| 'It is an existential threat': As coronavirus spreads to Africa, health experts warn of catastrophe Posted: 07 Apr 2020 01:31 PM PDT  So far, African countries have been spared the high death tolls seen in Italy, Spain, and the U.S., but officials are bracing for the worst in the coming weeks.
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| Trump adviser warned of millions of virus deaths in January. Trump says he saw the memo only this week. Posted: 07 Apr 2020 05:53 PM PDT  President Trump said Tuesday that he did not learn of two memos written in January and February by his own economic adviser warning that a COVID-19 pandemic could kill as many as 2 million Americans until "maybe a day ago."
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| Photos show thousands packing into cars, planes, and trains in a rush to get out of Wuhan as China lifts the coronavirus lockdown Posted: 08 Apr 2020 12:12 PM PDT  China ended the near-11-week lockdown of the city of Wuhan at midnight on Wednesday, sending floods of people out of the city.
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| Azul Rojas Marín: Peru found responsible for torture of LGBT person Posted: 08 Apr 2020 05:40 AM PDT  Azul Rojas Marín was beaten and raped in custody in Peru, a top human rights court rules.
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| Mayor says virus has hit black, Hispanic New Yorkers hard Posted: 08 Apr 2020 06:05 AM PDT  New data shows New York City's death toll from COVID-19 has been disproportionately high in black and Hispanic communities. New York City's death toll from the coronavirus has been disproportionately high in black and Hispanic communities, and the city is starting an outreach campaign for those residents, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday. "We're seeing folks who have struggled before really being hit particularly hard," de Blasio said at a City Hall briefing.
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| Donations pour in but India's 'PM CARES' coronavirus fund faces criticism Posted: 08 Apr 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing criticism for creating a new coronavirus relief fund when about $500 million was lying unspent in an older fund, even as top businesses and celebrities pledge millions of dollars in new donations. Modi launched the "PM CARES" fund to provide relief to those affected by the coronavirus that has infected more than 5,000 people in India, and killed 149. The fund is expected to help millions of day labourers, many of whose lives were devastated by a nationwide lockdown ordered by Modi to stem the epidemic.
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| Bernie drops out, as Democrats pick pragmatism over consistency Posted: 08 Apr 2020 10:09 AM PDT  In many ways, Bernie Sanders is the anti-Trump. And, in important ways, he ran his campaign as the anti-Biden.Sanders bowed out of the Democratic nomination race on April 8, repeating his runner-up status from four years earlier. His two runs at the White House have cemented his legacy as a consistent standard-bearer for progressive policies. The veteran democratic socialist possessed a rare quality for a political candidate in this age of Trumpian fickleness. He is a politician whose actions and beliefs have remained steadfast over time and across campaigns. But in the current political moment, it appears the Democratic electorate longs less for a politician who is consistent from day to day than one who can provide pragmatic leadership to unseat the vacillating Trump. Same ol' SandersSanders ran his campaign as the antithesis of a political showman, who says one thing today and another tomorrow with little regard for facts and consistency. He has exhibited throughout his career what anthropologist Alessandro Duranti calls "existential coherence" – he is a political figure "whose past, present, and future actions, beliefs, and evaluations follow some clear basic principles, none of which contradicts another." As a linguistic anthropologist who studies language and politics, I know that traditionally, candidates have worried about how to project a consistent political persona, and they have often gone to great pains to do so. But Trump shattered that expectation, excelling in self-contradictions and inconsistencies – often within a single sitting.Sanders, instead, has put forth a consistent vision that has remained more or less the same since his early days in politics as mayor of Burlington, Vermont. Rather than moving toward the electorate and shifting positions based on perceptions of what the electorate desired, the electorate has moved toward Sanders to join his vision for universal health care and other progressive causes. A CNBC survey in 2019 found that a majority of Americans supported progressive policies, including a higher minimum wage and Medicare for All – key issues that Sanders has been advocating throughout his decades-long political career. In an episode of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" last year, host Trevor Noah unearthed footage from 1987 of Sanders discussing politics on a local public access channel in his hometown of Burlington. The Bernie Sanders of 1987 talked of the unfair tax system that placed a large burden on working people and the need for universal health care. "We are one of two nations in the industrialized world that does not have a national health care system," declared Sanders in 1987. Three decades later, in both his 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, Sanders continued with that theme. In 2016, he released his Medicare for All plan by declaring, "It is time for our country to join every other major industrialized nation on Earth and guarantee health care to all citizens as a right, not a privilege." His 2020 campaign website further echoed this sentiment, stating that "the United States will join every other major country on Earth and guarantee health care to all people as a right." A consistent candidate often comes across as a more authentic candidate – someone who is staying true to his core self rather than pandering to the latest polling data or saying whatever will attract the most dramatic news coverage. Sanders' authenticity as a candidate who has fought for working people and progressive ideals his entire life made him appealing to many liberals. He attracted an unshakable following of core supporters because of it. 'Results, not revolution'Biden's pragmatic approach, however, trumped Sanders' often dogmatic consistency. In their debates, Sanders hammered Biden over what he saw as shifting stances on Social Security, Medicare and veterans' programs. And then there was Biden's 2003 vote for the Iraq war before he turned against it.But this is not the 2004 presidential election, where accusations of flip-flopping can sink a candidate, like it did John Kerry in his race against George W. Bush. Perhaps Donald Trump's fickleness has changed what voters look for in a candidate. Maybe it's simply that nobody cares about Biden's apparent lack of judgment in 2003, which occurred well before he spent eight years as vice president in arguably one of the most popular Democratic administrations in U.S. history.Biden easily parried Sanders' accusations of inconsistency by pointing to an underlying consistency of principles that have guided his varying positions over time. Voters ultimately decided to support someone who exhibits a practical sense of how to govern in a way that gets things done. As Biden said in his last debate with Sanders, "People are looking for results, not revolution."On health care, one might have expected Sanders to have an advantage with his Medicare for All proposal, a consistent theme across his time as mayor, congressman, senator and presidential candidate. Polling done by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that for the first time a majority of Americans began to support a single government plan for health care in 2016, corresponding to the Sanders campaign push for Medicare for All.But in the same Kaiser poll, more Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said they would prefer a candidate who would build on the Affordable Care Act rather than replace it. Biden's campaign argued precisely for this more pragmatic approach, and he positioned himself as the right person to get the job done in a contentious political environment. An overtureAfter sweeping the primaries in Florida, Illinois and Arizona in March – putting the wheels in motion for the eventual withdrawal of Sanders from the race – Biden then struck the right chord in his speech after the Florida primary by making an appeal to Sanders voters. "I hear you," he said. "I know what's at stake. I know what we have to do. Our goal as a campaign and my goal as a candidate for president is to unify this party and then to unify the nation." Biden's appeal to Sanders voters suggests he may be willing to absorb some of the best ideas from Sanders – and other candidates. It's a pragmatic approach, rather than a dogmatic consistency, that may bring along their supporters, too. That may be exactly what he will need to do to beat Trump in November.[You're smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation's authors and editors. You can read us daily by subscribing to The Conversation's newsletter.]This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * Biden's big night with moderates, African Americans and baby boomers * Biden's resurrection was unprecedented – and well-timedAdam Hodges does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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| As coronavirus spreads, mentally ill Americans are left scrambling for options Posted: 07 Apr 2020 09:51 AM PDT  The rapid spread of the coronavirus has dramatically affected the one in five Americans who deal with mental health in any given year, as well as those who work tirelessly to keep those individuals well.
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| Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown blasts Trump but praises Republican governor's response to coronavirus Posted: 07 Apr 2020 11:59 AM PDT  Sen. Sherrod Brown defeated Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in 2006, but now praises his old political foe's response to the coronavirus pandemic.
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| Thousands of scientists in Sweden are criticizing the government for not implementing a lockdown to stop the coronavirus Posted: 08 Apr 2020 09:37 AM PDT  Sweden is resisting international trends by not implementing a lockdown or strict social distancing measures to fight the coronavirus.
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| Coronavirus: Why China's claims of success raise eyebrows Posted: 07 Apr 2020 04:05 AM PDT  China has claimed its first day without a virus death, but faces lingering scepticism over its data.
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| Texas teen accused of threatening to spread coronavirus is charged Posted: 08 Apr 2020 01:58 PM PDT  Maradiaga claimed in a series of Snapchat videos to have tested positive and threatened to willfully spread COVID-19, according to police.
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| Trump says he never saw a January WH memo warning of the impact from coronavirus Posted: 07 Apr 2020 04:55 PM PDT  At Tuesday's coronavirus task force briefing, President Trump said he never saw a memo written in late January by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro warning about the possible effects of coronavirus in the United States. The memo warned that the illness could endanger the lives of millions of Americans.
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| U.S. to seize exports of masks and gloves amid coronavirus crisis Posted: 08 Apr 2020 12:07 PM PDT  The United States will seize exports of key protective medical gear until it determines whether the equipment should be kept in the country to combat the spread of the new coronavirus, two federal agencies announced on Wednesday. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will hold exports of respirators, surgical masks and surgical gloves, according to a joint announcement made with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA will then determine if the equipment should be returned for use in the United States, purchased by the U.S. government or exported.
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| Iran says US oil production must be known before OPEC+ call Posted: 08 Apr 2020 01:21 AM PDT  Iran demanded on Wednesday that U.S. oil production levels must be known before an upcoming OPEC meeting with Russia and others seeking to boost global energy prices. The meeting of the so-called OPEC+ is scheduled to be held Thursday after officials delayed it following Saudi Arabia criticizing Russia over its comments about the price collapse. A meeting in March saw OPEC and other nations led by Russia fail to agree to a production cut as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has drastically cut demand for oil.
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| More than 90,000 cruise crewmembers left to battle coronavirus – at times without pay Posted: 08 Apr 2020 03:17 PM PDT  Crew members are having just as trouble as passengers in getting off ships once their skills are no longer needed.
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| Wisconsin voting mess sends a message for November Posted: 07 Apr 2020 06:05 PM PDT  You shouldn't have to risk your life, or wait hours in line, to exercise your constitutional rights: Our view
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| Defense secretary reportedly told Navy chief to apologize for bashing fired captain to crew of aircraft carrier Posted: 07 Apr 2020 09:19 AM PDT  The acting secretary did an about-face Monday night, apologizing for his remarks after saying hours earlier that he stood by "every word" he said.
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| Coronavirus wreaks havoc in African American neighbourhoods Posted: 07 Apr 2020 02:32 PM PDT  Black Chicagoans account for 70% of coronavirus deaths, despite making up 30% of the population.
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| WHO urges virus unity after Trump attack Posted: 08 Apr 2020 12:29 PM PDT  As the WHO prepares to mark 100 days on Thursday since it was first notified of the outbreak in China, director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hit back at accusations that it had been too close to Beijing. The UN's health agency has faced criticism in the past both for overreacting and for moving too slowly in fighting epidemics, but it has rarely faced as much scrutiny as with the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump piled in on Tuesday, accusing the WHO having "called it wrong" and months too late, while taking US money but favouring China.
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| Coronavirus: 16-year-old pilot selflessly flies medical supplies to hospitals in need Posted: 07 Apr 2020 03:59 PM PDT  A 16-year-old is using his skills as a budding pilot to bring desperately needed medical equipment to rural hospitals.TJ Kim carries a variety of supplies including gloves, masks and gowns to small hospitals during his flying lessons, The Associated Press reported.
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| Obesity is major COVID-19 risk factor, says French chief epidemiologist Posted: 08 Apr 2020 01:15 AM PDT  Being overweight is a major risk for people infected with the new coronavirus and the United States is particularly vulnerable because of high obesity levels there, France's chief epidemiologist said on Wednesday. Professor Jean-François Delfraissy, who heads the scientific council that advises the government on the epidemic, said as many as 17 million of France's 67 million citizens were seriously at risk from the coronavirus because of age, pre-existing illness or obesity. "That is why we're worried about our friends in America, where the problem of obesity is well known and where they will probably have the most problems because of obesity."
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| Philippines backs Vietnam after China sinks fishing boat Posted: 08 Apr 2020 03:51 AM PDT  The Philippines on Wednesday expressed solidarity with Vietnam after Hanoi protested what it said was the ramming and sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat by a Chinese coast guard ship in the disputed South China Sea. The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila expressed deep concern over the reported April 3 sinking of the boat carrying eight fishermen off the Paracel Islands. China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and has built several islands equipped with military installations in the area, one of world's busiest shipping lanes.
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| DoD Considers Stop-Loss Order to Maintain Troop Levels During Pandemic Posted: 08 Apr 2020 12:13 PM PDT  The Pentagon is looking at the possibility of "stop-loss" orders to aid the fight against the coronavirus.
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| Poll: Majority of Americans now disapprove of federal coronavirus efforts, Trump’s handling of crisis Posted: 08 Apr 2020 04:27 AM PDT  The survey shows that Americans are developing a more solid opinion of the president's response to the outbreak.
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| The Supreme Court’s Misunderstood Ruling on Wisconsin’s Coronavirus Primary Posted: 07 Apr 2020 02:05 PM PDT  There seems to be some confusion about the Supreme Court's ruling on Monday in connection with Tuesday's Wisconsin primary. This owes to reporting that suggests, or at least could lead its audience to believe, that the Court's five conservative-leaning, Republican-appointed justices, over the strident objection of its four left-leaning, Democratic-appointed justices, directed that the primary proceed with in-person voting, despite the coronavirus threat.That is not what happened.The state government of Wisconsin, led by Governor Anthony Steven Evers, a Democrat, made the decision to go forward with the primary, and with in-person voting. As the Court's majority emphasizes, that was not the Court's call, nor is it the Court's place to opine on the wisdom of the state government's decision.The majority's unsigned opinion explains that the issue the Court was called upon to decide was a narrow one, pertaining to absentee ballots. Specifically, at the urging of Democratic Party organizations concerned about the COVID-19 pandemic's effects on voting, federal district judge William Conley (an Obama appointee) extended the deadline for receipt of mail-in ballots from Tuesday April 7 (the primary-election day) to Monday afternoon, April 13. That aspect of the district court's ruling was not in dispute. Judge Conley, however, directed that that absentee ballots were eligible to be counted regardless of when they were mailed in or otherwise delivered, as long as they came in by the April 13 deadline. In effect, that meant absentee ballots could be cast after in-person primary voting had closed on April 7.Obviously, this could mean the election would be materially altered by events occurring after formal conclusion of the primary election -- not least, news about the apparent election result. To address this problem, Judge Conley further ordered the Wisconsin Election Commission and election inspectors to suppress any report of the voting results until after the new April 13 deadline for the receipt of absentee ballots.There were at least three problems with this resolution. First, when they filed their lawsuit, the Democratic plaintiffs had not asked the district court to permit the mailing of ballots after the polls were closed on April 7. Second, the Wisconsin Election Commission and election inspectors were not parties to the lawsuit, and thus did not have a right to be heard before Judge Conley gagged them. Finally, the district court's resolution worked a significant change in election rules. This ran afoul of Supreme Court precedent, particularly the 2006 Purcell v. Gonzalez decision, which instructed lower federal courts to resist altering rules on the eve of an election.Consequently, the majority (Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh) ruled that in order for votes to count, the absentee ballots must be postmarked by Election Day (April 7) and received by the Election Commission by April 13.Justice Ginsburg dissented (joined by Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan). She argued that the coronavirus crisis had backlogged the Election Commission with mail-in-ballot requests, meaning that many such ballots (potentially thousands of them) would not be provided to voters in time to comply with the April 7 deadline. Ergo, the Court's ruling needlessly placed voters in the quandary of risking disease by voting in person or forfeiting their right to vote -- in an important election in which not only the Democratic presidential nomination but many seats on the Wisconsin state courts, including its highest court, are at stake.Justice Ginsburg has a good point about the majority's reliance on Democratic organizations' failure to ask for an extension of the mail-in deadline. Oddly, the majority asserts that Ginsburg's dissent "entirely disregards the critical point that the plaintiffs themselves did not ask for this additional relief in their preliminary injunction motions." To the contrary, Justice Ginsburg counters that, while the plaintiffs omitted that request from their written motions, they explicitly argued for it at the hearing. They did this on their own, unbidden by Judge Conley, because by then the pandemic had caused a surging demand for absentee ballots. Given the majority's concession that it is not "necessarily" concluding that Democrats forfeited this relief, Ginsburg is persuasive in rebutting their argument.On the other hand, Justice Ginsburg is at her least persuasive in turning the Purcell precedent on its head. She argues that it is not Judge Conley but the Court itself that runs afoul of Purcell: On the eve of the election, it has altered the election rules that were in place -- i.e., the ones fashioned by Conley. The point of Purcell, however, is to instruct the lower courts not to alter election rules. If federal judges ignore binding Supreme Court guidance, the Court obviously must overrule them -- otherwise, what is the point of having the guidance?If I had my druthers, absentee balloting would not be permitted except in extraordinary circumstances. Voting is a sufficiently important privilege that we should all troop to the polling place and cast our ballots on Election Day. This way, we all vote based on the same available information, and the chances of fraud -- which is what you should worry about if you are truly concerned about disenfranchisement -- are minimized.Still, I'm sympathetic to the dissent in this case. My views notwithstanding, voting by mail is widely permitted. Even for traditionalists, moreover, absentee balloting is permissible in extraordinary circumstances. What could be more extraordinary than the ongoing health crisis? It is being demanded of Americans that they shut down their livelihoods for the greater good of stopping the spread of a deadly infectious disease. How ridiculous, then, that Wisconsin state officials have not canceled in-person voting as other states have done. They should have either made it easier for people to vote by mail or postponed the election until it could safely be held.Regardless of what one thinks about the ruling, though, the Supreme Court is getting a bad rap. Their case is about nothing more than whether ballots mailed in the six-day period after Election Day should count. It was not the justices' decision to go forward with Wisconsin's primary during a pandemic. Nor is the Court any way responsible for the risks entailed by in-person voting.
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| New York just recorded its biggest single-day jump in coronavirus deaths Posted: 07 Apr 2020 12:56 PM PDT  "Behind every one of those numbers is an individual, is a family, is a mother, is a father, is a brother, is a sister," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
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| Maeve Kennedy McKean's body is recovered after canoe search Posted: 07 Apr 2020 06:19 AM PDT  Maeve Kennedy McKean and her son were last seen in a canoe off Chesapeake Bay in Maryland last week.
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| U.S. sees deadliest day in COVID-19 outbreak Posted: 08 Apr 2020 04:48 AM PDT  After 11 weeks of lockdown, residents of China's Wuhan were allowed out, and tens of thousands prepared to leave the city.
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| Special Report: Johnson listened to his scientists about coronavirus - but they were slow to sound the alarm Posted: 07 Apr 2020 06:04 AM PDT  It was early spring when British scientists laid out the bald truth to their government. It was "highly likely," they said, that there was now "sustained transmission" of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom. If unconstrained and if the virus behaved as in China, up to four-fifths of Britons could be infected and one in a hundred might die, wrote the scientists, members of an official committee set up to model the spread of pandemic flu, on March 2.
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| 3 fatally stabbed, suspect killed by deputy at travel center Posted: 07 Apr 2020 07:03 AM PDT |
| Korean Air puts 70 percent of staff on leave Posted: 07 Apr 2020 07:17 PM PDT  Korean Air is the flagship of the Hanjin group, one of the multifaceted, family-controlled conglomerates known as chaebols that dominate business in South Korea and played a key part in its rise to become the world's 12th-largest economy. Most of its staff will go on leave from April 16 for six months in response to "deteriorating business circumstances", Korean Air said in a statement. Korean Air's labour union agreed to participate as part of a "burden-sharing" initiative, the company said -- executives have also agreed to take pay cuts.
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| Democrat Amy McGrath raises more money than Mitch McConnell in 1st quarter Posted: 07 Apr 2020 11:11 PM PDT  Democrat Amy McGrath is hoping she'll be the one to take on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in November, and when it comes to campaign cash, she's already ahead.McGrath, a retired Marine fighter pilot who narrowly lost a 2018 congressional race, is the favorite to win the Democratic primary, which was moved to June because of the coronavirus pandemic. On Tuesday, McGrath's campaign reported bringing in $12.8 million over the first three months of 2020, while McConnell's campaign reported raising close to $7.5 million over the same time period.This was McConnell's most successful fundraising haul since becoming a senator in the mid-1980s, his campaign said. "Kentuckians know that at a time of great consequence, there is no substitute for the proven leadership of Mitch McConnell," campaign manager Kevin Golden told The Associated Press. McGrath entered the Democratic primary race last summer, and has so far received $29.8 million in contributions for the 2020 election cycle, with McConnell raising $25.6 million; she has $14.7 million on hand, while McConnell has almost $14.9 million. McGrath campaign spokesman Terry Sebastian told AP her numbers show "voters are fed up with Mitch McConnell continually putting corporate handouts ahead of working people" and "working Americans don't trust his leadership and are demanding new leaders like Amy McGrath who they know will have their back."More stories from theweek.com Dr. Anthony Fauci cautiously predicts kids will return to school next fall, 'but it's going to be different' The coming backlash against the public health experts Body of Robert Kennedy's 8-year-old great-grandson recovered from Chesapeake Bay
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| VP talk could intensify with Harris fundraising moves Posted: 08 Apr 2020 09:28 AM PDT  California Sen. Kamala Harris made two notable fundraising moves Wednesday that are sure to fuel speculation about her prospects to be Joe Biden's running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket. Harris, who dropped out of the White House race in December, set up a joint fundraising operation with the Democratic National Committee, an arrangement that is typically reserved for nominees trying to attract large donations from the party's biggest boosters. Hours later, she made a surprise appearance on a virtual fundraiser, introducing Biden to donors.
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| A New York nurse laments his coronavirus patient's last words before intubation: 'Who's going to pay for it?' Posted: 08 Apr 2020 11:23 AM PDT  "I've never seen what I've been seeing lately with the speed, intensity, and spread of the virus itself," Derrick Smith said.
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| Will we ever take cruise holidays again? Posted: 08 Apr 2020 04:10 PM PDT  The cruise line industry faces a long journey back from the coronavirus pandemic.
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| Japan to Fund Firms to Shift Production Out of China Posted: 08 Apr 2020 05:07 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Japan has earmarked $2.2 billion of its record economic stimulus package to help its manufacturers shift production out of China as the coronavirus disrupts supply chains between the major trading partners.The extra budget, compiled to try to offset the devastating effects of the pandemic, includes 220 billion yen ($2 billion) for companies shifting production back to Japan and 23.5 billion yen for those seeking to move production to other countries, according to details of the plan posted online.The move coincides with what should have been a celebration of friendlier ties between the two countries. Chinese President Xi Jinping was supposed to be on a state visit to Japan early this month. But what would have been the first visit of its sort in a decade was postponed a month ago amid the spread of the virus and no new date has been set.China is Japan's biggest trading partner under normal circumstances, but imports from China slumped by almost half in February as the disease shuttered factories, in turn starving Japanese manufacturers of necessary components.That has renewed talk of Japanese firms reducing their reliance on China as a manufacturing base. The government's panel on future investment last month discussed the need for manufacturing of high-added value products to be shifted back to Japan, and for production of other goods to be diversified across Southeast Asia."There will be something of a shift," said Shinichi Seki, an economist at the Japan Research Institute, adding that some Japanese companies manufacturing goods in China for export were already considering moving out. "Having this in the budget will definitely provide an impetus." Companies, such as car makers, that are manufacturing for the Chinese domestic market, will likely stay put, he said.Testing TimesJapan exports a far larger share of parts and partially finished goods to China than other major industrial nations, according to data compiled for the panel. A February survey by Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. found 37% of the more than 2,600 companies that responded were diversifying procurement to places other than China amid the coronavirus crisis.It remains to be seen how the policy will affect Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's years-long effort to restore relations with China."We are doing our best to resume economic development," Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a briefing Wednesday in Beijing, when asked about the move. "In this process, we hope other countries will act like China and take proper measures to ensure the world economy will be impacted as little as possible and to ensure that supply chains are impacted as little as possible."The initial stages of the Covid-19 outbreak in China appeared to warm the often chilly ties between the two countries. Japan provided aid in the form of masks and protective gear -- and in one case a shipment was accompanied by a fragment of ancient Chinese poetry. In return, it received praise from Beijing.In another step welcomed in Japan, China declared Avigan, an anti-viral produced by Japan's Fujifilm Holdings Corp. to be an effective treatment for the coronavirus, even though it has yet to be approved for that use by the Japanese.Yet many in Japan are inclined to blame China for mishandling the early stages of the outbreak and Abe for not blocking visitors from China sooner.Meanwhile, other issues that have deeply divided the neighbors -- including a territorial dispute over East China Sea islands that brought them close to a military clash in 2012-13 -- are no nearer resolution.Chinese government ships have continued their patrols around the Japanese-administered islands throughout the crisis, with Japan saying four Chinese ships on Wednesday entered what it sees as its territorial waters.(Updates with comment from economist in sixth paragraph)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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| Trump news: Bernie Sanders ends campaign as president slams Democrats and says coronavirus must be 'quickly forgotten' Posted: 08 Apr 2020 11:38 AM PDT  The World Health Organisation (WHO) has hit back at Donald Trump after he threatened to stop US funding to the body as he seeks a scapegoat for the disaster wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, saying the WHO had "missed the call" -- despite himself ignoring a memo from trade adviser Peter Navarro in February warning of the coming storm.Mr Trump doubled down on his attacks of the WHO during the White House press briefing on Wednesday, saying his administering would "study" if it should pull funding from the group. The US is the largest contributor to the WHO's budget.
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| New York state reports more coronavirus cases than any country except the U.S.: Reuters tally Posted: 08 Apr 2020 10:44 AM PDT  The U.S. state has 149,316 reported cases compared with Spain at 146,690. Italy is now in third place with 139,422 cases reported on Wednesday. In total, the United States has recorded over 417,000 cases and 14,100 deaths, according to the Reuters tally.
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| In El Salvador, gangs are enforcing the coronavirus lockdown with baseball bats Posted: 07 Apr 2020 02:38 PM PDT  Street gangs in El Salvador have turned from extortion and killing to enforcing social distancing restrictions, often with threats and baseball bats.
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| Ethiopia declares state of emergency to fight coronavirus Posted: 08 Apr 2020 04:13 AM PDT  Ethiopia on Wednesday declared a state of emergency to fight the coronavirus pandemic, which has so far infected 55 people and resulted in two deaths there. It is the first state of emergency announced under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who came to power in 2018 and won last year's Nobel Peace Prize in part for expanding political freedoms in the authoritarian nation. "Because the coronavirus pandemic is getting worse, the Ethiopian government has decided to declare a state of emergency under Article 93 of the constitution," Abiy said in a statement.
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| The Marine Corps Wants to Transform JLTVs into Aircraft-Killing Trucks Posted: 08 Apr 2020 01:54 PM PDT  Marine Corps Systems Command recently invited defense firms to submit ideas for creating the Direct Fire Defeat System.
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| Russia aims to prosecute destruction of war monuments abroad Posted: 08 Apr 2020 10:59 AM PDT  Russia's defense minister called on law enforcement officials Wednesday to consider filing criminal charges against representatives of other countries where World War II memorials commemorating the actions of the Soviet Union are demolished. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made the appeal to the head of the Investigative Committee, Russia's top criminal investigation body. Russia takes offense at any criticism of the Soviet role in the war.
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| One chart shows how long the coronavirus lives on surfaces like cardboard, plastic, wood, and steel Posted: 07 Apr 2020 01:58 PM PDT  Recent research shows that the coronavirus lives longest on glass, paper money, and the outside of surgical masks.
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| Pelosi, Schumer introduce $500 billion follow-up coronavirus relief package Posted: 08 Apr 2020 09:04 AM PDT  Top congressional Democrats are all for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) next coronavirus relief bill — with a few additions.On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced their party was asking for an additional $250 billion in a so-called "CARES 2" act, doubling the size of the package McConnell had introduced. Their proposal would allocate more money to local and state governments and health care facilities, and ensure at least half McConnell's proposed funding goes toward "community-based financial institutions."Pelosi and Schumer repeated McConnell's call for $250 billion in small business assistance in their Wednesday proposal, but wanted to make sure $125 billion of it will "serve farmers, family, women, and minority and veteran-owned small businesses and nonprofits in rural, tribal, suburban, and urban communities." In addition, they'd like $100 billion for hospitals, community health centers, and health systems; $150 billion for state and local governments; and an additional 15 percent support added to SNAP food stamp benefits.> Pelosi/Schumer demands in Phase 4> > — $250B for small biz > — $100B for hospitals, health centers > — $150B for state/local gov'ts > — 15% boost in SNAP benefits pic.twitter.com/prUYYXOgfd> > — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) April 8, 2020McConnell hoped to pass his $250 billion plan with a unanimous voice vote on Thursday, as that's the only way for Congress to vote right now without returning to Washington.More stories from theweek.com Dr. Anthony Fauci cautiously predicts kids will return to school next fall, 'but it's going to be different' The coming backlash against the public health experts Body of Robert Kennedy's 8-year-old great-grandson recovered from Chesapeake Bay
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