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Hospitals in Syria's rebel area reduce services amid virus
Hospitals in Syria's overcrowded opposition-held enclave are suspending non-emergency procedures and outpatient services following the detection of the first case of coronavirus, a leading doctor in the area said Friday. The first case of COVID-19, a doctor in the area, was reported on Thursday in Idlib province, the last opposition-held part of Syria in a sliver of land bordering Turkey. There have been major concerns of an outbreak in northwestern Syria, an area packed with more than 3 million people, many of them living in tents and encampments, and where health facilities have been devastated by Syria's long civil war.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 13:36:56 GMT

Turkish court rules Hagia Sophia can be turned into a mosque
Turkey’s highest administrative court on Friday issued a ruling that paves the way for the government to convert Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia — a former cathedral-turned-mosque that now serves as a museum — back into a Muslim house of worship. The Council of State threw its weight behind a petition brought by a religious group and annulled a 1934 cabinet decision that turned the 6th-century building into a museum. Dozens of people who awaited the court’s ruling outside the Hagia Sophia jubilantly chanted “Allah is great!” when the news came out.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 13:17:53 GMT

WHO’s The Boss

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 13:02:12 GMT

Trump could still bounce back, but it looks less likely than ever
One, President Trump will inevitably claw his way back into contention, rallying Republicans who don’t want to lose power and softening Joe Biden’s support — a la what happened in the weeks after that disastrous “Access Hollywood” video in 2016. Or two, the numbers will either stay the same or even get worse for the GOP — since Trump is now the incumbent, not the challenger, amid a pandemic that has now killed almost 135,000 Americans and brought the U.S. unemployment rate into the double digits. It’s that second scenario that should scare the heck out of GOP strategists: What if a majority of the electorate already has given up on Trump, like what happened to George W. Bush after Hurricane Katrina and Iraq, or Jimmy Carter after the Iran-hostage crisis?

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 13:02:00 GMT

Suicide of Egyptian activist Sarah Hegazi exposes the 'freedom and violence' of LGBTQ Muslims in exile
LGBTQ communities worldwide are mourning the death of 30-year-old Sarah Hegazi, a queer Egyptian activist who ended her life on June 14, 2020.Hegazi, who had been jailed for promoting what the Egyptian state called “sexual deviance” after raising a rainbow flag during a concert in Cairo in 2017, was released on bail three months after her arrest. Shortly afterwards, she she sought asylum in Canada. As the only queer woman among the 57 LGBTQ individuals arrested in the concert crackdown, Hegazi became prominent in queer activism circles in Egypt and beyond.In Canada, Hegazi escaped the violence of the Egyptian state but not, as she wrote in a 2018 essay, the post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and loneliness caused by her past. Like many queer and trans people living in exile, Hegazi felt rejected by her own people yet mourned the home she left behind. She yearned for the land that expelled her. In one Instagram post,from August 20, 2019, Hegazi wrote that she hoped her grandmother would be alive to greet her when she got home to Egypt. That reunion would never happen. Perpetual rejectionA queer suicide during Pride, a month dedicated to celebrating LGBTQ lives and resistance, is a painful thing to process, made harder by the coronavirus lockdown. For queer and trans Muslims in isolation, separated from their chosen communities in what may or may not be accepting family homes, mourning Hegazi’s death has been a lonely, even secretive, process. As a queer Muslim, I feel Hegazi’s death deeply. Back in 2012, I left my home country, Afghanistan, and later sought asylum in the U.S. Now, I live in the United States, but I don’t truly belong anywhere. [Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.]That alienation drives my academic research on how political violence and displacement intercede in the lives of LGBTQ Muslims. I recognize Hegazi’s suicide as the tragic result of the discrimination and repudiation people like us face our entire lives. In her suicide note, Hegazi apologized for being “too weak to resist” the freedom of death. “To my siblings, I tried to make it, and I failed. To my friends, the experience is cruel…forgive me,” she wrote. “To the world, you were cruel to a great extent, but I forgive.” The cruelty Hegazi experienced is echoed by many of the 36 LGBTQ Muslims I interviewed for my current research project on queer and trans Muslims living as refugees in the United States. Most said they had been rejected by friends and family because of their sexuality or gender identity. However, many also chose to forgive, as Hegazi did. “We continue to love the family that abandons us,” said Hamza, a 24-year-old Afghan refugee I interviewed in 2017 in Fremont, California. “We long for the home that pushes us into exile. We miss friends that wouldn’t even attend our funerals.”This rejection stems from homophobia, which is rooted in both the interpretation of religious texts and in the anti-LGBTQ laws of some Southwest Asian and North African countries with colonial histories. As a result, some queer and trans Muslims and Arabs eventually try to escape the countries that criminalize their gender identity and sexual orientation. While there are no statistics on how many LGBTQ Muslims are refugees, a 2019 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees report says ever more LGBTQ people are fleeing persecution worldwide. Unending danceQueer Muslim refugees who make it to Western countries may find that rejection has followed them in a new form: Islamophobia. Meanwhile, in LGBTQ communities, being Muslim and queer is seen as paradoxical. As a result, queer and trans Muslims in exile in the West become outsiders twice over.“I was called a terrorist by a group of white gays in a bar in Washington, D.C,” Abdullah, a 30-year-old Iraqi-American, told me in 2017. My interviews reveal that LBGTQ Muslim refugees are navigating two distinct and difficult spaces: the homophobia of their birthplaces and the Islamophobia in exile.Queer Muslim exiles cross these borders on a daily basis, and it’s a complicated process. Their families are not merely a point of oppression, they tell me, nor is the queer community pure freedom. Rather, both environments pose certain constraints. Freedom and violence are an unending dance. Where do we belong?For Sarah Hegazi, the violence did not end with death. Homophobic cruelty continues on social media, with some commentators telling people not to pray for Hegazi because being queer and committing suicide are both “kabã’ir,” or major sins, in strict interpretations of Islamic law.Hegazi’s own last post on social media was on June 12, two days before her death. Under a photo of her lying peacefully on her back in lush grass, smiling to a blue sky, Hegazi wrote on Instagram that, “The sky is more beautiful than the earth. And I want the sky, not the earth.”I have heard versions of Hegazi’s pained laments before, in my own head. I have felt them in my own exiled body, lying in bed. For queer and trans Muslims and Arabs, belonging is but a dream. Mostly we are just trying to survive.This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * Deportation to Syria could mean death for women, children and LGBTQ refugees in Turkey * LGBTQ caravan migrants may have to ‘prove’ their gender or sexual identity at US borderAhmad Qais Munhazim does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 12:19:54 GMT

Serbia, Kosovo renew 'very difficult' dialogue
The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo on Friday held their first talks in 18 months on resolving one of Europe's most intractable territorial disputes, agreeing to a face-to-face meeting next week on the "very difficult" process. Kosovo's Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic held a video summit that was also joined by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Serbia has refused to recognise Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence after the province broke away in the bloody 1998-99 war that was ended only by a NATO bombing campaign against Serb troops.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 11:54:44 GMT

Hushpuppi's lawyer says FBI 'kidnapped' Nigerian Instagrammer from Dubai
"Hushpuppi", who posts about his extravagant lifestyle, is accused of multimillion-dollar fraud.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 10:59:26 GMT

Illegal ivory trade shrinks while pangolin trafficking booms, UN says
The illegal global ivory trade has decreased, but trafficking of pangolins is on the rise, a United Nations report into wildlife crime has revealed. The study, compiled using four years of data, showed that revenue from ivory trafficking peaked between 2011 and 2013. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said that national bans on selling ivory, particularly the ban enforced in China in 2017, have caused the global trade to fall. "The World Wildlife Crime Report 2020 has some good news and some bad news," UNODC research chief Angela Me told Reuters. "We see some shrinking in some markets, particularly the ivory and the rhino (horn) market, but we actually see huge increases in other markets, like the market of illicit trafficking of pangolins, in European eels but also in tiger parts and also in rosewood.” Pangolins are a reclusive, nocturnal mammal covered in scales. Their scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine to promote blood circulation and reduce blood clots and there remains a large, legal market for this.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 10:57:39 GMT

Nikki Haley positions herself to lead the post-Trump Republican party
The ex-US ambassador to the UN is one of the few Trump officials to leave on good terms and has diligently built up a national profileNikki Haley has kept busy since leaving her post in the Trump administration as United States ambassador to the United Nations.A former governor of South Carolina, Haley is often mentioned as a potential Republican presidential candidate for either 2024 or 2028 – depending on whether Donald Trump wins re-election in November.There has even been speculation that Trump might switch out Vice-President Mike Pence for Haley as his running mate in the hopes of boosting his lagging approval numbers among the broader electorate, though there has been no strong evidence that that will happen.Either way she has positioned herself as a national leader within the Republican party.A rare woman of color in the party’s senior ranks, she has been fundraising for Republican congressional candidates as well as in the Senate and gubernatorial arena. She has set up a non-profit organization to boost her policy priorities. She has continued to pen editorials on foreign policy. And she has retained a small, tightly knit orbit of advisers.Haley is one of the few high-ranking Republicans to leave the Trump administration on good terms. She has pledged to campaign aggressively for the president and has echoed some of the same arguments Trump has made on national topics such as cancel culture, defunding police forces and statue removal, although the tone and frequency between Trump and Haley vary dramatically. At other times she has kept her distance.After serving in the Trump administration, some top-level officials have receded from public life, taking jobs at thinktanks and other academic institutions or retiring outright. But former and current aides to Haley see her recent moves as a carefully executed plan to stay involved in key Republican policy circles and the national discourse.“When she left the administration she told the president that she wanted to stay engaged and promote good public policy,” said Tim Chapman, the executive director of Haley’s Stand for America non-profit group, the primary vehicle for Haley’s policy-related initiatives. “SFA is partly a platform for her to do that type of voice, to be engaged in public policy.”Stand for America is composed of a small team of about six people, including Chapman. The team has a weekly Zoom call with Haley and Chapman spends much of his time coalition-building and working with outside groups and policymakers.Haley often weighs in on foreign policy or “Democrats’ embrace of socialism” as she did in a February op-ed for the Wall Street Journal’s editorial section. Warning about advancing socialism is a favorite topic for Haley and her organization. A recent mailer sent out to supporters asked them to participate in a “REFERENDUM ON SOCIALISM”. The mailer went on to tick off some liberal policy proposals like free college tuition or the Green New Deal proposed by the Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.“We’re going to stay focused on that because even though [presumptive Democratic presidential nominee] Joe Biden got the nomination we still think the energy in the party is with the Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren wing,” Chapman said.Haley has fundraised for almost a dozen Republican Senate candidates, many of them in tough re-election races, and has been a special guest at Republican Governors Association (RGA) events. Last November, Haley authored a book, With All Due Respect, billed as “a first-hand perspective on major national and international matters”. The book covers the end of her governorship as well as her time as ambassador.All this activity has generated speculation that Haley is taking a textbook approach to running for president. She has foreign policy experience through her time at the United Nations. She has executive and domestic policy experience through almost two terms as governor. “Nikki Haley’s background as a governor and UN ambassador will make her formidable if she chooses to run in 2024,” said Jon Thompson, a top Republican strategist and a former longtime communications director of the RGA.“She has a strong résumé of actual governance and international experience, would likely appeal to female suburban voters who Republicans desperately need to attract to win future elections, and has a solid conservative record from her time as governor. Twenty-twenty-four is still a long way off, but she’s making all the right moves now to be in a good position later.”The knock on Haley is that she has been too calculating in her recent jobs. Democratic foreign policy officials said Haley delegated too much of the job of UN ambassador to her deputies and that all her speeches were political. In his recent book, Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton framed Haley as out of her depth and more focused on using her ambassadorship to raise her profile.Haley has surrounded herself with operatives who could lead a presidential campaign. The most commonly mentioned Republican strategist is Jon Lerner, who served as a deputy to Haley at the UN. Chapman previously ran the advocacy arm of the Heritage Foundation giving him strong ties to influential experts and groups within the Republican party.The option of running for president partially depends on whether Trump wins re-election.“If the president’s re-elected I think she’ll keep doing what she’s doing for two years and then start running in earnest,” a former Haley aide said. “If Biden wins it’ll actually make it a bit easier because then she can kind of pound away at Biden from the moment he’s inaugurated and then turn that momentum into a presidential campaign.”Haley has had to stamp out persistent speculation that she could rejoin the Trump administration as vice-president. The rumor is not out of the realms of possibility. In 2012 Barack Obama’s re-election team looked at switching Biden with Hillary Clinton as the then president’s running mate but that idea was ultimately nixed. For Trump, the hope with putting Haley on the ticket is that she could win over key constituencies Trump is losing.Some Republicans in the Trump campaign’s orbit wondered if that was happening when the campaign team serving Pence was gutted. But Haley has repeatedly denied any cooperation or rivalry between her and Pence. In August she tweeted “enough of the false rumors. Vice President Pence has been a dear friend of mine for years. He has been a loyal and trustworthy VP to the President. He has my complete support.”If Trump loses, the Republican primary field for 2024 might get crowded. The secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida and Pence have all been mentioned as potential presidential candidates.When Haley and Pence were both governors their names were floating around as potential RGA vice-chair, recalled former Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, who was then the sitting vice-chair and poised to take the chairmanship. Walker has strong ties to both Pence and Haley.Walker remembers that in 2016 Haley called him to ask about the vice-chairmanship. This was before it was clear Pence would be vice-president. Walker noted that Pence might also be interested in the vice-chairmanship. A day later Haley called Walker again saying, “I talked to Mike, he’s fine.” Haley ended up becoming vice-chair for a short time before leaving the governorship to become UN ambassador.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 10:00:14 GMT

Oxygen already runs low as COVID-19 surges in South Africa
The coronavirus storm has arrived in South Africa, but in the overflowing COVID-19 wards the sound is less of a roar than a rasp. Medical oxygen is already low in hospitals at the new epicenter of the country’s outbreak, Gauteng province, home to the power centers of Johannesburg and the capital, Pretoria. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, visiting a hospital Friday, said authorities are working with industry to divert more oxygen their way.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 09:54:19 GMT

Britain committed to agree principles on Brexit deal in July talks

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 09:54:13 GMT

WHO advance team on way to China to set up probe into virus origin

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 09:32:35 GMT

Digging in on rare earth, the next front in the US supply chain war with China
As US-China relations hit new lows, Washington is redoubling efforts to address a major Achilles' heel: its dependence on Beijing for rare earth elements " essential materials in various hi-tech products from smartphones and electric car batteries to Javelin missiles and F-35 fighter aircraft.China hawk Ted Cruz, a Republican senator from Texas, recently introduced a bill to spur US production of critical minerals, among the latest of several before Congress amid rising concern that China could leverage its dominance in economic and political negotiations."It's making people in Washington wake up and say this is not sustainable," said Martijn Rasser, a fellow at the Centre for a New American Security. "If China really is willing to restrict exports, we're in for a rough ride over the next few years."But China's strategic-metals grip is so strong and the challenges in competing against its state-led model so great that some estimate it could take over a decade to create a relatively secure US supply chain. The US has also made some significant missteps that haven't helped, critics say.Strategic concerns over rare earths mirror larger calls to reduce US dependence on China " spurred on by critical Covid-19 shortages of personal protective equipment " as President Donald Trump threatens to "completely decouple" the two massive economies."The rare metals issue is a microcosm of the broader trend," said Paul Haenle, chair at the Carnegie " Tsinghua Centre and a former China affairs director at the National Security Council. "The issue of rare earth exports is particularly important because it also represents national security concerns."While many in Washington agree on the importance of reducing reliance on China, debate rages over how to get there.Legislation, reports and proposals " including those laid out in a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing late last month on critical minerals " range from subsidising production, strengthening alliances and increasing research to forging industry co-operatives, boosting recycling and mining in national parks, the Arctic and even outer space.Most legislation faces a tough near-term slog as Congress grapples with Covid-19, economic meltdown and protests over police shootings of African Americans in an election year.But rare earth provisions are included in both the House and Senate versions of the massive annual defence budget bill, a crucial law all but assured to pass, amid heightened suspicion of Beijing's objectives and Trump's "America first" policies."We have to find an economic message to counter the Chinese state," said a Republican senate staffer who was not authorised to speak publicly. "And rare earth is a big part of that."The rare earth mine in Mountain Pass, California. Photo: MP Materials alt=The rare earth mine in Mountain Pass, California. Photo: MP MaterialsThe Pentagon, wary of its dependence on Chinese supplies for its weapons systems, has outlined a four-phase plan to bolster US mineral supply chains, even as powerful senators push the military for "US sources and at US facilities".The issue also taps into two of Trump's pet themes " reviving extractive industries in the US and "reshoring" American jobs. Analysts believe that Trump's bizarre proposal last year to buy Greenland was tied to its large rare earth reserves."The fact that he can show up with a hard hat and a bulldozer, it's a great photo op," said Rasser.Rare earths " 17 elements with nearly unpronounceable names like gadolinium and praseodymium " are not particularly rare nor universally valuable, but they are difficult and expensive to refine.And critics say that the US has badly misplayed its hand.Among the largest and most promising US mining operations is California's Mountain Pass, the global leader until China started dominating in the late 1980s. After its 2015 bankruptcy, Washington rather inexplicably opened the door to Chinese investors.In 2017, the US government committee that reviews national security deals approved a US.5 million sale to MP Materials, an investment consortium including the co-chairman James Litinsky, a financier; some New York investors; and the Chinese state-controlled Shenghe Rare Earth Shareholding Company, which holds a 9.9 per cent stake."All alarm bells should have been ringing in Washington," said Thomas Kruemmer, director of Singapore-based Ginger International Trade & Investment, which specialises in strategic metals. "The Trump administration messed up."In an interview, Litinsky said that attention on MP's Chinese shareholders is misguided. "It's impossible to lift a US.7 billion chemical plant and mine and send it over to Beijing," he noted."Our mission as a company is to return the full rare earth supply chain to the United States of America."The MP Materials website touts a contract the Pentagon awarded it in April, although that award faces resistance after several senators strongly objected to the company's ties with China.Even without the Chinese stake in MP Materials, the US relies on China for some 78 per cent of the rare earth elements it uses. The Asian giant is also the global leader in processing " including Mountain Top's output, which is currently sold to China for refining."[Chinese] ownership is maybe 9.9 per cent. But in terms of MP's revenue, 100 per cent of their revenues are coming from the Chinese side," said Daniel McGroarty, an advisory board member with USA Rare Earth, which controls the Round Top Mountain mine in far west Texas.Kruemmer put it more colourfully: "If China doesn't buy Litinsky's stuff, he can stir it into his morning coffee."Trucks hauling ore from the rare earth mine in Mountain Pass, California. Photo: Reuters alt=Trucks hauling ore from the rare earth mine in Mountain Pass, California. Photo: ReutersChina's dominance in processing " which tends to create cancer-causing material and often radioactive waste as by-products " is bolstered by a reported 23,000 US patents pending or realised."People were more than happy to have China do all the dirty work," Rasser said. "But now China has control of the market."The global market for rare earth elements " including their use in permanent magnets found in MRI scanners, batteries and missile wings " is expected to grow rapidly as demand increases for renewable energy products like electric vehicles.Driving US policy and subsidies is concern that, if pushed, Beijing could block rare earth exports. Politicians and military strategists tend to see a greater risk of that happening, industry executives somewhat less so.But Beijing has flexed its rare earth muscle before. A decade ago, China halted exports to Japan for several weeks after a territorial dispute. Beijing subsequently claimed that those rare earth exports were restricted to help market stability and the environment.Last year, as the trade war accelerated, Chinese state media blared "Don't say we didn't warn you," amid threats to cut off rare earth exports, adding "United States, don't underestimate China's ability to strike back." About the same time, President Xi Jinping visited a rare earth processing factory in Jiangxi province.Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit last year to a rare earth refinery in Jiangxi province spurred US officials to redouble efforts aimed at creating a domestic industry. Photo: Xinhua alt=Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit last year to a rare earth refinery in Jiangxi province spurred US officials to redouble efforts aimed at creating a domestic industry. Photo: Xinhua"China tends to play this game far better than the United States does, but I think that was a misstep," said Pini Althaus, chief executive at USA Rare Earth. "All that was achieved by that visit by President Xi was to light a fire under the United States to say we have to do something ... It backfired."Even if Beijing doesn't play hardball, foreign customers face shortages as demand for rare earth expands in China, which already uses more than half the global annual output. And the nation's ambitious "Made in China 2025" blueprint is built on industries using rare earths and permanent magnets.Washington's sudden, belated response over an industry it once dominated underscores a US bias toward short-term profits and reactive fixes, analysts said, while China can take a more strategic approach befitting a state-directed economy overseen by a potential president for life."The Middle East has its oil, China has rare earths," paramount leader Deng Xiaoping noted in 1987 when visiting production facilities in Inner Mongolia.After China's 2010 strong-arm tactics against Japan, some in the West raised warnings but were soon drowned out by economics, a supply glut engineered by China and limited political will. "The Pentagon has built its entire advanced weapons on Chinese quicksand," military consultant James Kennedy wrote in a Defence One commentary in 2016.Mining groups, attracted by growing political tailwinds and the lure of Pentagon largesse, are struggling to build more "secure" rare earth supply chains, even as they acknowledge that US autonomy is a long way off. Althaus, of USA Rare Earth, said it will take the US "decades to get even close to where China is today".USA Rare Earth Chief Executive Pini Althaus said it would take the US "decades to get even close to where China is today". Photo: Handout alt=USA Rare Earth Chief Executive Pini Althaus said it would take the US "decades to get even close to where China is today". Photo: HandoutUSA Rare Earth announced last month that it had secured permit approval for a pilot processing plant in Colorado. Meanwhile, Mountain Pass plans to restart processing facilities that had been shuttered for financial reasons years ago.A US-Australia venture with ties to Malaysia has proposed a processing plant in Texas. And mining interests in Alaska and Wyoming are plugging their potential.But the sums in direct and indirect government subsidies required to build a full and viable US supply chain from ore to oxide are daunting, analysts say.Legislation backed by the Pentagon, which only consumes a small percentage of US rare earth elements, could see US.75 billion allocated for strategic minerals that are needed for munitions and missiles; US0 million for microelectronics; and no ceiling for hypersonic weapons."No sane private investor will get into this, unless there are all kinds of government guarantees," Kruemmer, of Ginger International, added. "There is no market economy-based solution to this."Analysts also underscore the commercial challenges, which include the need for massive amounts of private capital and years without cash flow.The Round Top Mountain mine in Texas. Photo: USA Rare Earth alt=The Round Top Mountain mine in Texas. Photo: USA Rare EarthOther obstacles include the economics of separating and refining rare earths, which tend to throw off massive amounts of low value by-products, some of which are toxic. Moreover, output in some US mines is of low concentration and many "proprietary" processing technologies face resistance from community groups and hi-tech customers."Western large-scale end users diligently nod their heads if some US senator condemns China's stranglehold on rare earths," although in truth they prefer to buy Chinese rare earths given its quality and competitive price, Kruemmer said. "They don't want to be forced to use untested domestic stuff."Even the idea of securing more rare earth material underscores the weak US hand. "What's the point of having a stockpile ... if you know you're going to have to send it to China?" the senate staffer asked. "China is the game."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.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 09:30:00 GMT

Nile Dam row: Egypt and Ethiopia generate heat but no power
Egypt sees the dam as an existential threat, while Ethiopia sees it as an existential necessity.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 09:02:09 GMT

Israeli troops kill Palestinian accused of hurling firebombs

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 08:42:55 GMT

Exclusive: Japan may still build Aegis Ashore despite reports of cancellation, source says
Japan may still build Aegis Ashore missile defense systems to defend against attacks by North Korea and other regional rivals, including China, a source told Reuters just weeks after reports that the proposal had been killed. Japan's defense minister, Taro Kono, last month cancelled plans to build two Aegis Ashore sites, citing cost and concerns that falling booster stages from the interceptor missiles could drop on local residents. Japan, however, has not cancelled the billion contract for the defense system's radars, built by Lockheed Martin, and is mulling a technical assessment from the U.S. government that makes recommendations on using other sites that would eliminate the safety issues, said the source, who has direct knowledge of the process.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 08:19:45 GMT

AP EXPLAINS: Why India cases are rising to multiple peaks
In just three weeks, India went from the world’s sixth worst-affected country by the coronavirus to the third, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. India's fragile health system was bolstered during a stringent monthslong lockdown but could still be overwhelmed by an exponential rise in infections. India has tallied 793,802 infections and more than 21,600 deaths, with cases doubling every three weeks.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 08:07:32 GMT

Foreign students weigh studying in person vs. losing visas
International students worried about a new immigration policy that could potentially cost them their visas say they feel stuck between being unnecessarily exposed during the coronavirus pandemic and being able to finish their studies in America. Students from countries as diverse as India, China and Brazil told The Associated Press they are scrambling to devise plans after federal immigration authorities notified colleges this week that international students must leave the U.S. or transfer to another college if their schools operate entirely online this fall. Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology filed a lawsuit this week to block the decision, and now California has become the first state to seek an injunction against enforcing the new visa policy.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 07:34:03 GMT

Israelis angry at Netanyahu over new outbreak, economic pain
With an unprecedented new surge in coronavirus cases battering Israel’s economy, one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest confidants was dispatched to a TV studio recently to calm the nerves of a jittery nation. The flippant comment by Cabinet minister Tzachi Hanegbi is symptomatic of what critics see as a bloated, out-of-touch government. One out-of-work Israeli erupted in anger during a live television interview, berating Netanyahu and warning the country is “going to burn” if aid is not given soon.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 07:17:38 GMT

Scenes from hell: 1995 Srebrenica genocide in photos
SREBRENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — It's been 25 years since the slaughter of men and boys in the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica, but every year more bodies are found and reburied, and every year the survivors — mostly women — return to commemorate their fathers and brothers, husbands and sons. At least 8,000 mostly Muslim men and boys were chased through woods in and around Srebrenica by Serb troops in what is considered the worst carnage of civilians in Europe since World War II. The slaughter has been confirmed as an act of genocide. On Saturday, eight newly identified victims of the 1995 massacre will be laid to rest in the memorial cemetery at Potocari, just outside Srebrenica.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 07:02:30 GMT

Russia and West in showdown over aid to Syria's rebel area
Russia and the West are in a showdown over continuing the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syria’s mainly rebel-held northwest after the current U.N. mandate expires on Friday. Germany and Belgium on Thursday called for a vote on a draft resolution that would maintain the two border crossings from Turkey to the northwest for six months — a position supported by the U.N. secretary-general, U.N. humanitarian chief, and many aid organizations.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 06:38:23 GMT

US envoy, after Seoul visit, reassures Japan of alliance
A U.S. envoy reassured top Japanese officials Friday of the importance of their alliance in dealing with regional security threats, just as the North Korean leader's sister expressed low expectations of a summit between her brother and President Donald Trump this year. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun is in Tokyo after his visit to Seoul where he discussed nuclear diplomacy with North Korea, which has refused to resume talks due to what it calls hostile American policies. Biegun met with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Taro Kono separately and reaffirmed the importance of their alliance in maintaining and strengthening “the free and open Indo-Pacific” and dealing with regional concerns including North Korea and China.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 06:30:49 GMT

Tropical Storm Fay moves toward mid-Atlantic, New England
Tropical Storm Fay slightly picked up speed and strength as it moved closer to land Friday, and forecasters decreased projections for rain totals and flooding. Fay was expected to bring 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) of rain, with the possibility of flash flooding in parts of the mid-Atlantic and southern New England, The U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its 5 a.m. advisory. The storm picked up speed Friday morning, moving north around 10 mph (17 kph) and producing top sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph), forecasters said.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 06:23:38 GMT

Iran signs agreement to bolster Syria's air defense systems

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 06:04:22 GMT

Michel Barnier tells Mark Francois that Brexit is pointless
Michel Barnier has written to Mark Francois and told the Chair of the Eurosceptic European Research Group of Tory MPs that Brexit isn't worth it. Mr Francois had sent the EU's chief negotiator an open letter, which he titled a "missive from a free country", on June 29. "While nobody has been able to demonstrate to me the added value of leaving the most integrated economic and free trade area in the world, I have always respected the UK's decision to withdraw from the EU," Mr Barnier said in reply. "In this same spirit we approach the ongoing negotiations with your great - and indeed free - country." Mr Barnier warned Mr Francois that the EU would hold Boris Johnson to the joint Political Declaration and that Brussels was adamant that the European Court of Justice must have the final say on the interpretation of EU law. The Political Declaration, which is a non-binding document setting out the broad outline of the free trade agreement, was "agreed by your prime minister and voted for by the House of Commons,including yourself," Mr Barnier added. He said the level playing field guarantees the EU demands were necessary. Mr Barnier said that the EU would not agree a free trade deal without an agreement on fishing and described progress in negotiations as "disappointing". "We will continue to work with determination to conclude the negotiations with success as we continue to believe that this can be done despite the short time available, which is the choice of your government." Mr Barnier said, referring to the UK's refusal to extend the transition period. The French politician and commission official told Mr Francois it was a "pleasure" to hear from UK elected representatives. "Having been an elected representative for many years myself I value the crucial role you play in scrutinising and holding your government to account," he said In response, Mr Francois told the Telegraph that he was grateful for the "charming billet doux". He said, "As he rightly acknowledged, we are now a free country - and indeed very happy to be so." He added that the political declaration was "indicative and not legally binding - as Michel knows well. Nevertheless, I’m delighted that further talks are now agreed. As he often reminds us, 'the clock is ticking.'” UK and EU officials met in London this week and will meet again in Brussels next week as the try to break the deadlock in the trade negotiations. "This week’s discussions confirm that significant divergences remain between the EU and GB. We will continue working with patience, respect and determination," Mr Barnier tweeted on Thursday.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 05:48:33 GMT

Tapping into crime fears, GOP conflates mayhem with protests
The 30-second ad by President Donald Trump's reelection campaign ends with “You won't be safe in Joe Biden's America” emblazoned across a flickering hellscape. It blames a push by progressive activists to defund the police as “violent crime has exploded.” With recent shootings that have killed children and dozens of others in cities with large Black populations like New York, Atlanta and Chicago, the GOP is trying to play offense, ominously.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 05:44:59 GMT

Homeland Security gets new role under Trump monument order
Protesters who have clashed with authorities in the Pacific Northwest are not just confronting local police. The Department of Homeland Security has deployed officers in tactical gear from around the country, and from more than a half-dozen federal law enforcement agencies and departments, to Portland, Oregon, as part of a surge aimed at what a senior official said were people taking advantage of demonstrations over the police killing of George Floyd to commit violence and vandalism. “Once we surged federal law enforcement officers to Portland, the agitators quickly got the message,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing operation.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 05:41:34 GMT

WHO experts to visit China to plan COVID-19 investigation
Two World Health Organization experts were heading to the Chinese capital on Friday to lay the groundwork for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. An animal health expert and an epidemiologist will meet Chinese counterparts in Beijing to work out logistics, places to visit and the participants for a WHO-led international mission, the U.N. organization said. A major issue will be to “look at whether or not it jumped from species to human, and what species it jumped from,” WHO spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris said at a briefing in Geneva.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 05:38:51 GMT

Trump looks for political edge in latest high court rulings
President Donald Trump won the White House on the promise of bringing a conservative shift to the Supreme Court. In the last few weeks, as the court has handed down its biggest decisions of the term, Trump found himself with mounting losses and just a few wins.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 05:37:24 GMT

Politics latest news: Number 10 insists MPs will decide key intelligence role amid reports of interference
Coronavirus latest news: Quarantine-free travel begins for 'safe' countries but Serbia is removed Michel Barnier tells Mark Francois that Brexit is pointless Government could decriminalise non-payment of BBC licence fee Fraser Nelson: The real story behind Britain's Covid care home crisis isn't what you think Subscribe to The Telegraph, free for one month Number 10 has insisted MPs will decide who will lead a key parliamentary watchdog, amid rumours Conservative members will be whipped to pick Downing Street's preferred candidate. After nearly eight months, the Intelligence and Security committee is due to be convened next week after names were finally put forward yesterday. A spokesperson for the Prime Minister said those nominated for the ISC — including former transport secretary Chris Grayling, who is tipped as its chairman — would “ensure robust and effective scrutiny” of the UK’s security services. Although the Prime Minister's spokesman did not comment on the individuals who have been put forward, he said they were all "senior parliamentarians with extensive range of experience including in government opposition and in Parliament" Number 10 did not reject outright reports that the Tory nominees were being asked to back the man critics have dubbed "Failing Grayling" for the top job, saying only that the role would "be agreed by the committee itself". Former chair and one-time attorney general Dominic Grieve said it would be "highly damaging" and "regrettable" if the reports were true. Read more below.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 05:35:39 GMT

UN official: 700 people died in Syrian camps for IS families
The U.N. counterterrorism chief said his office received information that 700 people died recently in two camps in northeast Syria, where about 70,000 mainly women and children connected to Islamic State fighters are detained in “very dire conditions.” Vladimir Vorontsov told a news conference Thursday that the people, including children, died of “lack of medicine, lack of food” at the al-Hol and Roj camps, which are overseen by Kurdish-led forces allied with the United States who spearheaded the fight against the extremist group. Vorontsov urged the international community to tackle “the huge problem” of what to do with these people, saying keeping them in camps “is very dangerous.”

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 05:30:29 GMT

Trump's reelection campaign gets a reboot as virus persists
President Donald Trump's campaign reboot is getting a reboot. Trump’s rally in Portsmouth was scheduled after aides spent weeks studying what went wrong in Tulsa three weeks ago. It was billed as a massive, defiant return to the political stage but instead produced a humiliating sea of empty seats and questions about the campaign’s ability to attract people to large events in a pandemic.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 05:30:14 GMT

Hanging death of Black man in California park ruled suicide
The death of a Black man found hanging from a tree in a Southern California city park last month was ruled a suicide Thursday following a police investigation prompted by outrage from the family who said authorities initially were too quick to rule out the possibility he was lynched. The manner of 24-year-old Robert Fuller’s death on June 10 in Palmdale intensified the racial angst that already was at a boiling point following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Family members said they couldn’t imagine Fuller taking his own life and community activities noted the Antelope Valley area north of Los Angeles where the death occurred has a history of racist incidents.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 05:00:56 GMT

Biden's Iowa hires signal tightening in state Trump won big
Joe Biden's presidential campaign has lined up a senior team in Iowa, a sign Democrats see the state where Republican Donald Trump beat them handily in 2016 as within reach. Although Iowa's six Electoral College votes hardly make the state a political jackpot, a competitive race for them this fall could signal problems for Trump in other northern states he won by smaller margins and would likely need to carry again to win reelection, chiefly Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. “I don’t know who will win Iowa, but I think the state is in contention in a way that six months ago you might not have suspected,” said David Axelrod, a former senior strategist to President Barack Obama.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 04:09:47 GMT

Brazil LGBTQ group hides from virus in Copacabana building
In a courtyard a few blocks from Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach, a dozen people get settled on broken couches beneath a banner reading “Cure Your Prejudice.” After a month quarantining at home with some financial support from family, Larubia resumed work in Niteroi, a city across the bay from Rio.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 04:01:56 GMT

World could heat up nearly 3 degrees by 2024, warns United Nations
A distressing new report put out by the United Nations weather agency on Thursday states that the planet could potentially see annual temperatures blowing past thresholds within the next five years. There’s a 20% chance that temps will soar 2.7º Fahrenheit higher in any given year between 2020 and 2024, warned the World Meteorological Organization. The unsettling marker is the level nations agreed to cap global warming at in the multinational emissions pact known as the 2015 Paris Agreement, reported The Associated Press.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 03:59:42 GMT

Seoul mayor's death prompts sympathy, questions of his acts
The sudden death of Seoul’s mayor, reportedly implicated in a sexual harassment complaint, has prompted an outpouring of public sympathy even as it has raised questions about a man who built his career as a reform-minded politician and self-described feminist. Park Won-soon was found dead on a wooded hill in northern Seoul early Friday, about seven hours after his daughter reported to police he had left her a “will-like” verbal message and then left their home. Authorities launched a massive search for the 64-year-old Park before rescue dogs found his body.

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 03:05:50 GMT

Africa's week in pictures: 3-9 July 2020
A selection of the week's best photos from across the continent and beyond.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 23:38:23 GMT

Watchdog details storm of political pressure in Sharpiegate
Political pressure from the White House and a series of “crazy in the middle of the night” texts, emails and phone calls caused top federal weather officials to wrongly admonish a weather office for a tweet that contradicted President Donald Trump about Hurricane Dorian in 2019, an inspector general report found. Commerce Department Inspector General Peggy Gustafson concluded in a report issued Thursday that the statement chastising the National Weather Service office in Birmingham, Alabama, could undercut public trust in weather warnings from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and for a short time even hindered public safety.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 23:33:38 GMT

Amazon fined 5,000 in sanctions violations for letting blacklisted entities shop
Drug dealers and weapons of mass destruction manufacturers like to shop on Amazon as much as the next guy. On Wednesday, the Department of the Treasury announced it had reached a settlement with Amazon for trade sanctions violations. Amazon voluntarily disclosed to the government that between 2011 and 2018, its automatic screening processes had failed to stop blacklisted individuals as well as people residing in countries under trade sanctions such as Iran, Syria, and Crimea from buying goods and services on the site.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 23:32:37 GMT

UN says Latin America and Caribbean are COVID-19 `hot spot'
Latin America and the Caribbean have become “a hot spot” for the COVID-19 pandemic, with several countries now having one of the highest per capita infection rates and absolute number of cases in the world, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday. The U.N. chief said in a video and briefing report that a 9.1% contraction in GDP is expected this year in the region, which would be the “largest in a century.” “COVID-19 represents a massive health, social and economic shock with an immense human toll for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean,” the report said.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 23:29:54 GMT

Employee of Merkel's press office suspected of spying for Egypt
A man who worked in German Chancellor Angela Merkel's press office is suspected of having spied for Egypt, a government report said Thursday. Police carried out "executive measures" against the man in December 2019 after he was found to have "worked for years for an Egyptian intelligence service", according to a report on the protection of the constitution. The premises of the visitor service were searched as part of the investigation, Bild reported.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 22:54:11 GMT

Bolivian president has COVID-19 as virus hits region's elite
Bolivia’s interim president and Venezuela’s No. 2 leader announced Thursday that they have been infected with the new coronavirus, just days after Brazil’s leader tested positive as the pandemic hits hard at some of Latin America’s political elite. Three Cabinet ministers in the administration of Bolivian leader Jeanine Áñez have also tested positive for the virus, including Health Minister Eidy Roca and Presidency Minister Yerko Nuñez, who is hospitalized. The infections in Venezuela, Brazil and Bolivia, which is seeing a spike in cases, come after Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández tested positive in June and was briefly hospitalized.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 22:37:23 GMT

Medical experts: Floyd's speech didn't mean he could breathe
As George Floyd repeatedly pleaded “I can’t breathe” to police officers holding him down on a Minneapolis street corner, some of the officers responded by pointing out he was able to speak. One told Floyd it takes “a lot of oxygen” to talk, while another told angry bystanders that Floyd was “talking, so he can breathe.” “The ability to speak does not mean the patient is without danger,” said Dr. Mariell Jessup, chief science and medical officer of the American Heart Association.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 21:22:27 GMT

Three dead in DR Congo protest clashes
Two protesters were shot dead and a policeman was lynched Thursday in clashes in the Democratic Republic of Congo over plans to name a new head to the country's election panel, sources said. The body of one protester was taken to a hospital morgue in the city of Lubumbashi, in southeastern DR Congo, a member of the local United Nations human rights office told AFP. The UN official deplored the use of force by military police.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 21:16:44 GMT

Mississippi seeing big virus outbreak in state legislature
People standing close to each other and talking, sometimes leaning in to whisper, without a mask in sight. Among those testing positive in the heavily Republican body are the GOP presiding officers, House Speaker Philip Gunn and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann. None of the lawmakers has been hospitalized, according to state officials.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 20:47:33 GMT

AP FACT CHECK: Trump team distortions on Biden and police
President Donald Trump's campaign team is misrepresenting Democratic rival Joe Biden's stance on improving police practices following George Floyd's death. In ads and emails this week, the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee assert that Biden would “defund the police.” Meanwhile, Biden left out some context when he asserted that Trump had ordered the government to slow down coronavirus testing.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 20:32:38 GMT

Police: Black man's hanging death in California was suicide
The death of a Black man found hanging from a tree in a Southern California city park last month was ruled a suicide Thursday following a police investigation prompted by outrage from the family who said authorities initially were too quick to rule out the possibility he was lynched. The manner of 24-year-old Robert Fuller's death on June 10 in Palmdale intensified the racial angst that already was at a boiling point following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Family members said they couldn't imagine Fuller taking his own life and community activities noted the Antelope Valley area north of Los Angeles where the death occurred has a history of racist incidents.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 20:30:33 GMT

The WHO often has been under fire, but no nation has ever moved to sever ties with it
In the midst of a surge of new cases of COVID-19, the United States this week gave formal notice of its intention to withdraw from the World Health Organization. The move, to take effect next year, will at once deprive the WHO of one of its major sources of funding and marginalize the United States within the field of global health. The Trump administration had been threatening this unprecedented pullout for several weeks, criticizing WHO for its handling of the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak in China.The WHO is a United Nations agency that coordinates a wide range of international health efforts. The United States typically contributes more than US0 million per year to the organization, roughly 15% of its annual budget.The U.S. already had suspended funding in May. In announcing the suspension of funding then, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that WHO had failed to provide “real information about what’s going on in the global health space.” President Trump suggested that the agency had colluded with the Chinese government in withholding information about the nature of the outbreak: “I have a feeling they knew exactly what was going on,” he said. And he sought to deflect blame for his administration’s disorganized response by pinning responsibility on global health officials: “So much death has been caused by their mistakes.”To assess these claims, it is important to understand the context in which WHO officials make critical decisions at the early stages of a disease outbreak. As I explore in my recent book, “Unprepared: Global Health in a Time of Emergency,” WHO is constrained in its ability to gather knowledge about disease outbreaks and to intervene in national settings. It must rely on national governments for information about an outbreak and for permission to send investigators to learn more details. The agency’s power is limited to providing technical assistance and issuing recommendations. Critical moments of decisionIn January 2020, infectious disease experts scrambled to understand key aspects of the novel coronavirus, such as its rate of transmission and its severity. At that point, it was not yet possible to know exactly what was going on with the disease. Nonetheless, WHO officials had to make urgent decisions – such as whether to declare a global health emergency – in a situation of uncertainty.More generally, much critical information about what is happening in the global health space can be known only in retrospect, once data on the event has been gathered, analyzed and disseminated by the scientific community.Two other recent global health emergencies are instructive: the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic and the 2014 Ebola epidemic. In the aftermath of each of these outbreaks, WHO was sharply criticized for its early response. When a novel strain of H1N1 influenza was first detected in the spring 2009, global health officials feared that it could spark a catastrophic pandemic. Within weeks of the virus’s appearance, WHO officially declared a global health emergency. The declaration urged countries to put their existing pandemic preparedness plans into action. In response, a number of national governments implemented mass vaccination campaigns, making advanced purchases of millions of doses of H1N1 vaccine from pharmaceutical companies.Over the next several months, as the vaccine was manufactured and vaccination campaigns were implemented, epidemiological studies revealed that H1N1 was a relatively mild strain of influenza, with a case fatality ratio similar to that of seasonal flu.In many countries, when the H1N1 vaccine finally became available in the fall 2009, there were few takers. National governments had spent hundreds of millions of dollars on campaigns that immunized, in some cases, less than 10% of the population. Critics in Europe accused WHO of having exaggerated the pandemic threat in order to generate profits for the pharmaceutical industry, pointing to consulting arrangements that the agency’s influenza experts had with vaccine manufacturers. According to one prominent critic, the WHO declaration of a health emergency in response to H1N1 was “one of the greatest medical scandals of the century.”A later investigation exonerated the WHO experts from wrongdoing, noting that the severity of the disease had not yet been determined when vaccine orders were made, and that “reasonable criticism can be based only on what was known at the time and not on what was later learnt.” Retrospective criticismFive years later, in the aftermath of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, WHO officials again found themselves under sharp attack for their initial response to a disease outbreak. This time, officials were accused not of acting too hastily but rather of having failed to act in time. At the earliest stages of the epidemic, in spring 2014, the agency’s experts did not consider the event to be a “global emergency.” Based on prior experience, they felt that Ebola, while dangerous, was easily containable – the disease had never killed more than a few hundred people, and had never spread much beyond its initial site of occurrence. “We know Ebola,” as one expert recalled the early stages of response. “This will be manageable.” It was not until August 2014, well after the epidemic had spun out of control, that WHO officially declared a global health emergency, seeking to galvanize international response. By this point it was too late to avoid a region-wide catastrophe, and multiple critics assailed the agency’s slow response. “WHO’s response has been abysmal,” as one commentator put it. “It’s just shameful.” Whose failure?Today, as the world confronts the coronavirus pandemic, the agency finds itself again under a storm of criticism, now with its very financial survival under threat. To what extent can we say that the agency did not provide adequate information in the early stages of the pandemic – that it failed to “do its job,” in Secretary of State Pompeo’s scolding words?It is worth remembering that we are still in the early stages of the event as it unfolds, still seeking answers to critical questions such as how quickly the virus spreads, what its severity is, what proportion of the population has been exposed to it and whether such exposure confers immunity. We also do not yet know whether the Chinese government fully informed global health officials about the seriousness of the initial outbreak. We do know, however, that while WHO made its most urgent call for vigilance by national governments in late January, with the declaration of a global health emergency, it was not until nearly two months later that the U.S. began – haltingly – to mobilize in response.[You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help. Read The Conversation’s newsletter.] Editor’s Note: This article has been updated from an article that ran originally on May 1, 2020.This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * Three reasons the US is not ready for the next pandemic * Aerosols are a bigger coronavirus threat than WHO guidelines suggest – here’s what you need to knowAndrew Lakoff has received funding for this research from the National Science Foundation and the Social Science Research Council.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 20:17:08 GMT

UN: Coronavirus will create 45 million more poor people in Latin America, UN report warns
The coronavirus pandemic will create 45 million more poor people in Latin America in 2020, according to the United Nations.The report, released on Thursdays by UN chief Antonio Guterres, paints a dark picture for Latin America and the Caribbean, predicting an economic contraction of 9.1 per cent — the worst the region has seen in 100 years.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 20:16:37 GMT

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