| Trump floats treating coronavirus patients with light and disinfectants Posted: 23 Apr 2020 05:00 PM PDT  At an unusually contentious briefing Thursday of the coronavirus task force, President Trump floated the idea that people infected with COVID-19 might be treated using injections of disinfectant and applications of ultraviolet light.
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| ICRC donates vital medical equipment to Gaza in coronavirus crisis Posted: 23 Apr 2020 05:59 AM PDT  The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Thursday donated vital intensive care equipment to Gaza hospitals but said they remain underequipped for any wider outbreak of the new coronavirus in the territory. With passage through Gaza's borders tightly controlled by neighbouring Israel and Egypt, only 17 people have tested positive in the Palestinian territory for the novel coronavirus. "The prospect of an outbreak of COVID-19 in Gaza is frightening, given the weakness of the health infrastructure and the dense population of the Gaza Strip," said Daniel Duvillard, head of the ICRC Delegation in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
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| Trump attacks Washington Post article, claiming CDC chief Redfield was misquoted. Redfield later said he wasn't. Posted: 22 Apr 2020 05:21 PM PDT  At Wednesday's coronavirus task force briefing, President Trump blasted a Washington Post article, claiming that it misquoted CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield about the severity of the coronavirus in the fall. Redfield clarified his remarks but said he was not misquoted.
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| After months of norovirus outbreaks at sea, a smoothie is implicated Posted: 23 Apr 2020 10:21 AM PDT  CDC investigators finally traced the norovirus - not coronavirus - illnesses last year back to a smoothie made with frozen raspberries.
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| Virus-hit Iran demands US be held to account for 'cruel' sanctions Posted: 23 Apr 2020 04:57 AM PDT  Iran called Thursday for the US to be held accountable for "cruel" sanctions that have hampered its efforts to fight a coronavirus outbreak that it said claimed another 90 lives. It accuses its arch enemy the United States of making the crisis worse through sanctions imposed unilaterally since Washington pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018. The latest fatalities given by the health ministry for the past 24 hours took the overall death toll in Iran from the coronavirus to 5,481.
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| Supreme Court sides with government in immigration case Posted: 23 Apr 2020 11:16 AM PDT  The Supreme Court is making it harder for noncitizens who are authorized to live permanently in the United States to argue they should be allowed to stay in the country if they've committed crimes. The decision came in the case of Andre Barton, a Jamaican national and green card holder. Justice Brett Kavanaugh noted in his opinion for the court's conservatives that it was important that Barton's 1996 crime took place in the first seven years he was admitted to the country.
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| The mayor of Las Vegas wants to open casinos and let the number of infections determine which of them have to close Posted: 22 Apr 2020 08:44 AM PDT  Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman has a bizarre idea about how to get casinos up and running during the pandemic.
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| Missouri AG Claims Coronavirus Lawsuit Could Eventually Win ‘Tens of Billions of Dollars’ from Chinese Government Posted: 22 Apr 2020 12:12 PM PDT  Missouri attorney general Eric Schmitt on Wednesday told National Review that he believes the state's first-of-its-kind lawsuit against China could potentially bring massive compensation to Missourians who have suffered as a result of Beijing's mishandling of the coronavirus.The lawsuit "seeks recovery for the enormous loss of life, human suffering, and economic turmoil experienced by all Missourians" caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Several defendants are identified, including the CCP, China's health ministry, the governments of Hubei province and the city of Wuhan, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology.The suit claims that these entities were negligent in attempting to contain the initial outbreak in Wuhan, and that they deceived the international community as to the prevalence of the outbreak. While the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 generally prevents Americans from suing foreign governments in U.S. courts, there are certain exemptions embodied in the legislation which are targeted in the lawsuit."Our claim, which I think people are starting to understand is a little bit different than what people might have thought it was, is that we believe those allegations fit squarely in an exception to the Federal Sovereign Immunities Act that would typically give immunity to other nations," Schmitt said in an interview with National Review."[This] is the commercial activities exception," Schmitt explained. "So, if you're operating a [negligent] virology lab, if you're hoarding PPE…you no longer have those protections. So we believe that those common law claims that we have fit squarely within that exception, which is why we think we'll ultimately be successful…to the tune of tens of billions of dollars." Those damages could be sought from Chinese entities within the U.S.There is precedent for using commercial activities exemption of the FSIA, such as in the 1992 Supreme Court case Republic of Argentina v. Weltover. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in his opinion that "Argentina's issuance of the Bonods [bonds] was a 'commercial activity' under the FSIA," and the bond payment in question was to be made in New York City. Because of this, the court ruled unanimously that Argentina could be sued in the U.S. for breach of contract on a bond payment.Senators Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) and Martha McSally (R., Ariz.) have also introduced legislation that would establish an immunity exemption "for a foreign state that discharges a biological weapon, and for other purposes," to enable Americans affected by the coronavirus to directly sue China. National Review contributor Andy McCarthy criticized that legislation, writing that paving the way for such lawsuits could backfire if China decided to retaliate against American investments abroad and to argue for stripping immunity from the U.S.Schmitt, however, sought to ease concerns that the Missouri lawsuit could have unintended consequences, saying it was his "obligation to seek the truth" on behalf of Missouri residents.The coronavirus pandemic "is something that we've not seen the likes of before, and if you look at how this all played out, in the suppression of information at a really critical time, there's just no other conclusion you can draw: the Chinese government is responsible for this," Schmitt said. "My duty, as the lawyer for six million Missourians, is to prosecute that case."The attorney general added, "I think as people take a look at the complaint, I wouldn't be surprised at all if other states follow suit."As of Wednesday the coronavirus had infected over 6,000 and killed 200 in Missouri, and the state has implemented economically-harmful social-distancing measures and business closures similar to those in effect in most of the U.S. Freshman Missouri senator Josh Hawley, a Republican, has taken a hard line on China's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, calling in March for an international investigation into the Chinese government's coverup of the outbreak.
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| Reopening after coronavirus is a 'much bigger' job than most Americans realize, Harvard study finds Posted: 22 Apr 2020 01:22 PM PDT  Despite President Trump's assurances that the U.S. is "winning" its war against the coronavirus, and moves by some governors to end stay-at-home measures, a new Harvard University study paints a stark picture of what will be required for the country to emerge from the pandemic.
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| California had its deadliest day Wednesday, even as COVID-19 cases start to stabilize Posted: 23 Apr 2020 02:54 PM PDT  The governor also announced new programs to help Californians with the financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 crisis.
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| 30 Best Sides for Hamburgers Posted: 23 Apr 2020 02:40 PM PDT |
| New coronavirus cases halved in Israeli ultra-Orthodox city after military lockdown Posted: 23 Apr 2020 01:31 AM PDT  The community rejects much of modern technology — including television and social media — which had left many uninformed about the pandemic.
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| Merkel Urges Germany to Support EU Stimulus to Counter Virus Posted: 23 Apr 2020 01:40 AM PDT |
| No, Gov. DeSantis, Florida has not 'flattened the curve' Posted: 22 Apr 2020 10:51 AM PDT  Since reporting a record-high number of new cases on Friday, the rate of new cases is steady – not declining.
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| Trump disagrees with Redfield, Fauci on return of coronavirus next fall Posted: 22 Apr 2020 07:17 PM PDT  The coronavirus would be reduced to easily extinguished "embers" by the time next fall's influenza season strikes, President Trump said at Wednesday's briefing of the White House task force, even as his top health experts continued to offer a decidedly more guarded outlook.
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| Months after coronavirus diagnosis, some Wuhan patients test positive again Posted: 22 Apr 2020 03:51 AM PDT  Some of the first patients to suffer from COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, are still bearing the consequences of the disease.
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| Chinese investors flummoxed by India's new foreign investment rules Posted: 23 Apr 2020 05:15 AM PDT  India's plan to screen foreign direct investments from neighbouring countries has Chinese firms concerned that such scrutiny will affect their projects and delay deals in one of Asia's most lucrative investment markets. The tougher rules were not a surprise, as other countries are also on guard against fire sales of corporate assets during the coronavirus outbreak, but that they apply to investments from countries that share a land border with India raised eyebrows. Unlike neighbouring Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan, China has major investments in India.
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| Chinese Agents Spread Messages That Sowed Virus Panic in U.S., Officials Say Posted: 22 Apr 2020 05:22 AM PDT  WASHINGTON -- The alarming messages came fast and furious in mid-March, popping up on the cellphone screens and social media feeds of millions of Americans grappling with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.Spread the word, the messages said: The Trump administration was about to lock down the entire country."They will announce this as soon as they have troops in place to help prevent looters and rioters," warned one of the messages, which cited a source in the Department of Homeland Security. "He said he got the call last night and was told to pack and be prepared for the call today with his dispatch orders."The messages became so widespread over 48 hours that the White House's National Security Council issued an announcement via Twitter that they were "FAKE."Since that wave of panic, U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Chinese operatives helped push the messages across platforms, according to six U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to publicly discuss intelligence matters. The amplification techniques are alarming to officials because the disinformation showed up as texts on many Americans' cellphones, a tactic that several of the officials said they had not seen before.That has spurred agencies to look at new ways in which China, Russia and other nations are using a range of platforms to spread disinformation during the pandemic, they said.The origin of the messages remains murky. U.S. officials declined to reveal details of the intelligence linking Chinese agents to the dissemination of the disinformation, citing the need to protect their sources and methods for monitoring Beijing's activities.The officials interviewed for this article work in six different agencies. They included both career civil servants and political appointees, and some have spent many years analyzing China. Their broader warnings about China's spread of disinformation are supported by recent findings from outside bipartisan research groups, including the Alliance for Securing Democracy and the Center for a New American Security, which is expected to release a report on the topic next month.Two U.S. officials stressed they did not believe Chinese operatives created the lockdown messages but rather amplified existing ones. Those efforts enabled the messages to catch the attention of enough people that they then spread on their own, with little need for further work by foreign agents. The messages appeared to gain significant traction on Facebook as they were also proliferating through texts, according to an analysis by The New York Times.U.S. officials said the operatives had adopted some of the techniques mastered by Russia-backed trolls, such as creating fake social media accounts to push messages to sympathetic Americans, who in turn unwittingly help spread them.The officials say the Chinese agents also appear to be using texts and encrypted messaging apps, including WhatsApp, as part of their campaigns. It is much harder for researchers and law enforcement officers to track disinformation spread through text messages and encrypted apps than on social media platforms.U.S. intelligence officers are also examining whether spies in China's diplomatic missions in the United States helped spread the fake lockdown messages, a senior U.S. official said. U.S. agencies have recently increased their scrutiny of Chinese diplomats and employees of state-run media organizations. In September, the State Department secretly expelled two employees of the Chinese Embassy in Washington suspected of spying.Other rival powers might have been involved in the dissemination, too. And Americans with prominent online or news media platforms unknowingly helped amplify the messages. Misinformation has proliferated during the pandemic -- in recent weeks, some pro-Trump news outlets have promoted anti-American conspiracy theories, including one that suggests the virus was created in a laboratory in the United States.U.S. officials said China, borrowing from Russia's strategies, has been trying to widen political divisions in the United States. As public dissent simmers over lockdown policies in several states, officials worry it will be easy for China and Russia to amplify the partisan disagreements."It is part of the playbook of spreading division," said Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, adding that private individuals have identified some social media bots that helped promote the recent lockdown protests that some fringe conservative groups have nurtured.The propaganda efforts go beyond text messages and social media posts directed at Americans. In China, top officials have issued directives to agencies to engage in a global disinformation campaign around the virus, the U.S. officials said.Some U.S. intelligence officers are especially concerned about disinformation aimed at Europeans that pro-China actors appear to have helped spread. The messages stress the idea of disunity among European nations during the crisis and praise China's "donation diplomacy," U.S. officials said. Left unmentioned are reports of Chinese companies delivering shoddy equipment and European leaders expressing skepticism over China's handling of its outbreak.President Donald Trump himself has shown little concern about China's actions. He has consistently praised the handling of the pandemic by Chinese leaders -- "Much respect!" he wrote on Twitter on March 27. Three days later, he dismissed worries over China's use of disinformation when asked about it on Fox News."They do it and we do it and we call them different things," he said. "Every country does it."Asked about the new accusations, the Chinese Foreign Ministry released a statement Tuesday that said, "The relevant statements are complete nonsense and not worth refuting."Zhao Lijian, a ministry spokesman, has separately rebutted persistent accusations by U.S. officials that China has supplied bad information and exhibited a broader lack of transparency during the pandemic."We urge the U.S. to stop political manipulation, get its own house in order and focus more on fighting the epidemic and boosting the economy," Zhao said at a news conference Friday.An Information WarThe United States and China are engaged in a titanic information war over the pandemic, one that has added a new dimension to their global rivalry.Trump and his aides are trying to put the spotlight on China as they face intense criticism over the federal government's widespread failures in responding to the pandemic, which has killed more than 40,000 Americans. President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party are trying to shore up domestic and international support after earlier cover-ups that allowed the virus to spread.As diplomatic tensions rose and Beijing scrambled to control the narrative, the Chinese government last month expelled American journalists for three U.S. news organizations, including The New York Times.The extent to which the United States might be engaging in its own covert information warfare in China is not clear. While the CIA in recent decades has tried to support pro-democracy opposition figures in some countries, Chinese counterintelligence officers eviscerated the agency's network of informants in China about a decade ago, hurting its ability to conduct operations there.Chinese officials accuse Trump and his allies of overtly peddling malicious or bad information, pointing to the president's repeatedly calling the coronavirus a "Chinese virus" or the suggestion by some Republicans that the virus may have originated as a Chinese bioweapon, a theory that U.S. intelligence agencies have since ruled out. (Many Americans have criticized Trump's language as racist.)Republican strategists have decided that bashing China over the virus will shore up support for Trump and other conservative politicians before the November elections.Given the toxic information environment, foreign policy analysts are worried that the Trump administration may politicize intelligence work or make selective leaks to promote an anti-China narrative. Those concerns hover around the speculation over the origin of the virus. U.S. officials in the past have selectively passed intelligence to reporters to shape the domestic political landscape; the most notable instance was under President George W. Bush in the run-up to the Iraq War.But it has been clear for more than a month that the Chinese government is pushing disinformation and anti-American conspiracy theories related to the pandemic. Zhao, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, wrote on Twitter in March that the U.S. Army might have taken the virus to the Chinese city of Wuhan. That message was then amplified by the official Twitter accounts of Chinese embassies and consulates.The state-run China Global Television Network produced a video targeting viewers in the Middle East in which a presenter speaking Arabic asserted that "some new facts" indicated that the pandemic might have originated from American participants in a military sports competition in October in Wuhan. The network has an audience of millions, and the video has had more than 365,000 views on YouTube."What we've seen is the CCP mobilizing its global messaging apparatus, which includes state media as well as Chinese diplomats, to push out selected and localized versions of the same overarching false narratives," Lea Gabrielle, coordinator of the Global Engagement Center in the State Department, said in late March, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.Some analysts say it is core to China's new, aggressive "'Wolf Warrior' diplomacy," a term that refers to a patriotic Chinese military action film series.But Chinese diplomats and operators of official media accounts recently began moving away from overt disinformation, Gabrielle said. That dovetailed with a tentative truce Trump and Xi reached over publicly sniping about the virus.U.S. officials said Chinese agencies are most likely embracing covert propagation of disinformation in its place. Current and former U.S. officials have said they are seeing Chinese operatives adopt online strategies long used by Russian agents -- a phenomenon that also occurred during the Hong Kong protests last year. Some Chinese operatives have promoted disinformation that originated on Russia-aligned websites, they said.And the apparent aim of spreading the fake lockdown messages last month is consistent with a type of disinformation favored by Russian actors -- namely sowing chaos and undermining confidence among Americans in the U.S. government, the officials said."As Beijing and Moscow move to shape the global information environment both independently and jointly through a wide range of digital tools, they have established several diplomatic channels and forums through which they can exchange best practices," said Kristine Lee, a fellow at the Center for a New American Security who researches disinformation from China and Russia."I'd anticipate, as we have seen in recent months, that their mutual learning around these tools will migrate to increasingly cutting-edge capabilities that are difficult to detect but yield maximal payoff in eroding American influence and democratic institutions globally," she added.'There Is No National Lockdown'The amplification of the fake lockdown messages was a notable instance of China's use of covert disinformation messaging, U.S. officials said.A couple of versions of the message circulated widely, according to The Times analysis. The first instance tracked by The Times appeared March 13, as many state officials were enacting social distancing policies. This version said Trump was about to invoke the Stafford Act to shut down the country.The messages generally attributed their contents to a friend in a federal agency -- the Pentagon, the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the CIA and so on. Over days, hundreds of identical posts appeared on Facebook and the online message board 4chan, among other places, and spread through texts.Another version appeared March 15, The Times found. This one said Trump was about to deploy the National Guard, military units and emergency responders across the United States while imposing a one-week nationwide quarantine.That same day, the National Security Council announced on Twitter that the messages were fake."There is no national lockdown," it said, adding that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "has and will continue to post the latest guidance."Samantha Vinograd, who was a staff employee at the National Security Council during the Obama administration, replied to the council's tweet, recounting her experience with the disinformation."I received several texts from loved ones about content they received containing various rumors -- they were explicitly asked to share it with their networks," she wrote. "I advised them to do the opposite. Misinfo is not what we need right now -- from any source foreign or domestic."Since January, Americans have shared many other messages that included disinformation: that the virus originated in an Army laboratory at Fort Detrick in Maryland, that it can be killed with garlic water, vitamin C or colloidal silver, that it thrives on ibuprofen. Often the posts are attributed to an unnamed source in the U.S. government or an institution such as Johns Hopkins University or Stanford University.As the messages have sown confusion, it has been difficult to trace their true origins or pin down all the ways in which they have been amplified.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| Guatemalan wrongly deported amid coronavirus crisis is reunited with family in U.S. Posted: 23 Apr 2020 10:50 AM PDT  "I am very happy," Gilmer Barrios said. "It had been almost a month since I saw my wife, and I am going to see my children in a little while."
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| Turkey in ‘Losing Battle’ Over Lira After Surprise Rate Cut Posted: 22 Apr 2020 11:10 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Turkey lowered interest rates more than forecast by most economists, forcing state banks to defend the lira to keep it from breaching a key threshold against the dollar.Government-owned lenders sold at least $600 million to support the Turkish currency after the rate decision, according to two traders with knowledge of the matter. The Monetary Policy Committee on Wednesday reduced its benchmark for an eighth time in less than a year, lowering it to 8.75% from 9.75%. Only two of 28 economists in a Bloomberg poll correctly predicted the move, with the rest seeing a smaller cut or a hold.The central bank has looked past the lira's steep depreciation in 2020, focusing on spurring credit to mitigate the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. The lira has weakened nearly 15% against the U.S. currency since the beginning of the year and is edging closer to the psychologically important 7-per-dollar mark. It briefly breached that level and slipped as much as 0.3% after the rate announcement, before paring losses. It traded at 6.9779 per dollar as of 8:40 a.m. in Istanbul on Thursday."The Turkish central bank has been fighting like crazy to keep the dollar-lira pair below 7, which often seems like a losing battle," said Brad Bechtel, global head of foreign exchange at Jefferies LLC in New York. "They continue to fight but the market continues to push against them and it feels only a matter of time before they are forced to capitulate."The easing cycle is leaving the lira exposed to a global selloff, with Turkey's inflation-adjusted rates now among the lowest in the world. Undaunted by the currency's slide, Governor Murat Uysal is pushing real borrowing costs further below zero after last month's emergency cut of a full percentage point. Meanwhile, the country's international reserves are running low because of state lenders' interventions to prop up the lira.Turkey's state banks don't comment on interventions in the foreign-exchange market. In January, Uysal said they have been carrying out transactions in line with regulatory limits and may continue to be active in the currency market.The MPC said in its statement that risks to its year-end inflation forecasts are "on the downside" after declines in commodity prices and despite the lira's depreciation.The rate cut reflected the central bank's "aim to support growth as much as possible," Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists Murat Unur and Clemens Grafe said in a report. "We see risks of emergency hikes to fend off further lira depreciation."Turkish inflation in March slowed for the first time since October, reaching an annual 11.9%, as the drop in oil prices offset some of the increases that a depreciating lira would have caused.Declines in commodity prices and domestic demand amid the global pandemic are putting downward pressure on inflation, Uysal said on Sunday. The central bank may update its year-end inflation projection -- currently at 8.2% -- when it issues its next quarterly report on April 30.Economic activity has suffered due to the measures taken to check the contagion. Exports dropped almost 18% in March from a year earlier and a gauge of confidence among Turkish manufacturers fell by the most since the 2008 global financial crisis.The weighted-average cost of central bank funding is already below the benchmark at around 9%.The central bank's net reserves -- which strip out liabilities including local lenders' reserve requirements -- fell to $26.3 billion in the week through April 10. Of that, $25.9 billion was borrowed through short-term swaps, the bulk of which had a maturity of one month or less, according to the latest data through the end of February."Yet another substantial rate cut is a clear indication that the priority is to support the economy that faces the prospect of a recession," said Piotr Matys, a strategist at Rabobank in London. "But it also implies that the lira is even less attractive, which means that the central bank may have to spend even more on FX interventions."(Updates lira's performance in third paragraph, economist comment in eighth)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| The CEO of Ryanair, one of the world's biggest airlines, says it won't fly if middle seats have to stay empty for 'idiotic' social-distancing rules Posted: 23 Apr 2020 03:14 AM PDT  Not having passengers in the middle seat is not profitable, and passengers would still be too close anyway, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said.
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| NKorea silence on Kim's health raises succession speculation Posted: 22 Apr 2020 03:50 AM PDT  With North Korea saying nothing so far about outside media reports that leader Kim Jong Un may be unwell, there's renewed worry about who's next in line to run a nuclear-armed country that's 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, 36, hadn't missed it since inheriting power from his father in late 2011.
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| Trump says he 'disagrees strongly' with Georgia governor's decision to reopen state Posted: 22 Apr 2020 05:01 PM PDT  President Trump said Wednesday that he opposes Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's controversial decision to allow some non-essential businesses to reopen despite a high number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state.
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| Delaware medical supplier says FEMA seized 400,000 N95 masks; now he's out millions of dollars Posted: 22 Apr 2020 09:32 AM PDT  A Delaware importer says the Federal Emergency Management Agency seized a shipment of N95 masks two weeks ago, accusations FEMA denies.
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| 'Something's going wrong': UK virus response under fire Posted: 21 Apr 2020 10:46 PM PDT  The British government came under sustained pressure over its coronavirus response on Wednesday when members of parliament got their first major opportunity in a month to hold it to account. With the latest hospital death toll from the virus rising to 18,100 in the United Kingdom and persistent reports of a lack of protective equipment for staff in hospitals and care homes, stand-in leader Dominic Raab faced a barrage of tough questions. "Something's going wrong," new opposition leader Keir Starmer said during the weekly Prime Minister's Questions session, where Raab was deputising for Boris Johnson who is recovering from COVID-19 at his country residence.
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| India rape: Six-year-old victim's eyes damaged in attack Posted: 23 Apr 2020 07:45 AM PDT  Police in Madhya Pradesh say the child was grabbed near her home and subjected to a horrific attack.
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| China suspends consular visits to detained Canadian pair over coronavirus Posted: 23 Apr 2020 10:15 AM PDT  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday, on the 500th day of China's controversial detention of two Canadians, that consular visits had been blocked due to a coronavirus lockdown of prisons. "We have been working extremely diligently on the issue of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who have been detained for 500 days in China," Trudeau told a daily briefing. Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, speaking during a video event hosted by the Montreal International Relations Council (CORIM), described the detention as "500 days too many."
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| Kentucky lawyer arrested for allegedly threatening governor over lockdown Posted: 23 Apr 2020 05:38 AM PDT  Attorney James Gregory Troutman allegedly said on Facebook that he hopes Gov. Andy Beshear would see the same fate as a former governor, William Goebel, who was assassinated in 1900.
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| This Has Changed Everything: Oil Shakes Saudi Economy Posted: 23 Apr 2020 04:37 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The meltdown in oil markets is turning back the economic clock for Saudi Arabia, putting it on track for the deepest contraction in two decades.Already under lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the world's largest crude exporter is bracing for a second impact from the oil rout and unprecedented production cuts negotiated by OPEC and its allies. Both will slash government revenue, and in turn derail a fragile economic recovery. Brent crude traded at under $19 a barrel on Tuesday -- a quarter of the level Saudi Arabia needs to balance its budget -- leaving officials with limited options to offset economic pain without crippling public finances."This has changed everything," said Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank. "So much of the recent recovery was based on the fact that the oil price had been above $50-$60, providing support to economic activity, and that's just been decimated."The setback presents difficult choices for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. After the last oil price slump, from 2014 to 2016, he announced a major economic transformation plan. While officials have made significant progress -- developing fledging sectors like entertainment and lifting non-oil revenue with taxes and fees -- the economy still hinges on crude. Now the price shock is threatening many of the government's gains, making it difficult to fund projects and investments when over 60% of revenue this year was meant to come from oil.Ricardo Hausmann, an economist at Harvard University, compared the situation facing Saudi Arabia to "war being fought on at least two fronts," according to a recent presentation for Saudi officials, seen by Bloomberg, that outlined the dual hit from the pandemic and the oil crisis."Each shock in itself is huge," Hausmann wrote. "Both at the same time makes things much more complex."Aggressive MeasuresSo far, Saudi Arabia has reported one of the lowest rates of Covid-19 infection in the region, with less than 12,000 cases among 34 million people. That's partly due to aggressive measures to slow the spread, steps that are also shutting down swaths of the $779 billion economy.When the government put major cities under a 24-hour curfew this month, business surged for Ayman Alsanad, co-founder of one of the kingdom's most popular delivery applications. He was sleeping four hours a night as his company, Mrsool, rushed to recruit couriers to meet the spike in demand from people stuck at home. But even as he commended the government's help for companies, he said he was concerned about the looming oil crisis.As oil prices in the U.S. plummeted below zero for the first time in history, Saudi phones pinged with text messages and tweets asking what it meant for the kingdom.The collapse in the price of West Texas Intermediate crude has little direct impact for Saudi Arabia, since it sells only about a 10th of its oil to the U.S. The kingdom's fate is more closely tied to the price of global benchmark Brent crude, which is also falling, in part because of low U.S. prices."Yesterday's price slump was psychologically very important," said Eugen Weinberg, Commerzbank AG's head of commodity research. "There is a possibility it will change perceptions forever."The price rout was partly caused by a supply surge during a bitter oil-price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia -- but underlying it is expectations of a drawn-out period of lower demand. Warnings from U.S. President Donald Trump that he'll consider blocking imports of crude from Saudi Arabia only add to concerns.Recovery derailedMany Saudi business owners were looking forward to 2020 after several tough years. Now, economists say they can hardly cut their forecasts fast enough.Gross domestic product could shrink more than 3% this year in what would be the first contraction since 2017 -- and the biggest since 1999 -- according to Malik. Unemployment is poised to spike as businesses struggle to stay afloat.The government's budget deficit could widen to 15% of economic output, said Mohamed Abu Basha, head of macroeconomic analysis at investment bank EFG Hermes in Cairo. The fiscal shortfall reached 4.5% last year after peaking at just over 17% in 2016, according to the International Monetary Fund.Despite the grim outlook, many Saudis are grateful for officials' swift response to the pandemic. Business owners say that the government's stimulus package saved them from collapse. A few weeks ago, Faisal AlSager -- who employs more than 1,500 people at a firm that provides call centers and customer-service solutions -- was on the verge of laying off workers as clients pulled back.But when the government announced it would cover 60% of salaries for some Saudis in the private sector, his company, Etisal International, suspended layoffs."Such measures taken by the government will help us at least survive," he said.So far, officials say they plan to borrow more to fill the widening budget gap, and have announced only minor spending cuts. Fawaz al-Fawaz, a Saudi economic consultant, said the government has significant reserves and a low debt-to-GDP ratio compared to other big economies. He pointed out it wasn't the first time Saudi Arabia had lived through an oil crash."The cyclicality of the oil industry is not new to the Saudi decision makers," al-Fawaz said. "They have seen this drama before, so they have experience."(Removes unauthorized quote in ninth paragraph of story originally published April 21)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Human rights groups are pleading with Mexico's top health official to pressure the release of detained migrants at risk of contracting COVID-19 Posted: 22 Apr 2020 08:13 PM PDT  The majority of Mexico's detained migrant population cannot be repatriated due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in Honduras and El Salvador.
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| AOC Only Democrat to Vote Against $484 Billion Coronavirus Relief Package Posted: 23 Apr 2020 04:03 PM PDT  The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the $484 billion coronavirus relief package to replenish the depleted small business loan program, with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) being the only Democrat in both the House or Senate to oppose the bill.The House passed the bill, which includes $310 billion for the government's phase-three Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), by a 388-5 margin — sending it to President Trump's desk after the Senate passed the bill on Tuesday. Four House Republicans — Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ken Buck of Colorado, Jody Hice of Georgia, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky — along with former Republican Justin Amash (I., Mich.) joined Ocasio-Cortez in voting against the bill.Speaking to CNN's Manu Raju, Ocasio-Cortez explained that her problem with the bill was "giving Republicans what they want.""McConnell is already talking about the deficit the moment we talk about getting people relief," she said. ". . . That to me is a signal that Republicans are done."> She added: "If they don't want the next stimulus, what leverage do we have to pass" further relief?> > -- Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 23, 2020 The new funding includes $60 billion — $50 billion in loans and $10 billion in grants — for companies with less than $50 billion in total assets, with $30 billion of that for firms with less than $10 billion. The bill also includes $75 billion in additional funding for hospitals and health care providers, and $25 billion to help fund the nationwide effort to expand coronavirus testing.Republicans and Democrats have sparred over the draining of SBA funding, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) saying Wednesday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) "delayed the bill," but admitted that Democrats did reject a simple reauthorization proposed by Republicans."Democrats should never have made the Paycheck Protection Program lapse. The House must follow the Senate's lead and vote today to re-open it," McConnell tweeted ahead of the House vote Thursday.Ocasio-Cortez drew criticism earlier this week for tweeting, and then deleting, praise over the U.S. oil market reaching negative territory for the first time ever. Over four million Americans applied for unemployment last week, according to data released Thursday, bringing the number of coronavirus jobless claims to over 26 million since last month.
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| Trump mega donor and former EU ambassador Gordon Sondland got a PPP loan Posted: 23 Apr 2020 02:14 PM PDT  Small business owners have had a lot of trouble securing loans to help them weather the coronavirus crisis. Gordon Sondland's business didn't.Sondland is the founder of Provenance Hotels, a chain of high-end joints that secured a loan from the Paycheck Protection Program, which will distribute more than $300 billion. But he's probably better known as the former U.S. ambassador to the European Union who played a major role in President Trump's impeachment — and who got his job after making a $1 million donation to Trump's inaugural committee.Provenance Hotels laid off around 1,000 employees, and said it hopes to use the loan to hire them back. Sondland didn't work for the company for the past few years while in the White House, but he'll become its chair again in May after Provenance's president stepped down amid the financial panic. Sondland's wife Katherine Durant remained Provenance's CEO during the ex-ambassador's time in office.The funding for small business loans doled out under the federal COVID-19 relief package ran dry within days of its passage. It has since been revealed that huge national chains, including some with valuations over $100 million, managed to secure loans while far smaller businesses never made it through the long lines to apply.More stories from theweek.com Trump adviser suggests reopening economy by putting 'everybody in a space outfit' Cuomo rips McConnell's 'blue state bailout' by noting 'your state is living on the money that we generate' Small music venues ask Congress for special consideration in coronavirus aid
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| Marines' Top General Opens Up About Decision to Ban Confederate Flag Displays Posted: 23 Apr 2020 10:49 AM PDT  Commandant Gen. David Berger issued a letter to explain his reasons for banning public displays of Confederate paraphernalia.
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| Coronavirus: Why some Nigerians are gloating about Covid-19 Posted: 22 Apr 2020 04:42 PM PDT  Many rich Nigerians, including the political classes, used to go abroad for medical treatment - but no longer.
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| Delta warns of need to 'resize' after big loss on virus shutdowns Posted: 22 Apr 2020 01:39 PM PDT  Delta Air Lines will need to "resize" the company in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, executives said Wednesday, as they sketched out a picture of airline industry recovery that is expected to be slow and choppy. The message from Chief Executive Ed Bastian was grim. Delta lost $534 million in the first quarter, compared with profits of $730 million in the same period a year ago.
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| 4 men confine woman in her home to rob her of stimulus check, police say Posted: 23 Apr 2020 04:12 PM PDT  The woman whose house was broken into told police the suspects were aware she had received her check and intended to rob her.
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| India Opens Bridge in Himalayas Setting Stage for China Face-Off Posted: 23 Apr 2020 02:40 AM PDT |
| Elon Musk announces that early access to the Starlink satellite-internet project will launch this year Posted: 23 Apr 2020 08:05 AM PDT  The SpaceX and Tesla CEO made the announcement of two beta tests — one public and one private — on Twitter Wednesday night.
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| When will Disney World and Disneyland reopen? One analyst predicts it may not be until 2021 Posted: 23 Apr 2020 06:41 AM PDT  A financial analyst predicted Disney parks won't reopen in 2020 given new health precautions, the lack of travel and crowd aversion.
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| Detroit Dems to Censure State Lawmaker Who Thanked Trump for Touting Chloroquine Posted: 23 Apr 2020 12:39 PM PDT  A Detroit, Mich., branch of the Democratic Party plans to censure state representative Karen Whitsett (D., Detroit) after she met with President Trump earlier this month and praised him for recommending the anti-viral drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for coronavirus.Whitsett contracted coronavirus in March and has since recovered. The freshman lawmaker credited hydroxychloroquine, a medication touted by Trump and other U.S. officials as a possible therapeutic for coronavirus, with saving her life."Thank you for everything that you have done," Whitsett told Trump and Vice President Mike Pence at the White House on April 14. "I did not know that saying thank you had a political line…I thought just saying thank you meant 'thank you.'"The potential benefits of hydroxychloroquine for coronavirus patients have not yet been confirmed by medical studies, however state governors including New York's Andrew Cuomo have allowed doctors to use the medication if they choose.However, Detroit's 13th Congressional District Democratic Party plans to censure Whitsett and withhold any future endorsements of the lawmaker for breaking protocol by meeting the president. Whitsett also has a history of statements and actions that have bucked the party apparatus, sometimes making negative statements about the party and Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer."At the end of the day, we have political systems," 13th District chairman Jonathan Kinloch said. "We have political parties, and political parties exist for a reason…[representatives] belong to the members and precinct delegates of the Democratic Party."The 13th District summoned Whitsett for a screening of possible State House candidates in the district on Sunday, but Whitsett refused to attend."I don't have time for politics," Whitsett said. "That's ridiculous, during a pandemic, that they think I have time for a screening…I have people that need me." The lawmaker said she has been handing out food and cleaning supplies to people in her district since her recovery.
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| The coronavirus could force smaller liberal arts and state colleges to close forever Posted: 23 Apr 2020 02:23 PM PDT  The CARES Act allocated nearly $14 billion to help colleges and universities. But for schools with small endowments, it might not be enough.
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| Israeli forces kill Palestinian attacker near Jerusalem: police Posted: 21 Apr 2020 11:33 PM PDT |
| Members of congress advocate for coronavirus relief on behalf of those who have contracted the virus Posted: 23 Apr 2020 12:18 PM PDT  During a speech on the House floor, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., dedicated a coronavirus relief bill to her sister, who she said is "dying in a hospital" of COVID-19. Later Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., advocated for the passage of the legislation on behalf of a 5-year-old who died from the coronavirus.
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| EU warns incoming Israeli gov't against West Bank annexation Posted: 23 Apr 2020 08:33 AM PDT  The European Union on Thursday issued a warning against the incoming Israeli government's intention to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, saying that such a move "would constitute a serious violation of international law." The EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the 27-member bloc does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Palestinian territory and that it will "continue to closely monitor the situation and its broader implications, and will act accordingly." Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main rival Benny Gantz signed a coalition agreement that includes a clause to advance plans to annex parts of the West Bank, including Israeli settlements, starting on July 1.
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