Andrew Cuomo has said he will sign an executive order to take ventilators and personal protection equipment from facilities in New York state that have them and do not need them to deal with the virus. He said the equipment would be returned or reimbursed, but the move is likely to spark outcry from hospitals in upstate New York, which has seen fewer coronavirus cases.
Continue reading...Category Archives: US News
Men acquitted of Daniel Pearl murder kept in detention in Pakistan
Provincial government issues order despite court’s ruling to overturn the four’s convictions
Pakistani authorities have ordered four men including a Briton convicted of the 2002 murder of the US journalist Daniel Pearl to be detained for three months despite a lower court’s ruling to overturn their convictions.
The high court in the province of Sindh on Thursday acquitted the four, including Briton Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was sentenced to death in 2002 for masterminding Pearl’s murder. The other three were sentenced to life.
Continue reading...Bill Withers, influential soul singer behind Ain’t No Sunshine, dies aged 81
Lean on Me and Lovely Day singer dies of heart complications, according to a family statement
Bill Withers, the influential US soul singer who wrote Lean on Me, Ain’t No Sunshine and Lovely Day has died aged 81 of heart complications, according to a statement from his family.
Withers wrote and recorded several other major hits including Use Me and Just the Two of Us, before retiring in the mid-1980s and staying out of the public eye.
Continue reading...‘Like sheep going to slaughter’: NY doctors and nurses protest at lack of PPE – video
Nurses and doctors at Montefiore medical center in the Bronx protested over the lack of personal protective equipment on Thursday. 'Every day when I go to work, I feel like a sheep going to slaughter,' said Dr Laura Ucik, a third-year resident at the centre
Continue reading...Coronavirus US live: Trump uses Defense Production Act to make ventilators
- DNC confirms nominating convention postponed
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The president was tested this morning, according to the White House physician.
True paper statement from the White House, passed out to reporters in the briefing room just now. pic.twitter.com/K0SVhLAk1X
LIVE: Press Briefing with Coronavirus Task Force https://t.co/L80j4W1c8O
Continue reading...Iran hits back after Trump claims it is planning Iraq attacks
US president accuses Tehran or its proxies of planning ‘sneak’ assault on US bases
Iran’s military and diplomatic leadership has hit back at Donald Trump’s claims that its proxies were planning a sneak attack on US bases in Iraq, claiming Tehran only ever acts in self-defence and has no proxies in Iraq, only allies.
The US and Iran are already at loggerheads over the impact of US sanctions on Tehran’s ability to fight the coronavirus pandemic, and the threat of a military attack on the US is likely to widen the dispute. The Iranian army chief of staff, Mohammad Bagheri, said the recent spate of attacks on US bases in Iraq were nothing to do with Iran, but were “a natural response by the Iraqi people”. He said US forces were being closely monitored minute by minute and any US attack would produce the most severe response.
Continue reading...Daniel Pearl murder: Pakistani court overturns death sentence of accused
British-born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh set to be released in coming days
A Pakistani court has commuted the death sentence of a British-born man convicted of the 2002 kidnapping and murder of the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, and acquitted three co-accused.
At least four people were convicted in connection with Pearl’s murder, including Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh who was sentenced to death in 2002 for masterminding the killing. He has been in jail for 18 years awaiting the outcome of an appeal.
Continue reading...Trump says US stockpile of protective equipment nearly gone amid coronavirus
Report warns of White House and states competing for supplies as president focuses on counter-narcotics operations at briefing
Donald Trump has admitted the US government’s emergency stockpile of protective equipment is nearly exhausted because of the extraordinary demands of the coronavirus pandemic.
The shortage was first reported by the Washington Post, which said the supply of respirator masks, gloves and other medical supplies was running low.
Continue reading...New York governor says there will be no ‘back to normal’ after coronavirus – video
New York governor Andrew Cuomo said he thought Americans would be living with the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic for a long time. ‘I don’t think we get back to normal,’ Cuomo said. ‘I think we get to a new normal.’ The governor also emphasised that states need to be better prepared for such crises because ‘something like this will happen again’
Continue reading...Coronavirus live news: Spain passes 100,000 cases, as UN says world faces worst crisis since WW2
US has one 1 in 5 cases globally; global cases pass 860,000; record daily fatalities in UK, France, Spain and Russia
- White House officials predict up to 240,000 US coronavirus deaths
- UK coronavirus – live updates
- Latest developments at a glance
- The most extreme lockdown controls around the world
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The European Commission has proposed a short-time work scheme to avoid mass lay-offs across the bloc during the coronavirus pandemic.
The scheme, which is modelled on Germany’s Kurzabeit programme, was announced by Commission head Ursula von der Leyen in a video message.
Companies are paying salaries to their employees, even if, right now, they are not making money. Europe is now coming to their support, with a new initiative.
“It is intended to help Italy, Spain and all other countries that have been hard hit. And it will do so thanks to the solidarity of other member states,” she said.
Italy has extended lockdown restrictions until 13 April as signs emerge indicating the coronavirus contagion might be reaching a “plateau”.
“Italians have shown great maturity,” Roberto Speranza, the health minister, told parliament on Wednesday. “Experts say we are on the right track, and that the drastic measures taken are starting to give results.”
However, Speranza warned “we must not drop our guard” as the recovery will be “prudent and gradual”.
“It would be unforgiveable to mistake this first result for a
definitive defeat of Covid, it’s a long battle.”
The number of new confirmed infections rose by 2,107 on Tuesday, taking the total number of current cases to 77,635, according to figures from Italy’s civil protection authority.
The rise in infections was higher than the daily increase registered on Monday (1,648), but lower than Sunday’s increase of 3,815.
On Tuesday, there was a 2.8% increase in new (i.e current) infections, compared with an average daily rise of 15% during one of the most critical weeks.
The death toll rose by 837 on Tuesday to 12,428, higher than the 812 deaths registered on Monday. The number of people who have recovered from the virus rose by 1,109 to 15,729 on Tuesday, following a record leap of 1,590 on Monday.
The daily death toll and infection rate have also started to slow in Lombardy, the region worst-affected by the virus.
“The curve tells us that we’re at a plateau,” said Silvio Brusaferro, the president of the Higher Health Institute (ISS).
UK woman wins claim for NHS to pay US surrogacy costs
Woman was left infertile after NHS trust failed to detect signs of cervical cancer
A woman who wants to have surrogate children through commercial agreements in California has won her claim that the NHS should pay for the treatment.
The woman, identified only as XX, cannot bear her own children following earlier medical mistreatment.
Continue reading...The pandemic is producing a ‘Trump bump’ in the polls – but it may not last | Simon Tisdall
Despite his contradictory, ill-considered response to coronavirus, a growing chunk of Americans see a man in charge. But making himself the face of the crisis may yet backfire
The rise in Donald Trump’s approval ratings – it would be misleading to call it a surge – appears to have shocked his opponents. Critics in the Democratic party and the media have noisily condemned and ridiculed his handling of the coronavirus outbreak, as have some scientists and economists.
But it seems a growing chunk of the America public does not agree.
Continue reading...Coronavirus embarrassed Trump and Bolsonaro. But the global right will fight back | Paulo Gerbaudo
Science and welfare are at the heart of this crisis – which is bad for right-wing populists. But they won’t be wrongfooted for long
The populist right has built their electoral strength on boisterousness and arrogant self-confidence. Yet, amid the coronavirus pandemic, figures such as Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Jair Bolsonaro seem to be confounded. They are either desperately clinging to a narrative of normality (it’s just a flu), or have already been forced to make embarrassing U-turns acknowledging the gravity of the crisis.
Boris Johnson had to abandon the government’s “herd immunity” strategy when new scientific evidence made apparent its horrific human cost. He recently tested positive for the virus and is now accused of complacency and lack of leadership. In Italy, Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right League party and former deputy prime minister, appears downbeat, unable to wear the robes of the responsible statesman this emergency calls for; his unabashed criticism of government has even earned him the label “unpatriotic”. In France, Marine Le Pen seems to have vanished altogether from the media, while Bolsonaro’s persistence in denying the crisis is leaving him increasingly isolated.
Continue reading...US steps up efforts to combat coronavirus as country’s death toll passes 4,000 – in pictures
Cases of Covid-19 in the US now account for roughly 20% of cases worldwide, with warnings that deaths could reach 240,000
Continue reading...Coronavirus US live: Donald Trump predicts ‘a very, very painful two weeks’
- Amazon fires worker who led New York warehouse strike
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- CNN’s Chris Cuomo diagnosed with coronavirus
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Dr. Fauci said “I believe we acted early,” in response to a question about whether the US could have done more, earlier. But he conceded that earlier action could have helped.
Dr. Birx, as well, evaded the question, asserting that it remains to be seen whether the disease was spreading through the US in February or earlier.
Fact check: Hydroxychloroquine cure
Trump once again touted hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus cure, asserting that it won’t kill people because it has already been used to treat other conditions. But the drug can have serious side effects even when it is used as recommended, to treat malaria, as well as lupus and arthritis.
Continue reading...‘It’s like being on eBay’: US states competing to buy ventilators, says Cuomo – video
The New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, spoke out against the current bidding wars over ventilators, as each of the 50 US states and the Federal Emergency Management Agency were purchasing essential equipment separately.
'It's like being on eBay with 50 other states bidding on a ventilator', said Cuomo, who also revealed his brother, CNN host Chris Cuomo, has been diagnosed with coronavirus, arguing the diagnosis underscored the need to practice social distancing
- Coronavirus US live: Cuomo says bidding war for ventilators is 'like being on eBay'
- Chris Cuomo diagnosed with coronavirus
How Trump has reacted to journalists questioning his handling of the coronavirus crisis – video
With Donald Trump under increasing scrutiny over his approach to the coronavirus crisis in the US, the president has used his daily press briefings to lash out at the media. With more than 165,000 recorded cases, the US is now the worst-affected country in the world.
- Trump accuses media of wanting to keep economy shut to hurt his reelection
- Trump throws tantrum over coronavirus question: 'You're a terrible reporter'
US calls on Maduro and Guaidó to stand down in Venezuela transition plan
- Plan includes five-member council and sanctions relief
- Sceptics see little incentive for government leaders
The US has proposed a political transition plan for Venezuela, offering to lift sanctions if the president, Nicolás Maduro, and his opponent, Juan Guaidó, step aside and pass power to an interim government made up of their supporters.
Related: Coronavirus live news: rise in Italy, US and France deaths takes global confirmed toll past 40,000
Continue reading...Coronavirus live news: rise in Italy, US and France deaths takes global confirmed toll past 40,000
Worldwide confirmed cases pass 800,000 as Spain and Russia also report record single-day death tolls and Mexico wakes to state of emergency
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Do you ever run out of questions, you people? Trump asks a room full of reporters.
Trump is talking about the impeachment. “They probably illegally impeached me... you don’t hear much about that nowadays because everyone’s talking about the virus,” which he is happy about, the US president says.
“The democrats their whole live their whole being their whole existence was to try and get me out of office any way they can even if it was a phony deal.”
"I think I'm getting A pluses now for how I handled myself during a phony impeachment," Trump says.
Continue reading...Trump attacks journalists for asking ‘snarky’ questions on coronavirus testing in US – video
Donald Trump said that federal physical distancing guidelines might be toughened as he urged Americans to help fight the coronavirus with tough measures through April. Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said more than 1 million Americans had been tested for the coronavirus, which he called a milestone. But when questioned about testing per capita in the US, Trump wrongly claimed that the population of Seoul in South Korea was 38 million people (it is actually closer to 10 million people) and told the reporter to stop asking ‘snarky’ questions
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