Researchers highlight risk of asymptomatic infection, as Europe begins easing lockdown

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More than 10 times as many people in Germany as thought may have been infected with coronavirus, researchers have said, as Italy led swathes of Europe out of lockdown and officials said the continent’s outbreak was mostly past its peak.

Researchers from Bonn University said on Monday that their preliminary study, based on fieldwork in the town of Gangelt in Heinsberg municipality, which had one of Germany’s highest death tolls, showed the risk of infection by asymptomatic carriers.

Coronavirus has infected more than 3.5 million people and caused nearly 250,000 deaths worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.

China’s state broadcaster CCTV attacked the US secretary of state’s “insane and evasive remarks” on the origins of the pandemic. Mike Pompeo said there was “enormous evidence” to show the virus originated in a lab in China.

As Donald Trump presses states to reopen their economies, his administration is privately projecting daily deaths will almost double to about 3,000 by 1 June, according to an internal document seen by the New York Times.

Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, extended the country’s national state of emergency to 31 May, adding that he would consider lifting it earlier if experts decided that was possible based on regional infection trends.

World leaders, with the exception of Trump, stumped up nearly €7.4bn (£6.5bn) to research Covid-19 vaccines and therapies, pledging the money would also be used to distribute any vaccine to poor countries on time and equitably.

5 May 1986: Moscow has seen many Russians arriving by train from Kiev in the disaster area

Moscow
The first real signs of alarm among the Soviet public began to emerge over the weekend as Russians arriving by train from Kiev in the Chernobyl disaster area, began saying frankly that they were worried by radiation.

In the last two days large numbers of unescorted children have been arriving here from the city by train, to be met by relatives and grandparents.

Related: From the archive, 30 April 1986: Russia admits blast as death fears rise

Related: Revisiting Chernobyl: 'It is a huge cemetery of dreams'

Lack of PPE cited as reason for mass infections – with suspicions deaths are not recorded

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For weeks, paramedic Dmitry Seryogin had warned about the lack of coronavirus testing and inadequate protective gear that he and his colleagues were given in the city of Oryol, about a four-hour drive south of Moscow. If a patient did not explicitly warn they had coronavirus, he said, teams handled likely infections in simple masks and gloves.

Then, the inevitable happened. Two of his colleagues fell ill with coronavirus, then five more, and now, Seryogin says, more than a dozen have contracted the virus. The regional governor has confirmed an outbreak at a medical station, saying staff had been quarantined and he had “set the goal of providing everyone with PPE. No matter where they are going, what kind of call”.

Related: Concern as coronavirus threatens Russia's closed ‘nuclear cities’

Fake social media accounts also used to support Ron Paul’s presidential bid and the Occupy movement

Iran’s state broadcaster experimented with using fake social media accounts to influence the outcome of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum and other western elections, according to a report from Facebook released on Tuesday.

The Iranian network, one of eight to be suspended for so-called “coordinated inauthentic behaviour” by the social media giant in April, points to efforts by state-linked groups to try to use Facebook to influence foreign democratic contests years before Russia’s alleged campaign against the 2016 US presidential contest.

Russia on the offensive, Brexit Britain stands alone, and US disdain for European allies recalls its naivety with Stalin

Victory in Europe was made possible by a remarkable military collaboration between the main anti-Axis powers – the US, Russia and Britain. But the three-way relationship, between Franklin D Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill, was never easy, and it set a pattern of national rivalry, suspicion, fear and distrust that persists to this day.

A row over a top-secret message, known as SCAF-252, sent to Stalin in late March 1945 by Gen Dwight Eisenhower, the supreme allied commander, shows how fraught the relationship could be. In it, Eisenhower detailed his plans for the final defeat of Nazi Germany – but omitted to first consult or inform his British allies.

Related: VE Day: Churchill feared De Gaulle would declare victory early

Victory Day celebrations are cancelled and referendum to reset Putin’s term limits put on hold

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If all had gone to plan, Vladimir Putin would have marked Victory Day in Red Square this weekend, hosting Emmanuel Macron and Xi Jinping as columns of soldiers and artillery passed by to honour the 75th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.

The 9 May celebrations would have crowned a historic political season in Russia, including a symbolic referendum to amend Russia’s constitution and reset Putin’s term limits, allowing him to remain in the Kremlin until 2036.

Related: Global report: Russia becomes Europe's coronavirus hotspot

Related: 'Painful to see': rise in Russian medics falling prey to Covid-19 as death toll questioned

1 Sierra Leonean Leone = 0.0254 Yemeni Rial

1 Sierra Leonean Leone = 0.0044 Uruguayan Peso

1 Sierra Leonean Leone = 0.0027 Ukrainian Hryvnia

1 Sierra Leonean Leone = 0.0007 Turkish Lira

1 Sierra Leonean Leone = 0.0017 Seychellois Rupee

1 Sierra Leonean Leone = 0.0004 Saudi Riyal

1 Sierra Leonean Leone = 0.6624 Paraguayan Guarani

1 Sierra Leonean Leone = 0.0004 Polish Zloty

1 Sierra Leonean Leone = 0.0004 Malaysian Ringgit

1 Sierra Leonean Leone = 0.0016 Maldivian Rufiyaa

1 Sierra Leonean Leone = 0.0001 Cayman Islands Dollar

1 Sierra Leonean Leone = 0.0108 Kenyan Shilling

1 Sierra Leonean Leone = 0.0108 Japanese Yen

1 Sierra Leonean Leone = 0.0016 Egyptian Pound

1 Sierra Leonean Leone = 0.0007 Chinese Yuan Renminbi

An Israeli security company said the hacking software, called Aria-body, had been deployed against governments and state-owned companies in Australia and Southeast Asia.

Is Beijing keeping a secret? Or are the exact origins of the coronavirus still a mystery?

It was not clear whether the scientists had found infectious virus or inert fragments, so sexual transmission of the virus still seems very unlikely.

The Food and Drug Administration prohibited 65 manufacturers from selling masks for medical use. But the move came after tests last month showed the masks didn’t meet standards.

The president’s comments, coming just hours after advisers said the agreement was on track, indicate an increasingly unstable relationship.

1 New Taiwan Dollar = 8.3858 Yemeni Rial

1 New Taiwan Dollar = 1.4449 Uruguayan Peso

1 New Taiwan Dollar = 0.8989 Ukrainian Hryvnia

1 New Taiwan Dollar = 0.2374 Turkish Lira

1 New Taiwan Dollar = 0.575 Seychellois Rupee

1 New Taiwan Dollar = 0.1258 Saudi Riyal

1 New Taiwan Dollar = 218.7651 Paraguayan Guarani

1 New Taiwan Dollar = 0.1408 Polish Zloty

1 New Taiwan Dollar = 0.1452 Malaysian Ringgit

1 New Taiwan Dollar = 0.5193 Maldivian Rufiyaa

1 New Taiwan Dollar = 0.0279 Cayman Islands Dollar

1 New Taiwan Dollar = 3.5519 Kenyan Shilling

1 New Taiwan Dollar = 3.5729 Japanese Yen

1 New Taiwan Dollar = 0.5213 Egyptian Pound

1 New Taiwan Dollar = 0.2369 Chinese Yuan Renminbi

Winds are from the West at 16.1 gusting to 28.8 MPH (14 gusting to 25 KT). The humidity is 42%. The wind chill is 35. Last Updated on May 9 2020, 11:55 am EDT.

1 Thai Baht = 7.8192 Yemeni Rial

1 Thai Baht = 1.3473 Uruguayan Peso

1 Thai Baht = 0.8382 Ukrainian Hryvnia

1 Thai Baht = 0.2214 Turkish Lira

1 Thai Baht = 0.5362 Seychellois Rupee

1 Thai Baht = 0.1173 Saudi Riyal

1 Thai Baht = 203.9846 Paraguayan Guarani

1 Thai Baht = 0.1313 Polish Zloty