Report in Poland Lists Judges, Prosecutors Facing Reprisals 

An association of judges in Poland published a report Saturday listing dozens of judges and prosecutors who face reprisals and disciplinary measures for having criticized or questioned changes the country’s right-wing government has made to the judicial system. The 200-page report issued by the Polish judges’ association Iustitia named judges and prosecutors who were called before disciplinary bodies, moved to lower courts or had cases taken away from them. The actions took place after the lawyers and jurists commented on the reorganization of the judiciary or issued rulings that seemed to deviate from government policy. Among those listed in the report as being subject to reprisals are Warsaw District Court Judge Igor Tuleya; Olsztyn District Court Judge Pawel Juszczyszyn; and Iustitia’s president, Judge Krystian Markiewicz of the District Court in Katowice. Markiewicz has urged the European Union to act in defense of judicial independence in Poland. Some 4,000 out of Poland’s 10,000 judges are Iustitia members. “As judges we stand guard over the civil rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution,” said the English-language version of the report. “We do not and will not agree to politicize the courts,” it said. ‘Slandering’ judges, prosecutorsThe report also names and quotes government and judiciary officials who, it says, have been publicly “slandering” the judges and prosecutors in Poland and internationally. The government says the changes it has introduced since 2016 were designed to make the justice system more efficient and free of jurists left over from Poland’s communist era. In response to criticism coming from newer judges, the government said it is taking steps to prevent “anarchy” in the court system. The EU, international judicial bodies and critics in Poland have said the changes could undercut judicial independence, the rule of law, and the democratic system of checks and balances. One recent law allows politicians to fine and fire judges who are considered biased because of their group affiliations or who take actions regarded by the government as harmful to the Polish court system. Candidate’s promiseAt a political convention Saturday, the main opposition candidate in Poland’s May 10 presidential election said that if elected, she would make right “all wrongs done to independent judges” by the ruling Law and Justice party. “Poland’s judges are persecuted,” Malgorzata Kidawa-Blonska, who is running for the pro-EU Civic Platform party, said. Kidawa-Blonska is among several candidates challenging Poland’s incumbent president, Andrzej Duda. Opinion polls suggest she may provide competition for Duda, who is backed by the ruling party. Kidawa-Blonska said that as president, she would work to regain Poland’s place as a respected European Union member and to unify the country after what she described as divisions created by the conservative Law and Justice government. She said her guiding values would be “mutual respect, trust and honesty.” 

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New US Guidelines Will Allow Faster Coronavirus Testing

Federal regulators are allowing hospitals and other laboratories to develop their own tests for the coronavirus in an effort to relieve what critics say is a shortage of testing for the virus.  The urgency for testing is growing as health officials report several new coronavirus cases in the United States and the country’s first death — a man in his 50s from Washington state.The new policy unveiled on Saturday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), follows criticism that a lack of testing has allowed the virus to spread undetected.”It’s going to be really useful for greatly expanding the number of places that can do the tests,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.  Hospitals have been sending samples to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta for testing. Getting results takes 48 hours.Problems with CDC testThe CDC had produced a test for health departments across the country to use. But many reported problems with the tests giving inconclusive results. The problem was traced to an improperly manufactured ingredient. The CDC said the test could be used with the other components. In addition, it plans to send out new test kits to public health labs.  In the meantime, however, the problems limited the ability of health care workers to test patients for coronavirus.  “If we had the ability to test earlier, I’m sure we would have identified patients earlier,” said Jeff Duchin, an official of Seattle & King County Public Health, during a conference call with reporters.  Washington state identified two new cases on Friday, including one with no known connection to other cases, which raises concerns that the virus is spreading undetected.  The New York State health department, some hospital labs and others had developed their own tests. But since they had not been approved by the FDA, their results were not considered valid.  Hospital labs had criticized the approval process in a letter to Congress Friday, FILE – Personnel at the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention work at the Emergency Operations Center in response to the 2019 novel coronavirus, Feb. 13, 2020, in Atlanta.New FDA policy
On Saturday, the FDA issued a new policy allowing these labs to develop their own assays, and issued instructions for how to validate the tests.”This approval will expedite wait time and improve New York’s ability to more effectively manage the coronavirus situation as it unfolds,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.Rather than needing to send tests to Atlanta, or even to a state health lab, tests will be available at local hospitals or commercial labs.”The closer we can put it towards patients, the better it’ll be for clinicians,” Nuzzo, of Johns Hopkins, said.

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AP FACT CHECK: Trump’s Viral Spin on Virus; Dem Oversteps

President Donald Trump has not proved to be the bearer of reliable information when calamity threatens and people want straight answers about it. That’s happening again as he addresses the prospect of a coronavirus outbreak in the U.S.
With numbers still low, but the first death in the U.S. now reported, the infectious disease risks not only public health but the economy he holds up to voters for his reelection. To date, his comments have largely seemed intended to put a positive spin on hard information from the scientists, as if he were wishing the problem away.
Trump’s comment Friday night, characterizing Democratic criticism of the administration’s response to the virus as a “hoax,” lent weight to the perception that he’s minimizing the potential for harm in search of political gain. He emphasized Saturday that he does not consider the coronavirus threat a hoax – only the pushback from Democrats.
Trump has a record of unreliability on this front. In one hurricane episode, he displayed a map doctored to reflect his personal and ill-founded theory that Alabama would  take it on the chin. In another, he dismissed the Puerto Rico death toll as a concoction by Democrats.
He was fast off the mark to describe the injuries suffered by U.S. service members from an Iranian missile attack as little more than headaches, when it turned out scores suffered traumatic brain injury.
For their part, Democrats have been quick to criticize the Trump administration – at times too quick. Several presidential candidates described the federal response as hampered by Trump budget cuts, which have not happened, and by a decimated public-health bureaucracy, despite the top-of-class scientists steering the effort.Here are the facts behind some of the political rhetoric of the past week, on the virus and more.Virus Outbreak TRUMP: “We are rapidly developing a vaccine. … The vaccine is coming along well, and in speaking to the doctors, we think this is something that we can develop very rapidly.” – news conference Wednesday.THE FACTS: No vaccine is imminent for the coronavirus.
A candidate vaccine for the virus causing COVID-19 is approaching first-step safety tests, but federal experts say anything widely usable is probably more than a year away.
“We can’t rely on a vaccine over the next several months,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease chief at the National Institutes of Health.
—TRUMP: “The level of death with Ebola – you know, at the time, it was a virtual 100%. … There’s a very good chance you’re not going to die. It’s very much the opposite. You’re talking about 1 or 2%, whereas in the other case, it was a virtual 100%. Now they have it; they have studied it. They know very much. In fact, we’re very close to a vaccine.” _ news conference Tuesday in New Delhi.THE FACTS: “Close” is not correct. A vaccine has already been developed for Ebola. The FDA approved an Ebola vaccine in December. Even before its U.S. approval, it was being used in Congo to help stem the current outbreak.
       ___TRUMP, on U.S. coronavirus cases: “We’re going down, not up. We’re going very substantially down, not up.” – news conference Wednesday.THE FACTS: That was false assurance. He was referring to the fact that most of the people he cited as having COVID-19 in the U.S. are getting better. But that is not indicative of the spread or containment of the disease since most victims, by far, recover.
Cases in the U.S. are almost certain to increase, his own officials have said repeatedly, and he acknowledged as much Saturday.
       ___TRUMP:  “The flu in our country kills from 25,000 people to 69,000 people a year; that was shocking to me. And so far, if you look at what we have with the 15 people, and they are recovering.”THE FACTS: His remarks on the coronavirus risks are misleading. Scientists don’t know enough about how deadly the new virus actually is, and so far it hasn’t infected nearly as many people as the flu. Of the cases cited by Trump, they are not “all recovering.” One died and four others are “very ill,” he said Saturday.
Flu deaths fluctuate depending on which strain is circulating and how well each year’s vaccine is working, but Trump’s cited range is in the ballpark. Two flu seasons ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated there were 80,000 U.S. deaths, the highest death toll in at least four decades. This year’s flu season isn’t as deadly; so far this season, the CDC estimates there have been 16,000 to 41,000 deaths from the flu.
As to COVID-19, an illness characterized by fever and coughing and in serious cases shortness of breath or pneumonia, there are now at least 60 cases in the U.S., with no deaths reported. In addition to the ones Trump cited, 45 were among groups the U.S. government evacuated and quarantined either from China or the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
In the hardest-hit part of China, the death rate from the new coronavirus was between 2% and 4%, while in other parts of China it was 0.7%. In contrast, the death rate from seasonal flu on average is about 0.1%, said Fauci, of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. That’s far lower than what has been calculated so far for COVID-19. But millions of people get the flu every year around the world, leading to a global annual death toll in the hundreds of thousands.
       ___MIKE BLOOMBERG: “There’s nobody here to figure out what the hell we should be doing. And he’s defunded _ he’s defunded Centers for Disease Control, CDC, so we don’t have the organization we need. This is a very serious thing.” _ Democratic presidential debate Tuesday.JOE BIDEN, comparing the Obama-Biden administration with now: “We increased the budget of the CDC. We increased the NIH budget. … He’s wiped all that out. … He cut the funding for the entire effort.”THE FACTS: They’re both wrong to say the agencies have seen their money cut. Bloomberg is repeating the false allegation in a new ad that states the U.S. is unprepared for the virus because of “reckless cuts” to the CDC. Trump’s budgets have proposed cuts to public health, only to be overruled by Congress, where there’s strong bipartisan support for agencies such as the CDC and NIH. Instead, financing has increased.
Indeed, the money that government disease detectives first tapped to fight the latest outbreak was a congressional fund created for health emergencies.|
Some public health experts say a bigger concern than White House budgets is the steady erosion of a CDC grant program for state and local public health emergency preparedness – the front lines in detecting and battling new disease. But that decline was set in motion by a congressional budget measure that predates Trump.
The broader point about there being “nobody here” to coordinate the response sells short what’s in place to handle an outbreak.
The public health system has a playbook to follow for pandemic preparation – regardless of who’s president or whether specific instructions are coming from the White House. Public-health experts outside government have praised the CDC’s work so far and noted that its top scientific ranks have remained stable during the past three years.
       ___Health Care BERNIE SANDERS: “What every study out there – conservative or progressive – says, Medicare for All' will save money.`` - Democratic debate.THE FACTS: Not true. Some studies say that, some don't.
Sanders, a Vermont senator, cites a recent medical journal article in The Lancet, which estimated ``Medicare for All'' would save more than $450 billion annually, or about 13%.
But other studies have found a Sanders-like single-payer plan would cost more, partly because free health care would increase the demand for services.
A study last fall from the Commonwealth Fund and the Urban Institute estimated that such a plan would increase national health spending by about $720 billion. A Rand study estimated spending would increase 1.8% under a national single-payer plan.
       ___Gun Control JOE BIDEN: "A hundred and fifty million people have been killed since 2007, when Bernie voted to exempt the gun manufacturers from liability.'' - Democratic debate.THE FACTS: Biden vastly overstated gun deaths. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports about 413,000 gun deaths from 2007 to 2018, a far cry from 150 million, which equates to close to half the U.S. population. More than half of the gun deaths in 2018 were from suicide, says the CDC. His campaign acknowledged he misspoke.
       ___AMY KLOBUCHAR: "I am the author of the bill to close the boyfriend loophole that says that domestic abusers can't go out and get an AK-47.''
BIDEN: ``I wrote that law.''
KLOBUCHAR: "You didn't write that bill, I wrote that bill.''
BIDEN: "I wrote the bill, the Violence Against Women Act, that took (guns) out of the hands of people who abused their wife.''
KLOUBCHAR: "OK we'll have a fact check look at this." - Democratic debate.
BIDEN: "No, let's look at the fact check. The only thing (is) that that boyfriend loophole was not covered, I couldn't get that covered. You, in fact, as a senator tried to get it covered and Mitch McConnell is holding it up on his desk right now.''THE FACTS: Klobuchar, a Minnesota senator, correctly called out the former vice president for seeming to take credit for legislation closing the "boyfriend loophole.'' Biden conceded the point, then correctly pointed out that the loophole has not been eliminated in law.
In short, Biden did write the legislation that became the Violence Against Women Act, one of his most prominent achievements. The 1994 law sets out services and specific protections for victims of domestic violence.
Klobuchar took the lead in the Senate on legislation passed by the House that would extend the law's protections to help women who are threatened by abusive partners who are not a spouse, ex-spouse or parent of a common child _ in other words, boyfriends or dating partners. But that effort, opposed by the National Rifle Association, has been hung up in the Senate.
 ___Women in the Workplace
BLOOMBERG, responding to Elizabeth Warren's demand that he lift non-disclosure agreements for all women who signed them: "We are doing that, senator.'' - Democratic debate.THE FACTS: He hasn't done that.
Bloomberg agreed to release three women from non-disclosure agreements in situations where they specifically identified an issue with him. But many more former Bloomberg employees have signed such agreements, having to do with the culture and work environment at his company. He hasn't freed them from their obligation to stay quiet about their complaints.
       ___
WARREN: "At least I didn't have a boss who said to me 'kill it' the way that Mayor Bloomberg is alleged to have said to one of his pregnant employees.''
BLOOMBERG: "I never said that.'' - Democratic debate.THE FACTS: The woman who made the allegation against Bloomberg recounted it in a legal filing.
Former Bloomberg employee Sekiko Sekai Garrison, 55, filed a complaint against Bloomberg and his company with the New York Division of Human Rights in 1995. In Garrison's written complaint, she recounted several personal interactions with Bloomberg when she worked at the company.
In one incident, Garrison said Bloomberg approached her near the office coffee machines and asked if she was still married, according to the complaint.
Garrison says she responded that her marriage was great and that she was pregnant with her first child, and alleged that Bloomberg replied: "Kill it.'' Bloomberg has denied that the exchange happened, but in her complaint, she transcribed a voicemail she says Bloomberg later left on her voicemail, apologizing and saying he meant the
“kill it” remark as a joke. Her complaint was eventually settled as part of a lawsuit with no admission of guilt, and she resigned from the company.
       ___India
TRUMP: “Now, India has more people than any country, a little bit more than China.“ – news conference Tuesday in New Delhi.THE FACTS: He’s getting ahead of population projections.
India is projected to overtake China as the world’s most populous country around 2027, according to the U.N.’s World Population Prospects report.
       ___
TRUMP, on India’s leader, Narendra Modi: “Under Prime Minister Modi, for the first time in history, every village in India now has access to electricity.” – rally Monday in Ahmedabad, India.THE FACTS: That’s false. The Indian government says a village is considered electrified if at least 10% of homes and public buildings have electricity. According to the World Bank, about 99 million people, or 7% of India’s population, still live in the dark.
       ___
TRUMP: “Six hundred million more people have access to basic sanitation.” – rally Monday.THE FACTS: It’s true that India has built more than 110 million new toilets since Modi’s government came to power in 2014, leading to increased access to basic sanitation. But implementation has been spotty in a country where venturing into the fields to defecate has been widespread and accepted.
More than 60% of India’s 1.3 billion people live in more than 600,000 villages. Poor villagers who couldn’t build toilets in their homes chose open fields, forests, ditches and other open spaces for defecation _ and that cultural practice has been slow to change.
2018 study conducted by the non-profit Research Institute for Compassionate Economics, for instance, found 44% of the rural population across four large states still defecate in the open. Nearly one-quarter of people in households with toilets also continued to defecate in the open, a figure unchanged from 2014, according to the study.
After becoming India’s prime minister, Modi promised to make India free of open defecation. He’s acknowledged the task is not over.
The World Bank previously said about 1 in every 10 deaths in India is linked to poor sanitation.
       ___China
BLOOMBERG, on China’s president, Xi Jinping: “In terms of whether he’s a dictator, he does serve at the behest of the Politburo, their group of people. There’s no question he has an enormous amount of power. But he does play to his constituency.” – Democratic debate.THE FACTS: He’s minimizing Xi’s broad powers in China.
Xi serves as the head of the ruling Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee and is also head of state and leader of the party’s military wing, the People’s Liberation Army. The Politburo and its standing committee aren’t generally viewed as a check on his power. Although Xi’s moves to accumulate power have been criticized by some non-party intellectuals, he faces no clear rivals or constraints on his power.
However, a faltering economy and the knock-on effects of the coronavirus outbreak that originated in China are seen as placing him under greater pressure than he has previously faced.
      

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Empty Streets, Economic Turmoil as Coronavirus Alters Daily Life

The coronavirus claimed its first victim in the U.S. Saturday as the number of cases shot up in Iran, Italy and South Korea and the spreading outbreak continued to shake the global economy.
The virus altered daily life around the world as governments moved to combat the contagion. Islam’s holiest sites were closed to foreign pilgrims, while professional baseball teams played in deserted stadiums in Japan and officials in France advised residents to forgo customary greeting kisses.
The list of countries touched by the virus climbed to nearly 60, with new cases reported Saturday in Lebanon, Mexico, France and Ecuador. More than 85,000 people worldwide have contracted the virus, with deaths topping 2,900.
A man in his 50s with underlying health conditions became the first coronavirus death on U.S. soil. President Donald Trump initially said the victim was a woman, but the person’s gender was later confirmed by state and federal health officials. Officials say they aren’t sure how the man acquired the virus, as he had not traveled to any effected areas.
“Additional cases in the United States are likely, but healthy individuals should be able to fully recover,” Trump said Saturday at a briefing, where officials announced heightened warnings about travel to certain regions of Italy and South Korea as well as a ban on travel to Iran.
Many cases of the virus have been relatively mild, and some of those infected are believed to show no symptoms at all. But that can allow for easier spread, and concern is mounting that prolonged quarantines, supply chain disruptions and a sharp reduction in tourism and business travel could weaken the global economy or even cause a recession.
South Korea, the second hardest hit country after China, reported 813 new cases Saturday – the highest daily jump since confirming its first patient in late January and raising its total to 3,150.
Italian authorities say the country now has more than 1,100 coronavirus cases, with 29 deaths so far.
Iran is preparing for the possibility of tens of thousands'' of people getting tested for the virus as the number of confirmed cases spiked again Saturday, an official said. So far, the virus and the COVID-19 illness it causes have killed 43 people out of 593 confirmed cases in Iran.
As governments scrambled to control the spread and businesses wrestled with interruptions, researchers working to better understand the disease reported that the death rate may be lower than initially feared as more mild cases are counted.A teen wears a medical mask as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus, during an outing in Mexico City, Feb. 29, 2020.Effort to understand virus
A study by Chinese researchers published Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine analyzing 1,099 patients at more than 500 hospitals throughout China calculated a death rate of 1.4%, substantially lower than earlier studies that focused on patients in Wuhan, where it started and has been most severe.
Assuming there are many more cases with no or very mild symptoms, "the case fatality rate may be considerably less than 1%,'' U.S. health officials wrote in an editorial in the journal.
That would make the new virus more like a severe seasonal flu than a disease similar to its genetic cousins SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome, or MERS, Middle East respiratory syndrome.
Evidence of the virus' economic toll continued to mount Saturday, with a new report showing a sharp decline in Chinese manufacturing in February after efforts to contain the virus shut down much of the world's second-largest economy.
The survey, coming as global stock markets fall sharply on fears that the virus will spread abroad, adds to mounting evidence of the vast cost of the disease that emerged in central China in December and its economic impact worldwide.
The monthly purchasing managers' index issued by the Chinese statistics agency and an industry group fell to 35.7 from January's 50 on a 100-point scale on which numbers below 50 indicate activity contracting.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a 270 billion yen ($2.5 billion) emergency economic package to help fight the virus. Abe said at a news conference that Japan is at critical juncture to determine whether the country can keep the outbreak under control ahead of the Tokyo summer Olympics.
Abe, whose announcement this past week of a plan to close all schools for more than a month through the end of the Japanese academic year sparked public criticism, said the emergency package includes financial support for parents and their employers affected by the closures.
"Frankly speaking, this battle cannot be won solely by the efforts of the government,'' Abe said Saturday.
We cannot do it without understanding and cooperation from every one of you, including medical institutions, families, companies and local governments.”
Even in isolated, sanctions-hit North Korea, leader Kim Jong Un called for stronger anti-virus efforts to guard against COVID-19, saying there will be “serious consequences” if the illness spreads to the country.
China has seen a slowdown in new infections and on Saturday morning reported 427 new cases over the past 24 hours along with 47 additional deaths. The city at the epicenter of the outbreak, Wuhan, accounted for the bulk of both. The ruling party is striving to restore public and business confidence and avert a deeper economic downturn and politically risky job losses after weeks of disruptions due to the viral outbreak.Pedestrians wearing face masks cross a square in western Tehran, Iran, Feb. 29, 2020.Deserted streets
In other areas caught up in the outbreak, eerie scenes met those who ventured outside.
Streets were deserted in the city of Sapporo on Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido, where a state of emergency was issued until mid-March. Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan announced they would close, and big events were canceled, including a concert series by the K-pop group BTS.
In France, the archbishop of Paris advised parish priests not to administer communion by placing the sacramental bread in worshippers’ mouths. Instead, priests were told to place the bread in their hands. The French government cancelled large indoor events.
Saudi Arabia closed off Islam’s holiest sites in Mecca and Medina to foreign pilgrims, disrupting travel for thousands of Muslims already headed to the kingdom and potentially affecting plans later this year for millions more ahead of the fasting month of Ramadan and the annual hajj pilgrimage.
Tourist arrivals in Thailand are down 50% compared with a year ago, and in Italy _ which has the most reported cases of any country outside of Asia – hotel bookings are falling and Premier Giuseppe Conte raised the specter of recession.
The head of the World Health Organization on Friday announced that the risk of the virus spreading worldwide was “very high,” while U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the window of opportunity for containing the virus was narrowing.
Economists have forecast global growth will slip to 2.4% this year, the slowest since the Great Recession in 2009, and down from earlier expectations closer to 3%. For the United States, estimates are falling to as low as 1.7% growth this year, down from 2.3% in 2019.
Despite anxieties about a wider outbreak in the U.S., Trump has defended measures taken and lashed out at Democrats who have questioned his handling of the threat.At a political rally Friday night in North Charleston, South Carolina, Trump asserted that Democratic complaints about his handling of the virus threat are “their new hoax,” echoing similar past complaints by the president about the Russia investigation and his impeachment.
Trump accused Democrats of “politicizing” the coronavirus threat and boasted about preventive steps he’s ordered in an attempt to keep the virus from spreading across the United States. 

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Man in Washington State 1st in US to Die from Coronavirus

A man has died in Washington state of COVID-19, state health officials said Saturday, marking the first such reported death in the United States.
State officials issued a terse news release announcing the death, gave no details and scheduled a news conference. A spokesperson for EvergreenHealth Medical Center, Kayse Dahl, said the person died in the facility in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland, but gave no other details.
State and King County health officials said “new people (have been) identified with the infection, one of whom died.” They did not say how many new cases there are.
Amy Reynolds of the Washington state health department said in a brief telephone interview: We are dealing with an emergency evolving situation.''
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said the person who died was a man from Washington state.
"It is a sad day in our state as we learn that a Washingtonian has died from COVID-19. Our hearts go out to his family and friends," Inslee said. "We will continue to work toward a day where no one dies from this virus.
The number of coronavirus cases in the United States is considered small. Worldwide, the number of people sickened by the virus hovered Friday around 83,000, and there were more than 2,800 deaths, most of them in China.
Most infections result in mild symptoms, including coughing and fever, though some can become more serious and lead to pneumonia. Older people, especially those with chronic illnesses such as heart or lung disease, are especially vulnerable. Health officials think it spreads mainly from droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how the flu spreads.
Health officials in California, Oregon and Washington state worried about the novel coronavirus spreading through West Coast communities after confirming three patients were infected by unknown means.
The patients - an older Northern California woman with chronic health conditions, a high school student in Everett, Washington and an employee at a Portland, Oregon-area school - hadn't recently traveled overseas or had any known close contact with a traveler or an infected person, authorities said.
Earlier U.S. cases include three people who were evacuated from the central China city of Wuhan, epicenter of the outbreak; 14 people who returned from China, or their spouses; and 42 American passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, who were flown to U.S. military bases in California and Texas for quarantining.
Convinced that the number of cases will grow but determined to keep them from exploding, health agencies were ramping up efforts to identify patients.
The California Department of Public Health said Friday that the state will receive enough kits from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to test up to 1,200 people a day for the COVID-19 virus - a day after Gov. Gavin Newsom complained to federal health officials that the state had already exhausted its initial 200 test kits.
Santa Clara County in the San Francisco Bay Area reported two cases where the source of infection wasn't known. The older woman was hospitalized for a respiratory illness, and rapid local testing confirmed in one day that she had the virus, health officials said.
"This case represents some degree of community spread, some degree of circulation," said Dr. Sara Cody, health officer for Santa Clara County and director of the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department.
"But we don't know to what extent,'' Cody said. "It could be a little, it could be a lot.''
"We need to begin taking important additional measures to at least slow it down as much as possible,'' she said.
Cody said the newly confirmed case in Santa Clara County is not linked to two previous cases in that county, nor to others in the state.
The Santa Clara County resident was treated at a local hospital and is not known to have traveled to Solano County, where another woman was identified Wednesday as having contracted the virus from an unknown source.
Dozens of people had close contact with the Solano County woman. They were urged to quarantine themselves at home, while a few who showed symptoms of illness were in isolation, officials said.
At UC Davis Medical Center at least 124 registered nurses and other health care workers were sent home for "self-quarantine" after the Solano County woman with the virus was admitted, National Nurses United, a nationwide union representing RNs, said Friday.
The case "highlights the vulnerability of the nation's hospitals to this virus," the union said.
Earlier Friday, Oregon confirmed its first coronavirus case, a person who works at an elementary school in the Portland area, which will be temporarily closed.
The Lake Oswego School District sent a robocall to parents saying that Forest Hills Elementary will be closed until Wednesday so it can be deep-cleaned by maintenance workers.
Washington state health officials announced two new coronavirus cases Friday night, including a high school student who attends Jackson High School in Everett, said Dr. Chris Spitters of the Snohomish County Health District.
The other case in Washington was a woman in in King County in her 50s who had recently traveled to South Korea, authorities said.
Both patients weren't seriously ill.
But health officials aren't taking any chances. Some communities, including San Francisco, already have declared local emergencies in case they need to obtain government funding.
In Southern California's Orange County, the city of Costa Mesa went to court to prevent state and federal health officials from transferring dozens of people exposed to the virus aboard a cruise ship in Japan to a state-owned facility in the city. The passengers, including some who tested positive for the virus and underwent hospital care, had been staying at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California.
On Friday, state officials said the federal decided it no longer had a crucial need to move those people to the Fairview Developmental Center in Costa Mesa. That's because of the imminent end of the isolation period for those passengers and the relatively small number of persons who ended up testing positive, officials said.
The new coronavirus cases of unknown origin marks an escalation of the worldwide outbreak in the U.S. because it means the virus could spread beyond the reach of preventative measures like quarantines, though state health officials said that was inevitable and that the risk of widespread transmission remains low.
California public health officials on Friday said more than 9,380 people are self-monitoring after arriving on commercial flights from China through Los Angeles and San Francisco. That's up from the 8,400 that Newsom cited on Thursday, though officials said the number increases daily as more flights arrive.
Officials are not too worried, for now, about casual contact, because federal officials think the coronavirus is spread only through
close contact, being within 6 feet of somebody for what they’re calling a prolonged period of time,” said Dr. James Watt, interim state epidemiologist at the California Department of Public Health.
The virus can cause fever, coughing, wheezing and pneumonia. Health officials think it spreads mainly from droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how the flu spreads.
As infectious disease experts fanned out in the Solano County city of Vacaville, some residents in the city between San Francisco and Sacramento stocked up on supplies amid fears things could get worse despite official reassurances, while others took the news in stride.
The woman in the community who has coronavirus first sought treatment at NorthBay VacaValley Hospital in Vacaville, before her condition worsened and she was transferred to the medical center in Sacramento.
Sacramento County’s top health official told The Sacramento Bee on Friday that he expects several medical workers to test positive themselves in the next few days. Numerous workers at both hospitals have been tested, but the tests were sent to labs approved by the CDC and generally take three to four days to complete.
Peter Beilenson, Sacramento County’s health services director, said he expects even those who test positive to become only mildly ill.
Confusion over how quickly the woman was tested for coronavirus concerned McKinsey Paz, who works at a private security firm in Vacaville. The company has already stockpiled 450 face masks and is scrambling for more “since they’re hard to come by.” The company’s owner bought enough cleaning and disinfectant supplies to both scrub down the office and send home with employees.
But they appeared to be at the extreme for preparations.
Eugenia Kendall was wearing a face mask, but in fear of anything including the common cold. Her immune system is impaired because she is undergoing chemotherapy, and she has long been taking such precautions.
“We’re not paranoid. We’re just trying to be practical,” said her husband of 31 years, Ivan Kendall. “We wipe the shopping carts if they have them, and when I get back in the car I wipe my hands _ and just hope for the best.”
       ___ 

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South Korea Tests for Coronavirus at Drive-through Clinics

South Korea has experienced a massive spike in confirmed coronavirus infections over the past week. One reason the numbers have jumped so quickly: South Korea is making it very easy for people to get coronavirus tests. As of Friday, the country had tested about 80,000 people. Many are getting tested at specially created drive-through clinics. VOA’s Bill Gallo and Korean service video journalist Hyungjin Kim have the details.

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Trump Says Additional Coronavirus Cases Likely

President Donald Trump says 22 people in the U.S. have been stricken by the new coronavirus and additional cases in the United States are “likely.”
Trump provided an update on the virus after the first reported U.S. death Saturday, of a woman he described as being in her late 50s and having a high medical risk. He says healthy Americans should be able to recover if they contract the new virus.
The virus threat has spooked global markets and the public at large. Trump is cautioning that there's no reason to panic at all.''
Trump spoke a day after he denounced criticism of his response to the threat as a
hoax“ cooked up by his political enemies.
On Friday, health officials confirmed a second case of coronavirus in the U.S. in a person who didn’t travel internationally or have close contact with anyone who had the virus. The U.S. has a total of about 60 confirmed cases.
At a political rally Friday night in South Carolina, Trump sought to steal some of the spotlight from his Democratic rivals who were campaigning across the state on the evening before its presidential primary. He accused Democrats of “politicizing” the coronavirus threat and boasted about preventive steps he’s ordered in an attempt to keep the virus that originated in China from spreading across the United States. Those steps include barring entry by most foreign nationals who had recently visited China.
“They have no clue. They don’t have a clue. They can’t even count their votes in Iowa,” Trump said, referring to problems that plagued the Democratic vote in the Iowa caucuses Feb. 3.
“They tried the impeachment hoax. … This is their new hoax,” Trump said of Democratic denunciations of his administration’s coronavirus response.
Some Democrats have said Trump could have acted sooner to bolster the U.S. response to the virus. Democratic and Republican lawmakers also have said his request for an additional $2.5 billion to defend against the virus isn’t enough. They’ve signaled they will provide substantially more funding.
Trump said Democrats want him to fail and argued that steps he’s taken so far have kept cases to a minimum and prevented virus deaths in the U.S. 

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French Film Awards Held Amid Calls for More Diversity

France’s annual Cesar Award film ceremony Friday is already clouded in controversy, with a shake-up of its board, sexual assault accusations against top director Roman Polanski, and now, fresh calls for more diversity on screen.After Hollywood, French cinema is having its own introspective moment. The latest hashtag trending this week is #BlackCesars, after some 30 leading members of France’s film industry denounced its lack of diversity.  In an open letter published in a French newspaper this week, they claimed actors, directors and producers of ethnic African and Asian origin, and those from France’s overseas territories, are essentially invisible. They mostly get insignificant roles, the group claimed, that would never allow them to be nominated for Cesars or other awards. Many of the signatories are from minority backgrounds.  Hermann Ebongue, secretary general of anti-discrimination group SOS Racisme, notes calls for more diversity in the industry are not new. Although this year’s Academy Awards faced similar criticism, he believes minority artists in the United States still have more opportunities to become stars than in France.  The #BlackCesars petition also points to what it calls a paradox of American film director Spike Lee becoming the first black head of the Cannes Film Festival’s jury in May.  The diversity criticism here comes amid a shake-up of the Cesar’s management. Its board resigned en masse earlier this month, after film industry members accused it of being undemocratic and dysfunctional.Women’s rights activists protest against multiple nominations for Roman Polanski at the Cesar Awards ceremony, in Paris, France, Feb. 28, 2020.Meanwhile, another crisis is part of the backdrop of the awards ceremony. Franco-Polish film director Roman Polanski, whose movie An Officer and a Spy tops the list of nominations, faces accusations of rape and sexual harassment. He denies the accusations and said he would not attend following a storm of protest.  Some minority actors and directors have broken the glass ceiling here. Among them: film star Omar Sy, and director Ladj Ly, whose movie Les Miserables — set in France’s rough, multi-ethnic banlieues, or suburbs, — is another leading Cesar contender. Ly was also France’s first black film director to be nominated for an Oscar this year.  But activists say these stars remain the exceptions. Their box-office success, they say, proves French audiences also want more diversity onscreen.  Ebongue, of SOS Racisme, says real change will come when the industry as a whole signs on to petitions like #BlackCesars — and not just a minority of members. 

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Somalia’s Sufi Muslim Leaders Surrender to Government

The leaders of a Sufi Muslim group turned themselves into the custody of the Somali government Saturday after fighting left 22 people dead in central Somalia.Moallim Mohamud Sheikh, the spiritual leader, and Sheikh Mohamed Shakir, the chief of Ahlu-Sunna Wal-Jamaa (ASWJ), are in the custody of the Somali national army in the town of Dhusamareb after the group’s militias were overpowered in a battle with government forces. Dhusamareb is the administrative capital of Galmudug state.”Our security forces have ended the standoff and disarmed all ASWJ militias,” Osman Isse Nur, the spokesperson of the newly elected president, told VOA.Speaking in a video posted online, ASWJ chief Sheikh Shakir said his group ceded power to the Somali national army.”We agreed to end the fighting for the sake of the civilians. We agreed to hand over ASWJ militias to the commander general who will, in return, take responsibility for the safety of all our members, including the leader,” Shakir said in the video.At least 22 people were killed in clashes that broke out Thursday night after ASWJ militias fired on a government checkpoint in Dhusamareeb.The fighting continued Friday morning before spreading to the nearby town of Guricel in the Galgadud region.
 
Reports say normalcy returned to Dhusamareb Saturday as residents, who were forced to flee, came back and reopened their businesses.Three rival politicians are claiming to be the leader of Galmudug state. Early this month, the parliament of Galmudug elected Ahmed Abdi Kariye as president. He is a former minister backed by the government. ASWJ chief Sheikh Shakir rejected the action, however, and declared himself president, while former president Ahmed Duale refused to cede power.The Sufi group ASWJ played a pivotal role in the fight against al-Shabab militants, and early this week, a U.S. diplomat said in remarks at the U.N. Security Council briefing that internal rivalries among allies in Somalia could derail the effort to combat al-Qaida-linked insurgents. 

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Coronavirus Threatening Europe’s Open-Border Goals

In another one of its many fallouts, the coronavirus is creating new strains for Europe’s 26-nation Schengen zone that allows for the free movement of people among member states. European officials say, for now, there is no reason to close borders, but the spread of the virus seems to bolster nationalist arguments for the zone to be scrapped altogether.  Like in most places these days, the coronavirus outbreak is topping the French news. Several dozen cases have been reported so far. The government is advising precautionary measures like not shaking hands and forgoing the traditional kiss on both cheeks. The post office has suspended link with China.  The bigger worry, for now, lies in neighboring Italy. For the moment, the borders between France and Italy remain open. However, a recent decision to allow 3,000 Italian fans to travel to the French city of Lyon for a football match sparked controversy.  That’s just one example testing Europe’s decades-old Schengen zone. The concept of open internal borders is a cornerstone of European Union goals for closer integration—although Schengen includes several non-EU members, such as Switzerland.  As yet, the EU has not called for closing Schengen borders. However, its top official for communicable diseases, Andrea Ammon, said Europe must prepare for more serious outbreaks, like Italy’s.  “Our assessment is that we will likely see similar situations in other countries in Europe, and that the picture may, in the coming weeks, vary from country to country,” Ammon said.Experts say closing borders won’t prevent the virus from crossing them but that hasn’t stopped nationalist parties from pushing this move. Here’sAmong them is Marine Le Pen, head of France’s main opposition National Rally party. But speaking on French radio this week, she wrongly claimed the EU has not said a word about the coronavirus outbreak. She said the bloc has only condemned those who want more border control — proving an open-border ideology that is almost a religion.  Nationalist politicians in Austria, Italy and Switzerland have made similar remarks. They have long lobbied for closed borders to stop migration. The coronavirus has reinforced these arguments.  At the same time, Schengen has also been weakened by member states. A few years ago some, such as Hungary, closed their borders to counter the migration crisis. France closed its borders after the 2015 terrorist attacks on its soil.While the Schengen system allows for temporary closures, experts say in practice some countries are turning “temporary” into a more permanent state of affairs. 

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UN-Mediated Political Talks on Libya End in Disarray

U.N.-mediated political talks aimed at resolving the crisis in Libya have ended in disarray, with nothing accomplished except an agreement to meet again next month.  The talks got off to a shambolic start. Before the first round of Libyan political negotiations even began, members of opposition warring groups suspended their participation. U.N. envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame acknowledged that this caught him off guard.”We were surprised the day the meeting was supposed to start that some people had to leave because they were asked to.  However, those who stayed decided that the occasion was too rare and precious and therefore that the political track should start with those who stayed in Geneva,” Salame said.Libya has been in a state of crisis ever since rebel military commander Khalifa Haftar attacked Tripoli last April.  The military assault on the capital and seat of the internationally recognized Government of National Accord has killed more than 1,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.Boys stand near a damaged house after shells fell on a residential area, in Abu Slim district, south of Tripoli, Libya, Feb. 28, 2020.The U.N. has been pursuing three parallel negotiations. The resolution of Libya’s crisis hangs on the continuation and outcome of those military, economic and political tracks.  Salame said the economic-financial track is going well.  But the military track is in trouble because the warring parties continue to violate a temporary cease-fire.  That, he said, is having a serious effect on the political negotiations.  During the past week, he said, many areas have been hit by shelling, including the Tripoli airport. 
“Many areas of the capital have been also shelled.  It is clear that neither one of the three tracks can move positively while the cannon is doing what it is doing right now,”  he said.Salame is calling on the two sides to respect the truce they had accepted last month during a summit in Berlin. He also is calling on countries of influence, including those that are intervening in Libyan affairs, to put pressure on those that violate the cease-fire and on those that violate the U.N. arms embargo on Libya.A United Nations report names Jordan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates as chief offenders. 

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Indonesia Repatriating Citizens Who Worked on Coronavirus-Stricken Cruise Ships

The Indonesian government announced that it plans to repatriate 68 of its citizens who are crew members aboard the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship docked in Yokohama, at the center of Japan’s coronavirus outbreak.The crew members will return home by air Sunday and be quarantined on Sebaru Kecil, an uninhabited island in Thousand Islands, near Jakarta, where 188 crew members from the World Dream have been since Friday. The Indonesian National Military will oversee travel from Japan.”It is a place we consider safe as the island is not inhabited and the facilities are good and ready to use,” Muhadjir Effendy, Indonesia’s Coordinating Human Development and Culture minister, said earlier in the week.The crews will be in separate buildings and quarantine zones on the island, Indonesian Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto said. The government evacuated the Indonesian World Dream crew members before those on the Diamond Princess because the World Dream was closer to the quarantine site not far from Bintan Island.Wayan Sudiartha, a 24-year-old Diamond Princess crew member, has been stuck aboard the ship since Feb. 5. Yan Artha, as he likes to be called, said that the 200 Indonesian crew members have been worried because nine Indonesian crew members have tested positive for COVID-19. They are being treated at a hospital in Japan.”We are definitely worried, because we were on the same part of the ship,” Yan Artha, who continues to work up to 10 hours a day, said.In this photo released by the Indonesian military, personnel in protective suits help unload belongings of Indonesian crew members from the World Dream cruise ship as they are transferred to a hospital ship near Durian Bay, Indonesia, Feb. 26, 2020.The Diamond Princess was carrying 3,700 passengers and crew from 56 countries and regions when it arrived in Yokohama in early February. More than 700 passengers and crew members of the ship have been infected. Six Diamond Princess passengers have died since people on board learned of the outbreak Feb. 3.  The ship entered quarantine Feb. 4.Cruise ships are prone to the spread of infectious diseases because shipboard life places the passengers in close contact. For the crew, living and working conditions are even closer.Dewa Susila, Bali branch chairperson of the Indonesian Seafarers Association, an internationally affiliated union, said there were 15 to 24 crew members from Bali working on the Diamond Princess, and many of their families in Bali did not know the health status of their relatives.Susila told VOA Indonesian that it was unclear what kind of legal protections may assist the crew members. Many of them opt for a working life at sea because it pays better than tourism and hospitality jobs on land.Indonesia has managed the evacuation process deliberately in part because the government has yet to report a confirmed coronavirus case.Terawan, a military doctor, said Indonesia based its evacuation decisions on medical, rather than emotional, considerations. Indonesia will implement the World Health Organization procedures for evacuation rather than put the nation at risk, Terawan said, adding, “We are careful.” 

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Europe Races to Ready Hospitals for Coronavirus Break Out

With public health experts warning a tipping point for coronavirus is getting closer, European authorities are racing to try to ready their health systems to cope with a flood of sick and highly contagious patients.European countries are still in containment mode but they’re also trying simultaneously to prepare their health services and hospitals for a possible pandemic and to delay any patient surge within their borders. They acknowledge that with some evidence emerging, as yet unconfirmed, that the virus can be spread by asymptomatic people, infection control — from containment to delaying a spread — is becoming harder.Ukraine, which has not had any confirmed cases of COVID-19, has stepped up what it calls “sanitary controls” on its borders, now that neighboring countries are reporting cases. Those entering the country are meant to have their temperatures checked and officials are urging Ukrainians to refrain from travel to European Union countries. Anyone who has, especially to countries affected by the virus, is being asked to isolate themselves.In the meantime, Ukrainian authorities are preparing to reorganize the country’s hospital network and have advised medical centers to consider postponing scheduled operations to leave beds free for a possible outbreak. Local authorities have been ordered to pick two hospitals in their area to be designated to handle suspected coronavirus patients. World Health Organization specialists have started to train Ukrainian medical personnel on how to handle patients who test positive.“We are ready to brace for the coronavirus. At the same time, we are doing everything to prevent it from getting into the country,” Deputy Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said Friday.Ukrainian National Guard servicemen patrol by the gate of a military medical facility where evacuees from coronavirus-hit China are quarantined, in the town of Novi Sanzhary, Poltava region, Ukraine, Feb. 21, 2020.EU public health officials say the continent is better prepared to cope with a pandemic than others, thanks to the development over many years of Europe-wide medical networks able to quickly disseminate the latest clinical research and to collate data. Herman Goossens, director of a network known as the Platform for European Preparedness Against Emerging Epidemics, told reporters last week that acting fast and taking proactive action is critical in managing viral outbreaks.In Britain, where 20 have tested positive for the virus out of nearly 8,000 people tested, the rapid spread in some parts of Europe, especially Italy, is dispelling hopes that containment alone can help the country escape the virus unscathed.On Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, will chair a meeting of the country’s COBRA emergency committee of ministers to discuss preparations. The British strategy so far, according to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, is “contain, delay, research and mitigate.”Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, said midweek the hope is that Britain can avoid an epidemic until later in the year, when more may be known about the virus and how to combat it. Also, the country’s winter will be over and the demands on the National Health Service reduced. Infection-control and containment measures appear to be working currently. Britons returning from affected countries are being asked to isolate themselves, and those who are sick are being treated in specialist units with anyone they had contact with prior to diagnosis traced and ordered to isolate themselves.Officials say, though, that it is “only a matter of time” before there’s a spread in Britain, and there are worries about whether the hard-pressed National Health Service, which is short of staff and capacity after years of reduced funding, will be able to cope in the face of a full-throttle emergency. The agency’s telephone advice service has been overwhelmed by a high volume of calls and there have been complaints that anxious callers are being given contradictory advice.A general view shows Burbage Primary School in Buxton, Derbyshire, England, Feb. 27, 2020. The school has been closed after a student’s parent tested positive for the coronavirus.Health officials have dusted off a 2009 battle plan drawn up to cope with a possible swine flu pandemic. Under that plan the National Health Service would prioritize access, postpone non-emergency operations and possibly treat only emergency patients. Most controversially of all, lifesaving care during a severe coronavirus outbreak could be denied to those deemed most likely not to survive. Ventilators and beds, if intensive care units are struggling to cope, would be rationed.
British officials say that single-payer health systems such as the National Health Service may have an advantages over countries with privately financed health systems as they have clearer command-and-control structures. In Britain, as elsewhere though, the big question is whether sheer numbers could be overwhelming for a service that many complain has been inadequate since funding cuts were imposed in the wake of the 2008 financial crash.Ministers are drafting emergency legislation ready for a serious upsurge and, under the plans, medical staff and other armed forces and British Red Cross personnel could be drafted to help the health service cope and to replace sick hospital staff.However, some British doctors say government ministers are being dishonest in suggesting the NHS is well prepared. They say the country’s critical-care capacity is already overstretched and would buckle in the face of a pandemic.A critical care consultant from a major London hospital told Britain’s Independent newspaper Saturday, “There isn’t any slack in the system. We are grossly under resourced. I hear them say the NHS is well prepared. We are not well prepared, it is media spin. As an NHS, we would crumble under the weight of those who need critical care.” The British Thoracic Society warned Saturday that respiratory wards are already “understaffed and overstretched” just coping with the winter season of flu and bronchitis cases.A government spokesman, though, said in a statement, “The UK is a world leader in preparing for and managing disease outbreaks, and our approach will always be led by medical experts. We have been clear from the outset that we expect coronavirus to have some impact on the UK and a global pandemic could have a pronounced effect on the NHS, which is why we are planning for every eventuality.”French lab scientists in protective suits work on developing a quick test for detecting the coronavirus, at Pasteur Institute in Paris, France, Feb. 6, 2020.In France, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has been convening emergency meetings in an effort to increase the French medical system’s readiness. An extra 70 hospitals are now being prepared to receive coronavirus patients, bringing to 108 the number of hospitals being readied for an outbreak.  Each mainland departement of France has a designated coronavirus hospital.France had 57 confirmed cases as of Friday, with all but a dozen having been diagnosed since the major outbreak in neighboring Italy a week before. The country is boosting its testing capacity for the virus. Health Minister Olivier Veran said this week, “I have called the head of the University Hospital Institute of Infectious Diseases in Marseille, it is able to perform 1,000 tests per day in the area of Marseille alone. In the hospitals of Paris we are at 400 tests per day. We are going to be able to amplify the screening to be able to answer all the requests at that scale across France.”  Like other European countries, France is scrambling to obtain high-quality protective masks and clothing for health workers. French ministers, like their counterparts in Germany, say they’re ready to follow Italy’s example and to lock down villages or towns that witness a cluster of cases. “We are preparing for an epidemic. We are now moving to stage 2. The virus is circulating in our country and we must stop its spread,” Veran said Friday.However, with cases now in Italy, France and Britain of people contracting the virus with no identifiable link to overseas travel, time may be running out, public health officials admit. 

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Ukraine Opens Case Involving Former Prosecutor General

Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation, responsible for investigating high-level crime in that country, Thursday opened a criminal case concerning alleged pressure by then-U.S. vice president Joe Biden to get rid of Viktor Shokin, then Ukraine’s prosecutor general.Biden, who served under former U.S. President Barack Obama, is running for the Democratic Party nomination to unseat U.S. President Donald Trump in November elections. Trump has claimed that Biden tried to have Shokin fired in 2015 in order to protect his son from prosecution.Shokins lawyer, Oleksandr Teleshetsky, told reporters Thursday the move to open the case was made under a court order, based on a criminal complaint filed by Shokin.He said that although the name “Biden” is present in the criminal complaint, the criminal case refers to an unnamed “U.S. citizen.” The lawyer said that based on public statements made by Biden, his client had good reason to believe that the former vice president ordered and instigated Shokins removal as prosecutor general.Teleshetsky referred to a Biden statement at a 2018 Council on Foreign Relations event, when he talked about threatening to rescind a $1 billion U.S. government loan to Ukraine if Shokin were not fired.Biden’s campaign, Ukrainian anti-corruption activists, and former Obama administration officials have long maintained that Bidens demand was a part of an international campaign to remove the Ukrainian law enforcement official because he wasnt actively pursuing corruption cases.’Means nothing’Speaking of the new investigation, Kostiantyn Likarchuk, a managing partner in the Kyiv office of the Kinstellar law firm, told VOA, “Legally, that means nothing. If anybody reports a criminal offense, then goes to a court, and a court makes a decision that the State Bureau of Investigations has to register the probe, it would register it. It doesn`t mean that there are grounds for an investigation.””Ukrainian authorities have neither the capacity nor the skills required for the investigation of this kind. But in any event, to assume that Biden interfered with Shokin’s activity is absurd,” said Likarchuk.Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and a witness in the Trump impeachment inquiry William Taylor told VOA that he hopes the probe against Biden will be seen as “a normal law enforcement operation” and would not jeopardize the bipartisan support of Ukraine in Washington.”What I have told my Ukrainian friends, over and over again, is that the most valuable strategic asset Ukraine has in the U.S. is this bipartisan support. It’s golden. Most issues in this city are in conflict; they are controversial; they don’t have bipartisan support. Ukraine has bipartisan support. And actions that are taken over there should not jeopardize that. Ukrainians don’t want to be involved in our politics, and we don’t want to be involved in Ukrainian politics. That should guide the Ukrainian government to be sure they’re not interfering in our politics,” Taylor said.Ostap Yarysh of VOA’s Ukrainian Service contributed to this report. 

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Chinese Concern About Iran’s Virus Crisis Becomes Top Weibo Topic

Concern about Iran’s worsening coronavirus outbreak has become so great in China, a key ally, that users of dominant Chinese microblog Sina Weibo have made it a top discussion item for days.VOA reviews of Weibo’s “Hot Search” feature Friday and Saturday found that at least one Iran coronavirus-related story appeared in the microblog’s top 10 list of trending topics on both days, alongside other popular topics related to Chinese entertainment and domestic news.  Iran coronavirus cases-death toll mapIran’s health ministry said confirmed coronavirus cases in the country rose to 388 Friday from 245 a day before, while the death toll rose by eight to 34. The latest figures maintained Iran’s status as the country with the second-highest number of fatalities from the virus, after China, where it first emerged in December.Weibo screen grab, Feb. 29, 2020Early Saturday, China time, news of Beijing sending medical experts to Iran, its longtime economic partner and major energy supplier, was ranked seventh in Weibo’s Hot Search trends.  Chinese Ambassador to Iran Chang Hua tweeted a photo Saturday morning, Iran time, showing the group of six Chinese experts, five in Red Cross uniforms, as they arrived at Tehran’s airport with a donated shipment of medical supplies.50000✌✌ اولین محموله چین وارد ایران شد و کمک‌های بیشتر ارسال خواهند شد. قوی باش ایران. Weibo screen grab Feb. 27, 2020A Weibo user responded to a Thursday post by Hong Kong’s Wen Wei Po newspaper about the Chinese medical deliveries by saying: “(Our) #Iran #brothers have to hold on. Last time, Iran helped China and emptied its house for us. This time, it is our turn to support you!”The man, surnamed Liang, is a verified Weibo user with 97,000 followers and serves as a general manager of Zhongying Building Materials Trading in Guangdong province. His praise of Iran for “emptying its house” was a reference to Weibo screen grab, Feb. 28, 2020A screen grab of Weibo’s top trending topics early Friday China time showed the top item was news of Iran’s Vice President for Women’s and Family Affairs Masoumeh Ebtekar contracting the coronavirus. The eighth-highest topic was Iran’s former ambassador to the Vatican, Hadi Khosrowshahi, dying from the COVID-19 disease caused by the virus.A Thursday Weibo post by China’s state-run Global Times newspaper about Ebtekar’s viral infection drew more than 6,000 reposts, 10,000 comments and 200,000 likes. Fewer than 60 of the comments were visible to the public, with the newspaper blocking the rest. Of those visible comments, most expressed shock that an Iranian official as senior as a vice president was infected with the virus, as well as hope that Iran could overcome the crisis soon.Some Chinese Weibo users criticized U.S. sanctions that have hurt the Iranian economy as part of a U.S. policy of imposing “maximum pressure” on Tehran to end perceived malign behaviors. They said those sanctions have made it harder for Iran to cope with the coronavirus.Other Weibo users were critical of Iran, echoing assessments by U.S. and U.N. officials that Iranian authorities have been underreporting the extent of coronavirus cases in the country.Some users also said weaknesses in the Iranian health care system and shortages of medical supplies appear to have contributed to Iran’s relatively high ratio of virus deaths to confirmed cases.U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has said it is ready to provide more aid to Iran through a Swiss humanitarian trade arrangement that is meant to ensure the aid goes to the people who need it. Washington has long accused Tehran of causing medical shortages by corruptly diverting aid to Iranian elites.  This article originated in VOA’s Persian Service, in collaboration with VOA’s Mandarin Service and Extremism Watch Desk.
 

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Chinese Concern About Iran’s Virus Crisis Becomes Top Weibo Topic

Concern about Iran’s worsening coronavirus outbreak has become so great in China, a key ally, that users of dominant Chinese microblog Sina Weibo have made it a top discussion item for days.VOA reviews of Weibo’s “Hot Search” feature Friday and Saturday found that at least one Iran coronavirus-related story appeared in the microblog’s top 10 list of trending topics on both days, alongside other popular topics related to Chinese entertainment and domestic news.  Iran coronavirus cases-death toll mapIran’s health ministry said confirmed coronavirus cases in the country rose to 388 Friday from 245 a day before, while the death toll rose by eight to 34. The latest figures maintained Iran’s status as the country with the second-highest number of fatalities from the virus, after China, where it first emerged in December.Weibo screen grab, Feb. 29, 2020Early Saturday, China time, news of Beijing sending medical experts to Iran, its longtime economic partner and major energy supplier, was ranked seventh in Weibo’s Hot Search trends.  Chinese Ambassador to Iran Chang Hua tweeted a photo Saturday morning, Iran time, showing the group of six Chinese experts, five in Red Cross uniforms, as they arrived at Tehran’s airport with a donated shipment of medical supplies.50000✌✌ اولین محموله چین وارد ایران شد و کمک‌های بیشتر ارسال خواهند شد. قوی باش ایران. Weibo screen grab Feb. 27, 2020A Weibo user responded to a Thursday post by Hong Kong’s Wen Wei Po newspaper about the Chinese medical deliveries by saying: “(Our) #Iran #brothers have to hold on. Last time, Iran helped China and emptied its house for us. This time, it is our turn to support you!”The man, surnamed Liang, is a verified Weibo user with 97,000 followers and serves as a general manager of Zhongying Building Materials Trading in Guangdong province. His praise of Iran for “emptying its house” was a reference to Weibo screen grab, Feb. 28, 2020A screen grab of Weibo’s top trending topics early Friday China time showed the top item was news of Iran’s Vice President for Women’s and Family Affairs Masoumeh Ebtekar contracting the coronavirus. The eighth-highest topic was Iran’s former ambassador to the Vatican, Hadi Khosrowshahi, dying from the COVID-19 disease caused by the virus.A Thursday Weibo post by China’s state-run Global Times newspaper about Ebtekar’s viral infection drew more than 6,000 reposts, 10,000 comments and 200,000 likes. Fewer than 60 of the comments were visible to the public, with the newspaper blocking the rest. Of those visible comments, most expressed shock that an Iranian official as senior as a vice president was infected with the virus, as well as hope that Iran could overcome the crisis soon.Some Chinese Weibo users criticized U.S. sanctions that have hurt the Iranian economy as part of a U.S. policy of imposing “maximum pressure” on Tehran to end perceived malign behaviors. They said those sanctions have made it harder for Iran to cope with the coronavirus.Other Weibo users were critical of Iran, echoing assessments by U.S. and U.N. officials that Iranian authorities have been underreporting the extent of coronavirus cases in the country.Some users also said weaknesses in the Iranian health care system and shortages of medical supplies appear to have contributed to Iran’s relatively high ratio of virus deaths to confirmed cases.U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has said it is ready to provide more aid to Iran through a Swiss humanitarian trade arrangement that is meant to ensure the aid goes to the people who need it. Washington has long accused Tehran of causing medical shortages by corruptly diverting aid to Iranian elites.  This article originated in VOA’s Persian Service, in collaboration with VOA’s Mandarin Service and Extremism Watch Desk.
 

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US Won’t Send Quarantined Patients to California Town Following Lawsuit

The U.S. government said it would not send quarantined patients who had tested positive for coronavirus to a Southern Californian town that had gone to court to block the move.The federal government said Friday that it had determined it does not need use of a site in Costa Mesa for quarantine purposes, after a federal judge temporarily barred the move.The U.S. government had planned to use the state-owned Fairview Developmental Center to house people evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship who tested positive for coronavirus but who did not need hospital care.Local lawsuitLocal officials in Costa Mesa filed a lawsuit against the move, arguing that federal and state officials did not coordinate with them before deciding on the facility. They described the Fairview Developmental Center as dilapidated and unable to handle patients with an infectious disease.The facility had previously housed people with disabilities but is no longer in use.A federal judge earlier this week blocked the plan to move patients to the facility until federal and state officials were able to answer questions about their plans to the residents of Costa Mesa.“When decisions are made in a hurry, mistakes are made,” District Judge Josephine Staton said.Nearby towns, including Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach, filed a petition Thursday to support Costa Mesa. They argued that the proposed quarantine facility is in a residential area and that there had been little planning by state and local officials on how to protect the surrounding community from the virus.Ultimate success unlikelyLegal experts said Costa Mesa would likely have not won in court, because cities usually cannot override the decisions of the state and federal government. A court hearing had been scheduled for next Monday.More than 300 U.S. passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan have been evacuated and quarantined at U.S. military bases in Northern California and Texas.
 

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Biden Faces Critical Test in South Carolina as Sanders Continues to Surge  

Voters in South Carolina cast ballots Saturday in the Democratic primary, providing a dramatic run-up to next week’s crucial Super Tuesday marathon of 14 state primaries.The South Carolina contest offers a handful of candidates another opportunity to slow the surge of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in their quest to derail President Donald Trump’s reelection bid in the November general election.Former Vice President Joe Biden, the one-time front-runner who has stumbled badly in the first three primary and caucus contests, needs a win in South Carolina to sustain his campaign. Biden has struggled to raise money and spark enthusiasm among rank-and-file Democrats.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders rallies with supporters at Winston-Salem State University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Feb. 27, 2020.Sanders, an independent senator and self-described democratic socialist, goes into South Carolina as the clear national front-runner after securing a close second-place finish in Iowa and victories in New Hampshire and Nevada.The South Carolina primary will provide the first substantial indication of how well candidates perform among African American voters, a critical Democratic constituency that makes up about 60% of the state’s Democratic electorate, and 27% of the state’s population.A number of states with considerable African American populations will hold primaries on Super Tuesday, when about one-third of all delegates for the Democratic National Convention in July are at stake.South Carolina voters will cast ballots for one of a number of candidates seeking the Democratic nomination. Also battling for the nomination are former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and Senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren.Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg is again, by choice, absent from the ballot in South Carolina after also skipping the first three nominating contests.Bloomberg, a billionaire businessman, faces his first test on Super Tuesday.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />CopySouth Carolina holds an open primary that allows registered voters to cast ballots in the primary of their choice. The state Republican Party canceled its primary, ceding the contest to Trump. The cancellation has prompted some Republicans, who greatly outnumber Democrats in the state, to say they will vote for Sanders in the Democratic primary, believing he would be easier for Trump to defeat in November.There will be 54 pledged delegates at stake in South Carolina’s Democratic primary who will be proportionately divided among the candidates who exceed a 15% threshold of the total votes cast. An impressive showing in South Carolina could help build momentum going into Super Tuesday.

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No Deal from US-Brokered Nile Dam Talks

The Trump administration has concluded two days of what was supposed to be the final round of talks on the Grand Ethiopian Dam without reaching a deal and without the presence of Ethiopia after that country said Wednesday that it is walking away from negotiations on the project.Addis Ababa and Cairo have been at odds in a water war on the issue of the filling and operation of the giant Ethiopian dam that Egypt worries could threaten its supply of water from the Nile.Instead of meeting with the three countries involved in the conflict, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, host of the negotiations, participated in bilateral meetings with ministers of foreign affairs and ministers of water resources of Egypt and Sudan.Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill, Feb. 12, 2020, in Washington.Treasury statementAccording to a Treasury statement late Friday, the United States “facilitated the preparation of an agreement on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) based on provisions proposed by the legal and technical teams of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan and with the technical input of the World Bank.”“The United States believes that the work completed over the last four months has resulted in an agreement that addresses all issues in a balanced and equitable manner, taking into account the interests of the three countries,” the statement said, adding that the final testing and filling of the dam “should not take place without an agreement.”The statement noted “the readiness of the government of Egypt to sign the agreement” and recognized that “Ethiopia continues its national consultations.”Ethiopia leavesOn Wednesday Ethiopia said it would not participate in the latest rounds of negotiations. The country’s ambassador to the United States, Fitsum Arega, said on Twitter that, “Ethiopia will not sign any agreement that gives up its rights on how to use its own Nile water.”በታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ህዳሴ ግድብ ዙሪያ ከባለድርሻ አካላት ጋር በመደረግ ላይ ያለው ውይይት ባለማጠናቀቁ የአሜሪካ ትሬዥሪ ዲፓርትመንት እ.ኤ.አ ፌብሩዋሪ 27-28/2020 በዋሽንግተን ዲ.ሲ. በቀጠረው መድረክ ላይ ኢትዮጵያ መገኘት እንደማትችል አስታወቀች::— Fitsum Arega (@fitsumaregaa) The dam is the centerpiece of Addis Ababa’s bid to increase domestic energy production for its growing population. Ethiopia and Egypt have been negotiating for years, but one sticking point remains the rate at which Ethiopia will draw water out of the Nile to fill the dam’s reservoir. Cairo fears Ethiopia’s plans to rapidly fill the reservoir could threaten Egypt’s source of fresh water.“It is a hugely important and sensitive issue,” said Mirette Mabrouk, director of the Middle East Institute’s Egypt Studies program. “It’s a matter of life and death for a lot of people, certainly for more than a million Egyptians.”In the last round of Washington talks last month, Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan agreed on a schedule for staged filling of the dam and mitigation mechanisms to adjust its filling and operation during dry periods and drought.The parties said at the time that they would sign a final agreement by the end of February. It is unclear whether there will be any follow-up talks after this week’s negotiations broke down.Trump’s interestTrump has been interested in the project since he agreed to intervene based on Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s request in September. He has since invited officials from the countries in the dispute to at least two Oval Office meetings, and called Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali to discuss the matter.Just had a meeting with top representatives from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan to help solve their long running dispute on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, one of the largest in the world, currently being built. The meeting went well and discussions will continue during the day! pic.twitter.com/MsWuEBgZxK— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2019An administration official told VOA that Trump prides himself in his deal-making abilities and wants to see this agreement achieved. No one from the administration, though, has elaborated on what the U.S. interest is in this deal.In November, the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington held a press conference during which officials gave a detailed account of their U.S.-brokered meeting and said Trump was planning to “cut the ribbon” after the completion of the dam.America’s significant leverage over Ethiopia could provide Trump with a chance to push for a treaty to prove his deal-making prowess, said Addisu Lashitew, the Rubinstein Fellow in the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution. “In the wake of his controversial peace plan for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, President Trump might be keen to strengthen his friendship with Egypt by resolving his thorny issue,” Lashitew said.  Egypt has been a key player in the Middle East peace talks. Last month the Trump administration released its plan to resolve the conflict between Palestine and Israel, without buy-in from the Palestinians.VOA’s Salem Solomon, Habtamu Seyoum contributed to this report.

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Malaysian Turmoil Takes Twist: Mahathir, Anwar Allies Again

Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad will stand for the premiership on behalf of the former ruling coalition, the interim prime minister said Saturday, less than a week after he quit and plunged the country into turmoil.“I am now confident that I have the numbers needed to garner majority support,” Mahathir said in a statement.That meant that Mahathir, who is the world’s oldest government leader at 94, would reunite with on-off ally and long-term rival Anwar Ibrahim, 72, resuming a pact that swept the coalition to a surprise election victory in 2018.Pact appears to be back“Pakatan Harapan states its full support towards Dr. Mahathir as candidate for prime minister,” said a statement from the coalition formed by the two men whose struggle has shaped Malaysian politics for two decades.Mahathir has thus secured the likely support he needs to return as prime minister full-time, less than a week after he resigned and was appointed as interim leader.The political futures of both Mahathir and Anwar had appeared in doubt Friday, with Anwar competing as a candidate in his own right and Mahathir finding little support for a unity government that would have strengthened his power.A new alliance had formed behind former interior minister Muhyiddin Yassin, 72, who had the backing of the old ruling party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO).Promise not mentionedIt was that party, tarnished by corruption, that Mahathir and Anwar united to drive from power in 2018 under then prime minister Najib Razak, who now faces graft charges.Tension had persisted between Mahathir and Anwar over the prime minister’s promise to one day hand power to the younger man. No date for that was ever set, however.Neither Mahathir nor Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) made any mention of that promise in Saturday’s statements.
 

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US ‘Concerned’ by Arrest of Hong Kong Publisher

The U.S. State Department has expressed concern after Chinese-ruled Hong Kong arrested publishing tycoon Jimmy Lai, an outspoken critic of Beijing, and two pro-democracy activists.The arrests come after a period of relative calm following months of anti-government protests over perceptions that China is tightening its grip on the city, something Beijing denies and blames the West for fomenting unrest.Lai and veteran democracy activists Lee Cheuk-yan and Yeung Sum, were arrested Friday in the Asian financial hub on charges of illegal assembly, drawing condemnation from international rights groups, media said.FILE – State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus appears on stage with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as he speaks at a news conference at the State Department in Washington, Nov. 18, 2019.“We are concerned by the arrest of prominent Hong Kong businessman and publisher Jimmy Lai and two other longtime advocates for civil liberties and democracy,” Morgan Ortagus, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, said Friday.“We expect Hong Kong authorities not to use law enforcement selectively for political purposes, and to handle cases fairly and transparently,” she added in a statement.The spokeswoman also called for the rule of law and Hong Kong people’s rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression to be preserved.More than 7,000 arrestsThe police said three local men, aged 63 to 72, were arrested for suspected participation in a nonapproved gathering but did not confirm their names.Authorities in the former British colony have arrested more than 7,000 people for involvement in Hong Kong’s protests, many on charges of rioting that can carry jail terms of up to 10 years. It is unclear how many are still in custody.The arrest of the three men was outrageous, said Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, adding that there was no doubt its government was acting at Beijing’s instructions.“This decision will send yet another signal to the world that the Chinese Communist Party is intent on throttling decency and freedom in Hong Kong,” Patten said.Pro-democracy iconLai, a self-made millionaire who has made financial contributions to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and been a target of criticism by mainland Chinese media, was arrested in 2014 for refusing to leave a key pro-democracy protest site.After the arrest he resigned as editor in chief of Apple Daily. He has also come under scrutiny from Hong Kong’s anti-graft agency, which raided his home in 2014.In an editorial Friday, China’s state-owned Global Times tabloid called Lai “a force of evil,” rather than the “hero” of democracy painted by the West. “… He is a traitor, a criminal and a force of evil who has sowed violence and chaos in arguably one of the freest and most prosperous cities in the world,” it added.

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Trump Nominates John Ratcliffe as Intelligence Chief

President Donald Trump on Friday chose Republican lawmaker John Ratcliffe to become US intelligence chief, seven months after questions about the congressman’s credentials torpedoed a previous plan to nominate him.If the Senate approves Ratcliffe as director of national intelligence, he would replace Richard Grenell, whose appointment two weeks ago as acting director of the agency overseeing the US intelligence community drew strong criticisms.”John is an outstanding man of great talent!” Trump tweeted.

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US, ASEAN Postpone March Summit Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

The United States said Friday that Washington was postponing a special summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as countries around the globe continued to fight the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). “As the international community works together to defeat the novel coronavirus, the United States, in consultation with ASEAN partners, has made the difficult decision to postpone the ASEAN leaders meeting previously scheduled for mid-March,” a senior administration official said. The U.S. and 10 nations from the Southeast Asian bloc have been eyeing a special summit to boost ties at a time when analysts say China continues to expand its influence in Southeast Asia while driving a wedge between Washington and some of its traditional allies in the region.“The United States values our relationships with the nations of this critical region and looks forward to future meetings,” the official said. The summit was scheduled for March 14 in Las Vegas. Bilateral meetings between U.S. President Donald Trump and ASEAN leaders were also being planned. The U.S.-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC) has been arranging a major technology summit to be held on the sidelines of the planned March special summit.“The American business community recognizes the importance of this summit for the leaders of ASEAN and for the U.S. government as it pertains to the Indo-Pacific strategy,” US-ABC Vice President Elizabeth Dugan said after the postponement, adding that the organization looked “forward to working closely with U.S. and ASEAN leadership to ensure the success of this important engagement at a later date.” VOA’s Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report from the White House. 

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KCNA: Kim Guides Military Drills, Warns ‘Serious Consequences’ if Virus Breaks Out

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw military drills on Friday, state media KCNA said on Saturday, a rare public outing amid efforts to prevent an outbreak of the coronavirus in the isolated country.North Korea has not confirmed any cases of the virus, but state media said a month-long quarantine period had been imposed for people showing symptoms and “high-intensity” measures were taken including reinforcing checks in border regions and at airports and sea ports.On Feb. 16, Kim made his first public appearance in 22 days to visit a mausoleum marking the anniversary of the birth of his father and late leader Kim Jong Il.The military drill was to “judge the mobility and the fire power strike ability” on the frontline and eastern units and ended to a “great satisfaction” of Kim, KCNA said.”Soldiers, who have firmly armed themselves with a-match-for-a-hundred idea of the Party and trained under the simulated conditions of actual battles, reduced a target islet to a sea of flames,” KCNA said.In a separate dispatch, KCNA said Kim has also convened a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party’s powerful politburo where a stricter enforcement of “top-class anti-epidemic steps” was discussed to prevent the spread of the virus.”In case the infectious disease spreading beyond control finds its way into our country, it will entail serious consequences,” Kim was quoted as telling the meeting. “No special cases must be allowed within the state anti-epidemic system.”He instructed the officials to “seal off all the channels and space through which the infectious disease may find its way, and strengthen check-up, test and quarantine,” KCNA added.

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