Mass gatherings, erosion of trust upend coronavirus control

NEW YORK (AP) -- Protests erupting across the nation over the past week -- and law enforcement's response to them -- are threatening to upend efforts by health officials to track and contain the spread of coronavirus  just as those efforts were finally getting underway. Health experts need newly infected people to remember and recount everyone they've interacted with over several days in order to alert others who may have been exposed, and prevent them from spreading the disease fur

June 1, 2020

Lockdowns ease across Europe, Asia with new tourism rules

ROME (AP) -- The first day of June saw coronavirus restrictions ease from Asia to Europe on Monday, even as US protests against police brutality sparked fears of new outbreaks. The Colosseum opened its ancient doors in Rome, ferries restarted in Bangladesh, golfers played in Greece, students returned in Britain and Dutch bars and restaurants were free to welcome hungry, thirsty patrons. Countries around the Mediterranean Sea began tentatively to kickoff a summer season in which tourists c

June 1, 2020

Hong Kong blocks Tiananmen vigil; rush on for UK passports

HONG KONG (AP) -- Hong Kong police rejected an application Monday by organizers for an annual candlelight vigil marking the anniversary this week of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, as residents rushed to apply for passports that could allow them to move to the United Kingdom It would be the first time in 30 years that the vigil, which draws a huge crowd to an outdoor space, is not held in Hong Kong. The vigil commemorates China's deadly military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters

June 1, 2020

[Photo News] Greeting Man cheers up Brazil amid COVID-19

In the midst of COVID-19 crisis, a statue standing in front of the Korean Cultural Center in Sao Paulo, Brazil, displayed a four-minute-long video clip on Tuesday, conveying a message of hope to Brazilians. Under the “Cheer-up!” theme, the statue, also known as the Greeting Man, presented the course of a journey that opens up with the departure from Korea and concludes with the arrival at Brazil, by using 2D and 3D digital technologies. The Greeting Man features a visual mapping

May 27, 2020

Thousands protest in Hong Kong over China security law proposal

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Police fired tear gas and water cannon at thousands of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters who gathered Sunday against a controversial security law proposed by China, in the most intense clashes for months. As the demonstrators and police were facing off in the semi-autonomous financial hub, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi insisted in Beijing that the proposed law must be imposed "without the slightest delay". The planned legislation -- expected to ban treason, su

May 24, 2020

China warns US pushing relations to 'brink of new Cold War'

BEIJING (AFP) -- The United States is pushing relations with China to "the brink of a new Cold War", China's foreign minister said Sunday, rejecting Washington's "lies" over the coronavirus while saying Beijing was open to an international effort to find its source. Keeping up the worsening war of words with Washington over the pandemic and a Beijing move to tighten control over Hong Kong, Wang Yi said the United States had been infected by a "political virus" com

May 24, 2020

[Graphic News] N. Korea spent estimated $620m on nuclear weapons in 2019

North Korea is estimated to have spent $620 million on its nuclear weapons program last year, an international anti-nuclear weapons group said. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization, made the estimate in a report about the expenditures that nine countries, including the North, made on nuclear development. The figure was drawn based on a South Korean think tank’s estimate that the North spent 35 percent of its gross national incom

May 19, 2020

[Cartoon] The Pandemic Pals

Author: Gregory Pence Homepage: www.soundstagecomics.com Twitter: @sixpencenow

May 18, 2020

Alarm in Germany as 'corona demos' take off

BERLIN (AFP) -- From anger over lockdown measures to a purported vaccine plan by Bill Gates: a growing wave of demonstrations in Germany by conspiracy theorists, extremists and anti-vaxxers has alarmed even Chancellor Angela Merkel. Initially starting as a handful of protesters decrying tough restrictions on public life to halt transmission of the coronavirus, the protests have swelled in recent weeks to gatherings of thousands in major German cities. Thousands are set to mass again in S

May 16, 2020

Online graduations still bring stars to the virtual lectern

As the coronavirus leaves colleges holding "virtual graduation" events online, many schools are recruiting famous figures to deliver speeches over their laptops instead of the lectern. This year's college graduates won't get to take their triumphant walk across the stage. They won't get to toss their caps amid a sea of classmates. Instead, they have to settle for online ceremonies while their diplomas are mailed home. But at least one aspect of the traditional graduation ceremo

May 15, 2020

Trump threatens to cut China ties as virus toll tops 300,000

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US President Donald Trump threatened to cut ties with China over its role in the spread of the coronavirus, as the global death toll from the disease topped 300,000. Despite fears of a second wave of infections, national and local governments around the world are easing lockdown orders as they try to get stalled economies moving again. But there were warnings Friday that some of the world's poorest people remain the most vulnerable, with predictions that a quarter of a bi

May 15, 2020

Pandemic to cost global insurers $203b: Lloyd's

LONDON (AFP) -- The deadly coronavirus pandemic will cost the global insurance industry about $203 billion (188 billion euros), Lloyd's of London insurance market forecast on Thursday. Lloyd's said it had examined underwriting losses and reductions in the value of investments that companies hold to fund future claim payments. Lloyd's itself expects to pay out up to $4.3 billion on coronavirus claims, putting the cost on a similar magnitude to the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. "The

May 14, 2020

Coronavirus vaccine may be ready in a year: EU agency

THE HAGUE (AFP) -- A vaccine for the novel coronavirus could be ready in a year's time under an "optimistic" scenario, based on trials that are underway, the European Medicines Agency said Thursday. The Amsterdam-based EU agency also played down fears expressed by the WHO that the virus might never go away, saying it would be "surprised" if a vaccine was not found eventually. "We can see the possibility if everything goes as planned that some of them (vaccines) could

May 14, 2020

Fresh test for Wuhan as cluster sparks mass virus screening

WUHAN (AFP) -- Nervous residents of China's pandemic epicentre of Wuhan queued up across the city to be tested for the coronavirus on Thursday after a new cluster of cases sparked a mass screening campaign. Lines of socially distanced people formed at makeshift testing sites set up under tents in parking lots, parks and residential communities as it rained in the metropolis of 11 million people. "This is a good thing. It's a way to be responsible toward others and to yourself," a 4

May 14, 2020

EU insists coronavirus vaccine be available to all

BRUSSELS (AFP) -- The EU insisted Thursday that any vaccine against coronavirus must be available fairly to all countries after French drug giant Sanofi said it was reserving first shipments for the US. "The vaccine against COVID-19 should be a global public good and its access needs to be equitable and universal," European Commission spokesman Stefan de Keersmaecker told reporters. Sanofi's chief executive Paul Hudson caused fury in France by announcing that US patients would get

May 14, 2020

WHO warns virus may be here to stay as toll nears 300,000

GENEVA (AFP) -- The coronavirus may never go away and populations will have to learn to live with it just as they have HIV, the World Health Organization has warned, as the global death toll from the disease nears 300,000. There were also gloomy forecasts from the US Federal Reserve, which said prolonged shutdowns to stem the spread of the virus could cause lasting economic damage in America. Washington ratcheted up tensions over the pandemic by accusing China of trying to steal research into

May 14, 2020

[Graphic News] 19 million children among 46 million displaced in 2019: UN

　The UN children’s agency said an estimated 46 million people - 19 million of them children - fled violence and conflict last year but remained in their home countries, and millions more were displaced by disasters. 　A UNICEF report said there has been a steep increase in the number of internally displaced people as a result of conflict and violence, from 25 million a decade ago to more than 40 million in the last five years. And last year more than 40 percent of the displaced were un

May 13, 2020

Hong Kong risks new unrest with China anthem bill: opposition

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Hong Kong's government risks reigniting last year's political unrest by pushing ahead with a controversial bill outlawing insults to China's national anthem, opposition lawmakers said Tuesday.  Pro-democracy lawmakers warned history was repeating itself, noting that the fast-tracking of a bill last year to allow extraditions to the authoritarian mainland was the spark that lit seven straight months of pro-democracy protests. On Tuesday Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam --

May 12, 2020

Shanghai Disneyland, first Disneyland to reopen amid COVID-19 pandemic

Shanghai Disneyland which was closed on Jan. 25 reopened on Monday, reflecting a loosening of social distancing linked to the novel coronavirus outbreak. It is the first of its kind to reopen among all other entertainment parks in the US, Japan, Europe and Hong Kong. Along with rides and attractions, Shanghai Disneyland opened all shops, restaurants and cafes within the park to its visitors. However, it decided to limit the number of visitors and closed some of its performance and play area

May 12, 2020

Despite White House virus cases, top aides defend reopening

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Two top US economic advisers on Sunday defended the need for an expeditious reopening of the economy even as the coronavirus reached into the White House despite the extraordinary precautions taken there. The comments by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and economic adviser Larry Kudlow  came just two days after the country recorded its steepest job losses in history, with 20.5 million jobs lost in April, and as virus cases continued rising in some states with far mor

May 11, 2020