South Korea’s ruling liberal party secured a resounding victory in parliamentary elections that had the highest turnout in nearly three decades, despite the coronavirus forcing social distancing at polling places.
The ruling Democratic Party and a satellite party it created to win proportional representative seats combined to win 180 seats in the 300-seat National Assembly, election officials said Thursday. Conservatives suffered their worst showing in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area in years.
The comfortable majority will likely embolden President Moon Jae-in’s government to pursue its key domestic and foreign objectives, such as reviving diplomacy with nuclear-armed rival North Korea, while it grapples with the pandemic that is shuttering businesses and threatening livelihoods. Moon thanked the country’s “great people” for “giving strength to a government that’s fighting desperately to overcome a national crisis.”
More than 17 million South Koreans voted on Wednesday. When combined with the 11.8 million early and mailed-in votes, turnout was 66.2%, the highest since 71.9% turnout in a 1992 general election, the National Election Commission said.WATCH: Bill Gallo’s report from Seoul Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />CopyThe voting drew sharp contrasts with upended election cycles in the United States and Europe and possibly set an example for how democratic elections can be handled during the pandemic. Health officials described the election as a crucial experiment as they discuss more sustainable forms of social distancing that allow for some communal and economic activity while containing the risk of infection. But they acknowledged it would take at least a week to assess the election’s impact on the epidemic.
While South Korea is just three years removed from mass protests that led to the ouster of Moon’s corrupt conservative predecessor, public displays of the country’s dynamic democracy were largely muted this year as candidates, wearing masks and gloves, avoided large rallies and handshakes.
Before the virus began absorbing public attention, Moon’s support was faltering over a decaying job market, corruption scandals surrounding key political allies and troubled ties with North Korea.
But surveys ahead of the polls indicated growing support for his government, reflecting public approval of an aggressive test-and-quarantine program credited with lowering fatality rates compared to China and some places in Europe and North America. As of Thursday, South Korea reported more than 10,600 people infected with 229 confirmed deaths.
South Korea’s electorate is deeply split along ideological and generational lines and regional loyalties. But surveys since infections surged in late February showed swing voters in their 20s and 50s expressing stronger willingness to vote, said Jeong Han-wool from Hankook Research, an opinion-research firm in Seoul.
Park Sung-min, president of Seoul-based MIN Consulting, a political consulting firm, said a sense of urgency over the coronavirus drove more people to the polls. He said the conservatives failed to establish themselves as a viable alternative, squabbling internally over agendas and candidate selections.
Hwang Kyo-ahn, who led the conservative United Future Party, stepped down as chairman after losing in a key Seoul district to Democratic Party candidate Lee Nak-yeon, a former prime minister who emerged as a front-runner for the 2022 presidential race. Hwang, also an ex-prime minister, apologized to supporters for “failing to prevent the country from going in the wrong direction at an important time.”
South Korean election and health officials prepared safeguards to reduce the risk of the virus being spread during the voting.
Masks were worn by voters and poll workers. A meter (3 feet) of social distancing space was marked from nearby streets all the way to the ballot booths. Voters who passed a fever screening were given sanitizing gel and disposable plastic gloves before entering booths. Anyone with a fever was whisked to a separate area to vote.
More than 11,150 people formally quarantined in their homes were escorted or monitored through tracking apps while they cast their ballots later than other voters. Workers dressed in full protective suits sanitized the booths after each vote. Those hospitalized or in isolation or quarantine could vote by mail or at temporary shelters during early voting last week.
The controls weren’t perfect. Park Jong-hyun, an official from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said at least six quarantined voters wandered around after leaving home to cast their ballots. Officials planned to bring charges against at least one of them who visited a billiard club and a computer gaming room.
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Month: April 2020
99-Year-Old British Veteran Raises $15 Million in Coronavirus Walk
The coronavirus pandemic has brought creativity to the many people around the world under lockdown in their respective nations, as well as an outpouring of support for the health care workers who are caring for those infected with COVID-19.In Britain on Thursday, a war veteran completed his mission of walking 100 lengths of his 25-meter back garden ahead of his 100th birthday to raise money for the country’s National Health Service.An online fundraising campaign initially aimed to get donations of about $624,000. By the time Tom Moore finished his final trip down the course, an event broadcast on live television, the initiative had brought in more than $15 million.He said he was inspired to take on the challenge by the care he received when he underwent treatment for a broken hip and for cancer.”You’ve all got to remember that we will get through it in the end, it will all be right, it might take time,” Moore said. “At the end of the day, we shall all be OK again.”When and how people will emerge from stay-at-home orders, as well as the restarting of businesses around the world, is a huge question facing governments.Getting economies moving againLeaders have expressed a desire to get their economies moving again, and along with health experts they have cautioned there is a need to not move too early and risk a spike in infections in places that have started to bring the virus under control.German Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to allow some schools to reopen beginning May 4, following similar plans in other European countries. She said some shops could reopen next week.In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country is not yet ready to loosen restrictions. He urged Canadians to be patient, saying they still “a number of weeks away.”U.S. President Donald Trump is among those who have been most vocal in pushing to restart the country’s economy, which is the largest in the world. He is expected to announce new guidelines Thursday, though health officials have said dropping restrictions in early May would be too soon and ultimately those decisions will be up to individual state governors.Trump is also set to take part Thursday in a video conference with other G-7 leaders to discuss a coordinated response to the pandemic.He drew fresh criticism Wednesday from former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and U.S. billionaire Bill Gates about his decision to suspend funding for the World Health Organization.Carter issued a statement saying the WHO “is the only international organization capable of leading the effort to control this virus.” Gates, a major funder of the WHO, said the decision was “as dangerous as it sounds.”The United States is the world’s largest contributor to the WHO, with its more than $400 million contribution in 2019 amounting to about 15 percent of the organization’s budget.Trump accused the Geneva-based organization of failing to obtain independent reports about the coronavirus originating from China’s central city of Wuhan and relying instead on China’s official reports. Beijing officials initially tried to downplay the dangers of the new strain of coronavirus. Trump said the funding will be suspended pending an investigation into the WHO’s handling of the outbreak.The United States is now the worst-hit country with nearly 640,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Thursday, out of more than 2 million infected people worldwide.
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Treatment of Africans in Southern China Sparks Diplomatic Backlash
Huddled under a highway bridge with a small bag of belongings, a 19-year-old student from Ivory Coast was desperately dialing his few contacts in China.The student said he arrived in the southern city of Guangzhou last week after completing his quarantine in another city during a coronavirus clampdown that several African countries and Africans in Guangzhou say has unfairly targeted them.”I really need help. I just don’t want to sleep on the streets again,” he said on Monday, asking not to be identified by name.He came to China to study the language, but his university shut because of the coronavirus. Hotels kept turning him away, but later on Monday he said he had found one.Several African ambassadors wrote to China’s foreign minister last week, calling for the “cessation of forceful testing, quarantine and other inhuman treatments meted out to Africans.”Ghana’s foreign minister on Saturday called in China’s ambassador to convey the government’s concern.China’s foreign ministry said on Monday that all foreigners are treated equally. But it also said virus controls on Africans would be lifted, apart from confirmed cases and those who have had close contact with them.”African friends will be treated fairly, justly and amicably in China,” the ministry said.Foreigners barredMany foreigners in China say they have faced suspicion as the country brought its own outbreak under control, only to see new cases brought from other countries. China has barred entry to most foreigners, and the vast majority of imported cases of the disease have come from Chinese nationals returning home.In Guangzhou, a hub for African traders, authorities said on Tuesday that 111 Africans had tested positive for the coronavirus, while a total of 4,553 Africans had undergone testing since April 4, state media reported.Several African residents said the black community was being unfairly targeted for stricter checks.”If they do this to all foreigners, then it’s not a problem, but it’s only black people,” Soumana Toudou, a garment trader from Niger, told Reuters by WhatsApp. He said he was undergoing his second 14-day quarantine because the authorities did not believe he had completed his first.Such decisions are made at the local level, and Reuters could not independently confirm this.The scrutiny from the authorities had triggered hostility from Chinese residents, one student said.”The selective testing has set the Guangzhou locals into panic, thinking black people are carrying the virus,” he said.He declined to be identified.Targeted for quarantineA Communist Party social worker, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters on Monday that black people were specifically being made to enter a period of quarantine.Last week, authorities announced that two neighborhoods popular with Africans would be locked down to curb the coronavirus after five Nigerians tested positive.On Monday, the U.S. consulate general in Guangzhou advised African Americans, or those who believe Chinese officials may suspect them of having contact with African nationals, to avoid the city.The provincial foreign affairs office provided no immediate comment to Reuters about complaints from Africans and embassies that Africans had been unfairly targeted.African engagementChina has stepped up its engagement with Africa in recent years, with state-owned companies building infrastructure and signing hundreds of deals across the continent.Guangzhou was home to 13,652 Africans in 2019, and about 351,000 Africans entered the city from abroad last year, official figures show.Videos on social media in recent days showed what appeared to be Africans sleeping on Guangzhou streets after being evicted from their apartments. Reuters could not independently verify the footage.Property agents near Guangzhou’s Sanyuanli trading hub said such evictions of foreigners, including Africans, had contributed to a glut of empty apartments.”For a white person, you can’t rent around here now because of the virus, but you’ll be welcome again in a few months,” said one agent, referring to when the pandemic passes. She declined to give her name.”But black people, no one will accept them.” A spokeswoman for McDonald’s in China apologized on Tuesday after staff at a Guangzhou branch forced black customers to leave.The fast-food chain had temporarily closed the outlet while staff completed “diversity and inclusion” training, spokeswoman Regina Hui said in a statement.The Chinese authorities now seem to be taking a more conciliatory stance. On Tuesday, media showed hazmat-clad personnel delivering food and flowers to Africans in home quarantine.The chairman of the African Union, Moussa Faki Mahamat, was receptive, saying on Twitter on Monday he had spoken to Foreign Minister Wang Yi.”He reassured me of measures underway in Guangzhou to improve the situation of Africans, in line with the strong and brotherly partnership between Africa and China.”
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US Medical Intelligence Tracked, Warned of New Virus
In late February, when President Donald Trump was urging Americans not to panic over the novel coronavirus, alarm bells were sounding at a little-known intelligence unit situated on a U.S. Army base near Washington.Intelligence, science and medical professionals at the National Center for Medical Intelligence were quietly doing what they have done for decades — monitoring and tracking global health threats that could endanger U.S. troops abroad and Americans at home. The coronavirus is only the latest health threat tracked at the medical intelligence unit at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland.On February 25, the medical intelligence unit raised its warning that the coronavirus would become a pandemic within 30 days from WATCHCON 2 _ a probable crisis _ to WATCHCON 1 _ an imminent one, according to a U.S. official. That was 15 days before the World Health Organization declared the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic.30,000 dead in U.S.At the time of the warning, few coronavirus infections had been reported in the United States. That same day, Trump, who was in New Delhi, India, tweeted: “he Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA.” Soon, however, COVID-19 spread around the world, sickening more than 2 million people and killing more than 30,000 people in the United States.The center’s work typically is shared with defense and health officials, including the secretary of health and human services. Its February 25 warning, first reported last month by Newsweek, was included in an intelligence briefing provided to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but it’s unknown whether Trump or other White House officials saw it.Various intelligence agencies had been including information about the coronavirus in briefing materials since early January, according to the official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to confirm details about the alert.FILE – In this March 19, 2020, photo scientist Andrea Luquette cultures coronavirus to prepare for testing at U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md.At least 100 epidemiologists, virologists, chemical engineers, toxicologists, biologists and military medical experts — all schooled in intelligence trade craft — work at the medical intelligence unit, located at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland. Requests to interview current workers were denied, but former employees described how they go through massive amounts of information, looking for clues about global health events.“You feel like you’re looking for needles in a stack of needles,” said Denis Kaufman, who worked in the medical intelligence unit from 1990-2005 and again later before retiring.”Open source” cluesMost of the information they study is public, called “open source” material. A local newspaper in Africa might publish a story about an increasing number of people getting sick, and that raises a flag because there’s no mention of any such illness on the other side of the country.A doctor in the Middle East might post concerns about a virus on social media. But unlike organizations such as the WHO, the medical intelligence team, part of the Defense Intelligence Agency, also has access to classified intelligence collected by the 17 U.S. spy agencies.The medical unit can dig into intercepts of communications collected by the National Security Agency. It can read information that CIA officers pick up in the field overseas. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency can share satellite imagery and terrain maps to help assess how a disease, like Ebola or avian flu, might spread through a population.“Every day, all of us would come into work and read and research our area for anything that’s different — anything that doesn’t make sense, whether it’s about disease, health care, earthquakes, national disaster — anything that would affect the health of a nation,” said Martha “Rainie” Dasche, a specialist on Africa who retired from the DIA in 2018. “We start wondering. We look at things with a jaundiced eye.”They don’t collect intelligence. They analyze it and produce medical intelligence assessments, forecasts and databases on infectious disease and health risks from natural disasters, toxic materials and bioterrorism, as well as certain countries’ capacity to handle them.Their reports are written for military commanders, defense health officials and researchers, as well as policymakers at the Defense Department, White House and federal agencies, especially the Department of Health and Human Services.Diseases a danger to troopsThe center was originally in the U.S. Army Surgeon General’s office during World War II, but military leaders throughout history have learned the hard way about the danger that disease poses to troops.“In the Spanish-American War, there were major epidemics of typhoid fever and dysentery,” according to a report written in 1951 at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. “World War I saw widespread outbreaks of influenza and malaria. In World War II, there was a high incidence of malaria and infectious hepatitis. … In all wars prior to World War II, losses from disease exceeded losses from battle injury.”Today, the team’s success comes in providing early warnings that prevent illness. That can be difficult if a country doesn’t report or share information out of fear that the news will affect its economy or tourism. Some undeveloped countries with poor health systems might not compile good data. Information from countries trying to play down the seriousness of an epidemic can’t be trusted.Kaufman said massive amounts of information come out of China, where the first reports of the new coronavirus surfaced in the city of Wuhan. But because the country is run by an authoritarian government, the medical intelligence researchers glean information from the local level, not Beijing.“Researchers, in some cases, have more success in learning information from the bottom up — not from the central communist government, but from localities,” he said.“That’s where some guy in Wuhan might be saying, ‘I can’t report this because I don’t want to look bad to my boss,’ or there’s a guy who says he can’t talk about avian flu because his cousin runs the bird market and doesn’t want to hurt his business.”
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Ugandan Speaker Claims New Spray Kills Coronavirus
Ugandan Speaker Rebecca Kadaga unveiled a spray she claims kills the coronavirus amid a storm of criticism over the mission of the product.Kadaga repeated to NBS Television Wednesday that the product was introduced as a spray, not a vaccine.Kadaga was accused of circumventing the works of the health ministry after announcing a month ago, the spray was being developed by a professor working on a coronavirus vaccine in the United States.The Nile Post online news service said the spray “Conavil’ is being made in Uganda.Meantime, the Ugandan Health Ministry announced Wednesday that 1,032 people tested negative for the coronavirus at the country’s virus research institute. The group tested included hundreds of truck drivers at Uganda’s border and 481 other people under quarantine.So far, Uganda has confirmed 55 coronavirus cases and no deaths.
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Tanzania Cancels its National Holiday Celebration as COVID Rate Rises
Tanzania has canceled this year’s April 26 national holiday celebration commemorating the 1964 merger of Tanganyika and Zanzibar to become Tanzania as the country’s coronavirus tally rises.Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said the Union Day observance was called off because of the pandemic.Majaliwa said President John Magufuli is redirecting the $217,000 set aside for the holiday celebrations to go toward fighting the coronavirus in the country.Meanwhile, the government’s 30-day order closing schools and universities and banning public gatherings is to expire Friday.Tanzania’s coronavirus tally rose to 53 on Wednesday, with four more people testing positive and three deaths reported.
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Jimmy Carter, Bill Gates React to US Cutting Funds to WHO
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and U.S. billionaire Bill Gates have joined the chorus of those expressing concern about U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend U.S. funding for the World Health Organization.Carter, a Democrat, issued a statement Wednesday saying the United Nations agency “is the only international organization capable of leading the effort to control this virus.” He said he was “distressed” by the decision to withhold critically needed U.S. funding during an international epidemic.Gates, who is a major funder of the WHO, said the decision was “as dangerous as it sounds.”A man wears a mask to protect himself against the spread of the new coronavirus as he donates food for poor families in Turano favela, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 15, 2020.The United Nations and many leaders have criticized Trump’s timing for cutting the funds when they are most needed.The U.S. is the world’s largest contributor to the WHO, with its more than $400 million contribution in 2019, amounting to about 15 percent of the organization’s budget.Trump accused the Geneva-based organization Tuesday of failing to obtain independent reports about the coronavirus originating from China’s central city of Wuhan and relying instead on China’s official reports. Beijing officials initially tried to downplay the dangers of the new strain of coronavirus. Trump said the funding will be suspended pending an investigation into the WHO’s handling of the outbreak.The United States is now the worst-hit country with more than 637,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday evening, out of more than 2 million infected people worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. Critics have blamed Trump for waiting too long to act, and some say he is now looking to shift the blame to China and the WHO.Returning to normalMeanwhile, all eyes are on coronavirus daily tolls as leaders try to determine how soon people’s lives can return to normal. Denmark is the first European country to reopen its schools, but students are seated at a distance from one another and have to follow a strict hygienic protocol. Several other European countries are planning to reopen schools and businesses in the coming weeks.The U.S. president is eager to restart the economy as soon as possible, but health officials and many state governors agree that the hoped-for date of May 1 would be too soon and could lead to a new wave of infections.California Governor Gavin Newsom said he would consider lifting lockdown orders only when the number of hospitalizations declines for at least two weeks. He also wants more widespread testing so officials have a better ability to track and isolate those who are infected, and he wants more protective gear for health care workers.The economy is a big worry for all, especially after the IMF said Tuesday that the world would be hit this year by the worst economic depression since 1930.Leaders of the G-20 industrialized nations have decided to put a partial moratorium on debt payments this year from the world’s developing countries. Many of them are in Africa, where the coronavirus has not spread as much as in Europe and the United States. But the number of new cases is creeping up, forcing leaders to impose protective measures.Workers in full protective gear disinfect the casket of a coronavirus victim at the Fontaine funeral home during a partial lockdown to prevent the spread of the disease in Charleroi, Belgium, April 15, 2020.Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Wednesday that small and medium-size companies in his country would receive financial aid of $162 per employee if they had preserved at least 90 percent of staff as of April 1.In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced she and other top officials were voluntarily cutting their salaries by 20 percent in a symbolic move acknowledging the country’s economic hardships in response to the outbreak.The British Home Office reported Wednesday that border police had found more than $1.25 million worth of cocaine in a shipment of protective masks in a truck at the Channel Tunnel.
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Iranian Vessels Come Dangerously Close to US Military Ships
Eleven vessels from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) came dangerously close to U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. military said on Wednesday, calling the moves “dangerous and provocative.”While such interactions had occurred occasionally a few years ago, they had stopped in recent years, and this incident came at a time of increased tensions between the two countries.According to the statement, the Iranian vessels approached six U.S. military ships while they were conducting integration operations with Army helicopters in international waters.At one point, the Iranian vessels came within 10 yards of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Maui.The U.S. ships issued several warnings through bridge-to-bridge radio, blasts from the ships’ horns and long-range acoustic noisemaker devices.The Iranian ships left after about an hour, the statement added.There was no mention of the incident in Iranian media.”The IRGCN’s dangerous and provocative actions increased the risk of miscalculation and collision, [and] were not in accordance with the internationally recognized Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea,” the U.S. military’s statement said.Tensions between Iran and the United States increased earlier this year after the United States killed Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, in a drone strike in Iraq.Iran retaliated on January 8 with a rocket attack on Iraq’s Ain al-Asad base where U.S. forces were stationed. No U.S. troops were killed or faced immediate bodily injury, but more than 100 were later diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries.Earlier this month President Donald Trump said that Iran or its proxies planned a sneak attack on U.S. targets in Iraq, and warned they would pay a “very heavy price.”Maritime security sources said on Wednesday that a Hong Kong-flagged tanker was briefly detained in Iran after armed Iranian guards in speedboats directed the vessel into its waters while it was sailing through the Gulf of Oman.The sources said the SC Taipei chemical tanker had been sailing in international waters on Tuesday when it was stopped.
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Coronavirus Could Narrow Biden’s Choices for Vice President
For Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for president, selecting a running mate during the coronavirus pandemic has taken on even greater importance. Biden had promised to name a female vice presidential nominee to run with him against President Donald Trump in the November presidential election – leading to speculation he might pick a woman senator. But as VOA’s Brian Padden reports, experience such as a governor may possess may now matter more than political appeal.
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China Prods Hong Kong to Enact National Security Law
China’s top official in Hong Kong told the semi-autonomous city on Wednesday to urgently enact a national security law, shelved since 2003, to combat what he called violence, foreign interference and pro-independence forces. The comments come amid concern by pro-democracy lawmakers of China’s interference in the territory’s internal affairs, including the legislative council and judiciary.”[Hong Kong] must make efforts to safeguard national security in the legal system and at implementation level … and ensure Hong Kong does not become a window of risk for national security,” Luo Huining, the head of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong, said in a video clip released to mark China’s National Security Education Day.The “violent, criminal acts by pro-independence and radical forces” in the anti-government protests which erupted last June have damaged the rule of law and challenged the foundation of the “one country, two systems” principle, said the former top Communist Party leader in China’s Shanxi province.FILE – Anti-government demonstrators march in protest against the invocation of the emergency laws in Hong Kong, China, Oct. 14, 2019.The demonstrators took to the streets to demand the full withdrawal of a controversial extradition bill and the resignation of the territory’s chief executive, Carrie Lam. The measure was belatedly withdrawn in October. The protesters also made “five demands” of city officials that included calls for an investigation of police abuse of protesters.More than 7,000 people were arrested in the months-long anti-government protest movement in which police fired live rounds, tear gas and rubber bullets and used severe beatings to deal with protesters. Some protesters retaliated with Molotov cocktails, setting fire to objects and wrecking shops seen as pro-China.The Chinese government maintains that foreign governments such as the United States and Britain supported and fueled the Hong Kong protests in a ploy to undermine the stability of China.FILE – Riot police detain a protester, left lying on the ground, during a demonstration in Hong Kong, Dec. 25, 2019.The protests posed one of the greatest challenges to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he took office in 2012. The Chinese government had supported the extradition proposal and accused protesters of colluding with Western governments.Separately, Luo Huining said that even during the ongoing fight against the coronavirus pandemic, people have staged protests by setting fires, blocking roads and making explosives to threaten the community’s safety. He said if these acts are not stopped, they would escalate and threaten national security.”If the anthill that erodes the rule of law is not busted, the dam of national security will be ruined,” he said.Reaction by LamSeparately, Lam said the months-long anti-government movement which she said involved illegal protests, “cold-blooded hate speech” and “extremist acts close to terrorism” had challenged the rule of law and endangered public safety.FILE – Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam addresses a news conference in Hong Kong, China, Nov. 11, 2019.”Extremist actions that are close to terrorism emerged, including homemade bombs, possession of firearms and attacks on police officers,” she said in a separate video clip to mark the National Security Education Day.”If these illegal acts are not effectively curbed, they may escalate to a level which threatens national security,” she said.Lam said the Hong Kong government is determined to safeguard its safety and stability and will be responsible to the city as well as the Chinese government.This week, pro-democracy lawmakers accused the Chinese government of “blatant intervention” after its Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said some lawmakers were guilty of misconduct in public office for delaying bills in the legislature by filibustering. Lam rejected claims of interference from Beijing in local affairs, which is barred by the city’s post-handover mini-constitution.Article 23Hong Kong Security Secretary John Lee said on Wednesday that the seizure of explosives by the police in recent months indicated a growing threat, with the pattern resembling terrorism in foreign countries. He said the government would try to create a “favorable environment” to pass the Article 23 national security law.FILE – A sign in the shape of a hand with the colors of the China national flag for fingernails and a “23” on its palm with reference to the controversial Article 23 law, is carried by protesters at a rally in Hong Kong, Oct. 1, 2018.Article 23 of Hong Kong’s constitution, the Basic Law, said the city shall enact legislation to prohibit acts of “treason, secession, sedition, subversion” against the Chinese government and “theft of state secrets.”The Hong Kong government tried to pass anti-subversion laws in 2003 but shelved the plan after a mass protest. The Chinese government has pressured it ever since, particularly amid political tensions, to reintroduce the law.Veteran political analyst Chris Yeung said China’s hard-line approach toward the territory has made Hong Kongers feel increasingly alienated. Yeung said China’s involvement in the city’s political affairs only makes people feel the “one country, two systems” policy promised in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration has in fact become “one country, one system or 1.5 systems.””Is China’s escalation of Hong Kong’s political controversies to the national security level a sign of further crackdown on the city’s existing freedoms?” Yeung questioned.Upcoming electionChina warned in a 2014 policy white paper that it has “comprehensive jurisdiction” over Hong Kong and the city’s “high degree of autonomy … comes solely from the authorization by the central leadership.”Kong Tsung-gan, a writer and activist, said he believed the officials’ remarks are meant to intimidate the pro-democracy movement before the local legislature’s election in September.”All I can see is they’re preparing the way to do something really drastic if the Legislative Council does go majority pro-democracy,” he said on Twitter. “Are they trying to frighten us? Who do they think they are talking to?” he asked.This week, the Reuters news agency quoted senior judges in Hong Kong as saying the independence of the city’s courts was at peril under pressure from Beijing. Judges and lawyers say Beijing is trying to limit the courts’ authority to rule on core constitutional matters, while state-controlled media on the mainland have warned Hong Kong judges not to “absolve” arrested protesters.The former British colony was granted special autonomy for 50 years after it returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. Many in Hong Kong are concerned China is slowly encroaching on those rights and tightening its grip on the territory.
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Nigeria’s Displaced Camps Among Most Vulnerable to Coronavirus
More than a decade of Boko Haram militant attacks have displaced over two million Nigerians in the north, with hundreds of thousands living in internally displaced people’s camps.Medical experts worry the camps lack the spacing and sanitary conditions to prevent an outbreak of coronavirus, which has so far infected more than 370 people in Nigeria and killed 10. In an orphanage for displaced children, Samuel Adamu, 16, holds a weekly Bible study class at the House of Recab. Adamu himself has been an internally displaced person (IDP) since 2014, when Boko Haram militants invaded his hometown of Gwoza. “I have lost many things, Adamu said. “They have killed my loved ones and many other people that I know.” Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />CopyDoctors say the crowded camps are at high risk from infections like coronavirus and the disease it causes – COVID-19. “Conditions such as cholera, tuberculosis, pneumonia, and if you put that in the context of the current pandemic in the world right now, that is the COVID-19, that will be the perfect breeding ground for this illness,” said Enwongo Ime Campbell, a family physician at Mtha Mtha Regional Hospital Aid workers said improving sanitation in the camps is a challenge. “For us to ensure that people practice the regular hand washing, we need to have hand washing stations and soap installed and distributed at every strategic location, including camps,” said Maxwell Samaila of Mercy Corps. “But with the current funding, we may not be able to achieve that because the funds have already been earmarked for some other interventions.” Nigeria’s restrictions on movement and business to curb the coronavirus has increased demand for food aid in the camps, while the coronavirus pandemic has raised fears among IDPs on how they will cope. “We need hand sanitizers; we need buckets for us to be able to wash our hands; and also face masks so that we would be able to prevent ourselves from this COVID-19,” Adamu said. Meanwhile, Nigerian authorities say they are working with the United Nations and other partners on emergency coronavirus prevention plans for IDPs and other vulnerable communities.
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Nigeria’s Displaced Camps Among Most Vulnerable to Coronavirus
More than a decade of Boko Haram militant attacks have displaced over two million Nigerians in the north, with hundreds of thousands living in internally displaced people’s camps. Medical experts worry the camps lack the spacing and sanitary conditions to prevent an outbreak of coronavirus, which has so far infected more than 370 people in Nigeria and killed 10. Ifiok Ettang reports from Jos, Nigeria.
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China Announces Phase 2 of Clinical Trials of COVID-19 Vaccine
China has begun the second phase of clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine with 500 volunteer participants recruited from Wuhan, the initial epicenter of the outbreak, according to state media.It is the first Phase 2 human test for a COVID-19 vaccine in the global race to find a cure for the pandemic, the official Xinhua News Agency said Tuesday.China completed its Phase 1 trial at the end of March with 108 volunteers. All of them reportedly have been released from medical observation and are in good health.While the first phase focused on the vaccine’s safety, the second phase inoculates many more people to determine how effective it is in protecting against infection. The trial reportedly started last Sunday by a research team led by Chen Wei, a virologist in China’s military.Video released by China’s state broadcaster CCTV Wednesday showed an 84-year-old man in Wuhan receiving a vaccination Monday, becoming the oldest volunteer in the Phase 2 trial.Unlike the Phase 1 trial, which had a maximum age of 60, Phase 2 has no age limit. Because elderly patients have the highest death rates, this trial is trying to determine what the antibody response is in the elderly compared with the young. Phase 2 trials also typically determine how many doses are necessary to create immunity and create a profile of common reactions.A race, but not rushedChen’s team and U.S.-based biotechnology company Moderna Therapeutics appeared to launch Phase 1 clinical trials on the same day last month. With Tuesday’s announcement, China appears to have become the first to enter the Phase 2 trial.In China, the global race for a vaccine is routinely framed as a competition on state media. A headline by Xinhua proudly reads China “is the first to enter Phase 2 clinical trials.” A video released on the CCTV website last week was titled “China vs. U.S. — Whose Vaccine With More Hope?”Wu Zunyou, chief expert in epidemiology at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said last month that it might take China just six months to determine if its vaccine is effective and safe.On the other hand, public health officials around the world have been warning that a COVID-19 vaccine cannot be rushed. They said a safe and effective vaccine may not be available to the public for at least 12 to 18 months.There have been tragic results in the past from flawed vaccine development, and some researchers have urged teams to use animal models, as well as extensive human clinical trials, to ensure the COVID-19 vaccine does not cause unintended side effects.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that Phase 2 trials will last several months to two years, and Phase 3 trials can last several years.If Phases 1 and 2 are considered successful, China will proceed to Phase 3, which involves administering the vaccine to thousands of people. As China reports fewer coronavirus infections, medical authorities have indicated the experimental vaccine may be tested abroad.
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Capitol Hill Spars Over Trump WHO Funding Cut
Congressional Democrats condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement he would halt funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) based on his belief the international organization failed to hold China accountable for the coronavirus crisis.
“This decision is dangerous, illegal and will be swiftly challenged,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement Wednesday.
Pelosi and other Democrats have warned that defunding the United Nations agency responsible for international public health will cripple the international coordination necessary to combat the global pandemic.
Senator Patrick Leahy, the Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, likened the move to “cutting off ammunition as the enemy closes in.” Leahy said the president’s criticism of WHO was an effort to distract from his own decision-making process as the virus spread across the world.
Trump charged that WHO was slow in recognizing the gravity of the pandemic and “pushed China’s misinformation” about the virus.FILE – Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy waves as he arrives at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 30, 2020.“Even after restricting flights from China which the President likes to brag about after praising China’s response, nearly half a million people entered the United States from China and the virus was also coming here from Europe and elsewhere,” Leahy said in a statement Tuesday. “Not wanting to take responsibility as the deaths continue to mount, he blames others.”
In a letter to the White House Tuesday night, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee detailed five instances, with the latest occurring on March 13th, in which President Trump praised China or Chinese President Xi for efforts to combat the coronavirus and share that information with the United States.
Trump said his administration would halt funding while conducting a 60 to 90 -day review of the WHO, redirecting those funds to other groups and countries.
“American taxpayers provide between 400 and 500 million dollars per year to the WHO, in contrast China contributes roughly $40 million a year and even less. As the organization’s leading sponsor, the United States has a duty to insist on full accountability,” Trump said Tuesday.FILE – President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, April 13, 2020.The United States is the leading funder of the WHO, with $893 million in pledges in the two-year cycle from 2018 to 2019. Part of that funding is made up of assessments that are similar to membership fees, based on the size and wealth of member countries. The rest of the funding is allocated to specific programs. It’s not immediately clear how much control the U.S. Congress has over that funding.
Congressional Republicans have stepped up criticism of the WHO in recent days, arguing the organization helped the Chinese Communist Party cover up information concerning the threat posed by the coronavirus.
In an April 14 letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a group of seven Republican senators requested documents from WHO leadership on all of the data the agency had requested and received from China relating to the coronavirus.
Florida Senator Rick Scott – one of the signers of the letter – has called for a congressional investigation into the role China and the WHO played in informing the world about the threat of the coronavirus. FILE – Republican Senator Rick Scott waits for an elevator on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 5, 2020.“When it comes to Coronavirus, the WHO failed. They need to be held accountable for their role in promoting misinformation and helping Communist China cover up a global pandemic,” Scott said in the March 31 statement. “We know Communist China is lying about how many cases and deaths they have, what they knew and when they knew it – and the WHO never bothered to investigate further. Their inaction cost lives. “
Trump’s Hill ally, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, praised the president’s decision in a tweet Wednesday, writing “The current WHO leadership has proven to be incompetent and shown overwhelming evidence of China bias. Cutting off funding to the WHO at this time is the right move.”
Democrats acknowledged the WHO has problems but have argued reforms should be sought instead of a stoppage of funding at a critical time.
“Structural changes are needed at the World Health Organization to prevent it from being exploited by China and other countries for misinformation, but the way to do that is through engagement based on American leadership,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said.
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Turkey Releases Refugees from Quarantine Amid Coronavirus Lockdown
After more than two weeks of forced quarantine, hundreds of refugees in Turkey have been released haphazardly in recent days, with many being left on the streets in locked down coastal areas.Thousands more are expected to be let go in the coming days and weeks.”A bus dropped us off near the coast,” said Samer Alahmad, 45, a Syrian refugee and father of four. “The driver told us to go find a boat to Greece.”Samer Alahmad sold his furniture to get to the border to try to enter Greece, pictured April 15, 2020. (Photo courtesy of Alahmad)But what Alahmad found was more refugees. They were sleeping outdoors in the middle of a 48-hour coronavirus lockdown.The families could neither find nor afford boats. Even if they could, Greece has been aggressively repelling refugees from its borders since late February, when Turkey announced plans to open the border to refugees trying to get to Europe.After that announcement, as many as 12,000 refugees flocked to Turkey’s land border with Greece hoping to cross. Greece never said it would open its side of the border, and never did. And when refugees tried to cross the small river separating the countries on boats or by swimming, Greek soldiers pushed them back with tear gas, batons and paddy wagons.”I left Syria because of the bombings,” Alahmad said. “Then I sold all my furniture in Turkey to get to the border.”Evacuation and quarantineAlahmad stayed in a squalid camp by the border for 27 days. In the camp, everyone lined up for hours each day, just to get a single serving of soup and bread.By the end of March, the coronavirus was beginning to spread in Turkey, and Turkish authorities sent buses to evacuate the camp.In late March, Turkish authorities evacuated thousands of people from a make-shift camp along the Greek border, as the coronavirus began to spread in Turkey. (Photo courtesy of refugees)Alahmad was brought to a quarantine center, where he was photographed and fingerprinted before surrendering his phone and other belongings. He was crowded into a room that was built for 20 people and holding 25. They were given cleaning materials to try to protect themselves from the virus.Fourteen days later, he was bused to a coastal town where he and hundreds of others walked for five hours before they were arrested for violating lockdown orders, Alahmad said. Later, he was permitted to travel to Istanbul. Now, Alahmad is trying to raise the money to shelter in a family home.”I’ve been wearing the same clothes for a month-and-a-half,” he said, adding, “I will try again to get to Europe.” Caught in the middleCrossing into Greece from Turkey nowadays is almost impossible, according to Mohammad, a volunteer in Izmir, a city long known for being a starting point for refugees trying to cross to Europe on smugglers’ boats.Since the beginning of the year, Greece has said clearly and often that it will not tolerate new refugees, sending military forces to back up the statements.Children sleep in the streets after being released from quarantine in Izmir, Turkey, April 13, 2020. (Photo courtesy of refugees)”I think everyone knows it. Greece won’t let them in,” said Mohammad. “But they will not stop trying.”Greece accuses Turkey of trying to flood Europe with refugees, contradicting a 2016 statement in which Ankara said it would block refugees from Europe in exchange for aid for the roughly 3.5 million Syrian refugees in the country.Turkey maintains that Europe has never fully delivered on the 2016 promises and accuses Greece of human rights abuses against tens of thousands of refugees detained in overcrowded and dangerous camps.As the international community squabbles, refugees continuously risk their lives for even the hope of getting to Europe, according to Mohammad.On Sunday night, he met about 120 refugees near the bus station in Izmir. They were sleeping on the streets after being released from quarantine.”All of them were hungry,” he said. “Women and children were lying on the sidewalks.” Desperation and deceptionBut it’s not always desperation alone that makes families continue to try to get into Europe, according to Abdo Alsad, 37, a refugee from Damascus. He and about 20 other people swam across the river to Greece last month, only to be beaten, robbed and deported the following day.Families crowd together in the streets despite coronavirus fears, in Izmir, Turkey, April 13, 2020. (Photo courtesy of refugees)In the quarantine camp, when officials told the refugees they could go to Europe or stay put, they all said, “Europe,” thinking it could be possible, Alsad said.”We thought maybe Turkey and the European Union made a deal,” he added. “And we didn’t have phones, so we had to believe them.”Now he’s hiding out in a relative’s home, afraid he will be deported if police see him. Like most people in Turkey, Alsad wears a mask if he steps out to buy something, but he said he is not concerned about the coronavirus.”I’m not worried because I’ve nothing to lose anymore,” he said.
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106-Year Old British Woman Survives COVID-19
A 106-year-old British woman who believed to be the United Kingdom’s oldest person to survive COVID-19 was released from the hospital Tuesday.Connie Titchen was discharged the Birmingham City Hospital as the staff applauded her.Titchen, who lived through two world wars, was admitted to the hospital in mid-March with suspected pneumonia and was diagnosed with COVID-19 soon afterward.As she departed the hospital, she told a nurse she felt lucky to survive, and that she was looking forward to seeing her grandchildren.
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Renowned Sculptor Who Created Vietnam Women’s Memorial Dies
Renowned sculptor and painter Glenna Goodacre, who created the Vietnam Women’s Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C, has died at age 80.Family members say Goodacre died of natural causes Monday night at her Santa Fe home. Born in Lubbock, Texas, Goodacre was known mainly for her sculptures. Her work included the Irish Memorial in Philadelphia and the Sacagawea Dollar Coin. She is survived by her husband, two children and five grandchildren. Funeral plans weren’t immediately available.
News of her death was posted to the Instagram page of Harry Connick Jr., who is married to her daughter, Jill Connick.
“I lost my mother, hero and best friend,” her daughter said in a statement. “My heart is completely broken. She was one of the most celebrated artists of all time, and yet she always said that her greatest pieces were her two children. I will miss her love, laughter and humor.”
She is survived by her husband, children and five grandchildren.
She was warm, caring, funny, positive and driven,” said her son, Tim.She loved to encourage and support our adventures in life, especially travel, career and of course, artistic ambition. I was fortunate to be her son.”
Funeral plans weren’t immediately available.
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Chinese Ship Returns Near Vietnam Border
A Chinese ship was back in the part of the South China Sea claimed by Vietnam, days after China sank a Vietnamese fishing boat — adding to fears that Beijing might use the coronavirus pandemic to distract from its maritime maneuvers.The ship, Haiyang Dizhi, returned to Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone before 6 p.m. Vietnam time Tuesday, according to Marine Traffic, a commercial service that tracks vessels and cargo.The biggest source of tension between the two nations has long been the disputed South China Sea, which the United States considers one of the most likely sites in the world for a future military skirmish.The Chinese ship’s arrival threatens to escalate tensions after the sinking of the Vietnamese vessel on April 2.The Haiyang Dizhi is the same ship that spent months last year seeming to explore Vietnam’s oil-rich part of the sea. Vietnamese ships tailed the vessel for months around the exclusive zone, until it left in October.Vietnam appeared to be rid of the Haiyang Dizhi problem, until this week. The Vietnamese government did not immediately comment on the arrival of the ship, which China sent less than two weeks after it sunk a Vietnamese boat with eight fishermen on board. The fishermen returned to safety.The United States has accused China of using the COVID-19 “distraction” for a maritime advantage.”We call on the PRC (People’s Republic of China) to remain focused on supporting international efforts to combat the global pandemic and to stop exploiting the distraction or vulnerability of other states to expand its unlawful claims in the South China Sea,” said Morgan Ortagus, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State.This week’s ship incursion marks another apparent attempt by China to gain an edge in the sea while the world is busy with the pandemic, some Vietnamese citizens say.”The Chinese are taking advantage of the opportunity that Vietnam is focusing on fighting the Wuhan Virus to carry out a plot to steal territory,” Le Cam said on Facebook, referencing the Chinese city where the coronavirus was first identified.FILE – A billboard in front of the Ho Chi Minh City skyline reminds residents of Vietnam’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. (Ha Nguyen/VOA)For its part, China says it is defending its territory. The Global Times, a newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, said Vietnam is using South China Sea tensions to “shift the spotlight from the recent domestic pressure and its ineptitude in handling” COVID-19.A Vietnamese government official called the claim laughable and worthy of a satirical comedy.China has been criticized for withholding information that could have helped the world curb the pandemic sooner.Human Rights Watch China Director Sophie Richardson blasted “the shocking death tolls, fear, and uncertainty that people across China have endured from the coronavirus.”Despite the toll that COVID-19 has taken on China’s population, economy and foreign reputation, the nation wants to show it is strong, analysts say. They agree that China’s recent sea maneuvers are meant to show that the virus will not weaken its claim to the sea, parts of which are also claimed by Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan, in addition to Vietnam.”China does not want to appear weak and invite claimant states or outside states to change the status quo in the South China Sea,” said Carlyle Thayer, professor at the University of New South Wales Canberra.According to Marine Traffic, the Haiyang Dizhi has departed from Vietnamese-claimed waters. As of Wednesday, the ship’s whereabouts are unknown.
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Rights Groups Welcome Court Ban on Brutal Zimbabwe COVID-19 Lockdown
Human rights groups in Zimbabwe have welcomed a court ruling ordering state security forces not to assault citizens while enforcing the country’s coronavirus lockdown. One of those injured says he wants compensation from the government as his arm and leg were broken, allegedly by security forces.The high court ruled Tuesday that security forces must respect human rights while enforcing the 21-day lockdown, which ends later this week. That followed an urgent petition from advocacy group Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, which said it had recorded several rights abuse cases by the army and police.Twenty-eight-year-old Tendai Mthombeni said security forces broke his arm and leg while forcing him to stay indoors last Friday. In a telephone interview, Mthombeni said he cannot go back to South Africa where he works because of the injuries, so now wants compensation.He said he doesn’t believe forces will follow the court ruling. They act like they are drunk or frustrated because of poor remuneration when dealing with civilians. He added that he has dependents and he does not know how they are surviving since he is now stuck in Zimbabwe.A riot police officer demands a clearance letter to be on the road from a water delivery truck driver, during lockdown due to coronavirus in Harare, Zimbabwe, April 8, 2020.Kumbirai Mafunda, the spokesman for Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, welcomed the high court’s ruling.“We are glad that the court has found the police to have violated citizens’ fundamental rights. And we hope that the police and soldiers will comply with the court order and conduct themselves in a manner which respects the constitution, which respects people’s fundamental rights, rather than violating [their rights],” he said.In a separate ruling Tuesday, the high court ordered the government to provide personal protective equipment to all medical staff to protect them from the coronavirus.Fortune Nyamande, the chairman of the Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights, said his association will now pressure the government to comply with the ruling.“We think that this judgment will go a long way in compelling the government to act in the right manner. Our next step definitely will be to ensure that this judgement is enforced, and if it is not enforced, we will then seek all the necessary instruments to ensure that the decision of the court is respected,” said Nyamande.Zimbabwe’s justice minister, Ziyambi Ziyambi, said he would only comment on the rulings after talking to President Emmerson Mnangagwa.Mnangagwa is expected to review Zimbabwe’s lockdown at the end of this week. The coronavirus has infected 18 people in Zimbabwe and caused three deaths.
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Search for COVID-19 Vaccine Heats Up in China, US
Three potential COVID-19 vaccines are making fast progress in early-stage testing in volunteers in China and the U.S., but it’s still a long road to prove if they’ll really work.
China’s CanSino Biologics has begun the second phase of testing its vaccine candidate, China’s Ministry of Science and Technology said Tuesday.
In the U.S., a shot made by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc. isn’t far behind. The first person to receive that experimental vaccine last month returned to a Seattle clinic Tuesday for a second dose.
NIH infectious disease chief Dr. Anthony Fauci told The Associated Press there are “no red flags” so far and he hoped the next, larger phase of testing could begin around June.
A third candidate, from Inovio Pharmaceuticals, began giving experimental shots for first-step safety testing last week in the U.S. and hopes to expand its studies to China.
Initial tests focus on safety, and researchers in both countries are trying out different doses of different types of shots.
But moving into the second phase is a critical step that allows vaccines to be tested in many more people to look for signs that they protect against infection.
Last week, CanSino filed a report showing it aimed to enroll 500 people in this next study, comparing two doses of the vaccine to dummy shots. As of Monday, 273 of the volunteers had been injected, state media said.
Looking ahead, Fauci said if the new coronavirus continues to circulate widely enough over the summer and fall, it might be possible to finish larger studies slightly sooner than the 12 to 18 months he’d originally predicted — maybe toward “mid to late winter of next season.”
“Please let me say this caveat: That is assuming that it’s effective. See, that’s the big ‘if,'” Fauci stressed. “It’s got to be effective and it’s got to be safe.”
During a news conference in China, authorities also cautioned that the studies must be done properly.
“Although we are in an emergency, we cannot lower the standards of safety and effectiveness in the reviews of vaccines,” said Wang Junzhi, a Chinese biopharmaceutical expert. “The public is paying huge attention.”
The World Health Organization this week counted more than five dozen other vaccine candidates in earlier stages of development being pursued around the world. Many research groups are teaming up to speed the work; in an announcement Tuesday, vaccine giants Sanofi and GSK became the latest to partner on a candidate.
On the WHO’s list are a wide variety of ways to make vaccines — so if one approach doesn’t pan out, hopefully another one will.
CanSino’s vaccine is based on a genetically engineered shot it created to guard against Ebola. The leading U.S. candidates use a different approach, made from copies of a piece of the coronavirus’ genetic code.
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South African Gynecologist on Front Lines in Battle Against Coronavirus
South Africa’s quick move to implement a strict national lockdown seems to have slowed down the coronavirus infection rate considerably in the country, according scientists. One of the South African doctors at the forefront of fighting the disease is Dr. Taheera Hassim, a gynecologist who is also volunteering for the disaster response NGO, Gift of the Givers. Dr. Hassim is now in charge of her hospital’s gynecological isolation facility while also volunteering at a drive-through coronavirus testing center. Reporter Marize de Klerk brings us her story, told in her own words.
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EU Blasts Trump’s WHO Funding Cut, Fears It Worsens Pandemic
Nations around the world reacted with alarm Wednesday after President Donald Trump announced a halt to the sizable funding the United States sends to the World Health Organization. Health experts warned the move could jeopardize global efforts to stop the coronavirus pandemic. At a briefing in Washington, Trump said he was instructing his administration to halt funding for WHO pending a review of its role “in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus.” The United States is WHO’s largest single donor, contributing between $400 million and $500 million annually to the Geneva-based agency in recent years.Trump has repeatedly labelled COVID-19 the “Chinese virus” and criticized the U.N. health agency for being too lenient on China, where the novel virus first emerged late last year.Outside experts have questioned China’s reported infections and deaths from the virus, calling them way too low and unreliable. And an investigation by The Associated Press has found that s ix days of delays between when Chinese officials k new about the virus and when they warned the public allowed the pandemic to bloom into an enormous public health disaster.The European Union on Wednesday said Trump has “no reason” to freeze WHO funding at this critical stage and called for measures to promote unity instead of division. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the 27-nation bloc “deeply” regrets the suspension of funds and added that the U.N. health agency is now “needed more than ever” to combat the pandemic.Borrell said “only by joining forces can we overcome this crisis that knows no borders.”Even though they have been traditional allies for decades, the EU has increasingly been critical of the Trump administration over the past years.Worldwide, the pandemic has infected nearly 2 million people and killed over 127,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The virus is spread by microscopic droplets expelled into the air or left on surfaces when people sneeze or cough.Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he sympathized with some of Trump’s criticisms of WHO and China but that Australia would continue to fund the U.N. health agency. “We work closely with them so that we’re not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater here,” Morrison told Perth Radio 6PR. “But they’re also not immune from criticism.”Germany’s foreign minister, Heiko Maas, pushed back at Trump’s announcement. “Placing blame doesn’t help,” he wrote on Twitter. “The virus knows no borders. We must work closely against COVID-19. Strengthening the U.N., in particular the underfunded WHO, is a better investment, for example, to develop and distribute tests and vaccines.”Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, called Trump’s decision “extremely problematic,” noting that the chronically-underfunded WHO is leading efforts to help developing countries fight the spread of COVID-19. “This is the agency that’s looking out for other countries and leading efforts to stop the pandemic,” Sridhar said. “This is exactly the time when they need more funding, not less.” Sridhar said Trump’s move was a short-sighted political decision that would likely have lasting consequences. “Trump is angry, but his anger is being directed in a way that is going to ultimately hurt U.S. interests,” she said. In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian says the country is “seriously concerned” about the U.S. government’s decision to suspend funding. “As the most authoritative and professional international institution in the field of global public health security, the WHO plays an irreplaceable role in responding to the global public health crisis,” he told reporters Wednesday.The WHO did not respond to repeated requests from The Associated Press for comment, but its Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and other top WHO officials were expected to attend a news conference on the pandemic later Wednesday. Many analysts have praised the initial response to the pandemic by WHO, which is being challenged as national interests collide with the international cooperation that U.N. agencies must rely on. But recently, many governments have split with its advice on issues of public health policy, notably on travel restrictions and whether the public should wear masks.
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Trump Signature to Appear on US Economic Stimulus Checks
The U.S. Treasury Department has ordered that President Donald Trump’s signature appear on checks being sent to tens of millions of Americans as part of the government’s effort to boost the country’s economy in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.Normally, when the U.S. government sends out routine monthly benefit checks or occasional stimulus checks in past years, they are signed by a civil servant from the agency issuing them.The U.S. this week sent 80 million direct deposits to bank accounts of Americans for whom it had account numbers on file.Trump’s name does not appear on the direct deposits, part of the government’s $2 trillion rescue plan for the battered U.S. economy, sending up to $1,200 payments to about 90% of adult Americans.But the government in the coming days is starting to send paper checks to 70 million more Americans for whom it has only a home address, but not bank account information.These checks will show the U.S. leader’s signature — “President Donald J. Trump” — on the left side of the payment.It will be the first time a U.S. president’s signature will appear on a disbursement from the country’s tax-collecting agency, the Internal Revenue Service. White House officials told the Washington Post that Trump had suggested to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who oversees the tax agency, to allow him to formally sign the stimulus payments.In early April, at a news briefing, Trump denied wanting to have his name on the mailed payments.“Do I want to sign them? No,” he said. But he described the coronavirus rescue effort to send more than $292 million to American households as a “Trump administration initiative.”The tax agency has the capability of mailing out about five million checks a week, so the process could take months to complete.Trump, facing a re-election challenge in November against former Vice President Joe Biden, is pushing to reopen the country’s economy, at least parts of it by May 1, even as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases is increasing in the U.S. and totals more than 600,000, while the death toll has topped 26,000.Until the coronavirus ravaged the U.S., the strength of the American economy, the world’s largest, was Trump’s strongest selling point for re-election to a new four-year term in the White House.In recent days, Trump has strongly defended his actions in combating the virus even as news accounts have shown that advisers warned him in the early weeks of the year about the coronavirus threat. Trump downplayed concerns throughout January, February and half of March before declaring a national emergency in mid-March.Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, often a Trump critic, told MSNBC Tuesday night that Trump’s directive to have his signature on the stimulus checks was part of his effort to keep the focus on himself.“It seems almost every day the president thinks this crisis revolves around him and his desires, his needs, his enemies,” Schumer said.The stimulus payments are being sent to individual taxpayers who earn up to $99,000 annually and to couples whose joint salaries total no more than $198,000, with $500 payments for children.
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With Commerce Frozen, Retail Sales Plunge Unprecedented 8.7%
U.S. retail sales plummeted 8.7% in March, an unprecedented decline, as the viral outbreak forces an almost complete lock down of commerce nationwide.The deterioration of sales far outpaces the previous record decline of 3.9% that took place during the depths of the Great Recession in November 2008. Auto sales dropped 25.6%, while clothing store sales collapsed, sliding 50.5%. Restaurants and bars reported a nearly 27% fall in revenue. A store in Virginia is offering large discounts to customers. (Photo: Diaa Bekheet)U.S. consumer confidence has plunged and the vast majority of Americans are hunkered down at home under shelter-in-place orders. Consumer spending drives two-thirds of the U.S. economy, and the record drop in retail sales is a symptom of the sharp recession that most economists believe the U.S. has already entered. Economists at JPMorgan Chase now forecast the U.S. economy will shrink by a record-shattering 40% in the April-June quarter. Signifying the titanic shift in consumer behavior, grocery store sales jumped by nearly 26% as Americans stocked up on food and consumer goods to ride out the pandemic. The pullback in spending is intensifying the problems facing brick and mortar retailers which were already struggling with online competition. A category that mostly includes Internet sales rose 3.1% last month. With a nationwide shutdown of malls and most stores, the pandemic is putting many clothing retailers in peril, while increasing the dominance of big box stores that have remained open during the pandemic because they sell essentials like food and household goods.FILE – A man passes a Nike store in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Diaa Bekheet)More than 250,000 stores, including Macy’s, Nordstrom and Nike, which sell non-essential merchandise have been shuttered since mid-March. That’s 60% of overall U.S. retail square footage, according to Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalRetail ResearchMajor retailers including J.C. Penney, Macy’s and Nordstrom have furloughed hundreds of thousands of workers, while Walmart and Amazon are on hiring sprees to try to meet the surging demand of shoppers buying online or for curbside drop-off or delivery. Department stores and mall-based chains have cut executive pay, suspended cash dividends and stock buybacks or repurchases to preserve cash. They’re also drawing down their credit lines to make sure they have a bigger pile of cash on hand. Nordstrom warned last week that it doesn’t know when it will be able to reopen its physical stores and that prolonged closures could cause it to become financially distressed. Ralph Lauren and Gap Inc. have announced that, for now, they’ve stopped ordering products for the fall. Other retailers will likely follow.Discretionary spending by shoppers is expected to collapse 40%-50% in the first-half 2020, according to Fitch Ratings. And department stores lead a group of consumer companies that have seen their odds of default spike over the past month, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
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