Thursday,  May 21st, 2020

In a hearing over Zoom, a court in Singapore sentences a 37-year-old Malaysian man to death for a 2011 heroin transaction. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is the first time a death sentence was imposed by a remote hearing in Singapore. (Reuters)

U.S. authorities in Massachusetts arrest two men, a father and son aged 59 and 27, wanted by Japan on charges of helping former Chairman of Nissan Carlos Ghosn escape from Japan to Lebanon last year. (Reuters)

Citizens of Burundi head to the polls to elect their president and the members of the National Assembly. After violent campaigns, the elections take place amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and a social media blackout. Regional and international election observers are blocked from overseeing the elections, raising doubts about its fairness. (DW)

Earlier lockdowns might have prevented 36,000 U.S. COVID-19 deaths  Disease modelers at Columbia University estimate that if the U.S. had started implementing social distancing and lockdown measures one week earlier in March, roughly 36,000 coronavirus deaths could have been prevented. The first imported case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was reported on Jan. 20, with community transmission established in the weeks following. Federal social distancing measures, which asked Americans to avoid unnecessary travel and social gatherings, were enacted in mid-March. The researchers estimate that if action was taken even earlier than a week before that, with cities going on lockdown and people limiting contact with others beginning on March 1, about 83 percent of the country’s deaths could have been avoided. As of Wednesday night, there are more than 1.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. and 93,383 deaths. Source: The New York Times

WHO reports 106,000 new coronavirus cases, biggest 1-day increase  The World Health Organization on Wednesday reported the largest daily increase in COVID-19 cases since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The organization said 106,000 new cases of COVID-19 were reported worldwide in the past 24 hours. “We still have a long way to go in this pandemic,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned, saying the WHO is “very concerned about rising cases in low and middle income countries.” He said nearly two-thirds of the new cases came from four countries, but didn’t specify which. The United States has reported more than 1.5 million coronavirus cases and over 90,000 deaths. Wednesday marked the day when all 50 states in the U.S. had started to reopen their economies. More than 4.9 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide. Source: Reuters

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Wednesday,  May 20th, 2020

Michigan becomes the fourth state in the U.S. to pass 5,000 deaths from COVID-19. As of this date, the state has 5,017 reported deaths and 52,350 total cases. (MLive.com)

WHO members agree to review coronavirus response despite Trump During the World Health Organization’s annual meeting in Geneva on Tuesday, representatives of the member nations agreed to conduct an “impartial, independent” and “comprehensive evaluation” of the organization that would review “experience gained and lessons learned from the WHO-coordinated international health response to COVID-19.” On Monday, President Trump made public a letter he sent to WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, which accused the agency of protecting China and threatened to cut off U.S. funding. The other WHO member nations pushed back against this on Tuesday, with a spokesperson for the European Commission saying now is “the time for solidarity, not the time for finger pointing.” Source: The New York Times

Top officials warn of ‘permanent damage’ to economy, need for major policy effort Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Tuesday the U.S. economy could sustain “permanent damage” if state shutdown measures continue for months longer. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell agreed the economic outlook is dire amid the coronavirus pandemic, and suggested large-scale federal and state policy efforts will be necessary to slow the downturn and ignite recovery. Powell said the Fed may expand its program to buy municipal debt. “We may need to do more, and Congress may, as well,” he said. Mnuchin deflected blame on the administration’s handling of the crisis, saying the government has provided “enormous amounts” of support to states. He said if shutdown measures continue, some unemployed Americans may no longer have jobs to return to. Source: The Washington Post

Global carbon dioxide emissions see historic drop The worldwide drop in carbon emissions due to coronavirus shutdowns could be the largest in recorded history, scientists say. As of early April, daily global carbon dioxide emissions decreased by 17 percent compared to last year’s levels, corresponding with emission levels of 2006, according to a study published Tuesday. Scientists estimate an annual decrease of 4 to 7 percent. Researchers analyzed 69 countries, representing 97 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, and found 43 percent of the decrease stemmed from reduced surface transportation, including cars, trucks, and buses. All sectors examined had a decrease in emissions, except the residential sector, which saw a growth of 2.8 percent, likely from people staying home. The decline isn’t likely to significantly combat climate change, as carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for a long time. Source: NBC News

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Tuesday,  May 19th, 2020

Coronavirus vaccine candidate shows promise in early trial  Moderna announced Monday that during the phase one clinical trial of its potential COVID-19 vaccine, eight patients developed antibodies at levels that were on par with those who recovered from the virus. Moderna described the interim data as “positive,” with Chief Medical Officer Tal Zaks saying that the findings, though early, “substantiate our belief that mRNA-1273 has the potential to prevent COVID-19 disease and advance our ability to select a dose for pivotal trials.” Moderna chief executive Stephane Bancel also said “we are very, very happy,” noting “the vaccine was generally safe.” Moderna is moving into phase two of its clinical trials, and its third phase is expected to begin in the summer. Markets surged throughout the day following the news. Source: Stat News

California loosens requirements for reopening  California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Monday announced a change in the requirements a county must meet before its businesses can enter California’s second reopening phase. They’ll no longer have to report no COVID-19 deaths for 14 days, leaving all but five California counties eligible for the next phase. Under the new requirements, most counties must prove they have stable hospitalization rates and that their number of coronavirus patients haven’t grown by more than five percent over a seven-day period. Newsom also suggested professional sports, hair salons, and churches could reopen within weeks. California has seen a 7.5 percent decrease in hospitalizations statewide over the last two weeks, and an 8.7 percent decrease in ICU patients over the same time.  Source: San Francisco Chronicle

In Sweden, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.1 strikes near Kiruna and its iconic mine, though no injuries are reported. The earthquake is the largest mining-related earthquake in Sweden’s history. (The Local)

The World Health Organization holds its annual World Health Assembly using video conferencing instead of in-person meetings. (NPR)

Ugandan police arrest Stella Nyanzi, a prominent academic and vocal critic of President Yoweri Museveni, for inciting violence as she protested against lockdown measures taken by the government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. (Reuters)

Fifteen pro-democracy activists are released on a HK$1000 bail. Notable political figures, including Benny Tai, University of Hong Kong academic and one of the Occupy Central founders; Civil Human Rights Front convener Jimmy Sham; former Democratic Party chairwoman Emily Lau and others flock to the court to show support for the activists. (The Standard Hong Kong)

Protests against the government resume in Santiago due to food shortages in the poorest neighborhoods of the city created by the lockdown to control the COVID-19 pandemic. (Reuters)

Marco Rubio to replace Burr as Senate Intelligence Committee Chair  Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) will be the next head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Monday. Rubio will take over for Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who stepped down from the committee amid an FBI investigation into his questionable stock dealings. Rubio’s appointment leaves him in charge of the committee’s Russia probe, at least until the investigation into Burr is complete. McConnell called Rubio “the natural choice.” Burr stepped down from chairing the intelligence committee last week. He was found to have sold between $628,000 and $1.72 million of his stocks in 33 separate transactions on Feb. 13, while he was getting private briefings from health officials about forecasted economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. He has denied wrongdoing.  Source: Politico

Turkish-backed GNA forces capture the strategic al-Watiya airbase from forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar, and seize a Russian Pantsir missile system. (Al Jazeera)

A car bombing at an intelligence agency installation in the central province of Ghazni kills at least seven and wounds another 40. The Taliban claims responsibility. (Reuters)

 

Monday, May 16th, 2020

Taliban militants attacked a security checkpoint in Logar province, Afghanistan killing eight security personnel and wounding five others. (Xinhua)

United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warns China that the expulsion of 13 U.S. journalists could affect the U.S. assessment of Hong Kong’s status. (Reuters)

The United States Space Force successfully launches its X-37B robotic spacecraft on a classified mission from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station via an Atlas V rocket. Though little is known about the classified program, the spacecraft is expected to deploy a satellite into orbit, and test the “power-beaming technology”. (BBC)

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