IMF: Global economy enters recession amid virus
IMF, International Monetary Fund, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva following a Thursday meeting with G20 Leaders declares a worldwide recession as a result of the coronavirus. (March 27)
- Yahoo News
Former head of pandemic response team speaks out: 'I'm frankly scared'
The official who oversaw epidemic preparedness for the National Security Council under President Obama said the absence of public guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic leaves her “frankly scared” — and that eliminating her position weakened the American response to the coronavirus when it emerged 18 months later. Beth Cameron, who served as senior director for global health security and biodefense on the NSC until early 2017, was interviewed on the Yahoo News “Skullduggery” podcast. “I'm frankly scared that our CDC is not out in front talking about this,” Cameron said.
- Business Insider
Oxford scientists working on a coronavirus vaccine say there is now only a 50% chance of success because the number of UK cases is falling too quickly
YouTube/University of Oxford Oxford scientists working on a coronavirus vaccine say the chances of success are now 50%. They say that's because the number of people with the virus in the UK is falling too quickly. "At the moment, there's a 50% chance that we get no result at all," scientist Adam Hill said this weekend.
- Associated Press
New Zealand leader carries on with TV interview during quake
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern barely skipped a beat when an earthquake struck during a live television interview Monday morning. She interrupted Newshub host Ryan Bridge to tell him what was happening at the parliament complex in the capital, Wellington. We're just having a bit of an earthquake here Ryan, quite a decent shake here,” she said, looking up and around the room.
- NBC News
Missing Ohio high school senior Madison Bell found safe
Madison "Maddie" Bell, the Ohio high school senior who went missing Sunday, has been found safe, according to the Highland County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Donnie Barrera announced in a press release posted to Facebook Saturday that the 18-year-old had been located and that she was safe. A nationwide search for Maddie began this week after she told her mother she was going tanning around 10 a.m. on Sunday morning in Highland County, but never returned.
- BBC
Coronavirus: US suspends travel from Brazil for foreigners
The US has imposed travel restrictions on foreign nationals who have been to Brazil in the last 14 days. The South American nation recently became the world's second major hotspot for coronavirus cases. Brazil has recorded more than 360,000 cases, the country's health ministry announced on Sunday, while over 22,000 people have died with the virus.
AFPMoscow espionage trial of ex-US marine Whelan to wrap up
The trial in Moscow of ex-US marine Paul Whelan on espionage charges is set to conclude Monday, ending a court proceeding that has strained ties with Washington and fuelled speculation of a prisoner exchange. Whelan, 50, who also holds Irish, Canadian and British citizenship, was detained in Moscow in December 2018 for allegedly receiving state secrets. "In a just system, the court would acquit Paul based on the lack of evidence," Whelan's brother David said in a statement ahead of the hearing.
- Reuters
China says opposes all U.S. restrictions on Chinese airlines
China said on Monday it opposes all U.S. restrictions imposed against Chinese airlines, responding to a report that the U.S. Transportation Department has demanded Chinese carriers file their schedules and other flight details by May 27. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said flight restrictions imposed by Beijing treated all airlines equally and were due to efforts to curb COVID-19 related risks. The U.S. government late on Friday accused the Chinese government of making it impossible for U.S. airlines to resume service to China.
- CBS News
Navajo Nation enters 57-hour lockdown as virus death toll rises
As states across the country are reopening, the Navajo Nation is entering a strict 57-hour lockdown in another attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus. The tribe's death toll reached 149 on Friday as the virus continues to disproportionately affect people of color in the U.S. The Navajo Department of Health in coordination with the Navajo Epidemiology Center and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service reported 95 new COVID-19 cases of COVID-19 for the tribe on Friday. The total number of positive cases has surpassed 4,500, pushing the tribe's healthcare system past its capacity.
- The Daily Beast
Reckless Mount Hood Climbers Put Rescue Crews at Risk During Pandemic
Rescue crews had to save three people on Mount Hood this weekend, endangering their own health in the process. Portland Mountain Rescue said the first mission began late Friday night after a climber summited but got lost in whiteout conditions on the way back, with no water and a dying cellphone. “They were swept all the way down the route onto the Reid Glacier and miraculously survived with limited injuries,” PMR wrote on Facebook.
- The Guardian
Democratic VP contender Demings slams Trump 'gall' over Biden black voters gaffe
Val Demings, a Democratic representative from Florida among contenders to be Joe Biden's presidential running mate, has castigated Donald Trump for having the “gall and nerve” to use a gaffe by Biden as a weapon on the campaign trail. The remark prompted gleeful tweets from Trump, fierce attacks from supporters of the president and criticism from Biden's own backers. The vice-president shouldn't have said it,” Demings told CNN's State of the Union on Sunday.
Yahoo News VideoFormer head of pandemic response team at the NSC speaks out: 'I'm frankly scared'
The official who oversaw epidemic preparedness for the National Security Council under President Obama said the absence of public guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic leaves her “frankly scared. She also believes and that eliminating her position weakened the American response to the coronavirus when it emerged 18 months later.
- Business Insider
Defiant protesters chanting 'liberate Hong Kong' flood the streets to oppose China's grab for control
REUTERS/Tyrone Siu Hong Kong police fired tear gas and pepper spray to disperse thousands of protesting on Sunday, against Beijing's plan to impose national security laws. China has launched new efforts to increase its control over Hong Kong after mass protests in 2019 hampered its efforts to roll back the city's autonomy. Critics fear the provisions of the law will lead to the end of Hong Kong's independence.
- Associated Press
Baby gorilla badly injured in family skirmish at Seattle zoo
A baby gorilla was badly injured at a Seattle zoo on Saturday when he was caught in a skirmish between his family group members, zookeepers said. Animal health experts at the Woodland Park Zoo say little Kitoko was bitten on the head, likely by accident when another gorilla tried to bite his mother, Uzumma. Kitoko sustained a fractured skull and a severe laceration, but zoo officials say the 2-month-old gorilla underwent surgery and may fully recover if he doesn't develop an infection.
- BBC
India parents make pandemic road trip to get to stranded infant
The first-time parents were driving through India's winding, empty highways to see their newborn child. The couple would explain their daughter had been born, more than a week ago, to a surrogate mother in Anand, a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat better known as the country's "milk capital".
AFPConfusion, jitters as Indian domestic flights resume
Domestic flights resumed in India on Monday even as coronavirus cases surge, while confusion about quarantine rules prompted jitters among passengers and the cancellation of dozens of planes. India had halted all flights within the country, and departing and leaving for abroad, in March as it sought to stop the spread of coronavirus with the world's largest lockdown. But desperate to get Asia's third-largest economy moving again, the government announced last week that around 1,050 daily flights -- a third of the usual capacity -- would resume on Monday.
- Reuters
Myanmar updates U.N. court on 'confidential' Rohingya measures
Myanmar has filed a report on its adherence to measures to protect its Rohingya Muslim minority imposed by the United Nations' highest court, but details of the document have not been published. Mainly-Muslim Gambia filed a suit against Myanmar in November at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of "ongoing genocide" against the Rohingya after expelling more than 730,000. Pending a final ruling, ICJ judges imposed provisional measures obliging Myanmar to protect any evidence of crimes and prevent acts of violence.
- CBS News
Muslims finding new ways to celebrate Eid amid coronavirus
Muslim communities across America are finding new ways to celebrate this weekend's Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramandan. The three-day holiday after a month of fasting from dawn to sunset is traditionally one that brings families and friends together for large and intimate gatherings, but this year, Muslims are relying on Zoom calls, live-streamed sermons and drive-through celebrations. "Not being able to be with the larger community for Eid is actually really affecting people, especially the younger members of our community," said Rami Nsour, a religious scholar and community leader in the San Francisco Bay Area.
- The Daily Beast
Will COVID-19 Wipe Out the Tribes of the Amazon?
CALI, Colombia—There is nowhere left to hide from the novel coronavirus. Tragically, COVID-19 is also devastating fragile indigenous communities in the region, putting entire cultures and population groups at risk. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) estimates that there are at least 20,000 active coronavirus cases in the Amazon Basin, which is the world's largest watershed and home to many indigenous communities, including isolated tribes who survive without sustained contact with the outside world.
- The Guardian
Coronavirus: Trump aide claims China guilty of cover-up akin to Chernobyl
The White House on Sunday accused China of a cover-up that will “go down in history along with Chernobyl”, ramping up efforts to deflect attention from a Covid-19 death toll in the US fast closing on 100,000. Robert O'Brien, Donald Trump's national security adviser, made the claim on two political talk shows, saying Beijing gave “false information” to the World Health Organization (WHO) at the start of the year and alleging that stonewalling of an investigation into the origins of the pandemic has cost “many, many thousands of lives in America and around the world”. On Saturday Mike Pence, the vice-president, told Breitbart News that China had “let the world down” and insisted the WHO was “their willing partner in withholding from the US and wider world vital information about the coronavirus”.
- NBC News
North Korea's Kim vows to further bolster nuclear war deterrence: state media
North Korean leader hosted a military meeting to discuss new policies to bolster the country's nuclear capabilities amid stalled denuclearization talks with the United States, state media reported Sunday. The meeting of the ruling Workers' Party's powerful Central Military Commission marked Kim's first public appearance in three weeks, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. He has made an unusually small number of outings in the past two months amid coronavirus concerns.
- Business Insider
Russia records its highest daily death toll from the coronavirus as its number of new cases appears to decline
Lev Fedoseyev\TASS via Getty Images Russia recorded 8,599 new cases 153 new deaths on Sunday linked to the coronavirus, raising its overall death toll to 3,541. The country has recorded 344,481 coronavirus cases and is the third-worst hit country in its total number of coronavirus cases behind Brazil and the US, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. While its daily death toll continues to increase, its number of new daily cases appears to be on the decline.
- The Week
Declining infection rate provides challenge for Oxford coronavirus vaccine
Just days ago, scientists leading the University of Oxford's coronavirus vaccine development expressed optimism about their progress — more than 1,000 people in the United Kingdom have been inoculated already, and 10,000 more will be given the vaccine in May and June. Professor Adrian Hill, director of the University's Jenner Institute, said what was formerly an 80 percent chance of developing an effective vaccine by September — possibly in time for a potential second wave of infections — has dwindled to 50 percent. Instead, the U.K.'s infection rate decline may make it tough to gauge the vaccine's efficacy.
Meredith VideosNew Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern Continues TV Interview During Earthquake
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern barely skipped a beat when an earthquake struck during a live television interview Monday morning.
- BBC
Coronavirus: Americans flock to beaches on Memorial Day weekend
Americans have flocked to beaches and lakes for Memorial Day weekend, often flouting restrictions imposed to tackle the coronavirus outbreak. In Florida, state police dispersed an unauthorised gathering of hundreds of people in Daytona Beach on Saturday. In Missouri, bars at the Lake of the Ozarks were packed with revellers, who violated social-distancing rules.
- Reuters
More than 40 diagnosed with COVID-19 after Frankfurt church service
More than 40 people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus following a church service in Frankfurt, Germany's financial center, earlier this month, the head of the city's health department told a news agency on Saturday. The service took place on May 10 at a Baptist church, the department's deputy chief Antoni Walczok told local newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau. Churches in the German state of Hesse, where Frankfurt is located, have been able to hold services since May 1 provided they adhere to official social distancing and hygiene rules.
