News item | 09-05-2020 | 14:01 Hospital admissions for 58 patients due to COVID-19 were reported today (current or previous). 63 deaths were...

news V Sunday of Easter. Eucharistic Liturgy, online at 8pm (GMT 2) from the church of Sant'Egidio May 9 2020 - ROME,...

Yesterday 8 May, the largest high-level gathering of UN member states since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis was held as part of Estonia's presidency of the UN Security Council. The six-hour meeting brought together nearly 80 countries, around 50 of which were represented at a ministerial level, to exchange thoughts on lessons learnt from the Second World War. All the Security Council members were represented, with almost half attending with high-level participants: Germany, France, Belgium, Vietnam, United States and the United Kingdom in addition to Estonia. 'Yesterday's meeting was the largest international event to mark the 75th anniversary of the Second World War in Europe. It...

Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See other free reports here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. MOSCOW — With Red Square and the walkways around the Kremlin walls deserted, Russian President Vladimir Putin carried a bouquet of red roses alone. He knelt to set them at the foot of the Eternal Flame war memorial, then stood with his head bowed for several seconds. An overcast and rainy morning in Moscow suited the uncharacteristically somber mood of the occasion – the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Union's World War II triumph. This day is usually marked with big,...

Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See other free reports here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. After two months of ambulance sirens, mourning and isolation, this is the damage report from Italy: The novel coronavirus death toll has surpassed 30,000. The country is hurtling into its steepest recession in modern times. Tourism has gone bust. Many restaurants and shops lack the cash to ever reopen. The government's brittle finances are becoming ever more stretched. All the while, many Italians feel embittered and alienated. They are disappointed in the continent's early...

It was widely observed, following a certain event in a Connecticut elementary school on Dec. 14, 2012, that if America would tolerate the slaughter by gunfire of 20 children aged 6 and 7, it would tolerate anything. Nothing proves the truth of that observation more than our response to the coronavirus pandemic. At this moment of maximum peril, we’re tolerating the turning of workers in meatpacking plants and grocery stores, seniors in nursing homes and heedless churchgoers into sacrificial offerings to the gods of “freedom” and “choice.” Grandparents are being counseled to give up their lives “in exchange for keeping the America that all Americans love for your children and grandchildren.”...

They have left behind royal life as they knew it, swapping Britain for the sunnier climes of Los Angeles. But former Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are not quite slumming it, as they join the Hollywood elite in a reported $18m (€16.4m) Beverly Hills mansion owned by a...

Allies of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden are being told to sharpen attacks on President Donald Trump's stimulus efforts as thinly veiled "cronyism", according to a memo being sent to Democratic office holders and supporters yesterday. The memo gives Mr Biden's campaign representatives new language to use in their attacks on Mr Trump and shows a...

A white former police officer and his son were arrested in Brunswick, Georgia, and charged with murder in the shooting death of an unarmed black man, an incident that touched off a bitter divide in the community and among civil rights activists across the United States. Gregory McMichael (64) and his son Travis (34) were taken into custody by the Georgia...

Mike Pence's press secretary, the wife of one of President Donald Trump's senior advisers, has tested positive for the coronavirus, raising alarm about the virus' potential spread within the White House's inner most circle. ......

A child died in a New York City hospital this week from what appeared to be a rare syndrome linked to the coronavirus that causes life-threatening inflammation in critical organs. ......

Nearly all the job growth achieved during the 11-year recovery from the Global Financial Crisis has now been lost in one month. ......

More than two months after a black man was shot to death while jogging through a Georgia neighbourhood, the white father and son arrested in the case have appeared in court. ......

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy, the duo whose extraordinary magic tricks astonished millions until Horn was critically injured in 2003 by one of the act’s famed white tigers, has died. He was 75. Horn died of complications from the coronavirus on Friday in a Las Vegas hospital, according to a statement released by publicist Dave Kirvin. “Today, the world has lost one of the greats of magic, but I have lost my best friend,” Siegfried Fischbacher said in the statement. “From the moment we met, I knew Roy and I, together, would change the world. There could be no Siegfried without Roy, and no Roy without Siegfried.” He was injured in October 2003 when a tiger named Montecore...

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The American Wall Street Journal quoted military experts as saying that the military readiness of the United States for a possible confrontation in the Persian Gulf is more backward and weaker than what is being said in Donald...

(CNN)The United States has scaled back its role on the world stage, taken actions that are undermining efforts to battle the coronavirus pandemic and left the international community without a traditional global leader, according to experts, diplomats and analysts. The US -- usually at the head of the table helping to coordinate in global crises -- has declined to take a seat at virtual international meetings convened by the World Health Organization and the European Union to coordinate work on potentially lifesaving vaccines. Former world leaders warn that the Trump administration risks alienating allies by politicizing the deadly pandemic with its push to punish China and have other...

Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez has said the spread of coronavirus in Brazil threatens his...

Washington: Vice president Mike Pence’s press secretary has the coronavirus, the White House said Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week. President Donald Trump, who publicly identified the affected Pence aide, said he was “not worried” about the virus spreading in the White House. Nonetheless, officials said they were stepping up safety protocols for the complex. Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller, who tested positive Friday, had been in recent contact with Pence but not with the president. She is...

Ivanka Trump's personal assistant has tested positive for the deadly coronavirus, making her the third White House staff member to be infected from COVID-19, a media report said on Saturday. The assistant, who works in a personal capacity for US President Donald Trump's daughter, has not been around her in several weeks, the CNN reported. COVID-19 Pandemic Tracker: 15 countries with the highest number of...

Washington: Several American lawmakers have introduced a legislation in Congress to offer the 40,000 unused green cards to thousands of foreign nurses and doctors to meet the urgent needs of the overstretched healthcare sector in the US, the worst hit nation by the coronavirus pandemic. The US has nearly 1,284,000 cases of confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 77,000 people have died due to the highly contagious disease. The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act would allow for recapturing green cards that were approved by...

Donald Trump has been bullish about a coronavirus vaccine – so much so that experts have had to talk him off a more aggressive...

Washington: The United States on Friday stunned other members of the UN Security Council by preventing a vote on a resolution for a ceasefire in various conflicts around the world to help troubled nations better fight the coronavirus pandemic, diplomats said. Washington's reversal came a day after it agreed to the text, negotiators said under cover of anonymity. "The United States cannot support the current draft," the country's delegation declared, without further detail, to the 14 other Security Council members, after nearly two months of difficult negotiation over the text. The latest stalemate continues to leave the global peace and security...

Miami: Carolina Vásquez lost track of days and nights, unable to see the sunlight while stuck for two weeks in a windowless cruise ship cabin as a fever took hold of her body. On the worst night of her encounter with COVID-19, the Chilean woman, a line cook on the Greg Mortimer ship, summoned the strength to take a cold shower fearing the worst: losing consciousness while isolated from others. Vásquez, 36, and tens of thousands of other crew members have been trapped for weeks aboard dozens of cruise ships around the world — long after governments and cruise lines negotiated their passengers’ disembarkation. Some have gotten ill and died; others have survived but...

Photo from Fredy Builes/VIEWpress via Getty Images) Colombian delivery app Rappi is testing pilot robot deliveries in Colombia. Rappi operates in several Latin American countries, and last year SoftBank invested one billion dollars into the startup. Deliveries are made using Kiwibot, a delivery robot from a Colombian owned company in California. Visit Business...

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Frustrated by scarce supplies and a chaotic marketplace amid the coronavirus outbreak, some U.S. governors are seeking to bolster their home-state production of vital medical and protective equipment to ensure a reliable long-term source for state stockpiles. The efforts come as states have been competing against each other, the federal government, hospitals, emergency responders and even other countries to get items such as N95 masks, gloves, medical gowns and hand sanitizer — often paying higher-than-usual prices because of the high demand. Before the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. got much of its medical supplies from China. But China limited exports earlier...

Little Richard, who helped shape the future of rock and roll in the 1950s and 1960s, died Saturday at age 87. Rolling Stone confirmed the news of his death and reported the cause of death was unknown. Born Richard Wayne Penniman in Macon, Georgia, Little Richard was known for a series of hits that included “Tutti Frutti,” “Long Tall Sally,” “Rip It Up,” “Lucille” and “Good Golly Miss Molly.” Little Richard’s contributions to the musical world were covered by a series of greats that...

NASHVILLE (AP) — Little Richard, the self-proclaimed “architect of rock ‘n’ roll” whose piercing wail, pounding piano and towering pompadour irrevocably altered popular music while introducing black R&B to white America, has died Saturday. He was 87. Pastor Bill Minson, a close friend of Little Richard’s, told The Associated Press that Little Richard died Saturday morning. Minson said he also spoke to Little Richard’s son and brother. Minson added that the family is not releasing the cause of death. Born Richard Penniman, Little Richard was one of rock ‘n’ roll’s founding fathers who helped shatter the color line on the music charts, joining Chuck Berry and Fats Domino in...

They have left behind royal life as they knew it, swapping Britain for the sunnier climes of Los Angeles. But former Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are not quite slumming it, as they join the Hollywood elite in a reported $18m (€16.4m) Beverly Hills mansion owned by a...

80 young African scholars are tackling the business of agriculture through the innovativeness and freshness that comes with youth — while obtaining their masters or doctoral degrees in the process.

The post Africa’s Youth Scholars Harvest Ideas on the Business of Agriculture appeared first on Inter Press Service.

A daily commute of two-and-a-half hours each way would take a toll on anyone, but for Özkan, a construction worker in Istanbul, the hardest part of his long journey is coping with his fears about what might happen after he gets home. “The conditions on our job site are deplorable, and I feel psychologically broken […]

The post Across the World, Construction Workers are Caught Between Coronavirus Risk and Joblessness appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan sharpens focus on CPEC  Todaynewspaper

1. US to temporarily ban work-based visas including H-1B  Deccan Chronicle
2. US lawmakers want H-1B visas and foreign students internship suspended to protect American jobs  Times of India
3. US Mulls Temporary Ban on Work Visas Amid Unemployment: Reports  The Quint
4. US likely to temporarily ban work-based visas like H-1B due to rise in unemployment  Zee News
5. 5 US lawmakers ask Trump to suspend new H-1B visas  The Tribune India
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. Coronavirus: Do not anticipate worst case situation like developed countries in India, says govt  Livemint
2. Government Tweaks Rules For Testing As COVID-19 Cases Rise. Details Here  NDTV
3. Only ‘severe’ coronavirus patients to be tested before discharge from hospital as India braces for infection surge  The Tribune India
4. Health ministry says learn to live with coronavirus as India's COVID-19 count crosses 56,000  Livemint
5. 116 vs 66: Mismatch between Covid toll of Delhi govt, hospital data  The Indian Express
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. 'Not anticipating worst situation but…': Health Minister on Covid-19 in India  Hindustan Times
2. Testing capacity for Covid-19 scaled up to 95,000 per day: Harsh Vardhan  Times of India
3. 'Have prepared country for worst situation': Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on coronavirus pandemic  Times Now
4. ‘We’re prepared for the worst’: Health minister on Covid-19 crisis  Top Live News
5. Do not anticipate worst case situation like developed countries in India: Harsh Vardhan  Times of India
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. Coronavirus India News LIVE | Tamil Nadu COVID-19 tally zooms to 6,535 with 526 new cases; 44 die  Moneycontrol
2. Retirement age hiked for all Tamil Nadu government staff  Deccan Chronicle
3. With 45% National Intake, Southern States Draw 10-15% Revenue From Liquor: Report  News18
4. In Pictures | Day-45 of coronavirus lockdown leaves people in limbo  The Hindu
5. With 45% of national intake, southern states draw 10-15% revenue from liquor: Report  Moneycontrol.com
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. Tamil Nadu: All private establishments outside Covid-19 containment zones to open from Monday  The Indian Express
2. Coronavirus: Tamil Nadu relaxes lockdown measures further  Times of India
3. Major Relaxations For Non-Containment Zones In Tamil Nadu From Monday  NDTV
4. 1,589 cases linked to Koyambedu so far  The Hindu
5. Tamil Nadu moves Supreme Court against Madras high court order to close Tasmac liquor shops  Times of India
6. View Full coverage on Google News

The stolen records of 20 million users of a popular Android app store have been published online by a hacker who claims to have 19 million more. Not all app stores are the same. Android users have access to the … read more

ALMATY: Two Nasa astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut on Friday made a safe return from the International Space Station to find the planet transformed by the coronavirus pandemic. Andrew Morgan, Jessica Meir and Oleg Skripochka touched down in central Kazakhstan … read more

Manuel Manonelles is Associate Professor of International Relations, Blanquerna/University Ramon Llull, Barcelona

The post Hegemony Shift in Times of COVID-19 appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is President of the Republic of Ghana and Co-chair of the UN Secretary-General’s Eminent Group of Advocates for the SDGs and Erna Solberg is Prime Minister of Norway and Co-chair of the UN Secretary-General’s Eminent Group of Advocates for the SDGs

The post Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, SDGs are Even More Relevant Today Than Ever Before appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Nearly 400 Rohingya refugees have been rescued in Bangladesh after being at sea for two months.  Bangladesh coast guards reported rescuing 382 Rohingyas, including many women and children, who were starving and stuck on a boat as they were trying to reach Malaysia, the BBC reported on Thursday.  Coast guard spokesman Lt Shah Zia Rahman […]

The post Concerns for the Nearly 400 Rohingya Refugees Rescued off the Coast of Bangladesh appeared first on Inter Press Service.

David Lewis is professor of social policy and development at the Department of Social Policy, LSE.

The post On Watching Contagion: What Do We Learn? appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The deadly coronavirus COVID-19, which has shut down the UN secretariat in New York, along with 32 of its agencies globally, has forced over 37,500 UN staffers worldwide to work from their homes. Asked about a decision to re-open the Secretariat building after nearly a month-long hiatus, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said: “I don’t know. […]

The post As US Unemployment Hits a Staggering 22 Million, Will UN Layoffs Be Far Behind? appeared first on Inter Press Service.

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres on Thursday pleaded with global leaders and families to ensure the protection of the world’s children, millions of whom he says are vulnerable to a myriad of threats as a result of the shutdown arising from the global coronavirus pandemic.  While children are at a significantly lower health risk […]

The post Global Leaders Must Prioritise Children’s Wellbeing amid Coronavirus Pandemic – UN appeared first on Inter Press Service.

With much of the global economy stalled amid an unprecedented lockdown of nations grappling to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, the author of a new United Nations report on the disease’s impact on poverty told IPS that hundreds of millions more could be pushed into poverty and we can expect to see social unrest. “A lockdown […]

The post Q&A: Continued Social Distancing and Hundreds of Millions More in Poverty – A New Normal for the World? appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), described as an integral part of its highly-ambitious development agenda, may be in deep trouble. Aimed at addressing some of the global challenges the world faces– including extreme poverty and hunger, inequalities in incomes and gender, climate change and environmental degradation– the SDGs now seem threatened by a […]

The post UN’s Development Goals Threatened by a World Economy Facing Recession appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The oil slump, global recession and uncertainty about the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic will fuel the appetite for cheaper fossil fuel energy and delay investments in renewables, affecting the targets of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The countries of the developing South, and in particular oil exporters, […]

The post The Crises of 2020 Will Delay the Transition to Clean Energy appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Jay Collins is Vice Chairman Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory, Citigroup*

The post Only Sustainable Investment & Global Cooperation Can Counter COVID’s Blow to SDGs appeared first on Inter Press Service.