or death of a leader venerated with near godlike passion by millions of North Koreans could cause instability in the impoverished, nuclear-armed country. Many experts in South Korea downplayed speculation that Kim is seriously ill. They also said North Korea won't likely face a serious immediate turmoil even if Kim is incapacitated or dies because someone else like his influential sister Kim Yoo Jong will quickly step in, though the prospect for the North's long-term political future would be unclear. Kim Jong Un's train has been parked at the Leadership Railway Station servicing his Wonsan compound since at least April 21, the website 38 North said on Saturday, citing an analysis of recent satellite photos of the area. The website said the approximately 250-metre (820-foot) -long train wasn't present on April 15 but was present on both April 21 and 23. "The train's presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country's eastern coast," it said. The photos indicate the train arrived before April 21 and was still present on April 23, when it appeared to be repositioned for departure. However, there was no indication when that departure might take place, 38 North said. North Korea exerts extremely tight control on information about its leadership, making it virtually impossible for outsiders to find out what's going on at those senior levels. Even South Korea's main spy agency has a mixed record on confirming developments in North Korea. When Kim Jong Il died in December 2011, for instance, few outsiders knew it until it was reported by North Korea's state media two days later. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorised to talk to the media, said the latest rumours about Kim's health had not changed the US assessment of the information as "speculation". Danny Russel, a former National Security Council director and assistant secretary of state for Asia who has dealt with North Korea in the past, cautioned that rumors have abounded for years about Kim, his father, Kim Jong Il, and his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, and most turned out to have been false. "While serving in government I was on the receiving end of multiple intelligence reports about alleged accidents, illnesses and assassination attempts against North Korean leaders only to have them reappear in public," he said. South Korea's presidential office said last week that Kim appeared to be handling state affairs normally and that there had been no suspicious activities, such as an emergency readiness order issued by the North's military or the ruling Workers' Party. The South Korean government has since maintained its assessment that Kim's health remains the same. Some South Korean media outlets, citing unidentified government officials, have reported that Kim was staying at Wonsan. North Korea's state media still remain silent about the outside speculation on Kim's health. On Saturday, the official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim had received a message of greeting from the chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation on the occasion of the first anniversary of Kim's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The message wished Kim "good health and happiness," KCNA said. It's not the first time that Kim has vanished from the public eye, and past absences in state media dispatches have also triggered speculation about his health. In 2014, state media didn't report any public activities for Kim for about six weeks, before he reappeared with a cane. South Korea's spy agency said later that he had a cyst removed from his ankle. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Mom-to-be and nurse Christine Sullivans baby shower was postponed twice due to the coronavirus pandemic, and her friends refused to make that happen a third time when it rained on Sunday. Sullivan, who is due to give birth to a baby girl on June 10, originally had her baby shower scheduled for April 18 at the Crystal Room, South Beach. With Governor Andrew Cuomos initial plan to re-open by the end of April, the event was rescheduled for May 15. Once the announcement was made that the stay-at-home order was extended through May 15th, her family and friends knew they had to do something creative to give Sullivan her shower. Everyone was disappointed when we knew we werent going to be able to do the shower as planned, said Staci Memmesheimer, a long-time family friend who considers herself to be like a cousin. We tossed around how we could do this, and we thought about the drive-by shower. Sullivans sister, Victoria Wickman, took the lead on planning the drive-by shower, with help from other friends and family. More than 20 cars met at Wickmans Oakwood home and proceeded to drive to Sullivans Richmond residence where she and her husband, Danny, were waiting under a tent. Cars were decorated with pink balloons and signs to celebrate the coming arrival of the baby girl. The baby shower attendees even had special themed masks made to wear in light pink with elephants on them. Everyone unloaded their gifts and placed them on a table under the tent before quickly returning to their cars to honk and wave goodbye. While they would have liked it to be a surprise, it was especially important to plan around the mom-to-bes work schedule. Christine is a nurse currently working nights in the nursery at New York University Hospital in Manhattan. Shes under a lot of stress, and obviously you want it to be special when youre having a baby, said Memmesheimer. Amid a pandemic, having a baby is a lot different. We had to make the best of it. On top being pregnant and her career, Sullivans parents are currently stuck in Florida. Her parents, who live in Brooklyn, were visiting their house there when flights started to get cancelled, and now have resorted to staying there until life returns to normal. During the drive-by, Sullivan had her mom on FaceTime the entire time. The parade brought tears to the eyes of both the mother- and grandmother-to-be. Sullivan said she was grateful for the baby shower, because she wasnt sure how else they would be preparing for her first child before she arrives in June. I was so glad when they told me that they were planning it, she told the Advance/SILive.com. It was so nice to see everyone. Were really feeling loved and appreciated, added her husband. Indians stand in a queue to receive food distributed by volunteers during lockdown to prevent the spread of new coronavirus in Hyderabad. (AP) Hyderabad: Prominent city-based academics, activists and intellectuals on Friday wrote to the state government, asking it to facilitate the return of migrant workers stuck in Telangana state to their home states. Nearly 70 of them, including Mohan Guruswamy, Chukka Ramaiah, P L Vishweshwar Rao, Kodandaram, Meera Sanghamitra and Prof Haragopal co-signed the letter. The letter noted that migrant workers were among the worst-affected groups due to the lockdown. Though the state government had announced a relief package for them on March 29, the benefits of it hadnt reached everyone. The governments measures, they said, were announced only for 3.35 lakh people while the labour departments website mentions over 15.45 lakh in the state. They said many of the migrants were small farmers or farm labourers who were forced to come to the cities due to seasonal migration. The letter read: Despite the best efforts of the Telangana government and the civil society groups, it took a month for the system to gear up to extend relief. Even then could reach only a fraction of the migrants who have already lost wages, spent most of their earnings and are on the verge of starvation. The authors said many migrants were herded into shelters bereft of sanitation facilities and prone to overcrowding and it would be best if they were allowed to return to their villages. They noted that there had been many cases of migrants walking hundreds of kilometres to reach home and this was risky. The migrants have the right under Article 19 (1) d to move freely throughout the territory of India and under Article 19 (1) e to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India, they wrote. By Associated Press LE PECQ (FRANCE): The itch to dance, to break out of coronavirus lockdown and bust a few moves in the fresh air, out on the street, has proved too strong for some to resist in Paris after weeks of staying home. Video of Parisians dancing in the street this weekend, some wearing face masks, triggered buzz and criticism on social networks and an apology on Sunday from the out-of-work theater technician who blasted the music from his balcony. Nathan Sebbagh has been thanking medics and trying to keep people's spirits up with half-hour hip-shaking musical selections on Saturday evenings. But his goodwill gesture, which he dubs @discobalcons in his Instagram postings, this weekend became a victim of its own success. Police knocked at his door and gave him a talking to after a small but frisky crowd gathered and danced under the balcony of his apartment in Montmartre. "There were a lot of people. The square was quite full. Some people were far too close," Sebbagh acknowledged somewhat sheepishly in a phone interview Sunday. The police "said that music on balconies is a very good idea but not like this, it's too dangerous," he said. ALSO READ| 'Coronavirus making problems more visible': Lockdown raises tensions in France's poorest areas Among his musical offerings on Saturday was "Let me Dance" by Egyptian-born songbird Dalida. She lived in Montmartre before her death in 1987 and a square is named in her honor. Video posted by a journalist showed police vehicles rolling up as the song played and people danced. The images provoked hostile comments on social media, with critics arguing that such behavior during France's lockdown in place since March 17 risked spreading the virus. Paris police tweeted, with "be responsible" and "stay home" hashtags, that the dancers didn't respect social distancing rules. Sebbagh said it wasn't his intention to draw a crowd. The 19-year-old said he carted the loudspeakers over from the now closed theater where he worked before the lockdown solely to add a bit of musical zest to the stay-home lives of his neighbours. "I was missing human contact and music," he said. He said he wholeheartedly supports medical staff battling the pandemic and that he was sorry if he upset them. "It's true, people are cracking up. But we are in a very complicated and particular situation. The aim is to come out alive," he said. amazon warehouse sippingtea Amazon announced on Friday that it's extending the pay increase for warehouse workers in the US and Canada until May 16. But it's ending the unlimited unpaid time off policy and returning to normal attendance policy starting May 1. The change is the latest in a series of changes Amazon has made amid the coronavirus outbreak, as it faces worker protests over its safety conditions. Do you work at Amazon? Contact this reporter via encrypted messaging app Signal (+1 415 926 2066) or email (ekim@businessinsider.com). Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Amazon is extending the temporary pay raise for warehouse workers in the US and Canada that was supposed to end this month, but will terminate the unlimited unpaid time off policy as scheduled. Early last month, Amazon said it would double overtime pay and increase hourly wages by $2 for its warehouse workers through the month of April, while offering unlimited unpaid time off for those who didn't feel comfortable coming into work as the coronavirus pandemic worsened. In a note sent to warehouse workers on Friday, Amazon said, "We're extending the $2/hr wage increase and double overtime pay through May 16 ... Also we are returning to our normal attendance policy on May 1." In a blog post on Friday, Amazon said the extended pay increase brings its total investment in hourly workers during COVID-19 to nearly $700 million. "We continue to see heavy demand during this difficult time and the team is doing incredible work for our customers and the community," the blog post said. The change comes at a time when Amazon is dealing with a series of worker safety issues. Over 70 warehouses are reported to have at least one infected employee, and last week, the first known case of death was confirmed. Groups of warehouse workers have called out Amazon's loose workplace safety measures over the past month, staging multiple protests across the country. Just this week, more than 300 warehouse workers pledged to call off work, according to the nonprofit United for Respect. Amazon has made dozens of policy changes to ensure the safety of its warehouse workers during the pandemic. Earlier this month, it announced it would provide face masks and regular temperature checks to its workforce. It's also started spraying disinfectant and providing enhanced cleaning procedures across its facilities. Read the original article on Business Insider A Pakistani anti-graft body on Sunday issued an arrest warrant against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a land related corruption case. "The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has issued arrest warrants of PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif in the land case involving Jang Group editor-in-chief Mir Shakilur Rehman. Sharif was served notices and questionnaire in this case but no response came from him who is in London for his medical treatment," a NAB official told PTI on Sunday. Jang Group, also known as Geo Group, is a subsidiary of Dubai-based company Independent Media Corporation. The official said the NAB would move the accountability court to declare Nawaz Sharif a proclaimed offender. The NAB on March 12 had arrested Mir Shakilur Rahman in the case. He is in the bureau's custody on a physical remand till April 28. Three-time premier Nawaz Sharif left for London in November last year after the Lahore High Court granted him four-week permission for his heart condition. Sharif was given bail in the Al-Azizia Mills corruption case in which he was serving seven-year imprisonment in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail. "Once Sharif's is declared proclaimed offender then we will pursue the process of his repatriation," the official said on Sunday. "The decision to issue Mr Sharif's arrest warrants has been taken on his non-cooperation with NAB in the 54-kanal land in Lahore he had awarded illegally to Mir Shakilur Rehman in 1986 when he was chief minister of Punjab," the official said. Sharif had given an undertaking to the Lahore High Court to return to Pakistan citing his record to face the process of law and justice within four weeks or as soon as he is declared fit to travel. Sharif, who was diagnosed with an immune system disorder, has been advised by a PTI government's panel of doctors to go abroad for treatment. Sharif, 70, has been diagnosed with a complicated coronary disease. In London's Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospital, he underwent cardiovascular evaluation. According to Sharif's personal physician Dr Adnan Khan, the former premier has been diagnosed with "complicated coronary artery/ischemic heart disease with significant disease burden. Cardiac perfusion scans scheduled. In a latest tweet, Khan said: "As a high risk patient, former PM #NawazSharif's cardiac catheterization/coronary intervention was postponed to be rescheduled at a later date amidst COVID-19 pandemic, as public/private hospitals limited their admissions/procedures. Presently managed on aggressive medical therapy." Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal Last time that he responded to the U.S. Census, in 2010, LoRenzo Bates spoke to a census-taker outside his home in Upper Fruitland on the Navajo Nation who asked all the necessary questions. But the former speaker of the Navajo Nation said, so far, he hasnt had a chance to fill anything out. There hasnt been anyone around my place, he said. For over a month, field operations for the U.S. Census Bureau have been suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak. This means that field workers, including those in New Mexicos tribal governments, had only three days to distribute census packets, which contain the codes necessary to fill out the census, to residents. Nationwide, around 5% of people receive census information through packets delivered to their door, a process called update leave. In New Mexico, more than 17% of residents are considered update leave. Update leave is usually used for people without traditional city-style addresses, who rely on nearby landmarks to indicate where they live. Almost across the board, all tribal communities fall within that category, said Jose Viramontes, spokesperson for iCount NM. As a result, Native American communities have some of the lowest response rates for the census so far as many residents still have not received their packets. In the Navajo Nation, stretching 27,000 square miles across three states, the response rate is 0.5%. Other tribal communities, such as the Jicarilla Apache Nation and Kewa Pueblo, have response rates below 3%. Some pueblos, among them Tesuque and Picuris, have rates between 7-10%. Some pueblos, such as Pojoaque and Nambe, have response rates of 20% or more, due primarily to access to the internet and city-style addresses not available in other tribal lands. Ahtza Chavez, executive director for the Native American Voters Alliance Education Project, has been organizing census efforts in tribal communities for months. She said coronavirus has thrown a wrench in their efforts. Currently, the statewide response rate in tribal communities is 10.94%, she said. Although some of those members have responded, theyre not necessarily responding in the numbers that you would normally see if COVID had not happened, she said. For many tribal communities, an undercount can result in thousands or even millions of dollars in federal funding lost for the next decade. Prior to the outbreak, most of the strategy to increase turnout for the census revolved around in-person contact and events. Now, thats on hold, as nearly all pueblos and tribal nations have closed their borders. Chavez, a member of Kewa Pueblo, said she was not allowed to enter the pueblo to give her mother supplies. Many tribal nations including the Navajo Nation, Zia Pueblo and San Felipe Pueblo have recently seen spikes in COVID-19 cases. The number of COVID-related deaths in the Navajo Nation is greater than 13 other states combined, according to The New York Times. And while field operations are currently scheduled to resume June 1, Chavez said the Census Bureau needs to coordinate with tribal governments before starting up again. Thats something people forget, that they are sovereign nations, she said. They do have the right to say, No, no one can come in. Jerome Garza, assistant regional census manager for the Census Bureau, said the federal government has tribal partnerships and plans on hiring Native Americans to deliver packets door to door in their communities once operations resume. However, it is unclear how easy it will be to hire census workers once restrictions are lifted. Norbert Nez, a liaison with the Bureau for the Navajo Nation, said recruiting could prove difficult, particularly in communities with significant outbreaks. If there are still lockdown orders, there might be problems, he said. Chavez believes tribal nations were not a primary concern when the Bureau decided to suspend operations. It was an afterthought, she said. I think there were people in the state of New Mexico, which probably has one of the largest populations of Native Americans, who dont understand what a lot of our tribal nations face. Asked if suspending operations affected tribal communities disproportionately, Garza said he had no opinion and that the bureau did everything to protect employees and the public. Multiple field workers for the bureau, including some from tribal nations, said they were not allowed to speak to the media. Chavez said organizing efforts in tribal communities have proven difficult since they closed their borders. Her organization used to rely on phone banking, but thats become less effective as more tribal members disconnect their phones. A lot of those phones are inoperable because people are having to choose, Do I pay my rent, do I pay for food or do I keep my phone on? Chavez said. The bureau recently extended the deadline for filling out the census from July 31 to Oct. 31. However, Chavez said funding might become an issue if they have to continue operations for another three months. Response rates for different communities have been reported widely since being released, but Viramontes, of iCount NM, said presenting those rates can leave out the fact that many communities dont have the materials needed to complete the census. He said there can be a negative perception of communities with low response rates to the census. There tends to be (judgment), and its not at all that they dont value or see the importance of the census, he said, adding they just dont have the materials. A map constructed by City University of New York shows which parts of the nation primarily receive census info through the update leave process. Those same communities often have some of the lowest response rates to the 2020 census so far. That reality is reflected even in communities with high response rates. Los Alamos County has the highest response rate in the nation at 71%, while only 0.8% of residents are on update leave. Eighteen miles away in Espanola, 97.5% of residents receive census packets at their door. Even though operations are shut down for the time being, Viramontes said he believes they can still achieve a complete count in rural and tribal communities in New Mexico, but that packets are essential to making that happen. It doesnt matter how much messaging you do, how many television commercials or radio ads you get out there, he said. Until people actually get their forms on their doorstep or in their mailbox, theyre not compelled to participate. TRIBAL RESPONSE Census response rates in New Mexico tribes (as of 4/23) Navajo Nation 0.5% Jicarilla Apache Nation 2.5% Ohkay Owingeh 9.1% Tesuque Pueblo 11.1% Zia Pueblo 9.1% Santa Clara Pueblo 12.1% Laguna Pueblo 5.0% Kewa Pueblo 1.5% Picuris Pueblo 7.2% Acoma Pueblo 5.6% Zuni Pueblo 6.0% Isleta Pueblo 7.9% Taos Pueblo 12.3% Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 12:12:53|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HAVANA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Yosvel Falero is one of the developers of the first Cuban COVID-19 tracking app aimed at supporting efforts to stem the spread of the virus nationwide. The 37-year-old honed his skills as a computer science professional through a Chinese government scholarship in the city of Wuhan in 2018. "What I learnt in China has been fundamental to develop this app which will facilitate better and quicker detection of suspected cases and people infected with COVID-19 on the island," he said. Working almost restlessly with classic music tracks and cups of coffee, he and a group of some 20 young engineers from Cuba's University of Computer Sciences take down notes, discuss and process data provided by nearly 200 contributors working on supporting the early detection system of suspected cases of the novel coronavirus across the country. "We send information provided by the population to health authorities. Then, medical workers visit people reporting symptoms and make decisions about it. That is the way it works," Alain Pieria, leader of the project, told Xinhua. Currently, more than 3,000 students study at the University of Computer Sciences, located on the outskirts of Cuba's capital Havana and founded by then Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro in 2002, which aimed to develop national software industry. It stands over the former Lurdes signals intelligence base operated by Cuba and Russia from 1964 following the Missile Crisis. The University of Computer Sciences, which developed Cuban social media toDus and local play store ApKlis, is annually involved in nearly 100 projects intended to increase consumption of online contents produced by the state-operated sector in the island nation. Yanio Hernandez, vice president at Havana's University of Computer Sciences, said Cuba has studied the effectiveness of tracking apps developed by China. "A huge amount of technological platforms we work with has been developed in China. So, the Chinese experience has been valuable for us," he added. Cuba has more than 6 million internet users, according to the country's Ministry of Communications. "The majority of self-reports registered are sent from Havana and Villa Clara, among the virus-hardest-hit provinces in the country," said Raidel Montesinos, president of the University of Computer Sciences. As part of the computerization process of Cuban society, more than 2 million people on the island have accessed mobile Internet since December 2018 after the government invested in infrastructure acquired from different countries, including China. The first coronavirus tracking app developed in Cuba is the result of a work project involving the Cuban Ministry of Higher Education, the state operated telecommunications company ETECSA and the country's Ministry of Public Health. "Thanks to the app, 86 people were taken to isolation centers and three to hospitals during the first three days after its launching," said Minister of Public Health Jose Angel Portal, adding fever, headache and cough are among the most self-reported symptoms for COVID-19. Maribel Cruz, a 52-year-old resident in Havana, is among 70,000 Cubans using the tracking app one week after its launch. "When doctors passed by, I had a fever and I was not feeling well. Fortunately, it was nothing serious," she said. So far, Cuba has reported 1,337 cases with 51 deaths. The University of Computer Sciences in Havana, from which more than 15,000 engineers have graduated since its foundation, also helps Pedro Kouri Tropical Medicine Institute process data taken from COVID-19 samples. Hundreds of coronavirus tracking apps have been developed worldwide following China's pioneering experience in mobile technologies amid the coronavirus outbreak. Enditem Pakistan Navy successfully test fires anti-ship missiles IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Islamabad, April 25, IRNA -- Pakistan Navy has successfully test fired anti-ship missiles in the north of Arabian Sea on Saturday. According to spokesperson of Pakistan Navy, warships and airplanes fired anti-ship missiles at sea level. Naval Chief Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi witnessed firing of the missiles and expressed satisfaction over operational preparedness of Pakistan Navy. The Naval Chief said Pakistan Navy is fully capable to give a befitting response to any aggression. Successful test-fire of missiles is a proof of Pakistan Navy's operational preparedness, he added. This is the second missile test of Pakistan navy in past four months. Earlier in December 2019 Pakistan Navy had successfully test fired different missiles in the north Arabian Sea and at Makran Coast. 272**1416 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Medha Dutta Yadav By If visiting Machu Picchu, the 15th century Inca site, is on your Bucket List, now is the time to take it. Guess what? You wont even have to undertake the strenuous 90-minute trek from Cusco. So off I went to Peru with my feet up on the table and a mug of black extra roasted coffee to get into the mood.As you approach the UNESCO World Heritage Site, nothing prepares you for the stunning view of the Andes, complemented by the even terraces the Incas farmed on. Most of these 700-plus terraces are still well maintained. Zooming in up close on the buildings of the erstwhile royal estate shows a marvel of mortar-free engineering: the stones are cut so precisely that each one wedges into its neighbours. Not even an ultra slim smartphone can find a foothold between the stones. This style has protected the buildings for centuries, since the area is earthquake-prone. Homepage Machu Picchus complex of palaces, temples, homes and plazas doze in the embrace of the gushing Urubamba River. Since the Inca site had no written language, there is no real evidence for why it was built and more importantly why it was suddenly abandoned in the early 16th century. However, its extraordinary that Machu Picchu was built almost 500 years ago, when the Incas had no iron, steel and even wheels to cart the stones for construction. Scholars think that the architecture style suggests it is a palace complex of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui. Some studies suggest that lack of water may be the reason it was abandoned to the elements. Of all the buildings, the Temple of the Sun is the most famous. Scholars believe that the unique semi-circular structure may have served as a royal tomb, as well as the site for regular sacrificial ceremonies. According to legend, the town of El Dorado was in Machu Picchuwhich is a source of unimaginable gold. While visitors have to queue up long before dawn to start their trekonly 400 people are allowed to climb the famed Huayna Picchu peak daily to preserve the integrity of the heritage site all it took for me was a drag of my index finger and voila! I was already up there. Most trekkers generally ignore the Machu Picchu mountain, which is twice as tall at 1,640 ft. But my cursor and I made it in a click. Virtual tours do have a lot of advantages. Google Maps never looked so good. Determined to ensure the lockdown order, Kano state Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on Saturday hinted that 10 Mobile Courts has been established in the state to punish offenders. He described the move as part of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the state. Ganduje while speaking during the Press Briefing organized by the Kano State Task Force on COVID-19 said that the closure of boarder entry points into the state remains in place. He expressed appreciation that order neighbouring states in the North has agrees to lockdown their boarders for two weeks, pointing out that such move will go a long way in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic in the northern region. Ganduje who agreed that the situation in Kano state was getting serious said the state government is doing everything within its power to contain it. He added that already the state government has hired a hotel where suspected cases whose blood samples were taken are kept, adding that the Isolation Centre at Sani Abacha Stadium can accommodate 210 people at the moment. According to him, Isolation Centre at Kurna Dawakin Kudu where the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is situated is also active, though there are challenges of ventilators and other major facilities, while the 100 bed Isolation Centre at Muhammadu Buhari Specialist hospital is also working. Ganduje also said the state government is planning production of one million face masks, adding that the n this is done, there may be need for making the wearing of face mask compulsory. The Governor said Alhaji Aliko Dangote has promised to donate 5000 Personal Protective Equipments (PPE), ventilators and monitors. Ganduje who cried out to Federal Government for financial assistance said the state will soon commence the second phase of distribution of palliatives targeting 50, 000 households, estimated to cost over N600 million. Speaking earlier, the Coordinator of the State Technical Response Team on COVID-19, Dr. Tijjani Hussain said confirmed one new case of COVID-19 in the state, bringing the number to 74. He said a total of 489 samples were taken to Abuja for testing. He added that within the last few days, 311 contacts were followed, 53 out of which were linked by phone. He lamented that due to the fact that the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) testing centre at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) is not functional, the Committee faces serious challenge of taken blood samples of suspected cases to Abuja, a situation which has grossly affected the testing of suspected cases in the state. He also hinted that Kano state government is planning to establish two additional Isolation Centres in the state. Dr. Hussian urged Kano residents to strictly adhere to instructions from health professionals and cooperate with the state government to ensure 100 per cent success of the lockdown order Also speaking, the Commissioner of Local Government Affairs, Murtala Sule Garo who is the chairman of Almajiri Evacuation Committee also told journalists during the briefing that the state government has so far evacuated 1098 Almajiris to Katsina, Jigawa and Kaduna. According to him, the Committee evacuated 419 Almajiri to Katsina, 524 to Jigawa and 155 to Kaduna, adding that arrangments have been concluded to evacuate over 100 Almajiris to Bauchi state by Monday. He said the Committee collaborated with the state Ministry of Health and ensured that all the evacuated Almajiris were not COVID-19 positive. The chairman of Kano Task Force on COVID-19, Dr. Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna who is also the Deputy Governor in his brief remarks urged Kano residents to strictly observe the social distancing directive, personal hygiene and the stay-at-home-order. The Trump administration is being sued over claims it denied stimulus checks to US citizens married to "unauthorized" immigrants. Samuel Corum/Getty Images A man in Illinois filed a lawsuit Friday alleging that the Trump administration discriminated against US citizens who are married to "unauthorized" US residents in creating the requirements for receiving aid under the $2.2 trillion CARES Act. The lawsuit claims that a provision of the act added by the Trump administration bars US citizens from receiving any stimulus money if they filed joint tax returns with their spouse who is an unauthorized immigrant. The lawsuit cites a report by the Migration Policy Institute that estimates there are around 1.2 million unauthorized US residents married to US citizens. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Related Video: What Could Be the Fastest Way to End the Coronavirus Crisis? The Trump administration is facing a lawsuit over the March $2.2 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package, facing claims it denied aid to married couples where one of the spouses is an "unauthorized" immigrant without a social security number. The lawsuit was filed Friday in a federal court in Chicago by a man identified only by the pseudonym John Doe. It alleges the US government discriminated against Doe "based solely on whom he chose to marry," according to The Hill. The lawsuit targets President Donald Trump, Acting Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell all Republicans. Under the CARES Act, signed into law by Trump on March 27, individuals earning less than $75,000 annually are eligible to receive checks of $1,200 and up to $500 additional aid for their children under the age of 16. The money is distributed by the Internal Revenue Service. Couples who filed joint tax returns could receive the maximum payment if their combined income was less than $150,000. But due to a provision added by the Trump administration, both partners are required to have a social security number for either partner to receive any aid, the lawsuit alleges. Story continues Doe said his wife pays her taxes through a Tax Identification Number, which is a number assigned to undocumented immigrants by the IRS and allows unauthorized immigrants to pay taxes to the US government. According to the National Immigration Law Center, the Internal Revenue Service "issues ITINs to individuals who are not eligible to obtain a Social Security number. These taxpayers include unauthorized immigrants as well as lawfully present individuals, such as certain survivors of domestic violence, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and spouses and children of individuals with employment visas." The lawsuit Friday cites a report from the Migration Policy Institute that estimates there are 1.2 million unauthorized US residents married to US citizens. Read the original article on Business Insider ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- While we appreciate the efforts of the Administration to ensure nursing homes will receive the PPE they need to continue the fight against COVID-19, we are concerned that the plan announced by Vice President Pence to governors Friday excludes assisted living communities from the upcoming shipment of PPE. This could have grave consequences for the 2 million residents and 1 million staff that live and work in senior living communities. Like nursing homes, assisted living and other senior living communities are on the front lines of this crisis, caring for the most vulnerable population of Americans. They are taking tremendous steps to keep residents safe and out of hospitals, but urgently and critically need PPE to continue doing so. "The exclusion of assisted living and other senior living communities from this order neglects to recognize the care delivered to our seniors and the work of our team members, and we strongly encourage the Trump Administration to reconsider it," said James Balda, President & CEO of Argentum. "Lives will be saved if we can get our communities the PPE that they still desperately need." Furthermore, the implication that the provision of personal care services does not require PPE is false. Personal care includes helping residents with bathing and dressing; assisting with personal grooming such as brushing teeth; assisting with toileting and incontinence needs; and feeding residents who are unable to feed themselves. Asking staff to perform these vital activities of daily living for those with physical limitations or cognitive decline without proper PPE would be unsafe for both residents and staff. Having the resources to protect and test residents and staff, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic, is absolutely critical to containing the spread of COVID-19 in senior living communities. And failure on the front lines of this crisis will have significant implications beyond senior living communities. The senior living industry is caring for and protecting the nation's most vulnerable population, thereby serving as a backstop against the surge of people coming to America's hospitals. A rise in COVID-19 cases in senior living communities will result in increased hospital admissions, straining already limited healthcare resources. "For weeks, we've been advocating for priority access to PPE and testing for senior living communities," said David Schless, President of the American Seniors Housing Association. "The senior living industry is vitally important to the health of our overall healthcare system and should be treated as such by our elected officials." The top priority of senior living communities is the safety of their residents and staff. While assisted living, independent living, continuing care, and memory care communities are doing everything they can to protect residents and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in their communities, reliable access to PPE supplies is absolutely critical to continuing the fight against COVID-19. About Argentum Argentum is the leading national association exclusively dedicated to supporting companies operating professionally managed, resident-centered senior living communities and the older adults and families they serve. Since 1990, Argentum has advocated for choice, independence, dignity, and quality of life for all older adults. Argentum member companies operate senior living communities offering assisted living, independent living, continuing care, and memory care services. Along with its state partners, Argentum's membership represents approximately 75 percent of the senior living industryan industry with a national economic impact of nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars and responsible for providing over 1.6 million jobs. These numbers will continue to grow as the U.S. population ages. Argentum's programs and initiatives are driven by its membership. For more information about joining Argentum, please visit argentum.org/membership. Learn more at argentum.org. About ASHA The American Seniors Housing Association represents over 550 companies that develop, own, operate and finance the full spectrum of housing for seniors, including active adult, independent living, assisted living, memory care, and life plan communities. ASHA's members consist of both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations who own and /or operate more than 750,000 units in the U.S. and Canada. The organization was created in 1991 and focuses on advocacy, research, executive level meetings, and consumer education delivered through a digital platform that can be visited at WhereYouLiveMatters.org. For more information about ASHA, please visit seniorshousing.org Press contact: Jessica McKay, [email protected] SOURCE American Seniors Housing Association; Argentum Related Links https://www.seniorshousing.org Samantha Kroll, 18, is a senior at Coleman High School. She plans to attend Ferris State University in the fall. Shell probably go into journalism/creative writing. Samantha has worked at the McDonalds in Sanford since January. Her parents are Mark and Kerri Kroll. She has two older brothers and two younger sisters. 1. How long have you lived in Coleman? My entire life. My parents moved here from Grand Rapids in 96. They raised all my siblings and me here in Coleman. 2. What is your profession? Im just focusing on being a student. Have the job at McDonalds to make some money for when I do move out. Also focusing on getting ready for college. 3. What are some of your interests and hobbies? I really enjoying reading and writing. Been watching a lot of TV and working on some art. Earlier this year, I had a short story published in the Write Michigan 2020 Anthology called She forgot herself. It revolves around the life lesson about not letting passions consume you. 4. What are your favorite things to do in Coleman? Just hanging out with friends. We eat at the restaurants (not recently). The school puts on dances. Those are fun. 5. What do you enjoy about living in the Coleman community? The size. Its just a small town, small community. More one on one help. Never lived in a bigger place. Got to believe its calmer here. 6. What is a message youd like to give the community? To hang in there. A lot of things are being missed, as a senior. Thats all a lot of us can do. Just stay quarantined and wait. FOR the first time in its history, Bank of the Philippines Islands (BPI) met its shareholders for the annual stockholders meeting in virtual format. Current lockdown protocols have prevented an in-person meeting so last Thursday, the bank's directors, officers, employees, business partners and thousands of stockholders listened to the reports of Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala (JAZA) and President/CEO Cezar P. Consing from the comfort of their homes. Corporate Secretary Angela P. Maramag just had to make sure that prior clearance for the virtual ASM was made with the SEC and that all reportorial requirements were uploaded to the company website prior to the meeting. Earlier, we had a foretaste of the virtual ASM, when the immediately preceding monthly BPI board meeting was also conducted via ZOOM. Much, much earlier, the board decided to forego the distribution of hard copies of the 2019 Annual Integrated Report and to just distribute the same online. Both JAZA and Bong Consing were very pleased with 2019's financial and operating performance given the operating environment. By all metrics, BPI did quite well as evidenced by significant increases in profitability, asset base, loan portfolio, deposits, net income, net interest income, trading gains, net interest margin, return on equity and asset quality. (See uploaded audited financial statements). JAZA added that BPI also got very good marks from the regulators. Consing talked of strategic directions and milestones during the year just ended. He talked of significant strides made in order to make BPI more financially inclusive. He discussed the progress of BPI Direct BanKo, which in less than three years has risen to become the No. 2 Microfinance Bank, and of the bank's SME lending business. He talked about BPI's corporate social responsibility objectives (accomplished through BPI Foundation) and the bank's support for the UN Sustainable Development Goals as reflected in its loan portfolio. Story continues Consing reported that BPI actively tapped the debt and equity capital market "to increase the efficiency of our balance sheet.... reduce our funding costs.... diversify funding sources and take advantage of lending and investing opportunities." Consing proudly proclaimed that BPI has become one of the most digitalized banks. "Online transactions were up50 per cent. 40 per cent of bank customers are enrolled in one or more of our digital channels, 25 per cent are regular digital transactors." Both JAZA and Consing see Covid-19 as the greatest challenge for the global and domestic economies. "In the near term, Covid-19 has presented operational challenges to the banking industry. 20 to 25 per cent of the industry's employees are at work either in the head office or in the branches. Consing also reported that BPI granted 30-day deferrals of payment (90 days for Covid frontliners} even before the passage of the Bayanihan Act. BPI also donated a substantial sum to the Philippine Red Cross for the purchase of face masks and PPEs for Covid frontliners. What does the banking industry expect in the medium term? "The industry expects credit losses to go up as businesses and retail customers will all be impacted in several ways and in various forms by this crisis. Fortunately, the industry is in very strong shape. Capital adequacy ratios are so high so the industry can withstand this pandemic. There will obviously be a little bit of reticence as more care is taken with credit risks getting higher." Consing noted an appropriate response from the Bangko Sentral. "The monetary authorities have responded by increasing liquidity and providing regulatory forbearance. The central bank governor introduced provisions that will encourage SME lending. Hopefully, that will help balance things out." So what will BPI focus on in 2020? "The year will require continued emphasis on managing risks as we expand our SME and consumer businesses for the long term, an invigorated focus on CASA deposit growth, a moderating of expense growth, continued reallocation of resources in favor of technology, and digital and new consumer space, and a determination to continue to upgrade customer service." Elected to BPI's 15-member Board of Directors were Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Fernando Zobel de Ayala, Cezar P. Consing, Romeo L. Bernardo, this writer, Ramon R. Del Rosario Jr., Octavio V. Espiritu, Rebecca G. Fernando, Jose Teodoro K. Limcaoco, Xavier P. Loinaz, Aurelio P. Montinola III, Mercedita S. Nolledo, Antonio Jose U. Periquet, Eli M. Remolona, Jr., and Maria Dolores V. Yuvienco. JAZA thanked Gerardo Ablaza for his support since 2017. Ablaza has stepped down but will remain in the board of BPI Family Bank. Former Finance Secretary Ramon R. Del Rosario fills the position of Mr. Ablaza. Atty. Angela P. Maramag was designated Corporate Secretary. Former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban, Oscar Reyes and Delfin Lazaro, meanwhile, will continue to serve in the bank's Advisory Council. Note: You may wish to share the foregoing article via Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. UPDATE: N.J. state trooper was shot investigating home invasion. Investigators seek tips. A New Jersey State Police trooper is recovering after he was shot in the leg at a South Jersey trailer park on Saturday night, authorities confirmed. The incident happened shortly before 11 p.m. at Harding Woods on Route 40 in Pittsgrove Township. The trooper was taken to Cooper University Hospital, Camden, for treatment. No other injuries were reported and officials have not said if anyone was arrested. Additional details on the incident are expected to be released later today. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. The Nigerian Red Cross in Lagos distributed relief packages on Saturday to people struggling with coronavirus lockdown measures in the vulnerable community of Makoko. The city is currently in lockdown as Nigeria attempts to stem the spread of the virus which has devastated countries across the globe. Nigeria Red Cross branch chairwoman Adebola Kolawole said that "there is so much hunger" and that efforts included distributing packages with basics food that could last a family for a week. Charles Ogbu is a tailor at the fabric market in Yaba and said he had been struggling to feed his wife and five children. "There is no money", he said, adding that "life has been so hard, but this relief has come at the right time." The packages include essential food items that the Nigerian Red Cross says could feed a family of six for one-week. Nigeria has so far reported 1,095 virus cases and 32 deaths, according to a running tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. Judy Stevens needs her job. Shes got a home, food and she can pay her bills if she keeps her job. Stevens is a regular Regional Transit Authority bus rider in New Orleans, and shes been thrown off schedule with the public transit route reductions. She gets it. She understands. But she needs her job. Shes an essential business worker who doesnt work remotely. She counts on the bus to take her where she needs to go, especially work. The buses were packed, she said recently. People were standing in the front, straight to the back. Social distancing has been hard for Stevens and some other RTA riders. Its hard for the drivers, the operators. Just recently, the authority, which employs about 550 people, lost three employees to the novel coronavirus. One in eight RTA workers has suffered from it. Transit authority CEO Alex Wiggins was virus-infected, though hes recovered. The plight of public transit workers has gotten more attention across the nation as the novel coronavirus changes everything, including public transportation. I ride RTA buses in New Orleans. Im concerned for folks like Stevens. Each weekday morning, Stevens leaves her Michoud neighborhood home in New Orleans East to travel to her Jefferson Parish job at Ochsner Hospital. She wakes about 4 a.m., leaves her home and walks dark, pre-dawn streets about nine minutes to the bus stop at Michoud Boulevard and Chef Menteur Highway. She times it so she doesnt have to wait too long. Usually, the 94 bus arrives in time for its 5:10 a.m. departure. Stevens, 54, is a certified retinal angiographer in the ophthalmology clinic at Ochsner Medical Center on Jefferson Highway. Every day, she runs special imaging cameras that show blood flow in retinas as dyes pass through blood vessels, allowing doctors to determine the best next steps. According to RTA officials, the system has had a 91% reduction in ridership from 2019, with a reduced service schedule of about 1,314 trips daily. The agency wont return to more frequent levels of service until New Orleans determines the city is safe. The agency has added plexiglass barriers to protect drivers. Before stay-at-home orders, RTA said there have been 285 bus operators driving buses and streetcars; now there are about 171. Earlier this month, Baton Rouges Capital Area Transit System reduced service to a Saturday schedule seven days a week between 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. effective for the remainder of the COVID-19 pandemic. Valerie M. Jefferson, president and business agent with the union that represents 389 transit workers, said Amalgated Transit Union Local 1560 operators have challenging jobs even during normal times. They are mistreated by some riders, and even physically and verbally abused, she said. The two ferries run by RTA Algiers Point-Canal Street and the Chalmette-Lower Algiers continue to operate. But as a part of helping to stop the community spread and flattening the curve, the RTA suspended 13 of the 34 bus and streetcar routes. Theres a reduced service schedule of routes suspended in response to the COVID-19 virus response. Most service isnt operating between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. Thats usually when Stevens sleeps. She catches the 94 Broad bus and heads toward Washington and South Broad. She could sleep in a little longer and catch a later bus, but she risks the uncertainties of timeliness and overcrowding so she leaves earlier to be sure she arrives early, and for personal safety. When she catches the slightly later bus there are more passengers, its harder to travel with social distance. Some buses, especially after hours, are more crowded. Stevens transfers to the 39 Tulane bus at Tulane and Broad, catching it about 5:46 a.m. as more riders join the journey, most of them getting on at the rear door since RTA and Baton Rouges CATS arent collecting fares during this pandemic schedule period. After getting on about 5:54 a.m., she rides until she gets to Ochsner about 6:10 a.m. Theres time to breathe, get some breakfast and coffee and before clocking in at 7:29 a.m. It takes her 90 minutes or more to get home after finishing her day at 4:30 p.m., and that depends on accidents, available drivers and whether buses are running on time. It also depends on whether theres appropriate social distancing. Operators are supposed to call when there are too many people on a vehicle. As I think about Stevens making such a trek from the East out to Jeff, I think about the men and women who drive our public transit buses. At this point, COVID has been identified as the reason the system has lost three employees, but the pandemic circumstances havent made everyone more cautious. According to Jefferson, some passengers are riding the buses randomly, not for essential business. Some are bothering bus drivers. Because there are no fares riders can enter the rear of the bus and take a seat. One bus operator told me that he and his colleagues were concerned from the start of the stay-at-home order as riders took their normal routes without masks or other precautions. What really bothers him is when riders insist on entering the bus as if things are normal, putting the lives of drivers at risk. Why would you want to come through the front and you dont know if I have COVID? he said with disgust in his voice. There are operators with COVID. I dont need COVID. Passenger limits on buses has helped, he said, but even that has been a challenge. According to the RTA, the 40-foot buses have a 15-passenger limit; the 40-foot articulator buses have a 20-rider limit. The idea is to provide dependable service with enough buses and enough empty seats that passengers dont have to sit next to each other. Bus operators are supposed to make a call when a bus is getting social distance crowded. But it doesnt always work that way. Stevens has seen her share of crowded buses. Its happened enough that her friend Nina Red stopped taking the bus to the Riverwalk, the library and to appointments with her doctor. People were just too close. With no car and no bike, she didnt want to risk her health. "I'm 69 and I'm afraid," she said. As Stevens travels to and from work from her home in the East, she continues to wonder what its going to take to make her life if not easier, more comfortable and more protected. All Stevens wants is her job so she can pay her mortgage, buy food and pay her other bills and to know that she wont be a COVID statistic. US Next Generation Missile Interceptor Programme Officially Launched Sputnik News 08:39 GMT 25.04.2020 The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has been extolling plans for a next-generation interceptor for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) systems, with the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Mike Griffin pulling the plug on its updated Redesigned Kill Vehicle (RKV) last year, citing "technical design problems". The US Missile Defense Agency has released its request for proposal for its Next-Generation Interceptor (NGI), tasked with forming the core of the country's homeland missile defence, reports Defense News. The RFP, released on 24 April, says it allows contractors 90 days to provide proposals to the government beginning 1 May 2020. With proposals due 31 July, the MDA allowed for a timetable review in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. "MDA understands the concerns with releasing an RFP during the COVID-19 crisis and has been in communication with NGI prime offerors to assess their availability to receive and evaluate the RFP. As Departmental guidance changes, adjustments for COVID-19 may occur based on Real World Events", said the RFP. Eventually, two companies will be selected who will compete for the right to build the interceptor, according to the research, development, and acquisition agency that works on ballistic missile defence systems for the US. Specifically for the NGI programme, the agency earlier requested $664.1 million in fiscal year 2021 as part of a $4.9 billion five-year budget plan. Mark Wright, a spokesman for MDA, called the RFP "a vital step forward in designing, developing, and fielding the finest capabilities of both the DoD and American industry for the extraordinarily important purpose of defending the American homeland." The Next-Generation Interceptor (NGI) programme is set to fill the void after the Redesigned Kill Vehicle (RKV) program was cancelled by the Under Secretary of Defense (Research and Engineering) Dr. Michael Griffin on 14 August 2019. The call to pull the plug on the multi-billion-dollar Boeing contract to develop a new ballistic missile interceptor was made due to the project being riddled with design issues. "This decision supports our efforts to gain full value from every future taxpayer dollar spent on defense," Griffin was cited as saying by Defense News. At the time, critics of the decision to cancel RKV and start with a new design raised concerns over the possibly extended timeline beyond 2030. In March, MDA head Vice Adm. Jon Hill allayed these concerns, saying that waiting that long is "unacceptable from a war fighter view". Hill added that after bidding by defence contractors has been made and a contract awarded, the agency will review the schedule and hold industry accountable to meet "all the wickets." The RKV programme was expected to produce a replacement for the Pentagon's Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle on the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system's interceptor, and would have been fitted onto approximately 64 future ground-based interceptors. However, unlike the RKV programme, which sought to replace the Kill Vehicle, the NGI programme will replace the entire GBI interceptor the missiles that are part of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system. The new contract could conceivably be split into several components. While one would provide the NGI system itself, another would maintain older interceptors, a third tackle the issue of ground systems, a fourth would join forces with the military to operate the GMD, and a fifth could deal with logistics and testing, according to Defense News. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sanaa, April 26 : Separatists in southern Yemen have declared self-rule, breaking a peace deal signed last November with the internationally recognised government, it was reported on Sunday. The Aden-based Southern Transitional Council (STC) declared a state of emergency, saying it would govern the port city and other southern provinces, reports the BBC. The STC is supported by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Saudi-backed Yemeni government warned of "dangerous and catastrophic consequences". "The announcement by the so-called transitional council of its intention to establish a southern administration is a resumption of its armed insurgency... and an announcement of its rejection and complete withdrawal from the Riyadh agreement," the BBC quoted Foreign Minister Mohammed Al-Hadhrami as saying in a statement. The two sides signed a power-sharing deal that was described by the UN as an important step towards ending Yemen's civil war. A Saudi-led coalition launched a military intervention in support of the Yemeni government in 2015, after Houthi rebels seized the capital Sanaa. The UAE is a member of the coalition but supports the southern separatists. In August last year, the STC took over the government's temporary capital, Aden, after accusing the administration of mismanagement. The war in Yemen has been described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with more than 100,000 people reported to have died. Portland police took two people into custody after finding multiple handguns during a traffic stop after shots were reported Saturday morning near Southeast 125th Avenue and Stark Street. One man, Jason Benton, 25, was arrested on suspicion of unlawful possession of a loaded firearm in public, unlawful discharge of a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon, according to a Portland Police Bureau news release. He was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center. The second person was not charged. Police said that officers responded to a call at 8:11 a.m. of shots fired and found evidence of gunfire but no victims or witnesses. The investigation led to a traffic stop near Northeast 122 Avenue and Northeast Halsey Street, officials said. Benton and the other person were taken into custody after the stop, and officials found three handguns in the car and two more at a residence, police said. Police declined to say more about the arrest or what led to the traffic stop, citing an ongoing investigation. -- Lizzy Acker 503-221-8052, lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. The Baltimore Ravens are expected to add one the SECs top safeties from last year as an undrafted free agent. The Ravens are expected to sign Tennessee first-team All-SEC selection Nigel Warrior, according to a source. A three-year starter for the Vols, Warrior posted 70 tackles last season and tied for second in the SEC with four interceptions. The former four-star recruit is the son of ex-NFL defensive back Dale Carter, who played for Baltimore from 2004-05. Matt Zenitz is an SEC football and basketball reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mzenitz. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Sebastian Partogi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, April 26, 2020 15:59 626 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd455696 1 Books #literature,#book,#bookreview,#art,#history,#painter,#novel,#RadenSaleh,#IksakaBanu,#KurniaEffendi Free Indonesian authors Iksaka Banu and Kurnia Effendi have just launched a book they co-authored, a nearly 600-page historical novel called Pangeran Dari Timur that was more than 20 years in the making. The double-plot novel that centers on the life of the great painter Raden Saleh (1811-1880) and the Indonesian intellectuals of the early 20th century is a tragic story of how colonialism and racism let Indonesias creative and intellectual minds down in the pre-independence era. The life and death of Raden Saleh is the anchor of the dual narrative, beginning with his artistic talents and interests emerging as a child and through the eventual expansion of his artistic abilities under his Dutch mentor, Antoine Auguste Joseph Payen. The artist then ultimately makes the decision to develop his skills and career in Europe, where he gains repute as a painter of the Romantic era. He produces commissioned portraits to earn an income while dedicating his free time to pursue independent projects, including those inspired by his observations of the animals in European circuses (like his real-life 1842 piece, Penunggang Kuda Arab Diterkam Singa/Arab Horseman Attacked by a Lion). This is followed by the decline that started when the painter reached middle age. Upon his return to Indonesia, Raden Saleh feels the acute split between being a world-renowned painter and a pariah due to his skin color in colonial Indonesia, and the pain of being ostracized by his fellow Indonesians who perceive him as a Dutch ally. Raden Saleh has been demystified in this novel, which also tells of his heart-breaking failed marriage to a Dutchwoman. The fictional work suggests the pair fell in love at the wrong time, when mixed-race marriages were still frowned upon. On the masters trail: Kurnia Effendis selfie shows the award-winning author in 2017 in the Netherlands, where he was researching the life of Indonesian master painter Raden Saleh for the double-plot novel he co-wrote with Iksaka Banu, 'Pangeran dari Timur' (The Prince from the East). (Courtesy of Kurnia Effendi/-) However, these are not the only tragic elements of the novel, which opens with the other plot that follows the lives of the three individuals trapped in a love triangle. Set during the infancy of the independence movement in the early 20th century, two Indonesians from privileged backgrounds meet at a party: Syamsudin, an architect who has his own firm and a connoisseur of the visual arts, and Ratna Juwita, who comes from a respected Indonesian-Dutch family. Their stories become intertwined with Raden Salehs as Ratna, who is interested in knowing more about the visual arts, seeks out Syamsudin to learn about the master painters work and life. Syamsudin starts to develop special feelings for Ratna until Syafei, an associate at Syamsudins architecture firm, comes between them and changes everything. The love affair adds some flavor to the fictionalized chronicle of life in early 20th century Indonesia. The most exciting element of this storyline is the two authors depictions of how vibrant and dynamic the community of privileged Indonesian intellectuals was at the time as they discussed not just politics, but also the arts. The community was, of course, also divided among their political views. Syafei, a member of the (now defunct) Indonesian Communist Party, adopts a noncooperationist stance toward the Dutch colonists and believes that a violent revolution is the only route for Indonesians to rightfully usurp their independence. The pragmatic and business-minded Syamsudin, however, believes that in doing business as equals with his Dutch clients, the architecture firm can hire more Indonesians and thus empower the people in paving their way to independence. Obviously, the two eventually become polarized by their political views, notwithstanding the heightened emotionality brought on by their love triangle. Yet, each mans passion and conviction for the path they are taking is equally inspiring, even if we might not necessarily agree with their views. Their inspirational intellectuality and creativity is also what binds the 20th-century Indonesian characters with Raden Saleh. Crafting history: Iksaka Banu, pictured in his home office, is a former advertisement executive who has written several award-winning titles prior to co-authoring 'Pangeran dari Timur' (The Prince from the East) with renowned author Kurnia Effendi. (JP/Sebastian Partogi) Along the way, the writers capture the great painters extraordinary creative reserves and how he gave them life. Again, despite the tragedy caused by the unjust and racist colonial system, we read in awe at how Raden Salehs creative instincts and endeavors serve as his source of resilience to get back up again from lifes myriad disappointments. The fictional chronicle is also a kind of tribute to Raden Saleh, a cosmopolitan individual who spoke many languages. His circle of friends included prominent European authors and artists with whom he partook in animated conversations about current affairs in geopolitics and the arts. Raden Saleh remains equally inspiring to Indonesians of this day and age who aspire to follow the same path in their own endeavors as artists, writers, journalists, activists and even politicians. Although the novel can be hard to read at times, precisely because of its poignancy, those of us 21st-century Indonesians who read this work and strive to live a meaningful life as intellectuals and creatives can take the story as a cautionary message: We must not take our current freedoms for granted as we continue to develop our pursuits.(ste) Pangeran Dari Timur Iksaka Banu and Kurnia Effendi Bentang Pustaka, 2020 593 pages The sound of children shouting has returned to Spain's streets for the first time in six weeks after the government lifted a strict home confinement on its youngest citizens. Spain's government let children under 14 years out for the first time on Sunday morning after 44 days of complete seclusion. They can now to take walks with a parent for up to one hour within one kilometer from home. This is wonderful! I can't believe it has been six weeks, said Susana Sabat, a mother of 3-year-old twin boys who were wearing child-size face-masks. My boys are very active. Today when they saw the front door and we gave them their scooters, they were thrilled. Youngsters can take one toy with them, but they are not allowed play with other kids and should maintain a one-meter distance from other people. Parks are closed. Authorities recommend that both parents and children wash their hands before and after outings. Spain has one of the world's strictest lockdowns as it fights to contain one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the world. The country has registered almost 225,000 cases of the virus and attributed nearly 23,000 deaths to COVID-19, though the true figure is thought to be much higher. The strict measures helped reduce a daily contagion rate that was over 20% a month ago to under 2% this week, easing pressure on hospitals that were on the brink of collapse. The government plans to allow adults to go out for exercise next week. Currently, only trips for buying food and medicine and unavoidable commutes to work are permitted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 18:29:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CHONGQING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- A train loaded with a batch of donated agricultural products departed from southwest China's Chongqing Municipality bound for Singapore Sunday. The cargo donated by Chongqing's Zhongxian County, consisting of 13 tonnes of fresh tangerines, 500 boxes of dried bamboo shoots, 300 boxes of instant vermicelli and 50 boxes of fermented bean curd, will arrive in Singapore via the China-Singapore Southern Transport Corridor, a trade and logistics passage linking western Chinese provincial regions with Singapore. It represents a transport breakthrough of agricultural donations from Chongqing to Singapore. The land-sea route has cut the need to change containers and shortened the transport period by no longer transporting goods from Chongqing to east China for offshore shipping. "When the COVID-19 crisis was severe in Zhongxian, our friends from Singapore actively helped us purchase medical supplies, timely meeting our urgent needs in the fight against the epidemic. Now, at a time when they need help, we should definitely do what we can," said Liu Shu, director of Zhongxian's commission of commerce. By the end of February, the land-sea freight route had seen a total of 1,674 trips, transporting goods worth 910 million U.S. dollars, mainly cars and auto parts, architectural ceramics and chemical raw materials. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 14:12:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Rescuers transport the injured at the scene of a fire in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan, April 26, 2020. A total of 22 people have been sent to hospital after being rescued from a fire at a karaoke bar in Taipei Sunday morning, according to the city's fire department. Three of them showed no signs of life, and two others are unconscious, the fire department said. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) TAIPEI, April 26 (Xinhua) -- A total of 22 people have been sent to hospital after being rescued from a fire at a karaoke bar in Taipei Sunday morning, according to the city's fire department. Three of them showed no signs of life, and two others are unconscious, the fire department said. The fire broke out at around 10:57 a.m. at the karaoke bar, located on the fifth floor of the building, and was put out about half an hour later. Rescue and search efforts are still going on and the cause of the accident is under investigation, the department said. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP After more than a month of near-daily White House coronavirus press briefings, Donald Trump stayed behind closed doors on Saturday after advisers reportedly warned the president that his appearances were hurting his campaign. Trump himself referenced his absence when he wrote on Twitter that the briefings are not worth the time & effort. The president wrote the tweet on Saturday evening, when he would usually be taking the podium to address journalists. What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2020 What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately, he wrote. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort! In recent weeks Trump has used the briefings to dole out unproven and debunked medical advice, suggesting that things like sunlight and an anti-malaria drug are cures to Covid-19, often causing his own medical experts to try to correct the record. Related: Debacle of Trump's coronavirus disinfectant comments could be tipping point But on Friday Trump surprised observers by taking no questions and stalking out of the room after an unusually short briefing of just 22 minutes. Some took the move as an acknowledgement from Trump himself that he may have taken things too far when he said on Thursday that disinfectant could be used to cure Covid-19. Those comments sparked shock and ridicule and warnings from healthcare experts and prompted Trump to make a ham-fisted attempt at a clawback when he later said he had made the remarks sarcastically despite video proving he had not. Story continues While the press briefings are meant to give members of the coronavirus task force an opportunity to provide updates on the state of Covid-19 in the country, the attention around the briefings has been centered on Trumps use of the podium as his bully pulpit. The president has used the briefings as uncensored airtime, praising his administration for its response to the crisis while criticizing the media and Democrats for any negative comeback. Advisers close to the president told him to stop making appearances at the briefings unless special announcements needed to be made, according to multiple reports published Saturday morning. The advice comes as Trump trails Joe Biden in polls from swing states. Perhaps, his advisers believe, because his appearances are overkill. I told him its not helping him, one adviser told Axios. Seniors are scared. And the spectacle of him fighting with the press isnt what people want to see. Trump has reportedly been hesitant to end his briefing appearances, Axios reported, because he said they bring in good television ratings. The president has also used the briefings as an opportunity to rile up his base in a way that would typically be done at his rallies. Trump has criticized Democrats and attacked Biden, referring to him as Sleepy Joe during briefings, veering far away from the subject of Covid-19. It is unclear whether Trump can stay away from the podium, or whether his instincts as a reality television star will kick in and the show will go on. Hes going to want to get media attention and control his message, Sam Nunberg, a political consultant who briefly worked on Trumps campaign in 2016, told Politico. He is the only one who thinks he can do his message best, and thats just the reality. Thats how he works. Sheryl Means already has lost so much to the invisible virus burning through her hometown. Her mother and her aunt died within days of each other. Her sister has been on a ventilator for weeks in a hospital miles away, and there are no visitors allowed in the covid-19 isolation unit. She has this tightness in her chest, and she's scared she might be next. But Means can't get a test. Even now, six weeks into a national emergency, with the death toll still climbing in southwest Georgia, and her kin sick from the novel coronavirus. Even though, as a home health care worker, she's at high risk for exposure. She isn't displaying enough symptoms to get the required doctor's referral. If she wanted, though, she could get her hair and nails done, since the state's governor invited some businesses to reopen Friday, despite local leaders, public health experts and residents like Means insisting Georgia isn't ready. They fear the restart will spike new infections, particularly in the southwest region, with some of the highest death rates in the nation. In these small, interconnected towns, where everyone seems to know everyone else, each death reverberates. "It's crazy to open these businesses," said Means, a 51-year-old Damascus resident. "Which do you want us to do: Be safe or be sorry? Live or die?" Of the 20 counties in the nation with the most deaths per capita from covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, five are in southwest Georgia, including Early, where Means lives. In the state's hardest-hit places, African Americans make up most of the population, and about 30 percent of residents live in poverty. They've struggled for years with a severe lack of access to health care. Some counties have no doctors, no hospitals and a high percentage of uninsured residents. The facilities and physicians already were stretched thin. Then came the coronavirus, fast-moving and super-infectious, preying on the elderly and those with underlying health problems - perfectly primed to devastate a vulnerable population. When Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, announced he was lifting restrictions on businesses, some residents in this region felt cast off, like the state was telling them to fend for themselves once again. "To open up businesses where it's impossible to practice social distancing - hair salons, nail salons, theaters - people are like, what? You want to put everybody in a closed room, and that's supposed to be OK?" said Demetrius Young, a city commissioner in Albany, the center of the state's epidemic. "For black folks, it's like a set up: Are you trying to kill us?" Without a widespread testing infrastructure and local health departments able to do meticulous contact tracing, Young said, his region will continue to suffer. Georgia ranks 40th in tests per resident, well behind states that have pledged to maintain their shelter-in-place orders, according to an analysis of COVID Tracking Project data. Some models say the state has not yet reached its peak number of daily deaths, suggesting the worst is still to come. "We need to save lives," Young said. "The way we feel is, this is another 'Black Lives Matter' moment." Glen Singfield, 67, owns two restaurants in Albany that have been shuttered for more than a month. He said he doesn't plan to reopen them on Monday, when Kemp's order for restarting the economy extends to restaurants. He is not convinced the virus has been brought under control, especially in Southwest Georgia. "We were hit hard, and our restraint needs to be harder. We have to make sure we're way beyond the curve," he said. He hasn't had time to come up with a plan, such as how to screen customers, to make sure he can keep everyone, including his employees and family members who work in the restaurants, safe. "My wife, my sons, my granddaughters are in there. My employees. These are folks we love. I can't play with their lives. We're a small town. When somebody dies here, everybody knows them." Through Friday, African Americans accounted for more than 50 percent of Georgia's deaths, despite making up about 30 percent of the state's 10.6 million population. The toll is far greater in less-populous counties where the largest share of residents is black. The number of cases per capita in plurality-black counties is 1.75 times higher than in plurality-white counties. The number of deaths per capita in plurality-black counties is twice that of white counties. There are signs the virus's spread is picking up pace in white communities, too, though the mostly black neighborhoods are still seeing the highest number of cases per capita, according to an analysis of Census block-level data scraped from documents on Georgia's Department of Public Health website. These disparities illuminate a deep racial inequality: In Georgia, where Kemp has resisted Medicaid expansion, African Americans are less likely to be insured and more likely to have pre-existing health conditions like diabetes, said Ben Lopman, a professor of epidemiology at Emory University. They're also more likely to work in industries with a greater risk of exposure such as transportation, nursing homes and animal slaughter plants - like the still-operating Tyson Foods plant in Mitchell County, where four infected workers have died. "In the south, we've seen these kinds of inequalities in health for a long time," Lopman said, comparing the pattern to the AIDS epidemic. "These inequalities are being repeated again for covid." States from Wisconsin to Louisiana are seeing disproportionate numbers as well, but the disparity in Georgia is also geographic. Across the United States, urban counties have higher rates of coronavirus cases and deaths than rural counties. In Georgia, it's the opposite. The state's rural areas have a death rate 1.5 times that of its large cities. "Is this an indicator of what we're going to see throughout the country? Absolutely," Andrew T. Pavia, head of the pediatric infectious diseases division at the University of Utah School of Medicine, said of rural Georgia at an Infectious Diseases Society of America briefing this week. "It's a perfect storm for risk of death when the virus lands in these poor, more rural communities." The resources to fight an epidemic like this - ventilators, intensive care facilities, infectious disease experts, doctors in general - are overwhelmingly concentrated in cities, Pavia said, making rural areas particularly vulnerable. Many of the southwest Georgia counties with the highest death rates have no hospitals. Unlike smaller cities and towns in northern Georgia, which are closer to Atlanta and have easy access to more than one regional medical center, residents in the southwest are forced to travel to Albany, the area's hub, or to neighboring Alabama or Florida. Monty Veazey, president and CEO of the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals, described the dire situation in the state's rural communities, including the southwest: "Nine counties have no doctors - none, zero - 18 counties without family physicians, 32 have no internists, 60 without pediatricians, 76 counties have no OB/GYNs." At least seven rural hospitals in Georgia have closed during the past decade. Amid the outbreak, many doctors have shuttered their offices and are consulting with patients online. But vast swaths of rural Georgia do not have internet access, further limiting residents' ability to seek care. Federally funded community health centers fill in the gaps in some rural counties, but Veazey said of the nearly 30 counties that make up southwest Georgia, only a handful have those centers. Even those facilities are out of reach for some residents because they charge at least a nominal fee for care. Veazey's association represents not-for-profit hospitals, and he is concerned some might not survive the pandemic, having halted the elective procedures that typically generate revenue. Hospital closures would mean less access for residents and fewer jobs, contributing to the region's economic distress. In Cuthbert, Mayor Steve Whatley is worried about the fate of the only hospital in Randolph County, Southwest Georgia Regional Medical Center. His county's outbreak began in a nursing home, where 43 of its 60 residents have tested positive and are quarantined in the facility. The other 17 were transferred to the hospital, which is straining to take care of them. The crisis has "really impacted our hospital financially," he said. "I cannot tell you what it's done to us. We're bleeding money." State Sen. Dean Burke, a Republican who supports Kemp's decision to begin reopening businesses, said the coronavirus has shown the importance of a well-funded rural health care system. Burke, who is also the chief medical officer at a hospital in Decatur, a southwest county that mostly has been spared, said facilities like his will need more financial support from the state and federal governments. "I think we will, after this is all over, come to understand the importance of a rural health network and the fact we can't just let the big cities have big medical facilities and let rural facilities die on the vine," Burke said. "I do think there will be a new appreciation that we have to use more resources to stabilize our rural health care network." In the absence of robust testing and official contact tracing, residents have used an informal grapevine to form their own theories about how the virus spread: Some attendees of an early March birthday party in Blakely, the seat of Early County, were among the first to fall ill. But most believe the region's outbreak began at a Dougherty County funeral in February that drew more than 100 mourners, including a man from Atlanta who died a few days after the services. The virus spread from there, quickly overwhelming Albany, the county seat, and radiating to neighboring locales. The county has nearly 1,500 cases and 108 deaths, a toll outnumbering everywhere else in Georgia - even Fulton County, home to Atlanta, where the population is 10 times that of Dougherty. Most of those victims have died at Phoebe Putney Memorial, the county's only hospital. The facility's administrators say they've seen significant progress in slowing the spread of the coronavirus, but they're concerned a reopened Georgia will bring another tide of patients. "While we have successfully slowed the rate of covid-19 transmission in our area, we know there are still significant numbers of covid-positive individuals in our community," Scott Steiner, the hospital CEO, said in a statement the day after Kemp's announcement. "We worry that if people start returning to large gatherings too soon, we could see another 'super-spreader event' where a lot of people contract the virus. We certainly don't want that to happen." U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop Jr., a Democrat who represents southwest Georgia, said he has worked with state and local officials to get additional resources for Phoebe Putney, including a drive-up testing site. He said the relief package passed this week by Congress will provide money for additional testing, in addition to economic relief for residents and businesses. "We've had a really, really bad experience in southwest Georgia," Bishop said. "Unfortunately, it's a result of the fact that a lot of people - some 500,000 people in Georgia - are not covered by Medicaid, so they do not get regular preventive care and have a lot of pre-existing conditions that lend themselves to attack by coronavirus." Even as the state reported more cases and deaths in the days leading up to its reopening, Kemp defended his decision as one bolstered by data and public health recommendations. "We remain focused on protecting the lives - and livelihoods - of all Georgians," Kemp wrote on Twitter. "Now, with favorable data and approval from state health officials, we are taking another measured step forward by opening shuttered businesses for limited operations," he added. Kemp's office did not respond to questions about his decision and its impact on the state's southwest. In Blakely, a city of about 5,000 near Alabama, Mayor Travis Wimbush - who tested positive for covid-19 - has streamed regular addresses to his residents on Facebook, imploring them to stay home. "I will not put the power of a dollar over the value of a life in any decision that I will make," he said on Wednesday. "There are currently still citizens of Blakely on life support." In Damascus, Means is still mourning. Her aunt, 83-year-old Rosetta Salter, died April 3, two days before test results confirmed she had covid-19. Means' mother, Bernice McCray, 80, was in a nursing home when she ran a fever. She was at a hospital in Dothan, Alabama, where the family was allowed to visit only to say their goodbyes two days before she died April 9. Means doesn't know how her sister got infected but suspects it was in Albany. She was first diagnosed with pneumonia, then tested positive for covid-19 and was transferred to Dothan. Means hasn't seen her since. Because Means hasn't displayed symptoms other than chest tightness since her family members were diagnosed, her doctor, who she sees regularly for her diabetes, said there was no need to be tested. She was probably just stressed. She told him she couldn't rest until she knew. The doctor sent her to Thomasville, over an hour's drive, where a county-run drive-up site tests patients free without a referral. Means arrived early Thursday morning. She didn't have a fever, cough or shortness of breath, so the nurse there wouldn't test her. She blamed stress, just like Means' doctor had. The nurse's message: "Don't you go bothering yourself about the coronavirus now." - - - The Washington Post's Mark Berman and Dan Keating contributed to this report. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form This June, Mobiles celebration of the nations best and brightest young women will still go on, despite concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. How? The Distinguished Young Women National Final is going digital! That message, broadcast via social media, revealed that one of the citys signature events wouldnt be another casualty of the coronavirus. The former Americas Junior Miss will still honor the top high school representative from each state as it has since 1958 and award more than $100,000 in scholarships during its culminating events, June 25-27. But, pursuant to the new rules for public gatherings, the Distinguished Young Women has had to find a way to engage through screens and speakers, instead of hugs and hands held. And its had to find a way to engender the esprit de corps that benefits the participants year-in, year-out. The most personally impactful part of this program is the 50 girls coming together, meeting and connecting with one another and forging relationships, said DYW Executive Director Kendra Haskins. And that extends to the host families I talk to every year, the community service we do and the volunteers who look forward to this so much. There are so many pieces that make the National Finals so incredibly special. Traditionally, the state representatives all high school seniors arrive in Mobile two weeks before the climactic two-day preliminaries and Saturday finale, where they compete in categories that measure scholastics, self-expression, physical fitness, talent and interviewing skills. The young women stay with host families, and participate in workshops, area tours, social events and a variety of fun challenges, such as the oyster-eating contest at Wintzells in downtown. This year, the young women will submit videos for each National Finals category. The five judges will undertake their jobs though video interface. Usually, anyone wishing to attend the events at the Mobile Civic Center Theater must buy a ticket. Or, they can pay to watch from home through Distinguished Young Women website. But not this year. For 2020, the DYW will broadcast the three-night virtual showcase on its website free of charge. The website address: distinguishedyw.org. Haskins said that the DYW is set to put on a tremendous show. The new format offers plenty of challenges, but it provides an interesting opportunity, too, she said. We definitely want to encourage Mobilians to reintroduce themselves to this program, Haskins said. So much has changed, and the levels of ability of these girls are just off the charts. If you grew up knowing what Junior Miss was, you havent seen what it is now. Haskins said the DYW will still present opportunities in June for the state representatives to foster relationships with the greater community. For example, the reigning Distinguished Young Woman of America, Dora Guo of Illinois, has been in contact with her fellow 2019 participants, each of whom is producing a video that will be compiled into a greater message for this years representatives. I want to tell them that what has happened does not take away the achievements theyve already made, said Guo, who is finishing up her first year at Yale University. The intelligence, kindness and compassion that makes them so worthy are still there. And we are always going to persevere to show them that they are worthy. In all, Guo received $32,000 in scholarships during the 2019 National Finals, and would currently be gearing up for her triumphant return to Mobile to crown the next Distinguished Young Woman of America. Hopefully, she said, that can still happen, just at a later date. I greatly look forward to coming back to Mobile, she said. Its such a wonderful city. Indeed, Haskins said the plan is to still bring this years representatives to Mobile to stay with host families, enjoy the sights and even scarf down their fill of oysters it will just have to be at a date when its safe to do so. Jaipur, April 26 : A 40-year-old woman walking on foot from Sawai Madhopur to Jaipur during the nationwide lockdown was allegedly gang-raped by three men in a school where she had decided to spend the night, police said on Sunday. The woman said in her police complaint that she decided to walk down to her Jaipur home after she was stuck in Sawai Madhopur for about a month, police told IANS. On Thursday evening, she decided to halt at the school en route as it was getting dark and she was tired. The three suspects are residents of a nearby village, police said. DSP Parth Sarma said: "A case was registered against the three after the woman lodged a complaint on Friday. Accused Rishikesh Meena, Lakhan Regar, and Kamal Kharwal were arrested and presented in a court." The three accused have since been sent in judicial custody. Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now. In our morning briefing, Gina Pollack had some plain talk about what we witnessed Saturday: It's topping 90-degrees. Most of us are on day 40-50 of quarantine (I counted 43, personally) and driveable access to beaches and wildflowers is probably one of the reasons a lot of us chose to live here in the first place. But, look: Public health experts, doctors, mayors, governors -- all say the best way to beat this virus is to avoid contact with other people. And the best way to do that is to stay home. Neighborhood walks? Sure. Runs? That's ok, too. But please, stop posting your poppy selfies on Instagram. At the very least, have a little discretion. When you tag your location, we can see you. We know you were there today for a picnic at 1 p.m. sitting all over those innocent flowers. And beach goers, we see you too. It's like, we've been in line for 43 days, do you really want to get out of line and start over? DO YOU? Because when you get out of the line, we all have to get out of line. Plus, let's be real. If we all crowd the beaches, then we're no better than Florida. And I for one, think we are better than Florida. See what you think. Here's what Huntington Beach in Orange County looked like on Saturday: Lifeguards in Huntington Beach expected tens of thousands of people to flock the beach this weekend due to the heat wave. Lifeguards and law enforcement are patrolling the beach to make sure people are keeping their distance. (Apu Gomes / AFP via Getty Images) The afternoon fog on Saturday didn't seem to deter beachgoers. P(Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images) The reflexion of lifeguard wearing a face mask surveying the beach is seen from her post. (Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images) Mike Bennett wears a Patriot face mask on his mouth as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19 while skateboarding Saturday. (Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images) (Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images) Men play spike ball on the beach. (Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images) Women wearing face masks sunbathe on the beach.(Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images) Orange County officials -- who have called for non-local residents to stay away from the beaches there -- have warned that if beaches become too crowded to ensure public health, they will close them again. ADDENDUM: In case you were wondering what Sunday looked like, here's a shot of a path near the beach. People ride bikes and walk on a path along the beach on April 26. (Michael Heiman/Getty Images) UPDATES: 4 p.m.: This article was updated with photo from Sunday. This article was originally published at 7 a.m. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Book of the week review For almost five years, Arnold Vigil wrote columns for Journal North with a light, conversational touch, generously flecked with down-home humor and wordplay. Vigils columns, called Orale! were on a multitude of subjects usually based on his recollections and observations about life in Santa Fe. How life in his hometown has changed over time yet how it hasnt. Among the many subjects he wrote about are the bane of Siberian (Chinese) elms; the double meaning of the Spanish phrase como se llama; the real estate practice of flipping homes; the ricos and their Eastside trophy homes; the lack of affordable housing; and the citys changing nicknames (now the City Different, once the Ancient City). Vigils biweekly columns appeared in the Journal North section of the Albuquerque Journal from the fall of 2004 to late 2009. A compilation of more than 60 of those columns has recently been published by the Museum of New Mexico Press. The compilation is titled Santa Fe Different. The columns reveal Vigil, a Santa Fe native, as an enchanting storyteller. I was really excited about the column at first, he said in an interview. Once I got off the phone and then had my first meeting with (then Journal North editor) Mark Oswald, I thought to myself What did I get myself into? Now I have to start producing. Deadline pressure is the great motivator. Rather than embarrass myself and fail, I pushed myself to keep writing. I went into that well of knowledge, and I mined all of that information. I came up with something every two weeks, Vigil added. Its not that Vigil was unfamiliar with deadlines. He was a reporter and editor for La Mecha, the New Mexico Highlands University student newspaper. He was a staff reporter for Journal North for five years in the 1980s. Then he went to work for state governments popular New Mexico Magazine, for which he held various editorial positions. He wrote the Journal North columns while holding down his day job with the magazine. The compilation of Vigils columns carries this seemingly unrelated subtitle 22 Years and All I Got Was a Cheeseburger though its about an incident he talks about in the books preface that has the feel of an Arale! column. The subtitle refers to a dark day in September 2011, in the first year of Gov. Susana Martinezs administration. As Vigil recalled, a woman closely connected to some of the founding fathers of the Taos Ski Valley, a favorite spot of mine. went down the hall (of the New Mexico Magazine) delivering pink slips to startled employees just after the lunch hour, he writes. Vigil said he was handed his pink slip and was informed to vacate his desk of more than 22 years by closing time that day. He said she thanked him for his service to the state of New Mexico. That prompted Vigil to reply sarcastically, I should at least get a ski pass out of this! He said she told him sorry, no ski pass but I can get you a cheeseburger. Vigil has long given up waiting for the no-show cheeseburger that would have had to meet his specs green chile, extra onions and double meat. After his years at the magazine, Vigil, now 60, worked as a senior archivist in the Historical Division of the New Mexico State Archives and Records Center before retiring from state government. In the introduction to the compilation, Vigil cites as inspiration the newspaper columns of Mary Ann Romero, Peter Eichstaedt and Orlando Romero and the writings of Jim Sagel, John Nichols, Rudolfo Anaya and Max Evans. Evans wrote a brief foreword for Santa Fe Different. The international community and its weak condemnations will not help Palestinians. It is time for a new strategy. On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a news briefing that annexation of the West Bank was ultimately an Israeli decision and that that the United States would share their views on this matter with Israel privately. His remarks came a just two days after a new Israeli unity government was ushered in following a deal between incumbent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political rival and head of the Blue and White alliance, Benny Gantz. As part of the agreement, Netanyahu will serve as prime minister for another 18 months, after which, Gantz will supposedly take over. It will also allow him to pass legislation to annex large swaths of the West Bank from July 1. The annexation of Palestinian land occupied in 1967 is illegal under international law, yet the reality is that the occupation of the West Bank has been de facto annexation. The Israeli regime is now looking to extend its sovereignty through de jure annexation which would put much of the West Bank under Israeli law, leaving only a few small pockets of densely populated Palestinian bantustans. Many Liberal Zionists saw Gantzs Blue and White coalition as a viable alternative to the corrupt reign of Netanyahu, while many foreign diplomats hoped he would be a partner for peace. This despite the fact that Gantz made it clear that he was going to pursue annexation throughout his election campaigns. In response to the unity governments declared annexation position and Pompeos comment, several EU member states warned and strongly advised against Israeli annexation of Palestinian land in the West Bank. Meanwhile, Jordan has also repeatedly stated that it rejects steps towards annexation. These most recent condemnations follow a familiar pattern of weak statements being issued whenever the Israeli regime breaches international law, with no threat of repercussions. Indeed, committing war crimes is always an Israeli decision, and the response of the international community is always to ignore them. The fact that Israeli political leaders across the political spectrum are pursuing annexation is hardly surprising. Expansionism into Palestinian land is the raison detre of the Israeli regime and has been since its foundation. Israeli settlement building has never ceased since 1948 when the ethnic cleansing of historic Palestine began. And it was a so-called left-wing Israeli government that spearheaded the settlement enterprise in the West Bank and Gaza following their occupation in 1967. The Palestinian leadership reacted to these latest developments with more of the same fiery rhetoric and empty threats. Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas once again threatened to completely cancel agreements with Israel and the US if Israel proceeded with annexation and warned that Palestinians would not stand hand-cuffed. With the PA highly dependent on the international donor community and the Israeli government for its survival, it is unlikely it will ever be able to present a real challenge to annexation. Decades of capitulation discussions dressed up as peace negotiations have left Palestinians in this historically vulnerable situation. Indeed, despite the PA presidents bravado, Palestinians are already hand-cuffed and caged in an open-air prison where even Abbas himself has to request permission from the Israelis to leave Ramallah. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic has put Palestinians under lockdown, living in acute fear of infection and unable to put up a significant challenge to the Israeli takeover of their land. This, however, does not mean the Palestinian people have given in. The struggle against the Israeli regime continues, as do attempts to hold it accountable and make it pay the economic and legal cost of oppression, through the BDS Movement and the International Criminal Court investigation into its war crimes. This is all important but it is not enough. Now is the time for a refocusing of efforts and a change in political strategy. Palestinians have to clean up their own house and demand new representative and legitimate leadership which no longer bows down to an international community enabling Israeli expansionism. While elections are an important democratic practice, in the West Bank and Gaza they would only serve to prop up the current authorities. What is required is a complete overhaul of the current political system which, for over the last two decades, has been focusing solely on keeping Palestinians subdued and contained. Such an overhaul requires a return to a revolutionary consensus achieved through plurality and reconciliation of political groups, geographic fragments, and collectives and a popular mobilisation around a political agenda of liberation. Only then will we stand a chance to stop the theft of Palestinian land. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has congratulated the people of Azerbaijan and the Muslims of the world on the occasion of the advent of the month of Ramadan. In a post on her official Instagram page, the First Vice-President says: I sincerely congratulate the people of Azerbaijan and all Muslims of the world on the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, which is filled with the kindest and brightest feelings and personifies a triumph of kindness, mercy and compassion! I believe that all our prayers and wishes will be answered in this holy month and the Almighty will grant his mercy to our world. I wish good health to all of you! May Allah accept your fasting! The Odisha government on Sunday declared more areas as containment zones to conduct active surveillance and aggressive contact- tracing after nine people tested COVID-19 positive in the last 24 hours. Several areas in Jajpur and Sundargarh districts were sealed after they reported multiple new cases, officials said. Some localities in Nala Road area of Rourkela city in Sundargarh district were declared containment zones, while about half-a-dozen villages under Katikata, Mallikapur and Birajapur gram panchayats of Jajpur were also classified as such and their all entry and exit points sealed, they said. In Sundargarh, which reported three cases in the last 24 hours, the district administration said Nala Road area is "highly sensitive" and asked people to refrain from venturing out. All shops, offices and other establishments in the containment zone will remain shut, but people will be provided with essential supplies and medical support, district collector Nikhil Pavan Kalyan said. The administration barricaded the new containment zone where a massive sanitization drive was undertaken. Similar restrictions were imposed in the new containment zones in Jajpur district where six new COVID-19 cases were detected on Saturday. All the patients had recently travelled to West Bengal. "Though certain relaxations have been made elsewhere to allow the opening of some shops, these are not applicable in the containment zones," according to Jajpur collector Ranjan Kumar Das. Meanwhile, a 60-hour complete shutdown imposed in three northern districts of Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore on Thursday came to an end. Chief Secretary AK Tripathy had announcedthe shutdown following a spurt in COVID-19 cases in these districts. Congratulating the people of the districts for supporting the police and the administration, Director General of Police (DGP) Abhay urged them to adhere to social distancing norms. "I compliment residents of Bhadrak, Balasore and Jajpur districts for observing complete shutdown and cooperating with police and the administration in its implementation. I urge them to continue practicing social distancing," the police chief said. The DGP also praised the role played by the police during the shutdown. Bhadrak district collector Gyana Das asked people to refrain from rushing to markets and crowd shops after lifting of the shutdown and said there is ample stock of essential items and vegetables. "Therefore, people must not gather in large numbers in market areas and strictly adhere to the norms of social distancing," the collector said. During the shutdown, the administration in the three districts organised many testing camps in schools and collected over 3,000 samples. Concrete steps were also taken to stop all incoming vehicles, including ambulances, from West Bengal to prevent the influx of migrants. Odisha has so far reported 103 COVID-19 cases. While 34 of them have recovered, a 72-year-old man from Bhubaneswar has died. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BBC documentary about Chinese poet Du Fu presents beauty of Chinese poetry to the West "Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet," a 58-minute documentary released on April 6 on BBC Four, introduces Du Fu to the Western world for the first time in documentary form. A screenshot of the BBC documentary "Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet" The launch of the documentary by BBC indicates a wider acceptance of ancient Chinese literature among the Western world, as well as stronger willingness of the BBC to communicate with oriental culture, according to Zhang Tongdao, director of the Documentary Center of the Beijing Normal University. In the film, Michael Wood, historian and one of BBC's most popular presenters, visited a number of Chinese cities to retrace Du's steps. The documentary features Sir Ian McKellen, the British actor familiar to Chinese audiences, who reads Du's masterpieces in an elegant and meditative manner. "The greatness of Du Fu has transcended time and space, which further proves that humanity is a community of a shared destiny," said an insider with Chinese poetry journal Shikan, adding that based on a book written by a Chinese educationist and historian, the film faithfully reflects historical facts. The film also invites sinologist Stephen Owen of Harvard University, Professor Zeng Xiang'an of Renmin University of China, and Doctor Tao Tao Liu from Oxford University, to bring professional interpretation from multiple perspectives. "The documentary showcases the eternal charm and value of Chinese poetry," said Gao Chang with China Culture Daily. Coronavirus Lockdown: No public gatherings will be allowed in Uttar Pradesh till June 30. UP CM Yogi Adityanath announced the decision today after his COVID-19 review meeting with chairpersons of 11 committees. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday has prohibited public gatherings in the state till June 30. He has directed the concerned officials ensure that the people of Uttar Pradesh follow the guidelines of lockdown effectively. A decision to revise the rule will depend on the situation. The decision to restrict public gatherings in UP was taken after Yogi Adityanaths COVID-19 review meeting with chairpersons of 11 committees. A daily has quoted Yogi Adityanath as saying that Muslim community leaders have requested people to offer their prayers from their houses during Ramzan. No mass gatherings will be allowed as it is only increases risk of the spread of coronavirus. Keeping in mind the situation at hand, there will be no public gatherings till June 30. Even if the nationwide lockdown lifts on May 3, public gatherings in UP will be prohibited till June 30. Emphasising the positive results of effective lockdown in several districts, Yogi Adityanath also said legal action must be taken against people who try to evade quarantine. In Uttar Pradesh, the total number of coronavirus cases has reached 1621, including 247 cured/discharged/migrated and 25 deaths. Also Read: MHA clarifies on opening of shops in urban and rural areas; restrictions continue on sale of liquor and delivery of non-essential items by e-commerce companies Also Read: Coronavirus lockdown: Confederation of All India Traders asks shopkeepers to wait for state governments to take decision on opening shops Chief Minister has directed officers that no public gathering be allowed till 30th June. Further decision will be taken depending on the situation: Office of CM Yogi Adityanath #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/1zF4tw9dLE ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 25, 2020 Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath holds a meeting with chairpersons of 11 committees of the state to combat #COVID19. pic.twitter.com/iCOAk9tFfq ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 25, 2020 UP CM Yogi Adityanath also recently decided against attending the last rites of his late father Anand Singh Bisht. In an official letter, he wrote that he would be forced to miss his fathers last rites due to states fight against coronavirus and nationwide lockdown. However, he would pay a visit after the lockdown. Yogi Adityanaths father Anand Singh Bisht passed away in AIIMS, Delhi on April 20. He was suffering from liver and kidney ailments. Also Read: Coronavirus update: Total cases in India nears 25000, toll at 775 For all the latest National News, download NewsX App By 8:15 a.m., shes seated before two computers: one that she will deploy to share her screen with students, one that she will use to manage access to the Zoom call. In the 45 minutes left before class, she ignores her inbox, which fills swiftly with links to Zoom meetings and parent queries, and inspects her lesson plans. She mouths each sentence of the days slide show. She checks for typos. She click-tests every hyperlink. https://www.aish.com/tp/i/sacks/The-Ethic-of-Holiness.html Kedoshim contains the two great love commands of the Torah. The first is, Love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord (Lev. 19:18). Rabbi Akiva called this the great principle of the Torah. The second is no less challenging: The stranger living among you must be treated as your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were strangers in Egypt. I am the Lord your God (Lev. 19:34). These are extraordinary commands. Many civilisations contain variants of the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do to you, or in the negative form attributed to Hillel (sometimes called the Silver Rule), What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour. That is the whole Torah. The rest is commentary; go and learn.1 But these are rules of reciprocity, not love. We observe them because bad things will happen to us if we dont. They are the basic ground-rules of life in a group. Love is something altogether different and more demanding. That makes these two commandments a revolution in the moral life. Judaism was the first civilisation to put love at the heart of morality. As Harry Redner puts it in Ethical Life, Morality is the ethic of love. The initial and most basic principle of morality is clearly stated in the Torah: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. He adds: The biblical love of ones neighbour is a very special form of love, a unique development of the Judaic religion and unlike any to be encountered outside it.2 Much has been written about these commands. Who exactly is meant by your neighbour? Who by the stranger? And what is it to love someone else as oneself? Here though I want to ask a different question. Why is it specifically here, in Kedoshim, in a chapter dedicated to the concept of holiness, that the command appears? Nowhere else in all Tanach are we commanded to love our neighbour. And only in one other place (Deut. 10:19) are we commanded to love the stranger. (The Sages famously said that the Torah commands us thirty-six times to love the stranger, but that is not quite accurate. Thirty-four of those commands have to do with not oppressing or afflicting the stranger and making sure that he or she has the same legal rights as the native born. These are commands of justice rather than love). And why does the command to love your neighbour as yourself appear in a chapter containing such laws as Do not mate different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material. These are chukim, decrees, usually thought of as commands that have no reason, at any rate none that we can understand. What have they to do with the self-evidently moral commands of the love of neighbour and stranger? Is the chapter simply an assemblage of disconnected commands, or is there a single unifying strand to it? The answer goes deep. Almost every ethical system ever devised has sought to reduce the moral life to a single principle or perspective. Some connect it to reason, others to emotion, yet others to consequences: do whatever creates the greatest happiness for the greatest number. Judaism is different. It is more complex and subtle. It contains not one perspective but three. There is the prophetic understanding of morality, the priestly perspective and the wisdom point of view. Prophetic morality looks at the quality of relationships within a society, between us and God and between us and our fellow humans. Here are some of the key texts that define this morality. God says about Abraham, For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right [tzedakah] and just [mishpat].3 God tells Hosea, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness [tzedek] and justice [mishpat], in kindness [chessed] and compassion [rachamim].4 He tells Jeremiah, I am the Lord, who exercises kindness [chessed], justice [mishpat] and righteousness [tzedakah] on earth, for in these I delight, declares the Lord.5 Those are the key prophetic words: righteousness, justice, kindness and compassion not love. When the Prophets talk about love it is about Gods love for Israel and the love we should show for God. With only three exceptions, they do not speak about love in a moral context, that is, vis-a-vis our relationships with one another. The exceptions are Amos remark, Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts (Amos 5:15); Micahs famous statement, Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God (Mic. 6:8) and Zechariahs Therefore love truth and peace (Zech. 8:19). Note that all three are about loving abstractions good, mercy and truth. They are not about people. The prophetic voice is about how people conduct themselves in society. Are they faithful to God and to one another? Are they acting honestly, justly, and with due concern for the vulnerable in society? Do the political and religious leaders have integrity? Does society have the high morale that comes from people feeling that it treats its citizens well and calls forth the best in them? A moral society will succeed; an immoral or amoral one will fail. That is the key prophetic insight. The Prophets did not make the demand that people love another. That was beyond their remit. Society requires justice, not love. The wisdom voice in Torah and Tanach looks at character and consequence. If you live virtuously, then by and large things will go well for you. A good example is Psalm 1. The person who occupies himself with Torah will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not witherwhatever they do prospers. That is the wisdom voice. Those who do well, fare well. They find happiness (ashrei). Good people love God, family, friends and virtue. But the wisdom literature does not speak of loving your neighbour or the stranger. The moral vision of the Priest that makes him different from the Prophet and Sage lies in the key word kadosh, holy. Someone or something that is holy is set apart, distinctive, different. The Priests were set apart from the rest of the nation. They had no share in the land. They did not work as labourers in the field. Their sphere was the Tabernacle or Temple. They lived at the epicentre of the Divine Presence. As Gods ministers they had to keep themselves pure and avoid any form of defilement. They were holy. Until now, holiness has been seen as a special attribute of the Priest. But there was a hint at the giving of the Torah that it concerned not just the children of Aaron but the people as a whole: You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Ex. 19:6). Our chapter now spells this out for the first time. The Lord said to Moses, Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy (Lev. 19:1-2). This tells us that the ethic of holiness applies not just to Priests but to the entire nation. It too is to be distinctive, set apart, held to a higher standard. What in practice does this mean? A decisive clue is provided by another key word used throughout Tanach in relation to the Kohen, namely the verb b-d-l: to divide, set apart, separate, distinguish. That is what a Priest does. His task is to distinguish between the sacred and the secular (Lev. 10:10), and to distinguish between the unclean and the clean (Lev. 11:47). This is what God does for His people: You shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and I have distinguished you [va-avdil] from other peoples to be Mine. (Lev. 20:26). There is one other place in which b-d-l is a key word, namely the story of creation in Genesis 1, where it occurs five times. God separates light and dark, day and night, upper and lower waters. For three days God demarcates different domains, then for the next three days He places in each its appropriate objects or life-forms. God fashions order out of the tohu va-vohu of chaos. As His last act of creation, He makes man after His image and likeness. This was clearly an act of love. Beloved is man, said Rabbi Akiva, because he was created in [Gods] image.6 Genesis 1 defines the priestly moral imagination. Unlike the Prophet, the Priest is not looking at society. He is not, like the wisdom figure, looking for happiness. He is looking at creation as the work of God. He knows that everything has its place: sacred and profane, permitted and forbidden. It is his task to make these distinctions and teach them to others. He knows that different life forms have their own niche in the environment. That is why the ethic of holiness includes rules like: Dont mate with different kinds of animals, dont plant a field with different kinds of seed, and dont wear clothing woven of two kinds of material. Above all the ethic of holiness tells us that every human being is made in the image and likeness of God. God made each of us in love. Therefore, if we seek to imitate God Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy we too must love humanity, and not in the abstract but in the concrete form of the neighbour and the stranger. The ethic of holiness is based on the vision of creation-as-Gods-work-of-love. This vision sees all human beings ourselves, our neighbour and the stranger as in the image of God, and that is why we are to love our neighbour and the stranger as ourself. I believe that there is something unique and contemporary about the ethic of holiness. It tells us that morality and ecology are closely related. They are both about creation: about the world as Gods work and humanity as Gods image. The integrity of humanity and the natural environment go together. The natural universe and humanity were both created by God, and we are charged to protect the first and love the second. Shabbat Shalom NOTES Shabbat 31a. Harry Redner, Ethical Life: The Past and Present of Ethical Cultures, Roman and Littlefield, 2001, 49-68. Genesis 18:19. Hosea 2:19. Jeremiah 9:23. Mishnah Avot 3:14. CONNECT WITH THE CHIEF RABBI Download the Chief Rabbis new iPhone and iPad app via www.chiefrabbi.org for mobile access to his video study sessions as well as his articles and speeches. Alternatively, search for Chief Rabbi in the App Store on your iPhone. SUBSCRIBE TO COVENANT & CONVERSATION To receive Covenant & Conversation and other news from the Office of the Chief Rabbi direct to your inbox each week, please subscribe at www.chiefrabbi.org. Rebel Wilson has been living the high life as a Hollywood A-lister for some years. And on Saturday, the Australian actress revealed she recently installed a custom elevator in her $3.76million Sydney home after she relocated back Down Under. During a live Q&A with her Instagram fans, Rebel, 40, gushed: 'I have an elevator'. 'Because who wants to walk up all the time?' Rebel Wilson (pictured) revealed she spent $70,000 to get a custom lift built into her three-storey $3.76million Sydney home She continued: 'It's the first time I've ever had an elevator and let me tell you guys. It was the best $70,000 i've ever spent. Honestly.' 'Because who wants to walk up all the time? Sometimes I do, but sometimes I want my own private elevator. So I've got it, and I'm loving it,' she added. Last month, the Pitch Perfect star profited almost a million dollars from the sale of her Sydney investment property. Luxury: During a live Q&A with her Instagram fans, Rebel, 40, gushed: 'It's the first time i've ever had an elevator and let me tell you guys. It was the best $70,000 I've ever spent' 'So i've got it, and i'm loving it': The LA based actress revealed her three-storey Sydney home now includes a private lift According to a report in Domain, the former Fat Pizza star recently sold her second investment property in Sydney's Gladesville for $880,000. Rebel purchased the two-bedroom property back in 2017, paying a massive $885,000 for it at the time. The property was sold by Cobden & Hayson, with it expected to have sold well-above the price she paid for it. Glam: Rebel purchased the two-bedroom property back in 2017, paying a massive $885,000 for it at the time. The property offers a neat and tidy floor plan The sale was in the name of Camp Sugar production company, which co-produced last year's comedy film, The Hustle. This is the second Gladesville property sold by Rebel, with the star offloading another property in the area in January. She sold the property in just nine days, with an asking price of between $750,000 and $800,000. To reach out to maximum students amid the coronavirus lockdown, the School Department in Kashmir is starting audio classes from next week in collaboration with the All India Radio, officials said. The educational broadcast will enable students to learn through the medium of radio while sitting in their homes and the idea behind the initiative is to engage the students and to reach out to them while they are confined to their homes due to nationwide lockdown, they said. The teachers will be delivering lessons as per curriculum and the same will reach students through radio. The lessons will be aired on the All India Radio, Srinagar during day time for which time slots have already been specified by the station, the officials said. The Directorate of School (DSEK), Kashmir had started tele-classes on March 26 through the Kashir channel of Doordarshan Kendra, Srinagar and presently two classes are aired daily covering the syllabus of elementary and secondary classes. The department has also reached out to students through local cable networks which telecast the lessons prepared by DSEK. The DSEK has connected to a large number of students through its digital platform and video classes have been kept available for students on its YouTube channel which is linked to the official website of the DSEK. Director, School Education, Kashmir, Mohammad Younis Malik said these platforms have been kept available for children so that they do not feel isolated and can continue with their studies while staying at their home due to lockdown. He said the Directorate is exploring all options to reach out to students online and offline so that their studies do not suffer due to coronavirus outbreak. Restrictions are in force in Kashmir to stop the spread of coronavirus. Security forces have sealed off main roads in most places in the valley and erected barriers at several other places to check the unwanted movement of the people and to enforce the lockdown, they said. The total number of positive cases in Jammu and Kashmir has reached 494, even as six patients have died and 112 have recovered. More than 66,000 people have been kept under surveillance including those who are either in government established quarantine facilities or in home isolation. Till date, 66343 travellers and persons in contact with suspected cases have been enlisted for surveillance which include 6324 persons in home quarantine including facilities operated by government, 263 in hospital quarantine, 376 in hospital isolation and 10974 under home surveillance. Besides, 48400 persons have completed their surveillance period, the officials said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Top Tories have joined calls to ban Dominic Cummings from coronavirus scientific briefings. The former Brexit secretary David Davis is among those pushing for Cummings and Ben Warner, an adviser who ran the Tories' private election computer model, to be prevented from attending future meetings of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage). Davis said that Cummings's presence could alter the advice offered in meetings, adding: 'We should publish the membership of Sage, remove any non-scientist members, publish their advice in full, and publish dissenting opinions with the advice.' It was last night revealed Boris Johnson's chief aide had attended meetings of the secretive group steering the government's coronavirus response, with rivals suggesting he had no businesses doing so. The former Brexit secretary David Davis (left), is among those calling for Cummings to be prevented from attending future meetings of the Sage. Greg Clark (right) said disclosing who has attended Sage meetings could reassure and enhance the standing of the body The article in the Guardian prompted a fiery response by Number 10, who denied he was 'on' the group but had attended meetings, dismissing the implications of scandal as 'ludicrious'. But there is now a larger coalition forming to demand greater transparency about Sage. Greg Clark, the Tory chair of the Commons science committee, said disclosing who has attended Sage meetings could reassure and enhance the standing of the body as well as creating a better understanding of what shapes government advice. Others called for the minutes of Sage meetings to be published, including the shadow health secretary, Jonathan Ashworth. The acting Lib Dem leader, Sir Ed Davey, told The Guardian: 'The public needs to have confidence that it is expert advice that is guiding government decisions. The lack of transparency is unacceptable in this national crisis.' It was last night revealed Boris Johnson's chief aide (pictured) had attended meetings of the secretive group steering the government's coronavirus response, with rivals suggesting he had no businesses doing so Opposition parties have said political advisers had no business attending the Sage and called for its deliberations to be opened to wider scrutiny. Sage is intended to provide technical and scientific advice and remain strictly politically neutral during national crises. It does not disclose the names of the scientists involved beyond that of its chairman - currently chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance. A list of names leaked to the Guardian revealed Mr Cummings - already a controversial figure for his role in the Vote Leave campaign - had attended a Sage meeting on March 23. Dr Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the university of East Anglia, said the fact of Mr Cummings' attendance without the public knowing his level of involvement could taint the advice Sage has given so far. This table shows who is sitting on SAGE, the body advising the Government in the pandemic Senior civil servants invited to attend, including the Government's chief medical officer Chris Whitty, are permitted to ask questions but must submit them in writing in advance. Dr Hunter, who also sits on a number of World Health Organisation (WHO) committees, said it was not clear if Mr Cummings was subject to the same restraints. He said: 'If he wasn't and he was contributing to the discussion, then that means we need to be very cautious about the conclusions of Sage. 'Because whether or not he did influence the outcomes we can't know for certain, and therefore the validity of the advice coming out of the committee might be flawed. 'It has been pointed out quite a lot in the press that a lot of the advice and policies that we have had over Covid-19 has differed quite markedly from advice from international agencies. 'We need to be sure there wasn't undue political influence at the point those decisions were being taken.' But former chief scientific adviser and member of Sage Sir Mark Walport today said he is not concerned about political advisers attending the committee's briefings. Asked whether he was worried about Mr Cummings sitting in, Sir Mark told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend: 'No I'm not worried actually. Sage is conducted, led by the chief scientific adviser, the scientists speak very, very freely. 'There are a number of people on the phone, they don't interfere and I'm absolutely confident it's acting effectively to provide the science advice the Government needs.' NEW DELHI: India plans to fast track the review of some investment proposals from neigbouring countries such as China following concerns new screening rules could hit plans of companies and investors, three sources told Reuters. To avoid opportunistic takeovers during the coronavirus outbreak, India said this week that all foreign direct investment from countries sharing a land border would require prior government clearance, meaning they cant go through a so-called automatic route. Advisers to Chinese firms have said they are concerned the process could take several weeks and hit deals and investment timelines. Auto firms such as SAICs MG Motor and Great Wall, and investors Alibaba and Tencent have placed major bets on India. The Chinese Embassy in New Delhi has called the new screening policy discriminatory. A senior Indian government source who is involved in policymaking told Reuters that New Delhi will try to approve any investment proposal in a non-sensitive sector within 15 days when the stake being bought is not significant. The official declined to elaborate on which sectors would be considered sensitive and what threshold of investment would be deemed significant. We will try to fast track investment proposals as soon as possible. It may be faster for some (sectors) and in others we might take some time, said the official, who did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the discussions. Two other sources familiar with the governments thinking confirmed that a fast track mechanism was being considered, with possible approval timelines of seven days to four weeks. Indias ministry of commerce and industry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Newser) New Patriots kicker Justin Rohrwasser says a tattoo on his arm is not representative of a loosely organized right-wing militia group that has adopted the symbol. Rohrwasser, who played at Rhode Island and Marshall, was taken 159th overall in the fifth round of the draft Saturday. He said in a conference call with reporters that he got the tattoo as a teenager because he has a lot of family members in the military, reports the AP. "Obviously, it evolved into something that I do not want to represent and when I look back at it, I should have done way more research before I put any mark or symbol on my body," Rohrwasser tells USA Today. "It is not something I ever want to represent, so it will be covered." The tattoo involves the roman numerals III surrounded by stars, per USA Today. story continues below On its website, the right-wing Three Percenters group says it isnt an anti-government militia but we will defend ourselves when necessary. The Three Percenters derived the name from the belief that just 3% of the colonists rose up to fight the British. They have vowed to resist any government that infringes on the US Constitution. According to an interview on Marshalls Herdzone.com last year Rohrwasser described his tattoos, which include phrases like Liberty or death and Dont tread on me as well as an American flag and one for the Dave Matthews Band, as all random. Rohrwasser was drafted as a replacement for Patriots all-time leading scorer Stephen Gostkowski, who was released last month. Gostkowski made the 2010s All-Decade team, is a two-time All-Pro, and member of three of the Patriots Super Bowl-winning teams. (Read more Three Percenter stories.) How mortifying to be complimented by a representative of the totalitarian regime now in the global dock for its conduct during the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet that is where our Government finds itself. Last week, the long-serving Chinese ambassador to London, Liu Xiaoming, said that the UK was a 'model' for other nations in maintaining a good relationship with Beijing. He added: 'I am confident that China and the UK will emerge from this test with a more mature and robust relationship.' More robust would be good. But not in the way the ambassador meant. Fortunately, a group of Conservative MPs have just launched the 'China Research Group'. Its name is a deliberate echo of the European Research Group (ERG), the Conservative parliamentary body that spearheaded the party's decades-long move away from the status quo in the EU and towards the schism with Brussels that became Brexit (and ended David Cameron's career). A group of Conservative MPs have just launched the 'China Research Group', led by Tom Tugendhat (pictured) Reward The ERG was almost entirely populated by those on the Right of the party. But this new body dedicated to critically analysing the relationship with Beijing draws its membership from a broader base. It is led by Tom Tugendhat, the impressive chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, who is described as 'centrist'. Its secretary is Neil O'Brien, previously an advisor to George Osborne. This is telling. The former Chancellor of the Exchequer was the leading advocate of going all-in on economic co-dependency with China, notably with Huawei, the cutting edge of the Chinese state's drive for technological domination. Visiting Beijing in 2013, Osborne declared, to his hosts' delight: 'There are some Western governments that have blocked Huawei. Not Britain. Quite the opposite.' Visiting Beijing in 2013, George Osborne declared, to his hosts' delight: 'There are some Western governments that have blocked Huawei. Not Britain. Quite the opposite' That distinction is more obvious than ever under the leadership of Boris Johnson. The PM's decision to reward Huawei with the British contract for the installation of 5G the telecoms network of the future has astounded our English-speaking allies in the 'Five Eyes' intelligence-sharing network (the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand). On March 10, the Government defeated an amendment backed by Tory rebels which would have compelled it to end Huwaei's involvement no later than January 1, 2023. But its majority was reduced to 23 and would probably have been down to single figures if Labour which sees this as a rare opportunity to defeat the Government had not had so many absences as a result of its leadership election. That was before British politicians became aware of the extent of Beijing's manipulation of the World Health Organisation during the pandemic (denying at a critical stage that there was any human-to-human transmission and silencing Chinese doctors who told the truth). Or as Tugendhat, a former Army officer, put it: 'The one thing that really marks out the Chinese Communist Party is not that they didn't have sufficient data, but that they falsified the data.' Having spoken to Tugendhat yesterday, I am now confident that if the Government brings the Telecoms Security Bill to the Commons this summer (as it originally intended), he and his fellow members of the China Research Group will raise enough Tory rebels to defeat the legislation required to authorise Huawei's involvement in the 5G network. It's not only in the UK that a political battle is going on between what I would describe as China appeasers and China realists. Last week, the EU released a report on how certain governments have produced 'disinformation' (the diplomatic term for lies) about coronavirus. But, as revealed by the New York Times (no friend of Donald Trump): 'Bowing to heavy pressure from Beijing, EU officials softened their criticism of China. Pictured: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian speaks during a daily briefing on February 24 'They first delayed and then rewrote the document in ways that diluted the focus on China, a vital trading partner taking a very different approach [from] the confrontational stance adopted by the Trump administration.' For example, the EU document excised a reference to posts on the website of the Chinese Embassy in Paris that had accused French nursing-home staff of having 'deserted collectively, leaving their residents to die of hunger and disease'. The point of these posts is to convince the French public that their own system, and not China's, is primarily responsible for whatever suffering they endure from Covid-19. (The same motive lay behind the decision of the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, to tweet preposterous claims that the virus had originally been unleashed on Wuhan by the U.S. military and to urge his Twitter followers to spread the message.) Some European nations have decided to act individually. The Swedish government last week shut down the last of its Confucius Institutes Chinese state-sponsored teaching programmes, of which there are still 29 in the UK. The first European branch of these Chinese 'soft power' outlets had been in Sweden. But after Stockholm supported a Swedish publisher living in Hong Kong who was arrested after being critical of the Chinese Communist Party, Beijing's ambassador to Sweden railed: 'For our enemies, we have a shotgun.' Never forget it is the threat of physical annihilation, and not just arrest, that maintains the Chinese Communist Party's dictatorship over its people. The retelling last week by the BBC's John Simpson of his intimate witnessing of the 1989 massacre of unarmed students in and around Tiananmen Square the blood of some of the victims spattering his own clothes as they fell was salutary. Fury The Chinese Communist Party habitually denounces its Western critics as 'imperialist' and 'racist': in the row over the role of the pro-Beijing Ethiopian head of the WHO, Beijing malevolently declared that Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus had been described as 'negro' by '80 French parliamentarians' critical of his relationship with China. They did no such thing. But in China itself, in recent weeks, there has been appalling racism directed against its own African migrant workers, supposedly justified on the basis that they are asymptomatic transmitters of Covid-19 to the indigenous population. Local staff in a McDonald's in Guangzhou, the centre of the African diaspora in China, put up a sign declaring: 'From now on, black people are not allowed to enter the restaurant.' Local staff in a McDonald's in Guangzhou, the centre of the African diaspora in China, put up a sign declaring: 'From now on, black people are not allowed to enter the restaurant' Hundreds of African migrant workers and students were tossed out of their accommodation and onto the streets by landlords and local officials. The result was that a dozen African countries summoned their Chinese ambassadors. One such carpeting was filmed, showing the representative from Beijing squirming as the speaker of the Kenyan parliament expressed his fury at the racism displayed in China to his co-nationals. Given the importance of Africa in Beijing's drive for the raw materials needed for its own sustenance and prosperity, this is highly embarrassing. But nowhere near as embarrassing as our own continuingly cosy relationship with the Communist dictatorship that lied to the world about Covid-19. HAS COVID CLAIMED OBESE KIM? The health statisticians tell us that obese people of all ages have been disproportionately numerous in the 'died from Covid-19' column. This has set me thinking about the rumours of the death of the 36-year-old North Korean hereditary dictator, Kim Jong-un. The government of that intermittently starving nation had boasted 'there is not even one infected person in our republic'. Pictured: Kim Jong Un attends a session of the 5th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang last year Given it shares an 880-mile border with China, this is risible. Yet what I can say almost for certain, having studied many pictures of Kim Jong-un surrounded by his compulsorily adoring compatriots, is that the prodigiously pampered great leader is (or was) the only fat person in North Korea. Kim Jong-un ate all the pies. Perhaps we should add him to the statisticians' chart showing the obese as the most vulnerable to Covid-19. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 26) A music video about the Philippines and China's so-called partnership as "friendly neighbors across the sea" has been making the rounds on social media, but Filipino netizens are far from happy about it. Titled "Iisang Dagat," the song released by the Chinese Embassy in Manila last Friday was met with huge backlash online, mostly from the Filipino community taking a jab at the intent of its message amid China's assertion of rights to the West Philippine Sea areas Manila claims and occupies in the South China Sea. "'Iisang Dagat' and yet you are acting as if that body of water is only yours. In the first place, if it's a shared body water, why are you building military structures on it and harassing ships from other countries? Your propaganda contradicts your actions!" said Epi Fabonan III on Facebook. "Its so funny how they titled this 'Iisang Dagat' when its not at all??? Were all together as one is what they say, but they keep on grabbing islands that are supposed to belong to the Philippines," said YouTube user Iroha Nekomura. "And to think that the Chinese warship targetting PH navy issue is also still pretty recent??? Who thought this was a f***** good idea even?" "Brace yourselves, Chinese propaganda machine is churning in our shores! Tasteless and disgusting," said Twitter user Mae Chatto. The music video, which was purportedly dedicated to those who contributed to the COVID-19 fight from both countries, has already garnered 335,000 views on Facebook, 12,000 of which came along with waves of angry reactions on the platform. On YouTube, the video already earned 273,000 views, with 95,000 dislikes and only 1,000 likes to date. Even Camarines Sur Vice Governor and local music icon Imelda Papin, who lent her voice to the song, was not spared from criticisms of disappointed netizens. "Magkaiba ang pagkakaisa ng mga Pilipino at pakiki-isa sa China. Yung una, makabayan. Yung pangalawa, makapili. Traydor ka sa bayan Imelda Papin," said @hunterei. [Translation: The unity among Filipinos is different from promoting solidarity with China. The first one shows patriotism, the second one shows a traitor. You're a traitor, Imelda Papin.] "I can't even find the right word to express my disgust," said @nylranozid on Twitter. The Chinese Embassy noted that the song, written by Ambassador Huang Xilian, reflects both countries "demonstrating a new era partnership of mutual support during trying times and the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind advocated by the Chinese President Xi Jinping." "Just as the lyric goes, as friendly neighbors across the sea, China and the Philippines will continue to join hands and make every effort to overcome the COVID-19 at the earliest!" it added. Just a day before the song was released, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. announced that the Philippines lodged two diplomatic protests against China for pointing a radar gun at a Philippine Navy ship in the Kalayaan Island Group and declaring parts of Philippine territory as parts of Hainan province "both violations of international law and Philippine sovereignty." Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario previously said that China's recent movements involving the disputed waters show that it has been "relentless in exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic" to pursue its "illegal and expansive claims" in the South China Sea. A 2016 ruling by a Hague-based arbitral tribunal backed by the Permanent Court of Arbitration voided Chinas sweeping claims over virtually the entire South China Sea based on so-called historical rights, but Beijing continues to reject this decision. President Rodrigo Duterte has nurtured ties with China, despite its continued aggression in the West Philippine Sea. CNN Philippines' Xave Gregorio and Eimor Santos contributed to this report. The European Parliament still has concerns that funds for the common agricultural policy, the CAP, will be raided over the next seven years as part of the massive rebooting of the European economy after the Covid-19 crisis , the parliaments vice chair Mairead McGuinness has said. EU leaders agreed last week at an emergency summit for the European Commission to map out ways of using a 1 trillion-plus package to help teetering businesses across Europe. In a move to placate deep differences between member states on ways of funding a rescue package, leaders fell short of endorsing burden-sharing through issuing corona bonds to fund the costs that have crippled Italy, in particular, and have left even small economies like Irelands facing enormous costs as unemployment soars to over 25% this summer. The divisions have pitted the so-called frugal northern European states such as Austria and the Netherlands against many other states, led by Italy and France, and including Ireland. On Friday, continental European stock indices ended lower on fears the EU will in the end come up short in committing a big enough rescue package for a European economy that was already faltering before the onset of the deadly Covid-19 disease. Ms McGuinness said that the mechanism agreed in using the still-to-be agreed EUs next seven-year budget for 2021 to 2027 nonetheless marked a step in healing the differences over coronabonds. The Commission will now have to come up with something imaginative in terms of details in the coming weeks, she told the Irish Examiner. She also thought that it significant Germany takes over the presidency of the EU this summer and that Angela Merkel will be seeking to steer Europe into funding the huge costs entailed by the crisis across the continent. However, Ms McGuinness said there were already concerns well before the Covid-19 crisis that programmes such as the CAP would not be properly funded under the next budget and the crisis has only heightened those concerns. From an Irish point of view, there were already concerns about the budget from 2021 to 2027 because there is a division among the member states," she said. "And there is a fear that instead of increasing the contributions -- and this is before the Covid-19 crisis -- there was a mood of retrenchment among the more frugal member states," Ms McGuinness added. In light of Covid-19, we would need to be very conscious that the budget funds are not used for the recovery because the Irish foods and agriculture and supply chain will also need support now and when this crisis ends to deal with the closure of the food services industry. She detected a feeling among the Council of Ministers that an unprecedented package is needed to restart the economy but "the bazooka" will be needed for Ireland and the rest of Europe for SMEs. An executive at JPMorgan Chase gets unapologetic messages from colleagues on nights and weekends, including a notably demanding one on Easter Sunday. A web designer whose bedroom doubles as an office has to set an alarm to remind himself to eat during his non-stop workday. At Intel Corp., a vice president with four kids logs 13-hour days while attempting to juggle her parenting duties and her job. Six weeks into a nationwide work-from-home experiment with no end in sight, whatever boundaries remained between work and life have almost entirely disappeared. With many living a few steps from their offices, Americas always-on work culture has reached new heights. The 9-to-5 workday, or any semblance of it, seems like a relic of a bygone era. Long gone are the regretful formalities for calling or emailing at inappropriate times. Burnt-out employees feel like they have even less free time than when they wasted hours commuting. I honest to goodness am wearing the exact same outfit that I started with on Monday, Rachel Mushahwar, the vice president and general manager of US sales and marketing at Intel, said in an interview last Thursday. I think Ive showered three times. Some predicted the great work-from-home migration of the pandemic would usher-in a new age of flexible work arrangements. As of 2017, only 3 per cent of full-time workers in the US said they primarily worked out of a home office in a Census Bureau survey. Then millions sheltered at home for what was originally thought to be a temporary hiatus. Many mapped out plans to fill time they wouldve spent commuting to take up new hobbies, like learning a foreign language, baking or getting into the best shape of their lives. It looked like the beginnings of a telecommuting revolution. A month and a half later, people are overworked, stressed, and eager to get back to the office. In the US, homebound employees are logging three hours more per day on the job than before city and state-wide lockdowns, according to data from NordVPN, which tracks when users connect and disconnect from its service. Out of all countries that NordVPN tracks, US workers had tacked on the most hours. In France, Spain, and the UK, the day has stretched an additional two hours, NordVPNs data found. Italy saw no change at all. The contours of the workday have changed, too. Without commutes, wake-up times have shifted later, NordVPN found, but peak email time has crept up an hour to 9am, according to data from email client Superhuman. Employees are also logging back in late at night. Surfshark, another VPN provider, has seen spikes in usage from midnight to 3am that were not present before the Covid-19 outbreak. Huda Idrees, the chief executive officer of Dot Health, a Toronto-based technology startup, confirms her 15 employees are working, on average, 12-hour days, up from nine hours pre-pandemic. Were at our computers very early because theres no commute time, she said. And because no one is going out in the evenings, were also always there. One big problem is theres no escape. With nothing much to do and nowhere to go, people feel like they have no legitimate excuse for being unavailable. One JPMorgan employee interrupted his morning shower to join an impromptu meeting after seeing a message from a colleague on his Apple Watch. By the time he dried off and logged back on, he was five minutes late. Despite some US cities being on lockdown, working from home has been more intense for some people than going to work in person (Getty) (Some people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they didnt want to be seen as complaining about telecommuting while millions of Americans lose their jobs or risk their lives on the front lines.) Then theres the fact that people have turned their living spaces into makeshift offices, making it nearly impossible to disconnect. Having an extra room helps, but not much, said John Foster, who has been home in Tuscumbia, Alabama, since mid-March doing financial compliance for a manufacturing company. His workspace is right next to the living room. You walk by 20 times a day, he said. Every time you pass there, youre not escaping work. At this point, he even misses his commute. Usually you have that downtime to drive home or to kind of get ramped up for the day, he said. Others say they feel pressure from bosses to prove theyre working, especially as the economy takes a hit and the prospect of layoffs looms. At Constellation Software Inc. in Toronto, more than 100 employees got an email from a superior that said: Dont get distracted because you are on your own. It is easy to get into bad habits, the lure of the Internet, the endless box sets. Just think, would I do this in the office? If its a no, dont do it, read the email reviewed by Bloomberg. You know we will be watching closely, the same manager wrote in an earlier message. A Constellation Software representative didnt return phone and email messages seeking comment. In reality, despite stereotypes that telecommuting breeds slacking, early data suggest productivity is up, at least at some companies. Weve seen, anecdotally, some increases in productivity for some of our developers as theyre hunkered and focused at home, Bank of New York Mellon Corp. Chief Financial Officer Mike Santomassimo said. Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Show all 26 1 /26 Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town An empty street in Manhattan borough following the outbreak of coronavirus disease in New York City Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town A cab drives down at Seventh Avenue in Times Square Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Manhattan Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Syracuse University campus is seen almost empty as number of universities are moving all classes to e-learning, due to the coronavirus outbreak Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Manhattan Empty street is seen near Lincoln tunnel Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Manhattan An empty restaurant Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Manhattan Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Manhattan Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Manhattan Empty chairs are seen near Hudson yards Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Manhattan Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Manhattan An empty restaurant Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town A mobile souvenir shop sits in an empty parking lot at Allianz Field as a match between the New York Red Bulls at Minnesota United FC is postponed USA Today Sports/Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Manhattan Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Manhattan An empty Jacob K Javits Convention Center Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Syracuse University A person sits in an empty eating hall Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Manhattan Empty parking lots Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Manhattan Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Manhattan Jacob K Javits Convention Center Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Seventh Avenue Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Manhattan Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Manhattan Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Manhattan Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Manhattan Empty retail stores Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Manhattan Empty street is seen outside the New York Times building Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Manhattan Empty parking lots Reuters Coronavirus turns New York into a ghost town Manhattan Reuters At JPMorgan, where 70 per cent of the banks quarter-million employees are working remotely, productivity has gone up for certain types of jobs, as workers spend less time going to meetings, attending town halls or completing training sessions, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. A JPMorgan spokesperson declined to comment. An internal case study at Publicis Sapient, an IT consulting company that tracked work by 410 employees on roughly 40 tech-focused projects for a large New York-based investment bank also found a productivity bump. Between 16 March and 10 April, tasks were completed at either the same rate or faster than those before the crisis. When youre virtual youre less distracted-nobodys disappearing for coffee for a while or going and disappearing to socialize, Dave Donovan, who leads the Americas global financial-services practice for Publicis Sapient, said. Clients are more reachable too. Given the early results, Mr Donovan thinks remote work is here to stay. Once the genies out of the bottle its not going to go back. The gains havent come without costs. By early April, about 45 per cent of workers said they were burnt out, according to a survey of 1,001 US employees by Eagle Hill Consulting. Almost half attributed the mental toll to an increased workload, the challenge of juggling personal and professional life, and a lack of communication and support from their employer. Maintaining employee morale has proved difficult, said two-thirds of human resources professionals surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management earlier this month. Those crammed into smaller quarters are also at a higher risk of developing high blood pressure than colleagues with extra rooms, according to preliminary research by Tessa West, an associate professor of psychology at New York University. Parents with kids at home are stretched particularly thin, as they squeeze work in between child-care duties, which now include virtual learning sessions. In two-thirds of married couples with children in the US, both parents work, leaving nobody available to watch the kids while the other partner is on the job. For Ms Mushahwar, the Intel executive, theres no winning. She feels guilty if she neglects her kids and guilty if she neglects her work, she said. I burnt the bacon between conference calls. That was the morning, said Ms Mushahwar, whos caring for four children, ages 8 to 14, along with doing a full-time job. A 31-year-old web designer at a medium-sized software company said hes starting to lose steam working 12-hour days from his tiny bedroom to meet demands of clients and supervisors, who expect him to immediately respond to phone calls and emails, even on the weekends. His apartment doesnt have an office and his roommates, a woman and her small child, play and watch TV in the living room. The setup has made it impossible to disconnect from work, but he feels pressure to work harder than normal. Some of his colleagues have already been laid off. Recognising productivity gains may be short-lived if workers burn out, some employers are attempting to help people cope. Goldman Sachs gave staff an extra 10 days of family leave; Microsoft is offering its workers an additional 12 weeks of parental leave. At Starbucks Corp., employees now get 20 free therapy sessions. Salesforce.com Inc. is running virtual meditation and workouts. But theres only so much companies can do with schools, daycares, and offices still closed for what seems like the indefinite future. Even the ambitious plan outlined by President Donald Trump for opening up the economy suggests students wouldnt return to schools for weeks. At this point, even kids are wondering when things will go back to the way they were. Last week, Ms Mushahwars 8-year-old asked when this was all going to end. I just sat at the breakfast table, the Intel executive said. I dont have a good answer for him. Bloomberg Princess Charlotte will spend her fifth birthday in isolation next Saturday, but will enjoy a video call with the royal family, a source has claimed. The daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who is currently isolating in Norfolk with her family, is likely to chat over the phone with her great-grandmother The Queen and other loved ones on her special day, a source told the Sun. In spite of the extraordinary circumstances around her birthday this year, Kate Middleton and Prince William have reportedly planned a fun day for their daughter's birthday on their Anmer Hall home. And the young royal does not seem to mind that her celebrations might be a bit different this year, as she is reportedly told to only be concerned about whether everyone would be united to wish her 'Happy Birthday.' Princess Charlotte will spend her fifth birthday in isolation next Saturday, but will enjoy a video call with the royal family. The daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who is currently isolating in Norfolk with her family, is likely to chat over the phone with her great-grandmother The Queen and other loved ones on her special day (pictured on her first day of school in September 2019 with her brother Prince George, six) 'The family has arranged a Zoom party for her, so she can speak to family and friends. Then, they have put together a full plan that will give her all the fun of a birthday including cake and games despite the extraordinary circumstances we are faced with,' a source said. 'Her great-grandmother will be joining the family call on the big day. As far as Charlotte is concerned, the important part is that her whole family are by her side to say: "Happy Birthday".' The source went on to say that the young princess, who is used to tablets and video calls, will not be fazed by spending her birthday in isolation. It is hoped Prince Philip, 98, currently isolating with the Queen at Windsor Castle, will be able to join the call. The Queen will take part in a video call to mark Charlotte's fifth birthday, on Saturday 2 May next week (pictured during her address to the nation on April 5) The source went on to say that the Duke of Edinburgh had taken a special interest in his great-granddaughter due to their shared 'mischievous' streak. The two are said to have enjoyed a lot of time together, as Anmer Hall is close to the Sandringham Estate, where Philip has been staying since retiring in 2017. This week, the Cambridges celebrated Prince Louis' second birthday at the estate by sharing picture of the adorable royal Taken at Anmer Hall, their Norfolk home, this month by his doting mother Kate, they show that Louis is growing up fast. Gone are the little wisps of baby hair and chubby face we have been used to seeing. Instead he is now a proper cheeky little boy, full of life just like his brother, Prince George, six, and sister. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge shared adorable snaps of Prince Louis playing with paint to mark his second birthday on April 22 (pictured) The young royal (pictured) seemed delighted to be playing with the rainbow-coloured paint as his doting mother Kate snapped his picture Prince William, 37, Kate Middleton, 38, Prince George, 6, Princess Charlotte, 4, and Prince Louis, 1, are bunking down at the spacious country mansion, and the Cambridge children are said to be enjoying roaming the acres of land. William and Kate, whose main residence is Kensington Palace headed to their 10-bedroom country mansion on Saturday 28 March, announcing they were launching a 5million scheme today to support the nation's mental health at a time of high anxiety during the lockdown. Spacious Anmer Hall, with its 20,000 estate, is a perfect playground for the Cambridge children. A source said the royal children were spending their time outdoors, whether it was bird or insect watching, climbing on their climbing wall or dipping their toes in the estate's swimming pool. I'm always driving, going back-and-forth between nursing homes, the hospital, and the morgue. All these roads should be empty if you ask me. But now I see people out running errands, rushing back into their lives, and it's like: "Why? What reason could possibly be good enough?" Sometimes, I think about stopping and showing them one of the empty body bags I have in the trunk. "You might end up here. Is that worth it for a haircut or a hamburger?" You start to think that way as a coroner, especially now. I get fed up. I know the governor told us we could go ahead and reopen in Georgia. I understand businesses are hurting and people need to work. But I see these folks out and about and I wonder: "Is this another death I'll have to pronounce?" My work never shut down. I've been busier than ever during all this. For six weeks now, I've been answering calls in the middle of the night, taking pictures at the scene, notifying families, trying to get those family members tested. We've had more deaths in the last month here in Albany than we normally have in six months. This is a small community, but we're ground zero for what they call community spread. Our greatest strength has been turned against us. We're close-knit, social people down here. We shake hands. We hug. We go to church and hold onto each other, and this virus takes advantage and keeps passing right along. Our hospital is full, and they're opening up another emergency unit to create more space. We had 200 more people test positive just last week. We've got so many sick in Albany that they're shipping some to Atlanta to find space. My cousin's up there now on a vent with this virus, and it isn't looking so good. Nothing's looking so good. We're right in the thick of fighting this thing, but all of the sudden this is the time to reopen? This is the moment for a tattoo or a trip to the gym? I don't believe in getting hysterical. It's doesn't do any good. This is a numbers-and-facts job. But we have numbers and facts that are screaming out by themselves. I deliver an update to the town each week on the death toll. I put on a shirt and tie and a mask, and I go downtown to give a presentation. My whole refrain in this has been: "Let's keep it below 100 deaths." At first, people thought that number was impossibly high. Crazy. One hundred is a lot in a place where it seems like everybody knows just about everybody. But when I gave the update three weeks ago, we were at 49 deaths. The next week it was 67. Then 84. I gave my last presentation a few days ago, and we'd hit 102. By the time I got back to my office, the phone was ringing again, and within a few hours, we were at 107. It's been so bad for so long that some people here say they're starting to lose count. Maybe so. But I never lose count. We have less than 90,000 people in this county, and close to 1,500 have already tested positive. All I do is keep counting. I'd like to lie and say we were perfectly trained and prepared for something like this to hit - that all of us on the front lines in Albany were waiting and ready. I'm no rookie. I've counted and examined the dead and done forensics after all kinds of major disasters. I've had three back surgeries from moving bodies. You get your floods and your tornadoes down here in south Georgia. But we're 30 miles from the nearest highway, and our airport has maybe two or three flights a day back-and-forth to Atlanta. You feel a little removed from what's happening in China or Rome or even New York. The first alarm started going off in Albany on March 15. It was evening time. I got a call at home about a new case, and I went out to the residence. This was a 43-year-old black female. At first, the process was routine. Usually, when the first responders are done, it's my job to pronounce the death and take a look at the body. I take pictures, look for any medications, talk to the family, fill out the paperwork, and decide if we need to do an autopsy. Sometimes, the body gives away secrets. With an alcoholic, you might see a little clubbing of the fingers, and heart disease can show up as a swollen leg. But this time, I couldn't see anything. There was no evidence of foul play or anything suspicious. I went out and talked to the family. I prayed with them a bit and then asked all my questions. I'm a pastor, and I like to put hands on people when we're talking, listen to their concerns, really get to know them. This family kept repeating her symptoms: high fever, aches, coughing, lots of trouble breathing. It sounded straight out of what I'd been hearing on the news. I said: "Have you heard about the coronavirus? I think we better get her tested." It was a hunch, really. Right away, I had this bad feeling. There were 20 people coming and going in that house, grieving and paying their respects, and who knows how many of them were already infected. There was a rumor going around at that time that maybe black people couldn't get this virus. We were dealing with all kinds of confusion and misinformation. Nobody in that home was wearing a mask or gloves or doing any social distancing. At that point, neither was I. I sent her body to be tested, went home and tried to get back to sleep, but I got two more calls later that night. One was at a nursing home, and the other was in the ER. Same symptoms. Both suspected cases. In one night, we went from zero deaths up to three, and that's how it's been going ever since. It explodes outward in waves like a bomb. One person has it and goes to church, and pretty soon half the pew is testing positive. I console people on the death of their relative one week and end up pronouncing them the next. I never thought this job could give me nightmares. I've been lucky that way, and it's probably why I've lasted so long. I worked at a rubber factory here in town until it closed in 1986, and as part of the layoff, they offered a few of us free tuition to school for mortuary science. It started off as kind of a joke. I'd never seen or touched a dead body. They had us living in a funeral home in Atlanta, and that first night we got called to a wreck on I-20. A girl had flipped her car. It was a decapitation. We searched the highway with a flashlight, and after we finally found everything, I went home and I slept OK. That's when I first starting thinking this must be what God wanted of me. You see a lot of haunting things doing this work. I believe it has to be a calling. Most of the time, you're seeing natural causes, but an average week might have homicides, suicides, drug overdoses, car crashes, child deaths, drowning. Bodies get cold and harder to move. Muscles start to stiffen. We had a flood come through and wash out more than 503 graves a while back, and I spent months sorting bones and skeletons. I've worked 23 international disasters, from a plane crash in Guam to the tsunami in Thailand to nine weeks sorting remains at the World Trade Center. I try not to remember individual cases. I do my examination and write down the circumstances and the cause of death, and then I tell myself: "Okay. It's gone." I pray on it and I move on. I trained myself to do that. But what I'm learning lately is, it's a lot harder when the body you're zipping up is a face you know or a face of someone you love. I've lived here my whole life. At least 30 of these victims are people I knew by name or considered friends. Six of our preachers have died. Probably at least seven or eight more from church. Two neighbors. Three school friends. The probate judge who had the office next to mine at the courthouse. These are my contemporaries. I'm 62. We've had 36 people here die in their 60s, and at least a dozen more who were younger than that. I try not to count down the days or make projections about when all of this is going to be over. The truth is, it's starting to become routine. I always stand six feet away from the families. I always wear my space suit whenever I'm anywhere near a body. I always take off my clothes and have my wife spray me down with Lysol as soon as I get home. The chamber of commerce has gone ahead and given me a tractor trailer with shelves to store extra bodies, which I might need depending on how reopening goes and how many more cases we get. The phone calls used to wake me up at all hours of the night. Now, I'm usually up waiting. Phuket COVID relief drive targets Patongs invisible ones PHUKET: A relief campaign to provide food to people left without any income due to the COVID-19 crisis has set its sights on helping migrant workers on the fringes of Patong. COVID-19Coronaviruseconomics By The Phuket News Sunday 26 April 2020, 07:27PM Getting food to people who need it. Photo; Dave HalfwayInn Wilson Getting food to people who need it. Photo; Dave HalfwayInn Wilson Getting food to people who need it. Photo; Dave HalfwayInn Wilson Getting food to people who need it. Photo; Dave HalfwayInn Wilson Getting food to people who need it. Photo; Dave HalfwayInn Wilson Getting food to people who need it. Photo; Dave HalfwayInn Wilson The COVID 19 Appeal 14th April 2020 campaign began just 12 days ago, and after two days raising support was able to deliver 350 relief bags to people in need. The campaign was inspired by Rawai Food Relief efforts launched by Nick Fawcus Robsinson of ScubaNicks, explains Dave HalfwayInn Wilson, who opened the Halfway Inn in Soi Kebsup, Patong, nine years ago. So far, the combined efforts of the campaign have provided 2,200 relief bags to people in need. We go out to the extremities of Patong, the shanty town workers camps where the people who fall through the Thai government security net are, Dave explains. We are raising money to buy basic staple foods to distribute to people not protected by the Thai social security system, mainly very poor Thai and Burmese migrant workers. The campaign started April 14 and two days later we started handing out the relief bags. On Day 1 we handed out 350 bags, but we scaled that down to a steady 200 bags a day, he adds. The relief bags cost about B100 a bag, The bags contains staple foods rice, noodles, canned mackerel, water, fish sauce, cooking oil and even pak boong morning glory vegetable to make sure there are at least some greens in there, Dave says. To make that possible is a team of about 10 volunteers, including staffers from the Halfway Inn, which is currently closed by choice (restaurants can still serve takeaway under the current lockdown restrictions), and volunteers from neighbouring bars and restaurants, all working together alongside Daves wife Nan packing bags every day. Dave explained that the key suppliers in the campaign included Makro and Big C, where most of the goods are bought. Helping driving the fundraising and paying for food items out of their own money, and helping to deliver the food every day has been retired commercial pilot John Reddick by contacting friends back home and Guy Arthur Jung, General Manager of Ocean Rock Kalim, who also helps by organising fundraising. Direct fundraising efforts including donations pledged and pending so far total over B383,000, which has allowed the team to provide relief bags that in total have seen 3,640kg of rice, 11,010 eggs, 3,732 bottles of drinking water and 740 cans of mackerel provided to people in need. Joining the campaign is renowned tattoo franchise Celebrity Ink, which has launched a GoFundMe campaign, Feeding families in their time of need, which has so far raised just under AUS$3,000. Tikky Aunmaung, who launched the Go Fund Me campaign, explained, Celebrity Inks heart and soul originated in the beautiful country of Thailand seven years ago surrounded and supported by the Thai community. Over the past few years, as our brand has grown, the encouragement and positivity of the Thai, Myanmar, Indonesian, Vietnam and Pilipino people has never wavered, and in the face of this current global COVID-19 crisis, we recognise we could not just stand by and do nothing. As a worldwide brand with not a single studio door open, the Celebrity Ink team are making it our mission to use this time to improve the circumstances of those less fortunate as ourselves. We may not have jobs, but we have food in our bellies and a roof over our head. The Thailand and Philippine communities arent so lucky. Within the boundaries of Patong, Kuta, Siargao and Ho Chi Minh are some of the countrys poorest communities residing in shantytowns with little to eat, Tikky adds. To make a donation through the GoFundMe page, click here. To make a direct donation, contact Dave through the COVID 19 Appeal 14th April 2020 Facebook page or through Daves personal Facebook page. Send me a message and I will send bank details. I recommend you use Transferwise (only 3% charges), which gets funds where needed in less than four hours OR GoFundMe (around 1% charges), says Dave. Transfer money in dollars, pounds, euros, rubles, rand, kroner NOT Thai baht. The reason for this is so that it makes it easy for me to identify WHO made the donation, he advises. Send a jpeg, png, screenshot as soon as you make your payment, to confirm that a donation has been made. Dave further advised: Cheapest way to send money, avoiding HUGE bank commission (someone donated GBP 50 and paid GBP 32.50 in charges) is to click on one of the following links: GoFundME (There is a fee of 2.9% plus $0.30 fee per donation on GoFundMe) Transferwise Fees: GBP 0.7%, AUD 0.95%, USD 1.22%, NZD 1.076%, CAD 1.434%, EUR 1.174% A full breakdown of all donations received and how the money is spent is posted publicly on the COVID 19 Appeal 14th April 2020 Facebook page. As Italy prepares to emerge from the West's first and most extensive coronavirus lockdown, it is increasingly clear that something went terribly wrong in Lombardy, the hardest-hit region in Europe's hardest-hit country. Italy had the bad luck of being the first Western country to be slammed by the outbreak, and its official total of 26,000 fatalities lags behind only the U.S. in the global death toll. Italy's first homegrown case was recorded Feb. 21, at a time when the World Health Organization was still insisting the virus was containable and not nearly as infectious as the flu. But there also is evidence that demographics and health care deficiencies collided with political and business interests to expose Lombardy's 10 million people to COVID-19 in ways unseen anywhere else, particularly the most vulnerable in nursing homes. Virologists and epidemiologists say what went wrong there will be studied for years, given how the outbreak overwhelmed a medical system long considered one of Europe's best, while in neighboring Veneto, the impact was significantly more controlled. Prosecutors, meanwhile, are deciding whether to lay any criminal blame for the hundreds of dead in nursing homes, many of whom don't even figure into Lombardy's official death toll of 13,269, half of Italy's total. By contrast, Lombardy's front-line doctors and nurses are being hailed as heroes f or risking their lives to treat the sick under extraordinary levels of stress, exhaustion, isolation and fear. One WHO official said it was a miracle they saved as many as they did. Here's a look at the perfect storm of what went wrong in Lombardy, based on interviews with doctors, union representatives, mayors and virologists, as well as reports from the Superior Institute of Health, national statistics agency ISTAT and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which advises developed economies on policy. Italy was the first European country to halt all air traffic with China on Jan. 31, and even put scanners in airports to check arrivals for fever. But by Jan. 31, it was already too late. Epidemiologists now say the virus had been circulating widely in Lombardy since early January, if not before. Doctors treating pneumonia in January and February didn't know it was the coronavirus, since the symptoms were so similar and the virus was still believed to be largely confined to China. Even after Italy registered its first homegrown case Feb. 21, doctors didn't understand the unusual way COVID-19 could present itself, with some patients experiencing a rapid decline in their ability to breathe. After a phase of stabilization, many deteriorated quickly. This was clinical information we didn't have, said Dr. Maurizio Marvisi, a pneumologist at a private clinic in hard-hit Cremona. There was practically nothing in the medical literature. Because Lombardy's intensive care units were already filling up within days of Italy's first cases, many primary care physicians tried to treat and monitor patients at home. Some put them on supplemental oxygen, commonly used for home cases in Italy. That strategy proved deadly, and many died at home or soon after hospitalization, having waited too long to call an ambulance. Reliance on home care will probably be the determining factor of why we have such a high mortality rate in Italy," Marivi said. Italy was forced to use home care in part because of its low ICU capacity: After years of budget cuts, Italy entered the crisis with 8.6 ICU beds per 100,000 people, well below the OECD average of 15.9 and a fraction of Germany's 33.9, the group said. As a result, primary care physicians became the front-line filter of virus patients, an army of mostly self-employed practitioners who work outside Italy's regional hospital system. Since only those with strong symptoms were being tested because Lombardy's labs couldn't process more, these family doctors didn't know if they themselves were infected, much less their patients. With so little clinical information available, doctors also had no guidelines on when to admit patients or refer them to specialists. And being outside the hospital system, they didn't have the same access to protective masks and equipment. The region was extremely behind in giving us protective equipment and it was inadequate, because the first time, they gave us 10 surgical masks and gloves, said Dr. Laura Turetta in the city of Varese. Obviously for our close contact with patients, it wasn't the correct way to protect ourselves. The Lombardy doctors' association issued a blistering letter April 7 to regional authorities listing seven errors" in their handling of the crisis, key among them the lack of testing for medical personnel, the lack of protective equipment and the lack of data about the contagion. The regional government and civil protection agency defended its efforts, but acknowledged that Italy was dependent on imports and donations of protective equipment and simply didn't have enough to go around. Some 20,000 Italian medical personnel have been infected and 150 doctors have died. Two days after registering Italy's first case in the province of Lodi, sparking a quarantine in 10 towns, another positive case was registered more than an hour's drive away in Alzano in Bergamo province. Whereas the emergency room of the Lodi-area hospital was closed, the Alzano ER reopened after a few hours of cleaning, becoming a main source of contagion. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) School News Related to: Community Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has announced a donation of Dh1 million ($272,220) to provide 125,000 meals to communities affected by the coronavirus outbreak in the UAE, as part of the countrys biggest food distribution drive. The 10 million meals campaign, launched on Sunday, enables individuals and institutions to make financial and in-kind donations towards providing meals or food parcels to low-income individuals and families across the country throughout the holy month of Ramadan. In the first few days of its launch, the campaign continues to attract numerous donations from different segments of the society. In a statement, Mohammed Al Fahim, ADIBS deputy head of corporate social responsibility said, The 10 million meals campaign reflects UAEs deeply-rooted values of generosity and giving, evident in the solidarity it has created that is manifested in the massive engagement it continues to draw from institutions and the general alike. ADIBs contribution is part of its commitment to corporate social responsibility through its year-long social initiatives and programmes that support education and provide vocational and skill training to empower communities. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced on Sunday the launch of the 10 million meals campaign to provide food support to families and individuals affected by the Covid-19 pandemic that left many facing unemployment and income reductions. The campaign will be led by his wife Her Highness Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of UAE Food Bank. The overarching Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) will oversee the 10 million meals campaign in collaboration with the Social Solidarity Fund Against Covid-19. Four ways to donate Individuals and entities can make financial or in-kind donations to provide food assistance to people in need as part of the 10 million meals campaign. Donors can purchase a preferred number of meals online at www.10millionmeals.ae to be distributed to disadvantaged individuals and families across the country. They can also donate via SMS (Etisalat and Du) to numbers listed on the website. Donors can make a transfer to 10 million meals campaign bank account at Dubai Islamic Bank with IBAN no.:AE430240001580857000001. For in-kind contributions, donors have the chance to provide packaged or canned food supplies or arrange food parcels for distribution through directly contacting the campaigns organising team on the toll-free number 8004006. - TradeArabia News Service This past Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. When Earth Day began, it was a demand for all to take the treatment of the earth more seriously. It is interesting to note that on April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets in protest. That was roughly 10 percent of the population. That event gave rise to the environmental movement and is recognized as the largest civic event on the planet. It can be said with great certainty that this year was quite different. This year finds everyone engaged in addressing a global pandemic. There is virtually no corner of this globe that isnt being impacted. The coronavirus pandemic is everywhere. While this virus is active, there are various opinions about whether or not to wear masks. There are opinions about social distancing and there certainly are opinions about the astronomical rates of unemployment claims that just continue to rise. Some say that this is a medical crisis. Others are clear that this is an economic crisis. There are still others who declare that this is a political trick. The theories are out there, but for the person who is sick with the virus, they know with firsthand certainty that it is a medical situation. For folks who find themselves out of work with no source of income, they know it as a financial crisis. Who is listening to Mother Earth? Where is the obligation for the earth? There is nothing like the lessons one learns from mother in those critical times of challenge or crisis Those lessons stay with us and under these conditions, this is no different. Since the outbreak of this pandemic, there have been some dramatic observations: 1. In the weeks of the global lockdown, the canals of Venice are now flowing clear. The waters were polluted; all that could be seen was sludge. It is reported that the waters are clear and fish can be seen from the surface of the water. 2. In the town of Wuhan, China, where it is believed that this all began, the pollution that once clouded the skies has dissipated; the air has been tested to be 30 percent cleaner than before this pandemic. 3. There are similar reports coming out of Italy. Since the lockdown, there has been a 50 percent reduction in pollution. 4. Conduct your own test locally. The air has to be lighter and cleaner wherever you are as there are fewer contributors to dispensing pollution into the air. The earth is in small ways healing before our very eyes. We are witnessing a transformation if we choose to pay attention. We are seeing some folks pass away and others are surviving. Mother Earth is asking those who make it, what will you do as a survivor? As a survivor, what will you do on the other side when this is behind us? What does this have to do with faith, you might ask? This has everything to do with faith. Mother Earths faith in this world is what this is all about. COVID-19 is a symptom of our inattention. This reflects a lack of attention to all of the ill conditions that we have created. Our racial, economic and social disparities are being highlighted. These conditions are not new nor is our inattention. It could be said that COVID-19 has garnered our full attention. Mother Earth is asking whether she has our attention. Mother Earth is asking whether we can be trusted to take care. The way in which we care for the earth is a direct reflection of how we care for each other. You need not listen to the various pundits to form your opinion. Listen instead to Mother Earth. Look for the healing. After things settle down, remember that Mother Earth has faith in you. Do not disappoint Mother. The Rev. Dr. Leon Bailey is pastor of The Church of Bethlehem in Milford. The death of an economic icon, Prof. Ibrahim Ayagi; Professor of Physiology, Prof. Aliyu Abdullahi Umar Dikko; Regional Manager of First Bank in Kano, Abdullahi Lawal; erstwhile Managing Director of the Defunct Continental Merchant Bank; and Mallam Musa Ahmad Tijjani, ex-Editor of Leadership Sunday and Triumph newspapers, and four other illustrious personalities after brief illness not necessarily linked to the deadly pandemic has raised eyebrows in the ancient city. However, the COVID-19 Testing Centre in Kano State has been shut down since Wednesday because it was learnd that most of the workers got infected. It was gathered that not a few suspect that the eminent personalities, who just died, might have succumbed to the strange illness since there was no evidence of their being tested for Coronavirus since the COVID-19 Testing Centre in Kano has been shut down with no definite date for resumption of the test in the most populous state in Nigeria. Their demise, PRNigeria gathered, occurred within a space of 24 hours. The number of those who died was put at over 150. They all died between April 24 and 25, 2020. The other high-profile personalities include Alhaji Adam Iliyasu Dal, a former Chairman of the Kano State Civil Service Commission; Nasiru Maikano Bichi; Dr. Musa Umar Gwarzo; and Ustaz Dahiru Rabiu, who is a former Grand Khadi of Kano State. The late Prof. Ayagi was a Commissioner for Economic Development in the State from 1975 to 1978, just as he was also a former Director-General of Kano Foundation from 1987 to 1990. Ayagi, who is also the proprietor of Hassan Ibrahim Gwarzo College in Kano, died on Saturday after a protracted illness at the age 80. Prof. Dikko was former Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the Bayero University Kano. He was involved in the opening of three faculties of Medicine/Basic Medical Sciences in Bayero University, Kaduna State University and Yusuf Maitama Sule University. As for Lawal, PRNigeria gathered that the First Bank Regional Manager in Kano died from a suspected case of COVID-19. Family sources said immediately the late Banker took ill, he was first put on admission at a private clinic, from where he was referred to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. Sources said the late Lawal, who was in his early 50s, was rushed to a private clinic after he suffered high fever, intermittent cough and respiratory hiccups without getting medical care, before he gave up the ghost. In an audio recording, the mother-in-law to the banker alleged that the negligence of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control in Kano led to the death of her son-in-law, as she cried out that her daughter and grandchildren be taken in for tests to confirm if they have contracted the dreaded COVID-19. The department of computer science of Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar, has designed an android application to streamline the process of food distribution. Through this app, NGOs and other corona warriors can know which family is in dire need of ration and which one has already been served. Elaborating about app, university spokesperson Bijender Dahiya said the app will also let small shopkeepers, fruit and vegetable vendors to receive orders online. He said this will help avoid unnecessary crowding outside the shops. Vice-chancellor Tankeshwar Kumar, who officially launched the app, said, One can download this application for free from the google play store. There are two types of modules in this app. One is the Easy Business module, which is for shopkeepers, booksellers, chemist shops, fruit and vegetable vendors where they can create their account and receive orders. The second module is named Easy, which is designed for the customer, donor and corona warriors who are engaged in the delivery of requisite items. Payment can be made in cash as well online. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The UK's trust in the government's handling of the Covid-19 crisis has plummeted as scientists desperately try to fight the illness. A public opinion poll, conducted by Opinium for the Observer, shows that for a second week in a row there has been a rise in the number of people losing trust in the country's leaders, with the government's disapproval rating rising from 26 per cent to 30 per cent. The drop in public confidence comes as the nation continues to control the scale of the pandemic as the UK death toll passed 20,000 yesterday up by 813 in 24 hours. According to the political poll, just seven per cent of the general public think the level of testing carried out by the government has been sufficient while an overwhelming 71 per cent have said it is insufficient and another 13 per cent said they were not sure. The public opinion poll, conducted by Opinium, shows that Britons are losing trust in the country's leaders, with the government's disapproval rating rising from 26 per cent to 30 per cent Another question saw that 71 per cent of the public felt that the current levels of testing in the UK have been insufficient The research also revealed that 62 per cent of the public did not think the government had acted fast enough while only 30 per cent felt the speed was sufficient. The poll, which comes as ministers including foreign secretary Dominic Raab and health secretary Matt Hancock face mounting pressure about their handling of the crisis, also showed that Britons felt countries such as Germany and South Korea had handled the crisis better. In another graph shared by Opinium, 24 per cent of those asked felt the UK had performed a lot worse that South Korea, while 27 per cent felt the country had handled the crisis a lot worse than Germany. The statistics also showed 16 per cent of the public felt the UK has also performed a lot worse than Australia and 14 per cent felt the nation had handled the situation worse than China. Adam Drummond of Opinium told The Observer that while the government had initially seen the public rally behind their efforts within a matter of weeks 'overall approval has fluctuated'. He said: 'However, now that we have been in lockdown for a few weeks and people are less scared of catching the virus themselves - though still worried about the situation - the focus of the news has started to include more specific aspects of the response, such as testing, where government failings have been put in the spotlight. 'Overall approval has fluctuated and ticked downwards but is still stronger than before the lockdown came into effect. 'People don't want the government to fail, which is why we see this gap between overall approval of their handling of the situation, which is still strong, and much lower approval on specific aspects of it, like testing or whether the government acted quickly enough.' The study also showed that 63 per cent of the public did not think the government has acted fast enough to prevent the virus One graph showed that 49 per cent of the public felt confident in the government's handling of the situation while 30 per cent did not Another graph showed 24 per cent of those asked felt the UK had performed a lot worse that South Korea The latest study comes as volunteers for an experimental coronavirus vaccine trial have received their first doses this week. Scientists at the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, begun the first human trial in Europe by administering the trial injections, which were developed in under three months, to more than 800 volunteers on Thursday. And Health Secretary Matt Hancock has insisted that Britons will be first in the queue for any successful UK-developed vaccine from the 42 million programmes. But Downing Street is refusing to make any promises over who will benefit first from the drug due to concerns another country might produce one first. The latest opinion poll comes as scientists at the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, begun the first human vaccine trial in Europe The study also comes an ministers including Dominc Raab face mounting pressure about their handling of the crisis A Department of Health and Social Care source told the Telegraph: 'If Britain is first to develop a vaccine he wants to make sure British people have first refusal.' The trial will see half of the candidates injected with the coronavirus vaccine, made from a weakened version of the common cold virus from chimpanzees, while the other half will be given a meningitis vaccine. Microbiologist and volunteer Elisa Granato told the BBC: 'Well I'm a scientist so of course I want to try and support the scientific process wherever I can and since I don't study viruses I felt a bit useless these days so I felt this is a very easy way for me to support the cause.' Apple has released a mobility tool that shows people living in America's hardest-hit coronavirus cities have all but stopped using public transport, are walking far less and are even driving less. The Mobility Trends Reports shows how movement tools around the world were impacted by COVID-19 since January 13. In New York City, where positive cases of coronavirus have hit more than 160,000 and more than 16,000 people have died - including probable cases - people have all but stopped using the subway. Apple has released a mobility tool that shows people living in America's hardest-hit coronavirus cities have all but stopped using public transport, are walking far less and are even driving less. Shown are the results for New York City In New York City, where positive cases of coronavirus have hit more than 160,000 and more than 16,000 people have died - including probable cases - people have all but stopped using the subway. New Yorkers are pictured social distancing on a subway train earlier this month Since lockdown orders came into play in March, ridership on public transit, which includes subways and buses, has decreased 86 per cent. And as more people stay home and less people are out during the day, even walking has decreased by 74 per cent and driving has dropped 48 per cent. To compile the data, Apple has used Apple Maps' tools to measure how people use different means of transport that the maps track. Apple said that the data is anonymized and aggregated to ease privacy concerns. In a statement, Apple said: 'Maps does not associate mobility data with a user's Apple ID, and Apple does not keep a history of where a user has been. Using aggregated data collected from Apple Maps, the new website indicates mobility trends for major cities and 63 countries or regions.' So far, there have been 978,104 cases in the US of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 55,059 deaths. Boston Using the tool to look at other hard-hit cities, ridership on public transit in Boston was down 83 per cent, while walking declined 69 per cent. The mobility report showed there also were 49 per cent fewer drivers. Boston, so far, has had 7,910 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 271 deaths. As the city's residents continue observing stay-at-home mandates, Boston joined other Massachusetts communities Friday in allowing permitted restaurants to sell grocery items via delivery, curbside pickup and takeout. Boston waived the required retail food permit for the sale of uncooked foods to improve local access to food and essential items, WCVB reports. Apple's mobility tool shows ridership on public transit in Boston was down 83 per cent, while walking declined 69 per cent. The tool showed there also were 49 per cent fewer drivers Andrew Johnston (L) and Jessie Stettin playing music from their 2nd floor apartment in Boston. The duo play music from their window at 7 pm for 30 minutes for whoever might enjoy listening, while following social distancing guideline during the coronavirus outbreak Philadelphia In Philadelphia, ridership on the city's subway trains and buses was down 74 per cent, while walking was down 46 per cent, according to the mobility tool. Driving in Philadelphia declined 33 per cent. Philadelphia has had more than 12,000 cases of the coronavirus and at least 466 deaths. Officials say the growth of COVID-19 cases appears to have plateaued in Philadelphia. However, it was still not at a safe-enough level for lifting lockdown mandates. Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania surged past 40,000 on Saturday, as the state prepared to reopen some of its less affected areas. In Philadelphia, ridership on the city's subway trains and buses was down 74 per cent, while walking was down 46 per cent, according to the mobility tool. Driving in Philadelphia declined 33 per cent People in masks stand on the street as a SEPTA bus passes by in Philadelphia this past week Washington, DC In Washington, DC, use of the city's Metro and public transit buses was down 82 per cent, according to the mobility tool. Walking was down 58 per cent and driving saw a 40 per cent decline. There have been 3,841 cases in the nation's capital of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 178 deaths. In order for Washington to meet the criteria and reach Phase 1 of the President Donald Trump's federal guidelines for reopening the country, the city must have two consecutive weeks of downward trending coronavirus case numbers. The city hasn't met that criteria yet. However, the average number of cases per day has shown signs of decreasing over the last week, WUSA reports. In Washington, DC, use of the city's Metro and public transit buses was down 82 per cent, according to the mobility tool. Walking was down 58 per cent and driving saw a 40 per cent decline A Metro subway train in Washington, D.C. is pictured empty this past week Atlanta In Atlanta, ridership on public transit was down 54 per cent, according to the mobility tool. Walking was down 25 per cent, while driving decline 19 per cent. Fulton County, where Atlanta is located, continues to lead the state with 2,543 cases out of 23,216. Georgia has had more than 900 deaths attributed to COVID-19. The state became one of the first states to ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions, as Governor Brian Kemp cast CDC cautions and even President Trump's criticism aside Friday, to allow some non-essential businesses to re-open. While anti-lockdown protests have gathered momentum nationwide, the scenes in Georgia after the reopening were far from the enthusiastic uptake for which Kemp must have hoped. Instead many stores remained shuttered and business owners and employees who spoke with DailyMail.com today told of their confusion, conflict and fear that this was a move made too soon. In Atlanta, ridership on public transit was down 54 per cent, according to the mobility tool. Walking was down 25 per cent, while driving decline 19 per cent Georgia became one of the first states to ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions Friday. Many stores remained shuttered and business owners and employees who spoke with DailyMail.com today told of their confusion, conflict and fear that this was a move made too soon Miami In Miami, ridership on public transit dropped 67 per cent and walking was down 48 per cent, according to the mobility tool. Driving dropped 42 per cent. Miami-Dade County, which includes Miami, has had 10,296 cases of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 287 deaths. A new study, however, has found that about six per cent of the county's residents have antibodies against COVID-19, 15 times more cases than the official tally, according to preliminary results. On Friday, the University of Miami said it estimated about 165,000 people had been infected at some point with the virus. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez told reporters at a press conference on Friday that the study's results reinforced why social distancing measures need to continue. 'Whatever measures we're going to do to open up, especially the outdoor spaces, is going to be done with those measures in mind,' he said, according to the Miami Herald. 'You're not going to be able to get close. You're going to have social distancing.' The findings also showed that Miami-Dade is not at the 60 percent infection rate needed for herd immunity, which when the vast majority of a community is infected or vaccinated so that, if a disease is introduced, it is unable to spread. In Miami, ridership on public transit dropped 67 per cent and walking was down 48 per cent, according to the mobility tool. Driving dropped 42 per cent The streets appear empty above the Cardoza Hotel in South Beach in Miami Chicago In Chicago, there was a 77 per cent drop in public transit use, according to the mobility tool. Walking was down 45 per cent. The number of Chicagoans driving also declined 28 per cent. Chicago has had 17,303 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 733 deaths. On Thursday, Illinois J.B. Gov. Pritzker announced an extension of the state's stay-at-home order through May 30. Some additional essential businesses were named, but others, like barbershops remained closed. In Chicago, there was a 77 per cent drop in public transit use, according to the mobility tool. Walking was down 45 per cent. The number of Chicagoans driving also declined 28 per cent Empty streets are seen in front of the closed Chicago Board of Trade Detroit Detroit has seen a 66 per cent drop in the use of public transit and only a 17 per cent decline in walking, according to the mobility tool. Driving in Detroit has dropped 36 per cent. There have been 8,548 confirmed cases in Detroit of the Coronavirus, which has been blamed for 912 deaths. Mayor Mike Duggan on Friday said he began warning grocery store owners to sign their workers up for COVID-19 tests. Duggan told reporters he expects that, by May 11, grocers should be able to show that each of their employees has had a recent, negative test for the virus Detroit has seen a 66 per cent drop in the use of public transit and only a 17 per cent decline in walking, according to the mobility tool. Driving in Detroit has dropped 36 per cent Downtown Detroit remains empty during the coronavirus outbreak Los Angeles Los Angeles has seen public transit decline by 74 per cent, while walking was down 39 per cent. Driving declined 37 per cent. Los Angeles County, which includes L.A., Pasadena and Long Beach, has had 19,107 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 895 deaths. While the street of L.A. remain empty, beaches in nearby Orange and Ventura counties were open and crowded with people escaping rising temperatures. Sun-lovers were turning out, despite state-mandated stay-at-home orders. 'After being cooped up, we understand people want to enjoy the outside,' Ventura Police Commander Tom Higgins told the Los Angeles Times. He described Saturday's beach crowds as larger than the what the season typically brings during this time of year. Los Angeles has seen public transit decline by 74 per cent, while walking was down 39 per cent. Driving declined 37 per cent, according to Apple's mobility tool Empty streets are seen outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles this past week San Francisco The San Francisco Bay area, according to the mobility tool, has seen public transit drop 79 per cent. Walking has declined 67 per cent and driving 48 per cent. So far, there have been 1,354 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in San Francisco and 22 deaths. The citys latest count shows 54 new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths, reports Mission Local. San Francisco city also reported 540 tests were completed Saturday, with three percent or 15 tests coming back as COVID-19 positive, the news outlet reports. The positive testing rate was the lowest in the past month and a half. The city has completed more than 15,100 tests with an average positive testing rate of 11 percent. The San Francisco Bay area, according to the mobility tool, has seen public transit drop 79 per cent. Walking has declined 67 per cent and driving 48 per cent Traffic at right is light on the Golden Gate Bridge as it heads into San Francisco To compile the data, Apple has used Apple Maps' tools to measure how people use different means of transport that the maps track. Apple said that the data is anonymized and aggregated to ease privacy concerns. In a statement, Apple said: 'Maps does not associate mobility data with a user's Apple ID, and Apple does not keep a history of where a user has been. Using aggregated data collected from Apple Maps, the new website indicates mobility trends for major cities and 63 countries or regions.' So far, there have been 960,144 cases in the US of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 54,109 deaths How the number of new coronavirus cases in the US has escalated over time How the number of new coronavirus infections in the US has escalated over time A woman who rushed home to New Zealand to spend time with her dying mother may never be able to see her because of strict coronavirus quarantine rules. Renee West and her two sons flew from Melbourne to Auckland on Saturday, shortly after finding out her 59-year-old mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. But when they arrived in Auckland they were taken straight to M Social Hotel where they are being kept in quarantine for 14 days under strict rules to battle COVID-19. Renee West (right) flew from Melbourne to Auckland on Saturday, shortly after finding out her 59-year-old mother Lesley Haughey (left) was diagnosed with terminal cancer Ms West applied for an exception to see her cancer-stricken mother, Lesley Haughey, but was refused, the NZ Herald reported. 'My 59-year-old mother has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and has been given two to three weeks left to live by her doctor. I am scared we won't get to her in time to say our goodbyes. It just seems so heartless,' Ms West said. Both Ms West and her husband are from New Zealand but moved to Melbourne nine years ago, and has not seen her mother in three years. The mother-of-two is devastated that she may not be able to say goodbye. 'I am struggling with the fact I may not get to see my mother who is my best friend, and not sure how I am meant to deal with this,' she said. Ms West and her family were meant to visit New Zealand for two weeks in April but the coronavirus pandemic and the closure of the country's borders made that impossible. Ms Haughey was diagnosed with breast cancer 11 years ago and had a mastectomy to remove the breasts. Ms West (pictured) and her husband are from New Zealand but moved to Melbourne nine years ago, and has not seen her mother in three years But in the past couple of weeks Ms West's sister and father noticed Ms Haughey was struggling to use the left side of her body. The 59-year-old was rushed to hospital for tests over concerns of a mild stroke and brain bleed. The family were devastated to find out Ms Haughey had lung and brain cancer which had spread to all her vital organs and treatment is not an option. Ms West immediately grabbed her sons, aged 5 and 9, and flew back to New Zealand after her mother said her last wish was to have them there to say goodbye. 'It's the worst news in the worst situation. My biggest fear is not being able to make it back and that she passes before our 14 day quarantine is over,' Ms West said. The mother-of-two is heartbroken to think not only will she not be able to grant her mother's wish, but she would also be forced to grieve alone with her sons in a hotel room. There's something very satisfying about reading the prose of poets. It gives us an insight into their lives, their thinking, poetry and poetics. In Ireland, we have the collected talks of the Ireland Professor of Poetry published by UCD Press which includes fantastic essays by Paul Durcan, Paula Meehan and Eilean Ni Chuilleanain. In What You Have Heard Is True: a Memoir of Witness and Resistance by Carolyn Forche, the American poet writes about her extraordinary life. As a 27-year-old, in the 1970s, Forche accepts an invitation to travel to El Salvador. She has, at the time, published one collection of poetry, Gathering the Tribes (1976), which was selected for the Yale Series of Younger Poets by Stanley Kunitz. Her Guggenheim Fellowship allows her to travel. Forche has been translating Spanish-language poets, and has stayed with cousins in Deia, Mallorca, where a bohemian set - and an elderly Robert Graves - were living. Her journey to El Salvador will literally change her life. She is chaperoned and educated by Leonel Gomez, a farmer and activist. He is eccentric, mysterious, patronising and wilful. The memoir is made up of a great deal of dialogue between the two. Dramatically, this highlights Forche's naivety, but it also amplifies what has come to inform her poetics - a social consciousness and a desire to highlight injustice. Take for example, Gomez's question to Forche, "What are you going to do? Write poetry about yourself for the rest of your life?" Forche is a keen observer and she learns quickly. It is worth noting that the title of Forche's memoir is also the title of one of her most anthologised poems, about the brutality of the dictatorship in El Salvador; once you have read it, you will never forget it. Forche survives death squads and describes the plight of the disappeared. She is a witness to the collusion of American corruption and the civil war in El Salvador, and she reports on the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero in 1980. For me The Angel of History is Forche's most ambitious and exciting collection - polyphonic, and in her own words "broken and haunted". In the Lateness of the World returns to the lyric mode of her earlier work. It's her fifth full collection of poetry, and it comes to us 17 years after the previous one. When a poet takes that much time, it is worth sitting up and noticing. As the late great Czeslaw Milosz wrote in his Ars Poetica, poems should be written rarely and reluctantly, and under unbearable duress. It feels like Forche has done just that. She indicts herself as an 'American' in her memoir, but she is always looking outward. There's a global vision to her work: in other words, a good deal of travel and an awareness of the pervasive violence of the world. Forche speaks for the underdog, the disenfranchised and the lost. In a Time of War is a poem which attests to this, where there may have been "no blood leaking from a slit throat", "but there were children standing on their own / graves and there was the distant rumble of cannon". There are other poems like Letter to a City Under Siege which also cover the terrain of a poet who is declaratively concerned with witness and human rights. In The Boatman, Forche writes: "We were thirty-one souls, he said, in the gray-sick of sea / in a cold rubber boat, rising and falling in our filth. / By morning this didn't matter, no land was in sight, / all were soaked to the bone, living and dead. / We could still float, we said, from war to war." Conflict is a leitmotif throughout Forche's oeuvre. That being said, some of my favourite poems in this collection are those in which she accompanies fellow poet Ilya Kaminsky on her travels. In Exile she writes: "The city of your childhood rises between steppe and sea, wheat and light, / white with the dust of cockleshells, stargazers, and bones of pipefish, / city of limestone soft enough to cut with a hatchet, where the sea / unfurls and acacias brought by Greeks on their ships / turn white in summer." In these troubled times, poetry like Carolyn Forche's can lend insight, but it can also salve and elegise the present moment. Auden once wrote that poetry makes nothing happen, but in Forche's work, her life-long commitment to poetry and the poetic utterance, we see how poetry can transform. Both What You Have Heard Is True and In the Lateness of the World are essential reading not only for anyone interested in poetry, but in the world we live in. The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 1,116 new coronavirus cases Sunday, raising the total statewide to 41,165. Statewide, 1,550 have died due to COVID-19, according to the health department, which released new data Sunday. The health department figures include 13 newly reported fatalities. The health department figures include cases and deaths reported as of midnight. There are 157,428 patients who have tested negative. Pennsylvania remains under a statewide stay-at-home order to curb the spread of the virus. Gov. Tom Wolf has said he plans to begin gradually ease restrictions in some rural areas next month. More than half of the deaths in Pennsylvania have occurred in long-term care homes, including nursing homes and personal care homes. A closer look Cases have been found in all of Pennsylvanias 67 counties. The Philadelphia area has been the epicenter of the virus in Pennsylvania. The Lehigh Valley and northeastern Pennsylvania have also been hit hard by the virus. Philadelphia leads the state with 11,152 cases and 272 deaths, according to state figures. Neighboring Montgomery County has 3,733 cases and 217 fatalities. Lehigh County has had 2,601 cases and 51 deaths. In central Pennsylvania, Lancaster County leads the region with 1,577 cases and 74 deaths, according to the health department figures. Heres a look at the cases in other midstate counties: Lebanon (612 cases and 7 deaths); York (593 cases and 8 deaths); Dauphin (519 cases and 18 deaths); Cumberland (267 cases and 8 deaths); Franklin (205 cases and 2 deaths); Adams (117 cases and 1 death); and Perry (26 cases and 1 death). Nursing homes and hospitals Statewide, 952 people living in long-term care facilities have died due to COVID-19, according to the health department. Such facilities include nursing homes and personal care homes. The health department said 6,813 residents of those facilities have contracted the virus, while 822 staff have been infected. Cases have been found in 431 long-term care facilities. Across the state, 2,741 patients with the virus are being treated in hospitals and 617 are on ventilators, according to the health department. Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said in a news conference Saturday that 40 percent of the states intensive care unit beds and about 70 percent of the states ventilators remain available. Most patients who contract the virus can recover without going to a hospital. But the virus can post serious complications, particularly for seniors. Reopening Pennsylvania On Saturday, the Wolf administration offered more details on its criteria for reopening Pennsylvania. The administration said contact tracing - developing a system to track people who have been near a person infected with the virus - is going to be a critical element in getting back to some measure of normalcy. The Wolf administration is using a three-phased plan in reopening regions: red, yellow and green. Wolf said hell look to lift the order gradually across the state. The governor set a target date of May 9 to reopen some northern counties with only a few cases. But Wolf has also said hes ready to lift some restrictions on business. Construction activity can resume Friday, May 1 and the governor has also said online auto sales can return. The health department offered the update on cases in a news release. The department said it is not planning a news conference with the health secretary today. More from PennLive Contact tracing is needed to guard against more coronavirus outbreaks; many states arent ready Gov. Wolfs reopening plan Q&A: How will this work? Working to slow the spread of the coronavirus in Berks County Long cast aside as expendable, Pa.s public health nurses are now pivotal to easing coronavirus restrictions What it looks like inside coronavirus units at Penn State hospitals: photos Man facing death battles back from COVID-19 with help of bold new therapy By PTI NAGPUR: A 30-year-old CRPF jawan shot himself with his service rifle on Sunday in Bhamragadh taluka of Gadchiroli, some 170 kilometres from here, police said. He was identified as Uttarakhand-resident Deepak Kumar attached to the force's battalion number 37, an official said. "He shot himself in the chest with his Insas rifle at around 2:30 pm. A suicide note found at the spot cited health and family issues as triggers," an official said. A few days ago, an SRPF sub inspector hailing from Pune had killed himself in Savargaon in Gadchiroli. (Newser) High school students in an Alaska district will no longer discuss several literary classics in class. The Matanuska-Susitna School Board voted 5-2 last week to remove five titles from the list of books teachers can use in elective English classes, the Anchorage Daily News reports. The books stricken are: Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison; Catch-22, by Joseph Heller; The Things They Carried, by Tim OBrien; I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou; and The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. There was no public comment at the meeting. The objections involve depictions of rape and incestthings that are pretty serious problems, especially in our teenage world," one school board member said. Another member who voted "yes" said he read a summary of Angelou's book, which had a description of molestation. "If I were to read this in a professional environment at my office, I would be dragged to the equal opportunity office," he said. story continues below A district spokeswoman didn't know whether the books will be pulled from school libraries. But the vote sparked a run on the titles at a bookstore in Palmer, per KTUU. Fireside Books ran out of all five titles in hours. "We were getting five or six [calls] an hour," the owner said. Another business owner in town announced a contest to reward students who could demonstrate that they'd read all five books. DanaLyn Dalrymple planned to draw five names and present each winner with $100. But she had to rework that after the pot grew. "Within 24 hours, I had about 50 people who were willing to make a donation for a prize," she said. The bookstore is working with her to get the books to every student who wants to enter the contest. "We're going to get as many kids a prize as we can," Dalrymple said. (Read more book ban stories.) One of South Australias most senior female police officers has been killed in a three-car crash alongside another mother. The South Australian Police force has paid tribute to Detective Chief Superintendent Joanne Shanahan who was one of two women killed in the horrific collision on Saturday. Det Chief Supt Shanahan was driving with her husband Peter, a retired police officer, when the tragedy occurred at the intersection of Cross and Fullarton Roads in the Adelaide suburb of Urrbrae about 1.40pm. Mother-of-one Tania McNeill, was driving alone at the time of the crash and too died at the scene. Det Chief Supt Shanahan has been described as a beautiful person with a wealth of knowledge by her SA Police colleagues. Joanne joined SAPOL in 1981 and was a highly respected member of SAPOL, SA Police said in a statement. Detective Chief Superintendent Joanne Shanahan was one of the two women killed in a three-car collision on Saturday afternoon. Source: SA Police In 2002, she was promoted to the rank of Inspector and worked in many areas over the span of her career from CIB, specialist crime areas and domestic violence. Detective Chief Superintendent Joanne Shanahan leaves an overwhelming footprint on SAPOL having received the Australian Police Medal in 2019 for her outstanding service to the organisation and to the community of South Australia, the statement said. Three cars were involved in the collision, which is still being investigated. Source: Nine News Most recently, Det Chief Supt Shanahan took on a leadership role in the state polices response to the coronavirus outbreak. Her husband Peter was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and his since been released. Det Chief Supt Shanahan leaves behind two adult sons. SA Police also released a statement from Ms McNeills family, who is being remembered as a a loving vibrant lady who enjoyed a good laugh. She was a kind and loving mother, wife, daughter and sister who would do anything for anyone, the familys statement said. She will be greatly missed by family and friends. Tania worked extremely hard in her day job as well and helping out with the family business. The residents of this house on Cross Road in #Urrbrae say they saw a car become airborne and hit the street light before crashing down behind this tree. Three cars were involved in this serious car crash at 1:40pm, the welfare of the passengers not yet confirmed. @abcadelaide pic.twitter.com/yx0TfQ5wAq Sara Tomevska (@STomevska) April 25, 2020 A 20-year-old man who was driving the third car involved in the collision was also taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries and he remains in hospital police said in a statement. Story continues Police are appealing for any witnesses who can assist in the investigation and have not already spoken with police to come forward. It follows the deaths of four police officers, who were struck by a truck while dealing with Porsche driver Richard Pusey in the emergency lane of a freeway in Victoria last Wednesday. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play. Firefighter in South Koreas city of Andong continued to battle a mountain fire as strong winds hampered their efforts, international media reported. The wildfire which was first reported on April 24 has till now affected approximately 1,000 hectares of mountain land. However, no casualties have been reported as yet. According to reports, an estimated 1000 firefighters are currently battling the fire along with 20 helicopters and 140 fire trucks which have been mobilised to contain the flames. The authorities have yet not discovered the exact cause of the fire but the investigation is ongoing. 'Safely evacuate residents' Meanwhile, the country's Minister of Interior and Safety, Chin Young has ordered officials to use all available resources to contain it as soon as possible and to minimise its impact. According to reports, all nearby residents have been ordered to evacuate while authorities have restricted traffic around the Korean city. In addition, Young has also urged firefighters to put their utmost efforts to safely evacuate residents living nearby. Meanwhile, another wildfire that was burning near the defunct Chernobyl plant has been extinguished but the smoke continues to affect Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. According to reports, the main fire among several blazes was extinguished last week but advanced far into the 30 km exclusion zone around the plant, the site of the worlds worst nuclear accident in 1986. Smaller fires are still burning in the exclusion zone, officials reported on April 24. Read: South Korean Embassy Partners With NGO To Distribute Food To Migrant Workers Amid Lockdown Read: Ukraine Says Only Small Burning Fires Remain In Chernobyl Nuclear Zone After Rain Earlier, Greenpeace Russia reportedly warned that the forest fire that has been burning in Ukraine posed a radiation risk. According to media reports, a 2,600-square-kilometer (1,000-square-mile) Chernobyl Exclusion Zone was established after the April 1986 disaster at the plant that sent a cloud of radioactive fallout over much of Europe. However, the Ukrainian emergency situations services have said that the radiation levels in the exclusion zone have not changed. The department further said that, however, radiation levels in nearby Kyiv, the capital city have "not exceeded natural background levels." Read: Chernobyl Wildfire Blankets Kyiv In Thick Smog, Raises Pollution Level Read: China Rushes Doctors To North Korea Amid Speculation That Kim Jong-un Is On Brink Or Worse (Representative Image, Credits: AP) Six Thailand nationals, arrested for violating the visa norms and undergoing treatment for COVID-19, have been permitted to observe Ramzan fasting within their ward at a government hospital near here, officials said on Sunday. Special arrangements were made for the Thai nationals after they informed the officials that they would observe fasting during the Islamic holy month, which started on April 25. They were provided the traditional food items such as dates and 'Nonbu' Kanji (gruel) inside their ward in the evening for breaking the fast and food till early morning for 'seheri' (feast taken before fasting). The foreign nationals, who tested positive for coronavirus, were undergoing treatment at Perundurai IRT Government Medical College hospital in the district when they were arrested for allegedly indulging in religious preaching in violation of visa norms this month. The arrest was effected days after cases were registered against them under relevant sections of IPC. Police personnel were posted outside the isolation ward of the hospital. The action was taken based on a complaint by local Tahsildar lodged with the police. The Thai Nationals, who possessed tourist visas engaged themselves in Islamic preaching despite suffering from COVID- 19, police said. In all, a group of seven Thailand nationals came here some three weeks ago, stayed at Kollampalayam Housing Unit complex and engaged themselves in preaching. One among them died due to kidney ailment at a government hospital in Coimbatore. The remaining six tested positive for coronavirus, prompting authorities to launch a massive contact tracing of those who had attended the preaching sessions and others. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sri Lanka on Sunday brought back its 113 nationals, mostly students, stranded in India due to the nationwide coronavirus lockdown. A special SriLankan Airlines flight carrying 113 Sri Lankans, including three infants, arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport Sunday afternoon from Coimbatore, the Colombo Gazzete reported. The Sri Lankan nationals, many of them students, who were stuck in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala after the coronavirus lockdown was enforced, were identified and brought to Coimbatore. Sri Lanka has identified nearly 1,000 students studying in various parts of India and will be evacuating them in phases, police in Coimbatore said. The Sri Lankan Airlines has been operating special flights to repatriate Sri Lankans. It said the special flights are being operated as part of measures taken by the Ministry of Foreign Relations to bring back Sri Lankans stranded overseas. The flights are being operated to and from Amritsar and Coimbatore in India, Karachi and Lahore in Pakistan, and Kathmandu in Nepal. All those repatriated have been handed over to health officials and Tri- Forces personnel upon landing. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Stories with gay and transgender themes, a spoof inspired by the family rabbit of Vice President Mike Pence, and classics by J.K. Rowling and Margaret Atwood were among the books that received the most objections last year at schools and libraries. This past week, the American Library Association released its annual snapshot of books most challenged by parents and other community members. The top two were Alex Ginos George and Susan Kuklins Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, both cited for transgender content. No. 3 was the best-selling Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents a Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, a gay parody of A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, by Pences wife, Karen, and daughter Charlotte. The list shows a continued trend of attacks weve seen in recent years, says Deborah Caldwell Stone, who heads the library associations Office for Intellectual Freedom. She noted that complaints were coming not just from individuals but from organizations such as the Florida Citizens Alliance, which has issued a list of Porn in Florida Public Schools that includes Toni Morrisons The Bluest Eye, Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner and a book in the ALAs new survey, Cory Silverbergs Sex Is a Funny Word. We are seeing efforts all around the country, Stone said. The list is part of the associations annual State of Americas Libraries report, released during National Library Week, which ended Saturday. Other challenged works included Rowlings Harry Potter books, which long have been criticized by some religious groups for themes of sorcery; and Atwoods dystopian The Handmaids Tale, itself the story of a repressed society, for vulgarity and sexual overtones. In an email to The Associated Press, Atwood noted the honored tradition of writers who have been censored. If youre a writer and everybody likes you, a) Youre doing something wrong, or b) You dont exist, the Canadian author wrote. I am happy to be in the company of the Bible, Shakespeare, John Bunyan, Lord Byron, Emily Bronte, Flaubert, James Joyce, Nawal el Sadawi, Angela Carter, Anonymous of A Woman in Berlin, and so many others. Lucky me, I live in a democracy, so at least Im not in jail or being tossed out of a plane. Also listed by the ALA were several other books challenged for LGBTQIA+ content: Prince & Knight, written by Daniel Haack and illustrated by Stevie Lewis; I Am Jazz, written by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, and illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas; Raina Telgemeiers Drama; and a book that has ranked No. 1 in previous years, the gay penguin story And Tango Makes Three, written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson and illustrated by Henry Cole. Other books cited in previous years include Morrisons The Bluest Eye, Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird and Dav Pilkeys Captain Underpants series. The library associations Office for Intellectual Freedom recorded 377 challenges, compared to 347 in 2018. The ALA defines a challenge as a formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. The list is based on news reports and on accounts submitted from libraries, and many challenges likely go unreported, the association believes. The ALA does not have numbers for books actually banned, although some incidents were noted by local media. Last fall, Prince & Knight was pulled from West Virginias Upshur County public library in response to a church minister calling the book, a love story between a prince and a knight, a deliberate attempt to indoctrinate young children, especially boys, into the LGBTQA lifestyle. Also last fall, the Potter books were removed from the library of St. Edward Catholic School in Nashville. These books present magic as both good and evil, which is not true, but in fact a clever deception, the Rev. Dan Reehil, a school pastor, said at the time. The curses and spells used in the books are actual curses and spells; which when read by a human being risk conjuring evil spirits into the presence of the person reading the text. With libraries closed indefinitely this year because of the coronavirus outbreak, Stone expects fewer challenges from individuals, even as organized efforts continue. I dont think youll have as many incidents of a parent encountering a book and raising objections, she said. But we dont think challenges will come to a halt. Spider-Man star Tom Holland is set to host a Marvel-themed quiz show on Instagram on Wednesday. The 23-year-old actor made the revelation during an online appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The virtual quiz will be organized by Brothers Trust, set up by Holland's family to support various charities, to give people a sense of community as the world fights coronavirus pandemic. "The Brothers Trust is a fundraising vehicle that we use to raise money from the general public, that we feed towards charities that we feel need the light and the support. But we felt a little bit uncomfortable asking people for money at this difficult time so we as a collective have been doing the donations. The reason why we're doing the pub quiz is just to galvanise people and to give people a sense of community and to kind of bring people together and just have a laugh and have a good time. That's essentially what we're trying to do, Holland said. The British star's next and third standalone film as Spider-Man will come out on November 5, 2021. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A big number of Trump supporters rally April 17 on Main Street in Huntington Beach against business closures due to COVID-19 pandemic. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) Three people protesting California's stay-at-home order Saturday in an Encinitas protest were arrested on suspicion of violating San Diego County health orders, marking the latest in a series of rallies along the coast. About 75 to 100 people gathered near the San Diego County beach to express their disaffection with ongoing stay-at-home orders that also limit access to public parks and beaches. Several participants were said to have ventured past police tape onto the sand. Three attendees refused to comply with multiple verbal warnings and were arrested, the department said. Others marched without incident toward Swamis Beach Park and dispersed around noon. In addition to the arrests, deputies issued one traffic citation and seven parking tickets during the morning protest. Over the last few days, there have been protests in San Diego, Newport Beach, Sacramento, Huntington Beach and San Clemente. An Orange County man has been arrested on suspicion of threatening a KTTV Channel 11 cameraman with a knife hours after the Huntington Beach protest. In San Diego, a woman who police say organized a protest could face a misdemeanor charge of encouraging others to violate stay-at-home orders meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus. A police spokesman said the department forwarded the case to the San Diego city attorneys office for review Tuesday. The move comes after some, including civil rights activists, questioned why police did not cite protesters last weekend for ignoring the orders. Demonstrators have said its time to reopen the economy and ease the rules. But many medical experts and officials in California have said there could be grave repercussions to reopening businesses too early. A new Associated Press poll found an overwhelming majority of Americans support the stay-at-home orders, seeing them as helpful in combating the coronavirus outbreak. Other polls show similar support. For example, a poll of 1,990 voters conducted by Politico/Morning Consult showed that 81% supported continuing social distancing for as long as needed. Only 10% supported ending social distancing to stimulate the economy. Story continues Californias relatively quick action to close businesses and order residents to stay home has tamped down the coronavirus outbreak and left many hospitals largely empty, waiting for a surge that has yet to come. The initial success of the unprecedented shutdown of schools, businesses and other institutions has pleased experts and public health officials, prompting calls to keep the restrictions in place at least into May to help cement the progress. Social distancing will be a critical factor. Lifting restrictions too early would likely lead to dangerous new jumps in cases. Up the coast in Carlsbad, about 30 protesters gathered near a state beach for an afternoon rally, waving signs in support of reopening sites, Carlsbad police Lt. Greg White said. The afternoon rally, at Carlsbad Boulevard and Pine Avenue, ran roughly two hours and stayed peaceful. They were courteous and respectful, White said. The protest came as the stay-at-home order faces its first big test with a weekend heat wave. Thousands flooded Orange and Ventura county beaches, which were open. Los Angeles County beaches were closed. For many, the confluence of a heat wave and more than a month sheltering at home made the hot sand irresistible, prompting beach tableaux that looked more like a peak summer day in normal times than an April Saturday with a respiratory disease circulating among the population. After being cooped up, we understand people want to enjoy the outside, said Ventura Police Cmdr. Tom Higgins, who described Saturdays beach crowds as unseasonably large. For the most part, beachgoers kept at least six feet apart from one another, officials said. Heather Rangel, press information officer for the Newport Beach Police Department, said Saturday that there had been no arrests or citations related to the stay-at-home orders. The beaches are crowded and look like a summer day in Newport Beach, she said in an email. Huntington Beach elected to keep its coastline open, though the pier, beach parking lots and some metered parking remain closed. Angie Bennett, spokeswoman for the Huntington Beach Police Department, said Saturday that the beaches appeared somewhat busy, but there were no significant incidents, and no one was cited for violating social-distancing guidelines. What the patrol officers are seeing is that people are staying within their own groups and appropriate distances apart, she said. Its been a nice, warm day, and it sounds like people are complying and doing what we are asking of them. Campa and Wigglesworth are Times staff writers. Van Grove writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said that without aggressive testing facilities, India cannot conquer challenges posed by Covid-19. Testing and tracing are the key to fighting the menace, he said in a video released by the Congress. There are problems with regard to the inadequacy of testing facilities and without more aggressive facilities of testing, we are not going to conquer this menace, Manmohan Singh said. Click here for full Covid-19 coverage The Congress shared the thoughts of various leaders in the video to resolve the current crisis relating to the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown. The leaders are members of a consultative group headed by Singh and formulate the partys views on various matters. They also stressed on the issue of humanism, protection and financial security to drive the approach to dealing with migrant labourers. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the party should have a broad framework for protection of migrants. We must insist that migrants are protected. But, we must also acknowledge that state governments are actually going to be responsible for driving this thing. Different state governments might choose different methodologies to solve this problem, he said. Gandhi said, Our migrant strategy should include protection. The idea that you can tell the migrant that it is his problem, that has to be central. Movement of the migrant should depend on the two states and they should have a conversation. Testing and Tracing are the key to fight COVID19. Humanism, protection and financial security must drive our approach to dealing with migrant labourers. This is the only way ahead, the Congress said while sharing the video. Former finance minister P Chidambaram suggested that one must leave it to the state from where the migrant originally came in to find ways to take back the migrants from other states. But, the bulk will have to remain where they are. They have to be immediately given cash and grain, he noted. Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said The government is failing in this battle and we have to put pressure on the government for the people of the country. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the governments financial action plan 1 has not really worked and government needs to step up. Another Congress leader Jairam Ramesh sought scaling up testing facilities and noted that the country had the capacity to triple the amount of testing. For reaching a threshold level of covering one per cent of population, we have to do something like 10 million tests, he said. Party spokesperson Manish Tewari said it is incumbent upon the Congress to collectively apply our minds and suggest a smart plan to how do we transition out of this lockdown due to all the issues arising out of it, especially the economic issue. The Congress also said that it believes in dialogue and discussion as the path to finding solutions. PTI SKC DV DV Hilaria Baldwin is preparing to welcome her fifth child with husband Alec, announcing her pregnancy earlier this month. And the mother-of-four is enjoying the glow as she quarantines with Alec and their children in the country. She took to Instagram to show off her baby bump Saturday in a $9 blue muumuu as she took the kids out for some sun and playtime in their pasture. Baby bump: Hilaria Baldwin took to Instagram to show off her baby bump Saturday in a $9 blue muumuu as she took the kids out for some sun and playtime in their pasture The 36-year-old wrote: 'I told my husband to get used to the fact that Ive decided Im embracing the muumuus this pregnancy...and the whole barefoot thing. 'Quarantine in Green Acres. (By the way I found this house dress on amazon for $9..in case any of you ask...the woman in the ad was like 30 years older than me and I said: sold!!!)' She later posted a video to her story of herself dancing around the kitchen in her country chic dress. Hilaria made quesadillas for the kids as she gave her youngest son Romeo a piece of tortilla. House dress: She later posted a video to her story of herself dancing around the kitchen in her country chic dress Lunchtime: Hilaria made quesadillas for the kids as she gave her youngest son Romeo a piece of tortilla Morning coffee: She previously took to her story with a video of herself enjoying her coffee outside, as she sported another blue dress with a strappy black bra She previously took to her story with a video of herself enjoying her coffee outside, as she sported another blue dress with a strappy black bra. The Spanish writer recently announced her fifth pregnancy, after revealing she suffered two miscarriages last year. She shared a video to Instagram of herself having a sonogram done with the baby's heartbeat audible in the background. New addition: The Spanish writer recently announced her fifth pregnancy, after revealing she suffered two miscarriages last year Beautiful sound: She shared a video to Instagram of herself having a sonogram done with the baby's heartbeat audible in the background Hilaria wrote: 'Ill let the baby do the talking because I dont have the words to express how this sound makes us feel. 'Just got the great news that all is well and all is healthy with this little munchkin. I wanted to share this with you. Here we go again.' She and Alec, 62, also share daughter Carmen, six, and sons Rafael, four, Leonardo, three, and Romeo, one. Words with the Publisher Newer Older Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 For those who take the opportunity to have a few words with our publisher. This space is reserved for one to explain or entertain, but please do not bore. For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME. Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire. Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever. Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation. View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union. Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history. Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words. Iran's death toll from coronavirus rises to 5,710 The country's total number of cases surpasses 90,000 on Sunday, while 60 people die in the last 24 hours. Iran reported 60 new deaths from coronavirus, bringing the toll to 5,710, state media said on Sunday. FIRST CASE WAS REPORTED ON FEB. 19 A total of 1,153 more people tested positive for coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing the total infections to 90,481, Iran's state broadcaster reported, citing a statement by Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour. Jahanpour said 69,657 people have recovered so far and were discharged from hospitals, while 3,079 patients are in critical condition. Iran reported its first case of coronavirus on Feb. 19, in the city of Qom. Its official: Face masks are now a required accessory in Harris County for the next 30 days. Monday marks the start of Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgos face mask-mandate, requiring the countys 4.7 million residents to cover their faces at all times except when eating, exercising or drinking. Acceptable garments include a homemade mask, scarf, bandanna or handkerchief, but medical masks or N-95 respirators are not recommended because first responders and health care workers need them. The new rules apply to residents 10 and older. The mandate is not meant to be punitive: Though violating the order technically is punishable by a $1,000 fine, Houston police and Harris County deputies will err on the side of distributing masks to residents breaking the rules. Instead of a citation, police officers will give you a mask, or at least offer you one, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said last week. So, its masks over citations. Its all about education and awareness. Were working to make sure that we are keeping people healthy, and its not about being punitive. FACE MASK MANDATE: Houstonians, public officials weigh in on mandatory masks As Monday approached, residents scrambled to comply. Local organizations, lawmakers and even funeral homes started handing out thousands of free masks. On Sunday, hundreds of Houstonians pulled their cars into a single file line out Unity National Bank on Blodgett Street, waiting patiently for an envelope of free masks. The event put on by the Riverside and Washington Terrace civic associations,, as well as other third ward organizations was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. People started lining up at 8 a.m. When organizers and volunteers arrived at 9 a.m. to find the line backing up traffic, they quickly started handing out masks, two per person, said Tomaro Bell, president of the MacGregor Super Neighborhood, who helped organize the event. By events end, they have given away more than 1,000. When the judge ordered the criminalization of those without masks, we knew for our community this is going to be a trying thing, Bell said. In our neighborhood, we have a lot of low income families We were really concerned what people were going to do with their limited resources. Organizers were able to gve away so many masks, Bell said, because of donations from Council Member Carolyn Evans-Shabazz and Mattress Mack Jim McIngvale. Bell said theyll host another event Sunday, thanks in part to a monetary donation from State Sen. Borris L. Miles, a Democrat. Need a face mask this week? Heres where you can get one for free: Monday, 4/27 8 a.m.-1 p.m.: The Tejano Center, 2950 Broadway (while supplies last) 9 -10 a.m.: Carverdale Community Center, 9920 Porto Rico Road (while supplies last) 9-10 a.m.: Freed Park Community Center, 6186 Shadyvilla Lane (while supplies last) 9-10 a.m.: White Oak Conference Center, 7603 Antoine Drive (while supplies last) 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.: Community Family Center, 7524 Avenue E (while supplies last) 11 a.m.: Mount Hebron Missionary Baptist Church, 7817 Calhoun Rd. (while supplies last) 1-4 p.m.: Rosewood Funeral Home, 17404 West Lake Houston Parkway (first 250 families) Tuesday, 4/28 9 a.m.: Fountain of Life Center, 14065 Main St. (while supplies last) 10 a.m.: Plaza Americas Mall, 7500 Bellaire Blvd (while supplies last) 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.: New Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church, 9126 Jensen Dr. (first 100 cars) Thursday, 4/30 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.: Sweet Home Missionary Baptist Church, 7104 Homestead Road (first 100 cars) Saturday, 5/2 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.: Mt. Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, 908 E. 32 1/2 St. (first 100 cars) Sunday, 5/3 10-11 a.m.: Unity Bank, 2602 Blodgett St. See More Collapse Harris County Precinct 8 Constable Phil Sandlin also gave away free masks over the weekend. On Friday, he handed out 4,000 masks in Clear Lake and Pasadena that he personally purchased. To protect everyones health, the pick ups were drive thru-only. State Rep. Gene Wu, a Democrat, also set up a drive thru to hand out masks Saturday in southwest Houston. With the help of Gulfton volunteers, Wus drive thru focused on medical workers, seniors and the immuno-compromised. With the mandate in Harris County that face coverings must be worn in public set to go into effect Monday, it is especially important that masks are made available, Wu said. The goal is to make sure our community has access to the necessary resources to keep our residents safe. County residents who missed the many mask giveaways this weekend, however, have options this week. In Atascocita, for instance, Lake Houston residents will be able to get their free masks from Rosewood Funeral Home on Monday. The funeral home plans to give away two N-95 respirators to the first 250 Lake Houston families that arrive between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Monday at its 17404 West Lake Houston Parkway location. As public health responders, we are always prepared for disaster and feel the need to help Lake Houston Area families prepare in the wake of Judge Hidalgos order for all residents to wear masks, said Jess Fields, Sr., the funeral homes owner and president. Thats why we are dipping into our supplies to help families in our area. Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen, as well as the city of Houston, have announced free mask distribution events across Houston this week. But while some rush to help residents comply with Hidalgos order, others are fighting against it. EDUCATION NOT PUNISHMENT: Police, deputies to give masks, not citations to those who violate Hidalgo order The Houston Police Officers' Union were quick to jump in after Hidalgo announced the mandate last week, called the order "draconian" in a letter to the community. The union said it would seek counsel from the Texas Attorney General's Office on the fines legality. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick also weighed in, calling the order the ultimate government overreach. Hidalgo has even been sued over the mandate. Houston conservative power broker Steve Hotze filed the lawsuit Thursday, alleging that the order violates the Texas Constitution and that Hidalgo cant issue more restrictive orders than Gov. Greg Abbott, who has not mandated masks in public. State law gives the county judge broad authority during a disaster, the county attorneys office has said. GOP activist sues Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo over coronavirus mask mandate Hotze, who also sued Hidalgo over her stay-at-home order, organized a protest against the mask order last week. Other counties in the region, including Montgomery, Galveston and Fort Bend, are not issuing mask mandates for their residents. While I am not issuing a specific order, I strongly recommend our residents wear masks in public to stop the spread of the virus, protect the most vulnerable in our community, and reopen the economy, said KP George, Fort Bend County Judge, in a statement last week. The quickest and easiest way we can prevent more people from getting sick and reopen business is for everyone to wear a cloth mask in public. alex.stuckey@chron.com India has decided to supply medicines to others in this hour of crisis in line with its culture and ethos, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday, while also saluting the countrys people-driven fight against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). In his monthly radio address, the Prime Minister said the government was doing everything to protect its citizens. He stressed that India, after meeting its requirements, has provided medicines to other countries. Today, when world leaders say thank you, India; thank you, people of India I feel very proud. India is caring for its own citizens and is contributing towards creating a healthier planet, Modi said in Mann Ki Baat. The government has relaxed restrictions on the export of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as several countries, including the US and Brazil, sought supplies from India, which is its largest producer. A large part of Modis address was dedicated to thanking citizens for what he described as an active participation in the fight against Covid-19 and motivating front line workers such as health care staff, sanitation workers and policemen, among others. There was a time when some people had negative thoughts about the police, but now when we see them feeding the poor, there is greater appreciation, he said. I am so happy to see the immense appreciation for the working of sanitation workersThe appreciation for doctors, nurses and health care workers is exceptional, he said. Modi said people in the country dont appear to trust its traditional knowledge --- a situation he attributed to the countrys colonial history that he said led to lack of self-confidence. He appealed to the youth to make ayurvedic practices on boosting immunity popular with evidence-based research. Let us make these systems popular and share them in a language in which the world understands, Modi said. The Prime Minister said due to the challenging times, when people are confined to their homes, businesses were adopting new technologies. Be it our businesses, office culture, education, medical sector --- everyone is adapting to new changesThere is a strong desire to innovate in various areas, he said. While congratulating people on Akshay Tritiya, Basaveshwar Jayanti and Ramzan, Modi also emphasised that social distancing should continue to be followed. While celebrating Ramzan the previous year, no one would have thought that there would be so many difficulties during Ramzan this time. This time, let us pray that there will be some good news from different parts of the world by the time of Eid. MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI Health officials in Muskegon County reported half as many new coronavirus cases Saturday as the day before. Nine new Muskegon County cases of COVID-19 were confirmed Saturday, April 25, bringing the countywide total to 213, according to data posted by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Officials reported 18 new cases Friday, April 24, which pushed the countys total number of cases past 200. Statewide, Saturday marked the lowest number of new daily coronavirus cases Michigan has seen in the past month. State health officials reported 562 new positive cases. There have now been 37,203 confirmed coronavirus cases and 3,274 deaths connected to COVID-19 across the state. The number of deaths involving COVID-19 in Muskegon County remained unchanged Saturday, at 13. Health officials reported the Muskegon County residents who have died with COVID-19 include one man in his 40s, two men in their 50s, a man and a woman in their 60s, two men in their 70s and six men and women over the age of 80. Muskegon County has seen a steady increase in cases over the past month, almost doubling its numbers each week, which Public Health Officer Kathy Moore attributes to an increase in testing capabilities countywide. Health officials dont expect Muskegon County to reach its peak infection level until mid-May, Moore told MLive Wednesday. Browser does not support frames. About 17 percent of all COVID-19 tests submitted have come back positive in Muskegon County, as of the most recent data provided April 22 on the county health department website. Countywide data shows that black residents make up the largest portion of COVID-19 cases in Muskegon County, at 41 percent, even though black residents make up only 14 percent of the countys population. Women make up over 60 percent of all positive cases in Muskegon County, countywide data shows. People ages 50-59 make up the largest age group of coronavirus cases in Muskegon County, at 20 percent, followed by people ages 20-29, which make up 18 percent of all cases countywide. About 17 percent of coronavirus patients are ages 60-69, while 15 percent of patients are ages 40-49 and 12 percent are ages 30-39. Fourteen percent of coronavirus patients are ages 70 and up, countywide data shows. Muskegon County saw an increase last week of senior citizens dying with COVID-19. Most were reported by local assisted living facilities. Mercy Health has declined to provide the number of people hospitalized at its two Muskegon hospitals. A health department official said Mercy has not provided them with the number either. In Oceana County, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases remained at four Saturday, with one death. There was one new confirmed case of COVID-19 in Newaygo County reported Saturday, raising the total to 14, according to the local health department. There have been no deaths involving the virus in Newaygo County. In Ottawa County, there were six newly reported positive cases, bringing the countywide total there to 173, while the death count remained at eight. CORONAVIRUS PREVENTION TIPS In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus. Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible. Carry hand sanitizer with you, and use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and when you go into places like stores. Read more Michigan coronavirus coverage here More on MLive: Saturday, April 25: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan New Michigan coronavirus cases lowest seen in a month, but deaths still high Jackson County reports 11 new COVID-19 cases, confirms another death Mumbai, April 26 : Mumbai's Covid-19 toll crossed the 200 mark to touch 204 on Sunday while the number of new cases in the state overshot the 8,000 threshold to reach 8,068, health officials said. The state notched 440 new Covid-19 patients cases - compared to the highest of 811 on Saturday - and recorded 19 new deaths, taking the state's toll to 342. Twice this week, the state notched single-day high figures of 552 new cases, zooming to a new record of 778 on Thursday, and then 811 on Saturday, creating huge concern among the health authorities. Of the total 19 deaths, 12 were recorded in Mumbai, taking the total from 191 to 204 and the number of Covid-19 positive patients in the city shot up from 5,049 to 5,407 - with 358 new cases. With Dharavi touching 275 cases and 14 deaths till date, the BMC said it has upped the number of institutional quarantine facilities from 1,000 to 2,300, plus adding 700 beds at a private school, with focus on shifting maximum people there and testing them. Pune district recorded 3 fresh fatalities, besides two deaths in Malegaon (Nashik), and one each in Latur and Solapur. Pune City and Pimpri-Chinchwad metro areas have been sealed completely till April 27. Those who died on Sunday comprised 11 men and 8 women, and 73 percent of them suffered from other serious ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, heart problems and asthma. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday made it clear that no train services will be started but said all efforts would be made to enable the stranded migrants return to their home states. "There will be no trains at this stage... It would result in overcrowding. I am in touch with the Centre and CMs of other states to work out a solution. I shall discuss this with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the video-conferencing tomorrow," Thackeray said in an address to the state. As two policemen succumbed to Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, Thackeray also paid rich tributes to the police personnel and health workers, terming them as the "real Gods who live amidst us". In a positive development, 31 of the 53 media persons who tested positive last week, were discharged on Sunday after their second test reports came negative, but all have been sent to 14 days' home quarantine, said a BMC official. The BMC also said it has launched plasma therapy for Covid-19 by installing a Plasmapheresis machine at the B.Y.L. Nair Hospital. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (Thane Division) continued to cause worries with 223 Covid-19 deaths and 6,343 patients. Pune Division follows at a distant second slot with 83 deaths and 1,128 patients. The next worrying area is Nashik Division with 22 deaths and 222 positive cases, followed by Akola Division with 3 deaths and 119 patients, overtaking Nagpur's 110 patients and one death. On the positive side, 112 fully cured patients returned home, taking the number of those discharged to 1,188. Meanwhile, the number of people in home quarantine shot up from 125,393 to 136,926 and those in institutional quarantine increased from 8,124 to 9,160, and the state's containment zones shot up from 555 on Saturday to 604. As many as 8,603 surveillance squads have fanned out to survey a population of nearly 3.37 million around the state. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) New York, April 26 : US President Donald Trump may replace Health and Human Services Alex Azar and Seema Verma, the head of government health insurance programmes, is one of those under consideration to succeed him, according to media reports. Quoting anonymous White House sources, several media outlets reported on Saturday that top White House officials were discussing removing Azar and that Verma and Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force were the leading candidates to replace him. If Verma does get the job, she will be the second person of Indian descent to serve on the US federal cabinet. The first was also a woman, Nikki Haley who was appointed by Trump as the Permanent Representative to the UN with a cabinet rank and served for two years. The White House, however, dismissed the reports of Azar's likely ouster as "speculation" that was "irresponsible and a distraction from our whole-of-government response to COVID-19". Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere said: "The Department of Health and Human Services, under the leadership of Secretary Azar, continues to lead on a number of the President's priorities." Trump's new Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who took over last month, was reported to be poring over the list of key administration position and considering suggesting changes. A lawyer and a former pharmaceutical executive, Azar has been mostly sidelined in the COVID-19 crisis efforts and Vice Pence has been leading them with two medical scientists, Anthony Fauci and Birx taking the limelight. In stories of White House intrigue, Azar is said to have annoyed Trump by media portrayal that his suggestions for early action against the pandemic had been overlooked and that he had bungled the transfer of Rick Bright, the top official overseeing vaccine development, leading to a public relations disaster. Bright's lawyer has said that he plans to file a whistle-blower complaint alleging that he was fired for questioning Trump's favoured COVID-19 treatments like the hydroxychloroquine. Azar has also not made any headway in coming up with a plan to replace the universal health insurance programme known popularly as "Obamacare" after former President Barack Obama who had introduced it. Verma, who heads the two government insurance programmes, Medicare for seniors and Medicaid for the poor, and Azar have been engaged in a power struggle. She has appeared at its news briefings with Trump several times - probably more often that Azar - raising her public profile. As the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Verma oversees the employee-funded Medicare programme for 62 million seniors, a powerful political lobby, and the Medicaid programme for 70 million poor. She is close to Pence, having worked with him on healthcare reform when he was the governor of Indiana, where she founded and headed a consulting firm. Verma helped develop a public healthcare system in Indiana for implementing Obamacare. During the coronavirus crisis she has led the efforts to introduce telemedicine to ease the pressure on medical facilities and has been coordinating the availability of laboratories for testing for COVID-19. While Verma's background is in policy and administration, Birx is a doctor who has built an international reputation for leading the fight against AIDS, especially in Africa. Birx, who has the rank of colonel in the US Army, is currently the US Special Representative for Global Health in the State Department. She has been providing daily input on the coronavirus pandemic at the Task Force briefings and is considered the steadying influence on Trump. (Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis) OPELIKA Alabamas attorney generals office is investigating a state prosecutor who reported himself on an ethics issue. Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes said he told the Alabama Ethics Commission about a possible ethics issue months ago. I reached out to them to explain what was going on and to ask them if, in fact, what I was doing constituted a breach of any ethical standard," Hughes told the Opelika-Auburn News. He said that the commission did not respond regarding the matter so he stopped the action immediately. He said the commission later notified him that it was conducting a review. I cooperated fully and transparently, voluntarily answering every question asked, as well as providing all documentation requested. Hughes didn't provide details about the possible infraction, but said it has nothing to do with any case he or his staff prosecuted. This was a mistake made out of a lack of knowledge and education and the fact that I self-reported underscores my commitment to doing things the right way, he said. Please know that I will continue to speak out and fight for the citizens of Lee County in order to keep our community safe. The state ethics committee voted April 1 to send Hughes case to state Attorney General Steve Marshall for further investigation and review, said Thomas B. Albritton, executive director of the Alabama Ethics Commission. Marshalls office has not yet issued an opinion. Hughes denied doing anything wrong intentionally. I want to be clear that I have never, not once, knowingly violated any ethical standard in my 18 years as a prosecutor, he said. I have always put doing what is right above all else in my career. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 20:09:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HONG KONG, April 26 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said Sunday that the filibustering of some lawmakers is outrageous and disappointing and he called for the Legislative Council (LegCo) to be back on track as soon as possible. Chief Secretary for Administration of the HKSAR government Matthew Cheung made the remarks in an online article after the LegCo House Committee presided over by Dennis Kwok Wing-hang failed to elect its chairman and vice chairman again at the 16th meeting, which has been six months since the first meeting. Some LegCo members obviously abused procedures and spare no efforts to obstruct the election of the House Committee and the administration of the HKSAR government, which is irresponsible and in disregard of public interests, Cheung said. The standstill of the House Committee has left multiple bills related to the economy and people's livelihood laid aside and the LegCo unable to perform its function, Cheung said. If the filibustering continues during the remaining more than three months of the LegCo session, all the bills yet to be dealt with will become invalid, Cheung said, stressing that the "burn with us" political tactic will damage the public interests and plunge Hong Kong into further difficulties. Cheung called on efforts to reverse the situation and let the LegCo resume normal operation at an early date. Enditem Media last reported the whereabouts of the secretive N Korean leader on April 11, leading to speculation over health. Rumours have swirled surrounding the health of North Koreas Supreme Leader Kim Jong Uns health following his noticeable absence from state media, official statements, and public events in recent days. The third-generation hereditary leader who came to power after his fathers death in 2011 has no clear successor and it is unclear who would lead the nuclear-armed nation in the event of his incapacitation. Speculation includes the theory that the controversial leader is isolating for fears of the coronavirus or that he is suffering from a serious injury or illness. North Korea has said it has no confirmed cases of the coronavirus, but given the fact the country has taken stringent steps to head off an outbreak, Kims absence from the ceremonies is not particularly unusual, Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul, who oversees North Korea engagement, told lawmakers on Tuesday. It is true that he had never missed the anniversary for Kim Il Suns birthday since he took power, but many anniversary events including celebrations and a banquet had been cancelled because of coronavirus concerns, he said. While there are no credible reports saying Kim has died, the hashtag #KIMJONGUNDEAD has trended on social media in recent days. Kim, believed to be 36, has disappeared from coverage in North Korean state media before, most notably in 2014, when he vanished for more than a month. North Korean state television later showed him walking with a limp. 200426141315993 A special train possibly belonging to the North Korean leader was spotted this week at a resort town in the country, according to satellite images reviewed by a Washington, DC-based North Korea monitoring project, 38 North. The group said in its report on Saturday the train was parked at the leadership station- reserved for the use of the Kim family in Wonsan on April 21 and April 23. Here is what we know so far about Kims whereabouts. When was he last seen? North Koreas state media last reported on Kims whereabouts when he presided over a meeting on April 11. Four days later, Kim was absent from the birth anniversary of North Koreas founding father, his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, on April 15. Cheong Seong-chang, director of the Center for North Korean Studies at the Sejong Institute in South Korea, told the New York Times that Kim not making an appearance at his grandfathers mausoleum during the anniversary was unthinkable in the country, describing it as the closest thing to blasphemy in the North. Official statements have conspicuously not mentioned Kim in recent days, while state media were yet to release photos of the leader overseeing an April 14 missile test, as is common. However, on Saturday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim had received a message of greeting from the chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation on the occasion of the first anniversary of Kims summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. What have reports said? On Monday, Daily NK, a Seoul-based website that reports on North Korea, cited one unnamed source in the reclusive country as saying that Kim had undergone medical treatment in the resort county of Hyangsan north of the capital Pyongyang. It said Kim was recovering after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure on April 12, made necessary by heavy smoking, obesity and fatigue. Shortly after, CNN, citing a senior US official with knowledge of the situation, then reported Kim was in grave danger, a claim that was refuted in a report by Reuters news agency citing South Korean government sources. Meanwhile, Reuters, citing three people familiar with the situation, said close ally China has dispatched a team to North Korea, including medical experts, to advise on Kim. What is described by 38 North as a special train possibly belonging to Kim Jong Un is seen in a satellite image taken over Wonsan, North Korea [Planet Labs-38 North/Reuters] The news agency also cited a Trump administration official saying that the continuing North Korean media silence on Kims whereabouts had heightened concerns about his condition. Since the NK Daily report, multiple South Korean media reports have cited unnamed sources saying Kim might be staying in the Wonsan area. On Friday, local news agency Newsis cited South Korean intelligence sources as reporting that a special train for Kims use had been seen in Wonsan, while Kims private plane remained in Pyongyang. Newsis reported Kim may be sheltering from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus. What have other countries said? US President Donald Trump on Thursday downplayed reports that Kim was ill. I think the report was incorrect, Trump told reporters, but declined to say if he had been in touch with North Korean officials. Trump has met Kim three times in an attempt to persuade him to give up a nuclear weapons programme that threatens the United States as well as its Asian allies. South Korea also downplayed Kims absence on Tuesday, saying they had detected no special signs in North Korea, a statement they have since reiterated. Health bosses look set to miss their own coronavirus testing target with just three days to go, in what would be an embarrassing blow. Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, insisted last month that Britain would be conducting 100,000 tests a day by the end of April. But just 29,058 tests took place on Saturday, the latest figures showed last night. The military has been brought in to assist in the drive to hit the target with mobile testing units sent to care homes, police stations, fire stations, benefits offices and prisons to boost the numbers of key workers who are swabbed. The military has been deployed at mobile testing centres, including the one at Chessington above, to make sure key workers are being tested for coronavirus Acting Prime Minister Dominic Raab spoke to Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday as Britain looked deseperately short of the 100,000 tests a day target the government had previously pledged Acting Prime Minister Dominic Raab yesterday said he was confident new data published after the weekend would show a significant increase in testing numbers particularly after massively expanding the eligibility for testing to a pool of ten million key workers and their families. But with the booking website for that system still showing problems with all home testing kits and drive-through slots disappearing within two hours of opening yesterday morning it looks unlikely the new scheme will provide the numbers needed. Mr Raab told Skys Sophy Ridge on Sunday show: The new data will come out, the data has always got a lag to it, but on Monday well get the updated data. I think theres two things which have happened which will give us confidence that we are actually on track to meet the target. First of all, with the NHS portal, we are making sure that people can access the test either through home kits, at any one of the 31 drivethrough centres and, increasingly, mobile testing labs. Matt Hancock had pledged Brits there would be 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of April 'The military are helping to disseminate those, spread those across the country. 'The second thing is we focused initially on NHS workers, then on care workers. We have now broadened it to essential workers and so I think we are going to see a big surge on the last week and we are on track to hit that target. 'Testing is really important, not just in eliminating the virus for good sustainably down the track, but also, as we consider the second phase, it can help us and give us more room for manoeuvre in terms of easing up on the measures, because you can monitor very carefully who has and who hasnt got the virus. Although Mr Hancocks aim was to carry out 100,000 tests a day a target that he has repeatedly confirmed ministers have subtly moved the goalposts in recent days to make it seem their target was simply to create the capacity to carry out that many tests. Mr Raab yesterday repeated that approach. Our capacity for carrying out tests is now at 51,000 per day so we have passed the halfway line to our target, he said. That capacity received another boost last night with scientists at Kings College London opening up a new diagnostics lab to help the NHS process testing swabs. Hundreds of volunteers affiliated to the university, including PhD students, research assistants and post-doctoral students, have signed up to process tests. The lab is using a heat process to inactivate the samples without compromising test results. Medical workers have been working at testing facilities including this one in east London, but they are now being joined by members of the military The 102 Logistic Brigade and 16 Signal Regiment have been training in mobile testing at an army barracks in Lincolnshire as Britain tries to deliver as many coronavirus tests as possible It means that the team will not be put at risk of infection if they face shortages of personal protective equipment. Dr Michael Malim, head of the School of Immunology and Microbial Sciences at Kings College, said: Within the horror of the pandemic, we have found that people really want to help. Its a ray of light. After biomedical research centre the Francis Crick Institute opened its repurposed lab earlier this month, director Paul Nurse said: Institutes like ours are coming together with a Dunkirk spirit small boats that collectively can have a huge impact on the national endeavour. Meanwhile, leading Government adviser Neil Ferguson urged ministers to adopt a South Korean-style test, track and trace system. The country has one of the lowest mortality rates from coronavirus in the world, with only 242 deaths as of yesterday. Professor Ferguson, of Imperial College, said: Lockdown is not sustainable long-term we have to move to a different model. If we can get case numbers down low enough then I think we can look to the Korean model of how we can sustain control of transmission long-term. Its not certain we can achieve it, but it is certainly something we need to try given the economic, social and every other cost of lockdown. A Louisiana pastor who defied state orders against large gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic has been placed under house arrest. Tony Spell, of Life Tabernacle Church in the city of Central, has been fitted with an ankle bracelet and placed under house after he would not promise to maintain social distancing, his attorney confirmed Sunday. Spell has admitted to violating Louisiana's mandate to avoid large gatherings by hosting church services. Spell still showed up to the church's Sunday service, where he was greeted with cheers, according to a livestream posted on Facebook. The pastor showed off his ankle monitor while standing in front of his congregation, claiming, "I'm not hiding anymore." "It's a dirty, rotten, crying shame when you have to hide in America," he said. Related Video: Trump Set to Announce Reopening Guidelines Joseph Long, Spells attorney, told NBC News in a statement that Spell lived 50 yards from his church, which still planned to host services Sunday. Long characterized the judges order as forcing Spell to stop preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to his congregation. The judge has found him in contempt of Court for refusing to promise, Long said. Obviously, we believe this is an illegal order in violation of the Constitution, and will litigate the issue. Image: Members of the Life Tabernacle Church sing songs as they wait for pastor Tony Spell to leave the East Baton Rouge Jail in Louisiana on April 21, 2020. (Gerald Herbert / AP) In late March, Spell was issued a summons for violating the governor's executive order against gatherings of more than 50 people. He hosted a church service of about 500 worshippers. The following week, Spell was accused of violating the order again. He told CNN that he hosted around 1,220 churchgoers for a Palm Sunday service at his church. Spell was then arrested Tuesday and charged with assault for allegedly backing up his church bus dangerously close to a protester outside the church. He was met outside the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison by cheering supporters after he posted bail. The pastor insisted he would not give up his rights to worship. My right to have church and to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ are endowed by my creator not my district attorney, not my chief of police and not my Gov. John Bel Edwards," Spell said. Louisiana has been one of the harder hit states in the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 26,000 confirmed cases and at least 1,703 dead as of April 26. EDMONTONThere was something oddly uncomfortable about the little brown box that had arrived in my mail. There was no reason it should make me feel that way, considering I knew what was in the parcel and who it had come from. The small box contained a pair of N95 masks that had travelled about 3,500 kilometres from my parents home in Toronto to my apartment building in Edmonton. The masks were sent to protect me during the coronavirus pandemic, but as I stared at the neatly taped little box, I couldnt help but experience a feeling of dread. Several thoughts went through my mind. Ugh, have we really reached this point? Do I actually have to wear one of these? Will things ever be normal again? And then I wonder how much I could get for these on Kijiji? Just kidding, Mom and Dad. Kijiji has banned the sale of these kinds of items. And thats obviously not something I would actually do. What I can say is, this episode has really put into perspective how difficult it is to be separated from loved ones in trying times. My parents are kind and caring people. My mother, in particular, often asks me how Im doing, makes sure Im taking proper precautions and chides me for leaving the house. There is a feeling of helplessness when the people you are closest to are so far away. And in times like these, you cannot just get up and go visit. The numbers show Im not the only Canadian to find myself in this predicament. We frequently hear our friends and neighbours lamenting how they miss concerts, dining out, getting haircuts and visiting their chiropractor. But in a recent Angus Reid poll that asked Canadians what they were most looking forward to when life returns to normal, nearly half responded with hugging friends/family. The second most frequent response was reconnecting with people, at 34 per cent, followed by going to a restaurant/bar/cafe at 31 per cent. Even then, it shows our natural need for face-to-face contact, which cannot easily be replaced by a Zoom chat or Facetime call. When I left Toronto in 2012 to take a job as an editor at a community newspaper in Meadow Lake, Sask., I told my parents Id be back in a year. It didnt quite work out that way, a fact they frequently nag me about. My parents are now in their 70s. They would be considered high-risk if they were to be infected. Realistically, I should be more worried about them. And I am. But theres someone else I think about far more often. And Im sorry mom and dad, but I know you understand. I think most often about my two-year-old boy in Saskatchewan. My parents once told me I would never understand what I mean to them until I had children of my own. Can confirm, its true. The circumstances of why Im separated from my son are complicated, but I support him in every way I can and try to visit him as often as possible. Thats been much more challenging recently. Having close family in two different parts of the country is tough. When I take vacation time, I inevitably question whether I should visit my parents, who are aging, or my son, who is growing so quickly. The kiddo usually wins out. The parents understand. Being separated from family during a pandemic affects different people in different ways. My brother, also in Toronto, recently told me I had a guest appearance in one of his dreams. Bro, I had a dream about you! Really? About what? You died of COVID because you smoke and have asthma. Oh. (More on what your COVID dreams are telling you here). As we adjust to this version of normal, we are all finding new ways to stay connected with friends and family, often digitally. But everyone knows its not the same. Particularly when talking with a two-year-old who is more interested in flipping through apps than speaking to a virtual projection of his father. The hardest part about being separated from my son is that hes at that age where hes growing so fast and it feels like Im losing time that Ill never get back. But my situation is ultimately a lot less dire than what some people are facing an inability to visit a loved one who is sick, or attend a funeral for a family member theyve lost. And then there are those who have no family at all. These are strange times. Who would have thought that in 2020, one of the most important acts of consideration we could have for our loved ones is choosing to not visit them? Theres no doubt many of us feel alone due to social distancing and self isolation. Hopefully, after this is all over, we can appreciate the value and importance of the physical touch, human connection and being in the presence of our loved ones more than ever. And let us all look forward to the day we can breathe easy, hug tightly and speak moistly once again. Read more about: Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan, who was due to superannuate on April 30, was given a three-month extension as part of a major top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the central government on Sunday amid the coronavirus crisis. The decision assumes significance as the Health Ministry is at the forefront of checking the spread of COVID-19 in the country. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the three-month extension in Sudan's service, beyond the date of her superannuation, i.e. April 30, a Personnel Ministry order said. She will continue to function as the Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare during the period, it said. As many as 23 senior IAS officers have been appointed as secretaries in different central government departments as part of the bureaucratic rejig. Rural Development Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has been appointed as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Health and Family Welfare Department in the rank of secretary. He is likely to take over as the secretary of the department after the expiry of Sudan's extended tenure of three months. Nagendra Nath Sinha will be the new Secretary of Rural Development Department in place of Bhushan. He is at present Secretary, the Department of Border Management in the Home Ministry. Information and Broadcasting Secretary Ravi Mittal has been moved out as Secretary, Department of Sports, the order said. Amit Khare, the Secretary of the Department of Higher Education, has been given additional charge as the Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. Khare has earlier served in the I&B Ministry. In a surprising change, Consumer Affairs Secretary Pawan Kumar Agarwal has been appointed as Special Secretary (Logistics) in the Department of Commerce. Leena Nandan, the Special Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will be the Consumer Affairs Secretary in place of Agarwal. Food and Public Distribution Secretary Ravi Kant has been moved out as the Secretary, Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare. Senior bureaucrat Sudhanshu Panday will be the Food and Public Distribution Secretary in place of Kant. Panday is currently Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce. Tarun Bajaj, Additional Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, will be the new Department of Economic Affairs Secretary. Road Transport and Highways Secretary Sanjeev Ranjan has been moved out as the Shipping Secretary upon the superannuation of incumbent Gopal Krishna on April 30. Aramane Giridhar, the Additional Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat will be the Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in place of Ranjan. CBSE chairperson Anita Karwal has been appointed as the Secretary, Department of Education and Literacy. She is a 1988-batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre. Her colleague from the same cadre, Rameshwar Prasad Gupta has been appointed as the Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Gupta is currently Special Secretary, NITI Aayog. Pradip Kumar Tripathi, the Special Secretary and Establishment Officer in the Department of Personnel and Training, will be the Secretary, the Ministry of Steel. He is a 1987-batch IAS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre. Tarun Kapoor, the Vice Chairman of Delhi Development Authority (DDA), has been appointed as the Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in place of M M Kutty, who superannuates this month-end. Rajesh Verma, Special Secretary in the Department of Agriculture will be the new Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Anand Kumar, a 1984-batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, will be new Culture Secretary. He is at present Secretary in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi will succeed him. Arvind Kumar Sharma, Additional Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office will be the Secretary in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises upon superannuation of incumbent Arun Kumar Panda on April 30. Ram Mohan Mishra has been appointed as the Secretary in the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. He is currently Special Secretary and Development Commissioner in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi who is currently Special Secretary & Financial Advisor in the Culture Ministry, will now be the Secretary in the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals. Shri Ajay Tirkey, will be the Secretary in the Ministry of Women and Child Development, while Niten Chandra has been appointed as the Additional Secretary, Central Agency Section, Department of Legal Affairs. Chandra is at present Secretary, Central Information Commission (CIC) where he will be succeeded by Satbir Bedi, the chairperson of National Council for Teacher Education. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) CYNTHIA CHANDRAN By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala is likely to witness a counter-migration soon, with 2.5 lakh to 3 lakh Malayalis returning home jobless from West Asia alone by September owing to the Covid-19, said migration expert S Irudaya Rajan. Covid-19 has affected the global economy. Though Gulf migrants have faced several crises, this is serious. The latest setback is going to cost the state dearly, Rajan, a member of the high-level expert committee appointed by the state government to study the ramifications of the pandemic, told TNIE. It also depends on how the economies of the West Asian countries are going to recover post Covid-19, he said. He felt an additional one lakh migrants, mostly from Kuwait, who dont possess valid documents are set to return after the government there announced public pardon. If Kuwaits public pardon is successful, the remaining Gulf Cooperation Council countries may follow suit, said Rajan, who is hopeful a majority of the migrants may return to West Asia after a year or two when the economy gets better. I expected foreign remittances to Kerala from West Asia to reach an all-time high of Rs 1 lakh crore. Now, it will stay put at its 2018 figure of Rs 85,000 crore, Rajan said. ALSO READ: COVID-19 LIVE Keralites had returned from the Gulf in large numbers during the Gulf War of 1990-91, the global recession of 2008 and after the enactment of Nitaqat Law (by Saudi Arabia in 2011 which mandated minimum 10% reservation for Saudi nationals in businesses in the private sector). During the Gulf War, nearly 10 lakh Malayalis, mostly from Kuwait, returned to the state. Though counter-migration from the Gulf countries was lower during the recession, thousands of jobs were affected. And when the Nitaqat Law was implemented, the state government and various private firms rose to the occasion and many did not lose jobs. Not anticipating counter migration Kerala has produced more than a dozen billionaires in West Asia, including Lulu group chairman Yusuff Ali M A who has an annual turnover of $7.4 billion and employs over 50,000 people across the world. A top official of Lulu Group from Abu Dhabi told TNIE that they were not anticipating counter-migration from the Gulf. At present, everything is hypothetical. When respective governments resume airline operations, there will be initial rush to India. But it will mostly comprise people who had come on visiting visa and got stranded here. Then, it will be those who wish to visit their aged parents back home and will return after a sabbatical and finally, it will be those who lost jobs after their visas were terminated, the official said. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during his last public appearance at a ruling Workers' Party meeting in Pyongyang, April 11. Yonhap By Yi Whan-woo Speculation is rampant over North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's health, as the reclusive state remains mum over a recent CNN report that he is in critical condition after surgery. Based on commercial satellite imagery, the American North Korea-monitoring website 38 North said Saturday a train possibly belonging to Kim has been stationary at the country's eastern coastal city of Wonsan since at least April 21. "The train's presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country's eastern coast," 38 North said. A South Korean government official voiced a similar view, saying, "Our finding shows Kim has been staying in Wonsan after leaving Pyongyang where he presided over a ruling Workers' Party meeting on April 11." "It is our understanding that Kim, accompanied by his aides, has been carrying out various activities," the official said. Some social media users still suggest Kim may be in grave condition, amid a flux of international media reports that about 50 Chinese doctors were dispatched to the North Korea. Citing a Chinese communist party official, Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported Sunday the dispatch may be linked to Beijing-Pyongyang cooperation on COVID-19 crisis. The newspaper said sending 50 doctors may be too much if it was only to offer medical support for Kim. But Shukan Gendai, a Japanese weekly magazine, speculated differently. On Saturday, it said Kim collapsed while visiting a rural town and went into a vegetative state after his team of doctors was unsuccessful in stent placement. "A train belonging to Kim does not mean it is carrying Kim all the time," a YouTuber user with the ID Joe Jung posted on a South Korean news clip citing 38 North. "It makes more sense to say that Kim's health is at serious risk." The Chinese government has not made any response. Meanwhile, unverified and presumably false reports were posted online, Sunday, that Kim had died. A clip shows what appears to be a fake front page of a non-existent North Korean newspaper. It refers to Kim by an incorrect title, calling him chairman of the National Defense Commission, not the chairman of the State Affairs Commission. Against this backdrop, Pyongyang's state-controlled media has been making mention of Kim's activities but without showing related footage or photos of him. For instance, the Korean Central Broadcasting Committee reported Sunday that Kim sent a message of appreciation for the construction workers of an envisioned business district in Samjiyon. Located in Ryanggang Province, North Korea, Samjiyon is near Mount Paektu, which holds significance in Korean mythology. Health Secretary Preeti Sudan, due to retire this month-end, has been given a three-month extension on the crucial post, in a bid to maintain continuity in the government's response against coronavirus pandemic. In a major top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected on Sunday, Higher Education Secretary Amit Khare was given additional charge of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, while incumbent Ravi Mittal was shifted to the Department of Sports. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved Sudan's extension beyond the date of her superannuation on April 30, according to a Personnel Ministry order. The government also appointed Rural Development Secretary Rajesh Bhushan as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Health and Family Welfare department, indicating he may take over from Sudan after she retires on completion of the extended tenure. The period as OSD will help Bhushan in understanding the work of the ministry, which has become central to the country's fight against COVID-19. As many as 23 senior IAS officers have been appointed as secretaries in different central government departments as part of the rejig. Nagendra Nath Sinha will be the new Secretary of the Rural Development Department in place of Bhushan. Sinha is at present Secretary, the Department of Border Management in the Home Ministry. Tarun Bajaj and Arvind Kumar Sharma, who were working as the Additional Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), have been appointed as Economic Affairs Secretary and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Secretary, respectively. In a surprising change, Consumer Affairs Secretary Pawan Kumar Agarwal has been appointed as Special Secretary (Logistics), the Department of Commerce. He has been replaced by Leena Nandan, the Special Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Food and Public Distribution Secretary Ravi Kant has been shifted out as the Secretary, Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare and has been replaced by Sudhanshu Panday, currently Additional Secretary, the Department of Commerce. Road Transport and Highways Secretary Sanjeev Ranjan has been shifted as the Shipping Secretary, a post which will fall vacant this month end upon superannuation of Gopal Krishna. Aramane Giridhar, Additional Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat will be the Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in place of Ranjan. CBSE chairperson Anita Karwal has been appointed as the Secretary, the Department of Education and Literacy. She is a 1988-batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre. Her colleague from the same cadre, Rameshwar Prasad Gupta has been appointed as the Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Gupta is currently Special Secretary, NITI Aayog. Pradip Kumar Tripathi, Special Secretary and Establishment Officer in the Department of Personnel and Training, will be Secretary, the Ministry of Steel. He is a-1987 batch IAS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre. Delhi Development Authority (DDA) Vice Chairman Tarun Kapoor has been appointed as the Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in place of M M Kutty, who retires this month-end. Rajesh Verma, the Special Secretary in the Department of Agriculture, will be the new Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Anand Kumar, a 1984-batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, will be the new Culture Secretary. He is at present Secretary in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi will be the new secretary in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.in place of Kumar. Ram Mohan Mishra has been appointed as the Secretary in National Commission for Scheduled Castes. He is currently Special Secretary and Development Commissioner in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi, Special Secretary & Financial Advisor in the Culture Ministry, will be Secretary, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals. Ajay Tirkey will be the Secretary in the Ministry of Women and Child Development and Niten Chandra has been appointed Additional Secretary, Central Agency Section, Department of Legal Affairs. Chandra is at present Secretary, Central Information Commission (CIC). Satbir Bedi, chairperson of National Council for Teacher Education will be Secretary, Central Information Commission. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Some of Perths elite private school principals have reversed their advice to parents as to when children should return to classrooms after receiving a letter from WAs chief medical officer, but some parents are disappointed their schools havent followed suit. Both Penrhos College and Guildford Grammar principals backflipped on their decisions to only offer face-to-face learning to some year groups while others were expected to continue with remote online lessons from term 2. Some of WA's elite private schools reverse decision to open doors to all students, while others stick by their plan. Credit:Michele Mossop Since receiving Dr Andy Robertsons letter last week advocating that it was safe for children to attend school, both principals revised their decisions and now encouraged all year levels to return to the classroom this week. However, not all private or independent schools followed suit, with a parent from Perth College telling WAtoday they were shocked their principal hadnt followed Dr Robertsons latest advice. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 20:15:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Students have a class at Nanmen primary school in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, April 26, 2020. Primary school students in grades 4-6, junior and senior high school students in grade one returned to school in Hefei on Sunday. (Xinhua/Zhang Duan) Schools are allowed to resume operation only when the epidemic is basically controlled and the epidemic prevention measures are adopted to protect the health of teachers and students on campus. BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Ensuring safety should be the prerequisite for classes resumption across China as the COVID-19 epidemic situation has been eased, an official with the Ministry of Education (MOE) said in a recent interview. Some grades of primary and secondary schools in all provincial-level areas in China have decided to resume classes, said Wang Dengfeng, director of the MOE leading group office on the COVID-19 response, noting the estimated intensive classes resumption in May will be a big test for education authorities. Education organs have ordered differentiated schedules for primary and secondary schools to start new semesters, allowing senior students to resume classes in advance, Wang said, adding that more students will be back to campus as more epidemic containment measures are in place. Wang underscored that schools are allowed to resume operation only when the epidemic is basically controlled and the epidemic prevention measures are adopted to protect the health of teachers and students on campus. The MOE also required schools to roll out contingency plans to cope with the risk of virus transmission before resuming classes, Wang said, noting that some schools are devising emergency response plans, demanding special vehicles to transfer people with symptoms including fever and cough or confirmed COVID-19 cases to hospitals. OTTAWA COUNTY, MI A 42-year-old man was rescued and treated for hypothermia after his kayak capsized on a lake near Grand Rapids on Saturday, officials said. The Ottawa County Sheriffs Office responded to the water rescue call at 10:47 a.m. Saturday, April 25, at Fennessy Lake in Tallmadge Township, according to a news release issued by the sheriffs office. Sheriffs deputies were called to Fennessy Lake on a report of a man yelling for help in the water. The 42-year-old Grandville man had been kayaking in the lake when his watercraft capsized, police reported. Deputies arrived to find the man in the water, holding onto his kayak, which was upside down and halfway submerged in the water, police said. Deputies borrowed a kayak from a nearby residence and began paddling out into the lake to assist the male kayaker. Before police reached the man, a bystander from a nearby residence had reached the kayaker in a rowboat, helped the man into the boat and rowed him to shore, according to the sheriffs office. Police said the kayaker, who had been completely submerged in water, was treated for hypothermia and released at the scene. Sheriffs deputies were assisted on the scene by Tallmadge Township Fire Department and Georgetown Fire Department. More on MLive: Kayaker rescued after capsizing in Lake Michigan Body recovered from Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids Pedestrian wearing headphones struck by train in Kalamazoo A piquant picture of the post pandemic world appeared in the spa town of Lazne Bohdanec east of Prague when Czech police patrol ordered a bevy of committed nudists to "cover up" -- with face masks, the new fig leaf. The police penetration of their idyllic parks has caused deep consternation: nudism brought them close to nature, of course, but also helped them tan. The latter objective stands compromised because of the pigmentation difference between the masked and unmasked parts of the body. The minor turbulence in nudist parks, notwithstanding, the Czech Republic, indeed, countries of Eastern Europe, are feeling a little more satisfied than their West European cousins in the way they have controlled coronavirus. There is intense debate that borders between nations be sealed for longer than was imagined. Balkanization of Europe is therefore in the cards. There is, in Hungary, that looming figure of strongman, Viktor Orban, causing a flutter in libertarian hearts because he accords efficiency, with an iron fist, precedence over freedom. He calls his system "illiberal democracy". Does Modi's state also qualify for such a change in name? It would be disingenuous to hint that our very own Modi takes notes from Orban at dictation speed. There is just a coincidence: In form and feature, face and limb I grew so like the Hungarian That folks went taking me for him Though I'm a vegetarian Yes, the manner in which Orban has consolidated power in the guise of fighting coronavirus, bears resemblance. Orban has appropriated emergency powers for good; there is, on the other hand, no "declared" emergency in India. The Prime Minister does not need a formal emergency. His hold on the people is absolute. Can Orban, or any strongman anywhere in the world, bring the nation to its balconies beating pots and pans? Modi created the thousands of years old festival of Diwali lights in his very own image. There could be some similarity with Orban in the way medics in the battle against coronavirus are being protected. Any interference with epidemiological isolation will attract a six year imprisonment in Hungary. Modi, in his ordinance, has gone one better: there will be seven-year jail and Rupees 50,00,000 fine if anti-corona doctors are obstructed. The perverse will say God has blessed Modi with luck. Just when the economy was in a nosedive, came the pandemic, inviting a lockdown which has devastated the economy. The historian, like the godi (lapdog) media, will explain away record unemployment and looming hunger, on the virus. The international "Markaz" or centre of Tableeghi Jamaat, a Muslim reform movement, headquartered in Nizamuddin, erupted last month with cases of coronavirus. Tableeghis from a dozen or so countries held a seminar on their mission. They are an innocuous group: they do not convert, nor do they preach jehad. But in their appearance they look like the two groups. A world in the grip of post 9/11 Islamophobia must have found the Tableeghis as Godsend sources of information. As a result of this summit all the 6 to 8 floors (only deep insiders have been to the highest floor) of the Markaz have been cleared of devotees. During peak season, the Markaz can accommodate 10,000 devotees. During the conference in early March there were 6,000 Tableeghis in the Markaz. A question the media has chosen not to ask: which official agency has over the years given permission to the Jamaat to build floors upon floors of structures which are brazenly illegal. Two floors were added in the past two years. This, when the Nizamuddin Police Station shares a wall with the Markaz. Nor does the archeological survey show any interest in recovering Ghayasuddin Balban's palace, the earliest such building in the area, which the Tableeghis have encroached. It is an interesting aside that the Nizamuddin basti, its social texture, totally divorced from the Tablighis, has not reported a single case of the virus. It cannot be denied that infected Tableeghis somewhat stupidly travelled in all directions -- Andaman and Nicobar, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kashmir and so on. Meanwhile, what is one to make of the BJP leadership accelerating cases under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act -- Gautam Navlakha, Anand Teltumbde, Omar Khalid and Jamia Students associated with the anti CAA agitation which ballooned into the Shaheen Bagh movement. One had somehow, naively maybe, expected a more cooperative post corona atmosphere. A more confrontational one is swimming into one's ken. All of this is happening at a time when the lockdown is increasingly in bad odour. Experts like Dr. Satyaprakash Muliyil, former Principal, Vellore Medical College, Dr. Mathew Varghese, St. Stephen's Hospital and Prof. Johan Griesecke, Internationally recognized Swedish expert, have been advocating: "herd immunity" as the preferred option. The theory being that the coronavirus has come to stay, just as dengue and chikungunya have become unfortunate parts of our lives. What does Modi do now? Does he lift the lockdown and face attending risks? A spike in cases and he will face the flak. If there is no spike, the decision to have locked down will begin to look like a government-made-economic disaster. In any case, when and how does the lockdown end? Has Veer Abhimanyu entered the Chakravyuh and there is no Arjun or Krishna to guide him out of it? (Saeed Naqvi is a senior commentator on political and diplomatic issues. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached on saeednaqvi@hotmail.com) Latest updates on Howdy Modi Houston By PTI KARACHI: Over 400 Pakistanis stranded in Afghanistan due to the restrictions in place to curb the coronavirus pandemic crossed over to Pakistan through the Torkham border and have been placed under quarantine, according to a media report on Sunday. The 462 returnees, who arrived on Saturday, include 379 men, 47 women and 60 children. With this, the total number of Pakistanis who have returned from Afghanistan amid the ongoing crisis has reached 1,632, the Dawn newspaper reported. Hundreds of Pakistanis and Afghan nationals are stuck on either side due to closure of the border as a precautionary measure to contain the deadly coronavirus from spreading. ALSO READ | COVID-19: Pakistan denies preparing vaccine, 160 doctors among 12,227 positive cases Shamsul Islam, the focal person for the return of stranded Pakistanis, said that more people were expected to come back via the Torkham border in the coming days. They were shifted to a quarantine facility in Jamrud in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after completion of the necessary immigration procedure, he said. The swab samples of the newly returned people would be taken after 48 hours of their arrival and they would be given complete health facilities, the report said. The total number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan reached 12,644 on Saturday with 256 deaths. Connecticut Guard provides mobile COVID-19 testing lab By Staff Sgt. Steven Tucker | 103rd Airlift Wing April 25, 2020 HARTFORD, Conn. -- The Connecticut National Guard has turned a vehicle designed to test for environmental chemical, biological, and radiological contamination into a mobile clinical laboratory to expand the Connecticut Department of Public Health's COVID-19 testing capacity. The 14th Civil Support Team brought its analytical laboratory system to Charter Oak Family Health Center on April 24, 2020, for the first of what the Guard and Connecticut Department of Public Health plan to be many sites the team will visit to conduct testing. "The initial intention for this process is to be able to take the testing to areas where individuals have no means to be able to go and get tested," said Dr. Jafar Razeq, Connecticut Department of Public Health state laboratory director. "So we thought that by utilizing this mobile unit, we would have trained individuals moving around the state going into areas where we can test individuals and have results within a short time." This presents a new mission for the civil support team, who primarily uses the mobile laboratory for environmental samples, but is ready to provide this expanded capability. "The process was conceptualizing the mission, establishing limiting factors and capabilities, coming up with an agreement for operation, training our personnel, and at this point, it's logistics and ensuring we can meet the demand the state has," said U.S. Air Force Maj. Robert Burgess, 14th Civil Support Team commander. Health care workers from local clinics like Charter Oak conduct the swab inside their building and deliver the sample to the vehicle, which contains the lab space in the back. This quick transfer saves time compared to sending the sample to the state lab in Rocky Hill. Working together, the Department of Public Health and civil support team hope to test 70 to 80 patients per day seven days per week. "Time is of the essence in this unprecedented public health emergency," said Razeq. "Test results are needed as soon as possible from the time the patient is tested. So we hope that this will be a successful program that other states can look at and see if they can implement it in their state." Every state's civil support team has at least one analytical laboratory system to test environmental samples and some states, depending on their population, have two, said Burgess. In Connecticut, the plan was implemented quickly. "We were contacted about a week and a half ago with the concept and we worked through the processes and got the approvals to start the operation today under the direction of the lab director and Connecticut Department of Public Health," said Burgess. "This is what the civil support team is here forproviding support to our federal, state, and local officials. We're honored to be a part of it." The Connecticut Department of Public Health is happy to have the support of the National Guard in carrying out this mission, said Razeq. "I'm very impressed," said Razeq. "We went from the time the first communication happened to do testing in less than two weeks. That's remarkable and I could not ask for better collaboration." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address About 400,000 people were evacuated from the exclusion zone. Ukraine is commemorating the 34th anniversary of the Chernobyl (Chornobyl) disaster on April 26. The world's worst ever nuclear accident happened 34 years ago when the Chornobyl nuclear power plant near the city of Kyiv in the then Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) exploded on April 26, 1986. Explosion On that disastrous day, Chornobyl nuclear power unit No. 4 exploded followed by a fire inside the facility. The nuclear reactor was completely destroyed in that explosion, and a large amount of radioactive substances was released into the environment. Read alsoReuters: Fires near Chornobyl pose 'no risk to human health,' IAEA says This accident is regarded as the largest of its kind in the entire history of nuclear energy, both in terms of the estimated number of people killed and affected by its aftermath, and in terms of economic damage. Victims and the Aftermath It is known that 31 people died within the first three months after the accident. Its direct casualties include another 19 deaths that occurred from 1987 to 2004. As many as 134 Chornobyl clean-up workers suffered from acute radiation syndrome of different severity. Official reports indicate that high levels of human exposure resulted in another 4,000 deaths. According to experts and the public, these figures are significantly lower than the actual number of victims. The radiation leak caused by the blast at the fourth Chornobyl power unit is equated to the explosion of 500 atomic bombs dropped over Hiroshima in 1945. An area of 160,000 square kilometers was contaminated. The total area affected by radioactive pollution in Ukraine was 50,000 square kilometers in 12 regions. Other affected areas include almost 60,000 square kilometers in 19 Russian regions, where 2.6 million people were exposed to radiation pollution. In the then Byelorussian Soviet Republic, an area of 46,500 square kilometers with about a fifth of its population was contaminated. About 400,000 people were evacuated from the exclusion zone. Of them there were 47,500 inhabitants of the town of Pripyat (Prypyat). Now, according to various sources, 140 so-called "self-settlers" live in the zone. Chornobyl Disaster Remembrance Day On December 8, 2016, the UN General Assembly issued resolution 71/125 on persistent legacy of the Chornobyl disaster to designate April 26 as International Chornobyl Disaster Remembrance Day. In the document, three decades after the Chornobyl disaster, the General Assembly recognizes "the still-persistent serious long-term consequences thereof, as well as the continuing related needs of the affected communities and territories." It decided, in order to "raise awareness of the long-term consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, to designate 26 April as International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day, to be observed every year beginning in 2017, [it] invites all Member States, relevant agencies of the United Nations system and other international organizations, as well as civil society, to observe the day." Eddie Rodriguez (R) and other City of Hialeah employees hand out unemployment applications to people in their vehicles in front of the John F. Kennedy Library on April 08, 2020 in Hialeah, Florida. White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett warned on Sunday that unemployment could hit levels not seen since the Great Depression as the economy contracts dramatically while businesses in most parts of the nation remain shuttered due to the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn on Sunday morning, Hassett said the unemployment rate could hit 16% and "the next couple of months are going to be terrible" for economic data. "We see an unemployment rate that approaches rates we saw during the Great Depression," Hassett told ABC's "This Week." "During the Great Recession we lost 8.7 million jobs in the whole thing. Now we're losing that many every 10 days, so the lift for economic policy makers is an extraordinary one." Hassett described the coronavirus shutdown as "the biggest negative shock that our economy I think has ever seen." President Donald Trump said earlier this week that in a phone call with Apple CEO Tim Cook, the tech leader said he expected a V-shaped recovery, meaning a quick rebound after a sharp fall. Hassett said on ABC that a V-shaped recovery will depend on the next response from the federal government. "A lot will depend on what happens next," Hassett said about the chances of seeing a V-shaped economic rebound rather than a longer U-shaped return to economic growth. "What we've done with the previous legislation is built a bridge hopefully to the other side of the disease, but then we have to make sure we have what it takes to prosper. " Hassett told ABC, "Over the next three to four weeks, everyone will pull together to come up with a plan to give us the best chance possible for a V-shaped recovery." Speaking to Chris Wallace on FOX News Sunday, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said he expects the economy to bounce back by the summer. "I think as we begin to reopen the economy in May and June you're going to see the economy really bounce back in July, August, September. [...] You're seeing trillions of dollars that's making its way into the economy and I think this is going to have a significant impact," Mnuchin said. Wallace questioned the Treasury Secretary's confidence, citing numbers including the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projecting GDP will shrink by 5.6% this year and unemployment end 2020 close to 12%. The Fox News anchor also noted that Mnuchin's former employer, Goldman Sachs, says the global hit will be four times worse than the 2008 Great Recession. "This is a scenario where we've closed the economy and we're going to open the economy," Mnuchin said. "So all these models are based upon health assumptions, how quickly we reopen, so we'll see. My own opinion is, again, we have an unprecedented amount of liquidity in the system. We're very sympathetic to all the people that are out of work. But there is enhanced unemployment, there's the PPP, there's direct deposits. [ ] And as businesses begin to open you're going to see the demand side of the economy rebound." The insured unemployment rate, which compares those current receiving benefits to the size of the labor force, rose to 11% this past week, a weekly jump of 2.8%. That translates to "a barely believable" 23% when the Labor Department releases its unemployment rate calculation in two weeks, according to Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics. The previous high for the U.S. was 24.9% during the Great Depression. "You're going to see numbers as bad as we've ever seen," Hassett said. "GDP growth in second quarter is going to be negative. Wall Street estimates are negative 20%, 30%. We've done something unprecedented, stopped everything, output [has] gone to zero." Jordan's Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) experienced a 21.1 per cent decline in year-to-date passenger figures following global travel restrictions to curb the coronavirus outbreak, receiving a total of 1,518,069 passengers during the first three months of 2020. According to statistics released by Airport International Group, QAIA also recorded a 16.7 per cent decrease in aircraft movements (ACM) and a 20.4 per cent drop in cargo to reach 14,792 ACM and 18,006 tons, respectively. The significant reduction in passengers, ACM and cargo figures was driven largely by the Covid-19 pandemic, which continues to reduce airline activity and hinder the local, regional and global aviation sectors. On March 17, the Government of Jordan ordered the temporary suspension of commercial passenger flights through QAIA - with the exception of cargo, evacuation, emergency medical supply and maintenance flights. Given the mandatory restriction of operations, QAIA received 249,445 passengers, witnessed 2,905 ACM and handled 3,763 tons of cargo during March - representing declines of 63.1 per cent, 52.9 per cent and 55.4 per cent, respectively - compared with the same month last year. Meanwhile, in February, QAIA had welcomed 588,833 passengers, demonstrating a 0.8 per cent decline in year-on-year figures, as well as registered a 2.9 per cent increase in ACM and a 1.0 per cent decrease in cargo to settle at 5,682 ACM and 7,066 tons, respectively. As the monthly figures clearly show, the ripple effect of the Covid-19 travel constraints started back in February, when countries worldwide began limiting or suspending flights to and from certain destinations. Paired with the decision to close QAIA for health and safety reasons, national air travel has been severely affected, and traffic statistics for the first quarter reflect that, with Marchs year-on-year passenger figures going down by approximately two thirds, commented Airport International Group CEO, Nicolas Claude. Despite these unfavorable results, we are committed to working closely with the Government of Jordan, airlines and stakeholders, as well as with relevant local and international authorities, to ensure QAIA resumes its activities in stringent compliance with set preventive measures to safeguard our passengers, employees and the nation at large, whose health and safety remain a top priority. - TradeArabia News Service The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday took custody of Dheeraj and Kapil Wadhawan of DHFL group who are allegedly involved in the YES Bank scam from their bungalow in Mahabaleshwar in Satara , 260 km south of Mumbai after their quarantine ended, a senior official of the agency said. The CBI had obtained an arrest warrant against the two brothers after the family was caught holidaying in Mahabaleshwar. On April 18, the brothers had obtained a stay on execution of an arrest warrant after their lawyer pleaded that the two should not be arrested amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The Special court had granted them relief and stayed the warrant. The court order protected the two from arrest till May 5. However, CBI, which was not heard while staying the warrant, approached the special court to lift the stay. The Wadhwans interim relief was cancelled on Saturday (April 25) and a CBI team from Mumbai reached Satara Sunday afternoon to arrest the two brothers, a senior officer of the agency said. The agency was assisted by the Satara police. The two arrested men will be brought to Mumbai by the evening, the officer said. Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh confirmed the arrests with a tweet. A CBI team has taken both Kapil and Dhiraj Wadhwan into custody. Satara Police has given them all required assistance & an escort vehicle with one plus three guards upto Mumbai on a written request. The arrest procedures are going on, Deshmukh tweeted. A #CBI team has taken both Kapil and Dhiraj Wadhwan into custody.@SataraPolice has given them all required assistance & an escort vehicle with 1+3 guard upto Mumbai on a written request. The arrest procedures are going on.#LawEqualForAll ANIL DESHMUKH (@AnilDeshmukhNCP) April 26, 2020 According to the CBI FIR, between April and June, 2018, Yes Bank invested 3,700 crore in short-term debentures of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL). In return, the Wadhawans allegedly paid kickback of 600 crore to Kapoor and family members in the form of loan to DoIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd. The CBI had obtained non bailable warrant against the two on March 17 but the two men had not been arrested. On April 9, the Wadhawans, with a group of 23 people flouted the lockdown and travelled to Mahabaleshwar from Khandala after a senior home department official gave them a free pass. They were put in quarantine once the news of their lockdown violation became public. DHFL is already under probe ny teh Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly siphoning of around Rs 13,000 crore taken from banks and for Wadhawans links with Iqbal Mirchi (now dead), an aide of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. As mass coronavirus testing expands in U.S. prisons, the results are revealing a shocking truth about the virus large numbers of infected inmates are showing no symptoms. In four state prison systems -- Arkansas, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia -- 96% of the over 3,200 inmates who tested positive for the coronavirus were asymptomatic. Thats according to interviews with officials and records reviewed by Reuters. The numbers are the latest evidence to suggest that people who are asymptomatic contagious but not physically sick -- may be driving the spread of the virus, not only in state prisons, but also in communities across the globe. The figures also reinforce questions over whether testing only people suspected of being infected is actually capturing the spread of the virus. Michele Deitch, a senior lecturer at the University of Texas Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, says that prisons are a ticking time bomb. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS LYNDON B JOHNSON SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS SENIOR LECTURER, MICHELE DEITCH, SAYING:" Prisons and jails are petri dishes for the spread of the COVID virus. They are very densely populated. They don't have sufficient hygiene protocols and people in custody don't have ready access to hand-washing stations or hand sanitizer or masks. And there is no meaningful ability to socially distance within those facilities. So all the protections we have in the free world are not available inside the walls, behind the walls.Most states have not started mass testing of people in custody, and they've limited testing to those people who are showing very serious symptoms. And yet we know from the experts that in our free world communities that mass testing is absolutely necessary for getting a handle on this outbreak." The United States has more people behind bars than any other nation, a total incarcerated population of nearly 2.3 million as of 2017. Chris Gautz is the spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Corrections, and says the mass testing of inmates is revealing some troubling realities. Story continues (SOUNDBITE) (English) MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS SPOKESPERSON, CHRIS GAUTZ, SAYING: This is a new step that we're taking and the numbers are quite troubling. It just shows you how contagious this disease can be and how quickly it can spread unknowingly with people who don't have any symptoms." As the coronavirus spreads behind bars, rights groups and public defenders say they fear more will succumb, and have pressed for the release of nonviolent older and medically high-risk inmates. While thousands have been let out, crowded, often unsanitary conditions have raised concerns that jails and prisons could become vectors for the disease. It has been wisely said, and widely subscribed, that a positive attitude wont guarantee youll succeed, but being negative will guarantee you wont. It is time for us to put our game face on. By every measure, our nation, our county, our city, our neighborhood, and our very own house can stand inaction no more. Governor Lee and Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger are the first to realize our people's plea for unemployment benefits, both nationally and statewide, has never been as high. Suicide cases are starting to soar. Thousands in Chattanooga are desperate and, as our citys Democrat mayor, Andy Berke, claims he needs another week to bury his head in the sand, he and his fellow naysayers should instead study the new Stanford report that the liberal elites do not want you to see. Andy went to Stanford, which he will readily acknowledge as one of the nations premier universities, and agree their medical research is believed to be among the best in the world. That established, Stanford U. is in Palo Alto, Ca., which I know all about. Right now, The Stanford Report has gone viral to each COVID-19 researcher in the world. It is the most positive scientific finding as we search high and low for factual matter on the coronavirus because, in just four months, there are no experts, as the New York Times affirmed this week. Two weeks ago, our Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the actual number of virus cases was more than 25 percent higher than the nations reported cases, which was 944,171 at 2 p.m. yesterday. There were 22,843 new cases in the last 24 hours, so well jump over a million early this week, but the Stanford study has evidence that the unreported cases are much, much higher. The new report proves that there are 50-to-85 times more cases than have been reported. If that is indeed the case, the chances of dying from the coronavirus are between 0.14 and 0.2 percent, which makes further quarantine something akin to a practical joke. Stanford is in Santa Clara Valley, a county of 2 million people that has Stanford at one end and stretches through Silicon Valley to San Jose at the other. Trained researchers from the University tested 3,300 volunteers. Nasal swab testing shows if an individual is currently infected. But Stanford did antibody testing, a blood test instead of a swab, where the results can be broken down into two immunoglobulin groups of reactivity. (No, I am not that smart, but this is what the Stanford study says as I hold the pre-print in my hands. A pre-print is a study that is complete but has not yet passed peer review.) The first part of the test shows IgM, the levels that rise soon after the infection takes place. The IgG, is what represents ongoing resistance. The idea is that after a person recovers from COVID-19, the IgM fades and the IgG heightens to provide some partial immunity (we hope) that will block a return of the Wu-flu, the new slang word. The Stanford finding: There are between 50-to-85 times more cases in the United States than what has been reported. What does that mean? Read this excerpt from the pre-print: * * * These results represent the first large-scale community-based prevalence study in a major U.S. county completed during a rapidly changing pandemic, and with newly available test kits. We consider our estimate to represent the best available current evidence, but recognize that new information, especially about the test kit performance, could result in updated estimates. For example, if new estimates indicate test specificity to be less than 97.9 percent, our SARS-CoV-2 prevalence estimate would change from 2.8 percent to less than 1 percent, and the lower uncertainty bound of our estimate would include zero. On the other hand, lower sensitivity, which has been raised as a concern with point-of-care test kits, would imply that the population prevalence would be even higher. New information on test kit performance and population should be incorporated as more testing is done and we plan to revise our estimates accordingly. ( https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.14.20062463v1.full.pdf ) * * * Simpler put, the Study indicates there are many, many cases where the symptoms are not exhibited, where the infected have no idea they are ill. In Santa Clara County on April 1, there were 956 reported cases, mostly by swab tests, but Stanfords data (found by blood testing of actual antibodies) implies there were really between 48,000 and 81,000 actual cases. So, what does that mean? Read this from the actual report: We can use our prevalence estimates to approximate the infection fatality rate from COVID-19 in Santa Clara County. As of April 10, 2020, 50 people have died of COVID-19 in the county, with an average increase of 6 percent daily in the number of deaths. If our estimates of 48,000-81,000 infections represent the cumulative total on April 1, and we project deaths to April 22 (a 3-week lag from time of infection to death), we estimate about 100 deaths in the county. A hundred deaths out of 48,000-81,000 infections corresponds to an infection fatality rate of 0.12-0.2 percent. Those numbers have a profound effect on what is a global tool for reducing uncertainty about the state of the epidemic, which may have important public benefits. (GET THIS: As of yesterday (4/25/2020) at 4 p.m., Santa Clara County had 1,920 cases (36) new with 98 deaths (three new) sure enough, the fatality rate predicted by the Stanford test is almost to the very number but look at the fatality rate, its between 0.12-0.2 percent!) Thats the point! According to Stanford researchers, the average Americans chances of being killed by the coronavirus are less than 1 percent. Please, this does not mean we drop our drastic precautions. We should distance, wear face masks, scrub our hands, but with a proven fatality rate of 0.12-to-0.2 percent, instead of what was believed to be six percent, Andy Berkes very alma mater should think about rescinding his diploma for fear-mongering, holding his city under virtual house arrest, and putting political party over people -- those he swore he would serve. * * * HERES WHERE COMMON SENSE OVERRULES FEAR In the hundreds of articles and studies I have read since the outbreak, there is more misinformation than truth. That is easily explainable because our best medical centers have never seen such a thing. All agree that the USA has no experts, only experiments. Only until last week in Chattanooga did we offer tests to the public. Heretofore tests were saved for who? Only the sick people, which was the right thing to do for every reason. But the percentages were obviously skewed by testing only the sick, there is no way the Tennessee tests represented the states population. Now, because they are being offered to everybody, here is what is happening: The latest results posted by the Tennessee Department of Health show weve swab-tested 141,406 residents. There have been 132,217 negatives and 9,189 positives. Thats 14.3 percent, and it is still wrong; the healthy has no way of being fairly compared to the sick because of a mangled start. A real analysis is probably considerably less than 10 percent. This is not meant to be critical or demeaning to anyone, but to explain the statistics being quoted are untrue. Testing or not, there have been 9,189 cases reported in clinical propriety in Tennessee and 821 (9 percent) have been admitted to hospitals. There have been 178 deaths out of the positives, which is two percent of all reported cases. But, wait. What if Tennessee had been able to mirror Stanfords efforts? Are there 50-to-80 percent more actual cases than what is reported? Then answer me this In Hamilton County, there have been 140 reported cases and that figure is represented by 13 deaths. Hamilton County has done an amazing job with so help me the greatest Chattanooga-Hamilton County Coronavirus Task Force ever assembled. Again, 13 deaths out of 364,286 people and youre gonna tuck tail and run? Turn off the lights and hide behind the curtains? Mayor Berke, you just said you are gonna sentence the city of Chattanooga, population 177,571, to another week of house arrest over 13 deaths county-wide? The city of Chattanoogas had more shootings than that in the past 30 days but, my goodness, the mayor wants to flex against the virus versus facing Erlangers indigent bill. Not only is that not right, that is your legacy come March of next year. John Wayne is best remembered for saying, Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway. But Duke also said, When you come against trouble, its never half as bad if you face up to it. For the record, he also once told a thick-headed guy: Youre short on ears and long on mouth. Aint that fittin? * * * WHERE DOES COVID-19 FIT IN? You know that nobody gets out of this world alive. You also know that in four months since COVID-19 made its debut, that the coronavirus has, as of Saturday at 4 p.m. (4-25-2020) has caused 53,275 deaths. If we take this four-month figure, multiply it by three, we end up with a years projection of 159,825 in 2020. Our scientists tell us, no, it will not reach that number, that the virus will peak, and that the curve will flatten. It is already starting to happen. We pray for that day. The last finite numbers from the Centers of Disease Control for our Top 10 deadliest diseases are for the year 2017. During 2017, there were 2,813,503 deaths in the United States, includes natural causes, so look at this yearly disease table courtesy of the CDC: * -- Heart disease: 647,457 * -- Cancer: 599,108 * -- Accidents (unintentional injuries): 169,936 * -- Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 160,201 (CORONAVIRUS: 159,826 (Mathematical, not scientific. The virus has already peaked. One scientific model projects 80,000 deaths by the end of August) * -- Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 146,383 * -- Alzheimers disease: 121,404 * -- Diabetes: 83,564 * -- Influenza and Pneumonia: 55,672 * -- Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis: 50,633 * -- Intentional self-harm (suicide): 47,173 * * * Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem to be more afraid of life than death. -- James F. Byrnes The famous saying art imitates life came to a bizarre fruition in Canada this week after a British Columbia resident sued another man for selling him a defective parrot in a suit reminiscent of one of Monty Pythons most famous sketches. Michael Davy said he bought a male Electus Parrot named Tiberius from fellow Salt Spring Island resident Akhtar Kidwai in September last year for $2,100. When making the purchase, Davy said he noticed Tiberius was missing a few of its tail feathers, but when the birds condition began to worsen he was told by the seller it was only molting and had clipped wings but was otherwise healthy, documents from the tribunal show. But much like the excuses offered in Monty Pythons 1969 Dead Parrot Sketch - in which John Cleese confronts a shopkeeper for selling him a deceased Norwegian Blue - the plumage didnt enter into it, nor was the bird just pining for the fjords. Michael Davy said he bought a male Electus Parrot named Tiberius from fellow Salt Spring Island resident Akhtar Kidwai in September last year for $2,100 The classic 1969 Dead Parrot Sketch featured a pet shop owner - played by Michael Palin - offering outlandish excuses after selling a dead bird to a customer played by John Cleese Davy discovered less than a month later that Tiberius who was meant to have a life expectancy of up to 40 years actually had Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD), a terminal disease putting Tiberius in danger of becoming an ex-parrot in just a matter of weeks. Davy then accused Kidwai of misrepresenting Tiberius health, claiming the seller knew the bird was ill with the highly infectious virus but failed to disclose the fact. Kidwai, meanwhile, doubled down on his claims of innocence telling the tribunal that though he accepts the bird was missing feathers at the time of sale, he honestly thought it was just 'due to molting. The seller denied having any knowledge the bird was ill and insisted the facility where Tiberius was kept was clean and no other birds on the premises had been infected with PBFD. Kidwai also said Davy conducted a thorough pre-purchase inspection of the bird and requested that Tiberius wings be clipped. An aggrieved Davy sued Kidwai for $2,641, asking for a full refund for the purchase of the bird as well as an additional $561 in veterinary bills, claiming the seller fraudulently misrepresented the bird's state. While resolution tribunal member Julie Gibson said the accusation failed to meet the burden of proof, she did find a clause in British Columbias Sale of Goods Act that applied to the parrots purchase. Michael Davy (above) discovered less than a month later that Tiberius who was meant to have a life expectancy of up to 40 years actually had Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD), a fatal disease putting Tiberius in danger of becoming an ex-parrot in just a matter of weeks An aggrieved Davy sued Kidwai for $2,641, asking for a full refund for the purchase of the bird as well as an additional $561 in veterinary bills, claiming the seller made a fraudulent misrepresentation While resolution tribunal member Julie Gibson said the accusation failed to meet the burden of proof, she did find a clause in British Columbias Sale of Goods Act that applied to the parrots purchase According to Gibson, the law carries an implied warranty [that a] good will be durable for a reasonable period having regard to the use to which it would normally be put and to all the surrounding circumstances. Considering Tiberius slated life expectancy, Gibson ruled that Davy had a right to expect Tiberius to be healthy for at least six months after buying the bird. I find that there was an implied warranty in the parties' contract that Tiberius would be healthy for at least six months, tribunal member Julie Gibson wrote, as first reported by CBC. Instead, Tiberius became very ill within weeks of the applicant's purchase,' Gibson continued. As Davy had found some benefit from owning Tiberius, Gibson awarded him 75 percent of the original purchase price as a refund. She also ordered Kidwai to pay Tiberius veterinary bills, bringing the total amount of compensation up to $1,886.33. The tribunal made no mention of Tiberius' current state of health. Davy has not yet responded for a DailyMail.com request for comment. I was sold a parrot with a terminal illness, Davy told CBC of his experience. Plain and simple. Dont tell anybody, but theres a Coronavirus pop up art exhibit going on at the Eastern Shore Art Center in Fairhope, Alabama. Come get your creepy art catharsis on ... just keep your distance. Word on the street is the exhibit features work by Bruce Larsen, Pinky Bass, Roy Hoffman and some local dork. Meet the physician who was so disturbed by the coronavirus he gave it a face: His own. Read Dr. Lynn Yonges story: Alabama physician exorcises his coronavirus demons through art Coronavirus in Alabama: Complete coverage Check out more cartoons and stuff by JD Crowe Coronavirus: Do snake handling churches disinfect their snakes? Easter 2020: Empty tomb. Empty church. Full heart Fearless Fauci is more loyal to truth than to Trump Pandemic politics: We dare you to vote Trump: Im a cheerleader for the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has expressed hope that his government will be able to bring the COVID-19 crisis in Indore city under control by following the 'Bhilwara model' of infection containment. In an e-mail interview to PTI, Chouhan said his government was also adopting the 'IITT' formula - of identification, isolation, testing and treatment - to deal with the coronavirus outbreak in the state's industrial hub. Indore, having a population of more than 30 lakh, has emerged as a coronavirus hotspot in the state. The district has so far reported 1,176 coronavirus cases and 57 deaths. Its COVID-19 death rate of 4.85 per cent is higher than the national average, according to data analysis. Till now, 107 patients have also been discharged after recovery, as per official figures. Chouhan said the situation in Indore has been improving and the government wants the city to be out of lockdown as soon as possible. "So, we have decided to adopt the 'Bhilwara model' to tackle the coronavirus situation in the city. We are trying to ascertain the health status of all residents of Indore. For this, we are going to conduct screening of every citizen of Indore," he said. Chouhan said his government is also following the 'IITT' formula - of early identification of suspects and patients, isolation- by sending suspected patients to isolation centres and confirmed patients to separate wards of hospitals immediately, testing more samples, and increasing treatment facilities. Asked about the possibility of lifting curfew or lockdown in Indore after May 3, he said a suitable decision would be taken in the interest of the city after looking at the situation. "A decision to lift the lockdown can be taken when the risk of coronavirus infection in Indore starts decreasing, when the number of infected persons starts coming down and the situation seems to be under control," he said. On the delay in receiving coronavirus test reports of samples in Indore, Chouhan said the rate of investigation in the city is much higher than the rest of the state. But, efforts are on to test more and more people by increasing the capacity, he said. "So far, samples of more than 6,220 people have been sent for coronavirus testing in Indore," he said. Last month, when the coronavirus was spreading in Indore, the then Kamal Nath-led Congress government faced rebellion and collapsed. Analysts believe the government's preparedness to protect the public from coronavirus got affected by the political uncertainty at that time. Chouhan was sworn in as chief minister of the state on March 23 following the resignation of Kamal Nath. Asked about the higher COVID-19 death rate in Indore, Chouhan said, "A large number of patients among those who succumbed to coronavirus had other serious illnesses. Such patients were brought late to hospital." During the initial phase of COVID-19 outbreak, people who came to Indore from abroad hid information about their foreign travel due to lack of awareness, insecurity and fear. These people infected others unknowingly, and the epidemic spread in the city, he said. He said information of about 55,000 people, who had come to Madhya Pradesh from abroad, was received from the Centre in time. Taking immediate steps on this, such people were sent isolated and quarantined. Besides, Chouhan also said that out of 107 people, who returned to Madhya Pradesh after taking part in a religious event of Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin in Delhi, some were from Indore. "These people returned from there (Tablighi Jamaat event) and went to major cities and other remote areas of the state and did not come forward. Unfortunately, coronavirus infection spread further," he said. The information about such people was collected and the government acted as per the protocol, and these people were isolated, he said. Meanwhile, Indore's chief medical and health officer Praveen Jadia said a coronavirus survey was going on with the help of about 2,000 teams, which were collecting information about the health of citizens. Jadia claimed the survey teams have reached out to nearly 14 lakh people in Indore, including eight lakh living in more than 170 containment zones. Efforts are being made to complete the survey in the urban areas at the earliest, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US to send ventilators to Ethiopia Trump said on Saturday that Ethiopia needs ventilators, and the US was in a good position to help. US President Donald Trump said he will send ventilators to Ethiopia in support of its effort to fight coronavirus. "WE WILL HELP THEM" "Just spoke to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali of Ethiopia. His Country needs Ventilators, and the U.S. is in good position to help him. We will," Trump said on Twitter. Ali tweeted similar sentiments: "Encouraging phone call with @realDonaldTrump reconfirming continued US-Ethiopia relations. Appreciate the commitment of support to #COVID19 prevention and mitigation efforts as well as on desert locust control." Trump last year made an offer to mediate between Ethiopia and Egypt in their longtime dispute about filling and operation of Ethiopia's $5 billion hydro dam on the Nile River. Talks stalled after Ethiopia accused the US of siding with Egypt. By PTI DHAKA: India on Sunday gifted one lakh anti-malarial tablets of hydroxychloroquine and 50,000 surgical gloves to Bangladesh to help it combat the coronavirus pandemic which has infected nearly 5,000 people and killed over 100 in the country. India's High Commissioner Riva Ganguly Das, on the occasion of India dispatching the second tranche of assistance to Bangladesh, invoked legendary poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore to highlight the importance of India-Bangladesh relations. She handed over the supplies, consisting of 100,000 hydroxychloroquine tablets and 50,000 sterile surgical latex gloves, to Health Minister Zahid Malik, bdnews24.com reported. FOLLOW COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES HERE A helping hand from our neighbour at this time of distress is most welcome, the minister said. In a video message posted on Twitter, the Indian envoy said that the coronavirus has spread to the entire world and many people in India and Bangladesh have also been infected. On March 15, India took the initiative and organised a conference of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation leaders on the pandemic during which a SAARC emergency fund was launched, she said. Under the initiative, today (Sunday) we gifted Bangladesh government one lakh medicines and 50,000 surgical gloves which can be used by the healthcare professionals, Das said. Earlier, India gifted head covers and masks for medical professionals, she said. India-Bangladesh relationship is very deep. We are neighbours. In our neighbourhood first' policy, we always say Bangladesh first'. We are with you. We have always been with you. We were with you in the past too and will remain with you in the future as well. Stay indoors, stay safe. I am absolutely confident that the crisis which we are dealing with, we will come out victorious. Thank you, Das said. ALSO READ | China seizes over 89 million shoddy face masks after complaints of 'faulty' export of gears Along with this, India has launched an initiative to conduct online courses which could help the medical professionals, the envoy said. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Raipur conducted a course which was attended by many people from Bangladesh, she said, adding that another course will be conducted soon. India has been at the forefront of sending essential medical supplies and medicines such as anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to several nations including the United States. Bangladesh has reported nearly 5,000 COVID-19 cases and 140 deaths due to the disease. The Bangladeshi government has announced a USD 11.6 billion stimulus package to support its economy, with a primary focus on supporting the manufacturing and service sectors, agriculture and social safety nets. North Korea has never publicised who would follow leader Kim Jong Un in the event he is incapacitated, and with no details known about his young children, analysts say his sister and loyalists could form a regency until a successor is old enough to take over. South Korean and Chinese officials have cast doubt on reports that Kim was gravely ill following a cardiovascular procedure, after his absence from a key state anniversary event triggered speculation about his health. But the media reports sparked questions about who would be in place to take over if the 36-year-old Kim, a third-generation hereditary leader, fell seriously ill or died. He became leader when his father Kim Jong Il died in 2011 from a heart attack. Each change of leadership in North Korea has raised the prospect of a leadership vacuum or collapse of the Kim dynasty, which has ruled the country since its founding in 1948. So far, each of the three Kims to rule North Korea has defied expectations, holding on to power with an iron grip. But under Kim Jong Un, North Korea's arsenal of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles has grown substantially, raising concerns over who would control those weapons. The following are key figures in the North Korean leadership circle and what role they may play in any future transition. KIM YO JONG Kim's younger sister has been the most visible presence around the leader in the past two years, while serving formally as a vice director of the ruling Workers' Party's powerful Central Committee but unofficially as her brother's chief of staff. She was named an alternate member of the ruling Workers' Party's powerful Central Committee Politburo earlier this month, continuing her climb through the leadership hierarchy. Kim, who is believed to be 31, has a firm control of key party functions, setting herself to be the main source of power behind a collective leadership. "Kim Yo Jong will be for the time being the main power base with control of the organisation and guidance department, the judiciary and public security," Cho Han-bum of the Korea Institute for National Unification said. THE PARTY ELDERS Choe Ryong Hae rose to be the North's nominal head of state last year becoming the president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly. It capped decades of service with the party for the ruling Kim family, previously serving as the influential political head of the North's military under the young leader. He and Pak Pong Ju, a fellow politburo member and former state premier who oversaw the North's push to introduce more free market functions to revive its economy, are likely to be the figureheads leading a collective leadership. Kim Yong Chol, a party vice chairman and former top nuclear envoy, and Foreign Minister Ri Son Gwon could be tasked with handling diplomatic issues including stalled denuclearisation talks with North Korea as they played a key role in summits with U.S. President Donald Trump. ESTRANGED BROTHERS, AUNT Kim Jong Chol is the leader's older brother but has not been part of the North's leadership, instead leading a quiet life playing music, according to Thae Yong Ho, North Korea's former deputy ambassador in London who defected to the South. He is believed to be disinterested in public life and is unlikely to emerge as a major presence, though some analysts say he maintains ties with siblings and could play a more public role in a contingency. Kim Kyong Hui was once a powerful figure in the leadership circle when her brother Kim Jong Il ruled the country. She had not been seen since her husband, Jang Song Thaek, once regarded as the second most powerful man in the country, was executed in 2013 by Kim Jong Un. She has long been ill but briefly appeared early this year at a gala performance alongside her nephew. FOURTH GENERATION Kim Jong Un is believed to have three children with Ri Sol Ju, the youngest born in 2017, according to the South's National Intelligence Service. The oldest is a 10-year-old son, meaning any of the three would need the assistance of their relatives or political guardians if they were to become a fourth-generation hereditary leader. Kim Jong Il had been groomed for 20 years to lead the country, while Kim Jong Un only had just over a year due to his father's sudden death from a stroke. "Kim Yo Jong is unlikely to take over the helm but could help build a caretaker regime as a power broker until the kids grow up, and Kim Jong Chol might return to help for a while," said Go Myong-hyun, a research fellow at the Asian Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul. If there's one thing on a lot of people's mind during this lockdown, it is the need for alcohol. From people simply wanting to pass their time at home to serious incidents where suicides were reported due to the unavailability of alcohol, the topic has been in the news ever since the lockdown was announced. Don't Miss: Contribute To Indiatimes Fundraiser To Help India Fight COVID-19 Now, people have resorted to finding more creative ways to smuggle alcohol to those who are demanding it. However, the authorities are way ahead of these geniuses and recently, two people were caught smuggling alcohol, by the Paliyad Police in dry Gujarat's Botad district. AFP (IMAGE FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY) That's not it! The creative bit here is that they were smuggling it under the guise of distributing essential commodities like milk and onions. According to Ahmedabad Mirror, the police have seized around 30 bottles of IMFL and 25 litres of country-made alcohol. AHMEDABAD MIRROR Not just this, the two offenders were also in possession of a vehicle pass which was authorized by the district deputy election officer for the purpose of distributing milk and other essentials during lockdown. The two accused have been identified as 26-year-old Bhavin Mulji Vaja, and 22-year-old Dharmendra Bhagabhai Pardhi. Apparently, both of them belong to Botad. ALCOHOWL (IMAGE FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY) However, luck ran out quick for them since there was a team patrolling the area near Pipardi village, that they came across their vehicle. The car was also seized by the police officials. The two have been booked for bootlegging and misusing a government-issued pass. The Government 'following the science' mantra could pin the blame for coronavirus deaths on scientists 'if anything goes wrong', according to a top microbiologist. Politicians have repeated the mantra 'we are following the science' when questioned on their handling of the coronavirus pandemic. And Professor Hugh Pennington, a leading microbiologist at Aberdeen University, says ministers are hoping to avoid blame 'if anything goes wrong', reported the Sunday Express. Professor Pennington, part of the 1960s team that discovered the original coronavirus, said 'following the science' was meaningless because experts offered conflicting advice on how to deal with the pandemic. Professor Hugh Pennington (pictured), a leading microbiologist at Aberdeen University, says ministers are hoping to avoid blame 'if anything goes wrong', reported the Sunday Express 'In a way they are shielding themselves with science because they cannot get blamed if things go wrong,' he said. Professor Robert Dingwall, a Government adviser, agreed. He added that the science was 'flimsy' and prone to change. While the UK Government started the pandemic with a plan to achieve herd immunity, a study by Imperial College London showed society could be hit by a huge number of deaths if it continued as normal. The first case of coronavirus in the UK was recorded on January 31, but the country did not go into lockdown until two months later - on March 23. This was weeks after Europe's worst-hit country, Italy, shut down on March 9. In a grim address to the nation from Downing Street, Mr Johnson said: 'Without a huge national effort to halt the growth of this virus, there will come a moment when no health service in the world could possibly cope; because there won't be enough ventilators, enough intensive care beds, enough doctors and nurses', adding: 'I must give the British people a very simple instruction - you must stay at home'. Professor Pennington, part of the 1960s team that discovered the original coronavirus (file image), said 'following the science' was meaningless because experts offered conflicting advice on how to deal with the pandemic A month after lockdown was first imposed, ministers are following advice levelled by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage). But the group has already been riddled by controversy. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's top aide Dominic Cummings has been criticised for sitting in on the expert group's meetings since February. Dominic Cummings' (pictured at Downing Street today) is part of the secretive Sage group advising the government on its coronavirus response Dr Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the university of East Anglia, said this meant advice being given to the government could be 'flawed'. He said: 'If Dominic Cummings was contributing to the discussion, then that means we need to be very cautious about the conclusions of Sage. 'Because whether or not he did influence the outcomes we can't know for certain, and therefore the validity of the advice coming out of the committee might be flawed. 'It has been pointed out quite a lot in the press that a lot of the advice and policies that we have had over Covid-19 has differed quite markedly from advice from international agencies. 'We need to be sure there wasn't undue political influence at the point those decisions were being taken.' It came as Labour waded into the row amid concerns political appointees are breathing down the necks of scientists. Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth told BBC Radio 4's Today programme Brexit architect Cummings should not be attending meetings. Mr Ashworth thundered: 'The concern is that political advisers have influenced the debate, the way to clear this up is for all the minutes to be published, we've called on the Government to do this. When you are dealing with an epidemic like this, you need to take the public with you every step'. This table shows who is sitting on SAGE, the body advising the Government in the pandemic Mr Cummings' name was on a leaked list of attendees of Sage meetings as far back as February. The list, which was seen by The Guardian, showed Mr Cummings was at a Sage meeting with 24 others on March 23, the day Mr Johnson addressed the public to announce heightened lockdown measures. Mr Cummings was joined by Ben Warner, a data scientist who worked alongside him on the Vote Leave Brexit campaign in 2016, say other members of the group. However, Prof Stephen Powis, the National Medical Director of NHS England and a member of Sage, described the group as a 'forum for scientific discussion' immune from political influence on Radio 4's Today programme. He said: 'My experience of Sage is that it is a forum for scientific discussion. 'It is the experts from a variety of backgrounds who discuss the evidence, they discuss the evidence base of the various topics, they come to conclusions around that evidence base. It is then, of course, the role of Sage to advise the Government. 'I have been confident that what happens at Sage is a scientific discussion involving the scientists and the experts who are members of Sage. Labour's Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth (left) has demanded that Dominic Cummings and Ben Warner (right) should not be sitting on Sage 'Very familiar territory for me - the sort of scientific discussion I have been very, very used to in my career as a doctor and a scientist. 'A thorough scientific discussion amongst the experts.' The Government's former chief scientific adviser Sir David King told The Guardian political advisers were never on the equivalent committees of Sage when he chaired them. While both membership of Sage and what is discussed during regular meetings has been kept a closely guarded secret, the news sheds uncertainty on the reliability of decisions that have been made. Sir David said he was 'shocked' to discover there were political advisers on Sage. He added that it was 'critically important' scientific advice was free from political influence. Sir David Lidington, who served as Theresa May's deputy, also suggested the practice was unusual. Mr Johnson recorded a video message on Easter Sunday at Number 10 after release from the hospital (pictured) He said: 'I'm not aware of any minister or special adviser, certainly not in Theresa May's time, ever having been involved in the scientific advisory panels.' In a letter to MPs this month, Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government's chief scientific adviser, who chairs Sage, said membership was kept secret on advice from the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure. 'This contributes towards safeguarding individual members' personal security and protects them from lobbying and other forms of unwanted influence which may hinder their ability to give impartial advice,' he added. Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty, who co-chairs Sage, has signalled a change in direction, telling MPs that he and Sir Patrick did not oppose publishing the membership. Asked if revealing members' names would boost public confidence in the scientific advice being given, he replied: 'Yes.' The revelation about Mr Cummings's participation in the group will add to concerns surrounding decisions by Sage, which has not published any minutes from its last 19 meetings on the pandemic. Former members of the group were outraged a political fixer was on the committee, as others feared Mr Cummings could have twisted any advice offered during the meetings. A Government spokesman told MailOnline: 'Expert participants often vary for each meeting according to which expertise is required. 'A number of representatives from government departments and No 10 attend also.' Downing Street has said Mr Cummings has attended meetings of Sage but denied that he was a member. In a statement, a No 10 spokesman said: 'It is not true that Mr Cummings or Dr Warner are 'on' or members of Sage. 'Mr Cummings and Dr Warner have attended some Sage meetings and listen to some meetings now they are all virtual. 'They do this in order to understand better the scientific debates concerning this emergency and also to understand better the limits of how science and data can help government decisions. 'Occasionally they ask questions or offer help when scientists mention problems in Whitehall. 'Sage provides independent scientific advice to the government. Political advisers have no role in this.' It comes just days after Sir Vallance, revealed they will not publish key evidence until after the pandemic ends. Sage's advice to the Government has faced fresh scrutiny over a lack of widespread early testing and resistance to the idea of widespread facemask-use. Professor Chris Whitty (pictured) said neither he nor Sir Patrick Vallance objected 'in principle' to the members of Sage being common knowledge In a letter to the Commons' Science Committee, Sir Patrick said Sage met 20 times before the start of April to discuss Covid-19. 'Sage will commit to informing the Committee in advance when new evidence is due to be published,' he said. 'Once Sage stops convening on this emergency the minutes of relevant Sage meetings, supporting documents and the names of participants (with their permission) will be published.' But MPs criticised the secrecy. Senior Liberal Democrat Layla Moran said: 'It is incredibly disappointing to hear that the Sage evidence guiding the Government will remain secret. 'Only by publishing this evidence can ministers be scrutinised and held to account on their decisions. 'The tone and quality of the debate improved dramatically following the publication of the Imperial College modelling, on which decisions were being made. 'I'm calling on the Government to think again.' MPs last week called for the cast list of Sage to be made public so that people can see exactly who ministers are getting their advice from. The government has rejected the calls, with sources claiming the names cannot be published because of security concerns amid reports of some experts receiving death threats. But former Sage members have questioned that argument, insisting it is 'perfectly reasonable' for people to know who sits on the committee which Mr Johnson is relying on to guide the government's response to the outbreak. However in his letter to committee chairman Greg Clark, Sir Patrick said: 'The decision to not disclose Sage membership for the time being is based upon advice from the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure and is in line with the standard procedure for COBR meetings, to which SAGE gives advice. 'This contributes towards safeguarding individual members personal security and protects them from lobbying and other forms of unwanted influence which may hinder their ability to give impartial advice. 'Of course, we do not stop individuals from revealing that they have attended Sage.' Chron.com is following the latest headlines on the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the Houston area. 4:00 p.m. Colorado officials have ordered the closure of a Walmart in suburban Denver as three people connected to the store died after being infected with the coronavirus and at least six employees tested positive. The Tri-County Health Department announced late Thursday that a 69-year-old man who worked for a private security company at the Aurora store died along with a 72-year-old store employee and her 63-year-old husband, who did not work at the site. 3:30 p.m. Some area high schools are taking an innovative approach to graduation ceremonies with social distancing in mind. St. Pius X High School announced that it will hold its graduation ceremony at The Showboat Drive-In Theater in Hockley in May, the Leader News reported. The drive-in theater is slated to host nine graduations for local schools. Fort Bend ISD will be holding 2020 graduation ceremonies July 19-21 at the Smart Financial Centre in Sugar Land, according to district officials. 1: 50 p.m. According to Beaumont's 12 News Now, 11 Chick-Fil-A employees have tested positive for the new coronavirus. 114 employees were tested on Monday. The other 103 were negative. Manually added embed platform.twitter.com. BREAKING: Jefferson County Jud... (More) 12:25 a.m. There were more than 919,066 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States by Saturday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. According to the coronavirus tracker, there have been more than 52,100 deaths in the U.S. with 99,154 recoveries and over 4.9 million tests have been conducted nationwide. 10:30 a.m. The City of Houston will begin distributing free masks Saturday morning ahead of a Harris County order requiring residents to wear masks when venturing outside the home. The order goes into effect on Monday, April 27 and will remain in effect for the next 30 days. Masks will be handed out at these locations on Saturday morning: 11 a.m. Sunnyside Multi-Service Center, 9314 Cullen Blvd. 4 p.m. Crump Stadium located in Alief ISD, 12321 High Star Drive 9-11 a.m. Our Lady of the Sea Catholic Church, 1401 Fidelity 8 a.m. A second mass food distribution will be held at NRG Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The NRG yellow lot will be open from 4 to 7 p.m. Approximately 5,000 packages of food will be handed out to families in need. The Houston Food Bank is partnering with HISD to help Houston families who are desperately needing assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. 7:00 a.m. A Houston-area restaurant opened its doors Friday night in defiance of Harris County stay-at-home order. Federal American Grill owner Matt Brice risked a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail to open his doors to diners. No law enforcement officers or agencies attempted to stop Brice for defying the stay-at home order, Zach Despart and Marcy De Luna report. Several diners showed up at the restaurant around 5 p.m, and those without reservations were turned away. Im not trying to start a war or defy anybody, Brice said. Thats not my intent. Somebody or something has to get this going much faster, and our economy has crashed. Rating: TOKYO TRIAL (Netflix) 4-part series Cast: Tim Ahern, Paul Freeman, Serge Hazanavicius, Marcel Hensema, Jonathan Hyde, Irrfan Khan Direction: Pieter Verhoeff, Rob W. King Rating: **** A four-part series, Tokyo Trial tells the real-life story of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, also known as the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, set up to try the leaders, politicians including Prime Ministers, foreign ministers and military commanders of Japan for waging a war against China and for war crimes committed during the Second World War. The two-and-a-half-year long trial, which began in April 1946, had 11 judges appointed by General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers. Of these, nine were from the nations that signed the Instrument of Surrender and one judge was from India, Radhabinod Pal (played by Irrfan Khan with equal measure of judicial and moral clarity, and aggravated intellectual exasperation at brother judges convenient hypocrisy). Justice Pal, a judge at the Calcutta high court, was a member of the United Nations' International Law Commission. At the Tokyo Tribunal, which began soon after the Nuremberg Trials, some British and American judges and the Chinese and Filipino judges, were unquestioning of its charter that listed the crimes for which the Japanese were to be tried. But judges from the Netherlands and France were not so convinced. The Indian judge, however, questioned the charter itself, was dead against the charge of conspiracy for pre-war decisions made by Japanese officials and maintained throughout that the tribunal should not retrospectively apply new concepts of waging aggressive (or crimes against peace), and crimes against humanity, despite the precedent set at the Nuremberg Trials. In December 1948, a 1,781-page judgment, supported by a majority of the judges, was read out. Five of the 11 judges released separate opinions outside the court, disagreeing with either some points of the majority judgment, or the process through which the judgment was arrived at. Justice Pal, however, wrote a 1,235-page judgment dismissing the legitimacy of the tribunal altogether, calling it victors justice especially since there was no representation on the bench from the vanquished nations and because the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was excluded from the list of war crimes. He held that each of the accused including Prime Minister Koki Hirota, and five others who were sentenced to death must be found not guilty of each and every charge and be acquitted. His contention till the end was that while atrocities were committed, the tribunal and the charges framed were legally flawed. Watch Tokyo Trial if you are a history buff. This chapter of world history, which stars an Indian of sparkling intellectual and moral fortitude, is told with a focus on the biases that the best of jurists carry as well as behind-the-scenes political manoeuvring which those in power are allowed to get away with. The central government carried out a reshuffle of the top echelons of the bureaucracy on Sunday, giving health and family welfare secretary Preeti Sudan a three-month extension in the key post as it kept the focus of the exercise firmly on the fight against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) . Rajesh Bhushan, a 1987-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Bihar cadre, has been appointed officer on special duty in the department of health and family welfare. In Bhushans place, the secretary of the department of border management in the ministry of home affairs, Nagendra Nath Sinha, will take charge as secretary of rural development, which too is a key post at a busy time in the agricultural cycle and amid efforts to protect the countryside from the coronavirus after an exodus of migrant workers from the cities back to the villages . A reshuffle was due, but the focus has been on bolstering the departments that are fighting the Covid-19 from the front, a Department of Personnel and Training official told Hindustan Times. Sudan was set for superannuation on April 30. She has been instrumental in coordinating anti-Covid-19 measures between the Centre and states during the Coronavirus outbreak, in formulating preventive measures and keeping her department abreast of the latest developments on the pandemic. She has been with the ministry ever since the disease broke out, a ministry official told Hindustan Times on the condition of anonymity. She is familiar with all the facts of the case and it is better for her to continue as new officers would have had to familiarise themselves with the details from scratch. She has played a crucial role in managing the pandemic. The move will ensure continuity in the ministry, said former secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Shailaja Chandra. The role of the health secretary spans across a wide canvas. During the Covid-19 pandemic it is essential to maintain continuity and see that the coordination that has been established runs seamlessly. Any sudden changes are avoidable, Chandra said. To oversee the containment of a highly contagious pandemic, it is paramount that the drill laid down with the States and expert institutions is implemented while managing the execution of fresh Government policies. It is good there is continuity in the coming 3 more months. In other changes, Amit Khare, who is presently the secretary,department of higher education in the ministry of human resource development, has been given additional charge of the post of secretary, information and broadcasting (I&B). Khare has earlier served an I&B secretary. The present I&B secretary, Ravi Mittal, has been appointed secretary in the department of sports, ministry of youth affairs and sports. In the department of consumer affairs, ministry of consumer affairs and food and public distribution, Leela Nandan will replace secretary Pawan Kumar. Nandan is a 1987-batch, UP cadre officer who was earlier special secretary in the ministry of road transport and highways. Kumar has been appointed special secretary (logistics) in the department of commerce. Tarun Bajaj, presently an additional secretary in the Prime Minsiters Office, will take over as the secretary of department of economic affairs, ministry of finance. Anita Karwal, chairperson of the Central Board of Secondary Education, will take charge as secretary, department of school education and literacy, ministry of human resource development. On the superannuation of Arun Kumar Panda, secretary, ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises, the role will pass on to Arvind Kumar Sharma, presently an additional secretary in the Prime Ministers Office. The present secretary of road transport and highways,Sanjeev Ranjan, will take over as the secretary, ministry of shipping. Armane Giridhar, presently an additional secretary in the cabinet secretariat, has been appointed in his place. Special secretary in the ministry of women and child development Ajay Tirkey will take charge as the secretary on the superannuation of the incumbent Rabindra Panwar. Rameshwar Prasad Gupta, presently special secretary of NITI Aayog, will take charge as secretary, ministry of environment, forest and climate change. Pradip Kumar Tripathi, special secretary and establishment officer, department of personnel and training, will take over from the incumbent secretary of steel Binoy Kumar on his superannuation. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Plans underway to restart the economies of Canadian provinces do not depend on presuming people who become infected with coronavirus develop immunity to it, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday. The World Health Organization said earlier that there was no evidence that people who have recovered from Covid-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection. I dont believe there are any plans that hinge on certain people being immune to Covid-19, Trudeau said in his daily briefing in Ottawa, adding that provincial plans focus on preventing the spread through social distancing and protective equipment in workplaces. Click here for the complete coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic (Immunity) is something we need to get clearer answers to and until we have those clear answers, we need to err on the side of more caution. In a scientific brief, the United Nations agency warned governments against issuing immunity passports or risk-free certificates to people who have been infected as their accuracy could not be guaranteed. New Brunswick is the first Canadian province to begin reopening parts of its economy and Saskatchewan has outlined a plan to start reopening in May. Trudeau met with provincial premiers on Friday to discuss their restart plans. Measures will differ as infection rates vary among provinces, but require national coordination, he said. Click here for the latest updates from the coronavirus outbreak Canadas death toll from Covid-19 rose 7% to 2,350 from a day earlier. Cases reached more than 44,000. Some 80% of Canadas cases are in Quebec and Ontario, where there are numerous outbreaks in nursing homes. Even so, a small protest outside the Ontario legislature on Saturday demanded the easing of public health measures. Its irresponsible, reckless and its selfish, Premier Doug Ford said of the call to loosen restrictions, speaking at a briefing. It burns me up. Such protests have been smaller in Canada than in the United States, where Republican politicians and individuals affiliated with President Donald Trumps re-election campaign are organizing or promoting anti-lockdown protests. Also Saturday, Trudeau announced funding for the countrys fish and seafood processors whose businesses were harmed by the coronavirus pandemic. The government will provide C$62.5 million ($44.32 million) in financing to buy protective equipment for workers or storage space for products to sell them later. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Video shows police entering a room where about 20 Muslims were praying during coronavirus restrictions. South Africas police minister Bheki Cele has apologised for a blasphemous remark made by a policeman to praying Muslims as he was enforcing lockdown rules. The apology, issued on Sunday by the minister through a statement, came after the event was caught on video. The images, posted on social media and authenticated by the authorities, show police entering a room on Saturday where about 20 Muslims were praying, and ordering them to the ground. One of the police is heard saying: Are you bigger than the president? Is Muhammad bigger than the president? Cele said he issued an apology to the Muslim community for the blasphemous remarks during the arrest and an urgent investigation was launched to establish the identity of the person behind such sacrilege in the incident which took place in the Mpumalanga province. In a separate statement, the police said the policemans comment was rather unfortunate and it is unacceptable that someone could make such an utterance. It also said that people of all religions had to respect rules during the confinement. On Friday, police had already detained 17 people at a religious ceremony for violating lockdown rules. The Jamiatul Ulama South Africa Council of Muslim Theologians said not only were the remarks demeaning in the name of the Prophet Muhammad, but police entering a prayer room with their heavy boots, as seen in the video, was distressing to Muslims who consider prayer places as sacred. The Council also reminded Muslims to observe lockdown rules. The incident took place as South Africans are under orders to observe strict confinement to fight the spread of the coronavirus, and are allowed to leave their homes only to buy food or for medical appointments. All other gatherings are strictly prohibited. South Africa is the worst-hit sub-Saharan country by the coronavirus outbreak. More than 85 people have died amid more than 4,350 infections, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Geology is the study of pressure and time. That's all it takes really... pressure and time. Red Redding "The Shawshank Redemption" Pressure. Time. And a big gosh darn supertanker. Apologies for altering one of Morgan Freeman's most famous lines in movies, but it had to be done to fit the oil drama that's playing out with a Hollywood script. The investing world was gobsmacked and eyes glued to CNBC when oil futures went negative last week. If you missed it the first time, don't worry it could happen again. Oil storage around the world is filling up, fast. Onshore tanks in most parts of the U.S. are at capacity, and the rest of the world isn't far behind. Desperate traders and producers are using any resource to store their crude. Oil tankers are berthed at San Francisco Bay amid the coronavirus outbreak on April 26, 2020 in San Francisco, California. Liu Guanguan | China News Service | Getty Images Oil supertankers are looking like petroleum paparazzi, crowding the Los Angeles shoreline, either as floating storage or waiting on some kind of turn in sentiment. With prices higher in coming months, for now it pays to sit on oil and hope to sell it for more money down the pipeline. Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things. The OPEC+ and G20 production cuts begin Friday, May 1st. But there's already an armada of oil tankers heading our way right now, ready to give us 40+ million more barrels of oil no one needs. Much of that will go to the Saudi Aramco-owned Motiva refinery in Texas, but overall refinery output is already down to 67% and may get cut further because no one is driving. If refineries ultimately don't want oil, it has little to no value. If you have oil and nowhere to put it, it can have negative value. The key question right now is how much time is left until everything is full: every tank, every ship, every hole in the ground? Depending on whom you ask, it's anywhere from two weeks to maybe two months, best case. Oil industry infrastructure is large and labyrinthine, and full of smart, creative people who may be able to extend current capacity through human ingenuity, thus postponing what no one previously could even dream of: nowhere to go, and negative prices. The industry is under pressure like never before. Pressure. And time. The Internet loves a good mystery, and so it only feels natural that the rumor mill is churning on the morning of Sun., April 26 about the health of North Korean leader Kim Jung Un. Media reports about the 36-year-old have suggested that he could be dead, is maybe in a vegetative state, or might be just fine after speculation kicked up in earnest once he missed both the annual celebration of his grandfather and North Korea founder Kim II Sung on April 15 and also the countrys commemoration of Military Foundation Day within the last week. Its important to note that reporting on North Korea happenings is often flawed and either slightly or incredibly inaccurate because the country is extremely insulated with just a state-run media. That said, heres what we could cobble together based on international media reporting. Is Kim Jung Un dead? If he is, no one is saying so on the record. Thats not surprising, as it would be a state secret until a chain of succession was established and agreed to by the top power brokers in the country, all of which are likely related to Kim Jung Un. TMZ reported Saturday that the supreme leader was reportedly died, or is on his death bed with no hope for recuperation," citing Chinese and Japanese media. More details from TMZ: "Amid reports China has sent a medical team to their communist neighbors this week to check in/advise on Kim, a Hong Kong-backed news channels vice director -- whos apparently the niece of a Chinese foreign minister -- blasted out the news herself ... hes dead. TMZ has not confirmed that. The woman put the report on a social media app called Weibo for her nearly 15 million followers to read, citing a very solid source about the claim Kim had, in fact, perished. A Japanese magazine reports hes in a vegetative state after a heart surgery gone wrong. Why did Kim Jung Un undergo surgery? This is what started all of the speculation, and the New York Times sums it up well: Depending on the news outlet or social media post, Mr. Kim, believed to be 36, is recuperating after a minor health issue like a sprained ankle, or he is in grave danger after a heart surgery. Or he has become brain dead or is in a vegetative state after a heart-valve surgery gone wrong at the hands of a nervous North Korean surgeon or one of the doctors China dispatched to treat him. Or Mr. Kim is grounded with Covid-19. Where did he get it? From one of those Chinese doctors. On the botched surgery front, The Sun, which is a European tabloid, claims based on unconfirmed reports that: Kim was taken to hospital after clutching his chest and falling to the ground while out in the countryside. He had a procedure to insert a stent but it went wrong because the terrified surgeons hands were shaking, it was claimed. Again, none of this has been confirmed by either the U.S., its allies, or North or South Korea. Where is Kim Jung Un, and what does a train have to do with it? Type Kim Jung Un into Google, and youll likely see reports that satellite images seem to have located the supreme leaders personal train. The photographic evidence seems indisputable but cannot confirm whether or not Jung Un actually rode it to the countrys coastal resort of Wonsan recently. That said, per The Washington Post: "Commercial satellite images published by the 38 North website, affiliated to the Stimson Center, showed what appeared to be Kims personal, 250-meter-long train at a railway station dedicated to the Kim family in Wonsan on April 21 and 23. "The train was not present on April 15. The trains presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the countrys eastern coast, Martyn Williams, Peter Makowsky and Jenny Town wrote in their report. So whats the final conclusion? If Kim Jung Un is dead, no one is saying so, and government officials from the U.S. and South Korea told the Post in the story linked above that they do not believe the supreme leader is dead. However, the fact that the otherwise visible leader has not been seen since April 11, with no updates from the state otherwise, indicates something is certainly amiss. As of 10 a.m. on Sun., April 26 however, thats the best conclusion available. Whos next in line? Unlike the U.S. and many other countries, there is no clear line of succession if Kim Jung Un were to pass or otherwise become incapacitated and unable to rule. Media reports and experts are suggesting that Kim Jung Uns sister, Kim Yo Jong, would be next in line, even if the countrys government has never and likely will never be dominated by females. If something happens, Kim Yo Jong is the logical successor, Sue Mi Terry, a former North Korea analyst for the C.I.A., told The New Yorker. It is an open question whether North Korean elites would accept a woman, but they would have a more difficult time accepting somebody outside the Kim family. Rosalie Simon feels safe high in the sky in her 24th floor apartment as the coronavirus pandemic forces her into semi-isolation. But she recognizes the familiar feeling creeping under the door. The sense of death is all around again. Its an eerie echo from her childhood. She felt the same thing, on a vastly larger scale, when her Czechoslovakian family was sent to live in an attic in a Jewish ghetto. Then again at the death camps at Auschwitz and Dachau. And right up to the day 75 years ago when she was being transported to be shot and put in a mass grave with other Jews before American soldiers ran up to the train and liberated them. Simon, a longtime resident of Margate in Atlantic County, is a healthy great-grandmother now. Shes riding out the coronavirus pandemic alone in an apartment in a complex with other retirees near her children in Long Island. Shes playing it safe. She has no visitors. Her groceries are being delivered. Shes only going outside in her mask and gloves for walks, where her family can check on her from a distance. But the Holocaust survivor has heard at least seven neighbors in her sprawling apartment complex have died from COVID-19 disease. People are dying every day, said Simon, 88. Its a bad situation -- but not equal to the Holocaust. If youre tempted, as some have on social media, to compare your coronavirus quarantine to Anne Frank hiding in an attic for years during World War II, just stop, Holocaust survivors say. You have your televisions, your cell phones, plenty of food and the ability to go outside. No one is trying to kill you. No one is selecting you for death because of your religion. The virus is taking lives, but its not the Nazis, Simon says. There is no evil here, she notes. Only tragedy. Theres no way you can compare the Holocaust to this, Simon says. Six million Jews were killed. We can not compare that to this ... If I want to stay safe, I obey the rules. Stay home." Worldwide, there are an estimated 400,000 Holocaust survivors left. Its unclear how many are living in the U.S. or in New Jersey. But Holocaust educators say as we cope with the coronavirus pandemic and its aftermath there is a lot to learn from those who have already survived the unthinkable. Appalled by Idaho State Rep Heather Scott comparing stay-at-home order to actions of Nazi Germany and calling gov "little Hitler." Protecting people from #coronavirus cannot be compared to the murderous actions to annihilate Jews. B'nai B'rith Intl (@BnaiBrith) April 20, 2020 Recognizing Holocaust survivors have a unique perspective on the current crisis, Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg has started a weekly online Zoom meeting series titled Resilience During Challenging Times: Testimonies That Provide Hope. Each online lecture will feature survivors sharing Holocaust stories and their advice on living through a crisis via a live video chat open to the public. I thought we all could find solace and wisdom from those who survived the Holocaust. The survivors and their descendants can share insight on resilience so that we can find hope even in our current circumstances, said Michelle Edgar, program specialist for the colleges Institute of Holocaust and Genocide Studies. So far, seven Holocaust survivors and other speakers have signed on to speak each Friday between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. for the program, which will run until May 29. (Members of the public can email the program coordinator for information about how to join the video call.) There is no comparison and this is not the Olympics of suffering, said Gail Hirsch Rosenthal, director of the Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center at Stockton University. But they are role models for us. They are role models of resilience ... They are role models of starting over again." Holocaust survivors know something about mourning loved ones when you cant say goodbye in person o attend a funeral. They know something about rebuilding your life when the economy is in shambles and all of your money is gone. They know something about holding on to hope when all seems lost, Rosenthal said. Holocaust survivor Maud Dahme at her home in a file photo. (Rick Epstein | Hunterdon County Democrat) At the first session hosted by Raritan two weeks ago, longtime Holocaust educator Maud Dahme spoke via Zoom from her living room to recount her harrowing and heartbreaking story of being hidden at age 6 with her younger sister on a farm and in a fishing village in the Netherlands by Christian members of the Dutch resistance during the Holocaust. Her Jewish parents hid separately for three years in the attic of a car dealership owned by other Christian friends. When the Netherlands was liberated, Dahme and her sister did not recognize their parents when they finally came to the farm to reunite with their young daughters. Nearly all of the rest of their extended family had been killed by the Nazis. With no money or possessions, the family started over and eventually moved to the U.S. Dahme became a flight attendant, married and had four children. She spent five years as president of the New Jersey Board of Education and continues to advocate for Holocaust education. People from as far away as Germany, Israel and South Africa joined the Raritan Valley Community College Zoom meeting a week ago last Friday to hear Dahme speak about her experiences. Maud Dahme,a Jewish child hidden with a Christian family in Nazi-occupied Holland during World War II is second from the left with her father, younger sister and mother. (Courtesy of Maud Dahme)SL After having survived the hunger and fear of the Holocaust, two bouts with cancer and the loss of her husband, Dahme said she has a unique view of being stuck at home during the coronavirus crisis. The most precious thing is to be alive, said Dahme, 84. I realize now, I have a beautiful home. I have warmth. I dont have to worry about somebody knocking on the door to take me away," she said. "Yes, theres many inconveniences. But were here and were free. The coronavirus pandemic is frightening, but its not the end of the world, she added. I have seen the worst and this is still beautiful," Dahme said. With most survivors in their 80s, 90s or older, those who lived through the Holocaust are in the age group considered most vulnerable to COVID-19 disease. Margit Feldman, who played a key part in the formation of the New Jersey Holocaust Education Commission, died April 14 of coronavirus complications at age 90. Feldman survived Auschwitz at age 15 by lying about her age so she could be sent to a work camp. Then, she survived several other concentration camps, including the death march to the Bergen Belsen camp, where British troops liberated her. She had A23029 tattooed on her left arm. Feldman died the day before the 75th anniversary of her liberation from Bergen Belsen. Gov. Phil Murphy used part of a daily coronavirus press conference to honor Feldman and her extraordinary life. "Margits legacy is best captured in her work to ensure that the world never forgets the horrors of the Holocaust, Murphy said. Movement and travel restrictions in place to contain the #coronavirus pandemic have forced this week's #Holocaust Remembrance Day to be exclusively digital for the first time https://t.co/7kWiUIOF2v Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) April 20, 2020 Feldman helped lead the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education and pushed to make Holocaust education mandatory in the states public schools. That mandate still exists, but the head of the commission admitted it is unclear if all school children are getting any lessons about the Holocaust this year as school districts are struggling to deliver lessons remotely. They are supposed to do at least one day, said Doug Cervi, executive director of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education. I think its a challenge for everyone at this point. Cervi, who is an adjunct professor leading an online class on the Holocaust at Stockton University this semester, said he is among the teachers scrambling to compile videos, movies and online readings for student who have suddenly switched to remote learning. Obviously, its not the same thing, but its better than not doing it at all, Cervi said. Holocaust Remembrance Day passed earlier this month with few events or public ceremonies due to restrictions worldwide on large gatherings because of coronavirus. But there were several memorials, including virtual memorial plaques projected on the gates of Auschwitz in memory of those who died. The initiative was launched following the cancellation of the #MarchoftheLiving 2020, with @RabbiSacks, @RachelRileyRR and @RealMattLucas participating in the virtual memorial https://t.co/SVkpESeVTE Jewish News (@JewishNewsUK) April 21, 2020 Those who died at Auschwitz include members of the family of Simon, the Holocaust survivor living in a Long Island high-rise apartment building. Simon recalled standing on line at Auschwitz with her mother for what they later learned was a gas chamber. On an impulse, Simon, then 12, dashed out of line away from her mother and into another line with her older sisters. That impulsive moved saved Simon, she says, while her mother unknowingly marched to her death. Simon said seeing long lines of people she sees on television waiting to be tested for coronavirus or at food banks reminds her vaguely of the lines she saw at concentration camps. But she reminds herself these lines are not leading to gas chambers. They are lining up to get help. And no one wanted this virus to happen, she says. No one created this crisis. The coronavirus is an act of nature, which everyone is involved in equally, Simon said. The Holocaust was a deliberate act. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips (Bloomberg Opinion) -- The April 7 election in Wisconsin was a moral, legal, administrative and public-health fiasco. It is also a model that Republicans intend to duplicate in November. After Republican legislators and Republican judges forced Wisconsin to proceed with in-person voting over the objections of the Democratic governor, many voters had to choose between protecting their right to vote and protecting their health. Milwaukee, a city of almost 600,000, had just five in-person polling stations, causing long lines and lengthy waits. Some voters appear to have contracted the coronavirus. Despite forcing voters to wade into a lethal virus, Republicans lost the marquee race for a Wisconsin state supreme court seat. Perhaps their vote suppression efforts were simply too obvious and egregious, inspiring some otherwise less-committed voters to run the corona gauntlet. Its impossible to know the net effect of this, or other, Republican vote suppression efforts. Whats clear is that Republicans in many states are committed to placing obstacles in the path of Democratic voters. Few Republicans appear to have qualms about this debasement of democracy; occasionally they celebrate it. The pandemic is a test of how far they will go. After Democrats in Texas sued to allow vote by mail next November, to avoid exposure to coronavirus, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a statement that fear of coronavirus is not the kind of disability that enables Texans to qualify for mail ballots. Their request diminishes voting protections the Legislature has made available to Texans with actual illness or disabilities, he said. What nonsense letting some people vote by mail in no way diminishes the ability of others to vote by mail. Whats more, one of the criteria for obtaining a mail ballot in Texas is simply age. Voters 65 or older a cohort also known as the GOP base are eligible. If others run the risk of disease by voting in person, especially in densely populated areas that vote Democratic, well, votings not for everybody. Story continues New Mexico Republicans have reached a similar conclusion. They sued to stop the state from holding a mail-in primary vote on June 2, claiming vote-by-mail invites statewide fraud. In Kentucky, the Republican legislature this month overrode the Democratic governors veto and required voters to show a government-issued ID to vote. One of the laws stated rationales is to minimize the burdensome obligation that comes with any uncertainty in election results. What uncertainty? Whose obligation? To do what? Theyre just words. Republicans voice doubts about election integrity so that they can address the uncertainty they themselves have manufactured with vote-suppression tactics. The notion that voter ID laws enhance security has been exposed as a fraud time and again, but never with more comic effect than in a 2018 federal trial in Kansas. Under oath, Republican experts were unable to produce evidence of voter fraud despite their collective decades of toil in the field. They were humiliated in court but never repudiated by conservatives. Those who lack government ID are more likely to be poor and less likely to be white, and Republicans figure those odds work in their favor. The pandemic may help here as well. Kentucky voters who go online hoping to learn how to get a state-issued ID are currently told that all statewide license issuance locations are closed to the public until further notice. Other efforts to inhibit voting continue apace. In North Carolina this month, the right-wing activist group Judicial Watch sued state officials and Mecklenburg and Guilford counties to force a purge of thousands of registered voters from voter rolls before Novembers election. The head of the state League of Women Voters called the effort unlawful and immoral. But law and morality are no match for conservative fears that democracy will strip them of power and hand it to their more numerous opponents. The pandemic creates challenges for voting. Those challenges may be especially acute in states that rush to reopen, thereby increasing the risk of a fall resurgence of coronavirus. But the complications, at least in terms of voting, are manageable if you want them to be. Election law expert Richard Hasen has proposed a sensible system for minimizing risk in voting by mail, and requiring every state to make mail ballots available this fall. The Brennan Center at New York University recommends a series of preparations to minimize the systemic stress of more than 130 million Americans casting votes in a pandemic. The National Vote at Home Institute has issued its own series of recommendations on how states can expand voting by mail. Most of these recommendations amount to common sense. But all depend on a common value: that voting is a right that must be protected for every eligible citizen. Many Republicans share that value. (The state of Utah is a leader in vote-by-mail.) Yet the Republican Party of Donald Trump, by and large, does not. Trump repeatedly seeks to damage faith in voting to advance his personal interests. If past is prologue, he will undermine both the election in November and public confidence in it. For those who value the democratic vote, the pandemic is an obstacle to overcome. For many Republicans, it represents an opportunity to exploit. Republicans are not preparing now to make the general election go smoothly. Quite the opposite. The chaos president, and his chaos party, are setting the stage for a dangerous mess in November. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Francis Wilkinson writes editorials on politics and U.S. domestic policy for Bloomberg Opinion. He was executive editor of the Week. He was previously a writer for Rolling Stone, a communications consultant and a political media strategist. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. By Express News Service As many as 164 foreign tourists stranded in the national lockdown left Kerala for Switzerland. This is the fourth flight to repatriate tourists from the state to Europe since the international airports were closed on March 23 to contain the spread of Covid-19 disease. The special plane of Swiss International Air Lines took off from Kochi late Saturday night and landed at the Zurich airport on Sunday morning (10 a.m. IST). In addition to the 164 passengers who had boarded from Kochi, the flight carried 49 others from Kolkata from where it had a stopover in the Kerala city. At the Nedumbassery airport here, Swiss Consul-General to India (Bangalore) Sebastien Hug oversaw the repatriation mission along with Dr Syed Ibrahim, Honorary Consul of the German Honorary Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram. Besides 115 Swiss citizens, the flight carried tourists from Germany, Austria, Norway, Denmark and France. Most of the passengers from Kochi were tourists in Kerala, while the others were brought in from neighbouring states. Kerala had earlier facilitated the return of 268 tourists to the UK when a London-bound British Airways departed from Kochi on April 15. Prior to it, an Air India aircraft with 232 passengers had left for Germany on March 31, and, four days later, a flight to France (112 people). Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said most of the stranded foreign tourists in the state have been repatriated. There were messages from the returned guests appreciating the excellent arrangements that the government had made for their care and health during their stay after the lockdown. Rani George, secretary, Kerala Tourism said most of the guests who returned today had used the registration portal of the Swiss consulate, while others sought the help of the Kerala Tourisms help desks. All the returnees were transported to the airport from different places by the tourism department. Providing them care is always our top priority, she pointed out. P Bala Kiran, director, Kerala Tourism said the tourism help desks would continue to function and any tourists who are still held up in the state could seek their help. Our focus now will be to prepare to receive the tourists immediately once the situation normalizes. China sought to block a European Union report alleging that Beijing was spreading disinformation about the coronavirus outbreak, according to four sources and diplomatic correspondence. The report was eventually released, albeit just before the start of the weekend Europe time and with some criticism of the Chinese government rearranged or removed, a sign of the balancing act Brussels is trying to pull off as the coronavirus outbreak scrambles international relations. The European External Action Service (EEAS) - founded to monitor possible disinformation from rogue states like Russia - denied editing any part of its report in response to diplomatic or political pressure. Another EU official Reuters said that the disinformation report had been published as usual and denied any of it had been watered down. Four diplomatic sources told Reuters that the report had initially been slated for release on April 21 but was delayed after Chinese officials picked up on a Politico news report hat previewed its findings. A senior Chinese official contacted European officials in Beijing the same day to tell them that, 'if the report is as described and it is released today it will be very bad for cooperation,' according to EU diplomatic correspondence reviewed by Reuters. The correspondence quoted senior Chinese foreign ministry official Yang Xiaoguang as saying that publishing the report would make Beijing 'very angry' and accused European officials of trying to please 'someone else' - something the EU diplomats understood to be a reference to Washington. The four sources said the report had been delayed as a result, and a comparison of the internal version of the report obtained by Reuters and the final version published late Friday showed several differences. For example, on the first page of the internal report shared with EU governments on April 20, the EU's foreign policy arm said: 'China has continued to run a global disinformation campaign to deflect blame for the outbreak of the pandemic and improve its international image. Both overt and covert tactics have been observed.' Mr Trump has claimed that the WHO (right, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus) has gone soft on China because it is sympathetic to President Xi Jinping (left) The public summary posted Friday to the bloc's disinformation portal, euvsdisinfo.eu http://www.euvsdisinfo.eu, attributed the disinformation to 'state-backed sources from various governments, including Russia and 'to a lesser extent' China.' The public summary did note 'significant evidence of covert Chinese operations on social media,' but the reference was left to the final six paragraphs of the document. Disinformation about the coronavirus outbreak is emerging as a flashpoint between the United States and China, and officials on both sides have traded allegations of hiding information about the pandemic. The disputes have sometimes caught Europeans in the middle. With more than a billion euros a day in bilateral trade, the EU is China's top trading partner, while China is second only to the United States as a market for EU goods and services. In a webcast Friday with the Friends of Europe think tank, China's ambassador to the EU Zhang Ming said, 'Disinformation is an enemy for all of us and it should be addressed by all of us.' The New York Times and South China Morning Post also say they have obtained the initial copies of the European report which carefully documents how rogue states are pushing 'fake news' about the coronavirus pandemic. They suggest the document was altered due to pressure from Beijing over possible 'repercussions' for its trade partners. But the original report spoke of a Chinese bid to 'improve its international image', and included Beijing's criticisms of France's slow response to the virus. It even noted how Beijing promoted false accusations that French politicians had used racial slurs against the head of the World Health Organisation. However, the EU is now likely to face accusations of 'appeasement' at a time of heightened international tension as Western leaders criticise Beijing. China is accused of concealing the origins of the pandemic. It is also accused of hiding the true number of coronavirus deaths inside its borders. Pictured: European Union flags in front of the European Commission building in Brussels According to The New York Times, the first report cited Beijing's efforts to curtail mentions of the origins of the virus in China - including blaming the US for spreading the disease. The first report said: 'China has continued to run a global disinformation campaign to deflect blame for the outbreak of the pandemic and improve its international image. Both overt and covert tactics have been used.' China was quick to move to block the publication of the report, which was on the verge of being released before revisions were ordered by EU officials. In an email seen by The New York Times, Lutz Gullner, an EU diplomat, wrote: 'The Chinese are already threatening with reactions if the report comes out'. Both the South China Morning Post and The New York Times report how the sentence about Chinese 'global disinformation' and the dispute with France was removed. The original report said that EU analysts had assessed a 'continued and coordinated push by official Chinese sources to deflect any blame'. It was softened to the rather flaccid: 'We see continued and coordinated push by some actors, including Chinese sources, to deflect any blame'. Esther Osorio - a communications adviser to EU Minister for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell - ordered the delay of its publication, the New York Times said. Osorio supposedly asked analysts to revise the report to focus less on China and Russia, in an effort to avoid charges of bias, and instead differentiate between pushing 'disinformation' and a different narrative of events. Pictured: MailOnline graph showing the number of new coronavirus death per day in China An EU report made note of efforts by China to spread false coronavirus information (pictured, staff at a checkpoint in Suifenhe, in China's Heilongjiang province, April 21, 2020) However, at least one analyst formally objected, writing to her bosses that the EU was 'self-censoring to appease the Chinese Communist Party'. In an email seen by The New York Times, Monika Richter complained: 'Such appeasement will set a terrible precedent and encourage similar coercion in the future'. An EU spokesman said that neither revisions to the report had been ordered in response to pressure from China, nor had the document been delayed. China accuses 'biased' Australia of 'playing political games' after Scott Morrison called for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic amid claims a wet market in Wuhan was the source By Charlie Coe and Brittany Chain for Daily Mail Australia China has accused Australia of 'ideological bias' and playing 'political games' after Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an independent inquiry into the spread of coronavirus. Foreign Minister Marise Payne raised the idea of a review into how the outbreak began last week, saying she agreed with the view the respiratory disease originated from a wet market in the Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019. Mr Morrison has also spoken with leaders in the US, Germany and France with the aim of giving independent health inspectors powers to investigate areas where pandemics could spark in the future. China hit back, describing Australia's proposal as 'political manoeuvring' which undermined the world's attempts to stem the virus' spread. Advertisement An EU spokesman told Fox News that articles made 'ungrounded, inaccurate allegations and contains factually incorrect conclusions'. He claimed: 'The publications of the EEAS are categorically independent. 'We have never bowed to any alleged external political pressure.' The EEAS has previously been accused of softening its language in reports about alleged Russian disinformation in an effort to improve relations with Moscow. These reports come at an inopportune time for the EU, which hopes to restore a lucrative trading relationship with China once the pandemic has subsided. They raise questions about whether or not the EU will sacrifice its principles - including to transparency, democracy, and liberty - for economic fortune, as Europe-wide lockdowns which began in March take an increasingly dire toll on major economies, including Germany. It puts the EU in the middle of a fierce diplomatic row between China and the US, as President Trump threatens to withdraw US funding for the WHO amid allegations that Xi Jinping and Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus are colluding to downplay the true figures of Covid-19 deaths in China. The Chinese regime tried to suppress news of the viral outbreak back in January, actively providing false numbers of confirmed cases and Covid-associated deaths to the World Health Organisation. When brave whistleblowers sounded the alarm, China admitted a new disease - likely to have come from the 'wet markets' of Wuhan - had emerged. China's critics allege the regime wasted precious time that could have been spent containing the outbreak and preventing its global spread by lying. Instead, Beijing's most senior officials wanted to 'save face', the critics say. President Trump said his administration was trying to figure out if the virus came from a Chinese lab. Beijing has accused the US of distracting the public. The two countries have been at loggerheads since Mr Trump assumed the White House. In his second year as President, he declared a trade war with China. Donald Trump has accused the World Health Organisation of colluding with the Chinese regime in downplaying the true extent of Covid-19 deaths in China (pictured, April 15, 2020) A truce between the rivals saved the world economy then from crashing down. However, an enflamed row between China and the US - the world's two biggest powers - has the potential to spill out into geopolitics and security. Already the coronavirus fallout is redrawing new contours on the world stage, as the UK Government clings tightly to the Trump administration. Downing Street, for instance, has removed China from the list of other countries it uses to compare the spread of Covid-19. It is understood this stems from a widespread distrust of official Chinese coronavirus victim figures. It comes days after the regime quarantined a city of 10million people in its northwest region near Russia. Yesterday, China's northwestern province of Shaanxi reported seven new imported cases coronavirus, all in citizens returning home from Russia. Pictured: medical personnel taking swab samples of a man for nucleic acid testing as part of Covid-19 pandemic measures, at a health services centre in Suifenhe (April 24, 2020) A second outbreak would be a setback for President Xi who is trying to restart the nation's economy and present an image of power to the rest of the world. Beijing claims that the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in China, where the virus first emerged in late December, is now 82,816. The death toll remained the same at 4,632, with no new deaths reported on April 24. But there is widespread disbelief at those figures from Western leaders who are accusing the regime of letting coronavirus spread while its leaders 'saved face'. The Chinese Government has shut down gyms and swimming pools in Beijing as fears that the country is vulnerable to 'second wave' mount. The people of Wuhan believe the death toll in their city that was the epicentre of the outbreak is 42,000 - not the 3,182 claimed by China. The two nations that should be leading public commemoration of the Armenian Genocide are not among them, the two nations are Turkey and Israel, said Marc David Baer, a Professor of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His article was published on Haaretz. Some disasters that plague humans are unavoidable, as they are acts of nature. The plagues that are avoidable are human made. Among them is genocide, he said. According to the author of the article, since 1923, Turkey has denied intentional massacre of Armenians. And it has even gone so far as to make the preposterous claim that Armenians committed genocide against Turks. According to the author of the article, the Jewish state should be among the first to recognize the genocide, wherever it occurs, but it prefers official silence to antagonizing its military and economic ally, no matter the anti-Semitic and anti-Israel rhetoric of Turkeys current leader. Despite their own long, sorry record of suffering discrimination and occasional violence in the Turkish Republic, for decades Turkish Jewish leaders have been among Turkeys most reliable agents of genocide denial. Why is that? The leaders of Turkish Jewry determined that the best way to guarantee the continued existence of the dwindling, insecure community is to demonstrate their unswerving loyalty to the state. The acid test for proving themselves useful allies is to agitate against genocide recognition in Israel, Europe, and the United States, he said. The author notes that at the end of the fifteenth century the Ottoman Empire accepted tens of thousands of Jews expelled from Spain, and grateful Jews imagined the Ottoman Sultan as their savior. In 1892, during the four hundredth anniversary of the 1492 "welcome" given Iberian Jewry, Ottoman Jews began to publicize the Turk as humanitarian protector. This occurred alongside the first massacres of Armenians. Promoting themselves as loyal subjects of the sultan, Ottoman Jewish leaders sided with Sultan Abdulhamid II against Armenians, who became their common enemy. After the genocide in 1915, contemporary fear and anxiety was added to the Turkish Jewish emotional state of historical gratefulness. In the Turkish Republic, built in the ashes of the Ottoman Empire, anti-Jewish press campaigns, pogroms, and exorbitant taxation led to the loss of lives, wealth, and property. During World War II thousands of Turkish Jews perished in Nazi camps in occupied Europe because Turkey did not recognize them as citizens. Assassination attempts of Jewish leaders and repeated deadly synagogue bombings have occurred since the 1980s, he noted. According to him, to advocate a fantasy of five hundred years of harmony, the most influential Jewish leaders within Turkey - chief rabbis David Asseo and Ishak Haleva, the editors in chief of the Jewish weekly Salom and lay leaders such as industrialist Jak Kamhi andformer Jewish community president Bensiyon Pinto - opposed recognition of the Armenian genocide. They were joined by supporters in Israel (including presidents Shimon Peres and Moshe Katzav, as well as the Foreign Ministry, and the Union of Turkish Immigrants in Israel) and almost every major American Jewish organisation, including the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and the most influential Jewish historians of the Ottoman Empire, Bernard Lewis and Stanford Shaw. They also denied the existence of Turkish anti-Semitism. said Baer. The author recalls that the US House of Representatives in October 2019 adopted a resolution on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, submitted by the Congressman of Jewish origin Adam Schiff. According to the author, the attitude towards the recognition of the Armenian Genocide in Israel has recently changed. The consequences of such actions for the future historical Turkish-Jewish union are unclear, the historian notes, adding that one thing is certain: Armenians and Jews, two groups whose similar history makes them natural allies, will improve their relationship which was harmed by decades of denial done in part by some of the latters co-religionists. CLEVELAND, Ohio An unidentified man was found stabbed to death Saturday evening on the citys West Side, Cleveland police said. The man was found about 5:20 p.m. on the 1900 block of West 112th Street, just north of Madison Avenue in the citys Edgewater neighborhood, Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said. Police were called by a passerby who saw the man lying on the ground. The man, who is possibly in his 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, Ciaccia said. No suspects have been publicly identified, and no arrests have been made. Cleveland police homicide detectives continue to probe the case. Anyone with information about the fatal stabbing should contact authorities at 216-623-5464. Anonymous tips can be called into Crime Stoppers at 216-252-7463. More Northeast Ohio crime news: Two injured in shooting at Elyria gas station, police say 25-year-old motorcyclist dies in Friday night crash in Cleveland, police say Staff member at youth prison in Cuyahoga County tests positive for coronavirus KENTWOOD, MI Police responded to a stabbing at a hotel near the Grand Rapids airport early Sunday morning. An adult male was stabbed in a room at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, located three miles north of the airport at about 5:45 a.m., Sunday April 26, Kentwood Police Sgt. Matthew Belk told MLive. The victim suffered non-life threatening injuries and was transported to a local hospital for treatment, Belk said. Belk said it is believed the suspect and the victim knew one another, but he said officers were still investigating the nature of the relationship. The sergeant said the incident is believed to be an isolated incident and there is no imminent danger to the public. When asked if there was anyone else in the room or if police were aware of a motive for the stabbing, Belk responded that the incident is still under investigation. Belk did not disclose whether any arrests had been made. The victims age as well as his place of residence were not released by police. The hotel is located at the corner of Patterson Avenue and 28th Street SE, at 4747 28th St. SE. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Silent Observer at 616-774-2345 or the Kentwood Police Department at 616-698-6580. Also on MLive: Kent County reports lowest number of new coronavirus cases in 11 days Grand Rapids Catholic Central gym eases crowding at homeless shelters during coronavirus crisis Body recovered from Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids Trying to recall the relationship between Iron Man and Scarlet Witch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is no easy task. Thats not because their relationship is so strange its that they barely have one. The two characters share the screen for probably less than five minutes across all the movies and havent spoken more than two or three lines to each other. That very fact has some Marvel fans puzzled, even to the point they look for any kind of interaction between Robert Downey Jr. and Elizabeth Olsen. What is the relationship between Iron Man and Scarlet Witch? Emily Vancamp, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. and Elizabeth Olsen | Dave J Hogan/Dave J Hogan/Getty Images As in the comics, Wanda Maximoff started out as a villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Kind of. She and her brother Quicksilver were being held captive by what was left of Hydra, and they were forced to work against the Avengers. Wandas first encounter with Tony is a big one, in that she implants a nightmare in his head that feeds off his PTSD about the New York attack in The Avengers, and that sets the whole plot in motion. Then they find themselves on opposite sides in Captain America Civil War, Wanda tells Tony, You locked me in my room, referring to the fact that Iron Man quarantined her after she accidentally killed people during a mission. And thats pretty much it. They have no scenes together in Infinity War or Endgame. Granted, she was one of the people who got snapped, so she was out of Endgame until the portals scene, and then she appeared at Tonys funeral with his other comrades. There simply isnt much meat on that bone, although it is interesting to note that in effect, Tony created Vision, with whom Wanda would fall in love, so Tony had a big impact on Wanda despite having such little contact with her in the movies. So leave it to fans imaginations to fill in the gaps. How do fans remember the relationship between Wanda and Tony? The person who started the Reddit thread went so far as to ask, Do the actors hate each other and have a stipulation to never share a scene? I just find this whole thing odd, because hes the very reason she got powers and ended up an Avenger in the first place, and he almost ruined her life again in Civil War. Another fan responded, I honestly dont think there is any bad blood between the actors. I just think the writers didnt prioritize their relationship. And honestly I have no problem with that cause there isnt time to for Wanda to discuss her past with Tony. That fan even posted this link to a photo of Downey and Olson looking quite chummy with each other. A Google search for Elizabeth Olsen and Robert Downey Jr. reveals some comments Olsen made where she talked about Tonys ultimate fate: It wasnt even planned, but I believe [Jeremy] Renner took a knee first and then half the cast took a knee, Olsen recalls. It was a very powerful moment because you felt the weight of this franchise that [Downey Jr.] built and starred in. Now, we all get to be a part of something where he was the first. What is Wandas future in the MCU? Fans have often asked if there was some way Robert Downey Jr. could come back to Marvel despite Tony Starks death. It just so happens that Wandas reality-warping powers would be one of the few ways Downey could credibly make a return. Theres no indication that would happen, but Wanda stands to play an even more important part in the MCUs Phase 4. This would happen not only through WandaVision, but also in the fact that she will reportedly play a pivotal role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. How and when this will play out is a bigger mystery than usual because of the pandemic release date delays. WandaVision was originally slated for early 2021 then was moved up to late 2020. Now, production on that and all other Marvel shows has been halted, calling the 2020 time frame into question. Multiverse of Madness got moved from July of 2021 to November of 2021, so WandaVision might have to move into 2021 as well. Marvel fans probably wish they had Scarlet Witchs powers now. Black holes usually devour their prey in an instant, but experts have observed one taking its sweet time in enjoying its meal. One astronomer believes he may have spotted the doomed remains of a white dwarf star radiating the last of its light as an emergency signal. The massive predator, however, paid no heed to the distress calls of the tiny victim as it continued to shoot it back and forth around its orbit, eventually leading to its demise. A white dwarf is most commonly born when a red giant exhausts all of its gases and is left with its bright, white core. This particular white dwarf, on the other hand, has had its gases sucked up by the nearby black hole. It's the cost of getting too close to the gravitational behemoth. The breathtaking discovery Andrew King, an author of the new research and currently working at the University of Leicester as an astrophysicist, said in a NASA statement that his interpretation of the data gathered, the white dwarf seemingly survived the encounter, but is now trapped in the clutches of the black hole where it continually orbits in an elliptical manner around the core averaging one round trip every nine hours. The data was captured using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory with help from the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton X-ray Telescope. The results show that every nine hours, a spike in x-ray emissions is observed by the equipment, leading to the theory of near-miss tidal disruption events. Read Also: Look! A Massive Asteroid 'Wearing' Face Mask Flying Past Coronavirus-Stricken Earth Next Week Was Caught on Cam The event occurs when a black hole rips a stray star that has come too close to shreds. The theory states that initially, a red giant star approached a little bit too close to the black hole, far enough not to be sucked in immediately, but close enough to have its gases pulled away from it. The relatively small black hole (approximately 400,000 times the mass of our sun), however, wasn't strong enough to bring the fight to its end. It instead kept the star nearby with its gravity, saving it for every time it comes close enough to have its matter sucked up little by little. The fate of the star is sealed because no matter how hard it tries to escape the black hole, it will never be strong enough to survive. King said the black hole would continue to eat the star bit by bit until it completely devours all of what's left of the cosmic body. A doomed fate The astronomer estimates the star, which is about one-fifth the mass of our sun, will spend trillions of years of its life being whittled down into a smaller size with a mass comparable to that of Jupiter. The expert added his amazement of how the process is a prolonged and arduous way for the universe to create a planet. These occurrences are sporadic even in terms of astronomy, and scientists are amazed by the mere fact that it was observed at all. In astronomy, the event can also be visible only for a limited amount of time, relatively speaking, a short 2,000 years or so, experts said. Scientists believe there may be plenty of other events like this one that we have missed. Read Also: Moon Uncovered: See The Updated Lunar Map Coded By Colors and Filled With Exciting Data on Topology and Rock Layers British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will return to work at 10 Downing Street in London on Monday, three weeks after he was admitted to a hospital here as his coronavirus symptoms worsened. The 55-year-old has been recuperating at his prime ministerial countryside retreat at Chequers in Buckinghamshire since he was discharged on April 12 and had put UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in charge as his deputy. "We can confirm that the Prime Minister will be returning to Downing Street on Monday," a Downing Street spokesperson said. Johnson is reportedly "raring to go" and will be back to an initially light work schedule from next week, starting with a meeting with UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who had confirmed earlier in the week that the UK Prime Minister was "on the mend in a big way". Johnson is also likely to go head to head with Opposition leader Keir Starmer during the weekly Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) on Wednesday the first time the two leaders will come face to face in Parliament since Starmer's election as the leader of the Labour Party earlier this month. In a letter to the UK Prime Minister issued this weekend ahead of his return to the despatch box, Starmer said the government risks "falling behind the rest of the world" by refusing to discuss an exit strategy to the lockdown in place to suppress the transmission of coronavirus. He has piled pressure on Johnson to enhance the government's testing programme against the deadly virus by using town halls and libraries that are currently closed as emergency testing centres. "The public have made great sacrifices to make lockdown work. They deserve to be part of an adult conversation about what comes next. We are engaging constructively to protect our country and, to that end, I offer a series of considerations for the Prime Minister in my letter," said Starmer. Johnson is under immense pressure to start finalising plans to ease the severe social distancing restrictions in place at least until May 7, when the government is legally bound to review the lockdown measures. "We know that people are frustrated, but we are not out of danger yet. It is imperative that people continue to follow the rules designed to protect their families, their friends and their loved ones. This will continue to save lives," said UK Home Secretary Priti Patel, when she led the daily Downing Street briefing on Saturday evening. "We all want to return to living our lives as normally as possible, and, of course, as soon and as safely as we can and that's what the entire government is working towards," she said, indicating that the measures being substantially eased up any time soon was unlikely as the UK crossed the grim milestone of over 20,000 hospital deaths from coronavirus this week. The Indian-origin Cabinet minister is believed to have spoken to the National Police Chiefs' Council about the possibility of increasing on-the-spot fines for breaking social-distancing rules as evidence emerged that the public were tired of it. According to some reports a "second phase" of measures to combat COVID-19 being overseen by Patel will see passengers arriving at British airports and ports being placed in quarantine for up to a fortnight. It would be in line with the 14-day "stay home" notices currently issued to Singaporean citizens returning to their country from abroad. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Representatives of major private hospitals in the city and the Pune Municipal commissioner, Shekhar Gaikwad, are to meet on Monday to draw up a formula for the payment of hospital bills by patients, or families of patients, being treated for the Sars-Cov-2 virus, which causes the Covid-19 infection. Dr Sunil Rao, group medical director at Sahyadri Speciality hospital, gives an example of a patient at his hospital, which perfectly captures the confusion surrounding the payment of bills for Covid-19 treatment, especially at private hospitals. We just discharged a Covid-19 patient after he completed the incubation period and tested negative. The bill for 21 days was about Rs 6 lakh. The patient is also not willing to pay the bill since he claims that the government will pay, but then, there are no clear orders yet regarding this to the hospitals, says Dr Rao. PMC commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad says, We have a meeting with the representatives of major hospitals on Monday. We will work out the remuneration of the bills charged to Covid-19 patients being treated at private hospitals. We can work on various formulas which work for both the administration and the private hospitals; maybe a percentage-wise share or exploring various government health schemes. The civic body has requested the state government to chalk out a referral policy for private hospitals as far as critical Covid-19 patients are concerned, said PMC chief Shekhar Gaikwad. Dr Rao adds, The PMC is going to take over many private hospitals. We too will soon hand over our hospital at Kothrud to be a dedicated Covid-19 hospital. However, with regards to remuneration or payment of bills once the patient tests positive, there is still some confusion. Currently we are sending all bills to the collectors office and we have been asked to discharge patients without delaying the process due to bill payment. Dr Avinash Bhondwe, state president, Indian Medical Association (IMA) said, No private hospital will turn away a patient once s/he reaches the critical stage. Its often the patient or the family members themselves who request a discharge due to high bills. Dr Subhash Salunkhe, chairman of the Communicable Diseases Prevention and Control Technical Committee, conducted a meeting with representatives from private hospitals on Saturday. He said, We are yet to decide on the rate to be paid to these hospitals. The PMC commissioner and the district administration will work out on the norms under which the bills could be remunerated; may be under various government schemes like Jeevandayi Yojana or the Pradhan Mantri Yojana. Private hospitals, too, have placed their demands, like billing patients on co-morbid conditions, or the per bed charges. Private hospitals for Covid-19 There are 277 beds and 66 ICU beds available at 10 private hospitals for Covid-19 patients in the city as of April 24 Hospital name/ Available beds/ ICU bed Ruby Hospital 40 /5 Jehangir Hospital 23 /7 Columbia Asia Hospital 22 /2 Sahyadri Hospital, Deccan 2/ 2 Sahyadri Hospital, Kothrud 30 /4 Deenanath Mangeshkar 10 /30 Nobel Hospital, Hadapsar 70 /9 Surya Sahyadri Hospital 10 /0 Sahyadri Hospital, Bibvewadi 30/ 4 KEM Hospital 40 /3 Dear Elder Samuel Ofusu Ampofo, greetings from Binduri. It is said that when the handshake exceeds the elbow, then it is no longer a handshake. Mrs. Jean Mensah's ego has grown bigger than Prez Nana Addo's stomach and she seems to have overgrown advice and wise counsel. Her incorrigible recalcitrance neither respects our courts, accepts the real fact that IPAC is a key stakeholder and decision-maker in our election decisions for which reason it must have its views on elections highly considered nor care for the health of Ghanaians. He that invites the evil wind must make sure that his tent is solidly made. The sound of the bitter cola is never commensurate with its taste, Jean Mensah has an evil agenda to gerrymander election 2020. The NDC as a party of which you're the National Chairman must be equal to every antics the NPP through the EC will always come with. We have gotten to a stage where electoral violence will be inevitable, diplomacy, compromise and our courts won't help you. We need to deal with the EC with brute force, violence and Machiavellian tactics! We are in a period of unprecedented times, our world is faced with the greatest pandemic of our time, social gathering is banned and that includes religious activities, for the first time in history our schools are closed indefinitely, churches and mosques have not been able to congregate for the past 1 month, the only exception to this ban on gathering is restricted to only 25 individuals. Any violation of the directive against public gatherings is punishable by a jail sentence pursuant to Regulation 1 sub-section 1 of EI 65 and section 6 of Act 1012. Apostle Sampson Agakpe and two of his church workers have been sentenced to 4 years in prison for defying this directive. The EC mobilized over 40 officials in Accra for a workshop that's geared towards equipping them with skills for the conduct of a new voter's register. Before then Hon. Sam George had earlier secured an Ex-Parte injunction restraining the EC from gathering for that purpose. Surprisingly enough, the EC defied that court injunction and went ahead with the training. So the fundamental question is, is the Jean Mensah led EC above the laws of Ghana, or do they live and operate on a planet of their own? Is a new voter's register even necessary? Did it not produce the current President without any electoral dispute? And is it not by virtue of the current register that has made it possible for Jean Mensah to lead the EC? Has she not used it to conduct a referendum which in her own words was very successful with a 97% turnout? Did she not use it to conduct our district assembly elections, which was also a success? The fundamental question is why does Jean Mensah want to compile a new voter's register? What's her motivation? Now let's look at her modalities for the proposed voter's register. According to the CI presented to parliament by the EC, the only proof of qualification for the new voter's ID is the Ghana card. Previous exercises of this nature has often captured driver's licenses, Passports, existing voter's ID among others. So what has suddenly changed that one needs a Ghana card as the only proof to register? Mr. Chairman, I know you would have asked the EC this, but kindly repeat it and this time make it public for the citizens to hear you out, how many citizens have the Ghana card? Majority of Ghanaians don't have it, and it's worse in our strongholds. That's the strategy Ken Attafuah's NIA deployed. My polling station in Binduri, Nayoko No.2 Primary School to be precise has a current registered population of over 1500 people. Less than 300 of this 1500 registered voter's has the Ghana card, the remaining 1300 which includes me, and others who have recently turned 18 years does not have the Ghana card and are not eligible to register under Jean Mensah's terms, in effect our votes won't count. This is the current state of our strongholds. Allow them to compile a new voter's register under their current terms to our own peril. If they insist on compiling a new register under their current conditions, meet them with violence. A civil revolution. In politics it is called positive defiance! That would be better than watching them to disenfranchise us, which will keep them in power in perpetuity and subject us to slavery in our own country. Jean Mensah is leading us to a funeral parlour for selfish considerations, she's been manipulated by Nana Addo and his henchmen, the earlier you make them understand your readiness of meeting their war drums with war drums the better. They are trying the mighty NDC, the revolutionaries of our time and we must make history repeat itself. Mind you, the judiciary is compromised and would always favour them, the only way to get justice is on the streets. I predicted the dismissal of Mrs. Charlotte Osei, the introduction of the Ghana card and the fact that it would be a basis for the compilation of a new voter's register, the determination of the judiciary to aid their impunity of which I petitioned your predecessor, parliament, peace council etc all to no avail. Where is Mrs. Charlotte Osei today? We still have time, at the NDC headquarters, we have 2 individuals who can make the EC's arrogance with the necessary violence required, Hon. Joshua Akamba and Chief Sofo Azoka are equal to this task, release them to work, there's no need sidelining them the way you have. Finally understand that we the myriads of you will not forgive you if you allow these all die be die hoodlums to subvert our sovereign will. We cannot let posterity judge this matter. It is time for defiance if the world should end with it, so be it! Yours in anger The Binduri gods mouthpiece Dauda Assibid (Bloomberg) -- Congress has pumped out almost $3 trillion to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, mostly on a bipartisan basis. But there is a bruising election-year confrontation ahead over the next, and perhaps final, round of aid for the economy. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is gathering a long and expensive wish list from her fellow Democrats that would expand the social safety net as well as provide at least $500 billion to struggling state and local governments. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hasnt yet committed to another big aid package and indicated that hes girding for a massive fight over aid to states, a central issue for Democrats. He and other Republicans also say they want to tap the brakes on the blistering pace of new deficit spending. The next phase of economic stimulus likely will be the last before the 2020 elections, and any stalemate will escalate the political consequences with control of the Senate, House and White House at stake. Democrats may have an unlikely ally: President Donald Trump. His re-election may hinge on the economy turning around in the last critical months of his re-election bid, and hes indicated willingness to include state aid and other spending in another stimulus. There is a risk that the effort to write a comprehensive rescue bill gets bogged down for months or falters given how far apart both parties are now as well as the increasingly bitter exchanges over what should come next and who will be to blame if the economy doesnt rebound. One of the biggest battles ahead will be over aid to state and local governments, which are seeing tax revenue plummet and expenses escalate as a result of the pandemic. We will move forward and there will be a bill and it will be expensive and I look forward to doing it as soon as possible because jobs are at stake, Pelosi told reporters Friday. There will not be a bill without state and local. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told National Public Radio Friday that he believes theres enough bipartisan support for state and local government relief legislation despite resistance from McConnell. Story continues McConnell drew a sharp line earlier this week by saying that states saddled with heavy public employee pension obligations -- mostly those with Democratic governors -- should be allowed to go bankrupt rather than use relief funds to right their budgets. Were not interested in rescuing them from bad decisions theyve made in the past, the Kentucky Republican said Wednesday on Fox News. His office highlighted his comments in a press release under the heading: On Preventing Blue State Bailouts. The remarks prompted rebukes from governors, who are warning they will have to slash services without $500 billion in flexible aid. Cities and counties have asked for $250 billion as well, with the potential to affect the livelihoods of workers like police officers, firefighters, teachers, and their pensions. At his daily briefing on Friday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, ripped into McConnell for suggesting states should be allowed to go bankrupt and questioning whether they should get federal aid. It boggles the mind that Congress would aid large corporations and not state and local governments, Cuomo said. He also said that New York puts more into the federal treasury than it takes back, while McConnells home state of Kentucky regularly gets more back than it sends in tax dollars to Washington. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who was a key player in negotiations on the last two packages, said hes had conversations with governors. For anything to get done it has to have bipartisan support in the House and the Senate and the president has to be on board with the strategy, Mnuchin said in an interview with Bloomberg News on Thursday. At the moment were focused on executing what is a very large amount of money that the Congress is in the process of approving. McConnells skepticism about state aid runs headlong into the plans of Pelosi and her leadership team. After the last two relief packages started in the Senate and were negotiated with Mnuchin, she made clear that the House will act first on the next bill. That will include a robust package to bail out states and local governments. Democrats also want extension of expanded unemployment benefits, expanded workplace safety protections for front-line workers, as well an infusion of funding for food-stamps. United Front Pelosi and Schumer are united on most of their core demands, which also include more health-sector funding and a Heroes Fund for federal payments of as much as $25,000 to health workers, grocery store employees and other essential workers. Our states and local governments are feeling the pain of slashed revenue from this pandemic, said House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat who will draft much of the package. Without our support, essential workers who have been risking their lives are at risk of losing their jobs. Republicans in both chambers want a more cautious approach on the next stimulus bill, and McConnell this week wouldnt commit to completing it. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Congress should slow down. We have not seen the effects of all this money going out, McCarthy, a California Republican, told reporters on Wednesday. The states are going to have money coming to them already. Lets see whats working, what needs more help. And lets craft a bill based upon knowledge, data. Under Pressure Leaders in both parties are under enormous pressure to deliver on demands of core constituencies, both outside and inside the U.S. Capitol. Four major unions allied with Democrats this week called for $200 billion for education, expanded Medicaid funding, and a federal backstop to help cover higher insurance premiums. The unions, which include the American Federation of Teachers and Service Employees International Union, also want an expansion of the Defense Production Act to bolster manufacturing in the U.S. of virus-related equipment and exemptions to allow union elections to be held electronically. House progressives argue that all the previous stimulus bills were too modest in comparison to the crisis. I think it is important for us to say that incrementalism is not helpful in this moment, said Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat. It is like putting a bandaid on an enormous wound. She and other House liberals want $2,000 cash payments to individuals that automatically recur until the crisis is over, a government guarantee of peoples paychecks, government assistance for water utility bills, a bailout of the U.S. Postal Service, universal access to health insurance, and aid to undocumented immigrants. There also are calls to expand work share programs to allow individuals to collect unemployment insurance while working part time, and to provide money to asylum seekers. At the same time, Republicans are being urged by business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to continue providing relief for businesses and key industries, while the Club for Growth and other small-government groups encourage them to resist a big state aid package. Debt Hawks Emerge House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs, an Arizona Republican, and Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, are among GOP lawmakers warning of a national debt crisis if all the spending continues. I dont want to see this massive accumulation of debt destroy this great country, Paul said Tuesday on the Senate floor. My advice to the Senate and to the American people is lets be aware of what we are doing by creating all this new debt, and lets think before we jump to a terrible, terrible conclusion. Still, Republicans including Senator Rob Portman of Ohio have already said they want more state and local aid in the next package. So has Trump, who before the November election faces the prospect seeing states lay off millions of public sector workers or raising taxes in the middle of a steep recession because of the pandemic. The fight over health care will also be fierce. The issue has been at the heart of the partisan divide for a decade, with Democrats looking to build on the Affordable Care Act and Republicans still in court seeking to have it overturned. The issue has become even more pressing however, with millions of newly unemployed Americans facing the prospect of losing their employer-sponsored health insurance during a pandemic. (Updates with Pelosi comments in eighth, 23rd paragraphs) For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Over 100 callers experiencing pressure in their marriage and relationships due to social restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have reached out to Accord. Accords new and confidential Relationships Support Phone Line is a free counselling service for people The main problems exacerbated by the COVID-19 restrictions being reported to Accord are effects on children, family tensions, domestic finances, mental health, difficulty living in a confined space, inability to grieve properly when a loved one dies, pressure on work and study at home. The callers made contact using the three Accord numbers which serve the island of Ireland: Accord CLG 01 531 3331; Accord Dublin 01 905 9555; Accord NI 028 9568 0151 or 00353 1 531 3331 Calls to Accord counsellors typically last 45 to 60 minutes in duration and are charged at a local rate. The following problems have been highlighted by callers to Accord counsellors. Causes of conflict include pressure and stress caused by uncertainty around security of employment; the effect on domestic finances; mental health; living in a confined environment; clashes with other family members due to poor communication; regret at being unable to grieve properly following the death of a loved one; pressure on students arising from changes in exam timetables; challenges associated with having home life converted to an office and a school; emotional impact of constant negative news reporting; and, frustration at the inability to socialise outside. Accord counsellors have noted that people under stress at home can feel that they are living in a pressure cooker environment. This situation can induce a regression in their behaviour and human interaction suffers. They can overreact to situations which in turn can cause the domestic atmosphere to deteriorate. This type of behaviour can present as either uncomfortable silences and/or very loud, explosive and noisy verbal exchanges. Young people and children exposed to aggressive behaviour - whether once off or on an ongoing basis - experience fear and distress which in turn affects their personal behaviour and relationships with others. Physical isolation at home can compound trauma. Couples whose relationships had been under pressure prior to imposition of the COVID-19 restrictions are particularly at risk as their confinement exacerbates existing unresolved relationship issues. Being compelled to remain at home all the time, together, save for essential journeys, is magnifying existing tensions and problems. Accord counsellors offer the following key tips to people at home at this time: * For individuals living in fear at home, Accord counsellors are trained in identify and handling domestic abuse. In such situations the priority is the safety of the fearful person and their children. Accord can support an individual to develop a safety plan and can advise them of specialist crisis support contact numbers. * In general, try and keep the lines of communication open with your spouse/partner * Be conscious of how you raise issues with your partner. There are productive ways and unproductive ways of raising issues. * Talk from your own feelings first and express what is difficult for you and what you feel you need rather than blaming and being critical of your partner. Criticism usually begets defensive, stonewalling or disproportionate responses. * Be willing to look at yourself and your behaviour in addition to your partners shortcomings. What is it like to be in relationship and to live with me? is a good question to ask ourselves. * Self-management is a very good skill to hone in these pressurised and worrying times. It might be better to raise an issue at another time so that your partner can hear the cause of concern in a calmer context and to avoid an experience of perceived criticism or attack. Insofar as issues such as bereavement or serious illness impact the couple relationship, callers can discuss these issues with a counsellor on the Support Line. If the issue is about a specific personal bereavement and/or health issue, then referral to a specialist may be required. If the issue relates to how the household finances are being managed or mismanaged that may be discussed by the caller. However, Accord does not offer financial advice so counsellors offer relevant details of national support services which address personal finance problems. Accord provides resources on its website www.accord.ie, on its Facebook page and on its Twitter account based on feedback from counsellors who have dealt with relationship and family difficulties experienced during these confined times. Craft brewing, one of Southeast Texas newest industries, has been facing its own unique challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. This weekend brewers and customers came together as a part of a statewide initiative to keep the beer flowing into the future. The Great Texas Beer Run, a promotional event of the Texas Craft Brewers Association, kicked off Thursday with craft brewers across the state taking to social media to tout deals, new beers and an awareness of the struggling hospitality industry. The statewide campaign also coincided with the opening of Beaumonts Struggle Street Co.s new online store that allows customers to purchase new beers and old favorites for pickup later in the day. Owner Scott Reeves said the cans set aside sold out in about 5 minutes after the site opened at 8 a.m. Thursday. Weve had massive support from the community, he said Were open twice a week now and I probably see the same people every time we are open. Although the brewery is only open 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays for pickup, Reeves said it has been able to retain about 50% of its usual business. Thats a rosier outlook than the 71% reduction in revenue on average reported by the Texas Craft Brewers Guild earlier in the month. Even after bars and restaurants return to semi-normalcy, Reeves said Struggle Street would keep using the tricks his team has learned with online releases and the convenient point of sales shortcuts currently in use during the health crisis. In addition to its orginal recipes, Reeves and company revealed this week that Struggle Street has been working on the All Together IPA developed by Other Half Brewing. The Brooklyn, New York, brewery shared the recipe for free and partnered with a label company to help any brewer market the beer as a way to raise money for the hospitality industry. Brewers can use the proceeds to help pay staff, support the local service industry or for donations to hospitality workers relief funds. Reeves said the proceeds would be used to help supplement the wages of his staff, which has been missing out on a large chunk of their usual wages because of the absence of tips. Buckstin Brewing in Nederland also has a version of the All Together IPA, but its Great Texas Beer Run campaign differs from Struggle Streets. Open for just a little over five months, the Mid-County brewpub has benefited from its dedicated kitchen, selling pizza and cookie kit combos with their beers while developing a new menu for carry out. Gabi Blanco, a co-owner of Buckstin Brewing with her husband Justin Buchanan-Lopez, said years of planning on a business model and an early investment in a small canning machine helped keep the doors open so far. Weve had a great staff that is adaptable and helping us hold it all together, she said. Its been 100% all because of them. Buckstin got most of its business on Thursday and Friday as people stocked up for the weekend. Blanco said she believed a lot of people were planning on heading out of town over the weekend or hitting recently opened beaches for a quarantine break. She believed it was a sign of how eager people will be to finally escape quarantine and flock to bars and restaurants again whether that was a good idea or not. Buckstins current business also has the couple thinking about the future, including growth. Blanco said she had to have a conversation with her managers recently about how they would handle an uptick in food orders if their kitchens popularity outgrows the quarantine period. We talked about even hiring another person if that happens, she said. Pour Brothers Brewery in Beaumont also participated in the craft brewery campaign, offering deals on its canned beers and promoting its drive-thru. It currently is the only brewery in the region with distribution to local stores. Neches Brewing Co. was open over the weekend and has been able to stay open almost every day during the lock down, but owner Tyler Blount said he and his crew werent able to find the time to participate in the Beer Run. With time and resources tight these days, Blount said he felt it was better to focus on maintaining business as usual instead of trying to come up with new collaborations for the promotion. Were still brewing beer and still have supplies, but we just havent been ordering a lot, he said. Were still coming up with new beers and are selling everything we make. Thats the only thing we can do right now. One of those new ideas coming out soon will be an IPA called Elbow Bump. Blount said the brewery also is developing what might be one of the lightest beers the Neches crew has ever made. An earlier repair to the brewerys air conditioner a few months ago kept Neches Brewing from being able to invest in canning, but Blount said there was still enough support and local demand to staunch revenue loss in the short term. Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, said it was stories of innovation and resilience like the ones from Southeast Texas brewers that inspired the spirit of the Great Texas Beer Run. He said the guild was pressed to find a way to not only help members keep afloat, but to bring awareness and advocacy to the industry across the state. Along with the collaborative promotion and fundraising efforts, the guild has continued to push the same type of legislative advocacy that led to to-go sales for breweries just last year. From a policy standpoint, were still requesting the ability to deliver and ship beer, as well as some tax deferment and label approval fixes, he said. To its credit, TABC has already been working on an improved label cycle, so it isnt as much of an issue anymore. Without the to-go sales legislation that became part of the code last session, Vallhonrat said around half of the guilds members wouldnt have been able to continue operations without some kind of intervention from the governor. Moving forward, Vallhonrat said the coronavirus-related precautions will probably inspire efforts to help the industry strike more of a balance between in-person and to-go sales as a business model. In the meantime, the online success of the Beer Run promotion helped inspire another way for the guild to help brewers. Because of the popularity of the designs made by Guerilla Suit, an Austin-area design agency, the guild has started selling Beer Run merchandise and is donating part of the proceeds to craft brewers designated by customers. Vallhonrat said any Texas independent brewer can receive proceeds from the initiative. In addition, the guild has waived membership dues during the crises. Right now, the most important thing is keeping the community of information open and reaching out to everyone that we can, he said. jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/jdickjournalism I returned to Ukraine nine years later after securing wide-ranging access to photograph the countrys penal system. I visited 17 prisons all over the country: maximum security, pretrial, mens and womens, and one juvenile. Maharashtra Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said that the state has succeeded in slowing down the spread of coronavirus due to the lockdown and he will review the situation before taking any decision on giving relaxations. He also said that this is not an appropriate time for politics but some people are doing it when the state is in deep crisis. However, he didnt name anyone. Thackeray was addressing the state live through various social media platforms. Due to lockdown we have succeeded in the slowing down the spread of the epidemic. To an extent, the situation in the state is under control if compared with the other countries where cases are found multiplying on daily basis. This has become possible because of lockdown, the chief minister said. Coronavirus outbreak: Full coverage He said that the state government is considering to give further relaxations after May 3 but the decision is yet to be taken. I will review and decide what more relaxations can be given after May 3. But one thing is for sure, we will have to avoid crowding, Thackeray said indicating that restrictions are likely to continue in some areas of the state even after May 3 when nationwide lockdown is going to end. The chief minister also said that politics have to be kept aside at this point of time. If we start doing politics now than we dont need any other enemy. Elections will come and pass, power will also not remain forever but if we lose a life today, it is not going to come back. Do not indulge in low level politics, though some are still trying to do it, he said and expressed gratitude for union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari for urging the Maharashtra politicians to cooperate with the state government and not to indulge in politics. The chief minister also urged Muslim community to stay at home while observing the fast and prayers in the holy month of Ramzan. I urge all my Muslim brothers to continue to cooperate with the government. Do not gather for mass prayers at mosques or any other place. Stay at home and perform prayers inside, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Delhi Minorities Commission has demanded that Tablighi Jamaat members who are kept at quarantine camps in the city and have not tested positive for coronavirus be released, as they have completed twice the stipulated quarantine period of 14 days as COVID-19 suspects. In a letter to Delhi Health minister Satyendar Jain, commission chairman Zafarul Islam Khan and member Kartar Singh Kochhar also claimed that facilities for food and medicines at these camps were poor. The letter said people brought to quarantine camps from the Tabligh Markaz in Nizamuddin would complete 28 days in isolation on Monday. This is twice the mandatory period of quarantine for COVID-19 suspects, as per guidelines issued by the US and the WHO, it added. "It will be in the fitness of things that all such people who have spent 28 days in these camps and did not test positive should be allowed to go home or at least allowed to live somewhere else in Delhi while the lockdown continues," the letter read. The commission claimed in its letter that thousands of such inmates were kept at quarantine camps across Delhi, including in Sultanpuri, Wazirabad, Narela and Dwarka. Scores of persons were found infected with coronavirus who were among the participants of a religious gathering at the Tablighi Jamaat Markaz in March. Hundreds of others rescued from there were sent to different quarantine centres. The letter pointed that Ramzan has begun and most of the Muslim inmates in these camps were fasting and finding it "harsh" to cope with the prevailing conditions there. Further, the commission has issued two notices to the district magistrate of North Delhi over the condition of a quarantine camp at the Police Training School in Wazirabad. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Express News Service BENGALURU: In spite of prohibitory orders, residents of OMBR Layout in Banaswadi staged a protest on Saturday morning against the quarantining of 37 people in two hotels located in residential areas, prompting the BBMP and the police to shift them to back to Haj Bhavan. The attendees of Delhis Tablighi Jamaat had been brought to the Oyo hotels at OMBR Layout late on Friday night from Royal Orchid hotel in Yelahanka where the local residents had objected to housing them in their locality. On Saturday, BBMP corporators joined hands with locals against the civic administration, exposing the lack of unity in the BBMP. Even the health officials of OMBR Layout and Yelahanka said they were unaware of why people were housed in the Oyo hotels which are in residential areas. Sharmila Ravinder, a resident of OMBR Layout said: Its a green zone and we have been taking all measures to ensure there are no (Covid-19) cases. Quarantining of people here exposes us to the risk... No information was given to us. It was only when ambulances and police landed that we got to know what it was. Anju Menezes, another resident, said there are many children and senior citizens in the locality. BBMP Commissioner B H Anil Kumar told TNSE that the quarantined people had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi recently. While 13 of them are from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the rest are from Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan and other countries. They cannot be sent back because of the lockdown. They were shifted from Haj Bhavan to Royal Orchid first because people from Ramanagara were shifted there. Then they were shifted to the Oyo hotel and now back to Haj Bhavan. They are kept in quarantine so that we can keep a close watch on them and assess their health. Hotels have been chosen where health and police can reach quickly. Proper barricading and sealing is done to ensure the safety of others, he said. He said if people stage protests against government decisions during the lockdown, they will be arrested for violating the prohibitory orders. The President handed awards to 22 rescuers and thanked them for their heroism Zelensky met with representatives of the State Emergencies Ministry Open source President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky met with representatives of the State Emergencies Ministry of Ukraine, who took part in extinguishing a large-scale forest fire in the Chornobyl exclusion zone. He handed 22 state awards to the rescuers. This was reported by the press service of the president. It is reported that Zelensky inspected the area affected by the fire in a helicopter. We are grateful to you for your important work. Now, at height, from a helicopter, we saw the real result of your work. You are heroes for us, Zelensky said. According to him, the fire destroyed a large area of the forest - more than 11,000 hectares. Related: Fire continues in Chornobyl zone, Zhytomyr region; almost 2,000 work to extinguish it Now you understand how difficult your profession is. I am grateful to you from the all Ukrainian people, Zelensky said. Also, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmygal thanked the rescuers for their deeds. "We express gratitude to all those people - today more than a thousand people work to eliminate the fire. To everyone who stands next to you shoulder to shoulder and does this work," added Shmygal. We recall that this month several regions suffered from fires - Kyiv, Zhytomyr, as well as the Chornobyl exclusion zone. The fire in the Chornobyl zone began on April 4. Almost 2,000 people are involved in extinguishing fires. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky honored the memory of the victims of the Chornobyl disaster, which occurred 34 years ago. Zelensky published relevant statements on Facebook. "34 years ago, an unprecedented tragedy took place on Ukrainian soil: a peaceful atom, designed to make life easier and improve people's well-being, got out of control and became a threat to all living things on a large territory around the Chornobyl nuclear power plant and far beyond ... Related: Lukashenko went to Chernobyl zone to plant pines despite coronavirus pandemic On this day, we bow our heads to the blessed memory of the heroes who saved the future from radiation danger and retreated into eternity. A deep respect for the liquidators and kind words addressed to representatives of various professions who today provide for the restoration and development of territories exposed to radioactive contamination, and also protect these lands from new natural disasters. The Chornobyl disaster is, without exaggeration, a planetary disaster. It has become not only a bitter lesson from the recent past but also a warning for the future. Planet Earth is the cradle and home of all mankind, and therefore its preservation is the responsibility of every person and the common duty of all nations of the world," the president wrote. Zelensky is also convinced that the key to solving the global problems of our time, including the Chornobyl tragedy, will continue to be international solidarity and well-coordinated work for the sake of a better future for the present and future generations. As we reported before, almost 75,000 people, including 80% of foreigners, visited the Chornobyl exclusion zone during eight months of 2019 These migrant workers were determined to walk all the way to their village in Tamil Nad. (DC Photo: SSR) Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) says it provides over 2.25 lakh meals per day through Annapurna Canteens and various NGOs, but migrant workers say they don't get breakfast at the shelter homes set up by the civic authority. But wait, don't say it. These workers are not here for the breakfast. Or lunch. Or dinner. They just want to go home. Some 1500 migrant workers, homeless people and others take shelter here, most of them from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha and Maharashtra. At one shelter camp set at the Exhibition Grounds in Nampally, migrant workers said food is inordinately delayed, sometimes to wait for a VIP to turn up to pose for pictures. One worker from Maharashtra, named Anurag, said, "I had my last meal at 7 pm last night. We have not had any food till 12:30 pm today. Sometimes, lunch is delayed since a political leader or a bureaucrat wants to pose for a picture." Sometimes, lunch is not served till 2 pm, making it very difficult for people suffering from diabetes and BP. "We urge politicians and bureaucrats not to visit shelter camps. Since many of us work in hotels, providing rations would be a great help. We can make our own breakfast, Anurag said. With 10 days to go to the end of the lockdown period in Telangana, migrant workers in Hyderabad are not wlling to stay on despite assurances given by the state government. Some 28 migrant workers, who were intercepted while travelling from Nagpur to Chennai and lodged in a shelter, begged officials to let them go. Another group of 40 migrant workers were getting ready to walk to their village in Bihar when the state lockdown is lifted on May 7. Despite being exhausted, migrant workers have been begging officials to let them go. One group of 28 young workers, lodged in a shelter in West Marredpally, were seen weeping as they begged to be allowed on their way to Tamil Nadu. "We started out on foot from Nagpur and somewhere outside that city we boarded a lorry to reach Hyderabad. We were caught by the police and put in this shelter home. Our friends reached Tamil Nadu travelling via Maharashtra and Karnataka. The authorities in Hyderabad have said we cannot even leave the city, forget going to Tamil Nadu. I do not understand why the authorities would have a problem with us going. Just for this food and shelter, we cannot live without our families," wept Srinivas, a Tamil migrant worker, in a shelter home in West Marredpally. One group of about 40 migrant workers, influenced by news going viral on social media that the Telangana lockdown might be extended, packed their bags and started out from LB Nagar to walk to Bihar. They were intercepted at Uppal by the local police and shifted to a shelter nearby. "We have been hearing news that the lockdown will continue for months. We cannot be dependent on donations. We will have plain rice or nothing in our villages but we cannot stay here for one more month. I request government and transport us to our state immediately or else leave us alone we will walk to Bihar, said Shyam Sunder, another worker. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his monthly radio address Mann ki Baat on Sunday once again praised the billions of Indians, who he said have fought shoulder to shoulder in the countrys efforts to stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus infection. Friends, Indias fight against corona is truly people-driven. It is being fought by the people and the administration in close collaboration. A vast country like India, which is striving for development, fighting a decisive battle against poverty, this is the only option to win the war against corona, PM Modi said in the latest edition of Mann ki Baat. We are fortunate that the entire country, with each of its citizen, is leading and fighting this war as soldiers, he said. The Prime Minister also said the suggestions and phone calls for this edition of Mann ki Baat have been many times higher than usual. Encompassing many subjects, your Mann ki Baat suggestions have reached me. I have tried to read them and listen to them as much as possible. In the hustle and bustle of life, I got to focus on several topics which remain unnoticed through your suggestions, he added. This is one of Modis several addresses to the nation since the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown began last month. He has tried to reach out to people by apologising for the governments tough decisions, spoke on the need to care for the poor, and honoured those at the forefront of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic while outlining the next course of action. In his last address on March 29, four days after announcing the first phase of nationwide lockdown, the Prime Minister had apologised to the nation for imposing the shutdown but justified the step, saying it was needed to win this battle. I apologise for taking these harsh steps which have caused difficulties in your lives, especially the poor people. I know some of you would be angry with me also. But these tough measures were needed to win this battle, he had said. Since that address, the second phase of nationwide lockdown has been imposed which will end on May 3. The government has also announced some relaxations in the lockdown rules including opening neighbourhood and stand-alone shops providing non-essential goods and services but with certain conditions. Atlanta As the global death toll from the coronavirus surpassed 200,000 on Saturday, countries took cautious steps toward easing lockdowns imposed amid the pandemic, but fears of a surge in infections made even some outbreak-wounded businesses reluctant to reopen. The states of Georgia, Oklahoma and Alaska started loosening restrictions on businesses despite warnings from experts that such steps might be premature. Shawn Gingrich, CEO and founder of Lion's Den Fitness, decided after the Georgia governor's announcement that his Atlanta gym would remain closed for now. "We've sacrificed so much already," Gingrich said. "I feel like if we do this too soon, we'll see a spike in cases and we're back to square one." Others were eager to get back to business, with precautions. Russ Anderson, who owns a tattoo studio in south Georgia, said he "couldn't get up out of my chair quick enough" when restrictions were lifted. His main shop served 50 or 60 customers Friday when it reopened, with customers and tattoo artists wearing masks, he said. The worldwide death toll was at 201,907 as of Saturday afternoon, according to a tally compiled by John Hopkins University from government figures. The actual death toll is believed to be far higher. India reopened neighborhood stores that many of the country's 1.3 billion people rely on. But the loosening didn't apply to hundreds of quarantined towns and other places hit hardest by the outbreak that has killed at least 775 people in the country. Shopping malls also stayed closed nationwide. Still, owners of small stores, being allowed to open again brought relief. India also allowed manufacturing and farming to resume in rural areas last week to ease the economic plight of millions left jobless by the March 24 lockdown Elsewhere in Asia, authorities reported no new deaths Saturday for the 10th straight day in China, where the virus originated. South Korea reported just 10 fresh cases, the eighth day in a row its daily increase was under 20. There were no new deaths for the second straight day. Some countries extended or tightened restrictions. Sri Lanka had partially lifted a monthlong daytime curfew in more than two thirds of the country. But it reimposed a 24-hour lockdown countrywide until Monday after a surge of 46 new infections, its highest increase in a day. Norway extended until at least Sept. 1 its ban on events with more than 500 participants. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that Spaniards will be allowed to leave their homes for short walks and exercise starting May 2 after seven weeks of strict home confinement, though he said "maximum caution will be our guideline." Kids in Spain will get their first fresh air in weeks when a ban on letting them outside is relaxed starting Sunday. After 44 days indoors, they'll be allowed out for adult-supervised one-hour excursions no farther than 0.6 miles from home. They will not be permitted to play with others. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Belgium sketched out plans for a progressive lockdown relaxation starting May 4 with the resumption of nonessential treatment in hospitals and the reopening of textile and sewing shops to make face masks. In Italy, where restrictions also will be eased May 4, authorities warned against abandoning social distancing practices as millions return to work. Free masks will be distributed to nursing homes, police, public officials and transportation workers. The country continues to have Europe's highest death toll, with 26,384 deaths. The 415 deaths registered in the 24-hour period that ended Saturday evening was the lowest toll since Italy registered 345 on March 17, but only five fewer than Friday. Britain held off on changes to its lockdown as the virus-related death toll in hospitals topped 20,000. The figure doesn't include deaths in nursing homes, likely to be in the thousands. In France, the government prepared to ease one of Europe's strictest lockdowns from May 11. The health minister detailed plans to scale up testing to help contain any new flare-ups. Along with Georgia, Oklahoma allowed salons, spas and barbershops to reopen, while Alaska cleared the way for restaurants to resume dine-in service and retail shops and other businesses to open their doors, all with limitations. Some Alaska municipalities chose to keep stricter rules. Though limited in scope, and subject to social-distancing restrictions, the reopenings marked a symbolic milestone in the debate raging in the United States and beyond as to how quickly political leaders should lift economically devastating lockdown orders. A survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found Americans overwhelmingly support stay-at-home measures and other efforts to prevent the spread of the virus. An Ecuador woman who was pronounced dead from Covid-19 suddenly woke up in the hospital, to the delight and relief of relatives who had identified someone elses body as hers and had it cremated. Alba Maruri, 74, was hospitalised in March in Guayaquil, the city hardest hit by the pandemic, with fever and trouble breathing. She lost consciousness for three weeks and was declared dead on March 27, relatives said. A week later, her family was shown a corpse in the hospital morgue, but for fear of coronavirus contagion did not get close to it. The body was on its side, with the back showing, not the face. Maruris nephew Jaime Morla said he thought it was his aunt and told hospital officials it was. I was afraid to see her face, he told AFP. I was a metre and a half away. She had the same hair, the same skin tone. She even had a wound like one my aunt had recently, Morla said. That body was taken to a funeral home and cremated. Maruri regained consciousness Thursday and told doctors who she was and had them call her sister Aura. The doctors went to my aunts house to corroborate and inform them of the mistake, said another nephew, Juan Carlos Ramirez. They still do not know whose ashes they have in their house, he added. The family plans to sue the hospital to recover the cremation fee they paid and for the distress caused by the mix-up. The sister told news outlets that hospital officials visited her on Friday and told her that her sister was well and about to be released. It is a miracle. For nearly a month, we thought she was dead. And I have someone elses ashes, said Aura. Berlin police arrest Over 100 protesters for violating COVID-19 restrictions Berlin, Apr 26 (Sputnik) More than 100 demonstrators have been arrested in the German capital for violating the coronavirus restrictions, city police said. "Our assignment at Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz has ended. By blocking the surrounding streets, we were able to prevent a larger build-up on the square. However, many people violated the Covid19 distance requirement. There were more than 100 arrests," Berlin police said on Saturday. Earlier in the day, several hundred people gathered in Germanys capital to protest against coronavirus restrictions. The demonstration lasted for a little over an hour. The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva said that IMF supports the Egyptian governments aim to safeguard the significant gains made by its economic reform programme under the completed three-year Extended Fund Facility. In a statement issued on Sunday, Georgieva said that Egypts economy, like other countries around the world, has been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, the related global recession, and the turmoil in financial markets. She highlighted Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisis and the governments efforts in responding quickly and decisively through adopting measures aimed at curtailing the outbreak while providing support to affected people and businesses. She noted the Central Bank of Egypts (CBE) measures to support the domestic economy, according to the statement. To support these efforts and contain the economic and financial impact of the pandemic, CBE and the government have requested financial assistance from the IMF under the Funds Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) and a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), she said. The emergency financing under the RFI will allow the government to address any immediate balance of payments needs and support the most affected sectors and vulnerable groups of people. I expect the request for the RFI to be presented to the IMFs Executive Board within the next few weeks. She added that the IMF is working with the Egyptian government to support its strong set of macroeconomic policies through an SBA. This comprehensive package of financial support, once approved, would help strengthen confidence in the Egyptian economy, make further progress to protect the most vulnerable and provide the basis for a strong economic recovery, Georgieva said in the statement. It would also help accelerate Egypts reform efforts that target supporting broad-based, job-rich and sustainable growth, according to the statement. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced on Sunday that Egypt is seeking financial assistance from the IMF in the form of a one-year programme, to help offset the impacts of the pandemic. Firefighters battle a blaze in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, Sunday. Nearly 3,400 people and 32 firefighting helicopters have been mobilized to fight the fire, which has devastated 200 hectares of mountains since Friday. Nearly 1,200 residents were evacuated. Yonhap It would take Vietnams tourism sector at least two years to recover after being hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, said Le Tuan Anh, director of the Tourism Information Centre under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, foreign tourist numbers to Vietnam have slumped. In March alone, the figure dropped 68% on-year and the rate has been forecasted to further decline as many countries have continued tightened Covid-19 prevention and control regulations. Tourists in Ta Hien Street in Hanoi Anh, however, said that this is not the first time the local tourism sector has faced a crisis. Over the past two decades, the sector has experienced many challenging periods such as the Asian financial crisis during 1997-1998. But the industry recovered with an on-year growth of up to 17% just a year later. In 2003, the industry continued battling difficulties resulted by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), causing its growth to drop by 8% on-year. But, in 2004, it strongly recovered with the growth of 21%. After the global financial crisis in the 2007-2009 phase, the sector grew by 34% only two years later. Anh added that if Covid-19 pandemic ends in June this year, the foreign tourist numbers to the country would decrease by 70% on-year. The decline rate would be 75%, if the pandemic lasts until September. This means that the country would attract around 4.6 million foreign travellers this year. If the situation persists until the end of this year, the drop rate would be up to 80%. It would be at least until 2022 or even longer for Vietnam to regain the growth of 2019, Anh emphasised. Many experts pinned high hopes for the rapid revival for the Vietnamese tourism sector. Specifically, Vietnams successful virus control is an advantage to help the country to promote its image to the world. Dtinews Ha Trang Most local tourism firms forecast 80 percent revenue drop More than three-quarters of tourism firms expect their revenue in the second quarter to fall more than 80 per cent from the same period last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yemen expects actions from Saudi-led coalition regarding unilateral truce: Houthi Iran Press TV Saturday, 25 April 2020 4:03 PM The chairman of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee of Yemen, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, has dismissed the Saudi-led coalition's extention of a unilateral ceasefire in the war-ravaged Arab country by one month, saying Yemenis are expecting serious actions rather than words, which are simply media maneuver. "Over the past two weeks, what we witnessed ran counter to what was declared since there were upticks in bombardments as well as escalation [of clashes] on all fronts by the alliance," Houthi wrote in a post published on his Twitter page on Saturday. The remarks came a day after the Saudi-led military coalition decided to "extend the ceasefire for a month," according to its spokesman Turki al-Maliki, the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. A two-week ceasefire in Yemen announced earlier by the alliance expired on Thursday, without leading to a permanent truce. Violence continued in several provinces, including Ma'rib, a stronghold of Saudi-backed militiamen loyal to Yemen's former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, throughout the period. Aid groups worry that persisting fighting in the war-torn country could cause a catastrophe, and further undermine its already weakened ability to contain the novel coronavirus pandemic. Yemen reported its first coronavirus case earlier this month in the oil-producing southern province of Hadhramaut, which is under the control of Saudi-sponsored Hadi loyalists. The supreme national emergency committee for COVID-19 in Yemen said on April 10 the infected patient was identified in the port town of Ash Shihr, and he was in stable condition and receiving care. 'Political solution plan presented by Sana'a fair to all parties' Separately, the president of Yemen's Supreme Political Council, Mahdi Mohammad al-Mashat, described the comprehensive solution plan submitted by the Houthi Ansarullah movement on a nationwide ceasefire and cessation of the ongoing Saudi-led blockade as promising and a practical way out of Yemen's conflict. "The peace initiative that we announced on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the September 21 Revolution is still standing," Mashat said in an exclusive interview with Arabic-language al-Thawra (Revolution) daily newspaper published on Saturday, stressing that Yemeni forces reserve the right to respond to any act of aggression. On April 9, Ansarullah presented to the United Nations a comprehensive peace plan aimed at ending the conflict in Yemen. The plan reportedly consists of three pivotal issues: it demands a ceasefire and a complete halt to the Saudi-led onslaught, abolition of the tight blockade imposed on Yemen, adoption of economic and humanitarian measures and initiation of the inter-Yemeni political process. Mashat further noted that they were in touch with Saudi Arabia as they "will not close any door that leads to peace," but stressed,"We will not make concessions that would threaten the sovereignty of our country." He highlighted that Yemen welcomes friendly and cordial relations with all world countries, and wishes for lasting and comprehensive peace. Mashat said the United Nations is providing cover for the Saudi-led coalition of aggression and doing nothing to alleviate the repercussions of the economic war on Yemen, calling on Russia and other major world powers to play their roles and safeguard international treaties. The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the war has claimed more than 100,000 lives over the past five years. More than half of Yemen's hospitals and clinics have been destroyed or closed during the war by the Saudi-led coalition, which is supported militarily by the UK, US and other Western nations. At least 80% of the 28 million-strong population is also reliant on aid to survive in what the United Nations has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis. According to the UN's top aid official, Mark Lowcock, civilian casualties have risen every month since January. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A woman from Rossville and a man from Chattanooga have been arrested on multiple charges after attempting to break into two Bradley County residences, forcibly entering a Bradley County business, and stealing over $10,000 of property. At approximately 5:14 a.m. on Saturday, deputies from the Bradley County Sheriffs Office were dispatched to a business in Charleston, in response to an alert from the business security system. Upon arrival, deputies observed broken glass from previous forced entry, a damaged security camera system, a cigarette case broken into and several packs of cigarettes missing, employee paychecks missing from an unlocked safe, and several rolls of lottery tickets missing. Deputies also observed that the VHS to the camera systems VCR was missing as well. Shortly after, at approximately 6:28 a.m., dispatch received a call reporting an unfamiliar vehicle and suspicious individual prowling near a residence on Mill Hamlet Road. The caller reported that before the vehicle sped off, he/she observed several rolls of lottery tickets inside and secured a photo of the license plate. The photo was sent to BCSO property crimes detectives who identified the tag number. The caller also provided a description of the vehicle and two suspects inside. It was later discovered that one suspect had attempted forced entry into a residence in the area. About one hour later, at approximately 7:30 a.m., another prowler was reported to dispatch at a residence on Hopewell Drive. The caller reported that the suspect had attempted to gain entry into the back door of his/her residence and provided a description of the vehicle and suspects, which matched that of the previous callers description. BCSO deputies reported to the scene at approximately 7:33 a.m., detaining a female suspect who was standing by the vehicle with no incident. Deputies then approached a male suspect who was still on the back porch of the residence, and gave verbal orders to stand down. The man was detained after he initiated a physical altercation with both deputies. One deputy sustained injuries during the struggle and was taken in for medical treatment. Deputies on the scene at Hopewell Drive reported a matching license plate number that had been reported at Mill Hamlet Road. Once the vehicle was detained, detectives found lottery tickets and pay checks all matching the descriptions of items stolen from the business in Charleston. After further investigation, it was discovered that the vehicle has been stolen out of Catoosa County. The female suspect was identified as Hope Barber from Rossville. The male suspect was identified as Buddy Frazier Jr. from Chattanooga, who had on an active warrant out of Catoosa County. Once again, residents from outside of our county have come here to break the law and have swiftly faced the consequences, said Sheriff Steve Lawson. I have said it before and I will say is again: if you come to Bradley County and commit these types of crimes, my officers and I will dedicate every resource available to us to arrest you and prosecute you to the fullest extend of the law. I am very pleased to see the teamwork exhibited by our patrol and criminal investigation divisions. I believe that this incident has shown the efficiency to how our agency works, along with the excellent dispatchers at the Bradley County 911 Center. Both Ms. Barber and Frazier were both taken into custody and booked at the Bradley County Jail. Ms. Barber is facing the following charges: theft over $10,000, vandalism over $2,500, burglary, theft under $1,000, violation of governors order, two counts of attempted aggravated burglary and two counts of vandalism under $1,000. Frazier is facing the following charges: theft over $10,000, vandalism over $2,500, burglary, theft under $1,000, violation of governors order, resisting arrest, two counts of vandalism under $1,000, two counts of attempted aggravated burglary an two counts of assault on law enforcement officer. Weeks after a Navy captain was ousted over his warning about a coronavirus outbreak on his ship, he may be getting his job back. Adm. Mike Gilday, the Chief of Naval Operations, on Friday recommended to Defense Secretary Mark Esper that Capt. Brett Crozier be reinstated as commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt after he was relieved of command earlier this month, ABC News reports. Crozier had written a four-page letter asking for help containing a COVID-19 outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which subsequently leaked to the press. He was ousted on April 2, with then-Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly saying it was because he sent the letter over "non-secure unclassified email" to a "broad array of people." Modly would later resign after telling the USS Theodore Roosevelt crew that Crozier was either "too naive or too stupid" to run the ship, a comment for which he apologized. Esper has reportedly not made a final decision on whether to reinstate Crozier, and The Associated Press reports he asked for a delay in a public announcement, though a spokesperson for Esper previously said he's "generally inclined to support Navy leadership in their decision." ABC News reports that "according to Navy officials, Crozier's reinstatement was likely to have been the first time that a ship's commanding officer who had been relieved of command for a loss of confidence has been restored to command." More stories from theweek.com Everybody Loves Raymond creator highlights the people who stand behind Trump, literally and awkwardly Trump wants praise for his coronavirus response. Here it is. 'Kim Jong Un is alive and well,' South Korean official asserts The World Health Organization said in a scientific brief there's "no evidence that people who recover from the novel coronavirus and have antibodies are protected from a second infection. Why it matters: Several countries, including the U.S., are weighing allowing people who have recovered from COVID-19 to carry "immunity passports" or "risk-free certificates," enabling them to travel or return to work assuming that they are protected against re-infection. "The use of such certificates may ... increase the risks of continued transmission," the WHO said in the brief. What they're saying: "At this point in the pandemic, there is not enough evidence about the effectiveness of antibody-mediated immunity to guarantee the accuracy of an 'immunity passport' or 'risk-free certificate,'" the WHO said. The agency said it's continuing to review the evidence on antibody responses to the virus, which has infected almost 2.9 million people and killed over 200,000 worldwide with more than 938,000 cases and over 53,700 deaths reported in the U.S., per Johns Hopkins. The big picture: Chile has announced plans to issue "immunity passports." The United Kingdom, Germany and Italy have been looking into the move. Anthony Fauci told CNN this month that U.S. officials were discussing the subject. "I think it might actually have some merit," the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director added. Onfido, a San Francisco-based identity verification company, is working with at least one European government to develop phone-based immunity passports for people who've recovered from COVID-19 and tested positive for antibodies, per Axios' Dan Primack. The firm "has not yet spoken with U.S. officials, but CEO Husayn Kassai tells Axios that there have been indirect discussions at both the federal and state levels via partners," Primack notes. Go deeper: How coronavirus antibody tests will help Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat said on Sunday that army forces understand their responsibility in the battle against coronavirus and added that strict directions are given to the forces regarding all the precautions like wearing masks and gloves. Despite budgetary challenges in view of coronavirus outbreak, the Indian Armed Forces are capable of undertaking any operational task assigned to them, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat said on Sunday. He added that to ensure that people of the country remain safe it is important for the armed forces to follow all the precautions. Whatever budget has been given to us, we must spend it pragmatically avoiding any wasteful expenditure. We dont see any major drop in our operational preparedness as far as the three services are concerned, the CDS told ANI in an exclusive interview. General Rawat said COVID-19 has taught us a lesson to be self-reliant. COVID-19 has taught us a lesson that time has come to be self-reliant. In times of crisis, nations will have to live by themselves. In fact, a country like India, when we are looking at becoming a regional power, we will have to support other nations and not be dependent on others, the CDS said. Stressing that it becomes very important for the country to start addressing the issue of in-house manufacturing, the CDS said: That is why it becomes very important that we start addressing the issue of in-house manufacturing through Make in India and make sure that whatever we are importing, gradually we should start depending on Make in India. If we start depending on Make in India, we will also reduce our ab initio holdings. Also Read: Mann Ki Baat: PM Modi says Indias fight against coronavirus is people-driven, launches new digital portal to develop a united front of coronawarriors #WATCH Whatever budget has been given to us, we must spend it pragmatically avoiding any wasteful expenditure. We dont see any major drop in our operational preparednessWe're capable of undertaking any operational task assigned to us: CDS Staff General Bipin Rawat pic.twitter.com/2nTWUX1ZPC ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 Pointing out as to how the health industry in the country has come forward during these challenging times, the CDS said: The scientists and other agencies involved in medical research have come up with innovative ideas to produce medical equipment in the country which we were so far importing to help us tide over COVID-19 has been amazing. There is a very major lesson for us. We have been importing our weapons and ammunition from abroad but I think if we can give this challenge to our industry, academia and research and development organization. I think if we can start manufacturing our own weapon, ammunition in the country, we may not have to be dependent on imports, he said. The CDS said he was quite sure that the defence manufacturing in the country can also move at the same pace provided we have faith in our industry and research organisations. We are able to do their handholding and are able to move forward. General Rawat said gradually we have to start looking that most of the major components are made in India.I am also happy to inform that we are making our own guns, we are making our own air defence systems and small arms. You will be happy to know that the Air Chief has now placed a demand for 83 Light Combat Aircraft to be produced by the HAL. We do know that they have a lot of import content in them but gradually we have to start looking at how to ensure that most of the major components are made in India, he said. For all the latest National News, download NewsX App As India recorded the highest one-day rise of 1,975 coronavirus cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the country's fight against COVID-19 is "people-driven" and this was the only way to overcome the pandemic with the road ahead expected to figure in his discussions with chief ministers. Amid indications that his third round of video interaction with the chief ministers on Monday since the COVID-19 outbreak could also focus on a graded exit from the 40-day lockdown, Modi asked people to shun any complacency that they will not be infected by coronavirus because it has so far not affected the places where they live or work. The lockdown is due to end on May 3. In his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' broadcast, Modi said the country is in the middle of a 'yudh' (war) and asserted people have to continue being careful and take precautions. He reiterated his advice to people to maintain a distance of two yards from each other to keep healthy. Do gaz doori, bahut hai zaroori(Maintain a distance of two yards and keep yourself healthy)," he said. The countrywide death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 826 with 47 more fatalities being reported and the number of cases climbed to 26,917 on Sunday, according to the Union Health Ministry. A total of 5,914 people(21.96 per cent) have recovered from the infection, it said. The total number of cases on Sunday went up by 1,975 since the ministry last updated its data on Saturday evening. The previous highest single-day jump of 1,752 was recorded on April 24. According to the ministry, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country is from Maharashtra at 7,628. Other states where the cases have crossed one thousand are are Gujarat (3,071), Delhi (2,625), Rajasthan (2,083), Madhya Pradesh (2,096), Uttar Pradesh (1,843), Tamil Nadu(1,821) and Andhra Pradesh(1,097). "I urge you not to get overconfident. You should in your over-enthusiasm not think that if the coronavirus has not yet reached your city, village, street or office, it is not going to reach now. Never make such a mistake. The experience of the world tells us a lot in this regard," he said in his 30-minute address. Modi referred to a popular Hindi idiom 'Sawdhani hati, durghatna ghati' (accident happens when caution is lowered) to make his point. Hailing states, emergency workers and civil society groups for their contribution in combating the pandemic, he said the resolve shown by the people of the country has led to the beginning of a transformation with businesses, offices, educational institutions, medical sector rapidly undergoing new changes. With the country under a lockdown since March 24 midnight, he said India's people-driven battle against the pandemic will be discussed when the world discusses the crisis later. "India's fight against the coronavirus is people-driven in the truest sense of the term. Along with people, government and administration are fighting it as well... This is the only way we can win over the virus," he said. The prime minister said wearing masks will now become a part of a civilised society and also exhorted people to stop spitting in public places, saying it was high time to get rid of this "bad habit" once and for all. This will not only boost our basic hygiene standards but also help in preventing the spread of the coronavirus infection, he added. Modi also greeted people on Akshaya-Tritiya and noted that the holy month of Ramzan had also begun. "We should pray more than ever before so that prior to the celebration of Eid the world is rid of the coronavirus and we celebrate Eid with enthusiasm and gaiety like earlier times," Modi said, urging people to adhere to guidelines of local administration. The prime minister hoped there may be some good in the fight against the coronavirus during his next 'Mann ki Baat' episode, usually the last Sunday of every month. The last Sunday next month falls on May 31 and Eid is likely to fall on May 25. In a pat for authorities and citizens, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said the country has handled this pandemic effectively as government and people responded proactively to this crisis. We have to be patient and calm....Follow all guidelines and precautions, he said in his video address to RSS workers from the Sangh headquarters in Nagpur. Senior BJP leader and Union minister Prakash Javadekar said the prime minister has asked people to remain steadfast in following the coronavirus guidelines and expressed confidence that the nation will follow the path shown by him. Sources in the union government indicated that besides discussing the way forward in dealing with the pandemic, the prime minister's discussion wth chief ministers could also focus on a "graded" exit from the lockdown. The Centre and the state governments have been giving gradual relaxation in various fields and sectors to boost economic activities as also to provide relief to the people. But some states like Maharashtra are mulling extending the lockdown beyond May 3 in cities like Mumbai and Pune to ensure that coronavirus cases remain under control. The Congress said it hopes the prime minister puts out a comprehensive and holistic plan as regards the exit strategy during his discussions with the chief ministers. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said till the time there is no national plan to deal with disasters or pandemics, states cannot formulate plans to deal with issues post-lockdown. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh said that without aggressive testing facilities, India cannot conquer challenges posed by COVID-19. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi urged Modi to clear "bottlenecks" and ramp up testing. Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said the situation in India is improving as hotspot districts (HSD) are moving towards being non-hotspot districts (NHSD). Vardhan gave this assessment after he visited the Trauma Centre of AIIMS in Delhi to take stock of preparedness to overcome COVID-19 and visited various wards in the isolation facility for the infected patients, a statement from the ministry said. On April 15, the Centre had identified a total of 170 districts across the country as COVID-19 hotspots. The districts that have reported either a high number of coronavirus cases or where the rate of doubling time is low are termed as hotspots. As many as 207 districts were also classified as non-hotspots whereas the remaining of the total 726 districts fall under the 'green zones' category, i.e., they haven't reported any coronavirus case for the last 28 days before April 15. Non-hotspot areas have also reported positive cases but the number remains limited. Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba also had a detailed video conference with all the Chief Secretaries and DGPs of the States/UTs to review the preparedness for COVID-19 response. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Add CoolSocial badge. Show it by adding this HTML code on your site: Mybaylorscottandwhite.com scored 40 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 3 Mar 2016, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. Add a widget like this on your site: click here This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the mybaylorscottandwhite homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if mybaylorscottandwhite has a Facebook fan page). This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the mybaylorscottandwhite homepage on Twitter + the total number of mybaylorscottandwhite followers (if mybaylorscottandwhite has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the mybaylorscottandwhite homepage on Delicious. The total number of people who shared the mybaylorscottandwhite homepage on StumbleUpon. The total number of people who shared the mybaylorscottandwhite homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. Basic Information PAGE TITLE myBaylorScottAndWhite.com Login Page DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS your password, password, your user, forgot your, login, mybaylor, scott The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The title found in the head section of the homepage. CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. Domain and Server DOCTYPE CHARSET AND LANGUAGE UTF-8 DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER Microsoft-IIS/8.0 (ASP.NET) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Operative System running on the server. Type of server and offered services. Character set and language of the site. The language of mybaylorscottandwhite.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for mybaylorscottandwhite.com by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines. Facebook link FACEBOOK PAGE LINK NOT FOUND The URL of the found Facebook page. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The type of Facebook page. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND On April 7, Schitts Creek aired its last episode ever. Fortunately, the cast will be reuniting tonight April 26 for a good cause. The fictional Rose family will join the rest of the beloved characters from Schitts Creek and dozens of other celebrities to raise awareness for those fighting on the front lines of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Annie Murphy, Daniel Levy, Catherine OHara, Eugene Levy | Photo by: Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images Schitts Creek concluded with Season 6 Schitts Creek aired on the Pop TV network in 2015. The show quickly became a beloved sitcom by both audiences and critics alike. As the Schitts Creek fan base continued to grow, so did the expectation to do right by audiences around the world. Father-son duo Dan and Eugene Levy knew they had something special and they knew when the time was right to conclude the show. To Our Dear Fans pic.twitter.com/FIXjD3gbzA dan levy (@danjlevy) March 21, 2019 We are so grateful to have been given the time and creative freedom to tell this story in its totality, concluding with a final chapter that we had envisioned from the beginning, the Levys shared on Twitter in March of 2019. Were on an upward trajectory, and we will be still on an upward trajectory when this series actually wraps, Eugene Levy told The New York Times in January of 2020. From start to finish our show will be exactly what it was intended to be. The biggest mistake you can make in TV is shifting the focus away from characters and the storytelling to servicing audience expectations. The audience is there because youve done something right. After the finale of Schitts Creek aired, fans tuned in to an hour-long special celebrating the success of the series. Now, fans are being given another minute longer with the cast of Schitts Creek thanks to the charity special, Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble. The Schitts Creek cast will raise money for Canadian food banks On April 26, the cast of Schitts Creek will reunite for a commercial-free 90-minute special Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble. Dan Levy shared a sneak-peak of the event on Twitter. The purpose of the special is to show support of front-line workers across Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Levy. Those tuning in are also encouraged to donate what they can to Canadian food banks. Gangs all here for a very good cause! @CBC will be broadcasting a multi-platform, commercial-free, 90-minute special in support of front-line workers across Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic this Sunday! #strongertogether https://t.co/Cy80uvNp5t pic.twitter.com/dmnJUwEryy dan levy (@danjlevy) April 23, 2020 The CBC reported these Schitts Creek cast members will participate in the Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble: Annie Murphy, Catherine OHara, Chris Elliott, Dan Levy, Dustin Milligan, Emily Hampshire, Eugene Levy, Jenn Robertson, John Hemphill, Karen Robinson, Noah Reid, Rizwan Manji, and Sarah Levy. Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble airs April 26 Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble will feature musical performances and messages of hope and encouragement from renowned celebrities in an effort to raise awareness for those fighting on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. The charitable event will also feature other Canadian talents like Avril Lavigne, Justin Bieber, Ryan Reynolds, and Mike Myers. Alessia Cara, Barenaked Ladies, Sarah McLachlan, and Shania Twain amongst other artists are expected to perform. How to watch Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble Watch the Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble special on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Listen, CBC Radio One, and CBC Music beginning at 6:30 p.m. EST. The special will also be available via radio and streaming platforms. Worldwide audiences can stream the special for free on CTV.ca, CP24.com, and the CTV and iHeartRadio Canada apps. Fans tuning in are encouraged to consider supporting Food Banks Canada. Press Releases: Candidates seeking political office Newer Older Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Beaufort County Now will publish every press release, which is within their power to do so, from every candidate seeking political office, irrespective of political party. Sunday Life's chief reporter Ciaran Barns was tested for the coronavirus at a drive-through centre a few days ago after displaying mild flu-like symptoms. He didn't have to wait long but it was a much more uncomfortable and invasive procedure than he expected: You would think a neighbour's house almost burning down would be the most interesting event to happen during a boring lockdown Groundhog day. But it wasn't, because less than an hour later I was tested for Covid-19. Having to drive to the nearest test centre in Ballymena was somewhat embarrassing. After all, I'm a journalist who is fortunate to be able to work from home - a comforting refuge a world away from the coronavirus hospital front line. My better half works for the health service, so when I started to show mild flu-like symptoms at the beginning of last week she was obliged to report it to her bosses or face two weeks of self-isolation with our son. A few minutes later came a phone call from test centre staff and it was off to the Braid Valley Hospital for my drive-through appointment. I arrived early, anticipating a long queue of cars filled with key workers. The reality could not have been more different. There was just one vehicle ahead of me in a virtually empty car park which was bathed in the afternoon spring sunshine. It was another minute before I was seen by a tester dressed in full PPE (personal protection equipment), including mask, visor and gown. She instructed me to wind up the window and open the driver's door fully. Producing a long, lance-like swab about four times the size of a cotton ear-bud, the tester calmly talked me through the procedure. One of the swabs would be placed down my throat to the point at which I gagged, while the other would be put as far up each nostril as it would fit. This, she explained, was invasive but necessary to get a true reading. There have been worrying tales coming out of other test centres of people with virus symptoms being asked to self-test. This, my experience taught me, could easily lead to false readings because many people would be reluctant to be so aggressive on themselves with the equipment. The testing process was uncomfortable and lasted around a minute. I declined the offer of taking a break between each swab, preferring to get it over with as quickly as possible. When the tester was finished she explained that I would receive a telephone call with my results within 48 hours. This duly arrived at 12.54pm on April 23, with confirmation that I did not have Covid-19. That, of course, was hugely reassuring, but I am left with the lingering feeling that the test was wasted on me. Surely it would make more sense to take regular samples from healthcare workers battling the virus on a daily basis in hospitals and care homes? Judging by how empty the Ballymena drive-through centre was last Wednesday, this is surely possible. A friend who works at the Royal Victoria Hospital expressed similar concerns. He too has warned how workers at some of the other drive-through centres in Northern Ireland lack the required PPE and because of this are asking people to test themselves - something that could lead to false readings. Although heartened by the news that I am free of Covid-19, I am also left with serious concerns that Northern Ireland's testing capacity is not being fully exploited. Even more worrying is how a lack of PPE for some test centre staff could result in people with the virus being given a clean bill of health after being asked to carry out swab tests themselves. Started as a pioneering scheme to offer meals at highly subsidised prices, the Amma Canteens in Tamil Nadu have turned out to be the saviour during the COVID-19 national lockdown, helping all sections, including guest workers, truck drivers and even the middle class. Though largely the working classes, including migrant workers, and the indigent people, depend on Amma Canteens, a pet scheme of late chief minister Jayalalithaa, now these have come as a boon to several others who are feeling the pinch of the lockdown with pay cuts and loss of jobs. What'smore, the ruling AIADMK has started bearing the cost of the food served by the canteens in several cities and towns, making it free for the customers. Of the 650 plus Amma Canteens, run by local bodies, scattered across the state, Chennai alone has 407, over two thirds, and dish out idlies for breakfast, variety rice for lunch and chapathis for dinner and have come in for appreciation for the quality. "I had a wrong impression previously that the food quality here is not good. But actually it is good and on par with other eateries. During these times of financial distress, Amma Canteens are a boon," a young man, who lost his information technology job a few months ago, said. The man turned up with tiffin boxes to take home food at the city's Madipakkam locality where a large number of people thronged the canteen on Sunday, which also happened to be the first day of the four-day complete shutdown announced by the government in major cities, including Chennai, to check spread of the coronavirus. With the government announcing that all shops would remain closed during the four days, only the Amma Canteens, named so after Jayalalithaa, fondly called by her supporters as "Amma" (mother), were abuzz with activity. A variety of people such as truck drivers, guest workers, and also men and women from middle and upper middle classes could be seen arriving to eat or take food home as staffers were busy cooking and cleaning up. As a mini-truck arrived at one such eatery in the sprawling but empty Madipakkam bus terminus on Sunday afternoon, the driver and another man got down from the vehicle hurriedly and walked up to the outlet and asked if "anything" was available to eat. When pat came the reply, "only sambar and curd rice right now" the duo was apparently relieved as it was not available anywhere else. Usually, the Amma canteens do not offer take away but it is now allowed. A V Ganesan, a priest in a small local temple, said he was happy that Amma canteens were open. "The LPG cylinder in my home has gone dry and this canteen is close to my home, and I can eat or take home food," he said. Free food was now a boon since many like him, who work in temples. have virtually no income, he added. In another locality, a couple of women and children, part of a group of street performers from Chattisgarh, are visually relieved that the canteens are serving food free during the lockdown. "These are very tough times for us as there is no income and the canteens are no doubt a boon, it is a boon," a young mother of two children said in a mixture of broken Tamil and Hindi. In fact, it is a repeat of such scenes in several areas of the city and especially in north Chennai which has a sizable chunk of labour class population. At one such canteen in Vyasarpadi, people could be seen standing in serpentine queues on Sunday, but maintaining social distancing. An Inter-Ministerial Central Team to assess the COVID-19 situation in Tamil Nadu also visited a canteen on Kamarajar Salai here. An official told PTI that a special fund allocation of Rs 19.54 crore has been made for Chennai Corporation Amma Canteens and as a whole Rs 31.39 crore has been earmarked for all the eateries in the state. In Chennai alone 4.5 lakh people eat food at the canteens every day while the rest of the state sees about 6.25 lakh footfall. Since the start of the lockdown period, over 140.38 lakh idlis, 53.24 lakh rice items, and 37.85 lakh pieces of chappathis have been distributed, benefiting about 85 lakh people, the official said. Launched by Jayalalithaa years ago, the canteens offer idlis at a cost of Rs one each, two pieces of roti at Rs 3, Pongal Rs 5 and rice varieties including sambar, lemon and curd at Rs 5 a plate. Now the food is being offered free of cost with the AIADMK's local units footing the bill in major cities of Chennai, Salem and Coimbatore besides some other places in view of the lockdown. In Salem, the home district of Chief Minister K Palaniswami in western Tamil Nadu, eggs are being served free in addition to the regular menu, officials said. The state governments of Karnataka and Rajasthan had launched Indira Canteens and Annapurna Rasoi respectively inspired by the Amma Canteens. Across Tamil Nadu, there are 658 Amma Canteens, including around 250 outside Chennai under 14 corporations and 121 municipalities. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Embassy of Armenia in Ukraine reports that a Kyiv-Yerevan chartered flight will be carried out on April 28. The announcement reads as follows: After long talks, the Embassy of Armenia in Ukraine and the Ukrainian #SkyUp Airlines have agreed to organize the Kyiv-Yerevan chartered flight on April 28 at 3 p.m. (President of the Union of Armenians of Ukraine Vilen Shatvoryan will cover all the expenses). The Embassy of Armenia thanks Vilen Shatvoryan. The passengers who return to Armenia via this flight will stay under quarantine for 14 days. Upon their arrival at Zvartnots International Airport, they will be transported to a special place designated for quarantine, and the expenses for their stay will be covered by the Government of Armenia. Citizens of Armenia, as well as foreign citizens who are family members of the citizens of Armenia can return to Armenia via this flight. The foreign citizens must have documents certifying family ties and copies of those documents. There are only 150 seats, and tickets will be provided according to the hours of registration at the Embassy of Armenia in Ukraine. So, the Embassy of Armenia in Ukraine would like to ask those wishing to return to Armenia to hurry and register at the consular section of the Embassy (+38 044 486-49-96, +38 073 373-74-47, e-mail: [email protected]) or at the Consulate General of Armenia in Odessa (+38 048 703-91-78, +38 068 300-88-77, e-mail: [email protected]). The list will be published later. The free ticket for one passenger includes one item weighing up to 7 kg (55x40x20cm), one item weighing up to 3 kg (35x20x10cm) and a luggage weighing up to 23 kg. Additional luggage will be charged at Borispil Airport. The flight will be carried out from Terminal F, and passengers are asked to arrive at the airport at two hours before the flight. San Francisco looks a little lonely from the skies. A month ago, as residents were getting used to the new normal of life in shutdown, drone footage emerged showing the empty streets. As we now roll into the sixth week of sheltering in place, filmmakers are continuing to get creative, shooting a barren city from above. This new video, released this week, brings a film noir-like majesty to this strange time. The bird's eye view provides some cinematic vistas. Rarely have the sunrise over the East Bay and City Hall been seen in the same shot. The car-free twists and turns of Lombard Street have never looked so geometrically satisfying. In the final Hitchcockian shot, pigeons land on the top of the Castro Theater, as the camera pans down to the lonely street below. By IANS SANT KABIR NAGAR: Eighteen persons of a family in Maghar in Sant Kabir Nagar district have tested positive for coronavirus. Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Sanjay Kumar Pandey said that a 23-year-old man of Maghar area was found Corona positive on April 21. Officials sent samples of 27 people who came in contact with the man to Gorakhpur B.R.D. Medical College for tests and the reports showed that 18 persons of the family were infected with the coronavirus. ALSO READ: 15 members of the same family test positive in Chennai after holding prayer amid lockdown Maghar and Tilathi village, where another Corona positive patient was found, have been sanitized and sealed. Sant Kabir Nagar district magistrate, Ravish Gupta has declared the villages as hotspots. A heavy police force has also been deployed in the two areas to ensure lockdown. Gorakhpur zone commissioner Jayant Narlirkar has directed officials to keep a vigil over the concerned areas and ensure that the borders of the district remain sealed. SEE A VIDEO FROM RETURN HOME The late-night lights of emergency vehicles along West Morton Avenue werent in response to an emergency or an accident. Instead, there were a welcoming beacon for Cpl. Lyle Bloomfield as he returned from a nine-month deployment, six of those months having been spent in Afghanistan with the Illinois Army National Guard. I will remember that forever, Bloomfield said. I didnt expect it, not with everything going on. Beginning in Logan County, Bloomfield had an Illinois State Police escort on his way to Jacksonville from Chicago. Coming into Jacksonville off Interstate 72, Bloomfield was members of other agencies, including the Jacksonville Fire Department, Jacksonville Police Department, Murrayville Fire Department, Morgan County Sheriffs Department and Murrayville Police Department. Bloomfield has spent the last six months in Afghanistan in the Paktiya and Helmand provinces, providing base security and training for the Afghan Army and police force. The members of his battalions worked together to provide security, especially for those working with the Afghan forces to ensure everyones safety. I, myself, did some advising and other would go with me and provide security for me, Bloomfield said. I was the intelligence officer in charge, so I was the eyes and ears for my battalion commander. After serving in the guard for 11 years, Bloomfield said hed be discharging from the guard and will continue to work in law enforcement. Returning home, Bloomfield will be resuming his duties with the Illinois State Police force in the 9th District in Springfield. Bloomfield has been with the Illinois State Police since 2018 and was previously a deputy with the Morgan County Sheriffs Department. Now, hes ready to continue to serve his community locally. While normal ceremonies were canceled because of the COVID-19 virus, Bloomfield said the escort and the support he saw coming into town was honor enough. While the support from local first responders was a great experience, Bloomfield said that wasnt the best part of his homecoming. My grandfather is 87 and he hasnt been out of the house in a month because of everything going on, Bloomfield said. He was out there a part of the crowd welcoming me back. On Sunday's episode of MasterChef Australia: Back To Win the contestants faced an elimination challenge. Opting for something safe, Dani Venn opted for what she called an upmarket restaurant-quality taco. When asked what she was making, the 34-year-old proudly listed off her dish for the judges - but she mightily messed up the pronunciation. Spanish lesson: On Sunday's episode of MasterChef Australia: Back To Win Dani Venn (pictured) messed up the pronunciation of the Mexican dish pico de gallo 'Seared beef taco with a tomatillo salsa and a pico de gallo!' she said, stumbling over the pronunciation. Instead of the usual pronunciation of peek-o-day-gy-o she bizarrely rambled 'picker de gallow'. Dani laughed as she stumbled over the phrase and admitted, '[I'm] so bad at pronouncing things!' Looks good! She made seared beef taco with a tomatillo salsa and pico de gallo She tried! When describing her dish, instead of the usual pronunciation of peek-o-day-gy-o she bizarrely rambled 'picker de gallow' Oh well! Dani laughed as she stumbled over the phrase and admitted, '[I'm] so bad at pronouncing things!' And fans at home caught onto the fail, with some taking to Twitter to mock the chef for her flub. One person Tweeted: 'What kind of chef/cook doesn't know how to pronounce pico de gallo'. Another wrote: 'Reynold has so many intricate elements that he forgets some and Dani makes one taco from ingredients she can't pronounce.' Oops! Fans at home caught onto the fail, and took to Twitter to mock the chef for her flub Someone else chimed in: 'If someone claims Mexican food is their jam they should learn how to pronounce pico de gallo.' Yet one more person watching at home joked: 'Dani jinxed herself saying Mexican was her 'jam'.' The dish was not a success with the judges complaining the tortilla was too thick. MasterChef: Back to Win continues Monday at 7.30pm on Channel Ten Returning to normal life is a must for the economy, business, and for citizens. The COVID-19 outbreak has driven the oil market to its worst state, according to Medhat Yosef Former deputy chairman of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation Medhat Youssef said that global oil prices will continue to see a fluctuation as long as lockdowns and social distancing measures, which have been adopted globally to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, are not eased. Speaking to Ahram Online, Youssef explained that a return to normal life is essential to bring oil prices back to their normal levels, as lockdowns and other similar measures have caused a drop in demand globally and domestically, causing a state of glut in the global oil market. So, a number of European and Arab countries have already begun to ease lockdowns and other related measures gradually. Returning to normal life is a must for the economy, business, and for citizens. The COVID-19 outbreak has driven the oil market to its worst state, according to Youssef. He also said that global oil enterprises and investors have been forced to add aircraft oil to diesel because flight suspensions have caused a drop in demand for aircraft fuel. Moreover, global petroleum refineries have reduced their capacity to only 17 percent. Regarding the deal by OPEC and non-OPEC countries to reduce oil production as of 1 May, Youssef said that this should be put into effect as soon as possible. Youssef also stressed that Egypts government should revise measures related to decreasing the labour force in administrative bodies, shutting shopping malls, and suspending aviation, and he praised the steps the government has taken regarding easing lockdown measures during Ramadan, saying this will liven up the market. The government has taken important and necessary preventive measures to contain the COVID-19 impacts and to protect the national economy against the likely harsh impacts of the virus outbreak. But, the economy and business are suffering from these procedures and it has to ease such measures gradually, which is in the interest of all parties, according to Yosef. On 11 April, oil prices witnessed a drop on the back of fear that an OPEC and Russia deal reducing production by 10 percent would not make up for the drop in demand due to the COVID-19 outbreak. On 12 April, OPEC+, OPEC and its partners led by Russia reached a deal to reduce their combined oil production by 9.7 million barrels per day in May and June to counter the crash in global oil demand amid COVID-19 crisis. Analysts, however, think that these cuts would be too little, too late to support the market, considering that the current demand loss stands at around 30 million bpdthree times the cuts promised by OPEC. On Thursday, OPECs fourth-largest producer, Kuwait, announced that it has embarked on reducing crude oil supply to international markets in response to the deteriorated oil market conditions due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Russia and Saudi Arabia released a joint statement in April saying that they will continue to monitor the oil market and are prepared to take further measures jointly with OPEC+ and other producers if these are deemed necessary. Search Keywords: Short link: JIN DING/CHINA DAILY United States President Donald Trump had another outburst of suspicion on Sunday. Told that the number of novel coronavirus deaths per 100,000 people is 0.33 in China, as against 45.2 in Belgium and 11.2 in the US, he suddenly asked: "Does anyone really believe that?" It was the old "China-bias" at work in the White House. Every time China achieves something, the White House has to doubt it. In their minds, China should fall behind Western countries in every aspect. The whole idea of comparing different countries' death rates is absurd. This is not a death competition. China has the lowest novel coronavirus death rate among major economies of the world, and yet it has never boasted about it; instead, on April 4, China held a national mourning for every life lost in the fight against the novel coronavirus. Besides, China has invested in saving every life. It spent 150,000 yuan ($21,177), or five times the average annual income per person, to save whoever's condition was serious. And the cost is being borne by the State; the patient pays nothing. For China, every life the virus claimed is a tragedy; for the US leader, the tens of thousands of deaths are just statistics for use in an election. China has a 1.4 billion population, of which Wuhanwhere more than 11 million residents stayed indoors during the epidemicaccounts for less than 1 percent. In the early stages of the epidemic, China took firm steps to lock down Wuhan, effectively preventing the epidemic from spreading to other parts of the nation. Also, China mobilized huge quantities of medical resources for Wuhan, ensuring that most patients got the best treatment. This is the reason for the low death rate in China. Maybe the US leader needs on his team advisers who are good in math and natural science for understanding the death rates, instead of doubting them just because they are from China. Five cities in Tamil Nadu, including the state capital of Chennai, have been put under an intense lockdown to check the spread of the highly infectious coronavirus disease or Covid-19 on Sunday. Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced the tightening of restrictions on Friday. The government decided to tighten curbs under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, in select urban regions based on expert opinion as the number of infections rose. The intense lockdown in Tamil Nadu comes in the middle of a nationwide shutdown ordered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month and extended to May 3. The lockdown has been intensified for four days from Sunday till 9pm on Wednesday in Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai. Two smaller cities of Salem and Tirupur are under stricter restrictions for three days till 9pm on Tuesday. Here what will remain open, what is shut and what people can do: * People cannot step out of their houses even to buy groceries. To vend vegetables and fruits, only mobile outlets shall be allowed, the chief minister has said. * Home delivery of food from restaurants is permitted but takeaways are also not allowed. Also read: India reports 1,990 new Covid-19 cases, 49 deaths in 24 hours * Authorities will carry out disinfection twice in the containment zones. * Government-run Amma canteens that provide food at subsidised rates, ATMs, hospitals, laboratories, pharmacies and allied services like ambulances will function. * During the intense shutdown, banks and central government offices are allowed only 33% of employees. * Employees in sectors like information technology have been allowed to work from home but other private sector firms shall remain closed, the government has said. A lawsuit filed by the family of a man who was drunk when he was struck and killed on a Jersey City bridge has been reinstated after an appellate court panel overturned its dismissal. The family of Hiram Gonzalez, 31, blames Jersey City police for the Spring Lake mans death because they did not stay with him and his disabled vehicle on the Carson-Nguyen Memorial Bridge in the early morning hours of Aug. 3, 2014, a lawsuit filed in 2016 says. A short time after police left, the drunken Gonzalez who had refused the police officers offer of a ride to a nearby by gas station stumbled into the roadway and was fatally struck by a vehicle, according to police reports and court documents. The case came to an apparent close in August 2018 when Hudson County Superior Court Judge Joseph Turula granted Jersey Citys motion for summary judgment, ruling that Jersey City police performed their duty by responding to the crash and offering to ride Gonzalez to the nearby Shell gas station on Communipaw Avenue. An appellate panel this week, however, overturned Turulas dismissal, noting that because there was extensive conflicting factual evidence regarding Gonzalezs behavior, his conversations with the officers ... and the assessment of the area where Gonzalez was left," a determination whether the officers performed their duties appropriately could not be made on the summary judgment record. Jersey City officials did not immediately respond with comment on the appellate panels ruling, which sends the lawsuit back to Superior Court, or whether they will appeal it. Court documents revealed that Gonzalezs blood alcohol level was .0215 at the time, more than twice the legal limit, but responding officers stated they did not detect any signs of intoxication. It was later discovered that there was a half-empty bottle of cognac inside the pickup truck. Gonzalez was driving east on the bridge just before 2:30 a.m. that morning when he said his pickup truck spun out of control, crashed and was left inoperable. Police arrived and moved the vehicle to the side of the road and a tow truck operator was called. When the tow truck operator refused to give Gonzalez a ride, the police officers offered to take him to the Shell station nearby, but Gonzalez refused, saying Im not riding with no Jersey City cops. Gonzalez then contacted a Newark police officer who he falsely identified as his brother, and was prepared to wait for him in a grassy area behind a guard rail, about a half-mile from the intersection of Route 1&9 and Communipaw Avenue. Police waited with Gonzalez for approximately 15-20 minutes and then asked the dispatcher if they should stay with him or resume patrol. Sometime between 3:25 a.m. and 3:42 a.m. the responding officers were told to resume patrol, even though Gonzalezs ride had not arrived, court documents said. The Newark police officer said in a deposition that he mistakenly went to the Pulaski Skyway and searched unsuccessfully for Gonzalez. At 3:42 a.m., police were called to respond to the crash that killed Gonzalez. The driver of a vehicle that struck Gonzalez said it was raining and she didnt see Gonzalez until he was about four feet in front of her, court papers said. She swerved, but could not avoid striking him. Another driver who saw Gonzalez in the roadway just prior to the crash, described him as stumbling and not of his proper mind. Gonzalezs family said in the lawsuit and the appeal that the officers had a duty to stay with Gonzalez and were negligent for leaving Gonzalez, an intoxicated person, on a dark bridge on a heavily-traveled highway in the early morning hours of a rainy night. Northern Irelands nursing homes are to receive a 6.5 million funding boost. Health Minister Robin Swann also confirmed a further expansion of testing and the publication of updated guidance for care homes aimed at strengthening infection prevention and control and protecting residents. Mr Swann said: The additional funding announced today will help ensure homes can increase the level of cleaning undertaken and bring in any additional staff they need to help support the isolation of residents when this is necessary. Under the support package, homes will receive a payment of 10k, 15k or 20k depending on their size. The updated guidance makes clear that all patients discharged from hospitals into care homes whether they have tested negative or not should be subject to isolation for 14 days. In addition, all care homes are asked to make sure they check residents and staff twice a day for symptoms of coronavirus. Mr Swann added: Symptoms in care home residents can be atypical so increased vigilance is critical. Trade unions have been negotiating on sending NHS staff to help under pressure private nursing homes cope with the pandemic. In a statement the unions said: Following intensive negotiation Health Service Trade Unions have secured agreement on the protection of terms and conditions for health service staff volunteering to support their colleagues in the independent sector at this time of great need. Our aim has been to protect residents and staff alike. On the key issues of testing and PPE, all residents and staff in the Covid 19 homes will now be tested and the full range of appropriate PPE will be available to the workforce. The Department of Health has produced in association with the Public Health Agency and the Health and Social Care Board the following GUIDANCE FOR NURSING AND RESIDENTIAL CARE HOMES IN NORTHERN IRELAND. It has been agreed with Trade Unions that this guidance is a work in progress and will remain under constant review and be amended as required going forward. Baker County officials want to let some businesses reopen soon. And they say theyve got a plan to do it safely. A collection of local leaders, including county commissioners, health officials and hospital administrators, submitted a 14-page proposal to Gov. Kate Brown this week. Officials didnt release the proposal and couldnt immediately be reached to produce it. The effort calls for the creation of an incident command board that includes a business and medical case review unit to implement an information-based, phased approach to reopening. Officials expect the governors office to offer revisions. However, we know how important it is to our community as a whole to be able to reopen, and we assure you this is our highest priority, County Commissioner Mark Bennett said. Moving forward will probably be slower than anyone would like to see, but we recognize well need to approach reopening thoughtfully but steadily to avoid having to start over. Officials said their slice of eastern Oregon is ready to begin easing on restrictions on businesses because Baker County has not seen a single confirmed case of COVID-19, visits to medical facilities from patients exhibiting coronavirus-like symptoms are on the decline and that it has enough personal protective equipment and surge capacity in its hospital. So far, five of Oregons 36 counties have not yet registered a confirmed case of COVID-19, all of them east of the Cascades: Baker, Gilliam, Harney, Lake and Wheeler. Officials in several of those counties, including Baker, submitted letters to Brown earlier this month signaling theyd like to begin allowing certain businesses to open starting May 1. Both business leaders and public officials say smaller populations in many of rural Oregons counties will make the eventual economic recovery more difficult. --Eder Campuzano | 503-221-4344 | @edercampuzano Eder is The Oregonians education reporter. Do you have a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email ecampuzano@oregonian.com. Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Oregons education reporters are looking for parents who would like to speak with a journalist about the effects coronavirus is having on families across the state. Would you like to chat with one of us? Fill out this form. A strange news story caught my attention this week. Apparently, Xerox is going to soon start manufacturing hand sanitizer. According to a statement, the company will be leveraging its manufacturing capabilities in Toronto and Rochester, N.Y., and its "in-house materials expertise" so that it can make about 140,000 gallons of the stuff by June, with its first deliveries expected to occur by the end of the month. The company's not just producing hand sanitizer. It's also getting into the ventilator business. Earlier this month, a partnership with a technology firm was announced that will help Xerox manufacture a specific type of ventilator and monitor for hospitals and emergency-response units. I get that Xerox wants to do its part to help fight the COVID-19 virus, but hand sanitizer? Ventilators? This seems very inconsistent with what Xerox does. Thats because when you think of Xerox, these products don't immediately come to mind. The 114-year-old company is mostly known as the maker of printers and office equipment and have morphed into providing workplace technologies and services for process- and document-management. So what exactly do hand sanitizer and ventilators have to do with all this? Nothing. And everything. Related: Whiskey Producers Are Making Hand Sanitizers. Here's How They Organized The company says that it wants to do its part to fight COVID-19. Essentials like hand sanitizer will continue to be in high demand," its CEO said in the statement. This is a time for every company, every person, to look at what they can do to help society, I dont disbelieve that, and I applaud the companys efforts. But I also think there's something else going on something even better for Xerox, its employees and all the other suppliers, customers and partners that rely on the company for their livelihoods. Like all of us, Xerox is facing an economic downturn in its business. I don't know how significant, but I'm going to bet that their managers are as challenged to find new sources of revenue as any small-business owner. Challenging times need out-of-the box ideas. Leaders are forced to make difficult decisions, innovate, try new things, make changes even if those changes disrupt current models. I saw this countless times during the 2008-2009 recession. Many of my best clients used that opportunity to reevaluate their businesses, decide what was truly making them money and what was not worth the effort. During those times, those same leaders tried new ideas, launched new product lines, diversified their offerings and even started doing things completely unrelated to their existing business. They didn't do these things because they wanted to. They did these things because they had to. Downturns have that effect. I think that's what's going on with Xerox. If you asked their executives a year ago if they planned to get into the hand sanitizer or ventilator business, they would react as if you'd lost your mind. But now these businesses might turn out to be potential longer-term revenue streams. Who knows? Hand sanitizer might be the foundation of a new strategy to make and sell other office-related supplies that could be positioned to dovetail nicely with Xerox's workplace offerings. The manufacture of ventilators will certainly keep the companys workforce engaged and thinking during these slower times, and who knows what new techniques for making office equipment will be discovered while in the process of making hospital equipment? And hey with Xeroxs existing infrastructure, maybe manufacturing ventilators is more profitable than manufacturing printers. This could be an entirely new venture. Again, who knows? Xerox is going to find out. Related: Long Beach Beer Lab Could Have Closed; Instead, They Became Essential Of course, if, like Xerox, you're able to contribute something to help fight the coronavirus outbreak, then jump on board. But if your business is facing a downturn, now is the time to also do what Xerox is doing: innovate. Try new things. Sell new products. Take a few chances. This may not be a choice. It may be necessity. But dont fret. It's how great companies survive these times and position themselves for future growth. Related: Top 5 Crisis-Response Steps for Entrepreneurs Why Is Xerox Making Hand Sanitizer? Spot Robot Dog Helps Doctors Remotely Triage COVID-19 Patients Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved A production line worker holds a COVID-19 diagnostic test kit at a Boditech Med production plant in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, on April 7. / Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon Local virus test kits receive inquiries from world over By Kim Hyun-bin Korean bio companies are receiving inquiries from around the globe amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as the early development of coronavirus diagnostic test kits has started to pay off handsomely with countries worldwide in hopes to ink deals to import the products. Experts believe the early development of the test kits and the products' competitiveness over global market players has been crucial to the success of the diagnostic kits. According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Sunday, 53 locally made diagnostic kits have received approval for export as of Friday, including five kits from five bio companies which have been approved for emergency use locally. The five companies are Seegene, Solgent, Kogene Biotech, SD Biosensor and Biosewoom. Seegene and SD Biosensor also received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for emergency use and have already exceeded last year's total sales in the first quarter, as large-scale orders have been pouring in from abroad. Seegene has been exporting 3 million test kits a week and plans to expand the volume to 5 million starting next month. Osang Healthcare, which has yet to receive local approval for emergency use, is currently on the FDA list of firms awaiting approval, as the U.S., which has been hit the hardest by COVID-19 with the most casualties, has been scavenging for test kits from abroad. Solgent has received orders from 40 countries and several states in the U.S. including Colorado, New York, California and Nevada with the total orders exceeding 1 million COVID-19 test kits. Recently it has sent 100,000 kits to Colorado. Just in the first quarter of sales, Solgent has exceeded its total sales figures from last year. Labgenomics also exported 500,000 test kits to Maryland. On Jan. 27, only a week after the first confirmed patient in the country, the Korean government requested bio firms to develop the diagnostic kits. Only a week later on Feb. 4, Kogene Biotech was the first to receive the drug safety ministry's approval for emergency use of its test kits, and it was followed shortly by Seegene. The reputation of the Korean bio industry and the quality of their products have been recognized worldwide and industry watchers believe the test kit boom could lead to growth in other related sectors such as medical products and devices after COVID-19 eases down. The Korean government also has high hopes for the bio industry's potential to develop breakthrough vaccines and medicines. "Looking at our country's test kits being exported throughout the world, we believe if we focus our capacity we have the potential to develop vaccines and medications," said Park Neung-hoo, Ministry of Health and Welfare said. Industry watchers say it is imperative to have synergy between the government and bio firms to better promote and support their products overseas as there are limitations for the firms to advance into the global market on their own. By CARA ANNA JOHANNESBURG (AP) The coronavirus pandemic could narrow one gaping inequality in Africa, where some heads of state and other elite jet off to Europe or Asia for health care unavailable in their nations. As countries including their own impose dramatic travel restrictions, they might have to take their chances at home. For years, leaders from Benin to Zimbabwe have received medical care abroad while their own poorly funded health systems limp from crisis to crisis. Several presidents, including ones from Nigeria, Malawi and Zambia, have died overseas. The practice is so notorious that a South African health minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, a few years ago scolded, We are the only continent that has its leaders seeking medical services outside the continent, outside our territory. We must be ashamed. Now a wave of global travel restrictions threatens to block that option for a cadre of aging African leaders. More than 30 of Africas 57 international airports have closed or severely limited flights, the U.S. State Department says. At times, flight trackers have shown the continents skies nearly empty. Perhaps COVID-19 is an opportunity for our leaders to reexamine their priorities, said Livingstone Sewanyana of the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, which has long urged African countries to increase health care spending. But that plea has not led to action, even as the continent wrestles with major crises including deadly outbreaks of Ebola and the scourges of malaria and HIV. Spending on health care in Africa is roughly 5% of gross domestic product, about half the global average. Thats despite a pledge by African Union members in 2001 to spend much more. Money is sometimes diverted to security or simply pilfered, and shortages are common. Ethiopia had just three hospital beds per 10,000 people in 2015, according to World Health Organization data, compared to two dozen or more in the U.S. and Europe. Central African Republic has just three ventilators in the entire country. In Zimbabwe, doctors have reported doing bare-handed surgeries for lack of gloves. Health experts warn that many countries will be overwhelmed if the coronavirus spreads, and it is already uncomfortably close. Several ministers in Burkina Faso have been infected, as has a top aide to Nigerias president. An aide to Congos leader died. For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. If you test positive in a country, you should seek care in that country, the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. John Nkengasong, told reporters Thursday. Its not a death sentence. In Nigeria, some worried their president might be among the victims. Long skittish about President Muhammadu Buharis absences from public view, including weeks in London for treatment for unspecified health problems, they took to Twitter to ask why he hadnt addressed the nation as virus cases rose. Buharis office dismissed speculation about his whereabouts as unfounded rumor. When he did emerge Sunday night, he announced that all private jet flights were suspended. International airports were already closed. An even more frequent overseas traveler, Cameroons 87-year-old leader, President Paul Biya, faces rising criticism over his public absence since the virus spread to his country. Cases in Cameroon leapt Friday to over 500, the second most in the sub-Saharan region after South Africa. While travel restrictions have grounded the merely wealthy, political analyst Alex Rusero said a determined African leader probably could still find a way to go abroad for care. They are scared of death so much they will do everything within their disposal, even if its a private jet to a private hospital in a foreign land, said Rusero, who is based in Zimbabwe, whose late President Robert Mugabe often sought treatment in Asia. Perhaps nowhere is the situation bleaker than in Zimbabwe, where the health system has collapsed. Even before the pandemic, patients families were often asked to provide essentials like gloves and clean water. Doctors reported using bread bags to collect patients urine. Zimbabwes vice president, Constantino Chiwenga, departed last month for unrelated medical treatment in China, as the outbreak eased in that country. Zimbabwe closed its borders days later after its first virus death. Chiwenga has since returned to lead the countrys coronavirus task force. But some in a new generation of African leaders have been eager to show sensitivity to virus-prevention measures. The president of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi, initially defied his countrys restrictions on travel by government employees to visit neighboring Namibia for its leaders inauguration. But he entered self-quarantine and now reminds others to stay home, calling it literally a matter of life and death. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced he had tested negative, just ahead of a three-week lockdown in Africas most developed country. Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina has as well. Other leaders, including Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Christian Kabore and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, have tweeted images of themselves working via videoconference as countries encourage people to keep their distance. While African leaders are more tied to home than ever, their access to medical care is still far better than most of their citizens. In Burkina Fasos capital, Ouagadougou, medical student Franck Bienvenu Zida was self-isolating and worried after having contact with someone who tested positive. The 26-year-old feared infecting people where he lives, but his efforts to get tested were going nowhere. In three days of calling an emergency number to request a test, he could not get through. ___ Associated Press writers Sam Mednick in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda, contributed to this report. This specific Space Shuttle Discovery was launched into orbit about 30 years ago today with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in its payload bay. Although the astronomers didn't find any serious problems with the Hubble Space Telescope, they were then alerted only a few weeks after Discovery landed. The crew aboard came back within minutes of embarking on a precise emergency spacewalk and even had particular contingency plans to bring back the Hubble to Earth if required. The original plan was to orbit at 612km above the particular planet's surface which would require a vehicle to fly even higher than any of the shuttle missions to date. The telescope deployment actually came just a day after the shuttle touched orbit and even involved a few complicated events. The Hubble Space Telescope problem The first problem was the disconnection of the telescope from the shuttle's power supply which was then fixed with the use of a robotic arm fixing the shuttle's payload pay resulting to it opening its solar arrays, and resulting to the release of the telescope. The problem then started to spread as the commands were given for the telescope to start unfurling its two solar arrays, one of them did not actually open properly! The minutes progressed into hours as engineers tried to fix the problem. Bill Reeves, the mission's flight director, even had a contingency plan for this, which entailed sending both astronauts Kathryn Sullivan and Bruce McCandless out of the shuttle in order to manually deploy the solar arrays. Read Also: "Crime Against Humanity" Elon Musk's SpaceX has been met with Heat from Astronomers for the Brightness Problem their Starlinks have caused A few hours into the problem, Reeves then directed both Sullivan and McCandless to suit up and start entering the airlock. They then started depressurizing from 14.7psi all the way down to 5psi and proceeded checking for leaks. Reeves was still contemplating as to whether or not to give the orders and the engineers said they actually thought that the problem had been identified with the user of a software that monitored the tensions in the solar array. They proposed a small change to fix the problem and although it worked, the second solar array still unfurled beside its champion. Due to the robotic arm stowed with the telescope still deployed, McCandless and Sullivan were left in airlock, without a simple window to watch the Hubble telescope float away. Read Also: Iran Launches First Military Satellite into Space: Could this Point to Missile Development? The anxiety revolving the situation The astronauts then eagerly waited for the first image from the telescope, a picture of a distant star that was named HD96755 that was finally captured on May 20, 1990. NASA then activated its popular Apollo 13 muscle memory and across three years which included planning a particular servicing mission in order to fix the mirror and bring a better set of solar panels. Back in December 1993, the Space Shuttle Endeavour then flew a whole 11-day servicing mission that even included five spacewalks. Over the coming 27 years from its launch, NASA deployed four additional servicing missions and upgrading instruments beyond original plans. Sitting down to write a letter to her friends is now Scarlett Frost's favourite time of day. The eight-year-old from West Pennant Hills in Sydney started writing letters to her friends and cousins after her mother Renee implemented the practice as part of her homeschooling. "Usually it's as soon as we get into school, we write a letter," Scarlett said. "I've done most of them to my friends. I did one to Gran and Pop, and two to my cousins, and one to my favourite teacher. "It's kind of turned into my favourite part of the day." Eight-year-old Scarlett Frost drops a letter off at the local postbox. Writing letters has become one of her favourite pastimes. Credit:Dean Sewell Since March 23, Scarlett and her 9-year-old brother have been attending school from home. Ms Frost has been printing out personalised stationery for each child, with Scarlett's recent materials featuring unicorn paper and matching envelopes. The management of FirstBank Nigeria Plc on Saturday confirmed the death of Abdullahi Lawal, one of its staff at its Kano Main branch. In a statement released on Saturday to mourn the deceased, Folake Ani-Mumuney, group head, marketing and corporate communications, asked that the family be allowed to grieve privately. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time as we do all that is necessary to support them. We ask that all necessary courtesies be extended to the family so they can grieve privately, the statement said on Saturday. The statement disclosed further that the bank has shut the branch where the deceased worked. The bank said it has activated its COVID-19 precaution response plan as part of measures to help contain the virus. Colleagues and customers who had been in contact with the late Mr Lawal were also advised to self-isolate following guidelines provided by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the bank added. As a responsible corporate organisation, FirstBank has been at the forefront of the concerted efforts against the coronavirus pandemic alongside others, the statement said. READ ALSO: We have robust protocols in place including practising social distancing, frequently disinfecting our buildings and locations even whilst ensuring services are available through our alternative channels such as our ATMs and other digital platforms. We have immediately, therefore, shut down access to the premises as we disinfect the entire location and ask all staff and customers who may have been in contact with our late colleague to follow the NCDC guidelines and self-isolate. We will, as a matter of course, extend all possible support to staff and customers at this difficult time. Imagine a post-coronavirus India in which the most important persons in the Union Cabinet are not the Ministers of Finance, Home or Defence but the Minister of Health & Family Welfare. This leader, as the Prime Ministers pick and the probable PM-in-waiting, refuses to spout the mythical healing powers of gau-mutra and strictly sticks to evidence-based medicine while recognising that traditional medicine is important and has its place in the Indian order of things. This Health Minister leads a vast team of doctors who are the pride of the Indian civil service, the most coveted positions and respected people in government and society. CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH This signal change at the top mirrors the change along the chain right down to the bottom, at the district where the Chief Medical Officer (along with an Education Officer) is the most important and resourceful officer of the government in the district, and carries the same financial powers as the Collector and the District Magistrate. Read: India needs a stimulus. Now! Primary and Secondary Health Care Centres under her are connected to a dashboard and live data is generated and posted on the health, literally, of the people of India, minute-by-minute. No one complains that doctors are missing, the beds are dirty or that ambulances dont work. Cases are referred to with speed. There are district hospitals in the public sector or the charitable sector, of the kind run by AIIMS in New Delhi or CMC in Vellore. Five-star health, though still available, is unfashionable even among the rich because the public healthcare is so good; doctors forced to meet billing targets speak out; hospitals forcing them to do so are prosecuted. Health insurance premia fall dramatically and most treatment is by prefixed and regulated fees or at nominal costs. This is the vision of an India built from the grassroots up and ready to respond to challenges of a world that has been shattered by the coronavirus pandemic. This is a vision that will require political stamina and huge public spending, of the kind that can trigger a revival in the economy and build it for the future so that our growth takes on a whole new meaning. If India has to move out of COVID-19 to a place where it really heads towards becoming a global power, then there is no escaping the reality that its maximum investments have to be in primary health and primary education; not in bullet trains, smart cities or mega statues. Today, the picture is of an India on its knees as the poor cannot hold out anymore with the lockdown, and the threat of COVID-19 wont let us lift the lockdown. Doomed if you do, doomed if you dont. India is not the only nation in this conundrum, but India stands apart among the large and fast-growing economies as the one faced with the horror of hunger, helplessness and penury of a very large segment of its population. Suddenly, the bright spots of the Indian economy -- like the demographic dividend, the largest reserve of scientifically trained manpower, the global IT back-end and the country with a new story of rising domestic consumerism -- have collapsed into the real picture of India: tens of thousands walking back home with meagre belongings, hit with police lathis, some weeping and many hungry. These constitute the bottom of the pyramid, that fancy term used to sell to those who can afford to buy only in small units, those who oiled the economy on less than fair wages and then spent some of those on sachets that made our FMCGs look good on the stock exchanges. Yet, when the time came, they were unsupported, shunned and literally put on the streets, and in their collapse they announced the collapse of the Indian economy that has had no means to ensure their food, health and economic security. Where has 7+% GDP growth got us then? There are other prescriptions for revival of the economy, among them those from the likes of the ASSOCHAM and the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), which says that industry needs a stimulus of over $200 billion, with an ability to go up to $300 billion, with $100 billion provided immediately, $100 billion in four months and the last $100 billion in eight months. The esteemed Chamber, it seems, has sliced out its cake into three neat mouthfuls and is ready to bite. What if the government pumps it all into healthcare where, by its own account, the Community Health Centres run with a huge order of vacant posts? As on March 31, 2019, out of the sanctioned posts, 79.9% of surgeon, 64% of obstetrician & gynecologist, 77.5% of physician and 69.7% of pediatrician posts were vacant! If this is fixed, if the investments are prioritised, we will change the ugly numbers that tell us that even today, in so-called modern India, only 21% of mothers receive full ante-natal care. Fixing this will reduce maternal and child mortality, which will lead to a reduction in the fertility rate, which means parents can invest more in their children and enable them grow to become healthy contributors so that India can reap the real demographic dividend, not the dividend wrested from underpaid, undernourished and under-supported populations who must fend for themselves every time a crisis hits us. It was 50 years ago that a landmark judgement in the US (Judge Grufein in the Pentagon Papers case) wrote: The security of the nation is not at the ramparts alone. The words come alive in an entirely different context today as health stands equated with the security and the future of India. Which way will the nation turn? (The writer is a journalist and a faculty member at SPJIMR) (Through The Billion Press) Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus on Saturday (April 25) announced significant redundancies across Europe with sources claiming that many regional offices, including UK, France and Germany downsizing their workforce by as much as 80 percent. It may be recalled that the teams in Spain and Italy faced the same phase in 2019 before being completely laid off. Engadget reportd that a OnePlus spokesperson referred the redundancies as part of a normal restructuring in Europe in order to focus on key markets. Before the latest layoffs, OnePlus had around 2,000 employees worldwide. "Europe is a very important market for us and has been since the beginning of OnePlus. Were doing some strategic restructuring in Europe, and in fact are even hiring in the region," the spokesperson told Engadget. Some claimed that the European restructuring is due to the coronavirus pandemic but it was bound to happen. In the case of the UK, the OnePlus 8 series is carried by just one network: 3. Ben Wood, Chief Analyst at CCS Insight, told Endgadget that OnePlus failed to expand beyond its finite number of fans and it happened mainly due to company's plan to shift towards premium devices which in turn alienated some of its core fan base. Although OnePlus has had some notably strong relationships with carriers across Europe, there is growing evidence that it finds it hard to sustain relationships over a longer period, Wood told Engadget. This has seen OnePlus jumping from one carrier to another with different generations of products. There also seems to be a growing sense that OnePlus has fallen into the trap of over-promising and under-delivering, which ironically is the complete opposite of how it behaved in the early days. In therapy sessions with his clients over the past few weeks, Avi Klein has heard all sorts of domestic frustrations a divorced father desperate to see more of his children, a high-salaried husband who is trying to carve out time for his wifes graduate studies, and women whose less flexible jobs are taking precedence over their partners. But among heterosexual couples, the most common scenario is that women are taking on the emotional and care-taking labor, according to Klein, whose client base is male and whose own wife takes care of their three children while he runs his practice out of the familys home in New Paltz, New York. Coronavirus: What you need to read Coronavirus maps: Cases and deaths in the U.S. | Cases and deaths worldwide Vaccines: Tracker by state | Booster shots | For kids 5 to 11 | Guidance for vaccinated people | How long does immunity last? | County-level vaccine data What you need to know: Omicron variant | Breakthrough infections | Symptoms guide | Masks FAQ | Delta variant | Other variants | Follow all of our coverage and sign up for our free newsletter Impact of the pandemic: Supply chain | Education | Housing Got a pandemic question? We answer one every day in our coronavirus newsletter Iran's Space Program is Dangerous, Not Peaceful Press Statement Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State April 25, 2020 For years, Iran has claimed its space program is purely peaceful and civilian. The Trump Administration has never believed this fiction. This week's launch of a military satellite by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, makes clear what we have said all along: Iran's space program is neither peaceful nor entirely civilian. In February 2020, the head of Iran's national space agency, Morteza Berari, said Iran advocates for the "peaceful use of outer space." He also said that "all our activities in the domain of outer space are transparent." Iran's Minister for Information claimed this week that "Iran's space program is peaceful." The most recent military launch, which was developed and conducted in secret, proves that these statements were lies. This satellite launch vehicle and others launched before it incorporate technologies identical to, and interchangeable with, ballistic missiles, including longer-range systems such as intercontinental ballistic missiles ICBMs). No country has ever pursued an ICBM capability except for the purpose of delivering nuclear weapons. All peace-loving nations must reject Iran's development of ballistic-missile capable technologies and join together to constrain Iran's dangerous missile programs. As a start, nations should support extending the UN conventional arms embargo on Iran, which is set to expire this October. The world's leading state sponsor of terrorism and anti-Semitism should not be allowed to buy and sell conventional weapons. We also call on the European Union to sanction those individuals and entities working on Iran's missile programs. When the Iranian people are suffering and dying from the coronavirus pandemic, it is regrettable to see the regime waste its resources and efforts on provocative military pursuits that do nothing to help the Iranian people. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address In September, a young man from Punjabs Gurdaspur district reached out to a woman in Pakistans Karachi city. Not sure how Hindu festivals were celebrated there, he asked her how was her Janmashtami. She explained and what started out of curiosity then soon turned into an innocent love. They have regularly talked on Facebook since. In November, Amit Sharma, 30, proposed to Summan RantiLal, 28, who said Yes. As their love story flourished, overcoming the tyranny of the borders, the coronavirus pandemic struck and the plans for their marriage, initially scheduled for June, now hanged by a thread. Amit knew pursuing a relationship with a Karachi girl would not be easy. I had to convince my family. The long distance had led to a kind of fear about whether this will be even possible. But Summans relatives in Gujarats Ahmedabad and Gurdaspurs Qadian guided us, Amit, a salesman at a private company, said. Summan is pursuing M.Phil from Karachi University and loves travelling,cooking and reading, he said. She had always told me that travelling is her hobby and she had visited many places but never travelled alone. Now she will have to travel a long distance for me. Amit said. After the pandemic subsides, Amits family will send a sponsorship visa to Summans family, he said, adding his father Ramesh Sharma is eager to visit Pakistan. Summans family too is waiting to serve the famous Karachi halwa. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.) Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter Tokyo Trial tells the real-life story of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, also known as the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal Rating: TOKYO TRIAL (Netflix) 4-part series Cast: Tim Ahern, Paul Freeman, Serge Hazanavicius, Marcel Hensema, Jonathan Hyde, Irrfan Khan Direction: Pieter Verhoeff, Rob W. King Rating: **** A four-part series, Tokyo Trial tells the real-life story of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, also known as the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, set up to try the leaders, politicians including Prime Ministers, foreign ministers and military commanders of Japan for waging a war against China and for war crimes committed during the Second World War. The two-and-a-half-year long trial, which began in April 1946, had 11 judges appointed by General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers. Of these, nine were from the nations that signed the Instrument of Surrender and one judge was from India, Radhabinod Pal (played by Irrfan Khan with equal measure of judicial and moral clarity, and aggravated intellectual exasperation at brother judges convenient hypocrisy). Justice Pal, a judge at the Calcutta high court, was a member of the United Nations' International Law Commission. At the Tokyo Tribunal, which began soon after the Nuremberg Trials, some British and American judges and the Chinese and Filipino judges, were unquestioning of its charter that listed the crimes for which the Japanese were to be tried. But judges from the Netherlands and France were not so convinced. The Indian judge, however, questioned the charter itself, was dead against the charge of conspiracy for pre-war decisions made by Japanese officials and maintained throughout that the tribunal should not retrospectively apply new concepts of waging aggressive (or crimes against peace), and crimes against humanity, despite the precedent set at the Nuremberg Trials. In December 1948, a 1,781-page judgment, supported by a majority of the judges, was read out. Five of the 11 judges released separate opinions outside the court, disagreeing with either some points of the majority judgment, or the process through which the judgment was arrived at. Justice Pal, however, wrote a 1,235-page judgment dismissing the legitimacy of the tribunal altogether, calling it victors justice especially since there was no representation on the bench from the vanquished nations and because the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was excluded from the list of war crimes. He held that each of the accused including Prime Minister Koki Hirota, and five others who were sentenced to death must be found not guilty of each and every charge and be acquitted. His contention till the end was that while atrocities were committed, the tribunal and the charges framed were legally flawed. Watch Tokyo Trial if you are a history buff. This chapter of world history, which stars an Indian of sparkling intellectual and moral fortitude, is told with a focus on the biases that the best of jurists carry as well as behind-the-scenes political manoeuvring which those in power are allowed to get away with. * Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus: open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser. By Kiyoshi Takenaka and Antoni Slodkowski TOKYO, April 18 (Reuters) - Japan, alarmed by rising coronavirus deaths and the spectre of the collapse of the medical system, is scrambling to expand testing with drive-through facilities and general practitioners helping to collect samples. For weeks Japan has limited its testing for the coronavirus, which emerged in neighbouring China late last year, despite calls from many health experts who see testing as vital to detecting and isolating cases and slowing the spread. Japan conducted about 52,000 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in March, or just 16% of the number carried out in South Korea, according to data from Oxford University. Experts say Japan's strategy of keeping the number of PCR tests low has made it difficult to trace the disease as it spread in Tokyo and other big cities and led to a wave of in-hospital infections, crippling some facilities. The decision to expand testing came as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this week expanded a state of emergency, originally issued for Tokyo and six other areas, to the entire country, and warned of the growing burden on health facilities. "With help from regional medical associations, we will set up testing centres. If home doctors have decided testing is necessary, test samples are taken at these centres and sent to private inspection firms," Abe told a news conference on Friday. "Thus, the burden on public health centres will be lessened." While the measures marked a shift in policy, it remains to be seen how effective they will be, experts say, as Japan struggles with red tape, staff shortages and the absence of centralized decision-making with no single agency coordinating the response to the disease. There has been widespread criticism that phone lines for public health centres, set up by local governments and tasked to conduct screening for PCR test candidates, are always busy as people become more worried about infection. Story continues Tokyo remains the hardest-hit place in Japan, with a record 201 additional cases reported by its governor on Friday, for a total of 2,796. Japan's total infections stand at more than 9,800, with 207 deaths, according to a tally by public broadcaster NHK. HELPING HAND As part of effort to boost testing capacity, several general practitioners' groups in Tokyo have stepped up to shoulder the task of examining potential patients and taking test samples from them, which is now conducted mainly by doctors working at large hospitals, who are already overstretched. "This is to prevent the medical system from crumbling. Everyone needs to extend a helping hand. Otherwise, hospitals would break down," said Konoshin Tamura, deputy head of an association of general practitioners in Tokyo's Suginami ward. "Also, in order for PCR tests to be conducted more widely, we need to get used to the whole process and see what the coronavirus really does," said Tamura, who runs a clinic specializing in internal medicine and paediatrics. On the grounds of one of the four Suginami hospitals where general practitioners are taking turns to see suspected coronavirus patients, two white tents were put up this week in anticipation of more virus-related visits. In another bid to make PCR tests more available, the health ministry on Wednesday suggested to local governments that drive-through tests can bolster their capabilities. Kenji Shibuya, head of the Institute for Population Health at King's College, London, and other scientists, have repeatedly said since early in the outbreak that Japan should introduce the type of drive-through testing that South Korea has. A day after the health ministry's advice, the city of Chiba, east of Tokyo, launched drive-through testing, and several others are looking to follow suit. "It's quite clear we will be seeing more and more patients who need testing. This is one of our ways to expand," a Chiba official said. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka, Antoni Slodkowski Editing by Robert Birsel) The Times Union has lifted the paywall on this developing coverage to provide critical information to our community. To support our journalists work, consider a digital subscription. Total COVID-19 cases: 288,045 in New York state, including 22,376 deaths. 777,568 total tested. 963,865 in the U.S., including 54,614 deaths. 106,518recovered. 5,441,079 total tested. 2,964,543 worldwide, including 205,936 deaths. 862,859 recovered. Note: The figures include presumed COVID-19 deaths. The number of positive confirmed cases is cumulative and includes people who have recovered as well as those who died. Additional resources: Where to get tested for COVID-19. Here are the latest cancellations and postponements. For a detailed map, check out the Times Unions New York Coronavirus Tracker To get regular updates on our coverage, sign up for our coronavirus newsletter. Share stories about people helping others in our Facebook Group. Sunday updates: 4:40 p.m.: Cases in Saratoga County rise There are 327 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Saratoga County, up from Saturday's 316 cases. Seven of those confirmed to have COVID-19 are hospitalized. ___ 2:50 p.m.: More nursing home deaths in Rensselaer County Rensselaer County's Diamond Hill Nursing and Rehabilitation Center lost two more residents to COVID-19 Sunday, bringing the total number of deaths at the nursing home to eight. Other nursing facilities in the county seen an uptick in confirmed COVID-19 cases. Troy's Eddy Memorial Geriatric Center has seven new cases, and one new case has emerged at the Rosewood Gardens Senior Facility in East Greenbush. Overall, the county has 14 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. ___ 1:30 p.m.: Schenectady gets new mobile testing sites Amid calls for more testing during the COVID-19 pandemic, Schenectady announced Sunday it is launching five mobile testing sites to reach underserved neighborhoods in the city. No prescriptions or insurance will be needed to get testing, according to a joint press release from healthcare organizations in the county. The sites will primarily be focused on symptomatic people without access to transportation or who face other barriers to testing, but will be open for both foot and drive-through traffic. Ellis Medicine, Schenectady County Public Health Services, Hometown Health Centers and MVP Health Care have collaborated to develop the testing sites at William Keane Elementary School on April 27, Mont Pleasant Middle School on April 28, Washington Irving Education Center on April 29, Ellis Medicine's McClellan Street Health Center on May 1 and an undetermined location on April 30. Each testing site will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The rain location is the McClellan Street Health Center. ___ 12:30 p.m.: New York deaths still in hundreds, but continues to go down Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo offered a first glimpse on Sunday into the state's reopening plan, a phased approach that will begin with resuming construction activities, he said. The early stages of the plan, divided into two parts, would begin with construction and manufacturing in low-risk environments. The second phase would restart "more essential, lower-risk" businesses, a category that has not yet fully been defined but that state officials are asking companies to begin considering. Hospitalizations and intubations continue to decline, as do the number of COVID-19 deaths statewide. A total of 367 people died from the virus on Saturday down from 437 the day before bringing the state's death toll to 16,966. ___ 11:21 a.m.: Schenectady County positives at 426 Schenectady County's number of confirmed COVID-19 cases jumped by more than 30 over the weekend, from 390 Friday to 426 Sunday. The number of deaths in the county has not risen from Saturday's 22. ___ 10:31 a.m.: Albany County deaths now at 32; more test positive for virus Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said at his daily press conference Sunday morning that another resident died overnight from COVID-19 - a woman in her 60s with underlying health issues. That makes total deaths of county residents 32. Another 51 people also have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total since testing started in March to 915. McCoy said they expect the numbers to continue to go up because of the aggressive testing being done in the county. ___ 9:50 a.m.: Mazzone's employees at Empire State Plaza test positive New York state's Office of General Services put out a notice Saturday night that four employees from PRIME at the Plaza Cafe, run by Mazzone Hospitality, tested positive for COVID-19. The state Department of Health said it has advised that there is no evidence COVID-19 can be transferred through food or food containers. No employees were symptomatic at work. Prime, which was one of the few eateries still open at the Plaza, is now closed and is conducting a thorough cleaning and disinfection. ___ Pharmacies given go-ahead to test frontine workers for coronavirus First-responders, frontline health care workers and essential workers can be tested at pharmacies for COVID-19 under an executive order Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo issued Saturday. Were going to authorize all the independent pharmacists in the state to be collection sites for testing, Cuomo told reporters in a state Capitol news conference. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Cuomo said tests in the pharmacies will be diagnostic tests to determine whether people test positive or negative for the coronavirus. They will not be tests for antibodies. ___ Saturday: Schenectady County deaths rise to 22 Schenectady County on Saturday said 22 people have died since the outbreak began the highest death rate among the four main counties in the Capital Region. Rensselaer County, with slightly more people, has half the number of deaths. Seven more Schenectady County deaths were reported Friday, but those occurred in the past week, officials said. Notification of the deaths of residents who die outside the county are often delayed, the county noted. Of the total deaths, 13 were people 80 and older. ___ Saturday: NY's economy will lose $243B, report says The state Division of Budget says because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the states economy will lose $243 billion over the course of the full recovery, which will be deeper and longer than the 2008 Great Recession and that which followed the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. The loss is the equivalent of 14 percent of the states Gross Domestic Product. Also according to the agency, the $10.1 billion in spending reductions from the levels proposed in the Executive Budget include an $8.2 billion reduction in aid-to-localities, including funds for health care, K-12 schools, and higher education as well as support for local governments, public transit systems, and nonprofits. State agency operations will be reduced by 10 percent, along with other savings. See the consultant's report ___ Saturday: 12th Saratoga County death The Saratoga County Department of Public Health Services announced that there are 316 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Saratoga County. Seven are hospitalized. The Department confirmed the countys 12th death of a resident from COVID-19 a 72-year-old man from Halfmoon. ___ Saturday: Albany County cases at 864 Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy said that as of this morning, there are now 864 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in the county. Additionally, there are now 746 people under mandatory quarantine and 42 people under precautionary quarantine. To date, 1,960 individuals have completed quarantine, with 473 of them having tested positive and recovered. With 34 people now hospitalized, the hospitalization rate for Albany County stands at 3.94%, a slight uptick from yesterdays rate of 3.83%. Seven are currently in Intensive Care Units (ICU), a number unchanged since Friday. There are now 39 residents in total at Shaker Place Rehabilitation and Nursing Center who have tested positive, along with 15 employees. ___ Saturday: State: $3.1B in jobless benefits paid out The Department of Labor said it has distributed $3.1 billion in unemployment benefits to New Yorkers since the coronavirus pandemic started impacting New York businesses in early March. ___ Read more updates from Saturday Vijayawada, April 26 : Playing game of cards and hosting parties to kill time during the nationwide lockdown, two truck driver in Andhra Pradesh's Vijayawada city spread coronavirus to as many as 38 persons, officials said on Sunday. One of them infected 24 people while organising a game of cards at his house and inviting his neighbours and friends to join in. According to officials, he had gone to Kolkata in West Bengal to ferry some goods and returned to the city on April 4 via Odisha. Feeling bored, the driver invited neighbours and friends for a game of cards while his wife invited womenfolk from nearby houses. When the truck driver tested positive, officials questioned him and came to know about his activities since his return hoe. Those who came in contact with him were screened and most found infected. Another driver spread the virus to 14 people. Investigations revealed that he had gone to Dubai and returned via Sri Lanka and Chennai last month. Without observing home quarantine, he attended parties and thus spread of virus. Vijayawada is a hotspot in the state and it accounts for more than 100 of the 177 positive cases reported so far in Krishna district. District collector Imtiyaz Ahmed said unless people cooperate in checking the spread of coronavirus, government efforts alone can't yield the desired results. For the fourth time, President Trump signed a coronavirus relief bill that grants $484 billion to business and healthcare institutions. These sectors desperately need financial support after experiencing various crises to varying degrees caused by the coronavirus pandemic. All in all, the bills will provide business relief, testing, and treatment, and cash compensation to taxpayers as well as the unemployed would amount to at least $2.4 trillion, according to the calculations of the Congressional Budget Office. The Latest Coronavirus Relief Bill Most of the funding of the bill was expected to go to small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program, Trump said. The program is designed to provide loans to companies so that they can continue paying workers while abiding by stay-at-home orders. Lawmakers passed the legislation with an air of certitude that was impressionable of unanimous choice. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi remarked that there were "millions of people out of work. We come to the floor with nearly 50,000 deaths." The bill was comprised of $100 billion reserved for healthcare institutions, $60 billion for smaller banks that lacked lenders for support, and another $60 billion for loans and grants to small businesses by the Small Business Administration's program. While this is already the fourth legislation for coronavirus relief provisions, Congress is confident that the passage of bills of the same nature will be coming in the weeks ahead. There is a caveat that the Paycheck Protection Program will likely be depleted of the $250 billion as soon as it is delivered. Despite its recent launch, the program immediately reached its loaning capacity within a week after giving 1.7 million credits. Check these out! American Workforce Still Optimistic about Retaining Employment after the Pandemic In the United States alone, over 26 million people have lost their job. This has resulted in delays in mortgage payments and relief efforts being overwhelmed by the mass of families. In a recent poll by the AP-NORC, American adults who believe the pandemic is accounted for the unemployment which has lost a job is at a ratio of 1:4. The survey, conducted through telephone calls of 1,507 interviewees, shows that the majority feel financially secure. Two reasons that might explain this attitude can be that first, these respondents also expect that the jobs will be regained after the crisis. Secondly, these workers who believe they lost a source of income is not significantly different from earlier this month. Perhaps part of the factors that contributed to the optimism might be the $2 trillion relief package given by the Congress that stabilized some American families' finances. However, a more political rivalry has been driven by the decision of federal authorities to reopen the U.S. economy. The Republicans were more receptive to the idea than Democrats. "It all depends on whether you're red and blue as to how you think about it," Monique Hewan, a nursing student from Kentucky, said in an interview with a news publication. Mental Health Month begins Friday, and not a moment too soon. Here are some resources and methods to help you face the emotional challenges of this pandemic in the healthiest way possible. Here's what else you need to know to Start Your Week Smart. (You can also get "5 Things You Need to Know Today" delivered to your inbox daily. You give us five minutes, and we give you five things you must know for your weekday, plus a Sunday edition to get your week started smart. Sign up here.) TODAY Some US states begin to reopen. Ready or not, some states are beginning to reopen even as the US closes in on 1 million coronavirus cases. Stay-at-home orders and business closures in places including Georgia, Tennessee and Texas are falling away this week, even though a data model often cited by the White House advises most states to wait several more weeks -- or even months -- before loosening social distancing rules. Check where your state stands. MONDAY Boeing holds its shareholders meeting. The virtual session may offer insights into how the plane maker is weathering the pandemic and its expectations for air travel's rebound. Carriers already have reported billions of dollars in losses this year. TUESDAY The NTSB probes the fatal duck boat wreck. The National Transportation Safety Board is due to meet to determine the probable cause of the fatal 2018 duck boat sinking in Branson, Missouri. One crew member and 16 passengers, including nine members of a single family, died when the vessel capsized during a storm. Buckeye Democrats vote for a nominee. It's Ohio's primary, but there's no in-person voting because of the pandemic. Instead, mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Monday or dropped off at county boards of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. The Vice President meets US coronavirus response teams. Mike Pence is due to travel to Rochester, Minnesota, to tour the Mayo Clinic facilities supporting Covid-19 research and treatment. Two days later, he's expected to head to Kokomo in his home state of Indiana to visit a GM plant that's been revamped to build ventilators. WEDNESDAY The Federal Reserve chair speaks with reporters. Jerome Powell is due to hold a video news conference following the two-day Federal Open Markets Committee meeting. He could offer another glimpse into the disastrous economic effects of the pandemic, which one European economist called a "house of horror." THURSDAY The Vietnam War marks a milestone. April 30 marks the 45th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War. South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam, ending the almost 20-year conflict. Meanwhile, after a thawing between the two Koreas, relations again have faltered in step with shakier ties between the US and North Korea. 'Parks and Rec' is back. It's a Pawnee reunion! NBC is airing "A Parks and Recreation Special," a new, 30-minute episode of the beloved sitcom to benefit Feeding America. The scripted, social distancing-themed episode will feature all of your favorite Pawneeans and some special guests. Catch it at 8:30 pm ET. FRIDAY Time to flip the calendar. Will April showers bring May flowers? Friday ushers in a new month, and with it, a traditional celebration of springtime. May Day also shares a date with International Workers Day, which traces its history back to Chicago's violent Haymarket Affair in 1886. SATURDAY More Democratic ballots are due. Guam and Kansas wrap up their primary elections. Voting has been open in Kansas since the end of March, when the state decided to switch to a mail-in-only format. Meanwhile, Guam will award a total of 11 delegates during its caucus. Islamabad: The eadly coronavirus wreaking havoc all around the globe. As of now, the number of people who have died from this virus has exceeded 200000. The fear of this virus is spread among people. Doctors are still searching for treatment to fight this disease. The doctors treating the corona patients in Pakistan are working in very bad conditions. Doctors are not even getting the PPE kit available. Number of infected people continuously increasing in Russia According to the news agency PTI, 160 Pakistani doctors have been infected with Corona so far. Not only this, three doctors have also died due to infection. According to the Pakistan Medical Association, so far a total of 250 medical staff have been hit by the corona, including 160 doctors. It is also being said that the condition of doctors in Pakistan is that they have to protest for the PPE kit. Corona wreaks havoc in this city including China, new cases surfaced According to the report, the demonstrations of doctors and nurses outside the Punjab Health Department continue for the ninth consecutive day. All of them demand that they should be provided PPE kits to protect against virus. On the other hand, Pakistan's Imran government, which is facing the Corona epidemic, has extended the lockdown by 15 days to May 9. The government took this step after the doctors' warning that relaxation of restrictions could lead to a sharp increase in corona cases. Corona continues to wreak havoc in Iran, 76 deaths in 24 hours Pull Quote This is just a fresh coat of paint for the anti-vaccine movement in America." While most of the world hungers for a vaccine to put an end to the death and economic destruction wrought by COVID-19, some anti-vaccine groups are joining with anti-lockdown protesters to challenge restrictions aimed at protecting public health. Vaccine critics suffered serious setbacks in the past year, as states strengthened immunization laws in response to measles outbreaks sparked by vaccine refusers. California tightened its vaccine requirements last fall despite protests during which anti-vaccine activists threw blood on state senators, assaulted the vaccine bills sponsor and shut down the legislature. Now, many of these same vaccine critics are joining a fight against stay-at-home orders and business shutdowns intended to stem the spread of the coronavirus, which had killed more than 55,000 Americans as of April 26. This is just a fresh coat of paint for the anti-vaccine movement in America, and an exploitative means for them to try to remain relevant, said Dr. Peter Hotez, a professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Hotez said anti-vaccine groups are seizing on the anti-government sentiment stoked by conservative-leaning protesters to advance their cause. Unfortunately, their strategy may work. A group calling itself the Freedom Angels, whose members last year stood on chairs and chanted at public hearings on the California vaccine bill, say governors are abusing their power by shutting down gun shops and other businesses. Pull Quote The anti-vaccine movement has never been limited to one political party. Many anti-vaccine activists who have claimed that diseases such as measles arent that serious now contend the coronavirus isnt dangerous enough to justify staying home. They agree with President Donald Trump that the cure for the pandemic could be worse than the disease itself. Thats led some vaccine foes to join the protesters whom Trump has encouraged on Twitter in staging demonstrations in state capitals to reopen America. This is the time for people to take notice and really evaluate the freedoms theyre giving up, all in the name of perceived safety, said Freedom Angels co-founder Heidi Munoz Gleisner in a Facebook video. The group organized a rally in Sacramento called Operation Gridlock. People need to get back to work, get back to life, get back into contact with their loved ones who theyre isolated from, they need to be able to have a paycheck, group co-founder Tara Thornton told The Sacramento Bee, which interviewed her during the demonstration. This is the grounds they will enslave us upon. Freedom Angels did not respond to requests for interviews. The groups website mentions plans for additional rallies and includes photos from Mondays demonstration, such as one in which a protester holds a sign proclaiming No Mandatory Vaccines. But after the the event, California Highway Patrol announced it had revoked the groups permit for future protests because the gathering which included dozens of people violated the governors social distancing order. The highway patrol has now banned all group events at the Capitol during the pandemic to avoid spreading the coronavirus. A big tent The anti-vaccine movement has never been limited to one political party. Left-leaning vaccine critics such as Childrens Health Defense, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. include environmentalists who are suspicious of chemical pollutants, corporations and Big Pharma. The Kennedy groups website attacks Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, for rushing risky and uncertain coronavirus vaccines into development as part of a sweetheart deal for drug companies. On the other side of the political spectrum, many anti-vaccine conservatives oppose state immunization requirements because they distrust big government. A group called Texans for Vaccine Choice has called on the governor to promise that no one will be forced to get a coronavirus vaccine in order to go to work or school. Posts on the Facebook page of Californians for Health Choice, which also opposed Californias vaccine laws, question stay-at-home orders and accuse government officials of refusing to admit the orders are a mistake. In a video on the Freedom Angels Facebook page, its founders describe stay-at-home orders as an abuse of government authority, and the closure of California gun shops as an assault on the Second Amendment. The group notes that guns could be essential for protection from rioters and looters looking to steal food during the pandemic. In many ways, the conservative arm of the anti-vaccine movement is a natural ally for those leading reopen America rallies, said Dr. David Gorski, an oncologist and managing editor of the Science-Based Medicine site. Both harbor suspicions about government authority. Vaccine critics, for example, have long championed the false claim that vaccines cause autism, and that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tried to cover up that information, Gorski said. Trump has at times linked vaccines with autism, although he came out strongly in favor of vaccinations during the 2019 measles epidemic. Pull Quote Anti-vaccine groups are now rebranding themselves as advocates of medical freedom. Anti-vaccine groups are now rebranding themselves as advocates of medical freedom. Protests against social distancing began in Michigan but have spread to state capitols in Texas, Colorado, Nevada, Maryland, Wisconsin and elsewhere, with more planned. The April 24 rally in Madison drew a crowd of about 1,500 protesters. Yet the anti-vaccine movement doesnt speak for everyone on the right. Stephen Moore, the senior economic contributor for FreedomWorks, a conservative advocacy group that has been helping publicize the protests, said hes unfamiliar with the Freedom Angels or their rallies. Im personally pro-vaccine, said Moore, a member of the White House council to reopen the economy. Especially when it comes to coronavirus. And some heroes of the anti-vaccine movement say they support coronavirus lockdowns. Dr. Jay Gordon, a Santa Monica, California, pediatrician popular among vaccine foes for downplaying the risks of measles, said the risk of COVID-19 is real. Gordon said he approves of the lockdown, and we have to keep it up. Containing the pandemic Dr. Richard Pan, a pediatrician and California state senator who has championed stronger vaccine mandates, described anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown protesters as essentially selfish because they put other people at risk. One of the hallmarks of the anti-vaccine movement is this sense of selfishness and lack of concern for other peoples health, Pan said. They like to talk about rights and freedom. But what they really want is freedom without consequences. Both anti-vaccine parents and those who want to relax social distancing assume that the medical system will come to their rescue if they become sick, said Pan, who noted that thousands of health care workers have died while fighting the pandemic. Fauci has said that relaxing stay-at-home orders is dangerous as long as the virus for which there are no approved treatments or vaccines is actively spreading. Reopening businesses too soon could spark a second wave of infections. More than 75 companies and research groups worldwide are trying to develop vaccines, which are seen as a key weapon against the novel coronavirus. In the meantime, the CDC says that social distancing measures such as working from home and avoiding large gatherings are critical to slowing the spread of the coronavirus and preventing patients from overwhelming hospitals. Health leaders say it wont be safe to reopen the county until widespread testing shows the coronavirus has died down. Americans overwhelmingly support vaccination, according to surveys, and polling by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 80 percent of Americans want lockdowns to continue. Only 19 percent said social distancing orders placed an unnecessary burden on the economy. (Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent program of the foundation.) Neither the anti-vaccine nor anti-lockdown demonstrators represent the opinions of most Americans, Pan said. Lets put this movement into proper context, he said. Theyre loud, theyre noisy and theyre small. Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. The top of the world is turning upside down, says the first overall assessment of Canada's Arctic Ocean. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/4/2020 (626 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The midnight sun shines over the ice covered waters near Resolute bay at 1:30am as seen from the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Louis S. St-Laurent Saturday, July 12, 2008. The top of the world is turning upside down, according to the first overall assessment of Canada's Arctic Ocean. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward The top of the world is turning upside down, says the first overall assessment of Canada's Arctic Ocean. The work of dozens of federal scientists and Inuit observers, it describes a vast ecosystem in unprecedented flux: from ocean currents to the habits and types of animals that swim in it. The Arctic Ocean, where climate change has bitten deepest, may be changing faster than any other water body on Earth, said lead scientist Andrea Niemi of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. "As the Arctic changes, the rest of the ecosystem is going to track with those changes," she said. "There isn't going to be a delay." Changes are coming so fast scientists haven't even had a chance to understand what's there. Sixty per cent of the species in the Canada Basin like the worms found living in undersea mud volcanoes and living off expelled methane are yet to be discovered, the report suggests "Who knows what else is down there?" Niemi asked. "So much in the Arctic, we're still at step one." The first assessment of fish species in the Beaufort Sea wasn't done until 2014, she said. Still, changes are hard to miss, right down to the makeup of the water. It's 33 per cent less salty than in 2003 and about 30 per cent more acidic enough to dissolve the shells of some small molluscs. The Beaufort Gyre, a vast circular current that has alternated direction every decade, hasn't switched in 19 years. Nutrient-rich water from the Pacific Ocean isn't getting mixed in as it used to, which affects the plankton blooms that anchor the Arctic food web. Sea ice is shrinking and thinning to the point where Inuit communities can't get to formerly dependable hunting grounds. Shorelines are on the move. Erosion has more than doubled in the last few decades. The mix of species is changing. Killer whales are becoming so frequent they're altering the behaviour of other species such as narwhal and beluga that Inuit depend on. Pacific salmon, capelin and harp seals are moving up from the south. "In some cases, the communities are putting out their nets and they're just catching salmon," Niemi said. The effect of the salmon on other species is unknown. Coastal fish species are being found much further offshore. Ringed seals can't finish moulting before the ice breaks up and accompanying high ocean temperatures seem to be making them sluggish and more prone to polar bear predation. Humans are making their presence felt, too. Increased Arctic shipping is making the ocean noisier and masking the sounds animals from seals to whales use to communicate. The report's conclusions are hamstrung by a lack of long-term data all over the North. Niemi said it's hard to measure changes when you don't know what was there in the first place. Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Even when the changes can be measured, it's difficult to know what's causing them. Inuit communities want to know what's going on in their home, she said. "They're interested in a holistic view of what's going on. But we're just handcuffed sometimes to provide the mechanisms behind the changes." One thing is certain: The old idea of the frozen North, with its eternal snows and unchanging rhythms, is gone forever. "People see it as a faraway frozen land," Niemi said. "But there is much happening." This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2020. Follow @row1960 on Twitter Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation through his Mann ki Baat programme and said that India's fight against coronavirus COVID-19 was people-driven. "People of our country are fighting this war with the administration. We are also fighting poverty. I am proud that all of us are part of it. All of us are soldiers in this fight," PM Modi said. The prime minister lauded the farmers and said that in the middle of this pandemic, the farmers are working hard to ensure that no one sleeps hungry in our country. "Each person is fighting this war as per their capacity. Some are waiving off house rent, also some labourers who are in quarantine at a school are whitewashing the school etc," said the prime minister. PM Modi noted that when the world will talk about this fight in future, everyone will about the people-driven initiatives of India. He added that the 'taali, thalli and diya' initiatives have kept the spirits high of ordinary Indian. Thanking everyone for their support in combating coronavirus, the prime minister said that everyone can join the fight as COVID-19 warrior by logging in to covidwarriors.gov.in. The prime minister praised the people of the countr for doing what they are doing during lockdown. "I bow and respect the 130 crore people of this country for what they are doing during this time. Every sector has been innovating during this period. Whether it is people from Aviation or Railways, they are all working to make our lives easier. They are working hard to deliver medicines and other essentials to all parts of the country," PM Modi said. Referring to the ordinance brought by the Centre to ensure tough action against those attacking health workers, the prime minister said, "Strict laws have been introduced to ensure action against those attacking the health workers. Health staff including, doctors, nurses, paramedics are the frontline fighters in this war against COVID-19. Hence such a step was necessary for their protection." PM Modi said that India extended help to different countries after ensuring adequate supplies of medicines in the country. "Nobody will blame India if the country don't export medicines to other countries. But we have extended help to countries abroad after ensuring adequate supplies in India," he noted. The prime minister also lauded policemen for their exemplary efforts in maintaining law and order during the lockdown. He said that the perception of people towards police has changed and this will plan an important role in future. "Our society has changed. We are realising new factors everyday. We are finding new ways to appreciate people who have been helping us. Many on social media are acknowledging the work being done by our coronavirus warriors. Our perception about our police have also changed significantly. This change in perception will play a huge role in future," remarked the PM. Urging the Indians to fall back on "ancient teachings" during the fight against coronavirus, the prime minister said, "People around the world are falling back to Ayurveda and Yoga to fight COVID-19. We need to be more confident about our old teachings. Our youth have to carry forward these teachings." PM Modi said that wearing masks would soon become a part of life and we have to accept that this is the new reality. "We need to wear marks. It has become a part of our daily lives. It has not happened before. But this is the new reality. Our perception about masks will change very soon. We are also realising that spitting has become hazardous. We have always been aware of it but we never cared. But now we have to work to end this habit," he remarked. PM Modi also highlighted how the coronavirus pandemic has changed celebrations of festivals across the world. "Today we are celebrating Akshay Tritiya, which reminds us that no matter how trying times be, we will keep fighting. The month of Ramzan has begun. Last time during Ramzan we never imagined that something like this will happen. We have to be more resilient and reserved during this Ramzan so that we can celebrate Eid when it comes," he said. The prime minister, however, asserted that people should not get over confident and should not presume that coronavirus will not enter their homes, colonies and offices. He urged everyone to remain vigilant. "I appeal to you again, Do Gajj Doori...Bahut hai Zaroori," noted PM Modi. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday instructed officials to prepare a concrete road map for revival of industries in the state after the lockdown is lifted. While going through a presentation titled 'COVID-19 Response and Industrial Revival Strategy at his official residence here, Adityanath said, "A concrete proposal (is needed) for revival of industries in the state after the lockdown is lifted. In the changing global scenario, India can become a good investment destination, and Uttar Pradesh can play an important role in this." The Chief Minister on this occasion also said that all problems of the investors must be resolved immediately, the UP government said in a statement issued here. He also said that a strategy should be in place to activate the existing industrial units in the state, making the proposed industrial units operational and to attract new investment in the state. Adityanath issued directives to review various policies in order to boost the industries in the state. The chief minister instructed that the labour laws should be reviewed and reformed. He also laid emphasis on making land bank keeping in mind the needs of the investors. On investment prospects in other sectors, he said, "There are immense possibilities for the pharma sector in the state." Also Read: Coronavirus India live updates: Total COVID-19 cases cross 26,000; 8 states with over 1,000 cases Also Read: Coronavirus: Sonia Gandhi calls for Rs 2 lakh crore wage protection, credit guarantee MSME package Also Read: Is Kim Jong Un dead? Twitter abuzz with rumours of North Korean leader's demise NEW YORK (AP) - Ruth Caballero paused outside an unfamiliar apartment door, preparing to meet her new patient. She covered the knob with a plastic bag. Put on a surgical gown, then a heavy-duty N95 mask, a lighter surgical mask on top. Cap, face shield, shoe covers. Hand sanitizer between each step of the process. Finally, the nurse donned two sets of gloves and knocked on the door with her elbow, ready to care for her first coronavirus patient. After about three weeks in a hospital, the man was home in his New York apartment but still so weak that sitting up in bed took some persuading. "You made it out of the hospital, so you are a miracle," Caballero told him. "Now lets keep you out of the hospital." Home health care is becoming a new front in the national fight against COVID-19 as some patients come back from hospitals and others strive to stay out of them. Home care nurses, aides and attendants - who normally help an estimated 12 million Americans with everything from bathing to IV medications - are now taking on the difficult and potentially dangerous task of caring for coronavirus patients. In this Thursday, April 23, 2020 photo, Ruth Caballero, a nurse with The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, suits up in protective equipment before treating a COVID-19 patient on her rounds in upper Manhattan in New York. Home care nurses, aides and attendants, who normally help an estimated 12 million Americans with everything from bathing to IV medications, are now taking on the difficult and potentially dangerous task of caring for coronavirus patients. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) While Americans are being told to keep to themselves, home health providers and their clients still largely have to engage in person, often intimately. Many agencies are ramping up phone or video visits but cant always get paid for them, and even the smartest phone cant physically dress a wound or get someone to the bathroom. Like their colleagues in hospitals and nursing homes, home care workers have faced a scarcity of protective equipment, but with a lower public profile. Some agencies have scoured for masks at nail salons, auto body shops and tattoo parlors, said William Dombi, president of the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, an industry group. The crisis is testing the industry, but its also a moment of pride for workers who have often felt under-recognized. "It is a challenge to keep the business operational, but its an opportunity," Dombi said. "Were getting a chance to establish what can be done." Coronavirus care at home has expanded rapidly in the last few weeks. At least some agencies in most states are now taking COVID-19 patients referred after hospitalization or nursing home care or as an alternative to them, Dombi said. Still, some patients have struggled to get care. After being diagnosed with coronavirus-related pneumonia late last month, Penny Wittbrodt contacted multiple agencies around her home in Winchester, Kentucky. None was then accepting COVID-19 patients, she said, though her doctor was able to arrange home oxygen. Wittbrodt, who has asthma and a history of respiratory hospitalizations, is still not well, though she's had some relief at times. A retired home health nurse, Wittbrodt feels such care is especially valuable in the pandemic. "Home health would expose far less people to COVID than hospitalization," she said. New York-based Americare Inc. has taken about 100 COVID-19 patients released from hospitals, and over 200 of the agency's other patients also have tested positive or shown symptoms, VP Bridget Gallagher said. Every corporate staffer including the CEO is calling protective gear suppliers, but the agency still counts its stock of N95 masks every day. "Were doing what we can, but I have to be honest: None of it feels like enough," said Gallagher, who's also on the board of the Home Care Association of New York State. For many agencies, chronic staff shortages are amplified by absences due to illness or quarantine. And workers are grappling with patients fears while reckoning with their own risk. The surgical mask and gloves that Washington home health aide Adassa Clarke now wears rattle her patient, who has Alzheimers disease and relies on a wheelchair. The patient doesnt have COVID-19 but can't retain what shes been told about an illness going around. "Whats going on? Do I have a germ? Am I dying?" she asks, according to Clarke. Sometimes, the patient breaks into tears. At 65, Clarke herself is in an age group at higher risk of severe cases of COVID-19, and shes trying to stay home as much as she can. But patients "come first," said Clarke, a certified nursing assistant. "I just feel like the more I help, the more I keep going," she said. A home health nurse with Chicago-area patients with COVID-19, Vanessa Pepino-Adraneda is extra-vigilant about protective gear and other precautions. Pepino-Adraneda also girds herself by focusing on caring for her patients and allowing herself moments of sadness, frustration or exhaustion. "I try my best to protect my sanity amidst all this chaos," she said. For some people, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause severe illness or be fatal. For most people, it carries mild symptoms or none at all, meaning some patients could have the virus and not know it. The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, one of the nations largest home health agencies, currently has nearly 400 COVID-19 patients, and another nearly 300 referrals await, Executive Vice President Dan Savitt said. Separately, about 80 confirmed and presumed coronavirus patients are getting hospice care. As an industry, "I do feel like weve risen to the challenge," he said. When the agency first told Caballero and other nurses in late March that COVID-19 patients were coming, "I wont say that I wasnt nervous," Caballero says. She was relieved, though, to see the protective equipment the agency issued. And her first visit, to the man in the apartment, went well. When she called later that night, he was not only sitting up but had gotten into a chair. The person who would have been her next coronavirus patient died before visits began. Caballero is now caring for several COVID-19 patients. They came home debilitated and fearful, afraid that hospitals "sent them home to die," she says. She encourages them to take step after small step: to sit on the side of the bed, to walk to the bathroom, to have a meal at the kitchen table. "It is a challenge. This disease has taken so many lives," she says, but "Im so blessed and so honored and so grateful that these patients are coming home." "Think about it -- there but for the grace. It could be I." ___ Associated Press Video Journalist Ted Shaffrey contributed to this report. In this Thursday, April 23, 2020 photo, Ruth Caballero, a nurse with The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, right, attempts to reason with a fellow bus passenger who refuses to wear a face mask as she commutes by bus on her rounds in upper Manhattan in New York. Home care nurses, aides and attendants, who normally help an estimated 12 million Americans with everything from bathing to IV medications, are now taking on the difficult and potentially dangerous task of caring for coronavirus patients. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) In this Thursday, April 23, 2020 photo, Ruth Caballero, a nurse with The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, pulls her supplies behind her in a rolling case as she makes her rounds in upper Manhattan in New York. Home care nurses, aides and attendants, who normally help an estimated 12 million Americans with everything from bathing to IV medications, are now taking on the difficult and potentially dangerous task of caring for coronavirus patients. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) In this Thursday, April 23, 2020 photo, Ruth Caballero, a nurse with The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, climbs stairs to a patients apartment as she makes her rounds in upper Manhattan in New York. Home care nurses, aides and attendants, who normally help an estimated 12 million Americans with everything from bathing to IV medications, are now taking on the difficult and potentially dangerous task of caring for coronavirus patients. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) In this Thursday, April 23, 2020 photo, Ruth Caballero, a nurse with The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, puts on personal protective equipment before entering a patient's apartment as she makes her rounds in upper Manhattan in New York. Home care nurses, aides and attendants, who normally help an estimated 12 million Americans with everything from bathing to IV medications, are now taking on the difficult and potentially dangerous task of caring for coronavirus patients. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) In this Thursday, April 23, 2020 photo, Ruth Caballero, a nurse with The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, right, and Catherine Peralta, her Spanish-language translator, leave a patient's home as Caballero makes her rounds in upper Manhattan in New York. Home care nurses, aides and attendants, who normally help an estimated 12 million Americans with everything from bathing to IV medications, are now taking on the difficult and potentially dangerous task of caring for coronavirus patients. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) In this Thursday, April 23, 2020 photo, Ruth Caballero, a nurse with The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, right, and Catherine Peralta, her Spanish-language translator, sit next to an empty park as they have a teleconference with a patient during their rounds in upper Manhattan in New York. Home care nurses, aides and attendants, who normally help an estimated 12 million Americans with everything from bathing to IV medications, are now taking on the difficult and potentially dangerous task of caring for coronavirus patients. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) In this Thursday, April 23, 2020 photo, Ruth Caballero, a nurse with The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, right, and Catherine Peralta, her Spanish-language translator, sit next to an empty park as they have a teleconference with a patient during their rounds in upper Manhattan in New York. Home care nurses, aides and attendants, who normally help an estimated 12 million Americans with everything from bathing to IV medications, are now taking on the difficult and potentially dangerous task of caring for coronavirus patients. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) In this Thursday, April 23, 2020 photo, Ruth Caballero, a nurse with The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, rides a bus to a patient's home as she makes her rounds in upper Manhattan in New York. Home care nurses, aides and attendants, who normally help an estimated 12 million Americans with everything from bathing to IV medications, are now taking on the difficult and potentially dangerous task of caring for coronavirus patients. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) In this Thursday, April 23, 2020 photo, Ruth Caballero, a nurse with The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, right, and Catherine Peralta, her Spanish-language translator, center, ride a bus to a patient's home during their rounds in upper Manhattan in New York. Home care nurses, aides and attendants, who normally help an estimated 12 million Americans with everything from bathing to IV medications, are now taking on the difficult and potentially dangerous task of caring for coronavirus patients. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) In this Thursday, April 23, 2020 photo, Ruth Caballero, a nurse with The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, speaks with a patient's doctor after a home visit as she makes her rounds in upper Manhattan, Thursday, April 23, 2020, in New York. Home care nurses, aides and attendants, who normally help an estimated 12 million Americans with everything from bathing to IV medications, are now taking on the difficult and potentially dangerous task of caring for coronavirus patients. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) In this Thursday, April 23, 2020 photo, Ruth Caballero, a nurse with The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, left, and Catherine Peralta, her Spanish-language translator, right, step off an elevator as they approach a patient's home during their rounds in upper Manhattan in New York. Home care nurses, aides and attendants, who normally help an estimated 12 million Americans with everything from bathing to IV medications, are now taking on the difficult and potentially dangerous task of caring for coronavirus patients. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) In this Thursday, April 23, 2020 photo, Ruth Caballero, a nurse with The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, suits up in protective equipment before treating a COVID-19 patient on her rounds in upper Manhattan in New York. Home care nurses, aides and attendants, who normally help an estimated 12 million Americans with everything from bathing to IV medications, are now taking on the difficult and potentially dangerous task of caring for coronavirus patients. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) In this Thursday, April 23, 2020 photo, Ruth Caballero, a nurse with The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, knocks on the door of a COVID-19 patient's home on her rounds in upper Manhattan in New York. Home care nurses, aides and attendants, who normally help an estimated 12 million Americans with everything from bathing to IV medications, are now taking on the difficult and potentially dangerous task of caring for coronavirus patients. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) The growing reports of Kim Jong-Un's death North Korea Heart surgery that went wrong More and more reports are emerging that claim Kim Jong-Un, the Supreme Leader of North Korea, has died. It is believed that he went for heart surgery that went wrong. The latest outlet to report on the situation is TMZ, the American celebrity news site that was the first to report Kobe Bryant's death earlier in 2020. They explain that he hasn't made a public appearance in weeks and that he is believed to be dead or on his deathbed and cite sources in China and Japan. "Kim had clutched his chest in early April and fell down while visiting the countryside there," said the TMZ report. "He needed a stent procedure done, but apparently it either wasn't done rapidly enough or it was botched completely by the surgeon, with some reports saying he had shaky hands." The last time the North Korean state media is believed to have reported on Kim Jong-Un's status was on April 11, when he attended a meeting. By Trend A Bay Area man who retired from the FBI last year after 20 years as a special agent was arrested today on a federal criminal charge alleging he conspired to accept more than $200,000 in cash bribes and gifts in exchange for providing sensitive law enforcement information to a lawyer with ties to Armenian organized crime. Babak Broumand, 53, of Lafayette, California, was arrested near his residence by special agents with the FBI and the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General. Broumand is expected to make his initial appearance Monday morning, via telephone from jail, in federal court in San Francisco. Broumand was charged in a criminal complaint filed under seal Tuesday in United States District Court in Los Angeles. The complaint charges Broumand with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official. It outlines a scheme in which the lawyer made regular bribe payments to and purchased gifts for Broumand while he was an FBI agent assigned to the San Francisco Field Office working on national security matters and the development of confidential sources. During the course of the scheme, which started in early 2015 and continued through most of 2017, Broumand allegedly accepted bribe payments averaging approximately $10,000 per month. The bribes were paid by a man who became a licensed lawyer in 2016, according to the complaint, which refers to this man as CW1, or cooperating witness 1. The complaint outlines cash deposits to several banks accounts, as well as various gifts, including hotels, transportation and escort services, that total well over $200,000. Broumand and CW1 conspired and agreed that Broumand would perform official acts and omit to do acts, query law enforcement databases, provide CW1 with non-public law enforcement sensitive information and protection, and assist CW1 in CW1s efforts to evade detection by law enforcement, according to the affidavit in support of the complaint. Many of the bribe payments were made in cash, but one payment was a $30,000 cashiers check made payable to a company called Love Bugs, a hair lice treatment business that Broumand owned with his wife, the complaint alleges. Broumand used this money which he later attempted to falsely characterize alternatively as a boat sale or a loan as part of a down payment on a $1.3 million vacation home near Lake Tahoe. Our nation is based on the premise that public officials especially federal law enforcement officials place the country and her people above their own self-interest. This former FBI agent stands accused of violating this sacred trust by providing help to criminals simply to fund his lavish lifestyle, said United States Attorney Nick Hanna. The complaint outlines a long-running and multi-faceted scheme that tarnished the badge that was the symbol of his oath to uphold the law. The FBI takes allegations of misconduct or criminal activity by its personnel very seriously, said Paul Delacourt, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBIs Los Angeles Field Office. While these are disturbing allegations, we found no evidence to suggest this went beyond an isolated incident. The agents who investigated this case did so with professionalism and objectivity. The public needs to have confidence that law enforcement officials conduct their work with integrity and honesty. When law enforcement officials participate in bribery schemes, they tarnish the reputations of their colleagues who work tirelessly to keep our communities safe. This kind of alleged conduct will not be tolerated, said James K. Cheng, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, Los Angeles Field Office. CW1 met Broumand at a private cigar lounge in Beverly Hills in the fall of 2014, and later that year CW1 invited Broumand to a party he was hosting at a rented house in Las Vegas. After noticing Broumands expensive tastesand his affinity for luxury goods and services, including the Rolex watch and Gucci belt that he was wearing, CW1 saw this as an opportunity to recruit Broumand to help CW1 evade detection by law enforcement, the affidavit states. After CW1 cultivated a friendship with Broumand, the relationship turned corrupt in 2015 when CW1 informed Broumand that he was engaged in criminal activity and asked the agent if he was interested in doing something on the side an offer that Broumand accepted, according to the complaint. CW1 then began paying Broumand approximately $10,000 per month for information and protection. CW1 initially asked Broumand to search for his name in an FBI database and to defuse any law enforcement interest in him, the complaint alleges. In return, Broumand allegedly informed CW1 that he had been the subject of an FBI investigation into credit card fraud in 2008 or 2009, something that would only be known if Broumand had searched for CW1 in a law enforcement database. Soon after the bribery scheme began, CW1 allegedly asked Broumand to query the FBI database for Levon Termendzhyan, an Armenian organized crime figure for whom CW1 had worked. The database search rang all the bells and revealed an FBI investigation in Los Angeles, according to the affidavit, which notes that Broumand accessed the FBI case file on Termendzhyan repeatedly in January 2015. Broumand also allegedly accessed the Termendzhyan FBI case file in May 2016. (Termendzhyan, who is also known as Lev Aslan Dermen, was convicted last month in federal court in Salt Lake City on charges related to a $1 billion renewable fuel tax credit fraud scheme.) After providing information on another client to ensure that person was not involved in terrorist activities, CW1 purchased a Ducati motorcycle and accessories valued at $36,000 for Broumand as a bonus, according to the affidavit. In exchange for these benefits, Broumand allegedly queried between 10 and 20 names provided by CW1 because CW1 was going to engage in legal or illegal business with them. Broumand warned CW1 to stay away from a person who also was a member of the cigar lounge, and this information was validated when that person was arrested in a health care fraud case, according to the affidavit. The complaint also alleges that Broumand obstructed an FBI investigation into Felix Cisneros Jr., a corrupt special agent with Homeland Security Investigations who also had ties to Termendzhyan. Broumand allegedly also engaged in structured cash deposits to conceal the cash bribes, failed to report income from both the bribe payments and the lice salon business on his federal tax returns, made false statements to the FBI, and made false statements on loan applications. The conspiracy charge alleged in the indictment carries a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The ongoing investigation into Broumand is being conducted by the FBI, the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, and IRS Criminal Investigation. This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ruth C. Pinkel of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Sunday, April 26, the number of Covid-19 infected in Belarus increased to 10,463 cases. This was reported by the Belta agency. It is noted that more than 145,000 tests for coronavirus have been conducted in the country. Of all the recorded cases - 72 were fatal, another 1,695 people recovered and were discharged from hospitals. It is known that over the past day Covid-19 was diagnosed in 873 Belarusians.Earlier, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, contrary to the coronavirus, went to the Chornobyl zone, where he planted pine trees in the Prypyatsky National Park.Lukashenko is also sure that more people can suffer from panic than from coronavirus. He also noted that the disease allowed to shake up the Belarusian healthcare system.At the same time, in Ukraine today 8617 people have become infected with the coronavirus. Over the past day, 492 new cases of infection were recorded. Of all 8617 cases - 209 were fatal, 840 patients recovered. At least 23 people, including 13 disabled children, were infected with the coronavirus in the orphanage of the Belarusian city of Glusk. BBC reports with reference to the Irish charity that helps the orphanage. They said that some of the children are already very sick. In the orphanage - more than 170 children and young people, many with serious disorders and a weakened immune system. Adi Rocher, the founder of the Chornobyl Children's Charity, says the orphanage lacks medication for treatment. The orphanage asked the government to transport the children. Belarusian authorities confirmed the outbreak in the orphanage but did not disclose the exact number of cases. According to the Johns Hopkins University, 8,773 coronavirus infections and 67 deaths were confirmed in Belarus. As we reported before, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has announced amendments to the country's constitution The constitutions question ... Its not being removed. Here we can definitely answer that in the new five-year plan we will most likely have a new constitution, he said. Im not saying we wouldnt get our hair mussed, but I do say no more than 10-to-20 million killed, tops, uh, depending on the breaks George C. Scott as General Buck Turgidson in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Im not saying Stanley Kubricks satiric masterpiece from 1964 is a movie for our times. Not me. But if you havent seen it lately, now would be the occasion in this spring of the plague year. Even if youre lucky enough to have remained employed during the pandemic and only emerge from your dog sled harness long enough for 90 minutes of recreation after your 12-hour day, there are laughs galore. In the film, shot in glorious black and white, a deluded, paranoid military leader (stop me if youve heard this one) played by Wiltons own late, great Sterling Hayden, launches a preemptive nuclear strike on the Soviet Union. Scott, as the head of the joint chiefs of staff, proposes using the accidental advantage to wipe out the Cold War foe, even with the strong possibility of a counter attack and some hair mussing. Today, the ever-growing possibility of nuclear war still lingers, of course, along with the hard fact of global warming, evidenced by extreme weather patterns and melting ice caps. But the threat of coronavirus literally breathing down our necks is what has us behind locked doors at this moment. Theres a template for dealing with the coronavirus thats easier to perform than halting climate change or freezing ICBMs in mid-air, because most of us can avoid public exposure, mask-up and observe social distancing. As a reminder of whats at stake, all I have to do is look back 100 years and see Great Aunt Margie Purcells engagement ring. Even better, take John M. Barrys book The Great Influenza about the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, for the lessons both learned and unlearned among the 17- to 50 million who perished. I got a chance to ask Barry a couple questions the other day during a webinar sponsored by the National Press Foundation. Barry, a Tulane University professor who lives in the French Quarter down there in New Orleans, took an hour to talk with reporters and editors from throughout the country. Barry reminded everyone that very little actual information was released about the flus dangers at the time, because the United States was finally involved in World War I and such things were state secrets. The government of Woodrow Wilson, who we now know was a racist, enforced the Sedition Act of 1798, putting people in prison for such things as telling the truth about the flu. New York never closed anything, Barry said, noting that the saloon and theater owners got the Democratic political machine known as Tammany Hall to protect their interests. Even though New York City likely had the best public health department in the nation at the time, the flu came in waves. I asked Barry if there was any kind of regional cooperation in battling the virus, similar to the new seven-state effort by northeast states including New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Not that I know of, he said. There was some communication between different health departments but not necessarily ones that were contiguous. What saved many lives, Barry calculated with the help of scientists, was the kind of herd immunity that doctors today arent yet sure can occur with COVID-19 infections. Back then, though, those who survived the spring 1918 outbreak built up the antibodies to combat the second wave. New York actually had a relatively benign experience if you call 33,000 deaths benign, he said. On a per capita basis that wasnt bad. The best vaccine we ever had provided 62-percent protection. You had up to 89-percent protection from first-wave exposure against the lethal second wave. I think that first wave in New York was a major factor in protecting the city against that second wave. But sadly, there were few lessons learned when the flu faded in 1920. The National Institutes of Health werent created until 1928, another bad year for influenza. Vaccines were finally developed in the 1940s. I was actually surprised myself that there wasnt more investment in public health and so forth, Barry said. So what does Great Aunt Margies engagement ring have to do with all this? The jewelry, tiny diamond chip and all, was purchased by her fiance, who died in the influenza pandemic unaware of terms such as social distancing and flattening the curve. His name is lost in family memory. Aunt Margie lived with my mothers family in Hamden during the Great Depression. She never married. kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT (Photo : Fernando Zhiminaicela from Pixabay) The WHO says immunity is not guaranteed among coronavirus survivors. While the world is waiting for a coronavirus vaccine and cure, it seems like the world is not yet safe from the virus unless spreading it can be stopped. Nevertheless, a researcher said that vitamins C and D could help prevent people from acquiring it--something everyone will need as WHO said that people could catch COVID-19 more than once. READ ALSO: [BREAKING] COVID- 19 Update: Virus Dies in 2 Minutes When Faced on Direct Sunlight, U.S. Official Says WHO Says Coronavirus Re-Infection is Possible In a recent report by Bloomberg, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that catching the novel coronavirus infection may not protect you from getting it again. "There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection," the agency said in a statement. This comes after some government officials suggested that those who have survived the viral infection will be given an "immunity passport" or a "risk-free certificate" that will allow them to return to work or even travel. The plan is based on the assumption that COVID-19 survivors are immune from getting re-infected and on antibody test results that have drawn concern due to their unreliability in some places. Meanwhile, the United States also said they are looking into it as well as "herd immunity," or when 70% to 90% of the community has developed immunity through infection or vaccine, according to CNN. Nevertheless, it's one plan that experts believe is futile and incredibly risky. Read Also: Coronavirus Could Worsen Due to More Sugar Intake Even For Non-Diabetic COVID-19 Patients Vitamins C and D to the Rescue Due to the new findings of the WHO, it is incredibly important for both survivors and those who haven't been infected yet to try and boost their health and immune system--and one of the ways is by getting enough vitamins C and D. According to OregonLive, a researcher from Oregon State University believes that taking supplements rich in vitamins C and D as well as other nutrients can be "safe, effective, and low-cost" means to avoid COVID-19 infection. The researcher, Adrian Gombart of OSU's Linus Pauling Institute, as well as collaborators from around the world, are calling for public health officials to create clear nutritional guidelines. This, along with washing hands and physically distancing, could help prevent further infections from happening. "There's a wealth of data that shows the role that good nutrition plays in supporting the immune system," Gombart said. The researchers are now urging people to take a dose of 200 milligrams or more of vitamin C daily, which is much higher than the issued federal guidelines of 75 and 50 milligrams for men and women, respectively. Additionally, researchers say it's best to take 2,000 international units of vitamin D. VA Draws Attention In other news, the Department of Veterans Affairs is under fire as the number of health care workers and veterans infected with COVID-19 has surged. According to The Hill, there are more than 6,000 VA coronavirus patients, and over 400 of them have already died due to the infection. Meanwhile, 2,000 VA health workers have been infected with round 20 deaths in their line. Nevertheless, VA press secretary Christina Noel is adamant that they are keeping their patients and staff safe. "We understand that this national emergency has generated concern among some employees, but the department continues to be successful in helping America fight COVID-19," Noel said. Read Also: UofL Researchers Develops a Drug That Prevents Coronavirus From Spreading in the Body 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday that the American economy hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic is expected to bounce back later this summer as States begin to open up their businesses in May and June. "As we begin to reopen the economy in May and June, you're going to see the economy really bounce back in July, August, September, Mnuchin told Fox in an interview. He said the Trump Administration has put together an unprecedented amount of fiscal relief into the economy. "You're seeing trillions of dollars that's making its way into the economy and I think this is going to have a significant impact, he said. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed more than 54,000 American lives in the last two months and infected over nine lakh others, the US economy has come to a standstill. More than 95 per cent of the country's 330 million population are under stay at home order. With the death rate and new cases showing signs of decline over the last one week, some of the States have taken steps to reopen their economy in multiple steps. "This is not the Financial Crisis," Mnuchin explained. This is a scenario where we've closed the economy and we're going to open the economy." Responding to a question, he said that President Donald Trump has said no bailouts to any companies, whether that was airlines or oil companies. "We will consider loans to companies in a proper scenario with strategic importance, but no bailouts. No shareholder bailouts, he asserted. A of now, the United States is working globally to conquer this virus. But the president's made very clear, he wants to understand what China knew, when they knew it, and if they knew things that they didn't turn over that could have stopped this he will hold them accountable, he said. Mnuchin refrained from answering a question on sanctions on China. We never make comments on future sanctions options," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bulandshahr : , April 26 (IANS) In a shocking incident, a Sub-Inspector (SI) Bijendra Singh (57) was allegedly shot dead by colleague Narendra Pal Singh (53), at B.B. Nagar police station in Bulandshahr district. According to police, Narendra had gone to official residence of Bijendra on Friday night which is on the third floor of police station building to use the washroom. Both were posted at the same police station. Police claimed a bullet was accidentally fired from the service pistol of accused Narendra who later rushed his colleague to a nearby hospital with the help of another staffer. Bulandshahr SSP Santosh Kumar Singh said, "Around midnight, Narendra went up to Brijendra's room to use washroom and a shot was accidentally fired from the former's service pistol that hit the victim in the stomach." The SSP further said that the accused Sub-Inspector, along with another staffer at the police station, took the critically injured Brijendra to a nursing home where Brijendra succumbed to the injury. Narendra, sensing trouble, fled from the spot and was later arrested while he was on his way to Ghaziabad. An FIR under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC has been registered against the accused. Democrats have painted themselves into a corner with Joe Biden now the presumptive nominee. I see no easy way out of the mess that has been created by assembling a coalition of mutually antagonistic grievance groups, while simultaneously assuaging the oligarchs that fund the party and usually call the shots behind the scenes. Now that Tara Reade has credibly accused Joe Biden of sexual assault with far more evidence than was brought against Justice Kavanaugh, they are stuck. The hysteria unleashed against Kavanaugh cant be forgotten, even though dishonest hacks like Mazie Hirono keep their yaps shut and dont even whisper Believe all women, and even though propaganda outfits like CNN have done their best to keep news of the accusations from the public. You see, the Bernie bros still have their delegates, and still chafe at the way the nomination is being denied to their hero. Should Biden withdraw, they will insist that Bernie take his place. They are true believers and will not be persuaded by the argument that defeating Trump calls for them to sacrifice their dream of a Marxist president. They will not shut up about Ms. Reades complaints, and are pointing out the embarrassing contrast in the way her evidence-supported accusations are being treated and the blizzard of coverage given to the evidence-free accusations of Christine Blasey-Ford. They are the reason that even CNN and CBS News have finally covered the Reade accusations, Should Bidens candidacy be deep-sixed, the Bernie bros are not about to sit by and watch it be handed to Andrew Cuomo, the current poster boy for the Dem establishmentarians. Cuomo has no delegates and isnt a Marxist. They have already in the past threatened to burn Milwaukee if the convention spurns them, and I doubt that Cuomo would be acceptable over their guy, who actually campaigned for president and won delegates. The wages of identity politics are strife among identity groups. The Democrats have nobody but themselves to blame for the pickle in which they find themselves. Photo credit:YouTube screen grab Sir Keir Starmer is facing calls to sack one of his Shadow Ministers for openly claiming that Tory governments conspire to 'murder' people. In a video seen by The Mail on Sunday, Left-wing firebrand Lloyd Russell-Moyle told Labour supporters: 'I do not think it is an exaggeration when we say the Conservatives have conspired to murder and let die British citizens. That is what they have done and that is what they will continue to do.' The incendiary comments provoked outrage across the political spectrum, with even Labour MPs privately calling on Sir Keir to fire Mr Russell-Moyle from his position as a Shadow Environment Minister. The Brighton MP one of the few Jeremy Corbyn supporters to keep a frontbench job when Sir Keir became Labour leader earlier this month made his comments during last year's General Election campaign. Labour Party candidate Lloyd Russell-Moyle speaks after he is announced as the winner for the constituency of Brighton Kemptown at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Brighton, Britain December 13, 2019 As well as being filmed claiming that 100,000 had 'died early' because of Tory policies, the 33-year-old also appeared to threaten Conservative voters in his constituency, saying that the area was 'not Tory-free enough for my liking. We've still got a few more to rout out but because of your fantastic door-knocking, we know where they live.' A spokesman for the Labour leader last night condemned Mr Russell-Moyle's comments as 'unacceptable' but signalled that he would keep his job. Allies of Sir Keir also pointed out the remarks were made before he became leader. However, moderate Labour MP Neil Coyle called on Mr Russell-Moyle to resign to 'protect the new leader'. Bermondsey MP Mr Coyle said: 'The use of extreme language was partly what put so many voters off supporting Labour in December. Accusations of murder or conspiracy should not be used to try to stir up hatred and division.' And one leading Left-wing MP said privately that Mr RussellMoyle should be fired. The MP said: 'It is one thing to say that Tory policies have led to some people dying through neglect, as has been said before, but to say the Conservatives deliberately conspired to murder people is just lunatic.' Tory MP Alexander Stafford urged Sir Keir to reconsider keeping Mr Russell-Moyle in his post, saying: 'At a time when political parties should be coming together, it is frankly not acceptable that these comments have come from a senior Labour frontbencher.' It is not the first time Mr Russell-Moyle has courted controversy. In December 2018, he caused a storm in the Commons when he theatrically seized the mace the symbol of the Queen's authority in protest over the delay to a key Brexit vote. First elected in 2017, he held on to his Brighton Kemptown seat in December, but sparked anger by vowing to continue the struggle against the new Tory Government by saying 'we will fight them in the streets'. Mr Russell-Moyle could not be reached for comment last night. But a spokesman for Sir Keir said: 'These comments are unacceptable and Lloyd will be spoken to about them. We need to draw a line under this type of behaviour and have a more respectful public debate.' For the Muslim community all over the world, the month of Ramazan is regarded as the holiest but in wake of coronavirus pandemic, it has turned out to be a problem for Prime Minister Imran Khan. Khan's government has enforced tight lockdown instructions but hardliner and fundamental religious cleric and business community are not ready to obey the orders, rather they have declared to continue their ... Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. 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Washington President Donald Trump's erratic handling of the coronavirus outbreak, the worsening economy and a cascade of ominous public and private polling have Republicans increasingly nervous that they are at risk of losing the presidency and the Senate if Trump does not put the nation on a radically improved course. The scale of the GOP's challenge has crystallized in the last week. With 26 million Americans now having filed for unemployment benefits, Trump's standing in states that he carried in 2016 looks increasingly wobbly: New surveys show him trailing significantly in battleground states like Michigan and Pennsylvania, and he is even narrowly behind in must-win Florida. Democrats raised substantially more money than Republicans did in the first quarter in the most pivotal congressional races, according to recent campaign finance reports. And while Trump is well ahead in money compared with the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, Democratic donors are only beginning to focus on the general election, and several super political action committees plan to spend heavily on behalf of him and the party. Perhaps most significantly, Trump's single best advantage as an incumbent his access to the bully pulpit has effectively become a platform for self-sabotage. His daily news briefings on the coronavirus outbreak are inflicting grave damage on his political standing, Republicans believe, and his recent remarks about combating the virus with sunlight and disinfectant were a breaking point for a number of senior party officials. On Friday evening, Trump conducted only a short briefing and took no questions, a format that a senior administration official said was being discussed as the best option for the president going forward. Glen Bolger, a longtime Republican pollster, said the landscape for his party had become far grimmer compared with the previrus plan to run almost singularly around the country's prosperity. "With the economy in free-fall, Republicans face a very challenging environment, and it's a total shift from where we were a few months ago," Bolger said. "Democrats are angry, and now we have the foundation of the campaign yanked out from underneath us." Trump's advisers and allies have often blamed external events for his most self-destructive acts, such as his repeated outbursts during the two-year investigation into his campaign's dealings with Russia. Now there is no such explanation and, so far, there have been exceedingly few successful interventions regarding Trump's behavior at the podium. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., said the president had to change his tone and offer more than a campaign of grievance. "You got to have some hope to sell people," Cole said. "But Trump usually sells anger, division and 'we're the victim.'" There are still more than six months until the election, and many Republicans are hoping that the dynamics of the race will shift once Biden is thrust back into the campaign spotlight. At that point, they believe, the race will not simply be the up-or-down referendum on the president it is now, and Trump will be able to more effectively sell himself as the person to rebuild the economy. "We built the greatest economy in the world; I'll do it a second time," Trump said earlier this month, road-testing a theme he will deploy in the coming weeks. Still, a recent wave of polling has fueled Republican anxieties, as Biden leads in virtually every competitive state. The surveys also showed Republican senators in Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina and Maine trailing or locked in a dead heat with potential Democratic rivals in part because their fate is linked to Trump's job performance. If incumbents in those states lose and Republicans pick up only the Senate seat in Alabama, Democrats would take control of the chamber should Biden win the presidency. "He's got to run very close for us to keep the Senate," Charles Black, a veteran Republican consultant, said of Trump. "I've always thought we were favored to, but I can't say that now with all these cards up in the air." Republicans were taken aback this past week by the results of a 17-state survey commissioned by the Republican National Committee. It found the president struggling in the Electoral College battlegrounds and likely to lose without signs of an economic rebound this fall, according to a party strategist outside the RNC who is familiar with the poll's results. The Trump campaign's own surveys have also shown an erosion of support, according to four people familiar with the data, as the coronavirus remains the No. 1 issue worrying voters. The private data of the two parties is largely mirrored by public surveys. Just last week, three Pennsylvania polls and two Michigan surveys were released showing Trump losing outside the margin of error. And a pair of Florida polls were released that showed Biden enjoying a slim advantage in a state that is all but essential for Republicans to retain the presidency. To some in the party, this feels all too similar to the last time they held the White House. In 2006, anger at President George W. Bush and unease with the Iraq War propelled Democrats to reclaim Congress; two years later, they captured the presidency thanks to the same anti-incumbent themes and an unexpected crisis that accelerated their advantage: the economic collapse of 2008. The two elections were effectively a single continuous rejection of Republican rule as some in the GOP fear 2018 and 2020 could become in a worst-case scenario. "It already feels very similar to the 2008 cycle," said Billy Piper, a Republican lobbyist and former chief of staff to Sen. Mitch McConnell. Significant questions remain that could tilt the outcome of this election: whether Americans experience a second wave of the virus in the fall, the condition of the economy and how well Biden performs after he emerges from his Wilmington, Del. basement, which many in his party are privately happy to keep him in so long as Trump is fumbling as he governs amid a crisis. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. But if Republicans are comforted by the uncertainties that remain, they are alarmed by one element of this election that is already abundantly clear: The small-dollar fundraising energy Democrats enjoyed in the midterms has not abated. Most of the incumbent House Democrats facing competitive races enjoy a vast financial advantage over Republican challengers. Still, few officials in either party believed the House was in play this year. There was also similar skepticism about the Senate. Then the virus struck, and fundraising reports covering the first three months of this year were released in mid-April. Republican senators facing difficult races were not only all outraised by Democrats, they were also overwhelmed. The Republican Senate woes come as anger toward Trump is rising from some of the party's most influential figures on Capitol Hill. After working closely with Senate Republicans at the start of the year, some of the party's top congressional strategists say the handful of political advisers Trump retains have communicated little with them since the health crisis began. In a campaign steered by Trump, whose rallies drove fundraising and data harvesting, the center of gravity has of late shifted to the White House. His campaign headquarters will remain closed for another few weeks, and West Wing officials say the president's campaign manager, Brad Parscale, hasn't been to the White House since last month, though he is in touch by phone. Then there is the president's conduct. In just the last week, he has undercut the efforts of his campaign and his allies to attack Biden on China; suddenly proposed a halt on immigration; and said governors should not move too soon to reopen their economies a week after calling on protesters to "liberate" their states. And that was all before his digression into the potential healing powers of disinfectants. Republican lawmakers have gone from watching his lengthy daily briefings with a tight-lipped grimace to looking upon them with horror. Privately, other party leaders are less restrained about the political damage they believe Trump is doing to himself and Republican candidates. One prominent GOP senator said the nightly sessions were so painful he could not bear watching any longer. Trump's thrashing about partly reflects his frustration with the virus and his inability to slow Biden's rise in the polls. It's also an illustration of his broader inability to shift the public conversation to another topic. Trump is also restless. Administration officials said they were looking to resume his travel in as soon as a week. As they look for ways to regain the advantage, some Republicans believe the party must mount an immediate ad campaign blitzing Biden, identifying him to their advantage. "If Trump is the issue, he probably loses," said Black, the consultant. "If he makes it about Biden and the economy is getting better, he has a chance." Mumbai, April 26 : Two middle-aged Mumbai policemen have succumbed to Covid-19 in quick succession in two days, sending shockwaves in the city's police circles, officials said here on Sunday. According to a senior official, these are the first two cases of corona deaths recorded among the Mumbai Police. They were both Head Constables, one a 57-year-old and the other a 52-year-old, both with many years of service, and their deaths have plunged the police force into grief, the official said. "Deeply saddened to hear of the death of HC Chandrakant G. Pendulkar, Vakola Police Station. May his soul rest in peace. May God give strength to his family and friends," Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh tweeted on Sunday. "The Mumbai Police lost two brave souls in a span of two days. Head Constable Sandip M. Surve lost his life to coronavirus. May the departed soul rest in peace. Thoughts and prayers for his family and friends," Singh said in another condolence tweet. At least 40 other policemen have tested positive and are undergoing treatment at various city hospitals. Posted at Vakola Police Station in Santacruz East, Pendulkar was a resident of the Premnagar Colony in Worli. He was rushed to the BYL Nair Hospital after he complained of uneasiness on April 22 and later tested positive. As his condition continued to worsen, he was put on a ventilator but he failed to make it. A resident of Kamothe in Navi Mumbai, Surve was admitted to the MGM Hospital on April 23, where he breathed his last early Sunday. Though it is not clear when and how both the policemen got infected, some of their close contacts have been identified and are currently undergoing treatment. Other policemen who were in touch with the deceased have also been quarantined at their own homes as a precaution. In view of over 95 Covid-19 cases that have afflicted the force so far, the Mumbai Police have decided against deploying those officials with comorbidities or related health issues in containment zones or sensitive areas like Dharavi and other slums pockets. The worst-hit in the country, Mumbai has recorded 191 Covid-19 casualties and another 5,049 positive cases till April 25. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Minneapolis: Spain let children go outside and play on Sunday for the first time in six weeks as European countries methodically worked to ease their lockdowns and reopen their economies, while in the United States, governors moved at differing speeds, some more aggressive, others more cautious. Elsewhere around the world, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson planned to go back to work Monday at 10 Downing St. after a bout with the coronavirus that put him in intensive care. Families with their children walk along a boulevard in Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday. Credit:AP While governors in states like hard-hit New York and Michigan are keeping stay-at-home restrictions in place until at least mid-May, their counterparts in Georgia and Oklahoma have allowed salons, spas and barbershops to reopen. And Alaska cleared the way for restaurants to resume dine-in service and for stores and other businesses to open, with limitations. The official death toll from the virus topped 200,000 worldwide, with 2.9 million confirmed infections, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, though the real figures are believed to be much higher, in part because of inadequate testing and differences in counting the dead. Joining more than 1,000 others, Djemba Diatite stood for hours in line to feed her growing family, grateful for handouts of fruits, vegetables and soap. It was her first time accepting charity, but she had no choice. The coronavirus pandemic has turned her small world upside down. With open air markets closed, supermarket prices skyrocketing, an out-of-work husband, two children to feed and another on the way, Diatite said even tomatoes are now too expensive. This is my only solution, she said, relieved that a local group in her Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois stepped in with help. Clichy-sous-Bois where fiery nationwide riots started in 2005 is just 23 kilometers northeast of the French capital, but with its rows of housing projects, restless youth and residents teetering on the poverty line, it feels light years away. The town mayor, seeing a looming crisis triggered by food shortages, sounded the alarm, and with scattered unrest simmering in impoverished suburbs, the French government announced a plan for urgent food assistance of 39 million euros (nearly $42.1 million) for communities in need. Providing food aid might be the most fixable of the longstanding problems in the heavily immigrant housing projects ringing France's large cities. Leader after leader has tried and failed to find remedies for often-dilapidated and cramped housing, chronic delinquency, a thriving drug trade and, above all, the entrenched discrimination against minority communities that limits their job prospects in France. Some residents say they felt confined years before the strict coronavirus lockdown measures imposed March 17. I feel the social crisis is growing with confinement, said Clichy-Sous-Bois Mayor Olivier Klein. We see numerous people in need, urgently, in a way we've never seen, he told France Info radio. In these tense neighborhoods, the smallest spark can trigger still more tension. Alongside the food crisis, there has been scattered violence, with youths targeting French police in confrontations that end in clouds of tear gas but no known injuries, including in Clichy-sous-Bois. The town is where filmmaker Ladj Ly shot his Oscar-nominated modern police drama Les Misrables. A call for calm came from an unlikely person, a 30-year-old man with a long criminal record who crashed his motorcycle into the open door of a police car in Villeneuve-la-Garenne, northwest of Paris. Claims that police were at fault spread across the internet. From his hospital bed, he implored gangs to go home, in a video released by his lawyer. Clichy-sous-Bois was the takeoff point of nationwide rioting 15 years ago. Nightly TV images of the destruction awakened many in France to large swaths of a population they barely knew existed. The lockdown is again shining a spotlight on the still mostly invisible lives of those who struggle even in the best of times. The town is in the poorest region of mainland France, Seine-Saint-Denis, where the overall mortality rate has more than doubled since March 1, when the country began counting virus deaths, according to national statistics agency Insee. Experts have blamed the density of the population, the difficulty to enact social distancing in often large families and the fact that those in poorer areas often have jobs with a higher risk of infection. Statistics were not available to show whether the virus was solely responsible for the higher mortality rates. This crisis is simply making (the problems) much more visible, said Mohamed Mechmache, who heads the association ACLeFeu, or Enough Fire, which grew out of the riots and is distributing food in Clichy-sous-Bois. Thousands now line up twice a week for the distribution, organized after the lockdown began. Diatite is typical of many in her predicament. Her husband drives a bus at Paris' Orly Airport, which closed last month due to the lull in air traffic, putting him out of work. The growing family lives in a 26-square-meter (less than 280-square foot) apartment. There is a very large accumulation of inequalities that often increase in a crisis, said sociologist Marie-Helene Bacque who worked with Mechmache in 2013 on political participation in housing projects. About 70% of the population of Clichy-sous-Bois is of immigrant origin, she noted, typical of similar suburban towns. Economic, social and race factors bind the suburbs in an interlocking grip of inequality, though France does not keep statistics on ethnic origins, in line with its ideal of a melting pot. We're moving toward a large social crisis, Bacque said. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said since the start of the lockdown, police have carried out checks on 220,000 people in the Seine-Saint-Denis region alone to ensure confinement rules are respected, more than double the national average. Some police attribute scattered violence in some neighborhoods to the squeeze on drug dealers during the lockdown. Traffickers want to eliminate all police presence, tweeted Linda Kebbab, an official of the police union SGP-FO. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Comedian Tommy Little told Australians to hurry up and download a government tracking app to their mobile phones so he can get back to playing sport. The cheeky funnyman unleashed a rant on The Project to encourage the public to embrace the coronavirus tracing app as 500,000 people rushed to download the tracker on Sunday. 'I am the person that if ever someone tells me to do something, I say no,' he said. 'But I'm so sick of talking about this virus, I'm sick of people not being able to leave their homes, and if the one thing you do - if you don't do anything else in your day today - just download this app. 'It's gonna make it so much easier for us to live our normal lives quicker. 'I'm sick of not playing sport, sick of not watching sport, just download the freaking app, people.' The CovidSafe app was launched at 3pm but there was a three-hour delay until registrations opened at 6pm, which confused some people who then left scathing one-star reviews The CovidSafe app uses encrypted data The Government wants 40 per cent of Australians to use the CovidSafe app so there is enough coverage for it to be effective. Health officials say widespread use of the app would help to ease the lockdown restrictions. The app is designed to speed up coronavirus contact tracing. Users who have been within 1.5 metres of someone who has the virus will be recorded using bluetooth, helping the authorities in the laborious process of contact tracing. The app uses anonymous IDs from anyone you are within 1.5 metres of, for about 15 minutes or more - if they also have the app. Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Sunday that the data would not be used for any other purpose than coronavirus tracing. 'It assists in the early alert and finding of people who may have been in contact with a person that is positive with the diagnosis,' he said in a televised address to the nation. Tommy Little encouraged people to stay home but now he is tired of restrictions and hopes that if everyone downloads the CovidSafe app he can play sport again Perth protesters hold signs on Saturday as they are tired of lockdown restrictions. Health authorities have said the CovidSafe app may help them lift the restrictions Privacy concerns have been an issue for many people who don't like the idea of the government using their mobile phones to track them. Mr Hunt addressed those privacy concerns on Sunday, saying the data was encrypted and that nobody had access to it other than public health officials for the limited purpose of coronavirus contact tracing only. CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 27,244 Victoria: 20,269 New South Wales: 4,273 Queensland: 1,161 Western Australia: 692 South Australia: 473 Tasmania: 230 Australian Capital Territory: 113 Northern Territory: 33 TOTAL CASES: 27,244 ESTIMATED ACTIVE CASES: 269 DEATHS: 897 Updated: 5.31 PM, 11 October, 2020 Source: Australian Government Department of Health Advertisement He said there was no geolocation, that courts would be prohibited from accessing the data, that the information had to be kept on servers located in Australia and that it would be deleted once the pandemic was over. Those who are diagnosed are asked permission a second time to consent to release the data from their phones. The app was released at 3pm with registration opening at 6pm. It was an instant hit with more than 500,000 Australians downloading the app by Sunday night, a Health Department spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. Many people downloaded the free tracker when it hit the app stores at 3pm but did not realise they had to wait until 6pm to register. This resulted in confusion when their registration would not work, resulting in a number of one-star reviews on the Android app site. 'It won't send me a PIN code, therefore does not work,' wrote Brett Vogler. 'It said try again later or invalid phone number.' Police talk to a man in Kings Cross, Sydney, on Anzac Day as they enforce lockdown rules Others told the one-star brigade to wait and countered with five-star reviews. 'Hold off with the harsh one star reviews people,' wrote Aaron Aardvark. 'It won't take your phone number until after 6pm ... show some patience.' Australia had 6,714 coronavirus cases as of Sunday night, with 83 deaths, 1,086 active cases and 5,541 patients fully recovered. Worldwide as of Sunday night there were 2,940,059 coronavirus cases with 203,803 deaths 1,894,505 active cases and 841,751 patients recovered according to the Worldometer coronavirus statistics tracker. The USA still has the highest number of overall cases at 960,896 confirmed infections with 54,265 deaths. Laurence Fox has revealed how his brother-in-law, the comedian, writer and actor Richard Ayoade, reacted after his notorious appearance on BBCs Question Time. During his appearance on the political chat show, Fox accused a woman of colour of racism after she called him a white privileged male. Fox had earlier called the discussion surrounding the Meghan Markle race row boring and claimed: Its not racism. Were the most tolerant lovely country in Europe. His comments prompted a huge backlash on social media while the Race Equality Committee of the actors union Equity, denounced him as a disgrace to our industry. Fox has claimed he has struggled to get work in film or TV since. In an interview with The Sunday Times, it has since emerged that Fox begged Ayoade, who is married to his sister Lydia, to support him on social media. Ayoade, who is half-Nigerian, was reportedly furious at this, and told Fox: You have never encountered racism. Fox responded: Yeah, of course I have. Ive encountered racism from black people towards me, when I was working in Kenya [as a safari driver] for seven months. Its the way youre spoken to racism can be deferential. Asked by the interviewer what he meant by the idea that racism can be deferential, Fox answered This is why you dont get actors involved in chats like this. Because Im just not smart enough to do it. According to Fox, while he initially missed a few family get-togethers during the row, he and Ayoade are all friends now. Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up In the same interview, he disclosed that he used to yell cut at ex-wife Billie Piper while they were arguing. UPDATE (30.04.20) A previous version of this article incorrectly attributed statements made by Equity's Race Equality Committee on social media, to Equity. The article has been amended to rectify this error. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal Ten days ago, Rio Rancho resident Eddie Paulsgrove posed a question in an online chat group: Just curious if we can find out Rio Ranchos COVID numbers.Not trying to cause any anxiety, I just want the data. Days later, the state Department of Health began posting positive tests numbers by ZIP codes as well as countywide totals. And Paulsgrove had his answer. In the Albuquerque metropolitan area, which includes Rio Rancho, the ZIP codes with the highest number of positive COVID-19 tests were in Albuquerques Northeast Heights where an outbreak erupted at a retirement home and a large swath of southeast Bernalillo County that straddles Interstate 40. Rio Rancho, with an estimated 98,000 people in two ZIP codes, had just 57 confirmed cases as of Friday. Thats about 17% of Sandoval Countys total number of cases and less than the case total confirmed so far at Albuquerques La Vida Llena nursing home. I have to say it was somewhat surprising even with the serious lack of testing. With only 57 cases, we might be doing something right, Paulsgrove told the Journal. Officials urge caution in interpreting the numbers and say there could be many reasons for the raw data. It shouldnt be an indicator as to what neighborhoods do I avoid, said Albuquerque City Councilor Pat Davis, who said the numbers more likely are a reflection of who has had better access to COVID-19 testing. But with so much uncertainty about the novel coronavirus, public health agencies across the country have opted to provide the public with more information about positive tests arranged by ZIP codes. An additional layer of COVID-19 data, including cases by ZIP code, was added in order to provide New Mexicans, including communities and emergency management staff, with additional information, said Jodi McGinnis Porter, a DOH spokeswoman. What can be gleaned from the data? Are Rio Rancho residents, for instance, practicing better social distancing than South Valley residents? Are its residents less vulnerable physically to contracting the disease? Are the numbers a reflection of access to testing? And what about people who may be carrying the virus without showing symptoms and havent yet been tested? The ZIP code data from the DOH doesnt show the number of COVID-19 deaths or the number of tests performed. McGinnis Porter cautioned, The ZIP code data does not define neighborhoods that are more susceptible. Health departments traditionally rely on county counts rather than postal ZIP codes for public health purposes. And she added, Some of our ZIP code data is incomplete because we do not always receive the ZIP code in patient addresses. But that is likely only in a few instances. Since its launch April 14, the new dashboard has attracted nearly a million hits. Last Tuesday, for example, 86,391 people visited the website at https://cvprovider.nmhealth.org/public-dashboard.html. No specific counts for the ZIP code feature were available last week. The dashboard permits interactive searches by county and ZIP codes. Several elected officials interviewed in Albuquerque say the ZIP code numbers are potentially misleading and too incomplete to draw any conclusions. Cause for alarm Bernalillo County Commissioner Steven Michael Quezada said he initially posted the ZIP code information on his Facebook page after noticing ZIP codes in his district had more positive test results for the virus than most others in the city. I thought, Well wow thats bad. We go on a once-a-week run to the grocery store. We see the majority of the people arent covering their face, not wearing the gloves. Maybe its just my area just isnt doing it right. Maybe theyre not taking it seriously. I thought, what the heck, why 87121? Why 87105, the two most poorest areas in the county? You know, thats my district. Within hours, he said, he removed the test counts from his page. Before he did so, some commenters expressed alarm, he said. Others wanted to know what streets those with positive results lived on. Quezada said he had hoped to enlighten the public, but those statistics are kind of misleading. That doesnt say that they contracted the virus in the district. He said his county district, which includes the South Valley, Southwest Mesa, East San Jose, Broadway, and Mesa del Sol has a workforce that likely includes health care and grocery store workers who might be more prone to contracting the disease. I just thought that data was really incomplete, and so I took it down, he said. Without violating individual privacy rights, Quezada said, he would like to know how many of the cases are people who work in essential services, like health care. Councilor Davis said, I think it (the ZIP code data) is more about access to testing than it is about contagion. The ZIP code for Albuquerques Nob Hill district, for example, shows nearly as many positive cases as that of the nearby International District, which has about 10,000 more residents. Davis said he thinks the discrepancy is due to the International District being on the low end of the health and testing access. For instance, data from the Albuquerque Fire Rescue calls for possible COVID-19 patients were pretty evenly distributed (across the city), Davis said. However, the AFR call map showed fewer COVID-19 calls in the International District than the surrounding areas. Davis said the ZIP code data still can be super important (to help show) where those COVID-19 tests need to be prioritized. In Rio Rancho, Paulsgrove, a retired government geologist, said he would like to know the number of people tested in each ZIP code, the number of hospitalizations and the number who have recovered. He said he wants to better understand what the threat is and what is its proximity? Reassurance But Paulsgrove said the new ZIP code information has given him some peace of mind. It appears our community is pretty static in the number of new cases, so I feel more comfortable engaging folks at a prudent distance. Tom Scharmen, a volunteer coordinator for the New Mexico Community Data Collaborative, a program of the Center for Health Innovation at New Mexicos Public Health Institute, said such data is preliminary and limited. In the middle of the emergency, you cant expect we will have complete information. In a sense, this is an ongoing tornado. A gang of rowdy peacocks took over a garage in Kent, United Kingdom, recently, giving a worker the fright of his life. Even as England practiced social distancing amid increasing coronavirus deaths and active cases, animals seem to be having the time of their lives. And this group of peacocks clearly enjoyed violating the stay at home rule for a day out. The incident occurred in a garage in Deal early in the morning when the birds just strolled into the garage and started exploring. The owner of the shop, Neil Ewbank, told LADBible that though he thought the peacocks were entertaining, the apprentice working at the garage at the time got frightened and ran out of the garage screaming upon laying eyes on the surprise visitors. Turns out that the peacocks have quite the reputation in Deal. Named Gulliver, Blanche, Victor and Prince, the birds allegedly broke out of their home and hiked over two kilometers before making a pitstop at the garage. The four often hang out in and around the neighbourhood when they get the chance. We have four friendly peacocks who roam around our village. One of them is albino and since lockdown they are wandering further afield with people posting photos on Facebook of their latest visit! Here they are visiting an office at the local car garage! pic.twitter.com/Yrzld2PZXn Natalie Worrall (@NatsWorrall) April 22, 2020 Birds Day Out: Four peacocks invade a garage, mechanics hangout with them after initial shock https://t.co/KrmQ7UAv4u pic.twitter.com/63KpRWM7wu Guwahati Times (@guwahatitimes6) April 26, 2020 The lockdown violators seemed to like the look of the place as they ended up spending most of the day there, Ewbank told Kentonline.com. He also explained that the garage was open amid lockdown to provide essential services and that the staff was following social distancing measures, as well as wearing masks and washing hands regularly to keep Covid-19 at bay. The peacocks are not the only the only animals who seem to be taking advantage of lockdown to explore cities left deserted by humans. From sea lions in Argentina to wild goats in Japan, touristy animals the world over have been taking to the streets across the world. In the UK itself, a group of fallow deer were seen grazing in London earlier in April. A herd of Kashmir goats was also seen touring the sea-side town of Llandudno in Wales. A father, son and nephew have been warned not to post any messages on social media to a rival family with whom they have a feud or they will end up in jail. Gerard Stokes (aged 45), his son Gerald Stokes (aged 19) and his nephew, Patrick Paidin Stokes (aged 20), of Hollyhill in Cork appeared before Cork District Court where they were told that they faced imprisonment if they made any contact with the rival family. Judge Olann Kelleher said the terms of bail the for the three men would be considered breached if they posted messages on Facebook or any form of social media aimed at the McCarthy and Faulkner families. The three men were charged with violent disorder at the Blarney Filling Station in Co. Cork on April 16 as part of an ongoing feud between the Traveller families. Paidin Stokes was also charged with producing an article, namely a hurley, in the course of the dispute at the filling station. The men agreed to agreed to abide by terms of bail set down by violent disorder during the court hearing. The incident, where a member of the Faulkner family was assaulted, was filmed by another man and posted online. It is the latest in a series of social media posts where the two factions have threatened violence against each other. Detective Garda Mossie Leahy gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in relation to all three men. He told the court that none of the trio made any reply to the charges when they were put to them after caution. Inspector Denis Lynch said that gardai had no objection to bail once the men were willing to abide by a number of stringent bail conditions. Gardai asked that Gerard and Gerald Stokes continue to live at their home address at St Anthonys Park, Hollyhill. They also wanted Paidin Stokes to reside at his home at a separate address in the same park. Gardai said that they wanted the men to sign on at Gurranabraher Garda Station three times a week and to have no contact, direct or indirect, with the named families. Det. Garda Leahy said gardai were also seeking for all three accused to abide by the Governments 2km limit on movement during the coronavirus pandemic and any further restrictions that the Government might introduce. Free legal aid was granted in the case as none of the men were employed. Judge Kelleher remanded the men on bail to appear in court on May 13. By Trend In accordance with the action plan approved by the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers, the program of paying a certain part of salaries to the hired employees working in the spheres affected by the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) is being implemented, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy. A list of taxpayers who received financial state support until April 24 is as follows: Amount of funds envisaged for taking the measures 215 million manat ($126 million) Taxpayers who appealed for state support The number of hired employees in business entities 21,432 taxpayers 224,602 people Financial assistance amount including the amount of funds envisaged for payment for the first month (50 percent) 77.9 million manat ($45.8 million) 38.9 million manat ($22.9 million) The number of taxpayers who were actually provided with the funds 16,814 taxpayers The number of hired employees accounting for these taxpayers 162,217 people The amount of the paid funds 37.005 million manat ($21.8 million) (1 USD = 1.7 AZN on April 26) --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz A police car patrols the promenade in Brighton on Saturday. (PA) The final number of people who die from coronavirus in the UK could be over 100,000 if the lockdown restrictions are lifted too early, a government adviser has warned. Professor Neil Ferguson from Imperial College London, which is helping track the spread of the disease, said lifting lockdown measures altogether could put high-risk groups in considerable danger. Asked if younger generations should be allowed out of lockdown if the infection rate stabilises, he said that strategy would leave older people unable to be truly isolated. "In practical terms, you would require a very high level of effective shielding for that to be a viable strategy, he told UnHerd. A man walks past a message reading We love NHS" in the window of a closed-down pub outside The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London on Saturday. (PA) "If you just achieve 80 per cent shielding - and 80 per cent reduction in infection risk in those groups - we still project that you would get more than 100,000 deaths this year from that kind of strategy. "The most vulnerable people are also the people who most need care and most need interaction with the health system and are are least able to be truly isolated." Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice It comes as Dominic Raab rejected fresh calls for an early easing of the coronavirus lockdown on Sunday morning. The foreign secretary, who is deputising for Boris Johnson in the Prime Ministers absence, said the outbreak was still at a "delicate and dangerous" stage. People queue outside a B&Q in Wallasey, Wirral on Saturday. (PA) Mr Raab said the Government would proceed "cautiously" in order to avoid a second peak in the outbreak. "We are at a delicate and dangerous stage," he told Sky News's Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme. "We need to make sure that the next steps are sure-footed, which is why we are proceeding very cautiously and we are sticking to the scientific advice with the social-distancing measures at this time, whilst doing all the homework to make sure that we are prepared in due course for the next phase." Story continues It come as the UK death toll in hospitals rose past 20,000 on Saturday, as health officials had previously hoped that in the best case scenario they could limit this figure to 20,000 or below. Coronavirus: what happened today? Click here to sign up to the latest news, advice and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter North Perry Village Council is hoping to soon gain insight into the best way to control shoreline erosion at its Village Hall property. At a special meeting earlier this month, council approved an $11,500 work order authorizing Village Engineer Rob Jurs to develop several possible strategies, with designs and cost estimates, to battle the erosion that has decimated a bluff overlooking Lake Erie on the northern side of the Village Hall land at 4449 Lockwood Road. Mayor Ed Klco estimated that North Perry has lost at least 80 feet of land on its Village Hall property because of the erosion. To keep curious visitors from wandering too close to the bluffs edge, the village has installed a portable fence and attached a sign to a tree saying, Danger Erosion Keep Out. During an April 16 work session that preceded a special meeting the same night, Jurs said he and other engineers at LJB Inc. would be working on completing several different designs for erosion control along the Village Hall shoreline, and then calculating costs for each option. Id like to start getting some hard numbers for council, Jurs said during the April 16 gathering of council, which took place remotely through a video and audio conference because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Jurs said his goal is to have two scenarios for erosion control that he can review and discuss with council at its next regular meeting on May 7. Klco said he and council are trying to figure out what will work best to prevent more of the Village Hall property from getting washed into Lake Erie. When council looks over the designs from Jurs, itll mark the second time this year it has considered an erosion control proposal for the Village Hall site. During a special meeting on Jan. 16, council approved a motion, on an emergency basis, to move forward with a lake shore erosion control project for the Village Hall property at a cost not to exceed $700,000. However, fewer than two weeks later, at a special meeting on Jan. 27, council voted to rescind the same motion, which canceled the project. Members approved that motion to rescind after coming out of an executive session that lasted about a half-hour, meeting minutes showed. At the time council approved and rescinded the $700,000 erosion control project, the village was receiving engineering services from CT Consultants. It wasnt until March 5 that council approved a resolution for the village to enter into an agreement with LJB Inc., which employs Jurs, to provide North Perry with engineering and related services. If and when council selects a specific erosion control project for the Village Hall property, questions likely will arise about how to pay for the endeavor. Klco began working last year with other mayors whose communities contain Lake Erie shoreline to create a shared Special Improvement District aimed at reducing erosion. The SID a concept created in 2019 by Ohio Senate Bill 51 would encompass each municipality that participates and allow property owners to finance erosion protection through voluntary special assessments of up to 30 years on their property tax bills. Several North Perry Village residents have expressed interest in joining the SID if it forms. North Perry Village also has been looking at designating its Village Hall property as part of the SID, which would provide a means of financing the erosion control project over a longer stretch of time. Klco said at the April 16 meeting that Lake County commissioners are now spearheading efforts to form the Special Improvement District. But not much action has taken place recently regarding the SID, as fighting novel coronavirus has become the top priority for state and local lawmakers. The expert behind the smartphone app that ministers hope will track and trace potential coronavirus victims and keep infections down has warned it will require a 60 per cent take-up to be successful. Professor Christophe Fraser also agreed that lives would have been saved if the government had begun contact tracing earlier, instead of only starting recruitment now. And he suggested up to 6 million Britons have already contracted the infection, saying: Somewhere between three and maybe up to 10 per cent of the population. The UK is poised to follow in the footsteps of hi-tech tracking trailblazers such as Singapore and Israel by developing software to detect who has been in contact with someone with virus symptoms. NHSX, the health services in-house digital team, is leading the work for health secretary Matt Hancock, who is an enthusiast, with hopes it will launch within weeks. The technology would detect when two smartphone owners are within 2m of each other and check their status against a database of Covid-19 carriers. If either party triggers an alert, the other would get a warning and possibly an order to isolate themselves as well. But in Singapore, the app has been downloaded by less than one in five people and Prof Fraser, who is leading the Oxford University team developing it, was clear that a high take-up was essential. For this intervention alone to stop resurgence of the epidemic, about 60 per cent of the population would have to use the app, he told the BBCs Andrew Marr Show. How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Show all 6 1 /6 How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Milan, Italy REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities North Jakarta, Indonesia REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Jakarta, Indonesia REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Venice, Italy REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities New Delhi, India REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Islamabad, Pakistan REUTERS Now that number may be a bit smaller if there are other interventions going on, which we hope there will be; social distancing, large community testing and indeed manual contact tracing. The government has been under fire for only starting the recruitment of 18,000 community infection-chasers having stopped contact tracing in mid-March, as the virus took hold in the UK. Asked if he thought pursuing this policy earlier could have saved lives, Prof Fraser said: I think so. I worked on the Sars epidemic in 2003 and testing and tracing is really a cornerstone of how you stop a serious infection. And I do think that strategy scaled up is tremendously effective. Other experts have cautioned that the app will be unable to achieve what Mr Hancock has claimed and is no substitute for the shoe leather of staff carrying out tracing. Some fear a blizzard of false warnings could actually make things worse and risk undermining public confidence. The UK app will use the short-range wireless technology Bluetooth, but there are fears it is too unreliable and inaccurate for two moving targets. Work is underway to improve this, but wont be ready in time for this pandemic, Dr Jaap Haartsen, the inventor of Bluetooth, told a Dutch paper last week. Update: The system was still down as of Sunday night. Residents looking to certify their weekly unemployment benefits in N.J. on Sunday logged in and got a disappointing message: Our application to certify for weekly benefits is not available at this time. We are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and apologize for the inconvenience. Please check back for updates, it said. Now the outage is affecting all unemployment application systems, the Labor Department said. ATTENTION CUSTOMERS: Our online applications are not available at this time. We are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and apologize for the inconvenience. Please check back for updates, the website now says. It was another frustration with an antiquated computer system that has been flooded with an unprecedented number of unemployment claims in the wake of the coronavirus shutdown. The NJ. Labor Department said an information technology (IT) team is working as quickly as possible to resolve the issue, a spokesman said. Phone contact has been eliminated, this morning we are unable AGAIN to file the weekly claim as the system is down, just like last week! one reader said. We want dates and specifics on how far they are in the backlog and when we can expect our money. There is no one to hold accountable. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage Others were more understanding. Im not upset about not being able to certify because I understand they have to update their antiquated computer systems, hopefully with better info, said one applicant, a freelancer who said hes been waiting for benefits for six weeks. So people will just need to keep checking back, the Labor Departments message said. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Karin Price Mueller may be reached at bamboozled@njadvancemedia.com. Welcome to the News Release Wire Selection Control Panel. Instant News Wire One of the Nobel laureates responsible for discovering HIV has turned heads with a recent claim that the novel coronavirus was created by scientists, possibly in the process of seeking an AIDS vaccine. While support for Luc Montagnier's view is almost nonexistent in the scientific community, its existence underscores how little the world knows about the pathogen behind the global pandemic. The French virologist's assertion added to the charged debate over the origin of the virus, with U.S. officials suggesting that it had escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the first cases appeared. In an interview last week, the French virologist cited a paper by mathematician Jean-Claude Perez, in which Montagnier himself is thanked in the acknowledgments. The paper purports to show that within a narrow section of the genome of the new coronavirus, six fragments of genetic information from HIV were found. The presence of HIV-related elements in such a small fraction -- less than 1% -- of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, suggests that these could not have been inserted naturally, Perez and Montagnier argue. The virus must have been artificially engineered, they say. Leading French newspapers and magazines, including Le Monde and Le Figaro, reported Montagnier's comments. But other scientists are skeptical. Unlike the strict screening put in place for prestigious academic journals, Perez's paper was published on a site that does not require prior peer review. Researchers from France's Institut Pasteur and the National Center for Scientific Research have rejected the view that the virus is man-made, arguing that exchanging of information among viruses occurs frequently in nature. The skepticism is not confined to France. The virus that causes COVID-19 "has mutated at irregular intervals," said Jiro Yasuda, a professor specializing in emerging viral diseases at Nagasaki University in Japan, who has examined the genome of SARS-CoV-2. "The idea that it's been artificially modified is hard to believe." A group of scientists at institutions including U.S.-based Scripps Research published an article in the respected journal Nature last month outlining evidence that the virus is "not the product of purposeful manipulation." The spike proteins on the surface of the virus are not optimally configured to bind to receptors on human cells, suggesting that it is the result of natural selection rather than artificial engineering, the paper found. The researchers also state that the overall molecular structure of SARS-CoV-2 is very different from those of other known coronaviruses, whereas a human-developed virus would probably have been developed from preexisting structures. The paper puts forward two main possibilities to explain the pathogen's origin: It evolved to become more infectious either in animal hosts such as bats, or after human-to-human transmission began. The former scenario is worse from a containment perspective, since it suggests the virus could still be circulating in animals and potentially jump back to humans after the current pandemic ends. The paper acknowledges the theoretical possibility that the virus mutated in cell culture in a laboratory before being accidentally released, but dismisses this scenario as implausible. Working out how the pandemic began will be important for planning future defenses and treatment strategies. But it is all but impossible at this stage to determine the answer, the paper says. While samples of the virus have been collected and its genome sequenced around the world, the earliest cases in China remain crucial to tracing its path to human transmission as well as predicting how it might evolve. Researchers have relied heavily on the SARS-CoV-2 genome first released by Chinese researchers in January. China was lauded for offering data much faster than in the severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, outbreak of 2002 and 2003. Widespread use of inexpensive and fast sequencing equipment, along with technology enabling scientists to study protein structures, have sped along research into the coronavirus. Development of vaccines and treatments began almost as soon as the Chinese data became available, and a number of candidates have already emerged. The number of papers on the novel coronavirus has skyrocketed since it first surfaced, with roughly 6,000 appearing in the PubMed search engine. In many cases, papers have been exempted from the strict peer review processes required under normal circumstances But sharing of information among scientists is ultimately built on trust. Should China or any other country prove to be hiding genome data, the foundations of much of the research done on the virus could be shaken. Nikkei By Express News Service CHENNAI: About 1,200 families from the Agarwal community in Chennai have distributed over 1,200 ration kits worth Rs 72 lakh, according to a statement issued by a representative of the community. The ration kits are distributed in areas like Redhills, Tondiarpet, Anna Nagar, Tiruvottiyur, Vyasarpadi, Ambattur, Ponneri, Avadi, Madhavarm, Thiruttani and in the remote villages of Chengalpet and Tiruvallur districts, with the help of district authorities and volunteers, the statement said, adding that the community has also made a contribution of Rs 32 lakh to the Chief Ministers Relief Fund. Rs 72 lakh worth of ration kits were distributed in areas, including Redhills, Tondiarpet, Anna Nagar and Tiruvottiyur The coronavirus pandemic and lockdown have necessitated drastic operational changes at South Africas major TV broadcasters. The SABC and Etv have implemented several measures to ensure they are able to continue providing programming to South Africans. This includes their role as media institutions, which is regarded as an essential service during the lockdown. These broadcasters play an important role in providing South Africans with important information and updates about the coronavirus pandemic. SABC As the countrys public broadcaster, the SABC is mandated to use its channels to keep the South African public informed. SABC Spokesperson Mmoni Seapolelo told MyBroadband the organisation has undertaken a number of initiatives to assist with nationwide efforts to reduce COVID-19 infections and curb the spread of the virus. From the onset, the SABC as the primary carrier of public content and messaging has had to put contingency and disaster recovery plans in place to ensure that the corporation continues to serve its public service mandate by keeping the nation informed during the lockdown period, Seapolelo stated. Critically, the public broadcasters role is to ensure that millions of South Africans are provided with important and credible information regarding COVID-19 across its television, radio and digital platforms, Seapolelo said. Business continuity measures Seapolelo detailed a number of activities the SABC has undertaken to ensure it is able to continue operations. Examples of major activities include: Establishing an off-site broadcast area which is capacitated with numerous Outside Broadcast (OB) vehicles which cater for television and radio broadcasts. Displacing revenue-generating programming across platforms through simulcast on its free-to-air channels to accommodate all public announcements and media briefings relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. Amplifying news and current affairs content. Focussing general programming more on information regarding COVID-19. Partnering with the Department of Basic Education regarding a multimedia learner support programme. On the issue of content, Seapolelo said the SABC had enough material for certain programming, but the continued broadcasting of local content is still the subject of discussions. Currently, the SABC has a sufficient soapie content offering to cover the duration of the lockdown period, and crucial engagements are held with relevant stakeholders concerning the organisations delivery on the set local content quotas, as well as possible essential service permission for certain productions, Seapolelo said. Effects on safety and staff Seapolelo noted that the SABC is not considering salary cuts at the moment, as this would impact the livelihoods of its employees. She stated that the broadcaster has prioritised the health and safety of the staff members required to deliver its service. While many employers have let their workers perform their duties remotely, this was not possible for all jobs within the SABC. Given the essential service that the SABC provides, the organisation had to make swift and important decisions regarding its employees, Seapolelo said. One of these decisions was that staff performing certain critical business continuity services would be required to report to the respective SABC offices during the lockdown. Those who are able to perform their duties remotely have been permitted to do so. Etv Etv Managing Director Marlon Davids noted that the free-to-air-broadcaster has been able to continue broadcasting during the lockdown. Our channels have remained operational during the lockdown period despite us reducing the amount of staff who access our premises, David said. He added that many functions were being carried out remotely by employees working from home. For situations where employees are required to report to Etvs premises, hygiene protocol was aligned with the WHOs advice, Davids said. Where employees are still performing specified functions on our premises, we are following the measures and guidelines prescribed by the World Health Organisation to minimise the spread of the COVID-19 virus, he stated. The broadcaster was unable to comment on questions about potential salary cuts and retrenchments. Manoj Viswanathan By Express News Service KOCHI: A pilots job is always challenging, says Captain Abdul Muneer. The IndiGo pilot, who has been operating cargo flights from Kochi to Muscat during the lockdown period, is not one to be weighed down by the COVID-19 threat. These are testing times. The fear of the pandemic has spread worldwide. Airports and flights are considered especially risky, as many passengers have contracted the disease while flying. However, we are expected to be tough in the face of a challenge, he says. Recalling his experience transporting cargo while the outbreak is at its peak, Muneer says he was never terrified of the potential consequences. Reports from across the world are scary, but he wanted to grab destiny by the horns. When my fleet captain called me up and asked if I was willing to fly cargo to West Asia, I readily accepted the challenge. Our group of pilots has been working tirelessly since the announcement of lockdown, and I wanted to be part of the team. We are seasoned to deal with such challenges. The airlines too provides us all possible support, he explains. He adds that if proper precautions are taken, the risk will be minimal. Muneer had flown cargo from Kochi to Muscat on April 19. I drove from my house to the Cochin International Airport in my own car. The airport was pretty deserted. In fact, even the number of IndiGo staff there were limited. They gave me face masks and hand gloves before proceeding to the aircraft. We stayed only for one-and-a-half hours in Muscat. The entire operation was very smooth. There was no air traffic as the passenger flights are currently grounded, Muneer recounts. He points out that the government has set stringent norms for operating cargo flights. The Ministry of Aviation and External Affairs have issued guidelines for operating services. We are not supposed to step out of the aircraft after reaching the destination, and we should consume food only while inside the flight, he says. Muneer, who had operated flights to Singapore, Bangkok and West Asian countries in February while the COVID scare was spreading, remembers there was not much panic at the time. There was no rush at the airports and people were wearing masks. However, the situation was not as scary, he says. IndiGo has operated 70 cargo flights since the announcement of the lockdown. On April 18, on a flight from Kochi to Abu Dhabi, the airlines had used the aircrafts cabin space to load cargo for the first time ever. 70 flights operated since lockdown IndiGo has operated 70 cargo flights since the announcement of the lockdown. On April 18, on a flight from Kochi to Abu Dhabi, the airlines had used the aircrafts cabin space to load cargo for the first time ever. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marchio Irfan Gorbiano (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, April 27 2020 Recent controversies surrounding the perceived dual loyalties of certain expert presidential staffers have damaged public trust. Critics and watchdogs are advocating for a better mechanism to prevent future instances of apparent conflicts of interest. Presidential staffer Andi Taufan Garuda Putra drew widespread criticism when he asked district heads across Indonesia to support a COVID-19 relief program led by his company, PT Amartha Mikro Fintek, in an official government letter dated April 1. He has since apologized and retracted the letter. Another presidential staffer and the cofounder of education technology start-up Ruangguru, Adamas Belva Devara, experienced public backlash after his company was appointed as a partner in the governments recently unveiled preemployment card program. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login In March, a story broke that a Phoenix man had died and his wife had almost died because they drank fish tank cleaner. Wanda Lenius, the wife, claimed that she and her husband, having heard President Trump recommend chloroquine and knowing that their fish tank cleaner had chloroquine phosphate, drank the cleaner in a panicked bid to protect themselves from the virus. She got sick; he died. The story would ordinarily have been just an oddity, except for the fact that the media excitedly accused Trump of killing people. Within a few days, it emerged that Wanda was unlikely to have relied on Trumps advice because she was a fanatic Trump hater. I theorized that the story sounded like the plot for an Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers murder mystery. Both authors wrote stories in which the murderer ingested a small amount of the poison to avoid suspicion. Consistent with a murder mystery theme, Techno Fog did some sleuthing and discovered that Wanda had a very checkered emotional history. Court records revealed she had a history of paranoia, depression, alcohol abuse, mental breakdowns, and anger, and that she was unhappy in her marriage. More information has now emerged that makes it even less likely that Wanda and her departed husband, Gary, just happened to drink chloroquine phosphate on Trumps recommendation because they were scared about the Wuhan virus. Doing the legwork that the mainstream media refuses to do, The Washington Free Beacons Alana Goodman tracked down people who knew Gary Lenius. They paint a picture of a calm, rational engineer who would have understood the difference between medicinal chloroquine and fish tank cleaner, and who never would have acted as impulsively as Wanda described: [F]riends of 68-year-old Gary Lenius, the Arizona man who passed away last month from drinking a fish tank cleaner that contained an ingredient, chloroquine phosphate, that Trump had touted as a potential coronavirus cure, say they are still struggling to understand what drove an engineer with an extensive science background to do something so wildly out of character. These people describe Lenius as intelligent and levelheaded, not prone to the sort of reckless and impulsive behavior he reportedly engaged in on the day he died. This account is based on interviews with three people who knew Lenius well and paints a picture of a troubled marriage characterized by Wanda Leniuss explosive anger. What bothers me about this is that Gary was a very intelligent man, a retired [mechanical] engineer who designed systems for John Deere in Waterloo, Iowa, and I really cant see the scenario where Gary would say, Yes, please, I would love to drink some of that Koi fish tank cleaner, one of his close friends told the Washington Free Beacon. It just doesnt make any sense. Garys friends describe an interesting man whom people liked. They were less enthusiastic about Wanda, a woman who verbally abused Gary, routinely humiliating him in public: Wanda would constantly berate Gary in public, said a source who asked that all identifying information be withheld. Everyone was embarrassed for him, but he outwardly did not seem to care much. In our opinion, their marriage was seen outwardly to be as one-sided as a marriage possibly could be: Gary worshiped Wanda, this person said, adding that his wife would routinely call him a doofus and humiliate him in public. Leniuss friend recalled Wanda Lenius destroying her husbands aircraft model collection after he returned home late for a meal. Shortly after their marriage, Wanda ended up charged with domestic abuse for hitting Gary and trying to bean him with a birdhouse. Wanda was also litigious, for she sued two former employees for various combinations of sexual harassment, age discrimination, and gender discrimination. She claimed to have been traumatized by both experiences. Presumably, the police are investigating what really happened on the fateful night Gary died. The only thing Im still trying to figure out is how I could have missed the fact that this is the case of A fish-tank-cleaner-eater called Wanda. (You may all groan now.) British airline Virgin Atlantic was still talking with the UK government about a bailout package to cope with the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic on travel, a company spokesperson has said. It comes as a report claimed that founder Richard Branson was seeking a buyer for the airline and had set an end of May deadline for a sale, the Metro newspaper reported on Sunday citing the Sunday Telegraph as saying. The report also claimed that talks with the government for a 500 million pounds ($618 million) bailout package had been effectively shelved. But the airlines spokesperson said that it was incorrect to say that the company has set a deadline to seek a buyer. Because of significant costs to our business caused by unprecedented market conditions which the COVID-19 crisis has brought with it, we are exploring all available options to obtain additional external funding, she was quoted as saying by the newspaper. She said talks with the British government were ongoing and constructive. Virgin Atlantic is based in Britain and is 51 per cent owned by Bransons Virgin group and 49 per cent owned by US airline Delta, reports the Metro newspaper. The pandemic has led to a massive fall in global air travel demand. Australias second-biggest airline Virgin Australia Holdings, which is a part of Virgin Group, has already succumbed to third-party led restructuring that could lead to a sale. Last week, Branson had said that Virgin Atlantic would only survive the outbreak if it gets financial support from the UK government. This would be in the form of a commercial loan it wouldnt be free money and the airline would pay it back, Branson said in a blog post to staff on April 20. (This story has been published from a wire agency without modifications to the text) Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter THE VALLEY ANGUILLA:--- The samples sent to rule out COVID-19 in the sudden death investigation have tested negative. Due to the exigencies of the situation, an initial test was done in Sint Maarten on Thursday, April 23rd and the result, which was received at 9:13 pm on Thursday, is negative. Furthermore, in keeping with the normal quality assurance practices, a sample was also sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA). That sample sent on Friday, April 24th, has also tested negative and the result was received on Saturday, April 25th at 8:12 pm. At the present time, there are no suspected cases and no evidence of transmission of the COVID-19 virus within Anguilla. Furthermore, all three confirmed cases have now recovered and it has been more than 28 days since our last confirmed case. This is undoubtedly an important milestone and a great achievement for Anguilla. However, in order to maintain this status, we must remain steadfast in our efforts to prevent this virus from establishing a foothold in our community. The Ministry of Health urges residents to continue to comply with hygienic practices, respiratory etiquette, and social distancing measures. Furthermore, should the current epidemiological situation prevail, members of the general public may anticipate a de-escalation of the current restrictions on movements and mass gatherings in a phased approach over the upcoming weeks? The Ministry of Health and the Government of Anguilla maintain that the health and safety of the nation continue to be the utmost priority. The Ministry will continue to provide timely and accurate information as the situation continues to evolve. Persons with any questions or concerns should call the Ministrys hotlines at 476-7627, that is 476 SOAP or 584-4263, that is 584-HAND. The Ministry of Health will continue to provide timely updates through our media partners, our official Facebook page or at www.beatcovid19.ai. Great Flu, also known as the Spanish flu, infected 500 million people around the world, killing over 50 million. (Image: wikimedia.org) The HRD Ministry has asked universities to study how India handled the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918 and what measures were taken to boost the economy. The ministry has also advised the universities to set up research teams and study the levels of awareness of COVID-19 in villages near their campuses. "The HRD minister has desired that universities should study how India handled the 1918 pandemic (H1N1 Virus) and what measures were taken to boost the economy after the pandemic," a senior ministry official said in a communication to the universities. Coronavirus LIVE Updates "It has also been desired that universities and institutions in India should study 5-6 villages adjoining or adopted by them regarding best works done in response to COVID-19. The study can be around what the awareness levels in the village are and how they withstood various challenges posed by COVID-19," the official added. The HRD Ministry has been encouraging academic institutions to make research contributions to aid the fight against the deadly coronavirus. COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show According to the Union Health Ministry, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 779 in the country on Saturday and the number of cases stood at 24,942, registering an increase of 56 fatalities and 1,490 cases since Friday evening. The 56 deaths were the maximum reported in the country in a span of 24 hours, the ministry said. The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 18,953, while 5,209 people have been cured and discharged, and one patient has migrated, it added. Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here. Three men have been arrested after the car they were in failed to stop for a Garda checkpoint. Officers were carrying out a Covid-19 checkpoint in Swords, north county Dublin, when a car failed to stop for them at around 4.35pm today. (Natural News) A social media sensation is drawing attention to herself once again with new claims that the Chinese government is lying about the number of people in China who have died from the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). According to Ruomei Zhou, who first became popular on Twitter after calling on all of China to apologize to the United States for polluting it with the virus, millions, not thousands, of people have died in China due to complications associated with the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). While the communist Chinese regime claims that just under 5,000 people have died there from the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), Zhou says that as many as five million people have actually died, and that a major coverup is taking place. Chinese authorities admit that early on the count of people who died at home and in hospitals was probably too low because of tracking failures. But the official tally of deaths is nowhere close to what Zhou is claiming. Sky News, however, seems to agree with her. The news outlet says that the British government was informed that China was spreading disinformation about the actual number of deaths, and that the country lied about the extent of their own outbreak by a factor of 40. Intelligence officials here in the U.S. also reportedly told the White House that the Chinese government has been playing games with its Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) numbers to make it appear as though the death count is far lower than it actually is. Even Caixin, a media outlet based out of China, reported on thousands of urns that were supposedly spotted in Wuhan, the epicenter of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). Listen below to The Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks about how the antibody tests for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) are producing a very high number of false positives: Another critic of China says death count probably more like 160,000 As to where Zhou is getting her information, she claims that it is coming from insiders with secretive access to state data. These same sources, which she says are telling her real China news, are also highly critical of the communist Chinese regime. Zhou was able to escape communist China and come to America back in June 2019. This was after she fled to New Zealand following an arrest in her home country that was predicated upon her use of a virtual private network (VPN) to access foreign websites. Speaking during an exclusive interview with the Daily Star (United Kingdom), Zhou contended that five million people died and tens of thousands of million people were infected [sic] across China by Feb. 5, long before the U.S. started to see an influx of new cases. A doctor inside Wuhan told me that they [the Chinese government] cut down the internet, the WiFi, she added. They confiscate the phones of doctors and nurses and threaten to cancel their medical certificate. So, I havent got any videos from Wuhan since then. We had previously reported about the Chinese coverup of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) back in late February and early March when it was completely out of control in Wuhan. At the time, the Chinese government was insistent that the virus was no big deal, even though alleged insiders were claiming that the infection and death counts were substantially higher than what was being reported. Dr. Gabriel Choi Kin, another outspoken critic of communist China, also believes that the true death count from the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) in China is higher, though not quite to the tune of five million. I would speculate less than that, hes quoted as saying. Eight-thousand deaths times by 20 may be more likely. To keep up with the latest news about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), be sure to check out Pandemic.news. Sources for this article include: DailyStar.co.uk NaturalNews.com The tally of COVID-19 patients in Gujarat grew to 3,301 after 230 new cases were reported on Sunday, while the count of dead due to the infection reached 151 with the addition of 18 victims, a health official said. Ahmedabad reported 178 out of the 230 fresh cases, taking the number of cases in the district to 2,181. All the 18 deaths reported on Sunday were from Ahmedabad, due to which the toll in the district grew to 104, the official said. Ten out of the 18 the deceased suffered from co-morbid conditions. "Apart from Ahmedabad, Surat reported 30 new cases, Anand eight, Gandhinagar two, Rajkot and Vadodara four each, and Banaskantha, Kheda, Navsari and Patan one each," Principal Secretary (Health), Jayanti Ravi said. Total 31 patients were discharged on Sunday, taking the number of recovered cases to 313. There are 2,831 active cases in the state. Of these patients, 27 are on ventilator, she said. The COVID-19 figures in Gujarat as follows: Positive cases: 3,301,new cases: 230, deaths: 151, discharge: 313, active cases: 2,831; people tested so far: 51,091. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Minister for Health has announced an additional 1.1m investment in online mental health supports. The supports are to help people - especially health services staff - manage their mental health during and following the Covid-19 pandemic. The funds will be used to develop additional skills courses to help people manage stress as well as new online counselling supports for members of the public, health services staff and volunteers. The money will also be used to created additional supports for Leaving Cert students. A statement from the Department of Health revealed that since the pandemic began there has been an increase of 44% in contacts to SpunOut. They said: The numbers of people getting in touch due to anxiety and stress has increased by 100%. During this time over 50% of texters get in touch because they have no one else to talk to and almost half (48%) of texters get in touch because they want to talk to someone who didn't know them. They also said the there have been 16,000 calls to Alone with 77% reporting they live alone The Department said loneliness is a common theme among callers. They also said there has been a tenfold growth in people seeking online counselling through MyMind. Of these, 35% are seeking support for anxiety and stress and up to 20% making appointments to seek assistance with depression. Simon Harris Simon Harris said: "The pandemic has cause hurt, pain, tragedy for many people. It has also left many people feeling alone, isolated, anxious and stressed. The additional funding announced today will allow us to increase our reach and help more people. We know also that our frontline staff need our help more than ever. Every day, they go to work and place themselves in harm's way to protect us. The HSE has begun some work with staff helping them to manage stress, to take some rest and how to build resilience. In the past two weeks the site was accessed by 1,200 professionals. This funding will allow us to help more frontline staff. We know staying at home is difficult. This is why we have out together a range of supports through gov.ie/together to help you through these difficult times. But we also know many people will need greater help and that is why YourMentalHealth is there to offer you assistance and guidance at a time when people need it the most. This funding is an initial step but will allow us to offer some support when you need it the most. The funding will be used to develop additional online supports such as: online life skills courses supporting people in things like managing stress and developing good sleep hygiene providing new online counselling supports for members of the public and health services staff and volunteers moderated online support groups for members of the public and for staff expanding provision of telepsychiatry services for existing users of mental health services creating additional supports for Leaving Certificate students The HSEs Chief Operations Officer, Anne OConnor, added: "We know that the impact of Covid-19 has been a new challenge for us all. Every individual, family and community in Ireland has had to adapt significantly in recent weeks and this has likely affected how we all feel and our sense of mental health. We also know that bereaved families, and our frontline staff, have had a particularly challenging time. Minding their, and our own, mental health is more important now, than ever before. We want everyone to know that there are many supports available and how to use them during this time. Licensed clinical social workers Nikiki Stovall and Sarah Nitz believe its always a good time to start taking care of your mental health, especially during a time of social distancing and self-isolation. Around 1,000 people ignored coronavirus lockdown orders and packed into an apartment to party in Chicagos West Side over the weekend. Videos emerged on social media showing the raucous group dancing, drinking, and chatting in a packed room on Saturday, ignoring warnings to practice social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Chicagos leaders Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Governor J. B. Pritzker have been strict in their lockdown orders, barring people from leaving their homes except for essential trips and banning gatherings of over 10 people through May 30. However, the group of youngsters defied all preventative measures and gathered for an evening of fun. Around 1,000 people ignored coronavirus lockdown orders and packed into an apartment to party in Chicagos West Side on Saturday Videos emerged on social media showing the raucous group dancing, drinking, and chatting in a packed room on Saturday, ignoring warnings to practice social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 Some partiers were seen wearing face masks despite standing mere centimeters from other people in the packed room, ignoring social distancing and quarantine orders Some partiers were seen wearing face masks despite standing mere centimeters from other people in the packed room. '[There] were about 1,000 people in the yard and in the house. It was really crowded and hot,' one 23-year-old attendee said to MTO News. 'Im not worried about [the coronavirus]but if I didnt have it before, I probably got it now. Oh well,' she added. The source said attendees were enjoying themselves and were not worried about the coronavirus pandemic - despite 41,777 cases of COVID-19 and 1,874 deaths in the state. Social media users voiced their outrage over the gathering as Chicago reels from the impact of COVID-19 In Cook County, which covers the city of Chicago there have been over 29,000 cases of the virus and more than 1,200 deaths. Video of the gathering was shared on social media Saturday night thats racked up more than 850,000 views and thousands of outraged comments. 'Its toooo many people in there,' one Facebook user wrote. 'Theres ppl wearing them mask incorrectly maaann,' another added. '[I] woulda stood at the top floor and Sprayed Lysol Straight down,' one Facebook viewer wrote. Chicagos leaders Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Governor J. B. Pritzker have been strict in their lockdown orders, barring people from leaving their homes except for essential trips A COVID-19 drive-thru testing site at Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago pictured April 3 A woman is taken from a Chicago Fire Department ambulance into the emergency room at Roseland Community Hospital on April 21 amid the coronavirus pandemic 'This upsets me because everyone is thinking about themselves and not others that they may be spreading it to. Death just doesnt seem like something to be serious about to most during this pandemic,' Chicago resident Jayna Lynn commented on the video. 'The carelessness/selfishness shown here, is going to hurt so many, and knowing that is so disheartening. People are legit dying & from the looks of this, more deaths to come,' one Twitter user added. Last week Governor Pritzker extended lockdown orders through May 31 for Illinois. 'I know how badly we all want our normal lives back. But this is the part where we have to dig in and understand that the sacrifices weve made as a state to avoid a worst-case scenario are working and we need to keep going a little while longer to finish the job,' he said. The new order requires residents cover their faces in public spaces and practice social distancing. Chicagos Mayor commended the announcement as 'appropriate' and said she could extend the city's lockdown into June. Guwahati, Apr 26 (UNI) The Assam government has received enquiries for export of agricultural produce to middle East countries during the novel coronavirus pandemic-induced nationwide lockdown. Informing this at a press conference here today, state Transport and Industry Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said, We were intimated by the Agriculture department that a company has been in contact to export agricultural produce to Kuwait, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The company will be arranging its chartered flights for the purpose, and when they were placed in touch with us through the Agriculture department, they requested some assistance in the Civil Aviation ministry and customs clearance, he said. Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Samuel Nartey George has accused the Akufo-Addo government of supporting the Electoral Commission (EC) to perpetuate alleged illegalities. He said the resolve of the EC to defy a court order not to hold a workshop is a demonstration that the commission has the blessings of the presidency. Sam George spoke to the media after supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Saturday, besieged the City Escape Hotel to protest the said workshop. The Electoral Commission is doing what they are doing, they have the tacit approval and support from the Flagstaff. President Akufo-Addo is endorsing the illegality and irresponsibility of the Electoral Commission. What has happened to the rule of law? Jean Mensa cannot do what she is doing if the Flagstaff House does not approve of her actions. Police on Saturday began investigations into a complaint lodged by the NDC over an ongoing meeting at the City Escape Hotel in Accra. This was after party suspected that the said meeting is a conference by the EC which the court stopped from taking place after an injunction secured by the Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Sam Nartey George. The injunction was however issued for a meeting scheduled to take place at the City Escape Hotel in Prampram. The injunction is in place from April 24, 2020, to April 27, 2020. Some members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), led by some of its Members of Parliament and national Executives gathered at the hotel over the alleged workshop being held by the EC. The EC was planning to hold a national planning meeting and a training workshop to prepare and plan for the upcoming voter registration exercise. The programmes were scheduled to take place from Apri 24, 2020, to April 29, 2020, at the City Escape Hotel. The meeting was to be held in three different batches in order to observe the social distancing protocols amidst the outbreak of the coronavirus in Ghana. The plans for new register are currently on suspension because of the coronavirus pandemic. The voters registration exercise was initially scheduled to begin on April 18, due to COVID-19. Following the suspension, the EC had said it is collaborating with health experts to decide on a more favourable date depending on the prevalence rate of the virus. Nigeria and over 200 other countries are facing the coronavirus pandemic which has plagued the world in the past four months. As of the time of reporting, almost three million people have been infected with the virus with over 200,000 deaths reported globally. Aside from the pandemic, Nigeria is also still battling a Lassa fever outbreak. However, while the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 is increasing, there has been a decline in Lassa fever infections reported in the last two weeks. Here is a round up on these and some other health stories that made headlines last week Lassa Fever: Nigeria records no death in two weeks Nigerias tally of confirmed Lassa fever cases has risen to 979, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control disclosed. The public health agency in its weekly situation report on the disease said although new cases are being detected, there is a gradual decline in the number of infections reported in the country. NCDC said for the reporting week 16, Nigeria recorded no death from the virus. No death was also reported in week 15, as the death toll from the outbreak stood at 188. Coronavirus: Imo records first case as Nigeria confirms 87 new infections Nigeria on Saturday recorded 87 new cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19), the NCDC reported Sunday morning. The cases were reported from nine states, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 1182. Lagos remains the epicentre for the outbreak in Nigeria, while Imo state recorded its first case. Millions of children at risk with immunisation services disrupted amid COVID-19 pandemic Making its call at the start of the 2020 edition of World Immunisation Week, UNICEF said on Saturday that millions of children are in danger of missing life-saving vaccines against measles, diphtheria and polio due to disruptions in immunisation service as the world focuses on slowing down the spread of COVID-19. Last year, over 13 million children received no vaccines at all, and UNICEF is calling on governments to step up, warning disrupting immunisation services could leave even more of the worlds most marginalised children without access to life-saving vaccines. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, vaccines for measles, polio and other diseases were out of reach for 20 million children below the age of one every year. Given the current disruptions, UNICEF warned that this could create pathways to disastrous outbreaks in 2020 and well beyond. COVID-19: No evidence that people who recovered cant be re-infected WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) says there is no evidence that people who recovered from COVID-19 cannot be re-infected. In a Scientific Brief released from its headquarters in Geneva on Saturday and posted on its website, WHO warned against propagating the idea of COVID-19 immunity passport. Some governments have suggested that the detection of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, could serve as the basis for an immunity passport, it said, stressing that such suggestions are wrong. COVID-19: Nigeria has only 300 critical care doctors NMA The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has raised the alarm that the country has only 300 critical care doctors, a number grossly insufficient should Nigerias COVID-19 cases surge drastically. The association also said the various researches on vaccines and cure by university scholars in the country may be hampered by federal governments refusal to pay three months salaries it owes university workers. Speaking during the Morning Show on Arise TV, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, Tuesday, the President of NMA, Francis Faduyile, said these set of doctors trained to care for patients needing intensive care are in short supply in the country. Coronavirus: Wearing of face masks in public now compulsory Sanwo-Olu The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said on Saturday that wearing of face masks in public places is now compulsory in the state. Mr Sanwo-Olu said the state is firmly in the community transmission phase of the coronavirus pandemic and there is need for more precautions. He said failure by Lagosians to use face masks in public places would attract penalties and sanctions. U.S. coronavirus death toll exceeds 50,000 With the U.S. coronavirus death toll topping 51,000 and nearly one in six workers out of a job, Georgia, Oklahoma and several other states took tentative steps at reopening businesses on Friday, despite disapproval from President Donald Trump and medical experts. Advertisements Fitness clubs, hair salons, tattoo parlours and some other workplaces were allowed to open their doors by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, disregarding warnings from public health officials that easing restrictions too soon could lead to more infections and deaths, Reuters news agency reported. Deaths dropped sharply in New York and New Jersey. The governors of New York and New Jersey announced sharp drops in each states reported death toll on Sunday. Governor Cuomo said that 367 people in New York had been killed by the virus. The last time fewer than 375 deaths were reported in a single day in the state was March 31, when the single-day toll was 332. In total, 16,966 people in New York have been killed by the virus. The number of deaths reported Sunday was horrific, regardless of the overall drop, Mr. Cuomo said. There is no relative context to death, he said. Death is death. The governor said that 5,902 more people had tested positive for the virus and that 1,087 new coronavirus patients were hospitalized in New York on April 25. That represented a decrease of 685 patients from the previous day, bringing the hospitalization figure for the state to 12,839. Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey said on Twitter that 75 more people had died in the state, a steep drop from the 249 deaths announced the previous day and the lowest single-day toll in New Jersey since April 5. The state has now lost 5,938 people to the virus. Mr. Murphy said that 3,730 new cases of the virus were reported, for a total of 109,038 cases in the state. Rohani Tells Iran's Military To Remain Vigilant After Threats Exchanged With U.S. By RFE/RL April 25, 2020 President Hassan Rohani has called on Iran's armed forces to seek regional stability while maintaining vigilance against "provocations." The comments on April 24 came after days of rising tensions between Iran and the United States centered on threats involving the two countries' ships in the Persian Gulf. Rohani was quoted by state television as telling his defense minister that the country must "carefully follow strategies ensuring the sustainable stability of the region while maintaining vigilance and an authoritative presence in the area." State television reported that Rohani also spoke with the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Major General Hossein Salami, referring to "provocative actions by foreigners in the region and the need to maintain vigilance against these moves." Salami said on April 23 he had ordered his forces to target U.S. Navy ships if they "jeopardize our commercial vessels," warning that they "will answer any action by a decisive, effective, and quick counteraction." President Donald Trump tweeted the day before that he had instructed the U.S. Navy to fire on any Iranian ships that harass its ships at sea. Earlier this month, the U.S. military said 11 IRGC naval vessels came close to U.S. ships in the gulf, calling the moves "dangerous and provocative." Tehran blamed the United States for the incident. On April 23, Iran summoned the Swiss ambassador to Tehran, who represents U.S. interests in the Middle Eastern country, to complain about Trump's threat. Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Musavi said that the Swiss envoy was given a message to pass on to Washington that Iran will strongly defend its maritime rights in the Persian Gulf and respond to any threats, according to the IRIB news agency. Antagonism between Iran and the United States has sharpened since 2018, when Trump withdrew from a nuclear deal with six world powers and reimposed crippling sanctions. In January top IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq, and Iran retaliated by firing missiles at bases in Iraq where U.S. troops were stationed. The IRGC further stoked tensions on April 22 with the announcement of the launch of the country's first military satellite into orbit. The announcement drew protests from Washington, London, and Paris. With reporting by Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-rohani- persian-gulf-irgc/30575750.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Reyes Padilla can see the end result when he stares at a blank canvas. In the case of his latest project, the canvas was a 65- by 25-foot wall. Its a challenge that Padilla was up to. Planning began in January for the mural on the Gorman Industries building, at 12th and Bellamah NW. The heating and air conditioning distributor funded the entire project, and plans were moving forward at a good pace. Then in mid-March, it all came to a halt. A statewide stay-at-home order was issued to combat COVID-19. Padilla decided to practice social distancing, and the project remained unfinished. I had only been able to paint the bottom half, he says. Weeks later, Padilla found himself at home, itching to get back to work. With the possibility that the stay-at-home order would be extended, he got permission to get back to the mural. It was nice to get out and paint for a few days, he says. I had just gotten started, and we had a holdup with the scissor lift. Then the whole social distancing thing began to happen. We lost track of the mural for a few weeks. I started feeling like it needed to get done. Padilla was born and raised in Santa Fe, where he was engulfed by traditional Spanish Colonial art. Members of his family were involved in creating retablos, or paintings of saints, on wood. In 2006, Padilla left Santa Fe for Albuquerque and studied studio art at Central New Mexico Community College,where he earned an associate degree. Since then, Padilla has forged his own path into contemporary art. He has quickly become known for his process of synesthesia, which allows him to see sound. While he paints, he is responding to the music, all the while creating a visual representation of what he sees. The mural in the Wells Park area is called Sentimiento and was inspired by Al Hurricanes song. Padilla listened to Hurricanes song and came up with an image for it. Its very simplistic with huge brush stroke representation, taking the quick brush stroke that I usually do and just magnifying them to a huge scale he says. Each brush stroke is 16 inches in width. The color palette also remained simple yet powerful. Padilla used turquoise, Paynes gray and white, as well as the color of the stucco building. I knew turquoise had to be in it to pay homage to the significance of the color to New Mexico culture, he says. I wanted to play with those colors because they were simple. The Paynes gray has this bluish tint to it. Padilla also was inspired by another mural next to Sentimiento. Its already fading, because its been there for some time, Padilla says. Gorman Industries really liked how the community supported that one. They wanted something that would complement the existing mural. I wanted to create something that the community would support. As Padilla finished the mural last week, there were moments of acceptance from the community. Cars were driving by and honking, and then words of approval came, he says. I wanted this to be a piece for the community and evoke some kind of feeling. For overwhelmed medical workers, the sight of U.S. Army doctors and nurses is a relief in their ongoing fight against the coronavirus. When we go to a hospital, the staff is so grateful, said Lt. General Laura Richardson, commander of U.S. Army North, which is working with FEMA in seven states on the COVID-19 response. They were at the tipping point and our folks showed up in the nick of time. Known as an urban augmentation task force, her team is made up of doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists and administrators from Army reserve hospitals. Together, they make up 15 task forces that have been deployed to 20 hospitals, she said. Army reservists work in tandem with hospital staff or in new wings that have opened up in medical centers. The task is daunting. Gov. Phil Murphy announced that the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 topped 100,000 on Friday. Army medical personnel are helping front line medical workers with the patient load at the three field hospitals set up in major convention centers, where 98 patients are being cared for, as of Friday. And at University Hospital, where COVID-19 treatment spaces were added by putting beds in the dentistry wing, since those areas had oxygen available, Richardson said. They were embraced in every hospital. I feel like we were able to show up and do a small part for them, Richardson said. Its a unity of effort. Our folks show up, ready to go. There are many ways. They can come in and take over shifts, she added. Maybe (hospital staff) have been working 12-hour shifts and we can reduce it to 8 hours. University Hospital officials said their staff benefited tremendously with the Army medical personnel by their side. It is hard to find the words to thank the United States Army for the support they have given us in the last two weeks. They arrived when we needed them most, and immediately filled critical staffing gaps, said Dr. Shereef Elnahal, University Hospital President and CEO. While we all appreciate what the Armed Forces does, most of us dont get to see it and understand firsthand. At our hospital, we now understand. These brave men and women will forever be part of the University Hospital family. Have her people been able to keep out of harms way? For the most part, yes, with just 1% of the 9,000 people in her command testing positive for coronavirus and being quarantined, Richardson said. One reason for that is training to properly wear their masks and protective gear, she said. If there is a second wave of COVID-19, the Army will come back, after the state has exhausted its resources and requests assistance, she said. In addition to COVID-19, her Army command also has to prepare for hurricane season. Were thinking through how does COVID-19 change our response, Richardson said. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. LS Group is seeking to more actively advance into international markets by localizing personnel and operation of its overseas business and apply eco-friendly and advanced technologies to take a lead in the power infrastructure field. The group's chairman Christopher Koo said earlier during his New Year address that the group will accelerate its effort to localize its global businesses' operational structure and manpower and improve operational efficiency. Koo's business strategy comes at a time when the global demand for essential equipment and material for power infrastructure, smart energy and digital transformation markets is increasing. To tap into more global markets, LS Group has established regional strategies for areas with high potential such as China and ASEAN with an aim to create synergy between overseas offices of the group's affiliates. The group affiliates aim to commercialize eco-friendly and energy efficiency technologies such as superconducting cables, micro grid and high-voltage direct current. LS Cable and System (C&S), a cable-making affiliate, has announced its business vision called "2030 Global Vision" which aims to advance into more overseas markets. The company, which has industry-leading cable technologies is increasing its investment in global markets such as the United States, Poland, Vietnam and Myanmar. In May, 2019, LS C&S started to mass produce electric vehicle battery parts and telecommunications cables in its Polish plant and the company expanded its investment in cable materials, bus ducts and medium-voltage cables in Vietnam. The cable maker also signed a deal to set up a production operation with M.A.N International Contracting in Egypt last November. Thanks to its effort, the cable maker succeeded in winning submarine cable supply orders worth 100.74 million euro in the Netherlands and another turn-key order worth 100 billion won in Bahrain this year. LS Industrial Systems recently changed its corporation name to LS ELECTRIC, clarifying its determination to expand its electrical equipment business overseas. It also launched a global business division to tap into North America, Europe and Southeast Asian countries. LS-Nikko Copper, a copper smelting affiliate of LS Group, is also gearing up to enhance the efficiency of copper smelting processes utilizing big data technology. The company produces electrolytic copper with 99.99 percent purity. "LS Group has created new industrial paradigm in smart energy sectors such as superconducting power cables, extra-high voltage direct current transmission and smart grid and cultivated young talents," a group official said. "We will continue to contribute to the development of the country's economy by advancing into eco-friendly and high tech industries." Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Abi Cleeve, 49, launched sun protection brand Ultrasun in the UK more than two decades ago. In 2017, she created her own award-winning, anti-ageing skincare brand, skinSense, now a 4.5 million business. She lives in Surrey with her teenage twins. I have very fair, sensitive skin that always burns. For many years, after trying multiple products, I simply had to avoid the sun. Then, holidaying in Switzerland in 1997, I grabbed the Swiss sun protection brand Ultrasun off the shelf. The packaging was austere, but the pharmacist told me it was specially formulated for ultra-sensitive skin like mine. It protected my skin beautifully, was non-greasy and absorbed quickly. I even got a bit of a tan. But I was so disappointed that it was not sold anywhere in the UK. Abi Cleeve, 49, (pictured) who lives in Surrey, revealed the inspiration behind her skincare brand skinSense After so many years of avoiding the sun, I decided I had to meet the person who had created this lifesaving product. That was Tazio Tettamanti, a true inspiration. When he lost his brother to skin cancer in his 30s, Tazio, then a biochemist, retrained as a formulating chemist to find a solution. He taught me so much and, before long, I quit my job as a management trainee at M&S and launched Ultrasun in the UK. Its range is free from parabens, preservatives and mineral oils, reducing the risk of allergy. Products give long-lasting, water-resistant protection from UVB (burning) and UVA (which can cause premature ageing), as well as infrared-A and HEVL rays. I spent 300 on the entire set of Yellow Pages and, with my assistant, contacted every UK pharmacy. When we got an order from John Lewis, we were beyond delighted. Fast forward 20 years, and I started to ask: if we can get UVA and UVB protection to stay all day long, then why cant we do that with hydration, anti-ageing and other ingredients we want on our skin? Skincare range, skinsense.co.uk So my team and I spent three years formulating skinSense. Like Ultrasun, skinSense absorbs subcutaneously without leaving a greasy residue. This suit of armour supports the penetration of the active ingredients into the skin so they work longer and harder. The range sold out in the first week of launch. I have 54 people in my team now, but Ill still go up to mothers in the street and give them samples. My daughter calls me the mad suncream lady. Being passionate about your product is the magic. Never let that go. I still get as excited as I did more than 20 years ago when a new customer discovers us. : A tenth standard student was stabbed to death by a 36-year-old man in an allegedly inebriated state following a brawl, police said on Sunday. The incident took place in Kumram Bheem-Asifabad district on Saturday. Preliminary investigation revealed the accused was a labourer, who was pushed aside by the 16-year-old boy following an argument in front of the former's residence. Then, the labourer went into his house, brought a knife and fatally attacked the boy, the police said. The labourer was taken into custody and further investigations were on, they added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) I have come to hate this beautiful weather, the loveliest spring for 50 years. I long to wake up to a filthy morning of dirty grey skies and miserable rain, like the one Tennyson described when he wrote ghastly, thro the drizzling rain, on the bald street, breaks the blank day. This is because I think the British people are lost in an unreal, sunshiny dreamtime of delusion, seeing the current crisis as a sort of holiday after which they can all amble off back to the world. They once knew, a world that died for ever some time ago. I am reminded of John Wyndhams terrifying science fiction novel The Day Of The Triffids, in which everyone is captivated by an amazing, spectacular meteor shower and all those who watch it late into the night, oohing and aahing with delight, wake up the next morning permanently blind. A glorious day in London where people are enjoying the park despite the lockdown Except, in this case, we will all be permanently less free and permanently poorer. And that will, of course, include the sacred NHS, which the nation love-bombs every Thursday night but which is already so threadbare that it cannot properly equip its doctors and nurses. Just wait and see how much worse this gets in the coming era of post-shutdown austerity. Not to mention all the various zealots and fanatics who already see this new world as an opportunity to impose their various dogmas and fads on us. I wont dwell yet again on the damage the Government has already done, and which deepens every day. I only say that without serious and angry opposition, this will only get worse. This clueless Cabinet is motivated only by fear. People who strove all their lives for office now have no idea what to do with the powers they thought they wanted, and are terrified of the responsibilities that came with them. They do not understand what they are doing and are not in charge of their own destiny. And until they are afraid of the wrath of the voters, or perhaps of the courts, they will continue to hide in their bunker, biting their nails and wondering how to get out of the mess they panicked themselves into a month ago. They cannot admit they gravely overestimated the danger of the virus, and gravely underestimated the damage they would do to the economy. Please write now to your MPs, reminding them that they were elected to put your case to the Government, not the other way round. Tell them that this has gone on long enough and is now bound to cost more lives than it saves, as well as all the other damage. And if you get a reply that has obviously been written by a machine, write again. This will at least keep within the bounds of constitution and law. For, if something does not give soon, I very much fear that millions will simply cease to obey rules which no longer make sense. Without a clear hope of release from house arrest and forced idleness, many people will despair. And it will be grim for us all if that happens. Congratulations to the Cambridge Union which on Thursday night held the first proper twosided debate on whether shutting the country is the right response to Covid-19, so shaming Parliament and the BBC, which have yet to do so. To take part in this event on Zoom, I struggled into the traditional bow tie and dinner jacket, to pay tribute to the Union for doing its duty where others have failed. Another joy killed off by the panic... Last week I went to the blood bank to make my twice-yearly deposit of a whole armful of gore. I mention this not to boast but because, since I started doing it 50 years ago, I have greatly enjoyed it and cant understand why more people dont do it. The best bit of all nowadays is the text message telling you where and when your pint has been used, which arrives not long afterwards and provides a lovely warm glow. But it was a bit unusual, thanks to the virus panic. I usually go in London, but for various reasons could not, and so went in Oxford. The staff, as always, were a joy, full of humour and efficiency despite having to wear face-masks (it is physically impossible to stick a needle in someones arm while staying 6ft away from them. Try it if you dont believe me). Only one thing dampened the occasion. I had that morning received a stern letter telling me that, thanks to the virus panic, I will be banned from giving blood once I reach 70, a date now alarmingly close. This is a reversal of a previous sensible policy which allowed regular donors to keep on giving to almost any age. I do hope it does not become permanent. If I ever do reach 70, I really do not want to be protected to death. Dismal news from the criminal justice system where in a change of great importance juries are no longer told they must be persuaded beyond reasonable doubt that a defendant is guilty. They must merely be sure. These expressions do not mean the same thing. You may be sure you want a pepperoni pizza rather than a vegan one. But the word touches a different bit of the brain from the one reached by the nagging, awkward phrase beyond reasonable doubt. There is some suggestion jurors were finding it hard to understand what beyond reasonable doubt meant. Well, my reply to any such juror is that if you dont know what it means, then you are not fit to sit on a jury, and should stand aside. Lets put lockdown in the dock So many people were quick to go to court over the European issue, which is a far smaller matter than the current wrecking of our economy and throttling of our once-safe liberties. But, so far, there has been silence in the courts over the Governments decision to put us all under house arrest, the first attempt in history to quarantine the healthy rather than the sick. I gather this is pretty certainly unlawful, as the 1984 Public Health Act was never designed to be used for such a wide purpose. But, if it is to be tested, a group of public-spirited citizens, helped by sympathetic lawyers, need to come together quickly to seek a Judicial Review of the shutdown in the High Court. They also need to win what is called a preemptive order on costs to ensure the Government pays for the case, as is only right in a matter of such importance. I hope this happens. Lily Chan (Sonoya Mizuno)from BBC series, Devs. The series has found a fan in Peter Hitchens At last! TVs realised were not idiots I am deeply engaged in the BBC2 series Devs, in which a secretive Silicon Valley company, apparently tinkering with the roots of the universe, is the sinister villain. This is partly due to its star, the extraordinary Sonoya Mizuno, above, a Japanese-born, British actress. But it is also because it doesnt treat me as an idiot, which everything else on my TV (especially the so-called News) now does. If you want to comment on Peter Hitchens, click here Sir Richard Branson is looking to get investment for Virgin Atlantic before the end of May after he failed to secure a government bailout with his 80 million private island as collateral, reports indicate. The billionaire's pursuit of a 500million taxpayer intervention has effectively been shelved and the airline is concentrating on getting new backing from private investors, according to the Sunday Telegraph. Around 50 possible backers are said to have inquired about the company - with suitors presented with options to inject debt, equity or convertible loans, which could potentially leave face of the brand Sir Richard with no residual stake. 'All options' were said to remain on the table after the investment bank hired by Virgin Atlantic, Houlihan Lokey, reportedly sounded out more than 100 possible financial institutions. Potential investors are said to include Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek and Wall Street investor Cerberus Capital Management. Sir Richard Branson wants investors for Virgin Atlantic before the end of May, reports indicate Lansdowne Partners was reported to have been interested, but a spokesperson denied the organisation was involved in a refinancing of Virgin Atlantic, and said it had 'no interest in doing so'. Several parties could form consortia while they review the airline's financial information. Sources have claimed Houlihan Lokey is looking to finish the rescue operation before the start of June. One possible deal option could see Virgin Atlantic being put into administration, it is understood - with sources claiming accountancy firm EY is thought to be first in line to take any possible appointment. It is thought Sir Richard, one of the world's wealthiest men, will keep bankrolling the business as the search for investment continues - and while the possibility of a government bailout has been put on hold, it could come back as an option if the current plan fails. Sir Richard, estimated to have a 4 billion fortune, could not save the Australian arm of his airline from going into administration earlier this week. Branson, 69, had asked the British Government for a 500 million loan and offered to mortgage Necker Island, his private Caribbean retreat believed to be worth 80 million Virgin Australia, the country's second biggest aviation company, went into voluntary administration after failing to secure a 710 million bailout from authorities. Sir Richard, 69, has asked the British Government for a 500 million loan and offered to mortgage Necker Island, his private Caribbean retreat believed to be worth 80 million. He has pledged to 'raise as much money against the island as possible to save as many jobs as possible' in an attempt to persuade the authorities to help Virgin through 'the devastating impact this pandemic continues to have'. Despite Branson's protestations that Necker Island's zero per cent personal income tax rate had nothing to do with his decision to move there, his status as a billionaire tax exile is said to be one reason why ministers are wary of bailing out the airline. They know how toxic it would seem to hand over taxpayers' cash to as one Whitehall official put it to the Mail 'tycoons with neatly trimmed beards who live on their own private island'. Virgin Australia, the country's second biggest aviation company, went into voluntary administration after failing to secure a 710 million bailout from authorities Branson has stated in a memo to staff that 'our companies all pay tax in the countries they operate in'. A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said: 'Because of significant costs to our business caused by unprecedented market conditions which the Covid-19 crisis has brought with it, we are exploring all available options to obtain additional external funding. 'Houlihan Lokey has been appointed to assist the process, focusing on private sector funding. 'Meanwhile, we continue to take decisive action to reduce our costs, preserve cash and protect jobs. 'Discussions with a number of stakeholders continue and are constructive, meanwhile the airline remains in a stable position. 'Virgin Atlantic is committed to continuing to provide essential connectivity on competitive terms to consumers and businesses in Britain and beyond, once we emerge from this crisis.' A Virgin Group spokesperson said: 'Virgin Group is providing liquidity to help support its companies and save jobs. 'Richard and the Virgin Group are committed to the airline, and are not looking to sell Virgin Atlantic. 'They recognise that further investment will be necessary to make up for the total loss of revenue due to Covid-19 and are working with Houlihan Lokey to approach private investors about the investment opportunity.' It comes after the Indian owner of Tata Steel, based in Port Talbot, has approached the UK Government for a 500million loan. Loan: Tata Steel's large customers, such as car makers, have stopped production The company has reportedly asked for a commercial loan that would be repayable when demand for steel from its sites in Wales recovers. Its request is being considered by the Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Sky News reported. Talks are at an early stage and no agreement is likely to be announced soon. The move comes after several of Tata Steel's large customers, such as car makers, stopped production. A spokesman said: 'We continue to work with both the UK and Welsh governments to identify what support is available.' The manufacturer has also been hit by a rise in raw material costs. China's decision to reopen following the pandemic contributed to high iron prices despite a slump in global demand. Roughly 1,500 of Tata Steel's 8,000 UK workers have been furloughed. Separately, British Steel, which is owned by China's Jingye, is set to resume production at its plant in Skinningrove on Teesside with 300 furloughed workers returning tomorrow. EBE Mobile Banking Powered by eBSEG is Now Live on Google Play and Apple App Store. The Current evolution of customer behavior, generating the era of aggressive competition to drive banks to reshape their traditional customer engagement and business models. By transforming their business models to digital, with a mission of extraordinary user experience through powerful and innovative next-generation digital banking platforms, Banks are facing challenges to avail their services through the Multitude of Digital Channels especially Mobile Banking in a consistent and powerful manner. To overcome those challenges, EBE Bank ventured with eBSEG a partnership journey to help bank customers manage their business via Mobile Banking Application. EBE Mobile Banking gives you access to your accounts wherever and whenever you need it, with a wide range of transactions inquiry. We executed the first phase for Mobile Banking Application for EBE which include: ? Access to your accounts wherever and whenever you need it, with a wide range of transactions query. ? Get quick, easy, secure access to your EBE current, saving accounts, T/D?s, CD?s, Check and Loans. ? Currency Exchange. ? Find Us with google map for branch locations and ATMs. ? Cheques Inquiry (issued/Collection). ? Security Awareness Instructions. About eBSEG Digital Banking Solution eBSEG Digital banking solution offers a secure and rich UX application providing a world class banking and payment experience to your customers over mobile Banking and internet banking. eBSEG Digital banking solution offers a comprehensive suite of the latest banking services empowering banks to successfully deliver any time?, anywhere banking services to customers on the GO. 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To deliver a strategic technological vision capable and flexible to meet the some of the top customer requirements such as: 1- On-the-Go one time, future or recurring bill payments made easy. 2- Easy & secure Bank Transfer on-the-go between accounts or by email. 3- Comprehensive Bank Inquiries at Customers fingertips! Full information of bank accounts, Credit Cards, Loans, or payments Access a variety of bank account options & transactional history. 4- High Security Encryption communication layer that makes it impossible to hack, keeping customers secure, EVERYtime. 5- Quickly designate and update beneficiary information, avoid legal disputes, and safeguard confidential information. Store + print the new changes with ease. 6- Manage all of your credit cards aspects smartly, conveniently and securely, Anytime, Anywhere with eBank, 24/7. Check balances, credit, transaction history & pay credit card bills. 7- Best indicator of where you want to go, use Transaction History from anywhere. 8- GPS integrated Locator for immediate access to ATM or branch office. 9- And much more. About EBE EBE (Export Development Bank of Egypt) was established in 1983 for the purpose of boosting Egyptian exports and supporting establishments of agricultural, industrial, commercial and services sectors. Soon after, the Bank became the main funding source of exports operations in Egypt. The Bank plays a vital role in supporting Egyptian exporters and facilitating the access of Egyptian products to markets worldwide through the extension of finance of export, and import substitution projects to help improving the local production. This goes along with its significant role in participating in syndicated loans and equity participations of these projects. The Bank extends its full-fledged financing and Banking services to exporters and its entire customer base. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during the 5th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in this undated photo released on Dec. 29, 2019 by North Korean Central News Agency. (KCNA via Reuters) South Korean Presidential Aide Says Kim Jong Un Is Alive and Well Following a flurry of reports from Hong Kong and Japanese media outlets declaring the death of Kim Jong Un, South Korean officials said the North Korean communist dictator is alive and well. Rumors about Kims death began after he missed the April 15 celebration of his grandfathers birthday, which is a national holiday in the isolated and impoverished state. The event commemorates Kim Il Sung, who is the founder of North Korea, and according to The Associated Press, the younger Kim hasnt missed his grandfathers birthday celebration since he took over control of the communist country from his father in 2011. On Sunday, Chung-in Moon, a foreign policy adviser to South Koreas President Moon Jae-in, told Fox News: Our government position is firm. Kim Jong Un is alive and well. Moon added that Kim, 36, has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13 and added that no suspicious movements have so far been detected. Satellite photos taken on Saturday echo the claim that Kim is still alive and staying outside the capital, Pyongyang. Photos published by 38 North, a Washington-based website specializing in North Korean affairs, show that there has been increased activity in Wonsan, noting that his train has been parked near his compound since April 21. The trains presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the countrys eastern coast, 38 North stated. U.S. intelligence officials in recent days also said they have seen no sign of unusual military activity that would suggest something was wrong with Kims health. President Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the North Korean side of the border at the village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone, on June 30, 2019. (Susan Walsh/AP Photo) About a week ago, CNN and the Daily NK, a website in part run by North Korean defectors, and other outlets reported that Kim was recovering from heart surgery earlier in April. The Daily NK report, citing an unnamed source, said the dictator suffers from health problems due to smoking, obesity, and overwork. President Donald Trump also dismissed the reports last week. I think the report was incorrect, Trump said at a White House briefing on the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus on Thursday. He told reporters: We have a good relationship with North Koreaas good as you can have. I mean, we have a good relationship with North Korea. I have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un, and I hope hes OK. But despite the reports to the contrary, more speculation about Kims health will likely be fueled in the absence of an official statement or appearance by the regime. Last week, North Korean state-run media published articles that suggest that Kim is conducting business as usual, saying he sent out greetings to officials, including one to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Over the weekend, Asian news outlets reported that Kim is either in a vegetative state or dead. A Hong Kong broadcast network said on Saturday that Kim died and cited a very solid source who was not identified. A Japanese magazine, meanwhile, reported that Kim is effectively brain dead in a vegetative state. When it comes to North Korea you can never be too sure until you hear the news from the country itself, said David Maxwell, a North Korea specialist at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, according to the New York Post. But its worth noting that there are 6.5 million smartphones in North Korea now and even though the coverage is within the country, information has a way of getting out faster now than it did in the past. Gandhinagar, April 27 : Ahmedabad corporator and a senior Congress leader Badruddin Shaikh died on Sunday night, succumbing to the dreaded coronavirus. The 68-year-old Congressman was considered to be a senior and stalwart politician in the Gujarat Congress unit. He was hospitalized a week ago after his condition deteriorated during home quarantine. Shaikh's coronavirus infection results tested positive, a day after the positive test results of a Congress MLA Imran Khedawala. He was a senior corporator, representing the Behrampura ward in Amdavad Municipal Corporation and had also been the spokesperson of Gujarat Congress. Congress's national spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil posted a condolence message on his Twitter account, expressing his grief. "I am at loss of words. Badrubhai, as we called him was a stellar of strength and patience. A senior leader of our Gujarat family, I knew him since 40 years when he was with Youth Congress. He was relentlessly working with poor people & was infected with Covid_19," Gohil twitted. US Judge Orders Release of Migrant Children Detained During COVID Pandemic By VOA News April 25, 2020 A U.S. federal judge has ordered the release of migrant children who have been detained at the Mexico border, after ruling Friday the Trump administration was again violating an agreement to release them within 20 days. The Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law has been challenging the Trump administration's child detention policies on behalf of plaintiffs who contend the coronavirus pandemic has triggered more delays in the release of the migrant children. The center's argument against the administration is being made under a 1997 pact known as the Flores agreement, which generally requires minors who have been detained in non-licensed facilities at the U.S.-Mexico border to be released within the 20-day period. The plaintiffs maintain the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) stopped releasing children to their parents or other guardians in California, Washington state and New York to avoid getting involved with the states' lockdown rules, which have been imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus. They also allege the administration stopped the release process for some children because their parents or guardians could not easily arrange to be fingerprinted as required for background checks. The plaintiffs argued the delays could expose the children to the coronavirus if it spreads in detention facilities. They cited a non-profit detention center in Texas where a 14-day quarantine order was put into effect. In addition, the plaintiffs accused the government of releasing a teenager who turned 18 while in "quarantine" to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) instead of sending him to family placement program where arrangements had been made to accommodate him. U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee, who oversees the case, did not agree with all of the allegations but once more ordered the administration to "expedite the release of the children." Gee concluded that "ORR and ICE shall continue to make every effort to promptly and safely release" the detained children who are represented by the plaintiffs. In a separate ruling last month, Gee described the immigration detention centers as "hotbeds of contagion." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address New Delhi: Scientists of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jodhpur have explored the neuroinvasive nature of the coronavirus highlighting that loss of smell and taste of infected patients makes their entire Central Nervous System (CNS) and the underlying structures in the brain more prone to viral infection with devastating effects. Dr. Surajit Ghosh and his team have pointed out that COVID-19 is known to interact with a specific human receptor known as hACE2 (human angiotensin-converting enzyme-2) which also happens to be the entry point of the virus and has an almost ubiquitous presence in most human organs ranging from lung parenchyma to nasal mucosa. The brain is also known to express this receptor. They have attributed the loss of smell or taste to the fact that nose and mouth both are very important entry points of the virus, which then may be slowly making its way to the olfactory bulb using the neurons of the olfactory mucosa. The olfactory bulb located in the forebrain is the structure that is chiefly responsible for the sense of smell. This explains the loss of smell associated with many asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 and also may be exposing the CNS to viral infection. The paper accepted in ACS Chemical Neuroscience and supported by Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), a Statutory Body of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), has suggested probable therapeutic strategies that could be adopted to combat it on the basis of understanding the neurological manifestations of the COVID-19. The paper recounts a recently conducted study on the brain scans (CT and MRI) of a patient infected by COVID-19 virus that shows a rare encephalopathy called ANE, which leads to brain dysfunction with seizures and mental disorientation. It indicates that in the presence of human ACE2 receptors in CNS, the brain may be infected by the virus through the olfactory bulbs and also through other peripheral nerve terminals or simply blood circulation and may breach the blood-brain barrier to innervate and attack CNS. The scientists said that it may also completely destroy the medulla oblongata of the hindbrain, which regulates breathing, heart, and blood vessel function. The paper also rings warning bells to the asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 with anosmia (loss of smell) and ageusia (loss of taste) to self-quarantine themselves as soon as they feel these and consult specialized nephrologists before they turn into carriers. It also suggests brain autopsies of COVID-19 infected patients and analysis of their cerebrospinal fluid. "The pathway of infection of SARS-CoV-2 and its impact on various organs is an important area that would also help with the future rational approaches for therapy. The neuro-invasive nature of the virus and its effects on the senses of smell and taste are thus interesting and useful areas of investigation," said Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST. The publication highlights that activities like smoking could increase the chances of contracting COVID-19 infection, attributing this to the interactions and co-expression of the hACE2 receptor and the nicotinic receptor, which is stimulated on smoking. The paper reflects upon therapeutics agents ranging from the peptide-based therapeutics, which will curb the interaction between the viral protein and the human receptor to the strategic design of small molecule inhibitors designed against the viral spike protein that interacts with the ACE2. It also suggests the development of subunit vaccines from the purified virus along with antibody-based drugs. By PTI ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's coronavirus cases jumped to 13,304 on Sunday, as a top medical body warned that mosques are becoming a major source of transmission for the novel coronavirus in the country and urged people to pray at home during Ramzan. According to the Ministry of National Health Services, at least 18 people have died in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll in the country to 272. A total of 1,508 new cases were reported in one day, taking the total number of infections to 13,304, reports said. It said that the number of those recovered also increased to 2,936. Pakistan's worst-hit Punjab province reported 5,446 cases, Sindh 4,615, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 1,864, Balochistan 781, Gilgit-Baltistan 308, Islamabad 235 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 55 cases. So far, 144,365 tests have been done in the country, including 6,218 in the last 24 hours. "Mosques are becoming a major source of virus transmission," Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) President Dr Iftikhar Burney said. ALSO READ| COVID-19: Over 400 stranded Pakistanis return from Afghanistan, quarantined Talking to reporters on Saturday, Burney said that the infected cases have surged rapidly during the past week. "Around 6,000 cases for coronavirus surfaced in a month but the same has doubled in the last six days," he said, warning that the infection would further go up in the coming months of May and June. The Pakistan government early this month succumbed to pressure from the hardline clerics and allowed conditional congregational prayers in mosques during Ramzan. However, the 20-point agreement signed by the leading clerics with President Arif Alvi on restricting access to mosques during Ramzan was not being followed completely. Alvi has written a letter to the Imams of mosques urging them to ask worshippers above the age of 50 to pray at home. He pointed out that the point number six of the standard operating procedures set in the agreement said that persons over the age of 50 should avoid offering prayers at the mosque. Alvi also visited mosques in Rawalpindi to review arrangements made by the administration of mosques to contain the spread of the virus, he wrote in a tweet. He shared a picture of Jama Masjid Ghousia and said the administration had arranged for Taraweeh (special prayers offered at night during Ramzan), keeping in mind necessary preventative measures to curb the spread. However, the face masks were lacking. President Alvi said that the people, including politicians and opinion makers, should keep an open mind regarding the handling of the coronavirus outbreak as the strategy can change with the new data. "Lockdown or no lockdown? Coronavirus is new so there is a major difference of opinion in the world and in Pakistan on how to handle it. As data comes in, opinions change. So please keep an open mind," he tweeted. Prime Minister's Advisor on Health Dr Zafar Mirza also took to Twitter and again urged the "citizens to demonstrate responsibility & avoid congregations during Ramzan to protect themselves from COVID-19'. ALSO READ| COVID-19: Pakistan denies preparing vaccine, 160 doctors among 12,227 positive cases However, the government was still reluctant to close down the mosques due to fear of backlash by the hardline clerics. Addressing news briefing in Islamabad, Mirza said that 80 per cent positive cases were local transmission in the country. He said that government was providing protective equipment to frontline paramedical staff in various hospitals and also working to further enhance testing capacity of laboratories. Prime Minister's Special Assistant on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan expressed disappointment at the people's "failure to grasp the seriousness" of the coronavirus threat. "The government is doing its job but the public is still not fulfilling its responsibility and not practising social distancing," she said. Planning Minister Asad Umar chaired a meeting of the National Command and Operation Centre to review the implementation of Ramzan guidelines and other issues. Interior Minister Ijaz Shah told the meeting that people in cities should be continuously educated to follow the guidelines and not operate business as usual during Ramzan. There were reports of violation of lockdown from different cities and police arrested 78 people and sealed 107 shops on Saturday in Quetta, capital of Balochistan, for violating the lockdown, Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said. He said that a total of 2,707 shops had been sealed over violations so far. In Sindh province, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah warned citizens that extraordinary measures will have to be taken to keep the pandemic under control in the province. Sindh is the only province in Pakistan which has not allowed taraweeh or Friday prayers in mosques during Ramzan. The emergency department of the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) - one of Karachi's biggest public hospitals - has been sealed after a doctor tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Sunday. In Punjab, the government announced that lockdown would not apply to pushcart street vendors, selling fruit, vegetables and other products. Due to lack of observance of lockdown, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) criticised the partial lockdown policy and asked the government either impose total lockdown or withdraw it. Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Local Government Kamran Bangash tested positive for coronavirus, provincial Health Minister Taimur Jhagra said on Twitter. "Kamran is well and at home. I talked to him, he is in high spirits, and will insha'Allah be back leading from the front soon," Jhagra said. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. 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By Christopher Miller April 25, 2020 A year ago, a beaming Volodymyr Zelenskiy strolled into his campaign headquarters to the theme song of the popular TV sitcom in which he played an accidental president. Confetti showered from the rafters and a crowd of supporters erupted in applause. He had just won Ukraine's presidential runoff election with 73 percent of the vote, the largest tally in the country's history. The moment is captured in a slickly produced 50-minute video released by his office on April 21, the anniversary of the election. More of a public-relations puff piece than a documentary film, it sometimes resembles the sitcom and shines an uncritical light on Zelenskiy's first year in office. In reality, the first year since the 42-year-old comedic actor's election has been chock full of ups and downs and twists and turns, with plenty of serious criticism over his governing from constituents and international observers, not to mention an array of opponents. Zelenskiy has faced a number of scandals and his country has been boxed into matters ranging from the impeachment of U.S. President Donald Trump -- which stemmed largely from a telephone conversation between the two leaders in July 2019 -- and the downing of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 in Iran in January. He also inherited an ongoing war with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, persistent corruption, and the powerful influence of Ukraine's oligarchs, among other issues. So, how has he done so far? "It could have been worse," says Volodymyr Yermolenko, chief editor of the news site UkraineWorld and analytics director at Internews Ukraine. "Zelenskiy came to this post totally unprepared and he's facing unprecedented challenges." One year after Ukraine elected a political novice to lead the country of some 40 million people, RFE/RL takes a look at some of those challenges and how experts believe Zelenskiy has fared: Whether he has delivered on his campaign promises and how he is managing ongoing crises amid the onslaught of the coronavirus. Ending The War When he was sworn in as president in May 2019, Zelenskiy also inherited the role of supreme commander in chief of Ukraine's armed forces and a grinding war against Russia-backed separatists who hold parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in what is known as the Donbas. More than 13,000 people have been killed since fighting began in April 2014. One of Zelensky's two main promises was to bring the war to an end, a goal that polls have shown Ukrainians want to see accomplished more than anything. "He showed a real willingness to end the war. That's a good thing," Yermolenko says. "The world saw it, too -- that the real [desire for] peace was on the part of Ukraine, not Russia." Throughout Zelenskiy's tenure, Kyiv and Western officials say, Russia has continued to funnel money, military equipment, and fighters to eastern Ukraine. "But Zelensky also showed naivete, thinking -- or pretending that he thinks -- that ending the war with Russia is an easy thing" and that goodwill would be enough, Yermolenko continues. "He now sees that it's not the case." Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin met face-to-face for the first time in December, in Paris. The two leaders discussed ways to potentially bring the war to an end, but their positions remain far apart. Nevertheless, says Volodymyr Fesenko, director of the Kyiv-based Penta Center, Zelenskiy has found ways to make some progress. The meeting between Zelenskiy and Putin alone was a positive sign, since "the negotiation process to resolve the conflict in the Donbas had been at a dead end for three years." He also points to three major prisoner exchanges, troop withdrawals in three locations on the line between government-controlled and separatist-held territory, and the completion of a vital civilian bridge in the front-line town of Stanytsya Luhanska. Alyona Hetmanchuk, director of the new Europe Center, a Kyiv think tank, says that "the main thing" is not what Zelenskiy managed to do on the war issue but what he did not do: "He did not achieve peace on Russian terms," which would be unacceptable for most Ukrainians. In the anniversary video, Zelenskiy says he is "sure that we will put an end to this war during my presidential term" and that if his current tactics don't yield results, he will change them. Crushing Corruption On Ukrainians' wish lists, second to ending the war has been seeing corruption stamped out, polls show. When Zelenskiy was elected, he promised "victory over corruption" -- a goal that he said would be challenging but judged to be possible after becoming the first president to win a parliamentary majority, in July. Ukraine has struggled against entrenched corruption, which has drained the country's coffers since its independence drive helped lead to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. As part of this fight, Zelenskiy vowed to conduct a sweeping "de-oligarchization" of the country. But a year later, critics say neither has happened -- or at least not to the extent promised. "Zelenskiy was expected to oversee quick and massive arrests of corrupt officials and politicians, as well as well-known businessmen," Fesenko says. "But Ukrainian law enforcement and the judicial system has been very slow and not effective enough." "The lack of significant results in the fight against corruption has caused great dissatisfaction [among Ukrainians]," he adds. Critics point to the firing of Ruslan Ryaboshapka, the first prosecutor-general under Zelenskiy, as one major point of concern. Ryaboshapka, who was viewed by many as an independent-minded reformist, was fired in early March and replaced by Iryna Venediktova, a close Zelenskiy ally who worked on his campaign. In her first weeks in office, Venediktova has pursued charges against former President Petro Poroshenko and Tetyana Chornovil, a prominent activist and former lawmaker, that critics claim are politically motivated. Zelenskiy has also struggled to shake the influence of Ihor Kolomoyskiy, the tycoon who owns the television channel that broadcast the former actor's popular sitcom and is at least partly credited with helping to raise his profile. Kolomoyskiy has fought tooth and nail to see his former bank, PrivatBank, returned to him. The Ukrainian government nationalized the bank in 2016 to save it from collapse after regulators found a $5.5 billion hole in its balance sheet. Among the positive anti-corruption measures Zelenskiy has managed to achieve was the restoration of criminal liability for illicit enrichment, Fesenko says. "A number of other decisions were also taken to combat corruption, some of which are very populist. For example, monetary rewards for information about corruption," he adds. Hetmanchuk says that many Zelenskiy supporters expected to see "more justice" in cases where serious crimes had been committed, including lingering cases related to the Euromaidan -- the protests that drove Moscow-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych from power in 2014 -- and the Donbas war. "But Zelensky has failed," she says. "Lack of rule of law is still the major internal challenge for Ukraine, while Russian aggression is the main external challenge." Zelenskiy, Hetmanchuk adds, "kept some" of his anti-corruption-related promises, "like stripping [lawmakers'] immunity, but it is definitely not enough." Human Rights While contending that Zelenskiy's powers are limited on the human rights front, Oksana Pokalchuk, director of Amnesty International's Ukraine office, says his political influence and the fact that his party has an overwhelming majority in parliament should be factored in. She and other human rights activists have been disappointed by the president's actions on this front. "President Zelenskiy could have submitted a bill on the ratification of the Istanbul Convention to address violence against women and girls," she explains. "While Ukraine has made outstanding progress over the last couple of years on this, the current approach still falls short of building a cohesive and human-oriented system aimed at protecting survivors of domestic and gender-based violence, and preventing such violence in the first place." Impunity for hate-motivated attacks and against journalists and activists, which has also been a long-standing issue in Ukraine, has not been addressed by Zelenskiy, Pokalchuk adds. "While the president doesn't have the authority to ensure effective investigations, his role in setting the course to address this issue and condemning the violence should not be downplayed." Pokalchuk notes some "celebrated achievements," like the release of filmmaker Oleh Sentsov and other Ukrainians held by Russia. However, the "rights of one group were traded off for the rights of the other group, when a key suspect in the downing of [Malaysia Airlines flight MH17] was handed over to Russia, and when five former riot-police officers suspected in killings of Euromaidan protesters were handed over to Russia-backed separatists in [eastern Ukraine]," she says. Foreign Policy Fesenko says that there have been "no significant changes in foreign policy" in the past year. "Zelenskiy retained the pro-Western and pro-European foreign policy of Ukraine" that Poroshenko had set out, he says. "At the same time, [Zelenskiy] began to pay more attention to negotiations with Russia." In particular, he cited negotiations with Moscow at the end of 2019 on the transit of Russian gas across Ukraine to the European Union. "This will allow Ukraine to receive about $2.5 billion annually as a transit fee." In addition, Russia agreed to pay Ukraine $2.9 billion that had been ordered by a Stockholm arbitration ruling. Perhaps most prominent among Zelenskiy's many foreign-policy challenges were the developments surrounding the impeachment by the U.S. House of Representatives of Trump, who was acquitted by the U.S. Senate on the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of justice in February. Calling it "an unprecedented challenge" for Zelenskiy and Ukraine, Hetmanchuk says it has had lasting effects on the relationship with Washington. "There are doubts in Kyiv if we can still rely on the United States as our political ally," she says. Fesenko, though, argues that the impeachment drama had few lasting effects on Ukraine. The scandal "influenced American politics more than Ukraine's foreign policy," he says, and cites U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to Ukraine in January as a sign that the two countries continue to enjoy a close relationship. Breaking The System Zelenskiy vowed to break Ukraine's old system, using Trump's own words -- "drain the swamp" -- in the July 2019 phone call with the U.S. president. Part of that meant bringing in what Zelenskiy called "new faces." Many of them were close personal friends or loyalists who had served on his election campaign. Some of them were young technocrats, like the former prime minister, Oleksiy Honcharuk. And others, like his former chief of staff, Andriy Bohdan, were in fact older faces that had been under the employ of previous administrations, including that of Yanukovych. Ultimately, the "new faces" failed, and Zelenskiy's first government was fired and replaced. Zelenskiy says in the video that he will keep making personnel changes in the cabinet until Ukraine gets "a perfect government." How Zelenskiy may be viewed by history is yet to be known -- he has served less than one-fifth of his presidential term. Much depends on what he is able to accomplish by 2024 (he has said he plans to put serve only a single five-year term), experts say. While his popularity has fallen from the historic 70 percent support he once enjoyed, polls still put his approval rating above all his predecessors. "In general, after his first year in office, Zelenskiy is not emerging as the most effective Ukrainian president," Hetmanchuk says. "But he is definitely not the disaster that many of his opponents predicted and are trying to portray him as." Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskiys-first -year-he-promised-sweeping-changes- how-s-he-doing-/30576329.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI) in cooperation with the Dubai Entrepreneurship Academy, recently organised two workshops via the video conferencing technology for the members of Tijarah 101 Centre and those interested in establishing their own business. Held under the sponsorship of the National SME Programme, the event comes as part of the SCCIs keenness to coordinate with all concerned and specialized agencies to attract advanced training programs and to reinforce the vital role of entrepreneurs in the current circumstances due to the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19). The first workshop Effective negotiation in time of crises how to overcome COVID-19 crisis included a training program focused on mechanisms for assessing challenges in times of crisis and how entrepreneurs overcome those challenges by creating effective negotiation tools that help increase sales and opening markets, in addition to explaining negotiation techniques and skills. While the second workshop was entitled Flexible strategy in confronting crises and dealt with how to improve work performance and implement appropriate strategies for doing business by implementing a flexible strategic framework and measuring the readiness of business strategies to meet current and future challenges. Mona Omran Ali, Director of Tijarah 101 Center, said: The workshops are part of an integrated package of training programs targeting the entrepreneurs through the video conferencing technology. The workshops topics are tailored to meet the requirements of the current stage and to help entrepreneurs overcome all the challenges they face. The SCCI is always keen on the coordination with all academic and specialized parties to attract programmes and workshops designed to develop the skills of entrepreneurs and owners of small and medium enterprises, as well as to improve their capabilities to face any impacts that may arise, by providing them with the necessary scientific knowledge, she noted. The workshop Effective negotiation in time of crises highlighted the steps that should be taken before making a negotiation decision, including defining the topic, the goal, the expected, and the sought-after results, as well as preparing all supporting tools before the negotiation process. While the Flexible strategy in confronting crises workshop shed light on the methods of successful planning to deal with the changes through the flexibility in changing the way of work, the professional activity, or the surrounding environment to overcome any difficulties or extraordinary challenges.-- Tradearabia News Service The coronavirus pandemic has created waves in the Jersey Shore rental business, just as it has everywhere else in the state. From high schoolers looking to celebrate their senior years to families hoping for a summer getaway, normally routine vacation plans have grown complicated. A group of students who rented a Wildwood house for prom weekend next month is trying to get its money back, since it seems likely a no-renting order will remain in place a while longer for Cape May County. Others are creating lease agreements with COVID clauses. With summer fast approaching, renters and property owners are scrambling for guidance. Two attorneys with Fox Rothschild LLC, Danielle Liberman and Bridget Sykes, offered answers to various questions regarding issues faced by renters and property owners. Renter concerns Q: What should renters do if they have booked a property in the upcoming weeks when restrictions on visiting beaches and renting shore properties are still in place? What should they do if the rental property owner refuses to issue a refund? A: Renters should first review any restrictions that have been put in place by the particular municipality or county. Many of these executive orders, resolutions and proclamations make it illegal for the property owner to allow the tenant to take possession and include penalties such as the loss of the property owners right to a rental license in the future, fines and even prosecution as a disorderly persons offense. Renters should then contact the owner and/or real estate broker that arranged the rental to find out how the owner is handling the situation. Given the owners liability and often prohibition on being able to perform their end of the contract providing the property they have an interest in coming to an agreement with renters as well. If the rental property owner refuses to issue a refund or if the parties cant come to some other agreement, such as offering the property on a different date, renters should have a discussion with a lawyer to determine if this situation is covered by the terms of the rental agreement or if they have other legal rights or defenses that may entitle them to a refund. Q: In some cases, owners have offered to book renters for different dates. Is that an acceptable compromise when the renter really just wants a refund? A: That is a personal decision of the renter. Ultimately, whether the renter is entitled to a refund will depend on the specific terms of the rental agreement. Renters who anticipate a dispute should have the terms of their agreements reviewed by a lawyer to determine their legal right to pursue a refund. Q: Apart from hiring a lawyer, are there any state or local resources a renter can contact for help in a dispute of this sort? A: While only a lawyer can provide a legal opinion based on an individuals particular contract and circumstances, there are many resources a renter can turn to for more information. Renters who believe they have been a victim of fraud may report the behavior to the State Attorney Generals office. The Short Term Rental Advocacy Center, created by a group of internet-based rental platforms, also has information and resources on restrictions for short term rentals. Renters can also pursue their own legal rights by filing a claim in state Superior Court. For the majority of rentals, the amount of money in dispute will qualify for disposition in the Law Division, Special Civil Part, which handles claims under $15,000. Cases in the Special Civil Part are heard on an expedited basis. The court generally requires that the parties participate in mediation with a court-appointed mediator before being heard by a judge. These mediators are skilled in helping parties reach a common resolution. Information on how to file a claim can be found here. There are also many resources and articles authored by attorneys and other experts. Fox Rothschild launched a Coronavirus Resources section on its website that provides a variety of information about navigating issues related to COVID-19. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage Q: When it comes to those still looking to book a property for the summer, what should they consider, since its not clear when these restrictions on rentals and visiting beaches will be lifted? What precautions should you take before booking? A: If a contract is entered into after the imposition of rental restrictions, a court would likely find that the parties reasonably should have expected that the rental restrictions may interfere with the purpose of the contract. As a result, the failure to address it may preclude defenses that exist outside the contract itself. In contract disputes, courts will closely review and interpret the specific language used in the agreement. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that parties have a lawyer assist in drafting these provisions or review proposed contract terms prior to entering into an agreement to ensure that the partys intent is properly reflected. For those still hoping to enter into a rental contract, parties should incorporate detailed provisions with respect to the right of cancellation and return of security deposits, prepaid rental fees and rental commissions. Timing of cancellation of the lease, who has the right to cancel the lease, and what specific events related to COVID-19 constitute a right to cancellation should also be set forth with as much specificity as possible. For example, while governmental orders restricting rentals may be lifted, parties still may not be comfortable staying in a rental property due to health concerns. Property owners may also not want to risk the liability of infection being spread at their property. Property owners and renters will both have to consider how much risk they are willing to bear when agreeing to these terms. Property owner concerns Q: How should a property owner handle someone trying to cancel and get a refund who is concerned about restrictions or traveling? A: To resolve any uncertainties, parties should first attempt to enter into an addendum or amendment to address these issues. If an amicable resolution cannot be reached, property owners should work closely with an attorney to review their obligations under the terms of the contract as well as their potential liability under the government order in place in the municipality where the property is located. Property owners should also consider their liability if someone were to be exposed to the virus at their property, keeping in mind whether they own the property individually or through a business entity. This would include reviewing insurance policies to determine if such an incident is covered or if coverage could be purchased. Finally, property owners should consider their ability to enter into a new rental agreement where the risks can be better allocated. Q: Do relief options exist for those who were counting on these bookings to pay mortgages and fund repairs to their shore properties? A: Some internet-based rental platforms used to list properties for rent by owner have created funds to cover some costs of coronavirus cancellations. If a rental was booked using an online service, property owners should check with the service provider. Gov. Phil Murphy has also worked with a variety of lending institutions to implement uniform policies to provide mortgage relief. Property owners should immediately contact their loan servicer to request assistance to see if they are eligible. Property owners should also consult a lawyer or accountant regarding possible tax implications and the availability of small business loans depending on how they own their rental properties (individually or through a business entity). Q: Is there an insurance option that can protect renters and property owners in these situations? A: Generally, travel insurance will not cover or will have limited benefits for problems related to the coronavirus outbreak. Some travel insurance companies have recently loosened restrictions on claims related to the coronavirus to accommodate if you become ill with COVID-19 before or during your trip. Property owners of rental housing should have rental property insurance, which typically provides coverage for loss of rental income. However, these policies often require the loss to be tied to a physical loss to the property or have exclusions for communicable diseases. Property owners should review the specific terms and definitions in the policy to see if coverage is available and should contact their insurance agents to see if they can purchase coverage for future rentals. In both instances, it will be important to follow early court decisions interpreting policies in light of COVID-19 related claims, which will create a precedent for future challenges. Parties should always file a claim to protect their right to challenge a denial later. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Several hundred Hong Kong protestors held an anti-government demonstration at a mall on Sunday in one of the city's largest protests since early March. Why it matters: The pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong dominated headlines for months until the coronavirus crisis forced the government to implement strict social distancing measures. The big picture: Hong Kong health officials said Saturday that eight new patients had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, after the city claimed zero infections on Thursday for the second time, the South China Morning Post reports. 15 prominent Hong Kong activists were arrested on April 18 on charges of holding illegal assemblies in August and October, related to months of demonstrations last year against China's authoritarian government. Flashback: In February, Hong Kong medical workers went on strike to demand a closed border with mainland China to stop the spread of the virus, after the city reported its first fatality from the coronavirus. Later that month, hundreds of anti-government protestors were arrested, per SCMP. hundreds of anti-government protestors were arrested, per SCMP. In March, hundreds of Hong Kongers clashed with police during gatherings to mourn a computer science student who died after falling one story in a parking lot last November, per SCMP. Go deeper: The year of the protest meets the year of the lockdown After three inconclusive Israeli elections, long-serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief opponent, Benny Gantz, finally agreed last Monday to form a government together, citing the urgent need to face the covid-19 pandemic. The deal stipulates that the coalition will focus exclusively on fighting the coronavirus for its first six months. But there is one huge exception: Starting July 1, Netanyahu, who will remain prime minister, will be allowed to seek a vote by his cabinet or the parliament on Israels annexation of more than 30 percent of the West Bank, where the majority of the would-be Palestinian states population lives. The Odisha and Gujarat governments on Sunday decided to constitute a joint committee to facilitate the return of stranded Odia migrant workers to their homes from the western state, a senior official said. The decision in this regard was taken following discussions between Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, his Gujarat counterpart Vijay Rupani and Union Petroleum and Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan through video conference, he said. A majority of the estimated five lakh Odia migrant workers stranded across the country due to the lockdown are in Gujarat, mainly in Surat, the official said. The coordination committee will comprise two senior officers each from the two states, a release issued by the Odisha Chief Minister's Office here said. The stranded migrant workers will be brought to Odisha mainly by buses while other modes of transportation will also be examined, the official said. Those wishing to return from Gujarat to their homes in Odisha will have to register their name and address on state government portal covid19.odisha.gov.in. They will be placed under quarantine for 14 days upon their return to the eastern state, he said. The Odisha government will urge the governments of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to waive road tax of buses bringing the Odia migrant workers to their homes from Gujarat, the official said. Over 7,000 temporary quarantine centres have been set up in the rural areas of Odisha for housing the migrant workers upon their return to the state, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Iranian Diplomat Condemns Military Ambitions, Suggests Reconciliation With US Radio Farda April 25, 2020 A former Iranian deputy foreign minister has questioned Iran's military ambitions in a clear reference to Revolutionary Guard commanders' claims about the Iranian armed force's deterrent power following the launch of a military satellite last week. In an analysis entitled "The Strategy of Deterrence" in Saturday's edition of reformist newspaper Sharq, Aminzadeh wrote that "further to military deterrence, countries need an economic deterrent power in order to protect their national security." He noted that "The coronavirus outbreak has redoubled Iran's economic problems in the face of U.S. sanctions. But even before the outbreak, Iran's inability to protect its national economy had exposed the country to this extremely difficult situation." IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh said in an interview on Iran's state TV on 24 April that by launching its first military satellite into space, Iran has become a "superpower". He also praised the measure as a boost for Iran's deterrence power against any enemy. "We will be more powerful every day and no one can threaten us. The United States and even bigger powers cannot do a damn thing to us," Hajizadeh claimed. Earlier, IRGC commander-in-chief Hossein Salami had also said the launch of Iran's first military satellite on Wednesday April 22 marks the "beginning of the formation of a world power." Iran's Supreme Leader who has always been supporting the IRGC and its hardline rhetoric, has so far remained silent about the military satellite launch and the IRGC commanders' boastful remarks. Although he has been in a strict self-isolation since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, still he could have made a comment about the development. It is possible he is annoyed by Salami's earlier outlandish claims about the invention of a machine that can detect coronavirus from a distance of 100 meters. In his analysis Aminzadeh charged that some Iranian officials have not noticed that the post-Cold War strategists have re-defined the concept of deterrence, stressing that it now means "being capable of displaying and using effective aggressive military power to dissuade the enemy of the idea of a military offensive." In other words, it means being able to "retaliate." He said the collapse of the Soviet Union three decades ago, when it was at the peak of its military power, showed that lack of economic power can be catastrophic. He noted that "today, economic sanctions have proved to be more effective than engaging in an arms race," adding that "the successful experience of the United States in sanctioning Iran has turned the sanctions into the most important and most effective tool for the U.S. in its confrontation with the Islamic Republic." Aminzadeh reminded Iranian officials of "the shift in the elements of national power from military power to economic power since the Cold War," and wrote "economic power strongly depends on foreign trade and international transactions," adding that "the concepts of self-sufficiency and confinement within national borders are meaningless in today's economy," possibly in a reference to Khamenei's idea of a Jihadist economy. Pointing out Iran's weaknesses, Aminzadeh wrote that maintaining economic relations with neighbors and powerful countries plays a key role in both economic and military deterrence. Aminzadeh warned that "development of a military power disproportionate with the country's economic power is a dangerous thing. One of the reasons of the collapse of the Soviet Union was the continuous decline of its economic resources." He also criticized the dictum of "Looking to East" or an orientation toward China and Russia, which was mentioned by Khamenei a couple of times during the past year. Aminzadeh said that the idea of relying on the East to evade U.S. pressures is still present in some Iranian officials' dreams and wishful thinking. Aminzadeh added that now even Russia and China see an improvement in Iran's ties with the United States as a condition for expanding their relations with Iran. "For the development of economic ties, even with countries known as the East, Iran badly needs to resolve its disputes with the United States," he wrote, adding that the idea of a Cold War style deterrence by looking East is misleading. "Good or bad, that period is gone!" As a way out of its problems, Aminzadeh suggested that Iran needs proper economic management, maintaining economic ties with other countries through improving Iran's foreign policy as the most important obstacle to the country's economic development and putting an end to U.S. sanctions and Iran's international isolation. To do that, he suggested that Iran should activate mediation efforts and "push the United States to a more balanced and logical position". Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/former-iran- diplomat-condemns-military-ambitions-suggest- reconciliation-with-us-/30576278.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Being suddenly confined to home has shown sales director Phil Heys what he was missing. Mr Heys was not always there to see early milestones for his three-year-old son, Harry. But while isolated with his family during COVID-19, he has seen "the magical moments, the first smiles", of four-month-old baby Rosie. Glen Iris sales manager Phil Heys, with his son, Harry (and wife Kat and baby Rosie in the background). He hopes to keep doing some work from home after the pandemic passes. Credit:Simon Schluter He is one of many employees likely to benefit from what experts are calling the "mainstreaming" of remote work during the pandemic, which promises to fast-track family-friendly work. "I might have spent 45 minutes or an hour commuting to work; now I can use the time to see the children and support my wife [Kat] and make the hours count within the day be more efficient with your time," says Mr Heys, who works for a tech startup. Yet amid the biggest national crisis in generations, the one branch of government where Democrats hold power has largely sidelined itself, struggling so far to adopt remote voting, Zoom video hearings or any of the other alternative methods that have become standard for most workplaces in the age of covid-19. No administration official has appeared at a congressional hearing in over a month. Committees have been unable to meet in person to debate and advance bills. There is no firm date for when the new oversight panel will start its work. Aged care operators ordered by Prime Minister Scott Morrison to stop locking out visitors have hit back, saying the restrictions are saving lives and demanding updated national guidelines enshrining a right to control access to facilities during the coronavirus pandemic. Aged and Community Services Australia chief executive Patricia Sparrow said providers remained convinced that restricting visitation remained crucial to their efforts to keep residents safe, after a sixth resident at Sydney's Newmarch House died of COVID-19 over the weekend. The sector wants updated national guidelines that enshrine a right to control access to facilities. Credit:Alamy "That's the only way they can make sure people are safe and well," Ms Sparrow told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, pointing to the stories emerging from Europe and the US, where outbreaks at aged care centres had killed tens of thousands of elderly people. A coalition of seven aged care peak bodies will on Monday demand action for state and federal governments to agree to a "revised statement ... regarding enhanced resident protections that confirms that, in some cases, additional restrictions beyond [official] guidance are necessary". Rajasthan warms up to inter-state transfer of workers India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Jaipur, Apr 26: Migrant workers stranded in various states will be able to move out of or back to Rajasthan in a phased manner with mutual consent of the states, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said. These workers will be able to reach their home only after getting necessary permission from the concerned state government and proper arrangements, Gehlot said in a statement. At crucial meeting of PM with CMs, migrant issue to be main point of discussion Holding a video conference, the chief minister asked officials to make concrete arrangements for smooth movement of such workers. He said migrant workers desiring to return home will have to register on helpline number 18001806127 or eMitra Rajasthan portal or e-Mitra mobile app or e-Mitra kiosk. After registration of the workers, the state government will obtain consent from the concerned state government. According to the number of registered migrants and workers, they will be allowed to go to their homes on the scheduled date and time. He said the person who wants to come back to Rajasthan on his own vehicle has to mention it during his registration. No person shall come out on streets on his own free will, he said, adding migrants and workers would be quarantined after reaching the designated place to prevent coronavirus infection. He asked officials to ensure proper arrangements so that migrants arrive at their respective places safely in the next few days following measures such as social distancing and other health protocols. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, April 26, 2020, 9:07 [IST] Aer Lingus had tried for many years to outsource its catering at Dublin Airport but had long been stymied by stiff union resistance. However, the airline announced last October that it was to proceed with the outsourcing plan Aer Lingus has struck a deal to outsource its Dublin Airport catering division to the world's second-biggest ground handler. The deal to bring in the catering division of DNATA (Dubai National Air Transport Association), a major airport services company owned by Dubai's Emirates Group with revenues of more than 3bn per annum, will commence in June. "Following extensive engagement with employees in our Catering Department, staff representatives and the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), agreement was reached in February to partner with a new supplier for our catering operation," said an Aer Lingus spokeswoman. "In line with that agreement, Dnata will commence provision of catering services for Aer Lingus as planned in June." Staff have been presented with options and some details are subject to further discussions next week, it is understood. Aer Lingus had tried for many years to outsource its catering at Dublin Airport but had long been stymied by stiff union resistance. However, the airline announced last October that it was to proceed with the outsourcing plan. Under the WRC agreement, staff are being asked to avail of transfer of undertakings to transfer to DNATA, retaining their current terms and conditions with the exception of pension arrangements. Or they can work for it under a secondment arrangement, whereby they remain employed by Aer Lingus but work directly for the new operator. Those who opt for secondment will have to agree to new work practices and methods, and to day-to-day management by DNATA, which has had a catering operation close to the airport since 2018. "It is understood by the parties that the future headcount structure under the new supplier is expected to be similar to the current Aer Lingus structure," said a document prepared following the WRC discussions. "Nevertheless, it is reasonable to expect the work organisation to be different as the new supplier will surely implement its 'way of doing things'." Staff who do not wish to continue to work in the catering operation under the new regime can opt for voluntary severance or for redeployment within the airline. Redeployment would have to be on the basis of vacancies identified by the airline, and this now looks an unlikely option given it has reportedly already laid off at least 60 contract workers due to the impact of the pandemic. Redundancy terms would see staff get six weeks' pay per year of service as well as a further payment of 12,500 for those with 10 years' service, rising to 25,000 for those with more than 25 years' service. The agreement requires acceptance that "this enhanced model" will not set any level of precedent going forward, and would only apply in the context of the "specific and unique circumstances" of the catering division. New York's COVID-19 infection rate is at 0.8%, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said from the state Capitol on Sunday afternoon down from 0.9% last week. Government agencies continue to monitor the state's virus-related hospitalization and death rates to determine which regions of New York can reopen first. A 16-year-old girl and her 19-year-old boyfriend allegedly tried to hire a hitman to kill her stepfather after he caught them having sex. Angelina Grace Peluso and Dillian Mikel Weaver were charged in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, on Friday in what state police described as a murder-for-hire plot to kill Peluso's stepfather, Howard Blackburn. The teens' alleged scheme was foiled when the person they recruited to commit the murder contacted authorities, according to PennLive. The outlet cited arrest affidavits indicating that both suspects confessed after they were apprehended. According to the affidavits, Blackburn became furious after he found the teens in bed together at his home in Cascade Township on Thursday morning. Peluso told police that Blackburn slapped and punched her after Weaver left the home. She then tried to make Weaver angry at Blackburn by telling him via Snapchat that her stepfather had sexually assaulted her. She later admitted to police that that wasn't true. Weaver vented his anger over the Peluso's allegation to a female via Snapchat, telling her he wanted Blackburn dead but wanted someone else to do the killing. Angelina Grace Peluso, 16, and her boyfriend Dillian Mikel Weaver, 19, are being held at Lycoming County Prison (pictured) in Pennsylvania after police say they tried to hire a hitman to kill Peluso's stepfather The female friend, who has not been named or charged, told Weaver that she knew someone who could do the deed and provided him with their contact information. Weaver reached out to that person and presented his plan to kill Blackburn when he arrived home from work. The would-be hitman reported the plan to police on Thursday night, saying he initially thought it was a joke. He provided investigators with a screenshot of a text conversation between Weaver and the woman, which read in part: 'He gets off work at 5:30 so we'd have to be there before him and get him as soon as he gets out of his truck before he goes inside. We need to cover our faces ... they have cameras there.' The message also directs the shooter to park away from the house to avoid the cameras. 'Just gotta take his body and dispose of him somewhere. So he's never heard from..or found,' the text concludes. The only payment mentioned in the message was the woman saying that she could give the informant $30 for gas. The affidavits also feature a screenshot of a conversation between Weaver and Peluso. 'Baby I need you to tell me that it's OK if this happens to him. Like you're OK with him dying. I need confirmation msg as soon as you can about this,' Weaver wrote. Peluso replied: 'Yes baby. I have zero affection for him. We've talked about it. I just don't want to lose you is my concern that's all.' In a conversation later that day, Weaver tells the informant he is serious about the plan, writing: 'I just need him gone and no questions asked yk?' Weaver mentions that Peluso had told him Blackburn owns a gun and will have it at the ready if he feels suspicious. The conversation continued on Friday with Waver providing the informant with details on how Blackburn could be killed and reminding him to mind the surveillance cameras, according to the affidavits. The informant told Weaver he was waiting to hear from a friend who had access to a gun that could be tossed. Later on, the informant messaged Weaver and said that the friend wanted to meet him in person. The informant was fitted with a recording device before he and an undercover state trooper went to Weaver's home, where the suspect got into their vehicle. Weaver was recorded as saying he wanted "Howie" shot and "out of the picture", the affidavits state. He reiterated that both he and Peluso wanted 'Howie' dead. The undercover trooper told Weaver he would contact him after he "took care of the body". Weaver was taken into custody after the meet-up. Peluso told investigators it was Weaver's idea to kill her stepfather and that she went along with it, according to the affidavits. She later insisted that she didn't mean it and only wanted him hurt. Both teens were booked on charges of criminal solicitation to commit first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and criminal use of a communication device. They are being held at Lycoming County Prison in lieu of $1million bond. Civil society leverage, though transitory, works as a breather for the governments and the businesses. At one month into the nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19, the finance ministry in a press release has come out with an update on the governments relief activities till 22 April 2020 for the lockdown-affected vulnerable section of society. Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package, 33 crore poor people are reported to have received direct financial assistance of `31,235 crore, with support amounting to `3,497 crore for construction workers, `16,146 crore for 8 crore farmers as the first instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme, `10,025 crore to 20.05 crore women Jan Dhan account holders, and `1,405 crore to 2.82 crore widows, elderly and disabled persons, among others. Simultaneously, under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana, free ration of foodgrains has been reportedly distributed to 39.27 crore beneficiaries, and 1,09,277 million tonnes of pulses were dispatched to various states and union territories, while 2.66 crore free cylinders have been delivered under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. Notwithstanding any debate on the veracity of these claims, the pressing issues at hand are two: (i) adequacy of the volume of relief relative to the number of potential beneficiaries, though in absolute terms, the relief packages may seem voluminous, and (ii) whether these are actually reaching the intended beneficiaries, given our long record of mistargeting safety nets. The adequacy and advocacy of indirect relief packages, in particular, is difficult to be assessed because it is hard to get real-time estimates of potential beneficiaries such as informal sector workers. While it is not clear from the press release issued by the finance ministry as to whether 40 crore is the estimated number of potential beneficiaries or a work-in-progress estimate. Similarly, incidences of underestimations are also not uncommon at the state levels; for instance, the Government Order No 13 (GO-13) issued by the Telangana government that intends to provide relief to all migrant workers. This order smacks of arbitrariness, to the extent that the government in question has announced relief coverage to 3,35,669 migrant workers without, however, supporting these numbers with any official database. This arbitrariness is common to several other states. Hence, official assurances and assertion of relief fail to translate into actual implementation, with several of the actual beneficiaries being left out of the states support coverage. More disconcertingly, being enlisted as a beneficiary does not necessarily preclude exclusion. For instance, construction workers in certain states have been refused government relief on the grounds that the primary responsibility of their food and shelter rests on their builderemployer. Ironically, the construction sector is not only earmarked for receiving the central governments relief support, but in states like Telangana it also comes under the states coverage through GO-13. Bahrain's economy has sufficient flexibility to overcome the repercussions of the coronavirus crisis and it will be able to recover quickly once the precautionary measures are eased, heard a forum. Proact International Consultancy organised the "Economic Recovery" forum in Bahrain under the slogan "Post-Pandemic", which was held remotely through live broadcasting. A group of economists and businessmen discussed the path of post-corona recovery phase in the banking, health, nutrition, tourism, hotels, technology, communications and media sectors at the forum. The forums speakers also reviewed investment opportunities and methods to meet the challenges and encourage the innovation required by the next stage. CEO of Proact International Consultancy and Secretary-General of the Forum, Dr Khaled Bomatia welcomed the forum participants, who reviewed the changes imposed by coronavirus and discussed how to overcome its consequences, especially in the most-affected sectors. Businessman Khalid Al Amin said the Bahraini economy has sufficient flexibility to overcome the repercussions of the coronavirus crisis, expressing his belief that the economy will recover quickly once the precautionary measures are eased. He pointed out that Bahrains openness and the integration of its economy with the other economies of the region and the world link the acceleration of this recovery to actions taken by other countries. Journalist Ibrahim Al Tamimi said Covid-19 represents an opportunity to adopt new methods in the field of work, distance education, social communication, and others. He said the pandemic had once again demonstrated the cohesion and solidarity of Bahraini society and noted that post-corona economic recovery is linked to a large extent to the time taken to eliminate or control the virus. Dr Faisal Al-Nasser, head of the Home Health Care Center, emphasised that the epidemic had managed to change many concepts among people and governments, especially in health services. "Some of the variables that occurred impose new priorities and establish how different health services should be in the post-pandemic phase, and this necessarily reflects on the prospects and opportunities for investment in the health field," Dr Faisal added. Moanis Al Murdi, Editor-in-Chief of the Bahraini newspaper Al-Bilad, said: "There is an optimistic view of the speed of the economic recovery post-corona. Unfortunately, most of the economic forecasts say otherwise and we need to understand the effects of the economic downturn that will last for decades and we will see a change in the economic landscape. TradeArabia News Service Sofia Richie masked up to take her wiener dog Hershula out for some sea air near the beach in Malibu this Saturday. The 21-year-old daughter of Lionel Richie is in lockdown with her beau Scott Disick, 36, whom she has often been seen with on the beach lately. When she was glimpsed out this weekend Sofia wrapped herself in a plunging cream robe and pulled on a pair of bright slippers. Stepping out: Sofia Richie masked up to take her wiener dog Hershula out for some sea air near the beach in Malibu this Saturday Keeping her blonde hair swept back behind her head, Sofia could be seen chatting on the phone as she carried Hershula away from the car. A day prior Sofia could be seen wearing a mask and bikini as she rode an electric bike while enjoying the beach with Scott and a couple of other men. Scott shares three children with his ex-fiance Kourtney Kardashian and recently liked a throwback Instagram snap of him passionately kissing his used-to-be girlfriend. Details: The 21-year-old daughter of Lionel Richie is in lockdown with her beau Scott Disick, 36, whom she has often been seen with on the beach lately A fan account posted the flashback Instagram picture of Kourtney kissing Scott, and the Flip It With Disick hunk liked the snap on Wednesday. That same day Scott and Sofia were enjoying time together on the beach in Malibu, posting Instagram shots of themselves riding electric bikes. 'So what are we calling summer 2020? #cancelled' quipped Sofia in the caption of her picture, where she could also be seen wearing Fendi slippers. The way they were: Scott shares three children with his ex-fiance Kourtney Kardashian and recently liked a throwback Instagram snap of him passionately kissing his used-to-be Sofia and Scott have apparently spent their time in lockdown 'getting closer' to one another, a source gossiped in Life & Style. 'They're definitely not used to spending this much time together without Sofia's friends or Sofia going back and forth to Lionel or her mom's house.' The insider dished to the magazine: 'They're having dinner together, lunch and breakfast every day. They spend time watching movies together and just talking one-on-one, which is not normal for them.' 'Earth day at its finest': That same day Scott and Sofia were enjoying time together on the beach in Malibu, posting Instagram shots of themselves riding electric bikes Another person has fallen victim to the coronavirus outbreak in northwest Tasmania with the death of an elderly man. The man aged in his 90s died at Mersey Community hospital in Latrobe, near Devonport, on Sunday. He died a day after another elderly patient succumbed to coronavirus in the same hospital where many victims are being treated. Another 90-year-old man died at a hospital in Victoria, taking Australia's death toll to 83. Two more people have died, one in Victoria and one in northwest Tasmania, bringing the country's death toll to 83 Victoria had just three new cases overnight, with one of them part of a cluster of 16 at the Albert Road Clinic for psychiatric patients. Australia has 6,710 coronavirus cases, but only 1,233 of those patients are still sick with 5,394 having recovered. The northwest Tasmania outbreak is one of Australia's biggest, caused by a Ruby Princess passenger triggering a cluster among medical workers. A third of the state's landmass was forced into the strictest lockdown in Australia in response, with businesses like Kmart and Bunnings ordered to close. Despite the death toll continuing to rise, some Australians are getting sick of lockdown and ignoring rules to have picnics with friends or drive to the beach. Hundreds packed Sydney beaches on Saturday causing them to be shut down after just three hours and large groups of friends were openly socialising in parks. The man aged in his 90s died at Mersey Community Hospital (pictured) in Latrobe, near Devonport, on Sunday Australians may be becoming complacent as the rate of coronavirus infection plummets to less than one per cent - there were just 18 new cases on Saturday. Throngs of locals were seen swimming at Sydney's Coogee Beach and strolling along the sand on Saturday morning. On the Gold Coast it was the same story with hundreds of people seen relaxing in groups on the sand instead of only exercising. Others flocked to parks with some even thumbing their nose at the rules by bringing picnic blankets and full spreads of cheese, chips, and beer. Tourists were seen hanging out in groups of up to a dozen with no social distancing at all. Businesses that were not forced to close but shut down over uncertainty and falling customer numbers are also starting to reopen. Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said the National Cabinet has asked experts to provide 'recommendations for gently, carefully, cautiously relaxing distancing measures'. Despite the death toll continuing to rise, some Australians are getting sick of lockdown and ignoring rules to have picnics with friends or drive to the beach Some even thumbed their nose at the rules by bringing picnic blankets and full spreads of cheese, chips, and beer This could involve relaxing restrictions on the number of people allowed to gather in public, he said. Queensland responded by announcing it would end its lockdown on Friday to allow people to leave the hope for non-essential activities. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Queenslanders will be able to go for a drive, sit at the beach, have a picnic, visit a national park and shop for non-essential items. 'Because we have done such a terrific job of flattening the curve, after discussions with the chief health officer, from next Friday we will be able to lift some of the stay-at-home restrictions,' she said. Drivers must remain within 50km of their home, with residents able to eat takeaway food outside and sit at the beach. 'Outings are limited to members of the same household or an individual and one friend,' she tweeted on Sunday morning. 'We will closely watch the numbers of new infections and review the measures after two weeks.' Ms Palaszczuk stressed that social distancing measures and hygiene must be maintained and wouldn't hesitate to change the restrictions if people flout the rules. 'The first sign of a spike we will not hesitate to clamp back,' she said. Professor Murphy also said every state and territory now has the capacity to test everyone who has coronavirus symptoms. He also praised the government's contact tracing app which is due to be rolled out next week. 'We're putting in place the world's best testing and public health and surveillance regime before we relax any measures,' he said when asked if he feared a second wave of the virus erupting in Australia. 'No Australian wants to see hundreds of people dying a day from coronavirus. 'We are not prepared to see that, and that's why we are being so cautious and we are putting in these extraordinary surveillance measures. 'We want to be testing 40,000, 50,000 Australians a day if necessary.' Scores of people flocked to Coogee beach at dawn on Saturday morning to make a three-hour time window for exercise Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned aged care homes to stop preventing residents from seeing family. Aged care homes may have to seek a special exemption if they want to ban visitors or confine residents to their rooms, he said. Mr Morrison said if facilities that had gone beyond baseline coronavirus requirements did not return to that level and allow each resident two visitors a day, his government would make it mandatory. Mr Morrison said nursing homes would have to argue why they had a 'very real and serious medical reason' to need a tighter lockdown. He said Parliament will sit on 12, 13 and 14 May to pass 'a couple' bills relating to coronavirus. W orkers furloughed during the coronavirus crisis should consider becoming fruit pickers this summer, the Environment Secretary has said. George Eustice urged the millions of people suspended from their normal jobs amid the pandemic to take up a second job in agriculture. He said only a third of the migrant labour needed to drive Britains harvest this year remain in the country. Were acutely aware that were about to start the British season in fresh produce, in soft fruits and salads, Mr Eustice told the daily Downing Street briefing on Sunday. Environment Secretary George Eustice made the plea at the Downing Street briefing / PA We are working with industry to identify an approach that will encourage those millions of furloughed workers in some cases to consider taking a second job, helping get the harvest in in June. He added that the international food chain is continuing to work well, but said we do anticipate a staff shortage for fruit and vegetable picking in June. Mr Eustice also warned there were isolated cases of the crisis hitting trade, including imports from India. But he said supermarkets had ramped up delivery slots from 2.1 million to 2.6 million, with an aim to reach 2.9 million. He also reassured that absence rates among food sector workers had halved at the end of last week, compared with three weeks ago, currently standing at about 10 per cent. Some 140,000 companies applied for the Governments furlough scheme on its first day open on Monday. Angel Broking has temporarily suspended trading in crude oil futures to protect its clients from ongoing volatility. It comes after WTI crude contracts on Monday fell below zero for the first time ever over concerns of lack of storage facilities at a time when demand outlook is bearish. "Our customer receivables on crude are less than Rs 13.5 crores, spread across 145 clients for the April Expiry. We have temporarily suspended trading in crude, given the unprecedented volatility, to safeguard our customers.Except crude, trading in equities and all other commodities continue," said sources from Angel Broking. "The trading in crude oil futures has been suspended in order to ensure the interests of the customers are protected and they could be safeguarded from the on-going volatility. Once the situation normalises, we shall resume normal activities," the source added. On April 20, the contract for WTI, the benchmark for US oil rates, fell below the $0-a-barrel level. The May crude futures ended at minus $37.63 a barrel, a 306 per cent daily fall. The crude oil contracts on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) reflect prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). Meanwhile, the US Energy Administration announced recently that the oil storage facility at Cushing, Oklahoma, was about 72 per cent full as of April 10, Reuters reported. Bob Yawger, director of futures at Mizuho in New York, told the global news agency that the commodity's current price is effectively worthless if there is no available storage anymore. However, fall in WTI crude is not expected to affect India much. India's entire crude basket represents oil from Oman, Dubai and Brent crude, not WTI. The prices that hit negative are of WTI which is mostly relevant for the US, Canada and Mexican markets. Brent crude, which is what India purchases is still not as cheap as the WTI. Also read: Coronavirus India live updates: 'Every person a soldier; fight against COVID people-driven,' says PM Modi Also read: Setback for Zydus, IPCA; US, Europe warn against using Hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 21:30:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LONDON, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Cai Linna, a Chinese descendant, is a member of High Wycombe community district nurse team at Buckinghamshire NHS Trust. In an email earlier this week to the China Construction Bank (CCB) London Branch, she and her colleagues expressed their profound gratitude for the bank's donation of personal protective equipment (PPE) amid the novel coronavirus crisis. The trust has received a package of 2,000 face masks and 40 medical coveralls from CCB London Branch. "Thank you and China Construction Bank very much for your donation. We are so appreciated what you did for us," said Cai in the email. "At present, we have to visit the community every day, but there is hardly any PPE for us. We only wear surgical masks while visiting patients with symptoms," said Cai in another email to the CCB staff in late March. Despite their own shortage, the trust decided to share the PPE from CCB London Branch with the local community, especially care homes hit by the lack of the equipment. "At the moment that NHS (National Health Service) is very short of the PPE, I will drop off those coveralls to Stoke Mandeville Hospital, as the ICU staff need them more, and I am going to donate some of the masks to the care home, where the staff work without any protection," said Cai. In a picture she shared in the email, two staff of the care home holding some boxes of face masks, with a big smile on their faces. Amid growing concern over the PPE shortage for the frontline medical staff and other key workers in Britain, CCB London Branch has joined the efforts from all walks of life across the country to source PPE to hospitals, care homes and universities. "The PPE delivered to the trust were originally sent from China, shared by our head office and brother branches there," Wu Hao, deputy head of financial institutions at CCB London, told Xinhua. "We have received a total of 400 protective goggles from our brother branches in China, of which 300 have been donated to hospitals in London," said Wu, taking protective goggles for example. CCB London Branch has donated more than 30,000 PPE items -- more than half of the PPE they have received -- to local hospitals, care homes and universities in Britain. In a photograph shared by a staff member at the University Hospital Lewisham in London, two large boxes of PPE from CCB London Branch were surrounded by the ICU team of the hospital, with one doctor displaying protective goggles and medical coveralls in his hands while others all giving thumbs-ups. Last month, the CCB purchased 10 ventilators in Shanghai, China and planed to donate them to the British government. But the reduction of direct flights due to COVID-19 pandemic had made it difficult to ship them to London. The CCB then sent the ventilators to their Shandong Branch about 540 miles way in east China's Shandong province, where they were finally brought to London by a group of Chinese medical workers sent by the province to Britain, and donated to the British government. Enditem Hartford HealthCare on Thursday announced plans to roll out 200 anti-body tests for its employees. The testing could allow the healthcare network to bring quarantined staff back to work because it will show whether a patient has immunity to COVID-19. Hartford HealthCare has also started a plasma collection system that allows those that have recovered from COVID-19 to donate plasma to help treat those suffering from more serious effects of the virus. MidState Medical Center in Meriden is one of Hartford HealthCares hospitals. HHC, in a partnership with Quest Diagnostics, is also expected to make 2,000 anti-body tests available to healthcare workers and first responders in the next week to 10 days. If successful, the tests will be available to the general public, pending state approval. We want to make sure we are there as a healthcare system when the state needs to be back as an economic hub, said Bimal Patel, HHCs Hartford Region Acute Care Hospital president. When the governor is ready to give us a signal we want to be ready as a healthcare system. (Testing) is the most responsible measure, scientific and safest way to put Connecituct back to work. Convalescent plasma is being recognized by more research institutions as way to help critical COVID-19 patients fight the virus. Convalescent plasma are the antibodies in the blood of a recovered patient. The immediate goal of the research is to determine if convalescent plasma can improve the chance of recovery for people with the most severe symptoms of COVID-19. A second goal is to test whether convalescent plasma can help keep people who are moderately sick from getting sicker, according to information from the Mayo Clinic website. It could also be a critical treatment should a second wave of COVID-19 return in the fall. This system is up and coming as more antibodies are generated in the general pubic, Patel told reporters. This is a rapidly moving process that would take years, if not months. We are doing it in weeks. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has outlined the requirements that individuals must meet to donate blood for research. Before donated blood can be used, it must be tested for safety. It then goes through a process to separate out blood cells so all that's left is plasma with antibodies. Chris Madison, an information technology worker at Hartford HealthCare donated plasma this week at a collection center in Westerly, Rhode Island. Madison, of Vernon, tested positive for COVID-19 in March was quarantined. He has now been symptom free for more than 28 days, he said. I wanted to help any way I could, Madison told reporters Thursday Clinicians extracted the plasma from Madisons blood and returned it back into his body. You dont lose as much blood as you normally do, Madison said. I would recommend it to anyone who meets the criteria. Another 16 potential donors are being evaluated. The plasma will be returned to Hartford Hospital and studied in its labs. Other plasma collection centers are being coordinated with the American Red Cross and the Connecticut Hospital Association, Patel said. Those interested in donating may visit https://hartfordhealthcare.org/health-wellness/coronavirus/plasma-donation mgodin@record-journal.com203-317-2255Twitter: @Cconnbiz The American Civil Liberties Union filed a pair of lawsuits late Friday calling for a dramatic reduction in Californias incarcerated population and a halt to all transfers of inmates to federal immigration detention centres amid increasing signs throughout the U.S. that jails and prisons are hot zones for the spread of the coronavirus. The suits filed with the California Supreme Court name Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Xavier Becerra and come as the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego and Lompoc penitentiary in Santa Barbara County have become home to some of the worst outbreaks in the federal prison system. In the lawsuits, the ACLU argued that outbreaks behind bars pose threats not only to the incarcerated, but also the families of jail and prison employees. It is not just those confined to jails, detention centres and youth facilities who are in danger, Peter Eliasberg, chief counsel of the ACLU in Southern California, said in a statement. Once the virus gets inside, the regular movement of staff and visitors in and out means that walls and razor wire can neither slow nor stop the viral spread to communities at large. The suits argue that social distancing is almost impossible in immigration detention centres and California jails and prisons, where many house inmates in close proximity, with showers and meal areas that are communal. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the agency does not comment on pending litigation. The California Attorney Generals office referred questions to Newsom. This administration has been clear on our stance against abuses in immigration detention centres, said Newsoms press secretary, Vicky Waters. We call on the Department of Homeland Security to use the administrative discretion it has under federal law to work with public-health authorities to implement appropriate actions to protect individuals in its custody, staff and local communities. Waters did not immediately respond to questions about conditions in state prisons and jails. ICE has reported 317 coronavirus infections among detainees countrywide, including 57 detainees at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego, according to its website. In immigration facilities like Otay Mesa, the ACLU alleged guards were withholding personal protective equipment from detainees unless they signed waivers releasing the facility from liability. Detainees at Otay Mesa have also staged hunger strikes to protest conditions. At the Adelanto facility north of Los Angeles, the ACLU contend staff have been reluctant to provide medical assistance to detainees and alleged one woman fell so ill from symptoms associated with the coronavirus that she lost consciousness before receiving aid. A federal judge has already ordered the population of the Adelanto facility to be reduced after a separate legal challenge by the ACLU. Transfers from California prisons and jails now represent the primary source of ICEs new bookings in the state, according to the suit, which argues that federal and state law do not obligate transfers to ICE. Californias sanctuary-state law severely limits the number of detainees who can be turned over to ICE from California jails and prisons. In other words, it is the actions of the State of California, more than actions of ICE at this unique moment, that are keeping a flow of new people into ICE detention facilities, the suit alleged. Pointing to the significant number of coronavirus cases reported at New York Citys Rikers Island and the Cook County jail in Chicago as signs of how fast the illness could spread among Californias incarcerated population, the suit also called for a drastic reduction in the number of people held in state prisons and county jails. While the California Judicial Council has made some progress to reduce jail populations, these steps simply have not been large enough or fast enough to reduce the looming threat of exponential spread of COVID-19 in the states jails, juvenile facilities and surrounding communities, the suit read. Leading public-health officials have warned that without swift and large judicial intervention, the epicentre of the pandemic will be jails and prisons. The Judicial Council ordered bail be set at zero for a wide array of misdemeanours and non-violent crimes earlier this month, aiming to cut back on the number of new additions made to the state jail population. Newsom also sought the release of at least 3,500 state prison inmates with fewer than 60 days left on their sentence, and thousands of people have been released from Los Angeles Countys sprawling jail system. Data show the states average daily incarcerated population fell from about 72,400 in late February to nearly 54,500 in early April, while bookings statewide have also plummeted. The number of juveniles in custody in California has also dropped by about 1,000 youths in that time frame, records show. But the ACLU argued that reduction is not enough to allow for social distancing in most facilities, highlighting claims from the parents of several juveniles who say their kids are still sleeping in close proximity and not being given access to masks or sanitizer. A number of juvenile-justice advocates have separately called on the California Supreme Court to intervene on behalf of youths in custody in L.A. County, where a number of judges have blocked petitions for early release that even had the support of local probation officers. A sizable enough reduction in the overall number of individuals in detention facilities allows social distancing for all inside, and facilitates both proper screening to prevent COVID(-19) from being introduced into the jails and proper isolation and monitoring of individuals who may be infected, the suit read. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 20:33:10|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JAKARTA, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian police have thwarted thousands of people planning to go back to hometowns for celebrating the Islamic festivity as the country has been beefing up strides to cushion the spread of COVID-19. Nearly 5,000 vehicles carrying people have been stopped by police personnel and ordered them to turn back to their original cities including the capital of Jakarta from which they started departures, Chief of the National Police's Traffic Corps General Istiono said on Sunday. Again, the police urged people to avoid exodus to hometowns during the Islamic holy fasting month of Ramadhan which will be ended with the post-fasting festivity Eid al-Fitr on May 24, he said. "We ask travelers for not spreading the COVID-19 virus to other places," the general remarked on a text message. The prevention of the exodus was carried out at the second day of the implementation of the government's ban. The bar was strengthened by a prohibition of all air, sea and land travels, kicking off two days ago until the end of May. To support the implementation of the bar on the massive departures, Indonesia has dispatched over 170 police and military personnel to maintain the fresh policy. About 20 million people in the world's largest Muslim country regularly travel to hometowns for celebrating Eid al-Fitr annually. On Sunday, the Indonesian Health Ministry said that a total of 743 people have died of COVID-19 with 8,882 others infected in the country. L.A. County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer addresses a news conference last month on the steps of Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Los Angeles County public health officials on Sunday reported 18 additional COVID-19 deaths and 440 new cases of the coronavirus. Long Beach, which has its own health department, reported two new deaths and 10 additional cases, bringing the countys total to 915 deaths and 19,538 cases. The most difficult part of the COVID-19 pandemic is losing people to the virus, Barbara Ferrer, director of the county Department of Public Health, said in a statement. To all of you who have lost loved ones, we are deeply sorry. Of those who most recently died, 13 were older than 65, four were 41 to 65, and one was 18 to 40, officials said. Fifteen had underlying health conditions. Overall, black people continue to see the highest COVID-19 death rate in L.A. County, with 13 deaths per 100,000 people, compared with 9.5 for Latino people, 7.5 for Asian people and 5.5 for white people, public health officials said in a news release. Officials also revealed that those who live in lower-income communities in L.A. County are three times more likely to die of COVID-19 than those in wealthier communities. Neighborhoods where 30% to 100% of residents live in poverty have seen about 16.5 deaths per 100,000 people, compared with 5.3 deaths per 100,000 people in communities where less than 10% of residents live in poverty, they said. As we have more information about who is dying, we are reminded that the work ahead requires that we address issues of disproportionately that result in higher rates of death among African Americans, Latinx and Asians as well as residents living in poverty, Ferrer said. Ensuring access to testing, early treatment and care, and economic support among those communities at higher risk of devastating outcomes associated with COVID-19, is essential." As of Sunday, more than 117,000 people had been tested and received their results, with about 14% testing positive, she said. Officials have said that the number of new cases reported on weekends tends to be lower due to more limited test results being returned. Story continues After appearing to level off for a time, the number of new coronavirus cases recorded by L.A. County has surged over the past week, and deaths have doubled. Officials remain especially concerned about residents of institutional facilities, who tend to have underlying health conditions and live in environments where the virus can spread more easily. A total of 365 residents who lived in institutional settings had died from COVID-19 as of Friday, with the majority of them nursing home residents, Ferrer said. They account for 43% of the deaths in L.A. County. In a bid to slow the virus spread among vulnerable populations, the countys health officer, Dr. Muntu Davis, on Friday issued an order requiring that all licensed group healthcare facilities limit entry to workers and residents and suspend communal dining and activities. Both residents and staff at the facilities will be required to wear face coverings. Institutions now are required to conduct testing for all residents and staff, whether symptomatic or not, a process that will begin Monday, Ferrer said. Medical teams from the California National Guard also have been dispatched to five skilled nursing facilities in L.A. County to assist with staffing shortages due to coronavirus outbreaks, and officials are in talks to deploy four more teams. President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hold hands after signing a joint statement during their summit at the truce village of Panmunjeom, April 27, 2018. / Korea Times file NK unresponsive as Panmunjeom Declaration marks second anniversary By Do Je-hae The second anniversary of the Panmunjeom Declaration today is raising questions about the effectiveness of the Moon Jae-in administration's renewed focus on improving inter-Korean relations following his party's April 15 general election victory. The main outcome of the first summit between President Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the declaration was initially seen as a major impetus to significantly improve inter-Korean relations by reaffirming the leaders' resolve to reduce military tension and establish permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. "The Panmunjom Declaration was a diplomatic achievement, but its two-year anniversary is marked by disappointment and concern. North Korea has shown little to no willingness for inter-Korean cooperation and now its capability is in doubt with the uncertainty surrounding Kim Jong-un," said Leif-Eric Easley, associate professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. "Pyongyang could clearly benefit from Seoul's humanitarian assistance. But the Kim regime has demanded larger economic benefits that are not possible as long as North Korea refuses to denuclearize to earn sanctions relief. So Pyongyang is likely to focus on its domestic politics and military capabilities." Some experts on the Korean Peninsula are pointing out that there is not much to celebrate the second year of the landmark agreement as North Korea remains unresponsive toward Moon's repeated call, irrespective of U.S. disapproval, for joining hands on economic projects. "The second anniversary of the declaration is, unfortunately, a monument to failed diplomacy. Mostly this is the fault of bad faith by North Korea and incompetence by the Trump administration, but Moon has made mis-steps as well," Mason Richey, a professor of international politics at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, told The Korea Times. "It is doubly unfortunate because a serious, long-term, well-managed diplomatic process on the Korean Peninsula might not only help lead to an acceptable conclusion on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons, but also create stability, which is a special concern during this tense time of rumors regarding the health of Kim Jong-un." Small but noisy protests around the country pushed back at stay-at-home orders, and some states moved to relax them as the U.S. coronavirus crisis dragged on. Some saw the lockdown as trampling on civil liberties. Others saw premature reopenings as giving the virus liberty to infect people. In Washington, D.C., Congress passed its fourth coronavirus relief package, largely focused on boosting aid to small businesses. Democrats were criticized for holding out for more aid to hospitals and money for testing. They could not persuade Republicans to send more aid to states. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said states should declare bankruptcy instead. Congress would need to pass a law for that to happen. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo dared McConnell to try. As the economic shutdown continued and demand for energy cratered, so did oil futures. For a short time, a barrel of oil cost less than zero. Gas is cheaper than it has been for years, now that no one can go anywhere. Editorial cartoonists also riffed on The Godfather II and Nero fiddling while Rome burned; the Las Vegas mayors willingness to gamble on the health of tourists by reopening casinos; the Grim Reaper of poverty caused by the coronavirus shutdown; Georgia Gov. Brian Kemps decision to reopen parts of its economy against the advice of the White House; and the Supreme Court ruling requiring unanimous jury verdicts in criminal trials. Cartoons were drawn by Bill Bramhall, Dana Summers, Drew Sheneman, Scott Stantis, Walt Handelsman, Phil Hands, Joel Pett and Joey Weatherford of Tribune Content Agency; and A.F. Branco, Mike Luckovich and Michael Ramirez of Creators Syndicate. View more editorial cartoon galleries. Two NSCN(IM) cadres were arrested along with a cache of arms and ammunition from different places in Assam in joint operations by the state police and Indian Army, officials said on Sunday. In the first case, troops of Indian Army in a joint operation with Assam Police apprehended a cadre of NSCN(IM) near Lalpahara in the Tinsukia district on April 24. The cadre has been identified as Raju Bramo and a .22 pistol along with four live rounds of ammunition were recovered from him, Defence Public Relation Officer (Guwahati) Lt Col P Khongsai said in a statement. In another operation, a senior cadre of NSCN(IM) was apprehended near Titabor in Jorhat district on April 23. The joint team nabbed the cadre, who was trying to escape a check post, and he has been identified as Nyaoba Konyak alias Nweypa, the spokesperson informed. "During the operation, the troops also recovered two US-made Beretta pistols with two magazines. It is suspected that the cadre was actively involved in planning and conduct of extortion and kidnapping activities in upper Assam," Khongsai said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Srinagar, April 26 : Given the number of red zones in Kashmir, authorities have decided not to implement the relaxations in the lockdown as detailed in the MHA order. P.K. Pole, Kashmir divisional commissioner, said since there in a large number of red zones in the Valley and as such there will be separate directions from the health department those will be issued shortly with regard to relaxations in the lockdown. MHA issued a directive on Friday allowing the opening of standalone shops and shops located in residential complexes of urban areas and shops selling non-essential goods in addition to those selling essentials of life in the rural areas. There are 76 red zones in Kashmir with hardly any single district among the 10 districts in the Valley remaining unaffected by COVID-19. Authorities have recently declared Pulwama as a COVID-19 free district, but given the very low number of tests conducted in Pulwama district, it is still a fingers crossed situation even in this district. Shahid Iqbal Chaudhary, Srinagar DM has clearly expressed dissatisfaction with the opening of shops in Srinagar district where only yesterday five more tested positive for the virus. There are 15 red zones in this district. In the neighbouring Ganderbal district also police and CRPF were seen enforcing the lockdown on Sunday as it was before the MHA directive. On Saturday, however, people were seen engaged in brisk shopping in Baramulla town, Abut reports from there also suggest the lockdown is being enforced strictly and no shop selling non-essential goods even if the shop is categorised as standalone is being allowed to function. On July 3, 2019, Nsopikpo Afia took his bundles of fishing net, put them on his canoe and left the Uton riverbank at Iwochang community in Ibeno Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State to fish in the Qua Iboe. Qua Iboe is a river that rises near Umuahia in Abia State and flows in a southeastern direction through Ibeno, which is one of the largest fishing settlements on the Nigerian coast. In the middle of the river, Mr Afia threw his nets with the hope of catching as many fish as possible. After some minutes, he brought out his nets and was disappointed. The nets only caught a few fish. He became sad. But that was not the worse incident. His nets had been soaked with crude oil and seaweed clung on the nets as a result of oil operations in the river area. He saw the spilt oil on the water but he was unaware it could have a devastating impact on his nets. Oil Spills Oil spill refers to the release of liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment both on land and the marine ecosystem, mainly due to operational failures. Oil spills include releases of crude oil from offshore platforms, drilling rigs and wells, as well as spills of refined petroleum products (such as gasoline, diesel) and their by-products. Oil spills have contaminated many rivers, streams, and soils in the Niger Delta, a region made up of oil-producing states including Akwa Ibom. Oil spills raise concerns about seafood safety, endanger fish hatcheries in coastal water and contaminate commercially valuable fish flesh. Oil exploration has over the years impacted negatively on the physical environment of the oil-bearing communities and has increased the rate of environmental degradation and perpetuated food insecurity as a result of the death of fish. Nsopikpo Afia sits on his canoe as helpless after oil spills destroyed his fishing nets The fisheries sector in Nigeria supports about 7 million Nigerians, of whom 80 per cent are from the Niger Delta. The regions small-scale fish farmers supply a large amount of the countrys domestic fish production annually. The sector contributes about 6 per cent to the nations economy while the country depends on imported fish to meet domestic demand, with total fish imports amounting to about $1.2 billion and exports valued at $284 million in 2013. Currently, almost 9 million tonnes of fish are produced domestically, while the annual demand for fish is around 2.7 billion tonnes. Mr Afia said the oil spill in Ibeno has affected his livelihood. Its been three months now, he said last November. I have not gone back into the river to resume fishing. I have been suffering and begging relatives and friends for money to feed myself and family. I am also looking for money to get new nets. Anytime there is an oil spill usually thick it will cover our nets and render them useless, said Mr Afia. We dont have fish anymore. The oil does not allow our nets to catch fish. Distraught Mr Afias bundle of nets were on the floor in the riverbank with the hope the sun would dry them and remove the crude oil. Weeks passed and no possibility the nets would still be able to catch fish. On a day in October, he sat on his long canoe looking confused. His fishing partner stood behind him with his head down. He was worried that in a few months to come, they still would not get new nets to go back to the river to fish. Sunday Kwesis two canoes at the Uton riverbank as he no longer fishes due to the contamination of his fishing nets ExxonMobil has been operating in the Qua Iboe area for more than 50 years. It has numerous offshore fields in the Bright of Biafra in southeastern Nigeria, east of the Oso field. The crude, from fields 20 to 40 miles offshore from Nigerias South-astern region, are brought to shore via a seabed pipeline system to the Qua Iboe Terminal (QIT). QIT is located on the eastern side of the Qua Iboe river estuary and contains nine crude oil storage tanks with a total capacity of 4.5 million barrels. ExxonMobil, as a field operator, holds 40 per cent interest in the oil production while the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) owns the remaining 60 per cent. First spill Ibeno community leaders said Ibeno first experienced oil spill in 1998 and it was immediately cleaned by the oil corporation but the company found it difficult to clean subsequent oil spills immediately they occurred until they caused damages. Sunday Kwesi, a Ghanaian, arrived Akwa Ibom in 2004. He had always loved fishing. His grandfather and father were fishermen. He decided to settle in Ibeno, where he became a commercial fisherman. He said he was successful in fishing but started experiencing challenges whenever an oil spill occurs, contaminating the river. Sunday Kwesi sits on his canoe looking dejected Because of the oil spill, my thick nets only last only for two years. But if not touched by oil, nets can stay for 20 years. But because of the spill, it does not last longer again, he lamented on a bright day in October. Mr Kwesis nets were also on the riverbank hoping the sun would dry the oil. He said he feared that the nets would not be able to catch fish anymore even if they dry. Like Mr Afia, Mr Kwesi abandoned fishing for weeks due to the oil spill. He wanted to buy new nets but he could not afford it. READ ALSO: One bundle of the net is N1 million and I need like 20 bundles for commercial fishing, he said. Advertisements He used to get enough fish in the river but since the oil spill started, things had gotten worse. As a result, Mr Kwesi started travelling on the water to neighbouring countries to fish. He has two big canoes. On the canoes are flags of countries he has travelled to fish. I go to Cameroon, Liberia, and Ghana to fish. Now there is a serious oil spill problem. How will I get money to take care of my family? I need help, he said bitterly. Nsopikpo Afia and Sunday Kwesis contaminated fishing nets on the sea bank. Contaminated beach Ibeno has a beach, where people go swimming and have fun. People from various communities and towns go to the beach to enjoy themselves. But the beach has been contaminated by the spill. Community leaders have stopped people from swimming on the beach due to the danger. The beach is one of the beaches on the Atlantic Ocean along the shorelines of Ibeno. It is one of the longest sand beaches in West Africa and a tourist attraction. When oil spills, our beach suffers from seaweed everywhere and small particles of oil, said James Eshiet, Ibeno Youth President. That is where many people enjoy themselves. They go there to swim but now we do not go near the beach. In June 2010, there was a report of an oil spill on the beach. In September 2019, community youth also reported an oil spill on the beach. When the reporter visited the beach in October 2019, it was empty. Stalls at the riverbank were closed due to low patronage. The bank of the beach was filled with seaweeds. The reporter was informed that an oil spill occurred two weeks back (mid-September) that contaminated the beach. Mr Eshiet said ExxonMobil changed its pipes, which led to the oil spilling with seaweeds and thick oil particles all over the beach and its bank. The seaweed is as a result of the production because it clings to their pipes underneath the water, said Gabriel Emmanuel, the youth president of Iwo-okpom, one of the communities in Ibeno. When the spilled oil and seaweed come to our shore, we tell them that this is what they have caused but they deny it. The massive seaweed from the ExxonMobil pipelines at the riverbank of the Ibeno beach when the oil spilled. ExxonMobil spokesperson, Ogechukwu Udeagha, denied oil ever spilling in Ibeno, describing it as speculation and non-specific event. We have no evidence of oil spill around that period. Changing pipelines is what we always do. A government agency can confirm the oil spill. NOSDRA can confirm this and tell us it was not cleaned and it caused damages, he said. Scientists Confirm Spill The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) is a federal agency that embarks on Joint Investigation Visits (JIV), ensures the remediation of impacted oil spill sites and monitors oil spill drill exercises and facilities inspection. This reporter contacted two NOSDRA environmental scientists at the Uyo office, who both confirmed there were separate oil spills and massive seaweeds reported within the period specified. I was present and saw seaweed and little oil. Seaweeds were on the shore. There was not much oil. We took samples of the seaweeds to run a test in the lab to see if there is a sign of anything but the agency did not give approval or funding to run the test, a NOSDRA scientist in the state who identified himself as Gideon said. A senior environmental scientist and NOSDRAs then Zonal Director at the Uyo Field Office, Irvin Obot, also confirmed negligible oil spill and massive seaweed that engulfed the beach shore. There was little oil though negligible but there were massive seaweeds. The oiling was very negligible, Mr Obot who was later transferred to Abuja, said. Seaweed or sea vegetables are forms of algae that grow in the sea. Seaweed usually clings to the pipelines in the water. When there is an oil spill, seaweed leaves the pipelines to the shorelines or riverbank. Thick oil that spilled from ExxonMobils pipeline at the Ibeno beach riverbank Mr Eshiet said the last cleaning done by ExxonMobil was in 2012. Since then, we have had serious oil spills but the clean up had never been done. They have chemicals they pour inside the river so that the oil spill will not reach here [riverbank] but sometimes it does not work. He said letters have been written to ExxonMobil to always clean up spills when they occur but they fail to respond. The negligence from the oil corporations led to a protest by the angry Ibeno youth in 2017 demanding the oil company to clean up the spilled sites. The company, however, said the spills did not emanate from their productions. Numerous challenges Apart from the effects of the oil spill on fish production and the contamination of the beach, other challenges affect the communities and they claim the oil company has failed to help them solve them. Akpanam Bassey, a fisherman, said they are dying from air pollution due to the oil operations. We dont have good water. We dont live up to 80 years. People now die at the age of 40, 50 and 60 years, he lamented. We cry to the federal government to assist us and talk to ExxonMobil to control the oil spill. If youre in Ibeno and you decide to stay inside your house, you will feel and hear vibrations all over the place. We are supposed to be benefiting from these people to save our lives but the money for the development of Ibeno is being taken elsewhere, Mr Eshiet said. He said the rainwater people use is not safe for drinking due to the flare. When it rains and you put your bucket outside, the colour of the water will be black. You keep it for some days and when you filter it, you see oil particles underneath the bucket. It is God that is saving us, Gabriel Emmanuel, the youth president of Iwo Okpon community said. Ibeno beach, Akwa Ibom There was initially potable water to drink in the community but since the oil spill started, they no longer get potable water anymore. They have protested countless times and nothing is forthcoming. When the youth stage a protest to the office of ExxonMobil in Ibeno, they send trucks full of soldiers to scare them away. They get harassed and beaten for protesting against the operations of the oil company that has destroyed their livelihood, Ani Effiong, youth president of Inua Eyet Ikot lamented. Mr Effiong asked the government to look into what they are going through. What we are inhaling, drinking and eating daily is capable of giving typhoid, malaria, among other illnesses. Children unborn will feel the impact of the negativity. They are not happy that ExxonMobil is not cooperative in addressing the problem of the oil spill in Ibeno. They are also sad that the oil firm does not allow people to use its hospital, he said. Before we used to go to the ExxonMobil hospital for treatment but we were stopped, said Bassey Etem, the treasurer of Ibeno Youth Forum. There are not enough doctors in our hospital. We do check-ups once every month and once every two months to detect any sickness. The flare and chemicals are too much. We cannot even enjoy anything here. James Eshiet, Ibeno Youth President But Mr Udeagha disagreed with Mr Ibeno who claimed they do not get support from the oil firm. We have done things for Ibeno. We provide them with free electricity. These are the things that people do not talk about. They are always complaining, the oil companys spokesperson said. For Mr Afia, what he wants from the oil firm is a replacement of his fishing net. We have not been feeling the dividends of our oil from the federal government and ExxonMobil, said Afia. The government and ExxonMobil should provide us with nets because the oil spill contaminated and spoiled them. A 95-year-old former Zipra cadre, David Moyo, who is a brother to the late nationalist, Jason Ziyaphapha Moyo, says many ex-freedom fighters have nothing to show for their sacrifices, with some of them now worse off than they were before joining the liberation struggle. Moyo, whose liberation war name was Sharp Shoot, said he was heartbroken as he still had no proper accommodation 40 years after independence and was relying on begging for food to feed his family. I am still nursing injuries I sustained during the war. I lost my brother Ziyaphapha in the same war, he told Sunday Southern Eye on Independence Day. My heart is broken to realise that after 40 years of independence, I am still crammed in a three-roomed house with one bedroom, which I share with my mother-in-law who is now 90 years old. I am also supposed to queue for mealie-meal and look for other basic commodities to feed my family. Moyo said he takes three types of medication per month, which he sources from South Africa, but can no longer do so due to the national lockdown to control the spread of coronavirus. It really boggles my mind to realise that I am now at an advanced age and having liberated this country through my sacrifice, I still have nothing tangible that I will leave behind for my family to lay hands on, he said. Moyo said first lady Auxillia Mnangagwa visited him last year and promised that government would look for land and build a big house for him. He said almost a year later, the promise was yet to be fulfilled. The former senior Zipra commander said he wanted to turn his Matobo farm into a tourist attraction but had no capital to do so. Moyo said people who did not make any sacrifice to liberate the country were the ones enjoying the fruits of independence. He said former president Robert Mugabe looted resources in the country and destroyed the economy. President Emmerson Mnangagwa was the right-hand man of Mugabe and should be reminded that he was in the forefront during the time when there were atrocities in Matabeleland, Moyo added. Ottawa will provide a $62.5-million aid package to help the country's fish and seafood processors protect workers from COVID-19 and ensure they can continue to keep the seafood market alive. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 25/4/2020 (627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during his daily news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic outside his residence at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, on Saturday, April 25, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Ottawa will provide a $62.5-million aid package to help the country's fish and seafood processors protect workers from COVID-19 and ensure they can continue to keep the seafood market alive. The money is earmarked for personal protective equipment and to help fish and seafood companies adapt their plants to comply with health directives, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during his daily press conference in front of his home on Saturday. Processing companies can also use the money to help pay for equipment such as freezers, so they can store food products while they adapt their factories to ensure workers can maintain a safe distance from one another, Trudeau added. "As we fight COVID-19, people who work in fish and seafood processing plants across the country are playing a crucial role when it comes to putting food on our tables," he said. "This funding will help ensure that they can continue their important work." Fish and seafood are among the country's top food exports and the industry employs roughly 72,000 people. Industry representatives in the Maritimes have raised concerns about the loss of key markets for their processed seafood, notably cruise ships and restaurants, and the need to increase storage capacity so they can continue to buy from fishers and hold onto their processed products until the markets reopen. Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan says she has heard these concerns from fishers and seafood processors, which is why a priority was placed on fish processing needs in advance of more direct help for fishers, which she promised would be coming. "Without the ability to move goods efficiently and effectively, processors can't buy more from our harvesters, and in turn, they can't supply Canadians with seafood," she said. "We know that there has been some challenges (among harvesters) actually accessing the funds that have already been announced. We're continuing to look at all these things that need to be done and will be continuing to follow up with new measures as we go forward." The Fisheries Council of Canada and the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance welcomed the assistance Saturday, saying it is critical to ensuring the continued operations of the sector as it adjusts to the latest public health guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic. "It has been the top priority of our members to ensure the health and safety of our frontline employees while we continue to provide the essential service of supporting the food supply chain," Fisheries Council president Paul Lansbergen said in a statement. Try our Dish The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. Dish arrives in your inbox every other Friday. See sample. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "Many additional measures have been put in place to respond to social distancing mandates and market disruptions, which have come with significant costs." Jordan says the money announced Saturday will not only support the seafood processing industry to increase cold storage and inventory capacity, but will also allow them to re-tool their technologies and marketing efforts to meet the shifts in consumer demands and create value-added products. It will also help processing companies put in place enhanced health and safety measures to minimize the risks to workers. COVID-19 infections are disrupting other parts of the country's food sector, including the meat processing industry. Cargill shut down its plant just north of High River, Alta., earlier this week after an outbreak of COVID-19 and the death of one employee. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2020 The global coronavirus death toll approached 200,000 on Saturday as the United Nations launched an international push for a vaccine to defeat the pandemic. Governments around the world are struggling to limit the economic devastation unleashed by the virus, which has infected nearly 2.8 million people and left half of humanity under some form of lockdown. The scale of the pandemic has forced medical research on the virus to move at unprecedented speed, but effective treatments are still far away and the United Nations chief said the effort will require cooperation on a global scale. "We face a global public enemy like no other," Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a virtual briefing on Friday, asking for international organizations, world leaders and the private sector to join hands. In the Saudi holy city of Mecca, the Great Mosque was deserted on the first day of Ramadan. By BANDAR ALDANDANI (AFP) "A world free of COVID-19 requires the most massive public health effort in history." The vaccine should be safe, affordable and available to all, Guterres stressed at the meeting, which was also attended by the leaders of Germany and France. But notably absent from the meeting were the leaders of China, where the virus first emerged late last year, and the United States, which has accused the UN's World Health Organization of not warning quickly enough about the original outbreak. The UN chief's vaccine appeal came a day after US President Donald Trump prompted outcry and ridicule with his suggestion that disinfectants be used to treat coronavirus patients. "Is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning?" Trump mused during a televised briefing. "It sounds interesting to me." As experts -- and disinfectant manufacturers -- rushed to caution against any such dangerous experiment, the president tried to walk back his comments, saying he had been speaking "sarcastically." The United States is the hardest-hit country by far in the pandemic, recording 51,017 deaths and more than 890,000 infections. The world's biggest economy has been hammered by the pandemic, with 26 million jobs lost since the crisis began, and American leaders are under pressure to find ways to ease social distancing measures. Despite criticism from Trump, the governor of Georgia allowed some businesses, including nail salons and bowling alleys to reopen on Friday, sparking both criticism and relief. The mayor of the state's capital Atlanta condemned the "irresponsible" move, telling ABC News: "There is nothing essential about going to a bowling alley or giving a manicure in the middle of a pandemic." But some in the city cherished the opportunity to re-engage with society. "I actually had a great time," beamed Tili Banks, 41, as she and a friend left a bowling alley. "I was just so happy to be out that I didn't even realize that I had these people's bowling shoes on when I walked outside." Early stages Global COVID-19 deaths have climbed past 195,000, according to an AFP tally, but new reported cases appear to have leveled off at about 80,000 a day. In Thailand, soldiers have been helping residents during the lockdown restrictions. By Handout (ROYAL THAI ARMY/AFP) The daily death toll in Western countries seems to be falling, a sign hopeful epidemiologists had been looking for, but the WHO has warned that other nations are still in the early stages of the fight. The unprecedented situation has left the world staring at its worst downturn since the Great Depression, and put immense pressure on world leaders to balance public health concerns and economic needs. Some countries -- including parts of Europe -- have started loosening restrictions, with Belgium becoming the latest to announce an easing on Friday. Pressure was growing, meanwhile, on the government of coronavirus survivor and Prime Minister Boris Johnson to explain how Britain will get out of the lockdown stage and restart the economy. On the other side of the world in Australia and New Zealand, where sweeping social distancing measures are in force, people held vigils from the isolation of their own driveways to pay tribute to their war veterans on Anzac Day. Official memorials were held behind closed doors. "We (usually) go away to our various watering holes, pubs or clubs, and we enjoy our mates... you talk about the old times, whilst you were serving and you talk about someone who's missing this year that was there last year," said Ray James, an Australian veteran of the Vietnam War. "It's going to be sad this year because we won't be able to do that." Mecca's Grand Mosque deserted Across the Muslim world, hundreds of millions of faithful opened the Ramadan holy month under stay-at-home conditions, facing unprecedented bans on prayers in mosques and on the traditional large gatherings of families and friends to break the daily fast. Across the globe more than four billion people are still under some form of lockdown or stay-at-home order even as governments begin easing restrictions. By Gent SHKULLAKU (AFP) In the Islamic holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, the Grand Mosque, usually packed with tens of thousands of people during Ramadan, was deserted as religious authorities suspended the year-round Umrah pilgrimage. "We are used to seeing the holy mosque crowded with people during the day, night, all the time... I feel pain deep inside," said Ali Mulla, the muezzin who gives the call to prayer at the Grand Mosque. Despite the coronavirus threat, clerics and conservatives in some countries including Bangladesh, Pakistan and Indonesia -- the world's largest Muslim-majority nation -- have pushed back and refused to stop gatherings in mosques. burs-qan/jah (Bloomberg) -- Two key promises from Jair Bolsonaro have underpinned his popularity as Brazilian president. Both are now under threat. Bolsonaro swept to power in 2018 as a self-described outsider who would dismantle the political establishment. He would stamp out the endemic corruption that had festered for decades, and enact much-needed liberal reforms of the economy. But the presidents anti-graft credentials were tainted on Friday when Sergio Moro, the former star judge who sent dozens of political and business leaders to jail during the so-called Carwash probe, abruptly resigned as justice minister. Moro accused Bolsonaro of seeking to meddle in police investigations, some of them potentially involving members of his family. While Bolsonaro denied any wrongdoing in his move to fire the national police chief, the imbroglio is likely to cast a shadow over the rest of his term. Moro is a national hero in the eyes of many Brazilians for his relentless pursuit of corrupt officials, and having him in the government lent weight to Bolsonaros tough-on-crime credentials. Moro is not the only minister to clash with Bolsonaro, whose blunt manner of speaking and far-right views have caused friction in his government and with the opposition, even as it resonated with voters. Earlier this month he fired his health minister after refusing to bow to demands to ease coronavirus social distancing policies in favor of reopening the economy. The risk is the disunity spreads at a time the government is grappling with the economic fallout of the pandemic. Already markets are nervous -- Brazilian stocks fell as much as 9.6% on Friday and the currency reached an all-time low. Tensions with Economy Minister Paulo Guedes are increasingly apparent, according to three people familiar with their interactions, with Bolsonaro backing the launch of a 10-year recovery program that the University of Chicago-trained economist considers a mistake for relying too much on public spending. Story continues As we come to understand Bolsonaros governing style, we realize there are no longer super ministers, said Deysi Cioccari, a political scientist with the Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo. The president determines all the guidelines and only those who agree will stay. Read More: Brazils Recovery Plan Shows Cracks in Bolsonaro-Guedes Relation The economy ministry declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg. Bolsonaros office didnt reply to a request for comment. Shocking Everyone Bolsonaros arrival to power 16 months ago shocked the political establishment in Latin Americas largest economy. His no-concessions style in political negotiations, coupled with a penchant for spreading conspiracy theories about everything from the reliability of Brazils electronic voting system to the origin of Amazon fires, played well with voters tired of years of corruption scandals. He has carried over that manner to governing, which has seen him clash with Congress and the judiciary and set off diplomatic incidents with Brazils long-standing allies. Moro is the eighth minister to depart since Bolsonaros inauguration. Now, the furor over the removal of federal police head Mauricio Valeixo, whom Bolsonaro said failed to properly investigate his stabbing when he was on the campaign trail in 2018, could trigger impeachment efforts against the president for overstepping his mandate. Meanwhile, Brazils economy may spiral into full chaos if Guedes, seen by investors as the architect of market-friendly policies, leaves the government as well. The real has lost almost 30% of its value this year, the most among the worlds main currencies, while bond risk as measured by five year credit-default swaps widened to a four-year high on Friday. Another headache surfaced over the weekend after Boeing Co. scrapped a $4.2 billion commercial-jet deal with Embraer SA, long-regarded as one of Brazils industrial jewels and a component of the countrys benchmark stock index. Old Politics Bolsonaro made a show of unity on Friday when he turned up flanked by nearly all of his remaining cabinet members -- Guedes included -- to deliver a rambling 45-minute speech in which he refuted Moros accusations. Yet the mood in the economy ministry has deteriorated, according to an official close to the minister. Guedes has told his aides that while he does not plan to leave for now, he wont compromise his views on the need to balance the budget and privatize state-owned companies, say two people familiar with his thinking. BRAZIL INSIGHT: Real at 5.7 Shows Cost of Political Uncertainty Perhaps sensing political trouble, Bolsonaro has started to seek support among lawmakers of centrist parties, a group that represents about one third of votes in the lower house and that traditionally rallies behind whoever is in power in exchange for key government positions and government funds. A handful of such lawmakers had breakfast at the presidential palace on Friday, just as Moro crafted his resignation speech. With a number of lawmakers from those centrist parties under investigation for corruption, aligning with them could prove risky for Bolsonaro, according to Thomas Traumann, a Rio de Janeiro-based communications consultant who has advised past ministers and presidents in Brazil. An XP opinion poll published Saturday showed Bolsonaros disapproval rating remained at an all-time high of 42%, while Moros exit is seen as having a negative impact on the country by 67% of respondents. Some 49% said they expect the remainder of the Bolsonaro administration to be bad or terrible. It was the worst moment for Bolsonaro to lose Moro, Traumann said. He exchanged an anti-corruption symbol for traditional politics. Moros resignation caught Bolsonaro off guard and left his government divided into three main groups, according to three people familiar with the situation. The president, his sons and members of his inner circle downplay the impact, saying he wont be missed that much. A second group understands the gravity of the situation and is trying to rebuild the image of the government, while a third large group is unsure how best to respond, the people said. While the president and his sons are already launching attacks against Moro on social media, labeling him a traitor, the second group intends to close ranks with Bolsonaro without getting mired into the debate surrounding the former minister, the people added, requesting anonymity because the discussion isnt public. Presidential Contenders The frictions come before crucial municipal elections in October and the 2022 presidential vote. By repeatedly defying medical guidance on social distancing during the pandemic, Bolsonaro drove his previous health minister out of the government in one of the most controversial episodes of his administration. Luiz Henrique Mandetta stepped down earlier this month with rising approval ratings, which could make him a viable presidential contender in two years. The latest data from the Health Ministry shows coronavirus cases stand at nearly 53,000, with 3,670 deaths. Little Flu Cant Hurt Him: Why Bolsonaro Still Shuns Lockdowns In the meantime, Moros next political steps are a source of much speculation, with the former judge only saying he will take time to rest and find a new job. He could be a strong candidate for president, said Marcio Coimbra, a political scientist and head of Interlegis, a think-tank in Brasilia. First Mandetta, now Moro, said Coimbra. Bolsonaro seems to be working hard to create an adversary in 2022. (Updates with details on opinion poll in 17th paragraph) For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. This week brought us the Motorola Edge and Edge+ and with them the return of Motorola to the flagship market. The two phones carry hefty expectations on their shoulders as ambassadors of sorts, so they'll be closely monitored by everybody in the tech industry. Here are a few early observations on them that we have. Back in the major league It started with the unveiling of the Razr 2019, but that ine being a nostalgia-infused tech showcase couldnt exactly be taken very seriously as an indicator for the companys future intents. Well, the Edge+ definitely can. It lives up to 2020 flagship standards in terms of both specs and design. Whether or not it is the first of many flagships to come depends heavily on its market success. Honestly, Motorola seems to have done its homework with the Edge+. What is present seems nicely put together and well thought out. The design in contemporary and beautiful, complete with a modern flow, unlike anything else in Motorolas lineup. Internals are solid, featuring the go-to flagship chip at this time Snapdragon 865, along with mmWave (on the Verizon model) and Sub-6 5G setup. With a 108MP Quad Bayer main unit, the triple camera setup on the Edge+ is also worthy of a $1,000/1,199 phone. And some other notable bells and whistles include the 90Hz display with HDR10+ support, 5,000mAh battery, complete with wireless and reverse wireless charging, Waves Audio-tuned stereo speaker setup and even a 3.5 mm jack. Motorola Edge+ That being said, the Edge+ still has some weak points - 18W charging is not quite up to speed with the competition and there's no official ingress protection rating, although Motorola claims the Edge+ is mostly compliant with the IP68 spec in its internal testing. Even so, not wanting to spend the money on a test for such an expensive device, leaves a bit of a sour aftertaste. Well-balanced vanilla edition Dialing back things for a less expensive variant of your flagship is a hard task and one that tends to trip-up even seasoned manufacturers. Hence, our pleasant surprise to see Motorola actually doing a great job with the vanilla Edge. With the half-priced vanilla Motorola Edge, you are getting the same gorgeous exterior and the same 6.7-inch AMOLED display. Better still, it still has 90Hz refresh rate making the HDR10+ support the only omission. Then there's the chipset swap to the Snapdragon 765G, which is the current gateway to affordable 5G, coupled with nearly flagship-levels of performance. It has enabled the creation of more than a few high value offers these days, which is both a blessing and a curse for the Motorola Edge, since many of those now stand as direct competitors. The main camera dropped to a 64MP sensor, while the telephoto got its zoom reduced from 3x to 2x. Honestly, neither of these, nor the absence of the 3D TOF sensor stands out as a deal-breaker. The 500mAh battery capacity cut, the lack of wireless charging are also easily justifiable cutbacks and not harming the desirability of the Edge in any major way. Motorola Edge And the vanilla Motorola Edge even has a microSD card slot or a second SIM slot (but not both at the same time) that the Plus version lacks. It appears to us then the vanilla Edge will be a strong contender on its own without jeopardizing the sales of the flagship proper. Pricing might be an issue Retailing at about EUR1,200, the Edge+ will be brushing shoulders directly with devices like the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. That is to say, it will not be facing the middle members of the flagship trios that are getting increasing popular lately, but the top one. A quick specs comparison will tell you that this is an uphill battle and if we are talking about total sales numbers the Edge+ is outright doomed. However, the Edge+ doesn't need to match the S20 Ultra sales to be considered a success. The realities are such that Motorola will probably be happy to score a tenth of that number. And then there's the fact that flagships go beyond a few numbers on a specs sheet. Samsung is probably well aware of this as the very S20 Ultra enjoys less of a smooth ride in its first few months as software and camera tuning issues plague it. So if Motorola manages to get the user experience right and gets the thumbs up from the reviewers it might very much be in the running. The vanilla Motorola Edge will cost half as much at EUR600, which makes it the clearly better value for money. Not surprising, of course, as that's the norm with mid-rangers and flagships. But like we already mentioned, the Snapdragon 765G has been bringing 5G to the masses all over the industry and there are phones like Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G that promise to deliver similar hardware at half the price. To be fair, that curved AMOLED panel alone, puts the Motorola Edge a neck above the crowd and the camera setup looks far more promising. A lot hangs on the Verizon partnership As it has done many times in the past, Motorola made its best phone a Verizon exclusive in US. It got the mmWave support and a price of $1,000 outright or $41.67/mo for two years. Thats already starting to sound more competitive than the European pricing. The combined power of the still highly-regarded Motorola brand on the local market and Verizon should not be taken lightly. If the carrier goes generous with the advertising dollars the Motorola Edge+ might turn into a success story in the US. Motorola might have given up on trying the be different and thats a bit sad At the risk of spoiling what is a big moment for Motorola with its return to the flagship battleground, we cant help but look back at devices like the Moto Z4 and the even more relevant as a true flagship at the time Moto Z3. They remind that not long ago Motorola was actively striving to be different and play by its own rules. Now we definitely wouldn't blame Motorola for the shift, because it's how the market works. Us tech geeks love all sorts of innovation and out of the box thinking, but more often than not the simpler, more cost-effective, solutions are what brings in the sales. We will either really love the controls or passionately hate them One of the less-discussed aspects of the extremely curved panels on the Edge and Edge+ is the inclusion of a few software features for the edges. Motorola promises that it will simplify one-handed navigation through edge gestures, like swiping up and down and tapping the edge. This will bring-up things like recent apps, tools, shortcuts and notifications. Also baked-in on a software level are two virtual triggers on the edge of the phone, which are intended for in-game use. This all sounds great, but it does make is wonder just how well Motorola managed to pull everything off. After all, the list of gestures and features looks ambitious and the company doesnt exactly have prior expertise with curved panels to fall back on. Just some food for thought. Well leave our initial impressions of the Motorola Edge and Edge+ there for now, with definitely much more to come once we get units in for review. In the meantime, you can participate in the random thoughts and musing exchange as well in the comments. What is your take on this intriguing new Motorola chapter? Thomas Oxley wasn't even on call the day he received the page to come into Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital in Manhattan. There weren't enough doctors to treat all the emergency stroke patients, and he was needed in the operating room. The patient's chart appeared unremarkable at first glance. He was male, no medications, no history of chronic conditions. He had been feeling fine, hanging out at home during the lockdown like the rest of America, when suddenly, he had trouble talking and moving the right side of his body. Imaging showed a large blockage on the left side of his head. Oxley gasped when he got to the patient's age and covid-19 status: 44, positive. The man was among several recent stroke patients in their 30s to 40s who were all infected with the virus. The median age for that type of severe stroke is 74. As Oxley, an interventional neurologist, began the procedure to remove the clot, he observed something he had never seen before. On the monitors, the brain typically shows up as a tangle of black squiggles - "like a can of spaghetti," he said - that provide a map of blood vessels. A clot shows up as a blank spot. As he used a needlelike device to pull out the clot, he saw new clots forming in real time around it. "This is crazy," he remembers telling his boss. Reports of strokes in the young and middle-aged - not just at Mount Sinai but in many other hospitals in hard-hit communities - are the latest twist in our evolving understanding of the mysteries of covid-19. Even as the virus has infected nearly 2.8 million people worldwide and killed 195,000 as of Friday, its origins, biological mechanisms and weaknesses continue to elude top scientific minds. Once thought to be a pathogen that primarily attacks the lungs, it has turned out to be a much more formidable foe - affecting nearly every major organ system in the body. Until recently, there was little hard data on strokes and covid-19. One report out of Wuhan, China, showed that some hospitalized patients had experienced strokes but many of those were seriously ill and elderly. But the linkage was considered more of "a clinical hunch by a lot of really smart people," said Sherry H-Y Chou, a University of Pittsburgh neurologist and critical care doctor. Now three large U.S. medical centers are preparing to publish data on the stroke phenomenon for the first time. The numbers are small, only a few dozen per location, but they provide new insights into what the virus does to our bodies. Stroke, a sudden interruption the blood supply, is a complex problem with numerous causes and presentations. It can be caused by heart problems, clogged arteries due to cholesterol, even substance abuse. Mini-strokes often don't cause permanent damage and can resolve on their own within 24 hours. Bigger ones can be catastrophic. The analyses suggest coronavirus patients are mostly experiencing the deadliest type of stroke. Known as large vessel occlusions or LVOs, they can obliterate large parts of the brain responsible for movement, speech and decision-making in one blow because they are in the main blood-supplying arteries. Many researchers suspect strokes in novel coronavirus patients may be a direct consequence of blood problems that are producing clots all over some people's bodies. Clots that form on vessel walls fly upward so one that started in the calves might migrate to the lungs, causing a blockage called a pulmonary embolism that arrests breathing - a known cause of death in covid-19 patients. Clots in or near the heart might lead to a heart attack, another common cause of death. Anything above that would likely go to the brain, leading to a stroke. Robert Stevens, a critical care doctor at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, called stroke "one of the most dramatic manifestations" of the blood clotting issues. "We've also taken care of patients in their 30s with stroke and covid, and this was extremely surprising," he said. Many doctors expressed worry that, as the New York City Fire Department was picking up four times as many people who died at home as normal during the peak of infection, that some of the dead had suffered sudden strokes. The truth may never be known because so few autopsies were conducted. Chou said one question is whether the clotting is a due to direct attack on the blood vessels, or a "a friendly fire problem" caused by the patient's immune response. "In your body's attempt to fight off the virus, does the immune response end up hurting your brain?" she asked. Chou is hoping to answer such questions through a review of stroke and other neurological complication in covid-19 patients treated at 68 medical centers in 17 countries. Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, which operates 14 medical centers in Philadelphia and NYU Langone in New York City, found that 12 of their patients treated for large blood blockages in their brains during a three-week period had the virus. Forty percent were under 50, and had few or no risk factors. Their paper is under review by a medical journal, said Pascal Jabbour, a neurosurgeon at Thomas Jefferson. Jabbour and his co-author Eytan Raz, an assistant professor of neuroradiology at NYU Langone, said that strokes in covid-19 patients challenge conventionally thinking. "We are used to thinking of 60 as a young patient when it comes to large vessel occlusions," Raz said of the deadliest strokes. "We have never seen so many in their 50s, 40s and late 30s." Raz wondered whether they are seeing more young patients because they are more resistant than the elderly to the respiratory distress caused by covid-19: "So they survive the lung side, and in time develop other issues." Jabbour said many of the cases he's treated have unusual characteristics. Brain clots usually appear in the arteries, which carry blood away from the heart, but in covid-19 patients, he's also seeing them in the veins, which carry blood in the opposite direction and are trickier to treat. Some patients are also developing more than one large clot in their heads, which is highly unusual. "We'll be treating a blood vessel and it will go fine, but then the patient will have a major stroke" due to a clot in another part of the brain, he said. At Mount Sinai, the largest medical system in New York City, physician-researcher J Mocco said the number of patients coming in with large blood blockages in their brains doubled during the three weeks of the covid-19 surge to more than 32, even as the number of other emergencies fell. More than half of them were covid-19 positive. It isn't just the number of patients that was unusual. The first wave of the pandemic has hit the elderly and those with heart disease, diabetes, obesity or other preexisting conditions disproportionately. The covid-19 patients treated for stroke at Mount Sinai were younger and mostly without risk factors. On average the covid-19 stroke patients were 15 years younger than stroke patients without the virus. "These are people among the least likely statistically to have a stroke," Mocco said. Mocco, who has spent his career studying stroke and how to treat it, said he was "completely shocked" by the analysis. He noted the link between covid-19 and stroke "is one of the clearest and most profound correlations I've come across." "This is much too powerful of a signal to be chance or happenstance," Mocco said. In a letter to be published in the New England Journal of Medicine next week, the Mount Sinai team details five case studies of young patients who had strokes at home from March 23 to Apr. 7. They make for difficult reading: The victims are age 33, 37, 39, 44, and 49, and were all home when they began to experience sudden symptoms, including slurred speech, confusion, drooping on one side of the face and feeling dead in one arm. One died, two remain hospitalized, one was released to rehabilitation and one was released home to the care of his brother. Only one of the five, a 33-year-old woman, is able to speak. Oxley, the interventional neurologist, said one striking aspect of the cases is how long many waited before seeking emergency care. The 33-year-old was previously healthy but had had a cough and headache for about a week. Over the course of 28 hours, she noticed her speech was slurred and that she was going numb and weak on her left side but, the researchers wrote, "delayed seeking emergency care due to fear of the covid-19 outbreak." It turned out she was already infected. By the time she arrived at the hospital, a CT scan showed she had two clots in her brain and patchy "ground glass" in her lungs - a hallmark of covid-19 infection. She was given two different types of therapy to try to break up the clots and by day 10, she was well enough to be discharged. Oxley said the most important thing for people to understand is that large strokes are very treatable. Doctors are often able to reopen blocked blood vessels through techniques such as pulling out clots or inserting stents. But it must be done quickly, ideally within six hours and no longer than 24 hours, Oxley said: "The message we are trying to get out is if you have symptoms of stroke, you need to call the ambulance urgently. " As for the 44-year-old man Oxley was treating, doctors were able to remove the large clot that day in late March, but the patient is still struggling. As of this week, a little over a month after he arrived in the emergency room, he is still hospitalized. US Real Estate Housing Market Crash Is The Next Shoe To Drop The past few weeks and months have been very interesting to see how the global central banks and governments have attempted to position themselves ahead of this COVID-19 virus event. We continue to suggest that we are just starting the process of navigating through this potentially destructive virus event. We believe the sudden onset of the virus pandemic has sent a shock-wave throughout the globe in terms of expectations and valuations that are, just now, starting to become real. Let us try to explain our thinking and how this relates to Real Estate Before we continue much further, we suggest taking a moment to review our previous research articles related to the Real Estate market which we predicted the selloff and falling values. Both of these articles were at the top of the Yahoo finance and Google with hundreds of thousands the week we posted them: Real Estate Crash Predicted Part I Click Here Real Estate Crash Predicted Part II Click Here The COVID-19 virus event is a global crisis event that is currently in the very early stages of consumer psychological processing. All types of crisis events prompt some forms of typical human reaction. We believe the Real Estate market may be the next big asset revaluation event as consumers continue to process the COVID-19 virus crisis and the consequences of this event. Real Estate Cycles Real Estate cycles typically transition through the following phases as supply and demand functions work through the markets. Pay attention to the middle of this cycle chart. In the Expansion and HyperSupply stages, once supply peaks and prices somewhat peak/stabilize, a transition takes place in the market where buyers chase premium properties and push price levels moderately higher. The Recession Cycle is typically a disruptive cycle that is the result of an economic/income disruption. When people cant earn enough to satisfy their debt obligations and or provide for their families, then the Real Estate cycle begins to contract. An event like this, the COVID-19 virus event, would typically start out as a regional/local event. This did happen as it roiled certain areas of China in late 2019. Watching how China attempted to manage and hide the extent of the virus explosion within their country was painful to watch. The Chinese state media was pushing out information and numbers which didnt match anything seen on the streets and being reported by others within China/Hong Kong. This disconnect and the misinformation presented within this early virus pandemic event is critical to understanding how the world will now deal with this mess. So, keep in mind, everything was somewhat clicking right along in late 2019 and early 2020 as China was fooling the world. Before we continue, be sure to opt-in to our free market trend signals before closing this page, so you dont miss our next special report! As it unfolded The Chinese New Year celebration fell on January 25, 2020 (Year of the Rat). Near this time in China, hundreds of millions of people travel back home to celebrate the New Year with their families and friends. As this travel starts typically 4 to 5 weeks ahead of the date of the New Year, China allowed potentially infected people to travel throughout the world before shutting down travel within China on January 23, 2020. This locked infected and uninfected people into areas within China while the Chinese government began extended efforts to control the virus outbreak. By early February 2020, the virus had been confirmed in India, Philippines, Russia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Singapore, the US, the UAE, and Vietnam. In essence, the Chinese lock-down presented a very real opportunity for those that had visited China and left to be locked into location outside the quarantined areas within China. If they were infected or asymptomatic carriers, these people now became source-spreaders. On February 3, 2020, Chinese President Xi Jinping indicated the Chinese government knew about the virus well before the public alarm was raised as reported by the Chinese state media. By Mid February 2020, China had over 40,000 infections and over 900 confirmed deaths related to the COVID-19 virus. Nearly a week later, near February 19, China reported more than 74,000 total cases and 2,100+ deaths. By this time, general global panic had already been set up and this is the point of this article how consumers respond to a crisis event like a virus pandemic. (Sources: www.aljazeera.com, www.businessinsider.com) The reason we went through all of this detail is to illustrate how the virus event started as a localized event in China, near the end of 2019. Yet, by early February 2020, less than 35 days later, the virus event suddenly became a global event panicking the world. The COVID-19 virus event has now turned into a global economic disruption event that has dramatically reduced most peoples ability to earn an income. Businesses and individuals will feel the consequences of this event and we believe the economic contraction is just starting. How do consumers respond to an event like this? In PART II of this series, well continue to delve into the reasoning behind our research and why we believe the Real Estate market will become very risky for investors over the next 24+ months. As a technical analyst and trader since 1997, I have been through a few bull/bear market cycles in stocks and commodities. I believe I have a good pulse on the market and timing key turning points for investing and short-term swing traders. 2020 is going to be an incredible year for skilled traders. Dont miss all the incredible moves and trade setups. I have to toot my own horn here a little because subscribers and I had our trading accounts close at a new high watermark for our accounts. We not only exited the equities market as it started to roll over, but we profited from the sell-off in a very controlled way, and yesterday we locked in more profits with our SPY ETF trade on this bounce. I hope you found this informative, and if you would like to get a pre-market video every day before the opening bell, along with my trade alerts visit my Active ETF Trading Newsletter. We all have trading accounts, and while our trading accounts are important, what is even more important are our long-term investment and retirement accounts. Why? Because they are, in most cases, our largest store of wealth other than our homes, and if they are not protected during a time like this, you could lose 25-50% or more of your entire net worth. The good news is we can preserve and even grow our long term capital when things get ugly like they are now and ill show you how and one of the best trades is one your financial advisor will never let you do because they do not make money from the trade/position. If you have any type of retirement account and are looking for signals when to own equities, bonds, or cash, be sure to become a member of my Long-Term Investing Signals which we issued a new signal for subscribers. Ride my coattails as I navigate these financial markets and build wealth while others lose nearly everything they own during the next financial crisis. Chris Vermeulen www.TheTechnicalTraders.com Chris Vermeulen has been involved in the markets since 1997 and is the founder of Technical Traders Ltd. He is an internationally recognized technical analyst, trader, and is the author of the book: 7 Steps to Win With Logic Through years of research, trading and helping individual traders around the world. He learned that many traders have great trading ideas, but they lack one thing, they struggle to execute trades in a systematic way for consistent results. Chris helps educate traders with a three-hour video course that can change your trading results for the better. His mission is to help his clients boost their trading performance while reducing market exposure and portfolio volatility. He is a regular speaker on HoweStreet.com, and the FinancialSurvivorNetwork radio shows. Chris was also featured on the cover of AmalgaTrader Magazine, and contributes articles to several leading financial hubs like MarketOracle.co.uk Disclaimer: Nothing in this report should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any securities mentioned. Technical Traders Ltd., its owners and the author of this report are not registered broker-dealers or financial advisors. Before investing in any securities, you should consult with your financial advisor and a registered broker-dealer. Never make an investment based solely on what you read in an online or printed report, including this report, especially if the investment involves a small, thinly-traded company that isnt well known. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report has been paid by Cardiff Energy Corp. In addition, the author owns shares of Cardiff Energy Corp. and would also benefit from volume and price appreciation of its stock. The information provided here within should not be construed as a financial analysis but rather as an advertisement. The authors views and opinions regarding the companies featured in reports are his own views and are based on information that he has researched independently and has received, which the author assumes to be reliable. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any content of this report, nor its fitness for any particular purpose. Lastly, the author does not guarantee that any of the companies mentioned in the reports will perform as expected, and any comparisons made to other companies may not be valid or come into effect. Chris Vermeulen Archive 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. WASHINGTON - House Democrats have blasted President Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic as inept and dangerous. Party leaders insisted on the creation of a special committee to root out abuse in the nearly $3 trillion of federal aid flowing to shuttered businesses and unemployed workers. And they have called for a robust national strategy for mass testing and tracing of the illness that has claimed more than 53,000 U.S. lives. Yet amid the biggest national crisis in generations, the one branch of government where Democrats hold power has largely sidelined itself, struggling so far to adopt remote voting, Zoom video hearings or any of the other alternative methods that have become standard for most workplaces in the age of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. No administration official has appeared at a congressional hearing in over a month. Committees have been unable to meet in person to debate and advance bills. There is no firm date for when the new oversight panel will start its work. "I haven't had a classified briefing in over six weeks," said Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., a member of the House Armed Services Committee, which needs to reauthorize the annual policy bill for the military. Crow said he has yet to get committee leaders to agree with his proposal to "open a nationwide infrastructure" for classified briefings for members of Congress, by using the secure rooms in regional FBI offices and military bases across the nation. The frustration is evident among House Democrats, with many increasingly convinced that Congress is functioning as a shadow of its former self, with rank and file largely bystanders as party leaders hastily assemble massive spending bills. More than a dozen told The Washington Post in recent days that the House was failing to meet its constitutional mandate amid an epochal global crisis, abdicating power to the Trump administration as the nation demands strong political leadership. "We're basically ill-prepared for the nature of this emergency," said Rep. Denny Heck, D-Wash. "Obviously, there are a lot of things going on with how this money is being spent that are clearly not in keeping with the spirit of what we intended, and it's harder for us to exercise oversight when we're all at home in our war rooms." That discontent has increased pressure on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other leaders to change more than 230 years of rules to allow for remote deliberations and voting - and some Democrats are joining calls from Republicans who simply want to bring Congress back to Washington, spurning advice from public health authorities who continue to recommend that Americans work from home whenever possible. Questioned about the Post story, Pelosi acknowledged the exasperation within her caucus. She said that she backs remote voting but that bipartisan support from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was crucial before moving ahead with any changes. "I share the frustration that they have about the committees," she said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." "I'm all for doing the remote voting by proxy. I want it to be bipartisan. The Republican leader, Mr. McCarthy, has assured me that he will consider this. He's not there yet. He could be there." Congress' inability to adapt some of its core functions to the new reality stands in contrast to other organs of the federal government, including the Supreme Court, which will hear oral arguments by teleconference for the first time starting next month. Trump, meanwhile, presides over near-daily televised briefings from the White House and commands the vast powers of the executive branch - imposing an immigration ban one day and promoting unproven medical treatments the next - as hobbled lawmakers struggle to provide an institutional counterweight. While the Democratic-run House considers a path forward on possible remote work, the 100-member, Republican-led Senate is on track to return to Washington as soon as May 4. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in media interviews last week that he intends to quickly return to confirming judges and other Trump appointees. Bringing the House back stands to be a riskier decision, and its leaders have signaled that they are concerned not only about its current 429 members but also about its much larger population of aides and support staff. But as the only arm of government under Democratic control, it is uniquely positioned to challenge Trump. So far, Democrats have had an impact on the federal response to the crisis: They have pushed to enlarge unemployment benefits, pump funding into the health-care system and beef up the federal role in covid-19 testing - adding hundreds of billions of dollars in spending above what Republicans initially proposed. The most recent bill, which GOP leaders wanted focused solely on small business aid, included $25 billion to beef up the federal role in covid-19 testing and mandate that the Trump administration develop a strategic testing plan. At least four House committees have conducted closed briefings with federal officials by telephone or videoconference. Pelosi, meanwhile, is under pressure from her caucus's left flank to move quickly on an expansive new relief bill amid the worst unemployment since the Great Depression - one that directs aid to poor and working-class Americans rather than large employers and small-business owners, as well as hundreds of billions of dollars in additional relief for state and local governments. "Not having Congress here absolutely hurts our capacity to push," said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. "Because we are not here, these negotiations are happening behind closed doors. We can't message on the developments. We can't go every day and say: Republicans are fighting against hospitals. Republicans are fighting against testing. ... If we were actually legislating in a normal schedule, then we can report these day-by-day developments and use public pressure to get more. And so I think that we're losing a lot of leverage." Compounding the frustration has been an emerging partisan split on how to adapt the House's work to the new normal. A push for remote voting that began in mid-March, as the dimensions of the pandemic first became apparent, languished for weeks as House leaders explored the technological, constitutional and security implications of such a change. Last week, Pelosi endorsed a plan devised by House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., to allow for proxy voting in limited circumstances - permitting members to authorize a colleague to vote on the floor on their behalf - but Republicans erupted in protest, and plans for a vote were postponed. Meanwhile, the measure creating the new investigative committee passed on a party-line vote. Pelosi plans to name members to the panel this week, a spokesman said, in a first step toward getting it functioning. A bipartisan group of negotiators met Thursday to discuss rules changes, and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., left the meeting with narrower ambitions - saying he hoped to move forward with remote committee work in the coming weeks to allow for the passage of the yearly defense and spending bills. Proxy voting, or any other remote voting alternative, he said, would be a heavier lift. "We need to build confidence," he said. "And how do you build confidence? You do it in small segments, and using the committees to do this, it seems to me, makes sense." McGovern said in an interview Friday that the slow pace reflected the innate conservatism of an institution where change is judged not just in the implication for the present, but for decades if not centuries - including scenarios in which the other party might wield the majority. "To some, it's not like a big deal, but it is a big deal," he said. "There were constitutional questions which we had to explore. There are logistical questions. There are security questions. There's also the reality that not all members of Congress are, you know, at the same level in terms of being comfortable with technology." Congress is not alone among legislatures in its struggle to figure out how the business of convening and deliberating - which by definition violate social-distancing guidelines - can proceed. On Tuesday, the British Parliament unanimously approved new rules that will allow for videoconferencing in debates and during the famous "question time" of the prime minister, while approving a goal of moving toward remote voting using technology. But one of the world's longest continuing legislatures, at 700 years, still faces great limits. Just 50 of the 650 members will be allowed on the House of Commons floor for debates and only another 120 can participate by video. In Brussels, the European Parliament has gone entirely online, including a vote-by-email system, and its members report mixed results so far. McGovern said Friday that he had been in touch with that body's officials about their system. In U.S. state capitals, the legislatures have taken different approaches. In Richmond, Virginia, the state House of Delegates met under a canopy on the lawn outside the Capitol, while the smaller state Senate took over a massive event space inside a nearby museum. New Jersey, Vermont and Kentucky adopted some version of either remote electronic voting or proxy voting, and in Oklahoma, the state House has operated similarly to the U.S. House, with very small groups of lawmakers allowed on the floor to vote. Many Democratic House members identified another obstacle last week: The belief that House Republicans are slow-walking any rules changes out of political self-interest - that is, a more functional House means a more powerful counterweight to Trump and a GOP-majority Senate. "They don't think it's in their parochial interest as the minority," said Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., an early advocate of remote voting and other technological innovations. "But I do think it's in the country's interest that we can convene more than just once a month. ... The longer this goes on, the more obvious the need for it will become." Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., the senior Republican on the House Rules Committee, said the resistance has less to do with political gamesmanship than with a healthy respect for 231 years of accumulated custom and practice. "I don't think anybody's trying to outmaneuver one another or score points ... I'm one of these people that think you really do need to be face to face," he said. "The more and more we move to this, I think, the less and less powerful we will be as an institution within the framework of government." Still, House lawmakers said they are perplexed that three months after federal authorities confirmed the first covid-19 case in the United States, Capitol Hill remains in a state of suspended animation. None have been more exasperated than the freshmen who propelled Democrats back into the majority in 2018 - a group of more than 60 relatively young lawmakers, many from national security or private-sector backgrounds. "I don't think we have found our footing on how to conduct our oversight role and our legislative role," Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said Thursday, as she waited to cast a vote on the latest coronavirus aid legislation, a $484 billion package. As she spoke, the House Intelligence Committee met in a room below the Capitol for its first classified briefing since mid-March - typically a weekly occurrence. A former CIA analyst who spent years as a senior Pentagon adviser, Slotkin, 43, won a Republican-leaning district outside Detroit that has been hit hard by the deadly virus. "I'm watching all my constituents have to adapt and have to adjust to working even when it's uncomfortable for some, and I think we should have been doing the same thing," she said. Slotkin, when she served as an assistant secretary of defense, often used a nearby FBI office for classified discussions when she was home in Michigan and needed to quickly get that information - a system that exists, just not for Congress. "It's not re-creating the wheel, it's just making the wheel available to Congress," she said. Meanwhile, lawmakers of all backgrounds are dealing with personal struggles that also make it hard to just race back to Washington. Crow, 41, whose wife is a professor at the University of Colorado, has newfound responsibilities as a home-school teacher to his children, ages 10 and 7, just like millions of other Americans. Slotkin devotes much of her time to her elderly parents who, she said, do not always appreciate the necessity of strict social distancing. Several sitting lawmakers have been diagnosed with cancer and other chronic conditions. Others are afraid of passing the virus to loved ones. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., who takes care of her 92-year-old mother, spent most of Thursday in her apartment, coming to the Capitol only briefly: "I'm just going to vote." At a news conference Friday, Pelosi suggested that the passage of the $484 billion rescue legislation went smoothly enough that the House could return "soon" to consider a follow-up bill. Groups of roughly 50 lawmakers were summoned to the Capitol to slowly enter the House, cast their vote and then immediately leave, based on alphabetical order. Getting the groups to cast their votes took more than an hour. Still, McGovern said Pelosi "has come to the understanding" that something will have to be done in the coming weeks to expand remote operations even if Republicans do not agree. "Shame on us if we don't do something," he said. "I mean, what happens if this virus comes back, surges in the fall more fiercely, and even more extraordinary measures have to be put into place? The bottom line is, we need to be ready for that." Yet Democrats left Washington again Thursday - six weeks after the House first left Washington amid the pandemic - with no firm remedy in place for how to hold committee hearings, craft legislation and get it ready for a House vote. On Friday evening, Pelosi wrote a letter to her caucus in which she said that "in the days ahead" leaders would "hear your views" on how to legislate from afar. Jerusalem, April 27 : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to annex Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank within "a couple of months". In his remark during an online address to evangelical Christian supporters of Israel on Sunday, Netanyahu said that he wishes to implement a part of U.S. President Donald Trump's Mideast peace plan announced in January, which allows Israel to annex parts of the West Bank, reported Xinhua news agency. "President Trump pledged to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Jewish communities there and in the Jordan Valley," Netanyahu said. "A couple of months from now, I'm confident that that pledge will be honoured," he added. Imposing Israeli sovereignty over the Jewish settlements and the annexation of the Jordan Valley took major parts of Netanyahu's re-election campaign in the March 2 elections. However, a week ago, he signed a power-sharing deal to form a unity government with his former opponent, Benny Gantz, leader of the centrist Blue and White party. The agreement, achieved after months of negotiations, allows Netanyahu to bring a proposal to impose Israeli sovereignty on the settlements to the approval of the government starting from July. However, the agreement also requires that the Israeli government will not take moves that harm prospects for peace with the Palestinians. The Palestinians strongly object Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, which was seized by Israel in a 1967 war. Israel has controlled it ever since, despite international criticism. (Bloomberg) -- Donald Trumps evolving public statements and ad hoc policy swings on the coronavirus outbreak have the White House on defense as surveys show increased doubts about his leadership in crisis. On Wednesday, Trump rebuked the first governor to try to reopen his state economy -- Georgias Brian Kemp, a Republican -- after encouraging state leaders for weeks to push forward toward resuming a normal social and business life. Earlier in the week, Trump declared he would temporarily suspend immigration to the U.S. in a late-night tweet, only to roll out a hastily drafted executive order pausing green cards for two months after an outcry from business leaders and their Republican allies. The coronavirus pandemic is exposing the limits of Trumps unconventional politics and governance, with more than 47,000 Americans dead since February. Trumps mastery of a bitterly partisan modern political and media landscape got him to the Oval Office, where unorthodox policy, personal feuds and a consequences-be-damned mentality helped him dominate headlines and dodge controversies that would have sunk most politicians. Now, the White House is struggling to remain coherent as public confidence in Trumps handling of the crisis ebbs. More than 50% of Americans now disapprove of hiss response to the outbreak, compared to 46% that approve -- a gap that has widened this week, according to an analysis of polling data by fivethirtyeight.com. The Associated Press and NORC at the University of Chicago published a poll Thursday finding that just 23% of Americans consider Trump a trustworthy source of information on the virus, while 52% trust their state and local leaders. And Reuters published an Ipsos survey on Thursday that found Trump trailing his presumptive re-election opponent, Vice President Joe Biden, in three key Rust Belt states he won in 2016 -- Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Hope and Comfort Any suggestion that President Trump is struggling on tone or message is completely false, a White House spokesman, Judd Deere, said in a statement. During these difficult times, Americans are receiving comfort, hope and resources from their president, as well as their local officials, and Americans are responding in unprecedented ways. Every level of government needs to deliver solutions and that is what we are doing in partnership to save lives, not play politics. Story continues Trumps muddled message on reopening the country and who should lead the effort helps explain his slide in polls. Last week, he declared he had total authority in the matter. After being accused of constitutional overreach, he released government guidelines that largely shifted the burden to governors and municipal and business leaders. Still, he maintained that if he thought a state leader was acting recklessly but reopening too quickly, he would overrule a governor, and I have the right to do that. Then when Trump supporters mounted scattered protests against state social distancing restrictions that have crushed the economy, the president encouraged them and said some governors -- namely Michigans Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat who is considered to be on Bidens short list of running mates -- had gone too far. But when Georgias Kemp announced he would allow barber shops, tattoo parlors, bowling alleys and other businesses to reopen as soon as Friday, Trump criticized the plan as too aggressive -- while abandoning his pledge to intervene. Trump said Thursday he had discussed the matter with his health officials, who all agreed Georgia was moving too quickly. I could have stopped him but I decided -- but I decided and we all agreed, were going to watch it closely, Trump said, adding that he wasnt happy about it. Trumps prohibition against new green cards traveled a similarly convoluted path. Late Monday, he said in a tweet that he would suspend immigration to protect the jobs of American citizens. More than 26 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits in the past five weeks. The tweet, which the White House left unexplained for nearly an entire day, alarmed both immigrants and their families in the U.S. as well as American business leaders, who depend on immigrant labor for everything from picking crops to designing software. Congressional Republicans met with Trump on Tuesday and discussed the ban. When the actual executive order appeared Wednesday, it was far less expansive than Trump suggested in his tweet. The president paused the issuance of green cards to foreigners applying overseas for at least 60 days. The State Department last month had already temporarily suspended routine visa services at embassies and consulates. Political Trap Each policy pivot has appeared rooted in the presidents instinctive reaction to daily media coverage of the crisis, and his stated desire for press coverage complimentary of his response. Yet that impulse can also lead Trump to create political traps for himself, unforced -- as he did on Wednesday, amid his clear frustration with coverage of an interview Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield gave to the Washington Post. Redfield warned in the interview of the danger of a second wave of coronavirus emerging during the fall flu season, complicating detection and treatment efforts, saying that there was a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through. But Trump, eager to proceed with an economic recovery as quickly as possible, claimed, incorrectly, that Redfield had been misquoted. The president declared at his Wednesday news conference that it was possible it doesnt come back at all, and that if Covid-19 does return, it wont be coming back in the form that it was but in smaller doses we can contain. His own medical advisers -- including the infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci in the very same news conference -- said the virus will still be active this fall. The presidents political opponents are sure to use his statements as a cudgel if a serious flare-up of the virus emerges in the weeks before voters head to the polls. Trumps recent vacillation is only compounded by previous declarations that never came to fruition: His proposed quarantine of the New York metropolitan area during the peak of the virus; his aspiration to have the country opened up and raring to go by Easter; a national website purportedly under construction by Google that would direct citizens to virus testing sites in the parking lots of drug stores and retail chains. The president and his advisers say his statements are intended to be optimistic, while his shifting remarks about the balance between federal and state authority on reopening were never intended to preclude collaboration with governors. Depicting Trumps criticism of Kemp as a reversal is a misrepresentation, said White House communications adviser Ben Williamson. As POTUS said: He disagrees and believes the timeline is too quick, but he understands governors must make their own calls for their states, Williamson said. This has been his consistent position. But Democrats are seizing on the contradictions. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that Trumps statements and behavior were evidence of a reluctance on the part of this administration to respect science, knowledge, data, evidence. Information and fact is how you make decisions, Pelosi said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. And there has also been a reluctance to accept the role of government in the solution. If you reject science and you reject government, then you can see why we are in the situation we are in. (Updates with Trump comments starting in 12th paragraph.) For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. As city workers look on (left) the driver of the pick up truck stands on bodies in truck bed he brough to the Joseph W. Spellman Medical Examiner Building parking lot fenced in area, where there are three refrigerated trailers on April 19. Read more For more than a week, Inquirer staff photographer Elizabeth Robertson had been driving by the Philadelphia Medical Examiners Office, checking for activity around several refrigerated trailers set up as overflow morgue space. With coronavirus deaths rising and funeral homes overwhelmed, the mere presence of the trailers made for a grim scene. But that didnt prepare Robertson for what she saw on a recent Sunday afternoon when, shortly after she arrived, a dark pickup sped into the parking lot with a black mat covering the truck bed. As several city workers looked on, the trucks driver got out, climbed into the back, and tossed off the mat along with several other coverings, including what appeared to be a roll of carpet. Under his feet were five or six bulky white bundles. They were body bags. I was shaking. I kind of couldn't believe it, Robertson said. A 33-year veteran of The Inquirer, Robertson has seen her fair share of dead bodies and covered countless tragedies, including the Virginia Tech shootings. But she was stunned. I felt like someone kicked me in the stomach. she said. He was just walking on the people. She continued photographing as the man pulled one corpse at a time onto a gurney. The city workers who also appeared surprised but were very respectful, Robertson noted strapped in each one and wheeled it into a refrigerated trailer already filled with other bodies. The entire drop-off lasted less than 30 minutes. Her instinct told her something wasnt right, but Robertson had a lot of questions, too. Who was the man driving the truck? Why were the bodies lying in the back of a pickup? Were they coronavirus victims? READ MORE: Inquirer photographers challenged to accurately document the rise and spread of the coronavirus Rather than push for the pictures to be published right away, she alerted The Inquirers photo editors, as well as top editor Gabriel Escobar, to determine what additional reporting was necessary. We were hypersensitive about running photos of dead people, Escobar said. We needed to understand fully what this was. Still, the news value of the pictures was immediately clear to him. It was the proof that the system was taxed, he said. You dont set up trucks outside the morgue in advance without a reason. Robertson, it turned out, had captured an important clue. Several of the images, when viewed at full resolution, showed hand-scrawled labels indicating the bodies were from Einstein Medical Center. After a reporters inquiries, the hospital issued an apology and blamed a funeral home contractor for mistreating the corpses. (The causes of death and the contractors identity remain unclear, although Einstein later said it terminated its contract with the funeral home.) The Medical Examiners Office condemned the unapproved means of transferring remains. The Inquirer was able to publish the photos with a story about the incident a day after it occurred. Philly can be rough ... but we do have more love than putting a bunch of bodies in a truck, Robertson said. But when she still sees people walking around without masks or not physically distancing, she wonders what more she can do as a photojournalist. What are we not doing to illustrate how real this is? she asked, referring to the coronavirus pandemic. How do we illustrate the fact that theres all of this loss? READ MORE: See how Phillys iconic sites have changed since the spread of the coronavirus Vanessa Guillen, a 20-year-old soldier stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, who went missing on April 22, 2020, and some of her remains were found on June 30, 2020. (Fort Hood Press Center) Extensive Search for Missing Soldier Last Seen at Texas Military Base Military officials are engaging in an extensive search for a missing soldier who was last seen at a Texas Army base. According to a press release from the U.S. Army, Pfc. Vanessa Guillen, who was stationed at Fort Hood, disappeared on April 22 at 1 p.m. in the parking lot on the base. Her car keys, barracks room key, identification card and wallet were later found in the armory room where she was working earlier in the day. She was last seen wearing a black t-shirt, the news release stated. Guillen was described as a 20-year-old female of Hispanic descent, 5 feet, 2 inches tall, 126 pounds, and she has black hair and brown eyes. A be on the lookout, or BOLO, was issued by the Fort Hood Military Police for surrounding law enforcement agencies. Her sister, Mayra Guillen, wrote on Facebook Friday: My sister last seen two days ago. Phone last tracked at Belton, Texas. No contact with boyfriend, close friends or family. Belongings and CAR are at base too back in fort hood. Something is not right please help me find her. Houston Austin Fr hood/ Killeen areas. A man identifying himself as her boyfriend wrote, Please help me find my girlfriend her name is Vanessa Guillen. Height 53. She has 3 tattoos on her left arm. Please anything helps. Anyone with information about her whereabouts should contact Army CID Special Agents at 254-495-7767 or the Military Police Desk at (254) 287-4001. Fort Hood, located in Killeen, is the only post in the United States capable of stationing and training two Armored Divisions, according to Military.com. New Delhi, April 26 : With an aim to benefit about three lakh Class 9 students across the Delhi government schools, the Education Department has collaborated with the Khan Academy to offer specially curated Maths content for these students. Also, around 1,000 teachers of government schools will also be trained by Khan Academy via webinar. Shailendra Sharma, the Education Advisor to Delhi Education Minister, said students suffer most in Maths and, so for the past 10 days, the government has been discussing with the Khan Academy how to support students of class 9 in Mathematics. "Last time we had seen the Board results and noticed that only 71 per cent of our students pass in Maths in comparison to subjects such as Social sciences and Languages which we generally have a 97 per cent passing results," Sharma said. He said to not let our students suffer in Maths, the government has collaborated with the Khan Academy -- a globally recognised educational non-profit organisation which has been developing interactive learning materials for the students. Sandeep Bapna, the Managing Director, Khan Academy India said the programme will be a 10-week-long programme. "Starting this Monday, the parents will receive an sms with a link to open that day's micro lesson. It will have two or three videos and a couple of exercises. These lessons will reach the parents/students for 10 weeks. The purpose of the program is to revise the syllabus of the last year and to prepare the students for the new academic year," he said. This partnership is expected to benefit more than 3 lakh students, Bapna said. For students in smaller grades -- KG to class 8 -- the Delhi government is sending out daily SMSs with general activities to 5,71,661 parents of KG to class 8th students. A daily SMS alert is also being sent to 12,14,049 parents of KG to class 12 for Happiness class at home. Apart from this, 5,18,626 parents of classes 3 to 8 are receiving the IVR for Mission Buniyaad activities every alternate day. HOLYOKE A company that specializes in specialized plastic packaging has joined in the fight to prevent the coronavirus from spreading to already-taxed health care workers. Employees at Walter Drake Inc. have gone from making clamshell packaging for electronics, blister packages for pharmaceuticals and trays for many uses to making much-needed plastic face shields for doctors, nurses and others who come in close contact with people suffering from COVID-19, said Joseph Feigen, company owner. After watching the news night after night and hearing about shortages of medical equipment, company officials agreed they wanted to do something to help. We looked around at our technical capabilities and said what are we equipped to do with no QA (quality assurance) issues, Feigen said. What materials do we have in-house now? Designing and manufacturing face shields was obvious for the thermoforming business. After all, the 58-year-old company designs and manufactures plastic packaging to meet specific needs. For example, once it was contracted to make a clamshell packaging for table saw blades that had to be sturdy enough to carry the sharp objects, easy enough for a carpenter to open but impossible for a child to open them in a store, he said. Walter Drake also does a lot of packaging for medical equipment and had a clean room for that purpose, although it is not needed for the shields, Feigen said. It typically takes the company six to nine months from the time it is contracted to engineer a design and begin production. In this case, it brought in people from different departments and fast-tracked the work since medical workers need the equipment now. Four and a half days later we had a production-quality design, Feigen said. In the third week in March we were ready to go. The shield is professional looking and is designed as one size fits all, but has Velcro straps to make it adjustable. After a little trial and and error, company employees modified the original design and it now has a foam headband so it can be produced faster, Feigen said. It is light, surprisingly light, and they are easy to put on and they stay on, he said, adding at first it feels odd to wear one but it doesnt take long to get used to it. The company first marketed the shields to local hospitals and other medical facilities but officials told them they had enough. They then started reaching out to larger facilities farther away that had been hit hard by people infected with COVID-19. Walter Drake have been selling them in orders typically of 10,000 or more. Producing the shields keep the companys about 25 employees working. The company continues to produce other things such as medical packaging. The process to make the face shields is highly automated, but a typical production-line process that would have several employees working together on different parts has been suspended to allow social distancing and keep workers safe, Feigen said. The building itself is large enough so employees have plenty of room between each other and all employees are there voluntarily. If the demand grows, Feigen said his company can expand to add an extra shift. We are trying to be a good business, he said. Related Content: Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 26) Four more healthcare workers in Baguio City have tested positive for the coronavirus disease. Among the new cases are two female nursing attendants, both 34 years of age, according to Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong. A 61-year-old female doctor and a 27-year-old female nurse have also been found positive for COVID-19. The infected health workers are from Barangay BGH Compound, Barangay Camp 8, Barangay Bakakeng Central, and Wangal, La Trinidad in Benguet. "All appropriate courses of actions and standard operating procedures are currently being executed," Magalong assured. The mayor has likewise ordered the immediate testing of all healthcare workers in Baguio City, who may have interacted with COVID-19 patients. Meanwhile, the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center has informed the public that it will no longer accommodate coronavirus patients beginning Sunday, April 26, as part of its efforts to prevent the "widespread transmission" of the dreaded disease. Baguio City's total tally of positive cases now stands at 29, with 12 recoveries and one death. Currently, the Philippines has 7,579 cases of the viral illness, including 862 recoveries and 501 fatalities. Lucknow: Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav has accused the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) of falsely claiming the food items supplied by NGOs and government agencies as theirs and distributing them among BJP members. The Samajwadi Party chief also questioned why the Kutumb Shakha of the RSS is being held despite a nationwide lockdown. While the people of India are committed to defeating the coronavirus, BJP governments are doing politics instead of working honestly. There is no difference between community kitchen and the storage of RSS in the state. The RSS is claiming the food items received from voluntary organisations (NGOs) and government institutions as its own and then distributing them in the Modi bag to some BJP families and it reflects on their poor mentality. How are the Kutumbh Shakha being allowed to operate? Has the BJP government been only elected to take further the agenda of the Sangh?, asked Akhilesh Yadav. The entire nation is united in the fight against the coronavirus and everyone is supporting the lockdown. But misleading statements of the government are also creating a dilemma among the public. Models praised by the BJP government are not succeeding. The labourers and the poor are not being taken care of by the government, Yadav said in a statement issued on Saturday. Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra modi Modi for praising the Agra Model in fight against the virus, Yadav said, The Agra model which the Prime Minister had praised in the corona war has failed continuously due to serious negligence and misconduct. The helpline of the district administration could not be effective either. In Lucknow and many other districts of the state that have been declared 'hotspots', neither is the lockdown being followed completely nor are people getting necessary food items such as milk, etc. Yadav added that details of tests conducted should be reported to the team-XI of CM Yogi. Why have the positive cases doubled in areas where the lockdown was strictly implemented? The failure of this model is quite evident. He also raised the issue of misuse of passes given to those part of the essential services industry. Residents in the Sion Road area of Kilkenny have said they are extremely concerned about a proposal to build 120 new housing units, including four-storey apartment blocks, at the site of the hermitage and former Bishops Palace. The proposed development, by Torca Developments Ltd would see the demolition of existing buildings, and the construction of 36 new houses and 84 duplexes or apartments in seven blocks. In total, it involves 36 one-bed units, 17 two-bed units, and 67 three-bed units. The height of the blocks ranges from two storeys to four storeys. It also sets out provision of a community childcare facility, 154 car parking spaces, and 104 secure bike parking spaces. The developer is to apply directly to An Bord Pleanala, under the rules for Strategic Housing Developments. Concerns However, the Sion Road Residents Group say they have concerns over the scale, density and height of whats envisioned. They say it is completely out of character with the quiet country backroad, with the Sion Road, the Nore Valley Trail and with the existing community of family residences and clients of the HSEs sheltered accommodation. They say they are not against change, but there are significant concerns about the inevitable increase in traffic on Sion Road, the Dublin road and knock on effect on the roundabout. Additional safety concerns exist for cyclists, and pedestrians attempting to cross the busy ring road. They also argue that the proposal is in contravention of the Kilkenny County Development Plan 2014-2020, and would require An Bord Pleanala, Dublin, to effectively overrule Kilkenny County Councils vision for the area. The council itself has granted permission for a smaller development in the immediate area, involving 42 low density houses. Green Party councillor Maria Dollard, who has visited the site, says the new proposal appears to be a shoe horn approach to local area development. I wouldnt be one to support not in my back yard campaigns where there is no genuine basis for opposing a development but the revised Sion Road plan for 36 houses, 84 apartments and a child care facility appears to be a shoe horn approach to local area development," she said. Cllr Dollard said the proposal goes against the spirit of the legislation enacted to meet an emergency housing need. This SHD legislation is important in areas where there is a real and tangible need for housing but it should not be used for speculative development, returning us to the bad old days of ad hoc planning, she said. We must remember, there are a number of significant developments underway already and more in the pipeline on serviced lands, phased and planned properly through the councils own sequential planning rule. New Delhi, April 26 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has again emphasised the scaling up of testing to detect Covid-19, calling it a "bottleneck" and appealed to the Prime Minister to look into the issue. The Congress leader demanded that that 1 lakh tests should be done from current 40,000 as the country has testing kits in stock. Gandhi is a tweet said "Experts agree that mass random testing is the key to beating corona. In India, a bottleneck is stopping us from scaling testing from the current 40,000 per day to 1 lakh tests a day, for which test kits are already in stock." "PM needs to act fast and clear the bottleneck," Gandhi added. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also said in the Congress consultative group meeting that adequacy in testing is required to conquer this menace. The Congress working committee which met on Thursday said that "it is tragic that we are still lagging behind in establishing a robust and accurate testing regime." Most of us are bombarded with information about Covid-19. While much comes from legitimate sources, some is put out with ulterior motives or is simply fake. It can be hard to know what to trust, so quality media sources become more important than ever. Unlike with anonymised stories posted on WhatsApp, journalists report the news in a factual way relevant for their audience. They have standards to apply and integrity to protect. Local newspapers and radio stations are providing up-to-date information on the cancellation of events, public health advice and local volunteer efforts to help tackle this challenge in a way which is not possible through television broadcasting. Unfortunately, during this crisis, journalism is itself in crisis. Advertising revenue had moved online in recent years, and now many local businesses which support their papers are closed or operating at reduced capacity. Important actions have been taken to support local radio and to deliver newspapers through An Post, but many newspapers cannot access these supports. Free papers cannot rely on the An Post model to survive and have been most badly hit by falls in advertising revenue. Some newspapers have seen revenues fall by more than 50pc, while circulation has also dropped as people stop visiting the shop. A number of papers have already closed, laid off staff or missed issues as a result. It is not good enough to say that we do not have a special responsibility to protect journalism. At a time when there is a clear and present need for high quality public service journalism, we cannot afford to see these services disappear. Putting aside long-term funding, which must be addressed, the Government needs to announce targeted measures to protect these information streams. The dissemination of important messages on social distancing, protecting the elderly and immunocompromised should be provided across all available avenues. We need an overarching approach to this challenge. We must expand the remit of the Broadcast Authority of Ireland to cover newspaper publishing. When the BAI was established print media did not need financial support. As a result, many of the mechanisms available to journalists through other mediums don't apply. This needs to be addressed through the establishment of a print media unit to coordinate the Government response and to maintain local media during this period. An emergency fund would allow newspapers to continue presenting factual and relevant public health information in their communities. Across Government, announcements have been put on hold and events which were designed to attract coverage are not taking place. These budgets should be used to fund information related to Covid-19 and information on the supports which have been put in place. In Europe, governments have filled the void left by commercial adverts. Just recently, the UK announced plans to spend 30m to support the industry. This funding could be targeted to protect those papers most in danger of going out of business to protect jobs and to ensure that every part of the country retains their local paper. At this difficult time, it is vital that all lines of quality information are provided to the public. Professionally produced journalism is an essential condition for the survival of modern democracies. If it disappears, data-driven news feeds governed by algorithms will be our guide during this emergency. Our healthcare workers are already facing a serious challenge. Fighting the spread of false information is a task which we should try to relieve them of as much as possible. That is the role of public service journalism. Economic Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation Maxim Oreshkin named the main problem of the Russian economy that right now is a priority for the authorities. "The president constantly repeats that the authorities, government and Central Bank should monitor the unemployment rate and population incomes, as these are the most problematic issues for today, Oreshkin said in an interview to Russia-24 TV channel. The Federal Government has finally bowed to pressure and reduced the visa fee of United States (US) citizens seeking Nigerian visa from $180 to $150. The development is coming after an announcement by the US Government on Tuesday, 27th August 2019, that Nigerians applying for US visas will be required to pay a visa issuance fee, or reciprocity fee, with effect from August 29. The US Embassy blamed the Nigerian government for the increased visa issuance fee which was done based on the principle of reciprocity meant to eliminate the cost difference U.S. citizens pay to obtain Nigerian visas. Since early 2018, the U.S. government has engaged the Nigerian government to request that the Nigerian government change the fees charged to U.S. citizens for certain visa categories, says the Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy. After eighteen months of review and consultations, the government of Nigeria has not changed its fee structure for U.S. citizen visa applicants, requiring the U.S. Department of State to enact new reciprocity fees in accordance with our visa laws. The reciprocity fee will be required for all Nigerian citizens worldwide, regardless of where they are applying for a non-immigrant visa to the United States. Following the development, the Nigerian government approved a reduction in visa charges payable by United States citizens from $180 to $150. In a statement issued on Wednesday, 28th August 2019, Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, explained the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service, Muhammad Babandede, had been directed to implement the decrease in the visa charges with effect from Thursday. Chinese brands riping-off cars of established brands is old news. However, this one is rather special as the car that was chosen by Fengsheng was the Indian-made Tata Nexon. The similarities between the Nexon and the Maple 30x EV is striking and one might not take long to realise the number of design cues that have been borrowed from the latter. Like India, China also has been promoting the use of electric vehicles and offering subsidies to manufacturers. This is one of the reasons why the Maple 30x is priced so aggressively at RMB 68,800 which roughly converts to Rs 7.3 lakh. The battery capacity of the Maple 30x has a battery that outputs 94bhp helping it sprint to triple-digit speeds in roughly 1012 seconds. The car can cover a respectable 300km on a single charge and also has an option to be charged by a fast charger that can attain up to 80 per cent charge in just 30 minutes. Apart from these details, not much has been revealed about the Maple 30xs cabin but the featured images showcase quite a few details like a fully digital instrument cluster, climate control, the GKUI infotainment system and a flat-bottom steering wheel with inbuilt controls. Also Watch: Australian intelligence officials are treating reports of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's ill health seriously, with concerns about the upheaval that would be created by a change of leader in the secretive and authoritarian state. Australia is monitoring intelligence that Kim is in serious danger after undergoing cardiovascular surgery earlier this month, but has no definitive proof that he is in a vegetative state or is dead, according to senior government sources. A Hong Kong broadcast network claimed over the weekend that Kim had died, citing a very solid source", while a Japanese magazine reported that he was in a vegetative state. A train possibly belonging to the North Korean leader was spotted at a resort town near the "leadership station" between April 21 and 23, according to satellite images reviewed by a Washington-based think tank which focuses on North Korea. The station is reserved for the use of Kim and his family, but there is no definitive proof the train was carrying the North Korean ruler. Resolution Regarding Refugee Settlement in North Carolina Resolution Allowing Concealed Carry for Beaufort County Employees in Most of Beaufort County Government's Buildings As the Beaufort County Commissioners defy the prudent concerns of some, and meet as per our body politic charter pursuant to the North Carolina general statute regarding Open Meetings, I, as a commissioner, will have a very busy night with three very important agenda items. These items are as follows:All issues are important, some more essential than the others; one has been discussed before but not voted upon ; however, all are topical to the issues that that are brought to bear upon what occurring now in our communities, our state, our Republic. I shall explain here below.The first resolution offered to the Beaufort County Commissioners concerning the actions of unilateral actions of North Carolina's governor asking for refugees from Third World countries. This governor's request for refugees, many without proper documentation, coupled with his Open Border position of acquiescence regarding knowledge of who is within the borders of our nation, our state of North Carolina makes this governor the untested, and incapable authority on keeping our people safe. That pertinent resolution is below:the Trump administration, unlike its predecessor, is listening to state and local governments on whether they want to accept settlement of refugees, andNC Governor Roy Cooper has written to federal officials saying that North Carolina will accept settlement of refugees, andmost refugees these days come from Third World countries, many of them Muslim countries with active jihad terrorist movements, andJihadi terrorist groups like ISIS have openly boasted of inserting their terrorists into the refugee stream, andrefugees granted asylum in the United States are granted immediate rights to receive all forms of welfare, a right they retain for life, and are thus subsidized by American taxpayers, with part of that paid subsidy by the state and locality where they are settled,that Beaufort County refuses to accept settlement of refugees in our county, and that this decision be communicated to the state and federal governments.The second resolution that I will offer at the April 6, 2020 meeting is that Beaufort County Employees should be allowed their Constitutional right to Conceal Carry on Beaufort County Property should they qualify to do so. In these times of community stress due to the Coronavirus pandemic and pandemonium, it is imperative that our qualified county employees feel safe, but effectively are safe in the event that a deranged shooter attacks a county facility that is not otherwise enveloped in a conventional security setting.In these times of high anxiety, which will probably continue as this self absorbed society reflects upon their collective predicament, it is not the time to deny qualified public employees to their Constitutional right to protection, as dicussed openly in the resolution below:the Beaufort County Commissioners support the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution, and the inherent right of lawful owners of firearms to lawfully carry in Beaufort County, concealed or otherwise, and;at any moment one or more of Beaufort County's employees lives could be placed in great jeopardy by the wrongful, purposeful evil intent of the deranged individual to kill their fellowman, and;the Second Amendment provides for the lawful protection of our Republic's citizens by ensuring that they may keep and bear arms, when they, at their sole well considered discretion, know that they, or other innocents, are, or will be violently threatened by those of evil intent, and;through the accurate prism of perfect hindsight, we have collected data that definitively states that the greatest protection that a lawful gun owner, and those good citizens closest to them, will ever enjoy is the weapon that they carry for the constitutionally protected purpose of their self defense and the defense of others,The Beaufort County Commissioners support and defend the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution, and are hereby greatly resolved to allow Concealed Carry privileges for all qualified and approved Beaufort County Government Employees in Most of Beaufort County Government's Buildings.My third issue tonight ties all this together as I ask the Beaufort County Commissioners to begin the evaluation of North Carolina's response to the Coronavirus conundrum of pandemonium versus prudent policy, and how to better gauge a more appropriate going forward. While the Beaufort County Commissioners are a sanctioned body politic of the government of North Carolina, and govern at their pleasure, county commissions are the governing authority closest to the people of this state, and do possess the right play a big part in our government's future reaction to the next pandemic, which is a certainty going forward.Whether one believes that North Carolina governor properly followed the general statute to issue his successive Emergency Orders to effectively shut down North Carolina's economy for a period approaching four weeks is an issue that should be discussed, but, effectively, has little bearing on what has been put into place now to combat the pandemic now. What is certain for the logical minded person is that the United States and North Carolina will no longer be able to shut down our respective economies to this extent, nor will we be able to afford to pay for part of its corrosive effects, which is occurring now.The discussion among elected leaders begins now if we are to correct our collective situation to one of a more tolerable nature when the next pandemic slams our nature and our people. Colombo: In today's time, disease or any disaster becomes a crisis on both human life. One of which is the coronavirus, this is such a disease, which has not been able to break any. More than 200,000 deaths have occurred due to the virus, while millions of people have been infected with this virus. It is a bit difficult for scientists to say how long will be able to get rid of this disease. Number of infected people continuously increasing in Russia In the last two days, 60 naval men were found to be suffering from corona at a Sri Lankan naval base. Due to this, about four thousand navy and their families have been quarantined. So far, more than 420 positive cases of corona have been reported in this neighboring island country of India. Seven have also died. Corona continues to wreak havoc in Iran, 76 deaths in 24 hours The government newspaper Daily News quoted army commander Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva as saying that 30 naval corona tests were found positive at the Velisara Naval Camp on Friday. A nationwide curfew imposed for the prevention of corona in Sri Lanka will be lifted on Monday. To combat the virus, Kafiru has started in the entire country since 20 March. Scientists identify big problem related to coronavirus Ashwini M Sripad By Express News Service BENGALURU: While people who are about to retire try to save as much money for the future, here is a 59-year-old police constable who donated his entire months salary to the PMs COVID relief fund. In fact, he took a loan for Rs 5,000 from his friend for expenses that month. HG Hanumantharaya, who is attached to the Sampangiramanagar police station, has been in the force for the past 34 years. Hailing from Tumakuru, he has more than a year to go before he retires. Speaking to TNSE, Hanumantharaya said he gets his salary on the 8th of every month. Two hours after I got my salary, I went to the bank with my friend. He spoke to the manager, who helped us fill out the online form for making the donation, he said. I took a loan of Rs 5,000 from my friend to take care of my expenses for the month, he adds with a smile. On being asked what made him take this decision, he says, I saw on the news that the Railway department converted bogies into isolation wards. Our country needs money to buy ventilators and medical kits. Our population is vast and we need lots of money. If what I donated helps, I will be very happy, he said. His wife Devaki, a homemaker, says that her husbands nature was to give. From what diseases experts say about the easing of the lockdown, to the impact on women migrant workers and how Goa managed to contain the virus so effectively. Expert Speak Phased easing of lockdown: Veteran infectious diseases experts, Jayaprakash Muliyal and T Jacob John, who were at the forefront of the leprosy eradication and pulse polio immunisation programmes, respectively feel that its time to end the lockdown, with one of them describing a long-term shutdown as akin to ... Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor New Delhi, April 26 : : Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba on Sunday asked states with high load of Covid-19 cases to focus on effective implementation of lockdown measures and containment strategy. The Cabinet Secretary gave the directions in a videoconference with all the Chief Secretaries and Director General of Police of the states and Union Territories and also asked them to review the preparedness for Covid-19 response. He also said that the states need to focus on medical infrastructure which includes adequate availability of isolation beds, ICU beds, ventilators etc. Meanwhile, the government said that through a graded, pre-emptive, and proactive approach, it is taking several steps along with the states and UTs for prevention, containment, and management of the viral disease. "These are being regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level," it added in a statement. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan also asserted that the situation is improving in the country as Hot Spot Districts (HSD) are becoming Non-Hot Spot Districts (NHSD). The comments came against the backdrop of his visit to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in a bid to take stock of preparedness to overcome the viral disease. Harsh Vardhan has urged the people to observe the lockdown 2.0 in letter and spirit and to treat it as an effective intervention to cut down the spread of Covid-19. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry stated that as of now, 5,804 people have been cured with a recovery rate of 21.90 per cent. Also, a total of 26,496 people have been confirmed positive for Covid-19 with a total number of 824 deaths have been reported in India as of now. SAGINAW, MI As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, officials at Delta College and Saginaw Valley State University are making decisions about how to conduct summer and fall classes. Delta College will continue remote learning through the spring/summer semester, but plans for the fall have yet to be determined, according to college officials. For spring/summer semester, the first session begins May 11 and the second session begins June 29, and both sessions will be delivered in an online format, said Delta College Spokeswoman Leanne Govitz. Registration is open for summer classes at Delta College and online fees have been waived for all new and current students, she said. Delta College 2020-2021 tuition increasing by $2 per contact hour Delta College officials have yet to make any announcements about whether in-person instruction will resume in the fall. Delta College has activated its emergency management committee to monitor the rapidly evolving situation and to adjust operations accordingly, Govitz said. We are following guidance from the CDC, and our state and local officials. We will continue to provide updated information as it becomes available. At this time, no decision about the instructional format for fall semester has been made. At least one community education course the college offers will take place in person this summer though: Deltas Motorcycle Safety program. At Delta College the safety of our students and participants in community education courses is of upmost priority, said Jennifer Carroll, program administrator. Due to the impact of COVID-19, Delta College will be reducing its motorcycle safety course offerings for Basic Rider Level 1 to July 31-August 16. Specific dates for the course sessions will be made available on delta.edu where students may register. Students who registered for May were given priority to reschedule their training session for later in the summer and those who chose not to reschedule will receive a full refund. Nearby, Saginaw Valley State University officials are still working out a plan for summer. All classes for SVSUs spring term, which runs through June 27, have been moved online, and university officials plan to make a decision next week regarding summer term, which begins June 29, said university spokesman J.J. Boehm. As for what happens this fall, its too soon to tell. When you take a step back, its astonishing to consider how much has changed at SVSU and around the world over the past six weeks. That makes it difficult to project where we will be in four months. There are many more questions than answers, Boehm said. Our fervent hope is that we will welcome students back to campus in the fall. Thats what we want and thats what our students want. Our housing deposits for the fall from returning students are running ahead of last year. Our small class sizes provide us flexibility as we evaluate options. We are developing health and safety protocols for students, faculty, staff and visitors based on guidance from the CDC, as well as state and local health departments, to keep up with the rapidly changing situation. We are preparing for scenarios where students return to campus, and we are preparing for other scenarios. Boehm said SVSU is committed to providing quality instruction for students and to fulfill its public mission. So much remains unknown, but we know our state and especially the Great Lakes Bay Region is counting on us to prepare graduates to fill critical roles that will lead to long-term recovery. As challenging as the last few weeks have been, I am inspired by the stories of SVSU students and alumni answering the call to serve our society, he said. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced K-12 schools and colleges and universities across the state to close and shift to online learning. It has prompted the cancellation of commencement ceremonies and other special events. As of Friday, April 24, the pandemic had sickened nearly 37,000 people and killed 3,085 in Michigan alone. READ MORE: Complete coverage at mlive.com/coronavirus RELATED STORIES: Hand sanitizer production begins at SVSU to combat coronavirus Michigan State University to have virtual graduation ceremony May 16 University of Michigan imposes hiring, salary freezes to face anticipated losses of $400M to $1B Central Michigan University freezes 2020-2021 undergraduate tuition amid coronavirus 51,000 Detroit students getting computer tablets via $23M donation U.S. response to virus splinters into acrimony and uncertainty FILE PHOTO: The spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Fort Smith By Howard Schneider WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Six weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency over the spreading new coronavirus, the United States is deeply divided over the correct economic and health response. What was meant as a grand experiment in fast action, nearly $3 trillion (2.4 trillion) in federal support to keep U.S. companies and individuals afloat as economic activity froze, is slipping into a morass of finger-pointing and uncertainty. Millions of workers in the world's largest economy are wondering when their unemployment benefits will arrive or even when they might be able to register for them. Groups of businesses are squaring off to compete for help. State and city governments are going https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa/georgia-other-u-s-states-press-ahead-with-early-coronavirus-reopening-idUSKCN2231TU?il=0 their own, sometimes conflicting, ways in decisions on when to let business reopen during an infectious national health crisis that does not respect borders. As a health matter, the approach has also become a mosaic, with a president prone to recommending off-the-cuff and even potentially dangerous remedies, and state officials who agree generically that more testing is needed but not exactly on how much more would be required for public safety. Meanwhile the United States' more than 50,000 COVID-19 deaths are the most in the world, though on a population-adjusted basis its roughly 160 deaths per million as of last week are well below major European nations like Italy, France and Spain. (Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus: https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-HEALTH-MAP/0100B59S39E/index.html) Congressional approval in late March of the $2.3 trillion CARES Act was an initially optimistic sign that the U.S. government was united and ready to replace workers' wages and firms' revenue with few questions asked as the country battled the coronavirus pandemic. A follow-on package worth nearly $500 billion passed Friday shows the spigot is still open. Story continues But old fault lines reappeared this past week and may get worse in days to come. Oil and other industries are lobbying https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-energy-explain/explainer-how-the-u-s-could-use-taxpayer-dollars-to-save-oil-and-energy-companies-idUSKCN2263EL for more cash, states are demanding aid, and what was meant to be a moment when help rolled out fast has instead generated outrage over who has and has not been helped . Harvard University, singled out by President Donald Trump for the size of its endowment, sent back https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-trump-harvard/harvard-drops-86-million-stimulus-allocation-after-trump-complaint-idUSKCN224366 $8.6 million allocated according to a formula that applied to all colleges and universities. Several other elite institutions include Yale and Stanford followed suit. Publicly traded companies that picked up small business loans, squeezing out mom-and-pop shops who say they couldn't access the money, also are starting to return them after the loans were disclosed in public records and flagged in media reports. Restaurant chains Shake Shack and Ruth's Chris are among the companies returning https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-ruths-hosp/ruths-chris-owner-to-speed-repayment-of-20-million-federal-rescue-loan-idUSKCN2253PT multi-million dollar loans received under the lending program, despite explicit wording that let chain restaurant and hotel corporations borrow on the basis of each of their locations, not their overall corporate size. Other publicly traded companies are digging in and keeping https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-ppp/some-u-s-companies-will-keep-small-business-loans-defying-backlash-idUSKCN22701J the money, risking a backlash. Uncertainty also surrounds key programs like expanded unemployment insurance. Increased benefits were approved as a way to replace lost wages for workers ordered off the job by mandated shutdowns of some businesses and the voluntary closure of others as demand for products and services cratered. The economic argument for the expanded payments to individuals reflected a rare consensus among conservative and liberal economists that this was a moment to set aside arguments about equity and incentives and write checks, rather than risk driving the economy into a more permanent downturn. But even before the full set of new benefits has started to flow, states like Georgia and South Carolina have begun asking businesses to reopen, defying the recommendations of many health experts. That is forcing a choice among employees that was supposed to be avoided: expose yourself to health risks or have no money to pay your bills. And in a new fissure Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, suggested https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-usa-congress/truce-over-us-congress-heads-to-partisan-battle-on-coronavirus-aid-for-states-idUKKCN2261BI states could go bankrupt rather than expect any more federal aid as they cope with cratering tax revenues. His comments echo what some regarded as a critical mistake in the years following the 2007 to 2009 financial crisis and recession, when slashed government spending became a drag on Gross Domestic Product during a weak recovery. The widespread confusion and division could spell even more serious trouble if, as many expect, infections surge again down the road, normal commerce has to be suspended again, and even more rounds of emergency assistance are needed. "My fear and concern is that we will see a fatigue...emerge in Washington with regard to aid and eventually stimulus for an economy that may or may not have enough jobs," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton. "We have to be prepared to course correct on aid and stimulus. COVID is the iceberg and we are trying to get the lifeboats...We still have a long way to go." (Reporting by Howard Schneider and Hilary Russ. Editing by Heather Timmons and Chizu Nomiyama) Pakistan recorded 783 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, taking the total number to 12,579, news agency PTI reported. According to the Ministry of National Health Services, at least 15 people have died in the last 24 hours, pushing the death toll up to 269, PTI further reported. Punjab reported 5,378 cases, Sindh 4,232, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 1,793, Balochistan 722, Gilgit-Baltistan 308, Islamabad 235 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 55 cases. With the infections spreading rapidly, Pakistan Medical Association and Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) have urged people to offer prayers at homes and not in mosques. PIMA President Dr Iftikhar Burney warned on Saturday that mosques were becoming a major source of virus transmission. Around 6,000 cases for coronavirus surfaced in a month... but the same doubled in the last six days, he said, warning that the infection would further go up in the coming months of May and June. President Arif Alvi has written a letter to the imams of mosques urging them to ask worshippers above the age of 50 to pray at home. The federal government has, however, still not imposed a nationwide lockdown. It has been done only in some provinces, that too, by local governments. We sought a total lockdown without thinking about the consequences for the daily wage earners, the street vendors, the labourers, all of whom face poverty & hunger for themselves & their families. May Allah forgive us our sin of neglecting our dispossessed & poor citizens, Prime Minister Imran Khan had tweeted on his decision to not impose a total lockdown. Meanwhile, the partial lockdown has been extended till May 9. There were reports of violation of lockdown from different cities. The police arrested 78 people and sealed 107 shops on Saturday in Quetta, capital of Balochistan, for violating the lockdown, Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said. He said that a total of 2,707 shops had been sealed so far. In Punjab, the government announced that lockdown would not apply to pushcart street vendors, selling fruit, vegetables and other products. Due to lack of observance of lockdown, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) criticised the partial lockdown policy and asked the government either impose total lockdown or withdraw it. President Donald Trump surprising disclosure on Monday that he was using hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug commonly used by lupus and rheumatoid arthritis patients, has amplified an already fierce debate over its use for coronavirus patients. Trump, who said he asked to be and was then prescribed the drug by the White House physician, has spent weeks touting the drug as a potential game-changer in the fight against COVID-19, which has sickened around 1.5 million Americans with the death rate creeping toward 100,000. Yet the presidents use of hydroxychloroquine as a preventative measure along with its already flagged risks triggered heated discussions about the wisdom of the decision. Weeks after issuing an emergency use authorization for both hydroxychloroquine and a similar drug called chloroquine, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned they were not safe and effective when used on COVID-19 patients. Still, Trump insisted on Monday that a lot of good things have come out about the hydroxy(chloroquine). Youd be surprised at how many people are taking it, especially the frontline workers before you catch (the virus). Trump initially sparked a furor when he first floated hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment in the COVID-19 fight. He doubled down on its potential Monday, repeating his previous conviction that it is not a harmful drug, used for off-label uses, and has been around for 40 years. In recent weeks, several health experts have warned about its potential harm. The president, meanwhile, said he has been taking it for a couple of weeks. Frontline workers take it. A lot of doctors take it. There are over 1.5 million coronavirus cases in the U.S. (Graphic: David Foster/Yahoo Finance) Happy talk But according to Henry Miller, founding director of the FDA's Office of Biotechnology and a Senior Fellow at the Pacific Research Institute, Trumps public advocacy of the treatment and the FDAs initial decision to authorize an emergency use order is giving the debate a needlessly political veneer. Story continues Its an example of an FDA action that in a sense was unnecessary...probably politically motivated, Miller told Yahoo Finance in a recent interview. He also blasted the FDAs emergency use authorization as unnecessary, because the drug is already approved for off-label uses like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Miller charged that much of the discussion surrounding coronavirus treatments has been tainted by politically motivated happy talk that is affecting how officials should interpret the data. Im a Republican, but I resent happy talk, I resent misrepresentation and I resent lies, Miller added. The agencys guidance issued on Thursday stopped short of banning its use altogether. Instead, the FDA recommended consumers do not use it independently, and said health professionals should use their judgement when prescribing it for a coronavirus patient. Trumps effusiveness was stoked by a couple of inconclusive early studies, one of which was conducted in France. Yet the FDAs decision amplified the findings of other studies, including a preliminary report from the Department of Veterans Affairs, that suggest the drug may pose more of a risk when used to treat COVID-19 patients. Its upsetting because there is only anecdotal data, except for the extremely questionable French studies and there are real holes in that, Miller said, adding Frances study has puzzling flaws. While there havent been any reported deaths linked to the French study, there are lingering concerns about toxicity and what the tradeoff of benefits and risks are. A drug with anecdotal promise, and risks Despite the debate at the federal level, hydroxychloroquine has some prominent advocates involved in the fight against the pandemic. Recently, Novartis (NVS) CEO Vas Narasimhan told a German newspaper that pre-clinical data in animals and initial clinical studies show the drug actually kills the virus. The drug is produced by Novartis Sandoz division, and Bayer (BAYRY) produces chloroquine both of which have donated millions of doses to the national stockpile. Teva (TEVA) and Mylan (MYL) also make hydroxychloroquine. Meanwhile, New York state has been allowing the use of hydroxychloroquine in hospitals, anticipating better data as the drug is used in empirical settings. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has cited its anecdotal effectiveness, but said last month that initial studies show its results to be neutral at best. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading White House coronavirus task force member, has previously expressed more caution about using hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 treatment protocols, saying there has only been anecdotal evidence, about its effectiveness. Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, who served as special advisor for health policy to the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget during the Obama administration echoed those remarks in a recent talk with Yahoo Finance in which he said we need to rely on data. As the public debate ramps up, its sparked increased demand for hydroxychloroquine something thats prompted other states such as Ohio, Texas, and Nevada to protect access for patients who need the drug for off-label uses. Reports of doctors ordering it for themselves, friends and family, have resulted in supply shortages. Miller, however, hopes the FDAs rush to validate hydroxychloroquine doesnt spill over into approvals of other COVID-19 treatments and vaccines in the pipeline. I hope that [FDA Commissioner Steven Hahn]... wont be rushed unnecessarily or inappropriately for insufficient evidence of data, he said, citing vaccines as a particular worry. Public officials have cited a timeline of 12 to 18 months for a potential coronavirus cure. However, Miller blasted that as politically motivated happy talk and off by a factor of two, at least. Fauci is among those who have floated that optimistic time frame, given the urgency of the crisis. Yet Miller stated that Fauci has qualified it in a clever way. He says a vaccine that you make and start testing in a year is not a vaccine that is deployable. You can have a candidate, but cant complete all required testing in a year. Anjalee Khemlani is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @AnjKhem Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, SmartNews, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit. By PTI NEW DELHI: The government on Sunday said the production capacity of PPE coveralls required by medical personnel treating COVID-19 cases in the country has been ramped up to more than 1 lakh per day, with Bengaluru emerging as a major hub for its production. "The PPE kits are being sent to states by the Ministry of Health as per requirement. "Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Department of Pharmaceuticals, and Ministry of Textiles are continuously working with various industry bodies, stakeholders and manufacturers on 24x7 basis, to streamline the supply chain, remove bottlenecks and maintain a steady supply of all materials required for the healthcare professionals," an official statement said. Production capacity of coveralls required by medical personnel treating COVID-19 cases in the country has been ramped up to more than 1 lakh per day, it added. Nearly fifty per cent of the coverall production in the country is from Bengaluru. FOLLOW COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES HERE Other than Bengaluru, PPE coveralls are also being manufactured by approved production units in Tirupur, Chennai and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, Ahmedabad and Vadodara in Gujarat, Phagwara and Ludhiana in Punjab, Kusumnagar and Bhiwandi in Maharashtra, Dungarpur in Rajasthan, Kolkata, Delhi, Noida, Gurugram and few other places. "The cumulative production till date is approximately one million coverall units," the statement issued by the Textile Ministry said. Body coveralls (PPE) have a stringent technical requirements as prescribed by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare since it is a specialized protective suit meant for high level of protection to health professionals. HLL Lifecare Limited is the designated single-window procurement agency for the hospitals and healthcare organisations under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. In the last week of January 2020, the technical standard for the coveralls was prescribed as per WHO class-3 exposure pressure in accordance with ISO 16003 or its equivalent. "Such materials were being manufactured by a few international companies, who expressed their inability to supply on account of a complete glut in stocks and ban of exports by the source countries. ALSO READ | Prolonged lockdown may push millions into margins of subsistence: Ex RBI Governor Subbarao Only a limited quantity was offered and procured by the procurement organization of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare," the statement said. The health ministry finalised the technical requirement on March 2, based on the indigenous availability of materials and the technical requirement for a high level of protection of the healthcare professionals who would deal with the COVID-19 cases, in consultation with medical experts in the field. The specification was published on the official website of HLL Lifecare Ltd on 5 March 2020, inviting manufacturers having adequate capability to participate in the procurement process. As of now, there are four laboratories in the country which have the Synthetic Blood Penetration Resistance Test facilities as well as necessary approvals for conducting tests and certification for Body Coveralls (PPE) required for COVID-19. These are South India Textiles Research Association (SITRA), Coimbatore, Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE), Gwalior, and two laboratories under Ordnance Factory Board Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi and Small Arms Factory, Kanpur. PTI RSN BAL 04261850 NNNN GREELEY, Colo., April 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, JBS USA announced the temporary closure of its Green Bay, Wis., beef production facility. The facility employs more than 1,200 people and feeds nearly 3.2 million Americans every day. In partnership and consultation with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the Brown County Health and Human Services Department - Public Health Division, the company will advise its Green Bay team members to follow Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers Safer at Home Order while the plant is closed. Society collectively faces a global coronavirus pandemic that has spread throughout the world and every state in the United States. In Wisconsin, the virus has spread to 66 of 72 counties, including Brown County, home of the JBS Green Bay facility. JBS USA is striving to provide the safest working environment possible for its team members who are providing food for the nation during these unprecedented times. The companys efforts to combat coronavirus continue to evolve as new information from medical experts becomes available. JBS USA will pay its team members during the plant closure. As an essential business providing necessary supplies and services for Wisconsin, we have endeavored to maintain operations to ensure continued access to safe, affordable food, said Shannon Grassl, President of the JBS USA Regional Beef. Given the continued spread of coronavirus in our community and among our workforce, we have decided to voluntarily close our Green Bay facility in an effort to help flatten the curve of infections in Brown County. Weve been focused on doing everything we can to keep the virus out of our facility, but we believe a temporary closure is the most aggressive action we can take to help our community collectively slow the spread of COVID-19. JBS USA operates more than 60 meat, poultry and prepared foods facilities across the United States. The Green Bay beef facility is the fourth JBS USA plant to temporarily close to help slow community spread, joining the Souderton, Pa., beef production facility and the Greeley, Colo., beef production facility, both of which have reopened, and the Worthington, Minn., pork facility that remains closed. Story continues JBS USA continues to partner with expert epidemiologists and medical professionals, and is following guidance provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, local health departments and other officials, to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19. To date, the company has adopted the following safety measures at its facilities to prevent coronavirus from entering its workplaces and support its team members: Temperature testing all team members prior to entering facilities, including the use of hands-free thermometers and thermal imaging testing technology; Providing extra personal protective equipment (PPE), including protective masks, which are required to be worn at all times; Promoting physical distancing by staggering starts, shifts and breaks, and increasing spacing in cafeterias, break and locker rooms, including plexiglass dividers in key areas; Increasing sanitation and disinfection efforts, including whole facility deep-cleaning every day; Hiring dedicated staff whose only job is to continuously clean facilities, including common areas beyond the production floor; Removing vulnerable populations from facilities, offering full pay and benefits; Requiring sick team members to stay home from work; Waiving short-term disability waiting periods; Relaxing attendance policies so people dont come to work sick; Providing free 100% preventative care to all team members enrolled in the companys health plan; Offering free LiveHealth Online services for team members enrolled in the companys health plan that allow for virtual doctor visits at no cost; Educating and encouraging team members to practice social distancing at home and in the community outside of work; and Restricting access to facilities and not allowing visitors. About JBS USA JBS USA is a leading global food company providing diversified, high-quality food products for sale to customers in approximately 100 countries on six continents. This includes meat and poultry products, a portfolio of recognized brands and innovative premium foods. The Pune Municipal Corporation has requested the Maharashtra government to chalk out a referral policy for private hospitals as far as critical COVID-19 patients are concerned. PMC Commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad said that during a review meeting on Saturday, he requested Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to take a policy decision at the state level as far as referral of critical COVID-19 patients from private hospital to state-run facilities, like the Sassoon General Hospital in Pune, is concerned. "The approach of some private hospitals is that they treat the COVID-19 patient for some day and refer the case to Sassoon hours before he or she dies. I requested Ajit Pawar to chalk out a referral policy at the state level," he said. He added that if a private hospital is equipped with facilities like ICU and expert doctors, the entire treatment should be done by the same hospital. Gaikwad said that he has proposed to even penalise such hospitals. "I have even proposed that if any critical COVID-19 patient is being referred to the Sassoon Hospital before his death, the overall bill of the patient at the hospital should be reduced by 60 per cent. Since they are not treating the patient at the terminal stage or at the time of death, they should be penalised," he said. The attitude of some private hospitals of distancing themselves when the patient is critical is not good. Avinash Bhondwe, the state president of Indian Medical Association (IMA), however, said that there should be a clear cut separation of COVID-19 and non-COVID patient. "This has come from the government that if a patient comes to a private hospital for some ailment and if the doctor suspects that he or she has some symptoms of COVID-19, he is supposed to inform the administration. Their person will come and take the swab samples," he said. He added that till the time, the results of the test come, the patient will have to be kept in isolation. "There are guidelines that if the patient's test comes positive, he or she will be sent to COVID hospital and if the results come negative, the respective hospital will treat the patient," he said. He said that there are no such guidelines that private hospitals will treat the patient. "Moreover, neither the treatment protocol of the government has reached private doctors nor there is any kind of training of private doctors being conducted," he added. He said that if any hospital treats a COVID-19 patient, there is a high possibility that the government might ask why the patient was treated there. "We are supposed to refer the patient for the diagnosis and treatment. On the contrary, there are instances of some doctors receiving notices for not referring the case," he said. Bhondwe suggested that the government should take over some private hospitals. "If you think that there are some serious patients, you can send them to these private hospitals. If the government wants the patient to be treated at the private hospital, issue the treatment guidelines and protocol to the private doctors," he said. Gaikwad said that a meeting with private hospitals over this issue will be held on Monday. "We will see what their viewpoint is on all these issues. We will also discuss the issue of bills of COVID-19 patients who are being treated at such hospitals," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Etah: The Uttar Pradesh Police on Sunday (April 26) claimed to crack the Etah murder case in which five members of a family, including two minors, were found dead inside their house. According to the police, the daughter-in-law of the family committed the crime by mixing poison in the food and then committed suicide by slashing her wrist. The police said the forensic test conducted on the bodies disclosed that while four people had poisonous substance in their body, a one-year-old child was smothered to death. On April 25 evening, bodies of five members of a family were found at their residence in Singar Nagar locality in Etah. Upon receiving the information, the police rushed to the spot and sent the bodies for post-mortem. Among the deceased included retired health worker Rajeshwar Prasad Pachauri (80), his daughter-in-law Divya and her two children (10 and 1) and Divya's sister Bulbul. SSP Sunil Kumar Singh told ANI yesterday that the bodies were found lying separately in the house, and foam and blood were seen coming out of two children. He also said that there were injury marks on the neck of Divya's sister. The police said that they recovered an empty bottle of toilet cleaner, sulfas tablets and blades from the spot. The sample of milk present at the house was also been sent for forensic testing. The police said that as per preliminary investigation, there was no sign of any forceful entry or exit into the house. According to the police, the neighbours after realising that there was no response or movement in the house, peeped through the window when they noticed one of the bodies lying on the floor. They immediately informed the police about the incident over the phone at 8 am in the morning. Further investigation into the case is underway. According to the police, the five bodies were handed over to Divya's husband, who is employed at a pharmaceutical company in Roorkee. The sister of an award-winning university student has released a video demanding an explanation from Irans security organs for the April 10 arrest of her brother. Ali Younesi who was the winner of the gold medal in the International Astronomy Olympiad in 2018 in China is twenty years old and a second-year computer science student in Tehrans Sharif Industrial University. Twelve agents rushed into his home and arrested him while physically assault him. His sister Aida and brother Reza say he was hit in the head and bleeding when taken away. Security forces or prosecutors have not said why they have arrested Younesi. A leader of the hardliner Baseej student organization has said his arrest is not related to his activities in the university. Aida Younesi in her video asks officials to either reveal the details of her brothers case or apologize for slander. Addressing the Student Baseej at Sharif University she says, Based on what laws you can arrest a 20-year old young man using physical assault and show his bloody face to the parent. Security forces have also arrested another award-winning physics student, Amir-Hossein Moradi and there is also no news about him. The Islamic Republic has a long history of arresting or persecuting university students who show a tendency for activism or exercising freedom of speech. Richard Branson is considering pouring more money into teetering Virgin Atlantic Airways than he originally pledged in a bid to attract outside investors and gain access to hundreds of millions of pounds of UK state-backed loans, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr Branson had earlier said he would channel the bulk of a $250m (230m) infusion into his Virgin-branded companies towards the UK airline. The pledge, linked to a request for some 500m (570m) in UK funding guarantees, has met with resistance from the British government. The talks and amounts are in flux, said the sources. US partner Delta Air has said it wont put in more money, and raised the possibility Virgin Atlantic could go through insolvency proceedings. Mr Branson has been pursuing outside investors to strengthen the bailout application. The 69-year-old billionaires Virgin Group is seeking some combination of structured finance, convertible bonds or preferred debt, according to one of the sources. An injection of pure equity could also be part of the mix, though rules governing airline ownership could place limits on that option. About 100 financial investors have been contacted with around half responding, the source said. Mr Branson himself has no intention of selling out of Virgin Atlantic, said Nick Fox, a spokesman for Virgin Group. He declined to comment on the investor search or what form support might take. Virgin previously confirmed that Houlihan Lokey had been engaged to lead the search. The future of Mr Bransons flagship business is on the line as airlines worldwide are roiled by the Covid-19 outbreak. Like other European carriers, Virgin Atlantic has grounded almost all of the fleet, while slashing costs through a deal with staff to take unpaid leave. That step and question marks over Mr Bransons tax affairs have led to a backlash against a bailout from some UK politicians. His Virgin Australia line was already denied a rescue and faces collapse. Mr Branson, who founded the airline in 1984 and owns a 51% stake, would remain a leading shareholder, the sources said. Deltas 49% stake would likely go down. Londons Telegraph newspaper reported earlier that Mr Branson was seeking a buyer for Virgin Atlantic, something his spokesman disputed. Richard is committed to investing in Virgin Atlantic, said Mr Fox. He and Virgin Group are fully supportive of the process the airline is going through in seeking prospective investors. With the airline industry in such dire straits, a new backer would be investing on the strength of Mr Bransons plans for the carrier, said one source. The tycoon last year came close to selling 30% of Virgin Atlantic to ally Air France-KLM before pulling the plan as earnings surged. While Virgin Atlantic and its adviser have reached out to potential investors including private equity firms and sovereign wealth funds to gauge interest, some have been reluctant to risk putting money into the battered airline sector, sources said. Among investment options, Virgin Atlantic could issue bonds convertible into stock after five years if not repaid, said a source. The institutions expressing an interest in Virgin will be provided with insight into two- and five-year plans for the airline after signing non-disclosure agreements, according to another person. While Delta wont provide direct investment while itself seeking federal funding, the US carrier may be able to help indirectly in the longer term. That could include deferring payments related to a joint venture between the airlines and others for a booking platform, one of the people said. Mr Branson has already said hes seeking to raise cash against his Necker Island home in the British Virgin Islands. Most of that money will likely go to help his other leisure businesses, the source said. The search for a new investor may be complicated by airline ownership rules. Christopher Jasper, Bloomberg Workers at major meat processing plants across the US said they were told to keep working in crowded situations, sometimes while sick, while their companies failed to provide adequate protective gear, turning the plants into coronavirus infection hot spots, a new investigation reveals. Since the coronavirus outbreak in the US, government officials have praised the meat industry for its efforts to ensure there aren't interruptions in the national food supply. The claims come in the wake of 15 closures of processing plants owned by Tyson Foods, JBS USA and Smithfield - three of the country's biggest major meat producers - following reports of hundreds of confirmed coronavirus cases amongst workers over the last few weeks. Workers at meat processing plants in the US say they were told to keep working despite being ill, while companies did not provide them with face masks or adequate social distancing measures until recently (file image) At least 31 processing plants owned by the three companies have had coronavirus outbreaks, the Washington Post reported. Workers at the plants have blamed the high number of infections on the companies' corporate policies. They claimed that they were not given personal protective equipment or required to wear them for weeks after coronavirus infection rates starts skyrocketing in the US. JBS USA told the newspaper that it didn't receive masks for workers until April 2, but didn't make their use mandatory until April 13. Tyson, meanwhile, said that they didn't require all workers to wear masks until April 15. Smithfield did not reveal when they began providing masks to workers, but said that they were made available to them. Workers at some Smithfield plants said that this only occurred one or two weeks ago. All three companies said that they have been working to protect their workers from catching and spreading coronavirus. They said they had increased sanitation and social distancing measures, as well as checking temperatures of the workers before their shifts started. They also said that they now required quarantine for workers with positive coronavirus results and those who had been in close contact with them. Colorado JBS worker Sergio Rodriguez, 58 (center), is shown leaving the hospital on April 18 after catching coronavirus. He claimed he was told to finish his shift on March 20, despite feeling ill, exposing hundreds to coronavirus as he gave them their work gear TThe Smithfield pork plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, which was closed after becoming a hotspot with 891 coronavirus cases and one death to date Local officials visiting the Tyson processing plant in Waterloo, Iowa, in early April saw workers using bandannas and sleep masks as protective gear, if any at all The JBS plant in Greeley, Colorado, where there have been more than 100 coronavirus cases and at least four deaths so far Smithfield and Tyson told the newspaper that they had started their preventative measures - including educating workers about coronavirus - in February, while JBS said that it had done so starting in mid-March. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said on March 9 that employers should offer potentially infected workers surgical masks or respirators, particularly if they work within six feet of each other, but said that it wouldn't enforce the regulation. A spokesperson for the Department of Labor, which oversees OSHA, said that coronavirus protection guidance developed specifically for meat processing and packaging industry workers will be released soon. At meat processing plants, it's common for up to 1,000 workers to work during the two or three shifts a day at plants. Those processing the meat - carving it up on the line - often stand between two and four feet apart from each other, the Washington Post reported. To request bathroom breaks, workers often have to speak directly into the ears of supervisors due to the noise in the plants. At least 3,300 workers at more than 30 processing plants operated by the three companies, as well as other major meat producers, have fallen ill due to coronavirus and at least 17 have died, the Washington Post reported. 'This all could have been prevented. Workers are paying with their lives and their health because their industry decided not to implement basic safety precautions and OSHA decided to bury its head in the sand and tell workers "Youre on your own,"' Debbie Berkowitz, former senior OSHA official and expert on meat processing plants told the newspaper. The JBS beef processing plant in Greeley, Colorado - which slaughters 5,400 head of cattle per day - has seen more than 100 workers infected with coronavirus, leading to four deaths. Sergio Rodriguez, 58, a 40-year plant veteran, said that he began feeling sick during his shift on March 20. He said that he had a headache and his muscles ached, but that he kept handing out smocks and gloves to hundreds of workers until his lunch break. Rodriguez said he then asked his supervisor if he could go home sick, but the supervisor said they needed him on the shift, so Rodriguez kept going. The night, he said he went to urgent care, was diagnosed with a 104 degree temperature and told to isolate himself. Within days, he had to be hospitalized and was put on a ventilator. He wasn't released from the hospital until April 18. Rodriguez's daughter, Crystal, who also works at the JBS plant, said that her father 'kept working even though he was sick, because that's what you do at JBS if you want to keep your job.' She said that because he continued to work that day, he exposed hundreds of workers to coronavirus because he had touched their gear and their hands while passing out their work gear. JBS said in a statement obtained by the Washington Post that they paid Rodriguez during his sick leave, beginning March 21. The company did not comment on his statement about continuing to work the prior day because he was asked to, but a company spokesperson said that 'No one is forced to come to work and no one is punished for being absent for health reasons.' Despite this, local health officials wrote a letter to JBS, revealing their alarm at the company's 'work while sick' culture and noting that an analysis showed that 64 per cent of workers who were diagnosed with coronavirus had 'worked while symptomatic and therefore were contagious to others.' County officials ordered the plant be closed on April 10 and gave them five days to implement the shutdown. They also ordered JBS to to develop an isolation housing plan for workers who tested positive, implement social distancing measures inside the plant and perform strict screening procedures for incoming workers. Failure to do so, county officials said, could lead to fines and up to one year in county jail for company executives. The plant reopened on Friday and handed out face shields to workers. The company said that it had ordered masks for workers on March 19, but didn't receive them until April 2 and made the wearing of masks mandatory on April 13. It has also added a $4 per hour pay increase for workers at all plants as a hazard bonus. Tyson's pork plant in Waternoo, Iowa, was also reported to be a potential coronavirus hotspot, based on what was seen inside the plant, where more than 2,700 people work and 19,500 hogs are processed per day. While touring the plant on April 10, Sheriff Tony Thompson, chair of the Emergency Management Commission in Black Hawk County, Iowa, told the newspaper that he saw workers using bandannas and sleep masks to cover their faces - if they were even bothering to cover their faces at all. He also said social distancing was lacking. The plant told Thompson that they had at least three workers with positive coronavirus test results. Following Thompson's tour of the plant, Tyson has started requiring and giving out surgical-style masks for workers. But, between April 9 and 18, Black Hawk County's coronavirus case count jumped from 20 to 192 cases - an increase of nearly 900 per cent. Thompson said that local health-care providers have been flooded with cases from the Tyson plant, with local officials attributing 90 per cent of the cases to outbreaks at Tyson. On Monday, the Iowa National Guard had to be sent to the area to provide testing and contact tracing. The Tyson plant was shuttered indefinitely on Wednesday. Iowe state senator Bill Dotzler told the Washington Post that he is worried that Tyson might be reassigning workers from closed plants to those that are still operating. He said that clinics in Waterloo had been visited by Tyson workers who lived in Columbus Junction, Iowa, nearly 130 miles away. The Tyson plant in Columbus Junction had been closed on April 15, after more than 150 workers tested positive for coronavirus. Tyson told the newspaper that it was not reassigning workers from its closed plants. It also said that it had started addressing coronavirus concerns back in January and that it had started temperature-testing workers in March. It also required visitors to the plants to take a questionnaire about potential coronavirus exposure before being allowed inside. A Tyson spokesperson told the newspaper that in addition to taking temperatures and providing face masks and deep cleaning the plants, it had started implementing social distancing measures in March. Among the measures were 'installing workstation dividers and providing more breakroom space.' 'We have also relaxed our attendance policy to encourage workers to stay at home when theyre sick,' the spokesperson said. A Smithfield distribution center worker in Greenfield, Indiana, Sonja Johnson, said that she had been fired hours after refusing to touch packages of hot dogs that had originated from a Smithfield plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, which had at least 891 coronavirus cases and one death. Johnson said she told her supervisor that it was too risky to touch the hot dog boxes and was fired later that day. The Greenfield center itself had already had several confirmed coronavirus cases. A Smithfield spokesperson told the newspaper that Johnson's account was 'not at all accurate' and said that they would never fire an employee for 'expressing concern about possible transmission of covid-19.' However, two other employees at the same distribution center said that they were disciplined by the company after having said they were worried about their safety. Johnson and the two workers said that the Smithfield location didn't provide personal protective equipment until the recent week and claimed that managers let workers with fevers finish their shifts after 'cooling off' in front of air conditioners or standing outside. They also claimed that managers told workers that they were 'lucky' that they worked in cold conditions inside the plant because coronavirus didn't survive in the cold. The Smithfield spokesperson said that the company was 'disincentivized' to have sick workers on shifts and that they company tells workers in a variety of methods and languages not to report in for work if sick or exhibiting coronavirus symptoms and that they would be paid. Among the coronavirus prevention measures the company said it had started was to add hand-sanitizing stations, provided more personal protective equipment, install physical barriers on production floors and institute thermal scanning for worker temperatures. The spokesperson said the company was also restricting nonessential visitors, mandating 14-day, paid quarantines for workers with positive coronavirus diagnoses and relaxing its attendance policies for missed work due to the coronavirus pandemic. Kathmandu, April 26 : The Nepal government has decided to extend the suspension of all domestic and international flights till May 15 as a precautionary measure against the spread of coronavirus pandemic. The announcement of the decision was made by the High-Level Coordination Committee for the Prevention and Control of COVID-19 on Saturday, The Himalayan Times reported. Earlier, the Committee had decided to suspend domestic and international flights till April 30. Member Secretary of the Committee Narayan Prasad Bidari told that a Cabinet meeting on Sunday would decide whether or not to extend the lockdown. He said the Committee believed that the lockdown had largely been able to prevent the spread of COVID-19, adding that the government would carry out tracing, tracking and treatment more effectively. Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai told The Himalayan Times that the Committee had assessed the risk of COVID-19 infection and concluded that the risk had not yet abated and hence the lockdown should not be lifted immediately. Nepal has been under lockdown since March 24 after the second COVID-19 case was reported. Nepal has reported 49 coronavirus cases, with no fatality. Guillaume Faury, chief executive officer of Airbus SE, sits beside Dominik Asam, chief financial officer of Airbus SE, during a full year earnings news conference in Toulouse, France, on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020. Photo: Balint Porneczi/Bloomberg The CEO of Airbus (AIR.PA) told employees in a memo that the European planemaker is bleeding cash and needs to rapidly cut costs in order to survive the impact from the coronavirus pandemic. In the memo, seen by a number of media outlets including Reuters and Bloomberg, Guillaume Faury told the manufacturers 135,000 staff to brace for potentially more cuts. Were bleeding cash at an unprecedented speed, which may threaten the very existence of our company, he said in the memo, cited by media outlets. We must now act urgently to reduce our cash-out, restore our financial balance and, ultimately, to regain control of our destiny. Airbus told Yahoo Finance UK that it did not comment on internal communications. The coronavirus pandemic has significantly affected all industries across the globe as governments placed citizens under strict social-distancing measures in order to battle the spread of COVID-19. Airbus has been particularly affected as its core manufacturing nations France, Spain, Britain, and Germany placed their populations in lockdown in mid-March. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the global pandemic is likely to cause the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s and do lasting damage to the global economy. On 8 April, Airbus cut production to help ease the impact to manufacturing from the coronavirus pandemic. It announced it was reducing output of its best-selling A320 narrow-body family by a third, marking the largest ever production adjustment for the manufacturer. It also cut production of larger wide-body A350 jets to just six aircraft a month, and cut the A330 family down to two aircraft a month. It has also furloughed about 3,000 French staff and boosted its liquidity by 15bn (13bn, $16bn). A week later, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said that estimated global airline losses from the impact of COVID-19 have risen to $314bn. This is 25% more than previously forecasted. This is also due to a 55% drop in 2020 passenger revenue compared with last year. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 26) A public elementary school teacher in Sorsogon is making efforts to personally deliver relief packs to families of her students in a village in Prieto Diaz. Michelle Rubio, a teacher at Calao Elementary School, visits the homes of her students whom "she really misses" to distribute food packs and other forms of aid, despite the enhanced community quarantine. She said she did not mind walking 2.5 kilometers, crossing rivers, climbing mountains, or crossing over scattered bamboos just to reach the remote areas of Calao and see her students' faces. Being continuously, holistically active and maintaining social connection, especially with children, helps her become healthier, she added. Rubio said she is also calling for the observance of infection prevention and control measures, or "SPOTS," which means "stay at home; pray and wear [face] masks; observe proper hand washing; touching of [the] face is not allowed; and social distancing." "Go, give to fight COVID," that is the battlecry, said Rubio. The Regional Department of Education lauded the efforts of the elementary school teacher. To date, the province of Sorsogon is COVID-19 free. CNN Philippines' Stringer Rosas Olarte contributed to this report. KYODO NEWS - Apr 26, 2020 - 14:31 | All, Japan Three-quarters of Japanese people responding to a Kyodo News survey feel positive about Emperor Naruhito, who ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1 last year. In the mail-in survey that covered around 3,000 people aged 18 and older, 58 percent of respondents said they felt an affinity for Emperor Naruhito, higher than the 48 percent recorded for Emperor Akihito, the current emperor's father, in an interview survey in December 1989 about a year after his enthronement. With another 17 percent stating they view him as "wonderful," a total of 75 percent of respondents felt positive about the 60-year-old emperor. The survey, conducted since March, drew 2,003 responses by April 10, of which 1,899 were treated as valid -- a response rate of 63.3 percent. The poll also found that 85 percent of respondents would accept a female monarch and 79 percent would accept an emperor descended from a female member of the imperial family, despite the country's law currently limiting succession to men from the paternal line. Asked in a multiple-choice question about what they hoped the emperor would do, 56 percent said build international friendships, and 58 percent said the same for Empress Masako, 56, a former diplomat educated at Harvard and Oxford universities, while visiting disaster-hit areas to console those affected was also cited. A total of 75 percent said they were interested in the imperial family to some or a great extent, while 21 percent said they were not very interested and 4 percent said they had no interest. With the abdication of former Emperor Akihito, 86, on April 30 last year, the imperial family now has only three heirs -- the emperor's younger brother Crown Prince Fumihito, 54, his son Prince Hisahito, 13, and Prince Hitachi, 84, the uncle of the emperor. Emperor Naruhito has a daughter -- 18-year-old Princess Aiko -- and there are other females in the family, but the Imperial House Law requires women to abandon their imperial status after marrying commoners. The government was set to start full debate on how to achieve a sustainable succession in the dwindling imperial family after Crown Prince Fumihito is formally announced as first in line to the throne in ceremonies known as "Rikkoshi no rei," which were originally scheduled to be held earlier this month. But the rites have been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak and how soon the government will be able to reach a conclusion remains uncertain, with a big divide between supporters of a female monarch or matrilineal emperor shown in public opinion polls and conservatives who want to continue limiting succession to men in the paternal line. In November, a conservative grouping in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party proposed to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that unmarried men in the now-abolished collateral branches of the imperial family be reinstated. The latest Kyodo survey showed 70 percent opposed the proposal, however, with most saying allowing female members to become heirs would suffice. In a multiple-choice question, 72 percent said the government should discuss having female monarchs, and 40 percent said emperors from the maternal line should be considered, while 18 percent called for discussing the reinstatement of members of the 11 collateral branches that left the imperial family in 1947. Abe has said giving imperial family status to the now-defunct collateral branch members should be considered an option for sustaining the imperial succession. Emperor Naruhito completed a slew of ceremonies accompanying his succession to the throne in December, including "Daijosai," a Shinto thanksgiving ceremony that has been criticized by some as going against the principle of separation of state and religion. In the survey, 72 percent viewed the ceremonies as appropriate, while 12 percent said religious elements should have been eliminated and 10 percent said such ceremonies were unnecessary. Related coverage: Crown prince proclamation ceremonies postponed amid virus outbreak Imperial Guard officer contracts coronavirus Britain's Prince Charles tests positive for coronavirus This is a story of rivalry between former partners Motorola vs. Apple, Verizon vs. AT&T. Weve already covered the first iTunes phone, the Moto ROKR, Steve Jobs could barely hide his contempt for the device when showing it on stage. This union was dissolved quickly as the team at Cupertino went on to make their own phone. A phone they will sell exclusively through AT&T. The carrier enjoyed an influx of new customers as the carrier was the only place you could buy the desirable iPhone. Verizon customers couldnt get in on the action until the iPhone 4 due to a technical limitation, the 4 was the first to support CDMA networks. By the way, if youre not familiar with the story of Ma Bell, it had a monopoly on the US phone market until 1984 when the Justice Department broke it up into several companies (actually, there were several break-ups, but that's beyond the point here). Those Baby Bells would eventually form AT&T and Verizon, among others. The Motorola Droid for Verizon Back to todays story - Verizon needed its own halo phone that would have customers lining up to sign a new contract a whole line of phones, in fact, for which it licensed the name Droid from Lucasfilm. We will focus on one model in particular, the Motorola Droid (the rest of the world knows this as the Milestone). In 2007, the original iPhone reached the 1 million units sold mark in 74 days. In 2009, the Droid would sell 1.05 million units in 74 days only a bit more than the Apple phone, but it was a victory nevertheless. Verizon launched an aggressive Droid Does campaign, which featured a list of iDont limitations of iPhone and iOS. iDont have a real keyboard, iDont run simultaneous apps, iDont take night shots, iDont customize, iDont run widgets, iDont have interchangeable batteries . And Droid did. The keyboard was a full slide-out QWERTY in the vein of the T-Mobile G1, though instead of a trackball it had a D-pad. It was comfortable offering great tactile feedback and enabling fast typing. The lack of a number key was an issue, but only a small one. A pretty comfortable keyboard There was a virtual keyboard available on the 3.7 screen for quick texts, for longer you would slide open the hardware one and begin typing. Its a shame that the phone didnt come with an Office document editor, only a viewer, but you could buy one if you needed it. Speaking of the 3.7 screen, its 480 x 854px resolution meant it was larger and much sharper than the 3.5 320 x 480px panel on the iPhone 3GS, Apples 2009 model. And was a 16:9 screen, which had already established itself as the aspect ratio of choice for multimedia. Motorola Droid/Milestone ompared with the Apple iPhone 3GS There was one iDo thing that Droid Didnt multi-touch. We mentioned that in the Nexus One Flashback too, it was a patent issue. That was cleared up eventually and the Android 2.1 Eclair update enabled pinch to zoom in the Browser, Gallery and Google Maps. The browser gained pinch zoom support with the Android 2.1 update The Moto Droid originally launched with Android 2.0. That was a pretty big deal as previous versions of the OS were limited to 65K colors, v2.0 enabled proper 8-bit support for 16 million colors. The 3GS already had a 16M color screen, so that was more of an advantage over previous Androids. So, what about the camera? The 5MP shooter on the back of the Motorola Droid had a higher resolution than the iPhone (3.15MP) and it had an LED flash, something that Apple omitted. It recorded 720 x 480px video at 30fps, not 16:9, but still wider than the iPhones 640 x 480px video. Motorola Droid/Milestone camera samples What else? The Motorola Droid did in fact have a removable battery, 1,400mAh in capacity. And it had a microSD slot, something that Apple never allows on its pocketable gadgets. The battery did block the microSD slot, so you couldnt hotswap cards, but thats a minor issue. And yes, Android has supported widgets since Day 1 and allowed a fair bit of customization. Speaking of, the Motorola Droid ran pure Android (Verizon also had a partnership with Google going on), however, the Milestone, the international version, was running the custom MotoBLUR user interface. Android offers widgets and other customizations Despite its multitasking skills, the Motorola Droid was not exactly a powerhouse in fact, in terms of computing power it was an almost perfect match for the iPhone. Both used a Cortex-A8 single-core CPU, the Moto ran it at 550MHz, the Apple phone at 600MHz. Both had PowerVR graphics, SGX530 for the Moto, SGX535 for the iPhone. And both had 256MB of RAM. Things were ever so slightly in favor of the iPhone so the multitasking thing was a platform limitation by iOS, not a hardware one. A choice that would change the following year, actually everything changed after 2010. As we said, the iPhone 4 was the first to have a CDMA model that actually came out in February of 2011, even though the GSM version was out in June 2010. iOS 4, released in 2010, supported limited multitasking, a feature that was back-ported to the 3GS. Motorola made the most Droid phones with HTC contributing a few and Samsung just the one. Again, this whole Droid business was a Verizon license, but after the carrier got its own iPhone, it dialed down the iDont marketing. Not that the Droid brand faded out of existence immediately after the CDMA iPhone hit the market, in fact the Droid 2 and Droid X helped Motorola score a nice profit. This short-term success wasnt enough to keep Motorola afloat, however, and in August of 2011 Google announced that it would acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. The US federal government is looking at "a whole bunch of alternatives" to support oil and other energy companies, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday as the industry struggles with plummeting prices and demand as the coronavirus crushes economic activity. Taking equity stakes as part of a lending facility for the industry is among the alternatives, Mnuchin said at a White House event. President Donald Trump said, "The energy business is very important to me, and we're going to build it up." About half of the top 60 independent companies in ... Queensland's independent schools have called on the Palaszczuk government to allow all Year 11 and 12 students to return to school immediately. Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ) want Year 11 and 12 students to return amid COVID-19 restrictions so they're not disadvantaged compared to their interstate counterparts. "In some other states and territories, Year 11 and 12 students are being encouraged to return to schools or are already back at school," ISQ says. Credit:Fairfax Media Schools are open only for vulnerable children or those of essential workers, otherwise they remain closed until at least May 22 in Queensland. ISQ executive director David Robertson said in a letter to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk that every effort should be made to minimise disruption to the continuity of quality teaching and learning. Wycliffe Discovery Center hosts free virtual tour of Bible translation museum during lockdown Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The Wycliffe Discovery Center that highlights decades of Bible translation work done around the world is hosting a virtual tour Friday for everyone who's at home during the quarantine. Wycliffe USA will host a Facebook Live tour starting at 4 p.m. Eastern time and take viewers around its Bible translation museum in Orlando, Florida. The museum has been closed to in-person tours since March due to a state shutdown in response to the new coronavirus outbreak. The museum showcases the impact of Bible translation work around the world and how it can change lives. The virtual tour will offer viewers an opportunity to learn more about Wycliffes mission and how their work has impacted the many cultures theyve reached. "With so much of daily life on hold and families practicing self-quarantine in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, we are excited to offer a tour of Wycliffe USA's Discovery Center that people can participate in from home, Kristie Frieze, vice president for events and experience marketing, told The Christian Post. The Discovery Center museum celebrates the incredible impact of Bible translation around the world and offers an educational experience about some of the communities and cultures where we work, Frieze added. Earlier this year the museum was ranked among the top five religious museums in the United States by USA Todays 10 Best Readers Choice Awards for 2020. Were passionate about celebrating cultures, educating people about language groups and highlighting the need to continue this important (of Bible translation) work until all people have access to Scripture in the language they know best, John Chesnut, president and CEO of Wycliffe USA, said in a past statement of the honor. The center opened in 2002 and regularly hosts youth events to reach students outside normal school hours, and guests can schedule tours led by active missionaries who can offer first-hand insights into the displays, Wycliffe USA said in the statement. Hear amazing stories of how lives are being changed as Gods Word is made accessible to those who still need it, and find out how you can be a part of what God is doing all around the world through Bible translation, the center adds on its website. The virtual tour will be streamed live from Wycliffes Facebook page. North Wales health board faces more money woes as budget deficit of 40m is agreed This article is old - Published: Sunday, Apr 26th, 2020 North Wales regional health board is facing yet more money woes after agreeing to set a budget deficit of almost 40m for the next financial year. The figure does not include the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which is estimated to put a further 10m dent in its funds. If the forecasted shortfall pans out as expected for 2020/21, it will be sixth year where Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has failed to achieve a break-even position. Officials have acknowledged that the situation needs addressing and are aiming to make savings of 45m as the organisation approaches almost five years of being under special measures. The health boards chief executive will also be required to write to the head of NHS Wales to explain the financial difficulties. In a report presented to board members last week, Sue Hill, interim executive director of finance said: The health boards financial position is not acceptable, and the health board must plan on the basis of providing excellent health services within the constraints of the available resources. This requires a balance between managing clinical risk and corporate risks to provide safe services which are delivered efficiently and effectively. Nonetheless, the delivery of safe services of a high quality cannot be compromised in pursuit of rapidly achieving financial balance. The allocation of funding from Welsh Government will bring with it clear expectations on the health boards performance against our targets. As a result of this, the health board will remain focused on directing resources to deliver against priority areas. The minutes of the meeting show that the board agreed to approve a savings target of 45m as part of a budget deficit of 40m for the 2020/2021 financial year. Ms Hill said the figure excludes the financial impact of dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak, which has been flagged up on the boards risk register. The 10m estimate is based on the extra resources that may be required to tackle the virus. In England, the UK Government has agreed to wipe off 13.4 billion worth of debt to ensure the NHS has the necessary finances to respond to the coronavirus. The First Minister of Wales was asked whether his government would follow suit earlier this month, but said consequential funding from Westminster was not available to do so. He said: There will be no consequential because this is not real money, it is just an accountancy exercise. There is debt on the book, and they cancel the debt. They dont use money for it they just treat it in that accounting way. Well get no consequential for Wales as a result as levels of indebtedness in the Welsh NHS are simply not of the same order. By Liam Randall BBC Local Democracy Reporter / Wrexham.com Lisa Rinna posted an Instagram video this Saturday of herself wearing a face mask -but not of the coveted N95 variety. Rather the 56-year-old was wearing a green cosmetic facial scrub while lounging in the tub and filming herself for social media. The Real Housewife Of Beverly Hills laughed gleefully after saying that she was 'like Hecuba from Wicked - it's so fitting, isn't it?' Keeping up appearances: Lisa Rinna posted an Instagram video this Saturday of herself wearing a face mask -but not of the coveted N95 variety She appeared to have had a bit of a mix-up as Hecuba is not from Wicked, but is in fact a character from Greek mythology. Hecuba was the Queen Of Troy during its sacking by the Greeks during the Trojan War and was immortalized by Homer in the Iliad. Meanwhile the leading lady of Wicked, a green woman who becomes the Wicked Witch Of The West, is called Elphaba. Relaxation: Rather the 56-year-old was wearing a green cosmetic facial scrub while lounging in the tub and filming herself for social media Lady of the house speaking: The Real Housewife Of Beverly Hills laughed gleefully after saying that she was 'like Hecuba from Wicked - it's so fitting, isn't it?' Wicked was a novel by Gregory Maguire that became a smash Broadway musical with a book by Winnie Holzman and a score by Stephen Schwartz. The plot reimagined the life of the Wicked Witch Of The West, the villain of L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz. There is now a Wicked movie in the works, with Stephen Daldry of The Crown fame slated to direct and Winnie adapting the screenplay herself. Settling the score: She appeared to have had a bit of a mix-up as Hecuba is not from Wicked, but is in fact a character from Greek mythology Who's who: Hecuba was the Queen Of Troy during its sacking by the Greeks during the Trojan War and was immortalized by Homer in the Iliad Throwback: The leading lady of Wicked meanwhile was called Elphaba; Idina Menzel is pictured playing the role as part of the musical's original Broadway cast in 2003 Lisa is hunkering down with her husband Harry Hamlin, whom she celebrated her 23rd wedding anniversary with on March 29 in lockdown. She was clearly feeling nostalgic this Friday as she posted a throwback Instagram snap of herself as a toddler being cradled by her father Frank Rinna. 'With my Dad! #BabyRinna #fbf I Miss Him,' she wrote in the caption in honor of Frank, who died in January 2016. Official: Recent Taliban Violence Harms Hundreds of Afghan Civilians By Ayaz Gul April 25, 2020 Officials in Afghanistan alleged Saturday the Taliban has "killed or wounded" nearly 800 civilians since signing the February 29 peace-building deal with the United States. A spokesman for the Islamist insurgency swiftly rejected the charges. The allegations came on a day when Washington's peace envoy for the war-torn country, Zalmay Khalilzad, again called on the warring sides to work for peace, saying the U.S.-Taliban agreement "provides a historic opportunity for Afghanistan." A national security council spokesman in Kabul, while releasing details of the stepped-up insurgent violence, claimed the Taliban conducted more than 2,800 "terrorist activities" between Feb. 29 and April 20, killing and wounding "789 civilians during this period." Javid Faisal went on to say Afghan security forces in counter attacks also inflicted more than 2,700 casualties on the Taliban. "Last week was the bloodiest since the U.S.-Taliban deal, with the Taliban killing 34 and wounding 62 civilians across 17 provinces," he said without elaborating. Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, when contacted by VOA for his reaction, questioned the veracity of the government claim on civilian casualties. "This is a general claim, can they say where and when?" Shaheen asked. Battlefield clashes have escalated in Afghanistan as the annual spring fighting season arrives, killing scores of combatants on both sides in the past week alone. Afghan media reported government forces suffered up to 100 deaths. US seeks quick prisoner swap The violence prompted U.S. and NATO allies to urge Afghan leaders to focus on the next steps outlined in the agreement to promote peace and stability in the country. "How urgently and with what conviction the sides respond to these steps will determine whether Afghanistan moves forward or remains mired in war, poverty, and disease," said Khalilzad. Khalilzad was referring to an extremely slow-moving prisoner swap between Kabul and the Taliban, a crucial confidence-building step before parties to the war can come to the negotiating table to discuss peace and a power-sharing arrangement. Under the U.S.-Taliban agreement, up to 5,000 insurgent prisoners were to be freed from Afghan jails in return for 1,000 government forces being held by the Taliban. But Kabul has so far released around 550 prisoners in phases and the Taliban has freed 60 detainees. Khalilzad, in his statement Saturday, stressed the need for all sides to "move more quickly on prisoner releases" and urged the Taliban to reduce violence. The Afghan government is demanding the Taliban declare a cease-fire and engage in a productive peace dialogue before all prisoners are freed. The insurgents, however, have rejected calls for a cease-fire, insisting only a "full implementation" of its agreement with Washington would move the peace process forward. "This is our stance that the prisoners should be released prior to commencement of intra-Afghan negotiations," Taliban spokesman Shaheen told VOA. He reiterated that his group is determined to deliver on its own commitments outlined in the pact with the United States. The agreement requires all U.S. and coalition forces to withdraw from Afghanistan by July 2021 in return for insurgent assurances not to allow the country to be used for terrorist attacks against other countries. "We want good relations with our neighboring countries as well as of the region. As per the agreement, we will not allow anyone to use our soil against any other country. For that, we will make legislation in the future," Shaheen told VOA. Political crisis Kickstarting intra-Afghan negotiations, however, is not the only challenge facing the landmark U.S.-Taliban accord. A lingering dispute stemming from the September presidential election in Afghanistan continues to hamper efforts to bring the warring parties to the negotiating table. Incumbent President Ashraf Ghani and runner-up Abdullah Abdullah both claim to have won the election. The rival Afghan leaders held competing inauguration ceremonies last month, fueling political tensions at a time when Kabul was supposed to present an inclusive negotiating team for the proposed intra-Afghan dialogue with the Taliban. Khalilzad backed NATO's call this week for the Ghani government to end the political crisis, urging Afghan leaders on Saturday "to put their country and their people first." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A mercy flight has touched down in Melbourne with more than 150 Australians on board after the pandemic trapped them in Argentina. The 181 passengers cheered when Qantas flight QF7028 from Buenos Aires landed at Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport around 7.30pm on Sunday. The group of Australians and 14 New Zealanders will need to spend the next two weeks in mandatory quarantine hotels before returning to their homes. Angelo Basso, 73, took the humanitarian flight home from Buenos Aires to Melbourne. Credit:Angelo Basso Melbourne man Angelo Basso, 73, grew up in Argentina and returned in February to bring his wife's ashes back to her home country. He planned to stay there until mid-May before Argentina went into a strict lockdown. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reached out with an emotional letter to the bereaved parents of Holly Smallman, 18, from Liverpool, prior to the terminally-ill teenager passing away last month. Holly, who had been severely ill since birth, saw Prince Harry in person back in 2015 when her younger sister Ruby bagged the Most Caring Young Person Award at the WellChild Awards. Since 2007, the duke has been acting as a patron for WellChild. Grieving parents Gary and Hayley Smallman have remarked that coming to terms with the loss has been direr due to the COVID-19 lockdown prohibiting them from seeing family and friends to help them cope. Upon her death, the bereaved family received a pick-me-up from the former royal, who took the time to send them a personal and saccharine e-mail. "I feel so fortunate to have met Holly in 2015 when her sister Ruby received a WellChild Award," Prince Harry wrote. "Holly was evidently a very special and happy girl, despite her significant challenges, and she clearly had an extra special relationship with her siblings." Holly had several inborn complex conditions, including epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and chronic lung disease. She departed from this world peacefully during sleep following a cardiac arrest in March 2020. The Smallman parents were allowed to invite mere 10 people to the funeral. Other children of the couple are Ruby, 12 and Josh, 21 who have been grappling to come to terms with their family's fatality and who have not been able to surround themselves with loved ones for consolation due to the imposed social distancing. Also Read: Prince Harry Secretly Met With Former Girlfriend Chelsy Davy "It was a great privilege to spend time with you all, particularly Holly, and I can still remember the amazingly creative handmade penguin that Ruby gave me - complete with red hair!" Prince Harry continued. Meghan Markle's husband saluted her for the inspirational work she has done within his patronage. He acknowledged that Hayley has been an ardent WellChild ambassador and supporter and that he was pleased to run into her on a few occasions. He also lauded her service for other parents taking care of children with complex needs, contributing to lay down programs and campaigns that provide support to such families. The bereaved mother Hayley responded, "For Prince Harry to find the time to send this email, to know that Holly made that impact on him and that he cares so much, even in all this private turmoil he's going through, just meant the world to us." Prince Harry also had nothing but praise for both parents despite the circumstances they personally dealt with, calling them "selfless and inspirational." He added, "I am so grateful to you, as I know many other people and families will be too. Huge respect for juggling so many plates and always being able to put a smile on people's faces. On March 27, Gary and Hayley laid their daughter to rest in Aintree, Liverpool. Prince Harry concluded the letter by signing off with "Harry," remarking that "Meghan and I send our deepest and most heartfelt condolences." Related Article: Meghan Markle Envies Kate Middleton? Survey Says People Prefer the Duchess of Cambridge @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development announced on April 15 that it will defer payment on loans it administers due to coronavirus shutdowns. This extended deferral will help ease the burden on small businesses and enable them to focus and prioritize their efforts as we work to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the commonwealth, DCED Secretary Dennis Davin said. Davin and Gov. Tom Wolf will request the deferrals for borrowers on loans administered by the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority, the Commonwealth Financing Authority (excluding PENNWORKS program loans), the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority, and the Pennsylvania Minority Business Development Authority. In March, DCED halted April payments, late fees and accrued interest on loans administered by those agencies. The new measure will apply to May and June payments, which will not accrue interest or fees. Automatic payments on the loans will be halted, DCED said, and borrowers paying by check will not be required to make a payment until July. Loan maturity also will be extended for three months. Jim T. Ryan can be reached via e-mail at jtryan@perrycountytimes.com Among the major economic activities disrupted by the insurgency in Lake Chad are commercial fishing and farming of red pepper. These were major trading products upon which the local economy of a vast array of communities in the Lake Chad Basin, particularly Borno state in Nigeria, was dependent. But in 2015 the insurgents took strategic steps to control and re-order trade in both products. They encouraged local fishing among the communities by the banks of the lake and created a new regime of levies and secure routes for fish traders to reach designated markets. According to the World Food Programme, before the Boko Haram crisis, the combined fish and red pepper trades contributed 28 billion CFA Francs ($48 million) to the Nigerien economy, with most of this coming from exports to Nigeria. The red pepper or red gold farming and trade is estimated to employ over 300,000 people. The leadership of the break-away Boko Haram, which metamorphosed into the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), seemingly more adept at economic planning, saw this and went ahead to design an elaborate scheme to control the sectors. Because the structures of both the production and trade had collapsed, the ISWAP leadership sent emissaries to various camps of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Borno State requesting them to return to their farms, fishing and trading under their watch, HumAngle was told. HumAngle gathered that several hundreds of households in the (IDPs) camps heeded the call, returning to resume farming and fishing activities in the islands. For many households among the IDPs, the desperate and inhuman conditions in the camps made their decision to follow the ISWAP offers easy. In the years following the insurgency and cessation of fishing and farming, aquatic resources in Lake Chad had improved considerably. Human activity HumAngle investigations showed that the new deposit of aquatic resources made the islands very attractive for several farmers and fishermen scattered across IDPs camps in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria to return. The new conditions of the lake served ISWAP in two ways: cobbling together an economy under its control and creating a strong basis for recruiting new fighters into its fold. They described the renewed aquatic life in the lake as a strong pointer that Allah had been pleased with the war they had been waging and was rewarding them on the instant with this symbolic manna from heaven. But experts have attributed the blossoming of aquatic resources in the lake to the reduction of human activity in the region. These included reduced or cessation of irrigation farming for some years and reduced population around the lake. The individuals and households in IDPs camps who heeded the call of ISWAP seem not taken in by any of the views. It was difficult to choose between hunger where there is safety such as in an IDPs camp and the abundance of food, where life can end any minute, said Adamu Baga, who just fled the Island in April to Diffa in Niger Republic. Mr Baga, who spoke with HumAngle, confirmed that he paid taxes for the past three years for every carton of smoked fish and every bag of pepper. I cant say exactly how much money I have paid in three years but I am sure I and my three children have paid not less than N400,000 to N500,000 and we are not amongst the big farmers, he said. Paying for protection There are hundreds of people that produce more than Mr Baga across the lakes fishing and farming communities. Apart from the revenue that ISWAP makes from the levies paid by the likes of Mr Baga, it further makes a fortune from providing security to the farmers and on every product sold in the market. The insurgents, as a group, are also directly involved in the businesses, HumAngle gathered. An official of the Borno State government, who does not want to be quoted, said, fish and other agricultural products from Baga were among the biggest sources of revenue in the state before the insurgency crippled the region. How Boko Haram Sustains Operations Through International Trade in Smoked Fish Now, most of the revenue from fish is shared between the military that confiscates the goods and the terrorists that charge levies for these items. A fish merchant who spoke to HumAngle said his fishermen pay N15,000 each, every two weeks for fishing rights and for every six cartons of smoked fish, the local dealers on the ground give one cartoon to the landlords. The landlords are ISWAP officials. Buyers pay N1,000 to ISWAP officials for every one cartoon of smoked fish they purchase, our source revealed. The levies constitute a steady stream of revenue fueling the activities of insurgents in the Northeast of Nigeria. Sources who are familiar with the trade and the collecting points along the supply chain estimate that the insurgents make millions in naira every day during the peak season of business. The insurgents also collect taxes from livestock farmers and herders that are based in the lake basin, said our source. It is called Hadaya, which is due every six months, and it is paid in the form of one large cow for every 30 cows in the herd. In return for the levies and taxes the community dwellers pay, the insurgents provide a framework for arbitration through its Hisbah, as well as access to basic medical services and security. The provision of security is principally for traders travelling from the islands to Kusiri Market in northern Cameroon and the Kinchandi Market in Niger Republic. HumAngle reliably learned that fish from Kinchandi Market regularly end up in Hadeija, a commercial town in Jigawa state, as well as Kano, in Kano state while those from Kusiri Market in northern Cameroon end up in Mubi, Adamawa state, from where they are moved to different markets across Nigeria. Advertisements A Boko Haram defector, confirming the extent of fish trade and how important it is for the insurgents in the region, told HumAngle that most of the holes covered with rods and zinc as seen in photos from the recent Chadian operations were dug to process fish and package them for distribution to the market. Every effort to get the exact figure that the Boko Haram factions make in Lake Chad was futile as the group does not declare revenue generated openly. It is only in the Shura meeting that issues should be raised, said a mid-level Boko Haram fighter, who added that apart from revenue from ransom, nothing could match the revenues from trade and taxes. HumAngle, however, estimates that the revenues from these trades accruing to both ISWAP and the sub-faction of Boko Haram in Lake Chad run into several millions of naira every month, especially in the peak seasons for fish and red pepper. Rather than disrupt the entire production and supply chain, the Nigerian military only focuses on tokenism by seizing consignments from traders on their way to the local markets. A fish merchant whose truckload of fish was seized by the army early in 2019 in Borno state, said traders continued to be in dilemma. I didnt have any option but to pay the levy imposed on me for safe passage. It is the same thing if armed robbers stop you on the way, you either pay or be killed, said the merchant. He said up to date, the military had not given any explanation for destroying his truck and stock and that he did not know the whereabouts of his driver who was detained in Maiduguri. Several accounts revealed that nutritionally, the fish from Lake Chad provide the bulk of the protein requirements of the rural communities in the territory. Additionally, fish supply from the region is known to account for over 70 per cent of fish products traded in large urban markets of southern Nigeria, namely Onitsha, Enugu, Lagos, Ilorin and Ibadan. Boko Harams levies on smoked fish and the red gold in Lake Chad This carefully woven economic network created by ISWAP may have collapsed temporarily or permanently, considering that recent military onslaught on the insurgents by Chadian forces may have disrupted the very foundations of that economy. HumAngle learned that the March 23 assault under which the Chadian forces routed the positions of the insurgents in the Lake Chad communities may have put paid to the economic lifelines of the terror groups. In addition, sources said that a clinical and silent campaign of identifying and eliminating suspected insurgents by members of the public was gaining popularity across major Chadian towns and cities. Speaking concerning the implications of the sudden hostilities by Chadians against the insurgents, a source who is familiar with the cover that ISWAP and Boko Haram members had received in Chad, told HumAngle that it will limit the groups access to essential goods that are smuggled daily to the fighters. For example, HumAngle learned that some of the taxes or proceeds from trade were not paid in cash. They come in the form of trade by batter for essential commodities such as prescription drugs, spices, petrol, cooking stoves, phones, recharge cards, among others, sources said. While the Chadians are making efforts to put a stop to this dark window, at least in their territories, it is business as usual in the Niger and Nigerian territories around the Lake Chad basin, sources said. This news analysis is a partnership between the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism and Humangle Media Foundation under the media and terrorism project. In Southern California, a heat wave this weekend foreshadowed the likely challenges that lay ahead for governors and mayors trying to sustain social distancing efforts as spring turns to summer. Despite pleas from state and local leaders to stay home, tens of thousands of people flocked to beaches that were open in Orange County on Saturday. Photographs of Newport Beach and Huntington Beach showed large crowds staking out patches of sand with beach towels and umbrellas. The Orange County Register reported that as many as 40,000 people went to the beach in Newport Beach on Friday. In neighboring Los Angeles County, all beaches remained closed this weekend. We wont let one weekend undo a month of progress, Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles wrote on Twitter on Sunday. While the sunshine is tempting, were staying home to save lives. The places we love our beaches, hiking trails will still be there when this is over. And by staying home, were making sure our loved ones will be too. Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said Americans should expect social distancing guidelines to continue for months. Social distancing will be with us through the summer, she said Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press. Thunderstorms are brewing over northwest India, east and northeast India, including Gangetic West Bengal, and across peninsular India including coastal Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, suggesting an extension of this weeks spell of rain in an unusually wet April, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its bulletin on Sunday. A low-pressure area is also forming over the south Andaman Sea, which will result in rough seas and thundershowers around Andaman and Nicobar and the Sumatra coast starting April 30, IMD said. A western disturbance that started affecting parts of north India on Saturday evening and easterly moisture-laden winds are causing overcast skies, some thundershowers and moderate winds in most parts of northwest India including the National Capital Region (NCR) centred on Delhi. There is intense activity in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Dust storms, hail storms and thundershowers are likely in these places. An orange alert has been issued so that authorities remain alert. In Delhi-NCR, light rain has been recorded in many parts. Similar conditions will continue till Monday, said Kuldeep Shrivastava, head, of the regional weather forecasting centre. April hasnt been as warm as it typically is in Delhi because of back-to-back westerly disturbances which either led to rain or overcast skies. Till Saturday, the average maximum temperature in Delhi has been approximately 8 degrees C below normal. But we are still analysing the data to see if its a record, Shrivastava added. IMDs Sunday bulletin said intense thunderstorm activity accompanied with squally weather and hailstorms with rainfall exceeding 5 cm had been observed on April 25 at many places over coastal Odisha, north-Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and north Tamil Nadu Due to establishment of an east-west trough and wind convergence along Indo-Gangetic plains and accompanied moisture incursion from both Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal in lower levels, fairly widespread to widespread rainfall activity is very likely to continue over parts of east and northeast India during next two days with peak activity over Odisha, Jharkhand and Gangetic West Bengal on Sunday, the bulletin said. Heavy rainfall and hailstorms are expected in Odisha, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura during the next couple of days. Heavy rainfall over parts of Kerala and Mahe is likely for the next 4 to 5 days. In east, northeast and peninsular India we are seeing some severe thunderstorm activity. It is normal during the pre-monsoon season. There is a lot of moisture incursion from Bay of Bengal over the east and northeast. Its the kalbaisakhi Norwesters] season. Occasionally, some very intense activity can be there like a hailstorm or squall, said K Sathi Devi, head, national weather forecasting centre. In northwest India, the reasons are different. There is influence of a westerly disturbance here and moisture incursion from both Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. In Rajasthan where there is less moisture, there may be dust storms, she added. According to various numerical weather prediction models of the IMD, a low pressure area is likely to form over the south Andaman Sea around April 30. It is likely to become more marked over the same region. Fishermen were advised not to venture into the sea along and off the north Sumatra coast, Andaman Sea and adjoining areas of southeast and east central Bay of Bengal from April 30 to May 3. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, April 26, 2020 15:23 626 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd4542b6 1 National COVID-19,COVID-19-in-Indonesia,PSBB,large-scale-social-restrictions,mosque,tarawih,ramadan,ramadan-in-indonesia,Muslims,Muslims-in-Indonesia Free Muslims across Indonesia have continued to perform congregational tarawih (evening Ramadan prayer) in mosques during the first few days of the fasting month, despite warnings from the government and religious groups that such gatherings could increase the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission. Novi, a 20-year-old resident of Metro, Lampung, said she had participated in a congregational tarawih at a mosque situated in Banjarsari subdistrict of North Metro on Thursday night, the eve of the first day of Ramadan. She said that while there were significantly fewer people in the mosque, filling only four rows of the mosque instead of packing it as usual, she was nevertheless excited to participate in the Ramadan tradition. [I was] so excited and grateful to still be able to experience tarawih in a congregation, because not all mosques in my area are still holding them, she told The Jakarta Post on Friday. She said she was not afraid to take part in the congregational prayer as her area had not recorded any COVID-19 cases. The mosque required all participants to wear masks," she said. "It also provided hand sanitizer and soap to maintain hygiene. Read also: Aceh Ulema Council to allow congregational prayers during Ramadan In Bogor, West Java, 26-year-old Firda participated in a tarawih at a mosque near her house in Bojong Gede district at the urging of her mother, despite her own misgivings. The mosque was less crowded than usual, even though there were still a considerable amount of people participating, she told the Post on Friday. She added that several congregants disregarded the mosque's guidelines on physical distancing. After tarawih, the women still shook hands with each other, even though it has been advised not to make physical contact. Bogor regencys COVID-19 task force had recorded 99 positive cases as of Friday, with hundreds more being observed for the disease. Agil, a 24-year-old Jakarta resident, told the Post that a mosque near his house in Kebon Baru subdistrict of South Jakarta held a congregational tarawih on Thursday in secret despite the city administration's large-scale social restrictions, which include the closure of houses of worship. Around 20 people, including four children, took part in the tarawih, but the lights and mosque speakers were turned off, Agil said. When they were done, the people took turns to come out of the mosque one by one. As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continues to rise, Nadhlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah -- the nations two largest Islamic mass organizations -- have issued fatwas advising Muslims against performing mass prayers during the holy month, including congregational tarawih. Similarly, the Religious Affairs Ministry instructed Indonesian Muslims to conduct prayers at home during Ramadan in its prayer and worship guidelines issued to protect Muslims in Indonesia from the risk of contracting the disease. Mickael Gedlu, 36, was sentenced via video teleconference by Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn on Friday. He pleaded guilty to the charges in December An apparent former US Army infantryman and Marine has been sentenced to 18 months in a Texas federal prison after he threatened to assassinate President Donald Trump, the US Justice Department has announced. Mickael Gedlu, 36, was sentenced via video teleconference by Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn on Friday. He pleaded guilty to the charges in December. According to plea documents, Gedlu admitted to making a series of threats against the commander-in-chief's life across on social media between December 2018, and June 2019. In one video posted to YouTube, Gedlu reportedly said: 'I am waiting for Trump to visit Dallas before I attempt to assassinate him.' In another post made to Facebook, the 36-year-old said: 'For 20 straight months now, openly and publicly, I have been calling for President Trump's death.' According to plea documents, Gedlu admitted to making a series of threats against the commander-in-chief's life across a number of months on social media between December 2018, and June 2019 (Trump pictured in Dallas May 31, 2018) In one video posted to YouTube, Gedlu (left and right during USMC training) reportedly said: 'I am waiting for Trump to visit Dallas before I attempt to assassinate him' During court proceedings, prosecutors said that on May 31, 2018, Gedlu was observed across the street from Dallas Adolphus Hotel just 30 minutes before Trump arrived there for a fundraiser. Police officers noticed Gedlu holding a 'Kill Trump' sign, and detained him while he repeatedly screamed 'kill the president'. According to his LinkedIn profile, Gedlu served as a Flight Equipment Technician for the US Marine Corps between 2002 and 2008, as well as a Mechanized Infantryman for the US Army between 2007 and 2010. A number of photographs uploaded to his Facebook account appear to show that Gedlu served with the military in Baghdad, Iraq, and was based at JSS Istiqlal. The Marines and the National Personnel Records Center has not yet responded to a DailyMail.com request for comment regarding Gedlu's apparent military career. According to his LinkedIn profile, Gedlu (pictured in training in 2003) served as a Flight Equipment Technician for the US Marine Corps between 2002 and 2008, as well as a Mechanized Infantryman for the US Army between 2007 and 2010 A number of photographs uploaded to his Facebook account show that Gedlu served with the military in Baghdad, Iraq (on tour left), and was based at JSS Istiqlal Gedlu's Facebook page also contains dozens of posts about the president, with many underscored with calls to 'KILL TRUMP!' After sharing an op-ed written by the Washington Post that Trump is normalizing racism, Gedlu wrote in May 2018: 'The President of the United States, Donald John Trump, showed up to the Adolphus Hotel, the day after I posted this article, May 31st, in downtown Dallas. 'I held up a sign saying, KILL TRUMP. I was placed in hand cuffs by about 10 Dallas police officer,' Gedlu wrote, confirming prosecutors' claims. 'I believe it was the SS that suggested I be taken to a hospital instead of jail. I was surprised at the leniency the police showed me as I screamed, "KILL THE PRESIDENT, KILL TRUMP, repetitively. The president showed up, where I was arrested, 2 hours after I was arrested. Grab em by the MAGA hat.' Gedlus father, Gizaw, told the Star-Telegram in July last year that his son is a 'sick person.' Gedlus father, Gizaw, told the Star-Telegram in July last year that his son is a 'sick person' Gizaw said his son is disabled and mentally confused, having been admitted to hospital a number of times because of unspecified mental health issues. The father said he was unaware of his son's social media activity, but said he knew Gedlu wrote a lot of emails and said his son would regularly watch the news and then 'go outside and shout about the president'. 'Thats his problem,' Gizaw Gedlu, 71, said. 'He talks too much, simply. 'Doctors give him medicine. Sometimes hes not taking it.' Judge Lynn had earlier ordered a psychological examination and granted a defense motion seeking to determine Gedlus competency. However, whether such an exam was ever conducted - or its conclusion - was not clear from court records. Prosecutors said the US Secret Service conducted the investigation into Gedlu with the assistance of Dallas police. Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke on Sunday hit a decision by Governor Bill Lee to overrule him and allow Chattanooga restaurants to reopen on Monday. The mayor said the move goes against a continual rise in coronavirus cases and is against the advice of health specialists. He said it will adversely impact "the most vulnerable." In light of the state directive, Mayor Berke said the city will reach out to try to assure that restaurant operators have the right safety counsel and equipment. He said, "Yesterday I learned that, despite public and private assurances otherwise, the city of Chattanooga would not be making its own decisions for the reopening of restaurants. This has understandably caused a lot of confusion for a lot of people in our city. "First things first: Chattanooga will obey the law, and I will do everything possible to ensure its success. I want every restaurant to make payroll and I want to protect as many Chattanoogans as possible from contracting the coronavirus. I will be glad to cooperate with the Governor, Mayor Coppinger, and the Hamilton County Health Department for the good of everyone, as we share the common goal of keeping people safe and healthy. "We can and must restart our economy safely, keeping public health at the fore. That is what is best for Chattanoogans; it is also what is best for business. Workers must feel confident that going back to their jobs will not threaten their health or their families' health. Consumers will only return to restaurants, shops, and other establishments if they know it is safe to do so. "I do not believe that is accomplished under the State's current plan. It fails to account for the growing number of positive cases across the state, and especially in Southeast Tennessee. It goes against the warnings of public health experts and doctors like those at the Tennessee Medical Association and Vanderbilt University. It lacks the groundwork we need to ensure that restaurant owners and managers understand their responsibilities and have the supplies they need to keep people safe from the virus. "We also know that if cases increase, the impact will be felt hardest by the most vulnerable people in our city. So I make two pledges: "First, I will do everything in my power to ensure that Chattanooga businesses have the advice and personal protective equipment they need to open safely. "Second, our City government will continue to reach out and look for ways to help those affected by the ongoing pandemic and economic stoppage. "In the meantime, no matter what is happening in our economy, Chattanoogans should remember: you have a responsibility to keep yourself and those around you safe. Wear a mask when you go into the public. Wash your hands frequently. Stay six feet away from other people. Only go places that are observing best practices. "Thank you and please stay safe." The Kano State Government on Saturday said it has transferred 1,098 almajiris to different states of the country. The commissioner for local government, Murtala Garo, disclosed this while presenting a report before the states task force on COVID-19 at the government house, Kano. Almajiris are children who are supposed to be learning Islamic studies while living with their Islamic teachers. Majority of them, however, end up begging on the streets of Northern Nigeria. They constitute a large number of Nigerias over 10 million out-of-school children. Mr Garo said the Kano government transported 419 almajiris to Katsina, 524 to Jigawa and 155 to Kaduna. He said all of them tested negative for coronavirus before leaving the Kano State. Despite the coronavirus test done in Kano for the almajiris, the Jigawa government earlier said it would quarantine for two weeks all the almajiris that recently arrived from Kano. Mr Garo said another 100 almajiris scheduled to be taken to Bauchi State also tested negative to COVID-19. READ ALSO: In a remark, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje said the COVID-19 situation in Kano was getting worse. He appealed for a collaborative effort to curtail the spread of the virus in the state. Mr Ganduje, who commended residents for complying with the lockdown imposed in the state, said the decision was taken to halt the spread of the virus. Kano State, as of Saturday night, has 77 coronavirus cases, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. The decision to transfer the Kano almajiris is part of the agreement reached between Northern governors that almajiris in each state be transferred to their states of origin. However, even before the latest agreement by the governors, the Kano government had been transferring almajiris to other states and neighbouring countries after it banned street begging in the state, most populous in Northern Nigeria. Despite the transfers, however, no concrete step has been taken to ensure such children do not return to Kano streets as there is freedom of movement across Nigeria although interstate travel was recently banned to check the spread of the coronavirus. Interstate 20 through Midland and Odessa will become three lanes each way, have one-way frontage roads, improved locations for entrance and exit ramps, new interchanges and underpasses converted to overpasses at eight locations. Officials with the Odessa district of the Texas Department of Transportation recently explained their I-20 projects that cover a decade and more than $830 million in funding. For TxDOT, an I-20 rehabitation helps fufill its corridor vision, which is to develop a multimodal corridor plan that improves mobility and safety, enhances the regions economic opportunities and maintains infrastructure assets. For residents of Midland and Odessa and those traveling through the Petroplex, the completion of five projects will give the Permian Basin a 40-plus-mile stretch of interstate through its largest metropolitan area that it has needed for a long time. I-20 is coming into the 21st century, said John Speed, Odessa District engineer. Speed said the current version of I-20 with its 1950s or 1960s roadway design and driving patterns unique to the area is certainly nothing worthy of the heart of the oil business. I have never seen anything like that, Speed said. More Information "I think a lot of credit on this project goes to John Speed, our district engineer. He listened to community concerns over costs, time and addressing the actual needs and then incorporated that into a much better plan. If he had not been, the project we would be seeing today would just be a $350 million project to convert frontage roads over the next five to six years." - James Beauchamp See More Collapse The projects Project 1: Reconstruct an interchange at Midkiff Road. Cost: $28.16 million (fully funded). Anticipiated let year: 2020. Project 2: Construct a new interchange at County Road 1250. Cost: $30 million (fully funded). Anticipated let year: 2020. Project 3: Add one travel lane eastbound and westbound, reconstruct interchanges and reconfigure ramps, reconstruct frontage roads and convert to one way from JBS Parkway in Odessa to east of State Highway 349 in Midland. Cost: $340.2 million (funded to $182.7 million). Anticipated let year: 2022. Project 4: Reconstruct frontage roads and convert to one-way, reconstruct interchanges and reconfigure ramps and add one travel lane eastbound and westbound from Farm-to-Market Road 1936 to JBS Parkway in Ector County. Cost: $214.95 million (funded to $127.75 million). Anticipated let year: 2026. Project 5: Reconstruct frontage roads and convert to one-way, reconstruct interchanges and reconfigure ramps and add one travel lane eastbound and westbound from east of SH 349 to Farm-to-Market Road 307. Cost: $216.8 million (funded to $64.5 million). Anticipated let year: 2026. Speed reports that TxDOT is roughly 90 percent complete with planning -- schematic phase for the corridor and the district has started detailed construction plans for projects 3, 4 and 5. Projects 1 and 2 have been planned separately and detailed construction plans are already finished. Contracts will be bid for constructing those projects in late summer and early winter respectively, according to TxDOT. Funding shouldnt be an issue The Odessa District has been in an odd situation as of late having money for projects on roads that the state long overlooked. Speed has been in Odessa for about 3 years but said the amount of funding for roads even beyond Midland-Odessa has increased dramatically. Speed said the running average on projects a few years ago was $60 million, but that he is looked at a half-billion dollars in plans this year. A lot of that goes to the energy corridor, Speed said. The Texas Transportation Commissions dedication of hundreds of millions of dollars to this region last year is confirmation of Speeds words. Speed also said while there is nearly an additional $400 million needed to fully fund the five I-20 projects through Midland and Ector counties, he doesnt expect funding will be an issue. Too much work, he said, has gone into raising awareness for what the region needs. Speed credited the Permian Basin Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Midland-Odessa Transportation Alliance (MOTRAN), the Permian Strategic Partnership and the Permian Basin Petroleum Association for their roles in building consensus in the business community and with government leaders and moving projects forward. We all know there are significant issues on the interstate corridor, but we support the revised plan which expedites the construction schedule, addresses the improvements that are needed and reduces local resources needed to make these improvements, wrote James Beauchamp, executive director of MOTRAN. I think a lot of credit on this project goes to John Speed, our district engineer. He listened to community concerns over costs, time and addressing the actual needs and then incorporated that into a much better plan. If he had not been, the project we would be seeing today would just be a $350 million project to convert frontage roads over the next five to six years. What these projects do How many times have we seen the closure of one lane turn I-20 into a parking lot, traffic backed up from a frontage road and back onto the interstate or 18-wheelers carrying a load and striking a bridge? I-20s issues dont stop there, but that is what improvements could help fix. Not only do the first two projects deal with intersections, but the five projects call for five new interchanges at County Roads 1300, 1260, 1250, 1140 and at Faudree Road. Underpasses also will be converted to overpasses at West Loop 380, South Crane Avenue, FM 1788, West Loop 250, Midkiff Road, Cotton Flat Road, South Lamesa Road and CR 1150. Frontage roads will not only be reconstructed but turned into one-way roads. Speed called the change a function of timing. Two-way (frontage roads) were the norm in the 1950s and 1960s, Speed said. No one had a clue how much traffic volume (the roads) would get. The need in this area never established until the use of fracturing. You now have truck movements that just jams up traffic and traffic lights. A travel lane will be added in each direction for a total of six lanes. Speed stated that the extra lanes and improved circulation of traffic will be a benefit as volumes at peak locations in Midland reach 70,000 vehicles per day (about a quarter are heavy trucks) and 67,000 vehicles per day (one-third are heavy trucks) in Odessa. Entrance and exit ramps will be moved farther away from crossing roads. This should mean fewer opportunities for traffic to back up onto the interstate. The project is very expensive and would commit most of our area resources over a long period of time, Beauchamp said. However, after discussions with the district and others at TxDOT, the project has evolved to include new overpasses to reduce delays in many areas, as well as, additional main-lane capacity on the interstate itself, Beauchamp wrote. It will still be a lengthy project 8 to 10 years, but the Commission has stepped up with additional strategic funding (category 12), and we are currently working to garner support for a BUILD grant through USDOT to help fund the remaining funding gap. : TravisBickle (Travis), : USANews : : BBS (Sat Apr 25 11:32:09 2020, ) Nervous Republicans See Trump Sinking, and Taking Senate With Him The election is still six months away, but a rash of ominous new polls and the presidents erratic briefings have the G.O.P. worried about a Democratic takeover. President Trumps erratic handling of the coronavirus outbreak, the worsening economy and a cascade of ominous public and private polling have Republicans increasingly nervous that they are at risk of losing the presidency and the Senate if Mr. Trump does not put the nation on a radically improved course. The scale of the G.O.P.s challenge has crystallized in the last week. With 26 million Americans now having filed for unemployment benefits, Mr. Trumps standing in states that he carried in 2016 looks increasingly wobbly: New surveys show him trailing significantly in battleground states like Michigan and Pennsylvania, and he is even narrowly behind in must-win Florida. Democrats raised substantially more money than Republicans did in the first quarter in the most pivotal congressional races, according to recent campaign finance reports. And while Mr. Trump is well ahead in money 160;compared with the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democratic donors are only beginning to focus on the general election, and several super PACs plan to spend heavily on behalf of him and the party. Perhaps most significantly, Mr. Trumps single best advantage as an incumbent his access to the bully pulpit has effectively become a platform for self-sabotage. His daily news briefings on the coronavirus outbreak are inflicting grave damage on his political standing, Republicans believe, and his recent remarks about combating the virus with sunlight and disinfectantwere a breaking point for a number of senior party officials. On Friday evening, Mr. Trump conducted only a short briefing and took no questions, a format that a senior administration official said was being discussed as the best option for the president going forward. Glen Bolger, a longtime Republican pollster, said the landscape for his party had become far grimmer compared with the pre-virus plan to run almost singularly around the countrys prosperity. With the economy in free-fall, Republicans face a very challenging environment and its a total shift from where we were a few months ago, Mr. Bolger said. Democrats are angry, and now we have the foundation of the campaign yanked out from underneath us. Mr. Trumps advisers and allies have often blamed external events for his most self-destructive acts, such as his repeated outbursts during the two- year investigation into his campaigns dealings with Russia. Now, there is no such explanation and, so far, there have been exceedingly few successful interventions regarding Mr. Trumps behavior at the podium. Representative Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma, said the president had to change his tone and offer more than a campaign of grievance. You got to have some hope to sell people, Mr. Cole said. But Trump usually sells anger, division and were the victim. http://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/25/us/politics/trump-election-briefings.html -- :WWW mitbbs.com [FROM: 108.] Lavina DSouza has not been able to get the medicine she needs since India ordered its citizens last month to stay at home. The order was meant to help the countrys 1.3 billion people guard against the new coronavirus. The Indian government supplies the anti-HIV medication to DSouza. She uses it to fight off the virus that causes AIDS. DSouza is now stuck in a small city away from her home in Mumbai. She has none of the medication she needs to manage her disease. The 43-year-old is afraid that her health will fail. Any disease, the coronavirus or something else, Ill fall sick faster, she told The Associated Press. DSouza said others also must be suffering because of the coronavirus without getting infected by it. As the world directs its attention to the pandemic, experts fear other infectious diseases like AIDS, tuberculosis and cholera will be ignored. Such diseases kill millions of people every year. Also at risk are the long-time public health efforts that helped the World Health Organization set target dates for ending malaria, polio and other illnesses. The coronavirus crisis has led to crowded hospitals. It is redirecting medical efforts, causing supply shortages and suspending healthcare services. And experts like John Nkengasong say their greatest fear is medical resources for other diseases being taken away. He is a doctor and head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or Africa CDC. The issue is greater in countries with already struggling healthcare systems, like Sudan. Doctors at Al-Ribat National Hospital in the capital, Khartoum, shared a document detailing healthcare measures nationwide. It shows fewer patients being admitted to emergency rooms, a delay in non-emergency surgeries and stoppage of day-to-day care for non-critical cases. In addition, skilled doctors are being told to treat patients with COVID-19, the disease resulting from the coronavirus. Tuberculosis will rise Similar measures are taking place in other countries, even those with highly-developed healthcare systems, such as South Korea. There, patients seeking treatment for diseases like tuberculosis, or TB, are being refused, notes Hojoon Sohn, who is with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He is based in South Korea. Of the worlds 10 million TB cases each year, about 30 percent are never diagnosed. And a lack of needed care is mainly an issue in 10 the countries with the most infections, Sohn said. He added that the undiagnosed are people who likely would not seek medical care in normal situations. So with the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders, it is highly probable the number of undiagnosed TB patients will rise. Secondary effects The Democratic Republic of the Congo is trying to recover from years of violent conflict and the latest outbreak of Ebola. The new coronavirus comes as a measles outbreak in Congo has killed over 6,000 people, said Anne-Marie Connor. She is national director for World Vision, an aid organization. The secondary effects of the coronavirus pandemic are not limited to treatment. Other issues, like having transportation during a stay-at-home order, are threatening Indias progress on TB. Patients and doctors cannot get to clinics and it is difficult to send medical tests to laboratories. India has nearly a third of the worlds TB cases and diagnosing patients has been delayed in many areas. Yogesh Jain and other doctors fear that means TB cases would surely increase. Jain works in Charrisgarth, one of Indias poorest states. Coronavirus-related stay-at-home orders also are a barrier to the flow of supplies, including critical medicine, protective clothing and oxygen, said Dr. Marc Biot. He is director of operations for aid group Doctors Without Borders. Vaccinations suspended The fear of some diseases returning is growing because of delays in efforts to vaccinate more than 13.5 million people. That information comes from the international vaccine alliance GAVI. The group said 21 countries are reporting vaccine shortages following border closures and changes to air travel, mostly in Africa. And 14 vaccination campaigns for diseases like polio and measles have been delayed. The Measles & Rubella Initiative said measles vaccination campaigns in 24 countries are already delayed. The group fears more than 117 million children in 37 countries may miss out. Mosquito-borne illnesses Programs to prevent mosquito-related diseases also have been affected. In Sri Lanka, cases of dengue were nearly double last year compared to the number in 2018. But health workers now have to put their efforts into finding suspected COVID-19 patients. That has ended their usual work of destroying mosquito breeding areas at homes, said Dr. Anura Jayasekara. She is director of Sri Lankas National Dengue Control Unit. During a pandemic, history shows that other diseases can return in high numbers. Health providers are trying to ease the crisis by giving months of supplies to people with some diseases, such as hepatitis C, HIV and TB. Im Alice Bryant. The Associated Press reported this story. Alice Bryant adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story manage - v. to take care of and make decisions about pandemic - n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area resource - n. a supply of something that someone has and can use when it is needed surgery - n. medical treatment in which a doctor cuts into someone's body in order to repair or remove damaged parts diagnose - v. to recognize a disease or illness by examining someone outbreak - n. a sudden start or increase of disease clinic - n. a place where people get medical help mosquito - n. a small flying insect that bites the skin of people and animals and sucks their blood breed - v. to produce young animals or insects Jackson Hicks, the famous Houston caterer known as the citys Prince of Parties, died Saturday. He was 73. Hicks collapsed while on a walk around noon in the driveway of former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, his Montrose neighbor, Parker told the Chronicle. Hicks never regained consciousness. For more than three decades, Hicks was a fixture of Houston society, catering arts galas and private parties. His bacon-wrapped quail and strawberry shortcake were a favorite of the Bush family. Former President George H.W. Bush and first lady Barbara Bush tapped Hicks catering business, Jackson & Company, to service the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundations events, including a Celebration of Reading. Barbara Bush was very fond of him, said Neil Bush, Celebration of Reading committee chairman. Funny story about my mom and Jackson Hicks, Bush said. One year we decided to put out a catering bid for the event, which is a customary practice for a non-profit organization, and my mother was furious at the idea that we would think about abandoning Jackson. So, the former first lady submitted a formal letter of recommendation to endorse Hicks. He was very loyal to her, Bush said. She just loved hanging around Jackson. He was a class act, a kind and good man who served our cause beautifully. Hicks was originally from Oklahoma, and inherited his knack for hospitality from his mother and grandmothers. He earned a bachelors degree in social sciences from Baylor University. His post-collegiate plans had been to spend the summer of 1969 in Houston before graduate school. Then at 21, Hicks landed a job in the gourmet food and wine department at Neiman Marcus and decided to stay. He founded Jackson & Company in 1981. His catering firm serviced the opening of the Menil Collection, Wortham Theater Center, Saks Fifth Avenue in the Galleria and the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum at Texas A&M University. For 15 years, Jackson & Company was the operator and exclusive caterer of the Corinthian, a neo-classical event venue in downtown Houston that was completed in 1909. Hicks former senior event manager, Boyd Bryan, is now director of the Corinthian. Barbara McKnight, chef-owner of Culinaire Catering, said she and Bryan are Jacksonians, a local industry term coined for those who trained under Hicks in the 1990s. Other notable alumni include former Jackson & Company executive chef Gary Mercer and Scott Murphy, who later co-founded City Kitchen Catering together. I spent several years in Europe, training to be a chef, but when I moved in 1996 I couldnt get a job, because no one local could vouch for me, McKnight said. She interviewed with Hicks four times before he offered her a position as a sous chef. He had this antique desk and a ruby ring. There was such an aura, a presence. You knew you werent meeting some ordinary person taste is what set him apart. Houston Symphony Chief Development Officer Nancy Giles estimates that Hicks catered between 75 to 100 major fundraisers for the organization. He offered services that non-profit organizations could afford, she said. Hicks was the consistent vendor of choice for the Houston Symphonys marquee events, including the annual spring ball and Opening Night Concert and Gala Dinner. When Robert T. Sakowitz founded the Symphony Wine Dinner and Collectors Auction back in 2001, it was Hicks idea to host the black-tie soiree onstage at Jones Hall. Wed have our wine, and hed have his menu, Sakowitz said. He would work with us to make sure everything would pair properly. Sometimes we worried about insulting him as a chef, but Jackson would say, Open! Open! because he just loved to discover as well. Sakowitz describes Hicks as a perpetual student, someone who always wanted to get it right. My word for Jackson was unflappable. Nothing could get him visibly upset if he was, he wouldnt let anyone know. It was during 2017 Symphony Wine Dinner and Collectors Auction that Hicks announced his retirement; he was the evenings honoree. In addition to the symphony, Hicks supported Houston Public Media, Houston Grand Opera Studio, the Young Artists Program at Rice Universitys Shepherd School of Music and Rice Universitys Graduate Opera Program. Hicks split his time between Houston and Woodstock, Vermont with his partner Milton Townsend, who oversees Jackson & Companys day-to-day operations. Press Release April 26, 2020 Villar: Let Workers in Agriculture, Construction and Manufacturing Return to Work to Prevent Hunger, Social Unrest and Crimes Senator Cynthia Villar expresses concern that the ongoing ECQ in various parts of the country, which has been extended until May 15, is already taking its toll in the employment situation of the poor in the country. And more realistic and sustainable measures should be put in place. Senator Villar recommends the opening of the labor intensive sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and construction for the poor and lower middle class. The agriculture sector is in full swing but some allied industries have limited operations or have ceased operations already. This has displaced food manufacturing workers and limited the supply of food in the market. "With the extension of the ECQ for another half a month, we need to intensify food production as well as ensured the unimpeded flow of fresh produce and food products all over the country," said Villar. As widely reported in media, those employed in the construction and manufacturing sectors are adversely affected. With work stoppage due to the lockdown, many of them are not only stranded in their workplaces but without any income as well. "As we all know, workers in construction and manufacturing are daily wage earners who are compensated on a "no work, no pay" basis. They have no source of income while on ECQ. While the government and companies may have extended financial assistance and relief goods, those will not be enough," said Villar. She cited that people are going hungry already and if it were not addressed immediately, people may commit crimes to raise food money. Villar said, "Many are willing to risk their lives and get infected with coronavirus, just to provide food for their family. They can be heard saying that on TV and in social media." Agriculture comprises 22% of workers in the country, 10% are in manufacturing and 10% are in construction. Construction workers number 3.9 million in 2018 and almost the same number in manufacturing. Villar cited ECQ should not only be dependent on areas but in industry types or sectors also. "We should remember that 70% of the gross domestic product of the Philippines is in NCR, Calabarzon and Central Luzon. And if we do not practice partial lockdown in these areas, we lose 70% of our gross domestic products," the senator added. She cited that while there may be health risks, workers who will be allowed to work will of course still have to follow government-implemented health and safety protocols such as social distancing and wearing of face masks. The employers can also make sure that they comply with those. They can even provide shuttle services to their employees. According to Villar, it is also good timing that it is summer in the country already and studies have confirmed that coronavirus dies more quickly in hot and humid weather. There are experiments carried out by the US National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, showed that Covid-19 cannot survive on high temperatures and humidity. Ultraviolet rays can kill the virus both on surfaces and in air. The Philippines has temperature of 35C. "Agricultural and construction workers work outdoors in open spaces and are exposed to sunlight, so the risks of them getting infected are much lower, as long as the people practice personal protection measures," said the senator. Gov. Jay Inslee told Joe Biden he had used a 30-mile bike ride to clear his head from "ludicrous noises out of the White House." Sen. Amy Klobuchar joked how her husband, after fully recovering from the novel coronavirus, tried to get out of cleaning a dusty basement. "Suddenly the coronavirus came back!" she said. Author Jon Meacham spoke of the long arc of history and how various presidents have handled moments of national crisis. "We're an imperfect people," he concluded. "But we don't have to be as imperfect as we are right now." Their conversations with Biden were episodes of a podcast hosted by the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, who is filling a campaign suddenly bereft of rallies and backslapping with more sedate conversations atypical of most presidential efforts. The low-key podcast also has become one of the clearest windows into Biden, offering a flavor for how he would govern, the types of people he would surround himself with and the questions he poses to advisers. He has used the weekly shows as a public audition for some of his potential running mates - a circumstance that goes unspoken - and to showcase a kitchen cabinet, all from the studio in the basement of his Wilmington, Delaware, home now serving as campaign headquarters. Everything about Biden's podcast - the production quality, the viewership numbers, the presentation, the occasional questions from listeners and the chummy tone of the man with the microphone - is a dramatic departure from the daily show put on by President Donald Trump. Where Trump displays brash confidence at his coronavirus briefings, Biden often concedes that others are smarter than him. While Trump gets millions of viewers, Biden is getting tens of thousands. And while Trump feasts on conflict and controversy, Biden preaches bipartisan unity. "We have a president, I'm rooting for him to succeed," Biden said on one recent episode. "That's the God's truth . . . there's so much at stake." Biden had an extended conversation with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., about being the target of Trump criticism. He sought out Inslee, D-Wash., about climate change and Klobuchar, D-Minn., about what it was like when her husband contracted the coronavirus. "It is the opposite of what we see every day from the White House," said Rob Flaherty, the Biden campaign's digital director, who launched the podcasts. "It's the VP having these thoughtful conversations with people who are either subject matter experts or prominent figures." Biden quotes Churchill, Kierkegaard and Jesus, often passing along aphorisms from family members. And he's a host who knows he needs to let his guests dominate. "Why don't I hush up, as my mom would say. And tell me a little about what you're doing," he said to the Rev. William J. Barber. During an exchange that lasted nearly an hour, the pastor lightly pressed the former vice president to shed some of his prior pragmatism and use this moment of national crisis to galvanize the public toward universal health care and far-reaching social justice programs. In a conversation just before Easter, the pastor urged the politician to consider the lessons of the New Testament. "The crucifixion and the resurrection changes everything. Right? It allows for you to say I was saying one thing then," Barber said. "In a world where pandemics are going to continue to happen, if we cannot guarantee health care for everyone and have a universal form of health care, and basic living wages and basic sick leave, then we are missing the lesson of this moment." Biden said he agreed that the nation was in a transformational moment, and they were themes he also discussed on the next podcast with Meacham. Barber said in an interview that he has had only a handful of previous interactions with Biden. "Having talked to a lot of politicians, I thought he would be more cautious, guarded and defensive," Barber said in an interview. "But he actually listened." "I was basically saying in a pastoral way: Do you recognize this moment you're in? You are in a moment like Franklin Roosevelt or LBJ. The moment changed them and their possibilities," he added. "The question is, will the policies follow?" The podcast is called "Here's the Deal" - after "No Malarkey with Joe Biden" was rejected but before staffers realized they instead should have named it "Hear's the Deal." While the show was his aides' idea, Biden has grown unusually invested in it. He is the one often booking guests to appear, sometimes slipping in a request at the end of a private conversation. He's asked his aides to fix the pacing on certain episodes, and while his staff has potential questions written up, he often riffs. Unprompted, he has started using phrases like "friend of the show" or "let's hear from our listeners." Being a guest of the show has also become a bit of a status symbol among Democrats, eager to showcase proximity to power at a moment when social distancing means there can be no physical proximity. Biden's aides have been approached by senators, governors and heads of organizations eager for a slot. They are also hoping to get former president Barack Obama on as a guest. In a campaign where Biden's presence is hugely circumscribed by stay-at-home orders, his show has become a window into Biden's daily routines. He attempts to get out of bed every day by 8 a.m., he told listeners. He then works out in a gym that has a treadmill, weights and a Peloton bike before downing a protein shake. He has talked about a favorite snack (Fig Newtons) and expressed his love for a life staple. "When in doubt, I have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich," Biden said on one of the episodes, claiming former secretary of State John Kerry shared the same trait. In the conversations, Biden repeatedly invokes Roosevelt and has tested out lines about the country being in a far different position now than most any time in his decades-long political career. He has bantered with guests about whether it is a historic turning point that will cause Americans to rethink the role of government or a fundamental shift in how they view the nurses, mailmen and grocery store workers they previously overlooked. "It's kind of like the blinders have been taken off, and they've seen people that they always saw but never understood how consequential they were before," Biden told Inslee in the most recent episode. "I pray to God this is one of those moments where we move beyond where we were, not just back to where we were." He and Meacham launched an in-depth discussion about the Great Depression, as well as instances in which leaders have admitted they are wrong or changed their views in response to a crisis and a shifting media environment. "I've known a bunch of presidents since 1972," Biden said. "The ones who are really very bright and very well educated and informed are the ones who are least concerned about admitting they're wrong. And most inclined to reach out to people who they think have a talent they don't possess to bring that person in. It's an interesting phenomenon. But it's human nature." The podcast grew out of staffers trying to find ways for Biden to continue trying to get his message out when he became homebound. (Biden declined a request to be interviewed.) "We aren't hosting any large events," Biden said, with a hint of melancholy, in the first episode, which debuted March 29 and featured his former chief of staff, Ron Klain. "Matter of fact, I am not really hosting any events." His campaign brainstormed a number of different ideas - including holding a rally on Fortnite, the gaming site - and some on his digital team pitched two different podcast ideas. (The rejected one had Biden offering listeners advice on handling everything from their dating life to adopting dogs, to handling the coronavirus.) Hillary Clinton had a podcast called "With Her" during the 2016 campaign, but she had a co-host. They only recorded about a dozen episodes before the election, and most did not actually include the candidate. Clinton is expected to launch a new podcast of her own this spring, co-produced by iHeartMedia. The Biden campaign wanted him to be the one at the microphone and wanted it to have the flavor of a real conversation. Not coincidentally, the approach dovetails with Biden's campaign positioning as an everyman. Each episode includes several questions submitted by listeners, an effort to mimic exchanges he used to have with voters. It is decidedly casual in tone. "I'd like to welcome Ron, who's an old friend to the show. Ron, how are you, pal?" Biden said as he greeted Klain, who served in 2014 as the Ebola czar under Obama. The first weekly episode was downloaded about 40,000 times, according to his campaign. It hasn't ranked high, rising only to 38th among all podcasts, according to Chartable. The campaign is looking at ways to change the format, perhaps having other regular features besides Biden talking to a guest. The show may shift to biweekly to allow more time for production and might also broadcast video of the interviews. Each show is unique, but in almost every one Biden tries to exude a sense of optimism. "What gives me hope is when I see somebody do just the little things they didn't have to do, to go out of their way," he says in one, recalling neighbors calling one another or those who hold doors open at a grocery store. "The little acts of kindness. My dad used to say that's how character is built. It's built by a thousand little things, no one big thing, a thousand little things, and they all relate to acts of kindness and decency. Reaching out. That's what gives me faith." Biden seems desperate to promote bipartisanship, praising those on his show who talk about the merits of working together. Klobuchar talked about being surprised to arrive in the U.S. Senate and see that senators had their desks arranged by political party, and about forging a friendship with then-Sen. John McCain, the late Republican from Arizona. "John had a value set like yours. He was decent and honorable," Biden told her. "We'd argue like hell, he and I . . . but at the end of the day we were friends." Biden at times can seem like a detached observer rather than a presidential candidate. The man known inside the current White House as "Sleepy Joe," for example, marveled at how the president was assigning nicknames to governors. "How do you deal with it?" he asked Whitmer, who Trump referred to as "the woman from Michigan" and "half-Whitmer." "Just blow it off?" "Well, I've got thick skin," she responded. "If someone doesn't like how I'm doing my job, well, it is what it is." In another episode, Biden talked about the November election. "I have almost a blind faith in crisis in the American people getting it right," he said. "But it's important there has to be a counterview laid out there as to why and how to get it right. At least I'm going to try and do that. We'll see." "And now," he added, "it's time for questions from our listeners." Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 19:17:47|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HONG KONG, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Sunday condemned a report by U.S. National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) for interfering in Hong Kong affairs. A spokesperson of the office said in a statement that the report whitewashed the extremist violence that occurred during the months-long social unrest in Hong Kong and heaped accusations on the Hong Kong police who enforced the law dutifully with great restraint. The report glorified the criminal acts of the opposition and extremists as a "fight over democratization" and mentioned nothing about the severe damage to law, order and the "one country, two systems" principle, the spokesperson said. The report also smeared the efforts of the Chinese central government and the HKSAR government to uphold the rule of law and the "one country, two systems," the spokesperson said. The NDI even instigated other countries to jointly meddle in Hong Kong affairs and impose sanctions on the region via means like the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, the spokesperson said, emphasizing the organization has no credibility at all and is notorious for fact-distortion and finger-pointing at internal affairs of other countries and regions under the pretext of "democracy" and "human rights." The spokesperson said it is exactly because such foreign forces have long colluded with local anti-China troublemakers to interfere in Hong Kong affairs, confound right with wrong and provoke confrontation, that the rule of law in Hong Kong has been undermined and society plunged into chaos. "They should be condemned by all Chinese people, including our Hong Kong compatriots, and will definitely pay the price for what they have done," the spokesperson said. While some are taking the opportunity to help those in need during the coronavirus pandemic, crime continues and its latest target appears to be churches in Montgomery County. This week, at least two places of worship in east county have reportedly been victimized by break-ins where valuable property has been taken. Church leaders, who suspect the incidents are related, on Friday said authorities are investigating. ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Coronavirus live updates: Infections more prevalent in poor neighborhoods After Caney Creek Cowboy Church on April 18 handed food to between 400 and 600 families, Pastor Mark Grimes the next morning found the premises burglarized. This marked the second time in about a month and a half this has taken place. Desperate times Desperate times bring desperate people. People dont have work, no money, they turn to drugs, stealing, said Grimes, who thinks the burglaries are related to lack of employment since public health measures in the county barred many businesses from regular operations. Both burglaries at the church of about 500 congregants were on the weekend, Grimes noted. Before this year, it had been more than a decade since the church, located at 17703 Nonesuch Rd. in Conroe, was last burglarized. LATEST DATA: Montgomery County COVID-19 cases up to 506 with another senior hospitalized Between $5,000 and $10,000 worth of items were stolen or damaged in this last burglary as the perpetrators took speakers, soundboards and stereos from the churchs outdoor arena. In the process, the church van, its office, including the doors and windows, were all damaged. The first burglary left about $5,000 worth of damages. The propertys automatic gate opener and hand and power tools were seized, according to Grimes. He figures the thieves are selling stolen goods at pawn shops or possibly trading them for drugs. Situated an 18-minute drive across FM 2090 from Grimes church is New Life Baptist Church. The Splendora house of worship has also been burgled twice in the past two months. Two central air conditioning units were removed and stripped down for parts and metals in the first break-in, according to Pastor Billy Hensarling. Then on Monday night, perps struck again, breaking the handles off the front double doors, knocking three newly installed surveillance cameras off and busting a window in the utility room, Hensarling said. The alarm was activated, scaring off the would-be thieves. MORNING REPORT: Get the top stories on HoustonChronicle.com sent directly to your inbox But a concealed camera captured a male, 18 to 20 years of age, doing the damage, Hensarling said. Grimes and Hensarling pointed to a third church in the area they say has also been hit by burglars. A call left with leadership there on Friday went unanswered. Looking for a quick buck Unlike Grimes, the 65-year-old Hensarling does not attribute the recent rash of burglaries on any economic strain brought on by county health measures to fight off COVID-19. He thinks it is rooted in what he deems is a long-standing drug issue in east county where individuals seek to make a quick buck. The thieves out there are just stealing anything and everything they can get to supply their habit. Instead of working, its easier for them to come and steal something in their minds than it is to go out and work for it, Hensarling said. For instance, the first burglary at his church happened before any county order was put in place. Hensarling said a store less than 100 yards from the church had a DVD rental kiosk broken into this week as well. MORE FROM JOSE R. GONZALEZ: Coronavirus forces girls to forego quinceanera rite of passage The Montgomery County District Attorneys Office reported late last month a 35 percent increase in domestic violence compared to the same timeframe last year. However, no county law enforcement officials have signaled to a rise in burglaries, robberies or other crimes. New Life Baptist Churchs 50-member congregation moved to 50 Tram Rd. two years ago after Hurricane Harvey destroyed its 17-year location in Plum Grove in neighboring Liberty County. Shining the light Grimess church is a place of worship catering to those less inclined to formal settings. Its motto is boots, suits, horse or Harley, everybodys welcome. A lifelong cowboy by trade, Grimes, 48, has been the pastor there for the last 15 years. He remains undeterred by the burglaries. On Friday, the church handed out food to another 400 families. The church, he said, is partnering with the Montgomery County Food Bank and paying the nonprofit for the food it is giving out with the offering they collected during Easter. He promised that for the next four weeks the church will continue handing out food to those in need. Were gonna keep doing what Jesus told us to do, loving people, loving our neighbor and feeding our neighbor. No matter what they to do us, were gonna keep on going, Grimes said. Were gonna keep shining the light, helping people. Were gonna keep doing what were called to do. jose.gonzalez@chron.com twitter.com/jrgzztx A breast cancer diagnosis is being missed in at least four Northern Ireland women every month during the coronavirus lockdown. Concerns are rising over the number of people across Northern Ireland whose lives are at risk as a result of the suspension of vital screening programmes. They were halted by health officials as they prepared for a spike in the number of critically ill patients during the Covid-19 pandemic. NHS screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm, breast, bowel and cervical cancer and potential eyesight complications in people with diabetes was paused three weeks ago, with a warning that the suspension is likely to remain in place for at least three months. It comes as it has emerged that the number of red flag referrals have dropped significantly as people avoid going to the doctor, while at the same time, cancer treatments and surgeries have also been significantly scaled back. Now a leading cancer charity, which has also been forced to halt its screening programmes, has issued a stark warning over its finances. Action Cancer has said its services are "facing an unprecedented and critical threat" as donations, described as "the lifeblood of the services" have "reduced to a trickle". The charity ordinarily provides 800 free breast cancer screenings to women between 40 and 49 and over the age of 70 every month in Northern Ireland. With a detection rate of six cancers for every 1,000 screenings, Action Cancer has said four women in Northern Ireland will have their cancer undetected for each month that the coronavirus crisis continues. "The current situation is totally unprecedented and is having a negative impact across all aspects of life, including for cancer patients," said Gareth Kirk, Action Cancer CEO. "The focus is absolutely necessarily, for now, on what is the overriding priority - as a society, managing our way through the Covid-19 crisis. The shining light is the fact that NHS staff are, every hour of every day, doing their upmost to both protect and save lives. "In these difficult times, the right people are making some complex decisions, and we entrust that the correct clinical decisions are being made for the individuals concerned. "Unfortunately, the longer the current situation remains, cancers, particularly through screening programmes, are not being detected. "This will have an impact on treatment paths and on the physical and psychological recovery for each individual. "Therefore, we anticipate demand for both our breast screening and therapeutic support services to be overwhelming." Mr Kirk said, given the fact that the health service has not reached capacity during the current surge, it is hoped normal cancer services will be able to resume as soon as possible. "One in two people will have a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime," he continued. "Action Cancer's mission, as a local charity, is to save lives and support people." Action Cancer is appealing for financial support, either through donations or the UK-wide 2.6 fundraising challenge. To find out how to donate to the charity, log on to www.actioncancer.org. The Puducherry administration has distributed free rice to over 60 per cent of beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana to mitigate their sufferings and hardships due to the nationwide lockdown to combat the novel coronavirus, Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi has said. Talking to PTI over phone, she said, "I sincerely thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the central government for helping the UT (Union Territory) administration to provide free rice for three months to 6.5 lakh poor and downtrodden beneficiaries to mitigate their hardship due to COVID-19 lockdown." "Rice has already been distributed to over 60 per cent of the beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana. The UT government lifted 9,425 tonnes of additional rice from FCI (Food Corporation of India) and has already distributed over 6,000 tonnes," she said. Similarly the Centre has increased daily wage to labourers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to Rs 259 from Rs 229 with effect from this month. Puducherry is the first government in the country to start MGNREGA work after the Union Home Ministry relaxed lockdown guidelines from April 20, she said. Likewise the Centre has credited Rs 500 each in bank accounts of 83,000 women beneficiaries in the first week of this month under the Pradhan Mantri Jhan Dhan Yojana, the former IPS officer said, adding that a whopping Rs 4.15 crore has reached the women beneficiaries in Puducherry. The Ramon Magsaysay awardee of 1994 said 9,299 farmers of the UT have already received the first instalment of Rs 2,000 each (out of Rs 6,000 per year) under the PM Kisan Sanman Nidhi Yojana. Under the scheme, aimed at helping small and medium farmers, Rs 1,85,98,000 has been released for 2020-21. "Remaining 913 farmers will receive the benefit by direct bank transfer shortly as the process is already on, she said. Thanks to the pro-active Centre, the poor, marginalised, farmers, women and senior citizens are getting their benefits fast in the UT, Bedi said. The lockdown was first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 in a bid to combat the Coronavirus endemic. It was further extended till May 3. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. Nothing beats the campus experience at Purdue University, not even the coronavirus. Thats what officials at the Indiana university are hoping anyway, with President Mitch Daniels floating plans to reopen campus for in-person classes in the fall while saying the COVID-19 virus poses close to zero lethal threat to young people. Purdue was among the first wave of colleges to announce a shift from in-person classes in early March, leaving students, faculty and staff to adapt quickly to an online setting by transitioning course material and operating online video platforms like Zoom for classes and meetings. Now, as some states move to reopen nonessential businesses and boost the economy, Purdue and Daniels are at the forefront of efforts to put students back on campus for the fall. Purdue president Mitch Daniels has floated a plan to reopen campus in the fall, putting the university at the forefront of efforts to return to in-person classes. "We have every intention of being on campus this fall," he said. I can tell you for the moment, there is strong, strong interest for a Purdue education for this fall, Daniels told the university Senate on April 20. We have every intention of being on campus this fall. We are sober about the challenges that will bring. We believe in the value of the on-campus experience, and were determined, if were permitted to do so by the public authorities and medical circumstances. If at all possible, we intend to be open and operating. College upended: Colleges scrambled to react to the coronavirus. Now their very existence is in jeopardy. Daniels, a two-term Republican governor in Indiana, was appointed as president of Purdue in 2012. Under his tenure, tuition has been frozen at the public land-grant institution in West Lafayette, Indiana, and enrollment has surged from 39,256 students in 2012 to just under 45,000 last fall. That growing enrollment at a time many schools are experiencing or fearing a decline puts Purdue in a strong position to consider reopening, Daniels said, but theres no time to wait to start developing those plans. If were going to do this immensely difficult undertaking, we dont want to sit and wait and watch for two months, Daniels said. Story continues In his letter, Daniels outlined a number of preliminary practices that would allow the school to reopen in August, most of them aimed at keeping the universitys younger population separate from older demographic groups that are more at risk from the virus. Literally, our students pose a far greater danger to others than the virus poses to them, he wrote. Among the measures he proposed: Spreading out classes across days and times to reduce their size; More online instruction for on-campus students; Allowing or requiring people more at risk to the virus to work remotely; Pre-testing students and staff for infection and post-infection immunity and using the Purdue laboratory to ensure fast results; Tracing contacts for those who test positive and asking contacts to self-quarantine for 14 days. Some worry the president's push to reopen Purdue in the fall could put students and staff at risk. Mitch Daniels minimized the threat, saying the COVID-19 virus "poses close to zero lethal threat" to young people. Reaction to Daniels announcement has been mixed. Some took to social media to express their eagerness for a return to normalcy, while others accused Daniels of trivializing the effects of the COVID-19 virus on students. Mitch Daniels, leader of Purdue and the new Purdue South Bend high school, is willing to endanger our lives based on false information and an immoral valuing of economy over human life, one Twitter user wrote. Students are weary of online classes: But colleges can't say whether they'll open in fall 2020 University Senate Chair Cheryl Cooky raised concerns about the potential risk for faculty and staff in light of warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about a second wave of coronavirus in the fall and winter. While there are still many questions yet to be answered, Cooky said in a statement, I am confident in the leadership of Purdue and our shared commitment to maintaining the safety of our community while ensuring the best education for our Purdue students. A number of difficulties come with restarting a campus with a population larger than some towns, said Jeremy Adler, health officer for Tippecanoe County. Im a bit surprised the decision came so early, Adler said. That being said, if its going to be done, it needs to be done very carefully, and more than likely Purdue will need to make significant modifications to its day-to-day operations. Casseiy Graham walks by a statue of Thomas Clemson near Tillman Hall at Clemson University. She is planning to take online classes and live in off-campus housing this summer. Returning the college to in-person classes by fall is the university's "laser focus," one school official said last week. Other colleges that say they intend to hold regular classes in the fall or are developing plans to do so include Santa Clara University in California, the University of Missouri and Clemson University in South Carolina. In a presentation to Clemsons board of trustees on Thursday, Clemson officials said they were planning for three scenarios for the fall, including a full return to in-person classes. Clemson has been holding classes online this semester, and the campus is partially closed until Aug. 8. Continuing with the online learning is also an option for the fall, along with a hybrid of online and in-person classes. But a return to in-person classes for the fall is the universitys laser focus, university police chief Greg Mullen told board members via the online meeting platform Zoom. Mullen and Clemsons emergency operations center staff are putting together a critical timeline that a university spokesman said they are hoping to present sometime next week. Coronavirus and colleges: Stunned by coronavirus, a college town slowly awakens to a surreal world Taking the opposite approach is California State University, Fullerton, which announced Tuesday it would begin the fall semester with online classes only. Many more schools are still weighing their options. For example, the University of Tennessee formed a task force to prepare options that will be presented in May to its chancellor; Ohio State University created a post-pandemic operations task force but has not shared any recommendations; University of Texas at Austin officials said the school will make a decision in late June; and schools in the University of Wisconsin system will wait until mid-July. The risk schools face was made clear after Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. opened the Lynchburg, Virginia, campus following its spring break. Falwell had been dismissing other colleges response to the coronavirus as irresponsible. After news coverage of Falwells decision and a subsequent outbreak of cases in the region, he sought arrest warrants for trespassing against two journalists. A Liberty student filed a class action lawsuit in federal court claiming the school and Falwell had placed students in danger. Zoe Nicholson of The Greenville News in South Carolina contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Amid coronavirus fears, Purdue works to reopen college for fall 2020 Pakistan Navy Carries Out Live Weapon Firing With Series of Potent Ship Killers - Video Sputnik News 12:03 GMT 25.04.2020 New Delhi (Sputnik): India and Pakistan have been engaged in intense cross-border firefights over the past month, in which dozens of people have been injured and at least half a dozen civilians from both sides were killed. On Friday, both countries asked their military to remain on alert regarding the situation along their shared border. Pakistan Navy test fired a variety of anti-ship missiles in the North Arabian Sea on Saturday from surface vessels, and from fixed wing and rotary wing platforms. The navy, in a statement, said that Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi witnessed the missiles being fired. This "successful demonstration of a missile firing is testament to the Pakistan Navy's operational capability and military readiness", the spokesperson said while emphasising that Navy Chief Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi said on the occasion that Pakistan Navy is fully capable of responding to enemy hostilities. The video from the Pakistan Navy shows that a series of missiles were launched from a warship, multi-role helicopter and an aircraft which hit the target (a destroyer of British origin) on sea. Earlier on Friday, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had asked the forces to ensure their "operational preparedness, while they are battling COVID-19" and that the adversary should not be allowed to exploit the current situation. The Indian navy had also issued a separate statement on 18 April and stated that its naval assets continue to be mission-deployed in three dimensions, with all the networks and space assets functioning optimally. "Our assets continue to remain on patrol covering a vast oceanic swath from the Straits of Malacca in the East to Bab-el-Mandeb in the West, including undertaking Op Sankalp to provide reassurance and protection to our merchant vessels and Anti-piracy patrols in Gulf of Aden," the Indian Navy said. Despite the threat of COVID-19, the military forces of the two nuclear armed nations continue to target each other at the border and review their military preparedness at regular intervals. The two South Asian nations have been at loggerheads since August 2019, when India stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status. Pakistan has repeatedly accused India of mistreating Kashmiris, something which New Delhi has consistently denied. Kashmir has remain bone of contention between the two nations for decades and fought three wars since they gained freedom from British colonial rule in 1947 over the issue. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address WASHINGTONU.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin issued a rare joint statement on Saturday commemorating a 1945 World War Two link-up of U.S. and Soviet troops on their way to defeat Nazi Germany as an example of how their countries can cooperate. The Wall Street Journal reported that the decision to issue the statement sparked debate within the Trump administration, with some officials worried it could undercut stern U.S. messages to Moscow on arms control and Russias intervention in Ukraine and Syria, among other issues. The joint statement marked the anniversary of the April 25, 1945, meeting on a bridge over the Elbe River in Germany of Soviet soldiers advancing from the east and American troops moving from the West. This event heralded the decisive defeat of the Nazi regime, the statement said. The meeting on the Elbe represented a culmination of tremendous efforts by the many countries and peoples that joined forces under the framework of the United Nations Declaration of 1942. This common struggle required enormous sacrifice by millions of soldiers, sailors, and citizens in multiple theaters of war. We also recognize the contributions from millions of men and women on the home front, who forged vast quantities of war materials for use around the world. Workers and manufacturers played a crucial role in supplying the allied forces with the tools necessary for victory. The Spirit of the Elbe is an example of how our countries can put aside differences, build trust, and cooperate in pursuit of a greater cause, the statement continued. The Journal said the last joint statement marking the Elbe River bridge link-up was issued in 2010, when the Obama administration was seeking improved relations with Moscow. Trump had hoped to travel to Moscow to mark the anniversary. He has been complimentary of Putin, promoted cooperation with Moscow, and denied collusion with the Trump campaign to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Some senior administration officials and lawmakers, in contrast, have been fiercely critical of Russia. U.S. intelligence officials have warned lawmakers that Moscow is meddling in the 2020 presidential election campaign, which Russia denies. By Jonathan Landay Canberra is hoping to persuade Australians to holiday in the nation's capital when easing of coronavirus restrictions allows interstate travel. VisitCanberra director Jonathan Kobus said the ACT had to focus on marketing to regional visitors before wider travel across states is permitted. Domestic visitors make up 90 per cent of Canberra's tourism market and the city is hoping to lure thousands of travel-starved families inland. As the COVID-19 pandemic wreaks havoc on tourism VisitCanberra director Jonathan Kobus said the city would focus its marketing on regional visitors as restrictions start to ease (an empty Parliament House is pictured amid lockdown) Mr Kobus said Canberra tourism would be closely marketing towards residents who could drive to the city within hours but said communities would also have to support the tourism injection Mr Kobus said Australians holidaying at home offered a 'glimmer' of hope because it could be years before international travel was open again. 'If and when that opportunity presents in the coming months and years, there is a very significant market there,' he said. 'Provided the rest of the economy recovers to a level where people feel comfortable that they can spend money on holidays.' As restrictions ease, Mr Kobus said their marketing would move out to regional centres within driving distance of the city before extending wider depending on travel restrictions. Tourist Minister Andrew Barr said it would be at least another four weeks until there was a chance any relaxations on restrictions would happen. 'It might mean, for example, that the current limit of two in a group would increase, possibly up to 10, but it is not going to increase to hundreds or thousands,' he said. Canberra's lust for domestic travellers inched closer to a reality on Sunday as come as Queensland and Western Australia announced loosening of restrictions. Mr Kobus said domestic tourism already made up 90 per cent of the Canberra market and the city needed to work on ways to reinvigorate the sector when restrictions ease (visitors pictured at Parliament House before COVID-19 pandemic) Western Australia will allow up to 10 people to gather for non-work activities. Ten people will be allowed at weddings and the 10-person limit remains for funerals. Outdoor personal training will also be allowed for up to 10 people, provided groups adhere to social distancing and do not share equipment. Open houses and display villages will also be permitted but records must be kept of everyone who enters a home. Outdoor gyms and playgrounds will stay closed, while food outlets remain restricted to takeaway. Meanwhile in Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszcuk says the easing of stay-at-home restrictions would start at midnight on Friday. However, the premier has warned that movement was 'limited to members of your own household'. 'We will be able to lift some of the stay-at-home restrictions and...we really need the public to 100 per cent co-operate.' she told reporters on Sunday. 'If we do see mass gatherings, I will not hesitate to clamp back down.' Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Paris Sun, April 26, 2020 12:02 626 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd44c705 2 Food Alan-Ducasse,restaurant,social-distancing,physical-distancing,food,coronavirus,COVID-19 Free French superstar chef Alain Ducasse insists that it is safer to eat in restaurants than at home during the coronavirus epidemic. With restaurants shuttered by lockdowns across the world, Ducasse claimed that it was far riskier to shop and cook at home. "It's better to eat in a restaurant that takes all the precautions than at home where you have to go to your little local supermarket where people are bumping into each other, touching the fruit and not everybody is wearing masks," he told AFP. Ducasse, whose restaurants have 17 Michelin stars -- the most of any chef in the world -- claimed it made more sanitary sense to eat out. Restaurants were closed on scientific advice to halt the spread the of the virus and to enforce social distancing. Read also: Greater Jakartans show low awareness of physical distancing measures despite PSBB: Survey However, thousands of takeaways in France and elsewhere have remained open, with several top French chefs including Ducasse providing haute cuisine to go. Ducasse made the safety comments after making the case for a "gradual and responsible" reopening of restaurants in France to President Emmanuel Macron Friday. Ducasse said that Macron had taken his arguments on board, adding that cafes and restaurants could start reopening "between June 2 and 20" if the death toll from the virus continues to fall. The chef represented the country's hard-hit hospitality sector in a video meeting with the French leader. The French government said that it would decide when cafes, restaurants and hotels could open at the end of May. France is the most visited country in the world, with some one million people employed in its hospitality sector. Cafes and restaurants are at the heart of French culture and identity, but have been shuttered since the country went into lockdown nearly six weeks ago. As well as a partial reopening, the hospitality industry are demanding tax and rent breaks to help the hard-pressed sector. The government instead promised to extend an aid scheme to establishments that employed up to 20 people. "We are going in the right direction," Ducasse told AFP. He described the lockdown as "catastrophic" for the sector, which is dominated by small family businesses, and said "this can only last for a few more weeks". Experts call on adults to take vaccines against preventable diseases BEIJING, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese medical experts called on adults, particularly women as well as middle-aged and senior people, to get themselves immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases. "Looking back on history, vaccines have been playing an indispensable role in fighting diseases," said Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. There are corresponding immunization plans for people of every age group, Zeng noted, calling for enhanced public awareness of adult immunization. A survey on public awareness of immunization jointly released Saturday by Chinese tech giant Tencent and multinational pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline showed that merely 22 percent of Chinese people polled knew that women need to take vaccines. "The figure reminds us the general public's lack of immunization knowledge," said Sui Long, a gynecologist with the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai. "Apart from infectious diseases, vaccines play an important role in preventing cancers," Sui said. For example, human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are effective in preventing HPV-caused cervical cancers, Sui added. Jiang Wencheng, a physician with Shanghai Dermatology Hospital, said middle-aged and senior people are at higher risk of shingles. With limited therapies available, vaccination is the most effective way to contain the viral disease, Jiang said. Xu Jie, a physician for infectious diseases, suggested that high-risk grown-ups for hepatitis B should also be included in a regular immunization program. Saturday marks China's National Immunization Day, an annual public health event to raise public awareness of immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases. Govt working to address delayed payments issues of MSMEs: Gadkari New Delhi, Apr 24 (UNI) Union MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said that Government is working on a separate scheme to address delayed payments issues of MSMEs wherein a dedicated fund will be created for payments to MSMEs. Commenting on delayed payments to MSMEs, Mr Gadkari said that all efforts should be made to make payments immediately and all Government Departments have been given such directions. He was speaking while interacting via video conferencing with the representatives of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM) on impact of COVID-19 on MSMEs. Mr Gadkari called upon the industry that while the government has allowed certain industry sectors to start functioning, it is also needed to be ensured by industries that necessary preventive measures are taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19. He emphasized that organizations should ensure that their workers and executives are taken care of by providing food, shelter and maintaining social distancing norms. He stressed that there is also need to focus on import substitution to replace foreign imports with domestic production. He urged enterprises to make use of technology and mentioned that research, innovation and quality improvement can play a major role in industrial development. The Minister recalled that Government of Japan has offered special package to its industries for taking out Japanese investments from China and move elsewhere. He opined that it is an opportunity for India and which should be grabbed. He mentioned that work on Green Express Highway has already started, and this is an opportunity for industry to make future investments in industrial clusters, industrial parks, logistics parks. He opined that there is a need to expand the horizon of industrial cluster in areas other than metro cities and urged that such proposals be submitted to Government. Mr Gadkari emphasized that all the related stakeholders should work together and tap the opportunities that will be created when the COVID-19 crisis gets over. He called upon all sectors to remain positive in adversity. Some of the issues pointed out by the representatives and the suggestions given included: prioritizing launch of interest subvention scheme, opening the markets along with starting operations of the industries, effective implementation of RBI guideline related to providing additional liquidity to industries, etc. UNI RSA PS 2207 Pakistani military officials say at least two soldiers from Pakistan's army and nine militants were killed in a gun battle late on April 25 near the border with Afghanistan. Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations, the military's media wing, said on April 26 that five Pakistani soldiers also were injured in the clash that took place in the volatile tribal region of North Waziristan. It did not identify which militant group the gunmen were thought to be linked to. According to Pakistani officials, security forces captured what they described as "an accomplice" of the militants and seized "a large cache" of weapons and explosives from a hideout used by the militants in North Waziristan. Terrorists linked to Al-Qaeda, the Haqqani network of the Afghan Taliban, and Pakistani militants have all been active in the region during the past decade. The Pakistani military managed to push militants out of their border-region strongholds through a series of offensives since 2014. But militants continue to stage surprise attacks there. The latest clash was the fifth between security forces and militants in the area within the past month. That has reinforced concerns that the militants may be trying to regroup in their former strongholds in Pakistan. Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa COVID-19 is a gray rhino event as it could be seen in advance because of its size and the early warning it gave. The Dutch sea captain Willem de Vlamingh never imagined in his wildest dreams that black swans could exist. He never saw or heard of one in Europe. In January 1697 he and his crew sailed up a river, later named Swan River, in Southwestern Australia to explore it. And much to their utter amazement they became the first Europeans to see black swans. Black swan events are extremely rare and highly improbable events. They share three characteristics: 1) they are unpredictable 2) they have a massive impact 3) post the event, we concoct an explanation that makes it appear less random and more predictable. Is the COVID-19 outbreak a black swan event? Here are three reasons why it is not an unpredictable event. First, there have been more than a dozen serious epidemics, many of them worldwide, in the last 100 years (see Box 5). The Spanish flu and smallpox killed 50 million people each. Eighteen million Indians died of Spanish flu. HIV killed 30 million people. The Asian flu and Hong Kong flu killed at least a million people each. But they have faded quickly from public memory. Second, a paper is written by four Chinese scientists titled, Bat Coronaviruses in China, published on 2 March 2019, specifically warned, it is highly likely that future SARS- or MERS-like coronavirus outbreaks will originate from bats, and there is an increased probability that this will occur in China. Two bat origin CoVs caused large-scale epidemics in China over fourteen years, highlighting the risk of a future bat CoV outbreak in this nation. Therefore, the investigation of bat coronaviruses becomes an urgent issue for the detection of early warning signs, which in turn minimizes the impact of such future outbreaks in China. The Chinese government, which funded this study through its science academies, did not heed the warning it carried. Third, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, speaking at the World Government Summit, Dubai on 12 February 2018, warned the world, A devastating epidemic could start in any country at any time and kill millions of people because we are still not prepared. The world remains vulnerable. The world heard him but did not listen to him. COVID-19 is not a black swan event. It is a gray rhino event, one that is a highly probable and with a potentially large impact. Gray rhino events can be seen in advance because of their size and the early warning they give. Yet, they are ignored. India has had many big gray rhino events in the past. Recent Indian gray rhino events Indias record of handling gray rhino events is poor and leaves doubts about how it will handle the coronavirus outbreak. There have been occasions though when it has rolled up its sleeves and done a particularly good job like in the Machilipatnam cyclone or what Kerala is doing now to control COVID-19. 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy: Union Carbide made Sevin, a carbamate group pesticide, in its Bhopal plant. Soon after the plant went into production, Sevin lost market space to the next generation pesticides and the company slipped into losses. Consequently, safety and environmental management standards in the plant declined. Between 1981-84, the plant had a series of accidents (see Box 6). This prompted journalist Raj Kumar Keshwani to write three articles lamenting on the plants poor safety conditions, and warning Bhopal that it was on the brink of a disaster. A state government minister responded saying, The Carbide plant is not some small pebble that can be picked up and put elsewhere. Forty-two tonnes of Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) leaked on the cold winter night of 2 December 1984, killing about 8,000 persons immediately. Another 17,000 died subsequently of chronic toxic effects. 1999 Ersama cyclone: Odisha is hit by a severe cyclone almost every year, and by a super cyclone once every few years. A super cyclone hit Ersama block in coastal Orissa on 29 October 1999. Three 10-metre high storm surges swept everything in their path for up to 20 km inland, killing about 50,000 persons. 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami: Indonesia is frequently rocked by earthquakes and the offshore ones sometimes generate tsunamis. On 26 December 2004, a 9.1 magnitude offshore earthquake near Sumatra, Indonesia generated tsunami waves that rose to 9 m before they hit coasts of 14 countries along the Indian Ocean rim, and wreaked enormous destruction. About 250,000 persons died, including 10,000 on the Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh coasts. Information failures increase lives lost Information plays a critical role in minimizing the probability of a gray rhino event from becoming a disaster. Information throughputs have five stagesgeneration, transmission, interpretation, access, and use. An information failure at any of these stages increase the probability of a hazard hit converting into a disaster. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami disaster in India was an information generation failure. India did not install seabed sensors in the Bay of Bengal to detect tsunami pressure waves. It was also an information transmission failure as the Indian government was informed about the tsunami soon after it hit the Andaman Islands (see information timeline), which lie close to Sumatra. It took another two hours before the tsunami hit Indias east coast, which was adequate to evacuate fisherfolk inland. Failure to do that was a criminal act of negligence which cost India 10,000 lives. Information timeline after tsunami wave was generated off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia 6.29 am 7.30 am 8.00 am 8.56 am 9.00 am 10.30 am 12.00 noon 5.45 pm Quake strikes Sumatra. India Meteorological Department (IMD) knows about it by 6.40 am, but could not analyse data as its computer developed a snag, Indian Air Force (IAF) Nicobar informs IAF Tambaram, who inform IAF Chief who alerts Defence Min Waves lash Machilipatnam, Chennai, Cuddalore, on Indias southeast coast. Faxes sent to Secretaries of Department of Science & Technology, Home Ministry, Home Minister. Tsunami waves strikes east coasts of India, Sri Lanka. Cabinet Secretary calls Port Blair. Secretary of Ocean Development briefs him. Crisis Manage-ment Group meets. Indian Navy ships dispatched to Andaman Islands. The IMD computer being down and not available to analyse the incoming data also made this event an information interpretation failure. The Bhopal gas tragedy was an information access failure. People in Bhopal were sleeping when a highly toxic MIC gas cloud formed at the Carbide plant and drifted slowly downwind towards JP Nagar, Chola Khenchi slums and areas further south. Being heavier than air, the gas cloud hugged the ground, and remained concentrated as the prevailing low wind speed dispersed it very slowly. People woke up and ran to save themselves. But they ran downwind and remained in the gas cloud, inhaling a large amount of toxic MIC gas. Had they known that they should move perpendicular to the wind direction, the quickest way to get out of a gas cloud, and cover their nose and mouths with a wet cloth as MIC is soluble in water, many thousands of lives may have been saved, and injury would have been less. Not a single Carbide worker died on the as they were aware that running upwind and away from the gas cloud was the best way to save themselves. The Ersama cyclone disaster was an information use failure. The National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) provided the Odisha government with satellite pictures of the cyclones path for 3 days prior to the cyclone making landfall. Yet, the Odisha government did not use this information. If the coastal population had been evacuated, most of the 50,000 people who lost their lives would have lived. There are other examples of hazard strike events that became disasters due to information failures. One of them is the 7.5 magnitude (on the Richter scale) Bhuj earthquake that occurred on 26 January 2001. Hundreds of buildings collapsed in several cities in Gujarat killing about 25,000 people and causing a financial loss of Rs 25,000-50,000 crores. Had the buildings been built to Bureau of Indian Standards (ISI) codes for earthquake resistant structures, far fewer people would have died. BIS codes were available for engineered and non-engineered buildings but were not used, making this event an information use failure. Bhuj is in a Zone 5 (most earthquake prone) seismic region, making it a high-risk area. Damage to Gujarat Housing Board colonies built to ISI standards, was minimal, but Shikhar Towers, Himgiri Apartments, and 170 other buildings in Ahmadabad crashed as they were not built to ISI standards. In a quake of similar magnitude that shook Seattle soon after the Bhuj quake happened, only 3 persons died as structures in that city conformed to building standards for earthquakes. Lack of emergency response plans and action increase loss of lives Six elements that constitute emergency response plans and actions (ERPA)event prediction, warning, hardware and facilities, risk avoidance action by public, emergency response plan (ERP), and the emergency response actions (ERA)if in place, minimize loss of life when natural or man-made hazards strike. Each missing element increases the probability of the event converting into a disaster and causing great loss of life. A comparison of two cyclonesthe 1990 Machilipatnam cyclone that hit the Andhra coast and the 1999 Ersama cycloneillustrates this point (see Box 7). Prior information (event prediction) about a hazardous eventits nature, magnitude, hit location and time, lead time between event prediction and hithelps save lives. Using satellites, IMD tracked the Machilipatnam and Ersama cyclone for several days before they made landfall, and predicted their intensity, landfall location and time accurately. Event predictions for both these cyclones was good. An effective warning before a hazard hit must fulfil 6 criteriait should come in time, reach everyone, be appropriate for the event, be unambiguous about the action people should take, sound credible, and be specific to the risk posed by the impending event. The Machilipatnam warning met all these criteria. The Ersama cyclone warning met the first 3 criteriait came in time, reached most people on the coast and was appropriate to the event. But it failed the next 3 criteria as it was ambiguous, lacked credibility and was vague. The warning bundled weather and emergency-action information, creating doubt whether people should use their judgement or follow instructions. The warning for the Ersama cyclone was remarkably like the one for a lower intensity cyclone that hit the Ganjam coast 10 days before the Ersama cyclone occurred. As the Ganjam cyclone did not cause much damage or death, going by the similarity between the Ersama and Ganjam cyclone warnings, people thought that Ersama cyclone would be like the Ganjam one. When in doubt people prefer status quo; they stayed home during the Ersama cyclone and were swept away by its giant waves. The chances of taking risk-avoidance/ mitigation action are higher when people know the risks they face and the choices they have. People in Machilipatnam were ready to evacuate their villages as they had cyclone emergency drills earlier. People in Ersama were not put through such drills and therefore were less aware of the danger they faced and the action they should take to save themselves. The infrastructure and hardware that Odisha had was highly inadequate--23 cyclone shelters, a police wireless system that died when the cyclone worked itself into a fury, and no backup communication system. Andhra Pradesh had 1,041 cyclone shelters, a police wireless system that could withstood 250 km/hr windspeeds, and a backup active ham radio network. Odisha had no emergency response plan (ERP) for cyclones and therefore no emergency response action happened in Ersama. Two lakh persons were kept safe in Machilipatnam by evacuating them. The consequence50,000 persons died in the Ersama cyclone, even though it happened 9 years after the Machilipatnam cyclone. Less than 1,000 persons died in the Machilipatnam cyclone. Information failure and lack of emergency response plans will affect India in COVID-19 pandemic A critical information failure in the COVID-19 outbreak in India is the lack of information on the total number of cases. This can be acquired through extensive testing and good surveillance. But on both counts, Indias effort falls below the curve. When cases are detected at an early stage, they can be isolated immediately and treated. This minimizes the time they are in contact with the people, thus reducing infection spread. India has an information generation failure in its COVID-19 control programme. Several elements of the emergency response to the coronavirus outbreak in India have failed either partially or entirely. Event prediction: India was forewarned of the coronavirus outbreak in general way in the form of knowledge of previous virus outbreaks, WHO DGs warning that a viral epidemic could happen anytime, and the Chinese paper on the possibility of a coronavirus outbreak. India should have had a viral outbreak response plan but does not seem to have one. The Indian government would have become aware of the coronavirus outbreak in China by early-January 2020. Though there may have been some confusion about the possibility of human to human transmission till 21 January, this was dispelled by the last week of January when WHO declared a global health emergency. Warning: India had about eight weeks of warning time to prepare before the case numbers started going up sharply towards end-March. Kerala prepared for a coronavirus outbreak from January, but the rest of India did not. Risk avoidance action by people: As peoples understanding of the risk that coronavirus poses, and the actions they need to take to stay safe is sketchy, their response has been varied. While most people are willing to live with the lockdown, migrants want to return to their villages. Some resistance was visible in Surat in the second week of April when migrants rioted as they wanted transport to return to their villages. Physical distancing is difficult for slum dwellers, and for many ordinary people it is an alien concept. Infrastructure and facilities: Indias public health system is weak. Isolation and ICU beds, ventilators, doctors, and nursing staff are less than what is required for a large COVID-19 outbreak. Emergency response plan: The only visible document is the Containment Plan. It was prepared in the first week of April and covers plans only for local transmission. Plans for community transmission and epidemics have either not been prepared yet or are not available in public domain. Emergency response action: Indias response action can best be described as jerky. The way the lockdown was declared gives the impression that the lack of preparedness and the enormity of the problem may have made the government panic. No thought was given to how migrants would respond to a sudden lockdown announcement, and the beating the economy would take because of the break in the supply chain of almost all goods and services, the loss of income to farmers, unorganized labour and self-employed. The steps after lifting the lockdown do not seem to have been thought through either. Indias actions give the impression that it is playing it by the ear and muddling through, which is not the best way to handle a health emergency. But India is not alone in doing this. It has the US, GB and many other countries keeping it company. Box 5: Pandemics in the last century Date Deaths Event Disease Location Jumped into humans from: 18771977 500 M Smallpox Worldwide 18991923 >800 K Sixth cholera pandemic Cholera Europe, Asia, Africa 191012 40 K 1910 China plague Bubonic plague China 191526 1.5 M 1915 Encephalitis lethargica pandemic Encephalitis lethargica Worldwide 191820 50-100 M Spanish flu Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 Worldwide Pigs 195758 2 M Asian flu Influenza A virus subtype H2N2 Worldwide 196869 1 M Hong Kong flu Influenza A virus subtype H3N2 Worldwide 1974 15 K 1974 smallpox epidemic of India Smallpox India 1981present >32 M HIV/AIDS pandemic HIV/AIDS Worldwide Chimpanzees 1998-2018 350-500 Nipah virus infection Nipah Malaysia, Southeast Asia, Kerala (India) Bats 2002-04 774 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) SARS-CoV-1 China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Worldwide Bats, Civet cat 2009-10 150-575 K Swine influenza virus (SIV) Swine flu Worldwide Pigs 2012-17 666 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Camel flu Saudi Arabia, South Korea, UAE, Worldwide Bats, Camels 1976-2019 1,590 Ebola outbreak Ebola Sudan, Zaire, Guinea, DR Congo, West Africa Bats 2019-present 80 K on 8 Apr 2020 Coronavirus outbreak COVID-19/ SARS-CoV-2 Worldwide Bats, Pangolin, or another small mammal Box 6: Series of accidents in the Union Carbide plant, Bhopal, 1981-84 In 1981, a worker was splashed with phosgene. He ripped off his mask in panic, inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas. He died 72 hours later. In January 1982, 24 workers exposed to phosgene were hospitalized. None of the workers had been ordered to wear protective masks. In February 1982, an MIC leak affected 18 workers. In August 1982, an engineer came into contact with liquid MIC, resulting in 30% body burns. In October 1982, there was a leak of MIC, methyl carbaryl chloride, chloroform, and hydrochloric acid. In attempting to stop the leak, the MIC supervisor suffered intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the gases. During 1983 and 1984, leaks of the following substances regularly took place in the MIC plant: MIC, chlorine, monomethylamine, phosgene, and carbon tetrachloride, sometimes in combination. Reports issued by scientists within the Union Carbide Corporation months before the Dec.2 incident warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which occurred in 1984. The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff. Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981 of the potential of a "runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank; local Indian authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979 onwards. Again, these warnings were not heeded. Box 7: How Emergency Planning and Response Actions save lives Six factors minimize loss of life during hazard strikes. The Ersama cyclones high death toll was because of four factors, and a part of the fifth, were out of place. Elements of emergency response plan Ersama (1999) Machilipatnam (1990) COVID-19 (2019) 1. Event prediction Nature of expected event Yes Yes Yes Event magnitude Yes Yes Yes Event location Yes Yes No Hit time Yes Yes Difficult to predict Lead time 75 hrs Adequate 1 year 2. Warning In time Yes Yes India had 10-12 weeks warning time Reach everyone Yes Yes Yes, reached government Appropriate to event Yes Yes Yes to government Unambiguous No Yes Initial confusion in WHOs warning Credible No Yes Loss of credibility due to initial confusion Specific to event No Yes Yes 3. Risk avoidance action People confused People willing to act People willing to act, some reaction visible 4. Infrastructure Indias public health system poor Cyclone shelters 23 1041 Wireless No No Ham radios No Yes 5. Emergency response plan No Yes Containment plan is available in public domain. Not known if other ERPs exist Vulnerable zones mapped Yes Yes Vulnerable structures mapped Yes No Emergency response organization No Yes NDRF exists, but not trained for epidemics Emergency response codes No No Triggers for lockdowns not prepared Emergency response action plan No Yes 6. Emergency response action No 2 lakh people Governments actions jerky, playing by ear Deaths 50,000 <1.000 The author is an environmental engineer with specialization in risk analysis Also Read: Coping with the lockdown but is India prepared for an outbreak? Part 2 Is the COVID-19 pandemic a black swan or a gray rhino event? Part 1 Armed with degrees in Economics and Commerce and an MBA - specialized in Strategic Planning & Business Development, taShi Shiimi-ya-Shiimi is an executive, possessing many years of global experience in Information Technology and Strategic Management. As Managing Director of TaTe, his primary focus is centered on growing and diversifying TaTe Groups portfolio. The companys current holdings span a wide array of industries and include interests in the following sectors like Diamond: Rough Trading & Manufacturing, Oil & Gas, Information Technology and Real Estate. In this interview with Rough&Polished, taShi Shiimi-ya-Shiimi spells out his goals for TaTe Diamonds, which he aims to grow into a fully integrated organisation, right from mining to retail. Please give us an overview of TaTe Diamonds history, its growth graph and present position as a leading diamond company in Namibia. In April 2019, TaTe Diamonds made history by securing the unique status of becoming a NAMDIA Client. This phenomenal achievement confirmed TaTe Diamonds as the ONLY Namibia-owned company selected from 76 international diamond companies to become one of the fifteen NAMDIA clients. The other 14 clients are all international companies, three of which have subsidiaries in Namibia. This achievement has been the culmination of over 7 years of hard work and persistence in the diamond industry. I entered the diamond industry in 2011 and partnered with a Belgium-based company to set up Diminco Diamonds Namibia. As partner and CEO of Diminco Diamonds, I steered the company towards successfully achieving a Namibia Diamond Trading Company Sightholder status. This partnership, however, came to an end in 2014 and I ventured off to set up TaTe Diamonds. The diamond industry is highly regulated in Namibia and it took us several years to secure all the regulatory licenses and permissions to allow business operations to commence. These challenges were further exacerbated by the fact that as the sole shareholder in the business, I had to bear all the capital and costs required to set up the business. Regrettably, the Namibian banking sector does not offer credit or lending facilities to the diamond industry. My vision is for TaTe Diamonds to become the first Namibia-owned vertically integrated diamond company. We want to have a presence across the entire diamond pipeline, i.e. sourcing of rough diamonds, cutting and polishing of our diamonds, jewelry manufacturing, and ultimately retailing of our polished diamonds in global centers like New York, Hong Kong and Paris. From where do TaTe Diamonds source its rough diamond requirements? How do you plan your requirements for rough diamonds, if sourcing from multiple sources? Namibia is world-renowned for its gem-quality natural diamonds which has resulted in an insatiable global demand for Namibian rough diamonds. The key component for a diamond company to succeed is to have a consistent supply of the right type of rough diamonds. TaTe diamonds has achieved this by becoming a NAMDIA client. Our rough diamond requirements are primarily driven by our target market demand. Our rough diamonds cover a broad range but generally range in size from 1 carat up to +10.8 carats with about 75% of our goods falling in the 1-to-5-carat range all gem-quality goods. Since our vision is to build a Namibian diamond company which specializes in Namibian rough diamonds, we only source gem-quality Namibian diamonds from NAMDIA. Provenance and traceability of our diamonds is a cornerstone of our business model with the ultimate goal of maintaining our customers trust. Whats the plan for the future? Having secured NAMDIA client status, our goal is to grow our existing allocation and seek additional rough source supply. We are actively involved in securing an additional source of rough supply but can unfortunately not divulge any information on that at this point. Does TaTe Diamond export polished diamond as well as diamond jewelry? In which countries do you have your presence currently? And, what is the demand situation in those countries? We dont have a presence in the jewelry sector yet. We are working towards developing a presence here, but this is probably about 2 years out still. Currently, Namibia is our only operational base. I am in the US as we speak working on establishing jewelry and other strategic partners here to develop a presence in the US. Needless to say, the global pandemic has all but stopped these initiatives. Do you supply TaTes produce to the local market as well? What kind of goods moves well in Namibia? Unfortunately, due to Namibias population size, we do not offer any products to the local market. Since our independence in 1990, we have seen a steady increase in the appetite for luxury consumer goods as more Namibians are included in the mainstream economy. I expect the demand for diamond jewelry to increase steadily over the next 5 years. How are diamonds per se viewed in Namibia - as an investment or pieces to be enjoyed? What are your marketing strategies? Besides the formerly economically privileged minority groups in Namibia, diamonds are still not viewed as a solid investment asset. Bear in mind, that until very recently, the majority of the Namibian population was excluded from participating in the formal economy and as such wealth building and investing is still in its early stages for the majority. Diamonds and other luxury goods are however being consumed more and more by Namibians as the middle class expands, albeit at a very slow rate. Due to lab-grown diamonds, the natural diamond sector has been affected globally. What are your views on LGDs. Do you see both the sectors survive amicably? Being a diamantaire from a natural diamond producing country (i.e., Namibia), I might be slightly biased in my response. Natural diamonds were formed millions of years ago in the core of mother earth and as such represent the utmost beauty and perfection of mother nature. Natural diamonds remain one of natures most precious gift to mankind and as such, it is my sincere opinion that there is no substitute for such treasure of nature. The allure and mystic that comes with this gift of nature is something LGDs will never be able to capture. Having said this LGDs have their place in the market and my view will continue to serve a different segment of the market. If all LGDs are traded similarly to the De Beers Lightbox model where they are fully classified as LGDs and trade at the set prices, then the two could potentially co-exist. Problems arise when LGDs are purported to be natural as this could potentially harm consumer confidence in the industry To this end differentiation between LGDs and natural diamonds is the key. Research has shown that while consumers will not mind wearing LGD jewelry as everyday accessories, they still prefer natural diamonds for the most precious and special moments such as weddings, the birth of a child, anniversaries etc. I believe that natural diamonds have a powerful story to tell in terms of the good that diamonds do for diamond producing countries like Namibia and more work needs to be done to ensure that these stories reach the consumers. I believe that TaTe Diamonds is well placed to work together with mining companies and producer governments in advocating for this. What are your views on the recent controversy on the Rapaport Price List? I think the industry has matured to a level where an industry price list should be derived from more than just one industry player or source. Would a similar price list controlled by all the industry stakeholders be the answer? WFDB has put forth this idea. What do you think? The issue of a price list is rather multi-faceted. I am of the view that the industry price list should have input from more industry stakeholders; especially from producing countries. Producing countries like Angola, Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa should play a much bigger role in this. Does TaTe Diamonds have plans to go into diamond explorations as well? How soon do you anticipate the venture to begin? Yes, this is certainly something we are looking at. I am excited to share that on September 19, 2019, the Ministry of Mines & Energy of Namibia, granted TaTe Diamonds our 1st Diamond Exploration License - EPL6712. This exploration area borders an area currently being mined by De Beers. We have started some of the geological work already and are working towards developing the proper technical team. There is still a lot of work to be done before we can reach the sampling stage. How is TaTe Diamonds faring in these tumultuous (COVID-19) times? We are grateful that all our team members are still in good health and we pray we all survive this global crisis. Just like the rest of the global economy, we are very hard hit by this pandemic. We embarked on an investor roadshow of sorts to seek new investors and raise capital for the business at the end of February 2020. All these efforts have come to an abrupt halt which leaves us in a rather precarious position. The industry has for all intents and purposes, come to a screechy halt which makes it very tough for us. What strategies is the company using to overcome this period? We have buckled down on all cashflow expenditures and unfortunately implemented strategies to operate with minimal essential team members only as we chart our way through this storm. Where do you see the company in say another 10 years? I am super optimistic and confident that in the next 5 years, TaTe Diamonds will have grown to be a major global player in the industry. TaTe Diamonds will be fully integrated and have strong presence in the sourcing, manufacturing, and retail sectors. TaTe will have a jewelry line that fully embodies the spirit of from mine to finger. Mined in Namibia, cut and polished in Namibia, and retailed in a Namibia-owned outlet (web and storefront) in New York, Paris and Hong Kong. Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished Agartala/Imphal/Aizawl, April 26 : Even as four of the eight northeastern states are free from novel coronavirus and its spread tamed in other four states, authorities have kept a tight vigil on India's borders in the region as threat of the disease spilling over from Bangladesh and Myanmar looms large. Eight northeastern states share India's around 5,500 km borders with five countries, including China (1,300 km), but the northeastern region's main worry lies over 1,880 km borders with Bangladesh and 1,643 km with Myanmar. Northeastern states' fear has deepened after Bangladesh reported more than 140 coronavirus death and over 5,000 infections. Tripura Director General of Police Rajiv Singh said that while BSF (Border Security Force) further strengthened their vigil along the India-Bangladesh border, as a second line of security, Tripura State Rifles (TSR) were deployed all along the 856 km border with Bangladesh in the state. After Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb's appeal, villagers along the international borders have been watchful to prevent anyone's illegal entry from across the border into the Indian territory," the police chief told IANS. He said that special round-the-clock focus is on around 62 km unfenced border and where human habitations are just along the zero line of the frontier. Deb said that most of Tripura's border is with Bangladesh and the government is concerned about this. Deb, who also holds the home portfolio, urged the people to observe the "Janata curfew' to foil any bid to cross over into Tripura from Bangladesh. In Aizawl, Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga has asked the Assam Rifles and BSF officials to further tighten security along Indian border with Myanmar and Bangladesh in his state. Mizoram Chief Secretary Lalnunmawia Chuaungo said the Chief Minister and state's Home Minister Lalchamliana besides him interact with BSF and Assam Rifles on regular intervals to review the border security. Mizoram has unfenced international border of 404 km with Myanmar and 318 km with Bangladesh. While the BSF guards the Bangladesh border, the border with Myanmar is secured by Assam Rifles. In Imphal, Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh has stressed on the highest vigil along the state's 398 km unfenced India-Myanmar border areas and has directed Director General of Police L.M. Khaute and Assam Tifles officials to reinforce checkpoints at various areas, particularly in the Churachandpur district. Manipur government's fresh directives to the Assam Rifles to strengthen security along the border areas came after media reports of 127 positive cases surfaced in Myanmar. A small village in Myanmar, Tiddim, at walking distance from the villages of Churachandpur district, reported four positive cases. Three hill districts of Manipur -- Tengnoupal, Chandel and Churachandpur -- share borders with Myanmar which are extremely porous. In Shillong, Meghalaya Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui held a series of meetings with the BSF officials to further intensify border security along India's 443 km border with Bangladesh in the state. The Union Home Ministry had suspended passengers' movement through all land immigration checkposts on the country's borders with Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar from March 15 midnight. The four 'Border Haats' (markets) in Tripura and Meghalaya along the India-Bangladesh frontier are also closed from mid-March as a precautionary measure against novel coronavirus. The Manipur and Mizoram governments also prohibited cross-border movement of people along India's border with Myanmar and Bangladesh in the two northeastern states as preventive measure from the second week of March. An official press release quoting Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jitendra Singh said that the ongoing lockdown in the eight northeastern states, including Sikkim, has been effectively enforced along the region's 5,500 km international borders with five countries. A top BSF official said that besides deployment of additional troopers, the authorities have cancelled leaves of all BSF officers and jawans and even paramilitary personnel undergoing training have been deployed along the borders with Bangladesh to plug security loopholes. "The Home Ministry and top BSF officials from Delhi are closely monitoring the border security and giving necessary instructions from time to time," a top BSF official told IANS in Agartala while refusing to be named. The Home Ministry since March 15 had sealed the northeastern states' international borders with China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan and asked the border guarding forces to maintain a strict vigil along the frontiers. While no positive novel coronavirus case was reported from Sikkim, the other seven northeastern states have so far reported 55 coronavirus positive cases, including Nagaland's lone case. Two people - a senior doctor in Meghalaya and an attendee of Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi died in southern Assam. Of the 55 positive cases, there are 20 active cases at present in the northeastern region -- seven in Assam, 11 in Meghalaya and one in Mizoram, besides a 33-year-old trader from Dimapur in Nagaland undergoing treatment at the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital since April 12. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Lucknow, April 26 : Priests at various cremation grounds in Uttar Pradesh are now demanding protective equipment for themselves before they perform the last rites of corona victims. Rajendra, who works at the Baikunth Dham cremation ground in Lucknow, said, "We are also frontline workers in the corona crisis. At a time when even families are shying away from cremation the bodies of corona victims, we are performing the last rituals. The government should provide us with masks, sanitizers and other protective gears. The cremation grounds should also be sanitized at regular intervals." Priests, at Surajkund crematorium in Meerut, held a protest over the weekend even as they consigned the mortal remains of a corona victim to flames. One of the priests said, "We have a family and children at home. How can the authorities and families expect us to carry out the last rites when they themselves stand at a distance from the body? We were told that the body will be brought to the crematorium by a health department team. However, there was only one driver in proper personal protective gear. Policemen stood outside the crematorium and there were only two family members, wearing gloves to lift the body." In Rasoolabad cremation ground in Prayagraj, the local priests said that they were planning to send a letter to the district authorities, seeking proper protective gear for themselves. "We are not stopping the cremations because that would be inhuman, but we will definitely demand our safety," said one of the priests. This is part of a series of questions posed by The Oregonian/OregonLive to May 19 primary election candidates seeking the seat on the Portland City Council currently held by Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, who is seeking reelection. Surveys were also sent to candidates running for Position 1, Position 2 and Mayor. If the coronavirus pandemic ended today, what do you believe are two things that should be included in Portlands long-term recovery plan and how would you ensure they continue during your term? Mingus Mapps: As Portland begins its economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, there are at least two elements that we should be concerned about: housing stability and job recovery. When I am on City Council, I will focus like a laser on helping people stay housed. My goal is that no Portlander should lose their shelter because of the COVID-19 crisis. That means a moratorium on evictions for both renters and homeowners and more direct aid to Portlanders. Also, I will advocate for policies that promote economic recovery. In the last month, the number of applications for unemployment in Oregon have shot up by more than 3000%. This is an extraordinary moment in Oregons history, one that calls for extraordinary measures. That is why, when I am on City Council, I will lobby federal and state authorities for more aid to our small businesses, and I will hold local government accountable for administering that aid efficiently. Keith Wilson: Once it can be done safely, our city should fast track every housing capital project that has set funding. We need to get people working as quickly as possible on filling the void in affordable housing in our city to ensure we do not fall further behind. Every person in Portland has been affected by this crisis, and every Portlander needs support from our city. Thats especially true among our most vulnerable. Second, during this recovery, we must recognize that government intervention should be viewed as an investor of last resort. The private marketplace generally does not deliver anything for "below-market" prices. We should accept and acknowledge housing as a human right and focus not only on building affordable housing, but deeply affordable housing that costs half the average cost of a studio apartment in the Portland area. To deliver this, we need to use the tools at our disposal, such as system development charge exemptions, tax increment financing investments and development code updates. Seth Woolley: Even before the pandemic ends, we should be thinking about what made it so deadly where it was deadly. Poor air quality is linked to negative effects from the novel coronavirus, as studies have shown in northern Italy and New York. We could start by dealing with high particulate matter problems from dirty diesel trucks and the compounding effects of industrial air pollution. We could also ensure we develop municipal broadband so more people can continue to work from home effectively over video conferencing. An avoided car trip is even better than a trip by an electric car. We should ensure we improve access for delivery vehicles and increase road safety by enforcing state law that prohibits parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk and adding pick up, drop off and delivery parking for the next 20 feet at parking-congested intersections. We could gradually shift our economy to require fewer crowded interactions and touches and our shared transit systems could use brass or copper coatings on hand-holds. To the extent society approves of such measures, after public study and democratic processes, we should implement them. Sam Adams: I would push not to make local matters worse with siloed government budget cuts. Unless the federal government ramps up financial supports, deep budget cuts will be required of governments at all levels, but especially state and local governments. The city of Portland and Multnomah County are legally forbidden from running budget deficits. Every organization, bureau and firm is making plans to cut services without significant consultations with each other. Siloed basic service cuts unnecessarily add to our economic and human disasters. This lack of coordination among key sectors of our economy has always been wasteful, but being siloed during this recession is deadly to protecting jobs and businesses. If the May 19 housing bond passes, we cant afford to wait months for tax money to come in to address this crisis. Thousands of people could be at risk of losing their homes. We should work to keep people in their homes now with housing vouchers, not wait for them to become homeless. Rehousing them likely will be more expensive. Chloe Eudaly: We need to ensure that low-income households, Black, Indigenous and people of color communities, undocumented workers, the formerly incarcerated and people with disabilities arent left behind in the recovery. The previous economic recovery didnt reach many Portlanders who were already working paycheck to paycheck. People still lost their housing, lost employment opportunities and have been working a lot harder for less as time has gone by. Things need to be different this time. We cannot keep measuring recoveries by how well those at the top bounce back. My team is working to identify the populations who are at risk of falling through the cracks of our recovery response and partnering with government and community groups to marshal resources and support. We need to take a hard look at our city to understand who has been most adversely impacted by the pandemic to ensure we respond equitably. Ive modeled this same approach in my campaign by asking supporters to donate to groups involved in the recovery response and by working nonstop to connect people and organizations to resources during this crisis. We can get through this crisis together, and it will take all of us doing our part. -- Everton Bailey Jr. The American woman accused of killing teenager Harry Dunn wants to apologise to his parents in person, it was claimed yesterday. Anne Sacoolas was said to be 'desperate' to return to Britain to meet Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn but would not surrender to police custody, said a highly-placed source. Mrs Sacoolas spoke to police at the scene after crashing into the 19-year-old's motorbike while driving on the wrong side of the road last August. Her husband was an intelligence officer at nearby RAF Croughton, a US spy base in Northamptonshire. But the mother-of-three flew home with her family before any formal interview or charge, claiming diplomatic immunity. The American woman accused of killing teenager Harry Dunn (pictured) wants to apologise to his parents in person, it was claimed yesterday Yesterday Harry's parents pleaded with the head of the Armed Forces to set up a meeting with base chiefs after claims of 'three near misses' involving their staff. In a letter to General Sir Nick Carter, they wrote that the base could not 'practise splendid isolation' when it comes to safety. Since the crash which killed Harry, the county's police force has said it investigated two other incidents of Americans allegedly driving on the wrong side of the road. Last week, there were claims a third member of staff smashed into a fence in a nearby village after driving on the wrong side of the road. Prosecutors have said Mrs Sacoolas, 43, should be charged with causing death by dangerous driving but the US has rejected an extradition request. A British security source, who had been in contact with counterparts in America, said: 'We're told she's aware it's cold comfort to Harry's family but she has had sleepless nights since this tragic accident.' Anne Sacoolas (pictured) was said to be 'desperate' to return to Britain to meet Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn but would not surrender to police custody, said a highly-placed source Pictured: Harry Dunn's mother Charlotte Charles and stepfather Bruce Charles outside the Ministry Of Justice in London Although Mrs Sacoolas has previously said she was 'terribly, terribly sorry for that tragic mistake', she has not met Harry's parents. The divorced couple went to the White House last October to raise the case with Donald Trump but he tried to ambush them into meeting Mrs Sacoolas by revealing she was in the next room. Mrs Charles, 45, of Charlton, Northamptonshire, and Mr Dunn, 50, of nearby Brackley, were stunned and refused to see her. The source told the Sunday Express: 'She is still desperate to tell them in person how sorry she is.' Any meeting would coincide with a trip to the UK later this year when Mrs Sacoolas is due to lecture at the Defence College of Intelligence in Bedfordshire. In February, it was revealed she had been a CIA agent but had not been on active duty while in the UK. If youve ever doubted the old saying that dogs and their owners grow to resemble each other, take a look at the pictures here. The Kennel Club is looking for the best doppelgangers for its online show this year, and these are some of the lookalike entrants. Among those answering the clubs call for submissions on social media was Hannah Martin and her dog Lady. Miss Martin, from Essex, said she always makes sure to match her top with Ladys collar and lead but added that their matching hair is purely coincidental. Meryn Dougan, from East Sussex, and Jack have won Dog Most Like Owner at a number of shows Hannah Martin, from Essex, said she always matches her top with her dog Lady's collar and lead Angela Rogers, from Chester, nominated herself and her golden retriever Harvey when a newfound likeness emerged after she had her hair dyed at the hairdressers. With their matching curls, Hetty the cocker spaniel and owner Jim Thurlow bear a striking resemblance. Mother Lindsey said that her daughter Jim and Hetty, a working dog, are the best of friends. Archer the chow chow and owner Andy, from Sheffield, also entered the contest, as did Kate Miriam, from Italy, who shares long locks with Highlander, her Afghan. And Meryn Dougan, from East Sussex, and Jack have won Dog Most Like Owner at a number of shows but Mr Dougan claims he cannot see the resemblance between himself and his English bulldog. Kate Miriam, from Italy, who shares long locks with Highlander, her Afghan, also entered the contest Angela Rogers, from Chester, nominated herself and her golden retriever Harvey when a newfound likeness emerged after she had her hair dyed at the hairdressers With their matching curls, Hetty the cocker spaniel and owner Jim Thurlow bear a striking resemblance Archer the chow chow and owner Andy, from Sheffield, also entered the contest PS. A chop too far for one pet... Thinking of cutting your dogs hair because you cant get to the groomers in lockdown? Think again. This is Mash the pomeranian before and after a trim by his owner, jewellery designer Hermione Underwood at home in Sydney. This is Mash the pomeranian before (left) and after a trim (right) by his owner at home in Sydney Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has come with suggestions, including a generous financial package, as he called for help from the Centre towards Maharashtra, whose economy has taken a severe beating during the coronavirus pandemic. In his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the NCP leader pointed out the economic indicators as well as strategy to overcome the states financial crisis. So far Mumbai is the hardest-hit city in the Covid-19 outbreak and the prolonged lockdown conditions. It has severely impacted the economy of Maharashtra and may have detrimental consequences on Indian economy if not addressed urgently, Pawar said in his letter. He said that there is an expected revenue shortfall of Rs 140,000 crore, or around 40%, and said that even if Maharashtra borrowed Rs 92,000 crore, based on the present borrowing limits at 3% of GSDP, it is not going to be enough. He said out of the borrowings Rs 54,000 crore has been planned for meeting the capital expenditure requirements for this financial year. So, it is clear that state is going to face a shortfall of Rs 100,000 crore to sustain projected expenditure, he said. Pawar also detailed the steps which could be taken to help Maharashtra, which has been the worst-hit state in the country. One of the steps he suggested was to enhance the borrowing limit under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM). At the same time, he said, covering the entire shortfall only through borrowing will push the state towards potential debt trap. The other strategy could be to cut public spending, however, that would be counterproductive in view of the subdued economy. In fact, there will be additional expenditure requirements in the area of public health and medical education and other public services, he said. He put in a request to extend a two-year moratorium on the National Small Savings Fund Loan, saying it will help in bridging the likely budgetary gap. Pawar also requested financial assistance to the Maharashtra government to the tune of 1 lakh crore for FY 2020-21. Almost all countries US, Spain, Germany, France, Australia etc have released financial packages of around 10% of GDP. Thus, a room can be created by the Government of India along with RBI for giving suitable financial package to states, he said. In the eventual recovery of the Indian economy the states will play a major role and if left out without any help the states will not be in a position to supplement the required national government efforts, he said. HIGHLAND The Highland Community Foundation has approved four donations to Northwest Indiana nonprofits to provide assistance and relief during the ongoing COVID-19 emergency. Donations, totaling $3,000, were approved to the following organizations: $1,000 to Food Bank of Northwest Indiana to fund a Mobile Market event at Warren School on April 29. $1,000 to the Food Pantry of Highlands St James the Less Catholic Church. $750 to Meals on Wheels of Northwest Indiana to assist in covering expenses related to meals provided to Highland residents. $250 to TradeWinds Services for their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Program. During this ongoing pandemic, HCF wanted assist these great organizations who are on the front lines of helping Highland residents in need, Foundation President Lance Ryskamp said. While it is a modest sum in comparison to the tremendous need, we were pleased to be able to free up and re-purpose funds immediately to do our part to help. Islamabad, April 26 : A total of 462 Pakistanis stranded in Afghanistan have returned via the Torkham border crossing, taking the total number of returnees to 1,632 so far, the media reported on Sunday. Shamsul Islam, focal person for the return of stranded Pakistanis, told Dawn news on Saturday that more stranded Pakistanis were expected to come back via the Torkham border in the coming days. However, the exact number of the remaining Pakistanis, he said, was not yet known. Islam said the ones who had arrived on Saturday comprised 379 men, 47 women and 60 children. He said that after the completion of necessary immigration procedure at the Torkham border, the returned Pakistanis were shifted to quarantine centres at Jamrud Fort and Government Degree College, Jamrud. Islam said that swab samples of the newly returned persons would be taken after 48 hours of their arrival while they would be given complete health facilities along with three meals a day. Meanwhile, a statement issued from the office of the Khyber deputy commissioner on Saturday said that as many 1,501 persons returned earlier from Afghanistan were kept in different quarantine centres of Khyber district, Dawn news reported. It said that tests on swab samples of at least 1,135 were conducted till April 24 out of which 83 Pakistanis who had recently returned from Afghanistan and 11 locals had tested positive for novel coronavirus, while 835 had no symptoms of the virus. Results of 165 were awaited while the district administration had so far admitted 63 affected persons to the isolation wards of local hospitals. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 26) - House of Representatives Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano is calling for transparency in the handling of government funds, as the country grapples with the COVID-19 crisis. Cayetano has proposed a dialogue with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and leaders of Congress on projects, programs and activities that would be affected by cost-cutting measures as budgets are realigned to fight the coronavirus. Under the Bayanihan to Heal as One law, President Rodrigo Duterte has the power to reshuffle funding within the 2020 budget, particularly savings in the executive department. It also calls for a weekly report from the President regarding the government response to address the pandemic. The economic team has always been saying that the infrastructure program should not be touched unless the project is useless or cannot be implemented," Cayetano said in a statement on Sunday. "Infrastructure drives economic activity, especially in remote parts of the country. And in fact, it also fights insurgency. Cayetano admitted there are infrastructure projects that can be undertaken next year, but stressed that certain road and bridge projects cannot be postponed. He said workers in these projects expect to go back to their jobs once the enhanced community quarantine is lifted or relaxed. The House speaker also expressed support for the DBM's decision to impose austerity measures to raise more funds to fight the deadly disease. The DBM earlier issued a circular withholding the release of 35 percent of programmed appropriations for this year and imposing 10 percent mandatory savings on non-essential expenditures. Cayetano said allocations for government travel and office supplies that will no longer be used can be added to the government's anti-COVID-19 fund. He also reiterated his call for the Department of Social Welfare and Development to expand its financial aid distribution in Metro Manila and other urban areas. According to Cayetano, only 54 percent of families in Metro Manila have received cash aid, 64 percent in the Calabarzon region and 64 percent in Central Luzon. Under the Bayanihan to Heal as One law, the government's Social Amelioration Program shall provide 18 million families a monthly allowance of between 5,000 to 8,000 for up to two months. Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista said government funds for the cash assistance program are running low, as the enhanced community quarantine in the national capital areas and other high-risk areas has been extended for two weeks more. COLLINSVILLE Illinois State Police (ISP) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Zone 6 officials arrested Kraig T. Appleton, 29, of East St. Louis, for first-degree murder. The arrest occurred Thursday following an April 20 incident in the 2900 block of Converse Avenue in East St. Louis, where Appleton allegedly shot Kelli S. Farrell, 41, of East St. Louis, in the stomach causing her death. Appleton was formally charged with first-degree murder by St. Clair County States Attorney James A. Gomric on Friday. Appletons bond was set at $1 million, 10% to apply, and he is being held at the St. Clair County Jail. The incident was jointly investigated by the East St. Louis Police Department and ISP DCI Zone 6. No additional information is being released reference this case. The public is reminded that all subjects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The Plateau government is investigating the circumstances surrounding the leak of the confidential laboratory result of some suspected coronavirus (COVID-19) cases carried out at the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) Testing Centre in Vom. The Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dan Manjang, stated this in a press release issued on Sunday in Jos. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that on Thursday, the result of a suspected person with COVID-19, which tested positive, was circulating in different platforms of social media. This went on before the official announcement by the National Centre for Disease Control and the Plateau government. The patient, who is the states index case, came into Jos from Kano on April 17. The commissioner said the government was disappointed over such unprofessional act, which had breached ethical medical standards and exposed the suspected case to negative consequences, including stigmatization and discrimination. He said the state government totally condemned the act, which regrettably has the tendency of jeopardising its efforts in fighting the coronavirus pandemic that is ravaging the world. Mr Manjang said that the state was conducting investigations to unravel those responsible for the unethical act with a view of punishing them to forestall future occurrence. He said the investigation would cover the entire process of the test, from sample collection, investigation and result dissemination. READ ALSO: The commissioner assured members of the public not to be deterred by the incident as all measures had been taken to ensure that such incident did not occur again. Meanwhile, the acting Director of NVRI, Rueben Ocholi, has reacted to the development in a statement issued on NVRI website on Saturday, April 25. Mr Ocholi stated that the institute was highly professional and had consistently provided high-quality diagnostic and research data for many years without a case of breach of ethics. He explained that NVRI adhered to the established system of communication of COVID-19 diagnostic results developed by the NCDC. Mr Ocholi, however, called on all stakeholders involved in managing COVID-19 case information for Plateau State to quickly investigate the breach. (NAN) Six Chinese fishing trawlers were impounded by South African authorities and made to pay fines for entering their waters without the required permission. The trawlers were detected entering the South African Exclusive Economic Zone off the Northern Cape coast on April 2 after they were first ordered out of the Namibian waters. A South African patrol vessel intercepted the trawlers off the Western Cape coast and ordered them to the outer anchorage of the Port of Cape Town. Inspection by South African authorities found no fish on board and the storage of all fishing gear on board was stored as per the Marine Living Resources Act, said the Department of Environmental Affairs, Forestry and Fisheries in a statement. The South African Maritime Safety Authority had granted permission for the vessels to shelter from adverse weather conditions in Cape Town and later in Port Elizabeth on the East Coast of the country. Once the fines had been paid, the six trawlers were released and monitored as they finally transited through South African waters last week. The vessels are now on their way home. The Department did not specify the amount of the fines, but during a previous transgression by three Chinese fishing vessels, fines totalling R1.3 million (approx. Rs52 lakh) were paid after more than 600 tons of squid was found aboard the vehicles. South Africa takes seriously and with determination its responsibility to ensure compliance with international and domestic environmental and safety laws designed and implemented to ensure a healthy and safe for all users of our oceans, it had said then. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Virgin Atlantic plane coming in to land at Heathrow Airport. Photo:Steve Parsons/PA Images via Getty Images Virgin Atlantic is reportedly still in talks with the UK government over a potential bailout package to help it cope with the impact from the coronavirus pandemic. UK-based Virgin Atlantic is 51% owned by Branson's Virgin group and 49% owned by US airline Delta (DAL). According to a report from Reuters, despite a Sunday Telegraph article that said founder Richard Branson was seeking a buyer for the airline and talks with the government for 500m ($624m) fund had been "effectively shelved," a spokesperson said that it was incorrect to say that Virgin Atlantic has set a deadline to seek a buyer. "Because of significant costs to our business caused by unprecedented market conditions which the COVID-19 crisis has brought with it, we are exploring all available options to obtain additional external funding," the spokesperson added before saying talks with the UK government were "ongoing and constructive." READ MORE: Coronavirus: Richard Branson warns of Virgin Atlantic collapse without government loan On 14 April, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said that estimated global airline losses from the impact of COVID-19 have risen to $314bn (253bn). This is 25% more than previously forecasted. This is also down to a 55% drop in 2020 passenger revenue compared with last year. Less than a week ago, Branson warned that Virgin Atlantic could collapse under the weight of the coronavirus crisis if it did not receive a government loan consisting of commercial loans and guarantees. The tycoon even suggested that his Caribbean island could be offered as collateral for the loan, noting that his team will raise as much money against the island as possible to save as many jobs as possible around the group. In an open letter to Virgins 70,000 employees, Branson said that while the company would do everything to keep the airline going, it will need government support to achieve that. Last month, Virgin Atlantic initiated a recruitment freeze across the company and said that its chief executive and senior leaders would take significant short-term pay cuts. Branson pointed to the severe uncertainty surrounding travel, and said the airline did not know how long its aircraft would be grounded. This would be in the form of a commercial loan it wouldnt be free money and the airline would pay it back, Branson wrote, pointing to the 600m package granted to EasyJet (EZJ.L). Pages from "Korean Art from 1953: Collision, Innovation, Interaction" featuring works of Oh Yoon and Kim Jeong-heon / Courtesy of Phaidon Book on Korean contemporary art published internationally By Kwon Mee-yoo Chung Yeon-shim, professor of Contemporary Art History and Theory at Hongik University Courtesy of Chung Yeon-shim Interest on Korean contemporary art is heightened in the international art world across art museums, galleries and auction houses, but there are few books giving a comprehensive analysis on the complex history of Korean modern art. Chung Yeon-shim of Hongik University released "Korean Art from 1953: Collision, Innovation, Interaction" with the top art book publisher Phaidon last month. This is one of the first books in English to explore the complex history of Korean contemporary art. The book highlights artistic movements that appeared and evolved over the past seven decades from the 1950s avant-garde and the feminist scene in the 1970s to the birth of the Gwangju Biennale in the 1990s and the lesser known North Korean art scene. Chung organized the project and co-edited the book with Kim Sun-jung, art director of Art Sonje and Gwangju Biennale Foundation president; Kimberly Chung of McGill University; and Keith Wagner of University College London. Chung, who studied art history under Linda Nochlin at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, taught Asian contemporary art at the Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York as an assistant professor. "There are many English books on introductory Japanese and Chinese contemporary art, but almost none on Korean contemporary art. That's when I was motivated to write an English book on Korean contemporary art," Chung said in a phone interview with The Korea Times on behalf of the editors. Chung said it was difficult to find the right publisher because the publishing companies were not confident about the marketability of Korean contemporary art books, which are almost without precedent. "There are few books and catalogues on individual artists including Park Seo-bo, Yang Hae-gue and Suh Do-ho and specific trends such as Dansaekhwa (Korean monochrome painting), but a comprehensive survey on Korean contemporary art in general is almost non-existent," Chung said. "A good book on Korean art would help students as well as other readers to learn about Korean art. It is important to explain in what social and political context Korean artists such as Lee Bul and Yang Hae-gue worked in a macroscopic perspective." Cover of "Korean Art from 1953: Collision, Innovation, Interaction" / Courtesy of Phaidon The idea solidified when Chung, Kim and Kimberly Chung took part in the symposium "From Postwar to Contemporary Korean Art (1953-Present): Conflicts, Innovations and Interactions" at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) back in 2017. "The symposium included Korean cinema and architecture as well as visual art, but we focused on visual art only in this book as the publisher Phaidon suggested," Chung explained. The book's unique cover and layout design is by Melanie Mues and Chung and the editors are pleased with the book cover featuring an English font that resembles the Korean hangeul alphabet. "Instead of a specific artist or artwork, typography design was used for the cover and we like this idea very much," Chung said. The 13-chapter book sets the beginning of Korean modern art in 1953 after the 1950-53 Korean War. "Though Korea was liberated from the Japanese colonial rule in 1945, the nation was extremely chaotic both inside and outside the country and soon the Korean War broke out. And then the April 19 Revolution against the rigged election of then-President Syngman Rhee occurred in 1960. The post-war generation and the April 19 Revolution generation played an important role in the development of avant-garde, experimental art in Korea in 1960s. Along with the social changes, a new modernity was formed in the 1960s," Chung explained. The editors focused on "collision" in Korean contemporary art as it pursued innovation with subversive power. "For instance, Dansaekhwa and Minjung Art (socio-political populist art movement) seem like oil and water at first glance, but they share an importance in Korea's art history and we wanted to show such a trend of conflict and collision in this book," Chung said. Pages from "Korean Art from 1953: Collision, Innovation, Interaction" featuring works of Kim Soo-ja / Courtesy of Phaidon The book encompasses a wide range of art movements in Korean contemporary art including postmodernism, feminist art, media art as well as contemporaneity and globalization of Korean art. "We tried to introduce diverse perspectives by inviting the right person to write each part. If we have an opportunity, we want to supplement with new Korean figurative painting and pop art. We also wanted to cover emerging artists and spaces after 2010, but concluded that we need more time to digest since they are present progressive," Chung added. A notable chapter is "Modernity in North Korean Art: Socialist Realism, Joseonhwa and Photography" by Hong Ji-suk, which sheds light on the obscure North Korean art scene. "This is the only chapter that is based on an already published Korean thesis. Hong covers how North Korean art was developed after the division, including the establishment of Joseonhwa and introduction of photography," Chung said. The book features images of some 410 artworks in full color, which was Chung's aim from the beginning and became possible through the funding from the Korea Arts Management Service. "We wanted to showcase the diversity and uniqueness of Korean art through these color images. It was arduous to find high-resolution images and obtain permission from copyright holders, but we were able to discover some hidden gems during the process," Chung said. "For instance, Lee Ung-no's 'March 1 Movement' was noted to be in the Cheonggwanjae Collection, but no one knew how to contact this private collection. We looked up and found out that this collection was exhibited at Gana Gallery back in 2007 and were able to contact through Gana Art. For the 1990s art chapter, Ahn Sang-soo provided us with rare images of the exhibitions organized by the Museum Group." Chung plans to publish more books on Korean art, covering architecture and cinema as well. "We four editors want to gather once again if possible. I also will publish anthologies of important original documents of Korean contemporary art in English. If there are more sources for Korean art in English, it will attract more non-Korean researchers to have a look at Korean art. Ultimately, I wish to establish a Korean contemporary art archive at the Getty Center where global scholars and researchers can study Korean art," Chung said. What lies beyond the pandemic? MassForward is MassLives series examining the journey of Massachusetts small businesses through and beyond the coronavirus pandemic. ________________ Todd Crosset and Sonya Yelder, owners of Grannys Baking Table in Springfield have been using all the money in tips to give back to the community and feed health care professionals at Mercy and Baystate Medical Centers. I mean were doing it. We would do it without the donations, said Crosset. I think whats important here is that people are dropping these $5 tips and the $10 tips because they want to support us and were paying that forward. Yelder and Crosset get the names and addresses from members of the community of families of people that would benefit from a gift from the bakery. Crossets son, 16-year-old Aaron Richmond-Crosset helps his father with the deliveries four to six times a week that go out to vulnerable people who are unable to leave their home due to being at high risk for infection. In addition, we're trying to make a weekly major donation to Baystate and Mercy, Crosset said. Grannys Baking Table opened on Nov. 18, 2019, in a former dress shop at 309 Bridge St. The concept was to essentially force customers who come in to talk to each other by only having a single table to sit at and no Wifi. Sonya Yelder prepares food for customers at her shop Granny's Baking Table in Downtown Springfield. (Douglas Hook / MassLive) "Here were three groups of people who probably didn't think they were going to talk with each other. They'd come in as three distinct groups.," Crosset said in 2019. "But here they were talking to each other." With the COVID-19 pandemic still keeping people away and an order to social distance, the shop now stands empty apart from a trickle of people coming in to pick up orders. Grannys Baking Table saw a decline of 65% to 70% of their usual orders since Gov. Charlie Baker announced the stay at home advisory. However, with grants from the state, city and the Business Improvement District group, Crossets and Yelders business can get by. I think we can get into the summer with the way were going and with the support from the city and by [the summer] the world will have changed, said Crosset. Weve got to wait for the guidelines to come in and then make adjustments. The BID grant is for businesses to use however they deem fit. The main focus, according to BIDs Executive Director Chris Russell, is to help businesses pay rent on time that might be struggling. A lot of programs are now coming to fruition for them which is helpful, said Russell. Prime the Pump, PPP [and] our program. Russell told MassLive that he will be talking to the Massachusetts Restaurant Association this week about what a reopening will look like for restaurants in the city. Russell spoke about the first phase of the statewide reopening. There's nothing from the health department yet. I think that will come when we start talking about phase one, said Russell. Im fairly certain that youre not going to see restaurants open in phase one in this state. Crosset is looking to the future and how businesses will change when the reopening does happen and what guidelines there will be for them. Aaron Richmond-Crosset is co-owner, Todd Crosset's 16-year-old son who helps by delivering food to vulnerable people during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Douglas Hook / MassLive) Tower Square is one area that Crosset has considered for his customers to go to enjoy the food from the bakery during the summer. Everyones fairly resolute, said Russell. Theyre gonna figure out a way to survive and thats why Im hopeful that we will come through this, well learn a lot and well be better off for it. Through everything, Crosset feels positive about the future and thinks that its important to stay open. A survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association reported that about 62% of restaurants in the state said theyll close as a result of the pandemic. Of those establishments, 59% said they closed temporarily. I think its important that we stay open. Sort of a little sign of hope for people, said Crosset. You know, we feel super grateful to the city for their support. MassForward is MassLive's series examining the journey of Massachusetts' small businesses through and beyond the coronavirus pandemic. Related Content: Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 15:06:39|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A view of the Lujiazui area in Shanghai, east China, Oct. 15, 2019. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe) China has so far shied away from supporting consumers directly, although there have been some noteworthy local pilots in this regard, said an official with the World Bank, believing that there may be room to expand such support. BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- China retains ample policy room to shore up the virus-hit economy amid sustained epidemic control measures, officials with multilateral development banks (MDBs) said. China has so far shied away from supporting consumers directly, although there have been some noteworthy local pilots in this regard, said Martin Raiser, World Bank country director for China, in an interview with Xinhua, believing that there may be room to expand such support. In particular, China's social protection system could be expanded and modernized to provide better support for the poor and vulnerable, which would also boost consumption, Raiser said. China has room for increasing targeted investment in non-traditional infrastructure, he said. The country's policy makers reacted early to mitigate the economic fallout of COVID-19, Raiser said, noting that the country has provided additional liquidity to the market and granted targeted support to small and medium-sized enterprises as well as companies operating in critical supply chains. China's economy shrank by 6.8 percent year on year in the first quarter (Q1) of this year as the novel coronavirus epidemic deals a huge blow to economic activity. Morning view of the Lujiazui area in Pudong, east China's Shanghai, June 21, 2018. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe) The deep contraction in Q1 was expected, Raiser said, adding that economic growth in the country for the rest of the year will largely depend on external demand as well as the effectiveness of domestic policy response. Dominik Peschel, head of the economics unit for the Asian Development Bank resident mission in China, noted that China has registered recovery in industrial production in March, which was surprising. Official data showed that the industrial output in China edged down 1.1 percent year on year in March, narrowing by 12.4 percentage points from the drop in the first two months. "This suggests that the resumption of work in industry has progressed well overall," Peschel said. The country has acted decisively to limit the adverse impact of the COVID-19 shock on the domestic economy, Peschel said, adding that further temporary measures to stabilize jobs, income and consumption would support the recovery of the economy and strengthen its resilience. Peschel also stressed the importance of reforms for the country to support long-term growth as debt level in the country would inevitably increase as a result of short-term stimulus. "In this context, the task for policy makers is to design policies that work effectively in such a new environment," Peschel said. The United Nations says persistent and serious long-term consequences remain more than 30 years after the explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. The warning came as the UN marks International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day on April 26, the 34th anniversary of the accident that spread a radioactive cloud over large parts of Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. More than 1,000 firefighters were working on April 26 to try to put out brushfires and forest fires that have been burning the past three weeks within the 30-kilometer exclusion zone around the plant -- raising concerns about the potential release of radioactive particles into the air. The firefighters on April 26 were focusing on trying to contain fires in two separate areas where trees and brush are smoldering, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said. Ukrainian officials have attributed smoky air in Kyiv in recent days to fires in the nearby Zhytomyr region, assuring residents that radiation levels in the Ukrainian capital are within an acceptable range. Background radiation in Kyiv is "stable" and does "not exceed the permissible values," the State Emergency Service said on April 26. The 1986 reactor meltdown and explosion at Chernobyl is considered the worst civilian nuclear disaster in history. Dozens of people, particularly firefighters and other first responders, died as a direct result of the disaster. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy honored the memory of those who risked their lives to help contain radiation at the site in the months after the explosion and fire at the nuclear power plant in 1986. "On this day we bow our heads to the blessed memory of those heroes who saved the future from the danger of radiation," Zelenskiy said in a statement for the anniversary. Zelenskiy also expressed "deep respect" for the firefighters and others currently working in the zone to "protect these lands from new natural disasters." The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in December 2016 designating April 26 as a day to recognize the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. Its statement says that while progress has been made, There is still a great deal of work that needs to be done in the affected region. The UN says the completion of a confinement structure over the reactor most heavily damaged in the accident was a major milestone of 2019. It noted that the project received more than 2 billion dollars in funding from 45 donor nations through funds managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The scope of the project in terms of international cooperation is one of the largest ever seen in the field of nuclear safety, the UN said. The UN's involvement in Chernobyl recovery efforts dates back to a resolution passed in 1990. UN agencies continue to work closely with the governments of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine to provide development assistance to the communities affected by the disaster. The UN's statement on Chernobyl remembrance day does not mention the forest fires and brushfires that have been burning in the exclusion zone for three weeks. The largest of several blazes was extinguished last week. Smaller fires continue to burn in the zone, the authority that administrates it said on April 24. Video showing plumes of smoke billowing from the charred landscape earlier this month alarmed environmental activists, who said the burning of contaminated trees and other vegetation could disperse radioactive particles. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says the increase in levels of radiation measured in the country was very small and posed "no risk to human health." The Vienna-based IAEA, which acts as the UN nuclear watchdog, said it was basing its assessment on data provided by Ukraine. There have been "some minor increases in radiation," the IAEA said, adding the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine found the concentration of radioactive materials in the air remained below Ukraine's radiation safety norms. With reporting by Reuters Heavy unseasonal rains have caused damage to standing crops in a setback to farmers bracing for the busy agricultural season amid the coronavirus disease pandemic and lockdown that have already reduced the availability of farm labour and transport of their produce in parts of India. An exact estimate of the damage caused by the rain in six states Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal --- would be available only after surveys are conducted, government officials said, expressing concern that the damage could result in less-than-expected procurement of foodgrains. Food Corporation of India had expected to procure 35 million tonnes of foodgrains from the rabi season harvest, compared to 34 million tonnes last year because of an anticipated bumper crop. It may now have to revise its procurement estimate. According to officials, the worst hit appear to be the food bowl states of Punjab and Haryana, where the harvest season was in full swing when heavy rains pounded the ripe standing wheat crop. In Bihar and West Bengal, the rain has damaged the maize crop and the soon-to-be harvested litchi and mango crops. Around 10-15% of the wheat crop has been damaged in Seemanchal, Kosi and north Bihar, a state government official said. Moisture worsens the quality of wheat and maize, which could mean lower price sat the wholesale markets and delays in procurement. Moisture more than permissible limits of 12% leads to delay in procurement as the crop has to be dried first. It damages the grain, leading to its discolouration, said Punjabs principal secretary( food and civil supplies) KAP Sinha. Sinha said procurement had to be stalled in two districts Moga and Ferozpur -- because the discolouration exceeded permissible limits. In neighbouring Haryana, crop loss has been reported from districts such as Karnal, Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar and Kaithal, leading to the government stopping the procurement on Sunday, officials said. Like several other farmers, I could not sell my produce as there were no buyers due to rains, said wheat farmer Raghubir Singh of Karnal district. Officials said the procurement had been tardy because no arrangements had been made to protect the grains from rain. Mukesh Tiwari, a farmer from Bundelkhands Dhana village in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh, said the traders were not offering more than Rs 1,900 to Rs 2,100 for sharbati (sweet) wheat as against the 2019 price of Rs 2,700 per quintal because of discolouration caused by the rains. Even the government refused to buy, citing the poor quality of wheat, he said. Farmer Devaki Nandan Pandey of Janakpur village in Sagar district said he had not even visited any government procurement market because he knew they would reject the wheat he had grown because of the moisture content. This years work is gone. I dont know the price I will get for the wheat now, said Mohan Lal Nagda, a farmer from Rewali village in Neemuch district of southern MP. Sanjeev Singh, director of MPs directorate of farmer welfare and agriculture, said: We are collecting the information from the entire state about the impact of unseasonal rains on wheat and procurement. Its only after the reports {come in} that I will be able to make any comment. Most states have delayed procurement of foodgrains because of the lockdown that started on March 25. Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh started procurement on April 15. Similar legislation in 2008 provided education and other benefits to service members who had served after the 9/11 attacks, with 2017 legislation extending those benefits again. In these hotly partisan times, each of those measures garnered wide, enthusiastic support from both parties. Front-line medical workers today arent dodging bullets, but the enemy theyre fighting can be just as deadly. Mid-April data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the more than 10,000 medical workers infected and scores of deaths very likely are only a fraction of the real numbers. Thats because the vast majority of U.S. infections, which could top 1 million in coming days, dont specify employment. This move, though prompted by the declining credit repayment climate in the country owing to the economic shutdown, has the potential to wreak havoc in the nascent mutual fund (MF) industry in India. Coming in the wake of pervasive weakness in the NBFC space, the failure of a couple of financial institutions and banks, the Franklin Templeton debt funds lockdown could soon spread among the debt schemes of other MFs creating a gridlock for the industry as well as ... Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. 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Digital Editor Lucknow, April 26 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to ensure geo-tagging of all shelter homes in the state, on the lines of the community kitchens. Addressing a meeting of his Team 11 officials on Sunday, the Chief Minister said that the names, addresses, phone numbers of all those who have been kept in quarantine should be compiled. He asked officials to ensure that all of them download the Aarogya app and follow the directives listed in it. Emphasizing on the need to protect the health staff and doctors from getting infected with Coronavirus, the Chief Minister said that all efforts should be made to keep the environment in which the health staff works free from infection. He asked the health officials to increase pool testing in all COVID-19 hospitals in order to maximise testing facilities. He also stated that only Corona cases should tested in the designated COVID-19 hospitals and non-Corona patients should not be treated here. The Chief Minister also underlined the need for effective and safe disposal of bio-waste. Adityanath further asked doctors to explore possibilities of treatment through plasma therapy in the state. The Chief Minister asked the officials to promote cashless payment through Rupay card. He also took feedback from nodal officers who have been posted in Corona-sensitive districts and said that no laxity should be tolerated in implementing the lockdown norms. Canadas Department of Health, on April 25 reportedly warned against the use of malaria drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to prevent or treat COVID-19. Previously, the US Food and Drug Administration had cautioned against the use of it outside hospitals citing the risk of serious health rhythm problems. Now, Health Canada has reportedly asserted that both the drugs may cause serious side effects and advised using the two drugs only if prescribed by a doctor. Read: Doctors Say Ventilators Cause More Harm Than Good To Coronavirus Patients Read: US Deaths Above 50,000, Ivanka Trump Says 'enough Ventilators To Lend' And Praises Dad Over 45,000 cases in Canada The coronavirus pandemic has till now, infected 45,354 and killed 2,465 in the North American nation. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on April 24 announced a new 1.1 billion Canadian dollar (about $782,650,000) strategic package in a bid to support vaccine research and clinical trials in the country. This comes as doctors across the United States warned against the use of ventilators to treat coronavirus patients saying that they were doing more harm than good. According to international media reports, many medical professionals have warned that the risk of using overly intrusive machines could be high. Intrusive oxygen face masks or invasive ventilators require patients to have a tube inserted in their respiratory system to put in positive pressure and support their lungs in breathing. However, doctors are now recommending non-invasive ventilators that support breathing in the patient with the help of face masks, nasal masks, or a helmet usually with increased oxygen levels. Meanwhile, the total number of coronavirus cases worldwide has gone up to 2,833,697. According to an international news agency, not intubating coronavirus patients led to better results. A paper published by the American Thoracic Society, on March 30 stated that COVID-19 did not lead to typical respiratory problems''. The researchers also argued that ventilating COVID-19 patients were not appropriate as their lungs were more elastic and working better than they would expect in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Read: Canada Mass Shooting Started With Assault On Girlfriend Read: Official: Canada Shooting Erupted After Domestic Dispute (With inputs from agencies) (Image credits: AP) A little party never arrested nobody... Police forces have captured one of Colombia's most wanted men, Gustavo Adolfo Alvarez Tellez, alias 'Tavo' or 'Gordo', on a rural farm located in the municipality of Cerete, Cordoba, El Tiempo reports. But it was a luxurious fiesta hosted on his estate that gave away his location, after guests arrived in high-end cars, musical groups were brought over from Monteria and large amounts of liquor were ordered. The police, Attorney General's Office and the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) worked together to raid the party, which had been successful. Gustavo Adolfo Alvarez Tellez was said not to resist his arrest. Gustavo Adolfo Alvarez Tellez was the brain behind the 'Gulf Clan', a drug trafficking network moving cocaine to Mexico and the US. A reward of 130,000 had been put in place for information leading to his arrest. As national lockdown is eased, accompanied children under 14 can enjoy an hour outdoors within 1 kilometre of home. Streets across Spain resounded with the sounds of children shouting and the rattle of their bicycles on Sunday as millions were allowed to play outside for the first time in six weeks as the nationwide coronavirus lockdown was relaxed further. Those under the age of 14 have been allowed one hour of supervised outdoor activity per day between 9am (07:00 GMT) and 9pm (19:00 GMT), as long as they remain within one kilometre of their home. Adults can accompany up to three children, who will not be allowed to use playgrounds or share toys, and must adhere to social distancing guidelines, remaining at least two metres (6.5 feet) from other people. For the time being, schools remain closed. The move came as Spain, which has confirmed the second-highest number of infections behind the United States, recorded its lowest daily death toll since a national lockdown was imposed on March 14. In the past 24 hours, 288 people died and the number of new infections also dropped, providing some hope that strict measures were beginning to pay dividends. Overall the countrys latest tally marked more than 22,000 deaths amid 220,000 infections according to John Hopkins University. This is a big release after 43 days of strict lockdown, said Al Jazeeras Marta Herrero, reporting from Madrid. The picture that we see today in Spain is parents with the kids, with their bicycles and scooters. We also see plenty of police patrolling and drones warning all parents and the kids to keep the safe distancing, she said. 200422072952921 Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday that if the trends continue to slow in the coming days, adults would be allowed to exercise individually from May 2. So far, Spanish adults have only been allowed outside for essential shopping or to go to work. This is wonderful! I cant believe it has been six weeks, Susana Sabate, a mother of three-year-old twin boys in Barcelona, told the Associated Press news agency. My boys are very active. Today when they saw the front door and we gave them their scooters, they were thrilled. Lucia Ibanez, 9, out for a walk with her mother, said she had missed the streets and the park and feeling the air on your face during the lockdown, Reuters news agency reported. I never thought I would miss school but I really miss it, she said. Safe tourism Environment Minister Teresa Ribera said the country would begin gradually reopening economic activity in the coming weeks, adding the government was particularly concerned to ensure that tourism, which accounts for 12 percent of GDP, opened up safely. If we open (tourism) it has to be with total security; most employers and unions are already working on what constitutes safe tourism so as not to unnecessarily increase our risks, she told a news conference. As the lockdown is eased, there is still a need to avoid overcrowding, Ribera said, noting ideas such as staggered work start times, widening pedestrian areas, and continued remote working for those able to. Emergency health chief Fernando Simon said the country must ensure the health system could respond if there is another outbreak. Spain needs to guard against new waves of the illness, he told a separate news conference. He added the aim was a gradual return to normal, cautioning it will not be the same normality that we knew a year ago. A ministry document recommends that regions double their intensive-care capacity to cope with possible increases in COVID-19 cases as lockdown measures are eased. The world we'll live in post-pandemic. What will change when the COVID-19 pandemic ends? Will our world return to its old ways, or emerge retooled, revised, or perhaps even changed for the better? In this second instalment of a series looking at life after the coronavirus pandemic, CBC Manitoba looks at the historic treatment of vaccines, vaccine research and the science behind it and whether lessons learned from COVID-19 will be heeded into the future. A team of researchers has been given the green light and money to help science our way out of another pandemic. That's the good news. But history has revealed that the world has a short memory, and once the worst of the bad is over, interest in a preventative vaccine tends to die down, scientists say. That's the bad news. Only time will tell whether lessons learned from this COVID-19 pandemic will sink in a little longer, but at least one researcher isn't optimistic. "Maybe in the short term? I'm not sure about the long term," said research scientist Darryl Falzarano, laughing as he answered. "Sorry. I guess you caught me on a pessimistic day." 'There'll still be anti-vaxxers' Falzarano knows his coronaviruses. It's his job. The former Manitoban (a graduate from both the University of Winnipeg and University of Manitoba) is now with the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre, or VIDO-InterVac, at the University of Saskatchewan. For years, he and his colleagues have done animal research on the potential for vaccines against coronaviruses that came along prior to COVID-19, like SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome). For years, they've envisioned completing the next phase of this a vaccine-manufacturing facility to support further vaccine research and, eventually, clinical trials on humans. Then came COVID-19. And now comes the money for VIDO-InterVac. In March, the federal government committed $23 million to the academic research lab. Some of it $11 million was money already in the works prior to the outbreak, Falzarano says. Story continues The other $12 million is in direct response to the pandemic, and will go toward completing the vaccine-manufacturing facility, he says. And that, in return, will get them one step closer to beginning small, first-phase clinical vaccine trials on humans. "It's been a work in progress for years," Falzarano said. "This will allow us to move things quicker." Still, Falzarano knows there are some who'd just as soon they take their time. "I'm sure there'll still be anti-vaxxers," he said, laughing again. He's right. Already, some in the anti-vaccination movement are pushing back against COVID-19. Some even allege the illness is a viral version of smoke and mirrors, created in a lab by those who want to score more money by creating a vaccine that pharmaceutical companies will pay for, but that no one really needs. Submitted by Bruce Y. Lee "A lot of anti-vaxx efforts have an agenda behind them," said Bruce Y. Lee, a Forbes Magazine health reporter and professor of health policy and management at the City University of New York. "And those agendas don't stop during a pandemic." This is despite the fact that COVID-19 should be the pandemic eye-opener that's long been predicted, Lee says. If the world heals itself without COVID vaccination, then vaccine skepticism will likely increase. - Gregory Mason In a 2017 article he wrote for Forbes, Yee noted that Microsoft founder Bill Gates, citing leading scientists, cautioned of a pending pandemic that the world was not prepared for. In 2009, Lee himself, with other leading scientists, had come to a similar conclusion while researching global responses to the H1N1 pandemic. "None of what's happening [with COVID-19] is a surprise," said Lee. "And the fact that there's still pushback is not surprising either." Which is why, Lee says, while he's happy to hear about Canada's new financial commitment to Falzarano and his colleagues, he's guarded in his enthusiasm. "I think we need to be cautious about this. We've seen this repeat situation in an emergency, but then funding dried up." Lessons from the past University of Manitoba health economist Gregory Mason doesn't like the odds. Mason uses risk analysis to understand the motivations of people who are anti-vaccination (or the "vaccine hesitancy" movement, "as I politely call them," he says). The basic concept of risk analysis is simple assess the probable impact of an action taken (or not), and act accordingly the next time around. "Part of me wants to believe that COVID-19 is scaring the pants off everyone," he said. "But [even] some family members are anti-vaxxers and I see their attitude to the present virus. I am less hopeful." Warren Kay/CBC History could be a lesson to us. And it's tried, Mason says but those lessons have been lost on us. Think back to SARS. In 2003, scientists came close to developing a SARS vaccine to test on humans. It never made it to trial. As memories of the virus faded, so did public pressure, Mason says, "because that pandemic just seemed to die out." Or think ebola. In 1999, scientists at Canada's then-new National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg began probing the deadly virus, and soon they realized they could develop a vaccine. But it took close to two decades before interest and funds led to a vaccine. And that only happened after a 2014 outbreak in West Africa that killed more than 11,000 people. We can't sit here and say 'this is a once in a generation event.' - Bruce Y. Lee And even when a vaccine is created, there's backlash. If a virus is out of sight, it's out of mind. Take the 2017 measles outbreak. The World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported a 31 per cent rise in worldwide measles cases that year, estimating 110,000 deaths due to the disease. The reason? A decrease in voluntary vaccinations. The reason for the decrease? The perception that no one gets the measles anymore. That's why, Mason says, he's doubtful about lessons learned from COVID-19. It might be a better teacher, but its students might soon forget the lesson; especially if the anticipated "second wave" of the virus wanes, he says. "If we see no repeat cycle in the late fall, this will all pass as a bad dream, and life will resume quickly," Mason said. "In fact, if the world heals itself without COVID vaccination, then vaccine skepticism will likely increase." What's more, others say, history may not be done with us. "We can't sit here and say 'this is a once in a generation event,'" Lee says. "The question is not 'if' but 'when' another pandemic occurs." And he poses an even more worrying question. "Is this pandemic a warning for an even bigger one?" However, VIDO-InterVac's Falzarano, and his colleagues across the country, are determined to be part of the global effort to prevent that. "I would hope that [this pandemic] leads people to see that vaccinations are important," he said. "If we'd had a vaccine ready to go you could see how impactful that would be." Read more from this series: The First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, says to avoid the danger of eroding progress against malaria, efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19 should not compromise access to life-saving prevention, diagnosis and treatment of malaria. She has, therefore, advised that; We continue to observe the protocols of COVID-19, but we also pay attention to proper diagnosis of suspected malaria. In a message to mark World Malaria Day on Saturday, Mrs Akufo-Addo said over the past two decades the world had made great progress in the fight against malaria, saving more lives and preventing its related disabilities. However, as long as malaria exists, it threatens the poorest and most vulnerable, and has the potential to worsen, in times of public health crises, such as we face now, she said. Indeed, efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19 are necessary to protect health systems and the population at large, yet these efforts, must not compromise access to life-saving malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment services or threaten to reverse decades of hard-fought progress against malaria. COVID-19 is straining our national health systems and challenging families, communities and countries. We are indeed not in normal times, she said. Mrs Akufo-Addo said it was unfortunate that this year COVID-19 was threatening the progress made in the fight against malaria, adding; Now more than ever before, we need to put all our arsenals together to act more effectively. As countries continued to battle COVID-19, it was important to also highlight the importance of strengthening the health and surveillance systems, to help respond to emerging diseases, while also protecting and consolidating hard-fought progress against malaria, a long-standing deadly and dangerous foe, she said. The First Lady said hit hardest against pregnant women and children in sub-Saharan Africa and, therefore, the need to prioritize reaching those groups with life-saving interventions to help reduce further the morbidity and mortality attributable to the disease. She said while malaria deaths in children under-five dropped in 2018, children under five still accounted for 50 percent of total malaria deaths in Ghana. She, therefore, encouraged all, especially women and children, to sleep under a treated mosquito net, which would prevent mosquitoes from biting them. Pregnant women should call on the nearest health facilities for the Intermittent Preventive Treatment (IPT-SP medicines) to protect themselves and their unborn children from the disease. Mrs Akufo-Addo called on all persons to commit to supporting the fight against malaria by promoting antenatal care, advocating for increased investment in the disease and other health programmes and by simply standing in solidarity with those who were most affected. She entreated all Ghanaians, especially political, traditional, religious and private sector leaders, to reaffirm their commitment to fighting and ending malaria. Ultimately, if we, and our development partners, invest in malaria control and prevention, and prioritise support for those at highest risk, we will make a notable impact against this deadly disease, the First Lady said. Zero malaria is achievable when we all show commitment and collaborate better. We wont achieve this overnight, but we will certainly get there if we all work together. World Malaria Day is commemorated on the 25th of April globally to reflect on the successes and challenges in the fight against the disease. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Christians living in countries where persecution is prevalent are coming under a new threat because of conspiracy theories blaming them for the spread of Covid-19. Open Doors, an organisation supporting persecuted Christians worldwide, said it had received "distressing" reports from partners in the field of Christians being blamed for the pandemic. In Somalia, Islamist terrorist group al-Shabaab has said that coronavirus is being spread "by the crusader forces who have invaded the country and the disbelieving countries that support them". As Islamic militants in the country pedal the false claim that coronavirus cannot be contracted by true Muslims, action is being taken to counter the misinformation, with teachers and mosque leaders being told to use loudspeakers to spread the word on how to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Imams are also being encouraged to speak about the importance of social distancing and the Islamic emphasis on cleanliness. Ron Boyd-MacMillan, Open Doors' Head of Strategic Research, said that in the face of conspiracy theories targeting Christians and other religious minorities, faith and community leaders have a crucial role to play in sharing accurate information about the virus. "It will take the leaders of all religions and of none to come together in the best ethics of their traditions," he said. "They will strengthen their societies by exposing falsehoods and increasing co-operation." It is not only in Somalia that Christians have been on the receiving end of coronavirus conspiracy theories. In Yumbe, northern Uganda, radicalised Muslims have also blamed Christians for the pandemic, with some claiming that Allah is punishing mankind because Christians in China supposedly burned the Koran. In Russia, Open Doors says a state TV station falsely reported that an evangelical church in St Petersburg had been behind a cluster of infections because it had apparently continued to meet after the lockdown. The report sparked an attempted retaliatory arson attack on another evangelical church. Boyd-MacMillan said that the conspiracy theories could be a political ploy. "Ever since a plague that ravaged the Roman empire in 180 AD, Christians have been unfairly blamed for natural disasters like these with a rise in persecution," he said. "Sometimes the scapegoating is a political ploy to distract from government mishandling of the crisis; sometimes a cynical ploy by existing persecutors to deal a death blow to a community they hate. "Covid-19 is enough of a crisis without seeking to weaken society further in this way." Open Doors spokesperson Jo Newhouse added: "It's distressing to hear of the blaming of Christians for the Covid-19 pandemic in places where the Body of Christ is already under immense pressure. "We call on the government to do all in its power to counter the spreading of misinformation and to make sure that all minorities are adequately protected against violence, especially in remote areas." Reposted with permission from Christian Today For the 270,000 trees that will be felled to make way for the 3,097 megawatt Etalin hydropower project in Arunachal Pradeshs Dibang Valley, compensatory plantations will be raised in 25 different fragmented lots of land in the Valleys Anini town, according to the project proposal. The rest will be taken up on land thats over 400 kilometres away in Tawang district. Under the Forest Conservation Act 1980, every time forest land is diverted for non-forest purposes such as mining or industry, the project developer is supposed to identify non-forest land of an equal area and also pay for planting forests over this, or when that is not available, on twice the area of degraded forest land. The project is being developed byM/s Etalin Hydro Electric Power Company Limited, a joint venture of Hydro Power Development Corporation of Arunachal Pradesh Limited with Jindal Power Limited (JPL). The total cost of the project is approximately Rs 25,296.95 crore, according to the factsheet. The proposed project, which is yet to get approval from the environment ministrys forest advisory committee (FAC), is located in subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest and subtropical rain forests and is home to outstanding biodiversity, according to the FACs own documents. Environmentalists and local residents are now concerned that the same ecological value cannot be recreated through artificial plantations in fragmented patches of land. Compensatory afforestation for the project has been proposed over 1,074.329 hectares at a cost of Rs 19.6 crores, according to an FAC factsheet on the project reviewed by Hindustan Times . So far in India we havent seen compensatory afforestation plots providing ecosystem and biodiversity services. There is also a concern that in many places monocultures have sprung up in the name of afforestation. There is no land to do such large-scale plantations either, so often public or forest lands are used. The spirit of compensatory afforestation is missing, said NH Ravindranath, climate and forestry expert at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He added that the acreage earmarked for the afforestation appears too small for plantations of the scale required to compensate for the trees to be felled to make for the Etalin project. The forests that will be diverted appear to be dense as they have thousands of trees over 60 cm in girth. A lot may be lost, he added. FACs factsheet, dated April 21, states that around 141,854 trees that are above 60 cm in girth which will have to be cleared. Local people of the Idu Mishmi community are concerned about the loss of native forests and wildlife and say they may end up losing grazing land for compensatory afforestation too. There are two dams {proposed} in this regionthe Dibang multipurpose project and the Etalin hydropower project -- which will together submerge a very large area. Most families in the project affected area dont want to speak against the project because they want to get compensation for their land, Aito Miwu, a resident of Anini, said over the phone People in other parts of Dibang valley are not consulted and not allowed to speak up about the ecological loss in public hearings. The vegetation and biodiversity through compensatory afforestation cannot be the same. I have seen them planting pine which has no fertiliser value and nothing grows underneath pine trees, he said. These patches of land selected by the government are Mithun grazing land. One of the patches is in our village and none of us has been consulted about converting common grazing land. Many villages will oppose this, he added. There is no mention in the FAC factsheet whether locals have been consulted on carrying out compensatory afforestation on grazing lands. The FACs investigations have taken at face value the process of compensatory afforestation in a landscape like Arunachal Pradesh. This project will not only submerge old growth forests on mountain slopes, the compensatory afforestation measures proposed will governmentalize forest areas that are socially and economically accessible to communities as village forest reserves.Why have they not assessed how community access will be affected by these measures, said Manju Menon, a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research. According to FACs factsheet, the project falls under the richest biogeographical province of the Himalayan zone and under one of the mega biodiversity hotspots of the world. The proposed project location falls at the junction of the Paleoarctic, Indo-Chinese, and Indo-Malayan biogeographic regions, having luxuriant forests and a plethora of flora and fauna. It is also a vital tiger area. One of the FACs members, responding to a query from HT, said over the phone: I am only a member. It will not be appropriate for me to comment on this matter. The FAC minutes will be published soon. FAC discussed the issue of forest clearance to the project on April 23, but a decision hasnt yet been taken, according to FAC members. We had a long discussion and all views of members have been taken on record. Most members had a favourable view because its a clean energy project, so did the subcommittee that visited the site, said FAC member. Both FAC members requested anonymity. A sub-committee of the FAC has recommended in its report dated April 21 that Etalin Hydroelectric Project of 3097 MW be allowed with a condition that the developer deposit money for wildlife conservation in the area. We have been eagerly waiting for this clearance which is a must for grant of forest clearance for the project. The proposal for grant of FC to Etalin project was submitted to environment ministry in 2014. The proposal has since been discussed in FAC a couple of times. In the EAC (Expert Appraisal Committee) meeting scheduled to be held on April 23, the report and recommendations of sub-committee of FAC will be discussed for final recommendations on grant of FC to the project. We are hopeful that FAC will finally be recommending the proposal for grant of FC, Bharat Rohra, MD & CEO, Jindal Power Limited said on April 22, responding to HTs queries. Can you believe that the gorgeous actor-producer Tom Cruise is turning 60 in 2022? We surely can't. Just look at him! Reuters Even though the actor doesn't look a day over 30, Tom Cruise would really be hitting 60 just as his film Mission Impossible 8 releases in 2022. Paramount Pictures has delayed the theatrical releases of Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8, the next two chapters in Tom Cruises action franchise owing to the coronavirus outbreak. Variety The seventh installment, originally due in theaters on 23rd July 2021, will now debut four months later on Nov. 19, 2021. The eighth film in the franchise was set for 5th August 2022, and will instead hit the big screen on 4th November 2022. Mission Impossible 7 was one of the first films that halted its shoot just when Cruise had been about to start filming in Venice, Italy an area hit massively hard by the virus outbreak in late February. Tom Cruise / Instagram What is noteworthy is that as Mission Impossible 8 releases in 2022, Tom Cruise has been bringing to life the character Ethan Hunt on the big screen for over a quarter of a century now (25 years), as Cruise first played superspy Ethan Hunt in 1996s Mission: Impossible, directed by Brian De Palma. And any true blue mission impossible fan knows, there's no stopping Tom Cruise, ever and for him age will always just be a number. Anish Samuel, a doctor specializing in pulmonary critical care, was changing his clothes multiple times an evening and eating separately from his family to reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus. Life for Samuel, a fellow at St. Joseph's University Medical Center in New Jersey, was becoming untenable -- but still, the risk remained. Now Samuel is living in an RV in front of the family home. He moved into his new digs days after his wife Jessica Ripnick-Samuel, who has asthma, gave birth. "Staying away from family is also hard. But I see them," said Samuel, who found his new living arrangement thanks to the volunteer group RVs 4 MDs. The organization is helping connect health workers fearful of spreading COVID-19 to their loved ones with camper owners who have a home on wheels to spare. Samuel told AFP it's a better solution than one offered by his employer -- moving into a hotel room about 25 minutes away by car. RV living is not a perfect option but it offers a semblance of normalcy, Samuel said -- it allows him to be close by in case of emergency, and of course to see his newly expanded family. "I would like to see them, even if it's through a window or outside in the backyard," he said. 'Fantastic idea' The Facebook group RVs 4 MDs that started from scratch a month ago now has more than 30,000 members. The concept aims to help all essential workers who come into contact with potentially infected patients, including Sal DePaola, a firefighter who lives and works on Staten Island. Sixteen people in his department have tested positive for the virus, and DePaola doesn't see how he could have prevented coming into contact with it. For five weeks now, his only contact with his wife and children has been through the window or door. "It's getting tougher as it goes because it's been a long time," DePaola said. "My kids are very difficult to handle." A similar situation is playing out in East Setauket, where a father of three who works as a resident physician at Long Island Community Hospital is living in Bud Conway's RV. "I thought it was a fantastic idea," Conway said of his nearly 30-foot (nine-meter) long vehicle. "All the county parks are closed so it sits in storage." "So what am I doing with it? Let somebody use it." The doctor's wife -- who now is juggling three kids and two jobs on her own, and wished to remain anonymous -- said it's a matter of boosting her husband's "morale." "I feel it's helping him cope better," she said. "If he was in a hotel, he would be in complete isolation -- he would go from death and destruction at the hospital to an isolated hotel room, whereas here, he's coming home and his wife and kids are right here." 'See the world' The RVs 4 MDs initiative is partnering with the platform RVshare, a peer-to-peer RV rental organization with 60,000 members. The platform is encouraging RV owners to rent them out at a low price or lend them for free to first responders, including health care workers, firefighters and police. Long-term, it's possible that campers could become a popular option for travelers as coronavirus confinement measures are slowly lifted. Moves by governors in several US states to progressively allow people to move more freely saw reservations on RVshare jump 139 percent over the weekend, in comparison to the one prior, mostly for dates in June and July. Jon Gray, the head of RVshare, said even if Americans cannot take cruise ships or planes in the coming months, or are hesitant to do so, "they're still going to want to get outside and see the world." Conway told the couple in East Setauket that they could use his RV as long as they needed. He also offered them its use for actual camping once they're all reunited -- a vacation the kids are already plotting. Mumbai, April 26 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken custody of scam accused Wadhawan brothers from Mahabaleshwar and take them to Mumbai, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said here on Sunday. "The Satara Police has extended to the CBI all required assistance and an escort vehicle with guards up to Mumbai on a written request. The arrest procedures are going on," Deshmukh said. In a related development, Deshmukh announced that the probe into the circumstances leading to the permission granted to the Wadhawans and others to travel from Pune to Satara during the nationwide lockdown is completed. "Additional Chief Secretary Manoj Saunik's report on the inquiry against Principal Secretary Home (Special) Amitabh Gupta is likely to be submitted by today or tomorrow," Deshmukh said in a tweet. The two brothers - Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan - along with 21 other family members had gone from Khandala hill station in Pune to the cool climes of Mahabaleshwar in Satara at the height of the lockdown on April 9, sparking a huge political controversy. On April 8, Gupta had given them written permission to travel in five vehicles, but when they reached Mahabaleshwar on April 9, locals vehemently protested after which they (Wadhawans) were all sent into institutional quarantine at the twin hill-station of Panchgani. As a massive row erupted over the incident with accusations and counter-allegations, Deshmukh on April 10 shunted Gupta to 'compulsory leave' and ordered a probe into the incident by another senior official. Meanwhile, the Wadhawans' quarantine got over without any incident on April 22 and the state government immediately asked the CBI to take them into its custody, which the probe agency did on Sunday. While in quarantine, the Wadhawans - through their lawyers - claimed that they were actually escaping from the coronavirus outbreak and had decided to shift from a rented accommodation in Khandala to their ancestral home in Mahabaleshwar. Following the controversy, the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) also jumped in, with the former writing to the Satara Police to hold them (Wadhawans) and not to release them without its clearance, while the latter seized the five vehicles in which the Wadhawan families had travelled. The Wadhawan brothers and their DHFL Group are named as accused along with Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor in the scam which erupted in early March. A bail plea by Kapoor on health grounds was earlier rejected by a Mumbai court and he remains in judicial custody. Take a moment to reflect on your school years. What were they like? Perhaps you fondly recall memories of quality time spent with friends, when you had schoolyard crushes and did just enough classroom work to get through until the weekend. Or maybe school was a time to forget a time of rejection and isolation where you felt self-conscious and didnt fit in. A sense of belonging at school is essential for students' wellbeing. Credit:Eddie Jim We all have a need to belong. Belonging is essential for life satisfaction, happiness, positive self-esteem, long-lasting friendships and help-seeking behaviour competencies and behaviours that shape adulthood from an early age. Remember those bra-cup face mask memes doing the rounds on social media not too long ago? Well, a Japanese company decided to make them a reality, and they sold out almost instantly.Getting your hands on a proper medicinal face mask in Japan is pretty hard these days, but clothing companies around the country are trying to alleviate the shortage by producing reusable cloth masks. Atsumi Fashion, an apparel manufacturer in the city of Himi, Toyama Prefecture, is one such company, only its going about things a bit differently. You see, Atsumi specializes in womens underwear garments, and its management decided that applying the same design to face masks wouldnt be such a bad idea. They were right!According to SoraNews24 , the lace bra face mask started out as somewhat of a joke, but the company underestimated Japanese consumers appetite for ingenuity and sexy underwear, as the prototype Atsumi Fashion originally showcased got a lot of attention online. People became even more interested in the accessory after the company posted a photo of model and TV personality Aya Kondo wearing a lace bra face mask, and before long, a whole collection of bra face masks was announced.On Saturday, the Atsumi Fashion lace bra face masks went on sale to the public. Priced at 1,490 yen (US$14), about half the price of a mid-range Japanese bra, the delicate accessory sold out moments after becoming available, as shoppers flocked to both Atsumi Fashions online shop, Lingerie Lab, and its storefront on online marketplace Rakuten.To be fair, the company did underestimate demand, offering only 50 units for each color available (white, pink, lime, aqua blue, black), but a new batch of lace bra masks is already in the works. It probably wont be long until something similar becomes available in the western world as well. Thats usually how it goes with this sort of ingenious and eye-catching products. Phukets ScubaNicks steps up for Rawai Food Relief PHUKET: Local dive operator ScubaNicks has stepped up to provide more than 3,000 food bags to people in need in Rawai, at the southern end of the island, in just 13 days. CommunitycharityCOVID-19Coronaviruseconomics By The Phuket News Sunday 26 April 2020, 05:48PM A detailed account of how the money is spent is publicly posted. ScubaNicks Rawai Food Relief project has delivered more than 3,000 food bags to impoverished communities in the south of the island in just 13 days. Photo: Nick Fawcus-Robinson Thge project is starting to get recognition by Thai reporters as well. Photo: Nick Fawcus-Robinson ScubaNicks Rawai Food Relief project has delivered more than 3,000 food bags to impoverished communities in the south of the island in just 13 days. Photo: Nick Fawcus-Robinson The move comes as at least dozens of groups across the island are stepping up to help people left without any income due to the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, which has seen entire industries in Phuket shut down to prevent the spread of the virus, leaving many people without work. Long-term Phuket expat and founder of ScubaNicks Nick Fawcus-Robinson explained, I arrived in Thailand in May 2004 and since have learned to have a reasonable understanding of Thailand and its way of life. I have had my dive company (ScubaNicks) since arriving and assisted in both post tsunami and the tragic Phoenix disaster. When Covid-19 hit, I have to say I was distraught at the global response of lockdown. I was aware early March that the lockdown in Thailand was not going to be pretty and put huge numbers out of work, largely because Thailand and Phuket in particular is heavily reliant on tourism. The Tambon (District) lockdown started early April. Simply No job = no money = no food. Something had to be done. Nick explains that initially hewas happy to get involved at a low level, supporting local families and Myanmar labour camps. We started on April 13 (Songkran day) with B2,000. The first day we got a little more money and went shopping four times and donated four times. In just 13 days the project has expanded greatly to help many more people. As of today the project has raised B422,285, which has allowed the team to provide 3,181 food bags providing 13,397 meals. In a Facebook post today, Nick said, This is amazing.. !!! Thank you to the 115 donors of cash and food. thank you to the incredible packing team. Thank you to the distributors. Apologies.. But we need more money!! :) :) I am NOT stopping. WE need to get more food out!! The government is doing a fantastic job with weekly meal bags. We are in constant contact with the local administration. ScubaNicks and crew are dedicated to the backroads, the sick, the elderly, children and labour camps; many of whom are not on social media or simply dont have the money to leave their tin huts/rooms, Nick explained to The Phuket News. We are now servicing much of the Rawai area with a group of 12 dedicated volunteers. Essentially we buy, unload, pack, re-load, drive and donate, he said. Nick provides full updates on the donations received and day-by-day updates on the emergency relief supplies delivered. For updates, visit his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nickfawcusrobinson If you would like to donate to the project: Bank: Krungsri Account name: Nick Fawcus- Robinson Account number: 573-1-01816-6 Or to PayPal / TransferWise simply email Nick at scubanicksphuket@gmail.com Key volunteers in the project are: Sasithorn Tawihoun (Waan) Priyaphon Samrandee + team of 4 !!!!! (packing) Victoria Fawcus-Robinson Siriporn Sirisuntharo Mark Laurence Tommy Ebert Simon Hatton Suay Thichattra Suksanuan Fabrice Sanson Dennis Wall Kapuk Yuenyong Thoye Manin Yannie Lyinh Business Address: ScubaNicks Boutique Co. Ltd 90/8 Soi Kanjan 2 Tambon Rawai Amphoe Muang Phuket 83130 Business No: 0835559013997 TAT License: 34/01625 Nick may be contacted on his mobile phone at +66 (0)840579018. She may have found fame and fortune in the Hollywood Hills but actress Emily Blunt says she cant stand being there. The Mary Poppins star and her US actor husband John Krasinski live in New York with their daughters Hazel, six, and Violet, three. We chose not to live in LA because it can be suffocating to always talk about work and the business, she says. Emily Blunt pictured attending 'A Quiet Place Part II' World Premiere at Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center in March this year in New York City The Mary Poppins Star with her husband John Krasinski, right. The pair live in an apartment in New York, left, with their two daughters Hazel, six, and Violet, three My greatest concern is to ensure I leave enough time between projects to enjoy being with my husband and children. Theres a wise lesson in there for La La Lands deluded stars as long as, like Emily and John, you can afford a reported 9 million for an apartment in the same building Matt Damon calls home. My lips are sealed, but... Which member of the Royal Family has taken up knitting to pass the time during the lockdown? Im told they are finding it rather difficult because they are not exactly known for their dexterity Whats in a name? Just ask Alexa... Model and designer Alexa Chung pictured attending the Simone Rocha front row during London Fashion Week in February 2020 at Lancaster Houseon in London She may be a successful model and designer, but Alexa Chung says the only thing people want to know about her is what its like having the same name as Amazons virtual assistant. And, unsurprisingly, shes getting a bit fed up. Even though she doesnt own a device to access the technology, Alexa, left, moans: This is the most frequently asked question in my life. Every day people are like, Is it really weird with the Alexa machine? (Bloomberg) -- Singapore is looking to pivot to a more aggressive coronavirus response strategy that involves mass testing for its population of 5.7 million people as cases in the city-state jumped more than ten-fold this month to cross 11,000. The country hopes to be able to progressively reopen its economy in about a months time, with much more testings for the entire population and at the same time to take on additional safe distancing measures, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg TVs Haslinda Amin. While Chan did not elaborate on the plan, it would mark further toughening in the stance of a country that until now has relied on methodical contact tracing and a more moderate testing policy. Already, Singapore is ramping up testing among its foreign workers, who make up the vast majority of its confirmed cases, though continued local transmission and rising unlinked cases remain a concern. The trade ministry said it didnt have further comments beyond Chans interview. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said this week that the country needs to scale up testing for Covid-19 substantially so that it can quickly detect any new cases that pop up. This we are progressively doing, not only by procuring test kits and equipment from other countries, but also by developing and manufacturing our own test kits, he said. Read more: How Singapore Flipped From Virus Hero to Cautionary Tale Testing Rate Singapores early public rhetoric indicated a reluctance to test widely, with a focus on those with symptoms to avoid wasting tests. Kenneth Mak, the health ministrys director of medical services, said in early March that community testing for all people, irrespective of whether they have symptoms or not, will generate a lot of activity but have a low yield. The city-state has already been testing at a very high rate compared to other countries, according to health experts. The health ministrys website says it had swabbed about 14,500 unique individuals per million as of April 20, with more than 80,000 unique people tested in total. Story continues The possible move comes as South Korea, which launched a massive testing campaign, managed to slow the growth of infection by early March. Due in part to its actions, the epidemic spiked quickly in the country but also ebbed rapidly. Hong Kong also widened its virus response beyond contact tracing to include community testing as it became apparent the coronavirus was different from 2003s Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, where those infected fell seriously -- and obviously -- ill. A pivot in Singapores strategy could come as it grapples with a surge in cases among low-wage migrant workers living in cramped dormitories, who have long been essential in the city-states service and construction sectors. It reported a fourth straight day of virus cases going above 1,000 on Thursday, and confirmed cases now number more than 12,000. Almost 900 cases were reported Friday, with Singaporeans or permanent residents making up 13 cases. While total cases are rising, infections in the local community have in fact dropped since so-called circuit breaker measures were installed more than two weeks ago. Those cases fell to an average of 25 per day in the past week, from an average of 34 cases per day in the week before, the health ministry said Thursday. (Updates with confirmed cases on Friday in 10th paragraph.) For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Healthcare bosses running out of personal protective equipment (PPE) are begging business for boiler suits and painter's overalls, it has been claimed. The shortage of gowns, masks and gloves in Devon's NHS clinical commissioning group (CCG) has been so severe, that a local council have put out a tender for the 'immediate supply' of the items. In a document titled 'Urgent help needed re provision of PPE for NHS staff', Torbay Council say the local CCG is 'in desperate need of gowns'. 'We are therefore putting out a plea for any boiler suits, lab coats, painting suits, chemical suits or any kind of disposable (or washable) overall with full length sleeves,' it continues. The request comes after the extent of the PPE shortages were writ large in a 90-day forecast for the government by consultancy firm McKinsey. Healthcare bosses running out of personal protective equipment (PPE) are begging business for boiler suits and painter's overalls, it has been claimed A senior Whitehall insider told the Times: 'Every day we run out of something, the advice is downgraded and we are now running at standards lower than [recommended by] the International Red Cross and the World Health Organisation.' 'We have always been so smug about ourselves as a developed country, but now we have nations we send aid to watching us in horror.' Vanessa Crossey QN, Interim Deputy Director of Nursing at NHS Devon CCG, said: 'National difficulties sourcing gowns are well documented, and Devons position is no different to other areas. 'Like other systems, Devon is proactively developing measures to complement the national supply chain, as recommended by NHS England, and we are leaving no stone unturned in our work to bolster national PPE supplies for our committed NHS and care staff. 'Local microbiologists have tested the specifications for additional PPE we are sourcing and we are working with local businesses, who have had to cease operations during the lockdown, to manufacture reusable gowns to increase our resilience. 'We and our system partners have established effective stock monitoring procedures and mutual aid systems to make sure PPE is available and while stocks are low they have not run out.' The Government has also changed regulations around PPE material, so that for a 'limited period', coronavirus-related PPE does not have to bear the usual CE mark which means it meets product standards for the European Economic Area. However, the relaxation of regulations around the life-saving equipment has drawn concerns from health experts and frontline workers, who rely on it to avoid infection. The shortage of gowns, masks and gloves in Devon's NHS clinical commissioning group has been so severe, that a local council have put out a tender for the 'immediate supply' of the items. Pictured: Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in King's Lynn,Norfolk It is believed that at least 129 health and social care workers have died from coronavirus, according to NursingNotes. Particular concern comes from visors, many of which are being 3D-printed by businesses that do not usually supply the healthcare sector. The designs have been shown to have gaps that would allow aerosols and splashback to enter and put the medic at risk. 'We are putting out a plea for any boiler suits, lab coats, painting suits, chemical suits or any kind of disposable (or washable) overall with full length sleeves,' said Torbay Council Doctors and nurses have been asked to reuse gear that is usually single-use, and to wear flimsy plastic aprons instead of full-length gowns that had run out. The NHS uses an estimated 150,000 gowns every day. Public Health England had previously said that the gowns should be worn for all high-risk procedures. Health Secretary Matt Hancock angered NHS medics earlier this month when he said to only use the protective equipment they need because it is a 'precious resource'. Addressing the nationwide shortage that has left nurses 'petrified' to fight the crisis, he claimed: 'There is enough PPE to go around.' NHS groups pleading for alternatives to the usual single-use PPE garments have added to the mounting concern. Samantha Batt-Rawden, president of the Doctors Association UK, said: 'It is not acceptable to be using gowns which are not fluid-repellant, or indeed rely just on flimsy plastic aprons and hope for the best. 'Our own data from 1,500 doctors across over 250 sites suggests that just 25 per cent of respondents have access to proper long-sleeve gowns, and this trend is getting worse.' According to data collected by the Doctors' Association UK, hundreds of doctors have gone without masks, eye protection and gowns, including medics carrying out aerosol-generating procedures that present a greater risk of catching the virus. The department of health and social care said: 'We are working night and day to ensure our frontline health and social care staff have the equipment they need to tackle this virus.' Interior designer Deborah Philbrow has set up a team of volunteers to sew hundreds of sets of scrubs for frontline NHS medics and care home staff who need personal protective equipment The British Medical Association has also urged that all essential workers should be provided with face masks to combat the spread of Covid-19. It is currently not compulsory to wear a mask or face covering in public, but ministers are considering recommendations made by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) following a review of current advice. Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the British Medical Association (BMA) council, is calling on the Government to ask all members of the public to cover their mouths and noses when going outside. He told the Daily Telegraph that the doctors' union believes all key workers outside of the NHS should be provided with masks or suitable face coverings. The grim 20,000 milestone - which also saw the number of people testing positive for coronavirus rise by 4,913 to 148,377 - came as the coronavirus lockdown continued into its fifth weekend and the Government faced calls for greater transparency over the scientific advice given to ministers on the outbreak He said this includes 'transport workers, shopkeepers, carers or supermarket staff' who are unable to abide by social distancing. 'Common sense tells you that a barrier between people must offer a level of protection, however small,' Dr Nagpaul said. 'The Government must pursue all avenues of reducing the spread of infection. 'This includes asking the public to wear face coverings to cover mouths and noses when people leave home for essential reasons.' Trump derangement syndrome makes some "journalists," usually Buzzfeed alumni, do disgusting things. For some, it brings out their inner scolds and snitches and comrade censors. And it most certainly doesn't go over well for them on places like Twitter. So here's the doings of the New York Times' Davey Alba, the former Buzzfeed hack, same as Ali Watkins, turned "technology and disinformation" reporter who proudly announced that she'd "reported" medical researchers from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, one of the most prestigious medical institutions on the planet, to the YouTube site police, for their YouTube video showing how they had conducted UV light research as a means of killing off viruses within the body, something that had been brought up by President Trump a few days ago. I contacted YouTube about this video, which is being shared on tons of replies on Twitter & on Facebook, by people asserting that it backs up Trump's idea throwing it out there that UV rays kill coronavirus. YouTube just said it removed it for violating its community guidelines. pic.twitter.com/gbs5Igq0yy Davey Alba (@daveyalba) April 24, 2020 Seems she means she spreads disinformation, rather than reports disinformation when she calls herself the Times' tech and disinformation reporter. Worse still, instead of report, for the press, that the researchers said that among their findings, the viruses killed include the novel coronavirus, along with a host of other plagues, her idea of 'reporting' was of the Stasi kind. If she were interested in the real kind, she'd have learned that he medical institution's research has been going on for years, well before President Trump brought up the possibility that maybe light treatments could be researched as a means of killing the disease. It turns out that was already being done and Trump was late to the party. She could have gotcha'd that, but she really felt more comfortable trying to play censor. Her Twitter site, if you can stand to look at it, is absolutely loaded with instances of her "reporting" things to authorities, often one thing after another, and then announcing it afterward. Apparently, it's what makes her feel important. Trump said it, so the years of advanced research simply had to be reported to the authorities and shut down to protect the public. YouTube's Katzenjammer Kidz of course went along with the ignorant, Trump-deranged Times-snitch's recommendations, and Cedars-Sinai has presumably been taught a lesson about trying to conduct life-saving research that President Trump talks of approvingly. It's disgusting. This woman is clearly more concerned that any good news about President Trump's statement tnot be held up as a crackpot to told people to drink bleach or something. It's a very poor reflection on the Times and the media in general. Fortunately, it blew up in her face on Twitter, where she was subject to a full-blown 'ratio-ing,' meaning, the negative reaction and negative comments. vastly outnumbered the positive re-tweets. At last count, she had 1,500 comments, virtually all of them negtive, and a mere 170 likes and 142 roundtrip tweets, That's an embarrassment. That's a shame letter by Twitter standards. The Twitterati left more than a thousand negative retweet remarks. Here's a sample, You think, someone that covers "disinformation" wouldve done a lot more research than she did. Considering just a little bit of research wouldve shown that this was a legitimate company, a legitimate product and a legitimate partnership. SZN (@PyroLytics) April 25, 2020 Good journalism is unbiased transparency with due diligence. @CedarsSinai spent YEARS advancing this tech. It was announced before trump mentioned it. Imagine if they get EUA and you realized you were the one who tried to take down creditable hope during a pandemic... @YouTube Jen (@JennyThaiPhoto) April 25, 2020 gotta own the orange man at all costs i love how this was "trump's idea".. imagine paying a dope like this to work at your newspaper Grinnin_bearett (@Grinnin_BEARett) April 25, 2020 Any questions as to why the public doesn't trust the press? Image credit: Twitter screen shot An Australian dad has crafted a 'bin train' to entertain his young children while at home in isolation. Simon Brace, from Queensland, connected two bins and a tiny wagon to the back of a ride-on lawnmower using a long rope. His wife shared a video to the Bin Isolation Outing Facebook group demonstrating how the homemade train functions, which has attracted more than 42,000 likes online. 'It took some serious bin-gineering with the kids but we successfully built a bin train,' he said online. In the video Simon and four children can be seen riding the train from the driveway and down the street. Scroll down for video An Australian dad has crafted the ultimate 'bin train' to entertain his young children while at home in isolation (pictured) Simon Brace, from Queensland, connected two bins and a tiny wagon to the back of a ride-on lawnmower using a long rope (pictured) Simon attached the axles from a broken wagon to both bins and placed them horizontally for the children to sit on. He told Storyful the DIY project only took two hours to complete. The idea impressed thousands on social media, with many praising Simon for his efforts and creativity. 'Now that's putting the bins out with some real fun for the kids. Love it,' one mum wrote. 'Looks like a home schooling bin excursion,' one joked. 'That's a beauty and I love how you got the children involved! Well done,' another said. The idea impressed thousands on social media, with many praising the dad for his efforts Other bored Australians stuck at home are also getting dressed up in costumes to make the mundane task of taking the bins out entertaining during coronavirus isolation. Besides adhering to the social distancing and quarantine rules, taking the rubbish out to the curb in style has become an exciting weekly 'outing' for many. The heartwarming trend began as a joke after Danielle Askew from Queensland dared another friend to put the bins out while dressed up. From there, she launched the Bin Isolation Outing on March 28 - and has since attracted more than 220,000 followers. Other bored Australians stuck at home are getting dressed up in costumes to make the mundane task of taking the bins out entertaining during coronavirus isolation Since March thousands of others have shared images wearing stunning gowns and head to toe costumes dressed as Iron Man, mermaids, kings and queens and fairies The page's description says: 'So basically the bin goes out more than us so let's dress up for the occasion! Fancy dress, makeup, tutu... be creative! After all laughter is the best medicine'. Ms Askew decided to take up the challenge as well, wearing a blue dress and a crown to dress up as Elsa from the movie Frozen Ms Askew decided to take up the challenge as well, wearing a blue dress and a crown to dress up as Elsa from the Disney movie Frozen she also placed a tutu around the bin itself. 'I must admit I did have anxiety, but I got through it and I waved to people,' she told the ABC. Since March thousands of others have shared images wearing stunning gowns and head to toe costumes dressed as Iron Man, mermaids, kings and queens and fairies. Whats happening? The latest target of vitriolic partisan politics is none other than Dr. Theresa Tam, Canadas Chief Medical Officer of Health. On Tuesday, Conservative MP for Hastings-Lennox and Addington, Derek Sloan who is running for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) questioned Dr.Tams loyalties asking if she was working for Canada or China. Sloan called for Dr. Tam to be fired or resign for misleading Canadians, and for constantly following the World Health Organizations policies on face masks and more. Tam has been Canadas top doctor since 2017 and has been the leading hand for the country against COVID-19. Her medical background includes specialization in infectious diseases, a graduate of the Canadian Field Epidemiology Program and has over 50 peer-reviewed journals on public health. Prior to becoming Canadas top doctor, she served as Deputy Chief Public Health Officer and the Assistant Deputy Minister for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control. Her two decades of experience in public health has seen her be involved with SARS, H1N1 and Ebola. Shes also previously served on a variety of WHO committees and missions related to outbreaks of viruses and influenza. Why is there debate? Dr. Tam is a visible minority who was born in Hong Kong, and the assertion that she is working for China is considered by many to be xenophobic and racist in nature. Many including Sloans fellow party members have declared his attacks on Tam less based on science, and more personal. The handling of the situation by Conservative Party of Canada leader, Andrew Scheer has been considered weak by some political pundits. As a rule, I dont comment on leadership candidates or on policy announcements or positions that leadership candidates have taken, Mr. Scheer said. Ultimately, it will be up to members to select the next leader of the party. There are actual queries about Dr. Tams about-face regarding face masks on April 6, where she had said prior that using a face mask was not necessary for members of the public. She cited new evidence advising the Canadian public to wear a non-medical mask in public when physical distancing is not practical. Story continues Canadas response to COVID-19 was largely based on the information provided by the WHO. In January, Dr. Tam went on the record to say we should take COVID-19 seriously, but there is no major cause for concern. Information at the time was relatively new, and even the WHO on Jan. 15 said coronavirus could not be spread through human to human interaction. "We've got serious concerns about the accuracy of the information coming out of the WHO and its incumbent upon this government to explain why they have based so many of their decisions on the WHO," Scheer said earlier this month. Whats next? For Dr. Teresa Tam, shes trying not to focus on partisan politics, but rather working on helping create policy, guidelines and control the pandemic. "My singular focus is to work with all my colleagues to get this epidemic wave under control. I don't let noise sort of detract me from doing that, she said when asked about Sloans comments. Tam said she had been working at least 20 hours a day since COVID-19 hit Canada, "I'm a pretty focused person and I work really, really hard," she said. Since Sloans original video, he has yet to recant his comment, but has instead doubled down and shared an email on his social media he had sent out to his supporters which lays out his reasoning for wanting Dr. Tam gone. Hes also signed onto a letter by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute which calls out China for delaying response and information regarding the seriousness of COVID-19. Sloan is known for his controversial topics previously calling protestors at Tyendinaga extremists, arguing that being gay is a choice and stating he would allow bills to make same-sex marriage illegal and re-open the abortion debate. Perspectives Racism has no place in Canada. Intolerance and racism have no place in our country, Canada has succeeded because of our diversity...Canadians deserve better than this from all of us. We need to continue in our resolve to be an open, welcoming respectful country and I think all Canadians expect that of every politician. - Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau This brings disgrace to the oath of office. What I view as a personal attack against Dr.Tam from a member of our Opposition caucus goes against the values that I believe we as elected officials should aspire to. - Dan Albas, Conservative MP for Central OkanaganSimilkameenNicola via Twitter Conservatives should speak up, or get out. What reasonable party doesnt discipline or at least repudiate a member of the caucus who smears the countrys leading health official during a pandemic with a dog-whistle racial taunt? At least say something like, This party believes that despite our differences, Dr. Tam is a proud Canadian doing what she believes will keep Canadians safe. We may disagree with her decisions, but would never impugn her patriotism. - Bruce Arthur, Toronto Star If Scheer doesnt see the need to decry comments from a sitting member of caucus that tars all Conservative MPs and the party with the brush of intolerance, he should go now. - John Ivison, National Post From the beginning of this crisis, weve heard horrible stories of abuse faced by Asian Canadians, particularly those of Chinese descent. There is no question that MP Sloans comments against Dr. Theresa Tam fuel this kind of racism. Andrew Scheer needs to clearly denounce this. - Jagmeet Singh, NDP Federal Leader via Twitter Women in power are always attacked. If you truly wanted to help us make better policy decisions related to COVID-19, why didn't you just talk about policy failures and how you would fix them? Why did you make it personal, and ask if a woman of Asian descent worked for China? - CPC MP for Calgary Nose Hill, - Michelle Rempel via Twitter It comes with the job, unfortunately. I think it comes with the job and with the circumstance and they shouldnt take it too seriously, said Sen. Peter Harder, a former senior civil servant. The entire public service is having to work at top speed to roll out the governments response to the pandemic, he said, and is having to embrace more risk than its used to. Senator Peter Harder via Politico On Nina Bennetts first day at Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center in Brooklyn, an epicenter of the coronavirus, stretchers snaked around the walls of the emergency room department like a train. The curtained-off rooms that typically held one patient now housed two the beds so close, the railings touched each other. "My first full day there I had 11 patients and five were on ventilators, Bennett, of Decatur, said. Typically an ICU nurse usually has two patients on a ventilator. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. I thought, What have I gotten myself into? Bennett, 53, who worked as an emergency room nurse at Decatur Morgan Hospital, Lawrence Medical Center and Huntsville Hospital, represents one of a legion of doctors and nurses who signed up to serve on the front lines of the coronavirus in one of the nations hardest hit cities. As of Friday (April 17), the United States totaled 661,712 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 33,049 deaths with 222,284 cases and more than 14,000 deaths in New York state. The worst part of it is the feeling of being defeated. You do everything to save a persons life, and it just doesnt happen, Bennett said. You kind of feel defeated after one, but after your shift keeps going and you have multiple deaths, you start wondering, Is there anything I can do that is going to help? For Bennett, the journey to New York began a month ago from her Decatur home. She was working at a nursing home in Falkville at the time. With the country still in the early stages of the virus, Bennett learned of the increase in cases taxing New York Citys hospitals. She heard about the first responders becoming infected, the hospitals filled with patients and the endless sirens echoing through the citys empty streets. She decided to act. TRUSTING IN GOD Having worked in multiple emergency rooms, I know it takes a toll on you as a nurse when you cant save a life. I kept thinking about how these nurses have got to be exhausted, Bennett said. I prayed and read scripture, and I felt God saying, This is where I want you to be. This is what I want you to be doing. Im trusting in God and having faith in him. Through a staffing agency she found on Facebook, Bennett landed a position as an emergency room nurse at Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center, a 320-bed public hospital in Brooklyn. She arrived on March 30 and began working 12-hour shifts. That was the same day New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a plea for medical professionals from around the country. Please come help us in New York now, Cuomo said at a temporary hospital located at the Jacob J. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. We need relief. As of mid-April, 93,000 medical professionals, including 25,000 from outside New York, signed up to volunteer, and around 12,000 were referred to hospitals, according to the governors office. That is on top of the thousands of doctors and nurses, like Bennett, placed in hospitals by staffing agencies. Bennetts decision to respond to the greatest need did not surprise her uncle, retired Baptist pastor Bill Pullen of Lawrence County. Nina is a very thoughtful individual. I would say she is a natural-born nurse with her way of being able to calm, soothe and ease people, Pullen said. She is in her calling. Bennett worked 14 straight days before her first off day. No matter what I say, I can never explain how terrible it is, she said. After treating dozens of patients with COVID-19, some as young as 19 and 25, Bennett knows the severity of the virus intimately. She knows how quickly the virus strikes, how a patient with an oxygen level of 98, who is talking and appears not to be in distress, can drop to a level of 68 within minutes. During that whole time, we are giving them antibodies and medications and putting them on oxygen. Were doing everything we know to do to fight this virus, but when people start to decompose, it is so quick, Bennett said. DYING ALONE Before placing patients on a ventilator, she encourages them to make a phone call to their families. For many, it is the last time they will speak to their loved ones. We try our hardest not to intubate because the times you see them come off the ventilator are few. Just like they decompose quickly when not on the ventilator, the same thing happens when they are on the ventilator. You can try to resuscitate, but it doesnt work. They are just gone, Bennett said. To know that somebody died alone is the part that really gets to me. For the first time in her 20 years as an emergency room nurse, the task of placing the deceased in body bags has fallen to Bennett. At home, you clean them, place a sheet over them and call the funeral home. Here, there are so many that we put the toe tag on them, put them in a body bag, zip it up and place the tag on the outside of the bag. That has been difficult, Bennett said. To protect herself from the virus, Bennett wears an N95 mask, which she changes out about every three days, a surgical mask and a cloth mask, a scrub cap, goggles, face shield and a gown covering her scrubs. When she returns to her hotel in midtown Manhattan, a 35-minute drive from the hospital, she takes off her shoes and badge, disinfects them, removes her scrubs, places them in a garbage bag by the door, cleans her personal protective equipment and takes a shower. The medical staff at Woodhull is reminded every day of the danger of the virus, through the patients they treat and their own personal losses. Since March 29, a Woodhull radiology clerk and emergency room nurse have died from COVID-19. With everyday posing an emotional, mental and physical challenge, Bennett turns to her faith and coworkers for strength. I know this is where God wants me to be. Having so many friends and family praying for me helps take away any fear I have, Bennett said. I look around at my coworkers too. I look at them and theyre still going. We are all in this together, Bennett said. Every day, Pullen prays for Bennett and the hundreds of thousands of first responders and medical personnel fighting the virus. Im so thankful there are people like Nina out there serving day in and day out putting their lives at risk. I am so grateful to God that there are these types of people with those hearts, Pullen said. We all need to be in prayer for them every day. Bennett issued a warning for the people of Alabama, which, as of Friday had more than 4,500 confirmed cases and 149 reported deaths. I dont want our state to get in the situation New York is in. Do not think this is a hoax. It is very, very real. Stay away from each other. It is not a time to have a party. It is not a time to hang out. We dont all need something from Walmart or Target everyday. Its a time to take this serious, Bennett said. WASHINGTON (AP) What if the real invisible enemy is the enemy from within Americas very institutions? When the coronavirus pandemic came from distant lands to the United States, it was met with cascading failures and incompetencies by a system that exists to prepare, protect, prevent and cut citizens a check in a national crisis. The molecular menace posed by the new coronavirus has shaken the conceit of American exceptionalism like nothing big enough to see with your own eyes. A nation with unmatched power, brazen ambition and aspirations through the arc of history to be humanitys shining city upon a hill cannot come up with enough simple cotton swabs despite the wartime manufacturing and supply powers assumed by President Donald Trump. The crisis turned doctors in the iconic American shining city, New York, into beggars with hands outstretched for ponchos because they couldnt get proper medical gowns. Rain ponchos! laments tech entrepreneur Marc Andreessen. In 2020! In America! Its turned a Massachusetts hospital executive into an under-the-radar road warrior, working up a deal through a friend of a friend of an employee who heard about a warehouse more than five hours away with masks. Two tractor-trailers disguised as grocery trucks picked them up, dodged interference from Homeland Security and took separate routes back in case one load got intercepted on highways through the northeast pandemic alley. Did I foresee, as a health system leader working in a rich, highly developed country with state-of-the-art science and technology and incredible talent, that my organization would ever be faced with such a set of circumstances? asked Dr. Andrew W. Artenstein of Baystate Health, who was on hand at the warehouse to help score the booty. Of course not. But, he said, the cavalry does not appear to be coming. At the time of greatest need, the country with the worlds most expensive health care system doesnt want you using it if youre sick but not sick enough or not sick the right way. The patchwork private-public health care system consumes 17% of the economy, unparalleled globally. But it wants you to stay home with your COVID-19 unless you are among the minority at risk of death from suffocation or complications. It wants you to heal from anything you can without a doctors touch and put off surgeries of all kinds if they can wait. In the pandemics viral madhouse, the United States possesses jewels of medical exceptionalism that have long been the envy of the world, like the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. But where are the results? For effective diagnostic testing, crucial in an infectious outbreak, look abroad. To the United Arab Emirates, or Germany, or New Zealand, which jumped to test the masses before many were known to be sick. Or to South Korean exceptionalism, tapped by Marylands Republican governor, Larry Hogan, who accepted a planeload of 500,000 testing kits from Seoul to make up for the U.S. shortfall. The aid was dubbed Operation Enduring Friendship and annoyed Trump, the America First president. Simple gloves. Complicated ventilators. Special lab chemicals. Tests. Swabs. Masks. Gowns. Face shields. Hospital beds. Emergency payouts from the government. Benefits for idled workers. Small business relief. Each has been subject to chronic shortages, spot shortages, calcified bureaucracy or some combination. This monumental failure of institutional effectiveness will reverberate for the rest of the decade, Andreessen, a tech investor best known for the Netscape browser in the 1990s, said in his company newsletter. Yet Trump uses his daily White House briefings to claim success and talk about his poll numbers, TV ratings, favorite theories about science and the praise he gets from governors, who may be at risk of seeing their states intentionally shortchanged by Washington if they dont say something nice about him. A lot of people love Trump, right? Trump asked himself at the briefing Monday. He then answered himself. A lot of people love me. You see them all the time, right? I guess Im here for a reason, you know. And I think were going to win again, I think were going to win in a landslide. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, found something nice to say about the administration this past week: Its relaxing some regulations. Theyve now said you can come up with your own swab, he said. One good thing is, the federal government is getting out of the way. That is one iteration of American exceptionalism now a national government responding to a national crisis by getting out of the way. The cavalry isnt coming. Thats what plunged Dr. Artenstein into his great mask caper. ___ WINGING IT If the Strategic National Stockpile has been of any benefit to Baystate Health in western Massachusetts, Artenstein, the organizations chief physician executive, is not aware of it. The backup emergency medical supply worked in 2015, speeding 50 doses of botulinum antitoxin to Ohio when people ate bad potatoes at a church potluck. One person died, dozens got sick, but botulism was nipped in the bud. But in todays pandemic, the stockpile drained before the peak. Artenstein and his team were drawn into what seemed like a zero-sum game to keep their doctors, nurses and staff protected with the most basic gear. Purchases have been known to fall apart at every stage of a transaction over the past six weeks, he said, at times because the federal government has apparently outbid his team for supplies. So when Baystate Health learned about a large shipment of three-ply face masks and N95 respirators in the mid-Atlantic region, it was time for a road trip. Baystate Health was using up to 2,000 disposable masks a day and within several days of running out. Two disguised trucks headed south, several members of a supply team flew down and Artenstein decided hed best go, too, in his car. It was felt by all that a little executive muscle might help in this situation, he told The Associated Press, expanding on his account in The New England Journal of Medicine. Baystate Health was paying five times the normal rate for the masks and found out that only one-quarter of the original order would be available. But the team converged at the distant warehouse and verified that the masks were good. Then two FBI agents, on the lookout for illegal reselling, flashed their badges and began asking questions. They were doing their job, Artenstein said, and that was fine with me because we were doing our job. But passing muster with the FBI was not the last hurdle. Homeland Security, the agents said, was considering whether masks in the shipment should be allocated elsewhere. They had to hoist it up the chain, he said of the agents. The wheels turn slowly. That took hours. I really was nervous the whole time. Driving back on his own with the shipment still in limbo, Artenstein got on the phone to try to thaw this frozen structure a little bit. Baystate Healths CEO contacted Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, chairman of a powerful House committee, who got on the case. The shipment was eventually cleared, and the trucks set off through the Northeast Corridor. Artenstein got the call around midnight that the masks were coming off the trucks and into hospital inventory. With that, the acute mask shortage was resolved. But when Artenstein spoke with the AP, Baystate Health was two days from running out of disposable gowns. ___ PLANNING IT Public institutions are measured by their foresight as well as by their response. Why didnt you see this coming? they get asked when things go wrong when terrorists strike, hurricanes flood a city, a pandemic arrives. The United States saw this coming 15 years ago and still wasnt prepared. If a pandemic strikes, our country must have a surge capacity in place that will allow us to bring a new vaccine online quickly and manufacture enough to immunize every American against the pandemic strain, President George W. Bush said in a call for readiness in 2005. The principal goal was the capacity for every American to have a vaccine in the case of a pandemic, no matter what the virus is, said Michael Leavitt, then the health and human services secretary. Bush announced billions of dollars for a wide-ranging plan for a pandemic like this one. It accelerated a new method of vaccine research, beefed up stockpiles and steered aid to states to build mobile hospitals and more. Many of the needs of today were anticipated in a mix of federal and state plans. Children would be schooled remotely TV was the medium of choice then. People would need ready access to advice about whether to leave home quarantine to seek care in , the plan was to have retired doctors staff phone banks for that purpose. If 911 dispatchers got sick, librarians would step in. Colorado parked trailers filled with medical supplies and cots in secret locations. In emergency simulations, officials in Idaho and Hawaii dispensed M&Ms for antiviral pills. But for all the creativity and ambition, a year later almost half the states had not spent any of their own money for the preparedness subsidized by Washington, and in the years that followed through the Great Recession, more war, more time passing the federal effort languished, too. Our country has been given fair warning of this danger, Bush said at the launch, recalling the lethal 1918 pandemic and bird flu outbreak then spreading overseas. Americans have time to prepare. But foresight became a thing of the past. And to hear Trump, its as if it never existed. Unforeseen problem, Trump says of the pandemic. Came out of nowhere. This is something, he said, that you can never really think is going to happen. ___ During these difficult times, when everyone is struggling, drivers are not left alone. Car insurance companies are offering a helping hand to those drivers who have troubles paying their insurance bills, said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. Compare-autoinsurance.org has launched a new blog post that presents how car insurance companies can help drivers during this coronavirus pandemic. For more info and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.org/car-insurance-companies-help-drivers-pass-through-these-times-of-financial-hardship-caused-by-the-coronavirus-pandemic/ Drives who have been financially affected by the current COVID-19 outbreak can ask for help from their car insurance companies. Some car insurance providers are offering payment flexibility, they are suspending policy cancellations due to nonpayment, or they are automatically renewing policies even if the drivers can't pay. During these difficult times for everyone, car insurance companies understand their customers. Drivers who have financial difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic, should contact their car insurance providers and check all the helping options that are available to them. Compare-autoinsurance.org (https://compare-autoinsurance.org/) presents a list of options that car insurance providers present to their customers that are experiencing financial troubles: Car insurance providers are offering coronavirus-related payment delays. Many car insurance providers are willing to work with their customers who are financially affected by the COVDI-19 outbreak. Car insurance companies like Allstate, Geico, MetLife, or Progressive are offering assistance in different forms. In general, they offer the possibility to pause cancellation of premiums due to nonpayment, Insurance companies can suspend car coverage. Suspending coverage pauses the policy but doesn't cancel it. During the period of suspension, drivers will not have a coverage lapse. Also, drivers may need to file an affidavit of non-use from their states department of motor vehicles to halt state-required auto coverage. This document lets the state know that the drivers wont use their cars for a given period. Most insurers, including Allstate, CNA, Farmers, Geico, Progressive, and Travelers are pausing policy cancelations of their customers who are having financial difficulties during the coronavirus outbreak. Insurance providers are offering flexible payments and special payment plans. During these difficult times, car insurance companies are doing all they can to help their customers. Drivers may choose to pay less than their usual amount bill, and the unpaid bill will be evenly distributed among the remaining payments. No matter who provides the car insurance, drivers who are affected by this pandemic should contact their insurers immediately to discuss a custom payment plan. Insurers allow drivers to reduce their coverage. Another option to explore is the reduction of car coverage. Car insurance companies allow drivers to reduce their coverage during this pandemic. While the car is out of use, drivers shouldnt pay for unneeded coverage. Drivers should reduce their car coverage to the coverage required by the state law. However, drivers should consider keeping or adding comprehensive coverage that will cover their vehicles for different problems not related to driving like fire, flooding, animal damage, vandalism, and theft. For additional info, money-saving tips and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.org/ Compare-autoinsurance.org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. President Trump abruptly cut off his coronavirus press briefing without taking any questions from the press shortly after a CNN reporter refused to move to the back of the room, according to a report. Kaitlan Collins, CNN's White House Correspondent, said she was asked by White House officials to swap seats with another reporter several rows behind her, minutes before Trump's briefing on Friday afternoon. Reporters' seats are assigned in advance through the White House Correspondents Association, and major TV networks, such as CNN, have front row seats. Collins cited the WHCA guidelines and refused to switch seats with Washington Blade's Chris Johnson, who was sitting in the sixth row and who also refused to move. A White House official then suggested the Secret Service would get involved if they didn't swap seats, although no action was taken. Moments later, Trump entered the room for the briefing but cut it short after 22 minutes, failing to take any questions from the press. Over the weekend, Trump said he was canceling the White House press briefings because they weren't 'worth the time and effort' because the 'Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions.' Kaitlan Collins, CNN's White House Correspondent, said she was asked by White House officials to swap seats with another reporter several rows back minutes before Trump's briefing on Friday afternoon Moments later, Trump entered the room for the briefing but cut it short after 22 minutes, failing to take any questions from the press Over the weekend, Trump said he was canceling the White House press briefings because they weren't 'worth the time and effort'. Pictured: Collins (circled) during Trump's Friday briefing 'What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately,' Trump said in the Saturday tweet. 'They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!' On Saturday, Trump tweeted: 'What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!' On Thursday, Trump had a spat with Collins as he addressed a question from another reporter about Kim Jong Un's health status, as reports circulated the North Korean dictator was near death. When Collins tried to follow up with her own question, Trump cut her off, saying: 'No, thats enough. The problem is, you dont write the truth.' Collins tried to interject, but Trump said: 'No, not CNN. I told you, CNN is fake news. Dont talk to me.' It seems Thursday's altercation played into Friday's incident when the White House tried to move Collins to the back of the room. However, the White House does not control press seating. It is handled by the WHCA and is seating is determined by the news outlet's size. According to the Washington Post, the White House agreed to the current seating plan last month, after social distancing guidelines were enacted. Jonathan Karl, the WHCA president, said in a statement: 'The WHCA has a committee that determines seating in keeping with our mission of ensuring maximum access and accountability on behalf of the American people.' On Thursday, Trump had a spat with Collins as he addressed a question from another reporter about Kim Jong Un's health status (pictured), as reports circulated the North Korean dictator was in 'grave danger' Collins confirmed the incident in a tweet on Friday, writing: 'Tonight the White House tried to have me, and only me, swap seats with another reporter several rows back. We both refused to move from our seats that were assigned well in advance. The briefing was short, the president took no questions and it proceeded as planned' Collins cited the WHCA guidelines and refused to switch seats with Washington Blade's Chris Johnson (pictured), who was sitting in the sixth row and also refused to move. A White House official then suggested the Secret Service would get involved if they didn't swap seats, although no action was taken CBS' Weijia Jiang, who had her own face-off with Trump last week, tweeted: 'The WHCA not the White Houseoversees the seating assignments in the briefing room. Collins was absolutely right to stay in her assigned seat.' She added: 'I was wrong not to mention Johnson too, for refusing to swap seats despite a White House official (wrongly) telling him the Secret Service was involved' Collins confirmed the incident in a tweet on Friday, writing: 'Tonight the White House tried to have me, and only me, swap seats with another reporter several rows back. We both refused to move from our seats that were assigned well in advance. The briefing was short, the president took no questions and it proceeded as planned.' Yahoo News reporter Hunter Walker added: 'White House staff just came into the briefing room and informed the print pooler that they want them to swap seats w CNN. That would move CNN to the back row from the front. WHCA made these seat assignments not staff. 'Pooler Chris Johnson said he would not move unless he heard from the WHCA. WH staffer threatened to have Secret Service enforce the swap. WHCA board members ran back into the press office to discuss.' He added: 'I am not going to participate in a briefing if the White House moves reporters from their assigned seats.' CBS' Weijia Jiang, who had her own face-off with Trump last week, tweeted: 'The WHCA not the White Houseoversees the seating assignments in the briefing room. Collins was absolutely right to stay in her assigned seat.' She added: 'I was wrong not to mention Johnson too, for refusing to swap seats despite a White House official (wrongly) telling him the Secret Service was involved.' Later on Friday evening, the Secret Service denied being involved in any way. Another official confirmed their lack of involvement. 'The Secret Service tells the WHCA they were not involved whatsoever in this effort by the WH to change seating assignments,' according to the WHCA president. The quick exit marked the end of a terrible press day for the president, after digging an increasingly deep hole over his comments about treating coronavirus patients with powerful disinfectants during his briefing Thursday A top scientific advisor, Dr. Debbie Birx, was absent from Friday's briefing after Trump had directed comments about the bizarre treatments to her Trump began his briefing as usual with praise for his and his administration's performance. 'The whole world is watching us,' Trump said. 'They're all watching us. They're all watching and they're calling and they respect what we're doing so much.' He yielded to Pence and Stephen Hahn, the FDA Commissioner, before abruptly leaving the White House briefing room while ignoring shouted questions. Hahn, who took a single question earlier, was the only one at the podium to engage with a questioner. The quick exit marked the end of a terrible press day for the president, after digging an increasingly deep hole over his comments about treating coronavirus patients with powerful disinfectants during his briefing Thursday. He did speak earlier in the day, when he said he had been 'sarcastic' when he proposed treating coronavirus patients by injecting disinfectant. Trump said he was just pitching the idea to reporters to 'see what would happen' but then admitted he also spoke to government experts about it and they were exploring it. A top scientific advisor, Dr. Debbie Birx, was absent from Friday's briefing after Trump had directed comments about the bizarre treatments to her. Birx did appear on Fox News earlier Friday, where she explained about Trump: 'When he gets new information, he likes to talk that through out loud ... I think he just saw the information at the time immediately before the press conference and he was still digesting.' On Saturday, Birx talked to Fox News Channel host Jesse Watters and was asked about the fairness of media coverage. She said she was concerned about some of the 'slicey and dicey' headlines she's read and said Sunday that she doesn't think President Trump 's musing about injecting disinfectant to treat the coronavirus should be in the news anymore. On Saturday, Birx (right) talked to Fox News Channel host Jesse Watters and was asked about the fairness of media coverage. She said she was concerned about some of the 'slicey and dicey' headlines she's read and said Sunday that she doesn't think President Trump 's musing about injecting disinfectant to treat the coronavirus should be in the news anymore But the corrected version, sent out before 8:00 a.m. Friday morning, correctly reflected that she said to the question: 'Not as a treatment' In the first version, sent around 10:00 p.m. Thursday night, The White House claimed Birx said 'That is a treatment' when Trump asked about using heat and light In the absence of his campaign rallies, the president has relished the opportunity to take the lead during the televised afternoon updates, which have stretched for as long as two hours as Trump boasts achievements against the outbreaks and applauds the high television rating the briefings receive. The White House has expressed concern, however, that Trump's presence may be causing more harm than good as his approval ratings slide back down into the 40s and recent polls show him to have fallen behind presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in key states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Concerns for the impact of his presence grew after the president's dubious claims about injecting disinfectant into the body as a coronavirus cure on Thursday. Even close aides were said to be shocked by the 'off-the-cuff' disinfectant remarks that they blame on an eagerness from the president to present positive news, according to NBC. The off-script remarks that people with the virus could be cured by UV rays or disinfectants 'by injection inside' has been universally rejected by health experts and led to a PR nightmare for the White House as Trump attempted to roll-back the comments as 'sarcasm'. He said he wasn't being serious when he asked his coronavirus task force coordinator and another official to look at the proposal, and claimed he was jousting with reporters only to later say government scientists were already working on the idea. 'I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen,' the president said after his comments, delivered at length and no hint of a smile during his live televised press briefing, brought blowback. Officials believe he may have misinterpreted scientific information discussed with him before Thursday's briefing about the use of disinfectant on surfaces. PAHOO, Kashmir Sara Begums suffering began on Aug. 3, when masked policemen barged into her home, badly roughed up her son and whisked him away. Ms. Begums son, Fayaz Ahmad Mir, 28, was one of thousands of civilians arrested or detained by order of the Indian government after it moved forcefully to cement its control over Kashmir, a largely Muslim region of about eight million people claimed by both India and Pakistan. The clampdown has disrupted daily life, with many people feeling besieged and afraid to leave their homes. Since her son was arrested, Ms. Begum has become gaunt and unsteady, but she and her family say her worst afflictions have been mental and emotional. She now takes sertraline and lithium, both antidepressants. She tried twice to commit suicide, once by consuming rat poison and again by jumping into a river. When I close my eyes, Ms. Begum said, I see my son shouting, Mother, I want to see you. Eight months after India revoked Kashmirs semiautonomous status and brought the region fully under its authority, doctors here say a state of hopelessness has morphed into a severe psychological crisis. Mental health workers say Kashmir is witnessing an alarming increase in instances of depression, anxiety and psychotic events. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 26) - Southeast Asian foreign ministers urged the United States to support the creation of a regional fund to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the Special ASEAN-United States Foreign Ministers Meeting on COVID-19 on Thursday, foreign ministers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), among them, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Locsin Jr. and United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, discussed steps to strengthen collaboration on the region's COVID-19 response. "ASEAN Member States encouraged the United States to support the COVID-19 ASEAN Response Fund to address COVID-19 and future public health emergencies," the joint statement released Sunday said. Pompeo said the United States has so far released over $35.3 million or roughly 1.79 billion in emergency health funding to help ASEAN amid the global health crisis. "The United States reemphasized its commitment to providing international public health assistance and offered continued support for ASEAN Member States in need of additional assistance," the statement said. The nations also discussed further cooperation towards post-pandemic recovery, to address the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 by reinforcing trade and investment, cooperation in the digital economy, supporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and innovation. Members said that emergency measures designed to address COVID-19 should be targeted, proportionate, transparent, and temporary, and should not create unnecessary barriers to travel and trade or disruption to global supply chains. "We emphasized our shared commitment to ensuring, to the maximum extent possible consistent with public health, the stable supply and the swift and continued flow of food, medicines, medical supplies and equipment and other essential goods and commodities as well as the normal flow of trade in other goods and services, and investment across borders to sustain among others, critical economic activities and ensure food security," the statement said. Pompeo also introduced the US-ASEAN Health Futures initiative, which is intended to develop the health system capacity of ASEAN nations to better respond to COVID-19 and future health needs. The US pledged continued support for exchange programs, which so far include the training of 2,400 ASEAN Member States medical and health professionals. "We welcome USAID and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue to play a significant role in the capacity building of ASEANs health workers," the statement said. Amid conflicting health reports of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a US-based project to monitor North Korea has said that it spotted the special train belonging to him, this week at a resort in the country. According to reports, the monitoring project, 38 North said in its report released on April 25 that the train remained parked at the leadership station, which is reserved for the use of Kims family, in Wonsan on April 21 and April 23. The group has said that the train probably belonged to Kim but another international news agency has neither been able to confirm its owner nor if the North Korean leader was at Wonsan. 38 North has released satellite imageries to back their claims of spotting a train stationed at the Wonsan compound and even cited several reports that the North Korean leader was spotted walking around the Wonsan area to recovering at a compound in the north-west of the country at Hyangsan in varying degrees of health. Satellite imagery indicates that Kim Jong Un was likely at his Wonsan compound earlier this week. https://t.co/do75evMgcY #KimJongUn 38 North (@38NorthNK) April 25, 2020 Read - Trump On Health Of Boris Johnson, Kim Jong Un Speculations over the condition Kims health and his sudden lack of public appearances grew intense when an American media cited US intelligence monitoring North Korea to claim that Kim was in grave danger after cardiovascular surgery. However, hours after that report sent shock waves, two government sources of international media outlet from South Korea said on April 21 that he was "not gravely ill". The Blue House, the official residence of the South Korean head of state, said in a statement that there were no unusual signals from the North and therefore, it denied to confirm the "rumours" regarding Kim's health. Read - China Slips In Re-assurance On Kim Jong Un's Health; Claims He's Not 'critically Ill' Kim was absent from major event The questions surrounding Kim Jong Uns health started more vigorously after he was not seen attending the event celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of its founding father, Kims grandfather, Kim Il-sung on April 15 which is also country's major holiday. But just days before on April 12, North Korean state media had reported that its premier had observed the drills by fighter jets and attack aircraft on his visit to an airbase. Kims last public appearance was when he headed a political bureau meeting of the Workers Party on April 11 over the response to the deadly coronavirus outbreak and electing his sister, Kim Yo Jong, as an alternate member of the bureau. Read - Kim Jong Un Not Severely Ill, Claim South Korean Govt's Sources Read - North Korea's Kim Jong Un Caught Covid From Chinese Doctor; Currently Stable: Reports (Image Source: AP) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Made Anthony Iswara (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, April 26, 2020 14:17 626 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd4510bc 1 National #COVID19,COVID-19,COVID-19-in-Indonesia,lansia,#lansia,panti-jompo,#panti-jompo,elderly,#Elderly,senior-citizens-in-Indonesia,senior-citizen,#Jakarta Free Pahala, 74, has to rely on his son, an angkot (public minivan) driver, to buy instant noodles or eggs to eat during the COVID-19 outbreak. He went to the nearest subdistrict office in Klender, Duren Sawit, East Jakarta, to find out whether he was listed as a beneficiary of staple food aid, but it turned out that he was not. I still have my son who gives me something. What about those whose children have been laid-off and receive nothing at all? Pahala said. Pahala is among many senior citizens in Indonesia who have been scrambling to make ends meet during the pandemic as a result of the countrys lack of social protection for the elderly, despite being the most vulnerable age group. Health-wise, older people are prone to more serious complications from COVID-19 because of physiological changes associated with aging, weaker immune function and multimorbidity, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO has said that 95 percent of COVID-19 deaths in Europe are among people over 60, while the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has estimated that eight out of 10 deaths reported in the US have been adults aged 65 and above. Indonesia, meanwhile, has yet to disclose its demographic data for COVID-19 cases. Yet over half of 1,400 elderly people in seven regencies and cities in Indonesia said they did not get the National Health Insurance Services (JKN) card and never accessed health services either from primary or secondary health facilities, according to a survey by Jakarta-based social welfare think tank Perkumpulan Prakarsa. When health safety nets are unavailable, people will have a greater chance of falling into poverty as they spend more out-of-pocket expenses when they are ill, Perkumpulan Prakarsa senior researcher Herni Ramdlaningrum Emud said on Monday. The organization also estimated that nearly 518,000 households with elderly members would lose their Family Hope Program (PKH) assistance after the government increased the age limit for elderly beneficiaries from 60 to 70 in December 2019. It based the estimation on the 2018 National, Social and Economic Survey (Susenas) by Statistics Indonesia (BPS). But with many seniors living in dire financial conditions alone or with their family, the government should cancel the new age rule and expand the scope of PKH instead, she said. The government should also provide cash and non-cash assistance to help seniors cope with COVID-19. Read also: Red tape stymies social aid National Team for Accelerated Poverty Reduction (TNP2K) social protection policy specialist Dyah Larasati advised the government to form a more universal social protection system that is directly aimed at the elderly, suggesting an elderly grant scheme of around Rp 200,000 (US$12.83) to Rp 300,000 per month for everyone above 70 years old. Over 80 percent of older people in Indonesia had no income security, with only around 12 percent of around 24 million senior citizens covered through pension fund programs, Dyah said. People aged 65 and above also endure the highest extreme poverty rate among other age groups. A 2017 Susenas showed that around 80 percent of the age group lived in households with a per capita consumption below Rp 50,000 daily, as the extreme poverty number is greater for people aged 80 and above. Senior citizens are already vulnerable without COVID-19, and COVID-19 adds to the risk, Dyah said. Social Affairs Ministry social security and protection director general Pepen Nazaruddin said last week that the ministry had no plans to add social security or programs for the elderly. Still, he insisted that the ministry had helped senior citizens with PKH as it planned to increase its quota to 10 million people from 9.2 million beneficiaries as a result of the pandemic. In addition, the funds will now be distributed monthly instead of every three months, he added. While it is not directly aimed at seniors, the non-cash food assistance program (BNPT) is set to have its quota expanded to about 20 million from 15.2 million beneficiaries. The government has also set aside Rp 110 trillion for social safety net programs to soften the economic blow of COVID-19 on low-income Indonesian households. Read also: Poverty elimination back to square one as COVID-19 wipes past progress: Experts But the government is not alone in striving to protect senior citizens. Privately owned nursing home Panti Werdha Wisma Mulia deputy head Anita Rumagit Sinyal said her team had given vitamins to its elderly residents and encouraged them to sunbathe to maintain well-being. Masks are available for free but limited. She has also banned all visits to the nursing home in Grogol, West Jakarta to prevent COVID-19 spread. It feels wrong but if visitors come and they carry the virus, it will be troublesome considering we have 100 people, including caretakers, inside our nursing home, she said. A just-released report on the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on Oaklands already shaky city finances predicts a devastating tax shortfall so big, in fact, that insiders say it will probably lead to drastic service cuts and layoffs of city workers. The size and scale of these revenue shortfalls is like nothing Oakland has ever before experienced, city Finance Director Adam Benson wrote in an April 21 report to the City Council. He estimated that the pandemic will result in a budget shortfall of $80 million over the next 14 months. In real terms, Benson said, the shortfall was equal to the cost of 320 police officers for one year thats about half of the citys police force or funding for 27 fire stations 24/7. This problem will not be easily resolved and it will not be fixed by tinkering at the margins. It will require significant action by city leaders, Benson wrote. City Councilman Noel Gallo said Oakland was already putting together a list of cuts in part-time and temporary workers, with more likely to follow. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. We were already facing a deficit, he said. This just makes it much worse. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said: Like every other city, Oakland will have to make difficult choices. We are also going to tap into our rainy-day fund immediately, because it is raining and it is raining hard on every city in the country. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Phil Matier appears Sundays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KGO-TV morning and evening news and can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call 415-777-8815, or email pmatier@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @philmatier 36 percent of Indians have internet access out of which only a third are women. This is not a digital divide anymore; this is a digital ditch. In the mid 90s, Bill Gates released his first book, The Road Ahead, and it blew our minds. Or at least one part of it did (I never managed to read much of it). In it, Gates described the Seattle home he was then building with inlaid fiber optic cables where each room would have its own unobtrusive touchpad to control the lights, music and temperature. Best of all, as you entered a room, itd automatically customise those elements and even wall paintings (via LCD screens) based on personal preferences, all pinged via an electronic pin everyone in the house would wear. I was reminded of that moment from a quarter century ago as I listened to a recent webinar on access to the internet in India, organised by Agami, the law and justice organisation where I work. Much of Gates fantastic vision has become widely available today in the form of mobile phones, smart devices and apps all of them powered by the internet, and what he then romantically called the Information Highway. Now in our elastically wrenching world, Gates is having another moment of prescience (as well as right-wing data hacks and conspiracy theories), this time with brighter sweaters and a thinner, papery voice. Whatever you think of him, he did baldly predict in his 2015 TED talk that the greatest risk of global catastrophe was not nuclear war but most likely a highly infectious virus...not missiles but microbes. The march of the internet into our lives, taking over every aspect and every hour, is so ubiquitous it doesn't need much emphasis or spelling out. And concurrently, neither does the fact that as more than a fifth of humanity frets under some form of lockdown and the rest practices swivel-eyed social distancing, we are all keeping up some semblance of normalcy by going online. A recent survey found that internet browsing shot up by 72 percent in the first week of lockdown in India. Online is where we are all talking and conferencing and texting, sharing parody videos, moving our money, dropping out of online courses, asking doctors about pulse oximeters, damning house cleaning bloggers, thanking recipe writers for using metric measurements, rediscovering celebrities for their shenanigans and, of course, unquenchably consuming the news and ordering more and more supplies even as we feel all Zoomed out. The new economy is not so new anymore, and its vital to say this aloud: Our economy is now vastly inaccessible without the internet. All the platforms, gateways and content are useless without it. Yet according to government data by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), only about half of Indians have access to the basic broadband speed of 512 Kbps or more. Last years IAMAI-Nielsen study found an even wider gap of only 36 percent of Indians having internet access in the first place. And only a third of them are women. This is not a digital divide anymore. This is a digital ditch. Which means, half to two-thirds of the country are in an economic ditch. Much of the high speed and reliable networks have been first laid in urban centres, and the work on Digital India programmes has not kept pace with the gradually devolving economy or the current COVID-19 crisis. Perhaps some of this slowness is due to decision makers still not quite accepting that the internet has moved this fast from being a useful luxury to an essential resource? Or is it more of a lingering bias that rural or disadvantaged Indians just don't need as much internet as people like us? Either way, the numbers tell a different story. Of all regular users in India (who accessed the internet in the last 30 days), 40 percent are actually rural users and that base is growing much faster than the urban one. More than 50 percent of rural customers are willing to go online to buy goods. Two thirds of all existing Indian internet users are in the 12-29 year age group, and in general this age group resides much more in rural than urban India. Data usage in rural India increased by almost 100 percent during the lockdown. And all this when rural internet penetration stands at only 27 percent (versus 51 percent in urban areas). In January, the Supreme Court declared access to the internet a fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution. This was in response to a plea on the internet blockade in Jammu & Kashmir since last summers revoking of Article 370. Since then, there has been only partial lifting of the digital ban there only 2G speeds for postpaid mobiles while prepaid sims still have to get verified despite mounting reports that lack of high-speed internet is hobbling the medical community and accelerating the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the region. Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed, retired Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir, as well as Rahul Matthan, Partner at Trilegal law firm, criticised such internet shutdowns at the Agami webinar. They both cited similar metaphors comparing the internet today to essential services like water and electricity, and how authorities dont switch them off to some citizens when convenient. Now, the internet has thankfully been deemed an essential service by the Home Ministry during the national lockdown, but there doesnt seem much more on the governments agenda here. I don't think the [central] government has realised how critical this infrastructure is, Aruna Sundararajan, former Telecom Secretary of India, said at the webinar. I served on the COVID taskforce in Kerala and we devoted a whole chapter to seeing how to ensure internet services wouldnt get disrupted, how thered [actually] be a 30-40 percent increase in availability. We put in suggestions that people who normally dont have access somehow need to be given it because theyre the ones who need it the most. Governments and companies worldwide are hustling to ensure that their citizens remain online. Chile is offering a solidarity plan" for affordable internet in partnership with private companies, while Thailand has granted 10 GB of free data to mobile users. Egypt has given free SIM cards to students and borne the cost of a 20 percent increase in all subscribers' monthly downloads. In the US, the telecom regulator negotiated with more than 50 major internet providers to get them to agree to suspend data and speed caps, suspend shutoffs and late fees, waive installation fees, provide free service and other schemes for low-income users and open Wi-Fi hotspots for the public. Meanwhile, the major telecom and broadband companies in India have offered some initiatives like free incoming calls to low-income users, Airtel and BSNL have provided extended mobile validity and Rs 10 talktime free, while Jio Phone users have got 100 minutes and 100 SMS free. Meanwhile, ACT Fibernet has offered free upgrades of unlimited data and 300 Mbps speed, Jio Fiber has offered free 10 Mbps connections to new users and double data to existing ones, and Jio has offered free broadband in some places. Some say that in this crisis, the Indian government needs to pitch in much more such as reduce red tape to enable telecom companies to build capacity fast, incentivise them to increase data limits and subsidise costs, and even use disaster relief funds to build public Wi-Fi zones. There were a host of other solutions proposed at the webinar as well. Sundararajan said the government must build the infrastructure for 4G access for all Indians and pointed out that this is actually possible in just 6-12 months as well as finish the incomplete project to lay fiber optic cables for 2.5 lakh gram panchayats. Sundararajan and Apar Gupta, Executive Director of Internet Freedom Foundation, also recommended that the pending Data Protection Bill be enacted to address cybersecurity concerns as citizens go online. Justice Ahmed suggested engaging the local Legal Services Authorities across the country to provide internet and justice access to their constituencies, while Matthan emphasised the right to broadband rather than just internet as a more realistic need today. Gupta recommended voluntary pledges by telecom companies to not disconnect connections for non-payment during this crisis, actualising a network neutrality enforcement mechanism in telecom licenses for private entities, and regulatory reform in telecom suspension rules to guard against internet shutdowns. The non-profit Jan Sahas has reported that a significant proportion of the distress calls theyre receiving are actually requests to recharge mobile phone accounts. In the next 12-24 months well have restrictions of some kind, said Sundararajan, and the need for internet is only going to exponentially accelerate. We cant meaningfully talk about justice for the offline world anymore, given its sharp marginalisation from most mainstream social, political and economic activity. The fact is that those of us in the information or service economies are not the only ones who need the internet, not anymore. For most of this century, all Indians have needed it to lead fuller and fully connected lives; the big difference in the last few years is that we now also need it to be fuller consumers. And in a landscape that promises to be socially distanced for the next one to two years, all of us need it whether we are in the organised or unorganised sector. There is the case of access to justice, and there is the case for access to a healthy life. Getting all citizens online is surely the one reliable way to unite them in following mandates for the greater good while giving them a way to access basic needs. And getting everyone online would also surely create a permanent resource to help the Indian economy leap away from the cliff its getting overfamiliar with. Gaurav Jain is a writer, editor and entrepreneur who co-founded the digital feminist portal The Ladies Finger and the award-winning boutique media house Grist Media. He works at Agami, an organisation that inspires and enables ideas for law and justice. The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Saturday said that the two committees which were earlier formed have submitted their reports and the regulatory body will issue guidelines next week to universities and colleges regarding the measures to be taken for the current and next academic session. UGC constituted two committees to look into the issues being faced by the universities and colleges regarding teaching-learning processes, examinations, admissions, academic calendar and other related issues in view of the COVID-19 pandemic and countrywide lockdown, to avoid academic loss and take appropriate measures for the future of students, read a statement. The first committee under the chairmanship of Professor RC Kuhad, former member UGC and Vice-Chancellor, Central University of Haryana, was given the responsibility to look into the issues related to examinations and academic calendar. The second committee under the chairmanship of Professor Nageshwar Rao, Vice-Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) was asked to look into issues related to promoting online education. It is further clarified that both the committees have submitted their reports on April 24 to UGC. The reports will be discussed in the UGC Commission meeting and based on the decision of the Commission, UGC will issue guidelines/advisories, next week, to the universities and colleges regarding the measures to be taken for the current academic session as well as next academic session in the larger interest of the student community, the statement added. 3 1 of 3 Danbury Fire Department photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Danbury Fire Department photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3 DANBURY - Firefighters came to the aid of a hiker who was having difficulty in the woods on the red trail at Richter Park on Saturday afternoon. Firefighters, along with a paramedic, took to the woods with the off road rescue vehicle known as Ranger 1. They used the vehicle until the trail got too narrow, and then traveled the rest of the way on foot to get to the hiker. New Delhi, April 26 : In an era of video meet apps, Zoom which saw its popularity skyrocketed as the world observed social distancing is proactively identify, address and enhance the security and privacy capabilities of its platform, aiming to allay privacy and security fears in some quarters of the government and general public in India. For the unified communication platform that has clocked 300 million daily users globally, India is an important market and the company has long-term plans for the country. "Zoom wants to grow as an Indian company. We have global customers, India companies, government and individuals as part of our user base here. We also have employees and two data centres - one in Mumbai and other in Hyderabad," Sameer Raje, India Head, Zoom Video Communications, told IANS in an interview. "We have plans to grow our employee count in India and set up the right team who can cater to the market in the country," he informed. The company has already been working with various branches of the government in India - both central and state. "Given how quickly our platform is adapting each day to better address all of these new users, we don't want to speculate too much on what the future holds. "For now, we're focused on helping as many people and businesses as we can stay connected - whether hospitals, schools, financial institutions, governments or users looking to stay in touch with colleagues, friends and family," Raje elaborated. On April 12, the Cyber Coordination Centre (CCC) of the Ministry of Home Affairs warned in an advisory that the "secure use of Zoom meeting platform is for private individuals and not for use of government offices or official purposes". The government said that CERT-In (the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) had been informed on February 6 and March 30 this year, clarifying that "Zoom is not a safe platform". The Zoom India executive emphasized that the video conferencing app takes user security extremely seriously. "A large number of global institutions ranging from the world's largest financial services companies, telecommunications providers, non-governmental organisations and government agencies, have done exhaustive security reviews of our user, network and data centre layers and continue to use Zoom for most or all of their unified communications needs," Raje told IANS. Zoom is in talks with the governments globally and is focused on providing the information they need to make informed decisions about their policies. "In fact, we have announced the availability of Zoom 5.0, a key milestone in our 90-day plan to enhance our platform. By adding support for 'AES 256-bit GCM' encryption, we are providing increased protection for meeting data and resistance against tampering," informed Raje. Threatening tech giants like Microsoft Teams and Google Meets, Zoom app has apparently become a most-sought after video meet tool among people during the lockdown and is being used by schools and several private players. Alarmed at its growing popularity, Facebook (with Messenger Rooms) and instant messaging app Telegram have announced to enter the video conference calling market, which has exploded during the lockdowns. 'AES-256 GCM; encryption which Zoom is working on is one of the most secure encryption standards being used today. Zoom does plan to offer end-to-end encryption for its meetings at some point in the future and the company provided an update on this during the April 15 weekly webinar. "It will position Zoom as an industry leader with regards to encryption security for open and interoperable video communications at scale," said Raje. He said that Zoom's growth can be attributed to ease of use and simplicity of its platform. "Zoom has always prided itself on its customer-first focus and we continue to strive to do all we can to ensure that our customers are happy," Raje noted. (Nishant Arora can be reached at nishant.a@ians.in) The World Health Organisation (WHO) and its partners have launched the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator - the ACT Accelerator - to facilitate the global fight against the pandemic with a common front. This is a landmark collaboration to accelerate the development, production and equitable distribution of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics for COVID-19, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the WHO, said in his remarks at the launch, on Friday. Our shared commitment is to ensure all people have access to all the tools to defeat COVID-19, a media release accessed by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said. The ACT Accelerator brought together the combined power of a number of organisations to work with speed and scale, the Director General said, adding that, the COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented global crisis that had been met with an unprecedented global response, with research and development playing a central role. Since January, WHO has been working with thousands of researchers all over the world to accelerate and track vaccine development - from developing animal models to clinical trial designs, and everything in between, he explained. We have also developed diagnostics that are being used all over the world; and we are coordinating a global trial on the safety and efficacy of four therapeutics against COVID-19. The world needs these tools, and it needs them fast. Dr Ghebreyesus, however, stated that past experience had taught the world health body that even when tools were available, they had not been equally available to all. We cannot allow that to happen, he emphasised, explaining that though countries were doing great work to contain the spread of the disease, we cannot continue to work alone. Consequently, the WHO and partners, through the ACT approach, were coming together to work in new ways to identify challenges and solutions together. Dr Ghebreyesus lauded French President Emmanuel Macron, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Bill and Melinda Gates for their leadership and partnership in co-hosting the ACT Accelerator launch. Were also grateful for the support of many world leaders, who you will hear from today. And I would, especially, like to thank Sir Andrew Witty and Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for agreeing to act as Special Envoys for the ACT Accelerator. The world, he said, was facing a common threat, which could only be defeated with a common approach. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The younger generation of Counting On stars might be starting to rebel against Jim Bob Duggars biggest rules. Jim Bob has issued some strict edicts over the years, many of which reflect his conservative and religious viewpoints. While most of the Duggars have toed the line, a few of Jim Bobs younger children are starting to reject his more stringent rules, starting with their fashion choices. Counting Ons Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar | Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images How many grandchildren does Counting Ons Jim Bob Duggar want? There was a time when Jim Bob reportedly said that he wanted 100 grandchildren. With 19 kids under his belt and many of them starting families of their own, he might reach that goal someday. For now, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar boast 15 grandchildren and have more on the way. Eight of their children have tied the knot and have kids of their own. The one with the largest family is Josh Duggar, who recently announced his wife, Anna Duggar, is expecting their sixth child. As Counting On fans are well aware, the Duggars enforce strict rules on all of their children. This includes protocols related to courtships, homeschooling, and even what they are allowed to wear. These rules have stirred up controversies with fans for years, yet Jim Bob has always stood behind them. While most of Jim Bob and Michelles children follow their guidelines, some of them have started to rebel against the family rules. The Duggars have not done anything too crazy, but some of them have started to wear clothes that Jim Bob and Michelle do not approve of. Anna Duggar relaxes stance on jeans The majority of the Counting On stars adhere to the family rules, but some of the younger generation have started to rebel against Jim Bob and Michelle. This includes Joshs wife, Anna, who has been letting her daughters wear jeans. Anna recently posted photos of her daughters, Mackynzie and Meredith, rocking jeans on social media. And in January of last year, Anna opened up about the fashion decision on social media and revealed she and Josh agreed it was appropriate. From the time Mackynzie has been a baby, I have always allowed our girls to wear jeans instead of leggings in the winter, she explained. Counting On fans have responded positively to Anna and Joshs decision. After one of their latest posts, a fan complimented the couple for allowing their daughter freedom of dress. According to Cinema Blend, Michelle has addressed the situation and admitted that her children sometimes have different convictions. She also revealed that she trusts that God is leading them, which is enough for her to accept their decision. Michelles attitude towards wearing jeans is probably why Anna has not been afraid to share photos of her daughters wearing them. Jim Bob has yet to comment on the matter, but there does not seem to be a rift between him and Anna. Will the younger generation of Counting On stars ditch homeschooling? Another one of Jim Bobs biggest rules that are under threat is his decision to homeschool all of his children. Jim Bob and Michelle are against the public school system and did not encourage any of their children to attend college. So far, all of Jim Bobs children have followed his lead in the homeschooling arena. But as his grandchildren get older, there is a possibility that one or two of the younger generation will send their kids to public school. The most likely couple to send their children to public school are Counting Ons Jinger Duggar and her husband, Jeremy Vuolo. They recently moved to Los Angeles so that Jeremy could finish his degree at a seminary school and share one child together. Jingers daughter is not old enough to go to school, but her father is clearly a fan of post-secondary education. We do not know if the couple plans on homeschooling their daughter, but it would not be a huge shock if they sent her to public school. Counting On is expected to return to TLC sometime in 2020. Latest News Understanding the 'perfect storm' that was the Sydney property market in 2021 Leading expert reflects on the crazy year that brokers and buyers experienced and throws forward to the 12 months to come How to manage home buyer regret Tips for brokers on how they can keep their clients onside once they have bought Following a meeting with the Treasurer, the CEOs of Australias big four banks have agreed to prioritise businesses in need of funding to bridge the gap until the first JobKeeper payments are made in May. To do so, special hotlines will be set up to help manage the applications, with JobKeeper-related queries moved to the front of the queue to accelerate the assessment process. Australian Banking Association (ABA) CEO Anna Bligh confirmed more needed to be done to ensure businesses meet the deadlines for eligibility for the JobKeeper program, even with the tireless work the banks are putting in to process applications as quickly as possible. Throughout this crisis, banks have worked hard to ensure they keep businesses afloat and keep people in jobs, with more than $700 million already lent to businesses to help see them through the pandemic, she said. From today, banks are bolstering their efforts to fast-track any outstanding applications from businesses seeking funding to help them pay staff until the JobKeeper supplement is paid in May." Westpac promptly announced the launch of its customer helpline to ensure eligible businesses are identified quickly and their applications for financial assistance are expedited. We understand many of our customers need help immediately and thats why weve put these measures in place, said chief executive, business division, Guil Lima. Westpac is committed to helping our business customers as they navigate this period by offering practical, meaningful support where we can. We all have a role to play in this extraordinary and challenging time. NABs new hotline, 1800 JOB KEEPER, will also provide a faster way for business customers to access temporary financial assistance options. Weve launched a dedicated hotline for customers needing support with temporary JobKeeper finance and well also expedite any requests weve already received from customers so far, said NAB CEO Ross McEwan. Were working as quickly as we can, with more than 350 people retrained to support customer facing roles so far, so we can support as many customers as we can over this hurdle. Customers can contact 1800 JOB KEEPER, speak directly to their banker or lodge a request for this assistance via the JobKeeper page on NABs site. The launch of the hotlines at the major banks complements the range of support already extended to small businesses affected by COVID-19, including six month deferrals on loans attached to the business, extending existing lines of credit and waiving fees and charges. A 3D printing company in Henley is helping to manufacture hundreds of visors for frontline healthcare workers. Rennd, which is based at the Newtown industrial estate, off Reading Road, is making about 200 masks a week and created the master design on which a further 250,000 integrated masks and visors were based. The prototype manufacturing specialist, which was founded by John Savage in 2014, has also helped Abingdon School by making parts of visors free of charge to pass on to the NHS. Mr Savage, 33, who lives in Kings Close, Henley, said his firm is a sub-contractor using its 3D printers, laser cutters and computer numerical control machines to produce elements of personal protective equipment. The company still has some work and Mr Savage has not furloughed his three staff, but said he wanted to utilise the equipment to help healthcare workers. He explained: We do a lot of contract 3D printing through a third party. They are reaching out to their manufacturing partners to manufacturer personal protective equipment in line with what our equipment is able to produce. We print out the frame for the face visor and we laser cut the face shield itself and assemble it, sterilise it and bag it up. Mr Savage said what they produce is then distributed for them to NHS trusts in the UK, to Europe and the world. He said his company was currently making about 200 masks a week but had the capacity to produce 900 every five days if required. He added: We have done a lot of work free of charge and basically covering our costs. We do have to utilise our equipment for client-based projects as well. The company was also involved in the creation of a new style of integrated face mask and visor, again as a sub-contractor. Mr Savage said: We manufactured the tool, as its known, which is the metal form of what the face mask and visor will look like. We were provided with a 3D model with what they (the client) had envisaged and we used that 3D data to make the tool. We started with a billet of aluminium and we CNC machined it. Thats a robotic tool that physically cuts the aluminium away leaving the frame of the mask. This was then sent to vacuum formers to create 250,000 masks. Mr Savage said: Basically we made the master tool that all the masks are formed around. The company was also approached by Abingdon School to laser cut the straps and framework for 1,000 visors from polypropylene. The schools design and technology department have been producing PPE visors for GPs and healthcare workers in the area. Mr Savage added: Based on those designs we were approached by Deputy Mayor of Henley, David Eggleton, who asked if we would quote to produce some visors for Henley Town Council, about 100. Mr Savage said his company did all of its manufacturing in-house. Its important to me that I dont furlough my staff, he said. We have got the equipment and the experience and we know we can do a good job of it and its a time of national crisis. We know how to get things done very efficiently and quickly and we know theres a lot of people banding together to do this kind of stuff. All these countries are looking after themselves and we need to be doing the same and tapping into our local manufacturing network and we want to be part of that. At a time like this when, realistically, were low on our contract work, its certainly the right thing to do. Britain's largest steel manufacturer will need 500 million in Government support to weather the coronavirus crisis, according to an MP. Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, whose Port Talbot constituency includes the Tata Steel's main steelworks plant said the company requires Government support to survive the Covid-19 shutdown. It was reported the firm has approached the UK and Welsh Governments for a 500 million funding package after many of its customers, such as car manufacturers, halted production during the crisis. Britain's largest steel manufacturer, Tata Steel, will need 500 million in Government support to weather the coronavirus crisis, according to an MP Sky News reported the request was under discussion with the Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The Government has introduced a Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme, which offers loans of up to 50 million to UK-based businesses with a turnover of over 45 million. But the company, which was already beset with financial issues which forced the closure of it Newport plant last year, is in need of funding 10 times the sizes of what is currently allowed. Mr Kinnock said the cap needed to be lifted, otherwise the future of Tata Steel lay in the balance. 'Since the 2016 UK steel crisis the UK government has offered plenty of warm words about supporting our steel industry,' he said. 'Now is the time for ministers to finally start matching those words with actions.' Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, whose Port Talbot constituency includes the Tata Steel's main steelworks plant said the company requires Government support to survive the Covid-19 shutdown Earlier this week, Mr Kinnock questioned Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who was deputising for Boris Johnson at PMQs, about the future of British steel. In reply, Mr Raab said Chancellor Rishi Sunak was 'looking carefully' at the steel industry. Tata Steel employs more than 8,000 people in the UK, including around 4,000 at Port Talbot. Lucy Powell, Labour's shadow minister for business and consumers, said: 'Steel is a vital sector for the UK in the jobs it provides and its role in Britain's domestic manufacturing. 'UK produced steel is critical to ensuring our economy recovers quickly and to make our domestic manufacturing more resilient in the future. 'It is right for the Government to work with the industry to protect employment, which is the lifeblood of communities, while ensuring taxpayer value for money.' A Government spokesman said: 'The Government has put together a far-reaching package of support to help businesses through the coronavirus pandemic. 'We continue to regularly engage with businesses across all sectors, including those in the steel industry.' Trauma is often described as "too much or too little for too long" and, as the long days are turning into even longer weeks, many of us are feeling this is all too much and is going on for too long. At the beginning of this crisis, everything was new and the kids were enthusiastically showing us how they could do the "Dracula cough", proud of how they understood social distancing and keen to tell us all about the merits of washing hands thoroughly. But now the feeling of novelty has deserted them and many kids feel utterly ground down and emotionally exhausted by this lockdown. For children, the whole thing has been incredibly disorientating. Weeks and weeks of unscheduled holidays from school combined with dire warnings about the dangers of being a super-spreader is fairly heady stuff for the average 10-year-old. The insidious nature of this particular virus means we are forced to teach our children to look on their friends and neighbours as potentially dangerous, to become almost phobic of germs and to stay away from pretty much everything that makes childhood fun. Yet when we consider how psychologists have shown that if we put a pencil between our teeth to force us to smile, we automatically feel happier, and if we practise a depressed face along with a slumped posture we feel gloomier, then we realise it is challenging for kids to perform the dual task of avoiding people while also smiling at them. This is the reason so many children tend to look fearful as they pass you by these days - they are busy trying to retrain their brains to view outsiders as potential threats. The brain monitors what's happening in our bodies, it analyses things such as facial expression, muscle tension, heart rate, breathing and posture in order to judge how we are feeling. It causes a dissonance in children's brains to try to smile while their brains are ordering them to carry out social distancing. Many parents feel justifiably anxious these days. Normally, it is our role to absorb a sense of danger so we don't pass this on to our children, but let them remain free to explore their world without fear. This is not an option any more. We now feel forced to fill our children with fear so they fully understand the risks. Worse than that, anxiety-ridden adults feel they are perfectly right to overestimate potential danger, and so believe it is appropriate to shout "get away" at small children if they pass by closer than the allotted two metres. This creates huge dollops of fear and anxiety in children, who have never before had to contend with these complex issues. The problem with social distancing is that it's good for our physical health but really bad for our mental health. If we are to sustain a sense of well-being, we need to feel part of a community and we need our friendships. And, to be honest, all the FaceTime in the world doesn't really cut it - most kids aren't really at the stage of having a gossip with their mates, so they need an activity to share with their pals if they are to foster that warm glow of kinship. For thousands of years we have faced disasters with the help of friendship, community spirit and inter-generational support, but Covid-19 is testing us in ways we have never before been tested. It is not yet clear how all these restrictions will impact young children but these once-in-a-generation disasters leave a long shadow behind them and children - especially poor children - tend to bear the brunt of the distress. A body of research which studied the long-term impact of Hurricane Katrina on children showed that, years later, the kids who were exposed to Katrina were much more likely to show emotional distress than others. With 2.6 billion people currently living under some sort of lockdown, Elke Van Hoof, a professor of health psychology at a Brussels university, has described this as the "world's biggest psychological experiment" and predicted that a secondary epidemic of burnout and stress will follow unless we begin to integrate mental health measures into our strategies. This is why we have arguably reached the point at which we need to be as proactive in protecting our mental well-being as vociferously as we are protecting our physical health. Although children tend to experience emotional difficulties just as acutely as adults, they also tend to hide their anxieties. Rather than communicating their distress, kids incorporate the trauma into their personalities. It is for this reason parents would be wise to actively teach their children coping skills around managing distress during these difficult times, rather than ignoring the issue and talking blithely about "natural resilience" and "bouncing back". Thankfully, parents can do a lot to support their children's mental health (see panel). The writer and director Julio Vincent Gambuto recently described these weird days as 'the great pause', as many of us (although not the key workers) have been suddenly forced to pause everything. We have been inadvertently offered a sacred opportunity to reflect upon our lives and we have been given time to examine how our kids are coping with life and to figure out what they need most. This pause has led to languid days for children who had previously been hurried and stressed. Hanging around the house, chatting with their parents and watching films with their siblings is exactly what mental health professionals all over the country might have previously wished to prescribe to the very many anxious and over-wrought children who were presenting at counselling clinics. Many children are spending inordinate amounts of time with their parents. Frankly, most of them really needed this time to bond and bake with their previously overworked parents. As a psychotherapist, I am continually confronted with over-achieving, over-scheduled children who have never learned to relax. Now that we have State-mandated chilling, it might mean many kids are benefiting from simply doing a lot less. In terms of physical health, children seem to have mostly escaped unscathed from Covid-19, and now we need to make sure they learn to manage the emotional fallout of the lockdown. Indeed, the entire population could perhaps do worse than return to the words of the first director-general of WHO, Dr Brock Chisholm, who pointed out that "without mental health there can be no true physical health". Stella O'Malley is a psychotherapist, best-selling author and public speaker First of all, we can teach our children that facts minimise fears and that if we are equipped with the facts we will often feel less fearful. We can also teach kids there is no such thing as a 'wrong' emotion - emotions are just emotions, neither good nor bad. It is scary for children to learn to be fearful of everyone outside their own household, and so teaching children about the challenges arising from allowing one emotion to dominate can be a valuable life lesson. Children can also learn to build their tolerance to distress by using distraction as a means to lighten their emotional landscape. The gift of self-acceptance is a lesson that will have a much longer-lasting impact than any wondrous home-schooling techniques. The beauty of self-acceptance is that if we teach our children they are good enough exactly as they are, then, as a bonus, we parents will in turn learn to be less harsh and demanding. Protecting our mental health often means simply learning to be kind to ourselves, and a pleasant aspect of focusing on well-being is that learning to be kind to ourselves teaches us to be kinder to others. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal In a notice posted March 30 on the website for La Vida Llena, a large Albuquerque retirement community, executive director Linda Givens detailed some changes wrought by COVID-19. The retirement community would be postponing all group activities, she wrote. It had also closed La Vida Llenas on-site fitness centers and hair salon. The facility had delayed closing its on-campus amenities past the dates the governor ordered similar facilities closed statewide. At the time, its dining rooms remained open. Management recognizes that these are drastic measures, but we think if we limit the time of closeness to mealtime, we can be OK for now, Givens wrote in a post that has since been removed from the website. Be assured we will adjust in whatever area if it is required. We appreciate your cooperation and taking social responsibility so that we can all be safe. We do not want the virus in our community. A day later, Givens announced the first known coronavirus case among La Vida Llena residents. And a day after that it closed its dining rooms. By the end of the week, on-site testing exposed an outbreak. To date, 33 staff people have tested positive and 31 residents have had positive tests 28 from the health care unit, including at least 16 who have died, and three in the independent living area. Nobody has tested positive in the other units, according to La Vida Llenas numbers. The health care unit, which had 43 residents as of April 1, currently has 24. Deaths linked to La Vida Llena account for about one in six of all statewide deaths in coronavirus patients. The virus surge through the facility has prompted staff to publicly raise concerns citing inadequate preparation and mitigation, and triggered an investigation by the office of New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, who has described various deficiencies in the facilitys coronavirus response. While more than 10% of its employees have been infected with COVID-19 and the virus has inundated the health care unit, La Vida Llena notes that the vast majority of the residents on its large campus have tested negative. We have and will continue to do everything possible to protect our residents and employees and to do what we can to work with the various federal, state and local agencies who have helped guide our response, the facility said in a written statement. Nursing homes around the country have struggled to combat coronavirus, including in New Mexico where the state reported five new deaths at one facility in Farmington. PPE not used The New Mexico Department of Health has been retesting at La Vida Llena and is working with the state Aging and Long-Term Services Department on active and ongoing day surveillance at the facility, according to a DOH spokesman. He said the facility has been cooperative and is ensuring compliance with state and federal guidelines for COVID-19 management. But Balderas said earlier this month his agents interviewed staff, contract workers, residents and their families and the investigations preliminary findings show a host of problems with how the facility handled the virus. He reported in a letter to New Mexico Health Secretary Kathy Kunkel that the facility failed to use personal protective equipment, or PPE, and that staff were even discouraged from using it as late as early April. One wonders if this crisis could have been prevented or mitigated had LVL chosen a divergent, more cautious course of action, Balderas wrote. In an interview with the Journal, Allen Gonzales, who worked at La Vida Llenas on-site salon, said that Givens herself on April 1 stopped to question him after she saw him wearing a mask while he helped clean the building. I said, Im wearing it just to protect us,' Gonzales told the Journal. She goes, You really dont need to be doing that wearing that mask all youre going to do is scare and get the residents worried that something bad is going on.' La Vida Llenas management declined a Journal interview request but answered questions via email. The facility said there was an effort to preserve supplies prior to the outbreak but that employees were not actively discouraged from wearing masks. All employees are required to wear masks now, the facility said, and everyone had received masks including some sewn by residents as of April 3 or their next working shift. Balderas letter said his offices early investigative findings are that the facility did not adequately communicate to residents, who felt they had to rely on outside news outlets for crucial information, and medical personnel, who treated patients without being told they had tested positive or been exposed to COVID-19. This practice, coupled with the habit of discouraging PPE use, needlessly put many additional staff members at risk of contracting the virus, he wrote. His office also noted the facilitys noncompliance with public health orders. The facility contends Balderas findings are incomplete because they are based on 32 interviews out of 448 residents and 302 staff. None of those interviews have included La Vida Llena management or supervisors, a La Vida Llena representative wrote to the Journal. We understand why investigators at this early stage might have incomplete information about La Vida Llena based on such a tiny sample size. This is not right An upscale retirement community, La Vida Llena offers a range of housing situations, including independent living, assisted living, health care and memory care units. All of the deaths at La Vida Llena have been tied to the health care unit, which the facility says is home to the frailest residents with the most underlying health conditions. But La Vida Llenas first known case was in an independent living resident. Givens had reported the case in a website post dated March 31, saying the resident was hospitalized and had been exposed to the virus by a private caregiver. The resident had tested positive three days prior. By April 3, state officials reported more than 20 coronavirus cases, including two deaths, linked to the facility. Like Balderas, employees have questioned whether management took appropriate measures to stop the spread. They werent doing what they were supposed to do, which is why theyre in the shape they are in now, said Penni Johnston, who has worked nearly three years as a cosmetologist at La Vida Llena but recently filed for unemployment after she said she was reassigned to cleaning and organizational jobs. Johnston said she raised concerns about how long La Vida Llena kept its on-site salons open. She said the facility did not close them until March 25 and then asked staff to continue performing services in patient rooms, something La Vida Llena said was offered only temporarily. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams administration ordered all nonessential businesses, including salons, to close effective March 24. One of Johnstons salon colleagues ultimately tested positive for COVID-19, she said. I kept telling my boss, This is not right. Youre bringing us in and out and in and out of here every day,' she said. Were risking our lives and more so than that the residents (lives). We were all worried. She said the management was very secretive about the situation and employees learned more from news media reports. A hospice provider with clients who live at La Vida Llena four of whom have tested positive for COVID-19, including one who died said the facility recently prohibited one of his nurses from entering. He said it has been difficult and frustrating for his staff to get health updates for clients inside the facility, getting three returned calls out of 37 attempts between mid-March and mid-April. Im very concerned with the quality of care thats being provided and making sure my patients are comfortable at end of life, said the provider. La Vida Llena said it is particularly sensitive to outside caregivers, but that it is our policy to work cooperatively with hospice providers and to allow hospice providers access to our residents at the end of life, following recommendations from the DOH. Shutting down La Vida Llena took a phased approach to shutting down its community. On March 14, it quarantined its health care areas, limiting entrance to staff and essential health care providers and doing regular temperature checks, a representative told the Journal. However, if residents needed help eating, they were taken to the health care dining room, where they sat two residents per table. The facility said it expanded meal time to allow for two separate seatings. La Vida Llena banned visitors except at its assisted living facilities on March 16 and began delivering meals to those residents rooms. By March 18, it banned visitors at the independent living areas, except for essential providers who help residents with chores like shopping, laundry and bathing. These visitors were required to check in through the main entrance and follow protocol, the facility told the Journal. But one employee told the Journal the policy did not keep people out. Even after the restrictions, the employee said she reported to supervisors that visitors were coming in via the buildings many other doors. In La Vida Llenas first coronavirus case, Givens noted the resident had been exposed by a non-employee care provider and that other independent living residents had also been exposed by a non-employee provider. The problems we have had are from external providers coming into the building and they or their client not following the recommended protocol, Givens posted in a March 31 update. Dining, fitness open While La Vida Llena announced restrictions about who could enter the facility in mid-March, it took longer to shut down areas where residents congregated or interacted with others. A statewide public health order, effective March 19, forced gyms to close and restaurants to stop dine-in service, but La Vida Llena did not close its on-site fitness centers or communal dining rooms until more than a week later. We are aware that gyms have been closed citywide. We have made a decision to leave our Fitness Centers open with some requests and limitations, Givens wrote in a post dated March 23, telling residents to wipe down equipment before and after use and that only two to four people could exercise at the same time. La Vida Llena did not close its community dining rooms until April 1 following instructions from the citys Environmental Health Department. The facilitys management told the Journal that the independent living dining room stayed open until April because it is not considered a restaurant per the states guidelines, but that staff limited the number of people sitting at each table. While La Vida Llena started limiting attendance for group activities on March 20, it did not cancel group activities until March 30. Several people with ties to the facility say it moved too slowly given the nature of the threat. Coronavirus has wreaked havoc at nursing homes and similar facilities around the country. The disease in late February tore through a Seattle-area nursing home in a high-profile outbreak that has now been linked to 43 deaths, according to the Seattle Times. Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in the U.S. have seen over 36,500 coronavirus-related cases in residents and staff, and over 7,000 people have died, the New York Times reported last week. Anita Summers, whose 87-year-old mother is an independent-living resident at La Vida Llena, said she began calling the leadership in mid-March raising concerns. Summers said in an interview last week that she thinks Givens waited too long to restrict residents activity and gatherings and failed to communicate the seriousness of the situation to people living on the campus. I dont know the legality of it. I dont know the recommendations. I dont know what (executive director Givens) was and wasnt required to do, Summers said. Even if I didnt know about the horrible way they handled it with staff, I think she had a moral obligation to do something a lot sooner. La Vida Llena virus timeline March 11 New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announces states first coronavirus cases and declares a public health emergency March 14 State orders New Mexico nursing homes and assisted living facilities to limit visitation only to family members of those at end-of-life; La Vida Llena bans visitors at its health care/nursing home unit except essential health care providers March 16 La Vida Llena bans visitors at its assisted living facilities March 18 La Vida Llena bans all but essential visitors at its independent living units March 19 State order takes effect that closes gyms, spas and shopping malls, forces restaurants to stop dine-in service and limits gatherings to 10 people March 20 La Vida Llena limits group activities among independent living residents to 10 people March 24 State order to close all nonessential businesses and limiting gatherings to five people takes effect March 25 La Vida Llena closes on-site salons; limits campus group activities to five people March 28 First La Vida Llena resident tests positive for coronavirus March 30 La Vida Llena closes on-site fitness center; postpones all group activities March 31 La Vida Llena Executive Director Linda Givens posts online update announcing a La Vida Llena resident has tested positive for coronavirus April 1 La Vida Llena closes its communal dining rooms April 3 State health officials announce 22 coronavirus cases among La Vida Llena staff and residents, including two deaths CLEVELAND, Ohio Its tempting to think of the novel coronavirus pandemic as something truly novel because its rooted in a viral strain not identified previously in humans. But theres nothing new about plagues and pandemics. Humanity has been here before. The cultural record is packed with deja vu. In his 1722 book, A Journal of The Plague Year, Daniel Defoe speaks of the 1665 outbreak of bubonic plague in London in terms that sound eerily like todays headlines. The city compiled statistical Bills of Mortality in ways that anticipate todays coronavirus curves. The Lord Mayor ordered houses with infected inhabitants to be nailed or padlocked shut a cruel form of social distancing. A fifth of Londons population perished. That was a year before the great fire that consumed much of the city. Works in Cleveland Museum of Art collection relevant to coronavirus pandemic.Cleveland Museum of Art The 14th century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio relates in his Decameron how 10 well-to-do young Florentines flee to a country villa during a bubonic plague outbreak known as the Black Death. Theyre like the wealthy of today, leaving cities for second homes in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, or the Hamptons on Long Island. Instead of binge-watching cable TV, Boccaccios protagonists entertain each other by telling 100 stories of love, shame and religious hypocrisy. For art lovers curious about historical responses to plagues and pandemics, the Cleveland Museum of Art has plenty to offer online. Works in Cleveland Museum of Art collection relevant to coronavirus pandemic.Cleveland Museum of Art A search of the permanent collection produces dozens of images of death as the great leveler, of saints to whom the afflicted prayed for a cure, and of the plagues visited upon Egypt before the exodus of the Jews. Heather Lemonedes Brown, the museums deputy director and chief curator, takes solace in the artistic testimony from the past because it offers proof that civilization endures and life goes on. Knowing that humanity persists is comforting on some level, she said. The museum, which is still considering how and when it will reopen, isnt planning a pandemic exhibition, Brown said. But last week she discussed several works in the collection that deal with themes related to coronavirus, which are included here, along with additional selections. What follows is a thematic virtual tour of selected artworks which remind us that previous generations have experienced and withstood pandemics. The Dance of Death The artist Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-98 1543), known for stunning portraits in oils of subjects including Englands Henry VIII, designed a series of prints in the mid-1520s dealing with the classic medieval theme, Dance of Death, inspired by outbreaks of the plague. Holbein designed 41 variations, of which the Cleveland museum has 38. One depicts Death as a raging peasant attacking a wealthy count who runs for his life, flinging useless armor and weapons to the ground. https://clevelandart.org/art/1929.164 - "Der Groff,'' or "The Count,'' is part of the "Dance of Death'' series by Hans Holbein the Younger, inspired by traditional medieval imagery depicting Death as the great leveler, a practice inspired by outbreaks of bubonic plague Cleveland Museum of ArtCleveland Museum of Art The series reminds us that no one from the top of the heap to a nameless child is safe from death, Brown said. Death becomes the great leveler, letting no one escape. In 1850, the German artist Alfred Rethel (1816-1859), created his own variation on the theme in a woodcut depicting Death as a Strangler, fiddling in the midst of an 1832 Parisian costume ball during a cholera outbreak that eventually killed 20,000 across the city. https://clevelandart.org/art/1939.620 - A ghoulish 1850 print by German artist Alfred Rethel depicts Death fiddling at an 1832 Parisian costume ball during a global cholera outbreak. Cleveland Museum of ArtCleveland Museum of Art Death appears in the Rethel in the tattered robes of a monk, playing a fiddle made of human bones as partygoers collapse on the dance floor and musicians bolt for the exits. Parenthetically, its easy to see how the Holbein and the Rethel are part of a visual tradition that includes Ingmar Bergmans classic 1957 film, The Seventh Seal, relating the tale of a medieval knight who challenges Death to a game of chess during an outbreak of plague as he seeks redemption while still alive. Variations on Saint Sebastian The museum holds multiple depictions of Saint Sebastian, a 3rd century Roman soldier who converted to Christianity and was sentenced to death by Emperor Diocletian. When soldiers couldnt kill Sebastian with arrows, they clubbed him to death. Miracles associated with Sebastian include the conversion of a Roman prefect who was cured of a plague when he renounced the worship of idols at Sebastians insistence. For that reason, cities and villages across Europe adopted Sebastian as a plague saint, to whom they prayed for help during outbreaks. https://clevelandart.org/art/1958.411 - The Cleveland Museum of Art's permanent collection includes a delicate and elegant 1493 drawing by the Italian artist Perugino of Saint Sebastian, considered an intercessor for victims of bubonic plague who prayed for a cure. Cleveland Museum of ArtCleveland Museum of Art The museums images of Sebastian include a delicate and elegant 1493 drawing by the Italian artist Perugino, exhibited last year in the exhibition Michelangelo: Mind of the Master. Its such a sensitive and beautiful little drawing, Brown said. https://clevelandart.org/art/1997.53 - The 17th-century Spanish artist Jusepe de Ribera used red chalk on paper in 1626-30 to delineate Saint Sebastian, traditionally associated with cures for bubonic plague, as he is painfully tied to a tree by one arm, flinching in anticipation of being shot with arrows by Roman soldiers. Cleveland Museum of ArtCleveland Museum of Art In contrast to the Perugino, the 17th-century Spanish artist Jusepe de Ribera used red chalk on paper in 1626-30 to delineate the saint painfully tied by one arm to a tree as he flinches in anticipation of the first arrow hes about to receive. https://clevelandart.org/art/1931.65 - A 1484 German monstrance, a gilded silver and rock crystal reliquary in the permanent collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art is believed to contain a sliver of bone from the body of Saint Sebastian, to whom victims of bubonic plague traditionally prayed for a cure. Cleveland Museum of ArtCleveland Museum of Art Another powerful work associated with Saint Sebastian is a 1484 German monstrance, a gilded silver and rock crystal reliquary believed to contain a sliver of bone from the saints body. Its shaped like a slice of a Gothic cathedral with flying buttresses and a towering cupola holding a crystalline cylinder with its precious contents inside. St. Catherine of Siena In addition to Saint Sebastian, Renaissance Italians prayed to St. Catherine of Siena for relief from the plague. The daughter of a wealthy cloth dyer, she had a vision of Christ at age 6, and thereafter dedicated herself to chastity, penance and good works, according to the museum. She became known in Siena for caring for victims of the Black Death. https://clevelandart.org/art/1966.2 - Italians in the Renaissance prayed to St. Catherine of Siena for relief from outbreaks of bubonic plague. The saint is shown here in a 1460 altarpiece panel by Sienese artist Giovanni di Paolo as she kneels to receive the habit of St. Dominic. Cleveland Museum of ArtCleveland Museum of Art St. Catherine is the subject of a 1460 altarpiece panel by Sienese artist Giovanni di Paolo, who shows her kneeling as she receives the habit of St. Dominic. Visons from India, Japan In 12th century Japan, Buddhists seeking protection from disease addressed prayers to the Medicine Master Buddha (Yakushi Nyorai)." Seated on a lotus blossom, the Buddha heals all maladies, including ignorance. He holds his right hand upward in a mudra, or gesture, that means have no fear. https://clevelandart.org/art/1973.85 - Buddhists seeking protection from disease in 12th century Japan addressed prayers to the Medicine Master Buddha, a healer of all maladies who holds his right hand upward in a mudra, or gesture, that means have no fear. Cleveland Museum of ArtCleveland Museum of Art From 1830 to 1880, street artists gathered around Kalighat Temple in Kolkata, India, to purvey bright, colorful paintings on paper that functioned as political broadsides, gossip sheets or religious tracts. Examples at the museum, which held a memorable Kalighat exhibition in 2011, include a two-sided painting of Sheetala, the smallpox goddess, who has the power to cure or curse devotees. https://clevelandart.org/art/2003.157 - A 19th-century Kalighat painting from Kolkata, India, depicts Sheetala, the smallpox goddess, who has the power to cure or curse devotees. Cleveland Museum of ArtCleveland Museum of Art Out of Egypt The museum holds numerous depictions of the plagues visited on Egypt prior to the exodus of the Jews to the Promised Land. Among the most striking is an etching and mezzotint print by British artist J.M.W. Turner, modeled after his 1800 painting The Fifth Plague of Egypt, now owned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art. https://clevelandart.org/art/1919.135 - British artist J.M.W. Turner, modeled his etching, The Fifth Plague of Egypt, after an 1800 painting he made with the same title. Both works are wrongly titled because they depicts the Seventh Plague, caused when Moses stretched his arms toward the heavens causing fire, thunder and hail to descend on the pharaoh and his minions. Cleveland Museum of ArtCleveland Museum of Art Both the etching and the painting are mistitled. Turners image, which shows storm clouds and lightning shrouding Egyptian pyramids, actually depicts the Seventh Plague, caused when Moses stretched his arms toward the heavens causing fire, thunder and hail to descend on the pharaoh and his minions. AIDS Cleveland artist Scott Miller, who died in 2008 at age 52, was known for a flowing style inspired by cartoons and graffiti. Untitled, painted in 1986, depicts a male figure with his arms folded protectively across his chest as he hovers amid overflowing viscera. The museum says the painting refers to Millers identity as a gay man living through the deadliest years of the AIDS pandemic. - Scott Miller, a leading Cleveland artist who died in 2008 at age 52, painted this untitled work in 1986, which the Cleveland Museum of Art interprets as a statement of vulnerability during the AIDS crisis. Cleveland Museum of ArtCleveland Museum of Art In 2019 the museum acquired a 1987 work created by contemporary American artist Jenny Holzer as a response to HIV/AIDS, which has killed 32 million since the early 1980s according to the World Health Organization. Entitled Laments: Death came and he looked like the work consists of a vertically oriented L.E.D. sign flashing with a word crawl, and a marble sarcophagus etched with the same text, written by the artist. - Laments: Death came and he looked like..., 1987. Jenny Holzer, an L.E.D. sign, marble sarcophagus, is a work of contemporary art recently acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art. The installation, which will be available for viewing when the museum reopens, has taken fresh meaning during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchased with funds donated by Scott Mueller 2019.19 Jenny Holzer, member Artists Rights Society (ARS), New YorkCleveland Museum of Art For Brown, the Holzer refers to mass media and fine art, evoking both modern technology and ancient burial practices. With contrasting vertical and horizontal elements that stand up lie down, the work also appears to evoke the living and the dead, both at the same time, and the new and the old, Brown said. - Laments: Death came and he looked like..., 1987. Jenny Holzer, an L.E.D. sign, marble sarcophagus, is a work of contemporary art recently acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art. The installation, which will be available for viewing when the museum reopens, has taken fresh meaning during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchased with funds donated by Scott Mueller 2019.19 Jenny Holzer, member Artists Rights Society (ARS), New YorkCleveland Museum of Art Somber and bluntly assertive, the Holzer is a thoroughly contemporary response to plagues that have been part of human experience for millennia. Its also a reminder of how current events can endow great works of art throughout the museums collection with a sudden, sharp relevance. Will & Grace fans were delighted to spot Matt Damon making a guest appearance in season four of the hit show. Now, following the series finale, Sean Hayes who plays Jack McFarland on the series, has revealed how he landed the A-lister. 'Matt and I used to play softball,' Hayes explained on PeopleTV. 'We were just playing and I was like, "Did you want to do the show?" And he was like, "Yeah, why not?" Score: Sean Hayes revealed that he was the one responsible for Matt Damon's fan-favorite guest appearance during season four of Will & Grace Retrospective: Following the series finale of Will & Grace, Hayes and co-star Eric McCormack appeared on PeopleTV's Couch Surfing to discuss the beloved sitcom's most memorable moments and cameos. He continued: 'Literally it was that easy. He was like, "Yeah, I'll come on the show."' In the episode entitled A Chorus Lie, Damon played Jack's rival Owen who was competing against him for the final spot in the prestigious Manhattan Gay Men's Chorus. After discovering that Owen is actually a straight man posing as gay, Jack enlists the help of Debra Messing's character Grace to help him bring the truth about Owen to light. Of the episode's plot, Hayes remarked that 'it was just a smart twist on an old story.' A Chorus Lie: In the episode entitled A Chorus Lie, Damon played Jack's rival Owen who was competing against him for the final spot in the prestigious Manhattan Gay Men's Chorus; Matt Damon and Debra Messing in 2002 The plan: After discovering that Owen is actually a straight man posing as gay, Jack enlists the help of Debra Messing's character Grace to help him bring the truth about Owen to light; Damon, Messing, and Hayes pictured in 2002 'The guy who pretended to be gay to get into the gay chorus as opposed to a gay guy pretending to be straight. I think that was a really smart twist,' he concluded. A Chorus Lie premiered in February of 2002. Over the course of its 11 seasons on the air, Will & Grace has featured the likes of Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr., Ellen DeGeneres, and more. When Hayes was asked about his personal favorite Will & Grace guest appearance, he admitted Cher topped his list. Easy: 'Matt and I used to play softball,' Hayes began. 'We were just playing and I was like, "Did you want to do the show?" And he was like, "Yeah, why not?"' Great twist: Of the episode's plot, Hayes remarked that 'it was just a smart twist on an old story' Personal favorite: When Hayes was asked about his personal favorite Will & Grace guest appearance, he admitted to PeopleTV's host that Cher topped his list 22 years after first coming on the air in 1998, Will & Grace aired its last episode on Thursday night. Will & Grace ran for eight seasons in its initial run between 1998 and 2006, but NBC brought back McCormack, Messing, Hayes, and Megan Mullally as Karen for three more seasons starting in 2017. Watch every episode of Will & Grace on NBC, or on Stan in Australia. Actor Arjun Kapoor is wondering why people have really low expectations from actors when it comes to intelligence. In a recent quiz video, Film Companions Anupama Chopra asked Arjun the pincode for his area, Juhu. Arjun gave the right answer--400049-- and mentioned how the question showed the very low bar set for actors intelligence or knowledgeability. Why would I not know? That is a really low benchmark to set for actors. People must be thinking Oh God!, he said. He added, That one question of Alia (Bhatt) on Koffee With Karan destroyed our combines IQ of the film fraternity. Upon her debut on Koffee With Karan in 2012, Alia was asked to name the President of India when she blurted out Prithviraj Chauhan. The goof-up haunted her for years as she was trolled mercilessly for it. Talking about it, Alia had said that she made the wrong guess in a bid to outrace her co-guests Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra on the show. Id rather be stupid than pretend to be intelligent. People connect with you when you make mistakes, she had said back then. She even released a video with AIB titled Genius of the Year, as her response to the entire episode. Also read: Karan Johar proudly shows off grey hair as his lockdown look: Let me start behaving like my age for once Arjun and Alia have worked together in Abhishek Vermans 2014 movie 2 States. The film was based on author Chetan Bhagats popular book by the same name. Arjun is currently in lockdown with his sister Anshula at their Mumbai home. Recently, Arjun helped raising funds for the families of 300 daily wage earners by going on a virtual date. The actors virtual date happened through his sisters online fund-raising platform, Fankind, and raised enough funds to feed the families in question for a month. Arjun will next be seen in Dibakar Banerjees Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar. The film also stars Arjuns Ishaqzaade co-star Parineeti Chopra. Follow @htshowbiz for more New Delhi, April 26 : Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that the situation in Delhi in the eighth week of the coronavirus lockdown was better than the previous one with fewer cases and deaths reported. "Th 8th week was slightly better than the week before, for the people of Delhi. There were fewer cases, fewer deaths, and many more people went home after complete recovery," the Chief Minister said. Sharing data, he said the eighth week (starting April 20) had only 622 new cases, compared with 850 cases in the seventh week. "Last week, nine people died of coronavirus, while in the week before that 21 people died," he said. In the seventh week, 260 people were cured and discharged, while 580 went home last week -- "that is more than double of the previous week", the Chief Minister said. "Our aim is not let anyone die. I am happy that people are coming forward to donate their plasma to save other's lives." Kejriwal said that the plasma therapy is showing good results. "There was a very critical patient in the Lok Nayak (LNJP) Hospital. Doctors said he was sinking. He was administered plasma therapy and his health has improved significantly," Kejriwal said. He also said the government is asking the patients, who have recovered and since been discharged, to donate plasma. "It is possible that a Muslim's plasma can save life of a Hindu patient or the plasma of a Hindu may save the life of a Muslim person. God did not discriminate between humans. Why have we created a wall between us? Coronavirus affects all -- be it Hindu or Muslims," he said. Kejriwal said if anyone ever has any feelings of hate for any other religion, they should just think that one day their plasma can save your lives. "We can take a lesson from this coronavirus crisis -- that if we work together, no one can defeat us. But if we continue to fight, there is no scope left." Tonto Dikeh has revealed more details about her new boyfriend days after she disclosed during a live video session on Instagram that her new boyfriend has couple of houses in Abuja. That was her first time of talking about her new and she also disclosed that the mystery boyfriend does not visit or sleep in her house because she respects her son so much and she would not do anything with her boyfriend in his presence. She has now dropped another detail today revealing that her boyfriend is a Muslim. The actress was responding to a question posed by a fan on Instagram after she had posted a picture of herself wearing a Hijab. The post My boyfriend is a Muslim Tonto Dikeh discloses appeared first on . Share this post with your Friends on No Responses Yet Four people who refused to work for local agencies after finishing overseas training courses funded by Quang Ngai province have been forced to pay 200 percent of the training fee. Doan Dung, director of the Quang Ngai Department of Interior Affairs, has signed decisions on forcing the four to reimburse the training fee. Doan Dung has signed decisions on forcing the four to reimburse the training fee. The smallest amount of money the department claims is VND2 billion and the highest is VND3.5 billion. The total amount is VND9 billion. The cases have caught special attention from the public because the individuals are the children of high ranking officials of the province, who must understand the laws and regulations. Pham Thanh Hai, former head of Quang Ngai Provincial Party Committee Propaganda Department, on April 8 told Dat Viet that he was sad because his daughter, Pham Thi My Hanh, did not return to the province to work for local agencies. Four people who refused to work for local agencies after finishing overseas training courses funded by Quang Ngai province have been forced to pay 200 percent of the training fee. Hanh initially planned to become a lecturer at a university in Quang Ngai province, but she later changed her mind after she successfully applied for a post at a bank. Hai agreed to give back 100 percent of the fee of the overseas training course that her daughter attended. However, he has been asked to pay 200 percent of the fee. Hai argues that his daughter will still work and dedicate herself to society, no matter where she works. His daughter studied at a prestigious school in Australia. Besides the money from the provincial budget, his family also had to pay VND500 million to fund the daughters travel and daily needs. He believes that the provincial Department of Interior Affairs decision to force him to pay back 200 percent of fee is unreasonable. Explaining his decision, Dung said the Department of Interior Affairs is strictly observing the local policy. He went on to say that the trainees and their families were warned of the punishments they would face if they did not come back to Vietnam and serve at local agencies. Before they received funding from the provincial authorities, they had to make commitments that they would have to pay 200 percent of the training fees if they broke the commitment. According to Dung, the policy has been applied in the locality since 2013 and the Department of Interior Affairs is just observing the policy. The provincial Party Committee Propaganda Committee and the Department of Information and Communications will hold a public meeting to give official information about the issue, he said. Meanwhile, a leader of the Quang Ngai City Peoples Committee said his children were paying back the money, step by step. Chi Mai The talents of Vietnam's two female mathematics professors Vietnams mathematics community has only two female professors Hoang Xuan Sinh and Le Thi Thanh Nhan. Australia is effectively in lockdown. Public gatherings of more than two people are banned and people are only permitted to leave home for a limited set of reasons. The recent tough measures appear to be having some effect and the daily growth rate of new cases is now slowing. Although this is an encouraging indication we may be starting to reverse the epidemic, we need now to start thinking about if, when and how we relax our current aggressive control measures. What are our options for coming out of lockdown? Achieving control buys time and allows us to learn more about the virus and the successes and failures of other countries. But until an effective vaccine arrives, the majority of the population will still lack immunity to COVID-19. This is essentially identical to the position we were in when the first imported cases of the coronavirus arrived in Australia. Mounted police patrol Sydney's Coogee Beach on Friday. Source: AAP While there has been debate about the speed at which restrictions have been introduced, there has been less discussion about how and when these measures can be relaxed without causing another spike in infections. We outline four broad options available for coming out of lockdown once we have gained initial control: Option 1: We could relax lockdown measures completely, prioritising a return to normal social and economic freedoms over suppressing infection Option 2: We could limit community transmission and ensure case rates remain very low until a vaccine is developed Option 3: We could push to completely eradicate the virus and avoid rebound when social distancing measures are relaxed, as long as borders remain closed Option 4: We could relax some measures and allow infection to continue in a very controlled manner, while protecting the vulnerable. Each of these four approaches is associated with huge risks. The lockdown trap The first option would see a resurgence of the virus, with similar consequences to those of an unchecked epidemic. The second option involves keeping case numbers to a trickle until a vaccine arrives squashing the curve to a flat line but not eliminating transmission completely. Story continues This appears to be the path we are now pursuing, but it is not yet clear whether we will be able to reopen businesses, restaurants and even schools while still allowing low-level transmission to continue. If we continue this path, we should recognise that some form of lockdown is likely. We could gradually release the brakes, but any suggestion of an upswing would be met with renewed suppression efforts. We could continually be putting out spot-fires and intermittently returning to strict lockdown until a vaccine arrives. The third option involves an attempt to completely eradicate all circulating virus. Although we may be able to return to our previous lives, we would remain highly vulnerable to recurrence through importation if we were to reopen our borders. If we were to pursue this path, extensive public engagement would be essential. We would need to remain in lockdown for many weeks after the last case has been reported and the rationale for pushing through towards eradication needs to be communicated clearly. It is unclear if this is the strategy pursued by China, but its promising case numbers demonstrate the value of strict and prolonged lockdown. The rebound risk of this strategy will only be tested once strict lockdown measures are released. A Gold Coast girl writes messages on her driveway urging people to isolate. Source: AAP Herd immunity The fourth option may include carefully controlled transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in select low-risk groups, which is an extremely dangerous path. However, the almost complete absence of mortality in children and young adults may allow us to consider ways by which we can increase population-wide immunity, while protecting the vulnerable to avoid the huge rates of death seen in the elderly. A jogger crosses Brisbane's Goodwill Bridge as the sun sets. Source: AAP The term herd immunity has generated considerable controversy since the start of this pandemic. But ensuring a significant proportion of the population develop natural immunity to the virus in a controlled manner could be the only way to slow its spread while returning to our previous lifestyles, in the absence of an effective vaccine. We still need to understand better the risks posed to young people from natural infection, as well as the strength and duration of natural immunity. But current indications are the disease is relatively benign in healthy, young people and that they do acquire immunity. This very distinctive pattern may provide a key to coming out of lockdown while minimising risks if an effective vaccine fails to materialise in the near future. This option would need to be carefully controlled to ensure the virus cannot spread to the elderly and the vulnerable. How this could be achieved remains to be considered, but could involve the creation of environments in which transmission can be carefully facilitated among healthy young volunteers, without any risk of spread to the general community. Two men play basketball on a closed court in Melbourne's suburb of Prahran. Source: Getty Images Natural immunity in a substantial proportion of the younger generation would allow those individuals to get on with their lives without putting others at risk. It would also slow any recurrent outbreaks that may occur once lockdown restrictions are relaxed. Although there are no easy answers, we need to actively debate our exit strategy now, and collect the necessary information to guide our decision making. We may have to consider different solutions in different environments, but with an overarching strategy that is nationally coordinated. The authors of this article are James Trauer, Monash University; Professor Ben J Marais, University of Sydney; and Professor Emma McBryde from James Cook University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read Now were in lockdown, how can we get out? 4 scenarios to prevent a second wave. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play. There is nothing that I did in the case involved that I would not do again if I had to do it over again, he said in a speech to his staff, who gave him a standing ovation. We acted in an entirely ethical, legal and moral sense. The charges are therefore baseless, they are outrageous, ridiculous, and I feel confident that once this is brought to trial that Ill be completely exonerated of the charges. Katharina Obladen tests a light module at the mechanic's workshop of the Startup UVIS UV-Innovative Solutions in Cologne, western Germany, on April 22, 2020. Three blue-glowing UVC lamps line the inside of the rectangular metal case. (Photo | AFP) Cologne: Tanja Nickel and Katharina Obladen were still in high school when they patented an idea to disinfect escalator handrails using UV light. A decade later, their small German startup UVIS can barely keep up with orders from around the world for their coronavirus-killing escalators and coatings for supermarket trolleys and elevator buttons. Everybody wants it done yesterday, Obladen, 28, told AFP at the companys workshop in central Cologne. The pandemic has made businesses realise they need to invest in hygiene precautions for staff and customers. Its gone from nice-to-have to must-have. As Germany begins to relax some lockdown restrictions, the startups five-person team has been inundated with requests from shops, offices and cafes eager to reopen to a public newly aware of the health risks lurking in shared spaces. Contest Friends since kindergarten, Nickel and Obladen were 17 and 18 years old when they entered an inventors competition. Worried about the swine flu pandemic at the time, they wanted to come up with something to make public places germ-free. Inspired by New York Citys use of ultraviolet radiation to sterilise drinking water, they designed a UV light box that can be built into escalators to disinfect handrails, with the radiation destroying the DNA of disease-causing micro-organisms. They asked their families for help filing the patent. They knew us and knew we would stick with it, Obladen recalled. After finishing university, the pair founded UVIS in 2016 with seed money from programmes for startups. They remain a rare example in Germany of women running an engineering firm. This year, the duo added an antimicrobial coating to their line-up, not based on UV technology. The invisible coating can be sprayed onto surfaces to destroy mould, bacteria and viruses like the novel coronavirus, using the self-cleaning properties of titanium dioxide. Dangerous Europes largest elevator and escalator makersThyssenkrupp, Schindler, Otis and Konewere early customers, putting the womens ultraviolet light boxes, called Escalite modules, in escalators in malls, hospitals and train stations. But the coronavirus has seen demand explode. Weve already surpassed our revenue target for 2020, said 27-year-old Nickel, declining to give figures. Interest has been especially strong in Europe and Asia. The startup recently shipped over 30 escalator modules to Singapore. Standing in the same workshop where her electrician grandfather used to tinker away and where his old hard hats still line the shelves, Obladen demonstrated how the light box works. Three blue-glowing UVC lamps, emitting the strongest kind of UV beams and highly dangerous when exposed to skin and eyes, line the inside of a rectangular metal case. The escalators handrail passes through the case as it continually loops around, getting a full blast of germ-killing radiation. The metal case, roughly the size of an adult arm, and an accompanying power box can be fitted into any escalator, which Obladen said was the biggest challenge. UV disinfection was already routinely used in the food industry and hospitals worldwide before COVID-19 spurred wider calls for the technology. In China, where the virus first emerged, it has been used to clean buses and banknotes. Obladen said they too were considering other ways to deploy UVC light. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. By Rod Nickel WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Plans underway to restart the economies of Canadian provinces do not depend on presuming people who become infected with coronavirus develop immunity to it, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday. By Rod Nickel WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Plans underway to restart the economies of Canadian provinces do not depend on presuming people who become infected with coronavirus develop immunity to it, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday. The World Health Organization said earlier that there was "no evidence" that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection. "I don't believe there are any plans that hinge on certain people being immune to COVID-19," Trudeau said in his daily briefing in Ottawa, adding that provincial plans focus on preventing the spread through social distancing and protective equipment in workplaces. "(Immunity) is something we need to get clearer answers to and until we have those clear answers, we need to err on the side of more caution." In a scientific brief, the United Nations agency warned governments against issuing "immunity passports" or "risk-free certificates" to people who have been infected as their accuracy could not be guaranteed. New Brunswick is the first Canadian province to begin reopening parts of its economy and Saskatchewan has outlined a plan to start reopening in May. Trudeau met with provincial premiers on Friday to discuss their restart plans. Measures will differ as infection rates vary among provinces, but require national coordination, he said. Canada's death toll from COVID-19 rose 7% to 2,350 from a day earlier. Cases reached more than 44,000. Trudeau announced funding for the country's fish and seafood processors whose businesses were harmed by the coronavirus pandemic. The government will spend C$62.5 million ($44.32 million) to support the processors, he said. They can use the money to buy protective equipment for workers or storage space for products to sell them later. (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Marguerita Choy) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. https://www.aish.com/sp/so/Saying-Kaddish-for-500-People.html I didn't know what Kaddish is. Now I'm saying it for over 500 people. I grew up in Scarsdale surrounded by a large Jewish population. It was the classic story: Hebrew School twice a week, (hating it), a bar mitzvah, and then never going back. With very little connection to Judaism, my life was about sports, hanging out with friends, and having a good time. If you had told me three years ago that I would be saying Kaddish for over 500 people in one of the few minyanim left in the world, I would have never believed you. A business major in college, l was looking for a summer internship to take me off the beaten path. Having my interest sparked in college, I started asking questions about Judaism, and my cousin, a conservative rabbi in Toronto suggested a program at Aish HaTorah called JInternship that offered an 8-week internship and beginner learning program. Though very hesitant at first, I ended up deciding to go on the program as other opportunities were quickly disappearing. The program changed my life. For the first time, I was interested in learning, and I was in a place where no question was too crazy. I could explore and keep going deeper and deeper and I found the classes fascinating and insightful. I started to slowly fill in the gaps in my Jewish education and change my perspective about Judaism. I began keeping Shabbos and kosher to the extent that I knew how, and did a lot of self-exploration. Leaving Israel, I knew I wanted to graduate and come back to learn some more. Then God decided to throw me and my family the biggest challenge we could imagine: early into my senior year, my father was diagnosed with ALS. One of the most important things I had learned at Aish over the summer was the importance of honoring parents, something I had struggled with, as my relationship with my dad was difficult. While so much of my life was skyrocketing forward, so much at home was falling apart. I went home to be there for my parents Though I returned to Aish the following summer to help run the JInternship program, I was constantly in touch with my parents, hearing about my dads physical deterioration. While so much of my life was skyrocketing forward, so much at home was falling apart. After a few months, with guidance from my rabbis, I decided to go home with one goal in mind: to be there for my parents to spend time with my dad and to help out my mom. I made the most of the time with my dad, trying to keep him positive, helping with his feedings, getting him into bed, and doing whatever I could. The household was hell, but with my new outlook, I was driven to accomplish more than I ever expected. Seeing what my dad had to go through was incredibly difficult. My dad passed away October 19, 2018, a few weeks after the High Holidays. Saying Kaddish for my dad became my way of doing what I could for him. I couldnt travel without thinking if there would be a minyan; my daily schedule was centered around making sure to be in minyan three times a day. Every Shabbos, I would make the 50-minute walk to and from shul and made sure I did not miss the opportunity to recite Kaddish. Although I didnt understand why my dad had to suffer, oftentimes struggling with the words I was saying, Kaddish was the thing that meant the most to me throughout the year. Evan Hendel with his father The time at home changed my life. I saw my mom's dedication to do anything possible to help my dad. I saw her and my dad battle through the darkest times. And most importantly, I was able to repair the broken relationship I had with my dad. Seven months later I returned to Aish HaTorah to continue my learning and growth. I was incredibly passionate to deepen my Jewish knowledge and commitment, and strengthen my purpose in life. It's been 10 months and while it's sometimes challenging being away from family, learning at Aish in the heart of Jerusalem's Old City has been the most incredible experience. Throughout my journey towards observance, I have made it a passion of mine to try and find how I could help all the Jewish people I knew in my life, and any Jew I ever met. Now, as Jews over the world are left without synagogues or minyanim, I am incredibly humbled to have the responsibility of reciting Kaddish and trying to bring a little bit of comfort to families that are going through difficult times. Honoring the memory of my dad, I do my best to have every single person in mind, and as I read each name I try to imagine all the family members who are going through their own mourning process. I cant wait for the day people can return to their own minyanim and say Kaddish, not because it's a burden for me, but because I understand how important it was for me to be able to say Kaddish for my dad. To all the families that I am saying Kaddish for, I extend my deepest condolences and may you be comforted amongst the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem For 25 years, Aish HaTorah, located across from the Western Wall, has quietly provided the recitation of Kaddish, the traditional memorial prayer recited during the first year of mourning and on the yahrzeit of a close relative, as a service for Jews around the world. Since the closing of shuls and minyanim, Aish waived all donation fees and has received over 500 requests for Kaddish. In addition, organizations who offer this service have reached out to Aish to include their lists of over 1000 names for whom they recite Kaddish. For more information or to have Kaddish recited click here. WASHINGTON When a fractured Supreme Court ruled this week that jury convictions for serious crimes must be unanimous, one word appeared nearly as frequently in the differing opinions offered by five justices as "jury." That word was "precedent." And lurking between the lines was another word, mentioned just twice and only in footnotes: abortion. Since 1973, the constitutional right to abortion has hinged on the high court's decision in Roe v. Wade, later modified but upheld in 1992. Before he was confirmed to the court in 2018 by the narrowest of margins, Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh referred to those rulings as "precedent on precedent." But in striking down a Louisiana prisoner's conviction and subsequent sentence of life without parole, the Supreme Court jettisoned yet another of its own precedents, established a year before Roe and a generation before 1992's Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Six justices agreed with the reversal. For SCOTUS-watchers, it was but the latest indication that a more conservative court, focused first and foremost on the words written in the Constitution, is increasingly willing to reverse the work of its predecessors. And no issue hangs in the balance more than abortion. Activists rally outside the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, DC on March 4. 2020 during oral arguments for a major abortion-related Supreme Court case, June Medical Services LLC v. Russo. "More and more of the justices are aware that they need to have a theory of precedent," said William Baude, a University of Chicago Law School professor whose recent treatise on the subject was cited by Kavanaugh in the Louisiana ruling. Kavanaugh spent 18 pages laying out his theory for when precedent can be cast aside, one that hinges on three factors: a "grievously wrong" prior court decision and its negative consequences, set against the degree to which it has become relied upon. "Some of the courts most notable and consequential decisions have entailed overruling precedent," he wrote. Among them: landmark rulings on school segregation, same-sex marriage, campaign spending, defendants' rights and abortion. Story continues Even now, Kavanaugh argued, the court lacks "any consistent methodology or road map" for when to overrule precedent, which in turn "poses a problem for the rule of law and for this court." Under Chief Justice John Roberts, the high court does not overrule itself often. But in 2018, it struck down a 1977 decision that allowed public employee unions to collect fees from nonmembers and a 1992 ruling that allowed retailers to sell goods tax-free beyond state borders. Last year, it overruled two more precedents, on court battles between states and on private property rights. More: Supreme Court on the verge of reversing some of its old decisions The lone justice to oppose all the attacks on Supreme Court precedent has been Associate Justice Elena Kagan. In a unanimous opinion in March involving states' immunity from copyright infringement lawsuits, she quoted from an earlier decision that called honoring the court's prior workmanship a "foundation stone of the rule of law." Dissenters wonder: What's next? Kagan was in the minority in the court's ruling on unanimous juries, which her fellow dissenter, Associate Justice Samuel Alito, wrote could prompt a "tsunami of litigation" in Louisiana and Oregon, the only two states with non-unanimous jury verdicts in dispute. The majority opinion by Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch overturned the 1972 ruling in Apodaca v. Oregon. A single justice had cast the deciding vote for allowing non-unanimous verdicts in state, but not federal, courts. Gorsuch and just two colleagues said the fractured nature of that decision made it unworthy of precedential force. Even if we accepted the premise that Apodaca established a precedent, no one on the court today is prepared to say it was rightly decided, and "stare decisis" isnt supposed to be the art of methodically ignoring what everyone knows to be true," Gorsuch wrote, using the Latin term for upholding precedent. Even imperfect precedents routinely are preserved if society has come to rely on the consequences, however. In this case, Gorsuch reasoned that although Louisiana and Oregon will face litigation from defendants convicted by non-unanimous juries, that burden is sustainable. Other precedents, he acknowledged, have greater economic, regulatory or social reliance interests. On which side of that ledger abortion rights falls remains to be seen. Frederick Schauer, a University of Virginia School of Law professor who has written on Supreme Court precedents, said Gorsuch's opinion represents "a handbook for any justice who wants to not follow a previous case." "It provides some degree of cover for a justice who says, 'I dont like this opinion. Is there a reason why I dont have to follow it?'" Schauer said. Each time in recent years that the court has overruled precedents, dissenting justices surely with abortion in mind have wondered what high court chestnuts could fall next. In the unanimous jury case, Alito wrote, "I assume that those in the majority will apply the same standard in future cases." Last May, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer was more direct, raising the court's 1992 decision upholding the basic tenet of Roe v Wade. "Todays decision can only cause one to wonder which cases the court will overrule next," he wrote. When another precedent fell a month later, Kagan marveled: "Well, that didn't take long. Now one may wonder yet again." Abortion 'in the tea leaves' It won't take long to get at least some sense of the court's intentions regarding abortion. The justices in 2016 struck down restrictions on Texas abortion clinics and doctors that a 5-3 majority said unduly burdened women seeking abortions. In March, Louisiana was before the court with a mirror-image case and two new justices sitting in judgment: Gorsuch and Kavanaugh. More: Abortion clinics face critical test at Supreme Court Even if that case doesn't produce the clear-cut victory sought by opponents of abortion, the steady drumbeat of challenges to state restrictions promises to send more cases the high court's way. During oral argument in March, Breyer wondered, "Why depart from what was pretty clear precedent?" Louisiana Solicitor General Elizabeth Murrill had a ready answer, arguing that in following Roe v. Wade, the court has come to rely on a "non-textual right." "It is that much more important to get the text and the history right," she said. Of course, it may be a long road from Louisiana's requirement that abortion clinic doctors have hospital admitting privileges to overruling Roe. The court's four liberal justices stand in the way, and Chief Justice John Roberts, who joined Alito's dissent in the jury case, prefers to move slowly. Kavanaugh's vote, even after his lengthy concurring opinion on unanimous juries, remains in doubt. "One of the questions will be how does his theory apply to Roe, but I dont think we know the answer to that yet," Baude said. "Everyone wants to see abortion in the tea leaves on this one," Schauer said, but the battle over the importance of precedents isn't over. Just the recent intense focus, he said, "makes it harder for any justice to ignore it completely." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Abortion: Does Supreme Court approach to precedent risk Roe v. Wade? President, Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide, Apostle Johnson Suleman has told the federal government of Nigeria to allow pastors access the various COVID-19 isolation centres in the country and heal affected persons. The clergyman who made the offer said pastors who possess the gift of healing should be given access to the centres so as to minister healing to infected persons through prayers. Apostle Suleman was quoted by Church Times, to have said this during an online broadcast. Please (referring to the government) permit us to go and pray for COVID-19 patients. Allow us to go there (isolation centres), that is why there are men of God, he said. If you are really anointed to pray for the sick, this is the time because what is holding the world is sickness. So, were begging the government to permit us into isolation centres, that is the only way we can reduce this nonsense because it will improve everyday. There are people with the gift of healing, God has gifted them to pray for the sick. It is not fake, gimmick or arranged. It is there in them. Permit us so that we can prove there are prophets in Nigeria. He added that he believes the COVID-19 situation can be handled by spiritual means and some pastors have been empowered by God for such a purpose. Permit us so that the ridicule and all that can reduce. Were not telling you we can heal all of them but by the time we are through with them, youll see significant difference. If they are 20 before, at least 18 will be cleared because that is what God can do, he said. Naija News reports that based on the latest figures provided by the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) as at Friday evening, Nigeria has a total number of 1095 confirmed cases. 208 persons have been discharged while 32 deaths have been recorded. Share this post with your Friends on Hyundai cars are lined up to be exported overseas at the company's Ulsan Plant on April 8. Yonhap By Kim Hyun-bin Conglomerates are in a rush to secure cash by offloading core assets as the shock from COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the economy escalating concerns over a liquidity crisis in the coming months. Hanjin has sold off its rental car project to Lotte Rental Cars which includes 3,000 vehicles worth 60 billion won last week. The group also offloaded its bus terminals in east and west Daegu for 40 billion won and has further plans to sell off real estate near Busan. Its key affiliate, Korean Air, has also sold off its employee residences on Jeju Island, which is estimated at 40 billion won. Hyundai Steel sold off all its Hyundai Oil Bank shares as well as its company building in Seoul earlier this month. "Assets that could be sold to help us financially are under revision," a company official said during a conference call soon after releasing its first-quarter performance. SK E&S has sold all of its 10.25 percent share in China Gas Holdings worth 1.8 trillion won. SK Networks has agreed to transfer its gas station project to Hyundai Oil Bank and Koramco REITs & Trust to secure 1.3 trillion won. In February, LG Electronics made a deal to sell its twin towers in Beijing for 668.8 billion won. Doosan Group is in the process of selling the total of its 61 percent stake in its key cash cow affiliate Doosan Solus, as part of its self-rescue efforts to save its flagship unit Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction. Haitai Confectionery unloaded its Haitai Ice Cream branch to Binggrae, a deal worth 140 billion won. Conglomerates have also reduced the salary of executives and initiated leave without pay. Some 1,200 executives at Hyundai Motor Group's 50 affiliates have agreed to an indefinite 20 percent pay cut starting this month. Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin and executives at Lotte Holdings agreed to a three-month pay cut in which Shin will take a 50 percent cut, while 33 executives' and outside directors' paychecks will be reduced by 20 percent. Local airlines which have been impacted directly by COVID-19 have gone into emergency management. Korean Air, the country's leading airline has put 70 percent of its employees on compulsory leave for six months. Asiana Airlines has put all employees on minimum 15 days' leave without pay. Eastar Jet is in the process of laying off 350 people, approximately 20 percent of its total personnel. 346 Shares Share We are a team of physicians: an OB/GYN, pediatrician, and pediatric and adult psychiatrist, who are primarily concerned for the emotional and physical well-being of you and your baby. The American Academy of Pediatrics released interim guidelines on managing infants born to COVID-positive mothers, and we know this has amplified the anxiety, fear, and worry about the unknown that is common in pregnancy. There is changing information about the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in rapidly changing hospital policies as the pandemic continues. We continue to be reassured that COVID-19 does not appear to disproportionally affect pregnant women or young children. However, the high percentage of asymptomatic individuals has made it difficult to reduce the spread of the virus. As we learn more about the virus, hospitals are rapidly transforming their infection control policies, which have dramatic impacts on expecting parents. Such fluctuating changes are destabilizing to the relationship between doctors and their patients, as when we lose predictability, we lose trust. If you are confused, overwhelmed, and feel unable to process all of the stories and keep up with the policy changes you are having a normal reaction to a very abnormal situation. As physicians, we want to help empower you to make the best decisions for you and your baby. And we believe that starts with building trust with your physicians. We encourage pregnant patients to discuss with their physician the plans their community hospital has to reduce the spread of COVID-19 to pregnant women and newborns. Many hospitals have created separate units for patients with presumed infection or positive test results to reduce spreading the virus to uninfected individuals. Hospital workers may be required to take their temperature twice a day to detect early signs of illness. Hospitals may require masking of all patients, staff, and visitors to reduce the asymptomatic spread of the virus. Additionally, universal screening and testing for all pregnant women has become the protocol in some institutions. There are limitations to the effectiveness of all of these strategies due to the ability of the virus to spread before the onset of symptoms and the potential for negative test results up to 48 hours after symptoms develop. Additionally, many hospitals have instituted new policies that limit visitation on labor and delivery. However, given that the birth of a child is a uniquely communal family milestone, many hospitals are allowing video conferencing to ensure family members not in attendance at the birth are able to participate remotely. Many pregnant women are concerned about the risk of COVID-19 to their baby, and while there is no clear evidence to suggest that while in utero babies are at risk for infection, there is a risk for exposure to the virus after birth. While the infection hasnt preferentially affected young children, infants are known to have immature immune systems to fight against potential pathogens and a greater likelihood of becoming critically ill when sick. This is particularly difficult in cases where the mother is showing symptoms of COVID-19 or has tested positive. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends temporary separation of COVID-19 positive mothers and newborns to reduce the chance of infection during the early days of life when infants are most vulnerable. Hospitals may move these babies in nurseries where uninfected family members may be able to visit. In some situations, after considering the risks and benefits with their physicians, a family may be able to choose to room-in with the baby while the mother wears a mask and maintains a distance of more than six feet from the infant. Breast milk is not a source for transmission, and mothers with COVID-19 may elect to pump or breastfeed wearing a mask. For pregnant women, particularly vulnerable to anxiety and depression, the uncertainty and fear created by the current pandemic may become overwhelming. We worry that the possibility of delivering alone and being restricted from seeing your newborn may drive women to do unsafe things. We hope that we can shed some light on the changes occurring in labor and delivery units nationwide and encourage women not to avoid seeking out medical care. We feel called to explain that women who deliver in a hospital environment are never truly alone, and the safety of babies is always prioritized. The physicians, nurses, and technicians in the hospital are willing to put themselves and their families at risk of exposure because they are so passionate about helping your family. The calculus of how a hospital responsibly decides whether support persons can be safely accommodated or a COVID-19 positive mother is permitted to room-in with their newborn is complex. During this difficult time, there is no winning or losing in a debate about the best way to safely care for pregnant women and newborns. There is only the goal of keeping the most women, newborns, staff, and support people healthy and well. Pooja Deb Doehrman is an obstetrics-gynecology physician. Kelly Fradin is a pediatrician. Suzan Song is a psychiatrist. Image credit: Shutterstock.com This is because the panels ruling relies on a constitutional law doctrine known as substantive due process. While progressive judges and academics have generally supported it, conservatives have been less sympathetic. There is little reason to think the conservative justices who have long expressed disdain for this line of cases, which include controversial rulings such as Roe v. Wade would change their minds to guarantee a federal right to literacy. And historically, conservatives have fervently championed local control in education over federal edicts from Congress (to say nothing of edicts from unelected judges). In addition to the political challenges to the federal right to literacy, there is another obstacle: the economy. In a forthcoming paper in the Washington University Law Review, we analyzed more than 300 state-level rulings concerning state constitutional challenges to school funding. We found that one of the most powerful predictors of whether a court will ultimately impose liability on a state is the condition of the national economy: For every percentage-point reduction in national G.D.P. growth in the year of the ruling, judges are 6 percent less likely to rule against the state. Why? Our best sense is that judges grow more reluctant to issue costly liability rulings that would require states to raise taxes or cut essential services when their budgets are already deeply in the red. Given that America is about to experience a painful economic retraction this quarter with little relief in sight, our findings bode especially poorly for children. What does this mean for Gary B. and the children of Detroit? Even if the Sixth Circuit panels ruling survived further review, the decision only settles the legal question of the existence of a fundamental right to literacy. It sends back to the district court the critical factual question: namely whether Michigan actually deprived Detroit children of that right a right the court itself characterized as a basic minimum education. And because the state will almost certainly introduce competing evidence about the quality of education available to Detroit children, the district judge in this case (who already ruled against the plaintiffs in the very opinion the Sixth Circuit panel reversed) might be tempted to conclude in the face of a dire budget shortfall that Michigan did enough even if just barely. Given this, Detroits citizens shouldnt rely on the federal courts to enforce educational equality. But there is hope. It rests on other side of the case caption with the named defendant, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. As a candidate, Ms. Whitmer criticized Gov. Rick Snyder for opposing the Detroit plaintiffs claim to a right to literacy. But rather than reverse Mr. Snyders position once she took office, Ms. Whitmer instead avoided the issue by arguing that the Sixth Circuit should dismiss the plaintiffs suit on alternative grounds. A four-year-old boy from Kerala, who was forced to be away from his parents for over a month due to the lockdown, was re-united, thanks to the intervention of firefighters. After the boys father, an electrician, was asked to go on home quarantine in mid-March, the parents--Sajith and Vishnupriya from Kambalakad at nearby Kalpetta --shifted their son to a relatives house at Shoranur in Palakkad district. Sajith was working at Payyannur in Kannur, and a COVID-19 case was reported in that area in mid-March, following which he was asked to go on quarantine. By the time Sajith completed his mandatory quarantine, the lockdown came into force, due to which the parents were unable to bring their child back. The couple approached the Kalpetta MLA CK Saseendran for help and the legislator got in touch with Wayanad Collector Dr Adeela Abdulla, who intervened to reunite the child with his parents. Two fire and rescue officials from Palakkad, Anup and Santosh, picked up the boy and his uncle in their vehicle from Shoranur on Friday morning, brought him to Kozhikode and handed him over to their counterparts in Kalpetta. The child was then taken to his parents in Wayanad. The boy was brought in a Fire Force vehicle from Shoranur to Kozhikode from where our team went and brought him here and handed over to his parents by noon,K M Jomy, Station Officer, Fire & Rescue, Kalpetta, said. A brigade of health professionals, who volunteered to travel to South Africa to assist local authorities with an upsurge of coronavirus cases, attend the farewell ceremony in Havana, Cuba. (AP) Atlanta: As the global death toll from the coronavirus surpassed 200,000 on Saturday, countries took cautious steps toward easing lockdowns imposed amid the pandemic, but fears of a surge in infections made even some outbreak-wounded businesses reluctant to reopen. The states of Georgia, Oklahoma and Alaska started loosening restrictions on businesses despite warnings from experts that such steps might be premature. Shawn Gingrich, CEO and founder of Lions Den Fitness, decided after the Georgia governors announcement that his Atlanta gym would remain closed for now. Weve sacrificed so much already, Gingrich said. I feel like if we do this too soon, well see a spike in cases and were back to square one. Others were eager to get back to business, with precautions. Russ Anderson, who owns four tattoo studios in south Georgia, said he couldnt get up out of my chair quick enough when restrictions were lifted. His main shop served 50 or 60 customers Friday when it reopened, with customers and tattoo artists wearing masks, he said. The worldwide death toll was over 202,000, according to a count by John Hopkins University from government figures. The actual death toll is believed to be far higher. India reopened neighbourhood stores that many of the countrys 1.3 billion people rely on for everything from beverages to mobile phone data cards. But the loosening didnt apply to hundreds of quarantined towns and other places hit hardest by the outbreak that has killed at least 775 people in the country where many poor live in slums too crowded for social distancing. Shopping malls also stayed closed nationwide. Still, for owners of small stores, being allowed to open again brought relief. This is a good decision, said Amit Sharma, an architect. We have to open a few things and let the economy start moving. The poor people should have some source of income. This virus is going to be a long-term problem. India also allowed manufacturing and farming to resume in rural areas last week to ease the economic plight of millions left jobless by the March 24 lockdown. The restrictions have allowed people out of their homes only to buy food, medicine or other essentials. Elsewhere in Asia, authorities reported no new deaths Saturday for the 10th straight day in China, where the virus originated. South Korea reported just 10 fresh cases, the eighth day in a row its daily increase was under 20. There were no new deaths for the second straight day. Underscoring the unknowns about the virus, the World Health Organization said there is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 cannot fall sick again. Some countries extended or tightened restrictions, confirming a pattern of caution. Sri Lanka had partially lifted a monthlong daytime curfew in more than two-thirds of the country. But it reimposed a 24-hour lockdown countrywide until Monday after a surge of 46 new infections, its highest daily increase. Norway extended until at least September 1 its ban on events with more than 500 participants. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that Spaniards will be allowed to leave their homes for short walks and exercise starting May 2 after seven weeks of strict home confinement, though he said maximum caution will be our guideline. We must be very prudent because there is no manual, no roadmap to follow, he said. Kids in Spain will get their first fresh air in weeks when a ban on letting them outside is relaxed starting Sunday. After 44 days indoors, theyll be allowed out for adult-supervised one-hour excursions but not permitted to play with others. I really want to get outside, and Ema does as well, Madrid resident Eva Novilo said of her 7-year-old daughter. But Novilo predicted difficult situations if they see her friends and have to stay apart. I dont know if we will be able to maintain control. In Italy, where restrictions will be eased May 4, authorities warned against abandoning social distancing practices when millions return to work. Free masks will be distributed to nursing homes, police, public officials and transportation workers. Workers painted blue circles on Romes subway platforms to remind commuters to keep their distance. The country continues to have Europes highest death toll, with 26,384. The 415 deaths registered in the 24-hour period that ended Saturday evening was the lowest toll since Italy registered 345 on March 17, but only five fewer than Friday. Italians celebrated the 75th anniversary of their liberation from occupation forces in World War II by emerging on balconies or rooftops at the same time to sing a folk song linked to resistance fighters. Britain held off on changes to its lockdown as the virus death toll in hospitals topped 20,000. The figure doesnt include nursing home deaths, likely to be in the thousands. France prepared to ease one of Europes strictest lockdowns from May 11. The health minister detailed plans to scale up testing to help contain any new flare-ups. Testing shortages are a problem in Brazil, Latin Americas largest nation, which is veering closer to becoming a pandemic hot spot. Officials in Rio de Janeiro and four other major cities warned that their hospital systems are on the verge of collapse or already overwhelmed. In Manaus, the biggest city in the Amazon, officials said they have been forced to dig mass graves in a cemetery. Workers have been burying 100 corpses a day triple the pre-virus average. Along with Georgia, Oklahoma allowed salons, spas and barbershops to reopen, while Alaska cleared the way for restaurants to resume dine-in service and retail shops and other businesses to open their doors, all with limitations. Some Alaska municipalities chose to keep stricter rules. Though limited in scope, and subject to social-distancing restrictions, the reopenings marked a symbolic milestone in the debate raging in the United States and beyond about how quickly to ease economically devastating lockdowns. Dr Anthony Fauci, infectious diseases chief at the National Institutes of Health, on Saturday stressed a step-wise approach, with restrictions gradually lifted as areas reach certain milestones. Any attempt to leapfrog over these almost certainly will result in a rebound, and then we can set ourselves back, Fauci told an online meeting of the National Academy of Sciences. President Donald Trump skipped conducting a press briefing on the coronavirus response and later tweeted that the near-daily briefings were not worth the time & effort because of what he claimed was negative and erroneous media coverage. Trump lashed out at the media two days after using a briefing to muse about the injection of chemical disinfectants, which drew warnings from manufacturers and the nations top medical professionals. A survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found Americans overwhelmingly support stay-at-home measures and other efforts to prevent the spread of the virus. In Texas, where retailers are allowed to sell items for curbside pickup, Allison Scott said most customers of her womens clothing store in a Dallas shopping mall seem to feel more comfortable having their purchases shipped. I want to be open more than anything but I dont think that society is ready to come out either, she said. Guidelines may alter Korean traditions, way of life The government has posted detailed guidelines on how to exercise "everyday quarantine" in the COVID-19 era, which foretells significant behavioral changes for Koreans. The guidelines cover behavior standards in 31 areas involving work, daily life and leisure. The rules for people to stay home if they show symptoms such as fever, refrain from going out if having been overseas in past two weeks, keep two meters apart, and wash hands and cough into their elbows are commonly applied. In addition, communities such as workplaces should have managers dedicated to quarantine management and ensure that all virus prevention steps are followed. There are such specific behavior guidelines as giving thank-you gifts to those who attend weddings instead of post-wedding meals, refraining from chorus singing and eating together at religious venues, and not sharing food at restaurants. The guidelines will be subject to public opinion because they are recommendations at the moment, although authorities have said penalties will be imposed on violators of some core instructions. South Korea took the first step toward easing the strict social distancing April 20, emboldened by a steady decline in new infections and deaths. The dire economic situation presses on the necessity to return to normalcy. But social distancing is still in practice until at least May 5, as Korea held general elections on April 15 and because major holidays are interspersed in the days ahead. After a rocky start in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Korea has been hailed for its aggressive testing, contact tracing, isolation and monitoring. Buoyed by the success in battling the pandemic, President Moon Jae-in has had requests from nearly 30 nations to share the South Korean model. Thus, how Korea transitions toward everyday quarantine will be closely watched. Under the pending fine-tuning between the authorities and citizens, people will be asked how much they are willing to compromise on life and work. We should bear in mind that compromise is better than having to make a stark choice between life and death. The COVID-19 trajectory in Korea started with the first patient on Jan. 20, peaking at a daily tally of 909 new cases on Feb. 29, and new infections falling to around 10 since April 18. The worst-case scenario has been avoided so far without Korea completely shutting down its economy. Cabin fever and the desire for a measure of freedom lurks in people's hearts, but various developments warn us that COVID-19 is no longer an emergency situation, but a constant presence inseparable from our lives. Authorities have warned that COVID-19 could return in winter with a bigger impact. Vaccine development needs time, with experts predicting next year at the earliest. We have until May 5 to work out and cooperate to find what will work best for us and lead the global fight against this virus. - Vice Ganda's latest post featured his elder sister, Cristina Viceral - In his post, Vice expressed how proud he was of his sister for being a doctor - However, he also revealed his concerns and fears for having a sister who is a frontliner amid the pandemic - His online post also garnered various reactions and comments from netizens on social media PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed Due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the Philippines, frontliners have been working day and night to help cure those who are infected by the virus. KAMI learned that among the frontliners who are involved against the fight with COVID-19 is Kapamilya star Vice Ganda's elder sister. Following this news, the It's Showtime host dedicated an online post containing a heartfelt message to his sister. In his online post, Vice began by expressing how proud he was of his sister, "I have always been proud of you. "Pero ngayon nakakaiyak ang pagiging proud ko sayo. Araw araw natatakot ako para sayo. Pero araw araw mas ipinagmamalaki kita." The comedian also revealed that, "Dati sabi mo ang dahilan kaya gusto mong magdoktor kasi gusto mo lang alagaan ang lalamun at boses ko. Pero ngayon ang mundo na ang inaalagaan mo." Vice ended his post by introducing his 'ate' to netizens, "Ang galing! Mabuhay ka! Patnubayan ka ng Diyos! "Madlang People siya po ang Ate at kayamanan ko si Dra. Ma.Cristina B. Viceral." Vice's online post elicited reactions and comments from the online community as well. "Salute to our frontliners." "Nakakaiyak naman. God bless you both!" "Keep safe Dra.Tina Viceral. We will always pray for you." "Awww nakakaiyak proud of you doc Tina ipagdasal ka po namin salamat sa sakripisyo mo sa ating kababayan." PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! As reported earlier by KAMI, Vice Ganda did a TikTok on the ECQ where he highlighted the issues that confront the lockdown. He mentioned about the quarantine extension and the "makukulit Pinoys." He also touched on how easy it is to ask for help, and asked if people do follow. Vice Ganda is a popular actor, comedian, television host, and recording artist in the Philippines. He starred in many blockbuster movies including Praybeyt Benjamin. POPULAR: Read more news about Vice Ganda Please like and share our Facebook posts to support KAMI team! Dont hesitate to comment and share your opinion about our stories either. We love reading about your thoughts! In this video, we featured Jhon Rellores and his family as they helped others who are in need amid the pandemic! Check out all of the exciting videos and celebrity interviews on our KAMI HumanMeter YouTube channel ! Source: KAMI.com.gh The construction industry has joined with charities and welfare groups to push for a post-COVID-19 social housing boom to stimulate the economy, create more jobs and head off a potential increase in homelessness. The nation's leaders are being urged to prioritise large-scale home-building investments in the months ahead to help aid economic recovery by incentivising new investment in the market and maintaining and upgrading existing social housing. The construction sector is calling on governments to invest in social housing, kick-start the economy and helping deal with rising homelessness. Credit:Joe Armao The Master Builders Association has urged governments and the private sector to partner to fill the gap as market demand softens, saying the way out of COVID-19 could be accelerated by investment into affordable supply, while boosting vital trade and valuable flow-on market activity. Intrapac Property chief operating officer Max Shifman said the nation was suffering from the effects of decades of chronic under-investment from all sides and levels of government. An Australian-based Chinese news outlet has settled a defamation case brought against it by a former head of Macquarie Private Bank by paying $350,000 and apologising for a now-withdrawn article it says contained false claims. Guy Hedley, who now heads Sydney-based funds manager Atlas Advisors, sued online news outlet Australian Financial News for defamation over a September 2019 article he said accused him of running a company that "takes advantage of unsophisticated Chinese investors". Atlas Advisors executive chairman Guy Hedley. The article was read widely on Chinese social media platform WeChat, the Federal Court heard. The case went to trial this month but the parties reached a $350,000 settlement last week, before Justice Michael Lee had published a judgment. Conspiracy theories about coronavirus have exploded across the internet be it 5G cell technology, some mysterious lab, or Bill Gates himself that's purportedly behind the virus. As Business Insider reports, in fact, a recent study by Pew Research Center suggests that 29% of Americans believe the virus was made in a lab, though scientific evidence overwhelmingly suggests it's a case of animal transfer. Psychologists have an explanation for why people are turning to conspiracy theories amid the coronavirus pandemic. Conspiracy theories thrive in a crisis and are typically brought about by fear and anxiety, according to a 2019 review of the research literature by Andreas Goreis and Martin Voracek, both psychologists at the University of Vienna in Austria. When people are scared and feel a lack of control over situations, conspiracy theories come from the desire to make sense of those situations, according to the paper published in Frontiers in Psychology. In a sense, conspiracy theories are psychologically comforting. As a 2017 paper by a trio of University of Kent psychologists detailed, conspiracy theories seem to provide an explanation that allows people to preserve their own beliefs in uncertain times. One of the authors, Karen Douglas, told Business Insider about why people are turning to conspiracy theories amid the coronavirus pandemic. For one, people tend to turn to them when they feel powerless. "This is a big event that requires big explanations," Douglas said. "In a time of great confusion, it is not surprising that people want answers, if that sometimes means connecting dots incorrectly." Some theories can be attributed in part to fear of new technology, like the claim that new 5G technology is causing or accelerating the spread of the novel coronavirus. Dr. John Grohol, Editor-in-Chief of Psych Central, said in a recent article that people who feel alienated from modern society, which is more complex and difficult to navigate in the face of new technology, are more likely to turn to conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories about 5G technology date back to before the spread of the novel coronavirus. Yet 5G short for fifth generation of wireless communication technology is a catch-all term for suite technology making wireless devices faster and more connected. For the average consumer, it just means better connection speeds for mobile devices. Conspiracy theories suggesting that since 5G is more powerful than previous mobile internet types, it must also be dangerous, especially to people's immune systems, began to circulate in 2019. As the coronavirus began to spread, the 5G conspiracy theory shifted. Conspiracy theorists now believe the launch of 5G technology exacerbated the pandemic. Full Fact, a UK-based fact-checking organization, debunked these rumors, but throughout the month of April, arsonists burned 50 phone masts across the UK, where the 5G technology has already been released. Mobile UK, an organization that represents Britain's four mobile operators, confirmed to Business Insider that it estimates the attacks are linked to the conspiracy theory. People with traditional values are more likely to believe the coronavirus was created in a lab or link it to Bill Gates. According to Full Fact, another conspiracy theory about 5G technology and the coronavirus was linked to Bill Gates in a now-deleted Facebook post that circled the site in March. The post claimed that the coronavirus was fake disease used to disguise 5G-related damages and that Gates created it to control the world. New York Times analysis about conspiracy theories blaming Gates for the coronavirus linked them to right-wing and anti-vaccination figures. Grohol, the Psych Central editor, argued that "groups whose identity is tied up in traditional societal values are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories." An April survey by Pew Research suggests that another coronavirus conspiracy theory, which claims that the coronavirus was created by people in a lab, is more likely to be believed by conservative Republicans. Nearly a third of sampled Americans said they believed this theory. Existential fears and the inconvenience of social distancing drive conspiracy theories that say the virus is being overblown. Other coronavirus conspiracy theories can be attributed to existential fears and the inconvenience of social distancing, like the theory the pandemic is being overplayed, Douglas told Vox. "Downplaying the virus is a way to attempt to deal with the immediate existential threat, but it also serves the purpose of allowing individuals to carry on as normal," Douglas explained. "A lot of the behaviors that people need to observe to manage the spread of the virus are unpleasant, and denying the problem also means that people can avoid these actions." Before the pandemic, Nancy Falaise had a busy life running her Montreal salon school and leading workshops aimed at empowering young girls of colour who struggle with their naturally curly hair. But when Quebec closed non-essential businesses last month, that all came to a screeching halt leaving Falaise with no income and bills to pay. So she responded to Premier Francois Legault's call for help in the health-care sector, becoming a housekeeper who disinfects rooms in long-term care homes and hospitals. Some rooms were left vacant by patients who have recovered. But in the long-term care homes, also known as CHSLDs, she was often cleaning rooms where a patient had died of COVID-19. And yet despite the risk of exposure to the virus, and the grim nature of the work, Falaise needed the income. "I didn't have much faith that the government was going to help me in any way, shape or form," she said. Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press Even then, she said, once assistance programs were announced, it was clear that Canada's $2,000 per-month offering wasn't going to cover her monthly bills. She was approved for a low-interest, small-business loan through a federal program, but said it won't be not enough to cover all of her personal and business expenses. So she took the cleaning job to keep her business afloat, and at the same time, to lend a hand during the pandemic. "Honestly, it felt good to help," she said. Yet in doing so, she was shocked by what she saw inside long-term care homes and medical facilities in the Montreal area. "It's a harsh reality to see this is where you are going to end up when you're old." Overwhelmed nurses in tears She found they were dirty, poorly maintained and outdated to the point that she's now terrified of one day finding herself living in a CHSLD, or eventually having to drop her father off at one. "None of these places I went to, I would feel comfortable leaving my father in," Falaise said. Story continues There was one residence she found worse than the others. She declined to name it, but said she would "come home crying" after every shift there. She said she cried not just for the elderly residents, but for the nurses who also are in tears themselves because they are all alone on floors with more than a dozen patients in need of attentive, around-the-clock care. "You know when you look in someone's eyes and they're just like, 'help me?' I've seen that look in both the patients and the people who are working," Falaise said. Nancy Falaise/Instagram Because of the shortage of nurses and patient attendants, Falaise's duties were quickly expanded beyond just cleaning rooms. She helped feed patients and distracted them with conversation during uncomfortable care treatments. "There's despair in everybody's faces," she said. Nurses, orderlies, maintenance workers and even the administrators appear distraught and exhausted. Managers are struggling to keep workers on the job, unable to solve the unyielding crisis, she said. Quebec is currently in need of thousands of workers to fill the gaps in its health-care network. As of Thursday, nearly 10,000 absences were recorded about half due to workers in 14-day quarantine. It's important to recognize the horrific conditions seniors are living in, Falaise said, but she also worries for the staff who struggle to keep all those seniors alive in sub-par, under-staffed facilities. Looking forward to opening her business Though Falaise had breast cancer eight years ago, her doctor told her that her immune system was up to the task of fending off serious illness. On Friday, however, she began feeling ill and was tested for COVID-19. She was still waiting on the results on Sunday. As she waits, she's off the job yet again and facing an uncertain future as the provincial government plans to reopen the economy. Listen as Nancy Falaise describes her experience in long-term care homes: She's looking forward to seeing clients again at the Salon Academie Nancy Falaise in Montreal's Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, even if she knows it'll be challenging to run her business in a world full of strict sanitary requirements. Falaise said she's particularly worried about keeping a stock of masks available not just for her and her staff, but her clients as well. "I need to reopen. I miss my life," she said. "It's just not going to happen overnight." But even if she's able to reopen her business, Falaise plans to spend her weekends helping care for the province's most vulnerable patients. She said that's something she's not willing to give up despite the emotional struggle, risks and challenges she has faced on the job. Some 1,500 protesters amassed on the state Capitol grounds Friday to demand an end to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers COVID-19-related stay-at-home order, which many attendees criticized for infringing on their personal freedoms and crippling the state economy. Protesters toted signs ranging from Quarantine Tony Evers to Reopen Wisconsin, waved American and Gadsden Dont tread on me flags, and broke into chants including U.S.A. and Bring back Scott, a reference to former Republican Gov. Scott Walker all while a convoy of vehicles circled the Capitol as part of the demonstration. Some in the crowd carried firearms, some wore protective masks, and others wore attire or carried signs supporting President Donald Trump. Protesters at the gathering, which health experts unequivocally warned would increase the risk of spreading the respiratory disease, brushed off the necessity of the states COVID-19 mitigation efforts, downplayed the potential for overwhelming hospitals with cases, and said the states efforts were tyrannical and unnecessarily crushing small businesses and the economy. According to Capitol Police, about 1,500 people gathered at the event and there were no arrests or citations issued. Im here to stand for balance, that all lives in Wisconsin matter. That we need to be open so the economy can function, so we can care for the sick people, Green Bay resident Tina Hollenbeck said, holding a sign that read, Real Science, Real Data, Real Compassion. Let us take personal responsibility, let us think about our fellow mankind and we will. But just being locked down, that has made a lot of people angry and causing push-back unnecessarily, said Hollenbeck, a home-school teacher who said she identities as a constitutional libertarian. David and Joyce Raymaker traveled from Lincoln County to protest Evers extension of the order, which requires nonessential businesses to remain closed through May 26. We gave them 30 days to slow the curve, Joyce Raymaker said. If all the essential businesses can remain open with precautions, then the small businesses should be able to stay open. We dont have to close down the whole economy. The event also brought out some counter-protesters, including Madison psychiatrist Angela Janis, who held a sign that read Please go home. Everybody has a part to play in this, and that includes people staying home so we can crush this thing together, Janis said. Im just asking people to stop and think about the medical providers who are out there working and why were doing this in the first place. The demonstration was the latest mass gathering across the country by opponents of stay-at-home orders that have been recommended by the Trump administration and put in place by most states to combat the spread of COVID-19, which has killed more than 50,000 people in the United States. A national Yahoo News/YouGov poll conducted April 17-19 among 1,597 American adults found 60% of respondents disagreed with such protesters, while 22% supported them. It also found 71% say stay-at-home orders should be lifted when public health officials are fully able to test and trace new cases and outbreaks, compared with 29% who said it should open as soon as possible to prevent further economic damage. The margin of error was about +/-3 percentage points. Brutal disease In an online counter-protest, Mary Milton, a frontline nurse in Milwaukee, urged people to follow the stay-at-home order, warning that the disease is brutal and anyone is susceptible to it. She said patients suffering from the virus may suffer lifelong effects, testing is not accurate enough, and hospitals dont have enough personal protective equipment for people to think they can go about as they wish. Its a terrible disease, Milton said. I have seen these patients, they are suffering, I have never seen such suffering. Shelter in place is important. If you care about your family, this is something you will do, if you care about your neighbor, the elderly woman down the street, even the child. Democrats tore into Trump and Wisconsins Republican leaders on Friday for not doing enough to discourage protesters. Capitol Police denied a permit for the event, which organizers estimated about 1,000 people would attend. Speaking to the crowd, Madison Elmer, one of the events organizers, said those present want to make their own choice when it comes to taking safety precautions or closing their businesses, rather than have a government mandate. Youre being told to sit down and shut up because your opinion doesnt matter, Elmer said. Youre being told to listen to the professionals, but you know what, you shouldnt ever stop questioning the professionals. They dont live your life they did not include you in this decision. Another speaker at Fridays rally lamented Evers order closing down businesses the state considers non-essential. She said the order has favored big-box stores over those owned by Wisconsin families. Society determines what essential businesses are, not our government, the speaker said, adding that it should be up to individuals to decide where and how they want to shop. Protesters bemoaned the governors order for impeding their freedoms to go about daily activities if they want to, despite warnings that a second wave of the novel coronavirus could strike later in the year, killing far more people. Another speaker, who had been hospitalized but tested negative for COVID-19, questioned whether the state was inflating the number of positive cases. As of Friday more than 5,300 people have tested positive and 262 have died, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Republican leaders have mostly avoided criticizing the event, which is similar to recent protests in other states driven by conservative groups. But while some Democratic leaders have criticized the event citing the well-established health risks, Evers has characterized it as people exercising their First Amendment rights. Ben Wikler, chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, warned that gathering to protest is dangerous, and said Trump and Wisconsin Republicans, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, are partly responsible for not doing enough to discourage attendance. Trump, Robin Vos and Wisconsin Republicans bear profound responsibility for the protest taking place today and for the infections that will result from them, Wikler said in a call with reporters. They believe they can benefit politically from a protest movement that tries to ignore the dangerous science of coronavirus spread. State Journal reporter Elizabeth Beyer contributed to this report. Photos: Hundreds of protesters support revoking Gov. Tony Evers stay-at-home order Military jets, including the Navy's Blue Angels and the Air Force's Thunderbirds, are planning to fly over several U.S. cities -- including New Orleans -- as a thank you to those working on the front lines to fight coronavirus, according to USA Today. The report says the Blue Angels would fly over New Orleans, in addition to cities in Florida, Virginia, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee and Texas. No details about which date or exactly where the Blue Angels would fly over New Orleans have been released. The Thunderbirds would fly over cities in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington state. The mission is called Operation America Strong. +2 Coronavirus has killed more than Hurricane Katrina -- but there's reason for hope As of Friday, the coronavirus has claimed the lives of at least 392 New Orleanians, which means the city has passed a grim milestone reached b Click here to read the full USA Today story. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 26) President Rodrigo Duterte is due to submit on Monday his fifth report on his special powers granted to him by Congress to address the COVID-19 crisis. The expected updates from Duterte in his latest report include cash aid for the poor, which is among the key provisions of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, which granted him special powers. Senators Joel Villanueva and Francis Pangilinan are still calling on the government to fast track the distribution of cash aid, more than one month since Congress passed the measure. According to Dutertes fourth report to Congress on his special powers, only 24 percent of the 17.9 million intended cash aid beneficiaries have received financial assistance from the government. But Pangilinan said that he expects a majority of beneficiaries to receive cash aid soon as more agreements on its distribution are forged between the Department of Social Welfare and Development and local government units. Pangilinan is also calling on Duterte to be more transparent in his report by showing the programs being implemented, their implementing agencies, the actual number of beneficiaries served, the target number of beneficiaries, the actual amount released for programs and the total budget for these. Cash-strapped He said that he also wants to clarify the cash position of the government. The public needs to be reassured that we have enough resources to fund our fight against the pandemic and that these funds are being used for their intended purposes efficiently and swiftly, he said. According to his last report, Duterte has declared a total of 246.28 billion as savings which can be tapped for the governments COVID-19 response. Of this amount, Duterte said 148.93 billion has been released to different national government agencies for their COVID-19 response. Dutertes report, however, did not include a breakdown of this release. But Duterte did mention in his third report that 100 billion was released to the Social Welfare Department, while 30.8 billion was given to fund the so-called Bayanihan Grant for municipalities and cities, and 1.5 billion went to the Labor Department. Duterte, in addresses to the public, has also lamented how the government is cash-strapped in its battle against COVID-19 and has even floated the possibility of selling some government assets to generate more funding. READ: Gov't says COVID-19 funds running low, floats idea of selling state assets as last resort In his two previous reports to Congress, Duterte said that the Philippine Guarantee Corporation and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation have both submitted inventories of its real properties which may be used for COVID-19 projects, programs and activities. In a taped briefing aired Friday, Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado admitted that the government has already spent 352 billion of the 397 billion which can be realigned for the governments COVID-19 response. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, however, said that the countrys needs are currently being financed through loans from the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank which already amount to 310 billion. The Bayanihan to Heal as One Act allows Duterte to reshuffle funding within the executive department towards the governments efforts against COVID-19. The same law also requires him to submit to Congress a weekly report on how he has so far utilized these powers and the governments response to the pandemic. Being essentially locked up in a 12-by-20-foot box for weeks at a time turns out to be pretty darn nice, to hear Richard Steenson tell it. He gets three good meals a day, all the television he wants to watch, and more peace and quiet than hes had in a solid year. It helps that the box is a room at an upscale boutique South of Market hotel and its paid for by the city of San Francisco. Steenson is there because he was in the big wave of residents who tested positive in early April for the coronavirus at the Multi-Service Center South homeless shelter 96, the biggest cluster of homeless positives in the western United States. When the shelter on Fifth Street got emptied into city-leased hotels, Steensons new life as an isolation guest began, and hes now two weeks into the experience. He cant come or go, so his world is defined by that small room with two beds, a sink, a bathroom and wide windows looking onto what would be a busy street if the pandemic hadnt stopped the world in its tracks. Not bad, he said. All things considered, that is. The main thing that worries him is when hell have to leave his new digs. Now Playing: An inside look into the San Francisco-funded hotel room where Richard Steenson has been isolating with the coronavirus since early April. He was staying at the MSC-South homeless shelter, and got moved to the hotel after an outbreak of the disease among 96 people including himself at the facility. Video: Richard Steenson Life is awesome in here, Steenson, 56, said Friday. The meals have improved immensely since I got here, and the only trouble is this sword of Damocles hanging over my head about when they might make me move out. I really just want to stay here until this whole coronavirus danger is over. City homeless managers are carefully utilizing the limited spaces they have, and the plan they started last week is to move people back into the deep-cleaned MSC South or a pop-up shelter at Moscone West once theyve had COVID-19 and recovered. The widespread assumption is that theyll be immune then, although the World Health Organization warned Friday that immunity after infection is still an open question. But for Steenson and his friends, hotels are the only way theyll feel fully safe from the virus. A study released last week by UC Berkeley contends that, indeed, the best way to protect homeless people who because of the toll of life on the streets are extra-vulnerable is to place them into single-occupancy units such as hotels or apartments, regardless of whether they show symptoms. Not shelters, even if their population is thinned for physical spacing. You should be able to close a door and isolate, said Dr. Colette Auerswald, a UC Berkeley professor and lead author of the study. And remember this: Its cheaper than an ICU bed. Steenson is a jack of many trades English teacher in South America, childrens theater actor, restaurant worker and he became unemployed a year ago when the doughnut shop he managed closed. Still dealing with an earlier back injury, he turned to MSC South while he regrouped after his money dried up. He was applying for jobs when the coronavirus tossed his plans into the dumper. Richard Steenson With the economy tanked and his body still fighting the coronavirus, a free hotel room turned out to be the perfect place to wait things out, he said. Hes in the same boat as about 900 other homeless people whove been moved into hotel rooms, most of them from shelters, as the city struggles to keep the pandemic from racing through its 8,000-strong unhoused population. So far, about 2,600 hotel rooms have been secured by the city, and some of those will go to first responders who need respite. That means Steenson is one of the lucky ones. But because the city has tried to keep locations of the hotels private to minimize disruption and coronovirus-positive guests can never leave their rooms, little is known about what life is like in the hotels. Steenson and several other people contacted by The Chronicle say they by and large like it, although they do have quibbles. Answers from the front desk to requests for information or help can be frustratingly slow in coming, for instance. But for many, like 47-year-old Brian McFarland, the hotel room is better than anything hes had in years. Sure beats the streets and the shelters, said McFarland, who got quickly placed because he has underlying conditions, including diabetes. He feels sick but hasnt tested positive for the coronavirus yet. Steenson, like the other 95 infected people at MSC South, didnt show any serious signs of the disease when he tested positive. But since getting his room, hes had fever, body aches and a persistent lack of taste and smell. None of it is bad enough to put him into the hospital, and he gets regularly checked by medical staff. So hes hunkering down feeling not terrible, not great. What that leaves is a day-to-day routine that might wear thin for some. Not him. The tedium of being stuck inside is tough, especially for someone like Steenson who enjoys the outdoors, but he makes the best of it. Steenson wakes up early, makes coffee, then does exercises to stay in shape. Breakfast comes, delivered by unseen hands with a knock on his door and left on the doorstep. After checking the TV news, he gets in a little texting or internet surfing on his smartphone, but with no family to ring, no wife, no kids, he has only a few friends to call. Steensons laptop is broken, so hes stuck with the phone. Next up is lunch, then a movie on TV Ive watched every Lord of the Rings movie at least a couple of times now, he said with a laugh or maybe a good book. The Wych Elm by Tana French filled a few pleasant hours. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Usually a nurse or social worker calls during the day to check up on him and ask if his symptoms have gotten any worse, but Steenson sees nobody in person except for street scenes outside his window. The staff takes the whole isolation thing very seriously, he said. You cant leave the room. Dinner gets left on the doorstep, like the other meals. More surfing news sites on the phone follows, with maybe a little TV. Then its time for bed. Over the past two weeks, Steenson has kept a journal through texts to The Chronicle that ring with dry wit, or at times frustration. Like Friday, when he asked for cleanser so he could mop up a mess after he got sick. Richard Steenson I dont have any disinfectant, but they gave me this dish soap to clean my diarrhea-spattered toilet so itll probably work just as well, right? I dont have any syringes so I guess I have to do shots, he texted with a picture of a Palmolive bottle, riffing on President Trumps musing the day before about injecting disinfectant to fight the coronavirus, an idea horrified doctors instantly rejected. Or April 20, when he was aching for his first meal delivery of the day. Theyre trying to break their record here; about 16 hours since dinner. Who is running this s show, Steenson texted. When the meal finally arrived, he exulted: Spectacular lunch box arrived. Feel like a kid on Xmas morning ... dinner may come in a minute & I may risk rupturing something and try for an ursine food coma. He gradually took to jokingly calling the staff zookeepers and residents like himself plague rats. Writing things down has been comforting, he said. So has self-discipline. The thing is to find a routine and stick as close to it as you can so you can maintain a sense of normalcy, Steenson said. I get up and have some coffee so Im not napping during the day and can keep to a normal sleep cycle. The days actually go pretty fast. When I was feeling crappier early on, all I could think about was food like Pavlovs dog, waiting for the next meal. But now? He took a deep breath. Before this crisis hit, I was just getting back to the place where I could work again, he said. So Im ready when its over. All I need is a haircut and a good copy of my Social Security card, which got lost. And, of course, a safe place to wait it out which is hopefully this hotel room. Kevin Fagan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kfagan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KevinChron ATLANTA As more states push to reopen their economies, many are falling short on one of the federal governments essential criteria for doing so having an efficient system to track people who have been physically near a person infected with the coronavius. An Associated Press review found a patchwork of systems around the country for so-called contact tracing, with many states unable to keep up with caseloads and scrambling to hire and train enough people to handle the task for the months ahead. The effort is far less than what public health experts say is needed to guard against a resurgence of the virus. The result is a wide array of strategies and little national coordination. With few exceptions, most states reviewed by AP are going it alone. Many other countries dealing with the pandemic are taking a national approach to testing. As late as Friday, the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said detailed guidance on contact tracing for states was forthcoming. Well not ever control the whole country unless we have the same strategy, said Dr. Cyrus Shahpar, a former CDC official. Right now, thats not what were doing. Contact tracing is a pillar of infection control and typically requires in-depth interviews with those who may have been exposed. The number of public health employees needed for the work throughout the U.S. remains up for debate, but some estimates are as high as 300,000 people. Louisiana, which has been hit hard by the virus, had only about 70 people working on tracing contacts this week. By comparison, North Dakota, with less than a fifth of Louisianas population and no serious outbreaks, has 250 case investigators and will soon bring on an additional 172 staffers. With more than 37,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, Pennsylvania is still working to determine how many people it will need in the field. In Texas, coordination will be left to individual counties. Health experts worry that a scattershot approach will only prolong the crisis, and they urge a more coordinated strategy. In South Korea, for example, the national health agency oversees the effort, gathering and sharing data on the movement of confirmed cases with local health departments. The country has seen its case count plummet and remain low. There is little consensus in the states on basic questions such as how extensive the tracing should be and whether cellular data should be used to assist in identifying people who may have been exposed at a public location. Some states have taken decisive action. Utah has 250 people at the state health department assisting local agencies in tracing contacts, and it can add 500 more staffers if needed. Massachusetts expects to spend $44 million on an aggressive contact-tracing plan and has already begun hiring and training the 1,000 people it expects to need. Other states are slower to create robust tracing systems. California, with nearly 40 million people and more than 37,000 confirmed cases, has limited tracing ability. It recently announced plans to establish a contact-tracing workforce and train 10,000 people. In Los Angeles, the nations second most populous city, those found to be positive at drive-thru testing centers are being asked to sign up for a contact-tracing website. Pennsylvania initially conducted tracing until the state began seeing community spread of the virus, and its ability to follow contacts was overwhelmed. Now its trying again. State officials estimate that it will take six hours to conduct basic tracing if an individual reported just 10 contacts. Washington state, which experienced the first major outbreak in the U.S., was also overwhelmed. It now has about 700 people focused on tracing contacts, with plans to expand the workforce to 1,500 by the second week of May. One major challenge for states is the ability to conduct widespread virus testing, which has been hampered in part by the difficulty in obtaining testing supplies. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has said that for the states contact-tracing plan to work, daily testing needs to increase from about 4,000 tests to 20,000 or 30,000 tests. The CDC said Friday that it is working with state and local jurisdictions to identify needs for surge support staff to assist with contact tracing and other infection-control measures. Currently, states seeking help must rely on CDC staff members who are embedded with state health departments and other agencies. After a $1 billion congressional appropriation this week, the CDC plans to prepare teams of experts to help states coordinate contract-tracing efforts. The CDC Foundation has launched a COVID-19 Corps hiring campaign to bring in dozens of workers. Having the ability to trace contacts was identified as part of core state preparedness responsibilities outlined in the White Houses guidelines for reopening. Some states, such as Georgia and Tennessee, are easing social and business restrictions even as they try to build up their contact-tracing ability. Georgia Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey said the state plans to retrain some employees for contact tracing and use a new mobile app to track infections. It will ask infected people to voluntarily share their cellphone data so the state can find other contacts. That sounds like a great plan, but by their own words its being finalized and customized. It hasnt been tested, said Dr. Harry J. Heiman, a professor of public health at Georgia State University. The idea that were going to start opening the doors before these things are in place, I think is irresponsible. Dearen reported from Gainesville, Florida. Associated Press writers Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, and Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report. Mumbai, April 26 : The Central Bureau of Investigation has taken custody the scam-accused Wadhawan brothers from Mahabaleshwar to be brought to Mumbai, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said here on Sunday. "The Satara Police has given them (CBI) all required assistance and an escort vehicle with 1+3 guard up to Mumbai on a written request. The arrest procedures are going on," Deshmukh said. The two brothers, Kapil Wadhawan and Dhiraj Wadhawan, along with 23 other family members had gone from Khandala hill station in Pune to the cool climes of Mahabaleshwar in Satara, at the height of lockdown on April 9, sparking a huge political controversy. External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Saturday held talks with his counterparts from African countries amid the COVID-19 crisis. He discussed the health cooperation and development partnership with the counterparts from countries including Burkina Faso, Comoros, Uganda and Mali. Taking to Twitter, the EAM stated that he discussed health security and solar energy with Malis Foreign Minister Tiebile Drame. He added that the medical supplies will be reaching Mail soon. An Africa-focus working day. Useful conversations with Foreign Ministers of Burkina Faso, Comoros, Uganda and Mali. Historical solidarity on display in the midst of contemporary challenges. Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 25, 2020 Health security and solar energy discussed with FM @T_Drame of #Mali. Our medical supplies will be reaching there shortly. Underlines Indias growing cooperation with the Sahel. Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 25, 2020 Read: Jaishankar discusses coronavirus with counterparts from Qatar, Niger, UAE, Palestine MEA confirms impending shipment Taking to Twitter, S Jaishankar stated that he spoke to Uganda Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa and followed up on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's talks with him. He added that the ministry has confirmed the impending shipments of all the medical and health supplies to fight against the Coronavirus. Followed up on PM @narendramodis talk with President Museveni by talking with FM Sam Kutesa of #Uganda. Confirmed the impending shipment of medicine supplies and health equipment to combat #coronavirus. India and Uganda will address this global challenge cooperatively. Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 25, 2020 Read: Jaishankar holds telephonic talks with US special envoy for Afghanistan Khalilzad Meanwhile, he also spoke to Comoros' Foreign Minister Mohamed El Amine Souef. A SAGAR friendship reaffirmed. Wonderful talking to FM Mohamed El Amine Souef of #Comoros. Our health cooperation and development partnership will surely grow further. Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 25, 2020 Read: EAM Jaishankar dials Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif, discusses steps to combat COVID-19 Jaishankar wishes good health to Alpha Barry Burkina Faso Foreign Minister Alpha Barry recently recovered from the novel Coronavirus. Taking to Twitter, S Jaishankar wished him good health at the time of crisis. So glad to learn that Minister Alpha Barry of #BurkinaFaso has recovered from #Coronavirus. Wished him and his other colleagues good health when I spoke to him today. Indian medical supplies will be reaching Burkina Faso very soon. Friends stand by each other in times of crises. Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 25, 2020 Read: Coronavirus Live Updates: MHA orders reopening of non-essentials; cases soar to 24,942 Vietnams pork imports increased 300 percent year-on-year in the first four months, reaching nearly 70 percent of the entire volume last year. Vietnam had imported more than 46,400 tons of pork and related products in the year to April 13, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The biggest overseas sources were Canada, Poland, Brazil, the U.S. and Spain. A study of some shops and supermarkets in Hanoi showed imported pork products were cheaper than meat sold in wet markets. At a shop in downtown Hanoi that exclusively sells imported food, Russian pork costs VND130,000 ($5.5) per kilogram, while Canadian ribs start from VND115,000 ($4.9) per kilogram. At some supermarkets, thigh and pork belly prices range from VND140,000 to 150,000 per kilogram, while pork ribs are about VND120,000 per kilogram. At Big C, a major supermarket chain in Vietnam, imported pork costs 20-40 percent cheaper than domestic pork. 788 enterprises from 19 countries have been allowed to export pork to Vietnam. The U.S. has the biggest share, with 141 businesses, followed by Spain with 139 and Italy with 120. Since the beginning of 2020, 108 enterprises in Vietnam have imported pork. Imports of buffalo meat, beef and poultry have also increased sharply. Vietnam had imported more than 37,100 tons of beef and buffalo meat in the year to April 13, a year-on-year increase of about 200 percent and 135 percent respectively. Vietnam imports beef mainly from Australia, the U.S., Russia and Canada, while buffalo meat is bought mostly from India. Poultry meat imports of 78,400 tons by April 13 marked a year-on-year increase of 150 percent, with the main source markets being the U.S. (over 65 percent), South Korea (14 percent) and Brazil (10 percent). Vietnam is also importing pigs for breeding purposes from the U.S, Canada and Taiwan. In the first three months of this year, 1,808 pigs were imported for livestock farming by four enterprises in Vietnam. Garry Hall, a cattle breeder, has had more rain since February than for all of 2018 and 2019, and the Macquarie River is flowing past his property at the rate of a billion litres a day. And yet, as welcoming as the rains have been, they are well short of drought-breaking for his farm in northern NSW and the nearby Ramsar-listed wetlands. Both have struggled through a once-in-a-century dry spell. Drier time: Garry Hall standing in the dry Macquarie River at his property in the Macquarie Marshes region of NSW. Some 1000 million litres is currently flowing down the river at this spot each day. Credit:Wolter Peeters "A large area of the Macquarie Marshes hasn't seen water yet," Mr Hall said. "It's pretty important to get it in there to start the long journey back". That journey, though, has begun after widespread rain over NSW and other eastern states this year. Michael Fowler (pictured), a coroner in one of Georgia's hardest hit counties has revealed that there is not enough space to hold the bodies that have piled up A coroner who works in one of Georgia's hardest hit counties has revealed that there is not enough space to hold the bodies that have piled up as the state begins to reopen. Georgia became one of the first states to ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions last week when Governor Brian Kemp allowed some non-essential businesses to reopen. The state has recorded at least 890 deaths due to COVID-19 with Dougherty County recording the largest number of deaths than any other county at 108. Michael Fowler, a coroner in Dougherty County, where there are more than 1,400 confirmed coronavirus cases, said that though his area is better equipped than it was three weeks ago, bodies are still piling up. He also noted that funeral homes are also struggling to keep up with the number of deaths. 'They had said the same thing: We don't have room to keep bodies,' Fowler told WBUR. 'They [are] kind of processing funerals quicker and cremation a little bit quicker now than they normally do because they have so many bodies stacking up.' Georgia became one of the first states to ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions last week when Governor Brian Kemp allowed some non-essential businesses to reopen. A hairdresser is seen wearing a face mask while cutting the hair of a customer in Pooler, Georgia, on Saturday Beaches in Georgia have also opened. Beachgoers are seen at Tybee Beach in Tybee Island, Georgia, on Saturday Gov Brian Kemp tweeted that he was confident in his reopening plan after speaking with members of the administration Fowler told the news site that there is also a lack of available gravesites and a limit on the number of family members who can visit the gravesites. 'The families can't go back and see them, so you're not even able to say goodbye to them,' he told WBUR. 'So the virus came down on them, they rushed to the emergency room and they just died.' Fowler's revelations comes just days after Georgia began reopening some of its businesses. The Georgia easing is targeted at businesses including fitness centers, bowling alleys, body art studios, hairdressers, nail salons and massage therapists. Critics have questioned how it is possible for any sort of meaningful coronavirus prevention measures to be instigated at businesses that are, by their nature, up close and personal. President Donald Trump claimed last week that he 'wasn't happy with Brian Kemp,' though Kemp's own advisors have since stated that both the president and Vice President Mike Pence were privately supportive of the plans to reopen. Protesters Chris Sturdivant, 34 (left), and Cozmo Whitest, 32 (right), hold a banner that reads 'People over profits' in the Virginia-Highlands neighborhood of Atlanta, which has a large number of restaurants and tattoo shops - some of which have reopened Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms revealed on Monday that she had been blindsided by the governor's announcement. She said was 'perplexed' and 'upset', stating: 'There is nothing about this that makes any sense.' And while some businesses opened their doors on Friday, there were still quite a few business owners who refused. Some, like Elite Edge Gym owner Jason Colleran, 38, decided to do a 'soft opening' Friday as they navigate new protocols. Members of his gym will have to enter through the front door and exit at the back to encourage social distancing. Nail salon owner Tracey Phin, 36, opened her store on Friday as the state eased lockdown restrictions A woman can be seen working out at Elite Edge Fitness after it opened on Friday Only six to eight students will be allowed in the facility at a time which will allow around 30 feet between them in this commercial gym. Body art studios, estheticians, hair designers, massage therapy and training facilities have a list of 13 state issued guidelines to follow. They include no walk-in customers, requiring patrons to sanitize their hands on entering and before any treatment, staggering work schedules so that no more than 50 per cent of staff are there at one time and requiring employees to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) 'as available and appropriate'. Workers had been instructed to remove all magazines and ornaments that people might touch and to set up caution tape inside the salon preventing people from sitting down. Instead clients will have to wait in their cars and go into the salon one at time. Chairs will be wrapped in plastic. Kemp's push to get Georgia back to business continues on Monday when dine-in restaurants and movie theaters will be allowed to reopen under social distancing and sanitation conditions the details of which have yet to be released. Alaska also started phase one of its reopening on Friday, with Texas, South Carolina and Tennessee all set to push back their coronavirus lockdowns by easing restriction as early as Monday. Ahead of the imminent review of the lockdown imposed on the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos and Ogun states by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), the Nigerian Medical Association has advised the Federal Government to again extend the lockdown, which ends on Monday (tomorrow). This, the association said, would help to contain the rapid spread of the coronavirus disease. It added that with the exponential rise in the number of cases recorded across the country daily, people should not see the lockdown as a punishment but a necessary measure to contain the spread of the deadly virus. It, however, stressed the need for fair distribution of the palliatives to cushion the hardship the restriction had caused Nigerians. But the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture; the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association; and the Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr Muda Yusuf, opposed the possible extension of the total lockdown, saying the government should consider the partial opening of the economy. The President had on March 29 imposed a 14-day lockdown on the FCT and the two states to contain the spread of the virus. At the end of the 14 days, which terminated on April 13, the President extended the lockdown, saying the pandemic had become a matter of life and death and that it was no longer a joke. However, barely a day to the end of the extension, stakeholders have disagreed on whether the President should extend the lockdown or ease it. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Mr Boss Mustapha, had maintained that only the President could decide on whether there would be an extension of the lockdown or it would be lifted. As of April 13 when the President extended the lockdown, the number of cases was 343 in 19 states and the FCT. The number of deaths was 10 while 91 persons had been discharged. But, there were 87 new cases on Saturday, pushing the number of cases to 1,182 in 28 states and the FCT. The number of deaths rose to 35 while 222 persons had been discharged. The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, said on Sunday that the state had yet to reach its COVID-19 peak despite recording the highest case so far. He had also warned on March 27 that the state might see up to 39,000 cases but that if everyone practised good social distancing, the figure would be limited to 13,000. During the week, the Director-General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr Chike Ihekweazu, had also hinted that the virus would eventually spread to all the 36 states. There is no reason why it wont (extend to every state in Nigeria), it is a respiratory virus, he added. The DG also said on Tuesday that the President would make tougher decisions in the coming week on measures to contain the spread of the virus. He, however, advised Nigerians to be prepared for the tougher directives. Next week, Mr President will make some very difficult decisions for the country in terms of the lockdown in three states but also across the country in different ways, he added. Already, there is increasing tension and impatience among people in the affected states and the FCT over the possibility that the lockdown might be extended. A cross-section of Nigerians, who spoke to Sunday PUNCH, lamented that they were eager to go back to work, adding that staying at home for a month had become traumatising. But the NMA, citing the rate at which the virus was spreading as a major consideration, said the consequence of lifting the lockdown could be calamitous. In an interview with one of our correspondents on Thursday, NMA National President, Dr Francis Faduyile, said, If we say we want to contain the spread and we are having exponential increase, is that when we should open up and resume work? Its obvious that its not the time to open up. We are just getting to the peak and the spread is still ascending the slope. You can only ease the lockdown when you are seeing a lesser number of new cases. Would you also say Kano State should open up and resume normal activities when the cases are just being detected? Things that are unfolding show that we need to enforce even more. However, if we want to enforce the lockdown, then we should do things that would make life easier for people. That is to call on the government to do the needful in the fair distribution of the palliatives so that people can stay at home. It is for the benefit of the people that the lockdown rules should be respected. It is not a punishment. The consequence of not extending it is that those who may harbour the virus will be mixing freely in society and would be transmitting the virus to those who are not yet infected. That wont be good. Faduyile lamented that compliance with the lockdown had not been satisfactory. The World Health Organisation had on Tuesday warned countries not to lift the lockdown, saying, No country is safe from potentially overwhelming outbreaks as long as the coronavirus is circulating. Meanwhile, those who oppose the extension argued that in spite of the rising cases, government could not continue to put the economy on a lockdown. The Director-General, NECA, Mr Timothy Olawale, said there was a need for the government to relax the lockdown and that if necessary, businesses could be encouraged to do a roaster for their employees so there wouldnt be more than a certain number of employees at work at any given time. He also said the government should take cognisance of the increasing crime rate, poverty and likely uprising or revolt by those in a precarious situation, while noting that without specific palliatives, the lockdown could cripple businesses and make recovery more difficult. He said, Government should relax the lockdown while putting in place stringent national policy as done in Ghana, Germany and some other countries. I suggest a relaxed lockdown between 8 am and 4 pm and a curfew between 5 pm and 7 am. For anyone that will go out, face mask should be made compulsory. Non-use of the face mask should be criminalised. Inter-state travels should remain banned for now while all businesses can be mandated to ensure stringent protocols such as social distancing, provision of wash hand area and so on within their premises. Without government giving specific palliatives such as part payment of salaries and direct tax waivers to businesses, the lockdown will further cripple businesses and make recovery more difficult. While calling for more tests to be carried out, he said information dissemination should be doubled so it could reach people in local areas. The Director-General, NACCIMA, Ambassador Ayo Olukanni, also commended the federal and state governments for the strategies deployed so far to contain the virus. He, however, noted that the lockdown was no longer sustainable. He said, While we understand the reasons for the lockdown which has been on for almost a month; it has become necessary to review the lockdown order and replace it with a more strategic approach for various reasons. The continued lockdown is taking a serious toll on businesses across the country and the ripple effects on security are becoming alarming; especially as miscreants seize the opportunity to rob citizens and break into business premises. Consideration should be given to gradual opening of some businesses and other commercial operations. Steps should therefore be taken to allow some categories of workers to resume work and business operations while keeping to safety protocols, such as wearing of face masks, social distancing and ban on large gatherings. Certainly a lockdown order ad-infinitum is not sustainable and many of our members are of the view that this should be reviewed to ease the lockdown, of course without prejudice to safety, which is the duty of all. While calling for increased testing to identify the carriers of the virus, Olukanni commended the organisations that have provided palliatives for the underprivileged, noting that members of the association had been playing their roles in the fight against the deadly virus. He said they would continue to ensure uninterrupted supply of essential products and services at this difficult period The Director-General of LCCI, Yusuf, who spoke in his personal capacity, said even though the lockdown was laudable to contain the spread of the virus, the sustainability had become a matter of concern. He, therefore, advised that the government should consider the option of a partial lockdown. Already, there had been rising insecurity, especially armed robbery, in some parts of Lagos and Ogun states, forcing the people to cry out for help, while some of them resort to keeping vigilance on the streets to ward off the thieves. Yusuf said, Lagos, for instance, is highly cosmopolitan, very mobile with a high velocity of business transactions. About 50 per cent of the Lagos economy is made up of the informal sector. One of the main features of the sector is that the operators live by the day. Keeping such a commercially active population indoors for a month is a great challenge. Neither the Lagos State Government nor the Federal Government has the capacity to manage the social consequences of a prolonged lockdown hunger, restiveness and insecurity. This is why a long period of lockdown may not be sustainable. The context of a problem should define the prescription. An extension of the lockdown beyond the four weeks is not advisable. The option of partial lockdown should be considered. This should be preceded by a robust COVID-19 risk assessment. This should guide the targeting of the lockdown. Different economic activities present different vulnerabilities. In all cases, the observance of the COVID-19 protocols should continue under a regime of a partial lockdown. YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Complete lockdown of Nigeria necessary to curb COVID-19 spread Expert On their part, the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria said if the government felt constrained to extend the lockdown on account of the rising cases, it should come up with better palliatives that would get to the target audience. It said government should ensure that the youth, elderly people and those who depended on daily income but could not go to work now should be targeted as being done in other countries. The National President of the association, Dr Femi Egbesola, said, In the priority scale, health comes before wealth and at any point in time, it is better to prioritise health. If the lockdown is what is good for us now as a nation, even if we have sacrifices to make, it is better we cooperate. Its only those who are alive that can do business, so our being alive is the topmost priority. But if there is a way they can relax the lockdown or do partial lockdown and we would still be safe, based on the advice of the medical experts, I think that would be better than total lockdown. There are some countries that have partial lockdown in place but the populace move with face masks, hand gloves and other protective wear. If there is a way that can be done, its okay because we will not say we want to be alive and then continue to suffer and begin to die physically or emotionally from the consequences of staying at home. If the medical experts advise that the lockdown should continue, there is an urgent need for the government to look at having more palliatives to reach the target audience. Independent of the lockdown imposed on the FCT and Lagos and Ogun states, many governors had also imposed lockdown on their states, while some imposed curfew. Already, the Nigeria Labour Congress had called on the Federal Government not to extend the lockdown, warning that doing so might cause social unrest in the affected states and the FCT. While faulting the approach employed in the distribution of the palliatives so far, the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, said the economy might relapse into prolonged coma if the current lockdown in the nations nerve centres goes beyond the current extension. On account of the rising cases across the states, governors of the 36 states of the federation on Wednesday unanimously agreed to impose a 14-day inter-state lockdown, saying the rise in the number of cases had become a matter of concern. The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, said in a communique issued after the forums teleconference meeting, Governors unanimously agreed to the implementation of an inter-state lockdown in the country over the next two weeks to mitigate the spread from state to state. MY DARK VANESSA by Kate Elizabeth Russell (4th Estate 12.99, 384 pp) MY DARK VANESSA by Kate Elizabeth Russell (4th Estate 12.99, 384 pp) This is a terrifying but vitally important story about an affair between a 15-year-old schoolgirl and her 42-year-old English teacher, and it is an incredibly impressive debut from the American-born Russell. Vanessa Wye was just 15 when she first had sex with Jacob Strane and there is no doubt that she did so willingly. Red-headed Vanessa believed absolutely that he had fallen in love with her, and that he was destined to be the great passion of her life. Now, in 2017, she is 32 and Strane has just been accused of sexual abuse by another former pupil. Vanessa never thought of her relationship with Strane as abusive. But now, in the #MeToo era, she is being asked to redefine her relationship as one based on her rape as a minor. Vanessa never believed that was true, but stealthily another, darker, truth emerges. Elegantly nuanced, and confronting one of the most complex issues of our time, this explodes off the page with great power and will have the world talking. THE FAMILIAR DARK by Amy Engel (Hodder 14.99, 256 pp) THE FAMILIAR DARK by Amy Engel (Hodder 14.99, 256 pp) In Barren Springs, a small, poverty-stricken town in the Ozarks of Missouri, two 12year-old girls are found with their throats cut in an old playground. Their blood stains the snow that has fallen on that chill April afternoon. This is a crime of such barbarity that it profoundly shocks all the inhabitants. It is inconceivable that the killing could be the work of one of their own. It must have been an outsider. Or must it? Eve Taggert, mother of Junie, one of the two murdered girls, is overcome with grief but is also determined to find out who killed her beloved daughter. Eve sets out on a personal crusade to get to the bottom of what happened and why. On the way, she finds herself depending on her own mother, with whom she has always struggled to get along. She also begins to understand the pressures that can affect even the most apparently stable families. A story about grief, pretence and family, written by a former criminal defence lawyer, it tugs at the heartstrings with its raw emotional truth. THE BLACK ART OF KILLING by Matthew Hall (Michael Joseph 14.99, 464pp) THE BLACK ART OF KILLING by Matthew Hall (Michael Joseph 14.99, 464pp) From this BAFTA award-winning screenwriter comes a Bond-style thriller for the 21st century. Dr Leo Black is trying to forget his time as an SAS officer and immerse himself in academic life at Oxford, as a modern history lecturer. He is seeking a permanent position, but his military background counts against him among the liberal members of the Senior Common Room. Then his former colleague and friend Ryan Finn, also retired from the regiment, is mysteriously killed while acting as a private security guard to a young scientist at a conference in Paris. Their former commanding officer begs Black to help bring those who killed him to justice. Black hesitates, but then agrees that he may have the particular skills needed to help find the killers. So begins a chase to stop the villains using new technology to influence the workings of the brain. Written with pace and great panache, it feels like a movie already. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 09:54:50|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NANJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Police in Suzhou City in east China's Jiangsu Province said they seized 25 protected animals, including 14 radiated tortoises under top national-level protection. The police also arrested 14 people who were suspected of purchasing and selling rare and endangered wildlife. The suspects confessed that they bought and traded the animals through the Internet. The seized animals have been transferred to wildlife protection organizations. Further investigation is underway. Enditem Edgar Su/Reuters This article was updated at 3:00 a.m. EDT, April 27, 2020. ROMEThere are problems, and then there are snoblems, as social media like to call certain first-world personal issues during the pandemic. And almost anyone with a pen and a platformmyself includedhas written about the latter, with harrowing tales of everything from long grocery lines during the lockdown to bad hair and awkward Zoom dates. But just as the privileged appear to be moving down the back side of the global coronavirus pandemic, it is those people in the margins, almost always ignored by society, that we need to be most worried about, not only for the sake of compassion, but for self-interest. The curve has been flattening in most of the hardest hit areas of the global coronavirus crisis, from New York City to northern Italy, where fewer than 500 deaths in a single day now feels oddly victorious. Wuhan is opening for business and Italy will slowly come out of its own coronavirus hibernation in early May. But as Singapore has learned, premature celebrations of containment can easily backfire if success is only measured among those being counted. The rigorously managed city-state has suffered a recent spike in new cases simply because it wasnt watching those who are easiest to ignore. Suddenly, Singapores Coronavirus Cases Skyrocketed. Heres Why. Migrant workers forced into lockdown in tight dorms are now emerging to help kickstart the Singapore economy, but during the height of the crisis, they were largely untested, and the virus ran wild among them. They now account for a huge increase in cases taxing the health care system and causing leaders to enforce a partial lockdown for the first time in the pandemic. The same is likely to happen across Europe, where migrant workers and seasonal laborers are desperately needed to harvest winter crops. Special dispensation to cross closed borders is now being considered for Romanian harvest workers to come to Italy, where they will move into barrack-style lodgings and work side by side. In Great Britain, after calls for furloughed workers from non-agricultural sectors to step up and work in the farm industry were largely ignored, the government chartered flights to bring Romanian fruit and vegetable pickers in, despite travel bans. Story continues Romania has had just over 11,000 positive cases, but as of the weekend had carried out only around 115,000 tests, meaning a large part of the population probably is infected without knowing. Italy does not have the capacity to test seasonal farm workers, who could introduce the virus in the southern regions of the country where winter agriculture is based, and which have largely escaped the brunt of the pandemic. The more than 71 million people displaced by war and conflict worldwide, as tallied by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, have also been locked down without the sort of testing carried out on other populations. Human Rights Watch warns that as nations lift restrictions, many of the migrants will start moving again without any proper care during the critical early stages of the pandemic. On Greek islands where thousands of refugees from the Middle East live in horrific conditions awaiting rulings on their asylum requests, testing is virtually nonexistent. A spokesperson for Doctors Without Borders told The Daily Beast that at the notorious Moria camp on the island of Lesbos, where 19,000 migrants and refugees live in a space meant for just 3,000, there is just one water tap for every 1,300 people and no soap at all. Families of five or six have to sleep in spaces of no more than three square meters [about 32 square feet], Dr. Hilde Vochten, MSF's Medical Coordinator in Greece, said recently. This means that recommended measures such as frequent hand-washing and social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus are just impossible. As the world has learned from watching COVID-19 tear through cruise ships, aircraft carriers and New York City, tight living arrangements are the perfect breeding ground for the virus. In so many parts of the marginalized worldfrom refugee camps to labor farmssocial distancing cannot be enforced effectively and blanket testing for the virus is just not a priority. These also are the environments where other health issues are rampant, from malnutrition to a lack of hygiene, which will complicate even mild cases of COVID-19, and where asymptomatic carriers could easily spread the disease to thousands of people before a single case is confirmed. Moria, like other camps, is serviced by staff who live on the island and come and go from the camps, making it easy for them to spread the disease, and holes in the fences make it easy for many of the people there to move freely and return. Writing in The Nation, author and human rights advocate Sasha Abramsky warns of a storm on the horizon. So preoccupied are we by our own fears and by the U.S. pandemic calamity that we risk forgetting the misfortunes piled on misfortune of the 70 million people around the world currently displaced by war and social collapse, he writes, warning that in the United States, Donald Trumps policies on immigration have caused a bottleneck in facilities where those who may be carrying COVID-19 are neither treated nor released. In the United States, where there are an estimated 11 million people Trump likes to call illegal aliens, many work in the sectors that solve the snoblems for the rest of us. A lack of access to health care could be deadly, not just for them but for us, too. Out of fear of deportation, these vulnerable undocumented workers are likely to avoid hospitals, and instead stay on the job, working in those businesses that are opening up in some states, like restaurants, massage parlors, and bowling alleys. The stark degrees of suffering and vulnerability to COVID-19 have largely focused on the elderly and unwell in the developed world, the strain on normally well-developed health systems that should have been far better prepared, and the shocking lack of preparedness in the worlds richest economies. But, writing in The Economist, Bill Gates warns that as the pandemic slows in developed nations, it will accelerate in developing ones. Their experience, however, will be worse, says Gates. In poorer countries, where fewer jobs can be done remotely, distancing measures wont work as well. He notes that, COVID-19 overwhelmed cities like New York, but the data suggest that even a single Manhattan hospital has more intensive-care beds than most African countries. Millions could die. Gates goes on to say he hopes wealthy nations include poorer ones as they move to a post-pandemic world. Even the most self-interested personor isolationist governmentshould agree with this by now, he says. This pandemic has shown us that viruses dont obey border laws and that we are all connected biologically by a network of microscopic germs, whether we like it or not. But if nothing is done to integrate the needs of those vulnerable populations on the marginswhether at home in the first world or abroad in less affluent societiesexperts warn they may contribute massively to the second wave of COVID-19. And they wont be as easy to ignore the next time around. Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here 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. Last week, the baby tyrant of Idahos far-right fringe groups, Wayne Hoffman of the Idaho Slavery Foundation, wailed that no one was heeding his shrill cries of state tyranny and that Idahoans are wrong to participate in OVID-19 stay-at-home guidance of Gov. Brad Little. People shouldnt have to live like this, he implored. For once, Waynes right. We dont have to live under the kook-rant-screams of zealots which the Idaho Freedom Foundation wants you to support in their false rhetoric of liberty and freedom. We can vote these folks out of office if theyre incumbents, or vote for their common-sense Republican challengers. The IFFs bots, aided by smear-camp social media, kook radio drivel and basement constitutional scholars, have picked up a few seats in the Idaho House and Senate over the several past elections. They also occupy some top positions in the state Republican Party, as well as getting their burn-government-down darling, Janice McGeachin, elected Lieutenant Governor with less than 29 percent of the vote in a multi-candidate primary in 2018. McGeachin, by the way, ran a distant second or third across Magic Valley counties. (Sec of State, 2018 primary returns.) But on real accomplishments for the good of the state, theyve been barriers to progress. Infrastructure needs? Nope. Education funding? Slash it. Federal-state relations? Nullify em. Court rulings? Dont apply to me. On and on. Their appeals have been mostly based on fear, and intimidation. McGeachin, for example, had herself photographed with rightist militia members not long after her election. Now, shes tasted more of the IFF kool-aid, as a leading speaker this weekend at a disobey rally. (TN, 4/22) And this is someone who pretends to favor representative government? She also came out in support of Eastern two Idaho radio rightist personalities who quit their KID radio show this week after encouraging people to disobey the stay-at-home guidance. (East Idaho News, 4/21) Southern Idaho has been fortunate to escape this kind of ideological representation. Our regions elected officials are generally fair-minded, common-sense folks. They dont typically veer from the practical, solve-problems approach to governance. Voters locally seem to have a well-refined sense of sniffing out, and rejecting, extremists whether on the left or on the far-fringe right. But there have been exceptions. In District 23, for example (Owyhee, Elmore and several Western Twin Falls County precincts) fringe-right candidates have prevailed in Christy Zito, a Hammett, extremist who routinely opposes school support, CSI funding and Health & Welfare. Shes even proposed charging medical doctors with draconian prosecution for performing trans-gendered surgery. The bill was wisely held by the committee chair. (Idaho Press, 2/26) This election cycle, Zito is being challenged by a highly-qualified Owyhee rancher, Brenda Richards, a former county treasurer with a long history of public involvement in the district. Richards would be an excellent replacement for retiring Sen. Bert Brackett. A vote for Zito is in effect, a vote for ideological extremism over Richards practical record. The same division can be seen in the House seat, 23A, where experienced Mountain Home councilman Matt Bundy is running against another arch-rightist, Andrea Owens, whose zealotry parallels Zitos. IFFs frequent diatribes reflect a self-centered focus on individuals; they overlook that one goal of the Constitution is to promote the general welfare of the American people, an area of settled law for more than 200 years. (Idaho Press, 4/21) Who are these guys, anyway? Mostly out-of-state (and some in-state) oligarchs (Statesman, 3/13) and predatory lawyers who want to tack on huge fees to medical debt collections, dismantle Idahos education and state pension systems, legalize marijuana, eliminate federal currency and facilitate money manipulation for their own financial benefit. To the IFF, its a dog-eat-dog world out there in which the richest survive and do well and the rest, not so much; In their Hobbesian world, theyre really just would-be tyrants who claim individual rights violations while not lifting a finger for the common good. To them, governance is only about me. They rant about tyranny: and House arrests, but ignore the real dangers to public health by the Coronavirus spread. By their logic, if theyre not sick individually, its none of societys concern about the sick or dying, A true Let Them Eat Cake disregard for the common welfare, Survival of the Fittest for me. Not for you. Governance in Idaho has generally been blessed with hard-working, common-values folks who offer experience and wisdom for the common good. As a St. Lukes medical director put it this week, Your neighbors, who are physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, therapists and other clinicians, are doing their best to fight a threat we all have in common. We stand in support of the governor, of county commissioners, of the mayors of our cities, of university, college and school administrators, of all first responders, of business owners, of every leader, at every level, who is doing the right thing on behalf of all of us. Were calling on that spirit of community now. As your doctors, nurses and neighbors, we invite you to join us in supporting our governor, policymakers, business leaders, mayors, heads of our school districts and institutions of higher learning in making extremely difficult choices on behalf of all us. It is hard enough in the best of times to be a true leader; it has never been more difficult than it is right now. (TN, 4/21) Isnt that the essence of it, to fight a threat we all have in common? To accomplish that, we should reject political extremists and vote for common sense. Thats real liberty and freedom. Stephen Hartgen, Twin Falls, is a retired five-term Republican member of the Idaho House of Representatives, where he served as chairman of the Commerce & Human Resources Committee. Previously, he was editor and publisher of The Times-News (1982-2005). He is the author of the new book Tradition & Progress: Southern Idahos Growth Since 1990. This column was first published in www.idahopoliticsweekly.com. He can be reached at Stephen_Hartgen@hotmail.com Love 14 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, April 27, 2020 06:30 626 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd45c1a0 1 National COVID-19,COVID-19-in-Indonesia,COVID-19-lockdown,mudik,mudik-ban,idul-fitri-exodus,Idul-Fitri,travelers,Greater-Jakarta Free Thousands of travelers across the country have been stopped, turned back, or otherwise stranded as the government's mudik (Idul Fitri exodus) ban comes into effect. The Transportation Ministry restricted all passenger travel starting on Friday as the government attempts to prevent citizens from participating in mudik to curb the spread of COVID-19. Within the first five hours after the Transportation Ministry's travel restrictions were officially enacted, the Jakarta Police had stopped over 1,000 motorists attempting to leave Greater Jakarta. "From 12 a.m to 5 a.m, a total of 1,181 motorists were asked to turn around," Jakarta Police traffic director Sr. Comr. Sambodo Purnomo Yogo said in a written statement on Friday. Some 498 motorists were stopped at the Bitung tollgate heading toward Merak, Banten, while 683 motorists were stopped at the Cikarang tollgate heading toward West Java. Sambodo said vehicle checkpoints had been set up in 18 posts around Jakarta's border and that police would start issuing fines to motorists who persisted in trying to leave the city starting on May 8. Jakarta is considered the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, with at least 3,798 confirmed cases and 353 deaths as of Sunday. In East Java - another province hit hard by the virus, with at least 785 confirmed cases - the provincial administration has set up eight checkpoints to monitor people who leave or enter the province. Seven checkpoints have been established along its western border with Central Java, located in Tuban, Bojonegoro, Ngawi, Magetan, Ponorogo, Pacitan and in a toll road in Mantingan district, Ngawi. On its eastern border, a checkpoint has been set set up at Ketapang Port in Banyuwangi regency, the main access point to East Java from the neighboring island of Bali. East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa, however, said the checkpoints were not aimed at preventing people from participating in mudik, but to check people's travel documents, body temperature, and to make sure they obeyed the physical distancing policy during their journey. In Surabaya, East Java, a husband and wife were stranded at Juanda International Airport on Friday following the suspension of domestic and overseas flights - commercial and chartered - from and to airports managed by Angkasa Pura I. "I already bought the tickets, but I just recently found out about the ban. My wife and I don't know what to do as we couldn't fly home," Andro Liem, a resident of Batam, Riau province, said on Friday as quoted by Tribunnews. The couple, who came to East Java for business matters, were offered a refund or reschedule by the airlines. However, with no relatives in East Java, both are anxious about the financial cost of staying longer in the province. "I have a 10-month-old child at home in Batam. I will be very worried if I can't go home. The regulation to curb COVID-19 shouldn't be like this," Andro Liem's wife, who refused to be identified, said. In East Kotawaringin, Central Kalimantan, some travelers were surprised to find that all commercial voyages to and from Sampit Port had been stopped. "I thought the mudik ban would be implemented later," said Yogi, a resident of Temanggung, Central Java, as quoted by Antara news agency. Yogi said he arrived in East Kotawaringin two months ago for business matters and had planned to come back to his hometown for Idul Fitri. The father of two now has to spend Ramadan and Idul Fitri away from his family as Sampit Airport has been closed as well. In Bali, however, some West Nusa Tenggara residents were allowed to leave the province via Padangbai Port and return to their hometowns, under certain conditions. "West Nusa Tenggara residents with ID who have been terminated from their jobs and have nowhere else to go are still permitted to come back to West Nusa Tenggara," Padangbai Port Authority head Ni Luh Putu Eka Suyasmin said on Saturday as quoted by Antara News Agency. Annually, some 20 million people from Greater Jakarta travel to their hometowns to celebrate Idul Fitri with their families. President Joko Jokowi Widodo earlier announced his decision to ban mudik after reviewing a Transportation Ministry survey showing that 24 percent of respondents had plans to travel home. The same survey indicated that around 7 percent of respondents had already left on mudik trips. Asip Hasani contributed to the article from Blitar, East Java. Dear Gov. Abbott, I want to tell you that I dont know what the right decision is when it comes to balancing public health and the economy. From what I read on social media, I might be the only one. I think you made the right decision when you put forth common-sense restrictions in the state before Texas could turn into a New York, Pennsylvania, California, Illinois, Michigan or Florida. Take a look at the CDC website and you will see New Jersey (99,989), Massachusetts (46,203), Louisiana (25,789) and Connecticut (23,100) also have more confirmed cases than Texas (21,944). Please remember your success here before announcing the entirety of the decisions to open up the economy. Many of the same people who are calling for you to be aggressive in lifting restrictions will be the same ones to throw you to the social media wolves if your decision changes Texas coronavirus fortunes. And frankly, there is no upside if your political fortunes rise because the residents of your state are so defeated and so starved for leadership that they will eat up anything in a coronavirus-decimated state like New York. Governor, dont let anyone tell you that Democrats have all the answers. Of the states mentioned above, all but two have Democratic governors, and Texas Democrats have done little to lead us to believe they want to work with you on coronavirus -- or just about any other issue. They want to occupy your residence in Austin. If coronavirus is the reason for it, so be it. Having said that, heres hoping you are listening to the medical experts. If they tell you there is no problem with opening up retail, restaurants and/or churches if people are wearing masks, then listen to the doctors. If this is about jump-starting the economy, then Texans wont mind protecting themselves and others from an invisible enemy. Governor, if you want to seal your fate as one of the most consequential governors our state and conservatism have known, you will not leave us wondering what if we had held off just a few more weeks. You also will not make things worse and then be forced to put in place severer restrictions that set back the state even more, later into 2020. Governor, make your decision wisely. Please put Texans in a position of looking back at late April as the time when we knew the pendulum swung back in a more positive direction and doesnt leave us shaking our heads because it appeared we were so close to kicking the virus to the curb. I dont know what the right decision is, but if you are going to make drastic moves this week, I hope you do. -- Stewart Doreen Midland Reporter-Telegram editor sdoreen@hearstnp.com New Delhi: For the second time in three days, the number of coronavirus cases in the country surged to a new daily record as 1,975 new infections were reported by the home ministry on Sunday. This is 223 cases more than the biggest 24-hour spike of 1,752 infections that were reported by the government on Friday evening. According to government data, the countrywide number of cases has climbed to 26,917, while the death toll due to Covid-19 rose to 826. The country has reported 47 deaths since Saturday night, the ministry said. The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 20,177 while 5,913 people (21.96 percent) were cured and discharged. According to government officials, the recovery rate is a positive sign, as it has jumped from about 12 per cent till just 10 days ago. While visiting AIIMS in Delhi, union health minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday also said the coronavirus situation in the country is improving as many hotspot districts (HSD) are moving towards being non-hotspot districts (NHSD). He did not elaborate on the assertion. Government officials have said that outbreak of the pandemic has been "under control" in India because of the lockdown as the doubling rate has increased to 10 days. Niti Ayog member VK Paul, chairman of an empowered group on COVID-19, also said that India would have recorded around a lakh cases of the infection by now if it weren't for the restrictions on movement. The big rise in cases on Sunday has been powered by the large numbers reported from Maharashtra and Gujarat, two states with the fastest-growing infection rates in the country. According to the Health Ministry data, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country is from Maharashtra at 7,628, followed by Gujarat (3,071), Delhi (2,625), Rajasthan (2,083), Madhya Pradesh (2,096) and Uttar Pradesh (1,843). The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 1,821 in Tamil Nadu, 1,097 in Andhra Pradesh and 991 in Telangana. Of the 47 deaths reported since Saturday evening, 22 are from Maharashtra, eight in Rajasthan, seven from Madhya Pradesh, six Gujarat and one each from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Tamil Nadu. Of the total 824 COVID-19 deaths, Maharashtra accounts for the highest number of 323 fatalities, followed by Gujarat (133), Madhya Pradesh (99), Delhi (54), Andhra Pradesh (31) and Rajasthan (33). The death toll reached 27 in Uttar Pradesh, 26 in Telangana, 23 in Tamil Nadu, while Karnataka and West Bengal have reported 18 deaths each, the ministry said. Punjab has registered 17 fatalities so far, Jammu and Kashmir six, Kerala four, while Jharkhand and Haryana have recorded three COVID-19 deaths each. Bihar has reported two coronavirus deaths, while Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Assam have reported one fatality each, according to the ministry data. The Government is reportedly preparing to ditch its hard-hitting lockdown PR strategy to move onto its second phase of the coronavirus response. Number 10 is planning to scrap adverts bearing its 'stay at home' slogan as it works with Australian strategist Isaac Levido. Levido masterminded the Conservative Party's election win in December, when Labour suffered its worst defeat since 1935. This is one of the hard-hitting ads that the Government began its PR strategy with at the start of the month. Number 10 is now said to be ditching the ads One of the original examples of the Government's PR strategy is pictured as Number 10 reportedly moves into a second phase The Sunday Telegraph reports that Downing Street is planning on moving past its first phase of the lockdown as Prime Minister Boris Johnson insists he's raring to go and will be working from Monday after his own battle with Covid-19. On Wednesday the Government launched a series of bizarre coronavirus adverts in a bid to get them shared online, but they still bore the Stay Home slogan. The adverts, which include deliberate errors, are designed to be mocked online so that people share them and spread the 'stay at home' message. It is a repeat of the Tory party's general election strategy in which social media content deliberately crafted to look simplistic and basic was used to great success. Last week, new adverts surfaced but the Government is understood to be moving away from its 'Stay Home' slogan altogether, according to the Sunday Telegraph Several posts shared by the party during the campaign - including Boris Johnson's Love Actually election video and memes using a comic book font - ended up going viral due to their intentionally clunky execution. A number of the adverts, created by No 10 digital guru Ben Guerin, have already attracted derision on social media. One of the adverts shows two women sitting on a sofa holding a bowl but a third woman's hand appears to be visible in the shot. Despite being lambasted online, it has remained on the 10 Downing Street Twitter account. The error-ridden ads differ from the comparatively stark tone the Government struck initially. In other developments: Ministers were planning to put all travellers from abroad, including returning UK citizens, in quarantine for a fortnight; Tory 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady warned Mr Johnson that prolonging the lockdown 'for longer than necessary would have its own toll of mass unemployment, business failure and catastrophic deterioration of the public finances', while Tory donor and City grandee Michael Spencer called for the Government to provide a blueprint for easing the measures, with a friend saying 'it should not continue a day longer than necessary'; Chancellor Rishi Sunak set out options for exiting the lockdown during a three-hour summit at Mr Johnson's Chequers country retreat and championed the Czech Republic's five -stage plan to lift all domestic restrictions by June 8; Home Secretary Priti Patel warned that 'we are not out of the woods yet' and urged the public to continue to follow social distancing rules while vowing to tackle 'the most sophisticated' criminals who are seeking to 'exploit and capitalise' on the pandemic; There was renewed controversy over the low number of patients being treated in Nightingale Hospitals; The UK's death toll exceeded 20,000 and the global death toll exceeded 200,000; Oxford scientists develop accurate antibody kits that work in 20 minutes and could be producing one million a week by June Full-page adverts featuring the slogan 'Stay home. Protect the NHS. Save lives' have featured in most national newspapers since the start of the month. Social media users were also targeted with the advertising across a variety of platforms. The campaign used striking red and yellow colouring and featuring dramatic images of NHS staff in face masks and other protective wear. The grim 20,000 milestone - which also saw the number of people testing positive for coronavirus rise by 4,913 to 148,377 - came as the coronavirus lockdown continued into its fifth weekend and the Government faced calls for greater transparency over the scientific advice given to ministers on the outbreak Users of the antibody test provide a pinprick of blood for analysis. Then, like a pregnancy test, if two lines appear after a 20-minute wait, people know that they have the antibodies In one example, promoted on Facebook, users were told: 'If you go out, you can spread it. People will die.' Another wared: 'Anyone can get it. Anyone can spread it.' Louis Hill, a public relations expert and managing director of The Source PR, told the PA news agency the Government was 'learning from their mistakes' in terms of its communications strategy. Hill's remarks at the outset of April followed a barrage of criticism aimed at Johnson's Government for poor communication on how best individuals could help fight the pandemic. Farmers probably have less trouble keeping their social distance, but theyre still worried about coronavirus. Were all trying to plan accordingly, said Chris Hausman, who farms near Pesotum. Ive been staying close to the farmstead. A mechanic from Jennings Implement Co. in Bement was working on Hausmans planter to get it ready for this years crop. Were definitely going to practice social distancing, Hausman said. Im not going to be climbing in the cab with the mechanic as hes in there working. While farmers naturally are spread farther apart, they tend to be older and thus more at-risk of COVID-19 complications. They also rely on just a few employees, so its important that each one is healthy during the short stretch of planting. Ive reached out to my part-time help and have encouraged them to also be vigilant and be careful, Hausman said, so that in a couple weeks when we get the opportunity to get into the fields, theyre healthy and ready to go. Planting is still a few weeks away, so right now many farmers are working on their equipment. Its more in the preparation of doing the things you have to do today to guarantee that youre going to be able to work in two weeks or 10 days or whenever Mother Nature decides, Hausman said. He recently picked up parts for his equipment and instead of stopping in and chatting with the employees, his parts were waiting outside. The parts were set outside the door outside the dealership, which I appreciated them doing that, he said. They had a sign that said if we needed any other help just to call. So theyre also trying to do their part. Once farmers are able to get in the fields, Hausman said they should be able to keep their distance. The beauty of farming is that most operators are going to be isolated anyways, Hausman said. Were going to be in the cabs of fertilizer spreaders and planters. From that perspective, its very doable. At AHW, a John Deere dealer in Urbana, store manager John Tate said theyve taken several steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19. For the regular customers, we put the parts outside on shelves, he said. For the customers that dont have an account, we have to go out and make change. They also wipe down high-traffic areas multiple times a day and have locked the showroom. Its a lot of extra work, Tate said. But the crop has to go in when it needs to go in, so they have to be ready. Mark Pflugmacher, who farms in northern Champaign County, also said that getting parts can take a few extra steps. Some dealerships have closed their doors to the public, so you have to call ahead or do it over the internet, he said. And Dirk Rice, who farms near Philo, said the coronavirus has helped highlight the lack of broadband internet in many rural areas. Hes on the Illinois Corn marketing board and has been attending virtual meetings. Its dragging a bunch of old farmers kicking and screaming into 2020, Rice said. But one issue this has really brought to light is that rural internet access is really behind. Im having to do these meetings on my phone because its the only thing I can keep a good connection on. Farm bureaus mask request making a difference When the Champaign County Farm Bureau asked for masks to donate to local hospitals, farmers delivered. So for, about 475 masks of all types have been donated, with the majority being N95 masks, assistant manager Bailey Edenburn said. Its nice to see the community stepping up to help our health care workers, she said. By PTI LONDON: Tata Steel's UK arm is seeking an estimated GBP 500-million government financial package to survive through the coronavirus lockdown period, according to UK media reports. Tata Steel, which owns the UK's largest steelworks in Port Talbot in Wales, is holding discussions with the Welsh government as well as the UK Treasury as it seeks the GBP 50-million cap set on loans being offered under the UK's Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) to be lifted. "We continue to have ongoing discussions with Tata Steel about what support it needs to sustain strong steel making a presence in the UK and in Wales," a Welsh government spokesperson said. The Indian steel major employs 8,385 people in the UK, including about 4,000 people in Port Talbot and 2,800 in other parts of Wales. "We continue to work with both the UK and Welsh governments to identify what support is available," a company statement said. According to 'Sky News', the support sought is largely understood to comprise a commercial loan that would be repayable when demand for steel recovers. The GBP 500-million figure is said to be a "ballpark" estimate of the company's funding need. "The GBP 50 million cap on loans that are now available under the government support scheme is only about 10 per cent of what Tata Steel actually needs," said Opposition Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, whose constituents make up much of the steel workforce in Port Talbot. "Tata Steel estimates that it will take around six months to get back to business as usual, or as close as possible to it and the challenge they have is cashflow over that six month period. And the estimation is in the region of GBP 500 million," said Kinnock, who had also raised the issue in the House of Commons earlier this week. Responding to him, First Secretary of State Dominic Raab, who is standing in for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson while he recuperates, said that UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak is looking carefully at the steel sector. "All those who are not directly benefiting from this particular scheme [CLBILS] to ensure that in the round we are providing the measures that we need in a targeted way to support all the different crucial elements of the economy," Raab said. New Delhi, April 26 : Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday urged the people to go 'Swadeshi' to tackle the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) that has claimed over 820 lives in India so far. In an online address, Bhagwat also spoke on the importance of staying at home, following the lockdown rules and social distancing norms to combat the coronavirus. "Stay at home and pray to God," he said. Bhagwat, while addressing the proposed intellectual class online by the Nagpur metropolis of RSS, said that the crisis of corona in the country is increasing. "People can win the war by staying at home. Also, we should follow lockdown norms and social distancing". He said the last few days of lockdown enabled him to spend time at home. Reacting to the killing of two saints in Maharashtra's Palghar, Bhagwat urged everyone to control "anger". "The sages did not harm anyone," he said. He said, "We have to follow the lockdown. We have to get out of this crisis. Our crisis has to be made an opportunity. Swadeshi has to be adopted". Mohan Bhagwat reiterated the point of being self-reliant. "Air and water have become cleaner due to the lockdown," he said. "We have to consider how we can generate employment again after the end of lockdown." "The entire world is battling coronavirus. We will have to win this battle by staying at home," he said. "This society is ours... the country is ours, that's why we are working. It is a new disease, so not everything is known. So work with caution. Do not get tired, you will have to keep trying. Please follow the government's instructions," Bhagwat said. "We do not distinguish between humans. Our effort is to help the needy," he added. The RSS chief said the Sangh has postponed all programmes till June 30. Saying that there is a need to learn from the current crisis, Bhagwat said "we will have to adopt Swadeshi behaviour. The society as well as the country should adopt Swadeshi so that no one needs to depend on foreign products." "The coronavirus-triggered crisis can be treated as an opportunity to shape up a new India. Emphasis will have to be given on making quality indigenous products," he said. 'Far more divisive' is how the memo to Cabinet described the next phase of the coronavirus crisis. Sadly, that divisiveness is predicated on good economic news coming for some but not for others. The communication to Cabinet was a standard memo aimed at bringing all Government ministers up to date with the state of play, as well as informing analysis or discussion of what might lie ahead. But there was nothing bland about it. The divisive elements of the next six to 18 months are stark and many of them relate to the economy, households and Exchequer finances. The current lockdown will come to a gradual end in the weeks ahead. Some businesses will be allowed to reopen sooner than others. Manufacturing, where social distancing can be maintained, will be among the first. Professional services too, where a mix of office and working from home can be achieved, as long as customers are buying what the professionals have to offer. In manufacturing, it could include key exporting sectors like IT, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Aside from implementing social distancing measures in these sectors, the other great challenge will be having order books. Thankfully, each of these sectors should be in a good position to bounce back reasonably well. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said he believes the economy can create 115,000 new jobs next year, which would help get the rate of unemployment down from a likely high of 22pc to just under 10pc. Beyond that, the figures don't really stack up. There will be several industries and sectors, vital to our previous economic well-being, which will not be coming back to previous employment levels any time soon. These include jobs in food export, where products sold for the restaurant and food service market will continue to be affected in foreign markets. They also include tourism and hospitality, where serious questions remain around the levels of international travel in the medium term. The divisive nature of what may lie ahead could see neighbours who worked in two different sectors ending up in radically different circumstances, depending on the nature of their jobs. One neighbour will return to work on full pay, probably with some social distancing measures, while his/her neighbour will be unemployed, grappling with debts and facing gradually reduced Covid-19 welfare payments. This reality was hinted at by Donohoe when he flagged that he would have to taper off the 350-per-week unemployment payment for Covid-19 job losses. The payment was initially introduced for a period of 12 weeks. This can be extended but not indefinitely. Big question marks will begin to surface around the affordability of this level of payment for the State into the future. There are already reports of some concern in the Department of Finance around how sustainable the current supports are into the medium term. An opening up of the economy will be gradual for some, and possibly not worth it for others. Small businesses are crying out for some kind of compensation scheme to help get through the crisis. State-guaranteed loans have been given out in the US and in France for small business. In the US, they went through $350bn (324bn) worth in just two weeks. Another $500bn has been approved by Congress. The Government is working on some kind of scheme for Ireland. However, if this crisis is going to drag on until a vaccine is found, some small firms in certain sectors may simply not be viable into the future. The Government will want to help, but how will it negotiate the incredibly difficult waters of distinguishing between businesses that can be saved and those that cannot? The word 'divisive' comes to mind again. In the weeks ahead, we will learn more about the businesses that have signed up for the State's wage subsidy scheme. Some of them will be owned by extremely wealthy multi-millionaires. Questions will be asked about whether they could have done more. Divisive is one way of describing it. Without serious State assistance, there will be defaults by small businesses in particular, whether it is on rent, trade creditors, their mortgages or whatever. Even if the banks are willing to lend more money to help firms with liquidity issues, they will have to be prepared for a situation whereby not all of it will be paid back. This increases the risks for banks themselves. Where in Ireland are the businesses best equipped to come through this crisis located? IT is in Dublin. Pharma is in Cork. Medical devices are in different locations but Galway comes to mind. The west coast is heavily dependent on tourism. Border counties are heavily dependent on the food industry. Things are not looking good across the water in the UK, the biggest buyer of our food products. Regional disparities, which were already there but improved somewhat during recent boom years, could well become more pronounced. The word divisive comes to mind again. We are heading for more than a summer of discontent, and the Government knows it. On Glanbia guidance, your guess is as good as mine 'Volatile' is how Glanbia described the pattern of trading since the end of its first quarter, when it reported to the market with a trading update during the week. The Kilkenny-based food and ingredients group was able to reassure the market with a very strong performance in the first three months of the year. Revenues rose by more than 20pc on the back of strong demand across nutrition and performance nutrition. However, chief executive Siobhan Talbot wasn't prepared to say very much at all about how things have been going since then - or are likely to go in the months ahead. Previous guidance was withdrawn and beyond that, you are on your own when it comes to analysing what lies ahead. One would assume that revenues have taken a right drop but volatility implies up and down. It turns out that some bulk buying of products ahead of lockdown took place towards the end of March, only for volumes to fall back again in the following couple of weeks. It isn't easy for anybody to second-guess how this will go for large food companies, but surely the executive teams in these businesses have a better idea than saying, 'it was great in the first quarter, and after that, we just don't know'. Davy Stockbrokers had to take a rough stab at the figures for some kind of guidance. It went with a drop in earnings from 86.8c down to 80c. This would imply a 20m fall and 7.8pc drop. Glanbia emphasised how well its production and supply chain were working. But it is far from alone in backing off giving any meaningful guidance on what is going on inside the business in terms of sales, pricing, demand, future orders and anticipated trading. Executives in many PLCs can't exactly come out with wild guesses and they don't want to give any hostages to fortune or be shown to be wrong later on. Glanbia shares went up a little on the back of the steady Q1 performance and the 'your guess is as good as mine' outlook on what happens next. Gilead Sciences maker of Remdesivir that failed in drug trials with disappointing results has called the report inconclusive and did not agree with it. Remdesivir is just one of the drugs along with chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine that have posted less than stellar results in drug trials. Many were initially used in China with limited efficacy. One of the companies Gilead put their full backing on a drug that ultimately failed on many occasions, most of the evidence for pursuing them for trials were all anecdotal. After the draft document was released, Gilead did not agree and was still convinced of its efficacy. On Thursday, the biotech firm fell a hard 4% in the trading, according to the Financial Times made a report that their touted cure Remdesivir had not helped COVID-19 patients get better, or lessen the viral content in the bloodstream, based on a clinical trial in China. The WHO published proof that remdesivir was effective. This report in question was a draft and should not be published. Hence, it was removed from their site disavowing any knowledge of its publishing. What was mentioned in the report that is not mentioned in trials was serious side effects that prompted doctors to get patient's off it, or it implied that it was significantly dangerous to keep them on it. Gilead expressed dissatisfaction over a report based on empirical findings. Gilead issued this statement,"We regret that the WHO prematurely posted information regarding the study, which has since been removed. The investigators in this study did not provide permission for publication of results," a Gilead spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC." The information on the document should have been withheld since the data will affect the status of the trials. Also read: Pantless Dead Woman Dumped in Trash Can Via Shopping Cart "Furthermore, we believe the post included inappropriate characterizations of the study. Importantly, because this study was terminated early due to low enrollment, it was underpowered to enable statistically meaningful conclusions," Gilead further said. Researchers at Gilead stress the word inconclusive and cites the potential benefit (there were severe side effects) of a drug that was not deemed effective to greenlight. Gilead was not even able to get orphan drug status. Bottom line, there are no effective therapies yet, Remdesivir is a repurposed drug. It will take 12 to 18 months to reach a cure, but others like Gilead want to jump the gun and get their cure first. As of now, there are too many drugs on trial but none seems to be a suitable therapy. Examples of Gilead's evidence is isolated in the University of Chicago which found that COVID-19 patient got better from fever and respiratory problems. The patients were discharged in a week, this was according to Stat News. Gilead the maker of Remdesivir is banking on the success of their touted coronavirus cure to get shares up, however, negative news tends to pull shares down. Mike Bailey, director of research at FBB Capital Partners and a former health-care analyst at Stifel stressed about the good news on the virus to get more investors not lose them due to negative results. Both Moderna and Gilead were in the starting trials but nothing more than anecdotal evidence is cited. Revelations by WHO even by accident that Remdesivir failed in drug trials is a big thing to consider if it will work at all. Related article: Chloroquine Causes Lethal Poisoning in Nigeria, Death of Man in Arizona @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A magician who captivated audiences with a swish of his wand not so long ago and had more than a dozen members in his travelling troupe is now being forced to sell vegetables in the congested lanes of his home in Rajasthan. R J Samrat Jadugar, the king of magicians, on stage and simply Raju Mahor off it, the 38-year-old father of three says the COVID-19 pandemic and the prolonged lockdown left him with no option but to turn vegetable vendor in his home in Dholpur. The coronavirus crisis has shut down my entire business. Over a dozen staff members who worked with me are now sitting at home due to the lockdown. I thought about how I would pay house rent and run my family, and I did not see any other option but to sell vegetables, Mahor told PTI. Mahor, who has three sons aged seven, 13 and 18, said he has been a magician for 15 years, using his carefully honed craft to perform vanishing acts and transformation acts among other tricks. The magician said he has done hundreds of shows in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in the last 15 years. I would do eight-10 shows a day in fairs organised throughout the year across India. My last show was in Bhind and Morena in Madhya Pradesh. My props are now lying with one of my staff members in Bhind due to the lockdown, he said. The pan India lockdown came into effect after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech on March 24 and has now been extended till at least May 3. Mahor, one of the many whose lives have taken a hit due to the spread of the coronavirus and the subsequent nationwide lockdown, said this is an unprecedented crisis and asked the government to take measures to provide work to people facing difficult times. He expressed the hope that life will get back to normal after India defeats the disease. It's not only about me but other people too. God knows when the situation will become normal and people will step out to watch shows. I can only pray the good times come back soon, he said. Mahor, who said he learnt the art of magic from Swamu Prakash in Gwalior, is desperate to get back in front of an audience. It is the only skill he has, he said. But it is not one he wants to pass on to his children. This is not the right line, he said, adding that it doesn't provide a steady income. He would like his children to take up regular jobs. The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 824 and the number of cases climbed to 26,496 in India on Sunday, according to the Union Health Ministry. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Island manufacturing company is producing a new type of protective gown for health-care workers at the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Top Dog Manufacturing, based in Summerside, P.E.I., produces protective equipment, like gloves and gowns, for a number of industries, including food processing, hospitality and health care. Doug LeClair, the company's CEO, said since the start of the pandemic there have been demands for new types of protective gear, and he has received requests from customers across the country and around the world. "I've seen requests for proposals or request documents coming out of Italy, coming out of the U.S.," LeClair said. "And they all reference a level-two isolation gown and that's what we're in the process of finalizing." The company distributes its products, including hospital gear, to 24 countries. Durable and reusable LeClair said the new gown has been redesigned from the company's standard gown typically sold within the food processing industry. Doug LeClair The thing that sets this gown apart from other medical gowns the company produces is that it's made out of polyurethane. "This type of material is not traditional in the hospital gown apparel at this time," said LeClair. He said polyurethane is durable and flexible and the material makes the gown reusable, waterproof, chemical resistant and recyclable. He said he hopes the new gown will help meet national and global demands for personal protective equipment (PPE) as the pandemic goes on. Hopes to expand production On March 31, the federal government agreed to spend $2 billion on the procurement of PPE, as well as ventilators and diagnostic testing. LeClair said the company has received its licence to produce the new gown from Health Canada and is waiting on its final certification before it can go to market. "It's quite evident to sell into primary health-care in Canada there's a standard," LeClair said. Story continues He said several weeks ago the company "undertook sourcing a lab to test our product to the standard required to meet the criteria for these gowns going into primary health care." Health Canada has been expediting approvals of product reviews and required licences for relevant equipment because of the high demand for PPE. If approved, LeClair plans to expand production by investing in more equipment to increase the company's capacity to produce the gowns. He said he also intends to hire 10 to 12 more staff to meet the increased production demands. He hopes to be selling the gown by the end of the month. More from CBC P.E.I. Five days on the sea with little food and water, a group of 38 fishermen covered around 600 nautical miles on their boat to reach their hometown in Odisha from Chennai, officials here said. The migrants, who had gone to Chennai to work for a fish merchant, were stranded in the southern metropolis following the imposition of the nationwide lockdown to contain spread of coronavirus. "We purchased a wooden boat with a dual engine and left Chennai on April 20. After undertaking a five-day long journey, we reached Ganjam on Saturday evening," one of the fishermen said. Asked what prompted them to leave Chennai amid the shutdown, another fisherman said, "You know that the number of coronavirus cases has been on the rise in Tamil Nadu. That apart, we would go hungry on some days. Under those circumstances, we were compelled to take the risk." Cooped up in the boat, the 38 fishermen reached Patisonapur coast near Chikiti in Ganjam. All of them were given food at the local marine police station and then placed under institutional quarantine for 14 days, Chikiti Tehsildar Haraprasad Bhoi said. District Collector Vijay Amrut Kulange said the swab samples of all the 38 have been collected and sent for COVID-19 test. Last week, another batch of 27 fishermen had set sail for Odisha from Chennai, but they were detained by security personnel near Ichhapuram in Andhra Pradesh. Officials in the neighbouring state have quarantined all 27 of them. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After more than a month of closures due to COVID-19, small business owners and commercial landlords got welcome news from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. Trudeau announced Ottawa had come to an agreement with the provinces and territories on a national commercial rent subsidy plan. For hairstylist Olivia Braido, owner of Lavish Salon in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., hearing that was "just a huge, huge relief." "For me and a lot of young business owners locally, it's going to be the thing that makes us, not breaks us." The update on the Canada emergency commercial rent assistance (CECRA) program was also welcomed by landlords and small business advocates. "I think a lot of businesses will actually be saved by this," said Jon Shell, co-founder of advocacy group Save Small Business. "It's the first real action on fixed costs." As with other economic measures the government has announced, some people expressed concerns with the program. The main issues being raised are that tenants who need rent relief can only get help if their landlords join the program, that there's not a national ban on commercial evictions, that too many businesses will be excluded and that the program should last longer. WATCH | Trudeau questioned about commercial rent relief: Details on delivering CECRA were finalized just a week after the federal government first announced its intention to provide rent relief for small businesses. Save Small Business, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Restaurants Canada and others have lobbied for rent relief since March. How CECRA works To be eligible for CECRA, a small business must have had revenue decline at least 70 per cent from pre-COVID-19 levels or have been forced to close by pandemic restrictions. Under these conditions, landlords can be approved for rent relief, if they agree not to evict the tenants and cut their rent by 75 per cent for April, May and June. Story continues Then landlords will receive half of the tenant's rent from the government, paid directly to their mortgage lender. The tenant is supposed to pay 25 per cent of their rent, though some may succeed in making other arrangements with landlords. CECRA can be used for commercial rents up to $50,000 a month; non-profit and charitable organizations are also eligible for assistance. Cost wise, 75 per cent of CECRA's budget will come from Ottawa, while the provinces and territories make up the balance unless otherwise negotiated. Rave reviews on some counts For many small businesses, a 75 per cent break on rent will be a lifeline. Braido wasn't sure she'd still have a salon after the first wave of the pandemic had passed. Now she has hope. "I'm incredibly grateful that it's going through and we have a landlord who's on board," she said. That landlord is Betty Rushon. For Rushon, CECRA means instead of losing all three commercial tenants in her small town Victorian-style building, she's only losing one. "I was expecting the worst. And it all turned out really, really well." Many small businesses have been smothered by a heavy blanket of closures due to COVID-19. A recent survey by industry association Restaurants Canada found that unless conditions improve soon, half of independent restaurants don't expect to survive. In that sector, Ottawa's rent relief program "could be a game changer for the next three months," said the group's vice-president, David Lefebvre. Advocate Shell believes that rent relief will succeed where he sees the federal government's $40,000 interest free CEBA loan program as failing. He sees CECRA as exactly what "main street businesses" need. "Think of the ones that had to close, so gyms, daycares, barbershops, tattoo parlours," he said. He also believes landlords will buy in. "They're not even losing a month's rent in this deal. They're only responsible for one quarter of rent for three months in a row, which, given what everyone else is facing that's a very fair deal." Problems with the program Some issues with CECRA are already apparent for those assessing the program. One big concern is that tenants can't apply for rent relief on their own, because the program requires landlords to participate. Survey results from CFIB members indicate that in the pandemic 54 per cent of small business owners trust their landlord to be reasonable, while 33 per cent do not. Another issue is the fact that a moratorium on commercial evictions is not part of the CECRA. A statement from the Prime Minister's Office on CECRA urged property owners "to provide flexibility to tenants facing hardship in this uncertain time." Advocacy groups began calling for a halt to commercial evictions and property seizures in early March. Noa Shell/Submitted by Jon Shell Shell said, "in the U.K., it was March 24 when they had a national commercial evictions moratorium. In Australia, March 29. And there shouldn't be any more excuses for us not providing the same protections for our small businesses here." So far, however, only New Brunswick has banned commercial evictions under its state of emergency. According to advocates, the requirement to show a 70 per cent loss of revenue is also a concern. Shell's group has launched a website tracking permanent business closures across the country. He points out many small businesses have tiny margins which means smaller drops in sales can still be crippling. So Save Small Business, CFIB and others are suggesting that the rent relief program include businesses with up to 30 per cent losses in revenue. A longer road to reopening Looking at the big picture, small business operators say a plan for rent relief will have to be extended as businesses gradually resume operations. Matt Fraser co-owns Airhouse, a B.C. chain of sports facilities geared towards freestyle sports, such as trampoline, gymnastics, parkour and skateboarding. He knows his business will be among the last that can reopen, and expects cash strapped customers will return slowly. Submitted by Tracey Fraser Though the company made $2.5 million in revenue last year, Fraser said margins are razor thin because of labour, insurance and rent costs. Fraser said the Airhouse can't afford to open unless it can operate at 70 to 80 per cent capacity. He estimates that traffic is months away and doesn't believe it's a good idea to pay 25 per cent of his rent in the meantime. "We're already tight on cash. And I don't think even we'd be able to survive that." He wants the government to cover 75 per cent of rent for small businesses, with landlords paying the rest. Fraser hopes his landlords accept what the government has on offer, and he won't pay anything until he can do so without taking a loss. For him, the math is simple. "They know there's no other tenant taking our spot, and a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush." The Ouest-France daily noted that Vietnam, with a population of 96 million and 1,000 km of shared border with China, reported 270 COVID-19 infections as of April 24, with no deaths. Vietnam was quick to take action, it said. Schools did not reopen after the Lunar New Year holiday in late January. The countrys border with China was closed from February 1, one week after the discovery of the first COVID-19 cases. Banners on COVID-19 prevention measure in Vietnam (Photo: VNA) For each reported case, those who have been in direct or indirect contact with the patient will go into quarantine. Advanced technology also has a role to play as citizens are encouraged to make medical declarations on a health reporting app, it wrote. Wearing a mask has been made compulsory since the beginning of April and social distancing rules were put in place despite the low number of cases. Another daily Le Monde published an article titled Vietnam's successful spring offensive against COVID-19, saying it is the result of an effective policy for identifying and monitoring infected and at-risk people and groups. In addition, people closely followed social distancing rules, it noted. Refuting doubts on COVID-19 statistics in Vietnam, the daily quoted a Vietnamese-French tested positive for coronavirus and received treatment in Ho Chi Minh City as saying that since social networks are used widely in Vietnam, it is difficult for the Government to hide such a large-scale epidemic. The Vietnamese Government recently offered 550,000 face masks for the five European nations of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, along with 800,000 others for the two neighbours of Laos and Cambodia. Vietnam also handed over 450,000 Dupont protective suits to the US, it wrote. Meanwhile, Les Echos noted that Vietnam does not apply costly large-scale screening tests, but carries out rapid identification and mandatory quarantine of infected people, as well as track of their contacts. A mobile application, NCOVI, was launched on March 10th to encourage everyone to report their health condition and to be followed in the event of contact with an infected person, it added./. Two people who tested positive for the deadly Coronavirus disease have absconded in Borno State, sending panic of mass infections. Borno has ramp up 30 coronavirus infections in less than a week and the state is prone to the deadly disease. Borno Health Commissioner, Salisu Kwayabura at a media briefing on Sunday, said the two patients absconded after discovering that they had tested positive for the virus. He gave the names of the patients as Abbas Kaka Hassan, 24 and Hauwa Mohammed, 42. According to the commissioner, the duo left the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospita, where they were supposed to receive treatment. He added that Abbas was in telephone contact with the response team after his sample was collected, but eventually switched off his phone when he learnt he tested positive. KATHMANDU, Nepal - Rescuers on Sunday recovered the bodies of two South Korean trekkers who had been missing since an avalanche in January buried them in Nepals mountains, an official said. An army helicopter flew the bodies one male and one female from the Annapurna Trekking Circuit to the city of Pokhara, said Nepalese army official Maj. Gen. Gokul Bhandari. The body of one of their Nepali guides was recovered on Friday, while another was recovered a few days earlier. An avalanche had buried a total of four South Korean trekkers and three Nepali guides in January. Rescuers spent weeks searching for the bodies, but continuing avalanches and thick layers of snow prevented them from finding them. The warming spring weather eventually melted the snow, exposing the bodies and allowing the rescuers to recover them. A search continues for the two trekkers and one guide who remain missing, Bhandari said. Photograph: Richard Vogel/Associated Press The Covid-19 pandemic is putting the deepening class divide in America into stark relief. Four new classes are emerging. The Remotes: These are professional, managerial, and technical workers an estimated 35% of the workforce who are putting in long hours at their laptops, Zooming into conferences, scanning electronic documents, and collecting about the same pay as before the crisis. Many are bored or anxious, but theyre well off compared to the three other classes. The Essentials: Theyre about 30% of workers, including nurses, homecare and childcare workers, farm workers, food processors, truck drivers, warehouse and transit workers, drugstore employees, sanitation workers, police officers, firefighters, and the military. Too many Essentials lack adequate protective gear, paid sick leave, health insurance, and childcare, which is especially important now that schools are shuttered. They also deserve hazard pay. Their vulnerability is generating a wave of worker activism at businesses such as Instacart, Amazon, Walmart, and Whole Foods. Mass-transit workers are organizing work stoppages. Trumps Occupational Safety and Health Administration has the legal authority to require private employers provide essential workers with protective gear. Dont hold your breath. The Unpaid: Theyre an even larger group than the unemployed whose ranks could soon reach 25%, the same as in the Great Depression. Some of the unpaid are furloughed or have used up their paid leave. So far in this crisis, 43% of adults report they or someone in their household has lost jobs or pay, according to the Pew Research Center. An estimated 9.2 million have lost their employer-provided health insurance. Many of these jobs had been in personal services that cant be done remotely, such as retail, restaurant, and hospitality work. But as consumers rein in spending, layoffs are spreading to news organizations, tech companies, and consumer-goods manufacturers. Story continues The unpaid most need cash to feed their families and pay rent. So far, the government has failed them The unpaid most need cash to feed their families and pay the rent. Fewer than half say they have enough emergency funds to cover three months of expenses, according to a survey conducted this month by Pew. So far, government has failed them, too. Checks mailed out by the Treasury last week are a pittance. Extra benefits could help, but unemployment offices are so overwhelmed with claims that they cant get money out the door. Loans to small businesses have gone largely to big, well-connected businesses, with banks collecting fat fees. On Wednesday, Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said he is opposed to any further federal aid to state and local governments, suggesting states declare bankruptcy instead. Which means even less money for unemployment insurance, Medicaid, and everything else the unpaid need. The resulting desperation is fueling demands to reopen the economy long before its safe. If it comes down to a choice between risking ones health and putting food on the table, many will take the latter. The Forgotten: This group includes everyone for whom social distancing is nearly impossible because theyre packed tightly into places most Americans dont see: prisons, jails for undocumented immigrants, camps for migrant farmworkers, Native American reservations, homeless shelters, and nursing homes. While much of New York City is sheltering at home, for example, more than 17,000 men and women, many already in poor health, are sleeping in roughly 100 shelters for single adults. All such places are becoming hotspots for the virus. These people need safe spaces with proper medical care, adequate social distancing, testing for the virus and isolation of those who have contracted it. Few are getting any of this. Not surprisingly, the essentials, the unpaid, and the forgotten are disproportionately poor, black, and Latino Not surprisingly, the Essentials, the Unpaid, and the Forgotten are disproportionately poor, black, and Latino and they are disproportionately becoming infected. An Associated Press breakdown of available state and local data showed close to 33% of those who have died from Covid-19 are African American, despite representing only 14% of the total population in areas surveyed. The Navajo Nation already has lost more people to coronavirus than have 13 states. Four of the 10 largest-known sources of infection in the United States have been correctional facilities. These three groups arent getting what they need to survive this crisis because they dont have lobbyists and political action committees to do their bidding in Washington or state capitals. The Remotes among us should be concerned, and not just because of the unfairness of the Covid-19 class divide. If the Essentials arent sufficiently protected, the Unpaid are forced back to work earlier than is safe, and if the Forgotten remain forgotten, no one is secure. Covid-19 will continue to spread sickness and death for months, if not years to come. Nineteen Killed in Militia Attack on Village in DRC - Reports Sputnik News 15:45 GMT 25.04.2020 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Nineteen people have been killed in a militia attack on a village in the northeastern province of Ituri in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, actualite.cd reported, citing a representative of a local civilian community. "At the moment, we have 19 dead compatriots. Many were injured and are being sent to a hospital ... Forces loyal to the government arrived from the center of Berunda to intervene and repelled the attack, albeit rather sluggishly", Jacques Thobino, a representative of the civilian community of Mahagi territory, told the news portal on Friday. He added that the militants had burnt down several houses. The attack has triggered a mass displacement of people in the area. The attack was carried out by the CODECO (Cooperative for the Development of Congo) militia in the village of Ngurahi on Friday. ODECO militants, who are mostly from the Lendu ethnic group, are mainly based in Ituri province. The militia has recently stepped up its attacks on the territories of Djugu, Mahagi and Irumu, according to the media outlet. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The U.S. special envoy for Afghan reconciliation has asked the Taliban to observe a cease-fire on "humanitarian grounds" during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the ongoing coronavirus crisis. In a series of tweets on April 26, U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said the Taliban should "reduce violence" and "stop all their offensive operations" until the end of the coronavirus crisis. His remarks follow an attack by Taliban militants on the first day of Ramadan, April 24, that killed at least 13 pro-government forces in the northeastern Afghan province of Badghis. The Taliban had rejected an earlier request by the Afghan government for a cease-fire during Ramadan. In a statement on April 23, the Taliban said steps for a cease-fire were already drawn up in an agreement signed with the United States in Qatar in February. The Taliban accused Afghanistan's government of failing to fully implement the peace process. Intra-Afghan peace talks, including representatives of the Taliban, are supposed to begin after some 5,000 Taliban prisoners are released from the custody of the Afghan government. In return, the Taliban also is supposed to release about 1,000 Afghan troops and civilian government employees it is holding. So far, the government has freed nearly 500 Taliban prisoners and the militant group has released about 60 prisoners. Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP After a doctor from a military hospital in Dehradun tested positive for Covid-19 last week, a second health care worker from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday, informed officials. Apart from the health care worker, a couple, parents of a one-day old baby also tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday. The newborn, however, has tested negative. With this, the tally of Covid-19 cases increased to 51 from 48 in Uttarakhand. UB Mishra, dean of AIIMS Hospital Rishikesh said that a nursing officer working with the urology department tested positive on Sunday after first showing symptoms on April 24. The nursing officer first showed mild symptoms on April 24, after which his samples were taken for testing on April 25. Till now what we have understood is that the nursing officer might have contracted the virus from an asymptomatic person, said Mishra. The officials at AIIMS Rishikesh are now tracing close contacts of the health care worker and everyone will be quarantined and tested. We will be putting all the staff and patients who came in contact with the positive patient in quarantine and everyone will be tested. Patients will be discharged from the hospital only after their test results show negative. No new patient will be admitted to the block where the nursing officer worked, however, general OPD services and Covid-19 OPD will be working as usual, added Mishra. In Dehradun, a couple, who had their baby on Saturday also tested positive for the virus on Sunday, the source of which is being confirmed by health officials. Dr. NS Khatri, deputy medical superintendent of Government Doon Medical College Hospital, said that the woman and her husband, who are residents of Azad Nagar Colony, a containment area in Dehradun have tested positive. The wife tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday morning, while the husbands reports came late in the evening. They are being shifted to the hospital. After the 32-year-old woman tested positive, we took samples of the baby, her husband and their domestic help. The husband tested positive on Sunday evening, while the baby and the house help have tested negative. Other close contacts of the couple are being identified and will also be tested, said Dr. Khatri So far, Uttarakhand has tested around 5,000 people with 51 positive cases and over 4,609 samples testing negative. Kollam : April 26 (IANS) When the going got tough forn60 year old Subaida, a small road side tea shop owner, after Covid-19 stuck , she did not lose her heart, instead she did her bit to contribute to the Chief Minister's Covid Relief Fund. "When I heard the call, though I had nothing as savings to give. I shared my concern with my husband. When I looked around I decided to sell my two small goats and I did that. Then, I went to the Kollam Collectorate and handed over Rs 5,510 to the district collector," said Subaida. This noble gesture was acknowledged by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. But Subaida, however, is still not happy and said her contribution is not over and once her tea shop opens and the business is back, she will again give. Climate change deniers who spread disinformation about global warming are now downplaying the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic, according to analysis. The environmental news website DeSmog, which keeps a record of individuals and groups who spread disinformation about global warming, found at least 70 fringe figures were now voicing scepticism about the science on Covid-19 and pushing for an end to social distancing. They included InfoWars founder Alex Jones, who previously claimed the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax, and James Delingpole, an editor for right-wing website Breitbart London. The climate war has largely been about confusing the public and making people trust in science and government less, DeSmogs executive director, Brendan DeMelle, told The Guardian. And here we are in a pandemic where science and global cooperation are critical, and thats a threat to the ideology of a lot of these organisations. He added: You end up with this conspiracy theory about big government taking over our lives, taking away our freedoms, subjecting us to stay-at-home orders that we have to liberate ourselves from. Jones, a notorious conspiracy theorist who has been banned from Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, attended a rally in Texas last weekend where he called for an end to social distancing measures. Yesterday The Independent reported that almost half of the British population believes coronavirus is a man-made creation. The research suggested that 8 per cent of people think that 5G technology is spreading the virus. Earlier this month, a number of mobile phone masts were set on fire as theories spread on social media claiming 5G was linked to the spread of coronavirus. Scientists have repeatedly stated there is no link between 5G and coronavirus. The number of COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts now stands at 54,938 as health officials announce 1,590 new cases of the virus. Officials also confirmed 169 new deaths, bringing the statewide total to 2,899. More than half of the reported deaths were in long-term care facilities with 1,632 people dead which accounts for 56% of all fatalities. The share of the death toll among the elderly in long-term care has been steadily increasing. The state began releasing more comprehensive data on the outbreak, though there were number of statistics that had to be corrected. The new data shows, among other things, the number of cases per hospital; rates of infection, hospitalization and death by county and age group; and nursing home information. In Springfield, President and CEO of Baystate Health Dr. Mark A. Keroack reported that the health system has been able to keep more COVID-19 patients off ventilators at higher rates than nearly any other health system in Massachusetts. This has meant a much quicker rate of recovery and the ability for people to leave the hospital. The Massachusetts Hospital Association releases data daily on the number of patients that are on ventilators. Hospitals across the state are averaging 35% to 40% of their COVID-19 patients on ventilators, Keroack told MassLive on Friday, adding that Baystate has had approximately 20% since the outbreak began. Here are the cases listed by county: Barnstable County: 772 Berkshire County: 428 Bristol County: 2,923 Dukes County: 15 Essex County: 7,489 Franklin County: 226 Hampden County: 3,295 Hampshire County: 427 Middlesex County: 12,648 Nantucket County: 10 Norfolk County: 5,288 Plymouth County: 4,495 Suffolk County: 11,543 Worcester County: 4,572 Unknown location: 807 More Coronavirus Coverage: With vehicles off the road and most industries shut for over a month due to the coronavirus lockdown, over 10 pollution hotspots in Mumbai and Delhi have turned into green zones recording minimal or no pollution. In Delhi, eight locations which used to be pollution hotspots before the lockdown have now become green zones, said Gufran Beig, director, Centre's System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR). The areas are Vinobapuri, Adarsh Nagar, Vasundhara, Sahibabad, Ashram road, Punjabi Bagh, Okhla and Badarpur, he told PTI, sharing a comparative map of Delhi's air quality before and during the lockdown period. In Mumbai, Worli, Borivali and Bhandup were among areas which recorded cleaner air as compared to other areas of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). These pollution hotspots in Delhi and Mumbai used to report high pollution mainly due to industrial activity or vehicular traffic. The air quality index in these areas now lie in 'good' or 'satisfactory' category. An AQI between 51-100 is considered 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor', and 401-500 'severe'. SAFAR also compared the concentration of the most dangerous air pollutants, PM2.5, PM10 and NO2, in the air during first phase of the lockdown from March 25 to April 14 with pre-lockdown period from March 1 to 21. The analysis was conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad. PM2.5 (atmospheric particulate matter that have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers), PM10 (atmospheric particulate matter that have a diameter of less than 10 micrometers) and NO2 (nitrogen di-oxide released in traffic emissions) are some of the most dangerous pollutants and prolonged exposure to these can lead to serious respiratory disorders. In Delhi, PM2.5 concentration was found to be reduced by 36 per cent during the lockdown, PM10 by 43 per cent and NO2 by 52 per cent as compared to the pre-lockdown period, the analysis showed. The comparison in Mumbai in the same period showed a reduction in PM2.5 by 39 per cent, PM10 by 43 per cent and NO2 by 63 per cent. In Pune, a reduction was observed in PM2.5 by 25 per cent, PM10 by 26 per cent and NO2 by 57 per cent, according to the data. In Ahmedabad, PM2.5 reduced by 39 per cent, PM10 by 32 per cent and NO2 by 27 per cent, according to the data. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has also reported 46 per cent reduction in PM2.5 levels and 50 per cent depletion in PM10 concentrations in the national capital. The apex pollution control body has analysed data from continuous ambient air quality monitoring network of 38 stations in Delhi between March 16 and April 15. Air quality trends have been studied in two phases -- pre-lockdown phase from March 16 to 21 and the lockdown phase from March 25 to April 15. In its report, the CPCB said, "Significant reduction in PM2.5, PM10 and NO2 levels observed. Overall, 46 per cent reduction in PM2.5 and 50 per cent reduction in PM10 concentration observed during the lockdown period." India is under the lockdown since March 25 to contain the spread of coronavirus, which has claimed over 824 lives and infected more than 26,496 people in the country. During the lockdown period, not only air quality has improved, the health of rivers has also seen a drastic improvement. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By PTI ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday clarified that no vaccine was being prepared after reports emerged that the country was on the verge of developing it with the help of China even as the coronavirus cases climbed to 12,227. Advisor on Health Zafar Mirza in his daily media briefing said that currently there was no coronavirus vaccine in Pakistan and no work of any kind was going on for its development. "Let me clarify that while there are several initiatives to develop vaccines across the world, there is no such initiative in Pakistan at the moment," he said. But he said that a Chinese company developing a vaccine contacted Pakistan and offered it to become a part of clinical trials. "We have asked for more information from them," Mirza said. He said that a similar offer was made by a company in Japan and Pakistan asked for specific details. Mirza said that 79 per cent of the all coronavirus cases in Pakistan were locally transmitted. "It is now fair to say that our outbreak is now mostly of local transmission," he said. As part of efforts to reach out to the people, the government launched a telemedicine portal where doctors, both local and abroad, can give advice to patients about the coronavirus, according to Dr Mirza. The Ministry of National Health Services reported that Pakistan's coronavirus tally touched 12,227, as the government asked people to follow official guidelines while visiting mosques in Ramadan. It said that three patients died on Saturday, taking the total death toll to 256. Another 2,755 recovered from the disease. The largest province of Punjab reported 5,046 cases, Sindh 4,232, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 1,708, Balochistan 656, Gilgit-Baltistan 307, Islamabad 223 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 55 cases. So far 138,147 tests were done including 6,780 during the last 24 hours, according to the data issued by the ministry. It also said that 785 patients were diagnosed during the last 24 hours. China has sent more medical supplies including polymerase chain reaction testing kits, surgical masks, protective cover all suits, N95 masks and ventilators, according to a statement by the Army. Earlier, a Chinese medical team of specialists headed by Major General Huang Qingzhen arrived on Friday. The specialists will stay in Pakistan for two months to provide their guidance. The government on Friday extended the lockdown till May 9. However, Prime Minister Imran Khan, as previously, opposed total lockdown. "When we sought a total lockdown without thinking about the consequences for the daily wage earners, the street vendors, the labourers, all of whom face poverty & hunger for themselves & their families. May Allah forgive us our sin of neglecting our dispossessed & poor citizens," he tweeted. At the start of Ramzan, President Arif Alvi and Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri visited different mosques in Islamabad to review the precautionary measures taken for the special Taraweeh prayers. Meanwhile, after several weeks of warnings, the government finally decided to stop all outsiders from going to Lal Masjid for payers on Friday. Dawn reported that a large number of female students belonging to Jamia Hafsa were called a day earlier to stay at the mosque to counter any police action. Maulana Abdul Aziz, a cleric, had been openly challenging the precautionary directives and denounced the government's advice for social distancing. Several cases have been filed against him and his bodyguards for displaying weapons during the past four weeks. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) asked people to follow preventive measures of social distancing during Taraweeh. "While we have to take the medical advice seriously and avoid going to the mosques as much as possible, but it is preferred to observe Taraweeh at home," PUC chairman Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi said in a statement. 160 Pakistani doctors affected so far The number of Pakistani doctors infected with the coronavirus has reached 160 with three deaths even as the protest by the medics against the lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) entered the ninth day on Saturday. Dr Muhammad Javed Iqbal, who contracted the virus over a week ago, died in Peshwar. Earlier, one doctor each from Gilgit-Biltistan and Karachi lost their lives due to COVID-19. According to the Pakistan Medical Association, some 250 medics including 160 doctors have been infected with the coronavirus so far. The Grand Health Alliance of doctors and nurses' hunger camp outside the Punjab health department entered the ninth day for paying no attention to the medics falling victim to the deadly virus due to the non-availability of adequate protective medical kits. "We will continue holding the protest till the government meets our legitimate demands," Grand Health Alliance chairman Dr Salman Haseeb told PTI. Primarily, the alliance wants the government to take care of the doctors and other staff serving in the testing time of COVID-19 and provide them with complete protective gear, he said, adding that the protest would continue throughout the month of Ramzan. Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid alleged that the doctors and nurses under the banner of the Grand Health Alliance demand hefty financial incentives for the health practitioners irrespective of their duties. "The doctors who died of coronavirus in the line of duty should be given the status of Shaheed (martyred) and their families given financial benefit," Dr Haseeb said, adding that the alliance wants complete isolation of the infected doctors in either private hospitals or five-star hotels. "We also demand that the health department complete the screening of all doctors who are discharging duties for seven days at hospitals as a preventive measure during the epidemic," he added. The Metro New York North chapter of the American Red Cross recently welcomed Stephanie Dunn Ashley as its new CEO. Dunn Ashley will oversee the Red Cross in Greenwich as well as in Westchester County, Rockland County and West Point, N.Y. We are thrilled to have Stephanie lead our Metro New York North team during this critical time, said Susan Rounds, Interim CEO of the American Red Cross in Greater NY. Her background as a passionate nonprofit and civic leader will help strengthen and elevate our work in the communities we serve. She has the experience and the heart to really excel and help strengthen our capacity to help those who need it most, said Giovanna Miller, board chair of the American Red Cross Metro NY North Chapter. I am honored to work for an organization that has a reputation for enhancing lives and being there for people when they are most vulnerable, said Stephanie Dunn Ashley. I look forward to being part of a team that works around the clock on a mission of caring. Dunn Ashley has worked and volunteered in the nonprofit sector for more than 20 years in the greater Greenwich area. She most recently served as director of special events for Greenwich Hospital. A resident of Greenwich, Dunn Ashley also serves as president of the board of directors and a service member of The Cos Cob Fire Police Patrol, Inc. As part of its humanitarian mission, the American Red Cross Metro New York North Chapter provides emergency relief to residents impacted by disasters and supports our brave service members and their families. The Chapter also works to make local communities safer and more resilient through collecting lifesaving blood, installing free smoke alarms, teaching health and safety skills like CPR, water safety, and first aid; and by empowering our neighbors with emergency preparedness skills. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org. Greenwich teacher wins prestigious art educator award GREENWICH Greenwich school teacher Le Ann Hinkle was recently awarded the 2020 Connecticut Outstanding Art Educator of the Year by the Connecticut Art Education Association. Hinkle, an art teacher at Julian Curtiss School and North Mianus School, was selected for the award based on her contributions to the field of art education. We are so proud that Le Ann was selected for this prestigious award, Greenwich Public School District Coordinator for the Arts and Music Laura Newell said in a statement. Our schools have such dedicated and passionate arts teachers, instilling a love of learning in our students and helping them to grow and develop their artistic abilities. She added that Hinkle always goes above and beyond for her students, and it is great to see her recognized for her continuous contributions. Hinkle said she is incredibly blessed to be in a district that continues to support my work with art educators across the country. Of her students, she said (they) are the brightest stars, always my inspiration for seeking out new solutions and innovative practices to best meet their needs. The CA Outstanding Educator Awards recognize visual arts educators for demonstrating excellence in the classroom, active participation and leadership at the local, state, and national level, publications and exhibits, advocacy for the arts, and other art education related accomplishments. Nominees for these awards must be member of CA/NAEA for three consecutive years, and must spend at least 51 percent of their working day in the job division for which they were nominated. Nominees for the CA Outstanding Arts Advocate and Service to the Profession awards do not need to be members. Plea to think about the consequences of actions after deliberate mountain fire near Llangollen This article is old - Published: Sunday, Apr 26th, 2020 North Wales Fire and Rescue Service are asking for people to think about the consequences of their actions after crews were called to a deliberate mountain fire in near Llangollen during the early hours of this morning. Firefighters from Llangollen, Johnstown and Chirk were called to the wildfire at Trefor at 4:20am today. Tim Owen, Station Manager for the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: Three seats of fire have been discovered which suggests to us that this was deliberate ignition. Crews remain at the scene damping down however the fire is deep seated so we will remain at the location for some time. This behaviour is completely unacceptable. The individual(s) setting the fires put extra pressure on emergency service resources which are already stretched at this time. Deliberate fires place tremendous strain on resources, with our crews committed for a considerable length of time trying to bring them under control which prevents us from attending genuine emergencies. Actions like this do not help us keep our community safe. Mr Owen added, Remember setting fires is a criminal offence and we are actively working alongside North Wales Police to combat such incidents. We would urge anybody with information on such crimes to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or North Wales Police on 101 or via their live webchat. In an emergency always dial 999. Australia's Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton during a press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington,DC, March 5, 2020 (MANDEL NGAN/ Getty Images) Australian Home Affairs Minister Stands Firm on Virus Inquiry Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton is standing firm on the need for an independent inquiry into the origins of the CCP virus outbreak in China, even as the regime accused Australia of playing political games without explaining its own behaviour during the pandemic. Foreign Minister Marise Payne raised the idea of an international inquiry a week ago, calling for greater transparency on how the virus originated and how it was subsequently handled. We want more transparency within the communist party of China in the way they have dealt with this virus issue, Dutton told Sky News on April 26. If not just to understand how we can defeat this threat into the future when you have got these wildlife wet markets where the flu may have originated from. He said there needs to be reassurance globally this is not going to happen again in 12 months or two years time. We need a level of reassurance thats not there at the moment, he said. Communist China has described the independent review proposed by Australia as political manoeuvring. By Colin Brinsden Letting a citizen attend a funeral was our omission. This is what Minister of Health of Armenia Arsen Torosyan said during an interview on Azatutyun Radio today, stating that the practice was discontinued after that. An Armenian citizen who had returned from the Russian Federation attended a funeral in Norashen village and didnt maintain social distancing, as a result of which the entry and exit into and from Norashen was temporarily prohibited. Out of the Armenian citizens who arrive from foreign countries, 10-15% of them test positive for COVID-19 after 14 days of isolation, Torosyan said. According to him, police officers and 5-10 doctors are located at all 27 places for isolation, most hotels are located in Tsaghkadzor, about 10 are located in Yerevan and fewer hotels are located in Gyumri, Vanadzor and in Tavush Province. Vineet Upadhyay By Express News Service DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand state forest department has sought permission from Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change to use 778 hectares of forest land temporarily for non-forest activities in upcoming Mahakumbh 2021 from September 1, 2020, to May 31, 2021. The letter seeking permission dated April 20, 2020, by Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Uttarakhand (APCCF) and nodal officer of the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) stated, "The proposal is about temporary usage of about 778 hectares of land in Rajaji National Park and other forest divisions for upcoming Mahakumbh from September 1, 2020, to May 31, 2020, for mine months. In this time period, administrative control of the area will be under state forest department only." The letter, written to state government officials which will be further forwarded to Centre, also includes a mitigation plan after the religious event is over. The letter by Sharma further requests to grant permission as an exception starting that the Mahakumbh is an important festival of Hindu traditions. The lawmakers and activists said that if the permission is granted it will violate Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. Ritwick Dutta, environment lawyer and founder of Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE), " According to Section 35 of the Wildlife (Protection) no such activity can be conducted in any protected forest area." Officials privy to the developments related to the matter told The New Indian Express on the condition of anonymity that less than 0.5-hectare land is proposed to be taken from Rajaji National Park which already has a small temple and other structures. The rest is proposed to be taken for usage from Haridwar, Dehradun and Narendra Nagar forest divisions which fall outside the national park limits. Commenting on the issue, DJK Sharma said, "This is the first-ever instance when any state government has sought such permission. These lands have been used traditionally for Kumbh Mela but this time we sought permission given the new guidelines issued last year." In October last year, a letter by the union ministry of forest, environment and climate change said that the forest land can be used 'temporarily' by any person, firm or organization except 'Protected Area. Later, in January 2020, the MoEF&CC stated that while permitting temporary use of forest land, it shall be ensured that the time period for temporary use of forest land does not exceed two weeks. However, in case of the upcoming Mahakumbh, the permission sought is for 9-months which is termed as a violation by law experts and activists if permission is granted. The Mahakumbh organized every 12-years is expected to witness a congregation of over 10 crore people from January 2021 to March 2021. Executive order by US to mine the Moon shows how prevailing neoliberal ideas about value trump the collective good. David Bollier is Director of the Reinventing the Commons Program at the Schumacher Center for a New Economics. When astronaut Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon in 1969, it was seen as an idealistic leap into the cosmos a giant leap for mankind. Earlier this month, the real estate developer who improbably became US President legally declared that he sees the Moon in far less elevated terms. He signed an executive order authorising private, commercial uses of the Moon and other off-Earth resources like Mars and meteors. Heavenly bodies are now seen as underleveraged assets meant to generate profits. Invoking competitive threats from Russia and China, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has called on the government to support budding space businesses by rolling back regulations and coordinating government aid. He highlighted the gee-whiz possibilities of space tourism (a Trump Tower Moon, perhaps?) and the idea of converting solid ice on the dark side of the Moon into hydrogen and oxygen that could be used as a propellant for rockets bound for Mars. It would amount to turning the Moon into a kind of gas station for outer space, Ross said. The Trump administration is also exploring the feasibility of the large-scale economic development of space, including private lunar landers staking out de facto property rights for Americans on the Moon, by 2020, as well as the right to mine asteroids for precious metals. If it all sounds like the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, said Ross with evident self-congratulation, well, that vision is coming closer to reality sooner than you may have ever thought possible. Since Donald Trumps career has been built on claims of truthful hyperbole, sceptics might reasonably see this space fantasy as the empty bravado of the Huckster-in-Chief. Still, we need to ask a fundamental question: Who owns the Moon, anyway? Economists and politicians are accustomed to referring to space, the oceans, the atmosphere, genetic knowledge and other planetary systems as global commons. The ostensible point is to suggest that these things belong to everyone and should be managed for collective benefit. And in fact, nations have crafted a handful of treaties that purport to create cooperative governance to preserve and protect various natural systems. Believing that Antarctica should remain unowned and non-militarised, seven countries with plausible territorial claims to the continent ratified a treaty in 1959 to establish a scientific research commons there. Similarly, as space became a new frontier, more than 100 nations, including the US, ratified the Outer Space Treaty in 1967, to ensure that space exploration would be for the benefit of humanity. A 1979 Moon Agreement (which the US has not signed but is regarded as international law) declared that the surface, subsurface and resources of the Moon shall not be treated as private property. In other words: no ownership, no resource extraction, no militarisation, no colonisation. Imperialistic habits die hard, however. As Trumps executive order shows, in defiance of treaties, nation-states in practice rarely treat global commons as commons that is, as participatory social systems for stewarding shared wealth in fair, inclusive, long-term ways. More often, at the behest of industry, national governments see global commons as free-for-alls for grabbing everything that they can. The needs of ecosystems, other people and future generations are secondary, if not trivial concerns. A series of treaties to protect the oceans as the common heritage of mankind started in the 1970s with the ambition of preventing over-exploitation of deep-sea minerals, fisheries and other marine resources. But over time the mindset of nation-states has shifted to lets just make sure that our nation can do what it wants and gets its fair share of profits. In short, the language of global commons has been corrupted. Nation-states and industry have no serious aspirations to act as conscientious stewards of our common wealth. Their priorities are return on investment and national aggrandisement. This habit has taken a dark turn during the COVID-19 pandemic as private pharmaceutical research firms race to produce a vaccine and other treatments. Even though their work is built on our shared inheritance of medical knowledge, often funded by taxpayers and even though solutions come faster through collaboration and knowledge sharing humanity is now held hostage by proprietary, competitive models that pit nation against nation and rich against poor. Treating medical R&D and treatment discoveries as a genuine commons could produce affordable, widely accessible treatments much more rapidly, as partnerships like the World Health Organization and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative have shown. We should remember the history of eradicating polio. In the 1950s, when a reporter asked medical researcher Jonas Salk who owned the patent on the new polio vaccine, he replied, Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun? Times have changed, and now everything from seeds to groundwater, colours and smells, common words and two-second samples of music, are locked up as private property. The Trump administrations goal of mining on the Moon is simply the logical extension of this ethic. It stems from neoliberal capitalist beliefs about value that which can be encased in private property rights and exchanged for money in the marketplace has value. Anything used for collective, non-market, or conservationist purposes, with no cash changing hands, is by definition worthless. Price = value. Open source sharing may be generative, but it does not contribute to GDP. The point of talking about the commons is precisely to name those types of value that have no price tag. Things that are essential to our planetary survival, that are sacred and core to our identities, and that are critical to the flourishing of everyone and future generations these must be regarded inalienable. They are not for sale. We may have drifted a long way from this ethic, but it is not too late to insist that the Moon and so many other gifts of the universe belong to all of us. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-27 04:39:25|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A woman looks out from a window in Rome, Italy, on April 23, 2020. (Xinhua) -- Italy registers lowest one-day deaths in six weeks, PM announces plan to ease coronavirus lockdown; -- Spain's daily coronavirus death toll drops to 288; -- France sees COVID-19 deaths up by 242 to 22,856, lowest daily increase in a week; -- Belgium's COVID-19 death toll exceeds 7,000. BRUSSELS, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in European countries. ROME -- The coronavirus pandemic has claimed 26,644 lives in locked-down Italy, bringing the total number of infections, fatalities and recoveries to 197,675 as of Sunday, according to latest data released by the country's Civil Protection Department. Meanwhile, the number of new deaths, new infections and of patients in intensive care keeps declining. A total of 260 people died from the disease caused by the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, the lowest one-day death toll since March 15. The number of new cases also fell with 2,324 reported over the last 24 hours, 33 fewer than on Saturday. The figure is the lowest in six days. The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units (ICUs) continued to decline, a trend that started three weeks ago. On Sunday, 2,009 patients were in ICUs, down from 2,102 a day earlier. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Sunday that beginning on May 4, the manufacturing, construction, and wholesale sectors can go back to work. They will be followed by retailers, museums, galleries, and libraries on May 18 and by bars, restaurants, hairdressers and beauty salons on June 1. A nurse gives a book and a rose to a patient at a hospital during Saint George's Day in Barcelona, Spain, April 23, 2020. (Xinhua/Francisco Avia) MADRID -- Spanish health authorities confirmed on Sunday that 23,190 people in the country have lost their lives because of the coronavirus, after reporting 288 new deaths in the 24-hour period until 2100 hours local time on Saturday. The daily figure is 90 fewer than the 378 deaths reported a day earlier. It is also the first time the daily death toll has fallen below 300 since the height of the pandemic, according to the Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Services. The ministry also confirmed 1,729 new cases via PCR tests (polymerase chain reaction) -- which check if the coronavirus is active in the body, taking the total detected by such tests to 207,634. The daily figure is considerably lower than the 2,915 new infections reported on Saturday, representing a daily increase of less than one percent. Meanwhile, the number of patients who have recovered rose by 3,024 to 98,732. Volunteers make protective masks at the Lille town hall in Lille, northern France, April 23, 2020. (Photo by Sebastien Courdji/Xinhua) PARIS -- France saw COVID-19 deaths rose by 242 to 22,856 as of Sunday, the lowest daily increase this week, bringing relief to the health system of the country which is planning to lift the lockdown on May 11, data from the Health Ministry showed. The daily increase of deaths dropped to 1 percent, slower than 1.65 percent on Saturday, 1.8 percent on Friday, 2.4 percent on Thursday, 2.6 percent on Wednesday and Tuesday, and 2.77 percent on Monday. Some 28,217 people who caught the respiratory disease were receiving treatment in hospitals. The number of critically-ill patients dropped by 43 to 4,682. However, admissions to the intensive care units, all causes combined, were still above the country's capacity of 5,000 hospital beds equipped with ventilators, the ministry said. The total of positive cases now stands at 124,575, up by 461 in the last 24 hours, while 44,903 patients have recovered and returned home, it added in a statement. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced on Sunday in a Twitter message that he would present the government's strategy for lockdown exit to parliament on April 28. Lawmakers will then vote on the de-confinement measures. A poster to remind people to stay safe is seen at a bus stop in Brussels, Belgium, April 21, 2020. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) BRUSSELS -- The COVID-19 death toll in Belgium passed the 7,000 mark on Sunday, according to a statement on the Federal Public Health Service website. The country registered 178 new deaths over the past day, bringing the total number of COVID-19 victims to 7,094. Meanwhile, 809 new cases were recorded in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 46,134. The decline trend continued in the country's hospitals. In the last 24 hours, 204 people were admitted to hospital while 368 patients were able to return home. The total number of patients currently in hospital stood at 3,959, the lowest level since March 28. Belgium is still in confinement. The government earlier this week announced gradual de-confinement measures in three phases starting from May 4. China announces all corona patients in Wuhan discharged Chinas health authorities had earlier reported 11 new coronavirus cases on the mainland on April 25, down from 12 the previous day, with no fatalities. The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the global coronavirus pandemic began, now has no remaining cases in its hospitals, a health official told reporters on Sunday. THE CITY HAD REPORTED 46, 452 CASES The novel coronavirus is believed to have originated in a wet market in Wuhan and first emerged in December before spreading quickly worldwide. The latest news is that by April 26, the number of new coronavirus patients in Wuhan was at zero, thanks to the joint efforts of Wuhan and medical staff from around the country, National Health Commission spokesman Mi Feng said at a briefing. The city had reported 46,452 cases, 56% of the national total. It saw 3,869 fatalities, or 84% of Chinas total. Wuhan and the province of Hubei were put in lockdown near the end of January, with roads sealed, trains and planes cancelled and residents unable to move freely for more than two months. The city is still testing residents regularly despite relaxing the restrictions. Kolkata: West Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh stages a sit-in demonstration against the State Government over the current situation of COVID 19 pandemic and related issues, at his residence in Kolkata during the extended nationwide lockdown imposed Image Source: IANS News Kolkata: West Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh stages a sit-in demonstration against the State Government over the current situation of COVID 19 pandemic and related issues, at his residence in Kolkata during the extended nationwide lockdown imposed Image Source: IANS News Kolkata: West Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh stages a sit-in demonstration against the State Government over the current situation of COVID 19 pandemic and related issues, at his residence in Kolkata during the extended nationwide lockdown imposed Image Source: IANS News Kolkata: West Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh stages a sit-in demonstration against the State Government over the current situation of COVID 19 pandemic and related issues, at his residence in Kolkata during the extended nationwide lockdown imposed Image Source: IANS News Kolkata, April 26 : Thousands of West Bengal BJP workers and leaders on Sunday sat on a silent protest against the alleged PDS scam and the inability of the state's Trinamool Congress government in successfully tackling the Covid-19 pandemic. Wearing masks, the participants held sit-ins mostly at the residence or in their localities maintaining social distancing and observing all lockdown norms. They carried posters demanding the state government publish the correct figures of those who have perished or contracted the virus and sought answers to why people were not receiving ration sent by the central government. "Ration items are not available. There is total loot. This is condemnable. There is a conspiracy to hide 40 per cent of the rice. Meetings have been held on this issue and even ministers attended," Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said. Regarding management of Covid 19, Ghosh accused the Mamata Banerjee regime of suppressing data rather than making efforts to contain the disease. "They are keeping people in the dark. There is total mishandling and mismanagement," he added. Messiah is about a street preacher in Damascus who catches the attention of a CIA officer Rating: MESSIAH (Netflix) 10-part series Cast: Mehdi Dehbi, Michelle Monaghan, Tomer Sisley, John Ortiz, Stefania LaVie Owen, Sayyid El Alami, Jane Adams, Wil Traval Created by Michael Petroni Rating: * Have you ever binge-watched a series that you disliked and yet continued to watch partly out of lethargy and partly because you just needed to know how bad it really was? I do, sometimes. And the latest one on my list of Precious-Hours-Wasted-That-Won't-Ever-Return is Messiah (Netflix). The 10-part series starring Belgian actor Mehdi Dehbi in the title role is dull as hell because, just like so many other serials of its ilk, it is born out of America's eternal paranoia about being the hunted one, coupled with its self-serving delusion about the role it has actively played in destroying nations and generations, fanning strife in several regions, supplying arms to both sides, all the while harbouring a narcissistic white man's burden that serves no purpose except to make them feel guilt-free. Messiah is about a street preacher in Damascus who catches the attention of a CIA officer, Eva Geller, when he leads a large group of hungry refugees to the border with Israel and they take to calling him Al-Masih. He is captured by Israel, interrogated by Mossad's Aviram Dahan and seems to know too much about everyone. Then he disappears, only to suddenly appear in the middle of a tornado in Texas. As all those waiting for the next coming of the lord gather around him for some answers and gyaan, he decides to treat his new-found American followers to a miracle on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Simultaneously something stirs in his followers stranded at Golan Heights. All this intrigues Eva Geller and Aviram Dahan enough to keep dashing from one place to another to try and figure out who this man really is. Messiah is terribly similar to many such serials before, but especially Homeland, but without the fabulous two actors Claire Danes and Damian Lewis. Its story and characters, including their circumstances, are depressingly similar to Homeland. Consider this: Eva Geller is an officer whose personal life is devastated and her home is a quiet mausoleum of sad memories. To get away from it all she is focused on and devoted to her job. Aviram is separated and a drunk and has anger-management issues. He also has a past misdemeanour that niggles at him. Am I making the series sound even mildly interesting? I am sorry if I am. Messiah is deathly boring because nothing happens for long periods of time. While the CIA and Mossad officers are trying to piece together information about Al-Masih, to figure whether he is a messiah or a con, they get nowhere, and so they spend their free time dissing the other about interference in the affairs of their nation and then they make out. All things Middle East and Arab are shown as very exotic and meaningful, especially Al-Mesih, who calls himself the voice of God. A doomsday scenario keeps building up as miracles keep mounting, and there is an uprising in sandy parts of the world. So considerable and scary does the impact of Al-Mesih get that the President of the United States requests his company. This was a good clue for me to switch off this duffer show, but I really had to see how stupid it could get. It gets really stupid, and annoying. Mehdi Dehbi gives the character of Al-Masih a self-conscious smug divinity. He only utters riddles or what sounds like vague profundities that, if you listen carefully, is plain gibberish. Shot in Jordan and the US, Messiah has nothing that redeems it. Please don't waste your time on it. Especially since the series ends on a cliffhanger and there won't be a season 2. Instead, I suggest, watch Tokyo Trial. Thousands of Indian seafarers are currently stuck aboard cruise and cargo vessels in far off waters, and the country may face disruption in supply chain if they are not brought back, maritime bodies said on Sunday. With the Indian airspace remaining closed for domestic and international passenger flights, the bodies have sought intervention of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) for devising a strategy to bring back such "essential supply workers". India is the second largest supplier of seafarers, after the Philippines. As per industry estimates, about one lakh seafarers are engaged in Indian and foreign flag cargo vessels across the globe. Presently, Indian seafarers aboard only those vessels which call at Indian ports are allowed to disembark, after following the standard operating procedures as specified by the Directorate General of Shipping. Leading ship management companies operating in India said they are facing huge challenges as crew change aboard cargo vessels worldwide is not happening as none of the leading airports in the country have become fully or partially operational so far. Capt Nalin Pandey, CMD of Mumbai-based Pentagon Shipping, told PTI: "Currently, about 4,000 Indian seafarers are sailing aboard various cargo vessels worldwide on extended contracts. By May end, this figure is expected to cross 15,000. This means, at least 400 Indian ship management companies across the country will have to arrange for domestic plus overseas transportation of at least 30,000 Indian seafarers to facilitate the crew change aboard around 10,000 cargo ships across the globe." Pandey said if some strategy is not evolved for seafarers, India's participation in terms of global seafarers will take a hit as sources say there are instances where China has offered all support to its seafarers. Leading ship management firm Suntech Crew Management said it has suspended the crew change temporarily. "Replacement of staff on-board all our vessels across the globe stand suspended at least till third week of May. Our foremost responsibility remains to keep Indian seafarers protected from any form of health risk arising due to travel as they remain vulnerable to being stranded at airports or ports, where they may be unable to leave or get sufficient assistance," said Capt Sanjay Srivastava, CEO, Suntech Crew Management. Capt Agyapal Khuman, chairman of top marine travel company ATPI India, said, "To address this problem, it is essential that Indian government soon allows international travel of Indian seafarers through chartered flights as Indian airspace currently remains open for transport of essential goods and essential workers." Khuman said as a global travel company, ATPI and other bodies are committed to lend required assistance in this endeavour. Various maritime bodies have sought PMO intervention in this, he added. Khuman further said the government can allow special charter flights to important crew change airports such as Singapore, Manila, Hong Kong, Dubai, Rotterdam and others. Directorate General of Shipping recently started issuing 'e-passes' to Indian seafarers enabling them to travel by road on a permitted route to reach home after disembarking at a port, or reach the port to board a vessel. However, the country head of a global ship management company operating in Mumbai, who did not wished to be named, said, "Most merchant navy officers residing in Maharashtra currently fear travelling by road to board cargo vessels calling on ports of Kandla, Kochi, Paradip, Vizag, etc after the violent incident of Palghar lynching in presence of policemen." "On an average, at least 150 senior merchant navy seafarers refuse me in a week to join the vessels calling at ports located outside Maharashtra due to this fear psychosis," the executive said. Director General of Shipping Amitabh Kumar could not be contacted for comments. Earlier, the government had come out with a standard operating procedure (SOP) for Indian seafarers at domestic ports. Shipping Minister Mansukh L Mandaviya had termed it a welcome step. "Change of crew of ship (seafarers) is an important measure for operation of merchant-ships. The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued SOP... This SOP has been formulated to streamline the sign-on/sign-off of Indian seafarers at Indian ports for merchant shipping," the government had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kathmandu: International borders are closed due to the coronavirus epidemic. The citizens of Nepal and India could not return to their country due to the borders being sealed and were stuck there. The citizens of each other were quarantined at the border on behalf of both countries. After quarantine at the border for 25 days, the citizens of both countries have now returned to their respective countries. Rishikesh AIIMS Nursing officer test positive for corona, number of cases reach 50 212 Nepalese nationals who were quarantined for the last 25 days and 152 of the Indian nationals stranded on Nepal border have returned to their homeland in Sonauli and Nautanwa border area, located on the Nepal border near Maharajganj district of Uttar Pradesh. Whereas Nepalese citizens going from India to Nepal thanked the government of the country and the state for better arrangements in the Quarantine Center of India. Indians kissed the soil of the country as soon as they stepped into the border and raised slogans of Bharat Mata ki Jai. Uttarakhand: No positive case reported in the state on Saturday The Government of India had declared a lockdown from 25 March regarding the Corona epidemic. After India's announcement, the government of Nepal had also implemented lockdown in their country. After this, the border of India and Nepal was sealed. There was a complete ban on the movement of any person. Meanwhile, a large number of citizens of Nepal residing in various states of India started returning to their country, but due to the Seoul border being sealed, they got stuck on the border itself. Even after 43 years devotees did not see Baba's doli due to corona lockdown Remaining risk-averse amid the coronavirus pandemic, overseas investors have withdrawn net Rs 10,347 crore from Indian capital markets in April so far. Between April 1-24, foreign portfolio investors (FPI) pulled out a net sum of Rs 6,822 crore from equities and Rs 3,525 crore from the debt segment, depositories data showed. The total net outflow stood at Rs 10,347 crore. However, the quantum of outflows has reduced from March, when FPIs had withdrawn a record Rs 1.1 lakh crore on net basis from Indian markets (both equity and debt). "The sharp drop in the quantum of net flows could be attributed to India gaining prominence among foreign investors for doing well with regards to containing the COVID-19 pandemic from spreading aggressively," said Himanshu Srivastava, senior analyst manager research, Morningstar India. In addition to that, measures announced by the government and the RBI periodically to revitalize the sagging economy would also be resonating well with investors, he added. However, he cautioned that the sentiments continue to be negatively tilted and FPIs would largely adopt a wait-and-watch approach with more focus on taking short-term tactical bets. Emerging markets are considered to be riskier investment destination and more prone towards crises of this magnitude. With low risk appetite, foreign investors drift towards safer investment avenues and safe havens such as USD and gold. As per Srivastava, though the slowdown in the quantum of net outflow is a positive indicator, it would be early to consider it as a precursor to a change in trend. The scenario continues to be grim as far as COVID-19 pandemic is concerned. The world is staring at a global economic slowdown and a prolonged fight against coronavirus. The degree of damage that it can have on the global economy, businesses and markets worldwide is yet to be accurately ascertained, he added. Considering the domestic situation, Sousthav Chakrabarty, CEO and director of Capital Quotient said "all in all, one needs to keep a keen eye on daily FPI and DII (domestic institutional investors) movements. With issues such as those related to Franklin Templeton, faith in large institutions and listed avenues for parking funds has been shaken, and this too will contribute to higher volatility going forward. There is still much pain to be overcome before we see greener pastures. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A number of American politicians have repeatedly pointed the finger at China since the COVID-19 outbreak around the world. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is one of the most vocal, and continues to use every opportunity to smear China over the COVID-19 pandemic. In total disregard of the facts, he has criticized China for hiding information about COVID-19, accused it of making the virus, and also accused the World Health Organization (WHO) of being China-centric. A closer look at the information on COVID-19 released by China, the US, the WHO, as well as other countries and regions shows that the Chinese government shared information at the earliest possible time with the WHO and other countries, including the US, since the onset of the pandemic. From Jan. 3 to Feb. 3, China notified the US of the disease and its control measures a total of 30 times, according to Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Pompeo may accuse China of providing false information, but he cannot say that China did not notify the US as early as possible. If the U.S. believes that China's information is not true, it should come up with evidence of the "real picture" of China's epidemic situation, as well as the original records of China's briefing to the U.S. at the time, to prove its claim. But the question is: Does Pompeo have the "real picture" of China's epidemic situation? While Pompeo blames China for publicizing false information about COVID-19, he was unable to specify what kind of false information was being spread. Pompeo has the right to not to believe the information provided by the Chinese government, but he cannot base his accusations on his personal assumptions. He also has the right to assume that China made the novel coronavirus, but until this is proven, it is only an assumption. His groundless and irresponsible remarks that the virus originated from China totally go against science. Seeking the origin of the virus is a serious issue that calls for a science-based survey. Pompeos wanton accusations, which lack any credible evidence, have only damaged his countrys international reputation. The White House even announced it was suspending funding to the WHO just as the world is at a critical point in the fight against the pandemic, and even threatened to freeze future US funding to the organization. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for unity over the pandemic in a recent statement. Pompeos remarks smearing China are really out of tune with this background of solidarity. As the US chief diplomat, it is his duty to strengthen international anti-pandemic cooperation, rather than stigmatize other countries and shifting the blame onto them. The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 10:07:00|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- China's export of rare earth increased by 19.2 percent year on year to reach 5,551 tonnes in March, according to data from the General Administration of Customs. In the first three months, China exported a total of 11,041 tonnes of rare earth, down 2.3 percent from the same period last year, showed the data. China is one of the world's major suppliers of rare earth, a group of 17 elements that are widely used in high-tech products ranging from flat-screen TVs to lasers and hybrid cars. Enditem Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has once again emphasised the scaling up of testing to detect Covid-19, calling it a "bottleneck" and appealed to the Prime Minister to look into the issue. The Congress leader demanded that 1 lakh tests should be done from the current 40,000 as the country has testing kits in stock. "Experts agree that mass random testing is the key to beating corona. In India, a bottleneck is stopping us from scaling testing from the current 40,000 per day to 1 lakh tests a day, for which test kits are already in stock," Gandhi tweeted. "PM needs to act fast and clear the bottleneck,"he added. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also said in the Congress consultative group meeting that adequacy in testing is required to conquer this menace. The Congress working committee which met on Thursday said that "it is tragic that we are still lagging behind in establishing a robust and accurate testing regime." Gurbir Singh By The irony cannot be missed. The havoc wrought by the novel coronavirus pandemic has opened the floodgates for news and information as never before. People are desperate to understand the shifting sands of the unfolding tragedy. But the spiking demand for news has not bolstered news networks. In fact, they are facing the worst crisis ever as companies collapse and departments fold up. The latest AC Nielsen survey shows that television viewership increased 40 per cent for India, 34 per cent for Australia, 20 per cent for France and 17 per cent for UK during week 15 of the pandemic in April, as compared to the pre-Covid period. On the other hand, physical newspapers, with distribution lines collapsing, are hollowing out into skeletal editions. They have no advertising revenue because there are no products to advertise. Its the same story from Sydney, New Delhi and Washington. The big ones are surviving; its the mid-levels and small ones that are folding up. In the US, the Tampa Bay Times, known not to miss a single edition in 96 years, stopped its print edition for five days and laid off 11 journalists. Seattles Pulitzer-winning weekly The Stranger dismissed its entire staff and has suspended printing. Employees have been fired at The Denver Post and Boston Herald and salary cuts imposed at The Dallas Morning News. Advertising caves in Donald Trump, pleased at the dipping fortunes of news media, tweeted: Advertising in the Failing New York Times is WAY down. Washington Post is not much better. I cant say whether this is because they are Fake News sources of information, or the Virus is just plain beating them up (sic). India, with its 400 registered news channels and a record 1.2 lakh registered dailies and magazines, has a healthy Fourth Estate jostling for space in the democratic process. But the current crisis has left it gasping for breath. Digital platform Bloomberg Quint sent 45 of its employees on furlough or unpaid leave for an indefinite period, and later announced the closure of its television division. Outlook Magazine announced it was suspending printing operations on 30 March. Many of the big media houses have announced salary cuts ranging from 10 to 50 per cent. The cost of publishing and broadcasting is spiralling upwards and media groups have to make huge investments in news gathering to stay ahead. However, the earnings from advertising, the mainstay for news media, is drying up proportionately. Legacy media has over the years changed gear to develop digital platforms but has been outmaneuvered by the giants Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon. In the US, Google, FB and Amazon scooped up 70 per cent of digital advertising. Former Londons Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, who is credited for building the newspapers digital platform, claimed in 2016 that FB alone had skimmed off close to $27 million from the newspapers digital revenue in the previous year. They are taking all the money because they have algorithms which we dont understand, which are a filter between what we do and how people receive it, he said. Stealing content But the big sleight of hand is the free use of news content, mined and distributed by the traditional news chains, which FB, Google and their ilk use to enhance their digital reach. Products like Google News poach out stories and videos from hundreds of news sites without paying a penny. The fight of news networks to get FB and others to pay for what they use and to seek a fair share of their advertising revenue just got a boost last Monday when Australia announced it would enforce the sharing formula and a regulatory system to support it. Earlier, Spain had made it compulsory for digital platforms to pay news publishers for content; but Google pulled out Google News from the country. Payment for news content was also made part of the European Union copyright laws and France was the first to implement it. Again, Google refused to pay and simply switched to showing headlines and links. It shows it will take more than legal and legislative fiat to bring these trillion dollar giants to book, hide as they do behind the veil of digital secrecy. Without the survival of the vast network of news media, democracy will be that much weaker. The little bytes of hearsay that pass off as news on social media will be the currency of the day. A strategy of survival of news media is therefore necessary, one that leans more on pay-as-you-use rather than a free advertising dependent model. Governments across the globe are putting together multi- billion dollar stimulus packages, and some of it should flow to the media networks too. The flip side is: these should not be leveraged to control and manipulate news outlets. Ultimately, news and information are powerful products that have strong market value. The big question is: how can it be monetised? SOCIAL MEDIA GIANTS POACH CONTENTS, BUT DONT PAY FOR IT Products like Google News poach out stories and videos from hundreds of news sites without paying a penny. The fight of news networks to get FB and others to pay for what they use and to seek a fair share of their advertising revenue just got a boost last Monday when Australia announced it would enforce the sharing formula and a regulatory system to support it. Maharashtra, which has the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the country, recorded its biggest single-day spike with 811 new cases on Saturday. With this, the total number of cases in the state have gone up to 7,628 cases. The state also recorded 22 Covid-19 related deaths on Saturday alone, and the toll has now reached 323. However, the mortality rate in the state has dropped to 4.4 per cent, from its peak at eight per cent a few days ago. The doubling rate of Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra has increased, according to state officials. Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope, who had earlier said that lockdown will be extended in the state till May 18, said on Saturday the state government has not yet taken the decision. Maharashtra has also started giving hydroxychloroquine to asymptomatic patients and relatives of patients in densely populated areas such as the Dharavi slum in Mumbai. Maharashtra has decided not to allow standalone shops of non-essential services to remain open, despite the central governments notification on Friday permitting their operations. As of March 25, Maharashtra has conducted 1,08,972 tests, of which 7,628 people have tested positive and 1,01,162 have tested negative. There are 555 containment zones in the state. On Saturday alone, 7,194 flying squads appointed by the state screened 31.43 lakh people in containment zones. A total of 1,076 Covid-19 positive patients have been cured and discharged in Maharashtra. The state government also pointed out that new Covid-19 cases are being reported from contacts of positive persons, but maintained that community transmission has not begun in the state. Meanwhile, Maharashtras first patient who will be administered plasma transfusion has been identified. The man is currently admitted to Bandras Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai. The transfusion process is likely to be carried out on Sunday. A plasmapheresis machine - which carries out removal, treatment, and return or exchange of blood plasma - has been installed at BYL Nair Hospital. Three units of plasma from recovered patients have been collected. Dr Daksha Shah, deputy director, health department of the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), said, Five more recovered Covid-19 patients have been screened to donate plasma. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage to Lord Basaveshwara on his birth anniversary on Sunday and recalled his contribution in social and gender equality. In a video message, the prime minister sought the blessings of Lord Basaveshwara to give the country the strength to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic. "Basava Jayanthi" is an annual event celebrated to mark the birth of Vishwaguru Basaveshwara, the 12thcentury philosopher and social reformer. Global Basava Jayanthi - 2020is being held digitally on Sunday amid coronavirus spread. Describing Lord Basaveshwara as a great reformer and administrator, Modi said Lord Basaveshwara did not only preach about the reforms he wanted in individuals or in the society but also adopted and inculcated them in his own life. The prime minister said the teachings of Lord Basaveshwara are the source of spiritual knowledge, and serve as the practical guide of our lives. His teachings guide us to be a better human being and to make our society liberal, kind and humane. He had guided our society on issues of social and gender equality several centuries ago, Modi said. Lord Basaveshwara, the prime minister said, laid the foundations of a democracy, which prioritises and promotes the rights of a person standing on the last rungs of the society. Basavanna had touched each and every aspect of human life and given solutions to improve it, he added. The prime minister recalled that on many occasions earlier he had the privilege of learning from the teachings of Lord Basaveshwara, be it the event of the translations of holy "vachanas" into 23 languages or the unveiling of Basaveshwara statue in London. Appreciating the Basava Samithi for conducting Sunday's event digitally across the world, Modi said this sets a perfect example for holding a big event while also following the lockdown guidelines. The prime minister said, "Today, Indians feel that change starts with them. This belief is helping the country to overcome challenges." He urged people to carry forward and strengthen this message of hope and faith. This will inspire us to work hard and will take our nation to new heights, he added. Referring to social distancing as a measure to prevent the spread of the deadly virus, Modi also stressed upon following the rule of "Do Gaz Doori" (physical distance of two yards) to stay safe from coronavirus. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) About 1,000 cadets are expected to return to the United States Military Academy at West Point campus so President Trump can deliver the June graduation address. Cadets have been taking classes remotely since leaving the West Point campus - located in New York state, the epicenter of the US coronavirus outbreak - when their spring break began on March 6. Now the academy is now planning to bring back about 1,000 cadets to campus to attend the June 13 graduation ceremony. West Point academy officials said that 1,000 cadets will be brought back to campus in time for President Trump to deliver the 2020 commencement address in June. Cadets are pictured at the 2019 graduation ceremony Trump revealed during a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing last week that he will be giving West Point's commencement address. He had previously delivered graduation speeches at the Naval, Coast Guard and Air Force academies. 'And I assume they're they've got it, and I understand they'll have distancing. They'll have some big distance, and so it'll be very different than it ever looked,' Trump said of what he expects the West Point graduation will look like under coronavirus protocols. 'Do I like the look? No, I don't. And eventually, next year, they'll have a commencement which will be like it's been, like when people like this our great Admiral, who has done such a great job. When he graduated from where he graduated me too we were nice and tight. And that's going to happen again.' In a press release issued April 22, West Point said that safety considerations would determine 'the size and scope of the graduation ceremony,' according to CBS News. President Trump is pictured at the Air Force Academy's graduation where he spoke in 2019. He has also given the commencement addresses at the Naval and Coast Guard acadamies During a press conference last week, Trump noted how different the West Point graduation ceremony would look from years past. Air Force Academy students are pictured at their April 20 graduation ceremony, which featured Vice President Pence as the speaker West Point graduates are show throwing their hats into the air during their 2019 graduation The academy's anticipated return of about 1,000 cadets was expected to have a 'movement window starting at the end of May back to West Point,' but noted that details were still being worked out. The cadets would be scheduled to arrive at West Point in small groups and then 'subjected to a detailed COVID screening, testing, quarantine, and integration plan where they will execute out-processing, commissioning, and pre-officer basic tasks,' officials said. If they test negative for coronavirus, the students would be allowed to move back into the dorms, where prevailing CDC and Department of Defense coronavirus guidance would be followed. The US Army has given the academy coronavirus testing equipment which will enable cadets to be tested within a matter of hours. The academy has not yet determined whether family members would be allowed to attend the graduation ceremony, which officials said would 'look different' from past ceremonies due to the 'current social health force protection measures.' At the very least, however, West Point would broadcast the ceremony. It's unclear when the remaining cadets would be allowed back on campus. A day after PTI reported about a 16-year-old girl from Nepal waiting for her jaw surgery in the AIIMS here, which got delayed due to the ongoing lockdown, she was taken to the emergency department of the hospital for examination. Two officials from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) visited the girl and her father at the make-shift shelter home outside the premier hospital, where they have been staying since February. "Around 9 am, two persons came to the make-shift shelter home outside AIIMS, where we are staying. One of them had a photo of a article in his phone. They enquired about us and took me along with them to the emergency department of the hospital," Nand Kishore, the girl's father, told PTI. Kishore (39), along with her daughter Sneha Kumari, travelled over 1,000 kilometres from Nepal's Paesa district to Delhi in February for the girl's jaw surgery at the premier medical institution. "The doctors at the emergency department saw the old reports and prepared a new one. Senior doctors also met Sneha and said the OPD will open after the lockdown, following which the further process for her operation will be initiated," Kishore said. There was a tumour in the girl's jaw, which doctors at the AIIMS surgically removed two years ago along with her jawbone, which they had replaced with metal plates. The metal plates in the girl's jaw have since dislocated. In need of an urgent surgery, the girl is mostly under enormous pain. Her jaw hurts due to which she cannot eat solid food and prefers something light like juice. Kishore himself cannot walk without the support of a stick due to a backbone injury for which he underwent surgery in Nepal around four years ago. The girl's surgery, initially scheduled for February 25, was postponed several times, before being rescheduled for March 24. But it was delayed again due to the lockdown imposed in the country to curb the spread of coronavirus. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday recommended mass random testing to beat COVID-19 in India, stating that the government must scale up it's testing from the existing 40,000 to one lakh tests per day. He also suggested that Prime Minister Modi should act fast and clear the bottleneck to conduct mass tests. Experts agree that mass random testing is the key to beating Corona. In India, a bottle neck is stopping us from scaling testing from the current 40,000 per day to 1 lakh tests a day, for which test kits are already in stock. PM needs to act fast & clear the bottleneck. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 26, 2020 A total of 26,496 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in India, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Sunday and 824 people have lost their lives due to the virus in the country. READ | Rahul Gandhi Issues Appeal To Centre To End Woes Of Andhra Fishermen Stranded In Gujarat Deliver COVID-19 tests to homes via drones With the view to contain the spread of Coronavirus, a study suggested that COVID-19 tests should be delivered to people's homes using drones. According to reports, researchers from Sweden who are modeling the impact of drone-based test delivery suggested that 36 drones each carrying 100 tests could visit every one in a city with a population of around 100,000 repeatedly every four days. They also suggested that running tests of individuals every 30 days would flatten the curve. READ | Issues Of Migrant Workers Must Be Addressed As First Priority: Rahul Gandhi According to the researchers, the Coronavirus tests do not have to be conducted at a designated facility. Giving out a possible solution, they stated that drones can be used to distribute the tests to the people, as well as to collect them and bring them to the laboratories. They added that the lab test results can be given to people electronically. However, according to them, a general lack of regulation around drone flights is a major obstacle to implementing drone-based test delivery. The researchers suggested that the authorities could design a set of regulations with different levels of strictness. READ | Rahul Gandhi Seeks Ideas From People On Economic Stimulus Package For MSMEs Amid COVID-19 READ | Modi Says India's Fight Against Coronavirus People-driven, Cautions Against Complacency Thousands of people flocked to California beaches and parks to enjoy the sunshine as temperatures soared over the weekend. Local lifeguards estimated that as many as 40,000 people visited Newport Beach in California over the weekend, as some counties eased restrictions on public access to open spaces. Its crowded out, said Brian ORourke, a lifeguard battalion chief in Newport Beach told NBC. We havent had too many issues with [social distancing] as lifeguards. Our primary mission is watching the water. Weve had dozens of ocean rescues and hundreds of preventative actions. Social distancing guidelines vary across the state, and Orange Country was among the areas in California that opted to reopen beaches ahead of the hot weekend. Weve had very good compliance people are spreading out, Mr ORourke added. Los Angeles city and county beaches, trails and playgrounds were closed, and officers on horseback were patrolling those areas to enforce social distancing rules. Officials are wary that places that are still open could draw crowds that will ignore social distancing rules and seek sun and air after being mainly confined indoors for more than a month. Those visiting beaches that are open are not in breach of the states stay-at-home order, however California governor Gavin Newsom advised people that while they could use the beach for exercise, they must continue to follow social distancing rules. Police in Pacific Grove said they had to close the picturesque Lovers Point Park and Beach at the southern end of Monterey Bay because of a lack of social distancing. The city has also opened cooling centres for people who might not be able to survive the heat wave at home, Mayor Eric Garcetti said. California has more than 42,000 coronavirus cases and over 1,600 deaths. Both South Carolina and Florida have reopened their beaches in the last week. Additional reporting by Associated Press Rating: FAUDA (Netflix) 12-part, Season 3 Cast: Lior Raz, Itzik Cohen, Rona-Lee Shim'on, Boaz Konforty, Reef Neeman Created by Lior Raz, Avi Issacharof Rating: **** Netflix dropped the 3rd season of Fauda (Chaos) on Thursday and by now I am sure all fans of the Israeli TV series have binge-watched it and are waiting for Season 4. I did. Season 3, like the earlier two, has at its centre Doron Kavillio (Lior Raz) of the Mistaarvim counter-terrorism commando unit, and somewhere around him, as always, is a Hamas terrorist who needs to be taken out. Supporting him is his resourceful boss, Captain Gabi Ayub, and his unit members, including sexy Nurit, Avihai, Yaara Zarhi and others sweet but highly trained men and women who can carry out covert n overt operations as well as assassinations in enemy territory without much fuss. The overarching story of the series is the bloody fight between Israel and Palestine for land that one set of people believe is theirs legally, but the other claims they have a divine right to it. In this fight, destruction is allowed and inevitable. The series is Israeli, so its political and moral tilt is inevitable. As is the myth creation, which is a continuation from Munich and is all about Israelis determination to protect and avenge their own. On the Israeli side we see loyalty, raging testosterone, men and women putting themselves in harms way for their nation, while on the Palestinian side we see impoverished colonies, families that have lost their loved ones to The Movement, but also corruption of the Palestinian Authority officials who play both sides, often betraying their own for a favour or a passport. In Israel, everyone is honest and trusting, but in Palestine a strange moral code exists that decided the hierarchy of people and their worth according to their dedication to and sacrifice for The Cause. In this game, suspicion is enough to plant doubt, push men and women off pedestals by bumbling men with inflated egos. This is, perhaps, what does happen to any movement that struggles against a bigger power. Fauda, to be fair, does pay respect to men and women who have sacrificed for The Movement, but the serial stays hyper active always, never finding a moment to even once delve into what is the moral basis for Israel to occupy Palestinian land. Season 3 is set in Gaza, and it involves a wanted man, an undercover agent, an innocent family, an abduction and a new love interest for Doron. Its very similar to what transpired in the previous two seasons and yet its a plotting marvel that despite the sameness of the mission, events, politics, each season one is more compelling than the other. Ministers were last night accused of 'cruelly' keeping Afghan interpreters away from their families after delaying their visas by more than a year. The Government vowed in March last year that translators who helped British soldiers in the fight against the Taliban could bring their loved ones to join them in the UK. Ministers said the rule change could affect as many as 30 interpreters who are living in the UK but have wives, partners and children back in Afghanistan. But more than a year later, not a single family member has been allowed into the UK under the bungled new scheme. Last night Tory MP Dr Julian Lewis, who led an inquiry into the Afghan interpreter policy, criticised the delays. 'In these times of great restriction, there are fewer burdens on the immigration system,' he said. 'There is less excuse than ever for this cruel failure to resolve this debt of honour. Former frontline translator Omer has not seen his three children for nearly five years after fleeing from repeated Taliban death threats and seeking sanctuary in the UK 'I am baffled and frustrated by the successive obstacles that have been placed in the path of brave interpreters and their families.' One translator said he was 'devastated' by the constant delays. Abdul Wakil, 34, has lived in the UK for several years with eldest son Shakeel, 14. His wife was denied entry because she did not come over at the same time. But last year's rule change meant she should now be able to live with him in Manchester, bringing their younger sons, Mustafa, seven, and three-year-old Muzammel. At the time of the announcement Mr Wakil said he felt like the 'richest person in the world'. He applied for their visas last August and expected to get them within three months. He has only seen Muzammel twice. Instead, they are still waiting and face even more worry because of the spread of coronavirus. Mr Wakil said: 'My little son is saying every day to his mother, 'How is this visa taking so long? I want to be with my brother'. 'I am devastated and it is hurting me inside, and my son too. Shakeel was so happy when he found out and now he is so sad.' Under the old rules, interpreters and their relatives were required to travel to the UK at the same time for the family members to qualify for relocation. Anguish of 5-year wait Former frontline translator Omer has not seen his three children for nearly five years after fleeing from repeated Taliban death threats and seeking sanctuary in the UK. Ten months after he left Afghanistan his wife died from an illness and since then a relative has looked after Omer's nine-year-old daughter and sons, aged seven and eight. One year ago, Omer, 35, who worked with UK forces for six years and was almost blinded in one eye during a mortar attack, won a landmark battle to be allowed to stay in Britain with the help of evidence built up during the Mail's Betrayal of the Brave campaign. Since then Omer, who lives in the Thames Valley, has been battling to be reunited with his children and has applied via his solicitors for them to be allowed to travel to Britain. 'It has broken our hearts to be separated,' he said. 'I miss them so much and would ask that they can come to join me as quickly as possible.' Advertisement But many did not do so. In some cases wives had to look after relatives in Afghanistan or the interpreters wanted to sort out a job and a home for their children first. Sajid Javid, the then Home Secretary, changed the rules after the Mail's Betrayal of the Brave campaign highlighted their plight. The changes, which took effect on April 6 last year, removed this requirement so wives and children, or fiancees, or long-term partners who were part of the family before the interpreter relocated, would be able to travel separately. The first applications by the interpreters were made last August. But the Home Office has still not approved any of the visas, say representatives of the interpreters. Former Army captain Ed Aitken, a spokesman for the Sulha Network of interpreters, said: 'Amongst all the problems the Afghan interpreters have faced in their resettlement to the UK, the inflexibility of the Government to allow wives and children to join them later was the one that caused the most misery. 'When Caroline Nokes [the then Home Office minister] pledged to sort out the problem, the interpreters dared to believe they might be happy again. But to have been left in limbo for over a year, with wives and children left dangling in Afghanistan wondering why their visas have not come through, has been not just disappointing but woefully cruel. After everything they did for us, this is not what they deserve.' A Government spokesman said: 'We are extremely grateful to the Afghan interpreters who played a vital role in our overseas operations, and we have already supported more than 1,300 interpreters and their families to rebuild their lives in the UK. 'The Government is committed to the changes made to the immigration rules in April 2019. 'We are working to deliver this commitment as a priority to ensure the first people to arrive as a result of this rule change do so as soon as possible.' The best of the best scientists and researchers around the world are endlessly investing all their energy into finding the vaccine to end the novel pandemic Corovirus that has affected over 200 countries. In order to lend a helping hand, a medical student from Emory University is one of the first people to have volunteered for a vaccine trial that the doctors are pinning their hopes on, to be the one which ends this global nightmare. Don't Miss: Contribute To Indiatimes Fundraiser To Help India Fight COVID-19 The 31-year-old PhD candidate, Sean Doyle, is in his fourth year of medical school and according to Daily Mail, he received a dose of an experimental drug last month. It was developed by the National Institutes of Health, and Massachusetts-based biotechnology company, Moderna Inc. Emory University Based on a USA TODAY report, volunteers in Seattle have also signed up for the vaccine trial and have now moved into the second phase after there were reports of only a few side affects. Moreover, the reports also add that the participants have no chance of getting infected from the shots since they do not contain the coronavirus itself. Instead, a synthetic messenger RNA (mRNA) is used to immunize against the virus. RNA stands for Ribonucleic Acid and is the biological process which directs cells to produce something. Science Such trials have the potential to narrow down on something to help the body get immunized against a virus. The RNA vaccine would provoke the cells to form spike proteins that resemble coronavirus' structure. If the trial succeeds, the body will get conditioned to recognise the spike proteins and develop antibodies that could help in protecting against any future infection. However, as is the case with all medical trials, RNA vaccines are not risk-free and there is no evidence on how well they are going to work in a large group of people. Dr Amesh Adalja of Johns Hopkins University told CNN, "There is no precedent yet for them being approved for use and, and we don't know everything about them in terms of how they're going to behave in large numbers of people and what the side effect profile they might be." Dr Adalja also added that vaccine development usually takes up to years and sometimes, even decades. He said, "There are some infectious diseases for which we have no vaccine after decades and decades of work, like HIV or hepatitis C, for example. The only way that we're going to really contain this virus is with the vaccine." Twitter (@AmeshAA) Coming back to the medical student, Doyle informed CNN that he already knows all the risks he is exposing himself to by participating in a trial for an unknown drug. He said, "There were conversations that I had with friends and family. They all expressed concerns about getting an experimental vaccine like this where no one knows what the side effects might be. But they trusted my judgment." Also, this isn't the first time Doyle has volunteered to be a part of a medical experiment. Two-and-a-half years ago, he was involved in a trial for the Ebola virus where he was injected with an experimental immunization. In fact, it is his experience of the 18-month trial that made him eligible for the present COVID-19 experiment. He said, "No one is really sure how its going to behave when its put in your body. So some of my friends and family indicated a little bit of concern. But Im familiar with the statistics on how rarely really severe reactions occur. So I wasnt really that worried about being affected negatively by participating in this trial. It really does seem like the benefit would far outweigh any potential risks." Emory University Since SARS-CoV-2 is a highly contagious virus, scientists are trying to come up with a vaccine as quickly as possible and best-case scenarios are aiming at 12 to 18 months. Gatchalian family donates P30 M worth of medical supplies to fight COVID-19 To help equip the country's health care system in flattening the curve, the Gatchalian family is donating medical supplies and complete sets of personal protective equipment (PPE) worth P30 million pesos. The items will be turned over to the National Task Force COVID-19 (NTF COVID-19) and will be received by NTF COVID-19 Head and Department of National Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana and NTF COVID-19 Chief Implementer and Presidential Adviser on the Peace Reconciliation and Unity Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. A C-130 cargo plane carrying the supplies and equipment purchased from Fujian, China will land at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City at 4:00 P.M. today, Sunday. The items include 20,000 pieces of PPE, 3,000 pieces of face shields, 3,000 pieces of goggles, 100,000 pieces of gloves, 42,000 pieces of KN-95 face masks, and 500,000 pieces of surgical face masks. Senator Win Gatchalian and Valenzuela 1st District Representative Wes Gatchalian will represent the Gatchalian family during the turnover ceremonies. They express gratitude to the Philippine government for providing support on the transport of the medical items. Senator Gatchalian said the donation is part of their family's ongoing humanitarian efforts and contributions as the whole country brings the government, organizations from across industries and sectors and individuals together to help respond to the global outbreak. "Bahagi po ito ng tuloy-tuloy naming pagseserbisyo sa taong bayan lalo na't marami sa kanila ang nalulugmok ngayong panahon ng krisis. Katuwang po ninyo kami sa lahat ng pagsubok," the senator expresses. The Gatchalian family has already extended assistance to their constituents in Valenzuela City, the neighboring Bulacan province, Aparri in the province of Cagayan, frontliners of the Philippine National Police - National Capital Region Police Office (PNP-NCRPO), barangay and health frontliners, including "tanods" in Tacloban City, Leyte, and various government hospitals in Metro Manila and Batangas. Is African Lemon grass tea a cure for COVID-19? A post on WhatsApp and shared by many made the claim recently. According to the story credited to CNN, Chinese doctor Li Wenliang, a coronavirus whistleblower, recommended the lemon grass tea, as a cure. The chemical Methylxanthine, Theobromine and Theophylline, the claim goes, stimulate compounds that can ward off the virus in a human with at least an average immune system. Whats more shocking is that these complex words that were so difficult for people in China to understand is actually called Fever Grass Tea( *African Lemon grass* tea), YES, our Fever Grass Tea has all these chemicals already in it. The main Methylxanthine in fever grass tea is the stimulant caffeine. Other Methylxanthines found in fever grass tea are two chemically similar compounds, Theobromine and Theophylline. The fever grass tea plant creates these chemicals as a way to ward off insects and other animals. Who would have known that all the solution to these virus would be a simple cup of FEVER GRASS TEA. and that is the reason so many patients in China are being cured. The hospital staff in China has started serving tea to the patients 3 times a day, And the effect is finally in *Wuhan* The centre of this Pandemic has been contained and community transmission has almost stopped. Please Share this message to your friends and family to make them aware about this blessing in the form of FEVER GRASS TEA in your kitchen. P.M.News set out to verify the information. The first finding we gathered was that the claimed author of the cure, 34 year-old Li Wenliang died on 7 February, killed by the virus. The immediate question is if Li knew the DNA of the disease and its cure, why did he not heal himself and drink cups and cups of the African lemon tea? The second shocking finding was that this claim had popped up two months before and been discredited as fake. It was first shared on Facebook by a Filipino woman Maria Celia Junio-Fernandez in March. Many others shared the post on Facebook and then it moved to WhasApp. Why did Newsroom Nigeria recycle it on WhatsAPP? India Today which first investigated the claim in March found that the CNN did not publish such report and also that Li did not make any such claim. It also Prolonged lockdown may push millions into poverty: Ex-RBI Governor India oi-PTI New Delhi, Apr 26: A prolonged lockdown may possibly push million of Indians into the "margins of subsistence", former RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said on Sunday while expecting a ''V'' curved recovery once the COVID-19 crisis ends and the turnaround in India to be faster than some economies. He was participating in a webinar on "History repeats - but differently- Lessons for the post Corona World," organised by the Manthan Foundation here, in which former Deputy Governor of RBI Usha Thorat took part. "Because most analysts believe that this year India will actually have negative growth or growth will contract. We must remember that even ahead of the crisis two months ago our growth slowed. Now it has completely stopped. Last year growth was five per cent. Just imagine, five per cent growth last year and we are going to negative or zero growth this year, a decline of five per cent growth," he said. "It is true that India is going to perform in this crisis better than most other countries.But that is no consolation....Because we are a very poor country and if the crisis persists and if the lockdown is not lifted soon enough, it is quite possible that millions of people will be pushed into the margins of subsistence, he said when asked about his views on the present situation. Subbarao said that as predicted by analysts, India will have a V shaped recovery which is far better than most of the other countries. "And why do we expect a "V" shaped recovery? Because unlike in a cyclone or in an earthquake, this is not a natural disaster constraint. No capital has been destroyed. Factories are standing. Ourshops are still standing. Our people are ready to work as soon as the lockdown is lifted. So it is quite possible the recovery will be V shaped and while we have a V shaped recovery, I think India has a better chance then most of the countries," he opined. According to him, India''s recovery was faster than many other countries after the 2008 global financial crisis. On IMFs prediction that India may grow at 1.9 per cent during the current year against about five per cent in the last fiscal, Subbarao said many analysts feel that the prediction is outdated and the growth in GDP may slip into negative. He said the "life versus livelihood" dilemma for the country is arguably very "short while" for India. Usha Thorat said pumping more liquidity into the system alone cannot work and banks and Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFC) will need credit guarantee or enhancement to start lending. She also said that states need more support during the crisis and streamlining of non-merit subsidies was required. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, April 26, 2020, 19:59 [IST] SPRINGFIELD, Mo. Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris is personally donating one million FDA-approved ASTM Level 1 Procedure Face Masks to health care workers and first responders working on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis across the United States. In Sidney, Sidney Regional Medical Center will receive 4,000 facemasks. The nationwide donation comes as supplies for personal protective equipment are in high demand and short supply in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the influx of patients at U.S. hospitals and medical centers being treated for the virus, critical supplies like face masks have been rapidly depleted, leaving tens of thousands of health care workers in a vulnerable state as they race to save lives and protect communities. We are extremely grateful to our nations healthcare workers serving on the frontlines of this unprecedented global health crisis, Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris said in a press release These heroic men and women continue to dedicate their lives to save the loved ones of others, and we are all honored to support them on behalf of everyone at Bass Pro Shops and Cabelas, and the communities we serve. COSA TV will host another Facebook Live broadcast on Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. (ET) featuring three fixtures of the Hambletonian/Breeders Crown series of races. Gary Seibel and Dave Brower have teamed up for CBSs network coverage of The Hambletonian for the past number of years while Moira Fanning, long time Director of Publicity, has been getting settled into her new role as the C.O.O. of the Hambletonian Society which administers the Hambletonian, Breeders Crown and many other high profile stakes races. The trio will join Greg Blanchard to discuss the history of both races while also looking back at some of the most memorable moments over the years. Viewers will be able to comment and ask questions of the guests during the show and take part in a new poll question along with trivia. The show will be available on the COSA Facebook page as well as Standardbred Canadas website. Pakistan's coronavirus cases jumped to 12,579 on Sunday after 783 new infections were reported in one day, prompting the government officials and medical experts to appeal to the people to avoid visiting mosques and participating in congregational prayers during Ramzan to contain the spread of the disease. According to the Ministry of National Health Services, at least 15 people have died in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll in the country to 269. A total of 783 new cases were reported in one day and the total number of infections has reached 12,579. The number of those recovered also increased to 2,866, it said. Punjab reported 5,378 cases, Sindh 4,232, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 1,793, Balochistan 722, Gilgit-Baltistan 308, Islamabad 235 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 55 cases. So far, 144,365 tests have been done in the country, including 6,218 in the last 24 hours. As the infections keep growing, Pakistan Medical Association, Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) have urged people to offer prayers at homes and not in mosques. PIMA President Dr Iftikhar Burney warned on Saturday that mosques were becoming a major source of virus transmission. "Around 6,000 cases for coronavirus surfaced in a month.but the same has doubled in the last six days," he said, warning that the infection would further go up in the coming months of May and June. The are reports that a 20-point agreement signed by the leading clerics with President Arif Alvi on restricting access to mosques during Ramzan was not being followed completely. Alvi has written a letter to the Imams of mosques urging them to ask worshippers above the age of 50 to pray at home. He pointed out that the point number six of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) set in the agreement said that persons over the age of 50 should avoid offering prayers at the mosque. Alvi also visited mosques in Rawalpindi to review arrangements made by the administration of mosques to contain the spread of the virus, he wrote in a tweet. He shared a picture of Jama Masjid Ghousia and said the administration had arranged for Taraweeh (special prayers offered at night during Ramzan), keeping in mind necessary preventative measures to curb the spread. However, the face masks were lacking. Advisor on Health Dr Zafar Mirza also took to Twitter and again urged the "citizens to demonstrate responsibility & avoid congregations during Ramazan to protect themselves from COVID-19." However, the government was still reluctant to close down the mosques due to fear of backlash by the extremists. There were reports of violation of lockdown from different cities and police arrested 78 people and sealed 107 shops on Saturday in Quetta, capital of Balochistan, for violating the lockdown, Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said. He said that a total of 2,707 shops had been sealed over violations so far. In Sindh province, the government after talks with some groups of traders allowed them to carry out online businesses. But the agreement was rejected by traders who apparently cannot leverage online market. In Punjab, the government announced that lockdown would not apply to pushcart street vendors, selling fruit, vegetables and other products. Due to lack of observance of lockdown, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) criticised the partial lockdown policy and asked the government either impose total lockdown or withdraw it. Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Local Government Kamran Bangash tested positive for coronavirus, provincial Health Minister Taimur Jhagra said on Twitter. "Kamran is well and at home. I talked to him, he is in high spirits, and will insha'Allah be back leading from the front soon," Jhagra said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) [music] michael barbaro From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. When Louisianas stay at home order expires today, restaurants across the state can begin allowing customers back inside at their own discretion. That decision now lies with restaurant owners, like Jasmine Lombrage. Its Friday, May 15. jasmine lombrage Hello? michael barbaro Hi. jasmine lombrage Hi, how are you? michael barbaro Oh, good. You sound great right now. jasmine lombrage Wonderful, wonderful. Hi. Im Jasmine Lombrage. michael barbaro Hi, Jasmine. Im Michael Barbaro. jasmine lombrage Hi, nice nice to meet you this way. michael barbaro Very nice to meet you this way. Where exactly am I reaching you? jasmine lombrage I am at the Bullfish Bar Plus Kitchen here in Baton Rouge, La. michael barbaro Thats your restaurant? jasmine lombrage Yes. michael barbaro So how long have you lived in Baton Rouge? jasmine lombrage Me, personally, about 17 years. My husband has been here over 20 years. And we have two girls, two beautiful girls, Gaby shes turning 11 next month and we have our gorgeous Angelle. Shes nine. michael barbaro How did you and your husband meet? jasmine lombrage [LAUGHS] Its an old love story. We met at school. I was in dental hygiene school, and he was in culinary school. And he was working at that cafeteria. My friends said that they have good food over there, and they wanted to go. And so we went over there, and he was a quiet guy in the corner doing his own thing. I said, excuse me, what do you have here that is good and healthy that I can eat? And he looks up, and he said, Nothing is good enough for you. michael barbaro Oh, jeez. jasmine lombrage And then I turned to walk away, and he said, But if you come back tomorrow, Ill make something for you. michael barbaro Mm-hmm. jasmine lombrage And I just kind of smiled and said, No, thank you. And I had a few friends who are like, Yes, were coming back tomorrow. So the next day, he made something for me. He made stir fry, and my friends I had one of my crazy friends. She said I said, Im not going to eat. I dont know if this guy is some kind of psycho or crazy and hes going to put something in my food. Shes like, Well, Im going to eat. If nothing happens to me in a few minutes, then you you can try it. So thats what happened. And he came back and asked, how was everything? I said, it was good. And then we started talking. Then no then he said Im going to be his wife, and I said, Im sorry. Thats not going to happen. You know, and he said, well, hes a praying man. He always gets his heart desire. michael barbaro [LAUGHS] jasmine lombrage Yes, 10 years later, we ended up married. michael barbaro So when you when you two met, you were a dental hygienist student. He was training to be a chef. jasmine lombrage Yes. michael barbaro And so how did you end up in the food industry? jasmine lombrage Well, growing up, my mom always cooked, you know, for many people. So it was always a passion. I grew up cooking also with mom and just family and aunts. We just that was just something we did. And then Angel, my husband, Chef Angel, my husband, you know, we he was the executive corporate chef that started Voodoo BBQ & Grill, which is a restaurant here in the South. And he was known as the Pitmaster. And so what we did, we started Jazz City then, Jazz City was a catering company. And we were he was like, well, this is what I love to do. And we wanted to do something we have two young kids. We know that, you know, you can work hard for anyone and everyone, but really, if you want to leave that create something for your family, you need to create something so that it can stay down and passed down for generations and generations and possibly grow. And that is our goal is to have it grow and flourish. And we ended up here at the Bullfish, and Bullfish was already it was a restaurant previously owned by someone else. And when we came here, we made it our own by bringing new menu items. And this is the only place you can come in Louisiana and find an authentic Caribbean and Southern fusion cuisine. What hes done, what Chef has mastered, hes taken the fresh herbs that we have in the Caribbean, and then hes merged it with the wonderful spices that we have here in Louisiana. And he theres a fusion of jerk, fish, and Southern barbecue shrimp. michael barbaro Mm. jasmine lombrage Yes. And the paella you know, Chef makes a paella with you know, he uses scallops. And the crawfish, which is from Louisiana, he infuses that with the andouille sausage, and then he puts the shrimp in there and the crab meat. And so its just the different twist that he puts on all of the dishes. Its just magic in your mouth. michael barbaro Mm. jasmine lombrage And I dont know if you heard the music in the background a little. We kind of use a lot of Caribbean kind of music from different parts of the Caribbean, and we play different music from here. The vibe is just so, I dont need a passport, but I can get away here. Does that makes sense? michael barbaro Mm-hmm. Its funny you keep calling your husband chef. Is that how you refer to him? jasmine lombrage At work, we keep it professional. At home, well, when we get in a car, its honey. But when were at work, we refer to each other I refer to him as Chef, and he would just say whatever he had to say to me or, OK, yes, maam, and that would be it. michael barbaro Got it. jasmine lombrage Yes. michael barbaro And when did you take over the restaurant? jasmine lombrage That was last year, 2019, May 22, 2019. michael barbaro OK. So just about just about a year ago. jasmine lombrage Yes. And this restaurant, the Bullfish, it is personal for us, because our home is connected to the Bullfish. michael barbaro Huh. jasmine lombrage Yes. So thats why this pandemic I personally have spent many nights not sleeping, because I know our home is connected to it. Its not like we have 5, 6, 7, 20 locations. This is all we have. In our home, we have two kids. My daughter, my oldest, Gaby, shes autistic. I dont know I mean, I dont know whats going to happen, but for now, shes depending on us to care for her. So as she grows, the home is before we committed our home to the Bullfish was part of the security blanket that we had. In the event something happened, she would have that. michael barbaro Tell me what you mean when you say that your home is connected to Bullfish. You mean physically or emotionally or what? jasmine lombrage Well, whenever you get a loan, you have to give some kind of guarantee, like a personal guarantee. And thats what we did, you know. We took that leap of faith and decided that we were going to put 100 percent in here to make it work. So we have to make the Bullfish work. michael barbaro So if something were to happen to the restaurant, it would mean potentially losing your home? jasmine lombrage Yes. michael barbaro And it sounds like that house is something you plan on passing on to your daughter, whos autistic. jasmine lombrage Yes, well, both of our girls, but we know her, at least, we can have somewhere for her in case she needed somewhere to be, and then we can have that there for her. That is something that always gets me emotional talking about, because michael barbaro Mm-hmm. jasmine lombrage [CRYING] Im sorry. michael barbaro I understand. jasmine lombrage Its you know, and shes standing in front of me looking at me now. And we want to do whatever it takes to make it work. You know, we just have to make it work. So when this pandemic started, it really gave us a scare, because if were not able to pay for everything, and we default on our loan, well, we understood the consequences, you know. michael barbaro Was there a moment when you felt that you had really kind of made it with this place, having bought it and started to make it your own? jasmine lombrage Yes. About a month before the pandemic, we were like, yeah, this was a good choice. My husband and I, we usually go to early morning service for church, and afterwards, we came here for brunch. And then before we were open, we had people waiting outside for us. michael barbaro Wow. jasmine lombrage It was wonderful. And we were like, OK, wow, this is really going to work. This is really working. And wow, honey, this is our baby, and were going to grow it, and were going to be able to pay up the loan, and were going to be able to just blow this thing out of the park. And then the pandemic started. And yes. michael barbaro When did you first start to notice that the pandemic was impacting the restaurant? jasmine lombrage OK, early March early March, because it was February was good with Valentines Day. Early March is when everything started changing, and as March went on, the governor shut down the state. This is when, you know, you started losing staff members saying theyre not coming out. I mean, you cannot blame them. We also started doing curbside delivery, and we were doing social media posts and putting up signs, handwritten signs offering discounts, letting people know that curbside pickup is available, just getting different yard signs made. michael barbaro So you have to put up signs in the windows or outside telling people, were still around, you just need to call in. jasmine lombrage Yes, yes, yes. And then about maybe the second week after the state was closed, we would be lucky if we got two people that would call for curbside pickup. And we would just be sitting here the entire day, 11 to 8, and theres no one that would come by or no one that would call. So then I started calling the restaurant phone a couple of times to make sure the phone was working, because it never rang. We were there for hours. michael barbaro So you called the restaurants main number with your cell phone just to see if it was working. jasmine lombrage Yes. [LAUGHS] michael barbaro Wow jasmine lombrage And, you know, I started reaching out to third party third party delivery providers to see if I can sign up with them, like Uber Eats and Waitr and DoorDash and ChowNow. And theyre charging some of them are charging from 25 percent to 35 percent. michael barbaro Per order? jasmine lombrage Yeah, thats your food costs. Yes. You know, in addition to that, were not able to buy in bulk anymore, because weve wasted so much food. Weve thrown away so much stuff, so now were having to go ourselves, Chef and I, to different mom and pop stores that are open, and were having to purchase items. Of course, now youre paying more money for them, because youre not buying the same quantity anymore, and youre buying from a local retailer. So, you know, and then we have a bar here, and we werent no one was coming out to drink anymore, so that went away. So yeah, the pandemic, you know, its been hard on us. michael barbaro Mm-hm. Im so sorry. jasmine lombrage Yes. michael barbaro So with these delivery apps, these new sources of orders, how much money do you make off of any individual customer percentage-wise? jasmine lombrage Right now, you dont, because the fact that were buying things from not just local distributors but smaller volume were buying things in smaller volume, so our profit margin is smaller. So were basically not making anything. Youre keeping the doors open, but youre not making anything from it. michael barbaro Can you give us a sense of where your daughters have been throughout this period? At what point was their schooling interrupted? jasmine lombrage Maybe March. Angelle, when did school close? March or April? angelle lombrage [FAINT] It closed in March. jasmine lombrage OK, school closed in March. michael barbaro Mm-hmm. jasmine lombrage I used to bring my I still do bring my two girls, so I can homeschool them, because school they are out of school. So I use a corner of the restaurant, and I do schooling there for my girls. But it was a challenge. The change was not welcomed and open for the girls, especially my oldest, Gaby. michael barbaro What do you mean? jasmine lombrage You know, with autism, everything has to be you need to have something everything scheduled and everything has a plan you need to follow through. And this whole pandemic kind of just went haywire for her in the beginning. She was not sleeping. She was more agitated. And my youngest, Angelle, she kept saying she wanted to go back to school, so I had to find other ways to help them. So michael barbaro And Jasmine, I think I hear your daughters in the background. Is that right? jasmine lombrage Yes, you do. michael barbaro Do you think there was a point where your daughters picked up on what has been happening for you and your husband, but beyond the stresses that theyre experiencing, you know, from not being at school and social distancing, that they understood that you and your husband are struggling with this business and struggling financially? jasmine lombrage I think so. There is one incident. My daughter, my youngest, she you know, she gets allowance, and someone gives her money or whatever. And she saved the money, and one day, she wrote a note. And then she left a note on the bed, on my bed. I was taking a bath, and I came out, and she had a note saying that, Mom, I know you and Dad are working really hard, and things are really tough. I have some money saved. I hope this helps for you to pay for stuff. michael barbaro Oh, wow. jasmine lombrage Yes. That was hard. That was hard. michael barbaro How old is this daughter who left you jasmine lombrage Angelle was 8 when she did that. She just turned 9 in April. So she had a pandemic birthday. michael barbaro Can I ask how much she gave you? jasmine lombrage I think it was like $57 she had. michael barbaro Wow. And what did you do with it? jasmine lombrage I still have it saved. I still have it there. I try not to use it. It was just such a touching moment, and just to see, you know, that they realize, kids realize more than you let them know. And knowing that theyre here like almost every single day with me, and michael barbaro They see everything. jasmine lombrage Yes. michael barbaro How bad are things, financially speaking, right now? jasmine lombrage Not close at all to where we want to be. Not good at all. Not good at all. We have applied for a lot of, you know, small business loans, and were just waiting to hear back. michael barbaro Have you been able to cover all the payments that you owe to the bank? jasmine lombrage I havent. I think finance is one of the things people dont like to talk about, but I havent been able to meet a lot of I had to ask for abatements. So well see what happens. michael barbaro Mm-hmm. I mean, do you think there is a situation that you could imagine using that money from your youngest daughter, that $57? jasmine lombrage I dont want to I dont want to, because its hers. Even though she gave it to me, its hers. I do not want I dont want to. michael barbaro Right. jasmine lombrage I Im just afraid to Im just afraid to even think about a situation like that. [music] michael barbaro Well be right back. Jasmine, for listeners who dont know what the rules are in Louisiana, what was announced earlier this week? jasmine lombrage Well, restaurants commencing Friday, you can, restaurants can be open for 25 percent of the capacity. michael barbaro So you can seat up to 25 percent of what would normally fit inside the restaurant. So how many people do you think that is? jasmine lombrage Well, we can seat about 90 people comfortably in here. And so about 25 percent of that now is what were allowed to do. michael barbaro So if you can only put, you know, 20 or so people inside, can you make money? jasmine lombrage I dont see how thats going to happen, to be honest with you, because 20 percent having 20 percent of people inside the business is not enough to sustain, and I dont know how long thats going to go on for. michael barbaro Right. jasmine lombrage So [SIGHS] its hard. Its a hard thing to digest right now. michael barbaro But you have decided that youre going to let people back inside? jasmine lombrage Honestly, me, personally, no. So it is still an open debate. We actually, after Im done with this interview, were going to sit down and weigh our options, the pros and the cons, and see if its something that we want to do. michael barbaro Can I ask you what you see as the cons and the pros? jasmine lombrage Yeah, the pros that, you know, well have 25 percent more revenue than what were seeing now. And then the cons is knowing that someone will Im afraid that, oh, my god, somebodys going to come out, and theyre a carrier of Covid-19, and they infect somebody else. So I have no way of controlling that. michael barbaro Have you heard from customers about their opinions on whether its time to go back inside the restaurant? jasmine lombrage Yes, I have. Ive had mixed reviews. We tend to ask customers, whenever theyre picking up or, are they ready for everything to open back up. Thats normally the question we would ask. And I feel that Im getting more nos than yes, though, in my opinion. michael barbaro Mm. jasmine lombrage Yes. michael barbaro Those who have told you, Jasmine, that they do want to come out, what did they say is their reason for wanting to come out, to come back and eat in a restaurant? jasmine lombrage They want to get out of the house. You know, sometimes its just the fact that you cannot do something makes you want to do it. michael barbaro [LAUGHS] Yes. Yes, the forbidden fruit. Yes. jasmine lombrage Yes. My point, thats exactly. Like, oh, you tell me I cannot eat this? OK, Im going to. So yes, thats what I feel Im getting. michael barbaro I wonder, for you, if you didnt run a restaurant, would you go out and eat right now? Would you walk into a restaurant, sit down, order food? jasmine lombrage I would probably go out on a weekday, because weekdays are usually less busy, because I have a child that has a compromised immune system. So Im usually very careful to go out. I dont want to take something home to her, so that would be another reason that I personally will not go out. And if I did go out, minus my daughters situation, I would have definitely found the seat ask to be seated in the area that is far away from everybody else. michael barbaro I mean its interesting to hear you say that, that you wouldnt want to go to a restaurant unless it was specifically at a slow time because of the health of your daughter, because youre talking about yourself reopening a restaurant. So its quite a weird conundrum. jasmine lombrage Yes, but its honest. michael barbaro I just want to make sure I understand which of your daughters is immunocompromised. jasmine lombrage Gaby is. michael barbaro Is that the daughter who is autistic? jasmine lombrage Yes, because she was a former premature baby. I ruptured at 14 weeks when I was pregnant with her, and she had a lot of health challenges. They said, you know, that Gaby would never walk, talk, see, or hear. She was not via she does not have any viability of life, and that she would never make it out of the hospital alive, you know. We were told that we were making a mistake for her. She coded, and it was even pronounced, and she came back. And she had a trach before, and she was on a ventilator before. She was on oxygen for the first almost the first four years of her life. You know, she started talking late, walking late, and she had to do therapy, and, you know, she had a walker. So she had a lot of challenges to see where she is now and where she came from. So Im always careful, you know. A typical cold for you and I is just a cold, but for her, it can lead to pneumonia, or weve lost her. Weve had her stop breathing a couple times, and nothing I dont even know how to explain that. michael barbaro Mm. Given your daughters health, are you worried that youre going to basically be in the kind of situation it sounds like youre afraid of kind of all the time, because people are going to be coming into your restaurant, and they could potentially get you sick, and you could potentially get your daughter sick? jasmine lombrage Yes. You know, I dont know what I would do if I find myself bringing something to my child. So I find myself in a very difficult position as a business owner. michael barbaro That would be very hard to live with. I understand. jasmine lombrage That would yes. You know michael barbaro I mean, it sounds it sounds like that jasmine lombrage [SIGHS] michael barbaro that has to that has to be weighing on you as youre making this decision. jasmine lombrage Yes, it is. It is. It is. This is personal. This is not like, oh, OK, well, Im just going to open and make the money. Its not that situation for me. I have to be careful for it. I am responsible for her, and Im also responsible for my customers, making sure they have the best experience. And Im also responsible for my team that are coming to work. So michael barbaro And youre also responsible for that house jasmine lombrage Yes! michael barbaro that is connected to this jasmine lombrage Right! michael barbaro restaurant. jasmine lombrage Yes. michael barbaro Yeah. jasmine lombrage So my hands are tied. Like, yes. It yes, Im just Im just in a bind. Yeah, Im just in a bind right now. And say hi, Gaby. gaby lombrage Hi. michael barbaro Hi, Gaby. jasmine lombrage Say hi. Its OK. gaby lombrage Hi. michael barbaro Oh, I want to see you on the video. Nice to meet you, Gaby. jasmine lombrage Can you see her? I dont know how this works. michael barbaro Mm-hmm. I can see her. Yeah, shes got a great shes got a leopard patterned sweater on. jasmine lombrage Yes. Are you going to talk? gaby lombrage Hi. michael barbaro Hi. Gaby is waving. gaby lombrage How are you doing? michael barbaro Im doing well. Your mom was just telling us about you. She she loves you. jasmine lombrage Yes. [LAUGHS] Yes. michael barbaro She loves you she loves you very much. jasmine lombrage I do. I love you, Gab. gaby lombrage I love you, too. jasmine lombrage OK. michael barbaro Well, that was that was a nice gift. jasmine lombrage Yes, she walked up, so. [SIGH] Im sorry. michael barbaro Yeah, just give me a sec. Oof. jasmine lombrage Im sorry. I didnt mean that michael barbaro No, I jasmine lombrage Hence the reason why Im torn up. For someone that was 1 pound, 3 ounces when she was born, she is like shes like I mean shes beautiful. Shes doing so well. And then this is so scary. michael barbaro Yeah. jasmine lombrage This is so scary, you know. And then its a hard decision. I we dont open up, then to get customers to come in, were putting our house more at risk. We open up, and then something happens, then Im putting my childs life at risk. I dont want I dont even want to be me right now. michael barbaro Yep. Im going to be really eager were all going to be very eager to understand what decision you make. And I want you to know that we really enjoyed getting to know you and talking to you, and were rooting for you and for your family. jasmine lombrage Thank you. Thank you so very much. Thank you. michael barbaro Thank you, and please give our best to your husband and to the rest of your family. jasmine lombrage Thank you. gaby lombrage Bye. jasmine lombrage Gaby says bye. michael barbaro Bye, Gaby. jasmine lombrage Say bye. gaby lombrage Bye. jasmine lombrage OK, thank you, guys. michael barbaro Bye. [music] michael barbaro On Thursday night, after we spoke, Jasmine, her husband, and their staff decided that they would reopen their restaurant for indoor dining, starting on Tuesday. Well be right back. [music] michael barbaro Heres what else you need to know today. archived recording (rick bright) Good morning, Chairwoman Eshoo and Ranking Member Burgess and distinguished members of the subcommittee. I am Dr. Rick Bright, a career public servant, and a scientist who has spent 25 years of my career focused on addressing pandemic outbreaks. michael barbaro In testimony, before the House on Thursday, a whistleblower, who was fired as head of a federal research agency, said that the Trump administration failed to heed his warnings about the shortage of medical supplies in the national stockpile and that Americans died as a result. archived recording (rick bright) Congresswoman, weve known for quite some time that our stockpile is insufficient in having those critical personal protective equipment. So once this virus began spreading, it became known to be a threat, I began pushing urgently in January, along with some industry colleagues as well, and those urges, those alarms were not responded to with action. michael barbaro His testimony marked the first time that a federal scientist has gone before Congress and openly accused the Trump administration of endangering American lives by bungling its response to the coronavirus. archived recording (rick bright) Without better planning, 2020 could be the darkest winter in modern history. michael barbaro Like the first glint of summer warmth, Bibi nostalgia is in the air. The day before we meet at the Montenotte Hotel in Cork, RTE re-screens an episode of her chat show from 1988 where she interviews the late Larry Gogan. The woman herself didn't watch the programme but she monitored the reaction. "People said you looked great... then. The implication, and they may not even be conscious of it, is that you look like s**t now." In truth she still looks wonderful and, in the years since she was a weekly presence on television, something else has happened: her voice has matured into something as deep, rich and fruity as a Christmas cake. "Nobody really mentioned it before, but now everywhere I go, every little event, the voice comes up," she tells me. "Someone said that my voice was like vocal Viagra. I thought that was super." The Larry Gogan clip seemed also to pose a question: why had we not seen more of Bibi over the years? She was the first Irish woman with her own chat show on RTE and seemed destined to become a long-term mainstay on our screens. Writing about her in the Sunday Independent, TV critic Declan Lynch opined: "Bibi was The Special One. She went in for the glitz and the glamour, like the rest of them, but she somehow managed to do this while presenting programmes that poor ould fellas could watch, programmes with country people in them, singing and telling stories about long ago" But there was also the image of Bibi as a reluctant broadcaster. She had thrown away TV stardom, the thinking went, to emigrate to India, where she ran a hotel and embraced philosophy. These days she goes around the country, giving motivational talks, and time and again her singular odyssey comes up. Expand Close Bibi Baskin in 1987 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Bibi Baskin in 1987 "I talk about all the changes I brought into my own life," she explains. "The RTE television, the BBC radio, becoming a hotelier in India. If it's an older crowd I'll talk longer about RTE. If it's younger I'll say, 'and you know, girls, there used to be all these gorgeous young men back in the day'. And then a couple of years would go by and there would be another lot of gorgeous young men - who this time would say, 'me mammy loves your show'. And then I'd say to them, 'girls can you tell me where this is going?'. A few more years went by and the gorgeous young men would say 'my granny loves you'." She mock-sighs. "So I hung my cap up after that." In her background are the clues to her special mix of old and new Ireland and the independence that later led her to forsake her broadcasting career. She was a rarity even then - an Irish-speaking Protestant in rural Ireland - and her childhood was marred by tragedy. "I grew up in Donegal throughout the 1950s," she says. "It was quite bleak and removed. There were no railways or cities and it was the forgotten county. There was one thing that happened to me, which contoured my life, then and still. "I was very much a Daddy's girl and when I was six he took me for a walk after school at about 4pm. It was a rainy November day. And at about 6pm he was dead from a heart attack. That made my mother a widow at 38 with three girls. She had to carve out a new life for herself. We were Church of Ireland, and so very few in number. I had few classmates and developed this independence, which meant in turn that 40 years later I could sail off to a developing country, do a start-up and change career." That self-reliance stood to her when she moved to Dublin. She looks back on herself as "sophisticated and so naive" but early on she got a foothold in Dublin's media world, editing the Irish language newspaper, Anois. As a result of this she was herself interviewed several times in the media and thought she could do a good job broadcasting herself. "And so I sent off a letter," she purrs, "in black for sophistication purposes, like Henry Ford. Hand-written too, of course, saying, 'I wonder if you would have a small job in radio for a female voice because I think my voice is not the worst part of me'. And they needed someone for 'what it says in the papers', and that was how it started." Expand Close Bibi in Kerala / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Bibi in Kerala Video of the Day She was then given her own show on RTE and with it the household-name recognition. She says she loved broadcasting because it was about the mystery of the voice. Someone once advised her to stick to radio "because you can still scratch yourself on the air" but her star was in the ascent at Montrose. She presented a drive-time radio programme called Evening Extra before being given her own prime-time chat show, which was simply called Bibi. Her mother must have been proud of that achievement? "I don't know if my mother was proud. We never spoke about it. It wasn't necessary to speak about it. My sisters were delighted for me, and one of them in particular was delighted for herself - I daren't say any more." Despite her relative rarity as a female presenter, she says she never experienced sexism at RTE. "I never felt the slightest bit of it. I never compared myself to Gay Byrne, for instance. There was a discussion about gender imbalance recently but it honestly never occurred to me to wonder what he earned. At that stage in life - I was in my thirties - all you are concerned about is paying your mortgage and a couple of weeks in the Canaries." The presenting work meant that she lost some of her privacy. That wasn't pleasant, she explains, "but it also wasn't the reason I gave it all up". Rather she had a restlessness which was exacerbated by the stasis of life at RTE. "There was no one moment I can pinpoint," she recalls. "I just realised that after eight years in RTE, the same routine all the time would become a bit much. I used to drive in, hang a right and park. Do the same thing the next time. I just couldn't keep going. I knew in my heart I can't stay in the same job for 40 years or stay in the same place." She decided to move to London and sold her house and car and rented a room in the house of an elderly lady who was a friend of one of her sisters. She knew at some point she would have to work again. "I read somewhere that Ryan Tubridy had taken a salary drop of 200,000 but I belonged to a much more modest time." In London the broadcasting work soon began to flow in; she freelanced for the BBC and did an afternoon show on ITV. But the change of scenery didn't scratch her itch. "I realised that all I'd done was change geography so again I sold the house and car." At first she only intended to go to India for three weeks, "to clear my head", but she felt she had nothing to come back to. "So I extended by another three weeks and then I extended for another six months and soon a year had gone and I was living in India. Like a lot of people in media I thought 'I'll write the book'. And then I thought, 'I've no job, no income, so I'd better put a roof over my head'." That was when the idea of opening a guest house occurred to her. "A woman in the area I lived in used to take guests in, and I thought maybe I'll do the same. So I did the place up to a high spec and I put in a swimming pool because I'd tried to learn swimming at 38 and I'd been ridiculed, so I wanted to give that another go. I took private lessons at five in the morning until I f**king well learned to swim, so I had to get a pool after that torture. I got in a wellness centre and a restaurant because I love food. And then the big boys from Delhi had to come down to classify it." To her amazement they said she was the owner of a 4-star heritage hotel of India. As part of the legal requirements for owning a business in India she had to have an Indian person work with her. "It is a type of economic protectionism but he was also my saviour and very necessary," she says. "Our target market was middle-class and Western people. And there were many of those." Her social life there was not hectic, she says. "Indian women don't drink and they don't go out to bars. I got to know people and went out to dinner a lot, that was it. I studied a lot and taught myself so much. I learned acceptance of what was in my life rather than fighting. It doesn't mean you lie under it. There's so much talk of fighting - I'm going to fight this cancer, I'm going to fight her in court - no, this Western world needs to be a bit gentler. We need acceptance, and that was an attitude I cultivated." She immersed herself in learning and went to a Vedic astrologer, which she wrote about in a recent piece on Sunday Miscellany: "The Vedas are the holy books of Hinduism, and Hindus take astrology very seriously indeed. It is used as a reliable decision-making tool for significant aspects of life such as picking a life partner, choosing a career, moving house and so on. In fact today, you can study astrology in Indian universities, an idea which would probably bring out the raging sceptic in most of us in the Western world." She also became a devotee of Ayurveda - which relates to the prevention of disease - and ran an Ayurvedic centre in her hotel. After 15 years in India she began to feel that her journey there had run its course. "The intrigue I'd experienced at the beginning had become familiar, and so when the intrigue was gone and you're left with the other side of the coin," she explains. "It's mighty hot there and there's no timekeeping, as such, and it's also fair to say I was getting older and I wanted an easier life." And so now she is living in Cork, near Crosshaven, in a country house with her cat, Aon Cluas ("because he only has one ear"). There is no Mr Bibi at the moment. "There is nothing on the romantic front and there hasn't been for years and years. I know you swipe right on Tinder but that's all I really know, I've never used it." She was back at her Indian hotel last Christmas but she is "in the process of selling it". "My Indian business partner is running it. I'm not involved in the operations of it. Buddhists would call what I'm doing 'right action'." She gives motivational talks up and down the country and has recently written a book, Bibi's Wellness Wisdom, which she describes as "a kind of humble aide-memoire". It's a compilation of her favourite quotes which help to "reframe negative thoughts" and "reinforce optimism and joy". Occasionally she still gives interviews; after a recent outing on RTE, the Irish Times noted that she "still bosses the airwaves with irreverent energy". The lockdown, she says has quite suited her. "This degree of isolation actually comes to me naturally. It's a situation that is so awful for many people but it's given me an opportunity to study and learn more. To tell you the truth I'm having a lovely time." But what about the haircut situation that we're all dealing with? "I let my friend cut my hair and I put it on Facebook and it got a great reaction, just dreadful! I couldn't find red hair dye anywhere in the supermarkets, it's all in chemists. The reason I'm wearing a beret is to hide the grey!" She remains a force of nature, but while many would love to see her host her own show on television again, she's wary of nostalgia. "I feel really happy in my life at the moment. I'm grateful for the things that happened to me but I'm happy in the present. I don't look back." Bibi's Wellness Wisdom is a collection of her inspirational quotes to guide us through the stormy days. Copies can be ordered from Michael Mulcahy at 021 500 30 50 or michael.mulcahy@no1.ie, for 15 + 4.95 P&P to Ireland. Also see www.bibibaskin.ie mbongeni@times.co.sz MBABANE COVID-19 laboratory tests done in Eswatini are authentic. So perfect are these tests such that the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in South Africa has approved government to independently conduct coronavirus tests without having to send samples to other countries for a double check. The Eswatini Health Laboratory Service (SHLS) is currently found at the Mbabane Government Hospital. The lab was recently upgraded by engineers and technicians from South Africa to become a standard testing laboratory for COVID-19 cases. Prior to its assembling, government was forced to send samples to SA, the NICD, for tests and this took a number of days before patients could know whether they are positive or negative for the deadly virus. Latest statistics released by the minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi, state that there are now 56 confirmed cases of people that have been diagnosed with the virus in the kingdom. On Friday, 113 results were released by the laboratory and only four were positive, while 109 were negative. QUICKER Following the assembling of the laboratory locally, the ministry of health said it was now able to give results quicker and faster. This is done every two days. The newly refurbished laboratory falls under the Ministry of Health, and exists to support delivery of cost-effective diagnosis and management of disease, monitoring of treatment, control of infectious diseases, and health promotion through research, and surveillance of disease trends at all levels of the health care system. According to the government website, in the next five years, the core health laboratory functions required within the ministry of health would be executed through the SHLS as leader of the laboratory sector, providing specialised services, and supporting all laboratories and testing sites to achieve certification and licensure to meet both National and International Standards. In Eswatini, there are about 257 medical laboratory professionals. These professionals include technologists, technicians, and phlebotomists, microscopists sample transporters. Chief Medical Laboratory Technologist and focal person surveillance Gugu Maphalala confirmed that WHO and NICD had approved the countries laboratory. She said tests were being conducted on a daily basis, which had been submitted by health institutions. She said the ministry was also in a process to establish another testing laboratory at the Lubombo Referral Hospital in Siteki. We have been approved by WHO and NICD to conduct tests in the laboratory. This is after we were able to upgrade our facilities. In fact, we have divided a section in the laboratory specifically to conduct tests for the coronavirus. This is what will also be done in Lubombo, she said. According to the WHO, Laboratories undertaking testing for COVID-19 virus should adhere strictly to appropriate biosafety practices. Biosafety practices include that of testing on clinical specimens from patients meeting the suspect case definition should be performed in appropriately equipped laboratories by staff trained in the relevant technical and safety procedures. LIMITED National guidelines on laboratory biosafety should be followed in all circumstances. The WHO says there is still limited information on the risk posed by COVID-19, but all procedures should be undertaken based on a risk assessment. Specimen handling for molecular testing would require BSL-2 or equivalent facilities. Attempts to culture the virus require BSL-3 facilities at minimum. Meanwhile, the International Federation of Biomedical Laboratory Science (IFBLS) has set aside April 19-25 as a week to celebrate medical laboratory professionals worldwide. The IFL said this week should be used to respect all lab professionals who were working round the clock for better health care. A laboratory personnel, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that seemingly government did not recognise the recognition week. Government is currently quiet about international day for medical laboratory professionals yet it does celebrate midwives, the personnel argued. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells suggestion that states declare bankruptcy rather than receive a bailout from the federal government made even members of his own Republican Party blanch at its moral bankruptcy. Rep. Peter King, R-Long Island, blasted McConnell as the Marie Antoinette of the Senate, referring to the French queen who was said to suggest to peasants without bread, Let them eat cake. McConnell cast federal aid to states as blue state bailouts, the kind of cold political calculation that is his hallmark. Such naked partisanship has no place during a national crisis. The people in New York or Illinois or Michigan or California, who are suffering the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, are no less worthy of help from their government because they voted for a Democratic governor. These are the United States of America, right? Congress has so far passed coronavirus relief packages to help individual Americans, the unemployed, states and local governments, small businesses, airlines, colleges and hospitals. The National Governors Association is asking Congress for $500 billion to shore up state finances decimated by business closures and public health expenses. This was not included in the aid bill passed last week, and McConnell is skeptical of putting it into a fifth bill. On Friday, Cuomo dared McConnell to turn his talking point into legislation allowing states to declare bankruptcy, and he dared President Donald Trump to sign it. The governor predicted that would send a disastrous signal to financial markets and to the world, and set back the nations economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. If McConnell were to put forward such legislation, it would box in Republican members of Congress in purple and blue states, including Rep. John Katko, R-Camillus. Republican senators facing re-election in November have been silent. On the facts, McConnell does not hold the high ground, either. New York contributes $116 billion more to federal coffers than it gets back in federal aid, while McConnells state of Kentucky takes out $148 billion more than it puts in. Whos getting a bailout, Senator? Critics who suggest that blue states such as New York should have salted away money in a rainy day fund to cover these expenses are fooling themselves. There isnt a rainy day fund big enough to support this level of economic collapse. State and local governments on the front line of this disaster shut down their economies to save lives. Unlike the federal government, they cannot print their own money to make up for the shortfall in tax revenues that resulted. They are major employers in their communities and provide for public safety, public health and public schools. Forcing them into bankruptcy would cause even more economic pain than their residents are already bearing. McConnell ought to stop seeking political advantage from the coronavirus crisis and get help to all Americans who need it. Loading About Syracuse.com editorials Editorials represent the collective opinion of the Advance Media New York editorial board. Our opinions are independent of news coverage. Read our mission statement. Members of the editorial board are Tim Kennedy, Trish LaMonte, Jason Murray and Marie Morelli. To respond to this editorial: Submit a comment through the Google form below, or submit a letter or commentary to letters@syracuse.com. Read our submission guidelines. If you have questions about the Opinions & Editorials section, contact Marie Morelli, editorial/opinion leader, at mmorelli@syracuse.com Rowena Chiu does not want you to call her brave. Im grateful when people say it, but at the same time, I cant help but worry its an indictment of sexual assault survivors who have chosen to stay silent, she says over Zoom from her home in California. Do they think, Well, Im not brave. I didnt have the courage to speak out? Tragically, those stories will never be told. It took Chiu 21 years to tell her own story. In September 2019, she publicly accused Harvey Weinstein of attempting to rape her in a hotel room in Venice, Italy, in 1998. Chiu, who grew up in the UK, was 24 at the time, and was working as his assistant when she reported Weinstein to her line manager, Zelda Perkins. The two attempted to take the allegation further but were instead pressured into signing a 30-page non-disclosure agreement that made it impossible for them to speak to anyone about the claim, including psychiatrists. In the years that followed, Chiu would attempt suicide, twice. Bound by fear of retribution, she never breathed a word of what happened to anyone, not even to her husband of 10 years, until he was doorstepped by The New York Times journalist Jodi Kantor. My first thought was, Oh s***, Chiu recalls. But after that initial moment of panic, I told him not to worry, that story will never get published. Of course, that story did get published, igniting the global #MeToo movement that brought about Weinsteins dramatic downfall and ultimate conviction. Chius allegation was included in the article, but she was not named. My biggest concern was my children, she explains. I was worried journalists would follow them to school. I also didnt know which way public opinion was going to go. It wasnt until two years later that Chiu, now 45, would come forward with her allegation in an op-ed for The New York Times, prompting a vehement denial from Weinstein, who claims he and Chiu had a consensual six-month-long relationship. Chiu disputes this: I didnt even work for him for six months. We are speaking because Chiu features in a new US documentary, Harvey Weinstein, made by ITN for the Investigation Discovery network that includes interviews with several women who have made allegations against the disgraced producer, including the actor Rosanna Arquette. The documentary is one of the first to have been produced after Weinsteins trial earlier this year, where he was found guilty of a criminal sex act in the first degree and rape in the third degree, but acquitted on three further charges. He has been sentenced to 23 years in prison. We were all bracing for a unanimous acquittal, says Chiu, referring to herself and other survivors. We started from this position of expecting nothing, so it was already a victory to see him in court. Given the complexities of the testimonies from the two women in the trial against the producer former Weinstein production assistant Miriam Haley and former actress Jessica Mann Chiu felt validated by the 23-year sentence. Though it was disappointing to her that Weinstein was acquitted of the most serious charges against him: two counts of predatory sexual assault that carried a possible life sentence. And considering that more than 100 women have made allegations against Weinstein, many of whom cannot take their cases to trial due to the statute of limitations, Chiu maintains that a longer sentence would have been more appropriate. I was in a taxi in New York recently and noticed a sign saying that assaulting a New York City taxi driver was a punishable offence of 23 years. And Im thinking, I could just get out of my taxi, not pay my fare, hit my driver in the face and Id get the same sentence as Harvey Weinstein. Chiu and I might be separated by screens, but her presence is palpable. Not least because she answers every question with the eloquence of an academic she studied English at Oxford University but because she manoeuvres the multiple interruptions we encounter from her four young children with insouciant authority. One needs help getting onto a Zoom class for school; another needs their nappy changed. And one just really wants some balloons. For much of our conversation, Chiu is breastfeeding. This is all part of feeling empowered, she says. Yes, Im a mum and the reality of my life in lockdown is that you cant ignore these kids. So you have to keep going thats the reality for many women. Speaking to Chiu, you can clearly tell she is passionate about womens rights. She talks at length about the way outspoken women are frequently undermined in society by being told they are crazy and is a passionate champion of every woman around her except one. Donna Rotunno is the wicked witch of the west, she replies when I ask what she made of Weinsteins controversial lawyer, who has represented 40 men accused of sex crimes. Ahead of the trial, Rotunno, who has eerily described herself as the ultimate feminist, famously said she had never been sexually assaulted because she would never put [herself] in that position. Harvey Weinstein staggers into a New York courtroom in February, accompanied by his lawyer, Donna Rotunno (left) (Spencer Platt/Getty) (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) But Rotunno is no caricature, and her views warrant scrutiny, namely because they form part of a systemic misunderstanding about sexual assault. Theres a tendency to villainise the perpetrator, says Chiu. When we talk about rape, we hear of these evil powerful men that hold young beautiful women down to beds. Its almost like a Disney story, where you have a hero and a villain. This dichotomy is how sexual abuse and harassment becomes normalised, she explains. Because we dont talk about how someone like Harvey was very charming, or that everyone in Hollywood wanted to work for him. Theres no room for nuance. So these predators become larger than life, which means people ignore the more prevalent peril of ordinary men and women who are abusing people within their remits. Its Joe in the corporate boardroom who puts his hand up a colleagues skirt, or Martin who makes an inappropriate comment in a meeting. That is all part of predation and harassment. But Im telling you, these perpetrators think, Im no Harvey Weinstein, Im no Roger Ailes, Im no Bill Cosby, and therefore the #MeToo movement doesnt apply to me. The details of Chius allegations against Weinstein are harrowing. After hours of fending off his chit-chat, flattery, requests for massages and a bath, ultimately I found myself pushed back against the bed, she wrote in her New York Times op-ed. Id worn two pairs of tights for protection, and tried to appease him by taking one of them off and letting him massage me, but it hadnt worked. Hed taken off the other pair and I was terrified my underwear would be next. Harvey moved in: Please, he told me, just one thrust, and it will all be over. Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up Late night meetings in hotel rooms may sound unusual to most, but they were fundamental to Chius role. Thats how our working hours were structured. Prior to the alleged assault, did Weinstein say anything to make Chiu feel safe in that environment? No. Nobody ever felt safe with him, but thats not because we thought he was a serial rapist. Harvey was just a terrifying character to work for; if you punched a number into the phone too slowly, youd be screamed at. There was always a high level of abuse, so you were already on high alert. Things turned predatory when women were alone with him. There wasnt any time he wasnt trying to harass you. Chiu was with Weinstein the evening prior to the alleged assault, she tells me. He didnt try to pressure me into having sex with him, but it wasnt without sexual content. He was naked. He asked for oral sex. He asked for massages. Its just that he didnt attempt to penetrate me. Harvey normalised a certain level of sexual abuse to such an extent that you only realised it was wrong afterwards. Had he been a mildly mannered boss who suddenly threw you on the bed, you would run screaming. But because hes already angry and hes already yelled at you and you havent done anything about that, does the behaviour seem that bit weirder when he starts getting naked, or starts asking you to take your clothes off? Its uncomfortable obviously, but you dont feel in huge physical danger, you think you can handle it. Weinstein accusers Rosanna Arquette and Rose McGowan (centre and left) speak to the media outside of Weinsteins trial in January (Kena Betancur/Getty) (Kena Betancur/Getty Images) The NDAs that Chiu and Perkins signed were iron-clad. Both women had to provide a list of the friends and family members whom they had spoken to about the claim; it was implied their addresses could be easily discovered by Weinsteins team. If any of those people spoke out about the allegation, the former assistants would be legally bound to defend Weinstein. If my mother told The Sun what had happened, I would have had to say that she made it up. What Chiu finds most striking about the NDA, which she was not allowed to keep a copy of, is that it was signed in a room full of lawyers from Allen & Overy, who were acting on behalf of Weinstein and Miramax and are considered part of the magic circle of UK law firms with international prestige. They covered up Harvey Weinsteins crimes and were perfectly OK with it. Harvey admitted to them that he did not understand consent and operated without it. Chius voice is urgent and loud now somehow her toddler is still sleeping soundly on her lap. Harvey is not the only villain here. There were plenty of lawyers in that room who knew what was going on and said, well take our million dollars and shut these women up and thats all perfectly fine. Chiu is still in touch with Perkins (shes been doing some great activism in the UK). In the wake of the allegation, both went on to pursue careers in other areas, with Chiu working in management consultancy and international development. But she still mourns the loss of a career in film. The world will never know what [Weinsteins survivors] could have done. He destroyed that. Chiu may soon find herself back into the industry, though, given that she has been approached to write a memoir based on her experience with Weinstein that might one day be turned into a film. Perhaps thats the next chapter, she says, excitedly. But if theres one thing she wants to be remembered for, its advocating for other survivors. The Harvey survivors we know about are the tip of the iceberg. I know several who arent public and probably never will be, she says. For a long time. I was one of them. So I often feel a responsibility to those women. Its never our right as a society to put pressure on them to speak out. That decision is up to them. Harvey Weinstein airs at 9pm on Sunday 26 April exclusively on Quest Red and is available to stream on dplay When approached by The Independent, Allen & Overy declined to comment. One person was confirmed dead while three others sustained various degrees of injuries on Sunday in an accident involving two trucks around Kara, Ayetoro area on the Lagos Ibadan expressway. Babatunde Akinbiyi, the spokesperson, Ogun Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), told journalists in Abeokuta that the accident, involving a DAF truck marked XB 989 KTG and another truck marked FKY 669 XZ, occurred around 6:02 a.m. He explained that the driver of the DAF truck conveying livestock apparently slept off on the wheels, lost control and rammed into the truck ahead. He added that three people were injured in the accident while one person died. We learnt the driver of the truck conveying livestock and goats, which was inbound Lagos from Kano, dozed off behind the wheels, due to fatigue and in the process lost control, hitting the truck ahead. The three injured victims and the deceased were all occupants of the truck conveying livestock and goats. The Hausa community has taken the injured victims for treatment while the corpse of the dead was also released by the police for burial according to Islamic injunctions, he said. Mr Akinbiyi implored drivers of articulated vehicles on long-distance journeys to avoid night travels, if necessary, and take adequate rest when tired to prevent avoidable road crashes. (NAN) When two heartbreaking miscarriages left Anna Buxton unable to conceive, she remained determined to have the family she dreamed of whatever it took The family that Ed and I had fought so hard to create is now a reality, says Anna Sitting in bed, a tiny baby cradled in the nook of each arm, I glanced from them to my husband Ed, to our little girl Isla who was nestled between us, and a deep sense of fulfilment washed over me. Everything I wanted was here. The family that Ed and I had fought so hard to create was now a reality. It was a morning in late June 2018. Wed travelled more than 5,000 miles from our home in London to the San Diego beach house we were renting on a holiday to trump all others. Our three-week-old babies son Art and daughter Olive had been born six weeks prematurely at a local hospital, and this idyllic moment was all the sweeter because of the long journey Ed and I had taken to reach it. Our beautiful twins had been conceived through IVF, using embryos created with my eggs and Eds sperm, and carried by an American surrogate. Isla, then three, had arrived via another surrogate in India called Chaphala. I couldnt conceive. Surgery to remove two incomplete miscarriages four years earlier had caused severe scarring to my womb a condition known as Ashermans syndrome so the lining necessary to maintain pregnancy couldnt develop. Five operations over 16 months failed to correct this and my surgeon told me to give up. Anna, youll always miscarry, he said bluntly. Your only hope is surrogacy. I was 34 and felt Id failed at being a woman. But it immediately narrowed our options to the one that gave us our family. I felt like a fraud and worried that people might think me unwilling to carry my baby Ed and I met through friends 12 years ago. We both worked in financial services me in marketing, Ed in private wealth management. After our honeymoon, we started trying for a baby and within three months I was pregnant. However, a scan at nine weeks showed the baby had died. We were upset but pragmatic these things happen. I became pregnant again just a month later, only to lose this baby at eight weeks. It was a horrible blow, made worse by how my body held on to both these pregnancies. Removing them required four surgical procedures, causing the scarring to my womb lining that made me infertile. After remedial surgery failed, we tried a round of IVF in the hope that the huge surge of hormones Id receive would force that lining to grow. It didnt. When my surgeon said it was time to give up, feelings of anger, loss and hurt swamped me. Something my friends and sisters managed to achieve without effort was never going to happen for me. At home, Ed and I wept together our shared sorrow keeping us close. Wed told only close family about all these procedures as it felt like a very private journey. We reminded each other that there was still hope, channelling our sadness into finding a surrogate, but soon discovered that in the UK there are far more intended parents, as youre described, than surrogates. Long waiting lists meant it could be up to five years before wed have our baby, presuming everything went to plan. I felt those years of uncertainty could break me. I was already suffering panic attacks; my heart would sometimes physically ache. I was looking at a life filled with pain, anxiety and disappointment. But Ed kept reminding me, Were in this together. As the one going through the physical challenges of miscarriages, surgery and IVF, I absorbed much of the attention and sympathy while all Ed could do was watch. If he ever felt useless, he was anything but: I clung to his determination that we mustnt give up. It was comforting the way his resolve matched mine. We looked next at the US, the most regulated and well-established route, but it was prohibitively expensive (typically between 30,000 and 50,000). India was a more viable option with lower costs of around 5,000 but similarly well established. Wed vowed that however desperate we were to become parents we would never do so at the expense of another womans wellbeing. So in January 2014, we flew out to see how it worked first-hand. We visited ten clinics, settling on one in Delhi where we were happy everything would be done entirely appropriately the surrogates were medically, legally and emotionally fully informed. Back home, we started the egg-stimulation process via daily hormonal injections; when we returned to India two months later the clinic harvested my eggs, fertilising them with Eds sperm. It resulted in three embryos. Meeting the young woman wed been matched with, Chaphala, a 35-year-old mother of two, was nerve-racking. We were worried that she wouldnt like us and might change her mind. But as we spoke (through a translator) those fears fell away. We felt a connection, finding common ground in the fact that she was a parent and that was something we were desperate to become. When we flew home ten days later, two of our embryos were inside Chaphala. Waiting halfway across the world for a blood test to reveal whether another woman was pregnant with our child was surreal. I couldnt settle: it was as though I was carrying an enormous secret despite there being nothing to tell at that point. A fortnight later, I was at my desk when the clinic called: Congratulations, youre pregnant. Anna is still in touch with the surrogate who carried her twins I was stunned, dashing out on to the street to call Ed who was similarly overwhelmed. We didnt feel we could celebrate too much could still go wrong. It was only when Chaphala reached 28 weeks that we finally let ourselves believe we were having a baby. Our emotions were up and down. The pregnancy was going well we got weekly progress reports but not being physically involved was hard. I felt like an onlooker to the pregnancy that would change my life. As we began to share our news, bumpless, I felt like a fraud and worried that people might think me unwilling, rather than unable, to carry my baby and give birth. This also meant I bought everything for the baby online, rather than explain myself to shop assistants. Those negative feelings faded when we flew back to India in January 2015, 37 weeks into the pregnancy. Isla was born by caesarean section the following week after Chaphalas blood count suddenly dropped. Culturally, it wasnt appropriate for us to be present for the birth. We waited in the next room and Isla was carried straight through and placed in my arms. The memory of that moment still makes me cry. I felt pure joy, relief and deep love for this bawling, wriggling baby girl, only learning her sex as we held her. Passing her between us, Ed and I simultaneously laughed and cried wed waited so long for this, and for a time had faced the terrible prospect we might never have children. Now our baby was here, it didnt matter that I hadnt carried her. We stayed in Delhi for six months, renting an apartment while we completed the paperwork to bring Isla home. For the first two weeks she was stateless; we had to apply for British citizenship then her passport. I was on adoption leave, while Eds firm let him work from Delhi, and our mums, sisters and friends came out in turn it was a special time. Back home we settled into family life and our thoughts quickly turned to another baby. But soon after Islas birth, India stopped allowing foreigners to use its surrogacy clinics and here waiting times were longer than ever. This pushed us back to the US so we scraped together the money to pay for surrogacy in California. By 2017 we were matched with a surrogate named Holly, then 32. She was a full-time mum to a son of seven and two daughters, aged four and two. Her husband, parents and in-laws were all on board. That June we flew to San Diego for IVF where our four embryos were frozen while arrangements to transfer them were made and we met Holly. We had brunch with her and her husband, and her passion for surrogacy was clear. This was her first time, but she said that as a mother she couldnt stand by and see other women suffer childlessness when she could help. Waiting halfway across the world for news of the pregnancy was surreal Four months later, two embryos were transferred into Holly. Elation at a positive pregnancy test turned to shock but happiness at discovering we were having twins. I felt more engaged with this pregnancy, proudly attending NCT classes and taking ownership of becoming a mother again when out shopping or talking to friends. Having Isla had taught me that motherhood is about far more than carrying your baby: its the love and devotion you lavish on them after theyre born. California is eight hours behind us, so technology was an enormous help. Each morning Id wake to a WhatsApp message from Holly telling me how she was feeling; how hard the twins were kicking her; the foods that she was craving. We even FaceTimed during scans. Knowing the twins were likely to come early, Ed and I arranged to return to the US at 35 weeks. But we were at dinner with friends when an abrupt call from Hollys doctor in San Diego announced that shed gone into labour six weeks early and the babies were about to be delivered by caesarean section. Ed was practical, packing and booking me on the next flight over there while I sat in stunned silence waiting for news. It came 90 minutes later when a nurse called to say both babies were on ventilators in intensive care but doing well. Do they have names? she asked. I looked at Ed, who nodded: Olive and Art, for the girl and boy we knew we were having. I boarded a plane at midday the next day, but being cut off from all communication for 13 hours was hellish. I went straight to the hospital to see my babies: two tiny scraps of life, covered in tubes and wiring in their incubators. Ive never felt more helpless. I got to hold Olive the next day, Art the day after. I lived at the hospital until Ed and Isla arrived five days later and we moved into the beach house, taking it in turns to be with either Isla or the babies. Each time I looked at the twins I felt a fresh rush of love. Holly popped down too as she was still recovering from the surgery. We both cried, holding each other and I thanked her over and over again. I asked Holly how it had felt to give birth then not see the babies but she insisted it was fine, saying, They were always yours, I have mine. Surrogacy is such a well-trodden path in California that we could have completed the legalities and returned home within six weeks. The babies were automatically granted American citizenship and a passport. But we stayed for two months, partly because we wanted the twins to build their strength before the long flight home, partly so we could be together, this new family of five, away from real-life distractions. It was also about sharing time with Holly and her family, so her children could grasp the magnitude of what their mum had done for us. And it gave Isla a sense of how she came into the world. Back at home I decided not to return to work when my maternity leave ended. I wanted to be with my children and help others going through surrogacy because I know first-hand how lonely it can feel. Now I work part-time mentoring intended parents, via the clinic where the twins were conceived, to navigate international surrogacy in the US. They are now nearly two years old, and our family of five is complete. Holly and I remain in touch. Ill be eternally grateful to her, and, of course, Chaphala too. They handed me the most wonderful gift a woman can give. Contact Anna on Facebook or Instagram, @anna3buxton Hair and make-up: Caroline Piasecki PHILIPSBURG:--- The world-wide coronavirus outbreak is impacting us all. Most important in PJL literacy consciousness is, to know-how are our Sint Maartens children and youngsters experiencing the coronavirus crisis? It goes without saying, that their world has changed drastically by school closure, by social distancing, distance learning, zoom and other types of online meetings, restricted physical encounters, hanging out with family and friends, and having to STAY HOME. The reality of all fellow citizens is, that this invisible infection threat is affecting each of us in one way or the other. PJL in its quest to continue to promote literacy development among our youngsters has decided to launch one of its scheduled programs for May and June called PJL 2020 Literacy Campaign. What makes our launch so exceptional is that this campaign has received full support from the Honorable Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports, Drs. Rodolphe E. Samuel, who is also a very strong proponent of enhancing our youngsters literacy development. The Campaign is in the form of a contest and in lieu of the current communication restrictions, we have decided to use this forum as the first medium to promote it. Additional details will be communicated to the various School Management Teams of the Primary and Secondary Schools, whilst interested participants are hereby invited to start putting what is on their minds into the draft form so that it can be submitted based on the categories listed below. The subjects of the contest can cover any of the following experiences such as: How do you deal with the covid19 pandemic? How do you experience this whole new situation? What do you miss and what do you see as a gain? Do you have feelings of excitement, fear, joy, sadness, anger, loneliness, laziness, creativity, or is it just a dream? What are your thoughts, your challenges, ideas, inspirations, or intentions? How does it change your life? How will it change your future? The PJL is asking you to express yourself by means of the following assignment (divided per category): Primary school students/ cycle 1 (4 8 years old): Make a drawing, or a rhyme, poem, riddle, or any other verbal expression. Primary school students/ cycle 2 (8 12 years old: Write an essay, poem, story, songtext, or any other verbal expression. Secondary school students: Express yourself by means of the word, sound, and images or a combination of those (e.g. video, song, rap, dance, poster, blog, music, painting, picture, etc.). All applications are to be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before May 15, 2020. A selection committee will identify the most original, inspiring, and intriguing applications to be compiled and published in a book and /or in a video. Please, forward any questions or clarification needed to the same email above. PJL director, Glenderlin Holiday, and the Literacy Outreach Committee with the support of Drs. Rodolphe E. Samuel, Minister ECYS looks forward to your participation. PJL will also like to use this forum, to promote that our online reading service is up and running. And we urge all current members to activate their digital service. Interested non-members are also encouraged to contact us via the same email above for more information or visit our website stmaartenlibrary.org or Facebook page Maarten.Pj library. Please, do continue to stay safe and adhere to Government instructions. Rouhani hails launch of satellite 'Noor' as valuable, national success IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, April 25, IRNA -- President Hassan Rouhani congratulated the national and valuable success of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) young experts in launching satellite 'Noor' into orbit, saying that the achievement boasts of double value amid coronavirus spread and public concern. In a telephone conversation with IRGC Commander Major General Hossein Salami on Friday, Rouhani also appreciated effective cooperation of IRGC, especially Basij, in fighting coronavirus, saying that fortunately there is a very good solidarity and unity in the country in the face of the deadly disease. Referring to some provocative measures by the aliens in the region, Rouhani pointed out that might and defense preparation of the armed forces, IRGC in particular, have always been in line with maintaining security and stability and fighting terrorism in region and this was welcomed by freedom seekers across the world. Salami, for his part, appreciated the President's good attention to the success of the IRGC in launching the satellite Noor, hoping that with the continuation of this process in future, more achievements and successes would be seen in defense sector. He also presented a report on the activities of the force in fighting the COVID-19 hand in hand with the other institutes, adding that IRGC mobilized all its capacities from the beginning to counter the disease and will provide services to the people until full elimination of the disease. "Today, we need unity and solidarity more than any other time," he said, noting that IRGC is fully prepared to counter enemies' excessive demands, fight terrorism and ensure stability and lasting security in the region. 8072**1424 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address European governments began stepping up planning for the next phase of their fight against the spread of the coronavirus, as countries at the heart of the outbreak reported fewer deaths from the disease. Italy and Spain, Europes two hardest-hit countries, along with neighbouring France, all signalled tentative moves to open up their economies after weeks of stringent lockdown measures. Spain on Sunday reported the smallest increase in coronavirus deaths in more than a month as it prepares to ease one of the worlds strictest lockdowns. Italy posted the fewest fatalities in almost six weeks on Saturday, and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte confirmed plans for a gradual reopening, while France will announce easing measures this week. With more than 100,000 fatalities in the region, Europe has been hit hard by COVID-19 and is bracing for the worst recession in living memory. The crisis has exposed long-standing political rifts, with leaders struggling to approve 540 billion euros ($584 billion U.S.) of short-term support measures and failing to make progress on a longer-term plan. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Saturday he expects to approve a further relaxing of the countrys confinement as Europes worst outbreak of the coronavirus eases. Measures due to be approved on Tuesday include allowing outdoor exercise and walks after May 2. Italy will gradually restart its economy and allow people limited movement beginning on May 4, Conte confirmed in an interview Sunday in daily la Repubblica. We cannot prolong this any longer, Conte said. Continuing the full nationwide lockdown, in place since early March, would be a risk to the countrys socio-economic fabric. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe will present a plan to unwind his countrys lockdown on Tuesday. The government intends to ease some of the measures, with schools set to be first to reopen, though officials havent finalized their plans, according to news reports. France and Spain are leading a group calling for the continents recovery to be funded by grants from a supercharged European Union budget, while the Netherlands and Austria are among those insisting the additional funds should take the form of loans. New cases in Germany held below 2,000 for a second day on Sunday, even as government officials warned against a premature easing of restrictions. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas dampened expectations of an early reopening of European travel destinations. A European race to see who will allow tourist travel first will lead to unacceptable risks, Maas said in an interview with Bild am Sonntag. Not all of Europe seemed to be past the peak of the virus. In the U.K. the death toll topped 20,000 on Saturday, the fifth-highest in the world, and business has slowed to a crawl. Testing for the virus has lagged the governments own goals and health-care workers continue to complain of shortages of protective equipment, like masks and gowns. Any decision on steps to reopen the economy will ultimately rest with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is due to return to work on Monday, a month after he was struck down by the coronavirus. Johnson was seriously ill in the hospital with COVID-19 and spent three nights in the intensive-care unit. Pressure to end lockdown Six business leaders, including billionaires Michael Spencer and Peter Hargreaves, have written to the government asking them to ease lockdown restrictions, according to the Sunday Times. Keir Starmer, the recently installed leader of the opposition Labour Party, has written to the prime minister urging the government to work on an exit strategy. Even a controlled opening will be risky, Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist and member of the scientific group advising the government on the virus, said in an interview with news website UnHerd on Saturday. Even if control efforts managed to isolate 80 per cent of those most vulnerable to the virus, the death toll in the U.K. could reach 100,000 later this year. The World Health Organization offered a cautionary note on reopening efforts yesterday, saying that catching COVID-19 once may not protect you from getting it again. The guidance came after some governments suggested that people who have antibodies to the coronavirus could be issued an immunity passport or risk-free certificate that would allow them to travel or return to work, based on the assumption that they were safe from reinfection. Read more about: The Deputy Chief of Staff who doubles as the NPP parliamentary candidate for Damongo constituency, Lawyer Samuel Abu Jinapor, has facilitated the installation of a state-of-the-art digital X-ray machine for the West Gonja Catholic Hospital in the Savannah Region. Through the National Health Insurance Scheme(NHIS), he assisted the hospital to acquire an Automatic Voltage Regulator(AVR) at a cost of Ghc131,724.93 paving way for the installation of the X-ray machine. The AVR is supposed to stabilise the power. This is to enable the hospital to handle cases requiring X-ray Therapy. At a short ceremony to operationalize the machine, the Deputy Chief of Staff commended the management and staff of the hospital for the good work they were doing in the service of humanity. He said hitherto residents of Damongo had to travel all the way to Tamale to access X-ray Therapy which was not only burdensome but comes along with cost implications. He was of the conviction that the intervention was going to help a great deal in the health care delivery of the municipality. The Deputy Chief of Staff lauded the hospital for the advanced preparedness plan it put in place to combat the spread of the COVID-19 in the municipality. "I recall sometime last year when the hospital administration came to crave my indulgence to assist in the sourcing of funding from National Health Insurance Authority for this X-ray machine to be installed.I am very very excited that at long last,we have been able to pull this through.Because,as you rightly put it,residents of West Gonja and Damongo,and its environs have to travel all the way to Tamale to get X-ray facilities when they are not well,"he noted. Health care delivery he said,was a collective effort of all stakeholders,pledging to support the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the hospital with two incubators. The Medical Superintendent of the hospital,Dr.Vitalis Saadare,expressed gratitude to the Deputy Chief of Staff for the kind gesture. He disclosed that the equipment was going to benefit the entire Savannah Region,adding that,"this is a gesture that is worth emulating". "I always say if we've politicians interested in the welfare of the people this country will develop.And he is one of those that we are grateful to have in our midst.And we encourage everyone out there, Philanthropist and politicians alike to emulate his good example,"he said. The promise by Lawyer Abu Jinapor to donate two incubators in his view will go a long way to help the hospital confidently manage preterm babies,calling on the people of Damongo and Savannah Region to join hands in thanking him. He also thanked him for donating 100 vials of anti-snake venom and some Personal Protection Equipment to the hospital. According to him,the hospital has made certain request to Lawyer Abu Jinapor for consideration He called on other well meaning individuals and organisations to come to the aid of the hospital. Also present were party functionaries,the Municipal Chief Executive of West Gonja;hon.Saeed Jibreal,members of the Normalisation Committee of the hospital,the acting administrator of the hospital;Father Lazarus Annyiere and the media. A committee constituted by the Manipur government has decided to formulate a mechanism to bring back people from the state stranded in other parts of the country due to the lockdown, a senior official said. The State Consultative Committee for COVID-19, headed by Chief Minister N Biren Singh, has acknowledged the hardships faced by the stranded persons and will formulate a mechanism to ensure their return to their homes, a statement issued by Principal Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) V Vumlunmang on Saturday night said. The 21-member committee was constituted on April 23. A total of 30,000 people from Manipur are stranded in other parts of the country, of which 22,018 people have been given financial aid of Rs 2,000 each, the chief minister had said. The committee also stressed on opening more quarantine centres for isolating the returning persons, the statement said. It asked the Health Department to assist local MLAs in identifying locations for setting up the quarantine centres, it said. The committee asked the police department to step up vigil along the India-Myanmar border and set up pickets in the border villages to prevent cross-border movement of people, the statement added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Its much different to process these press conferences when the coverage before and after is the unprecedented number of people dying, the fact that we dont have tests, he said. Long term, it is hurting the president because people can see with their own eyes and what they are feeling in their own communities what the consequences are. As the unemployment rate keeps surging, some states push to resume economic activities despite health experts advice Another wave of states is preparing to lift coronavirus restrictions in the United States this week against the warnings of many public health experts as the White House sees this months jobless rate hitting 16 percent or higher. Health experts say increased human interaction could spark a new wave of cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the highly contagious virus that has already killed more than 54,300 Americans. Colorado, Mississippi, Minnesota, Montana and Tennessee will join other states beginning an experiment to reopen economies without the testing and contact-tracing infrastructure health experts say is needed to prevent a resurgence of infections, with lives in the balance. Georgia, Oklahoma, Alaska and South Carolina have already taken steps to restart their economies following a month of government-ordered lockdowns. Those unprecedented restrictions resulted in a record 26.5 million Americans filing for unemployment benefits since mid-March. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicted on Friday that the economy would contract at nearly a 40 percent annual rate in the second quarter. Even next year, the CBO forecast the unemployment rate averaging above 10 percent. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told reporters the US jobless rate would likely hit 16 percent or more in April. I think the next couple of months are going to look terrible, Hassett said on Sunday. Youre going to see numbers as bad as anything weve ever seen before. Against a backdrop of scattered protests across the country calling for stay-at-home orders to be lifted, US coronavirus cases topped 940,000 on Sunday after posting a record one-day increase on Friday. New York and other states have extended restrictions to mid-May. New York reported 367 new deaths on Sunday, its lowest increase since March 30. Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo said construction and manufacturing would be the first businesses to reopen and could restart after May 15 in the upstate region with certain precautions and if cases continue to decline. Some US states are easing lockdowns; researchers warn that could double the number of coronavirus deaths by August [Cristobal Herrera/EPA] Other states, mainly those with Republican governors, have taken a more aggressive approach. Tennessee said it will allow restaurants to reopen on Monday. Mississippis stay-at-home order expires the same day. Montana, which reported three new cases on Sunday, is allowing businesses to reopen Monday if they limit capacity and practice social distancing, while Minnesota will let some businesses restart on Monday, allowing 80,000 to 100,000 people in the industrial, manufacturing and office jobs to go back to work. In Colorado, Democratic Governor Jared Polis has given the green light for retail curbside pickup to begin on Monday. Hair salons, barbershops and tattoo parlors can open on Friday, with retail stores, restaurants and movie theatres to follow. Royal Rose is reopening her tattoo studio in Greeley, Colorado this week after closing a month ago, not because she wants to but because the bills are piling up and she says she has no choice. I would stay home if the government encouraged that, but theyre not, theyre saying Hey, the best thing to do is go back to work, even though it might be risky,' said Rose, 39, sitting inside her salon in a wood-sided building on a leafy street in Greeley, a farming and oil town. But the lifting of restrictions is not uniform across most states. For example, Denver extended stay-at-home orders to May 8, but city dwellers can drive to a nearby county for a haircut. Georgia prohibited any local laws stricter than the state law. Eight states never ordered residents to stay at home: Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. Several opinion polls have shown a bipartisan majority of Americans want to remain at home to protect themselves from the coronavirus, despite the impact on the economy. Instant messaging service Telegram on Friday (April 24) said that it has reached 400 million monthly active users, up from 300 million active users a year ago. Telegram - founded by Pavel Durov - said it adds about 1.5 million users each day and is the most downloaded social media app in around 20 nations. "Every day at least 1.5 million new users sign up for Telegram. Features like folders, cloud storage and desktop support make Telegram ideal for remote work and study during the quarantine. It's no wonder Telegram is the #1 most downloaded social media application in over 20 countries people all over the world are switching to Telegram at an accelerating pace," Telegram said in a blog post. Telegram also revealed that it developing a secure video call feature for its users just like Zoom and Houseparty. Telegram, which is headquartered in Dubai, however, refused to comment on the future of its Gram cryptocurrency wallet and TON Blockchain. Some highlights of Telegram: All-New Attachment Menu Quickly switch between different attachment types in the fully redesigned attachment menu with animated icons. Sticker Directory Access a catalog of over 20,000 stickers made by professional artists from the updated Sticker Panel by tapping the + icon. Use sticker search to find the stickers you're looking for or scroll from the latest packs all the way to the classics. Quizzes 2.0 Add explanations that appear after users respond to a quiz question. See how much time you have left to answer a question from @QuizBot with the new countdown animation. Quiz Creator Contest Participate in Telegram's 400,000 contest by using @QuizBot to create and publish an educational test on any subject. Animated Darts Send a single dart emoji to see if you hit the bullseye. . The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a severe blow to the global economy. Governments of all the countries of the world are working day and night towards its control and solution. India was trying to recover from the economic downturn of the previous year, when Covid-19 struck and put an end to its industrial and commercial momentum. About 125 countries of the world, including the United States (US), India, Singapore, Australia and many others have been caught in the diseases net. The only effective solution is lockdown for the control of the disease. This crisis has derailed the economy of all developed and developing countries, and it is difficult for underdeveloped countries to cope up in the next few years. The disease, which originated in China, started in December 2019. By February 2020, the disease started being controlled there, and from March, industrial and commercial activities were resumed there. In this way, life in China is returning to its routine. In contrast, the disease appears to be out of control in some countries, including Italy, Spain, US, Brazil, and Iran. The central and state governments in India are vigorously engaged in efforts to control the pandemic. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 22:09:55|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- A new draft law revision under Chinese lawmakers' consideration has proposed strengthening the management of medical waste, especially medical waste management work in handling major infectious disease epidemics. The draft revision to the law on the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid waste Sunday returned to the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee for the third reading at its ongoing legislative session. Medical waste should be managed according to stipulations of the national category for hazardous waste, and governments at or above the county level should improve their capabilities for the concentrated disposal of medical waste, according to the draft. The draft proposed better defining responsibilities in handling medical waste. Local health and environmental authorities should, within their respective jurisdictions, strengthen the supervision over and management of how medical waste is collected, stored, transported and disposed of, the draft said. Medical and health institutions should shoulder the responsibilities to sort and collect the medical waste they generate. Effective measures should be taken by medical and health institutions and waste disposers to avoid any possible leakage or spread of medical waste, according to the draft. The draft also stipulated that necessary funds should be earmarked by governments at all levels for hazardous waste disposal in case of emergencies such as major infectious disease epidemics. A previous version of the draft got a second reading at the legislature's 15th session. In light of the important role of medical waste management in the fight against COVID-19, suggestions have been made calling for more specific and targeted stipulations on the subject when opinions were solicited. Based on the suggestions and opinions solicited, the NPC Constitution and Law Committee improved the draft, which also incorporated new changes on other subjects such as garbage sorting. Xu Hui, vice chairman of the NPC Constitution and Law Committee, suggested the bill be passed at the session when briefing lawmakers Sunday. Lawmakers will deliberate the draft in panel discussions during the session, which will run from Sunday to Wednesday. Enditem By Andy Sullivan, Howard Schneider and Ann Saphir WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Over two frantic weeks, the U.S. government pledged $350 billion to Main Street businesses across America desperate for cash after coronavirus lockdowns. Now a picture is emerging of who got the money. More than 25% of the total pot went to fewer than 2% of the firms that got relief. They include a number of publicly traded companies with thousands of employees and hundreds of millions of dollars in annual sales. The loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration - totaling $342.3 billion as of Thursday - went to companies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories, and were spread across all 20 of the main industry sectors. Congress directed the SBA to award $349 billion to struggling businesses with 500 or fewer workers as part of a $2.3 trillion coronavirus aid package that President Donald Trump signed into law on March 27. The Payroll Protection Program (PPP) was crafted to keep Americans off unemployment benefits, by giving small and mid-sized companies forgivable loans for keeping employees on the books. The SBA does not make the loans directly but instead backs loans made by participating financial firms. The three biggest state economies - California, Texas and New York - accounted for 23% of the loans, more than $82 billion. Meanwhile, businesses in a number of small, rural states that have avoided the brunt of the outbreak took home a disproportionate share of the pie. The business sector receiving the most money was construction, with 13% of the total. The sector represents less than 9% of overall employment among U.S. firms with 500 or fewer employees, according to U.S. Census Bureau data from 2017, the latest available. Companies on the front line of the virus - in the accommodation and food services sector - received about 9% of the pot while representing nearly 14% of workers among sub-500 person firms. Story continues GRAPHIC showing a state-by-state breakdown: https://reut.rs/2VeT3ip GRAPHIC showing breakdown by industry: https://reut.rs/3ah5u1z GRAPHIC showing states' share of loans vs small business activity: https://reut.rs/2XJPK4A MAIN STREET? WALL STREET? Loans of $2 million or more made up nearly 28% of the total, and those of at least $5 million accounted for 9%, with a number of those going to companies with access to public securities markets. At least 60 publicly traded firms have claimed a share of the total, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. There is no prohibition in the CARES Act against money going to publicly listed firms. Some - including the holding companies for well known restaurant chains Shake Shack and Ruth's Chris Steak House - appear to have taken advantage of a provision in the CARES act that allows companies with more than 500 workers overall to get loans. The exemption allows for businesses in the accommodation and food services industry to participate so long as they do not exceed 500 employees per physical location. Shake Shack Inc, Ruth Hospitality Group Inc, Potbelly Corp and Fiesta Restaurant Group's Texas Taco Cabana all borrowed $10 million under the program through JP Morgan Chase & Co, SEC filings show. Hallador Energy Co, which operates coal mines, received $10 million from First Financial Bank. All have more than 500 employees. Shake Shack has closed 63 of its 120 locations worldwide, and furloughed or laid off more than 1,000 employees after sales fell 28.5% in March, it said in a filing April 17. It was unclear how many of its 100 U.S. stores remain open, but filings showed that it employed 7,600 at the end of 2019. The company, which generated $595 million in sales and a $20 million net profit in 2019, said it will continue to pay all general managers and cover all employees' health insurance. Texas Taco Cabana operates 164 outlets from Houston to Albuquerque. Fiesta, which also runs a chain of chicken restaurants in Florida and posted $661 million in sales last year and a net loss of $84.4 million, employed 10,480 at the end of 2019. It did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the number of employees that would be covered under the loan. Potbelly had 474 shops in 32 states, including 48 franchisees, and employed 6,000 people at the end of 2019, filings showed. Sales last year totaled $410 million, though it posted a net loss of $24 million. "Every penny will be used to financially support the employees in our shops," said Potbellys Chief People Officer Matt Revord. Hallador employed 768 as of February 2020, its filings showed. It did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. SMALL STATES, BIG WINS With the PPP funds depleted as of this week, further aid has stalled in Congress amid a partisan dispute over support for state governments and hospitals. The economic pain of coronavirus-related shutdowns has been felt throughout the country. The SBA's loans appeared to reach a greater proportion of businesses in Republican-leaning states that have imposed the lightest restrictions on business and have had relatively few confirmed coronavirus cases. SBA awarded 583 loans for every 1,000 businesses in North Dakota, according to a Reuters analysis of SBA and Census Bureau data. In California, SBA loans only reached 149 of every 1,000 businesses. The SBA has not released data on the number of firms seeking loans, either overall or in each state, so it is unclear what contributed to the higher proportion of businesses in so-called "red states" getting loans. "I'm hard pressed not to think this is political. Blue states like California got a pathetic number of loans issued," Representative Jackie Speier, a California Democrat, said on Twitter. Others said the disparity was due to the different types of lenders involved. Smaller banks, which have a greater presence in rural areas, were ready when SBA launched the program on April 3, while many larger banks and nonbank lenders were not able to participate until the following week. "The bankers here, they know the farmer, they know the barber, they know the cafe owner," said Republican Representative Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska, where SBA loans reached 558 of every 1,000 businesses. (Reporting by Andy Sullivan, Howard Schneider and Ann Saphir.; Editing by Dan Burns) In this article NHC TRI-CA The coverage on this live blog has ended but for up-to-the-minute coverage on the coronavirus outbreak, visit the live blog from CNBC's U.S. team. Global cases: More than 2.9 million Global deaths: At least 203,055 Most cases reported: United States (939,249), Spain (223,759), Italy (195,351), France (161,644), and Germany (156,513). The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University as of 8:45 p.m. Beijing time. All times below are in Beijing time. 7:53 pm: Dutch coronavirus cases rise by 655, cases at 37,845 Coronavirus cases in the Netherlands rose by 655 to 37,845 on Sunday with 66 new deaths, bringing the country's total death toll to 4,475, health authorities said. 5:56 pm: Iran death toll rises by 60 to 5,710 Iran's fatalities from the coronavirus rose by 60 to 5,710 on Sunday, a health ministry spokesman said. The country, the worst-hit by the virus in the Middle East, has so far registered a total of 90,481 confirmed positive cases. Natasha Turak 5:00 pm: Russia's coronavirus cases top 80,000 Russia reported 6,361 new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday, bringing its national case count to 80,949. Russia's official crisis response center reported 66 additional deaths on Sunday, taking the death count to a new total of 747. Natasha Turak 4:55 pm: Spain reports lowest daily death count in a month Spain lost 288 more people to the coronavirus from Saturday to Sunday, its health ministry reported, but that number represents the country's lowest death count in a month. Fatalities in the country are now at 23,190, and cases are reported at 207,634, the second-highest globally after the U.S. Natasha Turak 4:53 pm: Indonesia reports 23 more deaths, 275 new cases Indonesia's health ministry reported 275 new coronavirus cases Sunday, bringing the Southeast Asian nation's total to 8,882. Meanwhile the country registered 23 more deaths, taking the death toll to 743. Natasha Turak Foreign Minister Dominic Raab is pictured in Downing Street on March 25, 2020 in London, England. Peter Summers | Getty Images 4:29 pm: UK's Raab withholds details on any lifting of lockdown Pressed to reveal steps that would lift the lockdown in place across the U.K., the country's stand-in leader stressed that the government should not rush to ease restrictions for fear of a second wave of coronavirus infections that could trigger a second lockdown. "We are at a delicate and dangerous stage and we need to make sure that the next steps are sure-footed," Foreign minister Dominic Raab, who is deputizing for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, told Sky news in an interview Sunday. "It's not responsible to start speculating about the individual measures," he said, adding that officials are "doing the homework" for a strategy and urging the public to stick to stay-at-home guidelines. He also said that Johnson would resume his duties are prime minister Monday, and that he was "raring" to get back to work. Natasha Turak 3:22 pm: China says all coronavirus patients in Wuhan have been discharged China announced Sunday that all of the coronavirus patients in the city of Wuhan, the original epicenter of the virus's outbreak, have been discharged, Reuters has reported. Natasha Turak This photo taken on April 15, 2020 shows venders wearing face masks as the offer prawns for sale at the Wuhan Baishazhou Market in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province. HECTOR RETAMAL | AFP via Getty Images HECTOR RETAMAL 2:29 pm: Singapore reports 931 new cases Singapore's health ministry on Sunday reported an additional 931 coronavirus cases overnight, taking its total to 13,624. The ministry said that the vast majority of cases are migrant workers living in dormitories. The case number was an increase from that of Saturday, which was 618. Singapore now has one of the highest infection rates in Asia, thanks in large part to its high migrant worker population of around 300,000 living in densely crowded dormitories. Natasha Turak 12:43 pm: Thailand reports 15 new cases, no additional deaths Thailand reported 15 more confirmed cases of Covid-19, but no additional deaths, according to its public health ministry's Sunday update. To date, the country has reported 2,922 cases and 51 deaths, according to government data. Christine Wang 12:30 pm: Health Canada warns against taking hydroxychloroquine without prescription Canada issued a warning against using chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine without physician supervision. "Health Canada is concerned that some people may be directly buying and using chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine to prevent or treat COVID-19," the country's health department said. In its late Saturday alert, Health Canada emphasized that no drugs have been authorized for the prevention, treatment or cure of Covid-19. The drugs are typically prescribed for the treatment of malaria and some autoimmune diseases like lupus. The notice comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday issued a similar warning after reports of deaths and poisonings. On the same day, a research report revealed a study testing the drug as a potential coronavirus treatment was cut short, citing a high risk of death. Christine Wang 11:07 am: South Korea reports 10 cases, 2 deaths South Korea confirmed 10 more cases and two deaths, according to data from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The country has reported 10,728 cases to date and a total of 242 deaths. Christine Wang 10:34 am: Argentina extends nationwide restrictions to May 10 Argentina extended its nationwide social, preventative and mandatory isolation measures until May 10, its health ministry said. @msalnacion: El Aislamiento Social, Preventivo y Obligatorio se extendera hasta el 10 de mayo. The measures had been in place since March 20 and, prior to the extension announcement, had been scheduled to end on Sunday. Reuters reported that the country will, however, ease some restrictions such as allowing people to take short walks outside their homes. Argentina's health ministry has confirmed 3,780 cases and 185 deaths in the country. Christine Wang 9:49 am: Singapore reports 618 new cases Singapore reported an additional 618 confirmed cases as of noon Saturday. The health ministry said 597 of the new cases were work permit holders residing in dormitories. The report marks the second day in a row that Singapore's daily new cases were less than 1,000. Foreign workers exercise on the balcony of their dormitory rooms on April 21, 2020 in Singapore. Suhaimi Abdullah | Getty Images In the early days of the outbreak, the city-state had kept cases relatively low. But cases spiked recently among Singapore's migrant worker population, many of whom live in dormitories. Those workers are typically men from other Asian countries who carry out labor-intensive construction jobs and support their families back home. To date, Singapore has reported a total of 12,693 confirmed cases and 12 deaths. The health ministry said 1,214 people are currently hospitalized while 10,465 the bulk of current cases are in community facilities. It also said a total of 1,002 people have fully recovered and have been discharged. Christine Wang 9:08 am: China reports 11 new cases, no additional deaths China reported 11 new confirmed cases as of April 25, according to its National Health Commission. Of the new cases, six were attributed to travelers coming from overseas. That brings the country's total cases to 82,827, according to NHC data. It was also the 11th straight day that the NHC reported no additional deaths, leaving its death toll at 4,632. A Chinese woman wears a protective mask as she sits on the back of a scooter at an intersection on April 24, 2020 in Beijing, China. Kevin Frayer | Getty Images Separately, the NHC said there were 30 new asymptomatic cases, where people tested positive for the virus but did not show any symptoms. It said there are currently 1,000 such cases under medical observation. Christine Wang All times below are in Eastern time. 5:40 pm: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will return to work Monday after coronavirus recovery British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will return to work at Downing Street on Monday morning after recovering from coronavirus. Johnson has been convalescing at Chequers, the prime minister's country estate, since he was discharged from hospital earlier this month. Dominic Raab, the U.K. foreign secretary, has stood in for Johnson during his absence. Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves Downing Street on his way to Buckingham Palace after the general election in London, Britain, December 13, 2019. Thomas Mukoya | Reuters 4:56 pm: Ex-Apple employees are tackling the mask shortage Last year at this time, Sabrina Paseman was at Apple working on the design of the Mac Pro. Now, she's holed up in a San Francisco apartment with another ex-Apple employee trying to address the global mask shortage. Paseman and Megan Duong are founders of a nonprofit they're calling Fix The Mask, an effort to create a simple solution to a massive and growing problem. The lack of protective gear amid the Covid-19 pandemic is first and foremost a crisis in the health-care industry, but as states and countries start loosening social-distancing restrictions, the need for masks becomes more acute for people on buses, in stores and in the workplace. Ari Levy 3:19 pm: French PM to present plan to unwind lockdown on Tuesday More than 180 countries and territories have reported nearly 2.8 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and over 200,000 deaths since the contagion was reported from Chinas Wuhan late last year. After the first death linked to the disease was reported on January 10 in Wuhan, global fatalities linked to the virus passed 200,000 on Saturday, more than one-quarter of them in the United States. It took 91 days for the death toll to pass 100,000 and a further 16 days to reach 200,000, according to the Reuters tally of official reports from governments. India has reported that 26,496 people have been infected with the Sars-Cov-2 virus, which causes the respiratory disease, and 824 fatalities. Here are the 10 worst-affected countries across the world: US: The country has reported 939,053 cases and 53,816 deaths as of Sunday and pockets sought to restart their economies following a month of government-ordered lockdowns. This reopening has come despite warnings of many public health experts, who say the increased human interaction could spark a new wave of cases of Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the highly contagious virus. Also read: UN Security Council nears virus resolution, and perhaps a new path Spain: There were 223,759 cases and 22,902 deaths in Spain, where residents will be allowed out for exercise and to take walks from next weekend. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also said on Saturday, in the latest move to ease one of the worlds tightest coronavirus lockdowns, the government will on Tuesday unveil its broader lockdown exit plan that will likely be put into action in the second half of May. Unlike most other countries in the world, since imposing a lockdown on March 14, Spain has not allowed anyone out for walks, jogs or bike rides, allowing them to leave home only to buy food or medicine or to briefly walk the dog, other than for a medical emergency. Spains state of emergency was extended this week until midnight on May 9. Italy: The European country has 195,351 cases and 26,384 deaths, the toll dropped to its lowest level since March 17 but is highest after the US. The Lombardy region registers the most cases in Italy, adding some 700 on Saturday for a total of nearly 72,000 infected persons there since Italys first case in that northern region on February 20. Much of Italys south has been spared the brunt of the outbreak. France: France has 161,644 cases and 22,614 deaths linked to coronavirus, with 14,050 occurring in hospitals. France recorded another 369 deaths due to Covid-19 but has continued to experience a steady decline in the number of patients in hospital or in need of intensive care beds due to the virus. There have been a total of 22,614 deaths linked to coronavirus in France, with 14,050 occurring in hospitals, an increase of 198 over the past day. Also read: CEA points at Spanish Flu lesson in Covid fight Germany: Of all the big European countries hit by coronavirus pandemic, Germanys confirmed cases increased by 2055 to 152,438, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Saturday, the second day of deceleration after three days of acceleration in new infections. On Friday confirmed coronavirus cases had increased by 2337. The reported death toll rose by 179 to 5,500, the tally showed on Saturday. United Kingdom: The UK now has 149,556 cases and 20,381 deathsthe fifth-highest official coronavirus death toll in the world after the US, Italy, Spain and Franceand scientists have said that the death rate will only start to decline quickly in another couple of weeks. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is still recovering after falling seriously ill with Covid-19 earlier this month. Turkey: Turkey has 107,773 cases, the highest total in any country outside western Europe or the US, and reported 2706 fatalities. A total of 25,582 people have so far recovered from Covid-19. The number of tests carried out in the past 24 hours was 38,308. Iran: There are 89,328 Covid-19 patients, of whom 3096 are in a critical condition, in Iran and its death toll from the coronavirus disease has risen by 76 to reach 5650. Deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi said Irans daily death toll had fallen by about 70% from its peak, while the number of coronavirus patients in hospital had fallen by about half. Iran is one of the Middle Eastern countries worst affected by the Covid-19 respiratory disease and has one of the worlds highest death tolls. Also read: 2 cell types are entry points for virus China: China, where the contagion started, has said it has 82,827cases and 4632 deaths. It reported 11 new coronavirus cases on April 25, compared to 12 on the previous day, with no fatalities, according to official data published on Sunday. Of the total, there were six cases of local transmission, including five in the northeastern border province of Heilongjiang, and one in southeast Guangdong province, which neighbours Hong Kong. The remaining five cases were imported, down from 11 on the previous day, National Health Commission data showed. The commission also reported 30 new asymptomatic cases, up slightly from 29 on the previous day. Russia: The number of new coronavirus cases in the country has risen by 5966 over the past 24 hours, bringing its nationwide tally to 74,588. Also read: Virus could cling to air pollutants It also reported 66 new deaths from Covid-19, bringing the total death toll in Russia to 681. The number of coronavirus disease cases in Russia began rising sharply this month, although it had reported far fewer infections than many western European countries in the early stages of the outbreak. (With agency inputs) Harpreet Bajwa By Express News Service CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Police has arrested a Hizbul Mujahideen activist and recovered Rs 29 lakh from his possession. Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta on Sunday said that the Hizbul Mujahideen man was identified as Hilal Ahmed Wagay, who belonged to Nowgam in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. He further pointed out that Hilal was nabbed by the alert team of Amritsar Commissionerate Police, which was on patrol duty on mobike late in the evening on April 25 near metro mart in the holy city. A case under sections 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, 20, 21 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (Amendment 2012) has been registered in Sadar Police Station, Amritsar City. Gupta said that preliminary interrogation revealed that Hilal Ahmed had been sent by Riyaz Ahmed Naiku of Bijbehara, Chief of Hizbul Mujahideen in Kashmir, to collect money from an unidentified person near Metro Mart Amritsar in his truck. He said that the money was delivered to him by an unknown person, who came on a white Activa. The person accompanying him in the truck has been identified as Rayees Ahmed of Bijbehara in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir. Punjab Police today arrested a terrorist of Hizbul Mujahideen identified as Hilal Ahmed Wagay and recovered Indian currency worth Rs. 29 lakhs from his possession: Information and Public Relations, Punjab pic.twitter.com/niq6uOk98I ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2020 In another case Punjab Police today arrested four suspected gangsters after a brief encounter in Billa village of Panchkula in neighbouring Haryana. A country made pistol and some live cartridges were recovered from them. The four accused have identified as Harsimran alias Simu of Ambala, Dhruv Mohan Garg of Ghaziabad, Gurpreet Singh of Derbassi and Gurcharan Singh of Raipur Rani in Panchkula. A case has been registered against the suspects under Sections 186, 188, 332, 353, 307, 34 IPC and 25, 54, 59 of Arms Act at the Chandimandir police station. The encounter took place around 6 AM when a team of Punjab Police from Phase 8 police station of Mohali got a tip-off about these four gangster who were hiding in a house in Ramgarh village. The police team reached the gangsters fired at the team. Head Constable Raspreet Singh was injured as a bullet hit his leg. Despite the injury, Singh nabbed the alleged suspect after a brief chase. The injured policeman was first taken to Civil Hospital in Panchkula from where he was referred to GMCH-32 in Chandigarh. Our Divisions Copyright 2021-22 DB Corp ltd., All Rights Reserved This website follows the DNPA Code of Ethics. A Detroit woman who entered Fairlane Plaza South, 330 Town Center Drive, the morning of April 15, claiming she was looking for a restaurant, was advised by security personnel and police officers that there was no restaurant there, and she had no reason to be in the building. She was warned that, if she returned, she could be arrested for trespassing. She then left the area without further incident. Assistant Employment Security Secretary Lockhart Taylor addresses a COVID-19 briefing Thursday, April 2. | Photo: UNC-TV After weeks of waiting and hours on the phone, Laura Reich, a Matthews resident and dental hygienist who lost her job March 17, finally got the unemployment pay promised her by North Carolina and the federal government.Reich is one of 273,699 people who've received unemployment benefits from the N.C. Division of Employment Security since March 15. To date, more than 705,399 people have filed claims, DES says.North Carolina, which ranks last in the nation at making timely payments to people who qualify for unemployment insurance, is working hard to manage the onslaught of claims due COVID-19, said Lockhart Taylor, assistant secretary for employment security at the N.C. Department of Commerce. But still more people are set to swarm DES after Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday expanded unemployment insurance to include furloughed workers.The department is inTaylor told a House committee April 21. Its call team is bombarded daily with roughly 80,000 calls. That eclipses numbers the department saw during the 2009 recession and Hurricane Florence, Taylor said.By April 24, DES plans to have more than 1,000 workers manning the telephones. The department hopes to field 33,000 calls each day, Taylor said. The department is looking into an instant message option that may help cut call volume.Reich, who works for a private dental office near Charlotte, phoned DES countless times after applying for unemployment March 18. Like many others, she experienced dropped calls and long wait times. Finally, on April 20, she reached a DES worker, but only after holding for seven hours.Money, including back payments of $600 per week from the federal government's Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program , appeared in her bank account the next morning. She checked her balance twice - just to be sure it wasn't a joke.Reich said.Gillian Wilk, another Charlotte-area worker, isn't so lucky. Wilk worked two jobs before the onset of COVID-19. When North Carolina's courts closed in March, the legal transcriber lost her contract job, but managed to retain about 20 hours of at-home work as an internet assessor for Lionbridge , an internet and software testing company.At first, Wilk was approved to receive $250 a week from DES. Then she learned she could only receive unemployment if she limited earnings at her remaining job to $45 per week, Wilk told CJ. Under state unemployment rules, people collecting unemployment are allowed to earn 20% of their weekly benefit without penalty.The situation feels impossible, Wilk said. If she cuts work hours, she won't make enough to cover her bills - and feels no assurance that she'll actually receive any assistance as the state struggles to shoulder hundreds of thousands of unemployment claims. But without financial assistance, she's unsure her reduced paychecks will suffice until courts reopen and she returns to her normal work schedule.CJ emailed Taylor, asking if DES is working with the governor to address situations like Wilk's, and to ask how the numbers DES reports on its website correlate to numbers the department is required to submit to the U.S. Department of Labor, but received no response by press time.The department is doing its best, Taylor said to House members Tuesday, especially as it readies the launch of the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. Under the plan , independent contractors and self-employed people can apply for unemployment benefits. DES plans to accept those claims by April 25, but is concerned aboutTaylor said.The department is running multiple tests on the program and working with the N.C. Department of Revenue to cross-check wages, he said.Taylor said. - Two patients in Davao City have tested positive anew for the novel coronavirus disease - They were initially considered as recoveries and had undergone 14-day quarantine - However, when they returned for another test, they tested positive again - The chairperson of a hospital in Davao City has spoken up about the incident PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed Two patients in Davao City have tested positive again for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) even after they were considered as recoveries already. KAMI learned that the said patients also underwent mandatory 14-day quarantine after being discharged from the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC). Upon returning for another test, they were informed that they are positive again so they have to be readmitted to the said hospital. PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! Dr. Marie Yvette Barez, the chairperson of the Infection Prevention and Control Unit of the SPMC, stated that the test they conducted to the patients can detect dead virus. She also does not believe that the two recoveries were re-infected or the virus in their bodies have reactivated. "The PCR test can detect even the dead or the non-viable virus. So it can even persist sa patient na not infected, that's why puwede siyang mag-positive ulit," Barez told GMA News. "We based it on researches na lumalabas ngayon sa mga studies na, it could be just a dead virus o non-viable virus that can persist sa isang patient. I don't think it's reinfection kasi wala naman silang symptoms," she added. In a previous article by , the number of new COVID-19 fatalities in the Philippines has fallen to single digits on April 26. Please like and share our Facebook posts to support KAMI team! Dont hesitate to comment and share your opinion about our stories either. We love reading about your thoughts! A Filipino found his own way to help frontliners amid pandemic. They had to walk an hour, an hour and a half to get to work. I mean, coming from an 8-hour shift sa hospital, tapos palalakarin mo pa yung nurse o kahit security guard. Parang hindi makatarungan, diba? on HumanMeter! Source: KAMI.com.gh Scammers are seizing on the fear and chaos swirling around the coronavirus pandemic to swindle people out of their money and identities. Why it matters: Americans have reported almost $18 million in fraud losses due to such scams. The Federal Trade Commission received more than 23,000 coronavirus-related fraud or identity theft complaints since the start of the year, as of April 21. How it works: Many schemes involve airline or vacation refunds, government stimulus checks, and medical supplies like thermometers or face masks to gain access to victims' personal and financial information. The FTC sent warning letters to seven companies as of early March, including one owned by televangelist Jim Bakker, that are allegedly selling products they claim cure or prevent the virus. The big picture: This isn't just a problem for Americans. The United Kingdom's National Fraud Intelligence Bureau announced that around 2 million ($2.5 million) has been lost to coronavirus-related scams. At least 824 people have fallen victim to schemes this year, the BBC reports. National Fraud Intelligence Bureau announced that around 2 million ($2.5 million) has been lost to coronavirus-related scams. At least 824 people have fallen victim to schemes this year, the BBC reports. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned Canadians to look out for text-message scams linked to the country's $82 billion coronavirus support package, according to Global News Canada. The FTC recommends that people not respond to texts, emails or calls about checks from the government, not click on links or download files from unknown sources, and ignore online offers for vaccinations and virus test kits. The agency specifically cautions people to watch emails from scammers claiming to be from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health Organization. Go deeper: The coronavirus chain reaction Novelist Tara June Winch bought a fancy new pair of shoes and scrawled her acceptance speech on a paper towel from the bathroom when she won a NSW Premier's Literary Award for new writing more than a decade ago. During the tumultuous years that followed her acclaimed 2006 debut Swallow the Air as she raised her daughter alone, lived in poverty and coped with the tragic death of her brother Winch always kept the medallion she won. Now, she'll have more to add to the collection. Winch's second novel, The Yield, has swept this year's awards, claiming three prizes: Book of the Year, Christina Stead Prize for Fiction and People's Choice Award. Author Tara June Winch and her novel The Yield. But Winch, 36, who lives a few hours outside of Paris in France, didn't have to worry about buying fancy new shoes this time, as the ceremony on Sunday night was digital due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below. Ms L.J. writes: I joined ScottishPower for my electricity in March 2017, paying 190 a month by direct debit and supplying monthly meter readings. In March last year, they asked for weekly readings and said I was not paying enough. They increased my monthly payments to 600. I have a house, not a business, and I am sure I cannot be using electricity costing 600 a month, but ScottishPower never gives me a bill. Review: ScottishPower wanted to bill 600 a month and will now check Ms J's usage ScottishPower told me that your initial payments were based on two meter readings provided between March and September 2017, followed by just one reading in 2018 and quarterly readings since then. The figures at the end of 2018 showed bills of more than the 190 you had been paying, and the increase in March last year was aimed at covering arrears as well as current charges. That said, even ScottishPower estimates that your month-on-month usage should be about 400. The company is investigating what appliances you are using. Mysteriously, you have been told you are using 'an industrial amount' of power at night, yet you have told me that all you use then is a dishwasher three times a week. You have also told me about far more meter readings that you have supplied, but unfortunately, because of the staff situation at ScottishPower during the lockdown, I have not been able to get answers about these. However, the company has told me that paper bills have been sent regularly by normal post, though you do not seem to have received a single one. The outcome is that ScottishPower has told me: 'We have advised Ms J that her recorded electricity use does appear out of sync with what she says she is using it for, and will visit her property to review this as soon as current working restrictions are lifted.' Separately, last week another ScottishPower customer, Mr B, complained that he was being asked to pay more than 7,000 because he had allegedly paid nothing since 2013. This was the year the company suffered a serious computer error that saw some customers' direct debits turned into credits. Officials have now denied that the debt arose because of its computer mistakes, and the Energy Ombudsman has gone over the figures and confirmed the debt. It appears to have arisen because Mr B supplied meter readings but still received estimated bills, and contested the amounts by cancelling his direct debit. ScottishPower has now said that if Mr B confirms he is no longer in any dispute with the company, it will not expect a big cheque but will work with him to organise a payment plan. And finally, there is good news for Mr S, who heads a charity that clashed with ScottishPower over bills that threatened its very existence. I reported how the company first cut the charity's monthly payments to just 1, then demanded 6,529 in arrears. This was followed by a claim that the charity owed 24,367, and a warning that its monthly payments would rocket to 1,596 in May. This really is a case involving the company's remarkable 2013 computer error. It has now told me: 'Mr S has not received the quality customer service we pride ourselves on, and we are truly sorry for the distress and inconvenience caused.' ScottishPower has scrapped all its charges from 2013 to April last year, leaving just over 1,300 due and as a goodwill gesture, even this has been cut in half. A good outcome. If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, April 26, 2020 13:28 626 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd44dcbf 1 World #Rohingya,Rohingya,COVID-19,#COVID19,refugees,#refugees,ASEAN,#ASEAN Free As countries scramble to contain the spread of COVID-19 in their territories while prioritizing the well-being of their citizens, Rohingya refugees are again facing widespread rejection. Hundreds are currently stranded at sea in the Bay of Bengal. Nearby countries have tightened border controls to slow the COVID-19 outbreak, and refugees have become an issue that no country wants to deal with. Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abdul Momen said on Thursday that his country would not accept two additional boats carrying hundreds of Rohingya refugees, AFP reported. The two latest boats are in international waters after human traffickers tried to land them in Malaysia, according to aid groups. In mid-April, Bangladesh rescued 382 refugees from another boat after it was rejected by Malaysian and Thai authorities. Malaysian authorities have cited coronavirus concerns to justify their rejection, following reports that as many as 60 Rohingya aboard the crammed boat had starved to death after being stranded in the Bay of Bengal for more than two months. Read also: Malaysia turns back Rohingya boat over virus fears Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Bangladeshi authorities to take in the stranded refugees, arguing that the inhumane rejections have placed the asylum seekers lives at risk. HRW's Asia director Brad Adams said Bangladesh should continue to help those at grave risk and preserve the international reputation it had gained in recent years for helping the Rohingya. Bangladesh has shouldered a heavy burden as the result of the Myanmar militarys atrocious crimes, but this is no excuse to push boatloads of refugees out to sea to die, he said in a statement. Bangladesh has accepted more than 900,000 Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar to avoid persecution following the military crackdown against the minority group that began in 2017. While Bangladesh has been hailed for its acceptance of the refugees, it also faces serious COVID-19 challenges. The least-developed country reported 309 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, dipping slightly from Friday's high of 503, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 4,998. Read also: UNHCR works to ensure no refugees left behind in COVID-19 crisis in Indonesia Myanmar has consistently dismissed criticism of its treatment of minorities, in a move that has attracted international attention and subsequently brought pressure to ASEAN as a group. ASEAN, through its humanitarian assistance agency, the AHA Center, has promised to lead a regional response to help Myanmar repatriate the refugees. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Asia and Pacific bureau director Indrika Ratwatte said that while ASEAN countries have to manage their borders during the COVID-19 crisis, such measures should not result in the closure of avenues to asylum or in forcing people to return to situations of danger. He cited ASEAN leaders commitment to ensure joint action and a whole-society approach in handling the pandemic. The commitment was declared at the recent ASEAN Special Summit on COVID-19. Leaving no one behind is the only lasting means of ensuring that we collectively beat this global challenge, and we are all only as strong as our most vulnerable members," he said on Thursday. "Saving lives at sea must be a collective effort, in which any one state that rescues and disembarks refugees can draw on resources pooled from other states in the region." Read also: Indonesian ASEAN rights representative expresses concern as Malaysia turns away refugees Indonesias representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Human Rights Commission (AICHR), Yuyun Wahyuningrum, pointed out that the bloc had already established COVID-19 health protocols requiring people entering the country to undergo a 14-day quarantine in designated places. We should not repeat the same mistake that happened in 2015, when dozens of Rohingya people died at sea because their boats were prevented from landing in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. The right to seek asylum is guaranteed in Article 16 of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration [AHRD], she said. She was referring to similar incidents of refugees stranded in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea in 2015, which prompted dozens of countries to agree to the 2016 Bali Declaration, which outlined principles and the way forward to prevent another crisis. In February of this year, the task force on planning and preparedness from the Bali Process made a commitment to saving lives when responding to irregular maritime migration. Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand and Bangladesh are all members. India reported 1,990 new cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), 561 more than Saturday, and 49 deaths in the past 24 hours, the Union health ministry said on Sunday morning. The ministrys Covid-19 dashboard showed 19,868 people have been infected by Sars-Cov-2 and 824 people have now died of the respiratory disease across the country. The number of patients who have been cured or discharged has also gone up to 5803 on Sunday morning from 5062 from a day earlier. Maharashtra and Gujarat, where the coronavirus outbreak has been growing at a much faster pace recently than the rest of the country, had the most number of cases. Also read: Post-lockdown plan, migrants in focus at Centre-states meet With 7,628 infections and 323 deaths, Maharashtra continued to report the most number of cases in the country. In Gujarat, there were 3071 Covid-19 patients and 133 deaths. Officials have said the national doubling rate of infections was 9.1 days. According to HTs analysis of the numbers reported by the states, this was 4.3 and 6.7 days respectively for Gujarat and Maharashtra. Officials said the overall growth in the number of cases in India has been linear, compared to some other countries where it has been exponential. Dr Balram Bhargava, director-general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and secretary of the department of health research, has said the case positivity rate has been about 4.5% throughout. Positivity rate is the proportion of people who test positive among all individuals tested on a particular day. So we can safely say that we have managed to flatten the curve, Dr Bhargava said. Also read: States divided on extending lockdown beyond May 3 While officials and experts argue that this number suggests India been testing adequately, the total number of tests carried out across the country is still a mere 420 per million population. ICMR data shows there were close to 40,000 tests carried out by the government as well as private labs across the country on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet chief ministers of states over video conference, the third such on issues related to the coronavirus pandemic, on Monday to discuss a number of issues including a decision on the lockdown. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Sri Lanka has requested Kuwait to allow thousands of overstaying workers to remain in the country until May 30, because the Indian Ocean island nation is under a 24-hour coronavirus curfew. Kuwait has granted an amnesty from April 1-30 to all undocumented foreigners to leave at Kuwait's expense without paying fines. Sri Lankans were given until this Saturday to leave Kuwait. More than 15,000 Sri Lankans are currently overstaying in Kuwait. Since last month, Sri Lanka has indefinitely closed its international airport due to the pandemic. The number of confirmed cases has risen to 460 while seven have died from the disease. A year ago, Joe Biden announced he was running for president by video, joining a Democratic field so crowded it would be banned from meeting by todays social distancing rules. Then he rode an Amtrak train from the District of Columbia to Wilmington, Delaware. Once he arrived, he stopped at Giannis Pizza, shook hands with friends and fielded questions from reporters, who crowded so tightly that he joked that someone might get hit as he tried to drive away. A year later, the Acela isnt running. Much of Amtraks ordinary service isnt, either. Giannis is open only for takeout. And Mr Biden, now the presumptive Democratic nominee, spends his days mostly inside his home. Here we are, doing a virtual campaign, which has never been done before, said South Carolina state senator Dick Harpootlian, a Democrat, a longtime friend of Mr Bidens who pushed him to enter the race. Mr Harpootlian said hes been hosting fundraisers, knocking on doors and attending rallies for presidential candidates for decades. Those are the mechanisms that Im used to, that I grew up with, if you will, he said. And many of those mechanisms are out the window. To mark the anniversary of his campaign, Mr Biden cant celebrate with a rally. His team cant open new offices and collect names and addresses of supporters. Instead, staffers learned to sew masks for distribution to those who need them most. That work is part of an effort to focus on the front-line health-care workers and first responders who have put themselves in danger as the novel coronavirus has ravaged the country. Mr Bidens advance team made calls to thank nurses and first responders. And some called to check on their contacts in communities not asking for their votes but enquiring whether they needed help. Mr Biden also has been making calls to first responders. On Friday, he held a 30-minute Zoom call with a nurse in Wisconsin. When the call ended, Mr Biden decided to call her family too. Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about the coronavirus crisis on a live broadcast (Getty) Kate Bedingfield, Mr Bidens deputy campaign manager, said that Mr Bidens message hasnt changed. One year ago, vice president Biden said we are in a battle for the soul of America, she said. As we watch Donald Trump consistently put his own politics first amidst a global pandemic and an economic crisis unlike anything weve seen in a generation, thats even truer today. But nearly everything else has changed. Take fundraising. Former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell, who hosted Mr Bidens first fundraising event as a presidential candidate last year, recalled a room that was packed with donors. Now Mr Biden hosts Zoom calls and the vibe is a little different. One potential donor called into a recent event from his treadmill. When Biden entered the presidential race, the field was crowded and competitive. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was raising millions from grass-roots donors. The campaign of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., was on the rise. Pete Buttigieg was still the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and beginning to register in the polls. He went on to win the Iowa caucuses. Now theyre, mostly, singing new tunes. Biden, like all political figures right now, is operating from home making the 2020 campaign more challenging A year ago, Joe Biden announced his campaign based on a belief that were in a battle for the soul of the nation, Mr Buttigieg said in a video he posted to Twitter on Saturday to support Mr Bidens efforts. I dont have to tell you that a lot has changed since then. Im joining @JoeBiden and thanking our essential workers, wrote Ms Warren in a social media post, adding her voice to the chorus of defeated rivals following the campaigns lead. Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., along with former congressman Beto ORourke of Texas, also posted supportive #SoulSaturday messages for Mr Biden. Some dynamics do not shift so quickly. Though Mr Sanders has endorsed Mr Biden, he did not take to Twitter to wish the Biden campaign happy birthday, at least as of Saturday evening. His spokesman could not be reached immediately to determine if hed participated in any other way. Mr Bidens allies say the biggest difference between now and a year ago is the importance of the election. The worlds changed, said Mr Harpootlian. Campaigns have changed. This campaign has changed. But the stakes could have never been higher. We wanted to win a year ago. But there is a scenario, a year ago, where, maybe we dont pull it off. But the stakes have become so much higher now that that is not an option. But they acknowledge that the new normal hides Mr Bidens strength as a retail campaigner. I think that hampers a guy like Joe Biden, who, look, hes best one-on-one, Mr Harpootlian said. Hes best speaking to a crowd of 10,000. Hes best letting people feel that honesty and sincerity. Its hard to do that on a zoom call. But, Mr Harpootlian noted: The field is level. President Trump too must forgo his famous rallies. Its a detriment to both him and Trump, said Mr Rendell. Mr Biden, he said, gets his energy from being with people. Zoom meetings can come close to replicating that feel but not entirely, he said. Its not the same, said Mr Rendell. Its not the same for someone who has got tremendous personal warmth, which Biden has. And when Mr Biden launched a year ago, newsrooms were chock-full of people. When this reporter stopped in Saturday to pick up supplies at her desk, she stood in a room that was completely empty. The Washington Post According to Lukashenko, new constitution will be adopted over next five years Open source President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has announced amendments to the country's constitution, BelTA news agency reports. According to Lukashenko, the new constitution will be adopted over the next five years. The constitutions question ... Its not being removed. Here we can definitely answer that in the new five-year plan we will most likely have a new constitution, he said. At the same time, Lukashenko noted that the presidential elections to be held in 2020 will be held in accordance with the current constitution of Belarus. Here we can clearly say that we will carry out the constitution, as I promised, the Belarusian president added. As we reported before, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, contrary to the coronavirus, went to the Chernobyl zone, where he will plant pine trees in the Pripyatsky National Park "The revival of these lands is always given special attention and, given that this time the presidents trip coincided with the community workday in the country, Alexander Lukashenko decided to take part in the work on the territory of the Pripyatsky National Park," the agency said. Adequately respond to employees at the store who communicated that they were experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. Follow the guidance from the Occupational Health and Safety Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on preparing workplaces for COVID-19. Develop an infectious-disease preparedness and response plan. Cease operations of the store when it knew or should have known employees and others in the store were experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. Train supervisors and employees on procedures to minimize the risk of contracting COVID-19. Periodically evaluate employees and prohibit employees experiencing COVID-19 symptoms from working at or entering the store. Most of these alleged failings are taken directly from guidance issued by OSHA and the CDC about preparing for and handling COVID-19 in the workplace. While employers should remain aware of and attempt to follow CDC and OSHA guidance, they should also understand that it isnt a complete shield to litigation. New Delhi: A 30-year-old Pakistan national has been apprehended by the Border Security Force (BSF) along the international border in Punjab on Sunday, officials said. The man has been nabbed by the force at around 10 am from near the Hussainiwala India-Pakistan retreat ceremony area in Ferozepur sector. The man, being grilled by a joint team of the paramilitary force, intelligence and state police officials, had reportedly crossed over the border and came up to the fence when a BSF patrol intercepted him, they said. The man has informed the officials that his name is Shabaz and he is a resident of Pindi village in Kasur district of Pakistan. Six face masks, few empty plastic bottles and a matchstick has been recovered from the man, they added. A senior Iranian Health Ministry official says the coronavirus epidemic in Iran has still not reached its peak, meaning the number of infections and deaths are still on the rise. Nevertheless, in what has been described by Presidential adviser Hesamoddin Ashna as "one of the most difficult meetings on the situation of the outbreak," President Hassan Rouhani explained yet another "new decision" that divides Irans provinces into three categories, white, yellow and red, depending on the level of the health crisis. The odd thing is that white means all clear. Rouhani said shrines and religious sites will be reopened in 127 areas described as "white areas" upon the attestation of the Health Ministry, either by the end of next week or in mid-Ramadan (around mid-May). This comes while Hossein Erfani, the Chairman of Contagious Diseases Office of the Health Ministry warned in an interview on Iran's state TV Saturday evening that "people should not think that the epidemic is over and they can go around as they wish," adding that people should stay home if they do not have anything important to do outside. Meanwhile, Tehran City Councillor Mohammad Javad Haqshenas said 40 to 45 percent of the people in the Iranian capital are living under the poverty line and need financial support from the government. He said the financial situation in the suburbs of Tehran is more critical and millions of people living there cannot make ends meet unless the government helps them. Haqshenas said that the Tehran Municipality and the Mostazafan Foundation have plans to extend financial assistance to 5,000 peddlers in Tehran but there are more people in need including another five thousand homeless people. On Saturday, the Culture Minister Abbas Salehi warned Tehran City Council's Chairman Mohsen Hashemi not to give away facts and figures about those affected by the epidemic as enemy media might take advantage. The warning came after Hashemi told the press that the number of those affected by the epidemic is much higher than government figures. Hashemi said on Sunday that councillors have better access to death toll as they control the Tehran cemetery, Behesht-e Zahra. Meanwhile President Rouhani who ordered the reopening of low and medium-risk businesses last week, said today that in the warmer southern provinces of Iran, shopping centers can now remain open until 8 PM. Rouhani further added that congregational prayers could also be resumed in those areas based on certain protocols, although he did not elaborate further. Iranian media reported last week that the Rouhani administration was under a lot of pressure by hardliners to reopen the shrines. However, Rouhani said on Sunday that "for instance, if we open the shrine in Mashhad, then people will be travelling to that city by busy trains and buses and will be staying at hotels and frequenting the markets around the shrine. So, the matter must be seen in a wider context." Recent reports have been indicating that a sharp decline in the Iranian government's tax and oil revenues have made it difficult for the Rouhani administration to extend financial assistance to the people in need. On Sunday, he called on the rich to donate food and money to the poor. Economic hardship perhaps justifies Rouhani's hurry in ending social distancing restrictions. However, pressures coming from hardliner clerics also push him toward a potentially dangerous early end to restrictions. Last week when Rouhani ordered the reopening of parks, hardliner newspaper Kayhan, which enjoys Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's support, complained "Why parks can be opened and shrines cannot? They can be controlled much easier than parks." The Kayhan chose to ignore the fact that even Khamenei, is holding his Koran recitation sessions in Ramadan this year via video teleconference in order not to have a large group of people sitting next to each other, and of course, close to him. Khamenei is by far the only senior Iranian official that has been strictly observing self-isolation and social distancing rules during recent months. Others, including Rouhani, appear in daily meetings, sometimes even without using masks. Khamenei has not been seen among visitors and even aides since January when the only person who has been seen with him only once in a video or picture was his family doctor Alireza Marandi. In those rare videos, Khamenei is seen sitting in what could be a self-op studio where he controls the camera with a classic wired button. The government is moving closer to a policy of requiring travellers to self-isolate for two weeks after arrival in the UK. At present there are no health checks on arriving passengers. This is how things could change. What happens currently when you land at Heathrow or other entry points? Only a couple of things have changed in the arrival process since I flew in from Cairo to Heathrow airport just before lockdown began. First, there are signs warning people to keep two metres apart which, given the usual airport scrum, takes some getting used to. Then there is the online instruction to go straight home from the airport, avoiding public transport where possible. Whereupon the new arrival joins the rest of us in lockdown, at least in theory. But the basic process is just as it was before anyone had heard of Covid-19: passengers step off the aircraft, go through passport control, collect their baggage and move on with no more than some friendly advice. Heathrow says there are enhanced monitoring procedures for flights, the presence of doctors and additional colleagues, and the provision of information leaflets. Everyone is handed a piece of paper headed: Coronavirus: isolate yourself, stay at home. It explains that if you have a high temperature or a new and continuous cough, stay at home and call 111 or consult nhs.uk How does that compare with other countries? Between many places on the globe, simply getting on an international flight is on the spectrum from difficult to impossible. Lots of countries, ranging from Cuba to Cameroon to India, have closed their international airports to all but cargo and humanitarian flights. Many nations ban all but their own citizens and residents from incoming flights, and there are region-specific prohibitions such as the US ban on anyone who has been in the UK, the Schengen Area, China or Iran in the previous two weeks. Japan even has a niche prohibition on anyone who has been aboard the cruise ship Westerdam. If you do get on a flight, your problems may only just be beginning when you touch down. In Australia you will be frogmarched off to an airport hotel that approximates to an upmarket detention centre for 14 days. The aim is to allow time for any symptoms to develop . Arrivals from anywhere in the world entering Singapore must spend two weeks in a hotel room or similar accommodation provided by the Singapore government. Leaving the room makes the traveller liable for a jail term of up to six months. And for the past five weeks, all foreign travellers from Europe arriving at South Korean airports have been subject to testing for Covid-19. They are taken to a special facility and held there for up to 24 hours. How many people arrive in Britain each day? The health secretary, Matt Hancock, estimated 15,000 daily, around 10 days ago. Based on known arrivals at UK airports, sea ports and international rail terminals, The Independent calculates the true figure to be substantially lower well below 10,000. The Department of Health has not shared its calculations. What is the UK government proposing? At the moment the proposals are highly tentative, in part to test for the public/political reaction to them. But the basic plan is that air, sea and rail passengers who arrive in the UK will be told they must self-isolate for 14 days. They will be asked for the address where they intend to spend the next two weeks. The authorities would conduct a range of random spot checks to try to ensure that travellers remain at the location they registered. When would it be introduced and how long would it last? The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said such a policy could be introduced when figures for new infections of Covid-19 are falling in a sustained manner. The idea, he said, would be to help prevent a second spike in infections and deaths. There is no further clarity on timing, though sources have told The Independent it could happen as early as mid-May. The length of deployment would depend on many factors, including the incidence of coronavirus among those who are obliged to self-isolate. But it would probably last for months rather than weeks. What are the implications for international travellers? If everyone whether British citizens returning from long stays abroad, foreigners arriving for work, family or leisure reasons, or UK holidaymakers returning home was required to quarantine for a fortnight on arrival, the impact on the travel industry would be severe, as it would strongly disincentivise journeys abroad. Those with work assignments, college placements or close friends and family abroad might judge the two-week incarceration on their return a worthwhile price to pay. But most holidaymakers and business travellers would not. Airlines and holiday companies had been hoping for demand to begin to appear for summer flights. Some now fear that new bookings will remain close to zero. I have a forward booking for July. I cannot risk being in quarantine. Can I get my money back? At this stage, certainly not. The government has made no definite plans; it has merely shared its thinking with a couple of generally sympathetic newspapers. Only when a clear policy is announced will airlines and holiday companies respond with plans for refunds or postponements. But at present there is no reason to expect leniency from travel firms: they are all suffering very significantly from the near-total shutdown of travel. Is there any alternative? The deadly virus was undoubtedly initially spread to continental Europe and the UK by air travel. So intuitively the idea of strict checks on people coming into the country sounds blindingly obvious. Yet the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control disagrees, saying: Checking people at the airport by reading their skin temperature isnt very effective in preventing the spread of the virus. Its generally considered more useful to provide those arriving at airports with clear information explaining what to do if they develop symptoms after arrival. The World Health Organisation recommends: Travellers returning from affected areas should self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days and follow national protocols of receiving countries. The policy that the government is floating would be aimed at a cohort of people arriving from parts of the world with a far lower incidence of Covid-19 than the the UK population at large. It would divert medical resources into a relatively low-risk arena; statistically, there would be a higher chance of identifying people who are unknowingly carrying coronavirus in Hounslow High Street in west London, rather than nearby Heathrow. So, yes, the government could do nothing, in line with official international medical advice. Airlines and airports in the UK, though, realise that doing nothing is not likely to be an option politically. So they are pressing for agreement on the new normal for international travel. Those measures could include temperature checks at the airport of departure and/or arrival, some kind of testing regime with travellers required to show certificates that they are coronavirus-free (which some countries already require) and social distancing on board aircraft. Would travellers from the Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland be obliged to quarantine? These places are, along with the UK, members of the Common Travel Area a passport-free zone. One scenario is that the 14-day rule would apply to the entire Common Travel Area, and that travel within it would not require quarantine. If such measures are to be introduced, will British travellers who are abroad be given any advance warning? Yes, though notice of the quarantine process may be just a few days. Experience elsewhere in the world indicates that the UK could expect a sudden inrush of travellers seeking to dodge the measures just before they take effect. Hindustan Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter in Delhi and several state capitals, that on Monday, in their third video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a month, at least some chief ministers are going to recommend that the lockdown be lifted on May 3, when it comes to an end. This is very different from how all chief ministers felt ahead of April 14, when the lockdown, enforced to slow the spread of Covid-19, was originally supposed to end there was unanimity that it be extended. That unanimity is likely to be missing on Monday. The chairman of the Delhi governments Covid-19 committee, Dr SK Sarin, has recommended extending the lockdown in the city-state till mid-May; Telangana has already extended it till May 7; and a few other states are reported to be thinking of an extension. The easy option would be to just continue with the lockdown, but it is also an option that should not be exercised easily the Indian economy would have been mostly inactive for 40 days by the time the lockdown ends on May 3. Thats already done enough damage 2020 (calendar year) and 2020-21 (financial year) will be a year of recession in India, irrespective of how optimistic the International Monetary Fund or the Indian government choose to be. The country is better prepared on almost every front testing, protective equipment, hospitals than it was on March 25, when the first lockdown kicked in, and on April 14, but it isnt clear whether this is enough should the number of cases rise when the lockdown ends. To use phrases from epidemiology that have now entered popular lexicon, the curve has been flattened, the peak has been pushed but whether this will prevent the health system from being overwhelmed when India reopens is anybodys guess. Which is what makes the decision to be taken by the chief ministers and, most importantly, the Prime Minister a very difficult one. A calibrated and restricted lifting of lockdown curbs to permit manufacturing in safe areas has not taken off the way it was expected to in one part because of the states mandating stringent norms on top of the guidelines announced by the home ministry, and in other part because of collateral issues such as lack of labour or broken supply chains. That the Centre wants an opening up is clear from the home ministrys notification, over the weekend, on shops, although the stuttering way in which it went about this suggests that it still entertains some doubts about opening up. It shouldnt. Testing is up Hindustan Times reported last week that India will be carrying out up to 50,000 tests a day by the end of the month and the protocols for screening, quarantining, and treatment are established (as well as they can be in the absence of a cure). Globally, 97% of the infections remain mild, according to worldometers.info, and in India, as many as 69% of the infected (till last week) are asymptomatic. Which is why the government should now start toting up the economic costs. People will lose jobs (some already have); many small businesses will go under; many big businesses will default on debt; consumption demand could take months to recover, as will supply chains; global merchandise trade will suffer; and all of this, and everything else that happens, will do so with the fear of a second wave looming large. The damage to the economy calls for a relief and stimulus package one that is already long-overdue but also a lifting of the lockdown, at least in districts with few cases or none at all. This should be accompanied by a proactive and aggressive containment protocol neighbourhoods, cities, districts, even states where the infection rate seems to be accelerating should be locked down. And if things really spiral out of control, a national lockdown can be considered, but for now, the need is to open up. Mr. Alexander Iwuanyanwu and his wife, Agnes, both from Idem Ogwa in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State, have been happily married for 36 years. The husband, a businessman, married his wife, at the age of 24, in short, few years after he graduated from secondary school. By then, Agnes was still in secondary school. In this interview with TONY JOHN in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the couple who are blessed with eight children (six female and two male) and many grandchildren, tell the captivating story of their love journey. Excerpt. Could you, please, tell us how, where and when you met your wife? Husband: My family and my wifes families were friends. But my marrying her was as a result of her elder cousin. She was very young then and very quiet. I was not thinking of marriage. But one fateful day, I met her elder cousin who was my friend. His name is Ndubuisi. He told me that he had a sister and if it were possible for him to marry her, he would have done that. I asked him who she was. He mentioned Agnes. I said: That girl who does not mix with people, who does her things alone? My friend said I should see her. I said no problem. That Christmas, 1983, she came to our house. She was about moving to Class 3. But I had just finished secondary school and was about to start work. That say, she came to our house and we met briefly I had told her that she would be my wife. It looked like a childs play. Then, we had a brief courtship that lasted for about three years, from 1983 to 1986. On March 27, 1986, we had our traditional wedding. But before then I had an agreement with my father. Because I was about 24 years old, I told him that if I got married, my wife would not live with me until after three years. He father agreed. So after our traditional wedding, she stayed in their house for about three years and six months before we had our English wedding, on December 3, 1989. Wife: I have something to add. It was his mother that pushed me to go to their house in the village. She came to our house one day to see us and when she was going she approached me where I was sitting outside and said: my friend, when will you visit me? I promised to do that. But I didnt initially. For two days after that, something kept reminding me that I made a promise to an elderly woman and that I need to fulfill it. I didnt know their house. So, as the voice continued to trouble me, I told myself that any compound I entered, and it turned out not to be their house, I would go back home. But when I entered a particular compound and asked a little boy about Peters (my husbands immediate younger brother) compound, he said it was there. I was surprised and began to wonder why God brought me there. In fact, it was Peter that came out to receive me. He took me to a room and told me to wait. His mother was not around, but he said other members of the family were around. Before that time, it was his immediate elder brother that I knew because he used to visit our house. Shortly, he came in and was surprised to see me. I told him I came to see his mother because I promised her I would come. That was how we met one-on-one for the first time. He asked me when next I would visit. I told him I would be travelling back to Aba where we lived. He told me to write him a letter. But while he was seeing me off, he told me he would want to marry me, that I should bear that in mind. I didnt respond. When I travelled back to Aba, the same voice kept on troubling me to write him since I had promised. I was afraid because of one of my elder sisters. Eventually he wrote first and the letter got into the hands of that my sister I was afraid of. Things I didnt like happened as a result of the letter. So, I told him not to write me again. Instead, he should come and tell my family. He did, and that was how the relationship started. As a young man, what made you to pick her out of other eligible young ladies? Husband: In Christmas of 1982, some ladies came to our house to celebrate the period with us. And because of that I vacated my room for them. My father saw what happened and kept quiet. But after they had left between December 28 and 31, my father asked us at the family meeting which we usually hold every January 1 who the girls came to visit. All of us, including my elder brothers, denied that it wasnt any of us. My father said I was the one they came to visit and cautioned me to be very careful with women. I believe that was his major reason for urging me to marry. That year, I prayed to God to show me the woman he would like me to marry. So, it was Gods arrangement, not mine. As a young girl then, you must have had several suitors. Why did you choose him? Wife: Though I was very young, men were coming to ask my hand in marriage. And, I was running away from them. The way they were coming, I was afraid that they might harm me one day if I continue to reject their proposal. Because of that, I never came out, laughed or talked with anybody. Suitors were too many but I would always find one or two faults in them. In fact, it got to a point that one of my brothers felt that a charm had been used on me and he threatened to beat it out of me. But in his case, I tried to end the relationship but a force inside me didnt agree. Initially, I didnt love him. I did not like to hear mens voices. But once I hear his, I would be happy. So, when I noticed that there was something inside pushing me, I developed the interest. I prayed and asked that the will of God be done. After I prayed, everything I hated about him, I began to like. I started seeing our relationship grow with love. When one of my cousins came from Aba, she wanted to cut the relationship. I told her to forget it. At a time, the relationship affected my education. I couldnt concentrate on my studies. Whats the most memorable thing about your wedding, traditional or English? Husband: In my traditional wedding, it was something that the people that believe in superstition would have said that this marriage would not work. This is because on the day of the ceremony, her grandmother who had been ill before then, suddenly died. In fact, immediately my people got to their compound, the woman passed on. According to people, before she died, she was always asking them: when would my in-laws come? It was later that we realised that her grandmother did not want her first son to suffer for her funeral. She wanted whatever came in for the traditional wedding to be used for her burial. And that was what happened. The old womans death did not stop the wedding. When she gave up the ghost, they covered her body up and the ceremony continued. On my wedding day, it was something very spectacular because I pulled men and women that matter in the society. The chairman of my reception could not hold himself. In his speech which I did not forget till date, he said: If this young boy and young girl can pull this kind of crowd, give them five more years and they will move the world. Wife: God confirmed His presence during our traditional wedding and English weddings. Before the traditional wedding, I had a dream in which I saw an obstacle. But I kept it to myself. During the marriage, somebody told me that my grandmother might die because of the way she was breathing. It was then I told them about my dream and they confirmed that it was what was about to happen. People were cooking in the compound. But when the stage was set, my grandmother gave up the ghost. They said I was lucky that those cooking had already finished doing so. Otherwise, they would have cancelled it. In fact, the incident occurred immediately the would-be in-laws entered our compound. On the English wedding, at a particular point, I was taken away. A message came that some visitors wanted to carry out an evil plot. I was whisked away. How did you settle your first misunderstanding? Husband: Misunderstanding in marriage can come in two ways physical and spiritual. The physical has to do with human action. But the spiritual type is what you cannot tell because it is manipulated in the spiritual realm. At such a time, it is only perseverance that will help. But the one that happens by mans action can be controlled by man through self-advice: I will not do this again, and you maintain it. But the spiritual aspect is something that is being influenced by manipulations. That was what I experienced mostly in my marriage. I was being manipulated by an unconscious situation, while my wife was consciously controlling that situation by being prayerful and persevering. She persevered in it. She didnt act based on my reaction. My reaction may be too hot but she would cool down. Later, I would understand myself and pretend to reconcile by trying to be generous. Wife: During our marriage counselling, we were advised not to allow people settle our misunderstanding. I picked up that word. I can keep something within me. The first problem that entered my marriage, I had to keep it secret and entered my room and communicated with God. I went on my knees before God because I love the things of God. In fact, God is the One that has kept my marriage. Before any problem occurs, He would reveal it to me and I would start working on it. What is your advice for bachelors intending to marry? Husband: My advice is: one, early marriage is good. Why we have many problems in child-bearing is as a result of late marriage. At young age, all your body systems are functional. Number two is love. Dont marry because of life necessities, in the sense that you met a woman that has money and proposed to her. Tomorrow, you become a slave and quarrels would start. But, if you apply love, you marry naturally. Dont go for an already-made woman. Also, dont wait until you have the whole world before you start to plan for marriage. I married at the age of 24. Now, I am a grandfather. You marry when your wife is healthy and you are also healthy. Late marriage doesnt help. What is your advice for spinsters? Wife: If you want to succeed in marriage, you must acknowledge God and obey Him. There is no marriage without challenges. They should depend on God and allow Him to direct their steps as they go into marriage. Any marriage that gets the third party involved, if care is not taken, it will scatter. So, they should hand over their marriage proposals to God. They should follow the footsteps of godly couples whose marriages are worthy of emulation. In the face of rampant marriage break-ups in the society, what advice do you have for young couples to make their marriage lasts as long as yours? Husband: Number one thing that makes marriage to be strong is the ability to communicate. Communication in the sense that when you come back home, you would be able to tell your wife the situation outside. Two, when things are not working well, dont pretend. Some people claim what they are not in marriage. It is wrong. Listen, if you start wrongly, you will end up wrongly. Also, sex of the children should not be an issue in marriage. Even where there is no child, it should not destroy the marriage. If your marriage is based on God, you would be able to overcome whatever challenge: be it health, finance that confronts you. Wife: For those who are already married, and perhaps have challenges in the marriage, they should always pray together, eat together. As a woman, if your husband is tired because of the days hustling, pray by his bedside. Take whatever challenge you have to God. Go on your knees. Dont fight your husband. God is greater than the challenge. Believe in God. If there is an issue, dont tackle it with confrontation. In all that I passed through in my marriage, I never told anyone in my family. I kept everything to myself. I never went to anybody. I tabled it before God and He saw us through. *** Source: Sunday Sun Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 21:18:51|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. administration has multiplied the means of scapegoating China even when it is busy fighting with the coronavirus on its own turf. It is nothing short of absurdity and an ugly political show. Recently, attorney generals of the states of Missouri and Mississippi filed lawsuits against China, demanding it should take responsibilities and compensate losses incurred during the coronavirus outbreak. The allegation does not have any legal or factual basis, but only incites hatred. Based on the principle of sovereign equality prescribed by the international law, U.S. domestic courts have no jurisdiction over the sovereign actions taken by the Chinese government in response to the epidemic. China did not cover up any facts and has been timely sharing information with the world from the very beginning. Since Jan. 3, China has been regularly informing the WHO, relevant countries, including the United States, about the COVID-19 outbreak. On Jan. 12, China shared with the WHO information on the genome sequence of the novel coronavirus, which has laid a solid basis for global efforts of scientific research and vaccine development against COVID-19, the common enemy of humanity. China has fulfilled its obligations in accordance with the International Health Regulations, as the WHO commented that China had set a new benchmark for the world in fulfilling its international duties. The U.S. abuse of litigation against China carries little legal significance but serves as a political show in an election year in the United States. According to a U.S. media report, some Republicans worked out campaign guidelines asking candidates to address the coronavirus crisis by aggressively attacking China. Clearly, China-bashing has been intensively exploited in an election year complicated by the coronavirus epidemic. China has carried out the prevention and control of the epidemic in an open, transparent and responsible way. American politicians should spend more time working out effective ways to bring the domestic outbreak under control as early as possible, instead of shifting blame and shirking their responsibilities. Enditem Garda headquarters in Dublin has told officers that Covid-19 restrictions do not apply to people on day trips from Northern Ireland, RTE reported on Saturday night. Officers in border counties such as Donegal have been ordered not to arrest anyone from Northern Ireland for suspected breaches of the coronavirus regulations because they do not have the power to do so under the emergency legislation introduced by the Irish Government. RTE News said it had learned that there is a loophole in the regulations signed by the Irish Health Minister Simon Harris which means they do not apply to people who live outside the State. But the PSNI is able to enforce restrictions here, meaning they could stop any day trippers making their way across the border and fine them while they are in Northern Ireland. Expand Close Irish Health Minister Simon Harris PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Irish Health Minister Simon Harris The regulations signed by the Irish Minister for Health just before Easter weekend stated that the restrictions on movement applied to people "whose place of residence is located within a relevant geographical location" and that a place of residence means "a person's home". A senior Garda officer serving on the border reportedly noticed that people from Northern Ireland do not live in a geographical location to which Irish law can apply and sought clarification from Garda headquarters. Garda headquarters recognised this issue which is said to have led to their advice to officers. However, the Garda Commissioner said that if a person from Northern Ireland travels to a holiday home in the Republic, then that becomes their place of residence and the legislation applies. Garda HQ has declined to comment on the report but urged everyone resident or visiting to adhere to the public health guidelines to protect themselves and others from Covid-19. Israel permitted some businesses to reopen on Sunday and said it would consider allowing children back to school as part of trial efforts to ease coronavirus restrictions and help the struggling economy. After weeks of closures, shops with street access resumed operations, though malls and markets stayed off-limits as a precaution against public congregation. Restaurants were allowed to offer take-away food, in addition to delivery services. Israel, with a population of 8.8 million, has had 15,398 coronavirus cases and 199 deaths. With around 100 COVID-19 sufferers on ventilators and 2,000 more hospital beds on standby, officials see an opportunity to review pandemic policy. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene cabinet members by Monday for a decision on reopening schools, Defence Minister Naftali Bennett told Israel`s Channel 13 TV. The Education Ministry has proposed that if the school year resumes it should run into the summer holiday to make up for lost time. With unemployment hitting 27% last week, the government also approved small-business stipends and other emergency grants. Officials described the easing of restrictions as reversable, should new contagions follow. Signalling a shift away from nationwide curbs, Israel imposed lockdowns on Sunday in neighbourhoods of two towns with local virus outbreaks. "If we are diligent about three rules - masks, social distancing and hygiene - I believe that we will succeed in combining routine life with preventing the spread of the disease. Do not be nonchalant," Health Ministry director-general Moshe Bar Siman Tov said on Twitter. Palestinian officials have reported 342 coronavirus cases and two deaths in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Virus slump to slash Iran petchem revenues by nearly a third: Report Iran Press TV Saturday, 25 April 2020 2:15 PM A report by the Iranian parliament says that government revenues from exports of petrochemical products could decrease by around a third as a result of a coronavirus pandemic that has badly hit the demand side in the international markets. The Iranian Parliament's Research Center (IPRC) said in its Saturday report that petchem revenues would fall by at least 30 percent in the current calendar year which started in late March compared to the year before. The report said a main reason for the slump would be the depressed prices in the international oil markets as well as problems with transportation of goods across the borders and on the sea. It said revenues derived from the sale of petrochemicals have been a main component of Iran's foreign currency income since the United States imposed its sanctions on the country's direct export of crude in November 2018. "Given the current circumstances, there must be a proper planning to manage the impacts and consequences of the drop in foreign currency revenues derived from the export of petrochemcials," it said. Government estimates suggest Iran's petrochemicals sector is generating around $12 billion per year in export revenues. The government had estimated that total revenues from the sector, including the domestic sale, would reach $25 billion by 2021. Output was also planned to increase to 100 million metric tons per year with the completion of 27 petrochemical projects across Iran in the next two years. The IPRC said that the slump in demand would directly affect Iran's sale of methanol, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and aromatics. It said demand for other products like various polymers, urea and ammonia would gradually decrease over the next months. It said, however, that Iranian refineries that produce raw materials for disinfectants and other items needed to fight the new coronavirus may feel less of the heat. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address HOLYOKE One more veteran has died overnight at the Holyoke Soldiers Home, but the number of residents who have tested positive has remained stable for at least three days. A total of 66 veterans have now died of COVID-19 since the first resident tested positive on March 21. Nine others have died of other causes during that time and the cause of death for one veteran is unknown, officials for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services said. An additional 82 veterans have been infected with the virus, meaning more than 70 percent of the nearly 210 residents who were living at the state-run home for elderly and infirm war veterans have contracted COVID-19. Test results are pending on eight other residents, officials said. After state officials were alerted by the employees union and Mayor Alex B. Morse about their concerns that the virus was rapidly spreading through the facility, a team from Health and Human Services inspected the home on March 30. Before noon Superintendent Bennett Walsh had been placed on paid administrative leave and Val Liptak, CEO of Western Massachusetts Hospital, was asked to take over management. Walsh, who reported in a court injunction that he is believed to have contracted the coronavirus, has denied any mismanagement and called any accusations of wrong-doing as outrageous. The state quickly set up a clinical team of experts to handle different facets of the crisis. About 160 National Guard members who have medical, logistical or operations expertise are also working at the home to augment the depleted staff, officials said. This weekend the Holyoke Soldiers Home maintained adequate staffing across the home with strong support from the National Guard and staffing agencies, officials said. More managers, including additional nursing executives, are also working at the home to try to stabilize the problems. Over the weekend military chaplains also provided religious services to the residents at the home and those who were moved to a unit of the Holyoke Medical Center to keep them safe. The services are televised to each residents room and available to any veteran who wanted to watch, officials said. Currently five independent investigations are continuing into the circumstances that led to the disease spreading. Gov. Charlie Baker said the investigation run out his office by lawyer Mark Pearlstein has no deadline and others are being conducted by U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling, Attorney General Maura Healey and the state House and Senate. State Inspector General Glenn Cunha has also announced he is expanding an investigation into the home that began on Jan. 30 to include the issue, officials have not said why the original probe was started. Sample HTML block Related Content: For much of the past half-decade, marijuana has been one of the fastest-growing industries. After generating $3.4 billion in worldwide sales in 2014, global weed sales more than tripled to $10.9 billion by 2018. According to various Wall Street estimates, worldwide pot sales should hit $50 billion on an annual basis by 2030, with North America generating the bulk of this revenue. Although there are more than three dozen countries around the world where medical cannabis has been legalized to some degree, it's recreational marijuana that's going to be the industry's long-term revenue driver. The patient pool for adult-use weed is considerably larger than it is with medical marijuana, and recreational sales tend to cannibalize the medical pot industry, once legal. After all, there's no need to wait for a physician's prescription if you can simply walk into a dispensary and buy cannabis products. To date, only two countries in the world have waved the green flag on recreational marijuana. Uruguay was the first to do so in December 2013. The second was our northerly neighbor, Canada, which officially began selling adult-use marijuana on Oct. 17, 2018. The question has been, with popularity for cannabis budding like never before, which country would next to legalize recreational pot? Mexico's Supreme Court extends the recreational cannabis legalization deadline... again We appeared to get our answer to this question on Oct. 31, 2018. On that date, Mexico's Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to ban the possession or use of recreational marijuana. This happened to be the fifth time that Mexico's highest court had issued this ruling, which in Mexican law makes this ruling the standard to be set throughout the country. Effectively, Mexico's Supreme Court gave adult-use marijuana a green light on Halloween 2018. However, Mexico's Supreme Court is only able to decide what is and isn't lawful. It has no say on actually crafting legislation. Thus, this ruling meant Mexico's lawmakers would need to come together to develop a framework for a regulated and legal marijuana market. The Supreme Court gave lawmakers a full year to get that done. Unsurprisingly, though (note the sarcasm), they waited until October 2019 to really dig into the details of a proposal. As such, Mexico's highest court granted a one-time extension to hash out the details and approve legislation concerning a legal cannabis market by no later than end of April 2020. At the time, the Supreme Court was very clear that this would be the only extension granted on this issue. And then the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) struck. There are more than 2.6 million confirmed cases of this respiratory disease worldwide, with dozens of countries around the globe taking stringent measures to reduce transmission rates. With Mexico among those countries shutting down businesses to slow disease proliferation, legislation at the congressional level has come to a virtual standstill. This prompted the Supreme Court to go back on its "one-time extension" and once again extend the deadline for lawmakers to end the prohibition of cannabis. The new deadline is December 15, 2020, which marks the end of the legislative session for Mexico's congress. Considering how lawmakers have slow-stepped working out the details of this proposal thus far, legalization shouldn't be expected, in full, for another eight months. Legalizing marijuana in Mexico will likely be a non-event for pot stock investors Although there are still plenty of details left to be discussed, there are some aspects of Mexico's marijuana legalization proposal that are pretty much decided, according to Marijuana Moment. In no particular order: Adults aged 18 and older will be allowed to purchase and cultivate marijuana for personal use. Personal possession is to be limited to 28 grams, but possession would be decriminalized up to 200 grams. People would be allowed to grow up to 20 registered plants, as long as the yield doesn't top 480 grams annually. Medical pot patients could apply to cultivate even more plants. Legal marijuana would be taxed at a 12% rate. Public consumption of cannabis would be allowed, except for spaces that are specifically designated as smoke-free. The Mexican Institute of Regulation and Control of Cannabis would be in charge of regulating the legal marijuana market and issuing business licenses. Then again, there are particulars of the legalization proposal that remain very much up in the air. For example, there continues to be push-back from legalization advocates over the lack of protections for domestic farmers, as well as other social equity provisions. In other words, legalization proponents want to see those most disenfranchised by the drug war benefit most from its legalization. Lawmakers have offered no certainties one way or the other whether this would happen, albeit a previous iteration of this legalization proposal significantly limited the ability of big corporations to land cannabis business licenses in Mexico. Previous legalization proposals have also suggested that edibles and infused beverages would remain banned for recreational consumers and only be available to medical pot patients. This is noteworthy given that dried cannabis flower is easily commoditized and generally a low-margin product. Edibles and infused beverages are expected to be a source of juicy margins for marijuana companies. Without access to these products, Mexico's recreational sales potential may be limited. The only major company with any sort of presence in Mexico at the moment is Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQ:ACB). Aurora acquired pharmacy distribution business Farmacias Magistrales a little over a year ago, giving the company access to more than 500 hospitals throughout the country. However, if higher-margin derivatives are effectively banned on the recreational side of the equation, Aurora Cannabis would have to settle for quantity over quality in terms of revenue generation. And, at this point, there's no guarantee that a company like Aurora Cannabis would even qualify for a recreational business license given its size. With advocates focused on propping up domestic farmers and businesses, Mexico looks to be a market pot stock investors will want to watch from a safe distance. Men threatened to kill security staff at the unloading bay at the Dunnes Stores on Church Road in Tullamore, the local District Court heard. Judge Bernadette Owens heard that John Stynes, 29, and another man made the threat and were also abusive and insulting towards the staff. Sgt James O'Sullivan said plastic crates were thrown at one of the workers, Saulius Sliokati, connecting with his arm. Mr Stynes, 9 Upper Staplestown Road, Carlow, later entered Leavy's Centra, Henry St, Tullamore, and took two handbags, one which contained 140 in cash. The money was not recovered. Sgt O'Sullivan said Mr Stynes was subsequently arrested and he admitted the offences, which were committed on June 21 last year. The court was told the accused, who was not present, was currently serving sentences totalling one year for criminal damage and dangerous driving, all imposed at Carlow District Court. Sgt O'Sullivan said the man had 33 previous convictions in all, including four for theft and the most recent of those was in 2012. Mr Styne's solicitor, Donal Farrelly, who entered guilty pleas on his behalf to assault, theft and engaging in threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour, said the Carlow offences were contemporaneous with the Tullamore ones. He was sentenced for them on April 1 last. Judge Owens said she would await a victim impact report before hearing a plea in mitigation from Mr Farrelly. A victim impact report was not before the court last week despite attempts to contact Mr Sliokati. Adjourning sentence to July 22 next, Judge Owens also transferred Mr Stynes' legal aid to Mr Farrelly. While the world continues to wait for a vaccine or a cure for COVID-19, so far, the most promising option available is plasma therapy. Though it has only been tested on a limited number of patients till now, the results have been encouraging. Another positive sign is the number of recovered COVID-19 patients who have come forward to donate their plasma. The plasma donated by one recovered person can treat at least two people. REUTERS Over 100 Tablighi Jamaat members who have recovered from the infection have reportedly offered to donate their plasma to treat COVID-19 patients in Delhi. Out of the 142 people who were tested positive after they attended the religious gathering in Nizamuddin last month, 129 have recovered and have offered to donate plasma. Tablighi Jamaat participants in Tamil Nadu, who tested positive have also come forward to donate their plasma. Earlier, Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad had also appealed to the sect's members to donate their blood. AFP The group had come under heavy criticism after it emerged as the largest 'single source' of COVID-19 spread in India. (Don't Miss: Contribute To Indiatimes Fundraiser To Help India Fight COVID-19) The Delhi government had last week got permission from the Centre to conduct a limited trial of plasma therapy on serious patients. As such, the trial is being conducted only at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital in the national capital and only four patients have received plasma till Thursday. The state government will now reach out to the central government to extend the trial to all hospitals in Delhi to treat such patients. AFP Our efforts are in two directions. One is prevention and detection, while the other is to reduce the deaths that are happening because of the disease. Around 10 days ago, we got permission to hold a trial to conduct plasma therapy on serious patients. We have conducted the trial on four patients in LNJP and the response so far has been positive," Kejriwal said. Of the four patients, two received plasma on Tuesday. They were in the intensive care unit and they are now in a position to be moved to a ward. We have got limited trial permission from the central government. We will apply next week to treat all serious patients with this therapy. We are still recording the therapy and its results but this news is giving us motivation," he said. The total number of coronavirus cases in Delhi stand at 2,625, with 111 new cases and one death being reported in a day, according to Delhi government authorities. A 57-page memo that was recently circulated among Republican senatorial candidates sheds light on the GOP's messaging effort to attack China for the coronavirus pandemic and blame the country's communist government leadership for "covering it up, lying, and hoarding the worlds supply of medical equipment." The memo, obtained by Politico, encourages candidates to promote unverified theories that the coronavirus is "likely the result of an accidental release by a Chinese research facility," which China and the World Health Organisation (WHO), among other groups, deny. It also provides a comprehensive slate of messaging suggestions on a wide range of questions candidates could face on coronavirus, and advises candidates how to pivot an answer back towards attacking China, tying a Democratic opponent to China, and promising to hold the Chinese government accountable through sanctions and other means. For instance, a reporter could ask a candidate whether the health crisis in the US is Trump's fault. "Dont defend Trump, other than the China Travel Ban attack China," the memo suggests. The memo also provides talking points for candidates who are asked whether they are "being racist by blaming China" and prompting racist attacks against Chinese Americans. "No one is blaming Chinese Americans," the memo suggests candidates answer. "This is the fault of the Chinese Communist Party for covering up the virus and lying about its danger. This caused the pandemic and they should be held accountable. ... No one has suffered more from the murderous Communist Chinese Party dictatorship than the people of China. We stand with them against their corrupt government that caused this pandemic," candidates should say. The memo, dated 17 April, was compiled by the political consulting firm of Brett O'Donnell, a Republican operative who has previously worked for Utah Senator Mitt Romney, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, and others. Mr Cotton has long been one of the most vociferously anti-China lawmakers in Washington. In an interview on Fox Business on Sunday, he put that reputation into action, arguing that Chinese students should be prohibited from studying science at US universities. "If Chinese students want to come here and study Shakespeare and the Federalist Papers, that's what they need to learn from America," Mr Cotton said in the interview. "They don't need to learn quantum computing and artificial intelligence from America," he said. In a statement to Politico, National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Jesse Hunt said the committee "routinely" sends similar memos and documents "dozens of times per week." "Thats the role of the party committee, especially in these volatile times," Mr Hunt said. India Cautiously Reopens Neighborhood Stores Shuttered by COVID By Anjana Pasricha April 25, 2020 A month after imposing a stringent lockdown, India Saturday allowed neighborhood stores in cities and shops in rural areas to reopen in a bid to gradually get its shuttered economy back on track. The move is expected to bring a measure of relief to the retail industry, which employs 35 million people and is the second-biggest provider of jobs, after agriculture. Malls and restaurants, however, will remain closed, as will markets in hotspot areas for the coronavirus. This is the second small step to resume normal life in the country of 1.3 billion that has been under the world's biggest and most stringent lockdowns earlier this week India allowed farm-based businesses and some factories in areas less affected by the coronavirus to resume operations. The Ministry of Home Affairs, which made the announcement, said shops could reopen only with half their staff, would have to maintain social distancing norms and would have to comply with new measures such as those requiring the wearing of masks and gloves. The shutdown has virtually brought the economy to a standstill creating massive hardship for millions of people employed in its vast informal sector. According to the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy, a business information company, unemployment in the country has surged to about 25% during the lockdown period. Only a few shop owners opened Saturday following the late-night order and it may take time for people to venture out. "I won't be rushing out immediately to the market but just the thought that things are slowly getting back to normal made me feel so much better," said Neema Eidnani, who lives near New Delhi. India has recorded over 24,500 cases of the coronavirus and 775 deaths. Health authorities say that the rise of infections in the country "is linear and not exponential," which according to officials, is as an indication that strategies adopted have succeeded in limiting it to a "particular level." "During the 30 days of lockdown, we have been able to cut transmission, minimize spread and increase the days of doubling of COVID-19," according to C.K. Mishra, the Chairman of one of the 11 groups set up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to deal with the health crisis said this week. "We have been able to consistently ramp up testing and utilize our time preparing for the future in case the virus spreads further," he said. That spike, health experts say, is inevitable, and they warn that even a limited opening will bring a flood of new infections, especially in a country where social distancing norms are hard to maintain in crowded cities where most cases have been reported. Imposed last month for three weeks, the lockdown has been extended till May 3, but could remain in place even longer in the worst-hit areas such as Mumbai. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The novel coronavirus first alerted the world in December 2019, but Li Wenliang, a doctor in Wuhan China and one of the whistleblowers was punished for warning other doctors of the new SARS-like disease in a WhatsApp chat. Li Wenliang was condemned by the Chinese police, who forced him to sign a police document admitting that he had seriously disrupted social order for spreading rumors. In early February, Li died after catching the coronavirus disease and caused the Chinese internet to flood with anti-government messages regardless of the country's strict censorship. Dr. Li has been officially acquitted by an investigation into his death, though some argue this did not proceed far enough as only the condemnation was withdrawn. China's attempts to prevent news of the disease traveling has been condemned while the threat of the new coronavirus reached other countries. Professor Steve Tsang, the expert on Chinese history and politics, said the country's government opts for secrecy by delinquency. Tsang highlighted how there is a severe lack of transparency in Beijing which possibly contributed to the enlarging of the crisis. He also said that the Chinese Communist Party does secrecy as a matter of the course. And he thought the early stages of the lack of transparency was not the result of any particular ill-intention or conspiracy to move. He added the party does not do transparency as a normal course of action. In addition, the Chinese political expert uttered that the party is first and foremost interested in keeping it in power and under Xi Jinping to assure that Xi Jinping is always seen to be right and never to have made any mistake. He brought out that it is not in the nature of the party to acknowledge if something goes wrong. Read also: China Apologizes to Family of COVID-19 'Whistleblower Doctor' The professor also asserted that the country's government was distracted by the trade war negotiation with Donald Trump, president of the US, meaning Xi Jinping was reluctant to redirect his attention elsewhere. He added this is the emergence of potential threats which is a potential challenge. Tsang articulated that it could be very important in terms of public health, but it happened at a time when Xin Jinping's focus was trying to get a deal with Donald Trump for the trade war. He verbalized that one should be an extraordinarily brave and courageous party secretary in Wuhan or Hubei Province to try and divert Xi Jinping from the trade war. Xi would rather stay focused on the trade deal than shift his attention on something which will be a public health challenge in a faraway place, like Wuhan, which he does not normally visit. Also stating that the early stages of the cover-up happened because of the nature of the system. The economic controversy between the US and China had been boiling for some time but has heightened when US President Trump raised tariffs and devastating trade barriers. This followed after Washington grew restless due to unfair trade methods from Beijing in 2018. Washington protest included the theft of intellectual property, theft of trade secrets, and forced transfer of US technology to China. After President Trump hit out in China this week, all the progress that had been made could be conquered. Trump blamed Beijing for the lack of transparency over the true extent of the coronavirus outbreak in China. James Crabtree, associate professor at Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said that the relationship between the US and China is at the worst point in living memory since the Seventies. At this moment a grand exercise in blame-shifting is going on, on both sides. Related article: 'Whistleblower' Doctor Breaks Silence: Chinese Netizens Spread Info Using Emojis in WeChat @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Veteran filmmaker Priyadarshan says he had initially approached big names like Ayushmann Khurrana and Kartik Aaryan for the sequel of his 2003 comedy Hungama, but none of them showed interest in the project. The National Award-winning filmmaker, who roped in one-film-old Meezaan Jaffery to star in Hungama 2, believes popular stars must have thought he is an outdated director. I didn't go directly to meet them but my concept was narrated to a lot of actors like Ayushmann Khurrana, Kartik Aaryan and Siddharth Malhotra. They all refused to do the film (Hungama 2'). Now, I am working with Meezaan. They all refused because maybe they thought I am an outdated director, because I was out of the Hindi film industry for five years, Priyadarshan told PTI. In a career spanning over three decades, Priyadarshan has directed more than 95 films in various Indian languages, including Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. He is best known for his films in the south such as Kanchivaram, Kaalapani, Oppam, Thenmavin Kombath, whereas some of his most notable movies in Hindi include Virasat, "Hera Pheri", Hungama, Hulchul, Chup Chup Ke, Bhool Bhulaiyaa among others. The director said he prefers working with actors who believe in his conviction. They seemed disinterested. They don't tell it to you on your face. I don't like to beg to actors and (I) prefer to work with somebody who believes in me. Many times when you request an actor to do a film, they show respect to you, offer you coffee and nicely they will avoid you, because maybe they don't trust you. Priyadarshan said he is happy with the way Hungama 2 has shaped up so far. He said both the original and sequel have a common theme - confusion. It is a film of total misunderstanding. The old film is about misunderstanding and confusion and same is the case with Hungama 2' but the story is different. The 2003 original film featured Paresh Rawal, Shoma Anand, Akshaye Khanna, Aftab Shivdasani, and Rimi Sen in lead roles. The second part features Rawal, alongside a new cast, which includes Meezaan, Shilpa Shetty and south actor Pranitha Subhash. The director said he is happy to have collaborated with them for the film. Priyardarshan said due to the coronavirus pandemic the shoot of the film has got affected. We had 12 more days of shoot left. We were to shoot in Kullu-Manali, there was one song and few scenes left. Almost 80 per cent of the film is complete. We could have finished the film by now if not for coronavirus. I enjoyed doing the film, I am happy with it. I hope when people see it, they like it too. Hungama 2, produced by Ratan Jain, is scheduled to be released in August. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vietnam Airlines sold its 49 per cent stake in Cambodia's Angkor Air to private investors. Vietnam Airlines has sold its shares in Angkor Air, Sin Chansereyvutha, a spokesman for Cambodias State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, confirmed to DealStreetAsia, though the deal size has not been disclosed. In 2009, Vietnam Airlines purchased 49 per cent of Angkor Airs stakes, showing its interest in the Cambodian aviation market. The remainder was held by the local government. Vietnam Airlines has made an exit from Cambodia's Angkor Air The companys operation has been adversely impacted by the unpredictable development of the pandemic. The management has come up with short- and long-term solutions to cope with the uncertainties, Vietnam Airlines said in its 2019 financial statement. Last October, Vietnam Airlines signalled that it was mulling over withdrawing or slashing its stake in Angkor Air due to intense competition in the sector. Earlier this month, the firm was also reported to be preparing the groundwork to divest 49 per cent stake in Cambodias Angkor Air. In addition, escalating market turbulence caused by COVID-19 pandemic has rubbed salt into the wound of this Vietnams state-owned air carrier. Vietnam Airlines is allegedly the hardest hit firm in the first quarter of 2020 with consolidated revenue falling by VND6.7 trillion ($291.3 million) from the same period last year to VND19.2 trillion ($834.78 million), thus hitting a loss of VND2.38 trillion ($103.48 million), according to the Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises. Its stock tumbled by approximately 50 per cent due to various draconian measures to contain the virus. However, the Vietnamese government has just put an end to the lockdown campaign since April 23, since the country has gone nine straight days without detecting a new case. Experts believe that Vietnam Airlines stocks (HSX: HVN) would rally from this situation when the travel ban within the country has been lifted. VIR Luu Huong Transport Ministry tries to save Vietnam Airlines, experts cite legal constraints If enterprises are treated unequally, Vietnam will suffer immeasurable consequences, said lzwyer Truong Thanh Duc from Basico Law Firm. Photo:Courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- At the request of the Cambodian military and with the approval of the Central Military Commission, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Saturday sent urgently needed COVID-19 prevention and control materials, including nucleic acid testing kits and protective gowns, to the Cambodian military by air force planes. Photo:Courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense Sneha Mahale By Within the larger narrative of a health pandemic, Covid-19 has brought about a serious mental health crisis. Psychological therapy akin to medicine for many has been cut off, leaving people panicked and in pain. But for people like Varsha Kamath, a Bengaluru-based lawyer, online therapy came as a saviour. I have always struggled with anxiety and the constant coronavirus updates post the lockdown stressed me out further. Then my doctor suggested a counselling session online. I was a bit sceptical at first, but it turned out well. My nerves are in better control now, she says. These psychotherapeutic interventions over the internet between a trained professional and a client are also known as internet therapy, e-counselling, e-therapy, cybertherapy, e-mail therapy, web counselling, internet counselling or cyber counselling. The primary tools for communicating include emails, messages, internet calls or video calls. Such services may be accessed through a desktop or laptop, but mobile apps are also becoming increasingly popular, says Dr Ashna Gupta, Senior Psychologist, vHealth by Aetna. What makes online therapy useful According to WHO, nearly 200 million Indians suffer from mental disorders, but there is less than one psychiatrist for every 1,00,000 people. Online counselling effectively addresses this mismatch as the length of sessions is shorter and therefore, experts can listen to more people. Also, its easily accessible and relatively less expensive. The doctor asks important questions related to your mental health and gives you time to express yourself for 20-30 minutes, says Dr Sonal Anand, Psychiatrist, Wockhardt Hospital, Mira Road, MumbaiBut for many, its a safe and convenient option. Its also beneficial because it helps individuals go beyond the stigma related to seeking mental health services. Clients may become more honest and sincere when they cannot see the therapist as they feel less defensive and vulnerable. Moreover, it is easier for therapists to engage absent family members in family therapy with the use of computer-mediated communication, says Gupta. Who it works for and who it doesnt Online therapy works well for anxiety, depression, adjustment problems, negative thinking patterns or low motivation, but its not suitable for a serious substance abuser or those presenting severe psychiatric or psychotic tendencies, or have active suicidal ideations, according to Gupta. What you need to know before choosing online therapy It lacks the physical connection that is established between two people. This may decrease the sense of intimacy, trust, and commitment in the therapeutic relationship. The absence of non-visual cues such as facial expressions, body language and voice tone can result in a greater potential for miscommunication. It may lead to an incorrect diagnosis. Sometimes a health issue may be missed because of lack of physical examination. Additionally, its only available to those who have access to a computer, therefore keeping out those who dont. And technological failures such as call drops, or network or internet issues, can also interfere with the therapeutic alliance between the therapist and client, shares Gupta. Piece of advice Choosing the right therapist is vital. If you have consulted with someone before, its better to check if they offer online counselling. If not, decide what gender and age of the doctor make you comfortable. Once youve gone through this checklist, youre ready to sign up. - Pastor Martin Ssempa got married to his mzungu wife over 28 years ago when they had so little - They have lived together since then and grew one of the largest ministries in Uganda - The two celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary in the wild where they were picking flowers Whereas its commonly said and accepted by many that good marriages are made in heaven, it's however not clear on how well these marriages should be celebrated. For Pastor Martin Ssempa of Makerere Community Church in Uganda, he had to be creative and come up with a unique way of celebrating 28 years of marriage to his beautiful mzungu wife. READ ALSO: MV Safari: New ferry to help Mombasa fight coronavirus Pastor Martin Ssempa of Makerere Community Church in Uganda. Photo: Ssempa = Gabriel Baaba Gwanga'Mujje Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Mercy Mwangangi asema ana mchumba, mafisi wavunjwa moyo Instead of going out for expensive cakes and vacations, the couple decided to go out into the wild collecting all manner of beautiful flowers. "So today is my 28th Wedding Anniversary. Please celebrate and thank God with me. We are out picking wild flowers!," said the man of the cloth in his Twitter post. Pastor Martin's wife carrying flowers they collected. Photo: Ssempa = Gabriel Baaba Gwanga'Mujje Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Mercy Mwangangi asema ana mchumba, mafisi wavunjwa moyo In a video he posted, the pastor and his wife were seen carrying a handful of flowers that they had collected in marking 28 years of marriage. The wto got married 28 years ago in a church wedding. Photo: Ssempa = Gabriel Baaba Gwanga'Mujje Source: Facebook Their celebration came barely four months Ssempa was involved in a road accident on Tuesday, December 24. Martin explained he lost control of a Toyota Prado he was driving on that fateful night when its wheel abruptly came off. Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly. Source: TUKO.co.ke Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 11:27:24|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- China's National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ), also known as the "new third board," has seen a total turnover of 29.8 billion yuan (about 4.2 billion U.S. dollars) since the beginning of this year, according to the exchange. From April 20 to 24, turnover on the board reached 3.3 billion yuan. As of Friday, a total of 8,652 companies had been listed on the NEEQ. Launched in 2013, the new third board is the third national equity trading bourse after the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. It is designed for innovative, start-up and high-growth micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises. China has outlined a series of reforms to better orient the NEEQ to the needs and features of small enterprises and support high-quality growth of the real economy. Enditem New Delhi/Washington, April 26 : A US Democrat Congressman who has links with radical Islamist group Muslim Brotherhood and wants American schools to be modelled after Islamic seminaries, on Saturday bashed India over Kashmir on social media. Andre Carson, the representative for Indiana's seventh Congressional district tweeted, "My heart remains with the people of Kashmir during this challenging time. The draconian restrictions placed upon them by PM Modi are not only taking away their basic human rights, but also making it more difficult to protect against Covid-19. These unjust restrictions must end!" Over 13,000 people have tested positive for Covid-19 and over 700 people have died due to the contagious disease in Indiana so far. The US, which is the most affected country due to the pandemic, has lost around 54,000 people due to the virus and is nearing 1 million cases who tested positive for the infection, till now. In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which is placed under the same lockdown restrictions as the rest of India, over 450 people have tested positive for Covid-19 and six people have died so far. Carson, seemingly more worried about Kashmir, was however, called out by several Twitter users. The Congressman had courted a major controversy in 2012 when he at an Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) convention -- a nonprofit group which has ties to extremist Islamist groups -- said that American schools should be set up on the foundations of the Quran the way madrassas are. According to a 2015 dossier published by Center for Security Policy, a Washington DC-based public policy group set up by former Pentagon officials and US security officials, Carson has had a "long history of associating with organizations known to be front groups for the Muslim Brotherhood." "The Carson-tied Muslim groups have a documented history of serving as unregistered foreign agents, engaging in material support for terrorism, and possessing direct ties to the Brotherhood's Palestinian franchise, Hamas, a designated terrorist organization," the dossier said, adding, "his political campaign has benefited directly and financially from such entities." Publicly available records indicate that he received at least $33,911 in campaign donations from individuals associated with Muslim Brotherhood-linked organizations over a period of several years, the dossier said. The Center has documented his association with radical Muslim groups in the US like Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Muslim American Society (MAS), Unites States Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), Muslim Michigan Community Council (MMCC), Muslim Alliance of Indiana (MAI) and Egypt Freedom Foundation (EFF) -- all linked to Muslim Brotherhood. Latest updates on Howdy Modi Houston Alessia Bowman, 10, Sybella Bowman, 12, and Oliver Bowman, 8, do school work at their family home and cattle property on April 05, 2020 in Tarpoly Creek, Australia.(Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images) Queensland Independent Schools Want to Reopen Queenslands independent schools have called on the Palaszczuk government to allow all Year 11 and 12 students to return to school immediately. Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ) want Year 11 and 12 students to return amid COVID-19 restrictions so theyre not disadvantaged compared to their interstate counterparts. Schools are open only for students of essential workers and vulnerable children otherwise they remain closed until May 22 in Queensland. ISQ Executive Director David Robertson stated in his letter to Premier Annasatcia Palaszcuk that every effort should be made to minimise disruption to the continuity of quality teaching and learning. I also note that in some other states and territories Year 11 and 12 students are being encouraged to return to schools or are already back at school, he wrote. With Queensland adopting the ATAR for tertiary entrance from this year, it is important that Queensland students are not disadvantaged compared to their counterparts in other states and territories. Students have been encouraged to attend school in South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory while NSW students will be attending classes one day a week from May 11. Palaszczuk has previously said that a decision on when students return to school in Queensland will be made by May 15. ISQ wants any return-to-school plan to include arrangements rural, regional and remote boarding students to provide solutions to safely house them and supervising staff. ISQ is also of the view that priority should also be given to the return of Prep to Year 3 students and whilst this may not be possible in terms of an immediate return, this group should be considered for a return as soon as possible, he wrote. There are 22,657 Year 11 and 12 students enrolled in independent schools across the state, the ISQ said. Queensland recorded two new cases on April 25 while the overall toll is 1026. State Health Minister Steven Miles on Saturday said the state was conducting more than 2000 tests a day, with new testing to incorporate anyone who has a fever (or history of fever) or acute respiratory symptoms. Were determined to find and trace every case in Queensland, Miles said in a statement. Queensland had two days with no new cases. Queenslands Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said 964 of the 1026 confirmed cases had recently travelled overseas or had close contact with a confirmed case, such as their partner or flatmate. By Darren Cartwright Being confined to the house, with little to no chance to go out or meet friends is something that most of us could not have imagined a couple of months ago. But the COVID-19 outbreak and the subsequent lockdown has forced us to stay at home and practice social distancing, and that's for everyone's well-being. BCCL Whether we like it or not, we had no option, but to follow lockdown and have been practicing social distancing to avoid the risk of contracting the virus that is claiming thousands of lives across the world, every day. But there are some people who refuse to play by the rules and cause harm to themselves and others. One such classic case has emerged from Vijayawada city in Andhra Pradesh. BCCL According to a PTI report, it all began with a truck driver who was bored due to the lockdown. So, he got his friends and neighbours together, for a game of cards. Krishna district Collector, A Md Imtiaz, said 24 people have now tested positive for COVID-19. This includes the friends and neighbours who played cards and the women who grouped up and played tambola. All this resulted in the spread of the dreaded virus in 24 people, he said. Don't Miss: Contribute To Indiatimes Fundraiser To Help India Fight COVID-19 What is even more shocking is that is not the only such case that has surfaced from the region, The same thing happened in Karmika Nagar. The truck driver moved around socialising and in the process about 15 people got afflicted, Imtiaz was quoted as saying by PTI. Vijayawada is one of the major hotspots of coronavirus in the state where over 100 cases have been registered so far. In the last 24 hours alone, 25 fresh cases were reported in the city, which is part of the state capital Amaravati. With over 1000 cases reported so far, Andhra Pradesh has one of the highest numbers of COVID-19 cases in the country. The first coronavirus case in Andhra Pradesh was reported on March 12 after a 24-year-old youth tested positive, upon returning to Nellore from Italy. BCCL In Andhra Pradesh, three districts - Kurnool, Guntur and Krishna - account for more than half of the cases reported in the state. As far as cities are concerned, Vijayawada, one of the largest cities in Andhra Pradesh also has the highest number of COVID-19 positive cases. Around 80 per cent of the city is considered a hotspot. The police have taken full control of the Krishnalanka area. Over 200 people were placed in the home quarantine. She is known to many as Charlotte's braless nanny in the second Sex And The City move. And Alice Eve has discussed why she has no problem stripping off for roles as it is 'part of the job' of an actor. The actress, 38, spoke candidly with The Sun about why she has 'no aversion' to showing 'flesh' and why she hopes her latest project - Belgravia - was a good form of escapism for audiences at the moment. The nanny: Alice Eve has discussed why she has no problem stripping off for roles as it is 'part of the job' of an actor (pictured in Sex And The City 2 in 2010) The ITV drama, which was set in Victorian London, concluded last weekend with five million viewers tuning in for the finale. Alice played Susan in the period drama who shocked audiences after she had an affair with a married man and got pregnant. Despite wearing very a tight corset and big dresses for Belgravia, she told the publication: 'I don't have any aversion to flesh or showing it. I think if you've got flesh then it should be shown. 'Besides, you limit yourself if you are against all that because it's part of the job really. But it can be a bit weird sometimes.' Dare to bare: The actress said 'I don't have any aversion to flesh or showing it. I think if you've got flesh then it should be shown' (pictured in Star Trek in 2012) The screen star said she was typically cast as roles that objectify women whilst being shown through the lens of a man which is not how she feels about herself. However she shared: 'As an actor, you can't be attached to your physicality.' The star said she hopes fans enjoyed the escapism offered by the drama as it is what we need in the world right now. In character: Alice played Susan in Belgravia which concluded last weekend with five million viewers The talented actress relocated stateside in 2010, when she landed the role of Irish nanny Erin in Sex and The City 2. She has since been seen in a host of high profile movies including Men In Black 3 and Star Trek: Into Darkness. In 2014, Alice married financier Alex Cowper-Smith, her secondary school sweetheart whom she met while attending Westminster School in London - however they later parted ways after just three years of marriage. Beauty: The actress shared 'as an actor, you can't be attached to your physicality' The couple met at school but only reunited as a couple in 2014, before finally tying the knot in a small ceremony on New Year's Eve in 2014. They finalised the divorce last year, after which the blonde beauty admitted she felt as though she had a 'rebirth'. Alice was previously in a long-term relationship with poet Adam O'Riordan, who she met while reading English at Oxford University. This time last year, Air Canada (TSX:AC) was one of the most promising growth stocks on the TSX. The company had stormed all the way back from a valuation of $1 early in the 2010s to an all-time high of $52.71. However, Air Canada and the rest of the airline industry has been hit with a crisis it could have never adequately prepared for. Warren Buffett jumped in early on airliners when this crisis began. At the time, Id suggested that investors should consider emulating his strategy. Buffett has since sold a portion of this stake. Air Canada: How long will its slump last? Shares of Air Canada have dropped 63% over the past three months as of close on April 21. Earlier this month, Id suggested that investors should jump on the stock after it slipped below the $15 mark. The stock has spiked 43% over the past month. However, investors should not expect this bout of turbulence to end anytime soon. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to predict when this dark reality will subside. Some European countries like Germany, Austria, and Denmark have started to re-open in response to positive case numbers. Canadian politicians, on the other hand, are committed to pursuing extreme caution. Experts and officials have also warned of a potential second wave of COVID-19 infections in the fall and winter months of this year and next. On April 21, Air Canada announced the suspension of all United States-bound flights. The two governments recently extended their non-essential border closure for another 30 days. Air Canada admitted that it had reduced its schedule by more than 90% since the middle of March, which will have a devastating impact on its earnings in 2020. The losses to Air Canada and other airliners are incalculable right now. Airliners faced a years-long pullback after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Travel volumes took roughly half a decade to normalize by the latter half of the 2000s. The immediate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will be more severe, and there is no timeline on normalization. Story continues Two reasons to have faith in airliners The situation looks grim for Air Canada and the rest of the airline industry, but there is reason for some optimism going forward. In the years following September 11, 2001, travellers were fearful even with new security measures in place. Experts estimate that a COVID-19 vaccine will emerge in the next 12-18 months. This means that there will eventually be a concrete resolution to this crisis. It also means that a path to normalization for the airline industry may be quicker compared to the 2000s. A price war between oil producing countries and cratering demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic has pulverized the oil and gas industry. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude fell into negative territory to start this week. Jet fuel prices have predictably taken a huge hit as well. This will provide some measure of relief for Air Canada and other airliners. However, manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus may see orders decline for newer fuel-efficient models. Should you buy Air Canada stock today? Air Canada stock last had a favourable price-to-earnings ratio of 3.2 and a low price-to-book value of 1.0. Investors can expect to see its first quarter results on May 4. A slew of rough earnings will be released in the weeks ahead for Canadas top companies. Air Canada has an improved balance sheet from when it was facing crisis in the early 2010s. Value investors should consider jumping on its dips going forward. The post Why Air Canada (TSX:AC) Stock Will Bounce Back appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada. More reading Fool contributor Ambrose O'Callaghan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2020 L aurence Fox was dumped by his mixed-race girlfriend after his rant about racism on BBC Question earlier this year. The actor and musician waded into a debate about how Meghan Markle is portrayed in the media with his comments sparking a race row about white male privilege in January. In the episode, Fox called the discussion about possible bias coverage towards the Duchess of Sussex "boring". He then accused an audience of racism for calling him a white privileged male. Speaking to the Sunday Times Magazine, he revealed that his dual heritage fashion designer and photographer girlfriend dumped him shortly after his appearance. The actor said he comments caused stress for his family / Getty Images Fox did not go into detail about the relationship with the unnamed woman but said his comments "caused a lot of stress for his family". It also created a challenging dynamic with his brother-in-law - mixed race comedian Richard Ayoade. Married to his sister Lydia, he revealed he didn't attend Sunday lunch at their house and added: "There were a couple of weekends I didnt go". He revealed Ayoade, who is half Nigerian, was "furious" about his comments and told Fox that the actor had never encountered racism. Fox claimed that he has been subject to such treatment while working as a safari driver in Kenya for seven months and added: "Its the way youre spoken to racism can be deferential. The actor said he had made up with his brother-in-law and they are "friends now". Axios Democratic leaders have found a mechanism to enable them to bypass an initial Republican filibuster and debate the party's sweeping elections reform bills, according to a new leadership memo obtained by Axios.Why it matters: The strategy is the latest example of how Democrats are seeking new ways to try to bypass Senate procedures that are blocking their agenda. But the ultimate outcome will likely be the same: insufficient support to change the 60-vote threshold needed to pass sweeping voting r Anushka Sharma launched the teaser clip of Paatal Lok, her upcoming production for Amazon Prime Video. It features Neeraj Kabi, Gul Panag, Jaideep Ahlawat in the leading roles and releases on May 15. Meanwhile, Netflix was also not far behind as it released the trailers of its upcoming projects Hollywood, Into The Night and The Lovebirds. Check out these and more trending trailers of the week below. Paatal Lok Inspired by the ancient realms of Swargalok (heaven), Dharti Lok (earth), and Patal Lok (netherworld), the neo-noir series delves into the interplay within the four estates of democracy. The Lovebirds A couple (Issa Rae & Kumail Nanjiani) experiences a defining moment in their relationship when they are unintentionally embroiled in a murder mystery. As their journey to clear their names takes them from one extreme and hilarious circumstance to the next, they must figure out how they, and their relationship, can survive the night. Hollywood Hollywood follows a group of aspiring actors and filmmakers in post-World War II Hollywood as they try to make it in Tinseltown no matter the cost. Each character offers a unique glimpse behind the gilded curtain of Hollywood's Golden Age, spotlighting the unfair systems and biases across race, gender and sexuality that continue to this day. Hundred What happens when a Mumbai cop and a terminal patient team up to catch baddies? Well, thats what Hundreds trailer explores, reports rollingstonesindia.com. Into The Night When the sun inexplicably starts killing everything and everyone in its path, a few lucky passengers and crew of an overnight flight out of Brussels try to survive as they fly west - into the night. Check back next week for more movie highlights, trailer wise. Follow @News18Movies for more The flight demonstration squads, the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds, will fly over two of New Jerseys largest cities next week to honor frontline coronavirus responders and essential workers, the U.S. Air Force announced Saturday. After a week of uncertainty about when and if the shows would come, the joint flights were set for Newark and Trenton as well as New York City and Philadelphia on April 28. We are truly excited to take to the skies with our Navy counterparts for a nationwide tribute to the men and women keeping our communities safe. U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. John Caldwell, Thunderbird 1 and mission commander for the flyover said in a statement. We hope to give Americans a touching display of American resolve that honors those serving on the frontline of our fight with COVID-19. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage The Newark and New York City flyovers will begin at noon and last about 32 minutes, and the Trenton flyover will begin at 1:45 p.m. and go on for about 10 minutes, the Air Force said. The Philadelphia flyover start at 2 p.m. and will last about 20 minutes. Residents along the flight path can expect a few seconds of jet noise as the aircraft pass overhead, along with the sight of 12 high-performance aircraft flying close in precise formation, officials said. The Air Force said people will be able to see jets from their homes and were encouraged to not gather in large numbers to watch the aerial shows. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. 74 new cases of the coronavirus infection has been confirmed by the Kano State Government. The state governor, Abdullahi Ganduje disclosed this during an interview on Saturday where he disclosed that a total of 489 samples were tested out of which 74 tested positive. Weve taken samples of 489 people, out of these number 74 were confirmed positive for the virus, Daily Independent quoted him as saying. Meanwhile, Dr. Sani Aliyu, the National Coordinator, Presidential Task Force on Coronavirus, has revealed why there may be more deaths in Kano State. He further stated that the Federal Government is yet to ascertain the number of people that have died from COVID-19 in the state. Dr Aliyu made this claim while reacting to the report that the Coronavirus testing laboratory in the state was closed due to the lack of reagents. The Coordinator added that the laboratory was closed after some of its staff test results came out positive. Share this post with your Friends on If Kim Jong-Un dies, his sister Kim Yo-Jong is the likely successor North Korea She is 30 or 32 years old Speculation about the possible death or illness of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un have sparked discussions about who could succeed him in power. One of the most insular countries in the world, still at war with their neighbours in South Korea, the country has nuclear weapons and regularly threatens Japan. Once a communist state supported by the USSR and China, their politics have changed slightly as power has passed through the generations of Kim Il-Sung's family. The most probable successor to Kim Jong-Un would now be his sister, Kim Yo-Jong. Kim Jong-Un is young at 36 years of age but is also obese and is a heavy smoker, but his sister is younger, reported to be 30 or 32 years old. She has become her brother's closest ally and leads the Propaganda Department of the state. She was present at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games becoming the first relative of Kim-Il Sung to attend and also joined her brother in his meetings with Donald Trump. The patriarchal traditions of North Korea could, however, provide an obstacle to her ascent to power. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 18:51:44|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HONG KONG, April 26 (Xinhua) -- China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) reported no new COVID-19 case on Sunday, the third time in a week, but the Center for Health Protection (CHP) urged residents to stay alert. The CHP said the tally of COVID-19 cases has still totaled 1,037 by 4:00 p.m. local time, the same with Saturday. Thanks to effective anti-epidemic measures by the HKSAR government, daily increases of COVID-19 cases have shown signs of subsiding during the past weeks. However, the CHP still urged the public to maintain an appropriate social distance and avoid social activities such as meal gatherings in a bid to reduce the chance of contacting infected people who may not present any symptoms. "Given that the situation of the COVID-19 infection remains severe and that there is a continuous increase in the number of cases reported around the world, members of the public are strongly urged to avoid all non-essential travel outside Hong Kong," a spokesman for the CHP said. The HKSAR government has announced the extension of social distancing measures from closing bars to limiting restaurant services for another two weeks since Friday. Enditem Researchers tracking smartphone data say they recently made a disturbing discovery: For the first time since states began implementing stay-at-home orders in mid-March to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, Americans are staying home less. The nationwide shift during the week of April 13 was relatively slight. However, any loss of momentum, particularly when stay-in-place orders remain in effect across most of the country, has some public health experts worried about "quarantine fatigue." Any increase in travel, they say, is premature when staying home remains the most effective way to limit the spread of the virus until widespread testing and contact tracing become available. "We saw something we hoped wasn't happening, but it's there," said Lei Zhang, lead researcher and director of the Maryland Transportation Institute at the University of Maryland. "It seems collectively we're getting a little tired. It looks like people are loosening up on their own to travel more." Zhang said he anticipates the number of people staying home will continue to drop as some states begin allowing businesses, beaches and other public facilities to reopen. That process began last week in South Carolina and Georgia. Public health experts say any data showing widespread public resolve or cooperation beginning to wane is noteworthy. Because this is the first U.S. pandemic in 100 years, they don't know how long people are willing to tolerate cabin fever for the greater good. They say they're not surprised, however, that a slide occurred in a week that saw the first highly publicized challenges to such orders by protesters and President Donald Trump, who tweeted his support to "liberate" states from shutdowns. The White House also released federal guidelines that week for states seeking to reopen their economies. And a growing number of governors, including in Texas, Minnesota and Vermont, set dates for when they planned to gradually lift restrictions. By April 17, the researchers found, the share of people presumed to have stayed home - meaning their phones didn't move at least a mile that day - declined from a national average of 33 percent to 31 percent, compared with the previous Friday. That came after six weeks of the staying-home percentage increasing or holding steady. The number of work trips remained about the same. However, the average number of personal daily trips grew to 2.5 per person, up from 2.4 the previous Friday - a 4 percent increase. Trips between counties and states also increased. Because the study's sample size is so large - more than 100 million cellphones observed monthly - even slight changes are statistically significant, Zhang said. Dr. Wilbur Chen, an associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said it's too soon to know whether the findings reveal a one-week blip or the start of a trend. Chen, a member of Republican Gov. Larry Hogan's covid-19 task force in Maryland, said he's keeping a close eye on the data, but researchers won't know for several weeks if more travel led to more coronavirus hospitalizations or deaths - the two most reliable measures of the virus' spread. "But it all makes sense," Chen said. "If people are out and about, there's more risk of transmission, and when there's transmission, you have more cases of hospitalizations and deaths." George Rutherford, an epidemiology professor at the University of California at San Francisco, said he's concerned to hear that more people are venturing out while infections remain on the rise in much of the country. "We're going to have to do this carefully," Rutherford said of states beginning to ease restrictions. "Letting people decide for themselves because they're bored is not a good way to do it. . . . This is not the time to be letting up." Experts have theories about why the week of April 13, the most recent data available, became a tipping point. Many homebound Americans hit the mental milestone of the fifth week, technically entering a second month, with no clear end in sight. Even with the boom in video calls and virtual cocktail hours, they say, feelings of loneliness and isolation continue to mount. Balmy spring temperatures also probably drew people out, particularly in warmer regions where a hot, sticky summer will soon descend. It's also no coincidence, they say, that resolve would begin to wane amid the Trump-supported protests, even as most Americans tell pollsters they support stay-at-home requirements. Lorien Abroms, a public health professor at George Washington University, said it doesn't help that the public has received "mixed messages," including Trump's "tacit support" of the protesters. "I think the message is getting out that you can give in to your fatigue and say 'It's enough,' " Abroms said. Some people also might have mistakenly believed they could safely start bending the stay-at-home rules, experts say, when some governors began to publicly announce how and when their economies would begin to reopen. "People can feel it's coming, so they get more antsy," said Susan Hassig, an associate professor of epidemiology at Tulane University. "It's kind of like a kid before Christmas." Governors in Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee announced reopening dates Monday, after the latest cellphone data was analyzed. However, the percentages of people staying home in those states as of April 17 already were among the lowest in the country, between 23 percent and 26 percent. Travis Gayles, the chief health officer in Montgomery County, Maryland, called the potential problem of residents losing patience "an important point that I think every jurisdiction across the country is grappling with in terms of making sure we reinforce our message related to shelter-in-place." Gayles said he wasn't familiar with the data, but questioned whether Montgomery residents might have ventured out more after the county began requiring shoppers to wear face coverings in stores, pharmacies and other retailers. Even so, Gayles said, "The message is very clear. We're still encouraging folks to stay home and only come out when they need to," such as to go to work or the grocery store. The reversal first became apparent last week, when the Maryland researchers continued to analyze the movements of smartphones via location data from apps. The aggregated and anonymous data, while imperfect, is an easily obtainable and consistent way to measure how much people move about, Zhang said. He said researchers are sharing the mobility data with government officials and epidemiologists modeling the spread of covid-19. The nationwide drop in the researchers' "social distancing index" started April 14. That was one day before thousands of protesters in Michigan received national attention for jamming roads around the state capitol, demanding that the restrictions be eased and people be allowed to return to work. The social distancing index reflects how much people stay home, as well as how much and how far they travel by plane, car, transit, bicycle and on foot, Zhang said. Phones that didn't make any stops of 10 minutes or more, such as those on people out for a bike ride or walk with the dog, were counted as staying home, Zhang said. In the Washington region, the District of Columbia and its suburbs all saw an increase in travel and a 1 percent to 5 percent drop in people staying home by April 17. The biggest drop occurred in Arlington County, Virginia, where 50 percent of residents stayed home, down from 55 percent the previous Friday. However, Arlington tied with the District for the highest percentage in the region. In Montgomery County, Maryland, the number of those staying home fell from 45 percent to 43 percent, while Prince George's County fell from 37 percent to 34 percent. In Northern Virginia, Fairfax County dropped from 46 percent to 44 percent, while Prince William County ended the week with 34 percent and Loudoun County with 37 percent. Of course, the data has its limits. Zhang said researchers are still trying to determine where people are going. If someone takes a round-trip drive to walk alone in the woods, for example, they would be counted as making two trips, even though they weren't any more likely to spread or catch the virus. Hassig, of Tulane, said the data is interesting because the United States has such limited experience requiring residents to stay home for lengthy periods. Any quarantines typically are small enough that local health officers can check in daily to monitor people's symptoms and encourage them to stay isolated. Moreover, she said, most last a maximum 14 to 21 days. "We can usually reduce the likelihood of substantial quarantine fatigue," Hassig said. ". . . On this massive scale, the support and encouragement can get lost." The coronavirus stay-at-home orders are far less restrictive than quarantines, but public health experts say convincing people to stay in will become harder as the weeks pass. The more effectively such orders lower rates of infection, they say, the more some people will incorrectly assume they're no longer necessary. Most importantly, experts say, governments wanting to discourage people from venturing out need to better understand why they're doing so. The response to restlessness, for example, might be to reopen larger parks or close more streets to traffic to allow people to get outdoors at safe distances. If some people are starting to drive for Uber or Lyft because they lost their retail job, the response might be more financial aid. For those feeling cut off, experts say, government messages of sympathy and compassion would help. "The isolation is real. The loneliness is real," said Abroms, of GWU. "We need to add that in our messaging. . . . We have to acknowledge that it's not easy to stay home." Facebook betted big on India with a huge investment in Jio Platforms, tech subsidiary of multinational conglomerate Reliance Industries. The social media giant invested a total of USD 5.7 billion, giving it an estimated 10 percent stake in the Jio and making it the single largest minority shareholder. Facebooks primary footprint in the country comes from its massive WhatsApp userbase of over 400 million people, more than any other country in the world. According to a blog post, the tech giant claimed one of the goals of its investment was to tap into opportunities for small businesses. Motorola introduced its first flagship this month in the form of the Motorola Edge Plus. The Moto Edge+ is the companys first premium smartphone since 2016. The Motorola Edge+ is powered by the Snapdragon 865 5G chipset, paired with 12GB of RAM. Motorola also offers a 90Hz refresh rate with an FHD+ screen with a noticeable curvature on the edges. In terms of optics, the Moto Edge Plus features a quad-camera setup with a 108-megapixel sensor at the helm. The phone also boasts a massive 5,000 mAh battery and fast wired and wireless charging support. Motorola also launched a premium mid-range 5G smartphone in the form of the standard Edge. The vanilla Moto Edge is a downgraded Edge Plus with a Snapdragon 765G SoC, 64-megapixel quad-camera setup, smaller battery capacity, and no wireless charging. The Motorola Edge is priced at EUR 699 (Roughly Rs. 58,000), while the Edge Plus costs USD 999 (Roughly Rs. 76,400) in the US. The OnePlus 8 series went on sale for the first time in Europe last week. However, as the first OnePlus 8 Pro smartphones started reaching customers, a couple of glitches were reported with the screen of the device. Users reported a green tint on the screen when the refresh rate was set to 120Hz, and brightness was lowered. And while some OnePlus 8 Pro owners claimed that turning on the DC Dimming feature fixed the issue; it also brought up a new problem altogether. Turning on DC Dimming resulted in a black crush side effect. OnePlus said it would resolve the issue through an OTA update. No issues were reported with the 90Hz FHD+ panel on the vanilla OnePlus 8. WhatsApp and Instagram are not the only two apps with new incoming features. Parent company Facebook is gearing up to take on security plagued Zoom with the launch of Messenger Rooms. While video group calling is already available on Facebook Messenger, but the number of participants was limited, and a Facebook account was mandatory. However, Messenger Rooms allows you to host video chats with up to 50 people, while no Facebook account is required to join a call. Messenger Rooms also does not have any time limit; people can join in a conversation at any time. Additionally, you can also use AR effects and few features like mood lighting and immersive backgrounds if you join a room. The creator of the Room can remove a user from a group call at any time. The Aarogya Setu COVID-19 contact-tracing app developed by the Indian Government is the most popular coronavirus tracker in the country. Food delivery platform Zomato recently made it mandatory for all its delivery partners to download and install the app. The app was designed to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus and provide additional information about it. Aarogya Setu can also provide information about areas where people have tested positive for the virus. The idea is to help individuals and authorities identify though delivery partners that have crossed paths with people who have tested positive as well as ensure the delivery partners are well informed. Additionally, Swiggy, Grofers and Urban Company have all asked frontline staff to mandatorily use the governments tracking app. While e-commerce giants like Flipkart and Amazon are also recommending their staff use the app. The coronavirus pandemic has forced hundreds of millions of people around the world, pushing them to use video conferencing platforms to communicate with friends and family. WhatsApp is looking to capitalize on its massive user base and Zooms security woes by increasing the maximum limit of people allowed to participate in a group audio or video calls. While the feature has been in the pipeline for some time now, the Facebook-owned messaging platform recently confirmed that would increase the current limit of users in a group call from four to eight. Group conference calls on WhatsApp will also benefit from the platforms end-to-end encryption. While the function was already spotted on a beta version of the app, Facebook hasnt provided an official timeline for the rollout, but you can expect it soon. Facebook-owned Instagram is also stepping up its game during this global pandemic. Instagram launched a new feature that allows food orders to be placed through the app. The feature is being added to support local business during the lockdown. The social media platform first rolled out the feature in the US and Canada and is now expanding it to the UK as part of a global rollout. According to Instagram, a new Action button will be added to a business or restaurant profile, while a Food Order sticker can also be added to Stories. Instagram is a hub for local caterers or chefs to promote their business with accounts dedicated to promoting their offerings. However, the new option makes it easier for users on the platform to order food. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 25) Bureau of Corrections confirmed on Saturday that 27 Correctional Institute for Women inmates tested positive for COVID-19. The bureau added that 51 CIW inmates were tested on April 21, and noted it was the 27 people deprived of liberty who were the ones that yielded positive results for the disease. The female inmates were transferred from the all-female prison in Mandaluyong to Site Harry, the designated COVID-19 quarantine area inside the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa. BuCor assured the 27 infected CIW inmates are in good health condition and are asymptomatic of the virus. Continuous focused medical care and monitoring will be provided to ensure that no PDL will develop severe symptoms, the bureau said in a statement. Last April 18, an elderly inmate of CIW got infected with the virus and was brought to Santa Ana Hospital in Manila. Three days after, some 18 inmates and one worker of CIW tested positive for COVID-19. They were the first batch of CIW infected inmates who transferred to Bilibid, which was protested by the Muntinulpa city government. Two more CIW inmates also contracted the virus yesterday. Save us from COVID-19 and from the same old, same old politics. Surely if the past two months have done anything, theyve put us back in touch with the things that matter and how important it is to make the most of our time here. Will the Morrison government take stock and seek a better way of looking after a greater number of Australians as we navigate our way through and beyond the pandemic? Credit:Alex Ellinghausen If its that way for individuals, it follows that it should work like that for governments too. After all, they consist of humans and exist only to make the lives of the people they serve better and safer. So will the Morrison government take stock and seek a better way of looking after a greater number of Australians as we navigate our way through and beyond the pandemic? It should, because this offers a series of tantalising prospects, simultaneously getting us back on a growth path, reviving Liberalism and strengthening our ailing democracy. But if it simply relies on old habits and relies on the usual suspects for the answers, setting in motion predictable recommendations that cut taxes for companies, reduce job security for workers and slash spending, it will have wasted one of the greatest opportunities ever offered a government in the modern era. Enemy troops used proscribed weapons, namely 120mm and 82mm mortars. One Ukrainian soldier was wounded in action in enemy attacks in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, in the past day. "On April 25, armed formations of the Russian Federation violated ceasefire 16 times," the press center of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) headquarters said on Facebook in a morning update on April 26. "The enemy fired at our positions, using 120mm and 82mm mortars that are banned under the Minsk Agreement. They also used grenade launchers of various systems, large machine guns, rifles." Read alsoDonbas war escalation: Three soldiers wounded amid 15 attacks on April 23 Ukraine's Joint Forces had to fire back. Four enemy troops were killed and another five were wounded on April 25, according to Ukrainian intelligence reports. Since Sunday midnight, Russia-led forces have violated the ceasefire twice. No Ukrainian army casualties have been reported from 00:00 to 07:00 Kyiv time on April 26. The remarkable story of an airman who overcame prejudice to become one of only a handful of Indian fighter pilots in the First World War has emerged in newly-released archive files by the UK's Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). Lieutenant Shri Krishna Chanda Welinkar is one of the thousands of moving stories from the war preserved in family correspondence and being brought alive as part of a digitisation project. The never-before-published files contain thousands of letters, pictures and other papers sent between the Commission and the next of the kin of First World War dead. Among them is the story of Welinkar, who hailed from Bombay in colonial India. After much hardship and discrimination, he eventually became a pilot and went missing while on patrol over the skies above the Western Front in June 1918. His family had to wait nearly three years before they finally knew for certain that he had died, and his grave was located. For everyone who died in the First World War there was inevitably a partner, parent or child back home who had questions. The heart-breaking letters in CWGC's archive give us an insight into what it was like for those families trying to come to terms with their loss, said Andrew Fetherston, chief archivist for CWGC. They are stories that show desperate searches for closure, former enemies uniting and, on many occasions, the sad realisation that a missing loved one would always remain so. We are pleased to be able to make this invaluable piece of World War history accessible to a new generation and help deepen our understanding of how the First World War impacted those who were left behind, he said. Welinkar was one of the 1.3 million Indians who answered the call to fight for the British Empire. Nearly 74,000 never saw their homeland again and are remembered today in cemeteries and memorials throughout the world, including France, Belgium, the Middle East and Africa. Welinkar was a well-educated man studying at Cambridge University. He trained to become an aviator in Middlesex and wished to join the Royal Flying Corps, later known as the Royal Air Force. Upon attempting to enlist, Welinkar encountered the same prejudices as his other fellow Indian airmen and was encouraged to become an air mechanic instead. He was eventually given a commission in the Royal Flying Corps as an Officer. In 1918, he was posted to France and patrolled the skies above the Western Front. In June 1918, Lieutenant Welinkar embarked on what would be his final patrol; he did not return and was reported missing. His fate remained unknown for many months afterwards. The newly-released e-files chronicle the remarkable discovery of Welinkar and his final resting place long after the war had ended. Colonel Barton, who knew Welinkar, acted on behalf of his mother and helped find her missing son. They spoke to former enemies and honed their search to the grave of an unidentified man, buried by the Germans as Oberleutnant S.C. Wumkar in a grave in Rouvroy, Belgium. The body was later moved and reinterred in Hangard Communal Cemetery Extension but it wasn't until the vital clue, found in the original German burial records in February 1921, that it was confirmed beyond doubt this grave was of Welinkar's. In May 1921, Colonel Barton, on behalf of Welinkar's mother, requested that a Commission headstone be placed on the grave with the following personal inscription: To the Honoured Memory of One of the Empire's Bravest Sons. This records known as Enquiry Files are part of a collection of nearly 3,000 files which have never been made available to the public before. Nearly half have been digitised so far, alongside a previously unreleased collection of more than 16,000 photographs held in negatives in the Commission's archive. The files, internally referred to simply as E-Files, contain correspondence between the CWGC and the next of kin of the war dead. They often contain letters, typed memos between Commission staff and on occasion photos, maps and diagrams. CWGC only holds an enquiry file for a small proportion of the 1.7 million people it commemorates from the Commonwealth. Today it is only possible to release those surviving records from the First World War because correspondence with families of Second World War casualties often involves people still alive today and cannot be made public for many years, due to the UK's data protection rules. To date, more than 1,300 of the surviving 3,000 First World War enquiry files have been digitised. The CWGC commemorates the 1.7 million Commonwealth servicemen and women who died during the two World Wars. It also holds and updates an extensive and accessible records archive, while operating over 23,000 locations in more than 150 countries and territories. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senator Ali Modu Sheriff Boko Haram fighters have opened fire on the convoy carrying the family of a former governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff. Security sources told SaharaReporters that the insurgents attacked the convoy while traveling from Abuja to Maiduguri to attend the three-day prayer of Sheriffs late father, Alhaji Galadima Modu, who died following a fire outbreak at his residence in Maiduguri on Thursday. It was gathered that five persons including three policemen were killed during the attack that took place on Friday. A victim of the attack Boko Haram launched an attack on the convoy carrying the family of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, former governor of Borno State, from Abuja to Maiduguri to attend the burial of his late father. Three policemen, a driver and one member of his family were killed and several others were injured in the attack. The terrorists also went away with the riffles of the dead officers and some cars in the convoy, one security source said. SaharaReporters gathered that two of the policemen killed are Corporal Mustapha Inusa and Corporal Abubakar Idris. The attack comes days after the Nigerian Defence Headquarters disclosed that Abubakar Shekau, leader of the Boko Haram sect, may soon surrender. DHQ had stated that the body language of Shekau after so much military offensive on the insurgents lately showed that he would soon throw in the towel. Sheriff has been accused in some quarters of being responsible for the emergence of Boko Haram in Borno State before spilling to other parts of the North where their violent campaign has claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions. *** Source: SaharaReporters Italy will start reopening its manufacturing industry on May 4 as part of plans to ease its coronavirus lockdown, and schools will reopen in September, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in a newspaper interview on Sunday. "We are working in these hours to allow the reopening of a good part of businesses from manufacturing to construction for May 4," Conte told Italian daily La Repubblica. He said the measures would be presented by the beginning of next week at the latest. Italy was the first European country to be hard-hit by the novel coronavirus, and the first to impose a lockdown in March. Its path to reopening its economy is being closely watched around the world as other countries where severe outbreaks arrived in the following week contemplate similar moves. Conte said companies would have to introduce strict health safety measures before being allowed to open their gates. But he said some businesses considered "strategic", including activity that was mainly export-oriented, could reopen next week providing they got the go ahead from local prefects. Conte said schools would reopen in September but added studies showed the risk of contagion was very high. Teaching remotely was working well, he said. Search Keywords: Short link: Todd Shackett says Southern Union State Community College is ready to get back to filling its important role in local business and education. Shackett is president of the 98-year-old institution, which is home to students from various walks of life. He said hes keen to see those students back on the Opelika and Valley campuses, just as soon as the COVID-19 public emergency subsides. Were ready now, once we know what were allowed to do my faculty and staff are selfless. I have been so impressed. You can always tell how good a team is when times are tough. And this team is doing fantastic. So theyve all got plans as soon as were ready to open, said Shackett. That teamwork was in evidence in early March, when Southern Union, Auburn University and most other educational institutions decided to close their campuses and move students (and faculty) online. We transitioned from 95 percent on campus to almost everyone online in 3-4 days, said Shackett. That was amazing. It came together, and we put the curriculum in a way that our students could get back (to learning). Investors who claim to have lost their money over the Lime fiasco hold a rally in front of the Financial Supervisory Service headquarters in Seoul, Thursday. / Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-han External audits become mandatory for large PEFs By Park Jae-hyuk Asset management companies that delayed redemption of private equity funds (PEFs) will be obliged to host general meetings of investors within three months to decide when and how to return money to the investors, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC), Sunday. In addition, external audits will be mandatory for PEFs whose assets exceed 50 billion won ($40 million). The size of cross trading within PEFs will be limited to 20 percent of their assets. The series of measures were announced to prevent the recurrence of massive investor losses similar to the fiasco that came as Lime Asset Management had suspended redemption of funds worth over 1 trillion won. The FSC said it finalized the measures to improve regulations on PEFs, after discussing the matter with industry insiders and financial experts over the past few weeks. "While guaranteeing autonomy in management continuously to supply venture capital, we decided to implement necessary minimum regulations to protect investors and prevent system risks," an FSC official said. Since the "derivative-linked fund (DLF) fiasco" that caused large losses to Woori and Hana bank customers last year, the financial authorities have come up with various measures to protect investors. In November, the FSC banned banks from dealing with high-risk PEFs and raised the minimum amount of money required for individuals' investments in hedge funds to 300 million won from 100 million won. The latest measures are focused on restoring trust in fund management. Because of the recent measures, asset management firms will be unable to arbitrarily decide when and how to return money to investors, if they postpone redemption of PEFs. They will also face external audits for sizable PEFs, so that investors are aware of the exact value of their assets. PEFs that can be resold before maturity will need to undergo stress tests once a year in order to assess their stability in the worst-case scenario. The financial authorities also promised a fast track to immediately kick out asset management companies that fail to satisfy the requirement of holding an asset worth 700 million won. The FSC said it will make a pre-announcement of legislation during the second quarter regarding regulations that need statute revisions. In Korea, rules on PEFs were eased in 2015 as the financial authorities lowered entry barriers into PEF management to boost the capital market. As the mis-selling of DLFs and the suspended redemption of Lime's hedge funds occurred after the deregulations, however, the government began to tighten rules on PEFs again. In March, the FSC imposed heavy fines on Woori and Hana, and punished their executives. On Thursday, the police arrested key suspects of the Lime fiasco former Star Mobility Chairman Kim Bong-hyun, former Lime Vice President Lee Jong-pil and former Shinhan Investment wealth manager Shim Moon-sup at a residential area in northern Seoul. LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- Now that milder weather has returned, and with many people still sheltering at home, some residents may be looking at sprucing up their houses or tackling some improvement projects. Lakewood residents who may not have the tools needed for those jobs can take advantage of the Lakewood Tool Box, which just began its second year. The service allows residents to rent the tools they need for completing essential repairs to help ensure that they are living in healthy and safe homes. LakewoodAlive recently announced a new pricing model that eliminates the rental fees charged on a per-tool basis for Lakewood Tool Box members. The tool lending library consists of more than 60 items, ranging from standard hand tools to equipment for larger projects. The tool collection is housed in a special shipping container accessible from the east lot of the Screw Factory, 13000 Athens Ave., Lakewood, at the intersection of Athens and Halstead avenues and across from Madison Park. Annual Tool Box membership is open to all Lakewood residents, tenants and landlords. The cost is $30 per resident/tenant and $75 per landlord. Special pricing is available for low- to moderate-income residents. A refundable deposit will be required for tool rental, but it will be refunded to the customer upon the return of all rented items in good, clean, working order. The Lakewood Tool Box is open by appointment only to ensure health and safety during the COVID-19 crisis. To make an appointment, call Matt Clark at 216-712-6674 or email mclark@lakewoodalive.org. Both Tool Box members and non-members also can contact Clark with questions about their projects. Clark is hosting a series of brief videos that inform viewers about some of the items in the Tool Box. The videos can be viewed on LakewoodAlives Facebook page. The most recent one walks viewers through using a power washer to clean a driveway. Weve heard your feedback, and were making the Lakewood Tool Box even more accessible for our community. Now, members can borrow tools with zero additional fees, said Allison Urbanek, LakewoodAlives housing and internal operations director. We take pride in offering a program affording community members the opportunity to rent tools, while also enabling us to better assist low- to moderate-income residents with their home repairs. Ultimately, our goal is to ensure all Lakewood residents live in healthy and safe homes," she said. Membership in The Lakewood Tool Box can be completed online or by contacting Clark. Proof of Lakewood residency is required. Acceptable forms of residency include a valid drivers license and utility bills. For more information regarding the Lakewood Tool Box, visit LakewoodAlive.org/ToolBox or contact Clark at 216-712-6674. LakewoodAlives Housing Outreach Program offers a one-stop place for residents, both owner occupants and renters, to gain access to services so they are able to live in healthy and safe housing. The services connect residents with resources to maintain and sustain the communitys historic housing stock and ensure healthy and safe living environments. Convention canceled: Local Kiwanis Club members learned recently that the 2020 Kiwanis International Convention is another casualty of the coronavirus crisis. The Kiwanis International Board of Trustees decided to cancel the event in the interest of health and safety. The convention was scheduled for June 17-20 in Indianapolis, Ind. Kiwanis members can receive refunds or donate any registration fees they have already paid for this years convention to the Kiwanis Childrens Fund. Kiwanis officials noted that the only other previous interruption of the annual convention was during World War II, when a Kiwanis International Council meeting was substituted for the convention. A 2020 Kiwanis International Council meeting is being finalized and will take place prior to Oct. 1, Kiwanis officials said. The council consists of the board of trustees, past Kiwanis International presidents, district governors and the chairs of Kiwanis International-European Federation and Kiwanis Asia-Pacific. Polaris students honored: Eleven juniors and seniors from Fairview and North Olmsted high schools who are enrolled in career-technical education programs at Polaris Career Center in Middleburg Heights are among 90 Polaris students who have been inducted into the National Technical Honor Society. Local Polaris campus inductees are Gabriella Biggs, FHS senior, criminal justice; Sarah Eifel, FHS senior, technology; Jordan Giraldo, NOHS senior, dental assisting; Miski Hassan, NOHS senior, medical professions; Madalyn Rigo, NOHS senior, baking and pastry arts; and Joshue Sanchez, FHS senior, technology. Local Polaris satellite campus inductees are Tom Biddle, FHS senior, engineering; Aaron Deutsch, FHS junior, biomedical sciences; and John Jewitt, FHS senior, biomedical sciences. NTHS is the highest national award for excellence in career and technical education. The societys mission is to honor student achievements and leadership, promote educational excellence and enhance career opportunities for the organizations members. Fewer than 2 percent of secondary students nationwide are nominated for membership. Nominees are evaluated based on scholarship, service, leadership and character. Eligibility requirements are earning all As in the students Polaris program, maintaining a 95 percent or higher attendance rate and holding at least a 3.0 accumulative grade point average. This is the third year Polaris has also inducted satellite program students into NTHS. Rainy day diversions: The Fairview Park Recreation Department is offering some creative outlets for residents who might need something fun to do on a rainy day. They invite residents to visit fairviewparkrec.com/coloring-pages.html, then break out their crayons, markers and colored pencils. When they finish their projects, they suggest hanging them in a window or on the front door for passersby and neighbors to see. Mission Moen: North Olmsted-based Moen, the countrys leading seller of faucets, unveiled a new commitment to help preserve water just in time for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Called Mission Moen, the initiative sets a goal of helping to conserve a trillion gallons of water during the next decade through more efficient faucets and shower heads. Officials at Fortune Brands Global Plumbing Group, of which Moen is a part, said the innovations include built-in water-saving features so that minimizing water waste will be seamless for customers. The company also has developed new innovations to help identify and shut off water in case of a leak. Additional commitments to the firms water preservation plan will be announced later this year. Information, please: Readers are invited to share information about themselves, their families and friends, organizations, church events, etc. in Fairview Park, Lakewood, North Olmsted and West Park for the A Place in the Sun column, which I write on a freelance basis. Awards, honors, milestone birthdays or anniversaries and other items are welcome. Submit information at least 10 days before the requested publication date to carolkovach@hotmail.com. Read more from the Sun Post Herald. People are seen gathering on the Corona del Mar State Beach in Newport Beach, California, on April 25, 2020. (Michael Heiman/Getty Images) Thousands Visit Beaches in Southern California During Pandemic Thousands of people visited beaches in Orange County, California, over the weekend as temperatures soared over 80 degrees F as officials continue to advise people to avoid public places and mass gatherings amid the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic. Videos and photos showed throngs of people at Huntington Beach and Newport Beach on Saturday. According to an Associated Press estimation, more than 40,000 people visited Newport Beach on Friday. People are seen gathering on the Corona del Mar State Beach in Newport Beach, California, on April 25, 2020. (Michael Heiman/Getty Images) Beaches in Los Angeles and San Diego counties are closed due to stay-at-home orders. State-operated beaches are also closed, AP reported. Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore noted that Los Angeles County beaches were empty on Saturday and thanked residents. My compliments to our community for staying away from the beaches in LA. From Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice, to Dockweiler All Clear!! Safer at Home will get us there sooner. pic.twitter.com/wZeJ8G8pDR Chief Michel Moore (@LAPDChiefMoore) April 25, 2020 My compliments to our community for staying away from the beaches in LA. From Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice, to Dockweiler All Clear!! Safer at Home will get us there sooner, he wrote. Brian ORourke, a lifeguard battalion chief in Newport Beach, told NBC News that there were virtually no problems as they tried to have people adhere to social distancing guidelines. People are seen gathering on the Corona del Mar State Beach in Newport Beach, California, on April 25, 2020. (Michael Heiman/Getty Images) Its crowded out, ORourke said. We havent had too many issues with [social distancing] as lifeguards. Our primary mission is watching the water. Weve had dozens of ocean rescues and hundreds of preventative actions. California Gov. Gavin Newsom called on residents to avoid leaving their areas to go visit counties with fewer restrictions. People are seen gathering on the Corona del Mar State Beach in Huntington Beach, California, on April 25, 2020. (Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images) I just caution you, if youre going to get in the car, make a long drive and expect to find parking to go to a closed beach, it is very unlikely, Newsom said, reported the Ventura County Star. He added that people visiting open parks and beaches should abide by social distancing. When universities abruptly shut down last month because of the coronavirus pandemic, many students returned to their parents homes, distraught over having to give up their social lives and vital on-campus networking opportunities. Graduating seniors lost the chance to cross anything but a virtual commencement stage. But the campus closures have created much greater calamity in the lives of the more than a million international students who left their home countries to study in the United States. Many had been living in college dorms and were left to try to find new housing, far from home in a country under lockdown. A substantial number of international students are also watching their financial lives fall apart: visa restrictions prevent them from working off campuses, which are now closed. And while some come from families wealthy enough to pay for their housing or whisk them home, many others had already been struggling to cobble together tuition fees that tend to be much higher than those paid by Americans. As their bank accounts dwindle, some international students say they have had to turn to food banks for help. Others are couch surfing in the family homes of their friends but dont know how long they will be welcome. Those who rushed to fly home before international borders closed are not sure they will be able to come back. My world is shattering, said Elina Mariutsa, a Russian student studying international affairs and political science at Northeastern University whose parents sold an apartment and borrowed money from friends to pay for her previous semesters of college. She is all but certain that, with the Russian rubles recent rapid devaluation amid the ongoing global economic collapse, her family will be unable to pay the $27,000 bill for her final semester of college let alone help her with living expenses now. Im not sure if Im going to be able to graduate. Right now we definitely cant pay for the last semester, and its literally just four courses left, she said. Universities, which often receive a substantial share of their budgets from foreign students, said they moved quickly to help international students by opening a limited number of dorms when possible, flying students home in some cases and lobbying the federal government for support. New York University, which has more foreign students than any college in the country, created emergency grants available to international students. Its hard and its constantly evolving, said Jigisha B Patel, the chief adviser for international students at Northeastern. Everybody has really moved towards doing everything they can during this time. The federal government has stepped in to help college students who have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, but in keeping with its America-first agenda, the Trump administration announced on Wednesday that international and undocumented students would be excluded from the roughly $6bn in federal aid targeted to help students pay for expenses like food and housing. Many students said the help that was provided by their universities was not nearly enough. Students stuck in foreign countries, far away from home, are being forced to communicate virtually with friends and family (Reuters) It was a very hectic moment because I had no idea where to go, said Anna Scarlato, an Italian student who learned in March that she would be kicked out of her dorm at the University of Chicago within days. With nowhere else to go, Scarlato moved to her boyfriends dorm at a different school, but the next day they learned that campus housing was closing there, too. Scarlato agreed to sublet a room in a Chicago apartment but then learned that her parents, who were under lockdown as a result of the pandemic in Italy, would be unable to get to a bank to transfer her any money for rent. At the last minute, her boyfriends mother bought Scarlato a ticket to go home with him to Orange County, California. I have no idea where Im going to be in the next two weeks or a month or two months, she said. It feels like Im being a parasite in some way. When classes were cancelled at Yale University, Sam Brakarsh, a student from Zimbabwe, feared carrying the virus back to his ageing parents or getting stranded by flight restrictions. The Internet in his parents home works for only three hours a day. Instead, he decided to bunk temporarily with a classmate from Amherst, Massachusetts, who was moving home with his parents and younger brother. Coronavirus: London on lockdown Show all 29 1 /29 Coronavirus: London on lockdown Coronavirus: London on lockdown A man walks down a deserted Camden High Street Photos Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Goodge Street Station is one of the many stations closed to help reduce the spread Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown An empty street in the heart of Chinatown Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown People in masks in Chinatown a day after the lockdown Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A near-empty Piccadilly Circus during the first week of lockdown Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Sonja, my neighbour, who I photographed while taking a short walk. It was nice to briefly chat even from a distance Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A couple sit on the empty steps of the statue Eros in Piccadilly Circus Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Making sure I stay two-meters apart DArblay Street, Soho Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A mannequin behind a shop window. UK stores have closed until further notice Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A notice displayed on a shop window in Camden Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown As part of the lockdown, all non-essential shops have been ordered to close.Image from Camden High Street Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A skateboarder wearing a mask utilises his exercise allowance in the Camden area Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Communities have been coming together in a time of need Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A woman stands alone in a deserted Oxford Street. Up until a few weeks ago, on average, half a million people visited the street per day Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A couple walk hand in hand down a street in Soho, a day before the stricter lockdown was announced Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown During the first week of March, shoppers focused on stockpiling necessities ahead of a countrywide lockdown Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Many supermarkers are operating a queuing system to make sure only a limited amount of customers are allowed in at anyone time Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Stay Safe Curzon cinemas are temporarily closed under the new measures Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Pubs, restaurants and bars were ordered to shut as part of the lockdown Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Camden High Street There are fears that coronavirus could lead to permanent closure of struggling shops Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Camden Town is eerily silent on a normal working day Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Shops and supermarkets ran out of hand sanitisers in the first week of the lockdown. As we approach the end of the second week most shops now have started to stock up Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Empty streets around Soho Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A noticeboard on Camden High Street urges the public to stay at home Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Camden High Street, one of Londons busiest tourist streets turns quiet Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Thriller Live confirmed its West End run ended in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Empty and eerie Soho streets after stricter rules on social distancing announced Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A woman pauses for a cigarette on Hanway Street, behind Tottenham Court Road Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A man steps outside onto Hanway Street, that sits behind what is usually a bustling retail hub Angela Christofilou Now, hoping to avoid overstaying his welcome and the fact that his student health insurance only works near campus, Brakarsh is planning to move next into an extra bedroom in the home of a professor. But nothing is definitive, he said. Some students have been reluctant to share the extent of their troubles with their families, who were already struggling to pay for their schooling. Stephany da Silva Triska said her mother in Brazil stopped eating out in restaurants, didnt replace her old car, and cut back on vacations so her daughter could study politics at California State University, Long Beach. In turn, Triska worked hard to justify her mothers sacrifice. She was chosen by professors as an outstanding senior in her major and won a prestigious international policy fellowship. A ceremony to recognise her achievements has been cancelled and her fellowship is on hold. But she has bigger problems, including whether she will be able to finish college at all. Her mothers interior design business, which funded the portion of her education that was not covered by scholarships, has dried up. Triska, who lives in an apartment she pays for with her student job, still owes $600 towards the tuition fee for her final semester of college. Students who rushed to airports to beat looming border closures and wait out the pandemic at home also fear they will face legal hurdles when they try to return to the United States to complete their schooling (Getty) Every time I log into my student account, I see the $600 balance. I dont even know who I should go to if they would be open to negotiating the remaining balance, Triksa said. Students who rushed to airports to beat looming border closures and wait out the pandemic at home also fear they will face legal hurdles when they try to return to the United States to complete their schooling. Mercy Idindili, a sophomore at Yale studying statistics, said she returned to Tanzania after feeling pressured to do so in a series of emails from college administrators that made clear the institution was going to make very few exceptions for international students who wanted to stay in the United States. At first, Idindili made plans to stay with a friend in Georgia, but when other international students warned her that the arrangement could become uncomfortable if it went on for too long, Idindili decided to go home at the last minute. Before leaving on a ticket paid for by the school, she made sure to warn her professors that she was going to be seven hours ahead and that her Internet access would be inconsistent because of frequent blackouts. Honestly, that whole week was very hard, she said, I did cry a lot because I was so confused and so disappointed by everything. At first, she had been waking up at 3am to attend virtual lectures in a linear algebra class that was giving her trouble. Her professor has since begun recording the lectures for her, which is helping her keep up. But Idindilis visa to re-enter the United States expires in July, and American consulates abroad are all closed indefinitely. The State Department has also suspended visa processing until further notice. Im just really scared of what happens if Tanzania doesnt solve this problem soon enough, and the US consulate chooses to remain closed for a long time and Im not able to renew my visa and go back to school, she said. The legal status of all international students has become less certain because of the coronavirus pandemic. Normally, their visas require them to take classes in person, rather than online. The Department of Homeland Security temporarily relaxed that rule in light of the crisis, but the exception could be reversed at any time. Recommended Harvard slams Trump while refusing to return federal stimulus check Some students said they cannot wait for a more permanent solution to their visa problems. Emma Tran, who studies studio art and psychology at California State University, Long Beach, burst into tears explaining she only has enough money in her bank account to cover another month and a half of living expenses, and will likely have to return home to Vietnam. Tran lost both of her campus jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic. Her parents income from an apartment they own, half of which they typically rent out to tourists, has also dropped precipitously. Trying to stretch funds, Tran at first went to a food pantry on campus, but her parents discouraged her from taking donated goods that others might need more than she did. Since then, shes resorted to eating rice for more of her meals and either skipping or limiting the amount of meat she consumes to save money. My mom said if this thing doesnt get controlled in two or three months, I will have to go back home, she said, Its really sad. The New York Times Doctors who have been treating patients with COVID-19 are sharing a somewhat new discovery - a skin condition that might be a symptom of the novel coronavirus, particularly in children. Dubbed "COVID toes," dermatologists believe that purple, blue, or red lesions - similar to a cold-weather skin condition called pernio - appearing on patients' toes may be a way to diagnose the infection, as they have appeared in otherwise asymptomatic and severe cases alike. "This might be your first clue that they have COVID when they don't have any other symptoms." "They're typically painful to touch and could have a hot burning sensation," Dr. Ebbing Lautenbach, chief of infectious disease at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine, told USA Today. Although there are no conclusive studies connecting this rash to COVID-19, "we are seeing this in unprecedented numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic, so we have to think that there might be a relationship," Dr. Amy Paller, the chair of the Department of Dermatology at Northwestern University School of Medicine, said. Another reason doctors are taking it seriously is because the lesions often appear in COVID-19 patients who do not exhibit any other telltale signs like a dry cough or fever. "This is a manifestation that occurs early on in the diseases, meaning you have this first, then you progress," Lautenbach continued. "Sometimes this might be your first clue that they have COVID when they don't have any other symptoms." Please be aware there are skin signs of covid. Purple red papules on the fingers and toes. Looks like chilblains/ pernio. May have no other covid symptoms. Seen in young people. Images of pernio like changes of Covid-19 from Italy @TamarPedsRheum @NataliaVasCan @IreneBlancoMD pic.twitter.com/5jKp04Yykq - Dawn Wahezi (@DWahezi) April 11, 2020 Another interesting finding? The toe lesions appear in more children and young adults than any other age group, possibly because - as Lautenbach surmised - they have better immune systems. The rash tends to disappear within a week to 10 days, but some patients progress to showing respiratory symptoms as well. Story continues Paller said parents should look at their children's feet for these lesions - they can be on one or several toes, and are often on the top, but can also be seen on the bottom of toes. Related: Allergies and COVID-19 Symptoms Can Look Alike: Here's the Key Difference Parents Should Note If you notice them on you or your child, she said there is no need to rush to the doctor's office. Instead, she recommended taking photos and waiting to reach out to your pediatrician if other symptoms present themselves. "We don't want to see a mass of people demanding testing for COVID-19 right now when resources are sparse," Paller said. "So everyone take a deep breath with this." ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia As the world grapples with an unprecedented global health crisis of COVID-19, the United Nations is spearheading a digital hub to house information and knowledge resources to assist crucial development system partners in fighting the pandemic in Africa. The virus has caused a global crisis affecting the core of humanity, affecting the social, economic, environment and related spheres, and it is attacking societies indiscriminately. In Africa, the regions fragile health systems and economic costs can derail the socio-economic development trajectory of the global Sustainable Development Goals and the regional Agenda 2063 aspirations. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) projects that Africas GDP growth will decrease by almost half to 1.8 percent. In the region, COVID-19 is already disrupting millions of peoples livelihoods, with disproportionate impact on poor households and small and informal businesses. Evidenced-based information and data from credible sources will be key not only to inform the COVID19 but also to aid the decision-making processes of governments, UN agencies and development partners to save the lives of people and economies. The Africa Knowledge Hub for COVID19 will be a resource open to all users, said Oliver Chinganya, Director of the Africa Centre for Statistics. The Africa Knowledge Hub for COVID19 In Africa, the regions fragile health systems and economic costs can derail the socio-economic development To mitigate the effects of the pandemic, the United Nations is responding to the crisis as One UN in terms of preparedness, response and provision of updates on the COVID-19 epidemiological situation. The African Knowledge Hub for COVID-19 is a One-Stop-Shop for information and knowledge resources on the pandemic in Africa on strategies and responses by the regional UN Development System and Development Partners to support African Governments to strengthen capacities to effectively respond to the pandemic. The translation of collective UN knowledge into strategic action can guide the efforts of all national and international partners to support national governments. This Africa Knowledge Management Hub for COVID-19 is an accessible and interactive repository of interventions, engagements and resources designed to support African governments as they grapple with the epidemiological, socio-economic and governance complexities of the deadly coronavirus, said Raymond Gilpin, Chief Economist, UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa. The portal will facilitate the regional UN Development Systems (UNDS) efforts to identify, select, organize, disseminate and transfer important information, knowledge and expertise that are existing in the region. This will facilitate quick response to specific national member states requests in support of Agenda 2030 and 2063, as well as enhance collaboration amongst the regional UNDS in knowledge management. The Hub will focus on developing and providing knowledge services from the wider UN system using intelligent clustering and contextualization by leveraging both human and intelligent machine processes. In addition, the Hub will also provide an interactive platform for collaboration, consultation and networking on important issues for the development agenda on the continent. ECA and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) co-convened this initiative together with all UNDS entities. The collaboration is under Strengthened integrated data and statistical systems for sustainable development (Opportunity/Issue-Based Coalition 1) with technical expertise on the development of the Hub provided by ECA. Related Many people have flocked to beaches in California during a summer-like heatwave despite authorities urging them to avoid trips there and continue practising social distancing measures. Thousands packed Newport Beach and Huntington Beach on Friday and Saturday, defying stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic. Governor Gavin Newsom acknowledged many Californians would be tempted to gather outside as the state experienced hot weather. But he tweeted: "CA can only keep flattening the curve if we stay home and practise physical distancing. You have the power to literally save lives." Police in Pacific Grove closed the Lovers Point Park and Beach because it became too crowded and people were not observing the restrictions. And officers in San Diego said three people were arrested in Encinitas for violating health orders after they protested against beach closures. Los Angeles city and county beaches, trails and playgrounds were closed, and officers on horseback patrolled those areas to enforce distancing rules. In Florida's Volusia County, home to the well-known Daytona Beach, beaches have been opened for those wanting to walk, surf, bike or swim. County manager George Recktenwald has warned people against gathering in groups. He said: "At this point in time, we're still under the governor's essential exercise order, so if you're on the beach, you should be physically active. No sitting, sunbathing or hanging out with a cooler." But one resident said many beachgoers were not heeding the advice. John Overchuck, 45, who lives on New Smyrna Beach, south of Daytona Beach, said: "I know they have rules and restrictions, but people aren't listening. "I walked on the beach 10 minutes ago and it's packed. That wasn't supposed to happen." California was one of the first states to bring in lockdown measures. It has had more than 1,600 coronavirus-related deaths and over 42,000 confirmed cases. Story continues Elsewhere in the US, Georgia and Oklahoma have allowed salons, spas and barbershops to reopen. And Alaska has cleared the way for restaurants to resume eat-in services, and for retail shops and other businesses to open their doors, all with limitations. But some municipalities there have chosen to keep stricter rules. In Colorado, salons, barbershops and tattoo parlours can open next Friday, with retail stores, restaurants and cinemas to follow. However, some people are resisting the move. Mary Ramirez will not be reopening her hair salon then as she believes there is not enough safety guidance and planning. "I feel like we are like test dummies that they're learning off of," she said. :: Listen to Divided States on Apple podcasts , Google Podcasts , Spotify , and Spreaker Health experts say economies should not open up unless there is widespread testing and contact-tracing infrastructure in place to prevent a resurgence of the virus. While some US states have eased COVID-19 restrictions, Hawaii has extended its stay-at-home order until the end of May. And Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York - the worst-hit state - has repeated his warning that reopening businesses too soon was risky. The US has the highest number of coronavirus deaths in the world. More than 53,000 people have died in the country, representing over a quarter of all fatalities globally. Sorry for inconvenience! You have been redirected to this page due to the following reasons:-- Your session has expired. You have closed the browser, without logging out. If the problem persists, kindly remove all the temporary files and cookies from your browser. For IE - 1. Click on tools from the task bar of browser. 2. Click on Internet Options. 3. Click on "Delete temporary files." For Mozilla Firefox - 1. Click on tools from the task bar of browser. 2. Click on "Clear recent history." MNCs, BPOs and IT enabled services in Gurgaon might need to allow their employees to work from home till July and, says Gurgaon Metropolitan Development Authority CEO VS Kundu, as per a report in PTI. This is due to the coronavirus pandemic. Don't Miss: Contribute To Indiatimes Fundraiser To Help India Fight COVID-19 Kundu is also additional chief secretary of Haryana, and went on to say that hat several real estate projects, including those of DLF, have got the green signal to resume construction but with restrictions as per social distancing. Gurgaon, which is part of the National Capital Region, is known as the millennium city and is home to many BPOs, MNCs and technology giants, including Infosys, Genpact, Google and Microsoft. Shutterstock The Gurgaon district administration had issued an advisory in mid March asking MNCs, BPOs, IT companies, corporates and industries to allow work from home for employees. As of now it appears this advisory for work from home will continue till end of July. All those who have offices in Gurgaon should continue to work from home to the extent possible, Kundu told PTI. Kundu, who is in charge of handling the COVID-19 crisis for Gurgaon district, said it is advisable that companies should ensure that as many employees as possible, work from home. This might not be possible in the case of industries and the manufacturing sector but should be followed wherever possible, he added. PTI Kundu said few construction sites at GMDA and NHAI projects have been allowed to resume work within the norms of social distancing. Construction sites where labourers are already staying on the site or those where labourers stay within walking distance are allowed to resume work while adhering to social distancing norms, he said. Such is the nature of the coronavirus pandemic that no one knows when we will go back to previous normal, the GMDA CEO said. You may have to go to a new normal, he added. Besides being a corporate hub, Gurgaon is also a hub for the automobile industry. PTI It has reported 51 COVID-19 cases. Of these, 35 have recovered. It is in the red zone and is the worst-affected district along with Nuh, Palwal and Faridabad in Haryana. The state has reported 289 cases (including 176 who have been cured, discharged or migrated) and three fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data on Sunday. Kundu described the situation in Gurgaon as fairly under control and said there is no evidence of community transmission. Gurgaon has effectively been under lockdown since March 22 two days before Prime Minister Narendra Modis announcement of a pan-India shutdown to stem the spread of the disease. This gave the administration a head start and enabled it to handle the situation effectively, the official said. The administration is working on the twin objectives - of saving lives and ensuring livelihoods - he said. The district administration is conducting surveys and will start providing food coupons to poor families who dont have ration cards. This will give them rations for three months. The district administration has been ensuring smooth supply of rations to them through its various channels, Kundu added. He said the manufacturing of personal protective equipment (PPEs) has also started. Two apparel firms have been given permission to manufacture PPEs in their plants. Per Olov Enquist, one of Sweden's most acclaimed authors who wrote "The Visit of the Royal Physician," has died aged 85, his family told Swedish media on Sunday. The patriarch of 20th century Scandinavian literature, Enquist is known for powerful stories that weave his own melancholic life into the dark side of history. In his more than 20 novels, plays and essays, he drew heavily on his own experience as an oppressed child in a strictly religious home, as an athlete, a journalist and a destructive alcoholic, his leftwing convictions filling his writings. Born in 1934 in Hjoggbole in Sweden's far north, his books -- including "The Crystal Eye" (1961), "The Parable Book" (2013), "The Magnetist's Fifth Winter" (1964) and "The March of the Musicians" (1978) -- have been translated into a dozen languages. He won the 2001 August Prize, Swedish literature's top honour, for "The Visit of the Royal Physician", which earned him broad international acclaim and tells the story of a romance between the physician of the mad Danish King Christian VII and the queen. Enquist, known in Sweden by his initials P.O., won a second August award for his autobiography "A Different Life" (2008), its name an homage to "A Life" by August Strindberg, the father of modern Swedish literature. "P.O. Enquist's importance for Swedish cultural life since the 1960s can't be exaggerated. He was the model for the socially-engaged poet who influenced generations of younger writers. It feels empty and unthinkable that he is gone," wrote Bjorn Wiman, culture editor of the Dagens Nyheter newspaper, on Sunday. His publisher Norstedts also posted a memoriam on its website: "Few have, like him, inspired other writers, renewed the documentary novel, revitalised Swedish drama and touched readers for more than half a century." - 'Didn't give up' - The process of writing "A Different Life", he said, allowed him to work through and leave behind painful memories of sleeping in a bed meant for his still-born brother, of the void left by a father who died when he was not yet a year old, and of a strict mother who pushed him to invent sins to confess. Known for his Gregory Peck-like frown and silver crown in his later years, Enquist broke free from his family, competing in high jump in high school before attending Uppsala University, where he discovered journalism and writing. He just missed qualifying for the Rome Olympics in the high jump in 1960. But as a journalist he covered the 1972 Munich Olympics when Palestinian militants took hostage and then killed members of the Israeli team. Enquist's transition to adulthood was scarred by depression, self-doubt and existential questions. He was 18 years old when Swedish author Stig Dagerman, whom Enquist admired, published "Our Need for Consolation is Insatiable" (1952). Enquist was 20 when Dagerman committed suicide. "I think I wanted to be a writer all my life and I didn't give up," he told AFP in a 2011 interview, even though "it wasn't so easy to survive" much of the time. An entire wall of his large Stockholm apartment at the time was taken up with a bookshelf containing his poetry, plays, novels and fairytales, in the original Swedish as well as English, French, German, Russian and other translations. "It's my egocentric bookshelf," he said with a laugh. "Every time I feel depressed that I'm not doing anything, I look at this bookshelf and say to myself 'well, that is seven metres (yards) and I have done a little bit, so I can die'." Swedish literary critic Per Svensson said Enquist "finds executioners, victims and traitors wherever they are in the world, in history and literature, to bring them back to his village. "And the result is magnificent," Svensson said. Enquist battled alcoholism for several years. After two failed attempts to kick the habit, and after not writing anything for 13 years, he succeeded on the third try after convincing his caregivers to let him use his computer and discovering to his delight that "I was still a writer". "The most terrible thing about being a writer is not to write but to not write." Sweden's acclaimed writer Per Olov Enquist died at the age of 85 Abhilash Chandran By Express News Service KOTTAYAM: At a time when the state is preparing to bring back non-resident Keralites (NRKs) from Covid-19 hit countries, people who completed mandatory quarantine period of 28 days testing positive for the disease have put the health authorities in a quandary. Of the five positive cases reported in Kottayam, three had completed the quarantine period. A male nurse who tested positive for the disease on April 23 had come back from Thiruvananthapuram on March 23, while a truck driver and a Samkranthi native woman, who were found with the infection on April 25, had returned to their houses from Thiruvananthapuram and Sharjah on March 25 and 11 respectively. This indicates people are testing positive for the disease up to the 44th day. Earlier, a person in Kannur had tested positive on the 40th day of arrival. According to Kottayam district medical officer Dr Jacob Varghese, once infected, the virus can stay in the body for upto seven weeks in rare cases. We are fighting with a completely new disease and hence we cant come to a conclusion at this stage. However, in some cases, the virus can stay in our body for 6-8 weeks, according to some public health experts. However, the infectivity strength of the virus is very low in such cases, he said. Same was the observation shared by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in his press meet, citing health experts. The infectivity possibility is high in the first 14 days of infection. After that, the virus may stay in our body. But infectivity power will be low, he said. At the same time, the new developments are forcing the health authorities to change the strategy in containing the disease. According to Dr Jinesh P S of Info Clinic, the government should immediately resort to random testing to find out whether community transmission has started already. With more cases being reported without knowing the source of infection and after the mandatory quarantine period, we should immediately commence random testing. Through random testing we can assess the gravity of the transmission as well as strengthen the containment measures by finding out more cases, he said. Jinesh also suggested increasing the number of tests as much as possible, along with strict implementation of social distancing and washing hands. Meanwhile, a head load worker in Kottayam town market tested positive for the disease, forcing the authorities to be more cautious about the inter-state freight transportation as well. The movement of inter-state trucks was not restricted or monitored strictly considering tight-checking may affect the food supply. However, a headload worker in Kottayam marker is believed to be infected from a truck driver, forcing us to bring in place some guidelines for truck or lorry workers and people working in markets, said P K Sudheer Babu, district collector. Following this, restrictions have been placed on the number of workers assigned for unloading in the market. All the lorry workers, headload workers and traders must wear masks and maintain social distance. Sanitisers should be kept in all shops and should be provided for use by workers. The shop owners should provide adequate food packets to lorry workers. Lorry workers should not eat from hotels for any reason. Once the load is unloaded, the lorries must exit the market, said the new set of guidelines. Angland (pictured) credits his daughter, Lexi, for helping him stay positive One of Australia's top jockeys who was flung from his horse and left quadriplegic in a freak accident credits his daughter for getting him through his toughest times. Tye Angland, 30, hadn't yet reached the peak of his illustrious career when it suddenly came to a screeching halt on November 25, 2018. The father-of-three was in Hong Kong when the horse he was riding stumbled in its first stride out of the gate, awkwardly throwing him to the ground and rendering him a quadriplegic. Up until that moment, Angland had won 995 races - including 11 Group Ones. 'The horse I was on just stumbled out of the gates, nothing malicious or abnormal,' he told Herald Sun. 'I just landed wrong. It was a fall you'd walk away from 99 times out of 100.' A 'glass half full' kind of man, Angland holds high hopes that he may one day walk again, but confessed in the early days particularly he struggled with the everyday adjustments. 'I've lost independence, the ability to walk and run, but I've learned to enjoy the little things... Although I'm restricted, I'm still here and enjoying life,' he said. He was in the prime of his career when he was flung from his horse in the opening seconds of a race in Hong Kong in 2018 (pictured after a race in December 2017) Angland is now a quadriplegic and learning to use his body again after the tragic incident, which he described as a 'freak accident' In fact, Angland said his eldest daughter, eight-year-old Lexi, had encouraged him to consider the brighter side. The former bull rider and his wife, Erin, were hesitant to tell the children of his accident in the early days. They waited until they returned to their home in country New South Wales from Hong Kong, where Angland had undergone extensive treatment and therapy. Ms Angland then took the three little ones to the park, where she gently broke the news that their dad was hurt and likely wouldn't walk again. Angland and his wife, Erine (pictured together) were hesitant at first to tell their three children of the accident X-Ray pictures of Angland's spine and neck show the damage that was done in the fall and the steel which had to be inserted in surgery 'Lexi said straight away: At least he didnt die, Mum. Dads alive!,' Angland said. 'What a great way to look at it.' Lexi, who was six at the time, was the first of the children able to see her father while he was still in hospital, hooked up to machines in the intensive care unit. The experience was daunting for her, Angland said, but she made her way in to the room by herself, jumped on the bed and gave her dad a 'big hug.' Angland, who now works as a racing commentator, remembers every single moment following the accident. 'It was a freak thing... I was conscious the whole time... I was trying to be positive but Erin and I knew something wasn't right, that it was more serious than anything we'd dealt with before.' Angland grew up racing horses and bull riding - and was not concerned about the fall until the moment he hit the ground WAs Smart shark drumline trial will be extended by 12 months at a cost of $2.8 million, bringing the total cost of the trial to $6.4 million. The trial has been running since February 2019 off the coast of Gracetown in the South West and in that time the drumlines have caught just two great whites and 73 non-target species. The smart drumline trial will be extended by 12 months. Fisheries Minister Peter Tinley said the increasing the number of tagged sharks would improve scientific understanding of their movements and help assess potential risks posed by white sharks. The additional 12 months of running this trial will give us a new point of comparison across seasons and years to the data already gathered, he said. Information reaching YEN.com.gh indicates that the United States Naval Medical Research Unit Three (NAMRU-3) has delivered medical supplies to the Government of Ghana in support of its COVID-19 response efforts. The medical supplies included ribonucleic acid, a nucleic acid (RNA) extraction kits, reagents, viral collection swabs, universal and viral transport media to collect and store specimens, and the replenishment of other consumable lab supplies. The U.S. Air Force C-130J aircraft from the 86th Airlift Wing in Ramstein Air Base, Germany arrived at Kotoka International Airport on April 24, 2020. READ ALSO: China rejects independent international investigation into COVID-19 According to a news report sighted by YEN.com.gh on the US Embassy's website, the supplies were originally ordered in January 2020 to support NAMRU-3 Ghana Detachment research efforts, specifically ongoing influenza surveillance, in partnership with Ghanas National Influenza Centers. Commenting on the delivery of the supplies, the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Stephanie S. Sullivan said this shows the growing partnership between the two states. The arrival of the needed medical supplies underscores the results of the growing partnership between the United States of America and the Republic of Ghana to combat COVID-19, to save lives and protect the people of this nation" she said. Ghanaians took turns to express appreciation at the delivery from the United States. Ayit Ernest prayed America comes out of the pandemic soon. Benjamin said God bless US government for their support. READ ALSO: Reasons why some Ghanaians are not wearing the nose masks in town | #Yencomgh In other news, China has rejected calls for an independent international investigation into the deadly coronavirus which originated there. According to a BBC report, a top diplomat in the UK, Chen Wen said, the demands were politically motivated and would divert Chinas attention from fighting the pandemic. It is believed that formation about the origin of COVID-19 and how it initially spread could help countries tackle the disease well. Per media reports, the virus is believed to have started at a wildlife market in the city of Wuhan late last year, December 2019. READ ALSO: Court places injunction on Electoral Commission; halts workshop to train officers Reasons why some Ghanaians are not wearing the nose masks in town | #Yencomgh Want to be featured on YEN.com.gh? Send us a message on our Facebook page or on Instagram with your stories, photos or videos. Source: YEN.com.gh DP World Sokhna, a major gateway for Egypts trade, has said it is operating its port at maximum capacity to meet import requirements and to continue supporting the country's people and economy during the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. DP World Sokhna has a capacity of approximately one million TEUs annually with an upcoming capacity of 750,000 TEU with the opening of Basin 2 in June 2020. The port has been implementing comprehensive safety measures and preventive actions as part of its efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and protect the health and safety of its customers and employees, by following all processes and procedures that are in line with the recommendations and instructions of the Egyptian Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO), the company said. DP World Sokhna has also been implementing an array of extra preventive steps to combat the virus. Information is shared with the staff on the importance of social distancing and increase awareness on hygiene standards. DP World Sokhna has also been distributing masks, gloves and sanitizers, it said. Ajay Kumar Singh, Chief Executive Officer, DP World Sokhna, said: Over the past 10 years, we have successfully positioned DP World Sokhna to be Egypts leading port. Our true contribution is to be manifested in this challenging time and we are committed to maintaining the success of DP World Sokhna. This puts us in a firm position of responsibility in supporting the economy of Egypt and serving its people. Our people are our most valuable assets and the health and safety measures are focused on timely actions to prevent the spread of Covid-19 infection. Our programme adheres strictly to the requirements of the Egyptian Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO), Singh added. DP World Sokhna has also made provision for the distribution of food supplies to be delivered to over 1,200 families of affected non-regular workers in Suez. It will also continue its traditional Ramadan Boxes of essential food supplies for workers families during the holy month of Ramadan, he added. TradeArabia News Service Leading two-wheeler makers Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) and India Yamaha Motor are hopeful of resuming manufacturing operations at their respective plants after the lockdown is lifted amid supply chain and workforce related challenges. While HMSI has sought permission to open its plants, Yamaha is also keen to start production in compliance with new protocols set by the government. HMSI Director Sales and Marketing Yadvinder Singh Guleria told PTI that the company has applied for permissions from respective state governments to start production at its plants. "At the same time, we are in the process of recalibrating our standard operating procedures (SOPs) and preparations are on to meet 100 per cent government guidelines for safety of employees and stakeholders before resuming actual production," he added. HMSI has four plants located at Manesar (Haryana), Tapukara (Rajasthan), Narsapura (Karnataka) and Vithalapur (Gujarat), with total installed production capacity at 64 lakh units per annum. Although the companies are preparing to restart operations, it may take them some time to actually kickstart the process with many of the component suppliers still shut. Besides, it may take some time before the workers return after having left for their native places. India Yamaha Motor Senior Vice President (Manufacturing) Sanjiv Paul said the company's foremost priority is to ensure safety of its employees. The company is exploring every possibility to restart its manufacturing operations in compliance with the SOPs issued by the government for disinfection of facilities and maintenance of social distancing guidelines at all factory locations. "Another important aspect is to have a smooth supply chain in place after the lockdown so that our manufacturing operations can be run without any disruptions," Paul noted. Many suppliers are in containment zones, so the company needs to evaluate their situation, he added. Availability of manpower with the suppliers could be another challenge as many workers might have returned to their native places, Paul said. He added that despite government allowing movement of trucks for goods and carriage, the drivers' availability is still limited. "As it is extremely crucial to have uninterrupted supply of parts from suppliers in order to sustain a seamless operation, we may require some time to restore every quarter of the supply chain to normalcy," Paul noted. He added that the company may also have to carefully evaluate the market scenario after May 3. "We must rightly evaluate the market sentiment after the lockdown from a demand point of view, especially in terms of customer footfalls to the dealerships and retail propensity. Our estimate is gradual rise in demand over the couple of months, so the inventory at the dealerships must be carefully planned," Paul noted. The company is committed to surge ahead on the long road of recovery and will consider every aspect before resuming full capacity, he added. Already, major carmakers like Maruti Suzuki, Toyota and Honda have stated that availability of components is a prerequisite to re-start operations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The coronavirus pandemic wrought dramatic changes in where Bay Area consumers spend their money. Not surprisingly, services delivering food groceries, prepared meals and DIY meal kits saw volumes spike once everyone was ordered to shelter at home. What is surprising is how much one player dominated growth and market share in each of those categories. On the other hand, Uber and Lyft saw usage nosedive, with local ride sales at both down about 90% compared with a year earlier. Meanwhile, mainstay stores for staples, Amazon and Costco, also had surging volumes but not necessarily when you would think. To delve into spending, The Chronicle looked at data from Second Measure, a San Mateo company that analyzes billions of anonymized credit card purchases to track consumer behavior and sales at individual merchants. We examined weekly spending in six categories heavily impacted by the pandemic and shelter-in-place order. The charts display data for the San Francisco metro region of San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa and Marin counties. Second Measures national data showed similar trends. Data are indexed to equal 100 across an entire category of as January 2018. Grocery delivery: Instacart has had an astounding run-up, with its San Francisco metro sales volume for late March about five times what it was in mid-February. Meanwhile, Amazon Fresh, which includes deliveries from Whole Foods Market and Amazon Fresh (Amazon Primes grocery delivery service) lagged. Amazons issues were highlighted during the pandemic when it limited Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh deliveries to existing customers. Amazon said that social distancing and other safety measures combined with unprecedented demand were factors. It said it is hiring and adjusting operations to increase capacity and will add new grocery delivery customers from a wait list. Instacart has had better speed of delivery their wait times and ability to get a slot are better than some other players, said Sucharita Kodali, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research, speaking of the national landscape. Still Instacarts one-hour and same-day delivery disappeared in the deluge with customers on social media complaining about erratic availability. Instacart said it will hire 250,000 full-service shoppers the independent contractors who select and deliver groceries to try to regain same-day speeds. Thats on top of 300,000 its added in the past month, which brought its freelance workforce to 500,000. Meal delivery: DoorDash dominates this category, both nationally (44% of the market as of March 30) and even more so locally (65%). For all players, restaurant delivery was flat until mid-March, but took off as soon as shelter in place was implemented. DoorDashs San Francisco sales are now 120% of what they were a year ago, while those at Uber Eats are up 49%. GrubHub saw a year-over-year increase of 22%, while Postmates increase was a muted 10%. Average per-customer spending also rose about 26% at DoorDash, 21% at Grubhub, 23% at Postmates and 35% at UberEats. Todd Trumbull Meal kits: Combining cooking and eating, two favorite shelter-in-place activities, meal kits are having a moment. HelloFresh is the standout, with 39% of the local market and 56% nationwide as of March 30. The Berlin company said it is the largest meal kit company globally, and has been No. 1 for several years in multiple European countries and the U.S. HelloFresh said it was well prepared for the demand surge. We are working around the clock to deliver our boxes and collaborating with our network of suppliers and partners to ensure we continue delivering fresh and reliable meals to our customers, it said. Ride hailing: Uber and Lyft ridership sagged in the first two weeks of March as people were beginning to hunker down, and then plunged dramatically starting the week of March 16, when most of the Bay Area implemented mandatory sheltering in place. Their sales here fell 90% compared with the same time last year. Nationwide, they were down about 85% for Uber and 89% for Lyft. Drivers say their income has plummeted as well. Both companies are trying to help drivers find other opportunities with the booming delivery services and by subsidizing some rides and deliveries related to pandemic relief to provide some earning opportunities. One twist: The few remaining customers were still spending about $40 a week each, close to typical averages pre-pandemic. That could be because essential workers are relying on ride-hailing rather than risking public transportation. Uber and Lyft did not immediately reply to requests for comment. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Amazon.com: Hunkered down at home, consumers shopped online for everything from the top staple, toilet paper, to toys and puzzles to keep themselves and their kids occupied. For the worlds top online retailer, that should have been great news. Amazon was handed a winning lottery ticket, Kodali said. Yet it appears Amazon has struggled. The Seattle company said it is hiring 175,000 workers and prioritizing essential items, so shipments of many other items were significantly delayed. Amazons sales volume during the weeks of March 16, 23 and 30 was well short of what it handled during the first three weeks of December 2019. The March weeks together totaled 23.5% less than the three holiday weeks. Its very strange, Kodali said. If they werent near holiday volumes, why were they turning down transactions? Amazon said that social distancing, extensive cleaning and supporting employees who chose not to work made a comparison to previous time periods flawed. It said it is continually improving logistics, transportation, supply chain, purchasing and other processes. It is investing $500 million in a temporary $2/hour pay raise for hourly workers in the U.S., Europe and Canada. We will continue to make regular, critical updates to our processes to ensure we are keeping our employees safe while providing a vital service to people everywhere, Amazon said in a statement. We know that people are depending on us. Costco: People flocked to Costco to buy essentials in bulk. But they did that before shelter in place was implemented. Costcos local sales for the week of March 30 were slightly below normal. The Costco numbers were about stockpiling and panic buying, Kodali said. We saw the same trend reflected with drugstores. Once youve stockpiled, you dont need more stuff, so its much softer in subsequent weeks. Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified the location of Second Measures headquarters. It is a San Mateo company. It also gave an incorrect figure for DoorDashs local market share: It has 65% of the Bay Area meal-delivery market. Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid My instinctive reaction on first laying my eyes on Mcebisi Ndletyana's new book , Anatomy of the ANC in Power: Insights from Port Elizabeth, 1990-2019, was to wonder if the African National Congress (ANC), which has governed South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994, was destined to atrophy. The book is set to heighten the debate about the future of the party, whose dominance has been in decline since 2009. Ingenuously titled, it adds to the growing body of knowledge on liberation movements in power . It explains how the party, which had fought against the injustice of the brutal system of apartheid, became so absorbed by the sins of incumbency when it came to power. The book is a distillation of analytical savvy, intellectual prowess, wit and the fine pen of an outstanding pundit. The political scientist Anthony Butler and sociologist Roger Southall have bemoaned analyses of the ANC for lacking practical and intuitive knowledge of its institutional life, complexity and informal networks . Ndletyana's book attempts to fill that void. As emeritus professor of historical studies Chris Saunders has put it , the ANC's history is a large mosaic of many different parts. But can these different parts be knitted together into a complete historical narrative? Making history The history of political organisations is made every day of their existence, and continues even after their demise. The ink that writes history does not dry up. Ndletyana gives the history of power politics in the ANC interpretation. He answers the vexing question that Joel Netshitenzhe, a national executive committee member of the party, asked in 2018 : how do liberation movements lose sense of idealism that included a preparedness to pay the ultimate price? The book analyses the internal workings of the ANC, starting at the time when it reestablished itself inside the country, after it was unbanned in 1990, and ends in 2019. It covers the two decades of the ANC in power. It is, therefore, wide-ranging and large in scope. I am not aware of any other other book that has gone to this length in analysing the ANC in power. Port Elizabeth the populous seaport city in the Eastern Cape province is the contextual setting of the narrative. It has since been renamed Nelson Mandela Bay or simply called The Bay. The place has always been the fulcrum of political activism, from the earliest days of African nationalism. This, coupled with the ANC's popularity there, gives the historical reason for its choice as the scene for the book's narrative. The strength of the book comes from its causal processes approach and ethnography as a means used to gather information, including studying theoretical literature, official documents and archival materials. Ndletyana argues that the decline of the ANC, as shown in various electoral outcomes, especially from 2009, is the function of its very political dominance as a governing party. It created the illusion of invincibility. Oligarchic tendencies When the ANC took control in Port Elizabeth in 1995, it reconfigured its internal workings to align them with the structure of power in the governance of the municipality. The party became the city government and city government became the party. This spawned oligarchic tendencies and marked the onset of the scramble for the resources of the city. The platform for this is factionalism a phenomenon which started to show glaringly in the ANC's 52nd national conference in 2007 in Polokwane, when Jacob Zuma replaced then ANC president Thabo Mbeki. Ndletyana shows how these tendencies belie the essence of democracy, including the party's self-characterisation as a leader of society. His view is that these aberrations are a manifestation of systematic weaknesses occasioned by the party's inability to adapt to being a party-in-government. Of course, being unable to adapt to being in power and sustaining political dominance by keeping a hand in the cookie jar sheer corruption, which has assumed proportions of state capture are two distinct factors. But, in building the thesis of his book, to explain the decline of the ANC in Port Elizabeth, Ndletyana talks of these as conflations in a blended way, not as binaries. This makes the narrative plausible. This is ingenuity of thought and interpretation, coupled with a no-holds- barred approach a function of unencumbered scholarship. The book may ruffle the feathers of those it implicates. They are revealed as hurdles to the reform of the party. Their resistance goes to the extent of sabotaging the electoral prospects of the party to protect their sanctuaries, which are sustained through access to municipal resources. This is how the ANC lost the jewel of the crown Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in the 2016 local government elections. This is where the ANC had enjoyed historical popularity. The Democratic Alliance performed better than the ANC, and cobbled together a coalition to form government. The ANC lost because it had hollowed out its political capital. Self-correction But can the party of Nelson Mandela self-correct? Ndletyana is understandably unconvinced. That's because attempts to reform the party are thwarted by those wielding an invisible hand in the affairs of the government, to maintain their networks of patronage. Former ANC leader and South African President Nelson Mandela. Piere Verydy/AFP/GettyImages Unfortunately, this mirrors the state of the ANC nationally, which is at war with itself. The greed of unscrupulous leaders and party members is in contestation with its historical mission of social justice. Ndletyana lays bare this insidiousness of power. The distinction of his book lies in the strength and clarity of elucidation. It engages the reader in a topic of profound historical significance. But its resonance is in the problems of the day. I strongly recommend the book to anybody with an interest in South Africa's future. After reading it, they'll no doubt wonder: will the ANC survive the future, or is it destined for inevitable demise? Read more: 'ANC Spy Bible': a real-life South African thriller, but too much left unsaid Mashupye Herbert Maserumule received funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF) for his postgraduate studies. He is affiliated with the South African Association of Public Administration and Management (SAAPAM) By Mashupye Herbert Maserumule, Professor of Public Affairs, Tshwane University of Technology John Minchillo was conducting an interview at Saint Joseph's Medical Center when he heard the Code 99 alert ring out: A patient required resuscitation. The Associated Press photographer rushed into the emergency room with his equipment. He needed to capture video and still pictures, all without interfering with medical staff who were trying to save a life and were not used to having an outsider observing them. "In that time, in that space, I needed to tell their story," Minchillo said. "But do it in a way that protected them from distraction, me being a distraction. I think that we succeeded in that." So did the staff. Minchillo got footage of the medical team resuscitating the man and placing him on a ventilator. Saint Joseph's is the first U.S. hospital to give the AP access during the coronavirus pandemic. Discussions began between the Yonkers, New York, facility and photo editor Julie Jacobson. Originally, access was limited to parts of the ER and hospital but not the ICU, which Minchillo expected because there is concern about allowing cameras in sensitive areas. Delhi to ease restrictions, if Covid cases come down in next 2-3 days: Health Minister Lata Mangeshkar health update: Doctor says,'She in ICU with Covid-19 and pneumonia, will be under observation' Lockdown relaxations: What is open, what is closed India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Apr 26: Neighbourhood and standalone shops, including those selling garments, mobile phones, hardware and stationery items have been allowed to open but those located in market places, malls and COVID-19 hotspots and containment zones, will continue to remain shut till May 3. In rural areas, all shops, except those in single and multi-brand shopping malls, are allowed to open. After midnight order on relaxation, MHA issues clarification However, a Home Ministry official said the final decision of whether to allow the additional shops to open or not will be taken by the state governments and Union Territory administrations depending on their respective COVID-19 situation. While allowing opening of more shops, a move seen as a relief to people who have been under lockdown since March 24, the government order issued on Friday night said the shops will be functioning with 50 per cent of workforce and after adhering strictly to precautions which include social distancing and wearing of masks. The Union Home Ministry also said malls, liquor and cigarette shops, sale of non-essential items through e-commerce platforms continue to remain shut. Restaurants, hair salons and barber shops will not be allowed to open as these render services and do not fall under the shop category. Amending its April 15 order, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said in the Friday night order that "all shops, including neighbourhood shops and standalone shops, shops in residential complexes, within the limits of municipal corporations and municipalities, registered under the the Shops and Establishment Act of the respective State and UT" will be allowed to open during the lockdown. The ministry also said shops located in registered markets located outside the municipal corporations and municipalities can open after following the drill of social distancing and wearing of masks but with 50 per cent of strength. However, single and multi-brands shall continue to remain closed in these areas also. MHA clarifies pre-paid mobile recharge utilities, food processing units exempt from lockdown "All shops registered under the the Shops and Establishment Act of the respective State/UT, including shops in residential complexes and market complexes, except shops in multi-brand and single brand malls, outside the limits of municipal corporations and municipalities, with 50 per cent strength of workers with wearing of masks and social distancing being mandatory" will be allowed to function, the order said. In a statement on Saturday, the Home Ministry said the order implies that in rural areas, all shops, except those in shopping malls are allowed to open. In urban areas, all standalone shops, neighbourhood shops and shops in residential complexes are allowed to open. Shops in markets and market complexes and shopping malls are not allowed to open. "It is clarified that sale by e-commerce companies will continue to be permitted for essential goods only," the order said and also added that sale of liquor and other items continues to be prohibited as specified in the national directives for COVID-19 management. The ministry said that liquor shops were given licence under the Excise Act of the states and the establishments thrown open from Saturday were covered under the Shops and Establishment Act of the states. Sale of cigarettes, gutka are continue to be prohibited during the lockdown. What guidelines has govt issued for using ACs amid COVID-19 outbreak "As specified in the consolidated revised guidelines, these shops will not be permitted to open in areas, whether rural or urban, which are declared as containment zones by respective States and Union Territories," the statement said. The lockdown was first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 in a bid to combat the coronavirus pandemic. It was further extended till May 3. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, April 26, 2020, 9:19 [IST] Hospital cover used to come in a confusing array of options. Now, the government has streamlined all policies into Gold, Silver, Bronze and Basic. You only need basic cover to avoid the cost of paying the Medicare Levy Surcharge, which is the only reason many higher-income earners have insurance in the first place. Run for cover that shapes up. Illustration: Dionne Gain Credit: Ask your insurer for a policy inclusions list for each policy and make sure you only have cover for things you might reasonably need. Review your extras claims You dont need extras cover to avoid paying the Medicare Levy Surcharge, only an eligible hospital policy. The best way to figure out if youre getting value for your cover is to review your claims for the previous calendar year. Login online or ask your insurer to provide you with a list of claims. When I did this, I found I had received $593 in benefits for the $234 in premiums I paid. So, Im keeping that. I claim heavily on dental and optical, because I wear contact lenses and love my pearly whites, but are you getting more back than you pay? If not, drop it. Shop around Jump online and have a play with any of the many free comparison websites, including iSelect, Compare The Market or Health Insurance Comparison. Beware: they will ask for your phone number and they will call you almost immediately. Thats ok. Health products are so confusing, you may be better off talking to a human. Just dont feel pressured to go with any recommendation they come up with. Say you need to sleep on it and walk away. You can also use the governments website, privatehealth.gov.au. It compares all insurers, unlike the commercial comparison websites, but to be honest, its a bit clunky. When I spoke to a comparison company this week, they said they couldn't do any better than the policy I'm already on. Winning! Use the webchat feature Most big insurers have a pop-up webchat feature on their websites to take pressure off their call centres. I love these! Its so much easier to cry poor, ask clearly for what you really want and threaten to walk away over text (just ask my ex-boyfriends...) Typing also overcomes any potential language barriers you might encounter with a call centre and enables you to multi-task. Loading I had a webchat with my insurer this week, and while Im already on the cheapest cover that suits my needs, I did score a $50 optical voucher just for making a bit of noise. Your opening line should just be: "Im looking to save money can you suggest ways to reduce my premiums?" Increase your hospital cover excess Your excess is what you pay out of pocket in the event you make a claim. Most insurance policies have them, and the more you agree to pay, the lower your ongoing premiums. Last year, the government increased the excess allowable on hospital cover policies to $750 for singles and $1500 for families. Of course, in the event you do have a claim, youll pay more. But the lower premiums you pay in the meantime are likely to save you that, and more. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), insurance cover is the biggest component of most household health budgets. The average household spent $2005 on health insurance premiums in 2015-16. But fewer than half of Australians have private cover, so the average cost for those with cover is much higher. When assembling a budget for health expenses, it's also important to consider out-of-pocket costs on GPs and other medical specialists, which add up to an average of $1250 a year per household. Then there's an average spend of $880 per year on medicines, vitamins, ointments and lotions. Editors note: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was likely to be spreading in multiple U.S. cities far earlier than Americans knew, The New York Times reported on April 23, citing a new research by Northeastern University. According the report, by the time New York City confirmed its first case of the coronavirus on March 1, thousands of infections were already silently spreading through the city. Even in early February, the virus was not only likely to be spreading in multiple American cities, but also seeding blooms of infection elsewhere in the United States. This week, health officials in Santa Clara County, Calif., announced a newly discovered coronavirus-linked death on Feb. 6, weeks earlier than what had been previously thought to be the first death caused by the virus in the United States, it said. Here is the full text: NYT: Hidden Outbreaks Spread Through U.S. Cities Far Earlier Than Americans Knew, Estimates Say By the time New York City confirmed its first case of the coronavirus on March 1, thousands of infections were already silently spreading through the city, a hidden explosion of a disease that many still viewed as a remote threat as the city awaited the first signs of spring. Hidden outbreaks were also spreading almost completely undetected in Boston, San Francisco, Chicago and Seattle, long before testing showed that each city had a major problem, according to a model of the spread of the disease by researchers at Northeastern University who shared their results with The New York Times. Even in early February while the world focused on China the virus was not only likely to be spreading in multiple American cities, but also seeding blooms of infection elsewhere in the United States, the researchers found. As political leaders grappled in February with the question of whether the outbreak would become serious enough to order measures like school closures and remote work, little or no systematic testing for the virus was taking place. Meanwhile, in the background, you have this silent chain of transmission of thousands of people, said Alessandro Vespignani, director of the Network Science Institute at Northeastern University in Boston, who led the research team. Modeling the spread of a disease is inherently inexact, involving estimates of how often people come in contact and transmit the virus as they travel, work and socialize. The model estimates all infections, including those in people who may experience mild or no symptoms and those that are never detected in testing. Other disease researchers said the findings of Dr. Vespignanis team were broadly in line with their own analyses. The research offers the first clear accounting of how far behind the United States was in detecting the virus. And the findings provide a warning of what can recur, the researchers say, if social distancing restrictions are lifted too quickly. Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said last week that American health officials had been successful in tracking the first known cases and their contacts in the United States before the outbreak got out of control. Through Feb. 27, this country only had 14 cases, he said during a briefing. We did that isolation and that contact tracing, and it was very successful. But then, when the virus more exploded, it got beyond the public health capacity. But the new estimates of coronavirus infections are vastly higher than those official counts. By late February, as the worlds attention shifted to a dire outbreak in Italy, those 14 known American cases were a tiny fraction of the thousands of undetected infections that the researchers estimated were spreading from person to person across this country. And more cases may have been arriving in the United States by the day. Knowing the number of flights coming into New York from Italy, it was like watching a horrible train wreck in slow motion, said Adriana Heguy, director of the Genome Technology Center at New York Universitys Grossman School of Medicine. Dr. Heguys team and another at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have found through genetic analysis that the seeds of most infections in New York came from multiple locations in Europe, rather than directly from China. We werent testing, and if youre not testing you dont know, Dr. Heguy said. The new estimates suggesting that thousands of infections were spreading silently in the first months of the year dont seem surprising at all, she said. There are other signs that the outbreak was worse at an earlier point than previously known. This week, health officials in Santa Clara County, Calif., announced a newly discovered coronavirus-linked death on Feb. 6, weeks earlier than what had been previously thought to be the first death caused by the virus in the United States. Some scientists cautioned that the new reports estimates of an enormous, unseen wave of infections could be too high even though testing surveillance lagged at the time. Even with these corrections, its still on the high side this is higher than I would have expected, said Dr. Donald Burke, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Others said that the findings were in line with the fragmentary evidence that had been available until now. Lauren Ancel Meyers, a professor of biology and statistics at the University of Texas at Austin, said that her own risk estimates and most recent projections reveal a grim stealthiness of early coronavirus spread. By the time you see a few cases, its pretty certain that you already have an outbreak underway, Dr. Meyers said. Dr. Vespignanis approach models the outbreak over time based on what is known about the virus and where it has been detected. It estimates the spread of the disease by simulating the movements of individual people based on where people fly, how they move around, when they go to school and other data. By running the model under various conditions when schools are closed, say his team estimates where the virus may have spread undetected. Unseen carriers of the disease, many of them with mild symptoms or none at all, can still spread the virus. For that reason, by the time leaders in many cities and states took action, it was already too late to slow the initial spread. A few cities with early outbreaks, notably Seattle, are believed to have avoided enormous growth later by heeding the models available at the time and taking action well ahead of the rest of the country. We knew the numbers we saw were just the tip of the iceberg, and that there were much greater numbers below the surface, Jenny A. Durkan, the mayor of Seattle, said in an interview. We had to act. City and state officials in New York acted more slowly, waiting until known cases were at a higher level to shut down schools and issue a stay-at-home order. Mayor Bill de Blasio was reluctant to embrace shutdowns until mid-March, citing the impact they would have on vulnerable New Yorkers. Even while we learn new things about this virus almost daily, one thing remains consistent: New Yorkers were put at risk by the federal governments total failure to provide us with adequate testing capability, said the mayors press secretary, Freddi Goldstein. In mid-February, a month before New York City schools were closed, New York City and San Francisco already had more than 600 people with unidentified infections, and Seattle, Chicago and Boston already had more than 100 people, the findings estimate. By March 1, as New York confirmed its first case, the numbers there may already have surpassed 10,000. From these primary travel hubs and a few other cities, the model shows, the disease was then spread to other locations in the United States. Dr. Vespignani said he and his research team warned officials of the silent spread, posting some of their early projections in mid-February. We were talking to officials here, and it was the same reaction we got in Italy, in the U.K., in Spain, Dr. Vespignani said. They told me, OK, thats happening on your computer, not in reality. Look, he added, No ones going to shut down a country based on a model. The virus moved under the radar swiftly in February and March, doctors and researchers said, because few cities or states had adequate surveillance systems in place. And testing, if it was being done at all, was haphazard. Emergency rooms were busy preparing for the predicted onslaught and likely missed some early virus-related deaths, and did not have the time or tools to verify infections on the fly, experts said. It was mid-March before teams at N.Y.U. and Mount Sinai began taking samples for testing in New York. The new findings from the model produce a range of possible outcomes for when the virus may have infected 10 people in each city. In New York, for example, the model shows that the first 10 infected people could have been walking the streets of the city as early as the last week in January, or as late as the middle of February. From there, the infections in the centers of the outbreak grew exponentially. Trevor Bedford, an associate professor at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington in Seattle, said it became clear in late February that community transmission an infectious outbreak was probably silently underway in Washington after a single test result came back positive for someone who had no symptoms. Whatever the precise scale of the initial outbreak, that same dynamic will accelerate once measures to mitigate the spread are relaxed without other public health measures in place, Dr. Burke said. When you take away social distancing, everything will go right through the roof, he said. Indeed, Kim disappeared from public view for three weeks between a Lunar New Year concert on Jan. 25 and a February event at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun to mark his fathers birthday. He was not seen in public for another 13 days before offering guidance for military training on Feb. 28, according to state media reports. T he army is being deployed across the UK to begin testing essential workers and vulnerable people for coronavirus. Military personnel will travel to care homes, police stations and prisons in areas where there is significant demand, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said. The mobile facilities can be set up in less than 20 minutes and allow hundreds of people to be tested each day. The news comes as nearly 150,000 have been infected and more than 20,000 have died in the UK, according to Johns Hopkins data, and the Government is facing pressure to come up with a Covid-19 lockdown exit strategy as well as hit 100,000 a day testing target. Specially-trained members of the armed forces will collect swabs at the mobile sites before they are sent to mega-labs for processing, with results available within 48 hours, the DHSC said. As of Sunday, eight mobile units are carrying out tests across the country, in areas including Salisbury, Southport and Teesside. However, the DHSC said at least 96 will be ready to be deployed by the start of May. Troops have been training in mobile testing at an Army Barracks in Lincolnshire / PA It follows on from a pilot scheme carried out last week, which saw DHSC vehicles refitted to become testing facilities, based on a design by British Army Royal Engineers. The armed forces will staff 92 of the units, while civilian contractors will operate a further four located in Northern Ireland, the DHSC said. The mobile sites will also be used to travel to frontline workers in the fire and rescue service and at benefits centres. Army personnel have been learning how to operate Mobile Testing Units i / PA Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: Our armed forces will help deliver testing to where its most needed, using a network of up to 96 mobile units that will be rolled out in the coming weeks. They will make sure our care sector get the testing required to remain in the front line of the fight against this pandemic. National testing coordinator Professor John Newton added: New mobile testing units will help us achieve our goal of 100,000 coronavirus tests a day, providing tests to vital frontline workers wherever they need them. In a matter of weeks, we have worked with Britains leading scientists, academics and industry partners to build scores of new testing facilities and Britains largest network of diagnostic labs in history. More than 10 million key workers and their households are now eligible for Covid-19 tests, which can now be booked online through the Governments website. The restrictions on movement to stop the spread of the coronavirus along the border region, including Donegal, has been brought back into focus with claims that Gardai do not have the power to arrest anyone from Northern Ireland for suspected breaches of the new regulations. RTE is reporting that Garda Headquarters informed senior officers all over the country that the restrictions on movement do not apply to people on day trips from Northern Ireland and that powers of enforcement cannot be used on them. It has also been reported that Gardai in the border region have also been ordered not to arrest anyone from Northern Ireland for suspected breaches of the Covid-19 regulations because they do not have the power to do so under the emergency legislation introduced by the Government. The revelations will understandably have serious implications for Donegal which has been at the centre of much focus over the cross-border movement of people since the lockdown began. A large number of holiday homes in Donegal are owned or occupied by people living in Northern Ireland and holiday home owners and day trippers from the North have been asked to stay away from Donegal as local communities battle against the spread of Covid-19. According to RTE, a senior officer serving on the border noticed earlier this week that people from Northern Ireland or outside the State do not live in a geographical location to which Irish law can apply and sought clarification from Garda Headquarters. Garda Headquarters recognised there was a lacuna in the legislation and consequently informed senior garda management all over the country that the Covid-19 regulations do not apply to people who live in Northern Ireland when making day trips to the Republic of Ireland. The Department of Health has insisted there is no anomaly in the Covid-19 regulations. However, the department accepts there could be an issue with people from Northern Ireland travelling to their holiday homes. Bengaluru, April 26 : Ruling BJP's firebrand Lok Sabha member from Karnataka Anantkumar Hegde urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to have an Indian version of Twitter after the US-based micro-blogging site locked his account for a reportedly controversial tweet, a party official said on Sunday. "As Twitter suspended/locked my personal account @AnantkumarH without prior intimation, we should develop an Indian version of it on a war-footing," said Hegde in a confidential letter to Modi, a copy of which IANS accessed through sources and verified its authenticity. Seeking action against Twitter for wrongful interference in free speech, which is detrimental to the country's strategic interest and democratic fabric of society, Hegde said in the letter dated April 25 that the social media platform was an excellent case of digital colonisation Indians face from a corporate entity. Hegde, 51, a four-time parliamentarian from Sirsi in Uttara Kannada coastal district in the state's northwest region, was a Union minister in the NDA government's first term (2014-19). Sirsi is about 405km northwest of Bengaluru in the southern state. "Your account has been locked; we have determined this account violated the Twitter rules," tweeted the micro-blogging site in response to Hegde's query on why his account or handle was locked. Twitter also asked Hegde to remove tweets that violate its rules to unlock his account. "If you think we have made a mistake, you can appeal the violation," tweeted Twitter to Hegde. Enclosing a copy of the tweets between Twitter and him with his letter, Hegde said the Indian version of the digital platform could be developed through state-run NIC, CDAC, CDoT or the Indian start-up sector or a private entity. "The action (locking his account) raises suspicion on the conduct of Twitter India. Handles belonging to elected public representatives are suspended without notice. Handles spreading discontent and fake news about Indian religions or Indian elected representatives are not warned/blocked even after repetitive complaints," asserted Hegde in the letter. Accusing Twitter of selective targeting of several nationalist handles and suspending or locking handles of pro-Indians, Hegde alleged that handles spewing poison and passing objectionable comments about the Prime Minister, Union Home Minister (Amith Shah) and chief ministers of India (states) were promoted via paid advertisements. "I request your office to investigate the motives behind such acts by Twitter Inc. It must be also investigated if money is exchanged or personal like or dislike of a decision maker of twitter leads to such actions to promote anti-India, anti-BJP, anti-Modi, anti-Indian establishment tweets," reiterated Hegde. Hegde also attached tweets whereby pro-Khalistan tweets were sponsored and accepted by Twitter Inc. "I fail to understand how such a tweet does not violate their (its) own policy," the letter added. Through the letter, Hegde also requested the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to introduce regulations, accountability and transparency for social media platforms like Twitter, like newspapers and TV channels. "We must also ensure that data remains in India and the source code should be with Indian agencies/NIC," said Hegde. Audiences have grown to love Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and his movies after the god of thunder got off to a somewhat rocky start in his early solo adventures. Now his love interest Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is set to rejoin the team and Marvel fans see this is a chance to improve upon the past. Portman is well-liked by Comic-Con fandom, having been a part of both Star Wars and Marvel. However, have said her work in the Thor movies is not among her best performances. Theyre hoping the forthcoming Thor: Love and Thunder will better showcase Portman and Chris Hemsworth. What happened in the prior Thor movies? INGLEWOOD, CA APRIL 25: Natalie Portman arrives at WE Day California 2019 at The Forum on April 25, 2019 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic) Portman played Jane Foster, a scientist who tracked the wormhole that delivers Thor to Earth in his first movie from 2011 As in the comics, a romance develops between Thor and Foster when Thor is temporarily stranded on Earth. In the sequel, shes in London when she ends up traveling to Thors realm for most of the movie, although Thor and Jane reunited on earth in the last act. Ultimately, Thor seemed to disappear from Earth, and Foster came to believe that Thor had abandoned her. After that, we learn that Foster worked for SHIELD with Thor thinking about her rather sadly while some image of her appeared in the corner of the screen. That seemed to be the last we would see of Jane, but then Portman showed up at the Avengers: Endgame premiere. She didnt shoot any new scenes for that movie, but she appeared at Comic-Con that following summer, holding Mjolnir aloft to thunderous applause. Jane Foster would return in Thor: Love and Thunder as a female Thor. Why did Natalie Portman leave, and why did she come back? Thor: The Dark World had a difficult production process, and one of its casualties was Portman. Patty Jenkins was set to direct the Thor sequel, and that would have been a milestone for both Marvel and the superhero movie genre as a whole. It was not to be, as she and Marvel parted company over creative differences. Numerous reports stated that Portman was highly displeased with the situation. Being an advocate for feminist causes, she had backed Jenkins as the director. Jenkins went on to great success with Wonder Woman, while Portman seemed to believe she was done with the MCU. Looking back on the franchise, fans on Reddit thought the parts dealing with Jane Foster were among the least successful parts of the movie. They thought Portman and Hemsworths character were lacking. One said: Thor had more chemistry in five seconds with the random blonde on a train, than with Jane over two whole films. The fourth/third times the charm? After Portman/Foster departed, the Thor series saw its greatest success with Thor Ragnarok. While some fans might churlishly say the third film was better because she wasnt in it, Ragnaroks director was who persuaded Portman to rejoin the fold. I didnt have to do much. And, I think for her it was about making the character interesting. And I think especially when youre playing an Earthling whos just into science in one of these big movies, it kind of gets a bit sort of, you know After doing that for two movies, you want to do something different. I think for her, the thing that mightve been attractive about this is being able to step it up and be a superhero. And Id rather her do that than play a scientist, Waititi said. In other words, make Jane Foster something besides the girl. Its even possible her story could include a tragic element because in the comics, Jane Foster has cancer when she becomes Thor. Well see how Marvel handles that tricky balance when the fourth Thor movie opens in 2022. Tullaghan Development Association put out a call to the community and surrounding areas in early March, at the suggestion of some of those living in the community to the impending Covid-19 crisis. We put a poster up our facebook page Tullaghan Coastal Cross looking for helpers and we were overwhelmed with the community response, said Louise Collins, Director, Tullaghan Development Association. There are over 35 volunteers now registered with Tullaghan, and surrounding Areas Covid-19 Team (TACT). They are all local people from Tullaghan Bundoran, Ballyshannon, Ballintrillick, Kinlough and even as far as Rossinver and Glenade. A webpage was set up by local resident Conor Flannery, to bring together all the offers of help available to the community. Flyers were printed, and distributed throughout Tullaghan, Bundoran and Kinlough, to local shops, surgeries, churches, chemists, and word was out that no one was alone in dealing with the crisis. Shona Daly, founding member of TACT said: Basically, requests come in, all around community stuff so it might be someone in need of groceries, or a prescription picked up or medicine, whatever it may be. What we do is coordinate it to our group of volunteers, which are all on our WhatsApp group, and we coordinate with each other within the group in helping the community with whatever needs done. We have four telephone lines, and someone will answer the call. Tara Gorman, from Supervalu Bundoran, got in touch and was offering help on what they could do with the community and wanted to get on board and then more and more businesses and people were all coming to help. We now are working with several businesses in the area and we also had one of our volunteers, who is a tradesman, John Molloy, NJ Maintenance, Kinlough offering free emergency repairs to anyone older and self-isolating. Chairman of Tullaghan Development Association, Jimi McGovern said The call for help just shows what we always knew, that we have a very strong community, and it will help us now, with volunteers from North Leitrim, South Donegal, and North Sligo, all coming together to help as one big team. We were delighted with the response, and this community spirit will help all of us pull through this crisis. TACT is also working with Kinlough's community response team, Melvin Gaels GAA/Kinlough Community group. This group are also part of the Leitrim Co-ordinate response team which is being operated by Leitrim Development Company on behalf of Leitrim County Council, and local Gardai are working alongside TACT and are in regular daily contact. Other businesses involved are Tullaghan Service Station, Pillbox Pharmacy Bundoran, Simpsons Bundoran, McGaherns Butchers (Jim Gallagher) Ballyshannon, Spar Kinlough and Lidl. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reported 26,496 confirmed cases in India, including 19,868 active cases and 824 people have lost their lives. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Sunday, April 26, reported 1,975 fresh COVID-19 aka coronavirus cases in India in last 24 hours. With this fresh addition, the total number of coronavirus cases in India has grown to 26,917, off which, 826 people lost their lives. Health Ministry said 47 succumbed to highly contagious illness across the country. A total of 26,496 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in India, including 19,868 active cases, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Sunday. 824 people have lost their lives due to the infection in the country. The Health Ministrys latest report claim that the virus is spreading in clusters now as examined in 68% of the COVID-19 cases reported from 27 districts. In Uttar Pradesh, As many as 1,843 positive COVID-19 cases have been reported till date, said Amit Mohan Prasad, Principal Secretary, Health, on Sunday. Prasad further said that out of 1,843 cases, 289 patients have either been cured or discharged, while 29 deaths have been reported in the State so far. The total number of positive coronavirus cases across the country are 26,496, including 19,868 active cases of the virus. So far, 5,803 patients have either been cured or discharged while 824 deaths have been recorded in the country, as per the data provided by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Delhis Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital in Jahangirpuri area has also been closed and the hospital is being sanitised after 44 staff members including doctors were tested positive for COVID-19, Delhi Health Department said on Saturday. Total 44 staff members including doctors at Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital in Jahangirpuri area of Delhi have tested positive for COVID-19. Test reports of other staff members are awaited. Hospitals medical services have been closed and the hospital is being sanitized, Delhi Health Department said. Earlier today, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain informed that there are 2,625 coronavirus cases in Delhi, out of which 111 were reported yesterday. For all the latest National News, download NewsX App The state government has responded to Western Australias leading teachers union encouraging parents to keep their children home from school this week by taking out its own full-page advertisement in the Sunday newspaper. The State School Teachers Union of WA took out an ad entitled important message in Fridays paper asking parents to support teachers by keeping your kids home if you can so schools could be made as safe as possible. The state government response to SSTUWA campaign with 'safe to return to school' advert. Credit:SMH Public schools will return from holidays on Wednesday with parents given the choice whether to send their children or not. Remote learning packages will be provided to students who remain at home. The SSTUWA ad was criticised on Friday by Education Minister Sue Ellery who said she was disappointed with it and that it was misleading with incorrect information. Soldiers From the 48-Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces are awarded a contract to build a 100-bed Infectious Disease and Isolation Facility at the Ga East Municipal Hospital at Kwabenya in Accra. The contract was awarded to the 48 Engineer Regiment by the promoters of the project, Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund. They have six weeks to complete the job. President Akufo-Addo dropped the hint in his last address to the nation on the Covid-19 response activities. Last Friday, I was honoured to do the virtual sod-cutting ceremony for the construction of a 100-bed Infectious Disease and Isolation Facility at the Ga East Municipal Hospital, which is being funded through a public-private partnership, under the leadership of the Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund, the President said. The construction he explained is with the assistance of the 48-Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces, and will be completed in six weeks. Members of the Private Sector Fund have, indeed, acted like citizens, and not spectators, in these testing times for our country, and their patriotism is to be loudly praised, he stated. The facility will support other Covid-19 treatment centres located in various part of the country. The President mentioned that the government had expanded and added to the network of Covid-19 treatment centres, with the Ga East and the Bank of Ghana Hospitals being 100 per cent dedicated to the fight. Other centres are at the University of Ghana Medical School Hospital, the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi South Hospital, and in other designated Regional and District Hospitals. ---Daily Guide Option 1: The Indianapolis Zoo in Indiana is home to Amur tigers Maxim, Metis and Zoya. Tigers like to hang out by themselves, so you will typically see one at a time. When not napping they are cats, after all the tigers roam their habitat, sniffing out any threats or hunting for their next meal. To stimulate the cats senses, the zookeepers sprinkle scents throughout the area, such as powdered goats milk and perfume. The stinkier the smell, the happier the tiger. If the cats are hiding, check out the zoos other camera stars: Pacific walruses, penguins, macaws and long-tailed macaques. Visit indiana poliszoo.com/webcams. A new modelling study to find out how the UK might be able to begin lifting lockdown measures is currently in progress and could be ready in days, according to the disease expert whose initial report on the severity of Covid-19 informed the governments decision-making. Professor Neil Ferguson, lead author of a study that ultimately led the government to implement social distancing measures in the UK to slow the spread of coronavirus, also said looking towards South Koreas exit strategy may provide an idea on how we can sustain control of transmission long term. His comments come as Dominic Raab, who is deputising for Boris Johnson until the prime minister returns to work on Monday, said the British public must accept that social distancing restrictions are the new normal and would be in place for some time. When asked if he was surprised that the population was largely adhering to the lockdown restrictions in an interview with UnHerd, Prof Ferguson said he was and the virus transmission rate had declined as a result. If we want to move away from lockdown, reopen schools, reopen workplaces, let people go shopping again we have to substitute with other measures, he said, adding that the UK should be looking towards South Korea as it has a much better model and has a way lower mortality rate compared to other countries discussed. If you talk to people [in the public health department] in Korea, they have a sustainable strategy, they have society not operating as normal, there will have to be social distancing until we have a vaccine, but they have been remarkably effective at basically tracking chains of transmission down and isolating people who are infected, said Prof Ferguson. The real benefit of those policies is that if you drive transmission down to the very low levels they now have in Korea, its not that disruptive or resource-intensive, you only have a few hundred cases a week yes, that results in a few thousand people a week requiring isolation but its very different from having a large chunk of your population in isolation. South Korea has one of the lowest mortality rates caused by coronavirus in the world, reporting just 240 deaths as of Sunday. The east Asian country reported its first local case of Covid-19 on the same day as the US, and began an aggressive testing programme almost immediately that included widespread contact tracing. However, it has been widely agreed that social distancing measures will need to stay in place in the country for the time being, with Englands chief medical officer Chris Whitty saying they could remain until the end of the year without a vaccine for the virus. Mr Whitty told the daily Downing Street press conference on Thursday that the path out of the lockdown must be planned with caution to prevent more waves of the virus spreading and overwhelming the NHS. A modelling study from researchers at Harvard goes even further, predicting that on-and-off periods of social distancing measures will be needed until 2022. Mr. Trumps typical name-calling can be recast to receptive audiences as mere counterpunching. His impeachment was explained away as the dastardly opus of overreaching Democrats. It is more difficult to insist that the man floating disinfectant injection knows what hes doing. The reaction has so rattled the presidents allies and advisers that he was compelled over the weekend to remove himself from the pandemic briefings entirely, at least temporarily accepting two fates he loathes: giving in to advice (from Republicans who said the appearances did far more harm than good to his political standing) and surrendering the mass viewership he relishes. Some at the White House have expressed frustration that the issue has lingered. It bothers me that this is still in the news cycle, Dr. Deborah Birx, the coronavirus response coordinator, told CNN on Sunday, adding, I worry that we dont get the information to the American people that they need, when we continue to bring up something that was from Thursday night. Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, a Republican who has been willing to speak skeptically about Mr. Trumps virus leadership, said on ABCs This Week on Sunday that it does send a wrong message when misinformation spreads from a public official or you just say something that pops in your head. Asked to explain the presidents words, Mr. Hogan said, You know, I cant really explain it. KAMPALA All 1408 suspected coronavirus samples tested negative on Saturday at the Uganda Virus Research Institute, Ministry of Health has announced. Of the samples, 1408 were from truck drivers at the border points of entry while the 483 were from contacts in the community. In a press statement, the ministry of health said Uganda recorded zero positive cases on Saturday, April 26, 2020, noting that confirmed coronavirus cases remain at 75 with 46 recoveries and 0 deaths. All the 19 active cases are said to be in stable condition at Mulago National Specialized Hospital (3), Entebbe Grade B Hospital (9), Arua regional Hospital (4) and Jinja Referral Hospital (1) Masaka Referral Hospital (1) and Kabala regional Hospital (1). Dr. Henry G. Mwebesa, the Director-General Health Services at Ministry of Health said that out of the confirmed foreign truck drivers four Tanzanian and 6 truck drivers have been repatriated to their respective countries. The coronavirus is affecting 211 other countries around the world including one international conveyance (the Diamond Princess cruise ship harbored in Yokohama, Japan). Related New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday exhorted people to shun complacency on the assumption that the COVID-19 pandemic will not affect them as it has so far not spread to areas they work or live in, saying "we have to continue being careful and taking the right precautions". Addressing his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' programme, he also said that India's fight against the novel coronavirus has become people-driven wherein every citizen is playing his or her part. Be it businesses, offices, education institutes or medical sector, everyone is adapting to changes in the post-coronavirus world, he said. India's decision to supply medicines to countries which needed them amid the Covid-19 pandemic was guided by its ethos, he said, adding that he feels very proud when world leaders thank India and its people for the assistance. In his over 30-minute-long address, Modi hailed the contribution of state governments in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, saying they have played a very active role. After yoga, the world will accept India's age-old ayurveda principles, Modi said, adding that the youth will have to take the lead in explaining it to countries scientifically. The prime minister said it is a "misfortune" that people of the country always refuse to acknowledge own strengths and glorious traditions. "But when another country says the very same thing on the basis of evidence-based research, when they teach us our own formula, we instantly accept it," he lamented. The death toll due to Covid-19 rose to 824 and the number of cases climbed to 26,496 in India on Sunday, according to the Union health ministry. By Junko Horiuchi, KYODO NEWS - Apr 26, 2020 - 15:07 | Feature, All, Japan, Coronavirus The government's stay-at-home request to curb the spread of the new coronavirus in Japan has made it not just a painful few weeks for Japan's restaurant industry, but also for those who love dining out. But as Japan's eateries stare at empty tables and plunging revenues, their most loyal customers are looking for ways to keep them afloat. Many are regularly buying takeouts, while others are setting up and supporting crowdfunding initiatives as well as new IT services that allow them to book and pay now for meals that won't be served until normality returns. Unlike in many countries hit by the pandemic, restaurants and bars can stay open in Japan under its state of emergency, imposed initially in the Tokyo and Osaka metropolitan areas earlier this month and since extended nationwide. But they have been asked to stop serving alcohol by 7 p.m. and close by 8 p.m. in most areas, severely curtailing customers. According to estimates by SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., household spending on eating out will decrease by 75 to 80 percent through the May 6 planned end of the emergency in the seven prefectures where it was first put in place. "I think a lot of restaurants, especially those serving at dinnertime, are under pressure about ways to survive, such as starting takeouts or changing opening hours," said Akihito Sakurai, who frequently buys takeout lunches in his neighborhood in Kunitachi in western Tokyo while working at home. (A woman takes out a meal at a restaurant in Fukuoka, southwestern Japan.) Sakurai, who lists to-go meals at an Irish restaurant as among his favorites, said maps and websites showing information about restaurants doing takeaways and deliveries, made by a local association of businesses, have been helpful. "I want to be of help to the restaurants," said Sakurai. "Through visits for takeouts, I think my relationships with the restaurants I used to frequent before the coronavirus crisis have become even stronger. I've also discovered new places in the neighborhood that I would certainly like to dine at after the virus is contained." Sakurai is pleased to see restaurants proactively putting out information about themselves, saying he has discovered eateries he might have just casually passed by had the coronavirus outbreak not happened. "I feel eaters like myself should write about them on social media," said Sakurai, who has also bought prepaid tickets and made donations at local jazz bars he likes which have been forced to close for the time being. Hiroko Mikami, a 36-year-old worker at an embassy in Tokyo, shares similar concerns about her favorite Italian and Thai haunts near her home and says she is getting takeouts more than she used to. "I am worried particularly that eateries that are not part of major chains will close," she said. Satoshi Hotta, a company employee in Tokyo, came across a new way to help out restaurants while browsing "autoreserve," a smartphone application that automatically reserves a restaurant without the user making a phone call. (A staff member at izakaya Kogane in Tokyo prepares a takeout order.) "I saw a new service involving the purchase of prepaid meal tickets and was interested as a way to support restaurants," Hotta said, referring to an initiative launched April 1 by the app developer and operator Hello Inc. Hotta quickly bought 30,000 yen ($276) worth of meal coupons at two of his favorite restaurants -- a hamburger shop and steakhouse -- while booking a table for two a month ahead using autoreserve. "It's sad to see empty restaurants nowadays and wondering whether they might be forced to close down," he said. Hotta says the ability to pay ahead of time is a convenience he will continue to appreciate even once the pandemic is under control and customers begin filling the seats of restaurants again. "This way, I only have to think about the money I will spend on drinks on the day of dining out," he said. As of Sunday, autoreserve allowed a user to select from among 28 registered restaurants in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka and elsewhere to buy meal coupons with a reduction of up to 30 percent as well as make reservations using a credit card. Dates for reservations can be decided tentatively and changed three times. Registered restaurants can also choose the reduction rate for their meal coupons. Cash is transferred to their bank accounts around two weeks after coupons are bought. (Customers stand in line to purchase takeout from a shop in Tokyo's Musashino City.) "I came up with the new service in two days after hearing that restaurants are struggling in the face of massive cancelations due to the coronavirus," said Hello CEO Yuki Hariguchi, 28. "We already had a restaurant reservation app so I decided to add a new feature." "I know there are gift tickets that can be used at restaurants but our service allows restaurants to have concrete revenue plans. They can know in advance who will come to eat at their places," Hariguchi said. Fledgling prepaid ticket services like Hello's to help restaurants hit by the coronavirus pandemic are springing up around the country. Others include an app developed by Gigi Inc., a venture in Fukuoka Prefecture, called "Gochimeshi," which also allows a user to prepay for meals in advance before visiting the restaurant to eat within six months. The Sendai Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Miyagi Prefecture, meanwhile, has started an initiative where users pick a local restaurant from about 200 choices and pay beforehand to get a meal ticket, with an additional 10 percent in value thrown in. "Even if restaurants borrow money from the government to continue in business for the time being, they would still have trouble paying back their debts. We can't depend on the government," said Satoshi Aoki, 44, who organized the project. Going forward, Hello's Hariguchi expects a wave of adoptions of new IT services by restaurants, not just to ride the current pandemic, but in preparation for the risk of future outbreaks. "Restaurants may start to think of the dangers of just waiting for customers to show up," said Hariguchi, who is now working on a way to allow restaurants to sell products online through his app. Italian restaurant Surry Hills in Tokyo's posh Daikanyama area has decided to register for autoreserve's new prepaid meal services after seeing sharp falls in customers from late March. "I thought the service was interesting and we have been hit by cancelations. All of our reservations have been canceled in April," said owner Daisuke Koyano. "We have set a 10 percent discount for those who will pay in advance and make a reservation in a month or later. I hope this will be attractive to customers," he said. But even with the support of loyal customers and food aficionados determined to keep eating well with takeouts, many restaurants are likely to take a severe hit. Hideyuki Araki, an analyst at the Resona Research Institute, pointed out that people spend more on average when dining out compared with ordering in. "While takeouts and food deliveries have grown as more people stay indoors, they are unlikely to cover the decrease in restaurant sales," he said. Related coverage: Coronavirus forces 1 in 13 students in Japan to consider quitting: survey 148 cruise ship crew in Nagasaki test positive for virus Japan to review seal-stamping custom to better contain coronavirus We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. Retail experts are warning to get in early and buy Mother's Day gifts now as the coronavirus will cause longer delivery times. It's a Mother's Day like no other and not a year for last-minute gifts, warns retail expert Gary Mortimer from the Queensland University of Technology Business School. Australians are being urged to start scouring online now for that special gift or risk missing out as stores are closed and there are longer lead times for delivery. Retail experts are warning to get in early and buy Mother's Day gifts now as the coronavirus will cause longer delivery times. Pictured: an Australia Post delivery driver It's a Mother's Day like no other and not a year for last-minute gifts, warns retail expert Gary Mortimer (pictured) from the Queensland University of Technology Business School With May 10 creeping up and the coronavirus lockdowns due to remain in place, consumers are being told to be safe rather than sorry. Mr Mortimer warned that Australia Post has suspended Express Post guarantee on next day deliveries due to the pressure the postal service is under. He said many key retailers, including jewellers, who specialise in Mother's Day gifts are all but closed and online retailers are even struggling to get items out the door in a reasonable time. Even Kmart recently trialled a virtual queuing system for online customers because of the demand, he said. 'There's always a segment of the market which leaves it until the last minute and, when you think about the key products people buy, it's going to be challenging to access them this year than ever before,' Mr Mortimer said. 'Fluffy slippers, bathrobes and sleepwear tend to be big sale items, but when you walk through shopping centres, key retailers that specifically target Mothers' Day, they're closed,' Mr Mortimer said. Even Kmart recently trialled a virtual queuing system for online customers because of the demand. Pictured: Kmart at Westfield Parramatta He said even to leave your purchase to the last few days, let alone the last minute, to buy a gift is courting disappointment. There will also be issues if a consumer receives the incorrect size right because attempting to exchange a gift has inherent problems because most retailers are closed. 'The challenge is that if you receive the wrong product or wrong size you can't physically do that, so you're going to have to send it back and that in itself causes a further delay,' he said. There's also nowhere to take mum out for a lavish breakfast, lunch or dinner because pubs, clubs and restaurants are closed. Mr Mortimer said now was the time to consider alternative gifts and ordering gourmet food to be delivered to your door. 'You may want to look at a gourmet picnic that is delivered or have cook at home meals delivered or pick-up,' he said. The suspected Mexican Mafia member who had an AM-15 assault weapon while violating the city curfew has served time behind bars at least two times. Jonathan Marmolejo-Alvarez, 35, has convictions of human smuggling and assault, family violence. The human smuggling case unfolded at about 2 p.m. Aug. 2, 2009, when Laredo police officers pulled over a red Dodge Durango for traveling 53 mph in a 30 mph zone. Police identified the driver as Marmolejo-Alvarez and Pedro Cadena Jr. as the passenger. Officers also observed 14 people trying to conceal themselves in the rear seat and cargo area. U.S. Border Patrol agents responded to assist. Agents determined that the 14 individuals were citizens from Mexico and Guatemala who had entered the country illegally. Marmolejo-Alvarez and Cadena were taken into custody. Marmolejo-Alvarez stated that he contacted a man from Nuevo Laredo known as El Gato. Court records state that El Gato is in the human smuggling business. Marmolejo-Alvarez stated he contacted El Gato because he wanted to make some money and asked him if he had immigrants to transport. Marmolejo-Alvarez borrowed his girlfriends sport utility vehicle to pick up the immigrants. He was supposed to share a percentage of the profit with Cadena. Marmolejo-Alvarez was charged with two counts of transporting immigrants. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison on March 25, 2010. Domestic violence Regarding the domestic violence incident, police officers responded at 3:30 a.m. April 2016 to the 300 block of Riverfront. Officers met with a woman who was shaking and crying. Officers noticed she had abrasions to her arms and redness to her cheek. The investigation revealed that Marmolejo-Alvarez assaulted her. She received medical attention at the scene. He pleaded guilty to assault, family violence on Sept. 25, 2017, and was sentenced to 50 days in the Webb County Jail. READ MORE: Records reveal grisly details in Laredo capital murder case involving family of four Curfew violation Regarding the firearm case, police said they received information on Tuesday about a suspicious Cadillac XTS parked near the 3400 block of North Jarvis Avenue. Information received indicated that one passenger had a short assault rifle. Authorities said the occupants were in violation of the coronavirus city ordinance curfew. LPD officers also learned that a passenger was a Mexican Mafia gang member. He was the one accused of being possession of the firearm. A search of the vehicle resulted in the seizure of the firearm and ammunition, according to police. Officers detained the driver and the passenger, who was identified as Marmolejo-Alvarez. Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives special agents arrived for assistance. ATF seized the Anderson Manufacturing Model AM-15 .223 caliber firearm and the ammo. Special agents also confiscated a 30 round capacity magazine within the AM-15 containing 20 rounds of Tula Cartridge Works .223 caliber ammunition. Marmolejo-Alvarez stated that he purchased the AM-15 from a person two days earlier in a public street. Marmolejo-Alvarez also stated that he purchased the AM-15 for protection and that he paid $500 for the AM-15, 30 round magazine, and 20 rounds of ammunition, states an arrest affidavit filed on Thursday. Marmolejo-Alvarez allegedly admitted that he is a Mexican Mafia gang member. Thiruvananthapuram, April 26 : The opposition Congress on Sunday asked Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to tell what Kerala had gained by sharing its coronavirus data with US firm Sprinklr. Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala told the media that Vijayan and his party is on cloud nine and wrongly claiming that the High Court has given them an all-clear signal in the handing over of the data to US marketing and PR firm. "Nothing of that sort has happened and instead have accepted all our fears, which included secrecy and privacy of data, taking informed consent of patients, and anonymity of all personal information. The court has clearly said had it been normal circumstances, it would have taken a different position but given the need to take urgent steps to prevent Covid-19 spread, it is not doing os. We want Vijayan to tell us what has Kerala gained by giving the data to Sprinklr," said Chennithala. Chennithala said only an interim order had come from the High Court. "You just wait and see, the court will look into all the explanations that the Vijayan government has given; so we will wait for the final verdict." "Vijayan was very contemptuous when our senior legislator V.D. Sateeshan pointed out to a report from a state government agency which had said that 80 per cent of Kerala's population might get affected by Covid-19. Vijayan turned very critical of Sateeshan and admonished him. But in court, the Vijayan government submitted the very same findings," added the Congress leader. On Friday, after hearing various petitioners in the controversial transfer of Covid-19 patient data by the Kerala government to Sprinklr, the Kerala igh Court refused to stay the agreement and gave a number of directions to the state, saying all safeguards regarding data privacy be maintained. The court posted the case for hearing after three weeks. Vijayan later assured that his government's stand was always that data will be protected. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) The Moroccan health ministry announced on Sunday 168 new positive cases of coronavirus in 24 hours, bringing the total of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 4,065. The Ministry of Health reported 02 deaths and 56 healings in 24 hours, bringing the official death toll to 161 deaths, while 593 patients have recovered, since the start of the epidemic in Morocco. The director of epidemiology at the Ministry of Health, Mohamed Lyoubi, said the fatality rate (number of patients who died compared to the total number of infected people) is decreasing each day and now stands at 4.0%. This rate, which places Morocco in a relatively low world average, translates the efficiency of health care in the Kingdom, he said. The overall number of screening tests carried out in Morocco, since March 1, 2020, amounts to 27,399 and the number of cases tested negative after laboratory analysis amounts to 23,334. Mohamed El-Youbi, explained recently that most of the new cases, about 85 %, were detected in the framework of the health tracking of contacts, which enables early monitoring of cases. He said that a significant percentage of those infected with the coronavirus do not show signs or symptoms, wherefrom the necessity to test contacts. In North Africa, the spread of the virus mainly concerns Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt. Algeria confirmed 126 new Covid-19 cases and 46 deaths in the last 24 hours, which brings the total number of confirmed cases to 3.382, and the death toll to 425. Egypt with 4,319 cases and 307 deaths is among the most affected by Covid-19 in Africa. Tunisia reported over the past 24 hours 17 new cases, which brings the total contaminations to 939. Fatalities number 38 and healings 207. War-torn Libya recorded 61 cases and two deaths. Mauritania, which reported 7 cases, including one death, is now Covid-19 free. The Mauritanian Ministry of Health announced on Saturday April 18 that the last four patients who were under medical supervision, were all declared cured. On the African continent, the new coronavirus has infected 31,318 people and killed at least 1,381, with South Africa on the top of the list. The number of people who tested positive in South Africa climbed to 4,361, and fatalities to 86. Amid the Coronavirus crisis, US President Donald Trump on Saturday claimed that the "Cure cannot be worse than the problem", two days after sparking a furore by suggesting to inject disinfectant into COVID-19 patients to kill the virus. Taking to Twitter, he urged people to be careful and safe. Ironically, he also urged people to use common sense. Earlier, on Friday, Trump had suggested the possibility of studying injecting disinfectants into COVID-19 patients or bringing UV light "inside" their bodies to kill the deadly virus. This drew immediate flak from American health experts who urged people not to listen to such "dangerous" advice. After facing a huge backlash, Trump stated that he was being "sarcastic." Remember, the Cure cant be worse than the problem itself. Be careful, be safe, use common sense! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2020 'Not worth time and effort' According to Trump, his daily briefings are not worth his time and effort as the "Lamestream Media" ask only hostile questions. Taking to Twitter, he said that they refuse to report the truth. He added that he had never called the coronavirus pandemic as a hoax. What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2020 Read: Bryan Cranston says Donald Trump 'not sane' amid controversial statement, shares worry I never said the pandemic was a Hoax! Who would say such a thing? I said that the Do Nothing Democrats, together with their Mainstream Media partners, are the Hoax. They have been called out & embarrassed on this, even admitting they were wrong, but continue to spread the lie! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2020 Read: 'Playing WHO tu tu?': Amul's new doodle takes a dig at Trump, leaves netizens laughing Coronavirus crisis in the US Leading the number of worldwide cases of novel coronavirus COVID-19 infection, the United States has become the new epicentre of the pandemic surpassing China, Italy, and Iran. Till date, the USA has recorded a total of 960,896 cases of Coronavirus and has witnessed around 54,265 deaths due to the infection. Meanwhile, a total of 118,162 people have been recovered. Meanwhile, New York -- one of the worst-hit spots in the US, has seen a total of 21,908 deaths and over 288,313 COVID-19 positive cases. However, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo earlier had asserted that the worst phase of the coronavirus pandemic is over. According to him, the numbers are saying that they can now control the spread of the virus. Read: 'A total winner': Donald Trump wishes Triple H on successfully completing 25 years in WWE Read: Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta pokes fun at 'Dr.Trump', shares his remedy for COVID-19; see pic The Human Rights Defender of Armenia has touched upon the inadmissibility of the violence against the family members of advocate Seda Safaryan and others and particularly stated the following: In any case, the violence which, according to press releases, was used against attorney Seda Safaryans family members and several others, is condemnable. Since Seda Safaryan suspects that the incident could have been linked to her professional activities, this issue is a priority issue that needs to be clarified under criminal proceedings, and this will be in my focus. I wasnt able to talk to Mrs. Safaryan yesterday, but I will try again today. I have also discussed the matter with Chairman of the Chamber of Advocates Ara Zohrabyan. Photo credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Richard P. Ebensberger/DVIDS From Popular Mechanics A U.S. Air Force F-16 stationed in Japan accidentally dropped a bomb on private property. The accident report blames pilot error, including channelized attention. There were no casualties or damage on the ground, and pilot was retrained and eventually placed back on duty. A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet mistakenly dropped a bomb on private property miles from a bombing range in Japan. The Air Force released the accident report earlier this week, though the incident took place on November 6, 2019. The report explains that pilot error caused the GBU-12 laser guided bomb to strike the wrong target miles away from the actual target. An F-16CM fighter from the 14th Fighter Squadron was flying a training mission at the Draughon Bombing Range, located approximately 15 miles away from the fighters home base at Misawa Air Base. The pilot accidentally sent the GBU-12 flying to a target location he believed another F-16 was spotting for him. Instead, the bomb was sent to another location, 3.4 miles away and off the bombing rangeon private property. No one was killed or injured during the incident, and there was no damage to property. The GBU-12 Paveway II is a 500-pound bomb fitted with a laser seeker and control fins to guide the bomb to target. The releasing aircraft, other aircraft, drone, or unit on the ground will paint the target with a laser beam. Once the bomb is dropped, the seeker homes in on the laser energy reflected off the target. Laser guided bombs like the Paveway II are considered smart bombs but are only as smart as the targeting data. In this case, the report explains , the pilot was flying a nighttime suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD) mission and was cleared to drop an inert (non-explosive) GBU-12. Due to scattered clouds at the 6,000 to 8,000-foot level, the pilot was unable to see the target himself. The pilot asked another aircraft in his three ship formation to transmit target coordinates, and another plane did so. Unfortunately, the pilot apparently became confused and dropped the bomb on a different set of coordinates. Story continues The report blames channelized attention, changing weather, and targeting technical error for errant drop. The pilot believed that if one of the other aircraft in his flight could see the target it was safe to drop the bomb. Unfortunately, unknown to all those involved, the pilot acted on incorrect targeting data. According to the Air Force , the aircraft and pilot were both immediately grounded after the incident. The pilot was disqualified, retrained in weapons handling, and was ordered to brief all the other pilots at Misawa on the sequence of events leading up to the mishap to prevent a similar incident. Incidents like these happen periodically but are particularly disruptive at overseas bases where local governments are sensitive to the presence of foreign troops on their soil. The Japanese government later issued a severe protest over the Air Forces handling of the incident and was particularly incensed it was not informed until the next day. In a March 2018 incident, another F-16 based at Misawa dropped two external fuel tanks in a lake after its engine caught fire. Source: Air Force Magazine You Might Also Like WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump pushed back Sunday evening on reports the White House is considering whether to replace Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar as "Fake News." The Washington Post, along with other news outlets, reported early Sunday that White House officials are discussing possible replacements for Azar as frustrations have grown over his handling of the coronavirus crisis earlier this year, and the uproar that followed his removal of a top vaccine official in his agency last week. Five aides familiar with the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the situation told The Post that the president had not yet weighed in. Trump did that publicly Sunday evening. "Reports that H.H.S. Secretary @AlexAzar is going to be "fired" by me are Fake News," he tweeted at 5:53 p.m. "The Lamestream Media knows this, but they are desperate to create the perception of chaos & havoc in the minds of the public." During the past several weeks, Azar has rarely appeared at the daily White House coronavirus news briefings and has been largely sidelined from the response. He oversaw that effort until Feb. 26, when he was replaced by Vice President Mike Pence amid anger over the continued lack of coronavirus testing and conflicting messages from health officials about the threat of the virus, which has claimed more than 54,000 Americans' lives. His agency remains responsible for crucial aspects of the pandemic response, such as leading the search for treatments and vaccines and distributing $100 billion worth of relief to hospitals that was allocated by Congress. One senior administration official with knowledge of the discussions said Trump has no deep affection for Azar but is unlikely to change secretaries as the coronavirus continues to rage. There is also concern about having a nomination fight in an election year on an issue - health care - that many Trump advisers see as a political weakness. Representatives for the White House and the HHS had denied that Azar's job was in jeopardy. "The Department of Health and Human Services, under the leadership of Secretary Azar, continues to lead on a number of the President's priorities. Any speculation about personnel is irresponsible and a distraction from our whole-of-government response to covid-19," the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement. "Secretary Azar is busy responding to a global, public health crisis and doesn't have time for palace intrigue," HHS spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley said in a statement. The Wall Street Journal and Politico first reported discussions about Azar's possible removal Saturday. Azar has long had a tenuous relationship with many White House officials, including battles over the administration's efforts to curb drug prices and his aggressive proposals to address the vaping crisis, which spurred backlash from the president's base. Azar's conflict with his Medicare chief, Seema Verma, grew so acrimonious late last year that Trump and Pence intervened. But presidential and White House frustrations with Azar has been exacerbated by the pandemic and turmoil at the health agency. Trump and White House aides were frustrated at recent reports that Azar's efforts to warn the president about the coronavirus in January went unheeded. On April 12, Trump tweeted, "I was criticized for moving too fast when I issued the China ban, long before most others wanted to do so. @SecAzar told me nothing until later." This month, the White House installed Michael Caputo, a staunch Trump ally, to run communications at the agency. Azar removed Rick Bright as director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority last week and reassigned him to a narrower role at the National Institutes of Health. Trump grew especially angry on Wednesday after Bright issued a statement through his attorneys that he had been pushed out of his job in retaliation for resisting efforts to "provide an unproven drug on demand to the American public," referencing the anti-malarial medications that Trump has repeatedly pushed. Three senior administration officials said discussions about Bright's removal had been underway for months at the HHS because of internal conflicts and his job performance. The Bright saga caught Trump and White House officials off guard, three senior administration officials said, because Azar told them he was promoting Bright. Aides were angry at being blindsided by the fallout. "Dr. Rick Bright will transfer the skills he has applied as Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to the National Institutes of Health, as part of a bold plan to accelerate the development and deployment of novel point-of-care testing platforms," the HHS said about Bright's transfer last week. The HHS department Bright's stated reasons for leaving, noting he requested the authorization from the Food and Drug Administration that had enabled officials to add the medications to the national stockpile of emergency medical equipment and medications. On Thursday, Bright's attorneys said he planned to file a whistleblower complaint to the HHS inspector general. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce's health subcommittee, said last week that she planned to hold hearings on Bright's departure and call on Azar, as well as Robert Kadlec, Bright's boss and assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the department. Shortly after Trump's tweet Sunday, Azar responded with one of his own: "The media continues to smear @POTUS and his Administration's fight against #COVID19 and grossly overlook the historic whole-of-government response that we've been delivering under the President's leadership," he said. A train thought to belong to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been parked at his compound on the countrys east coast since last week, satellite imagery shows, while his unusual absence from public life continues. The photos appear to confirm South Korean government intelligence that Mr Kim is staying outside the capital, Pyongyang, and the North Korean regime has done nothing to quash suspicions the leader is seriously ill. Two weeks ago, for the first time since assuming power in 2011, Mr Kim missed one of the countrys most important dates, an annual parade commemorating his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung. The satellite photos released by 38 North, a website specialising in North Korea studies, show the train has been parked at the Leadership railway station servicing Mr Kims Wonsan compound since at least Tuesday. The luxury Wonsan complex includes nine large guesthouses, a recreation centre, a protected port, a shooting range and a covered dock believed to house his yacht. Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Show all 20 1 /20 Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump and Mr Kim leave following their historic meeting AFP/Getty Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump and Mr Kim sign a document committing to peace between their nations, amongst other things EPA Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump holds up a document that both he and Mr Kim have signed AFP/Getty Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un The two leaders reach out to shake hands for the first time AP Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump and Mr Kim shake hands as they meet for the first time Reuters Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump and Mr Kim walk off stage, following their historic meeting Reuters Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump and Mr Kim take a stroll after their meeting on June 12 Reuters Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump and Mr Kim interrupt their stroll to talk to the media AP Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Kim and Mr Trump look out over a balcony at the Capella hotel, where they held their meeting on June 12 Reuters Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump takes questions at the press conference following his meeting with with Mr Kim AP Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump appreciates the crowd in the press conference following his meeting with Mr Kim Getty Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump travels to the Istana ahead of the summit with Kim Jong Un on June 12 Reuters Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Kim Jong Un travels to the Istana ahead of the summit with President Trump on June 12 Reuters Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Kim poses for a photo with Singapore's Finance Minister Vivian Balkrishnan and Education Minister Ong Ye Kung ahead of the summit with Mr Trump Twitter/Reuters Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump shakes hands with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, meeting on Monday June 11 in the Istana, Singapore's presidential palace AP Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un At a working lunch on Monday, Singapore's Prime Minister surprised Mr Trump with a birthday cake, in early celebration of his 72nd birthday later in the week EPA Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo answers questions about the summit at a press briefing in Singapore on Monday, June 11 Getty Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un US President Donald Trump arrives at the Paya Lebar Air Base in Singapore on June 10, two days prior to his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Reuters Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump and Mr Kim met on Tuesday June 12 in the Capella hotel on the island resort of Sentosa, just off the south coast of Singapore AFP/Getty Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump boards Air Force One following the summit AFP/Getty Reuters reported that China has dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on Mr Kim, according to three people familiar with the situation. Mr Kims health is watched closely because its feared the serious illness or death of a leader venerated passionately by millions of citizens could cause instability in the impoverished, nuclear-armed country. Last week Donald Trump said he wished his North Korean counterpart well after claims he was seriously ill following heart surgery. The US president declined to say whether he had been in touch with North Korean officials, as he downplayed reports that Mr Kim was ill. North Koreas state media remain silent about the outside speculation on Mr Kims health. On Saturday, the official Korean Central News Agency reported that Mr Kim had received a message of greeting from the chairman of the Russian Communist Party. Satellite images of the station complex (via REUTERS) But Daily NK, a Seoul-based website that reports on North Korea, cited an unnamed source in North Korea on Monday as saying that Mr Kim, who is believed to be 36, had undergone medical treatment in Hyangsan, north of Pyongyang. It said he was recovering after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure on 12 April. Speculation about his health has been fanned by his heavy smoking, apparent weight gain and family history of heart problems. This is not the first time that Mr Kim has vanished from the public eye, and past absences in state media dispatches have also triggered speculation about his health. In 2014, state media did not report any public activities for him for about six weeks, before he reappeared with a cane. South Koreas spy agency said later that he had a cyst removed from his ankle. This time, Seoul has repeatedly indicated that there have been no signs of health problems, and experts in South Korea have downplayed speculation that Mr Kim is seriously ill. Danny Russel, a US former National Security Council director and assistant secretary of state for Asia, cautioned that false rumours have abounded for years about Mr Kim, his father, Kim Jong Il, and his grandfather. While serving in government I was on the receiving end of multiple intelligence reports about alleged accidents, illnesses and assassination attempts against North Korean leaders only to have them reappear in public, he said. And 38 North stated: The trains presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the countrys eastern coast. The North Korean regime is highly secretive, and journalists have been unable to confirm that the train was Kim Jong-uns. State media last reported on his whereabouts when he presided over a meeting on 11 April. The country has never announced who would follow Mr Kim, and with no details known about his young children, analysts say his sister and loyalists could form a regency until a successor is old enough to take over. Additional reporting by agencies The number of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra crossed the 8,000-mark on Sunday after 440 more people, 358 of them from Mumbai alone, were found infected, a health official said. On Saturday, the state had reported 811 coronavirus positive cases, the highest single-day rise. With 440 new cases, the number of COVID-19 patients in the state mounted to 8,068, the official said. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 death toll in the state climbed to 342 after 19 more people, including 15 from hotspots Mumbai (12) and Pune (3), succumbing to the viral infection in the day, he said. While Jalgaon in north Maharashtra reported two deaths, Solapur and Latur each reported one fatality. So far, 1,188 patients across the state have been discharged after recovery, the official said. "With 358 new cases, the number of coronavirus positive cases in Mumbai now stands at 5,407 and the overall death toll at 204 with 12 more fatalities," the official said. The Thane division which consists of Mumbai city, Thane, Palghar and Raigad has reported 19 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 6,343 with 223 deaths, he said. The number of cases in Pune division has gone up to 1,128 with 83 deaths and that in Kolhapur division which covers Konkan to 46 cases and 2 deaths. In central Maharashtra, the Aurangabad division has reported 61 cases with five fatalities while Latur division has reported 14 cases and one death, he said. Akola division in east Maharashtra has reported 119 cases and 3 deaths so far while the Nagpur division 110 cases and one death, as per the official. A total of 25 COVID-19 patients from other states are undergoing treatment while two have died, the official added. "The state has so far tested 1,16,345 samples of which 1,07,519 tested negative while 8,068 turned positive," the official said. While 1,36,926 people are currently placed under home quarantine, 9,160 others are in institutional quarantine, the official said. He said a total of 604 containment zones are active in Maharashtra where 8,603 squads have completed surveillance of 33.72 lakh people. Maharashtra COVID-19 figures are as follows: Total positive cases 8,068, new cases 440, deaths 342, number of discharged people 1,188, active cases 6,538 and the people tested so far 1,16,345. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ghanaian songstress Becca has disclosed in an interview that is most people that hate you troll on social. In and Interview on Tv3 new day, MzGee asked Becca how she managed to be relevant in the last. She also added people have issues with her being nominated for various awards scheme because her songs are not all over. Becca answering the question said, I have been releasing songs consistently for the past 14 years. Most of the awards schemes I have been nominated for are outside the country. Also these awards schemes look at other stuffs other than your songs being popular in your country. MzGee further asked how she manages to manage trolls on social media. Becca responded by saying, People that troll you are usually your enemies. I believe when youre quiet about things, it passes. You have people hiding behind their phones and trolling you on social media. These are things part of life which you have to overcome. Becca took the opportunity to clear the air on people alleging that she stole Sho Madjozi John Cenas song. She reacted by saying, People dont take their time to research because my song was N0. 2 in South Africa. No one is a guom beat and its a genre that sound alike. Watch video below Bhubaneswar, April 26 : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday discussed with his Gujarat counterpart Vijay Rupani the safe return of Odia migrants stuck in the western state amid lockdown. The Odisha government has decided to bring back stranded Odia migrant workers from Gujarat. A discussion was held between the two Chief Ministers through videoconferencing on Sunday. Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan attended the videoconferencing from New Delhi. Two senior officials from each state would be part of a committee to chalk out the details of the transport, likely by buses. Other mediums of transport will also be part of this discussion, said a statement from the Chief Minister's Office. It was also decided that Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh governments would be requested to waive the road tax for the buses for the transportation of the migrant labourers from Gujarat. Notably, the state government has made mandatory registration of all migrants willing to return to Odisha. The government has developed a portal for the purpose. After their return, they will have to stay in quarantine for a period of 14 days. Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 cases in Odisha reached 103 as three more persons tested positive for the virus, informed Health Department on Sunday. The three persons are from Sundargarh district. With this, the number of active cases in the state touched 68 while 34 persons have recovered so far. (CNN) -- Two coronavirus studies released Friday -- one involving almost 2,000 people from Florida and the other from a Washington state nursing home -- came to the same conclusion: Many of the people who tested positive for the virus didn't know if they had it because they showed no symptoms. The findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that people who don't feel sick are contributing to the spread of the deadly virus that has swept the world. The pandemic has taken at least 50,890 lives in the US, according to tallies collected by Johns Hopkins University. Were Covid-19 cases undercounted in Miami-Dade? Miami-Dade County and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine conducted a random antibody testing study of the county's 2.75 million residents, with about 1,800 people participating, Miami Mayor Carlos Gimenez said Friday during a news conference. The data showed 6% of the people in the study tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies, which extrapolates to around 165,000 residents, Gimenez said. In comparison, the Florida Department of Health says 10,701 people have tested positive in Miami-Dade County. That means that the actual number of Covid-19 cases in Miami-Dade County is about 16.5 times the number reported by the state, Gimenez said. Gimenez said this appears to mean a significant number of his constituents were carrying the virus while being asymptomatic. He emphasized that imposing social distancing requirements has worked. For that reason, Gimenez said any reopening strategy will require strict rules regarding social distancing with police enforcement of those rules. "Identifying the number of asymptomatic individuals is critically important for public health," Gimenez said. "Like I have said before, those are the folks who can pass on the virus to the most vulnerable." According to Gimenez, the study's researchers are 95% certain that the true number of people infected in Miami-Dade County is between 4.4% and 7.9%, or between 123,000 and 221,000 people. The data shows that the African Americans and Caribbean communities might be twice as likely to be infected with Covid-19 than other racial groups, Gimenez said. In nursing home, 1 in 4 infected residents dies The Washington state study was performed by researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the health departments of Washington and Seattle-King County. The study did not identify the nursing home, so it's not known if the researchers investigated Life Care Center in Kirkland, which became the first epicenter for the coronavirus. At least 35 coronavirus deaths are associated with the facility, according to officials. The virus infected two-thirds of residents and dozens of staff members. In the study released Friday, more than half of the residents at a nursing home tested positive for coronavirus without showing symptoms. "Transmission from asymptomatic residents infected with (the coronavirus) most likely contributed to the rapid and extensive spread of infection to other residents and staff," the researchers wrote in their study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Just over three weeks after the nursing home's first case was identified, 64% of residents had been infected with the virus, researchers said. One in four infected residents died. Of those who tested positive, 56% didn't feel sick at the time, the researchers said. But most of them later developed symptoms, which means they were pre-symptomatic when they got tested, according to the study. Most coronavirus tests look for snippets of genetic material from the virus, so positive tests don't always mean someone is infectious. But in this study, researchers found that more than two-thirds of people were giving off live, infectious virus when they tested positive before showing symptoms. The researchers cautioned their study was conducted in nursing homes, which means it can't necessarily be generalized to the public at large. Still, the study supports the use of face masks when people are in crowded places, according to a commentary published in the NEJM by virologist Diane Havlir of the University of California, San Francisco, and her colleagues. The findings also mean that people without symptoms may need to be tested in so-called congregate living situations, like such as nursing homes, prisons and homeless shelters, they said. "Current U.S. testing capability must increase immediately for this strategy to be implemented," they said. "This unprecedented pandemic calls for unprecedented measures to achieve its ultimate defeat." Two other studies, from Boston and Iceland Other studies have found many people who have or had the coronavirus and didn't know it and that asymptomatic people are helping to spread to the virus. An outbreak in a Boston homeless shelter prompted officials to do more testing. Of the 146 people who tested positive, all of them were considered asymptomatic, the study found. A study in Santa Clara County, California, estimated that 2.49% to 4.16% of people in the country had been infected with Covid-19 by April 1. This represents between 48,000 and 81,000 people, which is 50 to 85 times what county officials recorded by that date: 956 confirmed cases. In Iceland, testing showed that fewer than 1% of the tests came back positive for the virus, according to the founder of the testing company. But around 50% of those who tested positive said they were asymptomatic. Majority Leader Hoyer Endorses Gift to the Oil Industry as Dems New COVID Package Fails to Block Fossil Fuel Bailout Court Derails Trump Administrations Efforts to Take More Water from Bay-Delta New Research Shows Alarming Impacts of the Corporate Dairy Industry in Oregon New Data Shows Iowa Factory Farms Increasing in Density and Generating Olympic-sized Pool Amounts of Excess Manure House Congressional Leaders Deliver On Universal Water Protection During Pandemic New Research Shows Alarming Impacts of the Corporate Dairy Industry in Michigan New Research Shows Alarming Impacts of the Corporate Poultry Industry in Maryland Court blocks the use of Nationwide Permit 12 for pipeline water crossings New Research Shows Alarming Impacts of Corporate Agriculture Industry in America A 3D-printed Huawei logo is placed on glass above a displayed U.S. flag in this illustration taken on Jan. 29, 2019. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters) Opposition to Decoupling From China Misses the Problem of 5G News Analysis As calls to decouple U.S. industries from dependency on manufacturing in China are growing, President Donald Trump has helped prepare the ground for a shift from China by taking a more skeptical approach to relations with the regime in Beijing than his predecessors. While globalists are pushing back against the efforts to decouple, the key telecommunications technology of 5G shows the limitations of their approach, according to one expert. Opposing Views The argument for protecting the deeply intertwined U.S.China economic relationship is widely supported in some circles. Last December, former World Bank President Robert Zoellick, who served the George W. Bush administration as U.S. trade representative, asked a gathering of the U.S.China Business Council, Are you ready for this? The 20th century painted a shocking picture of industrial age destruction; do not assume that the cyber era of the 21st century is immune to crack-ups or catastrophes of equal or even greater scale, Zoellick said. You need to decide whether you think the United States can still cooperate with China to mutual benefit while managing differences, and if so, how. The Financial Times said that Zoellicks words captured the fearsparticularly within parts of Washingtons economic and foreign policy establishmentthat U.S. President Donald Trumps trade war against Beijing has paved the way for an irreversible decoupling of the worlds two largest economies. Zoellick was responsible for completing the negotiations that brought China into the World Trade Organization. Zoellicks views are echoed by other trade and China specialists. Harry G. Broadman, an economist who has worked in key U.S. government, international organization, private sector, and academic roles during his 30-plus-year career, wrote in Forbes in September 2019 that decoupling from China potentially presents worldwide negative spillover impacts. Of those consequences, Broadman suggests, technological bifurcation, which could fundamentally jeopardize harnessing global benefits from advances in science and technology, is one of the riskiest aspects of taking the United States out of China. In plain English, Broadmans argument is that without globalization, which is largely underpinned by the U.S.China relationship, technologies go their own way, developing standards and specifications for the regions in which they emerge, rather than under a globalized standard common throughout the world. 5G Domination the Danger Hes mistaken, Robert Spalding said, referring to Broadmans views on technological bifurcation. Spalding is a retired Air Force brigadier general and architect of the U.S. National Security Strategy, which named China as an adversary. He is now a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, and author of the recent book Stealth War: How China Took Over While Americas Elite Slept. The real danger, Spalding told The Epoch Times in an extensive interview, is in the ongoing struggle for dominance in fifth-generation5Gmobile technology and standards that are already beginning to change how data is collected and used around the world. The U.S. was the first to develop the smartphone in 4G, Spalding said. As a result, we dominate the information market. But as the world moves into 5G, the risks are greater if the concept of open data and open data markets of those 4G networks are maintained. In Europe, the open data concept has already created concern for privacy protection. In China, however, open data markets create a global opportunity. In the hands of China, Spalding said, open data lets the state take hold of power that Google and Amazon have. The state in China is led and run by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The ability of these companies to pinpoint your location and the things youre doing and buying is incredibly powerful and counter to privacy concerns and counter to the principles of our liberal democracies, Spalding said. Spalding pointed out that as Android and Apple become less of dominant players in 5G, now Tencent and Alibaba and DJI and Hikvision can begin to dominate that data space. So we move from a world centered on the U.S. to one centralized on Baidu and Tencent. All five companies are Chinese technology companies with ties to the CCP. Alibaba and Tencent generally rank in the top 10 internet companies in the world by market capitalization. Thats why hes mistaken [about the problem of technological bifurcation]. Its positive if we move to a data system that is focused on privacy and security and sovereignty and deploying secure 5G, Spalding said. Referring to Broadman, Spalding said that what hes advocating is that China dominate the technological space. China Sets Standards Already, Spalding said, 3GPP, the umbrella body under which the key telecommunications standards organizations in the world operate and coordinate, is heavily dominated by China. Since American network equipment manufacturers are not expected to survive, that leaves only four companies in the world that will make the networking equipment for the 5G future. Those companies are Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, and Chinas Huaweiall subject to the standards that are being so heavily influenced by Chinese technical specifications. Functionally, therefore, Spalding points out that even though Ericsson and Nokia are Swedish and Finnish respectively, and Samsung is South Korean, they end up building the same system as Huawei. Essentially, Spalding said, everybody is building a Chinese network based on open data, not on a secure network. Thats why hes incorrect. His theory promotes China, Spalding said. This means, Spalding said, that Chinas acquisition of intelligence and ability to influence societies is greatly enhanced both in China and abroad, including in the United States. Statistics from the Institute of Electronics and Electronic Engineers support Spaldings claim. In a March 17 post titled Strategy Analytics: Huawei 1st among top 5 contributors to 3GPP 5G specs, Alan Weissberger reports that even though there are more than 600 member companies participating in 3GPP, their 5G specification process is actually led by only a few leading telecom companies. New research from Strategy Analytics finds that 13 companies contributed more than 78% 5G related papers and led 77% of the 5G related Work Items and Study Items. Of those 13, the top five are, in order, Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm, and China Mobile. Free Versus Centrally Resourced Trade By allowing China to be in the global trading system, youre actually undermining the foundational premises of that system, Spalding said. That global trading system has a market-based approach to both capital allocation and trade. China is not a market-based economy, Spalding said. China, Spalding has said earlier, is not a centrally planned economy, but it is centrally resourced. When the state is providing resources and capital to a company, thats not a market-based solution, he said. Prices are set by China, not by the market. If you really want to have a free trading system then China cant be a part of it because they dont believe in it. John Minchillo was conducting an interview at Saint Joseph's Medical Center when he heard the Code 99 alert ring out: A patient required resuscitation. The Associated Press photographer rushed into the emergency room with his equipment. He needed to capture video and still pictures, all without interfering with medical staff who were trying to save a life and were not used to having an outsider observing them. "In that time, in that space, I needed to tell their story," Minchillo said. "But do it in a way that protected them from distraction, me being a distraction. I think that we succeeded in that." So did the staff. Minchillo got footage of the medical team resuscitating the man and placing him on a ventilator. Saint Joseph's is the first U.S. hospital to give the AP access during the coronavirus pandemic. Discussions began between the Yonkers, New York, facility and photo editor Julie Jacobson. Originally, access was limited to parts of the ER and hospital but not the ICU, which Minchillo expected because there is concern about allowing cameras in sensitive areas. But he pushed for more and was allowed into the testing tent constructed outside the hospital and eventually the ICU, with the stipulation that patients would not be identifiable. "After speaking with them, I was there to tell the story of the frontline medical workers that are saving lives in a pandemic," Minchillo said. He spent several hours at the hospital, in multiple departments. While shooting the scene in the ICU, Minchillo had a still camera in his right hand and a video camera in his left hand. And he was operating all of it covered in protective gear that was required for the assignment. Minchillo fed the photos and videos to be prepared for distribution, and provided transcription of his interviews for an exclusive print story. Minchillo was born in New Rochelle, a neighboring Westchester County city that also suffered an outbreak of the coronavirus. So he is especially invested in this story, in the suffering citizens of the community, and the people who are trying to save them. "We told the story," Minchillo said, "and they allowed us to tell their story." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sterling Cunio Cunio, 43, is a 2019 recipient of an Oregon Literary Arts fellowship and a two-time PEN America Prison Writing Award winner. He is incarcerated at the Oregon State Penitentiary where he is serving two consecutive life terms for aggravated murder and other crimes that he committed at age 16. On April 1, Oregon health officials announced 47 new confirmed cases of coronavirus. One of them was an Oregon State Penitentiary officer who supervises the cellblock where I am housed. We were put on lockdown and isolated in our cells, as medical staff went up and down the walkways taking temperatures, asking about sore throats and dry coughs and questioning us if wed been in contact with anyone from Japan or Korea. Quarantined for days, I took advantage of the time to read a story published by the Marshall Project, As a mom working in a prison, I worry about bringing coronavirus home. The story is by Cary Johnson, a correctional officer at a prison in Michigan. Johnson writes that the prison has been fortunate enough not to have anybody test positive there, but the fear and worry she described in her institution is the same I see here. Although this is an unpopular opinion among some of my incarcerated peers, I empathize with her concerns. Johnson begins her story declaring, Its impossible to practice social distancing when you work in a prison. It is also impossible to practice social distancing when youlive in a prison. As I read this story, I realized how COVID-19 reveals both our shared humanity and the systemic flaws of the institutions where more than 2 million of us live and 400,000 people, like Ms. Johnson like the officer in my cell block who tested positive work. When it comes to correctional atmospheres, Oregon State Penitentiary is among the more progressive in the country. However, the building itself is among the oldest. Most prisoners are kept in multi-story cell blocks in 6-by-9-foot cells shared by two men. We eat in a 100-by-100-foot room filled with narrow rows of steel tables and attached sitting stools within two feet of each other. The shower room is a long bank of showerheads spaced three feet apart and attached to a wall. For security purposes, officers must frequently walk past cells, and be physically present in the showers and cafeteria. By design, the building forces close proximity. Here we have more than 2,000 prisoners and more than 300 employees. All of us are sitting ducks for COVID-19. Share your opinion Submit your essay of 500-700 words on a highly topical issue or a theme of particular relevance to the Pacific Northwest, Oregon and the Portland area to commentary@oregonian.com. Please include your email and phone number for verification. The first thing Ms. Johnson says she used to do after coming home from work was hug her 11-year-old son. Now she takes off her uniform, places it in a trash bag and takes a long shower. She is uncertain if this is effective prevention. She hasnt received as much guidance as those who work in hospitals. She worries about getting infected while performing cell searches or stopping and frisking inmates. The threat goes both ways. Many note that COVID-19 is most likely to enter a prison through employees. I worry about elderly inmates getting infected from officers who stop and frisk them. But I understand her fear and the concern for her family. Were all afraid. Reading her perspectives solidified my understanding that we are all in this together. Nobody here, prisoner or employee, wants a COVID-19 outbreak. The virus doesnt care whether were here for punishment or a paycheck. It doesnt discriminate based on social status. COVID-19 is a shared threat because of our shared humanity. For the first time in 26 years of incarceration Im witnessing staff and prisoners alike share an overarching concern while facing a mutual threat exacerbated by conditions neither can change. But change must come. And it must come from beyond the prison and last beyond this crisis. Although COVID-19 has spotlighted the overcrowded conditions of our jails and prisons, although it has shed light on how many aging, medically vulnerable and low-risk offenders there are behind bars, these problems were here before COVID-19 and will endure beyond it. The only way to significantly reduce inevitable deaths from an outbreak inside is to reduce the number of people inside. This begins with the sick and elderly. In these scary times, lets strive to look beyond class, race, political affiliation, personal failings and other factors of division so that we can extend compassion and empathy to everybody throughout this crisis. Whats on TV PENNY DREADFUL: CITY OF ANGELS 10:10 p.m. on Showtime. John Logan, the creator behind the fantasy horror series Penny Dreadful, which ended in 2016, follows it up with this spinoff. Set in 1938 Los Angeles, City of Angels delivers a packed narrative: A Mexican-American detective, Tiago Vega (Daniel Zovatto), and his partner, Lewis Michener (Nathan Lane), investigate the grisly murder of a prominent Beverly Hills family. Their search plays out while the city is building its freeway system and displacing Chicano families in the process. A shape-shifting demon inspired by Mexican folklore (played by Natalie Dormer of Game of Thrones) somehow ties into all of this, while subplots involving Nazi insurgents and police brutality bring the series, or at least its themes, to the present. Even though our show is set in 1938, it has to be about 2020 or it has no reason to exist, Logan said in a recent interview with The New York Times. Race relations, social engineering, politics, espionage all of that was bubbling away exactly the way its bubbling away now. The series finale of HOMELAND leads in at 9 p.m. GOD FRIENDED ME 8 p.m. on CBS. The spiritual journey at the heart of this comedy-drama wraps up after two seasons. Miles (Brandon Micheal Hall), an atheist podcast producer, has been helping New Yorkers sent to him as friend suggestions on Facebook by an account called God. In this two-hour series finale, Miles works to reunite an estranged father and son and reconsiders his faith after the God account nudges him in the direction of his ailing sister. EDWARDSVILLE Southern Illinois University Edwardsvilles Susanne DiSalvo, PhD, has been honored with the Graduate Schools 2020-21 Vaughnie Lindsay New Investigator Award for her outstanding research contributions and exemplary dedication to educating student researchers. DiSalvo is an assistant professor in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Department of Biological Sciences. Her research focuses on the process of symbiosis, an interaction of two different organisms living together in which relationships can be neutral, positive or negative. By studying these relationships, she hopes to further the understanding of this symbiotic spectrum by studying the intimate interactions between amoeba hosts and their bacterial symbionts. I am thrilled to receive the Vaughnie Lindsay New Investigator Award, said DiSalvo. It will provide me with the resources to propel my research forward, generate preliminary data to apply for competitive grants, and help me train and fund phenomenal SIUE student researchers in the lab. The award supports DiSalvos research project, Connecting Unique Outcomes with Dynamic Infection Processes in an Emerging Microbial Symbiosis System, which studies an emerging Burkholderia bacteria-amoebae host system, to investigate the mechanisms and outcomes of bacterial colonization. She will receive a combined $12,500 from the SIUE Graduate School and the CAS to be used in a one-year period. Dr. DiSalvos fundamental research in microbial symbiotic relationship will lead to new knowledge and understanding of infection processes and, more importantly, new treatments for infections, said Jerry Weinberg, PhD, associate provost for research and dean of the SIUE Graduate School, Our current situation clearly shows how important her work is to our future. My lab works to highlight the diverse consequences that bacterial symbionts impart to their hosts and how environmental context modifies these consequences, said DiSalvo. Currently, we have made good headway on describing these interactions. The work enabled by receiving this award will begin us on our trajectory of dissecting the molecular mechanisms that mediate the infection process. After joining the SIUE faculty in 2016, DiSalvo set up her lab in record speed, and three of her students had presented results of their work at a statewide meeting within her first year. Since then, she has submitted three proposals to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), given numerous oral presentations at regional and national meetings, and co-authored several presentations with her students. This is an impressive amount of productivity for a new faculty member, especially for one who is also a star in the classroom and dedicates much time to innovative teaching, said Vance McCraken, PhD, chair of the Department of Biological Sciences. As demonstrated by her preliminary data, which was generated at SIUE, and her publication record, she has years of expertise with the techniques to be used in this study. DiSalvos lab studies natural bacterial symbionts that infect and live inside Dictyostelium discoideum, a model soil amoeba that has a unique life cycle as it transitions from single cellular to multicellular life stages. As the amoeba engulfs and digests bacteria as a food source, the bacteria often evolve, surviving within the amoeba and causing long-term infections. DiSalvo and her students characterize these bacterial infections and analyze them to better understand the mechanistic underpinnings within these interactions. Award funding will allow DiSalvo to work closely with hired lab students, providing them with proper training and support to independently assist with essential project components while confidently serving as student mentors within the lab. Being able to do hands-on inquiry research with talented and hard-working students is a delight, said DiSalvo. It has been particularly exciting to see students go on to succeed in new career or educational opportunities after graduating. SIUE has been a wonderful place to teach and conduct research. My colleagues are supportive and enthusiastic, and the students continually impress me with their dedication and positivity. Former Assemblyman Sean Connors has taken himself out of the running to fill the Jersey City City Council seat left by Michael Yuns death, he announced on social media. The 51-year-old Connors, who represented the 33rd District (Hoboken, Union City, Weehawken and a portion of Jersey City) from 2012 through 2015, had expressed interest in the seat. He said in a Facebook post Saturday that he wants to devote all his time to is position as acting director of the security division of the Hudson County Sheriffs Office. Yun, 65, who represented Ward D, the Heights neighborhood, died of complications related to COVID-19 on April 6 after more than a week in the intensive care unit at Jersey City Medical Center. He was first elected in 2013. Connors was one of four candidates who was expected to interview with Councilmen James Solomon and Rolando Lavarro Jr. Jersey City has 30 days from the date of the vacancy to fill Yuns seat. On Saturday, Mayor Steve Fulop named a list people who expressed interest in the city council seat: Jimmy Carroll, Yousef Saleh, Shawn Sully Thomas, Cynthia Hadjiyannis, David Cruz, Gerry Lyons, Jocelyn Patrick, Patrick Ambrossi, Rafael Torres and Dave Calton. Fulop asked residents to reach out to City Council President Joyce Watterman with any recommendations they have for the seat. Whoever is appointed to fill the Ward D seat would only hold it until November, when a special election will be held to fill out the remainder of Yuns term, which expires at the end of 2021. Editor: December 7, 1941; the headlines in the Omaha World Herald were large, black and ominous. The Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. America was at war!! Crisis: After the initial shock, Americans, as one, squared their shoulders, tightened their belts and prepared to work. Men went into the Army and the women filled the positions the men left behind. Everyone, including high school students did whatever was needed. Saturdays they spent gathering up scrap metal to be shipped wherever it was needed. There was no hoarding. Money enough to buy the factory would not get you a car, as there were not any. Not that it mattered; as gasoline and tires were both rationed. Nylon hose were nonexistent, as nylon was used for making parachutes. Butter, sugar and coffee were rationed. There was no hoarding. Each family was given a coupon book, with coupons depending on the size of the family and for a determined amount of time, meaning one only received their share and not the shares of others. People had compassion. We were at war, we were in crisis and there was no hoarding. Rather, they shared. In North Platte, Nebraska, troop trains were going through regularly, so a group of women from the community went to the depot and set up a canteen. There they served coffee, cake and cookies to the soldiers coming through. Word spread and other communities got involved; coming from as far away as southeast Wyoming and northeast Colorado. They shared what they had; giving of their rations and considered it a privilege rather than sacrifice. There was no hoarding. As the trains pulled out they stood and waved and wondered how many would return; but with a good feeling in their hearts that they had perhaps brought a smile to a soldiers face. If only for a little while. Some would consider the current situation a crisis. What has been going on is shameful, heartbreaking and cowardly. Before limits being put in place, there were some with 2 and 3 carts full of groceries, more than they needed; while the next person arrives to find shelf after shelf empty. Not even a loaf of bread for sandwiches. Stories of the delivery driver being attacked when off-loading his truck. The same people returning to the store day after day, getting their fair share. Shame on us, folks. Shame on us. BARBARA HARVEY, Worland Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that recovering from the coronavirus may not protect people from reinfection as antibody testing kicks-off across the United States where there are more than 959,000. confirmed cases. 'There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from #COVID19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection,' WHO officials said in a statement on Saturday. 'People who assume that they are immune to a second infection because they have received a positive test result may ignore public health advice,' it said. The warning came as some governments study measures such as 'immunity passports' or documents for those who have recovered as one way to get people back to work after weeks of economic shutdown. Scroll down for video The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that recovering from the coronavirus may not protect people from reinfection as antibody testing kicks-off across the United States. Firefighters in New York City wait in line to receive antibody testing on Saturday The warning came as some governments study measures such as 'immunity passports' or documents for those who have recovered as one way to get people back to work after weeks of economic shutdown (antibody testing seen in Massachusetts) In a scientific brief, the United Nations agency warned governments against issuing 'immunity passports' or 'risk-free certificates' to people who have been infected as their accuracy could not be guaranteed. The practice could actually increase the risks of continued spread as people who have recovered may ignore advice about taking standard precautions against the virus, it said. 'At this point in the pandemic, there is not enough evidence about the effectiveness of antibody-mediated immunity to guarantee the accuracy of an "immunity passport" or "risk-free certificate,"' WHO said. The WHO said it continued to review the evidence on antibody responses to the virus, which emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. Some 2.9 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 203,000 have died. Most studies have shown that people who have recovered from infection have antibodies to the virus, the WHO said. However, some of them have very low levels of neutralizing antibodies in their blood, 'suggesting that cellular immunity may also be critical for recovery', it added. New York is starting to test health care workers for coronavirus antibodies and will do the same next week with transit and law enforcement workers as the state eases away from the worst days of the pandemic, Gov Andrew Cuomo said Saturday. Doctors, nurses and other employees at four New York City hospitals that have handled high volumes of coronavirus patients will be the first tested under the new program, Cuomo said. Antibody testing is a way of determining if a person has been infected by the coronavirus even if they hadn't shown symptoms. After weeks of reserving conventional coronavirus testing to people with symptoms to conserve supplies, the state is expanding eligibility to include first responders, health care workers and a long list of essential employees, such as bus drivers, dry cleaners, undertakers and grocery store workers. 'Why? Because these people have been carrying the load and they have been subjected to the public all during this crisis, and because they're public facing,' Cuomo said. 'These are the people you interact with.' Cuomo said he is signing an executive order to allow pharmacies to serve as collection points for testing samples. There are more than 978,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the US with more than 55,000 deaths A recent study in New York City revealed that more than 20 per cent of New York City residents tested positive for coronavirus antibodies If accurate, that means that as many as 1.7 million people have been infected in the city - and that the mortality rate is between 0.6 and 0.8 per cent, far greater than the 0.1 per cent mortality rate of the flu. The study took samples from 3,000 randomly selected people across the state who were chosen at grocery stores and had their blood taken via a finger-prick test that the state's health department made. It remains unknown how accurate it is. While private companies have given exact percentages for how accurate their own tests are, when questioned about their test, the NY health department, said only that theirs was 'very accurate'. Statewide, the virus prevalence was 13.9 per cent but it was far higher in New York City, where 21.2 per cent tested positive. A similar survey was conducted in Florida by the University of Miami. The study's preliminary results showed that about six per cent of Miami-Dade residents have antibodies against coronavirus, 15 times more cases than the official tally. On Friday, the University of Miami said it estimated about 165,000 people had been infected at some point with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. That's much larger than the 10,926 confirmed cases that have been reported by Florida's health department. With 287 confirmed deaths in the county it would mean the fatality rate is actually 0.17 per cent which is lower than the current official fatality rate for the county of 2.6 per cent. Five citizens of China were detained for their private chat on the internet about the technology giant Huawei's Iranian sales, The New York Times reported. Speaking to NYT, two of the detainees have disclosed that they were imprisoned for eight and three months, respectively. All former employees of Huawei were attending the WeChat group when one of them said he could prove that the company had sold technology to the Islamic Republic of Iran. The discussion about Iran took place on December 11, according to screenshots seen by NYT. The five men were all locked in disputes with their onetime employer, the Chinese technology giant, Huawei. Weeks after the chat, the Chinese security forces arrested all five and interrogated them about the reason for their interest in the matter and the reason for following foreign media. The arrests came about two weeks after Huawei's chief financial officer and daughter were arrested in Canada on charges of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. China is not only Irans biggest trading partner but also its diplomatic ally and supporter. Last month as the coronavirus crisis unfolded China asked the U.S. to lift its sanctions on Iran. The U.S. government has officially accused Huawei and its chief financial officer of illegally sending US equipment and technology to Iran and transferring money out of the country by deceiving U.S. banks. For Huawei, not all sales to Iran would have been illegal, NYT says, adding, "In principle, only those involving U.S.-origin goods, technology or services would have fallen afoul of American sanctions. The company has said its sales in Iran were for commercial civilian use and did not violate sanctions." I f you've ever been to Ibiza, no doubt you would have experienced a night designed by Dawn Hindle. Along with long-term business partner Andy McKay, Hindle co-founded super-club Manumission and is the creative director of Ibiza Rocks, before buying Pikes Hotel from another White Isle icon, the late Tony Pike. Famous for being the backdrop to Wham's Club Tropicana video, Pikes is a living, working piece of rock n roll history. Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, George Michael, Julio Iglesias, and Grace Jones are former guests and Freddie Mercury threw his now-famous, epic, three-day 41st birthday bash there (there were gallons of champagne, guests were reportedly offered cocaine sprinkled on their cornflakes in the morning and the fireworks display could be seen 90 miles away in Mallorca). Now in the hands of another Ibiza legend, Pikes Hotel has gone through a few changes (it now throws an annual literary festival and has plans for a wellness retreat called Rockovery), but it still channels the same soulful, hedonistic charm that keeps devotees flocking back year after year. Here, in our new Meet the Hoteliers series which aims to shine a light on the brilliant people behind the places we love, we chat to Hindle about her most-loved travel destinations... Your favourite place in the world to go on holiday: Joshua tree in California. The desert is a place of ultimate relaxation and contemplation, it's pure heaven. There is a great little place a friend owns called the Desert Yacht Club, I love to stay there when I go or the Little PioneerTown motel next to Pappy and Harriet's restaurant. Ultimate desert vibes. California's Joshua Tree is Hindle's favourite holiday destination / Dawn Hindle Other than your own, the best hotel in the world: I love staying at Petite Hermitage in L.A. Its the perfect place to explore the city, ultimate mini bar and a great hangout and chill out vibe. It actually really reminds me of Pikes in many ways, with its cool clientele, Mediterranean aesthetic, great service, pool vibes and great food. Petite Hermitage in West Hollywood (Petite Hermitage) Your favourite little-known, secret hotel in the world: I absolutely love the artist community of Can7 on Formentera off the coast of Ibiza. It's the ultimate boho on the beach vibe. Formentera is like Ibiza was 40 years ago - so peaceful, few people and cars but some of the best waters in Europe to swim in. The most heartwarming thing a guest has ever said to you: It feels like home. We hear it a lot. We have clients that come back four or five times a year and they actually feel like family. A big dysfunctional family! Hindle and her pals on the island of Formentara / Dawn Hindle Best part of your job: It rarely feels like at job, more like an eternal excuse to wake up in Ibiza, the place most people escape to, to get away from everyday life. It's literally Club Tropicana on tap, everyday. Maddest request youve ever had from a guest: We once had a group of Americans over from LA who requested four hookers and 10 grams of coke in check in. Even we were utterly shocked! Tell us about a time you cried happy tears in your hotel: The day we managed to buy the hotel, after renting it for five years, from the founder Tony Pikes, who sadly died at 82 last year. It meant we could finally make it ours. My partner at the time said he had bought it for me because he knew how much it meant to me - although actually we both paid for it - possibly the most romantic gesture. Manhattan: Hindle's favourite view in the world / Unsplash Best view in the world: I love an elevated view and usually go to the highest view point in a city to get a grounding to explore the landscape and extent of the horizon. My favourite skyline has to be Manhattan, either from Brooklyn Heights or the top of the One World Trade Centre building. Best meal youve ever eaten and where: I recently ate at the Park Hyatt in Toyoko with DJ Harvey and his girlfriend, Sam. It was impeccable both in service and quality. It's the hotel I would most love to live in! The New York bar has live jazz and stunning views of the city. It's opulent and decadent and a perfect contrast to the madness of Tokyo. Your favourite city: New York every time. Its the electricity, the energy, the cultures, the buildings, the food, the districts, Central Park. All packed onto a tiny island. Whats next on your travel wish? Hawaii for a low key, beach experience. Or Costa Rica for a bit of exploring. Most beautiful beach in the world: The Maldives, even seen from just getting in the sea planes and flying low over the islands. You dont even need to touch the sand to understand the beauty. Most treasured childhood holiday memory: I remember a very early family trip to the Isle of Man. It rained a lot and I love rain. I vividly remember having kippers for breakfast; the intense flavour, strange texture and colour of them. I still love them to this day and it takes me back there every time I eat them. Hindle on an idyllic beach in Ibiza / Dawn Hindle Your ultimate bucketlist destination: At age 10 my son, Zachary, wrote his bucket list and number one was breaking into North Korea. So because I promised all my kids the holiday of their individual desire, I would have to say it's making his bucket list dream come true. There is one specialist North Korea company and Im seriously looking into it. Best place in your own country for a staycation: Barcelona, Soho house for a city staycation. An agrotourismo in the Sierra De Tramuntana mountains in Mallorca for ultimate relaxation. Finish this sentence: Travel makes me feel alive. The five-member inter-ministerial central team on Sunday made a random inspection of the containment clusters in Hyderabad to study the implementation of lockdown measures in the city which has recorded more than half of the 990 Covid-19 cases in Telangana, officials said. The central team led by additional secretary of Union ministry of Jal Sakthi Arun Baroka is on a three-day visit that began Saturday. The team visited the Malakpet containment zone on Sunday and interacted with the members of the emergency services team of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, besides the team of doctors. Telangana officials showed the central team members how the entire area was barricaded so that not a single person would come out of their houses even for purchasing of essential commodities. The GHMC services team members would supply the essentials to the people at their door steps in the containment areas from the nearby supermarkets. Follow coronavirus latest updates here. They explained to the central team that the medical team had been conducting a survey to find out if people suffering from fever and other symptoms in the containment area every day. The central team members entered into the containment zone and interacted with a few people. In the afternoon, the central team members met Director General of Police M Mahender Reddy, who explained to them about the steps being taken by the police to strictly implement the lockdown. The DGP explained to the central team about setting up check posts, special patrolling parties and about seizing over one lakh vehicles for violations during the lockdown period. He said all the police personnel at the hospitals have been provided with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). In the morning, the central visited Rythu Bazaar at Mehdipatnam and interacted with farmers and provision store owners. The team members inspected the social distancing measures being taken at the market. Later, the team visited Nature Cure Hospital and inspected the arrangements in the quarantine zone and the services being offered to the inmates. On Saturday night, the central team also went around the containment areas near historic Charminar to oversee the implementation of lockdown. Later, the team had a lengthy interaction with Hyderabad city police commissioner Anjani Kumar, who explained to the team in detail about how the disease had spread from those who had returned from the Tablighi Jamaat conference in Delhi last month. He also gave examples of some people who had contracted the disease from unknown contacts. Once their links are traced, it would be easy to contain the spread of the disease. As such, the number of cases is coming down gradually, the police commissioner explained. Out of 990 positive cases registered in Telangana state till Saturday night, as many as 517 positive cases were reported only in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits that cover Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy and Medcha-Malkajgiri districts. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The lockdown has cast a shadow on the elections planned for the gram panchayats (GPs) whose term will end in a few months. The elections to GPs in Karnataka were held in May and June 2015. Thus, the term of the GPs ends in June and July 2020. The Election Commission of India had planned to conduct elections in May and had written to deputy commissioners to make arrangements for GP elections a few months ago. Dakshina Kannada had 220 GPs and Karnataka had 5,844 GPs way back in 2015. Now, the GPs in Karnataka have increased to 6,000. There has been a request to delay the elections. There are 230 GPs in Dakshina Kannada. All the authorities in the GPs including the president, vice president, PDO, Asha workers, Anganwadi workers are engaged in the battle against Covid-19. Mangaluru Taluk Panchayat president Mohammed Monu has appealed to the chief minister to delay the elections by six months. The GP task force is engaged in visiting villages to create awareness among people. There are instances of GP elections being postponed up to six months in 1995," said Monu. As per the Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj Act 1993, the election should be held before the term of the elected body ends. Going by the Act, the election should be announced in May. But it is better to delay the election until Covid-19 is completely eradicated from the country, said a gram panchayat member. What led separatists in southern Yemen to announce self-rule? Here is brief history of separatism in the region. A Yemeni separatist group, Southern Transitional Council (STC), on Sunday declared self-rule in the war-torn countrys south. Long-held aspirations for autonomy in southern Yemen erupted into a deadly conflict between United Arab Emirates-backed separatists and pro-government forces in 2017-18 and again in August last year, complicating Yemens wider war. More: The internationally-recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has condemned the move, saying its outcome will be catastrophic and dangerous. All this as a Saudi-UAE coalition battles Houthi rebels in a separate conflict. Here is a recap of tensions in the south: Independence, unification South Yemen was an independent country from the 1967 British withdrawal after which it went on to become a Soviet-backed communist one-party state until it united with the north in 1990. An attempt to break away again in 1994 sparked a short-lived civil war that ended with it being overrun by northern troops. 2015: Government moves to Aden Houthi rebels complete their takeover of Yemens capital Sanaa in early 2015, forcing the government of President Hadi to relocate to the second city, Aden, in the south. Saudi Arabia creates a military coalition to prop up Hadis forces. Aden is declared Yemens de facto capital. 2017: Southern authority launched In April 2017, Hadi sacks Aden governor Aidarous al-Zubaidi, who had a history of favouring autonomy for the formerly independent south. Thousands of Aden residents demonstrate. In an open challenge to Hadi, Zubaidi in May launches a self-proclaimed parallel authority to manage the southern provinces, the STC. 2018: Aden palace siege In January 2018, a separatist force dominated by STC supporters seizes almost all of Aden and surrounds the presidential palace. That sparks three days of clashes in which 38 people are killed. The group, called the Security Belt Forces, is backed by the UAE, a key member of the Saudi-led coalition aiding Hadi against the Houthi rebellion. After coalition mediation, the separatists lift the siege of Aden. 2019: Clashes erupt New clashes flare between Security Belt and pro-government forces in Aden in August 2019. The separatists gain ground across the city, saying they have seized the presidential palace. Four days of fighting leave 40 dead and 260 wounded, according to the United Nations. Hadis government accuses the UAE of backing a coup. Abu Dhabi denies the charge. STC supporters vacate some public buildings in Aden but keep hold of military positions after Saudi and the UAE send in a delegation. Separatists in control Hadis forces enter Aden in late August and announce they are in full control, including of the presidential palace, but are forced to withdraw the next day as the separatists retake the city. Yemens government accuses the UAE of launching air strikes against its troops in support of separatist fighters, reportedly leaving dozens dead. The UAE confirms the strikes, but says it had targeted terrorist militias in self-defence. Saudi warning, talks In September Saudi Arabia demands separatists return captured military and civilian facilities, warning that otherwise they will be dealt with firmly. The kingdom calls for dialogue but insists there is no alternative to the legitimate government. Yemens government publicly rules out talks at first, but it emerges on October 7 that the two sides are holding indirect negotiations under Saudi mediation. Deal unravels On October 14, the UAE hands over to Saudi forces key positions in Aden, including an airbase and the international airport, in a bid to defuse tensions between separatists and the government. On October 25, sources from both sides announce they have struck a power-sharing deal. The accord is signed in Riyadh on November 5, reportedly handing the STC a number of government ministries and allowing the government to return to Aden. But that deal quickly unravels, as deadlines for forming a new cabinet with equal representation for southerners and the reorganisation of military forces pass without implementation. Early on April 26, 2020, the STC declares self-rule for the south, effective retroactively from midnight. A self-governing committee will start its work according to a list of tasks assigned by the councils presidency, it says. Police were seen outside of Kate Beckinsale's home after the actress had an encounter with an alleged stalker. Four police men were seen outside of Kate's house in Brentwood on Saturday. Authorities were pictured rummaging through a backpack placed outside of the house. Police were seen outside of Kate Beckinsale's home after the actress had an encounter with an alleged stalker In addition to the bag, authorities reportedly checked one person at the scene. DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Kate, 46, for comment. Kate was not seen outside at the time, however numerous police officers were seen at various points of her front yard. A face mask wearing officer looked through the backpack with gloved hands as another stood close by, overseeing the inspection. Kate was not seen outside at the time, however numerous police officers were seen at various points of her front yard This unfortunately is not the first time Kate has made news for dealing with an alleged stalker. The actress was forced to postpone her appearance at Tampa Bay Comic Con in 2017 after an alleged stalker was arrested while waiting for her. According to TMZ, Terry Lee Repp had been following the actress across the country that past year, and even threatened to stab her before. A face mask wearing officer looked through the backpack with gloved hands as another stood close by, overseeing the inspection Police in Florida had been warned to be on the look out for him, and found him at the Convention Center awaiting Q&A panel. According to the site, he allegedly made physical contact with her at an event in Salt Lake City in 2016, touching her back before threatening to stab her. He was detained and kicked out of another event in Houston she appeared at later in 2016 as well. Scary: This unfortunately is not the first time Kate has made news for dealing with an alleged stalker (Beckinsale pictured at the Met Gala in 2015) Cops told TMZ Repp appears to have 'an irrational obsession with the victim and has traveled across the country in an effort to harass her.' Although he didn't manage to make contact with her at the Tampa Bay Comic Con, she had to go to the police station to file a report. Ultimately, all charges against Repp were dropped, according to The Blast. Meanwhile, in more positive news, Kate has begun dating 22-year-old rocker Goody Grace. The couple have only recently gone public with their relationship, though Kate has been liking and commenting on his Instagram posts over the last few months. SCHENECTADY Jahnel Group employees barely had time to enjoy their new spacious downtown office before being forced out by the coronavirus outbreak. They were perched on the fifth-floor of the 17,000 square-foot building on Mill Lane for about a month and a half, according to Tony Mercadante, who works in business development and quality assurance. But despite being relegated to working at home, its full speed ahead for this Schenectady-based custom software development and consulting company founded by brothers Jason and Darrin Jahnel in 2009. The Jahnels started the business years ago with a specific goal of having fun and making money, COO Jason Jahnel has previously stated. "Even though we're having fun and trying to do all this extra stuff, we don't compromise our quality and professionalism around here," said Jason Jahnel told the Times Union last year. "We try to go out of our way to create those environments where people can experience something extraordinary together." Being out of the new office has put a crimp on the camaraderie and fun-filled environment that the Jahnel Group has become known for, like a one million push up challenge or some employees logging 100 plus hours in six days as part of another team building activity. Were doing video lunches and video calls just for fun to check in on each other and see how everybodys doing because we really do have tight-knit bonds in our company so we miss not seeing each other and having fun every day, said Mercadante. On the business side of things, were not stopping, were continuing to do what we have to do, and were lucky enough that our industry allows us to work from home and get things done. In early March, the company finished up its annual War Week, one of those activities where employees strive to have the best work week of their life. Its a great way to change the way you work and really grow as a person, he said. It really pushes your limits to see what youre capable of. Mercadante said the Jahnel Group hires for culture, which is to say good people that are going to be good to work with and fun to hang out with. We have a lot of senior level developers and IT experts that can train people up and make them superstars, he said. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. All told, the firm has a total of roughly 85 employees, about 60 of them in their Schenectady headquarters as well as smaller offices in New York City and Texas plus a few staffers who work remotely from other states, including California and Florida, Mercadante said. Before relocating, the company had offices on Union Street and the Biz Lab on Lower State Street. I think our reputation is growing enough that we are fortunate enough to be in a lot of conversations where we could be adding value to a lot of different companies, Mercadante said. The Jahnel family has deep roots in Schenectady and stayed put because they want to be part of the boom downtown and in the Electric City, said Mercadante. Theyre very interested in making it a better place and a desirable place to both work and play, he said. - Reports emerged that Health CS Mutahi Kagwe had ordered for the sacking of a KEMRI top scientist Joel Lutomiah - Netizens slammed Kagwe for his decision with many saying intimidating the institute in the middle of a pandemic was very risky - MP William Chepkut also blasted the CS and said he had become extremely obsessed with cameras and PR at the expense of his employees - Kagwe fired the scientist for delaying test results for his daily briefings, a move which many Kenyans termed as petty Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has found himself at the wrong side of Kenyans after reports emerged that he unprocedurally dismissed a top scientist from the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). The CS reportedly ordered for the dismissal of Joel Lutomiah, the Centre for Virus Research director, after he delayed to deliver the test results to Kagwe for his daily briefings. READ ALSO: Homa Bay: Plight of candidates after COVID-19 pandemic forced closure of schools CS Kagwe fired the KEMRI scientist for delaying test results for his daily briefings. Photo: TUKO.co.ke. Source: Original READ ALSO: Coronavirus: Somalia COVID-19 cases surpass Kenya as total hits 390 Taking to Twitter, netizens termed Kagwe's decision to axe the scientist as very petty especially since the institute was pivotal in the fight against the virus. A twitter user by the name Nanjala Nabanga said firing an employee in the middle of a crisis was an unwise decision. "Firing your top scientist in the middle of a crisis because you think he makes you look bad by delaying results by a few hours seems; let's say unwise," Nabonga said. READ ALSO: Hatimaye feri mpya ya MV Safari yawasili Mombasa Kenyans said it was malicious of the CS to fire a scientist during a pandemic. Photo: Daily Nation. Source: UGC Another user identified as Kenneth said it was very malicious of the CS to fire the doctor because he delayed the results. "Me thinks it is the money coming into KEMRI that they now feel they should handle," Kenneth said. A Kenyan identified as Prof Alfred Omenya said he was appalled by the report and added it was such a shame that researchers were being treated brutally despite their contributions to science. "It is time politicians appreciated the many years of study and the hard work our researchers do with very limited support. Brute force can't replace this. Shame!" he said. MP William Chepkut said the CS was being petty. Photo: Ministry of Health. Source: Facebook MP William Chepkut said the CS had become so obsessed with cameras and PR at the expense of his employees. "He'd rather have those test results cooked than delayed. One day he will be held outrightly responsible," the MP said. Here are more comments: Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly. My 'husband' from Ghana was married to another woman for ten years and I had no idea | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke ALBANY, N.Y. - During his Sunday afternoon press briefing on COVID-19, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced 367 more people died in New York State due to coronavirus on Saturday. The total number of deaths in the state now stands at 16,966. Cuomo says the 367 deaths number is down from 437 on Friday. Thursday's toll was 422. There were 438 on Wednesday, 474 on Tuesday and 481 on Monday. Cuomo says the numbers continue to decline and he is now talking about reopening businesses, but doing so in a two phase plan. Phase I would involve construction and manufacturing activities, and within construction and manufacturing, those businesses that have a low risk would open first, "Theres a range of construction activities, theres a range of manufacturing activities, but those businesses that pose a low risk with them." Cuomo says the earliest Phase I can begin is May 15th. Phase II would involve other businesses, but the Governor didn't give too many details on what will take place, only to say Phase II will be on a more business my business analysis, "Using the metrics that we have discussed, how essential does a service provide and how risky is that business. If you were to open that business, how much risk are you possibly incurring and how important is it that that business re-open, and that matrix will be guiding us through phase II. In phase II, when we get there, we need businesses to do that analysis. They have to think about how theyre going to reopen with this "new normal", what precautions are they going to take in the workplace, what safeguards are they going to put into place, so its very much up to businesses. Then were going to leave two weeks between phases so that we can monitor the effect of what we just did." Cuomo says a team of individuals he has put together is working with businesses across the state to come up with a plan to reopen and he says that team has been working with businesses for a couple of weeks now, "We need them to be creative and think outside of the box and we have been talking to business leaders across the state." The Governor says there are three criteria that will be analyzed for Phase 1 to begin and once Phase 1 begins, that same criteria will be looked at before Phase II can begin. The three criteria are 14 straight days in the reduction of hospitalizations, plus an analysis of antibody testing and diagnostic testing on a regional basis. The Governor says both types of testing are about to be increased so we can get a better picture of what the infections rate is, "Monitoring the number of hospitalizations, the number of positive antibody tests, the number of positive diagnostic tests, you take these activities and you watch those three dials. You open phase I, you watch those dials and then you watch the rate of transmission." The number of consecutive days of decreasing hospitalizations needed is 14 because 14 days is the length of the incubation period of the coronavirus. Cuomo says the the 'three dial' approach will give the best look at how COVID-19 is at any one time, including after opening some businesses, "Every hospital in the state on a day-to-day basis gives us their hospitalization rate, that is dial 1. Dial 2 is the antibody testing which we are now bringing up to scale in a large number state-wide and regionally. Antibody tells you how many people were infected within a two week lag, thats the second dial. The third dial is diagnostic testing, state-wide and by region. Those three dials, they give you the rate of transmission which is how fast a virus is spreading. Without testing you only have one dial, you have a hospitalization dial. Antibody test and the diagnostic test give you a higher level of information by region." Cuomo says because of the numbers, upstate will be able to open up first, "Downstate is going to be more complicated. Coordination has to be a coordinated effort with New York, New Jersey and Connecticut." When asked about giving people a specific date of reopening, he responded, "Not really comfortable getting too far ahead of ourselves. Do you want to talk about a two week window, thats an intelligent window to talk about." The Labour Party leader says the government's promise to publish the notes of meetings of the National Public Health Emergency Team do not go far enough. NPHET stopped releasing the information at the end of March. Health Minister Simon Harris told journalists yesterday that the pandemic advisory committee will start doing so again, saying people had a right to know. But Tipperary TD Alan Kelly says there is a lack of transparency about how major decisions are being made. I think Minister Harris needs to reflect again, said Mr Kelly. We need to see full transparency as regard how people were appointed. I also want to see all the minutes, which you cannot see at the moment. Theyre called notes, they cant be notes, they have to be in minutes. And furthermore, I want to see that there isnt a democratic deficit here. That the decisions are actually being made by the government. Meanwhile, a Labour TD is calling for healthcare workers to get priority treatment on the country's roads. Duncan Smith says those on the frontline should be given special permits so they do not get caught up in traffic at checkpoints. He says there has been an increase in activity on our roads in the last week, which makes it harder for healthcare workers to travel. Colombo, April 26 : An ongoing curfew in Sri Lanka due to the coronavirus pandemic will be partially relaxed from Monday onwards, the President's Media Division (PMD) said on Sunday. While the curfew in Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara and Puttlam districts will be reamain force until May 4, it will be lifted from all other districts of the island nation at 5 a.m. on Monday and re-imposed at 8 p.m. on the same day, the Daily Mirror quoted the PMD as saying. The regulations will also allow opening of state and private companies from May 4 in Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara and Puttlam districts despite the curfew. All the state departments, corporations, statuary boards and private sector industries, working places, fish, vegetables and retail stores can also be operated under strict regulations. Meanwhile, the PMD said that public transport would only be allowed for the use of people who are travelling for work while others should stay at home. People are permitted to go out only to buy medicines or essential goods to the places closest to their residence. But all schools, universities, tuition classes, other educational institutions and cinema halls will remain closed until further notice, the Daily Mirror reported quoting the PMD as saying. The PMD also said that movement across Districts would only be permitted for essential services. All kinds of functions, pilgrimages, trips, meetings etc have been banned until further notice and religious leaders are requested to ban observances and events at places of worship. As of Sunday, Sri Lanka reported 460 coronavirus cases with seven deaths. Union Bank of India, which received 30 per cent stake in insurance joint venture IndiaFirst Life Insurance by virtue of the mega bank consolidation exercise of the government, plans to pare its holding to less than 10 per cent, a senior official said. Union Bank received the stake after Andhra Bank was merged with the Mumbai-based lender, effective April 1. As per guidelines of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), one promoter cannot hold more than 10 per cent stake in two insurance ventures. Union Bank also holds 25.10 per cent equity stake in Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance, with the other partners being Bank of India and Dai-ichi Life Holdings of Japan. "We will continue the process started by erstwhile Andhra Bank to divest the stake to bring it below 10 per cent," Union Bank of India Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Rajkiran Rai G told PTI. Last year, Andhra Bank had initiated the process for selling its part or full stake in the insurance venture with Bank of Baroda (44 per cent stake) and Carmel Point Investments, owned by Warburg Pincus, holding the remaining 26 per cent. Both the insurance ventures are doing well and the valuation is going to improve further, he said, adding the stake sale will happen at opportune time and at good valuation. As per the government's mega consolidation plan, 10 state-owned banks were merged into four to create global size lenders, beginning April 1. Besides Andhra Bank, Corporation Bank was also merged with Union Bank. United Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce were merged with Punjab National Bank; Syndicate Bank was merged with Canara Bank; and Allahabad Bank was amalgamated with Indian Bank. The merger of Oriental Bank of Commerce with PNB resulted in transfer of 23 per cent stake in Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance to the latter. Catch our entire coverage on the Facebook-Jio deal here. This too created a similar situation as that of Union Bank of India, as PNB is a promoter of PNB Metlife Insurance with the highest stake of 30 per cent.Also read: Coronavirus News India LIVE Updates Indias tally of confirmed coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases shot past the 26,000-mark on Saturday with the biggest single-day spike in infections. Tests in Italy found the Sars-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, can cling to air pollution particles. India crosses 26k Covid-19 cases with biggest 1-day spike The spike in coronavirus infections on Saturday was driven largely by Maharashtra and Gujarat where the outbreak has been growing at a much faster pace recently even as the rest of the country shows some improvement. Read More Virus could cling to air pollutants SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, can cling to air pollutants, tests conducted in Italy have found -- a finding which, if validated, should cause concern in India, especially Delhi, where air pollution is a recurring problem, although both the researchers themselves and experts said it remains to be see if the virus remains viable and virulent on these particles. Read More Post-lockdown plan, migrants in focus at Centre-states meet Hundreds of thousands of workers , currently in migrant labour camps around India want to return home -- something not possible when no interstate travel is being allowed and passenger trains are not running. At Saturdays meeting some states including Punjab, Gujarat, Bihar and West Bengal asked the centre to set a protocol for such movements. Read More CEA points at Spanish Flu lesson in Covid fight Chief Economic Advisor KV Subramanian has presented his findings at the Finance Commission advisory council meeting on Friday where he said because Indias economy resembled the US economy at the time of the Spanish Flu, its study can provide a reasonable guesstimate about what will happen in the Indian scenario. Read More Lockdown period will not count in insolvency proceedings: Govt The government has issued two orders that exclude the lockdown period because of the Covid-19 outbreak from any corporate insolvency resolution or liquidation processes, the notifications issued on Friday said. Read More WHO warns against immunity passports as nations look for ways to exit lockdowns The World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday warned governments against issuing immunity passports or risk-free certificates to people who have recovered to enable travel or return to work because there is no evidence that people who have recovered are protected from a second infection. Read More 2 cell types are entry points for virus Scientists have identified two types of cells in the nose that are likely to be point of infection for the Sars-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, in the body. Read More Ventilation, humidity key in AC rooms: Govt guidelines Rooms and offices with air conditioning must be well-ventilated and humidified, according to governments guidelines to public sector offices after a report by a group of experts outlined precautionary measures that need to be taken to curtail the possible spread of Covid-19 in such environments. Read More Delhi to open neighbourhood shops outside Covid hot spots Delhi decided to open all neighbourhood stores, even those selling non-essentials, in areas outside hot spots of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Saturday, a day after the Union home ministry allowed the conditional operation of stand-alone retail outlets. Read More Heres something for you to do this Sunday: Birding Since the lockdown began, and people started spending all their time at home, theres been a huge upsurge of interest in birding. Read More Centre team says West Bengal not cooperating, row escalates One of the two interministerial central teams (IMCTs) sent to West Bengal to assess how the state was dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic has again complained that it is not getting support in accessing hospitals and that local officials are refusing to accompany it. Read More Govt planning special flights for Indians stranded abroad The Centre has started making preparations to run scores of special flights early next month to bring thousands of Indians stranded abroad due to the cancellation of international flights from March 22. Read More Sonia writes to Modi, seeks Rs 1L-cr for helping MSMEs Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce an immediate Rs 1 lakh crore wage protection package for the revival of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), warning that if problems of the sector are not addressed, it could have a devastating effect on the economy. Read More Maharashtra records highest one-day spike Maharashtra recorded the highest single-day increase in the number of Covid-19 cases with 811 infections and 22 people succumbing to the disease on Saturday but officials in the state worst hit by the contagion took heart in a dipping mortality rate and stricter containment measures. Read More Global deaths surge past 200,000 The worldwide Covid-19 death toll zoomed past 200,000 on Saturday as the United Nations launched a global push for a vaccine to defeat the pandemic. Read More Brody Jenner danced up a storm as he emerged from lockdown to enjoy a Saturday morning boating trip. The 36-year-old son of Caitlyn Jenner fired up his Insta Stories and treated his more than three million followers to an inside view of his escapades. He gazed out over the water to see 'dolphins just kicking it' nearby including one 'just rolling around on the surface chilling.' Looking fab: Brody Jenner danced up a storm as he emerged from lockdown to enjoy a Saturday morning boating trip The Hills heartthrob then uploaded a video of himself dancing on the boat as the 2019 song Woah by Lil Baby played. While filming over the water Brody caught sight of his hunky shirtless pal Tom Dolezel paddle-boarding his way toward the boat. 'Look who's coming out, 9:30 in the morning the guy's on a mission to come hang with the boys,' Brody crowed. Privileged view: The 36-year-old son of Caitlyn Jenner fired up his Insta Stories and treated his more than three million followers to an inside view of his escapades Spot the fin: He gazed out over the water to see 'dolphins just kicking it' nearby including one 'just rolling around on the surface chilling' 'Yeah, Tom. Malibu Tom on fire. Ladies, this is your future real estate lawyer Team Tom, Malibu Tom, the legend. Look at him. Look how yoked he is too. Flex, Tom, flex!' Tom danced a little on his paddle-board in time to the music playing on the boat and Brody joked: 'Whoa, this guy, settle down in the gym, brah!' Another solo video followed in which Brody, modeling a sweater to ward off the chill, shook a leg to Right Foot Up, Left Foot Slide by Drake. Shaking a leg: The Hills heartthrob then uploaded a video of himself dancing on the boat as the 2019 song Woah by Lil Baby played Here comes company: While filming over the water Brody caught sight of his hunky shirtless pal Tom Dolezel paddle-boarding his way toward the boat Brody hit the headlines last year when he broke up with blonde bombshell Kaitlynn Carter a year after their Indonesian wedding. Kaitlynn went on to have a whirlwind summer romance with Miley Cyrus, who had herself newly split from her husband of less than a year Liam Hemsworth. Meanwhile Brody ran around for two months with steroid icon Jose Canseco's daughter Josie, who has modeled for Playboy magazine just like her mother Jessica. Love life: Brody hit the headlines last year when he broke up with blonde bombshell Kaitlynn Carter a year after their Indonesian wedding Companies in a handful of states have begun taking tentative steps to reopen stores, offices and factories that were closed by the coronavirus. Yet as the first employees and customers return, interviews with roughly 30 major employers show that businesses are confronting deep uncertainty, and many say it is simply too soon to come back. Across the country, businesses are confronting a patchwork set of regulations that vary from state to state, and industry to industry. Government officials are sending mixed messages about who should open. The thousands of companies that never shut down like pharmacies, grocery stores and auto repair shops are using different techniques to promote social distancing and ensure good hygiene. And some businesses that could be getting back to work are declining to do so, fearful that reopening too soon could fuel a new wave of infections and lead to another round of closings. Shutting down was hard, but opening up is going to be harder, said Rich Lesser, chief executive of the Boston Consulting Group. This is the multi-trillion dollar question. Governors in states like South Carolina and Georgia have encouraged businesses to reopen in recent days. Dicks Sporting Goods, which had shut all its locations around the country, reopened its 12 stores in South Carolina last week. Netflix film: 'Extraction' Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Randeep Hooda, Pankaj Tripathi, Priyanshu Painyuli, Rudraksh Jaiswal, Golshifteh Farahani Director: Sam Hargrave IANS Rating: * * and 1/2 (two and a half stars) Thor of all things Hollywood comes to India -- to Bangladesh strictly, going by the script. But because it`s Ahmedabad being passed off as Dhaka, we`ll gleefully go with the idea of "Extraction" being Chris Hemsworth`s `India film`. "Avengers" director duo Anthony and Joe Russo, who co-produce this film with Hemsworth and action choreographer-turned-filmmaker Sam Hargrave, have gone for more than just locations while delivering an Indian whiff. If "Extraction" is billed as a high-octane actioner, a lot of the stunts would remind you of old-school Bollywood. For a change, this is not so much about contemporary Hollywood CGI razzle as it is about vintage Mumbai action masala, you realise as Hemsworth bashes up packs of armed goons or engages apna Randeep Hooda in some good old knife-and-bare hands sparring. Perhaps Hemsworth, Russo and Hargrave visualised it that way. An action film that will primarily play out on mobile phones cannot hope to impress with intricate SFX wizardry. Rather loud-impact stunts, kept flowing non-stop, are good enough for what actually is -- an OTT film. "Extraction" won`t disappoint action buffs, in that sense. The film is unabashedly uni-dimensional in situations, plot and characters despite a backdrop that could have been tapped to create a smart socio-political thriller. Instead, the effort never deviates from its intention of being a loud stunt fest and little else. Joe Russo`s screenplay draws from a graphic novel that he once co-authored, titled "Ciudad". While the drama in the book is based in the Paraguayan city of Ciudad del Este, the film transfers the story to the Bangladesh Capital city of Dhaka (incidentally, the film was originally titled "Dhaka", too). Driven by the clear intention of cashing in on violence, Russo hasn`t bothered to check much on the subcontinent`s socio-cultural nuances (so typically Hollywood, isn`t it). The thing is Ahmedabad simply does not look like Dhaka, never mind the deliberately done Bengali hoardings and occasional Bengali lines ? in Bangaal dialect -- thrown in. Clearly, stunt director-turned-film director Hargrave gave more attention to a highlight 12-minute action sequence filmed on Hemsworth than storytelling details. The irony is the particular sequence brings back instant recall of Daniel Craig`s by-now classic parkour chase in "Casino Royale". Even though that one came 14 years ago, it would still seem the hands-down winner in this stream of action sequences even today. The plot is basic. Ovi (Rudraksh Jaiswal), the teenage son of a jailed drug lord (Pankaj Tripathi in a blink-and-miss role) is kidnapped by the gangster Asif (Priyanshu Painyuli). Hemsworth as the mercenary Tyler Rake is hired for a whopping sum to bring the boy back. "Extraction" is sketchy in its intent and execution. The drama operates on a nebulous kidnapping that is never explained. It`s almost as if Joe Russo, before writing this screenplay, saw too many of those old Hindi action dramas of the eighties and nineties where you normally threw logic behind while setting up the hero as a portrait of machismo. Indeed, Tyler the hero goes to places where even Thor the superhero wouldn`t imagine -- in the domain of the hardcore commercial Bollywood. He acquires infallible swag as he bashes up a dozen baddies single-handedly and spectacularly goes about with his mission. Oh, and he is lonely, too -- as brooding men of action normally are. Just for the heck of it, they might have given Hemsworth a love story too, and some naach-gaana! Pankaj Tripathi is wasted, Randeep Hooda gets a few scenes of note as an action star, and those who dig world cinema will be disappointed with the raw deal Golshifteh Farahani gets. Hemsworth fans won`t be disappointed, though. It is a package tailor-made for the hunky superstar -- it is his co-production, after all. India, more than most other parts, regularly gets to savour the best of latest action flicks. For Netflix, coming up with a formulaic action movie that looks decades old, would seem like a calculated risk. By lockdown logic, though, the film should be good enough to sail through. While warning against any complacency over the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed citizens for going beyond their call of duty and leading the battle against the disease as he underlined that the health crisis will bring about radical changes in the way people live their lives and work. In his Mann ki Baat address, the Prime Minister emphasised that masks will now become an indispensable tool that everyone must use and called for restraint during festivals, including the ongoing Ramzan, and hoped that by Eid, the world would be rid of the pandemic. The PM also strongly defended Indias decision to provide medical supply to other countries at this time, in what appeared to be a reference to the export of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and other drugs, and underscored how Indias traditional strengths from yoga to ayurveda were important pillars in building immunity against the disease. While delivering the radio address on Sunday morning, PM Modi also praised the role of state governments and all other official agencies, and once again underscored the importance of corona warriors in the efforts to combat the disease. The remarks came a day before the PMs meeting with chief ministers to decide on Indias strategy in dealing with the pandemic. India is under lockdown till May 3 to break the chain of infections even as top government officials weigh the option of easing some restrictions to kick-start some economic activity. Sunday marked the second time the PM spoke almost entirely on the pandemic in his monthly radio interaction; he has also directly addressed the nation four other times on the issue. The PM began his address by speaking about the role of the citizens in the national effort against Covid-19. In India, it is the people who are fighting the Corona; it is you who are putting up a fight. Along with the people, the government and the administration are fighting as well. He said that in the future, when the ways of battling the pandemic were studied, Indias model of a people-driven fight would find a prominent place. Tracing the instances of this effort, the PM spoke of, among others, farmers working in the field to ensure food security; citizens arranging food and ration for the poor; home owners waiving off rents; individuals donating to the PM-Cares fund; and construction workers whitewashing school buildings where they are quarantined. This, he said, tied in with the altruistic bent of mind increasingly visible in society. This entire effort, the PM said, will lead to fundamental changes, both at the individual and organisational level. Our businesses, offices, educational institutions, our medical sector are rapidly advancing towards new operational changes. There were other positive changes in work culture, daily habits, and lifestyles. In particular, the PM pointed to two important changes, which he hoped would be long-lasting. The first was with regard to masks. In the changed paradigm due to Corona, masks are becoming a part of our lives... it does not mean that all those wearing a mask are sick Mark my words, masks will now become a symbol of cultured society. If you want to save yourself and others from disease, you will have to wear a mask. The second was with regard to spitting. People now understand the damage that can be caused by spitting in public places. It had been a part of our bad habits that we would spit just about anywhere. This presents a serious challenge both to cleanliness and to health. He hoped that this moment would lead to the total eradication of this habit. The people-led effort was also visible in the way people were celebrating festivals, by staying indoors and with simplicity. The PM tied this in with Ramzan, and while greeting citizens on the occasion, said that this was a moment to mark it as an icon of restraint, goodwill, sensitivity and service. Ramzan has traditionally seen congregations of the devout in mosques. The PM praised the role of community leaders in making people aware of the need for social distancing; he said he hoped administrative guidelines will be followed and that everyone prayed that before Eid, the world was rid of the disease. But this, PM Modi said, was not the time for complacency. Let us not at all get caught in the trap of overconfidence. Let us not harbour a feeling that if Corona has not yet reached our city, our village, our street or our office, it is not going to reach now. Never make such a mistake. There should be no negligence at the local level or elsewhere. This, the PM said, demanded that a distance of two yards do gaj ki doori was consistently maintained. Indias decision to export HCQ, following requests by a range of countries, including the United States, had come in for criticism from the opposition. The PM used his monthly address to speak of Indian culture, where there is empathy for the needs of others, and justified the decision within that ethos. We took a decision in keeping with our culture. While we stepped up efforts to fulfil Indias needs, we also paid heed to the cry of help that came from other parts of the world to save humanity. World leaders had expressed their gratitude to the PM, which he said was a matter of pride for all of India. Reiterating a theme that he has focused on in each of his address, the PM once again spoke of the role of front-line corona warriors as well as those in essential services. He spoke of a government website covidwarriors.gov.in that linked civil society volunteers, local administrations and health care workers for better coordination. The PM also underlined the importance of a recent ordinance which provides for more stringent punishment against attacks on health care workers, and how the pandemic has made citizens recognise the importance of many workers whose work otherwise went unnoticed, from domestic help to labour, from auto rickshaw drivers to those delivering goods. He also emphasised the role of different government and private sector players in the effort against the disease, from those in the aviation sector transporting essential medical supplies to railways to ensure the supply of essential goods. FILE PHOTO: Russia's President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump attend a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka By Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin issued a rare joint statement on Saturday commemorating a 1945 World War Two link-up of U.S. and Soviet troops on their way to defeat Nazi Germany as an example of how their countries can cooperate. The statement by Trump and Putin comes amid deep strains in U.S.-Russian ties over a raft of issues, from arms control and Russias intervention in Ukraine and Syria to U.S. charges that Russia has spread disinformation about the novel coronavirus pandemic and interfered in U.S. election campaigns. The Wall Street Journal reported that the decision to issue the statement sparked debate within the Trump administration, with some officials worried it could undercut stern U.S. messages to Moscow. The joint statement marked the anniversary of the April 25, 1945 meeting on a bridge over the Elbe River in Germany of Soviet soldiers advancing from the east and American troops moving from the West. This event heralded the decisive defeat of the Nazi regime, the statement said. The Spirit of the Elbe is an example of how our countries can put aside differences, build trust, and cooperate in pursuit of a greater cause. The Journal said the last joint statement marking the Elbe River bridge link-up was issued in 2010, when the Obama administration was seeking improved relations with Moscow. Trump had hoped to travel to Moscow to mark the anniversary. He has been complimentary of Putin, promoted cooperation with Moscow, and said he believed the Russian leaders denials of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Senior administration officials and lawmakers, in contrast, have been fiercely critical of Russia, with relations between the nuclear-armed nations at their lowest point since the end of the Cold War. The Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday issued a bipartisan report concurring with a 2017 U.S. intelligence assessment that Russia pursued an influence campaign of misinformation and cyber hacking aimed at swinging the vote to Trump over his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. U.S. intelligence officials have warned lawmakers that Moscow is meddling in the 2020 presidential election campaign, which Russia denies. (Reporting by Jonathan Landay; Additional reporting by Steve Holland, editing by Ross Colvin and Chizu Nomiyama) Yemens southern separatists have announced plans to establish a self-ruled administration in regions under their controlin a move the countrys internationally-backed government said would have catastrophic consequences. The Southern Transitional Council (STC), in a statement early on Sunday, declared a state of emergency and said it would self-govern the key southern port city of Aden and other southern provinces. The council accused Yemens Saudi-backed government of corruption and mismanagement. The STC is supported by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Southern Transitional Council announces a self-administration rule in the south, as of midnight Saturday, April 25th 2020, the councils statement read. The division between the two supposed allies is another facet of the countrys complicated civil war. On one side are the separatists and on the other are forces loyal to exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Both have fought together in the Saudi-led coalitions war against Yemens Houthi rebels. The coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to restore power to Hadis government after it was removed from the capital Sanaa by the Houthis the previous year. But the separatists, who sought self-rule in the south, turned on the government in August last year and seized the interim capital of Aden. The fighting stopped when the two groups reached a deal in November. Under the accord reached in Saudi Arabias capital, Riyadh, the STC and other regions in the south were supposed to join a new national cabinet and place all forces under the control of the internationally recognised government. Muhammad Al-Hadhrami, Yemens foreign minister, said the STCs latest move amounted to a withdrawal from the Riyadh agreement. The announcement by the so-called transitional council of its intention to establish a southern administration is a resumption of its armed insurgency and an announcement of its rejection and complete withdrawal from the Riyadh agreement, Al-Hadhrami said in a statement. The so-called transitional council will bear alone the dangerous and catastrophic consequences for such an announcement, he added. The separatists move raises concerns that Yemen could slide further into chaos amid the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. A man wears a protective face mask as he rides a motorcycle amid fears of the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Sanaa, Yemen March 16, 2020. Picture taken March 16, 2020. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah Yemen so far has only one confirmed case, in the southern province of Hadramawt, but experts and health workers have warned that the disease could wreak havoc there due to the dilapidated health system and damaged infrastructure. Alkhader Sulaiman, a spokesman for the STC based in the United States, told Al Jazeera the separatist group was forced to take matters into its hands because of the governments failure to provide basic services. This is not an event that just sprung out of nowhere. This is a pile-up of mismanagement, misgovernance, especially in south Yemen, which has been Houthi-less for four years now. Unfortunately, things have deteriorated humanitarian wise. The situation, in terms of basic services, is minimal, he said. In the past few days, there has been a complete shutdown of electricity, water and sewage services. He went on to accuse Hadis government of failing to deliver on the Riyadh agreement and said: We are still calling for a ceasefire, de-escalation on all fronts. We want things to go smoothly and we want to be able to deliver aid, battle this pandemic across the country and we want to be able to contain the situation. The years-long conflict in Yemen has killed more than 100,000 people and pushed the Arab worlds poorest country to the brink of famine. Scientists in Texas and Pennsylvania have identified a protein sensor that restricts how much sugar and fat our cells convert into energy during periods of starvation. It is possible, the scientists say, that the sensor could be fine-tuned to prompt more sugar and fat conversion in people with metabolic conditions such as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease who need help trimming down and living a healthier lifestyle. The study was published April 21 in the journal Science Signaling. Senior author Madesh Muniswamy, Ph.D., from the Long School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, is an expert in the function and properties of mitochondria. These are the cell structures that convert sugar and fat into chemical energy called ATP. "We want to offer, in the future, a solution to the metabolic crisis faced by millions of people across the world," Dr. Muniswamy said. "Millions of people consume too much food, while millions of others are in poverty and subsist on too little food. We are studying what happens at the molecular level in both situations with a goal of developing a drug to intervene." Speed of conversion Our bodies continuously move things from cell to cell with what are sort of like roadways and cars. The vehicle required for fat and sugar conversion is called the mitochondrial calcium uniporter, or MCU. Like traffic moving people to destinations, the speed at which the MCU moves the energy is essential. If it is too slow, conditions such as obesity appear. If it is too fast, malnourishment results. advertisement Driving a regulated speed limit at all times is desirable for proper health, Dr. Muniswamy said. Keeper of the road In the Science Signaling article, Dr. Muniswamy and colleagues describe another key component that, like a traffic police officer, regulates this roadway activity. "We identified a mitochondrial protein called MICU1 that functions as a gatekeeper of this roadway," Dr. Muniswamy said. When nutrient levels are low, MICU1 clamps down on the channel activity to prevent excess energy transaction. "When you're starving, you want to live longer, you don't want to burn all the sugar and the fat you have, so MICU1 slows down the activity," Dr. Muniswamy said. advertisement The opposite is also true -- if the roadway traffic is driving too slowly, MICU1 can rev it up. Relieve conditions "In the future, we might design a new drug to control this pathway to basically alleviate many cardiovascular- and metabolic syndrome-related diseases," Dr. Muniswamy said. "That's our plan. "When you speed up the channel, all the sugar and fat will be burned, and you slim down," he added. Acknowledgments The research involves multiple faculty and staff of the Department of Medicine and the Center for Renal Precision Medicine, both within the Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio. Collaborators are from the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, the Penn State University College of Medicine and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Coauthors in the Long School of Medicine are W. Brian Reeves, M.D.; Kumar Sharma, M.D.; Luke Norton, Ph.D.; Subramanya Srikantan, Ph.D.; Madesh Muniswamy, Ph.D.; Cassidy C. Daw; Travis R. Madaris; Karthik Ramachandran, Ph.D.; Benjamin T. Enslow; Cherubina S. Rubannelsonkumar; Soumya Maity, Ph.D.; Pragya SinghMalla; and Christopher E. Shannon, Ph.D. Dr. Muniswamy is the corresponding author. Coauthor from the School of Dentistry at UT Health San Antonio is Brij B. Singh, Ph.D. Funding is from the National Institutes of Health and U.S. Department of Defense. A robber who used a samurai sword to threaten a shop attendant for money ended up only getting away with two bottles of orange juice. The man allegedly forced entry into a store at Rothwell, about 28 kilometres north-north east of Brisbane, at 3am on Sunday, wearing a mask and wielding a samurai sword, demanding money from a male shop attendant. The 44-year-old worker retreated through the rear loading dock door leaving the robber to take just two bottles of orange juice before smashing his way out through the front door, police say. Not long after he escaped the store, the 21-year-old was caught and charged with stealing, wilful damage and attempted armed robbery. He is due in Redcliffe Magistrates Court on Monday. When they hear about the Civil War, many immediately think of the North versus the South. But the American West, including New Mexico, played a crucial part in the strategies and outcome of the war. A new book, The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and the Native Peoples in the Fight for the West, by Megan Kate Nelson, explores the role of the New Mexico territory and the surrounding region in the conflict. The Civil War in New Mexico, Nelson writes, played out not only between Union and Confederate soldiers but the Native people who lived in the area and were facing the threat of conquest, removal from their homelands and enslavement of their women and children. Nelsons book sheds light on New Mexicos importance during the war. The territory was an important link between the East and West coasts of the country. Sharing a border with the Confederate state of Texas made it vulnerable to attack, so defending it became a priority for President Abraham Lincoln and his troops. The Confederacy wanted to gain control of the area so that it could began expansion of slavery west across America to the California coast. Leaders on both sides were uncertain the political loyalties of New Mexico territory residents when the war started. In 1859, the territorial Legislature had passed a code that protected slave property. When the skirmishes began, William Loring the man in charge of defending the New Mexico territory resigned his post to join the Confederacy. In the end, the territory sided with the Union. Nelson weaves her tale by highlighting the lives of some key figures in New Mexico during the Civil War, including two women. The book looks at the life of Juanita, a Navajo weaver who resisted Union Army campaigns against her people. She was married to Navajo leader Chief Manuelito, who was instrumental in getting the Union to recognize the sovereignty of the Navajo people. She also discusses the life of Union Army wife Louisa Canby, whose husband, Richard, was put in charge of defending the New Mexico territory after Loring resigned to fight for the Confederacy. Canby was best known for treating wounded Texas Confederate soldiers in Santa Fe. Initially, her actions brought her under suspicion of treason, but she was eventually praised for her kindness. After they were healed, her husband commanded the soldiers to leave New Mexico. They stopped at a local newspaper on the way out of Santa Fe to submit a proclamation thanking Canby and others for the care they had received. Canby would come to be called the Angel of Santa Fe later in her life as people remembered her nursing duties during the Civil War. Nelsons book covers several other themes and topics, including why many people dont know the role of the American West in the war, the challenges of the Southwestern landscape for the soldiers, multiracial armies, and the forceful removal and the incarceration of the Native people. Nelson, a writer and historian, grew up in Colorado and now lives in Lincoln, Massachusetts. She has written two other historical books. Two Pakistani soldiers were killed in a shootout during a raid on a militant hideout in a rugged area near the border with Afghanistan, the military said Sunday. It said another five soldiers were wounded and nine suspected militants were killed in the raid, which took place late Saturday. It did not identify the militant group. Several armed groups operate in mountainous areas along the border, including the Pakistani Taliban, which has carried out scores of attacks over the years against security forces and civilians. Search Keywords: Short link: It was the responsibility of the administration to keep law and order in check, Bhagwat said in an online address to workers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Nagpur: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday slammed the Palghar lynching in which two sadhus were killed, saying there is no place for violence in society. It was the responsibility of the administration to keep law and order in check, Bhagwat said in an online address to workers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. "Sanyasis (saints) who pray for the well-being of humanity were brutally killed in Palghar. What was the police doing? Such an incident should not have happened," he said. The sadhus were messengers of humanity and were following the religion they believed in, he said. Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha has appealed for offering tributes to the two saints on April 28, Bhagwat said. "The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has also laid out a programme for the same. We will all join in offering our tribute to them," he added. Community leaders should tell people not to be angry and get misled, he said. There are anti-India forces who are waiting to use this to break the country, he added. The two sadhus and their driver were lynched on 16 April in Palghar district while they were on their way to a funeral in neighbouring Silvassa. Amid politics over the lynching, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh later said there was no Muslim among the 101 persons arrested in connection with the incident. TV chef Ben Milbourne has become the third contestant eliminated from MasterChef Australia this season. He lucked out after overcooking a glazed salmon fillet and serving a walnut cream that the judges described as too sour. Milbourne, who has presented SBS shows Food Lab and Andy + Ben Eat Australia alongside judge Andy Allen, was battling for survival alongside Rose Adam. It was left to judge Andy to tell him today was not his day. There are two other TV chefs still in the race including Family Food Fight judge Hayden Quinn and Pohs Kitchen host Poh Ling Yeow. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 17:58:09|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- At the request of the Cambodian military and with the approval of the Central Military Commission, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Saturday sent urgently needed COVID-19 prevention and control materials, including nucleic acid testing kits and protective gowns, to the Cambodian military by air force planes. Enditem Pound Sterling lost ground on Friday after EU Chief Negotiator Barnier accused the UK of not committed seriously on a number of fundamental points. Barnier reiterated that a trade deal had to be reached with agreement on fisheries and a level playing field. The EU would also not make any agreement which damages the EU single market. Barnier stated that it is a legitimate question whether Brexit talks are out of kilter with what is going on and whether they should proceed given the coronavirus crisis. In this current situation all institutions are focussed on what is going on right now. As far as the talks are concerned, both sides need to work seriously between now and June to come up with a joint decision on what to do. He also urged realism particularly given the economic shock. He added; more than ever the clock is ticking. Only to further blocs of sessions are scheduled before the deadline. Illustrating that time is very tight. As June approaches, underlying tensions will inevitably increase and this will translate into increased Sterling volatility. According to Barnier, both sides have worked well and talks have been constructive. The UK has affirmed its wish to make substantial progress between now and June. We are on the same wavelength and respect the same timetable. Nevertheless, Barnier also stated that the current UK position worries him. In particular, he stated that the UK did not commit seriously on a number of fundamental points. He also stated that it was not possible to make selective process. The UK cannot refuse to extend transition and refuse to seriously discuss things. At this stage, hhe considered that it was too early to say whether transition should be extended. Fishing inevitably remains a key point of friction with Barnier expressing major doubts whether fisheries talks can have a successful outcome by June. This remains crucial given the continued emphasis that there can progress by mid-year is dependent on reaching a fisheries deal. Barnier also criticised the UK in other areas stating that the UK stance creates serious, serious limitations for our future security partnership. As far as Northern Ireland is concerned, it was also urgent to take necessary measures on a customs plan to agreed procedures for goods entering Northern Ireland. A meeting is scheduled for April 30th. Sterling dipped lower following Barniers comments with Euro/Sterling advancing to near 0.8760 from 0.8730. Sterling/dollar also retreated to 1.2330 from 1.2375. Sterling/ Japanese yen also retreated to the 132.50 area. Overall risk conditions were little changed on the day with slight net gains for the oil complex. TD Securities commented; Michel Barnier's comments today suggest that the EU and UK are drifting further apart in discussion points. If it continues like this, the USD's status as the haven of choice just got stronger as cable's days with a 1.20-handle are numbered. For this quarter, we think the prospects of reaching our 1.18 forecast have improved in recent days. Summer-like weather across much of California drove large crowds to the beaches Saturday despite a statewide stay-at-home order intended to curb the spread of coronavirus. Temperatures reached into the 80s and 90s in Southern California, where people were swimming in the Pacific and sunbathing on beaches that had previously been closed to discourage large gatherings. Not all were reopened but some counties had eased restrictions while warning people to maintain social distancing. "Its crowded out," said Brian O'Rourke, a lifeguard battalion chief in Newport Beach. "We havent had too many issues with [social distancing] as lifeguards. Our primary mission is watching the water. Weve had dozens of ocean rescues and hundreds of preventative actions." An estimated 40,000 packed onto Newport Beach on Friday and similar crowds were expected Saturday, The Associated Press reported. "We've had very good compliance," O'Rourke said. "People are spreading out." In nearby Huntington Beach, where dozens of residents protested recently against California's stay-at-home order, hundreds of people crammed onto the sand. Some wore masks but social distancing was less apparent. North of Los Angeles, in Ventura County, families frolicked in the ocean. One visitor told "NBC Nightly News" that people "have to get out" rather than "living in a cave or hole." Image: US-HEALTH-VIRUS-BEACH-HEAT (APU GOMES / AFP - Getty Images) Beaches in Los Angeles County, the state's largest, remained closed. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti implored residents to stay home despite the spring heat wave that drove temperatures in some areas to near 100 degrees midweek. There is a direct correlation between what you do this weekend and how long this will take and how many lives we will lose," he said Friday. "If you stay home this weekend, our case numbers will drop, and we will stop the spread of this virus." Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore thanked residents in a tweet for choosing to follow the county's directive and keeping beaches clear. Story continues California has more than 42,000 coronavirus cases and over 1,600 deaths, according to NBC News counts. While the number of infections has remained significantly lower than several of the hardest hit cities in the Northeast, coronavirus has not disappeared from the state. The gradual uptick in infections has prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to maintain the stay-at-home order while governors in other parts of the country are starting to relax theirs. Last weekend, Florida and South Carolina started reopening beaches for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak started on U.S. soil. Falling visibility in three major African cities reveals that air pollution has increased significantly over the last 45 years -- leaving citizens facing further short-term increases in man-made pollution due to increasing urbanization and economic development, a new study reveals. Africa is not well-equipped with air quality monitoring, so scientists have used visibility data for capital cities in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda as a substitute measurement. They discovered a significant reduction in visibility since the 1970s, where Nairobi shows the greatest loss (60%), compared to Kampala (56%) and Addis Ababa (34%) -- due to increased particulate matter (PM) emissions from vehicles and energy generation. Correspondingly, PM pollution levels in the three cities are estimated to have increased by 182%, 162% and 62% respectively since the 1970s to the current period. University of Birmingham experts published their findings in Environmental Research Letters. They are now calling for a systematic approach to understand the causes and effects of air pollution in urban East Africa -- allowing improvements in air quality to co-exist with sustainable future economic development. Report co-author Dr. Ajit Singh commented: "Evidence indicates that ambient air quality in urban African locations is often poor, because of high rates of urbanisation and population growth leading to large-scale construction, increased energy use, vehicle emissions and industrialisation. advertisement "PM air pollution is a major concern in East Africa because of its impact on human health. There are few air quality monitoring networks, resulting in little long-term air quality data, but visibility measured at major cities can be used as a proxy for PM pollution. "We're tremendously proud of our work in East Africa and the analysis techniques we developed to study Nairobi, Kampala and Addis Ababa are translatable to other parts of the world where air quality data is limited." The Birmingham team's work is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) through the East Africa Research Fund (EARF) grant 'A Systems Approach to Air Pollution (ASAP) East Africa' and Digital Air Quality (DAQ) -- East Africa funded via EPSRC Global Challenges Research Fund. Co-author Dr. William Avis commented: "Air pollution poses a major health, economic and social threat to cities around the world -- inextricably linked to how we plan, manage and live in urban areas. East Africa is no exception to this, but lacks robust air quality data." Co-author and ASAP lead Professor Francis Pope said: "We need to understand the causes and effects of air pollution in these three cities, which are rapidly developing and will likely experience further increases in PM. Poor air quality acts as a brake on development through increasing expenditure on health, loss of labour productivity, and the impact of illness on education. "To date, no studies have been able to assess the role of socio-economic factors upon the evolution of air pollution in East Africa. Our work provides data that helps us understand this relationship and provides a much needed baseline for East African urban air quality that can help assess future air quality improvement interventions in the region." The researchers compared changes in pollution to population growth and GDP statistics -- finding increased PM levels linked to increases in national GDP and populations in all three study cities. They also discovered distinct variations in seasonal visibility, which are largely explained by changing PM sources and sinks in rainy and dry seasons. Visibility was lowest during the dry months and highest in wet months. At all study sites, visibility was higher on Sundays -- due to reduced traffic and industrial emissions. SAN DIEGO San Diego County police say three people protesting beach closures were arrested in Encinitas, California, on Saturday for violating health orders. The arrests occurred hours after the county announced plans to roll back beach restrictions and the city of Encinitas signaled its intention to reopen city beaches. Protester Crista Anne Curtis, of Encinitas' Cardiff-by-the-Sea community, said she was aware the beaches were scheduled to reopen, but disagreed with the restrictions planned during the phased reopening, such as prohibitions against sun bathing and face covering requirements. Im either free or Im not, Curtis told USA TODAY on Saturday. Curtis was not one of the protesters who was arrested. Curtis who has attended previous protests, was at Saturday's protest and plans to protest again in the future says the arrests and citations occurred after some protesters ventured off the sidewalk near the beach and into the beach's sand. Officials estimated dozens of protesters were in attendance. Theyre saying the sand is closed ... they literally drew the line at the sand, she said of the protest that occurred at Moonlight Beach. Photos: Crowds flock in Jacksonville after governor OKs reopening Florida beaches US reopening: Which states have relaxed restrictions? Find out what your state is doing San Diego County Sheriff's Department did not immediately return USA TODAY's request for comment. A release says several protesters sat on the beach, were given multiple opportunities to comply with police instructions and were arrested after refusing to cooperate. Encinitas mayor Catherine Blakespear presented the planned beach reopenings as "some good news" in a Friday newsletter. Crista Anne Curtis protests at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, California, on Saturday, April 25. Blakespear told USA TODAY she believed the protesters knew the beaches would soon reopen but were trying to score political points through the protest and arrests. For those impatient for the beaches to reopen, she commented: not being able to go in the ocean two days before it opens is a pretty minor sacrifice, especially when compared to the sacrifices being made by those fighting the virus on the front lines or those who have lost their job in the economic fallout. Story continues The beach reopenings will be structured to protect public health while increasing access to the coast, Blakespear said. For example, parking lot closures will remain for now as a way of metering the number of people who will have access to the beach. The timing of the reopenings had nothing to do with Saturday's protest or an earlier, larger protest, she said. On Friday, California Governor Gavin Newsom acknowledged many Californians would be tempted to gather outside as the state experienced a wave of summer-like weather. "CA can only keep flattening the curve if we stay home and practice physical distancing. You have the power to literally save lives," he said in a tweet Friday. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus: Three protesters arrested at San Diego County beach FILE PHOTO: Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington By Tim Ahmann WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The shuttering of the U.S. economy due to the coronavirus pandemic is a shock of historic proportions that will likely push the national unemployment rate to 16% or higher this month and require more stimulus to ensure a strong rebound, a White House economic adviser said on Sunday. "It's a really grave situation," President Donald Trump's adviser, Kevin Hassett, told the ABC program "This Week." "This is the biggest negative shock that our economy, I think, has ever seen. We're going to be looking at an unemployment rate that approaches rates that we saw during the Great Depression" of the 1930s, Hassett added. Lockdowns across the United States to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus have hammered the economy, shuttering businesses and sending unemployment skyrocketing. A record 26.5 million Americans have filed for jobless benefits since mid-March, and retail sales, homebuilding and consumer confidence have all cratered. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicts U.S. gross domestic product will contract at nearly a 40% annual rate in the second quarter, with unemployment cresting at 16% in the third quarter. But even next year, the CBO sees the jobless rate still averaging above 10 percent. Before the pandemic struck, the U.S. jobless rate had been hovering at a 50-year low of 3.5%. "I think the unemployment rate is going to jump to a level probably around 16 percent or even higher in the next jobs report," due on May 8, providing April employment statistics, Hassett told reporters at the White House. Hassett added that the second-quarter drop expected in the nation's GDP would be a "big number." "I think the next couple of months are going to look terrible. You're going to see numbers as bad as anything we've ever seen before," Hassett said, referring to U.S. economic data. "We're going to need really big thoughtful policies to put together to make it so that people are optimistic again," Hassett added. Story continues Trump's advisers want to hone a list of five or six ideas to present to Congress to help clear the economic carnage, Hassett said. "I'm sure that over the next three or four weeks, everybody's going to pull together and come up with a plan to give us the best chance possible for a V-shaped recovery," Hassett told ABC. "I ... don't think you get it if we don't have another round of really solid legislation." A "V-shaped recovery" is one in which an economy bounces back sharply after a precipitous decline. TENSIONS ON CAPITOL HILL The U.S. Congress has already approved $3 trillion in coronavirus relief in a show of bipartisan support for laid-off workers and an economy in free fall. Lawmakers are now poised for a battle over federal assistance to state and local governments whose budgets have been shattered by a plunge in tax revenue even as they have had to take extraordinary measures during a pandemic that has caused a U.S. death toll approaching 55,000. New York City needs $7.4 billion in federal aid to offset economic losses from the coronavirus, its mayor said on Sunday. "If New York City is not (made) whole, it will drag down the entire region, and it will hold up the entire national economic restart," Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, said on the Fox program "Sunday Morning Futures." Like de Blasio, many of the nation's governors - Democrats and Republicans alike - have pressed the Trump administration and Congress to come forward with a sizable relief package. "We will have state and local (aid), and we will have it in a very significant way," House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in Congress, said on CNN's "State of the Union." "The governors are impatient," Pelosi added. "Their impatience will help us get an even bigger number." Trump has shown a willingness to support aid for cities and states, but some fellow Republicans - including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell - have voiced wariness, citing a mounting federal debt load. McConnell, in remarks that have drawn sharp rebukes from various governors as well as Democratic lawmakers, has suggested that states should declare bankruptcy instead. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, asked whether Trump would support providing hundreds of billions of dollars to the states, said any further relief would have to receive support from both parties. "This is a war. We'll win this war. If we need to spend more money, we will, and we'll only do it with bipartisan support," Mnuchin told "Fox News Sunday." (Reporting by Tim Ahmann; Additional reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Susan Heavey; Editing by Will Dunham and Peter Cooney) Wanakena, N.Y. There were handmade signs for Edwin and Becca, a giant face on a poster bobbing back and forth, and a worker in a reflective vest and facemask waving his arms joyously. There were parents and grandparents and siblings, and they were all divided up into tiny little boxes. Instead of hugs and tears of happiness, they expressed themselves in static-filled shouts through a speaker. They were distanced yet connected, sad yet joyous. They were unable to be together for one of the biggest moments that a family can share, so they did their best to make their love felt through a computer screen. It was a moment, like so many this year, about making the best of things. In this case, it was a college graduation celebration, one of the first maybe the first in the United States in the coronavirus era. As most of their peers scattered across the country, began online classes and saw graduation ceremonies postponed, a group of 53 students in the SUNY-ESF Ranger School remained in a one-building campus in Adirondack Park and finished the way they started. They completed their classes. They graduated together. And all it took was surrendering the ability to leave campus, taking classes on Saturday and sacrificing their spring break. I told them someday youre going to interview for a job and the job and the (person) interviewing is going to ask, What did you do during the pandemic? said Dr. Michael Bridgen, the program director. They stayed and studied. They graduated. They took basically two months of work and crammed it into one. The SUNY-ESF Ranger School was one of the only schools in the country to stay on campus and graduate. (Courtesy Photo) *** The SUNY-ESF Ranger School sits on a piece of Adirondack Park in Wanakena, a hamlet in the town of Fine in St. Lawrence County. The primary school building contains their dorms, labs, classroom and recreation areas. It sits seven miles from the nearest gas station and about an hour from the closest Wal-Mart. The isolation from the rest of the world was the biggest reason they were allowed to remain as others were sent home. The distance and lack of interaction made it unlikely the coronavirus would find them. The students who gravitate toward the school do it because they like the outdoors. Many say they are hands-on learners and dont enjoy learning from screens and textbooks. It is an academic experience that is impossible to translate into online learning. A school day lasts eight hours, split evenly between a classroom and the outdoors. Then there are additional homework and projects. It doesnt matter how bad the weather is. Theres no such thing as a snow day, said Matt Castrello, a student from East Syracuse. Snowshoes are mandatory." As the coronavirus was building steam in the United States and his students prepared for spring break in mid-March, Bridgen recognized that if they left campus, there was no way theyd be permitted back. So two days before the group was set for a much-needed break, he delivered news that would bring some students to tears. Spring break was canceled. More restrictions followed. Students werent permitted to leave school grounds. A professor would make an occasional supply run for snacks and supplies. Packages were sanitized before the came in. Chairs were removed from dining room tables in order to ensure social distancing. Car keys were confiscated, eliminating the chance of any interaction with traditional civilization. The rules changed fast throughout March, and Bridgen had no idea how long the group would be allowed to remain in place. He wanted to reach the finish line faster. So he increased the pace of the program and instituted Saturday classes. Bridgen told the students they could leave if they wanted. Theyd be offered the chance to get their degree online at a later date and a more traditional pace. But that wasnt what the students had signed on for. Not a single one left. Despite all of those sacrifices, every student in the program prioritized their education and opted for self-imposed isolation. You cant run a chainsaw on a computer or Zoom," said Emily Kuhlkin, That was part of it. And so many of us had come so far. We werent going to be the one person to drop it and give in. Being such a small class, you sort of became a family. None of us were ready to leave. *** SUNY-ESF Ranger School students got to enjoy very brief moments in the spotlight on their graduation day. The students appreciated the efforts professors made to keep them learning in optimal environments. They know the staff worked extremely hard to make their graduation as special as possible. Still, the ceremony held Friday, April 17, couldnt help but help generate mixed feelings. They didnt get to bask in the slow final days in the Adirondacks, finding closure by saying goodbye over relaxed evenings. They didnt get to see their happy families. They were forced to cancel a group whitewater rafting trip. The traditional barbecue on graduation day was canceled. The ceremony was held in the schools lone classroom rather than off-campus. On graduation day students were still taking tests and packing their cars. Some were gone 30 minutes of the ceremony. Some might never see others again. They did, however, shirk social distancing rules to hug goodbye and take photos of those final moments together. Living that closely, they figured, if one of them had somehow caught the virus, they all would have had it by now. Kuhlkin had been aiming toward this moment since she was a junior in high school. She zeroed in on the Ranger School before shed heard of ESF. Her parents missed the first 15 minutes of the ceremony trying to access it. They believe their Zoom connection had issues because of heavy traffic. Knowing my family, my grandparents, everyone wouldnt be there to celebrate was very disappointing, said Kuhlkin, who praised the personal nature of Bridgens speech as the highlight. It just wasnt the same. On that day it wasnt that emotional, but the days before were. None of us expected it to be like this. The way graduation was supposed to be, there would be time to get that closure. For others, though, the pressure and circumstances made the day just as meaningful and more emotional than it might have been otherwise. It was the last graduating class for Bridgen, affectionately known as Doc, who has been teaching at the Ranger School for 20 years. Students knew how hard he worked to keep them on campus, his plans changing almost daily amid the ever-changing news and regulations. They had been through a lot together. They had proven a lot to themselves about hard work and perseverance. We all end up being Wilderness First Aid certified," Castrello said. Were all relying on each other. At that point were a big family, were here for each other and were going to finish it. The schedule was always changing. We didnt know if wed be there two more days or until May. It was overwhelming for a lot of students, myself including. But thats how Ranger School is. Its physically demanding. Its mentally demanding. Its a lot of critical thinking and problem solving and putting your head down and getting through. Fifty-three students in the SUNY-ESY Ranger School got a rare experience in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. They were able to graduate together. For some, there was more to get through than others. Bri Faltraco had to cancel a planned meeting of her parents and her boyfriends family because they were unable to leave campus. Marshall Bruggeman had a job interview lined up that he had to cancel. Now hes looking hard for a job in a difficult economy. His appreciation of the outdoors began with his older brother. He had always envisioned him looking on proudly as he graduated. Bruggemans brother is a manager at Wegmans and was scheduled to work during the ceremony. It was pretty emotional for me, Bruggeman said. He did really well in college. He was an inspiration. Still, his family was well-represented. His parents watched proudly. So did his grandmother, who he calls Nana." Students picked up their diploma from a desk rather than Bridgen to follow social-distancing guidelines. Distances were marked by tape. There was no hearty handshake from their mentor at the end of the road. Instead, they paused alone in front of a video camera. It provided a few seconds for them and their families to bask in the moment. And it was marked by unmistakable moments of happiness. Some waved and offered thumbs up. One signed I love you. One dabbed and one shouted, Hi Mom. Faltraco let out a shout of glee. Bruggeman let loose with a deep fist pump. When the procession was over, their families, who had been placed on mute for more than an hour, were permitted to express their feelings all at once. It poured out from a computer screen. To a stranger it is an indistinguishable mass of happy noises with random bursts of words. There were congratulations and I love yous. There was a shout for Ethan and a desperate call for a family member who was missing the moment. And for those who knew those voices best, things came through a little more clearly. I got to hear (my parents) through all the commotion at the end when all the parents got unmuted, Bruggeman said. I heard a little squeak from my dad and a little bigger squeak from my mom. Contact Chris Carlson anytime: E-mail | Twitter | 315-412-1639 MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources Cuomo: Central New Yorks OK coronavirus numbers may not allow early reopening NYs state fair is in jeopardy': Experts cast doubt on festivals, concerts in year of coronavirus Coronavirus: Can I hire a stylist or barber to cut my hair in the backyard? Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com Victoria will not bow to pressure by winding back its strict stay-at-home orders at least until May 11 when the current state of emergency ends, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says. The state government ruled out following in the footsteps of other states which have begun easing some restrictions, including in Queensland, where people will be allowed to go on picnics and for recreational drives from Friday. Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says he won't be making any significant changes to Victoria's strict stage three restrictions until May 11. Credit:Scott McNaughton Victoria recorded just three new coronavirus cases in the 24 hours to Sunday morning, bringing the state's total to 1349. Of those three, one was a patient at a private psychiatric clinic at the centre of a COVID-19 outbreak, taking cases linked to the facility to 16. The state's death toll increased to 17 after a man in his 90s died in hospital from coronavirus. There are now just 67 active coronavirus cases in Victoria, with 1265 people having recovered. Folks want to feel like they belong somewhere, like they are part of a team, so we are trying to do our best to give them that experience, said Geoff Burgan, a spokesman for Organizing Together 2020, an independent group backed by labor that is building field organizations with a staff of more than 400 in six swing states. Its getting the in-person rush of a campaign office and helping to bring that online. The non-profit organisation reaches 1.2 million people annually through its 12 national branches, six outdoor education camps and more than 200 sites and facilities throughout the nation. We support young people in a range of ways and across the entire spectrum of needs from those with huge vulnerability due to poverty, health and other complex needs to those who are current and aspiring leaders of our community, says YMCA national CEO Chris Knol. It is appreciated that some NGOs that address critical needs around housing, poverty and violence are receiving government assistance, and we commend the Government for this decision making. But he says the YMCA is unique as they are not dependent on philanthropic giving, but earn money through social enterprise. Without social enterprise, this return on investment is lost and the cost to society is a major disruption or loss in services and family routines: accessibility to affordable childrens services, recreation, gymnastics, dance, fitness and sport, outdoor education, school camps, mentoring, youth development and low-cost short-long term accommodation. The YMCA is excluded from accessing the existing package of support yet we contribute $60 million of economic activity and conservatively $90 million dollars of social benefit by way of outcomes and accessibility to opportunities to New Zealanders every year. Chris says whilst their accommodation facilities have continued to operate, occupancy numbers are dwindling. All of the rest of our facilities remain closed. Whilst the wage subsidy is enabling us to continue to pay our people in the short term, there will be significant job losses if the wage subsidy stops at 12 weeks. Our community projects are funded almost entirely from our commercial revenues and whilst these are at a standstill our projects will go unfunded long into the future. They anticipate that they have drastically limited further run rate. This means they will need to start to put in place plans to downsize the organisation considerably, he says. This will pose a significant threat to the huge outcomes that our organisation plays in the health and well being of the communities that we serve. They urgently need the extended wage subsidy support and additional fiscal support to enable us to ensure our social services can continue to operate at level 2. The wellbeing of our communities needs to be the top priority for the Government moving forward especially those who are vulnerable, on low incomes or in a minority group." Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 19:12:22|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Wang Xiusheng, political counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Malawi, makes a statement during a donation of medical equipment to Malawi's three major hospitals and three major city councils at the Chinese embassy in Lilongwe, Malawi, April 24, 2020. (Xinhua/James Mwale) China donated assorted medical equipment to three of Malawi's major hospitals, and councils of the country's three major cities, to help contain the spread of COVID-19. LILONGWE, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The government of China on Friday donated assorted medical equipment kits to three of Malawi's major hospitals, and councils of the country's three major cities, to help contain the spread of COVID-19. The donation ceremony took place at the Chinese embassy in the capital, Lilongwe, and was given to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, situated in the country's commercial city of Blantyre, Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe and Mzuzu Central Hospital in the northern city of Mzuzu, and councils of the three cities. Each of the three central hospitals will get 10,000 disposable medical masks, 7,000 surgical masks, 300 N95 masks, 300 sets of protective suits and goggles, 1,000 pairs of gloves and 20 thermometers while each of the three city's councils will get 2,000 disposable medical masks and 2 infrared thermometers. Wang Xiusheng, representative from the Chinese Embassy in Malawi, handed over the donation, describing it as a symbol of China's commitment to helping the rest of the world in general, and Malawi in particular, to contain the spread of the pandemic. He said,"With our future linked together, countries can only overcome the challenge by standing in solidarity." Director of Kamuzu Central Hospital, the country's main hospital in the capital Lilongwe, Jonathan Ngoma, who received the donation, appreciated the gesture, saying China has always been "a committed friend" to Malawi. He said the commitment is evident through the continued support to the country. Ngoma assured the Chinese government that the donated items will be put to the intended use and that the most vulnerable would be the first priority. Malawi has recorded 33 cases of COVID-19 with 3 deaths and 4 recovery cases as of Saturday. The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the global coronavirus pandemic began, now has no remaining cases in its hospitals, a health official told reporters on Sunday. "The latest news is that by April 26, the number of new coronavirus patients in Wuhan was at zero, thanks to the joint efforts of Wuhan and medical staff from around the country," National Health Commission spokesman Mi Feng said at a briefing. The city had reported 46,452 cases, 56% of the national total. It saw 3,869 fatalities, or 84% of China's total. Also Read: Coronavirus India live updates: Total COVID-19 cases cross 26,000; 8 states with over 1,000 cases Also Read: Coronavirus: Sonia Gandhi calls for Rs 2 lakh crore wage protection, credit guarantee MSME package Also Read: Is Kim Jong Un dead? Twitter abuzz with rumours of North Korean leader's demise The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike. We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve. A group of migrant workers have painted the chipped walls of a school-turned-quarantine centre in Rajasthan to express their gratitude for the arrangement made for them at the facility. Seventy-four workers, who harvest crops in Behror area of Alwar district, had decided to walk down to their homes in Madhya Pradesh after the lockdown was extended till May 3. The workers were stopped at Kotputli in Jaipur district and were taken to a quarantine centre set up at a government school in Paniyala. In response to the good care taken during quarantine, workers expressed the desire to give a makeover to the school. Former village head Ravindra Meena and former Mandi chairperson Mahesh Meena made available paint and other necessary items worth Rs 20,000 to the workers, who have started painting last Thursday without charging a single penny. Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned about the work in his 'Mann ki Baat' on Sunday. He said some people were making masks, whereas migrants staying at quarantine centres set-up in schools were giving makeover by painting walls. "The work of migrants is appreciable as they themselves painted the school premises," Paniyala government school principal Kishorlal Verma said. "The school looks new now." Recently, about 54 workers from Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh had added colour to their temporary abode in Palsana town of Sikar district. Wall paint and other necessary items were made available to them by the villagers. The schools were not painted from last nine years. Teacher had agreed to offer funds from their salaries and workers happily took the task without taking any money. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Donald Trump did not hold a daily news briefing of the coronavirus task force in weeks on Saturday as he sought to stave off continuing blowback to his shocking suggestion to try common disinfectants to kill the deadly pathogen inside infected peoples bodies, as they do externally, on surfaces. But the president blamed the media for it. What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!, he wrote on twitter. It was no immediately clear if he will not hold these briefings at all, or lead them as he has been for weeks. The presidents aides and allies have for some time felt that these briefings in which he has torn into reporters and political rivals and touted an untested treatment as a game-changer were being counterproductive. And Republicans fear increasingly that his handling of the crisis could cost them dearly in the November elections, according to news reports. Questions have continued to be raised about the administrations response and failure to prepare for the epidemic that had till Sunday morning claimed 53,934 lives, up by 1,806 in the last 24 hours, and infected 939,249 people, with 32,796 new cases. The United States has suffered the most from this pandemic. As Trump used the briefings to update the country on the state of the epidemic and measures and guidelines in place to combat it he was also seen by critics as turning them into a version of his political rallies which he could not hold because of the social distancing guidelines anymore. And, in which he often strayed into questionable territory, such as his robust endorsement of the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine, which is proving to be more harmful than beneficial, according to a growing number of studies, and his suggestion last Thursday to try disinfectants. Trump has said he said it as a sarcastic question. Public health officials and experts condemned it and even his own top officials were horrified. I certainly wouldnt recommend the internal ingestion of a disinfectant, Food and Drug Administration commissioner Stephen Hahn, who is also a member of the White House task force., told CNN. But some people, scared and concerned, did not heed the warning. City officials in New York reported receiving an unusually high number of calls from people who feared having ingested disinfectants in the 18 hours after Trumps remarks, according to reports in US media. The Poison Control Center, a department of the New York citys health department managed a total of 30 cases of possible exposure to disinfectants between 9 p.m. Thursday and 3 p.m. Friday, a spokesman said told the Daily News, a local news publication. Nine were exposed to Lysol, 10 to bleach and 11 about household cleaners in general, according to the spokesman. No one died or required hospitalization. MONTREAL - Melina Plante has found that, on her five-hectare fruit and vegetable farm south of Montreal by the U.S. border, one experienced Guatemalan farmhand can produce more than two Quebecers. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/4/2020 (626 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Farm owners Francois Daoust and Melina Plante, left, are seen in their greenhouse with summer employee Florence Lachapelle in Havelock, Que., on Thursday, April 23, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson MONTREAL - Melina Plante has found that, on her five-hectare fruit and vegetable farm south of Montreal by the U.S. border, one experienced Guatemalan farmhand can produce more than two Quebecers. She and her husband, Francois DAoust, have hired the same four Guatemalan seasonal workers year after year. They typically clock up to 70 hours per week on the farm in Havelock, Que., and though the pay is relatively low, the workers value it. But this year, Plante said, the farmhands are stuck in Guatemala due to travel restrictions their country has imposed to limit the spread of COVID-19. They are among the roughly 5,000 seasonal and temporary workers that Quebec's farmers' union estimates will be missing on the province's farms this year because of the pandemic, leaving Plante, D'Aoust and scores of other farmers with a tough choice: They can either reduce this year's food production or take a chance on inexperienced but eager Quebecers thrown out of work by the pandemic. In response to the foreign labour shortage, the provincial government on April 17 announced a $45-million program to pay an extra $100 a week above regular wages as an incentive to work on a farm. About 2,800 Quebecers have so far responded to Premier Francois Legault's call. But it is still unclear if there are enough unemployed Quebecers able and willing to do the work and whether those who do will stick around if the economy picks up and their old jobs return. Plante said bluntly that in the past, Quebecers have proven unreliable farmhands. "That's been our experience and why we turned to foreign labour .... We estimate that one Guatemalan worker can be replaced by 2.5 Quebecers," she said by phone from her farm. The provincial program pays minimum wage, plus the $100 per week top-up and requires that applicants be available to work at least 25 hours per week. But Marcel Groleau, president of Union des producteurs agricoles, which represents about 42,000 Quebec farmers, says those kind of schedules simply won't cut it. "It will take farms at a minimum 40 hours per week, per employee, to replace the foreign labour," he said in a recent interview. The Canadian border remains open to seasonal farm workers, he explained, but many of them are having difficulty obtaining travel permits in their home countries. "The pandemic made us realize how much we rely on foreign labour but it's been hard to attract local labour in the fields for many years now," Groleau said. Florence Lachapelleis hoping she'll qualify for the extra $100 per week. She had already agreed to work on Plante's farm to help replace the Guatemalan farmhands before the province created the recruiting program. The 19-year-old visual arts student from Montreal met Plante and D'Aoust through family. Lachapelle said she got involved in environmental activism at her junior college but since the pandemic doesn't know what to do with her energy. "I think the key to fighting climate change is through agricultural self-sufficiency and knowing how to work the earth in a respectful way," she said in a recent interview. "I really want to learn how it works." And while people such as Lachapelle may be helping to fill a critical gap created by the pandemic, there are other fragile links in the agricultural supply chain exposed by the pandemic. COVID-19 has highlighted the problems associated with industry concentration, particularly within the food-processing sector, Groleau said. "There are fewer and fewer (processing plants),and the ones that are left are bigger and bigger," he said. "When there is an issue at one of them, there are serious impacts for the rest of the supply chain." For example, the closure of a single meat packing plant in Alberta last week forced Canada to curtail beef exports to meet domestic demand. The Cargill-operated factory in Alberta has seen an outbreak linked to at least 484 cases of COVID-19s, including one death. "We are not, at this point, anticipating shortages of beef," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier in the week, "but prices might go up.'' Aside from higher prices, Plante said she and other farmers in her network expect food shortages this fall. She and her husband have already estimated they will have to cut production this year by about a third. Pascal Theriault, a lecturer at McGill University's farm management and technology program and vice-president of Quebec's order of agronomists, said he hopes this crisis forces Canadians to rethink their relationship with food. "We worked on producing food at the lowest possible cost and that's all that counted," he said in a recent interview. But over the years, international supply chains controlled by a handful of big players have contributed to Canadians' alienation from the food they eat. Try our Dish The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. Dish arrives in your inbox every other Friday. See sample. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "I think the crisis will build awareness to eat more locally," he said. "It's not that we weren't doing it before, but now we are really paying attention to it." Buying local could mean higher grocery bills for Canadian consumers used to seeing stores stocked with imported produce grown with cheaper labour under fewer regulations. Canadians spend about 10 per cent of their budgets on food one of the lowest proportions in the world, Theriault said. So there is room to pay a little more for local products but not that much more, he said. Lachapelle started her new job Thursday. She'll live in a trailer on Plante's farm and keep mostly to herself for two weeks to ensure she is not carrying the virus. Then when she starts what she expects will be gruelling work in the fields, she will respect physical distancing guidelines. "I am very hard-working," she said. "I'm 19, and I think I am ready, physically and mentally. I know it's going to be a challenge. But I think it'll be will super fun!" This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2020. Operations to extinguish the fires were under way near the Lubianka, Paryshiv, Dytiatky, and Denysovychi forestry areas on Sunday morning. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says over 11,000 ha of forests in the Chornobyl exclusion zone have been damaged by recent fires. The president took a helicopter tour over the area damaged by the fires as part of a working trip to Kyiv region, the presidential press service reported on April 26. Zelensky also met with State Emergency Service members who were involved in extinguishing a large-scale forest fire in the Chornobyl exclusion zone. "Only there, at a height, you understand how difficult your profession is," he told them, presenting state awards to 22 rescuers. "I am grateful to you for the result on behalf of the entire Ukrainian people." Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who was present at the meeting, also thanked the firefighters. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, acting Minister of Energy and Environmental Protection Olha Buslavets and State Emergency Service chief Mykola Chechotkin briefed Zelensky on progress in eliminating the sources of the fires. Read alsoNew forest fire outbreaks reported in Chornobyl zone (Photo, video) As UNIAN reported earlier, first forest fires in the Chornobyl exclusion zone began on April 4, covering 20 hectares then. On April 7, the area affected by the fires expanded to 35 hectares. On April 14, they were reportedly extinguished but resumed on April 16. As of 07:00 Kyiv time on April 26, 2020, operations to extinguish the fires were under way in the Lubianka, Paryshiv, Dytiatky, and Denysovychi forestry areas in the exclusion zone. Two major smoldering spots were areas near the villages of Kryva Hora and Rudky-Buriakivka. Add CoolSocial badge. 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Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND A contact tracing app could prevent one Covid-19 infection for every one to two users who download it, an expert advising the government has said. Professor Christophe Fraser, from Oxford University's Big Data Institute, heaped praise on the app but said 60 per cent of the UK population - or 40 million people - would need to download it for it to prove effective. NHSX has been working with Google and Apple to develop the phone app, which should be available 'within weeks'. It was tested at an RAF base in North Yorkshire this week. The app could hold the key to bringing the UK out of lockdown and back to normality. Professor Christophe Fraser, from Oxford University's Big Data Institute, said 60 per cent of the UK population will need to sign up to the app for it to prove effective. Matt Hancock has supported the app's roll out Professor Fraser pictured speaking about the app on the Andrew Marr show today HOW WOULD AN NHS CONTACT-TRACING APP WORK? According to the researchers, the app being developed by NHSX would likely work as follows: Users install the app on their smartphones. The app logs every time the device comes into close proximity of another app user's phone. Users exhibiting coronavirus symptoms self-report on the app. The app tells these users to self-isolate, along with their household. It also notifies any other users logged as having recently come into contact with them/ These users also isolate, along with their households, and so on. Advertisement Prof Fraser told BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show that traditional contact tracing methods would not be as effective as the NHS app. 'We found that when we projected over the next three months, for every one to two users who download the app and who adhere to instructions, you'll prevent one infection,' he said. 'For this intervention alone to stop resurgence of the epidemic, about 60% of the population would have to use the app. 'Now that number may be a bit smaller if there are other interventions going on, which we hope there will be, social distancing, large community testing, and indeed manual contact tracing.' Prof Fraser said the app addresses the problem that around 50 per cent of transmissions occur before a person shows symptoms - calling it a 'very rapidly transmitted virus'. He said: 'The app is solving a specific problem, which is how do you get the message that you're at risk and empower you to take measures to protect your friends, your family, your colleagues and the people you have been in contact with.' Experts are aiming to release the NHS app 'within weeks', he told the programme, while a configuration is being developed for healthcare staff who could be exposed to Covid-19 whilst at work. Asked if he thought pursuing a contact tracing app earlier could have saved lives, Prof Fraser said: 'I think so. I worked on the SARS epidemic in 2003 and testing and tracing is really a cornerstone of how you stop a serious infection. 'And I do think that strategy scaled up is tremendously effective.' Nevertheless, the app coupled with social distancing efforts would still help to slow the spread of COVID-19 and put off a second lockdown period. In fact, the team predicts that a contact-tracing app could 'prevent approximately one infection for every one or two users of the app' An NHS contact-tracing app would only completely stop the spread of coronavirus if 60 per cent of current smartphone owners use it, researchers have warned He estimated that between 3 per cent and 10 per cent of the population could now have had the disease. 'There's uncertainty around this but I would say nationally, somewhere between sort of three and maybe up to 10 per cent of the population would have had coronavirus by this stage,' he said. 'We're still waiting for the definitive studies based on immunological assays, but this is based on our understanding base of the spread of coronavirus.' Asked if it could be 'several million people, up to six million', he replied: 'That kind of figure - probably a bit less.' The UK government has continued to race to meet its coronavirus testing target of 100,000 today, as it faces ever louder calls to announce a plan to end the lockdown. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to return to Downing Street on Monday following a two week break at Chequers to recover from the virus. Pictured above is a contact-tracing app being used in Germany to halt the spread of coronavirus He spent a week in Guys and St Thomas' Hospital, London, and three days in intensive care fighting off the disease. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab rejected calls for an earlier easing of the coronavirus lockdown today, stressing the government aimed to move cautiously to avoid a second wave. He has refused to reveal details of how the UK will exit lockdown, despite the Welsh and Scottish ministers publishing their strategies. Nicola Sturgeon has hinted that Scotland may lift its lockdown at a different pace to the rest of the UK. It has also been hinted that the UK will begin asking new arrivals to quarantine for 14 days, after letting at least 15,000 people in every week without checks. Shareholders of China Education Group Holdings Limited (HKG:839) will be pleased this week, given that the stock price is up 13% to HK$11.88 following its latest half-yearly results. It was not a great result overall. Although revenues beat expectations, hitting CN1.3b, statutory earnings missed analyst forecasts by 16%, coming in at just CN0.29 per share. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year. See our latest analysis for China Education Group Holdings SEHK:839 Past and Future Earnings April 26th 2020 Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from China Education Group Holdings' 16 analysts is for revenues of CN2.62b in 2020, which would reflect a decent 12% increase on its sales over the past 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to step up 13% to CN0.44. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of CN2.59b and earnings per share (EPS) of CN0.42 in 2020. So the consensus seems to have become somewhat more optimistic on China Education Group Holdings' earnings potential following these results. There's been no major changes to the consensus price target of CN12.62, suggesting that the improved earnings per share outlook is not enough to have a long-term positive impact on the stock's valuation. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. Currently, the most bullish analyst values China Education Group Holdings at CN14.17 per share, while the most bearish prices it at CN8.48. These price targets show that analysts do have some differing views on the business, but the estimates do not vary enough to suggest to us that some are betting on wild success or utter failure. Story continues Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that China Education Group Holdings' revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues next year expected to grow 12%, compared to a historical growth rate of 40% over the past three years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 20% per year. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that China Education Group Holdings is also expected to grow slower than other industry participants. The Bottom Line The most important thing here is that the analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, suggesting that there has been a clear increase in optimism towards China Education Group Holdings following these results. Fortunately, the analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting sales are tracking in line with expectations - although our data does suggest that China Education Group Holdings' revenues are expected to perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at CN12.62, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets. Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for China Education Group Holdings going out to 2022, and you can see them free on our platform here.. You should always think about risks though. Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for China Education Group Holdings you should be aware of. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. Staten Island, N.Y. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Friday that there is no evidence that recovering from COVID-19 makes you immune to getting it again. In the report, WHO targets governments that are promoting the idea of immunity passports or risk-free certificates for citizens that have antibodies to return to work and regular life. In response to those governments, WHO says, There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection. The announcement from WHO mimics what medical professionals and organizations around the United States have been saying. On Friday, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) made a similar warning. Spokesperson Dr. Mary Hayden warned that we have to assume that despite antibodies, people may be at risk of reinfection. Last week, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, a deputy commissioner at the New York City Health Department, urged medical professionals not to provide medical guidance based on antibody results due to the uncertainty around immunity. Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has hopes that the antibodies prove some immunity, but still warns that this has not been proven. Theres an assumption a reasonable assumption that when you have an antibody that you are protected against reinfection, but that has not been proven for this particular virus. Its true for other viruses, Fauci said on Good Morning America" last week. We dont know how long that protection, if it exists, lasts. Is it one month? Three months? Six months? A year? In New York City, over 20% of residents have tested positive for coronavirus antibodies. Despite the comments from medical professionals, Gov. Andrew Cuomo stated that this antibody testing was the key to reopening the state." The worldwide death toll passed 200,000 on the heels of WHOs announcement, according to Johns Hopkins University. Confirmed cases worldwide stands at nearly 2.9 million. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS: As coronavirus deaths in NY fall below 400, Cuomo gives some details about phased reopening Sports during coronavirus: Cuomo thinks aloud about how baseball returns Coronavirus: For first time in 6 weeks, children in Spain allowed to play outside Driver wearing N95 mask for several hours passes out, crashes into pole, police say Kiev, April 26 : Ukraine on Sunday honoured the Chernobyl liquidators, 34 years after the worst nuclear tragedy in history. Ukrainian Emergency Services Chief, Mykola Chechotkin, remembered the 530,000 liquidators of Chernobyl, recovery operation workers who worked tirelessly after the accident to put out the fires and clean up the toxic debris, reports Efe news. "It is our sacred duty to remember all the liquidators of the Chernobyl accident. We remember everyone by name, both those who left for eternity, and those with whom we have the honor to live and work together," he said in a statement. "The Chernobyl accident radically changed the course of human life in minutes, set the destiny of millions of Ukrainians on fire and placed a heavy burden on the shoulders of our people." April 26 is "a day to remember the greatest human-made disaster and honor everyone involved in alleviating the consequences of the Chernobyl accident". The emergencies head said the catastrophic event was "a symbol of the boundless courage of many thousands" of Ukrainians. The anniversary comes as emergency services have been grappling with fires in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, coming dangerously close to the nuclear power plant, for three weeks. Even though the main blaze has been extinguished, firefighters continue to fight smaller fires still burning in the exclusion zone in the Lubianski, Parishivski, Detektivski and Denisovsky forest parks. The blaze at one point reached the abandoned city of Pripyat, where the families of the plant operators lived when the fourth reactor broke down on April 26, 1986. Authorities have confirmed there is no risk and radiation levels remain normal. The fire in the Chernobyl exclusion zone broke out on April 4 in an area of 20 hectares which soon grew to 35 hectares due to strong winds. Although firefighters have failed to put out the fire entirely they have prevented it from reaching the plant itself and the warehouses with radioactive waste. Initially, authorities put the fire down to an unusually warm winter, with little snow, but later police arrested two people suspected of having caused the fire. The explosion at Chernobyl was the equivalent to 500 atomic bombs like the one launched in Hiroshima, according to official evaluations. Radiation from the disaster continues to affect thousands of inhabitants in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, where 70 percent of the 200,000 square kilometres of contaminated land is located. A Christian is one who recognizes Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, as God manifested in the flesh, loving us and dying for our redemption; and who is so affected by a sense of the love of this incarnate God as to be constrained to make the will of Christ the rule of his obedience, and the glory of Christ the great end for which he lives. Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians (1863), p. 133. Whether you are a skeptic looking for truth, a new believer, or a long time disciple, we all must know what we believe and why we believe it. This article is just my attempt at answering the question: What do Christians believe? Simply put, we believe in the gospelthe good news of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. Without Jesus, my life would be in continual upheaval. He has completely changed my life, and it is because of this great news that Im writing to you today. I pray as you dive into these core beliefs, God would open your eyes to see the truth of His word. That you would come to love God for the all-satisfying treasure that He is, and that you would become a lifelong learner of the God of the Bible. It is so rich, so rewarding, and so transformational that no day would ever be lost to the submission and study of it. Is There a Core Set of Beliefs in Christianity? In the Christian faith, there is a core set of beliefs. Some churches differ slightly on their use of confessional statements, catechism, and creeds, but regardless of the label, the core beliefs of Christianity primarily focus, on the four great movements in Gods redemptive history: creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. Other beliefs such as baptism, church polity, or charismatic gifts are open-handed issues and vary depending upon Protestant denomination. We must note that some of the beliefs listed below cross over between Protestantism and Catholicism, while others provide striking differences. Going forward, this article will largely point specifically to the core set of beliefs that Protestant Christians believe. (If this leads you to ask questions about the difference between the Protestants and Catholics, Id encourage you to look into this article here as a starting place.) The Christian's BeliefThe Apostles' Creed Before getting into the 7 core beliefs of Christianity, lets look at one of the most famous creeds used throughout church historyThe Apostles' Creed. Despite its name, there is no evidence that the Apostles' Creed was written by the Apostles of the early church. Legend states that each of the 12 Apostles wrote a line of the creed, in order to teach the church basic doctrine. The legend was quickly abandoned by scholars during the renaissance, but the act of using the creed to teach basic doctrine was not. The Apostles' Creed can be extremely helpful in pulling out the core beliefs of Christianity. The following Apostles' Creed is a commonly used contemporary version provided by the Reformed Church of America: I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. 7 Core Beliefs of Christianity GodWe believe in the triune Godthe Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe that this triune God is completely perfect, creator of all things, worthy of all adoration and praise, all-knowing, sovereign, and totally good in His plan to restore all things to Himself. (Genesis 1:1-3, Acts 17:24-25, Job 42:2, Psalm 86:15, Matthew 16:16, John 1:1-3, Acts 2:33, Ephesians 1:3-14, Colossians 1:15-16) ScriptureWe believe God is a speaking God who has graciously revealed Himself to us through His creation, in the person and work of Jesus, and through His Word in the Holy Scriptures. We believe the Bible to be the true and authoritative Word of God. The Bible is made up of 66 books found throughout the Old and New Testament and is to be believed and lived out in its entirety. As we believe and put Scripture into practice, in all that it commands, rebukes, teaches, encourages, and promises, we become equipped as disciples of Jesus and witnesses to the watching world. (Psalm 19:7-10, Proverbs 30:5, Isaiah 40:8, Matthew 24:35, John 5:39, Romans 15:4, 2 Peter 1:21) CreationWe believe that God created male and female, in His own image, to glorify God. We believe both man and woman were created equally in the image of God, and have equal access to the saving work and satisfaction of Jesus. After the creation of the world, God declared that it was good. God gave Adam and Eve dominion to rule over the world as Gods stewards and commanded them to care for, manage, and govern His creation while living in perfect relationship with Him. (Gen. 1-3, Psalm 8:3-8, Acts 17:26-31, Galatians 3:28) FallWe believe that all people have fallen short of the glory of God. Adam and Eve, deceived by the serpent (Satan), distorted Gods creation by sinning against God and His Word. As a result, all human beings experience the pain and suffering that their sin caused, and are under the wrath of Gods judgment. The greatest need of all people is to be reconciled to God. Our only hope as humans is to be restored back into perfect relationship with Him through the loving sacrifice of His son, Jesus Christ. (Genesis 2-3, Romans 1:18-32, 3:10-18, 2 Corinthians 11:3, Ephesians 2, Colossians 1:21-22, 3:10-11) RedemptionWe believe that God, in His great love and mercy, sent His only son Jesus to bear the weight and penalty of our sin through His death on the cross. Jesus lived the sinless life we couldnt live, being completely obedient to the Father, He died the death that we deserved. Jesus took all our sins, nailing them to the cross with Himself as our substitute, bearing the weight and wrath of God. Jesus obedience satisfied our penalty of sin and the wrath of God. Jesus victoriously rose from the dead on the third day, defeating, death, sin, and Satan. Jesus ascended into heaven and claimed His rightful throne, seated at the right hand of the Father. He is now graciously and sovereignly reigning over us, and working for us on our behalf. We believe that salvation is found by faith alone, through grace alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alonefor there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved. (Romans 4:25, 5:8, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, 15:1-8, Colossians 1:21-23, 1 Peter 3:18) ChurchWe believe in one Church united in Christ, and saved by Gods grace, through Jesus life, death, burial, and resurrection. We believe King Jesus is the sovereign, sustaining, authoritative head of the church. We believe that the ultimate goal and purpose of the Church is to glorify God and be the local outworking of Christs body. This means that we, as Christians, meet together in the context of a local church and are together called to sing, pray, hear the preaching of Gods word, practice baptism and communion, build one another up, and be a continual witness to the watching world. (Matthew 5:14-16, 28:18-20, Acts 2:42-47, Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Ephesians 1:22, 2 Timothy 4:1-2, James 5:19-20) RestorationWe believe that not only has Jesus come once for the salvation of His Church but that Hes coming back again for one final judgment of the living and the dead. On this day, Jesus will exercise His authority as judge to those who did not put their faith in Him. However, the church will be presented before Him as blameless, and Satan and his demons will be punished forever. Jesus ultimately will have come to create a new Heaven and new earth where believers will live with Him for eternity. (Isaiah 65:17, Daniel 12:2, Matthew 25:46, Mark 14:61-62, Acts 3:21, 1 Corinthians 4:5, 1 Peter 1:3-5, 2 Peter 3:13) Why Do These Core Beliefs Matter? Belief in the gospel changes everything. Before Christ, we are lost in a sinless world with no hope, no satisfaction, and no purpose. With Christ, we have new life and new desires. These new desires begin to change the way we speak, think, feel, and act. They lead us towards becoming emotionally, mentally, and physically healthier people. When we allow our minds to be renewed by the Word daily, we begin to experience change through our belief each day. We find our purpose in the life Christ has given us. We find our satisfaction and hope in the God of the universe. We find our joyful unending life in the death of our Savior, as our belief points us towards the ultimate restoration and renewal of life with Him in the new Heaven and new earth. When we find this great hope and satisfaction in Christ, the natural outworking of our faith is to share it with others. When Jesus is changing our every day, when we see Him as our only hope, there becomes no greater joy than glorifying Him through our words, actions, and lives. When Jesus is the center and supreme treasure of our life, we commit ourselves to know Him and make Him known. Therefore, these core beliefs matter to Christians, because as disciples of Christ, we cannot speak of whom we dont know. Our commitment to the gospel, the reading of the Word, prayer, community, and the local church grows our knowledge and love for God in order that we might make Him known in all of life. In the article What Is a Christian? John Piper phrases it this way: Becoming a Christian is coming to believe not only that Christ died for all his people, but that all his people died when he died. Becoming a Christian is, first, asking the question: Am I ready to be persuaded that Christ died for me and I died in him? Am I ready to die that I might live? Then, secondly, becoming a Christian means answering, Yes, from the heart. The love of Christ constrains us to answer, Yes. We feel so much love flowing to us from Christs death that we discover in his death our death our death to all other competing allegiances. We are so overwhelmed (constrained) by the love of Christ that the world fades, as before dying eyes. A Christian is a person living under the constraint of Christs love. Christianity is not merely believing a set of ideas about Christs love. It is an experience of being constrained by that love. Sources: Photo credit: Sparrowstock Stephanie Englehart is a Seattle native, church planters wife, mama, and lover of all things coffee, the great outdoors, and fine (easy to make) food. Stephanie is passionate about allowing God to use her honest thoughts and confessions to bring gospel application to life. You can read more of what she writes on the Ever Sing blog at stephaniemenglehart.com or follow her on Instagram: @stephaniemenglehart. Rio De Janiero, April 26 : Lyon right-back Rafael da Silva has expressed a desire to end his career alongside twin brother Fabio at Botafogo, the team they supported as children. Rafael, who is contracted to Lyon until June 2021, said Botafogo would be his favoured destination, should the French club choose not to renew his contract. "I want to end my career at Botafogo but first I need to receive a proposal from them," the 29-year-old said in an interview with Canal do TV, reports Xinhua news agency."It's not enough just for me to want it. If had the option of joining Botafogo or another club in Brazil I would definitely choose Botafogo." Rafael has made 129 appearances for Lyon since joining the club from Manchester United in 2015. Fabio, who also spent time at United before signing with Cardiff City in 2014, is now at Lyon's Ligue 1 rivals, Nantes. "We talk a lot and our dream is to end our careers together," Rafael said. "Both of our contracts end at the same time. It would be amazing to play together for the team that we supported as kids. It would be a dream come true." JERSEY CITY The owner of a Jersey City restaurant and a bank vice president she lived with were found dead Sunday morning in an apparent murder-suicide, authorities said. Man Mohan Mall, 37, was found unresponsive in the Hudson River near Montgomery Street and Exchange Place just down the block from Nukkad, Garima Kotharis Indian cuisine restaurant on Greene Street. Kothari, 35, was found dead at Malls home on Christopher Columbus Drive. Jersey City police responded to a report of a possible suicide attempt where Mall was found, Suarez said. She added that police also responded to Malls residence, where Kothari was unresponsive with apparent trauma to her upper body. Kothari moved to Jersey City in 2015 after living in Florida, she told ChicPeaJC in a 2016 interview. The owner was also a pastry chef, event organizer, home chef-instructor and made it to the top 15 on MasterChef in India, she said in the interview. Before her cooking career, she was an investment banker, the article said. In 2009, she received her MBA in accounting and finance from SVKMs Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, according to her Linkedin. On Sunday, police said in radio transmissions that Kothari suffered head trauma. Mall was the vice president at Deutsche Bank in New York, according to his Linkedin. He graduated at Indian Institute of Technology in 2006 before completing his masters in 2009 at Columbia University. Mall was pronounced dead at the scene around 7:55 a.m. Kothari was pronounced dead in the home at approximately 7:15 a.m., Suarez said. The Prosecutors Office Homicide Unit and JCPD are actively investigating the case. Suarez said though it appears these deaths are the result of a murder-suicide, the final determination is pending the findings of the Regional Medical Examiners Office. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201- 915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip on the Hudson County Prosecutors official website at: http://www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip/. All information will be kept confidential. KOLKATA : It is dawn and the streets of Kolkata are devoid of the usual joggers. The Bengali love for food in general, and fish in particular, had resulted in crowds outside markets in the early days of the lockdown, but the queues in front of stores have now become noticeably thinner. Even public opinion seems to have come around to accepting the need for compliance during the lockdown. Life is difficult, but I understand this is the only way," says Chinky, a domestic worker, who lives in a Kolkata slum. But even as the state is reaping the benefits of an intense public outreach campaign, a brewing political feud is threatening to limit those gains. Covid-19 has only added additional fuel to the already-raging political fire, with the state set to go for Assembly polls early next year. In late March, after the first case of covid-19 was reported in Kolkata, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called chief minister Mamata Banerjee reportedly to congratulate her for her timely intervention in dealing with the emergency. It was viewed as a signal that the traditional political foesBJP and Trinamool Congresswould unite to fight the common, hidden enemy together. However, the initial camaraderie was short-lived. While Banerjee was at first praised for her proactive role in containing the spread of the virus, to which the relatively low tally of positive cases was initially attributed, allegations surfaced that her administration was under-reporting the numbers. BJPs state president Dilip Ghosh alleged, People dying from corona (sic) are being assigned other causes in their death certificates." The other accusation against the government has been inadequate testing. A section of doctors has issued the warning that Bengal has a comparatively low tally due to insufficient testing. In fact, they expressed concerns about the sheer number of positive cases that have been coming up in spite of the low numbers tested. Last week, these simmering disputes came to a head with the issue catapulting itself to the centrestage. A team of central officials landed in Kolkata by a special plane supposedly for a review of the ground situation. Banerjee, citing protocol, pointed out that the state should have been intimated prior to the visit. Information of the central teams visit was allegedly conveyed to the state administration three hours after their arrival. Each party sniffed political motives in the others actions and only after a series of meetings and reassurances of cooperation from both sides did the matter settle amicably. However, a war of words between the chief minister and governor Jagdeep Dhankar on the handling of the virus crisis ensued simultaneously and is still raging. Interestingly, the declaration of several areas in Bengal as hotspots and containment zones too has got Banerjees political rivals raising questions. If there are so few cases in Bengal, why are there so many areas which are danger zones?" asks BJPs Ghosh. The Trinamool Congress has hit back saying that these were precautionary measures. Timely identification and isolation has been Mamatas biggest strength in handling this emergency," explains Dr Om Prakash Mishra, a TMC core committee member. Areas where people have tested positive have been cordoned off and contained so that testing and contact tracing can be localized and conducted more effectively." Every evening these days, Kolkata tunes into television news channels in the hope of good news. Has a treatment been found? Has a vaccine been discovered? Reports of sporadic violations of curfew emerge as TV cameras capture images of callous crowds breaching lockdown even inside some hotspots. Reports of sporadic violence too emerge with images of irate people kicking down doors of ration shops and going on a rampage. Allegations of corruption have surfaced against ration shop owners, who are being accused of hoarding commodities, in collusion with local thugs, and then selling them in the black market. Banerjee has already taken punitive measures against an errant official of the food department. But the ongoing political feud has made it difficult to gauge the veracity of different allegations and counter-allegations. Among the states citizenry, politics and polls seem to be the least important subjects at the moment. Niyoti Mahato, a nurse from Jhargram district, speaking on the phone, says she received at least five hundred rupees in her bank account already". She says she doesnt care who it came from the state or the Centre. But wont it determine who she votes for in the next elections? She snaps, That is too far off for me to even think about now." Bengals people agree that the political fighting is disturbing. Politics does not even cross our minds at this time of crisis. We dont care. We want news that the virus has been defeated," Mahato said. Dola Mitra is a freelance journalist based in Kolkata. ... Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!! Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 02:27:29|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A staff member wearing face mask and face shield works in a supermarket in Rome, Italy, April 22, 2020. (Photo by Elisa Lingria/Xinhua) Italy's total number of confirmed cases -- combining active infections, fatalities and recoveries -- rose to 195,351 on April 25, a daily increase of 2,357 against Friday. ROME, April 25 (Xinhua) -- In another sign of encouragement, Italy reported 415 new deaths related to COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, the smallest daily increase since March 18, fresh figures showed on Saturday. Saturday's number of new deaths was five fewer from Friday's 420, according to figures from the country's Civil Protection Department. It raised the nationwide fatalities to 26,384 since the pandemic broke out in northern Italy earlier this year. A staff member sprays disinfectant in a restaurant in Rome, Italy, April 22, 2020. (Photo by Elisa Lingria/Xinhua) Total active infections stood at 105,847, down by 680 cases compared to the previous day, according to the latest data. This is the sixth consecutive daily drop in the number of active infections in Italy. Of the positive cases, 2,102 are in intensive care (down by 71 patients compared to Friday), 21,533 are hospitalized (down by 535 patients) and the rest, or 77.7 percent, are in isolation at home. There were 2,622 more recoveries compared to Friday, bringing the nationwide total to 63,120. A staff member wearing face mask and face shield works in a supermarket in Rome, Italy, April 22, 2020. (Photo by Elisa Lingria/Xinhua) The total number of confirmed cases -- combining active infections, fatalities and recoveries -- rose to 195,351, a daily increase of 2,357 against Friday. Italy entered into a national lockdown on March 10 to contain the pandemic. The lockdown, which is expected to last until May 3, will be followed by a so-called "Phase Two," which involves "the gradual resumption of social, economic and productive activities," the Italian government has explained. The Dublin Midlands Hospital Group, which includes Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore, and Midlands Louth Meath Community Health Organisation, have extended gratitude to people sticking to Covid-19 restrictions. Mr Trevor OCallaghan, CEO of Dublin Midlands Hospital Group said: The Dublin Midlands Hospital Group would like to acknowledge the great support the community is giving our frontline workers at this time. "While the numbers of cases and deaths are increasing, the national predictive modelling being undertaken by the Department of Health is showing encouraging reduction in the reproduction rates of the virus. "This is very positive for us all to see and testament to people adhering to the guidelines. We can also update you that most Hospitals have had ICU discharges, and this is another encouraging development. However, last week was very difficult for us all locally, following the news of the deaths of two healthcare workers from St Lukes in Kilkenny, the 12 deaths in St Mary's in the Phoenix Park and nine deaths relating to CHO 8 community mental health services in Maryborough on the campus of St Fintans, Portlaoise. "This is deeply sad for the families and the staff who are caring for those residents and I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to all. I would also like to acknowledge the work of the medical and nursing team in the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise who provided clinical assessment to support the clinical teams within Maryborough over a number of days ahead of the bank holiday weekend and who remain available to this service on an ongoing basis. "The activity across Hospital sites is increasing and all sites are seeing increasing non-covid ED activity, while continuing with care of Covid positive illnesses. We are working very closely with our CHO 8 partners who are seeing increasing pressure on their community nursing homes and residential units and we are endeavouring to support our colleagues by providing expert medical and nursing support in the area of Care of the Older Person, Respiratory Medicine, PPE capacity management and Infection Prevention and Control Guidance. "In that regard, we are officially announcing our Covid 19 Acute and Community Support Teams who will provide expert advice and guidance available to nursing homes and residential units in the CHO 8 area. A dedicated email RAFT.MRHT@hse.ie and mobile number 086 035 7351 which is operating Monday-Friday 9am 4pm and weekends 9 am 2pm. A more established model is also working within the CHO7 area South Dublin, Kildare West Wicklow which includes our Hospitals in St James, Tallaght University Hospital and Naas General Hospital. "Our staff are collaboratively working with our community colleagues to respond to these rapidly emerging challenges. All our staff are working long hours, weekends, working in different locations or maybe doing different job roles. These are extraordinary times and we have an extraordinary workforce that are highly regarded across the country as we have seen from the Shine Your Light campaign. Thank you to each and every staff member. "Our Emergency Departments are open 24/7 for people who are seriously ill or injured and if their life is at risk. If you or someone else needs urgent care please do not delay going to the ED. Stroke and heart attacks are life-threatening medical emergencies. If you or someone else is showing signs of a stroke or heart attack, dont wait, call 999. Routine matters should continue to present to their GP or Out of Hours practice in the first instance. You can find a full list of GPs and Out of Hours on www.hse.ie "Please do not delay in seeking urgent medical help, particularly if you have symptoms of stroke or heart attack." The main stroke symptoms can be remembered with the word FAST: Face dropping Arms weakness Speech difficulty Time to act The symptoms of a heart attack can include chest pain, pain in other parts of the body, shortness of breath, nausea, an overwhelming sense of anxiety, feeling light-headed, coughing, vomiting, and or wheezing. If you need medical advice, please call your GP. Pat Bennett, Chief Officer, HSE Midlands, Louth and Meath said, Over the last week, the scale of the challenge that we are facing at the moment has continued to reveal itself. "The announcement by An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, last week that the current lockdown will continue at least until 5th May, after the Bank Holiday Weekend, confirmed just how acute the current crisis is. "All of this underlines once again the importance of the role our frontline workers are fulfilling on behalf of the people of the Midlands Louth Meath. Without these efforts, the situation would be infinitely more challenging. "It has been dispiriting for all of us to see the number of people who have lost their lives over the past weeks. We offer our sincere sympathies to the loved ones of those who have died. We will continue to fight to save as many lives as possible. "The coming weeks will continue to be exceptionally challenging. To suggest otherwise would be to ignore the realities of what is happening around the world, in our country, and in our own area. "The courage and commitment of healthcare workers on the frontline of this crisis all across the Midlands Louth Meath is something that is truly inspirational. You are part of this frontline and it is something that you can be so proud of. "I want to again thank our frontline workers for everything they are doing across all our services in the Midlands Louth Meath. In whatever role you are working in across our organisation, what you are doing is essential to our collective efforts. This is deserving of immense gratitude. For further information on Covid 19, testing, cocooning and minding your mental health during Covid 19 please visit: www.hse.ie. Yemen's main southern separatist group announced early on Sunday it would establish self-rule in areas under its control, which the Saudi-backed government warned would have "catastrophic consequences". The move threatens to renew conflict between the UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) and the Saudi-backed government, nominal allies in Yemen's war, even as the United Nations is trying to secure a nationwide truce to confront the novel coronavirus. The STC deployed its forces on Sunday in Aden, the southern port which is the interim seat of the government ousted from the capital, Sanaa, by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement. Reuters journalists saw STC fighters in a column of pickup trucks and military vehicles riding down a main street in Aden. The STC is one of the main groups fighting against the Houthis as part of a coalition led by Saudi Arabia. But the separatists, long backed by Saudi coalition partner the United Arab Emirates, have clashed with government forces in the past. In a statement, the STC announced emergency rule in Aden and all southern governorates, saying it would take control of Aden's port and airport and other state institutions such as the central bank. The Saudi-backed government and southern regions of Shabwa, Hadhramout and Socotra, among the few areas under coalition control, issued separate statements rejecting the declaration. Yemen's Foreign Minister Mohammed Al-Hadhrami said the STC announcement constituted "a resumption of its armed insurgency" and a "rejection and complete withdrawal from the Riyadh agreement", a deal which ended a previous stand-off between the separatists and the government last year. The STC "will bear alone the dangerous and catastrophic consequences for such an announcement", he said in a statement. STC Vice-President Hani Ali Brik accused the government of hampering the agreement. In a Twitter post, he reiterated accusations against Hadi's government of mismanagement and corruption, charges it denies. CORONAVIRUS CEASEFIRE Yemen has been mired in violence since the Houthis ousted Hadi's government from power in Sanaa in late 2014, prompting the Saudi-led coalition to intervene. The conflict, seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, has been in a military stalemate for years. The Houthis still hold most major cities despite fighting that has killed more than 100,000 people. The war has choked supply lines in the poorest Arabian peninsula nation, leaving millions of people on the brink of famine and dependent on international aid. The Saudi-led coalition has announced a unilateral ceasefire prompted by a U.N. plea to focus on the coronavirus pandemic. It extended the ceasefire on Friday for a month, but the Houthis have not accepted the truce and violence has continued. While Yemen has reported only one confirmed case of the novel coronavirus, aid groups fear a catastrophic outbreak should it spread among a malnourished population in a country with a shattered health system and little testing. The United Nations is trying to convene virtual talks to forge a permanent truce, coordinate coronavirus efforts and agree on humanitarian and economic confidence-building measures to restart peace negotiations stalled since late 2018. The STC, which has said it wants to be included in any political negotiations, in January pulled out of committees implementing the Riyadh deal. The UAE, which like the STC opposes the Islamist Islah party that forms the backbone of Hadi's government, largely scaled down its presence in the war last year, but retains influence through the thousands of southern fighters it backs. Search Keywords: Short link: As doctors grapple with Covid-19 cases, an added concern is that about 80% of people infected by the coronavirus in Rajasthan are asymptomatic, posing a risk to vulnerable groups and increasing the possibility of a silent spread. Doctors in the state said as the Sars-Cov2 virus infects more and more people, a majority are not showing symptoms of the disease but are becoming carriers who can potentially spread the virus among more sections of society. Approximately 80% of the cases being reported in the state are asymptomatic, KK Sharma, director, public health, said. Coronavirus outbreak: Full coverage Asymptomatic persons are those who probably have a mild form of the disease but dont show any symptoms. These people become carriers and pose a risk to vulnerable groups such as those who are above 60 years of age and whose immunity is low, those who have cancer or heart, lung, kidney and liver disease, or immune deficiency or those on steroids. As the nationwide lockdown eases and the movement of people resumes, these spreaders will make it tough to contain the virus. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said last week that 69% of Covid-19 patients in India who were tested did not show symptoms of the infection, even as the Union health ministry said that the trend of cases worldwide showed about 80% of the patients had mild or very mild symptoms. Doctors said the only strategy is aggressive mass testing and following preventive guidelines. S Banerjee, head of the medicine department at SMS Hospital in Jaipur, said asymptomatic cases present a threat to vulnerable sections and the only workable strategy is aggressive testing. If we dont test and contain the spread of the virus, then it can lead to the third stage of community transmission, he said. Community transmission occurs when the source of the disease is untraceable and the virus is spread through a large number of people. Virendra Singh, pulmonologist and a member of the Rajasthan chief ministers advisory committee on Covid-19, said while asymptomatic cases can become carriers, the positive aspect is that it shows a milder form of the disease is emerging from which people are recovering without need for treatment. In Rajasthan, six districts which have more than 100 cases each are a cause of concern for authorities. Several areas in these districts have become hot spots from where the disease has spread among a larger population, most of whom are now asymptomatic. The six districts are Jaipur (799 cases), Jodhpur (341 cases), Tonk (115 cases), Kota (152 cases), Bharatpur (109 cases) and Ajmer (123 cases). In Jaipur, doctors said around 80% of cases are asymptomatic. The disease initially spread from a person who returned from Oman to the congested Ramganj neighbourhood in the city, and some Tablighi Jamaat members who came back from a religious congregation in New Delhi. Social distancing was not followed and the disease spread rapidly. The state health department has adopted a strategy of aggressive sampling in these hot spots to identify cases and contain the spread of the Coronavirus. However, doctors said it is impossible to test everyone given the limited manpower and resources. Tonks chief medical health officer (CMHO) Ashok Yadav said of the 115 cases in the district, 114 are asymptomatic. He said initially some Tablighi Jamaat members hid their travel history and didnt come forward for tests, which led to a chain of infections. He said authorities are doing mass sampling in hot spot clusters to identify positive cases and to stop the spread of the virus. Similarly, Bharatpurs CMHO Kaptan Singh said of the 109 cases, all but two are asymptomatic. He said initially some of those who found positive didnt cooperate with authorities and hid in their homes, which led to others getting infected. Kotas CMHO BS Tanwar said of the 152 cases, around 150 are asymptomatic. He too said people had initially hidden their travel history and offered prayers in congregations, spreading the infection to others. However, he said people are now aware and are informing authorities if any person comes from outside the area or locality. Jodhpurs CMHO Balwant Manda said around 80% of cases being reported are asymptomatic. He said there is fear of community spread through the super-spreaders. We are testing aggressively in hot spots to identify such super-spreaders and we urge people to cooperate and get themselves tested, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Ugandan military dictator Gen. Yoweri Museveni is using the coronavirus lockdown to mask brutal attacks against artists, intellectuals, and opposition leaders with his latest victim being a member of Parliament named Francis Zaake who reportedly remains in grave condition in a hospital in the capital after apparent torture by the secret police. Zaake was arrested April 19 in his Buswabulongo, Mityana Municipality in Mityana District. Zaake, responding to desperate pleas from his starving constituents, had been distributing free rice and sugar to them. He was arrested by the dictator who doesnt want any independent relief efforts believing they would distract publicity from himself. Critics compare him to U.S. President Donald Trump who also seethes when other people play a role in the fight against cover-19 the coronavirus. The police say by distributing food, Zaake defied the lockdown imposed by Gen. Museveni, thereby threatening the lives of Ugandans. He has been charged with attempted murder. Yet, there are reports of Ugandans dying of hunger while confined at home. About 75% of the population live hand-to-mouth on about $2 per day average. On the other hand Gen. Museveni is playing politics with covid-19. Pro-regime members if parliament like Haruna Kasolo and Hanifa Kawooya, and a government minister, Rosemary Sseninde, all distributed free food without being arrested or tortured. Zaake is at Iran Friendship Hospital in Kampala, the capital. Apart from his wife Bridget Namirembe, no other person has been allowed access to his room. She was forced to surrender her phone before entering his room. The Director of Police Medical Services, Dr. Moses Byaruhanga who was part of a team that reportedly examined Zaake rejected reports about his condition. "He is very conscious, he can talk, he can sit up, he is generally okay," Dr. Byaruhanga said, when contacted. Before his arrest Zaake posted this statement on social media: "I have been clandestinely giving out relief food items to my constitiuents, this, I will not stop doing..." Later, he posted, "The tormentors have broken into my home, they are breaking every door of my house searching to arrest me for the crime of sharing food with the starving people. Sad!" He also posted an image of two soldiers in uniform entering through a door of his house. Gen. Museveni has been in office since 1986, when he seized power. The latest country report by the U.S. State Department highlights the unprecedented levels of human rights abuses, including state sanctioned murders, arbitrary arrests, and tortures. The dictators latest clampdown began when he first announced a national lockdown when the Covid-19 outbreak reached Uganda. But the country has no social safety nets and there are reports of people starving to death while confined at home. Abdallah Kiwanuka, a prominent lawyer was also arrested for distributing food to starving Ugandans. Zaake represents an additional threat to Ugandas military ruler because he is in his 30s and aligned with Bobi Wine who has become the voice of the People Power Movement in Uganda. The dictator faces election next year and its widely believed he will be easily defeated, even though he could refuse to yield power as he did after his apparent defeat in 2016. Over 80% of the population is under the age of 36, giving People Power overhwleming advantage. Gen. Museveni is believed to be aged between 75 and 80. The dictator first arrested and tortured Zaake, Bobi Wine, and other leaders of the youthful opposition in 2018. Now once again, Zaake has been victim of apparent torture, according to sources in Uganda. ( https://www.blackstarnews.com/global-politics/africa/covid-19-zaake-ugandan-opposition-figure-tortured-by-gen- ) Malayalam filmmaker Kamal has been accused of sexual harassment by an actor. He has called the allegations baseless, adding that it is all a propaganda against him. Kamals recent outing was Manju Warriers Aami and he is also the chairman of Kerala State Chalchitra Academy. As per reports, the young Malayalam actor has claimed that Kamal had sought sexual favours from her in return for the lead role in his next film - Pranaya Meenukalude Kadal. She also added that the incident took place during the shoot of Aami that hit theatres in 2018. Also read: Kanika Kapoor shares her truth on coronavirus diagnosis, receiving hate: Negativity thrown at a person does not change reality A report in The Times of India quoted Kamal as saying, This is a baseless allegation. It is true that I had received a legal notice, a year ago. When I contacted my advocate, he said since it was a false allegation, I needed to wait for follow-up action from the other party. That did not happen and so I ignored it. Kamal added that all this is planned propaganda against him and told the daily, I suspect a former employee of Chalachitra Academy is behind bringing this up now. He had quit his position due to some internal conflicts. Only my advocate and the former employee knew about the legal notice that was received a year ago. However, I do not have enough evidence to prove that he is behind it, at the moment. A Pinkvilla report quoted the complainant as saying, I was also sexually abused on the side-lines of the shoot of the film Aami, directed by him. He took me to a flat and abused me. Kamal has betrayed my trust in him and he is a wolf in sheeps clothing. I was also abused at his official residence, the actor alleged in her complaint. As per a Filmibeat report, a legal notice was sent to director Kamal on April 26. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 16:30:46|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close - Health workers around the world are working long hours and some have even lost their lives on the front lines of the battle against the coronavirus; - Medical staff have made important contributions to curbing the pandemic, and they are "the most beautiful angels" and "messengers of light and hope"; - Guided by the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, China has been more than ready to share its good practices and provide assistance in its capacity to countries hit by the pandemic. BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- "My babies are too young to read it now. And they'd barely recognize me in my gear. But if they lose me to COVID I want them to know Mommy tried really hard to do her job," Cornelia Griggs, a New York pediatric surgeon, wrote in an emotional post to her toddlers in March. A mother on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic, Griggs is using her sacrifice and courage as a powerful teaching moment for her children. The viral tweet received about 103,000 retweets and 530,000 likes within 24 hours. According to the latest figure of Johns Hopkins University, coronavirus infections have risen to nearly 2.9 million worldwide along with more than 200,000 deaths. Griggs, along with thousands of fearless medical workers across the world, has been putting up an arduous and brave fight against COVID-19, trying to turn the tide on the pandemic which knows no borders and recognizes no races. Many are working long hours, with their own lives upended by the unprecedented health crisis; some have volunteered to help out without any second thoughts; some have even lost their lives on the front lines of the battle against the coronavirus. A medical staff member takes samples of a child at a COVID-19 testing point in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, April 15, 2020. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua) GREAT SACRIFICE Roberto Stella, a general practitioner aged 67, died on March 11, the first of many doctors to succumb to the coronavirus in Italy. He lived in Busto Arsizio in Lombardy, an Italian region that has been hit particularly hard by the outbreak, and had planned to step down from his job as a doctor and president of the Order of Physicians in Varese, a city just north of Milan, at the end of this year. Stella was among the first to urge the government to pay attention to the inadequate personal protective equipment for healthcare staff. He asked his medical staff to be careful and press on with their work when they had run out of face masks and gloves. He was a true doctor who worked hard until the end, said Alessandro Colombo, a colleague and friend of Stella. Medical staff work in the ICU of Istituto Clinico Casalpalocco in Rome, Italy, March 25, 2020. (Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua) "His death got the attention of Italian doctors ... It made doctors realize that the coronavirus was something to be taken seriously," Angelo Testa, president of the National Union of Independent Doctors, told Xinhua. The coronavirus has claimed more than 26,000 lives in Italy, one of Europe's worst-affected countries. A total of 144 medical workers have died of the coronavirus in Italy to date, according to doctors' associations and unions. About 17,000 health care workers have been infected, more than two-thirds of whom are women, according to the country's public health institute. Also in Europe, Serbian doctors observed a minute of silence on April 15 to mourn Miodrag Lazic, a famous surgeon who had died from an infection related to the coronavirus. Lazic, 65, director of the Emergency Center in the City of Nis, had been on a ventilator because his condition was serious. Members of Chinese medical expert team to Serbia visit a clinic in Belgrade, Serbia, April 11, 2020. (Chinese medical expert team to Serbia/Handout via Xinhua) The Municipality of East Sarajevo fulfilled his last wish by playing the Serbian military song "March on the Drina" to honor their beloved doctor. Lazic was "on the front line, until the very end ... until the moment when he found out that he himself had contracted the virus that, for months, had been relentlessly taking people's lives," said a statement issued by the Clinical Center of Nis. "A man who was honorable, courageous and proud, side by side, on the front lines, stood by the Serbian army, in all the wars that struck our country and our people. A man, a doctor, a soldier who saved more than 1,000 lives on the battlefield," the statement added. The specialist in surgery was a volunteer during the wars in former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, and had written a book entitled "The Diary of a War Surgeon." So far, Serbia has reported 6,630 cases with 125 deaths, with the country being in a state of emergency since March 16. Photo taken on April 1, 2020 shows a ward of the upgraded Wilkins Hospital in Harare, Zimbabwe. (Photo by Wanda/Xinhua) FORGING AHEAD Across the Mediterranean, Soman Mudariki, who works at Wilkins Hospital in Harare, is among Zimbabwe's frontline medical workers who are risking their lives to care for the sick. Two weeks after the coronavirus pandemic reached the landlocked country in southern Africa, Mudariki tested four confirmed cases. He said never before has his family been as worried about his safety at work. "My son and daughter are not at ease. They keep asking questions and want to understand how dangerous coronavirus really is," Mudariki said, adding that his family has remained a strong pillar of support. A medical worker of a test station takes samples of a woman for COVID-19 infection test in Johannesburg, South Africa, April 3, 2020. (Photo by Shiraaz/Xinhua) After reporting its first case on March 20, Zimbabwe has recorded 31 cases to date. The government has extended the country's lockdown by a further two weeks to May 3. With the virus not sparing anyone in its path, Mudariki knows the importance of medical workers being properly equipped when tending to patients. "It is a hot zone that we are working in and it requires a meticulous process, from donning, doffing, to testing patients. The process needs to be thorough to make sure you do not carry the virus to other patients or workmates," said Mudariki. Nurses are also exposed to these risks. Among them is Cynthia Shatei, leader of the Zimbabwe Young Nurses' Association. Medical workers take care of COVID-19 patients at a hospital in Barcelona, Spain, April 7, 2020. (Photo by Francisco Avia/Xinhua) "We value the sanctity of human life, but at times we fear for our dear life because the monster (COVID-19) is real. We believe that nursing is a calling, so we had to step in as nurses," she told the state-run Sunday Mail newspaper. Shatei said her efforts against the virus were motivated by patriotism, while the disease needs to be confronted head-on for the common good. Medical staff have made important contributions to curbing the pandemic and they are "the most beautiful angels" and "messengers of light and hope," said Chinese President Xi Jinping, while inspecting the command center of Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan, the once hardest-hit central Chinese city. At a media briefing on COVID-19 earlier this month, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), called nurses and midwives "the backbone of every health system" and asked everyone to protect themselves. Staff unload the medical supplies from China at the airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, March 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Shoubao) UNITED FRONT As coronavirus infections surged across Ethiopia and the African continent, a 12-member Chinese medical team arrived in Ethiopia's capital of Addis Ababa on Thursday, bringing with it urgent medical supplies, including protective equipment and traditional Chinese medicine. Noting that Africa is experiencing an upward trend in new cases, Zeng Zhiyong, a team member who specializes in infection control, said that "now is the moment to effectively contain the spread of the virus before its further spread." Africa registered a 43-percent jump in reported cases last week, highlighting a warning from the WHO that the continent of 1.3 billion could become the next epicenter of the global pandemic. The team will share its experiences and give local hospitals advice on coronavirus prevention and control, said Zeng, who is also head of the infection control department at the West China Hospital of Sichuan University. National Health Service (NHS) staff members applaud outside the Royal Liverpool University Hospital during the weekly "Clap for Our Carers" campaign in Liverpool, Britain, April 23, 2020. (Photo by Jon Super/Xinhua) "The highly trained experts and professionals who have been active in COVID-19 response in China and with frontline experience came here along with support from the Chinese government," said Ethiopian Minister of Health Lia Tadesse. Guided by the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, China has been more than ready to share its good practices and provide assistance in its capacity to countries hit by the pandemic, Xi said at the Extraordinary G20 Leaders' Summit in March. China is continuing to provide supplies to 127 countries and four international organizations, and has sent expert teams to 15 countries, Ma Xiaowei, minister in charge of the National Health Commission, said last week. A message of thanks for healthcare workers is displayed on the window of the Brooklyn Hospital Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York, the United States, April 24, 2020. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua) "It is a precious gesture of brotherhood and togetherness demonstrated by the Chinese government in general and the 12 medical professionals in particular," said Mahlet Dinku, an Ethiopian medical science student. According to China's National Health Commission, there are some 1,000 Chinese medical personnel working in Africa, tasked with helping local health organizations contain the coronavirus. The frontline medical workers have taken on the most arduous missions and they are "the most admirable people in the new era" who deserve the highest commendations, Xi said. (Xinhua reporters Xu Yongchun and Tang Ji in Paris, Hao Yalin in Sydney, Yuan Yun in Valletta, and Wen Xinnian in Lisbon also contributed to the story.) (Video reporters: Ji Li, Feng Junwei, Yu Shuaishuai, Xia Peng, Liu Ruijuan, Zhao Yuchao; Video editor: Zhu Cong) A coronavirus tracking app has suggested the disease arrived in the UK in January, well before the first cases were detected. COVID Symptom tracker, designed by scientists at King's College London, asks its 2.6million users to report their symptoms daily, even if they are well, in order to map the disease's spread. Hundreds of contributors have, however, also admitted to suffering from Covid-like symptoms soon after the new year with a few even saying they thought they had the disease in late December, the Professor Genetic Epidemiology at King's and scientist working on the app, Tim Spector, has said. Although the cases are untested, the reports suggest the virus gained a foothold in the UK long before the first case was identified on British soil on January 31, when two Chinese people in York tested positive for the virus. The app's data has also suggested that the lockdown measures have worked, with estimated cases dropping by more than 80 per cent to 354,690 today since a peak of 2.1million on April 1. It is hoped that technology including apps such as this will allow the UK to return to a semblance of normality. NHSX, the health service's 'digital transformation' arm, is working on its own contact tracing app that will alert users when they have been near an individual who has later presented symptoms of the disease. The app will need 60 per cent of the population - or 40 million people - to download it in order to be effective. It will reportedly be available 'within weeks'. The app has estimated there are 354,690 cases of coronavirus in the UK today, based on data from 2.6 million users, a drop of more than 80 per cent from April 1 At the height of the outbreak the app estimates there were more than two million cases in the UK. The government's coronavirus figure has not risen above 148,377. The graph does not display data from January as the team did not start collecting daily data until late March. Some respondents have told the researchers through the app that they had symptoms in January After the lockdown began on March 23 the outbreak peaked on April 1, according to the app Since then UK cases have been in freefall and dropped by more than 80 per cent, suggesting the government's social distancing programme has been highly effective Professor Tim Spector, at King's College London, said 'hundreds' of users have reported suffering from Covid-like symptoms in early January and a few in December Prof Spector told the Sunday Times: 'The reports I am getting are from people who were ill from early January onwards and strongly suggest they had Covid-19 but were not recognised as such.' 'What's impressive is the sheer volume of the reports. We're getting hundreds of people using our app telling us that they developed something soon after the new year.' Britain's official coronavirus case count did not rise above 100 until March 6, and did not reach 1,000 until March 14. The current case count is at 148,377, well below the app's estimate of 354,690. Users are asked to report their condition to the app, developed by London-based firm ZOE Global, every day. They are first asked whether they have had a test for Covid-19, followed by whether they are feeling unwell. Those that say they don't feel quite right are asked to enter their symptoms including fever, cough, headache, shortness of breath, sore throat, loss of smell and hoarse voice. The data gathered, which includes geographical location, is then analysed to produce an estimate of the number of coronavirus cases in the UK. It has identified four hotspots for the virus in Pendle and Hyndburn, Lancaster, Nuneaton, outside Coventry, and Blaenau Gwent, Wales, where it estimates two to three per cent of inhabitants have the virus. No hotspots have been identified in London, at the epicentre of the UK's outbreak. The research is backed by the Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Surgeons alongside other medicinal bodies. NHS Scotland and NHS Wales have also endorsed the app, but NHS England has not. It is thought they are holding back in order to endorse NHSX's app when it is released in a matter of weeks. The app estimates the number of coronavirus sufferers peaked on April 1 before declining significantly during lockdown The COVID Symptom Tracker works by taking people through a questionnaire about how they are feeling and whether they have the typical symptoms of coronavirus Between April 12 and April 19 the app used its data to predict at least one per cent of inhabitants in most areas of the UK were suffering from coronavirus How to use Covid-19 symptom tracker More than 2.6 million people have signed up to the Covid-19 symptom tracker to report whether they are unwell, and what symptoms they are suffering. The app asks users to enter whether they've had a coronavirus test and whether they are unwell on a daily basis. The data is then used to map the spread of coronavirus in the UK and how the outbreak has changed during lockdown. The more people submitting information, the more accurate the data is. The app has been endorsed by NHS Scotland, NHS Wales and a number of medical colleges. You can learn how to download the app here. Advertisement The research means people who believed they had the disease in January but were never tested could have been correct. Daren Bland, 50, from Maresfield, East Sussex, who visited the Ischgl resort in Austria from January 15 to 19. He is understood to have joined three friends for a holiday on the slopes before contracting Covid-19 and bringing it home to his wife and children. The ski resort has been dubbed a 'breeding ground' for coronavirus in Germany after it was connected to hundreds of cases identified in Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Austria and Germany. British businessman Steve Walsh caught the virus between January 20 to 23 at a conference in Grand Hyatt, Singapore, before returning to the UK and unknowingly spreading it to at least 11 other Britons. Many others have also reported experiencing Covid-like symptoms, but their cases were never confirmed due to a limited testing capacity in the UK. A study from Oxford University published last month claimed the virus was spreading in the UK for a month before it was first identified. Scientists modelled coronavirus cases to estimate that it was spreading in the UK by mid-January at the latest. There were about 17 direct flights between Wuhan and the UK between the new year and January 24 alone, alongside many to and from Italy. An Italian study has estimated coronavirus was circulating in Lombardy more than a month before it was officially identified on February 21 in Codogno. The data suggests patients such as Daren Bland, 50, from East Sussex, should be counted among the earliest coronavirus cases. He suffered coronavirus-like symptoms following a trip from January 15 to 19. Steve Walsh caught the virus in Singapore between January 20 to 23 The number of deaths from coronavirus in the UK increased by 813 yesterday, the sixth highest daily increase since the pandemic began. The number of infections rose by 4,913 Authorities have been looking at ways to harness technology in order to get the UK back to work. NHSX has been working on a contact tracing app that will alert users when they have been near someone that has developed symptoms of coronavirus. It will ask them to isolate, and later alert the individual if the person they have been near has tested positive. All the information is anonymous. NHSX has been working on the app, that uses bluetooth, alongside Google and Apple, which run the two main smartphone operating systems. Matt Hancock said at the Downing Street news conference on April 12: 'If you become unwell with the symptoms of coronavirus you can securely tell this new NHS app and the app will then send an alert anonymously to other app users that you've been in significant contact with over the past few days, even before (they) have symptoms so that they know and can act accordingly. 'All data will be handled according to the highest ethical and security standards and would only be used for NHS care and research and we won't hold it any longer than it's needed.' The app was tested at an RAF base in North Yorkshire this week, ahead of its expected roll out to the public. An NHS contact-tracing app would only completely stop the spread of coronavirus if 80 per cent of current smartphone owners use it, researchers have warned The UK government has continued to race to meet its coronavirus testing target of 100,000 today, as it faces ever louder calls to announce a plan to end the lockdown. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to return to Downing Street on Monday following a two week break at Chequers to recover from the virus. He spent a week in Guys and St Thomas' Hospital, London, and three days in intensive care fighting off the disease. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab rejected calls for an earlier easing of the coronavirus lockdown today, stressing the government aimed to move cautiously to avoid a second wave. He has refused to reveal details of how the UK will exit lockdown, despite the Welsh and Scottish ministers publishing their strategies. Nicola Sturgeon has hinted that Scotland may lift its lockdown at a different pace to the rest of the UK. It has also been announced that the UK will begin asking new arrivals to quarantine for 14 days, after letting at least 15,000 people in every week without checks. Contact tracing app to be released in weeks could prevent one Covid-19 infection for every one or two who download it says Oxford University professor A contact tracing app could prevent one Covid-19 infection for every one to two users who download it, an expert advising the government has said. Professor Christophe Fraser, from Oxford University's Big Data Institute, heaped praise on the app but said 60 per cent of the UK population - or 40 million people - would need to download it for it to prove effective. NHSX has been working with Google and Apple to develop the phone app, which should be available 'within weeks'. It was tested at an RAF base in North Yorkshire this week. The app could hold the key to bringing the UK out of lockdown and back to normality. Professor Christophe Fraser, from Oxford University's Big Data Institute, said 60 per cent of the UK population will need to sign up to the app for it to prove effective. Matt Hancock has supported the app's roll out Professor Fraser pictured speaking about the app on the Andrew Marr show today HOW WOULD AN NHS CONTACT-TRACING APP WORK? According to the researchers, the app being developed by NHSX would likely work as follows: Users install the app on their smartphones. The app logs every time the device comes into close proximity of another app user's phone. Users exhibiting coronavirus symptoms self-report on the app. The app tells these users to self-isolate, along with their household. It also notifies any other users logged as having recently come into contact with them/ These users also isolate, along with their households, and so on. Advertisement Prof Fraser told BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show that traditional contact tracing methods would not be as effective as the NHS app. 'We found that when we projected over the next three months, for every one to two users who download the app and who adhere to instructions, you'll prevent one infection,' he said. 'For this intervention alone to stop resurgence of the epidemic, about 60% of the population would have to use the app. 'Now that number may be a bit smaller if there are other interventions going on, which we hope there will be, social distancing, large community testing, and indeed manual contact tracing.' Prof Fraser said the app addresses the problem that around 50 per cent of transmissions occur before a person shows symptoms - calling it a 'very rapidly transmitted virus'. He said: 'The app is solving a specific problem, which is how do you get the message that you're at risk and empower you to take measures to protect your friends, your family, your colleagues and the people you have been in contact with.' Experts are aiming to release the NHS app 'within weeks', he told the programme, while a configuration is being developed for healthcare staff who could be exposed to Covid-19 whilst at work. Asked if he thought pursuing a contact tracing app earlier could have saved lives, Prof Fraser said: 'I think so. I worked on the SARS epidemic in 2003 and testing and tracing is really a cornerstone of how you stop a serious infection. 'And I do think that strategy scaled up is tremendously effective.' Nevertheless, the app coupled with social distancing efforts would still help to slow the spread of COVID-19 and put off a second lockdown period. In fact, the team predicts that a contact-tracing app could 'prevent approximately one infection for every one or two users of the app' An NHS contact-tracing app would only completely stop the spread of coronavirus if 60 per cent of current smartphone owners use it, researchers have warned He estimated that between 3 per cent and 10 per cent of the population could now have had the disease. 'There's uncertainty around this but I would say nationally, somewhere between sort of three and maybe up to 10 per cent of the population would have had coronavirus by this stage,' he said. 'We're still waiting for the definitive studies based on immunological assays, but this is based on our understanding base of the spread of coronavirus.' Asked if it could be 'several million people, up to six million', he replied: 'That kind of figure - probably a bit less.' A 52-year-old head constable of Mumbai Police has died due to coronavirus infection, the city police said on Sunday. The victim had been fighting coronavirus for the past few days, the Mumbai Police said in a tweet. This is the second case of a police personnel's death due to the viral disease in Maharashtra in two days. Earlier, a 57-year-old police constable, who had been diagnosed with COVID-19, died at a private hospital in Mumbai on Saturday. The constable was attached to a police station in western suburbs. He lived in Worli Naka area of south Mumbai. A total of 96 police personnel, including 15 officers, tested positive for coronavirus in Maharashtra till Saturday, officials earlier said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Apart from Aarogya Setu, the Centre and state governments are using at least 28 mobile applications to tackle the covid-19 pandemic. (Representative Image | AFP) Hyderabad: There has been an explosion of mobile apps since the covid-19 crisis began in the country. Apart from Aarogya Setu, the Centre and state governments are using at least 28 mobile applications to tackle the covid-19 pandemic. These apps have varied purposes some disseminate information on cases, deaths and so on to users while others are used by officials to track people under quarantine. There is one common aspect to all of them: None of them is open-sourced. One of the most famous apps is the Centres Aarogya Setu, which collects users Bluetooth and location data to track their whereabouts and alert them if they come in contact with a covid-19 positive patient. The app, which has been controversial given privacy concerns, has been downloaded by over 7.5 crore people. Open source software (OSS) is often preferred for public utilities since they allow for transparency. Users can access the code and know exactly what the product is supposed to do with their data. In 2015, the Centre had released the Policy on Adoption of Open Source Software for Government of India, which required it to encourage the use of such software in all government institutions. The Software Law Freedom Centre (SFLC), in a report, analysed these covid apps on privacy, terms of conditions and permissions required. The report noted that many of the apps did not even have terms of service or privacy policy documents like West Bengals covid-19 West Bengal Government and Arunachal Pradeshs COVID CARE. Though many apps had privacy policies, they were cookie-cutter documents created out of an automated tool. [These auto-generated documents] lack clauses that cover important aspects such as data retention and purpose limitation for the processing of data collected, the SFLC report read. Perhaps most of these answers could be found through an OSS model. Prashanth Sugathan, volunteer legal director at SFLC, said that OSS would allow the developer community to study the code and point out vulnerabilities. Another advantage is that such software products are reusable. If two states have the same requirement from a software, they can use the same app. This would allow for better cooperation, he said. He added that having an OSS would improve the trust the general public has in it. Ranjith Raj, a Hyderabad-based security researcher and member of Sweccha, a group that promotes the use of OSS, said it was essential for government apps to be opensource. The privacy of an app is impossible to review without the source code being available. We cant be sure about whats being tracked, and whats secure. While the governments assure us the apps are not surveillance tools, keeping the source code hidden leaves much to be desired, he said. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. The number of hospitalised COVID-19 patients in China's Wuhan, where the virus first emerged before turning out to be a pandemic, on Sunday dropped to zero for the first time, marking yet another milestone for the city which was opened up on April 8 after a 76-day lockdown. The result has been achieved with the hard efforts of medical workers in Wuhan and those who were dispatched to assist the city in the fight against the virus from across the country, said Mi Feng, a spokesperson for China's National Health Commission (NHC). The last patient in Wuhan was cured on Friday, reducing the number of coronavirus patients in the city to zero, Mi said, state-run Xinhua agency reported. The health commission of Hubei province, whose capital is Wuhan, said that no new confirmed cases or new deaths due to COVID-19 were reported on Satuday. It said that 11 coronavirus patients were discharged from hospital after recovery in Wuhan. Hubei has so far reported 68,128 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 50,333 in Wuhan. Hubei and Wuhan were in the thick of the coronavirus outbreak since early January this year, bearing the brunt of it. China officially said that the coronavirus was noticed in late December in Wuhan but announced severe measures like the lockdown of 56 million-strong province from January 23, which drew criticism from the US and other countries that it acted late, leading to its spread globally. There was a controversy about whether the virus, with the ability to transmit from human-to-human, emerged from the Huanan Seafood Market of Wuhan or escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) as alleged by the US. China has said that the coronavirus origin is a matter of science and it should be left to science and medical community to reach a conclusion. China also revised the death toll in Wuhan by 50 per cent amidst criticism that it is underreporting the cases. Local municipal authority said as of April 16, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Wuhan was increased by 325 to 50,333 and the number of fatalities up by 1,290 to 3,869. The revised figure raised China's overall COVID-19 death toll to 4,632. The total number of cases as of Thursday stood at 82,692. Chinese Foreign Ministry officials said the revision was due to some late reports, omissions and inaccurate information in the initial stages. Officials said that over five million residents of Wuhan travelled out before the lockdown to avail the Chinese New Year holidays starting from January 24 which was cited as a possible reason for the spread of the virus in China and the world. China has highlighted the strong measures it has taken in Hubei like prolonged lockdown besides building 14 temporary hospitals and deployment of 42,000 medical personnel to contain the virus. The lockdown was lifted on April 8 after the virus cases abated. The 11 million-strong Wuhan city has not yet become fully normal due to the steady increase in asymptomatic cases. By the end of Saturday, the province had 572 asymptomatic cases under medical observation, after 19 new such cases were reported on Saturday, the local health commission reported on Sunday. Asymptomatic cases refer to the people who test positive for the coronavirus but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. They are infectious and pose a risk of spreading the virus to others. More than 200,000 people globally have died of the new coronavirus, including more than 50,000 in the US. It has infected nearly three million people across the world. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 96% of 3,277 inmates in state prison systems in Arkansas, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia who tested positive for the coronavirus did not show symptoms, Reuters reports. Why it matters: The findings suggest that asymptomatic patients could be contributing to the spread of the virus at a far higher level than suspected, especially in prisons, which have proven to be a breeding ground for COVID-19 in the U.S. This is especially noteworthy because health officials have prioritized testing and surveillance for people that show symptoms. 4,693 total tests were conducted. It adds to the understanding that we have a severe undercount of cases in the U.S., Leana Wen, adjunct associate professor of emergency medicine at George Washington University, told Reuters. The big picture: Two prisons Marion Correctional Institute in Ohio and Chicago's Cook County jail are among the largest known sources of coronavirus infections in the U.S. At Marion, close to 95% of the 2,028 inmates who tested positive for the virus were asymptomatic, according to Reuters. Go deeper: Coronavirus behind bars A group of Nigerian lawyers have filed a class action suit against China, following the adverse effect of the Coronavirus pandemic on Nigerians. The lawyers who are demanding $200 billion as damages for the loss of lives, economic strangulation, trauma, hardship, social disorientation, mental torture and disruption of normal daily existence of people in Nigeria", said they have concluded pleadings for the class action against the Chinese government. The lead counsel, Prof. Epiphany Azinge (SAN) who is a former Director-General of the Nigeria Institute of Legal Studies (NIALS) and a current member of the Commonwealth Arbitral Tribunal London, representing Nigeria and Africa, disclosed they've planned a two phase line of action. Azinge said; The team of legal experts planned a two phase line of action-: first is with the federal high court of Nigeria and secondly to persuade the government of Federal Republic of Nigeria to institute a state action against the Peoples Republic of China at the International Court of Justice at the Hague The legal experts will be claiming damages to the tune of 200billion dollars the Chinese Government will be served through its Embassy in Nigeria. Source: thenewsguru.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Srinagar: At least four terrorists were killed and a jawan was injured during an encounter with security forces in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday (April 26). The identities of the slain terrorists are currently being ascertained. The jawan received a minor injury in his leg and is getting treated. As a precautionary measure, the authorities have suspended mobile internet in the district. "#KulgamEncounterUpdate: 02 more #militants killed. Operation still going on. Further details shall follow, " the police said on Twitter. According to the police, terrorists opened fire at a joint team of Army's 9 Rashtriya Rifles (Rajputana Rifles), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Kulgam police, leading to a retaliation from the forces. Earlier, the police said that at least two-three terrorists were believed to be trapped in the area. The area has been cordoned off and further details are awaited. This is the third encounter since April 24 in south Kashmir. The development comes a day after two terrorists were killed by security forces at Goripora village of Awantipora in south Kashmir's Pulwama district. On April 24 evening, two terrorists were killed by the forces and a policeman abducted by them was rescued in Anantnag South Kashmir. Earlier in the day, field intelligence units of the Army coupled with inputs comprising HUMINT (human intelligence) and TECHINT (technical intelligence) indicated that around 300 terrorists are reported to be waiting across the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to sneak into Kashmir Valley. As many as 16 launch pads along the LoC had been activated in the recent weeks by the Pakistan Army and its external snooping agency ISI which included those located in difficult terrains like Nowshera and Chhamb from where the terrorists are known to enter the Gulmarg area of north Kashmir. The launch pads like Dumail, Sardari and Dhakki, which are normally activated in late summer, had also witnessed the presence of terror groups this time, an Army officials told PTI. A Safeway employee who works at the grocery chains King City store has tested positive for Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The employee last worked in the store, at 15570 S.W. Pacific Highway, on Wednesday. Company spokeswoman Jill McGinnis told The Oregonian/OregonLive the associate is receiving medical care. She also said the King City store has undergone multiple cleanings and sanitization since the employees last shift. Other associates who worked that day will be eligible for 14 days of quarantine pay, McGinnis said. There are so far 2,253 known cases of coronavirus in Oregon, according to figures released by the Oregon Health Authority Saturday. The disease has killed 87. Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter Washington County has 459 confirmed cases, second only to neighboring Multnomah County at 623. People with underlying health conditions, such as chronic lung disease or asthma, as well as those older than 65, are particularly vulnerable to the novel coronavirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control. King City, which straddles Oregon 99W and is adjacent to Tigard, has a population of just over 3,800, according to the U.S. Census 2018 American Community Survey. Approximately 1,500 are 65 or older. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS: A month after Stay Home, heres where Oregon stands on the coronavirus A drive-thru strip club, movie popcorn to go: Oregon businesses get creative during coronavirus On the front lines of Oregons coronavirus epidemic: health care workers balance reward and risk Oregon researchers build 3-D printable ventilator for coronavirus, hope to deploy free worldwide How can Oregon reopen amid coronavirus? It may start with 600 new contact tracers. Oregonians strongly oppose prisoner releases in response to coronavirus, new survey finds 30% of Oregonians put off important health care due to coronavirus Why a shortened or canceled college football season could have cataclysmic effect on athletic departments nationwide RingSide Steakhouse meat sale creates mile-long traffic jam on Burnside --Eder Campuzano | 503-221-4344 | @edercampuzano Eder is The Oregonians education reporter. Do you have a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email ecampuzano@oregonian.com. Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Oregons education reporters are looking for parents who would like to speak with a journalist about the effects coronavirus is having on families across the state. Would you like to chat with one of us? Fill out this form. KYODO NEWS - Apr 26, 2020 - 14:48 | Japan, Coronavirus, All One in every 13 university students in Japan is considering leaving school as the coronavirus outbreak has left many of them without a source of income or financial support, a recent survey has found. The online survey, conducted by Free, a student group advocating tuition-free higher education, showed that about 60 percent suffered a loss of income, while about 40 percent said their parents and other financial supporters were dealing with economic losses. The survey, which covered some 500 university and college students, said 37.4 percent said they were making less from their part-time jobs, while 23.0 percent they were bringing in no income at all. (Members of a university student group advocating free tuition at Japanese colleges hold a press conference in Tokyo on April 22, 2020, to call for a cut in tuition for students losing revenues from part-time working amid the coronavirus pandemic.) Asked about parents and other people helping them financially, 36.4 percent said their income had declined, and 3.3 percent said the source was lost completely. "My father runs a business, but its sales dropped by 80 percent," one of the respondents wrote in the survey. "My parents tell me to study hard and not to worry about money, but I am worried if I would end up having to quit my university." Others commented they are worried about whether they can pay their tuition after losing their part-time jobs because of the economic impact of the virus spread. Referring to the survey results, Shizuka Iwasaki, 21, who heads the group, urged the government to cut by half tuition for all university students at a time when more people are in jeopardy of becoming cash-strapped. "We don't know when this situation would come to an end, and there could be an increase in the number of people who don't know what to do about tuition," Iwasaki, a senior at the University of Tokyo, said at a news conference last week. After Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency on April 7 over a surge in the number of virus infections, the government asked businesses to suspend operations and people to refrain from making nonessential outings to contain a further spread of the virus. Schools were also closed, and 85.8 percent of the roughly 900 universities and colleges responding to a government survey said as of April 10, they have decided or are considering postponing the start of the semester. Related coverage: Japan universities to help subsidize students' costs for online learning What Japan's hikikomori can teach us about self-isolation 148 cruise ship crew in Nagasaki test positive for virus The chief executive of one of Australia's largest retail landlords says it's been hard to find common ground with some major retailers over rental payments as the two sectors butt heads amid coronavirus-induced store shutdowns. Vicinity chief executive Grant Kelley told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald while the $4.7 billion proprietor had come to a number of amicable agreements with some larger retail clients, negotiations with some parties had stalled. Vicinity chief executive Grant Kelley says his company has been unable to find "common ground" with some retailers. Credit:Eamon Gallagher "We agree with the sentiments expressed by the government that its only fair that landlords and tenants have a shared responsibility to tackle the challenges brought about by these unprecedented times," he said. "When likeminded retail partners approach the current situation on that basis the conversations are very meaningful. When a retailer has traded or voluntarily closed and refuses to pay any rent or honour any part of the lease - its hard to find common ground." Appeals Court Upholds Teachers Firing Over Holocaust Denial, 9/11 Conspiracy Lessons The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit has upheld a New Jersey school districts decision to fire a teacher, who allegedly taught his high school history students Holocaust denial and conspiracy theories claiming the U.S. government played a role in the 9/11 attacks. Jason Mostafa Ali, a history teacher at Woodbridge High, was fired in 2016 after complaints of him instructing students to question the veracity of the Holocaust history, and requiring students to read articles from Egypt and Saudi Arabia that suggested the United States planned and carried out the 9/11 attacks and was planning a similar one to blame on ISIS. Ali, a Muslim man of Egyptian descent, sued Woodbridge school district, alleging he had been discriminated against for years by the school administrators as well as other staff members. A federal district court dismissed Alis lawsuit, saying he failed to provide evidence showing that the firing was motivated by race- or religion- based discrimination. The 3rd Circuit upheld that decision with its ruling this week. Jason Mostafa Alialleges he was wrongfully terminated from his high school teaching position on the basis of his race, ethnicity, and religion, Judge Joseph A. Greenaway Jr.wrote in an opinion (pdf). Although Alis deposition testimony states that his supervisor made some disparaging remarks about Alis race, Ali is not able to show that his teaching anti-Semitic views to his students was a pretext for discrimination that led to his termination. Greenaway also held that Alis allowing and encouraging controversial views in his class gave the school district legitimate reasons to fire him. Evidence such as the students assignments and emails to Ali and Alis deposition testimony show that Ali permitted conspiracy-theorist and Hitler-apologist presentations in his class and encouraged students to develop these opinions, he wrote, noting that Ali defended his choice of teaching material and the results. Ali said in his testimony (pdf) that he taught his students to question everything. One of Alis students wrote in an essay that what they claim happened in the concentration camps did not really happen and that Jewshad a much easier and more enjoyable life in the camps. When asked in the deposition whether he encouraged his students to come to different views than the traditional understanding of what World War II and the Holocaust and Hitler were about, Ali responded, Yeah, its called debate. The 3rd Circuit also rejected Alis claim that asking students to read articles containing alternative views on the 9/11 attacks was protected by the First Amendment. Based on our case law, Ali did not have a right to decide what would be taught in the classroom, the court said. WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court on Friday declined a request by states who cited the coronavirus pandemic in asking the justices to reverse course and temporarily halt a Trump administration policy that makes it harder for legal immigrants to become permanent residents if they use public benefits. The justices in January voted 5-4 along ideological lines to allow the Trump administration to implement its policy while lawsuits against it continued. But earlier this month lawyers for Connecticut, New York, Vermont and New York City asked the justices to reconsider. They said the Trump administrations so-called public charge rule is hindering the states' ability to stop the spread of the coronavirus by deterring immigrants from accessing healthcare and public benefits. The order from the Supreme Court on Friday was brief, with no justice noting disagreement. In January, the courts five conservative justices allowed the Trump administration policy to go into effect over the objections of its four liberals. The court said its order Friday didn't prevent lawyers from going to a lower court. Under the Trump administration's policy, immigration officials can deny green cards to legal immigrants over their use of public benefits including food stamps, Medicaid and housing vouchers. Immigrants applying for permanent residency must now show they wouldnt be public charges, or burdens to the country. Easing of social distancing wins public support browser not support iframe. The Government has classified localities into different risk groups and has ordered local authorities in areas deemed medium risk or low risk to follow developments of the pandemic and create the conditions needed to resume production and business. They are also able to determine which retail outlets can open. The decision has received warm support from the public. No new cases have been recorded in Vietnam for seven consecutive days - proof that the introduction of social distancing measures has had the desired effect. Localities deemed medium risk or low risk can direct enterprises to resume production and business - a move backed by the population. Many people have proposed continuing with preventive measures such as wearing masks, limiting the size of crowds, and regularly washing hands to keep the pandemic at bay and return to normality./. French dailies praise Vietnams COVID-19 fight Banners on COVID-19 prevention measure in Vietnam Major French dailies have spoken highly of Vietnams efforts in the fight against COVID-19, noting that the country is an exception. The Ouest-France daily noted that Vietnam, with a population of 96 million and 1,000 km of shared border with China, reported 270 COVID-19 infections as of April 24, with no deaths. Vietnam was quick to take action, it said. Schools did not reopen after the Lunar New Year holiday in late January. The countrys border with China was closed from February 1, one week after the discovery of the first COVID-19 cases. For each reported case, those who have been in direct or indirect contact with the patient will go into quarantine. Advanced technology also has a role to play as citizens are encouraged to make medical declarations on a health reporting app, it wrote. Wearing a mask has been made compulsory since the beginning of April and social distancing rules were put in place despite the low number of cases. Another daily Le Monde published an article titled Vietnam's successful spring offensive against COVID-19, saying it is the result of an effective policy for identifying and monitoring infected and at-risk people and groups. In addition, people closely followed social distancing rules, it noted. Refuting doubts on COVID-19 statistics in Vietnam, the daily quoted a Vietnamese-French tested positive for coronavirus and received treatment in Ho Chi Minh City as saying that since social networks are used widely in Vietnam, it is difficult for the Government to hide such a large-scale epidemic. The Vietnamese Government recently offered 550,000 face masks for the five European nations of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, along with 800,000 others for the two neighbours of Laos and Cambodia. Vietnam also handed over 450,000 Dupont protective suits to the US, it wrote. Meanwhile, Les Echos noted that Vietnam does not apply costly large-scale screening tests, but carries out rapid identification and mandatory quarantine of infected people, as well as track of their contacts. A mobile application, NCOVI, was launched on March 10 to encourage everyone to report their health condition and to be followed in the event of contact with an infected person, it added./. UK newspaper highlights Vietnams contact-tracing strategy against COVID-19 Passengers have their body temperature checked before entering Hanoi Train Station. UK-based Telegraph called Vietnam an under-reported success story of the pandemic in an article published on April 23, given that the country had reported, by that time, just 268 cases and zero deaths. Vietnam has started to lift the strict movement and social distancing restrictions that still remain in many of its Southeast Asian nations, allowing daily life in major cities to slowly come back to normal, the newspaper said. The country of 95 million people has managed to keep the COVID-19 under control despite being less wealthy than other strong Asian performers like the Republic of Korea and Taiwan (China), and its 1,000-km porous border with China, it said. Like its Asian countries, Vietnams swift response was based on a robust pandemic response plan that was forged after recent deadly brushes with other high-risk infectious diseases, including SARS and A/H5N1. It highlighted the Vietnamese strategy, saying it focused on a combination of targeted, rigorous contact-tracing and testing to swiftly contain small clusters of the COVID-19 before they spread further. After the first cases were confirmed in January, Vietnam quarantined more than 10,000 people in Son Loi commune in the northern province of Vinh Phuc after a smattering of infections. It also decided early on to impose a 14-day quarantine on anyone arriving in the country from a high-risk area while all schools and universities have been closed since the beginning of February, it noted. In March, when Vietnams 22-day disease-free run was broken by a cluster of imported cases linked to a flight from London, officials tracked down and quarantined all passengers, and suspended visa-free entry for the UK and several European countries, the Telegraph said. It later sealed off its borders. The newspaper also hailed Vietnams massive public information campaign on the pandemic, which included the hand-washing song "Ghen Co Vy" that went viral globally. It quoted Dr John MacArthur, Thailand country director for the US Centres for Disease Control, as praising Vietnams response which was made possible by strong public health systems, the whole-of-government approach and a huge team of disease detectives to carry out contact tracing./. Vietnamese community offers face masks for Russian city Head of the Vietnamese community in Irkutsk city Nguyen Quang Duong (second from left) presents the relief to local volunteers The Vietnamese community in Irkutsk city of Russia has donated 4,000 cloth face masks for a local voluntary campaign in support of the fight against COVID-19. The campaign aims to support senior citizens, people with disabilities and medical workers in the wake of the global pandemic. It draws the participation of 2,000 volunteers in Irkutsk. Receiving the aid, Acting Minister of Youth Policy in Irkutsk Oblast Egor Lukovnikov underlined that personal protective equipment is vital for volunteers as they are also on the frontlines of the combat and have to work every day. There are about 250 Vietnamese citizens living in Irkutsk city./. Hanoi Red Cross, group help 1,000 needy The Hanoi Red Cross and the Phu Thai Group on April 25 started a two-day programme to help the local needy who are further suffering from the raging COVID-19 pandemic. Their 1,000 relief aid packages include daily necessities, and their move is in response to the month for humanitarian activities this year. Chairman of the Hanoi Red Cross Dao Ngoc Trieu said the activities of the month will focus on the care for community health, especially the disadvantaged who are struggling in the context of the pandemic. The official added that his organisation is striving to help from 5,000-7,000 needy in the month. The same day, similar activities were conducted in other localities of Hanoi. Since the beginning of February, Hanoi Red Cross organisations have provided over 930,000 face masks, nearly 55,000 bottles of sanitiser and soap, 404 million VND (17,250 USD) and nearly 400 tonnes of rice, among others, to the needy. They have attracted the participation of many companies and donors to the humanitarian work./. US media highlights Vietnamese success in fighting COVID-19 pandemic The Los Angeles Times of the United States recently published an article in which it gave an analysis of Vietnams successful efforts to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, noting that the country has not seen a single death caused by the virus, and is therefore starting to ease its lockdown measures. The article said Vietnam has sealed its borders, quarantined masses of people, used soldiers and police to track down potential infections and fined social media users for spreading misinformation. After deploying the full arsenal, the sprawling nation of 95 million people has now gone a full week without recording a new infection.Vietnam mobilized the entire apparatus to become involved in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, which received wide response from the people. But despite their effectiveness, Vietnams measures are not easily replicable. Its intolerance of dissent and ability to mobilize an entire security and political apparatus steps more common in China meant its campaign met little of the pushback seen in Western liberal democracies. Starting on April 23, Vietnam allowed residents across the country to resume small gatherings and restarted buses, taxis and regular domestic flights for the first time in three weeks. But with much of Southeast Asia still under lockdown, people must continue wearing masks in public, gatherings of more than 20 remain off-limits, schools will stay closed for several more weeks and international flights are still grounded. The numbers are stunningly low considering that Vietnam which shares a border with China was among the first countries where the virus spread and lacks the resources of governments more celebrated for their containment strategies, such as South Koreas widespread testing and Taiwans aggressive digital surveillance, the article said. Its results stand out even more as other Southeast Asian countries struggle. Wealthy Singapore, once regarded as a model, has seen infections skyrocket among migrant workers living in overcrowded dormitories. Indonesia, the largest country in the region, initially ignored the threat and now has the most COVID-19 deaths in Asia after China. Its pretty amazing, said Huong Le Thu, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. Im cautious of calling Vietnam a success story. Its too early to be out of the woods. But the measures have been quite effective so far. Experts credit Vietnams early, decisive steps such as swiftly banning nearly all travel from China, suspending schools in mid-January even before recording any infections, quarantining tens of thousands of people, employing distancing measures and tracing the contacts of COVID-19 patients. Only a few countries can control and mobilize resources on this scale, said Le Hong Hiep, a Vietnam analyst at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. In Vietnam they can do it, and partly because of a political system thats designed to respond to such situations. Its not always good, but in a crisis it helps. In recent weeks, as imported infections surged across Asia, Vietnam placed tens of thousands of incoming travelers whether they showed COVID-19 symptoms or not in quarantine at army barracks, university dorms and other public facilities. What we know now is this virus spreads from pre-symptomatic people, and if youre only monitoring people when they get symptoms its too late, said Todd Pollack, a Harvard Medical School infectious disease specialist who leads a health initiative in Hanoi. Meanwhile, results of a 12-country opinion poll by Ipsos Business Consulting showed that "Vietnam people have a general positive sentiment towards Vietnam state measures", its country head, Mr Phong Quach, told The Straits Times. In its March 12-14 survey, well over 80 per cent of Vietnamese respondents expected things to return to normal by June, making them more optimistic than respondents in the United States, Italy, France, Russia, Japan and India. For Jenny Sauer Schmidgall, farming is not only in the family, its in her blood. Its a source of happiness for me, Schmidgall said, as she sits on an upside down 5 gallon bucket, wearing her Carhartt overalls and boots that were made for the roughest weather. Schmidgall takes pride in the fact that shes a female in a male dominated industry and her work ethic, knowledge and passion for the industry earns her the respect from fellow farmers. I can speak the speak, she said of her farming peers. A Jacksonville native, Schmidgall only recently made farming her full-time job, but its something that has always been part of her life. Prior to 2017, Schmidgall wore many hats and worked in several other industries all of which she enjoyed. She has lived in places like Los Angeles, Little Rock, Dallas and Chicago. She has been a fitness instructor, a wine representative, she has acted, and still is an actor, graduated with honors from Illinois College with a degree in biology. With her degree, Schmidgall was published for work she did in clinic research. The research was about the correlation between the immune system and the eye, she said. But through all of her many careers and travels, one thing has always been present. Farming has always been the constant for me, she said. Sauer Farms in Winchester,has been a family business in the area since the 70s and it all started with Schmidgalls great-grandfather, Hunter Funk, who owned the John Deere store in Riggston. Passing the farming bug down a generation, Schmidgalls father, Hunter Sauer, continued the family passion by farming and working for other people within the area. During that time, he was able to make money by raising pigs until he could purchase his own equipment. He had to work for it, Schmidgall said of his fathers success, adding that her father saved his money, purchased more equipment, then land and has been farming since. We farm all of our own stuff, she said. In addition to farming, her father was able to work on his own equipment when problems would occur. You fix what you have and you buy when you need to, Schmidgall said of how they think as a business. In farming, every year is like playing the lottery, you never know. Its the Sauer Farms belief that taking pride in what they do, working with what you have and keeping things honest and simple goes a long way. If you do a good job in farming, people will come to you, she said of new and repeat business. But what brought this 36-year-0ld back to the farm full time? For a five year period, her father was farming by himself, which is a difficult task for one person. Schmidgall uses loading cattle on to trailers as an example. You cant do farming by yourself its too stressful, she said. It was when Schmidgall was in L.A. that she was faced to renew her lease or leave. With that decision on the horizon, she came home and started working with her dad and Sauer Farms. I never really left, she said. In addition to working the family business with her father, Schmidgall is a full time wife, mother and continues to be an entrepreneur. She also owns the trademark for GMO Survivor and runs her own business called The Witty Farmer, which sells T-shirts and apparel with the GMO Survivor theme in addition to pro-farmer statements like Without Farmers, You Would Be Hungry, Naked & Sober. Schmidgalls life experiences have brought her full circle back to what she loves, farming, and can apply what she has learned to her passion. I am going to do what I want to do with what I know, she said. Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. Netflixs action film, Extraction, tells the story of Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth), a black market mercenary who is hired to rescue the son of an Indian drug lord in Dhaka. The films ending left Tylers fate up in the air, which is why many are wondering if there will be a sequel. [Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Extraction.] L-R: Chris Hemsworth and Rudhraksh Jaiswal | Jasin Boland/Netflix What is Extraction about? Extraction follows gritty mercenary, Tyler Rake. Hes hired to extract a young kidnapped boy, Ovi (Rudhraksh Jaiswal), from the grips of his drug lord fathers rival. As Tyler fights off the rival Dhaka gang, he also gets attacked by Saju (Randeep Hooda), Ovis fathers right-hand man. When Tylers mission is compromised, his mercenary colleagues advise him to leave the boy behind. But he decides to save the boy and get him out of Dhaka, even if he has to do it alone. The ending of Extraction left the door open for Tyler At the end of Extraction, Tyler leaves Ovi with Saju and tries to keep the mafia engaged so they can escape. But when Saju is shot and killed, Ovi runs to the bridge where Tyler is entangled in a gunfight. To save Ovi, Tyler tells him to run over to his friends that are waiting nearby with a helicopter. Tyler provides cover for the boy by running into the line of fire. He takes a number of bullets, including one in the neck. Bloody and critically injured, Tyler backs up onto the bridges railing and falls into the river below. #ExtractionNetflix#Extraction Extractionending people arguing..my take is before Ovi jumps in the pool theres lots of people. he comes up for air and a figure looking like Tyler ( Chris Hemsworth ) is standing there. A sequel would be freakin awesome but cmon people..he dead. pic.twitter.com/dtD9Ytpy5K yankeeman1 (@yankeeman110) April 26, 2020 Ovi is taken back home and resumes his normal life. But in the final scene, Ovi pops his head out of his swimming pool and sees a blurry figure standing nearby. The figures face is not shown, but from his build and clothes, he looks a lot like Tyler. And because Tylers dead body is never shown, some viewers are wondering if he survived the fall. The filmmakers left the ending open on purpose In an interview with the LA Times, filmmakers Anthony and Joe Russo, and director Sam Hargrave talked about the films ending. We did it in a way that was purposefully ambiguous, Hargrave explained. If you view the movie and you feel like Tylers redemption is completed through sacrifice, then you would see that in one way, with the kid honoring him through a vision. Or if you loved the character and his overcoming all of the odds to survive is what made the story happy for you, then you will see Tyler Rake in that image. Hopefully, people will be satisfied with the ending no matter how they feel about the movie along the way. Watched Extraction last night. It was such a good movie! We all need a sequel #ExtractionNetflix pic.twitter.com/qqG9KtT0ZP Abbie Usman (@abegailusman) April 26, 2020 As far as a sequel is concerned, the filmmakers revealed that they have discussed the possibility. But they noted that any further production would be dependant on how well Extraction does in terms of viewership. There have been a number of sit-downs with Joe and Netflix and definitely discussions have come up, Hargrave said. Were waiting to see how the movie does and see what the response is. But the potential for different storylines with this character and this world are very numerous and its not off the table. New Delhi, April 26 : Amid lockdown all non-emergency medical procedures at hospitals have been put off to ease the burden on doctors caring for coronavirus patients. Though general patients are not denied medical services, hospitals have been asked to avoid crowding to prevent any coronavirus infection. Dr Jyoti Sheoran of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Safdarjung Hospital told IANS, "We have our emergency services open. Patients are coming and we are treating them. We have a few services open, but we are not making it public to prevent crowding. "On Saturday, I attended 30-35 patients. Nobody is being denied any service. But we are prioritising our patients and not encouraging those with simple problems to avoid them exposure to Covid-19 infection." Though the expertise of dentists, ophthalmologist and ENT specialists isn't much required in the Covid-19 battle, they are still on duty, but attending fewer patients. Many ENT, dentistry and ophthalmology specialists are monitoring patients and providing tele and online consultancy. Dr Ravinder Chauhan, Head of Department at the Delhi Centre for ENT and Allergic Diseases, told IANS, the tele-medicine had proved a great help during the lockdown. "Not many OPDs are closed. Doctors are taking precautions. We keep the crowd very low in the waiting area. Load of general patients is low but they are coming. Patients having throat problems are definitely there, but anything that is related to ear and nose, we give them tele-consultation. "We are not missing any patient. We call those patients who look critical and give them treatment with full precautions," said Dr Chauhan. Dr Sachin Mogha, a dentist and graduate of the Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences, told IANS the hospital was opening the OPD (outpatient department) for two hours -- from 8.30 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. Emergency services were open 24 hours. "On an average 20-25 patients come to the hospital. We are not providing treatment, but doing only screening. We are also doing tele-consultancy. We ask people to visit the hospital, if required, with full precaution," Dr Mogha said. The coronavirus pandemic and stay-home order have shut down schools and businesses, idled tens of thousands of workers and caused a run on toilet paper that has yet to end. But none of that can disrupt one of Oregons greatest inventions our trusty vote-by-mail system. Although candidates and campaigns have had to adjust, democracy in Oregon will continue without interruption with the May 19 election. Our editorial board also had to alter its process of interviewing candidates and campaigns for endorsements. In addition to sending out candidate questionnaires, we switched from our traditional in-person meetings to video-conference calls that we recorded and have posted on our YouTube channel. The videos are almost entirely unedited, revealing our technological and professional broadcasting shortcomings. As we often reminded candidates and one another, were all learning as we go. Over the next week, we will issue our endorsements in select federal, state, regional and local races. On the federal and state level, we chose to endorse primarily in contested races with no incumbent. So, youll see recommended picks for both the Democratic and Republican primaries for the 2nd Congressional District and Oregon secretary of state, but you wont find endorsements in the primaries for state attorney general or treasurer. For legislative races, we focused on contested nominations for open seats in the Portland area. Similarly, we will be offering an endorsement in the hard-fought Multnomah County district attorneys race, but not in the county commission contests, which all have incumbents. Due to the increasingly prominent role Metro is playing in the tri-county region, we are resuming endorsements in Metro Council races and will also offer our voting advice on a homelessness services ballot measure. And we will offer our picks in the race for mayor and three Portland City Council seats, as well as on a measure seeking to renew the citys gas tax. One final note: With no remaining challengers to former Vice President Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination, theres no need to weigh in on the primary. But we want to take this opportunity to assure readers that we will be issuing a presidential endorsement in the November election. We heard loud and clear the communitys disappointment when we chose not to do so in 2016, a decision made due to limited staff and resources. We recognize that for our readers, editorial board endorsements arent just about giving recommendations; they are also declarations of what we stand for. We acknowledge that obligation and look forward to sharing our presidential endorsement with readers in the fall. Our full list of endorsements: (Click links for full stories) Portland mayor: Re-elect Portland mayor Ted Wheeler Portland City Council: Carmen Rubio, Sam Chase and Mingus Mapps are Portland voters best picks Portland gas tax measure 26-209: Vote yes to renew Portland gas tax Metro Council Districts 3, 5, 6: Anderson, Nolan and Stacey for Metro Council Metros homelessness measure 26-210: Good governance calls for a no vote on Metro homelessness services tax Multnomah County district attorney: Mike Schmidt for Multnomah County DA 2nd Congressional District: Voters should pick Jason Atkinson, Nik Heuertz in primaries for Congress Secretary of State: In secretary of state primaries, Mark Hass and Kim Thatcher are parties best picks Legislative races: Our legislative recommendations for select contested primaries; Senate District 14 - Kate Lieber; House District 28 - Alisa Blum; House District 33 - Maxine Dexter; House District 35 - Dacia Grayber; House District 36 - Lisa Reynolds; House District 46 - Khanh Pham; House District 50 - William Miller Supreme Court and Appeals Court: Voters should re-elect Thomas Balmer, Joel DeVore to Supreme Court, Appeals Court seats - The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board Sign up for our Opinion Newsletter highlighting some of the weeks editorials, op-eds and letters to the editor at oregonlive.com/newsletters Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 20:36:53|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ROME, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The global coronavirus outbreak is changing every aspect of Italy's wine sector, from production to sales to consumption, even the way vintners promote the wine they make. Most restaurants in Italy have been closed for weeks, since the national coronavirus lockdown was first put into place on March 10. The worldwide economic slowdown and restrictions on international transport have limited foreign markets. Data does show that direct wine sales to individuals have increased during the lockdown, but not nearly enough to balance out reduced restaurant sales and exports. "During the first three months of the year, I've seen indications that sales of Italian wine were around 20 percent lower than over the same period in 2019," Lorenzo Tersi, a veteran wine sector consultant, told Xinhua. "Keep in mind that the national lockdown didn't start until early March, near the end of that period," he said. "My estimate is that sales will be down by at least 40 percent in April, and May will probably be just as bad." Though Tersi's estimates are dramatic, they are still better than some international estimates. In its latest report, the International Organization of Vine and Wine, a Paris-based intergovernmental organization that focuses on viticulture and winemaking, estimated that wine sales and revenue for winemakers and distributors could be half normal levels for the year as a whole. That report, published Thursday, came out a day after wine industry groups in Italy, France, and Spain -- Europe's three largest wine-producing countries -- formally asked the European Union for 350 million euros (380 million U.S. dollars) in aid to prevent small producers from going out of business during the outbreak. Armando Spina, the owner of two wine shops in Rome, predicted the domestic wine market could be slow to recover even after the lockdown concludes. Spina's shops are closed to visitors, though he offers delivery services and he has discounted lower- and mid-tier wines to attract buyers. "Many people are out of work and worried about money, and you can see it in their wine choices," Spina told Xinhua. "A customer who under normal circumstances would pay for a Brunello di Montalcino will now choose the Rosso di Montalcino from the same producer," he said. "That will not change just because the lockdown is over." Brunello di Montalcino is made from a winemaker's best grapes and the wine is aged in a winemakers cellar for more time in order to develop more complexity. Spina, who predicted wine delivery will remain popular even after the lockdown, said he worries less about the high-end wine in his shops, as they will still find a market even if they spend an extra year or more aging in storage. The last point was confirmed by Lene Bucelli from Biondi-Santi, one of Italy's most storied winemakers. Biondi-Santi created the Brunello di Montalcino designation in the 19th century. "We monitor sale prices for our wines all over the world and so far haven't seen changes," Bucelli said in an interview. She said the lack of promotional trade fairs and the impossibility of winery visits for distributors -- both important ways for winemakers to promote their products -- is forcing a change of strategy for Biondi-Santi and others. "For our part, we are sharing information to show that work goes on as normal in our cellars," she said, noting workers in the cellar keep a safe distance from each other as they work. "We're also conducting online tastings with wine critics and importers in different parts of the world." Bucelli went on: "It's working well," she said. "I predict we'll keep doing it this way even after the crisis is over." My Spin School Bell Tensions No matter your age Im betting you remember those annual late-summer trips to Roses dime store (or a similar one) to purchase back to school supplies. Must-haves included a new three-ring binder, a big pack of Blue Horse or Write Right loose-leaf notebook paper, course dividers, No. 2 lead Ticonde By: Tom Campbell Search Terms: Search Terms: school Our Changing Identity While you and I were busy living our lives, doing our work, enjoying family and friends and also fighting COVID, North Carolina was changing. Not so fast that most of us could tell, but definitive and measurable change just the same. By: Tom Campbell Search Terms: tom campbell Search Terms: covid Newer Older Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 "My Spin" is the creation of media impresario Tom Campbell, who has plied his craft in communication delivery systems of: newspapers, television and television.Now Impressario Campbell tries on the Internet, via Beaufort County NOWw, and our sister NOWs.Check in from time to time, and get an idea just what is Tom's current "spin." Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in the Senate subway area of the Capitol in Washington on Feb. 4, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Sen. Lindsey Graham Believes Kim Jong Un Dead or Incapacitated Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he believes that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is dead or incapacitated. Graham, who also sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was making a reference to unverified reports about Kims death or reports saying hes in a vegatative state. The senator, in an interview on Fox News, noted that North Korea, a communist state, has a tight grip on every aspect of daily life, including media reports. That means that any reports about Kim would have to be confirmed by state-run media outlets and ruling party officials. Well, its a closed society, I dont know anything directly, Graham said. But Id be shocked if hes not dead or in some incapacitated state because you dont let rumours like this go forever or go unanswered in a closed society, which is really a cult, not a country, called North Korea. So I pretty well believe he is dead or incapacitated, he added to Fox News. Rumors have swirled around Kims health after he didnt make a public appearance for the 108th birthday commemoration of North Koreas founder, Kim Il Sung, who is also his grandfather. The commemoration is one of the most important public holidays, and reports have noted that the younger Kim has made public appearances during his grandfathers birthday since he took power in 2011. North Korean authorities and state-run media outlets have done nothing to counter the reports that Kim is unwell, brain dead, or dead. However, South Korean presidential officials shot down the reports, saying that Kim, 36, is alive and well as of Sunday. Things had been going wrong for Laura* and Dave* for a good six months before the whole world changed. I honestly thought it was the end, says Laura. The atmosphere was just awful wed periodically talk about whether or not we should stay together. There were fights and tears and wed cling on for a bit longer, but we were miserable. I thought it was only a matter of time. Breaking up seemed inevitable; although there was plenty of good still left in their three-year relationship, Laura just couldnt see a clear way forward. Then coronavirus happened. Overnight, life as they knew it fell apart. Problems that had seemed mammoth shrank to nothing in the space of a day. Issues that had dominated their discourse felt well, a bit silly now. The pandemic offered a sense of perspective like nothing else. Recommended This is how coronavirus has ruptured romance The stuff we used to fight about seemed so small-fry as we saw the huge impacts of the virus as it spread across the world, says Laura. And, once lockdown started and we couldnt see anyone except each other, we both began to realise how much we needed each other. The feelings between them grew: they became more affectionate with each other, more respectful of each others space, more patient with each others failings. I thought wed drive each other crazy, especially with all the problems wed been having. But its been the reverse. Our relationship feels stronger than its ever been. It may seem strange alongside all the stories of divorce rates soaring once lockdowns are lifted, but Laura and Daves experience is by no means unique. According to a new survey from charity Relate, 65 per cent of respondents said they currently felt supported by their partner, while 43 per cent of those who live with their partner said the experience of staying at home had bought them closer. Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Show all 12 1 /12 Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Agnetha Septimus, Matthew Septimus, and children Ezra and Nora Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Husband and wife filmmakers, Claire Ince and Ancil McKain pose for a portrait for the series by Shutterstock Staff Photographer, Stephen Lovekin, shot around the Ditmas Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Khadijah Silver and son Eliot Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Anna Beth Rousakis and daughter Mary Rousakis Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Mike Pergola and Denise Pergola with children Henry, Jack, and Will Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Artist Shirley Fuerst Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Jean Davis and Danny Rosenthal, with children Simone, Naomi, and Leah Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Robert E Clark Jr Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Lisa Draho and Josh Zuckerman, with children Ruby and Ava Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Professor and activist Dr Kristin Lawler Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Tom Smith and Laura Ross, with daughters Caroline, Elizabeth, and Abigail Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Callie Lovekin and Lucas Lovekin Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Some couples have found that their relationship has improved under lockdown, a spokesperson from couples counselling specialist Tavistock Relationships tells The Independent. They find they are pulling together and are starting to see themselves once more as a team, in the way they might have done in their early years together. They are rediscovering positive attributes in each other and feel a sense of gratitude and companionship in these difficult times. Shirlee Kay, a therapist with relationship counselling practice Coupleworks, has noticed some of her clients growing closer during the pandemic. Not all the couples I am working with are doing better, but Covid-19 has given couples an opportunity to address issues and see one another differently if they are able to, she tells The Independent. The couples who are doing better are the ones asking themselves what they can learn about here, what is this telling them about what matters in their life. Their confinement forced them to speak about the unspeakable One of the couples she sees, Carol and Steve, were struggling before the outbreak struck. Living in London with their four children while Steve spent much of his time overseas for work, Carol had felt distant and unconnected and ended up having an affair as a result. The beginning of couples therapy was difficult for both of them, says Shirlee. There was a lot of anger and distrust. Although they were working hard to understand their individual part in how they had got to this point, they both shared a sense of hopelessness that the connection between them was lost and that trust would never return, says Shirlee. When lockdown kicked in, Steve returned home full-time. Both expressed their discomfort with living as a couple and a family again in their counselling sessions, which continued over Skype. But with the enforced time spent together came a settled routine and the chance to see the effort the other was making. Slowly, I noticed they were sitting closer to one another on the sofa, joking more, and actually behaving like a couple, says Shirlee. They began to speak openly about what had happened and, rather than reacting in anger, were able to say what they could have done differently. Their confinement forced them to speak about the unspeakable. Ultimately, the crisis has given the couple the space and understanding to slowly reconnect, to start to depend on one another again. Sometime couples feel they need a big conversation to try to understand and solve their issues, says Shirlee. My experience has taught me its much more subtle than this. Just being with one another when the world feels uncertain has a way of teaching us what truly matters, what is meaningful, and who we are. This has partly been true for Sarwar and Farideh, who started face-to-face therapy through Relate after coming up against some challenges in their relationship back in November 2019. We were struggling to communicate in an empathetic way we deal with trauma in different ways and were finding it hard to get through experiences together, says Sarwar. Second wedding for couple after husband with dementia forgets first Show all 5 1 /5 Second wedding for couple after husband with dementia forgets first Second wedding for couple after husband with dementia forgets first Bill and Anne Duncan cut the cake on their second wedding day after demantia sufferer Bill forgot his first wedding Anne Duncan / SWNS Second wedding for couple after husband with dementia forgets first Bride Anne Duncan on her second wedding day after after demantia sufferer Bill forgot his first wedding Anne Duncan / SWNS Second wedding for couple after husband with dementia forgets first Bill and Anne Duncan kiss on their second wedding day after demantia sufferer Bill forgot his first wedding Anne Duncan / SWNS Second wedding for couple after husband with dementia forgets first Bill and Anne Duncan on their first wedding day twelve years ago Anne Duncan / SWNS Second wedding for couple after husband with dementia forgets first Bill and Anne Duncan on their second wedding day after demantia sufferer Bill forgot his first wedding Anne Duncan / SWNS The counselling sessions were helping them make progress and then lockdown hit. I was totally apprehensive about being stuck together during lockdown, says Farideh. But Ive really appreciated the time its given us together. Before, I hardly saw Sarwar because hes always working, so I was really happy at first. The pair threw themselves into chores and enjoyed being in each others company without the distractions and stress of normal life. Its demonstrated the value of giving ourselves time, adds Farideh. We both have busy jobs and social lives its very easy to get sucked into all that. Lockdown has shown its important to give ourselves time as a couple, and to place a value on that. Even when things have been tough or frustrating living in such close quarters, the couples therapy sessions, which have continued over webcam, have helped them air their feelings. Transitioning to online sessions has been pretty straightforward and is working well for us, says Sarwar. Plus, doing it from home in a comfortable setting, your guard is down a bit more, you sometimes feel like you can speak your mind and reflect on things more easily. Once lockdown started, we both began to realise how much we needed each other For couples finding life under lockdown has improved their relationship, effort will be needed to keep it going after life goes back to normal, according to the experts. If the lockdown has helped couples be more sharing, kind and appreciative of one another then it will be important to set time aside to keep this closeness once lockdown ends, says Tavistock Relationships. Date nights, setting aside time to talk and plan are all important nourishing activities for a couple. People usually look out for their children, find activities to stimulate them, notice when they are looking sad or lonely. Under lockdown, some couples have started to notice one another in this way, perhaps for the first time in years, and it requires effort and commitment to keep up this level of interest. More details about Relates telephone counselling, webcam counselling and Live Chat services can be found at relate.org.uk. *Names have been changed The Canadian Press FREDERICTON Two New Brunswick opposition leaders on Wednesday called on the government to take stronger action to curb the high numbers of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations that are projected for the coming weeks. Liberal Leader Roger Melanson said the government is not being proactive, a day after health officials said that if current trends continued, there could be up to 5,500 COVID-19 cases per day in New Brunswick by the end of the month or early February, along with 200 people in hospi Students of Sungshin Women's University hold a news conference on the school campus in Seoul, to demand a tuition refund for the spring semester. /Yonhap By Bahk Eun-ji Colleges have decided to not refund tuition despite facing growing calls from students as classes are being disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the association of university presidents Sunday. A network of 27 university student councils, who have demanded tuition refunds, had a meeting with the leadership of the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE) to discuss compensation through a reduction in tuition fees for the first time on Friday. During the meeting, however, the KCUE clearly stated that it would be difficult to refund the tuition fees as they could not afford to do so. They said their financial difficulties stemmed from a tuition freeze over the past 10 years, and recent spending to quarantine international students, disinfect facilities and prepare for remote classes. The Ministry of Education also had a discussion on the issue with the KCUE on April 10, but Vice Education Minister Park Baeg-beom said the tuition refund is "a matter to be decided by the university presidents," during the meeting. Instead of refunding tuition, the association said universities are willing to provide special grants to support students suffering from the financial problems due to the virus pandemic. "Offering financial aid in the name of scholarships is the best option under the current situation, and many universities have already been doing so," said an official of the KCUE. Daegu Haany University, Daegu University, Seoul Theological University and Keimyung University have decided to provide scholarships of up to 200,000 won ($162) for every student. Most universities postponed the start of the spring semester by a week or two for fear of the virus spreading on campuses, and began the new semester with online lectures. College students have filed petitions and held rallies, saying their right to be educated has been violated and demanding schools refund their tuition as the quality of online lectures prepared in such a short period of time was inevitably lower than that of normal lectures. A petition for tuition compensation on Cheong Wa Dae's website has garnered more than 74,000 signatures since it was posted March 2. A person who claimed to have posted the petition, said an adjustment or refund of tuition for this spring semester due to the delay was relevant to all college students across the country. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Gods answers to prayer always hinge on what He wills for our life based on eternal priorities vs. temporal ones. Lets look at some proven strategies to find out what God wants to do before you get to the disappointing end at a closed door and feel like God has let you down. During the eighties a faith movement rose up in America. Its teachings seemed very attractive, however, it took scriptures out of context, pairing them with other scriptures, which seemed compatible. Then conjectures were added to whet the appetite of those seeking new truth, adding them to a collection of teachings, and they were dubbed the prosperity gospel. Countless believers agreed that old school Christianity that taught sacrifice and self-denial was simply not the pattern that God had in mind for his New Testament church. They taught that because the word Christian meant little Christ, we should be able to work the same miracles that Jesus did. This little god doctrine, which had surfaced before in church history was rebranded The Power of the Believer and sold like hotcakes with real maple syrup on a cold winter day! For about five years of my life I ran a drop-in youth center. One week a group of girls came in and announced that they were Wicca witches. They tried to convince me that what they believed in was good since as white witches, they only cast good curses and spells. So I asked them a question. There are two mothers in a town and only one job available. Each mother qualifies for the job. I take it that you could use Wicca spells to have that job fall to the one mother whom you felt was the most needy? They said, Yes. So I then asked, How would you know which mother needed that job the most? They admitted that they would not know. I told them that since God sees not only the immediate situations but also the eternal consequences of everything, when we as Christians pray, we can trust in Gods answers. We understand that because He is all knowing, only He can make those kind of difficult decisions. I further explained to them that witchcraft whether white or black is classified as sinful and a work of mans flesh in Galatians 5:19-21 of the New Testament. I then pointed them to a better way and the gift of salvation through Christ. Therefore, when we as believers face any situation where we recognize that we need divine intervention we must always remember God sees the big picture. He sees how that every decision is tied into all the decisions of everyone else around them. Billy Graham once said, referring to a complicated situation, How do you unscramble eggs? Only God, with his infinite foreknowledge and wisdom knows the best answer to prayer in every situation. Whatever we are praying about we must be careful not to try to force the answer by the power of our mind, the power of our words, or the power of our will. Such actions run a rail so close to the practice of white witchcraft that they should raise concern. George Muller who built multiple orphanages by true faith in the 1800s, through his absolute dependence on prayer, stated; As you pray for Gods will to be done, have no mind of your own in the matter. Whenever a doctrine concerns me I pray for wisdom and to dig into the roots of those teachings. I examined the claim that if their faith was strong enough, each believer could be empowered to work many miracles in the name of Jesus. The Greek word dunamis was used in those teachings describing the power of the Holy Spirit, which rested on the disciples. Dunamis is the root word from where we get our word for dynamite. Using Jesus words for greater things than these shall ye do for I go to my Father the Faith Movement Teachers proclaimed that we as believers can do everything that Jesus did, and more. In their circles, prayers for Gods will to be done were felt to be weak. His word is His will they would proclaim, pairing that statement with the scripture God is no respecter of persons, Acts 10:34b (KJV), taken out of context. They would then add, If He did it for one person, He will do it for you! They ignored the fact that the respecter of persons verse deals very clearly with salvation and not individual answers to prayer. They pressed on growing in numbers, selling more books, promoting their supposed new doctrine. After all it sounded great! What no one realized was that the Greek word to describe the power that Jesus had received on earth was due to His purely righteous life and His total separation unto His Fathers will. It was not dunamis power as was given to His disciples which means limited power. Instead Jesus received exousia power, which meant unlimited, absolute, or unrestricted power. Vines Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words W.E. Vine Page 868 No New Testament believer ever came close to replicating the hundreds of miracles that Jesus performed. Most theologians agree that the greater works that Jesus was referring to was the fact that the disciples would lead people to the gift of salvation which He felt would be greater than any miracle He ever accomplished. You see, true faith does not begin with me, or what I want. It grows out of a one on one relationship with God. As you seek Him daily He will, from time to time, reveal actions that He wants you to take. As you pray about those things, and walk in obedience to Him He will bring those things to pass. They can be small things or great big things depending on His will for your life. True rock solid Biblical faith does not begin with you, and your wants, it begins with God! DUBAI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 26th Apr, 2020) Dubai Land Department (DLD), in cooperation with Smart Dubai and the Department of Finance (DOF), launched remote payment services to facilitate the process of real estate registration through the Dubai Pay portal. This step is part of the precautionary measures taken by DLD to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and maintain the health and safety of its customers. The initiative also aims to expand the process of payment methods through Dubai REST and DLDs website, allowing for the easy collection of service fees. It is also expected to help facilitate payment services for DLDs customers, which will lead to the revitalisation of Dubais real estate market and the establishment of reliable practical solutions for all procedures and transactions. The remote payment services through the Dubai Pay portal constitute sales of all kinds, including buying and selling, mortgaging, grants, and usufruct, and it can be used by real estate owners, including buyers and sellers, in addition to all DLDs customers. Sultan Butti bin Mejren, director general of DLD, said: "We continue to develop our services and facilitate their delivery to our customers, not only to make them happy and comfortable but also to ensure their health and safety. This is made all the more necessary given these exceptional circumstances in which our efforts are aligned with other institutions and departments to support the efforts of the relevant health authorities to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and contribute to decrease the time it needs to be contained. We are proud to implement this project, especially since it was accomplished within a short period of time, to record a new and unprecedented achievement." Dr Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, director general of Smart Dubai, affirmed the importance and effectiveness of smart services, most notably in the current situation, to facilitate people's lives and save customers time and efforts, while ensuring that all their transactions are performed correctly, smoothly, and remotely. Bin Bishr added: "Smart Dubai, in cooperation with its governmental partners, provided multiple smart and innovative solutions for payment, such as the Dubai Pay portal, in an effort to enable the smart city and enhance the happiness of people by developing safe digital tools and services within a comprehensive system This is consistent with the strategies of building smart cities and supports our efforts to making Dubai the happiest and smartest city on Earth." The mechanism of registering transactions by registered trustees remotely and paying through Dubai Pay begins by initiating the payment process via sending the required documents to trustees to verify the availability of requirements, calculating the value of fees, and verifying the documents and customer information, which is followed by the registration of the transaction. The required documents are then uploaded and the trustee account data is sent to deposit the registration fees. After that, the trustee receives the deposit receipt and deposits DLDs fees into DLDs bank account if the payment is not made through Dubai Pay. Upon verifying the deposit and making sure that the amount is available in the trustees electronic wallet and the procedure for verification is sent, the transaction is received and the data is verified. Upon approval, DLDs fees are paid through Dubai Pay, and the notice of payment will be sent through the Dubai Pay portal to issue bonds and title-deed, which will then be sent by email to the buyer to complete the procedure. Bin Mejren added: "Although the addition of the smart payment channels came in response to the current critical conditions, we will continue to utilise them even after the global crisis is lifted due to their myriad benefits they offer customers and our performance in general. This initiative is in line with our continuous efforts aimed at supporting the vision of Smart Dubai and the further development of our services in line with the directives of our wise leadership to increase Dubais appeal and help attract foreign and domestic direct investments to the real estate sector as it represents one of the important pillars of the national economy." The new options allow parties to pay their due fees for all DLDs procedures via the payment link on the mobile phone as the payments can be settled either by using the Dubai Now application on smartphones or through the Dubai Pay portal on the browser. Payment can also be made via two channels for transaction fees on Dubai REST, including To Whom It May Concern letters, site maps, and valuation requests, with the option to pay via Noqoodi wallet, which also applies to DLD's website services. There will be no additional fees charged for paying using credit cards nor any other fees for customers when using one of the payment channels. DLD affirms that it will apply payment mechanisms to other services in the near future to include off-plan sales, where the owner receives a link to pay DLDs fees without the need to return to the developer, in addition to bank mortgage fees, where the owner pays through a link that connects him via an SMS on his mobile phone. Slate is making its coronavirus coverage free for all readers. Subscribe to support our journalism. Start your free trial. The White House is analyzing a plan to get rid of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar as the country continues to fight back against the spread of the coronavirus, according to multiple reports. Azars ouster is being considered after weeks of growing tensions between the secretary and top administration officials amid broad criticism about the way the White House failed to act quickly to stem the coronavirus crisis. The Wall Street Journal and Politico were first to report on the talks to replace Azar. CNN also confirmed the discussions were taking place, citing a senior administration official. Advertisement Some in the White House are hesitant to push for the removal of the head of HHS as the pandemic continues to rage, saying that it would help Trump critics argue that the administrations response to COVID-19 has been far from stellar. But the discussions over Azars future have increased amid growing criticism of his actions in the early days of the coronavirus response as well as more recent frustrations. Azar, meanwhile, has few allies in the West Wing who could come to his defense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tensions between Azar and Trump have been clear in recent weeks after the president appointed Vice President Mike Pence to head the coronavirus response. Following that move, multiple news reports have been published detailing how the White House dropped the ball on getting ready for the coronavirus outbreak. Several of those stories painted Azar in a positive light and described his frustrations at trying to get Trump to pay attention to the coronavirus outbreak in the first few weeks of the year. Many repeated the telling of one scene in particular in which Trump reportedly interrupted Azars efforts to talk to him about the coronavirus to ask about vaping. Those stories angered Trump, and senior White House officials blamed Azar for pushing the narrative with reporters, which he has long denied. In a sign of the turmoil brewing, Trump appointed his former campaign adviser Michael Caputo as the top spokesperson of HHS in what was seen as a move to gain more control over the department.* Advertisement Advertisement Anger at Azar also grew this past week after the ouster of vaccine expert Rick Bright. Azar had tried to paint Brights transfer to the National Institutes of Health as a promotion. But Bright later issued a statement saying the move was a retaliation for his refusal to promote an unproven treatment for the coronavirus that Trump had claimed could be effective. Advertisement White House coronavirus coordinator Deborah Birx, Medicare chief Seema Verma, and Deputy HHS Secretary Eric Hargan are among the people being considered to replace Azar, according to Politico. The Wall Street Journal particularly focuses on Verma as a possible replacement, noting that she is close to Pence and has long had a tense relationship with Azar. The White House pushed back against the reports that officials were considering replacing Azar. The Department of Health and Human Services, under the leadership of Secretary Azar, continues to lead on a number of the Presidents priorities. Any speculation about personnel is irresponsible and a distraction from our whole-of-government response to COVID-19, said deputy press secretary Judd Deere in a statement. HHS spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley said, Secretary Azar is busy responding to a global, public health crisis and doesnt have time for palace intrigue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Update, April 26, 2020, at 7 p.m.: Trump dismissed the reports on Sunday afternoon, calling them Fake News. Reports that H.H.S. Secretary @AlexAzar is going to be fired by me are Fake News. The Lamestream Media knows this, but they are desperate to create the perception of chaos & havoc in the minds of the public. They never even called to ask. Alex is doing an excellent job! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 26, 2020 The election campaign has shifted to a digital platform as preventive measures against the coronavirus have restricted voter engagement in public places. Trump's presidential campaign manager Brad Parscale, who was on the team in 2012, said that a new app is "perfect" for the limited mobility during the quarantine. "It lets people engage with the campaign from their couch, or wherever they are." Notably, President Donald Trump's team is maximizing the features in the new app to collect useful information from voters, such as e-mail addresses and phone numbers. Team Trump Online Last Thursday, Trump's team launched the mobile app after months in production. Its primary functionality is designed for campaign rallies, where users can "log in" to a rally through the app. Its design was also intended to be highly interactive. Campaign managers said that there would be a "rewarding" system in which users who recommend the app to contacts gain points. The prize? A photograph with President Donald Trump himself. Although part of the rewards was to initially allow immediate entry into virtual events by the Trump campaign for the most engaged users, it was still being reconsidered amid concerns of the pandemic's duration. The content of the app included buzzwords like "Team Trump Online!" and "Become a digital activist!" Parscale said that the mobile app was recently updated to highlight virtual events the campaign team mainly organized, such as their nightly online programming, or coalitions events for minority groups for Trump. He called it the best political app in the digital market. "You can volunteer, make voter phone calls, register for events, and earn points for great prizes." Check these out! Download the Get the latest info from POTUS himself Volunteer Make voter phone calls Earn points for great prizes by getting others involved Click We've gamified the way you connect with @realDonaldTrump 's campaign!Download the @TeamTrump app RIGHT NOW!Get the latest info from POTUS himselfVolunteerMake voter phone callsEarn points for great prizes by getting others involvedClick https://t.co/Em6O84N4I2 April 23, 2020 Election Shifting to Compete for Voter Outreach on Digital Platforms Democratic candidate Joe Biden also stepped up in his campaign through "virtual fundraisers," and other events in Zoom. Biden recently raised an ominous possibility that Trump may be trying to postpone the elections as a tactic against him. However, the constitution mandates that the date of the elections has always been up to Congress. On a post shared by Trump on Twitter, Trump warned his supporters that mail-in voting would allow the Democrats a fraudulent advantage. Biden said on Thursday's fundraiser, "Imagine threatening not to fund the post office." He added that this attempt could only mean that Trump wanted to make it harder for Americans to vote. Voting rights advocates, on the other hand, are doing their utmost for the vote-by-mail measures to follow through, fearing that the pandemic may persist throughout the year. Trump refused to answer calls about mail-in voting and instead came up with alternatives. The opposing party said they must find a solution that would ensure a full, fair, and safe election this year. Biden said, "No one should have to risk their lives to cast a ballot." The details of how and why a specific futures contract of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude went negative last week have been dissected at many forums. The negative settlement pricing was caused by an extreme case of over-supply. This was an unusual situation and it may not repeat. But energy prices have been depressed ever since the crisis started and the scale of the pandemic became apparent. Despite the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and Russia agreeing to cut production, prices have continued to move down. They are likely to stay down for an extended ... After recovering from coronavirus, veteran actor Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson have now offered their blood to help develop a vaccine for coronavirus. The duo were the first celebrities to reveal that they tested positive for the coronavirus last month. Last week, the couple volunteered to donate their blood and plasma for coronavirus research. A lot of the questions [are] what do we do now? Is there something we can do? And, in fact, we just found out that we do carry the antibodies, Variety quoted Hanks as saying for a podcast. The 63-year-old also added: We have not only been approached, but we have also said, Do you want our blood? Can we give plasma? The actor with much humour sense, also jokingly mentioned the name he would like to give if a vaccine for coronavirus is made from his blood donation. In fact, we will be giving it now to the places that hope to work on what I would like to call the Hank-ccine, the Academy Award winner added. Earlier, Wilson confirmed that while she and Hanks still do not know for sure where or from whom they contracted the virus, theyve learned they were both exposed to it at the same time. The New Girl songstress and Hanks were in Australia when their tests for the novel virus came back positive. Hanks had been in the land down under filming an upcoming Elvis biopic before director Baz Luhrmann suspended filming. Recently, the Forrest Gump actor detailed on how different the symptoms were for the couple and said his wife went through a tougher time than he did. Several sources coming out grom North Korea have claimed that North Korean Supreme leader and dictator, Kim Jong-Un is dead, Saturday. Media outlets in China and Japan have been reporting the speculated death of the dictator as a fact. According to other sources, the dictator was already on his death bed and that he had no hope of resurrection. However, due to the secretive regime in the country, the speculated death of the 36-year-old leader is hard to verify. The speculations of Jong-Un's death started after the vice director of a Hong Kong-backed news channel, Shijian Xingzou, who also said that she was a niece of a Chinese foreign minister, said that a "very solid" source told her that the North Korean dictator has died. Meanwhile, adding more fuel to the rumors of the dictator's deteriorating health condition is the satellite images of a train parked in front of his compound in Wonsan. According to CNN's Will Ripley, although the presence of the train does not prove anything, it may be an indication that the North Korean leader is either undergoing or planning something serious. This is because Jong-Un usually travels by driving his own car and it is widely known how much he loves flying his own plane when he is in good health. Ripley also said, however, that there is also a big possibility that the dictator's plan includes something which is serious but does not need to be quick like an emergency medical flight since trains do not travel as fast. China reportedly sent a team of medical experts in North Korea The said news came amidst the rumors about Kim Jong-Un's health deteriorating and the reports that China has dispatched a team to the country including a team of medical experts to check on and give advice to the supreme leader, according to statements of three people familiar with the situation. According to a Chinese doctor who is said to be part of the team that traveled from Beijing to Pyongyang in order to see the condition of Jong-Un reportedly said that the reason for his illness is a delay in a simple heart procedure. As of the moment, further details about this remains unknown. The said delegation left China and headed to North Korea last Thursday. The reason for such a trip, however, still remains unclear, and Beijing has refused to give any comments. Read also: Kim Jong-Un Rushes Construction of 'Crucial' North Korean Hospital Despite Having 'No Covid-19 Cases' Supreme Leader's reported 'death' caused civil unrest in the country The said rumors about the demise of theire great leader has ignited fears and civil unrest in the country which is believed to be nuclear-armed. Rumors of Kim Jong-Un being ill started last Monday after he underwent heart surgery on April 12, but the reports are still unconfirmed. On Thursday, United States President Donald Trump also released a statement downplaying the reports claiming the North Korean leader is in grave danger. Trump said that he believes that the reports were incorrect and that he had been in contact with North Korean Officials. According to an official who is familiar with U.S. intelligence, it is already known that the dictator has health problems but there is no reason to believe that he is seriously ill. He also thinks that the leader will soon be seen in public. The 'Next Great Leader' With the talks about Jong-Un's unstable condition and said 'death', all eyes are now turned towards his probable successor, his sister and closest confidant Kim Yo Jong. Despite the fact that Yo Jong does not have the same bizarre, high-fade bouffants like the three generations of male rulers in her family that came before her, she is also reported to share the same traits as her brother. She is also said to be secretive and is not known for high patience towards political adversaries. However, many things about her remain a mystery. Yo Jong is also expected to rule with the same iron fist as her predecessors. She has also been blacklisted by the U.S Treasury Department back in 2017 for human rights abuses. Related article: Kim Jong Un in 'Vegetative State': Sister to Replace North Korean Leader If Death Rumors are True @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Ten people from London who travelled 245 miles to go walking in North Wales were sent home and reported by police for breaking lockdown rules. The group, travelling in two separate vehicles, had travelled the five-hour journey from the English capital earlier today. But they were stopped by police near their destination on the A5 in Bethesda. A group of 10 stopped in 2 vehicles on A5 #Bethesda earlier, having travelled from London with the intent of going for a walk in Snowdonia. Told to return home immediately and escorted back to the A55 by @NWPRPU. Reported for breaching #COVID19 legislation.#StayHome pic.twitter.com/32Byl6fzzX North Wales Police (@NWPolice) April 26, 2020 They told officers they were intending to go walking in Snowdonia, the mountainous National Park in North Wales. Instead, officers from North Wales Police, who tweeted brief details of the incident, reported them for breaching lockdown laws. They were then ordered to go home immediately, police escorting their cars to the A-road back to the south to begin the 10-hour round-trip home. Staff from local hotel challenged a man seen returning to his car after he'd walked up #Snowdon earlier. Travelled from Cumbria. Abusive when challenged thinking regulations did not apply. @CheshNWalesAAP stopped him on A55. Reported for breaching #COVID19 legislation#StayHome pic.twitter.com/a3cv8vyJgm North Wales Police (@NWPolice) April 26, 2020 In a second incident dealt with by police, staff from a hotel challenged a man from Cumbria, in the north-west of England, seen returning to his car after he had walked up Mount Snowdon. He was abusive when challenged, claiming the regulations did not apply to him. A joint Cheshire and North Wales armed police unit traced his car and stopped him on the A55 where he was reported for also breaching the lockdown regulations. Speakers: Huang Libin, spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and director general of MIIT's Performance Inspection and Coordination Bureau; Wen Ku, MIIT spokesperson and director general of MIIT's Department of Information and Communications Technology Development. Chairperson: Xi Yanchun, spokesperson of the State Council Information Office Date: April 23, 2020 Xi Yanchun: Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media, good afternoon. Welcome to this press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO). Today, we are delighted to invite Mr. Huang Libin, spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and director general of MIIT's Performance Inspection and Coordination Bureau; and Mr. Wen Ku, MIIT spokesperson and director general of MIIT's Department of Information and Communications Technology Development. They will introduce China's industrial and communications development in the first quarter of 2020, and also answer some of your questions. First, I'll give the floor to Mr. Huang. Huang Libin: Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media, good afternoon. First of all, thank you for your interest and support in the development of industry and communications. Next, I will brief you on the basic situation during the first quarter of 2020, and then my colleague Mr. Wen and I will answer some of your questions. Since the beginning of this year, the unexpected outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic has severely affected China's economic and social development. All sectors of society have been earnestly implementing the overall deployments made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council to coordinate the epidemic prevention and control work with economic and social development. Through hard work, China has achieved sustained improvements regarding the epidemic situation, and accelerated the restoration of economic and social orders. In the fields of industry and information technology, work and production have been resumed at an accelerated pace. The information and communications industrial sector has maintained overall stability. First, the MIIT has ensured the supply of key materials in an orderly and vigorous manner. Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, the MIIT has been leading the State Council medical supplies group, and strengthening collaboration with other member units. Multiple measures have been taken to increase production and expand capacity concerning the efficient production and effective supply of key medical materials. During the peak period, the daily output of medical protective clothing exceeded 700,000 pieces, which was more than 50 times that during the early stage of the epidemic. The production of masks, medicine, infrared thermometers, ventilators and negative pressure ambulances has quickly increased, which has been indispensable in the domestic fight against the epidemic. Whilst working to meet domestic demand, the MIIT has also provided assistance within our capabilities to countries suffering from COVID-19. More efforts have been made to increase the supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients and anti-epidemic materials to the international market, so as to help prevent and control the pandemic globally. Second, the MIIT has accelerated and further expanded work and production resumption. With a correct understanding of the relationship between epidemic control and production resumption, the MIIT has worked to promote the orderly resumption of work and production of the manufacturing industry through differentiated strategies and whole-industrial-chain coordination on the premise of strictly implementing COVID-19 control measures. Based on the concept of coordinated development between large and small companies, upper- and lower-stream enterprises, as well as domestic and foreign trade sectors, the MIIT has focused on key sectors, major industries and leading enterprises, highlighting the bottlenecks, difficulties and pains they have encountered in resuming work and production. More efforts have been made to conduct supervision and provide guidance accordingly. The MIIT has also introduced a series of policies and measures to further support medium, small, and micro enterprises (MSMEs). Through targeted coordination and assistance, the MIIT has been working to comprehensively help the manufacturing industry resume work and production. To date, industrial enterprises above designated size have basically resumed work and production. As of April 21, the average operating rate of enterprises and reinstatement rate of employees reached 99.1% and 95.1%, respectively, while the figures in Hubei province stood at 98.2% and 92.2%. Third, economic performance has seen some positive changes. In order to cope with the economic impact of COVID-19, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council quickly proposed a series of counter-cyclical macro-policy adjustments, in order to ensure that economic fundamentals have remained steady. As these policies have gradually taken effect, major industrial indicators have improved significantly. In the first quarter of 2020, the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size dropped by 8.4% year-on-year. The figure in March dropped by 1.1%, the decrease of which narrowed by 12.4 percentage points compared with that of the previous two months. Investment in the manufacturing sector fell 25.2% year-on-year, the decrease of which narrowed by 6.3 percentage points compared with that of the previous two months. In March, the purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector rose to 52% from 35.7% in February. Fourth, the new economy and new momentum are growing against the trend. We strongly support 5G, artificial intelligence, Industrial Internet, Internet of Things, Internet of Vehicles, big data, blockchain, and other technological innovations and industrial applications; we accelerate the progress of 4G and 5G base stations construction. During the prevention and control of the epidemic, emerging demands, such as remote education, online medical service, and online video, have expanded rapidly, and internet applications have played an essential role in meeting people's everyday needs. In the first quarter, the added value from information transmission, software, and information technology services industries grew by 13.2% year-on-year; mobile internet traffic increased by another 39.3% on the basis of an increase of 129.1% in the same period last year. The national online retail sales of physical goods increased by 5.9%. In terms of industrial development, the output of integrated circuits, vending machines and ticketing machines, and electronic components increased by 16%, 35.3%, and 16.2%, respectively, in the first quarter. The value added from high-tech manufacturing in March increased by 8.9% year-on-year. At present, China's domestic epidemic situation has been effectively controlled, and the orders of production and livelihood have been resumed in an accelerated way. However, the international epidemic is still expanding, the risk of a downturn of the world economy is increasing, unstable and uncertain factors have increased significantly, and the industrial economy is facing new difficulties and challenges. The situation is still not optimistic. From the perspective of long-term trends, we can see the impact and influence of the epidemic are staged and generally controllable and will not change the fundamentals of China's long-term economic growth. In the next step, in accordance with the overall arrangement of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council to coordinate epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development, our ministry will strengthen the "six stabilities," implement the "six guarantees", and comprehensively promote the manufacturing industry to resume work and production and reach its production goals, ensuring the stability of the supply chain and the industrial chain and promoting the stable and orderly development of the industrial economy in the normalized epidemic prevention and control. I have finished my introduction. Now, Mr. Wen Ku and I will answer your questions. British workers furloughed during the coronavirus crisis will be encouraged to take a second job picking fruit and vegetables, the Environment Secretary said yesterday. George Eustice said that although the international food chain was continuing to work well, he expected there to be a need to recruit staff in the UK to harvest crops at the start of summer. He told yesterdays press conference: We estimate that probably only about a third of the migrant labour that would normally come to the UK is here, and was probably here before lockdown. Romanian fruit and vegetable pickers landed at Stansted Airport earlier in April to work on a farm near Ely, East Anglia, above Environment Secretary George Eustice made the comments during the daily media briefing at Downing Street on Sunday We are working with industry to identify an approach that will encourage those millions of furloughed workers in some cases to consider taking a second job, helping get the harvest in in June. Up to 80,000 workers help farmers harvest their crops across the UK, the vast majority of which are from Eastern Europe. However, the coronavirus pandemic has stopped many of those workers travelling to Britain. Earlier this month, farmers defended special charter flights to pick up hundreds of workers from Romania and bring them to Britain. Figures released last week show that more than 430,000 business had applied for the Government scheme to pay the wages of 3.2million workers. Mr Eustice also said that supplies of food within the retail sector were back to normal pre-crisis levels but more delivery slots were needed to provide for those buying food online. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 08:20:52|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The United States continues to see a soaring number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths, as over 933,000 cases and 53,000 deaths have been reported nationwide as of Saturday evening, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally. Though government officials said mitigation efforts have "flattened the curve" of the virus, the country keeps witnessing over 20,000 new cases daily. Leading experts told Xinhua the reasons behind rising numbers include more extensive testing nationwide, variable stages of the disease curve throughout the nation, and the lack of testing in rural areas where the infection is rising but quarantine measures are limited. Kent Pinkerton, professor of pediatrics from the School of Medicine at the University of California, Davis, told Xinhua there is lack of testing in areas where the infection is now rising with cases not being detected, and quarantine measures are not implemented efficiently to minimize the spread of the infection. Stanley Perlman, professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Iowa, predicted new cases will arise for a few more days and then will plateau. "The number of cases is following the expected curve. Sheltering in place is actually keeping the numbers of cases from rising as high as they would have without any interventions," Perlman told Xinhua. According to the COVID-19 projections of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, death cases peaked on April 15 at 2,688, and confirmed cases peaked on April 17 when 58,106 beds were needed on that single day. Perlman said the flattening of the curve is different in different places. With a growing number of cases and hospitals facing a shortage of staff, beds and other medical equipment, virus tests are mostly limited to those who show severe symptoms. Those with mild symptoms or asymptomatic cases are thus left unaccounted for in official figures, according to a report of Newsweek. Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled guidelines for a phased reopening of parts of the U.S. economy disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some states have already announced plans for reopening businesses. Pinkerton noted it is of vital importance to have the public continue to remain in shelter, and not to have state and federal officials relax the stay-in-shelter orders prematurely. "It is very challenging to eliminate shelter-in-place mandate and suppressive measures before the pandemic is under control in the United States," Perlman echoed. Perlman noted many activities will not start up again even if states reopen. Individuals will decide not to go to sporting events or restaurants and schools will not reopen. "There is a risk of precipitating a second wave if restrictions are lifted too soon," he warned. Earlier this week, a new study by Harvard University's Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics suggested that even conducting 20 million COVID-19 tests a day in the country may not be enough to protect the public from the virus. The report noted that widespread testing, as well as contact tracing and measures to isolate the sick, is required to reopen the country, while preventing another explosion of cases. Enditem By PTI COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Sunday brought back its 113 nationals, mostly students, stranded in India due to the nationwide coronavirus lockdown. A special SriLankan Airlines flight carrying 113 Sri Lankans, including three infants, arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport Sunday afternoon from Coimbatore, the Colombo Gazzete reported. The Sri Lankan nationals, many of them students, who were stuck in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala after the coronavirus lockdown was enforced, were identified and brought to Coimbatore. Sri Lanka has identified nearly 1,000 students studying in various parts of India and will be evacuating them in phases, police in Coimbatore said. FOLLOW COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES HERE The Sri Lankan Airlines has been operating special flights to repatriate Sri Lankans. It said the special flights are being operated as part of measures taken by the Ministry of Foreign Relations to bring back Sri Lankans stranded overseas. The flights are being operated to and from Amritsar and Coimbatore in India, Karachi and Lahore in Pakistan, and Kathmandu in Nepal. All those repatriated have been handed over to health officials and Tri- Forces personnel upon landing. A grandfather had a tearful reaction to a surprise birthday parade in celebration of his 100th birthday. Peter Zagara, lovingly known as "Pop," was greeted by friends and family outside his Toms River, New Jersey, home on April 12. The centenarian's actual birth date is April 13. "He was trying to get close and hug but I couldn't," grandson PJ Franovic of Hoboken told "Good Morning America." "He was definitely crying, overwhelmed -- he said, 'I never saw anything like that.'" PHOTO: Peter Zagara, lovingly known as 'Pop,' was greeted by friends and family outside his Toms River, New Jersey, home on April 12. The centenarian's actual birth date is April 13. (PJ Franovic) PHOTO: Peter Zagara, lovingly known as 'Pop,' was greeted by friends and family outside his Toms River, New Jersey, home on April 12. The centenarian's actual birth date is April 13. (PJ Franovic) Zagara was born in Sicily and fought in WWII for Italy. He was a prisoner of war for five years in England, Franovic said. More: 3-year-old gets dog parade for birthday during quarantine Zagara and his late wife Grace had two children together. After she died, Zagara remarried a woman named Luda. "I firmly believe he wouldn't have made it to 100 if it wasn't for her and the bond they have," Franovic said. PHOTO: PJ Franovic of N.J. and his grandfather, Peter Zagara, lovingly known as 'Pop,' pose in an undated image. (PJ Franovic) PHOTO: Peter Zagara, lovingly known as 'Pop,' was greeted by friends and family outside his Toms River, New Jersey, home on April 12. The centenarian's actual birth date is April 13. (PJ Franovic) PHOTO: Peter Zagara, lovingly known as 'Pop,' was greeted by friends and family outside his Toms River, New Jersey, home on April 12. The centenarian's actual birth date is April 13. (PJ Franovic) Franovic and his family had a 100th birthday celebration planned for Zagara, which they canceled due to the novel coronavirus. More: Teen performs dance with grandma from safe distance during grocery drop PHOTO: PJ Franovic of Hoboken, N.J. poses with his wife, Theresa Bufano, in an undated photo. Franovic had arranged a 100th birthday parade for his grandfather. (PJ Franovic) Instead, Franovic's sister, Stefanie, and his wife, Theresa Bufano, called loved ones and local fire and police departments asking if they'd be willing to participate in a birthday parade. PHOTO: Peter Zagara of Toms River, New Jersey poses with his grandkids, Stefanie and PJ Franovic in an undated photo. (PJ Franovic) A fleet of cars drove by as Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin songs played. Franovic's video was shared by the popular Instagram account, @tanksgoodnews, where over 652,000 viewed the footage. PHOTO: Peter Zagara, 100, of Toms River, New Jersey poses with his grandkids, Stefanie and PJ Franovic in an undated photo. (PJ Franovic) PHOTO: Peter Zagara, lovingly known as 'Pop,' was greeted by friends and family outside his Toms River, New Jersey, home on April 12. The centenarian's actual birth date is April 13. (PJ Franovic) "He feels like a rock star right now," Franovic said. "He feels like it's his world and we're all living in it and that's how I want it to be." Zagara is expecting his first great-grandchild from Franovic and his wife. 100-year-old 'Pop' moved to tears at surprise curbside birthday party originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Amber Milne (Reuters) London Sun, April 26, 2020 22:06 626 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd45a7e0 2 Entertainment Emma-Thompson,coronavirus,COVID-19,migrants,lockdown Free Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson has backed a call for the British government to extend help to migrants during the coronavirus lockdown, saying many had lost livelihoods and were struggling to buy food. She was among those who signed an open letter to Britain's home minister urging her to make state aid available to families that have not yet qualified for permanent residency. Thompson said excluding those without settled status in Britain "can have a devastating effect on families, leaving children exposed to cruel levels of poverty and even destitution". "That is why I believe it is imperative that our government shows decency and humanity and ensures these families have somewhere to turn if they lose their income due to the coronavirus," she said in the letter, made public on Friday. Playwright Tom Stoppard, who fled the Nazis as a child refugee, and actress Thandie Newton, who is of Zimbabwean and British heritage, were among those who signed the letter in support of a campaign by the Children's Society, a British charity. Read also: Cash to concerts: Eight ways celebrities are helping the vulnerable during coronavirus The letter pointed out that under existing rules, many of the most vulnerable in society, including victims of trafficking, domestic abuse, were unable to access financial support. Some were among the "NHS heroes battling on the front line" of the pandemic, the letter said, referring to Britain's National Health Service workers, many of whom are from immigrant backgrounds. This month immigrant key workers from drivers to doctors featured in a video circulated online highlighting the discrimination faced by migrants before the pandemic and urging British people not to forget the role they played. "You clap for me now ... but don't forget when it's no longer quiet," said first, second and third-generation immigrant workers in the video. Germany's labour minister wants to enshrine into law the right to work from home if it is feasible to do so, even after the coronavirus pandemic subsides. Minister Hubertus Heil told Sunday's edition of the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that he aims to put forward such legislation this fall. He said initial estimates suggest the proportion of the work force working from home has risen from 12 per cent to 25 per cent during the virus crisis, to around 8 million people. "Everyone who wants to and whose job allows it should be able to work in a home office, even when the corona pandemic is over," Heil was quoted as saying. "We are learning in the pandemic how much work can be done from home these days." Heil stressed that "we want to enable more home working, but not force it." He said people could choose to switch entirely to working from home, or do so for only one or two days per week. Heil's center-left Social Democrats, the junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing coalition, had already called in December long before the virus epidemic brought public life in Germany and elsewhere to a near-standstill for the establishment of a right to work from home. Germany's main employer group rejected the idea. The chief executive of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations, Steffen Kampeter, said mobile work is in everyone's interest when it is possible and makes sense, but operational issues and customers' wishes must play a central role. We need a moratorium on burdens instead of further requirements that limit growth and flexibility, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The beer industry has been left daunted as it tries to determine what to do with the millions of gallons of beer that is destined to go stale at the country's stadiums, concert halls, restaurants and bars. With major events like St. Patrick's Day and March Madness cancelled because of the coronavirus, beer has been wasting away behind locked doors. Draft beer stays fresh from between two to six months, executives told the Wall Street Journal. With major events like St. Patrick's Day and March Madness cancelled because of the coronavirus, beer has been wasting away behind locked doors 'This was the absolute worst time for this to happen for draft beer,' Craig Purser, chief executive of the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA), said. 'We have never ever seen an interruption like this where everything freezes in place' 'This was the absolute worst time for this to happen for draft beer,' Craig Purser, chief executive of the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA), said. 'We have never ever seen an interruption like this where everything freezes in place.' According to the NBWA, the beer industry ran into trouble when in March roughly 10 million gallons of suds were abandoned in venues. That is the equivalent to one million kegs. Even more beer is currently trapped in distributors' warehouses, in transit from other countries and in breweries. The NBWA suspects that it could lose up to $1billion. According to the NBWA, the beer industry ran into trouble when in March roughly 10 million gallons of suds were abandoned in venues. That is the equivalent to one million kegs Environmental regulations advise against pouring large volumes of beer down drains or into rivers because they can disturb the pH balance, reduce oxygen in the water and produce undesirable bacteria 'This is a hot potato because none of our businesses are set up to return massive amounts of beer,' shared Dan Vorlage, marketing head for Denver-based MicroStar Logistics LLC. 'It takes three times as many trucks to transport full kegs than empty ones.' MicroStar plans to treat its beer with defoamer and balance the pH before sending it to city water authorities for more testing before it can be released. They work with 1,000 brewers. MicroStar plans to treat its beer with defoamer and balance the pH before sending it to city water authorities for more testing before it can be released. They work with 1,000 brewers Brewers and keg owners are hoping to regain their containers - which can run $100 to $120 apiece - in case they get wrapped up in bankruptcy proceedings. In case the beer does expire, Samuel Adams owner Boston Beer Co plans to do their continued plan of recapturing its ethanol for gasoline. New York brewers Montauk Brewing Co. and AB InBev-owned Blue Point Brewing Co. are switching their packaging, putting more beer in cans to sell in liquor or grocery The distiller, The Better Man Distilling Co., is using the beer to make sanitizer. - At least 4,000 servicemen and women in the US military had contracted the virus as of Saturday, April 25 - The disease had hit about 40 Navy ships with USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Kidd registering at least 800 and 18 cases respectively - Officials have intensified testing, contact tracing and isolation of confirmed cases aboard the warships - Fear is rife that more soldiers could test positive as a result of interaction with 120 asymptomatic sailors who were later diagnosed with COVID-19 As countries and economies across the world continue to take a beating from the coronavirus pandemic, it has emerged that the dreaded US military has not been spared. With over 1.3 million active servicemen and women, there were at least 4,000 confirmed cases among the soldiers with the hardest-hit section being US Navy. READ ALSO: Kenyan men threaten to disregard COVID-19 precautions after CAS Mwangangi said she has a partner USS Theodore Roosevelt was forced to dock to help in treating and isolation of COVID-19 cases. Photo: US Navy. Source: UGC READ ALSO: COVID-19: Good news as Uhuru signs bill reducing tax on salaries Being a very sensitive issue touching on the country's security, details from US Department of Defence (Pentagon) still remain cagey, however, according to a report filed by CNN on Saturday, April 25, at least 40 Navy warships had outbreaks. "The Department of Defense will continue to balance transparency in this crisis with operations security," Pentagon said in a statement. READ ALSO: Kifo cha Walibora: Bunge la Seneti latafuta majibu kutoka KNH USS Theodore Roosevelt is a ship used to carry war aircraft. Photo: US Navy. Source: UGC Aircraft carrier ship, USS Theodore Roosevelt, was among the first vessels to report cases of the respiratory disease with up to 800 sailors testing positive. The infections aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt were confirmed by Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Jonathan Rath Hoffman who said the military was ramping up testing and contact tracing. "This afternoon, Secretary Esper received a verbal update from the acting Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations on the Navy's preliminary inquiry into the COVID-19 outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt. After the secretary receives a written copy of the completed inquiry, he intends to thoroughly review the report and will meet again with Navy leadership to discuss next steps. He remains focused on and committed to restoring the full health of the crew and getting the ship at sea again soon," read statement published on Pentagon's website of Friday, April 24. READ ALSO: MV Safari: New ferry to help Mombasa fight coronavirus Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Jonathan Rath Hoffman (pictured). Photo: The Pentagon. Source: UGC Another ship that had been hit by the virus was the USS Kidd, which as of Saturday, had at least 18 confirmed cases among crew. Fear is, however, rife that the cases may increase since a section of those who contracted it were asymptomatic (120 sailors) and may have passed it to others who may get bedridden. Since the outbreak of the disease in China in December 2019, the US military slammed the breaks on recruitment exercises and also encouraged Pentagon staff to work from home. Senior army officers have also been wearing masks and also exercising serious social distancing to stem infections. Senior army officers have also been wearing face masks. Photo: US Navy. Source: UGC Special units dealing with intercontinental missile and bomb attacks were among first to be tested for the virus a move that appeared to suggest how the disease had the capacity to threaten the US's state of security. Forces that deal with counter-terrorism missions were also prioritised during testing. As of Saturday, it had emerged that the US military was contemplating to reinstate Captain Brett Crozier as commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. US Navy soldiers setting up a structure to be used to support war against coronavirus. Photo: US Navy. Source: UGC Crozier was fired after he blew the whistle on coronavirus infections aboard the ship that he commandeered. With at least 960,896 confirmed cases as of early Sunday, April 26, the US was the hardest-hit country with 54,265 deaths. However, some 118,162 patients from the President Donald Trump-led country had recovered. Globally, 2,921,513 people had been infected, 203,299 succumbed and 837,030 recovered. Kenya which extended its containment measures on Saturday by 21 more days had 343 cases out of which 14 were deaths and 98 recoveries. Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly. He was married to another woman for ten years and I had no idea - Angela Nzilani |Tuko Talks|Tuko TV. Source: TUKO.co.ke - A popular polygamist in Angola called Francisco Tchikuteny Sabalo has died - Francisco died from prostate cancer - The polygamist left 156 surviving children, 250 grandchildren and 42 wives behind Our manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Ghana Despite the social distancing rule, almost 1,000 people came out to pay their last respects to a popular polygamist in Angola. The man identified as Francisco Tchikuteny Sabalo died from prostate cancer and he was laid to rest on Sunday, April 19, 2020. Before his death, the Angolan, who is popularly called Big Dad, was a man with a very big family. Although a Christian, Francisco married 49 wives, seven of the women left the marriage before his death. While Angola law prohibits polygamy, it is widely practiced in the predominantly Christian country. The late polygamist also fathered 281 children but 125 died before him, leaving 156 surviving children. Francisco has 250 grandchildren and 67 great-grand-children surviving him. READ ALSO: Frances Mensah Williams: Ghanaian-British author projects smart and strong-willed women in latest book Angola mourns popular polygamist. Source: @VOA Source: UGC Despite being a father of many children, it was reported that the polygamist valued education and spent more than N540k every year on school supplies. Three of his daughters are currently studying medical sciences and two sons are learning computer science. The first wife of Francisco reveals her intentions to fulfill her husband's last wishes, which is to keep the children fed and united. The extended family primarily relies on farming, raising domestic animals and the proceeds they get from the family business. In other news, YEN.com.gh earlier reported that a man explained why he shared one bed with two of his three wives. A Tanzanian health doctor by the name Jj Mwaka narrated his story on how he ended up marrying three wives. Speaking in an interview with Clouds Media accompanied by his second and third wife, the doctor said the only thing that led him to marry more than one wife is just greed, which many men are led by. According to him, he married his second wife without his first wife's knowledge but he later found it tough hiding the second wife and finally decided to disclose the secret to his initial partner. Low-cost ventilators produced in Ghana by Prof. Fred McBagonluri | #Yencomgh Have national and human interest issues to discuss? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: YEN.com.gh Job Title: Market Engagement Manager Commercialising Chilli Production (CCP) Organization: Farm Africa Duty Station: Lira, Uganda Reports to: Project Coordinator CCP About US: Farm Africa, founded in 1985, is an international non-governmental organization working in Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania. We drive agricultural and environmental change to improve lives. Our strategy has three pillars: agricultural expertise, management and preservation of ecosystems, and the power of business to drive prosperity. We believe Africa has the power to feed itself and are helping make this happen by establishing and spreading the best farming and forestry techniques so that poor farmers and herders have more food to feed their families and to sell. We help smallholders manage their natural resources sustainably so that they can withstand climate change challenges and shocks and ensure their families have enough food in the future as well as now. Farm Africa works in partnership with communities, government, local and international organizations, and the private sector to innovate, learn and share best practices for maximum impact of our projects. About Project: Farm Africa is mid-way through implementation of a three-year project in partnership with aBi Development Limited and the North East Chilli Producers Association (NECPA). The project is focussed on creating a more competitive and profitable chilli value chain within Lira, northern Uganda to capitalise on growing international demand for varieties of Ugandan African Birds Eye (ABE) dried chillies. The project will strengthen the technical capacity of NECPA and their extension team to support market-orientated chilli production across their area of operation. Key project activities include; delivering an enhanced extension package to 3,000 (120 groups of 25) chilli farmers in Aromo, Barr and Amach sub-counties; reforming input supply to ensure there is an adequate flow of high-quality inputs to service growing demand from farmers; supporting NECPA to obtain the proper certification and licencing required in order to begin accessing and selling their farmers chillies directly into high-value export markets. At the same time, the project will promote greater inclusivity within the value chain, encouraging female and youth-led production by educating on gender mainstreaming and creating new enterprise opportunities. Job Summary: The Market Engagement Manager (MEM) will play a key role in Commercialising Chilli Production (CCP) team, and will be critical to the success of the project. The MEM will be responsible for providing technical assistance to our implementing partner, NECPA, and supporting them to organise 3,000 farmers to meet the demands of the export market for ABE chillies. In addition, the MEM will support NECPA to achieve the necessary certifications to enter premium organic and export markets. The MEM will work with stakeholders in the wider ABE chilli value chain to ensure the availability of affordable, high-quality inputs for ABE chilli farmers in Lira district. The role is based in Farm Africas Lira office, and reports to the Project Coordinator. They MEM will also receive technical support from Farm Africas Technical Manager for Markets & Value Chains, based in London. Key Duties and Responsibilities: The key responsibilities of the Market Engagement Manager will be: To provide ongoing technical assistance (TA) and guidance to NECPA including: Strengthening NECPAs training on market-orientated planning and production for producer groups by: o Supporting NECPA to develop annual and long-term production plans, and break them down into individual farmer group targets, o Working with the NECPA team to develop group level annual production planning tools, Supporting NECPA and their extension team to disseminate production planning tools and engage their member farmers in market-orientated production. Providing the NECPA team with practical support and guidance to complete registering as an export company, Working with the NECPA team to support NECPA and their member to farmers gain the certifications required for premium markets Supporting the NECPA to grow their existing seed selection and multiplication activities in line with market demand, and in particular: To carry out a formal review and assessment of the existing NECPA seed distribution model, and identify new agribusinesses to stock optimal seed varieties for sale to farmers outside of the NECPA network Working with the NECPA team to ensure that young people engaged in producing inputs such as drying racks and organic pesticides and fertilisers are benefitting from the local growing demand for their products To play a key role in activity planning and sequencing of activities to ensure maximum impact as well as compliance with donor deadlines, which will include: Working in close consultation with the PC to prepare weekly and monthly detailed activity plans to guide project implementation by both FA & NECPA. Ensuring colleagues and partner staff are clear on project plans and required resources during planning Providing technical advice to the PC and NECPA management team, to assist them with the development of weekly, monthly and annual implementation plans and budgets Working closely with the NECPA team to ensure that delivery progress is in line with plans, highlighting areas of concern in a timely manner and proactively addressing them in good time. To deliver project activities to a high standard, and in line with Farm Africa and donor guidelines and requirements by: Ensuring the methodologies for each activity are clearly understood by the Farm Africa and NECPA project teams and delivered according to Farm Africa Approaches. Ensuring that project activities are implemented and outputs achieved as planned and within budget and timelines that have been contractually agreed with the donor Ensuring that accurate and detailed records are kept of activities delivered by both Farm Africa and NECPA teams and extension staff, and logged using GPS devices as stipulated by the donor Participating in quarterly programme progress review sessions as requested Proactively identify and monitor any risks to non-delivery and, where required, developing and implementing action plans to address issues identified; Providing high-quality inputs for internal and external reports to show delivery progress in assigned areas To deliver assigned activities in accordance with financial guidelines and within available budgets by: Closely monitoring expenditure on all relevant activity lines, ensuring that availability of funds is confirmed and approved before delivery of an activity begins Supporting the Project Accountant & Administrator (PA&A) and PC with budgeting and reforecasting budgets as required Ensuring that all expenditure incurred is in compliance with and exceeds the basic standards contained in the Farm Africa finance procedures manual and is in line with the requirements outlined in the aBi Financial Management Guidelines Reviewing budget monitoring reports, and provide timely explanations and corrective actions for any significant variances relating to the market engagement components of the project Ensuring that procurement of goods and services is carried out in line with Farm Africa procedures and also follows the terms and conditions stipulated in the donors Financial Management Guidelines To contribute to the monitoring and evaluation of the projects outputs, outcomes and impact: As requested and required, ensure that KPI data is accurately gathered on a monthly basis using correct tools approved by aBi. Ensure that any activities delivered by the Farm Africa and NECPA teams are logged using GPS devices provided by the donor, and in line with the donor requirements As requested, support the PC in the projects annual self-assessment process ensuring that necessary evidence is collected and all staff are actively inputting into the process As requested, support the PC to ensure that the project is regularly conducting beneficiary surveys, beneficiary feedback, collecting other data through relevant sources, developing case studies and collating photos To establish and maintain mutually beneficial partnerships and working relationships with stakeholders, including: Maintaining an excellent working relationship with the NECPA management team based on mutual respect and joint goals. Maintaining an excellent working relationship with the NECPA extension team Maintaining an excellent working relationship with stakeholders across the chilli value chain, in particular agro-input dealers and large buyers of chill in Lira district and others directly engaged in the project. Identifying new potential markets and buyers and brokering relationships between them and NECPA Working closely with the NECPA team to support them with building relationships with financial service suppliers, participating in workshops and conferences, and meeting donors and other officials when required To play an active role as a member of the both the wider project and country teams Working in a cohesive way with the wider CCP team to ensure that project objectives and outcomes are delivered As requested, providing technical input to support with developing new projects or securing additional funding for work in the chilli value chain Ensuring that any lessons learned during implementation are documented and built into future project design, and shared with other Farm Africa project teams NB: These essential functions are not to be interpreted as a complete statement of all duties performed. Employees will be required to perform other job related duties as required. All work responsibilities are subject to having performance goals and/or targets established. Qualifications, Skills and Experience: The ideal candidate for the Farm Africa Market Engagement Manager Commercialising Chilli Production (CCP) job must hold a Degree or equivalent in in a relevant field, such as agricultural economics, rural development, business or economics Demonstrable understanding of private sector agriculture value chains and rural development in Uganda Excellent understanding of market-based approaches to development and particularly approaches which encourage greater participation of women and youth At least three years experience of working with a commercial organisation or INGO working with smallholder farmers Direct experience of formalising smallholder supply chains, or supporting agribusinesses to do the same Experience of supporting private sector organisations to identify and enter new markets Experience of designing production planning tools for smallholder farmers, and overseeing their deployment in the field. Experience of carrying out market analysis and demand planning Experience of supporting SMEs to develop business plans and access finance, or directly doing so in a commercial company Experience of using a range of tools to monitor delivery of activities and project outcomes and impact Excellent written and oral communication and presentation skills with the ability to work with both Government, CSOs and Private Sector stakeholders. Ability to broker relationships between different stakeholders in the value chain Excellent training/facilitation skills and experience Fluent written and spoken English Adept in Microsoft Windows including Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint Excellent network and excellent relationship with government partners Ability and willingness to travel both regionally and nationally Good knowledge of Windows including Outlook, Excel, and Power Point Desirable: Further relevant academic qualification in the area of agricultural economics, rural development, business or economics Experience of working in Lango sub-region and northern Uganda Knowledge and understanding of the chilli value chain in Uganda and key dynamics and stakeholders within it Experience of working on aBi-funded projects Experience of working within the chilli (ideally) or other horticultural value chains Experience of supporting Ugandan businesses to enter the international export market, and gain the necessary licences Experience of providing hands-on business development support to small and/or micro enterprises Negotiating & managing partner relationships Experience in leading teams in problem solving Fluency in Langi/Luo How to Apply: All candidates should send an updated a CV, salary history and a two-page supporting statement detailing how you meet the person specification to ugandarecruitment@farmafrica.org including Market Engagement Manager- CCP Project in the subject line. Please DO NOT send additional documents such as certificates and references with your application. Successful candidates ONLY will be required to provide these documents during the referencing process. It is anticipated that first round interviews will take place w/c 11th May 2020. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Deadline: 6th May 2020 by 5:00pm EAT For more of the latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com or find us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline Partners from New Jersey, New York and Connecticut can once again accompany expectant mothers into labor and delivery rooms in Lehigh Valley Health Network hospitals. The network changed its policy on Friday, based on new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and announced it on Sunday. St. Lukes University Health Network changed its policy on Wednesday. LVHN had been prohibiting visitors from those states under a policy since March 29, as part of efforts to halt the spread of the coronavirus illness. As of Wednesday, the CDC on its travel advisory page no longer singles out states as COVID-19 hotspots. Lehigh Valley will now allow anyone who lives in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut or has recently traveled there to visit network family health and newborns center. They will be subjected to the same health screening criteria required of all visitors. Visitors are asked to bring their own mask to be worn at all times in the hospital. Visitors still are not allowed in the labor and delivery triage area -- where women who suspect they are in labor are evaluated -- to reduce the use of personal protective equipment. Exceptions will be made if delivery seems imminent. Warren County freeholders opposed the visitation ban on behalf of residents scheduled to deliver babies during the coronavirus pandemic at hospitals across the river in the Lehigh Valley. Pennsylvania reported 41,165 cases of coronavirus and 1,550 deaths as of Sunday. Locally in the Lehigh Valley, the number of cases stands at 4,414, with 83 reported in the last day and at least 133 deaths. Warren County has at least 774 cases and 68 deaths, the majority in long-term care facilities, as of Saturday evening. Visitors with a confirmed case of COVID-19 cannot visit unless they have met the CDC guidelines for ending home isolation. This self-quarantine can be lifted when someone is at least seven days from first showing symptoms and has gone at least 72 hours without fever, cough or shortness of breath. Tell us your coronavirus stories, whether its a news tip, a topic you want us to cover, or a personal story you want to share. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. As suspense continues to get intense over North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns health, Kim Yo Jong - the reclusive leader's sister and closest aide - has grabbed the headlines and she is seen by many as possible successor to Kim in the communist nation. Yo Yong rocketed to international attention during the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Just like other members of her family Yo Jong too is a somewhat mysterious figure, with basic details like her exact age not known to anyone. She is a favorite of her late father Kim Jong Il. Yo Yong has completed her schooing from Switzerland, reported Washington Post. The report added that she also took ballet lessons in Switzerland before returning to North Korea in the early 2000s. Yo Yong is nicknamed the Ivanka Trump of North Korea, and she had said last month that her brother and US President Trump had special and firm personal relations, despite the conflict between Pyongyang and Washington over the latters nuclear weapons. Guardian reported that Yo Yong is responsible for pushing North Korean propaganda and protecting the reputation of North Korean leader Kim. She recently lashed out at South Korea calling it a frightened dog barking after Seoul raised objections to a live-fire military demonstration by North Korea. Earlier in April, Yo Yong was named an alternate member of the North Korean politburo. She is smart, calculating, and who knows how much power she has been able to build working in the shadows? North Korean expert Bruce Bennett told the Daily Beast. Meanwhile, a special train possibly belonging to reclusive North Korean leader, ruler, Kim Jong-un, has been spotted at a resort town, claimed a Washington-based North Korea monitoring project, amid reorts that Kim is 'unwell'. The monitoring project, 38 North, said in that the train was parked at the leadership station in Wonsan on April 21, reported Guardian. It is to be noted that the 'leadership station' is reserved for the use of Kim and his close family members, The trains presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the countrys eastern coast, the report said. What do the cures being touted look like? Unfortunately, parents of autistic children have been advised by M.M.S. sellers to feed their children a protocol of 16 doses of bleach orally, in addition to a bleach enema to cure their condition. In the last five years, poison control centers have managed more than 16,000 chlorine dioxide cases, including a 6-year-old autistic girl hospitalized with liver failure. Thousands of parents have been swayed into the dark world of autism biomedicine and their children have become 24-hour test subjects for dangerous protocols such as M.M.S., chelation and other products that have no evidence of benefit and clear evidence of harm. We think of the case of Abubakar Tariq Nadama, who died following a chelation for autism treatment. One reason it is so difficult to combat M.M.S. is that its more than just a product: Its a belief system. With Genesis II, for example, bleach products are made by an organization calling itself a church and touting its products as sacraments. We have seen the sellers create online parent support communities where the ideology around the product is continually reinforced. Group administrators, who work directly for the seller, cajole parents to stay the course and keep using the product. Think about the message this sends to children with autism. To know your parents want to cure your neurological differences to the extent that they would feed you bleach multiple times a day is devastating. The lack of regulatory protection is a big part of the problem. Pseudoscience thrives when there is cultural complacency. We reach out regularly to Facebook and other platforms asking for the M.M.S. support group pages to be shut down, but often Facebooks response is that the groups do not go against one of our specific Community Standards. Kerri Riveras bleach-cure Facebook groups had thousands of followers before they were shut down only after pressure from the media. YouTube was also initially slow to respond in our view; however, it is responding now. To their credit, Amazon and eBay have removed M.M.S. products for sale. While Health Canada has been cracking down on M.M.S., and one seller was convicted under Canadas Food and Drug Act, the F.D.A. has been much slower to take action. Although weve contacted the F.D.A. for years, it wasnt until this month that it issued temporary injunctions against the bleach-cure sellers based on the groups Covid-19 marketing. In our view, this should have happened long before the pandemic, to protect children with autism and others. This week, scientists, doctors and public health authorities are themselves taking to social media in an attempt to reverse the harm of the bleach-cure myth. We hope this will bring more attention and action against all pseudoscience. For years, we have watched parents become so engulfed in misinformation that they have turned from hopeful parents to abusers, recruiting others into their deluded, fear-based ideology. Additional reporting by Press Association Fifty-two more deaths related to Covid-19 have been announced. The latest figures mean the total number of deaths related to the virus has risen to 1,063. Figures announced by the National Public Health Emergency Team revealed a further 377 confirmed new cases of the virus. That brings the total number of cases to 18,561. 57% are female and 43% are male the median age of confirmed cases is 49 years 2,536 cases (14%) have been hospitalised Of those hospitalised, 344 cases have been admitted to ICU 4,847 cases are associated with healthcare workers Dublin has the highest number of cases at 9,010 (50% of all cases) followed by Cork with 1,103 cases (6%) Of those for whom transmission status is known: community transmission accounts for 48%, close contact accounts for 48%, travel abroad accounts for 4% This afternoon, Health Minister Simon Harris noted that there were 118 people with Covid-19 in intensive care units in Ireland on Saturday, compared to 160 earlier this month. He told RTE there were still too many people in ICUs and too many people seriously sick. If you have symptoms of #COVID19, you should self-isolate and contact your GP by phone. #ItsInOurHands #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/XLTz9CTKos HSE Ireland (@HSELive) April 24, 2020 Meanwhile, health chiefs have expressed concern over complacency about restrictions designed to curb the spread of the infection. Health Minister Simon Harris has been consulting with medical leaders via videolink at the Department of Health. He said it was an important chance to engage with some leading experts in general practice, critical care and infectious diseases. Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan has said if the situation remained like this, he would not be able to recommend the restrictions be relaxed. Chief medical officer Tony Holohan (Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland) The Government has imposed restrictions on movement limiting journeys to essential errands like getting food. A two-kilometre limit for exercise has been decreed. Gardai have mounted checkpoints near holiday spots in a bid to encourage social distancing. The restrictions are due to be reviewed by medical experts next week. President Donald Trump's open-mic riff suggesting that government health experts explore injecting patients with bleach or household disinfectants to fight covid-19 made for easy parody. "And then I see the disinfectant, that knocks it out in a minute, one minute," he said at Thursday night's televised news briefing. "Is there a way we can do something like that, by injection, inside, or almost a cleaning." Because the coronavirus "does a tremendous number on the lungs," he went on to say, "it would be interesting to check that." He added his usual disclaimer, "I'm not a doctor," but assured viewers that "I'm, like, a person that has a good you-know-what." This prompted warnings from state governments and the makers of Lysol about the serious bodily harm that taking this I'm-not-a-doctor advice would cause. But as absurd as the president's comments were, they could hardly have been surprising. His "good you-know-what" has led us down this path before. During his three years as president, Trump has regularly expressed confidence that he knows more than the experts. That confidence is matched only by the ignorance he actually displays about a vast array of topics. Repeatedly, he has sent government officials scrambling on foolish missions, leading them to spend time and personal capital persuading him not to follow through on schemes that are invariably wasteful, ineffective, unrealistic or dangerous. Consider, for example, some presidential guidance in 2017: Trump - who has no nautical, military or engineering experience - decided that the electromagnetic catapults the Navy planned to install on new aircraft carriers to launch airplanes into the sky were technically inferior to the steam catapults used in older-generation ships. "Digital. They have digital. What is digital? And it's very complicated, you have to be Albert Einstein to figure it out," the president said in announcing he would order the Navy to replace the new catapults. Though experts say the move would cost billions of dollars and degrade the carriers' capabilities, Trump has repeatedly returned to the topic in the years since, forcing Navy officials to put on their best game face in public pronouncements about the president's off-the-wall comments. A favorite object of Trump's expertise remains the wall he is attempting to build along the southern border. His outlandish suggestions include proposals to paint it black so it would be too hot to climb, electrify it and cap it with spikes. The New York Times reported that he considered adding a water-filled moat that would be stocked with snakes and alligators, a farcical idea for which aides nonetheless felt compelled to seek a cost estimate. Officials at the Department of Homeland Security and the Army Corps of Engineers have spent months constructing new prototypes and convincing the commander in chief to abandon impractical, expensive and constantly changing demands. The president has a few ideas about the weather, too. During meetings to discuss hurricane response, the president has asked why the government doesn't just drop a nuclear bomb on hurricanes before they make landfall. Despite the fact that nuking a hurricane would be banned by treaty, would spread radioactive fallout along the hurricane's path and would do nothing to actually stop the storm, an administration official reportedly told the president, "Sir, we'll look into that." Trump's "knowledge" of chemistry and physics are joined by an interest in geography. Last August, he repeatedly pushed advisers to consider whether the United States could purchase Greenland from the government of Denmark. When news of his scheme leaked and the Danish prime minister publicly responded that Greenland was not for sale, Trump publicly pouted by abruptly canceling a planned meeting with her. It is tempting to laugh off the president's most ridiculous ideas as comic relief that will never be implemented because cooler and wiser heads in the government will ultimately prevail. Indeed, the president's defenders often try to defend his wackiest suggestions by declaring him an innovative thinker, usually just before he hangs them out to dry by denying he said the thing he clearly said, or by pretending he was joking, as he did with his comments on disinfectants. "I was asking a question sarcastically," he said Friday. But these journeys deep into the abyss of the presidential mind have real effects on the workings of government and the behavior of individual Americans. Officials spend time and resources that should be directed toward addressing actual problems instead of studying Trump's worst ideas and convincing him to back down. For example, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious disease expert, has been forced to intervene repeatedly with the president over policies that Fauci believes would compromise public health. Other officials burn their own hard-earned credibility by publicly defending Trump's delusions. When Trump initially made his disinfectant recommendation, he paired it with this suggestion: "Supposing we hit the body with a tremendous - whether it's ultraviolet or just very powerful light - and I think you said that hasn't been checked, but you're going to test it. And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way, and I think you said you're going to test that too. It sounds interesting." The look of obvious discomfort on the face of Dr. Deborah Birx, the administration's covid-19 response coordinator, made her an internet sensation. But a day later, she showed up on Fox News to defend Trump by arguing that "when he gets new information he likes to talk that through out loud," a head-scratching explanation that also happened to contradict Trump's remark that he was being sarcastic. Some of Trump's silliest ideas actually make it into policy. Just as customs agents can't catch every vehicle smuggling drugs through the border, government officials can't prevent every presidential musing from being turned into reality. We now have a Space Force, a new branch of the armed services that cost billions to establish and serves no discernible purpose that wasn't already being handled elsewhere. Trump's obsession with the trappings of military pomp eventually got him the Fourth of July gathering he'd long sought, even if the tanks he wanted to parade down the National Mall ended up merely parked there instead. He seems intent on recalling a thousand cadets to the U.S. Military Academy so he can deliver a graduation speech, despite the public health risks it will cause. Beyond Washington, some Trump loyalists have trouble discerning which of his ideas stray from mere quirkiness into the realm of personal danger. When the president repeatedly pushed chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as a potential "game changer" in the treatment of patients with covid-19, despite an absence of scientific evidence, Americans responded by hoarding and consuming the drugs, sometimes at their own peril. Maryland's emergency hotline received over 100 calls about disinfectants after Trump's latest comments. New York City's poison control center reported a spike in cases of exposure to disinfectants, including Lysol. But most concerning is the obvious issues these flights of fancy raise about Trump himself and his fitness for public office of any kind, let alone the presidency. Those questions have been apparent throughout his term, as when he claimed that windmills cause cancer (they don't) or that the F-35 stealth fighter is literally invisible (it's not). The president of the United States has trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality. He believes he knows more than anyone in the room when in fact he knows less. He can't admit a mistake, even when doing so would be the smartest way out of the holes he invariably digs for himself. Those traits were harmful enough when the country was riding high on relative peace and prosperity. During a global pandemic and a disastrous economic downturn, they can prove catastrophic. As Trump's election opponent, former vice president Joe Biden, tweeted, "I can't believe I have to say this, but don't drink bleach." The warning was specific to Trump's foray into disinfectants, but it serves as an apt metaphor for his entire presidency. - - - Miller was director of the Justice Department's public affairs office from 2009 to 2011. The federal government is trying to allay privacy fears over a controversial new app, to help trace people who come into contact with someone with COVID-19. CovidSafe went live at 6pm on Sunday and was downloaded more than 10,000 times in the first hour, holding a 3.7 out of five rating. The app is based on Singapore's TraceTogether software, which records the Bluetooth connections a phone makes with others so the user can give that data to state health authorities if they catch the virus. The government hopes a broader testing regime and the contact tracing app will lead to a relaxation of the economic shutdown sooner. It's expected to be launched on Sunday. The COVIDSafe app uses bluetooth to record who you've been in contact with. The government say your data will only be turned over to health authorities if you have either tested positive for coronavirus or come in contact with someone whose been infected The Federal Government have made it clear no law-enforcement agencies will have access to your data. Pictured: A woman in a protective face mask is seen walking across Princes Bridge in Melbourne using her mobile phone Prime Minister Scott Morrison told ABC radio program, Macca, Australia All Over, that only health authorities would have access to the data. "It's another tool we need to get back to normal as much as we can," he said. He said the contact numbers picked up by a person's phone are only downloaded by a health officer when someone gets the coronavirus and gives permission. "No other government agency can use this information, no one in the commonwealth government at all, and in state authorities, only the health officer can use it," he said. "Not the police, not the welfare people, nowhere else. Just the health officer." Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, who has recovered from a bout of COVID-19, says it's a more effective approach than checking diaries or trying to remember where they had been. "The beauty of the app is that it can have a handshake, if you like, with people that you've been in close proximity with, to find the phone," he told Sky Sunday Agenda. He said the privacy issues had been dealt with. "There are absolute protections that are guaranteed around the privacy," he said. "All of us have numerous apps on our phones which collect more data than we have here." Police are pictured at Bondi Beach on April 22 enforcing social distancing restrictions Poll Will you download the government's coronavirus tracing app? Yes No Will you download the government's coronavirus tracing app? Yes 394 votes No 361 votes Now share your opinion Labor home affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally said the app could be a great tool, but she wanted people's personal data to be guaranteed in legislation. "Australians will only download the app if they have confidence that their privacy will be protected," she told the ABC's Insiders program. "We are encouraging the government to ensure those privacy protections are built into the app, that the app has legislation around it that means that the data cannot be used for any other purpose except contact tracing. "And that when this crisis is over, that authorities ensure that that data is deleted." The Australian and International Pilots Association has backed its use, but with effective privacy safeguards in place. AIPA President Mark Sedgwick said the aviation industry was in crisis and it was vital that the public recognised that Australia needed to reopen as quickly as possible. Prime Minister Scott Morrison pictured delivering an Anzac Day address at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, is urging Australians to download the software. 'If you download this app you'll be helping save someone's life,' he said "With the appropriate safeguards, the COVID-19 tracing app will be a key tool in easing non-essential travel restrictions to ensure the survival of the aviation industry and Australia's economic recovery," Mr Sedgwick said in a statement. "The government must ensure the application will be used solely for medical purposes and does not track the location of its users or store any data." The government wants at least 40 per cent of the population to sign up so officials can do "industrial-scale" contact tracing. Australian Nobel laureate and immunologist Peter Doherty said he would be signing up for it. "Anything that helps us wrestle COVID-19 to the ground is a plus. Any privacy any of us had pretty much disappeared when we started using mobile phones, searching on line, buying stuff from Amazon or whatever," he tweeted on Sunday. New research from the Australia Institute shows that 45 per cent of Australians say they will download and use the mobile app, while 28 per cent say they won't. A further 27 per cent were unsure. Estate Planning is often misunderstood. Questions often arise regarding where. First, where should you go to do your Estate Planning? The answer is simple, an attorney who focuses their practice in Estate Planning (or the related areas of Estate Planning, Elder Law, and Taxation). Estate Planning is far too intricate to rely on a general practitioner. You certainly dont want to rely on an attorney who does multiple practice areas like patent law, corporate law, and personal injury law. Next, Estate Planning laws and strategies change frequently, so you want an attorney who stays current on the latest developments. The minimum requirement for Continuing Legal Education (CLE) in many states is 12 hours per year and is 14 hours over 2 years in New York. In fact, some states have no CLE requirement whatsoever. On the other hand, some organizations or certifications require more than the typical CLE and require it to be focused in Estate Planning or related fields. For example, the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys requires 36 hours of CLE focused in Estate Planning and related fields of Elder Law and Taxation. Only an attorney focused on Estate Planning has the know-how you need to achieve your goals. Some people think they are saving money by using software or forms they find online. However, they dont know everything the attorney has learned by focusing their practice in Estate Planning. For example, do you know the difference between a per stirpes and a per capita distribution or when a Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax applies? There are numerous pitfalls which lie in wait for the unwary attempting to draft their own Estate Plan. If you needed brain surgery, you wouldnt go to your general practitioner to do it, nor would you attempt to do it on yourself. Similarly, you shouldnt try to do your own Estate Planning. The other question related to where is what do you do when you move from one location to another. Typically, you should review your Estate Plan periodically for changes in your circumstances, assets, and goals. However, if you move from one state to another, youd need to review your plan in that new state as soon as you move. Many of the laws could be different from one state to another. This is the case even if youve only moved across the state line. For example, your new state might have community property whereas your old state did not. There could be differences in a whole host of other laws, as well. So, when you move, you need to review your Estate Plan with a qualified Estate Planning attorney in your new state. Mr. Khalsa has been in private practice in New York since 1974. Over the years, his areas of practice have included business and commercial matters, the rights of the disabled and those with special needs, nonprofit organizations and education law, in addition to a wide range of estate planning specialties, including: Living Trusts, Asset Protection, Charitable Trusts, Family Limited Partnerships, Business Succession Planning, and trusts for children with special needs. He is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys. He is a past president of the Sikh Lawyers Bar Association and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Asian American Bar Association. Mr. Khalsa has been an arbitrator in the New York City courts and was nominated for the position of Judge of the Civil Court of the City of New York. He is admitted to practice Law in Colorado and New York, the U.S. District Courts in both states and the U.S. Supreme Court. He has served as an aide to the late United States Senator John Sparkman. Schedule a call with S.J Khalsa W hen the UK made a public appeal for some volunteers, it got an army. More than half a million people pitched in to lend a hand to the NHS, all of them provoked by a shared sense of responsibility and spontaneous acts of generosity. Among those inspired by this outpouring of kindness were three university friends from London, who decided they wanted to chip in to help the country through the pandemic. Wanting to find a way to ease the pressure off the NHS by encouraging people to stay at home, the trio Harrison Dark, Chris Ogunsola and Jack Carlisle launched CoronaBuddy.co.uk, a not-for-profit website that connects vulnerable people with local volunteers in their area. Bringing people together in the time of need is the reason why we created the platform. Its a nice feeling knowing that you can help someone in a pretty helpless time for all, says Chris. The website is easy to use - those who need assistance can sign up under I need help, create a request and post it on the forum. The active tasks then gets picked up by registered volunteers. Weve been fortunate enough to have volunteers from Cornwall to Glasgow and everywhere in between, says Harrison who, as well as being a co-founder and volunteer, is also a Metropolitan police officer. Since its launch in March, the site has had more than 10,000 active users and helped over 1,000 people around the UK with activities ranging from buying groceries, picking up medication, posting a letter and even something as simple as making a friendly phone call. Food partners Salt Shed have been involved with the initiative since its inception and often rely on volunteers to deliver freshly prepared meals to healthcare workers in and around London. For its owner Laurence Stevens, the decision to get involved was personal. We could see so many of our friends who worked at the NHS, their stress levels going through the roof so we wanted to bring them a little bit of happiness by taking them a hot cooked meal." The Shoreditch-based eatery was amongst the first to prepare hundreds of food parcels for the NHS, including St. Thomas hospital were Boris Johnson was treated for coronavirus. They took care of our Prime Minister and now its time for us to take care of them Seeing the feedback from NHS staff saying thank you is great because it shows that everything were doing is really making an impact. Its important that the owners can keep normality for themselves but also for their animals and especially dogs who are used to being outside. Being able to see the gratitude on the owners faces is just really lovely. We all want to still feel connected within ourselves, within our community and this is a great way to do it." With uncertainty on how long the lockdown will last, demand for community aid platforms like CoronaBuddy is likely to remain high. We want to support people who will become overwhelmed during this situation like our NHS frontline and key workers. As long as were helping those, we will be happy, says Jack. As for its future, the team hope to continue helping people long after the pandemic is over. Its been more than a month since the Montanez brothers Nataniel, 14, and Jariel, 16 stopped going to class after schools in Puerto Rico shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, theyve been taking classes online, but the transition has been tough. I have no internet in our house, and my kids dont have the latest cellphone models, their mother, Haydee Valle, told NBC News in Spanish. And the fact that everyone else is also at home trying to use the internet doesnt help either. The family lives in San Salvador, a remote, rural neighborhood in the town of Caguas, about a 20 mile-drive south from San Juan, the island's capital, and gets only shoddy internet connection through their cellphones. Haydee Del Valle with her husband and children in Caguas, Puerto Rico. (Courtesy of Haydee Del Valle) About a quarter of the island's children dont have internet access and 56 percent don't have a computer, according to the Puerto Rico Youth Institute, a nonprofit advocating for childrens rights through public policy. Maybe they might have access to the internet through a cellphone, which is very different from a computer, Amanda Rivera, the organization's director, said during a web conference call this month. 'A very difficult transition' Del Valle, 54, said the transition to virtual learning has been very difficult. They initially had their cellphone service cut off because the family was unable to pay the bill on time after losing a significant part of their income due to the strict coronavirus closures and curfews. The family sells homemade and other goods as well as produce they grow. After the family got their service restored, Del Valle received calls from teachers asking why they hadnt gotten the boys' homework. That's when Del Valle realized the attachments they sent didnt go through. Even though the teachers helped come up with a solution the boys ended up sending the work through WhatsApp her eldest son was anxious. Hes scared of going back to school and have the teachers say to him: But what happened, you didnt do anything? said Del Valle. Story continues Puerto Ricos education secretary, Eligio Hernandez, announced Thursday that online classes are set to end during the first two weeks of May and the academic year will officially end on June 5th; schools will remain closed until August. Hernandez said all public school students will go on to their next grade regardless of current circumstances; schools will gauge what students were able to learn during the next academic calendar. Elementary school students in San Juan, Puerto Rico use modules to learn at home as schools remain closed due to coronavirus. (Courtesy Puerto Rico Department of Education) But with the uncertainty over when schools and businesses will be able to reopen, the remote learning challenges faced by families in rural or underserved areas are an ongoing concern for educators and local officials. Rosachely Rivera, the mayor of Gurabo, about 30 minutes from San Juan, said it's been up to local officials like her to figure out whether students with no access to connectivity have been able to learn virtually. Basically, each parent and each school is currently responsible for their kids, the mayor said, adding she had been waiting on information from her schools social workers to identify the children who are the most vulnerable, whether they dont have a computer, or theyre so poor we cant foresee some of their needs. Nearly 600,000 children under the age of 18 live in Puerto Rico, and make up 18 percent of the islands population. An overwhelming majority of them 71 percent live in poverty or on the verge of becoming poor and about 38 percent live in extreme poverty with incomes around $3,950 annually, according to a study commissioned by the Puerto Rico Youth Institute. Lack of money means less access to good-quality schools and to inputs that are accessories to a good education, such as books, among others, the study states. About half of the child population in Puerto Rico is enrolled in the public school system, according to the Department of Education. Government shifts resources Hernandez told NBC News that the island had made a series of resources available to schools seeking to effectively transition to distance learning to finish the school year, including online modules and virtual classrooms through applications such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Classrooms, among others. As part of a record $787 million financial package to help alleviate the economic impact of the coronavirus in Puerto Rico, Gov. Wanda Vazquez made $250 million available to the Education Department to buy tablets, software and other items necessary to improve virtual learning. The Education Department is in the process of acquiring 159,330 devices, such as tablets, worth about $137 million, Hernandez said, adding that about 20,000 are expected to arrive in Puerto Rico for distribution every month starting in June. "With that, we're already taking care of a significant portion of our students," he said, adding their hope is to get at least "113,000 laptops and 18,000 iPads for students as well as 30,000 laptops for teachers." Elementary school students in San Juan, Puerto Rico use modules to learn at home as schools remain closed due to coronavirus. (Courtesy Puerto Rico Department of Education) In Ponce, Puerto Rico's second-largest municipality, Mayor Maria Melendez said most schools in the urban center have been able to transition to remote learning with the help of the online modules. But the students living in remote, rural areas worry me," Melendez told NBC News, adding that she has been using a staggered schedule to keep some community centers with digital access open while preventing overcrowding. Families who only have internet access through a mobile phone have raised concerns over the modules, saying they arent necessarily compatible with their phones, said Rivera in Gurabo. Some offer the option to print them but not everybody has access to that, she said, adding that some jurisdictions are trying to make their modules more mobile-friendly. "They could give tablets to every kid, but if you dont have internet what are you going to do?" said Del Valle. Discard this semester Public school students missed about 78 school days because of Hurricane Maria in 2017. The government closed about a quarter of the public schools the following year. During the first two weeks of this year, students in southern towns had their semesters disrupted by more than 1,000 quakes that jolted the island, weakening and destroying many buildings. Then, as students whose schools were deemed safe returned to their classrooms, the coronavirus pandemic hit. This has been an adrift semester, said Rivera. But what were seeing is that this is not affecting all children equally. Rafael Surillo, mayor of the eastern coastal town of Yabucoa, describes the recent months as "extremely abnormal and atypical." "I really think we should leave this semester behind and start over on the following one," said Surillo, "with a curriculum that takes into consideration the time lost. Dreaming of the cap and gown The Department of Education has not made an announcement on graduations. Some requirements, such as community service hours and some environmental and occupational laboratory hours, were modified to help students be able to complete their semesters. Despite the recent challenges, Del Valle's youngest son, Nataniel is anxiously waiting to hear if he will be able to celebrate his eighth grade graduation alongside his teachers and classmates. "Thats our greatest dream," said his mom, "being able to see them with their graduation gowns and their graduation caps." Follow NBC Latino on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Chief electoral officer Virginia McVea said more phone lines should have been used (Rui Vieira/PA) More phone lines should have been used ahead of the general election in Northern Ireland, the chief electoral officer said. The Electoral Office received an unprecedented 13,775 applications to vote on the deadline for registration last November. It has faced criticism in some quarters over how the election was conducted amid claims people had been denied a vote in the December 12 poll. The first phase of this is complete and the only systemic issues emerging were that more phone lines would help and a request to make the Register easier to read Virginia McVea Chief electoral officer Virginia McVea said: The most telling piece of data perhaps of all is that 46% of all those applications for the parliamentary election were received in the last six days. This compares to 15% of all applications in the last six days of the local election which totalled 7,199 compared to over 40,000. This huge rush at the end was unprecedented for Northern Ireland. After every election she said the organisation reviewed all polling station logs to learn lessons. Ms McVea said: The first phase of this is complete and the only systemic issues emerging were that more phone lines would help and a request to make the Register easier to read. Expand Close After every election Virginia McVea said the organisation reviewed all polling station logs to learn lessons (Liam McBurney/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp After every election Virginia McVea said the organisation reviewed all polling station logs to learn lessons (Liam McBurney/PA) The office received under 200 complaints, fewer than at previous elections. This is for an eligible electorate of around 1.3 million. The Electoral Office has been waiting to set up a new telephone system for some time. Ms McVea said: The number of unplanned elections in the last three years interrupted this work but now that we believe we have a period between elections which will enable us to do the work on the phone system we are currently awaiting contractors who will as part of their work put more lines in to the office. During one day in the lead up to the election BT phone lines were down in part of Belfast. This was an issue with BT and not the Electoral Office Northern Ireland. We followed best advice during those hours which involved using mobile devices. She issued a report on alleged administrative irregularities to the Northern Ireland Office. People gather on Huntington Beach which remains open amid the coronavirus pandemic on April 23, 2020 in Huntington Beach, California. Neighboring beaches in Los Angeles County are closed in efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Mario Tama/Getty Images Tom Inglesby, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said that the US is likely "near the end of the beginning" of the novel coronavirus pandemic as officials have found a nationwide plateau in new cases of the virus each day. Despite promising indicators of new cases and deaths from the virus, Inglesby said on "Fox News Sunday" that the US is "not out of the woods by any means," as several states that are set to reopen this week. Inglesby also echoed warnings from Dr. Anthony Fauci that the novel coronavirus could likely become "seasonal" with the possibility of a resurgence later this year, a prediction that suggests a vaccine is critical for the US to reopen.A Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Tom Inglesby, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said Sunday that despite promising indicators regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic in the US, the country is still far from the end of the outbreak. When Fox News' Chris Wallace asked Inglesby on "Fox News Sunday" which stage in the coronavirus outbreak he thought the country currently was, the public health expert pointed to a national "plateau" in new cases. Related: How Anthony Fauci Became the Nations Top Disease Expert "I would say we are maybe near the end of the beginning of the pandemic in this country," Inglesby said, adding that though "we have a plateau in new cases per day, unfortunately, it's a very high plateau" with around 30,000 new cases of COVID-19 and 2,000 deaths every day. "We are not out of the woods by any means but at least we've reached a stable number of new infections and the number of people who are dying," Inglesby said. Inglesby's comments come after Vice President Mike Pence told Fox News' Geraldo Rivera that by Memorial Day Weekend on May 25 "we will largely have this coronavirus epidemic behind us" and states will reopen. That prediction is likely too optimistic, Inglesby told Wallace, as different areas in the country are in different stages of finding new cases that are too unpredictable for a widespread reopening by late May. Story continues "At this point, if you go state by state you see that in about half of the country the numbers are still rising day to day, about another third seems to be a leveling off and in a minority of the country the numbers are going down day by day," Inglesby said, adding that he doesn't "think it's likely we will be in that position by Memorial Day." Despite some states and cities easing social distancing orders, Inglesby said that "wherever we are in the epidemic, this virus is going to be with us until we have a vaccine." Inglesby's comments echo warnings from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease expert, that the novel coronavirus could likely become "seasonal" with the possibility of a resurgence in the outbreak later this year. Business Insider China has shut downs gyms and swimming pools in Beijing amid fears the country is vulnerable to a second wave of coronavirus. It comes just days after the communist regime quarantined a city of 10million people in its north west region near Russia and on Saturday China's northwestern province of Shaanxi reported seven new imported cases coronavirus, all in citizens returning home from Russia. A second outbreak would be a setback for President Xi Jinping who is trying to restart the nation's economy and present an image of power to the rest of the world. Beijing claims that the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in China, where the virus first emerged in late December, is now 82,816. The death toll remained the same at 4,632, with no new deaths reported on April 24. But there is widespread disbelief at those figures across the globe from Western leaders who accuse Beijing of letting coronavirus spread across the globe while its leaders saved face. Donald Trump has accused the World Health Organisation (WHO) of colluding with Beijing to downplay its coronavirus outbreak, amid doubts over China's claim to have only 4,636 dead from the virus. Beijing claims that the total number of confirmed coronavirus deaths in China is 4,632 people . But there is widespread disbelief of those figures across the globe by Western leaders who accuse Beijing of letting coronavirus spread across the globe while its leaders saved face. Medical personnel take swab samples of a man from a man in in Suifenhe, in China's northeastern Heilongjiang province How China 'covered up' coronavirus outbreak Lab Accident? US intelligence sources have claimed to media that corona virus escaped from a lab in Wuhan. They say an intern at the lab was infected in an accident, which she then covered up before infecting her boyfriend. Chinese officials were quick to blame bats sold at the wet market in Wuhan as the source of the outbreak. Delay in admitting human-human transmission Chinese officials for waiting six days to warn the public after becoming aware that a viral outbreak was causing a rash of deadly pneumonia cases in Wuhan in January. Covering up death toll China still only claims to 4,636 dead from virus. The people of Wuhan believe the death toll in their city that was the epicentre of the outbreak is 42,000 - not the 3,182 claimed by China. Silencing whistleblowers Eight Wuhan medical workers who sounded the alarm on the virus at the end of December were accused of spreading fake news and reprimanded by police. Advertisement World Health Organization 'colluded with China' in response to coronavirus The World Health Organization has been criticized for putting the world at risk by credulously accepting China's information about the coronavirus pandemic . INITIAL RESPONSE TO OUTBREAK As concern about the crisis developing in Wuhan grew in December, the WHO parroted the Chinese government's line stating there was 'no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission'. The United Nations agency then took another week to correct that statement. EFFUSIVE PRAISE FOR CHINESE OFFICIALS The World Health Organisation and its leader Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus heaped praise on the Chinese repsonse to the virus even as it spread around the world. After a meeting in Beijing in January, Dr Tedros said: 'Its actions actually helped prevent the spread of coronavirus to other countries.' He said he was 'very impressed and encouraged by the president's detailed knowledge of the outbreak.' REFUSAL TO DECLARE A GLOBAL HEALTH EMERGENCY In late January, when the virus had already spread to several countries, a WHO emergency committee debated whether to declare COVID-19 a 'public health emergency of international concern'. However Dr Tedros declined amid Beijing's objections and instead traveled to China, before finally making the declaration a week later on January 30. Advertisement The people of Wuhan believe the death toll in their city that was the epicentre of the outbreak is 42,000 - not the 3,182 claimed by China. Trump is backed by large numbers of Republican politicians amid claims from the US intelligence community that the virus escaped from a lab near Wuhan in an accident involving an intern. And in the UK, Downing Street has removed China from the list of other countries it uses to compare the spread of the coronavirus - in a snub to Beijing amid widespread anger at the nation's apparent cover-up of the seriousness of its coronavirus outbreak. People returning to China from overseas are once again being ordered to quarantine, while health clubs and swimming pools are shutting amid fears of a new spike in the disease. China has instituted stringent checks at its ports and border points, banning the entry of foreign nationals on March 28, and even diverting international flights from its capital city Beijing. Still it has faced a continuous trickle of cases brought in by Chinese citizens wanting to return home in spite of risks of getting infected. In recent days, many of these have come back from Russia. The new cases in Shaanxi were all Chinese nationals who had returned on April 20 on a flight from Moscow that was diverted away from Beijing. As of Saturday, the flight had a confirmed total of 30 cases, and 8 asymptomatic infections, according to the provincial health commission. No further details were given about the imported cases in Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia. The northern province announced Friday that it would start requiring all international arrivals to undergo a 28-day quarantine, as well as two tests for COVID-19 as well as an antibody test. Zhao Hui, 30, the owner of Upower Fitness in Beijing, told The Sunday Telegraph: 'On April 16, after we passed the inspection, we were able to start a trial operation. Then on April 18, they suddenly asked us to close again. 'I felt very frustrated. We just saw hope, but then it was gone, and we could not operate again.' It comes as more than 70 people have been infected and over 4,000 are being tested in the city of Harbin after the virus was believed to be 'imported' by a student who had returned from New York, according to media reports. Officials have banned gatherings and ordered communities to closely monitor non-local visitors and vehicles in the city of around 10 million. Checkpoints have been installed at the airport and train stations, to screen those coming from elsewhere. Earlier this week, China announced that there were only two critically ill patients left in Wuhan, the former centre of the pandemic. Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang in north-eastern China, has been grappling with what is now the country's biggest coronavirus outbreak. The government yesterday released a directive to instruct further restrictions on its residents, visitors and inbound traffic. Before entering any public facilities and residential complexes, people must use a government-approved health app to prove they don't have the virus, have their temperature taken and wear a face mask, the notice says. Harbin, a city of around 10 million people in north-eastern China's Heilongjiang province, has adopted draconian quarantine measures against the coronavirus. The picture shows a man keeping watch at a checkpoint in the border city of Suifenhe, in Heilongjiang, on April 21 Harbin, the provincial capital and the biggest city of Heilongjiang, which borders Russia Residents must follow social-distancing measures. Weddings, funerals, public performances and conferences are banned. All confirmed, suspected, asymptomatic cases and their close contacts will be put into strict quarantine. All their neighbours in the same building must be isolated at home for two weeks with around-the-clock surveillance. Asymptomatic cases are those who carry the virus but show no symptoms. They can still spread the virus to others. Anyone in home-quarantine must pass two nucleic acid tests, which detect the coronavirus, and one anti-body test, which shows if the person has had the virus in the past. New coronavirus cases have forced Chinese gyms, pictured, to close - just weeks after reopening Officials say the virus was likely 'imported' into the city by a student who had returned from New York. Pictured, passengers wearing masks push luggage carts at Harbin airport on April 11 The city's government said this month it was ordering 28 days of quarantine for all arrivals from abroad, with two nucleic acid tests and an antibody test for each. Pictured, workers in protective suits are seen at a registration point for passengers at an airport in Harbin on April 11 Harbin, Heilongjiang's biggest city, had already ordered isolation for those arriving from outside China or key epidemic areas. The city's government said this month it was ordering 28 days of quarantine for all arrivals from abroad, with two nucleic acid tests and an antibody test for each. Heilongjiang has been at the forefront of China's latest efforts to identify infected citizens arriving from Russia, with which it shares a border, to curb the spread of the virus. 'I'm not taking my daughter or parents outside anymore. If we need any food or vegetables, we just let my husband buy it on his way back,' said a 34-year-old Harbin resident surnamed Sun. 'And whenever anyone has to go outside, he or she will leave their shoes outside the door to avoid bringing back any virus.' Wuhan has only TWO critically ill coronavirus patients, China says China has announced today that there are only two critically ill coronavirus patients left in Wuhan, the former epicentre of the pandemic. A health official said that the number of active confirmed patients in China has dropped below 1,000 for the first time and the total of critically ill cases in Wuhan has fallen to two. More than half of the patients who contracted the bug from abroad have recovered, the authorities stated in a press conference on Thursday. China has announced today that there are only two critically-ill coronavirus patients left in the former epicentre Wuhan of Hubei Province. The photo taken on February 13 shows a doctor checking a patient's conditions at a hospital in Wuhan Over 82,000 people in mainland China have been infected with the deadly disease and at least 4,632 patients have died, according to China's official figures. China has recorded 1,616 'imported cases' from abroad, of which 823 have recovered. A total of 77,207 coronavirus patients have been discharged from hospitals in the country. Mi Feng, a spokesperson from the Chinese Centre of Disease Prevention and Control, said in a press conference today that Wuhan now only has two coronavirus patients in critical condition. 'But some areas with infection clusters have seen an increase in confirmed cases,' Mi continued. '[We need to] cut the source of the spread quickly, fill in the loopholes in epidemic control and firmly prevent the second wave of outbreak.' A staff member is pictured spraying disinfectant on medical equipment on April 14 after all coronavirus patients have left Leishenshan Hospital in Wuhan Mi's announcement comes as the northern city Harbin has reported more than 70 infections in the past two weeks the virus was allegedly imported into the area amid fears of a new outbreak. The former ground zero Hubei Province has the brunt of the coronavirus cases in China, with a total of 68,128 infections and 4,512 deaths. There are 69 active confirmed cases in Hubei as of today and 63,547 patients have recovered from the deadly disease. Advertisement Harbin, which has air links with Russia, reported three new confirmed cases today, taking its local infections to 55, excluding recoveries discharged from hospital. Officials have so far registered 21 asymptomatic cases, including two who were diagnosed yesterday, according to the latest government figures. So far, Heilongjiang has reported 540 local confirmed cases, including 470 discharged from hospital. Besides Harbin, the city of Mudanjiang has two current confirmed cases. 'Prevention measures have been stricter recently, and people from Mudanjiang or Harbin will not be allowed to come into our town,' said a civil servant surnamed Zhang, who lives in Mishan town on the eastern edge of Heilongjiang. Hospitals in Harbin were arranging 4,106 people to be tested in response to the cluster infections, Beijing Daily reported. The Second Hospital of Harbin halted its operation on Monday after all of the six cases the city registered on Sunday were said to be related to the hospital. One persisting cluster in Harbin centred on an 87-year-old man surnamed Chen who had stayed at two hospitals since April 2, four days after dinner at home with his son's friends, two of whom later tested positive. Harbin, near Russia, reported three new confirmed cases today, taking its local infections to 55. Pictured, police officers in protective suits are seen at the airport of Harbin on April 11 Heilongjiang has been at the forefront of China's latest efforts to identify infected citizens arriving from Russia. A keeping watch at a checkpoint in the border city of Suifenhe By Tuesday, Chen had infected 78 people, with 55 confirmed, though 23 who tested positive have yet to show virus symptoms. Those infected were mainly family members, hospital patients and their families, and doctors and nurses in direct or indirect contact, provincial health officials said. Of seven new confirmed cases in Heilongjiang on Tuesday, four were patients who had stayed in the same ward as Chen, while three were healthcare workers at one hospital. However, Harbin's health officials have named a 22-year-old student, who studies in New York, as the likely source of the local crisis. According to the Harbin Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Han is a Master's student at New York University. Her parents and brother live in Harbin. Staff members keep watch at a checkpoint in the border city of Suifenhe on April 21 She arrived in her hometown on March 19 after flying out of New York the day before and having stopovers in Hong Kong and Beijing. Han tested negative during isolation, but local health officials said her two recent tests in April showed she had coronavirus antibodies, which indicated a previous infection. Officials suggested that Han spread the bug to one of her neighbours, whom she never met during her quarantine, by contaminating the environment of her building. Her neighbour, Cao, then pass the virus on to various others, who in turn transmitted it to Chen. The virus that infected the cluster has travelled beyond the province, with health officials in neighbouring Liaoning reporting on April 16 a confirmed case whose father had stayed at the same hospital as Chen. On Monday, the northern region of Inner Mongolia reported a confirmed case in an individual who had stayed at one of the Harbin hospitals at the same time as Chen and the Liaoning patient. China reported 10 new confirmed cases today, six of them imported, involving travellers from overseas, down from 23 yesterday. China's tally of confirmed cases stands at 82,798, with 4,632 deaths. Saudi Arabia on Sunday began to loosen its nationwide curfew imposed last month to limit an outbreak of the new coronavirus. Saudi King Salman ordered the curfew partially lifted starting from Sunday until May 13, allowing people to go out from 9 am (0600 GMT) until 5 pm, the state Saudi news agency SPA reported. A 24-hour curfew will, however, remain in place in the holy city of Mecca, the agency added. In his decree, the monarch also allowed some businesses, including shopping centres, retail and wholesale stores, and factories to reopen for two weeks, beginning next Wednesday. The agency said the latest steps were taken on a recommendation from the health bodies and out of the monarchs interest to ease restrictions on the public. Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, has suspended congregational prayers in mosques and halted religious journeys to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina as part of strict measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The country has reported so far a total of 1,699 virus cases and 136 deaths. (dpa/NAN) US seeking coronaviorus compensation political farce: China Iran Press TV Saturday, 25 April 2020 6:26 AM China says US accusations that Beijing mishandled the coronavirus outbreak have "no factual and legal basis", adding that seeking compensation for damages caused by the deadly virus is nothing but a political farce. This came after a number of US states filed a lawsuit against China, arguing that they are suffering huge damages over Beijing's response to the outbreak. This week, Missouri's Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch filed a lawsuit in a federal court, alleging that China's mishandling of the outbreak has led to devastating economic losses for the states. Schmitt has accused China of lying about the danger and contagious nature of COVID-19, blaming Beijing for making the pandemic worse by "hoarding" personal protective equipment. Other lawsuits have also been filed in US courts on behalf of business owners, including one in Florida seeking compensation from the Chinese government for coronavirus-related damages on behalf of thousands of people. In an article published by China Media Group (CMG) on Saturday, Beijing said these lawsuits have been filed in an attempt to cover up Washington's own errors in handling the coronavirus outbreak. "As the coronavirus situation in the United States becomes increasingly grave, certain people in the country have begun to seek prosecution against, and compensation from, China out of desperation. Their malicious prosecution and abuse of process, without any legal and factual basis whatsoever, is nothing but a farce reminiscent of the Chinese saying: "A thief shouting thief!," the article said. "Since the outbreak began, a few unscrupulous politicians in Washington, DC have been obsessed with fueling their political interests from the emergency. The idea of putting people's lives first has never crossed their mind. They have been actively engaged in buck passing, while passively fighting the virus and squandering precious windows of opportunities to curb its spread. This irresponsible behavior has resulted in the United States having the highest number of infections in the world," it added. "It is the politicians who have undermined public interest with their unethical behavior that should be prosecuted by the international community and American people. Their abuse of process is incompatible with laws, facts and international justice". The article also pointed out that the lawsuits have no legal basis and they defy the basic theory of the law. "First and foremost, their lawsuits against China were filed without any legal basis. According to the international principle of Sovereign Immunity of State, the state, government and property of a country are not subject to the jurisdiction and enforcement of the courts of another country." "US courts do not have jurisdiction regarding those lawsuits. Even though the cases were submitted to the International Court of Justice, China can verify that it has already fulfilled its obligations," it added. The coronavirus, which causes a respiratory disease known as COVID-19, emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei Province late last year, incrementally affecting the rest of the world. The virus has so far infected over 2,832,000 people worldwide, and over 197,300 have died, according to a running count by worldometers.info. The United States says the virus has so far infected more than 925,000 and killed over 52,000 others. China has repeatedly said it "has been nothing but open, transparent and responsible" in informing the World Health Organization (WHO), relevant countries and the US about the pandemic and related information. Recently, The Washington Post and The New York Times have published several articles reviewing the timeline of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, and they have pointed out that it was the administration of US President Donald Trump that led the country to an "error of epic proportions". Since the coronavirus outbreak, the origin of the virus has been widely discussed online, and conspiracy theories around it have also emerged endlessly. Previous scientific studies have already suggested that virus, which causes COVID-19, originated through natural processes. Some analysts say there is increasing evidence that the global coronavirus pandemic is a US biological warfare against other nations. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574. Community Perspective Send Community Perspective submissions by mail (P.O. Box 70710, Fairbanks AK 99707) or via email (letters@newsminer.com). Submissions must be 500 to 750 words. 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The Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel Residence & Spa in Bahrain is offering a hotel office package for those looking to recreate a workplace environment. The home office away from home is just a short drive to your sanctuary that is designed to carry out remote business meetings without interruptions guaranteed for a stress free, productive and comfortable way of a unique working atmosphere in a 5 star hotel room said general manager, Marc Guenther. For only BD29++ ($76.2++), the home office away from home has been designed for a working day access to the hotels newly renovated rooms, inclusive of high-speed internet, a state of the art TV system with Apple TV and other connectivity options, unlimited coffee or tea and IT support. Guests can also opt for overnight stays for an additional BD15++ ($39.4++) which includes Suhoor or Breakfast served to the room. A survey by the National Parents Council Post Primary (NPCPP) has found that almost three-quarters of parents (71pc) are against Education Minister Joe McHugh's plans to attempt to hold the Leaving Cert on July 29. Almost 20,000 parents of sixth-year students gave their view, and almost half those parents stated their reason for opposing the current plan was out of concern for their children's well-being. They believe it is being adversely affected by the postponement of the State exam and the proposal that students will physically sit it in exam halls around the country. It's extraordinary that any government department would plough ahead with a plan that most parents feel is harming their children. Noel Keenan, vice-president of the NPCPP, said it undertook the survey - which had to be extended due to the volume of replies - because the NPCPP was being inundated with calls and emails from worried parents. He said the kind of language being used by parents about their children's mental and physical health was deeply concerning. And these parents are correct - the minister's plan is inherently unfair and, indeed, possibly unworkable. On fairness - as the class of 2020 has missed almost three months of class-based teaching, they've had to switch to online lessons. Some schools have run an almost identical timetable of digital classes to the normal school day, some schools have no remote learning set up at all. So, while some kids are getting full learning support going into the Leaving Cert, others are getting none. In addition, it's grossly unfair to the 51pc of mostly rural students who have inadequate broadband to engage with lessons, should they even be available. So, there's no level playing field this year for examinees. In terms of workability, school principals have expressed reservations about some schools' ability to physically hold a socially distanced exam on their premises. And they're worried for the health and safety of students, teachers and invigilators in those circumstances. They've also said that bringing pupils back into classrooms for two weeks beforehand will be an even bigger challenge in terms of social distancing, and the only possible way that might happen would be if class sizes were reduced by a factor of three. So, each student will actually end up with only about a third of that two weeks in actual class time. And that's on top of the fact that for six of the eight weeks prior to the Leaving Cert, teachers will be on holidays. I've no problem with that - I'm sure they need them after all this stress. However, it's still incredible that students are expected to sit an exam having had no access whatsoever to teaching for the best part of two months. So, we're acknowledging teachers are wrecked at the end of the school year and need a break - but no such break will be offered to the country's adolescents who are expected to soldier on in sixth year for 12 months. Or does the DES perhaps hope that teachers will make themselves available to their students during their annual leave? None of these things is fair to anyone involved. And that's all aside from the fact that the current plan destroys third-level institutions' intake of Irish first years in September - their intake of overseas students having already collapsed, presumably also destroying much of their funding model. Simply put, this is a 'most worst', as opposed to a 'least worst', solution. And we might still accept it - if there were no alternatives. But there are. Former school principals, like Barry O'Callaghan, pointed out clearly last week that estimated grades are entirely possible here (like in all the other countries that have adopted them for their 2020 school leavers). Indeed, at this stage they are fairer to all concerned than a written exam. Leaving Cert students could absolutely be afforded a no detriment system of predicted grades, whereby any student who felt the estimated grade they were offered was unfair to them, could opt to sit the Leaving Cert if they wanted. But clearly it would be a smaller number than 60,000, which is all to the good. The real question in all of this is how do parents and other stakeholders get the minister to cry halt? If parents recognise that this plan is not in their children's best interests and there are other fairer, workable plans out there - how to make a minister see sense? Well, teachers could support these students and refuse to take part in it. But are there any options open to the 100,000 parents of the 60,000 students in the class of 2020? Yes, there are. Firstly, this is a voting issue. A general election may well happen before the end of this year; if you don't like how your children are being treated, tell your local TD about it. Secondly, you could get your child to apply to UCAS -the British university system. It's accepting applications for some courses up until June 30. Those applications are done by a system of estimated grades. If students here start to request estimated grades for that in numbers, it would make it increasingly ludicrous to suggest they can't be provided and used by our own system. More radically, perhaps, the class of 2020 could consider boycotting this year's Leaving Cert. If enough families said they weren't going to put their child through an uncertain, unfair, unworkable exam that will mess up their college application, that they're being forced to sit without proper learning support, and that's very possibly detrimental to their physical and mental health, the minister would be forced to rethink. There are many pressing issues to deal with during this pandemic and some may argue that the Leaving Cert is not one of them. But we can do the right thing or the wrong thing by these kids. I have no idea whose best interest the current plan is in - but it certainly isn't in theirs. @ciarakellydoc By Express News Service In a policy paper aptly titled FORCE (Fiscal Options & Response to Covid-19 Epidemic) and presented to the government, 50 officers of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) recommended five short-term and six medium-term measures, some of which analysts think will end up as a bunch of fives. The 40-page report includes suggestions to bring back wealth and inheritance tax to raising the super-rich tax and google tax on digital firms to imposing a one-time flat COVID relief cess, to offering exemptions to soft soap corporate taxpayers, to a three-year tax holiday for healthcare businesses. In fact, FORCE goes one step extra crossing over to its sister wing -- Department of Expenditure -- recommending expert tips on where to cut costs and how to spend it wisely. The policy brief doesn't actually put a number on total tax revenue the measures can raise, but does give a flavour of the extent of expenditure cuts. For instance, of the total revenue expenditure of Rs 26 lakh crore for FY21, a blanket 10 per cent cut can sock away Rs 2.6 lakh crore that could be used for COVID related works. But more on that later. Hours after the Force report was made public, the Department of Income Tax 'unequivocally stated that CBDT never asked the IRS Association or these officers to prepare such a report.' "No permission was sought by the officers before going public with their personal views & suggestions, which is a violation of extant Conduct Rules. Necessary inquiry is being initiated in this matter," the department tweeted on Sunday. It further added that the impugned report doesn't reflect the official views of CBDT/MInistry of Finance in any manner. The foremost among the short term (3-6 months) measures include taxing the super-rich as they have a higher obligation in tough times. Drawing inspiration from European economists, who believe taxing the wealthy to be the most progressive fiscal tool, officials suggest raising the top income tax rate to 40 per cent for those earning above Rs 1 crore. If not, it seeks to re-introduce wealth tax with net wealth of over Rs 5 crore. It's pertinent to note that India has less than 6,000 ultra-high networth individuals, and so it's unclear how much revenue can be mopped up. Moreover, when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman raised surcharge on the super-rich last year, she was under tremendous pressure and eventually crossed it out in a few weeks. And given the proposed surcharge was to generate a mere Rs 2,700 crore in additional revenue, the officials instead favoured raising the tax rate itself, albeit for a short time. While at it, they also sought raising surcharge on higher-income foreign companies with a presence in India and increasing the capital gains tax on inherited properties of overseas Indian citizens by 10 per cent. With the lockdown driving digital businesses, they suggested increasing the equalization levy otherwise known as the google tax by 1 per cent for ad services and e-commerce entities to gain big bucks. FORCE also favoured bringing back inheritance tax abolished in 1986, to do multiple things -- widen the tax base, enhance revenue, bridge the wealth inequality divide and eventually reduce tax rates. If procedural issues and information asymmetry axed this tax in the past, with digitization, it's enforceability appears feasible now, though it's unknown whether the revenue mobilized will justify its revival. For context, collections from wealth tax were next to nothing, prompting then finance minister Arun Jaitely to toss it in the bin in FY17. As opposed to surcharges, the tax sleuths prefer cess that's levied on all taxpayers and also mobilize more revenue. An additional one-time cess of 4 per cent can mobilize Rs 15,00018,000 crore revenue to help finance COVID relief work. However, to mitigate the hardship on the middle class, the paper suggests the cess to be imposed on taxable income greater than Rs 10 lakh. Companies can be allowed to part-spend their unspent CSR funds to PM CARES Fund and for business purposes. In return, they will get exemptions under section 80G for say 3 years instead of one year. The paper even suggested wheedling the wealthy entities to spend up to 4 per cent of the estimated net profit and count it as CSR for two years. A new tax-saving scheme to mobilize funds for Corona relief, amendments to Section 13A and 13B allowing political parties and electoral trusts to invest in the aforementioned fund, a new amnesty scheme waiving off the interest for tax demands under dispute and even for undisputed penalty amount pending for collection are some other measures. In the medium-term (9-12 months), FORCE urged the government to incentivize compliance as against penalizing non-compliance by proposing tax discounts and rebates in percentage points for timely compliances. While for multi-national firms, a US-styled Base erosion anti-abuse tax (BEAT) can be introduced as an alternate minimum tax for corporations with high average annual gross receipts. Lastly, cueing great delight from the successful 'Give it up' LPG subsidy campaign, the tax department sought to encourage the super-rich and everyone else willing, to give up at least one tax deduction (say Section 80C) for a year. As for expenditure rationalization, the paper proposed scaling down defense expenditure by postponing acquisitions where the process hasn't started besides putting major projects like the bullet train where no work has begun in the cold storage. Stressing the need to rejig expenditure budget, it suggested spending Rs 1 lakh crore out of the total Rs 4 lakh crore FY21 capital expenditure towards COVID related works. Per estimates, the bottom 12 crore households comprising of 60 crore individuals will need support and hence the government should give a direct cash transfer of Rs 3,000 to 5,000 a month for six months, besides enlarging MNREGA budget to ensure guaranteed work for the marginalized. FORCE comes at a time when India's businesses, small and large, are holding their breath awaiting the government's second stimulus package. It remains to be seen if the government will take the ball and run with it. In March, the Wilmington-based ChristianaCare health system set up the region's first drive-thru site to collect specimens for diagnostic coronavirus testing. Many similar sites now exist, and scores of commercial tests have come on the market, yet U.S. testing capacity remains inadequate. Read more The Jefferson Health System has enough high-tech lab machines to process 10,000 diagnostic tests for the coronavirus every day. Instead, the Philadelphia-based network of 14 hospitals is doing only about 1,000 tests a day. The problem, Jefferson Health president Bruce A. Meyer said last week, is that hospitals across the United States are grappling with a global shortage of testing chemicals and nasal swabs. If we could do 10,000 tests a day, we would. Wed like to test our entire staff, Meyer said of the systems 25,000 employees. We are worried we have asymptomatic virus [spreaders] in our workforce. Reopening the U.S. economy will trigger a resurgence in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths unless there is widespread, timely, repeated diagnostic testing of people with and without symptoms, public health and government leaders agree. Lifting shutdowns methodically also requires testing for antibodies, a sign of immunity, in people who have recovered from the respiratory disease. Yet, three months into the crisis, this countrys testing capacity remains woefully inadequate. Even nursing homes dont have access to enough diagnostic tests to control outbreaks that have so far killed more than 10,000 of their residents. READ MORE: Gaps in Pa.s coronavirus testing procedures led to systemic failure to collect critical data Last week, Congress took a step toward filling the void, passing a spending bill that includes $25 billion to expand diagnostic and antibody testing. It covers research, validation, manufacture, and administration of tests; production of related supplies; workforce training; and coronavirus surveillance. Still, those on the front lines worry that corporate interests, lack of coordination, political wrangling, and regulatory disarray will continue to make even simple things difficult like the medieval proverb about losing the kingdom for want of a nail. Its insane that we have the country shut down because of swabs, Ashish Jha, a physician and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, told the Wall Street Journal. The president could use the Defense Production Act, and he could use the Army Corps of Engineers to build testing facilities. President Donald Trump did invoke that 1950 act to speed up the manufacture of ventilators but not of testing supplies. Why has a high-income, high-tech country failed so miserably on testing? Its complicated. READ MORE: What is contact tracing and why is it back in vogue for tracking coronavirus? Do it all over again COVID-19 diagnosis relies on a molecular test, called polymerase chain reaction (PCR), that detects coronavirus genes in specimens taken from the back of patients throats. Its an exacting, multistep process, but more accurate than simpler, faster tests. (Some data, however, suggest that even PCR misses as many as one in three coronavirus infections.) Many countries, notably South Korea, quickly ramped up diagnostic testing by using a coronavirus PCR test protocol developed by Germany and disseminated by the World Health Organization. But the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed its own PCR test kits, doled out the small supply to state public health labs on Feb. 5 and then spent weeks redoing the kits because the initial tests gave inconclusive or incorrect results. Turnaround time is another issue: Results from public labs can take days or weeks. The CDC also initially restricted diagnostic testing to probable cases symptomatic people who had traveled to China, where the virus emerged in December. Now, data suggest that much of the spread of the disease is by people with no symptoms. Yet, because of shortages, U.S. testing remains almost exclusively limited to people with symptoms. By mid-March, South Korea which invented drive-thru sites for nasal swab collection had tested about 5,200 out of every one million inhabitants, while the United States had tested about 100 per one million inhabitants, according to the COVID Tracking Project. The United States is now testing an average of 150,000 people per day, the tracking project estimates. To reopen the country by mid-May and keep outbreaks from roaring back, Harvard University public health experts estimate the nation should be doing 500,000 to 700,000 tests a day. Market forces at work Under pressure from all sides to broaden diagnostic testing, federal regulators began easing their rules in February. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has since given emergency authorizations to scores of diagnostic PCR tests, according to the Coronavirus Test Tracker. Some were developed by research labs, including at Rutgers University and the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, but most are products of big diagnostic manufacturers such as Abbott, ThermoFisher Scientific, Cepheid, LabCorp, and Quest. Manufacturers and industry organizations have boasted that this flood of technology would make diagnostic testing faster, easier, plentiful, and more convenient. Several companies have automated parts of their PCR tests, which can be rapidly processed in hospital labs if those hospitals have the companies proprietary testing machines. Rutgers test is the first to use saliva spit into a tube, so patients dont need the unpleasant nasal swab procedure. READ MORE: We cant reopen the country without a strong COVID-19 testing program. Heres how to do it. l Opinion Scott Whitaker, CEO of the Advanced Medical Technology Association, said during a news teleconference last week that the industry will have produced 25 million tests by the end of April. Pressed by a reporter, Whitaker acknowledged that number is a goal, and depends on getting the necessary supplies. Behind the hype, PCR testing has been hampered by myriad shortages, backlogs, and a lack of uniformity. FAQ: Your coronavirus questions, answered. To overcome shortages, hospitals have reported experimenting with substitutes for the fluid used to preserve coronavirus samples, and for the chemical reagents used to process those samples stopgaps that could affect accuracy, as Bloomberg reported. The scarcity of reagents is complicated by the fact that the chemicals needed for one manufacturers testing machine might not be compatible with another companys instrument. We realized wed have to leverage multiple different test systems, Meyer at Jefferson said. But the real constraint is the vendor-specific kits and reagents. No immunity to scams A different kind of test is seen as vital to tracking how far the coronavirus has spread, calculating the rates of asymptomatic infection, and, hopefully, identifying people who can safely go back to work. These rapid serology tests detect disease-fighting antibodies in blood samples. On Thursday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo shared the surprising results of such testing on a random sample of 3,000 people: 21% of residents in hard-hit New York City had antibodies. In the rest of the state, the figure was less than 4%. Despite the importance of antibodies, tests for these proteins have had an even rockier rollout than diagnostic PCR tests. The FDA announced in mid-March that antibody tests could be introduced without prior agency review, prompting a flood of more than 90 onto the market including some that didnt work and made false claims. The FDA and the World Health Organization issued what amounted to buyer-beware warnings. And the Securities and Exchange Commission last week suspended trading of two companies amid allegations of fraudulent claims. At this point, the FDA has really swung the pendulum in the opposite direction and, in my opinion, too much, said Michael Mina, an epidemiologist and infectious-disease expert at Harvards Chan School of Public Health. Officials in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania have said that before stay-at-home and social distancing orders can be lifted, additional testing will be needed but not how that will be achieved. It is possible, of course, to reopen an economy without safeguards, then see what happens. Thats what Georgias Gov. Brian Kemp is now doing, despite the misgivings of public health experts and some mayors in his state. For Meyer, at Jefferson, it comes down to a risk tolerance question. We are many weeks away from testing everyone, he said. How much risk are we willing to take to reopen? Are the risks worth the rewards? We have tens of thousands of people out of work. There is no perfect answer. There was a time when leaving Ireland was a rite of passage for our youngest generations. Most longed to eventually return and find a place better than the one they left behind. For the latest cohort of doctors, nurses and healthcare workers, that hasn't been the case. Coronavirus Ireland was not what they had in mind when they dreamed of coming home. Despite this, in recent weeks, hundreds have returned when they were needed most. Shane Griffin and Emily Veale are two of the most recent arrivals. The pair, from Bray, Co Wicklow, touched down after a 30-hour flight from New Zealand last Monday. They are currently self-isolating for 14 days in a vacant house they have been given the use of by a neighbour. Anyone travelling to Ireland from abroad has to do this to ensure they are clear of Covid-19 symptoms. Expand Close Shane Griffin and Emily Veale are self-isolating in Bray, Co Wicklow. Photo: Steve Humphreys / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Shane Griffin and Emily Veale are self-isolating in Bray, Co Wicklow. Photo: Steve Humphreys "Emily's parents brought a car to the airport for us and we were able to drive back on our own in that. We are pretty much confined to the house now for two weeks," Shane said. "It's not exactly how you expect things to be coming back but we knew we had to do it," Emily added. Read More Shane, a doctor, has applied for work and expects to be deployed to an emergency department in the coming weeks. Emily was an activities coordinator in a local nursing home before heading to New Zealand last August and will be back working there once it is safe for her to return. She admits it has been hard to see the sector struggle recently but is eager to get to work. "I got in touch with them and they offered me my position straight away because they are quite stuck. Hopefully after isolation I can go straight back." Abbie Robertson and her partner Josip Vukoja are a bit further along in their attempt to reach the Covid-19 frontline. They returned to Ireland three weeks ago and hope to get back to work next week after seeing out their isolation period. Both are radiographers and met while working in St James's Hospital, Dublin, before taking a career break to go travelling. They never planned on being back within two-and-a-half months of setting off on the trip of a lifetime. They were in New Zealand when the lockdown was announced. "It seemed safe there but we weren't really doing anything useful," Abbie said. "We were humming and hawing about getting back, because it is difficult with the restrictions in place but we felt a bit guilty over there. We couldn't do anything." Abbie is a Scot and Josip is from Croatia but they see Ireland as home and felt a need to fly back and help out. "We were both still registered with the HSE," Abbie said. "We met here. Our lives are pretty much here. I think we were always coming back but never thought it would be this quickly." Getting back was an arduous task. When New Zealand went in to lockdown they were on the country's South Island, but most international flights are via Auckland on the North Island. Strict restrictions limited travel between the islands. Both couples came back with the help of the Answer Ireland's Call initiative, a scheme that grew online after Dublin-based entrepreneur Neil Sands offered to sponsor flights and bring two medical workers home at the start of the crisis. The scheme helped get Abbie and Josip to Auckland, then Malaysia, London and Dublin, before arranging an apartment in the city centre to self-isolate in. They are looking forward to getting back to work but admit there is a tinge of apprehension. "As radiographers, we take chest X-rays," Josip explained. "It doesn't matter if patients are Covid-19-positive or not. That is one of the first phases people go through to find out if they have it. So we will be in contact with these patients the whole time. Not many people realise this. We will see Covid-positive patients everyday we are working. "We are very proud, though. We have spent years training and this is what it means to be a healthcare worker." Marianne Hennigan, from Deansgrange in Dublin, was among the first to be supported by the Ireland's Call initiative. She arrived back in Ireland on April 6 after spending almost three years in Perth, Australia. She cut short a holiday to come home and help tackle Covid-19. Last week she worked four shifts as an emergency medical registrar in St Vincent's Hospital. Two shifts were working with Covid-19 patients; two were helping those with other ailments because the emergency room has been split. "I was supposed to fly back to Perth but instead I decided to come straight back to Dublin. The situation was much worse in Ireland than Australia. "A friend has packed up my stuff in Perth and is sending it back so I am here now for the foreseeable future. "Within a week I was able to get a job. It is certainly tough being in a new hospital but everyone has been fantastic." Is she proud of her efforts? "I am more proud of the country as a whole, especially when I see how my colleagues are digging in." Neil Sands, who has spent much of the past 10 years working in Silicon Valley, California, with technology firms such as Salesforce, was in isolation after flying home from America when he came up with the initiative. It started with a tweet, as his thumbs tapped out a message: "As an Irish business owner, I am willing to fly two doctors home to Ireland from anywhere abroad, and house them in Dublin for the next 12 weeks. Who's with me?" He pressed send and discovered hundreds of people were with him. More than 33,000 has been raised by an online fund to bring people home. Sands claims another series of anonymous donors have privately raised a six figure sum to help with the scheme. He said healthcare workers are a vital resource that need support: "We need these people. Most of them are young, in their 20s and are very early-on in their careers. Many of them have paid out of their own money to come back. In some cases we have subsidised a few of them that were stuck. "There are people leaving very good careers, girlfriends and boyfriends, to up sticks and come back. Many of them will get paid less here than they would abroad. It is a big step to make. It is hard to grasp the valour of those people." To date, approximately 100 healthcare workers have been flown back and the Ireland's Call Initiative is now exploring how some of the money raised can be used to address a shortage of PPE and face masks. It has become something of a family affair in recent weeks. Sands's brother, Kevin, and a friend, Conor Hughes, are working around the clock to get people home. "They are sitting on a computer wearing headsets talking on the phone all day, working out how to fly people back," Sands explained. With each returning doctor, nurse and healthcare worker who comes back with their help, Sands feels they are making a direct contribution to the Covid-19 efforts. Visit our Covid-19 vaccine dashboard for updates on the roll out of the vaccination program and the rate of Coronavirus cases Ireland The young healthcare professionals on the frontline would never have wanted to encounter a pandemic, but their efforts are making the country a better place, he says. "We have financed more than 100 flights. If every one of those doctors, nurses and healthcare workers goes to the frontline and sees 12 to 15 patients per day, the knock-on effect of that is thousands of people being seen by a doctor who would not have treated them otherwise. "That person would not have been here. The hands treating them would still be in Perth, New Zealand or Mexico. "That is the benefit of this. That is why they are coming home." Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Andrew Sheng (The Jakarta Post) Asia News Network Sun, April 26, 2020 12:38 626 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd44cc92 3 Opinion ANN,COVID-19,coronavirus,lockdown Free Now that most of us have been under lockdown for more than a month, how have we coped emotionally, economically, socially and politically? For almost everyone, we have been stressed out of our minds. It is difficult to think rationally or objectively when we confront our own mortality, with very uncertain and tough choices in the months ahead. Online learning platform Course Hero vice president Tomas Pueyo puts the dilemmas simply when he contrasts the alternatives as Coronavirus: The Hammer and the Dance. We need a hammer to lock down the pandemic quickly and aggressively. The mitigation option is too slow, threatening to overwhelm our hospital facilities, causing high death rates, as Wuhan, Lombardy, Madrid, New York and London have all faced. After you have hammered (suppressed the coronavirus spread), the tough part of the dance is how to keep the coronavirus contained until we find the vaccine. If we keep the infection rate R below one, the epidemic dies down. To do so means wearing masks, keeping social distance and living and working very differently. With the lockdown come massive economic costs. We forget to our peril that we are social animals. Few of us do well as loners. In the enforced lockdown, we struggle desperately to get out to meet friends and familybut also to self-reflect and understand why we are in this terrible dilemma. It is catastrophes like this that changed the world through new ideas. French mathematician and philosopher Rene Descartes (1596-1640) abhorred the senseless destruction of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) so deeply that he created not just the philosophy of rationalism, but also the mathematical foundations of modern science. His most famous statement, I think, therefore I am is that of an individualist aware of his will and consciousness to think and act rationally. Rationality meant excluding emotions, forgetting that all emotions are reflexive, that our fears or anger are magnified socially, spreading virally. This individualism was captured by neoliberals to argue that individual greed can create social good. But carried to its extreme, modern individualism has become narcissistic and venalthinking that individual freedom is absolute whereas the pandemic revealed that we live in social networks in which everything is interconnected, interdependent and therefore relative. Individual freedom comes with social responsibility. You cannot be selfish at expense of other peoples lives. Ethiopian cognitive scientist Abeba Birhane recently challenged the Cartesian premise of individualism. Going back to African roots, she quoted Kenyan philosopher John Mbiti: I am because we are, and since we are, therefore I am. None of us are self-contained because we are all permeated by genes and memes (ideas) through society. In the Zulu language, A person is a person through other persons. Recognizing this and the fact that the economy is a social institution, the pandemic has exposed all the flaws and inadequacies of the current income-expenditure-debt model. We consume in excess because we are given credit in the form of debt. When we cannot pay, the government has to step in to create more debt. The Fed has just added US$2.4 trillion to its balance sheet to support the US economy. None of us, including central bankers, know how this will ever be repaid if the lockdown continues for much longer. This is why smart re-opening of the economy will involve more testing, tracing and containment. But the honest truth is that the coronavirus is hiding in the weakest and poorest segments of society, as Singapore has found in its clusters of foreign workers. Rich countries can close their borders, but if the pandemic rages on in poor, over-populated countries, the pandemic will return through civil and border wars. Thus, the hammer cannot kill the virus or the fly. We have to dance with the virus and prepare for its mutation and co-evolution with other viruses that will emerge with climate warming. Many businesses are already adapting to the new online world of business transactions, in which many more of us will be working at home and interacting only digitally. The digital economy cannot be a one-way system in which the seller does not care about the income of the buyer. One reason why the Alibaba and Tencent platforms are much more user-friendly and sustainable than the Google and Amazon models is that the user can earn income so that they can also spend through these platforms. The American models push sales through advertising and if you cant afford to buy, they can offer you credit cards. But the pandemic revealed that if you cant earn, you cant spend. Only when the platform is two-way and not debt-dependent, will it be sustainable. Rather than thinking linearly that globalization will retreat, glocalization will accelerate with more localization of ideas and innovations that have global market appeal. Notice how in the United States, governors have performed better than the federal government. Spontaneous innovation is occurring in different communities to create diverse innovation in getting medical supplies, improving food chains and working on vaccines and other badly needed medicines. The virus spread through a one-size-fit-all globalization. Anyone can fly, so can viruses. Herd immunity is built through mass diversity. But diversity also brings differences of opinion and therefore the polarization of politics, which is in a very dangerous blame-each-other phase. In the animal kingdom, all creatures large and small have a truce in equally going to the shrinking water pool during a drought. They do not hunt each other until after they had their share of water, and even then they kill only what they need for survival, not wantonly. Animals do not blame each other for the drought. We must learn to dance with each other in harmony with our environment, rather than applying a hammer to each other and to every present and emergent problem. Not every problem is a nail nor is every person we disagree with an enemy. The pandemic has opened up an important conversation that eluded us in our blind pursuit of individualism, freedom, democracy and money. The old era is gone with the virus. Whether we like it or not, we will have to reimagine and shape collectively what the post-coronavirus economy and society will entail. This can no longer be built top-down, but through a dialogue where everyone recognizes that we are all facing common and existential fates. The coronavirus makes or breaks us as a community. That is the truce that we need before the dance. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. I am not a licensed investment adviser , and I am not providing you with individual investment advice on this site. Please consult with an investment professional before you invest your money. This site is for entertainment and educational use only - any opinion expressed on the site here and elsewhere on the internet is not a form of investment advice provided to you. I use information in my articles I believe to be correct at the time of writing them on my site, which information may or may not be accurate. We are not liable for any losses suffered by any party because of information published on this blog. Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. Unless your investments are FDIC insured, they may decline in value. By reading this site, you agree that you are solely responsible for making investment decisions in connection with your funds. In the second week of April, the Delhi Police recorded a total event count of 2,446 that pertained to the event type: women. Put simply, nearly 2,500 women in Delhi called emergency helpline numbers which triggers the Emergency Response Support System of the state police. Of these calls over 600 were classified as women abuse, 23 calls reported rape, while a majority 1612 pertained to domestic violence. One of these calls was about a 28-year-old woman from west Delhis Uttam Nagar. The womans brother, based in Nepal, first got in touch with a New Delhi-based government licenced shelter home for women and transwomen survivors of abuse and violence. Shakti Shalini, based in Jangpura, rang the police helpline and a policeman was sent to investigate the matter. The 28-year-old mother of two toddlers had allegedly undergone sustained physical abuse by her husband and his family. Initially, the police sought to mediate between the two, and asked the woman to stay home during the lockdown. But the woman said the abuse had worsened after the husband came to know that a police complaint had been filed. On April 14, the police took her for a medical check up, recorded her bruises and transported her and her two children to Shakti Shalinis shelter home. I was physically, mentally tortured for four years. Two days before [my brother called the shelter], my husband beat me up to an inch of my life. I begged him to spare me. He told me to get out of the house, the survivor told HT. Coronavirus outbreak: Full coverage Dolly Singh, the coordinator and counsellor at Shakti Shalini said the shelter home has received 25 calls since the beginning of the lockdown. In some of these cases, the police mediated between the women and their abusers, and asked them to stay put till the lockdown was over. A Hindustan Times analysis of cases recorded across the country reveals two important aspects of the issue. One, some states have reported a decline in the number of domestic violence complaints, others have reported a spike in the calls being received by helplines. This indicates that the incidence of domestic violence during the lockdown depends upon the ability of victims to make complaints while they share domestic spaces with perpetrators. In some states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana, the number of complaints received by state-run helplines has decreased. In Ghaziabad, which forms part of the National Capital Region, instances of domestic violence during the first phase of lockdown saw a decline of about 50% as compared to the pre-lockdown period in March, according to the data compiled by 18 police stations in urban and rural areas of the city. There used to be around 400 complaints related to Domestic Violence every day from all parts of the state till last month and now, the number has come down to around 150-200, Inspector General of Police (Women Safety) Telangana, Swati Lakra said. However, in some other states the number of calls on domestic violence have, in fact, increased. The Punjab State Commission for Women (PSCW) has received at least 30 complaints everyday related to domestic violence since March 22. According to Manisha Gulati, chairperson of PSCW, prior to the lockdown, only a third of the calls they received pertained to domestic violence incidents. Even private helplines, such as that maintained by Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences iCall, has seen a spike in calls. We are getting phone calls from Ghaziabad, Noida, Mumbai, Hyderabad and many other cities Everyday there are at least three calls, coordinator Ruchi Sinha said. The second aspect to this issue is that while there are several helplines and shelter homes available for women to call or live in both state-run, and those maintained by non governmental organisations the help that they can provide has been curtailed due to the lockdown. Women cannot travel to police stations, and social workers cannot reach them or arrange for their travel; the police are overburdened with Covid-19 duties, and visiting homes to investigate domestic disputes is often not considered a priority. Whats more, domestic violence cases are filed in lower courts as these are civil disputes and at present, courts are only open for emergency hearings, such as bail pleas. The National Commission for Women (NCW) has received 250 domestic violence complaints between March 25 and April 22. These were the numbers that could reach us. I am afraid the actual numbers would be higher. Were trying to follow up on more cases. State bodies have also been asked to stay more alert, said chairperson Rekha Sharma. Across India, only the most dire cases seem to be getting addressed. Last week, Kerala State Women Commission member Shahid Kamal got a call from Chennai pleading for help. The caller told her that his sister, a resident of Idukki district in Kerala, and her daughter were hiding in a forest after the womans husband ejected them from their home. The caller said that the jungle had several wild animals. Kamal immediately alerted the Idukki police, and the matter was investigated. The husband was taken into custody. In some cases a little counselling and advice will do. But cases like this need serious intervention. It is fact during lockdown, domestic violence cases have increased. But if you ask me, data will be [lesser], she said. Another counsellor said that parole granted to prisoners and under-trials done in order to ease the pressure on overcrowded jails during the Covid-19 epidemic that requires strict social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus has meant that several perpetrators of violence have returned home. In Kottayam, a family had approached the prisons department against the release of one of their male members from the jail on this account. The prisoner was released, but warned not to stay with his family. In Malda district of West Bengal last week, 26-year-old Sona Mondol was allegedly strangled by her husband of five years. In another incident in the district, another woman was allegedly killed by her husband for protesting against his extra-marital affair. Both men have been booked. There is hardly anything we can do at this moment. We have helped the victims to connect with the local police station, lawyers and local NGOs, said Debaprasad Roychoudhury, an official of Association of Protection of Democratic Rights, a NGO. Rituparna Borah, co-founder Delhi-based Queer Nazariya, a resource group for lesbian, bisexual women and transmen, said that the number of distress calls that they have received has increased, but unlike before where they could offer assistance in person whether counselling or arranging for the queer person to leave their home if they needed to the only help that they can offer at present is counselling over the telephone. The courts have taken cognisance of this issue. On April 18, the Jammu & Kashmir high court passed an order taking suo moto cognizance of domestic violence cases during the lockdown, and offered a slew of directions including creating a special fund and designating informal safe spaces for women like grocery stores and pharmacies, where they could report domestic violence/abuse without alerting the perpetrators. The Karnataka high court too asked the state government about the helplines, and action taken on domestic violence complaints. The state responded to the court on April 25 stating that helplines, counsellors, shelter homes and protection officers were working round the clock to help victims of violence. The Delhi high court recently directed the state and Centre to take measures to protect women from domestic violence, following a petition filed by an NGO. The Centre, Delhi government and the national and state commissions of women submitted status reports on the action taken against domestic violence, including spreading awareness about helpline numbers, shelter or one-stop homes as well as appointment of protection officers, which the court reviewed on April 25. The Delhi government told the court that on April 12, it put in place a protocol to tackle cases of domestic violence during the lockdown: once a survivor reaches out to the helpline (181), the telecaller will take down her complaint and then forward her case to a counsellor who is required to establish a phone communication with her on account of the lockdown. The counsellor is empowered to conduct sessions with the woman and her spouse or family if required. However, in case the woman is a victim of sexual or physical assault, the telecaller is required to inform the police about the case, and assist in filing a First Information Report. The counsellor is further required to inform the protection officer Delhi has 17 to allow them to file an incidence report. However, according to advocates Mithu Jain and her colleagues who filed the petition on behalf of All India Council of Human Rights, Liberties and Justice on April 15, the responses of both state and Centre offered no information in their respective status reports about victims who have been saved. Is it their job to receive complaints alone? Where is the data to show that any action has been taken on these phone calls, Jain asked. (With inputs from Saurabh Chauhan, Aneesha Sareen, Ramesh Babu, Joydeep Thakur) It is an odd thing writing biographies: spending days, weeks, months and even years trawling through diaries, letters, logbooks and the like, you feel you actually know them. Ive often fantasised about an imaginary dinner where I could put all my subjects around the one table. Charles Kingsford Smith and Breaker Morant would be the dominating drunken duo, both of them three bottles south by the time of dessert nearly as far gone as Nancy Wake. Oddly, while theyre slurring their words, shes fine. Sir Charles Kingsford Smith climbs out of his Lockheed plane called the "Lady Southern Cross' at Municipal Airport, Inglewood, California in 1934. Ned Kelly would not speak often, but when he did all the others would fall silent and lean forward, none more than the quietly charismatic Les Darcy, who would want to know all about Ned beating the bare-knuckle champion of Victoria in 23 gruelling rounds, when he was just 19. Sir John Monash and Sir Douglas Mawson would be in a quiet corner discussing matters cerebral, glancing sharply at Breaker Morant as he recites his dirty ditty about the Ade-ladies. A man was arrested after he drove on a Florida beach closed due to the coronavirus pandemic and was caught by cops after leading them on a chase that ended in a hotel parking lot Saturday afternoon. John McGarry, 25, of Idaho, was arrested after onlookers spotted him driving on Sand Key Beach, says the Clearwater Police Department. Cops say McGarry drove at speeds of up to 35 miles-per-hour on the sand and was chased by officers who apprehended him in the parking lot of the Sheraton Sand Key as he was trying to flee. John McGarry, 25, of Idaho, was arrested after onlookers spotted him driving on Sand Key Beach, which was closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, says the Clearwater Police Department. McGarry (pictured) drove up to 35 miles-per-hour on the sand, say police Cops say McGarry was chased by officers who apprehended him in the parking lot of the Sheraton Sand Key as he was trying to flee. Clearwater and Pinellas County beaches are closed amid efforts to contain COVID-19 He said he had driven on the closed beach 'out of boredom,' say the cops, reports the Tampa Bay Times. Clearwater and Pinellas County beaches remain closed amid efforts to slow and contain the spread of the deadly flu-like virus, also known as COVID-19. So far, Florida has had close to 30,900 cases of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for more than 1,050 deaths. Across the US, there have been 978,104 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 55,059 deaths. So far, there have been 960,144 cases in the US of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 54,109 deaths How the number of new coronavirus infections in the US has escalated over time A day-to-day look at the number of deaths in the US attributed to the coroanvirus The Clearwater Police say McGarry was charged with reckless driving, resisting arrest without violence and driving with a suspended license. He was detained at the Pinellas County Jail in lieu of $650 bail. Sand Key Beach, even when open, does not permit vehicles on the sand, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Wolf sightings in Wallonia had already made the headlines last year. A total of six wolves can currently be found strolling through southern Belgium, occasionally not too far from the Luxembourgish border. They hail from all backgrounds: France, Germany and Poland. Five of the wolves were first seen in Flanders, North Belgium: two young males from south Europe currently reside in Ebly (Leglise) and Xhoffraix (Malmedy) respectively, while another from France can be found in the Butgenbach area. A new wolf has now recently joined Akela, a German wolf living in the High Fens for nearly two years, and the first to be seen in Wallonia in 200 years. There is a chance that these two may soon form their own herd. Finally, another wolf was seen in Assesse and Havelange near Namur. Their travels into Belgium seem to have increased in recent years, crossing both the North and the South borders. This means the wolves' paths might cross quite soon, after being apart for nearly 200 years. One expert professed that Belgium could become the "European crossroads for wolves", especially in the High Fens. Israeli PM confident US will soon give approval to pursue de facto annexation of parts of occupied West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he was confident the United States would give Israel the approval within two months to move ahead with de facto annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank. Palestinians have expressed outrage at Israels plans to cement its hold further on land it seized in the 1967 war, territory they are seeking for a future state. Netanyahu, in announcing a deal with his rival Benny Gantz last week to form a unity government, set July 1 for the start of cabinet discussions on extending Israeli sovereignty to Israeli settlements, illegal under international law, in the occupied West Bank and annexing outright the Jordan Valley. Such a move would need to be agreed with Washington, according to the Netanyahu-Gantz agreement. In a video address on Sunday to a pro-Israeli Christian group in Europe, Netanyahu described the Middle East plan announced by President Donald Trump in January as a promise to recognise Israels authority over Israeli settlements in the West Bank. A couple of months from now I am confident that that pledge will be honoured, Netanyahu told the European Commission for Israel. Palestinian officials offered no immediate comment on Netanyahus remarks. Palestinians have flatly rejected the Trump proposal, partly because it awards Israel most of what it has sought during decades of conflict, including nearly all the occupied land on which it has built settlements. The Palestinians have already threatened to cancel existing peace agreements if Netanyahu moves forward with his plan, while the European Union foreign policy chief said annexation would be a violation of international law and force the bloc to act accordingly. The UNs Middle East envoy said such a step would ignite the region. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday it was up to Israel whether to annex parts of the West Bank and said Washington would offer its views privately to its new government. The Palestinians and much of the international community regard Israels settlements in the occupied West Bank as illegal under the Geneva Conventions that bar settling on land captured in war. Israel disputes this, citing security needs and biblical, historical and political connections to the land. Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State and one of the most radical critics of China, is still busy with attacking China as the novel coronavirus ravages the country he serves. Pompeo renewed his accusations that China has not been transparent, saying on Thursday that China may have known of the new coronavirus as early as November in an interview with conservative radio host Larry OConnor. In addition, Pompeo also stepped up his attack on the World Health Organization. He told Fox News on Wednesday there needed to be "a structural fix of the WHO" to correct its "shortcomings," warning that the US may never restore funding to the organization. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press briefing in Washington D.C., the United States, on March 5, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) Why are Pompeo and some other politicians in Washington so obsessed with attacking China? Perhaps their disgusting playbook for an organized and orchestrated campaign against China has something to do with it. A leaked Republican strategy memo tells the GOP to attack China over coronavirus. The US National Republican Senatorial Committee sent the detailed 57-page memo written by a top Republican strategist advising party candidates to address the coronavirus crisis by aggressively attacking China. It includes advice on everything from how to tie Democratic candidates to the Chinese government to how to deal with accusations of racism. "Don't defend Trump, other than the China travel ban, attack China," it states. American media outlets also revealed that the political consulting firm of Brett O'Donnell, a veteran Republican strategist who has advised China critics Pompeo and Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, wrote it. They have a playbook for anti-China assault. That says it all. This reveals how dirty US politics has become, and how low people like Pompeo has gone. Politicians like Pompeo are skilled at smearing China, but they just cannot cover up their ineptitude in handling the coronavirus outbreak. Their scheme can probably mislead the misinformed and win their so-called conservative voter base, but the fact is many Americans are dying. According to the John Hopkins University statistics, the confirmed cases have reached over 938,000 and the death toll over 53, 000. At such a moment when the virus is raging and the death toll mounting, is the business of attacking China what an elected official should do? Is that the way to save American lives and protect peoples health? Is kidnapping the WHO in line with the interests of global efforts in battling the virus and in the American interest? Anyone with a conscience would agree that this is not the right thing to do. However, some US politicians just care about votes, and they will lie, cheat, and steal to get them. It is sad that the only plan they have in place is a playbook to attack China, when what the American people really need is a science-based, coordinated crisis response from the federal government. Pompeo has become an example of American dysfunction and failure in its governance. It is a tragedy for the US and the world as well to have such a person to lead American diplomacy. Instead of muddying the waters to shift the blame, Pompeo should understand that the most pressing task for the US is to focus on containing the spread of the virus at home and work to enhance international cooperation. One of the perks Adrian Edmondson enjoys about being in a television drama is that, after a series has been filmed, hes able to buy some of the clothes his character has worn. Its a happy souvenir, he says, of good times on set. Or at least it is normally. After shooting Save Me Too, the second series of Lennie Jamess compelling Sky drama about a man searching for his missing teenage daughter, he took home a pair of trainers hed sported as the baddie Gideon Charles. And he discovered they came with a significant problem. I found I couldnt bear to wear them, he says. I look at them and think of Gideon Charles. Ive had to give them away. Because Charles is the very worst kind of modern monster. Behind a cynical veneer of model citizenship, he trades in kidnapped underage girls, selling them on to be abused. Indeed, playing a character this revolting has been a big challenge. It is very weird playing a sex offender, he admits. Not least because of the possibility that the actor might be confused in the public mind with the character. Yeah, there is a fear youll get shouted at in the street, he says. The guy who played Nick Cotton in EastEnders [John Altman] used to get a lot of abuse. Im just hoping as Ive got a varied work history, I wont be thought of solely as a horrible paedophile. Edmondsons work history is varied all right. He has been a comedian, a childrens author and a serious actor. He was in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, had a role in EastEnders, and his band played at Glastonbury. Impressively, he has achieved the cookery double of winning Celebrity MasterChef and Celebrity Bake Off. Hes even sung in musicals, just completing a three-month revival of The Boy Friend. He has achieved so much he has confused himself as to how to explain what exactly it is he does for a living. Ive no idea what I am, he says. Im not saying that for effect. All I do know is that if people hope Ill be funny away from the screen they are usually disappointed. I was always angry, Adrian Edmondson explains. I dont want to get too Freudian but just look to Larkin: They eff you up, your mum and dad. It got to the point that I couldnt get in a car without shouting like a maniac. I had to do something because those close to me told me I couldnt go on with these shouting sprees' Edmondson is being self-deprecating. He is more than amusing company. Not least in his physical reaction to the strictures of introduction brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. When offered an elbow to touch in place of a handshake, he goes into a magnificent all-elbows-and-knees mock cockney dance as if auditioning for a part as a Pearly King. Plus, he laughs a lot, constantly amused at the oddities of the world. Such as when he is asked if he still watches The Young Ones, the bonkers sitcom about a student flat-share that as the unhinged punk Vyvyan Basterd first brought him to national attention 40 years ago. Ive seen it occasionally, he says. It looks tired and slow. If you watch The Good Life now though, you think: yeah that still looks relevant. You think: thats funny. Richard Briers and Felicity Kendal in The Good Life. 'If you watch The Good Life now though, you think: yeah that still looks relevant. You think: thats funny And he cackles at the thought. After all, when he and Rik Mayall his long-time comedy partner whom he met at Manchester University smashed into the collective consciousness with The Young Ones, they were supposed to blow such old-school sitcoms out of the water. I think you might be overstating what effect we had, he says when it is suggested he was a comedy revolutionary. We were always a cult. Which is a nice way of saying we delivered very low audience figures. Nevertheless, with Mayall he went on to give us some unforgettable moments in their double act Bottom, most involving hitting each other round the head with blunt instruments. It was a human cartoon, he says. We were inspired by Road Runner. And he has to admit, if The Young Ones had no lasting repercussions, Bottom did. Personal ones at least. I got a part in Star Wars because Rian Johnson, the director, was a huge fan of Bottom. As a student, hed filmed his mates doing an episode. So when he approached me and said would you like to be in Star Wars, I couldnt turn him down. Not that I would have done anyway. It was extraordinarily good fun. Though sadly and I really hope this wont ruin it for you they dont actually film it in space. He roars with laughter. He used to do a lot of laughing with Mayall, he says. His old comedy partner is still in his mind, six years after he died of a heart attack aged 56. Its very hard for him not to pop up. I have pictures of him in my study. The rawness of his loss has gone a bit, but hes always there. Ive lost a lot of people. Makes me sound like a saddo, but I have. Ive lost about five of my top ten. Rik isnt the only one I miss. Much to his evident relief, one person who is still with him is his wife, Jennifer Saunders. They met on the alternative comedy circuit in the mid-Eighties. Thirty-four years on, their marriage is more than intact, though he is reluctant to try to pinpoint what has made it last. I always give the same answer to that question: we dont talk about it. The curse is talking about it. But he then suggests the fact that they pursue different interests ensures they are not in competition. She likes to do more comedy; me more serious stuff, he says. But were both in our 60s and weve reached an age where were not thrusting any more. Its a nice situation to be in. Though, when asked about his penchant for cookery, he hints that a competitive edge might still remain in their relationship. Jennifers got a load of Baftas on our shelf and Ive got cooking trophies, he laughs. Cooking is a big part of his life; he does most of it in the family homes in London and Devon. I went to a boarding school, because my dad was a teacher in the Forces living abroad, and there simply wasnt enough food. So Id make my own, in a cupboard under the stairs, on a single electric ring, he says. On the first episode of MasterChef we were given a load of surprise ingredients, and told to make something. I was terrified. My head was full of white noise. I thought, well Id better start with an onion, but I couldnt chop it because my hand was shaking like a leaf. Basically, you are trying to avoid total humiliation. He says what helped him not to crumble was his embrace of the ancient philosophy of stoicism. He took to it in order to assuage an anger that had bubbled since childhood. His character, Vyvyan, from The Young Ones was based on the wilder outpourings of a very personal rage. The Young Ones was always a cult. Which is a nice way of saying we delivered very low audiences I was always angry, he explains. I dont want to get too Freudian but just look to Larkin: They eff you up, your mum and dad. It got to the point that I couldnt get in a car without shouting like a maniac. I had to do something because those close to me told me I couldnt go on with these shouting sprees. It wasnt pleasant. I tried therapy, but that didnt work. I found stoicism did. What it says is, basically, if you get cut up by someone when youre driving, you have to think being angry doesnt hurt the guy who cuts you up, it hurts you. You end up as a net loser. Think about that enough and it works. Stripped of explosive temper, his life, he says, is now far more serene. Not that he has entirely rid himself of emotion. He admits not even MasterChef was as nerve-racking as his daughter Beatties stand-up comedy debut. Absolutely terrifying, he recalls. Everyone looked at us as we made our way into the theatre. She was in a double act and they had a sketch where she was a heckler in the audience. We tried to find a place to sit where we were a bit out of the way, and there was a spare seat next to us. It was the one where she sat when she was planted in the audience. So everyone was looking at us and her. I could feel through the chair her heart pounding as she started heckling. Scariest moment of my life. But all three of them got through it. And now Beattie is about to start on a major new television series. Or rather she was. Shootings been postponed because of the virus, he says. These are strange times. Edmondson, though, reckons he might be well equipped to deal with the isolating constrictions of the pandemic. At the family farm in Devon he bakes bread, brews beer and keeps chickens. Im getting close to self-sufficiency. Im heading towards The Good Life. And he roars with laughter once more at the irony of the man who played Vyvyan Basterd turning into a 21st-century Tom Good. All episodes of Save Me Too are available on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV on April 1 Imagine a pristine T&T where there are no more homeless people or animals. One where hunger has been eliminated as the relic of a bygone era. A world where pipe-borne water is delivered to every home every day, not wasted in an archaic system where significant leaks are either ignored or washed out to sea. New Delhi, April 26 : In the backdrop of growing number of COVID-19 patients, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday appealed to people to turn the month of Ramadan into a symbol of patience, goodwill, sensitivity and service. Modi's message came a day after the holy month started amid a crisis when the worship in mosques and religious gatherings was closed across India to contain the spread of novel COVID-19 pandemic. "Holy month of Ramzan has begun. While celebrating Ramzan the previous time, no one would have thought that there would be so many difficulties during Ramzan this time," Modi said while speaking in the 64th edition of his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat'. "When the whole world is struggling with the pandemic, it provides us an opportunity to make this Ramzan a symbol of patience, goodwill, sensitivity and service." Modi said this time, let us pray that the world may be freed from the coronavirus by the time of Eid. Ramadan started on Saturday morning and is expected to culminate on May 24. Over the 30-day period, Muslims fast during the daylight hours, a practice that is seen as one of the five pillars of Islam. The devotees eat before sunrise, and break their fast after dusk each day. On April 10, the Ministry of Home Affairs had directed all the states and the Union Territories (UTs) not to allow any social or religious gathering and ensure strict compliance of lockdown to contain spread of COVID-19 in the wake of various festivals like Baisakhi, Ambedkar Jayanti, Ramadan and others. The Ministry had directed all states and UTs to ensure strict compliance of lockdown measures to fight COVID-19 and not allow any social and religious gathering or procession. In continuation of 'Mann Ki Baat', the Prime Minister focussed to improve the immunity amid the pandemic crisis and asked to be careful and taking right precautions. "Do what you can to improve immunity. Keep in mind that our traditional systems offer great methods to do so. Let us make these systems popular and share them in a language in which the world understands," Modi said. Modi said we have to continue being careful and taking the right precautions and said that the COVID-19 has changed how we view things. The Prime Minister also expressed happiness over the working of sanitation workers, police forces, doctors, nurses and healthcare workers in the fight against the pandemic which so far has claimed 824 lives. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 22:05:11|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BANGKOK, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Another 400-plus Thai nationals are returning home from overseas on Sunday and Monday and destined for a 14-day quarantine. Thailand's Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration spokesman Thaveesilp Wisanuyothin confirmed on Sunday a total of 435 Thais were scheduled to return home on Sunday and Monday and be immediately quarantined for fear of possible infection. Those returnees include 207 from Australia, 168 from New Zealand, 35 from Japan and 25 from the Netherlands, he said. Thai authorities have been arranging homecoming trips for Thai nationals from overseas after which they will be immediately quarantined for 14 days. Meanwhile, 300 to 350 Thais are also coming back home daily from Malaysia where they have been earlier hired for jobs via land-based border checkpoints in southern Thailand. About 7,000 to 8,000 Thai workers are expected to return from the southern neighbor country and be quarantined at specified places in Thailand. Enditem According to the 2019 annual report released by China Fortune Land Development (CFLD) on April 24, the company achieved steady growth over the past year, with sustained profits and high shareholder returns. In 2019, the company's operating revenue reached 105.21 billion yuan, an increase of 25.6% over the previous year; and the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company reached 14.61 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24.4%. CFLD's compound annual growth rate of net profit for the past five years reached 32.1%. In addition, its return on equity increased to 35.7%, and its cash dividends to all stakeholders amounted to 4.52 billion yuan, with the total amount of cash dividends accounting for at least 30% of net profit for five consecutive years. During the reporting period, sales in the company's New Industry Cities increased by 19% year-on-year, with the proportion of sales rising by 7%, and the proportion of gross profit by 52%. The cash inflows from operating activities totaled 94.38 billion yuan, and the sales cash collection rate increased significantly from 46.2% to 61.4%. In addition, its operating quality continued to improve, with its management expense ratio decreasing by 2% compared with last year, and its sales expense ratio decreasing by 0.45% during the same period. The company on the same day revealed plan to lower the coupon rate of its 2018 CFLD 01 Corporate Bonds (sh143550) in the third and fourth years (May 30, 2020May 29, 2022) from 6.80% to 5%. Industry insiders expect that this move will effectively reduce debt and decrease leverage, whilst further optimizing the company's financing structure. Strategy to develop core metropolitan areas delivering positive results CFLD is committed to creating its "3+3+N" core metropolitan areas. In 2019, the company's proportion of sales volume outside the greater Beijing area increased to 57.8%, compared with 46.5% in the same period last year, and the sales area proportion increased from 54.2% to 63.7%. As the traditional property sector enters a "Silver Age" and China maintains the principle that "houses are for people to live in, not for speculation," industry experts believe that CFLD's development model which focuses on the strategy of developing core metropolitan areas and industry-city integration will prove to be more stable and reliable. In terms of the development of various industries, CFLD set a new record by signing 195.61 billion yuan in new investment contracts, an increase of 17.8% year-on-year. A total of 545 new companies opened in CFLD's New Industry Cities over the past year, with the average value of contracts signed with these companies rising by 51.8% year-on-year. CFLD's capacity for attracting leading companies was significantly enhanced in 2019. Over the past four years, the total amount of newly signed investment contracts continued to grow rapidly, with a compound growth rate of nearly 38.2%. During the reporting period, the number of CFLD's New Industry Cities attracting development partners increased from 14 to 31, and the area of land acquired by these partners rose by 58%. Over 12,000 students now attend schools in the New Industry Cities, of which the total commercial area reached 1.15 million square meters. In addition, 44 public facilities and infrastructure projects were being operated throughout all the New Industry Cities, and the residential property management served 320,000 households, with the management area reaching 44.43 million square meters. As the urban operation services were expanded to cover 66 million square meters, the urban operational capacity of the New Industry Cities was fully demonstrated. New business areas explored by launching high-quality projects In addition to the New Industry Cities, CFLD has ventured into new business areas, and created both new asset-light and asset-heavy business models. In addition, CFLD rapidly advanced into the fields of retail property, office buildings and other commercial real estate, and explored new real estate fields such as healthcare facilities, public housing and scientific communities. At the same time, the company also explored new areas in core metropolitan areas, with a focus on the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and cities such as Zhengzhou, Wuhan and Chengdu. In just over a year, CFLD has launched several high-quality commercial real estate projects, including the Wuhan Yangtze River Center and the Beijing Lize project. The company attracted attention with such urban renewal projects as the Bilingding Project in Shenzhen's Pingshan district. CFLD was selected as a pre-service provider for urban renewal through eight of its projects, including six in Shenzhen and two in Dongguan. The company continues to rapidly develop many more new projects. CFLD holds key strategic advantages brought by its development in metropolitan areas, business advantages from its industry-city integration, and advantages from adopting the developmental PPP model while working with local governments, as well as advantages from open platforms for cooperation. Looking ahead, continued increases in profits from the New Industry Cities, the market share of regional residential real estate projects, and trading efficiencies, as well as the rapid development of new business projects with professional teams and high-quality capital, will enhance CFLD's competencies, bringing about steady growth and optimizing its revenue structure. With its lakhs of migrant workers getting restive to come back to their homes, the Naveen Patnaik government on Sunday said that it would arrange buses to Gujarat and Maharashtra to bring back stranded migrant workers after national lockdown on coronavirus pandemic ends on May 3. After a discussion through video-conferencing among Patnaik, his Gujarat counterpart Vijay Rupani, Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackrey and union minister of petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan today, it was decided that a coordination committee comprising two officers each from all the three states will decide on the modalities of bringing back the stranded workers by buses or any other modes of transport available. Registration(with the Covid portal) is mandatory for all those who wish to come back to their native places. Suitable arrangements are being made so that they can be sent to quarantine facility immediately upon their arrival, said Patnaik. The chief ministers office said Odisha is in talks with the governments of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh so that no road tax is levied on the buses carrying the migrant labourers from Gujarat and Maharshtra to Odisha. The decision to bring back the Odia migrant labourer comes in the wake of 70 Odia migrants working in Surats textile mills going on rampage on April 11 demanding salary and permission to be allowed to travel back to Odisha. At least 2 lakh Odia migrants have been working in textile mills of Surat, but majority of them live in congested rooms and have no job security. After all the textile units in Surat were closed following lockdown, many of them wished to go back to Odisha as they quickly ran out of money and food. Most of the workers in Surat are from Ganjam, the home district of Naveen Patnaik. Similarly, thousands of Odia workers are stranded across Maharashtra after lockdown was announced. But some like Mahesh Jena, a 20-year-old casual worker in an iron foundry of Sangli-Miraj had arrived in his home district of Jajpur after cycling over 1700 km. A day earlier, the Odisha government allowed intra-state movement of labourers who are stranded in the state due to Coronavirus lockdown. Around 86,000 workers, including 16,000 from within Odisha, are being accommodated in 2,610 camps in various districts in the state. The migrant workers who arrive in Odisha from Gujarat and other states from May 4 onwards would be housed in quarantine centres that the government is quickly putting up in around 7,000 panchayats. The quarantine centres would have 2 lakh beds which would be scaled up to 5 lakh as more and more people come back. But the governments decision that all such migrant workers would have to give out their Aadhar number while filling up an online portal for registration was slammed by Citizens Action Group on Covid-19, a civil society group of the state. The CAG members said most of the migrants working in informal sectors may not have an Aadhar card or be carrying it. We are witnessing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and in such a situation, our approach should be one of making things easy for the most vulnerable sections of the society. Making Aadhar mandatory for registration doesnt serve that approach well. Hence the government should look for other options such as voter ID card, driving license or a post-registration authentication by the Panchayat, said Manas Ranjan Mishra, convenor of the group. The CAG also raised concerns about online registration being only source of mapping data on stranded people or workers. Looking at the exploitative nature of the networks through which migrants seek work and travel, it is important that all steps are taken to ensure that the stranded workers are able to register themselves without any hindrance or coercion caused by people and groups that operate these networks. So offline registration should also be allowed, the group suggested. In another development, the state government appointed over 20 senior IAS officers as Covid-19 observers to various districts as Odisha prepared for return of around 5 lakh migrants from other States. Several other IAS officers were also assigned specific responsibilitirs such as implementation of social distancing guidelines, management and welfare of stranded Odias in other States, IEC activities, registration of Odia returnees and procurement of essential medical equipment and supplies. Richard Branson is considering pouring more money into teetering Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. than he originally pledged in a bid to attract outside investors and gain access to hundreds of millions of pounds of state-backed loans, according to people familiar with the matter. Branson had earlier said hed channel the bulk of a $250 million U.S. infusion into his Virgin-branded companies toward the U.K. airline. The pledge, linked to a request for some 500 million pounds ($618 million) in U.K. funding guarantees, has met with resistance from the government. The talks and amounts are in flux, the people said. U.S. partner Delta Air Lines Inc. has said it wont put in more money, and raised the possibility that Virgin Atlantic could go through insolvency proceedings. Branson has been pursuing outside investors to strengthen the bailout application. The 69-year-old billionaires Virgin Group is seeking some combination of structured finance, convertible bonds or preferred debt, according to one of the people, who asked not to be named discussing a confidential matter. An injection of pure equity could also be part of the mix, though rules governing airline ownership could place limits on that option. About 100 financial investors have been contacted with around half responding, the person said. Branson himself has no intention of selling out of Virgin Atlantic, Nick Fox, a spokesman for Virgin Group, said by phone. He declined to comment on the investor search or what form support might take. Virgin previously confirmed that Houlihan Lokey had been engaged to lead the search. The future of Bransons flagship business is on the line as airlines worldwide are roiled by the COVID-19 outbreak. Like other European carriers, Virgin Atlantic has grounded almost all of the fleet, while slashing costs through a deal with staff to take unpaid leave. That step and question marks over Bransons tax affairs have led to a backlash against a bailout from some U.K. politicians. His Virgin Australia was already denied a rescue and faces collapse. Branson, who founded the airline in 1984 and owns a 51 per cent stake, would remain a leading shareholder, the people said. Deltas 49 per cent stake would likely go down. Britains Telegraph newspaper reported earlier that Branson was seeking a buyer for Virgin Atlantic, something his spokesman disputed. Richard is committed to investing in Virgin Atlantic, Fox said. He and Virgin Group are fully supportive of the process the airline is going through in seeking prospective investors. With the airline industry in such dire straits, a new backer would be investing on the strength of Bransons plans for the carrier, one person said. The tycoon last year came close to selling 30 per cent of Virgin Atlantic to ally Air France-KLM before pulling the plan as earnings surged. Battered sector While Virgin Atlantic and its adviser have reached out to potential investors including private equity firms and sovereign wealth funds to gauge interest, some have been reluctant to risk putting money into the battered airline sector, two people said. Among investment options, Crawley, England-based Virgin Atlantic could issue bonds convertible into stock after five years if not repaid, one person said. The institutions expressing an interest in Virgin will be provided with insight into two- and five-year plans for the airline after signing non-disclosure agreements, according to another person. While Delta wont provide direct investment while itself seeking federal funding, the U.S. carrier may be able to help indirectly in the longer term. That could include deferring payments related to a joint venture between the airlines and others for a booking platform, one of the people said. Branson has already said hes seeking to raise cash against his Necker Island home in the British Virgin Islands. Most of that money will likely go to help his other leisure businesses, the person said. The search for an new investor may be complicated by airline ownership rules, which dictate that a carrier must be majority owned in the location where it holds its air operating certificate. That could affect how much funding is structured as equity versus debt, and affect the airlines ownership structure. Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday (April 26) arrested scam-accused DHFL promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan from Mahabaleswar in Maharashtra's Satara district in the Yes Bank scam case. The brother-duo, accused of financial irregularities under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and out on bail since February 21, was detained in Mahabaleshwar today and are being brought to Mumbai. "A #CBI team has taken both Kapil and Dhiraj Wadhwan into custody. @SataraPolice has given them all required assistance & an escort vehicle with 1+3 guard upto Mumbai on a written request. The arrest procedures are going on. #LawEqualForAll," Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh wrote on Twitter. The minister said local police in Satara district had extended all cooperation to the central probe agency. He had earlier requested CBI to take custody of the two on April 22 after their quarantine ended in Satara. In a related development, Deshmukh announced that the probe into the circumstances leading to the permission granted to the Wadhawans and others to travel from Pune to Satara during the nationwide lockdown is completed. "Additional Chief Secretary Manoj Saunik`s report on the inquiry against Principal Secretary Home (Special) Amitabh Gupta is likely to be submitted by today or tomorrow," he said in another tweet. Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, along with 21 other family members, had gone from Khandala hill station in Pune to the cool climes of Mahabaleshwar in Satara at the height of the lockdown on April 9, sparking a huge political controversy. It was found that on April 8, senior IPS officer Amitabh Gupta had given them written permission to travel in five vehicles, but when they reached Mahabaleshwar on April 9, locals vehemently protested after which the Wadhawans were sent into institutional quarantine at the twin hill-station of Panchgani. As a massive row erupted over the incident with accusations and counter-allegations, Deshmukh on April 10 shunted the bureaucrat to compulsory leave and ordered a probe into the incident by another senior official. Meanwhile, the Wadhawans' quarantine got over without any incident on April 22 and the Aghadi government in Maharashtra immediately asked the CBI to take them into its custody, which the probe agency did on April 26. As the country faces the coronavirus pandemic, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday cautioned against forces inimical to India's interests taking advantage of the situation, exhorted all to help those affected without any discrimination and stressed on developing a self-reliant economy. "We have to be patient and calm. There should be no fear or anger as people with anti-India mindset can use it against the country," he said in an online address to workers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Even if someone did something wrong, do not consider everyone guilty. Some people want to misuse it, the RSS chief said in an apparent reference to incidents involving Tablighi Jamaat members after it centre in Delhi emerged as a major coronavirus hotspot. Asking the Sangh workers to serve people without any discrimination , he said those in need of help "are our own". "It is our duty to help in this time of crisis. All 130 crore Indians are our own," he said. Underlining that RSS is active during lockdown in the shape of relief activities, Sangh chief said, "We should continue the relief work till the threat of this pandemic completely ends". Bhagwat said India handled this pandemic effectively as government and people responded proactively to the crisis. He said a new model of development which makes the country self-reliant has to be evolved. People should use 'swadeshi' (indigenous) goods as far as possible, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The diary entries from a woman in southwestern Ohio about farm work and life during the 1918 flu pandemic and World War I have brought her future generations comfort and hope as the nation grapples with the coronavirus pandemic. No school on account of Spanish Influenza, Lucy Vandervort Cox, who died in 1964 at age 84, wrote in her diary entry on Monday, Oct. 7, 1918, on a cloudy and much cooler day in Wilmington. Jennifer Weinbrecht, 63, preserved her great-grandmother's diaries which were written from 1899 to 1964 and later passed down to her from her deceased mother, JoAnne Womacks. Jennifer Weinbrecht The diaries, which Weinbrecht also refers to as ledgers, show a snapshot of the hard work of farm life and raising a family. Kept mostly in the form of a log of daily activities, they offer some additional snippets of what life was like during the 1918 influenza pandemic. I look up names or words in my great-grandmothers rather sparsely worded diaries and learn a wealth of information, Weinbrecht told NBC News from Novelty, Ohio. Sometimes, its fun stuff like when she said she finished her Mother Hubbard, and I Googled that and found it was a dress that could be worn without a tight corset for working on the farm, she said. Lucy Vandervort Cox or 'Grandma Cox' and her family. (Courtesy Jennifer Weinbrecht) Grandma Cox, as she's affectionately referred to, worked on a vegetable farm in Wilmington with her husband, Henry, and raised two children, Ernest and Elsie. Elsie, Weinbrechts grandmother, was the daughter of Coxs brother but was adopted into the family when the childs mother died. Weinbrecht began years ago to transcribe the diaries in hopes of further preserving her familys history. The family revisited them recently when her daughter Amy Patterson, 38, wanted to see what advice they could glean as they stayed indoors to stay safe from the pandemic. Jennifer Weinbrecht Patterson, who works as a part-time reporter for the Geauga County Maple Leaf in Chardon, Ohio, wrote a piece for the newspaper about how the lessons learned from the 1918 flu could help readers conquer COVID-19. Story continues While a global pandemic shuttering schools and businesses feels like new territory, many of our families still bear the scars of the 1918 influenza pandemic, she wrote. Roughly 50 million people around the world died from the 1918 H1N1 flu pandemic, also referred to as the Spanish flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the United States alone, about 675,000 people were killed at the time. Ohio has 14,694 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 656 deaths from the novel coronavirus, according to the Ohio Department of Health. In the United States, as of Friday, there were 828,441 cases and 46,379 deaths overall, including probable cases and losses. Ohio and many other states have issued stay-at-home orders, with a small number of states opting not to issue such restrictions. As the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic and quarantines, Patterson felt that looking back into her familys history might bring some hope, connection and perspective. Patterson, who has two sons, ages 9 and 11, decided to read through some of the entries to see how they related to her own familys experiences now. It just felt like a really good time to evaluate how bad this is, compared to how bad our ancestors had it, Patterson said over the phone from Chardon. In one entry, Cox wrote about cooking and how her husband, Henry, shucked corn. I baked bread and sugar cakes and picked mangoes, she wrote on Monday, Oct. 28, 1918. Then the children and I went to town in [the] evening after some more medicine to prevent influenza. Jennifer Weinbrecht Patterson recalled how her great-great-grandmothers younger brother was away serving in the war, how school and church had been closed due to flu precautions, yet Cox continued doing farm work and putting her family first. My kids are struggling with not being connected to their friends at school, Patterson said. Its that time of life like, theyre learning how to be social and having been forced to do that in person to doing it across the screen is not ideal, but I feel that were almost more connected than we were before. She credits Grandma Coxs story for some of that. Were sending these family photos back and forth. My kids are asking questions about our family, because of this story, she said. In another diary entry, Cox described what seemed to be a normal day, what the family ate -- she baked a cake and some bread, she took a trip into town with the children -- a typical November day that was clear but had a very cold wind. The entry concludes with one sentence about the passing of 14-year-old Mary who succumbed to the flu. A very stark reminder of the virus that was taking a toll on her community. Jennifer Weinbrecht Then the following month, she recorded the names of more lives lost to influenza. But, between the deaths and funerals adding up on Lucys ledger, she also recorded signs of everyday life visits to town, minor injuries to the children and several weddings in a sign that life was still moving forward, even in the midst of a world at war, Patterson wrote. Weinbrecht, who owns a bookstore called Jane Austen Books with her two daughters, said she has been transcribing and digitizing the decades of diaries. So far, shes up to 1935. They cant stop. Even when [Grandma Cox] says, 'Oh, I feel really bad,' she just has to keep going, Weinbrecht said. US President Donald Trump tweeted that his daily coronavirus briefings were not worth his time, two days after sparking a furore by suggesting patients might be injected with disinfectant to kill an infection. He appeared to confirm media reports that he was considering halting the briefings, which dominate early-evening cable television for sometimes more than two hours, out of frustration with questions about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. "What is the purpose of having White House Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately," Trump wrote. "They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake Not worth the time & effort!" On Thursday the US leader stunned viewers by saying doctors might treat people infected with the coronavirus by shining ultraviolet light inside their bodies, or with injections of household disinfectant. "Then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks (the virus) out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs," he said. After a strong rebuff of his suggestion by top medical experts and disinfectant manufacturers, Trump on Friday claimed he had been speaking "sarcastically." But he limited that day's briefing, which usually includes himself, Vice President Mike Pence and members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, to just 19 minutes, and did not take any questions from reporters. And on Saturday, after 50 briefings over two months, the White House did not hold one at all. Trump has used the briefings to occupy television screens and promote his administration's policies, fend off critics and attack political rivals -- from opposition Democrats to China to the US media. But after more than 53,000 Americans have died from the novel coronavirus, the briefings, opinion polls suggest, have not bolstered Trump's popularity among voters as he gears up to battle Democrat Joe Biden in the presidential election in November. An AP-NORC poll published Thursday showed that most Americans -- and a crushing majority of Democrats -- don't believe Trump when it comes to the health emergency facing the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Albania re-opens some businesses as seeks to limit coronavirus hit to economy Albanian people wait in line before entering a store, as Albanian authorities take measure to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Tirana By Benet Koleka TIRANA (Reuters) - Albania will re-open about 600 business activities from Monday, ranging from watch repair shops to mining, in a bid to breathe life back into an economy frozen for a month as the country fights the coronavirus outbreak. Prime Minister Edi Rama's government said the low number of deaths and infections, 26 and 548 respectively since the first case detected there on March 9, justified re-starting the economy slowly over the next three weeks. The government says it will lose 540 million euros ($587 million) in revenue to June. Some 50,000 workers have lost their jobs over the past month. Government finances had already been hit by having to rebuild homes for 17,000 people who lost theirs in an earthquake in November. The list of businesses able to restart work, published on the e-Albania government website on Saturday, also included farming, fishing, food and fish processing and various kinds of retailer. Banks, construction firms, call centres, supermarkets, companies transporting goods and clothes makers have remained open throughout the lockdown. However, to make sure social distancing measures are still observed once people begin to return to work, the government threatened offenders with tougher punishment, including jail time for those who opened bars and restaurants and those who leave quarantine while infected. The updated list allows bars and restaurants to deliver take-out food or for customers to collect it. The government also said it will pardon fines for 7,107 pedestrians who have flouted the rules and give 1,941 drivers back their licences, arguing they need a second chance. Some complained this made a mockery of those who obeyed the lockdown. While the dusk to dawn curfew and limited hours for shopping will remain in place, pensioners were allowed out of their homes to walk on Saturday for the first time since the lockdown - also for limited hours, and one day only. (Reporting by Benet Koleka; Editing by Alison Williams) A Nova Scotia woman who died in a mass shooting was remembered at her funeral for her contagious energy and love of her children on Sunday, as Canada marked one week since the deadly shooting with memorials and tributes for the victims. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/4/2020 (626 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A photo of Kristen Beaton is displayed at a memorial in Debert, N.S. on Sunday, April 26, 2020. The VON care worker was shot and killed when she stopped along the road. A man went on a murder rampage in several Nova Scotia communities killing 22 people. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan A Nova Scotia woman who died in a mass shooting was remembered at her funeral for her contagious energy and love of her children on Sunday, as Canada marked one week since the deadly shooting with memorials and tributes for the victims. Lisa McCully was one of 22 people killed when a shooter dressed in an RCMP uniform went on a 12-hour rampage across northern Nova Scotia that began last Saturday night. On Sunday, a framed photo of the 49-year-old mother of two could be seen on a table next to a grey urn and bouquets of flowers during her funeral in Truro, N.S. The service was also available online for those who could not attend due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her sister, Jenny Kierstead, remembered McCully as a "proverbial entertainer" who loved singing, dancing, and children both her own and those she taught as an elementary school teacher. "Lisa beautifully melded her love of outdoor education with her love of parenting, teaching her children physics on the bike ramp, oceanography on the shoreline, and of course, music by campfire," Kierstead said at the funeral. Earlier in the service, Rev. Glenn MacLean praised McCully for her work in the church, her zest for adventure, and her role as a teacher. While he said the whole community had been shaken by "a senseless, sick act of violence," he told the service that the savage attacks "do not win out" over the acts of kindness and courage witnessed in the aftermath of the tragedy. A couple place a flag at a memorial in Portapique, N.S. on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. Tributes and memorials continue to pour in for the 22 people killed in a mass shooting in Nova Scotia one week ago.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan "Just look at the outpouring of love and concern from across our province and across the land, and the courage of all the people who are willing to help out and try to reach out as best they could," he said, praising police, first responders, and 911 operators. Meanwhile, tributes and memorials continued to pour in on Sunday for all the victims. While distancing restrictions due to COVID-19 means that some families will have to mourn privately or wait until the coronavirus is contained to hold services, Canadians have found ways to honour the victims. Across the country, people have been piling flowers by roadside memorials, lighting candles, posting heartfelt musical tributes online, or donning red in honour of slain RCMP officer Cst. Heidi Stevenson. On Saturday, hundreds of vehicles formed a motorcade in Wyses Corner, N.S. in honour of 36-year-old Joey Webber, who was shot by the gunman while running a family errand. Law enforcement and first responders across the country have held small ceremonies in honour of Stevenson, who was described Saturday as a "hero" by her union for her actions in trying to stop the gunman. Angela Gevaudan, the wife of an RCMP officer killed by a gunman in Moncton, N.B., nearly six years ago, said the first responders on the scene will need time and counselling to come to grips with the emotions of the last week. The former 911 dispatcher said with 16 crime scenes and so many victims, everyone will still be in shock. She said first responders learn to put their emotions aside in order to do the job at hand. "Because the focus is only on the external and what needs to be done, and there is very little room for your normal human feelings and reactions to something like this that happened in Nova Scotia," she said on Sunday. "You keep setting them aside, and setting them aside. You can get to a point where you don't know where to start any more in trying to sort out what impacted you and how to make sense of it and come to terms with it." Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Gevaudan's husband, RCMP Const. Fabrice Gevaudan, was killed along with constables Doug Larche and Dave Ross when a gunman went hunting police officers in a residential neighbourhood on June 4, 2014. Two other officers were wounded. Gevaudan said she had to learn to make room for her emotions by taking part in different counselling programs, including one provided by Wounded Warriors Canada. That group has launched a fund to assist first responders in Nova Scotia. By mid-day Sunday, about $38,000 had been raised. While COVID-19 prevents a regimental funeral right now for Const. Stevenson, Gevaudan said the outpouring of support from the public will be appreciated by all the families. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2020. With files from Kevin Bissett in Fredericton. It has been revealed that caravan parks in Co Wexford have been under drone surveillance for weeks, as local officials hunt for tourists who should not be there. The county council has redeployed its fleet of half a dozen UAVs from patrolling for illegal dumping to monitoring compliance with movement restrictions. Nowadays, terms such as lockdown, social distancing, isolation centers, self-quarantine, vaccine, immunity and ventilators are dominating the media and discussions across the globe. And the reason is Covid-19. A deadly disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 or Sars-CoV-2. It spreads when a healthy individual comes in contact with the droplets produced by an infected person when he exhales, sneezes or coughs. The disease has proven to be a huge disaster for the developed economies, which had the best medical facilities, as well as the underdeveloped economies. And governments of different countries and global health organisations are racing against time trying to develop a vaccine to stop it. With a ban on travel through air, rail and road, the world has literally come to a standstill. The loss of jobs, the fall in prices of oil and disruption in the supply chains of commodities have been some of the unprecedented fallouts of this fatal disease on the global economy. We have the USA closing its borders and putting a hold on immigration for 60 days to protect its interests and for the well-being of its citizens. One can expect others to follow suit. Everywhere, the economists and policymakers are trying to understand and estimate the aftermath of this lockdown and how the world will recoup from it. However, the entire focus has been more on the economic implications of the situation. And yes, the world is discussing its spread and origin from China, but barring a few international organisations working for animal welfare, nobody is focusing on the real cause. The origin and cause of Covid-19, which will help in its containment and eradication. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has indicated that 70 percent of new viruses originate in animals. It has been confirmed that in the past different types of diseases such as AIDS, SARS, Ebola and MERS have originated in wild animals. Scientists have tentatively concluded that the Covid-19 originated in bats and entered humans from a secondary host animal, most probably pangolins. It is also claimed that Huanan seafood market in Wuhan is the origin for this virus. Unfortunately, seafood markets (in China) have more than just seafood. They have wild animals such as primates, crocodiles, wolf pups, civets, snakes, turtles, bamboo rats, porcupines, live fish and mongoose, packed together in cages. They are live specimens, most of them illegally smuggled from their wild habitats, and butchered on demand by the sellers. To keep the remaining meat fresh, it is kept on ice slabs from where blood spreads, as the ice slabs melt, into the small walkways of the market. And this is the reason why these markets are called the wet markets. Scientists at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) have already declared these wet markets as Time Bomb for future diseases. Many viruses are confined to a small population of wild animals and remain in wild habitats for a long time. Such viruses are of zoonotic nature and remain dormant till the animal host comes in contact with a human host. And most of these viruses remain inactive and undiscovered. Once these wild animals enter, through illegal wildlife trade, the wet markets or are consumed as bushmeat by humans, these viruses being zoonotic in nature multiply in their human hosts. And create a disease that can either be endemic in a community or result in a pandemic. So if we are not able to contain illegal trade of wildlife, it is certain that we are going to face more pandemics in the near future. Thus illegal wildlife trade is the main reason for a pandemic such as Covid-19. Chinese wet markets are very popular and have a collection of illegally-traded wildlife from all over world. I visited these wet markets in three big cities in China in the mid 1990s. And a person who is not culturally tuned to such wet markets will leave them immediately. The latest addition in these markets is a section for live insects. Many international organisations working for prevention of illegal wildlife trade viz. IUCN, CITES and TRAFFIC are trying to contain illegal wild trade to stop extinction of many species in their habitat. Unfortunately, Chinese and similar wet markets in Southeast Asia are a big challenge for them. Another cause of concern is domestic farming of many wild animals in China for traditional medicines and meat. The production of traditional Chinese medicines has resulted in illegal trade and poaching of many wild animals in India. The tiger, the leopard, musk pods from musk deer, and bear bile are some of the products used in the traditional Chinese medicines. Recently, a few cases have been reported from the USA where the skin of a dead wild animal used for making drums caused a disease in humans. Now it is certain that wild animals can cause unknown diseases to humans even through contact with the body parts of the dead animal. Many animal welfare organisations have demanded an immediate blanket ban of illegal wildlife trade and the closure of wet markets. They also opine that even if a minuscule proportion of the money being spent to stop the spread of Covid-19 had been invested in the prevention of illegal wildlife trade, we would have been saved from this pandemic. However, a blanket ban of illegal wildlife trade will be counterproductive, because it will go underground and will escape the supervision of the authorities concerned. This will result in more epidemics where it will be difficult to pinpoint the source population of wild animals. Also, it is important to understand the cultural significance of wild animal consumption in China. Consumption of wildlife in China was confined to the southern part of the country before Mao Zedong brought about a change in the social and economic fabric of the country. It was done by the implementation of the Great Leap Forward, an economic and social campaign enforced by him between 1958 and 1962, which aimed at transforming the agrarian Chinese economy into an industrial state. It has been estimated that between 18 to 45 million deaths occurred due to starvation, disease and violence during this period. To combat the shortage of food, people started killing and consuming wild animals. In the process, many species went extinct. This also resulted in the worlds largest wildlife domestication operation to fulfill the countrys demand for wild animal meat. So it would be safe to conclude that a deep-rooted tradition cant be stopped by any enforcement or legislation. A multi-pronged strategy is needed. Outreach campaigns by role models, religious leaders, preachers, doctors and social workers should begin in China to convince people to stop eating wild animals. This campaign will take a few years but will be more effective than any enforcement and ban. A similar campaign in Mizoram was very successful in the early 1990s to reduce consumption and illegal trade of wildlife. Strict vigilance in wildlife habitats to prevent poaching, and cooperation among different nations to share information in prevention of wildlife crime and illegal wildlife trade will further fix the loopholes in this process. Finally a paradigm shift in Chinese policy is required to convince people to shift from the consumption of wild animal meat to safer and an alternative form of protein. A successful example of this is the one-child policy implemented by the Chinese government in the last century to flatten the population curve in its country. If a similar approach is not taken immediately by the authorities concerned, then humankind will find itself battling a new pandemic that it wont be prepared for. And the way we are living now will become the way of life forever. (Digvijay Singh Khati is a former Indian Forest Service officer and retired as principal chief conservator of forests and chief wildlife warden, Uttarakhand) Ghana has so far tested about 100,622 people for the novel coronavirus. President Akufo Addo made this in his 8th address to the nation tonight Sunday April, 26. He said six persons are critically sick. ---Daily Guide I see that the latest Monmouth University Poll gives Gov. Phil Murphy an approval rating of 71 percent. I keep hearing from the other 29 percent. Typical was a guy from Middlesex County who emailed me to say, While cutting thru Johnson Park in Piscataway Monday, I was chased out by a park ranger who told me I had to bike on River Road, which is a busy road with no bike lane. I took a couple of pictures to make my point. The pictures made the point in graphic detail. River Road is a four-lane speedway with no shoulder. It is often used by drivers seeking a short cut to and from Interstate 287. Murphys stated reason for shutting down state and county parks is, the Middlesex County website tells us, to help us limit the spread of covid-19. The website doesnt say how forcing bicyclists to play bumper cars with SUVs serves that goal, however. The stay-at-home order wisely includes an exception for exercise. But shortly after signing it Murphy issued another order shutting down state and county parks. So where can you get exercise? Another reader weighed in on that: My local parks are closed but the streets are crowded with people, bikes, cars and dogs. In the park, only people would be allowed. Much safer than the street. The solution is simple: Reopen the parks. How does riding a bicycle along busy River Road in Piscataway make anyone safer? Yet when I've asked the governor when he's going to open the adjacent park and others, he stonewalls. The fact that Murphy cant bring himself to take such an obvious step is symptomatic of a problem that hes got to address in the very near future, the reopening of the states economy. Car dealers are a good example. When I talked this over with Tom Bracken of the state Chamber of Commerce, he made the obvious point that most cars are kept outdoors. Buying one while social-distancing should be a simple exercise. Then there are construction sites. Most construction is also done outdoors, said state Sen. Declan OScanlon, a Republican from Monmouth County who works in the field. Pretty much everyone doing construction is used to wearing a mask for something, OScanlon said. Theyre used to it. Now they just have to do it all the time. Sooner or later the owners of private businesses and their workers are going to have to adopt a regimen of social distancing. So why not make it sooner? The front page of the Star-Ledger offered two good reasons to get business back up ASAP. One is the jobless number in New Jersey: 860,000. Then theres the state budget. You gotta balance your budget from a fiscal standpoint and an essential services standpoint, OScanlon said. But the other big news on the Friday front page was headlined Murphy fights restrictions on federal aid. The Trump administration has made it clear that the $1.8 billion in federal aid to the state can be used only to meet any extra costs incurred fighting the virus but not to replace lost tax revenues needed to balance the budget. Even with that $1.8 billion, the state would have a tough time balancing the budget by the deadline of Oct. 1, OScanlon said. The income tax, sales tax and corporate business tax revenues are way down from projections. All of those are gonna take a hit, said OScanlon. The question is how much. But there could be good news among the bad for New Jersey, he said. In a new age of social-distancing, our suburban office parks will be very attractive to businesses looking to relocate from urban areas. OScanlon said one of the best examples is in his own legislative district, the former Bell Labs building in Holmdel That building will be really, really attractive, he said. You can go in and out of that building without being within 10 feet of anyone. The sprawling grounds of the former Fort Monmouth could be even more attractive for office space, he said. But theres a big question: Are we at the beginning of a recession or are we gonna come roaring back? he asked. We better hope for the latter. But Murphys not helping things with his demoralizing rhetoric, OScanlon said. Among the demoralized is a friend of mine who runs a bakery in a Shore town and is in contact with many fellow merchants. If he doesnt open up by Memorial Day, a lot of businesses are going to go under permanently, he said of Murphy. Theres an obvious way to prevent that, said O Scanlon. In the past couple months New Jersey residents have largely adopted social distancing, he said. At some point have to trust people not to do the things that will kill them, he said. The government doesnt have to hold our hands. It doesnt have to force us to ride bikes in traffic either. If Murphy wants to keep that approval rating, hed better figure that out fast. ADD - IS THIS A CHECKPOINT, CHARLEY? State Senator Mike Doherty, a West Point graduate who spent the 1980s facing off with the Soviets in Germany, asks why we are voluntarily submitting to the same sort of controls the Soviets inflicted on the East Germans at the infamous Checkpoint Charley along the Berlin Wall. Good question. Sign at the entrance to Spring Lake I have no idea why Murphy would want to keep people from going to the beach on a beautiful spring day like Saturday. I have asked him why hes shutting down such beaches as Island Beach State Park when there is no evidence Covid-19 has ever been transmitted outdoors in the sunshine. Im still awaiting an answer. Im also wondering why he wants bicyclists to ride on crowded highways when there are bike paths (below) like this one in his own Monmouth County that are much safer. Again, no answer. If theres any scientific evidence that such measures protect people from coronavirus, I for one would like to see it. But there is none. A closed bike trail in Gov. Murphy's Monmouth County. Why does he want to deny residents the safe paths they bought with their tax dollars? . These are not good times for our universities with the latest research indicating that a majority of them will end up in the red next year. A result in part of thousands of young people now wishing to defer their places for a year while coronavirus is being tackled and most overseas students deciding to stay at home this autumn. While university jobs are threatened 30,000 according to think-tank London Economics it's those students who are currently having their academic journey interrupted that I feel for the most. Many students have been asked to pay their final tranche of accommodation costs for the academic year, despite the fact that most have long left their student digs Nearly all have been forced to return home to their parents and continue courses online, receiving the odd remote lecture in return for tutorial fees of up to 9,250 this academic year. Exams have been cancelled. For the time being, no more lessons in life, a key part of my university experience. According to research just published by the National Union of Students, three quarters of students are now worried that the disruption to their academic lives caused by coronavirus will compromise the quality of degree they will end up with. Just as disturbingly, 80 per cent state that they are worried about how they will financially muddle through the crisis a result of their own part-time work opportunities decreasing and the Bank of Mum and Dad being hit by the parlous state of the economy. Not a happy picture then for many of our sons and daughters, although you could argue it is no worse a situation than that faced by other sections of society blighted by lockdown. Certainly ageism is on the rise. What firmly sticks in my craw with regards to students is the appalling treatment many of them are receiving from landlords. In the past few days, in response to the beginning of the summer term, many students have been asked to pay their final tranche of accommodation costs for the academic year. This is despite the fact that most have long left their student digs for the comfort of their parents' home, understandable given the closure of academic institutions countrywide. Unite Students, the country's biggest provider of student accommodation in the UK, waived third term fees for those 'surrendering' their rooms before April 10 While universities have waived accommodation costs for students scheduled to stay in their properties but now studying remotely, the same generosity of spirit does not extend to the private landlord sector. Although Unite Students, the country's biggest provider of student accommodation in the UK, waived third term fees for those 'surrendering' their rooms before April 10, its big rival Global Student Accommodation trading under the brand of The Student Housing Company has not been so generous. Indeed, it has played hardball, demanding students pay up irrespective of the fact that most have long fled their university residences. For those who have returned their keys, it has told them they are still liable for the 'full contracted rent' and that any remaining belongings will be disposed of when the tenancy comes to an end once the summer term has finished. Emails sent by students to GSA have not been answered while students raising issues via Twitter with the company's executive of student wellbeing (Twitter handle Bobbi Wellbeing) have been blocked. For the past seven days I have requested answers from GSA and TSHC. Emails were ignored while calls to GSA's London office were met with a message that its mailbox was full. Finally, I tracked down GSA's chief executive Nicholas Porter who works out of Dubai (as its name implies, GSA is a global provider of student accommodation). On Friday, he said: 'Our priority at TSHC is always the health and welfare of our students. We understand this is an extremely difficult time for them and we are working extremely hard to help them financially and with their possessions on-site. 'We are sorry our response has been slow; we are doing everything we can to speed up our process and we will be communicating with our students in the coming days.' Then, yesterday, students currently living at home were told they would receive a 50 per cent discount for the rest of their tenancy agreement. Not as generous as Unite Students the company that Porter founded before moving to set up GSA that has already waived all fees. But a step in the right direction. Bengaluru, April 26 : Britain's Justice Minister Robert Buckland has lauded Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa for enforcing the strict lockdown to control the coronavirus spread in the southern state, an official said on Sunday. "Lord Chancellor Buckland appreciated Yediyurappa for his measures to control the virus by strictly enforcing the lockdown across the southern state over the month," an official told IANS after their interaction through video conferencing. Buckland, designated Secretary of State for Justice, also sought advice from the Chief Minister on replicating his measures to contain the pandemic in his country Britain and how the state government maintained the supply chain to deliver food and essential goods to the people amid the lockdown. Hundreds of Kannadigas living in Britain also joined the video conferencing from London and hailed the 77-year-old Chief Minister for battling the virus with minimal loss of life and damage to the state's economy. "I shared with Buckland our strategy to fight the disease by declaring a 15-day shutdown since March 15 in 9 districts, including Bengaluru before the 21-day national lockdown from March 25 to April 14, screening of foreign returnees, tracing, testing and quarantining the infected since a month," the Chief Minister said. Unlike other states in the southern region and across the country, Karnataka registered just 503 Covid-19 positive cases, including 302 active, 182 recovered and only 19 dead till date. "With timely interventions and planning, we have been able to contain the virus spread so far to mostly primary and secondary contacts of the positive cases and kept the situation under control to partially ease curbs on the movement of people and goods across the districts except the hotspots and containment zones," asserted Yediyurappa. Buckland also expressed surprise that Covid-19 did not enter rural India so far. Yediyurappa also assured the stranded Kannadigas in Britain not to worry about their elders, parents and relatives in the state, as they were being looked after by his government and other stakeholders. "We have set up 24x7 helplines, app-based services, websites, portals and a war room to monitor the situation and respond to the crisis, fueled by suspending buses, trains and domestic/overseas flights," the official said. The chief minister also assured Kannadigas stranded in the UK and Europe of special planes for their return to the state when international flights resume once the extended lockdown is lifted after May 3 and restrictions eased gradually during May. The elephant in the Australian classroom has long been the equity gap between schools: we have one of the widest gaps in the OECD. There has not been a level playing field for our young people for quite a while now. The current debate on the best way for students to return to full-time schooling as the coronavirus pandemic wanes highlights this inequity in schooling. The HSC is proceeding, but the preparation will not be a level playing field. Credit:Marina Neil Students in public schools, particularly HSC students, are likely to suffer significant disadvantage from the NSW governments toe-in-the-water, one-day-a-week staged return to school, while their teachers have not had the reassurance they need that schools are safe places to work. Private and Catholic schools do not have to undertake a staged return. It is up to the individual schools and systems to decide how they will return to class. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin believes the U.S. economy will swiftly "bounce back" from the coronavirus crisis over the summer. In an interview Sunday with Fox News, the former Goldman Sachs banker said as the nation's small businesses begin to reopen in May and June, the economy will quickly rebound in July, August and September. "This is not the financial crisis," Mnuchin told Fox News' Chris Wallace. "This is a scenario where we've closed the economy. And we are going to open the economy." His reentry projection is based on the government's stimulus package which is set to pump trillions of dollars into small businesses and checking accounts for weeks to come. The relief trickled out after millions lost jobs and nonessential businesses were instructed to close shop until further notice because of COVID-19. Mnuchin pointed toward expanded unemployment benefits that include part-time workers, the Paycheck Protection Program which encourages employers to rehire employees and the $1,200 checks aimed at most taxpayers. Where's my loan? Chase and other banks shuffled PPP applications, lawsuit says Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Briefing Room, March 25, 2020, in Washington. "We're very sympathetic to the people that are out of work, but there is enhanced unemployment. There's the PPP. There's direct deposits," Mnuchin said. "As businesses begin to open you're going to see (the) demand side of the economy rebound." His light-switch rebound projection aligns with sentiments shared by President Donald Trump, who said in a recent news briefing that the nation's financial conditions will improve swiftly. "Were going to rebuild it. And were going to rebuild it better, and its going to go faster than people think," Trump said on April 20, during a coronavirus news conference. "I built it once; Ill build it a second time." Some states have already begun gradually reopening, with Florida opening beaches and Georgia greenlighting barbershops. Story continues But it remains unclear how quickly Americans will be ready to crowd bars, restaurants and retail stores in the wake of the pandemic. And household spending is limited as more than 26 million people seek unemployment benefits. A recent Harris Poll found that Americans are wary of getting back to normal too soon. In fact, 30% of Americans surveyed said they will wait at least four months after the virus spread flattens before going out for dinner, while 44% say it will take that long for them to go to the movies. Follow Dalvin Brown on Twitter: @Dalvin_Brown. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus: Steven Mnuchin says economy will rebound over the summer The national lockdown is losing support from South Africans, in large part due to the financial struggles it is causing. This is according to research done by Victory Research for City Press and Rapport. While 87% of those polled supported the initial lockdown, only 42% are in support of the extension past April. 18% of respondents said that they could not afford to go for another week in the current lockdown state. Over half of all respondents said they cannot afford basic groceries for any longer than three weeks, while a further 23% said a month was their limit. Additionally, a third of respondents said they are finding it very hard to source food and essential goods at supermarkets, while a further 24% said they were finding it hard. Decreased spending The reduced spending power, coupled with regulations regarding what can be sold, has reflected in the performance of South African businesses. Edcon told MyBroadband that since the president announced the lockdown on 16 March, its turnover has declined 45% year-on-year. Its sales and cash for March were R400 million below forecast, while it expects to lose a further R800 million in turnover during the lockdown period. Takealot CEO Kim Reid recently said that the national lockdown would cost the online retailer about R350 million. The online store is currently only receiving about 15% of its usual sales volume, and it has had to cancel many orders for non-essential goods which were placed before the lockdown started. Two million jobs at stake Various economists and business leaders have warned that South Africa faces an economic crisis because of the extended and strict lockdown in the country. Mike Schussler said the economy was already in a terrible state prior to the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent lockdown. He explained that South Africa had large deficits, widespread unemployment and inequality, poor growth, and uncertainty on land and property rights before the coronavirus crisis. With the countrys GDP expected to contract by over 6% this year, things are set to get much worse. Schussler predicts that up to 2 million jobs could be lost in South Africa because of the coronavirus crisis. Ramaphosa eases lockdown It is hoped that Ramaphosas easing of the countrys COVID-19 lockdown from 30 April will help both businesses and citizens financially. It is expected that when level 4 of lockdown begins on 30 April, 1.5 million South Africans will be able to go back to work. Businesses which will be allowed to open under level 4, according to a government infographic, include: Wholesale and retail Manufacturing Transport and logistics Media ICT Services Agriculture and forestry Mining Power and water Construction Food services and accommodation Domestic workers Healthcare Finance and business For more detailed information regarding who within these industries will be allowed to work, click here. The government will also be implementing the following rules for the workplace: KYODO NEWS - Apr 27, 2020 - 00:30 | All, Japan, Coronavirus A ruling party candidate won a seat in a lower house by-election in central Japan held under a state of emergency over the coronavirus, providing relief to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe whose response to the pandemic has been criticized. Yoichi Fukazawa of the Liberal Democratic Party who was also backed by its junior coalition partner Komeito, defeated Ken Tanaka, who was endorsed by four major opposition parties in the first national poll since the coronavirus outbreak began. Voter turnout was a record low at 34.10 percent. (Yoichi Fukazawa of the Liberal Democratic Party celebrates after securing a seat in a House of Representatives by-election in Shizuoka, central Japan, on April 26, 2020.) The election in the Shizuoka Nov. 4 district was an opportunity for the ruling coalition to justify their crisis response that opposition lawmakers see as too late and out of touch with the public. It was also marked by firsts for both candidates and voters as Japan scrambles to contain COVID-19. There were no "banzai," or raising hands high to celebrate an achievement, or giving of a flower bouquet, as Fukazawa's camp broke with customs as measures against the coronavirus spread. "Under the leadership of Prime Minister Abe, the government has been rolling out a series of steps but I'm aware of the criticism they are not enough," the 43-year-old Fukazawa told reporters. "We will carry out necessary measures." Abe's support ratings have fallen in recent media polls. His plan to distribute cloth masks to all households has hit a snag amid complaints of defects by recipients and the recent posting of a video clip meant to deliver his "stay at home" message has been perceived as backfiring. In the run-up to Sunday's poll, Abe yielded to pressure from Komeito after his cash handout plan met criticism and made an abrupt policy change in mid-April to provide 100,000 yen ($930) per person to support all people affected by his emergency declaration that was expanded nationwide in mid-April. A senior LDP lawmaker said voters gave the party a vote of confidence, but another member elected from Shizuoka said, "I didn't feel we were winning even at the end (of campaigning)." As the entire nation is under the state of emergency until May 6, the candidates refrained from holding large-scale gatherings for supporters and ditched handshakes to reduce transmission risks. (Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe) The election was held to fill a seat vacated by former Environment Minister Yoshio Mochizuki who died in December at the age of 72. People have been asked to stay at home unless there is an urgent reason not to do so. Abe has taken a negative stance toward postponing elections, saying they are at the heart of democracy and voting is deemed as important and urgent. Election staff disinfected each pencil after a voter cast a ballot at polling stations and left windows and doors open to ensure proper ventilation and minimize infection risks. Voters were asked to disinfect hands and put on gloves before voting. During 12 days of campaigning, the candidates turned to social media and YouTube so voters could virtually experience stump speeches and understand policy priorities. Senior party executives sought to reach out to voters in Shizuoka from Tokyo under the nationwide state of emergency. Some campaign staff acknowledged that online campaigning had its limits given the number of elderly and some other voters not necessarily used to social media. The opposition camp apparently failed to make full use of the opportunity to strengthen their multiparty cooperation as a counter to the ruling coalition ahead of the next election for the House of Representatives that needs to be held by October 2021. "I received support irrespective of party lines but I wasn't able to live up it," Tanaka said. He used his campaign to step up criticism of the government's emergency measures against the coronavirus and vowed to extend more support to struggling small and midsize firms. The opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Democratic Party for the People, the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party supported Tanaka, a 42-year-old former metropolitan assembly member in Tokyo. According to Kyodo News exit polls, 49.3 percent of 1,056 respondents said they backed the government's handling of the coronavirus crisis, while 43.2 percent said the opposite. Most of those who supported the government response, or 73.3 percent, voted for the LDP's Fukazawa, while Tanaka, the opposition candidate, garnered support from 55.3 percent of those critical of the handling. Two other candidates were independent Kenzo Yamaguchi, 72, and Ken Tanaka, 54, of NHK Kara Kokumin Wo Mamoru To (The Party to Protect the People from NHK) established by a former employee of NHK, formally called Japan Broadcasting Corp. As there were two Tanakas with the same first name, the local election board decided to ask voters to write the age of the candidate they voted for on ballot papers. The two Tanakas also use the same Chinese characters. A view of Canal Street with boarded up windows during the coronavirus pandemic on April 12, 2020 in New York City. Noam Galai | Getty Images Plunges in employment, manufacturing and other widely followed data points only tell part of the story behind the coronavirus-induced economic damage. What they don't readily reflect is where the worst of it will fall, and that's likely to be on the people who can handle it least. Lower-income groups, who depend on the service industry for jobs, are taking the biggest impact from the shutdown of an economy that is driven by services like hotels, bars and restaurants. They work in the hard-hit retail sector and are dependent on others being able to shop and dine and travel, activities which all have been sharply curtailed during the current shutdown. While government programs have been focused on keeping people afloat who have been displaced by the efforts to curtail the coronavirus spread, the pain is likely to be long lasting. "The largest body blows are to the travel industry, the retail industry, parts of the health care industry that are on the front lines battling the virus. Those are generally low-paying jobs, so the folks in the bottom part of the income wealth distribution are going to get creamed by this," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. "There's no doubt about it." 'Deeply unequal' impacts Economists at the St. Louis Federal Reserve have been tracking the impact from the current shutdown and see the biggest hit to the bottom fifth of earners. In a paper released a few days ago, they projected final demand in food, leisure and hospitality to drop by 75%. In all, they project consumer spending to fall an average of 3% but consumption to slide by 5% in the bottom income rung. That tells some of the story about the consumer impact, but "perhaps more important, these consumption declines are deeply unequal hitting those living in areas of highest financial distress the hardest," the economists said. The situation is going to be exacerbated, the research found, because the initial spread of coronavirus cases happened in regions with lower levels of economic stress previously, but now is spreading to higher stress regions. Consequently, when the economy starts to recover, the areas that benefit likely will be those driven by financial services, like New York, while the more hospitality and tourism focused regions could languish. "Those other service industries just aren't going to participate, and that's one reason to expect that any kind of recovery will be very, very weak," Zandi said. "It's going to be a slog. We're going to get a bounce when businesses start to reopen, but on the other side of that I think we're in economic quicksand for a while." The case for a 'V' Indeed, there's overwhelming evidence that the U.S. is in its deepest trough since the Great Depression, and the biggest hit from the 26 million Americans who have filed for unemployment benefits has come to those working in hotels, bars and restaurants. There's less consensus, though, on what the recovery will look like, with projections ranging from a U, V, W, or even a "Nike swoosh." The worst-case outcome is that even if the government starts lifting restrictions, people still will be too afraid to resume their normal levels, and that in turn will steepen the recession. But there's another scenario that seems at least plausible, where any meaningful resumption of activity will be seen as a positive and those who are suffering at the bottom end of the scale will get at least a boost if not a full-scale thrust back into a normal life. "We're definitely going to have a 'V' off the bottom. To me, there's not much debate about that," said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at the Leuthold Group. "When you go down as much as we've gone down, any bounce is going to feel like a 'V' initially. It may warp back into slower growth again fairly soon, but I think for a few quarters we have a 'V.'" That bounce, he said, could be felt especially in hospitality businesses. "If your restaurant is 100% shut down and by the end of the year, it's 50% shut down, that's still a heck of an increase," Paulsen said. Changing views on the virus The Night Light Lounge shut its doors on March 17 after Gov. Kate Brown banned on-premises dining at restaurants and bars throughout Oregon in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. Best known for its drag queen brunch and happy hour, the Southeast Portland bar wasnt in a position to pivot to takeout-only dining. With no income coming in, owner Paul Stevens managed to negotiate a deal with his landlord, who used to own the lounge, to pay reduced rent in April. He is hoping to come to another agreement before next months bills come due May 1. But he also knows that this arrangement might not be sustainable. The problem is with no income coming in, theres no money to spend, Stevens said. Were running down our reserves, were applying for loans, were doing all of that, but you just cant get blood from a stone. Small business owners throughout Oregon are struggling amid the COVID-19 crisis. Those struggles are coming into sharp focus as many shuttered businesses prepare to pay their bills for the second month of the outbreak, with no path toward reopening. Brown issued an executive order on April 1 prohibiting landlords from evicting commercial tenants for 90 days. But businesses are worried that if they dont pay now, their bills will pile up and they will be unable to meet their obligations when the moratorium on evictions ends. Many said loan programs offered through the federal government, which could help them pay those bills, have been insufficient or inaccessible. Instead, small business owners have been left to negotiate deals with their landlords in hopes of finding a path forward. TENANTS LOOK FOR RELIEF FROM LANDLORDS Many small business owners have reached payment agreements with their landlords over the last month, but the relief varies. Some landlords have agreed to simply forgive a portion of the rent. Others have only deferred rent, so tenants must pay the balance over the remainder of the lease. Joe Condon, general manager of Penrose Candles, said that deferring rent may not be an option for his business, which leases a studio in St. Johns. He said his property management company offered the business a six-month lease with a 50% discount in the first three months that obliges them to pay the discounted portion over the final three months. Rather than accept the deal, Condon and his business partner are considering a smaller studio, or maybe moving the business back into their garage. While we certainly appreciate the willingness to work with us on that level, the revenue thats been lost to us has been lost to us and its not something that were going to get back, Condon said. The economic effects from all of this will last at least a year, as far as we can tell. We arent expecting to bounce back to a point where we can pay more than our regular rent within a six-month period. Wei-En Tan, the owner of 45 North Wine Bar, said that her business had just celebrated its one-month anniversary when the outbreak hit Oregon. She and nine other businesses in her building on North Mississippi Avenue remain in negotiations with their landlord and have not paid rent since the eviction moratorium went into place. She said they are worried that they wont be able to pay back rent when the moratorium ends, if they cant reach a deal. Commercial landlords are facing struggles as well in determining what types of deals they can afford. Craig Sweitzer, a landlord with six buildings near downtown Portland, said he has tried to work with his tenants to offer rent abatement for the next few months with the expectation that they will pay off their balance over the next year. Given the arrangement, he said that he and his partners will be running a deficit. While the federal government gave property owners some relief through the CARES Act by allowing those that had federally-backed mortgage loans to avoid foreclosures and enter into forbearance agreements with lenders, missed or reduced payments will still have to be made up in the future. Seth Leavens, an independent commercial landlord with multifamily and commercial property in Portland, has tried to work individually with his tenants to come up with payment plans to provide relief to those most in need. Leavens, who also owns the Belmont Inn in Southeast Portland, said he barely broke even in April and could lose money in May. Im very worried about my bar and my tenants, Leavens said. The unknown of how were going to go back to normal is very concerning. UNCERTAIN FUTURES With limited options for financial relief and uncertain futures, some small businesses have already closed their doors permanently. Southeast Portlands Hut Vintage announced last week that it had decided to close after realizing that paying even partial rent during the closure could be financially devastating. Four percent of restaurants in Oregon have already been forced to permanently close as well, according to a national survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association. Another 6% are expected to permanently close within the next month. Even some of Portlands best-known restaurants are facing hardships. Kurt Huffman, the owner of ChefStable, one of the citys most prominent restaurant groups, said that the majority of his landlords have been willing to negotiate deals to help his restaurants stay afloat during this difficult time. But despite those stopgap measures, Huffman doesnt see how his groups restaurants can return to profitability within the next year, or even longer. Its impossible to predict the long-term viability of restaurants, said Huffman, who expects to operate very differently whenever restaurants begin to reopen. For example, he expects to reduce seating capacity to allow diners more social distance. We are praying that people will come into the restaurants when we reopen, but nobody should think that theyll be making any money until there is a vaccine, Huffman said. Well have the same rent, well have the same overhead, our cost of food and beverage will be the same, but were going to have half the seats. Huffman said that up to a third of the groups restaurants could close permanently if they arent approved for loans through the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides small businesses with forgivable loans if they meet certain criteria. Congress approved an additional $310 billion in funding for the Paycheck Protection Program this week after the program ran out of money amid high demand. But other small business owners say that the Paycheck Protection Program is not the lifeline they thought it would be. Stevens, the owner of the Night Light Lounge, said he was approved for a loan through the federal program, but will end up returning the money unless authorities change the terms. Currently, the loans are only forgivable if businesses put at least 75% of the money toward payroll costs. With on-premises dining currently banned, Stevens doesnt have a need for his full staff. Even if he wanted to hire back his staff, he said many of his bartenders, who make a large portion of their income through tips, will earn more through unemployment insurance than they would at a bar that cant provide in-person services. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, announced on a media call Friday that he will push for the next COVID-19 relief package to include cash payments for small businesses with gross receipts under $1 million and 50 or fewer employees. Under his proposal, those businesses could receive checks for 30% of the gross receipts reported in a previous year, up to $75,000. But until relief comes, small businesses are left wondering how they will meet their financial obligations come May 1, and whether they have the resources and capital to weather the storm when they dont know when the COVID-19 crisis will end. We were strong before this happened and I have every reason to believe that we can be strong when we get to the other side of this crisis, Stevens said. Its just that the tools that we need to get us there arent available. -- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com | @jamiebgoldberg Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Forty-six people were sent home from hospitals in Jaipur on Saturday evening after they recovered from the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), highest so far in Rajasthan as well as in the state capital. The last patient to be discharged in Jaipur was on April 1, said officials. Until Saturday, only six patients from Jaipur had been sent home from the three government hospitals where Covid-19 cases are being treated SMS Hospital, Rajasthan University of Health Sciences (RUHS) and Jaipuriya Hospital. According to the state health departments medical bulletin on Sunday morning, 244 people had been discharged in Rajasthan even as the number of recovered cases was 513. We wait for three negative reports before discharging patients, said Dr DS Meena, superintendent of SMS Hospital. Also read: Rajasthan to organise passage for migrant workers, says CM Gehlot Jaipur continues to report the highest number of cases in Rajasthan at 799. The capital also accounts for more than half the states Covid-19 mortality; 19 deaths out of 35 are from Jaipur. Officials said seven of these deceased people tested positive for Covid-19 after death. Also read: States divided on extending lockdown beyond May 3 The first of such case came to us on April 14. The man was operated for abdominal trouble and he died on April 17. Later, four doctors who were part of the surgical team also tested positive, Dr Meena said. Also read: Rajasthan seeks ICMR approval to begin trials for plasma therapy Officials said 58 cases were reported in the state on Sunday morning, including 20 from Nagaur and 15 from Jodhpur, taking the states Covid-19 tally to 2141. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment I met Debbie in college English. We had at least a dozen books to read and twice as many papers to write, and she somehow kept a great attitude about it all. Shed traveled to college from her sunny home state of California, and even the Pacific Northwest rainfall couldnt defeat her smile. Ever. We only shared the one class, but we ended up sharing the next couple years talking about life and where the future would take us. She had her own car, which made life so much easier for me without one. We did our grocery shopping together, and at her insistence wed would go to fancy dress shopsjust to try on clothes we never could afford. At this point in history there were no selfies, because there were no cell phones. But I have her goofy smile forever tagged in my mind. She always liked to say that she wanted to make her yesterday jealous because of the fun she was having today. It was on one of our fancy dress-shopping trips that she told me about her dad. Shed been a high school senior about ready to graduate. They had a small family barbecue in the shady side of their back yard. Her dad was just about to share one of his hilarious stories when he suddenly stopped. Hed died of a stroke before he uttered a word. That would have silenced my joyfulnessand it did for her too. Until she found the letter hed written for her upcoming graduation. Even though she might feel alone, she wouldnt be, because Jesus was with her all the time. Hed told her to keep her smile shiningit would always be her best friend. He said that it was easy to find grumblers, but not as easy to find encouragersbe the right one. He told her that wherever she went in life to leave it a better place afterwards. And last, make each day as happy as it can it can be. I was humbled by Debbies joy in the aftermath of her loss. She prevailed in spite of it. Debbie returned to California before she had the chance to graduate. But she did what her dad had suggestedshe left it a better place by giving away two years of smiles, encouragement, and showing me how to make yesterday jealous for the fun we had today. My message for graduating seniors: Covid-19 has taken away your well-deserved senior highlights. Its been a true loss. But it didnt take your future. Even though God doesnt allow us to see that future, he gives us the gifts to create one. What are your gifts? Youll be remembered for what you went through this year, but you can also be remembered for how you used your gifts to prevail. You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. Maya Angelou Earlier this month, Ontarios highest court unanimously rejected Everton Biddersinghs request to appeal his first-degree murder conviction and life sentence for brutalizing his 17-year-old daughter, Melonie, stuffing her in a suitcase and burning her remains. Melonies mom and sister, on COVID-19 lockdown in a Kingston, Jamaica ghetto, greet the news with fatalistic nonchalance. Me? Theres no relief, Mr. James. No relief, says Opal Austin, 65. Sometimes I wake up before dawn and I see mi daughter, natural, natural, when she was young in Jamaica, before she left how she used to look that quietness, that pleasantness of her under the tree with one of the children in her lap She would be 40-plus years old now. Maybe, I would not even be living round here now, with all the little ghetto people. Who to tell, I would be in foreign. More than four years after she travelled to Toronto for the trial of her babys father described as monstrous and savage by a judge Austin is still a heartbreak every time she speaks. In 1991, Austin sent two of her seven children, Melonie and Sabu, to live with their dad Biddersingh and his wife, Elaine tossing the kids a lifeline out of poverty, Austin thought. First, Sabu fell from a Parkdale apartment balcony and police said it was suicide. Then Melonie vanished her whereabouts a mystery for 17 years until Elaine confessed to her pastor in 2011. The discovery unmasked Melonies life in Canada as one of unspeakable horror tied to apartment furniture, starved, forced to bathe on the balcony, her head held in the toilet as it was flushed, beaten with 24 broken bones, dehumanized to the emaciated remnant of 50 pounds, until, mercifully, death came. Only those in that damnable apartment knew of her travails. And Opal and Melonies older sister, Racquel Ellis, sat through the trial all the time staring down the monster in the prisoners box. Racquel says now she had every confidence Evertons appeal of his life sentence wouldnt be accepted. There was too much evidence. The children were right there, right under his nose, she said from Kingston this week. Opal? She is more preoccupied with survival. She has pains all over her body, was getting psychiatric therapy before COVID struck, passes her days in the shade and shuffles home to her laneway shack before 6 p.m. COVID curfew and fret about her lost children. Sabu is dead. Melonie? They ill-treat the little pickney and force her to sleep on cardboard on the floor. As poor as me is, she never sleep on the floor. Most of the time, me no know what to do, Mr. James. This is a big, big blow. She wonders how Everton and Elaine sleep at night. Its a reasonable question in a tragic tale that leaves a bundle of questions unanswered and weaves it way through many lives tortured beyond repair. What would possess the Biddersinghs to so torture Melonie and her half-brother, Cleon for years? What exactly happened to Sabu on that balcony? How dysfunctional was life in the Parkdale apartment to the point where at least one of the three children birthed by Elaine and Everton have been in and out of institutional care? Was Elaine the object of spousal abuse that rendered her insensitive and immune to the carnage around her? How could all this happen in our city without social services and police and schools and neighbours being aware? Asked at his February 2016 sentencing if he had anything to say, to shed light on the loathesome act, Everton responded: It wont do any good, it wont make any difference. No. Elaine had plenty to say at her September 2016 sentencing delivered in rambling, raving threats and declarations directed at judge, jury and court. She is currently seeking permission to appeal her conviction of second-degree murder and life sentence with no chance of parole for 16 years. In Jamaica, Racquel, herself with four children, precarious living conditions, yet resilient, a hustler and a survivor, her job reduced to two days a week, is as uncertain about Elaines fate as she was certain about Evertons. Canada is a woman and pickney country. They may give her lenience, especially since she give evidence against him. But I have a better idea. Just send them down to Jamaica and we will take care of them. Or, as Austin says: She? She should go rot in prison. Please register or log in to keep reading. No credit card required! Stay logged in to skip the surveys. So Boris Johnson is heading back to work on Monday, and the pro-Boris media and spin machine are gearing up with a new narrative: things have been going a bit wrong, but now he is back in the saddle, they will come good again. There are two points to make on this. First, to have been admitted to intensive care suggests a serious illness, and that Johnson may not be able to operate at full pelt for some time. Second, it is at least arguable that the prime minister caused many of the problems with which the government is currently struggling through his slowness to take the coronavirus seriously; his mixed messages about shaking hands with infected people; his talk of the UK being able to send the virus packing simply because we were British. This crisis requires cool, calm, fact-based, detail-obsessed, organisationally-focused leadership. These are not qualities usually associated with Mr Johnson. Perhaps his brush with mortality, the scale of the crisis, and the arrival of a serious opponent in Keir Starmer have forced him to reflect, and understand the need for a very different style of leadership from what the country has grown used to over his colourful career. Perhaps Johnson has also learnt that governing in a crisis is a lot harder than governing in normal times, which itself is a lot harder than campaigning, the activity that he and those closest to him most enjoy. The civil service has been thinned out by austerity, its morale damaged by the undermining actions of ministers and special advisers. They are coping well in incredibly difficult circumstances, but they need more support and better structures if they are to be able to continue properly to support Mr Johnson and his cabinet through the coming months. Johnsons ministerial team is of variable quality, with few big hitters known to the public, and it is clear that the bulk of responsibility has been falling on just four people: first secretary Dominic Raab, health secretary Matt Hancock, chancellor Rishi Sunak and cabinet office minister Michael Gove. They all look remarkably well considering the pressures they are under, but the longer this goes on, the harder it will get, and the more these four will need to share the load. There is, however. another resource available to the prime minister on his return, and he would be wise at least to consider calling upon it. This is the group of five, the handful of individuals still alive who know what it is like to be prime minister at a time of crisis. Whatever one thinks of their politics or personalities, their records or reputations, all five are committed public servants desperate for the government to succeed in what all have described as the biggest challenge the country has faced since the Second World War. There is John Major, who dealt with the collapse of sterling on Black Wednesday, war in the Gulf, his party tearing itself apart over Europe, and much else besides; Tony Blair, who led the country through Kosovo and the post 9/11 wars abroad, a tortuous peace process at home, a foot and mouth epidemic and fuel price protests that almost brought the country to a halt; Gordon Brown, prime minister at the time of the global financial crisis, and with the force of his drive helped to shake the world into the action needed; David Cameron, who dealt with riots at home and a series of complex foreign policy issues abroad in Libya, Syria and Iraq; and Theresa May, with more than her fair share of terrorism to deal with, even if her premiership was defined by Brexit . None of them will ever again land a job like the one they had. None is looking for elected office. Given their generous pensions, business interests and the lucrative former prime ministerial public speaking circuit, none has to worry about money. All are patriots. All have experience that could benefit an inexperienced prime minister and his inexperienced team. Of course, having climbed as high as they did, all have egos, and are all to a greater and lesser extent tricky to handle. But if the governments approach to this crisis really is whatever it takes, it seems foolish not to find ways of using them. On Monday, Tony Blairs Institute for Global Change published a paper setting out ten areas vital to the resolution of this crisis: mass testing, contact tracing, PPE, business, vaccine development, schools, use of technology, social distancing/compliance, travel and communications. He had ideas on structure too: a senior minister plus an outsider and expert task force on each challenge, reporting into the committee of four (Raab, Sunak, Michael Gove), under the chairmanship of the PM, and the Cobra process. Between them, these five ex-PMs have access to the smartest people on the planet; to business, foreign governments facing up to the same challenge. More than this, they can engage with them differently from diplomats and current ministers. They are capable of being low- or high-profile, depending on what the moment requires. They have a range of skills between them that should be put to the use of the country. Clive Lewis claims Tony Blair left country 'in a state' I know from having been involved with Blair and Brown during a number of crises that government gets overwhelmed, not just by the crisis itself, but by the offers of help and support, without a proper system to manage them. You are bombarded with the ideas of armchair generals, of which I guess this is another one. However, I am confident that if Boris Johnson did as I suggest, that gang of five would help in making these challenges less overwhelming, and easier to manage. Select 10 areas that require real focus. Put a senior minister in charge of each, alongside a real expert in each area, with a dedicated task force working to them, and give the former PMs a role as adviser, two groups each. It could be transformative. And before anyone asks, neither Blair nor Brown is aware I am making this suggestion. I didnt want to give them the option of saying it was a bad idea. I think it is a good idea, and believe the other gang of five Johnson, Raab, Sunak, Hancock and Gove should take it up. On Saturday, two-time Grammy nominee Demi Lovato made light of her well-earned sobriety during a two-hour virtual reunion with several castmates from her Disney Channel sitcom, Sonny with a Chance. 'I went to rehab. Several times!' the 27-year-old pop star - who starred as Sonny Munroe - joked. At the tender age of 18, overworked Lovato left her own show in order to enter rehab in 2010, and the remaining cast continued on without her for season three which was then rebranded as So Random! 'I went to rehab. Several times!' On Saturday, two-time Grammy nominee Demi Lovato (M) made light of her well-earned sobriety during a two-hour virtual reunion with several castmates from her Disney Channel sitcom, Sonny with a Chance Overworked: At the tender age of 18, the 27-year-old pop star (3-L) left her own show in order to enter rehab in 2010, and the remaining cast continued on without her for season three which was then rebranded as So Random! 'When I left, you don't expect your show to go on without you, but it did,' Demi (born Demetria) admitted. 'But I couldn't have been happier for everybody...I just wasn't in a period of time when I was ready to be on camera again. I could not go back into that environment and there were other things that factored into it.' The New Mexico-born beauty was diagnosed with bipolar disorder while receiving treatment at Timberline Knolls in Illinois for a nervous breakdown, bulimia, self-harm, and addictions to cocaine and alcohol. After rehab, Lovato moved into a sober-living facility in Los Angeles where she remained for over a year, and she stayed clean until her 2018 relapse and subsequent opioid overdose. Lovato admitted: 'When I left, you don't expect your show to go on without you, but it did. But I couldn't have been happier for everybody...I just wasn't in a period of time when I was ready to be on camera again' Recovery: Demi was diagnosed with bipolar disorder while receiving treatment at Timberline Knolls in Illinois for a nervous breakdown, bulimia, self-harm, and addictions to cocaine and alcohol Sobriety battle: After rehab, the New Mexico-born beauty moved into a sober-living facility in Los Angeles where she remained for over a year, and she stayed clean until her 2018 relapse and subsequent opioid overdose (pictured April 16) Demi was particularly inspired by co-star Tiffany Thorton, and she was later a bridesmaid at her Arkansas wedding to Chris Carney, who tragically died in a car accident in 2015. 'When I went away to treatment for the first time, you were my biggest inspiration coming out of it because you dealt with all of those pressures of being a woman on TV,' the homeschooled millennial explained. 'I looked at that as, "I wish I had that so bad." Yes, I probably was happier in my head with whatever I looked like at the time. But, I'm so much happier now with the mentality that you have. I look back now and I'm like, man, it's a shame that we wasted any energy on what we wore on set.' Devout Christians: Lovato was particularly inspired by co-star Tiffany Thorton (L), and she was later a bridesmaid at her Arkansas wedding to Chris Carney, who tragically died in a car accident in 2015 Demi gushed: 'When I went away to treatment for the first time, you were my biggest inspiration coming out of it because you dealt with all of those pressures of being a woman on TV...I have moments all the time where I'm like, "Do I want to continue this? Or do I want to pull a Tiffany and move to Texas, have a family and have a farm?"' Played her rival Tawni Hart: The 34-year-old blonde Texan is now mother to sons Kenneth, 7; and Bentley, 6; from her first marriage and she has a 17-month-old daughter Juliet with second husband, worship pastor Josiah Capaci (pictured November 28) Lovato continued: 'I'm realizing that as I've gotten older because when I was young, when you start off in the industry as a 7-year-old, 8-year-old, you kind of value your self-worth with your success. I have moments all the time where I'm like, "Do I want to continue this? Or do I want to pull a Tiffany and move to Texas, have a family and have a farm?"' The 34-year-old blonde Texan - who played her rival Tawni Hart - is now mother to sons Kenneth, 7; and Bentley, 6; from her first marriage and she has a 17-month-old daughter Juliet with second husband, worship pastor Josiah Capaci. As for why Demi used to keep her dressing room temperature at a sweltering 98F degrees: 'I had an eating disorder and I was underweight and freezing!' As for why the homeschooled millennial used to keep her dressing room temperature at a sweltering 98F degrees: 'I had an eating disorder and I was underweight and freezing!' Squad: Joining Lovato and Thorton via Zoom were Allisyn Ashley Arm Snyder, Sterling Knight, Dough Brochu, Matthew Scott Montgomery, Shayne Topp, Audrey Whitby, and Damien Haas Trauma: The I'm Ready songstress missed and loves her castmates, but fans should not expect a fourth season since she 'went through so much during that show that I would rather just start a whole new project with all of you' Joining Lovato and Thorton via Zoom were Allisyn Ashley Arm Snyder, Sterling Knight, Dough Brochu, Matthew Scott Montgomery, Shayne Topp, Audrey Whitby, and Damien Haas. The I'm Ready songstress missed and loves her castmates, but fans should not expect a fourth season since she 'went through so much during that show that I would rather just start a whole new project with all of you.' Disney+ subscribers in the States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand can now stream both seasons of Sonny with a Chance as well as the sole season of So Random! The secret among secrets: Where is Kim Jong-un? Speculation about the North Korean leaders health has been swirling since he missed the countrys biggest annual celebration: the April 15 birthday of his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, who founded the Stalinist state. Kim Jong-uns last public appearance was more than two weeks ago, on April 11, when he presided over a Politburo meeting. This is not the first time Mr. Kim has disappeared from public view for weeks at a stretch, but rumors have exploded. One report in the American news media said he was in grave danger after surgery. Others speculated that he was dead. Spy satellites have in recent days spotted a train probably belonging to Mr. Kim in Wonsan, an east coast town where Mr. Kims family has a seaside compound. And a South Korean news report said on Saturday that the U.S. had detected preparations for a missile test in Sondeok, farther up the east coast, where North Korea has launched missiles in the leaders presence. A defectors view: Joo Sung-ha, a North Korean who fled the country and is now a journalist in the South, said on Facebook that it was reasonable to believe that Mr. Kim had health problems. But, Mr. Joo said, he had zero trust in news reports detailing whether and why the North Korean leader faced a grave medical emergency. Information about the health of the Kim family is the secret among secrets in the North, Mr. Joo said. Watch: Our video team spoke with experts about how they track Mr. Kims whereabouts. Devastated police officers around Victoria are turning to social media to mourn four of their colleagues killed in last week's crash on the Eastern Freeway, with a public memorial for the officers potentially months away. The tributes from workmates of the officers, who were killed when a truck ploughed into them during a traffic stop on the freeway late on Wednesday afternoon, continued to flow on Sunday as police prepared to interview the driver of the truck involved in the crash. Senior Constable Kevin King, Constable Josh Prestney, Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor and Constable Glen Humphris. Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Constable Glen Humphris, Senior Constable Kevin King, and Constable Josh Prestney were killed when a refrigerated semi-trailer veered into the emergency lane at 100km/h. Four small funerals for the fallen police officers will take place in coming weeks. A public memorial service with full police honours will be held as soon as possible after coronavirus restrictions are lifted. Five foreign members of the Tablighi Jamaat, who are under quarantine in the city, were shifted from a Yelahanka hotel to a hotel in Banaswadi on Saturday. The Tablighi Jamaat members from England, France, Kenya and Kyrgyzstan were traced to a locality in South Bengaluru and put under quarantine at Royal Orchid Resort and 9th Mile Dhaba, both located near the Jakkur Flying Club on Ballari Road, on April 9. But Yalahanka MLA, S R Vishwanath, raised objections to their stay in his constituency, a senior police officer said. Rohini Katoch Sepat, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), wrote to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) on Saturday, stating that the foreigners had been shifted to OYO Townhouse in Banaswadi. She requested the FRRO to instruct the jurisdictional Ramamurthy Nagar police to provide them security. But the transfer was almost immediately opposed by the local BJP corporator and a few local residents. A large crowd led by Kacharakanahalli corporator Padmanabha Reddy of the BJP staged a flash protest outside the Banaswadi police station, demanding that the foreigners be shifted elsewhere. The residents pointed out that their neighbourhood was thickly populated and feared the local spread of Covid-19 infection if any foreigner was infected. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio / Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. L: AP Photo/John Locher R: House Television via AP Rep. Tim Ryan, a moderate Democrat from Ohio, told Business Insider that Democrats need to be bold and include more aggressive stimulus measures in their next response to the pandemic. "I want everybody to say, 'Look, Democrats understood what I was going through, and they pushed hard,'" Ryan said in an interview. "Let Mitch McConnell say no to it." Ryan's frustrations seem to be shared by more progressive members of the Democratic caucus, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who voted against the most recent stimulus measure, saying it did not do enough for working families. "By giving Republicans what they wanted in [that] bill without extracting any real concessions from them, we eliminated any incentive for them to work with us on these other urgent needs," a spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez told Business Insider. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Moderate and progressive Democrats in the House increasingly agree: Congress needs to do far more and be seen as doing far more for a working class that is struggling to make ends meet through what may prove to be the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. State-wide stay at home orders put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has killed more than 51,000 Americans as of Friday night, has also shuttered much of the US economy. More than 26 million people have filed for unemployment over the last five weeks, with about 1 in 6 Americans losing their jobs since the middle of March, as the Associated Press reported. And while some governors are pushing to reopen states' economies, against the advice of health experts, House Democrats are looking at a different approach. And though well aware of political realities, Rep. Tim Ryan, an Ohio Democrat generally viewed as a centrist, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New Yorker from the left-wing of the party, are frustrated that the Democratic-controlled House hasn't forced Republicans to at least vote down more progressive measures, such as a universal basic income or direct relief for Americans struggling to pay the rent, as part of the emergency response to COVID-19. Story continues "I want everybody to say, 'Look, Democrats understood what I was going through, and they pushed hard,'" Ryan said in a phone interview. Earlier this month, Ryan, who made a run for the Democratic presidential nomination and, earlier, for Rep. Nancy Pelosi's job as Speaker of the House introduced legislation that would pay most Americans $2,000 a month, no strings attached, until unemployment falls to pre-pandemic levels. Ryan wants to see proposals like that included in the next stimulus measure considered by the House, which he expects to be in the next couple weeks. "Let Mitch McConnell say no to it," he said of the Republican Senate Majority Leader. "Coming with a bold proposal that's really going to speak to the immediate needs of the working class it lets people know you understand where they are, and helps them. It's a win all the way around." "Let everybody see what the Democrats are for," he argued. "Let that be the party brand." The end product may not be a law, at least in 2020, but a potential political realignment as a new "New Deal" coalition. In that, Ryan now sounds like the progressives in Congress. And while still a believer in the power of capitalism, and a "delicate balance" of government intervention and free markets, he admits: this crisis has shifted his views, and not just as to emergency measures. "I'm certainly warming up to things like UBI [universal basic income] more so today than I was a few months ago," he said. Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who co-chaired Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign, is right there with Ryan. Elected as something of a moderate, defeating a liberal stalwart in a primary election, he has steadily moved left in the Trump years. Now he's cosponsoring the bill with Ryan to provide direct cash assistance, on an ongoing basis, to almost anyone 16 or older. "As millions lose their jobs, homes, and healthcare, and struggle with emergency expenses," Khanna told Business Insider, "it's clear we need far more robust and sustained support for Americans for at least six months." The congressman said he's "moving full force ahead" to push for the measure to be included in the next stimulus package. Still, while a desire for a more aggressive response to the pandemic may be growing in the Democratic caucus, only one member expressed their frustration by voting against the last package. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described democratic socialist, joined four fiscal conservatives in opposing a bill that largely provided aid for small to midsize businesses. Her office argued that it benefited far too many bankers, with the government's lending assistance program raking in $10 billion in fees for Wall Street, according to NPR. "This bill also didn't provide funding for any of the other urgent needs facing Americans, like hazard for our frontline workers or health insurance for those who have lost their employer-sponsored health plans," a spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez told Business Insider. "And by giving Republicans what they wanted in this bill without extracting any real concessions from them, we eliminated any incentive for them to work with us on these other urgent needs." Needs, the lawmaker said in an April 23 speech on the floor of the House, like targeted aid for renters and homeowners with payments coming up on May 1, 2020. That's where the tenuous centrist-leftist alliance may be tested. Some progressives have been wary of UBI proposals, seeing them as a means to justify slashing other social programs. On the other hand, direct cash assistance is arguably a more empowering means of aiding those increasingly feeling the economic pain from the coronavirus, allowing recipients, as Rep. Ryan has argued, to decide for themselves what their priorities may be. "I think that's the easiest thing to do," Ryan said. "To me it makes the most sense, and I would like to think it would have a broad coalition, at least among Democrats." Leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, including First Vice-Chair Ro Khanna, have asked: Why not both? In an April 9 letter to House Speaker Pelosi, they called for $2,000 in direct assistance to go to all adults for up to a year, in addition to an expanded social safety net. While the Democratic caucus as a whole may quibble over the details, however, it's clear that they are interested in a fight. Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com Read the original article on Business Insider Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House COVID-19 task force coordinator, told a pair of Sunday morning news shows that disinfectant is not a treatment for the virus thats killed 53,000 Americans in two months. Birx, who told CNNs Jake Tapper that it bothers her the issue remains in the news cycle, was asked because President Donald Trump, during a news conference Thursday, said that disinfectant ... knocks it out in a minute ... Is there a way we can do something like that ... by injection inside?" This is not a treatment, Birx told NBC News Meet the Press host Chuck Todd. Trumps comments sparked widespread concern and quick responses from doctors, scientists, federal agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the makers of Lysol. Household cleaners and disinfectants can cause health problems when not used properly. Follow the instructions on the product label to ensure safe and effective use. Learn more about cleaning and disinfecting your home: https://t.co/PW0UbW8KeE. pic.twitter.com/rdcR9QJNIR CDC (@CDCgov) April 24, 2020 Basic labels for disinfectants and cleaners make clear that ingestion is dangerous. CDC released data last week showing that emergency calls to U.S. poison centers about cleaners and disinfectants between January and March increased by at least 20% over the same period last year. While the incidents were largely accidental and coming during a pandemic thats seen people stock up on household cleaners and sanitizers many scientists grew concerned the presidents comments could lead to intentional use of such products in dangerous ways. On Friday morning, even the Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome Adams, implored Americans on Twitter to PLEASE always talk to your health provider first before administering any treatment/medication to yourself or a loved one. Your safety is paramount, and doctors and nurses have years of training to recommend whats safe and effective. Less than 45 minutes after Adams tweet, he added another, From @WhiteHouse @PressSec: President Trump has repeatedly said that Americans should consult with medical doctors regarding coronavirus treatment. Birx over the weekend told Fox News that Trump was digesting information thatd hed learned just before the Thursday news conference. When he gets new information, he likes to talk that through, she said. Birx told Tapper she thought she made it clear that this was a musing, as you described, but I want us to move on to be able to give information to American people that can help them protect each other." She characterized the disinfectant comments as "a dialogue (Trump) was having between the (Department of Homeland Security) scientist and himself for information he received and was discussing. Trump on Friday claimed he sarcastically directed questions about disinfectant to reporters. But during the news conference, the president spoke at length about doctors potentially examining disinfectant, heat and light inside the body as treatments for the virus. Each time, he turned in the direction of William Bryan, the Department of Homeland Securitys undersecretary for science and technology, and Birx. At one point, he specifically asked Birx a question about light and heat as potential treatments of the virus, to which Birx said, Not as a treatment," according to the White Houses own transcript. But Trump later claimed on Twitter that he was only speaking to Bryan about sunlight etc. & the CoronaVirus. Was just informed that the Fake News from the Thursday White House Press Conference had me speaking & asking questions of Dr. Deborah Birx. Wrong, I was speaking to our Laboratory expert, not Deborah, about sunlight etc. & the CoronaVirus. The Lamestream Media is corrupt & sick! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2020 Asked by Todd if Trumps comments undermine the credibility of scientists combating COVID-19, Birx said that, I think all of us are very clear, and very clear with our discussions with the American people, about how were looking at data to drive decisions. The study presented to Trump prior to Thursdays briefing showed reassuring evidence that direct sunlight decreases the half life of the virus, Birx told Todd. She cautioned, however, that social distancing and wearing masks still remain vital steps to prevent the virus from spreading. As of Sunday, more than 53,000 Americans have died and at least 941,000 have been contracted the virus more than quadruple the 223,000 cases in Spain, the nation with the second-most infections. Related Content: Washington They long for what's being lost: the ability to publicly question officials at committee hearings, to chat across the aisle, to speak from the House and Senate floor for all of America, and history, to hear. Congress wants its voice back. With no real plan to reopen Capitol Hill any time soon, the coronavirus shutdown poses an existential crisis that's pushing Congress ever so reluctantly toward the 21st-century option of remote legislating from home. "It's the ability to be an equal branch of government," said Rep. Katie Porter, a freshman Democrat from California. Divisions are fierce, but so too is the sense of what is being lost. Every day lawmakers shelter at home, their public role is being visibly diminished. While they are approving record sums of virus aid, they are ceding authority to oversee the effort and tackle next steps. It's an imbalance of power for all to see: President Donald Trump's daily public briefings without a robust response from Capitol Hill, though there have been discussions within the White House about changing the format of the briefings to curtail his role. "This is a time where oversight is really important," said Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., a leader of the moderate New Democrats caucus. The pandemic "begs for Congress's engagement, virtual or otherwise," he said. Changing the rules to allow lawmakers to cast votes or hold hearings from home would be unprecedented in House and Senate history. The Constitution requires lawmakers be "present" for most action. The simmering debate cuts across political fault lines. Some lawmakers want to stick with tradition; others are tech-savvy and ready for change. A vocal band of conservatives insists Congress must reopen now, despite public health warnings, echoing Trump's push to end the shutdown. Others have no interest in returning to the crowded Capitol complex until it's safe. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., shelved a proposal for proxy voting this past week after Republicans objected. Once resistant to what she called "Congress by Zoom" meeting, she tapped a bipartisan task force to present fresh ideas. In the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., rejected a GOP remote vote proposal. He expects Congress to return May 4, as planned. The reluctance to change is leaving the legislative branch behind after even the tradition-bound Supreme Court announced it would hear oral arguments by teleconference as stay-home rules reorder civic life. "It's a huge can of worms," said Sarah Binder, a professor at George Washington University. She said the pandemic provokes a set of issues far beyond the logistics of working remotely. Among them: Is it safe to return to Capitol Hill? Can you be "present" if you appear on a computer screen? But she said, "They need a solution if they're not going to be able to come back." Lawmakers say they can only do so much on conference calls and virtual town hall meetings as they assess $3 trillion in coronavirus aid and consider annual spending, defense and other bills. While the 100 senators can usually command attention on their own, the 435 rank-and-file House members have a harder time being heard. One prime opportunity is time allotted to lawmakers at committee hearings. It may be just five minutes on C-SPAN. But for members of Congress, the committee means everything. It's their chance to make a difference. Porter knows firsthand what's being lost with Congress away. As the pandemic emerged, she wrote a letter asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide free virus testing as country scrambled to slow the spread of COVID-19. "They blew us off," she said. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. But when CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield appeared before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Porter had her moment. In a video that went viral, she grilled Redfield on whether he would commit to invoking authority under federal law to declare pandemic testing free. He said yes. "It wasn't until we got Dr. Redfield in front on me, and I had my five minutes with the cameras on him, in front of the American people, that I was able to get an answer," she said. But under House rules, committees usually need members to be physically present to meet. While several committees have been conducting briefing calls with key administration officials, it's mostly out of public view. The House Small Business Committee confirmed a private call this past week with the head of the Small Business Administration running the coronavirus paycheck program. The Appropriations Committee held one with Agricultural Secretary Sonny Perdue. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has had calls with other committees. The House Oversight and Reform Committee was set for a briefing with the Census Bureau's director about curtailing the 2020 population count during the pandemic. It's a crucial conversation with billions of federal dollars at stake. But the public could not watch. Still, some say the only way for Congress to act is for lawmakers to return to Washington during the pandemic. Conservative House Freedom Caucus members rallied this past week to reopen the Capitol. Key GOP senators agree. "If COVID-19 requires Congress to act, then it requires Congress to convene," said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who self-quarantined last month after sitting near another GOP senator who tested positive for the virus. As the House considers options, one advocate for remote legislating is Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., who enjoys FaceTime with his grandkids and suggests Congress could do the same. Opening committees is the priority, he told reporters after the task force met. "We need committees to act," he said. "Even if they can't come to Washington." Hoyer acknowledged how difficult it is for Congress to change. Even during the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak, the House convened to vote. But this is an "extraordinary circumstance," he said. He expects an update this coming week. The spectre of a deep state has served as a useful scapegoat in Donald Trumps presidency, the alleged locus of resistance to his reign. Early on in his book In Deep, David Rohde, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, asks whether a deep state exists in America. At the start of his final chapter, he concludes, There is no deep state. But in the intervening pages, he raises more questions than he answers. He begins with a brisk history of the phrase, which is rooted in Egypt and Turkey, where the ... Hawaii Governor David Ige (D) has extended the stay-at-home order in the state to May 31 after he signed a 6th supplementary emergency proclamation on April 25, according to a press release issued by the governor. This was not an easy decision, Ige stated in the press release. I know this has been difficult for everyone. Businesses need to reopen. People want to end this self-isolation and we want to return to normal. But this virus is potentially deadly, especially for the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions. Thanks to our residents, we are flattening the curve, saving lives, and avoiding a resurgence of this virus by not reopening prematurely. As indicated by the emergency proclamation, similar to the previous stay-at-home orders, residents in the state of Hawaii are ordered to stay at home or their current residence and may leave only for essential needs. The press release stated that healthcare, purchasing food, medicine, gasoline, taking care of the elderly, minors, or those with disabilities, returning to a place of residence outside of Hawaii, picking up educational materials for distance learning, receiving meals or other related services, are permitted activities that may warrant an individual leaving their home. However, according to the newest proclamation, outdoor activities are permittedsuch as swimming, surfing, and walking petsso long as the established social distancing requirements are met. The proclamation also stated that beaches in Hawaii will still remain closed and that no individual should sit, stand, lie, lounge, sunbathe, or loiter on the beaches aside from the following activities, transiting across or through beaches to access the ocean waters for outdoor exercise purposes, such as surfing, solo paddling, and swimming, so long as social distancing requirements are maintained. Activities such as running, jogging, or walking on the beach are also allowed as long as social distancing requirements are met, according to the proclamation. Individuals are also allowed to travel to get medical attention or to take care of the elderly, minors, dependents, people with disabilities, or other persons who are at risk. In addition, the mandatory 14-day quarantine for individuals, whether it be visitors or residents returning to Hawaii, is also extended until May 31. Individuals who fall into these categories will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days. The eviction moratorium, which prevents any resident from being evicted from a place of residence due to being unable to pay rent, is also being extended until May 31. As indicated by the press release, all social distancing requirements are also being extended until May 31. A couple was electrocuted when they came in contact with a wire at a village here, police said. Circle Officer (City) Abhay Pandey said the incident took place at Auvar village on Sunday when Bhagwati Prasad Saroj (65) was collecting clothes put for drying. His wife Jagpati Devi (60), who rushed to save him, also came in contact with the wire. He added that the duo was taken to the district hospital, where doctors declared them dead. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two men have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and other offences. It comes after an assault in the Beechmount Avenue area of west Belfast on Wednesday. The men, aged 29 and 30, are currently in custody assisting police with their enquiries. Detective Sergeant Corrigan appealed for anyone with information to come forward. We continue to appeal to anyone with any information on this incident to contact police on 101 quoting reference 272 22/04/20," he said. "Alternatively, information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime. PARADISE, Calif. - Paradise Police arrested a man who they say used a relative's keys to burglarize Paradise Ridge Elementary School Wednesday night. Officials say on Thursday, April 23, the Paradise Police Department received a report of a burglary to Paradise Ridge Elementary School, located at 5657 Recreation Dr., Paradise. The burglary took place over the previous night. Paradise Police Officers began their investigation by contacting the school and learned that the suspect utilized keys to get into the facility. Officers say they reviewed video footage from the school and were able to positively identify the suspect in the video as 35-year-old Jason Edwards Officers learned that Edwards had access to keys to the facility as a relative of an employee of the school. Officers responded to the employee's home and found the suspect vehicle seen in the surveillance video, parked in front and located Edwards on the property. Police say the homeowner gave Officers permission to conduct a search for the stolen items. Officers located some of the stolen items and placed Edwards under arrest. Edwards' relative was not found to be involved in the burglary. Edwards was taken into custody without incident and charged with 459 PC, Commercial Burglary. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th April, 2020) The Syrian armed forces engineers have diffused 45 explosive devices over the past 24 hours, thereby demining 2 hectares (4.9 acres) of territory, the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides said on Sunday. "Engineering units of the armed forces of the Syrian Arab Republic performed mine clearance tasks in Duma (Damascus province), Jasim and El-Harra (Deraa province) over the past 24 hours. Two hectares were cleared, 45 explosive objects were found and destroyed," the center said in a daily bulletin. The bulletin added that no refugees had returned to Syria from neighboring Lebanon and Jordan over this period, which has been the case due to the coronavirus pandemic that has reached all three countries and caused authorities to shut borders. A separate daily bulletin said that the Russian-Turkish commission monitoring the implementation of the Syrian truce had not registered ceasefire violations over the past day. This Sig Byrd column was originally published in the Houston Chronicle on April 26, 1955. Not mentioned here is that, according to census and genealogical records, Ezra Sherman was married for about 10 years in the 1920s to Annie Laura Chandler. In 1930, they lived on Old La Porte Road. They divorced soon after. Sherman died at St. Joseph Hospital on April 20, 1970, at the age of 81. At the end of his days, he never left the port area, living off North Adams in Houstons Second Ward. He was cremated. Capt. Ezra Sherman, a tugboat captain in these waters for 43 years and a bayou boatman since the turn of the century, retired last week. Retirement was not his idea. It was his companys. International Towing and Transportation. They said 67 was two years past the retirement age anyway. Capt. Ezra howled like a Trinity Bay squall in February. Hes a big man. Weighs 258. Cropped graying hair. Keen gray eyes. A thigh-whacking laugh that sounds like a tackle block falling on the steel deck of a tug with her whistle tied down. Why, dag-nabit, I can make these young skippers take backwater when it comes to handling a dead ship! exclaimed Capt. Ezra. I can make em look sideways. Thirty years ago I was the best, and Im a hundred times better today than I was then. AVAST But one day last week with his last boat, the mighty Ajax, Capt. Ezra performed his last job. Shifted a Dutchman from Long Reach to Manchester. Then, a fresh chew of Mail Pouch in his jaw, he turned the wheelhouse over to the mate, Bud Wicker, and went ashore at the old Towboat Dock, just below the Turning Basin on the south side of the bayou. Like always, waiting for him on the bluff above the dock was a good-looking woman in a good-looking car. Ashore, Capt. Ezra has taken a furnished room in the home of an old friend in the East End. The other night he was restless, and his friends made him watch a television show called Waterfront. I was never so disgusted in my life, the captain told me later. That tug took one ship off without having the crew let go her lines. And when the pilot went aboard another ship, he just walked up her side without any plank or ladder, just like a dag-nabbed cockroach. PINE BREEZE Ezra Sherman was born at Anahuac. At the centurys turn, he was 12 years old and doing a mans work aboard the two-masted schooner Hard Times. He learned to sail a charcoal schooner up Turtle Bayou on a pine breeze -- which meant poling the becalmed boat with pine saplings. He became a Buffalo Bayou pilot, and was the first pilot to bring a ship to Houston by night. Capt. Ezra has held an inside masters license since 1912. Ezra Sherman has one and only one avocation. He is a bachelor and an incurable ladies man. A staunch advocate of gynarchy, he hopes to live to see a woman inaugurated as President of the United States. In the galley of the Ajax, he and I used to debate this and other issues. A man ought to love a few other things besides women, I maintained. What, for instance? he would ask. Well, children. Whereabouts would you get children without women? Well, and boats. Dont you love boats? Sure. Especially tugs. Because they pay good wages. And you can spend it all on the ladies. TEN-YEAR FLING Capt. Ezra never sailed on an ocean vessel. Couldnt stand to be too far from the sight of trees and the sight of skirts. One week in a forecastle with only men for company, he used to say, and Id jump overboard. In the 1930s Pilot Sherman saved his money, invested it in real estate, and amassed a fortune of $140,000. But he gave it away to his ladyfriends in 10 short years. Now, Im as free of money as an alligator is free of feathers, he told me the other day. But Im as happy as a lark. No man ever spent $140,000 more wisely. Well, everybody on the waterfront will miss Capt. Ezra Sherman, who in 10 years with I.T.T. never had an insurance claim against him. I dont suppose he ever made an enemy in his life either. U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin issued a rare joint statement on Saturday commemorating a 1945 World War Two link-up of U.S. and Soviet troops on their way to defeat Nazi Germany as an example of how their countries can cooperate, Trend reports citing Reuters. The statement by Trump and Putin comes amid deep strains in U.S.-Russian ties over a raft of issues, from arms control and Russias intervention in Ukraine and Syria to U.S. charges that Russia has spread disinformation about the novel coronavirus pandemic and interfered in U.S. election campaigns. The Wall Street Journal reported that the decision to issue the statement sparked debate within the Trump administration, with some officials worried it could undercut stern U.S. messages to Moscow. The joint statement marked the anniversary of the April 25, 1945 meeting on a bridge over the Elbe River in Germany of Soviet soldiers advancing from the east and American troops moving from the West. This event heralded the decisive defeat of the Nazi regime, the statement said. The Spirit of the Elbe is an example of how our countries can put aside differences, build trust, and cooperate in pursuit of a greater cause. The Journal said the last joint statement marking the Elbe River bridge link-up was issued in 2010, when the Obama administration was seeking improved relations with Moscow. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms tweeted out the city's coronavirus statistics and a message to share them with non-essential workers in an effort to keep residents at home, despite the governor's decision to reopen the state Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, a Republican, had announced that business including gyms, barbershops, hair and nail salons and massage parlors could reopen throughout the state beginning Friday. As part of her effort to encourage Atlanta residents to continue to stay at home to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Bottoms tweeted Saturday: 'If you're getting your nails done right now, please share these noon numbers with your manicurist.' Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is encouraging residents to stay at home, despite Georgia Governor Brian Kemp allowing certain non-essential businesses to re-open Bottoms posted this tweet Saturday, along with the latest coronavirus figures in the state She then added the hashtag '#StayHomeGeorgia' and a graphic showing the latest Georgia, US and global coronavirus infection and death statistics. In a 24 hour period, Georgia's coronavirus case number increased from 22,147 to 22,695. The number of deaths increased from 892 to 904. One week ago, there were only 17,669 coronavirus cases and 673 deaths in Georgia. Bottoms' tweet followed her Friday comments that she suspected that Atlanta residents would take the opportunity to escape isolation for the first time in just under three weeks, since Kemp's stay-at-home order went into effect. 'They will go into hair salons and go and get manicures and pedicures as if it is business as usual, and then in a couple of weeks, we will see our numbers continue to rise in this state,' Bottoms predicted in a CNN interview. Nail salons, massage parlors and barbershops were among the business allowed to open. A nail technician is pictured in the middle of a manicure in Atlanta on Friday An Atlanta barber is shown Friday wearing a mask, cutting the hair of a man who has opted not to wear a mask, despite an increase in coronavirus cases in the city and state Bottoms (left) said that Kemp (right) has not explained to her what he based his re-opening decision on, whether it involved scientist or expert advice And, during a Good Morning America interview, Bottoms said, 'Stay home. Listen to the scientists' and added that 'There is nothing essential about going to a bowling alley or getting a manicure in the middle of a pandemic.' She noted that Kemp had not told her what he was basing his decision to reopen the state's economy on - whether he had taken into account advice from scientists or experts. 'I'm looking at data that shows that our numbers are not going down,' Bottoms said. 'Our death rate is continuing to go up ... To make an assumption that we are out of the woods is not based on anything other than a desire to open up businesses.' Bottoms also said, 'There are some who are willing to sacrifice lives for the sake of the economy, and that is unacceptable to me.' Also included in Kemp's list of non-essential businesses allowed to reopen in coming days are bowling alleys, body art studios, theaters and restaurants. Bars and nightclubs would continue to stay closed, however. By ANI AMRITSAR: An unidentified Pakistani national was on Sunday shot dead at Pul Moran border by the Border Security Force (BSF) in the district while he was trying to enter Indian territory. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Gurpartap Singh Sahota said the BSF personnel first warned him. When he did not stop, they shot him. "An unidentified Pakistani national was trying to enter the Indian border through fencing. BSF personnel first warned him, but he did not stop. Following which they shot him at Pul Moran Post at around 5 am to 5:15 am in the morning," said Sahota. The good news from the most recently enacted bipartisan COVID-19 federal relief package is that badly needed additional funds for small businesses, hospitals and testing were included. It took some tough negotiations between Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress and the White House, but it got done. The bad news is that just about any economist will tell you that much more will be needed. An even longer and deeper recession than what our nation is in the early stages of experiencing will result if Congress does nothing more. At the top of the list for a next wave of federal relief must be funding for the essential state and local government services that have been vital in helping Americans through this crisis. There's solid bipartisan agreement on this fact. But one person who disagrees happens to be one of the most powerful people in the nation: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Following the latest federal relief bill's passage in his chamber, McConnell said the country can't afford to help state and federal governments. After nearly four years of increasing the federal debt at a time when the economy is strong, the senator from Kentucky suddenly is worried that helping keep police officers, firefighters, public works employees, teachers and other professionals on the job is a burden the federal government can't take on. His suggestion: Let the states most directly hurt financially by the coronavirus outbreak, including New York, file for bankruptcy. We were encouraged that members of New York's congressional delegation from both sides of the political aisle have come out against McConnell's stance. They need to continue to put the pressure on him, and bring their colleagues from around the country along. The trickle-down damage of a state the size of New York wiping out obligations to businesses, nonprofits and local governments through bankruptcy would be astronomical. Perhaps it's naive, but we still believe that everyone's goal, including McConnell's, is to minimize the economic pain of this historic global crisis. It's imperative to build a bipartisan coalition to convince him that he'll do just the opposite by walking away from state and local governments at their greatest time of need. The Citizen editorial board includes publisher Michelle Bowers, executive editor Jeremy Boyer and managing editor Mike Dowd. In the early days of the pandemic many forecasters, in Ireland and elsewhere, envisaged a short downturn, measured in months and followed by a swift recovery, reminiscent of the 'soft landing' from the early days of the post-2008 financial crash. These V-shaped economists are in retreat and the reality of a deep and prolonged recession has been acknowledged. Budgets have gone sharply into deficit, perhaps for several years, banks and insurers are under pressure and there are fears that the public health crisis will spawn another financial bust. Especially in the US, there are demands for an early end to lockdown in the interests of the economy. There is an alleged choice - a quicker economic recovery with some risk to public health or a longer economic sacrifice to save more lives. But this trade-off is not on offer - a substantial recovery may not even be feasible until the public perceives that the pandemic has passed. The world economy did not freeze just because governments willed it so; consumers and business firms got scared quicker than governments in many countries. Nothing approaching a return to normality is possible until public fears have been greatly diminished and a premature easing of restrictions could increase, rather than lessen, uncertainty and hence the economic cost. The economy, or most of it, has been shut down by the Government, and with the broad approval of the public. Economic output for the month of April will be down by a third, possibly even a half when the figures are finally totted up, and there may be many more months of the same. This is routinely described as unprecedented, but it is not. It happens every weekend and even more decisively at Christmas. Suppose Christmas fell on Monday (as it did in 2017) and everyone downed tools the previous Friday, to resume the following Wednesday. The economy is largely closed for four days, everyone stays home, there is little traffic - a huge drop in output, but never any permanent economic impact. Nobody loses their job, and everyone knows things will resume shortly on the same basis as before. But if the close-down had been open-ended, with a team of medics unable to offer a date for resumption other than to warn it will be months away, every Christmas would be an economic crisis. Households would need income support and firms would go wallop. State revenue would dry up and nervous firms would be afraid to invest. The uncertainty about the duration of the Government-mandated supply shock drives the economic cost, and that uncertainty cannot be removed, indeed could be aggravated, by any premature ending of the lockdown. There is a V-shaped recovery each year after Christmas, but that's because of brevity and predictability. Extensions of income support to households and of wage subsidies to the business sector have been deployed in most European countries. Assistance to households is a routine mobilisation of the social safety net, but assistance to firms is unusual. A firm experiencing cash outflows cannot normally expect a government rescue or special treatment from creditors - non-viable firms go bust all the time. What is different with the pandemic is that most of the closed firms are believed to be viable in normal circumstances: their difficulties are a consequence of public decision and there is a policy imperative to keep them together, avoiding disruption through bankruptcy and the loss of firm-specific workforce skills. Governments have offered direct financial assistance to firms and have urged creditors, including tax authorities and banks, to exercise forbearance on collecting from companies already leveraged and with zero, or much reduced, revenues. Last Thursday, the Central Bank released a paper by Niall McGeever, John McQuinn and Samantha Myers which sought to quantify the liquidity needs of Irish firms for expenses other than payroll (ameliorated via the government wage subsidy) through the downturn. With no revenue, or a sharp reduction, the three-month requirement for SMEs to cover expenses such as rent, rates, tax, insurance, trade credit, debt repayments and utilities would be of the order of 4bn. This could be lent through the banks, with or without State guarantee, or through State agencies. The crisis could last longer than three months and the Central Bank authors acknowledge that providing liquidity will eventually create firms with higher debt to assorted creditors and to the taxman. The firms could end up insolvent. There are ways to mitigate the risk of ultimate insolvency of viable firms, which would defeat the purpose of the costly wage subsidy scheme. One option is to mitigate some of the non-personnel costs directly. Rent is a matter for firms and their landlords, and smart landlords will do deals and keep viable tenants alive. Local authorities have been deferring payments of commercial rates, but they will eventually seek to collect. If these payments are a charge for services delivered by local councils, they are not due from firms closed by government edict since no services are being delivered. They could be waived, not just deferred, and the councils reimbursed from central government. Utility bills (electricity, gas, water) will fall for firms that are closed (they switch off the lights) but they also include standing charges. It is fair to ask whether these too might not be waived while firms are closed. Truckers and rental fleets off the road should be facilitated in getting rebates on annual vehicle taxes. Insurance companies have offered to reimburse motorists to reflect the likely reduction in road accidents, acceding to a populist demand from politicians aware that the policies as written contain no such conditionality in favour of the insured. In this instance the politicians want the insurers to volunteer a few quid for hard-pressed voters where risk has unexpectedly fallen. Policies for business interruption do not cover pandemics, where everybody's business gets interrupted and there is an unexpected increase in risk. But the pols want the insurers to pay out regardless, beyond their obligations. There is no viable insurance industry if the companies are fair game for unexpected changes in risk both upwards and downwards. They are fragile institutions which mutualise risk, they do not eliminate it, and the reinsurer-of-last-resort is the Government. Insurance company funds are mostly held in trust for policyholders (future claimants) and the first duty of the companies is to stay solvent. Quinn Insurance was popular with politicians, too. There is every chance that insurers will face payouts under public and employer liability policies to customers and employees claiming negligence that made them sick from Covid - there are already ads on TV in the USA from law firms soliciting clients for claims against Walmart. Politicians demanding that "the banks" should now repay "the people" for their generous rescue appear unaware that the banks belong mainly to the latter. There will be suspicion about the State offering grants, rather than loans or loan guarantees, to stressed firms, given the proven Irish taste for corporate welfare. The State took equity in the banks during the last crisis and there is room for some creative thinking about how assistance to viable firms, including smaller ones, can be delivered through State equity rather than extra debt. After two weeks of gains, the bears once again took control of the D-Street in the week ended April 24 amid rising COVID-19 cases and delayed financial stimulus. The BSE Sensex corrected 0.83 percent during the week, while the Nifty50 lost 1.2 percent. The carnage was worse in the broader markets as both BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap index fell around 3 percent each. Other factors that weighed on investor sentiment during the week include the possible extension of lockdown, closure of debt schemes by Franklin Templeton fund, and the sharp fall oil prices. However, the volatility cooled of with India VIX falling 8.15 percent from 42.59 to 39.11 levels on a weekly closing basis. Globally also markets remained in await and watch mode after the recent rally. Experts expect the rangebound trade to continue in the coming truncated week amid hopes of another stimulus package and global cues. Close Related stories Top 10 things you must know before the market opens today Trade setup for Wednesday: Top 15 things to know before Opening Bell Top 10 things you must know before the market opens today We have collated 15 data points to help you spot profitable trades: Note: The open interest (OI) and volume data of stocks in this story are aggregates of the three-months data and not of the current month only. Key support and resistance level for the Nifty According to the pivot charts, the key support level on the Nifty is placed at 9,098.17 followed by 9,041.93. If the index continues moving up, key resistance levels to watch out for are 9,253.77 and 9,353.13. Nifty Bank The important pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 19,418.0 followed by 19,249.3. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 19,852.8 and 20,118.9. Call options data Maximum call OI of 22.59 lakh contracts was seen at the 9,500 strike price. It will act as a crucial resistance level in the April series. This is followed by 9,000 strike, which holds 14.7 lakh contracts, and 9,800, which has accumulated 11.95 lakh contracts. Significant call writing was seen at the 9,500 strike, which added 5.35 lakh contracts, followed by 9,400 strike that added 4.9 lakh contracts. Minor Call unwinding was witnessed at 8,700 strike price, which shed 7,800 contracts. Put options data Maximum put OI of 29.77 lakh contracts was seen at 9,000 strike, which will act as crucial support in the April series. This is followed by 8,500, which holds 20.62 lakh contracts, and 8,800 strikes, which has accumulated 10.37 lakh contracts. Put writing was seen at the 8,900 strike, which added 1.90 lakh contracts, followed by 9,100 strike, which added 1.70 lakh contracts. Put unwinding was seen at 9,000 strike, which shed 4.18 lakh contracts followed by 9,300 which shed 2.88 lakh contracts. Catch Moneycontrol's full coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic here A high delivery percentage suggests that investors are showing interest in these stocks. Based on OI future percentage, here are the stocks in which long build-up was seen. 46 stocks saw long unwinding Based on open interest (OI) future percentage, here are the top 10 stocks in which long unwinding was seen. 73 stocks saw short build-up An increase in open interest, along with a decrease in price, mostly indicates a build-up of short positions. Based on open interest (OI) future percentage, here are the top 10 stocks in which short build-up was seen. 148 stocks witnessed short-covering A decrease in open interest, along with an increase in price, mostly indicates a short-covering. Based on open interest (OI) future percentage, here are the top 10 stocks in which short-covering was seen. Bulk deals (For more bulk deals, click here) Corporate Actions Madhav Infra Project: The company will trade ex-split (face value reduced from Rs 10 to Rs 1) with effect from April 27. Britannia Industries: The company will quote ex-dividend (Rs 35 per share) from April 29. Pfizer: The company will consider dividend on April 27. Manappuram Finance: The company will mull fundraising on April 27. TVS Motor: The company will consider fundraising on April 28. JK Paper: The company will mull the proposal of share buyback on April 28. Sundaram Clayton: The company will consider fundraising on April 30. Stocks in the news Bank of Baroda: Board approved raising of additional capital fund up to Rs 13,500 crore upto March 31, 2021. Mindtree Q4: Profit rose 4.7% to Rs 206.2 cr, revenue increased 4.3% to Rs 2,050.5 cr QoQ. NALCO: ICICI Pru MF (ARB) Bharat 22 ETF bought 1,71,09,821 shares in the company at Rs 34.43 per share. Zee Learn: Debshankar Mukhopadhyay resigned as CEO, the company appointed Vikash Kumar Kar as CEO. Torrent Pharma: The company issued NCDs on a private placement basis for Rs 195 crore. Tata Steel: Board approved the issue of additional debt securities (NCDs) up to Rs 5,000 crore on private placement basis. Maral Overseas: The company resumed operation of manufacturing unit located at Khargone, Madhya Pradesh. MEP Infrastructure: Julius Baer Wealth Advisors (India) bought a 2.42% stake in March quarter. NHPC: NHPC raised Rs 750 crore through private placement of secured, redeemable, taxable, non-cumulative, non-convertible AB Series Bonds. Clariant Chemicals: Manufacturing units/factories in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are back in partial operation with limited capacity. Suven Pharma: CRISIL assigned A/Stable rating to the company's long term bank loans, A1 rating to short term bank loans. Fund flow FII and DII data Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 207.29 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth Rs 993.98 crore in the Indian equity market on April 24, provisional data available on the NSE showed. Stock under F&O ban on NSE No security is under the F&O ban for April 27. Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit. Washington: Something remarkable happened over the weekend in the United States: President Donald Trump was not seen or heard. Since early March, Trump has appeared almost every day at the White House to brief the nation on his administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic. Donald Trump speaks as Vice-President Mike Pence looks on. The White House is moving against the WHO on several fronts. Credit:Bloomberg Often stretching over two hours, the rambunctious affairs have shown Trump jousting with reporters, bragging about his administration's response, hyping unproven treatments and attacking his Democratic rivals. As the weeks went on, heath experts such as Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx received increasingly little airtime as Trump dominated the podium. Ayatollah Khamenei calls on Iranian people not to be afraid of US, bullying powers Iran Press TV Saturday, 25 April 2020 5:14 PM Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has calls on the Iranian people not to be afraid of the United States and other bullying powers. Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks on Saturday after taking part in a Qur'an recitation event to mark the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. The Leader attended the event via videoconference in line with guidelines to avoid gatherings to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. "Fear of the US will result in bitter outcomes and we have witnessed in previous years that some of our statesmen's fear of the US caused difficult problems for them," the Leader stated. The Leader urged fearlessness and steadfastness in the face of enemies and said some Muslim states have suffered humiliation as a result of disregarding their own might and being intimidated by tyrannical powers. Ayatollah Khamenei congratulated the advent of the holy month of Ramadan and called on Muslims to act upon the teachings of the holy Qur'an that could save all humanity. The Leader added that Qur'an has guidelines for resolving the problems of human beings and stated that some verses of the holy book teach people social relations that they need in their lives. Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized that obeying the practical guidelines of Qur'an is the only way to save humanity from cruelty, discrimination, war, insecurity, depression of values and to establish security, health and welfare. The holy Qur'an instructed human beings to use their wealth and power for the development of other humans' lives and help the needy people, the Leader stated. Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized that the holy Qur'an teaches Muslims not to trust despots at all. During the ceremony, a number of reciters read out verses of the holy Qur'an in their melodious voices. In a statement on Friday, the Leader's office declared Saturday, April 25, as the first day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. The beginning of the most sacred month of the Islamic calendar comes as Muslims across the world are battling the coronavirus pandemic. Measures to contain the spread of the virus will prevent many Muslims from breaking their daylong fast in large masses as they normally do. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Business executives and owners are impatient to see coronavirus-related restrictions relaxed, the leaders of the Greater Omaha and Nebraska Chambers of Commerce said. But they also want to see clear, defined guidelines for how to do that while protecting employees and customers. And they want checkpoints that explain what needs to happen, such as more widespread testing or a declining case rate for two weeks, before opening up to more customers or having employees return to offices. We know its not going to be an Open the doors, were all back to the way we were before (process), said David Brown, president and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber. We know its not going to be that way. So tell us what those limitations are. How do we adjust work spaces so we can accommodate folks? he continued. Do we phase back in? Do we still encourage people to work from home? How soon businesses can gain back a degree of normalcy will depend on a number of factors, including the type of work they do, how much their employees interact with the public and how local case numbers are trending, said Bryan Slone, the president of the Nebraska Chamber. Police in Salem, Massachusetts and the FBI are investigating the disruption of a virtual church service after it was zoom bombed with images of a burning cross, according to the Boston Globe. The incident occurred on April 19 and happened to the Tabernacle Church in Salem, Massachusetts. Police told the newspaper there is an investigation underway. Rev. Joseph Amico told the Globe a member of the congregation was about to speak in the Zoom meeting when several unknown users made requests to join the meeting. Those users eventually took over the Zoom virtual service, the newspaper reported. A video showing the Klu Klux Klan burning a cross then played. As the coronavirus pandemic forced schools, churches and businesses to close, many have moved to video-teleconferencing. The FBI has warned people about hacking called zoom bombing where the online meetings have been disrupted by pornographic or hate images and threatening language. WCVB reports the church in Salem has now closed the virtual services to members of the congregation only. The Anti-Defamation League was notified of the incident, the television station reports. NEW YORK - The sun had barely risen over E. 149th Street in the South Bronx when Edward Halls, 70, got in line. He had seen how long the line was the day before and realized that life now required a plan. "I passed by and said, 'I'm not going to drink any water. I'll bring the chair. I'll leave early. I was going to leave at 7:30 but my sister said, 'No, you better leave at 7.' " Now it was two hours later, and a line of 32 people stretched out from the front door of the bank where the computers were still down and Halls was still sitting in his folding chair, watching his neighborhood come to life. Across the street, a line was forming at the pharmacy. A few doors down, the line was growing at the credit union. Around the corner, people were lining up for the bus, for the lottery, for the check-cashers and the two hawkers at folding tables spread with $5 masks, $10 Advil and $20 cough syrup. Two months into the coronavirus pandemic, this is what life was becoming in one of the poorest and hardest-hit neighborhoods in America. A life of lines. "Don't cut, wait your turn, go with the system," said Halls, a retired hospital janitor, as the line grew longer and the sun rose high enough to clear the buildings and shine down on all the faces behind him. Holding strong in the fourth position was 81-year-old Clara Futch, who needed a money order to pay a bill and was sitting on the walker she'd rolled across six craggy blocks. "Life is horrible," she said. Behind her was Ibrahima Sanogo, a taxi driver drawing upon his experience from earlier days in the pandemic. He'd waited six hours in a taxi line for the few passengers left at JFK Airport. He'd waited four hours on the phone to complete his unemployment application. He had been waiting nearly three hours so far to see a teller about his federal stimulus check, and now he glanced at all the people still in front him and realized he would be waiting some more. "I can't give up now," he said. In a nation that has revered ambition, hustle and individualism, the moment was one that called for the sort of acceptance, patience and ego sublimation summoned by the words of Nelson Rivera, a school custodian standing behind a home health aide standing behind a bus driver standing behind a woman shaking her head outside a Stop & Shop. "What can you do?" he said. The line was all there was. "You home?" a woman said into her cellphone outside a pharmacy. "I'm in line." "Even the butcher had a line," said a woman now in line at Plaza Discount. "Where do you think I am?" said an agitated woman through two masks into her phone. She was between two pieces of worn blue tape on a Wednesday that could have been a Tuesday, and soon it was midday and she was still in line. Across the South Bronx, people were lining up for various food pantries - at a community center, at the Catholic church and at the Bronx River Houses, a public housing complex of nine brick buildings where the daily announcement came over a loudspeaker in a courtyard: "Ladies and gentlemen! The meals are coming!" People emerged from the brick towers and other apartment buildings in the surrounding neighborhood. Here came an elderly woman in a black wool coat clutching an empty plastic bag. "Things are tight," Barbara Sanders said, taking her place behind an orange cone. Here came Amaurice Gabot, a laid-off parking lot attendant now in the 45-day waiting period for food stamps he needed to feed his wife and daughter. "When you don't have nothing, this is very important," he said of the free meal. Here came Toribio Vasquez, another parking lot attendant whose hours had been cut in half. "Every day it's getting worse," he said. Behind him was an elderly woman with a walker. A woman with wild gray hair and a dazed look. Two women clutching empty garbage bags. A woman in a wheelchair. A man wearing a homemade mask, holding his daughter's hand, and asking with some embarrassment: "We have to put our name?" "No name, baby," said Norma Saunders, the tenant association president and organizer of a line that now stretched down a long breezeway, alongside a fenced-off area where residents said asbestos was being removed, past three overflowing garbage bins and an empty playground - a column of more than 100 people standing in silence until a yellow box truck pulled into the parking lot and the voice came over the loudspeaker again: "Ladies and gentlemen! The meals are here!" People watched as volunteers unloaded cellophane-sealed containers of spaghetti and meatballs, boxes of green beans labeled "Green Veg 136" and foil bags of pizza crackers, and as they prepared to move forward, a latecomer tried to slip into the front of the line. "Hey!" someone yelled, pointing. "That woman skipped her place!" yelled a woman from the back. "Everyone is going to get the same - no more, no less!" yelled another, and as the woman retreated to the back of the line, a volunteer yelled out: "All right! Bring 'em all through!" "Please, have your bag open!" a man yelled through a bullhorn. "Move the line!" An elderly woman fumbled to open her bag quickly, while a man in work boots behind her opened his shopping bag, while a volunteer yelled "C'mon," while in the nearby parking lot, Daniel Barber watched for a moment, checked his clipboard and headed off to deliver the rest of 4,000 meals provided by the celebrity chef Jose Andres, well-known for feeding victims of natural disasters. "People don't understand the magnitude," said Barber, a public housing tenant leader, who was trying to get an accurate count of how many residents had died of the virus, and in which buildings. He drove through one neighborhood after another - streets without traffic, metal grates over shuttered shops, everything empty except for the lines at the bodega, the Western Union, the laundromat. "Man," he said, seeing one that stretched a whole block. His phone rang. It was a woman from another housing project waiting on the meals. "My line's getting long," the woman told him. "Aye, aye, captain," Barber said, and soon he pulled up in the driveway, where the woman who had called, Dana Elden, had been waiting in the longest line of all, the invisible line of citizens waiting for the city, the state, the federal government or someone to care about what was happening in a community where the number of virus deaths was proportionately higher than anywhere in the nation. "Why has there yet to be any formal testing in this area with all these developments?" Elden said. "Why can't they set up a tent here? Because black and brown people don't matter to them." She watched Barber unloading the meals, her sense of gratitude equal to the fury she felt toward leaders she felt had failed her neighbors. "Thank you, Danny!" she called out as he left, and people inched forward with their opened bags, and the afternoon inched forward toward so many doors with orange cones marking the start of more lines. At the end of the ATM line - 12 people - on Melrose Avenue was an unemployed delivery truck driver. "I think the lines are getting longer," observed Jose Marte. In the middle of a line outside a pharmacy on 149th - 47 people - was a math professor sitting in a plastic chair. "You can't beat it, you can't fight it," he said, then noticed the line moving slightly. He struggled to stand. He picked up his chair. He placed it back down on the other side of the next piece of worn blue tape. He sat down and looked around at the life on the street. A homeless man staggered by. Another asked for money. Health-care workers from the nearby hospital were changing shifts and lining up at a bodega for jerk chicken, where the cashier informed one woman, "The doctors came earlier and bought it all," and meanwhile, back at the pharmacy, an employee came outside at 5:30 with an announcement for the line. "If you're in line for the pharmacy, from this point on, the pharmacy is closed," she said in a monotone, and the formerly placid face of China Rodriguez dissolved. "I thought you close at 6!" she yelled through her mask. "We do, but this line is longer than 6," said the worker. "But I've been waiting here since 4:15! I'm trying to get medicine for my father! He had a heart attack!" said Rodriguez, who worked nights cleaning medical offices, and was on her day off the designated line-stander for her elderly parents. "Damn. This is how people lose their cool." A few doors down, the line for the wholesale liquor store was at 54 and growing. A single mom was behind a postal worker behind a health-care worker who'd just finished another shift and had been waiting 30 minutes so far for some vodka. "It won't be long now," he told himself. "Five go out, five go in," said the postal worker, Earl Commador, but way down at the end of the line, things were degenerating. "Nobody's following the protocol!" said Charise Green, trying to keep her composure. "Nobody is six feet!" "Look at that guy!" said her friend, pointing to a young man who'd just joined the line. "No gloves. No mask." Around the corner, the line for the Aldi discount grocery store was 71, now 72, now 73, and as the sun was setting, Jay Lewis, a dance instructor who had not yet eaten breakfast, looked behind him at all the faces. "This is kind of how I imagined the End Times to be," he said. "That's what it feels like." The man behind him, Jose Alvarez, was listening. "We just have to hold on," he said. "This is what it is. This is what it's going to be." They stopped talking. They had to get through the line. Someone was smoking. Someone was standing too close. Someone was walking up and down the line hawking Advil and Aleve. Some kids rode by on bikes and popped wheelies. Some pigeons fought over a scrap of bread, and meanwhile, the line inched toward the next strip of yellow tape, the next orange cone, a few feet more, a few minutes and hours more, sun shifting, time passing. Nearby, a woman wearing two masks, ski goggles and rubber gloves pressed her face to a storefront window. She had already stood in line for groceries, the bank, the discount store, and this was the last line of day. "They told me to wait out here," said Katherine Torres. It was a health clinic. She was waiting on her mother, who was inside trying to see whether she could get a test for the virus. She was a home health aide and had all the symptoms. The fever, the cough, the fatigue, and in a place where lines were everywhere now, she was in the most critical one of all. It was almost dark, and Torres looked again through the window. "We'll just wait," she said. A Roanoke man who got three life sentences plus more than a century in prison for his role in a fatal robbery spree in the mid-1980s has been set free after about 33 years behind bars. Tyson Xavier Golden, now 55, was granted release by the Virginia Parole Board in January. That decision was certified March 30, and Golden left custody April 3, according to the state Department of Corrections. The Roanoke commonwealths attorneys office said it was never notified, a communication that is required by Virginia law. Golden was one of three men charged after a string of three violent Roanoke home invasions that occurred in December 1986 and culminated in the beating death of 91-year-old Larry White, who was attacked and robbed along with his 87-year-old sister, Maggie Spinner, in the small Essex Avenue apartment they shared. Prosecutors said three blows from the butt of a pistol fractured Whites skull, killing him. Golden is one of 95 inmates approved for release in March by the parole board, whose chairwoman, Adrianne Bennett, recently stepped down to begin an appointment on April 16 as a juvenile and domestic relations court judge in Virginia Beach. The boards publicly available monthly rosters date back to 2015, and most show far smaller numbers of parolees than in March, usually just a handful on the low end up to a few dozen on the high. Twenty-eight of the approvals on the March list were granted in January or earlier, prior to the push to reduce prison populations amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Thirteen were geriatric releases, granted to inmates 65 or older who have served at least five years of their sentence, or those 60 or older with a minimum of 10 years served. Parole was abolished in Virginia at the start of 1995, but inmates convicted prior to that are still eligible if their case receives at least three votes from the five-member parole board; those found guilty of first-degree murder require a vote of four out of five. One of the five parole board members is Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea, an outspoken advocate against what he recently deemed the epidemic of gun violence across the country. Last year he helped spearhead an anti-violence task force in the city. On Friday, Lea said he could not comment on how he or the other members voted on Goldens case, and he declined to discuss the crimes or parole board processes. The policy we have is the chairman is the spokesperson for any cases that we release, Lea said. The new board chairwoman, Tonya Chapman, who started April 16, did not respond to emails last week. The boards phone line in Richmond offers a recording that tells callers that, in light of Virginias current state of emergency, its currently unable to accept messages. Attempts this week to contact Golden also were unsuccessful. Golden was one of three men convicted in the cases. In December 1986, he was charged alongside Angelo Maurice Day and Timothy George White Jr., both 18 at the time. In addition to the attack of Larry White and Spinner, they were convicted of two more similarly violent robberies that occurred earlier the same month, beating a 64-year-old man at a Hunt Avenue apartment and brutalizing a 26-year-old woman in her home on Peach Tree Drive. All three were arrested within about a week. Angelo Day and Timothy White (who was not related to victim Larry White) quickly pleaded guilty to numerous charges in the spree, including murder and robbery, and each received one life term, plus 133 and 134 years, respectively. White sought parole in 2016 but was denied the panel cited a history of violence and conviction of a new crime while incarcerated and the following year he died at age 49 at Buckingham Correctional Facility. The cause of death was heroin and fentanyl toxicity, the state medical examiners office said Friday. Day also was denied parole in January 2016, with the board concluding that you should serve more of your sentence prior to release and that release at this time would diminish the seriousness of crime. Records show, however, that just six months later, in July, Days parole was granted. The board does not include public notes on why it grants parole, and offers comments only when release is rejected. Prior to Goldens parole approval in March, none of the 63 rosters dating back to 2015 indicate that he was considered by the board at all. Golden, who was 23 at the time he was arrested, acknowledged his guilt on some of the counts against him, but went to trial in June 1987 on the charges involving Larry White and Spinner, and both Day and Timothy White testified against him. Prosecutors have said that just after noon, the trio burst into the elderly siblings apartment, beat them and stole several hundred dollars. Timothy White said hed cracked Larry Whites skull with one blow from the butt of a pistol, but an autopsy showed the victim was killed by three strikes to the head. Spinner died five months after the attack, in a nursing home, from an illness reportedly not related to the beating. Prosecutors have said that no one other than the robbers will ever truly know who was responsible for the killing. Day testified that Golden was upset after the robbery and had called Timothy White an animal. But prosecutor Joel Branscom argued at the time that Golden nevertheless took a cut of the stolen money, then hid from police for eight days before he was caught. When Golden was arrested, he reportedly told two officers, OK, you got me. Who snitched on me? A jury of 12 women found Golden guilty of Larry Whites murder and two counts of robbery and asked that he serve three life sentences. But later that summer, Judge Clifford Weckstein ruled that those three terms would run simultaneously rather than consecutively. At that time, Branscom said the decision left him bitterly disappointed. Weckstein didnt explain why he diverted from the jurys verdict, but that result put Goldens final active sentence life, plus 118 years more in line with that of Timothy White and Angelo Day. In sentencing White in July 1987, Judge Jack Coulter noted that although parole was a function of the governments executive branch, if I had my way in this case, we would have life without the benefit of parole. Last week, Roanoke Commonwealths Attorney Donald Caldwell said the parole board never made his office aware of either Goldens or Days releases, but he questioned the timing in relation to Goldens age. Golden turns 56 next month. Why would you not just wait and let him out at 60, under geriatric parole? Its very clean and that mechanism is there, he said. The operation of the parole board and the release of people is a blend of remorse and economics, Caldwell added. I would submit that economics is part of the push to get pre-95 people out of the system. In Halifax County, Commonwealths Attorney Tracy Martin also recently saw one of her cases affected, and she, too, was caught off guard by the decision. Debra Kay Scribner of South Boston was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit that crime in 2011 and the following year was sentenced to more than 23 years in prison. But Scribner, now 66, was granted geriatric release last month after serving less than a decade, and Martin said neither her office nor the victim was notified in advance. The parole board has effectively overturned the judge and jury based on less evidence. The decision is morally wrong and procedurally flawed. There may be others who are appropriate for geriatric parole, but not a murderer who has spent less than 10 years in prison. Martin circulated her complaint to other Virginia prosecutors and said she has learned of other unannounced releases. Im hearing enough to be concerned that something is deeply infected in the parole board, she said. On April 20, she wrote Chapman, the boards current chair, citing the state codes that require that the victim of the crime be notified, and that 21 days notice be given to the office of the prosecutor who handled the case. I wouldve asked to appear before the board. ... I wouldve immediately reached out to the victim ... and I wouldve advocated for the best interest of my community, Martin said. Her letter asked the board to reconsider its decision on Scribner and for a rescission hearing, to allow the victim to testify. Martin learned Friday that the board is considering her request. She hopes the statutory issues can be addressed. Frankly, the importance of that code section serves as a safety valve for victim notification, she said. Its also a safety valve for the communitys voice to be heard. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. New York-based Indian artist Zarina Hashmi, best known for creating simple, minimalist, yet powerful works, passed away on Saturday at her niece's home in London, following a long illness. She was 83. "She passed away after a long illness, but she died peacefully, in London where she was living with her niece and nephew," Delhi-based gallerist and Hashmi's friend Renu Modi told PTI. Modi, who has known and represented the artist for over two decades, said it was difficult to "quantify the loss. "Zarina was one of the foremost artists of her generation, a pioneer who lived and created art on her own terms, drawing from her life, and true, always, to her own convictions and singular artistic vision. "The stark minimalism of her visual language was ahead of the times when she first began exploring it in the 1960s and 1970s, but their simplicity and quiet meditativeness speak to all of us today grappling with a world in disarray," Modi said. "We were very close to each other, just like family. I would have long, very long conversations with her at least once a month, and we would talk about everything. Sometimes it would be about what's happening around the world, sometimes it would be about her art, and at other times we would talk about something as mundane as clothes," she added. Born in Aligarh in 1937, much of Hashmi's works are marked by the aftermath of the Partition and the experience of exile. Married to Saad Hashmi, who was in the Foreign Services, the artist travelled the world and lived in many different cities, an experience that manifested in her art. She began to incorporate maps in her works, which expanded to include the topographical details of cities whose histories have been torn due to political conflictsAligarh, New Delhi, New York, Baghdad, Kabul. "Her work can be instantly recognised through its minimalism. She said everything using the simplicity of her lines," Modi said. During her long illustrious career, Hashmi showcased her works across the globe including at Modi's Gallery Espace (New Delhi); Galerie Jaeger Bucher (Paris); Museum of Modern Art (New York), Mills College Museum (Oakland); and Alana Gallery (Oslo). According to curator Uma Nair, India and the world lost a "phenomenal abstractionist" in the passing away of Hashmi. She understood "the context of materials, mediums, history, and memory," Nair, who wrote catalogues for two of Hashmi's shows, said. "Between her woodcuts and intaglios her works had an aura that was minimalist and magical for its silence. She invited a quiet mood, an emotion that spoke of sculptural dignity, and a deeper understanding of politics and history. I wrote her catalogues for two shows in 2006. I was a fledgeling but never did she let me feel it. "Zarina's was a quest of individuality, one that has grown out of her own meditative moorings, one that has refused to be bogged down by time and one that has found its own artistic integrity because of its silent intensity. Her life embodied that signature," Nair said. Several other members of the art fraternity took to Twitter to express their condolences. Artist Ranjit Hoskote, who had curated the India Pavillion at 2011 Venice Biennale, which Hashmi was a part of, said it was a "privilege" to have worked with her. "She was 10 when borders not of her choosing changed her life; she spent her life defying borders and the exclusionary claims of territories, learning from diverse teachers, always true to the compass of a lost home. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. "Heartbroken to hear that Zarina Hashmi has passed away in London. She was magnificent: full of wit and shrewd wisdom, her work imbued with a tragic vision. I was privileged to have her as one of my artists in India's first-ever national pavilion at the Venice Biennale, 2011. RIP," he tweeted. The National Gallery of Modern Art (Delhi) also put out a tweet mourning the artist's death. "NGMA expresses deepest heartfelt condolences upon the passing away of Zarina Hashmi (1937 to 2020) Her work spans drawing, printmaking, and sculpture," it said. Writer and dancer Poorna Swami said she loved Hashmi's "sparse and captivating work". "Sad to hear that Zarina Hashmi passed away. I loved her sparse and captivating work. Though it would be incorrect to call her an "Indian" artist, she was, along with Nasreen Mohamedi, a woman abstractionist in a boys club. In a history of minimalism, it is usually men we hail," Swami wrote. Actress and author Lisa Ray also expressed her condolences. "Very sad to learn of the passing of #ZarinaHashmi a legend of the art world. Her ability to distil emotion into singular images and forms will resonate on and on," she wrote. Hashmi won several accolades during her artistic career, including the Residency Award at the New York University's Asian/Pacific/American Institute and Artist in Residence at the University of Richmond, both in 2017. She also received the President's Award for Printmaking, India in 1969. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) TO WAR WITH THE WALKERS by Annabel Venning (Hodder 10.99, 336 pp) TO WAR WITH THE WALKERS by Annabel Venning (Hodder 10.99, 336 pp) A photograph in Annabel Vennings account of her family in wartime shows the six Walker children in order of height from the youngest, Ruth, a plump toddler, to the eldest, Edward, a grinning schoolboy. Taken in 1922, the siblings would later be engulfed by a World War which all would survive, but none emerge unscathed. Annabel, the granddaughter of Walter, the second brother, reconstructs the events that scattered the Walkers across the globe. Ruth, a nurse, and Harold, a doctor, were each gravely injured while serving at St Thomas Hospital; Edward and Walter fought bravely in Italy and Burma; Bee, the beautiful elder daughter, became a war widow, while gentle Peter was brutally tortured by Japanese forces in Malaya. Nil desperandum was the family motto, and this beautifully written biography shows how gallantly the siblings lived up to it. THE WAY TO THE SEA by Caroline Crampton (Granta 9.99, 336 pp) THE WAY TO THE SEA by Caroline Crampton (Granta 9.99, 336 pp) On September 17, 1984, a small boat sailed up the Thames estuary towards London. Aboard were Caroline Cramptons parents, who had set off from South Africa almost five months before. The young couple moved to Kent, where Caroline was born in 1988, but sailing remained a part of family life. She grew up to love the estuary muddy, windswept, endlessly fascinating. Studying in Oxford and working in London fuelled her passion for the river, and eventually inspired her to follow it from its beginnings as a meagre trickle in a Gloucestershire meadow to the Nore, where the river meets the open sea. Her elegant book part memoir, part history is a captivating love letter to a great waterway. THE AGE OF LIGHT by Whitney Scharer (Picador 8.99, 320 pp) THE AGE OF LIGHT by Whitney Scharer (Picador 8.99, 320 pp) Lee Millers life was a chronicle of extraordinary events. Born in 1907 in upstate New York, she modelled for Vogue before moving to Paris in 1929 to train as a painter. Her beauty mesmerised artists including Dali, Picasso and the American Man Ray, whose muse and lover she became. Whitney Scharers debut novel focuses on this period of Lees life, interweaving her account of a passionate and creative partnership with flashes of Lees later life, including her career as a wartime photojournalist whose images of concentration camps, and herself bathing in Hitlers bathtub, featured in Vogue. With vivid descriptions of Bohemian life and keen observation of the blurred lines between desire, possessiveness and artistic freedom, this is a sensuous evocation of the adventures of a talented and beautiful artist in the heady ferment of 1930s Paris. Sometimes one forgets that violent social conflicts are endemic to urban north India. Riots can be traced back at least to the 1890s, and anyone who grew up in India in the 1980s or before, has perforce heard the word curfew galore. Section 144 and curfew were arguably the commonest words used in the news in the 1980s and early 1090s. Moradabad in 1979, the anti-Sikh pogroms of 1984, Meerutt 1987, Bhagalpur 1989, Bombay and the rest of India in 1992, these were only the high points of social, communal, or state-led violence that went on in one part or another of the country, almost permanently. After all, the former IPS, Bibhuti Narain Rais cult Hindi novel Shahar Mein Curfew was published in 1988. And yet, the amazing thing, attesting to the vastness of India, is how few of us have actually lived under curfew. So what began with a janta curfew, with some merriment and heralding, has now led to a country being locked down, or as our driver said, lockdown band ho gaya hai. We have been confined to our homes, but unlike a curfew, there is no widespread sense of dread, nor a threat of violence and arrest, unless you are poor. Conversely, there is no relaxation, no relief hours, as sociability, even clandestine or small doses of it, is prohibited because of the fear of infection. Some of us, perhaps, feel that we have been imprisoned in our homes. Indeed, as the lockdown extends, the frustration and the monotony will inevitably create a sense of powerlessness, which combined with an uncertainty about the future, the absence of tangible relief in sight, constitutes the mental condition that defines imprisonment. Many of us may soon be echoing Hamlet, who thought that all of Denmark was a prison. Like in any prison, some of us have it good, even as the great majority cowers. Like in prison, our lives have been ransomed to our guards, who can roam around freely, but unlike a prison, here they are putting themselves at risk. I am aware that there are as many gradations of poverty in India as there are gradations of caste, and that most of them are currently suffering privations that we the middle class types cannot even imagine. To the deprivation of food, salary, livelihood and medical needs that they are undergoing during lockdown, one can add the indignity and humiliation that the state is disproportionately heaving upon them. The British philosopher John Gray has conjectured that in the post-Corona era populations may happily trade security for liberty. But despite these hardships, it is still a better deal than to be in a prison. I have lived in a prison so I can tell you no matter what we are undergoing, or what liberty we may choose to surrender in future, it would still not be the same as living in a prison. Confinement to our homes, with an opportunity to occasionally step out to buy groceries is very far from incarceration. There is no authority sitting over you, compelling you to wake up at a certain hour, to get locked in at a certain hour, to eat only what is provided for you. You are not being subjected to habitual and gratuitous humiliations or insults, nor to inescapable surveillance, you are not constantly being hollered at, you are with your loved ones, you can go to any corner of your castle at anytime of the day, you can talk to anyone you like, you can cook anything you like, you can hug your pets, you can have a cup of tea, a smoke, perhaps a legit drink or a joint if you are so inclined, you are still the Master of your will and your moment, you still have plenty of choice. You have the internet, you have a lamp, you have an AC, you have a desk, a computer, a play station even perhaps. None of your possessions have been taken away. You can still sit in your car and give it a revv, or slouch in your couch if you like. Even your uncertainty extends to a few months at the utmost, you may lose your job, or face a salary cut, but you would retain your qualifications, your skills, your physical labour if needs be. But prison takes away your subjectivity, it also degrades. There is a fine line between deprivation and degradation. The Indian workers who preferred to march for hundreds of miles than suffer the degradation of living on an uncertain dole, showed us that one can undergo deprivation and still hope to survive, but a soul degraded may be impaired forever. The fact is that an Indian prisoners life of uncertainty begins with her confinement, continues as her trial goes on and on, continues as she appeals against her conviction, continues as she seeks parole or furlough. Uncertainty, coercion and violence dog her existence in prison every day: she may lose the employment that helps her pass time, be shifted out of the barrack she has just begun to grow used to, may lose her cell mates who make her prison life bearable, she may be wantonly subject to collective punishment even if she has done no wrong, any warder may complain of misbehaviour against her and she may have even her meagre prison rights, and fare, forfeited. In the city at large, though, the poor aside, even powerful men, high executives and bureaucrats, used to lording over their staff, fat businessman who run their domain like a benevolent monarch, are no doubt feeling emasculated as they moan at home. They are now bereft of the work places that were their kingdom, bereft of the satisfaction of driving a big car, even on a choked road, bereft of the satisfaction of shouting at others. Power, as Foucault famously said, is after all a relationship, and for now there is no social space where those capillaries of power can run. There is now, mostly, no subordinate, or driver or maid to yell at, for instance, that may allow us to feel powerful. For the moment the powerful have been reduced to a cipher, none of their power or wealth, what distinguished them in their eyes, being of much use right now. But still, this disembodiment is not a permanent severance, unlike a prison inmate whose qualifications are of no use whatsoever. I see many of these men walking in my gated colony, not yet a place where neighbours snitch on a walker to the RWA, or call the police and lodge an FIR. There are also other men, maybe some among these powerful ones, who are earning laurels for helping with the domestic chores, cleaning, dusting, being productive. Certainly, some middle class families have become closer to each other, with a more equitable power distribution within the family. We are deprived, no doubt, but we have not yet been subjected to a violent upheaval, we still have our homes. I keep thinking of refugee camps, during Partition, or during the Holocaust, where even well-to-do families were forced to take shelter, and forced to forage for food by violent means A Dastangoi performance (Courtesy the author) A lot of these men used to be my audience and I didnt mind them then. In fact, like any power hungry artist, I wanted more and more powerful men in my audience. I am a performance artist, I come alive (often only) when I see crowds. I dont know when I will smell those crowds again. I see a lot of my fellow artistes and writers turning online with a vengeance. Many of them are tirelessly performing, lecturing, reading, talking to an imaginary audience, day after day after day, to the last ounce of recorded voice. I admire their energy, but I cannot do it. With three pets, a toddler and three other people in our small flat, I simply dont have the time, and if I could find the time I still dont have the inclination. As the famous couplet goes, Gaya Ho Jab Apna Jeewra Nikal Kahan Ki Rubai Kahan Ki Ghazal When our very entrails have been exhumed Whither the quatrain, whither the Ghazal The tragedy that forced me out of my creative stasis was the heart breaking plight of the migrant workers. Their miserable and lonely march even surpassed the trauma of the great Partition migrations in some ways. I wrote about them, although I know that many are doing much more. I admire them. For the rest of the time, I feed some of the stray dogs in my lane, I look at the birds and remember the Quranic verse, echoing the Bible, where God asks who if not me feeds these birds. But I realise that these birds are of being human, more than Godly ones. They were being fed through us, our leftovers, our refuse, as much as by nature. Although the skies are now clear and they have the run of our streets, they dont have the victuals. They look hungry and forlorn. In my last book, on the great Urdu writer Intizar Husain, I had quoted a column he wrote about reflections of curfew/lockdown in writers past: I asked him, O Dear One, how did you find the days and nights of the Curfew? He said my experience is like this that I stayed awake at nights and slept through the days. While asleep I woke up many times, opened my gate, peered out into the streets, found them deserted end to end, so I went back to sleep. As Sarmad, the Sufi saint beheaded by Aurangzeb, is reputed to have said, Deedeem Ki Fitna Baaqeest Ghunudeem I saw that perfidy was still at play so I returned to sleep But even before that Mirabai had said, Gali To Charon Band Hui Main Hari Se Milan Kaise Jaun Kos Kos Pe Pahra Baitha The Streets are all Blocked How do I go to meet Hari There is a guard at every kos And then there is Ghalib, Ghar Se Bazar Mein Nikalte Huwe Zahra Hota Hai Aab Insan Ka Koi Waan Se Na Aa Sake Yaan Tak Aadmi Waan Na Ja Sake Koi Going to the bazar from home Turns ones gall into water Nobody can come here from there Nobody from here can go there Mahmood Farooqui (Courtesy the author) Let me stay here with Ghalib for a bit. He wrote these lines in the aftermath of the 1857 uprising, when Delhis elites were left without their food and vegetables, without their toilet cleaners, and water carriers and their farriers, and carrion lay dead all around, as I described in my history of Delhi in 1857. But this was not all that Ghalib was faced with. The city of Delhi had also turned into an execution ground, as the marauding and vindictive British went with vengeance after the city that had held out against them for four long months. And in their vendetta they especially targeted the Muslims. Ghalib further wrote, Chauk Jis Ko Kahen Vo Maqtal Hai Ghar Bana Hai Namuna Zindan Ka Shahr-E-Dehli Ka Zarra Zarra Khaak Tishna-E-Khun Hai Har Musalman Ka What we called the city square is today a slaughterhouse Where the homestead has become the replica of a Prison Every speck and fleck of the dust of Delhi Has developed a thirst for the Musalmans blood And so there is no getting away from this now. We are all in lockdown but the media vilification of Muslims, the putative Corona spreading jihadis, has some of us captured in a double bind. We are the victims and the villains, the sufferers and the virus, and we are, as the recent FIRs and arrests in Delhi show, also the instigators and planners of a riot which left mostly us dead or damaged. As we prepare for the month of fasting, (which is like being fastened after being locked down, or being liberated by further binding) some of us may be forgiven for wishing that this goes on longer, so that we escape the repercussions that may follow this stigmatisation. Long ago Faiz had said, Hai Ahle E Dil Ke Liye Ab Ye Nazm E Bast O Kushad Ki Sang O Khist Muqayyad Hain Aur Sag Azad For your lovers this is the new law of liberty and internment That stones and tiles have been put in captivity while dogs roam free Mahmood Farooqui is a Delhi based writer, best known for reviving Dastangoi, the lost Art of Urdu storytelling. The Houston Chronicle has lifted the paywall on this developing coverage to provide critical information to our community. To support our journalists work, consider a digital subscription. The state of Texas sent investigators to the property, which still houses residents. Outbreaks have also been recorded at nursing homes in Texas City, Tomball and La Porte . This is a very fluid situation, but we are doing everything we can to address the pandemic in our community, Mayor Yolanda Ford said in a statement. We are remaining in touch with County and State officials, and receiving these updates, which allows us to effectively communicate with our community to ensure we flatten the curve. 8:14 p.m. Missouri City reported new cases at the Park Manor Nursing Home on Saturday evening, but did not specify how many. Elderly living facilities have been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus, and Park Manor disclosed 28 residents and staff members had contracted the disease in early April. 6:58 p.m. Coronavirus cases and deaths jumped in Texas on Saturday, Jeremy Wallace reported. The state reported 967 new cases, the biggest one-day jump since April 10. Texas health officials have also reported 62 deaths in the past two days after averaging 24 per day the past week. Now Playing: 'COVID-19 in 60': Houston coronavirus news in a minute Video: Houston Chronicle The statewide total increased 897 cases to 24,350, a 3.8% increase. Deaths increased by 33, for a total of of 645 statewide since the outbreak started. Some good news, however: More than 20,000 Texans were tested for the virus on Saturday, a new daily record. 4:49 p.m. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and United Memorial Medical Care on Monday will launch the sixth COVID-19 drive through testing site, her office announced Saturday afternoon. The new site will be at the Barnett Sport Complex at 6800 Fairway in southeast Houston. She will be joined by Mayor Sylvester Turner, Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia, State Sen. Carol Alvarado, Commissioner Adrian Garcia and Councilman Robert Gallegos. Jackson Lee, a senior member of the House Homeland Security Committee, has helped establish several testing sites in the Houston area. Turner said Saturday afternoon that widespread testing is necessary to slowly re-open the Texas economy. 3:44 p.m. Harris County announced 42 new coronavirus cases Saturday, along with two deaths. Houston disclosed 104 new cases and three additional deaths. The entire county now has 5,482 cases and 84 deaths. More than 1,500 patients have recovered. Mayor Sylvester Turner and District F Councilwoman Tiffany Thomas helped distribute masks at Crump Stadium in Alief. Harris County will begin requiring residents to wear masks in public on Monday. Turner encouraged anyone in need of masks to come pick some up. "These masks are for everyone," Turner said. "Doesn't matter if you're documented or undocumented, doesn't matter your language, your religion, your age. If you're living in the city of Houston, I want people to know we care about you." 3:10 p.m. St. Pius X High School plans to have its graduation ceremony at a The Showboat Drive-In Theater in Hockley ne84 dxt month, the Leader News reported. The drive-in theater will host nine graduations for local schools, owner Andrew Thomas told the newspaper. Gov. Greg Abbott on April 18 ordered all Texas schools closed through the remainder of the 2019-20 school year. 1:40 p.m. Eleven Chick-fil-A employees in Beaumont have tested positive for the new coronavirus, according to 12 News Now. The positive results came back after a total of 114 employees were tested Monday, according to the ABC affiliate. The other 103 were negative. 12:30 p.m. The World Health Organization has warned that people who have had the new coronavirus are not necessarily immune to getting the virus again. "There is no evidence that people who have had COVID-19 will not get a second infection," the WHO said in a scientific brief. At this point in the pandemic, there is not enough evidence about the effectiveness of antibody-mediated immunity to guarantee the accuracy of an 'immunity passport' or 'risk-free certificate.'" The health agency says it is reviewing evidence on antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19-infection. The brief says most of the studies show that people who have recovered from infection have antibodies to the virus. But as of yesterday, no study has evaluated whether the presence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 confers immunity to subsequent infection by this virus in humans. 10:15 a.m. For pharmacist and Dr. Adlia Ebeid, coming home from work has turned into "a strategic process to ensure I dont expose them to what I may have been exposed to." Katie Day, a realtor, has gotten used to clients wanting more vacant homes, rather than buying where someone else has been living. And the COVID-19 pandemic has changed life for Dr. Kristina Braly, a Memorial Hermann anesthesiologist. "I think the majority of that is how we perceive the sacrifice of medicine. It used to be that you sacrificed milestones family events, putting off big purchases, like owning your first home because you are accruing a lot of debt with student loans," Braly wrote. "But now its become: Are you willing to sacrifice your life for your job? And it really puts things in perspective because medicine is a calling. Its not just a job. Its not just a career. Its a calling. But how far are you willing to go?" The Chronicle asked Houstonians to tell their own stories about how life and routines have been upended by the pandemic. Read them here. 7:48 a.m. The Houston Food Bank is gearing up for a second mass food distribution at NRG Stadium on Saturday. The NRG yellow lot will be open from 4 to 7 p.m. Approximately 5,000 packages of food will be handed out to families in need. The Houston Food Bank is partnering with HISD to help Houston families. 7:45 a.m. Houston and Harris County residents will now be required to wear facial masks when they go outside starting Monday, April 27. The City of Houston is opening up sites that will distribute free masks starting today. 7 a.m. In defiance of Harris County order, Restaurant owner, Matt Brice opened Federal American Grill's doors to diners Friday night. Brice risked a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail. No law enforcement officers or agencies attempted to stop Brice for defying the stay-at home order, Zach Despart and Marcy De Luna report. Diners trickled in after 5 p.m. and those without reservations were turned away. One diner even carried an anti-Hidalgo sign that read Democrats Against Lina. "We are ready to get out and have some fun with our girlfriends, said Brenda Cheney. Ive read all the precautions (Brice) is taking, and I think its fabulous. CORONAVIRUS UPDATES: Arjun Reddy star Vijay Deverakonda has a huge fan following. His act in Arjun Reddy as a self-destructive lover got the entire nation talking. The south actor is set for his Bollywood debut Fighter alongside Ananya Panday post the lockdown. Recently Vijay Deverakonda was on a social media live chat where he thanked the Hyderabad police for working day and night, to battle the Coronavirus outbreak. Vijay later took to social media pledging to donate an amount of Rs 1.30 crores to those suffering due to the virus. The actor has said in the video, None of us were prepared for this. But we are fighters. We shall survive this and come out of it strong. This thing hit me hard as well, but I am here now. I am here with my incredible team that never says no to a fight and we are happy to announce a 1.30 cr fund to help as many as we can. All we need is some Love, Kindness and support and I am Sending you all, my love and strength. Wonder Woman may have hit the big screen in 2017 but actress Gal Gadot has been around much longer than that. She got her big Hollywood break playing Gisele in Fast & Furious and reprised the role in several sequels after that. Even so, she was largely unknown when she was tapped to play one of DCs most anticipated characters in 2013, a role she didnt even know she was auditioning for initially. Overcoming naysayers and critics, she worked hard to get where she is, without stepping on anyone elses toes, to become one of the worlds most beloved superheroes. Gal Gadot deliberately blew her chances at the Miss Universe crown Gal Gadot | David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images Gadot is from Israel and grew up in a town called Rosh HaAyin, which is just about a thirty-minute drive from Tel Aviv. At the age of 18 she won Miss Israel and competed in Miss Universe, but sabotaged her chances at the win when it all became too much. I rebelled. I came down late. I showed up late to everything. They make you wear evening gowns for breakfast. I didnt wear evening gowns to breakfast. I didnt wear my makeup And I successfully didnt win, Gadot told People magazine. After that she served her mandatory two years as part of the Israel Defense Forces. Gadots training began like everyone elses with three grueling months of boot camp followed by job placement. She was given the assignment of combat trainer. Gal Gadots military background makes her unique in Hollywood After her time in the military was served, she started law school but Hollywood had other plans for her. She was sought out for a possible role in the James Bond film, Quantum of Solace, and at first, she didnt want to go for it. She ended up auditioning anyway and though she didnt get the role, the process gave her the acting bug, and she went on to land her part in Fast & Furious. Her military training, especially her experience with weapons, was part of her appeal to director Justin Lin. Later, when cast as Wonder Woman, critics attacked her for being too tall and thin for the role (or as Gadot was so keenly aware of, for her small bust size) she proved them all wrong and turned out to be the perfect fit for the part, and she worked hard for it. I was training six months prior to the shoots, and six hours a day I did two hours of gym work, two hours of fight choreography, and one and half hours to two hours horseback riding, which is super hardIt was a lot more intense, by far, she once said in an interview, comparing her Wonder Woman training to her time in the military. Gal Gadot remains kind and humble through all of her ups and downs Gadot may seem like she just came into the world ready to be a star, but she struggled just like any other actor in Hollywood. At one point before being cast as Wonder Woman, she was ready to pack up and head home. You go to the audition and you have a callback, then another callback and then a camera setup, and people are telling you your life will change if you get this part. And then you dont get it. I reached a place where I didnt want to do that anymore, she told Vogue. She also said that though she is ambitious, she believes in karma and is not elbowy about her ambitions. She explained further: If its mine its mine, and if its not its not. Im not fighting for things. But when Im there, when Im facing the opportunity, Im completely on board. I definitely make sure to be prepared, to do the work, to come in 100 percent and go for it. Fourteen Border Security Force (BSF) jawans have been quarantined in Chhattisgarh for suspected coronavirus infection after they returned from Agra, officials said on Sunday. Their samples have been sent for testing and the reports are awaited, a senior official said. The troops, onboard a truck of the force, had reached Bhilai town in the central Indian state on Saturday after staying at a police line in Agra for 20 days. "As per information, the cook of the local police in the Agra camp has been found positive for COVID-19 infection," the official said. All the 14 personnel were tested upon their arrival and subsequently two of them sent to an isolation facility in Durg district, while the rest quarantined at a centre of the Bhilai Steel Plant, he said. Officials said the police cook could have passed on the infection to the BSF troops, who are deployed in the anti-Naxal operations grid of Chhattisgarh. They also raised concerns over the movement of the troops during the lockdown period and said all such activities have been strictly banned by the force headquarters. Such isolated instances may lead to serious consequences in the paramilitary, they said. BSF Director General (DG) S S Deswal had recently issued a stern warning to his commanders and personnel, saying strict action will be taken if any of them violates the COVID-19 medical protocols. The BSF is primarily tasked to guard Indian borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh apart from rendering a variety of duties in the internal security domain of the country. Government has announced plans to build 88 new district hospitals within a year. It has also announced plans to construct six new regional hospitals. President Nana Akufo-Addo made this known on Sunday night in his eighth address to the nation. He says the investments are self evidently necessary to serve the need of 21st century Ghana. According to him, the coronavirus has exposed inequalities in Ghana's health system. He says 88 districts across the country do not have district hospitals. He stated that 6 regions out of the 16 regions do not have regional hospitals. Every Ghanaian, he explained deserves good health and good healthcare. He said the hospitals will have 100 beds each. We must do something urgently about this, he spoke of the need to end the health inequalities. ---Daily Guide With vehicles off the road and most industries shut for over a month due to the coronavirus lockdown, some pollution hotspots in Mumbai and Delhi have turned into green zones recording minimal or no pollution. In Delhi, eight locations which used to be pollution hotspots before the lockdown have now become green zones, said Gufran Beig, director, Centre's System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR). The areas are Vinobapuri, Adarsh Nagar, Vasundhara, Sahibabad, Ashram road, Punjabi Bagh, Okhla and Badarpur, he told PTI, sharing a comparative map of Delhi's air quality before and during the lockdown period. In Mumbai, Worli, Borivali and Bhandup were among areas which recorded cleaner air as compared to other areas of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). These pollution hotspots in Delhi and Mumbai used to report high pollution mainly due to industrial activity or vehicular traffic. The air quality index in these areas now lie in 'good' or 'satisfactory' category. An AQI between 51-100 is considered 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor', and 401-500 'severe'. SAFAR also compared the concentration of the most dangerous air pollutants, PM2.5, PM10 and NO2, in the air during first phase of the lockdown from March 25 to April 14 with pre-lockdown period from March 1 to 21. The analysis was conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad. PM2.5 (atmospheric particulate matter that have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers), PM10 (atmospheric particulate matter that have a diameter of less than 10 micrometers) and NO2 (nitrogen di-oxide released in traffic emissions) are some of the most dangerous pollutants and prolonged exposure to these can lead to serious respiratory disorders. In Delhi, PM2.5 concentration was found to be reduced during the lockdown by 36 per cent, PM10 by 43 per cent and NO2 by 52 per cent as compared to the pre-lockdown period, the analysis showed. The comparison in Mumbai in the same period showed a reduction in PM2.5 by 39 per cent, PM10 by 43 per cent and NO2 by 63 per cent. In Pune, a reduction was observed in PM2.5 by 25 per cent, PM10 by 26 per cent and NO2 by 57 per cent, according to the data. In Ahmedabad, PM2.5 reduced by 39 per cent, PM10 by 32 per cent and NO2 by 27 per cent, according to the data. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has also reported 46 per cent reduction in PM2.5 levels and 50 per cent depletion in PM10 concentrations in the national capital. India is under the lockdown since March 25 to contain the spread of coronavirus, which has claimed over 824 lives and infected more than 26,496 people in the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 26 Trend: The State Tax Service under the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy has made a report on financial support for individual entrepreneurs (micro-entrepreneurs), Trend reports referring to the State Tax Service. As of April 24, 65,522 micro-entrepreneurs appealed for financial support, appeals of 60,169 of them were considered. In accordance with the data, 37.9 million manat ($22.3 million) were paid to 55,022 taxpayers. The amount of financial support rendered to individual entrepreneurs whose applications have been considered is 40.6 million manat ($23.9 million). A total of 80 million manat ($47.05 million) was allocated for the implementation of these measures. (1 USD = 1.7 AZN on April 26) The government says it has done enough to protect Australians' privacy when it comes to its coronavirus tracing app - and it looks like it might have got the balance right. Those who would typically be against such an app are saying just that. "This is the first time our government has deployed a digital service with user privacy at its core, that is protected by strong legislation for one specific use, and requiring consent at two points," says Dr Belinda Barnet, a senior lecturer at Swinburne University of Technology with research interests in data privacy. Health Minister Greg Hunt during a press conference on the COVIDSafe tracing app on Sunday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen But the app still faces significant hurdles on two fronts: In Australians' ability to trust the government and in ensuring it works effectively and does not provide false hope to millions. Dont be alarmed if you see and hear fighter jets flying over Toronto Monday morning. North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will be doing some training with Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornet fighter jets in the citys airspace. This training exercise, which was developed in co-ordination with NAV Canada and is being conducted under Operation NOBLE EAGLE, which places emphasis on the surveillance and control of airspace over Canada and the United States, will run from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. In a news release, NORAD said the fighters will be working with the Canadian Air Defence Sector at 22 Wing North Bay, Ont., and civilian air traffic control in the Toronto area to practice response procedures in high-density airspace. And while the aircraft will be operating at a high altitude, they public may be able to see and hear them. The fighters might also conduct approaches at local airfields. This NORAD training event is not related in any way to the Government of Canadas response to COVID-19, NORAD assured in a release issued Friday afternoon. North American Aerospace Defense Command, which for more than 60 years has defended North Americas airspace, routinely conducts exercises with a variety of scenarios like airspace restriction violations, hijackings and responses to unknown aircraft. All NORAD exercises are carefully planned and closely controlled. Since stepping down as senior members of the royal family, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex continue to face significant changes throughout their lives. Here are some famous predictions about what Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are going to do now that they're finally far away from the royal family. Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Prediction # 1 - Another Baby It's not a secret that the former actress loves kids, and pretty soon, their one-year-old son will have a playmate. Meghan Markle has reportedly hinted that she wanted a second child and that the couple is really "committed" to giving their son Archie a little brother or sister. Though it is not now as Archie is just a year old, they want to dedicate as much attention as possible to him during this precious period of his life. Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Prediction # 2 - More Charities Aside from Archewell, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are reportedly reflecting on how the world will change after the coronavirus and what it would mean for them. According to royal expert Omid Scobie, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will find new ways how they conduct their charity work in a post-coronavirus world. He added that though Meghan may choose to take on new important causes, she will continue to champion the old ones. Another royal expert Maggie Rulli said, "There are plenty of charities that need attention right now, and many of the young royals and the Royal Family are paying attention to the immediate needs of people during this crisis." Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Prediction # 3 - Write Books Though news of the couple's biography surfaced, time can only tell when we will be able to hear what we need to hear straight from the horse's mouth. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex may write an autobiography, detailing every little thing that happened to them while they were with the royal family, and maybe fans will be treated to some royal expose and revelations that not even the British tabloids might not have predicted. Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Prediction # 4 - Relaunch Instagram Meghan Markle and Prince Harry gave up their Sussex Royal Instagram page just before they officially stepped down as senior members of the royal family. But in the future, it has been predicted that there would be a second version of the most-followed Instagram page. Still, instead of just their charity works this time, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex may even post something related to lifestyle or even DIYs, life hacks, and many more. Something similar to what Meghan Markle has posted on her previous blog, The Tig. Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Prediction # 5 - Launch a Hollywood Career The Sun's sources have already said that Meghan Markle may return to acting in the fall. However, it doesn't mean she will be back on "Suits." "Meghan has set herself a target of around September or October." If not acting, she and Prince Harry may explore the route of a documentary where the couple may be able to follow up on some of the causes they are interested in. Prince Harry has also expressed his interest in working as a director for documentaries, so let's see if that happens. Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Prediction # 6 - Go Back to Royalty If things don't work out for them, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry could change their minds and decide to return to their royal duties. If they don't earn the money they want for themselves and would continue to ask help from Prince Charles, they may have no other option but to go back to the UK where their accommodations are taken care of. They wouldn't need to let out even a single penny, as they will be earning money for being royal servants of The Firm. Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Prediction # 7 - Divorce The couple is in an intense spotlight, and if they ever return to the UK, we're pretty sure the British papers will not go soft on them, especially the British people. It's hard to naturally improve a marriage when people are constantly berating you, starting lies about you, which seems to be something the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will have difficulty escaping, despite their want for more private life. READ MORE: Royal Revelations: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle to Release Bombshell Biography That May 'Savage' Monarchy Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 17:46:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A military vehicle of Yemen's Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces is seen in Aden, Yemen, on April 26, 2020. Yemen's Southern Transitional Council (STC) on Sunday declared establishing a self-ruled administration and a state of emergency in the port city of Aden and southern provinces. (Xinhua) ADEN, Yemen, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Southern Transitional Council (STC) on Sunday declared establishing a self-ruled administration and a state of emergency in the port city of Aden and southern provinces. In a statement, the Aden-based STC declared a state of emergency and said it would begin in self-governing the country's southern port city of Aden and other key southern provinces under its control. The STC's statement also included declaring a state of emergency in Aden and all other neighboring southern provinces as of Saturday midnight. The STC assigned its own economic, legal, military, and security committees to manage the country's southern provinces, accusing the Saudi-backed Yemeni government of rampant corruption and mismanagement. Meanwhile, Yemen's government based in Saudi Arabia's capital of Riyadh issued an immediate response to the STC's announcement saying it would have catastrophic consequences for the power-sharing deal signed in last November. The country's Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hadhrami said in a statement posted on Twitter that the STC's announcement is "a resumption of its armed insurgency... and an announcement of its rejection and complete withdrawal from the Riyadh agreement." The Yemeni minister said that "the so-called transitional council will bear alone the dangerous and catastrophic consequences for such an announcement." Last year, Saudi Arabia persuaded the STC and the Yemeni government to hold reconciliation talks, which succeeded in reaching a deal to form a new technocrat cabinet of no more than 24 ministers. But numerous obstacles prevented the implementation of the deal such as forming a new government and achieving permanent stability in southern Yemen. The deal also included the return of the exiled Yemeni government to Aden and the unification of all military units under the authority of the country's Interior and Defense Ministries. The Saudi-brokered deal excluded the Iranian-backed Houthis who are still controlling the capital Sanaa and other northern provinces of the war-torn Arab country. The impoverished Arab country has been locked in a civil war since late 2014 when the Houthi rebels overran much of the country and seized all northern areas including Sanaa. Cassandra Thorburn, 49, has hit back at her estranged half-sister Allegra Bottrell-Thorburn, after she claimed that the journalist has a 'secret obsession' with her ex-husband Karl Stefanovic. Posting to Instagram on Sunday, Cassandra said Allegra's claims are completely untrue and that she hasn't spoken to her half-sister in two years. Allegra claimed in The Sunday Telegraph that Cassandra became obsessed with Googling information about Karl and his new wife Jasmine Yarbrough after the couple's wedding in December 2018. Not true: Cassandra Thorburn, 49, (L) has denied her estranged half-sister Allegra Bottrell-Thorburn's (R) claims that the journalist has a 'secret obsession' with her ex-husband Karl Stefanovic 'She just wants to know what people are saying. That is how she feels she is in control,' Allegra claimed. Cassandra and Karl separated in 2016 after 21 years of marriage. Allegra told the publication that Cassandra's divorce 'changed her as a person', and fears her sister may never truly recover from the heartbreaking split. 'She just wants to know what people are saying': Allegra claimed to The Daily Telegraph that Cassandra became obsessed with Googling information about Karl and his new wife Jasmine Yarbrough (pictured) after the couple's wedding in December 2018 While the half-sisters once shared a close bond, Allegra claims she and Cassandra have become estranged in the time since their father Max's death in October 2018. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Cassandra Thorburn for comment. It comes after Cassandra spoke candidly about the 'grief' of her marriage breakdown during the first episode of her podcast, Divorce Story: Surviving Separation. Case of the ex: Allegra told publication that Cassandra's divorce 'changed her as a person', and fears her sister may never truly recover from the heartbreaking split. Pictured: Cassandra and Karl l in 2008 Speaking to psychologist Jackie Manning, Cassandra revealed: 'People often say, are you over them? Yes I am over them. 'I am over my ex-husband but it is about going through the grief of going through a divorce. Going through a divorce is really stressful, so that is something to grieve.' She added: 'Divorce is a trauma, it is something you have to go through a process of. You can't underestimate that someone going through grief has to go through a process and if they have had a trauma.' Karl and Cassandra share three children, Jackson, 20, River, 12, and Ava, 14. Karl is expecting his first child, a daughter, with wife Jasmine in May. The requested page is currently unavailable on this server. Back to [RTHK News Homepage] Haftar's Army Accuses GNA of Shelling Civilians Outside Tripoli as EU Renews Call for Ceasefire Sputnik News 11:03 GMT 25.04.2020(updated 11:11 GMT 25.04.2020) It's been over a year since the Tobruk government-backed forces of the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar began their offensive on the Government of National Accord (GNA) capital, with the civil war entering a new phase in January when Turkey sent troops to the country to shore up the GNA's defence of Tripoli. The Libyan National Army has accused the Government of National Accord of carrying out a massed rocket attack on the town of Tarhuna, about 65km southeast of Tripoli on Friday night, alleging that nearly to two dozen shells hit civilian-populated areas. "Tarhuna was subjected to a rocket attack...Over 20 rockets were fired, and these fell in residential areas," Ahmed Al-Mismari, a spokesman for the LNA, said Saturday morning. The spokesman said the extent of the damage from the strikes has yet to be determined, but warned that LNA forces are "prepared to respond" to the attack. Fighting for Tarhuna began late last week after the GNA regained control of Libya's border with Tunisia. On Wednesday, the LNA reported that all GNA attacks on the strategic town had been repelled to date. LNA control of the area and efforts to make a push for the coast risk splitting the GNA-controlled portions of Libya into two pockets, with Tripoli and other coastal cities to the west and Misrata and the area surrounding it to the east. EU Ministers Call for Ceasefire Also on Saturday, the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy and the European Union issued a joint statement demanding an immediate humanitarian truce in Libya, and calling on both sides to agree to fresh peace talks. "We call on the Libyan actors to get inspired by the spirit of the Holy Ramadan, engage in resuming talks for a genuine ceasefire," the statement signed by the foreign ministers urges, according to Reuters. Fighting in the country has escalated despite calls by the United Nations and others to establish a truce amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In January, an international conference on Libya took place in Berlin, with Russia, the US, the EU, Turkey, Egypt and others attempting to press the GNA and LNA to reach a lasting ceasefire, while agreeing to the need to keep third parties out of the conflict. Nine Years of War and Instability Known for its vast oil reserves, and once considered one of the wealthiest, most developed and stable countries in Africa, Libya quickly collapsed into a failed state after a 2011 uprising by NATO-backed militants and the toppling of longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. After that, the North African nation was divided among warring militants, with terrorist groups including al-Qaeda* and Daesh (ISIS)* establishing a major presence in the country. The country also became a haven for human smugglers, who have used the country's ports to smuggle people from across the continent into Europe. In recent years, as the Tobruk-based government-backed LNA and the GNA consolidated their positions as the two main political and military blocs fighting for control of Libya, world powers have supplied both sides with military equipment. The LNA began its Tripoli offensive in April 2019. In January 2020, the Turkish government took the next step, deploying a limited contingent of combat troops to the country shore up the GNA amid the LNA's Tripoli offensive. * Terrorist groups outlawed in Russia and many other countries. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Churches nationwide make plans for soft reopening with fewer attendees, sanitation stations Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment After holding online-only services for weeks due to mandatory social distancing rules, many churches around the nation are planning to reopen while taking all precautions needed to check the spread of the coronavirus, according to reports. In Missouri, Gov. Mike Parson on Friday announced his plan to reopen the state from the coronavirus shutdown which would include guidance for attending church services, according to KCTV5. Businesses and other organizations will be allowed to reopen beginning May 4 while an emergency declaration will be extended through June 15, Parson said at a news conference. Some communities will be able to open at a faster rate than others, he added. In Fishers, Indiana, a local pastor announced that the church building will reopen for services this weekend, and called the governors stay-at-home order an attack on religious freedom, according to WTHR. We are officially in a situation where your religious freedoms have been removed in the interest of public health, pastor Dave Sumrall of I-Town Church was quoted as saying in a message posted on the churchs Instagram page. So on one hand, the church has been deemed essential. But on the other, were not allowed to gather. I personally believe this is an attack on what the definition of a church is. The church said it will only allow 10 people at a time for Sunday worship, and will start a new service every hour. In New York, the Syracuse Diocese is also planning to reopen in a safe and effective manner, WKTV reported. Bishop Douglas Lucia sent out a letter notifying local churches about the plan. I feel we must err on the side of caution in order to eradicate this deadly virus from our communities and will continue to follow the directives of local authorities, he wrote. I am looking to see if an outdoor mass with participants staying in their cars is feasible as an interim measure if not permitted to gather in our church buildings. Each week Im trying to do my best via YouTube and our parish Facebook page to send a message of encouragement and hope, and to celebrate Sunday liturgy so that we can at least feel connected to one another, Father Joseph Salerno at Our Lady of Loudes Church in South Utica was quoted as saying. One of the thoughts that has come forward is to possibly having a mass specifically designated for those who are most vulnerable. That may be people 65 years and older, those who are most vulnerable, and at this point in my life I am among them. We could keep them as safe as possible. In Montana, Gov. Steve Bullock has announced phase one of reopening that includes churches. Summit Churchs Lead Pastor Lance Steeves says his congregation will cooperate. Setting chairs up at 6 feet apart where people have that safety in distance, sanitization to have hand sanitizer available. Stations set up where people are constantly cleaning. Shortening services, where it helps people to alleviate things like the restroom. We talked about perhaps closing down areas like the meeting places like around the coffee bar, he said, according to 7KBZK. I think the number one, for the soft launch, is to allow people to know that were still going to be online and especially people who are elderly, people who have low immune systems, to recommend that they stay home until we get the all clear, he added. However, in Oklahoma, despite Gov. Kevin Stitts willingness to allow churches to reopen, some congregations say they are not ready. We all want to preach and I get that but we also want to protect people too, pastor Keith Wiginton of Claremore First Baptist told KTUL. There are people that are like, 'Im coming back right now,' and then there are some that are like, 'Im not coming back for six months.' Nearly half of pastors across the country hope to be back in their buildings with their congregations by May. However, a recent weekly national pastor panel survey for April 7-13 conducted by Barna measuring their well-being, attendance and giving suggested that most pastors expect their return might take longer. Asked when they thought theyd be able to host church services in their usual location or building, 47 percent of pastors predicted this will happen in May. This group of pastors eyeing a May deadline, however, showed a 10 percent drop over the previous week when 57 percent of pastors in the survey picked it as their reopening month. Some 50 percent of pastors in the survey also felt they wont be able to return to their church buildings until June or later. Of this group, 35 percent chose June, 14 percent picked July or August while 1 percent imagine their return will be later. Last week, President Trump unveiled guidelines for Opening Up America Again, after weeks of a nearly nationwide lockdown. -Rumors intended to nurture distrust between China and Africa never end, but can not last long as facts always speak louder. -Despite remaining pressure to contain the epidemic at home, China has donated personal protective equipment, offered relief funds, and sent experienced medical experts, standing ready to assist African countries to the best of its ability. -"Pandemics or differences will come and go, but the Africa-China relations will remain because they are built on sound principles and understanding." By Xinhua writer Wang Hongjiang NAIROBI, April 25 (Xinhua) -- French television France 24 in an article recently posted on its website debunked some fake videos, reproaching the disinformation that seek to sow discord between China and Africa at a time when the world is grappling against the COVID-19 pandemic. France 24 said a violent video in which a group of people can be seen beating an African man went viral on Twitter and other social media. The video purporting to show discrimination towards foreign nationals, particularly Africans, in China, is fake, it said, adding that it was an old footage that was shot not in China and had nothing to do with COVID-19. Such rumors intended to nurture distrust between China and Africa never end, but can not last long as facts always speak louder. FACTS SPEAK LOUDER In the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, there are 30,768 foreigners including 4,553 Africans as of April 10. "We take the same prevention and control measures for all personnel entering Guangzhou regardless of their nationality, race and gender," said Liu Baochun, director of the municipal foreign affairs office, when answering questions about local health management services during the COVID-19 epidemic at a press conference on April 12. Staff unload the medical supplies from China at the airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, March 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Shoubao) Daniel Chisenga, Consul General at the Zambian Consulate in Guangzhou, said there were no cases of any Zambian harassed. Alima Danfakha Gakou, consul general of Mali in Guangzhou, told media on April 18 that the various measures have shown the importance Guangdong has attached to African residents, and a communication mechanism has been established between the African consulate generals and Guangdong and Guangzhou authorities. "The measures taken by the Guangdong government to prevent the virus are very helpful and we talk about it with great pleasure," said Ethiopian Consul General in Guangzhou Teferi Melesse Desta. "This is a time of jagged nerves," Charles Onunaiju, an expert in China-Africa studies recently told Xinhua in an interview, when talking about confusion and conflicting information over the conditions of Nigerians living in China. The relations between China and Nigeria should never be undermined by controversies surrounding the novel coronavirus, he said. Zhong Nanshan, a renowned Chinese respiratory specialist, exchanges ideas on COVID-19 control with foreigners in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, April 15, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Jiale) Another fact is that China has been firmly supporting Africa's fight against COVID-19 since the disease broke out on the continent. Despite remaining pressure to contain the epidemic at home, China has donated personal protective equipment, offered relief funds, and sent experienced medical experts, standing ready to assist African countries to the best of its ability. The latest batch of medical supplies donated by China arrived Thursday in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and is expected to be transferred to Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Lesotho, Madagascar, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Somalia as well as Tanzania's Zanzibar, with more said to come. Chinese experts and officials from health and customs departments also shared information and experience about COVID-19 in video conferences with specialists from the African Union (AU), the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and various African countries. As COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the African continent, a 12-member team of Chinese medical experts was dispatched on April 16 by the Chinese government upon at the request of the Ethiopian government. On the same day, some other Chinese medical experts arrived in Burkina Faso. China has also activated its medical teams stationed there to help fight COVID-19. A Chinese medical expert is welcomed by locals upon her arrival in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, April 16, 2020. (Xinhua) There are nearly 1,000 Chinese medical personnel working in Africa long-term, according to China's National Health Commission. COOPERATION ESSENTIAL Mafa Sejanamane, permanent representative of Lesotho to the AU and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), said that China's support is "essential" to Africa's fight against COVID-19. "We are pleased that the Chinese people and government are on the forefront of this particular struggle. With the cooperation of all our international partners, we will be able to triumph," said Sejanamane, who is also Lesotho's ambassador to Ethiopia. According to the Africa CDC, the death toll from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on the African continent passed 1,300 as the number of confirmed cases rose to 27,852 as of Friday afternoon. "The global community should forge strong partnership if the world has to overcome the crisis," Costantinos Bt. Costantinos, who served as an economic advisor to the AU and the UNECA, told Xinhua on Friday. Noting that both the Chinese government and Chinese enterprises have in recent weeks continued sending shipments of medical supplies to hard-hit countries across Africa, Costantinos said China has been "rallying for global coordination in managing the coronavirus outbreak" and "striving to take the lead against the coronavirus crisis." Members of Namibia's COVID-19 pandemic task team attend a video consultation conference with Chinese medical experts in Windhoek, Namibia, April 14, 2020.(Photo by Musa C Kaseke/Xinhua) "COVID-19 is a global threat, affecting each and every inhabitant of planet earth, with zero regard for ethnicity, social status, wealth or any other of the various strata which have been contrived, over centuries, to set us apart from each other," said Sibusiso Moyo, Zimbabwe's minister of foreign affairs and international trade. "Misguided assumptions with regard to the origin and the consequent attribution of blame take us nowhere, render a difficult situation even more challenging and impact negatively relations between and amongst brotherly nations and peoples," he said. "Let us not, therefore, allow ourselves to be side-tracked or deflected from the main task at hand by engaging in any form of stigmatization, accusation or blame," said Moyo. "Blame is not the answer. The answer is organizations, countries, institutions, and governments bringing their resources together to team up to provide these kinds of medical supplies and medical equipment for the protection of the people. So, this is a very good example," said CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Tewolde Gebremariam, when commenting on China's contribution to Africa. LASTING FRIENDSHIP Despite challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, African experts said the long-standing Africa-China relations that are based on mutual respect and understanding will remain intact or become even stronger. Members of a Chinese medical team pose for a photo upon their arrival at the airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, April 16, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Shoubao) "Pandemics or differences will come and go, but the Africa-China relations will remain because they are built on sound principles and understanding," said Owen Sichone, immediate past director at Zambia's Copperbelt University Dag Hammarskjold Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies. "Trade between Africa and China will continue, so will the scientific and cultural exchanges between the two because they are part of their relations," said Professor Sichone. "China and Africa have come a long way in their friendship. Both have a lot to show for their cordial relations," said Lawrence Banda, vice secretary general of Universal Peace Federation-Zambia Chapter, noting that China's support to Africa on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic is a demonstration of its commitment to the continent. "The joint Africa-China COVID-19 fight efforts will further help to cement relations, which are expected to go on smoothly forward," said Banda. As a longtime newspaper journalist, Nancy Erikson grew accustomed to brainstorming for story ideas. But in 2006, she came up with an idea of a different kind one that would prompt her to pursue a new career. She spent the next seven years juggling a full-time job as a journalist while taking college classes on nights and weekends to train for a profession far outside the realm of a writer. Erikson accomplished her goal in 2013 when she earned a degree to become a registered nurse. A Willoughby Hills resident, Erikson is a board-certified medical-surgical registered nurse who works at Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights. She serves as night-shift assistant nurse manager of an observation/inpatient floor at the hospital. In that leadership position, Erikson is scheduled for two 12-hour shifts and two eight-hour shifts per week, and starts at 7 p.m. each day. As assistant nurse manager, I sometimes have patients and sometimes do administrative kind of work, she said. Erikson said she was inspired, as a journalist, to become a nurse after writing many human-interest stories over the years that involved nurses. As a reporter, youre always on the outside, if youre a good one, not becoming part of the story, she said. And I started to think a little bit that I wanted to be more hands-on (as a nurse). The prospect of a career change crossed Eriksons mind in 2006, when she served as full-time features editor of the Catholic Universe Bulletin newspaper in Cleveland. Since Erikson had earned a bachelors degree in journalism in the 1980s, she decided to return to higher education by enrolling in just one class. So I started at Lakeland Community College in the fall of 2006, with a biology/chemistry class that everybody who hasnt been to school in a million years has to take, she said. After doing well in that initial course, Erikson began taking one class at a time on evenings and weekends at Lakeland while continuing to work her day job at the Catholic Universe Bulletin. Erikson graduated with an associates degree in nursing from Lakeland in 2013 and then passed the National Council Licensure Examination for registered nurses later that same year. She launched her nursing career with a four-month stint at a skilled nursing facility in Lake County. Then, Erikson got a call from Cleveland Clinic about an application she submitted after graduation. She began working at Hillcrest in July 2014. Erikson said that the observation/inpatient unit where shes assigned works closely with Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospitals Emergency Department. So we get a lot of people who come in for chest pain and they havent quite had a heart attack yet, but we want to see what they do overnight, Erikson said. Or someone might come in with abdominal pain and maybe later they do end up needing abdominal surgery and theyre moved to that surgical wing or elsewhere. She said many of the situations handled by her unit are not necessarily emergencies at the moment, but they might be increasing. Also, the observation/inpatient unit often gets patients who are transferred from another floor at Hillcrest. Maybe they just did have a recent surgery, and theyre well enough to leave the surgical floor but maybe not well enough to go home, she said. One similarity between the journalism job that Erikson left and her nursing position is having plenty of in-person contact with people throughout the workday. Erikson spoke highly of the co-workers in her unit at Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital. I just love our team, she said, describing them further with terms such as caring, incredible and wonderful. One of Eriksons latest professional accomplishments came in 2018, when she earned a bachelors degree in nursing by taking online courses at Ohio University. Erikson credits many of her loved ones for instilling her with confidence as she completed the rigorous education requirements to become a nurse. My mom is an RN, and my brother is a physician, and my husband (Karl Johnson) and my son (Nate Johnson), I really had a lot of encouragement, she said. Just a lot of support. My friends and everybody were like, You can do it, you can do it and that kind of thing. Looking back on her to transition from journalism to nursing, Erikson said shes pleased with the decision she made. If theres anything that reminds her why nursing is a rewarding profession, she only has to think about the patients that shes encountered over the years. I really love the patients and there are some patients that will stay with me forever, Erikson said. I just love taking care of them. I feel like they give me more than I give them. Its just amazing, the people that you see. By ANI RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan government has authorised the army to take over in case business community and religious clerics violate lockdown measures imposed to check coronavirus spread. For the Muslim community all over the world, the month of Ramazan is regarded as the holiest but in wake of coronavirus pandemic, it has turned out to be a problem for Prime Minister Imran Khan. Khan's government has enforced tight lockdown instructions but hardliner and fundamental religious cleric and business community are not ready to obey the orders, rather they have declared to continue their activities as routine. ALSO READ | COVID-19: Pakistan denies preparing vaccine, 160 doctors among 12,227 positive cases Khan, COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, DG-ISI Lt. Gen Faiz Hameed, some of the Cabinet ministers and advisors held a meeting at the ISI Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Thursday (April 23) and discussed the prevailing situation and various measures to counter any odd situation. According to informed sources familiar with the matter, it was agreed in principle during the meeting that police, rangers and even troops can be used to maintain law and order if the business community and religious clerics attempt to cross their limit and violate the lockdown instructions. Hundreds of violators were reportedly arrested in Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and other cities on Saturday, the first day of the holy month of Ramazan. "The situation will worsen soon if the government would not ease its restrictions since poor people are very frustrated of not getting food and other basic amenities," the sources said, adding "government system is not effective". ALSO READ | COVID-19: Over 400 stranded Pakistanis return from Afghanistan, quarantined The sources said that the participants received a comprehensive briefing on internal and external challenges faced by the country including the impact of COVID-19 outbreak. The business community in Karachi has threatened to ignore government orders, open their shops and do business as a routine, while religious clerics are leading prayers in mosques as normal. Contrary to their hard stance, the doctors and nurses are in favour of enforced stern lockdown instructions. They have launched a hunger strike in Lahore demanding adequate protective equipment for frontline staff treating coronavirus patients. The protest has also continued in Karachi. "Overall circumstances are not short of civilian disobedience if the government does not relax its strict measures to maintain lockdown effectively, it will face a difficult position," sources said. Health workers have complained for weeks that the country's hospitals are suffering from chronic shortages of safety gear, prompting the arrest of more than 50 doctors who called for more supplies in the city of Quetta earlier this month. The frontline staffs have been left vulnerable, with more than 150 medical workers testing positive for the virus nationwide, according to the Young Doctors' Association (YDA) in worst-hit Punjab. "Situation is seriously grim," YDA spokesman said. State Minister for Health, Zafar Mirza, on late Saturday said 79 per cent of the coronavirus cases in the country now were locally transmitted as the nationwide tally of COVID-19 patients reached 12,723 with 269 deaths. Apart from health issues, the sources further said, the tense situation at eastern and western borders of the country was also discussed during the meeting and military spokesman submitted his output in this regard. Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 13:50:59|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- China retains ample policy room to shore up the virus-hit economy amid sustained epidemic control measures, officials with multilateral development banks (MDBs) said. China has so far shied away from supporting consumers directly, although there have been some noteworthy local pilots in this regard, said Martin Raiser, World Bank country director for China, in an interview with Xinhua, believing that there may be room to expand such support. In particular, China's social protection system could be expanded and modernized to provide better support for the poor and vulnerable, which would also boost consumption, Raiser said. China has room for increasing targeted investment in non-traditional infrastructure, he said. The country's policy makers reacted early to mitigate the economic fallout of COVID-19, Raiser said, noting that the country has provided additional liquidity to the market and granted targeted support to small and medium-sized enterprises as well as companies operating in critical supply chains. China's economy shrank by 6.8 percent year on year in the first quarter (Q1) of this year as the novel coronavirus epidemic deals a huge blow to economic activity. The deep contraction in Q1 was expected, Raiser said, adding that economic growth in the country for the rest of the year will largely depend on external demand as well as the effectiveness of domestic policy response. Dominik Peschel, head of the economics unit for the Asian Development Bank resident mission in China, noted that China has registered recovery in industrial production in March, which was surprising. Official data showed that the industrial output in China edged down 1.1 percent year on year in March, narrowing by 12.4 percentage points from the drop in the first two months. "This suggests that the resumption of work in industry has progressed well overall," Peschel said. The country has acted decisively to limit the adverse impact of the COVID-19 shock on the domestic economy, Peschel said, adding that further temporary measures to stabilize jobs, income and consumption would support the recovery of the economy and strengthen its resilience. Peschel also stressed the importance of reforms for the country to support long-term growth as debt level in the country would inevitably increase as a result of short-term stimulus. "In this context, the task for policy makers is to design policies that work effectively in such a new environment," Peschel said. Enditem Madrid, April 26 : Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has outlined his proposal for a European Union (EU) "reconstruction fund" to help the recovery from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Sanchez set out his plan in an article published on Saturday in the Spanish financial affairs newspaper Expansion, saying that the fund "should reach all of the nations in need in the form of transfers", reports Xinhua news agency. The Spanish leader highlighted that the EU needs more unity in the face of the crisis, and said his government would "work and act in union without leaving anyone behind". "We are all Europe, and now is the moment to show that," he wrote, considering it to be "unforgivable if Europe repeated the errors of the past". He said he was happy the European Central Bank had taken "decisive action" to avoid "the fragmentation of the Eurozone and... permanent scars in the production sector". Despite these and other measures, Sanchez believes European leaders need to "take another step in line with the true magnitude of the challenge we are facing". He said a possible 10 per cent reduction in GDP for 2020 meant that "once the health emergency is over, we have to lay the foundations for a rapid, sustainable, fair and balanced recovery". Spain proposes "the joint emission of a perpetual bond", which was "guaranteed by the European budget and using the EU's resources to pay interest". The Spanish leader insisted that the "resources of this fund have to reach the nations most in need through transfers and not loans". "This is vital to avoid an uneven departure from the crisis with some nations deeply in debt and penalized by the financial markets... The essence of European unity cannot mean greater debts," said Sanchez. He expressed satisfaction that "Europe is taking steps in the direction that Spain wants: moving its resources in the necessary magnitude to allow faster, more united recovery". "You beat the coronavirus with sacrifice and unity, and the same is true for economic and social issues," concluded the Prime Minister. Spain currently accounts for the second highest number of coronavirus cases in the world at 223,759, with 22,902 deaths. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Eastern Heating & Cooling is a mainstay in the Albany business community. Founded in 1945, the company has a wide range of capabilities including building automation, air conditioning, refrigeration, boiler and centrifugal services. A five-time Top Workplace, the company has evolved over the years to stay current with the latest in heating and cooling technology as well as maintenance. Today the company has dozens of employees in the Capital Region. Photo credit: Hermann et al. / Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory From Popular Mechanics Bronze Age archaeologists have put their thinking caps and swords on for recreation swordfights. Theories about Bronze Age weapons have relied on a lot of speculation and interpretation. Bronze Age fighters had highly developed combat styles and ways to use their less durable weapons. After decades of debate and assumptions, archaeologists have picked up their Bronze Age swords to find out whether these soft metal weapons could really hack it in combat. For a long time, archaeologists have assumed the countless bronze swords theyve found were almost definitely for ceremonial use only. After all, bronze is super soft compared to almost any metal that came after in humankinds development. But thats the thing: If all you have right now is bronze, youre going to find a way to stab someone using bronze. YouTube has taught us all that you can make a knife from anything. Photo credit: Google To make accurate Bronze Age swords of different shapes and types, the researchers asked a traditional bronzesmith to make both a variety of swords and a variety of tools. Next, a traditional woodworker used those tools to craft sword handles, wooden shields, and other period-correct protective gear. The researchers then took cross sections of the weapons to make sure their interior composition matched what a Bronze Age process would produce. The team basically made microscope slides the same way other disciplines do, by mounting the object in a medium (epoxy resin, this time) and grinding the whole thing down to micro-thinness for examination. Click here to see the full study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory. With the spirit of sportsmanship in mind, the research team recruited members of a local club dedicated to medieval European combat, Smithsonian reports, and had them act out choreographed swordplay using period-correct weapons made by a specialty blacksmith. By using these weapons in traditional ways, like a German method where opponents lock swords and almost wrestle rather than fight, the archaeologists ended up with patterns of nicks and wear that match up to the real antique weapons. Story continues Think of it like a gruesome forensic recreation scene from Bones or the Mythbusters firing bullets into ballistics gelbut with a crime from thousands of years ago. By doing this, the researchers say theyve taken a step into concrete experimentation that can help confirm or counter researched claims based on the historical record. Indeed, the researchers conclude: The research has generated new understandings of prehistoric combat, including diagnostic and undiagnostic combat marks and how to interpret them; how to hold and use a Bronze Age sword; the degree of skill and training required for proficient combat; the realities of Bronze Age swordplay including the frequency of blade-on-blade contact; the body parts and areas targeted by prehistoric sword fencers; and the evolution of fighting styles in Britain and Italy from the late 2nd to the early 1st millennia BC. Making some real swords and taking them out into the field has the potential to advance almost every facet of our understanding of Bronze Age combat. So, too, does simply understanding that fighters at the time didn't just figure out how to fight with delicate bronze weapons. They also developed specialties, regional forms of fighting, and traditional moves handed down for hundreds of years. Its not as though people riding horses just waited and hoped until the automobile was invented millennia laterand Bronze Age fighters brought their own art of combat to its zenith. You Might Also Like MILAN (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler (FCA) aims to restart van production at its Atessa joint venture plant in central Italy at 70% of the normal rate, a union representative told Reuters on Thursday. FCA and unions said on Tuesday that the carmaker planned to reopen the plant, which is a venture with France's PSA Group , on April 27, a week before a national lockdown imposed by Rome was due to end. It will make use of a provision in lockdown laws that allows companies whose activity can be linked to sectors deemed "essential" to reopen. Luca Manzi, from the UILM union, said FCA had informed unions that it planned to restart the plant at around 70% of its capacity, though he could not say precisely how many people would be back to work on Monday. With a daily production of around 1,200 light commercial vehicles, Atessa, which is located in Italy's Abruzzo region, is the largest van assembly facility in Europe. It has been closed since mid-March due to the coronavirus outbreak in the country. The plant, which employs around 6,500 people, is operated by Sevel, a 50-50 joint venture between Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot owner PSA. It produces vans for both groups. "Of course safety is a priority, we'll make sure that the agreed health measures are in place," Manzi told Reuters by phone. "Sevel's main external suppliers have also reassured us that they were compliant with safety rules and ready to restart operations". Manzi added production would restart with 17 worker shifts each week, as it was operating before the freeze. FCA declined to comment. Earlier this month FCA reached a deal with unions on measures to adopt at its Italian plants once the government eases restrictions on business activity put in place to contain the coronavirus outbreak. (Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Susan Fenton) Samples of rare earth minerals from left: Cerium oxide, Bastnaesite, Neodymium oxide and Lanthanum carbonate at Molycorp's Mountain Pass Rare Earth facility in Mountain Pass, California. U.S. on June 29, 2015. David Becker/Reuters) Two Chinese Firms Blocked From Australias Rare Earth Sector Two Chinese firms have been blocked from investing in Australias valuable rare earth mineral sector in the past week. It comes in the midst of tightening foreign investment rules during the virus outbreak and aligns with the federal governments ongoing partnership with the United States to ensure rare earth supply chains are secure and not dominated by China. On April 20, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg blocked a bid by Baogang Group Investment to invest $20 million (US$12.8 million) in Northern Minerals who operates a major rare earths project in Western Australia (WA). The Chinese group is a subsidiary of the state-owned enterprise Baogang (or Baotou) Group, which runs the Bayan Obo Mining District in Inner Mongoliathe largest rare earths deposit in the world. Northern Minerals operates the Browns Range Project, which covers a vast 3,595 square kilometre area (1,388 square miles) in the East Kimberley region straddling the border of WA and the Northern Territory. The site is rich in rare earths, particularly dysprosiuman element mainly used in magnets for electric vehicles and wind turbines. The companys website touted Browns Range as the only non-Chinese producer of dysprosium. On April 24, Yibin Tianyi Lithium Industry withdrew a proposed investment following advice it would be rejected by the federal government. One of Yibins backers is Chinas largest lithium-ion battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology. Yibin was aiming to invest $14.1 million (US$9 million) in AVZ Minerals, which operates the Manono Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The project is a major producer of lithium. According to a statement from AVZ Minerals, the federal government advised Yibin that the investment would be contrary to the national interest and contrary to the growth of Australias critical minerals sector. Yibin and AVZ are currently looking for alternative ways to work together. Rare earths are 17 metallic elements essential for the manufacture of 200 high tech products, including smartphones and fibre optic cables. David Wilcox, a board member of Central American Nickel, told NTD that many tech industries are beholden to the Chinese communist regime due to its control over these vital metals. Erbium. This is key to the development of fibre optic cables which is key to developing 5G networks, he said. So, if we start right there in the beginning, Huawei might have lost the battle, but Chinas winning the war because China has 100 percent control around the erbium market. Late last year, the Australian and U.S. governments formalised an agreement to begin exchanging information on the resource potential in each country, and to develop pathways for supply arrangements. On April 22, Australian rare earth mining firm Lynas Corporation won a tender from the U.S. Department of Defense to design a rare earth separation facility. This would allow processing of ore to be done in the United States rather than be sent abroad. In 2018, the Chinese communist regime produced 70 percent of the worlds rare earth minerals. The regimes dominance of the sector has come under scrutiny in recent years as it has used its market power to enforce its geopolitical interests. Read More Australia Says No Such Thing as Private Chinese Company, Will Guard National Interest In 2010, the regime cut off rare earth exports to Japan following a dispute over the Senkaku Islands. During the U.S.China trade war, Chinas state media outlet Peoples Daily ran an editorial on May 2019: Will rare earths become a counter-weapon for China to hit back against the pressure the United States has put on for no reason at all? The answer is no mystery. To counter any future risk, the Australian government has been actively developing its rare earths sector. Australia is seizing the opportunities to be a powerhouse for critical mineral and rare earth production, according to Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan. A woman in her 80s is fighting for her life after she was hit by a van in front of shocked onlookers on a major south London road. Police, paramedics and London's Air Ambulance rushed to Streatham High Road, Lambeth, at 11.15am on Sunday. An Iceland van reportedly hit the elderly woman, who suffered a head injury and has been taken to a major London trauma centre where she is in a critical condition. The driver was arrested on suspicion of drug driving and taken into custody, the Metropolitan Police said. People were left shocked after the horror crash on Streatham High Road / James Delamare The crash happened at the junction with Becmead Avenue and Streatham High Road has been shut southbound between Woodbourne Avenue and Becmead Avenue. Passer-by James Delamare told the Standard: "A large part of the street was all cautioned off. There was about 3-4 police vans. "The Iceland van was parked up with the shopping trolley still stuck to the front of the van. "An air ambulance parked nearby on a local field but we didn't see the victim." A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: We were called at 11.16am today (26 April) to reports of a road traffic incident on Streatham High Road. We sent an ambulance crew, a medic in a fast response car, an advanced paramedic practitioner and an incident response officer, and also dispatched Londons Air Ambulance. Our first medic was at the scene in six and a half minutes. Schools will remain closed until September after government modelling revealed only a tiny percentage of parents would be prepared to send their children back before the summer. Northern Ireland Executive insiders told Sunday Life that fears over coronavirus means less than 10% of kids would return to full-time education if schools were to reopen in the coming weeks. In recent days there have been indications that schools elsewhere in the UK may reopen in late May or early June. Cabinet minister Michael Gove has said that English schools won't reopen on May 11 as some media outlets reported, though there are plans in the works. "Detailed estimates show that people are too afraid to send their children back, so reopening schools before the summer would be pointless," said a Stormont source involved in the post-lockdown discussions. The pandemic claimed another 21 lives in Northern Ireland this weekend, bringing the total number of deaths here to 299. Around a third of these are in care homes and hospices across the province. The UK is the fifth country to pass 20,000 deaths in hospital from Covid-19, behind the US, Italy, Spain and France. It was announced yesterday that a total of 20,319 patients have died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus - up by 813 from the previous day. In the Republic of Ireland a further 52 people have died with Covid-19, bringing the death toll there to 1,063. The latest death and infections tolls come amid intense discussions by ministers and government advisers over a post-lockdown plan. Although a way forward is being mapped out there is no set timetable to lift current restrictions. The two most important factors in any decision will be the capability to carry out mass testing while keeping all hospital admissions at a manageable level. This newspaper has been told by senior politicians that if these two key targets are not met, then restrictions will remain in place. A total of 21,153 Covid-19 tests have been carried out in Northern Ireland - a figure that is woefully short of the level needed before the easing of any lockdown, while 55% of our 3,746 hospital beds are currently occupied. As we enter the sixth week of restrictions tomorrow there are clear signs of a restless public venturing out more than in previous weeks. Increased traffic on roads and street footfall are clear indicators of this, as are queues outside hardware stores which have opened to the public, including B&Q in Belfast (Holywood Exchange), Lisburn (Sprucefield) and Newtownabbey. Homebase stores are also beginning to open their doors again from this weekend across the UK. Expand Close General view of care-taking staff from Mid & East Antrim Council at the Ballee Cemetery in Ballymena this morning as the Northern Ireland Executive agreed to reopen cemeteries during the coronavirus pandemic. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press E / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp General view of care-taking staff from Mid & East Antrim Council at the Ballee Cemetery in Ballymena this morning as the Northern Ireland Executive agreed to reopen cemeteries during the coronavirus pandemic. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Cemeteries, which were closed last month, have also reopened with certain restrictions after outrage from families unable to visit the graves of loved ones forced a political U-turn. Yesterday people were photographed returning to cemeteries in Ballymena, Carnmoney and Londonderry, among other areas. Laws around the issue of travelling for exercise have also been clarified - a move welcomed by PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd, whose officers faced criticism of heavyhandness after 358 fines were issued since March 30. Updated guidance says that a drive to a safe space or facility would be permitted. However, "taking a long drive to a beach or resort where numbers of people may gather is unlikely to be regarded as reasonable". Mr Todd said: "We said that greater clarity in the regulations would have undoubtedly made our job easier to police this current health crisis. Therefore we welcome the announcement and the clarity that the change to the regulations will bring to the public and police officers alike." Chief Constable Simon Byrne, who spent Saturday on patrol in Magherafelt, praised those observing social distancing in order to stop Covid-19 spreading. Getting this message across, according to Executive insiders, remains the top priority of ministers. "The important thing is to manage to contain the virus and to keep the curve down," said our Executive source. "The one thing we don't want to do is make a dash from the exit now, go too early and encounter a second more damaging wave. That would be a big, and in many cases fatal mistake." Referring to the Executive's phased lockdown recovery plan, the insider added: "Central to this is the three Ts - testing, tracing and treating. We are trying to get that up and running. Environmental health officers from local government have been seconded to carry out testing and tracing. "What is important to understand is that we cannot test our way out of coronavirus. The way out is to test and then trace. By doing that you can identify clusters." A major media campaign to get the public on board with this will be rolled out in the coming weeks. "It is hugely important to get the population to think along these lines and buy into this process," our source said. "The public needs to think what post-lockdown looks like. Families need to consider how they handle childcare and employment. All these things need to be considered, along with schooling, exams, and clinical procedures at hospitals." On the thorny issue of schools reopening, Executive sources have admitted this will not be until September after modelling showed an extremely low uptake of pupils if they were to reopen soon. Our insider said: "It is highly, highly unlikely that schools will reopen before September. If they were to reopen soon there would hardly be a child in attendance. Estimates we have is that there would be less than 10% take-up because people are afraid of children bringing Covid-19 back into their homes." Meanwhile, Derry priest Fr John McNamara who died from Covid-19 was buried yesterday after a private funeral at St Columba's Church in the city. Friends of the popular cleric, who was born in Scotland and based in the Termonbacca Retreat Centre in the city, were able to watch the service online. The 82-year-old was hugely popular in the north-west, with colleague Fr John Grennan saying he was "heartbroken" by his death. "Father John was a wonderful person who always had the welfare of others as his number one priority," said Fr Grennan. Fr McNamara is understood to have contracted Covid-19 while recovering from surgery. cbarnes@sundaylife.co.uk Biden Should Drop Out or Take a Lie Detector Test Commentary As I wrote this on April 25, #DropOutBiden and #TaraReade were the No. 1 and No. 2 trending Twitter hashtags, respectively, with over 53,000 tweets for No. 1, moving up rapidly with entries from the right and left. Bernie supporters are particularly outraged. (By the time you read this, no telling how high they will be, because Kim Jong Uns life or death may be sneaking up the list.) Twitter, for all its pluses and minuses, can be seen as a leading factor in politics the way the stock market is for the economyso the Democrats and their media minions (who have been notably silent on the Reade matter, almost to the point of mafia-style omerta) should be afraid, very afraid. The reason for this sudden uproar? The surfacing of Tara Reades mothers alarmed call-in to Larry Kings cable TV show that was contemporaneous with her daughters claim of a sexual assault by then-Sen. Joe Bidenan accusation, it should be noted, that is by multiples greater than anything that arose during the highly contentious Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination hearings. Reade has accused Biden of an act that is demonstrably criminal and took place somewhere in the corridors of Congress while Tara was working for the then-senator; Bidens campaign has said the allegation is false. (The far milder act Kavanaugh was accused of allegedly occurred at a party while he and the accuser were teenagers.) Fortunately for the now presidential candidate, his malfeasance (if we can call it thatatrocity might be better) allegedly occurred in 1993 and is beyond the statute of limitations for the District of Columbia, which ends at 20 years. Otherwise, Biden might have been sent up for the rest of his life. The Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee went to the mattress to stop Kavanaughdoing everything but drugging the judge and putting him on a plane to Thailand to be photographed in a Bangkok brothel. This was for an incident that allegedly took place around 1983, some 10 years earlier than Reades, with no evidence whatsoever that it ever happened, no corroboration of date, time, or venue from anybody. There was never even any proof that accuser Christine Blasey Ford actually knew Kavanaugh. (Its also worth noting that several of those same over-zealous, to put it mildly, senators now wish to be vice president. For shame.) Reade, as mentioned, actually worked for Bidenno one denies thatuntil a few days after the alleged incident, which is when Reades mother called King. This is evidence, clearly, but not entirely dispositive, although her brother and a friend who wishes to remain anonymous have also corroborated that Reade told them of the assault at the time. Thats three more than Blasey Ford ever had, with more likely to come. (Evidentiary material is rumored to exist in a closed Biden archive at the University of Delaware.) The incident, despite the media coverup, can no longer be ignored. Now even the #MeToo crowd is going to have log in, if they have any intention of salvaging their movement, which will otherwise be buried under a mountain of hypocrisy. Imagine if Trump were accused of something similar. It would have blown coronavirus off the front pages. Speaking of the media coverup, the phone call was discovered in the NewsBusters archives, although Larry King Live was a CNN show. How could CNN have missed it? (Sorry. No $1,500 for the secret word. The questions too easy.) So where does this leave us? Bidens campaign is going to have to deal with this. They have already, in essence, tried the ignore, ignore, ignore method, only to be sideswiped by Mama Reade and Mr. King. This is a prospective nightmare for the Democrats. Trump may have been a playboy, a particularly active one, but Bidens action, if believed, moves him into the area of perversion and outright misogyny. He must disprove it, but how? Hes unlikely to win if he doesnt, and even if he does, carrying such an accusation into the presidency potentially undermines everything he does and our country with it. A lie detector test, unreliable as that may be, is a possible solution. Both Joe and Tara should take one. Of course, this presents a serious danger for Biden: As a reminder for those who have forgotten the seminal Roman legal doctrine of Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus (if you lie in one thing, youll lie in everything), Joe doesnt have a particular reputation for honesty. He was caught plagiarizing three timesthe first time in law school, of all places, and then twice from British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock. America, we are in uncharted waters. First the CCP virus, now this. Roger L. Simon is The Epoch Times senior political columnist. He is also a prize-winning novelist and an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter. His latest book is The GOAT. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. David Platts Secret Church simulcast comes under cyberattack Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Many participants were unable to log in to watch megachurch pastor and bestselling author David Platts Secret Church, an online event to express solidarity with and pray for persecuted underground Asian house-churches, due to a suspected cyberattack. We know many of you were not able to join the SC20 simulcast last night, read a post on the events Facebook page Saturday. It appears our site was under attack, keeping many of you from logging in. And we understand your frustration. The post added, Good news: The full simulcast replay is available NOW. Log in or register for access to the replay through June 30. Later, Platt, the lead pastor of McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia, and author of Radical, wrote on his Facebook page, We are working diligently to fix the current errors on the Secret Church website. Please continue to refresh your page and clear the cache on your computer. Once you are able to log in, you will be able to rewind Secret Church. The idea behind Secret Church came from Platts teaching and ministering among underground Asian house-churches. Due to hostility from the government, from the surrounding community, and even from their own family, many of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world are forced to gather in secret, sometimes at the risk of their lives, the events website says. The plight of our persecuted brothers and sisters also explains why prayer for the persecuted church is a major part of every Secret Church gathering, it adds. We remember those who cannot meet openly, asking God to sustain their faith, to change the hearts and the actions of their persecutors, and to use their witness for the spread of the Gospel. In January, Platt, former leader of the Southern Baptist Conventions International Mission Board, said there was a time in his life when he needed to repent for not preaching enough on abortion as a younger pastor. There was a point as a pastor when I just kind of stayed away from abortion [because Id think,] thats a political issue, Platt told The Christian Post. But I got really convicted. Far before it is any kind of political issue, it is a biblical issue that God speaks really clear about the value of life. In his prayer, he said, We have all turned aside from your ways to our ways in our lives and as a country. How we have settled for racial injustice, ignored the immigrant, marginalized the poor and neglected the needy. How we have confused sexuality, abused authority, objectified beauty and how we have taken the lives of children. He further prayed for an end to laws that make it legal to murder a child. Whereas before he was too timid to speak on abortion, today he believes that as a pastor who preaches Gods Word, he must speak clearly about the value of life for babies, for women, for men. Platts latest book, Something Needs to Change: A Call to Make Your Life Count in a World of Urgent Need, highlights the plight of those suffering around the world and calls on Christians to do their part to bring physical, emotional and spiritual healing to such individuals. At the National Day of Prayer last May, Platt said church and ministry leaders are too frequently tempted to accomplish their ministry goals through human abilities and ingenuity without the presence of God. Last September, Platt issued an urgent call to those in the Church to transform their compassion for a lost world into action and truly live out what they claim to believe. Its impossible to be a Christian without change, he said. We are continually being changed more and more into the image of Jesus. ... Its what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, and its what it means to make disciples of Jesus, which is what weve all been called to do. Platt added, This is everybodys greatest need in the world; the need to change, the need to be changed ... by the love of Jesus. Girls need to be rescued from trafficking. People need to be saved from preventable diseases. Men and women need to hear the Gospel before they die. In order for change like that to happen in the world, theres some change that needs to happen in us. PRAGUE (Reuters) - Prague Airport and a regional Czech hospital said on Saturday they had thwarted cyber attacks on their IT networks, reinforcing warnings by the national cyber security watchdog of likely attempts to harm the country's infrastructure. "Attempted attacks on web pages of the airport were detected in preparatory phases," the airport's spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. "That prevented their spreading and all further phases that could have followed and potentially harm the company." A regional hospital in the western Czech city of Karlovy Vary was attacked twice overnight on Saturday and foiled the attempts, which however were not exceptional, a spokesman said. Several other hospitals in the Czech Republic reported attempted attacks on their computer systems on Friday, and said the attacks were successfully blocked. The Czech cyber-security watchdog NUKIB said on Thursday that it expected attacks in the coming days. The malware used in the attacks is designed to damage or destroy victims' computers, according to researchers. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday the United States was concerned by the threat of a cyber attack against the Czech Republic's healthcare sector, adding that anybody engaged in such activity should "expect consequences." [L1N2C600Y] A Czech official speaking on condition of anonymity said it was not proven who was responsible for the activity the cyber-security watchdog had identified but it was thought to be the work of a "serious and advanced adversary." Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek said on Saturday the attacks were "extremely ruthless" during the coronavirus pandemic. "I do hope that our experts will find out who is interested in Czech Republic losing to this disease," he said on Twitter. (Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Christina Fincher) Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte wears a face mask as he attends a session of the lower house of parliament on the CCP virus in Rome, Italy on April 21, 2020. (Remo Casilli/Reuters) Italy to Reopen Some Businesses as Early as This Week MILANItaly, the first European country to be ravaged by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, will allow some businesses to reopen as soon as this week while aiming to reopen manufacturing and construction starting May 4, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said. Conte gave the most detailed outline yet of plans to reopen the economy, in a newspaper interview published April 26 ahead of the governments roadmap out of lockdown, which he said would be released no later than early this week. Italy, which was hit hard by the CCP virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus, for weeks before other major Western countries, has been forced to serve as a model for how to fight it. It is being closely watched around the world as it takes its early steps to chart a path out of a strict lockdown it imposed in early March. Residents wait to be given access to shop in a supermarket in small groups of forty people in the small Italian town of Casalpusterlengo, on Feb. 23, 2020. (Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images) Conte described a phased process that would see much of manufacturing restarted in early May, although businesses frequented by the general public such as bars and restaurants would have to wait a bit longer. Schools would remain shut until September. We are working in these hours to allow the reopening of a good part of businesses from manufacturing to construction for May 4, Conte told Italian daily La Repubblica. Some businesses deemed strategic, including activity that was mainly export-oriented, could reopen this week providing they get the go-ahead from local prefects. Exporting companies need to resume activity sooner to reduce the risk of being cut out of the production chain and losing business, he said. We cant prolong any further this lockdown we would risk seriously undermining the socio-economic fabric of the country, Conte said. Conte reiterated that any restart would have to be gradual, and said companies would have to introduce strict health safety measures before opening their doors. A resident wearing a face mask exits a shop after buying a newspaper in Treviolo, Italy, on April 9, 2020. (Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images) Newspapers have said industries where the contagion risk is low, such as manufacturing and wholesale businesses, would be allowed to open on May 4. Retailers could then reopen on May 11, and bars and restaurants on May 18, under tough conditions. The lockdown has put a strain on the euro zones third-largest economy, and Italian business leaders have called for the restrictions to be eased to head off economic catastrophe. Rome has introduced a series of measures including state-backed loans to help businesses stay afloat. But some businessmen have complained about delays in implementing them. Conte said the government was monitoring banks to make sure state-guaranteed liquidity arrived to companies in need. He also said the government was working on a series of measures to help industry by cutting bureaucratic red tape. Asked about schools, Conte said the plan is to reopen them in September. But he added studies showed the risk of contagion was very high. Teaching remotely is working well, he said. By Stephen Jewkes Epoch Times staff contributed to this report Chron.com is following the latest headlines on the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the Houston area. 5:35 p.m. Two new positive COVID-19 cases have been reported in Galveston County on Sunday, bringing the county total to 541. Approximately 196 of the county's 541 cases are linked to long-term care facilities, including residents and employees. Twenty of the 22 deaths reported are related to long-term care facilities in Galveston County, officials said. 5: 00 p.m. The Galveston County Sheriff, Henry Trochesset asked people to "self-monitor" when they flock to the beach, to ensure social distancing practices. Large crowds were spotted on Crystal Beach in Bolivar Peninsula on late Sunday afternoon. "People need to self-monitor. We don't have enough 6 foot tape measures to make sure everyone is self monitoring," Trochesset told KFDM News. 4:20 p.m. State and local governments across the United States have received shipments of about 30 million doses of a malaria drug, hydroxychloroquine touted by President Trump to treat patients with the coronavirus. These shipments took place despite warnings from doctors that more research is needed. At least 22 states and Washington, D.C., secured shipments of the drug, hydroxychloroquine, according to information compiled from state and federal officials by The Associated Press. Sixteen of those states were won by Trump in 2016, although five of them, including North Carolina and Louisiana, are now led by Democratic governors. 12:47 p.m. Crowds were spotted all along Bolivar Peninsula Sunday, enjoying the sunny weather, according to 12 News Now. Galveston public beaches are slated to reopen for morning workouts tomorrow. Authorities warn that strict social distancing guidelines will be reinforced. 10:46 a.m. Free face mask giveaways are underway Sunday across the Houston area, ahead of Monday's mandate. To take special precautions amid the coronavirus outbreak, Harris County Lina Hidalgo issued an order for the public to wear face masks, beginning Monday, April 27. Here are the locations where Houstonians can get their free masks: Sunday, April 26 Sunday, April 26: Unity Bank - 2602 Blodgett from 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. Sunday, April 26: HCC Southeast College - 6815 Rustic St. from 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. Sunday, April 26: Cliffdale Baptist Church - 854 Enterprise St. from 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. H-E-B stores are taking additional steps to safeguard the public, by asking all customers to wear masks. "H-E-B strongly encourages our customers to wear masks while in our stores. Some cities have passed laws requiring the use of masks while in public and H-E-B will follow those regulations." 9:07 a.m. Some governments have begun easing their coronavirus restrictions, with India reopening neighborhood stores that serve many of its 1.3 billion people, according to an Associated Press report. In the U.S., Georgia, Oklahoma and Alaska have also begun loosening restrictions despite warnings from health officials that it may be too soon. 8:03 a.m. The U.S. now leads the world with 939,249 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Sunday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University. The death toll in the U.S. has climbed to 53,934, with 105,818 recoveries. Texas has 24,350 confirmed coronavirus cases to date, according to state and local data. In the Greater Houston region, 8,144 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the sickness caused by the new virus. There are now 2.9 million confirmed cases worldwide of COVID-19. 7:07 a.m. Galveston public beaches are slated to reopen Monday, April 27 for morning workouts. The Galveston City Council voted Thursday to reopen beaches for only three hours each morning from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. for pedestrian exercise only. Before you head to the beach, here's what you need to know: Beach towels, cars, chairs, tents, picnics and umbrellas are not allowed. Beaches will remain closed during all other hours. Violators could face a $500 fine. The City of Galveston ordered all public beaches to close on March 29 after COVID-19 social distancing practices were not adhered to by beach visitors. Read the in-depth report from Houston Chronicle's Nick Powell. Animals shelters across the United States are emptying out thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, as people confined to their homes are adopting or fostering animals in droves. "We've never seen anything like this," said Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, which partners with some 400 shelters nationwide. "The fostering and adoptions have just been through the roof," she told AFP. "Every shelter is reporting out the same thing. It's amazing to see how many lives have been saved." Block said as the COVID-19 outbreak took hold, shelters -- many of which were forced to close because of stay-at-home orders -- launched adoption appeals, and the response has been overwhelming. Dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and even hens have found homes, as people all over the country look for pets to help them cope with confinement. "We've always talked about having a dog, but it was never the right time until now," said Jalene Hillery, a teacher who lives in San Diego, California, and who recently adopted Mason, an American pit bull, from the local shelter. She said the fact that she and her husband, as well as their two young sons, are home has allowed for a smooth adoption, given that they have time to care for the dog and help him adjust to his new home. "We get to connect with him, train him, and that's really been fun," she told AFP. Hillery said Mason has also proven a great companion for her boys, aged 9 and 11, who are missing their school friends and needed something to help ease anxiety. "The dog is filling a need... and is able to provide comfort and love and play," Hillery said. "He's definitely filled the void in our home that we didn't even know existed. "It's almost like it's too good to be true." - 'Alleviate isolation and stress' - Shelters nationwide, from Wisconsin to North Carolina and Virginia to Colorado, are reporting that the number of people fostering animals has also skyrocketed. Sherri Franklin, founder of the Muttville Senior Dog Rescue in San Francisco, said she has never seen such an outpouring of support from the community in the 25 years she has worked in animal rescue. "When the shelter-in-place order came down (in March), we had 86 dogs in our care, and we moved them all to foster homes in 48 hours," she said. Franklin said adopting or fostering a pet during these unusual and stressful times is beneficial for both animals and humans. "Adopting a dog during this time is an equal win for both the dog... but it's even more so for the human that does need a reason to get up, and does need a connection in this world and does need something to alleviate isolation and stress," she noted. For Sarah Chan, 25, who lives in the San Diego area with her partner Morgan Miller, also 25, adopting Silvia was a no-brainer after they saw the cat's picture on the local shelter's Instagram account. "She's given us companionship and is a good distraction," said Chan, who works for a semiconductor company. Lauren Amaral said she decided to foster two guinea pigs -- Ally and Emi -- as a way of helping her local shelter during these uncertain times and also for comfort. "Having them just makes me happy. They bring me a lot of joy," said Amaral, 20, who plans to get a nursing degree. "Whenever I pet them, I just feel a lot better 'cause it is a stressful time, and these little pigs are just the sweetest girls in the world." (L-R) Jalene Hillery and her children Desean and Delonte play with their newly adopted pit bull Mason in front of their home in Escondido, California Morgan Miller tries to get her cat Silvia's attention, in the apartment where she lives with her partner Sarah Chan in Pacific Beach, California Emi (L) and Ally (R) eat lettuce while enjoying floor time in San Diego, California By Trend The State Tax Service under the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy has made a report on financial support for individual entrepreneurs (micro-entrepreneurs), Trend reports referring to the State Tax Service. As of April 24, 65,522 micro-entrepreneurs appealed for financial support, appeals of 60,169 of them were considered. In accordance with the data, 37.9 million manat ($22.3 million) were paid to 55,022 taxpayers. The amount of financial support rendered to individual entrepreneurs whose applications have been considered is 40.6 million manat ($23.9 million). A total of 80 million manat ($47.05 million) was allocated for the implementation of these measures. (1 USD = 1.7 AZN on April 26) --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz The National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu has disclosed the real reasons he ran Covid-19 test, stress... The National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu has disclosed the real reasons he ran Covid-19 test, stressing that he was not in self-isolation contrary to some reports. Rather, the APC leader clarified that he has only been keeping faith with all the preventive measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 and not having contact with many people at this time. He made the clarification in a statement by his spokesperson, Mr. Tunde Rahman, disputing claims that Tinubus Chief Security Officer, Alhaji Lateef Kareem, died of COVID-19 on Friday. Raheem, 51, died Friday after falling ill on Monday. However, reports claimed that the deceased had a history of high blood pressure and diabetes. Raheem had been on Tinubus team for over 20 years and was the only aide still left from his time as governor of Lagos state from 1999 to 2007. After his burial on Friday, reports claimed that Raheem died of COVID-19, thereby fuelling speculation that the APC leader had gone into self isolation. Faulting the claims yesterday, Tinubu said in a statement that he is not in self isolation. He is only keeping faith with all the preventive measures and not having contact with many people at this time. He is observing social distancing as it were. There is nothing to warrant self isolation. It has not been proven that our Chief Security Officer, Alhaji Lateef Kareem, died of COVID-19. What we know is he was battling diabetes and high blood pressure before he died and he might have died of complications from both, he explained. After his death, the statement explained samples were taken from his body by medical experts from the NCDC in Lagos. We are still awaiting the results of the test. As a precaution, It was reported that Tinubu and his personal aides were tested for the coronavirus following the death of his chief security officer (CSO). TheCable understands that before his burial on Friday, samples were taken from his body for laboratory tests to determine if he was infected with COVID-19. On Saturday, samples were also taken from Tinubu and his personal aides. Results are expected on Monday, sources told TheCable. In a tribute, Tinubu praised the late police officer who had been with him before he became governor of Lagos state in 1999. Lateef reported for work on Monday. Feeling a bit under the weather, he went home to rest. We spoke on Wednesday by phone. He was in fine spirits and was looking forward to resuming work, he wrote. I felt nothing but profound shock, and then the emptiness of deep loss when I was awakened early Friday that my most trusted security aide had died and that I would never see him again. I did not know the Wednesday conversation would be our last. The pain of his loss is acute. By AFP BEIJING: China has confiscated over 89 million poor quality face masks, a government official said Sunday, as Beijing faces a slew of complaints about faulty protective gear exported worldwide. Demand for protective equipment has soared as nations across the globe battle the deadly coronavirus, which has infected around 2.9 million people. But a number of countries have complained about faulty masks and other products exported by China, mostly for use by medical workers and vulnerable groups. China's market regulators had inspected nearly 16 million businesses and seized over 89 million masks and 418,000 pieces of protective gear as of Friday, said Gan Lin, deputy director of the State Administration of Market Regulation, at a press conference. Regulators had also seized ineffective disinfectants worth over 7.6 million yuan (USD 1.1 million), she said. FOLLOW COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES HERE It is unclear how much of the confiscated goods were destined for markets abroad. In a bid to eliminate poor-quality products, China released new rules Saturday saying even non-medical masks must meet both national and international quality standards. Exporters must file a written declaration that their medical products meet the safety requirements of the destination country, the ministry of commerce said in a statement. The tighter rules come after several countries including Spain, the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Turkey were forced to recall hundreds of thousands of shoddy masks and pieces of protective gear imported from China. The Canadian government last week said that about one million face masks purchased from China failed to meet proper standards for healthcare professionals. Dutch health officials last month recalled over half a million Chinese masks -- which had already been sent to hospitals -- after complaints that they did not close over the face properly, or had defective filters. China is producing more than 116 million masks per day, according to official figures. ALSO READ | 'No new deaths, reports': Coronavirus cases in Wuhan hospitals drop to zero for the first time It has exported more than one billion masks this year so far, commerce ministry official Li Xingqian told reporters. China has also signed contracts to export medical materials worth $1.41 billion to 74 countries and six international organisations, he added. In the first two months of the year, a staggering 8,950 new manufacturers started producing masks in China, according to business data platform Tianyancha. Despite the nationwide crackdown, businesses were continuing with illicit production of medical equipment since it was a way to earn "quick money", Chinese customs official Jin Hai said earlier this month. Over 31.6 million faulty masks and 509,000 protective suits destined for export had been confiscated by port officials as of mid-April, he said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a prerecorded speech for an event organized by an evangelical organization that he is confident that President Trump will honor his pledge to recognize Israels sovereignty over the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley "a couple of months from now." Why it matters: According to the recent coalition deal between Netanyahu and the leader of the Blue and White party Benny Gantz, Netanyahu can bring "the understandings with the Trump administration" on annexing parts of the West Bank to a discussion in the Cabinet and to a vote either in the Cabinet or in the Knesset starting July 1. The big picture: Netanyahu wants to move forward with annexation well before the U.S. elections in November, fearing President Trump might lose and the move will not be possible with Joe Biden in the White House. Gantz, who is opposed to annexation, hopes he will be able to prevent such a move from inside Netanyahus government. On Saturday, I reported that Jordan is lobbying foreign leaders to pressure the new Israeli government not to move forward with annexation of the Jordan Valley both the settlements and other parts of the West Bank. The Palestinians are undertaking a similar lobbying effort, and the Arab League is expected to convene within days to discuss the matter. Go deeper: Netanyahu, Gantz agree to form emergency coalition government The Special Air Service is the longest active special missions unit in existence and has remained one of the best. Staffed with the toughest and most resourceful enlisted and commissioned soldiers the United Kingdom has to offer, the SAS only accepts the cream of the crop. Of all candidates who try to earn the coveted beige beret and the title of "Blade," only the very best make it through. In order to thin out the herd, the SAS holds one of the most arduous and rigorous selection and training programs in the modern special operations community. Timed cross-country marches, treks through jungles, and a mountain climb are just a few of the challenges that make joining the SAS an extreme task. Typically, the SAS runs two selection periods every year, one in summer and the other in winter. While any fully-trained member of the British Armed Forces may apply for selection, the bulk of candidates tend to come from light infantry, airborne, and commando units. Selection lasts around five months and consists of multiple phases, each designed to break down every candidate and push them to their limits and beyond. That's probably why the program has an astonishing 90% fail rate. Many drop out due to stress or injury those who remain must meet and exceed the high standards set by the selection cadre. The dreaded Pen y Fan in Brecon Beacons It all begins with physical testing designed to ensure that each candidate meets the minimum requirements to join the SAS. Selection then moves forward with a series of forced marches in the Brecon Beacons, a mountain range in South Wales. Candidates are issued rifles, weighted rucks, and rations and are then sent packing. Their ultimate test in the first phase is navigating themselves across Pen y Fan, the highest peak of the Brecon Beacons, alone and within a 20 hour time limit. This segment, called officially "Endurance," but popularly known as the "Fan Dance," holds a special (if not dreaded) place in the hearts of all candidates. It's such an excruciating and dangerous trek that some have even perished over the years in attempts. After completing Endurance, all surviving candidates are given weeks of instruction on weapons, tactics, and procedures. This is their first real introduction to the shadowy world in which the SAS generally operates. Lessons on tradecraft, medical care, and hand-to-hand combat are also included. This segment is run in the hot, dense jungles of Brunei, Belize, or Malaysia. Upon passing the jungle phase, candidates return to the United Kingdom to Hereford, home of 22 Special Air Service Regiment, where they receive further specialized instruction and undergo testing on their trade. Their marksmanship abilities are honed and developed, their combat driving abilities are refined, and their proficiency with foreign weapons and vehicles is enhanced. Candidates are also put through airborne school, learning how to conduct static line and freefall jumps, and are committed to a grueling combat survival and resistance program, similar to the US military's SERE school. After a one week-test during which candidates are hunted down and brutally interrogated, they are finally on their way to joining the active SAS. By the end of SAS selection, an initial batch of around 200 candidates will have dwindled down to roughly 25. These candidates are sent to operational squadrons for further training and eventual deployment. They represent the finest the British Armed Forces have to offer, and are thus awarded their beige berets and the SAS badge the winged dagger. They have earned the right to call themselves "Blades." MORE POSTS FROM WE ARE THE MIGHTY: This Marine is on the front lines treating COVID-19 patients Why these British soldiers never say 'yes' Everything you need to know about the Air Force's navy We Are The Mighty (WATM) celebrates service with stories that inspire. WATM is made in Hollywood by veterans. It's military life presented like never before. Check it out at We Are the Mighty. Britain's airline industry is urging the Government to extend the 40 billion wage subsidy scheme as it warns of a 'cash crisis'. Tim Alderslade, the chief executive of industry body Airlines UK, wrote to Chancellor Rishi Sunak on Friday, saying that carriers will face a 'renewed cash crisis' if the job support scheme is withdrawn. Crisis: The length of time companies can claim has been extended from three months to four The length of time companies can claim has been extended from three months to four, and the industry believes the Treasury is open to extending it again. Alderslade said: 'We believe that the scheme will need to be extended beyond June, and that consideration should be given to measures to avoid aviation facing a cliff-edge.' Chandigarh, April 26 : Haryana has sealed its border in Sonepat district with Delhi in view of the coronavirus scare, officials said on Sunday. The entry points in Sonepat district from Delhi have been closed till May 3, an official told IANS here. A decision in this regard was taken on the direction of state Health Minister Anil Vij. Accordingly, the Sonepat administration enforced Section 144 of the CrPC in the district and sealed its border. Sonepat saw six new cases on Saturday, taking the total cases in the district to 19. A nurse at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center takes part in a demonstration calling for more protective equipment for healthcare workers on April 16. (Los Angeles Times) To the editor: N95 respirator masks are just a dollar's worth of paper unless you're fit-tested. ("Suppliers cash in as California taxpayers hit with wildly inflated prices for masks," April 23) Fit-testing is a required process in healthcare. Every worker who depends on these respirators for protection must undergo a process that makes sure they fit and protect. This usually involves exposure to a challenge atmosphere, such as a water-based saccharine spray aerosol. If the wearer tastes the sweetness, he or she has failed the fit test. This not only ensures protection but also keeps people out of harm's way. Without a good fit, people might expose themselves to a patient or an infected loved one. I am a certified industrial hygienist and the former safety director for Kaiser Permanente in Orange County who oversaw thousands of fit-test procedures. Marc Axelrod, Beverly Hills .. To the editor: I was perturbed by your reporting on the state's acquisition of the N95 masks because its misses what the real problem is. Yes, California is paying more for masks and is probably subject to price gouging, but why is this happening? The answer is simply that the federal government has failed to establish national control over the acquisition and distribution as well as the production of necessary materials. By forcing individual states to obtain necessary material on their own, the federal government has in effect promoted unrestrained competition. Moreover, this competition is depleting the financial resources of both state and local governments, thereby worsening the current economic crisis. This inaction by the federal government means it will take us longer than necessary to return to normal. This could have been avoided if President Trump had shown real leadership instead of making inane statements. John Liu, Davis, Calif. Governing means making hard choices amid uncertainty and right now, New Mexico faces more uncertainty than we have in decades. Thats the nature of this pandemic. As much as we want to tell New Mexicans when well be able to open up again, local and national public health experts have made clear the virus picks the date, not us. What we do know is that reopening abruptly or too early would cost lives and leave the economy in tatters, causing secondary waves of illness and secondary waves of closures. The choices we make now need to be not just for how we reopen, but how we stay open. We must also not take for granted the heroic work of our first responders, child care professionals, health care workers, and other essential personnel who have put themselves at risk for the rest of us. Same goes for the parents, caretakers, mental health providers, teachers and all of us who are doing our part to flatten the curve. We have to stay the course until we are in a position to open safely. Thanks to a lot of hard work, New Mexico is ahead of the curve on testing. For months, we have been doing everything we can to get our hands on testing materials and establish testing sites across the state. We both know waiting is difficult and deeply painful. Tens of thousands of New Mexicans are out of work. Our schools are closed, and many parents are juggling telework, child rearing and anxiety about the future. People in every community are wondering what happened to the lives they knew and what the future might hold. Small businesses have been devastated, and jobs lost to the near-economic collapse caused by the pandemic. We have an obligation to fight this virus and reduce the person-to-person contact in which it spreads and thrives, and we have an obligation to find ways to safely ease the restrictions on businesses, where this person-to-person contact is most likely to occur. Managing the contradiction in this is what public officials like us do. And we will lead with public health while working on recovery strategies that keep different businesses and industries safe. We will be disciplined and deliberate. This approach and our job, our responsibility is to protect as many New Mexicans as we can. This is a fight we are all in together; a fight we take on every day until there is a vaccine and a treatment available to every New Mexican. While we have made progress flattening the curve, it is too early to declare that we have won. Failure to respect the seriousness of this pandemic and the distancing measures we have in place will only delay the moment its safe to reopen for all of us. In Albuquerque, weve been listening to health care workers, small business owners, people out of work and community organizations from every corner of this city and the densely populated central New Mexico region. The virus doesnt care about the boundary lines between Albuquerque and our neighbors in Rio Rancho or the South Valley, so its critical this part of the state home to major hospitals, universities, the airport and more coordinate our efforts to flatten the curve and help lift up our state when the worst of the danger has passed. We responded by funding small businesses to stay afloat, providing tens of thousands of meals for seniors and families in need, preventing evictions and utility shut-offs, getting testing and health care services to the homeless community, providing a safety net for children of essential workers, and laying the groundwork for recovery. Even as we work to contain and defeat the coronavirus, we are accelerating construction and engineering projects to provide needed income to our contractors and to help us hit the ground running for recovery. Last week, we also began crafting recovery plans and sketching out what it will take to get back on our feet. We wish we could pick a date on the calendar, declare our state and city open for business, and get back to the lives we knew. But we dont have a crystal ball, and there is no bright line. Anyone who suggests otherwise isnt being straight with you, but we will be and that means being clear about where we are, the challenges and opportunities we face, and the road ahead. It also means planning responsibly. The reality is a re-opening that comes in stages, gradually easing up on regulations to allow time to assess how changes impact the spread of the virus. We will get this virus under control. Were already making headway flattening the curve. We will come through this together, and when it is time to reopen, Albuquerque and New Mexico will be ready. Joe Biden usually rises before 8 a.m. at his home in Wilmington, Del., and starts his day with a workout in an upstairs gym. He often enjoys a protein shake for breakfast and puts on a suit or blazer much of the time. In the evenings, he and his wife, Jill, sit down together for dinner, a ritual absent for much of the last frenzied year on the campaign trail. In the intervening hours, Biden attempts to win the presidency without leaving his house. With the coronavirus outbreak freezing the country's public life, Biden has been forced to adapt to a cloistered mode of campaigning. He was unable to embark on a victory tour after the Democratic primaries or hold unity rallies with onetime rivals. Instead, the former vice president is in a distinctive kind of lockdown, walled off from voters, separated from his top strategists and yet leading in the polls. For a famous backslapper like Biden, this open-ended period of captivity has tested both his patience and his political imagination. He has lamented being deprived of human contact, and he has expressed exasperation with media coverage critiquing his limited visibility compared with President Donald Trump's daily performances in the White House briefing room. He does not make a habit of watching the president's briefings in full; he is said to be fixated mainly on the eventual challenge of governing amid a pandemic. Interviews with dozens of people in touch with the presumptive Democratic nominee and his advisers revealed a newly detailed picture of Biden's life in seclusion, one spent in long-distance consultation with a wide array of coalition leaders helping him map out the fall campaign and a potential administration. Biden has revived many of the rituals of the vice presidency, including similarly formatted briefing memos and tour d'horizon-style updates from aides on the virus and the economy all aimed at giving him the information he would need to make the weighty decisions at hand if he were in charge. Fran Person, who served for years as a Biden aide and speaks with him regularly, said the detached lifestyle was unnatural for Biden, an extrovert who spent virtually his entire adult life in government. As the temperature of the campaign rises in public, the former vice president has not attempted to match Trump blow for blow on television. For the most part, Biden is seeking to run a campaign based on something like digital-age fireside chats, offering himself as a calmly authoritative figure rather than a brawler like his opponent. In private, he voices a combination of optimism about American resilience and recognition that the country is likely to be in a bleak state on Inauguration Day. It remains to be seen whether that approach will be viewed as appropriately sober or perilously passive against a tenacious and unpredictable opponent. Many Democrats remain anxious about the limitations of Biden's position. Only a few people have seen Biden, 77, in recent weeks. Like many professionals these days, the former vice president fills his time with conference calls. There are at least four standing calls on his daily schedule, including one with Jennifer O'Malley Dillon, his new campaign manager. There are daily briefings on the economy, public health and electoral strategy, and a less frequent session on national security. Biden has used a television-quality video uplink from his refurbished rec room for interviews and online campaign events. But for private conversations, he prefers conferring by telephone, usually on speakerphone in his study. The former vice president also places calls to mayors and governors; congressional leaders like Rep. James E. Clyburn of South Carolina; elder statesmen like Al Gore; potential running mates; donors; and former rivals. A few governors have become favorite points of contact, including Andrew Cuomo of New York, Jay Inslee of Washington and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. At his request, Biden talks at least once daily to a voter or campaign volunteer the kind of people he would meet constantly on the trail. And he regularly phones allies to express sympathy or support, including a call to Sen. Elizabeth Warren when he learned that one of her brothers had died of the coronavirus. Whitmer, a potential running mate for Biden, said the former vice president had been deeply engaged with the details of the outbreak in her state. He had offered advice and commiserated over the isolation brought on by the virus, and how it had barred them from performing consoling tasks. "I think that's why he's calling and reaching out and trying to keep a pulse on what's happening," Whitmer said. "It's not a great substitute for personal interaction, but it's a way to stay connected." Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. The estate on which Biden is functionally trapped has long been a personal refuge. Nestled along a lake and recessed from the road by a long private drive, the 6,800-square-foot home took more than two years to build and Biden has said he designed it himself. Today, the house has become an almost sealed containment zone. Two political aides regularly enter and leave the house, according to people briefed on the safety restrictions put in place: Annie Tomasini, Biden's traveling chief of staff, and Anthony Bernal, Jill Biden's chief of staff. But several people familiar with their roles said they are not staffing the Bidens around the clock and it is not clear whether any other aides assist the candidate at home. Much of the time Biden answers his own telephone, and he frequently falls behind his limited public schedule. The campaign has consulted physicians and health experts about safeguarding Biden, who at 77 falls squarely into a high-risk group for the coronavirus. Irwin Redlener, a clinical professor at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, said he had spoken with the campaign about health precautions. Biden has embraced the safety guidelines: He has described in interviews a careful protocol that allows him to interact with some of his grandchildren, who live nearby. To interact with voters, his campaign has experimented with virtual town halls and round tables, but Democrats in the states are anxious to see more of the candidate. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who recently endorsed Biden, said ,"It is so critically important for him to have a presence here. I think, in some ways, Zoom and FaceTime they're the 2020 counterpart to what President Trump used effectively for his base, which is Twitter." Biden is working to adapt to those platforms. Even before Biden entered his state of near-quarantine, he was telling associates that he feared the onset of a national catastrophe. In mid-March, Biden told one confidant that he was concerned that the country could face another Great Depression, sharing that he had discussed the possibility with Lawrence H. Summers, a former treasury secretary. That dark contingency now looks more plausible than ever. This is part of a series of questions posed by The Oregonian/OregonLive to May 19 primary election candidates seeking the seat on the Portland City Council last held by Commissioner Nick Fish. Surveys were also sent to candidates running for Position 1, Position 4 and Mayor. Why should Portlanders vote for you? Margot Black: I have a lengthy and proven track record of institutional change, a unique professional background as a college mathematics instructor, a wealth of life experience as a have-not and a courage and tenacity that is rare in Portland politics. I was born into the foster care system to a young mother experiencing a schizophrenic break, who I visited in jail and psych wards throughout my life. I became a single mother at 19 and experienced the unforgiving cycle of poverty created by housing insecurity. I have raised two humans successfully into adulthood (my daughter and kid-brother of the same age) and have a son who is losing his eyesight due to an incurable genetic condition. I overhauled a remedial mathematics curriculum to make it more relevant and equitable to disadvantaged college students and expanded an academic support system from a staff of 12 to 50. I have organized tenant unions across the city, successfully lobbied the state legislature to develop and pass groundbreaking legislation and envisioned and authored Portlands Relocation Assistance Ordinance which has advanced housing security for marginalized Portlanders more than anything before or since. I am honest and principled. I am a renter and a fighter. Cynthia Castro: For the past six years, I have proudly served our community as a respected city leader within Portland Parks & Recreation, including as the director of the Charles Jordan Community Center, and senior policy adviser to Commissioner Amanda Fritz. I am uniquely qualified to complete the shorter two-year term and am ready to work on day one. Portland cannot afford to elect someone with no city government or policy-making experience at this critical time. My lived experience as the daughter of a Korean immigrant and Mexican American union worker means I have a unique perspective never reflected on council. I will continue to use this experience to center all of my work in rectifying inequities in our system as I have for the past two decades. Equity isnt aspirational for me. As this pandemic has shown, it means life and death for our most vulnerable. I intend to make sure Portlands recovery efforts dont leave people behind. To help ensure the quickest recovery and a painless transition back to five commissioners, Portland needs a person with existing relationships across city bureaus and with community organizations who need support now. I will bring collaboration, competency and transparency to City Hall. Sam Chase: Ill apply my executive public health leadership and deep experience in homelessness and economic development to address long-term needs and immediate challenges of the pandemic. At Metro, I led regional efforts to expand housing and shelter. As city commissioner, I will fund best practices to get people into safe, stable housing, reduce costs and improve accountability to produce more affordable housing, and create living wage jobs that keep people from slipping into poverty and housing insecurity. Ill help build a healthy, economically vital and inclusive Portland. Ive built partnerships creating jobs and apprenticeship programs and delivered low income TriMet fares. Ive led Metros efforts to protect parks and nature. Im fighting for living wage jobs for a sustainable city and economy and will: Expand job programs for workers impacted by the pandemic. Restore and sustain Portland Parks & Recreation, including pools, community centers, and recreation programs. lAdvocate for free youth transit passes. Invest in climate-smart congestion relief, pedestrian and bike safety, and earthquake-proof bridges. James Jas Davis: Im a parent, progressive and small-business owner of Awakenings Wellness Center. I raised my kids here as a stay-at-home dad and later as a single father, balancing caring for children with renovating old buildings into healing centers in east Portland. Im running because of the urgency of the issues I support. Long concerned about income inequality, I organized for the World Trade Organization protests in Seattle 20 years ago and have been active on many issues ever since, from consent culture to voting reform. Ive served in many volunteer roles, including as chair of the county Citizen Involvement Committee overseeing community policy and budgeting processes. As an Equal Vote Coalition board member, Ive worked to strengthen democracy through STAR Voting, which stands for score then automatic runoff, and helped lead the team bringing STAR Voting to more than 1 million Oregonians in Mays statewide election for the Independent Party of Oregon. Im a supporter of co-ops, place-based economics and building local resilience. I support a public bank to keep our money working in our community rather than lining the pockets of stockholders and Wall Street, and I support bold climate action that also prepares for the impacts of climate change, including creating local food resilience. Julia DeGraw: I am the system change candidate. My actions match my values. Im taking no corporate cash for my campaign, just as I did when I ran for this seat in 2018, before Portland voters approved the ballot measure prohibiting corporate contributions. My 15-year career in the nonprofit sector includes running a 10-year campaign to stop Nestle from bottling water in the Columbia River Gorge, fighting liquefied natural gas exports in Oregon, spearheading efforts to support building out municipal broadband in the Portland metro region, serving as the executive director of Portland Forward, and so much more. My policy expertise and extensive coalition work are why City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty supports me in this race. I am deeply committed to creating a community-engaged process to change Portlands form of government to a City Council whose members are elected by districts to achieve better, more equitable representation and outcomes for all Portlanders. Portlanders are ready for change, and I am the right candidate for this historic moment. We need a leader who can hit the ground running on day one and who is also not beholden to the system as it is. I am that leader. Diana Gutman: I want to serve the city of Portland. I have been attending the Portland City Council meetings since June 2018. The first time I signed up to give public testimony in front of the council was Sept. 26, 2018 regarding the charitable funds campaign. Since then, I have signed up to give testimony on numerous agenda items to express my support or concerns based off of the presentations being given. I have learned so much over the years since attending the council meetings. Seeing the councils advocacy and action taken on behalf of our community is why I am running for Portland City Commissioner Position 2. As a human rights activist, a victims advocate and your prospective commissioner, I will continue to work with community partners and legislators to advocate for inclusive policies and legislation to serve our community. I proudly served our country for seven years. Now I wish to serve the city of Portland. I want to be a supportive voice on the council and work with the community in addressing the needs that we as a city are facing. Tera Hurst: I have the leadership, experience and heart that Portland needs to tackle the challenges facing our city. As a single mom who has been sober for 23 years, I know supportive community is everything. I love Portlandour city of neighborhoods that supports each other. But as we grow and change, I believe we can do better. As we face the COVID-19 crisis and the reality of this economic downturn, we must work together to make sure we all can all be healthy and survive economically. We need equity in our health care, economic development and city services. I am the leader who can help get us there. From working in the state capitol to navigating City Hall to achieve real change making community centers free for youth during the summer, creating Better Naito, opening the Kenton Womens Village I know how to mobilize the hope, inclusion and compassion of Portlanders to work together to benefit our entire community. As we emerge from this disaster, we must finally fulfill our citys promise to all our neighbors. We need bold new leadership to truly be a welcoming, inclusive and unabashedly progressive city that leads the way for positive change. Jack Kerfoot: I have always been focused and determined. I was determined to overcome my humble beginnings and graduate from university. I worked minimum wage jobs for two years to save for university, served with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam and then worked my way through university to earn a Bachelors of Science degree in geophysics in 1976. After university, I built a career in the energy industry, which took me around the world and provided me opportunities to work with scientists, bureaucrats, ministers and heads of state. My management style is to listen and collaborate to solve problems. I have spent 40 years working with governments, unions and corporations to re-energize organizations. My international experience provides me unique insight into problem solving approaches taken by governments around the world. In 2017, I wrote Fueling America, An Insiders Journey. I have been on more than 40 syndicated radio and TV stations across America discussing energy and why America should move from fossil fuels to renewable energy. I am a proven leader who will listen, collaborate and communicate with everyone across our entire city to help develop an accountable, responsible and compassionate city government. Aquiles Montas: I know some of the many candidates for Position 2, and there are good reasons to vote for all of them. It is time for young, new leadership, some say, and I agree, but also for leaders like me, who can bring a legacy of life achievements and love for this city. Leaders who, close to a retirement age, choose to become a public servant to pay back for what life has given and what this city has given. It would not be wrong to want another grounded, mature person, skilled in showing respect, listening and building solidarity with compromise and love. Im a 43-year resident of North Portland, husband of one, father of three and grandfather of two. You can trust me. Terry Parker: As the common sense candidate for Portland City Commissioner Position 2 who frequently testifies at City Council meetings and occasionally receives applause, I believe that self sufficient working class families with modest incomes and senior citizens on fixed incomes are having more of those incomes reduced with new and increased taxes while receiving less in return services for the tax increases paid out. There is a deficiency of representation at City Hall and their voices need to be heard. Equally as important, representative government should be about transparency, bringing people together and finding compromise while still offering freedom of choice. Dan Ryan: Our city was in crisis before this pandemic, and now we cant hide it. It is time to come together and rebuild our city and make it work. Most voters were already upset with lack of progress prior to the pandemic on critical crises like housing, homeless and transportation. My opponents have been running this city for decades, and Im not happy with the results. As chair of the Portland Public School Board and later chief executive officer of All Hands Raised, I brought people together to tackle challenges like our abysmal high school graduation rates. Working together, we increased graduation rates 11.5% and, for students of color, we accelerated the results, 15.5%. I bring people together to get things done. Loretta Smith: Portlanders should vote for me because Ive spent my entire career fighting for the most vulnerable and securing needed resources for this community. Weve long championed progressive ideals, but Portland isnt a progressive city for all. I have a proven track record of fighting against poverty, ensuring vulnerable communities have a seat at the table and a voice in key conversations and that we put our money where our values are. Now more than ever we need tested and proven leadership on City Council to ensure resources and programs are centered in equity as we rebuild our local economy. We have to look at the months and years ahead as an opportunity to truly shape Portland into the city we all know it can be. Thats going to take a strong resolve and a lot of political courage to do the right thing, and I am the candidate that can bring people together to do just that. We cant continue to pit one group against another. We need all of Portland to come together, across all sectors, to make our city a better place for everyone. Walter Wesley: I am the for you candidate. I am here to listen to you. A Portland boy all around, I went to grade school in Northeast at Irvington in the 1960s, high school in Northwest at Lincoln in the 1970s and college in Southwest in the 1980s. Now, I live in Southeast. For some time now, Ive also noticed a sharp decline in our citys bird populations. If that isnt bad enough, we have the well documented decline of bee populations. This is disturbing. If we lose the bees, our primary pollinators, we will see a collapse of a majority of vital foods we are dependent upon. So what is killing bees? A quick Google search will tell you some of the reason our bee populations are declining: they are susceptible to a virus, habitat loss, pesticide use and microwave radiation. High band microwave transmission, penetration of plant, animal and insect cells has been demonstrated. My candidacy is dedicated to prevent the roll out of this dangerous high band microwave technology. -- Everton Bailey Jr. FILE - This April 13, 2014, file photo shows the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) headquarters building in Washington. Associated Press The IRS will call back about 10,000 employees to 10 facilities beginning Monday, according to a Politico report. The employees, who will handle "mission-critical functions to handle work that must be conducted onsite," according to a leaked memo, will be working to handle tasks associated with the tax filing season and the CARES Act stimulus, according to the report. In an email to employees, the IRS told all returning employees to wear face masks in the office but said workers would have to bring their own masks. Employees will be asked back on a volunteer basis, but they will be ordered back to offices if there are not enough volunteers. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Related Video: What Coronavirus Symptoms Look Like, Day by Day About 10,000 employees of the Internal Revenue Service will be brought back to 10 offices beginning Monday, and the agency told employees to bring their own face masks with them, according to a leaked memo sent to employees of the agency on Friday. "People have differing levels of concern associated with the current situation," read the memo, published by Democrat Reps. Richard Neal of Massachusetts and Rep. John Lewis of Georgia. "As we return to the worksite, we need to respect and balance the concerns of others with the requirement to continue our mission-critical functions." "Although the IRS is seeking to procure personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves, each IRS facility may not be able to initially procure the PPE for all employees immediately," read the memo, written by IRS Human Capital Officer Robin D. Bailey, Jr. and Deputy IRS Human Capital Officer Kevin Q. McIver. The Friday letter told returning employees to "bring personal face coverings for their nose and mouth area when they come to work." The memo directs employees to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, which says such cloth coverings can be "fashioned from common household materials," suggesting employees make them from "clean t-shirts or bandanas." Story continues Neal, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and Lewis, the oversight subcommittee chairman, criticized the agency for the requirement that workers bring their own protective equipment. "It is understandable that in carrying out its mission during a crisis, the agency would require some employees to report back to work during perilous times," Lewis and Neal said in a joint statement. "However, it is completely irresponsible and unethical for the IRS to demand those workers obtain their own protective equipment this is the responsibility of the federal government to its workers." The IRS did not immediately return Business Insider's request for comment on Sunday. Tony Reardon, the head of the National Treasury Employees Union, told Politico there will be an "initial wave" of about 10,000 employees IRS employees ordered to return to work at 10 locations. These workers will be "opening taxpayer correspondence, handling tax documents, taking taxpayer telephone calls, and performing other functions related to the filing season," Reardon said, according to the report. Reardon told Politico that the agency was asking workers, who have been working from home due to the ongoing pandemic, to volunteer to come back to the office and was offering incentive pay to employees who volunteered to return to the office. The IRS would order people back to work if not enough volunteered, according to the report. The agency has more than 73,000 employees, according to IRS data. The agency is tasked with distributing the stimulus aid to Americans given by the CARES act, which was signed into law on March 27. It's also in the midst of tax filing season, which was extended until July 15. Read the original article on Business Insider The latest royal decree will spare the death penalty for at least six men from Saudi Arabias minority Shiite community (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP) Saudi Arabias King Salman has ordered an end to the death penalty for crimes committed by minors, according to a top official. The decision follows another ordering judges to end the practice of flogging, replacing it with jail terms, fines or community service and bringing one of the kingdoms most controversial forms of public punishment to an end. King Salmans son and heir, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is seen as the force behind the kingdoms loosening of restrictions and its pivot away from ultraconservative interpretations of Islamic law known as Wahhabism, which many in the country still closely adhere to. Expand Close Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Victoria Jones/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Victoria Jones/PA) In the face of some domestic opposition, the crown prince has sought to modernise the country, attract foreign investment and revamp Saudi Arabias reputation globally. He has also overseen a parallel crackdown on liberals, womens rights activists, writers, moderate clerics and reformers. The 2018 killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey by agents who worked for the crown prince drew sharp criticism internationally. The latest royal decree by King Salman will spare the death penalty for at least six men from the countrys minority Shiite community who allegedly committed crimes while under the age of 18, including Ali al-Nimr, who participated in anti-government protests. Expand Close Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi was killed in 2018 by agents who worked for the crown prince (Johnny Green/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi was killed in 2018 by agents who worked for the crown prince (Johnny Green/PA) Human rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have long called on the kingdom to abolish the use of the death penalty, particularly for crimes committed by minors. The president of the Saudi governments Human Rights Commission, Awwad Alawwad, confirmed the latest decision in a statement on Sunday, saying it helped the kingdom establish a more modern penal code and demonstrates the kingdoms commitment to following through on key reforms. He said more reforms will be coming, and that the two decisions reflect how Saudi Arabia is forging ahead in its realisation of critical human rights reforms even amid the hardship imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The decree expands on a previous order by King Salman issued in late 2018, which set a maximum 10-year prison term for minors in certain cases, except for crimes punishable by death. Now the 10-year maximum applies to all crimes by minors. How Far-Right Extremists Are Exploiting the COVID Pandemic By Masood Farivar April 25, 2020 Far-right extremists have been linked to bombing plots tied to the coronavirus pandemic, spotted holding anti-Semitic signs at protests outside state capitols, and seen trafficking on fringe platforms in all manner of conspiracy theories about the virus. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage millions of lives and paralyze much of the economy, these right-wing activists in the United States are seizing every opportunity to reach out to thousands of potential followers and expand their ranks. Take, for example, the recent hack of nearly 25,000 email addresses and passwords belonging to the World Health Organization, the U.S. National Institutes of Health and other organizations combating the pandemic. When the hackers released the information this week, online activists swung into action. On Telegram, a popular messaging app, at least a dozen so-called terrorgrams published links to the leak Wednesday, encouraging users to read the emails to support conspiracy theories about Chinese and Israeli ties to the virus. "People are scouring their emails and just found stuff related to HIV being spliced into COVID-19. This is big," one poster wrote. Megan Squire, a computer science professor at Elon University in North Carolina who researches online extremism, said the far right is exploiting the pandemic to push propaganda. "The memes are flowing pretty freely," she said. "They're definitely working every angle, from the Chinese virus stuff to a Jewish plot to control the world and all that sort of thing." The pandemic has set off a perfect storm of fear, anger and uncertainty generated by the loss of 26 million jobs and seemingly endless lockdowns over a deadly virus that as of late Thursday had killed nearly 50,000 Americans. With people staying home to slow the spread of the coronavirus, extremists are bound to find easy targets for propaganda and recruitment, said Jeff Schoep, the former commander of the National Socialist Movement, one of the nation's largest neo-Nazi organizations. "I know most of the groups are using this as an opportunity to recruit," Schoep, who left the group last year, told VOA. Recent rallies over shelter-in-place orders presented another opportunity for recruitment, according to Schoep, who is widely credited with building NSM into the nation's largest neo-Nazi organization. "I can say that if I was still running the organization, we would probably have people passing out business cards at those demonstrations," Schoep said. Extremism thrives in times of economic distress. A 2015 study of nearly 100 financial crises going back to 1870 found that after every financial crash "voters seem to be attracted to the political rhetoric of the extreme right, which often attributes blame to minorities and foreigners." Podcasts Once boasting hundreds of members around the country, the NSM is a ghost of its former self after Schoep's departure and a leadership breakup last year. But its current leader, Burt Colucci, says he has had no trouble luring listeners who believe Jews are responsible for their plight. On a recent podcast, Colucci boasted that his weekly call-in show was drawing in as many as 400 listeners, up from 250. "It is taking off, not just on the computer, not just on the internet," Colucci said. "It is taking off in public, too. These are good signs." VOA could not independently verify his claim. Asked whether he sees the pandemic as a propaganda and recruitment opportunity, Colucci wrote via email, "As far as COVID-19 being an opportunity to recruit, it's very possible." Anti-lockdown rallies Last week, protesters converged in several state capitals to protest stay-at-home orders. At least one notorious member of the NSM was spotted holding an anti-Semitic sign at an anti-lockdown rally in front of the statehouse in Ohio. A number of other white supremacists were seen at similar protests in Idaho, Michigan and North Carolina. Squire said the protests are creating opportunities for "some boots on the ground" but the number of white supremacists showing up at the anti-shutdown demonstrations remains small. "It's pretty mild right now," she said. "Just the NSM guy showing up or the Proud Boys acting out." While anti-hate groups have tracked a spike in extremist propaganda during the pandemic, the extent of the increase remains unclear. According to data compiled by the London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue and shared with Time.com, users of right-wing extremist channels on Telegram grew by 6,000 in March. But Squire said there has been no "unusual increase" during the crisis. Regardless, law enforcement officials are warning that the growing extremist chatter could spill over offline, leading to a surge in racially and ideologically motivated attacks. Harassment, assault Last month, the FBI's New York field office issued an alert after right-wing extremists urged COVID-19-infected cohorts to spread the virus to police officers and Jews. And in a leaked intelligence assessment, the bureau warned that anti-Asian hate crimes will spike because of the pandemic, "endangering Asian American communities." "Spreading these untruths puts communities at risk of real physical harm and must stop," Attorney General William Barr said in a statement last week, referring to coronavirus-fueled xenophobia targeting Asians and Asian Americans. Blamed for spreading the virus, Asian Americans have reported being kicked, punched and spat on in New York, California, Texas and other states. The Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council says it has received more than 1,600 reports of verbal harassment, shunning and physical assault in recent weeks. Officials have also tied several recent terrorist plots to the pandemic. Last month, a man suspected of planning to blow up a hospital in Missouri was killed when FBI agents tried to arrest him. The FBI said the man, who had ties to two neo-Nazi groups, had considered other targets, including a synagogue and a mosque, but decided to blow up a hospital because of the increased "media attention on the health care sector" during the pandemic. This month, FBI agents arrested a Massachusetts man tied to a white supremacist group on charges of planting a homemade bomb at a Jewish assisted-living center. U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said in reference to the timing of the plot that in times of crisis, "hatred based on religion often blossoms into violence." Schoep, the former NSM leader, noted that most extremist groups disavow violence in order to avoid criminal prosecution. But rhetoric can nonetheless inspire violence, he said. "They're saying, 'Look, we need to do something. We need to do something.' And some of these people get this idea in their head that 'do something' means something violent," he said. It is a concern that law enforcement has long harbored. The perpetrators of a spate of recent attacks blamed on the far right from the mosque massacres at Christchurch, New Zealand, to a deadly shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue were right-wing extremists with no formal affiliation with any group but plenty of exposure to their propaganda. Brian Levin, the executive director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, warned that fear and uncertainty spawned by the pandemic could lead to new forms of do-it-yourself extremism. "You will not only see extremist groups exploit this, but you will also see unstable people with wild card ideologies that we haven't heard much before," Levin said. "We might see medical personnel, journalists, public officials get harassed." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US coronavirus death toll reaches 53,934 The US has the highest number of virus-linked deaths in the world, followed by Italy's 26,384 and 22,902 in Spain. The coronavirus death toll in the US moved close to 54,000, with 940,000 confirmed cases as of Sunday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. 939,249 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TESTED POSITIVE SO FAR The Maryland-based university's running counter showed 53,934 deaths, 939,249 cases, and 105,818 recoveries across the worlds hardest-hit country. New York is the worst-hit state in the US with 22,009 deaths and 282,143 cases, followed by New Jersey with over 105,500 cases. Saudi Arabia is one of the worlds biggest executioners after Iran and China, according to Amnesty International. Saudi Arabia will no longer impose the death sentence on individuals who committed crimes while still minors, the state-backed Human Rights Commission (HRC) has said in a statement citing a royal decree by King Salman. Saudi Arabia is one of the worlds biggest executioners after Iran and China, Amnesty International said in its latest annual report earlier this month. The decree means that any individuals who received a death sentence for crimes committed while he or she is a minor can no longer face execution. Instead, the individual will receive a prison sentence of no longer than 10 years in a juvenile detention facility, HRC President Awwad Alawwad said in the statement on Sunday. This is an important day for Saudi Arabia, Alawwad said. The decree helps us in establishing a more modern penal code, and demonstrates the kingdoms commitment to following through on key reforms across all sectors of our country. It was not immediately clear when the decree would take effect. In its report, Amnesty said Saudi Arabia executed 184 people in 2019, including at least one person charged with a crime committed as a minor. 200425103319396 Sundays announcement came just two days after the kingdom, in effect, abolished flogging as punishment, in a decision made by the General Commission for the Supreme Court. The punishment will instead be replaced by prison time or fines. Capital punishment for crimes committed by people under the age of 18 runs contrary to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Saudi Arabia has ratified. In April 2019, the kingdom beheaded 37 men convicted of terrorism charges. The UN human rights chief said at the time that most of them were Shia Muslims who may not have had fair trials and at least three were minors when sentenced. Criticism of Saudi Arabias human rights record has grown since King Salman named his son Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) as crown prince and heir to the throne in June 2017. MBS has launched a series of social and economic reforms aimed at modernising the conservative kingdom, which has no codified system of law to go with the texts making up Islamic law. The government on Sunday said the production capacity of PPE coveralls required by medical personnel treating COVID-19 cases in the country has been ramped up to more than 1 lakh per day, with Bengaluru emerging as a major hub for its production. "The PPE kits are being sent to states by the Ministry of Health as per requirement. "Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Department of Pharmaceuticals, and Ministry of Textiles are continuously working with various industry bodies, stakeholders and manufacturers on 24x7 basis, to streamline the supply chain, remove bottlenecks and maintain a steady supply of all materials required for the healthcare professionals," an official statement said. Production capacity of coveralls required by medical personnel treating COVID-19 cases in the country has been ramped up to more than 1 lakh per day, it added. Nearly fifty per cent of the coverall production in the country is from Bengaluru. Other than Bengaluru, PPE coveralls are also being manufactured by approved production units in Tirupur, Chennai and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, Ahmedabad and Vadodara in Gujarat, Phagwara and Ludhiana in Punjab, Kusumnagar and Bhiwandi in Maharashtra, Dungarpur in Rajasthan, Kolkata, Delhi, Noida, Gurugram and few other places. "The cumulative production till date is approximately one million coverall units," the statement issued by the Textile Ministry said. Body coveralls (PPE) have a stringent technical requirements as prescribed by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare since it is a specialized protective suit meant for high level of protection to health professionals. HLL Lifecare Limited is the designated single-window procurement agency for the hospitals and healthcare organisations under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. In the last week of January 2020, the technical standard for the coveralls was prescribed as per WHO class-3 exposure pressure in accordance with ISO 16003 or its equivalent. "Such materials were being manufactured by a few international companies, who expressed their inability to supply on account of a complete glut in stocks and ban of exports by the source countries. Only a limited quantity was offered and procured by the procurement organization of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare," the statement said. The health ministry finalised the technical requirement on March 2, based on the indigenous availability of materials and the technical requirement for a high level of protection of the healthcare professionals who would deal with the COVID-19 cases, in consultation with medical experts in the field. The specification was published on the official website of HLL Lifecare Ltd on 5 March 2020, inviting manufacturers having adequate capability to participate in the procurement process. As of now, there are four laboratories in the country which have the Synthetic Blood Penetration Resistance Test facilities as well as necessary approvals for conducting tests and certification for Body Coveralls (PPE) required for COVID-19. These are South India Textiles Research Association (SITRA), Coimbatore, Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE), Gwalior, and two laboratories under Ordnance Factory Board Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi and Small Arms Factory, Kanpur. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D) said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that President Trump "incited" Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) into reopening nonessential businesses through his calls to "liberate" states. Driving the news: Trump surprised many when he criticized Kemp's plans to reopen indoor facilities including gyms, bowling alleys and salons, accusing the Republican governor of violating White House guidelines for lifting coronavirus restrictions. What she's saying: "I give Donald Trump zero credit for backing away from this because he incited it, with his 'liberation of the states' narrative. I think Brian Kemp was responding to that call and decided to wrongheadedly move forward. And, unfortunately, as a result, he found himself crossways with the president, with Mike Pence nodding pathetically at the same time about ingesting Clorox as the president gave more false information to the public. But I think all three of these men have misserved Georgia and misserved the country." The big picture: Abrams said that if she was running the federal government, she would ramp up production not only of tests, but also of components like swabs and vials in order to increase capacity. "Part of testing is making sure people trust that they can go to be tested," she said. "And right now there's inadequate equipment and inadequate strategy." Abrams also said she would be encouraging Southern and Midwestern states that have refused to expand Medicaid to "do so immediately." Worth noting: Abrams, who has been openly lobbying to be selected as Joe Biden's running mate, dismissed criticism that she lacks experience to be vice president, pointing to her work with her voting rights organization Fair Fight 2020 over the past year and a half. "I was raised to tell the truth," Abrams said. "And so when I am asked a question, I answer it as directly and honestly as I can. And as a young black girl growing up in Mississippi, I learned that if I didnt speak up for myself, no one else would." Go deeper: 3 Southern states will begin to ease coronavirus lockdowns As U.S. government officials begin debating the right steps in easing restrictions due to the novel coronavirus, antibody tests have been touted as the key to returning to normal. This particular type of test can detect whether or not a person has developed antibodies against COVID-19, which would reveal whether a person was infected and recovered -- even if they did not exhibit symptoms. Officials hope to use antibody testing to gain more clarity on the spread and deadliness of the virus. Others hope to determine the number of individuals that potentially have some level of immunity, toying with the idea of issuing "immunity passports" for people who test positive. Some experts now warn that these promises are premature. The World Health Organization cautioned against instituting "immunity passports," saying there is insufficient evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 are protected from a second infection. MORE: When will we know if COVID-19 antibodies prevent reinfection? Amid the haste to develop antibody testing, we may be setting ourselves up for disaster. "Testing is not a panacea. Testing is a tool and no test is perfect. What people are looking for does not exist," said Dr. Alan Wells, executive vice chairman of the section of Laboratory Medicine at University of Pittsburgh Medicine. In an effort to rapidly expand access to antibody testing, the Food and Drug Administration has allowed companies to develop and distribute COVID-19 antibody tests so long as they provide the agency proof they have determined the test is accurate -- a process called "validation" -- and disclose on the packaging that their test has not been FDA authorized. So far only seven COVID-19 antibody tests have been issued an emergency authorization from the FDA. PHOTO: A healthcare professional takes blood to test for antibodies at Mt. Sinai Hospital as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in the Manhattan borough of New York City, April 25, 2020. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters) As government officials pushed for the importance of antibody testing, biotechnology companies followed suit, accelerating the development and distribution of COVID-19 antibody tests with little oversight or transparency. With the FDA opening the gates to a flood of unreviewed antibody tests, more than 100 companies, many based in China, are ramping up distribution in the U.S. and experts are sounding the alarm. Story continues "The FDA is highly remised in their handling of the antibody testing," said Wells. "Early on they have been accused of squelching PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test development by being too tight in controlling and now the pendulum has swung too far the other way." The federal guidance that does exist confuses things even more, according to Wells, who added, "The FDA doesn't even say what validation is." Different tests "are coming out with different amounts of data, different levels, huge gaps and frankly some even pretty unbelievable results." MORE: South Korean studies suggest antibodies could protect against COVID-19 spread Many of these antibody tests are similar to pregnancy tests, but requiring a prick of blood to rapidly detect whether or not the individual has antibodies present by showing simple colored lines. "There's a tradeoff between speed and accuracy, and some of these tests are claiming speed and accuracy at levels we haven't seen before," he added. Rapid diagnostic tests such as these hold the potential for quick answers that may help health care providers make efficient decisions regarding treatment during moments when time is more precious than ever. But some have mistakenly utilized these rapid antibody tests as diagnostic tools, when results provide very limited information. "The important consideration with antibody tests is that many people take up to two weeks or more to develop the antibodies in response to having the infection so they could actually turn out to be negative on the antibody tests, but actually have had the infection," Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO's Emergencies Program, said in a recent briefing. If the health care system does not carefully introduce validated rapid antibody tests in a larger, well laid out comprehensive plan, he warned that may lead to "unnecessary confusion." Government reaction The FDA responded to the growing confusion over COVID-19 antibody testing, warning health care providers to "be aware of their limitations." In the same statement, the agency said it is bolstering their surveillance of these tests, working with the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on a validation project to help identify the most promising antibody tests. But this timeline remains unclear and may not respond quickly enough to the growing number of antibody tests already saturating the market. Senior officials from the FDA told ABC News they recognize there is a large ecosystem of antibody testing and providers are hungry to use them and in response want to provide much-needed clarity. The FDA said through its collaboration with the NIH and CDC it will physically validate the tests rather than review paperwork received by companies applying for the emergency use authorization. Generally the tests it is reviewing have been volunteered by the companies. PHOTO: Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, April 24, 2020, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP) But some members of the government believe these efforts fall short. In a new Democratic staff memo, Illinois Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, wrote, "Companies are ignoring requests from HHS to voluntarily submit their tests for validation." And later added that the lack of clarity and series of "unclear clarifications" puts the "public's health at risk by allowing potentially fraudulent tests to spread unchecked." In response to this recent staff memo FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said at the White House briefing on Friday, "We provide flexibility." Hahn said the FDA, with the CDC and NIH will work to provide "as much information as we possibly can" about these tests' efficacy. The FDA, according to the memo, also told the committee that it has not yet taken formal action against companies falsely marketing tests as FDA approved and for at-home use. MORE: FDA not doing enough to regulate antibody tests, Democrats say Overpromise and underdeliver Some scientists, however, say that beyond companies knowingly scamming consumers, even the antibody tests manufactured by larger companies with fairly reputable histories overpromise and underdeliver. "There is just so much variety in these assays out there, and we too have seen some tests to have a very high level of false positive results using samples that were collected prior to the outbreak," said Eliza Theel, Ph.D., director of Mayo Clinic Infectious Diseases Serology laboratory testing. Another major issue experts cite is the lack of standardized validation protocols. "You can cherry pick what your controls are," said Wells. Validating tests with the right samples is essential in order to minimize the potential of false positives and negatives. "False positive means that the antibody reaction detected an antibody, but from some other coronavirus or some other related infection," according to Dave Koch, Ph.D., director of clinical chemistry, toxicology and point-of-care testing at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. "There is also possibility of a false negative: I actually have the virus but the antibody hasn't shown up yet or hasn't gotten to the detection limits in the bloodstream yet." The currently available antibody tests have a 87% to 93% range in sensitivity and 95% to 100% range of specificity, according to a recently published Johns Hopkins report. Sensitivity and specificity refer to the accuracy of the test in terms of ability to correctly identify positive and negative results. In general specificity and sensitivity are inversely related, decreasing the threshold for positive results may increase the likelihood of returning false positives, and vice versa. Dr. James Baker, an immunologist at University of Michigan who specializes in diagnostic laboratory immunology and is currently evaluating the accuracy of multiple COVID-19 antibody tests in order to help distributors submit EUA packages to the FDA, said that no test is perfect, however, an acceptable test would demonstrate mid-90% sensitivity and over 90% specificity for the particular antibody in question. Although these numbers appear pretty high when officials start mass testing that could result in thousands of people receiving incorrect results. Baker believes the distribution of faulty tests is immoral: "When I see things like this I find it very disconcerting; people should not be doing this. It's not appropriate." Concerns over false positive and negative tests were voiced by Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, deputy commissioner of the New York City Department of Health, within hours of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo releasing the results of a statewide antibody sampling study this week. The results estimated that almost 14% of the New York state residents tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies. New York City had the highest estimated positive results at approximately 21%. Daskalakis warned of potentially misleading estimates due to "significant voids" in antibody testing. Florian Krammer, a professor of vaccinology, who has spearheaded Mount Sinai Hospital's COVID-19 antibody testing initiative and convalescent plasma clinical trials, echoed these sentiments. In a recent tweet, Krammer wrote, "But a 20% plus infection rate seems too high for NYC due to a number of reasons. I would think 6-8%, maybe 10% are closer to the truth." Like Daskalakis, he had questions regarding specificity and sensitivity of these tests. I think this is too high. It is possible. But a 20% plus infection rate seems too high for NYC due to a number of reasons. I would think 6-8%, maybe 10% are closer to the truth. It would be nice to know more about the test, its sensitivity and specificity and the test population. Florian Krammer (@florian_krammer) April 23, 2020 Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead on the pandemic for the WHO, cautioned against reading too much into these results in a recent briefing. "We need to put these into context over a large number of studies across multiple countries," she said. Interpreting results Beyond the actual reliability of these tests there remain major gaps in our understanding of antibodies, which can affect the way we interpret the results. Experts still don't know for certain when the antibodies will appear and whether or not they will reach detectable levels. Moreover, they are still not certain whether or not the presence of antibodies indicates any form of protection from future infection. Even with laboratory-based antibody tests, which experts say are more reliable and quantify the level of antibodies present unlike rapid assays, questions regarding how to clinically interpret the data persist. "What we do in the laboratory is provide objective evidence, but the antibody -- even though it will get measured properly -- we just don't know what that means in a clinic sense," said Koch. PHOTO: A medical practitioner takes a blood sample for the COVID 19 IgG and IgM Rapid Test, designed to detect the coronavirus antibodies, from a patient in Richmond, Texas, on April 25, 2020. (Adrees Latif/Reuters) Major research groups are stepping up. Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, a global nonprofit research organization, is collaborating with the WHO to develop a standardized protocol for evaluating COVID-19 tests. They hope to collaborate with other federal bodies and intend to openly share their data. Dr. Rangarajan Sampath, FIND's chief scientific officer, said he was "shocked" to see large governments, such as Spain, prematurely buying thousands of antibody tests without any independent evaluations. Only after purchasing the tests from the Chinese manufacturer and running their own evaluations did they learn the tests were approximately 30% accurate, according to Caixin Global reporting. MORE: Could a simple blood test for COVID-19 antibodies help reopen the economy? He hopes that FIND's works provides a centralized resource of much-needed information that would provide insight on antibody test performance globally. Sampath admitted that it takes time to set up a standardized quality control program for antibody tests for a novel virus like COVID-19. Scientists need more data and that data is simply not available yet. "It will happen, but it doesn't happen overnight." he said. Sampath advised "not to classify antibody tests as good or bad. There's more in understanding the context in which they are used and how we think of using them. Understand the product in front of you and know how to interpret the results." Eden David, who's studying neuroscience at Columbia University and matriculating to medical school later this year, is a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit. A reality check on antibody testing: How do we race forward thoughtfully? originally appeared on abcnews.go.com President Akufo-Addo has announced the construction of hospitals in some 88 districts across the country this year. The President disclosed this in his eighth address to the nation on Sunday. There are eighty-eight (88) districts in our country without district hospitals; we have six (6) new regions without regional hospitals; we do not have 5 infectious disease control centres dotted across the country; and we do not have enough testing and isolation centres for diseases like COVD-19. We must do something urgently about this. That is why Government has decided to undertake a major investment in our healthcare infrastructure, the largest in our history. We will, this year, begin constructing eighty-eight (88) hospitals in the districts without hospitals, he said. He added that: each of them will be a quality, standard-design, one hundred bed hospital, with accommodation for doctors, nurses and other health workers, and the intention is to complete them within a year. We have also put in place plans for the construction of six new regional hospitals in the six new regions, and the rehabilitation of the Effia Nkwanta Hospital, in Sekondi, which is the regional hospital of the Western Region. Regional breakdown Ashanti (10) Volta (9) Eastern (8) Greater Accra (7) Upper East (7) Oti (5) Upper West (5) Bono (5) Western North (5) Savanna (3) Bono East (2) North East (2) ---citinewsroom The Democratic Party's great hope for winning a U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina spends his days during coronavirus lockdown repositioning his computer to avoid sun glare on his webcam. "I have been relegated to the sun porch," said Cal Cunningham, a former state lawmaker and military veteran, whose wife and teenage children were not impressed enough by his March 3 primary win to cede him workspace in their Raleigh home. "The challenge with the sun porch is that the sun starts on one side and moves to the other." Such blinding inconveniences have become a new reality for political professionals across the country, as the social distancing clampdown has transformed the art and logistics of politicking just in time for the quadrennial election circus to launch into overdrive. While much of the attention has focused on former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, hunkering down in his Delaware basement to record his podcast, or President Donald Trump seeking to monopolize the evening television airwaves, covid-19 has swiftly transformed all corners of the political universe. Local candidates and name-brand leaders alike have been forced to abandon rallies, community centers and campaign offices. Volunteers, organizers and operatives have been quarantined into virtual meetings, letter-writing campaigns and mobile-texting blitzes. One-on-one coffee meetings, the essential element of the political organizer's day, still happen, but they occur virtually, with home-brewed tea. Entire organizations have pivoted to meet the moment. Senior Republican officials, who have hundreds of Zoom meetups scheduled at any moment, boast of field organizers delivering groceries for homebound turnout targets. The Florida Democratic Party calls its 6 p.m. virtual phone banks "wine downs," encouraging drinking and conversation in an effort to make the events more social. That's created a campaign like no other. With decades-old tactics instantly obsolete, no one knows what will work, how long it will last, what voters want to hear - or how this might reshape politics in the future. In the meantime, it's prompted an urgent hunt for ways to re-create the intimacies at the heart of politics. "During the time of social distancing, it is definitely important to get creative with the way we're connecting with volunteers and the voters," said John Koons, a leader of the Trump field program in Pennsylvania, at the start of a training this month for about 70 new volunteers for Trump's re-election bid. The training, which has been repeated dozens of times across the country, had all the markings of this new era - a heavy emphasis on mobile-first technology, warnings not to be put off by frustrated voters on the other end of the line, and aspirational, if not anachronistic, talking points about door knocking and Trump's impact on the economy. "The economy has been a huge accomplishment of him, adding millions of jobs every single year," Koons said during the April 14 event, just days before the Labor Department announced that 22 million people had lost their jobs in a four-week span. The Democratic Party, which remains far less centralized and is still retooling for a Biden candidacy, has also stepped up its efforts to virtually train thousands of "digital organizers" in the arts of voter contact, social media and volunteer recruitment. "We needed to give our community something to do," said Meg DiMartino, the digital organizing director of the Democratic National Committee. "We cannot take an eight-week sabbatical from organizing." Republican and Democratic strategists, along with grass roots activists, describe a novel moment in political life. Never before have so many Americans been homebound, with time on their hands to answer the phone or put in volunteer hours. Pollsters have found that people are answering their phones again at rates not seen in decades. "It's like it's the 1990s and everyone is basically an old woman in rural Iowa picking up their landlines," said John Anzalone, a pollster for Biden. At the same time, the virus has displaced politics and elections as a concern for many, as people worry about making rent or mortgage payments, finding food and staying healthy. As a result, everyone from national organizers to local candidates has shifted their messaging from big-picture arguments to practical questions about how they can help. "Folks want to feel like they belong somewhere, like they are part of a team, so we are trying to do our best to give them that experience," said Geoff Burgan, a spokesman for Organizing Together 2020, an independent group backed by labor that is building field organizations with a staff of more than 400 in six swing states. "It's getting the in-person rush of a campaign office and helping to bring that online." For Kathy Knecht, a Democrat and former school board member running for the Arizona legislature, that means trying to figure out new ways of connecting with voters. She has been partnering with her local chapter of Indivisible, a liberal grass roots organization, to hold Zoom fundraising raffles that bring in hundreds of dollars at a time. The pandemic-appropriate prizes include baskets of toilet paper called "bouquets" as well as "survival baskets" stuffed with toilet paper, wine, coffee and cleaning products. The prizes are awarded randomly to people who have recently donated to Knecht's campaign on the liberal fundraising site ActBlue. "The tone of our campaign has changed to more empathetic, because we know that not just the community at large but even our own volunteers are dealing with this virus in their own lives," Knecht said. Since many of her prospective voters in the Phoenix suburbs are elderly, she has plans to offer them the services of her adult children who have been living with her during the pandemic. "I am going to suggest that if older people need tech support, reach out to our campaign and one of our Gen-Z'ers can do it," she said. For Patricia Thomas, an Indivisible activist in the west Phoenix area, the number of nightly Zoom call invitations can become overwhelming. "The biggest problem I'm running into is having so many things to join," she said. That's partly because there is hardly a political operation in America that has not announced a commitment to video conferencing as a way of keeping the human connection going, making the online engagement exhausting at times. "Our philosophy is we keep going no matter what," said Alexandra Rojas, executive director of the Justice Democrats, who has been hosting "live stream town hall discussions." "We are focusing on the things we can control." The Trump campaign has been particularly aggressive on this front after switching to an all-digital campaign in March. Most of its targeted states have more than a dozen "MAGA meet ups" scheduled at any one time, with occasional special appearances by surrogates like the president's son, Donald Trump Jr. Trump operatives say their activity is at an intensity level normally reserved for a campaign's closing weeks. "We are having field operation output at 'final 30 days' levels now," said Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for the Trump campaign. "The whole campaign from the beginning - from five years ago - has been built on data, so we were much better equipped to pivot to an exclusively online campaign than anyone else." For Democrats looking to flip the U.S. Senate blue, there was less of a ramp-up period. Mark Kelly, a Democrat and former astronaut running for a Republican-held seat in Arizona, has taken to giving talks on Instagram about what he learned in space about living in isolation. He has also read a bedtime story to kids with his twin brother, who lived in the International Space Station. That practice of reading stories online has been picked up by other political figures as well. Chris Bollwage, the mayor of Elizabeth, New Jersey, the state's fourth largest city, has taken to reading a new children's book every night, pulling a few hundred, or maybe a few thousand, views on Facebook and Twitter. "I'd like to dedicate it to my friend Katie," he said before introducing "The Duckling Gets a Cookie" by Mo Willems on Friday night. "Katie really likes cookies, and this is a special one for her." Cunningham, meanwhile, has learned to stack his Zoom meetings one after another on the sun porch, flitting between county Democratic gatherings, small business leaders, fundraising events and staff calls. When the internet goes down, taking his Zoom and Google Hangouts with it, he shifts to FaceTime to keep gripping and grinning from a distance. "I can both cover a lot more geography quicker and engage people in a very meaningful dialogue," he said of his new life on the digital campaign trail, praising the technology's ability to put questions in a queue. "If I am standing in a courthouse room addressing 40, 50, 60 people, it is a little harder to get to everyone's question." But for many politicians, firing up audiences and plunging into crowds is the heart of political life, and this period of isolation feels disturbingly impersonal. Cunningham, for one, will be happy to get off the porch. "I certainly love to travel and see people in person," he said. "I miss that tremendously." Many of Holleys clients are homeless, people who already were struggling before the pandemic. But she said Legal Services of Eastern Missouri has been hearing from people they normally wouldnt like those who had well-paying jobs before the pandemic. Its people who may never have applied for food stamps before, may not ever have needed to, she said. The volume of applications is the largest the state has seen during March since 2010, when the U.S. was dealing with economic fallout from the Great Recession. In March of that year, Missouri received over 88,000 food stamp applications. From 2008 to 2011, the state added 249,000 people to the rolls, according to a recent report from the Missouri Budget Project, a nonpartisan think tank. The report predicted Missouri could see even higher levels of need during the current economic crisis. The number of people needing food assistance during the COVID-19 crisis will likely equal, or surpass, the quarter of a million increase seen during the Great Recession, the report stated. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ahn Sung-mi (The Korea Herald/Asia News Network) Sun, April 26, 2020 09:52 626 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd4443e1 2 World kim-jong-un,coronavirus,COVID-19,North-Korea Free Speculations mounted Sunday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is dead, amid conflicting accounts about his health were reported since he disappeared from public view two weeks ago. But the exact situation remains unclear with unconfirmed claims. A vice director of Hong Kong Satellite Television Shijian Xingzou claimed that Kim has already died, citing a very solid source, according to media reports. Separately, Japanese magazine Shukan Gendai reported he was in a vegetative state, after he underwent a heart surgery earlier this month, and cannot recuperate. South Korean media outlet Monthly Chosun also reported the leader was in coma. None of these claims have been confirmed as of now. Despite the speculations, North Korea has kept mum on Kims health or his whereabouts. The only mention was that he expressed thanks to workers building facilities in Samjiyon, situated near Paektusan, according to the Korea Central News Agency. The rumors on Kims health arose when he skipped an annual event at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on April 15 to commemorate the birthday of his late grandfather, national founder Kim Il-sung. Kim Jong-un was last seen April 11, when he presided over a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers Party. Multiple reports followed, including that Kim is in grave danger, after undergoing surgery. The South Korean government has downplayed the reports, saying no unusual developments have been detected. Topics : This article appeared on The Korea Herald newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post Germany's foreign minister has said the excess capacity in intensive care units and the mass testing available to the population has been one of the main reasons the country has kept its Covid-19 death rate so low. Andreas Michaelis said that while experts had criticised the government for its expenditure on high capacity intensive care, the German public were 'very happy' to have financed the extra provisions. Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, the German minister also revealed that the country had 40,000 intensive care beds, 30,000 of which could be used with ventilators. The minister's appearance comes as Germanys confirmed coronavirus cases increased by 140 to 5,640, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases confirmed on Sunday. Germany's foreign minister Andreas Michaelis said the country had 40,000 intensive care beds, 30,000 of which could be used with ventilators Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr show, the minister said while experts had criticised the government for its expenditure on high capacity intensive care, the German public were happy to have financed the policy Mr Michaelis said: 'We were lucky on the one hand and we probably did the right policy in the past. 'There's another factor and that's the number of ICU's so the intensive care units that are available in Germany which is a figure of 40,000, 30,000 of which can be used with ventilators and this is really a heritage of our health system. 'It's almost the core factor of our health system which we developed and a lot of experts were criticising us for having too much capacity, too much expenditure - I think the people of Germany can now say that's an extra capacity they are very happy to have financed in the past.' The minister also explained that Germany had begun testing its population from the 'very beginning' and now had a testing capacity of 8000,000. He continued: 'We could test from the very beginning at relatively high levels we have now a test capacity reaching 800,000 of which we only performed 450,000 a week. 'But we were able to test very early on, that is certainly an important aspect in this and we have to add to this that we suspect that in the initial phase of the crisis we had a relatively young age group that was affected so the number of fatalities were lower.' The Foreign Minister also explained that Germans could ask the authorities to be tested if they presented with the symptoms of Covid-19 or if they had come in contact with someone affected. He said: 'It's a combination of things because people can address the authorities and ask to be tested if they feel that is necessary because either they have symptoms or they feel they have been in touch in contact with others that may have infected them. So the number of tests that are being carried out is relatively high as I've described it. 'If we have outbreaks certainly the authorities go into it and then offer the test capability.' During the interview, Mr Michaelis said the first steps of lifting Germany's lockdown was to send certain age groups of children back to school, and to allow non-essential shops to open as long as they are not larger than 800sqm. The Foreign Minister also said those who had symptoms of the virus or had come in contact with someone infected could ask the authorities to be tested He also said that Germany was considering phone tracking apps, but said it was unlikely to happen before June. He added: 'I think at the beginning we all started from the same point and if you look at the measures which we apply at the moment our strategies are not very different, not different between the Germany and the UK and not different between the rest of Europe as far as I can see so sometimes it's just a matter of luck.' Mr Michaelis' comments come as UK ministers order the production of up to 50 million new immunity tests as part of what experts hope will be a 'game-changing' development in the battle against Covid-19. The breakthrough by a team of British scientists means that, by June, people could be able to reliably test whether they have developed immunity to the virus and then be allowed to return to work and socialise as normal. The new immunity tests, expected to cost 10, have been devised by scientists at Oxford, working for the Government-backed Rapid Testing Consortium. The dramatic news comes as Boris Johnson prepares to go back to work in Downing Street tomorrow, having told aides that he is 'raring to go' in the fight against the virus which nearly killed him. The Kerala government is preparing for the return of thousands of expatriates from West Asia amid indications that Indians stranded around the world due to Covid-19-related travel restrictions are set to return to the country. On Sunday, the non-resident Keralites affairs (Norka) department started online registration of people who want to return to the state. Keralas higher education and minority affairs minister TK Jaleel said the government expects between 150,000 to 200,000 people to return within the space of a month. Kerala also wants the Central government to help in sending back migrant workers from north and northeast India stranded in the state before the expatriates arrive. At least 300,000 migrant workers are currently in some 10,000 camps across the state. The state government said among the people expected to return, pregnant women, relatives of expatriates who went abroad for a vacation and got stranded, patients with medical conditions other than Covid-19, students and people whose visas have expired will get priority. People who have tested negative for Covid-19 in other countries will have to give an undertaking that they will remain in quarantine for a fortnight on arrival in Kerala. We have made all arrangements to receive our people. After tests, those who have symptoms will be shifted to our care homes. Others will be sent to their homes with strict instructions to remain in quarantine, said Jaleel. We will get a clear idea [about the number of people returning] once the registration is over. We will give preference to women and children, he added. Last week, a woman from based in Dubai filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking help to return home to deliver her baby. She said she wanted to return for her first delivery in July, and that after seven months of pregnancy, she wouldnt be allowed to travel by air. Many expatriates are upset with the government, especially at a time when Pakistan and the Philippines have evacuated their nationals from West Asia. Many Covid-19 care homes have come up near the four international airports in Kerala but authorities believe they may not be sufficient to cope with the flow, and vacant flats, locked houses and houseboats are also being prepared to house the expatriates. Work is progressing at Alapuzha to convert houseboats into quarantine homes and Covid-19 hospitals. There are about 1.8 million people from Kerala working in West Asian countries and their remittances during 2018-19 were worth Rs 88,000 crore, serving as the backbone of the states money order economy. A senior state health ministry official said on condition of anonymity that once the expatriates start arriving, Kerala will introduce reverse quarantine the practice of separating the most vulnerable, elderly or people with co-morbidity conditions and closely monitoring their health indicators to protect them from infection. The government is working on the idea that in case of community spread, it can isolate the large greying population and check the mortality rate among them, unlike what happened in some Western countries, the official said. Since some those who returned from the Middle East last month emerged as super spreaders, the state will be more cautious this time. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to the prime minister to run special trains to take migrant workers in Kerala back to their states. Kerala is taking all steps to look after them but their presence is draining its coffers. The states economy is in shambles. We want migrant workers to be sent back before the arrival of the expatriates. We hope the Centre will help us, said a senior government official who declined to be named. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ramesh Babu Ramesh Babu is HTs bureau chief in Kerala, with about three decades of experience in journalism. ...view detail The initial wave of COVID-19 infections appears to have passed its peak in 20 European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) countries, according to a new report published by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). So far, more than 1.15 million cases and some 113,700 deaths have been reported across Europe, according to the latest data from the ECDC. MORE POSITIVE SIGNS In Italy, the pandemic has claimed 25,969 lives, out of 192,994 cumulative cases. Nevertheless, the death toll on Friday, 420, is the lowest since March 18. Total active cases stood at 106,527, down by 321 compared to the previous day, which is the fifth consecutive daily drop. Spain saw the lowest single-day death toll in over one month. With 367 new deaths Friday, the figure, lowest since March 21, also brings an end to three consecutive days of rising. The country now has a total of 219,764 cases and 22,524 deaths. In neighboring France, hospitalization data reported a "slow and steady decline." Patients in intensive care units fell by 183 to 4,870, below the country's original capacity of 5,000 beds. With 389 new deaths, the country's tally now rises to 22,245. However, the daily increase of 1.8 percent Friday is lower than Thursday's 2.4 percent and Wednesday's 2.6 percent. And in Germany, the country has reported 2,337 new infections in the past 24 hours, with total cases reaching 150,383. The number of daily infections has dropped significantly compared with the over 6,000 at the height of the pandemic, according to German disease control agency Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Moreover, the estimated number of recoveries in Germany increased by around 3,500 within one day to 106,800, accounting for more than two thirds of the total cases. Elsewhere, in Croatia, the number of cured COVID-19 patients has surpassed that of existing patients for the first time. Out of the total 2,009 cases, 982 patients have recovered while 51 died as of Friday afternoon. In Albania, over 58 percent of patients have also recovered, according to health officials. Of the 678 confirmed cases in the country, 394 are recoveries. MORE RELAXATIONS Amid the abating signs of the pandemic, evidenced by the figures, more European countries are planning to ease anti-virus restrictions. The French government is looking to ease the six-week lockdown on May 11, in the hopes of injecting life into the crumbling economy while ensuring people' safety. The government is set to unveil its exit strategy next week. In Austria, Education Minister Heinz Fassmann on Friday presented a roadmap for reopening schools in the country: first to go back to school will be pupils in their final year, followed by younger students and then the older ones, with classes divided into two groups to reduce population density. The country, which has registered 14,987 cases, had already announced it would reopen all shops from May 1. In Bosnia and Berzegovina (BiH), authorities in the country's two entities -- the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and Republika Srpska (RS) -- announced the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions. The government of FBiH, among others, called off the nighttime curfew as of Friday, along with the ban on the movement of persons under the age of 18 and over 65. Officials in Republika Srpska announced the same day that shops, trades and services will be allowed to reopen on April 27. ENHANCED COOPERATION Another good news in Europe came from the Geneva-based the World Health Organization (WHO). With the backing of global partners and leaders, the UN health agency launched a "landmark" international initiative to accelerate the development of COVID-19 health technologies. The collaboration was launched at a virtual conference co-hosted by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, French President Emmanuel Macron, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. By launching the international cooperation, the WHO and its partners aim to "ensure all people have access to all the tools to defeat COVID-19," said the WHO chief. "This is a landmark collaboration to accelerate the development, production and equitable distribution of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics for COVID-19," he said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the conference that Germany is ready to fully support the collaboration and will make a substantial contribution to the pledging conference scheduled to take place in early May. "We will only defeat this virus if we join forces and form a powerful alliance," Merkel said. A number of global health actors and private sector partners, as well as other stakeholders, joined the new global collaboration. Among them are Global Fund, UNITAID, Wellcome Trust, the World Bank and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The launch of the collaboration came a day after a team at the University of Oxford, Britain, began vaccine trials on humans. When he came face to face 74 years ago with Baldur von Schirach, the organizer of the Hitler Youth movement, Emilio Leo DiPalma was, as he put it, just a kid. A kid from Springfield, Massachusetts. The 19-year-old son of Italian immigrants was standing guard in Courtroom 600 at the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg, Germany, when Von Schirach, fresh from a confrontation with a prosecutor at the war crimes trials, remarked to DiPalma during a recess, Our Hitler Youth was nothing more than your Boy Scouts. DiPalma, who had seen combat with the Armys 79th Infantry Division as the Americans crossed from Belgium into Germany in 1945 and chased the Nazis to defeat at the end of World War II, didnt miss a beat: I fought the Hitler Youth, he remembered telling von Schirach. They were vicious. Our Boy Scouts werent taught to use weapons. From that point on, von Schirach never again looked his young guard in the eye, according to DiPalmas daughter, Emily Aho. My dad really thought von Schirach believed him and took to heart what he said. Von Schirach is said to have indeed had a change of heart in the course of his trial, admitting, I put my morals to the side when, out of misplaced faith in the Fuhrer, I took part in this action. I did it. I cannot undo it. He was sentenced on Oct. 1, 1946 to 20 years in prison for crimes against humanity, was released in 1966 and would live out his days in a life of seclusion, dying eight years later at the age of 67. After his wartime duty, Emilio Joseph DiPalma returned home to Western Massachusetts to marry his beloved wife, Louise. Together, they raised a family of four daughters. He had a long career as a hoisting engineer in construction and was a volunteer firefighter in East Longmeadow. On April 8, one week after testing positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus, DiPalma died at the Soldiers Home in Holyoke. He was 93 years old. He is among more than 50 residents of the Soldiers Home who have died since the virus invaded in early March, most of them from the effects of COVID-19. Many of the dead were veterans of World War II, but the virus over the past weeks at the Soldiers Home has also taken the lives of veterans of Korea and Vietnam as well as those who served our country during times of peace. No generation has proven immune to COVID-19. Navy veteran and retired Westfield Police Sgt. William C. Chandler, 80, who died on Thursday morning, was known as Mr. Nice Guy. On the occasion of his retirement back in 1995 after 32 years on the force, a fellow officer said, He is probably one of the nicest guys youll ever meet. He treats everybody well. He has a lot of compassion, and hes got one of those even dispositions. The Navy gave Chandler a trade as an electrician, and in retirement he taught at Westfield Vocational Academy. Army veteran Francis Foley, of Chicopee, 82, who died on April 17, was a 50-year union carpenter who above allenjoyed spending time with his family and many friends. Michael J. Laviolette, of West Springfield, served as a medic with the Army National Guard and was 67 when he died on April 1. Retired since 2014, Laviolette was a devout Catholic and always went out of his way to help others. A veteran of the Navy in 1965 and 1966, Dean C. Letourneau, of Turners Falls, was 74 when he died at the home on April 11. He had lived there since 2016. Theodore A. Ted Kapinos, 91, of Hadley, served as a military police officer with the Army during the Korean War and went on to careers with the Massachusetts State Police and as director of security at the Springfield Library and Museum Association. He was a man who lived life with gusto through his sense of humor and worldly philosophies. In this Jan. 26, 2017, World War II veteran James H. Sullivan visits the restored Union Station in Springfield in a tour arranged by U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal. Sullivan, a native of Northampton, passed through the station in 1942 en route to Army boot camp. Sullivan died on April 13, four day shy of his 100th birthday, due to complications from COVID-19. He is among more than 50 residents of the Soldiers Home who have fallen victim to the virus.Staff-Shot Four days shy of turning 100, James H. Sullivan lost his battle with COVID-19 on April 13. Three years ago, he was among a small group of the homes residents who visited Springfields Union Station at the invitation of U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal to see the place they passed through when they went off to war. It was there that Mr. Sullivan and I met. He reveled as he recalled heading off to duty with the Army, remembering the train ride from Northampton south through Springfield, bound for basic training. A recipient of the Bronze Star, Sullivan saw duty in the Pacific as a forward observer. Sullivan was a contemporary of my father, who died in 1991, as they had grown up in the same working-class, largely Irish neighborhood off Prospect Street in Northampton. He was in the words of one of my close friends who knew him better than me, a consummate gentleman, unfailingly so. The obituaries which flow in each day to The Republican share words which most fully describe the toll being taken by the virus at the Soldiers Home. Each is a patriot, but the chapters of their lives go far beyond their military service as they lived and worked among us, contributing to our communities all across Western Massachusetts. For their families, the grief of their loss is accentuated by not having been able to be with their loved ones as they faced what truly proved a fight of a lifetime. They must grieve against a backdrop in multiple inquiries into how the virus spread through the home and how the response was handled by those in charge. In a sense its another world war, but this time we cant see the foe, Leo DiPalmas daughter wrote to me in an email soon after her fathers passing. We are separated physically in order to fight this battle, but we will come together again. She had reached out to share a clipping from the June 1, 1946 edition of the Springfield Daily News: Local GI Guard Nazi Big-Wigs, to let us know how much the newspaper had meant to her family more than seven decades ago. His parents (my grandparents) loved that photo because at that time they had no idea of where he was stationed. (For) Italian immigrants living in Springfield, it was a relief to see him at the trials and they were proud, she wrote. This clipping from the June 1, 1946 edition of the Springfield Daily News: Local GI Guard Nazi Big-Wigs, shows Army Staff Sgt. Emilio J. DiPalma, of Springfield, on duty at the Nazi war trials in Nuremberg, Germany. It was the first word his parents received of where he was service. Seen at the microphone is Nazi youth leader Baldur Von Shirach. On April 8, one week after testing positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus, DiPalma died at the Soldiers Home in Holyoke. He was 93 years old.Third Party submitted Like the children of many a veteran, Aho had long known little about what her father had done in the war, other than he was at some big trial. Their father-daughter relationship took an entirely different turn when they visited Germany together in 2000 and wound up one afternoon in Courtroom 600 in Nuremberg. It was then that I felt like I came full circle with my father, she says. I learned about him as a person. In Germany, I saw him as a 19-year-old man during the trials, and I saw what he experienced. He completely changed, talking about his experiences and showing me things. Aho, who has authored several childrens books, teamed with her father to publish Just A Kid in 2002, his memoirs of the Nuremberg Trials. It opened the floodgates for DiPalma to break his long silence, conducting interviews and sharing his recollections with museums and audiences around the world. As her path of grief unfolds, Aho draws comfort from videos her father recorded for the Robert H. Jackson Center in which he shared his recollections of Nuremberg. (Jackson was the chief U.S. prosecutor at Nuremberg and went on to serve as a Supreme Court judge). Seeing her dad, hearing his voice reminds her of the man he was, not of the disease that took him, she says. Cynthia G. Simison is executive editor of The Republican. She may be reached by email to csimison@repub.com. Help India! In spite of the ongoing country wide lockdown in India, enforced by the government to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, caste based violence reared its ugly ahead in Rajasthan with a killing of a middle-aged Dalit man allegedly by upper-caste men. TwoCircles.net correspondent NAZISH HUSSAIN writes on the crime and the devastating impact on family and weary hopes for justice. Jodhpur: Eighty kilometres from Jodhpur city in the state of Rajasthan, falls Basni village in Jainta gram panchayat where on April 18 the murder of a middle-aged Dalit man allegedly at the hands of upper-caste men has left his family and other Dalits in fear. The Dalits are a minority in the village comprising nearly 30 per cent of the village population. Support TwoCircles The victim Dungarram Meghwal belongs to the Meghwal community, one of the largest Dalit communities in Rajasthan. Most men from Meghwal community work as agriculture workers, manual workers and cobblers but Dungarram had what most Dalits across the country do not commonly possess he owned land and had a job as a clerk with Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI). On the morning of April 18, according to Dungarrams family the victim and his two brothers Banshilal Meghwal and Kesharam Meghwal had gone to their family land, a three kilometres distance from their home. The land falls in the area of the village Bhat Koriya, the assailants village. Given the lockdown enforced in the country amid the outbreak of COVID-19, the brothers thought of utilizing the time to fence their land. The land is near a hill and is full of bushes and ditches. Dungarram and his two brothers were engaged in cutting the bushes, digging and levelling the land for laying of stones, victims youngest brother Ramdin Meghwal told Twocircles.net. Ramdin, who is posted in Trivandrum, Kerala as a senior administrative officer with the Indian Council of Agriculture Research, says he was speaking with Dungarram on the phone who told him that, five men from upper-caste Rajput and Devasi communities were grazing their cattle nearby. Dungarram told his brother to hung up when he saw the five upper-caste men approaching him. It was 7:45 a.m. and the next Ramdin heard from his family was a few hours later when his sister-in-law phoned him and told him amid sobs, they have killed your brother. Shocked and in grief, Ramdin felt helpless as he was far away from his home and couldnt immediately travel to his village due to travel restrictions imposed by the government to enforce lockdown. With the help of a friend, Ramdin acquired a travel pass on the evening of the same day. After three days of arduous road journey Ramdin arrived at his village in a private car he had hired. They had hit Dungarram with an axe and fled from the scene, Ramdin said, adding, it was Banshilal who took his brothers body to Bawdi Health Centre, where doctors declared him dead. Banshilal reported the matter to Bawdi Tehsil Police Station. The incident sparked anger among the local Dalit population and they gathered at Bawdi. The Dalits protested and demanded the arrests of culprits before the body was taken for post mortem. An FIR was filed on the same day at Khedapa Police station under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and Indian Penal Code under sections 447, 147, 148, 149, 323, 302 and five accused were arrested. Duggarram Meghwal was murdered by Bhagwan Singh urf Bhagsingh, son of Dewi Singh (Caste Rajput) of BhatKoriya, Arjunram son of Mana Singh, (Caste Devasi) of BhatKoriya, Babu Singh (Caste Rajput), Mahendra Singh (Caste Rajput), and Baburam (Caste Devasi). The murder occurred at around 8 a.m. on April 18, 2020, the FIR report reads, a copy of which lies with TwoCircles.net. Thereafter, the body was sent for post mortem. Around 6 p.m. we received the body after post mortem was conducted. By 8 p.m. we performed the funeral, victims brother-in-law Sajan Ram told TwoCircles.net. The local Hindi media reported the incident as a matter of land dispute. However, relatives and activists say that the murder was not just the result of a land dispute but occurred due to the prevalent casteist mindset and upper-caste dominance. Commenting on the caste dynamics in their village, Sajan Ram says that Dalits are weak and oppressed in their area. Rajputs have always maintained dominance and they feel no one can speak against them. Those who dare to speak against them get beaten up or murdered by them, Ram added. The accused belong to two upper-caste Rajput and Devasi families, who live near Meghwal family land in Bhat Koriya. Sajan Ram says that what incensed the upper caste men was the presence of Dalits in their area. This triggered a row and they hit Dungarram on his neck with an axe resulting in his death, he says. Caste violence is nothing new in Rajasthan, which ranks as one of the worst states in India when it comes to violence against Scheduled Castes (SC). The data collected by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for the year 2018 reveals that Rajasthan accounts for 10.8 per cent of all crimes against Dalits (officially known as Scheduled Castes) in India is among the top five worst states for SCs. NCRB report further says that there has been 47.47 per cent increase in the total number of crimes against Dalits in the period of 2018-19 in Rajasthan, adding that a whopping, 37.7 per cent total crimes recorded in Rajasthan were against Scheduled Castes. Dalits constitute 17 per cent of the total population in Rajasthan as per 2001 Census and the crime rate against the community is high. Civil society groups and NGOs reveal a similar picture. A report by Public Advocacy Initiatives for Rights and Values in India (PAIRVI) in 2017 says that Rajasthan records the highest number of cases against scheduled castes in India. Most of the cases registered are related to physical assault, rape and murder. Bhanwar Meghwanshi, a prominent Dalit activist from Rajasthan dismisses the land dispute angle as the sole reason for Dungarrams killing. Many incidents happen in Rajasthan due to land disputes. But when it comes to other castes it doesnt result in killing or a death as there is no caste hatred among other castes, he told TwoCircles.net. In Dungarrams case, he owned land which put him in a slightly better off position financially. According to Meghwanshi, the upward mobility of Dalits is not taken well by the upper caste Hindus as it threatens their dominance and hegemony. For victims brother Ramdin, the accused upper-caste men never had any claim on their land. Till 2015, there was no dispute regarding our family land, Ramdin says. Narrating the story of how the land dispute arose in the first place, Ramdin says that till 2015 the Meghwal family was under the impression that they own only 16 Bigha land (which roughly approximates to 5.28 acres). In 2011, our father passed away. Four years later, we thought of distributing the land among four brothers. After submitting an application in Tehsil headquarters, the Patwari (revenue officer) informed us that our land is not 16 Bigha but around 22 and a half Bigha, Ramdin says. Ramdin adds that they asked the Patwari to demarcate and measure their land, who in turn told them to fence it. We tried to fence the land in 2016 but the upper caste men objected and we couldnt complete it. On April 18, my brothers went to complete the fencing work and one of them got killed, he added. If they (the upper caste men) have any land documents or any claims to our ownership then they should show us. But they have none, he says. Ramdin adds that even the police are aware that that the 22 and a half Bigha land belongs to Meghwal family. Ramdin blames government officials, Gram Sevak, Patwari and Tehsildar for the land dispute. Had they carried out the measurements of the land and declared in front of everyone that this land belongs us and we can fence it and no one can claim otherwise, my brother would have been alive today, he says. The data from Rajasthan confirms the death of Dalits in different land dispute cases. Not so far away from Jodhpur, at a distance of nearly 142 kilometres falls the district of Nagaur, where in 2015 in an act of gruesome violence five Dalits were killed by over 200 Jats over a land dispute. Commenting on the caste-based violence prevalent in Rajasthan, activist Meghwanshi says that the upper caste dominance-mentality is not ready to consider Dalits as human beings let alone treat them with equality. In another incidence of violence against Dalits during the ongoing nation-wide lockdown in the Bhilwara district of Rajasthan, 25-year-old Dalit Paras Lal Salvi from Jaisinghpura village, Gangapur Bhilwada was allegedly beaten up by Jats on March 30 for opening his essential items shop and for keeping a picture of Ambedkar. Talking to TwoCircles.net, Salvi who runs a provision store in his village, narrated how two upper caste Jat men after verbally abusing him, beat him up. On March 30, I opened my shop to provide essential items to one of my customers when two Jat men Madhavlal and Suresh came and accused me of taking advantage of lockdown and selling ration, he said, adding, the two men objected to the picture of Dr Ambedker, which is hung in my shop and wanted me to take it down, which I completely refused as am I an Ambedkarite. The men continued to verbally abuse Salvi, asking him to not sit in a chair in front of him. A fight ensued and Salvi was beaten up. Jaisinghpura is a small village of 110 households, with nearly 40 households belonging to SCs. Incidents of not allowing Dalits to sit near places of worship, touch their food or water, or enter upper-caste homes are common. The fight at the shop was not the end of it. The perpetrators after beating him used casteist slur against Salvis wife, who works in an Anganwadi centre demanding she shouldnt enter the homes of upper caste people, Salvi says. They gathered my family in the middle of the village along with other villagers and issued a threat that if anyone talks to my family they will have to pay a fine of Rs. 11,000. The perpetrators also banned us from accessing Panghat (water source), he added. Having studied law and being an activist determined to end caste discrimination in his village, Salvi decided to not stay silent. Many times, I have ignored their verbal abuse, but now it was too much, he says. Paras decided to take the legal route to bring the perpetrators to justice. He submitted an application with the police on the very day of the incident but the FIR was not filed. Paras says that Under section 151, Thana Prabhari (Station Incharge) arrested the perpetrators but released them in the morning after presenting them before SDM. However, despite taking legitimate legal recourse, the harassment didnt stop. Paras alleges that he received death threats after taking legal action. They asked me what did I gain from the police, he says, If we want, we will kill you they told me. Undeterred, Paras continued his efforts to file an FIR against continued caste descrimination and harassment. I continued receiving threats from them. I made a video in which I raised my complaints and emailed it to Bhilwada Superintendent of Police (SP), he says. Taking cognizance of Salvis complaint, SP Bhilwada forwarded the matter to additional SP in Gangapur, who called Salvi to the station. There were Thana Prabhari and additional SP in the room. They asked me if the incident is true or not? I replied that if it were not true why would I have raised my voice? The police officials started the legal procedure and accepted Salvis application. It was finally on April 22, that Salvi was able to file an FIR against the perpetrators, including submitting his wifes and mothers statement before the police. From March 30 to April 22, it took me so long to register FIR against the culprits, Salvi says. Salvis resolve was only determined by his fears for his life. Whatever happened in Nagaur can also happen with me, he says. Salvi is referring to a recent incident of caste-violence in Rajasthan. On February 20, 2020, two Dalit men in Nagaur district were beaten up mercilessly on the suspicion of theft. One of them was stripped and petrol was inserted into his rectum. If I quiver under their pressure how I will end the caste discrimination in my village, Salvi says with resolve. While Salvi has fought back the discrimination against him, Dungarrams brother Ramdin has only one demand. He wants justice for his slain brother and punishment for the culprits. Ramdins demands couldnt be more implausible as previous crimes against Dalits in Rajasthan reveal a sorry picture of justice for Dalits. PAIRVIs 2017 report Atrocities against Dalits in Rajastan says that the conviction rate under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act is less than 3 percent and pendency rate is as high as 85 percent. Filing of the case alone doesnt guarantee justice to victims. The family has to survive the threats and attempts to sabotage the case. Undue pressure faced by Dalits to withdraw cases is a common occurrence. To ensure justice, Dalits rights activists often have to intervene and help the families seek legal aid. However, in the current lockdown, activists say they have been unable to visit the family and offer assistance. Meghwanshi says the incident happened during the lockdown when Dalits cant come on roads and register their protests. Activists from Jodhpur who wanted to go to the victims village were not able to reach due to lockdown. Also, we cannot have any gathering as Jodhpur has been declared a coronavirus hotspot, he says. As the incident happened during the lockdown period, Dalit activists question the enforceability of the lockdown. Suman Devathiya, state coordinator, All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch, Rajasthan Wing, who is following the updates of the case questions how a Dalit man was killed in lockdown. There is a lockdown in place, which the state is continuously monitoring, then how does such an attack happen? The government should think about this, she said. The lockdown has also made it difficult for activists to mobilize resources for aggrieved Dalit families. Devathiya expresses her concern for not being able to reach out to grassroots level and monitor the situation Dalits are facing. Devathiya told TwoCircles.net most of the Dalits in Rajasthan belong to the poor and deprived strata of the society. In this pandemic situation, their suffering has become manifold. Now, Dalits are struggling for daily food and protecting themselves from the pandemic. While on the other hand, they continue getting murdered and threatened, she said. Although arrests have been made in the case, Ramdin is not satisfied with the investigation. Ramdin alleges that the enquiry officer is showing bias by not working on the facts of the case. Ramdin believes the officer is favouring the opposite party. When the perpetrators were five, he arrested only two. Other three were let go, Ramdin says, adding, There was a JCB driver who reached the crime spot 10 minutes after the murder and he is a Dalit, yet the police didnt seek to find the eye-witnesses or take their statements. Ramdin alleges that the upper caste men approached the Dalit JCB driver and took him to the police station and got his statement recorded. Denying all allegations of bias against the aggrieved family, the investigation officer of the case Dharmendra Singh Dhukia told TwoCircles.net that there is no question of bias. There is nothing of that sort, and we are reaching people for their statements. We are doing our investigation and we can arrest people only if we have evidence, he said. Dalit rights activists believe that there is no guarantee that justice will be delivered to the victims family as the state frequently fails to implement the law for the protection of SCs. In our years of experience, one thing has become clear that the implementation of the law to protect Dalits is not proper, Meghwanshi says, adding that the officials who investigate the matter after the FIR is registered are of Dy. SP rank and most of them are not aware of the SC/ST Atrocities Act. Meghwanshi further said that the government has not ensured that police officials are trained and sensitized on the SC/ST atrocities act and how can such officials ensure justice is done. The victim Dungarram is survived by a wife, two daughters and two sons. Ramdin expects the government to pay compensation to the family, and a job for one of the kin. Fearing for the safety of the two of his remaining brothers who live in the village, Ramdins last demand is that government authorities should settle the fencing of the land for the safety of my two brothers who still live there. Bihar reported 19 more Covid-19 positive cases, raising the states tally to 242. New cases were reported from Rohtas, Kaimur, Vaishali, Arwal, Buxar, Saran and Patna districts. Of all the cases detected, the men were aged between 17 and 50 years, while the females were between 15 and 20 years. Click here for the complete coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic Friday had seen the highest single-day surge in the number of positive cases, since the first three Covid-19 cases were reported on March 22, with Munger alone reporting 31 Covid-19 patients. On Friday, the number of positive cases was 223. However, the number of deaths in the state is just two so far. Bihars health secretary Sanjay Kumar in his first tweet on Saturday morning said: 1st update of the day. 5 more covid-19 positive case in Bihar taking the total to 228 Kumar in his tweet said while thee male positive cases were reported from Rohtas and Kurtha (Arwal), two cases of females testing positive came from Arwal and Bhojpur. He said the health department was ascertaining their infection trail. #BiharFightsCorona 1st update of the day.5 more covid-19 +ve case in bihar taking the total to 228. 2-males 27,55 years rohtas/1-male 35 years kurtha,arwal/1-female 20 ara,bhojpur/1-female revilganj saran.we are ascertaining their infection trail. sanjay kumar (@sanjayjavin) April 25, 2020 In his second tweet, Kumar said 10 more positive cases took the tally to 238. While five Covid-19 positive cases were reported from Kaimur, four from Buxar and one from Patna. #BiharFightsCorona 2nd update of the day.10 more covid-19 +ve case in bihar taking the total to 238. 5-kaimur/4-buxar/1-patna.we are ascertaining their infection trail.details are as below. pic.twitter.com/9nDNc6OP7G sanjay kumar (@sanjayjavin) April 25, 2020 In the evening in his third tweet he said one more case was detected from Khajpura (Patna), taking the total cases to 239. However, his fourth tweet pushed the figures to 242. Click here for the latest updates from the coronavirus outbreak Civil surgeon, Kaimur, Dr Arun Kumar Tiwari, said six persons, including three police constables and two compounders of a private doctor besides another of Chainpur, were found positive. The 17-year-old male found positive today was linked to the Chainpur family of which seven members tested positive on Thursday, he said. With two more positive cases reported from Patnas hotspot Khajpura, where two men (35 and 24) tested positive, the total number of cases in the marked containment zone rose to 10. Ward number 4 in Khajpura locality of Patna, affecting a population of 2,340, has already been declared a containment zone. The cases were all linked to the contact tracing of a 32-year-old woman, who tested positive and was undergoing treatment at the AIIMS-Patna. Of the eight people who tested positive at Khajpura on Thursday, six are family members of an employee of CMS, a firm which replenishes cash at ATMs. Two others were his tenants. Meanwhile, despite Saturday being a holiday, the district administration got the bank at Dak Bungalow opened and collected samples of about 35 employees, where a Covid-19 positive patient was found on Friday. The district administration officials in a press release in the evening said to contain the corono virus infection, till now 4,28,741 household had been surveyed, in which 914 teams had been deployed. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rakesh Singh Rakesh Singh has worked on Desk for about two decades with the Hindustan Times, Patna. While working on Desk he has also written on issues of human interest. ...view detail GARDAI have been given additional time to prepare the book of evidence in the case of a man who is accused of money laundering offences. Alan Murphy, 40, who has an address at Windsor Court, Castletroy View, Limerick is facing trial on indictment before Limerick Circuit Court. He is charged under Section 7 of Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 in relation to the seizure of 198,870 in cash at a house at Reidy Court, Garryowen on March 15, 2019. It is the State case that the money which was seized at the house was the proceeds of criminal activity. The cash remains in the possession of gardai pending the conclusion of the court proceedings. Earlier this year, Limerick District Court was told a file was prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions following he seizure and that the matter is to proceed before the circuit court. During a procedural hearing last week, Sergeant Sean Murray said the book of evidence is not yet complete and he requested an adjournment of the case for a number of months to allow for it to be completed. Solicitor Michael ODonnell said his client accepted the situation and was consenting to the application. However, he asked for a variation of bail to allow Mr Murphy to sign on at a garda station just once a week. Judge Clare Anne Coolican granted the application and she adjourned the matter to July 22, next. Mr Murphy was remanded on continuing bail. By Express News Service VIJAYAWADA: Krishna district witnessed a spurt in Covid-19 positive cases with 20 of them reported from Vijayawada alone on Saturday. The district administration revealed a shocking fact that two lorry drivers spread Covid-19 to 40 persons in two localities in Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) by flouting quarantine norms --- playing cards with neighbours. A policewoman stands alone in rain absorbed in thought in Tirupati on Saturday | Madhav K In Krishna Lanka, 24 persons contracted the virus through a lorry driver, who returned from Kolkata. All these cases were recorded in a span of 48 hours prompting officials to bring more areas under Red Zone. Explaining the reason for sudden spurt in corona cases, Krishna District Collector A Md Imtiaz said a lorry driver of Gurrala Veera Raghavaiah Street in Krishna Lanka is the main source of transmission. He returned to Vijayawada from Kolkata via Odisha on April 4. On April 17, he developed symptoms and was admitted to the New Government General Hospital, which was converted into a Covid-19 hospital. On April 20, he tested positive, he said. The driver, who felt bored, played cards and other indoor games with neighbours violating home quarantine and social distancing norms. This was revealed in police investigation. All the 24 persons who came in contact with him, tested positive. All of them are residents of Raghavaiah Street, Ranadheer Nagar, Old Police Station Road, Bramarambapuram, High School Road, CVR Street and Gunturivari Street in Krishna Lanka, Imtiaz said. AIIMS-Mangalagiri Teleconsultation AIIMS-Mangalagiri will offer teleconsultation six days a week across the State. To avail the service, patients can book their appointment through e-Paramarsh mobile app or by calling the hospital. The interested can call or even send messages to the given numbers between 9 and 11 am from Monday to Saturday. Doctors will call patients after 11 am. VRDLs to come up in all districts soon CM Jagan Mohan Reddy stressed the need for improving basic infrastructure in the health sector in the State. Directing officials to make YSR Telemedicine a permanent service, he asked them to set up Virology Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDLs) in all districts. Low pressure in Bay Untimely rain lashed Tirupati, Nellore and Visakhapatnam on Saturday. A low-pressure area is likely to develop over South Andaman Sea and adjoining South-East Bay of Bengal around April 30, according to the IMD report. As a result, thunderstorms are likely to occur in Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra for four days Drivers spent time playing cards, indoor games Same is the case with another lorry driver from Karmika Nagar who tested positive for Covid-19. He spent time with neighbours playing cards and other indoor games. The lorry driver spread the virus to 16 persons, the Collector said. Despite the concrete efforts of officials to combat the spread of coronavirus, a few individuals spread it with their irresponsible behaviour. We request the public to follow lockdown strictly and stay at home as one person can be a carrier for transmission of the virus to 24 others, Imtiaz said. With the spurt in cases in the two localities in the city in a span of 48 hours, which took the total to 127, the district administration has decided to enforce lockdown strictly across Vijayawada. VMC officials have been instructed to supply essential commodities like vegetables and milk to the people at their doorstep in the eight Red Zones, he added. With the spike in corona cases reported from Krishna Lanka and Karmika Nagar (Machavaram), the district administration declared the two localities Red Zones, taking the total number to eight, which include Vidyadharapuram, Kummaripalem Centre, Khuddus Nagar, Old Rajarajeswaripeta, Ranigari Thota and Sanath Nagar. Police have intensified patrol in the two localities. Meanwhile, the VMC health wing formed special teams to take up a door-to-door survey thrice within 1 km radius of the houses of corona positive cases to identify people suffering from normal flu like symptoms or acute respiratory syndrome. The district administration provided 6,000 rapid test kits to the VMC to test people with symptoms of the virus at 26 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) spread across the city. Apart from that, medical teams are testing people through swab collection, TrueNat machines and Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Emphasis was also laid on enumerating the number of senior citizens in the hotspot areas. If there are any persons with corona symptoms, they will be home quarantined and persons who are in need of medical treatment will be shifted to the GGH in special ambulances. The teams have tested 758 people with rapid test kits, VMC Chief Medical Officer of Health Shalini Devi told TNIE. The municipal corporation also organised medical camps at PHCs in 64 wards of the city to treat the people suffering from common ailments. Vijayawadas first patient recovers The first Covid-19 positive case was reported in Vijayawada on March 20. The affectee returned from London and after recovery, he was discharged from hospital. A 65-year-old man was the first person tested positive for virus in Krishna Lanka. He returned to Vijayawada from Mecca on March 10 via Hyderabad in a bus. On March 22, the man was admitted to Covid-19 hospital. He tested positive for the virus on March 27. After undergoing treatment for 14 days, the man was discharged from hospital on April 10. SUNY Adirondack tuition will increase $72 per semester for full-time students in the 2020-21 academic year, approximately a 3% increase over this year, which will keep the college in the bottom fourth of New York community colleges price-wise, said Kris Duffy, college president, on Thursday. The colleges board of trustees met online Thursday afternoon, with each board member beaming in from their individual home or office. Duffy announced the tuition and fee schedule, talked about the wide-ranging impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the college, detailed plans to hold this years commencement as a virtual ceremony and discussed the outstanding accreditation report the college was given by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Costs for students staying in the colleges dormitory have not yet been set for the upcoming year. Students who had to leave the dorm partway through the spring semester because of the pandemic are receiving pro-rated refunds. About 340 students were living in the dorm for the spring semester, but in mid-March, students were told not to return to campus from spring break. About 50 students who had nowhere else to go were allowed to return, but through the colleges efforts to find them alternative living situations, only about 13 are left now in the dorm, Duffy said. For the most part, students will not be living in the dorm this summer. A decision about on-campus living arrangements for the fall semester has not yet been made, she said. The college is launching a pilot program this fall to reduce the cost of textbooks and ensure students have all their books from the first day of classes. For a few classes, book costs will appear as an added fee on students bills for the semester. That way, the book costs can also be covered by student aid and students will have their books from day one. The college has been seeking ways to get books in students hands early in the semester, Duffy said. If the pilot program works, it will be expanded. Commencement will be held on June 6 as a virtual ceremony, live-streamed on an online platform, with a student speaker, a speech from Duffy and some video messages from faculty and staff. Graduating students will be sent caps and tassels, so they can take photos of themselves in their regalia. It will have some of the flavor of an in-person commencement ceremony, Duffy said. The Middle States Commission conducts periodic reviews (previously, every 10 years; now, every eight) of colleges that offer financial aid. The college undergoes a two-year period of self-study, measuring its programs against standards and submitting a lengthy report, which is followed by a visit from the commission. This year, because of the pandemic, the visit was done virtually. The commission offered SUNY Adirondack what are called collegial suggestions but made no formal recommendations and imposed no requirements on the college a very positive outcome, Duffy said, an incredible outcome. To have no specific formal followup the college will have to take means we are not only meeting standards but exceeding them in many cases, she said. Will Doolittle is projects editor at The Post-Star. He may be reached at will@poststar.com and followed on his blog, I think not, and on Twitter at @trafficstatic. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A delivery of desperately needed personal protective equipment for front line NHS staff is arriving in the UK, as the government faces growing criticism over shortages and its handling of the coronavirus crisis. Amid claims that the lives of doctors, nurses and patients are at risk from coronavirus because some supplies are running out this weekend, 84 tonnes of PPE - including 400,000 surgical gowns - are arriving from Turkey. Meanwhile, a plane carrying about 10 million face masks and other vital pieces of PPE has landed in Scotland after taking off from China. The deliveries coincide with the appointment of former London Olympics chief executive and Treasury minister Paul Deighton to lead a national effort to produce more essential PPE for front line health and social care staff treating those with COVID-19. Ministers are comparing his appointment to that of Daily Express proprietor Lord Beaverbrook as minister of aircraft production by Winston Churchill on the eve of the Battle of Britain in May 1940 to galvanise the output of fighter planes. Announcing the PPE delivery from Turkey on Saturday, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said: "Demand is extremely high and quantities are in huge demand internationally but we will continue to work as hard as we can. "Those healthcare workers who are on the front line again should know that we completely understand their anxiety and we are doing all we can to try and get them the equipment that they need as quickly as possible." Ministers accept that the PPE delivery from Turkey is only a short-term emergency measure - and Lord Deighton's task will be to spearhead moves to accelerate the manufacture of PPE in the UK in the longer term. A former banker with Goldman Sachs, Tory peer Lord Deighton was chief executive of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and was then a Treasury minister in David Cameron's government from January 2013 to May 2015. Story continues According to the government, the new PPE "tsar" will coordinate design of equipment through to manufacture, including streamlining the approvals and procurement process to ensure supplies are rapidly approved and get to where they are needed. The government claims this programme will start to deliver supplies in the next week. Lord Deighton will also support the scaling up of engineering efforts for smaller companies capable of contributing to the wider supply chain. :: Listen to the Daily podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker Announcing Lord Deighton's appointment, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "Our response to this global pandemic demands a national effort. "Manufacturers big and small are already responding to the challenge but we must go further and faster. I am determined to do everything I can to get more protective equipment to the NHS staff who are fighting this virus on the front line. "Just as Lord Beaverbrook spearheaded the wartime efforts on aircraft production, the appointment of Lord Deighton will bring renewed drive and focus to coordinate this unprecedented peacetime challenge. "Lord Deighton led the delivery of the Olympics. Now he will lead a singular and relentless focus on PPE as the country's top manufacturing priority, with the full weight of the government behind him." Responding to his appointment, Lord Deighton said: "Countries around the world face unprecedented demand for personal protective equipment and this necessitates an equally unprecedented domestic manufacturing response. "I look forward to bringing together new partners in the pursuit of this single goal: to get our dedicated front line workers the essential equipment they need. "This effort calls for exceptional teamwork and I am confident that we, together, will rise to this challenge." As part of the national effort to focus the UK's manufacturing industry on this immediate challenge, the government says it has issued a "call to arms" for industry partners to make essential PPE that meets the required technical specifications. Companies such as Burberry, Rolls-Royce, McLaren, Ineos and Diageo have already started work to produce equipment including gowns, visors and hand hygiene products. The government says it is working around the clock to give the social care sector and wider NHS the equipment and support they need to tackle this outbreak. As of 16 April, it claims almost one billion pieces of PPE have been delivered nationwide. Photo: Contributed Five local charities will be receiving over $2.8 million in funding through the Government of Canadas Reaching Home: Canadas Homelessness Partnering Strategy. The Community Advisory Board on Homelessness announced this week in a press release that the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Okanagan, Canadian Mental Health Association-Kelowna and District Branch, Karis Support Society, Kelownas Gospel Mission, and NOW (New Opportunities for Women) Canada will receive funding through the next few years. Over $2,840,000 will be distributed to these partner organizations between 2020-2024 as they work towards reducing and preventing homelessness in the City of Kelowna. The Central Okanagan Foundation, in the role of the Community Entity, manages the Reaching Home funding in collaboration with the Community Advisory Board on Homelessness. Reaching Home gives communities flexibility in how they use their funding to meet local needs, including the needs of vulnerable populations such as young people, LGBTQ2+ communities, women fleeing violence, racialized communities, veterans and persons with disabilities. PRAGUE (Reuters) - Slovak authorities have lifted a quarantine on one of five Roma settlements locked down in early April to prevent the spread of coronavirus from the communities, chief public health officer Jan Mikas said on Saturday. PRAGUE (Reuters) - Slovak authorities have lifted a quarantine on one of five Roma settlements locked down in early April to prevent the spread of coronavirus from the communities, chief public health officer Jan Mikas said on Saturday. Slovakia closed off the settlements on April 9 after reports of a cluster of coronavirus cases in them, highlighting difficulties faced by Europe's largest ethnic minority during the pandemic. "Sixteen days ago, we were forced to impose quarantine on five Roma settlements. Today, the first, at Bystrany, we can open and lift the quarantine here," Mikas said during a televised press conference just outside the settlement. Roma communities across eastern Europe are impoverished, plagued by high unemployment and historically the target of discrimination, and the coronavirus outbreak has many feeling more vulnerable. Prime Minister Igor Matovic praised the settlement's residents for their discipline. "Today, an ordinary Roma settlement of Bystrany becomes an example for the whole of Slovakia. The people here were responsible," Matovic said. Many of those infected had returned to the five communities from the British city of Sheffield, public health officers said. Slovakia has reported 1,373 cases of the coronavirus and 17 deaths as of Saturday. The country started lifting some of its anti-coronavirus measures earlier this week, easing some of the strictest lockdown restrictions in Europe. But Matovic warned that the epidemic was not over yet. "I would like (all) people to remain as vigilant as here in Bystrany," he said. (Reporting by Robert Muller; Editing by Ros Russell) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. The Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis exceeded his powers in introducing abortion regulations, Stormonts chief legal adviser has said. It is doubtful whether the legislation gives adequate European Convention on Human Rights-based protection to the rights of those opposed on religious or philosophical grounds, attorney general John Larkin QC added. The lawyer wrote: This is of political and legal significance and, given that the relevant judgment call is best made by a local legislature, it may be inappropriate for the provision to have been so limited in light of the changed political context. Expand Close Northern Ireland Attorney General John Larkin (Paul Faith/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Northern Ireland Attorney General John Larkin (Paul Faith/PA) A major change liberalising access to terminations in the region was introduced in March. Julian Smith was the secretary of state when the regulations were being consulted on, but he was replaced by Brandon Lewis in February. Ministers in Belfast have not introduced local provision after Mr Larkin raised legal points. He gave written evidence to a House of Lords committee which published its report this week. Expand Close The Government introduced regulations allowing abortions last month after MPs passed a law last year in the absence of the devolved Assembly at Stormont (Niall Carson/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Government introduced regulations allowing abortions last month after MPs passed a law last year in the absence of the devolved Assembly at Stormont (Niall Carson/PA) The Government introduced regulations allowing abortions last month after MPs passed a law last year in the absence of the devolved Assembly at Stormont. Mr Larkin wrote: In my view, it is disproportionate in the Northern Irish context (and therefore contrary to article 9 of the Convention) to require those who undertake ancillary, administrative and managerial tasks to act contrary to their conscience for service maintenance reasons as set out in the consultation response (particularly when the anticipated impact could be avoided through commissioning a dedicated service). Providing for broader conscience protection in regulation 12 would have been possible and would have assisted with Convention compliance by health and social care trusts. New official regulations allow terminations on request in Northern Ireland for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and up to 24 weeks where there is a risk of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman or girl. Abortion will also be available in cases of severe and fatal foetal anomalies, with no gestational limit. Expand Close Former Police Ombudsman Baroness Nuala OLoan also told the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee of peers the regulations contained grave flaws (Niall Carson/PA). PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Former Police Ombudsman Baroness Nuala OLoan also told the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee of peers the regulations contained grave flaws (Niall Carson/PA). Former Police Ombudsman Baroness Nuala OLoan also told the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee of peers the regulations contained grave flaws. She wrote: It is both deeply controversial in Northern Ireland because of its implications for people, doctors, nurses and midwives, and because it is my submission that the Secretary of State has acted beyond his competence and the regulations imperfectly achieve the policy objective. It was also preceded by a flawed consultation process. Regulation 12 provides limited legal protection for medical practitioners who object to abortion. Baroness OLoan added: It is my further contention that regulation 12 discriminates against individuals on the grounds of their religious belief or political opinion. She said the narrow definition given to the term treatment in the regulation led to direct discrimination against individuals who on the grounds of religious belief or political opinion conscientiously objected to abortion. This was an affront to the people of Northern Ireland and wholly wrong Baroness Nuala O'Loan She added the consultation which led to the regulations was deeply flawed since it only lasted for six weeks and was conducted during a General Election. Legislating for abortion and freedom of conscience is a devolved matter. Even were one to accept that the absence of a functioning Assembly gave Westminster a moral right to legislate, the fact is that the Northern Ireland Assembly was restored in January, long before the regulations were laid. The former Ombudsman added: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) did not engage in a meaningful consultation with the Northern Ireland Executive or the Assembly more broadly on conscience. This was an affront to the people of Northern Ireland and wholly wrong. Patient Dies After Being Tied Down For Three Days Yang Qing (alias) is a Wuhan resident whose husband went to the hospital on Jan. 10 for diabetes, and died on Jan. 25. He was tied to a bed with a hospital note stating in a coma. According to Yang Qing, he was crying and in pain for three days until the day he died. He was over 40 years of age. Reporter: What was the cause of the death? Wasnt it confirmed with the test? Yang Qing: It was said to be severe pneumonia. There was no confirmation of the coronavirus infection. Reporter: Which hospital did your husband go to? Yang Qing: Wuhan Central Hospital. Reporter: Can you describe what was going on in the hospital and the treatment involved? Yang Qing: After about 7 days in the hospital, he was admitted to the ICU because the doctor said his diabetes was quite complicated. He didnt have a fever. Around Jan. 19, the hospital notified us that the ICU would be shut down, no one explained why. When the doctor said to transfer him to the general ward, I thought he was getting better. In the general ward, I would need to keep him company every day. Every day, he had a high fever. Reporter: Whats the temperature? Yang Qing: Above 39 degree Celcius. Yang Qing: He started having a fever on Jan. 20, but he was still consuming some liquid food. On the 23rd, they told me his blood pressure was too low and asked me to sign a bunch of papers. I had no clue what I was signing, it seemed like a bunch of consent letters for critical condition, rescue procedure, and so on. I thought as long as hes saved, I just signed them all. I kept on asking them to transfer him to the ICU. But they said the ICU wont take him. I was really sad. At the beginning, I requested dialysis, but they said he was only having mild pneumonia. Ten days later, they told me with or without dialysis hes going to die. I had signed everything they wanted me to, but hes only getting worse every day. He kept groaning in pain for days. They had me buy dementia gloves to keep his hands and feet restrained in bed. Reporter: Why would they keep him restrained? Yang Qing: He said he was feeling very ill. They did not do anything except just keep him tied up to the bed. He was groaning the entire time. The hospital said he was dying. The nurse even wrote that hes in a coma. But he was crying out the whole time, day and night. From the 23rd to the 25th. Until he passed away, he was still tied up to a bed, both hands and feet. Reporter: Thats really sad. How many days was he tied to the bed? Yang Qing: Three days. Reporter: Were the patients in the ward all infected with pneumonia? Yang Qing: No, there were also cancer patients. Reporter: What was in your mind seeing him tied to the bed? Yang Qing: I was crying the entire time. Theres nothing I could do for him. The doctor told me I should be content because at least he was in the ward. Yang Qing: After he died, the hospital asked me to pay in full otherwise theres no death certificate. I wanted to keep the body in the cold chamber of the morgue. But they said the government demands immediate cremation regardless of the cause of death. They said its a crime if I didnt cremate him right away. I was too frightened to judge so I agreed with the cremation. Conclusion: The regime covered up the outbreak in Wuhan and would not recognize human transmission of the CCP virus until Jan. 20. During that time, many people visited hospitals for other illnesses and then died after contracting the virus. The interview was conducted on April 13 by Hong Ning of the Chinese-language Epoch Times. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Seoul Sun, April 26, 2020 11:04 626 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd44bdee 2 World North-Korea,kim-jong-un,Kim-Jong-Un-death-rumor Free A train likely belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been spotted at a resort town in the country's east, satellite photos reviewed by a US-based think tank showed, as speculation persists over his health. The train was parked at a station reserved for the Kim family in Wonsan on April 21 and April 23, the respected 38North website said in a report published Saturday. 38North cautioned that the train's presence "does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health". "But it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country's eastern coast," it said. There has been growing conjecture about Kim's health since his conspicuous absence from the April 15 celebrations for the birthday of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, the regime's founder -- the most important day on the North Korean political calendar. Kim has not made a public appearance since presiding over a meeting of the Workers' Party politburo on April 11 and inspecting drills by fighter jets at an air defence unit, which was reported by state media on April 12. Daily NK, an online media outlet run mostly by North Korean defectors, has reported Kim underwent a cardiovascular procedure earlier this month and was recovering at a villa in North Pyongan province. Citing an unidentified source inside the country, it said Kim, who is in his mid-30s, had needed urgent treatment due to heavy smoking, obesity and fatigue. South Korea, which is still technically at war with the North, has played down the report. CNN, quoting what it said was an anonymous US official, reported that Washington was "monitoring intelligence" that Kim was in "grave danger" after undergoing surgery. But on Thursday, US President Donald Trump rejected reports that Kim was ailing. "I think the report was incorrect," Trump told reporters, but declined to state when he was last in touch with him. "We have a good relationship with North Korea, as good as you can have," he said. Trump has met Kim three times in historic summitry and has voiced admiration for him, although hopes have dimmed for reaching a comprehensive agreement. Reporting from inside the isolated North is notoriously difficult, especially on anything to do with its leadership, which is among its most closely guarded secrets. On Thursday, citing an unidentified government official, South Korean broadcaster SBS reported that Kim appeared to have been in Wonsan for at least the past four days and would soon return to the public eye. The report added that the military was monitoring Kim's train, which had been seen in Wonsan, while his personal jet -- frequently used by Kim on his trips to Wonsan -- remained in Pyongyang. Previous absences from the public eye on Kim's part have prompted speculation about his health. In 2014 he dropped out of sight for nearly six weeks before reappearing with a cane. Days later, the South's spy agency said he had undergone surgery to remove a cyst from his ankle. Chandhini R By Express News Service Twenty-three-year-old Gita (name changed) washes her hands at least 20 times a day. Touching items in her room, that she herself had cleaned, makes her anxious. She washes her hands. Handling currency notes causes fear. She washes her hands. Watching news makes her anxious. She washes her hands. At times, even using the sanitiser makes her worried, and she washes her hands. Gita is one among millions of people across the world who suffer from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), a condition characterised by unreasonable thoughts and fears (obsessions) that lead to compulsive behaviours. While the corona pandemic has knocked some sense into the larger public on hygiene, it has made life painful for people like Gita. She has made her own sanitiser, out of soap solution, to disinfect everything in her room. The compulsive behaviour is taking a toll on my thoughts. I spend most of my time making sure my environs are clean, says Gita. Finally, Gita spoke to her doctor, who suggested taking up new activities like cooking and singing to overcome the anxiety. Gita also diligently avoids watching TV news about the virus. Mental health experts affirm that the pandemic and the lockdown have taken a toll on patients in the anxiety spectrum, especially ones with OCD. Clinical psychologist Kirthi Pai, who works with the Apollo Hospitals in Chennai says she has been counselling several patients with OCD since the lockdown began. One of my clients is the wife of a police officer, says Kirthi Pai. She is afraid of contracting the virus as her husband keeps working through the lockdown. Cleaning everything in the house with disinfectant has become a compulsive behaviour for her. So, I suggested some simple techniques to keep the anxiety at bay. After a couple of sessions, she managed to cope with the stress. In Chennai, a 27-year-old journalist says he has to work through the lockdown, even though he has OCD. I clean even my bike keys every day. I am worried the obsession might continue well after the virus is brought under control. 'Frustrated family members' Similarly, 65-year-old Jayanthi cleans the house every time she watches TV news or reads a WhatsApp forward on the virus. I feel I have developed the tendency to repeatedly clean the house. I also keep instructing my family members to do so. They get frustrated beyond a point, says Jayanthi. Coimbatore-based clinical psychologist V Hema says the symptoms can largely be brought under control by reducing news consumption. The situation is complicated by the fact that face-to-face sessions arent possible now due to the lockdown, says Hema. But, family members can help out those among them with OCD, by helping them analyse the advantages and disadvantages of their thoughts. Those who can afford can also try video counselling. Psychiatrist Vivian Kapil says treatment is only needed if the obsession impairs everyday activities. For example, some people bathe for two hours or repeatedly wash their hands. In some cases, people just cant function because they are terrified. If their every day functions are impaired by their distress, they should consider getting medication from a psychiatrist on an emergency basis. Supported by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, the Tamil Nadu Association of Clinical Psychologists (TNACP) has set up dedicated helpline numbers across districts to help people deal with the lockdown. N Suresh Kumar, secretary of the TNACP says he has observed a definite increase in anxiety levels across populations. More than 150 calls are received from across the State every day of which 10% are people already diagnosed with OCD. We have been providing them Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) over phone, says Suresh. (With inputs from Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Erode and Tiruchy) New Delhi, April 26 : The Indian Revenue Service Association (IRSA) has suggested the imposition of wealth tax on the super rich, with net wealth at least Rs 5 crore and a one-time COVID relief cess of 4 per cent. Titled Fiscal Options & Response To COVID-19 Epidemic (FORCE), the report of recommendations on revenue mobilization amid the coronavirus crisis said that in times like these, the so-called "super richa have a higher obligation towards ensuring the larger public good". The tax officers' body said they can be taxed through two alternative means, for a limited, fixed period -- 3-6 months. It noted that the super rich enjoy a higher capacity to pay with significantly higher levels of disposable incomes compared with the rest. Also, they have a higher stake in ensuring the economy springs back into action, and their current levels of wealth itself is a product of the social contract between the state and its citizens. It suggested raising the highest slab rate to 40 per cent for total income levels above a minimum threshold of Rs 1 crore or re-introduction of the wealth tax for those with net wealth of Rs 5 crores or more. "Most high-income earners still have the luxury of working from home, and the wealthy can fall back upon their wealth to cope with the temporary shock. In view of several European economists, taxing the wealthy would be the most 'progressive fiscal tool', as wealth is far more concentrated than income and consumption," it said. Suggesting the impostion a one-time COVID relief cess, the IRSA said as opposed to surcharges, cess are more broad-based since they relevied on every taxpayer and are likely to mobilize more revenue as well. The current rate of cess is 4 per cent, including 2 per cent health cess and 2 per cent education cess. "Thus, an additional one-time cess of 4 per cent on account of COVID Relief (could be called COVID Relief Cess) could help finance capital investment in COVID Relief work," it said. As per IRSA, the extra revenue mobilised through the additional cess could be between Rs 15,000-18,000 crore. It, however, said that to mitigate the extra hardship on the middle class, the cess may be made applicable only in cases where the taxable income is greater than Rs 10 lakh. The report also suggested increasing the surcharge applicable to the higher income foreign companies having a branch office or permanent establishment in India. It said the surcharge has not been revised for some time now, and with companies operating in India and deriving profits through their PEs, it is time that a flourishing market like India with its huge prospects flexes its customer-base muscle. The tax incentives for CSR should be extended at the time of national disaster, it said. Those companies who are undertaking the COVID relief activities under CSR should be allowed to claim as expenditure incurred for the purpose of business deduction section 37 for FY 2020-21 only. This incentive helps in mobilizing CSR funds for the disaster management, the report said. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) The Police have smashed a deadly criminal gang responsible for the kidnap and murder of a Catholic Seminarian, Nnadi Michael of the Catholic Good Shepherd Major Seminary at Gonin Gora, Kakau in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State. Recall that, on January 9, 2020, the criminal gang stormed the Catholic Seminary and kidnapped four (4) seminarians, murdered one of them in cold blood and released the remaining three on 31st January, 2020, having obtained a ransom. The remains of the fourth Seminarian were found in a bush where it was abandoned. The suspects: Tukur Usman m aged 37, father of 7, Shehu Bello m aged 40, father of 5 and Mustapha Mohammed m aged 30, father of 1, all of Igabi LGA of Kaduna State were arrested after several months of intensive and extensive intelligence-led operations by crack detectives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT). Discreet investigations so far reveal that the arrested suspects are part of a 19-man gang that also carried out the kidnap of Dr Phillip Atagas wife and two daughters on January 24, 2020 at Juji Community in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State. Mrs Ataga was killed by the gang following her heroic resistance to the despicable and inhuman attempt by the leader of the gang to rape her. The suspects after killing her released the daughters and corpse of the slain woman to the family after collecting ransom. Further investigations reveal that the same criminal gang is responsible for the kidnap of six students and two teachers of Engravers College, Chikun LGA, Kaduna, from their school premises on October 3, 2019. The suspects, known to belong to a hybrid terrorist criminal network causing untold havoc in North-Central, Nigeria, have confessed to several other random operations along Abuja-Kaduna Expressway where they kidnapped, killed and robbed motorists, collecting ransom and valuables running into millions of naira. The Inspector-General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu, NPM, mni while reiterating that the Force will remain unrelenting in ensuring that crimes across the country are reduced to the barest minimum, assures the nation that the Force will not rest until the other members of the gang also responsible for the above crimes, but currently on the run, are apprehended and brought to book. American Carter Oselett is back in his childhood bedroom. He was sent home from Michigan State University because of the coronavirus crisis. But, he told the Associated Press that he is still paying to use an empty apartment near his college Oselett buys food for an aunt recovering from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. His mother is now seeking government unemployment payments. Oseletts summer study program at a university in Brazil has been canceled, and he is not sure he will graduate in December as planned. For many of the nearly 2 million people in the United States expected to earn bachelors degrees in 2020, the crisis has taken away many things. These include their housing, friends and dreams of a graduation ceremony. Some college students in their final, or senior, year face real-world responsibilities as they try to support themselves or struggling family members. For others, adulthood is being delayed. Their plans for after college, including work and travel, have been canceled. Now, they must move back home. Nearly all of these students fear their first steps into adulthood will be affected by a worldwide recession. Barry Schreier is a University of Iowa psychologist and communications chairman of the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors. He urges students to hold on to their goals although they may have to delay their plans. He said they should also expect to go through levels of sadness, which include denial, anger and depression. Schreier noted that accepting adult responsibilities, often called adulting, is difficult on good days. And these are certainly not good days, he added. Axel Lopez is in his senior year at the University of California, Los Angeles, known as UCLA. He takes pictures of sporting events for the schools newspaper, The Daily Bruin. He had hoped to take a last walk through the newsroom before moving to Utah to take a job in the summer. Instead, he is now quarantined in his apartment near UCLA and taking his final classes online. The expected summer job offer never came. Its a very uncertain time, considering just a couple of months ago, it seemed there was a surplus of jobs available, he said. Lopez is a first-generation college student. He joined his mother growing up as she cleaned houses in Los Angeles. He had dreams of hugging his mom at graduation and telling her: Yeah, it was all worth it. UCLA announced its June graduation ceremony would be held online, then reconsidered after criticism. The university has promised to hold an in-person celebration later. Even though were going to have it in the next year, I feel it wont be the same, Lopez said. Victoria Arevalo is back in her familys small two-bedroom apartment in west Los Angeles. She had hoped to stay in her apartment at nearby Loyola Marymount University, where she is studying communications. But she knew her family needed the money that would be returned to her if she came back home. That is because her stepfathers job at a storage business was suspended. Very quickly, Arevalo lost her emotional safe space, her paid, TV news position and her final months with college friends. At first, she voiced her anger on social media. But after a few weeks back home, she accepted the situation and the road ahead. I know its going to be a lot harder than it would have been. Im just trying mentally to prepare myself, said Arevalo. She is a 22-year-old immigrant who came to the United States from El Salvador as a child. For health sciences student Anali Reyes Vazquez, the crisis has caused problems. Her parents are out of work. But, there also is a possibility of something good. The 21-year-old senior at Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey, planned to find a job and continue her education in June. Those plans are on hold. However, one of her final classes is on medical translating. This could help her find a position serving Spanish-speaking patients. There are people in need, she noted. Im Pete Musto. Maryclaire Dale reported on this story for the Associated Press. Pete Musto adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. Quiz - College 'Seniors' Worry About The Future Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story apartment n. a usually rented room or set of rooms that is part of a building and is used as a place to live aunt n. the sister of your father or mother or the wife of your uncle graduate v. to earn a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university bachelors degree(s) n. a degree that is given to a student by a college or university usually after four years of study certainly adv. definitely quarantined adj. kept away from others to prevent a disease from spreading hug(ging) v. to put your arms around someone especially as a way of showing love or friendship translating v. changing words from one language into another language (Bloomberg) -- As streaming platforms throw money at big shows in their fight for viewers, Amazon.com Inc. has gone a step further, building the biggest library of content to satisfy as many tastes as possible. Thousands of mainstream titles on its Prime Video service sit alongside an array of esoteric content that includes a documentary about a supposed alien invasion of ancient Egypt, a collection of drive-in movie intermission ads and a 1973 animated film about a romantic encounter between two shoes. Its latest find is reality show Instagram Girls, in which a collection of glamorous social media influencers are plucked from the city to live with provincial Russians and do menial, unpleasant jobs. A panel of judges then vote on which of them coped best. The tasks range from cleaning pigeon cages to replacing a cars air filter, gutting fish, giving a circus elephant a pedicure, dressing up as a hot dog to advertise a restaurant, carving up a pig carcass in a market and sorting garbage. The show had 22 million viewers in Russia and recently began streaming in English-speaking markets with subtitles, offering many viewers their first experience of popular culture in the former Soviet nation. The producers present it as a social experiment: Tasks that for many people are part of their everyday life become a game of survival, said creative producer Nikolay Kartozia. What if you take all this away from them -- elaborate makeup, luxury brands, Photoshop and their ability to post online? said Kartozia. Will they be able to survive in a provincial city, doing routine work? The show is partly a vehicle for showing the participants Instagram feeds and for conservative members of the public to condemn the women for posting half-naked self-portraits. Like many part-scripted reality shows, some of the dialog lacks a ring of authenticity. Why should I soil myself with oil, when I can easily get to know a tycoon, who makes money out of this oil? grumbled one contestant, who strained to turn a faucet to test the pressure in a pipeline. Story continues Kartozia is hoping the Amazon deal will make Instagram Girls a hit with Western audiences. Polish TV channel Puls is shooting a local version. Kartozia said hes holding talks with Discovery Lat.AM and companies in the U.S. and Asia about using the format. The show is harsh and funny. The characters dont always save face, and people like to watch this, he said. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Health Secretary Preeti Sudan was given a three-month extension to maintain continuity in the government's coronavirus fight, while Higher Education Secretary Amit Khare was given additional charge of the I&B Ministry. Tarun Bajaj, Additional Secretary in the PMO, will be the new Secretary in the Economic Affairs Department, which assists the government in maintaining sound public finances through sustainable, equitable and efficient use of the nation's economic resources. Higher Education Secretary Khare was given additional charge of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, while incumbent Ravi Mittal was shifted to the Department of Sports. Khare, who has been an old hand in the I&B Ministry, comes in at a time the print media's finances have been hit hard due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved Sudan's extension beyond the date of her superannuation on April 30, according to a Personnel Ministry order. COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show In a bid to ensure a smooth transition in the Health Ministry, the government-appointed Rural Development Secretary Rajesh Bhushan as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Health and Family Welfare Department, indicating he may take over from Sudan after her extended tenure ends. The period as OSD will help Bhushan understand the work of the ministry, which has become central to the country's fight against COVID-19. As many as 23 senior IAS officers have been appointed as secretaries in different central government departments as part of the rejig. Nagendra Nath Sinha will be the new Secretary of the Rural Development Department in place of Bhushan. He is at present Secretary in the Department of Border Management in the Home Ministry. Another additional secretary in the PMO, Arvind Kumar Sharma, has been appointed as Secretary in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry. In a surprising change, Consumer Affairs Secretary Pawan Kumar Agarwal has been appointed as Special Secretary (Logistics) in the Department of Commerce. He has been succeeded by Leena Nandan, a Special Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Food and Public Distribution Secretary Ravi Kant has been shifted out as the Secretary, in the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare and has been replaced by Sudhanshu Panday, currently Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce. Road Transport and Highways Secretary Sanjeev Ranjan has been shifted as the Shipping Secretary, a post which will fall vacant this month-end upon superannuation of incumbent Gopal Krishna. Aramane Giridhar, Additional Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat will be Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in place of Ranjan. CBSE chairperson Anita Karwal has been appointed as the Secretary in the Department of Education and Literacy. She is a 1988-batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre. Her colleague from the same cadre, Rameshwar Prasad Gupta has been appointed as the Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Gupta is currently Special Secretary, NITI Aayog. Pradip Kumar Tripathi, Special Secretary and Establishment Officer in the Department of Personnel and Training, will be Secretary, Ministry of Steel. He is a 1987-batch IAS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre. Delhi Development Authority (DDA) Vice Chairman Tarun Kapoor has been appointed as the Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in place of M M Kutty, who retires this month-end. Rajesh Verma, the Special Secretary in the Department of Agriculture, will be the new Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Anand Kumar, a 1984-batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, will be the new Culture Secretary. He is at present secretary in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi will be the new secretary in the ministry Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in place of Kumar. Ram Mohan Mishra has been appointed as Secretary, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. He is currently Special Secretary and Development Commissioner, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi, Special Secretary and Financial Advisor in the Culture Ministry, will be Secretary, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals. Ajay Tirkey will be the Secretary in the Ministry of Women and Child Development and Niten Chandra has been appointed Additional Secretary, Central Agency Section, Department of Legal Affairs. Chandra is at present Secretary, Central Information Commission (CIC). Catch our entire coverage on the Facebook-Jio deal here. Satbir Bedi, the chairperson of National Council for Teacher Education, will be Secretary, Central Information Commission.Also read: Coronavirus News India LIVE Updates A socio-political group, the Save The Nation Movement (STNM) has asked the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu to investigate the alleged obstruction and interference of investigation of an alleged serial blackmailer by AIG Ibrahim Lamorde, saying Lamorde was interfering with investigations and obstructing the discharge of a lawful instrument of court. Lamorde was was accused of doing this because of a personal interest he had with a suspect, Blessing Ossom, thereby bringing to ridicule the sterling reputation of the Nigerian Police and the critical office he occupies. According to a statement in Abuja today, by its National Coordinator, Ahmed Abdullai and National Secretary, Mazi Steven O. Chilaka, STNM said AIG Lamorde was disappointing those who had always thought he was a great cop and an incorrigible crime fighter by compromising his professional ethics to shelter a known blackmailer. The statement read; About two weeks ago, a certain known blackmailer and an inveterate social climber, Blessing Ossom made some exceedingly wild and slanderous accusation against important citizens of Akwa Ibom State. She knew what she said was false and highly libelous, yet she went ahead to cause to be published on her Facebook page, the deeply slanderous materials against key persons in the State, with a view to blackmailing them as usual. Legal procedures were put in process and she was ordered arrested. It was at this point that AIG Lamorde who is alleged to be her close friend stepped in and blatantly obstructed investigations. Investigators that were sent to Abuja to get to the root of the case were ordered out of Abuja on the instruction of Lamorde. The AIG has practically shielded Blessing Ossom and has been heard boasting that no Jupiter can cause her (Ossom) to be arrested. We are therefore calling on the Inspector General of Police to immediately call AIG Lamorde to order and ask him to allow proper investigations to be conducted on the slanderous and libelous accusation and blackmail the woman caused on the sterling reputation of the people she had slandered. In an era where our dear President Buhari has made corruption in high places a major element of his governing agenda, AIG Lamorde should not cast a dark pall on the great work he President has been doing, the statement added. Portlaoise's Parish priest Monsignor John Byrne is still working on the frontline, with two of the five priests in his parish cocooning. The necessary restrictions on funerals during the Covid-19 pandemic is particularly tough on grieving families he said. Really our hearts go out to those affected by the illness, the dying, the grieving who are facing the pandemic up close and personal. As a country one of the things we do well are funerals. Friends and neighbours rally around and that is very cathartic and very helpful. All those rituals are now very greatly diminished. It makes a difficult situation more difficult, burying someone without the usual supports is very difficult. Families are coping well. All we can do is just be present for them, he said. Portlaoie is a busy large parish. Msgr Byrne said they would typically see about two funerals a week. There have been quite a number of funerals so that number is not going to be diminished. Some of those people had died of coronavirus. It is difficult to deal with death at any time, but in these circumstances, with the constraints on wakes and rites it is very difficult, he said. The eight deaths in Maryborough Centre in St Fintans over Easter Weekend was particularly distressing he said. A very sad and distressing situation for all involved - may those who have died Rest in Peace. My sympathy to their families and also to the staff who cared for them. I know how upset they are that their vulnerable patients and indeed also friends have died so tragically. It is Easter - we put our faith and hope in the Risen Lord, Msgr Byrne said. Celebrations at Easter were surreal he said. It has been a radically different Holy Week and Easter. It is the highest point of the Christian year. Our message this year has been that in spite of not being able to worship publicly, there is no social distancing from Our Lord, he is close to us all, particularly to the sick, the bereaved and the dying, he said. The coronavirus is like nothing he ever experienced. If you had told me this in January or February, Id have told you you were writing science fiction. Palm Sunday has a very long Gospel. I was reminded of the anxiety I used to feel to ensure the 10am Mass is over so the 11.15 people can come into the carpark, and the 12.30. If there is a snarl up I feel a bit responsible. What I would give for a traffic jam now, he said. During foot and mouth there were certain restrictions but for this just everything is cancelled, and there is not even sport to read about, it is surreal, he said. May is traditionally First Communion month, with some 360 children prepared for it in the parish. Thats a huge lot of families and we dont know yet what is happening. I suspect some will not happen. It wont take place unless schools return in May, and that hope is decreasing. What to do then we have yet to ascertain, whether to hold them in September or wait until next year, he said. Masses are celebrated daily in the empty SS Peter and Pauls Church, with the congregation watching online and listening on the radio. The church is the only one in Ireland broadcast by Shalom World TV which broadcasts to 150 countries. The Portlaoise Masses regularly gets 300,000 viewers. It is extraordinary to be looking at an empty church. I have to remind myself that a huge number of people are joining us online and the parish radio, we do get a lot of communication back from them, from all over the world, and thats a help, Msgr Byrne said. So far 62 baptisms and 11 weddings have had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 emergency in Portlaoise Parish. There were 363 Confirmations celebrated in February with a similar number enrolled for First Communions now in doubt. The parish includes churches and schools in The Heath and Ratheniska and has a Catholic population of about 20,000, out of a total population of 26,000. There are five priests and five mainstream parish primary Schools with 3000 pupils, two special schools St Francis and Kolbe, and two Catholic secondary schools Scoil Chriost Ri and St Marys CBS. The PP is grateful to have local musicians performing during Masses too, following social distancing guidelines. The members of the Sunday Choir are taking it in turns to perform in pairs. That has been a help for people, he said. The lockdown has slowed life. It has given us time to reflect more than usual. Its a challenge to people to keep themselves healthy in mind and body. The restrictions do seem to be having a beneficial effect and hopefully we can move to a more normal life, but it is not something that we will get out of in a hurry, he said. He had to close the parish centre and send staff home. Two of his priests who are aged over 70 are themselves cocooning and they keep in touch on Whatsapp. A swell of volunteers are helping parishioners alone or vulnerable. From the early days people took the initiative and volunteered to help their neighbours and friends who are isolated, we had a huge response. Back then we had all helpers and no-one to help but now we are making quite a number of calls. We have amazing people who are doing messages, prescriptions, groceries even walking dogs. A number are available just to check on people who are cocooned and might not see anyone for a few days at a time. We would have known already we lived in a community where people are supportive, but people have come up trumps. I hope we remember that after this ends, Monsignor Byrne said. Cocooning is an interesting word. In nature we think of caterpillars emerging as butterflies. I hope all those cocooning will emerge enriched and I look forward to better days. Before this we were consumed with the election, with change. Now we might have a different definition of change. We might realise we need to spend more money on health and value our people on the frontline, equip them with all thats necessary. The pandemic has put things in perspective. It will take a while to know if there is a silver lining, but I think we are reflecting on whats important, who is important. Its not the fund manager, its the man or woman collecting the refuse, baking the bread, or serving that bread to us in shops, he said. Daily Mass at 10am is broadcast on the parish webcam, on parish radio and on the Shalom world tv website www.shalommedia.org. See www.portlaoiseparish.ie Q: Does the governor really have the authority to make Idaho citizens quarantine and if yes then who would enforce that order? I know that there are not enough state police to make sure everybody complies.Robert A: Yes, the governor does have the authority as well as the director of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Idaho code 46-601 explains what power the governor has when there is a state of extreme emergency. The code defines extreme emergency as: the duly proclaimed existence of conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the state, or any part thereof, caused by an enemy attack or threatened attack; or (b) the duly proclaimed existence of conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the state, or any part thereof, caused by such conditions as air pollution, fire, flood, storm, epidemic, riot or earthquake, insurrection, breach of the peace, which conditions by reason of their magnitude are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment and facilities of any county, any city, or any city and county. Idaho code 46-1008 (State disaster preparedness act) gives a little more explanation to the governors authority. It reads: Under this act, the governor may issue executive orders, proclamations and amend or rescind them. Executive orders and proclamations have the force and effect of law. As far as who can enforce the governors order, it is simpler than you might think. All city police, sheriffs and the state police have the authority to enforce the order. In case youre wondering what a violation of the order would be charged as (I know youre wanting to know) it would be charged under Idaho code 56-1003(7) (C). That code makes a violation of the quarantine a misdemeanor which, I believe, carries a fine of up to $1,000 plus jail time, if convicted. There is some slack with the order and people are not required to just stay inside their homes. Just know that we will all get through this and hopefully learn lessons for future success. Officer down Please put these officers, killed in the line of duty, and their families in your prayers. They fought the good fight, now may they rest in peace. God bless these heroes. Deputy Sheriff Jeremy Ladue, Charleston County Sheriff, South Carolina Police Officer Jose Fontanez, Boston Police, Massachusetts (COVID-19) Sergeant Joseph Spinosa, Sands Point Police, New York (COVID-19) Have a question for Policeman Dan? Email your question(s) to policemandan@cableone.net or look for Ask Policemandan on Facebook and click the like button. Mail to: Box 147, Heyburn, Idaho 83336 Dan Bristol is the City of Heyburn Chief of Police. Love 2 Funny 3 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 A new wave of prohibition in the form of 'bootleg beauticians' has emerged with hairdressers and stylists going under the radar of the lockdown regulations. During the prohibition of 1920s America, liquor smugglers catered to America's growing demand for alcohol by illegally smuggling bottles moonshine and whiskey. And now, hairdressers and beauticians are dispensing bottles of nail polish and hair dye to women in despair at the sight of their roots and naked fingernails. Denise Van Outen, 45, getting her roots touched up by her husband Eddie Boxshall at home Hair extension specialist Dee Greenwood, 34, told The Sunday Times that for many women, the need for professional hair help is 'as essential as their boiler breaking down'. The stylist, who founded, Russian Hair Extensions London, revealed that she continued to travel to client's homes for appointments last week, many of whom were key workers. She revealed how she took preventative measures to 'limit contamination' by wearing gloves and a mask during the at-home treatment. David Beckham, 44, sporting a shaved head look in lockdown (left). Cristiana Ronaldo, 35, urged people to stay at home while having a trim (right) Dee said these were 'normal, level-headed women but they still need certain things done - it's essential maintenance in their book'. However Angela Johnson posted a review on the RHE Facebook page condemning Dee for still travelling to clients despite the UK-wide lockdown. She posted: 'She's an idiot doing people's hair in lockdown. It is a disgrace - people are dying and the NHS are trying to save them.' Dua Lipa, 24, posted her at-home beauty treatment in lockdown by undergoing a new look Many have turned to their lockdown friends and family for DIY hair treatments with David Beckham sporting a shaved head look and Cristiano Ronaldo posting a video of his at-home hair cut captioned: 'Stay at home'. And Denise Van Outen has posted her husband Eddie Boxshall touching up her roots at home while Dua Lipa shared her new orange do. It comes after the lockdown rules announced on March 23 that all 41,000 beauty salons and hairdressers must close and to end all but essential travel. People who breach the rules can be given a 60 on-the-spot fine with penalties up to a maximum of 960 if they continue to overlook the regulations. And while it is unclear when salons can reopen, ministers fear hairdressers will have to remain closed for six months to limit the spread of infection according to The Sun. The National Hair and Beauty Federation has warned stylists that at-home treatments would go against the government's social distancing instructions and that insurance would 'probably not' cover mobile appointments. A beautician offering lash extensions on Gumtree by revealing how she clean equipment beforehand One man, from London, who started making dreadlocks from scratch 14 years ago, went so far as advertising his availability to 'meet in parks' during 'these crazy times' However social media and ad sites such as Gumtree reveal beauticians and stylists are still offering their services in light of the government restrictions. An advert for mobile eyelash extensions with a full set costing 40 promised that appointments would be '100% clean'. The beautician posted: 'Hey Girls! Special offer! 100% clean comfortable work space all equipment cleaned in front of customer no worries of any germs or viruses. 'Classic, Hybrid, Russian volume 4D 6D eyelash extensions full set for 40 only. She added: 'I hope to see you soon.' And a mobile barber in London is ensuring men can still maintain their look by posting after pictures of fresh trims accompanied by the hashtag 'coronahairdresser'. Another man, from London, who started making dreadlocks from scratch 14 years ago, went so far as advertising his availability to 'meet in parks' during 'these crazy times'. He wrote: 'Covid-19 update. Im still making dreads Im available for maintenance and creation. Dont hesitate to ring me. We can meet in parks' He added: 'Im also mobile and can come to you, and up for a meeting in a park to relax in the sun while taking care of your dreads.' New Delhi: Thunderstorms are brewing over northwest India, east and northeast India, including Gangetic West Bengal, and across peninsular India including coastal Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, suggesting an extension of this weeks spell of rain in an unusually wet April. the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its bulletin on Sunday. A low-pressure area is also forming over the south Andaman Sea, which will result in rough seas and thundershowers around Andaman and Nicobar and the Sumatra coast starting April 30, IMD said. A western disturbance that started affecting parts of north India on Saturday evening and easterly moisture-laden winds are causing overcast skies, some thundershowers and moderate winds in most parts of northwest India including the National Capital Region (NCR) centred on Delhi. There is intense activity in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Dust storms, hail storms and thundershowers are likely in these places. An orange alert has been issued so that authorities remain alert. In Delhi-NCR, light rain has been recorded in many parts. Similar conditions will continue till Monday, said Kuldeep Shrivastava, head, of the regional weather forecasting centre. April hasnt been as warm as it typically is in Delhi because of back-to-back westerly disturbances which either led to rain or overcast skies. Till Saturday, the average maximum temperature in Delhi has been approximately 8 degrees C below normal. But we are still analysing the data to see if its a record, Shrivastava added. IMDs Sunday bulletin said intense thunderstorm activity accompanied with squally weather and hailstorms with rainfall exceeding 5 cm had been observed on April 25 at many places over coastal Odisha, north-Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and north Tamil Nadu Due to establishment of an east-west trough and wind convergence along Indo-Gangetic plains and accompanied moisture incursion from both Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal in lower levels, fairly widespread to widespread rainfall activity is very likely to continue over parts of east and northeast India during next two days with peak activity over Odisha, Jharkhand and Gangetic West Bengal on Sunday, the bulletin said. Heavy rainfall and hailstorms are expected in Odisha, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura during the next couple of days. Heavy rainfall over parts of Kerala and Mahe is likely for the next 4 to 5 days. In east, northeast and peninsular India we are seeing some severe thunderstorm activity. It is normal during the pre-monsoon season. There is a lot of moisture incursion from Bay of Bengal over the east and northeast. Its the kalbaisakhi Norwesters] season. Occasionally, some very intense activity can be there like a hailstorm or squall, said K Sathi Devi, head, national weather forecasting centre. In northwest India, the reasons are different. There is influence of a westerly disturbance here and moisture incursion from both Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. In Rajasthan where there is less moisture, there may be dust storms, she added. According to various numerical weather prediction models of the IMD, a low pressure area is likely to form over the south Andaman Sea around April 30. It is likely to become more marked over the same region. Fishermen were advised not to venture into the sea along and off the north Sumatra coast, Andaman Sea and adjoining areas of southeast and east central Bay of Bengal from April 30 to May 3. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said Sunday that the small business loan program passed by Congress should be expanded so that it no longer runs on a first-come, first-served basis. "It's clear that between Congress, the administration and the American people, we need to get all these funded and not make this a foot race. Just get the work done," Moynihan said on CBS' "Face the Nation." Congress passed a second round of funding for the Payroll Protection Program last week, and businesses can apply for the $310 billion starting on Monday morning. The original $349 billion for the program was depleted in less than two weeks, and there is concern that the second round of funding will also run out before businesses that need it can apply. Moynihan, whose bank was the first major lender to launch its application portal for the first round, said there is "great debate" as to how much the program needs but said the government should commit to fully funding it until the eligible businesses can get the money. "The difference between this program and unemployment is if you qualify for this program, it's like getting unemployment authorization and then having a foot race to the office," Moynihan said. "We need to take away the first-come, first-served aspects of this and make sure it's fully funded, because at the end of the day, it's going to where people want it: small businesses, 25% in our case to businesses in low and moderate income neighborhoods, business with small numbers of employees. We just need to finish the funding and finish the work." The program offers loans to small businesses that can be transformed into grants if the businesses meet requirements for spending on payroll. The program received criticism for allowing some large public companies to access the money, leading the Treasury Department to issue new guidelines last week. Some larger companies have since said that they will return the loans. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said earlier Sunday that he would like to see the money in the second round of funding run out quickly because that would mean it was getting to businesses that need it. "To me it's not a matter of how long it lasts. Actually, I think the sooner the money is disbursed the better," Mnuchin said on "Fox News Sunday." "The first round impacted about 30 million workers. I think this round will be about the same. That'll be close to 50% of the private work force. So I actually hope we run out of money quickly so we can get that money into workers' pockets." Mnuchin said that further spending, whether to help small businesses or states faced with rising health care costs and plunging tax revenue, would need to be agreed upon on a bipartisan basis. As the coronavirus pandemic rages across the world, even the most rigorous contingency planning and disaster management systems have gone awry. While we are far from overcoming the pandemic at this stage, the examples of China, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore hold valuable lessons for businesses. An analysis of some of the companies at the forefront of taking effective actions offers some clues on the steps that could stand the test of time. First, early and decisive action is imperative. Learning from previous experiences, forecasting the impact on the organisations/ partners/ employees, and taking proactive steps will be critical in handling the crisis. Here is an example. Starbucks China closed 80% of its stores within days of news of virus breaking, prioritising the safety of its partners and employees above business. It also paid full wages and instituted a partner-assistance programme to help with insurance of its partners, employees, including the contract workers employed by individual stores, and even their family members. This helped shore up the confidence of all stakeholders and has allowed Starbucks to reopen these stores rapidly since the impact of Covid-19 has receded. Second, this crisis is an excellent opportunity for companies to refine their purpose, and frame the business as part of a larger human ecosystem with broader responsibility to the community. It is a moment to institute internal rules that help the company take more humane decisions. This is not just ethically right, but economically prudent. Companies must ensure that they dont cash in and fall into the trap of short-term price gouging for immediate gains such actions could harm their reputation and brand. Going above and beyond the profit motive will not only reinforce pride among employees and partners, but will also help enhance the stature of the company. For instance, Dyson, a global leader in air-flow technology, which is used for its household products, utilised its know-how to design an entirely new ventilator, named CoVent, and committed to supplying 10,000 units, all within ten days of the pandemic. Third, corporate leaders should assess their organisational flexibility and decision delegation to address market upheavals like this. Rallying the whole organisation together towards a few specific actions, and then getting the creativity of all team members, will stand a company in good stead. The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown learnings can help in contingency planning for future shocks, to ensure that the company is better prepared as opposed to finding itself flat-footed. These actions may be aligned towards business continuance, but importantly they must give the freedom to teams to respond quickly, make making decision-making more democratic and in line with the companys purpose. For instance, early in the pandemic cycle, Diageo India forecast the spike in the demand for protective products. Its India team repurposed their 15 factories to produce 300,000 litres of hand-sanitisers and donated 150,000 masks to five public health departments for use by health care workers. Additionally, it created a Rs 30 million insurance fund to support bartenders in this time of need. This is especially critical in countries like India where social security is minimal, at best. Fourth, businesses should apply a through-the-cycle strategy during this critical period. While the initial days of this pandemic crisis will be devoted towards ensuring the safety of teams and partners, the next stage presents the organisation an opportunity to think through-the-cycle and define initiatives that will allow it to come out stronger post the pandemic. Developing perspectives and projections on life post-Covid-19 can give companies a headstart when business emerges through the current trough. Refining the value proposition and business model, defining the online and e-commerce strategy, driving a more efficacious organisational structure and identifying new opportunities of growth can be the areas of focus. And, finally, it is a time for the investor community to rethink its company valuation models. It will become increasingly important to ascertain the resilience of the company rather than just its profitability. In a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world, the ability of an organisation to withstand shocks in supply chain management, business continuity or regulatory mechanisms should be treated as a critical aspect that the market will evaluate while ascribing the right value to the company. The human, social and economic toll of Covid-19 is still rising and it will be a long time before its true impact will be understood. Nevertheless, the above actions by companies will hold them in good stead and drive greater resilience in its future operations. Vinay Dixit is a business transformation expert, CMO and mentor Lloyd Mathias is an angel investor and business strategist The views expressed are personal Coronavirus update: Special Chief Secretary Medical and Health KS Jawahar Reddy on Saturday said that the positive rate of coronavirus in Andhra Pradesh is at 1.66 percent from total 61,266 tests conducted. Special Chief Secretary Medical and Health KS Jawahar Reddy on Saturday said that 1.66 percent of samples have tested positive out of the 61,266 tests conducted for COVID-19 in Andhra Pradesh. Addressing media here, Reddy said, The positive rate of COVID-19 in Andhra Pradesh is only at 1.66 percent from the total 61,266 tests conducted when compared to other states like Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. He said that the officials of the health department are on the lines of providing advanced treatment for COVID-19 cases to overcome emergency situations. In this regard, the officials are going to use nearly 1,900 pulse oximeters in all COVID-19 hospitals to help in monitoring the oxygen levels of the patients, Reddy added. People who are experiencing breathlessness or having shortness of breath are advised to seek medical help by calling 104 helpline and the samples will be taken at the doorstep. With early detection, fatalities can be reduced, he said. Also Read: Coronavirus update: Total cases in India cross 26000 with toll at 824 With the recent recruitment notification, the state government recruited 1,170 medical staff especially for COVID-19 cases and deployed them to various districts based on the severity of the situation. Additionally, as many as 22,600 people including NCC, NSS, pharmacists and the general public have come forward and registered for voluntary services. We are extremely overwhelmed and thankful for this huge response from the public, he further said. Reddy also said that the state government is primarily focusing on extensive testing, where Andhra Pradesh stands first in the country with an average of 1,147 tests per million people.Across the state, 61 new cases were recorded in the past 24 hours, out of which 51 are from the old clusters while the rest 10 cases are from the new clusters. With this, the total number of clusters increased to 196 from the existing 189, Reddy informed. On the other hand, 718 patients who require dialysis are being sent to other nearby hospitals in the state to keep them safe from COVID-19. For all the latest National News, download NewsX App Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-26 12:33:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SHIJIAZHUANG, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motor said its net profit fell 13.6 percent year on year in 2019 as the world's largest auto market slowed. The leading sport utility vehicle (SUV) and pickup maker said in its annual report that it made a net profit of 4.5 billion yuan (about 635 million U.S. dollars) last year when its total operating revenue dropped 3 percent year on year to 96.2 billion yuan. The carmaker sold 1.06 million vehicles, an annual increase of 1.4 percent, in 2019 when auto sales in the whole country fell 8.2 percent to 25.77 million units. In the first quarter of 2020, Great Wall Motor reported a net loss of 650 million yuan, compared to a net profit of 773 million yuan a year ago, according to a separate quarterly report. Meanwhile, its first-quarter total operating revenue fell 45.1 percent year on year to 12.4 billion yuan, mainly as vehicle sales declined amid the COVID-19 epidemic. Enditem BELLEVILLE The iconic drive-in movie theater, peaking in popularity in the 1950s and becoming increasingly more scarce since the 1970s, could be just the relief people need amid continued efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus that is if Gov. J.B. Pritzker allows Illinois nine operational drive-in theaters to open come May. This could be derailed, said Skyview Drive-In owner Steve Bloomer Thursday, who was hoping to open his location in Belleville Friday, May 1. If the governor extends his stay-at-home order and he still says that drive-ins cant open, well then were kind of screwed. Although Pritzker extended the stay-at-home order Thursday and drive-in movie theaters were not yet among the list of lifted restrictions, Bloomer hopes that his efforts to work with other drive-in theater owners in Illinois will pan out. Instead of just me talking to my state legislators, I have a letter from all nine drive-in theaters, he said. Im just hoping that maybe the governor will take a look at that and (think) maybe it would be a good thing for people to go to. It would be such a great relief to the people to have some place to go thats totally safe. According to Bloomer, some nearby states such as Kentucky and Tennessee already have allowed drive-in theaters to open. If the same were allowed in Illinois, he already has established several precautions and safety measures for moviegoers. One of the measures would be to restrict vehicle capacity to half the normal number with one vehicle at each pole instead of two. This would reduce the maximum number of vehicles from 600 to 300 on any given night. Those poles are 20 feet apart, he said. So, if you figure a car is five feet wide, that leaves 15 feet between each car. Other changes would be limited concessions, closing the playground and additional outdoor restroom facilities, among others. My employees (safety) and the safety of everyone else out there is of paramount importance, he said. Im not against being open and making some money, but I dont want to do it and jeopardize anybodys health. So, if I can do both, provide an outlet for people to get out of their homes and do something safe with their families, I think thats a good thing. Bloomers grandfather, Frank Bloomer, built the Skyview Drive-In with his brothers, Tom and Leslie, in 1949. In the mid-80s, Bloomer Amusement Co. owned 17 theaters in the area, including the Starlight Drive-In and Cameo theaters in Alton. The brothers also owned Bel-Air Drive-In in Pontoon Beach and Roxana Cine in Roxana, Illinois. More information on the iconic Skyview Drive-In and others can be found by clicking on the following link: https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/article/Local-movie-goers-share-fond-memories-of-15226149.php Projected show-times and more information on Skyview Drive-In can be found at skyview-drive-in.com and facebook.com/SkyviewDriveInTheater or by calling (618) 233-4400. The special train belonging to Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong Un was spotted in the resort town of Wonsan, amidst contradicting reports about Kim's health and whereabouts. The train was spotted in satellite images reviewed by a Washington-based North Korea monitoring project 38 North. As per the report by 38 North, the special train was seen parked at the "leadership station" in Wonsan on April 21 and April 23. This station is reserved only for members of the Kim Family. "The train's presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country's eastern coast," the report said. Though the project claims that it was Kim's train, international news agency Reuters has said that they have not been able to confirm this story independently. Reports regarding Kim Jong Un's ill health started floating on April 15 after it was discovered that Kim had not attended the birth anniversary of his grandfather Kim Il-sung. On Saturday, Kim was absent from another important national holiday of North Korea. His absence from North Korea's Military Foundation Day celebrations added fuel to the reports about his ill health. According to Newsweek, US intelligence has seen no sign of any unusual military activity in the region and have received no conclusive assessment on the status of Kim Jong Un's health condition. However, a senior Pentagon official had told Newsweek that the presence of the train in Wonsan and Kim's absence from important events lends credibility to the reports about his ill health. North Korea's state media last reported on Kim Jong Un's whereabouts when he attended a meeting on 11 April. Also Read: Coronavirus India live updates: Total COVID-19 cases cross 26,000; 8 states with over 1,000 cases Also Read: Is Kim Jong Un dead? Twitter abuzz with rumours of North Korean leader's demise CLEVELAND, Ohio Cleveland and Northeast Ohio have been losing population for decades, sliding lower and lower in the national urban pecking order while other regions grow. But Northeast Ohio could vault back into the top 20 regions in the U.S. if it merged Metropolitan Statistical Areas to better reflect the regions economic clout. The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, the regions top planning agency, which represents Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, Lorain and Medina counties, is spearheading a discussion about just such a change, which could coincide with the release of data from the 2020 Census. Metropolitan Statistical Areas are the most commonly used yardstick to measure urban regions. If the Census Bureau approves a merger for Northeast Ohio, one possible variation would add the five-county Cleveland-Elyria Metropolitan Statistical Area to the Akron and Canton MSAs, which include Summit, Portage, Stark and Carroll counties. Raising the profile The nine-county merger would vault the region anchored by Cleveland from the 33rd largest MSA in the U.S, with a population of nearly 2.1 million, to the 18th largest, with more than 3.1 million residents. Other variations would incorporate additional counties, such as Erie and Wayne. One merger scenario proposed by the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency would expand the Metropolitan Statistical Area centered on Cleveland from five to nine counties, boosting its national ranking in comparison to peer cities such as Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Columbus.Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency Grace Gallucci, executive director of NOACA, said that merging MSAs would more accurately reflect Northeast Ohio as a region of multiple cities whose suburbs and labor markets are growing together around interstate highways. Sprawl has caused this, she said. Sprawl has resulted in us being a larger more filled-out MSA than in the past. But she said, we often look at ourselves in a fragmented way, which is currently how the MSAs are defining us. We are disadvantaged because of how we are measured against other regions. Mixed reactions Responses to the merger concept have been mixed. Steve Poggiali, director of the Erie County Regional Planning Commission, centered on Sandusky, is open to the idea. But Akron doesnt want any part of it, because it would erode the national stature, prominence, and identity of our city and its neighboring suburbs, Akron Mayor Daniel Horrigan wrote to Gallucci in an April 6 letter. Gallucci is undeterred. Im willing to take the hits, she said. My objective is win-win. She said her agency started the MSA conversation last year, before the onset of the global coronavirus pandemic, and will continue because the 2020 census creates an opportunity to redefine the region. A table compares current Metropolitan Statistical Areas, showing how the current system used by the Census Bureau places the five-county Cleveland-Elyria MSA as the 33rd largest in the U.S. A merger could boost it to No. 18.Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency Changing the boundaries of the Metropolitan Statistical Area could boost economic development and help the region recruit more companies by emphasizing the true scale and population density of Northeast Ohio, she said. We could more effectively compete with larger regions like South Florida or Chicago or Houston, she said. Chicago and Houston are the big central cities in their regions, but merging the MSAs for Northeast Ohio would make the region look more like the Miami Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, Gallucci said. Competitive stature She also argues that changing the MSA boundaries would make the Cleveland-Akron-Canton region more competitive with nearby peer metros such as Pittsburgh, Columbus and Indianapolis. The Pittsburgh MSA ranks 27th in the U.S. with 2.3 million residents in seven counties. Columbus ranks 32nd with 2.1 million residents in 10 counties. And Indianapolis is 34th with just over 2 million residents in 11 counties. A merger scenario proposed by the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency would expand the Metropolitan Statistical Area centered on Cleveland from five to nine counties, boosting its national ranking in comparison to peer cities such as Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Columbus.Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency If Northeast Ohio measured itself by geographic yardsticks of similar size, it would better reflect the regions comparative prominence, Gallucci said. It would also add to the regions political clout and ability to secure federal funding. Clearly the larger you are as an MSA, the more influence you have in legislation and in access to funding, Gallucci said. But she faces an uphill battle. The Census Bureau and the federal Office of Management and Budget, which set criteria for defining statistical areas, require that for a merger to be considered, at least 25 percent of workers from one area must commute into another. Currently, 17.7 percent of commuters from Summit and Portage counties commute into the five county Cleveland-Elyria MSA, with 14.6 percent traveling to Cuyahoga County, according to data compiled by NOACA. Gallucci argues that Northeast Ohio should be given an allowance for the fact that the 33,000-acre Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a barrier between Akron and Cleveland. Theres an arbitrary line between Summit and Cuyahoga counties, she said. A question of identity Critics, including Akrons Mayor Horrigan, point out that in addition to Metropolitan Statistical Areas, the Census Bureau ranks urban areas by Combined Statistical Areas, which incorporate multiple MSAs. The Combined Statistical Area for Northeast Ohio already fuses Cleveland with Akron and Canton, framing an urban region that ranks 17th in the U.S., behind Minneapolis-St. Paul and ahead the greater Denver area. Gallucci still argues that the MSA is the most commonly used yardstick for national rankings used by businesses, think tanks and scholars. Other regional planners arent convinced. I think there needs to be more clearly articulated benefits of this proposed change, said Joseph Hadley, Jr., executive director of the Northeast Ohio Four County Regional Planning and Development Organization, representing Portage, Stark, Summit and Wayne Counties. In part, the conversation about how best to measure the region reflects its nature as a collection of industrial cities with their own identities and history. Under Gallucci, NOACA has been striving to bring greater cohesion to the region, which has a history of political balkanization. The big picture The agency was a key sponsor of the 12-county Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium, which in 2014 produced Vibrant NEO 2040, the biggest and most comprehensive vision for the future of the region in a half century. A summary map from the 2014 Vibrant NEO Vision of the Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium advocated for preservation of agricultural land, limits to sprawl, reinvestment in urban areas, and better regional transit connections.Vibrant NEO The project showed that Northeast Ohio is sprawling while losing population, a formula for higher local taxes, greater inequality and greater strain on the environment. Some of the regions top planners say theyre eager to collaborate with Gallucci and NOACA on solutions, including making cities more livable in order to counteract the allure of suburban development. But they want to pursue such actions without losing the distinctness of Cleveland, Akron and Canton. We want to collaborate and work regionally, but part of that is respecting the uniqueness and identity of the three metro regions, said Jason Segedy, Akrons planning director. In its drive to merge MSAs, NOACA respects boundaries and local governance, Gallucci said. This isnt about identity of an individual metro area, she said. This comes down to what makes sense. A month ago, when we were at the doors of this dark corona tunnel and societal triage became necessary, the governor of Pennsylvania issued an edict about what businesses needed to shutter their doors, immediately. Tom Wolf published a list of those professions considered essential and life sustaining, and lawyers were not on it. At the time, I commented on Facebook that this was the biggest lawyer joke of all time. Not only were we not essential (tell that to O.J. Simpson,) we were also apparently inimical to life. Ha, freaking, ha. But the joke was actually on me, because while it is possible for me to conduct my business from home with the use of the internet, phone service and the underappreciated art of procrastination, thats not the case for the majority of the folks who were covered by Wolfs proclamation. From hair salons, to restaurants, to construction workers, to florists, to landscapers, to charter bus drivers, to whatever other random idea crossed our governors mind, businesses across the state would be shuttered. Many of them were mom-and-pop enterprises, where a suspension of even a week would be fatal. And the mandate, which was slightly modified after some organizations filed lawsuits and others protested through their representatives, went into effect immediately. Pennsylvania stuck a stake through the heart of many of her most vibrant and flourishing businesses because Gov. Wolf and Secretary of Health Rachel Levine believed that it was necessary to protect us from the ravages of COVID-19. I doubt that anyone questions the need to take drastic measures to protect the public from a health crisis the likes of which hasnt been seen in over a century. If anyone does, they are fools. It is also wrong to hide behind the Constitution in an attempt to argue that restricting commerce and contact is an illegal violation of our fundamental rights. While I was troubled by the closure of schools and churches, it is clear that this was done to promote the health of students and worshippers. But there is a big difference between a government that takes legitimate steps to protect the health and welfare of its citizens and one that is pumped up with the steroid of absolute and random power. Random acts are dangerous acts. That is why I have been angered by Tom Wolfs decision to close down my law office, essentially making it much more difficult for me to provide counsel and advocacy to my detained immigration clients, but leaving wide open the doors to Planned Parenthood. I cannot have asylum seekers come to my door without a special waiver (and they are rare and hard to come by), but any woman who feels that she needs to terminate her pregnancy can access that elective abortion. No questions asked. Babies, apparently, arent essential either. Up until this week, Wolf stood firm in his refusal to reopen the state or even discuss the process by which, slowly and with care, Pennsylvania would return to some vestige of normalcy. He finally came out of hibernation on Wednesday with a plan that is imperfect, vague but at least provides some hope. Much, much better however is the plan proposed by U.S. Sen Pat Toomey, R-Pa., a man who has always considered the needs and rights of Pennsylvania workers to be paramount. Hours after Wolf issued his proposal for emerging from this state-mandated medical coma, Toomey presented his own set of initiatives which address the very thing that troubles me most about the governors acts: Their random nature. As he mentioned to me during an email interview, Businesses not deemed life sustaining all across Pennsylvania have faced economic hardship. Some businesses like outdoor construction, car dealerships, and nurseries that have the ability to operate in compliance with social distancing and other safety measures to keep employees and customers safe should not have closed in the first place. Toomeys is a three-phase plan. During Phase One, any business that can adopt social distancing and hygiene protocols, and is located in a county with declining or limited COVID-19 cases, may reopen. During Phase Two, higher-trafficked establishments like restaurants, bars, and gyms can reopen with proper social distancing and hygiene protocols. Schooling can resume under purview of the state and school districts. During Phase Three, the restrictions placed on the higher-trafficked businesses would be removed contingent upon a finding that there has been success in combating the disease. This is necessary. We have, for too long, pushed the damage being done to our economy and our workers to the background. Even when attention has been given to the financial, psychological and physical devastation that the shut down has wrought in Pennsylvania and elsewhere across the nation, it has always been with that asterisk of but its not as important as our health. To me, thats a false choice. We can care about protecting the health of our citizens while at the same time making sure that they have a society to return to when the pandemic is over. As Toomey noted when I asked him why he proposed this plan, Despite the enormous government assistance measures provided by Congress in the CARES Act, some businesses will fail and never come back. For the proprietors of these businesses, this means the loss of life savings, careers, and dreams. For their employees, it is the loss of jobs, careers, and opportunities. An extended shutdown of virtually all commerce despite evidence it is safe to reopen is not sustainable. This non-essential, non-life-sustaining lawyer, agrees. Christine Flowers is an attorney and a resident of Delaware County. Her column usualy appears on Sunday. Email her at cflowers1961@gmail.com. During the first three weeks, people probably assumed agencies offering help were not available or the situation would be over in a couple of weeks, Milligan said. With the governor extending the order through May 30, victims may come to the realization that the situation is not going to end anytime soon, she said. The total of nine deaths from the coronavirus at a rural Hunterdon County nursing home reported in a state database is fewer than a third of the actual number of deaths at the home for the month of April alone, according to a nurse at the facility who said it was plagued by dangerous conditions, under-staffing and under-reporting. The nurse, Pam Covert, said 33 residents of the Country Arch Care Center in the Pittstown section of Union Township had died and 23 staff members had fallen ill through Sunday, April 19 -- the day she called the State Police to report conditions at the facility and told its administrator she was not coming back. Twenty-three staff and 33 deaths, said Covert, who had worked at Country Arch from 2013 up until this past February, and then returned at the homes request amid the virus outbreak on a part-time basis starting starting on April 2. I dont know for sure whether they all died from the virus, Covert acknowledged. NJ Advance Media was able to confirm the death of 22 Country Arch residents during the month of April, based on online obituaries, though only two of them specified a cause of death, in both cases the coronavirus. In her seven years working at Country Arch, Covert said, residents there died at a rate of maybe one death every month or every two months. Covert reached out to NJ Advance Media after reading an April 18 story reporting that at least five Country Arch residents had died during a 9-day stretch from April 7 to 15. Those five deaths were the just the tip of the iceberg, Covert said. Sons and daughters of two other Country Arch residents who died from the coronavirus this month 91-year-old Alice Baldwin, on Apirl 4; and Rosemary Thompson, 75, on April 9 said they were appalled by the nursing home managements handling of their loved ones final days and managements lack of communication during the outbreak. My mom never complained, she was just the kindest, gentlest person Ive ever known, said Baldwins 65-year-old daughter, Mary Siracuse, crying during a phone call from her home in Washington State. Im still having trouble settling my moms accounts, and I still cant get ahold of anyone. Siracuse said her mothers roommate at Country Arch died three days later, also from the virus. Country Arch, a 130-bed for-profit facility that accepts Medicaid and Medicare, is one of eight state-licensed long-term care facilities in New Jersey run by an Edison couple, Esther and Jonathan Rosenberg, according to the New Jersey Department of Health. The Rosenbergs did not respond to repeated messages left for them at Country Arch and elsewhere seeking comment. County Archs administrator, Nathan Compton, has tried to reassure patients families that the staff had been working with local and state and health officials and following guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to safeguard their loved ones during the outbreak. Our current visitation restrictions will remain in place as we navigate this course, Compton said in an April 8 post on the facilitys Facebook page. Our precautions have led to successful results allowing for some residents to make a full recovery. Unfortunately, as the virus continues to spread it has proven fatal to others. Compton did not respond to multiple messages left for him by NJ Advance Media. Homes are supposed to report deaths and illnesses to their local health department, which then forwards the information on to the state, according to the state and local health officials. Country Arch Care Center is in compliance with daily reporting to the Health Department and informing families, county Health Officer Karen DeMarco said. The nine deaths attributed to the coronavirus at Country Arch is reported, like fatalities for all New Jersey long-term care facilities, on a Department of Health Excel spreadsheet linked to the state NJ COVID-19 Long Term Care Facilities Dashboard. The nursing homes dashboard was launched by the state on Monday amid an investigation into the response by nursing homes to the coronavirus outbreak. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage With populations highly vulnerable to the coronavirus living in close quarters and sharing common areas and caregivers, nursing homes have accounted for more than 40% of New Jerseys total virus-related fatalities. A statewide death toll was at 5,368 as of Friday. Covert, who is 56 and lives in Hunterdon County, said she complained to management and to a state coronavirus hotline, without success, that the facility was understaffed and that residents who had tested positive for or were suspected of having the coronavirus were being cared for by the same nurses and aides as residents who had not. There are nursing assistants that have to go into the quarantined area and the regular area, Covert said. There is no separate staff for the quarantined area. Last Sunday, Covert said she was horrified to learn she would be the only nurse working in the homes 100 wing, along with three nurses assistants, to care for 29 residents. Some of the residents had tested positive for the virus and others had not, Covert said, meaning she would be constantly changing gear and sanitizing in order to serve the two groups. Covert said she confronted Compton about the situation, but that he told her not to worry. Im not worried, Im angry, Covert recalled telling him. State officials said they have been in contact with the home. The Departments Communicable Disease Service is working with the facility, and the Office of Local Health is working with the Local Health Department, which is working with the facility, Nancy Kearney, a state health department spokeswoman, said in an email. Rosemary Thompson and her son, Thomas Thompson. The 75-year-old mother of three died from complications of the coronavirus on April 9, nine days after her children took her out of the Country Arch Care Center in Hunterdon County.Thompson Family photo Rosemary Thompson was a Country Arch resident who died on April 9 at the Annandale home of her younger daughter, Christine Rush, after Rush and her twin brother, Thomas, took their mother out of Country Arch on March 31, for what they thought would be a temporary stay with them during the outbreak. Next morning, she had a fever and respiratory issues, and she hadnt left the nursing home since they had gone on lockdown, Thomas Thompson said. HIs mothers death was attributed to the coronavirus, which only could have been contracted at Country Arch, Thompson said. His litany of complaints included managements failure to return his calls; the homes initial insistence that his mother be discharged permanently or not at all; and the homes failure to initiate protocols for personal protective equipment, or PPE, during the lockdowns initial stages. Thompson, who from 2006 to 2014 was marketing and admissions director at Texas Medical Center in Houston, said his family was fortunate in that they knew their rights and could spend their mothers last days together. We had these struggles and we had the knowledge and we had the resources," Thompson said. "And we barely got our mom out in time. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Thiruvananthapuram, April 26 : Kerala Health Minister K.K. Shailaja on Sunday said 11 more individuals have tested positive for coronavirus in the state, taking the total number of people presently under treatment to 123. "Of the new cases, three includes medical professionals, including a doctor," she said. Meanwhile, 342 people by now have been cured. "A total of 19665 people are under observation at homes and 462 others are being observed at various hospitals in the state," said Shailaja. In Kerala, four districts - Kannur, Kasargode, Kozhikode and Malappuram - are classed as red zones, while the remaining 10 districts are orange zones with 87 hotspots, including three added on Sunday. A former Conservative MP falsely accused of being part of a VIP paedophile ring in Westminster has added his voice to the opposition to Tom Watson taking one of the music industry's top jobs. Harvey Proctor has joined a string of politicians, music executives and performers urging UK Music to dump the former deputy Labour leader as its new chairman. Eyebrows have been raised at what qualifications Mr Watson possesses for the role, which sees him represent record labels, composers, publishers and promoters. Mr Watson beat 79 other applicants for the job, for which he will receive a reported 60,000 annual salary for 40 days' work a year. His appointment has alarmed the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), which has directors on UK Music's board and organises the Brit Awards and Mercury Prize Experienced music executives are understood to be planning to draw up a petition against his appointment, while MPs have questioned the suitability of Mr Watson, who helped to propagate the false allegations of a paedophile ring. Mr Proctor last night told The Mail on Sunday: 'I do not know whether or not Tom Watson has the musical experience to be chair of UK Music. 'What I do know is that his judgment and his public position is not one that UK Music or any other organisation should touch with a barge pole.' Harvey Proctor (above) has joined a string of politicians, music executives and performers urging UK Music to dump the former deputy Labour leader as its new chairman Mr Watson was widely criticised for giving credence to the lies of fantasist Carl Beech about a string of establishment figures including Mr Proctor, former Home Secretary Leon Brittan and Normandy veteran Lord Bramall. Beech was last year jailed for 18 years after he was found guilty of 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one of fraud. Mr Watson stood down ahead of last year's General Election, saying he wanted a 'different life'. David Mellor, the former Culture Secretary and a classical music critic, said: 'I think it's a disgrace that the music industry should appoint a man who hounded my dear friend Leon Brittan to his grave and beyond it.' Mr Watson beat 79 other applicants for the job, for which he will receive a reported 60,000 annual salary for 40 days' work a year. His appointment has alarmed the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), which has directors on UK Music's board and organises the Brit Awards and Mercury Prize. Gary Farrow, a former senior executive at Sony Music and ex-BPI committee member, said: 'He [Mr Watson] has the most atrocious background, does not reach the standards our industry requires and he should leave immediately.' Mr Watson was supported in his bid for the job by Michael Dugher, UK Music's outgoing chief executive and a former Labour MP. One music insider said: 'There is a feeling that Michael must have had a lot to do with this. 'If we were to find that this was a Labour-driven appointment, well the music business is not in the political business, so that shouldn't be happening.' Top names in the music industry including Sir Tim Rice, Sir Cliff Richard and Paul Gambaccini have already slammed the appointment. They say Mr Watson's actions over the fictitious Westminster sex ring contributed to a climate of suspicion in which several music industry figures, including Sir Cliff and Mr Gambaccini, were wrongly accused of sexual offences. Mr Watson was widely criticised for giving credence to the lies of fantasist Carl Beech (pictured above) about a string of establishment figures including Mr Proctor, former Home Secretary Leon Brittan and Normandy veteran Lord Bramall Radio star Neil Fox, who also battled wrongful allegations of historic sex abuse, said: 'The Carl Beech scandal didn't paint him in a good light. It showed terrible lack of judgment and you want someone who shows great judgment.' Carol Decker, lead vocalist with chart-topping band T'Pau, said: 'I am astonished every time he pops his head up. I just feel shock and disgust at the appointment.' A spokesman for UK Music last night insisted Mr Watson's appointment had been fair, adding: 'The appointment was ratified by the UK Music Board in March and welcomed across the music industry.' Mr Watson was last night unavailable for comment. After yoga, the world will accept India's age-old ayurveda principles, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday and added that the youth will have to take the lead in explaining it to countries scientifically. In his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' radio address, the prime minister said it is a "misfortune" that people of the country always refuse to acknowledge own strengths and glorious traditions. "But when another country says the very same thing on the basis of evidence-based research, when they teach us our own formula, we instantly accept it," he lamented. Possibly, this is largely due to hundreds of years of "bondage" (foreign rule). "Due to this, often we fail to realise our own strengths," he said. He said just as the world has happily accepted yoga, it will surely accept India's age-old ayurvedic principles. "Of course, the youth will have to resolve to do this and explain these principles to the world in a scientific language so that they understand it," he said. People across the world are paying special attention to the importance of ayurveda and yoga amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, pointing out that the social media is full of write-ups related to its benefits in boosting immunity. He reminded people to follow the coronavirus-related protocol issued by the Ayush Ministry to increase immunity. "Warm water, decoction and other guidelines issued by the Ayush Ministry would be very helpful for you if you include it in your daily routine," he suggested. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police personnel place barricades in front of the Yasin Mosque near Resapuvanipalem in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam district. The mosque authorities asked the faithful not to have group prayers. (DC Photo: P Narasimha Murthy) Vijayawada: The number of Covid-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh went past the 1,000 mark on Saturday with 61 persons testing positive on Saturday. Two more persons, one each from Kurnool and Krishna districts, died of the disease, taking the toll to 31. Importantly, Srikakulam district recorded its first three Covid cases on Saturday. Vizianagaram is now the only Covid-19 free district in the state. Srikakulam collector J. Nivas said a man working on the Delhi Metro Rail returned to his native village Patapatnam on March 19. He was kept in home isolation and surveillance by the health authorities. After completion of home quarantine, he did not show any symptoms. He came forward for a confirmation test. We conducted tests on him along with 29 primary contacts. Of them, three of his family members tested positive for coronavirus, he said The collector said that after the Tablighi Jamaat incident, where several returnees turned positive, the district administration tracked all the people coming from other cities. A total of 211 persons had come from Delhi to the district during last month, he said. The district administration has raised a red alert at Patapatnam mandal. Of Saturdays cases, 25 were from Krishna, Kurnool 14, Anantapur five, four each from Kadapa and Nellore and three each from East Godavari, Guntur and Srikakulam. A total of 171 patients have been discharged, and the state has 814 active cases. The new cases in Kurnool took the total number of positive cases 275. Of them, 259 cases are active and 24 have been discharged after they tested negative twice. The five new cases in Anantapur district were reported from Hindupur. A 15-year-old boy from Balajinagar tested positive after contracting the infection from his father. Two others, a 41-year-old man from RTC Colony and a 46-year-old man from Ninkampalli, tested positive after coming into contact with two positive patients separately. A 24-year-old man from Housing Board Colony contracted the infection from a family member of a Macca returnee. Anantapur district now has 51 cases. In Nellore district, three men hailing from Kovur, Nellore and Muthukur tested positive as did a woman village volunteer. The Nellore stands at 72. In Kadapa district, four new positive cases took the total at 55. Three were from Proddutur and one from Yerragulta village. A head constable working in Proddutur infected with the Coronavirus was shifted to an isolation ward and his primary and secondary contacts are being traced. Although John James Audubon lived in Pennsylvania for only five years, the Keystone State has reason to celebrate National Audubon Day today, on the anniversary of the ornithologist-naturalist-painters birthday on April 26, 1785. Audubon was born in the French colony of Saint Domingues (now Haiti) and raised in France, before immigrating to the U.S. in 1803, to the 284-acre farm called Mill Grove his father had bought in 1789 about 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia. At Mill Grove he roamed the wooded hills along the Perkiomen Creek and the Schuylkill River. He hunted, observed nature, collected specimens and sketched. He became a pioneer in portraying wildlife in their natural environments, developing the wire armature apparatus for posing freshly shot specimens in lifelike positions. In his field notebook, Audubon described his first use of a prototype of that apparatus, which he used with a kingfisher he had just killed along the Perkiomen: I pierced the body of the Fishing bird and fixed it onto the boardanother Wire passed above his upper Mandible was made to hold the head in a pretty fair attitude, Smaller Skewers fixed the feet according to my notions, and even common pins came to my assistance in the placing the legs and feet.the last Wire proved a delightful elevator to the Birds Tail and at Last there Stood before me the Mankin of a Kings Fisher! I sat to, outlined the bird, aided by compasses and My eyes coloured it and finished it. this was what I Shall ever call my first attempt at Drawing actually from Nature, for then Even the eye of the Kings fisher was as if full of Life before me whenever I pressed its Lids aside with a finger. Also at Mill Grove, Audubon conducted the first recorded experiment in banding birds in America. He focused on some eastern phoebes that nested near a cave on the farm. When they were about to leave the nest, he wrote, I fixed a light silver thread to the leg of each. Some of the birds returned to the same spot the following spring. He married Lucy Bakewell, daughter of William Bakewell, an Englishman who owned Fatland Ford, a neighboring estate to Mill Grove 1808 and moved Kentucky. The John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove is situated on the former Audubon farm and includes the original three-story farmhouse, miles of nature trails along the Perkiomen Creek and a 4-year-old museum with indoor and outdoor exhibits focused on birds, art and conservation. The John James Audubon Art Gallery in the center houses original Audubon prints, including the double elephant folio of Birds of America and the Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America. Audubon described the 50-inch-tall pages of his books as the size of Life and all in the same size paper of my Largest Drawings called Double Elephant paper. The center has an address in Audubon, which is a census-designated place in Lower Providence Township, Montgomery County, that was named for the man who also gave his name to the National Audubon Society when it was founded in 1905. Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. Contact Marcus Schneck at mschneck@pennlive.com. Screenshot Photo The US newspaper Los Angeles Times described Vietnam as a rare and surprising bright spot in the combat. It highlighted some drastic measures that Vietnam has soon applied such as keeping schools closed and quarantining masses of people while monitoring those having contact with COVID-19 patients. Meanwhile, Russian radio Sputnik listed some articles by international media that highly appreciate Vietnams fight against COVID-19 with no new infections for a week. The Russian newspaper Kommersant launched for taking effective measures against COVID-19. Vietnams secret is risk level classification, it noted, explaining that the countrys National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control has classified all the 63 cities and provinces into high, medium and low risk. Social distancing measures have been applied based on the classification. The Marketplace website referred to factors that contribute to the success of the Vietnamese government in this fight such as implementing 14-day quarantine since mid-February for all Vietnamese citizens and foreigners entering the country, and raising public awareness via media, social networks and posters. The Austrian newspaper Standard highlighted Vietnam as an examplary response to COVID-19. It said Vietnam is a developing country with limited resources, but it has effectively curbed the outbreak through low-cost measures. According to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, Vietnam reported no new cases of COVID-19 on April 26 morning, keeping the countrys total number of infections at 270. Of those, 225 people have fully recovered, accounting for 83 percent./. Emma by Jane Austen Sally Rooney has been called a millennial novelist but actually a lot of the themes in Normal People are timeless. The intense relationship between Connell and Marianne and their struggles to know how to articulate and act on their feelings reminded me of the relationship between Emma and Mr. Knightley in Emma by Jane Austen. Like Connell, Knightley is a study of a man who is on the whole a good person but occasionally goes astray and is unsure how to admit to that. The influence of the community is strong in both books and both authors have a knack for dialogue, tension and capturing how power dynamics can shift. - Susannah Butter, Comment Editor and Features Writer According to information obtained by RTL, the aircraft came from Zhenghzou in China. Officials expect another delivery of medical equipment to arrive in Luxembourg next week. Cargolux have brought almost 770 tonnes worth of medical equipment to the Grand Duchy between mid-March and mid-April. This impressive number is synonymous with 1.3kg of equipment per inhabitant. In recent weeks, China was accused of exporting faulty medical equipment. Chinese authorities have already seized close to 90 million defective face masks. They reportedly also scrutinised 16 million companies and seized large quantities of ineffective disinfectant, a spokesperson said. China has shut downs gyms and swimming pools in Beijing amid fears the country is vulnerable to a second wave of coronavirus. It comes just days after the communist regime quarantined a city of 10million people in its north west region near Russia and on Saturday China's northwestern province of Shaanxi reported seven new imported cases coronavirus, all in citizens returning home from Russia. A second outbreak would be a setback for President Xi Jinping who is trying to restart the nation's economy and present an image of power to the rest of the world. Beijing claims that the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in China, where the virus first emerged in late December, is now 82,816. The death toll remained the same at 4,632, with no new deaths reported on April 24. But there is widespread disbelief at those figures across the globe from Western leaders who accuse Beijing of letting coronavirus spread across the globe while its leaders saved face. Donald Trump has accused the World Health Organisation (WHO) of colluding with Beijing to downplay its coronavirus outbreak, amid doubts over China's claim to have only 4,636 dead from the virus. The people of Wuhan believe the death toll in their city that was the epicentre of the outbreak is 42,000 - not the 3,182 claimed by China. Trump is backed by large numbers of Republican politicians amid claims from the US intelligence community that the virus escaped from a lab near Wuhan in an accident involving an intern. And in the UK, Downing Street has removed China from the list of other countries it uses to compare the spread of the coronavirus - in a snub to Beijing amid widespread anger at the nation's apparent cover-up of the seriousness of its coronavirus outbreak. People returning to China from overseas are once again being ordered to quarantine, while health clubs and swimming pools are shutting amid fears of a new spike in the disease. China has instituted stringent checks at its ports and border points, banning the entry of foreign nationals on March 28, and even diverting international flights from its capital city Beijing. Still it has faced a continuous trickle of cases brought in by Chinese citizens wanting to return home in spite of risks of getting infected. In recent days, many of these have come back from Russia. The new cases in Shaanxi were all Chinese nationals who had returned on April 20 on a flight from Moscow that was diverted away from Beijing. As of Saturday, the flight had a confirmed total of 30 cases, and 8 asymptomatic infections, according to the provincial health commission. Source: dailymail Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Officials in Jordan announced on Sunday that work at ministries, institutions, commissions and official departments will be halted from 2 May until the end of Ramadan, amongst efforts to curb the spread of the new coronavirus. Amjad Adaileh, a spokesperson for the Jordan government, also confirmed public transport will start to resume in all regions of the country from Wednesday but with a 50 per cent reduced workforce. Jordan's King Abdullah II chaired a tele-conference meeting with Jordanian officials on Sunday, where he urged balancing the gradual reopening of economic sectors with the protection of public health and safety, a Royal Court statement said. He also called for random testing of coronavirus on people across the Kingdom, the statement added. The country's Health Minister, Saad Jaber, said there had been three more cases of the virus reported on Sunday. According to the Johns Hopkins University, Jordan has 447 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 7 deaths. For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. Our prehistoric cities were planned The straight streets, the granary, the viaduct Now we, for profit, lay waste to the land Our slum and high-rise cities are all f----ed! Mohenjodaro, Harappa put to shame The Mumbais and Kolkotas of today The greed of politicians is to blame And planners in the developers paya From The Korona Purana by Bachchoo Some years ago Sanjoy Roy, an organiser of the Jaipur Literary Festival, came to see V.S. Naipaul to recruit his presence there. Nadira, Lady Naipaul, said he wouldnt speak but he would be interviewed. Sanjoy said that would be perfect and suggested that he be interviewed by Shashi Tharoor. Er not Shashi, not Shashi, Vidia said, probably thinking the public and press would perhaps be distracted by other allegations, accusations and gossip that Shashi had been subject to. What about Tarun Tejpal? Sanjoy ventured. Not Tarun either, Vidia said, for the same reason that he had passed over Shashi. Then who would you suggest, Sir? Sanjoy asked. How about Farrukh? Vidia said. Dhondy? Sanjoy asked. Hes not an intellectual! If hes not an intellectual, I am the Empress of China, Nadira retorted. No, no, I didnt mean to reject Farrukh. Hed be perfect. Ill get in touch with him today Sanjoy responded. When he left, Nadira mischievously called me. Sanjoy Roy says you are not an intellectual, she said. Recognition at last, I said. Only Frenchmen and Bengalis are intellectuals. I wanted to say we Parsis are constitutional lawyers, statues in Mumbai or the idle heirs of fortunes made in the nineteenth century Chinese opium trade, but didnt. Perhaps my own suspicion of the label was born, not of being Parsi, but of having lived in Britain where W.H. Auden could write: To the man-in-the-street who, Im sorry to say, Is a keen observer of life, The word intellectual suggests right away A man whos untrue to his wife. Writing a little after Auden, as World War II raged, George Orwell, one of the most perceptive analysts of the temper and temperament of the nation, wrote: the English are not intellectual. They have a horror of abstract thought, they feel no need for any philosophy or systematic world view But they have a certain power of acting without taking thought. Their world-famed hypocrisy is bound up with this. Also in moments of supreme crisis the whole nation can suddenly draw together and act upon a species of instinct, really a code of conduct, which is understood by almost everyone, though never formulated. The phrase that Hitler coined for the Germans, a sleep-walking people, would have been better applied to the English. Nevertheless, England runs think-tanks which venture opinions on everything. I looked up Orwells essay again while, inevitably, confronted with the conflicting opinions about Covid-19 being thrust at the British public via the internet-published newspapers and the reports on TV programmes. Orwell goes on in the same essay to call the politicians of the time, and of the period in Britain just before the war, mediocrities, idiots and hypocrites. He labels Anthony Eden and Lord Halifax stuffed shirts and men of no talent and: As for Baldwin, one could not even dignify him with the name of stuffed shirt. He was simply a hole in the air Again, events of the last few years in Britain confirm the fact that times may change but the characteristics of this nation exhibit a continuity. Take, for instance Orwells contention about British hypocrisy. In the period before Britain decided, through a narrow vote, a patriotic sleep-walking, to leave the European Union, one Michael Gove, sometimes journalist and now a member of the Cabinet, appeared in print and in person attacking the experts and intellectuals who, through informed economic calculations and projections, predicted the economic and consequently social disaster that Brexit would bring. When David Cameron resigned from prime-ministership and Boris Johnson threw his hat into the ring, this same Gove pretended to support his candidature and waited till a crucial day before the election of Camerons successor by the Party, to denounce Johnson as a personality unfit for the office of PM and put in his own nomination papers instead. Boris was compelled to withdraw. Gove, a Lady Macbeth or Brutus of the affair, got nowhere. When, two years later, after Theresa May had held the office and resigned and Boris went for it again, Gove pledged his support for this unfit candidate and begged his way into the cabinet. Why Boris forgave or accepted him remains a mystery. Or perhaps not so much of one, as now both of them, having denounced and denigrated the intellectuals and experts over the consequences of Brexit, appear on most days on TV to tell the British public that they the government, are being solely guided by the experts on the coronavirus, even though the scientific certainties about Covid-19 are far from uncontroversial. Orwells strictures about Britain being led by mediocrities and hypocrites through the sleep-walking herd instincts of its democratic voters, seems truer today than at any time since he wrote his essay. Priti Patel, appointed Home Secretary, is a parody of herself; Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretarys only brief seems to be to distance the country from Europe. Rishi Sunak, the ex-hedge-fund man, now Chancellor, has announced that in the Covid lockdown, firms which face financial crises will be helped by taxpayer money. Several of these firms such as Virgin Atlantic, Easyjet, the clothes retailer Arcadia, the opticians Specsavers, the pub chain Greene King and several others are registered in tax-havens such as the Virgin Islands and Monaco and dodge the British taxes which Rishi will ransack to bail them out. This wont be a matter of concern to him or to the British sleep-walkers after all hedge-fund wallas have plenty of connections, allegiances and dealings with tax-haven, tax-dodging companies. Oh Orwell, Orwell, where is thy sting? Mumbai, April 26 : Filmmaker Karan Johar has "apologised profusely" after he was hit hard by a post showing a "privilege celebrities" have. Karan took to Twitter, where he shared a video titled "Thank You Celebrities", which shows celebrities including Apopular names like Ellen DeGeneres, Sam Arnitage and Amanda Keller among many others, who have been treating quarantine like a vacation from in their sprawling mansions by "common" people who are struggling during the pandemic. "This hit me hard and I have realised many of my posts may have been insensitive to many...I apologise profusely and wish to add none of it was intentional and came from a place of sharing but clearly may have lacked emotional foresight ... am sorry!" Karan wrote alongside the video. The Bollywood director has constantly been entertaining his fans and followers amid lockdown. The videos feature his twins -- Roohi and Yash poking fun at him. However, social media users came in support of Karan's videos. One wrote: "Ur kids are Angels in this hard time ..me and my daughter s are waiting for Yash Roohi videos.." Another questioned as to why the filmmaker is apologising. "Why are you apologizing. Your videos are harmless with your kids. You are bringing joy to people like us and I am a healthcare worker in Chicago saying that. You aren't one of the celebrities showing off, so please don't apologize and keep posting and sharing joy," the user wrote. A third user said: "Wish to thank your kids for bringing smiles to me as well my family. Please don't apologise. And don't stop posting ,we look forward to them." A social media user lauded Karan's "sensitive side." "Sorry bolne ke liye bohoth himmat chaheye (It takes a lot of strength to apologise. I have no idea what you apologising for, lekin it feels good to know your sensitive side (It feels good to know your sensitive side)," the user said. The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed peoples daily lives, upending how we make trips to the grocery store, how we worship and a plethora of other rituals. So it is with our elections. Over a month ago, the Wyoming Democratic Party announced it would be suspending the in-person portion of its presidential caucus, citing public safety concerns tied to the virus. Almost immediately, the decision sparked controversy among some members, who feared their ballots could arrive late, or not at all. When the votes were finally counted last weekend, however, not only did it turn out that the party could successfully conduct a ballot entirely by mail, but that it could achieve record turnout in the process, reporting a 38 percent participation rate: roughly double that seen in prior caucuses. Nearly all of it was done by mail. And all of it was orchestrated by a staff of three people with the help of a handful of volunteers scattered throughout the state. While the election was the first of its kind conducted in such a fashion in Wyoming, the necessity for it COVID-19 is unlikely to go away soon. With a critical election coming up in November, more jurisdictions around the country are looking to do exactly what the Wyoming Democrats just accomplished: allow voters to have their voices heard without having to step anywhere near a polling place. The city council in Milwaukee recently passed legislation saying that every registered voter will be mailed an absentee ballot this year in an effort to prevent a much-criticized, in-person election pushed for by state election officials in spite of COVID-19 concerns. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo upped the ante a few days later, announcing he would be signing an executive order to send absentee ballot applications to every registered voter in his state. While Wyoming, at this point, is not expected to suspend in-person elections for this summers primary elections, could Wyoming expand its ability to conduct more elections by mail? The Secretary of States office, according to spokesman Will Dinneen, is already working on it, scaling up the capacity of their existing absentee voting system with the help of roughly $3 million in federal funding to support COVID-19 related impacts to the states elections. We are confident in our ability to provide that opportunity to any voter who would want to vote absentee by mail, Dinneen said. Though looked at by some as a temporary response to a temporary problem, others hope that expanded vote by mail could become a permanent feature of elections nationwide. When Scott Cooper, a Kelly Walsh High school graduate now working with the election reform group FairVote, was serving in the United States Marine Corps, he recalled participating in Wyomings robust absentee voting system even while overseas. He believes today that a similar level of accessibility should be granted to civilians, particularly as governments grapple with how best to allow voting in the midst of a global pandemic, which experts believe could persist well into the fall. We have to start planning for voting in a pandemic, said Cooper. While the state does have an existing system for those to vote by mail if needed, Nina Hebert the communications director for the Wyoming Democratic Party said there are still a number of barriers for those looking to safely submit an absentee ballot in the age of COVID-19. Voters still need to find a way to provide their county clerks with two forms of identification to register absentee, she said, and even if filing remotely they still need to secure a notary public to verify their identity. There are also the political considerations: while a number of states like Oregon have had vote-by-mail programs for decades, mainstream conservatives, including President Donald Trump and Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, have suggested without proof that increased mail-in balloting can lead to elevated instances of voter fraud, a suggestion Hebert dismissed. Voting by mail has been proven to be effective and secure, she said. Oregon has had voting by mail for the last two decades. Our neighbor directly to the south has now instituted vote by mail. Theres already a vote-by-mail system in place in Wyoming for military families. You have all these examples of successful programs, and the beginnings of an infrastructure for a vote-by-mail program in Wyoming already exists. It really comes down to how committed is the Legislature to protecting this constitutional right. There could potentially be some appetite in the Wyoming Legislature to expand voting by mail, particularly after several consecutive legislative sessions where increased voter identification requirements have failed to pass muster. The Joint Committee on Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions has considered expanded mail-in balloting programs in the past and, down the line, could continue efforts to expand them, committee member Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, said in a recent interview. While supportive of an expanded mail-in-ballot option, however, he was not optimistic given its past performance when he chaired the committee. My colleagues in the Republican Party, theyre not as enamored with mail-in balloting. We tried to pass it through [Corporations Committee] several times, and we had some real resistance. I dont know if thatll change. Lawmakers are expected to receive an update at their committees first meeting in June. However, the committees chairman Bill Landen, R-Casper, said that in-person voting in Wyoming could likely be facilitated safely under current statute, without any significant re-imagining of the states election system. I think were in pretty good shape, and the Secretary of States office has been working pretty hard on this already, he said. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The body of a Naxal was recovered near the site of Saturday's encounter in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, taking the number of ultras killed in the incident to two, police said on Sunday. The gunfight had taken place between Maoist ultras and security forces in Damankonta Jungles along Tongpal and Puspal Police stations limits on Saturday evening. "The body of a Naxal, with bullet injuries, was recovered some 2 kilometres away from the encounter spot on Sunday afternoon. His identity has not been ascertained. We have recovered a 315 bore rifle, ammunition, explosives and items of daily use," Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P told PTI. The encounter, which started when a team led by Tongpal Station House Officer (SHO) Vijay Patel had launched the operation based on specific inputs, had left one Naxal dead. An official identified the Naxal whose body was found on Saturday as Mahadev, "section commander" of the outlawed group's "platoon number 31" who carried a reward of Rs 3 lakh on his head. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ukrainian Wall The Interim Investigation Commission, which investigated the circumstances of the explosion of military depots in Balakliya, published a report on the work done. The document said that the warehouses explosion was not caused by an attack by Russian drones (this is the official version of what happened), but by deliberately undermining the open storage of ammunition. It is noted that the Commission came to this conclusion after they listened to the report of the Kharkiv Research Institute of Forensic Sciences director Olexander Klyuyev, who presented photographs and his vision of the situation. At a meeting of the Commission on January 17, 2020, the director of the Kharkiv Research Institute of Forensic Sciences, Professor Klyuyev, using photographs, explained in detail that the cause of the explosions on the 65th arsenal in the village of Balakliya was a blasting of the place for open storage of ammunition. Offenders used exploding explosives deepened into the ground, which was reliably established by experts during the first visits to the scene, the report says. Spain's death toll from the coronavirus rises to 22,902 - El Pais Saudi Press Agency Saturday 1441/9/2 - 2020/04/25 MADRID, Apr 25, 2020, SPA -- Spain's coronavirus death toll rose to 22,902 on Saturday, up from 22,524 the day before, Reuters quoted Spanish media outlets, including El Pais and El Mundo, as reporting. The number of daily fatalities was 378, a slight increase on Friday's 367, which was the lowest figure recorded in the past month. The overall number of coronavirus cases rose to 223,759 from 219,764 the day before. Spain's Health Ministry could not immediately confirm the figures to Reuters. --SPA 14:46 LOCAL TIME 11:46 GMT 0006 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address SANASHAKIL By Express News Service NEW DELHI: A day after the Centre announced relaxation in lockdown rules for shops selling non-essential goods, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Saturday clarified that only standalone shops, neighbourhood shops and shops in residential complexes can open. Shops in markets and shopping complexes in urban areas will continue to remain shut during the lockdown period. Locals come out at Old Delhis Jama Masjid area to buy essentials to break fast at Iftaar during the ongoing holy month of Ramzan | SHEKHAR YADAV The new relaxation is only for shops selling items and not the ones that render services, the MHA said, implying that repair shops, barber shops, shops of ticketing agents, restaurants and salons will remain shut. The idea behind the move is to avoid crowding. Relaxations have been given in areas where the footfall tends to be low, officials said. For rural areas, the government clarified that all shops, except those in shopping malls are allowed to open. The new relaxations, however, will not be applicable to hotspot areas or containment zones. The Union home ministry also made it clear that sale of liquor, tobacco and gutka will remain prohibited as specified in the National Directives for Covid-19 Management. The clarifications pertain to Fridays late night order issued by MHA, through which it allowed shops selling all kinds of goods to open in specified areas. The order was issued under Section 10(2) of the Disaster Management Act and the shops will have to function with 50 percent worker strength and masks and maintaining social distancing will be mandatory. Opening of neighbourhood shops is being seen as a relief to both shopkeepers and customers who have been under lockdown since March 24 to contain the spread of novel coronavirus. Following the MHA order, Kerala allowed shops registered under the Kerala Shops and Establishment Act except those in malls to function w i t h c e r t a i n conditions. Odisha also allowed shops registered under Odisha Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1996 to open. In Bengaluru, standalone shops in neighbourhoods including ice cream parlours, salons, shops selling electronic goods, electrical repair shops and other essential services are allowed to open. However, in many states such as Telangana and Tamil Nadu, there is no relaxation for shops. In Telangana, the lockdown will continue till May 7. Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government said it will not allow any public gathering till June 30, well beyond the end of the current nationwide lockdown. A new Greek restaurant in downtown La Crosse, a delay in renaming Viroqua-based Kickapoo Coffee Roasters, and a new name for Schomburg Refrigeration in Onalaska highlight this weeks local business news. Robbi Wolff opened Soulas Cuisina in early April at 412 Main St., which for many years was home to the Elite Luncheonette. The restaurant space was last occupied by Fat Sams Main Street Bistro, which closed in 2017 after five years in business. All of the restaurants food is packaged to go, under current state rules for bars and restaurants aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus. Soulas Cuisina will offer inside dining once the state allows it, Wolff said. Hours for now are lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and dinner from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and closed Sunday and Monday, Wolff said. The restaurants hours will expand once its in full operation, after the states coronavirus-related rules end. The restaurants menu is posted on its Facebook page, and customers can either call in or text their orders in advance (see the Facebook page for more information on that) or walk in and order in person. They can pick up their order inside the restaurant or have it brought to them at curbside. Its a limited menu at this point, said Wolff, who owns the business, which is managed by her fiance, Greg Saliaras, who is from Greece. Soulas Cuisina serves al pastor tacos on Tuesdays. The menu for Wednesday through Saturday includes Greek salad, a traditional Greek gyro made with pork belly or chicken, a lamb and beef kabob, and chicken or pork souvlaki. Saliaras said Soula is his mothers nickname. Besides managing the new restaurant, he helps Wolff run her That Foreign Place gift shop and Christos Taverna, both at 107 S. Third St. The Elite Luncheonette, which for many years occupied Soulas Cuisinas location, was started in 1913 by a native of Greece. Its founders, Gus and Margaret Pappas, sold homemade ice cream and candy there before adding a food menu. The Elite Luncheonette later was operated by their son, Paul, and his wife, Judy, who sold it in 2000. Gus came to the United States from Greece at age 13. Viroqua-based Kickapoo Coffee Roasters has delayed announcing its new business name because of the coronavirus pandemic, but says it will unveil the name by Aug. 3. The company announced in April 2019 that it was welcoming suggestions while planning to introduce a new business name in early 2020. Founders T.J. Semanchin and Caleb Nicholes said then that when the company began, they chose its name with the intention of honoring the Kickapoo River Valley. But they added that the Kickapoo are a people, and that using the name was an act of appropriation. In an April 17, 2020, letter to the community, Semanchin and Nicholes said they had planned to reveal the new brand name on April 24, during the Specialty Coffee Associations annual Coffee Expo. But in March, the full reality of COVID-19 set in, and with it a new set of unexpected challenges, they wrote. In this months letter, Semanchin and Nicholes also noted that Gov. Tony Evers on March 24 issued an order to shelter in place. Our cafes closed their doors (they have since reopened for takeout service), our office staff transitioned to remote work, our vendor partners alerted us to delays in shipping and completion of our new branded items in order to ensure the safety of their workers, and our many grocery and cafe customers prepared for one of the most challenging periods in their businesses histories, they wrote. While time is of the essence, the two men said, we have had to grapple with the reality that we are in uncharted waters, and releasing a new brand at the peak of a global pandemic that is impacting so many people feels inappropriate. To read the letter, visit kickapoocoffee.com/nameupdate. For more information visit the companys Facebook page. Benedict Sales & Service is the new name of the former Schomburg Refrigeration at 316 Second Ave. S., along Highway 35 in Onalaska. Benedict Sales & Service, a family-owned business based in Altoona, bought Schomburg Refrigeration in April 2017 from Forrest Moe, who then retired. Moe had moved Schomburg Refrigeration to the Onalaska location from La Crosse in 2009; the business began in 1945. The new name has begun appearing on some of the former Schomburg vehicles. The building signage (with the new name) will start transitioning very soon, said Luke Benedict, vice president of sales and marketing for Benedict Sales & Service. Same great company, just a few added resources and a few new faces due to growth, he said of his companys Onalaska branch office. Benedict Sales & Service began in 1938 and serves the Eau Claire, Rice Lake, Black River Falls, Hudson and La Crosse areas. The fourth-generation family business specializes in design, sales, installation and 24-hour maintenance of commercial refrigeration, heating and air conditioning, food service equipment, draft beer systems and custom metal fabrication, for customers such as supermarkets, restaurants, bars, convenience stores and warehouses. We are very proud of our family atmosphere and values, which is a big reason we have thrived in business for over 82 years, Benedict said. He added that his family is proud to build upon the longstanding and solid foundation of Schomburg Refrigeration as it transitions to the new name. For more information, visit www.BenedictSS.com or the Onalaska branchs Facebook page. Steve Cahalan can be reached at stevecahalan.reporter@gmail.com or 608-791-8441. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 County Commissioners Newer Older Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 This body politic is the governing board that all other boards must at some time answer to. Nearly 3,300 inmates across four United States prison systems tested positive for coronavirus - with 96 percent of prisoners asymptomatic. As mass coronavirus testing expands in prisons, large numbers of inmates are showing no symptoms. In four state prison systems -- Arkansas, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia -- 96 percent of 3,277 inmates who tested positive for the coronavirus were asymptomatic, according to interviews with officials and records reviewed by Reuters. That's out of 4,693 tests that included results on symptoms. The numbers are the latest evidence to suggest that people who are asymptomatic - contagious but not physically sick -- may be driving the spread of the virus, not only in state prisons that house 1.3 million inmates across the country, but also in communities across the globe. When the first cases of the new coronavirus surfaced in Ohio's prisons, the director in charge felt like she was fighting a ghost. Nearly 95 percent of inmates who tested for COVID-19 at Marion Correctional Institution were asymptomatic 'We weren't always able to pinpoint where all the cases were coming from,' said Annette Chambers-Smith, director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. As the virus spread, they began mass testing. They started with the Marion Correctional Institution, which houses 2,500 prisoners in north central Ohio, many of them older with pre-existing health conditions. After testing 2,300 inmates for the coronavirus, they were shocked. Of the 2,028 who tested positive, close to 95 percent had no symptoms. 'It was very surprising,' said Chambers-Smith, who oversees the state's 28 correctional facilities. The figures also reinforce questions over whether testing of just people suspected of being infected is actually capturing the spread of the virus. Pictured: Inmates exercise in the yard at the Marion Correctional Institution where there have been positive cases of the coronavirus disease in Marion, Ohio 'It adds to the understanding that we have a severe undercount of cases in the U.S.,' said Dr. Leana Wen, adjunct associate professor of emergency medicine at George Washington University, said of the Reuters findings. The case count is likely much, much higher than we currently know because of the lack of testing and surveillance.' Some people diagnosed as asymptomatic when tested for the coronavirus, however, may go on to develop symptoms later, according to researchers. The United States has more people behind bars than any other nation, a total incarcerated population of nearly 2.3 million as of 2017 -- nearly half of which is in state prisons. Smaller numbers are locked in federal prisons and local jails, which typically hold people for relatively short periods as they await trial. State prison systems in Michigan, Tennessee and California have also begun mass testing -- checking for coronavirus infections in large numbers of inmates even if they show no sign of illness -- but have not provided specific counts of asymptomatic prisoners. Officials are discovered several inmates who were infected but exhibited no symptoms of COVID-19 as mass testing rolls out in prisons Tennessee said a majority of its positive cases didn't show symptoms. In Michigan, state authorities said 'a good number' of the 620 prisoners who tested positive for the coronavirus were asymptomatic. California's state prison system would not release counts of asymptomatic prisoners. Each state manages multiple prison facilities. Ohio, for instance, has 49,000 prisoners in 28 facilities. A total 3,837 inmates tested positive for the coronavirus in 15 of those facilities. But the state has not yet provided results on symptoms for 1,809 of them and did not identify the total number of tests conducted across the prison system. Arkansas and Tennessee have also taken a targeted approach by conducting mass testing in several of their facilities. Michigan, North Carolina, California and Virginia have started with one facility each. Most state prisons did not provide the age or other demographic details of those who tested positive for the coronavirus, which has killed 197,872 people across the globe, including 51,791 in the United States. Pictured: People concerned about the health of prison inmates during the coronavirus disease outbreak protest outside the Washington state capitol with as efforts continue to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease Reuters surveyed all 50 state prison systems. Of the 30 that responded, most are only testing inmates who show symptoms, suggesting they could be vastly undercounting the number infected by the coronavirus. Florida and Texas, whose inmate populations are bigger than Ohio's, report a combined total of just 931 cases -- far fewer than the 3,837 inmates who tested positive in Ohio. New York, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, has reported 269 positive cases among 51,000 inmates. All three states are testing only symptomatic prisoners. 'Prison agencies are almost certainly vastly undercounting the number of COVID cases among incarcerated persons,' said Michele Deitch, a corrections specialist and senior lecturer at the University of Texas. 'Just as the experts are telling us in our free-world communities, the only way to get ahead of this outbreak is through mass testing.' Prison officials in Florida and Texas said they were following guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention along with state health officials when testing only inmates showing symptoms of the virus. New Yorks Department of Corrections said its policy of only testing prisoners who show symptoms was 'reflective of testing procedures in the general public.' Tennessee took an aggressive approach after a dozen inmates tested positive at the Bledsoe County Correctional Complex in the city of Pikeville last week. The state's Department of Correction has tested 3,503 prisoners at Bledsoe, the Northwest Correctional Complex and the Turney Center Industrial Complex. Advocates and some officials worry that a COVID-19 outbreak could devastate the prison system As of Friday, 651 were positive, and most of them were asymptomatic, the department said. 'Its what makes the pandemic more difficult to manage,' said Marc Stern, former medical director for the Washington State Department of Corrections and a faculty member at the University of Washingtons School of Public Health. 'There are a whole lot of people who are asymptomatic.' After a recent spike in cases at the Neuse Correctional Institution in Goldsboro, North Carolina, state correctional officials tested all 723 prisoners last week. Of the 444 who were infected by the virus, 98 percent were asymptomatic, the state's department of public safety said. One inmate has died at the prison. Similarly, mass testing at two Arkansas prisons -- the Cummins Unit in the city of Grady and the Community Correction Center in the state capital Little Rock -- found 751 infected inmates, almost all of them asymptomatic, the state corrections department said. It did not provide the total number of inmates who were tested. Arkansas prisons have faced contagious disease outbreaks before, such as scabies and chickenpox, but those episodes were easier to manage because inmates showed overt symptoms, said Arkansas Department of Corrections spokeswoman Dina Tyler. 'But with this virus, you have no idea because so many are asymptomatic. It makes it very challenging to contain,' she said. `24-HOUR TURNAROUND IS CRUCIAL Michigan's Lakeland Correctional Facility houses some of the state's oldest and most medically frail prisoners. When coronavirus cases surged, the prison saw a spike in infections and deaths. As of April 23, nine Lakeland inmates had died from COVID-19, accounting for a third of the deaths across Michigan's 29 state prisons. Nearly half of Lakeland's 1,400 prisoners suffer from chronic underlying health conditions, according to state data. Many are in wheelchairs, and the minimum-security facility in southern Michigan has its own geriatric unit for its large elderly population. On Tuesday, the prison tested all 400 inmates in the geriatric ward and plans to test the rest of the facility by the end of the week. Of the 971 tested so far, 642, or about 66 percent were positive. A state official declined to disclose how many were asymptomatic. 'We know mass testing is going to make our numbers spike and might make us look bad,' said Chris Gautz, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections. 'But I don't think there's another prison system in the country that doesn't have large numbers. They just might not be testing as rigorously as we are.' All tested inmates are quarantined in their rooms or units pending the test results, which usually come back in a day, he said. 'The 24-hour turnaround is crucial' because once an inmate tests negative, they can return to the general population, he said. In the seven state prison systems conducting mass tests, 49 inmates have died. As the coronavirus spreads behind bars, rights groups and public defenders say they fear more will succumb, and have pressed for the release of nonviolent older and medically high-risk inmates. While thousands have been let out, crowded, often unsanitary conditions have raised concerns that jails and prisons could become vectors for the disease. 'Theyre worse than landlocked cruise ships,' Stern, the corrections expert, said, referring to stranded cruise ships that have been overwhelmed by coronavirus infections. THE Irish Chamber Orchestra based in UL, have come up with an innovative online programme since the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown with its At Home with the ICO programme, running daily on our social media channels. At 9am daily Monday to Friday, join the ICO for SPOTLIGHT which features interviews by ICO host and star oboist, Matthew Draper and also some music recitals by members of the orchestra. At 7pm daily on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights, Chambers NOT THE NINE OCLOCK NEWS series features highlights of past ICO concerts so there are some real treats to be heard. And Every Tuesday at 7pm, tune in for a weekly symphonic treat. This Thursday 23 April at 7pm the ICO will broadcast Handels opera Agrippina on Facebook, The Irish Chamber Orchestra is resident at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick and is funded by The Arts Council of Ireland/An Chomhairle Ealaion. International touring, which is at a standstill at present is generously supported by Culture Ireland. For more information see www.irishchamberorchestra.com Pohottuwa wants a victory with a two-thirds majority in parliament to implement Gotabayas visionary manifesto: Visions of Prosperity and splendour but the Opposition fears a two-thirds majority will turn out to be a big stick to establish a military styled autocratic regime which should be thwarted. by Gamini Weerakoon After Covid-19, would Lanka be the same again? Only scientists and specialist medics are supposed to be qualified to tell us when or whether the virus will come to an end but they are non-committal. Only those of us who know next to nothing about Covid-19 predict with certainty about the future. And our predictions will be what we are hoping for what we want it to be. The Covid virus is greater than those who claim to be the Greatest. Ask Donald Trump, Narendra Modi, Rodrigo Duterte or Recep Tayyip Erdogan who have all been humbled by this microbe. It has also visibly impacted potty little presidents looking forward to be Great. Covid has already devastated the best laid plans of lesser leaders right round the globe and it appears that Planet Earth would not be the same again as in ante-Covid times. In Sri Lanka, there was militarisation of governance that has seeped into day-to-day life of citizens starting with the Military Police complementing the traffic cops in their duties and now we see on TV ex- military top brass projecting power through the only functional and devastatingly effective media, television, and to a lesser extent by radio. The Sri Lankan press the Watchdog of the Nation has been locked up for over a month and limited to a few online newspapers. Medics, true enough, are given some time and occupy the centre stage briefly but the whole exercise is underpinned on well-known ex- military personalities on and off on TV in their military splendour and at times in civvies running an effective juggernaut under their supreme commander and president of the country, an ex-military man. Military personnel have done a commendable job in keeping the spread of the virus under control as compared to some other countries. Sri Lanka was fortunate in having lesser number of returning expatriate workers and migrants and also being an island with few entry points few sea ports and one main airport. Even though, on TV, the military personalities do not effuse politics and appear to be apolitical, it was inevitable that these personalities and the Covid virus would become politicised for two reasons: These ex-military men fighting Covid are recognised loyalists of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and were appointed by him. The second reason is the general election which cannot be held on the scheduled date because of the Covid virus and political supporters of the Pohottuwa, the political party of the Rajapaksas, claiming in conversations, but not officially, that the success in the War Against the Virus is an achievement of President Rajapaksa and his team of ex-military men a political achievement. Pohottuwa wants a victory with a two-thirds majority in parliament to implement Gotabayas visionary manifesto: Visions of Prosperity and splendour but the Opposition fears a two-thirds majority will turn out to be a big stick to establish a military styled autocratic regime which should be thwarted. At the time of writing, there is a constitutional crisis in the making on the scheduled date for the election and summoning of parliament. Much praise has been lavished on the Buddhi Angshaya (Intelligence Unit) for its success in trailing suspected virus carriers who have broken the rules of quarantine and spread it among those whom they have come into contact with, leading to subsequent quarantining contacts in groups and even entire neighbourhoods. Those used for this operation are said to be members of a special operations force known for their bravura and awesome nature, inspiring admiration and also fear among the public. Some, particularly those of militant political bent, fear that if this kind of investigations or operations are regularised for detection of offences considered not inimical to the state but to political interests, it could lead to the drastic invasion of privacy and violations of human rights. However, it has to be stressed that those deployed in the detection of Covid virus carriers so far have not been accused of straying beyond their limited field of operations. But it is well known that, in highly security conscious developed and even developing countries, well established security agencies tend to spy on innocent citizens invading their rights to privacy and violating their political rights on behalf of those in power. In history, even western liberal philosophers have advocated keeping watch on suspects without them being aware of being spied on. Jeremy Bentham, English philosopher and jurist, who believed that exercise of power should be visible but unverifiable, tried for long years to make successive English governments adopt a proposal for the establishment of a jail with a Central Observation tower in a circle of surrounding towers with cells in which a guard from the central tower could see into surrounding cells and watch their inmates but the inmates couldnt see into the tower. This, prisoners would not know whether they are being watched or not. This system was called a Panopticon which Bentham failed with successive governments to accept despite his wealth and influence. Michael Focault a 20th Century French philosopher and critic of Panopticon compared it to a medieval village under quarantine in order to stamp out the Plague. Focault used Panopticon as a metaphor in describing a modern disciplinary society in enforcing discipline. He argued: Discipline had replaced the pre-modern society of kings and that Panopticon should not be understood as a jail but as a mechanism of power and a diagram of political technology. Whatever the results of the general election under consideration may be, post-Covid Sri Lanka will be determined on whether the militarisation of the administration Military Police as traffic policemen, ex-military personnel heading key government institutions will remain, disappear or expand. Can this all-important issue be decided on at the forthcoming general election held under high pressure with voters exercising their franchise at the risk of being infected by the deadly virus? While Sri Lankan government officials and political supporters are backslapping one another on the success achieved so far in containing the spread of the pandemic, a threat with devastating potential could be developing just 22 miles away across the Palk strait in neighbouring India. The Covid-19 pandemic is stepping up each day in this nation of more than 1 billion people and has spread right across the sub-continent. If a devastating Covid virus bomb builds up in India and there is a near Covid vacuum in Sri Lanka, such a difference could unleash havoc here. This is a challenge that our Virus Warriors have to anticipate without basking in the glory of what has been achieved already. There could also be political viruses that could precede the Covid. Last week, the Indian media reported that the Indian army is readying separate teams to be deployed in South Asian countries, including Sri Lanka, to help them boost their capabilities to deal with the coronavirus. Sri Lanka Defence Secretary Maj Gen.(Retd) Kamal Gunaratne the next day issued a statement that the Sri Lanka Defence Force and Police had already proved their capabilities in containing the spread of the virus. Sri Lanka has had enough experience of having an uninvited peace keeping force about three decades ago. The arrival of a foreign force even for strictly humanitarian purposes at the time of the political crisis over conducting a general election would undoubtedly be an addition to the roiling political imbroglio. Maintaining good relations with our neighbour at all times and particularly in times of crises like this is essential and the altruism of the Indian premier Narendra Modi in pledging USD 10 million to SAARC should be appreciated even though his actions that have paralysed SAARC is hard to comprehend. (Gamini Weerakoon is a former editor of The Sunday Island, The Island and Consulting Editor of the Sunday Leader.) MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's top insurer, Assicurazioni Generali, said on Saturday it was confident of being able to rebuff a potential takeover bid, thanks to a "solid" group of core domestic shareholders and a strong capital and financial position. In answers to investors posted on its website ahead of next week's annual general meeting, the insurer said it was "very solid from an operational and financial point of view as well as in terms of capital and governance". Generali's smaller market capitalisation has fuelled speculation in the past that it could become an acquisition target for larger rivals such as France's AXA or Switzerland's Zurich Insurance. Sources told Reuters last month that a parliamentary committee on security was looking into the ownership structure of Italy's top financial groups with a focus on possible changes at UniCredit and Generali. By driving down Italian stock prices, the coronavirus pandemic has heightened concerns that top financial institutions could fall into foreign hands, prompting the government to broaden special powers it has over sectors deemed strategic - to include banks and insurers. Generali, whose biggest shareholder is Milanese financial group Mediobanca, is 28.5% owned by a group of Italian investors including eyewear billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio. Del Vecchio is also the top shareholder in Mediobanca. Generali reiterated that there was no reason to doubt the group's stability, even if the final impact of the COVID-19 crisis was still uncertain. (Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro; Editing by Valentina Za and Kevin Liffey) Should I be allowed to yell Fire in a crowded theater? Should this newspaper be allowed to report troop movements and military strategy in a time of war? Should I be allowed to report that youre a child molester if youre not? The answer to all of these questions is, of course, an emphatic No. But wait a minute. Doesnt the First Amendment state that Congress shall make NO law abridging the freedom of the press? You see where Im headed. All rights have limits. No right is absolute. So its time for those opposed to social distancing restrictions, including our county sheriff and the county commissioners, to stop wrapping themselves in the Bill of Rights. Their absurd lament about the restrictions violating the First and Second amendment rights to assemble, worship and bear arms is a simple pandering to the extreme right. They are jeopardizing public health by driving a partisan wedge into the issue. They are appealing to emotion and clouding public thinking. Their rhetoric will help prolong the pandemic just as social distancing measures are starting to curb it. Before going further, yes, its time to THINK about ways to ease restrictions. Last weeks news that COVID-19 has rendered 26 million Americans unemployed is scary and heart-wrenching. Were all going a little stir crazy. We want to go to work and hug our families and friends. Promisingly, enough states, including ours, are starting to see the benefits of nearly two months of self-isolation policies. Gov. Jay Inslee on Friday lifted some of the restrictions on construction as long as workers practice social distancing. But we have a long way to go before we return to normal. Its absurd, as Georgia is doing, to reopen tattoo parlors and beauty salons, when we are short of test kits, personal protective equipment or vaccines and the virus still lurks on doorknobs, desktops and in respiratory droplets. The path to reopening our world should be sober, carefully crafted and deliberate. We need good science. We need good medicine. We need entrepreneurial ingenuity. Above all we need caution: When you dont understand a hazard and there is a ton we dont know about the coronavirus its prudent to be careful, not lunge forward blindly. Unfortunately, the critics appeal to rights just inflames the issue, drives partisanship and plays into the hands of the know-nothings. Lets be clear. COVID-19 presents a clear and present danger. This is a public health and safety issue. It is not, for the most part, a civil rights issue. No one is taxing anyone without representation. No one is being arrested for meeting and expressing political views. No one is confiscating anyones guns. The government is not ordering believers how or whom to worship. Even if you cant attend a service, you can get out your Bible or attend a church service online. Critics have ridiculously invoked Patrick Henry, who cried Give me Liberty or Give me death on March 23, 1775, a month before the British killed Yankee rebels at Concord and Lexington. Henry was inveighing against real tyranny. Your government today is trying to protect public health, not rob people of their rights. Unfortunately, the rhetoric clouds the issue and leads to reckless demonstrations like the one in Olympia last weekend attended by state Rep. Jim Walsh. It also helped breed the misguided resolution the Cowlitz County commissioners adopted last week at the instigation of Sheriff Brad Thurman. Among its assertions: Cowlitz County citizens are capable of making responsible decisions effecting (sic) their personal safety. No doubt, but dont you think the governor, who has access to the best infectious disease specialists in the nation, is better equipped to make those decisions? The commissioners resolution also asks that state to rescind mandates restricting the First Amendment rights to assemble for worship and Second Amendment right to buy ammunition. Come on, you can buy ammo online and at Gators Guns. And can you really not live without bullets for a couple months in the interest of protecting your fellow citizens from COVID? As to worship, would your God want you to put fellow congregants in jeopardy, especially when other forms of prayer and worship are available? The Christian or religious thing to do here is to respect the lives and safety of your fellow citizens and believers. We should expect better, more measured leadership from the commissioners and the sheriff, not an appeal to emotion that will lead us off a cliff to disease and deaths. National polls, at least, show that they are completely out of sync with public support for social distancing restrictions. Germs, not the government, are the enemy here. The virus does not know right from wrong. Its scary because it kills at random, even if infrequently. As of last week, for example, 138 doctors in Italy had succumbed to the disease. Its not just the old and vulnerable who are dying and taking ill. Those who dismiss this disease as an affliction of the weak are wrong and as heartless as Ebenezer Scrooge, who spoke of the poor and sick this way: If they are to die, then let them die, and decrease the surplus population. The surplus population here could be your mother, brother, sister, or best friend. This is serious business, and it wont be solved by platitudes or working the public into a dither about constitutional rights. As we move the line back to normalcy, we need wise, sober direction of the kind Gov. Jay Inslee is providing. I was not a fan of his before this outbreak. But I respect his leadership during this crisis. Our local officials would better serve us by working with him and refraining from ludicrous appeals to the Bill of Rights. Contact City Editor Andre Stepankowsky at 360-577-2520. Love 172 Funny 7 Wow 5 Sad 3 Angry 44 The Prominent Civil Rights Advocacy group HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has described as a PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE the 54-year old Susan Okpe, who was said to be the Benue index case of Corona Virus just as the Rights group has asked President Muhammadu Buhari; Prime Minister Boris Johnson to intervene so she regains her freedom. HURIWA recalled that the the said index case in Benue State Susan Okpe had cried out to President Muhammad Buhari of Nigeria and the British Government, to evacuate her from Benue state just as the Governor of Benue State, Dr. Samuel Ortom had on Saturday, 28th March, announced that Mrs. Okpe was the Benue's first recorded case of Corona Virus, also known as COVID-19. HURIWArecalled that Susan Okpe, a British Nigerian, arrived the country on Saturday, 21st March via Kenya Airway, for the burial of her mother slated to hold early next month even as a family sources told the media that, Mrs. Okpe ran series of tests before leaving the United Kingdom. HURIWA stated that in a message sent via WhatsApp to our reporters including the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA), Mrs. Okpe appealed to the Federal Government and the UK Government to move her out of Benue State even as she stated in her own words thus: "I have kept my cool, but am now sick with swollen gums, being stooling throughout the night, no nurses or medical attention. My crime is that am a British who came into Nigeria, particularly Benue State; felt feverish, took myself for check up because I have travelled longer than usual.After examinations, I was told by the doctor my temperature was high and I said keep me for observations as I did not experience any before I left London, passed from Lagos to Abuja my temperature was like any other passenger was being monitored by the authorities." HURIWA stated however that after nearly a Month that the distressed lady made the clarion call which elicited the response of the British embassy including a rash of propaganda masterminded by the Benue State government, it does not appear that this PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE has been freed even when the Benue State government cleared all the persons that reportedly met her on arrival from Great Britain in March just as the Rights group said it was approached by atleast a dozen callers Yesterday requesting that we appeal to the Nigerian government and the British Prime minister to directly intervene and get this citizen of both Nigeria and Great Britain freed from what appears to be enforced disappearance and incarceration. A Tennessee church has held their second in-person service as the state prepares to join others in easing their coronavirus restrictions this week. Congregants of the Middle Valley Church of God were seen worshiping during a service Sunday morning as their pastor Mitch McClure delivered the sermon. The members appeared to abide by the CDC-recommended social distancing guidelines during the service. All of the members were also seen wearing face masks as they clapped and prayed. Members of the Middle Valley Church of God gathered for service on Sunday. The church pastor, Mitch McClure, is seen delivering a sermon to his congregation who appear to be abiding by the CDC-recommended social distancing guidelines Churchgoer Lenda Clark stands at a pew during worship at the beginning of service at the Middle Valley Church of God on Sunday Lacreta Simmons, a member of the Middle Valley Church of God, applauds during worship on Sunday John Kenner, a member of the Middle Valley Church of God, claps during worship at the beginning of service on Sunday McClure's wife, Sherri McClure, is seen speaking with churchgoers before service on Sunday Churchgoer Craig Paul sings during worship at the beginning of service on Sunday Churches in Georgia and Montana also held in-person services on Sunday. In Georgia, members of the 'Smallest Church in America' were seen praying inside the tiny building. Meanwhile in Montana, congregants were seen attending at least two of the state's churches. More than a dozen people gathered at the Christ the King Lutheran Church in Billings, Montana, while a few dozen parishioners went to mass at St Anthony Catholic Church in Laurel, Montana. It's unclear if the members of either church were wearing masks as photos mainly captured congregants with their backs facing the camera. Another wave of US states are preparing to lift lockdown restrictions this week against the warnings of many public health experts as the White House sees this month's jobless rate hitting 16 per cent or higher. Health experts say increased human interaction could spark a new wave of cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the highly contagious virus that has already killed more than 55,000 Americans. Colorado, Mississippi, Minnesota, Montana and Tennessee will join other states beginning an experiment to reopen economies without the testing and contact-tracing infrastructure health experts say is needed to prevent a resurgence of infections. Shauna Swain Riggs exits the 'Smallest Church In America' ahead of offering her Sunday prayers in Townsend, Georgia, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic Members offer prayers inside the 'Smallest Church In America' in Townsend, Georgia, on Sunday Members of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Billings, Montana, attended service on Sunday. Montana has begun a phase-in reopening of businesses and gathering places as infection rates from the coronavirus decline in the state Parishioners attend mass at St Anthony Catholic Church in Laurel, Montana on Sunday Georgia, Oklahoma, Alaska and South Carolina have already taken steps to restart their economies following a month of government-ordered lockdowns. Those unprecedented restrictions resulted in a record 26.5 million Americans filing for unemployment benefits since mid-March. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted on Friday that the economy would contract at nearly a 40 per cent annual rate in the second quarter. Even next year, the CBO forecast the unemployment rate averaging above 10 per cent. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told reporters that the jobless rate would likely hit 16 per cent or more in April. 'I think the next couple of months are going to look terrible,' Hassett said on Sunday. 'You're going to see numbers as bad as anything we've ever seen before.' Against a backdrop of scattered protests across the country calling for stay-at-home orders to be lifted, US cases topped 978,000 on Sunday after posting a record one-day increase on Friday. New York and other states have extended restrictions to mid-May. New York reported 367 new deaths on Sunday, its lowest increase since March 31. New York won't start it's first phase of reopening until after May 15. Long Islanders were out and about at Jones Beach to enjoy a sunny Saturday amid the state being on pause during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wantagh, New York Women wearing gloves and face masks walk down the Brighton Beach boardwalk in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Saturday Emmy Homer (right) gets a pedicure from Thuy Ho at BA Nail & Spa in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, on Friday. The shop was among several allowed to reopen in a loosening of coronavirus-related restrictions Linzie Castro cuts the hair of Chase Ridgeway inside Azalon Hair Studio and Boutique in Yukon, Oklahoma, on Friday Barber Patrick Watkins of Jet Cuts & Styles finishes up a haircut on Darrell Stevens at the reopened barbershop in Athens, Georgia, on Friday Megan Yelton works at Sid and Nancy thrift and consignment store on Friday in Columbia, South Carolina. Beaches and some businesses deemed nonessential were allowed to reopen this week in South Carolina Small business owner Birl Hicks helps a customer at Area 57 at Columbia Place Mall on Friday in Columbia, South Carolina A couple pick out their wedding bands at Bishops Jewelry Gallery in Fairbanks, Alaska, on Friday. Alaska businesses slowly began reopening Friday in an effort to restart the state's economy A diner orders lunch at the Airport Way Family Restaurant in Fairbanks, Alaska, on Friday. The state's largest city, Anchorage, will allow businesses to reopen beginning Monday Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo said construction and manufacturing would be the first businesses to reopen and could restart after May 15 in the upstate region with certain precautions and if cases continue to decline. Other states, mainly those with Republican governors, have taken a more aggressive approach. Tennessee said it will allow restaurants to reopen on Monday. Mississippi's stay-at-home order expires the same day. Montana, which reported three new cases on Sunday, is allowing businesses to reopen Monday if they limit capacity and practice social distancing. Minnesota will let some businesses restart on Monday, allowing 80,000 to 100,000 people in the industrial, manufacturing and office jobs to go back to work. Some states will reopen this week despite the continuous climb in coronavirus cases in the US In Colorado, Democratic Governor Jared Polis has given the green light for retail curbside pickup to begin on Monday. Hair salons, barbershop and tattoo parlors can open on Friday, with retail stores, restaurants and movie theaters to follow. Royal Rose is reopening her tattoo studio in Greeley, Colorado this week after closing a month ago, not because she wants to but because the bills are piling up and she says she has no choice. 'I would stay home if the government encouraged that, but they're not, they're saying "Hey, the best thing to do is go back to work, even though it might be risky,"' Rose said. But the lifting of restrictions is not uniform across most states. For example, Denver extended stay-at-home orders to May 8 but city dwellers can drive to a nearby county for a haircut. Georgia prohibited any local laws stricter than the state law. Eight states never ordered residents to stay at home - Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. Several opinion polls have shown a bipartisan majority of Americans want to remain at home to protect themselves from the coronavirus, despite the impact to the economy. Governor of Lori Province of Armenia Andrey Ghukasyan has issued a statement stating that he has contacted the Commandants Office for the state of emergency in Armenia and has been told that yesterday the Commandants Office received the application sent by the director of Gloria sewing factory for reopening of the factory. The statement reads as follows: Dear employees of Gloria sewing factory, taking into consideration the fact that various issues were raised yesterday in regard to reopening of the factory, I would like to inform that the issue has always been and still is in my focus, I have contacted the Commandants Office for the state of emergency in Armenia and have been told that yesterday the Commandants Office received the application sent by the director of Gloria sewing factory for reopening of the factory and the response of the Commandants Office will be sent in one or two days. I promise to inform all employees as soon as I receive the response. I understand your demand to return to work and earn money, but I urge you to be patient and wait a little longer. I understand that your jobs are very important amid the current conditions, but human health and lives are the absolute values that cant be put at risk, he said The path to Venkateshwara, the deity at the Tirupati temple, involves crossing a tunnel these days. This is no cave like the one Vaishno Devis pilgrims might be familiar with, but a disinfectant gateway that sprays you with the Rajat Bhasma solution to rid you of any virus such as Covid-19 from your clothes, hair, skin, and even feet. This tunnel was donated to us by a company called Nanolife. which makes the ayurvedic disinfectant. The temple is closed now, so its just our staff using it, a senior official at the temple said. ... PARIS, April 18 (Reuters) - France registered 642 more deaths from coronavirus infections on Saturday, bringing the total to 19,323, the fourth-highest tally in the world, although the number of people in hospital declined for a fourth day running. France's public health authority said in a statement that the total number of people in intensive care units also fell for the 10th day in a row, to 5,833 - the lowest level since March 31. France has been in virtual lockdown since March 17 as part of efforts to curb the outbreak. (Reporting by Sarah White and Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Andrew Heavens) A man is dead, a woman injured in a vehicular homicide The Kansas City Police Department is investigating a vehicular homicide near the intersection of 30th Street and York Street.Authorities responded to the scene around 7:20 p.m. What was likely domestic drama is now under investigation by authorities as the latest local murder and evidence of an allegedwherein cars are used as weapons targeting pedestrians.Read more: