President Donald Trump has sent a personal letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, offering U.S. help amid the coronavirus pandemic, the first known contact between the two leaders in months.The letter shows the continued “special and firm” relationship between Kim and Trump, according to the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, which revealed the existence of the letter in a statement Sunday.In the letter, Trump offered Kim “anti-epidemic” help and said he “was impressed by the efforts made by the Chairman to defend his people” from the epidemic, the North Korean statement said.North Korea insists it does not have any coronavirus infections, though many suspect it is hiding an outbreak. The coronavirus could be especially deadly in North Korea, which lacks adequate medical supplies and infrastructure.’Consistent’ with past effortsA senior White House official acknowledged Trump’s letter, which he said was “consistent with his efforts to engage global leaders during the ongoing pandemic.”“The president looks forward to continued communications with Chairman Kim,” the U.S. official said. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently said Washington had offered Pyongyang coronavirus assistance, despite “deep differences” between the two countries.FILE – U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un sign documents that acknowledge progress in talks and pledge to keep momentum going, after their summit at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore, June 12, 2018.U.S.-North Korea nuclear talks had already been stalled since the middle of last year, but the negotiations have gone completely dormant as both countries deal with the coronavirus.In January, Trump sent Kim wishes for a happy birthday in a letter, briefly raising hopes of renewed dialogue. But North Korea has repeatedly stressed that overall relations remain poor, despite the Trump-Kim friendship.“We try to hope for the day when the relations between the two countries would be as good as the ones between the two top leaders, but it has to be left to time and be watched whether it can actually happen,” said Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, who wrote the North Korean statement Sunday.’Proper action’Kim, who has recently taken on a wider diplomatic role in support of her brother, welcomed Trump’s letter as a “good judgment and proper action.”“We view such a personal letter of President Trump as a good example showing the special and firm personal relations with Chairman Kim Jong Un,” she said, adding her brother also has mentioned his “special personal relations” with Trump.However, she said North Korea would not “waste time” but would make itself “more powerful,” just as it had “for the past two years.”“Even at this moment we are working hard to develop and defend ourselves on our own under the cruel environment which the U.S. is keen to ‘provide,’ ” Kim said, apparently referencing international sanctions.FILE – Missiles are seen in this undated picture released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency, March 9, 2020.North Korea on Saturday tested two short-range ballistic missiles, its third round of ballistic missile tests this month. KCNA on Sunday said Kim Jong Un had overseen the test, which involved a newly developed “tactical guided weapon.”Analysts said the missile tests might be designed to keep up pressure on the U.S. or might serve as a show of strength for a domestic audience. Another reason: North Korea is simply trying to produce more advanced weapons.
North Korea is banned from any ballistic missile activity under U.N. Security Council resolutions. But Trump has said he is not concerned about North Korea’s short-range tests.Three meetingsTrump and Kim have met three times, but talks broke down last year after the U.S. refused to relax sanctions and provide other concessions.During their talks, Trump said Kim promised he would not conduct any long-range missile or nuclear tests, though that alleged agreement was never formalized.At a New Year’s speech, Kim said he no longer felt bound by his self-imposed suspension of nuclear or intercontinental ballistic missile tests and warned the world would soon see a “new strategic weapon.”
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Month: March 2020
Pakistani Doctor in US Charged With Trying to Aid IS
A Pakistani doctor employed as a research coordinator at a medical clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, was arrested by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and charged with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State group.
The U.S. Justice Department said in a news release Thursday that Muhammad Masood, 28, was arrested at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport while attempting to meet an individual who he believed would assist him with travel to IS territory.
The department said Masood had made several statements to others regarding his terror intentions, “including pledging his allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham and its leader, and expressing his desire to travel to Syria to fight for ISIS.”
The Justice Department also said Masood expressed his desire to launch “lone wolf” terrorist attacks in the U.S.
The Pakistani government has not issued an official response regarding the arrest of and charges against Masood. Further information on Masood’s place of education and residence within Pakistan was unavailable.Undercover informants
However, U.S. officials said Masood entered the U.S. in February 2018 under an H-1B visa. He came under the FBI radar earlier this year, in January, after he sought assistance from undercover informants through a social media platform to travel and “fight on the front line” in the Middle East and South and Central Asia.
According to the official criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Minnesota, Masood sent a copy of his Pakistani passport to an FBI informant where it was cross-checked by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and verified that he was a licensed medical doctor in Pakistan. The DHS also confirmed Masood’s residence and employment at a known medical clinic in Rochester as a research coordinator.
Masood explained that he had been radicalized by lectures from Anwar al-Awlaki, a Yemini American cleric and recruiter for al-Qaida.
“As [a] doctor, I want to help mujahedeen on the ground. Sometimes I want to attack enemy when I am behind enemy lines itself … many people can’t even reach here to attack,” he reportedly wrote in a message exchange with an FBI informant.
On February 19, Masood met with the FBI informant and engaged in communication with individuals he believed to be IS commanders located overseas to vet him for IS. Two days later, he purchased a plane ticket from Chicago to Amman, Jordan, from where he planned to travel to Syria.
U.S. officials said Masood’s plans to travel this month changed after Jordan closed its borders because of the coronavirus pandemic.Sought flight to Los Angeles
He later attempted to fly from Minneapolis to Los Angeles to meet with an individual whom he believed would assist him in traveling via cargo ship to IS territory.
Prior to his arrest Thursday, agents confirmed Masood’s travel arrangements, leased housing termination and employment resignation.
The district attorney’s office in Minnesota declined to make further statements on the case when contacted by VOA.
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Rwanda Stops Domestic, Foreign Travel in Coronavirus Fight
Rwanda has become the first nation in Africa to be placed on lockdown for at least 14 days in an effort to fight the coronavirus outbreak.
A statement issued by the office of the prime minister said “observing the global trend of the COVID-19 pandemic, and considering the experiences of other countries, there is a clear need to take additional steps to ensure that COVID-19 does not spread further in Rwanda.”
Beginning Saturday, just before midnight, unnecessary movement and visits outside the home by the country’s 12 million citizens were not permitted, except for essential services such as health care, food shopping or banking, and for the personnel performing such services.
The statement added that all employees, public and private, would be working from home, except for those providing essential services.
Rwanda has also closed its borders, except for shipments of goods and cargo and returning Rwandan citizens and legal residents, who will be subject to mandatory 14-day quarantining at designated locations.
Additionally, travel between cities and districts of the country is not permitted, except for medical reasons or essential services. All bars are closed.
As of early Sunday, Rwanda had 17 reported positive cases of COVID-19.
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California Charity Helps Malawi Find Clean Water
The novel coronavirus is not the only health threat in the world. The World Health Organization says contaminated water causes half a million deaths each year from diarrhea. Many more die from illnesses linked to poor sanitation, inadequate hygiene or dirty water. A California charity is addressing the problem in one of Africa’s poorest countries, Malawi, as Mike O’Sullivan reports.
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Coronavirus Hits Somalia’s Khat Sellers
The new coronavirus has woven itself into the daily lives of Somalis’ pocketbooks, hitting small businesses, including sellers of the herbal stimulant khat.
Khat, the red-stemmed, green-leafed plant that is chewed for its amphetamine-like properties, is grown in Kenya and Ethiopia but is very popular in Somalia, Djibouti and Yemen.On Thursday, Somalia banned all international flights, including those carrying khat, for 15 days, as a part of measures the country has taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The normally bustling market in Mogadishu known as Beertakhat, which translates into khat farm, has been practically deserted because of the suspended flights.
Hundreds if not thousands of Somalis who directly or indirectly depended on the khat business could be affected by the decision.Despite its popularity, khat markets have always been fragile because there are no stockpiles available. Traditionally, it has to be sold fresh.A mother’s incomeOne khat seller in Mogadishu, Faadumo Abdurahman, told VOA Somali that her family’s livelihood had been jeopardized because of the flight stoppage, which she said had come without warning.“Vending khat was the only way I managed to feed my children. Therefore, this decision came at a time I was not prepared for,” she said.
“One side, the suspension of khat flights would hit us hard economically. On the other hand, I see the decision as temporary and lifesaving,” said liban Mohamed Isse, a spokesman for khat traders.Not only Somali traders and consumers but also growers of khat in Kenya, where it is called “miraa” and nicknamed “green gold,” are feeling the economic effects of the coronavirus.Normally, more than 15 cargo flights of khat arrive in Mogadishu and other major cities in the country every day from Kenya. Somali anti-khat activist Abukar Awale said the crop is worth $840 million a year.
“In research we have done only on the khat that is air transported into Somalia, at its peak, we have recorded 35 cargo flights, carrying about 95,000 bags of khat a day, which have a total retail value of $400,000,” Awale said.
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In US, Families Embrace New Routines to Adjust to Coronavirus Threat
As the coronavirus spreads rapidly, and cities and towns move toward possible lockdowns, families across the United States are bracing for the worst. VOA’s Saqib Ul Islam spent an evening with a family in Great Falls, Virginia.
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Californians Ordered to Stay Home to Curb Coronavirus Spread
California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an order Thursday night for all residents to stay at home in the most populous state in the U.S. until further notice.
In Los Angeles, a city infamous for its congested roads, traffic is now light. Playgrounds are empty, and restaurants are only open for takeout and delivery.
With the new order, dine-in restaurants, entertainment venues, health clubs and public events will have to close. Only essential services, such as gas stations, grocery stores, pharmacies, laundromats and banks will remain open.
“Eerie, it’s eerie out there,” M.J. Shoenberg, a Los Angeles resident and preschool teacher, said.
Stress on businesses
Grocery stores have become a stressful experience, with lines out the door because some stores are limiting the number of people who can shop inside at the same time.
Items such as toilet paper, hand sanitizer and even eggs are hard to find.Restaurants are open for take-out and deliveries but dining inside a food establishment is not allowed. (Elizabeth Lee/VOA)“If I were to get sick, it seems very clear to me that I would get sick from being in a grocery store, touching handles, pushing carts, opening doors, listening to conversations, people coming and asking me questions,” Sadie Verley, an Oakland resident, said. She noticed that many people were not observing the recommended social distancing while waiting in line to check out.
“There is a lot of tension in the grocery store. I noticed that people are kind of crowding the grocery store,” Verley said.
“I was glad that the farmers market was open,” said Shoenberger, who by chance saw a small outdoor farmers market by a park that consisted of three vendors. She bought some fresh vegetables without having to wait in line.
One of the vendors, a Mexican food stand operator, said since the pandemic, he has lost 80% of his business.
If California were a nation, it would be the fifth-largest economy in the world. The impact the governor’s order has on the economy will depend on how long the pandemic lasts and how many weeks the order will be in place.Lines outside grocery stores are not uncommon. Items such as toilet paper and sanitizers are in high demand and hard to find. (Elizabeth Lee/VOA)New normal
Families are adjusting to the new normal.
For the past week, Mia McNiece’s three children, 5, 7 and 10 years old, have been out of school and home schooling online.
McNiece has also been working from home. So when the governor ordered everyone to stay home, it did not immediately make a big difference to her family, but she said, “It is a little more scary.”
“So far it’s been good. It’s just kind of this weird new world that we’re all adjusting, but as the weeks go on, I think it’s definitely going to become more challenging,” she said. “My youngest is already saying she misses school and she misses her friends, and that’s heartbreaking to hear.”
If there is a bright side to this order, Californians said they see more adults and children going outside for walks, and McNiece said there is now more family time.
“It’s nice to be able to spend more time together, uninterrupted time, and go on walks. We see other neighbors out and about,” McNiece said.
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US, China Ramp Up Coronavirus Blame Game
The U.S. and China have been blaming each other for the spread of the coronavirus, further straining a relationship already stressed by a trade war. President Donald Trump continues to call it the Chinese virus, and suggested he was doing so in part to counter Beijing’s propaganda. The tension may spell trouble ahead, as the two countries struggle to control the pandemic. VOA White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this story.
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Norway Joins Nations to Request Rescheduling of Tokyo Olympics
The vice president of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizing committee, Toshiaki Endo, said Saturday the committee is not in the position to decide whether to postpone or cancel the event.“The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is the one making the final decision. We will firmly continue our efforts to host the event in July,” Endo told Kyodo news. Endo’s statement came after Norway’s Olympic committee requested that Tokyo 2020 Olympics be postponed until the coronavirus spread is contained.Norway’s call followed similar moves from Colombia and Slovenia on Friday. The U.S. governing body of competitive swimming has also called for the Tokyo Summer Olympics to be postponed for one year. Athletes and sport officials from around the world have urged the International Olympic Committee, the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee and the Japanese government to postpone the Games.The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are scheduled to run from July 24 to August 9, followed by the Paralympics from August 25 to September 6.Meanwhile, despite the concerns over the coronavirus spread, hundreds of spectators attended the Olympic torch event as the flame arrived from Greece on Friday at Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s Matsushima base in northern Japan. The traditional relay, scheduled to start in Fukushima on March 26, will pass many famous Japanese landmarks, including Mount Fuji, Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park and Kumamoto Castle, before entering the Olympic stadium July 24.
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Actor, Singer, ‘The Gambler’: Kenny Rogers Dies at 81
Actor-singer Kenny Rogers, the smooth, Grammy-winning balladeer who spanned jazz, folk, country and pop with such hits as “Lucille,” “Lady” and “Islands in the Stream” and embraced his persona as “The Gambler” on record and on TV died Friday night. He was 81.He died at home in Sandy Springs, Georgia, representative Keith Hagan told The Associated Press. He was under hospice care and died of natural causes, Hagan said.The Houston-born performer with the husky voice and silver beard sold tens of millions of records, won three Grammys and was the star of TV movies based on “The Gambler” and other songs, making him a superstar in the ’70s and ’80s. Rogers thrived for some 60 years before retired from touring in 2017 at age 79. Despite his crossover success, he always preferred to be thought of as a country singer. Rags to riches”You either do what everyone else is doing and you do it better, or you do what no one else is doing and you don’t invite comparison,” Rogers told The Associated Press in 2015. “And I chose that way because I could never be better than Johnny Cash or Willie or Waylon at what they did. So I found something that I could do that didn’t invite comparison to them. And I think people thought it was my desire to change country music. But that was never my issue.”A true rags-to-riches story, Rogers was raised in public housing in Houston Heights with seven siblings. As a 20-year-old, he had a gold single called “That Crazy Feeling,” under the name Kenneth Rogers, but when that early success stalled, he joined a jazz group, the Bobby Doyle Trio, as a standup bass player.But his breakthrough came when he was asked to join the New Christy Minstrels, a folk group, in 1966. The band reformed as First Edition and scored a pop hit with the psychedelic song, “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In).” Rogers and First Edition mixed country-rock and folk on songs like “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town,” a story of a Vietnam veteran begging his girlfriend to stay. After the group broke up in 1974, Rogers started his solo career and found a big hit with the sad country ballad “Lucille,” in 1977, which crossed over to the pop charts and earned Rogers his first Grammy. Suddenly the star, Rogers added hit after hit for more than a decade. ‘The Gambler'”The Gambler,” the Grammy-winning story song penned by Don Schlitz, came out in 1978 and became his signature song with a signature refrain: “You gotta know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em.” The song spawned a hit TV movie of the same name and several more sequels featuring Rogers as professional gambler Brady Hawkes, and led to a lengthy side career for Rogers as a TV actor and host of several TV specials. Other hits included “You Decorated My Life,” “Every Time Two Fools Collide” with Dottie West, “Don’t Fall In Love with a Dreamer” with Kim Carnes, and “Coward of the County.” One of his biggest successes was “Lady,” written by Lionel Richie, a chart topper for six weeks straight in 1980. Richie said in a 2017 interview with the AP that he often didn’t finish songs until he had already pitched them, which was the case for “Lady.””In the beginning, the song was called, ‘Baby,'” Richie said. “And because when I first sat with him, for the first 30 minutes, all he talked about was he just got married to a real lady. A country guy like him is married to a lady. So, he said, ‘By the way, what’s the name of the song?'” Richie replies: “Lady.”Duets with DollyOver the years, Rogers worked often with female duet partners, most memorably, Dolly Parton. The two were paired at the suggestion of the Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb, who wrote “Islands in the Stream.””Barry was producing an album on me and he gave me this song,” Rogers told the AP in 2017. “And I went and learned it and went into the studio and sang it for four days. And I finally looked at him and said, ‘Barry, I don’t even like this song anymore.’ And he said, ‘You know what we need? We need Dolly Parton.’ I thought, ‘Man, that guy is a visionary.'”Coincidentally, Parton was actually in the same recording studio in Los Angeles when the idea came up.”From the moment she marched into that room, that song never sounded the same,” Rogers said. “It took on a whole new spirit.”The two singers toured together, including in Australia and New Zealand in 1984 and 1987, and were featured in a HBO concert special. Over the years the two would continue to record together, including their last duet, “You Can’t Make Old Friends,” which was released in 2013. Parton reprised “Islands in the Stream” with Rogers during his all-star retirement concert held in Nashville in October 2017.Rogers invested his time and money in a lot of other endeavors over his career, including a passion for photography that led to several books, as well as an autobiography, “Making It With Music.” He had a chain of restaurants called “Kenny Rogers Roasters,” and was a partner behind a riverboat in Branson, Missouri. He was also involved in numerous charitable causes, among them the Red Cross and MusicCares, and was part of the all-star “We are the World” recording for famine relief.A brief comebackBy the ’90s, his ability to chart hits had waned, although he still remained a popular live entertainer with regular touring. Still he was an inventive businessman and never stopped trying to find his way back onto the charts. At the age of 61, Rogers had a brief comeback on the country charts in 2000 with a hit song “Buy Me A Rose,” thanks to his other favorite medium, television. Producers of the series “Touched By An Angel” wanted him to appear in an episode, and one of his managers suggested the episode be based on his latest single. That cross-promotional event earned him his first No. 1 country song in 13 years.Rogers’ family is planning a private service “out of concern for the national COVID-19 emergency,” a statement posted early Saturday read. A public memorial will be held at a later date.
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Singapore Reports First Coronavirus Fatalities
Singapore has reported its first coronavirus-related fatalities, a 75-year-old woman and a 64-year-old man. Singapore’s health minister, Gan Kim Yong, made the announcement at a news briefing Saturday.”While we all know that there will be fatalities in COVID-19 patients, we are deeply saddened by their passing. I know Singaporeans will worried and anxious. We must take courage, and not give into our fears,” Gan said.Both patients had prior health conditions.”The first patient has an underlying history of heart diseases, as well as hypertension. She developed serious complications and eventually succumbed to the disease after 26 days in the ICU. The second patient was admitted to ICU in critical condition after arriving from Indonesia. He had underlying history of heart disease, and also eventually succumbed to his disease after nine days in the ICU,” Gan said.Singapore has confirmed 385 cases of the infection, and the two deaths reported Saturday were the first in the country since the COVID-19 outbreak began in the city-state in late January.
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Imports of Medical Supplies Plummet as US Demand Soars
The critical shortage of medical supplies across the U.S., including testing swabs, protective masks, surgical gowns and hand sanitizer, can be tied to a sudden drop in imports, mostly from China, The Associated Press has found. Trade data shows the decline in shipments started in mid-February after the spiraling coronavirus outbreak in China led the country to shutter factories and disrupted ports. Some emergency rooms, hospitals and clinics in the U.S. have now run out of key medical supplies, while others are rationing personal protective equipment like gloves and masks. The United States counts on receiving the vast majority of its medical supplies from China, where the coronavirus has infected more than 80,000 people and killed more than 3,200. When Chinese medical supply factories began coming back on line last month, their first priority was their own hospitals. A woman walks into a pharmacy to purchase N95 face masks in advance of the potential coronavirus outbreak in New York City, Feb. 27, 2020.The government required makers of N95 masks to sell all or part of their production internally instead of shipping masks to the U.S. The most recent delivery of medical-grade N95 masks arrived from China about a month ago, on Feb. 19. And as few as 13 shipments of non-medical N95 masks have arrived in the past month — half as many as arrived the same month last year. N95 masks are used in industrial settings, as well as hospitals, and filter out 95% of all airborne particles, including ones too tiny to be blocked by regular masks. No masks for governors to buy Governors across the country are becoming panicked as states run out of equipment. President Donald Trump has urged them to buy masks on the open market, but few if any are available. “Without adequate protection, more of our hospital staff could become ill, which would mean there wouldn’t be people to care for patients,” said Nancy Foster, the American Hospital Association’s vice president of quality and patient safety policy. Some hospitals are down to just a day or two of personal protective equipment, she said. Will Swanson, a registered nurse from Columbia University, picks up personal protective equipment and other supplies at a New York State emergency operations incident command center during an outbreak in New Rochelle, N.Y., March 17, 2020.The AP found that in the past month, hand sanitizer and swab imports both dropped by 40%, N95 mask imports were down 55%, and surgical gowns, typically sourced from China, were at near normal levels because the sourcing was shifted to Honduras. Typically, medical supplies are delivered along both coasts. But almost all the supplies that did arrive in the past month came into Newark, New Jersey, across the country from the earliest and most severe coronavirus outbreaks. The AP identified the falling imports by looking at shipment data maintained by ImportGenius and Panjiva Inc., services that independently track global trade. Tariffs add to cost, reduce options In mid-February, the World Health Organization warned that global demand for safety gear for medical providers was 100 times higher than normal. Prices were 20 times higher, stockpiles were depleted and there was a four- to six-month backlog. Despite this, federal contracting data shows there was no big effort at that point to submit orders. Trade policies haven’t helped. Tariffs on medical supplies made them more expensive, and they were only lifted March 5, even though health care associations asked the administration last year to exempt items like masks, gloves and gowns. And now countries including South Korea, India and Taiwan are blocking exports of medical supplies to save them for their own citizens, leaving the U.S. with fewer options. “The lag time could be weeks. It could be upward of months,” said Khatereh Calleja, CEO of the Healthcare Supply Chain Association. Doctors, nurses and first responders in the U.S. are resorting to spraying their masks with bleach at the end of each day and hanging them up at home to dry to use for another day, according to the American College of Emergency Physicians. “There is a little bit of anxiety, as you can imagine, going to work and not knowing if you will have enough personal protective equipment,” said Dr. David Tan, president of the National Association of EMS Physicians. Workers bottle hand sanitizer produced by J. Rieger and Co., a Kansas City, Mo. distillery, March 20, 2020. People waited as long as two hours to buy the sanitizer, made from overproof gin, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.No swabs, no sanitizer The decline in swabs included multiple varieties, not just ones needed to test for COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has for weeks warned state and local health departments about shortages of swabs, which are needed for the testing that is critical to containing the pandemic. Even over-the-counter medical shipments are decreasing. Ten shipping containers filled with medical thermometers arrived at U.S. ports a year ago this month. But in the last 30 days, there were just five. Hand sanitizer, also commonly sourced from China, has disappeared from U.S. stores, and it may stay scarce. Last year by this time, 223 shipments had arrived. This year, since January, just 157 shipments have come. The shortages affect patients because they can’t get tested and their providers may be carrying the virus from one person to the next. But the far greater risk is to medical personnel: Already, there are reports of dozens of doctors, nurses and medical staff who have contracted the virus. Wearing a gown, mask and gloves, critical care nurse Molly Spaeny, left, with St. Vincent Healthcare speaks with a patient after administering a coronavirus test in a drive-thru testing center outside the hospital in Billings, Mont., March 20, 2020.Nurses across the country report that they are not receiving the proper personal protective equipment and their hospitals don’t have the isolation rooms they need to safely care for COVID-19 patients, according to National Nurses United, the largest union of registered nurses in the U.S. “It’s not safe at all. Nobody is safe,” said Consuelo Vargas, an emergency room nurse at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. On Friday morning, after a possible exposure at work, she went to a local hardware store and bought all the painter booties and jumpsuits they had to wear while caring for people. “It’s so frustrating because we feel like health care workers are being asked for a lot — and that’s fine, we can do our job. We’re just asking for the equipment we need,” she said. Well-stocked, then suddenly not The shortage doesn’t affect only health care. The humanitarian medical firm Direct Relief thought it was heading into 2020 well-stocked, with several million N95 masks. The organization had increased its orders in 2019 after massive wildfires in the West filled cities with smoke, squeezing its supplies in recent years. But then bushfires overwhelmed Australia with smoky skies and so Direct Relief began sending the masks there, vice president Tony Morain said. When the coronavirus hit China, the organization began shipping the masks to Wuhan — the outbreak’s epicenter — in an effort to contain the disease. Morain said they’ve ordered 2 million more masks and are awaiting the shipments. Those typically take at least five weeks to arrive: two weeks to make the masks, two weeks of shipping and a week to get through the port. Meanwhile, he said, Direct Relief has received more than 100 requests from hospitals and health centers down to their last boxes. Various N95 respiration masks at a laboratory of 3M, that has been contracted by the U.S. government to produce extra marks in response to the country’s novel coronavirus outbreak, in Maplewood, Minn., March 4, 2020.3M ramps up In an effort to fill the gap, Minnesota-based 3M is running its Aberdeen, South Dakota, plant around the clock, producing millions of N95 masks per month. The company is also ramping up production of surgical masks and commercial cleaning solutions, CEO Mike Roman said. Nonetheless, one federal contract with 3M for $4.8 million of N95 masks dated March 12 says the masks will be delivered April 30 — seven weeks later, according to public contract data. A number of Chinese companies told the AP this week that they will be resuming exports, which bring higher prices, but that they are overwhelmed and can’t meet demand. “Chinese mask manufacturers have received too many orders from abroad, but have no time to produce all of them and make a delivery,” said David Peng, manager of Ningbo Buy Best International Trading Co. Ltd. Trade data shows importers have managed to maintain some supplies by shifting to factories outside China. Shipments of surgical gowns, for example, have dropped less than 5% since December, since they are now coming from Honduras. The same is true for medical gloves, which are now primarily coming from South Korea. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announces that a state of emergency would go into effect during an update on coronavirus preparedness and planning at the Statehouse in Boston, March 10, 2020.Governors not getting what they need The federal government said a national stockpile was being made available at the state level, but governors said they weren’t getting what they need. “I think every governor in the United States has been banging on the door of the federal government with respect to the stockpile. We certainly have, and we’re going to continue to,” Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said at a news conference this week. Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of California-San Francisco, said he was alarmed by new CDC advice for hospitals that run out of masks. “For the CDC to say people can wear bandanas is actually quite frightening,” he said. “I never thought the CDC would say something like that. We’re in the United States of America in 2020, and we have a recommendation to use bandanas?”
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US Senator Asks for Ethics Investigation of Stock Sales Amid Uproar
U.S. Senator Richard Burr has sought an ethics review of his sale of $1.7 million in stocks last month ahead of the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic, as he and other lawmakers face condemnation over the sales. Burr, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, denied Friday that his decision to sell was based on information contained in private congressional briefings, saying he relied solely on public news reports. In a statement Friday, he asked the Senate Ethics Committee to “open a complete review of the matter with full transparency.” Burr, a Republican from North Carolina, is one of several lawmakers who sold large amounts of stocks recently after attending congressional briefings on the pandemic, prompting widespread criticism. FILE – Senator Kelly Loeffler, a Republican from Georgia, speaks during a re-election campaign rally in Marietta, Georgia, March 9, 2020.Senator Kelly Loeffler, a Republican from Georgia, also sold more than $1 million in stocks in recent weeks. Loeffler said on CNBC Friday that her stocks were sold “at the decision of our investment managers” and said she and her husband didn’t learn about the sale until later. Loeffler’s husband, Jeffrey Craig Sprecher, is the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. Two other senators – Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, and James Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma – also are reported to have had financial transactions in the stock market after congressional briefings on COVID-19. Feinstein sold $1.5 million to $6 million shares of stock in mid to late February, while Inhofe sold about $400,000 in equities in late January. Both senators denied that they attended closed Senate briefings on coronavirus that could have informed their stock decisions. It is illegal for members of Congress, congressional staff and federal officials to use inside information to their financial advantage. Common Cause, an advocacy group, said it is filing complaints with the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission against all four senators. President Donald Trump was asked at a White House news conference Friday whether he is “concerned about members of Congress using information they learned from updates to sell stocks and profit off” that information. “I don’t know too much about what it’s about,” Trump replied. “But I find them to all be very honorable people. That’s all I know. And they said they did nothing wrong.”
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Egypt Frees Detainee Amid Calls for Releases Due to Virus
Authorities released a prominent political activist Friday amid calls for Egypt to let thousands of others go free to prevent the new coronavirus from spreading among the prison population. According to human rights groups, there are tens of thousands jailed in Egypt for their political views. The wife of Shady el-Ghazaly Harb, a doctor who was at the forefront of Egypt’s 2011 pro-democracy protest movement, wrote on her Facebook page that her husband was out after spending nearly two years in detention over charges of insulting Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. Fatma Hisham Murad posted a picture of them hugging upon his release. Despite warnings by WHO and other health agencies to avoid populated gatherings, parliament members in Giza province arranged a group wedding of 50 couples on March 7, 2020. (H. Elrasam/VOA)It was not immediately clear if Harb’s release was a response to a campaign calling for political prisoners’ release amid the pandemic. On Thursday, state prosecutors ordered the release of Harb along with 14 other prominent critics of Egypt’s government, according to Nasser Amin, a member of the government-appointed National Council for Human Rights. The remaining detainees are expected to be released soon after completing all necessary paperwork, Amin told The Associated Press. “The government has heeded the demands of the human rights movement but it is still not enough,” said Amin, a human rights lawyer. “This step should be followed immediately and quickly by the release of all other people held in pre-trial detention.” According to rights groups, thousands are held in Egypt’s jails awaiting trials. Over 3,000 people were arrested in September alone in the most recent crackdown on dissent that followed a rare few protests demanding el-Sissi to step down. Also Friday, Egypt’s health ministry announced that the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases has reached 285, including eight deaths. The number of recovered patients discharged from the quarantine has reached 39, added the statement posted on an official government Facebook page. The mother of a prominent Egyptian activist was released from detention after her arrest the previous day for staging a protest demanding that prisoners be released amid the coronavirus pandemic, her daughter said. Laila Soueif, the mother of imprisoned 38-year-old activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, was released late Thursday after being arrested a day earlier along with her daughter, sister and another female activist. The women had rallied outside the headquarters of Egypt’s Cabinet in downtown Cairo raising banners reading: “Release prisoners.” The four women were charged with violating the country’s strict ban on protests with their small gathering and of spreading false news about Egypt’s over-crowded correctional facilities. The prosecutor ordered the release of the four detainees late Wednesday on bail. However, Soueif remained in custody and was taken to the State Security Prosecutors’ office for further questioning before she, too, was released, her youngest daughter, Sanaa Seif, wrote on her Facebook page. Seif did not participate in the protest. A government press officer did not return phone calls seeking comment. Abdel Fattah’s family have all been vocal rights activists in Egypt. Abdel Fattah, a 38-year-old software engineer, grew into a figurehead of the pro-democracy protest movement on social media during the 2011 uprising that removed longtime President Hosni Mubarak. Abdel Fattah served a five-year prison sentence for violating Egypt’s protest ban. In September, not long after his release, he was arrested again amid a widespread crackdown that followed minor protests demanding current President el-Sissi step down, although he did not participate in them. Human rights advocates around the globe are echoing demands to reduce incarceration, arguing that prisons can be breeding grounds for the spread of the virus, which leads to the disease COVID-19. Several Middle Eastern countries that were hit by the novel virus have already started releasing prisoners, including Iran and Bahrain.
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Former Allies Challenge Turkey’s Erdogan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is facing twin challenges from former key allies as discontent grows over a sluggish economy and deteriorating human rights. Earlier this month, Ali Babacan launched the Deva Party, which means remedy. The party’s message is of greater rights, democracy and gender equality. Ali Babacan once a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launches Deva Party, promising a new Turkey of greater freedoms and rights. (Courtesy of Deva Party)Babacan, once Turkey’s economic czar presiding over the country’s most prosperous years, was among Erdogan’s closest allies. Now Babacan is seeking to end Erdogan’s nearly two-decade-long iron grip on power. Gender equality is an important principle, with the party employing a 30% quota for women to hold positions in the party. “The main purpose of this party is democracy, freedom and equality. So, this is what I believe, the freedom of speech, gender equality,” said Sanem Oktar, the founder of Kagider, which is Turkey’s Women’s Entrepreneurs Association, and one of Deva’s founders. Oktar says she was drawn into politics and Deva because of the critical moment Turkey is facing. Sanem Oktar is one of the founders of the Deva Party, she believes the party message of rights, democracy and gender equality will resonate within Turkish society. (Dorian Jones/VOA)”Every 20 years the society needs to change,” Oktar added. “I feel that Turkey was a little boy who wears a T-shirt. But the T-shirt does not fit the boy right now; we need a bigger T-shirt right now, for more freedom, more equality. That is what society is looking for right now.” Since the 2016 botched military takeover, tens of thousands of people remain imprisoned while hundreds of thousands of others have lost their jobs in a post-coup crackdown, which continues to this day. According to international rights groups, Turkey remains among the world’s worst jailer of journalists. Erdogan defends the crackdown, maintaining that Turkish democracy still faces threats from followers of U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed for the coup attempt. Gulen denies the accusations. Former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, challenges his former ally President Erdogan, launching Gelecek Party (Photo courtesy of Gelecek Party)Disillusionment over Erdogan’s rule saw his former prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, launch the Future Party, or Gelecek Partisi, in December. Davutoglu is seeking to court the religious base of Erdogan’s ruling AKP. The Future Party commercials on social media rely heavily on the corrupt-free image of Davutoglu, a potent image given the persistent rumors of massive graft haunting Erdogan’s years in power. Erdogan’s increasing centralizing of power around himself and close family, analysts say, has weakened the once inclusive coalition of views that made the ruling AKP an unstoppable political force. Sociologist Mesut Yegen, says President Erdogan centralizing of power, offers an opportunity to new parities. Dorian Jones/VOA)”Those who are running AKP Party are not composed of, do not represent the diversity of the conservatives, even the religious people in Turkey,” said sociologist Mesut Yegen. “That means those who are about to build this new party will basically tell the Turkish people that, ‘OK, we need a kind of much more diverse and much more inclusive conservative-liberal party,’ ” added Yegen. One of the main factors widely cited as why Erdogan has remained in power for nearly two decades is that he has prevented the emergence of an alternative center-right political party. A decade ago, another close Erdogan ally, Abdullatif Sener, left AKP and formed the Turkey Party, citing disillusionment over alleged widespread government corruption. The party didn’t last long. Businesses of party donors received visits by tax officials, members lost their jobs, and the party collapsed. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
Retiree Kasim questions whether former close allies of Erdogan can offer a new alternative for Turkey. (Dorian Jones/VOA)The same study saw an even more significant surge in support over the same period for freedom of speech, from 43% to 65%, which was the most significant increase in all the countries surveyed by Pew. “The Pew findings indicate even middle-class AKP voters wish for a kinder, gentler Turkey, which Erdogan refuses to deliver,” said analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners. “Whether Erdogan becoming increasingly at odds with the constituency will shake Turkey’s fragile equilibrium is a question we shall see with Mr. Babacan,” added Yesilada. But given Babacan’s and Davutoglu’s critical roles in Erdogan’s government, convincing voters they can deliver a new vision is likely to be challenging. Istanbul’s Uskudar district once a stronghold of Erdogan support has declined, amid concerns over economy and declining rights, but voters appear skeptical whether parties led by Erdogan’s former allies offer a way forward. (Dorian Jones/VOA)Istanbul’s Uskudar district was once a stronghold of Erdogan, but recent local polls show a significant drop in support for the ruling AKP. However, there appears to be hesitation toward the new party leaders. “If you look at the founders of these two parties, they both come from the same party,” said Kasim, a retiree. “One was the former prime minister with his Syria politics, and because of him, we are still over our head with the Syria trouble,” he added. “The other was the minister in charge of the economy who had said, ‘We don’t need to produce anything as a country,’ and agreed with everything that went on.” “I don’t think they will have any chance,” said Omer, a student. “That’s what I think. Nobody should forget where the leaders of these new parties came from. They are all the same.” Overcoming skepticism and voter apathy are widely seen as key for these new challengers to Erdogan, although opinion polls do indicate strong support for the idea of new political parties. The next elections in Turkey are not due until 2023, but there are expectations of an early vote.
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North Korea Launches More Ballistic Missiles, Even During Pandemic
North Korea has test-fired what appear to be two short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea’s military said Saturday. The weapons were fired from North Pyongan province and splashed into the sea off North Korea’s east coast, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff. It is not clear what kind of missiles were tested or how far they traveled. But Japan’s defense ministry said the weapons were not estimated to have fallen in Japan’s territory or exclusive economic zone. North Korea has conducted three rounds of short-range rocket tests this month, even while fighting off a potentially disastrous coronavirus outbreak. Everything’s fine? Pyongyang, which has called coronavirus prevention a matter of “national survival,” has reported no infections. Even as cases swell across the globe, North Korea is in some ways projecting an image of normality. This month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has observed multiple “artillery fire competitions” between Korean People’s Army units. In state media photos, Kim has not worn a mask, though top officials around him sometimes do. In what appears to be another show of confidence in its ability to handle the pandemic, North Korea on Saturday announced it would go ahead with a major meeting of hundreds of political leaders. The Korean Central News Agency reported the plenary session of the Supreme People’s Assembly would be held April 10. North Korea attempted to seal its borders to keep out the coronavirus in late January, just after the outbreak emerged in neighboring China. That move foreshadowed the severe immigration restrictions later seen in countries around the world. But completely sealing North Korea’s borders would be difficult, since its economy relies on both formal and informal trade with China. Many experts say the coronavirus has almost certainly reached North Korea. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a coronavirus task force briefing at the White House, March 20, 2020, in Washington.Humanitarian aid A North Korean outbreak could quickly lead to a humanitarian disaster, since the country lacks adequate medical supplies and infrastructure. Global aid agencies have begun supplying medical aid to North Korea, though the process has been complicated by international sanctions imposed over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week said Washington has offered humanitarian help to North Korea amid the crisis. Pompeo said it was the “right thing to do,” despite “deep differences” between Washington and Pyongyang. Stalled talks Even before the outbreak, U.S.-North Korea nuclear talks had been stalled for months. North Korea has boycotted the talks, after the U.S. refused to meet its demand of sanctions relief and other concessions. As negotiations broke down in 2019, North Korea began a series of regular, short-range missile and artillery tests. Analysts say the missile tests may be designed to keep up pressure on the U.S. or may serve as a show of strength for a domestic audience. Another reason: North Korea is simply trying to produce more advanced weapons. North Korea is banned from any ballistic missile activity under U.N. Security Council resolutions. But U.S. President Donald Trump says he is not concerned about North Korea’s short-range tests. Trump has not responded to the latest launches, but earlier this month said he had “no reaction” to what he called “short-term missiles.”
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Reporter’s Notebook: Paris Under Lockdown
Like many Parisians who could, I fled the capital on Day One of the coronavirus lockdown. Green space, even a garden, sounded a whole lot better than being stuck in a small apartment for weeks and maybe more. As people packed train stations, desperate to join family in the countryside, I headed out by bike to the Paris suburb of Neuilly Plaisance. My boyfriend and cats awaited. So did a garden sprouting spring flowers. I crossed a deserted capital. Gone were the tourists, the aggressive motorbikes, the insouciant teens on skateboards, the families toting tots and baguettes — the cocktail of daily life here. Homeless people wandered empty sidewalks. A few joggers coasted down carless streets — although tougher government guidelines issued since are further limiting our movements to just a few blocks. A man rides his bicycle along an empty street in Paris, on March 20, 2020 as a strict lockdown comes into effect to stop the spread of the COVID-19 in the country.I biked through the Bois de Vincennes where, in normal times, strollers and prostitutes peacefully coexist. Both were absent. Then I pedaled along the Marne River, teeming with birds clearly enjoying the absence of humans. The government has issued strict coronavirus rules. No going out without an authorization that fits a few narrow criteria: to buy essentials like medication or food; to go to a doctor; to take a brief stroll or run. Violators risk a hefty, $140-plus fine. As a journalist, I am lucky. I can go out for reporting, which is considered a “vital” activity. Even so, most days are spent at home. Cruelly, the weather under lockdown has been spectacular. After weeks of rain, sunny day has followed sunny day. And this being France, with a healthy history of flouting authority, people quickly learned to stretch the new restrictions. Police have already handed out thousands of fines. Still, many French are following orders, sobered by President Emmanuel Macron’s warning of this invisible, deadly enemy. They wait in snaking lines in front of supermarkets and still-open boulangeries — the daily baguette considered as vital as water. They stay home, trying to juggle tending to out-of-school kids with working remotely. They remain hooked to the news, with the ever-growing coronavirus cases and deaths reported. We are lucky; we are together, still healthy, with no extra demands beyond a pair of hungry cats. We have a pile of books to read. My boyfriend, a sports doctor, has decided to use his shortened work days to learn electric guitar. Friends and family are setting up Skype and Zoom sessions to stay in touch. French President Emmanuel Macron attends a meeting at the emergency crisis center of the Interior Ministry in Paris, March 20, 2020.“Relearn what is essential,” Macron urged the nation as he announced the lockdown March 16, advising French to use their time in confinement to tighten bonds and explore new subjects. Maybe we will emerge a kinder, wiser nation — although this is also a nation of skeptics. Still, at 8 p.m. precisely, French are increasingly throwing open their windows to applaud the country’s overstretched health workers.Now there are “balcony concerts.” Last night, we, too, cracked open a window. And down the silent suburban street came the sound of clapping. Inhabitants applaud to pay tribute to medical staff as France faces an aggressive progression of the coronavirus in Paris, March 20, 2020.
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AFRICOM Tells VOA: US Kills 15 al-Shabab Terrorists in Latest Somalia Airstrikes
U.S. airstrikes in Somalia this week killed more than 15 al-Shabab terrorists who were battling African Union and Somali forces, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) spokesman Major Karl Wiest told VOA on Friday. The militants posed an “imminent threat” to international forces who, according to a U.S. defense official, have now secured the town of Janaale in the country’s Lower Shabelle region and are building a forward operating base there. “Not to spike the football, but that’s exactly the type of incremental progress we’re seeing” from partner forces, said the defense official. AFRICOM said in a press release that it had conducted five strikes Monday and Tuesday against al-Shabab near Janaale, in coordination with the Somali government. The U.S. military’s casualty assessment, which is normally included in the press release, has been slowed because of “dense vegetation in the area,” a defense official told VOA. U.S. forces were nearby advising Somali partners at the time of the strikes. None were wounded in counter-al-Shabab operations there, officials said. Al-Shabab ‘propaganda’ dismissedAl-Shabab’s Shadada News Agency claimed dozens of AMISOM and Somali forces were killed battling the terror group earlier this week in the Lower Shabelle, according to the SITE Intelligence Group. Those claims are “another example of al-Shabab trying to further their deceptive narrative and spread lies and propaganda in support of their violent cause,” AFRICOM spokeswoman Lieutenant Christina Gibson told VOA on Thursday. The pace of U.S. military strikes against al-Qaida affiliate al-Shabab in Somalia this year has nearly been on par with the number of strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Last week, when asked by VOA whether these increased strikes reflected an increased threat from al-Shabab, AFRICOM commander General Stephen Townsend said that “the threat has been higher in the last few months than it was eight months ago,” when he took over the command. The U.S. has carried out 31 strikes against al-Shabab to date in 2020. Data released to VOA by a U.S. defense official show the U.S. carried out 29 airstrikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria from January 1 to March 1, the latest date for which strike data were available. Defeat of caliphateStrikes in Iraq and Syria have significantly tapered off since the territorial defeat of the so-called Islamic State caliphate last March. AFRICOM conducted a record 63 strikes in Somalia last year. Most were against al-Shabab, which has an estimated 6,000 militants in Somalia, with a handful of strikes against Islamic State. There were 47 U.S. military strikes in Somalia in 2018.
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African Nations Try to Overcome Shortage of COVID-19 Test Kits
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has surpassed 800, an eightfold increase from just one week ago. But a shortage of test kits in many African countries means the number of infected is likely far higher.Dr. Ahmed Kalebi has been trying to acquire test kits for his laboratory in Nairobi. Kalebi is a lead consultant pathologist at Lancet Group of Laboratories, a network of private diagnostic labs in Africa. A week ago, he found out for himself just how difficult it is to get tested for the coronavirus in Kenya. After returning from Rwanda, he developed joint pain, fever and coughing. The next day, Rwanda confirmed its first case of COVID-19.“I decided not to go to the mosque. I decided not to go to work. I observed myself, and it was getting worse, so I called one of my colleagues at the office — one of my doctor friends — put on my mask and went to see them.” Afterward, Kalebi said, he decided it was best to get tested.Few tests availableAlthough the Kenya Medical Research Institute conducts tests at no cost to the patient, it hasn’t been easy to get tested for coronavirus. Kalebi said this was because there were only a couple hundred test kits left in Kenya.So he sent his sample to a laboratory in South Africa. Even there, Kalebi said, there was a backlog of 7,000 samples.“Not many countries have commercial or large-scale production of these kits, and certainly in Africa we don’t have that,” he said.A worker sprays disinfectant on a security barrier outside a hotel to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease along the streets in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, March 19, 2020.Health experts are emphasizing the importance of testing at this point in the pandemic to better gauge the scale of infections.Gyude Moore was a Liberian minister and senior adviser during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. In a telephone press briefing Thursday by the Center for Global Development, he said social distancing measures would be effective only if paired with testing. Moore said that in African countries, where parts of the urban population live in crowded slums, testing is key. “It’s important for us to be able to test them, first, to be able to get a good handle on the scale of the problem that we have, but second, so that we can be able to move to the second step, which is the isolation,” Moore said. “So I’m worried about that. I’m worried about the testing capabilities.”African countries have stepped up their testing capabilities with training from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and test kits from China. Kenyan Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said in a news conference Thursday that the amount of testing kits in the country was now adequate.”As far as the testing kits are concerned, we continue to buy as necessary,” Kagwe said. “The philanthropist Jack Ma has sent us through CDC some 20,000 testing kits. But even locally, we have continued to purchase. We have not run out of testing kits so far.”Random screenings setKenya’s Ministry of Health also plans to conduct random public screenings for coronavirus beginning Saturday. Anyone exhibiting symptoms will have samples taken for testing. Speaking via a messaging application, University of Nairobi virologist Dr. Moses Masika said this more aggressive approach could help.“This could in fact lead to the detection of more cases, assuming there is spread in the community,” he said. “But it could also lead to a confirmation that there is no community transmission ongoing.”Masika said a sharp increase in confirmed cases could cause fear, but not if it was messaged in the right way.
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NY State Moving to Total Telework for Non-Essential Businesses
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo is ordering non-essential businesses to move workers completely to telework by late Sunday, in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus in his state. “This is not voluntary,” the governor told reporters Friday. “We are going to monitor it; there will be civil fines. There can be mandatory closures for businesses that do not comply. I am not kidding about this.” New York has moved over the course of this week to scale back the density of workers outside their homes. It began with a 50% decrease, moved to 75% yesterday, and the announcement today of a total shift to off-site working. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo delivers remarks at a news conference regarding the first confirmed case of coronavirus in New York State in Manhattan borough of New York City, March 2, 2020.The restrictions do not affect critical businesses, including pharmacies, supermarkets, mass transit and utility workers. The state of 19.5 million is leading the nation in coronavirus cases. Cuomo said there are currently 7,100 confirmed cases – an increase of nearly 3,000 new cases over Thursday. Testing has been expanding rapidly throughout the state, pushing up the numbers. There have been 35 fatalities. “The numbers are going up at such a rate – it’s more than double the capacity of the hospital system, it is more than triple the capacity of the ICU [intensive care unit] system,” Cuomo said. “We can’t get more ventilators. I can’t increase that side of the equation.” Cuomo also announced that non-essential gatherings of any size and for any reason are no longer allowed. Prior to his announcement, groups of 50 were still allowed to meet, while socially distancing themselves from one another. The governor also urged manufacturers that could redirect their factories to make critically-needed medical equipment to do so, saying the state would help them absorb the cost of any new manufacturing equipment, as well as paying “a premium” for the goods. “I am asking businesses to be creative,” Cuomo said. “If you can make a uniform, why can’t you make a mask? We are researching that.” But ventilators are the state’s greatest need. “The ventilators are to this war what missiles were to World War II,” Cuomo said. “That is the key piece of equipment.” New York has taken a series of steps to try to reduce the spread of the potentially deadly respiratory virus. Restaurants and bars are now offering take-away and delivery services only, cinemas and museums have been shuttered and schools have suspended classes. Also Friday, Cuomo ordered all barber shops, nail and hair salons and tattoo parlors to close temporarily.
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Some Americans Refuse to Abandon Presidential Candidates No Longer Running
MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE/LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — Two thousand “Vote for Tulsi” door hangers will arrive soon at Eileen Tepper’s Bronx, New York apartment. But she’s not sure what to do with them. Her candidate, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, dropped out of the Democratic presidential race on March 19. Tepper made eleven road trips, driving 400 miles north from New York to New Hampshire during the campaign, in support of Gabbard. She stood for hours at a booth inside a New Hampshire sports arena, her hands resting on a stack of navy hoodies reading “Tulsi 2020.”
“I’ve never really done anything like this before in my life,” the energetic curly-haired blonde, told VOA in the midst of Gabbard’s campaign.Her candidate’s polling in the low single digits did not faze Tepper. During the campaign, Gabbard won just two delegates, both from American Samoa, of the nearly 4,000 available nationwide. ‘I dreamed a Tulsi dream’Tepper is a Broadway performer, who took a hiatus during America’s 2020 campaign season. Her YouTube contribution to the campaign #WhyTulsi was a Eileen Tepper (L) and other supporters greet a voter asking about issues supported by now former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard. Gabbard dropped out of the race March 19. (Carolyn Presutti/VOA)Effects of coronavirusOnce COVID-19 curtailed travel, Tepper moved to campaigning through social media. But with Gabbard’s run ending, she says she mourns the loss of her online campaign community, “especially at a time where online community is all so many of us have.”COVID-19 has disrupted America’s presidential primary process, and some former contenders are reaching out to their supporters – not just to channel their political activism but also to urge them to heed health warnings and help block the spread of the virus.“In any other kind of national disaster, we would rush to gather together,” former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Macaulay Kong holds up a campaign sign in support of then-Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, at a primary polling site. The “Yang Gang” continued to campaign for him even after he dropped out of the race. (Carolyn Presutti/VOA)Just one problem. Yang dropped out of the race Feb. 11 and became a CNN political commentator. He has endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden, who now has a commanding lead in the delegate race over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Yet some of Yang’s most fervent supporters continued to campaign for him and his idea of a $1,000 a month universal basic income handout. Kong had never voted before and chose Yang even after he suspended his candidacy. “I’m a registered Republican all my life…and I switched to Democrat to vote for Andrew Yang,” Kong says.
Protest vote“When a candidate has already dropped out, [residual support is] essentially a protest vote,” says political science professor Justin Buchler of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, adding that voters who cling to candidates no longer in the running usually are unhappy with the remaining candidates still in the race.
Even so, Buchler predicts passionate voters who spent weeks or months serving as grassroots organizers for their favored candidate will continue to work as activists for the Democratic party and will vote for the eventual nominee in November.
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Southeast Asian Laws Target Rise in Cyberbreaches
Not everyone who wanted to buy the bank cards stolen from Southeast Asian owners would pay the same price: The higher the amount of money left on the card, the higher the price. That’s according to Technisanct, a cybersecurity company based in India, which said it found the data for hundreds of thousands of cards for sale online, taken from citizens in the six largest nations in Southeast Asia.The card theft comes as statistics show cybercrime is on the rise across all the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, prompting local calls for more stringent regulations and protocols to fight the trend. “The results are alarming as it seems no one is aware that such a huge volume of payment card details, including the CVV (card verification value) and PIN, are available,” said Nandakishore Harikumar, chief executive officer of Technisanct.The company said its researchers found that more than 300,000 stolen card accounts were being sold on the internet last month. It said the accounts belonged to customers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. FILE – An interior view of the Interpol Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI) Cyber Fusion Centre, which brings together cybersecurity experts, is seen in Singapore, April 13, 2015.The leaked information is just the latest instance of a region-wide trend, and ASEAN is paying the price. IBM Security commissioned research, released in the 2019 Cost of a Data Breach Report, which assessed impacts for the global economy.Between 2018 and 2019, the ASEAN region saw a cost increase in all of the key indicators measured by the researchers, namely the average size of data breaches, the average total cost, and the average cost per piece of data that is breached. Exploiting COVID-19The leak also coincides with what security researchers say is an increase in global cyberfraud by criminals exploiting the COVID-19 virus emergency. Hackers this month went after the website of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, as well as targeting the increasing number of people now working from home with unsecured wireless internet. Southeast Asians’ increasing awareness of cyberthreats in recent years has led to increasing regulation aimed at increasing data protection. This year, Singapore criminalized “doxxing,” which refers to posting other people’s personal information online, usually to threaten or embarrass them. Indonesia has proposed its first-ever data privacy law, which includes punishment of up to seven years in jail and $5 million in fines for sharing private data without consent.Vietnam already had a cybersecurity law but has released new subsidiary regulations under that law with further guidelines. They include specifics about when websites must take down information considered to be violating the law, and which organizations must store data domestically.”Vietnam witnessed an increase in the number of cyberattacks and data leakages in 2019, and the country has been among the top targets for cyberattacks in recent years,” Pho Duc Giang, director at PwC Vietnam Cybersecurity Services Company, said. “To leverage on growing business opportunities in the digital economy’s booming period, Vietnam enterprises need to actively prepare for new challenges by adapting and complying with up-to-date” standards, he said. Security recommendationsSuch standards go beyond what is required by the law. Security researchers recommend companies and individuals think more carefully about their behavior on the internet.They can use software to manage their passwords —so they don’t have to memorize ones that are easy for hackers to crack—as well as change the passwords for devices like their wireless routers and smart plugs, rather than use the default settings set by the manufacturer.And as employees are working from home to combat the coronavirus, there are reports that hackers have been sending phishing emails posing as managers seeking employee log-in credentials, or as officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offering information. During this emergency and beyond, the recommendations for better online behavior could be useful both inside and outside Southeast Asia.
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Cameroon’s Military Raids Separatist Camps Ahead of Election Rerun
Cameroon’s military says it has killed 24 separatists who vowed to disrupt Sunday’s election rerun in the country’s English-speaking regions. The anglophone rebels say the casualties were on the military’s side, but witnesses say a number of those killed were civilians caught up in the fighting.Military commander Brigadier General Valere Nka says 350 troops destroyed 10 rebel camps this week, as well as seizing rebel vehicles and weapons and killing a number of their fighters, including a commander. “The so-called general was neutralized, and you had about 20 killed or neutralized, many who are wounded [are] on the run. We are satisfied. Let’s continue so that peace comes back to the west, northwest and southwest regions,” Nka said. The separatists on social media acknowledged the military destroyed their camps but said most of the casualties were among the military. Nka, however, said all of his troops are alive, though a few suffered minor injuries. Witnesses say the military also killed civilians during the raids. Metombi Nchari, a 44-year-old nurse, says troops shot dead at least six civilians, including his daughter. “Do you want to tell me that my daughter, my 17-year-old daughter who was going to the farm, was carrying a weapon, meanwhile she was carrying just a hoe to go and work?” he said. “Or do you want to tell me that my daughter who is 17 years is a terrorist fighter? That is not possible.” Official’s responseCameroon territorial administration minister Paul Atanga Nji rejected the possibility the military killed any civilians. He says President Paul Biya ordered the raids to stop a spike in rebel attacks on candidates and voters ahead of Sunday’s elections for the National Assembly. “The head of state gave instructions that the administrative authorities and the forces of law and order reinforce the mechanisms for the rerun,” Nji said. “We can tell you that the security situation in the northwest region is under control.” Local reactionBut locals, and even ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement party officials, say fighting is common. An official of the ruling CPDM party in the village of Mbiame, Ben Collins Nyuyberiwo, says rebels are always attacking in the area. “Either they cut off your fingers or they cut off your hands completely,” he said. “Those who are not able to pay ransom are being killed. Ten houses belonging to my colleagues have been burned. Even this morning we received calls that they are coming to burn our houses if we take part in the rerun this Sunday. They have fabricated explosives and it causes a lot of havoc.” Nyuyberiwo says they are pleading with the rebels to call off their attacks and with Cameroon’s military to offer protection. The rebels, who are seeking an independent English-speaking state within French-speaking-majority Cameroon, have vowed to stop the elections. Cameroon’s Constitutional Council ordered a re-do of the vote in parts of the western regions over widespread irregularities and fraud. The court said Biya’s CPDM party, which was declared the winner, was guilty of violations ranging from ballot stuffing to chasing opposition voters from polling stations. The party and government denied any wrongdoing. Voter turnout was barely 5 percent in some English-speaking areas. Authorities have vowed to secure the area for a better turnout this Sunday.
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Australia Closes Borders in Response to Coronavirus Crisis
Australia is becoming a fortress. It is banning foreign travelers beginning Friday as it tries to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. International tourists are scrambling to leave Australia asconcerns mount over flight cancellations and border closures. Australia now has more than 700 confirmed cases of COVID-19.Similar measures already are in place in New Zealand.Australia had previously barred entry to passengers flying from China, Iran, South Korea and Italy.Prime Minister Scott Morrison says a broader blanket ban is needed to protect the country from the spread of the COVID-19 virus.“The overwhelming proportion of cases in Australia have been imported and the measures we have put in place have obviously had an impact on that, and this is a further measure now that will ensure that that can be further enhanced,” Morrison said.Many Australians are stranded overseas. Their fear and anxieties about returning are shared by foreign tourists in Australia.Many are scrambling to leave Australia as concerns mount over flight cancellations and border closures because of the coronavirus outbreak.In Sydney, Emily Roberston, a traveler from England, wants to fly home as soon as she can. “Huge worry, like, other side of the world with my family and stuff and we have had quite a few cases near where we live (in England), so, yeah, it is quite difficult to like process it and keep calm. Obviously, like, flights are quite difficult to get at the moment and quite expensive so for, like, backpackers. It is not a particularly ideal situation,” Roberston said.
The Reserve Bank in Australia this week cut interest rates to a record low 0.25% in a dramatic bid to stave off recession in an ailing economy. Panicked investors have wiped billions of dollars of value off the Australian stock market.
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